Reviews

Story: This is the 3rd series of the popular Chinese Paladin franchise that was popularised by Hu Ge. Having watched all three Chinese Paladin series, I'll just summarise by saying that they are all worth your time watching. CP5 is an entirely different story. It even has an entirely different cast. No Hu Ge. To some, this might be a disappointment, but to others, this is a breath of fresh air - an opportunity for budding actors to try and prove their worth. Did Elvis Han manage to fill Hu Ge's big shoes? To be fair, it's hard to compare since Elvis' and Hu Ge's characters in the CP franchise are quite different! I'll also go out on a limp here by saying that in CP5, we have TWO male lead characters and not one as per the past CPs. Joe Cheng who acted as the Demon Prince Long You is an equally commanding, charismatic (perhaps more charismatic) and important character in CP5 as Elvis' half-human-half-demon Yun Fan. There are times in the series where Yun Fan's story took the backseat and Long You shone through. In fact, it got me questioning if Long You's the main male lead and not Yun Fan! Long You certainly has a much more interesting story arc. I am sure there are many Long You fans out there as there are for Yun Fan! The bromance between Yun Fan and Long You is another reason for watching this series. Unlike the past two series, this series focuses more on the relationship between humans and demons. The fairies or gods hardly make an appearance (if you count the 3 brief CGI appearances of Nuwa goddess as the 'fairy' part!).

Romance-wise, I am more in favour of the Long You-Xiao Man pairing. The romance between Yun Fan and Yu Rou is pretty one-dimensional and straightforward. I am also not entirely sold on the chemistry between Yun Fan and Yu Rou. Gulnezer or Gu Li Na Zha is a pretty woman but she is not suited to this role. She's either staring blank with her large eyes or crying tears with her large eyes. Nothing more. The chemistry is lacking between her and Elvis - which was a disappointment. It got to the point that I did not feel sorry for her when it's time for her to leave the scene (ahem!). The chemistry between Ling Ying and Long You was believable; not to mention the rather hot kissing scene (those of you who'd watched it know which one I'm referring to!)... but I was somewhat glad that Long You choose Xiao Man instead. Theirs is a relationship that started with platonic friendship and slowly grew into love as they supported each other and experienced all the hardships and challenges together. There is so much possibility for the relationship to grow but unfortunately, the series had to end! And the ending is....without giving spoilers away, I can only summarise it in one word: HOPE.

Acting/Cast: Generally, acting was good but I am not impressed with Gulnezer's acting. Unfortunately, this series would have been a much better one if they replace Gulnezer. My favourite actors are those who played the bandits. They provided the much needed comedic relief in this series.

Music: The OSTs are good and appropriate.

Rewatch value: I am more biased towards Long You's story; so if I rewatch this, I will only watch the parts concerning Long You. Thankfully, there are plenty of it!

Overall: Not as amazing as CP1 & 3, but it is still worth your time watching. Interesting story that manage to capture audiences' imagination. I rate this 8.5/10.

Leia Mais

At first I was a bit reserved about this drama. I watched about 3 episodes and I was like:”What is this? Seems so boring...Should I continue it?” You might think the same,but you should continue because it’s totally worth it.

Story:

The story has it’s ups & downs, it’s good and very good points. It stirs your curiosity and sometimes makes your heart skip a beat! (for real!!) It will literally punch you with funny moments, blow some cute immature romance and then *BOOM* it will make your heart ache with some melo-drama. This whole story is like a perfect chocolate cake recipe with a little bitterness to make it better. Even though it has a lot of cliches, such as a poor girl and a rich guy’s impossible love, an angry mother who wants the best for her only son, some other girl who wants to ruin their love-story. To this mix are sprinkled some strong characters with tangled personallities and dramatic life stories which will make you fall in love with from the start!

Acting/Cast:

The acting was so good that it gave me the feeling that the whole thing was real! Espeacially at the sad scenes, they cried so naturally that it made me want to wipe their tears through the screen. Some other scenes that get my brownie points are the fighting scenes. Just pure action! Sometimes I thought that Jackie Chan might be the producer or he might show up to teach the stunt crew from Action School. (Still got hope until the end,haha.)

Music:
The OSTs of this drama perfectly matched the storyline and the emotion of some crucial moments. Even the lyrics matched what actually the characters should have said to each other, that is because sometimes music can express more than simple words can do.

