Soula
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I think the first about 35 episodes were really good. I really enjoyed the gender-bender tropes in the beginning with Ki being a warrior and a rebel and all that. But then that was completely taken out of the plot, which I wasn't terribly upset about, but at the same time, I missed it (gender-benders are a guilty pleasure of mine haha). And then around episode 35, things started to slow down a lot and a lot of the plot devices started to be reused (for example, poisoning, assassins, characters dying, but surprise!, they miraculously survive!, etc). And I think what made the whole drama completely unsatisfying in the end was the fact that the Emperor of Yuan (played by Ji Chang Wook) was a complete coward and extremely unlikable as a person. And while the Emperor of Koryo had his flaws, it was tragic that he and Ki couldn't be together due to the shitty circumstances.~~~~~~~~SPOILER AHEAD~~~~~~~~~Read with caution!!!
Before starting this drama, I spoiled the ending for myself because I saw the "tragedy" tag; originally I was okay with the ending where Emperor of Yuan dies because then I figured that Ki could then have her chance with the Emperor of Koryo now that he was out of the way, but THEY KILLED OFF THE EMPEROR OF KORYO IN LITERALLY THE LAST 1.5 HOURS OF THE DRAMA. WHAT IS THIS SHIT?! They also killed off Yon Feisu, who I thought was a complete bad ass - her death really ticks me off just based on principle. And they also killed off Tal Tal who I adored - I'm kinda salty about that too. ???? (I really think that Tal Tal and Ki could have had something special between them if given the opportunity...)
And let's just be honest - the Emperor of Yuan was a piece of crap. He wasn't a man, his character had no true development, and he was just a pain to watch. All the decisions he made were foolish and self-serving, with no regard to what was best for his people and/or his reign. He didn't *love* Ki. He was obsessed like a psychotic person and literally made decisions to mess things up based on spite and jealously. How pitiful, childish, and annoying. I saw clips of Empress Ki that got me interested in watching it and honestly, they were completely misleading. There's nothing cute or loving about the romance between Ki and the Emperor of Yuan. This story truly is a tragedy, so if you're thinking about watching it, bear that in mind.
I know I'm harping on some stuff really hard, but it *was* a decent drama, but I just wasn't happy with how the writers handled the characters in the last 20 episodes or so and the ending. I was okay with there being sadness, but I don't think the tragedy was expertly written and so it left me feeling very unsatisfied and bitter. Definitely not a rewatch for me.
The actors in this drama were truly great -
Ji Chang Wook has always played quirky characters and he really did well portraying such an insecure and petty character.
I've tried to watch Secret Garden and Kings2Heart with Ha Ji Won and I wasn't impressed with her acting very much, but I think she did a really good job here. Not enough to make me an avid fan, but truly surprised at her performance.
Kim Ji Han grew on me. He's not conventional handsome, but man oh man did his acting grow on me. I think I'll try to pick up another drama with him to see how his acting is in another role. His voice is soooo sexy and he has definitely mastered the smolder. XD
I will also say that the OST was very good. I didn't get annoyed with any of the songs and the song selections for each scene were very well placed.
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In regards to the actors, I think everyone did a pretty great job with their roles. The only person I had a bit of trouble with was Jung In Sun - she was a good actress, but I think she had some trouble showing us the inner turmoil and mixed feelings her character was having in regards to her love interest and so it made her difficult to read and interpret, especially early on. I think her acting and representation of her character significantly improved in the last quarter of the drama when compared to when she initially rejects her perspective love interest more toward the beginning of the drama.
What I really loved about this drama aside from the comedic aspects of the story telling, was how there was no "bad guy." There wasn't someone who was ridiculously malicious or evil for the sake of moving the plot. Everyone had well-rounded characters who all made mistakes and tried their best to fix them or make amends. The conflicts weren't drawn out or bogged down with melodrama, instead they resolved things relatively realistically (with of course, the comedic flare). Another point I'd really like to make in recommending this drama would be that every conflict was resolved. The drama is definitely slice-of-life, showing us how we might fight with our loved ones and how inevitably, we figure things out without super grudges or vendettas.
If you are a fan of the ABC Family, Baby Daddy, or simply enjoy slice-of-life with romance and some serious comedy with a non-rushed ending, I would highly recommend Eulachacha Waikiki. You won't regret it and you absolutely won't be able to stop binge watching it, so maybe start on a Friday night. ;P
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Drama Special Season 11: Traces of Love
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Totally worth watching for Lee Sang Yeob!
I didn't even know 1 episode "dramas" existed, courtesy of KBS's yearly drama special series, but I'm glad to have stumbled upon them. These 1 hour-ish short stories are great to watch when you're in a funk or don't want to commit to a longer drama or just need a satisfying break.What made this drama worth watching was seeing Lee Sang Yeob. I absolutely adored him in Once Again and when I saw him in the trailer for this drama, I just had to watch it, especially considering it was a romance. And let me tell you, he did not disappoint. His acting was stellar, as expected. I even cried at one point when he portrayed his character's heartbreak.
