Watched/Completed in 2022

It passed the time. I binged the drama over the weekend and took a 3 day break before watching the last 3 episodes. It feels like I forgot most of what happened already. I remember liking the debate stuff in this drama though. Also, Tao's cute side is a bonus. The ending was kind of random and subpar. Idk, maybe there's something more to this drama that I'm not seeing, but I'm pretty sure ML has to do with high rating.

Mentioned in an Article ✔︎

This lakorn wasn't even on my radar, but then @Brownie started posting about it and well, she's a terrible influence on me. xD My goodness, I haven't watched a proper makjang style lakorn in awhile. I guess I've been really deprived because I just found this very juicy. It's semipredictable, but very enjoyable for a melodrama/mystery/suspense lakorn. I wish I hadn't read the synopsis cuz I probably would've enjoyed it even more. The ending could've been a bit better, but I found it decent. The main thing that annoyed me was that they really dragged out Kao's storyline. There's only so many times he can run away and then you're like "okay, this is getting really old and annoying." The acting is not the best, but it's a lakorn so standards are kind of low lol.

Just an observation...FL's waist is so tiny!

Dual Roles ✔︎

I can only rate this as an adaptation and how it compares to Thai standards. I think they did a great job of localizing it and modernizing it. The pace was pretty good. It felt like brief snapshots of all the favorite popular scenes. If HYD is my favorite version, this lands somewhere around or above Korean version. This version has my favorite evil MIL and probably second favorite "Doumyouji". The main thing that irked me was that this version was too commercial with all of its product placement. While GMMTV is notorious for its PPL, the frequency seemed higher here. Of course when I started keeping track it would average about 4-5 products per episode, but they would all appear around part 3 so it didn't feel spaced out. Episode 12 had a lot for some reason. ANYWAYS, still an enjoyable watch. I'm hoping for a season 2. My rating lands somewhere between 7.5-8. Bonus: Lots of Easter egg references. :)

Thailand: based off manga ✔︎ 

I was a little nervous about this having a 17 year old high school teenager in it, but I ended up liking it a lot more than I thought I would. For this most part, this drama was like a Found Family type of plot where ML and FL have an older sister/younger brother type of relationship, which I loved. The "games" were interesting and I was happy to see ML mature bit by bit. Then they had to push the the romance, which was more toward the end. Other than the whole underage thing, the romance wasn't that bad and neither was the love triangle.

The food game is pretty strong in this drama. What's nice about it is that they actually show you how to make the dishes. Also, there's a variety of dishes instead of majority seafood ones. Another refreshing thing is that the ML is not some expert chef like in most food dramas. Here, he does not know how to cook and the FL teaches him how to make different things. The second half gets a bit draggy. The food takes a back seat ;( and the drama focuses more on the romance/drama. Still I enjoyed the drama and the romance. Also, there are cats. ^^ p.s. poor dubbing quality was a major con.

Slow paced, but the music is soothing and pretty good. I mainly finished because it's short and has Park Hyung Sik in it. Otherwise, it's your typical unrequited love short story.

Friends to Lovers ✔

The style of this drama seems like a western romantic comedy that's centered around a group of female friends in their 30s. It sort of has a feminist vibe to it due to the female centered plot. This type of setup isn't my cup of tea, but the comedy is pretty hilarious. By the end of the drama, it really won me over. There is a big theme of covid-19/quarantine in this drama since two of the characters' lives changes trajectory cuz of it. Also, despite the title, I wouldn't consider this a food drama, but one of the main characters likes to cook.

p.s. The writer and directors all worked on Murderous Affair in Horizon Tower. You can tell it's a quality project, but this has a very different vibe than the other drama.

30-40 Min Drama ✔︎

This was actually very fascinating. I remember my friend telling me her aunts gifted her gold when she got her first period. I was like 'WHATT??' I only got to stay home from school the first day for mine.

It tried to be a good movie and parts of it warmed my heart and made me cry, but it's pretty cliche in trying to pull on my heartstrings. Ultimately, I just didn't think it was worth the watch, but it's decent.

Ok, the verdict is in. I absolutely loved it! This was a fun variety show that had me grinning from ear to ear for most of the show. I literally stayed up all night to watch it. I don't normally like dating/matchmaking shows, but this felt different. It's basically a bunch of aspiring actors acting out drama scenes and as the audience you sort of start rooting for your favorite on screen couples and off screen couples. You sort of develop your OTP. Some of the off screen stuff felt a bit scripted toward the end, but that's to be expected (and it was kinda minimal). I will check out season 2 to see if the cast is interesting, but in my experience the first season is usually the best.

I didn't really like this season as much as the first. Way too much drama and I didn't feel like shipping anyone. This crop of actors was not as good as the first season. Their acting wasn't that impressive overall. I felt like a lot of the off screen stuff was scripted. My favorite part was when Taeju from last season made a guest appearance and swept every girl off their feet and made the guys jealous. xD

This group of actors is much better than season 2. I kind of hate that they threw in a curveball by adding a 5th male actor, but it made the show more interesting. So far season 1 is my favorite out of the 3 that are on Netflix.

Objectively, this is a bad lakorn with its trashy tropes, bad script, bad acting, and just being a cheap production overall. However, it can be entertaining depending on how you look at it. This was one of those "so bad, it's funny" dramas. Actually, you can tell the writers made it bad on purpose because the characters were just so extremely ridiculous. Lots of psychos, people throwing tantrums, catfights, getting physical, throwing food for no reason. It just made all the "hi-so" people seem uncivilized and the rich guys were depicted as cheaters (all except for ML). It didn't just depict the rich people as bad, the commoners were all dumb and naïve. If you're not into seeing the FL get bullied, just skip those scenes. However, I'd say it makes a good hate watch. It was clearly made to be one.

