ownes
portugal
Although the clear intention of wanting to showcase something emotional and deep, a story that perhaps adults can relate to more was there, personally, this drama came off as vague. It lacked Playlist's usual "sparkle", that element of endearment that leaves you sad that the series is over, that makes you want more, that leaves you... attached.
The characters (all very gorgeous) had empty-like personalities, built around in a very basic way around the relationships each of them carried out. It seems that to be more mature, the writers sacrificed their characters, making them one dimensional. The story was okay, put as dramatic as they could in 12 episodes, and the performances, especially Soo Min's, were great, although I did wish that Geon Won wasn't pouting 90% of the time.
One thing I must praise is the choice of osts (sung by Rothy and Park Won) and the incredible quality of their filming. It helped paint and shape the scenes a lot more. The art within the drama was also beautiful.
Overall, Ending Again isn't exactly bad, but for someone that has seen many dramas from the same team, it's a bit disappointing.
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Personally, I found Yoon Sol's interest strange, but if you look at it lightly, if you don't actually take it serious, it's easy to brush aside. She has a very bubbly, energetic personality, although she's oblivious to many, many things - as your usual young female romance protagonist. Hae Young, her friendly and shy best friend, is just as charming as the male leads you find in this type of troop. The rest of the cast was okay.
There are many aspects to appreciate in this little web drama: even if the premise was weird, it's original; the drama is fun, entertaining, even if it can become frustrating since it was easily predictable; the attention paid to a certain side couple was interesting and fresh (and I wish they had done another couple's experience while they were at it) and... I have to say it... that kiss scene... I never care for those but I can't write a review without slow clapping that kissing scene. Best off 2020 so far (as if we're that far into 2020 lol).
(Sort of Spoilery part!) One thing that threw me off was Hae Young's character development. Although it did happen, and we did have key moments of said development shown to us, the way the writers closed off the narrative oh-so-neatly in the last episode left me with a bittersweet feeling. Other than that, the pacing was good.
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Starting with its strongest point: it's characters; their often mismatched personalities where the most enjoyable thing to watch. Besides the usual quiet but oh-so-quirky female lead and the bad-guy-is-actually-good male protagonist, there's more complex people that the drama could've explored further. Like the boy with dreams of being a tattoo artists that was the class's president, or the pretty, popular girl with fears of being abandoned; the fun and outspoken best friend of the female lead and even that one cute boy with a bad past with the police that we saw so briefly. There was so much hidden... diversity that I feel that the writers preferred to play it safe with a typical cliché love triangle and two leads that we find almost everywhere in dramas.
The plot, much like its characters, was surprisingly both bleak and unexpected, laced with the usual teen, high school romance based moments but with still some charm and personality to it here and there. The cast felt odd at first; it was hard for me to picture them actually playing teenagers, in high school, when their looks and voices wouldn't match the part. But their performances were nice, and so was the pacing of events.
Other thing that I thought could've been done better is the use of their osts. If I wasn't told that they were sung by NCT U, I would never have guessed it nor believed it. If you have such a good marketing "object", you should promote it wisely and make the most out of it.
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Idle hope served in unfair doses
Start-Up started with the promise of something different, with the chance to become more than just a bundle of side arcs and predictable endings with faded, empty emotions. It didn't live up fully to that promise, but rather bloomed in a different way.There's many aspects to praise: it deals with a side of business I'd say is unknown to many (me included, and I'm studying management!), its writing (not the plot, mind you) is smartly crafted and delicious to hear, to feel. The acting and the cast could not have been better, alongside the ost that was like no other. Cinematography and some clever plot points here and there (tvn was very sly with the parallel scenes) also made watching much more enjoyable. It also had some good messages every now and then, although their execution wasn't... the best. Still, it wanted, and surely did plant a somewhat feeling of...idle hope.
No matter how pleasant it was, it has to be mentioned that Start-Up lost its message, its way and purpose between love quarrels and far too few business aspects. It fell victim of the 'time-jump-to-excuse-character-development syndrome, to the no-existent-character-development sense and, yes, the side arch or sample-character (cough villain-ish dad and jerk-ish half-brother cough) that no one asked and is tired of meeting.
