The Fangirl Verdict

Completely biased reviews and fangirling

Author Archives: kfangurl


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Review: A Piece Of Your Mind

THE SHORT VERDICT:

More lens adjustments are needed for this show than the average kdrama, but with the right lens, Show is a warm and sweet watch experience that manages to feel satisfying, in spite of its flaws, and in spite of Show having had 4 episodes sliced off from its run, in the middle of its run.

If you’re able to dial down your need for logic, and to some extent, cohesiveness, Show presents a thoughtful thematic exploration of love and loss, solitude and solidarity, and the confusing, bemusing journey of dealing with all of those things.

Jung Hae In and Chae Soo Bin are lovely in this, particularly together. This was worth the extra lens management, in my opinion.

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Flash Review: Love Lasts Forever [An Incurable Case Of Love] [Japan]

So I checked out this show because a number of you had mentioned this to me as a drama that you enjoyed, and, I’d also seen a fair number of positive remarks and a good amount of assorted squee about it as well. Since I’ve said that I’d like to include more Japanese dramas on my drama plate, I felt that it would be quite remiss of me to not check this out.

Now that I’ve emerged on the other side, I think it’s quite safe to say that overall, I didn’t manage to enjoy this one as much as everyone else did. But, for the record, this show did eventually grow on me towards the end, and I ended my watch enjoying the cozy-swoony feels that everyone else seemed to be talking about.

I think that this show would appeal to quite a niche sort of audience, which is why I’m here to help you figure out if you’ll like this one – before you invest the drama hours. I know; I’m so helpful that way, aren’t I? 😉

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Review: When The Weather Is Fine [I’ll Find You When The Weather Is Nice]

THE SHORT VERDICT:

Measured, quiet and thoughtful, I really liked this show, for the most part. I enjoyed the deliberate, considered vibe of the writing and the overall handling, and the small town setting feels refreshing and different. For a good stretch, watching this show feels like a nice dose of therapy, away from the roar of current affairs and world events.

However, I struggled quite significantly from episode 13 onwards, with certain plot developments making me legit angry with Show. BUT, Show manages to turn things around just enough in its final steps, to end on a sufficiently positive and uplifting note.

I wanted Show to be better, especially given its strong start, but I suppose it could’ve been worse. For the record, I really enjoyed Seo Kang Joon in this.

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Review: Hyena

THE SHORT VERDICT:

Show takes a while to settle, suspension of disbelief is required, and the legal stuff is there more as set-dressing than to actually drive our story forward, but if you like it when characters get more of the spotlight than story events themselves, and you don’t mind glossing over various plot point resolutions, then this might work for you.

Once our story gets into its groove, it feels quite similar to a caper film, with plot developments and resolutions painted in broad, rather campy, irreverent strokes. It took a while for our characters to grow on me, not least because of the morally ambiguous characterization our writers choose to give them, but I did grow fond of (most of) our characters by Show’s end, which is a plus.

Both Kim Hye Soo and Joo Ji Hoon give fantastic performances, and together, they basically carry the entire show, while sharing a very sparky chemistry.

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Dear kfangurl: Where can I watch all of the dramas?

Maj writes:

I have paid subscriptions to NFlx, Prime, VIKI, YouTube.. but still out of luck. There are so many warnings about ”bad” streaming services.. what to do?.. could you write about the topic of access??

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Is The K-bloom Off The Rose? [My evolution as a drama viewer]

Yes, I know that’s not a rose. I’m going to pretend it’s a rose.. apple. 😉

Some time ago, a remark by long-time friend of the blog Beez got me thinking.

Basically, we were talking about how I’d dropped The K2, despite Show serving up a whole lotta shirtless via a gloriously nekkid fight scene. Beez then said, and I quote, “Wow. Kfangurl, I think the K-Bloom is off the rose for you.”

Essentially, Beez felt that even though the OTP in The K2 had been uninspiring, that Ji Chang Wook‘s chemistry with second female lead Song Yoon Ah had been so sparky and sizzling, that if that hadn’t been enough to hold my attention, then, well, I must not be as taken with kdramas – or perhaps dramas in general – anymore.

This got me thinking about my evolution as a drama viewer, and what’s captured me each step of the way, and I thought you guys might perhaps find this interesting or relatable, and so here we are.

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Dear kfangurl: Why do we like kdramas?

I just.. can’t help it? 😍

liability writes:

Hey KFG♥️

Whenever I talk about kdramas with people who don’t watch them, they’re always like ‘why kdramas specifically?’ which I’ve never been able to answer that well, I’ve never really looked that deep into it, I just say that ‘I enjoy them more’.

So to phrase my question better, ‘What makes kdramas more appealing than western dramas?’ I don’t know if a lot of people can relate to this but ever since I got into kdramas, I honestly can’t watch anything else, I still watch some western shows but it’s not the same, I’m not as drawn in. I know that everyone has got their different reasons for why they prefer/enjoy kdramas but I would really like to hear your take on it, maybe I might able to understand more about why I do as well.

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Flash Review: My Holo Love

If you’re on the market for a light, simple romance with some A.I. leanings, and you’re not fussed much at all, about suspension of disbelief or stretches in logic, and don’t mind having some more of Dramaland’s recent favorite affliction, face blindness, on your screen, then this show might be for you.

I decided to check out this show coz I’d seen quite a few of my drama friends remark that this one is a short, sweet little show that they enjoyed quite well, and were glad to have checked out.

I.. am quite sure I enjoyed this in a more.. shall we say, moderate fashion than most, but I will also say that after a slow burn to start, I did eventually enjoy my watch more, in Show’s last third or so, and now that I’ve emerged on the other side, I can honestly say that the ending was satisfying enough, that I don’t regret checking it out. That’s.. not bad, overall?

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Dear kfangurl: What are some romance dramas featuring regular guys?

Today’s post is inspired by Jesse!

In the course of one of our chats scattered across the blog, where I was trying to think of dramas to recommend to Jesse, I’d suggested Romance Is A Bonus Book. He’d ultimately sounded quite happy with this suggestion and said that he would probably check it out soon, but, he’d also said this, about the first time he’d considered watching the show:

“I remember at the time that I came across the show in a search awhile back, I saw the word “success” (as in Cha Eun-ho is a successful author) and completely lost interest. I didn’t want to see successful characters! I wanted to see losers and average Joes, because that’s who I could relate to at the time. I wanted to see love interacting with unremarkable people so I could nod and say, “See, Jess – it happens. Just you wait…”

..And that made me realize that Dramaland’s been so focused on creating everygirls and everywomen to give the female viewers (traditionally a majority) someone to identify with, that it’s forgotten that our growing number of male viewers would also appreciate an everyman to identify with. So I set about coming up with a list of dramas featuring regular guys – instead of the usual chaebol prince, or requisite geeenius – as romantic leading men.

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Dear kfangurl: What are some dramas the man in my life might be willing to watch?

This post is thanks to MeriJ, who suggested the topic “K-Roms Your BF/Husband Might Be Willing To Watch With You.” I’ve also come across many drama fans who do sincerely wish that their significant others would share in their passion and watch dramas with them.

And since many of us are spending a lot more time at home these days because of the pandemic, and also because we recently had a great time helping Amethystwaves shortlist dramas to watch with her mom, I thought it’d be a good time to attempt to answer the question:

Dear kfangurl,

What are some dramas that the man in my life might be willing to watch with me?

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