HIRAI MOMO
D A E B A K !!! GIVE THIS DRAMA A SHOT! DON'T BELIEVE IN THE BAD REVIEWS!
Okay, before I get into a slightly detailed review about Itaewon Class let me tell you first that a lot of the reviews I've read so far were made by bogus watchers of KDRAMAS. They're either new to watching or have watched romantic comedy genres only so far. If you don't care about a rich story and you're only looking for a fluffy romantic and funny drama, then I guess this drama aint for you. But this drama goes beyond what you usually expect from a KOREAN drama and keeps you interested the whole journey while episodes keep on getting better building up.Itaewon Class is amazing. I literally adjusted all the scores of my completed dramas in order to accommodate my rating for Itaewon Class. Among the six remaining dramas in the 9.5 list of my profile, is Mr. Sunshine and Live -- which I consider co-top 1's. I firmly put Itaewon Class as my 2nd best drama watched ever, and it's not because it was lacking in any way, but quite the opposite. It's just that the two dramas ahead of Itaewon Class made me cry more :)
This drama had everything, and I mean EVERYTHING. From a dark-skinned character, transgenders, corrupt officials, and more. This drama tackled racism and gender discrimination at some point which are issues in South Korea. All I can say is that this drama is out of the norm.
I loved every second of this drama; as each episode goes by it keeps getting better and better. The characters were complex and character development was on point. The antagonists were perfect; they were so perfect to the point where you can't even hate them at the end. The story was rich and balanced dealing with a bit of romance and comedy, but a lot of heart-warming, sad, and hype scenes. Above all else that was amazing in this drama, the ending was perfect. The writers did a good job portraying each individual's last moments in the drama bidding them to a good farewell, having no loose ends.
Overall, this drama is a must-watch, especially for cultured drama watchers. It's hard to put all my opinions in one review because everything started at least 8 weeks ago, and my review can never do this drama justice, but just give this drama a shot and I guarantee you, as long as you keep an open mind and stick through the end; you'll most definitely get attached.
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Single’s Inferno Season 3
25 mensen vonden deze beoordeling nuttig
A season worth forgetting
As of me writing this review, I have not watched season 1 of Singles Inferno.A lot of factors have contributed in making season 3 a very forgettable show.
It honestly felt like everything was going in the right direction for the first 2-3 episodes because the production team managed to introduce something new and interesting to the show. They also tried to replicate what made season 1 & 2 so successful; however, they failed miserably in that aspect.
This season tried to copy:
Song Ji-a:Kim Gyu-ri = not enough presence
Kim Jin-young/Dex:Cho Min-ji = not even close
Season 1, and also season 2 to an extent, had at least 1 female contestant that was commanding attention from a lot of the male contestants.
Season 2 had a new contestant join in mid-show that completely stirred everything up and introduced a new dynamic to the show. An interesting character that everyone was talking about which eventually became the main character of the show.
Both seasons had a contestant that we knew just from watching the show had the potential to become famous outside of Singles Inferno -- and one of them actually did. This season has none.
What else was season 3 trying to replicate? Lee Nadine = Hye-seon? Valiant effort but Nadine just has quite a strong grip on international fans.
What really felt apparent to me is that Singles Inferno 3 became a very casual, non-serious, and light kind of show compared to season 2 (and that is magnified by the production team's way of editing scenes and the added screen time of the panelists and their funny commentary). Season 2 had this heavy tension I felt when watching, season 3 has none of that.
Season 3 will leave little to no impact on me after the show; I won't be interested in the contestants and what they'll be doing in the future. Season 2 on the contrary left a hole on my stomach and kept me interested in the contestants for a quite a while after the show (still interested in Dex till this day).
Casting really felt bad this season. You know that things are bad when you have to rely on Gwan-hee for the entirety of the show. Everyone is absolutely hating on him, but he's probably at least 60% of the show. He's definitely good for the show, but there should have been a contestant casted that would place higher than him. Gwan-hee would have fit in better as the antagonist of the show against the actual main character. I'm just not a big fan of Gwan-hee's Inferno.
