March and April 2024 Drama Reviews May 1, 2024

March and April 2024 Drama Reviews

Wedding Impossible

This drama is about A-Jeong (Jun Jong-Seo) who has been working as a extra in dramas and movies for many years and has been waiting for her big break without much success. She has a friend Lee Do-Han (Kim Do-Wan) who she has known since high school and he is a son of the LJ Group and his grandfather wants him to take over the company and to get married. Lee Do-Han doesn’t want to get married and asks his friend A-Jeong to take on the role of his wife and help disrupt his grandfather’s plans. The one problem is Do-Han’s brother Lee Ji-Han who wants his brother to take over the company so she tries to disrupt the marriage between his brother and A-Jeong.

I didn’t like this drama and found it to feel illogical and boring most of the time. The only parts of the drama that were entertaining and interesting was when A-Jeong was working as a extra on different sets and was using her special skills to do the roles. It was just weird Lee Do-Han has this big secret that he doesn’t want anyone to know and because of this he doesn’t to take over the company and really all he had to do was tell his secret to his grandfather and it would have solved the problem. It felt like most of the plot was unnecessary and superfluous and it wasn’t fun or exciting either. I did not find the love story to be interesting or compelling and I didn’t really feel the chemistry between the characters either. They would just randomly follow each other around and even the characters motivation and thoughts didn’t really feel like they made sense or felt right.

I feel like just because a webtoon does well doesn’t mean that if they decide to make it into a drama will automatically mean success especially if they aren’t following the webtoon closely. They seem to think as long as they have the support from the webtoon they can just do whatever they want and people will watch it. I haven’t read the webtoon but I am assuming they didn’t follow the webtoon closely. I feel like even though dramas will have the same type of tropes like the rich guy/poor girl story lines for example it was still enjoyable to watch. This somehow couldn’t even bring met the simple joys of watching fun tv tropes. The script was bad and the acting was much better so I wouldn’t recommend this drama.

Branding in Seongsu

It is about a woman who is a marketing team leader and is a cold woman that excels in her job and after an incident she clashes with her intern who is the opposite of her and they end up switching bodies. I had to quit this drama after a few episodes it was just too much for me when they started working on s*x toys. They really were trying to be liberal with this drama and that might be because it is a online streaming service but it was gross to me. I can have tolerance for cheesy acting or storylines but when it gets perverted I am going to drop the drama. Also the story line was really boring like they have so much to work with and funny scenarios of switching bodies and for some reason they made it so bland. I didn’t like anything in this drama from the few episodes that I watched. I do not recommend!

Don’t Dare to Dream/ Jealousy Incarnate

I watched this drama even though it was an older drama from 2016. It stars Pyo Na-Ri (Kong Hyo-Jin) who is a weather caster that wants to take her last chance of becoming an anchor and she runs into her old crush Lee Hwa-Shin (Cho Jung-Seok) who has come back from abroad and will be back at the station again. They meet in the hospital and she helps him through his health crisis and in the process she meets his rich and caring friend Ko Jung-Won (Ko Kyoung-Pyo) who she starts to date. Even though this is an older drama it was so entertaining and interesting that it is still worth watching. It felt like a refreshing drama to watch since it has an interesting love triangle that is full of comedy and interesting characters. I never got bored with this drama even though it had 24 episodes.

The only thing that is a bit hard was Lee Hwa-Shin’s character is very much a jerk at the beginning of the drama and it is a bit hard to understand his character and I have hard time rooting for his character. I feel like he could have matured a bit more in this drama but he does mature somewhat throughout this drama. I also love the friendship between Hwa-Shin and Jung-Won and how the immaturity between each other also leads to growth by the end of the drama. The love triangle felt a bit fresh then most dramas and how they dealt with it and I found it entertaining.

I think it is important to note that people can grow but that doesn’t always mean that they can completely change into what you want. I think growth and helping someone to grow isn’t the same as trying to change someone into someone that you need. I really loved the comedy in this drama it is hard to find good romantic comedies that are actually funny. All the characters are interesting and add a lot to the drama. I would highly recommend this drama and I don’t really have anything bad to say about this drama.

My Dearest 1 and 2

This drama is about the Qing invasion during Joseon period that happened in 1637. It stars Yoo Gil-Chae (Ahn Eun-Jin) who is a carefree young noblewoman that has all the confidence in the world and even though all the men in the village think she is beautiful the one man she wants she cannot have as he is engaged to her friend. She meets Lee Jang-Hyun (Namkoong Min) a unique man that comes to their village and wants to settle down here for a while. Soon enough the invasion starts happening and Jang-Hyun may be the only man that Gil-Chae is able to rely on to get her through this tumultuous period.

The first episode or so I was not getting why this drama was so popular as the characters seemed somewhat obnoxious to me but I realized this drama is going to be about growth. They had to start somewhere with the characters so we can realize how they are going to change. Also there was talk about how the drama was somewhat based on Gone with the Wind. So the drama starts off with the typical type of drama but when the invasion happens the drama takes a sharp turn and they have to deal with terrible circumstances and everything starts to feel more meaningful and interesting. Emotions and feelings become heightened and this is where we start to see growth and leadership and it gets interesting.

This is an epic type of drama that has many twists and turns throughout and has many exciting and touching moments and many heart breaking ones. I think this is one of best dramas that I have seen in a long time. I think though the ending felt a bit drawn out I think they could have just given us a happy ending sooner. I can’t say I really have much for complaints I think it was a great drama that I would highly recommend.

Three Dads

This is a Japanese drama that seems to be based on 3 men and a baby. It is about three men that live together as roommates and one day someone leaves a baby and a note saying to take care of him that he is the father. None of them know who the father could be so they decide to just take care of the baby in the meantime hoping the Mother will come back. It is a simple and silly drama that is more light hearted and cute with only 10 episodes. Honestly it doesn’t really make sense that they don’t do a paternity test immediately because I think in reality you would have done it right away. Also they do a weird documentary style with this drama which doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense but you can tell they aren’t taking it super seriously. I mean there are some serious moments within the drama and the baby is adorable. The ending is pretty decent and I was still surprised with how it all ends so it a interesting, easy going type of drama. Not really the best drama but it was somewhat entertaining.

