enjoyable rollercoaster

This is one of those well-produced dramas with large cast. The story will keep you glued to your seat as it doesn't drag. Also... no one is dubbed :) The ending is very satisfying too.

I had zero expectations, thought it's another cheesy drama but first few episodes had me hooked already. The story is full of twists, when you think you had it figured out, suddenly there's a new developement you didn't expect. I was worried about the lenght, usually 30+ episodes dramas tend to drag and be full of fillers but this one is very well-paced. You get to know the characters well, and the world they live in is fleshed out properly. Yea, often the logic goes out the door, but I consider this drama to be bit on the scifi fantasy side so I don't mind. One good thing is the characters have flaws, and grow as the story develops. There's conflict and all that. The main villain is very comedic so the viewer might forget his atrocities...

The comedy in idol dramas tends to be very hit or miss for me, but this time? All the comedic scenes fit the story well and add extra flavour. I would laugh a lot while watching. There were also scenes more on the melodramatic side, that did felt out of place at times but it's not a big deal. I enjoyed the story for what it is. The romantic element didn't overshadow the main story, and wasn't even the main core of the story imho, which is rare in this type of dramas. Love became a motivation for the characters, but there was so much going on at the same time.

The cast did a great job, and no one stood out negatively (to me). Yea, there were rough spots when it comes to younger cast but it wasn't grating. The older cast did a great job, everyone did their best and it shows. Music was okay, nothing to wrote home about.

Overall, this is a must watch if you enjoy more comedic, light yet larger than life stories with a lot going on. There are many characters and story is fast-paced so you won't get bored. This drama was a very pleasant surprise to me and I had a lot fun watching.

Lire davantage

poignant tale about what it means to be alone

This is one of those dramas that make you really question your life choices. It's a slow, down to earth story. While male lead is comfortable being alone and finds being on his own fulfilling, the female lead can't seem to stand being alone and even eating alone makes her uneasy.
Modern society still can't make their mind up when it comes to loneliness and this drama challenges that. Is being alone miserable? Or can it be a concious choice? Do we really need a company? Is there really a void to fill?

I didn't expect to like this drama as much as I did. There are parts of the story that dragged on for too long for my liking, which affects my score. There is also a questionable PPL from MLM company, but I tried my best to ignore since it's not a central part of plot. Also there were parts that weren't really realistic, but in general it's fine by me - it's a drama after all :) Not gonna lie, the last few episodes surprised me with some developements. For a slower paced slice of life drama there weren't any filler episodes either.
I liked the "interview" interludes and how each episode ask you a different question regarding stuff such as marriage or life choices.
Music plays big part in how the story is told, and gives the drama a cozy, mellow feel. I find myself often listening to the songs featured, especially Maybe Maybe by The Chairs.
The acting is good and believeable, compliments the story and no one seems out of place.

Overall it's a drama worth watching. It has flaws, but at the end I don't mind them as much. I will go back to this one for sure.

Lire davantage

missed the mark

After solid first season and okay sequel, the third installment of It's Okay to be Sensitive series is simply confusing.
It felt like the writers intended this season to be more mature and have less cookie cutter webdrama feel, but it backfired. The open endings maybe were supposed to be realistic, but execution made them just flustrating. I liked the characters and wanted to know them better but the writers gave us crumbs in terms of developements or conclusion. Acting was good and so is the OST.
If the story was supposed to be darker, the only way the darkness showed up was cinematography. I had to up brightness on my device. And one of the episodes is straight up weird, the story is very 'how could you come up with something like this?'.
Overall, it's an okay drama but I won't rewatch it.

Lire davantage

compelling but disappointing

Disclaimer: I have read the novel but haven't seen the older adaptation.

This is one of those dramas that have flaws but you still keep on watching. The story is rather interesting. Even though unrequited crushes plot are dime a dozen in dramaland, this one features a female lead who uses her affection as a driving force. Actually pursuing relationship with her crush isn't really a priority for her. It still happens as the drama progresses, but the way it develops is also full of twists and turns.

One of the things I liked a lot was the OST. Rarely I go out of my way to listen to songs featured in dramas, but here the music really works for the story and sets the mood.
Another was the friendships featured in the drama, especially between Luo Zhi and Baili.

The acting is pretty decent, everyone seems to be on a similar level and the big ensemble cast works well together. Majority of characters grow as the story progesses, and character developement is very prominent. The amount of ill-willed characters is sometimes overwhelming though.
Both leads did a good job as "two geniuses" and I pretty much have no complaints. Especially female lead is a more composed, calm type of character that can be hard to find in dramas, and the actress nailed it.

The story is right up my alley, so I'm obviously biased, but I liked it. Yes, it drags and is flustrating sometimes, but it more or less makes sense. There are cliches and also plots I wish would get less screentime though.
The idea of male lead being someone worth yearning for 15 years isn't easy to translate onto screen, and I felt like excution of that was lacking. At the same time, the novel isn't really about him being a perfect guy, but just someone the female lead likes for what he is. She likes him for him, but for a watcher it sure can be confusing.

