O Jogo da Morte (2023)

One powerful episode.

This show thrives off of one powerful episode. The casting was very good, but the writing ranged from why to wow. I finished the show feeling maybe the show will get good on episode 9. It had a lot of promise and I do not feel it lived up to it at any point besides episode 4.

I honestly believe that the high rating is because of how powerful episode 4 was. It made me feel real emotion and gave me great hope in where the show was going. I was willing to forgive episodes 1-3 for feeling incomplete and consider them a lul to help make an impact for episode 4. In episode 5 I kind of got sucked into his feelings for a moment and then I was like why? The show should have been more than this. It could have been great a show to talk about for a long time and maybe bring in a fresh perspective on Korean dramas as a whole.

Instead, we get a show that for what it was trying to say felt incomplete and even worse the ending made me feel like what comes next would be the real show. I guess it fits the narrative of the character Death the end is just the beginning. In a way, I suppose the show can be praised for achieving that.

I truly feel the wasted potential in this drama and it makes me want to revisit it in the future. I doubt I will, do not want to feel this disappointment again. I do not know what other people are thinking, but from my perspective, this shows high ratings are all hinged on one episode. I think that shows how great it could have been, and worth giving it a watch once. I will give this a could have been great rating.

Leia Mais

Great but weird

flow of the story is pretty good, how everything is connected is also good. premises, problem, and climax are pretty good too,
every character is meaningful except the baby, i really don't understand why its there, mc doesn't seem to have gratitude problem. i don't know if those were addition or webtoon adaptation.

one thing that bugs me is the 'game' plot, the rule of how you can save yourself is weirdly mixed up or even contradictive as the story progressed, especially after part 2 later on. i might say there are no game whatsoever, its a losing game and outright punishment. which makes the ending questionable for me. I personally would have face any judgment with my heads up "i did my best, with every limits, ego and stupidity i have as a human". its not like the mc refuse to admit what he did is wrong nor he lives his life as an outright arsehole, he is not that desperate to make that request. if the game is a way to repent why suffer more ?, no guarantee that things will be better anyways

"death" says she gave a chance in the last scene. its weird that along the story she insist that she is no god and has no power over someone fate, her job is only to watch over the 'game''. and suddenly she plays god with giving mc a chance, if only they could think of a small detail that differs the usual "death" and the "death" mc saw in the last scene (eg hair/makeup), and the roulette is actually the judgment

im gonna be hated for this, but i think "death" actress kind of confused about her role, idk even she supposed to represent death but when i saw her acting 'fear' or 'intimidating' is not what i feel. it feels like iu in hotel de luna, cant say good or bad just not a fan of it.

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Originale

Cette série est originale de part son intrigue et son contexte. Il y a pas mal d'acteurs, certains sont vraiment de courte durée et d'autres durent plus longtemps... le personnage de la mort est mon préféré , ça façon de parler en énigme et ça façon d'être m'on fait sourire plus d'une fois. Le héros aurait mérité quelques paires de claques, ces réactions puériles sont devenues soulantes mais dans ces épisodes on ne traine pas , pas le temps de pleurer sur son sort la mort l'envoyait à une autre vie rapidement et on était à nouveau pris dans une nouvelle histoire.

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THRILLING AND ZERO PLOT HOLES

Only flaw of this show is that it finished too quickly!!! ):
I really loved it! Not only for the cast which is AMAZING! But for the plot too.
It's definitely something new, but it ate and left no crumds. The thrilling part were always delivering amazing results.
And i felt soo bad at some point for seo in guk that i started too cry and i was so emotionally involved with this show whish is a good sign in my opition.
The whole industry is in this drama and I'm not kidding. Kim Ji Hoon THIS SLUT always have me in a chokehold. Every drama he does he's a total psycho and I'm always enchanted by him. AND I KNOW IT'S NOT NORMAL OKAY!!
Anyways overall this is a masterpiece and so fullfilling in every acpects.

ps: in some poing i started to ship choi yi jae with death which was kinda psychotic, but nvm...

Leia Mais

Unique storyline with amazing actors/actresses combination!

