This drama was cute at times and annoying at others. Exo is probably the only reason I sat through it entirely. I am not sure any one who is not a fan of Exo would even enjoy this or even consider watching it.

The story isn't that good, except it's like a fangirl fairytale. I would be lying if I didn't at least admit I wanted to be in the main girl's shoes. Being a maid at Exo's house with Chanyeol and DO pining for me? I'd take that any day over my current admiring-them-on-my-screen position (obviously). While I liked the idea of the story it was a poor execution. It was boring and bore no laughs after the 12th episode.

It's amazing how Korean dramas manage to drag even in these super-short series. The characters were much like any Kdrama with the jerky main lead, dense girl and a pining second lead. I don't know why they took Baekhyun among the four main guys. He was awful at acting and Kai would have been a better choice as he was at least less annoying. The four guys makes it, what- E4 (Exo4)? BTW the wannabe-martial arts brother was mildly humourous among the cast.

I love the song sung by Baekhyun for the OST. I'd recommend it as a listen to everyone. Watch this drama only if you have time to kill else don't even consider it. A 7 rating for bringing Exo onto my screen and making a fangirl's wishes true on TV.

Leia Mais

Seriously, this movie has no story. It's just eye candy treat for hardcore ELFs. So, if you love Super Junior then this is for you otherwise don't even bother reading my review. :D

I enjoyed this movie. A lot. It had no dull moments. The humor was over-the-top and at times gross, yet so funny. I love that all my SuJu favorites were in this one minus Kyuhyun :( and excluding the little appearance by Leeteuk at the end as Panda (is that even true?).

The most hilarious of all was Heechul. His role suited him lol. Sungmin's appearance was also very funny in this. He is so cute.
Siwon's character also made me crack up. BTW glasses suit him well. Kangin as the Judo champ with Eunhyuk as his sidekick was epic. Of course, the cutest was Donghae and he had the typical "boy next door" look in this movie. I loved the part where he says to himself, "I'm handsome too" and I was loling at the screen saying out loud "Of course you ARE!!" :P

I am giving the acting a full 10 because they made me laugh. I love the boys.

What am I even talking about, right? Only SuJu fangirls will understand what I'm saying. Anyway if you don't mind slapstick humor this movie is just that and whether you know SuJu or not won't matter. Just watch it. It's a brainless one hour and fifteen minutes of pure fun!!

Leia Mais

This is the very first Jdrama that I saw. It has got a very intriguing plot. The initial episodes focused heavily on bullying and it was a lot of fun to watch that. But to think that such a thing could exist in reality also gave me goosebumps. I expected F4 to be less evil as the story progressed and in fact- they turned out to be very nice guys. Makino Tsukushi is a very tough girl.

Apart from that, the cast was good. They are all good actors. The direction of the show was pretty good and the writing seems to be excellent. It is a no-nonsense show except for the T.O.J. plot which was so boring and that is the only place where the show felt dragged.

At least I can say that it is much better than Boys Before Flowers (Korean version) even though there is zero glamour in this version. Overall, it is a good show with a good rewatch value. I haven't yet seen the second part but I might give it a try in the future.

Leia Mais

I finally came around to watching this classic drama which helped in spreading the Hallyu wave. I put it off for a very long time because it didn't sound like a drama that I'd enjoy. However I gave it a chance and I found myself enjoying it.

This story is pretty good till the first 8 or 9 episodes. From then on it is a downward spiral. It has its moments though and the romance is lovely. At times this drama gave me a headache but it was a headache that I enjoyed lol. There is something addictive about melodramas and this is a similar case. There are all sorts of cliches possible used in this drama. This story has no depth and its characters are just meh. It is just one of those dramas where you can watch for the main leads in case you enjoy romance. The characters aren't that great and neither is the plot. Analyzing the plot will only make you hate the drama.

It was such a massive hit in those times and now I can see why. It has some amazing moments and has that pull factor which would make you want to turn on your TV screen every week. Like the other Endless Love series, this is also one which you can finish only after skipping a LOT. It gets hell repetitive in the second half and most of the episodes are just filler (like most dramas those days).