Single Parent ✔︎ 

Bahaha, I saw that ending coming from a mile away. Let's just say I have major trust issues when it comes to western streaming companies trying to get in on the kdrama action. That being said, the graphics are amazing. This is probably Disney's first real attempt at competing against Netflix in the kdrama department. You can tell they're really trying to woo an international audience. The plot started off slow (possibly boring) and really peaked toward the end. The ending probably left more questions than answers. It was what I was expecting tbh.

I'm mainly rating this as a remake, but I haven't seen the original. The beginning of this lakorn feels like it should be part of the slap/kiss genre, but it doesn't actually have any slap/kiss combination in it. ML is depicted as a nice guy, but his earlier actions kind of contradicts this. It's part of the plot though, so it can't be changed. The plot itself is very old school cliche for lakorns. I think it was a very smart idea to have this in a historical setting (the 60s? or 80s?). This type of plot and character mentality would not work in present day. From the comments, people are saying this was actually a very good remake that was toned down from the original. I personally found the pacing of this drama to be surprisingly very good and fast paced.

This was a fun ride! I think a lot of people stepped into this drama thinking it was going to be mainly a romance, but the romance is the side story. The main story is revenge. It actually kind of reminded me of Avengers Social Club with a group of women teaming up to get revenge. The villain would make my blood boil, but you really got to appreciate the villain in this drama. Lots of power plays that earned my respect. I haven't seen a good lakorn villain in awhile.

Other bonus things include a supportive future MIL and a respectable ML who takes consent seriously. :D FL is a fighter so you gotta love her. This drama had me smiling throughout most of it. The first 8 episodes were an 8 for me and then, yes, it does the typical psycho lakorn thing at the end.

Episodes Over 60 Minutes ✔︎

Starts off okay then gets a bit more interesting as the story unravels. Tbh, it's dark (which they warn you about multiple times in case you missed the memo) and you really have to be in the mood for it. A minor part of this reminded me of Lord of the Flies. Kim Dong Wook is great in this, but I need to see him in a less psycho role next time. kthnx.

Okay, I see why this was nominated for multiple Baeksang Awards. The acting and direction is pretty good. Personally, I'm not into these makjang type plots that involve a bunch of snooty rich people drinking wine, sipping tea, and cheating on each other. You really gotta love both FLs though. The drama had some good moments. Also, I appreciated the symbolism and analogies made (especially with the peacock). Warning: This drama has 2 annoying screaming banshees.

Art Gallery ✔︎ 

Average episode rating = 6.65. This had a rough start, but got entertaining after a few episodes. Some parts were fun and hilarious. It's not exempt from having cliche moments and filler drama though. It's a nice light watch, but at the end of the day it's average. I'm gonna miss that wild opening theme song and Jay B's "Dive Into You" from the ost. ^^

Terminal Illness ✔︎ 

This ended up being surprisingly entertaining and had me hooked. It even had somewhat likable villains, like Pikachu. Of course, you can't forget the doberman and Do Bae Man. It had really good music and direction. Also, you gotta love the badass FL. At first, when I heard Jo Bo Ah was the lead, I couldn't picture it, but I decided to give her a chance and she SLAYED. The plot is pretty entertaining, except things got kind of draggy during the landmine case in the middle. It has nice mix of everything. As for the emotional factor, I'd say it has a similar formula to Vincenzo.

Raised by Non Biological Parent ✔︎ 

The one thing I have to love about revenge lakorns is that the characters will go to such extreme lengths for revenge all over a simple misunderstanding. Honestly, this drama is technically bad, but it's pretty entertaining. There were so many slipups that were lol worthy. For example, ML throwing punches when his hand is very clearly not making contact with the other person. Then there was this another scene where FL's arm gets bandaged, but in the next scene the bandage is below the wound and you can see the "wound" showing above. Those are just a few examples.

Also, this lakorn has one of the most insane plot twists I've seen since Well Intended Love. It gets revealed pretty early on and is so ridiculous and unbelievable that I had a good laugh. Other than this ridiculous plot twist, the rest of the story is very cliché and predictable. It has your typical tropes seen in farming and revenge related lakorns. I ended up fast forwarding through most of the villain related stuff cuz it was boring and predictable. It has the Forced Marriage tag, but it's also a Contract Marriage plot. It falls under the Slap/Kiss genre because ML is aggressive in the beginning and main couple don't get along in the beginning, but there's no slapping and kissing.

Production wise, the quality felt a bit lacking. There's a lot of flashbacks and the sound mixing felt off at times. It just felt super slow paced in the beginning. The acting overall was also subpar. However, I appreciated Sa Anisa Nugraha's acting as May. The way her character was written is another story. Overall, it's cliché, but entertaining. If you don't mind fastforwarding and like watching badly made lakorns for humor, this is one that's worth checking out.

*crawls to the finish line* Last food drama for Ramadan complete. X_x

Like I said before, the food shots were amazing (A+ commercial grade), but not even the food or Xu Kai could save this drama. It was just soo freaking boring. Let's just say I had more fun reading the wikipedia pages on these historical figures (early Ming dynasty) than I did actually watching this drama. To make matters worse, the FL is no longer in the kitchen in the 2nd half so there's less food. Speaking of food, these prim and proper aristocrats were so boring to watch eat food. They ate with no enthusiasm. Only the 4th emperor didn't let me down with his love for food. I feel bad cuz a lot of money was poured into this drama, but it just felt like a waste of money, time, and talent.

