Raw & Necessary

This was hard to watch, not in any other way than the real and rawness of everything portrayed in this movie.

This is a movie that deals with the subject of bullying in the most blatant and shocking way possible. There is blood and bruises, humiliation and nastiness. This is young humanity at its darkest and it's all displayed on a tiny screen for your viewing tears. And there will be a lot of them.

This depicts the story of Chen Nian who is in her senior year and just trying to prepare for her exams. Her dream is to get into the college of her choice. Right off the bat, this is emotional. A girl that she knows and avoids is getting bullied and jumps off a building at school. Then we see the bullies shift their focus onto her because of her moment of care.

Like I said, this was hard to watch. It was painful and I cried for most of it, because the reality is sad. They didn't pull the punches and show the repercussions of bullying at its worst. This is dark but it makes the spots of light all the more impactful. We do get those happy moments where she shares a newfound joy with Liu Bei Shan. They rescue each other and continue on together. Their relationship surpasses friends or any simple romance to the purest kind of love. It's beautiful and heart wrenching.

All in all, I highly recommend watching this. It is painful but worth the watch.

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A Heartfelt Drama

There are some dramas where the story is needed to keep the viewer watching or the relationships fall short of the mark. WoH is not one of those dramas.

WoH starts as your basic wuxia drama that follows different sects who are for fighting for some coveted item. It is nothing to the wuxia/xianxia world hasn't done before nor is it particularly exciting (for me at least) but the basis plotline is not the whole picture. Viewer beware, there will be a lot of information thrown at you very quickly so be ready. There are a lot of sects and many (many) side stories we follow along the thirty-six episodes. Out of the many side characters, only one was (however necessary) rather bland but the others were absolute perfection. This is a drama that is going to make you angry, smile, and cry often.

Although the story lacks individualism, the relationships and characters shine bright. The acting was wonderful, with obvious character development brought through in micro-expressions and interactions. The romance depicted between the various couples are sweet, built on good foundations and pure. I honestly loved the wholesome aspects between the non-romantic and the romantic relationships as toxicity was scarce. WoH is all about the simple things like learning to rely on someone and the happiness that loved ones can bring you. The chemistry between the cast was engaging no matter the scene and I was delighted and heartbroken throughout the course of the watch. The costumes and choreographed fight scenes are only an add-on to the growing list of reasons to watch this. They are respectively flawless, vibrant and eye-catching. The detail in the fight scenes and the costumes really brought me a lot of joy while watching. The OST is stunning, heartfelt, and follows the tone of the drama perfectly.

My only complaint with this is obviously the basis for the storyline felt a little bland but the pros outweighed the cons in this case and it hardly impacted my viewing experience. The pacing at times felt a little fast in some places and a little slow in others, with the ending feeling a tad rushed. It might have benefitted from a couple more episodes to iron out some storylines but I will say the drama rarely felt draggy. There are A LOT of side stories in this so be prepared to devote your full attention. It's very easy to miss important information and then get a little lost.

All in all though, WoH is a wonderful drama with heartfelt relationships that result in a rewarding watching experience. It has wuxia and romance as well (or bromance if that's your thing) which are both flawless pulled off. I highly recommend.

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Imagination should be saved for the future.

Okay, so, the bad, the good, and the DID.

Let's go in that order. So, the story is essentially about a man with DID who eventually meets a doctor, and one of his personalities falls for her. There is past history and childhood trauma, the whole works. In regards to tropes, this one ticks a lot of boxes, but not in a disinteresting way. The story keeps moving for the most part, and the different personalities make to keep it interesting along the way. There is, of course, a company that everyone's fighting for and this offers some tense exchanges between characters as well as some fun exchanges. Probably the biggest flaw in this was the FL and her brother. The FL can be loud and screamy and though she's numerously pointed out to be a tough character, she often wavers in the face of forcefulness or manipulation. They make up for it in other parts, so it wasn't completely unbearable but I would have liked her to be a bit more consistent. Meanwhile the brother is at times forceful and goes behind her back to what he thinks is right. This unfortunately leads to some tense and frustrating scenes that seemed to have no place except to create extra drama. Despite those annoyances, the skip bar is there for a reason and it's easy to get past those grievances.

