Interesting portrayal of North Korea

This started out really strong but I almost totally lost interest by the end. One of the most intriguing part of the drama for me was the portrayal of North Korea. It was very nuanced and I learned that one of the screenwriters was a defector. Other than the interesting setting, the strength and appeal of the drama lay in the lighthearted and heartwarming day-to-day life of the main couple while in NK, before it was bogged down by all the other plots. Side character Gu Seung-jun stole the show the minute he showed up. Why did they kill him off ? and in such a lame way lol. I really struggled to like the heroine at first. She is very wealthy and her disdain (played to comedic effect) of the NK citizens' much less affluent lifestyle read too much like classism... It was a bit uncomfortable. With that said, the main couple were really cute and sweet and the hero was very good at doing the intense and wistful stare. Overall, very predictable and cliche, but lighthearted and has some heartwarming moments. Great production values and music and great wardrobe for the cast too.

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Watching this is like having a crush again

This show is pure dopamine; it's like falling in love or going through your first crush again. Has you squealing every time there's ANY development or even interaction between the two leads, and reminds me of the feeling of watching Business Proposal (another show that's like a pure dopamine shot). And all this is thanks to the amazing acting by the two leads, Zhao Lusi and Chen Zheyuan. The two of them were just SO good together. Chen Zheyuan's character is so dreamy, help ?

With that being said, I still skipped a lot of scenes. I'm not a fluff person and just find fluff, coming-of-age, student life, first love etc., to be a bit too low stakes to keep me 100% invested. The pacing is (imo) pretty slow and really drags. I also struggled with how cutesy ZLS's character acted in the first 4-6 episodes, I ended up skipping those.

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Very strong first half, weak and predictable second half

I binged this on Netflix recently and I did really enjoy it, but this is not without its flaws.

What I liked:
- really high production value - every scene looks as though it came from a movie, and not a TV series. The colors! The quality of the footage, the shots used!
- very strong opening, I binged the first three episodes immediately
- really interesting premise, drawing on Korean myths and folklore
- Lee Yeon and Lee Rang's relationship as brothers is just so good; Lee Rang kind of stole the show, honestly. I actually wanted to see more of the brothers than the main couple lol
- loved the parallels and themes between the different characters, and how this story was about community, and resolving the past
- heartwarming characters: I pretty much like all of the characters. Lee Yeon was a really fun character, Ji-ah was awesome (for the first five episodes), Granny's arc!!, Lee Rang, Ki Yu-ri, the little kid...

What I didn't like:
- a lot of plotholes. Some of the episodes baited you with an intriguing mystery that actually makes no sense in retrospect (car crash at start, Ji-ah's parents going to the cave when her mom was pregnant with her) although it makes for really good TV coz it's dramatic and suspenseful
- the two leads kind of had very little chemistry. They were cute, and I did like them, but you kind of look at them and think that the two of them are friends and not in love?
- Ji-ah had the same fate as Feng Zhiwei from The Rise of Phoenixes: really likeable, strong, had her own story and personality in the first half of the show, and then devolved into an accessory to the male lead/damsel in distress/only there for the romance in the last half. It was really a pity. She was so likeable and awesome in the first half
- cast for the villain (Imoogi) was really weird; he seemed like an emotionally awkward high-school boy. It was hard to buy into him as the final villain

TLDR: I grew really fond of the characters by the end, although the plot and logic of the show is really spotty at best

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Visually beautiful, but slow plot

Mixed feelings about this drama.

The good:
1) IU's acting is so good! I'm a huge fan. The heart of this show is, without a doubt, IU. She stole every scene she was in. I also loved her outfits. I really felt for her - her past and current self.

2) Main plot was really solid. The flashbacks to the past, Jang Man-wol's past, all of that was really compelling. I loved her story with Go Chung-myung, and her familial relationship with Yeon-woo.

3) This show is absolutely beautiful. The set designs, the cinematography, the outfits... absolutely beautiful.

4) I love Sanchez.

The bad:
1) Too much filler episodes. Each episode basically comprises of about 70% 'ghost of the week' and 30% Man-wol's past/flashback to the past. Some of the ghost side characters had really poignant stories. The rest, I really didn't care much about. I only see them for about an hour, then they're gone forever. Also, Man-wol's past is fascinating and compelling, and it ended up being frustrating that I couldn't find out more about it until the end.

2) I did NOT buy Gu Chan-sung's romance with Man-wol. I was way more invested in her and Chung-myung. I felt for him and his failed and tragic romance with her. They really seemed like doomed star-crossed lovers. The minute Chung-myung appeared, I kind of switched ships. I saw Chan-sung as Man-wol's brother and started skipping their romantic scenes because I just wasn't filling in. Chung-myung made a way more compelling love interest. Sadly, the writers obviously did not think so.

3) Side characters that were never developed or fleshed out. Unfortunately, I didn't care about most of the sideplots or side characters. They barely got any screen time.

4) Gu Chan-sung has no personality outside of being in love with Man-wol. He ends up functioning as an impetus for plot stuff to happen, with no real presence of his own. His character was quite poorly written - he did not feel like a main character.

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Very cute romcom

Like Love in the Moonlight, I'm putting this on hold. The plot is not very original, but the execution of it is quite fresh - the funny sound effects, the superb acting... This show is really cute and the first few episodes are hilarious. I laughed a lot. But once again, once the romance plot begins in earnest, it gets kind of boring to watch coz it gets very predictable and I didn't really feel like the two leads had a lot of chemistry. I actually ended up being more interested in all the non-romance scenes among all the side characters. The side characters are all really funny and endearing. Also, I really liked what the two leads did with their roles.

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Interesting premise, main leads don't really have chemistry

There's a new rising genre of e-sports/gamer dramas and anime. I liked the premise and I liked the tone of the film - it was lighthearted and cute. I liked Weiwei's friends and I liked a female protagonist who was smart and competent in her own field.

Unfortunately, the two main leads didn't have much chemistry and this was meant to be a romance. So by the fifth or so episode, it gets a bit boring. Both the leads, while good-looking, didn't really emote much, so it was hard to feel really attached to them or feel convinced that the two of them were falling in love.

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