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Heartless City (2013)
Prelude to Worst of Evil
I have so much to say about this drama I'm about to explode. But im afraid if my review is too long, you won't read it.
So I'll just sum up the facts first.
- definitely watch this drama
- the plot, however convoluted it was, did not detract from the overall experience of the show.
- excellent range of characters with development and none with skippable scenes
Now for all my opinions. Kdramas from 10-15 years ago, for some reason always give me early 90s American drama vibes. From the choppy cinematography, to the sometimes night time soap opera dramatics.
HC was a classic example of this filming style. The action scenes were fun but almost to the point of funny because you can easily see the choreography and sometimes hear the sound dept add in the "smack" sounds.
The most dramatic scenes, I could see the actors giving their all, but sometimes that was the problem. The "acting" part was a little too obvious. (super cringe crying face from Docs Son)
These are not complaints tho. This is just the type of style youre getting. The actors mostly gave excellent performances. The character of Ji Hyung Min was sooo well acted imo. Safari and Hyun Soo were villains you definitely rooted for.
The amount of betrayal in the show is staggering, so it's hard to believe the overall message I took from it in the end was about loyalty, friendship, and love. You will cry unless you're, ahem, Heartless.
If you have watched the more recent drama "The Worst of Evil", id say HC walked so WoE could run. If you haven't seen either, watch HC first. It's a classic old timey feel without a lot cheesy kdrama-isms (fisheye kisses, office Karaoke, cherry blossoms)
Then watch WoE. I don't want to debate as to which is better. WoE just proved that HC could have been done even better in 16 episodes. I do think it had one too many twists.
And my final thoughts- This was a gorgeous cast, my goodness. Lee Jae Yoon in those plain white tees had me salivating. Yoon Hyun Min has never looked better and he is beautiful in EVERYTHING.
Jung Kyoung-Ho, glistening and brooding, could only rank 3rd against this tough competition but he was still deathly charming.
Han-beon deo hae-pi-en-ding (2016)
Top tier rom-com
I don't throw out 10s a lot but this one definitely gets close. I really only knew Yo Inna but the synopsis looked interesting enough to try it.
My only history with Jang Nara was School 2013 so I was pleasantly surprised to find out she's actually a good actress! Funny and expressive.
In fact, this female ensemble was awesome! I really liked all 4 characters and the way the actresses portrayed them with such layers. I was so distressed to see that Seo In Young (Hong Aerin) really didn't do much acting after this. She was a natural!
I was surprised to not like Kwon Yool's acting style here. I had some sympathy for his character, but overall I think he was played too hot or cold.
There was one point during the second half that I really worried it was about to go through a slump but it quickly rebounded and I can honestly say that every episode was good all the way to the end. Excellent writing!
I loved seeing Ahn Hyo Seop as the most precious "formula baby" ever.
Find Me in Your Memory (2020)
Worth One Watch
I mostly enjoyed this drama for it's mature directing and dialog but suffered greatly from a second half slump.
Now sometimes, there is a certain element of of a show's theme that will keep me from ever rewatching. In this case, it was the spotlight on Korean cancel culture. Every single time either character was criticized by the public it was over the most outrageous reason. And that those public opinions would lead to people losing their jobs, and sponsorships, or owing penalty fees, just really made me sick. I take this stuff a little harder now since the death of Lee Sun Kyun.
In the US, you gotta be a real piece of work to get "canceled" and even then, you can almost always find a subset of people who will side with you.
And for the record, I don't see it being uncommon in any culture for a man and woman to come together through a shared tragedy. It may be initially off putting to those CLOSEST to them and the deceased, but certainly not a matter for public shaming and job losing.
Ok but also, the couple got boring towards the end. No passion at all. And the "Anchornim" was addressed several times and the writers still chose to have her keep calling him that. Very cringe.
