DCiA: Drama Recommendation Challenge

Recommended by Karma 
17/09/2024  - 22/09/2024 

Review: https://mydramalist.com/profile/Jojo7/reviews/391509 

Recommended by Grumpy Witch 
01/11/24 - 10/11/24

Review: 

✅ The romance between the leads stood out to me. It was built on mutual respect and understanding, rather than the typical supernatural or superficial dynamic. Their evolving relationship felt natural, with palpable chemistry and genuinely good kisses.
✅ The drama excelled in revealing the backstory of the male lead, Woo Yeo, and his complex past. There were moments that helped explain why he appears cold and distant at the start, gradually contrasting with his more heartfelt and vulnerable character as the story unfolds.
✅ Hye Sun's relationship with Woo Yeo was enjoyable to watch. I was glad they didn’t cast her as a typical "rival love interest," but instead gave her a fun and genuine platonic friendship with him. Their playful insults followed by mutual support was a nice touch.
❌ The first half of the drama started strong and engaging, with plenty of fun moments, but it fizzled out in the second half. The pacing became inconsistent, and I felt that the character development from the first half was undone later on.
The male lead is 1,000 years old, but his communication skills are more like that of a 1 year old. It was frustrating how often he left the female lead for her sake, instead of just talking things through.
❌ The SML's character was underdeveloped. They could have explored his unrequited love in more depth. Honestly, his presence in the story didn’t add much. Things would have been almost the same without him, except for the occasional jealousy trope.
❌ The second couple had great chemistry and intriguing dynamics. I wish they had received more screen time, as their story could have been much stronger. The focus should have been more on them, rather than stretching the main couple's storyline with unnecessary plotlines.

Overall, this was a fun, one-time watch that balances its supernatural theme with a good romance. While it has its flaws, it’s still enjoyable.

Recommended by  Grumpy Witch   (Chose the Actor, We choose the drama) 
05/12/24 - 29/12/24

Review : 

Positives:

1. The character backstories are well-developed, making it easy to get invested in everyone in the first half.
2. Baobao stands out as my personal favorite while Chulan is likable but a bit thick-headed at times.
3. The blend of historical and modern elements is done smoothly and enhances the overall storytelling.
4. Wang Ye and Zhuge Qing friendship was very entertaining for me! It was good to see them together even though very briefly.
5. Despite a lack of romance, the plot is engaging enough to keep me hooked for the most episodes.
6. The competition section was really interesting. Even though the CGI was on the best, still worked well.

Negatives:

1. Chulan's character evoked mixed feelings in me. His immature, self-centered behavior was occasionally annoying and the hairstyle was disappointing (especially that ponytail. Lol)
2. The comedic moments sometimes felt forced, with some scenes being more cringe-worthy than funny. An example of this was the bath scene in episode 3.
3. The abundance of side characters made it difficult to keep track of them all, and the acting was inconsistent. It was overwhelming at times and I occasionally had to rewind to remember who's who.
4. The latter half of the series felt rushed. While the early episodes did a great job developing characters and their personalities, the second half sort of bore me except the last episode and also some sections felt unnecessarily drawn out.
5. I was expecting more screen time for Neo Hou but was disappointed by his limited presence considering how powerful he was shown!

• Overall a good one time watch with few hits and misses for me!

Recommended by Karma  (Chose the Tag 'Friends to Lovers', We choose the drama) 
/01/25- /01/25 

Review :