Reviews

This drama is about five women who start living in the 22nd floor of building called Ode to Joy. It is about their lives and challenges in work and loves, but it is mainly about their growth as individuals and in finding a save haven in each other's company.

For the most part, the drama is easy to watch and the episodes go by fast. Good pacing with no time is wasted since there is a lot to tell in the given time. There are some stories that outshine others, but the story still gave a fair amount of screen time to all the characters. The music that accompanies it is excellent. The main theme song, sung by our main heroines, is perfect in portraying what this drama is all about, women of this era. The other theme song that caught my attention was Cinderella by Jiang Xin (Fan Sheng Mei) had really great lyrics that describes the hardships and hopes of women our generation.

If I were to look at the stories individually, I wouldn't call them original in anyway. Not only that, you can say they aren't that realistic either. What makes this drama outstanding and memorable in my eyes isn't the over story, isn't the result where our girls get to, but the characters, the journey they take individually and together. It makes their world feels real and complete. Every new character we meet feels that he or she is playing their main character in their own world. While watching each episode, I found myself having so much to say about each and every character. Everything they did made sense in their mindset. Everything they say had a reason behind it. And the more we discover about the characters, the more the picture feels complete and everything starts making better sense.

Honestly I could write an essay on each character in the story. None of the characters are perfect, each characters had good and bad point. But you know what the genius is in the end? At the end of the drama, we still have the same people, with the same positive and negative side, yet they felt more at peace and more satisfied with themselves than when we first them. There was definitely changes and development throughout the drama, but it is very subtle and didn't require any of them to change their personality.

While characters individually were all written well, and the relationship between the girls was great and felt the most real and genuine, when it came to the love relationships, the chemistry wasn't all there, and many times it felt awkward seeing the characters together. Somehow when they went in dates it felt everyone was being pretentious. At times that suited the characters, but other times it felt out of place. It didn't bother me much though, since the main theme of the story was the relationship between the girls, and that felt the most genuine with the most sizzling chemistry XD

The one thing that annoyed me most is the narration. First of all I just don't like the narrator's voice. And second, it's a wasted effort. Truth is the cast is all very capable, and were great at expressing their thoughts and turmoil through their facial expression. NONE of them needed someone to tell us what they were thinking. It really annoyed me in the beginning, then I just tried to ignore it.

Before finishing the drama, when I heard there would be a 2nd season I got worried the story would drag. However this isn't the case anymore. While the drama ended in a good place and I feel completely satisfied, there is a lot of potential for a second season and a lot more stories to tell. For that reason I can't wait for it. I already miss those girls!

Leia Mais

Very solid drama that covers several genres. You have love relationship between Dal Mo and In Ha who are technically adopted uncle and niece but the former had feelings for her since young. But at the root is the death of Dal Mo's father which separated Dal Mo and his brother and became a family with In Ha. So theres the mystery of uncovering the truth. And then theres the growth of our leads as reporters and learning what responsibility comes with this line of work.

What works well with this drama is a good cast. No one single actor carries the weight of the show. All the main and supporting cast were elemental is bringing the story to life. Jong Suk and Shin Hye are very suited for their roles and most importantly they have good chemistry. In fact Shin Hye was very natural starring opposite Jong suk. Her best so far and they also haf better kiss scenes compared to her previous costars. They were cute and adorkable. Big props for the writing on In Ha's character. Her Pinocchio trait means that she couldn't lie to Dal mo or even herself. If she did her hiccups would give her away. I was pleasantly surprise when she calmly and maturely stated her feelings. Even Dal mo did not see that coming. I like how the script was consistent that in spite of the past or working for rival broadcast stations, In ha's mum's role in Dal mo's childhood tragedy, In ha always prioritise him first. Their relationship although the young love type was steadfast and beautiful in its honesty. Back to the cast, they were great actors all round from Lee pil mo as the sunbae in reporting to Gyun Sang as Dal mo's brother to Young Kwang as Seo Bum Jo who also had interest in In ha. Bum Jo's character grows on you. He had one of the greatest growth in character and was never selfish in his love (or like?) for In Ha. The baddies which are the mothers were really good in their roles too. And i love grandpa and papa In ha who provided all the homey love to balance the negativity

