Maybe I expexted too much going in

I don't know why but the fact that it was a Netflix original made me think, it would have a stand-out storyline but turns out it was a very average show, that could have been easily made by any other traditional korean channels like MBC, SBS etc. A expensive looking Penthouse rip-off without much substance to support it's exgaratred plot.
Caricatures in the name Characters (some of the decisions 3 of our main characters make are so erratic and unexpected that it does not make any sense whatsoever).
The instrumental themes are more than good though, they are better?

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Had great potential but inevitably dragged under the weight of stretching out an already thin plot.

This show is not worse by any means but it ain't much good either, one of those shows I'd recommend watching only when you feel like "I have nothing but,TIME TO SPARE"
For most of it's runtime Bulgasal continusly kept giving me the impression as if its an example of:- diffrence in visons of a writter vs difference in vison of director/producers [maybe showrunners wanted to make it a more commercial successful drama by adding those family moments, few comical relief dialogues and the fated-lovers angle whereas the writters wanted to make a thriller show which relys heavily on dark fantasy horror and timeline complexity with a hint of 'karma and retribution' added to it] Since, maybe the writers and directors/producers had conflicting views, by the end all they could think of was come up with an idea of making the both parties negotiate with each other landing on an agreement(something that incorporates views of both departments) which then goes on to become the actual script of the drama thus giving us what we now have is an average existing show called BULGASAL

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"First Love" its a fantasy, isn't it?

Takeru Satho really needs to move on from committing to merlodrama scripts that involve his character's love interest suffering from amenesia (like his movie 8 Year Engagement had this same thing)
Cinematography becomes that one standout mark of this show that I cannot help but continously sing praises of (it was preety much evident from the trailers that they will excel in this department)
The plot sure is slow but its steady, could have been easily compressed into an 7 ep show rather than 9, the first 2 episodes are hard to sit through cause the story is building it's plotline causing it to feel slow but don’t quit because everything gets better from ep 3
Has few "cliché" tropes but that isn't underwhelming because "clichés" are called "clichés" because they work like a charm. The show is at it's strongest in the final 3 episodes.
The actor who played Young Harumichi is by far the strong link of this show, like his acting outshined Takeru Satoh's in some scenes and that is an achievement if you ask me (as if his acting wasn't an help already, he had to looks cute as well).
Takeru and the female lead actress both being veteran actors really benifit the acting department, there are few moments that come out to be sooo impactfull, solely because the actors gave it their all in making it look as if it happened in their own lives.
One final thing, they should raise bar of the age rating from 15 to 17+ (you'll know why I suggest this once anyone who decides to watch this is almost midway into the show)

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King The Land is a new-breed of kdrama rom-coms even with a generic plot

KTL: Welcome to King the Land, where we invite tropes in, but they must leave as different creatures from how they arrived. What we’re trying to say is that we only fly green flags here. Disclaimer: We do allow for umbrella scenes, slo-mo walks, falling into each other’s arms, identity mishaps, silly meet-cutes, and staring longingly while a banger OST plays. We do NOT allow for miscommunication between partners, time skips, noble idiocy, misogyny, nonconsensual kisses, forced separations, social status as a barrier, or mere pecks on the cheek. [This is what I found on a reddit written by some user, it perfectly summed up my thoughts on the show so i decided to put it here]

The show gives you exactly what it promised the Romance and the Comedy and both in balance enough that you don't bother thinking about the painfully generic plot..

Lol before starting I thought this show was gonna be some wannabe 'Business Proposal'+ 'Whats Wrong With Secretary Kim' fiasco but boy was I suprised, pleasantly at that, Gu Wo has to be the most Greenest Flag Chaebol male lead k-dramaland has ever seen. I’m just so happy that this drama didn’t do the “let’s keep them childish and immature until the last 2 episodes.” Or “let’s have them break up and make up every single second” troupe.