I love the music in it and the soundtrack is beautiful. Another reason to watch the drama would be the cinematography. If there were better HD cameras back then, it would be a feast for the eyes (much like Love Rain). I see a pattern in the way the writer writes her stories. It had a lot of moments which were reminiscent of Love Rain.

This drama is a mindless angst-fest. If you enjoy angst, watch this. Or if like me- you want to see what the hype was about you can check this out. This sadly leaves no room for rewatching but I am still glad I watched this drama.

I wanted to dock off a point for its ending but I can't rate it any lower. I hate the ending. It's probably one of the worst endings ever but overall I just can't hate this drama nor can I give it any lesser than 8. It wouldn't be fair since since I enjoyed a lot of its makjang moments.

Leia Mais

A pleasant surprise - the black horse of 2022 Cdramaland

2022 is at its peak right now when it comes to Cdramas. The ones with all biggest names and budget have been airing with little gap between premieres and to stand in between all the action is a feat in itself. While I had no clue that something starring Dylan Wang / Wang He Di and Esther Yu would be "struggling" in any way, it seems like everyone had low hopes from this drama including the cast themselves. But they exceed everyone's expectation with it!

PLOT:
Although this was marketed as a Xianxia, I beg to differ. This drama for me is just a fantasy one where a Fairy literally falls in love with the "Devil". I was lowkey hoping for a dark romance but the drama has been quite light since the beginning. The first episode was a bit weird and I couldn't really get into it till ep 8 or so. I must say I was writing it off as a silly romance based on its initial episodes and the cutesy and ditzy FL. The ML was also serving as more of a comedy element than a character with actual depth. However, this drama has surprised me on more than one occasion. Every time I thought the plot was juvenile or too cliché - it just kept surprising me and was on a roll.

CHARACTERS:
I have seen some good Cdramas but I must say this is surely one of the better written ones. The characters in this are all well-rounded and their growth is natural. Nothing felt forced to me in the drama. Usually the transformation of a positive character to dark or vice-versa seems like a one-off thing than a natural progression of plot. Here most of the things that happen make sense. The naïve FL grows and the ML is also not one without flaws. The characters all make mistakes, get hurt from some assumptions but in the end manage to pull through. The supporting characters are also fleshed out well and even the villain(s) seem to be morally grey in some areas - which was quite an interesting take.

ROMANCE:
I think the reason Wang Hedi catapulted to fame (although he was already getting there) is owing to the romance in the drama and his Romeo type character. Most people watch xianxia / fantasy romance dramas in hopes of watching a good romantic plot. I must say this drama delivers well on that front. The FL falls for the dark ML and he's so completely devoted to her! The unwavering love the leads have for each other is what progresses the plot and remains the centre. Although I didn't feel like Dylan and Esther had too much chemistry, they looked good together and kisses were ok too (BTS clips were better). The romance will definitely a big pull for the romance genre lovers.

ACTING:
I admit to brushing off Esther as a bad actress, she did a decent job here. I do think someone else dubbing for her would have been a better choice but the different phases for her character were really believable to me. I would say the same for Dylan. While his acting wasn't groundbreaking- he did it well too. The reason I'm most glad for picking this up is because I discovered Zhang Ling He from this and now he's straight to my favourites list. Man can act fine and he's such a beauty! I also liked the other supporting actors and there was no one who was "ruining" the drama for me.

OVERALL:
While I would have been fine with a simpler ending, few things were made complicated for no reason. It does end happily so it's all good. I think the drama is worth investing time in- however, I do not think I would ever rewatch it again.

Leia Mais

A poetic, coming-of-age narrative BL

I have been pondering about this drama for a while and its title had me intrigued. To start with, this isn't necessarily a fanservice BL. ITSAY is a coming-of-age story dealing with first love that one experiences as a teenager, friendship, society & peer pressure and exploring one's sexuality. While it's a drama, it feels more like a long movie the way it's narrated.