This has the same writer as Story of Yanxi Palace, a highly rated and raved about drama, and now I'm having second thoughts about starting that one...especially since she also wrote Untouchable Lovers, which I rated 4/10. :/

40-50 minute episodes ✔︎

I think I liked the 2nd half better than the first. It was a nice recovery drama after Royal Feast. I wasn't expecting much. I probably would've liked this more had I not seen Love Script first. I thought of giving this a 7, but that one girl was such a witch! Hence, it didn't make the cut. Also, this drama has a pretty decent OST that sort of grows on you.

Traditional Instrument ✔︎ 

It has a domineering female lead that's kind of annoying, but refreshing to see. I was wondering why the pacing was so good and then I realized it's a short length series. ? It sort of reminded me of Begin Again, but it's short and sweet. It's pretty good for the short webseries category.

Surprisingly very refreshing and interesting. The romance is not the main story as expected. The paternity tests stories were sometimes very touching. I teared up quite a few times. I don't recommend reading the synopsis for this one. You can piece together the story pretty easily, but it's still an enjoyable watch.

*semi episodic
*non dubbed  

Someone Mentions DNA ✔︎

Dare I say this was too short. I want more. I NEED more! ? It was actually kind of refreshing and had a decent ost. There's probably a season 2 coming down the pipe, but i'll believe it when I see it. I just felt robbed of a proper conclusion cuz the ending is semi cliffhanger-ish. They left room for an s2. Lots of questions still need to be answered.

Fight With Weapons ✔︎ 

A simple teen superhero web series. The first half is silly and fun. The second half is super draggy.

Just a teenage girl trying to fit into high school and hoping her "other" responsibilities don't get in the way. It's actually really well made. I generally have a good opinion of Taiwanese HBO dramas.

Guilty pleasure revenge lakorn. The weak FL is not as bad as I thought she was going to be...or maybe it's because I went in mentally prepared? She definitely gets annoying for being naïve in the second half toward the end. This drama was fairly predictable, but fun to watch if you like the genre. The hate to love romance is pretty solid. Long story short, the tags scared me away initially, but it's not as bad as I thought it was going to be.

I'm not the biggest fan of slow paced drama, but this is a relaxing food drama. I think I liked the original jdrama better though. This version has more of a toxic work environment where FL gets scolded and yelled at a lot. It's nothing new for kdramaworld, but it ruined the whole relaxing food vibe of the show for me. Kudos for the cameos. First ep has FL from jversion in it. Last episode has Alex Chu (Clazziquai ) cameo at the end. Also, this has a pretty good OST.

20-30 min ✔︎

Noir film. The highlight for me was seeing Lee Je Hoon hang out/babysit two little girls.  I kind of need him in more roles with these moments lol. The cinematography is pretty decent.

I wasn't expecting much due to all the drama/debate/hype around this drama, but it managed to touch on a lot of things in just 8 episodes. I think I was able to relate to this coming from an immigrant family. Especially with Solomon's story as a third culture kid having to live out his family's high hopes and dreams. I also love how they talked about the past, how it shackles some people and prevents them from moving forward. A lot of people ask why is it so hard to move on? It's a lot easier said then done. I loved how some characters always nostalgically talk about their homeland, but when they finally visit, they don't recognize it anymore and they feel like an outsider. I've seen this with my father. I love how this drama talks about dual identities and conflicting identities. I love how this drama doesn't depict everything as black and white. There is just a lot of grey and in between.

It's off to a pretty good start, but I think I will wait for the rest of the seasons to come out to binge the rest. I'll probably have enough time to read the novel by then too.

Forbidden Love ✔︎

8 min beautifully shot documentary on skating in China, but I'm sure most people will check it out for Wang Yibo.

I went into this one blind so I wasn't sure what to expect. It ended up being a proper suspense/thriller. It just really pulled me in and had me holding my breath. There are times when the plot can get a bit slow and repetitive, but that's when the dog and the other "plot" kept me entertained. Maek was literally the best girl and my favorite character. Speaking of girls, the women in this drama were badass and it was fun to watch them kick ass. I'm not sure how I feel about Crystal's character. I loved that she kicked butt, but I feel like there was just a missed opportunity when it came to exploring this character. The plot and characters can be a bit dumb at times, but somehow the suspense managed to pull me in and keep me entertained. Somewhat predictable and not predictable at the same time. It's got some curveballs that will throw you off.

ML may be socially awkward, but I would love to have his confidence. Just one conversation with him and people are questioning their life choices. The first few episodes were pretty interesting, but then the rest were like a typical mystery jdrama, except the twists are a bit harder to predict. I loved the use of classical music in this drama.

I enjoyed this for the story. It's got some great quotes and message/s too. Tbh, I enjoyed this for the magical stuff more than the musical stuff. It's not exactly the best musical out there, but it's not bad either. My main issue with the musical part is that they heavily promoted this drama as a musical, especially with the Broadway like set and costumes...it led me to believe there would be more powerful vocal performances because of it. I was low key disappointed when there was not.

Musical ✔︎

Not sure why this was on my PTW. Probably cuz it was short. I was bored for most of it and sometimes just confused. It felt like a bunch of one-shot stories from a manga that were interconnected together. Episode 4 was my favorite cuz this drama randomly turns into horror. xD

I wish I had realized the episodes were only 5 minutes short. I would've watched this sooner. I feel like this drama taught me how to Adult. Also, there's a cat. ^^

I remember loving The Fox's Summer when it came out. I can't say if this is a better remake than the original, but it's pretty good for Thai drama standards. It was a very enjoyable watch and I'd consider it a feel good drama. If I recall correctly, the original had a bit more character growth. Here, FL is already a capable designer. As a bonus, it's got my girl crush Davika in it. Plus, who doesn't love Push with his cheeky smile? ^^ Push's last few projects have been a miss for me or not my cup of tea, but I'm glad I enjoyed this. As for the cons, it has to do with FoRGIveNesS. Anyways, since they shortened the number of episodes, it didn't feel draggy at all.