Now, the good and the DID. The acting on everyone's part was pretty good, but the one that shined was the ML. Ji Sung delivered a flawless performance as he tackled 5/6 different personalities. If you don't know, DID stands for Dissociative Identity Disorder and generally takes place when a traumatic event happens causing the mind to protect itself. Ji Sung acts as Cha Do Hyun who suffers from this illness and must navigate his day to day life with these other personalities popping out every so often. It makes for some funny and sad adventures. The slow reveal of the story is quite good, and just endure through the subpar CGI as it is a plot device. There were some strings that were left untied in the story, but they weren't super glaring so it wasn't a huge problem. They do address child abuse in here, though it's not too explicit, and I loved how they lightly tackled blame shifting. It was subtle, but it was there and I appreciated it. The OST is AMAZING. I often went back and listened to it over the years before I got around to finishing this, and I still love it.

All in all, a good drama that stays pretty straightforward. I would recommend giving this a go if you're looking for something mildly serious with some romance. Also, just watch for the five different personalities. They made for some very fun and heartbreaking drama watching.

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Started Well

Smi:)e started out well, but the plot gradually diminished as the show progressed.

Starting out, we get a lot of smiles as the title promises. There is the cute FL who has some mystery to her, but enough gumption and drive for her career to make her likeable. Then we have the ML who is handsome and sweet, also with some mystery linked to a childhood trauma. Hint, hint, they're connected. Both of the leads have ptsd from said childhood trauma and I wish we would have gotten more of a focus on them overcoming the trauma. Since I have no problems with well-used clichés, I accepted the CT trope and moved on to follow the romance in search of more of the happiness the first half of the drama gave me. We get a bunch of side characters which were interesting enough, but there's a lot of them, so it got a little tedious following all of their drama. We also get an age-gap second ML, which, again, not an issue, but he got more scenes than the ML thus taking away from the romance plot.

I wish this had stayed mostly focused on the main couple because their chemistry and past history was enough to make the story watchable with just enough angst to keep things going. However, it fell victim the second half of the drama curse and took a sharp turn into angst-ville with a giant helping of evil characters and no smiles. The acting isn't bad at all, but the plotline became messy and canceled out any enjoyment from the first half for me. The ending felt too rushed and I would have liked to delve more into the progression of certain relationships rather than the drama. It wasn't all bad, but definitely fell short on the mark for me.

All in all, not a necessarily bad drama, but it did not deliver on its title for me.

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Surprisingly Fun

First off, light TW for suicidal female character, and scenes with suicidal implications.

I wasn't expecting too much from this drama, and was pleasantly surprised by the ridiculous humor and cheesy yet sweet scenes. There's laughter, romance, and some angst towards the end. The storyline leaves a little to be desired as it's one that we've all heard before. There's tropes aplenty (the accidental fish-eyed kiss in the first episode prepared me mentally for what was to come) and silliness abounds as we follow the CQQ on her misadventures to find out what really happened to her parents.

It all begins with her running away from her wedding and STF escaping her fathers guards. After that, she enters the college where her parents met and continues to follow the clues to the truth. Almost all trope boxes are ticked with the trio of mean girls, innocent best friend, and bad boy brother. Again, nothing new, but certainly an entertaining watch along the way.

My biggest issue with this was the angst that was introduced in the last stretch of the drama. It would have been a home run for me, personally, if they had kept the conflicts much lighter than they did. Introducing a highly delusion and suicidal female character only proved to be detrimental to my enjoyment and felt too forced for my liking. There were a couple extra scenes as well regarding the CQQ's jilted ex that seemed unnecessary as well, but were easy to overlook as they were brief. Other than that, the drama was fun, cute, and the side couples were entertaining. The music was very catchy and nice to listen to, and the acting is what I'd expect from this type of drama with a nice balance between serious and silly.

All in all, a really cute drama if you're looking for something with humor and conflict. Definitely good for a filler watch.