In the beginning the drama was a bit too slow for my taste and also at times a bit immature. However, I did appreciate the writer and director's efforts into making it as realistic as possible. The main leads Oh-aew and Teh aren't the most mature nor aware people in the room. In their core they are just a couple of teenagers who were best friends but were alienated from each other for a long time. I really digged their friendship, falling out and how they reconnect again just for things to go south again. It was funny how the characters took time to figure out their own feelings while I, as a viewer, could see what they felt for each other was as unlike friends as it could have been.

I really appreciated some themes that this drama didn't shy away from. Life isn't as magical or as easy as some BLs make it seem to be. Coming to terms with one's sexuality, the constant confusion and difficulty of accepting one's own self while being conflicted and feeling somewhat shameful was perfectly captured in the drama. At times Teh was awful as a person and Oh-aew seemed to be on the verge of pathetic - but these were feelings anyone can go through. The journey Teh and Oh-aew were on was never smooth and they were their own challenges and their own villains in each other's life. However, deep down they were the only ones who could bring about happiness in other's life.

I must say I am impressed with how this drama chose to approach two guys getting together in a restrictive Asian society. It made me question how or what people go through in real life when they "choose" to not be heterosexual (quite similar to Teh's choice over his longtime female crush). Of course, being a drama it did deliver on keeping the viewer entertained and very apparently have a sequel to this story (which reeks of fanservice to me).

ITSAY is strong as a one-off drama and I would have accepted any sort of ending for it. For me it was going to be another BL drama but the depth and finesse that was apparent in the way was filmed blew me away. I think this drama is poetic and has more life lessons than one might give it credit for. It deserves to be taught in film school and analyzed by literary and art directors. The symbolism, filters and mood all ought to be understood and dissected in minute details. Also, if the right demographic viewer watched it, it might deliver some life answers and I hope people only take the good from it and aren't afraid to be who they are and to love whoever they wish to.

Highly recommended. Do not miss out on this show.

Leia Mais

A romcom with a good message + one of the most creative endings ever

The Day of Becoming You was a drama that I knew I'd like just based off its teasers and promotional pictures. Usually my gut is right and this was no exception. I think this drama is a perfect mixture of fantasy and slice of life. Liang Jie and Steven Zhang proved to be one of the best drama pairings in Cdramaland yet.

PLOT:
I was stoked to watch a soul-swapping drama because when done right, they can be quite fun to watch. This drama started off a bit confusing but for most part nailed its comedic elements. Although it seemed like a trope in a drama, the soul swapping had a much deeper meaning by the end of it all. Jiang Yi and Sheng Sheng both misunderstand each other and we as viewers can feel the same. They are compatible in ways they are not aware of but are really nice people deep down. I loved the chill vibe of the drama and minus a few boring parts, it was well made. It's no revelation that Cdramas are often longer than necessary and I thought it was the case here as well. It could have been shorter to maintain quality but it wasn't too terrible.

ACTING:
I think Steven Zhang was hilarious as a female and Liang Jie was super likable as the guy. I loved how well Jiang Yi blended with Sheng Sheng's family and never tried to do anything annoying. It was very funny seeing a guy experience the pain of females and for him to understand how painful our bodies each month can be. The leads really stole the show but I liked most of the side characters as well. All of them did a good job.

ROMANCE:
One of the factors for which I started the drama was the romance but for most part I loved their skinship. Their chemistry was very believable and the kissing scenes were great! I think it's because of the actors themselves who always manage to have real chemistry with all their co-stars. They were very well matched and their acting wasn't cringey at all.

ENDING:
I know that not everyone liked the ending, but I loved it. It's a good message for people to think from other's perspective or to get to know people better before passing judgement. In this case it helped the leads fall in love and in real life, it could just give some comfort to a suffering person or one could find friend in someone unlikely. It was a nice ending and yay because it also passed censorship. I hope this writer writes more dramas in the future. If this is where Chinese dramas are heading, I'd be excited for them to be more layered.

OST:
Nice, chill and something to listen to during the rainy weather.

OVERALL:
I highly recommend watching this drama even if you don't like Chinese dramas or romance. It's got some nice messages and it's most depth I've ever seen come out of a rom-com.

