Reviews

At first, I was skeptical about it. Wanna know why? IT'S A FRIGGIN' LENGHTY DRAMA! To watch a 51-episode historical drama requires full time and dedication to finish it. And yes, I indeed took the challenge. Thanks to those who convinced me and of course to the helpful reviews as well.

Empress Ki, I must say, is a very compelling, powerful and controversial historical drama. I am always deeply enthralled with every scene that leaves you in awe and keeps you wanting for more. I suggest you (future watchers) dramathon it and don't skip a single episode nor a single scene.

Story - I love how the story of EK started and ended. Not the usual save-all-the-main-characters-protagonists kind of plot. I love killings, and I think these killings were the most highlighted parts of the drama aside from the intriguing plot. If you know what I mean. I was overwhelmed by it to the extent that I didn't look for any flaw. And mind you, when I'm really enjoying a particular drama, I become LESS OBJECTIVE. (You might disagree with me on this, but it's actually true.) It only means that I am satisfied about it. But, nevertheless, it was an EXCEPTIONAL sageuk. One thing that I loved as well was the turn of events. They were really unpredictable. I like unpredictable things.

Acting/ Cast: Every actor in this drama did a stellar job in portraying each character. I have not seen any actor acting with an expressionless face nor overrated acting. Again, if you know what I mean. Ha Ji Won's acting here was outstanding. She has that MAJESTIC BEAUTY. Joo Jin Mo did great as well. Just like how much he was great in A Frozen Flower. I mean, his acting. LOL

Special Mentions:
Ji Chang Wook - My first time seeing him in a drama. He did a great job in acting esp in crying scenes. He was the best. Actually voted for him in the MDL 2014 poll for best actor.

Baek Jin Hee - portrayed the Tanasiri character very convincingly. I hold her dearly to my heart. *whispers* I have a girl-crush on her. Hihihi ^^

Jin Yi Han / Tal Tal is a bonus here.

Lee Mun Shik / Bang - ahjussi, I will never forget how well you played in Iljimae and also here in EK. For the comedic parts, I salute you.

Jun Gook Hwan / El Temur - I never hated him even though how ruthless he was.

I loved all the villains in this sageuk except for one. His name is Yom. Yom the Scum.

Music - OST overall is pretty brilliant. Gosh, the feels... I especially liked Xia's I Love You.

Given the chance that I'd want to watch this again, I WOULD.

And finally, watching EK is an adventure which will be with me forever. It felt surreal when I finished it. I can't even start a new drama after watching it. No drama can surpass the roller coaster ride of emotions I felt in this drama.

P.S: Don't get surprised by its long episodes, it's totally worth watching!

Leia Mais

Aw hell yeah! Christmas came early this year, in the form of a smart, dark thriller packed with whiplash twists, intriguing characters, and complex moral quandaries. This is one of my favorite genres when done well, and Liar Game served up arsenic-laced crack in twelve fast, furious episodes. Best of all, it made intellect sexy. The rules of the competitions may have been overly Byzantine, but it was a blast watching minds capable of calculating probabilities in milliseconds unravel them. The fact that those minds belonged to scarred, unpredictable antiheroes was the big, fool’s gold bow on top of the package.

However, for a drama premised on betrayal, it was surprisingly uncynical. I wish Da Jung had been less saintly and a bit faster on the uptake (or that the gender roles had been reversed – does the sweet, naïve character always have to be female?), but I appreciated how her worldview was handled in the greater context of the story. The fall from grace is an easy tale to tell, but the show suggests that if we all hold on, even the deserving don't have to tumble into the dark.

Leia Mais

I finished this drama this morning. I watched it raw and my Japanese is still rough, so I might have missed some things. On the whole I have to say it was an interesting story, with an interesting heroine. Even though this is a romance, the focus seems to be more on the main character's development.

I don't really like stories where you can't figure out why the guy likes the girl, so when I read the synopsis of this drama I was worried this would just be weird wish fulfillment and there would be no reason for the guys to like her. I was pleasantly surprised in that respect. First of all, even really dressed down, the actress is very pretty. I think it's realistic that people might notice that. Secondly, even if she's not very friendly, we as the viewers get to see inside her thoughts which are frankly hilarious. I like it when she is insightful and sarcastic (only inside her head) and the things she imagines make me laugh every time. I think the two guys are attracted to her in part because she has an introverted, guarded personality, and they like the moments where she lets her guard down.