Overall:
I really enjoyed watching this drama. Had a lot of fun along with the silly yet complicated love-story and also cried in anger when the character struggled and faced tough situations. No matter if it’s a book, a movie or a drama I try to understand the story, the hidden ethics behind its cover. From this drama I learned how to be polite and sometimes cry from Gil Ra Im, how to not give in even if it’s hard and be strong from Kim Joo Won, how not to forget that the future is based on past decisions from Choi Woo Young and how to be loyal to the one I love from Yoon Seul.

In conclusion,I don’t really know what the director or those who wrote the script were thinking but they did a wonderful job! No wonder it has such high rating. It’s a must watch! I promise you that you won’t regret watching it!

Leia Mais

The drama in which I discovered Lee Min Ho and man do I not regret watching this one bit, in fact I've seen it multiple times now.

The action was phenomenal and LMH played his character with such intensity and heart and PMY was a worthy sidekick to him. I really liked that she was more than capable of handling her own, that she could kick ass with the best of them and that their connection was so genuine.

This had the right blend of romance, action, suspense and drama to keep me hooked all the way through.

The only reason I can't give it 10/10 is the fact that some story lines are not as strong and the romance ends on a rather flat note that I wish a second season could have explored.

Leia Mais

I anticipate come back shows of actors who have completed their military service so I was expecting something from this show. I have read negative comments about the show because of the age gap between Yoon Shi-yoon and Kim Sae-ron but I must say that, while watching, the age gap didn't really show that much.

I'm not a fan of super loooong historical dramas but I do love them (I've only sit through all episodes of Dong Yi, others I skimmed only). My first impression is that the show is a bit of Moon Embracing the Sun and Arang mixed together.

I love the supporting characters but the one I like most is Hong-joo (the shamaness). The actress really embodied being the evil shaman and just by her stares, I can feel the hate/fear/worry/evil happiness she felt. And of course, I do love our main couple. Sometimes, I really wonder whether Kim Sae-ron is really that young to deliver an acting this much. Oh, Yoon Shi-yoon, I can stare through those eyes all day and feel all his emotions. There is real chemistry between them and I felt the love and intimacy between them despite the very limited skinship there is in the drama (Sae-ron is still a minor). I want a reunion. Soon. But maybe I can wait until Kim Sae-ron becomes an adult and they can do more than what i have seen *winks*.

Story-wise, the show really did deliver. Most of the times I feel like a certain event will likely happen but then it goes the other way. The plot didn't drag that much despite having 20 episodes though there are times that I felt, here we go again. For a historical drama with an expected tragic ending, the show satisfied me knowing that the direction of the story is logical and it didn't seem forced.

*spoiler* REACTION ON ENDING I was really sad with how the show ended, I felt the regret right there.

Leia Mais

I actually enjoyed watching Beautiful Gong Shim. This is one of the dramas you watch just to feel good. We have a cute and awkward heroine who meets our quirky and confident hero and I can just watch them being lovely to each other.
I find the show easy to watch early in its run (I was watching Mirror of the Witch and this show kind of balance it out). I love how Gong Shim and Dan Tae interacts with each other and how they live their daily lives. Somehow, the main plot of Dan Tae'skidnapping, Jun Pyo rather, was somehow the least of the important things for me in the show. So when the show focused on it during the latter part of the show, I got a little impatient on how things are going.

My ratings are what I objectively think Beautiful Gong Shim should be evaluated and not how much I enjoyed it. Overall, the show made me laugh and sad for the leads in a way I didn't expect.

P.S. I think it will take another drama or two to totally forget Nam Goong-min's role in Girl Who Sees Smells and Remember.

Leia Mais

Of course I have to start with Kim Boong Do. All of the dramas I have watched thus far have for the most part featured the same kind of male lead character. They're rich and arrogant and self-absorbed though deep down we know they are honorable good men. The whole point of these dramas is that these men learn to care for someone more than they care about themselves and become supportive, respectful and awesome though perhaps still a little arrogant. If they were in a romance novel they'd be the classic Alpha males. The lead female characters are in a position of weakness and steadily gain power and independence.

