2023

Review: My Journey To You [China]

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

Show is, for a good stretch, dark, stylish drama crack that I inhaled with glee.

I found the story and the story world fascinating, I felt invested in our main characters, and it felt like Show had a solid, smart grip on the story that it wanted to tell. I genuinely loved all the twists and turns that Show served up in each rollercoaster of an episode.

However, I do think that Show’s weaknesses become more apparent, when you get into the later episodes. Sometimes plot logic took a beating; sometimes details didn’t add up completely. Also, I feel like Show’s handling of the finale is likely to be divisive.

All that said, I found this to be a solid ride, overall, and don’t regret investing my drama hours – and my feelings! And my brain cells! – in this one.

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Dropped: Lost You Forever [China]

| kfangurl

Let me just state upfront, that there are a lot – like, seriously, A LOT – of people who love this drama.

This show was hugely buzzy and popular when it aired – so buzzy, in fact, that FOMO was the whole reason I checked out this show in the first place 😅 – and I don’t want you to think that just because I’m calling it quits on this show, that this drama isn’t any good.

There’s quite a chunk of good stuff in here, honestly. It’s just not for me, I think.

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Review: Moving

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

I think it’s safe to say that Moving is quite the remarkable drama.

Not only are the production values top-tier, the directing is thoughtful and intentional, the writing is tight, and the acting is all-around pretty darn excellent.

Add on the fact that we have quite the star-studded large cast, and doesn’t it seem like this show really is the product of all the stars aligning to create an amazing end product?

My absolute favorite thing about this show is that it is as tender, heartfelt and emotionally engaging, as it is slick, polished and gritty. I found it impossible not to care about these characters, and that, to me, is Show’s best trait and biggest accomplishment.

Highly recommend, even if you’re not typically into dramas that feature superpowers &/or blood/violence.

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Dropped: Love Is An Accident [China]

| kfangurl

I was really hoping that this one would work out for me, because I found the premise cute, and the initial episodes promising, but.. it just wasn’t meant to be, I guess. 😅

12 episodes in, I’m calling it quits on this one, and I’m gonna attempt to lay it all out here in this post, so that you can hopefully figure out whether this one’s for you, even though it’s not for me.

For reference, I do think that Sean and phl1rxd liked this one a lot, so if your drama taste vibes fairly similarly with theirs, then, maybe..?

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Review: My Lovely Liar

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

On the upside, Show starts out really strong, with a fun premise that pops, and an OTP that works together really well.

Basically, Kim So Hyun and Minhyun are adorable together, and this was THE highlight of my watch.

Somewhere along the way, however, it does feel like Show loses its handle on things, somewhat, and the balance between fun, breezy rom-com and angsty murder backstory gets thrown out of whack, at least to my eyes.

Show does manage to tie everything together for the finish line, but I do still wish that Show could have managed to stay as strong, in its middle and finale stretch, as it had been in its opening episodes.

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Review: Heartbeat

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

I’d say that Show is a mixed bag, overall.

On the one hand, it’s a silly, funny show about mixed signals, wrong turns and burgeoning feelings, all within an overarching umbrella of fish-out-of-water hijinks, because our earnest vampire needs to get used to the modern world that he’s woken up in.

This is pretty great, I have to say.

On the other hand, Show isn’t a rom-com at heart, and has more poignant themes about love and purpose that it wants to focus on, in its second half. This requires some hefty lens adjustments, which I’ll talk about in my review.

Your mileage will absolutely vary, but I will say that with my lens adjusted, I’ve come away with a more appreciative attitude towards Show’s ending, and I’m not putting in a request to get my watch hours back.

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Flash Review: The Love You Give Me [China]

| kfangurl

If you’re on the market for a light drama with a good amount of cuteness and sweetness, and not too much angst, The Love You Give Me could just be your ticket.

Sure, it’s not as buzzy, and its production values are not quite as polished, as, say, Hidden Love (review here!), but I personally found this to be a very enjoyable – and still very pretty! – drama to unwind to.

Some lens adjustment apply, but they aren’t hard to make, and I’ll talk about that shortly.

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Review: When I Fly Towards You [China]

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

This is a little gem of a show – provided you do like low-key, slice-of-life things.

Show’s main focus is the central loveline, and it’s all very youthful, sweet and wholesome, in a way that feels at once nostalgic and aspirational.

I also liked that Show also takes time to focus on the friendships that our characters share. Feeling like the invisible sixth member of the friend group was definitely a highlight of my watch too, aside from the very cute and very sweet OTP stuff.

Warm, sweet, comforting, and perfect for a binge on a rainy day – or as a drama nightcap, to put you in the right mind space for warm, sweet, comforting dreams. 🥰

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Review: Hidden Love [China]

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

Show’s got quite a few things going for it: it’s full of pretty polish, boasts a pair of good-looking leads who share a sparky chemistry, has a cast of likable characters (with the rare exception, for purposes of narrative tension), and has a very enjoyable soundtrack to score it all.

Show’s biggest strength, though, in my opinion, is its ability to serve up feels that feel at once real and relatable.

Our entire premise is the crush that our female lead Sang Zhi (Zhao Lu Si) has on Jiaxu (Chen Zhe Yuan), and Show’s ability to bring the feels to life, of all the nuances of how it feels to have a crush on someone, is so spot on.

A very easy, enjoyable, sometimes cracky watch, provided you get around some of the points of discomfort that some viewers experienced – which I’ll talk about later, in this review.

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Review: King The Land

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

On the upside, Show is very pretty to look at, has a great-looking OTP that shares excellent chemistry, and it isn’t shy about serving up lots of OTP squee moments.

On top of that, Show’s got a very enjoyable OST scoring it all, so that it all feels like a worry-free, very pretty escape from Real Life.

On the downside, Show is so low-angst that the narrative tension it serves up is very low-stakes and therefore not very gripping. While this is in keeping with Show wanting to be a happy place, unfortunately, this also means that for some viewers, this could become pretty boring, pretty fast. 😅

Ultimately, your mileage will vary, depending on just how much of an appetite you have, for light, cotton-candy, pretty fluff.

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