Yumieui Sepodeul: Episode #2.6 (2022)
Laugh out loud funny episode
This episode has everything you want in a "boyfriend unexpectedly meets the parents" scenario. It's been foreshadowed a few times and Babi, although nervous, has never backed away from this eventual meeting. Now that it's actually here, hilarity ensues.
I appreciate that it was written with style. Meaning, it was cute and funny, but not goofy and juvenile. A lot of times I watch scenes like this and find myself thinking the characters are just doing too much.
But with the integration of the cells behind their actions, you could see how organic the entire encounter was.
Cap it off with Yumi's dad really needing to appreciate Babis youthful strengths and him trusting Babi with his baby, and you have all the elements of a perfect scene.
Xia Hua (2023)
I'm Rating High Despite My Gripes - WATCH IT!
If you like choppy editing, poor directing and
musical montages galore, you've found the right drama!
We have very twilight-esque romance in that it's super intense. That was done well but I have some creative differences with the director. There were far too many, even back to back, musical montages during the last few episodes. What's worse, those scenes didn't advance the story any.
It felt like the episodes were originally meant to be one hour because so many places seemed to have scenes cut. That made it hard to understand why characters behaved a certain way. Additionally, the English translation on Viki was very rigid. People's sentences were coming out like lines from a novel rather a script.
Finally, some really dramatic scenes that we should have gotten to see instead of endless closeups of people staring:
Mom and ML actually getting into it and subsequently forgiving, IN PERSON.
HeRan discovers mom with SML. Whether she reacted positively or not, what was the point of introducing that romance and then NEVER having it cross paths with HeRan. The lady only even saw her daughter once in the last 10 episodes.
Both of those scenarios could have even been fulfilled with a funeral scene with, you guessed it, a musical montage featuring everyone in one place, mom holding hands with SML. That would have at least implied that everyone knew about everyones relationship.
Finally, the death scene was beautifully done although it seemed to come out of the blue since the makeup dept forgot to make her look end stage and the editing department didn't tell us how much time had passed since she got on that plane. I thought he was trying to die with her :(
Now below are the notes I made after watching the first 13 or 14 eps and comparing it to a kdrama. I was on cloud nine and every thing was perfect with this drama.
(The last 2 points became completely untrue.)
-It's Jung So Min and Lee Min Ho!
-No food slurping
-Did the accidental kiss RIGHT!
-The girl was 100% adorable and didnt have to saved every five seconds. She fell first and was not shy about showing it.
-There was a lot of showering!
-I thought the guy was brooding for far too long but that just made his changing far more organic and pronounced. Wouldn't change a thing!
-The second romance came out of nowhere and I was skeptical at first but it was a genius move to keep the butterflies flying.
(x) A few slow motions were overly dramatic but it was more emotional instead of artistic (think, no slow CEO power walks)
(x) Slowmance but not frustratingly so.
Shopingwang Looi (2016)
Comfort Drama
As far as I'm concerned, this drama INVENTED the popular tropes of the mid 2010s. It did it first and best!
The now overused (spoiler) "I loved u before I met you" was so sweet I was bawling like a baby.
The family infighting for CEO was done perfectly as a background plot and didn't take away from the fun and romance.
The "crime" plot also was not overwhelming. No serial killers here!
The secondary characters were fantastic and I actually enjoyed their scenes. It helps that they are top level talent but back then a few of them were still pretty new to dramas.
Our couple fell in love so sweetly with eyes only for each other. Eyes that they kept closed during kisses. Oh Go Bok Sil, what do I do *heart emoji*
Boksooga Dolawadda (2018)
Real Romance
A bingeworthy enjoyable drama. As mentioned from others, the plot is not complex at all and even predictable.
But what wasnt predictable was the way the characters actually dealt with each other. From the immature behavior that caused the big "to do" in their teen years, to the adult-sized way they reacted 10 years later.
Put simply, you're not going to see a bunch of silly miscommunications being the obstacle of the romances between the adults. They talked about and expressed feelings A LOT and nothing felt dragged out.