Queen In Hyun's Man doesn't follow this formula. Kim Boong Do is rich and certainly very confident and he knows how to boss people about - he's a nobleman after all - but he's also very respectful and understanding of others from the very beginning. The show further humbles him by its very nature - Kim Boong Do is thrust into a world he cannot begin to understand and in which he is basically a child and at least initially wholly dependent on Hee Jin. He is not resentful of being reliant on her but is instead deeply grateful and curious about everything. And he quickly begins to learn on his own because he is incredibly smart and clever. His cleverness is the source of many of the dramas best moments as he puzzles things out and figures out fantastical ways to outwit his enemies. The world of political scheming and treachery have also made him intuitive and able to read people - their motives and the emotions behind their words. This helps him to survive in the dangerous world he lives in and it has the dreamy side effect of making him a very thoughtful lover and friend. To top things off, he's good with words and completely genuine - there is no bluster or artifice about him and it's these character traits that draw Hee Jin in and lead to her teasing him that he is player.

One of my favorite things about him also is that he has a cheeky and adorable sense of humor. Probably my two most favorite scenes in the drama are when he whips out this humor to slyly tease Hee Jin (the car scene in episode 8 and when he admits that maybe he IS a player in episode 11). And despite all the horrible things that have happened to him in his life, he is completely open to the wonder of the new world he finds himself in. He's got an adventurous and playful spirit which responds strongly to Hee Jin's impulsiveness and "passionate" nature. He also never dis-respects her or is impatient with her even when she does some immature and annoying things. He knows why she is acting that way and wouldn't dream of de-meaning or begrudging her feelings. Sigh...... As you can tell I am seriously in love with this character and we haven't even gotten to the fact that he's a martial arts bad ass melon farmer AND a big goofy nerd. Or how quirkily and boyishly handsome he is or that he's got eyes that smile. And a super dreamy voice. Yup, I've got it real bad, lol.

And I shouldn't forget Hee Jin. While much of my love for this drama is concentrated on the character of Kim Boong Do, Hee Jin is also a well developed and interesting character and she is played to perfection by actress Yoo In Na. Seriously, a really stunning performance. I fully loved the character and she had all my loyalty even though on the surface she is not the type of character who usually earns my sympathy. She's pretty, successful, impulsive and not all that interested in learning and books. She has a wall-sized portrait of herself hanging in her apartment and she boasts that she is famous because she's so pretty. Despite all that she's incredibly loveable. She's kind-hearted and generous, transparent with her feelings, adventurous and has enough self-respect not to let herself get sucked in by her obnoxious, though very handsome and famous, ex-boyfriend. As mentioned above she does occasionally act a little immature and annoying but it is always with good and understandable intent. Her chemistry with Kim Boong Do is seriously intense.

That chemistry between the leads is what I think makes this drama truly awesome. The scenes between them sparkle and feel completely natural - like you are really watching two people fall in love. They feel so right together that I didn't even once 'ship Boong Do with his servant Yoon Wol, who has had a hard life with few advantages and has loved him unrequited for years so much so that she is the reason he can travel in time. She is the type of character I would usually root for in a romance but nope, it had to be Hee Jin. Never any doubt. Did I mention the awesomeness of the kissing? The chemistry is helped along by a really soaringly romantic original sound track.

So this is a romance, plain and simple, and it succeeds so so well in this department but it ain't no slouch in the overall plot department either. The writing of the show is really great with plenty of suspense and nuances. The overall tone of the drama is light but there are many emotional twists and turns and I will admit to tears in the last few episodes. There's some lovely parallels between the historic and modern-day story that are fun to pick apart and serve to strengthen the characterizations.

In the Joseon era, Boong Do is looking for revenge but is also trying to set things right by championing the Queen who has been bullied by one of the King's consorts and pushed into exile by corrupt political machinations in the court. In the modern day story line, Hee Jin is trying to navigate her place in Korea's new "royalty" (its drama stars) and she is being bullied by her co-stars. The two "Queens" are in very similar positions so it's not surprising that Boong Do feels the need to champion Hee Jin even as he falls in love with her. There are so many connected themes and plot points that occur early on and than pay off or re-appear in surprising and interesting ways later on. It's thoughtfully and smartly plotted down to the last minute of episode 16. Perfection, really.