Who are the contestants that are needed in the show?
Top: Jin-seok
Top: Ha-jeong
Top: Gwan-hee
Mid: Min-kyu
Mid:Hye-seon
not needed: Min-young
not needed: Min-ji
not needed: Gyu-ri
not needed: Si-Eun
not needed: Won-ik
not needed: Min-woo
not needed: Ha-bin
This is purely based on possible contributions of the contestants to the potential show Singles Inferno 3 could have been if they managed to create a better cast alongside the 5 contestants needed I listed above.
On a sidenote, Dex's addition to the panelists was such a great move. His raw and relatable commentary was needed in the show.
What else felt weak this season? Timing, going to paradise, staying in inferno. It felt like these things didn't matter much, most contestants were sure of whom to pick. The games and their corresponding consequences also felt weak. The entirety of the show felt weak because inferno and paradise felt weak.
I didn't collect my thoughts well enough to make an actually good review (to which I could've done better) but this is how I feel. Singles Inferno 3 was honestly a disappointment; Singles Inferno 2 had me craving for so much more after the show, but this season only had me wishing for an actual good season next time around.
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Secret Tour: Don't Call My Name
7 mensen vonden deze beoordeling nuttig
This is honestly the best!
This may be the best (but regrettably short) reality-show I've ever watched. As always, the members are fun to watch, entertaining, and ever so funny. It's been so long seeing the members together like this, and as a four-member group as well. This reality shows their true personalities, worries, and everlasting friendship through a well-deserved, much-needed vacation. At times I felt emotional getting through this show as they showed what worries them and how they wanted to remain as CNBLUE "the band" until they're grandpas.This is definitely worth the watch! I wish they could've made this show much longer. Hopefully, CNBLUE becomes much more active now that they've managed a comeback after 3 years and 8 months and continue making content like this. CNBLUE HWAITING!!!
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This drama doesn't deserve the hate it's getting
Watching this drama while it was still broadcasting is a curse. Seeing all the negative comments from the majority was like losing my appetite from eating a delicious meal. My greatest advice to people who are genuinely eager and curious to watch this drama is to stop reading reviews and start watching this drama earnestly. Seeing opinions from others will greatly influence your take on this drama, and it's best if you could view this drama in a much more objective way. I heard people liked how this drama created so much buzz for people to share their opinions excessively, but for me, it ruined it.Start-up was honestly a very enjoyable drama, and I plan to rewatch this drama once I forget all the opinions that kept messing with how I felt about everything. Especially as an aspiring developer, this drama connected with me well. It filled my eyes with hope and aspirations for a future that could possibly be bright in a world full of darkness. This drama shows you that there's always light at the end of a tunnel, and this is exactly what I needed at this stage in my life. I've learned that even with ridiculously impossible circumstances, you won't know if you can overcome such obstacles unless you risk things and try to leap forward. This drama teaches you about reality. There's always a fine line between idealism and realism, and everyone is tasked to find that fine line. Dream big, but act within the scope of your limitations, then slowly build-up to take a step closer to your goals.
Besides what I've already said, the cast is just...perfect. I loved every single one of them and the characters they played. There were a lot of cute and relatable characters and I can't express enough how much I felt attached to some of them. Of the many things I think was good about this drama, the OST was just incredible.
Overall, this is a great drama that could've ended with a rating of 8.5 in my books. However, I tried to rationalize with my inner feelings and I decided to give it a very high rating. My 9.5 rating for this drama could still change someday depending if my standards change in the near future, but as of now, this drama deserves a 9.5.
Just stop reading more reviews. Whatever anyone says, this is still a high-profile drama that had an 8.7 rating before everyone started going ballistic.
Edit: I'm currently rating this drama 9.0
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Expectations were high, but disappointments are higher
*Disclaimer: These are just just my opinions, and if I say anything that seem like I'm hating, I'm only saying itfrom my objective point of view.
