Wonderful old school style drama - excellent cast and acting. Could be a Christmas drama...

Why did I wait so long to watch Crazy Love? I'll tell you why - I couldn't warm to Kim Jae Wook in Her Private Live, and ended up dropping that one. However, was I wrong and I'll definitely go back and watch that one now.
Krystal was amazing - again, this was my first time seeing her in a drama and she was brilliant. Both carried this drama brilliantly.
I mean this as the ultimate praise here but, Crazy Love had the feel of a great Christmas movie where the protagonist learns the true meaning of Christmas ? Essentially, that classic Kdrama trope where the lead experiences a terrible trauma as a child and so becomes a horrible person. They then meet an amazing, fun girl, and learn the true meaning of Christmas!.. I mean learns to love again and be nice to people.
I'm simplifying this too much but that's how I felt. What sets Crazy Love apart is the underlying storyline. the twists and the drama. The comedy is top-notch notch too. I felt that Krystal should have been the main lead, but I get why Kim Jae Wook was as he has the strongest story arc, that works brilliantly with hers.
If I have to nitpick, there is an older character who is really annoying but thankfully a side role (throughout the show). Additionally my pet peeve of not paying to show the car logos! We all know it's an Audi R8!
Go watch this! It's full of charm and has an old-school quality to it. Very satisfying.

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TRULY WONDERFUL! Watch it now!

This was my first taste of CDramas and wow the bar has been set extremely high.
It took me a while to get used to the pace, and at 40 episodes long it's much longer than the usual Kdrama. PLEASE stick with it though and you'll be rewarded with a truly wholesome, healing, wonderful story all wrapped up in the most beautiful scenery and people. Oh, and the food is incredible!
The cinematography and soundtrack are stunning as well.
Liu Yi Fei was a brilliant lead as was Li Xian. The supporting cast was great too. Some subplots felt like they dragged on, but I think, due to the length of the show, they paid off in the end.
So sit back, relax and enjoy this 40-episode therapy session!
I'm going to try Go Ahead next.

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Won't change the world but will give you a warm fuzzy feeling!

I love this web drama! End of review... ?
I started watching it as CLC did a song for the OST and as a Cheshire, I had to see what it was all about. The song, called Another Level and sung by Seunghee, Seungyeon and Yeeun, is great and I had goosebumps when i first heard it - a bit like when Red Velvet's Future plays in Start-Up!
What happened next though was that I was completely sucked into this drama. Don't me wrong - it's a formula that's been done before and this one is in fact based on a web drama called Best Mistake - a couple of the cast members made a guest appearance.
Where this wins though is that it's just so sweet - in a world that is pretty rubbish at the moment, this was such an easy watch and just made me happy. Lee Shi Woo who plays the female lead Oh Ji Na (plays Bingbing in Sisyphus: The Myth) is very refreshing as a the school's hot girl who is actually really decent and genuinely nice. One of her friends, Hanna, on the other hand (Yu Ju from Cherry Bullet), is what you'd expect from the Mean Girls kind of genre.
It's also really rewatchable - something you can just leave on in the background.
All in all, it's really sweet and enjoyable. Watch it and feel good about the world :)

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Wholesome and JOYful in spades

This is such a sweet drama which is welcome in a time when everything is getting more and more serious/realistic in the world of Kdrama.
Once Upon a Small Town is not going to change the world but it was a joy to watch. The story goes at a pace befitting of the small town it's set in - which looks stunning - but it's just a sweet 30-minute escape to enjoy Joy and all the cute animals that feature heavily throughout. Joy's acting is good and carries the show well. The male leads are ok too, although the second lead is annoying for most of the series in the classic second lead style.
It's a nice filler drama.- I used to it to detox in between Little Women episodes. It's a must-watch if you're Reveluv!

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Wonderfully satisfying

Not sure if it's just me, but I'm just not gelling with a lot of the current crop of kdramas and so over the past few months, I've been watching older dramas (2016-2019) and found myself falling in love with the genre each time.
So Romance is a Bonus Book was on the list and it was it's time last week.

Long story short, I absolutely loved it - the characters, the relationships, the story, were all great. On top of that, I felt that all the secondary characters got enough screen time and a complete story arc to leave you feeling really satisfied at the end of it.

Our main leads had a great story and our protagonist (Kang Dan-i played by Lee Na Young) had such a relatable story of a single mother trying to get back into the workplace after taking time out due to looking after her child and the difficulties that caused. The prejudice she faced to try and get work was really interesting.

Definitely give it a go if you haven't watched it already - it really is lovely and a really satisfying watch. The romance is good and not without the classic triangles - or maybe a quadrangle in this case - that we know and love. It has enough of the Kdrama fantasy without being fantastical and while there may be a few knight in shining armour moments with the mail lead relationship but it's wholesome based on their lifelong friendship, it's more about a strong independent woman and what she needs to do to succeed and provide for her child.

Negatives? Very few. The soundtrack is nice but ok - I'm nitpicking here :)

Go watch it.

