Reviews

Get this. I came to this drama after finishing with City Hunter which for some obscure reason I did not finish watching back when it was airing in 2011. And I have rated City Hunter 7.5 stars. So what makes me me rate a big budget blockbuster hit drama like City Hunter which has spawned remakes in other countries lower than a measly slice of life fare starring almost no young faces or A-listers?

Simple. The Story. If that title makes you think of a frothy rom com in which all conflicts will be easily resolved by the end to offer up only kisses and laughter, you are sorely mistaken. This is not a rom com. At all. It features 6 main characters, four of whom are already in the sunset of life, trying to find ways to make the remainder of their lives meaningful when they are mostly invisible and unimportant in the eyes of the people around them. So what is this show about then? It is about the capacity for love, it is about the courage to stay true to that love even when situations turn hostile. It is also about reclaiming one's dignity in an age when the world around you has mostly written you off as an unproductive member of society. It is about the heart-wrenching sacrifices parents make for their children to be able to lead peaceful and happy lives. Honestly, I have watched very few slice of life K dramas to make a comparative judgment, but this is easily one of the best ones I have watched in the genre since the last few episodes had me reaching for the tissue box more than once.

The halbaes and the halmaes steal the show here and Lee Soon Jae as the curmudgeonly, ill-tempered Gim Man Seok is at his best (when is he not?). I came to this drama for very shallow reasons...mainly to watch the SS501 maknae Kim Hyung Jun romance a lady again and hopefully get the girl this time (he does!!) but I stayed for the drama's real merits and its wonderful life-affirming message of the importance of the rights of the elderly. The drama exposes how cruelly complicit a society is in mistreating its older citizens and establishes how their trials and tribulations are every bit as worthy of being the core thematic essence in a drama as the romantic affairs and existential crises of the young.

Of course, the acting is not always at par. And much of the editing seem a little rough around the edges. For instance, the actress who plays an Alzheimer's patient often overacts while some of Gim Yeon Ah and Jeong Min Chae's co-workers are a bit OTT. But overall, the cast is more or less bearable.

It is sad that dramas like this go under the radar and candyflossy, high-budgeted dramas with little to no thematic merit, get rave reviews everywhere.

If your hunt for subs has been unsuccessful so far, go check the darksmurfsub page for this one. They have the auto-translated subs, translated from Chinese. They are nothing like fan-edited subs but they give you a gist of every conversation.

All in all, this is a drama I would recommend to those who do not mind a slow-paced tv show with its heart in the right place.

Leia Mais

Let me preface this by saying that 1) I still consider myself new to dramaland, and 2) that I've really liked the "noona" romances I've seen so far - probably because I'm older myself. And I really wanted to like this one.

I don't *dislike* it. It was cute and had some sweet and funny moments, and I found the stories of the supporting characters interesting - but not riveting. Yuya is a genuine, lovable, goofy sweetheart, and I can certainly empathize with Minami the earnest workaholic doing her best to get ahead, but still missing something, somehow. However...the romance itself just didn't do much for me. I didn't really feel a lot of romantic chemistry between the two leads. I saw more of an older sister/mentor vibe, honestly.

Maybe it's not fair to compare to other dramas, but in Last Cinderella, I really believed Hiroto fell completely for Sakura in spite of himself, and she for him. In Witch's Romance, I totally believed that Dong Ha was a goner for Ji Yeon, even if I might not have been completely as convinced that she was as totally gone on him - I at least believed she had the hots for him. Whether or not she felt he was her "forever" person, they still had plenty of chemistry. I just didn't get that here - and these characters didn't even have that large an age difference to overcome - 8 or 9 years at the most. The other couples had 15 years (and in reality, the actors had larger gaps, 17 and 19 years respectively, whereas the actors in Sapuri are only 9 years apart (though I guess the argument could be made that the maturity difference between 20 and 28 is larger than between 25 and 39...).

I did like that I was honestly still guessing by the end in which direction this triangle would resolve. I saw more chemistry between Minami and Ogiwara (and he's younger than she is, too, just not so much), even though we're probably "supposed" to root for Yuya. Ogiwara isn't a bad guy - but he admits he's not necessarily a nice guy, either. I was surprised to find I liked him as well as I liked Yuya, even if he was indecisive.

I think I might have enjoyed the soundtrack as much as I did the drama. I gave this a low re-watch rating because, although in many of the dramas I like I find moments that I'm happy to rewind again and again (a really good kiss, a confession that makes my heart flutter...) but in this one...not so much, I"m sorry to say. If you like noona romances and are looking for a light romantic comedy to while away a few hours, this one is watchable, but it probably won't make it to your favorite list.

Leia Mais

Faith is a beautiful time travel story set in an early time period. The show barely touches the surface of Korean history which is perfect for all us outsiders to enjoy this show comfortably. The lead actors do an amazing job in terms of performance and chemistry. As usual, the drama does have it's own set of dragged out moments like most other dramas. It does have a decent finish towards the end. I was expecting a slightly different finish. Nevertheless, I was happy it did come to the exact intended point. Every episode keeps you engaged with tons of fun moments. I highly recommend this show to everyone including those of you skeptical of historical dramas.

Leia Mais

Fated to love you is your typical romantic comedy show. It is quite engrossing from the beginning. I like Xin Yi's character. She plays the role of a helpless selfless doe that loves to please everyone around her. And then there is Cun Xi, the passionate nice and can-be-mean prince. The drama started off fine with a few episodes that felt dragged out towards the end. There were some aspects of Cun Xi's character I could neither understand nor accept. But hey if it's fiction, it is what it is.

