asiandramaexplorer

Unique, Quirky, and GOOD!!

I had to write a review for this one as it will probably be under rated and it is worth its weight in gold so far. This cdrama stands out with it's unique storyline that has a dark whimsical vibe to it. It engages the viewer with each case that ties into the overall mystery between the ML and FL. The high quality of the cinematography and production value makes it seem more like a movie. I liked how they had different actors and actresses take on more lead like roles in each case story, the acting is well done and kudos for giving screen time to them. There is also dark humor sprinkled throughout the episodes that was done pretty well. There are some plot holes as it's in the mystery fantasy genre but it was acceptable to me as the good far outweighed the bad.

The series is compact by Cdrama standards at 12 episodes, it seems to eliminate the long drag out meandering storylines that plague some of the CDramas with lots of episodes. I hope the CDrama industry will continue to take more risks in investing in unique and unconventional dramas like this.

Leia Mais

The Peony that will bloom despite the worse conditions

Infuriating exes, in-laws, families that care more about reputation than their own children, and patriarchy. What more can a woman ask for in the historical times in the Tang dynasty? This is an underrated drama and on a whim after starting two other CDramas that didn't really take hold with their storylines I decided to give this a try. I initially thought this would be boring but after three episodes in, you want this FL to kick her husband and in laws to the curb and blow it all up as she leaves.

I'm glad I did because the themes of fighting for how you want to live your life, female kinship, and courage are woven into the confines of what a woman is allowed or expected to do in a strict Confucian patriarchal period. Marriage is typically required for a woman survive and she is seen as a piece of property. She is expected to endure intolerable situations even with exes and families that take domestic abuse to a whole another level.

You have the ex husband of the FL who I will call the "Flip Flopper" and another ex husband of one of the FL's good friends whose nickname shall be a curse word that I won't post here. Watching it will make the steam come of your ears and leave you with some empathy for why the FL doesn't want to remarry. The relationship the FL develops with the ML is one where he doesn't treat her like a damsel and offers a contrast to her "Flip Flopper" ex.

May this Peony thrive despite it all.

Leia Mais

Awww it's a cute dependable drama ❤️

I didn't expect this to be a ground breaking drama, the expectations are more like it sticks to popular themes in the past that made some of the comedic historical KDramas successful. The theme is usually about a young woman entering a school undercover as a man, her love interest is one of the male students who goes from enemy to friend to lover. Of course there are other male students who are potential suitors. They usually are a feast on the eyes and a reverse harem occurs. Hilarity ensues with the confusion of why she sometimes "acts" different and is over the top with her macho behavior at times. Throw in a public bathing situation she has to deal with along with all those rock hard bare chests and six packs she has to see. The acting is pretty solid and the characters didn't get on my nerves. The FL isn't too girly to be completely unbelievable as a young man and she seemed to be likeable enough.

Watching this drama so far for me feels like when you want to be in a comfort zone where you want something dependable that will deliver. I just want to watch it and be entertained, nothing too deep or thought provoking but it is fun, campy, and may get some good laughs out of you.

The first half of ep 1 I was so-so and didn't pay close attention to it but it started to pick up steam for me towards the last half that got me laughing. The second episode continued with the pace and was just as good. It's going to be a bit of a wait for the next episode. I started this before it completed so I can't complain too much that I'm left hanging for close to a week before the next one.

Leia Mais

Not All Demons are the Same

So far this has been a captivating drama and I recommend it if you want something different from the run of the mill dramas. The cinematography and production is excellent, it feels like you are watching a big budget movie even though its a drama series. It is DIFFERENT and breaks from any box that I tried to initially put it in. The female lead characters are not the cutesy ditsy ones you typically see in Xianxia fantasy dramas. It has an eye catching young cast who are doing well with the character portrayal that has some grown up themes. They each carry the weight of the character's burden of loss and regrets. You feel like you are watching something that is digging deeper emotionally where the characters are forced to look within to grow in their journey together. There isn't much romance so far although it is alluding to it with the demon ML and the goddess FL. It focuses on the fantasy mystery of a group of individuals who are as diverse from each other as they can be who have conflicting goals and a camaraderie that develops with the life and death situations as they fight demons and unravel the mysteries in the demon and mortal worlds. The one thing that I am kind of meh on is the comedy they try to inject in, sometimes its a bit jarring when they switch from a moment where it seems serious to one where its supposed to be funny.

