Reviews

a journey towards self-discovery

"Ore no Hanashi wa Nagai" is a compelling Japanese drama centered on Mitsuru Kishibe, a 31-year-old who moves back home after losing his job. This setup leads to an insightful exploration of family dynamics and personal growth. The series excels in character development, particularly with Mitsuru, whose relatable journey from disillusionment to finding purpose is both engaging and inspiring. One of the most remarkable aspects of the show is its ability to address relevant social themes subtly. It touches on issues like unemployment, the pressure of societal expectations, and the importance of finding one's own path in life, all while maintaining a light and entertaining tone.

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Do you like to steal somebody's boyfriend?? Then this dirty cr@p is for you

Honestly i m totally dissapointed with this rubbish.
The acting was terrinle ,
Plot was okayish until 4th eposode and the script writers blew it badly after that

I am utterly dissapointed.....................................................................................................................................................................................,................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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Watch if you want to be surprised by Takei

Emi Takei was phenomenal in the role of Hikari. After her initial psychotic behavior it would seem impossible to root for such a character but she acted with such nuance, balance and heart it was nothing short of amazing. The emotions of being deeply troubled, traumatized, being hopelessly yet intensely in love, the immaturity with a hint of wise beyond her age aspects of Hikari were expressed brilliantly. Compared to the character of Natsumi, Hikari felt layered, complex and emotionally vulnerable in the most compelling way. I was shocked to realize that she had much more chemistry with Shuji and would have made a better couple which would also deliver an unique and fitting ending to the show (after all this show covered all sorts of social taboos).
PS: the student teacher interactions presented in the show were weird and I can bet far from being real, but a forced suspension of disbelief would do the charm-_-

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One of the best dramas out there

Twinkling Watermelon was a great drama, probably one of the best out there. Every character developed to perfection. All the characters, main and supporting, have a purpose and a role to play, none of them feels out of place or as a filler.

I was so happy that the change was not Eun Gyeol saving his father because that would defy the purpose of the drama for me. Instead it showed us that even the smallest change , although it might seem insignificant might carry importance. Also, is Eun Gyeol supposed to live his new life with no recollection of his past and how his childhood was different??

The only black spot for me was that the final episode was slightly mismanaged. The first half of this episode could have been in episode 15 and then 1st half of this episode could have focus on Yi Chan trying to adjust after the accident. I really hate the way we left their younger versions, Yi Chan in a dark place and Cheong Ah unaware of it. It was great to see the older versions and see how the future changed but those were not the characters we grew close to, cheered for and cried with. It just left a bitter taste that we didn't get to say goodbye to the younger versions when they were happy, when everyone else got that. I mean we needed a scene between them to have some closure, what stopped Yi Chan, what happened to Choeng Ah and her father, even a montage could have done the job and answered those questions, but we got nothing and, at least personally, I feel cheated. Also, it would have been great to have a scene with how Eun Yu's life changed in the future.

All in all, Twinkling Watermelon is not only one of the best youth dramas out there but one of the best dramas in general and it’s definitely worth watching.

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A must watch wuxia drama

This drama was definitely something. Usually I personally like to watch dramas in the background while doing something else but while watching this drama, I actually had to put everything else down.

From the acting to the OST, everything just felt perfectly in place. The romance of the main lead is not something you would see a lot of, considering that their relationship was established pretty early on in the drama compared to other dramas who make the leads' love story the main plot for the entire show. Naturally, this early establishment of their relationship gave much more time for them to go through different adversities together and realising their mistakes, adding to the depth of their affections.

However, their love story was not the main thing that kept me watching this drama - it was brotherhood and the character development of all the main characters. While watching this drama, you'll gradually get attached to each and every one of the characters because of the liveliness and humour they bring to the plot.

The 9.5 rating is just more of a personal preference as I didn't like the ending as much (you will know what I mean once you get there) but otherwise the drama was well executed and engaging to watch.

Happy Binging!

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It was bad, but entertaining enough to finish

After I watched Hidden Love right, Zhao Lusi piqued my attention because she did really great there, so i wanted to watch her early shows and this is the earliest that netflix has in their catalog. Also great, since Riley Wang is in here cuz i just checked 'Everybody Wants to meet you' too, though that drama was really trash.