My qualms with the drama, perhaps a matter of personal taste it wasnt engaging enough sometimes. I did not marathon it even though the episodes were available. I watched a few episodes , on hold and came back a few days later. So clearly something is missing for me. Theres no big bones to pick or faults with the drama. Perhaps the pace and writing wasnt exactly suited to my style but i must mention i appreciate the light shed on world of reporting and broadcast. It was an eye opener and if you are a fan of Shin Hye this is her best work so far. Definitely showed improvement in refining her acting. I also think Jong Suk seems smitten and attracted to Shin Hye in real life.He was that transparent at times. (watch behind the scenes of their final shot in wedding attire and you will know what i mean)

Leia Mais

Loved this drama. It felt like this drama suffered from multiple personality disorders. One minute it leaves you laughing, another you are sad, next you're angry, crying, then laughing again. Enjoyed it so much and all the actors did a great job. didn't get a picture perfect ending but I still think it was a good ending. Great story and great connections how the story and the main people that died all related to each other. If I wrote my review sooner I would have more to say but I forgot to, so weeks later so I'm going to keep my review simple and say watch this you will enjoy it.

Leia Mais

Originally, I had this at an 8.5 rating, but after watching the last few episodes, it just didn't deserve the .5 anymore. I was really enjoying it up until around the 10th or 11th episode: it was funny, cute, lighthearted, and all around enjoyable. We had some fun loving characters with their equally, if not better, loving families. Then a bunch of random things that happened that didn't need to happen happened... which threw it off track. Then came constant crying and constant wrist grabbing and constant, "i like you's" thrown back and forth until i didn't want to hear it anymore. Characters I once loved became annoying, and everything turned into a hot mess. BUT i was attached to the characters, so I still ended up finishing it. At the end of the day, I stopped caring about who she ended up with, and would've preferred if she didn't end up with anyone.

Leia Mais

A story line that keeps you at your toes at the end of almost every episode, this is an action packed thriller that I cannot believed I missed during its airing. I admit I first started watching this drama for Park Hae Jin but I left this drama having a greater appreciation for not just him but the entire main cast and their amazing chemistry. This is a drama where all the cast members shine ---- each have a meaty backstory that reminds you these characters are not actors playing stereotypical roles but three dimensional people each with their own agenda however flawed it may be. Like the title suggests, this is a story about "bad" guys, people who walk a tight line between law and crime. I like how the story explores the boundary between what is right and wrong through its characters and questions whether they are truly "bad" as society condemns them to be.

Acting here is phenomenal especially Kim Sang Joong who plays Oh Goo Tak, a morally ambiguous cop who would do just about anything to avenge his daughter.

Even though it has only 11 episodes (shorter than most korean dramas I've watched), the director really manages to make every scene count. The drama is not perfect but it is one of the better dramas I've seen in a very long time. Definitely give it a go if you like thriller crime stories with an amazing cast and killer bromance.

Leia Mais

I was constantly seeing posts about Descendants of the Sun and I also think Song Hye Kyo is an amazing actress so I decided to give it a try. Immediately I was hooked to watching, and ended up finishing all of the episodes in just 3 days. Overall it was definitely a good watch. The last few episodes to me were somewhat weird in the pacing and general story of what happened, so that's where the show loses points for me.

Story: The beginning of the series was definitely interesting. It was somewhat predictable, but overall still an interesting watch. The different stories that occur throughout were all again things that could be assumed and there was nothing about the show that really blew my mind. The actual ending scene was entertaining, but overall the last few episodes just felt weirdly paced and I felt more like the ending of the plot a few episodes till the end should have been the correct ending.

Characters/Casting: This is where the show gets the most points. The four main actors, specifically Song Hye Kyo and Song Joong Ki were absolutely amazing in my opinion. The chemistry between them was literally radiant and I love the humor that they each share. While I haven't watched a ton of newer K-Dramas, the relationship between the two and the way that they joked with each other seemed like a fresh type of personality for asian dramas. This obviously leans into the script, but the somewhat sarcastic and light hearted way that the two joked with each other was captivating to me.

Overall: I'm more of a fan of Chinese dramas for the most part, so it's rare for me to want to rematch K-Dramas (though I've rewatched a few). I wouldn't put this on my list of have to rewatch shows, but in a few months or a year or so, I wouldn't be opposed to rewatching.

