Noonchi
The Top Of The World
Magical at times, disillusioning at times….
Initial thoughts; I came across this drama through an exchanged list with a few friends. Have always loved Ji Chang Wook but I must admit that I wasn’t entirely engaged as some of his recent works have been a bit meh. Though I was willing to give it a go after seeing a promotional video.Tone of the show; ‘Sound Of Magic’ is very much what I’d say is a “ non offensive” show. It was sweet in parts, lightly melodramatic and angsty in others with a few cheery ( and sad) musical songs out of nowhere. Honestly I’m not saying that it didn’t go into issues and I thought that it was pretty brave of the narrative to go into some hard issues like inequality and hinting at exploitation. But it was very rarely pushed to the boundaries. Not saying that this a bad thing at all as the show was what it was. Lighthearted and occasionally dipping into some darker themes but never to the point of making viewers squirm or delivering shock. For those expecting a dark fantasy series like Hotel del Luna then you might be a bit disappointed especially as themes were rarely driven forwards.
Characters/ Acting ; I think as a lot of people in reviews have pointed out, Chang Wook’s character, the magician, was a bit disappointing. Honestly pleasantly surprised to see CW delivering an outstanding performance but his character sort of felt as though he had missing parts. I can’t say that I’m basing my judgement on the webcomic as I’ve never read it but even as a newcomer to the world of The Sound Of Magic, I have to say that the magician felt a bit lacking in charm and mystery. His character twist felt a bit sudden if I’m honest. Surprising but could’ve been built up or hinted at more.
The female lead was decent enough. The actress Choi Sung Eun wasn’t familiar for me apart from her performance in Beyond Evil but she was good. Her character felt a bit cliche if I’m honest. We’ve seen the poor girl trope so many times being branded and branded again that it can feel a bit lost amongst others. I did like the main female lead’s uncertainty and her genuine sincerity but I felt as though the narrative missed out on a lot of opportunities to explore her process of growing up too fast and coming to terms with reality as well as her mother not coming back.
The supporting lead was played by Hwang In Yeop. I’ve liked In Yeop like many since his performance in 18 Again and adored him in True Beauty. It was definitely weird seeing him play a “ good student” role aside from “bad boy” or “ delinquent bully”. Nevertheless his performance was fairly good and I definitely thought his onscreen pairing with Sung Eun was well done. His character felt a bit repressed at times. I liked the fact that the show presented the potential lover genuinely caring about the female lead and falling for her but there was a lot not talked about the supporting male lead nor understanding the female lead’s pain or struggles, or at least him coming to understand her circumstances more. His backstory was existent and even from a brief glimpse I feel as though we could understand a lot about him but could’ve been better.
There’s also the female lead’s bully who was necessary but definitely a cliche and superficial character. The ending felt a bit rushed more than anything and incomplete but the pacing was okay in my opinion just a little slow at times.
I liked the filming techniques and it did add a certain magic but there definitely could’ve been more in later episodes. The musical songs felt a bit bland. There were a few ones which were good but definitely not enough to get stuck in your head.
Overall; Decent series and fun but felt as though it could’ve been a bit more concise at times. Overall I liked it but I can say the trailer certainly made this one seem a bit edgier and provocative than it actually was in reality.
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Shiny But Dull…
I’m probably in a small minority here with ‘ Our Beloved Summer’ but the series really, really, really didn’t do anything for me.Don’t get me wrong. I have always had a lot of respect for Choi Woo Shik and Kim Da Mi as they are both brilliant actors and their roles over the last few years have been really varied. Even here I’d say that their parts as the main leads remained a really strong factor throughout the show.
But the chemistry? It’s hard to describe really. I guess it was a bit lacklustre. It shouldn’t have been because Woo Shik and Da Mi were really brilliant together in ‘ The Witch’ but it was hard to really feel any dynamic charm between their characters. It was existent but it felt a bit fabricated imao.
As for storyline it’s nothing really new or exciting per say. I really like how the series did take on a lot of old-fashioned tropes though and gave them a bit more depth than just the second female lead/ male lead being purely “ potential love interests” and having their own feelings and reasons also.