My Boss

This is a Chinese drama about Cheng Yao who is a new lawyer and gets an amazing job at a top lawyer firm and when she moves into her new apartment she finds out that the apartment has also been rented out to her new boss Qian Heng. She is trying her hardest at work and then has to come home and deal with a stubborn and hard to deal boss at home. I typically don’t really love modern Chinese dramas because they aren’t that well done but this one had some charm that made me want to keep watching. It is a typical love story that doesn’t really have anything that different or new but I guess I enjoyed watching the two leads. I have to say the character Cheng Yao I felt was somewhat annoying especially I found it hard to believe that she was professional lawyer most of the time. I wish they could have portrayed her as a more intelligent and professional because it felt like she seemed too childish at times. I think it a nice fluffy type of drama but I also wasn’t expecting much from this drama and thought it was decent for a Chinese modern style of drama.

Amidst a Snowstorm of Love

This is another Chinese drama that was getting quite a bit of hype so I thought I would also check out another modern drama. It is about Yin Guo who is a professional billiards player that decided to join a tournament in Hel and goes with her brother. In the middle of snowstorm she meets Lin Yi Yang who lives there helps them get a taxi and they make a connection with each other. As they spend more time with each other it is discovered that Lin Yi Yang has a deep history with billiards and is considered a genius in the sport.

This drama has a totally different feel then the typical modern Chinese drama and I think this is why it was getting a lot of attention. I think this drama at times is more about what is not being said between the characters and focuses more on the chemistry of the characters. I think that is what keeps the mystery and intrigue of the characters because they don’t talk much and it feels mysterious. You have to pay attention to the looks and body language and picking up silent cues. I mean at times I was so frustrated watching them on the screen because I’m like just say something to him. He will ask her if she has any questions and she never asks them and I am screaming like just ask him anything. Please just even ask what he is studying in college. So I found it somewhat unrealistic because it is hard to have a relationship if you don’t talk and the awkwardness would just kill me.

I also really wished they would have explained the different rules of the billiards games. I don’t know anything about billiards and I found it confusing at times when watching the matches. Also the show is definitely slow going and the amount of naps that they have are actually crazy, they really should have cut down on episodes if they were just going to nap alone or together every episode. Yin Guo’s character also made me frustrated at times especially when they are dating and he tries to be affectionate with her and always turns her head when he tries to kiss her. I like how they tried to do something different but I think it could have definitely been improved upon with the script but I think it is worth checking out.

Upcoming Dramas

Lovely Runner

This drama is about a woman who goes back in time after her favorite kpop star has committed suicide. She goes back to when they were still in school and wants to do her best to help make sure that the accidents don’t happen and she wants to be able to change the future.

Missing Crown Prince

This drama is a historical drama about the crown prince that gets kidnapped by his future wife. They have to go on the run and they do so together and love will blossom between each other.

Hide

This drama is about a lawyer who’s husband goes missing and she is left with many questions in his stead and has to pick up the pieces that he left behind. She starts to question every aspect of her life that she shared with her husband.

February and March 2024 Drama Reviews March 13, 2024

February and March 2024 Drama Reviews

My Happy Ending

This drama is about Seo Jae-Won (Jang Na-Ra) who is a CEO of a successful furniture company and quite well known by the media. She really has a perfect life with her husband Heo Soon Young (Son Ho-Jun) who is so patient and understanding and their little girl. She works very hard at building her company that she even has a stalker and things start taking a dark turn when she starts getting attacked and doesn’t know who to trust anymore.

This drama started out so good and was so thrilling for the first half of the drama and it really made you think about who is betraying her and trying to ruin her. There are a few leads that you have to think about and I really loved how exciting and it just kept you somewhat confused with the different leads. I really wanted the drama to continue in the same fashion, but unfortunately, I guess they had to reveal things slowly and I feel like it really started to lose some of the freshness and excitement the drama had earlier. I really did not like who they made the mastermind of it at the end because the motive was pretty convoluted. It just didn’t make sense for this person to take things this far. It just seems like jealousy was a pretty weak angle that this person would do these things and it just didn’t line up in my head. Again this drama probably had too many episodes so they just kinda ran out of material and had to keep adding different scenarios.

I have to say that they did try to delve a bit into mental illness with this drama which I thought was interesting. I like that they did try to normalize going to get therapy and being on medication that is prescribed by a doctor. I feel like this is a touchy subject especially in South Korea and I liked they tried to show an individual that needs help, but yet can still function well with some support. It wasn’t a perfect portrayal, but I admire they tried to bring this subject to the forefront of the drama. It also shows that mental illness can be caused by trauma and things that are out of our control and that it is okay to go and speak to someone about your past and things that happened to you.

I thought this drama started out strong, got a bit lost, but was still a decent thriller drama!

Love Song For Illusion

The drama is about a crown prince Sajo Hyun (Park Ji-Hoon) who has an oppressive father who he watched kill a whole family so that he could become King. He has a hard time dealing with being the son that his Father wants and developed a second personality who he calls an evil spirit Ak-Hee. He gets switched with his personality every time he sleeps so he often avoids going to sleep as long as he can. It also stars Yeon Wol (Hong Ye-Ji) who is the sole survivor from her family that the current King exterminated. Her sole focus in life is to go and kill the king and avenge her family’s death. She comes across the Crown Prince and meets both personalities and Ak-Hee falls in love with her.

I thought this could be a fun drama about a man with two personalities, but unfortunately I did not find as fun as I thought it could be. It also really delved into the whole spiritual side of it being an evil spirit so I skipped over those parts quite a bit and yet funnily it seemed to have little impact in understanding the story line. I personally see the 2^nd personality as a version of Sajo Hyun that is brought out because he couldn’t deal with the trauma that his Father causes. It was a way to protect himself, he created his own protector. Honestly over time it was confusing who we were supposed to be cheering for because at times Sajo Hyun gets tiring and Ak-Hee seems so refreshing and it all gets mixed up over time. I would have preferred them acknowledging that Ak-Hee was just a part of Sajo and that it was okay for Yeon Wol to care about him as well. This drama was also just too long and they really dragged it out for the ending.

One good thing is that it a good ending, even though it seems like a rushed ending. It was strange because they had so much time to end it properly but for some reason didn’t want to do that. I feel like they should give us more time when the couple gets together at the end it also just seems to end before we can even see them together. Also it seemed a bit weird that the main lead had a wife and its kinda weird because it just seems to be somewhat ignored. As long as they don’t have a kid together and he ignores her then it is okay.