Leia Mais

Look elsewhere if you are searching for a historical romance drama

The Sword and the Brocade was very high on my to-watch list since the day they released the teaser images. This drama stars two of the better (if not best) category actors in China. I thought there was no way they could go wrong because the synopsis and the BTS clips were all too good for me to expect that this drama would end up not delivering. Heck, I wish I went in with lower expectations and I wouldn't come out with such mixed feelings.

PLOT:
I thought to expect a lot of politics and scheming since the synopsis mentions "a girl with a low birth status". But the promise of the FL reaching up high in the ranks was what caught my interest. The drama reads like a typical harem drama and for most part- it is. The harem politics is what kept me engaged and enjoying uptil ep 30 (with some glitches in the process) or so after which it started going downhill. The drama was absolutely phenomenal upto 30-something episodes and after that I just started getting bored. I would be lying if I don't say at times I struggled or even went to the skip button to get past some irrelevant plots.

WHAT WORKS:
Harem politics might not be everyone's thing but here it wasn't that heavy. I enjoyed the cattiness of the concubines but it became a bit too unrealistic by the end. Qianfeng was annoying but she actually made the drama more fun for me.
The next and main highlight are the leads. I've not seen such amazing brainy, calm and level headed leads in a drama since a long time. The FL is like a modern women who keeps her wits and knows how to survive in a cruel or challenging situations. The ML seems cold but is more tsundere as the story progresses. It was a bit cringey with him having so many women around him but his doting and dedication towards the FL was brilliant. Both leads have issues and go through the misunderstanding trope a few times but it never drags. I loved how they always resolved problems and their romance build up is enjoyable in spite of the age gap between the leads. However, I did wish for it to not lost steam later on. For still making it work, I give kudos to Wallace and Seven because they play their parts pretty well. I admit the slow/lack of romance was disappointing but the maturity of both and their little interactions were enough for me.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK:
The boring and draggy second-half. I wonder where that enjoyment went. This drama went downhill the moment they got rid of the main "villain". Later it made me realize that until then the harem and romance were the only things that could hold the drama. Unfortunately the drama chose to focus on other plots which I didn't care so much about. The leads getting together was acted well but should have been way earlier. Even the ending was underwhelming at best as the events leading up to it made me lose all my earlier excitement.

OST:
The OST and music of this drama is quite nice. I recommend a listen.

OVERALL:
This drama could have been my absolute favourite but I am sad it didn't work out that way by the end. Nonetheless, it's a good one-time watch with some skipping to make it more bearable. Wallace Chung and Seven Tan do not disappoint but I wish they had better scripts to work with. I still believe this story could have focused on other things and have been more enjoyable. I still don't hesitate to recommend it because I quite enjoyed the good parts of the drama.

Leia Mais

They should rename it to "Immature Youth"

I went into this drama thinking it would be terrible, but I kept watching it out of my love for Wu Jin Yan. I was excited to see her as an Office Lady in a modern drama. But the poster of the drama and the actual story were rather contradictory. The title of the drama is not fitting at all. Firstly- none of the cast seem "youthful" nor are they that young. They just confused me as a viewer a lot of times. I maintained a love-hate relationship with this drama from beginning to the end.

STORY:
Like many stories, it started out great. The story was a little farfetched and unbelievable right from the get-go but, why complain when watching fiction? This drama started as a rookie salesgirl with a lot of talent to a plot with backstabbing, office politics and boring romance lines. I remember reading a comment as this drama being a modern wannabe of Yanxi Palace drama and that fits the description of this drama somewhat. I think its main flaw was its length. It was unnecessarily draggy, repetitive and uninteresting towards the end. Had it been shorter, I would have appreciated it a lot more. The 47 episodes are a stretch and it would been decent as 30 episodes maximum.

ACTING:
I think this is one area this drama is strong in. I don't think Wu Jin Yan did an awesome job but she is a charming lady no matter how annoying her character was. I'd blame the writing and characterization here. The actress who played Lin Rui was awesome and she had me dreaming of being a badass boss lady like her at her age. All the other supporting cast was fine as well. I was surprised to see Peter Ho in this drama and looking as young and suave as ever. I think he will make the viewers have a SLS although he is much older than Wu Jin Yan in age. Her chemistry with Dan Ding was a lot more believable and I think it's due to the two stars dating irl.

