Reviews

For a movie buff like me, watching this Thai BL series is a stretch but a good one. I can continue raving about it from the beginning.  But let's start with the story.

The story seems cliche if you look at it on hetero/straight perspective especially when this type of storyline has already been applied in many telenovelas(Latin and Filipino) and even Asian.  However, the good twist is that the gay storyline is the main focus, in which one of the characters is a hero who tries to win the love of his best friend after a random tryst due to intoxication. At first glance, it was not really a tryst because, both, as mentioned were intoxicated. But from there complication arose, including the surprise appearance of a girl friend  of one of the main characters and then the development of love between two college-educated young adults who are both male.  

This is a kind of romantic comedy series that I wouldn't get bored watching for many times, if time allows. Aside from the "main lovebirds", one character I really love is Yihwa.   All cast, even the villain, portrayed their characters very well. The acting is "superb" (IMO) especially Yihwa's , and of course, Korn and Knock.  Even though I tend to hate the villains, their characters have been played well that it is difficult for me to ignore them. Although it is possible to pinpoint the neophytes in acting, I have come to familiarize all the supporting characters.  They've all managed to invoke emotions in their characters, which, I believe is very effective in stirring the emotions of the viewers.

It is not only about having to see the main characters to feel good throughout watching the series. The supporting cast really managed to bring out different types of emotions in me. So, I think this BL series is very effective in incorporating the characters, which I initially thought would just be fillers and uninteresting. But then, they did a great surprise.

And one thing I have to point out in this series are the kissing scenes(of course).

Max(Korn) and Tul(Knock) managed to portray natural kissing scenes, even the most intimate ones between two male lovers in a BL series. I can only watch this in gay movies which are rated for adults. But considering this has also been shown on Thai TV( I think) and online, they have managed to capture a big audience because of their kissing scenes.

I thought I'd be satisfied with just one love scene, but the series kept on surprising me. They really put intimacy of two male characters to a new level. And for that, I commend the actors, the producers, the writers and the directors.

Musically, the timing of the background effects is good. Some are over-the-top but understandable. I love the soundtracks though. Hearing them makes me appreciate Thai pop music more. This is coming from an international fan and viewer of the series.

Overall, this series has done a great redemption to the BL industry. I rate it first on my list.

Leia Mais

Rating Justification:
Story: 9/10 - I really enjoyed this drama's story. I must admit that I did prefer the first half of the story and I do think the concept of Jong Suk and Se Yeon did tire me towards the end. The North Korea element really boosted the story for me and definitely kept me up at night! I am sure I will never forget the first 4 episodes of this drama. They have sticked with me until now, and I think it drove this story to the 9 it is now. 
Acting: 9.5/10 - I LOVED this cast. When I say the cast, I am being a little biased considering 2 of my favourite actors are the main characters of this drama (Lee Jong Suk and Park Hae Jin). However Kang So Ra was also a great protagonist, and our dear Chun Ho Jin was ever the great villain!
Music: 8.5/10 - Okay, this soundtrack was indeed great and I remember actively singing along with it while I watched this drama, but the sole reason for this 8.5 is the fact that for the life of me I could not remember any of the songs as I started writing this review. After a quick look at my k-drama soundtracks playlist I indeed found some of the songs among my favourites. 
Rewatch Value: 8/10 - This criteria is a bit hard to judge for me, seeing as I am a person that doesn't enjoy rewatching things that much, so I have decided to judge this based on how much I predict I would enjoy it in case I did rewatch this drama. I have based this 8 on the sole reason that I think if I had to watch Se Yeon's character for 20 more hours I might get slightly put off this drama for real. 
Overall: 9/10 - I think this drama is another Korean Drama classic. Besides the action packed story and great actors, it explores much more than the mere relationships between doctors or patients. It pushes the boundaries of what we think medicine is and makes us question corruption inside the government. It will forever be a drama that I remember dearly, even if some aspects of it lacked a little (Lee Jong Suk and Jin Se Yeon's relationship). I do apologise for the excessive talk on the Jin Se Yeon character, but it is honestly the only flaw I can point out in this drama.