I think Zombieverse season 1 was a success, and the staff should've known what the strengths of season 1 are. But instead of doing that, they said fuck all and made the show into complete bullshitry. The first thing they should have done is create a solid and intriguing storyline for this sequel. Season 1's storyline was progressive, realistic and above all felt "natural" -- remember this word as it becomes a recurring thing in this sequel.
Throughout season 1 the cast were moving forward in a direction that made sense in order to escape the zombies and survive. In season 2 we are introduced to a handful of new cast and how they meet the original cast; ultimately sharing a goal of helping humanity cure the undead. But in that quest of saving humanity, the staff somehow write a storyline that feels like nonsense for the most part.
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I'll discuss points throughout season 2 in this section:
- The introduction to the sequel was good, new cast members were introduced as evacuees in Jeju Island and face problems because the facility has been infiltrated with zombies.
- Dindin and Tsuki should've not been reintroduced in this point of the story. They should've been reintroduced later on when they were trying to leave Jeju. Imagine them being the presence that could've saved the evacuees as they could've been reintroduced on the boat that they boarded last season -- this creates a sense of continuity from the previous season. It could've been a delightful surprise to the viewers and would have been more impactful than having them be part of the initial evacuees.
- The challenges from the Jeju facility were decent. It's essentially a tutorial for the new cast and I don't mind that.
- But it would've been nicer if Dex and Lee Si Young showed up later in the facility. After the tutorial phase, the new cast should've faced a challenge that was practically impossible to complete, that's when Dex and Lee Si Young should have been reintroduced -- in a dramatic way.
- After being saved by Dex and Lee Si Young, they still gather at their hideout. After that, the staff should've made a boat escape instead of a helicopter ride. The team would make a critical mistake in trying to find the rescue boat but then Dindin and Tsuki arrive in their fish boat coincidentally to save the remaining survivors.
- After this the cast go to Yangyang, and this is where all fucks are thrown out the window. I don't mind them introducing special zombies that inherit their attitude before becoming undead. But the main problem here is how the staff essentially created games that required a survivor the be sacrificed. The natural and somewhat realistic aspect of the show ended quite literally. Things felt forced and the show completely turned for the worse.
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Fixing things from this point on would prove to be harder compared to the start. So I'll talk about things that they did wrong or what could've they done instead.
- Forced challenges or games: this was the worst, why create challenges that felt entirely like games. How can the viewers get immersed in the show if the show itself is making it look like things are fake. Eliminations felt unnatural unlike season 1 where survivors who died were killed due to their actual circumstances.
- they didn't utilize and capitalize on the strengths of season 1: everyone knew that at the end of season 1 the main characters were Dex and and Lee Si Young. They displayed heroic feats and amazing leadership in season 1, but in season 2, Dex, despite trying his best, took a backseat wherein his action scenes were few and far in between -- they should've purposefully created scenes that would make him feel more important just like in the prequel. Lee Si Young was relegated as Hong Chul's babysitter -- as the "badass woman" why wouldn't they make her more involved. She was still leading a lot, but not as much as the sequel. The comedic part of season 1 was also a strong point but mainly due to the constant bickering some of the cast had with each other. But in season 2, it felt like the cast that were asked to bicker with each other was trying to do too much and the balance was way off. Actually, the balance of comedy in the whole show was off; this show has turned into a complete clown fiesta.
Finally I'll just talk about the cast:
From the original cast:
- Dex and Lee Si Young did good but the spotlight should've been more on them.
- Dindin did quite well
- Tsuki and Patricia did good but it made no sense that they were eliminated super early for bs reasons.
- Hong Chul - he was supposed to be one of the best, but the things the staff asked him to do were nonsense. even his damn "death" was stupid.
From the new cast:
- Chef Rush did good, I think it's only right that he was eliminated early. Though I think the challenge they prepared for him as a zombie was bs.
Defconn - honestly, he was ruining the cast team dynamic for me. He wasn't needed in the show.
Taeyeon - I liked her, a character needing extra care is always needed in these kind of shows.