WHAT WORKS:
The cast, some interesting plots till episodes 30ish, women being main players in the workforce and the premise. I really like the sisterhood between Xiao Yu and Lin Rui but Xiao Yu was unbearably immature and ruined their dynamics a lot of times. Peter Ho's portrayal was nice and funny- almost like a parody of CEO characters in dramas. His character never really fit in the drama storywise but still did his best as an actor.

WHAT SUCKED:
Lead girl was immature (her way of talking was very funny), bad people turned out good in an unbelievable way, the romance was meh after few interactions and the plot dragged on forever. It was a struggle to finish this drama.

OST:
Nice opening theme. Rest of OST was forgettable.

OVERALL:
Like I said- it was a challenging watch. It wasn't rewarding in the end but not completely pointless. I had some enjoyable moments and a lot of boring ones. I'd say it is not worth a watch but if you don't mind skipping some scenes, it isn't that bad. In the end, it is never a bad thing to see women being successful in real life or in fiction.

Leia Mais

Love Designer was one of my anticipated releases for 2020. Initially I waited for it to be over so that I could binge watch it put I kept putting it off due to the negative comments I read. I can see why people weren't pleased with this - I am not happy either. However I am glad I gave this drama a chance because at least the first 20-ish episodes were well made and I discovered Johnny Huang thanks to this.

STORY:
Oh lord. Was there even a story, a plot? I cannot pinpoint to what the drama was about. All the characters do are talk about dreams and yet everything is underwhelming and a bore. There are some nice moments and some fluttery romantic scenes. The main problem of this drama is that nothing fits. It's like putting too much to eat on your plate, and you end up tasting a bit of everything, but by the end you can't tell what was what. None of the sub-plots fit or compliment each other. Characters drop in and drop out at random times. Some random "problems" arise which make no sense or seem like they were written just because they had to. This drama has good actors and shallow plots with stories that go nowhere. There was nothing that could keep me interested enough to appreciate even a single plot/struggle/growth of any single character.

This drama tries to play it smart but it fails- there is no depth or enjoyment in it. The writing is lazy and I feel like it was written by a bunch of people who all had their own ideas. The end result was that it went nowhere and left me underwhelmed to a great degree. The half-assed ending was thrown into the mix as a formality because they wanted this to end finally.

ACTORS:
Now this is why I ended up finishing the drama. This drama has one of the better main and supporting casts I have seen in a modern C-drama. Dilraba isn't the best actress but the character of Zhou Fang really suited her. She is really beautiful and sometimes left me in awe of her visuals. Johnny Huang is perfect as Song Lin and did an amazing job of his otherwise maybe an "okay at best" character. He is really manly and super charming. He was really good at holding my attention. The others- the friends, family and Song Luo were all good to watch but unfortunately the plot didn't leave them much to do with.

ROMANCE:
This was really nice. Johnny played his part perfectly and his pursuit and the dedication towards Zhou Fang remained strong till the end. The main female lead was confusing at times. Their romance was super cute and only got boring towards the end. Their interactions, skinship and chemistry felt very natural to me. There are secondary couples also which you could either care or not care for - I didn't.

OVERALL:
The worst part of this drama was it that I had so much I wanted to watch but those parts never materialized. It was like a bunch of unresolved plots till the end. The episodes are pointlessly long and dragged out. This drama was best suited for 24 episodes. More time should have been dedicated to our leads and there should have been more challenging subplots/arcs for Zhou Fang. I felt like Dilraba really tried this time but the it didn't show as her character remained the same throughout. Johnny managed a good job due to his exuding charm but even that fell flat by the end.

This drama is one giant mess. There are beautiful people in it and other than that I say there isn't much reason to watch this. Maybe if you have nothing to do and wish to appreciate the beauty our leads - it's the drama for you.

