Reviews

Overall: Ouroboros is one of those dramas that was so good but could have been so much more. The music, the cast, the directing were all top-notch but the story fell short for me.

Characters/Acting: Ryuzaki Ikuo was well written character and I loved the meta-dialogue the script had going about his moral ambiguity. Ikuta Toma really outdid himself in this role imo. And he shined in the role and that's not an easy task when you're supported by actors like Ueno Juri and Oguri Shun. Oguri Shun had Danno Tatsuya down so well, down to minute details like the way Danno wore his glasses and his enunciation. It was a beautiful, subtle performance that was a great foil to Ikuta Toma's Ryuzaki. Ueno Juri was lovely as a detective and she radiated resilience and strength, so much so that I forgot that she was Ueno Juri. The rest of the assorted crew of detectives and not detectives were wonderful (esp Chouno I need more Chouno) and I loved the interplay of relationships.

Story: I love the characters and the relationships which to me was the most important part of the story. I felt as a whole that Ouroboros was more of a character study and while it was driven by its plot, the characters and the way they reacted to the buildup of events and how their relationships were impacted was more important than the bare-bones plot. I did love the progression of how the story unfolded but I wasn't always happy with the resolutions.

Bottom LIne: Give me a whole show about Ryuzaki/Danno bromance for the love of god

Leia Mais

Before writing this review, I had to decide if I should write it with my brain or my feelings. Because my brain was really offended by this drama but there were so many squee and happy moments where my emotions were just on such a high.

Despite the irritations of this drama, all the characters and scenarios are interesting. I didn't skip anything because I needed to know what was going on, or I needed to giggle at the palace staff.
The main characters are blatantly selfish. It's kind of nice not to see the goody-goody personalities or justifiable actions that are usually portrayed in dramas. In a way, because they are so bad, it almost justifies the harsh retribution that the other characters dish them. I like this quandary. Did they deserve that or not? Am I happy to see them crushed to oblivion? What does that say about me, or the other characters who felt they needed to step in and punish wrong-doers?
There are a lot of moments of, “Wait, what, why?” The characters logic is not always the best.
I was particularly frustrated when no one would explain why to Lee Seol. They always just strong-armed her and if they would just talk to her, she would understand and go along.

Romance
I was not expecting this drama to start with the heroine trying to help the hero get his lady love. She's actually very instructional, which always amuses me. I like how well they work together. And they're quick to empathise and show compassion for the other.
From the start, he likes her and thinks she's funny. Their relationship is pretty polite which I find unusual. Of course there's the usual jabs at each other but they're laidback which I like. They even play touch each other without any dramatic music or slow motion.
They have the perfect chemistry for sexual tension.
Their love confessions and their kisses are perfect.
Towards the end, Hae Young really lays down all his cards and he has some of the most swoonworthy lines. He's so content just to be with her. Also, I've never seen so much kissing in a Kdrama. It was great.
On a side note, romantic moments out in the cold seem more romantic when you can see their breath in the freezing temperatures and they're so focused on each other. Haha.

Lee Seol
From start to finish Lee Seol is clueless, stupid, selfish, and naive.
The age gap between her and the other participants in the love square is evident. Everyone of them points out that all she does is whine and cry.
But I also didn't like seeing her without someone who would be there for her unconditionally. Everybody wanted something from her either to trick her or use her. Later on, though, some of the palace staff get behind her rather comically.
Throughout the drama, she has zilch character development. Even in moments of crisis there are no shining points. She gets pushed around and demonstrates continual lack of direction and purpose.
P.S. The actress that plays her when she's a kid is the most adorable little girl and super talented.

Hae Young
Watch the drama for this guy. He is a beautiful man. The plot might suck, the heroine might suck, everyone might suck, but his emotion and his dilemma is so compelling I had to keep watching.
Hae Young has it all together. He's not particularly snooty but he is competent without being condescending. He's also kind. And not one to let arrogance get in the way of doing the right thing. I loved seeing him get into all sorts of trouble with Lee Seol. The things he does for her...so funny.
As is typical, he teases her and torments her but he gives up pretty easy too which is great. You can see he really doesn't like to see her unhappy. Every time it seems like he's really going to cross some lines with his behaviour towards her, he does or says something that turns everything right round on its head and you can see how he truly feels about her. The way he talks to her in that gentle tone of voice...gah, so touching.
He walks a fine line throughout the drama, struggling with what he wants, what he thinks he wants and what he thinks is best for Seol even though it makes her mad. He gets mixed up in professionalism and all. It really is his bad luck that he likes her so much.
Also, he calls Joo Sang Wook “slimy-looking” hahahaha.
Towards the end, Hae Young's playful side comes out and he's so damn adorable.