I felt as though the pacing was a bit off personally. As much it was kinda sweet to see characters grow, the plot did feel as though it had run its course by about episode 12. After that whilst there was still some element of plot, it was a bit overstretched. I felt as though the series could’ve done with either stopping at 12 episodes, or at least bringing in a more exciting plot-drive rather than feeling a bit repetitive after the 3/4 mark. The ending was to be expected in all honesty.
The scenes and cuts were arguably one of the strongest factors of the series. The colors were really bright and bubbly and helped to reflect a lot about the characters and the actual tones were glossy and slick. I felt as though maybe the series could’ve been a bit more creative with certain shots than just including standards sequences, but apart from that, I can’t deny a that the filming was pretty much eye candy. The OST was also good personally also.
I felt as though maybe like a lot of romance dramas with big names, ‘ Our Beloved Summer’ was a little overrated for what it was worth as the storyline and pacing were a bit tedious and dragged in parts and there wasn’t really anything new offered to the table. Yet I can’t deny that it was quite pretty with scenes, the acting was very good and the OST did particularly stand out. A strong 7.5/10 for me; not perfect but a decent romantic melodrama.
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A Bit Disappointing…
My personal relationship with this drama was definitely one of love and hate. I have to say this because I’ve always loved Lee Sung-Kyung. She is good actress and since her days in Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo, she’s always impressed me with her acting. Though where my pet peeves slowly crept in came from the direction of the plot. For me personally, the relationship between our leads while acting as the kingpin for the events of the plot, felt often underwhelming and dispirited by cliches and monotonous setups.Firstly, I’m going to say again that I had no problem with the cast at all . Kyung, her costar Kim Young-dae and supporting actors Yoon Jong-hoon, Kim Yoon-hye and Sojin were fairly decent here and were probably one of the saving graces of the drama series.
However where my issues did begin to manifest came through the actual screenwriting. I didn’t think it was entirely all doom and gloom per say. I actually thought the concept was interesting. It is still rare to see light shone upon the lives of those working behind the scenes in the entertainment industry and the drama was surprisingly willing to present this openly.
Yet unsurprisingly, the series relishes in the idea of bringing about all the joyous tropes and cliches of the hardworking and oppressed heroine into the generic stereotype of main female lead, Oh Han-byeol ( played by Kyung).
Now, I could see where they were going with Byeol as a character. Honestly, I have a lot of respect for shows which are willing to present the grisly realities of characters who work hard and the challenges that can arise for them. However in typical K-drama fashion, Byeol’s problems and issues are rarely tied with her character drive. Instead they were placed at the front of attempting to pair her off with main lead and unsurprisingly her rival and one of her artists that she’s forced to manage, successful star Gong Tae-sung ( played by Dae).
To be fair and like a lot of cliche dramas where we see unlikely love interests being paired off in a storyline, I certainly noticed that the character and relationship drive between Tae and Byeol did improve with time . However in between moments where we did actually see this relationship branch out and the storyline begin to mature at times , I still found it hard to ignore where there were garish moments of cheap comedy moments ( which raised a lot of issues)and questionable subplots.
This is where I could find a slightly grating element of the show. For me personally this came through the problems of the plot becoming quite monotonous in parts where we saw the same repetitive scenario of an issue/ point of conflict being raised, the main leads having to face it and “ struggling” with their feelings/ bond and then making up and repeat. I don’t always necessarily think having issues or dilemmas in a relationship is bad and can allow room for growth for characters. But rather than offering opportunities for us as viewers to see new problems arise or at least for even the characters to be conflicted with their own personal growth and careers was kept minimal.
As for the styling and OST I have to say I was in the middle with its impression on me. It was by no means bad. I liked how smooth some of the transitions were and typical of K-drama fashion, it was fairly sleek at times. However I can’t really say that on reflection that there were many scenes which really spoke out to me or made me do a double take. I know some may argue that a lot of editing and styling is down to production value but I’d argue that you don’t necessarily have to have state of the art equipment of editing teams to make an impression on fans; just intuition and imagination. Again, not saying it was bad just felt a bit lacking here and there.