Lee Yoo Young was okay. I've only seen her in 1 other drama (Tunnel) and she's just an odd person to me.
The ending was slightly rushed - I would have been okay with a slightly more drawn out, developed conclusion to their rekindled romance, but perhaps that was due to time constraints?
I didn't really notice the music, though, that's not surprising in an hour long drama.
I don't likely think I'll rewatch this. Not because it wasn't good, but because I'm not a huge fan of the FMC/actress.
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Promising story, horrible conclusion - UGH
DDSSLLS was solidly enjoyable in the beginning. Ra Ra was a bit of an airhead compared to my usual tastes in FMCs, but she was innocent and wasn't malicious at all. Her struggles were cliched, but believable - a fallen heiress having to adjust to life without. But who picked Ra Ra's wardrobe? It was okay *sometimes*, but most of the time, it was AWFUL. I know that name-brand expensive clothing can be pretty ridiculous, but this is crazy. Just WHY? *shakes head*ANYways, the side characters were also entertaining. I generally liked all of the side characters and their stories, but my favorite was Jun.
Jun was precious and a classic tsundere and I loved him 100%. My fierce adoration for him is why I'm pretty upset with how his story turned out. I was surprised by the initial plot twist in (I think) episode 6, but recovered quickly because the plot twist didn't destroy who he was. But once Jun's big secret was revealed, I wasn't a fan of how they wrote his story around his tiger mom. And THEN they wrote his "tragedy" into the finale and I just couldn't stomach all the flaws in their story writing anymore. How is it possible that this is the same screenwriter from Shopping King Louie?! (Though, not to go off onto a complete tangent, but Terius Behind Me flopped too sooooo. >.< )
I'm not sure why the writers felt the need to go in the direction they did in the last 6 or so episodes, but it didn't make me happy or satisfy me at all. Just because they "overcome" tragedy doesn't mean that their story all of a sudden becomes more endearing (this could apply to more than 1 character/set of characters). *sigh* And then the time jump in the end before the "epilogue" was such a cop out (so many products in entertainment do this and ugh it's annoying). *roll eyes* Write a strong ending/conclusion instead of a forced "happily-ever-after" after destroying the story with garbage tragedy and plot inconsistencies and fallacies.
I wouldn't recommend this drama. The beginning seems like it'll be a fluffy, sweet, drama, but it's really not worth it, even if the majority of the drama is light and fun. The conclusion to this drama really brought down this story.
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Disappointing: Rushed plot leads to underdeveloped characters
Double World was a highly anticipated movie for me for 2 reasons: Henry Lau and the OST MV "Don't Go" (also by Henry Lau). Both these aspects had me looking forward to the movie - it looked intense and interesting!Unfortunately, while the cinematography and set/costumes quality were great, the story really suffered from rushed execution of plot and poor character development. Due to the extremely rushed story, we do not get a chance to really get to know the main characters nor really capture the character dynamics between MCs. This was super disappointing because each of the MCs had so much potential to be interesting, but their stories were wasted due to their poor character development and rushed telling of the story. It felt like the writers were trying to fit a bunch into the movie, but to compensate for the amount they wanted to fit in, they rushed every plot point to fit everything in, sacrificing adequate development of both characters and plot. This was devastating to my overall enjoyment of the movie because in the end, when tragedy hit, I felt nothing. I wasn't sitting on the edge of my seat with anticipation/worry; rather, I was sitting back, kind of shrugging at the new development, unmoved.
*sigh* Overall, Double World is a serious letdown. It wasn't bad, but it severely missed the mark of "awesome" since you could taste the potential of the characters (and plot) but they were never given the opportunity to grow and shine. I would not recommend Double World, nor will I be watching it again.
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Put Your Head on My Shoulder
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AND what I really enjoyed was the great use of the OST's and sound effects. I'm a sucker for sound effects used to accentuate funny moments and this drama does a great job doing that! I also totally bought into the love story of the 2 MCs. They were so cute together and they're innocence was adorable to watch. And the trope throughout the whole drama - how the male MC thought with a scientific mind while the female MC thought with a more laymen's mind - was realistically funny to see from both sides when they misunderstood each other and came to understand one another.
The drama is easily binge-watched over a long weekend with how fast-paced and fun this drama is. Nothing got draggy thankfully. And I also think that the female MC's high school crush was handled well; honestly, I thought he was a pretty big loser, but they concluded his side of the story well. The only reason this drama didn't score higher for me was just because I truly disliked the story of the high school crush - even though he was handled well in the end, I didn't care for his character or his romance/story (I came close to skipping their scenes). If I were to ever watch this again, I'd definitely skip his scenes.
