Sometimes its good to read the story behind the true story if you have a weak heart

I recently convinced myself that i was missing out on historical dramas(I have dreaded them for years) but KDRAMA has sold me and am hooked.
Lee JunHo brought me to Red Sleeve and OMG this was good that i almost watched it in one seating but had to break it to avoid looking like i have no life.
I was originally not planning to say anything,this is one of those drama that stick in your brain weeks after you finish them but i need to get it out of my system,let me leave it here.
1.The cinematography,the OST,the still picture and everything Jeoson palaces were on point.
2.The acting was out of this world,few actors can pull of a heavy drama full of all types of emotions but everyone in the entire cast pulled off Oscar worth acting.
3.I have no words for Lee Junho portraying Prince Yi San/ King JeongJo,I dont think there is any language that can discribe this man's acting so i recommend to go and watch
Overall this was one of the best historical drama of 2021 and now i know why,It has left me with a very heavy feeling and made me want to understand more about this era in the Korean history.I will not talk about the FL wanting to drive all of us crazy but she was portraying a real historical figure so we pumped our hate breaks whenever.
Many people warned us future views not to trade in the waters of Ep 17 but we are too curious for that and curiosity killed a cat so you can imaine how dead i am now,but I will not spoil it for anyone. i have learnt my lessons, before embarking into the territory of an historical drama that is real story of real people, I should probably read the story first and see if there is and sad ending

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THE HEALER WE ALL NEED

In the world full of uncertenity,stress,depression,hard life,unplanned messes and noises,Someone thought of "Meet yourself" I read somewhere in the comment section,someone said that when life gets hard nd unbearaable,they just think of moving to a chinese village in the middle of nowhere and i feel the same lol.
This has been my healing drama of all the times,It introduced me to the rural most authentic and amaizingly beautiful China.What a fresh of breath air,what an amzing scenery,Every scene felt like a holiday in a care free country, where there is no worries.I remember the horde scenes a long the vast rivers, the farm with cows and two seat on th verandah where the leads would seat and watch the sunset or the sunrise,Gosh who thought of this idea?
There is so mujch goodness in this drama that words are not enough,I think you have to experience it on your own.THe sense of community around this drama was out of this world,every character was running from something but the moment they arrive in this village,it seemed like all their worries flew by in front of our eyes.THe show lietrally is so good that you feel like you are a part of grandma's circle.
The two seasoned actors Li XIan and Liu Yifei put on a show to remember.
If you are looking for a quiet,slow paced holiday destination to meet your self..tHis is a show for you

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GREAT NOONA STORY DONE WRITE AND DIFFERENTLY WITH LOTS OF BUTTERFLIES

I wanted this drama to marinate in my subconscious before i wrote a short review.I have less complaints so this will be quick.
If this ended up in your recommendation while you were looking for a noona story,dont even finish reading reviews,Go ahead and watch it,just have a warm blanket and extra pillow near you because the ML will make you feel very single if you are single or question your choices if you are married.
Typical noona romance trope that was done EXTREMELY RIGHT and with a FRESH touch.The writer knew what he/she was doing,not your typical go back in time of our childhood storyline, unfortunately if i tried to explain it,it would spoil the whole thing so I only encourage the future viewers to watch and see how well the story was coordinated between the past and present.
For the first time i want to give flowers to the Editing team,whoever came up with the editing ideas is a genius..It added comedy to the show and it was well done with the music and the sounds that were used.
I love love a constistent ML,from day 1(probably the day he met the FL when he was 0 day old) He knew what he wanted and that was to be with her,simple and clear, he never waved or blinked..and this man gave all the viewers butterflies,oh No Zoo in our stomach..I ended up hunting all his work,young and talented.
As for the FL,chinese writers have something against FLs in general,so i wont even start to talk about how difficult her character was,since childhood,she loved and protected the ML but she did more than that..And how i wish her character developed at least in the ast 6 episodes.She surrendered her will to control and fight her emotions very late and this drove me mad..Because the moment she did,the flow of the drama went really light.
The side characters,especially both parents were made in heaven,who had been friends before even their children were born.All the side characters and their personal stories were well executed and added to the beauty of this drama.
I would have rated this 10/10 but the FL character development that took forever left me bitter and I wish there was more music performance seing that the ML chose music as a career because of the FL and he had a super star status.