Leia Mais

I think no more reviews for this drama are needed, but I wanted to write one anyway. I've been waiting for all subs to be out because xianxia is my favourite genre in C-dramas. Can't believe I finished all 59 episodes without skipping a single one. I think I was expecting it to be good and it is as good as I thought it would be.

STORY:
Typical xianxia drama but done differently. The drama focuses less on Heavenly Realm and more on the Mortal realm which was different. The main plot is the love story as everything else is built on it. The camaraderie of Si Feng, Xuan Ji, Liu Da Ge, Ling Long, 6th Senior, Teng She Zihu and Wu Zi Qi was one of the best I've ever come across. This drama can be described as Untamed + Ashes of Love. There are plenty of battles, hunting demons, a dense heroine, an awe-spiring male lead, trials and tribulations and romance. This drama exceeded my expectations in terms of the intensity of love a male character can have for a female. I also loved the ending and it wasn't open or bittersweet - but fit perfectly with the story. With TMOPB and Ashes of Love the endings were only doable but here it is worth the long wait and suffering. And OMG - it is full of suffering, hatred, love and anger. Never have I seen such a pitiful pair of characters.

CHARACTERS :
I don't think I need to describe Si Feng. He's the all-round perfect dreamy boy. He loves the heroine to no depths and is always ready to be there for her. Xuan Ji isn't the perfect heroine but she comes around and was less frustrating than some other leads I've seen before. I loved all the characters minus Ling Long. I couldn't feel enough sorry for her and was frankly bored of her whining. I freaking hated Teng She in the beginning but he grows wonderfully by the end. He's one of the best characters in the drama!

CASTING:
Cheng Yi steals the show here. I'm going to be looking out for his future projects. I was a bit unsure on Crystal Yuan but she did her crying scenes better than her innocent side. However, she was quite convincing as innocent and then a badass heroine. Rest of the casting was also done well - the families, friends and the villains. We have some interesting, complex villains and see them more up close than some other dramas like to focus on.

ROMANCE:
The plot is focused on the love story, but I felt like we were deprived of more content. The longing was extreme but the scenes were sparse. I wanted more love scenes between the leads and sadly got lesser than I wanted. There was a lot of focus on other subplots and more on the demons which could have been less.

OST:
The soundtrack is quite nice. It has a few ballads and an upbeat theme song which sets the mood for the drama.

OVERALL:
Love and Redemption is a very fitting title. I think anyone can enjoy this drama regardless of whether they know the actors or not. The story is quite a ride and comes full circle - very satisfyingly so. I am not sure of the rewatch value since I cannot bear the repeated sufferings our leads went through but come out a fan of Cheng Yi out of this. This is definitely making me rethink the quality of Ashes of Love because I always considered that my top xianxia. This is well worth a watch. Don't hesitate to dive into it.

Leia Mais

Here goes another drama by the writer of 'Weightlifting Fairy' in my well-rated drama list. This is the very first time as a drama viewer that I picked up a 'Currently Airing' family drama and stuck with it for entire 50 episodes. This drama started of well, got better, got lost for a while and then ended like any other drama. It is not a unique drama but the Song family makes it a delight to watch.

STORY:
What I loved most about this drama was how it focused on fun and less on makjang. There are no crazy birth secrets or illnesses (not that serious anyway). The in-laws are flawed but all the characters grow and become a functional family by the end. You could pick your favourite member or sibling, because all are relatable in their own way. The premise of all siblings getting divorced was a bit weird to me, but they wrapped it up very neatly.

The struggles and emotions were real. It also gave some excellent message for families that fall apart, couples that break-up or in-laws who do not get along. I think there would be at least one plot or character everyone has seen or heard of in real life too.

SUB-PLOTS, ACTING & CHARACTERS:
I have no particular favourite romance plot, but my favourite people were Song mother, Yoon mother-in-law, Ga Hee, Seo Yoon (the eldest brother's daughter) and Jae Seok. These were my favourite characters who kept me most entertained. All the actors did an excellent job of their roles. There was some aspect of myself or my family or my acquaintances that I identified in each story. There were some annoying plots and characters as well but nothing gets too dragged.

