2022

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: Fan Letter, Please

| kfangurl

It’s been a hot minute since I’ve managed to review a short drama thing, but when I saw this one announced a while ago, I knew that I wanted to squeeze this into my schedule, somehow.

And so, when serendipity had it that I finished The Glory Part 1 (review here!) with 2 weeks to spare before Part 2 dropped, I knew I’d found my window.

And, I’m happy to say that it was well worth making time for this little show, because I would’ve been quite sorry to have missed it, for focusing too hard on all the other buzzier, full-length dramas that are always competing for my attention. 😅

Come see if this one would work for you too?

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Review: The Glory [Part 1]

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

A darkly polished revenge tale that does a good job of spinning its story, so that there’s an absorbing, cracky quality to the watch experience.

There’s a touch of OTT caricature to the bad guys in our story world, which, in my opinion, makes it easier to hate them and root for their downfall. 😅 Importantly, Show makes it natural and quite easy, to root for our protagonist to achieve her goals.

Show might “just” be Part 1, and therefore not a story that can stand on its own, but it does a very solid job of laying the foundation for Part 2, and making me want to watch that, too – and soon.

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Patreon Year End Awards: Trent’s Year In Dramas!

| kfangurl

Hey everyone!

We’re having guest posts from the lovely folks on Patreon, to help us take stock of our drama years, kinda-sorta like what we had last year, woot! 🥳

If you missed our earlier posts, you can check them out as follows: phl1rxd, j3ffc, Uyen, Sean, Martina, David, Natalia, MC, Leslie, Reem, Elaine, Kun, lotusgirl.

Today, I’m pleased to announce that Trent is sharing his drama year! (Which means that, yes, it’s time for me to write my own year-end post too! 😅)

I’m so glad that Trent made time for this year-end wrap-up post, while also anchoring our Winter Sonata group watch with his brilliantly, hilariously snarky posts. It’s no mean feat that he’s managed to write this post AND this week’s Winter Sonata episode notes, on top of work and family commitments. Mad props to ya, Trent! 🤩

I’m always curious to know what Trent thinks of a particular show, because, even though our drama tastes aren’t identical (his taste accommodates more darkness and blood than mine, for one 😅), they overlap a great deal, so much so that if Trent says that he really likes a certain show, I’m more than likely to sit up with a bit of interest.

..Which is how I ended up watching My Name and Hellbound, for example, heh. So if your drama taste is like mine, you’d likely be pretty interested in Trent’s drama opinions too. 😁

Trent also writes about dramas on his own blog, which you can visit here.

I hope you guys enjoy!

KFG ❤️

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Review: Someday Or One Day [Movie][Taiwan]

| kfangurl

If you guys have been around the blog for a while, you’d likely know that I loved – like, really, really LOVED – 2019/2020 drama Someday Or One Day (review is here!).

It was basically my drama of the year, in my 2020 year-in-review, coz I felt like it was THE best drama that I watched, in 2020. 🤩

So much so that I picked it as a group watch in December 2021 (Open Threads listed here), and loved it just as much, on my second watch.

(If you haven’t seen the show but are now tempted to give it a go, my advice is to go in as blind as possible; you can use my Open Thread notes as a guide, as you watch it.)

Which means that OF COURSE I’ve been waiting for the movie follow-up, ever since it was announced.

The only thing better than finding a show to love, is finding friends who love the show as much as you do, so today, I’ve got Elaine and MC (who LOVE the drama like I do!) joining me for this review.

AND, as a bonus, we’ve also got a special podcast episode, brought to you by some of our friends on Patreon, Michele, Leslie and JJ, who are huge fans of the drama as well, to talk about their thoughts on the movie.

Yay for this turning into a community sort of response to the movie! Thanks for making the time for this, ladies! 🥰❤️

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Review: New Life Begins [China]

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

Easy-going, laidback and quite breezy in a Disney-esque sort of way, Show could be a great drama to unwind to, after a long day of real life.

Sometimes Show leans into the silly, and sometimes, it leans into its more dramatic side, but either way, everything vibes simple and also, somewhat simplistic.

Show is basically a treacly-wholesome Disney-esque take on the daily life in the royal courts of Xinchuan, our fictional feudal society in which our story takes place.

Fair warning that there are people who do bad things too, in this drama world, and so, very occasionally there is some indication of (real, rather than comedic) violence, which might be disturbing for some folks.

On the upside, these characters always, always get their comeuppance, so that’s the silver lining.