I love the story so much...Also everything is connecing each other. I actually started to watch this drama cause of the excellent actors/actresses.I didn't expect that the story is gonna be that awesome! That's so unique.

There's so much life matter messages that give in the drama..And they gave that messages so well to us,
I appreciate that.
Especially, between the main character's mom and his girlfriend connection, their feelings meaning a lot of things in his life, but he's not aware of this connection and feeling are so special...He forgot how he gave value his mother and his girlfriend in the old days.
In the end, thanks to death (girl) he aware how special and important they are for him and life is value to live.

Leia Mais

Unhappy about a couple of aspects

March 2024. Watched Parts 1 & 2 together on Prime

I thought the casting for this was incredible. So many actors I love, in one drama, was frankly too good to be true and the acting was, predictably, great.

I really enjoyed the ways in which events began to expose a troubling connection. It wasn't obvious what that was to be, however, and even when revealed, was still far from final.

There are shocks, tragedies, grief, unfairness, manipulation and the old favourite, money and power.

The struggles are real and I don't think anyone could blame Choi Yi-jae. Having said that, there were numerous times his character didn't speak up, or did some truly stupid things; where his mother was concerned, especially. It numbed my mind.

There were also moments of brilliance in the plot though, but it did vere sharply between that and "What?!", at times.

Apart from Seo In-guk, I absolutely loved Kim Jae-wook, Lee Jae-wook, Lee Do-hyun and Kim Mi-kyung in this. None of them overacted and given LJW's part, he could have. His scenes were the most visceral for me.
Nice seeing LJW and Yoo In-soo acting together again, although in vastly different roles to Alchemy of Souls.

I do wish the story had focussed less on Yi-jae as being cruelly punished and more on his realisations, growing determination and self-worth, through the trials, as being healing. Those are positive lessons to drive home.

However, I found myself getting incredibly angry at times, because instead, to me, it really felt like they were saying suicide is a selfish choice, made with no regard for those left behind and should be a punishable act.

Selfish? Perhaps that is true, but only to a point. The reason being, it is a decision very, very rarely made by someone in a normal state of mind. Suicide isn't something a happy, mentally stable, rational person, would commit.
If life has become painful, terrifying, utterly hopeless, everything else becomes irrelevant in that person's mind. Death is, indeed, no longer frightening, but an escape.
So why portray it as though it was (is) done as a normal, conscious decision, with no care for loved ones? In that frame of mind, rationality has long departed, together with being concerned about the impact on others.
Were they trying to send a message, due to the frighteningly high number of suicide cases in S.Korea? I sincerely hope not, because it's cruel (especially to those left behind) and it's wrong.

The ending was totally perplexing, to me, for one huge reason, which I can't actually say, because it would be a spoiler... unless all the things he went through were indeed part of an elaborate game and not 'real'... but then, he wouldn't have been standing on the ledge.

Whilst I enjoyed the many actors, characters and their stories, the plot fell a little short and I wasn't happy, at all, with the unkind assumptions made around suicide.
I haven't seen the webtoon of the same name that this is based on and, therefore, don't know how close to it this drama is.

Leia Mais

interesting plot

8,4/10. Plotnya menarik tapi sensasi thrilling-nya kurang bgt, yg feelnya dapet cuma pas bagian detektif an jihyung sama jung gyuchul. Untuk acting ga mengecewakan sih soalnya castnya udh pada mantep bgt ??? ada beberapa sinematografi yg aku suka, selebihnya biasa aja. CGI-nya kurang........ MAAF.... eps akhir agak ga nyangka sih dia bakal reinkarnasi jadi ibunya, gokil. Part ini menurutku yg paling sedih, sama waktu dia reinkarnasi jd gunwoo pas ketemu jisu (((banjir air mata))) endingnya GANTUNG,,, smoga s2 nya ga lama2. Takut kburu lupa bjir sama plotnya ? OHYA dari series ini banyak juga pelajaran idup yg bisa diambil, jadi sebenernya ok aja buat ditonton ????????

Leia Mais

2023's best show and for indian audice ( banao to asa show banao warna rhne do?)