I just didn't see what the big deal was with this drama. First half is nice and light, but very repetitive. They didn’t do a good job of differentiating between the timelines so it was very confusing. I wish they had put dates or some sort of countdown. They added a countdown later on, but that was when she stopped switching timelines so frequently so it wasn't needed as much (still helpful though). I liked the second half better than the first, but it's much more sad.

As for the ending, they didnt close the loophole on a lot of thongs related to the supporting characters. They just kind of let you assume that they are similarly successful careerwise as the alternate timelines. They didn’t show what actually happened to Maizi which really annoyed me. The ending is all pretty open ended, but they highly suggest certain things happened. And while I'm generally someone okay with open endings, I believe this drama needed a proper conclusion. After all that repetition, they kind of rush things at the end, which left me feeling kind of annoyed. I think this drama had a good concept, but it wasn't executed as amazing as people are hyping it up to be.

It's basically a college youth and friendship drama that's more comedy than it is romance. I'm not sure why it's being marketed as a fluffy romance because the romance is a minor part of the drama. For most of the drama they are friends and I really liked how their friendship develops. Also, there's an age gap IRL, so don't expect any kisses. FL is a devious cunning fox in the beginning and ML is an adorable little sheep that needs to be protected (or at least until he gets the hang of the Northeast anyway). Some episodes are absolutely hilarious. I kind of want to give this a 7.5 for the comedy, but the episodes toward the end got a bit draggy. It was a nice and light enjoyable watch though. Episodes are only 30 min. ^^

It was simple and okay. Some parts are relatable, but for the most part it felt formulaic.

This was actually a very interesting interpretation of Crown Prince Sado. The writer did a great job of incorporating rumors and conspiracies around this historical figure. Prince Sado is depicted as sane, kind, and just, which makes what happens to this character all the more heartbreaking. The last sageuk that I completed was The Red Sleeve (which follows the story of his son), so I thought this was an interesting follow up drama. It is a heavy political drama with little to no romance. I probably could've rated it higher, but it's just so long and it's hard to retain my attention watching palace politics for so long, most of which involve old men repeatedly scheming. Some of the characters seem like a blur cuz they're all very similar. The cast was excellent in their roles.

Old school kdrama that I mainly liked for the nostalgia, but you know I'm a sucker for a good revenge story too. They don't make makjangs like this anymore. Nowadays, they are dark and have a lot of infidelity. Anyways, the acting can be a bit slapstick/comedy style at times, but this is how many dramas from this era were. Also, I really loved Jung So Min in her role. I actually had SFL syndrome, which is probably a first. ML is pretty wholesome and pure, but the writers pass off his naivety as comedy.

This was my comfort drama. It's nothing spicy, especially with the romance (which is not part of the main story). However, it's very healing to see people communicate and come to an understanding through mediation. This is my 3rd mediation/law drama and there's something about this niche category that pulls me in and I find it wholesome. The way it deals with some common social/legal issues just resonates with me and sometimes I find myself self reflecting because I may choose to only see one side. These days I feel like people are always forced to pick a side and argue.

Anyways, I loved the cast in this drama. I found Chen Xiao to be very charming in this. xD He failed to impress me in his older dramas, but now he's back with this older, more mature look and I'm like 'damn'. Dude must've been a victim of bad dubbing and poor script choices for me to be so unimpressed with him before.

I guess you have to like silly or toilet humor to enjoy this. I mainly watched for Ha Ji Won and Chen Bo Lin ?. It's pretty much a time pass movie. Half the movie is in English and it's kind of cringe.

It has gorgeous scenic shots and I enjoyed it for the travel/scenery part of the story. The undercover cop part was not too bad either. However, it was about 20 episodes too long. I would have rated it 7.5 had that not been the case. It took me 10 ep to get into the story. Things got better when they head out on their journey. The last 12 episodes were pretty draggy and could've been concluded in like 2 episodes. Nothing too romantic going on with main characters, but I shipped this bickering couple anyway.

Road Trip ✔︎ 

I watched CB1 11 years ago. CB2 picks up where you left off and throws you into the chaos that is emergency medicine. There was a short recap in the beginning, but it barely helped me remember anything lol. I would've probably liked this more had I watched it back to back. Episode 2 really made me cry. ;(

Eh, it was okay. It's a farm lakorn, but what's unique about this lakorn is that it doesn't follow the typical farm lakorn trope that involves ML making FL do hard and gross farm work. FL willingly wants to do it. It still has the typical rivalry with the shady farm next door. Father + Daughter bonding moments are a plus. Also, it has a rare sighting of Go Gosin Rachakrom in a non negative role.

Oh, there's a nice twist to the story! The way this was filmed was also an interesting artistic choice. I'm not sure how I feel about it, but I get why they did it.

*Trigger warning: Suicide, Sexual Assault, Sexual Content

Classic weird Japan, but omg, this was hilarious! You will find yourself asking, "Wtf am I even watching?" and yet you cannot seem to stop. I recommend watching this with the timed comments for even more lols. I need to see the BTS for this.

Another User's Watchlist ✔︎

So if you've watched the Last Week Tonight with John Oliver episode on Subway that's been shared on the feeds recently, this is the drama they were talking about (and the one that they parody toward the end). It's a slow paced, mediocre webdrama that's pretty much an ad, but I appreciate the metaphors. I recommend watching with at least 1.25 playback speed if you do plan on watching it.