Second Female Lead
Even though she has some rights in the way she treats Lee Seol, she has a grating personality. She is dedicated to her cause and I hated her most of the time. The condescension, the control, ugh.

Male Rivalry
I live for the one liners when the two male leads are bickering.

“Stop...stop...If you want to cover her, just up to the shoulders are fine. Why are you moving higher?”
“Have you always been so talkative?”

Leia Mais

This is what I call a sleeper- one that nobody expects it to be as pleasant as it turned out to be. The acting is strong overall with several decent performances and this is impressive in my opinion, despite being a young cast made up of fresh faces. This series may just be the break needed for some of these young actors. The story is interesting, packed with good monster-fighting action and develops at a good pace. Most unsuspecting however is how emotional the story actually is.

I am so glad this series exposed me to Elvis Han who's got this sense of charming maturity and appropriate acting chops to give a very honest performance in his Wu Xin role. But who am I kidding without the following mention: the boy's got abs !!! But the best (and also favorite) performance probably goes to Ian Wang as Commander Gu Xuan Wu. The series wouldn't be the same without him - he is as loyal as a friend as he is obnoxious and grandiose, a comedic relief and above all a refreshing contrast to our main male lead Wu Xin. He dominates the screen with his humor and charisma and his expressions are such a treat to watch.

I did not expect myself to like it as much as I did, since track record for this kind of genre in the past seemed more about eye candy than anything substantial. If that's what you were thinking then be prepared to be proven wrong and taken in for a pleasant surprise . Although categorized as action/thriller and for some - horror, I really enjoy the humor in this. It is smartly done and appropriate. Where they managed to insert humor in the most unlikely or random of places is something audiences do not expect but will thoroughly enjoy.

The soundtrack is great, I particularly love 'The Longest Journey' by Li Qi and the beauty of its lyrics.

Overall I am glad I gave this a chance (the fact that it's a short 20 ep series sold me on it to be honest) and here I am now hoping for a sequel. "Don't judge a book by its cover" is best way to describe this series - get ready to be taken in for a surprisingly eventful and emotional journey, you will not be disappointed. I can promise you that you will be getting more out of it than you ever expected .

Leia Mais

Milky Way and Secret Love are two totally different stories in two totally different styles, as well as unrelated to each other, so I do separate short reviews for each one! :)

Milky Way is set out with pictures drawn around it, I shall to call this 'manga format', the pictures move make words, etc. It's a cute quirky style that fits with the plot. The two episodes show the point of view of the two main characters, I thought this was cool and interesting! Overall it's a cute tidbit to watch, because it's very light and fluffy. So cute!! :3

Secret Love is set in more of the classic drama format. To be honest, the plot line for this would probably make a nice drama if extended.. don't misinterpret me, it's still cute to watch as a short two episode series, it just could of been even better if there was more context etc! Instead of cute and adorable this half of the series could be described as sweet. Maybe I'm just a sucker for pop stars falling in love with normal girls :3

Both were nice to watch, both had cute plots. If I was to say one was better, it would have to be Milky Way. However the ending for Secret Love made me giggle - watch it and find out why, it'll only take half an hour of your time :)

Leia Mais

First review in a long while, for the first Thai drama I've ever completed. I didn't even remember why I decided to watch this in the first place. I've never came in contact with Thai drama, except for a few cuts of Full House (Thai). But it ended up raising my radar for Thai dramas.

Storyline: CUTE, CUTE, and CUTE. Totally adorable. I know for some people, this drama might looks stupid, unrealistic, etc. But WHO CARES? This drama is supposed to be a no-brainer anyway. I really enjoys the chemistry and interaction between Joo & Seua. Oh the puppy love! It gives me butterfly every now and then. And... No spoiler, but just so you know, the ending might be even better than you imagine. LOL.

Actors: Even though the impression left by Joo's character is a little less than I've predicted, but others' character left a pretty deep impression for me, especially, Seua's character. He looks so damn fine & natural, it looks like he's acting as himself. And for some time, I was totally infatuated with Push, until I come to my sense. But that is how good his acting is for me. And for Bee's character, he's such a sweetheart! Would like to have a friend like him for myself.

Overall, if you're looking for a no-brainer, puppy love, all-rainbows-and-unicorn kind of drama, you might want to consider watching this one. The chemistry is perfect, the actors are outstanding, the storyline is light and fluffy. Definitely a must-watch for romance-lover out there.