Overall, very fun, light-hearted, romantic comedy. I liked it so much that I'm willing to give more C-dramas a chance in the future. Recommend for sure.
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Unexpectedly amazing and light-hearted for a law movie
I was not expecting this movie to be nearly as good as it was or for me to like it and enjoy it as much as I did. I watched the trailer and it has some great actors in it, so I decided to give it a shot. I just finished watching it and it was really really good.I'm always worried that a law/crime based drama/movie is going to be too gruesome or brutal for me to stomach, which usually deters me from watching them, but the execution of this movie was pleasantly unexpected! It was much more light-hearted compared to a lot of law movies, which I really liked. But it still managed to hit on some very serious morals that made you think and analyze what you *think* you know or understand. I cried in the end.
The only reason why I took off 1/2 a star was because I would have really liked to know where each of the characters wound up in 2019 in the last scene. That would have helped provide a nice wrapped conclusion in the end.
Juror 8 was surprisingly good AND it's based on a true story. Excellent pace and well executed! I really enjoyed this. Highly recommend for sure!
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Anyways, the pacing of the 4 episodes was great with nothing moving too slowly or too quickly. I was TOTALLY surprised with who the bad guy was (but it doesn't take much to surprise me LMAO).
I also think that the writers did a good job with their selection of actors and how they portrayed the characters because many of the characters were left pretty mysterious until close to the end when their true intentions/tendencies were finally unmasked.
Overall, this drama wasn't perfect (for example, there were some character relationships that just seemed to fix themselves by the end of the drama that weren't really explained), but those imperfections didn't bring down the overall plot so they were easy to overlook for me.
I would recommend to anyone looking for a quick mystery-action drama!
****Also, please do NOT be scared of the ending. There is NO tag on this drama stating "tragedy" so do NOT fall for anything too quickly. XD I warned you! ;P
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Unfortunately about 3/4 through the drama the plot shifts and the children are taken out of the plot, which I think was a poor decision because their presence offered comic relief and something to gush over (the children actors were absolutely ADORABLE!). Things also got much more NIS involved, with the focus being more about spies and solving the case. I don't particularly mind this, but I very much preferred the plot prior to the shift in focus.
Something that REALLY bothered me was that the writers "killed" 1 particular character whom I grew to like and even though we end up finding out that that character isn't dead, I didn't appreciate the use of that trope personally.
There were also a few loose ends left unanswered, but nothing too terribly obvious, just things that left me pondering and wishing had been wrapped up better.
The soundtrack was very nice. I found that the music was well placed/timed and the music selection was appropriate in making me feel emotion during the right times. A personal favorite of mine was Shout to the Sky by Eun Sung - she has a beautiful voice and the tone is very fitting for the drama.
The main reason why I've rated this drama at a 7.5/10 is because it had so many sweet, lovely, and well-thought out pieces, but I don't think everything was put together and progressed seamlessly. For example, there are time jumps in the plot that are unspecified (the time jump duration is not stated) or they are somewhat random to conveniently move the plot, which I feel is poor planning and can be a bit sloppy and confusing, especially for the viewer. I am also absolutely disappointed in the fact that the romance that was alluded to throughout the entire drama was never truly resolved. There was no kiss to literally seal the relationship. And while many people might be okay with this, I really need more in a resolution to feel satisfied. And ultimately, the shift in the plot going from a lighthearted, comedic drama to a drama that became much more serious and mystery focused left me feel unsatisfied.
Overall, a good watch and something I would not be hesitant to recommend, but instead, explain it's shortcomings as a prelude as what to expect and encourage people to enjoy it for what it is. I will personally probably rewatch many of those comedic moments (mostly found in the first half of the drama, which usually involved the twin children) in the future simply because they made me smile and gush with happiness. :)
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Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo
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***SHOUT OUT to Kim Woo Bin --- major eye candy --- his character was my favorite. His temper tantrum for continued allowance with his parents was really funny!
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I really liked all the characters in this Reply series and oddly, I was highly entertained with the female MC's tantrums. They were hilariously cute to me and not annoying to me at all. I also found the younger brother (male MC) to be very attractive and his character was bashfully sweet. The way he ran to her when she was being stalked was *sigh* such perfection, it made my heart swell.
I also found Reply 1997 to be very reminiscent of my childhood, making me feel much older than I am (in a good way). I ended up being a little nostalgic and remembered all the things we went without in the 90's and did so differently, even here, on the other side of the world. I also liked seeing the similarities between here and Korea in the 90's.
Overall, while there were some obvious/inevitable flaws to the drama, the ending was thoroughly satisfying and the execution was well done. Since this was so good, I gave the sequel (Reply 1994) a fair chance (and I enjoyed it too - refer to my review for it, if interested).
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