Leia Mais

For me, I found this drama quite enjoyable, however, I don't feel that it was at its fullest potential. As far as story, I thought that this drama had a very interesting concept - focusing on the mindset of murderers. However, even with that interesting concept, I was still left with your run-of-the-mill crime/mystery scenarios. They were also pretty predictable, though weirdly enough, I felt that as each episode got more and more predictable towards the end, they also somehow simultaneously got more exciting. (Well, that's how it was for me anyway lol.) I also didn't like how the overall writing felt dumbed-down. When you have an interesting subject that dabbles into psychology, I think the last thing you should do is dumb-down the writing. Something like the mindset of a murderer is complex and I feel the writing should've reflected that.

When it came to the cast, I thought that Saito Takumi and Kubota Masataka and the characters they portrayed had great chemistry. They were honestly, the main reason I kept watching. I thought that Hideo Himura was an interesting character and was immediately intrigued by the relationship dynamics between the dark Himura and the brighter Arisugawa. Besides the leads, I thought that the rest of the supporting characters and cast were also enjoyable, minus Yamamoto Mizuki who portrayed Kijima Akemi. I felt that Yamamoto's potrayal of her would fluctuate between dull or very exaggerated and that became pretty annoying to watch. There were also a handful of lesser characters that I thought were a bit over-exaggerated by their actors as well.

Sadly, where I also thought this drama fell flat was in cinematography and editing. The amount of scenes in this drama where the actor would be placed in front of a bright window or light, so bright that the actors' faces would be washed out so you couldn't see their reactions, was annoying and happened way too frequently. That is like a filming no-no to not be able to see your actors' faces, yeah? Yes, a silhouette effect here and there can be awesome and add to a scene's tone, but if they were actually trying to go for that effect, I think they failed horribly. It just looked amateurish. As far as editing, I thought some of the scenes were edited awkwardly, most of the time I understood that they were trying to add tension to certain scenes, but most of the time, for me, it was too exaggerated which made it look amateurish and awkward at times.

Overall, despite some of the negatives that I pointed out, this drama was still enjoyable. Even if you're not really feeling the mystery elements, you'll never be bored watching this and you'll probably still stick around for the two main characters anyway. (This was supposed to be a comment, but it was so long I figured I'd just make it a review lol.)

Leia Mais

Ode to Joy

hmm.....this drama was not what i had expected , this drama might appear too real and too fictitious at the same time, sometimes i felt that the dama is fake because they were trying so hard to relate this drama to reality, or should i say, i thought the characters in it were too real to be real, yet, we should remind ourselves that no matter how good the narration was or how flawed the characters were, human psychology and personality is way too complicated for the narrator to tell us exactly what the character is feeling and in a organised manner tell us what they're thinking, perhaps this is partly what i found fake about it, the narration obviously was Omniscient which weakened the reality element in this drama, perhaps the narrator should have claimed himself to be GOD...

the script was a masterpiece, the conversations were unbelievably good, you could post screenshots of the drama non stop, 99% of what the characters said could be quoted as if your quoting some poet or writer's words (talk about reality element!!) However; sometimes i got skeptical and annoyed of the overly "smart"; conversation they had.... i said overly, not, 'very'..that would be a mistake....

you'll get to meet characters like weiwei which you could think is a fictitous character, if i hadn't had a friend like him, i would think he's not really 'real', weiwei is someone who i knew very well from the first scene i saw him, probably because i had a friend just like him, very intersting, very captivating and mystical yet narcissistic , righteous and a wiseacre although he was not competly a quack, he is just overwhelming, too overwhelming.

fan jie, Qiu Ying Ying, qiao xin felt very real, very very real, xiao xiao and DR.zhao felt real to an
extent, Andy felt too real to be true, from her success to her 'mental problem', she was portrayed as someone who is remote yet loved, she is a very likable personality yet if you would ever encounter her in real life, you would misjudge her...

why YOU should watch it??

you want to watch this show because there are REALLY hot guys in it, you don't wanna miss it!!

you'll feel joy, hate, anger, sadness, reality, yes you will feel reality and despair watching this drama, so watch it!

real and fairy-tail love stories , this drama has it all, seriously!!

you already like it !!

Leia Mais

I got to say that The descendants of the sun SLAYS!!! It is a really amazing drama!! There is a lot of action,many cute scenes,the music is just perfect and the cast is amazing! It is not a typical love story! It is a fascinating story with many unexpected things.After each episode you just wanna watch more.I really fell in love with this drama and that is why each category got a 10 from me,it deserves it.I am definitely going to rewatch this! I dont regret spending my tme watching this,I really enjoyed it ^^

YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY WATCH IT YOU WON'T REGRET IT TRUST ME :D
( By the way half scenes of this drama were filmed in Greece :'3)

Leia Mais

After some recent disappointments in the josei department (I'm looking at you, From 5 to 9), I wasn't expecting to be blown away with this. I was pleasantly surprised.

