Will cause you to re-think zombies

9/10 is my rating. This is a 2020 South Korean fantasy television series that has 12, 60 minute episodes.

Kang Min-ho (Choi Jin-hyuk) wakes up in the area of a hazardous waste dump with no memory of what happened to him or how he got there. More startling is he discovers he is not fully dead or alive - he is a zombie. To determine how he came to be in his current condition he knows he has to be able to "blend in" with humans so he slowly and persistently trains himself to walk, talk and act like a human. To cover his monstrous looking skin, he uses CC monster cover cream to the extent he should buy stock in the company. After witnessing the murder of private detective Kim Moo-young, Min-ho adds another mystery to his list and assumes the detectives identity so he can solve the mystery of his past. Gong Sun-ji (Park Ju-hyun) runs into Min-ho by chance and, mistaking his intentions, winds up "injuring" him. To pay damages she insists on becoming his part-time assistant not realizing her new boss is a zombie. Her skills as a former investigative journalist make her a useful asset for Min-ho as the two team up to solve not only the crime surrounding his death but also other cases as they come in the door.

Spoiler alert** I really like the way they portrayed the zombie in this series. All of the other zombie genre I have seen, with only one other notable exception, the zombies were mindless brain seeking monsters. The fact that he remained aware that he was once human and worked to blend in with humans made it a very unique and interesting take on zombies. I never would have thought a zombie could be sexy but then again when you have someone like Choi Jin-Hyuk playing a zombie, it was a foregone conclusion. He was somewhat of a mopey zombie but not in a bad way. It made it funny that he could reflect on being a zombie and regret not being human. Some found the FL annoying but I really thought her persistence was the only thing that would have gotten her through to him. And she grew as a character because she learned that her quick judgements of people were not always correct and I noticed she did that less as the series went on. Although I really liked it, it seemed like after they solved the "santa" case there was a logical end. I really thought we might be on the last episode and had mistaken how many episodes there were. This made me think they likely made some pilots and that is where it would have ended if the show was not popular. They extended it nicely, I wouldn't say seamlessly but definitely nicely. The ending was a bit nebulous and it was clear they left it open for a second season. It was good because the relationship between the two leads hadn't built to the level of romance making sense - it would have seemed sudden. On the flip side it leads me to wonder if there is any chemistry there. I mean I can't yet really picture them together but that could be it is early it what could be their romantic relationship. I usually feel bad for second guy but in this one I didn't because it was clear his timing was way off. You can't wait that long to decide you like someone as more than friends or that friendship becomes set in stone often for one or the other. I also felt his relationship with the female police officer was just building and likely that would continue on in a future episode. Even though the ending was less than I would have liked the whole circumstances surrounding the zombie were compelling enough that I rate this high and recommend it. If there is a second season I would likely re-watch the first and that in and of itself is telling as I rarely re-watch any.

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Particularly relevant in times of contagion - Good, keeps you watching

7/10 is my rating. This is a 2013 South Korean pandemic film. It is written and directed by Kim Sung-su. A deadly and extremely virulent flu breaks out in a suburb of Seoul. A container full of illegal immigrants is discovered in the course of rescuing traffic accident victims. A sole survivor escapes into the city. A smuggler and the infected immigrant are the source of a quick spread of a virus that kills at a high rate within 32 hours. The city breaks into chaos as evidence of virus ridden individuals is everywhere. Officials respond with quarantine and martial rule. Dr. Kim In-hae (Soo Ae) is a doctor on the front line of the virus. She is also a mother who is solely responsible for her young daughter, Kim Mi-reu (Park Min-ha). Coincidentally In-hae was in the accident that involved the illegal immigrants and was saved by Emergency worker Kang Ji-goo (Jang Hyuk). Ji-goo later delivers In-Hae’s purse to her daughter and finds Mi-reu staying alone while her mom is dealing with the virus. When Mi-reu contracts the virus, In-hae is forced to choose between the actions of a mother and those if a doctor containing a pandemic. Ji-goo finds himself enamored with the feisty and courageous doctor and her intelligent and kind daughter and helps to protect and assist them in the middle of social unrest.

Spoiler 🚨 I enjoyed this movie and it was particularly relevant as we all struggle to deal with the coronavirus. Though sensationalized and exaggerated it revealed the varying way people and authorities deal with an aggressive yet invisible threat. Some lose their humanity and start seeing fellow human beings as disease vectors. Atrocities occur as those who are able to suspend their humanity take dire action in the name of containment. Others maintain their caring and it sets up conflict between the two.

I liked this movie as it showed the range of human response in a pandemic. I also thought the depiction of conflict in dual roles causes. It was horrifying to see someone cough and slow motion magnification of the aerosol spray and the range and number of people it would “ hit”. Most of the acting was really good, particularly the leads, but there was room for improvement with the supporting cast. Overall good and entertaining.

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I loved this. Unique twist on time travel with a heart warming love story

10/10 is my rating. This is a 2024 romantic comedy drama that centers on time travel. There are 16, 70 minute episodes. It is based on a webtoon titled “Tomorrow”s Nest.”

First I provide a unique synopsis then review.

Synopsis

An accident leaves Im Sol (Kim Hye Yoon) paralyzed and wheel chair bound amd ready to end it. Ryun Sun-Jae (Byeon Woo Seok) calls her “randomly” from a radio show where his band “Eclipse” is being interviewed. His call reaches Im Sol on one of her lowest days but his words inspire her to go on. She becomes his top fan and it is one of the brightest days in her life when she meets him through a “chance” encounter. On that same day she is devastated to learn he ends his own life. Perhaps the universe gets her devastation and responds to her desperation as a magical watch takes her back in time 15 years when they both went to adjacent high schools. During her many attempts to garner Sun Jae’s attention in order to change their future, she is indifferent to most people around her which catches the widely popular Song Geon Hee’s attention (Kim Tae Sung). Tae sung is used to girls vying for his attention. Im Sol’s utter indifference sparks his competitive nature and he finds himself falling for this unique girl. As Im sol travels back and forth through time, her teenage self vascilates between a girl that is in love with Geom hee to an embarassing extent, to the 30s year old version in a teenager body that finds him ridiculously bad boy narcissistic. And as she changes from one persona to another depending on which stage of life brain is driving the teenage body, she changes between idolation and indifference of Sun Jae as well. Which makes for some very comedic moments. Can Im sol fulfill her heart’s desire and change both of their grim destinies?