This is just a mediocre fantasy/romcom drama.

Kissing The Ring Finger

This is a Japanese drama about Ayaka Haneda (Kanna Hashimoto) who is considered to be a beautiful woman that men seem to all fall in love with but she comes from a large but poor family. Because all the men fall in love with her she struggles to keep a job for a long period of time as it causes problems in her workplace. She is newly hired as a wedding planner and meets Togo Nitta (Ryosuke Yamada) the CEO of her company and he proposes marriage to her.

So this is a typical drama where it is a contract marriage and of course they promise not to fall in love with each other, but we all know what is going to happen. There isn’t anything really that unique or different in this type of drama, but yet it is still a fun ride and it doesn’t get boring since there is only 10 episodes. I have to say the exaggerated acting that is common in Japanese dramas doesn’t seem to be too much in this drama. There was nothing super mind blowing about this drama but it a decent easy going watch!

Plus-Sized Misadventures in Love!

This is a Japanese drama that is about Yumeko who almost dies in accident and when she awakens she has no memories from her life and instead has a bubbly and happy personality. She has struggled with her looks and was bullied and when she loses her memory she is able to become happy to be herself and is bursting with confidence. I was a bit hesitant to watch this drama because I wasn’t sure if they were going to be making fun of her looks in this drama but I am glad I did check this drama out because it is so quirky and endearing!

I love Yumeko’s personality so much in this drama and she is just so lovely that you can’t help but just love her! It is so much fun to watch her and see how she approaches tough situations. It was short again with 10 episodes and I wish it was longer or they would make another season. It did have some dark moments as it touches on suicide and the struggles she faced with being bullied for her looks. The one thing was it has a bit of overacting in this drama but yet it somewhat seems to fit her character at times. I found this drama to be pretty heart warming and really enjoyed this short drama!

Derailment

This is a Chinese drama that is about Jian Xiao Yuan who finds herself stuck in a parallel universe. In her world she was from a rich family that didn’t lack anything and now has come to a place where she has absolutely nothing and when she tries to phone her Father she calls Qi Lian who seems to know who she is in this world. Qi Lian is looking for a friend that disappeared from this current world and figures Xiao Yuan is connected to this. I thought this was a interesting drama that really held my attention almost all the way through the 30 episodes. I find that it was a bit too long with too many flashbacks that I tend to fast forward through anyway.

I really enjoyed the actress that played Xiao Yuan and her performance and found the story to be really interesting how she always strives to do her best and figure out her problems. Even though it has the fantasy element I also enjoyed just watching the ordinary things like trying to excel in her job and I like how the main leads don’t really get together until later on. I find it gets so boring when the main leads get together to early and then there isn’t really anywhere to go, there is no tension.

So the ending and the truth is not what I expected and seems really different but I love the journey that you go on with the drama. I like dramas that make you think or have good plot twists and it feels that way because you spend so much time believing one thing about the characters and then the truth comes out and it is completely different and makes you look at the characters and something completely different. Sure there is some things that weren’t perfect in this drama but I thought it was a decent drama that kept me engaged until the end. I would recommend this drama if you like a good psychological drama with plot twists!

The Autumn Ballad

This is a Chinese, Historical drama that is about a young girl Qiu Yan who gets married and the groom dies before they even finish the ceremony and her life is being threatened that she caused his death and should be buried with him. She has to rely on a cold man who is a Duke named Lian Yi who is crafty and always has a motive for everything he does. Qiu Yan is a very interesting character as she is very smart and seems to be able to get herself out of situation using her brain. She meets Lian Yi who is able to see through all her clever schemes and the way she can manipulate the people around her. It is really a match of their wits and often they have to work together to both achieve their goals.

Watching the dynamics of them two is enough of a reason to check out this drama. This drama also never stops moving at a fast pace and I keep thinking things can’t get worse for the female lead and things just keep getting worse. This drama would surprise me all the time and the plot twists keep coming all the time. I really enjoyed the ride of this drama. Even with 34 episodes it didn’t really feel that long and I kept wanting to keep watching more of this drama. One thing I didn’t like was the ending, I get they are trying to make her a strong female lead that doesn’t really believe in love, but I really craved a good ending for the main leads. I wished they would have given us time with them as a couple. I would say it was a great drama except for the ending. I really thought there was great chemistry between the main leads and I thought this was a very good drama.

Upcoming Dramas

Wedding Impossible

This drama is about an actress that has worked as a extra for a long time without being recognized in the industry and is having a tough time. Her friend is back in town and he doesn’t want to get married to the woman that chaebol family picked out for him and doesn’t want to inherit the company so he wants to hire her to be his wife. His brother wants him to inherit the company so he wants to stop this marriage from happening.

Branding in Seongsu

It is about a woman who is a marketing team leader and is a cold woman that excels in her job and after an incident she clashes with her intern who is the opposite of her and they end up switching bodies.

October and November 2023 November 24, 2023

October and November 2023 Drama Reviews

CEO-dol Mart

This drama is about a former idol boy group called Thunder Boys that after a tragedy got disbanded and they find out years later that they were given Boram Mart and they all come together after not keeping in contact and have to decide whether they are going to sell the mart or try and make it work and run a mart. It stars Choi Ho-Rang (Lee Sin-Young) who is the leader of Thunder Boys and is always trying his best to take care of everyone. It also stars Shin Tae-Ho (Xiumin) who is often causing problems and is considered immature. The 5 members also need help in running the mart and Oh Ye-Rim (Choi Jung-Woon) a former employee also joins them to help them out as she is struggling to land a job.

It is a short drama with 10 episodes and so it doesn’t really get too far with the story line and it is more of a feel-good, heart warming story of friendship and working together. I didn’t really have high hopes for this drama because it just didn’t look like a big budget drama but I surprisingly enjoyed the moments of the drama even though it is a bit on the cheesier side. You want to root for them to be able to work together and find happiness but it ends really quickly and they didn’t really get time to develop the characters or even a love line. It definitely felt like a rushed ending and with the possibility that there could be a new season but I highly doubt that it will continue on. It had some awkward acting and unrealistic elements to this drama but I just enjoyed the happy silly mood of the drama, it didn’t bother me too much. Also if you are fans of the idols in the drama it would make sense to watch it!