Anyway, the story... I wouldn't say it's trash, though they did add something new to the table with that "Fake relationship" concept in dramas, i think they just did it badly like they had an idea, but they didn't manage to put it all together really well. It was such a mess in the first half, but after the season 2 of the dating show, i wouldn't say it's good, but it got a littleee better enough for me to feel something and to be at least a littleee invested for me to finish it, and it got fast paced as well. FL's mom, i think she got introduced too early and it was soo sudden, like there are no bits of crumbs that we might get a FL family drama side plot incoming, she just came in storming and it never even got a proper resolution, because suddenly she's okay with her mom, like did i skipped an episode or something? why is her relationship with her mom suddenly like "Oh, we're good now", and the scam part with her mom, i kinda predicted that, but that scene with the other victims like those paid extras doesn't even give a shit, they didn't even put an effort in their acting. I also don't like how the moment she knew her composer crush was actually our male lead, immediately her feelings flipped, it wasn't like "now i'm in love with this guy" kinda thing, but it was sort of like you can tell she started developing some feelings towards Shuwei right away just because of his other identity. The accidents in this drama are soo predictable, how could you mess up something that's supposed to be a turning point for a character or story? I don't really know how to explain it... I've watched a lot of dramas that have accidents in it and it's supposed to come out as a plot twist, something you're not expecting and just happened out of nowhere, but here i can sense it a mile away and it's baaaad. I like how they handled the side plot with our 2nd male lead. It's not intrusive, and they didn't really focus on it that much, it's just there from time to time, that's probably why i never felt the 2nd lead syndrome. It's very cute and heartwarming, glad he got a proper closure. 2nd couple's side plot was a nice break, for how messy our main couple was, but it got messy too as it went on and i wasn't expecting it to turn out that way, though i'm glad it got a proper closure too. In the very late game, i don't know why did this, but why introduce a new girl? I get it she had some sort of contribution to the story, but i think that is unnecessary, there's a lot of ways you could've done that without adding a new character to the story, it just stretched out the last parts of the show. The japanese dubbing in the last episode was so obvious, but props to them since it matched Zhao Lusi's voice

The characters, I think they're all ok and the acting too was meh... it's passable. The one that stood out to me in the beginning was the 2nd couple, again it was nice, but it got messy as it went on, their acting was okay and then i switched to our main couple because they got better in the 2nd half. Zhao Lusi, although i like you here, because you're so cute and adorable, but this is me after watching your recent work 'Hidden Love' so there's a very big difference in your acting. In here, i can tell it's not up to par with what your current acting skills can show, i don't really have much to say about your character here, aside from 'it's okay'. Riley wang, this is the 2nd drama that I've watched that he's in and to be honest, I feel bad for him because this one too is still bad, He really needs to be given a good written and scripted drama. Also, at the same time i don't like his acting here, he's just a frowning soulless character, that's not how you act cold. You just look like you're angry all the time. I don't even think I've seen his character smile genuinely in this show and it didn't develop much at all. I don't know if i'm supposed to blame your acting or the writer...

The music was okay, i mean it's there... good. Though i liked the violin stuff. I wish they did that more.

Cinematography is ok, but i just noticed this, and not just here, but in other cdramas as well, when they do video calls, dashcam, or cctv footage stuff it's always a full on cinematography, oh my god.. are you really that lazy to film those kinds of shot? like, have an intern film those for you if you couldn't be bothered to film it yourself. In most cases, you're not gonna bother eyeing that shit, but it's just that, i would notice it every time. Stop it!!!

So yeah... overall, this drama is bad, but still entertaining enough, like the first half if you could endure, and get past that then you're probably gonna enjoy the 2nd half since that's where it'll get better in terms of story and characters. Would i watch this again? heck no!

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Autism is my superpower the K-Drama

Upon my girlfriend's recommendation, we decided to give "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" a try, considering my personal connection to autism and my previous aspirations of becoming a lawyer.

Regrettably, the show fell short of expectations, offering a rather mundane and formulaic narrative that felt overly familiar. The storytelling lacked originality, and the exaggerated performances, especially in portraying autism, demonstrated a notable lack of nuanced understanding on the part of the writers. From the outset, Woo's characterization, initially hinting at ADHD, left me questioning the logic of whales mysteriously moving appearing in her room in the morning— a perplexing detail that was never adequately explained. The ensuing surprise at her dating someone suggested a peculiar solitude, given the apparent absence of guests in her space.

The romantic interest's age seemed incongruent with the main character's presumed youth, creating an additional layer of inconsistency. Character development was largely absent until the final episode, where seemingly inconsequential figures suddenly emerged to champion Woo, leading to yet another predictable victory achieved through her distinctive approach to handling cases.

The repetitive structure of the show, featuring quirky scenes, over stimming herself at work, filler content, and the resolution of cases through Woo's autism "powers," became a monotonous cycle, causing me to doze off multiple times during viewing.