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Noona/Office romance with perfect cast and production

This could have been just like any other noona romance but it was not.It solery focused of business
and then the romance came in after.
If you are not a patient person,I wouldnt recommend this drama but unffortunetly you would miss out
on a very good project that was excuted with care and high intelligence from both actors and writers.
Its a slow burn,they spend most of the time really conducting business and somehow you find yourself
sacked in the boardroom with them,watching the bad guys skimming and loosing which gives you a silent
satisfaction.
The FL is the main character,she is carrer driven,goal setter,with an ability not to crack under intense pressure
in an industry that is designed to give one high blood pressure.But she navigates the corridors of power with
ease,a fake sime and a problem solving attitude.
She gets paired up with a young ML who by "accident" finds himself thrown into the battle ground and early
on he understands that he has to protect the FL from the wolves who have nothing in mind but to kick her out.
When she gets demoted,he follows her and stick with her till the end of his term.Did I mention he also falls in
love with her and they have to fight another battle outside the office beacause of their age difference..and win
her mother who from my opinion stood between a thin line of weird and psychopath.I have seen share amount of
mothers in asian dramas but this one took the trophy,the only difference is that she would get a quicker redemption.

This is one of thosse drams you watch slowly,with your own pace. but I commend the directors and writers for giving us
a solid show.ther ewas no dragged story line.And it was an educational piece on the world of business and environment.

Also Hallo Dylan Wnag..I trust him with any role,He will deliver and give you more than you bargained for,I call him the male
version of Zhao Lusi.I lowkey wish his potential chemistry was reciprocated but acting with someone 20 years older
than you in real life,creates some sot of invisible boundaries.But he is acting was kiss chef that this lack of chemistry
was not visible.

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THE NAME SHOULD BE "FAST AND FURIOUS IN KAIROUTEI"

I picked this for Steven Zhang but the FL convinced me to stay because she was really good.
Steve Zhang will deliver no matter how bad the plot is.I call him the male version of Zhao Lusi.
Sometimes you dont even know if he is acting because its just too accurate and his mannerism
and body movements feel like you are seing him in real life.

Am not familiar with the FL but from what I gathered she is a veteran,this explains why her acting
was really good and thanks to the write she was a strong character who didnt let the
bullies have their way.Should i mention she is the first FL in chinese drama to initiate intense kissing scene?

We always complain about chinese drama having long episodes filled with unnecessary scenes
but what happens when they have to fit a whole trope into 12 episodes? You will find the answer
when you watch,thats why I said they should have named it "Fast and Furious in KAIROUTEI
Thats how fast your brain will be moving from scene to scene,saved but beautiful cinematic shots.

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OLD IS GOLD

Every now and then I go back in times(so far have gone 12 years back) and watch a masterpiece like Healer when Ji Chang Wook,Park Min Young,Yoo Ji Tae and the mervelous Lady Kim Mi Kyung were still young and before they went to make numerous hits like Welcome to Samdarli,Whats wrong with Secretary Kim,Money heist-Korea and Its okay not to be Okay.
The actors combined have been in more hit projects that can make up a whole movie Studio in itself, so seing them together in one drama back in 2014 must have been a thrill.
I felt the power that they brought to this serie 10 years later..No scene is boring or a filler, Everything suits together like a puzzle.Even if you were a critic,Its hard to find bits to pick on.Considering this was a decade ago, and how the film industry has grown with the use of CGIs and advanced tech,Back then thngs were still being done manually, streets were closed to shoot scenes,actors did their own stunts off the buildings,I understand that JCW does most of his own stunts and how can i forget the veteran who never ages Ms Kim Min Kyung, She is is been in more dramas than my neighbors'cats..how about Ms Park Min Young, I see her on my screen more than CNN Breaking news.
Overall as they say Old is Gold,indeed Healer is gold that will stay in our reserve mental bank for generations to come.

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GO AHEAD And watch what the film school wants directors,screenwriters and editors to put out

Am giving the Screen writer Wang Xiaong Cheng his flowers, the man has managed to write hits after hits,Go Ahead,Meet yourself,Find yourself and many great projects.
YOu can have A list star cast but if the script sucks or is full of holes, the drama wil tank like a house with a weak foundation.
I have never wished there was an option to raate a drama more than 10/10 like this drama.I have been seeing it flying around in the the comments and edits but i kept thinking this is another childhod,highschool romance so i shelved it mentally,boy oh boy was I wrong..
In short,
No scene shall be skipped unless you have low tolerance of bad mothers,
You will laugh,cry,kick and scream whenever it applies,
In the end you will be part of the story,you will be the neighbour accross the hall,eat diner at Dad Li house or restaurant
You will hear Dad Ling famous line "Am going to work" often than you predictated
you will wait with Li Jian Jian as she waits for her brothers to come back
You will cry with He Zi Qiu as he fight his hainting past
LIng Xiao's silent deminure that carries a heavy load will keep you wanting to join karate classes so you can fight for him
Who said two dads cant be brothers and raise 3 great brats together? Welcome to GO AHEAD.
There is so much to talk about but whenever a project is mind-blowing,its better for people to watch for themselves

