Roundabout plot, weak acting. Last few episodes were way better.

The drama started out intriguing for me, especially first 14 episodes. It seemed mysterious, like a solid story is about to be told. However thereafter, it was very drawn-out and constant repetition of certain scenes: the love story between FL and ML, the side view of the ML's face, the FL being strong-headed and suddenly acting weak, the ML always knowing where and when to rescue the FL and the FL/ML who are the only know-it-all.' After 20 episodes or so, I've been skipping the scenes involving the ML due to his mediocre and boring acting and chemistry with the FL.

I would like to compare this drama to Ashes of Love and Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms. All three have great costumes and amazing filming location. However, both AoL and TMPB went on to develop the roles of all the supporting roles instead of killing them off. The part whereby PS lacked is the development, it seems that PS is advancing based on the aesthetic value of the ML, as the ML's acting ability in this show is rather weak. If Fu Chou had more scenes, he will overpower the ML for sure. FL and ML's love story does not seem realistic, as they constantly hid secrets from each other at the start and remained inseparable. FL is supposedly skilled in martial arts, but does not exhibit her ability when ML is around. Their love story is very forced upon the audience, whereby we have to accept that those two come as a whole. Then, why do we even have two separate characters if they appear to have the same mind? I find that as a watcher, I could not empathize with their relationship and when they break up I just go 'oh lol, there they go again'. This is unlike in AoL and TMPB, whereby in AoL, when the ML left the FL, it made me so upset since their love was very real.

The FL in PS acts more like a man than woman, and the ML acts like a wimp, especially when he revealed to the public that he had sex with the FL when the FL was about to marry Fu Chou. He is not a gentleman at all. The things the FL and ML are incomprehensible, mostly because they always do things to the extreme ie the FL for her own selfishness caused her servants to die and FL/ML ganging up to kill Fu Chou who showed real love for the FL. These make the audience unable to understand their harsh actions. In fact, this is the drama whereby I wished for the ML to die and for someone to teach the FL some manners. In short, apart from the lovey-dovey and sex scenes, as well as the ML showing his side view of his face and always appearing out of nowhere, the FL/ML roles remained sorely under-developed.

Moving on, Fu Chou acted brilliantly in showing a conflicted person who was hurt by his past and yet tries to love someone. The character development for his role is rather good and FC has got amazing acting skills. When he caught FL and ML together in the bath while the FL was married to him, his expression caused me to really cry. He is a good-hearted and loyal man who constantly endures betrayal from people around him and tries to put up a brave front. In my opinion, he deserves more screen time and can even be the ML. The ratio of screen time the ML has is 8:10, meaning that whenever other supporting roles are kissing/hugging, he strolls right into the scene. (Like, wait what? What does it have to do with the ML even.) As such, many scenes involving the supporting roles are cut out. That was what made me give this drama a low rating. As I continue watching, the disappointment increases.

In fact, I watched this drama for Leo Luo aka Emperor Qi. Leo never disappoints with his acting even though he seldom appear. Makes me wonder why since the production team is always using his fame and face for advertisements on Weibo (even Leo himself is helping to promote). This is so unfair since he had very little screen time and almost no character development. It feels like this drama is just riding on his Ashes of Love fame instead of giving Leo the recognition he deserves. (He acted brilliantly in AoL and I watched AoL twice.)

Conclusion: I will not watch this drama again as I am watching it for Leo, but now I have a new bias which is Fu Chou. Previously I have watched Leo's drama the Fox in the Screen, and even though the production wasn't as good, they gave all the roles equal screen time. I find that if PS cut down on showing off the ML's long face (I don't appreciate his face since I am seeing it so regularly it annoys me), it is likely PS will just go down to 30 episodes, though I think with a story like this, 20 episodes is good enough to make a strong plot. There is nothing memorable about this drama as the twists are too many in certain episodes and it is plain confusing. The music is nothing special unlike those in AoL and TMPB. I find the acting of the ML is boring enough and a major turn-off while the FL is too bratty. Wonder why is this drama called White Hair though. It seems like a clickbait...