Shooting Stars definitely feels as though it will win over more international drama fans than domestic in the long run. Do I think this is necessarily a bad thing? No, of course not. I don’t always think popularity is necessarily marked by the quality of a show but one of the main reasons why I decided to bring this up in my final thoughts came through acknowledging why it may appeal to some, especially in the international K-drama community.
It’s cheesy and easygoing fluff filled with a good mixture of familiar and rookie stars who helped to freshen up the roles to a certain extent.
On the other hand for me personally, I felt as though the show felt like a bit out of place and time in the sea of dramas for 2022. The writing felt a bit stale in parts including the character and plot writing and I felt as though what could’ve been a good springboard for a lot of old tropes and cliches being taken into a new light or being given a new spin slowly descended into a cesspit of predictable storyline. Overall a 7.0/10. Not bad but certainly could’ve been a better show for me.
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Good But Not Without Its Problems
I’ll be honest here. I definitely had mixed feelings before I started writing this review with what to put. I guess that I should probably start with my overall thoughts on the show.Personally I thought that ‘ My Liberation Notes’ was definitely well done from a screenwriting perspective . ( I mean what do you expect from the same writer of ‘ My Mister’?.) There was enough angst to pluck at your heartstrings but also a few opportunities here and there to explore lighthearted respite or focus on building up the characters as the plot went on.
HOWEVER, I have to say that while I honestly adore our main cast ( especially our main heroine played by Kim Ji Won) the show didn’t always possess a necessary spark for me in initial episodes. I’m not entirely what this was down to exactly. Maybe it was the acting slightly. That’s not to say that I thought the acting was bad at all. I was really impressed by the main cast as I said before and I can’t deny that Son Seok Koo really slammed the ball out of the ball pitch with his performance. ( Not a familiar face for me but I’m glad that ‘ My Liberation Notes’ has opened up my knowledge of some impressive actors)
Although while I do have a lot of things to praise by the acting here even I must admit early performances didn’t do a lot to really elevate these characters to life. To be fair I don’t think it was entirely the acting as pacing and writing maybe also played a key.
The first few episodes of the series were really bogged down on character introductions. I don’t think this is always a bad thing but rather than really giving us a lot of insight into the characters being built up, it felt a bit repetitive in this first part of the series before the action kicked off. Did I think this affected later episodes? Slightly. If I’m honest I thought that the second half definitely picked up and took note of these early mistakes but it didn’t always offer leeway to spicing things up. This isn’t to entirely be really negative though. I honestly did like how the plot panned out and the unexpected plot twists which played out here.
I’d say the filming was pretty good here. There were maybe a few moments here and there which felt as though they could’ve had a BIT more attention to detail but alongside the OST, I didn’t think this was entirely bad. Just a little incomplete in parts.
Overall thoughts; You can definitely tell this drama is cut from the same cloth as ‘ My Mister’ and considering it’s the same writer it is no surprise. I had my issues with writing and editing here and there but aside from my complaints, I thought that this was a surprisingly well balanced series with touching moments and intriguing characters. A strong 8.0/10.
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Not Quite As Tempting As It Seems…
Before I start this review I have to say that like a lot of ‘ It’s Okay, Not To Be Okay’ fans, I was attracted to the main star Seo Ye Ji being here. I was lucky enough to have seen her in Moorim and ‘ Save Me’ before one of her bigger roles, so I had an idea what to expect of her acting talents. I have to say that as per usual, Seo Ye Ji didn’t disappoint with her acting but even as a fan I can’t say it was the best either. ( Admittedly this was less down to SYJ and a lot down to the way her character was written with monotonous expressions and dialogue in writing and the script.)Nevertheless despite my adoration for SYJ I have to be honest with my genuine thoughts on the show ‘ Eve’. It wasn’t a bad show. By no stretch of the invagination would I say that it was dire. However would I say that it felt a bit disappointing at times? Then yes, certainly.