Review:

This is a unique twist on time travel with a very heartwarming love story.  After this series ran Byeon Woo Seok became known as the nation’s boyfriend and it is clear why.  The main lead character was so sweet, steadfast, and loyal to the main female lead character, that most would want to have a boyfriend or girlfriend that had all the qualities he had.  You will also experience second lead syndrome as second guy is awesome as well.  While there are some sad moments, I would not consider it sad at all on balance.  Though if you have been impacted by anyone having ended their life, be aware it could be tough emotionally in the first episodes. It dragged me down a bit because anytime that topic comes up it brings things back. For me the emotional drain around him seemingly ending his life was not severe enough to avoid a really good story like this, but it is good to be aware and prepared.  I always check before and most indicated it ended happy. I can confirm that it does have a very happy ending.  I would highly recommend this to anyone that loves really good romance, likes time travel, or is a fan of any of the actors.  All the actors did an incredible job of portraying the characters. I would watch this again and would recommend it to anyone without hesitation. 

 

Spoilers

My daughter said it would be slightly rated down in her opinion to maybe a 9/10 because she felt like it was super confusing how often it flipped around in time.  I completely agree.  It did get very confusing as she traveled back and forth to know if certain events happened in that particular timeline.  Not only did she travel 15 years back and forth but, at times, they would flashback within the same timeline.  Lead guy even, at one point, thought Geom Hee had dated Im Sol and she had not dated him in that timeline.  So, the writers were acknowledging that even the characters would have been confused.  But, I differ from her in that I do not think you could have portrayed the complexity without it being a little confusing at times. 

There were some things I wish had been better explained.  Like, how exactly the watch was working.  How did she know how many times she could travel?  How did she know when she was going back?   What about grandma?  Was she controlling some of the events?  It also did not explain whether Sun jae actually ended his own life or if it was the killer got to him, drugged him, and he wound up falling off the balcony and it looked like he had ended his life.  At times it seemed the killer had some awareness, like he knew things he should not have known, and it wasn’t clear why that was the case.  I think it had to do with something the grandma said that memories do not go away that they become embedded in your soul.  And then there was Sun jae’s puffer jacket stalker.  That was really developed as a key event in one timeline but then it was like they just dropped it.  I thought it might play out on all the timelines in a very essential way but it seems the only point of it was for him to have these frustrating passing moments, where he misunderstood Im sol and they almost but not quite got together. 

 
I got really frustrated with her for pushing him away.  I understood she was doing it because she became convinced he would die or get seriously injured from being around her.  But, her original purpose for traveling back was to keep him from ending his life.  So, if you are worried about someone being sad enough to make that horrible decision, why would you do things that would make them depressed?  Even understanding her concern about the killer targeting him, I wanted her to realize she should not make him sad. But I did finally agree with her when he was stabbed and fell off the cliff.  I know I would make the same decision in that case.  I might talk to others around him to get them to check in on him more and make sure he was doing emotionally well, but I would likely conclude that he need not be around me if I couldn’t get the killer to stop no matter how things changed. 

#LovelyRunner #KimHyeYoon #ByeonWooSeok #SomhGeonHee #LeeSeungHyub

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If you are not focused just on the romance, it is a great supernatural series

9/10 is my rating. This is a 2024 South Korean Dark Fantasy, Action Legal thriller. With 14, 60-73 minute episodes.

First I provide a unique synopsis then a review

Synopsis

Judge Kang Bit-na (Park Shin-hye) is mysteriously stanbed to death in a park and erroneously winds up before Hell’s judge, Justitia (Oh Na-ra). Justitia does not like humans nor does she feel any empathy for the murder victim who was before her by accident so she sends her to hell. This angers Bael (Shin Sun-rok), a major demon who is essentially second in charge of Hell. To punish her, Bael forces her to inhabit Kang Bit-na’s body and identify ten evil amd remorseless sinners who do not get full punishment through the justice system and send them to hell. eternal punishment. She only has one year or her existence will be snuffed out by Bael. During the course of serving as a human judge, Justitia/Bit-na encounter Han Da-on (Kim Jae-young) a violent crimes detective, who becomes suspicious of the judge when he notices many of those who appear before her meet an early demise.

Review

This was a fresh take on sins and judgements and the role of supernatural characters such as demons and angels.  It reminded me of a book series I read by Piers Anthony "Incarnations of Immortality" where every role, God, Satan, Grim Reaper were just jobs.  I found the Hell's judgement aspect of this series very interesting.  Who wouldn't like to think that those truly evil among us might experience an "eye for an eye" type punishment.   It was entertaining throughout.  Well-acted.  And ended reasonably well.  I might watch it again and highly recommend it to fans of the genre.  It's not as strong in terms of the romance but very strong as a supernatural drama. 

Spoilers

Like so many others my main critique was with the romance element.  I did not dislike that it had a romance running through it felt like an afterthought in many ways. It would have felt more integrated if the ending had not been so nebulous.  Does she love him enough to stay behind and be human or not?  I thought the chemistry was fine between the leads but it was just hard, in general, to envision someone so strongly enamored with justice being okay with a partner that is essentially a serial killer.  She was just doing her job and wasn't going after anyone that did not deserve it, but the absolute joy she exhibited in carrying out the brutal and grisly punishments was disturbing.  It was like a serial killer that found a sanctioned purpose for what they already enjoyed doing. The main guy was so good that pairing him with someone who could kill anyone in that manner was just a hard match up to buy. 