Leia Mais

With a bittersweet past, will they reunite?

It starts off when they meet in Japan around the time they have aspirations for graduate school. She's a South Korean who decided on a whim to go to Japan to find herself and to escape the boxed confines of what path she is expected to take versus what she wants to take. She goes there without a job lined up and it appears she doesn't have much in savings but YOLO. She runs into a sweet Japanese gentlemen who is exceedingly nice and by default culturally polite. Sparks fly and of course they become two young lovers, doe eyed and enraptured with each other. Reality sets in, he works a lot and she spends plenty of time alone, lonely and isolated. Some events happen which leads her to question whether its what she really wants. Fast forward five years later, they meet each other again.

I don't know if this will end up being an underrated drama but I do feel its well acted and both of the leads portray longing, misunderstandings, and solemness of losing a love that was deeply felt if not one that they may not experience ever again in their lifetimes. It does seem to go slow but not in a bad way, it isn't a long series but the story unfolds in a way that makes you root for them to be reunited and feel the pain of their inability to forget and move on from each other.

Leia Mais

Cute and Unconventional in Some Ways

I decided on the whim to watch this, I was not sure especially after looking at the Kdrama cutesy pink poster if it will end up being too childish. It is a light romantic comedy but I like some of the unconventional direction it has taken so far. It looks like the ML was picked for the mobster role cause well he kinda looks like one, his look is unique and not idol like by far. Doesn't mean he isn't good looking in his own way, he certainly fits the part of what you would think of as a villain bad guy mobster. Even the way he speaks, its like the Korean version of the Marlon Brando of Godfather! LOL! At times its raspy and with a slight menacing tone to it. He is in contrast to the cutesy bubble gum FL who is the typical cherry and kind hearted character in these romantic comedies. He was a former mafia boss who went to jail and is trying to reform by doing legit stuff like running a food company while she's a struggling social influencer/marketer with children. Somehow, through a series of fated encounters they end up meeting each other. While it is light and bubbly and not meant to be realistic, it does gently probe our stereotypes of criminals and mobsters, do our preconceived notions of them mean they are far from ever being reformative much less a romantic lead to a FL who is completely opposite of him? There are some plot holes and would have like to see the romance build up more slowly at least on the ML's part. The ML doesn't seem to carry the inner darkness that we typically see in mobster criminal types but this is a comedy and it is refreshing they are flipping it around with a ML who is anything but conventional.

Leia Mais

Better than I expected in the first half

When I read the summary I wasn't sure if I was going to watch this, the reviews and comments were mixed too but I decided I was going to watch the first episode and decide from there. I have seen the ML in Weak Hero Class and Flower Crew. He is a very talented actor and an unconventional one that doesn't fit into the standard KDrama actor mold. While they are both good looking, I find both the ML and FL don't fit into the conventional mold with their looks in standard Kdrama romance. I appreciate that because its more immersive for me as a viewer because I bought into their love story and felt it more so than if cookie cutter actors and actresses were in those roles.

Is it a perfect story and perfectly executed? Nope. However, I appreciate the uniqueness it bought to the table in Asian dramas that tend to be littered with recycled themes. It was a big risk taken to tell a fantasy story of traumatized individuals in extraordinary circumstances where mental health issues and concepts of split personalities and PTSD are told in a fantasy setting with symbolism of the "evil spirit" representing the darkness in the human condition that resulted from trauma and abuse.