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A plot written to give you Stockholm syndrome

As am determined to watch at least 80% of Ji Chang Wook projects before the end of the year,
I picked up my suspicious partner without going through the reviews..
I told myself that 40 episodes of 30 min each will nt ruin me as long as JWC is on my screen
Also if you are C-drama watcher, you will know thata this is childplay.

1.If you like good and real acting from professionals,please go ahead and watch.
2.If you like good court drama and crime solving,please go ahead and enjoy this.
3.The support team and the friendship that came out of this was incredible.
4.If you are triggered by handsome criminals with mesmerising visuals,maybe skip it
5.If you get easily angered by a hot and cold female lead who take 38 episodes to decide,
6.If you have enough time on your hands to watch an amazing cast doing amazing acting

Key people to keep in mind:
No Ji Wook the versatile prosecutor played bythe multi talented Ji Chang Wook
Eun Bong Hee, the unluckiest FL turned lawyer,nicknamed "dirty but pretty" by No Ji Wook
Jung Huy-Soo,The smoothest handsome serial killer who started the whole nighmare

Note:It doesnt mean the whole drama was superb,but any plot hole that showed up was covered
by good acting.Like the child that witnessed the murder and was confused if he should testify or not.
I know it was added so that Procesecutor No Ji Wook can sort out his own story but the way it was never
solved or developed didnt make sense at all.Having in mind that this wasnt a small plotline.

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There is nothing wrong with a spoiled brat with blue hair

Every now and then life becomes hectic and you want to crawl on your
sofa and watch an unnecessary amount of other people making mistakes.
Secondly,I was also getting dragged into the 40 episodes of "Suspicious partner"
so I needed a break from the serious plot that drama was serving.

To be honest,there is nothing wrong with the ML storyline,its common,
the usual Chaebol spoiled kid,whose purpose in life is to max out his parents'
credit cards,but the twist is that he is "broke chaebol" because they purposely
plotted to freeze out his source of money and let him inherit a debt ridden property
from the grandfather and they expect him to turn it into a profitable business.
But no kdrama will be drama without the childhoof traumatic event and our ML has a
good one and is the premise of why he left Korea and has been rooming around.

To be honest this could have gone well,with some good side storyline and proper character
advancement,if the writers didnt throw in the most annoying FL character in the history.
Am not talking about her storyline,Am Talking aabout her acting crazy and obnoxious.
If I had a dollar,everytime she would scream,i would be rich.She has the worse communi-
cation vocals,she cant say anything without screaming and kicking,at one time I had to
reduce my volume to avoid my eardrum bursting open,the problem was not in her acting
because whenever she was calm,you could see her skills showing.
The problem was with whoever wrote her character and told her that everytime she opens her mouth
her soundwaves should hit the roof.i believe the writers were drunk when they wrote her character.

Dont even get me started with the obssessive 2FL who literally made us go through torture
using emotional blackmail to our ML to the last episode.I cant find the right words to describe this.
Its rare to find the side characters more enjoyable than the main leads and this happened to this drama.

I will admit that I stayed for Sung Joon's acting and his visuals and probably this drama cast a spell on me.

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A CHAOTIC START THAT BECOMES SOLID BUT ENDS IN CHAOS AGAIN

**The below review is based on personal views and preferences.Dont let them influance your choice to pick or pass this drama.

THE STORY:
The usual childhood silent crushes that are separated with time and reunited by "fate/destiny" when one is trying to save one of
her grandfather companies and the other trying not to sink with the same company..Not only they try as much possible to stay away
from eachother,they later realise they are both fighting in the same direction, and so on and forth,i really dont put importance on the side stories.

THE CAST:
This drama might not have been on my top 30 but it sure introduced me to a new actor that has entered on the list of my all time favorite actors.
Not only he is really talented but the visuals are from another world.This is not a professional review so am going to be as mondaine as possible
while talking about this man..He is absolutely beautiful man and he deserves to pick romantic projects and he is allowed to showacase his chemistry.