It also made no sense why she would be offered the chance to essentially send 10 to hell in exchange for becoming human.  What did it benefit hell to grant her such a thing?  She would have had to carry out her job whether or not she was rewarded.

They seemed to leave it open for there to be another season.  It ended, they were together, but it could be only temporary (three years and she is on her last year when it ends) depending on whether or not she decides to become human.  I don't like nebulous ending.  I know streaming platforms like to do that so they have the option of additional seasons if it is popular.  But it breaks what is great about South Korean shows where you know generally there will be one season.  And there isn't this open-ended decision about future seasons or not. 

#TheJudgeFromHell. #ParkShinHye #OhNaRa #ShinSunRok #KimJaeYoung

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A very well done bullying and revenge drama

9.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2024 South Korean psychological thriller drama with 10, 49-64 minute episodes. It is based on a web toon of the same name.

First I provide a unique synopsis then review.

Synopsis

Seong Soo-ji (Kim Ji-yeon) is a military child who has moved around her entire life and thinks she has the new student thing down. But that all changes when she enters an all girl school where the students in her class are playing a very dark game called the Pyramid Game. The “game” creates a stratified hieracrchy where those at the top of the pyramid can order and direct horrific acts of bullying and violence. As a new student, Soo-ji immediately finds herself at the bottom of the pyramid which means she is a target at the outset. Her father told her they would be moving on in about three months which seemed easy enough to survive until she became an unwilling participant of the game. To “win” and put an end to the “game” Seong Su-ji must figure out who started this game and why and among the girls around her, who all seem to be playing roles, who is actually good and who created and is perpetuation the evil “game”.


Review

This is a very well done bully and revenge theme drama.  They mostly skip the romance although there are a few characters where something seems to develop.  If you have read the web toon it sticks closely to that script with a variation at the ending.  The actors they cast fit very well with the way the characters are depicted in the manga.  I highly recommend this to anyone that likes this genre, is a fan of any of the actors, or are looking for something where there is little to no romance.  I would watch it again as it has a lot of depth and complexity.

 Spoilers

 It ends happy with all major plot points resolved.  Two aspects of the ending that I wasn’t as happy with are first, I though they could have easily made the relationship between Jo Seung Hwa (Jo Dong In), the convenience store worker and brother of the student severely bullied, and Seong Su Ji (Bona).  And I seriously disliked they introduced two new characters, twins, whom the school was renamed after, who were suggesting they wanted to play the Pyramid Game.  That was completely unnecessary.  And stupid.  First, you have Seong Su Ji in that class and she would never allow it to even start.  And, the rest of the class has already seen how the game can be stopped.  So, I think that the producers did that to open the door for a second season but a second season does not make sense with the same main characters in the mix. 

 I wish Soo Ji’s father, Sung Hee-Seok (Choi Dae-Chul) would have seen video of teacher Im Ju-Hyung (Choi Sung-won) smacking on his daughter.  We saw him getting arrested, but we could assume that was for the cheating and bribery and perhaps allowing the bullying.  But he should have been called out for the stuff he himself directly did to the students. 

 #PyramidGame #KimJiYeon. #JoDongIn #ChoiDaeChul.

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I have watched over 300 kdrama series at this point and I loved it

10/10 is my rating. This is a 2024 South Korean romantic comedy drama with 16, 60 minute episodes.

First, I provide a unique synopsis and then review


Synopsis

 Go Eun-ha (Han Sun-hwa) is an influencer and web entertainer who has a persona “Sister Mini” with content targeted for young audiences.  She is beloved among her young followers, and they want whatever product placement items she shows.  When a milk product she was promoting lands children in the hospital, it sends Eun ha’s web career into a tailspin.  She offers to go on sabbatical to minimize the damage to the image of the company she works for as well as give herself time to personally recover from what she feels like is her responsibility.  During this volatile time, Eun ha encounters former mobster, and current CEO, Seo Ji-Hwan (Uhm Tae-goo) and his team of ex-cons who run a food company intended to offer ex-convicts a fresh start.  Ji Hwan is enamored with Eun ha and finds her television persona particularly compelling becoming a closet fan of her content.  And most of his closest friends and management team Joo Il-young (Kim Hyun-jin), Kwak Jae-soo (Yang Hyun-min), Jung Man-ho (Lee Yoo-joon), Yang Hong-ki (Moon Dong-hyeok), and Seo Dong-hee (Park Jae-chan) are willing to play match maker to see their mentor and friend find happiness. 

Review

I loved this. One of my new favorites. I have watched over 300, mostly korean, drama series now so I am really picky. I thought the characters were very well developed. The “thugs” were very likable and it exhibited how you can firm a family with people that love and mutually support each other. The friendships and romances were very heart warming. I highly recommend it and will be watching it again.

 
Spoilers

 Il Young and Koo Mi-ho’s (Moon Ji-in) second romance represents one of my favorite tropes.  The playboy who encounters that one girl he just can’t seem to forget.  I liked his friendship with Jihwan and her friendship with Eunha.  They were both very supportive friends and it made sense in their interactions, that ultimately got the main couple together, they would have noticed each other.

 I never felt too bad for second guy, Jang Hyun-woo (Kwon Yul) as he had so many opportunities to romance main girl but had this sort of aloof wait for her to catch the feels that was sure to make him lose out to the far more compelling Jihwan.  I found him very admirable in his support of main girl, and he was a stand-up person in telling Eunha the truth about who Jihwan was as well as his willingness to re-evaluate what he thought about Jihwan. He finally fully let go of her and just wished her happiness even if not with him. He was just a great guy who became a great friend for Jihwan as well.

 I loved the ex-con team.  They were such great friends to Jihwan and I liked the way they did not like Eunha at first but then became her greatest advocates.  Jaesoo calling Eunha “Little Rat” in derision in the beginning then later as a pet name was a cute addition to the storyline.