In the first half of the arc of the story, the Ak Hee evil spirit added a complex dimension in the story that showed his greed, seductive manipulation, impulsiveness, and ruthlessness of what he was willing to do because of the intensity of his feelings for the FL whether it be lust or a twisted version of love. The ML did a wonderful job portraying the light and dark sides with the push and pull within himself.

Leia Mais

Fighting for Stupidity

When I read the synopsis I was excited with the premise of a strong female character who excels in war strategies and becomes a female general. The FL is intelligent, devious at times and cross dresses as a man, there's a lot of male brotherhood camaraderie she develops with other male characters which is nice because sometimes its not all just about romantic love. While she is talented, the parts where she goes from commoner to elite fighting soldier with top notch archery and horsemanship skills was unrealistic.

The love story really falls flat in my opinion. The ML is good looking but he's a bumbling idiot supposed playboy. His character is really flat and not bright. Its hard to believe he can last as a general for even a minute. I can't really feel drawn to his character. The love story between them doesn't have any emotional pull, its a bit robotic and forced in the acting. Maybe its me but it might be more interesting to see two robots fall in love than the FL and ML.

The SML and the FL seems to have more chemistry as they are on opposing sides and the SML is smart and bold. I watched it because I wanted to see how their story unfolds even though its pretty clear the FL will not end up with the SML. They should have really developed their story more because it was more compelling and a bit more complex than the FL's love story arc with the ML.

Overall it could have been executed better, the last dozen or so episodes was a bit of fast forwarding. I completed it because I was curious how it works out between the FL and SML and how she breaks through to become a general.

Leia Mais

Married to a Jerk

This story doesn't start off any crueler, the female lead is surrounded by pathological narcissists whose lack of empathy and self serving nature leaves you sick to your stomach. She's meek, trusting, and tries to persevere despite circumstances placed on her by her husband who is cheating on her with her best friend. Of course to add more fuel to the fire of sadness and tragedy, she has cancer with a poor prognosis. With circumstances related to her continued medical treatment that leads her to find out her best friend's betrayal; it is a catalyst for her reincarnation for a do-over and revenge.

I appreciate its storyline so far and its portrayal of narcissism at its cruelest coupled with the manipulative gaslighting of a spouse and best friend who executes their extreme cruelty on the person closest to them. Unfortunately, reality sometimes isn't too far from fiction. More light needs to be shone on pathological narcissistic partners, friends, family, and coworkers and their mask needs to be revealed.

I hope this drama will continue to give hope to anyone out there that has been abused, belittled, gaslighted, and told they were worthless. The tables can be turned and one can move on before they swiftly give their abusers a kick in the rear end.

Leia Mais

Philosophy and Penalties of Death

This drama is dark with a philosophical take on what it means to take your own life and the value of life itself. I felt it took a strong opinionated approach on the value and the meaning of a life despite how trapped, sad, and dire one's circumstances are. In a world that is becoming increasingly hyper competitive with the sociopathy of capitalism , more socially isolating but at the same time hyper socially connected in ways that can be superficial and heightens the loneliness we feel with our comparative social standing to others, the protagonist is a victim of these circumstances. He runs into a series of misfortune and mishaps for years, he seems to be unable to catch a break and feels stuck in a life where he is constantly hustling in several lowly paid and low status jobs while his youth is being sucked away from him. All he wanted was to make a decent living in a real job, marry his girlfriend and have a family but it seems even that "middle class dream" is out of reach. What is a man to do when he is grinded down to the point where he sees no hope, no future worth living for?

The drama seems to take a hard stance or at least Death does when she puts the protagonist through a series of tests in the bodies and lives of different people from all walks of life who are destined to meet their end unless the protagonist can figure a way to avert death. If he averts death, he can have his chance to live again. Death raises the questions: Was it a selfish decision he made to take his life? Did he consider the impact on his loved ones? Did he take his life for granted? While he took his life, there were others who had no free will when their lives abruptly ended.

The acting is good, the ML has taken unconventional roles in the previous dramas and the FL as Death was in Parasite. It also has an unconventional approach where the ML reincarnates into different people, multiple actors take the lead in different storylines.

