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Flash Review: Stove League

| kfangurl

Let me get what I think are the two biggest questions out of the way: No, you don’t need to know a thing about baseball, in order to enjoy this show. And no, you don’t even have to like baseball, in order to like this show.

Would you get more enjoyment out of this show if you actually already love baseball? I’m not sure, to be honest.

Sometimes knowing too much can be a bad thing (if you’re a doctor you probably roll your eyes at the details in medical kdramas, and so on), but I’m guessing that understanding how baseball works would probably help you appreciate the nuances that I missed.

I went into this show without much knowledge or interest in baseball, and I’m coming away with only marginally more knowledge about and interest in the sport.

And yet, I found myself enjoying this show very well, and wholeheartedly rooting for our characters, often without actually truly understanding the full details of what was happening on my screen. That’s quite an accomplishment on Show’s part, I’d say.

Also, for the record, I’ve felt rather neutral about Nam Goong Min for a while, even as everyone else has grown hearts in their eyes for him, and here, I finally actually really like him.

Lots of happy surprises overall, yes?

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Review: Search: WWW

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

A dark horse of a show that took a tiny bit of getting used to, but eventually surprised me by sneaking under my skin to grab my heart in a big way.

Search: WWW truly is a rarity in Dramaland.

First of all, it’s women-centric and puts the spotlight on the relationships among our main female characters, which in itself is a big plus.

But even more surprising than that, is that while each of our 3 main ladies has her own loveline with a perfectly matched love interest, those romance arcs never take centerstage in our narrative, even at their most melty.

Instead, the romances are positioned as just one aspect of our women’s very full lives. Seriously, how refreshing and cool is that?

Thoughtfully written, solidly directed, and brimming with consummate performances by the cast, this is one drama that I won’t be forgetting anytime soon.

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Review: Suddenly This Summer [China]

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

An earthy youth-to-young adult story of growing up, and learning to love yourself and others, Suddenly This Summer is understated, poignant and relatable in all the right ways.

Because Show is more slice-of-life than its cuter drama cousins like A Love So Beautiful and Put Your Head On My Shoulder, it can feel like a slow watch.

But what Show lacks in trendy cuteness, it more than makes up for, with characters – even the secondary ones – who feel like real people earnestly doing their best in their individual life journeys.

Even though Show is heart-pinching at times, it feels refreshing in its gentle earthiness.

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Review: SKY Castle

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

An excellent ensemble cast made up of skilled industry sunbaes; faceted, detailed deliveries that feel convincing and engaging; a tightly written narrative that delivers some surprising twists and turns to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Thoughtful directing and execution; an expertly applied OST that can be hauntingly ethereal one minute and then pulsing with tension the next; SKY Castle has it all, and it all comes together in one polished, dysfunctional package.

This drama is a very solid, compelling social satire that manages to make its characters come alive, even as it makes its social commentary.

On the downside, Show suffers from an ending that feels like a tacked-on epilogue written by a different team altogether.

Happily, that’s easily fixed by thinking of the last episode as just that, because Show manages to tell a story in its first 19 episodes that feels reasonably complete even before it presents its finale.

Worth the hype – and the monster ratings.

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Flash Review: Suits

| kfangurl

If you’ve known me for a while, you’d probably know that I don’t generally do well with legal-themed dramas – even if they are very good.

Case in point: 2016’s The Good Wife, which I started watching, and which I found very good indeed – but which I also never got around to finishing.

So it definitely says something that I not only enjoyed Suits quite well, but I even – gasp! – finished it! And I’m not even that behind the live airing schedule either. Woah, right?

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Flash Review: Star Of The Universe [Three Colors Of Fantasies: White]

| kfangurl

Every once in a while, a little gem of a mini series will show up, and shine more brightly than its peers. Color me surprised, but this is one of those times, you guys.

I’d enjoyed this show’s sisters (Queen Of The Ring and Romance Full Of Life) to varying degrees, having randomly picked those to start with within this trilogy, because I have a lot of affection for Kim Seul Gi and Yoon Si Yoon, who star in each of those shows respectively.

I’d kept this installment for last, because I have no strong feelings for the leads either way, and had merely expected this installment to be about as light and fluffy as the others – maybe less, even, since this story’s premise involves death. Eep.

I should’ve known, though, that in the hands of the writer who gave us the wonderful Splash Splash Love, this one was probably always destined to hit me hardest, where it counts the most. <3

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Review: Strong Woman Do Bong Soon

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

This show’s upsides: a strong heroine; an appreciative, dreamy hero; an adorable OTP with unreal levels of Cute – and several very feel-good earwormy OST tracks.

This show’s downsides: uneven writing; random-feeling side characters; a disproportionately dark side; an extremely insensitive, crass idea of funny.

The upsides battle the downsides just about all the way through, so.. “Your mileage may vary” about sums it up. The 2 Parks are super-duper cute though.

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Flash Review: Shan Shan Comes To Eat [Boss & Me] [China]

| kfangurl

Expectations count for a lot in drama-watching, I’ve come to find. If a show exceeds your expectations, it’s always a happy thing. But if a show doesn’t live up to your expectations, it can feel like a real disappointment.

The problem is, expectations can be.. a rather tricky thing to manage.

Lots of drama friends – bloggers and readers alike – had recommended this show to me, and all of them had enthusiastically assured me that this one was Stinkin’ Cute, and that I would absolutely love it.

That kind of created a bit of a challenge for Show, since with all that glowing praise, my expectations unconsciously inched higher with each positive pronouncement I heard about it.

That then inadvertently put Show on an instant uphill task in my head. From the first minute I dipped my toes into this watch, Show had to prove itself worthy of all the squee. And that’s an unnecessary challenge that just helps nobody, amiright?

…Which is why I’m here to help. I’ll help manage your expectations so that hopefully you’ll end up enjoying your watch more easily than I did. We drama fans gotta help one another out, after all. 😉

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Dropped: School 2017

| kfangurl

I’m admitting defeat, you guys. I know that lots of folks found this show enjoyable and even kinda cracky, but 11.14 episodes into this one (yes, I actually calculated that, just for funsies), I’m throwing in the towel. I guess I just.. don’t get it?

Even though Show served up a range of ingredients that ought to have appealed to me – student struggles, teacher struggles, friendships, crushes, a heroine with a backbone, and even a star-crossed bromance plus a hottie whose visuals are right up my alley – I just couldn’t get into this one.

Try as I might, I just couldn’t seem to care about any of it.

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Review: Suspicious Partner

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

Suspicious Partner is what I would call a reasonably successful blend of crime and romance – a rarity in dramaland, from my personal findings.

Great lead actors, excellent OTP chemistry, a quirky supporting cast, and a compellingly delivered Big Bad all come together to make this a solid drama, despite Show sagging somewhat in its later episodes.

Perhaps most importantly of all, Show ends on a satisfying note – another rarity in recent dramaland history (again, from my personal findings), and therefore a plus point not to be taken lightly in my books.

Overall, a pretty engaging and rewarding watch.

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