Leia Mais

Rating Justification:
Story: 9/10 - Personally I thoroughly enjoyed this drama and its story. It was innovative and different, considering most alien-human love stories tend to explore and portray alien as abnormal and slightly on the creepy side creatures, which this drama did not do at all. It was also entertaining to see the life of an actress, and a difficult one at that, and it's glamour and downfalls.
Acting/Cast: 10/10 - The cast of this drama is possibly one of my favourite casts of all time. As I write this, I have had the pleasure of watching them act in various other dramas, and many of the actors/actresses still remain my favourite till this day. The interactions between characters, main and supporting, were always a delight to watch. They made the story all the more compelling and fascinating to watch.
Music: 10/10 - The music in this drama still moves me till this day. My Destiny, I Love you and Goodbye had me close to tears everytime!! Still one of the best soundtracks out there.
Rewatch Value: 8/10 - This criteria is a bit hard to judge for me, seeing as I am a person that doesn't enjoy rewatching things that much, so I have decided to judge this based on how much I predict I would enjoy it in case I did rewatch this drama. In my opinion it would go down in rating because I would probably judge the characters a little more, but it would definitely still be a high mark anyway.
Overall: 10/10 - This drama is definitely a classic for me. Besides the quick pace and never ending comical moments, I think it did a brilliant job on portraying not only the life of a superstar/actress but also a vulnerable and scared character. It would have been easy, in my opinion, to take Jun Ji Hyun's character too far, and either emphasising too much on her flaws or overdoing on her vulnerable moments. I think it was the perfect blend of fantasy, comedy and romance.

Leia Mais

So here we go .After watching the whole series,for me ,it feels great .But sadly  to say,comparing to 2 moon &sotus ,it seems like it gain less recognisation from the public.I don't really know the reasons behind it ,but this does not affect the view of mine towards it.There are quite a few parts which are quite compelling.

Start with  the storyline,it is quite fascinating .Some scenes are very integruing and interesting,including bed scenes and some humuorous scenes which are (18++).The chemistry between them are great.Quite a few scenes which exemplifies the statement above .Seeing  the struggles they had ever faced,u will find out that the story is narrated in a simple ,straight forward way

Whereas for acting,it seems natural.not over pretentious.A few characters  ,such as Knock and Yihwa are vividly potrayed.Maybe it is also  the aid by the dialogue ,gives a clear image of the character.To give a better illustration,there is quite a numerous scene which is associated with some poetic and romantic words.

The music is okay .nothing to  grouse about.

However ,there are some weakness in  the last few episodes ,well it is in a muddle.Some  scenes look like it had been intendedly cut .Switching scenes are too fast instead ,Unproportional length of time for every episodes is  also one cause of problem.Too short.
Storyline becomes kinda dragged .

BUT ,overall,it is still good.It ends in a positive note.

Leia Mais

Firstly, I am a Yoon Shi Yoon fan! He is absolutely eye candy in this drama. He is hilarious and cute and i love his acting. I also like all the cast in this drama and i think they did a great job! You can't even think the badder guys are wicked in this drama... so I can't dislike them. The drama starts off really boring and I didn't really get into it until episode 3. But from episode 3 to around 15 or so, it was really cute and funny and you can see the characters building their relationship and the plot unraveling more mysteries. This show has 32 episodes! And somewhere from episode 15 to 27, it is pretty much fillers....  I fast forwarded some episodes because I just really want to know what happens Mr Ddabong... and alllll the fillers in between getting really boring and slow. I think the love story between the main actor and actress is really simple or shallow. The show is funny overall although I think they tried to make the show more funny at the beginning and in the middle it's more romance and slice of life... Then from episode 27 onward, it gets interesting again.  Music-wise, it has a nice theme song, but average at most, and it won't be stuck in your head.  Overall, it's a satisfying drama. The ending was satisfying enough, and I can't get Yoon Shi Yoon out of my mind now, but I won't rewatch this drama because the story is too slow paced for me and the romance isn't that great.