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Magnificently satisfying show! Please watch it!

Just finished Mr. Queen. Without giving anything away, this is a truly brilliant show - it's based on a Chinese drama.

Everything from the story, through to the acting, the comedy - oh the comedy - the dramatics, the cooking (yes I said cooking) and mystery is nigh on perfect. Even waiting for the subtitles to come up on Viki only increased the anticipation of what was to come - I can't think of another drama - both western and Korean - that had me this hooked.

The characters are beautifully cast and deliver their performance beautifully. If you are a CLOY fan then the King and Court Lady Choi will be all to familiar. I didn't know about Shin Hye Sun before this show but will be sure to check out her other work after this. She owned the role of the Queen (with the male Jang Bong Hwan's mind in her).

The soundtrack is equally unique and works so well with its mix of old and new.

I truly loved this show and hope you do too - please stop what you're doing and watch Mr. Queen now :). It's a wonderful show!

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Brilliant period drama

This was my first intro to a historic/period kdrama and wow what a series.
100 days is the story about a prince who loses his memory and lives as a common person, marrying a local girl to save her from a degree that he himself put in place to make all single people get married - due to being pressured to have a baby by the king. I wont spoil it as it's something that I strongly encourage you to watch,

The prince is played by Do Kyung Soo (D.O. from EXO for kpop fans) - he's brilliant and plays his role as an amnesiac who thinks he's better than everyone, not knowing he used to be the crown prince.
Nam Ji Hyun plays the female lead - she's tough, independent and has a connection to the prince that she doesn't realise.

Start-Up fans will love the fact that the good boy himself, Kim Seon Ho (#TeamJiPyeung fo life) is in this drama - he has a crush on Nam Ji Hyun and their stories intertwine.

The villain is truly evil and really brings this story to life. You guenuinly fear him,

The soundtrack is glorious and so fitting to the period. It's also filmed beautifully. Chen from EXO did an OST for this show and it's beautiful.
100 Days my Prince opened the door for me to give period dramas a go - since finishing this I watched and loved Mr Sunshine and now Mr Queen.

If you haven't watched this, I hope you give this drama a go - it's brilliant!

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Healing

I have to say - the oldies are the best. Really enjoyable thriller/romcom that falls into the classic Kdrama format that we all fell in love with. Great cast and quite possibly the most enjoyable Park Min Young drama I've watched - even more than Secretary Kim as she's just so real and adorable. Ji Chang Wook is great in his role as 'Healer'.
Took me a while to warm to Yoo Ji Ta's character (Kim Moon Ho) but you learn what he all about after a couple of episodes. Kim Mi Kyung is brilliant as always and plays a super hacker who supports Healer.

Some of the production is not as good as what we see in today's dramas - eg everyone is so evenly lit and the soundtrack is good to average - but don't let it put you off. This is a great drama and very satisfying to watch. Also did I mention how cute PMY is in this?..

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Made my heart flutter

Wow! Either I'm getting old or this is one of the most beautiful dramas I've seen to date! It's become a frequent occurrence that since getting into Kdramas I've missed my late father so much - none more than while watching this Encounter. I can just hear him say with a tear in his eye "she suffers so much for other people" ?

Please go watch this beautiful wholesome love story - stellar performances from Song Hye Kyo and Park Bo Gum - their love for each other is so genuine and the journey that Song Hye Kyo's character goes on is truly heartwarming. When she smiled, my heart fluttered! Park Bo Gum plays to his strengths and is great.

The supporting cast are great, and the wicked mother-in-law is suitably evil. There are very few plotholes and if I have to pick a negative then I would have loved a few more episodes, but only because I didn't want it to end and would be nice to see a bit more of the relationships of the supporting cast develop.

Once my heart recovers, I will be rewatching this several times! GO WATCH IT!!!

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It is enough!

What a beautiful and relatable show. It's one of those dramas where nothing appears to happen, but everything is happening. It's so wholesome and joyful. There is sadness, but that's life and it's so important to the development of some characters - then the finale becomes so satisfying. Safe to say it didn't suffer from the 12-episode Kdrama curse that I initially feared. Seolhyun was a revelation to me - having never seen any of her dramas - great acting. I didn't warm to Si-Wan in Run On but he was a great character in this with superb acting. The stand out however is Shin Eun-Soo - give that girl a main lead role in a big drama!
This is a healing drama.

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Tell your heart to buckle up for this one!

Started watching Marriage Contract as a filler in between Reborn Rich and Summer Strike episodes.
I'll start with the negatives!
1. Lee Seo Jin's character's family on his father's side are THE WORST!! I just wanted someone to kick the dad and brother in the nuts!
2. BMW badges are missing for half the series. Nitpicking here, but it's probably the easiest car brand to identify.

