Dramas I watched & my opinions

The ending was heartbreaking. A let down to be honest. But it`s almost worth it.

If this does NOT get a second season the story is an 6 for me (great build up but it's (almost) all for nothing without a part 2) If it DOES get one it could be and 9 (at least an 8,5). 

Story:
I liked the pace.  It has a realism to it although some of the characters (like the king) where "too much" it reminded me of japanese movie characters.
This story makes a great first part (great building up (beautiful simplicity)) but if there is no second season it's really disappointing. The ending was an emergency ending because the production ran out of money (but what they came up with REALLY sucks!).

You have to really concentrate for this one. But it`s worth it! 

I was really gripped by the story (/the main character's struggle, his purpose). I felt invested. I had chills. I am impressed. I was satisfied with everything. Except the romance. Didn't really see it but what was there (or supposed to be it) fit in with the story well, so no complaints. In the beginning it was a little dry till my head was really in it. No female character that I related to/felt with but for ONCE I was okay with that. I had a really bad crush on Meng Zhi!!! :-))

Entertaining and satisfying. Also cute and badass.

 But the plot wasn't really "impressive" but okay.

Go in it with an open mind and don't expect much of the crime story. I just LOVED the male main character :-))

Awesome! It had everything. I just wish the friendship part and the ending was a bit more satisfying.

It's great if you fast forward all the ranting.

To the romance could have been more of an relationship. And there was one romance/comedy scene (by Ji Chang Wook) that felt out of character a bit. Wish the romance would have had more serious feeling/acting. (after thought: I think/wish that about most korean drama romances)

But else very entertaining (action) and satisfying as well.

I loved everything but some of Lee Jong Suk`s (?) acting choices. If they were his choices. I wish they would have gone for cool/complex/interesting instead of silly/relatable with his character. I liked the writing it was great where other dramas annoy. 

Not necessary my favorite of ALL time but I can't find anything to complain about.

There are better/greater stories but it wasn't lacking.  It had everything I want from a drama . I liked the developments (twists) and the ending. What is more then I can say about most  (99 %) dramas.

The ending freaks me out to this day.

I loved the concept! Just wow! There was ONE plot twist which I did not appreciate but that's all. I binge watched this one :-))

Entertaining and satisfying!

I didn't like the romance. The male characters I liked were only there to break (or rather ripp out) my heart.

I just love it!

Except some of the terrible writing in the end. And one unbelievable (illogical) scenes that happened, I liked it. The ending was kind of satisfying though it fizzled out after building up to something that just disappeared... It's good when it comes to the characters but the plot...

The main female lead wasn't great. The pace was annoying (I just hoped during a lot of the episodes that is finally would pick up) The plot ending was really WEAK! And the romance was only a thing stuffed in for views.

But I liked two of the 3 main male leads a lot (Park Bo Gum`s sexy evil smile :-))

Yes it really felt like a journey. It was a colorful story. I felt invested in the struggle. But sometimes they over did it with the MELOdrama and I was like "oh com on this is getting ridiculous!"

Beautiful landscapes/visuals. The (female) main character was a little to naive/childish in the beginning for my taste but at least she was witty and resourceful. I liked some of the other characters but that was ruined like "look what could have been" (character and relationship wise)!  Most of the character development was just really disappointing. The ending... (once again) just why??? But at least I found peace (in a way) with the end,  in the last few minutes. The cinematography was just beautiful.

I must say the "naive/innocent, lively girl wakes up the cold teacher`s heart" is NOT my kind of romance!!! I was not shipping. She is a child compared to him! They were not equal in any way! On the other side he didn't/could`t even help her (because he was so stuck up and didn't know how to handle it) and let her fall hard on her face. 

One last thing: I JUST F...ING HATE the chinese portrayal of women!!!!!!!!!!!! As if most women are naive/stupid, jealous, have a weak character and break (get twisted) as soon as they have to go through something or don`t get what they want. I believe most people get wiser/smarter when they go through something. Certainly not 90 % of women only start blaming others and become hateful. BUT WHY then does that have to be the case in chinese stories!? Is that the chinese version of chauvinism?  That just doesn't go away...

That just doesn't go away...I mean I believe china has NOW a lack of orientation on character development and values in their society. Which seems to mainly focus on success, money, on "making it" and being high class. Which is so sad...

