well... that was depressing lmao
the first half is full of intrigue with the narrative told in a slow, suspenseful manner. with the amount of characters this got, it can get confusing at the beginning but they successfully made it engaging for me and mysterious, you want to know what's gonna happen next. and what happens next is an emotional exploration of life and death. it is sad and depressing honestly but it's also thought-provoking. i think there are enough media out there that imagine what's "afterlife" gonna be and this didn't do anything that mindblowing but it did enough to make me emotionally move. the supernatural intrigue definitely helped. literally everyone gave such incredible and compelling performances. but i might give an extra star to mother lee jungeun for making me cry. she's so good.Was this review helpful to you?
confused why they liked each other lol
oof. this one did not work for me at all. i thought the writing is sooo bad. for a story that has a competition in it, it was so boring and corny (not in a fun way). the dialogues were so bad. i wasn't fond of any of the characters which is so sad. they're all so bland. but most of all, the romance did not make sense to me. i don't understand how those two liked each other. they disliked each other then next thing you know, they're destroying the kitchen area and making out. as i said, i wasn't liking the writing and i think that affects my enjoyment of the characters especially plawan (i'm sorry). i just find him annoying to be honest and i can't believe two people are so into him so quickly. this is making me sad to type because i thought sailub and pon had so much chemistry but these characters in this dream kinda ruined it for me. even the second couple and supporting characters weren't enjoyable to watch. i don't know.... ugh. i'm disappointed.Was this review helpful to you?
where is the oomph
oh i wish that was shorter. it was cute at first but then it really dragged on the 2nd half to the point that it became boring for me. i wish they made the billiard competitions way more exciting than that to balance it out since the romance has been pretty much easy and again, we got 30 eps! it's too long for a story like this. listen, in real life, i love that of course lol but as a drama watcher, i would love to be entertained with a little angst and drama here and there. i just wish the couple is more playful than that. they're athletes! i feel like there's so much potential here but they didn't do much. honestly, this male lead is sweet and he's a provider alright. i've never seen someone down that bad so quickly omg. i do think the writers gave his character more depth and personality than the female lead which disappoints me. i just wanted more from yin guo as a character. so yeah, visually beautiful couple. i do think these actors have chemistry. decent acting. but the writing, romance and characters didn't have that oomph ya knowps: lin yi yang did not have to sing in front of everybody in the end tho omg lol i can take the other pda stuff but oof.... thank god that was a short scene hahaha
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when you root for them individually and together... it's magic
ohmygoodness this put me through it (and i love it). don't you just love it when the main leads are both hot, smart, skilled and can be funny too? then it even gets better because they have so much chemistry! that's song mo and dou zhao. i've never rooted for a couple's happiness and triumph so hard. i admire their resilience and how they actually made each other better. every wins our leads get, it was so satisfying. that's also thanks to how good the antagonists in this story and man, we got multiple villains here and when i tell you my blood was boiling everytime omg lol i don't know how i'll rank them but wang ying xue that bitch (she's so freaking good). so yeah from the acting to the story to the romance, this delivered for me. at first, i was overwhelmed with the politics and the names but once i got the hang of it, i was good. this brought out the emotions in me. i cried, i laughed, i got mad and i cheered.meng zi yi and li yun rui are officially on my favorites list now. they did so good. but even the supporting actors are amazing. again, the villains! especially the women! also shout out to ming (again wang ying xue you stupid bitch lmao) and ansu (i, too, was heartbroken when i saw how song han started changing. their ending! sad but incredible).
ps: it's actually the king and duke of ding's love story if you think about it lol
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i mean it was a level up from love mechanics i guess
right off the bat, this one is gonna require your suspension of disbelief because what happened in that 1st ep... you just gotta let it go lmao. production-wise, this was such an upgrade from the last yinwar project. i think both of their acting has improved as well. the story tho... i wasn't crazy about it. hmm well after you let go of how that scene in the bank went in the first ep, i thought it was interesting at first but then it just got boring in the middle. i would've loved it if joke's reason for doing what he's doing is deeper than "daddy issues" but oh well. for me, the more serious and action sequences did not blend well with the comedic antics of the characters. it just wasn't executed smoothly. there are times where i don't think this knows what tone they wanted to have. the villains in this story became such caricature in the end there that it's so ridiculous because again, the tone is trying to be ~serious~ but they're acting so silly. what do you mean you're supposed to be powerful and scary then lost to a hangman game!!! Zorry, i just did not buy it lolhowever, i did think yin and war still have that chemistry. i love my slowburns but the romance did feel like it was put on the back burner at one point. i don't know that they pulled off a "good slowburn romance" to be honest. it just lack some more development(?) or more yearning(?) i guess. don't get me wrong, i love them together and i definitely had that "finally!!! :)" feeling when they got together but i guess i wanted more??? especially the development of them getting to know each other after 5 years. they were basically strangers even before joke went to prison so.... yeah.
