Grooty
"Everything is connected". A perfect example of Butterfly Effect. Our life choices are our own fate.
Train was an astounding drama. Every episode is like a literal roller coaster that builds up momentum until the end of each episode, at the end of each ride (episode), you will be wanting more! The acting, the cinematography, engrossing story, amazing soundtracks that added depth to every scenes and the big to tiny pieces of details that are connected and made a lot of sense.The story is consistent and logical. Every scenes are well connected to each other; to main plot and to what the show is trying to convey. There are no filler episodes; the plot is tightly packed. It may seem the story is focused on serial killer but it's actually not. The show dealt crime and investigation but in its core, it tackles how our life choices affect us and the others around us without even knowing, and how our choices become our fate that mold our life to who and what we are in the present. That one's choice will not only affect you, but also of countless of other people around you. The two worlds perfectly demonstrated this effect. The "what ifs" of World A were perfectly mirrored and manifested to World B. The characters of both worlds are basically the same but were differently molded by life experiences because of one's choice.
The parallel world execution is one of the best I've seen. Switching between worlds are crystal clear and so clean. You can easily distinguish each worlds by their transitions and color tones. The actors also did really well differentiating their characters from both worlds.
One thing that I wish they were able to do was to explore more of supporting characters backstories especially Do Won B. I was fascinated by the character that I keep wanting to see him more. Sadly, this was only a 12 episode drama that is already tight as it could be and there was no room for more backstories that could potentially slow down an already great pace of the drama.
The acting was very commendable. Everyone did excelllent job portraying their parts. I was completely pulled in especially during emotional scenes. I never ever cried in a heavy thriller drama but Yoon Si-Yoon made me teared up numerous times. His emotions will just draw you in. Portraying parallel characters in this drama is extra difficult because the characters are the same but with different life experiences. So the actors need to simultaneously show similarities and differences which they pulled off really well.
The full soundtrack was amazing. The high bass mid tempo sounds, the revealing deep violin sounds that incorporated in suspenseful events, the combinations of different instruments that are exhilarating, the use of actual voice to create haunted whistlings. Also, the songs "With You" for emotional scenes and flashbacks and superhero-themed like "I Will Never" song that was played at the end of each episode are the best! All of these plus the acting, the gripping story, the cinematography have come all together to create a wonderful drama!
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Writers gave more effort on the fluff than the plot
Personally, I enjoyed it. The leads are engaging, and I love chemistry. It's cliché, yes, but the same cliché wouldn't work if the actors didn't have the same chemistry as BWS and KHY. Heartwarming and fluttering, not as heavy as the first episode suggested. (Although my expectation was the show would deep dive into mental health of idols and tackle the issues with great careness)If we're talking objectively, the time travel aspect could've been executed better:
1.) They shouldn't have made Sol able to do a time freeze. That power alone could've helped Sol escaped so many bad and life threatening situations, but they didn't utilize it other than her sneaking into SJ's room. That was such a wasted opportunity and big flaw in Sol's characterization. Everytime Sol is in a bad situation, that's all I could think of in my head "Time freeze!"
2.) They were doing well with minimizing plotholes until the last quarter, when they decided it'd be a good idea to break the time travel rules they'd established in the beginning. Once a show breaks its own logic, plotholes keep piling up that'd be hard to patch, and that's what happened here. It almost felt like the writer had a good idea of an ending but not the path to get there.
3.) Villains do not need a backstory, but with how deeply entangled the serial killer is in Sol and Sunjae's fates, it didn't make sense that we didn't even know his modus operandi. We don't need the killer's backstory, but at least understanding his motives would give layers to his almost never ending deep fate entanglement with the leads. The whole fate concept fell flat and came to an underwhelming conclusion.
Rewatch value is low for me because the show is riddled with editable slow mo scenes of the leads and they're all over social media anyway. The plot itself is too underwhelming to sit through again.
The show fell into the typical romance tropes trap after a great introduction. If you're here for the cuteness and fluff of the show, this drama is filled with that. This is a feel-good drama all around so I'm not surprise people resonated with it.
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There were a lot of things that weren't shown or revealed but I think that's part of the beauty of the story like we can't judge people until you know the full picture and the writers gave us a chance to draw conclusions on our own.
The main character, I loved Sera. She's not perfect but tries her best, not smart but knows what's right and wrong. She loves her friends and family without showing it. The only thing that I didn't like about her was how she was really physically aggressive towards Gong Myung.