Without going over all the plot summaries again, the setup is pretty interesting. Initially it did borderline melodrama-thriller territory and helped to buildup a lot of suspense. ( Especially with regards to SYJ’s character.) The female lead’s initial scheming for revenge left a lot of the plot on an incredible high note during the first half but by the second part ( including the costume design) did sort of come crashing down. When I say crashing
, I have to say that one of the biggest problems because through trying to “ top” up the suspense. Rather than a lot of the events feeling as thrilling or on the edge of the seat, it became a bit tiresome and predictable with a lot of what was going to happen. Instead the drama felt as though it was playing out a bit too much like a makjang; a format that I’ve done to despise. ( Although I guess I did walk into that one.)
Additionally a lot of the characters felt a bit left in the dark too. I definitely thought there were a lot of interesting characters including our heroine and antagonist ( her former husband) but it seemed as though when we got into this second part, the drama wasn’t too sure what to actually do with them. They were sort of strung along in the plot or “ pivotal” moments to keep it interesting but aside from that even as a viewer, I have to say they did sometimes feel a bit pointless being onscreen.
Although we were supposed to be engaged in this potential love match and burning relationship with SYJ’s character and the haughty CEO, I have to say that I was pretty turned off in these scenes. Park Byung Eun and SYJ are both good actors but in addition to sub par onscreen chemistry, there wasn’t a lot to keep me engaged or make me feel incredibly impassioned about their onscreen dynamic. Saying that, Lee Sang Yeob was pretty good here and while his onscreen interactions and dynamic with SYJ was hardly flawless, I did find myself more engaged than with PBE.
Sadly the ending was also a bit of a letdown. I guess in my mind I could hear the sirens going off when I noticed how the plot was dipping in the second-half towards what the outcome would be like, but still I must admit that I was a bit disappointed that my suspicions were true.
Overall thoughts; I think that it’s been said enough times but ‘ Eve’ felt as though it should’ve been a lot more. It had an interesting setup, some good actors and an initially engaging tone but it felt as though it started heading south when it came to the writing being executed. The dialogue felt unnatural and stiff which didn’t help with some of the acting, while characters and onscreen chemistry felt a bit flatlined. Instead of being a brilliant thriller-revenge melodrama, ‘Eve’ felt to me like a glorified makjang with a great shadow cast over it by what it could’ve been. Not saying it was bad and trust me when I say that there were still some incredibly fun parts to the show as well as characters, but not entirely what I expected either. A strong 7.0/10.
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Link: Eat, Love Kill- A Surprisingly Disappointing Series…
I feel as though people who watched Link: Eat, Love Kill fell into three categories. Those who generally loved the show, a group that absolutely despised it and then those who had a love-hate relationship with it or alternatively fairly “ neutral ” feelings about it. For me, I definitely fell into the former category with having a completely mixed relationship with this series. This is because while I though the concept was interesting and like a lot of fans was intrigued to see Yeo Jin-goo in a new role, the actual execution of genres, the storyline and the weird tropes that were thrown my way did little to really make me intrigued.
I don’t really want to go over all of the events of the plot again but I’ll start off with a brief explanation with the plot. The male lead is a popular chef ( played by Yeo Jin-Goo) who faces a scandal of having a mental breakdown of sorts when he struggles with emotional mood swings. His acquaintances and the general public think that his mental health is on the blink but the male lead has a secret. He has a telepathic connecting with his seemingly dead twin sister.
The male lead begins to wonder if perhaps she is alive but just as he’s attempting to find out more answers to his questions, he ends up meeting the female lead and a typical officer ( Moon Ga Young). She had her own problems, (especially with records to having her own problematic past with men ) and instead flees back to her childhood home. Her mother and grandmother own restaurant, unsurprisingly leading her to meeting the male lead after he opens a bistro in the same place. ( I kid you not that this is also where he grew up.) The male lead hopes to help find answers to his new ability and the fate of his sister, while the female lead struggles with her own past coming to chase her too.
Oh, boy. I really don’t know where to start with this drama. I think aside from the initial contrived plot logic of too many coincidences taking place , Link: Eat, Love Kill has a pretty interesting setup. I’m not going to pretend to say it was perfect or flawless from the outset, as honestly, there was a lot which was problematic with the logic. However, I will say that there was at least some potential with this line of plot thread.