#MySweetMobster  #UhmTaeGoo  #HanSunHwa  #KwonYul   #KimHyunJin  #YangHyunMin   #LeeYooJoon   #MoonDongHyeok   #ParkJaeChan  #MoonJiIn

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If you can look past the slapstick comedy elements it is a hidden gem rom com

9.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2024 Thai Dystopian Romantic Comedy Series with 6, 63-7 minute episodes.

First I provide a unique synopsis then review

Synopsis

The show is set in a dystopian parallel universe where a virus has resulted in males representing only 1% of the population. The rarity of males has lead to the government raising them from birth in a controlled, secure, and luxurious environment (a gilded cage) called The Farm. Every Four Years a contest is held in the form of an elimination dating game where ladies are able to choose to marry an individual from a group of the young bachelors. In previous games, the contestants were chosen from elite families only but, for the first time, they hold a lottery to choose an average femalecitizen to compete. Darika Chokwithee or “Day” (Belle Kemisara Paladesh) is a hardworking young lady whose life centers around making sure her sister, May (Neen Neennara Boonnithipaisit) who has cancer, gets the best care. Her sister May though has always fan girled over the boys on the farm particularly Son (Blue Pongtiwat Tangwancharoen) who she particularly admires. While Day is busy working a variety of jobs, May focuses on getting as many entries as possible to the lottery. When a miracle happens and May’s entry is chosen, she talks Day into going in her place. Day could care less aboit some frivilous show until she discovers if she wins, and marries one of the men from “The Farm”, she can secure the future for herself and her sister including top quality medical care. But, things are not as they are portrayed and the game has been rigged for the top elite to have their choice of the men. Day’s friend, Valentine (Jane Jaytiya Naiwattanakul) is working with a counter group, and goes to work for the show as the spy inside. Can true love overcome odds so heavily weighed against it?

Review

If ypu can see past some of the siily slapstick aspects around the game show, it is a hidden gem. It can be hard to find a truely feel good romantic comedy like this one. This is cute, not super complex, and ends happily with all major plot elememts neatly resolved. It is short but the number of episodes were enough to tell the story well. I would rewatch it in the future and recommend it as a heartwarming romantic comedy. I could habe done without the boy love and girl love elements but it was not hyper sexualized content in general so it was not a big deal.

Spoilers

The only very slight detractor for me was some of the three stooges level comedy. But it did make me giggle a couple of times as it was so incredibly silly.

Despite the relative light fluff of the main story, there are some deeper messages. What is health and safety without freedom? The men on the Farm are living in the highest level of safety with every luxury but they are not free.

If there was ever a situation like that we can all envision where the elite would likely control it. Natural selection and genetic diversity is what keeps a population strong and healthy. So their “selection” system would be horrible from that perspective. But if you think of inbreeding among royal lines in the past, and the genetic issues that caused, it is not surprising.

Almond’s (Man Trisanu Soranun) fear and decision to stay behind makes sense considering the psychology of a situation like that. It is like opening a cage and the bird or whatever either does not leave or uses it as a home base.

#ReadySetLove #BelleKemisaraPaladesh #NeenNeennaraBoonnithipaisit #BluePongtiwatTangwancharoen #JaneJaytiyaNaiwattanakul #ManTrisanuSoranun

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A Nice Contract Marriage Romance

9/10 is my rating. This is a 2023 Japanese romance series with 10, 45-60 minute episodes. Also known under the Japanese title Ousama ni Sasagu Kusuriyubi

First I provide a Unique synopsis then review.

Synopsis

Hanada (Kanna Hashimoto) has had a tough life because she is so pretty people assume she uses her looks to get ahead and treat her poorly as a result. She has a hard time keeping jobs because customers pock up on her and colleagues are jealous. She finally gets a job as a wedding planner and thinks she has finally landed a job she can keep. It is not long though and trouble starts there, landing her in the office of the company President. Togo Nitta (Ryosuke Yamada) has turned down a variety of eligible women preferring to be alone to having a fake relationship. His focus is on increasing the sales for the bridal company to prove his ability as his father’s successor. When he sees Ayuka he comes up with a mutually beneficial plan in the form of a marriage contact. She needs money for her struggling family and he can use the perfect marriage to promote his business. No pesky feelings involved right?

Review

It is a nicely paced romance with a happy ending. If you like the cold CEO type, contract marriages and/or cinderella like stories this is a good one for all of that.

Spoiler

I found the plot point that being too attractive has its own set of problems compelling. It is a phenomenon not frequently recognized but those that have experienced it know it exists.

She had a way about her that she remained positive despite people treating her unfairly due to assumptions they made about her. They were perfect for each other as each led ampn isolated life for different reasons

I was a little disappointed when he broke it off with her and was pursuing an arranged marriage. That is one of my least favorite tropes. I was glad she realized what was going in and basically told him knock it off.

#KissingtheRingFinger

#KannaHashimoto

#RyosukeYamada

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Heartwarming family drama with bonus super sweet friends to lovers like romance

9.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2020 Chinese drama with 40, ~45 minute episodes.

First I provide a unique synopsis and then review.

Synopsis
Li Jianjian (Tan Songyun) lost her mother who died in child birth but has a dad, Li Haichow, (Tu Songyan) who loves people. He is the dad everyone wants and winds up taking in He Ziqiu (Zhang Xincheng) after making a comment to his single mom that if she doesn’t want her son he would take him. A police officer and his wife move in upstairs and their fights become the talk of the building as the thin walls allow everyone to overhear their conflicts. Ling Xiao (Song Weilong) spends a lot of his time quietly reading on the communal stairs to get out of the apartment when his parents are fighting. The Li’s are determined to invite the young boy into their warm apartment to share meals rather than sadly sitting on the stairs. It is not long before Xiao’s mother leaves the family and now it is just the boy and his dad. The two single fathers become close relying on each other to raise the three kids. This series follows this heartwarming family through many stages of life.