If you just want to watch a simple, feel-good drama I would recommend.

Battle For Happiness

This drama is about Oh Yoo-Jin (Park Hyo-Joo) who is a mother and social media influencer, she is running the show at her children’s kindergarten and among the parents. She is fierce and keeps all the other Mother’s in check while looking perfect on social media. Jang Mi-Ho (Lee El) works in the marketing department for a bank and comes across Oh Yoo-Jin’s applicant for a contest and is reminded of their past with each other. She gets back in contact with her and wants to work out the differences they had in the past with each other but is unable to do so as Yoo-Jin doesn’t want to cooperate and before she can fix the problem there is a murder that happens and Mi-Ho has to try and figure out what happened.

I think this drama started out strong and had a lot of potential to be one of intrigue and suspense but the writing got worse as the episodes went on and not to mention this drama has 16 episodes that just seemed too long! What was the most tiring was Mi-Ho’s character, she would just run headlong into situations and not even develop a plan or do anything smart! In real life she would have been killed after a few times of trying that out. I mean if you think someone was the murderer you shouldn’t just outright accuse them, I mean develop a plan and watch them or try to befriend them and check them out. Honestly Yoo-Jin’s character would have been way better at figuring out the mystery and much less frustrating even though she wasn’t really a good character. The way Mi-Ho acted around the real murderer was so stupid in the last episodes and it was like she lacked all common sense. Even I watched all the episodes I still don’t really get the feud between Mi-Ho and Yoo-Jin which if you made the central part of the drama, you would think the writer would make it very clear and it would have been portrayed better how they were each wrong. I still don’t get what Mi-Ho really did to Yoo-Jin and why she needs to be apologetic towards Yoo-Jin? It just didn’t feel like Yoo-Jin had enough conviction to hate Mi-Ho. Yoo-Jin made her own decisions and how she ended up was her own fault. It was also a little much that all the men portrayed in this drama was pretty much evil and garbage human beings, it reminds me of the Queen of Masks and how all the men were portrayed in the same way and has the same type of themes.

I think it was interesting for the first couple of episodes but the only reason I hung in there was it was fun to see her taking care of the two little girls and becoming a better person because she had someone to take care of. I still felt compelled to watch the show because you want to figure out what happened and that is the only reason to keep watching. I still I’m not sure what the moral of the story of this drama was? Yoo-Jin tried to have the perfect family but it was completely fake ? I feel like the person that needed to learn the lesson died so it just feels unsatisfactory? This story just seemed to be convoluted and there seemed to be loose ends at the ending that don’t get cleaned up.

It is definitely a melodrama and not the best one out there but it does take you on a ride.

Twinkling Watermelon

This drama is about a high school student Eun Gyeol (Ryeo Un) who is struggling as a child of parents that are deaf. He really wants to play music but he doesn’t want his Father to know because he doesn’t think he will understand. He then mysteriously travels back in time when his parents are teenagers and He meets his father Han Yi-Chan (Choi Hyun-Wook) and the girl that his father has a crush on Choi Se-Kyung (Seol In-A). His Father is in love with a girl that isn’t his Mother so he needs to fix this problem and make sure his Father and Mother meet.

This is a really fun drama about youth and trying to understand your parents, how fun would it be if you could go back in time and meet your parents when they were young, innocent and hopeful. How much would you be able to connect and empathize if you knew them from a different era of their lives. I really love the concept behind this drama because Eun-Gyeol is really trying to carry the burden of the whole family by being the only hearing person in the family and this time travel trip allows him to understand his Father better. The focus on the drama is not just a typical love story in fact that is such a small part of the story it really delves into what is friendship and family. I really liked the mystery of it all and loved that it had plot twists throughout the drama. It had a good flow and was well-written and really kept you guessing on how the future was going to be changed by Eun-Gyeol’s decisions and actions in the past. I also found it really interesting in having a storyline with characters that were deaf and being able to see the world through their eyes and the challenges they face was eye-opening. I really loved the love and story line of Eun-Gyeol’s parents, the love and overcoming challenges was really great.

The only problem I had with the drama was the ending, it was too rushed and they could have done so much more with it and given it more time to really dig into a good ending. It just felt too sudden and didn’t feel very authenticate to what Eun-Gyeol had been through. Also they didn’t revisit Se-Kyung’s family in the future so it felt like we are missing so much information and even what happened with the grandpa from the music shop, if his future had changed at all.

So overall it was a great drama even if the ending was somewhat lacking a in depth conclusion.

Upcoming Dramas

A Good Day To Be A Dog

This drama is about a woman that turns into a dog when she kisses someone and the only way to stop the curse is to have the man kiss her again in her dog form. Unfortunately she accidentally kisses a man that she doesn’t like and she is pretty sure he doesn’t like her either and has to somehow get him to kiss her as a dog. This drama is based on a Manhwa.

Perfect Marriage Revenge

This drama is about a adopted woman into a wealthy family that is mistreated and ends up being killed and she is able to go back in time and change her past. She enlists a wealthy CEO to help her by marrying her and help her bring revenge on those that have hurt her in the past.

The Matchmakers

This drama is about a young widow from a wealthy family that believes it is her gift to match make couples so she sneaks out and pretends to be a normal matchmaker and does very well at her job. She gets enlisted by a widowed Prince to help him become a matchmaker for some sisters that have not married yet and she wants to help them find some good matches instead of being forced into any random marriage.

August and September 2023 Reviews October 1, 2023

August and September 2023 Reviews

Miraculous Brothers

This drama is about a writer Yook Dong-Ju (Jung-Woo) who has a talent for writing but can’t seem to make a living out of it. Things change for him when a teenager Lee Kang San (Bae Hyun-Sung) suddenly appears in front of his car causing an accident. When Kang San wakes up he doesn’t remember who he is and seemed to develop a mysterious ability where he can feel other people’s pain and be able to communicate other people’s hearts. Jung-Woo steps in as his caregiver and the two of them go on and try to figure out where Kang San came from and the mysteries that are following him.

I thought this drama was going to be more focused on the relationship that Kang-San was going to make and helping people but instead it seemed overly focused on this mysterious deaths that the police are following. I found myself losing a lot of focus watching this drama at times especially with all the cold case stuff and I couldn’t even keep the stories straight of how or why they have died. I did understand the basic plot but I didn’t follow some of the nitty gritty stuff with the deaths. I wanted to like the drama but found the main character Dong-Ju annoying his acting default when he got emotional was basically shouting and I didn’t really enjoy his character at all. I also didn’t enjoy his last work in Mental Coach Jegal so that might be why I still having the negative lingering feelings towards him.