I was never bored. I was interested in ALL of the characters. It was feel-good, it was sad, it was hilarious and I loved that rich dramatic feel that was executed very well and not cheesy or exaggerated.
So if you want to see some good romance free from your everyday campy k Drama antics, you will love this!
Supacell (2024)
Really Biased Review
I am a little more than midway through the first episode and I'm absolutely in love. This cast is beautiful! I typically prefer British dramas for binge watching when I take a break from K dramas. This is unlike anything I've ever seen.
I'll be honest. I do not care what the story is about. Just seeing this gorgeous cast together and not getting another Tyler Perry Studios is worth it to me. So far the dialog and acting is high quality. Beautiful Cinematography! Fabulous wardrobe and hair and makeup!
I'm really excited to see everyone's powers develop and seeing how they come together. As I typed this I got to the end of Episode 1. It was awesome!
Nalssiga joeumyeon chajagagesseoyo (2020)
Slow Burn and Sweet
The romantic moments in this drama between the leads are very sweet, cute, and drama free. I loved the way Hyewon expressed her love through touch and sweet clingy-ness.
HOWEVER, I have some issues. I'm a huge fan of Seo Kang-Joon (Eun-Seob) and he was beautiful and dreamy as always, but as slowly as this drama progressed, why does it feel like hours of his character development got left on the cutting room floor?
His reaction to getting the literal girl of his dreams was entirely too subdued. If I'm supposed to infer that he has issues opening up due to his childhood, I would have liked to see that explored between the 2 of them. When she falls for him, his demeanor barely softens and really only when she's being extra flirty with him.
As mentioned in other reviews, by the end, not a single character had really worked out their issues other than, say, the 2 moms (her mom writing the letter to her and his mom feeling safe enough to love him as much she wants even if it's the most)
THE BEST CHARACTER IN THE SHOW IS THE LITTLE SISTER! She didn't quite look like a 19/20 year high school student but her boy crazy antics were so relatable and funny.
The side romances were sold very short. Either give us some substance or leave them out. That last second kiss was so overdue I actually just rolled my eyes. What a waste of Jae Wook.
Lastly, I hope we've seen the last of the final scene being the 2 leads staring each other from 20 feet away from each other. If they end up together, roll the credit during a final kiss scene. If they don't end up together, just show a split screen of whereever they end up! I'll bet the novel version of this was better.
Deo Eiteu Syo (2024)
No one to root for
Excellent premise, Excellent acting
Terrible writing and overall execution.
If 3's internal narration is supposed to completely stress out the audience, congrats you won.
The writing failed because it missed the mark on the rules of the game leaving too many plot holes. The rules seemed like they were so clever but there were easy solutions to every problem if they actually worked together or had at least one intelligent being among them.
Things escalated from bad to worse seemingly overnight but at the same time every thing seemed to just drag on.
Hold on. Hold on. Wait. Did I actually describe perfect writing and execution because this show so accurately portrays the world state? Yep.
The parallels are many. Write your thesis on this show folks.
That said, it's a show I only need to see once. Lil too depressing as a societal 1st - 3rd floor member and there truly is no one to root for which accounts for my low rating. That's life.
20segi sonyeo (2022)
I have a better idea
Spoiler
So I adored Woo-Seok and You-Jung in this movie but boy did thr writers mess up a chance to do something great with a short series. It's a long movie yes, but somehow by thr end I still felt cheated on time. I didn't actually get to grieve because it happened so quickly. I kinda assumed what was gonna happen but since we got nothing shown onscreen, I'm left scratching my head.
So they either should have added another 20 minutes of run time where we see how he dies so that the full weight of the tragedy could hit us, or this need to be a 6 episode series.