The supposed "twists" in the storyline felt forced and unrelated, akin to discovering a family pet has cancer while simultaneously learning about an aunt's sexual orientation—interesting on its own, but bewildering in the context of the overarching narrative. The revelation about the protagonist's brother possessing autism-related hacking abilities was particularly amusing, as there was no prior indication or buildup to such a revelation.

Curiously, the genetic inconsistency within the family—where the mother seemingly lacked autism despite having two children with different partners who both exhibited ASD—further strained the credibility of the show.

In conclusion, those who claim genuine enjoyment of "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" might be overlooking its shortcomings, and perhaps a more discerning exploration of media with depth and substance is warranted.

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I wanted to love it. I did not.

I saved this one to watch for so long, because I adore Ren Jialun and because the lighting and costumes looked so lush. Much was expected.I lasted about 5 episodes until I realized I neither believed nor cared about the story. The portrayal of the Japanese officers wasn’t working for me, they seemed v casual. The total random convenience of how much RJL carried on with his spy business and convincing his senior officer he was completely normal for having a girl who tried to shoot him staying with him and that the other Japanese intelligence officer was the crazy one … I could not buy it. Also this guy supposedly went to school with Hirohito and so now everything he does is cool? How does any of that make sense? Why would the emperor be at school with a rando?What did work, though, was that everyone looked FINE in their outfits. The military getups and the 1940s hair were giving what they needed to give. I was feeling the wartime love.

I was not feeling the cohesive plot, however.

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In the past life and in this life.. I love you.

Thumbs up from my mom to Rowoon for being handsome ahaha

Might not be a big hit, but it was a good drama.
I started watching not expecting much, I'm new to these actors, the story might not sound new, but I don't pay too much attention to pointless comparison these days, since everything depends on actors and production team and they managed to keep me interested and the last half I simply binged. Strictly speaking there are always hit and misses, but speaking truthfully it's not as horrible as some people say.

What I considered to be good.
Acting. I had no idea who Rowoon was before watching and I must say he has the face and skills for you to remember him on the screen. What can I do, who doesn't like handsome guys. Oh! And so far the only actor I've seen who could act drunk so well ahaha like honestly when it comes to drinking or being sleepy many actors don't look drunk at all. You can put a ton of blush on their faces, but they can't do it, but his scenes were on spot ahaha. Same for Bo Ah. Although it wasn't her fault there was so much emphasis on her acting shy at the beginning, which was later dropped, but overall she did a good job with her role. I noticed he acted with actresses older then him in several dramas? :)
All other actors did a good job too.

Romance. I'm not against characters having prior relationships. It's not a bad thing having a character who is not a blank piece of paper when it comes to love/relationships. This is why I found the initial entanglement interesting. After all the mistake Hong Jo made gave a strong sense of "fate". And from initial almost enmity they came to love. Tbh those episodes when he couldn't control himself were quite funny, because we could see the rational and emotional sides clash constantly. Eventually her life was filled with him and his life with her and their feelings shifted in the direction towards each other. On screen chemistry was great :)

As for the storyline. You need to watch it completely to see the writer's idea. I think the story would have tasted really different if the backstory (past life) would have been dumped from the get go. Basically, we as viewers get the glimpse of the past life together with the characters themselves, which was quite fine. And if someone says something about sub-plot.. *sigh* don't you see why it was brought up. If not this it would have been something else because what should have happened must come, don't forget the settings of the curse after all. I try to speak spoiler-free as much as possible and keep things vague.

PS: The only thing I couldn't get was actually HongJo's co-workers. They acted vile and I couldn't wrap my head around why. You can justify it by saying that because she reported Gong, who in return kept mentioning her, they might have accumulated negative feelings towards her, but this was the part that felt fake to me. Maybe because despite justification I couldn't get why they acted like that, so it felt forced.

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My first review- I loved it

I came across this drama when I was listening to OSTs on YouTube. And I didn't regret watching it.

As many reviews have mentioned, this is not a love story, and I agree that it's more of an exploration of the lives of the leading characters, above all, the brother and sister (cousin) ML and FL.

First, this is one of the first dramas that I've encountered with multiple love interests of the FL. I've watched Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms and its sequel, however the FL would only root for the ML in both. I loved how the writer didn't give them unfair treatment. Each lover had their share of scenes with the FL, except the last lover.

One of the reasons that pulled me into the drama is the portrayal of a FL, especially one that has been hurt. The relationship of the FL between each of her lovers is exceptionally well written, that one would wish she could end up with all of them.