Pros:
- FL's outfits and Jade Emperor's outfits.
- A couple of touching stories.
- The dog episode.

Cons:
The concept was kind of dumb. Also, this team was pretty bad at doing their job. In some cases, they failed to persuade some people against committing suicide. These people made the conscience decision to step off the ledge. At this point, the team should have not been able to intervene, yet in many cases they physically went and saved them and then, after the fact, convinced them not to kill themselves. It was really dumb. It also kind of got repetitive. This show was just banking on grim reaper popularity.

Death ✔︎ 

I usually struggle with historicals, but I breezed right through this one. It was interesting to see the life of gisaeng depicted as something other than a drinking companion/prostitute. This drama was probably considered pretty good for its time (2006). Also, it was really refreshing to see Ha Ji Won in this role, especially when she transforms into a bad bitch. She looked absolutely gorgeous and slayed (all the noblemen's' hearts).

Umm, how do I put this...it was unusually kinky for a lakorn and had an abundant amount of sex scenes, some of which were highly risque for lakornworld (car sex, bdsm, etc.). I tried to figure out which horny writer was responsible for this content, but there are 4 writers so good luck figuring it out lol. The main thing that annoyed me was that the psycho who was into bdsm did some non consensual stuff too. Aside from all the sex stuff, the plot is pretty typical for a melodrama. You really wont miss out on anything unless you're curious about the scandalous stuff.

The first half is pretty hilarious like any good ol' body swap drama. The challenge with these dramas is the acting. The lead actress did a phenomenal job in her role, but the lead actor was a bit weak. There were times when FL wasn't coming through as a character. Eventually I became attached to these two and their friends. The second half got slightly repetitive with the multiple switches. Not sure what was up with ML's creepy bro and that whole subplot. The ending was unexpected. It was an interesting choice to say the least.

p.s. I just realized that lead actor went to Rutgers. Umm, what?? That's almost like home turf.

A solid 8 for me, maybe even pushing 8.5. The plot was pretty good. It took a couple episodes to build up, but then I was hooked. The action choreography was great and fun to watch. I really loved the Kingsman references. It also had an amazing OST. The way ML kept picking up love interests for his harem was amusing (though my ship didn't make it. ;-;) There's also just a lot of good looking people in this drama. xD The use of female goons was refreshing.

As for the cons, it's mainly a slightly unsatisfying ending. They left some room open for a season 2, but what I found irksome was that they never really explained the fantasy part behind this. Maybe they never explained it in the webnovel? It just felt incomplete without that explanation. Anyways, I feel like I picked up a lot of life lessons from this drama.

Morque Scene

Unpopular Opinion: Slow paced slice of life is so not for me. It failed to hold my short attention span. There was probably some character growth involved...but I just failed to see it? It felt like last episode negated whatever they were trying to achieve. The older brother had growth and maybe the sister. The others had growth, but failed to confront the root of their problems that landed them in a mess. FL and ML were like "I fixed my personality and am happy, but let's ignore that one major problem that is/was screwing up my life." Anyways, I'm a fan of Mr. Gu.

A nice silly comedy, but it's got some heavy stuff too. Gotta love Kwang Soo. That one detective was infuriatingly dumb and the fraudster guy was so annoying.

A dark take on the body swap trope. I found this thriller version to be refreshing. All you have to do is get passed the first episode that has a sexist pig cop and an annoying FL. Things will get much better after the swap. Takahashi Issei is literally so precious in this and slayed his double role. Ayase Haruka did a great job too. The last 2 episodes were a bit overdramatic, but it's a good drama overall. I'm curious about the upcoming Korean remake.

Pretty much your classic old school makjang with all the usual cliches. I forgot how writers were obsessed with candy* FLs during the 2000s. At one point I really wanted FL to give in to her dark side, join the underworld, become a boss fighter, and get revenge. Unfortunately, that's not how candy FLs are. I mainly enjoyed it for the nostalgia and guilty pleasure makjang tropes. The first 6 episodes are kind of cringe cuz FL is trying to be a youthful 19 year old in love. It makes no sense because her circumstances (the fact that she had to grow up early) contradict this whole youthful portrayal of her character.

Pretty decent for a 10 min ep web series. I really loved the cinematography for this. There are some beautiful shots.

It's been awhile since a lakorn had me this hooked. This rivals to lovers romance was very enjoyable. I had fun watching these frenemies compete against each other. And once the romance takes off...*fans herself*...let's just say the on screen romance is great. Needless to say, the leads had chemistry. All the pairings are not set in stone. There's room to ship supporting characters with other characters. I actually kind of liked this because it was hard to predict who was going to end up with who. This lakorn surprisingly did not have that many typical lakorn tropes. Much to my relief, there were no psycho female characters. However, it is still a lakorn, so expect a lakorn ending. Luckily, it is not as extreme as other lakorns.

Enemies to Lovers ✔︎ 

I picked this up out of curiosity cuz it seemed like classic weird Japan, but it was surprisingly very good. It's like a wholesome slice of life. It's got A+ social commentary without being too preachy. It *almost* gave me baby fever.

MDL Watch Challenge: Pregnancy ✔

I liked the divorce story, but wasn't a fan of the romance/pairings. It was good for its time.

This was pretty trippy, but I'm not sure what the whole point of it being half scifi was.  I could not recognize song ji hyo! this is go soo's first movie, so it's not his best acting work.

I was a never a fan of The Bachelor type of shows, but I appreciate how this shows the dark side of reality TV with its evil editing and all. The second half was incredibly draggy and boring. I just wanted to be put out of my misery. This is not Go Soo's best acting job, especially since it's from his early acting career.