I just wish the leading men were better developed, especially the younger man. I think there is substance behind the character, but you're left to just guess at it instead of seeing it.

Naka Riisa is worth mentioning here because this character, while still comic relief at times, was a more mature character than I've seen her play in a while. She handled it well.

Leia Mais

Have you ever felt like you're living an Incomplete life? Have you ever thought that you're all alone in this world with no one around you to give you a hand of help? This drama is exactly about that. To be precise, it's a story about a man Jang Gae Re in his 20's who dreamed of becoming a professional Baduk player, but because of his family's financial situations he lost his only chance and instead through connections he started working in a big firm as an intern where he was like a stranger in his own country. It also follows everybody's incomplete life in that cruel world of office world. In general "Incomplete Life" lays bare the ugly truth of the world's workplaces. It depicts hierarchy and how people can sink so low to gain power. It narrates stories of discrimination based on educational background, connections, and gender. It audaciously presents sexual harassment, and how and why working women usually "grit their teeth and close their eyes." It's a drama where you have to endure all that pain, humilation, insults, selfishness and helpness just so you can survive in that very society.

So reading this you probably though "Oh what a cruel drama, I'll rather pass it." Hold on your thoughts, I'm not over yet! I'm gonna ask you a few questions ok? Do you like a slice of life dramas? Do you want to see a real characters where you can even find yourself in one of them and relate? Do you enjoy in a beautiful cinematography, clever and well said dialogues? Do you like inspirational, unique and original dramas? If the answers are yes, drop your previous thoughts and start watching this drama.
"Incomplete life" aka "Misaeng" left a big beautiful impression on me. This drama has something special in it, like none other has. You know when you're baking a cake and then add your own flavor which isn't written in a receipt and because of that it even tastes better? So yes, that's how this drama is for me, unique and original in it's own way and nothing can replace it. Though drama's runtime is one hour and 20 minutes, I never got bored unlike as for other dramas as I'm pretty sure I would. From the very beginning this drama has caught my eye and interest all to the very end. Since I like dramas where the reality is shown in a best way possible you can guess why I like this drama even more right? Also I loved how the friendship of four inters grow stronger and bigger by each episode and how they slowly got respected for their work from the bosses. Briefly, I can describe this drama with a few words: Beautiful, Original, Outstanding. I have only praise and one big respect for a script, directing, acting crew and I want to thank Mr. Yoo Tae Ho who brought this webtoon to a world, cause without it this drama wouldn't exist.

Acting is also a pure 10 from me. They really put a lot of effort to chose the right actors for the right roles and I can say that they didn't chose wrong. I enjoyed in every character's story, laughed, cried, felt angry, felt happy, simply I lived with them and a drama. Let's take a look at our heroes shall we?
Jang Gae Re (Im Shi Wan) is a poor man living with his mother. Once, he wanted to be a professional Baduk played, but since he has lost his chance, through connections he got into a large firm "One International" as an intern. But nothing was on his side there. He felt like a cast-off, ignored from his colleagues, gossiped, lonely and pitied. But, though he was in that situation, he didn't give up. From a help from Mr. Oh, Mr. Kang and 3 other inters he slowly started climbing to the sucess and step by step he got respected and recognised as a worker of "One International."
Oh Sang Shik, Mr. Oh (Lee Sung Min) personally speaking is my favorite character. He's a chef in a Sales Team 3, a team that is poorly recognised in a firm. He's strong, strict, funny, serious, passionate about work. He works in his own way, brings positive spirit and energy in a team. He's the first person who found a qualities in Gae Re, was there in Gae Re's hard times, a person who helped Gae Re to be something in a life. For me, Mr. Oh is a person which every men will love, a person with a strong personality and who stands for himself.
Kim Dong Shik, Mr. Kim (Kim Dae Myung) is also a member of Sales Team 3. He's a great support to Mr. Oh and he became friends with Gae Re. He's innocent, a pure man and he's always there for a help. He gives his everything for a team and keeps team in it's balance.
An Yeong Yi (Kang So Ra) is also an intern. She's 26 year old talented and outstanding woman. She's admired and envied for her competency and presence. She's calm, patient, upright and clever. She has a secret that's staining her smile.
Jang Baek Ki (Kang Ha Neul) controversial man. He's also one of the inters in "One International" and I had hard time reading through his character. Baek Ki can be warm now and cold as ice the next minute. He might defend a person vigorously and attack them the next moment. He's ambitious and wants to succeed quickly. He's judgemental and insecure, but also very intellegent person
Han Suk Yeol ( Byun Yo Han) is the 4th and last intern. How he started I thought that he would my hateful character, but who knew that after 5 episode he'd be one of my favorite characters. He's handsome, goofy, sociable, proud of his family and his work in a field. His character can really make your day, believe me!
Also, to not forget to mention Manager Kang( Oh Min Suk) whom I find very handsome and attractive. He's a boss of Baek Ki, a smart and a strict person. But, I couldn't take my eyes of him whenever he was on a screen.