Gong Myung was stoic but with Sera with him, he found the perfect balance. I just love their relationship. There should be more couples like this in Kdrama, couples who talk about their problem and resolve them immediately.
The OST in this drama is one of the best!
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Hello Hello Disappointments
It leans towards the heartwarming and over the top sentimental department but the show majorly struggled to stretch the story into a 16 episodes, their solution was a series of subplots and fillers that felt hollow. It's like the 3 writers didn't agree with what direction they wanted to go and did their individual scripts instead.One big major flaw was the writers ditched what seemed to be a major plot that they were brewing up from earlier episodes only to change direction midway.
A stalker follows and observes everything Dae Hyong does, he noted Dae Hyong's whereabouts and his change in moods and behaviors everyday. They even altered his voice to add to the mystery. But by the 2nd half, they revealed he was obsessed with Si-a instead. It unfolded in a very underwhelming way that lasted like a minute, everyone quickly moved on from it. The writers basically bait and switched. You would think the stalker was part of the major plot that would affect the main characters by how they were showing it from the beginning. Their workaround to change direction he was to make him be Si-a's stalker instead. It didn't add up and didn't make sense at all. This is such a bad writing, on top of already dragging story full of hollow subplots and fillers.
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Ratings of each story
Han-su & Eun-hui - 9.0/10Good story introduction to what is to come. I personally think this story encapsulated the whole theme of the drama perfectly.
Yeong-Ok & Jeong-Jun ‐ 8.5/10
Poignant with a lot of love. Their love story started slow but in steady pace and I really the way it was shown. Confusion to confession to affection.
Yeong-Ju & Hyeon - 8.0/10
People think they act like brats but that is how teenagers are, they think they know the world before they turn 20. This story really shown the reality of 'some' teenagers
Dong-seok & Seon-a - 7.0/10
Needed more episodes to fully flesh out their story as individuals and couple
In-gwon & Ho-sik - 9.5/10
I didn't know this two grown men would made me cry. Love the bickering
Mi-ran & Eun-hui - 5.0/10
Felt like a filler and feels disconnected somehow
Yeong-ok & Jeong- jun & ... - 10/10
My personal fave, need I say more? go watch it!
Cheun-hui & Eun-gi - 7.5/10
Filler done right
Ok-dong & Dong-seok - 10/10
I cried like a baby, a perfect closer for the whole drama. The characters honesty is so raw, a reflection of people's real emotions
Overall - 8.5/10
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A short drama that packs a lot of emotions, nuance, and representation.
There's a part in here that truly represents the whole essence of the show. It's when Taichi would intuitively repeat long conversations to Kohei. It conveyed the kindness that someone like Kohei needed in a world where he has grown tired of being pitied. Taichi taught him to ask if he didn't hear anything because it's not his fault to have hearing loss. It made Kohei happy, and it's the reassurance he needed to feel that he belongs in his world.Kohei, who's quiet and reserved, found himself trapped in a bubble he created. And Taichi, who's naturally and flamboyantly loud, came into his life to burst that bubble - a college boy whose strides resemble his bubbly personality with a heart as big as his baggy pants. Isolated and withdrawn from the world he used to be a part of, Kohei finds solace in Taichi's reassurance. Their relationship progresses so naturally, letting us feel the emotions seep through our body and be fully immersed in their happiness, confusion, frustration, and all the fluttering feelings that come with growing up as young adults.
Kohei and Taichi aren't so good at communicating feelings, especially the latter. Things may not be said in words, and feelings can be lost in miscommunication, which has been the running theme in a lot of Japanese dramas. But in this case, it was buildup and hinted, seemingly wants us to be prepared for the incoming angst. It didn't feel like it appear out of the blue. The angst was given enough momentum to hit you directly right in the feels. Their ability to express emotions through nuance and visual actions is profound and an entrancing sight to watch. And the amorous and yearning glances say so much more than words.
I Hear the Sunspots is a coming of age story that explores the challenges of growing up with disability and as young adults. It's a representation for the hard of hearing people that's not just a mere inspiration porn for the able bodied. It has a commendable presentation of unique perspectives through various likeable and polarizing characters for us to better understand the unfamiliar world. They took the time to let these young adults figure life out, fully understand themselves, and grow as individuals as they navigate their relationship. This short drama sticks to its core and to what it's truly all about.