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A Second Chance At Life

Someday or One Day is such a complex series. It feels hard to even write a review or wrap my head around all the feelings left over after watching.

The story starts out with a woman who has lost the love of her life to a plane crash. She finds out through an app that there is someone who looks just like her, and thus follows a twisting and turning series of events. There is body-swapping of sorts, time travel, and a time-crossed love story to capture your attention. The central storyline focuses on the aforementioned woman, and a young girl in high-school who hates her life.

SOD is really about loving yourself, the journey, and treasuring what you have. It is a roller-coaster of so many emotions, and a truly beautiful, albeit bittersweet, story. The acting is perfectly on par and the music is quite lovely. I do have to say, I was a little tired of the main song they used as a method for time travel, but that's to be expected when it's played so often. I am left a little unsatisfied with the bittersweet ending, but thoroughly enjoyed the journey along the way. A little word of warning, the time travel plot-lines can leave your brain feeling like a pretzel mid-way through, so just go with the flow and everything will be explained later on.

All in all, I would recommend if you're looking for a time travel plotline done right with romance and an emotional impact. Someday or One Day was wonderfully executed and will definitely leave its mark.

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A giant scoop of fluffy and angsty tropes

If you're searching for that drama to tick all the original boxes, this isn't it. This is a well-executed, yet trope laden drama.

To start off, our FL has some childhood trauma that has manifested itself into a sleep-walking condition. This results in her being exceptionally vulnerable to the world and the people in it. Enter stage right, our ML. He is everything that our FL needs to cure her illness, but misunderstandings are abundant between the two and a series of comical yet slightly frustrating events follow.

PL is definitely not the worst out there, but certainly not my favorite. It is well made, but I found the storyline focused on only one problem at a time and the misunderstandings took up the majority of the screen time. I definitely wanted more exploration into the two leads background and the side couple as well. I felt there was some lost potential in some places. Where is really picks up is the romance. The ML is so sweet to her once they get together and entirely smitten with everything that is his FL. They bring the fluffiest of fluffy romances to life, and it's absolutely adorable to watch. There are some serious moments in here that are related to the leads pasts, and there is plenty of trauma and angst to pass around the characters. The comical moments in PL did help to keep the mood light, and annoying side characters only stay for mere moments, which was nice.

All in all, if you're looking for something quick and relatively commitment free, I would try this. It's cute in many places, but has just enough plot to keep the story from dragging along.

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The Maze of Adulthood & The Importance of Friends

"If you stay in one place for too long, you can get lost too."

So, to start off, this is not a light drama. It deals with domestic violence, toxic relationships, sexual harassment, and suicidal tendencies. Definitely be cautious if you're sensitive to these sort of things.

The story deals with the in and out daily lives of five girls who live together, all with varying ages, and all who have a hidden secret. It's essentially a coming of age story that deals with the growing pains of becoming an adult, and all the things others don't tell you about life. It was an up and down journey, one full of the worries of life, secret problems, tears, and laughter. And I felt it all along with the character's in the story. The back stories behind all the character's could have ultimately been a little bit more fleshed out, but at twelve episodes they did a fantastic job of of pacing the storyline. It didn't need any fillers as there's a lot to keep track of with the different lives. This is food for the mind, and not really a pure entertainment drama for sure. Along with all the problems they portray, they really did well indicating the importance of the people you surround yourself with. Life is tough, but it get's easier and more enjoyable when you have people to fall back on. There is seriousness here, but also the joys of friendship.

The acting was really good, and very believable. I thought only one actress was a little lacking, but I think that might just have been the shallow-ish character she was portraying. There were so many emotions in this, and all of them were evoking. I enjoyed the acting along with the copious amounts of lessons in this. The music was nice. Though it was nothing too groundbreaking, they definitely set the moods well.

All in all, an enjoyable drama that was a roller-coaster of emotions, and one I would recommend. It's not a fun filler drama though, and should be approached with an open mind.

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"Even as I am living my heart longs for you. Until the moment of death, I will long for you."