I see this drama as Hotaru no Hikari with a sprinkle of Nodame Cantabile. There's the same sort of chemistry between the leads as in both but, unlike Hotaru no Hikari, I didn't find the lead unbelieving silly but, more like Nodame, just too kind, which some people look down on or take advantage of. When you see her for the first time, you think it's probably going to be a drama going around in circles but it's actually very direct. Kyoko Fukada is so versatile you don't know what you're going to find with her; her character, though too kind for her own good, is also very honest. Let me tell you, for a drama like this, that's actually refreshing.

But what I liked the most about this drama and the main reason I'm actually writing a review is the following: this is a romantic drama with love triangles and unrequited feelings in which none of the involved ladies take it on each other. They're not resentful, not vindictive and actually talk to each other about things other than the men in question. Heck, I even liked the relationship between the lead and her co-workers, which got developed from cliches that may have been unnecessary to something more realistic and interesting. There's a lot of ladies standing up for each other in this, I don't know if that's a merit of the manga which this is based of or not but hey, I'm so grateful.

All in all, I was faced with situations in which I thought the drama was intending to go towards a cliche and there it was, doing something else (especially with Shohei Miura's character). It's not devoid of cliches, mind you, there's a stern cold-seeming male lead saving a heartwarming cutesy female lead, but there's a lot in between I found absolutely worthy of my time.

Leia Mais

I basically started watching this because a) I wanted to see a heartwarming drama, b) I saw Shirota Yu was actually in a role in which he could sing, outside of theater and c) Little Glee Monster was doing soundtrack. I have to say, I was very pleasantly surprised with this one.

As a high school drama with a team in it, it has a lot of the cliches of the genre: not enough members, conflicted coach, problems with the school, authority figure who somehow finds it personally offensive that these kids want to be happy, bullying, individual small arcs for each character. Yeah, you've probably seen all that before, especially if you're into sports dramas. But where this one goes really right is with the characters and performances.

These kids are, mostly, pretty darn good. Yoshine Kyoko carries the story along very well and, when she needs to convey emotion, she goes for it. All in all, the characters have interesting individual plots, some more than others (this is the third 2015/2016 drama in a row where I see an openly gay character and probably the one which handled it the best out of all three I've seen) and it all results in a very emotional and heartwarming story filled with songs, some of which you may recognize. There is good character development, limited by the amount of episodes, but there's a clear path from start to finish and the drama isn't shy to show hardships and emotion.

All in all, if you're into high school team dramas and want a heartwarming one with some tears in between, give this one a chance. It might make you smile in the end.

Leia Mais

I wanna start by saying I don't get why people are lashing on this minidrama for being cliche-ish. Well... it's written in the synopsis what the story is all about and if you guys don't read it beforehands, I do. Expecting a drama not to be cliché is like expecting to breathe just fine on the moon or something - all of them have a heavy load of clichés we are all tired of seeing. It isn't different with this show although I find High End Crush to be refreshing. I believe all romcom dramas could be well shrunken down to a 20-episode minidrama like this one otherwise they'll feel draggy, way too melo and boring at some point. This doesn't happen here. Rather than being frustrated yelling "Just kiss already!", I found myself anticipating what his next mistep was going to be.
Good laughs, good laughs... these are rare these days and this show provided me some. The broship going on is also wonderful and funny, you don't feel the need to know their background, there's no rude parenting interruptions or third party's. As for the acting, since this is supposed to be a comedy, the cast is allowed to run it smoothly and whatever would be considered "terrible acting" on serious dramas, is fine in this one. This is my first time watching Il Woo though and I'm completely fallen aback by his skills and charisma. (In the picture below he looks terribly like Park Shin Hye, lol - but in the drama he resembles Lee Jongsuk, I think.)
Perhaps it was the lack of melo that made me enjoy this, I don't know, but I simply loved it! I'm not biased for any of the cast members but I must admit I started this for Monsta X (and got terribly disappointed on that part but.... oh, well.) yet here I stand, in love with the drama. Lee Shieon is amazing and endearing, by the way, pay attention to him.

Leia Mais