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did i expect too much or what
i just thought the story would be more exciting and fun than that, you know. this just didn't work for me personally and it just became boring as it went on. as soon as i found out the dad knew all along about the "kidnapping" and it actually just lined up with his plan, they lost me lol the romance is just eh, i also thought it'd be angstier than that but min was a goner the second he saw q with a guitar (lmao a classic). i feel like they could do so much (so! much!) with the romance with the themes that they had but it just never went there. because of this, i didn't really feel emotionally attached by the characters either. i guess mhen and and min's sibling relationship is nice and sweet but not really enough to emotionally move me.ohm as a simp is always a good time tho because that guy knows how to do the heart-eyes lol like i just instantly believe him everytime. he's just good at acting being in love. when it comes to emotional scenes, i think leng's acting is still lacking. i mean there's always room for improvement but yeah, just like i said, didn't really move me emotionally.
i would be interested to see ohmleng again in a a different story. maybe they should just give them something light and fun instead! (but not in a school setting pls lol)
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in the end, mr. plankton did receive unconditional love :')
Overall, this was bittersweet. It has a sad theme yes, and it had its emotional moments for sure but the tone of the show is adventurous and fun. There were high highs and a few lows. I think the biggest strength of this is the acting and chemistry between the actors. From the humorous scenes to the tearjerkers, all three main actors brought their A-game. Our main lead Haejo (or Seunghyuk)... Woo Dohwan successfully made this character so likeable despite his flaws. Lee Yumi, playing Jo Jaemi, your classic kdrama leading lady, the sunshine the baby the baddie. And ofcourse Oh Jungse, we know him, we love him and he will always act ACT. I actually want to highlight how much I love Eo Heung's character arc because I think it's one of my favorite parts. I love that he had a coming-of-age story and the way it was incorporated in the middle of all the storylines without it feeling messy is really good. Plus the fact that he's the oldest one in the group makes it even greater because it shows growth and learning never stops.Now with the romance, as I said, the chemistry between the actors/characters are so great. Haejo and Jaemi are so fun AND funny. They did the bickering and banters so good, I was giggling alright. Personally, I am a sucker for a second chance romance. It's not for everyone but it is for me. I love that yearning and when the characters know each other really well. WITH THAT SAID, I gotta say, Haejo put Jaemi through it oh my goodness. The push and pull? Yes, he's going through something that's really hard but you can't always use that as an excuse especially if he kept repeating it. I just wish they gave Jaemi a big emotional scene calling out Haejo's behavior. I mean I guess they did have multiple "That's not right" "I'm sorry" scenes but man, I wish she made him grovel way more. Again, I love those two but whew, it was a lot.
Also, to highlight Lee El's character Bongsuk. Omg talk about kindness?! That whole storyline is of course the heart of the show. Unconditional love. I was so sad when Haejo said he stopped believing in unconditional love when he had been receiving it from Bongsuk all that time. I mean I really can't blame him for it after what his adoptive parents did to him. I'm just glad to know that in the end, he knew and realized he had people on his side that truly loved him.
Now one thing that did not feel satisying to me was the storyline with his adoptive father. Only because I did not hear that man really apologized for what he did. If anything, it was still Haejo who came to him. That does not feel right. Yes, he kept his pictures and room but I wanted him to do more than that especially after he got his contact number. Not Haejo's baby sister doing the moves instead of the adult. Yeah whatever, I just feel like that could have been fleshed out more. Same goes with Jaemi's biological parents storyline. Still, I did like that this whole thing is Haejo and Jaemi accepting that these issues with people who abandoned them do not matter anymore in the end because they already found their people.
Yeah, I really liked this drama. It made me laugh and it made me cry and give me a little existensial crisis too lol I'm so glad to see Woo Dohwan again and in a lead role like this where he was able to show his range.
Alex Landi being here is so weird btw lmao
PS. So bold of them to use California Dreamin?!