This will be 2023's best show I watched I thought My Demon was going to be the best show but now after watching this I'm totally sour this is the best show for 2023 I don't know why people give him less rating than 10, this show gives Super Chilling action and also differents story that keeps entertaining his audience.
this show is perfect for fans of action, thriller, and fantasy genres.
creators did an excellent job of how they show the element of life and death it gives a very different view of what death is like.
It makes a thrilling and engaging viewing experience. each cast gives a memorable performance for their role you will love it.

overall this series a pervoking and keeps you on the edge of your seat.

I know I did not do a very good job reviewing it but all i want to say is you won't regret it,
it's a must-watch

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Magical !

After the first part, this is my review : It is without any doubt a wonderful series. You are not bored a second, it is always in motion, the casting is great, the plot is original. All this is made with several tough subjects, and they managed to deal with them pretty well.
Yi Jae will face several deadly situations (all of them are original), can he change this ?
Obviously some scenes are difficult to watch but this is the price to pay to have the maximum realism.
Seo In Guk is awesome, as expected, but the entire cast is compelling (always a pleasure to see Kim Jae Wook after Alchemy of souls).

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Part 1 is Top Notch

I have thoroughly enjoyed the first four eps. The acting has been TOP NOTCH and the drama has made a lot of changes away from the webtoon that makes me enjoy the characters, and overall, the story more. Compared to the webtoon, I disliked the main character and all the other characters. I mainly read it because the story intrigued me and I wanted to know how it ended. In the show, though, they really make you want to give most of them a hug.
I also love how this show is taking a very serious issue in Korea (and around the world) and showing the aftermath of suicide. As someone who has had a loved one attempt suicide, this show has really expressed how I felt about it and it’s nice to share that with my loved one as well. First two episodes we see our lead being totally selfish and not seeing the bigger picture but the 3rd and 4th episode really hones in on the aftermath of that loss and changes our lead.
Can’t wait to see how this plays out.

Leia Mais

oh. my. gosh.

I felt the pain and adrenaline throughout the whole show and all I can say was that was crazy and I can’t wait for the next episodes to come out. It feels like I’ve been rating all the shows a 10 recently because everything is so good but this is on another level. I feel this show so deeply and it truly is a masterpiece. Not only is the acting unbeatable but the story, the songs, the CAST everything is amazing. I went into this show expecting it to only be good because of the vast cast, but the story is executed so well it’s crazy. I thought having only 8 eps would be too short but even within these 4 episodes I think it is a very smart move and would 100% recommend this to everyone. Go watch it now!!!

Leia Mais

Darker, Edgier and Twistier than your Average KDrama!

First things first, these 4 eps are not the entire show and the last concluding part will come early next year which will finish the story. We should keep our expectations in check knowing fully that this is only half of the show and MY GOD ITS SHOCKING! to say the least.

The last time I experienced something like this was when I watched "Extracurricular" (2020) on Netflix which was as darker and grittier as this show apart from some dark humour. This show although having the trope of dying again and again and realizing the meaning of life and death which has been explored excruciatingly a large number of times in Western media but still seems like a fresh premise in the currently cliched webtoon KDrama adaptation market we have been getting lately.

The story has vibes of famous Final Destination movies and will keep you on the edge as to how the heck our protagonist is going to kiss death each time in either a shocking or a dark way. For the second half of the story, the stage is set for even more dramatic storytelling which I can't wait for anymore.

Coming to the action (which has been choreographed like big budget high-octane thriller movie) and production scale of this drama, you can very well see that it's a big project having several A-Listers in small and supporting roles. Seo In Guk as the main character is impressive in emotional scenes and on the other hand though briefly but Park So Dam looks perfect as the personification of "Death" itself. Go Youn Jung looks stunningly beautiful as always but the scene-stealer performance was given by my one and only current favourite actor Lee Do Hyun. This guy can do nothing wrong nailing every character in every drama ever! (Note: I could be a little biased for him so please my apologies for overhyping in advance!)

The twists and turns of the story in which there is a subtle connection between each reincarnation make it very fascinating and unique! Although, short the 4 eps of the show have captivated my mind like no other KDrama this year and eagerly waiting for the remaining part next year.

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