One major gripe I have is pacing. As much I understand why there were new plots added to the original story, I wish (especially at the ending) that wouldn't come at cost of original novel plot. This is a decent adaptation that more or less emulates the feel of novel, but at the same time I wish the ending chapters would get more screentime. The beginning part could be compressed into less episodes of you ask me. Also all the flashbacks, present in every episode, had me fast forward. I'm really not a fan of rushed endings either...

One thing for sure, this drama is not for everyone. It's slower and abudance of "villains" can be tiring. I enjoyed it for what it is and had good time watching, but at the same time, I'm not sure if I would wholeheartedly recommend it to just anyone.

Lire davantage

charming but lacking

This webdrama stood out to me because of the fortune telling part. I like themes like that and was excited to see how it goes.
Female lead's father is a fortune teller, and she is told she will meet 3 guys this year. But has to choose wisely as only one of them will make her life better.

I liked the overall feel of this drama, but there were quite few plot holes. We don't even get to know Namjoo that well, she is just someone obssesed with boys, doesn't even seem to have a job or anything. The other male characters have more depth to them, but acting is lacking a bit so it's hard to root for anyone really. The male friend was the most likeable one to me, as the male lead was.. just there. I don't know if he was directed to emote that way, but I just didn't feel much chemistry between him and the female lead.

To me the main highlight of this webdrama was Eunjoo's father. It's easy to overact when your character is so larger than life but the actor really pulled it off. I liked his scenes a lot, he added a lot to the series.

Last episode ended with a cliffhanger, so I guess we might get a second season? It feels off to rate it now, given the story is still not finished yet.

Lire davantage

bittersweet young love

I had 0 expectations for this one, and was pleasently surprised. Maybe the story is nothing new, but it's still a good, quick watch. 12 episodes without much filler.

Most of the story is set in 2008, with flashbacks to current time. I liked how well-placed the 2020s scenes were, and also we could get a tease of what happened to the characters after they graduated. Still, not that much was told, so whatever was happening in last 2 episodes still had me surprised. The pace of 2008 story isn't perfect, I felt like the misunderstandings were happening too often and honestly I felt flustrated at times. Still, every episode had enough developements to keep me glued to the screen in anticipation. The final story developements weren't easy to guess either.
As much as I don't care for "ugly duckling" stories, this one had female lead question her makeover in a refreshing way, at least to me.

The acting is good, the real star is the music to me. I enjoyed hearing again all the songs that were hits back in 2008. The art direction is also pretty nice, they nailed the aesthetic of that time.

I'm pretty sure a lot of people might end up complaining about the last two episodes, but as much as I was lowkey mad myself, after thinking.... it made sense. People miss chances all the time, albeit we watch dramas to escape that sad reality. The last scene was a nice wrap though.

Watch this drama if you don't mind slice of life approach and you like high school growing pains stories enough not to get flustrated at teenagers' choices.

Lire davantage

typical coming of age movie

I watched it for the main leads. The story is very predictable and at time flustrating. It felt like the characters weren't that well-developed, both leads and supporting one. I was supposed to root for them but somewhat they all felt so 2d. The only remotely interesting characters were male lead and female lead's sister. Acting is okay, the second leads are bit of... just there? Being more of plot device than fleshed out characters.
Plot itself isn't anything to write home about either. Overplayed growing pains story that lacks certain charm that would make it stand out among the crowd of similarly themed movies. There are youth movies filled with cliches that have that spark but this one lacks it. Little chemistry and the slow developement doesn't help.
This movie isn't anything special really, there are better movies in that genre worth your time. If you like the actors then I guess you can watch it as fluff filler story when you run out of stuff to watch.

Lire davantage

love and sex in Playlist Cinematic Universe

This webdrama reminded me of It's Okay To Be Sensitive. Both are about current societal issues regarding sexual education or gender equality. Growing Season seems to be a part of Playlists' somewhat more mature drama lineup, along with My Fuxxing Romance or XX.
This drama tries to be serious and show less cookie cutter side of life and romance, but after 5-6 episodes it inevitably turns into typical fluffy webdrama. The beggining plot about main characters preparing a group project is overshadowed by 3 main couples and their problems. One plus is having young adults as leads, as webdramas focused on teens can be very hit or miss. This drama has more R rated content, so older characters are a must.
Pacing is also bit off, first 3-4 episodes drag some plots, then things shuffle fast to another draggy episodes and then rushed ending arc.
Acting is okay, nothing to write home about.
One of the couples is a co-habitating one, and I was bit irritated by how the characters seemingly had progressed, but it was written in a flustrating way. Other two are actually fun to watch, I liked them both.
Growing Season tries to be a bit of educational, more realistic webdrama but that aspect falls flat after couple of episodes.

Watch it if you wanna see an easy to digest typical Playlist fare. Everyone has perfect makeup and trendy clothes and colours are saturated. There are multiple easy to spot PPLs and episodes are perfectly tailored to grab your attention for 10-20 precious minutes. Everything ends well and it's another good day in Playlist cinematic universe.
It's less sugary than their other dramas and conflicts are more down to earth, but what drags it down is the writing.

Lire davantage