Leia Mais

It is a funny drama with some romance that will make you to wonder ”why this girl is so stupid?”. That was my opinion about her, she was stupid. ?he is overthinking everything. (in a negative way) I wanted her with the second male lead and for him I watched the whole drama. Asao Yuu is  a man who knows what he wants and knows how to get what he wants, while Tanokura is just a flower boy (her first love in some way, cute and all that stuff) who (yeah, he is good because he protects the female lead and knows how to make her happy) can not decide what he really wants. This is a good drama if you are bored, but if you are not, you can watch something else.

Leia Mais

I actually wasn't sure if I would watch this one or not when I first read the description. I really like Shin Hye Sun and was disappointed that this didn't sound like a show I'd want to watch. But as the good reviews started pouring in, I thought maybe it might be worth a shot. I hesitantly watched the first episode and was surprised to find that I enjoyed it. I usually hate anything with much political overtones, so I had low expectations even though I do enjoy investigation thrillers.This show exceeded any hopes I had for it so much. My only real complaint is that from the build up we had, I was just expecting an ending that would be like a bomb. While, that isn't what I got, I was still very pleased with what they offered. This show is very dialogue heavy, though, so be prepared to keep a close eye on it for details and possibly to have to back up and rewatch a scene here and there. I though the show was very smartly written and fairly riveting.

The cast was excellent. This was the first time I've ever watched Jo Seung Woo, Bae Doo Na, and (the first time I've noticed) Lee Joon Hyuk. They all impressed me a lot. They all had a subtlety and charm about them. Yoon Se Ah as Lee Yeon Jae did a fantastic job - totally bought her being on the edge.

If you enjoy these genres, this drama should be on your short list!

Leia Mais

Do you like TV show cliches that were already outdated in the 1970s?  Do you like idiot plotting?  Do you think it's plausible that a 100lb woman could beat up 8 gangsters at once with her bare hands?  If you do, then maybe this is the right show for you.

There are a lot of good actors in this cast and they tried their hardest, but the writers gave them so little to work with.  Every character acts like a complete moron.  Every time someone is supposed to their job, whether it's a police interrogation or a lawyer speaking in court, they do the opposite of what a professional would do in real life.  The plot moves at a fast pace with lots of twists, but they're all really dumb twists.  If you want a show like this, watch Bride of the Century instead.  It has a plot that twists just as often, but each time it's smart and makes sense.

Leia Mais

Story:
It's a good watch, but the pacing was a bit weird for me. The amount of time skips made it a bit rushed feeling even though the romance had good pacing. There were some characters I found did not add much to the plot and were added in only for more romantic plots (ex: Gai Lan) and they did not interest me at all. I wanted to skip their scenes most of the time, what kept me watching the drama was the chemistry between Diliraba and Zhang Bin Bin. Although in our modern time, the romance would not be well received due to the mistreatment of Gong Sun Li, it should be kept in mind that in their time, the king does whatever he wants LOL. When adding his past, you can kind of empathize with him. Personally, I liked the progression of the romance between the two. The characters are all very flawed, and sometimes although human, makes you want to strangle the person for their stupidity. Some poorly written characters aside, the story itself was pretty good, although the ending left me feeling a bit empty. Characters are very one dimensional for a 48 episode drama.

Cast/Acting:
Love the cast, but felt like the acting could have been better. I have high expectations of Diliraba and Zhang Bin Bin. They did well, especially ZBB, but there were moments where the emotions were not as well received on my end. There were scenes however, that damn, ZBB delivered so well I had to rewatch some parts due to feeling the intense emotions and not on what was being said. Major props to the actors of Han Shen and Li Zhong. They did great in their character portrayal and you can really feel their love/loyalty towards Sun Li and the King. As for Jing Ke, I've watched the actor in other dramas and he was pretty great in them, so I will chalk it up to poor writing of his character. He did well for what he was given, but all he was able to show was self pity most of the time, not much to show his acting abilities. I think the rest of the supporting casts did great, from the kings mother to the evil eunuch! The only one that bugged me was the actress for Gai Lan. Something about her acting made it seem forced and unnatural, but she wasn't horrible.

Music:
Standard sad OSTs that sound nice. Will be on my chinese OST playlist but isn't anything groundbreaking.

Rewatch Value:
I will most likely just watch the romance between Ying Zheng and Sun Li due to Jing Ke and Gai Lan being very boring.