Your mileage is likely to vary with this one, since some folks find it kind of meh, while others think it’s the most wonderful thing ever. But I’ll do my best to help you figure out where you’ll land with this one, even before you take off. 😁

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Patreon Year End Awards: lotusgirl’s Year In Dramas!

| kfangurl

Hey everyone!

We’re having guest posts from the lovely folks on Patreon, to help us take stock of our drama years, kinda-sorta like what we had last year, woot! 🥳

We’ll be seeing about 2 guest posts per week, and this will unfold into January 2023, and that’s perfectly ok. AND, my annual year-in-review, which usually comes out in December, will also come out in January (or thereabouts 😅), after all the guest posts have been published.

If you missed our earlier posts, you can check them out as follows: phl1rxd, j3ffc, Uyen, Sean, Martina, David, Natalia, MC, Leslie, Reem, Elaine, Kun.

Today, I’m pleased to announce that lotusgirl is sharing her drama year!

I’m so glad that lotusgirl was able to make time to write this post, because she is one busy (and talented!) lady!

Besides her love for her family and for dramas, she is also an artist and photographer – and you can browse her work on her blog here! You can also find her on Instagram @lamosscreative.

I hope you guys enjoy!

KFG ❤️

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Patreon Year End Awards: Kun’s Year In Dramas!

| kfangurl

Hey everyone!

We’re having guest posts from the lovely folks on Patreon, to help us take stock of our drama years, kinda-sorta like what we had last year, woot! 🥳

We’ll be seeing about 2 guest posts per week, and this will unfold into January 2023, and that’s perfectly ok. AND, my annual year-in-review, which usually comes out in December, will also come out in January (or thereabouts 😅), after all the guest posts have been published.

If you missed our earlier posts, you can check them out as follows: phl1rxd, j3ffc, Uyen, Sean, Martina, David, Natalia, MC, Leslie, Reem, Elaine.

Today, I’m pleased to announce that Kun is sharing her drama year!

I’m so pleased that Kun was able to make time to write this post, because our drama tastes overlap enough, and she’s adventurous enough in trying out dramas, that I often feel intrigued by her drama picks, because I haven’t seen the show(s) she’s excited about.

Thanks, Kun, for making the time, and also, for always having my back, and sending me links to things that you think I’ll love. ❤️

I hope you guys enjoy!

KFG ❤️

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Patreon Year End Awards: Elaine’s Year In Dramas!

| kfangurl

Hey everyone!

We’re having guest posts from the lovely folks on Patreon, to help us take stock of our drama years, kinda-sorta like what we had last year, woot! 🥳

We’ll be seeing about 2 guest posts per week, and this will unfold into January 2023, and that’s perfectly ok. AND, my annual year-in-review, which usually comes out in December, will also come out in January (or thereabouts 😅), after all the guest posts have been published.

If you missed our earlier posts, you can check them out as follows: phl1rxd, j3ffc, Uyen, Sean, Martina, David, Natalia, MC, Leslie, Reem.

Today, I’m pleased to announce that Elaine is sharing her drama year!

Elaine’s a busy lady who juggles motherhood AND a full-time job with her love for dramas, so I’m really grateful that she carved time out of her hectic schedule, to make time for this post!

I am also grateful to Elaine for not only being so positive and thoughtful in her comments, but also, for always reminding me to pace myself, and not work too hard. Thank you, Elaine! 🥰😘

I hope you guys enjoy!

KFG ❤️

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Patreon Year End Awards: Reem’s Year In Dramas!

| kfangurl

Hey everyone!

We’re having guest posts from the lovely folks on Patreon, to help us take stock of our drama years, kinda-sorta like what we had last year, woot! 🥳

We’ll be seeing about 2 guest posts per week, and this will unfold into January 2023, and that’s perfectly ok. AND, my annual year-in-review, which usually comes out in December, will also come out in January (or thereabouts 😅), after all the guest posts have been published.

If you missed our earlier posts, you can check them out as follows: phl1rxd, j3ffc, Uyen, Sean, Martina, David, Natalia, MC, Leslie.

Today, I’m pleased to announce that Reem is sharing her drama year!

Reem’s one of our newer friends here on the blog, as well as on Patreon, and I’m so glad that she offered to write this post, because, what better way to get to know a drama friend better, than to peek at their drama journey, and their drama year, right? 😁

Thanks so much for doing this, Reem!

I hope you guys enjoy!

KFG ❤️

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