I was also disappointed with the ending, I just feel like more should have happened with Kang San and his ability which totally gets pushed aside about half way through the drama. There was so much more that they could have done with his story line but they pretty much let it fall flat. I don’t know if living in the present would have been the best way to end this drama? I feel like he should have been able to go back where he came from or something. Also the whole older woman being his classmate felt somewhat creepy and unnerving to some degree, I think they should have gone with a male classmate rather than someone having romantic feelings for one another. The drama does not have any romance or love lines so it was kinda odd. I think this drama had a lot of potential and it started off with some excitement but half way through it was starting to fall flat for me, it had exciting moments throughout so I could make it to the end nevertheless it many boring moments.

What I did like about this drama was the friendship between the Dong-Ju and Kang-San and sometimes just friendship stories makes you feel good. They both are connected to each other and in the end become attached and have built a good relationship to each other, it is an interesting dynamic to watch. The mystery is interesting at times and you have to try and piece together what happened, it is a bit slow but it does make you think.

I would recommend if you like crime dramas mixed with some fantasy!

Longing For You

This drama is about Detective Oh Jin-Sung (Na In-Woo) who lives in the city of Woojin and experiences a murder that is apart of a serial case. He joins the investigation team in Seoul and then finds his brother Oh Jin Woo (Ren) is found to be a suspect and works tirelessly to prove his brother’s innocence. The team including his childhood friend prosecutor Go Young-Joo (Kim Ji-Eun) finds the killer and his brother is proven innocent but not long after his brother is killed and Jin-Sung has to work to find out who the killer truly is and why he would kill his innocent brother.

This again was a drama really focused on the police investigation mystery and less of the personal lives of the characters that was the focus of the drama. I was really annoyed with the main character Jin-Sung as he was so hot-headed and reacted in every situation with yelling and violence. His character really started grating on my nerves especially with his violence there is no way with the things that he did to people that he wouldn’t have been fired. It was so unprofessional and I couldn’t understand how he wasn’t reprimanded and fired with the way he acted. I didn’t really care for his acting but it may have been how the director wanted him to act as I have not seem him in any other drama. Also the romance/love lines were again strange in this drama, I couldn’t figure out if they were trying to have romance or not? Even in the ending they had focused so little on their personal feeling and love lines that it was just strange to throw it in at the end.

I get that they are trying to do a serious drama with crime and mystery but you still have to build characters and focus on their feelings and thoughts or else the audience feels very disconnected to the characters. The female lead Young-Joo had no presence in my mind, she was kinda of a blah character and even at the end when she was presenting the case in court, it should have been more exciting and thrilling but it just kinda fell flat and nothing really stayed with me. I think I enjoyed the character dynamic between Ki-Young and Young-Woon the most in the drama as there was true emotion and personality with their story. Some of the logic at the end like setting up Jin Woo to go to jail to keep him safe was just absurd as anyone would know that jail is more dangerous and this logic actually made me mad. I also really hated the old people romance in the drama with the doctor and the mothers, eww like what in the world where they thinking with promoting poly amorous it was disturbing and they really committed to it even to the ending. Not sure what was the point of doing that at all but I would just skip over their parts.

It did have some interesting mystery aspects of this drama that was entertaining but again I was disappointed with this drama.

My Lovely Liar

This drama stars Mok Sol-Hee (Kim So-Hyun) who has a special ability that she can hear when people are lying and has created a whole career getting paid to detect lies in people undercover. She struggles with relationships as she can detects every time people lie to her and finds it hard to trust other people until she meets Kim Do-Ha (Minhyun) and finds him to a person that doesn’t lie but then finds out he is a murder suspect and has to decide for herself if she is going to trust him.

This is a cute drama and I think it is because Do-Ha is such a wholesome and honest and cute character and really compliments Sol-Hee in this drama. I think this drama did a good job of building a relationship and also having a murder mystery in the midst of it. It has light moments and then it has darker moments and definite shocker moments. Overall I think it was a well-paced drama that is engaging and keep you interested until the end.

I didn’t care for all the tarot card stuff but I realize it was just a cover for her ability. I also kinda thought they could have done more story line with her ability. I think she could have worked for the police as a lie detector technician and be able to read if the suspect is lying despite what the machine would be saying. Especially because she does get somewhat involved with the murder case. I really think they could have done more with her ability and I feel like they let that part kinda fall flat with the possibilities they could have taken it. I for some reason also felt a lacking in their chemistry, like I don’t exactly buy them as a couple they didn’t really seem to have any passion for each other but it was still very cute. The shocker at the end for the motive just was weird and really unnecessary, I really wish they wouldn’t go there.

Overall it was decent drama and kept me engaged and interested.

Cheer Up

This drama is about Do Hae-Yi (Han Ji-Hyun) is a poor university student at Yonhee University. She is always trying to make money because of her family’s financial problems and doesn’t have time to date or have fun like a normal student. She get offered money to join Theia the university cheering squad and she accepts and starts to really enjoy it despite her difficulties. It also stars Park Jung Woo (Bae In-Hyuk) who is the Captain of the cheering squad and is very strict and upright and Hae-Yi and him butt heads from the get-go. It also stars Jin Sun-Ho (Kim Hyun-Jin) who starts to have a crush on Hae-Yi and follows her into the cheering squad.

I had never heard of cheering squads so it was really interesting me to watch their routines and all the things that go with it. I really enjoyed Do Hae-Yi’s character and how bright and funny she is, she was just enjoyable to watch. I know lots of people got second lead syndrome in this drama but I don’t mind the push and pull because it keeps it interesting and it is not always so obvious of who is going to end up with who. I also feel like I would have preferred the different lead that ends up with Hae-Yi because I feel like they had more chemistry between each other but that could just be because he was vulnerable with Hae-Yi and you feel bad for him and his situation. Realistically in real life I feel like Hae-Yi is with the person that compliments her and makes sense for her and how she needs someone like that in her life. I also thought the mystery within the drama was interesting and kept us interested and had lots of highs and lows. I thought it was a pretty good drama about young love and just the young university type of love and discovering what you should be doing. I feel like I could connect with the characters and even just the problems you have between friends and making decisions.

