Reviews

I'm pretty conflicted on how I feel about Manny. It felt to me like it lost its way about 3/4 of the way through, and it's difficult to prevent my view of the drama as a whole from being tainted by my distain for the last handful of episodes.

In any case, I'll start with the positives. Manny, more than anything, is a comedy. It's light and funny, with many laugh-out-loud moments, and most "conflicts" tend to be resolved in the space of a single episode, at least in the beginning. The main couple in Yi Han and Do Young are obvious from the start, but they fail to steal the show in favour of cutesy Jung Min, his divaish older sister Eun Mi and they're even more divaish aunt, Janice. I'm a fan of secondary characters being developed individuals in their own right, so this worked for me. I especially enjoyed that the kids weren't just plot devices, but had strong personalities of their own.

However, this is where the strong personalities end. Yi Han and Do Young, our main leads, are hollow archetypes at best. Yi Han is a Superman-type figure who can fix ANYTHING. One of the basics about any conflict in a story is that it should be believable to the audience that things really won't turn out for the best. This isn't true at all in Manny, because Yi Han is interminably capable and you're never in doubt he can solve anything with some wise words and perhaps a flashback to his old baseball friend in America. With Do Young, our female lead, it feels like there were efforts at development of her character, but to the point where there's two competing sides in her that make her confusing to watch and difficult to empathize with. She switches between stressed out single mother, still not having bounced back from what can be assumed to have been a messy divorce, and love-sick, infatuated teenager, complete with doodling her crush's name in her notebook. Needless to say, put Yi Han and Do Young together and the chemistry is far from sizzling.

As I mentioned at the beginning, the percentage of this drama is good. It never reaches any startling heights, but then that's not what it was aiming for. The drama seemed to know its place as a standard comedy. But then towards the end, it's like the it's been told to grow up and act its age because suddenly there's a barrage of seriousness and an emotional overflow that is so unfitting with the ambiance established up until this point. The characters haven't been built to be people you care deeply about, which is fine in a comedy, but tedious when these same characters are thrown into situations where emotional investment is a prerequisite if you're not going to lose the audience entirely. Without this sudden turn in tone, the drama would have been a solid watch. With it, the experience was, if not ruined, at least soured.

Leia Mais

Awesome. One of the few unpredictable and not-cliched dramas of all time. It actually lived up to its genre, mystery and suspense. full of unpredictable twists and turns. it can leave you a bit confused at times, but its easy to catch up. Great character chemistry. Personality crashes are one of my personal favorites, and this had plenty of that. But for some reason, Sebumi didn't click with me. Maybe it's the character, maybe it's the actor....great acting overall. Really loved the bad guys. Their personalities will chill you, literally.
Music nothing special, and not very good re watch value. Once you know the tricks, it won't be as suspenseful anymore, because..... simply because you know the story. The story depends a lot on unpredictability.
So, anyone like suspense, action, mystery, supernatural/scifi, a must watch for you. just be ready for a lot of twists.

Leia Mais

This is the drama I was waiting for all spring long. During those 11 weeks, every Friday I was eagerly waiting for the next episode. You, who still haven’t watched it, will have the chance to watch it all in one day (and you will be tempted to). There is a reason why this drama got the Best Drama Award (Television Drama Academy).

Don’t expect a fairy tale. Don’t expect a boring sad story full of fake tears and violins. Don’t expect any average acting. This drama is telling us the story of people you can identify with. This is a story that could easily be true. There isn’t one character that doesn’t fit, not one "black sheep" actor. The dialogues are written as if in a theater play, and each line is perfectly mastered (Sakamoto Yui got the Best Screenwriter Award for this drama). The palpable tension captivate us and makes you hold your breath and wait for the next move, the next line.
(The three directors also got the Best Director Award.)

Eita (who got the Best Actor Award in the Television Drama Academy) and Hikari Mitsushima are simply incredible. Both seems at the end of their tether starting from the very first episode, and this is one more reason why their dialogues are so enjoyable and captivating. But, as I said, even the supporting actors are are talented (especially Otake Shinobu, whose performance got her the Best Supporting Actress Award, and Kazama Shunsuke, who also got an Award)

As for the music, there isn’t much to say aside from it being beautiful and well-balanced. Very different from some sad dramas that need sad music to make the audience cry because the actor aren’t good enough.

6 Television Drama Academy Award are 6 reasons why I gave this drama a Overall 10 and a 9 in Rewatch Value.

In short, it's a must-watch..