And then there's the time travel which can be tricky to pull off. Boong Do's adaptation to the modern world is done really well and is a blast to watch while he at first must rely on the somewhat unreliable Hee Jin to orient him.
“When I listen to you, it seems as though the reason for everything in this world is to enable kisses. What kind of lustful world is this?” HEE!
Because he's so smart and curious, he starts to reason things out himself and this is equally fun to watch. It's clear how he uses the skills he had to develop in his much more treacherous time of origin to help him adjust relatively quickly to modern times.

The mechanism of travel is also dramatic and interesting and ends up playing a major part in the story on several different levels. The talisman is powerful but also unpredictable and fragile. The show does not shy away from investigating the ramifications of messing around with time but it is also not a slave to it. It's the perfect mix. There is some controversy about the resolution at the end but I for one thought it made perfect sense (as long as we're accepting the concept of magic to begin with:) and was a lovely and well-prepared ending.

FINAL VERDICT: This is a well-written and plotted romantic-comedy-fantasy that is bound to give your heart some flutters with the chemistry of its lead couple and the well chosen actors that play them. Watch it. Now. You won't be sorry. Unless you hate romance.

Leia Mais

Here’s the thing; I was really looking forward to this drama, and for a while it met my expectations. But then it just started dragging and getting annoying and now that it’s over, I’m just disappointed.

I had been wanting to watch this drama for so long because the plot really interested me. I love the forced living situations. But it wasn’t on my netflix and for the longest time nobody was uploading it. I ended up building up a lot of personal hype and was very excited when the streaming websites started uploading it.

I liked it at first. It had a lot of the classic cliches. Although it wasn’t a very unique story, it had a really cute vibe.

But then it started to drag. They overused the same conflict and it just got annoying. I started getting agitated with everyone and everything.

At first I thought that Uehara wasn’t like bullying her, he was very closed off and guarded. But the more I watched the more I realized I was wrong. 90% of the time he was cold and distant and rude and it got worse after they started dating. Not to mention the actor wasn’t that good so Uehara was expressionless throughout the drama.

I didn’t like Daichi. At all. Part of the reason was because he looks like my friend’s asshole ex and the feelings were transferring over, but then he started disregarding all of Nao’s feelings and was incredibly hypocritical about the living together situation and ugh everything about him bugged the crap out of me.

In these dramas, I always have a problem with the lack of trust. She always second guessed Uehara, like she never believed in his feelings from the beginning.

Nao was so frivolous about Uehara and he got really cold towards her. They had terrible communication. This was always one of the biggest problems I have with the ItaKiss stories.

The writers kept repeating the lack of trust and terrible communication causing issues between Nao and Uehara and it got so tiring. It was the same thing over and over again, and Nao got so whiny and annoying and obsessive. It wasn't a healthy relationship.

Like for a long time it was so cute, and when the two of them did have moments together they were really sweet. Like I thought the ending was really cute. But overall, the characters were annoying and the acting wasn’t great. Issei was the best part of the drama, give me Kentaro in a lead please.

Leia Mais

I actually wasn't going to watch it at first because the front cover made it seem like it was going to be a romance, but it wasn't. It actually showed me to a new kpop group Astro that I'm now obsessed with. The episodes are short which was kind of a bummer, but in such a short time it actually worked.

For the story I would say it was okay. It was one of those shows that you basically knew what was gonna happen in the end so nothing was surprising yet since the episodes are short you quickly want to go to the next episode.

The music was good and the acting was good.

I would watch it again since it's short and because Astro is in it.

Leia Mais

I should have enjoyed it more- that is the thing I keep telling myself, because a) it has excellent ratings and b) psychological dramas is my thing. That is why I picked this drama back up even though when I started watching it the first time, I dropped it after 2 episodes. I finished it and I am glad I did, but I still don't get the hype.

The start is a mess. Sure I get that they need time to built the scene, but they spent a lot of time on unnecesary things and it's not only the start that is like that, the whole drama seemed streched out. Things were always happening but they happened very slowly. Or maybe I just wasn't interested..

I had very mixed feelings about our main heroine. I disliked her at first, then she kind of grew on me, but that wasn't a nice experience like in most cases.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it. Especially the psychological aspects of it. I was pleasantly surprised that all the supporting characters got screen time which rarely happens in dramas and that is a major plus.