Ep1 - intros and BFF meets crush and then flits off to the states for her operation
Ep2 - on a mission, Na Bora is scoping Baek Hyun-Jin hard. By the end of the episode, shes drunk, she trips, she "accidentally" confesses and kisses Woon Ho, then promptly forgets about it
Ep 3 - Woon Ho short back story. Let's meet this inattentive dad and hear a few phone calls with mom and Joseph. Then that shy awkward phase begins of will they/wont they as Baek Hyun-Jin slowly realizes, um, Bora is just not that into him. Finally she and Woon Ho have their fruit tree pre-date, keep their front steps kiss, and still set up their real date
Ep 4 - Boom BFF is back from the states fresh with a new ticker and the shenanigans proceed as depicted.
Ep 5 - The breakup. The truth and confrontation. The friendship restored.. The lovers last minute reunion. But guess what? They freaking KISS at the train station! Duh.
Ep 6 - Now people who get paid a lot more money than me would have to figure out this ending cause it still makes no sense that no one in his family, nor any of his friends could have contacted her. If he told his 5 yr brother so much about her that the baby was literally afraid his hyung was going back to Korea for her, SURELY, he told at least one Kiwi.
So it's getting a 6/10. All points awarded are for the actors and Cinematographer. Deducted for the director/writer points because of the ending. Not because it was sad, but because it had no meaning.
Sunjae Eobgo Tweeeo (2024)
K-Romance Done Well
Although they tried to muck it up with cliche scenes (flashbacks, slow catches, so-so side murderer plot), they couldn't make you Lovely Runner.
What I think they got right:
-Choosing the PERFECT cast! Byeon Woo-Seok is the most IN LOVE man I've seen a in while!
-We got an awesome setup episode that really opened up the world we were joining.
-We got introduced to the mystery aspect pretty early on so it wasn't just thrown in there hastily
-A original story with a non original theme (time travel)
-No awkward skinship
-very nice ost
-comedy (I had hoped they'd continue to poke fun at clichés like when the friend was dropping petals from the roof, but see below)
What I would mildly critique them on
-Hye-Yoon really got to show some acting skills but I think the writers did too much having Sol CRY in 75% of her scenes.
-They quickly abandoned the cute ending scene where we see something change in the future at the end of the episode (the photo appearing on the table)
-With such good writing for the main characters, it was disappointing to see the same "older brother / sister's best friend" relationship play out the same as countless other dramas.
-As mentioned, they really went out of their way to include those overused elements that all k-romances use.... I can forgive the 8 umbrella scenes because at least the rain was built as plot device.
It seems like I have more negatives but that's just not true. This was really a good drama if you're looking for some romance. You will feel the swoon all over because the leads were very believable as in love.
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008)
Maybe I'm Too Desensitized
I put off watching this movie for a long time because everyone and their momma talked about how heart wrenching and earth shattering it was. I wanted to wait until I had the emotional bandwidth to handle it.
However, while I agree it is very sad, I didn't shed a tear. Maybe because I had hyped myself up about it. (Maybe because I was expecting an ending scene that turned out to be from another movie - Jojo Rabbit)
It was well acted and directed and truly a tragic story. I realize the POV isn't exactly focused on the Jewish people but I felt some kind of way that only the German family was depicted grieving. They truly showed Jews as cogs (plot devices) in the film.... Which I suppose was the point.
Bottom line, by comparison, it has been 25 years since I first watched Schindlers List and to date, that is the only film that messed me up so bad I haven't been able to rewatch.
I was a young teen watching then. I shudder to think I could actually watch it today and be unmoved. This world really is done for.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: Persona (2008)
Great episode ruined
This was an interesting episode. Most of the story was well written. However it didn't make sense that the husband escalated in the way that he did. Pushing her down the stairs or hitting her until she fell and hit her head would have been a more realistic way for him to kill her.
But that's not what ruined the episode. The lead actress of the secondary story had the most distracting voice. I couldn't even empathize with her because it sounded so contrived. Ive never seen the actress in anything else so I don't know if that's just how she speaks but it was really annoying and took away from the seriousness of the episode.
Nooni Booshige (2019)
Everyone should watch
Gonna be honest, I really didn't wanna watch this because I wanted to see Nam Joo Hyuk in a romance and with the female lead turning 70 early on, I knew it was just gonna be a story about "an old lady".