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Be wary of what you wish is to be the goal of your life, especially when your heart forbids it

If you ever feel like you haven’t fulfilled your quota of 'shedding tears' in this world, this is it! this show will surely help you complete that task.
I've never seen a main-character attend this many funeral in a single drama, as much as I did in this very show.
Ep 3-13 (you are bound to cry at almost every episode except couple maybe)
I can't believe this came out the same year as The King Eternal Monarch did (2019) yet I somehow missed seeing or hearing anything about this great slice of life drama and then out of nowhere 2½ years after its release Netflix recommends me this soul crushing heartwarming story narrating the necessity of Care facilities, Love in life and Family and also gives us a strong message of how money is not the most "important" thing to have a satisfied life, it can sometimes be a good homemade meal, a family outing, your fascination twords pottery or anything that makes you happy and this show serves as an alarming advices to how badly in-sibling rivalry can affect one's mental peace especially when such disputes are encouraged by family elders.

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Its not a movie about adultery, it's about heartbreak

Writting this review after having rewatched it 5x times in the last 4 months since i found it in February 2022
I am not going to rave about how the good storytelling, cinematography and how transfixing the performances of the main cast is because every other reviewer here has preety much done it already, instead what few people talk about is the serene musical soundtrack of this movie(here's the Spotify link to the playlist https://open.spotify.com/album/00v7WAA1m1c0FZQ7BZEQBhsi=hkalEWI6QfiHpC04qUnLjQ&utm_source=native-share-menu). For me besides acting, directing, the instrumental themes were the real star of the show, like they elevated the viewing experience of almost all sceans they were put in to level ?, the music painstakingly makes it a point to hit the fact home - 'all that we've adored is only going to last a few fleeting moments and in the end if we do not learn to let it go peacefully it will becomes a poking thorn, a source of constant ache for our heart'

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This show made me buy a years worth Disney+ subscriptions, and I absolutely don’t regret it

Honestly I've kept my eyes on this show ever since Disney announced it their 2022 December promotional events in Singapore (the synopsis they gave back then made sure this show was going to be in my watclist)
Not since last years' My Liberation Note I've see a slowburn k-drama done right until this dropped in Feb this year.
Please don't all consider it an overrating when I say that Dongjin has made it to top 4 in my list of Best-kdrama-men-ever list (you'll know why he has become such a favourite of mine, if you decided of watching the show)

The CINEMATOGRAPHY- This is best I've seen in any show in any language.. seriously its stellar... the framing and shots contribute to the chracters development and understanding the chracters feelings...it will be hard for other shows to top this level of intricacy..

The OSTs also were an achievements especially Roy Kim's Flower and Moon Song...

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Can a show be successively better as well as worse from its previous part at the same time?

Where do I even start-
Lot of things things got better from its previous part.. The ACTION.. The CG/Vfx, The ACTING.. The Emotional depth Van and Miho’s chracters(the romance-plot got addressed) and the hevenly CINEMATOGRAPHY aced. However, unfortunately the STORY/ PLOT tanked..

The decisions of splitting the show was a evidently a blatant cash grab.. part 1 and 2 together are supposed to be considered the 1st season its preety evidently that it was never meant to be split into two parts..
I have Mixed reaction on the ending.. it's clearly being set up for a second seasons , but i don't think we will get one considering the shows didn’t turn out to be as successful as they thought it would be (given the massive 14 million dollar production budget)
The Cast really did a great job with whatever they had to work with (its all because of the faulty writing)

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This show seriously has no business tagging Horror as one of it's main gener

I've got zero idea what pot the VFX and makup department were smoking on when designing those "Lust Demons" i am telling you (if you are reading this, the ISLAND creative crew) if those honestly least-terror-inducing demons are your definition of 'SCARY' then ya'll clearly need to rethinking your understanding of the whole term(word) itself.
There's definitely snippits of GORE throughout the season but seriously no horror

I've never read the original source material, the WEBTOON (nor do i plan on reading it) but I can tell why most of the reading fanbase won't be happy with this live action adaptation

Before I being my rant, let's open-up with the positives.....