Code Kunst - He was reliable and I liked him. But I feel like he was lacking personality in this show.
Se Ho - He was a gread addition to the cast. He provided great comedic scenes but he desperately needed a comedic partner that could keep up with him.
Sungjae - he was the best out of the new members. he was reliable and funny. It made no sense that they killed him off.
Eunbi - I'm a fan of Eunbi but she totally ruined it for me. Her acting sucked and throughout the show she didn't feel immersed. The staff probably wanted to get Dex and Eunbi chemistry in the show, but nothing of that type happened. Her character honestly felt unnecessary in the show.
People they could've gotten instead:
Hong Jin Kyung - very funny and I could see the chemistry between her and Se Ho
Yang Se Chan/ Jeong Jun Ha - both are funny and would change the dynamics a lot. this was a hard choice because Hong Chul in season 1 was perfect for this role.
Key - having him would make Taeyeon more active. He also reacts quite well.
The final lineup:
- Dex: leader, main character
- Lee Si Young: leader, main character
- Dindin: experienced survivor maybe plotting betrayal
- Tsuki: little sister
- Patricia: little sister
- Hong Chul: funny semi-antagonist
- Se Ho: comedy veteran
- Sungjae: clumsy, funny, but also reliable
- Taeyeon: damsel in distress
- Key: high maintenance character
- Hong Jin Kyung: comedy veteran, Park Na Rae replacement
- Yang Se Chan/ Jeong Jun Ha: comedy veteran, always arguing and maybe plotting betrayal
- Code Kunst: unexpectedly reliable
- Chef Rush: wild card
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Alchemy of Souls: Part 2
14 mensen vonden deze beoordeling nuttig
An otherwise perfect drama that has fallen from grace
I'll keep it short and simple: They should have ended the series in season 1 adding just 2-4 episodes totaling 22/24 episodes.There were good things in season 2 but there were more things that made the drama bad than good. The direction of the story completely went south and one bad decision led to another. They did a great job with season 1 and should have just kept using the same formula instead of being ambiguous. The writers definitely had a hard time choosing between one or the other, so they decided to create a story of in-betweens. They should have just committed to one direction of a possible story instead of trying to please both sides.
Season 2 kinda felt like a mess and the final scenes were lackluster and unsatisfactory, but I wouldn't say that the drama was completely bad. Ultimately, season 1 was an absolute masterpiece, while season 2 needs to be watched just to achieve closure from the drama -- unfortunately.
Side note: I love the main cast of both seasons to death. I wish nothing more than their success in future dramas <3
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It's been a while since I last finished and watched a drama so I'll try to keep it simple
Is Sisyphus: The Myth a good drama? Frankly, yes.Is it totally mind-blowing and perfect with little to no plot holes? Nothing too impressive about the drama, but still was an enjoyable one.
Things that will make you watch this drama and finish it without dropping:
-the characters and the cast are amazing <3
-this drama is the type that will make you curious about the ending. for me at least, I was never really sure what was gonna happen next.
Overall, this is a good but a tad bit confusing drama. I've said it a few times in my different reviews, but whenever you watch a drama about time travel, you should keep an open mind. Since time travel doesn't exist -- at least for now -- there aren't really rules to it that are perfectly acceptable to everyone. Don't try to think too much about why 'this' and 'that' shouldn't work, instead think about why 'this' and 'that' work particularly in this drama. Just learn to go along the flow of the drama then I can guarantee you that you'll somewhat enjoy Sisyphus: The Myth. Enjoy!
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I actually only watched this drama because of Lee Sun Bin. I am a big fan of Running Man, and Lee Kwang Soo, a member of Running Man, is Lee Sun Bin's boyfriend. Prior to The Great Show, I watched 38 Task Force (Lee Sun Bin was also in this drama); 38 Task Force was a great drama (though it has nothing to do with the great show I just wanted to share), a drama about a group of people making the world a better place with the use of their conning skills. Another Drama, My Fellow Citizens, is a bit similar to both dramas mentioned above; there's conning involved also the main protagonist is trying to get into the national assembly.