I also loved Yang Zi's portrayal of the FL more than those in her previous dramas, most of my family members loved Ashes of Love but I was rooting more for Luo Yunxi in the drama and wished she could have ended with him.

Originally I started liking the FL with the man she saved, TuShan Jing/Ye Shiqi but personally I felt there wasn't much growth, I mean she appreciated him from the beginning but I didn't expect her to like him back so quickly. I also felt TSJ-XY pairing wasn't that strong due to TSJ's character build and lacked particular development, the classic "I like you" and "you like me" kind.

On the other hand, the scenes with Xiang Liu, "9 headed monster" made her feelings apparent. I liked how she was willing to open up about her past to him and in my opinion they had more memorable scenes (underwater, on the bird mount, and how he looked to bully her). Personally as a writer I am also fond of "bullying scenes". Perhaps I am also in love with "silver haired characters" like Dong Hua in Eternal Love of Dream. Somehow it makes the character unique. I was a little dismayed when he turned into the black haired FangFeng Bei but it was interesting to see how the actor made both characters differ.

The transition from "boss Xuan" to the Brother Cang Xuan at the end of the drama (not to share what happened at the end) was also interesting to watch, along with the portrayals of different characters, good or evil, especially the sister, and I also loved the grandfather. In overall, everyone did a good job in acting out their characters and brought them to life 👍 Applauding the main cast for their hard work!

What I actually hoped/expected is for the FL to recover her powers, and hope this might be explored in a future season.

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Rating

Similar enough to the anime, the movie adaption deals more with the swords past.

I rate the movie more as a 7.8 not lower and not higher.
The acting and plot was decent for a movie of this type but you don’t see anything about the anime in the movie that would rank the movie higher. You don’t see any of the sword summoning and the main character sword is the only high-grade sword that you actually see.

Besides this, the movie is actually pretty decent which is why I rate it at a 7.8. The effects are good and the plot fits and is new to Touken story line.

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Unhealthy but compelling relationship

Hira is a fascinating character : he wants to worship and be dominated by Kiyoi but he's also very demanding and unwilling to bend when it comes to pursuing his desires. Kiyoi in turn finds Hira's attention gratifying but also dehumanizing. He doesn't want Hira to see him solely as an object of worship but as a vulnerable and flawed human being. They both emotionally hurt each other a lot with the hurt becoming physical a few times. Is this a healthy dynamic? Absolutely not but these two are obsessed with each other and the heart wants what it wants.

The actors are strong and have excellent chemistry. Hira's actor is handsome but the production downplays it and leans into making him look awkward and slightly creepy. Kiyoi's actor is indeed beautiful which gives some weight to Hira's obsession. The production design is very good for what is a short and inexpensive drama. I particularly like the animations associated with each of the leads.

I know this is a polarizing drama but if you go in knowing it's a messed up romance between two messed up people you can relax and enjoy it for what it is. Not every drama has to portray healthy relationships.

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The MC is not harsh enough.

It's actually a good series, and it has some good start. But if you have been reading Cnovels or revenge novels, you can easily differentiate the MC from those similar characters. I have to emphasize on this part as this was indeed a revenge series.

For one, she's not harsh enough. I've seen revenging female protagonist before and they can be really badass, but the MC was just around or below the average. The first revenge she did was the only time I felt satisfied with. The next ones are too amateur. I get that she has to transition to her villain era and I liked that there's a character growth for a change, as most if not all of those revenge stories and movies I've seen has already a determined and badass character change at the start. But it's been 8 episodes already and she was still somewhat affected by changes, she's easily troubled, she can sometimes be smiling evilly to her enemies but she can also be seen cowering and wearing her troubled emotions on her sleeves. Her emotions can be affected with petty throws from her enemy. Again, there's nothing wrong about that as that was her character, but I was expecting an unaffecting, equally and more harsh, vicious, scheming and tough protagonist.

Her revenge left me unsatisfied. She's the good girl revenger. When trouble comes I instead worry for her if she can fix it. She's not the typical character that you can rely on that no matter what the enemies throw, she'll just smile evilly and even throw a bigger boulder to her enemies. She really needs to learn from those existing similar characters.

I also don't get the necessity of the marriage. I like it more if she focuses more on her revenge while doing it alone. I like it if they're independent enough not to rely on a man for her revenge.

Anyway, it's actually a good one and was worth watching. Despite all my misgivings from it, I still enjoy and will continue watching it. I just have to voiced out these things. Though the revenge part was prolonged and hashed out, most people might enjoy this.

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