Grab your tissues for this one. Hymn of Death is a tragic tale based on the real events of two people who fall in love during the Japanese occupation. It is a no holds barred emotional journey that will make you cry a waterfall of tears. It makes it even sadder knowing it is a true story.

The acting is phenomenal. There are only six episodes, each at thirty minutes long, but they pack a punch. I was drawn in immediately, and my heart wrenched with the storyline as it progressed. From the beginning, they let us know how it is going to end, so it was a bit like getting on a train when you know the tracks end abruptly. It follows the story of two young people who have almost no control of their lives due to outside circumstances, and only wish to be together to the end. There is so much longing conveyed in such a short time. The two main actors really gave their all on this one.

I recommend watching this as their story deserves to be known. The acting, cinematography, and music are amazing as well. When I eventually pick up the pieces of my heart, I am likely to watch this again.

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This is short, sweet, and to the point.

Because Of You centers around three half brothers who eventually pair off with their respective partners. It left a smile on my face and had me laughing at some points. This is not a deep, explored plot so don't expect to get a lot of world building. The length is more like a movie turned mini series. I really wish we had gotten to delve into the story and character/relationship development with this one. It was far too short for my liking as I would have happily watched more of the cute couples. The ending felt a tad abrupt just because there was no time for filler get to know you episodes, but the ending is sweet so I'm not upset. The alternating Korean and Chinese dialogue had been brain in knots, but it was cool to hear the two integrated so seamlessly.

All in all, a cute and short watch that's good if you're looking for something light with no strings attached. Definitely give it a try.

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This had so much potential, so where did it go wrong?

Let's start with the positive. The acting was superb and the cast was full of people who committed to their roles wonderfully. I enjoyed everyone's characters and journeys along the way. I do want to see LMH as a bloodthirsty villain now because I enjoyed him so much as a smart but unyielding ruler. If you're looking for plot (there was a little to much but we'll get to that later) this has that too. Smart and badass female lead, lovely relationships, and wonderful comedic moments also graced The Eternal Monarch. Watching this was very much delving into a fanciful world of time travel, plot twists, and star crossed (or in this case world crossed) romance. It was a fun ride that arrived at a satisfying destination.

Also, I will forever treasure my little ghost ship of Jo Young and Lee Gon. Okay, moving on.

So that brings this to where it went wrong. First of all, the editors should be fired, and the writers bonked well on the head. The plot was there and had so much potential, but somewhere along the way it got lost in the war between the romance and the plot twists. There was so much world and character building that there were simultaneously too much going on, and still a few loose ends to be tied up by the end. Secondly, the editing was all over the place. There were honestly moments where I was looking at the screen lost, my brain trying it's best to tie all the lost strings together. Not sure what happened there. The romance between the two main's was a little abrupt as well, but they had good chemistry so I didn't mind. Third, and very last, was all the BLATANT product placement. Not even Thai dramas are that bad. I understand the need for it, but it definitely could have been toned down to be a little less in your face. It interfered with moments and brought me out of the setting.

In the end though, it really isn't bad, and the acting is what kept me going until the very end. It's full of plot twists, worthy characters, and sweet relationships. All in all, give this a try and see for yourself. Not a masterpiece, but worth a watch.

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What would you do to protect the one you love?

This drama revolves around Lee An, Jae In, Seung Mo, and Sueng Mo's mother. The story starts with an apartment fire that greatly affects all the main characters within the story, and continues to follow their lives many years later to show their lives after the incident. There are a lot of side characters, and even though it says the main ML is Jinyoung's character, it centers instead on Seung's Mo's underlying tragic life story. Be ready for some twists and turns on this one. The writer's took their time revealing the whole picture bit by bit through Le An's psychometric abilities and you're at the mercy of his journey.

Jinyoung's and Kim Kwon's acting is on par for this one and really carried the drama, but the FL felt a tad unreachable to me. The OST is lovely, but should have been used more. The plot line had a few holes in it and seemed to lack something I just couldn't put my finger on. I did enjoy the twist and turns and that the second villain admitted to his wrong doings. The ending felt a little lackluster after all the puzzle pieces were finally put in place, but this was also one of those drama's where the second half was much better than the first. Everything was there for a near perfect drama formula, but something got lost along the way.