Leia Mais

This is a very strange rom com, but in a good way. In many ways it's a love triangle between a shy doormat, a rebellious man-crazy ghost, and a very vain chef. It's also a comedy about a team of chefs in a restaurant (Think "Pasta"). It's also a mystery thriller, which keeps it engaging when the love story starts to follow too closely to the K Drama standard plot. The plot may be a little hard to follow in the beginning, since there are so many characters, but it eventually all comes together. The story also switches from comedy, to romance, to thriller, refusing to stick to one style completely. It's definitely an ambitious plot, but I think Oh My Ghostess succeeds.

The cast is outstanding, and the reason why the complicated story works so well. Park Bo Young is the most impressive in a lot of ways. She switches from timid to bold believably, which is what makes the love triangle work. She has great chemistry with Jo Jung Suk, which is a huge plus, although I was often annoyed by Seon Woo. The scenes when she aggressively propositions him are hilarious, and a nice change from how these romances usually develop. Those scenes are what convinced me to keep watching.

Many of the supporting cast members are as engaging as the main characters. The bromantical team of Chefs, Bing Go the ghost hunter, Sun Ae's father, Seon Woo's mom, Im Joo Hwan's smile... Still, Kim Seul Gi is my favorite of the main cast. I was rooting for her from the beginning, and she is the show's star in my opinion. She made me laugh out loud, and cry buckets, and I looked forward to her scenes the most.

I had to give this show a high rewatch score, because I am already watching it again. Since I know the story now, there are moments in the beginning that I see differently, and it's making me like the drama even more (Especially the first episode). I became so invested in the characters that I enjoy watching the story again from that perspective.

Overall this drama was a happy surprise. It had elements of two dramas I love ("Pasta" and "Master's Sun") while still being original enough to stand on it's own. There are definitely predictable moments, and filler comedy moments, lots of coincidences, and some over used K Drama standards towards the end, but I was still never bored. The thriller element wasn't the strongest storyline, but it was still good, and certainly entertaining. I was happy with how it all ended too, which is important when you have so many characters that you suddenly care about. I definitely recommend watching this one with an open mind. You may not be into it in the beginning, but if you're like me, you soon won't be able to stop watching it, as if you're... wait for it... possessed.

Leia Mais

The Lover is a controversial drama about living together despite not being married. In South Korea its very looked down upon and often seen as dirty. This drama exaggerate the stereotypes of couples living together in a funny sexual way but also try to show other sides of the couples story on a more serious note.

As many knows they also try to tackle gay relationships from theirs and those around them point of view.
Since the drama is only 12 episodes and try to handle so many issues it will mostly just be fast deep in a few issues and then a new one will begin. no couple is a like. And for a K-Drama I think the characters personality was very thought through since there was no sudden changes or writers changing the personalty depending on the situation, which I'm used to in Korean dramas.

I loved the acting everyone seemed so natural in their role, especially the older couple.
Sure the exaggeration could be a bit much at times, I still love this drama and would like to rewatch it with a glass of Soju.

Hope the review was some what helpful and that you'll start watching The Lover.

Leia Mais

Nobunaga’s Concerto isn’t your ordinary time travel drama where the main character is looking for a way to get back home but instead he decides to live accordingly to the time he was thrown into and do his best.

When I watched this drama, I had a mindset that this was going to be a series full of mishaps, comedy and light mood scenes because the main character had to pretend to be someone who was a powerful Samurai Warlord during the Warring States Period. It did somewhat meet my expectation but what surprised me was the way they incorporated the serious into the funny. The mood tones of this drama was very much well mixed. If you parallel it alongside the real Japanese History before and during the Tensho Era, it does makes sense and goes accordingly to history, only it was elaborated in a very fictional way thus the comedy blends in. I also learned that this drama was also a manga adaptation, I haven’t read the manga yet but I did enjoy this live action.

Oguri Shun as Saburo/Oda Nobunaga was funny, annoying and at the same time full of wisdom when he sets his mind into it. This was another drama than Shun nailed since he had to act 2 different characters at once. It would have been hard for an average actor to internalize that but watching him here, it was like a breeze turning from one klutzy idiot to being a ruthless samurai.

The other characters I liked are:

Shibasaki Kou as Kicho, she’s the wife of Nobunaga, a very fierce woman who tries to hide her affection from her husband. Her acting complements well with Shun and they definitely have this chemistry going on, regardless if Shun is acting as the fake Nobunaga or the real one.

Mukai Osamu as Tsuneoki Ikeda, Nobunaga’s right hand man. Aside from being good looking all throughout this series (yes, he is good looking so please do not contradict my feelings for the guy, he’s been a long time crush now since Nodame Cantabile *fan girl mode on!*) he had a good role portrayal. I still can’t believe he was duped by the Saburo and he was able to unknowingly assist the guy into being the legit Nobunaga he can be. I liked Tsuneoki’s personality where he follows head in line with his heart and does things smartly and not being rash about his decisions.