The most memorable character in this drama is the FL's Grandfather who is chairman,He made this drama enjoyable and he gave us the comedy we needed
when the chaos was chaoting.He was charming,witty,slick and he didnt take nothing serious,he must be a veteran in the industry because he was the really MVP.
I love FL that is strong with a can do attitude and is not afraid to face hardship and she serves this,of cause writers didnt miss the usual angst and annoying
lines but at least she had a good relation with the grandpa and she was fearless with him and you can see how much he loved her very much.

OVERALL:
The story would have been good if it had met sober writers,but this bunch of men or women were all over the place,the cam around in the middle and the story
became enjoyable but in the end they went off course and I cant count how many times i rolled my eyes..It became the worse version of "You are my glory"
And the CP never ending monologue made an entrance and the whole drama went south.

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How an actor who has signed a"no physical contact" clause manages a Romance drama..

There is just something that puts me off from watching dramas of actors/actresses who are married.
This has been one of those,no matter how much i wanted to watch Bai Lu doing her things,but
Ren Allen being married doesnt help my delulu..so i kept passsing this one.When the dramaland well
dried up and there was nothing captivating to watch,I broke my own promise and pressed play.

I never saw the prequel One and only so i had no back story to fall on to but the FL's flashback memories
helped to understand that she was a "reincarnation" from the past and from what i red this prequel had a sad
ending that broke people's souls so it was good that the characters were given a second chance to live.

That aside,It is just a good drama,the creators did a good job to bridge both project without washing off the
historical setting.Its a modern drama with a histirical twist in terms of the storyline and the Set/architecture
The viewers who had wathed the prequel,could identiffy who is who from old to new.

Now here comes my pain,I and a thousand others.Ren Allen. a solid actor and to be honest I would watch him
again but not in drama with romantic tags.I though the "no physical contact" clause was a roumour but watching
him and the directors playing hide and seedk with anything that would bring him an inch closer to the FL,went from
anger to what in the name of all saints is this to now this is comedy.

It could have been ok if he was paired with a cold FL who has no personality but common,we are talking about Bai Lu
here,even her smile and facial grimace tell you that she is down to whatever..
Anyway I will going to go on and on,I have already recovered from this so lets just say that its ok to have these types
of boundaries on paper but it is also ok to send your manager a memo that says dont acccept romantic dramas.

Overall,It was a good drama my grievances are just from personal opinions.If you dont mind wathing a frustrated wife
with a clueless but smart nerd husband with green flag qualities,You will enjoy the SLOOOOOOWWWW BURN

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THERE IS ONLY ONE THING WITH SECRETARY KIM..SHE IS SECRETARY KIM AND WE WANT HER TO BE MORE

THE FOLOWING IS ENTIRELY MY OWN OPINION AND INPUT

NOTE: THE KISS SCENE THAT HAS 350 MILLION VIEWS ON YOUTUBE CAME FROM HERE

I watched this long time ago but back then MDL didnt exist and I have already had it of the list of my top 30
all time favorites so I had to rewatch it so that I can review it and am glad i did cos it felt like am watching it
for the first time.There was an Era in K-drama industry that produced really mind blowing projects(2011-2021)
And Whats wrong with Sec Kim belongs to that Era..I have found myself avoiding anything that came after that.

Lee Young Joon is a typical Chaebol boy with charm and confidence the size of Mt Everest,and he knows it
tHis is the character that makes those peoplle who like to throw big words like "narcissist" "misogyny" will have
a field day with.Did I mention he is also the King of 2018 Rizz and as his favorite quote goes,He oozes an "Aura"
That makes everyone around him bow as he passes.He is a character you can choose to hate or love depending
on which side of the highway you are standing on.but he has a certain weakness that has gone unnoticed for long.
He has a twisted past,entertwined with his brother and he has a dependency desorder to his Secretary who happened
to be part of the past he would wsish to forget but internally resolved by keeping her close to him and to his heart.

Secretary Kim Mi Soo is Lee Young Joon's lifeline,She is the engine that circulate his oil but his world comes crumbling
down the day she decided that she has had enough after 9 years together,not that he treated her wrongly but she has held
this position long enough that she has forgotten who she is other than Sec Kim.This anouncement mark the beggining of
a very long drama of 16 episodes which i think could habeen 12 but ok.