Overall, the show is well acted by the leads and side characters, and the music choices are so well incorporated. I'd gladly say it's a show crafted with a lot of compassion - a nice blend of heartwarming and heartwrenching moments. The story has a clear romance hints in the 1st half but it is more expressly implied than obvious in the 2nd half and that will really depend on how you see it fit for your own liking. It places more of an emphasis on sentiments, emotional connections and character development. It's not perfect but it's still a whole package well delivered that focuses on the serious topic of disability representation.
Motoki and Tora brought Kohei and Taichi to life. I feel them when they are hurt and confused, I feel their smiles and happiness through the screen. And whenever they show even the slightest hint of affection towards each other, I was moved and convinced. It's their natural chemistry that brought this all together.
This particular line really stuck with me while following the show: "It's harder to deal with people not understanding than not hearing." - Sugihara Kohei
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CLOY is riddled with ridiculous but enjoyable (to some extent annoying) clichés
The chemistry between the leads was oozing like I could watch the whole series just them staring at each other.The story had a lot of loop holes, but I enjoyed watching every character so I kinda shrugged it off. It's a bit corny at times too. Sometimes I felt like the interaction between the leads were originally written for teenage lovers. The theme was original but the story telling was a little too cliché. They could've reduced the obvious meant for each other trope, they highlight that part too much. There's some lazy writing going on in the later part of the drama. Leads and the rest of characters really carried the show for me.
Acting were great overall. It really adds a punch when all the characters felt like characters and not just actors acting. Although I noticed their North Korean accent weren't all the same.
CLOY is peak kdrama, the feel, the setting, the tropes. It's the epitome of a romcom KDRAMA. You'd find most kdrama tropes in this show that there were times the writers make fun of it themselves.
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Beautiful depiction of tragedy, healing and moving on
This drama is one of the best of OCN's this year. The tragedy of losing someone when theyre missing was masterfully depicted in this drama. Losing a loved one does not stop at death, but only starts there. The healing, the sacrifices of the characters were all done in magical and beautiful way. The concept was really good although the story telling had some hiccups along the way but the ending made it more special.The characters made it all somehow relatable especially to the viewers who haven't experienced of losing someone.
Everyone did a good job for their acting, but I wanna highlight Mr. Jang (Heo Junho) acting prowess. I've only seen this actor doing villain roles but his acting here as a father losing a child was really convincing. I rooted for his character the most in the entire drama, big part of it was because his portrayal of such character was really convincing, genuine and relatable.
In short, Give this underrated drama a chance!
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There is hope
The movie was raw and so emotional that would make you feel different level of emotions. They were able to turn this to an emotional masterpiece from a real life story of a brave girl who have went through something that any kid should never experience.Sowon is a brave and smart girl. Despite all the things she went through, she did not give up and learned to heal herself from emotional and physical trauma. Her name really fits her, Hope; she was the hope of everyone around her. She was the victim but she was the one who gave healing and hope to her parents who are also suffering from what happened to her.
Her parents were very commendable for showing their child tremendous love and support despite being always on the verge of breaking down.
It's crazy that a human can do evil to a kid like that. The culprit should rot in jail but the flawed justice system failed the kid. It's an eye opener not only to the viewers but also to lawmakers to fix the holes in the justice system.
The acting was really good that I forgot I was watching a movie. I was carried away the whole time.
Although this was very heavy, it had many light moments of a kid on her way to healing. I personally won't be able to watch this again because it dealt heavy stuff experienced by a kid.
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Top tier sports-politics
99.9% politics, 0.1% gameplay. I expected a sports, gameplay driven drama but it's mostly political. This may sound discouraging but it's actually the strongest part of the show. It's engaging, very well written masterpiece.You will feel like part of the stove league post season improvement throughout the show. Every episode tackles all the problems (the reasons they keep losing every year) and important part that leads to the overall improvement of the team, not just the baseball team but most especially the internal people that make up the whole dream team. It's something that you will cherish as you near the end.
It's so refreshing to see a show that let us see what happens internally in a sports team. What can I say? it's certainly chaotic!
Nam Goongmin is an excellent actor. His role as the General Manager was very convincing. Everyone did their part harmoniously.
This is an excellently well-written drama that even for people who don't usually like sports (like me) will surely enjoy.
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