Leia Mais

Great actors but a declining storyline

The plot delves into the psychology of a murderer, understanding their intentions, and using the data to categorize murderers into some sort of personality types. I found the idea to be rather interesting as I personally like psychological thrillers. However, this series failed to hold my interest till the end.

One would expect thrillers to be 'gripping' and you would want to hold your breath as they challenge the murderers and uncover details of the case. This was only largely seen in the first story in the series. Honestly, Part 1 of this series was captivating. The first few episodes were great, and shows promise to this series, however as the series progressed, I found myself skipping through the scenes. The acting was amazing, especially some of the prisoners they interviewed. However the series failed to explore more details in the psychology of a murderer, and somehow the crimes get more easy to solve. It seemed like a disappointment from the first few episodes and furthermore, there wasn't much character development. It was just a monotonous solving of crime after crime.

Overall, a mediocre thriller, not as dark as I would like, but it's an interesting watch for sure.

Leia Mais

I dropped this series after the first two episodes because it was simply boring, and because I was watching Princess Silver. I was thoroughly disappointed with PS hence I returned to this series and I am glad I did. This story gives equal screen time to its lead roles and supporting roles, enough of the wuxia, drama and romance. I find myself trying to watch 10 episodes and more daily.

While I didn't like the FL too much because her acting resembles that in Hua Qian Gu, and the ML seems like Mark Chao, but they did an ok job after the first few episodes. There was a bit too much of conflicts between them (sigh romance), but they had good chemistry and strong characters. The story began with FL and ML meeting after FL's dad was killed by Hua Lian (High Priestess and Leader of Moon Sect). From their younger counterparts you can tell that their fates are going to be interlinked as the story progresses. FL went through a lot of sadness such as her shifu (Master) who died at the hands of Hua Lian, her Da Shixiong Qing Lan who supposedly died at the hands of the Moon Sect but was revived as the pawn/high priest of Moon Sect by Ming He (the daughter of Hua Lian). FL shows a good portrayal of a strong character who undertakes things in her stride though she can be headstrong at times.

ML did a good job, better than the FL, as most of the story was centered around him. Comparing him to the ML of Princess Silver, I was pleasantly surprised. Though ML acts like Mark Chao in Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms, his character is developed through the various though progresses and his strong ability to fight for his people and for his love. He doesn't come across as overbearing and instead is genuinely concerned about the people around him while upholding fairness for all.

My favorite actors in this show has got to be that of Qing Lan, Ming He, Chi Xiao Tai, Gu Guang, Bi Luo and Zi Mo. Qing Lan was great in portraying to be a kind man, and also the evil High Priest of the Moon. QL had a kind heart which was shown through the ways he treated Ming He though she betrayed his trust and killed his Master back in the Sand Valley. Ming He was amazing as well in her portrayal of an innocent/somewhat kind girl but was also somewhat evil. She and QL were from different sides and her love for him was possessive and obsessive till the point whereby she killed the both of them. Chi Xiao Tai was basically the kind girl with the nature of a backstabber. She expects the world to revolve around her and expect the ML to love her though his heart is with the FL and she does many trickeries and collusion with the enemy for her twisted love. If you hate her, it means that the actress did an amazing job.

I like Gu Guang as he is a righteous man who dwells in the Moon Sect for his love and his loyalty towards the Sect. He plays the role of an evil man and righteous person well and is a quickthinker. I was so happy he ended up being the Sect Leader after Qing Lan and Ming He died. Bi Luo is a breath of fresh air in this Wuxia drama. A powerful man who harbors such dedication to a girl and who will search the world for her. Though he lost her because Xiao Tai killed his love, he later found peace and love with Hong Chen at the Snow Tower. Zi Mo is great as well as she shows a strong lady with quick thinking and is unafraid to fight her way through. I like her poise. Lastly, shoutout to Ren Fei Yang for being able to act like the rich, classy guy but is in fact slightly dumb and very loyal. Sometimes his expressions are too funny like a puppy, but he did an amazing job that I cried when he died.

My favorite romance has got to be that of Qing Lan and Ming He. Even though theirs was a twisted romance, it was revealed in the end that it was love at first sight for them. Romeo and Juliet much eh? Ming He tried many cruel ways to protect Qing Lan without realizing that it was hurting him and the both of them. If only both of them were not from opposing sects, they might not have ended up that way. I felt sad for them when they died together.