It COULD have been perfect it has EVERYTHING! I liked the main (romance) relationship. It felt like a real RELATIONSHIP hallelujah! Just in the beginning it was a bit cliche (but still my guilty pleasure).

Sadley every few episodes there was something a bit off (that bothered me). 3-4 scenes: The work of the director (he pressed the actors for to much emotion that it didn't feel appropriate and out of place). 4-5 times an illogical thing that felt like an overlook because there was no explanation.

Those things only bothered me because it COULD have been perfect. So I was very sensitive.

The ending wasn't SO impressive as it could have been but still satisfying.

The plot was not that interesting. This was all about the relationships. Which were REALLY well done for a Kdrama (not just comedy+cheesiness+melodrama for once)

Not so genius like season 1. But more sentimental (actual romance (WITH chemistry)) And more satisfying in that way.

But ONE has the epic plot.

Not bad.

My first chinese movie!
I will never get over this one.

60% was boring but I am glad I didn't drop it. The historical part wasn't that good but I liked the ending.

It was entertaining. Did Not have high expectations. So I enjoyed it a lot!

Slowest pace ever. And most of the things that happened felt so unnecessary. What was the point of SO many stupid, jealous, naive, twisted, delusional women? I really hate how they were so a big part in this one! But I LOVED the main character or better Yang Mi`s performance. I liked the world. I almost always liked the soundtrack. There were some other characters I like too but they (with only one exception) where only ever on the side lines and not given much journey. My emotional reaction to the main romance story: Just leave her alone, back off! It felt awkward, boringand so cringe worthy (that I am surprised my teeth aren't damaged).  It was entirely driven on by him. I didn't like HIM that much honestly. Not that smart and selfish in the beginning. And the Ghost Lorde lover boy(her other love interest) was almost entirely pathetic/anoying.  The animations and colors almost always look too fake (and to bright and pink for my taste). Even though there were some really beautiful frames in between. Not sure if I regret watching this. I had a love-hate + boredom relationship with this one

Most underwhelming disappointment ever! Hated the main leads acting (so annoying her OVERacting melodrama scenes) + some stupid silly scenes made her character really pathetic. Only good thing about her: she was empathetic and loyal. He was mainly a joke figure.

Also this show did nothing to help clear the cliche of people that go to psychotherapists. But made them even more ridiculous. As if it was only for delusional people. 

But I liked the side characters! :-))

And I liked the (main) romance for a FEW moments.

A very rich epic journey. Good character/relationship development. Though there were (as always) too many twisted characters (stupid/naive ones that get twisted (jealous/hateful) as soon as something happens to them (SO frustrating/annoying)).

And the ENDING again! Not an ending! I know what happens but I refuse to watch the last episode till there is a season 2 here!

The last one or two episodes ruined it for me!!
The last one was so bad as if the director had left early (totally out of character/theme/style). But the ending of/for one of the charackters was the worst. Just WHY?????  The reason I loved this drama was the reason for my disappointment in the end. So I am a little unappreciative.
It COULD have been a 9,5  for me.

Ah and the soundtrack (that one song) was ridiculous!

(I remember it):
Thoughtful and satisfying.

I would have totally love this if I watched it when I was like 12 to 14.

I liked their relationship(journey/struggle) but it broke my heart. There where too much frustrating things (political/family, MELOdrama) an the sides, which annoyed me. This is a good romance to watch if you WANT to cry your eyes out. But I didn't cry that much I felt just depressed. Sorry if that is a spoiler.

Underwhelming (boring) Too sweeeeet. Ah I hate comedy. This was  too cringy and boring. The main characters were boring their "chemistry" was nothing but sugar.So sweet couldn't take it. But I liked the two side characters. I liked the main male character as long as the female lead was not in the scene. I was not impressed with the female character! Ah and before I forget it: For the case it's not obvious I HATE sweet comedy romance! Makes me want to run away! And then the bit of melodrama that they often but to it... even MORE annoying! At least the ending was satisfying. And it had nice visuals...? Yeah I`ll stop here

Don`t remember TOO much. But it was thoughtful and I remember I liked it even though not much happened.