OK, now that's out of the way - on to the positives. This was a rollercoaster of emotions and if you like that kind of thing, then please watch it. I does have a bit of a daytime soap feel but unlike something like Young Lady and Gentleman, it's only 16 episodes and the production value stays consistent throughout.
The real stand out was the girl who plays the daughter, Eun Sung - an incredible actor. I was really impressed with Uee and having not watched anything with her or Lee Seo Jin before, I'd be tempted to watch some of their other work following this.
The main characters have a real developmental arc which makes you get sucked into the emotions and really feel for our leed, Uee. Like I said if you like that (and getting your heart ripped out and put back again) then watch this drama. I stuck it on 1.5x speed and binged it in a few days.

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Bittersweet Symphony

Started watching in between Extraordinary Attorney Woo episodes and it started really strong for the first third. The pace then really slowed down - so much so that I watched it at 1.5x speed. It's a lovely drama with great acting from the leads, and great music but I think they missed a trick with the slow pace. Park Eun-Bin is delightful!

Our protagonist is not good at playing the violin (sounded amazing to me) but she loves it and perseveres - much to the lack of support from her family (not her dad) and her teachers.
Coupled with her struggles, there is a love triangle that drags out too long which takes away some of the joy - it would have been nicer to have Sun Ah prove people wrong and for the final act to show the storylines resolved nicely to end on a happier tone. There was too much sadness for me but then maybe I'm a romantic!

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Don't question - just enjoy and be happy!

I was a bit skeptical going into this but needed a drama to fill the gap between Hospital Playlist 2 and Hometown Cha Cha Cha so I thought I'd give this a go.
I was hooked the moment Chae Soo Bin appeared on screen! ? I'd never watched anything with her in, nor the male lead, Yoo Seung-Ho. Both acted incredibly well. We'll come to that later.
The story is about a recluse CEO of a financial company who does not like human contact due to a condition he has. The companies portfolio contains a company that has a subdivision that is developing AI robot tech. They need financial backing to make this viable.
The robot looks just like Ji-A (Chae Soo-Bib's character) and due to a technical mishap, and with the financial implications mounting up, the scientists persuade Ji-A to double for the robot while they rush to fix it.
What ensues is the relationship between Kim Mun-Kyu (Yoo Seung-Ho) and Aji-3 the robot. Stick with me on this one...

I'm not going to spoil any more but encourage you to watch this - it's an easy watch. While the concept with regards to the tech requires us to switch of that part of our brains, the acting, the love, the joy, the sadness (come on... it wouldn't be a kdrama without that!) will keep you hooked.
The acting stands out - especially from our protagonists and the scientists but also the supporting cast.

So will this change the world - no - but will it give your heart several hugs - YES! Go watch it.

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Get a VPN!! Internet privacy is no joke! Oh, and this is a superb drama!

Just finished Search: WWW and absolutely loved it. Where do I begin?

Cast - Our three protagonists carried this show - all strong women - no damsels in distress as is the drama norm. Instead, these were three powerful and very successful women (and in Lee Da Hee's character - she could literally beat you up!). All successful - not needing a man but end up having three interesting love stories. The guys were well cast with Jang Ki Yong's Park Morgan being the stand out as Bae Ta Mi's love interest. Their story will fill you heart with joy and pain throughout the show.
Similarly, Jeon Hye Jin's Song Ga Kyung's relationship with her arranged marriage husband is an interesting one and is an interesting one especially with the overbearing (and evil) mother in law who, being the chairwoman of a conglomerate, treats Ga Kyung like a dog.
My favourite however was Lee Da Hee's character - adorably bada$$ ? as was her love of cheesy kdramas... we can all relate to that!!
The supporting cast complemented the main characters well.

Story - the story is about the three girls with the backbone of the two internet portal companies battling for supremacy. It brings up ethic and privacy and I found it fascinating. Some may think that some of the pacing and dialogue is a bit slow at times but I think this was done intentionally. Im Soo Jung's AMSR style voice works really well in these moments. There is genuine tension at times and the writer/director found a great balance of calm before the storm.

Production - WOW! The cinematography is incredible with some beautiful shows. Shot in an ultrawide format the director really made use of that space to show separation and beauty in some of the scenes. Great use of the camera and movement to help tell the story. Would love to know who the cinematographer was.

Negatives - very few but will need to spoil a few scenes to discuss so will leave that.

Ending - well you'll just have to go and watch this to find out. Like the best KDramas, Search: WWW is beautifully contained. So what are you waiting for? Go watch it... and get a VPN to protect your privacy ?

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Magnificent!

I'd like my heart back please!

What an incredible drama - let alone a kdrama! Each episode is shot like a blockbuster movie, the cast are superb and the story captivates you from start to finish. That it's based on historical events, makes it all the more painful sometimes.

The the five main characters are superb and you love them throughout and become so invested in their stories. Each of them go on a journey and you fall in love with all of them. The supporting cast are equally great. One of the villains does his job so well that I wanted to smack him in his face - great actor!

At 24 episodes this is a lot longer than the usual kdrama and sometimes the pace may seem a little slower than what we're used to in the West - however, the investment of your time pays off in spades.

I'm not going to mention anything about the plot as I strongly urge you to watch this. This is an utterly beautiful love story - love for each other and love for country - whatever the cost!

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