The storyline is incredibly fast paced, engaging, and at times difficult to stomach with its traumatic dark themes.

Leia Mais

Younger Female Version of Tom Hanks Cast Away?

I will first state I am a big Park Eun Bin fan so there is some bias to the review. She was awesome in King's Affection and Attorney Woo. She gives off Audrey Hepburn vibes and I am sure she will star in many more addictive KDramas in the future.

I will start off with the good parts:

-Park Eun Bin is in this! I don't need to say more.
-The story telling of the tragic back story of the FL and ML's childhood and abusive past is told well and you get a sense that they are holding onto each other as two lonely teenagers in a scary traumatic world.
-Who is the adult Jung Ki Ho? The story tellers keep you guessing. Who should the viewer root for as the love interest? I will take my stand, I am rooting for Kang Bo Geol.

There is room for improvement (there is no bad in Park Eun Bin's dramas haha):

-Her character and behavior is a bit too ditzy, perhaps she didn't get to emotionally develop since she was isolated for 15 years so there's some emotional stunting.
-The aspects of her surviving on the island is unrealistic and how she is still so pale when she is outdoors in the island. Where is the tan or sunburn???
-The two male leads being too helpful too soon to her when they barely know her
-Her relationship and idolization of a faded popular singer who fell from grace.

Leia Mais

Intriguing Reincarnation Storyline So Far.....

Let's be real, the reincarnation with the enmeshment of the historical past and modern present day of the lead characters is not new and seems to be a popular theme in KDramas and CDramas lately. I still find those storylines intriguing and this underrated drama seems to be doing a good job in ensnaring you in the first episode. I find the FL to be good for her role as a tough firefighter with a heart of gold. The ML is good looking but his narcissistic character as the modern day actor is pretty annoying which was the intention of the story,. I'm hopeful he will be less of a self centered character with his transition.

With reincarnation dramas, the ML and the FL's lives and destinies are intertwined, the question is will the deep resentments continue? It's a love hate relationship they had in their previous lives in the Goryeo period?? and will the story makers pull off a compelling doomed love story of revenge that bounces between the past and present?

I don't know what will unfold since its just four episodes in so I may update the rating as I watch future episodes but they have done a decent job so far in keeping the viewers hooked. It's not a perfect drama but it seems to be underrated, worth giving it a chance.

Leia Mais

Puppy Love with Good Looking Leads

I decided to give it a try despite being skeptical. The first episode was ok, I wasn't sure if I should continue but by the third episode I thought it was good enough to keep watching. It is a light romantic comedy so far, the leads are cute and SOOOO good looking. I saw the ML in Rookie Historian and wasn't thrilled with his character or the acting. His character in this KDrama really grows on you, he's not weak or too nice. He's a reserved guy who is cautious with people and more so with dogs which is a disadvantage for our adorable FL. I thought the development of the relationship between the FL and ML felt like a slow burn even though he is clearly smitten by her after four episodes. There's also a hint of their previous fate and destiny in their previous lives which might give more context to why they are drawn to each other in their present lives. Maybe its me but there were moments between them that gives you butterflies such as the umbrella and elevator scenes. I'm rooting for their relationship and can't wait for the FL to realize her feelings for the ML. I wish they didn't delay the episodes as it is has been a bit of a wait between them.

Leia Mais

Turned out to be an addictive watch

I started the first episode and before I knew it I had finished 6 episodes. This was different from what I expected, I thought it would be too cheesy for me. The first episode with the dark supernatural opening hooked me in even though this show so far is not dark, it is a light comedy romance. The storyline is unique and I think the writing is good. This made me laugh so hard in some parts, the ML being "entranced" by the FL is so over the top. She did a good job with her reactions to his professions of love for her, its to a point she's about to pound her head on the wall out of frustration. It seems there's a bit of be careful what you wish for.

Get a Grip Shin Yu!

Leia Mais