All in all, I really wanted to like this one more than I did, but it felt reminiscent of Kill It and Memorist, both of which felt like they were missing something. I would still recommend giving it a try if you're in for a mystery/thriller and light romance type drama.

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This would have probably been one of my favorite from the HIStory series, if not for the muddled ending. It's such a lovely portrayal of finding the right one for you. It poses the difficult question of how much you would do to achieve your love.

Acting was really good, I had fun watching all the characters interact with each other. Both couples were so endearing in their own way, and I found myself falling in love with them over the course of the drama. The chemistry between the couples was really good as well. This is definitely the most explicit HIStory series. Music wasn't really at the forefront of Make Our Days Count. I think they concentrated more on the characters, which is fine with me. HIStory doesn't really focus on the music side of things, more so on the plot the majority of the time. The story is pretty basic, but the actors really bring you in, and I enjoyed getting to know them along the way. Both couples get relatively equal screen as well which is happy.

That being said, I haven't officially finished this series. I avoided the last episode, because I think it might break my heart the watch the last one. I might get around to it, but after watching Yu Xi and A-hao work hard to be together for eighteen episodes, it's unlikely I'll submit myself to that.

All in all, a really good drama, and super fun to watch. If you're fine with mixed endings, then you're a braver soul than I. If you are not, skip the last episode and nothing will be missed.

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As a binge watcher, when I first discovered My Engineer, I told myself to wait until it was finished. Then I figured watching a couple episodes wouldn't hurt. Then I found myself excitedly waiting for a new episode each week. It has it charms about it, and I'm so hyped for season 2. Also, all the couples got pretty much equal screen time which is unusual for BL's, and that made my heart really happy.

The acting in here is really good, and most of the characters are likable. The ending is satisfying while leaving plenty of room for character development, which I feel like season 2 is going to be jam packed with.

My little ship of RamxKing is my favorite and those two are really good actors. Their storyline was interesting and had substance, and their chemistry was great. Perth and Talay are wonderful in their roles, especially since Perth's character doesn't talk much, and he has to convey his emotions with his expressions. I'm definitely biased for this ship and they could probably do no wrong in my eyes, but I thought both of them did a wonderful job.

Bohn and Duen are that one couple that's going to annoy everyone. Most dramas have them. The drama is super dramatic (Surprise surprise) and the lack of skinship and actually acting like a couple makes it a little difficult to connect or like the couple. But they do struggle with real misunderstandings that new couples deal with so there's that. The fact that both of them are dealing with a real relationship for the first time made it easier to give them passes on certain things.

Mek and Boss are sweet, and a cute couple, but won't carry on into season two due to Mek's actor being fired. They are fun to watch though and super sweet.

Thara and Frong are the sweet weird ones, and I'm super ready to see them in the next season. Thara is such a strange nugget, but his character is lovable and caring. Frong deserves his happy ending after how he dealt with giving Duen up. I live for this series development and general lack and malicious revenge characters. There is one, but he has two very short scenes. Everybody's acting is on point, and I loved all the side characters to bits. It's such a light and wonderful series. This one is going to be a hit or miss for a lot of people, but definitely give it a try! It was a fun roller-coaster of emotions.

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The best way to describe this series is an onion. It has a lot of layers that you have to peel away bit by bit, and it's definitely going to make you cry at some point. The pace goes back and forth on the way, from slow to fast, and some parts are hard to keep track of, but sticking to it was definitely worth it. The slow reveal and multiple storylines ensure a heartbreaking satisfying ride. The bad guys got their just desserts and the good guys got their happy ending.

The acting in this is well done, and the OST is lovely. While the pace sometimes made it hard to keep with the story, I'm glad I didn't quit. Because they take their time revealing every little intricate detail (And there are a lot. Sooo many storylines to follow) it took a little longer to get to the end, but it was great to see the loose ends tied up. All in all, this drama was a thrilling roller-coaster of emotions and so well thought out. They skated in at the last second with the happy ending, and I don't regret watching it. Definitely give it a try.

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