But this is also where the plot began to pear shaped even early on: there were too many genres and too many things happening in a short space of time. There weren’t a lot of opportunities to spread out these genres and even worse, they rarely felt well blended. I do think that perhaps the later half of the series did improve slightly on this and it did begin feeling a bit more settled but even then it was too little, too late.
I think where the biggest problems arose here was what the show was actually trying to be. In the first few episodes, we had so many plot points thrown at us which only seemed to ascend into a certain level of ridiculousness as episodes progressed. ( Without spoilers, there were moments even in later on where big plot revelations felt poorly connected and rarely fitted together with more ease.)
Additionally, the pacing issues of the show seemed to make more noticeable genre clashes feel really harshly put together. I honestly love genre fusion shows and think then when they are written well, they can be brilliant. The problem here was that the genres never really matched one another or helped to balance the other out. The series started off a fantasy note before shifting nearly entirely to crime thriller with cutesy romance slipping in between. This wouldn’t have been so bad if one of the major storylines of the show hadn’t been disregarded so much, leading to this attempt at multiple genres feeling imbalanced.
As I’ve said earlier on, I do think that the show did improve slightly at the ending and there was a little more consistency with some of the plot lines and genres. I don’t think that some of these storylines were entirely well closed off and did feel a little rushed by the ending but at the least conclusion wasn’t that bad and did offer a bit of closure to some of the storyline.
I think I should next talk about one of my major pet peeves with Link: Eat, Love Kill. The acting. Did I think the acting was dreadful? No, of course not. However did I believe that the acting left a bit to be desired? Yes, sadly I did.
I’m going to be really harshly honest here. I like Yeo Jin Goo as an actor. I thought he was incredible in Hwayi , deserving of praise in The Crowned Clown and really, really good in Hotel Del Luna. Which is what really surprised me with his performance here in this drama. By not means did I think it was absolutely awful and beyond watching. However I did think that it was surprising for a good actor to give out a performance and a choose a role which felt fairly flatline and rarely gave him a lot of medium. Admittedly I’m not entirely sure it was the fault of Yeo Jin Goo as I don’t think the writing helped per say ( especially when it came to the male lead’s often wooden dialogue, apathetic attitude at times and woeful angst.)
Sadly I also felt the same way about Moon Ga young. She’s a good actress and I absolutely loved her in True Beauty and Tempted but her chosen role and her performance felt a little underplayed. Again, I don’t think this was entirely Ga Young’s fault. Her character was often resorted to a damsel in distress during the initial part of the series and even into later episodes, she had this needy trait to constantly be saved or rescued by others which while possible serving as a good flaw and point of development, it was rarely changed. I felt as this the show could’ve really gone further with her character and especially her experiences as a victim of sexual assault but instead it was pretty shallow and reasonable rarely given a lot of substance.
The chemistry between the main actors was okay, I guess. I wasn’t buying into it that much in the beginning as I was getting sibling turned childish frenemy vibes initially, but it did kind of improve in the second half with a bit more tension. Still not perfect and honestly far from one of the best onscreen chemistries I’ve seen, but certainly not the worst either. The acting from the rest of the cast was pretty much the same as the main leads; watchable to an extent but definitely varied from performance to performance.
Overall thoughts; Link: Eat, Love Kill was definitely a challenge to get through and sadly not in a good way. As I’ve said before the second part was slightly better than the first and I can see the appeal for viewers wanting Yeo In Goo eye candy or who are able to take this just by face value. For me personally, I struggled to connect to the characters a lot and the tropes and contrived plot did make me question what I was watching even early on. The ending was admittedly one of the show’s stronger points but I have to say that there are better dramas out there for me than this.
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Cute!
To be honest I’m going to say openly that this wasn’t a perfect miniseries. I have a lot of things to nag about it.STRENGTHS
- Adored the FL- a lot of people kinda seemed a little torn at times between her but I actually could warm up to her straight away.
- The cutesy fluff- I’m a big fluff and cuteness fan. Don’t get me wrong. It’s mood dependent but it’s a guilty pleasure.