What I didn’t like about the drama was I guess the characters could be immature at times but I mean it makes sense because they are in university so I didn’t really bother me but other seemed to be upset with the drama. I thought it was a decent drama that kept me entertained without frustrating me that much!

I would recommend if you like the young love, confusing times of growing up type drama!

Upcoming Dramas

Ceo-Dol Mart

This drama is about a retired K-pop group called Thunder Boys that quit before they became famous. They end up getting a struggling supermarket and they decide that they will take on the challenge on managing the shop.

Battle For Happiness

This drama is about wealthy mother’s that are social influencers that appear to be friends but after a murder it is clear that they are anything but friends. They use everything around husbands, kids, money, and status to compete with each other.

Twinkling Watermelon

It is about a high school student that goes back into time and meets his Father and finds him having a crush on a girl that isn’t his Mother and has to find a way to bring his future parents back together.

July Drama Reviews 2023 July 23, 2023

July Drama Reviews 2023

Queen of Masks

This drama is about 4 women who are friends. Jae-Yi (Kim Sun-A) who is a human rights lawyer and has her eyes set on becoming a mayor. It also stars Go Yoo-No (Oh Yoon-Ah) who comes back after 10 years and being framed for a murder case to try and find her daughter. This drama is about a murder case that happens to 4 women who used to all be friends but one of them gets framed for the murder. It is 10 years later and Go Yoo-Na (Oh Yoon-Ah) the woman framed for the murder is back and she is trying to find her daughter. She goes to her old friends Jae-Yi (Kim Sun-A) who is a human rights lawyer to try and get their help to get her daughter back. It also stars Ju Yu-Jeong (Shin Eun-Jung) who is a chairwoman of an arts foundation and is just getting her life back on track with the new man in her life. The other friend is Yoon Hae-Mi (Yoo-Sun) who is a vice president of Mariana Hotel and is trying to climb the ladder to success as well. Jae-Yi is also trying to climb the ladder to success to try and find the man who sexually assaulted her the night of the murder and has to decide what is more important her friends or justice.

So this drama is very much a melodramatic drama and I don’t think I have watched this genre before or anything at least this extreme. I keep thinking whether I should continue watching it or not because it felt like a soap opera and I didn’t know if it was going to get really bad. I was kinda surprised about the drugs mentioned in the drama as I feel like I never really seen drama go to that area and I have to say I didn’t care for one of the characters struggling with drugs. The writing of the characters didn’t really make sense to me most of the time. Jae-Yi is supposed to be this lawyer but she does some of the dumbest things in the drama. She gets the mask with blood on it and they act like this is true evidence of something and try to use it to get the perpetrator to do what they want when clearly this doesn’t mean a thing and wouldn’t change anything. A lot of the reasoning and technical stuff just doesn’t even make sense at times. They make a lot of stupid decisions in the drama that frustrated me. One of the characters buries some video files instead of looking at them or handing them into the police, just sheer stupidity is witnessed throughout this drama.

This drama did not need 16 episodes and even went over an hour with each one, it should have been shorter and more consistent with the characters and made them smarter. The ending did seem a bit anticlimactic after the build up but at least it was a decent ending, at least for the majority of the characters.This drama wasn’t all bad it still was interesting to see how the mystery played out and to get to know each of the characters more and I have to say the perpetrator did some good acting despite him being the bad guy. It was also kinda nice to see a cast of older women instead of teenagers and give them an opportunity to tell a story.

If you could get past some of the frustrating parts of the drama it was still an interesting drama that kept me guessing at times and had some decent twists and turns to keep you invested. It wasn’t a great drama but it wasn’t a horrible drama either it was just an okay drama.

All That We Loved

This drama is about two high-schoolers Go Yoo (Sehun) who loves basketball and is a outgoing personality who is very protective of his friend who is like a brother to him Go Joon-Hee (Jo Joon-Young) who is a quiet and is always studying and does well in school. They both meet Han So-Yeon (Jang Yeo-Bin) and they both start to have feelings for her but she likes to keep people at a distance from her because of her own secret.

This drama was pretty good until the ending, I thought it was building up well and it was interesting flipping from the present to the past but unfortunately the ending was super disappointing. Super important things in the story are not explained at all and the love line in the drama was also super weak. I think if they had more time to properly tell the story it could have been a really good drama and the build up in the drama and pacing was good but the just needed more time. I don’t know if they just couldn’t figure out an explanation and got lazy or if they just needed the time to wrap it up properly. Also some of the medical conditions seemed sketchy and really unbelievable but I was willing to go along with it until they gave us the lackluster ending.

I did like the acting and was impressed and even though I didn’t like the ending I still found it interesting and compelling and would still watch again. It is a shorter drama with less time and episodes so it is not like you wasted too many hours to get a crappy ending. I would still watch it again because I still enjoyed the ride even though it felt like there was too many loose ends and unanswered questions at the end. It has some interesting concepts with how people can change and how other people can affect you. I still thought it was interesting and would still say check it out but be warned your questions won’t all be answered at the end.

Oh! Young Sim

This drama is about Oh Young Sim (Song Ha-Yoon) who is a struggling TV variety show PD who keeps getting her show cancelled due to low popularity. She casts a popular new start up company CEO Mark Wang (Lee Dong-Hae) in a dating pilot program. She finds out that he is her childhood friend that had a crush on her and their friendship ended on bad terms.

So this is a short drama felt more like a webtoon so again it felt like the writers had to speed things up and I found that to cause a lot of elements to feel like it was lacking. They don’t build out the characters and the romance as well as they could and it was somewhat disappointing. The ending was super rushed and felt kinda weird, it just didn’t feel like I had an emotional investment in this drama. It wasn’t very funny either. Some of the writing seemed sloppy especially for the action type of scene in the drama. Also I am getting really sick of the childhood unrequited love trope in all dramas. It just feels like they threw this drama together really fast and felt kind of cheap. At least it was short then so you didn’t waste too much of your time.

I think the drama had potential but it just totally missed the mark!

A Warmed Up Love

This is a Japanese Drama where Kiki Inoue (Mori Nana) who is a part-timer at a convenience store and she also is a social media reviewer of sweets and is very good at understanding what sweets will be popular. She meets the new CEO Takumi Asaba (Tomoya Nakamura) of the convenience store chain and he eventually finds out about her reviews and decides to enlist her help to create a new dessert for the store.