To cut down to the chase, I was disappointed with The Great Show. The main selling point of this drama is the character development, and they did a fairly good job portraying that. But what was lacking for me was the overall impact of the story. Watching this drama didn't keep me glued to my seat, but rather I wanted the drama to finish quickly just so I can witness how everything ends. And to my disappointment, even the ending was not satisfying, to say the least; I dare say that the entire plot was worthless because of the ending. The writer tried to make a happy ending where every character had a happy ending with the expense of the main protagonist's childhood dream. All in all, this isn't a drama you should watch if you want a story you could connect with, it's more of a drama you could choose if there's barely any left for you to watch.
I have no idea why this is higher than My Fellow Citizens, or why My Fellow Citizens has such a low rating to be more specific. My Fellow Citizens was a lot funnier than the Great Show, and the plot was a lot more intriguing.
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So here's the review part:This drama is the type of drama where you can see the flaws and not help but talk about them out loud, but also the type of drama where you wouldn't care about its flaws and watch non-stop otherwise. This drama was realistic and unrealistic at the same time; most of the realistic parts were about the hard truth of life and most of the unrealistic parts were mostly concerning the romance part of this drama. I may say that some romance parts of this drama were unrealistic, but that may be because I am used to the 1 season/16 episode format of most dramas. I am not familiar with dramas having 2 seasons or more; meaning, dramas like this are probably meant to be unnaturally fast-paced. The overall story was enough to pique my interest. This was probably due to the main(?) conflict of the drama; I kept watching every episode as I was curious to whom the main female lead would fall in love with at the end. This simple reason kept me wanting more (also why this drama deserves a score of 8.0-8.5), and why I am eagerly waiting for the release of a second season.
This is the rant part: >:(
I'm sorry but I can't believe most people prefer Sun-Oh over Hye Yeong. Besides Sun-Oh's romantic side, he's completely messed up. He has such a bad attitude and is a complete hypocrite. First of all, Hye Yeong fell in love with Jojo first; not to mention, Sun-Oh knew about it and still daringly flirted with Jojo. Sun-Oh keeps making Hye Yeong seem like the bad guy; saying he was never on his side (bich he took care of you ever since you were both little). Sun-Oh said at the 16:15 mark "You know exactly what Kim Jojo did to me. Yet how could you, of all people, do this to me?" (what a hypocrite this guy is); like I said before, Sun-Oh knew from the very beginning that Hye Yeong liked Jojo, Hye Yeong treated Sun-Oh very warmly and as mentioned in the previous episodes he was there for Sun-Oh during his hard times (unlike Jojo having no one). So how could Sun-Oh, of all people, do that to his dear friend, Hye Yeong. With the way things are going (with my personal preference in this drama), the only acceptable ending would be Jojo ringing Sun-Oh's love alarm but also love alarm 2.0 predicting that Hye Yeong becoming "the person you will fall in love with".
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The World of the Married
4 mensen vonden deze beoordeling nuttig
What I didn't like about this drama is that there was barely any story build-up. Some would disagree, but I'm saying this because almost the entire time the drama was filled with tension. From start to almost the end, nothing was peaceful and you wouldn't anticipate anything big to suddenly happen. Scenes were fairly easy to predict; you wouldn't ask yourself "what's going to happen", it's more like "how it's going to happen". You'll know exactly what'll happen but not to what extent/degree. For 80% of the drama, I was completely annoyed with only one thing..... and that's for you to find out....
Now let's talk about a few positive things on why this drama was a success:
-The cast was amazing! Everyone did a job; acting was on point.
-Kim Hee Ae was honestly the saving grace of this drama. She definitely deserves the best actress award she
received from the Baeksang Awards.
- Kim Young Min and Park Sun Young roles were also my favorite.
-Honestly, the story itself wasn't anything special to begin with; it's how the drama was directed that deserves
high-praise.
