Review: Oh No! Here Comes Trouble [Taiwan]

THE SHORT VERDICT:

This is a pretty unique and refreshing show – if you’re able to tune in to Show’s vibe.

Show is quirky and heartfelt, with equal amounts of poignance and deadpan humor; supernatural stuff and regular human relationship stuff.

It’s refreshingly balanced, and tightly written in a way where you can feel that our writers knew every narrative piece by name, and had prepared each narrative piece lovingly, for a particular purpose.

Some of our cast isn’t as strong with the delivery, but I found the most important roles to be delivered with nice amounts of nuance and heart. The standout for me was Tseng Jing Hua as our protagonist Pu Yi Yong; such a memorable character!

Also, even though some of the visuals might hint at horror, this isn’t horror at all.

Altogether very worthwhile – again, if you’re able to tune in to Show’s vibe (more on that after the jump).

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Review: Rainless Love in a Godless Land [Taiwan]

THE SHORT VERDICT:

I do think that Rainless is a pretty special snowflake of a show, in that I don’t think I’ve come across a similar drama, among the hundreds of dramas I’ve checked out, in the last 15 years.

Show manages to weave its story, while providing a good amount of educational insight into Taiwanese indigenous culture, and it also manages to make statements about environmental issues without being preachy. That’s pretty impressive.

I think it’s helpful to mention that you either really love this one, or you don’t. And you’ll figure out which camp you fall into, reasonably quickly.

Even though I appreciated Show’s strengths, I have to confess that this one never stole my heart. Still, I would say that this turned out to be a worthwhile watch.

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