The reason why I didn't enjoy this drama as much as I would have liked to is probably because of personal taste and just the fact that when I see a good rated drama I just can't help myself to nitpick every little flaw.

If you are not a weird person like me and you want a good feels trip go ahead and watch this drama!

Leia Mais

I enjoyed this romantic comedy quite a bit. It wasn't perfect by any stretch, but I enjoyed it and was entertained despite the flaws. They gave the characters some good motivations for their actions with the backstories, so you could at least understand what was driving them.
There are a few things I think that I could be critical of, and they mostly revolve around the side characters. The first thing that I wasn't happy about is that I felt like the 2nd male lead, Yeo Reum, was led on for far too long before being cut loose. They also didn't follow through with his back-story. I would have liked to have seen less of him overall. The 2nd thing I felt was stepping on the lines of good taste was Hyeon Hee dating Jang Mi's ex-boyfriend. She knew what Hoon Dong put her friend through, and yet she still went after him and manipulated him into a relationship with her. I didn't understand the motives for Se-Ah's character at all either. The side characters were just not well done in this show compared to the leads.
I enjoyed the antics of Jang Mi and Gi Tae while keeping the secret of their fake relationship, but I also thought that, in the end, it wasn't a very nice thing to do to their parents. These two were a roller coaster couple, and kept you on your toes. I enjoyed the little teasers at the beginning of each episode that showed you one thing, but only showed the full aspect of the scene towards the end of the show. It was enough to hook you good and proper. Jang Mi was my favorite character throughout the show and the glue that held the others together.
I thought the family characters were well-done. They were all very flawed in realistic ways, and were the catalyst for the way the leads behaved and their thought processes.

The music was enjoyable and fit the scenes.

I don't think I would re-watch this, but I am glad I gave it a shot and finished it. I was entertained and enjoyed it for what it was.

Leia Mais

I could just cry. This show started out with SO much potential. It started off cute and funny with adorable leads that won my heart. Then about half way through, I started to worry. This is a 20 episode show and the story was starting to flounder. Surely, they will save it and all will be well - I believed this. And those leads - gosh, they are cute! Nearing the end, and I am really starting to get annoyed with Writer-nim. What the heck were you thinking Story-Writer??? And then the last episode comes, and I am so sadly disappointed in this show. If they had cut out most of the intense, glaring, staring contests maybe they could have written a tighter story. It's almost like the writer had so many ideas and tried to shove them all in to the show whether they fit or not. There were so many loose ends and "what the heck" moments that I could spend an hour listing them all.

I cannot, in good consciousness, recommend this show to anyone. I really wanted to. I was smitten with Nam Goong Min and Min Ah - those leads were the bright spot in the pile of poo this story became. (And incidentally, this is the first time I've seen either of them act. I've not seen NGM do his villainous roles, but I think comedy suits him.) The story is named after Gong Shim. However, the title character doesn't seem to be the focus of the show in the back half at all. And her sister, who is on the cover as a "main lead" - is relegated to an afterthought. Her story goes NOWHERE. Joon Soo, the other main lead, was likable, but mostly boring. The writers essentially did nothing with his character. The focus of the show ended up with Ahn Dan Tae. They described one story to us, and we got something completely different.

The ending was rushed and the last episode was completely and totally random and thrown together. I felt like they wanted to tie up a lot of loose ends, but they did not even do a good job of that. They had TWENTY episodes to finish this story. There was NO good reason that the ending should have been rushed. I feel sorry for the actors that were involved in this story. I would absolutely watch these actors do another show, and so wish that THIS story had been executed properly.

The Good:
The cast
The music
The comedic moments
The cuteness of the couple

The Bad:
The loose ends
The bait and switch story
The length
The unsatisfactory ending (happy ending, but not done correctly)

The Ugly:
Poorly executed storyline (throw it at the wall and see what sticks)
Characters backburnered and forgotten
Unending glares and stare-downs
What the Heck moments galore

I originally intended to give this drama a score of 7 because I WAS entertained and enjoyed ADT and GS so much. As my husband and I discussed it this morning, my rating dropped to a 6.5, and then by the end of our conversation I had to conclude that (as much as I hated to do it) that this story really only deserves, at best, a 5.5. Sorry show! I wanted to love you!

Leia Mais