Overall:
Keep in mind that the characters are based off of real people, but it is not very accurate in portrayal. Jing Ke 90% of the time was in a mode of self pity and Ying Zheng was not as ruthless compared to in real life. Not recommended to watch this if you want to learn about the history of the characters. They were changed to put more emphasis on the romance. However, if you put that aside, the romance was great between Sun Li and King Ying Zheng. The ending left me feeling a bit empty as it did not show much, wished we could have seen more of little Tian Ming.

Leia Mais

Story

Heo Im (Kim Nam-Gil) is a very famous acupuncturist doctor who worked in one of Joseon's superintendents, caring for the most needy people. It turns out that at the same time, he was accumulating a lot of wealth going to treat senior officials at night.

The opportunity Heo Im so much hoped emerged: he was cast to treat the King's disease, and completing the treatment, he could finally win the position of a royal doctor.

At the beginning of the journey to palace, he was surprised by a desperate father with his very sick daughter in the lap and decided to leave them waiting, giving priority to the treatment of the king.  It occurs that before starting with acupuncture, Dr. Heo's hand began to tremble and he wasn't able to apply even the first needle. The incident was considered an insult to the King and he had to flee the palace before being imprisoned. But the officers chased him and cornered him on a bridge. After receiving an arrow, Dr. Heo fell into the river and traveled in time.

~

Live Up To Your Name, Dr. Heo ... I started to watch without many expectations and I was completely stunned by the script! It is simply amazing and very well written. No flaws, the story flowed very well and was a phenomenal experience. It's from another level. It isn't a simple time travel drama.

The drama is a mix of medical, historical and romantic comedy genres with a more adult twist. The exchange of environments (Joseon / Seoul) is fantastic and very well made and occurs at the most opportune moments. They also succeeded in highlighting the change in medicine between the two centuries, focusing, for example, on equipment such as the needle, herbs, then scalpel, medicines and others.

Oh yeah, the story brings up several other historical points and characters that were important to medicine. The history pass in the time when the Japanese invaded South Korea. Let me cite an example: Dr. Heo Jun (Uhm Hyo Sup) was actually one of the best royal doctor during the King Seonjo Dynasty in Joseon and constantly appears in the drama , bringing brilliant lessons; So we still take a "bath" of historical knowledge.

Acting/Cast

It's even funny because, at the beginning of the drama, I watched two completely flawed protagonists. Dr. Heo had been torn apart by the injustices of the world and could no longer be considered a doctor, for his values had been lost in the arduous path that life was in Joseon. Choi Yeon-Kyung decided to be a doctor after losing her parents and resent her grandfather, she became apathetic (apathy - lack of passion), a little arrogant and did not sympathize with her patients.

The evolution of the characters is the big point of the plot! They with their own faults help each other, correct and grow in an impressive way. And you know what else? The story unfolds at a perfect and exciting pace.

I can say that I followed Dr. Heo's path and that today I am his great fan. That I understood your feelings, your inner conflicts, your responsibilities and your despair. And this is all merit of the brilliant performance of Kim Nam Gil.

The secondary characters are so charismatic and I've been falling in love with them little by little. Everyone has some influence on the plot and their presences have made the story even more unique.

Music

The OST is beautiful and exciting.

Rewatch Value

Yes, this drama has a flaw: it's over. Oh really! I'm missing this drama, I didn't want it to come to an end so quickly.

And the romance? The romance is beautiful! Perfect! The protagonists have a lot of chemistry! Really! And as the Japanese samurai said there in episode 16 ... They look beautiful together!

So if I could honestly say to you guys not to miss a drama that was broadcast in 2017 I would say that's the one. I know a lot of people don't know and didn't follow and that is why I need your help so that this review reaches the hearts of our chingus!

It's a drama to get involved, get excited, have fun and that's exactly what we're looking for!

~ Sorry for my English.

Leia Mais

I really, really enjoyed this show, and wish it had been a full length drama instead of only 8 episodes. I think they really could have fleshed this story out wonderfully in 16 episodes. The shortened storyline caused some questions to be unanswered, but not annoyingly so. As has been mentioned already, it definitely had a Reply series feel to it. The nostalgia of friendships and first loves and that all-important timing. The romances are very innocent.