I haven't seen the Korean remake which I have heard is really good and has better reviews than the Taiwanese version. Maybe they will smooth out the rough edges on the Korean version. On the whole, Fated to love you is a good watch.

Leia Mais

This is the first and the best Korean drama I have watched to date. I was highly skeptical to watch this show as I am not too interested in cop dramas. The sole fact that I had just returned from my trip to Korea made me watch this show on Netflix. Call it beginner's luck but this show had me from the very first scene. It's a fun, action-packed, bromance rich drama that will have you watching it in one stretch.

The drama has a solid storyline around which it weaves elements of comedy, romance, action and drama seamlessly. The chemistry among the characters is simply the best. Each and every character was so well-defined. You will feel like you're a part of the show as you watch the show. On the whole, I would highly recommend this show to everyone.

Leia Mais

Sweden Laundry is a fun show to watch. The characters and their chemistry is what makes this show successful. From the moment I met Kim Bom, I knew I was going to love this drama. I wouldn't rate this the best out there. But then, it's one of those fun popcorn-worthy shows that need not make perfect sense to be enjoyed. The comedy is on point, especially if you understand Asian culture. It keeps you engaged and there are very few moments when it feels like a drag. The show does get a little lost towards the end but manages a decent recovery at the finish line. I would highly recommend Sweden Laundry a one-time watch. And a rerun if you end up liking Kim Bom's character just as much as I did!

Leia Mais

Nail Shop Paris could have been a better drama had it not been stuffed with way too many elements. They tried too hard to fit in as many possible plots and scenarios into one small show. Firstly there's Gumihos. Then there's Ghosts. Then there's medical drama. And the list goes on. Thankfully, the show is just 10 episodes. While I was watching the show, I couldn't help but compare this to American drama. Had this been an American drama, I would have had to suffer through 5 seasons before the plot is revealed. This is a huge plus in my opinion. I am thankful that Korean dramas wrap up dramas when enough is enough! I would rate this a one-time watch and one you should reserve for one of those days you're extremely bored.

Leia Mais

This drama just cost me the whole night, because I just could not stop watching it. It might be the most addicting drama I have ever seen, surpassing even Healer or City Hunter.

In all, it was AWESOME. You would be crazy to miss on this, especially if you are into history-fantasy-romance - the love story here is phenomenal.

And it manages to be so, although there are a few critique points. But first, what was so GREAT about it:

1) The main character - he is just adorable. Just the right amount of funny, goofy, badass, strong, emotional, all mixed into one.
2) The story - the drama starts with a beautiful and tragic love story by itself which makes a great
start. The pace of the story altogether is great, and the development of our hero especially very believable. There are many highlights and quite some action during the whole plot, and of course there is a big emotional ending.
3) The female leading role can actually fight and is not a princessy princess, which is absolutely great.
4) You will live through MANY emotions, sometimes it makes you laugh out loud, sometimes sad. Thre are many characters who will trigger different reactions, the fate of e.g. the hero's first love is really tough.
5) The suspense at the end of each episode is unbelievable.

And here come the two biggest PROBLEMS I had with this drama:

1) The music - during the most romantic scenes the music is just TOO MUCH. It just doesn't fit this historical-action drama,even if its about love. They totally overdid it, for me its too whiny.
2) The main actress (SUZY)... sigh. I don't know what the heck happened, but about midway through the series she started acting so bad, it really bothered me whilst watching.
First, she was kickass, but then gradually, almost every take of her face showed just a dull staring expression, ALWAYS THE SAME. You cannot miss it. It is EVERYWHERE. Almost no emotions visible or childishly forced eyebrows, her mouth gaping open, especially in the last few episodes - OMG, I so came to hate this mouth because I could just not ignore her bad acting. Plus: When she had to play hurt/sick/fainting - this was on such an amateur level... It was almost emberassing to watch, really.
She was a really bad choice for this tough female character. If the main male role had not been brilliant, this would NOT HAVE WORKED at all.

So, the music and main actress sucked, but still, I am giving this drama 10 out of 10 just because it was 100% entertaining and emotionally versitile - and the love story was huge (I would have wished for a "straight" happy ending, but oh well...)

Leia Mais

Disclaimer: I do not know the history behind Empress Ki, so my review will be based on the drama only.

Story: It was overly long and unnecessary, especially towards the end. There were so many time skips, I was left wondering if anything of importance was happening during the present. The drama started as sageuk and ended as makjang, which I disliked because I am a sageuk fan.

Characterization/Acting: Wang Yoo was the only character I felt had any development through out the drama. Wang Yoo showed the fragility of being human. The amount of pain Wang Yoo went through should have broken any human's spirit; but, because of his duty he was willing, at times too often, to set aside his own needs for the betterment of others. Joo Jin Mo did an excellent job as Wang Yoo, he has an ability to portray emotions with his eyes alone. I felt hurt when he was hurt and I also felt happy when he was happy. Emperor Huizhong on the other hand only had one moment of character development, which was closer to the beginning and after that his childish antics felt annoying. It would at times slow the plot of the drama. I am glad I saw Ji Chang Wook in Healer before Empress Ki, otherwise I would not have been a fan of his. Overall he did an excellent job. Ha Ji won always kills her role but the development of Empress Ki felt misplaced at times, especially at critically moments where it was important for the audience to understand the reason behind her actions. Of course, they were likable characters like Bang Shin Woo and Joem Bak Yi that kept the story going.

Music: Great music. I am not sure if they were original scores; but, the music fit perfectly with the drama.

Leia Mais