Only one on here I dropped:

This drama certainly looks stunning. Very well produced, acten and so on. I liked the fantasy part but otherwise it sadly wasn't my thing. I don`t like comedy-romance and I certainly wasn't into THIS romance. I admit IF I found him hot... I would have continued.                                                                                              I should have known from the genres... Horrible annoying-boring mix. If there is comedy and melodrama there has to be action or thriller in between for me. Otherwise it has an intriguing (fantasy) plot and the characters where unique too but flattened by comedy/silliness. That destroys any kind of mystery in getting to know them (makes it far less exciting). Thats why I don`t like comedy I think. Joke figures just aren't as interesting/intriguing/mysterious/deep (to me). I like dark/dry/sarcastic humor though! :-))

The "Plot" and the ending was really underwhelming! But I really liked two (of 5) storylines/girls.  The charm was how relatebl it was. Every girl had at least one thing I could relate to.And some funny situations that would have felt totally random but we're so funny because you could relate. And there was ONE good romance. The only thing I wanted to keep watching for (next to Ryu Hwa Young/Kang Yi Na). If it would have been the main storyline I might have liked this more. But it was a too small part! :-/ I found the 3 other characters rarely interesting.

Sadly can't recommend it. It wasted  too much time on the stupid/annoying delusional, jealous, female villains. Ever noticed that in a cdrama in the begining they always have the annoying evel villens before they finally move on to the more complex interesting ones?
I hate it when any kind of show spends too much time on despicable villains that you just want to be gone/defeated already. Good villains have to be fascinating, scary or you have to love hating them :-)) and not be annoyed!

A unique show but the pacing sucked... or better said there were pointless long scenes where I kept waiting for something else to happen and after just thought: Someone forgot to scream CUT! They obviously didn't have enough material for 60 episodes or found it hart to write a well rounded 40 minutes episode (or maybe there wasn't enough money).
Overall I never watched a season (of anything) in which so little happend (but I still enjoyed myself). I still liked the drama and want to see season 2 but there where a lot of episodes where I thought "come on, get a move on!!" It was sometimes so slow that till the very end it felt like a build up... And I kept on waiting (and was excited) for things to really get going/play out.
In season 2 I hope for faster more focused pacing (now that the world, characters, relationships and so on are established). I liked no LOVED the action (the choreos) is this drama I just want MORE of it!  And more development/twists.

For once I liked most characters and - even though it didn't seem like it in the beginning - there aren't as many annoying characters. And I generally noticed that dramas in which the main character is a guy - there are almost never any of those annoying, delusional, jealous female characters. Because they always appear to be a (annoying) challenge to female main characters.

The acting ranged from bad (but mostly only a few guest appearances) to very good. The main actors acting was good for his first drama (he relied a bit heavily on his eyebrows - though it was very entertaining :-)) I will miss him.

Enjoyed it a lot but the ending and the bad guys were stupid/weak.

Pros: IU and her character (including her backstory), the visual aspect (most of the time) and a few funny dialogue moments (the intelligent kind of funny what I appreciated).

Cons (for me): One of the most boring and cheesiest dramas I have ever watched.
Genres: Action? So little that I find it ridiculous that it is listed...
Suspense, Mystery? A little bit.. but not the thrilling, addicting or exciting kind (for me).
Horror? Yes but not really creepy (kdrama "horror" average). Not really a con for me though.  
Romance? Yes but "a bit" boring (for me) - mostly there for comedy and the emotional weight of the drama.

The best things about it were IU`s character and the visual aspect. But they relied way to heavy on it. They overdid it sometimes with the colored lights, the fogg and the emotional "moments" (when the characters paused because they just thought of something (emotional) and on cue 3 seconds later a new soundtrack would begin (this felt like 80% of the drama).

Unique drama but I don`t know how I feel about it now. I am kind of dumfoundet at the end (not a happy one).
This drama stands out in style but especially with it`s a romance relationship. Raw emotions, intimacy, no comedy reminded me of "Just Between Lovers".
This drama wasn't what I was looking for with "Thriller" but it is good for what it is I guess. And it's definitely not overrated (like a lot of others in the genre in my opinion)
I don't think it's a re-watch for me though.

And considering what I thought it's highlight is, I would rather just recommend "Just Between Lovers".  More satisfying.

The best thing about this for my was Krystal and her character and Song Seung Heon`s looks (not his acting though).
It is a light show but also very shallow. In therms of characters and story. Especially the former lacked nuances for me (which is probably why I didn`t feel Song Seung Heon`s performance/character that much).