As for the music I got to say that it's one of the bests this year, actually it's folloed right behind "It's okay that's love." The OSTs where you get inspired such as "Fly" , the OSTs where you simply feel in love such as "Dream", the OSTs where you feel sad such as "Tomorrow" and the list goes on. Does it give you anything if I tell you that I'm listening it every single day? Yes, that's how big is my love for the OSTs.

"Incomplete life" is a show where everyone, I mean everyone can identify with. You feel hope, faith and love while watching it and you can't help but simply fall in love with. Overall, I enjoyed in every second of this drama, it's characters and I can't forget a beautiful, inspirational and a wonderuful feelings this drama gave me. Will rewatch it in a future, cause this drama is worth that.
"A road opens as you tread along it. A road that isn't open isn't a road. Roads are open to everyone...But not everyone can have the roads. This is wrong. Another road has opened...And I am not alone."

Leia Mais

I first watched Dear Sister just because I was bored but I never thought I would get so addicted and fell deep into the drama. Every week I would be excited for the next episode.

This drama is a very heartfelt story about two sisters and unlike many dramas I've watched before where I would only be interested in the romance, I became deeply involved with the chemistry and relationship between the siblings (Misaki and Hazuki). The story is so beautifully executed and many of the episodes will leave you with tears in your eyes. At first due to the quite long episodes I couldn't fully immerse myself into the drama but by the end of the first 2 episodes I couldn't stop watching it. The drama had a very real feeling to it; all the actors in the drama I believe really fit their characters and the acting was excellent. I also feel that the music was really suitable and perfect for the drama. Music in dramas are really important and I absolutely loved it.

This drama is like a special gem that is so precious and beautiful.The story and the relationships of the characters, especially the sisters, captivate you. By the end of the drama I couldn't believe that it was finished and it honestly touched my heart. It was one of the best dramas I had watched of 2014.

Leia Mais

Well, this is the first time I've had a 9 across the board lol - I loved this drama, it was cute and sweet and the way they told the story was great^^ Also the bromance was excellent! (I always look for shows that have great bromance).

Story: An Angel saves a human and in the process falls in love with him. They are in High School so you can expect to see some bullying going on (as in all high school dramas). Woo Hyun & Seung Yeol develop great friendship and both fall for the same girl (as for me I rooted for Woo Hyun all the way). Woo Hyun's past ends up getting entangled with Seung Yeol's family and their friendship gets kind of messy - at least on Seung Yeol's side - Woo Hyun is a pretty faithful and honest very sincere guy who tries his best not to let things get to him or hurt him <3 (I think that's the reason I fell for him too).

Cast: Woo Hyun - my favorite character on this drama, he was so sweet and caring^^ and he was honest - I love it when people are honest ;) He runs a rice cake shop with his grandma & ends up meeting and falling in love with Seul Bi - he'd hurt with her & share her pain as if it was his own. Seung Yeol - a rather depressed guy until his life encounters Woo Hyun & Seul Bi then he starts opening up and laughing (until he finds out something towards the middle of the drama, then he kind off goes into bad guy mode & takes things out on the wrong people) - I wish his anger was shorter but...he'll be back to normal in the end (besides it's all a process of adjusting your feelings - he had to try and learn to deal with his mixed feelings). Seul Bi - an angel who saves a human only that made her turn into a human and now she has to learn how to live like a human - she learns about human emotions, love & friendships. She is sweet to a fault sometimes to everyone she meets - in the end they all get touched by her caring. There were only 2 characters that got on my nerves throughout the entire drama & they were Lee Ye Na & Seul Bi's senior angel >_<