OVERALL:
It's a family drama with daily issues. There isn't much to say in my review, but I would say it is worth a watch. It is a nice drama if you are looking for something light to watch because it is less heavier than some of the other dramas I have watched. Just the last 10-12 episodes were low on quality and the ending is a bit random - but at least the major characters received some closure by the end.

Leia Mais

I was planning to watch this drama for a while, but it wasn't available on my country's Netflix. What intrigued me to watch was Davikah Hoorne - whom I follow as an IG celebrity. I follow her daily and always felt awed by her beauty. So anyway, with minimal expectations. This drama surprised me and I was glad I gave it a shot.

STORY:
It makes no sense a lot of times, but it starts off with some dark and cute moments. Once the kids are adults only then do we get the exact idea of what their personalities are like. Our lead is a good-for-nothing but a loving girlfriend. Her boyfriend is a cold and level-headed doctor and then enters our 2nd lead. This drama is a true love triangle - quite funny and cute in places and there are times when it is cliche. Depends on your preference but I did like a few characters. I didn't take the drama too seriously because it was more of brainless fun.

CHARACTERS/ROMANCE:
I didn't like the character development of Peng. He went 180 degrees a couple of times and in the end it wasn't believable to me. Tantawan was ditzy but I did understand and empathize with her. But she cried too much and I wonder how taxing it must have been to act. Chalan was someone I didn't take seriously in the beginning but the process of him falling for our main girl was quite cute. He won me over a couple of times. What I did like was that the heroine gives both a fair shot - whether you agree or disagree with her choice in the end. I was Team Chalan after the first few episodes and there was no going back for me when it came to Peng. I wished there was more development of romance or romantic moments in general. I didn't like the back and forth with Peng and Chalan's idiocy at times. But it still had its moments and I was glad with her final choice. Nothing else would have made sense to me.

ACTING:
I like Sunny in the beginning but he wasn't too diverse with his expressions. I feel like Davikah can pull off any role if she is given the right one. She is drop-dead gorgeous, cute and also cries well. She is good at humorous scenes as well. The Chalan actor is quite young so he can improve but he is someone I would like to keep my eyes on.

REWATCH VALUE:
Probably none. I could go back to some Tantawan and Chalan scenes and that would be it.

I would like to recommend this if you're looking for something fantasy, quick and a stressbuster. There is a BL plot too which was cute but I didn't like the way they ended it. I'd like to mention the Ambulance girl too because she is a very cute actress and now I am following her on IG as well. Thai actors are great at pulling you in with their personalities.

I am glad I gave it a watch and finished it. I did think it would be the best Thai drama ever but still nothing beats Padiwaradda and the magic of Jamesji for me.

Leia Mais

I've had a love-hate relationship with this drama all along. There were times I was obsessed with, couldn't get enough of and other times I flat out got bored / annoyed. I kept hanging on for a twist towards the end that would surprise me, but nothing was a surprise really. I think this is a good drama as some moments were very enjoyable for me and lots that bored me as well. I won't recommend it if you are looking for something light as this is nothing short of a sob story.

STORY:
I feel like it had great potential where it could keep one guessing. However it fell short due to an inconsistent plot and pacing. I felt like they didn't have any script editor to look over nor did it feel like the same person wrote the entire thing. There were too many loopholes, too many unexplained things, things that got brushed under the carpet and were never acknowledged. I felt the point of the story was about the characters and not so much about the fantasy aspect of it. I feel like we shouldn't have spent too much time on unnecessary plotlines and some character interactions would have been good enough to drive the story. Nothing about Cha Yu Ri coming to life made sense nor the ways the ghosts and shamans acted. The ending was touching, because the characters were lovely but it was limited by the lackluster writing of the scriptwriter. Of course I was never promised a happy ending but only the probability of it. In the end it's bittersweet but stayed consistent with Yu Ri's wishes. I feel like during the flashbacks and the flashforward, we only see that life goes on no matter what. I would like to take a moment to criticize the screentime given to the flashbacks. It didn't serve much purpose for me and I found myself skipping through a few.