Review
The child actress who plays young Li Jianjian is cute like Shirley Temple. She is kind, courageous and a little mischievous and both boys wind up drawn to her energy. I love the two dads and especially Haichow who uses his culinary skills to feed those that need not only the meal but the human caring. The way it portrays the concept of family as not just those with blood ties, but those that take care of and love each other in a formed family unit is very touching.

I highly recommend this for a sweet, friends to lovers coming of age romance. It is a great family drama. There are many comedic moments that flow very naturally. I enjoyed it start to finish. It ended happily with all major plot points resolved.

Spoilers*

I read elsewhere and I have to agree her proudly declaring she is menustrating to the table of her all male family is funny. It does not even cross her mind that it might make them uncomfortable. But they do their best to help the only female in their midst mature even doing things like gifting her a bra in secret.

Some reviewers felt weird with both of her brothers liking her romantically. Her ”oldest brother”, Ling Xiao (Song Wei Long) was not a blood relative and did not even live in the same apartment. So them harboring romantic feelings was not weird to me at all. The younger brother, He Zi Qiu (Zhang Xin Chang) was thinking along those lines but it was more from his deep desire to be a part of the family officially than real romantic feelings for his ”sister”. They were not blood related either but they were close to being step siblings and, in the end, they were officially step siblings. But other than a brief encounter when he had some romantic feels for her when they were decorating pastry (he was sort of back hugging her to guide her hands) he was more like “ooh sister cooties“ when she jokingly suggested they kiss. I think he was briefly confused about the nature of his feelings for her and they sorted out as more brotherly.

The filial above all else was a problem for me with this one as they even largely encouraged forgiving and looking the other way on behaviors that were physically and emotionally abusive. Chen Ting (Yang Tong Shu), Ling Xiao’s mom, was awful, she was abusive to her husband, Ling He Ping (Zhang Xi Lin) and her son when tgey were married then abandoned her young son to let her now ex, He Ping and super dad, Li Hao Chao (Tu Song Yan) raise him. She returns later, remarried, with a step sister in tow and expects the son she abandoned to just pick up where she left off. And it was not just that expected it the adultsdid a bit by not putting an immediate full stop to it. I looked up the child abuse laws in China because I was curious about the adults lack of intervention. It doesn’t appear like there’s a lot they really could’ve done if they had chose to press the issue at least not legally. But I would have been a harpy so that it was in inconvenient enough that she just left him alone. In the end they try to make it out Chen ting finally saw the light but I still thought she was horrible as she was emotionally blackmailing them with suicide even then. Shenwas not even close to repairing any if the emotional damage she caused and would likely continue to cause. In my opinion someone that behaved like that has borderline personality disorder. She exhibited all the major traits which include: Unstable relationships, sense of self, and emotions, impulsivity, recurrent suicidal behavior and self-harm, fear of abandonment, chronic feelings of emptiness, inappropriate anger, feeling detached from reality. The disorder cannot be cured but can improve with therapy. She was not seeking help with her persiponality issues so she would continue to do things both emotionally and physically harmful.

Then there was Little Big Brother’s biological dad, Zhao Hua Guang (Liu Jin Long) and he was also awful and abusive. He, admittedly did not take care of his son when he was young, because he was too poor to afford taking care of a child so he let him be raised by others. Then he makes money and thinks he cannot have children with his new wife so he comes back and expects Zi Qui to just to turn his back on the people that care for him, and raised him all those years. Then rather than asking nicely and being so pleasant, his son would want to come with him he blackmailed him and threatened to harm the only family the son knew and loved if he did not do as he wished.

Then there was her friend and roommate Luo Hong (Mei Ling Zhen) whi had a crush in Big Brother, Ling Xiao, and was angry when she mistakingly thought he had romantic feelings for her but only saw her as a good friend. She was willing to give up her years long friendship with Jianjian out of a situation of her own making. Then she takes her mom’s side when her parents are going to divorce criticizing her father for not being there and her mom doing it all when she was a housewife and he was working to support the family. It was the same with Zi Qiu’s police officer father and his mom, also a housewife who could not cope with her young children so much she locks them up so she Can go play cards then blames her son (like an abuser) amd her husband for her daughter’s tragic death. I found Luo Hing an unlikable character.

#Zhang Xinchang
#TanSongyun
#GoAhead
#TuSongyan
#SongWeiLong

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You are more likely to like it better if you did not read the webtoon

8/10 is my rating. This is a 2023 South Korean paranormal romance drama with 12, 70 minute episodes. It is based on a very popular webtoon of the same name.

First I provide a synopsis then review.

Synopsis

If you not only reincarnated but were able to remember all your past lives you would excel at many things but feel isolated and lonely. Ban Ji-eum (Shin Hye-sun) considers her "ability" a curse until something haopens in one of her lives that changes her mind. After reincarnating for nearly 1000 years Ji-eum meets someone in her eighteenth life that makes her happy she can remember. When her life is cut short by an accident, she vows to find him, Moon Seo-ha (Ahn Bo-hyun) and make him fall for her again. It is not easy though because Seo-ha experienced a lot of trauma from losing his mother at a young age, the accident and feeling guilty and responsible for Ji-eum's death. So when the ever persistent Ji-eum shows up he is now t sure he wants to entangle himself with this odd woman. But fate and familiarity will have their say and the 19th life may be the one that counts.

Review

When I read some reviews I noticed a trend where those that read the webtoon were, in general, less satisfied with tge direction things took in the last part if the series. This started really well. I loved her confident, spunky, knew how to do about everything personality. Her relentless pursuit of Seo-ha was entertaining. The 2nd couple was also cute. I did not read the webtoon but even for me it felt like they destroyed the story toward the end. Watch it for the interesting story and slow build romance for both couples. It is heavy in the 1st love aspect. It is a deep thinking topic for anyone interested in reincarnation. It also visits several historical points in her flash backs to previous lives. It is a happy ending if you can accept the strange twist it takes.