I enjoyed this drama it was an interesting concept of developing a dessert for a convenience store and how they are developed and the problems that go along with it. It was also interesting because of the different relationships and how two similar people aren’t always the best match in love. It felt somewhat fresh and I like that they didn’t spend the whole time forcing love and making someone a couple from the first episode. I think it was interesting because it showed different types of loves not just the chemical reaction of love. It showed the mature type of love where you fit together because you have the same mindset and then the more immature type of love, where you are safe to be silly and play with each other. It somehow finds the middle ground in the drama and it has a good ending where I was satisfied. I also like that it was a more ambiguous type of love story where you kinda had moments where you were guessing who was going to end up with each other.

The only thing I didn’t like about this drama was maybe how Kiki was somewhat immature at times and it felt somewhat concerning with the age gap that was in this drama. I wasn’t that bothered but at times felt a little bit weird.

I would recommend if you like a cute, short romantic drama!

Lies Hidden In My Garden

This drama is about Moon Joo-Ran (Kim Tae-Hee) is a traumatized woman that is living as a housewife to her husband Jae-Ho (Kim Sung-Oh) who is a doctor. They live in a nice house in a rich neighborhood. Joo-Ran starts noticing a foul smell coming from her garden and her husband tries to dismiss her concerns. It also stars Chu Sang-Eun (Lim Ji-Yeon) who is struggling to live with an abusive husband while being pregnant. The women’s live intersect when Sang-Eun’s husband winds up dead.

I did not like this drama at all, it felt very dark and depressing through the whole eight episodes and thank goodness they only had eight of them. I know it was supposed to have all these plot twists and turns but it just didn’t feel that shocking while watching it. I hated the ambience of the drama, it felt like a cheap thriller movie all the time where there is always someone bad lurking around the corner. It felt really obvious and the motives of the people just weren’t convincing to me at all. The cinematography was honestly annoying with the artsy type shots and the super long pauses in the dialogue. I fast forwarded a lot while watching and started to get annoyed while watching, they could have spent more time building the character. The silence just didn’t have meaning to me, there are some dramas that utilize this technique well but it just didn’t have a good effect to me for this one. I think I was most annoyed with Moon Joo-Ran’s character and what she was thinking because it felt like I couldn’t get a good grasp on her ideas and motives for this story. She is weak and bothered by her sister’s death which I still don’t understand what happened there and why the whole world seems to blame her for the death, which is absurd?? They spent so much time in this drama focusing on her sister’s death and it doesn’t even get explained at the end was highly disappointing to me. I guess they were just using it as an excuse for her husband to gaslight her I suppose.

Honestly the last two episodes just seemed like bizarre behavior, I don’t understand why Joo-Ran wouldn’t get the police involved in the situation instead of doing the crazy stuff she did at the end. It just seemed like there was no redeeming qualities in any of the characters in this drama and I just couldn’t wrap my head around their behaviors. I just want to say this allowed murder is wrong and bad but self-defense is a completely different idea. It is strange because normally when you watch a mystery type drama you find yourself curious but somehow I just wasn’t that curious, maybe because every character on this drama seemed to be bad and evil what they do wasn’t surprising at all. If they showed a completely different personality and then found out they did something evil, it would be more shocking. It also seemed to give the message that men are evil and will abuse their wives which can happen in real life but every character was giving this message.

If I could say anything good about this drama is that acting was well done, at times I had to skip over because it was just too hard to watch some scenes.

I personally did not like this drama and wouldn’t recommend unless you like thriller dramas that are dark and depressing!

Upcoming Dramas

Miraculous Brothers

It is about a failed writer that is down on his luck and he runs into a young man and they are involved in an accident. When the young man wakes up he doesn’t have his memories and has developed some abilities to read people’s minds and feel their feelings. The writer decides to help care for him.

Longing For You

This drama is about a detective that is trying to solve a murder case when his brother becomes one of the suspects and he works tirelessly to solve the case and bring his brother justice. It all ends in tragedy and he has to solve his brother’s murder case.

My Lovely Liar

It is about a young woman who is able to hear people’s thoughts and she meets her neighbor who is a successful music producer and finds out she can’t use her power on him. He is involved in a murder scandal and is in hiding when they meet.

May and June Drama Reviews 2023 June 17, 2023

May and June Drama Reviews 2023

Oasis

During the 1980’s in the Jeolla Province there is Lee Do-Hak (Jang Dong-Yoon) who comes from a poor family but is really smart and well liked person. He is friends with Choi Cheol-Woong (Choo Yeong-Woo) who comes from a rich family and they meet Oh Jung-Shin (Seol In-A) who has transferred from Seoul and they both have a crush on her. There is a death that changes their lives forever and set them on completely different paths.

I think this drama had potential to be a great drama but somehow it always seemed like something was missing to make me get really sucked into this drama. I found it strange because I tend to cry really easily in dramas and can really empathize with the characters but yet in this drama I found myself watching scenes and thinking I should be tearing up and crying and yet the tears didn’t come. The only time I teared up was at the funeral scene. I found myself not really liking any of the characters they all seemed immature and frustrating. I think Choi Cheol-Woong was one of the worst characters and he was so obsessed with attacking Do-Hak all the time I just couldn’t like him one bit and never felt sorry for him even once. I should have felt sorry for Do-Hak and yet I didn’t, maybe the way he handled things seemed so cowardly. There were so many unlikable characters in this drama and I didn’t really feel good about any of them and I just couldn’t connect to any of them. I have to say though Oh Man-Ok (Jin Yi-Han) was really the scene stealer in this drama, I think all the main characters seemed so immature to me that when Man-Ok would come on the scene he really commanded the scenes and somehow made me like him more than the main characters. I think because I had zero sympathy for Cheol-Woong so when Man-Ok was somewhat hurting him it didn’t really bother me.

I think the ending was also just strange how they just glossed over everything and they could go back to their friendship. I feel like the drama had a focus on all these other characters like Do-Hak’s sister story line was pretty useless they might as well have just not had it in there because I wasn’t sure what the point of it was and it seemed to be that way with other characters. Also they completely glossed over the resolution of what happened with the crimes that happened in the drama. It felt like I got whiplash watching the last episode and I am so confused about how everything was resolved without much explanation. Also if you think this was a romance drama you will be disappointed it does not focus much on the love triangle or at least it doesn’t really focus much on those relationships.