Every now and then Japan comes out with a jdrama about studying and I usually am a sucker for it. This drama has plenty of helpful study tips and uses a lot of food analogies. They had me with the food. xD Inspirational and motivational, hopefully this drama will get me back into studying mode. I thought this was going to be a romance, but I'm thankful it is not because it would've been a taboo one. I shipped FL with the baseball player though. ^^

My standards are low when it comes to these types of dramas and this drama can be cringe, but it ended up being better than I thought it was going to be. Wasn't a fan of the 2 girls x 1 guy weird love triangle thing. However, I enjoyed the sismance. The audio experience was trippy. If you're wearing headphones, all the music is in one earpiece and the dialogue is in another.

It obviously faced some setbacks due to censorship and budget constraints, but sorry, no pity votes from me. There's a big infidelity subplot, which is not for me. I liked the second half better than the first, but the ending left me very frustrated. It was just so abrupt and confusing. They left room open for a season 2. One thing I really appreciated is that one of the FLs is such a badass.

This drama was a lot like eating a freshly baked walnut brownie. At first, I was like, "eww, why are there walnuts in it?" The first 3 episodes were a bit bitter with the FL being bullied and all. Then from episode 4 onwards was like eating the warm gooey part of the brownie where it's all sweet and makes you forget about the bitterness. That is when we finally see some sports action and the romance starts to take off. The second half is filled with AGONY, but it's angst done right. It was sort of like finishing my brownie and wanting another. The ending was like someone gave me another brownie and I got to taste the sweetness again. ^^ Sportswise, well...it's no Racket Boys, but it passes. However, if you're watching for the romance it's sweet.

Is it just me or did ML give off a Nam Joo Hyuk vibe? It felt like they were trying to take a play out of the Weightlifting Fairy playbook.

Athlete Making a Comeback ✔︎ 

An anthology of short stories. I'm not sure how to rate this. I really liked some of the stories, but most of them were meh. Production wise, it's pretty good. The direction is very aesthetic. I suspect there are multiple directors depending on the episode. Some of the episodes have a different style. For example, episodes 2 and 9 are more comedic.

It's like the makjang drama version of cheap chinese chicklit. It's low budget, but if you like this type of storyline, the first half is pretty enjoyable. The major cons for me:
- Should've ended at 16 episodes. The last 8 episodes were just draggy. I struggled to finish.
- Villains were dumb and I couldn't appreciate their antagonist ways.
- Bad acting? Or just bad dubbing. Why did they make a 6-7 year old kid talk like a 4 year old?
- Hair and Makeup. I RARELY get distracted by this, but the use of lipstick colors were mildly infuriating. It didn't suit the actors.

I have so much to say I don't even know where to start. It's a simple story and yet it says so much. Nishida Toshiyuki is just a cute old man in this. I did not know he could he could sing like that! Nagase Tomoya is excellent. It's so weird seeing the contrast between him in Tiger & Dragon (older drama, but i watched it last year) and this drama. He gained weight for the role and they made him wear padded jackets to look even more bulkier.

The drama is funny, wholesome, and humbling. I could somewhat relate. My parents are still alive and healthy, but I'm starting to see that they depend on me a little bit more lately. It brings forth a different set of emotions (scared, sad, confused, panic, frustration, calm). I expect to take care of them someday cuz "that's the way it is", but I'm also low key nervous for what the future has in store. Somehow that future can sneak up on you. I also loved the cast who played the grandchildren. I could go on and on, but I will say you have to see this drama to the end because they wrap things up beautifully. I might bump this up to a 9.

Mainly watched it for Seven Tan. I like my Business dramas (when done right), so this ended up being an enjoyable watch. I did not like the ML. I was waiting for some character growth...it's really slow. He's basically a manchild for most of the drama and doesn't grow up until he goes broke. In short, don't watch for the ML, watch for FL's career growth. The story might remind you of What's Wrong With Secretary Kim, but it's more serious cuz ML is a genuine ass in the beginning and it's not even funny. At some point he realizes how wrong he was, but I don't think he actually apologized to FL for his initial actions. His friends might've tried to force an apology out of him, but it didn't seem sincere.

Somewhere between a 7-7.5. I rate primarily based on plot, but for a chinese military drama this was above average. A lot of work and money got put into it. I wouldn't necessarily call it a masterpiece though. It took me awhile to get into the story, but once I did, I enjoyed it. I just wish it wasn't so damn long. xD I can tell I would've loved the original novel had I read it. The main character kind of reminded me of The Kings Avater (webnovel) where the ML kept coming up with creative ways to outwit the enemy. Also, both novels have great emphasis on teamwork. However, in this series, the main character has flaws (his eagerness to be the best) and needs to learn from them to level up. Some of the story took a hit from editing and addition of propaganda. It felt like some things got lost in translation/edited out and I would have been less confused had I read up on the novel.

Some of the action was better than other. Sometimes it was directed really well and others it just felt repetitive. Lots of mindless shooting at each other without making progress. I will give props to some of the stunts though. I was low key disappointed with the villain and that whole storyline. Yang Yang's transformation was amazing. It's definitely his best acting job I've seen so far. His face is still stiff sometimes so I'd say he still has some room for improvement. I get that as a soldier his character might not express emotions all that much, but it was so hard to tell what his character was feeling sometimes. Meanwhile, all the other soldiers were yelling and being overdramatic. >_< Speaking of other soldiers, the little chef guy and Lone Wolf were my favorite. Xiao Xiao was a badass and I was high key in love her.