Because it dealt with actual complex, layered and unusual people living in unpleasant, uncomfortable scenarios that required meaningful actions, Start-Up most likely will give any viewer a headache: one has to deal with problems that could've easily been solved with communication, with more sensibility and less... yeah, less drama.... As neutral as I try to be, the writers can't fully shake the sensation of unfairness with the way things turned out. It was a happy ending, but not a satisfactory one. At least, not for me.
When I think about Start-up, a lot of missed opportunities come to mind, but if they were all to be fulfilled, I'm afraid it would probably make the drama 40 episodes long instead of 16. So, for what it is, it wasn't bad. A lot of food for the mind, but if you like to get worked up then go ahead and watch it.
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As for the acting, only the male lead felt a bit odd. The two best friends have such a genuine chemistry, it really complements the youth-like theme. The pacing is hard to characterize, since the episodes are so very short, but I don't think it was bad. In full honesty, the drama is pretty decent, even if it was most probably targeted at a younger audience.
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This review may contain spoilers
With a similar approach as the one used in my favourite webdrama "Love Playlist" (which comes from the same yt channel), "Just One Bite" follows the minds and peculiar lives of three different (personality wise and feature wise) friends and their love relationships. The performances, along with the acting, were entertaining, the pacing was well-adjusted and the stories are captivating (especially the 'complexity' in which they developed one specific scene, which I considered the climax of the season - you'll know what i'm talking about once you watch it, trust me). The ending was a huge let-down, one hell of a cliff-hanger - but, since I already know that there's a second season, I'll give them a pass this time...Playlist has a talent for doing romance dramas in the young-adult scene, so if that's what you're looking for than you found a good drama to watch!!
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Nice aesthetics and feelings, petty outcome for 2nd lead syndrom victims
"Every life is a work of art. And it becomes complete when all pieces come together."What started as a very heartfelt journey had a somewhat wishy-washy end - and no, I'm yes, I'm saying this because I was under the influence of the stressful second-lead syndrome. But not because he didn't get the girl - I swear!
Our Beloved Summer on a first look basis seems to have any troop to appease the typical k-drama viewer: haters-to-lovers, second lead syndrome (to some, at least), artistic shots, unjoyful and earnest quotes, and a very nice soundtrack to back it all (I'm a sucker for any Sam Kim OST, sue me!).
And it does! I fell in love immediately with it all, the way everything felt like it was worked to the detail, with both the heart and the mind. This series felt clever yet sincere. I found myself rooting for every character, even NJ who I didn't enjoy 75% of the time. They were complex, more than pretty cardboard on a screen.
However, OBS was a victim of what I like to call "The Episode 13 Curse" where, around the episode 13 (from 11-15 usually), it looses its essence. The main characters' plot was pretty much concluded, still the writers thought this kdrama clearly needed more emotional trauma and suffering (the overdone type), especially for Ji-Ung, which pissed me off. At least, from the little they developed his plot in the last episodes, they added a delicate streak to his journey. I'm still pissed, since it felt...wasted, tossed aside, so we could have 30 minutes of lovey-dovey scenes. They could've easily spared some time and level everything.
By all means, I didn't hate the main leads. They had cute chemistry, I'm just the type of viewer that enjoys the push-and-pull more than the icing on the cake, the chase more than the destination. Basically, I love to see two people getting closer, but not them being close, does it make sense? Well, still, they were adorable, and almost everyone in the series is impossible to hate. In the end, I felt like this is the type of drama that is meant not to be watched, but to be carefully appreciated. The ending was just bittersweet to me.
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The story feels far too complex for the project; the writers could've easily kept the main message of the drama - which, I suppose, is all about the importance of food in one's life- without having to make a mess of it by throwing magic and the supernatural into the mix - remember, sometimes less is best.
And, as much as I love Astro, the acting (in general) was a bit odd here and there ; even with the great camera quality, some effects made the drama look poorly/strangely edited (god, I couldn't bare the slow motion effects). The real random k-pop songs thrown in the episodes were a nice surprise, but made me feel like I was watching more of a fan edit than an actual drama. To be fair, I just think the drama was targeted for a younger audience, since I could easily picture my 13 old self fangirling over all the aspects I mentioned above.
I'll admit that I was Astro-baited to even begin the series in the first place though...
If you seriously got a lot of free time and have watched a lot of stuff, then sure, binge this, laugh a little, cringe a little . but also keep an eye for the heart warming message in each episode, it makes the experience more enjoyable.