Leia Mais

I was looking for a drama that would have me hooked by the first episode, and Pasta did exactly that. I was reluctant to watch it because I have zero interest in cooking, and had no curiosity about what happens behind the scenes in a restaurant, but Pasta managed to make both exciting.

What really drives the story is the romance between Seo Yoo Kyung and the new chef. From the moment they first meet, I knew I would love this drama. Their flirty mentor-apprentice relationship was fun to watch for the entire 20 episodes, especially because of Lee Sun Gyun. I knew he was good after watching him in Coffee Prince, but now he is officially one of my favorites. I was glad to see him as the romantic lead this time, and swooned over his flirt-spertise. This is also the 3rd drama I've seen staring Gong Hyo Jin, who gives another great performance as a determined aspiring chef. If played by lesser actors, their characters could have easily come across as unbearably mean, or annoyingly stupid. Instead, their characters had depth, which helped the often predictable plot feel realistic, and their "do it again"/"yes chef" relationship became endearing. Another thing I loved about the romance plot is the other members of the "love square", played by Lee Honey and Chu Alex, were actually likable, and sympathetic. As far as Kdrama romances go, this one felt different, and was refreshing.

On the other hand, the restaurant drama was mostly fun to watch, but it was always pretty obvious what would happen next. Rivalries & schemes describe the atmosphere at La Sfera, and there are plenty of scenes showing the cooks working and feuding in the kitchen. I was never bored, but I would have preferred less kitchen bickering, and more of the main couple. I also would not suggest watching any episode on an empty stomach, since the food they make has such a major role in the show.

I really enjoyed Pasta, and I definitely recommend it. It may not be one of my absolute favorites, but it definitely suits my taste.

Leia Mais

Add this to your Must Watch List - God's Quiz seasons one and two: Fast moving, never a dull moment drama focusing on murder, rare diseases, human frailty and crime solving. Season one leaves you with wanting "More". The drama builds momentum in the second season as the deeper darker secrets are revealed culminating dramatically in the last two episodes. I love the medical examiner, who done it? type of dramas. It also doesn't hurt to have romance thrown into the mix. This drama doesn't disappoint. But, I do suggest that you watch season one before you watch season two.

Leia Mais

This drama was really great! Out of all the Taiwanese dramas I've watched this is by far one of the best ones ever! It had the great humorous touch like what most of them have along with the fast paced, dramatic scenes of Korean and Japanese dramas. There is not a lot of filler in this drama and I kept wanting to watch more of it. Also it's great that Siwon and Donghae from Super Junior are in it (I love them so much). Although I wasn't a big fan of either of them before watching, I admit that I surely know who they are and really enjoyed them in this drama. Another great aspect was the music. The music played a really great part in the drama and since Super Junior sings some of the songs, you won't be disappointed.
Initially starting the drama, I only read one chapter of the original story. So I had a vague idea of what was going on and plot. So when watching it, it was entertaining to find out what happened next. My only complaint is that all the secrets and back stories of the characters were revealed at the end and even so it seemed they sped that up. With a non conclusive ending, I'm hoping they make a season two.

Leia Mais

I personally enjoyed watching this movie, I've read the manga series and fell in love with them. I liked the whole concept of how the main characters think differently from the 'norm' and how they are strange with thier obession with death. Maybe that's just me.

This isn't really a horror movie or anything. You're able to see how two high schoolers who never spoken before discover they share the same interest. Death.

Story 10- The main characters unravels the mystery of a murder case in thier neighbourhood not to solve the case and catch the murderer, but to see the corpse themselves.

Acting 10- I thought the acting was brillient as I felt I could connect with the obession the characters have.

Music 9- The music genre fits wonderfully as it beats up the tension.

Rewatch 9- Again I enjoyed the movie, may have something to do with loving the manga so much.

Some people may not agree with me and I admit some parts were a little slow but it's definitely worth the watch. There isn't much blood, 'scary' disturbing scenes for a murder/crime movie, however overall I loved the movie.

Leia Mais

It’s a good choice, if you wanna watch something a little funny, a bit of romance, mixed with a cute cast and matched music just to be distracted from your everyday life. No more, no less.

It has nothing new to add to the romcom genre, but it delivers it in a nicely different way. It’s focusing on how relationships are/could be, not wasting time on creating unreasonable obstacles for the OTP to get together. What will happen afterwards? Indeed, they are great together, but will they last in the long run?