Military Service ✔︎ 

This was a really fun watch. At first I was really confused because people were really hyping this up in the beginning, but then others started really hating on it in the second half. I can see why this happened. It suddenly turned into a makjang around ep 9. Aside from that whole villain nonsense, the drama was hilarious and highly entertaining. The cameo scenes were literally the best. They were on point with the fanservice. The more tvN dramas you've seen, the more rewarding this drama is. I'm rounding up to an 8 just for these cameo scenes. This was a great binge watch for me. It hits the spot for feel good romcom. Also, I absolutely loved the FL.

Death of Parent ✔︎ 

I think I'm just going through a cdrama slump or a romance slump. I was bored for most of this drama, but it gets much better after 12 episodes. We finally get to see the students playing music and the drama focuses on students individually and their stories. Otherwise, in the beginning they throw all the students at you at once and it was so hard to keep track of them.

+ The OST - The music was really good and consisted of a lot of classical music, remixes of classical songs, and just some fun pop songs. This drama has my favorite opening theme/intro of the year.
+ It was nice seeing Cheney Chen on screen after a long time. His last main role drama was in 2017! No commentary on his acting though. xD
+ THE CATS.
- The dubbing :( The audio would've been much better without it. Also, I couldn't tell the students apart from their voices.
- Too darn long with lots of fillers.

Someone Famous in Music Industry ✔︎

This drama is NOT a BL, but it is totally gay AF. They really know how to tease. This drama was out there trying to give me nosebleeds and they came pretty darn close. xD Aside from the whole friendship and bromance thing, the show was unexpectedly hilarious and enjoyable. I'd say the drama was a 7.5 for most of the drama, but I had to decrease my rating a bit due to some of the villain related stuff.

It's an okay remake, but not as good as the original. They removed some stuff and yet it still seemed kind of long. The story didn't make as much sense without some stuff removed (for example, the ex storyline). On the plus side, if you hate love triangles, this is the version you should check out cuz there are none. I love Sun Qian, but her acting comes off weird here and I can't tell if it's cuz the FL is terrible at acting as a robot. The bad acting is much more obvious here. Also, there's not as much chemistry in this drama as the original.

Remade by Another Country ✔︎ 

I don't know if I can say this was bad, but it was certainly a pain to watch. I found it mostly boring and a waste of time. On the plus side, if I ever do become a mother in law in the future, I know what not to do during the wedding planning stage. I gave this a polite ?"Not For Me" on Netflix. ):)

It was a short and simple story. I don't really have much to say about it.

NEET ✔︎ 

It had an interesting story, but was terribly executed. This drama was very low budget and it felt like it was filmed years ago and shelved. Some of the costumes and props were entirely historically inaccurate for the time period, which kind of left me baffled and scratching my head. I was able to put all that aside, but there were other things that were hard to ignore. Some of the acting was terrible. The guy who plays FL's brother in the beginning is a really bad actor. For example, he would see two people talking out in the open and his surprised face was like he just witnessed a murder. At times it was heading towards "it's so bad, it's funny" territory and would probably make for a good hate watch.

I know some people in the comments said they found the beginning interesting. However, for me, I found the last 1/4 more eventful and interesting. They throw a lot of twists at you. Once you embrace this drama as a makjang it's a lot more tolerable, but it wasn't worth the watch for me nor will it be all that memorable.

I feel like I've seen too many western sci-fi shows with a similar concept so I'm kind of over it. This drama tried really hard to replicate that same vibe and I guess it did a decent job of doing so. They slowly reveal each character's backstory little by little. My main gripe is that they kind of suck at doing so. The timeline is confusing to follow because they jump back and forth (and between different characters). Also, there were way too many flashbacks of scenes that they literally just showed 10-20 minutes before. They left most of the mysteries unsolved for season 2, which supposedly has a different cast. Idk, I'm not on board. Gold star for trying though. ⭐

I usually love my 50 episode family weekend dramas and this was quite an enjoyable one. It's technically cliche for a family drama, but it's cliche done right. The writers really knew how to increase my blood pressure and bring forth all sorts of emotions in me. For the most part, this drama felt light. There were no major villains or evil sabotaging and there weren't that many tropes that I usually dislike, such as dementia or someone getting cheated on. The pace is also pretty good. At some point shortly after the 30 episode mark they introduce 3 new characters that serve as 3rd wheels to some of the couples. This was the only annoying filler drama part in the series. Luckily it didn't last long (maybe around 5-7 episodes). There were some moments that made me cry, but I was smiling while watching most of this drama.

Also, I can't forget about the cast. If you like your family dramas, this casting was like the King of family dramas (Lee Sang Woo) and the Queen of family dramas (Eugene) finally meeting up on screen. It felt kind of like a big deal. They were actually really cute together on screen. It was also nice seeing Oh Min Suk in a non negative main role...although he does play a bit of an ass as the eldest son, but there's character growth so I'll take it! His acting is also really good in this and it was just really nice to see.

I guess this sort of falls under the realm of semi cringey josei smut dramas (so my rating is based on those standards), but luckily that's not the entire drama. The smutty stuff stops after a few episodes. I enjoyed how this couple dates awkwardly. Also, personal growth of FL is a plus. It's short and sweet.

It has got its cute moments, but I don't think I can watch comedies with this actor in it. I kind of want to give this a 6, but I think I'm going through a slump. I mainly liked the romance.

Well this was certainly original. xD It's silly, fun, and heartwarming. I mainly couldn't ship main couple cuz FL is just bossy af and it was annoying. I couldn't get into the age gap either, but that wasn't really a big deal.

Age Gap ✔︎

I love supernatural dramas and there were parts of this drama that I really loved, but there were also a lot of parts that were boring filler moments and some of the cases felt cliche. This made the drama seem draggy at points.