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As for the horror aspect, take it from a scaredy-cat like myself that it was bearable. There's no loud, jarring sounds; no unnecessary suspense. Everything is done in an apathetic, cool manner.
The acting might not be the best thing since sliced bread but it isn't bad. Pacing and shooting were nicely done too. Alive is an excellent web drama if you're looking for something different from the usual romance, slice of life stuff, but don't hold high hopes either.
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Because, aside from that, Real:Time:Love 2 adopts the "friends to lovers" troop, gifting us with the clichéd pretend relationship that any romance lover might have a thing for. Yes, Real:Time:Love does have its plenty amount of teenage drama that one will call "clichés", but it's the format in which they're played that makes you stick around. In terms of cheesiness, I thought this one was less cheesy than the first.
I do hope the creators do think about making a 3rd series. Although this second ended neatly, making another one might give the name even a bigger popularity boost.
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This was a quite odd and bold mini series, where each episode worked as a standalone production (each was produced by different people too). A big chunk of Persona was up to personal interpretation, therefore we were given often very unfolded, open storylines and characters. It was all abut what was shown and heard, what was truly given at the moment. And for that, I have to appreciate the effort. I wasn't used to this though, so it's hard to judge a series like this.
Someone in another website mentioned how the objective of this series was supposedly to depict human emotions, hence why the viewer would feel lost at times within the episodes. I slightly agree. In all honesty, even if I felt weirded out and lost most of the time, I ended this series with the feeling that I wanted more. More variety, more diversity of themes in such a short term. So much can be said about each episode if the audience pays enough attention...
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For most of its runtime, the drama lacked in various aspects: it has a very bare minimum character development; the romance and male lead were overshadowed by the oddness of the whole human-cat relationship - which also left very little room for any "personality" outside that (as in, L's character didn't have any personality, any meaning besides the paper of love interest nº1), and they had a weak excuse of a "villain" that I bet was mostly used as a lazy way to keep the plot going. Also, let's not forget episodes 21-22 which had a terrible pacing. The ending was also... not how I'd do it.
With this, I'm not saying it is a bad drama though. Only that it's lacking - but then again, not all dramas have to be masterpieces. You can, and should be allowed to enjoy whatever you want, as long as you don't feel like you're wasting your time.
One last thing: their narrative about time and its importance deserved far more screen time than the one it got; if done so, I think I'd be able to give this drama yet another star. Also, the cast was so good, I think I became fond of everyone here!
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This first season is quickly bingeable, not too heavy on the feels. It's hard to make a huge review over such a brief experience, but all I can say is that it wasn't bad. It serves as a good backstory, but it's not a Shakespearean masterpiece of web dramas or anything. It's cute, that was all .
Injae is still one of my favourite character, I love her comfortable, casual and upfront personality. Watching this made me miss the trio and their interactions, which were one of the best aspects of this series afterall: the friendship. As the series progresses, it gets lengtheir, which is better. You can't make much with episodes that are 5 to 8 minutes long. The filter? camera? was a bit too white-washing.
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Almost everything about You Drive Me Crazy was wonderful: a normal -which isn't bad here- love story of a boy and a girl that aren't fully aware of their feelings from one another and would rather stick to comfort than take a risk, full of fun, silly squabbles and clap-backs, of emotionally filled confessions and little details. I really adored Lee Yoo Young's voice and eyes, and the way she portrayed her character managed to not annoy me, when the usual quirky female lead in romantic dramas might do. Kim Seon Ho was perfect as well (and as expected now from me), his voice and tones, eyes and facial expressions are like no other.
Plotwise, the writers were able to add so many details in such a simple, easy story, I think that's what I treasured the most. An attentive watcher will notice the emotional clues, the meanings behind certain shots and scenes.
Another great aspect about this drama is that it's short, thus the story is able to flow well and not have its message being dragged and lost - and the watcher can binge this supper quickly. You don't always need 16 episodes to have a nice meaning and fine work.
The only minus would be... and I'm sorry to critique but Sung Joo's performance was a tad... awkward, probably due to his character's use in the story and innocent character.
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There really isn't much to be said about it: it has fewer episodes, hence the condensed story (although they run for more time) with a similar pacing and the same ost as the first season. It's good, but it isn't anything extraordinary. For all its worth, it was a nice way to not leave the couple with such a sorrowful finale and to let the fanbase content.
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