Let me make one thing perfectly clear. Kim Hye-Ja gave one of the most deserving Baeksang Grand Prize performances I've ever seen. I didn't expect her to be so funny! So many little things about her made me love her to the point where I half expected the male lead to take her in his arms, full kdrama style, and confess to this 70 year old woman.
Slight Spoilers ahead.
While still believing I was watching a fantasy series, I kept waiting and waiting for a moment that obviously never came. I just wanted the ML to recognize her or for her to announce who she really was. Like every one else, I was completely gutted at the twist.
Some things that had bothered me so much that I assumed would never be addressed were finally answered. Why Hye-Ja's "father" never once looked at her lovingly. Why her "mother" accepted her as old so easily and took care of her.
The "brother" still confuses me. (His bits with the best friend are hilarious) In reality her grandson has a job and doesn't live at home so her brother is completely imagined?
I would have liked to know more about what was real in Joon Ha's story but I know this wasn't about him. What I do know is, in her imagination, Hye-Ja treated Joon Ha much better than than in real life.
But that was obviously because she had the wisdom that came with age. As a young girl, wife, mother, she was quick to put her needs, wants, and feelings, first. As his elder, she was deeply concerned for all aspects of Joon-Ha.
10/10 Everyone should watch. Appreciate what may be coming in your life in one way or another.
Eoleojookeul yeonaeddawi (2022)
Pretty Good
This is sooo my genre. Even though it was jam packed with kdrama tropes, it was still a well written story with interesting characters all around.
People complain about the show changing genres but they must have forgotten it literally started with the reality show. Everything else in the first few eps was just leading up getting to that point.
Siwon had great lines. Dahee was not consistent. Soo-Hyang (Chae-Ri) was my fave.
Here are my few critiques.
The portrayal of the so called fat girl was such a disappointment. Whether it was the actress or the director, they did not let her grow at all. That bleeping voice was super annoying. By the time she stood up for herself, she should have been directed to speak naturally! And for a show that wasnt shy about skinship, we were completely robbed of a kiss between her and her boo.
If I were at home watching Kingdom of Love, I would have been very disappointed at how boring it was in front of the scenes. They never really switched dates and the dates themselves were boring too.
The "drama" surrounding the lead characters relationship never really felt front and center as there was so much else going on. The second female love interest was the absolute worst. I was so embarrassed for her. Would you really want a man to choose you because he just felt so sorry for you? Cause that's what she was giving. "Poor me, pick me choose".
Overall 7/10 Would definitely recommend but don't think I need to rewatch.
Gan Tteoleojineun Donggeo (2021)
Enjoyed it
It's Goblin with a slightly less problematic age issue. The games are made up and the rules don't matter!
LOVED:
Lee Dam and Jae Jins friendship! Glory be that I didn't have to fight SLS with a best friend (Daily Dose of Sunshine)
Kang Hana playing a good character. She's so beautiful, I can't stand when she plays a villain.
Library fight scene
In-Hyuk
HATED:
Love triangles where no one is really swayed and the 3rd person never even has a chance.
We were robbed of what could have been a beautiful "memory loss" episode of Dam and Seon Woo falling in love only for Dams memories to come flooding back. Now that would have been a real love triangle.
The ambiguous explanation of how the Bead and how all that was supposed to work. But I guess it had to be that way in order for the ending to do what it did.
7/10 It was cute and funny. Not iconic but would definitely recommend.
Jiltooui Hwashin (2016)
Glad I ignored the "it's too long" reviews
Problems with this show
1) Jung Wons chapped to the point of cracked lips.
2) Hwa Shins anchor makeup and hairup
3)"SOMEBODY" taking too long to get the a clue.
Das it.
I read some other reviews as I was watching this and it almost made me put this show on hold after the first act. I am so glad I trusted my own eyes and feelings.