Fukiji Naohito as Hanbee Takenaka, this guy! I’m really amazed that the drama is supported by veteran actors like Fujiki. So him, being casted in the later episodes is a bonus for me. I like his role as a tactician and how he worked with Saburo along the way due to his dreams of peace and unity for the whole of Japan.

Issei Takahashi as Nagamasa Azai, his character is someone I could not hate despite the fact that he and Nobunaga are fighting each other's clans. His acting style and the way he shows his emotions in this drama was something that was really heartfelt. This gave way to a special spot for Takahashi in my own heart.

Yamada Takayuki as Denjiro/Kinoshito Tokichiro/Toyotomi Hideyoshi, maaaaan… this guy has so many names and aliases. I loved his vengeful character and still looking forward to the things he is about to do. I will not say more anything about his role because that in itself will become a spoiler. What I would leave here though is that he was awesome in this drama.

The drama is basically re-watchable, specially the slap stick comedy scenes. It made me laugh out loud to see some of the casts who looks intense at first but becomes idiots the next second. Then there’s also the music. I really love how the Japanese industry inserts there OST into the whole series. It makes everything more colorful and sets off all kinds of feeling or mood depending on the scene.

There is still so much I want to say about this drama but I can’t really put it here due to spoilers, so if some is reading this and want to discuss or do not mind being spoiled, please do send me message. Over all, I am recommending this to those who are interested into Japanese entertainment and its history.

Leia Mais

Oh, where do I start! Finished this drama like 10 minutes ago and I'm for once entirely happy after a drama ending! Not because it was terrible, no no!
The drama itself plays out at a steady, average pace, there's not really much or major incidents pushing the drama forward aggresively as we're used to, but I really enjoyed it anyways! I did put it on hold for a few months though but that's because I had trouble with the site I was watching on and I fell out of it.
The characters are A+ in this drama! They're all very mature and respectful! No one was a true bitch in it! The characters all acted like adults should and they really understood each other. There was no hard feelings happening between the women being in love with the same man which was REALLY nice for a change! Even the "evil" mother-in-law changed and realized how she was behaving!

The ending wasn't grand and it wasn't the "fairytale-ending" some of you might want but I actually liked it better that way. It was realistic. Fairytales rarely ever occur in real life and the drama dealt with some important question (i.e parenthood and career from the females perspective). They also viewed the consequences of hesitating and not confessing or making a move on the person you have an interest in.

I hope this review was of any help, this is my first time writing one so please keep that in mind if it was a mess! I just really wanted to make a review to tell people how great the characters are in this drama!

Leia Mais

This web drama was pretty bad. Bad story, bad acting, bad everything. Poor Jo Dong Hyeok looked like he was forced under duress to be there in every episode. Nam Joo cannot act herself outoif a paper bag and her character was seriously the stupidest female character I have ever seen in a drama. How did she get her job at the FDA when she is so dumb? Also, the ending is confusing. Are they planning a season 2? Dear God I hope not.

The one and only interesting part of the whole drama is that a lot is explained about cleanliness and how to protect your food from bacteria. I at least felt I learned something despite how awful the plot was.

Leia Mais

It is definitely feel good but the lack of a villain or backstabbing female made the story a success for me. Watching women working together instead of getting into ridiculous cat fights was refreshing. I watched it when it was airing on viki and I have rewatched more than twice. Music was awesome especially the theme Dont Cry by ballad Queen Lee Hyori
A timed comment from viki that made the show even more fun "love is just like fart when forced it becomes shit"

i will probably rewatch it again, luckily I didnt read some reviews on some sites before I watched it, I would have been turned off. Its definitely cleaner than the earlier dramas in the I Need Romance series which are too graphic for my taste so I passed on those

Leia Mais

This is probably the most complete Chinese drama I've seen to date in terms of everything from acting, story, emotions, etc. The other one would be Scarlet Heart (Bu Bu Jing Xin). I think the real star of this drama is Ariel Lin who gives us the most down-to-earth and heartfelt performance and it really wouldn't be the same without her. For the guys, it will be Daniel Chan who is easily the perfect choice for his character, and just everything about the way he portrays his King of Zhou - the way he emotes his feelings, charisma and way he holds himself - gives the best performance in this drama. Warning for those interested in seeing this: Probably the worst case of Second Lead Syndrome one can ever catch. It may not be a big budget drama compared to a lot of other Chinese dramas with better sets, costumes and makeup but the development and sincerity of the characters and story- easily surpasses a lot of these bigger budget ones. It isn't all about what catches the eye but also the feelings and for that this drama is a hit for a reason. 10/10

Leia Mais