Minhyun

Flash Review: Study Group

| kfangurl

My friends. I can honestly say that I wasn’t expecting to watch this show, at all. 😁

I’d found the trailers a bit too cartoony for my taste, and also, too high school for my mood, if you know what I mean?

BUT THEN. Quite a few of you started saying very positive things about this show, so much so that I felt like I had to see for myself, what I was missing.

..Which is how I ended up watching this whole show, heh.

FOMO got me here, basically, and y’know what, FOMO did a pretty good job, because this turned out to be more enjoyable than I’d originally expected. 😁

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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: Alchemy Of Souls: Light And Shadow

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

Show continues our magicky narrative from Season 1 (review here!), and manages to serve up a solid story, while sticking to its own mythology and internal rules.

On top of that, I found Show nicely engaging on the emotional front, once I got my bearings in Season 2.

To address the elephant in the room, yes, I thought Go Yoon Jung was very good as our female lead, and I thought the change of female lead between Season 1 and 2, was nicely managed.

Importantly, even though I did feel like Show wobbled a little bit at the end, it does, in fact, give us a solid ending, while working within the mythological framework it’s set up for itself.

Not bad at all, I say.

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Review: Alchemy Of Souls

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

Show works out to be a solid homage to the xianxia genre, while still managing to be its own thing.

And, as its own thing, Show manages to stick to its internal mythology, while mixing its more dramatic arcs with spots of comedy and levity, and remains interesting and engaging, all through its 20 episodes. That in itself feels like a writing coup, credit to the Hong sisters.

Our cast is generally strong and varied, and I especially enjoyed the performances by Lee Jae Wook and Jung So Min, which I thought worked to ground the emotional beats in particular.

A very enjoyable ride from start to finish, and here’s hoping that Part 2 (review here!) will remain just as good.

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