Sure, a 24 episode series seems daunting and for most dramas it would have been entirely too long. But the episodes were paced kinda like an American drama. There were extended stories and mini stories that all got to be told in a natural unrushed way.
Even if my criticism (noted above in point 3) drug on longer than I wanted it to, it was still important storytelling.
Now please, give it up for the supporting cast!!! I didn't skip any scenes missing the main leads because the other characters were just that good. The Ahjumma moms (looking gloriously hot at, ahem, 45 plus), All the news station staff (especially the hilarious boss), and the pasta crew (I would've even been happy with more scenes with teens too), and Naris adorable younger stepmom and brother. I loved them all!
Finally, the ultimate flowers go the breast cancer storyline. I understand 2017 was a busy Baeksang year and going up against Goblin, my personal all time fave, was a difficult task. Still I wish there had been room for JJS to get acknowledged for his funny, heartbreaking, charming, and delicate portrayal here. And don't even GET me started on Gong Hyo-Jin not even being nominated!!
10/10. I can't wait to forget it entirely so I watch it again for the first time.
Pinocchio (2014)
LJS's best work!
When the first episode started, I almost quit immediately. I was like "what is this mess, I did not sign up for a hokey comedy."
Glad I stuck around. I enjoyed this drama including many of the actors! LJS was incredible. I've seen a few of his later works but this one his is best performance as far as I can tell.
Shin Hye had such a bad rep for fish eye kisses I had been avoiding watching anything with her. But aside from a few exaggerated gestures, I found her acting to be solid and enjoyable. She has a great voice (no baby talking) and handled the emotional scenes beautifully!
The police, reporters, and other office staff were great, with each of their personalities keeping me interested in their scenes! (Especially loved the headband boss, lol)
Most of the storyline was ok but it was not a 10. As with most 20 episode dramas, there's too much repetition in the final episodes. But it did have a satisfying ending.
SKY kaeseul (2018)
It's Worth a Watch But Not a Rewatch
So I don't know if this show is a 6 or a 10 but I landed on 7. Some stellar performances but this absolutely could have been done in 16 episodes. By episode 10, I started noticing things were getting a bit repetitive. It's an ensemble cast so imagine 4 to 5 different groups of people reacting separately to the same event. Then those same people also need flashback reminders of events that just took place. Then add the directors creative process of extremely long shots of scenes that have ended.
There was also little concept of time. Like some characters would be on one day, and the next scene is of different characters on a different day, and then back to the others on the first day. /Another example: When I found that "this one girl" had been () with "some people" for an entire () and the set up was only supposed to be 3 (), I was totally confused./
The main adult antagonist was given no real development beyond her backstory and did not explain at all why after a seemingly long career of producing winners, she suddenly was hell bent on the destruction of the families.
I accept at face value the extreme behavior behind the parents wanting to get their kids into top universities b/c I know it's a thing in SK. Not sure why the mothers with degrees from prestigious universities dropped their OWN careers to be SAHM's tho. Is that what they want for their daughters who they are pushing to the brink of psychosis in order to become Doctors?
Finally, the last few episodes seemed to filled with everyone trying to squeeze in their Emmy (baeksang) performances. Too much wailing and hollering from people I didn't care about at all.
Yebin and Seri were my favorite characters.
2 of the dads were completely insufferable.
Haneuleseo Naerineun 1eok Gaeui Byeol (2018)
Excellent All Round
Me typing up my review during episode 14:
Finally! A romance that felt real without all the cringy kdrama moments. My fave new couple.
Me after the finale:
Well damn.
Annnnnyway.. It's usually so boring when the couple finally gets together but omo this is romance done right. It has a tone like Rain or Shine, but I think this romance around tragedy was MUCH better executed. Seo In Guk and Jung So Min SHOULD have won an award for there performances and mad they didn't .
I rate the romantic element on par with My Beloved Summer which is my personal favorite. The "killer" storyline that's a common side story in newer dramas was also done really well. Sometimes a bad secondary storyline can overshadow the rest of the show but this one was actually good and interesting and properly woven into the main theme.