Music: I liked it all <3

Re-watch Value: 9/10 I'd definitely re-watch this again, I thought it was really cute and sweet ;)

And as for the lead guys being "Idol actors" - one thing I can say for sure Woo Hyun & Seung Yeol can act a WHOLE HECK OF A LOT BETTER than their other group member namely "L" - (I watched this drama for the storyline - not for the actors - even though I know of Infinite & listen to a couple of their songs I didn't know the members until I started watching this). I did however know of the girl actress - as I've seen her in Can You Hear My Heart & Man from Nowhere and she is a good actress ;)

Leia Mais

What a weird series.... Seriously...

As much as I love Ueno Juri, I actually dropped this drama. I didn't finish all of episode 4 and just watched episode 5 to finish it.

STORY:
These are standalone stories and is not continuous. They're less than 25 minutes each. My biggest issue with these episodes is the open ending... and what the episodes were actually about. There is an overall storyline or theme, but they for some reason try to mix it up in the end and you're left with the feeling of, &amp;quot;okay...? what was the point of that? what does that even mean?!&amp;quot; These must've been written by amateur/indie/abstract writers. It feels like, people drew pieces of paper out of hat with drama/episode ideas and just wrote about them. I did not like the stories. The only part I liked was in episode 2 with the security camera recording her in the elevator haha.

ACTING/CAST:
Ueno Juri is awesome as always. It really shows her versatility since her characters were so different. I didn't recognize any of the other supporting casts but one other actor. Nothing that stands out, but no one acting terribly either.

MUSIC:
I noticed music playing maybe 2 or 3 times when I watching the episodes. If they added more music to the scenes than that, then it just must've not been very memorable.. Well, either way, it wasn't memorable nor impressive...

REWATCH:
This was not my cup of tea. Even if it's for Japanese listening practice, I think I'll choose something else... something that makes a little more sense.

OVERALL:
Even though Ueno Juri is in it, this can honestly be a skip.. unless if you like open-ended, standalone episodes with a minimal plot...

Leia Mais

Was planing on watching this drama after hearing so much about it and finally ended up seeing it last week! And wow I got stuck at the first episode, I saw the whole drama in 3 days aka I saw like 7 episodes a day haha. For me that is very unsual and says much about how good it was!

I think this drama had it all but with an new way off it. There is an love story as in most dramas but this one has an totally diffrent feel to it and for me the story of the couple didn't get booring and you acctually saw more then one way at the end. It holds so many diffrent stories in one and that gives it the excitment that you need.

I can warn you tough, it does have alot of things happening several times witch may seem like it gets booring. I think they could have skipped some of them but I must admit that it gives alot to the story!

Was also loving Kim Soo Hyuns acting, he his my favorite actor and has been since I saw my first drama (dream high). But I also loved Jeon Ji Hyun's acting, and was really surprised that i growned to love her character as I didn't really enjoy the teasers I had seen.

Overall the drama is great and I absolutley think you should give it a chance!

Enjoy!

Leia Mais

This drama was flawless in every way possible. From the cast to the crew, every single aspect of this drama was on point. The audience found themselves supporting Jang Geu Rae throughout his entire journey of landing a corporate job and making a name for himself. This one was particularly relatable to me because I just recently had had an office job so I was familiar with the struggle of the main character. The quality and consistency of this drama was amazing, as well as the life lessons embedded within each episode. Overall this show teaches you to hang on and keep striving no matter how hard life can get. This one deserves numerous awards as it will definitely go down in history as one of the best k-dramas ever made.

Leia Mais

This drama started out so well but them somewhere along the way it turned into an absurd melodrama that made me cringe and roll my eyes.

Story: The story started out really well. I loved the premise and I think they handled the angel part really well. In the beginning I loved the romance! It was so adorable and made butterflies flutter in my stomach. I even liked Sung Yeol's angsty, raging hormones teen story. But then Sung Yeol became a psycho (and I seriously think he needed professional help. Even by the end I felt like he should go see a psychiatrist.) and somebody cried in each episode and Woohyun's and Sungyeol's mom was selfish and lame and the romance became boring with all the tears and separations. The story seemed to have no direction and the writer kept adding weird stuff to keep the lead couple apart. It was all very absurd and stupid. I would have dropped this drama a long time ago had it not been for Sungyeol & Woohyun and I don't like to leave things unfinished.