Overall, it's a good drama; just not my cup of tea. I wouldn't really recommend this drama -- especially for light/casual watchers and newbies.
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Oh boy, the people in the comments couldn't be more right. Sell Your Haunted House is definitely a hidden gem. I literally had no expectations going into this drama, but after watching just a few episodes, I was hooked. I don't normally binge dramas easily, but this drama is an exception.
Let's talk about the strengths of this drama.
The cast - The cast and their chemistry are unrivaled. I don't think any other actors/actresses could've done a better job. I suggest watching behind-the-scenes episodes after watching the drama.
The characters - Oddly enough (and this is rare), I didn't find any of the characters annoying. I felt like every character served a purpose and was not in a way useless.
Comic relief - there were tons of funny scenes, but not too much. What I hate the most in any kind of drama is when there are too many comedic scenes that are way too exaggerated. Most of the time, I drop such dramas because I can't take the story seriously.
The story - The story was quite interesting and was unexpectedly deep. What I thought was just a light story at first turned out to be the opposite. A lot of things were connected and the characters had an appealing backstory.
Any complaints about the drama? Every drama has a flaw or two, and Sell Your Haunted House had a major one. Somewhere near the ending of the drama, there were some anticlimactic twists. I would've preferred something else for the story that would make everything even richer.
Overall, this drama was so enjoyable. I've definitely become a fan of Jang Na Ra. Give this drama a shot, you won't regret it.
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Stranger 2 just didn't feel like a very well-built cohesive unit like Stranger 1 did. It honestly felt like there were separate excellent stories packed into one drama. Cases felt like they were less and less connected to each other as episodes passed by and it felt like the drama was going to an unknown direction at times.
The real reason why I didn't enjoy Stranger 2 as much I enjoyed Stranger 1 is because they reduced the impact factors that Stranger 1 had. I'm pretty sure those who have enjoyed Strangers 1 liked it for a variety of reasons, mainly, the cast, the story, how everything felt connected, the chemistry of the leads and support characters, the shock factor, and a lot more. And in season 2, they totally reduced some of this. The two most obvious ones are the shock factor and chemistry of the leads. There were fewer scenes when you would just "wow" from the reveal, and Hwang Si Mok X Han Yeo Jin moments were almost non-existent until the 2nd second half of the drama.
This is probably one of the most disorganized reviews I have made, but I just wanted to share my raw opinions on this drama. Aside from things that I felt like could've made the drama better, the story was still excellent. The drama was more sophisticated as there was more dialogue and less action involved. The story tackled a much broader stance of corruption and took justice up a notch.
Final thoughts: If there was one thing that really stuck to me, it was the final episode. I really loved the final episode and how they disclosed everything in a slow-ish manner. I don't think anything was left unattended and in the open and I couldn't have asked for a better finale than that.
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DRAMA OF THE YEAR
Honestly, I wanted to make a slightly in-depth review for this, but I've seen a lot of extremely good reviews posted already; so instead, I'll try to make it short and simple.I have absolutely no idea why some people are calling this overrated. It was definitely being talked a lot about within the community but outside the MDL community, almost no one knew about this drama. The cast wasn't your typical mainstream household names, so non-avid watchers weren't swarming to watch this drama and join all the hype it was creating. Flower of Evil definitely isn't overrated. I honestly wanted this drama to garner even more attention than initially gained.
This is exactly what I was looking for in a genre like this. I often found myself at the edge of my seat losing my breath as I didn't want to miss a beat in very intense scenes. I kept asking myself "HOW??", "THEY'RE ACTUALLY DOING THIS??", "THE WRITERS DID THIS THIS EARLY??" in the majority of the drama. This drama will keep you second-guessing, and it's what makes this drama so fun; you're never too sure of yourself.
Flower of Evil is a masterpiece. It is definitely a very interesting drama to watch. What more can I say?
Last words: Unexpectedly heartwarming
Everything was somewhat... poetic in a sense
edit: the ending? not so sure about my thoughts about it. I can't wrap my mind to it if there could've been a better one.
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