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not the most satisfying but it was bittersweet
seeing hyunsu and eunyu and eunhyuk all in one scene is the highlight for everyone right or is that just me lol??? not gonna lie, i don't always fully understand what's happening since s2 but when those 3 were all together, i was like, this is worth it lmao acting-wise, my god, no complaints here but lee siyoung as yikyung saving her daughter? so incredible, probably my favorite performance overall. song kang changing from hyunsu to his alter ego monster, good. i do like when pretty actors play these psychopathic or villainous characters. go minsi is always amazing. in this last season we had some side stories i love (hani and that ahjussi), side stories i didn't care much for (the priest and sunhwa, sorry!), scenes i love (again the main 3 + hyunsu vs eunhyuk scene, sergeant tak's way of saving the remaining survivors, yikyung and yisu etc etc) and so many questions still (neohumans???). i think there's so much still to explore with the neohumans and yisu's potential. so many of our characters from s1 wasn't there anymore. the last few eps of this is like waiting for how the next character woud die actually. in the end, it was just bittersweetWas this review helpful to you?
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incredible dads and moms... who probably should not be moms
so wholesome and fun. it was able to pull of my heartstrings but also made me laugh. just that classic kdrama feeling. the found family dynamics are amazing. what an incredible father we have here. the dad and haejun's story?? yeah that is probably my favorite part of the story. the relationship dynamics between the three main characters are so fun to watch. not gonna lie, there's a part of me that did not want a romance between any of the main 3 so naturally, i was way more invested in dal and haejun's story (like i would watch a drama between those two for sureif the kdrama gods would cast them again together). not that i don't adore sanha and juwon together but i was kicking my feet in the air for dal and haejun dumdum ass lol. anyway, in the end, the romance isn't the highlight of story anyway.sanha and his mom's story? heartbreaking and also, rage-inducing, my goodness. honestly, i like that they didn't really give her a redeeming arc. like, yeah just go away. i don't know if haejun's mom and juwon's dad ending up together was necessary tbh (part of me thinks she got away with abandoning her son a little too easily oop) but, i'll just let it go. my little compaints here and there but overall, i had a great time. so emotional and very entertaining. that's my family!!!
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they just sort of happened i guess
it's hard to judge something this short for lacking depth but i wish they should have just focused more on the actual romance like the two just getting to know each other/bonding instead of adding irrelevant elements like that other guy or the misunderstanding phone call bit or even the friend who is a manhwa artist. the romance would've been more believable that way even if it was short i think. i just did not fully believe the romance since in my eyes, those two are strangers. nevertheless, they're cute and i did see chemistry so 🤷♀️Was this review helpful to you?
how did they make it cringier but not in an entertaining way lol
even cringier than the other version lol the thing is because it has even shorter running time, it's even worse. this is a very wattpad story with the corniest plot and dialogues, i knew that we all knew that. but the writing in here is really bad, like how did they make it worse lol some scenes i had to look away and no one was even singing or pulling out the guitar, it's that bad lol there's no real development of the romance and the acting or chemistry don't save this one either. it's just corny but not in a fun way other bls have done, ya know. i just want to be entertained at leastttWas this review helpful to you?
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don't overthink it ;)
honestly, it's just simply fun and silly and cute. you get fantasy, action sequences, romance, found family dynamics and friendships. it's perfect for if you want to watch something entertaining and choose not to think too much into the plot because, yes, if you do, you will find it unsatisfying and see loopholes for sure lol. i don't just love the chemistry between the two couples but the overall chemistry of the ensemble. a group of people going on an adventure to complete a goal and bonding and building genuine friendships along the way, that's just my favorite thing. they were able to make me care about everybody in the group so that's really nice.i have watched ding yuxi and esther yu before in "moonlight" so i know they got on-screen chemistry. so fun to see actors get to have a drama together again tho (because that's rare in cdramas right?). acting-wise, they were decent and have managed to moved me during emotional scenes. they seemed to have improved since their first drama. not gonna lie tho, i wasn't the biggest fan of esther's acting style especially when they make her do child-like things. but then i guess it works for the roles she gets. this is my first time watching zhu xudan tho and boy, is she beautiful. i think she's my favorite character. i was anticipating for a big emotional scene for when she finds out his brother is half-demon and it ended being anti-climactic and ziqi got away with it easily lol so yeah as i said, some unsatisying scenes and plot lines for me especially in the end there (i wish we saw them actually see each other aw) but i'm choosing not to overthink it because i was very much entertained overall.
and of course i was really shocked too that there's no kissing scene between the main couple. good thing, i adore their hugs and banters and little sweet moments here and there but what's up with that?
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