- Intriguing setup- I know it’s not entirely an original concept per say but ‘ Sweet Revenge’ did keep me intrigued.
NEGATIVES
- The acting- I’m going to be really direct. I didn’t think any of the actors were bad per say but some performances could be a little lacking in comparison to others.
The pacing- I loved the concept, but the pacing? That’s a different thing to say all together and could often feel rushed.
- The romance- For me the romance was a bit meh. It wasn’t necessarily that the actors were terrible or anything but nothing really hooked me either tbh.
Overall I didn’t think Sweet Revenge was bad or anything but maybe it was lacking a little also. Decent for watching when you’re bored or something quick. A 7/10 for me.
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Love Playlist: Season 5 (2021)
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Actually Kinda Sweet…
I’m a bit of cynic when it comes to “short” shows. I know that it’s wrong and trust me when I say that often my initial thoughts on shorter shows have been proven false, but often because of limited budgets, time frames and rushed writing (etc.), I can often find myself expecting the same old flukes and errors. Dear .M wasn’t entirely perfect but I would like to talk a bit about what I really liked and didn’t like with this series.What I Really Liked;
I have my peeves with the setup but I can’t deny that main actors Park Hye Soo and Jeong Jae Hyun were really good here. Their chemistry was surprisingly dynamic and you could feel a certain impassioned expression of affections between the leads which made their onscreen chemistry feel alive.
Another thing that I really liked about the show was the topics tackled. It was a simple plot and it didn’t exactly take a lot of mental strain to follow, but that didn’t mean it was entirely absent from thought either. A lot of the subjects weren’t brilliantly detailed but it was still pretty surprising for a fairly lighthearted romance series to bring in topics such as ethics as well as psychological, physical and financial toils on students also.
I also really liked the fact that the characters weren’t entirely one-dimensional either. We saw a lot of problems faced by the main leads as well as the side characters without the plot feeling really draggy by the halfway point either. ( The writing made a point also of showing the leads and side characters for the most part as actual students. A lot of drama fall into the honey trap of making them feel like they are hitching a free ride through studies whereas here the fact that a lot of characters actually had to deal with work, assignments and campus life helped to make them feel a bit more fleshed out.)
What I didn’t like;
I’m used to a lot of cliches with characters and in all honesty I don’t mind them but I like to see where shows can diverge these stereotypes early on. Here, the show followed a typical cookie cutter approach to its main leads and side characters. I won’t go into this too much but I will say that it does become a bit tiresome as a drama watcher to see drama with characters reinforcing the same old roles and stereotypes. ( Especially the jealous and envious female leads, as well as catty conflicts and miscommunication .)
I will say that the second-half did tone down this approach but it felt as though because the drama was so obsessed with trying to present final obstacles for our main couple as well as tie up events, it was lost to the fact of featuring our side characters with more prevalence in the second-half, often making them feel out of place aside from dragging out moments of tension and drama.
Personally I felt that the ending could’ve been a little better with helping to tie up loose ends a bit more and bringing key characters to the front and smoothing out the resolution but I didn’t feel there was much to really improve on here.
Maybe my only remaining pet peeve came through the OST. It wasn’t bad by any stretch but it wasn’t entirely define as particularly memorable. Yes, there were a few songs which were sort of fun to tap your fingers to or helped to define a few scenes but it felt as though it could’ve been a little less generic at times or varied with tracks. Maybe that’s just me but I can’t really say that a lot of chosen music was my personal taste in music.
Overall thoughts; Dear.M was pretty much what it said on the tin. I think if you’re going into this drama expecting tales of woe and joy and flawless presentation then you might be a bit disappointed. Though I do think if you accept that its a lighthearted romance drama with its rough edges and fun moments then you’ll probably like this one. I have my own personal annoyances with the series but for the most part, it was pretty fun. Overall I’m going to give this one a definite 7.5/10.
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Really Sweet!