As for the rest of the show, you will just have watch. This is THE first time I've finished a 16 episode drama in 24 hours.
Wanbyeokhan Gyeolhonui Jungseok (2023)
My new favorite genre
I would classify this as "Kdrama - Melrose Place Style." It moves pretty quickly. It's not filled overly cliched Kdramas scenes (umbrella rescue, brushing teeth together, adults kissing with their eyes wide open.
The plot is straight forward with lots twists. Some predictable, some not.
The acting was a little eh in places but the FL did wonderful in her switch up. Sung Hoons voice sometimes is a little too deep so his lines come out like a Broadway performer but he's still pretty!
I'd absolutely recommend this if you want a more American night time soap feeling show versus a typical makjang.
Aeganjang (2018)
Very Nice Easy Binge Watch
Wow. I was not expecting this to be so good. And the best part was the lack of typical cringy kdrama elements.
I'm sad there are so few reviews.
Time slips are so tricky and they almost always seem to be thrown together in the end just to make things work out logically. This one was not perfectly done but not so bad as to be called "full of plot holes."
I'll give this one credit. It was very late in the series before I figured out the twist, but even then, there was such anticipation building up to the reveal, I could not stop watching.
The Shinwoo Bromance was sooo well done. Both actors were good but Young Shinwoo stood out among the rest. (More lead roles Ji-Hoon please)
It was perfect at 10 episodes. It almost felt draggy in spots but thats just because I was so anxious to see what happens next, I wasn't very appreciative of some of the heartfelt dialog.
It did overuse flashbacks a bit too much toward the end, but considering it wasnt produced to be watched all in one day, they were probably helpful to the original audience.
So 8/10 for me. Points deducted because I wanted to see more "affectionate action" with Jisoo and both Shinwoo's but I'm just greedy like that. Although, It was a little uncomfortable when scenes portrayed "minors" practically on dates adults but there was so little skinship here it didn't cross into anything inappropriate.
Sungkyunkwan Scandal (2010)
Delightful!
Very enjoyable. Background Plot was a little confusing with the King and who was with/against him, but the other storylines were so great.
Like many have said Song Joong-ki absolutely stole this drama. (Also he is a vampire cause aging? Where?) Every scene with him was just so much more than you normally get from a third or 4th lead. I'm actually picturing him in my mind as the lead on here and see it!
The other actors were mighty fine as well (minus the perpetual death stare from Ha In-Soo, rip to the actor)
Park Yoo-Chun (Seon-Joon) was so gorgeous in this drama. I miss the early 2010s and late 2000s when Korean men were still their natural light brown.
Park Min Young's role has been one of the only times I've actually believed a gender bender worked. She's pretty but not too pretty (just on the show. In real life, yes, she's pretty pretty!) Her voice was just soft enough to sound like a scrawny boy who was stunted in puberty.
Overall, great period piece, still a slow burn romance but it seems like there was enough action to keep me from salivating waiting on that first kiss.
100man-kai ieba yokatta (2023)
Not Terrible
I thought the premise and the acting was pretty good. The "whodunnit" was well guarded.
Complaints
1) the cinematography is that of a 2000s kdrama
2) I want the sound director/editor arrested for not knowing how to transition music between scenes.
3) The drama director can go too for having the male actor cry like a goofball during what should have been really touching scenes. Dramatic lines delivered as comedy was super cringe.
4) The last episode... I get why Naoki wanted the cop around, but why in heck was Yui not trying to spend every last single moment ALONE with Naoki instead of all that other jive.
5) The big reveal SCENE took too long to play out. It was painfully and obviously drawn out. The audience knew, the characters knew, but spending almost a whole episode in one spot just to hear some words... Could've been better.
What I did like was the Yui was not a weak, timid, adultchild which I've seen in the few J Dramas ive watched. It was refreshing and I hope to see more female characters that don't just exist serve a man in a show.