Actors/Characters: This drama, like Heirs and I think most of the high school drama, had a huge cast. I'll start with Kim Sae Ron. I was very impressed with her acting in the beginning. I mean she was doing such a good job even though she was so young. But I think, like me, even Kim Sae Ron got bored of her character because her acting became boring and meh. Or maybe it was only her character. I really liked Seul Bi in the beginning. She was cute and lively. But she soon lost her charm. She became stupid and clingy. I like my lead girls strong but Seul Bi was far from that. And soon I became very irritated with her.

Woohyun was better than I thought he would be. He wasn't that good in the beginning but he improved a lot and by the end he was the best out of the three main leads. He wasn't very good but he wasn't too bad either. I felt like Woohyun really understood his character. His character was also a lot like him (or at least what I have seen of him in variety shows and such). Woo Hyun was a nice guy albeit a bit narcissistic. It was sweet how he cared about the people around him and I really liked his relationship with him grandmother.

Sungyeol, oh Sungyeol! You were so good in Please Remember Princess! What happened?! Sungyeol was so stiff in this role. I had high expectations after seeing him in PRP but I was sadly disappointed. He was doing pretty well in the beginning but it went downhill in the more expressive scenes. He was really good in some scenes but cringe-worthy in others. His character was an interesting one in the beginning. And honestly he had a lot of potential. Which all went to waste. Soon he became this psycho, jealous boy who wanted to hurt the people around him any way he could. He was confused and raging and desperately in need of help. I was surprised he acknowledged that at some point and reached out. But really though, it was very weird where the writer took him.

I'll talk about the parents now. Please someone give Ms Ahn the Worst Parent of the Year award! Seriously, she was so selfish and so so stupid! Some would say she redeemed herself by the end but I disagree. The woman couldn't chose between the two sons, she couldn't solve the problem like an adult, she kept making things more complicated, it was all so frustrating! Sungyeol's dad, Hwang Woo Jin was better. He was a nice man who cared about his son and loved his wife. But he neglected Sungyeol. And sometimes he refused to act like an adult too.

I did like the side characters. Ki Soo was funny and cute. I really liked Choi Jae Sook. He was a layered character and much more interesting than the main characters. Na Young Eun was similar. She was also well-written and more interesting. I really like Lee Ye Na and wish that the writer would have focused on her a little more. And given her a better storyline. Byung Wook and that girl who was with him were so adorable! I also wish Byung Wook would've gotten more importance. He was a good character. I also really liked Cheon Sik.

My favorite character in the whole drama was Kim Joo Ah. Not only was she a lot like me, she was also very interesting and her love story with Tae Ho was much better than the main love story. I wish she would've gotten her very own drama. Or that she was the main lead. Because I loved this girl! And I loved her with Tae Ho! Tae Ho was so caring towards her and so adorable in trying to win her by giving her books. If someone did that for me I would so totally fall in love with him! I mean he was buying books for her! Because she loves reading! How awesome and romantic is that?! I need a drama with these two in it!

Sunbae, Sunbae, Sunbae. Honestly I wanted Seul Bi to end up with Sunbae. I did like Sunbae in the beginning and I didn't start disliking him or anything. But I did get tired of him and frustrated with him. He was weird.

Romance: A lot of people had problem with Kim Sae Ron being 14/15 and Woohyun being 23. Honestly I didn't have much problem with it. They had good chemistry and seemed comfortable with each other. Plus their weren't any inappropriate scenes of any kind so it was fine. They were a cute couple. But all the crying and stuff irritated me. Sungyeol though, I never felt like he actually loved Seul Bi. He did like her but I didn't feel like it was serious. He just had a problem with Woohyun having her.

There were plenty other better couples in this drama. Ki Soo and Young Eun were really cute. Byung Wook and his girl were adorable! Jae Sook and Da Yul were an interesting couple. And my favorite Tae Ho and Joo Ah were the best!

Overall: This drama had a lot of potential and a great start. But I don't know what the writer was thinking because this soon turned into a trainwreck I had to force myself to watch. A lot of people did love it though. So if you want a melodrama for younger audiences then I would recommend HSLO.

Leia Mais