I have a lot of positive things to say about A Business Proposal. Perhaps I should first of all make out that the series isn’t supposed to be overly original or new. It’s a cliche premise of the hardworking female lead meets the uptight CEO but there are some surprisingly different takes on the cliche which didn’t feel overly enforced or boring.I have loved most of Ahn and Kim’s previous projects and so to seem them starring side by side was really sweet. I also want to give a special mention to rising actor Kim Min Gue who played second ML Cha Sung Hoon. His performance was really captivating alongside his onscreen chemistry with Seol In Ah.
Maybe my few downsides did come with limited screen time. There were a lot of things going on here with characters which just weren’t taken any further after their mention. ( Such as the whole issue with In Ah moving out and her relationship with her dad, or Sung Hoon’s circumstances.) Maybe it’s just me but it felt as though it could’ve been a really easy thing to fix if the screen time had been spread better. ( Especially the ending. It was rushed.)
Overall not a bad show. Really sweet and fluffy but if that’s what you’re looking for then you will like it.
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Sixth sense or no sense?
My feelings for Kiss Sixth Sense are definitely mixed. On one hand, I thought that Yoon Kye Sang and Seo Ji Hye delivered formidable performances here as our main leads as well as surprisingly engaging onscreen chemistry. However while I was impressed with our main leads’ performances, I’ll be honest by saying that the writing and some of the casting choices felt poorly done at times.
First of all, I have to say that I’ve never read the webcomic . I have associates and friends who have done so and having briefly skimmed through some chapters, I can see where their opinions on the differences between the series and the live action drama come into play. One big thing that seemed to bug those that read the webcomic a lot after seeing some episodes or scenes of the drama came through casting choices.
Now as I’ve said beforehand, I can’t entirely base my personal opinions on these differences but even as someone who only has a loose grasp of the webcomic and characters, I have to say that I can see where these views come from. Don’t get me wrong. I have no issue with casting older actors into specific roles or playing younger characters and in many ways, this can offer viewers with some brilliant performances. However although I did think that the acting was pretty good across the board, I have to agree that there were a couple of casting choices here and there which did feel a little mismatched against the personalities/ personas of certain onscreen characters. Not saying it was bad to choose these actors but it did feel a bit starkly presented that some casting choices weren’t always chosen with the characters in mind.
Now that I’ve discussed one of my biggest peeves with the show, I guess that I should probably discuss a little about the writing and continuity. In all honesty I didn’t think the writing was entirely bad per say early on. It was cliche in parts but I actually think that the writing team did a good job with setting up the main leads and building up their onscreen dynamic to use in later episodes. However it did seem to me that in later episodes, the writing almost took a back seat and let the writing steer off course slightly.
What I mean by this is to say that the writing felt a little chaotic in later episodes with the writing team attempting to quickly resolve as many plot points as possible without always necessarily thinking about whether this would be something the characters in mind would do or act upon. For example what started off with a good dynamic between our leads descended into a cliche affair of events which while having a final resolution, felt overly predictable or poorly put together. I think that I share a lot of viewers’ thoughts regardless of whether you liked or didn’t like the show when I say that the ending felt a bit rushed and lacked a little clarity here and there.
The filming of the series was fairly good. I wouldn’t say that it really stood out and inspired me but it was pretty decent to watch. Maybe my one complaint here could’ve been that the show felt a little dull at times despite its genre mix, something the film and editing crew could’ve definitely intertwined into the onscreen narrative and animated to life a bit more.
The OST of the series was probably on the same level as the filming. It was decent and there were a couple of tracks like "Fantasy" by Suran and "You're Like Americano” by Yuju that you will maybe find yourself humming along to or tapping your fingers to the beat, but apart from that, it was pretty sub par in my opinion.
Overall Thoughts; Kiss Sixth Sense is what I define as probably an above-average drama. It was not terrible by any stretch of the imagination and there a lot of positives about the show like our main leads and elements of fantasy here and there ( though not encompassing the series) but it’s hard to really define a lot of outstanding marks with the show. The casting choices felt a bit mismatched, the writing did feel rushed at times and the filming and OST were pretty sub par. I think that someone is going into this show for a mindless and disengaging binge watch or isn’t too bothered by the quality of a series then Kiss Sixth Sense is probably ideal but for me, I have to say that this series was a bit of a time waster. Definitely a 7.0/10 for me.
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