♤ The ACTION ..I'd say it is well done.. Van is a supernatural being with superhuman strength and in the action choreography that is potryed really well.. even though there are lots of cuts in a particular action sequence but it has been edited really well.. so it feels very smooth flowing ( in short the action is definitely NOT a sore to the eyes, in fact I'd say it's one of the best I've seen comming from fantasy-k-content in past 4-5 years)

♤ The ACTING department- majority of the characters are seriously paper thin.. but the actors that play their respective roles did all they could with the script they where given... the guy who suprised me with his improved skills was undoubtedly Cha Ewn Woo as Yohan.. I hadn't expected much from him going in considering his previous roles... but he did well here given that he is a rookie in a cast full of veteran actors...I'd say he did really well..

I've got no complaint from Kim Nam Gil in the acting section.. the man knows how to do his job well...Ohhky it might bit of a stretch but trust me Nam Gil is the only thing that's saving the show for me at this point.. he's literally carrying the whole show entirely on his shoulder...
Lee-Da-Hee's acting is as moderate as ever I don't think it has changed at all in the past 4-5years.. I am tired of alway seeing play the same type of chracters and it has become very boring not to see taking up fresh original roles..

♤ The CHEMISTRY / RELATIONSHIPS
◇ Van and Granny- honesty the most most wholesome relationship in the entire show, its a pity they don't have a bunch of scenes together in the 1st part..
◇ Van and Miho - ( I know.. i know the show is not said to have any romance and the source material doesn't have love-line as well) but Nam Gil and Da Hee as Van and Miho definitely have fire flickering on n off... (the showwriters are definitely hinting on it). I will fool myself and hope for a romance in S2 but will also try to keep my expectations tamed cause i don't wanna be dissapointed and give myself a terrible heartache if the creators don't give me a romance sub-plot in S2 (reminds me of my dissapoinmet with Bulgasal.. jezz)

The COMEDY- it feels very sublet.. very fitting and blending in pretty naturally into the story... without being overly on your face... it adds much needed mirth to the dark-enigmatic atmosphere of the show..

♤ The CINEMATOGRAPHY.... the show has hit a jackpot in this department... there are certain aerial drone shot.. that are just wallpaper worthy..



NOW LET ME RANT......

The STORY- It is always mind boggling to me that when Tv script writters have the benefit of a full fleged well written comic as source material how can they miss the mark when it comes to adapting it in Live action (the show has certain changes that I heard are not in the OG comics.. which I don't honestly mind.... but the overall presentation of the story is very flimsy)

2nd is the CHRACTER writtings , besides Van there's not a single well written character, not even 1

Let's start with WonMiho/Wonjeong (the female lead who's character is supposedly to be crucial for the climax). All I saw her do was wear really preety clothes and fall into the arms of her potential lover Van every now and then, like isn't she being hunted by demon.. shouldn't she be learning how to operate guns or do Karate or stuff.. I don’t know but learn something for self-defense (Yehh I'm well aware that she hires Van to protect her from the same.. but still).

Yohan - The writers tried giving Yohan some emotional depth and complexity (showing us his relationship with his brother in ep 6) but it simply wasn't impactfull... the writer/director never really gave the two brothers enough time to bond with each other or with the audiences. So me as viewr never fully understand the psychological impact the final act of ep 6 might have on Yohan...

Gung-tan is the most one dimensional villan EVER...

The only saving grace is VAN- This guy is decently written and impressively acted and brought to screen by Kim Nam Nam Gil (the actor has become so good in playing these 'cold emotionally-distant tormented guy' role over the years)

The CG and VFX is very Mehhhhh.......(but i am hopeful about it seeing the trailer for 2nd part) apart for the vfx of the 'energy barriers' of blue and oranges colours created by Van and Guntan respectively.. everything else is very forgettable

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