I am really impressed by the plot or rather by which subjects they touched (as someone who spends some time on those subjects). Wasn't expecting that from a tv show certainly not from a korean. Wasn't bored for a moment and also neither annoyed nor frustrated (maybe a bit MUCH action, actually enjoyed the slower parts more - which is really, really unlike me to say :-)). I can`t say all that about any other drama in the genre I ever watched (and this is my favorite genre) .
I definitely feel this had/has the potential to a lot more and was obviously set up for a possible season 2. It actually feels that they held bag for a season 2. I want more relationship development!
Feels like the bad reviews where upvoted by some lobbyists... ;-)

Loved everything except the last few minutes. Those felt a little weak (like so often).
But I often can't decide how I feel about an ending of a tv-show or drama.

Interesting style. But the end left me feeling depressed. Even though it was partly an open ending.
The message was, get help if you need it.

Morally I would rate this VERY low when it comes to killing. But I actually loved the comedy (it was the best part next to the characters)!

Not what I expected what I started. It was cute... and actually liked it. Not much of a plot driven story.But that makes it easy to watch. And the ending is satisfying for once.
I often go for darker dramas but I'm actually glad this turned out to not to be one of them.

Truly the only thing I liked was the main couple. I personally recommend only watching the first 18/19 episodes. The rest/the plot in general is so incredibly boring and unoriginal.
Anyone who has seen a few chinese historical dramas can guess the rest. I feel like this drama only went through the motions. For the most part I felt totally unengaged. 

But the romance was worth it though! :D
But it became somewhat a cheese and boring side show.
When I rewatch this one day I will stop at ep 18 or 19. There was a really good moment to stop there.

Love the ML but the writing and execution regarding to plot is so stupid/lazy/pathetic.
After the first half or so it got more and more boring. Some dialogues were boring and felt pointless.  The best thing was the tension between the ML and FL in the beginning.
But I liked the ending/ the last episode!

Biggest pros where the nice materal arts chore on the beginneing, the soundtrack and the pruduction. Tha acting really wasn`t bad either. 

"Subdued" is a really good expression for the romance.

Liked the charachters though they werent to terrebly facenating. Actually I didn't think some of the "good guys" had a good moral compass at all.

Biggest disappointment was the ending. The sad parts where RALLY stupid/lazily written.

And the good parts where cut short! All the biggest achievements were not shown and left to the viewer's imagination.

Pros: The main female actress, two or three of the soundtracks, some really nice scenery.

Cons: Everything else!

Some of the soundtracks were annoying or even off putting during some scenes (at least for me).

The main couple was only interesting when there was antagony between them. The other times the acting was way too sweet/cheesy/childish without any real feeling chemistry (probably the biggest "con" for me).

I honestly don't know why I wouldn't drop it.

The plot seemed to be an interesting set up... but it fizzled out and was underwhelming, like so often.

I found many of the dialoges so pointles and emty - I wish I would have started to press fast forward  sooner.I didn`t particularly like ANY of the characters and the relationships/interactions. And a lot of the performances (with a few exceptions) didn't feel natural/genuine. But then I don`t think the characters where well written and the different sides of them didn't really fit together well... I assume some of the actors just tried to give the director that she wanted.

A lot of scenes where so unconvincing - it was like the writers/producers were allergic to logic or paying attention to detail. I don`t expect Wuxia dramas to stik to rules of physics or human biology... but they really aren't hiding their disregard for the latter. Thought I could hear my brain cells dying ...a bandage OVER armor... OUCH!

And I know they wanted the make the mail leads look "manly" but Darren Wang looked like he had to much tanner and Sean Xiao`s few facial hairs looked weird.

Thrilling yes... but :-/
But sure no light without darkness... so is there a light/highlight that makes it worth watching? 

The main theme was people getting butchered. This show didn't have a redeeming quality for me. Not the characters and certainly not the world. And I am really not even that curious about the plot (and the big mystery question what this was all about).

But then, I have never understood why people liked the Hunger Games series. I literally threw all the books in the trash the day I was through the last one. If someone said to me they mostly "enjoyed" something like this, I might think there is something wrong with them. But maybe stories like that are our modern version of gladiator fights.

Side note: I keep waiting for the ML to finally get hair cut already!

Emotional rollercoaster. Didn't know how it would end till the last episode.

Could have been better but it`s the only drama of the year I truly enjoyed! It was a good bed time story.

I f...ing REGRET watching this!
The writer sure isn`t untalented just despicable!
The show long foshadows how it might end but there are thing that were just uncalled for and made the ending soulless trash!