Spoilers*
My daughter read the webtoon and said that female lead character did not reincarnate due to a revenge arc like was portrayed in the drama but rather she lost her twin sister through murder and was reincarnating to be reunited. So that was very different. In the drama anyone who found out she was reincarnated suffered bad consequences such as strange ailments. It was weird within the drama as there was no sensible reason that would be the case. And apparently that was never a thing in the webtoon., there were no ill consequences of finding out she reincarnated. In the webtoon Ha Do-yoon (Ahn Dong goo) was her reincarnated sister and that was a surprising twist. In the drama. He was not her reincarnated sister he was a man in her 1st life, a side character, and he looked exactly as he did in her 19th life. In her 19th life her sister had reincarnated as Yoon Cho won (Ha Yoon kyung) and she also looked exactly as she did in her 1st life. There is also a character in the drama who murdered Ji-eum in her 1st life, who also was continually reincarnated and remembered his past lives. He got close to Ji Eum and wanted her to remember so they could break the cycle because, in the drama, Ji Eum created the situation where they reincarnated and remembered as she vowed to not forget and get revenge. In the drama Seo ha's mom had reincarnated and was watching over him to remedy an injustice around his attempted murder. So it makes it seem like remembering past lives is common. In the webtoon there was just her and another character. Then, the reincarnated mom, makes a decision to do some ritual somehow the murdery guy knew about where she stops remembering past lives. Main female lead sees her after and it was like, not only did she no longer recall, but her personality was different. Somehow that makes lead girl decide to do the same. Supposedly it fixes all those suffering harm from knowing about reincarnations if you are just willing to do some weird ritual that makes you selectively forget. And lead girl is like yes I struggled to get everyone to like me and accept that I reincarnated but now I just want to forget all about all of that. It was cool she knew so many languages, had so many skills and had historical knowledge, it added a lot of depth to her character but then that is all wiped clean. So then this now different person who somehow remembers how to be an engineer from her 19th life but not where the ring on her finger came from. But all the people she met in her 19th life remember her and all that but now it doesn't make them sick somehow. So then he relentlessly pursues her. But there was this slow build romance to that point with him and the super cool her who could do all these things but niw there is this renewed her that he is determined to make love him. If you can completely suspend your belief that things you experience shape who you are I guess you could buy off on that. Realizing some changes need to be made to adapt it to drama but many just seemed unnecessary.

#ShinHyeSun
#AhnBohyun
#SeeYouInMy19thLife.

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Heart warming, happy ending, contract like marriage, cool executive who melts, cinderellaesque

9/10 is my rating. This is a 2023 Chinese Romantic drama with 30, 20 minute episodes.

First I provide a synopsis then review.

Synopsis

Qi Si Le (Jade Cheng) feels very fortunate to be a mom even though she is single and has to suffer the brutal corporate world where women in general and single mothers in particular are not held in the highest regard. However, she is willing to do whatever it takes (except compromise her morality) to earn enough to get her beloved daughter, Xuan Xuan (Huang Bo Si), life saving surgery. That is why, when she needs to land an important account, she sets her sights on convincing company President Hao Yu to select her firm for his advertising need. Running into each other outside of the business setting, Hao Yu notices that both children, who are the same age, have a very distinctive broach from their mothers. Not only are they the same age but they also have the same birthday. All the connections make Hao Yu suspect that Si Le and Xuan Xuan have ties to his family. When a secret genetics test reveals that Xuan Xuan’s is indeed genetically related, Hao Yu proposes to Si Le. Although reluctant at first Hao Yu’s generous and gentle actions toward Si Le and Xuan Xuan lead her to think he is being sincere so she ultimately accepts. However not all is as it seems and as real feelings develop it is uncertain if the budding relationship can survive the initial deception.

Review

Overall a heart warming romantic drama. She and he are both single parents which, right there, puts a unique spin on things. There is mystery surrounding the kids and who the other parent is. She is pretty but not beautiful so it has that sort of single girl next door vibe. He is the cold executive who warms up and becomes the perfect, doting husband. Their relationship was founded on deception without true love, but they grow to love each other deeply, so it has similar aspects as a contract marriage. The side characters are interesting and their romances are also compelling. The kids are adorable. She is a jewelry designer so that is a bit of a slice of that profession. I highly recommend it for those that like happy ending romances with a female character who sticks up for herself when it counts. If you like the Cinderella like story of an impoverished single mother climbing out of poverty this is a good one on that front. Cool executive type that melts for main girl this has that. Love triangles of course. Great friendships. It hits a lot of the tried and true tropes that drama fans tend to like.

Spoilers
This had one of the most second hand embarrassment/cringy moments I have experienced in watching over 300 Asian dramas. Hao Yu is rich, handsome and well connected and has many women chasing him for relationships and marriage. Si Le is barely making it and has no power or influence. She is pretty but not beautiful still men are interested but she is not what would be considered a catch because of her status as a single mother and a relatively unstable professional history. When Hao Yui unexpectedly proposed to her she turned him down as she thought it was pity. That made sense and is what any woman with an ounce if pride would have done. Then, when Xuan Xuan takes a turn for the worse, and he is right there caring for and nursing the little girl and comforting Si Le, she suddenly decides he cares about them both a lot. What would have made sense would be to ask if the proposal still stood now that he knows the child had a serious health condition. But no. Si Le decides to do him a favor and agree to be his son’s mother (okay that is a big deal) but announces she will be Hao Yu’s wife as if she is doing something big for him being his wife. And that is not the worst, she makes this announcement with some weird wedding veil she made from something in the hospital and a bouquet that materialized. He had expressed his interest with a trunk full of beautiful roses (which it turns out she was horribly allergic to but there is no way he would know that) and she reciprocates with a table cloth on her head and an I will do YOU the honor. I am still cringing the next day. So that was an unecessary way for her to accept his proposal and detracted a bit for me. I had to get over it and was nervous it would not be good enough to make up for the cringe but it was.