ACTING / CHARACTERS:
The actors were good and Seo Woo Jin is the most adorable kid ever. His smile made smile like a fool the entire time he ever appeared on screen. I wasn't too pleased with the male leads as it ended up being a female-centered drama. The gals were great together and I loved their friendship. Yu Ri's family also had great chemistry with each other. I like that it stayed on course with human interactions and never went towards unnecessary romantic plots.

WHAT WORKED BEST:
I would like to give a special mention to Yuri's mother and her despair were absolutely heartbreaking. Her father's way of grieving was also really touching. Somehow I didn't connect with Gang hwa from the flashbacks. It just seemed out of character for me and his character made the least sense in all aspects of his life. Yuri's back and forth was quite fun with the shaman (who again was amazing). Yuri's friend/sis-in-law was also one of the highlights. Of course, Min Jeong was also wonderful and once we get to know her character, it was wonderful. I felt like some actors gave it their best but the writing fell flat. The ghost family were annoying and funny at the same time. I couldn't give a crap about the other ghosts at all. I did however like the direction and editing. The filters they used to create a mood and ambience stayed consistent throughout which really helped in case of this drama. I might look up the video director / cinematographer.

WHAT SUCKED:
Inconsistencies, how characters acted and the fantasy aspect were a hot mess. It should have been revised and then approved for filming. I feel like the writer had no clue on how to do the world building and handle the ending. They just did whatever fit best and gave us a cop out ending.

THE ENDING:
Oh ma gosh. It was beautiful, heartbreaking and infuriating at the same time. Some things happened too easily and some didn't happen at all. I feel like I missed closures with few of the characters. At the same time how they acted made zero sense. The life lessons and all were something I had to look hard for but it still fares worse than say, '49 Days' in my books. At the least the closing line was thoughtful. But I didn't buy the flashforward. At ALL.

OVERALL:
It was a mixed ride for me. At times I wanted to quit this show. But somehow the ending had me so curious that I couldn't back out. I liked watching Kim Tae Hee in an age-appropriate role. She seems to have improved and still looks hella fine after having 2 kids!

Watch it, don't watch it. It's a sob story by the end but started cool and funny in the beginning. Take your pick according to what you wish to sign up for (includes al the mentioned). I really didn't want the way they ended, but hey - I wasn't surprised either.

Leia Mais

I was waiting to watch this drama since it came out last year. I jumped onboard to watch it all once I knew the subs were available.

I am writing this as a massive fan of the original Taiwanese version. That one is hard to top and this version certainly does not.

However, I felt like it was a fun drama if you skip over a few boring parts. Whether the story appeals to you is something else because I enjoy romance, angst and tragedy rolled into one. The story is not light, and watching this version gave me the same thoughts I had about the original one.

Story: I highly recommend this if you are a fan of love triangles. This is one of the best-written love triangles in drama land. The story is a bit outdated and circa 2000s so ignoring that, it can be remade many times. The story is a bit frustrating and unrealistic at times. The characters are hard to relate to and hard to like - and that is what makes it fun. The protagonists are flawed, dark and trying to have an epic romance while living their very terrible lives. (I think I might be turning one off by how I am describing it). However this version much more airier and upbeat to look that. The camera quality and filming is much better nowadays so I am glad they didn't film it in the dark with depressing filters.

Acting: I felt like the acting was okay. I haven't seen the leads in any of their past roles but I feel like they have potential. The main actress is beautiful to look at and the guys are both handsome. At times the male actors were better than the female lead but I feel like she was more convincing than Barbie Hsu in the original one.

Ending: The ending is quite fine although some dose of nonsense tragedy makes it not the most perfect show. The story has flaws and I feel like they could have made some changes to make it a bit less depressing. No one watches the same kind of melodramas like they did years back. So in some ways it is not very fitting or a trendy show for 2018-19.

However, if you like love triangles, possessive male leads and tragedy then show is for you. The ending isn't awful so it's quite fine to invest your time and emotions into the story because at least the leads have a happy ending lol.

Leia Mais