I really wanted this to be great, but.......

Going into this drama I had such high hopes that this would be a great watch, it contained a story that I was familiar with, having previously watched the donghua and it was to feature Xu Kai as the male lead. I 've seen several drama's of his and generally enjoyed them
Unfortunately having trudged my way through 40 episodes of this drama, for me, it was a real mess. Based on the plot it amazes me that the demons actually lost. Throughout much of the drama the demons were clearly more intelligent and made sensible plans. Ironically, any plans that they did make didn't even have to be that good, as their opponents were actually rather stupid.

If this had been a boxing match the referee would have stopped the fight and awarded the victory to the demons. It was not even close.

From the opening episode I was instantly concerned on what was to come based on the appearance of one the casts prosthetic mask. I assume it was a mask and not CGI either way it was just plain bad.

The script gave our main cast very little to work with throughout and the carnage that swept through so many of the cast might have been a relief to some, as at least they could get away from a nonsensical plot.

I don't know if the director purposedly wanted to avoid any similarities to the donghua, if so, they certainly accomplished it. All the things that I enjoyed about the donghua and had me so excited to see the live action version were missing.

There also seemed far to much screen time given to characters other than the leads. In some episodes, if you blinked you would have missed Xu Kai And Gulnezer Bextiya despite them being the leads.

To some, the happy ending that was given to our main leads might have been welcome, to me it felt completely forced and very contrived. After watching it, and getting over the fact the demons actually lost, I came away thinking that was some kind of an attempt at fan service. I was suddenly supposed to forget the previous 39 episodes and be pleased with the ending! Sadly, it didn't work.

The performance of the cast, despite the flaws with in the plot should be admired, they really did try. Despite all the limitations they were presented, the cast did a good job, I did like the chemistry between the leads unfortunately the lack of screen time didn't help them though.

Xu Kai spear skills, which I'm told were real were also excellent and certainly a highlight when we got to see them.

I really did want this drama to be great but even Xu Kai and the efforts of the entire cast couldn't save it.

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This shouldn't be funny and yet it is??

I'll be completely honesty, I dismissed this drama on its release as the synapsis just did not appeal to me. I then proceeded to bypass it whenever it came up on my recommended list.

I only decided to give it a try after being caught up on all the other drama's I had been watching, as you can imagine my expectations were low....

Oh what a fool I am! This is such a great watch!! Yet, the most ridiculous thing is that this shouldn't really work.

Its a comedy about mental health, trauma, physical violence, online violence and prejudice - and yes it is a comedy and a good one at that.
This drama finds a way to deal with some very heavy subjects with both realism and humour.

This is a story of two people fighting desperately against their inner demons and trying to find away back to their normal lives.

Oh Yeon Seo and Jung Woo deserve enormous credit for their performances. They managed to convey the depth of their individual traumas and yet inject humour in to so many of there scenes. There chemistry is excellent and as we see the nature of their relationship change and this is also reflected in their chemistry. The one thing that remains consistent is the humour throughout.

The supporting cast provide the segues that allow for the story to develop and whilst we have the necessary villains there screentime is limited. The most valuable supporting cast member is actually Oh Yeon Seo dog! In so many of the interactions or developing storylines the dog is at the centre.

This is a story about two damaged people finding themselves and each other, and in the end I'm so glad I found this story

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Soothing in a low key kind of way

This drama will definitely not appeal to everyone, its not full of angst where our main leads are pulled all over the place. Equally its not a romantic comedy as the leads find themselves in outlandish situations. As a romantic drama its not even particularly dramatic, although it does have its moments.

So why watch it?

Simply put, I liked the fact that I was watching real adults who knew exactly what they wanted and found a way to each without lots on angst or drama.

This drama felt natural to me. From the friendships, the romance and even the issues with their families.

The overall pacing of the drama won't appeal to everyone, I personally liked that everything progressed at a similar pace throughout. This to me was refreshing compared to many of the other drama's I have seen.

The leads had really good chemistry throughout and talked through any issues they faced. Equally, they supported each other when they faced their own problems. Again this was I nice change pace for me. Generally, I don't see healthy communication in a lot of the drama's I've watched.

If your looking for a reflexing, yet moving story I would certainly give this a go.

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Great Start to Epic Story

I went into this movie having already thoroughly enjoyed the anime and I had some trepidation that a live action film would not re-create something similar.

I was also prepared that this is only the first part of an ongoing story. This is the start of the journey for Shin to become the worlds greatest general and Zheng to unite China.

I'm glad I ignored that trepidation. and began this live action journey. This was a genuine fun watch.