If you're into Wuxia drama, watch this, but you can skip the first few episodes they're honestly too slow to progress. I got a bit disappointed with the ending because it ended too fast, but I think I'm happy that I returned to this drama. Recommended!

Leia Mais

A bit of a cliche storyline but amazing acting from the cast

I still remember how 10 plus years ago I came across this manga in a bookstore - 絶対彼氏. It seemed like nothing special and yet it got me curious . In 2008, the Japanese tv version was aired, and I loved how they portrayed the characters, only that it was a sad ending for Night Tenjou. It was followed by the Chinese version which had me sorely disappointed due to the bad casting.

The Korean version was aired this year and boy, was I excited. I am surprised with their choice of male lead for Zero Nine. Even more surprised that it is the adult version of the boy who acted in The Moon Embracing the Sun. Yeo Jin Goo did such a stellar job on this one, even though Jong Hyun made him look a bit on the short side. The cast was solid for this masterpiece and the Koreans had more development on the plot as compared to the Chinese. Being a fan of Zettai Kareshi, the Korean version just reminded me why a decade ago I loved this series. Yeo Jin Goo acted very well as a naive robot, whose only purpose is to love. There is amazing chemistry between him and Min-Ah.

The highly evil character in this show (Diana) portrayed by Hong Seo Young was just amazing. The resting btch face aside, her acting convinced you that she is a born psychopath who's lonely and delights in torturing robots. I like how this is such a romantic and light-hearted drama which slowly climbs onto a climax (Zero nine is melting down ...). The romance between Nam Bo Won and Yeo Woong is crazily funny as well. I think the best acting in this show apart from Jin Goo has to be that of Sung Won (Nam Bo Won). As the drama draws to an end, I do hope for once that Zero Nine gets to survive??? The Zettai Kareshi I know has a normal romance storyline, cliche even. But yet the interaction between a human and her love for a mere robot is no doubt touching. This version of ZK is the best I have watched yet. I would recommend those who love a lighthearted romance and who would like to find the meaning of love to watch this show. I like the casting because they showed that love has no boundaries and it does not merely look upon one's looks or nature to be loved.

Leia Mais

Hotel Del Luna started off as something dark, mysterious, fascinating and glamorous. Episode 1 was an amazing watch which got me hooked on this show. The music, fashion and acting were stellar. However as the story progresses, the first few episodes were mainly content with few scenes of romance, while towards the ending, we get many scenes of romance without much content. I find that it doesn't balance out too well for me.

I came from watching Absolute Boyfriend starring Yeo Jin Goo, and he was very well suited for that role. In HDL, his character doesn't have much progression, just mostly acting like a wimp and then being brave and manly (Yeo Jin Goo's acting is in fact really good, and it is somewhat a waste for him to portray Ku Chan Seong). IU's character on the other hand, had much more to portray, and I must say, she is the best person to act out Jang Man Weol. The small details such as eye contact and also the instances of being hilarious while putting on a straight face is something IU does very well.

Halfway through this series, I rated it a 9, and after completing it, dropped it to 8.5. There is much more to be developed, such as the backgrounds of the other hoteliers and how Hotel Del Luna came to be what it is today. All these were briefly explained, which I feel didn't make the cut, as some of them like Ji Hyun Joong and Kim Sunbae have interesting stories behind them which were poorly developed. There was a lack of romance/chemistry between the two main leads, such that my favorite couple has to go to Hyun Joong and Yoo Na.

The story is mostly simple, but at the start, there are many random introductions of ghosts with again, poorly developed storylines. The first 2 episodes were really solid, but somehow thereafter the series became lackluster. It was only with IU's acting, the OST and the cinematography that the drama was somewhat saved. On an overall, Hotel Del Luna is a breath of fresh air from mainstream K-dramas, intriguing and breathtaking at times. However, I give this a low rewatch value as it does not impress. Hotel Del Luna is something special and unique, only that if you are expecting a strong story plot, it might have fell short.

Leia Mais