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

| kfangurl

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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Flash Review: When The Camellia Blooms

| kfangurl

Y’know, I’d gotten to the point where I was so tired of serial killers and murders being mixed with romance (what is up with that, Dramaland?), that I was ready to give this show a hard, blind pass, just for having the audacity to mix murder with romance, again.

But, the overwhelming positive buzz around this show piqued my interest, as did the high ratings, and the glowing, persuasive comments that a number of you left me, which is how I ended up checking out this show, in spite of myself.

With 20/20 hindsight, now that I’ve emerged on the other side, do I still think Show didn’t need a serial killer murder arc? BIG YES. Did I manage to enjoy this one, despite my by-now-very-firm serial killer drama allergy? Also, yes. I guess that means Show wins, overall?

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Flash Review: When The Devil Calls Your Name

| kfangurl

My last foray into a fantasy kdrama dealing with angels and devils didn’t go too well (I’m looking at you, Angel’s Last Mission, cough), so when I heard some rumblings of dissatisfaction on the grapevine about how this show about selling one’s soul to the devil seemed a little all over the place, I was ready to give this one a blind pass without actually taking the time to check it out.

Thank goodness for blog regular Putri, who convinced me to give this show a try, after she’d watched it and really liked it herself.

Once I actually got going with this show, I was pleasantly surprised by how engaging I found it, and now that I’ve emerged on the other side, I’m happy to report that Show even manages its mythology reasonably well.

Since one of my pet peeves with fantasy dramas is that the mythology isn’t clearly presented, &/or crumbles on itself by the end of the story, I count this a pretty big plus in Show’s favor.

The mythology presented isn’t perfect, sure, but it retains its structure enough, and is true enough to itself, that I found myself reasonably satisfied on this point.

Which then also helped me enjoy the rest of the story more, too. Plus! I even found myself jiving with Show’s humor, uh, most of the time. Win, win, and win.

Thank you, dear Putri, because I hafta say, I’m glad I didn’t end up missing out on this one.

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Flash Review: Well Intended Love [China]

| kfangurl

Remember when LOTTTS of folks loved Where The Lost Ones Go, and I watched the whole thing, and still wondered what the fuss was about?

Er, I think I went and did it again, you guys.

For the record, lots of people love – like, really love – this show. This was recommended to me more than once, and came with descriptors like tropey, fun, but fresh. Now that I’ve watched all 20 episodes of this one, I’m gonna hafta say.. I think I just don’t get it. 😛

Like I said though, lots of people loved this one, so just because I didn’t love it, doesn’t mean that you necessarily won’t either?

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Flash Review: When We Were Young 2018 [China]

| kfangurl

Remember when so many of you asked me if I knew of a show that’s similar to A Love So Beautiful? Back then, I felt like nothing really fit the bill, but now, I can finally say that this lil show does feel like it’s a reasonably close relative of A Love So Beautiful.

It’s true that this one’s much more about friendship and family than it is about romantic love, but the world in which these characters live feels like it’s plausibly just a couple of neighborhoods away from A Love So Beautiful’s drama world, in the same nostalgic time period to boot.

Both big plus points for me personally. I’ll admit that these characters didn’t come alive for me right away like the characters in A Love So Beautiful did, but I can honestly say that by series’ end, they’d gotten deep enough under my skin, that I was sincerely reluctant to say goodbye.

Which is why I think that if you loved A Love So Beautiful, then this one’s solidly worth a look.

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Flash Review: What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim? [Why Secretary Kim]

| kfangurl

A phrase that’s sometimes said around the dramaverse – and maybe you’ve said something similar yourself, at some point – is, “I could literally just watch these two be cute for sixteen hours.”

Well. Except for a backstory involving childhood trauma (kidnapping trigger alert, coz some folks might be sensitive to that), this show pretty much gives us exactly that: Park Seo Joon and Park Min Young being cute together, pretty much all of the time, for 16 episodes.

Yep. It’s as fluffy and angst-lite as it sounds. So if you’re up for something that’s light on plot but heavy on cute, this just might be the show for you.

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Flash Review: Where The Lost Ones Go [China]

| kfangurl

I don’t know, you guys. I think I might be the single, lone person in the entire dramaverse, who has watched this show and not loved it.

Literally, everywhere I’ve looked, the people who’ve watched / checked out this drama consistently gush over this show with hearts in their eyes. They literally can’t get enough of this one.

..And here I am in my little corner, wondering what the fuss is about. Hrm.

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Flash Review: We Married As A Job [Japan]

| kfangurl

I was told that this drama is cute, but honestly, I really didn’t get why my Jdrama-watching friends were eagerly recommending this show to me.

I mean, yeah, I could tell from the title that this show was going to be about some kind of contract marriage, and I figured there’d be associated hijinks.. blah blah blah.

I was pretty sure it wouldn’t be anything too different from all the other contract relationship shows I’d seen before. (Heh. Can you tell that this happened in the thick of my drama rut?)

But y’know, it wasn’t until I finally got around to watching episode 1 that I finally saw the light.

Somehow, this show manages to be cute & quirky, and down-to-earth yet whimsical – and even thoughtful, all at the same time. Just, how remarkable is that? I was instantly smitten. So THIS was why my friends were so enthusiastic about recommending this show!

The very minute I was done watching episode 1, I was all, “Ahh! Cute~! And, sobs. Why are there only 11 episodes of this cuteness?? WHYYY??”

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Review: Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

Cheerful, sweet and engaging, this show is easy to love.

The conflicts and character journeys all feel relatable and real, with poignant coming-of-age struggles taking centerstage.

The friendship-to-romance is treated with sensitivity and good humor, and the search for meaning and identity underscores everything with a lovely heartfelt poignance.

The excellent cast makes everything pop, and Nam Joo Hyuk is more melty – and more excellent – than I’ve seen him, ever.

Totally and absolutely marathon-worthy.

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Flash Review: W-Two Worlds

| kfangurl

I’m thinking that we all have that one friend; you know, that one person that we know, who’s so unpredictable on a regular basis, that after a while, they become almost predictable in their unpredictability?

I mean, in the beginning, it’s all very surprising, and you find yourself rather stunned at said friend’s antics, and you sorta look forward to the kind of stuff said friend will get up to, coz it’s always something so unexpected and fresh.

As time goes by, though, you can’t help but start to expect the unexpected from said friend, and it just becomes that much harder to feel surprised anymore. Said friend is still pretty much the same; just, you’ve gotten used to it, is all.

W is that friend, for me.

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