A solid production, for almost two hours you’re entertained, but with nothing remarkable for the future. You’ll soon forget it. Perhaps you’ll remember the cute smiles of both leads and the score/OST. ……. Overall 7.5 ……. (I’m not rating anything below 5)

Leia Mais

This drama was easily the best Jdrama of the winter/early spring season. It kept me smiling from beginning to end. Maybe it's because it was currently airing when I watched it, but this was one drama that I didn't want to end. Every episode made me ureshi (happy). All the actors did a good job, especially Takimoto Miori who played Chie-chan. She was adorable. The OST was also infectious. I found myself both before and after an episode singing, "Love me baby." And contrary to what the other reviewer said, it does stay on direction, and it does not just become episodic. The story persist through all 11 episodes and each episode is fresh and not redundant.

Leia Mais

Only reason I decided to watch this was for the killer cast - it was well worth it too. Mr. Idol is all about chasing your dreams, even when it seems like you're done and out - Pick yourself up and carry on. It does a good job at portraying the difficult journey that it is to chase your dreams, especially being an 'Idol'. I fell in love with the cast at first glance - of course, there isn't really too much depth into their characteristics, but they are definitely lovable from the get go. The story was amazing and what made it amazing is that is was REAL. Literally had me tearing up at some parts. :) We all know that nothing ever gets handed to us and we've gotta work for something. I'd literally sit and watch this movie a thousand times over - Definitely an awesome movie.

Leia Mais

Papa to Musume no Nanokakan is a bit of an oddball drama. Body-switching isn't a new idea, but switching between father and daughter? Yes, it's as awkward as it sounds.

For a short drama, Papa to Musume succeeds in being just about entertaining throughout. You get a good few comedy situations which are inevitable given the premise. More than that, it's a drama with a bit of a preachy moral about seeing things, in the most literal sense, from another's perspective.

Yes, it's cheesy. Yes, it doesn't really stay with you long after you've watched it. But the cast are likable and convincing in their roles (even though I think it would have been better if both father and daughter were given more time to establish themselves in their original characters before the switch happened, so the contrast would have been more apparent), and the overall premise was quite neat. If I had to give my main criticism, it's that the drama, in it's limited span, didn't go as far or deep as it potentially could have to tell what could have been a much more compelling story.

Leia Mais

I'll try not to be harsh as I loved the lead actor. Seo Jae Hui was and remained my favorite character until the end. I have to say that this is my first time watching Yoon Shi Yoon in a series, maybe I should watch King of Baking too. I wasn't a fan of the police woman and most of the times found her annoying. Even her sister was more interesting. Also the series is full of cheesiness and was boring at times. Maybe I'm twisted but I enjoyed watching Madam Park, I just love beautiful women, especially if they're powerful. I don't want to talk about detail, story and character development as I'm a little disappointed. The series doesn't offer new elements but tries to work with typical cliches. All in all an average series. I gave it extra points because of Yoon Shi Yoon and Han Go Eun who made the series from my point of view.

Leia Mais

It starts out really good as it builds up the story step by step as the ex-rockers struggle with opening/running a restaurant and as they tackle their problems. Then by episode 5-6 it loses its direction completely it becomes very episodic and kinda random. Also i think they did a poor job at creating the conflict between the exclusive restaurant and this new startup one. And for a drama so heavily involved with food it wasnt at all informative. It was just throwing around fancy food without much explanation. Overall it was a great idea with poor execution and mediocre acting.

Leia Mais

At the beginning of the drama, the first few episodes were hard to get through. Maybe it was because the story hadn't taken off yet, but it took a lot of concentration to finish an episode, but the story finally started to take off. I had high hopes for this drama, and it seemed like it was heading in the right direction. There was enough of that awkward relationship going on between the two leads, as well as the suspenseful drama that has you sitting on the edge of your seat, but somewhere during the middle of the drama, it completely lost it's appeal. The main focus turned to one of the characters who isn't even a part of the main cast, and it seemed like that character took over the show. The relationship between the two leads practically stopped since all they talked about was that other character. There was hardly any romance in this drama except for the very last episode. The drama is great if you throw away all expectations of romance, and just focus on the mystery in the drama. It was a good drama, I just feel that the two leads didn't have enough screen time together. The acting was great, especially Lee Si Young. She did a great job, and really expanded her acting ability. I felt that the actors were the best part of this drama, and if there would have been different actors to play the characters, this drama wouldn't have been good. The music was great, it was a catchy song, but I don't think it went with the whole suspenseful mystery theme that took over the drama. It would be ok to rewatch if you really like more mystery sort of dramas, but for someone who likes to watch more romantic dramas, it wouldn't be worth rewatching.

Leia Mais