????:
+ Team Magic Factory. The whole squad was fantastic and made this drama really enjoyable. Ah Reum was my favorite. What a cutie.
+ Lead actors were great in their roles and did a fantastic acting job. Is it just me or did anyone get sibling vibes from them more than romance? ^^;;
+ Comparison between shaman work and magician work.
+ Comparison between shaman work and police work (both are unapreciated in this drama).
+ Lots of inside jokes (like the characters using actor's real name). I wouldn't have gotten these references if not for the timed comments.

????:
- Cliche cases. For example, missing animal case. I know people are a sucker for cute animals, but it's getting to the point where I'm seeing it in almost every drama with a cop lead in it. I've seen it in 3 kdramas just this month.

*semi episodic

Tragic Past ✔︎ 

I thoroughly enjoyed this angsty melodrama/romance/comedy lakorn. It's a proper friends to enemies to lovers romance and it even has a bit of Autumn's Concerto storyline going on. First 1/3 was enjoyable seeing the two leads fight (physically) all the time, second 1/3 was also enjoyable for the angst/drama, last 1/3 was standard lakorn drama. Anyways, it hit the spot for a lakorn fix and I'd consider it slightly above average for lakorn standards.

It has some NSFB stuff, but I kept thinking that Brownie would like it, especially from ep5 onward. xD ML is mainly mean for like the first 2 episodes.

Watched the last 4 episodes raw. These 5 min ep dramas are usually low budget and there's a low standard. The story is pretty decent for said standards. However, ML's acting is pretty sucky for someone portraying a blind man.

I loved the concept and it had a lot of potential, but it missed the mark for me. Half of every episode just felt like it was fillers. It would've done better as a 4 ep miniseries or movie. Yoon Kye Sang's oppa days are over and he has officially entered his ahjussi years, but it's okay, I'll still be a fan. xD Btw, I think I'm so tired of ice cube MLs that I prefer mean ones over tsundere ones. ? (that is, if they have a proper change of heart). Oh, and the amount of times FL trips in this drama is ridiculous. ?‍♀️

Eh, not sure how to rate this. 6.5, but rounding up cuz there were some moments that I really enjoyed. FL is a great actress for her dual role. I just wish main FL wasn't portrayed as immature. I think this drama mainly suffered from the dubbing. ML is low key creepy. This was following in the footsteps of Well Intended Love, but less messed up. It's good for a mindless binge.

The top review said "If you can get past the first 6 ep..." so I was like "Challenge Accepted." I went in knowing that this was going to be trash. The first 6 episodes was mainly a lot of slap/kiss due to misunderstandings, which a major one clears at ep 6 so the show becomes a bit more tolerable to watch. The script still sucks though. So much yelling and screaming, I pretty much fast forwarded through all scenes involving women, except for FL.

Half the drama is of main couple being chased by henchmen that are trying to kill them. If you're going to have that much action in a drama, you have to make sure it's good (it clearly wasn't). The plot armor is so thick that it's nearly indestructible. Also, people kept breaking into each other's houses (multiple times). You would think they would up the security. *facepalm* It made no sense. xD 

Ok, this drama ended up being a lot more entertaining than I thought it was going to be. What a nice surprise! When it comes down to it, the kid stole the show...although he can be a bit annoying sometimes as a ? blocker. He's pretty much a sassy little mischievous brat. The child actor is talented and I would love to see him in more main roles. I wish I can watch some of the undubbed footage for his performance. It does get a bit draggy at points, but not as bad as most dramas. Also, there are some plotholes so it can get kind of confusing (or maybe something got lost in translation or edited out). Despite that, I think it ended up being worth the watch for the comedy and this family story.

P.S. I think I found an SFB c-historical! (It's 24 ep, has a cute kid, and ML has a blood phobia so there's little blood and it's not as slicey. Also, it's more on the lighter side).

Traditional Family ✔︎ 

I feel like I got tricked into watching a 42 ep series. -___- But let's face it, I was gonna watch everything together anyway. ^^;;

This is my rating for the series so far. It's been a lot of prison, prison, and more prison. I think I saw 1 episode where they went out on a date. I hope to see these characters move around more next half.

The first half of part 2 was painfully boring, but second half was a lot more interesting. I'm probably being generous with my rating, but I've seen worse. 75% of this drama consisted of one of the main characters being held in prison. There was a ridiculous amount of dumb self sacrifice. ugh.

The timed comments were interesting. The Dilraba fans were hating on Allen's character. Allen's fans were hating on Dilraba's acting (and FL in the beginning). Random bystanders were just hating on the plot in general. xD Then there were the random thirst comments like "choke me, daddy." xD

Idk, going through a slump so story didn't grab my attention. Cute couple though and good music. I loved all the "error" references. There were definitely some squeal worthy moments.

Unrequited Love ✔︎ 

This was a very good production. Great action, super scenic, and good direction. Zhao Lu Si is bae. Loved watching her kick butt (and not just for the first few episodes). Yang Yang did a pretty good job too. Dude is still modeling and posing for most of the drama, but it's okay...He mostly gets paid to be handsome. xD I especially liked the wuxia part of this story. I just wished there was more of it. After 10 episodes or so, the drama goes more into the politics. The political stuff is still actually interesting compared to most dramas, but I missed the action excitement. I watched this all in one go over 3 days. I started to feel the stretch halfway through. Maybe take breaks if you're planning to watch.

I thought it was pretty decent for a low budget short web series. It parodies other romcom costume dramas a bit. I thought it was enjoyable based on the parody stuff. Obviously, don't expect much. It's a decent drama to kill time. My rating is based off of webdrama standards.