As a writer I might write something like this when I have a really low day, but the minute I come to my senses I would throw it in the trash and start over. One should have morals about what you put out into the world.
And the music at the end just pissed me off. Like the end was cool or something.

Extracurricular had at least a moral of the story, like a cautionary tale.

Perfect example of the most ANNOYING comedy ever.

Found myself wanting to press fast forward 80% of the time. And then I found nothing that captivated me at all. In the middle I skipped more and more. Only watched the last two episode with only fast forwarding a little bit. And had no trouble understanding what was going on.

I love 4 things (exclusively) about the first half: The beautiful night scenes, the action scenes, the the (main) characters interactions and the MLs performance.

It wasn't before around episode 30 till I finally got hooked and didn't want to fast forward scenes.

Update:  Well it didn't last for more than 3 episodes. :D I am trough now. Only fully watched when things went down. The buildings were tedious to me. But at least it was easy to follow. And the ending was satisfying.

No Romance in the genres? Funny the best thing about it was the romance! :-))

If you want a happy ending stop at 47 time stamp 16:04 (the latest)!

The best thing about it was the production. Some of the best romantic scenes I watched in a long time. Though the acting of the FML at the first time was a little weird because she was suppose to act young I guess? Meanwhile, she has this really mature/serious vibe about her. Was like watching someone with a personality disorder. And putting just sloppy eyeliner on her while she was pretending to be a boy... ??

 And I was expecting more action (like so often). :-/  

There should be a WARNING: only watch if you ENJOY crying till you head hurts!
I regret watching.
Melodrama in the genres should have been a red flag, but I was just too happy there was an excellent rated romance without comedy.
Don´t get me wrong the only thing bad about it was two stupid action sequences (like the whole tiger story was intellectually insulting). It was very touching and I  empathized greatly.
But as it was a really heavy/subdued drama I hoped that the ending would make up for it.
But as it wasn´t a fictional story that was probably stupid of me.

Skipped some episodes towards the end. But I loved the romance!

Most satisfying drama or series I have ever watched. First drama I ever gave an 10/10. 

Just finished with Part 2.

I normally watch only Wuxia/Material Arts/Action focused shows. I also don´t like comedy and almost wouldn´t have watched it because of the silly trailer!
But OMG am I glad I did! Best character writing, directing and acting I have seen... maybe ever!
I really have never seen a Chinese drama with so much depth.  The characters felt so real.
And the overall writing was also really good. After the two first episodes only a few more where a bit hard to get through (By comparison = most other Chinese dramas of this length would have been better with 10 or 20 episodes less - not so with this one!).
The humor at the beginning (first 3 or 4 episodes) was sometimes more annoying/exhausting than funny, but it develops a lot and in retrospect I wouldn´t change anything about it.
 
It really can´t be compared to any other dramas (Disclaimer: haven't watched The Story of Ming Lan) but if I had too: Nirvan In Fires story and character writing was similarly sophisticated. But while Nirvana in Fire (1) gave me chills with it´s political plot, Love LIke the Galaxy`s specialty are the beautiful sentimental moments, the character growth, the beautiful romantic scenes, the joyful momentsand yea the heartbreaking moments too. It´s one of the most realistic feeling historical shows, but unlike with The Red Sleeve it won`t leave you depressed!

Only slight con: The soundtracks for 2 or 3 scenes where weird and didn´t fit at all. + The translation on YouTube isn´t that great in the beginning and they muted and switched out a few soundtracks there, for copyright reasons. We only watched the first and last couple of episodes on YouTube but for the most part we watched on DramaNice.

P/s: First Asian drama I watched with my Mom and I couldn´t have picked a better one.

Interesting story concept.

But the characters relationships where boring or rather didn`t feel real enough to me. (The relationships mostly)

Most outstanding was the soundtrack. Production and Actors were all very pretty, but I enjoyed the first half more (more anticipation) but then I was glad when if was over.

Had I known how little Romance the would be I wouldn`t have watched it.
For me it wasn`t a well balanced show (felt like most of the screen-time was filled up by really twisten charakters). And the FL had no chemistry with most of the actors (probably because she didn`t get to act much with anyone, since the directors made her talk into  the camera.) At least two of the directors really sucks. Don`t get me wrong the concept and overall Plot was great.  But there nothing I would re-watch (except for Wang Xing Yue`s pretty face).