Later, when she finds out he tricked her and did not care for her when he proposed she is naturally hurt and is on the brink of divorcing him. Ok I get it he was a jerk the way he did it back then and deserved her anger but I thought she took it way too far. And she wasn’t believing him but was believing the villainous second guy who she knew had lied and also deceived her. She would believe villian guy over the man she supposedly loved. But the worst of that was when she decided to leave Hao Yui to go to her parent’s house then lies to the children and leaves the little boy behind. He chases the car down the street hysterically and falls in the road. Not only could I not do something that selfish and heartless to a child I loved and was the mother for but I could not be that heartless with any child. It made me mad at her character.

It was crazy and cute how Si Le was able to turn all her romantic rivals into close friends. I have never seen it like that but it was one of the most heart warming and cute aspects of the series.

The show was good enough even with these detractors I highly recommend it.

#PleaseBeMyFamily
#BinbinXie
#JadeCheng

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Great Light Hearted Romance, Don't expect complexity, ex fiance annoying

9/10 is my rating. This is a 2015 South Korean romantic drama with 16, 60 minute episodes

At 34 years old, Oh Ha-na (Ha Ji-won) and Choi Won (Lee Jin-wook) have been best friends for 17 years. They have supported each other through a variety of failed relationships and are always there for each other through life's joys and sorrows. Choi Won has harbored a secret love for Ha-na for all this time, but every time he is on the verge of confessing his feelings, something happens. Ha-na was almost married to Cha Seo-hoo (Yoon Kyun-sang) but when he failed to show up to their engagement party, Choi wan was there to pick up the pieces. Years later Seo-hoo shows back up realizing he made a huge mistake and determined to win Ha-na back. Will Choi Won finally have the courage to tell Ha-na his true feelings and will Ha-na ever see him as more than a friend?

I enjoyed nearly everything about this drama. The Choi Won character was adorable. He was always there and generally nice to the lead character. The ending was happy and there were no long separations. Spoiler alert ** The only thing I did not like was when her ex fiance returned and she decided to get back with him after he had left her at the alter. He had no really good reason for leaving her and then not contacting her to tell her what had happened for three years. I did not even find him a compelling character despite having done that as he seemed to have anger issues and was very controlling of her. Her reigniting her romance with her ex fiance lasted through several episodes and that was my least favorite part of the series. I liked how spunky and capable Ha-na was and that was another reason I did not like it when she got back with her ex fiance because it did not fit her otherwise take no prisoners character. It did end with her 17 year friendship with Choi Won developing into the cutest romance and we even got to see not only their marriage but a little bit after. I loved her parents. They were always supportive even whens he was making lame brain decisions like getting back with her ex fiance. Her friends and family were not his fans, despite the fact that he was rich and attractive, and I thought she should have listened to them more. She did become a different type of person when she was with him and tended to shut out her friends. In real life that is a warning if someone does not get along with people you care about and tries to keep you all to themselves. That is one of the stereotypical signs of an abuser. All in all this was a very good, heartwarming story of two friends turned lovers. I could have just done without the whole ex fiance "romance" as he was a very unlikable character. I would have liked second guy to have been the younger guy from the beginning that, it turned out, was only leading her on to secure a permanent job in the company. I found it admirable though that she was able to separate that personal affront from his otherwise being a very capable employee. It showed her true character. I recommend this one to those that like the friend to lover trope and just romances in general. It does not have a lot of plot complexity but that is part of its appeal when I am looking for something more on the light side.

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Traditionalist/romantics may not like - those that like "woman power"/don't need a man might

7.5/10 is my rating. What has become apparent in the modern world is how information can be manipulated to suit the agenda of powerful businesses and political figures. Bae Ta Mi (Im Soo Jung) finds herself caught between the ethics of a free public domain and the pressures brought to bear on the companies that provide Internet search services. After dedicating her youth to a company she helped to build to the top search engine, she is chosen as the fall person in a high stakes political inroad. She ouththinks/outsmarts the political players only to lose her job.
Distraught over being stabbed in the back by someone she thought of as a friend and mentor she goes to play a video game to burn off some steam. She is very competitive and used to winning at everything so when she loses the game to Park Mo Gun/Park Morgan (Jang Ki Yong), she finds the younger man intersting enough that their encounter develops into a one night stand. Park Morgan sees things differently, he has for once encountered someone he find unforgettable and decides to pursue this elusive woman whose life focus is on her career.
Park Morgan is the CEO of a company that composes music for Video Games, a part of the industry Tae Mi is involved in, so they encounter each other frequently. Meanwhile, the top competitior knows that Bae Ta Mi has the skills they need to beat Bae Ta Mi's former copany in ranking, after all she is the one that has kept the edge over them all these years. Theyg recruit her to help their company surpass and finally come out on top. This is a slice of life in the high stakes world of internet search engines with three women determined to make their mark in the industry. Can modern women really have it all?

Spoilers* I liked this but did not love it. I learned a lof in the slice of life of internet search engine industry - things I had never thought of. I really enjoyed that aspect. What I was watching it for though was the romance and that fell a bit flat. I thought the Park Morgan character was literally the perfect boyfriend/romantic partner but Bae Ta Mi was somewhat flat and cold as a character. He showered her with love and affection and I felt like she spent more time closing herself off emotionally than returning the love he so freely gave her. Others have commented, and I have to agree, that her constant emotional distancing became tiresome and it made me feel sorry for Park Morgan and feel he might be better off without her. I might have felt more sympathy for her character if they had revealed what happened to make her emotionally distant but they never did - she just was. I found the side romances more interesting than the main romance. But even those would get irritating at times. Scarlet (Lee Da Hee) was so insistant she was only a fan of Sul Ji Hwan (Lee Jae Wook) who was a rising actor, but that luckily turned the corner before it became annoying. However, when they finally came together and it turned out he was up for mandatory military service her fatalistic attitude about their relationtship was excessive. Bae Ta Mi's former mentor and major rival, Song Ga Kyung (Jeon Hye Jin), was living a miserable life in an arranged marriage under the thumb of her "evil" mother-in-law. It was apparent though, that her husband, Oh Jin Woo (Ji Seung Hyun), was in love with her and that she was with him. They were actually well suited for each other. He took responsibility for all the heartbreak and bad treatment she suffered and was willing to do nearly anything for her. I really wanted to see the two of them figure it out and reconcile sooner. None of the relationships resolved in anything that was long term. The main leads basically agreed to disagree and just let's see what happens in the future. But they broke up over that before so there was no feeling that anything resolved. Scarlet's boyfriend was still in the military and there were no promises made that she would wait for him. And CEO Song divorced her husband and was traveling and had "disappeared" from public life. There was a Thelma and Louis type ending where all three ride off into the sunset together in a show of strong women/solidarity so I suppose if you were more for the strong business woman element you might find that ending satisfying. I am a more traditional romance/happily ever after ending so I did not find that rah rah go women moment rewarding.