Yes, it didn't re-create every moment of the anime both in story telling and the action scenes, but I never felt short changed. The action scenes were well choreographed and story flowed.

The cast in this movie managed to bring to life the anime characters that I was familiar with. The ending was maybe slightly weak, however in the context of the future films I wasn't overly bothered by this.

An enjoyable watch.

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No Middle Ground - Love or Hate

This is not a romantic comedy, its important to know this going into it. There is at best a touch of romance, so be prepared.

Additionally, there is little in the way of middle ground with this drama, you will either love it or hate it based on how you view Eun Mi as a character.

She is either the heroine of this story or someone who should be criticised for many of her actions. I will be perfectly honest whilst I recognise her strengths she is certainly isn't a likeable character to me.

The premise of this drama is built upon the relationship between Eum Mi, the mother and Jin Hee her daughter. Eun Mi gave birth to Jin Hee as a teenager and raised her as a single parent. The synopsis for this drama states they literally grew up together.
This is where my problem starts, the suggestion that Eun Mi ever really grew up. Yes, she raised her baby, she worked incredibly hard to provide for herself and Jin Hee, but did she ever really grow up? For me, no, her attitude and behaviour still resembles that of a teenager and not a 40 something year old woman. Whilst this wouldn't be the worse thing, it does manifest negatively in her relationship with Jin Hee at times. Jin Hee often needs to be the parent in the relationship with her own emotions often ignored by Eun Mi. Eun Mi thinks little of the consequences of her actions, often leading to problems for Jin Hee. Jin Hee's feelings are often secondary in their relationship

The introduction of Jin Hong, Eun Mi former boyfriend and Jin Hee father only complicates the situation further. Eun Mi quickly rushes into renewing her relationship with him, forcing Jin Hee to accept this relationship, yet she doesn't like the idea of father and daughter becoming close. Whilst all this is going on Jin Hong and Jin Hee seem to be circling each other, unsure how to approach each other. Jin Hong in both his relationship with Eun Mi and Jin Hee is either too passive or at times simply weak.
I also didn't like that very little attention is given too Eun Mi failure to share with Jin Hong that he had a daughter. This was glossed over far too quickly.

Jin Hee does have a romantic interest in Jae Won who is also her superior at work. Unfortunately very little is done to really develop their relationship until the final few episodes and even then it was pretty limited. Park Sung Hoon was criminally under used as an actor in this role.

My final issue with this drama is the last 2 episodes. They don't entirely fit within the context of the previous 10 episodes. We had seen little in the way of growth from Eun Mi and yet suddenly she was a more mature individual.

I think this same story could have been told, keeping the humour, the unique Eun Mi character, yet also showing some growth as an individual whilst also allowing her relationship with Jin Hee to evolve as well. Instead I found Eun Mi admirable qualities too often overshadow by her negative traits and when her relationship with Jin Hee did evolve it didn't feel natural.

Sadly I didn't enjoy this drama in the way I hoped, the funny moments soon became less funny and I was left with a dislike towards Eun Mi and a sense of sadness towards Jin Hee.

For me the the final two episodes were unable to erase the events in the previous 10.

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A Pleasant Watch if Slightly Predictable

I decided to watch this drama simply based on the synapsis, it was an intriguing concept.

What would you do if you could remember your past lives? Would this be a blessing or a curse?

I never really felt these questions were answered, however what we did get was an enjoyable romance with just enough drama to keep the story moving.

Shin Hye Sun as the female lead was really good throughout, but I particularly enjoyed her performance in the early episodes where she stole every scene she was in. She managed to combine smart, sassy, funny and sexy all in one unique package. She took no prisoners when she decided on her course of action.

Ahn Bo Hyun as our male lead was fine, I don't think he was particular stretched by this role and I didn't completely buy into his feelings of loss but that was a minor issue for me.

Perhaps his story arc featured a little too heavily for me as he tried to discover the mystery surrounding Ban Ji Eum death in her previous past life. I also found when they discovered the mastermind behind this and the reasons for it, this was rather underwhelming.

I would have perhaps have enjoyed this drama more if we had spent more time examining and experiencing Ban Ji Eum past lives. We got clips and flashbacks but these never really explored in detail. Maybe this was a drama that required 16 episodes rather the 12 we got?

As far as the ending was concerned it was slightly predictable, I've seen similar endings in other films and drama's. We get to see our leads reunited even if Ban Ji Eum doesn't remember Moon Seo Ha. It was sweet if not terribly original.

Overall this was a pleasant watch and did provide a happy ending for our leads, whilst I wouldn't rush to rewatch it anytime soon, I m sure to revisit it just for Shin Hye Sun performance.

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