It was still a decent drama if you like action, criminal and gangs type themes and there is are some fun twists and turns throughout the drama. It was still pretty entertaining and interesting and it doesn’t have much of a lull it is pretty fast-paced and exciting throughout all the episodes. There are frustrating elements but overall it was a decent drama that will keep you well entertained.

The Secret Romantic Guesthouse

This drama is about Yoon Dan-Oh (Shin Ye-Eun) who is running Ihwawon Inn that isn’t doing that well and she is trying to convince scholars who are coming to take the exam to become a official. She doesn’t have much money and finds out she has an old family debt and the only way that she can to pay if off is to find Lee Sool who is the oldest son of the deposed prince. Some of her scholar guests join her in searching for this man. Kang San (Ryeo Un, Kim Shi-Yeol (Kang Hoon) and Jung Yoo-Ha (Jung Gun-Joo).

This is a entertaining and well done historical style drama with a good ending. I like there was a mystery that kept you guessing in the drama and you have to keep thinking about who is the missing prince. I am happy that they didn’t just follow the normal plot of palace politics of the old officials plotting against the king and you only really see it from the King’s perspective. This drama was different the King was evil and we were given no sympathy for the man. I like the twists and turns of the drama and thought it was a great ending. Even though it had many serious moments it also had some silly and funny moments too that was pretty fun.

The one thing that bothered me in the drama was the sister and how she acted, like her pain was the only important thing and it seemed really selfish to me. Everyone has problems and she acted like the person in her life was completely innocent and that he did nothing wrong when in reality it is much more complicated then that. I don’t think that she should have had a happy ending if she is just going to treat people badly because of her pain. The romance was cute at times but I didn’t really feel a strong chemistry from the leads though. There was some unrealistic moments in the leads love line that just seemed off to me. I also think they didn’t need that many episodes, it seemed a bit long and yet it still was pretty interesting even to the ending.

I would recommend this drama, and I think this was a well done drama especially for a historical type drama. It wasn’t just the typical drama from the point of view from the King and the nobles scheming against him.

The Law Cafe

This drama is about Kim Yoo-Ri (Lee Se-Young) who is a lawyer that likes to fight for the underdog and take on cases that seem impossible but tries her best to use the law to help those underprivileged. She starts a Law cafe where people can come in for a coffee and a consultation. It is also about Kim Jung-Ho (Lee Seung-Gi) who very intelligent and used to be a prosecutor and is currently unemployed and lives off the rent of his building that he owns. Yoo-Ri and Seung-Gi have known each other since high school and she starts to rent his building for her cafe.

I wasn’t sure I wanted to watch another law drama since this year there has been many but I decided to watch it anyway. I thought that they definitely did a good job in keeping the law and the cases interesting and that it didn’t get boring. There was a good balance between the personal lives of the characters and the cases that they took on so the drama didn’t get boring. There was a lot of interesting cases and heartbreaking ones. All the cases were pretty interesting and they left an impression on me and they were pretty memorable. It had a good balance of humour and seriousness in the drama and fun characters. Even the bad guys were excellent in their roles. I think the acting was very well done.

I can’t say I was super excited about the romance in this drama, I don’t know why I just couldn’t buy the chemistry of the leads. I didn’t really get any heart fluttering moments in this drama and actually found their bickering to get on my nerves sometimes. Also I get that Yoo-Ri was supposed to love fashion and being different but honestly some of her looks were distracting and seemed out of place for the context of what they were doing especially in serious moments, maybe it was just me though. I thought they would do more of a story ending with Seo Eun- Kang and was kinda disappointed that they never followed up with a love line for him.

Overall this was a decent romantic comedy with a great ending and consistent writing and acting. I would highly recommend if you love this genre!

Shooting Stars

So I finally got around to watching this drama as it has been out for a while already!

This drama is about Oh Han-Byeol (Lee Sung Kyung) who works for an entertainment company as the PR team leader and her job requires her to clean up after celebrities and the mess they get into. It also stars Gong Tae-Sung (Kim Young Dae) who is a famous actor at the same company and his favorite past time is giving Han-Byeol a hard time after she made a mistake toward him. It also focuses on the different workers at the entertainment company like the PR Team, managers, lawyers and reporters. It gives a glimpse into the world of managing celebrities.

I really liked this drama, it was easy to watch and was interesting with the large cast and had lots of side stories mixed into the drama. I really liked the humor and comedic timing in this drama and was thoroughly entertained in every episode. They had some interesting mysteries and tosses and turns though the drama that keeps you invested in the drama. This drama really has everything you want in a romantic comedy!

What I didn’t really like in the drama was at times how Tae-Sung acted towards Han-Byeol, he really treated her badly and I don’t feel like he properly apologized and made amends for the things that he did to her. I feel like it is the idea that “Oh boys will pick on you when they like you” and they say this to girls to just tolerate the behavior. I wish he would have shown some growth or maturity and properly acknowledged his poor actions towards Han-Byeol and built a relationship on something with more substance and she definitely glossed over his behavior as well. I found this dynamic to be disappointing in the drama. I also had a hard time buying the relationship between the two managers, it just didn’t seem like a romantic relationship to me and for some reason, it bothered me. Unfortunately the problem with fame and dating doesn’t really get resolved in the drama it seems like Han-Byeol has to basically suck it up and deal with the fame of dating Tae-Sung and doesn’t really offer any solutions on how she can overcome this struggle.

Overall it was a great drama that had a great ending and it feels like they tied up the loose ends. I would highly recommend this drama if you love a good romantic comedy!

Upcoming Dramas

Queen of Masks

This drama is about some women that used to be friends until a murder happens and one of them is framed for it. They come together 10 years later to figure out the mystery of what happened that fateful night and how to exact revenge.

All That We Loved

It is about two teenage boys that are the best of friends and have supported each other through the worst times. Go Yoo ends up donating his kidney to Go Joon Hee and they meet a girl that they both seem to develop feelings for.

Oh! Youngsim

This drama is about childhood friends that have misunderstandings between each other and meet up many years later and one is a CEO and the other is a PD on a dating show and end up on the show together.