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I like Legal Dramas - just did not find this one interesting

7.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2020 South Korean drama with 16, 70 minute episodes.

Jung Geum-ja (Kim Geun-ja) is a lawyer who, like a Hyena, has no issue with scavenging off other‘s weakness to win a case. She crosses paths with Yoon Hee-jae (Ju Ji-hoon) who works for a distinguished law firm that caters to the wealthiest of the wealthy. Yoon Hee-jae is confident in his ability and has risen through the ranks of his law firm at an accelerated rate due to his exceptional legal skill that is until he goes against Geum-ja. Their first encounter is on a divorce case and Geum-ja seduces Hee-Jae in order to get close enough to him to steal information that is critical to winning the case.

In general I did not find the cases they worked on very compelling. It was mostly corporate level cases or rich chaebol and that type of law was not very interesting to me. I did not feel a lot of chemistry between the leads. I also did not like Geum-ja's underhanded way of doing law. It was okay a lot of times for the criminals she was pursuing but tricking someone by pretending to love them then stealing information to win a case was cruel and it made it so I did not like her very much. She is supposed to be very attractive but her short hair did not make her look very attractive to me. I have been watching this for many weeks and I usually watch things quickly but I find it very slow.

It took me a long time to finish this drama. I did not hate it but I certainly did not love it. Spoiler Alert* I found the way Geum-ja treated Hee-Jae in the beginning reprehensible. She seduced him to steal information to win a case. Hee-jae was a nice guy so I could not excuse the way she treated him as just being competitive or breaking some rules for a good outcome. If he had been a jerk then maybe I could have gotten past that but he was nice and what she damaged his career. I also did not find the cases they were working on very interesting. Corporate intrigue is just not much my thing. Since I was not pulling for the romance between the leads, I was not super invested in them getting together. It was also very slow in some parts. If you are someone who really likes legal drama, particularly corporate law, or likes one of these actors a lot - you might find it worth the watch. In general I would say there are far better legal dramas to watch and I would pass this one over.

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Great slice of life of start up in the high tech world

10/10 is my rating. This is a 2020 South Korean Romantic Drama with 16, 72-85 minute episodes.


As young children, Seo Dal-mi (Bae Suzy) and her sister became separated when their mother and father divorced. Seo-Dal-mi chose to stay with her father in South Korea and her sister went with their mother who remarried. Dal-mi's step-father is a wealthy businessman who was able to provide Dal-mi's mother and sister with wealth and status. Dal-mi's father died on the brink of receiving an investment to realize his dream of the next big thing in the tech industry. Wanting to fulfill her father's dream and show her mom and sister that she made the right choice in staying with her father, Dal-mi strives to make a big splash on the tech scene as the CEO to a start-up. Dreams for a successful start-up business start and sometimes finish with admittance to the start-up groomer, Sandbox, which is South Korea's version of Silicon Valley. Nam Do-san (Nam joo-hyuk) was a "math genius" as a young boy and grew up to be a genius coder. He founded a start-up, Samsan Tech, with two close friends. With his business struggling, Do-san agrees to play the role of stand-in as Dal-mi's first love who she "met" as a pen pal when she needs a date to an important event. The young dreamers apply to Sandbox and all are accepted. The situation becomes complicated when Dal-mi's actual pen pal also comes into her life and discovers he has feelings for her. Will these young dreamers realize their dreams and overcome nearly impossible odds to form a successful start-up. Who will Dal-mi end up with, the man who wrote her letters and supported her in her time of greatest need, or this "new" love that is the perfect partner for her aspirations?


Spoilers* At the start we are introduced to Dal-mi's father and it was a sad moment when he died after just realizing his dream of getting investors to start a business. Young Dal-mi had elected to stay with her father when her mother and father divorced. The relationship between the Dal-mi and her father was very heartwarming. Her father's mother, the grandmother, was also a very compelling character and it was understandable why so many people were drawn to her. I love how the grandmother adopted this orphaned young man in spirit and took care of him despite his bristly exterior. The grandmother also took such careful care of Dal-mi not just physically but emotionally after her father died. It was an interesting slice of life to see what a technology based start up might go through trying to get their idea(s) off the ground. The friendships, romances, and just the character development was all very well done and interesting. I really liked 2nd guy but I did not feel too bad for him to lose the girl as it had taken him too much time to realize he liked her and, even then, he was too slow to show her how he felt. I also liked him to the extent that I was glad she didn't wind up with him because she would never have loved him as much as he loved her. The 2nd guy could have been unkind and kept Do-san and Dal-mi apart by withholding information but he cared enough about both that he told them despite it being against his interest to do so. I liked Nam Joo-hyuk in "Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo" and "The Bride of Haeback" he is a very diverse and talented actor. Suzy Bae is just incredible. I first saw her in "While You Were Sleeping" and loved the role she played as a very vulnerable person troubled by visions she could not control. There was so much chemistry between the two leads and they looked very good together. It definitely made me root for their relationship. It was interesting to observe how each team member brought talent to the table and how they moved so many concepts into developed ideas into reality. I highly recommend this and would readily watch it again in the future. One of my new favorites.

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