I enjoyed all the characters, and maybe only wish that Jung Her wasn't quite so prickly with Hye Joo (in the beginning) and Dong Moon. The weakest of the main characters, for me, was the actor playing Son Jin. He was a little flat for me, but otherwise, the cast was spot on.

The music was exceptional. There were several songs that were popular in the U.S. during that time period as well as some lovely Korean songs. The music really did a lot to add to the feel of the show.

I would rewatch this again without hesitation.

Leia Mais

Hands down one of my favorite dramas.  Bae Doona first came on my radar  while watching Sense8 (an amazing show, highly, highly recommend). She definitely didn't disappoint in this role either. The cast is amazing, and Cho  Seungwoo and Bae Doona have an amazing chemistry together.  
Multiple  plot twists, most of them completely unexpected. kept me on the edge of  my seat. Probably one of the dramas I've watched quickest, just because  every episode made me want to watch more.  Wasn't my usual cup of tea,  as I'm very much a romantic comedy, happy-go-lucky, cliché drama kinda person. However, wasn't cliché at all, and was very well written, and acted.

Leia Mais

Even though people either enjoyed or hated this series, I thought it was a decent series. Missing Nine wasn't the best nor the worst to watch and just to watch in your spare time to spend some time.

The story was a bit blunt. I especially liked the first part in which most of the footage took place on that deserted island, however back in mainland Korea, they stretched it too much in my opinion to finish that total of 16 episodes. However the acting of the actors was quite good to outstanding with some nice OST attached to it.

And what happened to Park Chan Yul as Lee Yul? It felt like he was completely forgotten until that last reference in episode 16, which was a bit disappointing to me.

Leia Mais

Ever since I finished the drama School 2017, I really wanted to get into watching all of the earlier versions. I started with this one.

School series in particular have this specific way to delve deeply into the problems of South Korean students. Who Are You: School 2015 was based on bullying and common family problems. Also, this version offered a lot of mystery elements which I really enjoyed. Sometimes it felt like you were reading a crime novel!
The storyline was quite hard to follow, especially in the first episode, but the eventually everything started to fall into place. I get why a lot of people like to be harsh critics of School 2015 (probably the second lead syndrome that everyone has gone through). Yes yes, there were so beautiful moments portrayed by the skillful actors, whom I already recognize from the previous drama that they've starred in. Some characters in particular made me mad and sappy, happy and sentimental. My emotions were all over the place and I guess it's supposed to be the main objective of the drama.
The OST was touching and enjoyed as well. Can't help but replay all of the songs after watching it!

If you're into school themed dramas that deal with teen problems and first love, this is the drama for you! The storyline is gripping, the actors are superb and the music will definitely enchant you!

Leia Mais

It was nice to see the whole gang again. And to hear the OP song, so cute! It was like a "waa, how nostalgic" feeling, which may be ridiculous because I finished this dorama just  about half year ago. And I also was thinking, throughout the 1 hour and a  half, how lucky those two Johnnys are! Because Ishihara Satomi and Kimura Yoshino are  not only beautiful, but very charismatic and so lady-like! I love  Satomi in this role, her laugh is so contagious. And all her outfit were  excellent (ok, except for that one she wears when she is moving out...  it was kind of ridiculous).

What I loved about the dorama was how  Konno-san worked as proofreader and how she inspired the other people  in her office. Fortunately, since she is now working in Lassy, we still  get to enjoy the fun of proofreading. But on the other hand, it was more  about Konno working for Lassy and being stressed-out about it and how  she is again herself once she proofreads. Like Tako said " your dream  work may not be your vocation". Too bad Tako had so few scenes, because  he was a good character.

Other thing that I didn't like in the  dorama, and still didn't like in this SP, is Yukito. Very bland  character. Konno-san deserved a more lively guy, a guy with stronger  personality. Like Tako :(

While I found the whole SP nice but a bit MEH, I loved the ending. Now I want a 2nd season ^_^ (this time about Konno-sa falling in love with another guy that isn't Yukito)

Leia Mais