What I liked about LYJ was his intelligence and his confidence that If you are sensitive you might mistake is as arrogancy.
His monologues that made this drama really enjoyable.It is not a bad thing to actually complliment yourself and Sec Kim
has gotten used to his self proclamations that she let him have his way.I kept laughing how he would turn something as simple
as "Am calling you because I miss you," to "Am calling because I dont want you to miss me"

What I can critises is the mismatch or imbalance in the chemistry formular .LYJ knew from day one when he was 8 and Sec Kim
that he would love her forever and when that time came while they were adults,he gave his all to her but because she had been
in this position for long,it became hard to separate the carrer and love.She was so immersed in being his secretary that when it came
to their relationship,it was impossible for her to shift emotions,something that they mentioned often,when he wanted to serve her or
do something for her..This issue came through in the screen case i felt like she had this same posture and manerism even during their
intimate scenes.I kinda low-key wished she actually resigned so that her character can grow and bloom into something else.

Overall it was an engoyable watch.This is probably my 4th drama by the FL,she is one of the best in the industry for a reason

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IF YOU CAN WATCH IN A PLATFORM W/LIVE COMENTS,ITS LIKE A FOOTBALL MATCH ?

In search of J-drama that will not leave me buried in in tissue box,I contacted my man Sakaguchi Kentaro,
Before I deep my feet in his just finished to air "What comes after love" I want to prepare myself for the angst
that is coming in that drama.And I made the righ choice because this was one of those dramas that keep you
on a life line..You want to punch the wall but at the same time you want to keep going so you can see how much
character developement can one human go through in 10 episodes.

Japanese script writers are known to walk on a very thin line between normalcy and insanity and this project topped
the list of "what are they smoking".The story was actually normal contract marriage trope,rich and stable ML with
struggling FL,add a dose of an ML with extreme OCD,who is an entrovert with questionable social awkwardeness
combined with a handsome face supported by an ethereal jawline wich is a dream of overy cameraman.

If you are triggered by cultures that you do not understand maybe this is not a plot for you,or you can just seat
for 10 episodes watching Sakaguchi Kentaro being absolutely breathtaking,hiding behind the Tokyo haircut.
This is is to say that,even though marriage tropes are not realistic in our world of the 99%.The writers just
decided to put two people of the opposite worlds under one roof,and it was comic to see the struggle.

Watching on a platform with live comment section made it double awsome,it was life watching a football match
Some hated it,then loved it as episodes progressed,then hated it again and finally there was nothing to say only
blame the referees who are the ever enduring japanese writers.
8.5/10 I will recomend,cos at least for once no one dies and Kentaro is enough to glue me at the screen
even though they made him the "slowest" brain frozen,probably virgin ML I have ever seen.Oh and be prepared to be
diagnosed with 2MLS

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I CAN'T SEE BUT I SEE EVERYTHING..I CAN'T HEAR BUT I HEAR EVERYTHING...

Am not a Manga reader so whenever I give any manga insprired drama,I have no expections to meet.
And when it comes to japanese melodrama I go in looking for winter on a summer day,life lessons
or tears.Either way I always get what am looking for..mostly tears,for Japanese writers are gifted at that.

I read reviews and many were positive with a "But" neverthless I saved this for my PWL and I did like it,
somehow it kept me on edge because i had a weird feeling that something bad was going to happen,
even though many had spoiled the end but who can trust Japanese writers?

Tomohisa Yamashita is a veteran actor and he never does wrong in my eyes and I was thinking he could
play Steve Wonder so easly.Its the first time watching any Yuko Araki work but I think she did a stellar job.

Japanese cinematography and production are never up for discussion,they know what they are doing.
The story was beautiful,I learnt permenant lifetime lessons on disability,love and the fact that giving up
should never be an option.It makes you appreciate the gift of sight,hearing and ability to speak.
There was some plots holes which I wished were filled butI dont want to mention
them to avoid spoiling it.But In a two hour movie,its not easy to close all the gaps.

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CUTE,FLUFFY,CHILDHOOD TO ADULT WITH A HOT SURPRISE AT THE END

This is going to be short and short so here we go.
Everytime i get traumatized by a drama,I try to find something
that will cleanse my brain palate and will warm my heart no matter
how cute and childish it is.And this was the best candite.
Nothing original here,same old highschool,childhood to adulthood.
where the leads grow up together,its like a lighter version of Go Ahead
And When i fly towards you.
What I really liked was the ML.He had a commanding chemistry even though
It was met by FL natural butterfly character that had a personality of a 12 yr
But he kept it grounded and loved her as she was and protected and cared for
her alot.
He gave us a surprise of very hot scenes,we didnt know we needed.
For those who knew the actor from the k-pop idol group SEVENTEEN were
shocked to see how he managed these scenes ,even though he is know to be
of a quiet nature so I would really wish he can do more acting.

You could see how he helped the FL to be comfortable in her own skin.

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