Review: True To Love [Bo Ra! Deborah]

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

On the upside, Show presents some really thoughtful reflections about love, relationships, breakups and healing. When Show is in this space, it’s pretty excellent.

On the downside, Show is clumsy at best, when it’s not in that thoughtful reflective space. In fact, some moments are downright bad, not gonna lie.

Yoo In Na and Yoon Hyun Min are both charming in their own right, and the entire cast does a valiant job of delivering on the material that they’re given, but this still works out to be a very mixed bag.

How well you take to this one really depends on how much you like the thoughtful reflections, stacked up against how awful you find the bad bits. Which means that your mileage will definitely vary.

Worth a try, with the right lens – especially if you’ve got a ready finger on the Fast Forward button to help you along. 😉

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This Month On Patreon: June 2023

| kfangurl

It’s the 1st of June, everyone! Wow, we’re almost halfway done with 2023. That’s pretty mind-blowing. 🤯😅

While I ponder my monster list of dramas that I’ve still yet to watch, it’s time for another This Month on Patreon post!

In this post, I cover:

1. Why I’m on Patreon, and why I hope you’ll consider supporting me on Patreon;

2. Which Patreon-related reviews are due this month;

3. What shows I’m considering for coverage on Patreon, to replace shows that have completed their cycles, and

4. What you can expect, as a patron.

I hope you guys find this helpful &/or informative, and I hope you’ll consider supporting me on Patreon! ❤️

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Review: Silent [Japan]

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

Silent is, to my eyes, a pretty special snowflake of a drama.

Compact at 11 episodes, Show manages to pack more meat on its bones than some longer shows.

It’s contemplative, thought-provoking and layered, and I often came away from an episode, chewing on the thoughtful nuggets of insight and wisdom that Show served up.

Our characters are likable, and sometimes their behavior might even lean on the aspirational, “goody” side of things, but the heartfelt writing and delivery somehow makes it all land as believable and organic. I found that quite remarkable.

As a bonus, the music in this is thoroughly enjoyable, and just brings the watch experience to another level.

Very much worth the drama hours, in my opinion.

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Flash Review: Dr. Romantic 2

| kfangurl

Just three years ago, if you’d told me that I’d be spending precious drama hours binging a medical show – for fun – I wouldn’t have believed you.

Medical shows have just never been my thing, y’know? 😅

But then, a couple of years back, you guys voted for Dr. Romantic as a group watch (Open Threads listed here), and that’s how I ended up watching – and very much enjoying – Season 1 of this show.

Some of you guys then told me that Season 2 was arguably more enjoyable than Season 1, and so I had vague good intentions of checking out Season 2, but that never happened, because of all the other shows always clamoring for my attention – until now.

Why now, you may ask? Well, it’s because Season 3 is finally here, I want to check out Season 3, along with everyone else.

(And once again, this means that it’s basically FOMO to the rescue, ha. 😅)

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Review: Call It Love

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

I feel like the most effective, succinct way to describe this show, is a sentiment that I saw floating around the interwebs; that this show is very much My Mister – but with romance.

That’s high praise, because most drama fans agree that My Mister is a masterpiece of a drama – and I do think that this show deserves that praise.

To my eyes, this is as thoughtful and as carefully conceived, and as nuanced and faceted, and as illuminating, organic and visceral, in the watch experience, as My Mister.

Our entire cast is excellent, but Kim Young Kwang and Lee Sung Kyung truly stand out, as our leads.

As a bonus, the music is lilting and lovely, in a manner that amplifies Show’s sweet melancholy.

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Early Access: Nothing But You Episodes 1-2 & 3-4

| kfangurl

Hi everyone!

Today, I thought I’d share my episode 1-2 & 3-4 notes on Nothing But You, which I’m enjoying a lot, but which I did need a little bit of lens adjustments, before I could love it properly.

I hope these initial episode notes help. 🤗

These are my episode 1-2 & 3-4 notes, exactly as they appear on Patreon, ie, without screenshots (I’m saving those for the actual review).

I hope you all enjoy, and I hope you’ll consider joining us over on Patreon, for the rest of the discussions! ❤️

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Review: Our Blooming Youth

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

Show has a reasonably interesting central story to tell, but unfortunately, tries to stretch it out to fill a longer time slot than it really needs, which makes for a rather uneven, meandering and frustrating watch experience.

We do have a reasonably solid cast, among whom there are some very nice bright spots, but sadly, our cast isn’t quite able to rise above the limitations in the writing.

Promising in concept, but quite underwhelming in execution, in my opinion.

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This Month On Patreon: May 2023

| kfangurl

Happy May Day, everyone! In Singapore, it’s Labor Day, a public holiday, so if you’re here in Singapore, I hope you’re enjoying your long weekend! ❤️

Because it’s the 1st of May, it’s time for another This Month on Patreon post!

In this post, I cover:

1. Why I’m on Patreon, and why I hope you’ll consider supporting me on Patreon;

2. Which Patreon-related reviews are due this month;

3. What shows I’m considering for coverage on Patreon, to replace shows that have completed their cycles, and

4. What you can expect, as a patron.

I hope you guys find this helpful &/or informative, and I hope you’ll consider supporting me on Patreon! ❤️

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Flash Review: Love To Hate You

| kfangurl

I feel like “Your mileage may vary” is quite the understatement, with this show.

There are two main camps of viewers when it comes to this show, it seems like. One camp that loves it a great deal, and another that finds many things to be problematic, in this drama world.

Most of the time, when I lead with a statement like that about a show, I tend to fall squarely into the middle ground of finding it pretty ok, overall.

This time, however, I happen to have enjoyed this one much more than I’d originally expected to. Lens adjustments apply, of course, which I’ll talk about in a bit.

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Review: The Heavenly Idol

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

The Heavenly Idol started with a fun concept, which I enjoyed quite nicely, but it eventually felt like Show was a one-trick pony that was trying (pretty darn hard) – and failing – to prove that it had more than one trick up its sleeves.

That one trick is Kim Min Gyu’s heavenly priest struggling to adapt to the idol life, and while that is admittedly amusing, that eventually ran out of steam, and sadly, I didn’t quite take to Show’s other efforts to engage and entertain.

I do have a suggested viewing lens for this, but ultimately, I have to concede that this one’s better in concept than execution, unfortunately.

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