Good "coming of age" drama

I quite liked this drama, if I ignore some of the points I found a bit unrealistic (could be due to cultural differences).

Strong performances, I especially liked the male characters.

This was amongst the first "coming of age" C-dramas I watched, and coming back to this review now several months later, I can add that a lot of them are quite similar.
I guess what made this stand out the most for me was the acting, and the beginning was quite memorable for me (for some reason).

I don't really remember the music, so I just give "average" star rating for that.

SMALL SPOILER:
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I found the situation when her mum took her back quite unrealistic, and I didn’t quite understand why she got straight back in contact with the others, but not him.

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A bit dragged out

Parts of this drama were worthy of 8 stars, but some things pulled it a bit down, so I ended up on 7,5*

Wei Zhe Ming as the ML is an actor I have liked in other works, but I wouldn't rate this amongst his best roles.
As I am looking back at this now a while after actually watching the drama, the FL didn't leave me with any impression whatsoever.

As for the story:
I liked that there were some independent, strong female characters, and understanding, loveable parents.

They dragged the story out a bit too much.
Her having loved him for years, even if she got hurt by his rejection, I found some of her following actions (or "non-actions") a bit over-the-top.

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Workplace drama with mature romance

I became a lot more invested in this than I expected. I liked the mix of female friendship, workplace challenges and mature relationships. Part of the reason why I got hooked might be I am in fact mature myself, lol.

The cast was good: I liked the fact that they "looked their age"; mature people in their 30s.
The main leads portrayed their roles well. ML had charm without being overly dashing; his small expressions were very well timed and added realism. FL was also very strong and convincing.

The stories revolving around the three friends shows different kind of life choices, relationships and obstacles. The three different storylines were well executed. They paced well, had good archs and character developments.
The overarching keywords (themes) that can be said the three storylines have in common are: family, career, obligations, sacrifices, and "self respect/worth". But how these themes are being explored for the three female characters are very different angles.

Although I kind of could foresee the outcomes, it was still nice to follow along on the journeys.

The workplace dramas were not on the extreme side, and I found the shopping mall setting interesting.

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Good, but a bit long

This is my third Wuxia /xianxia C-drama.
“Love between fairy and devil” took me some episodes to get into, but then I enjoyed it. “The Untamed” I didn’t manage to get into at all, so that is on hold. This one gripped me pretty much from the start.
It is long, and some scenes are very dragged out. I watched a lot of this on faster speed, actually.

As some other reviewers mentioned: You have to just ignore how bad some of the effects are. It’s kind of like they realised they didn’t have the budget to do it well, so instead of doing a half-ass job they just kept it very simple instead.
In some close-ups you notice that the makeup could have been better as well.
I mostly liked the costumes though.

Besides some over-acting in certain scenes, most of the acting was good. I liked both the FL and the Ghost tribe princess.

The script was quite well-paced. The storyline had some rather familiar plots from scheming characters. That became a bit too much for me at some points to be honest. The story didn’t give me many surprises, but it still made me cry towards the end.

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Healing drama and healthy relationships

This surpassed my expectations. It was funny, sweet, and emotional, with great acting by the two main leads, and her parents.
From the synopsis here and on Netflix, I started this thinking it was something I would be able to watch over time, not binge. That quickly turned out to not be the case!

Fangirling took a backseat in the story as it progressed, and the story turned out to be more of a healing drama, with mature, healthy relationships - both romantic and family-wise.
It was so refreshing to see a couple in a drama that actually were communicating well with each other, as well as being considerate for the other person. I would also say they had rather good chemistry.

What I did not quite like was the character of the first director (Cindy's mum). She was just overly exaggerated - made me cringe. That character could still have done it's part in the story without being so extreme.

I saw some comments about not seeing the point of the second ML (mr Nam Eun Gi), but I thought he played a part in the story, without it taking too much space. I would say that his story, together with Ryan's, showed two different "versions" of a similar issue (difficult to explain without giving away possible spoilers).
If anything, her friend's employee/artist was the character that felt a bit unnecessary to me, even if he didn't take up too much of the story.

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Bitesize episodes stills your cravings for some entertainment

The short episodes make this easy to watch. It is entertaining, the acting is good, but take this for what it is, and don’t think logic when it comes to the main part of the story (humans vs clans with special powers).

I quite enjoyed it for what it is; was easy to watch when I needed to “disconnect” after a really tiring day.
There’s not really anything I can put my finger on as “bad” with this. The costumes and the sets were decent, and as mentioned I think the acting was ok as well. I just don’t think it will be that memorable, so won’t give it more than 7 stars.

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Strangely addictive even if a bit annoying and dated

This is another one of those K-dramas that feels like a "must see" even if it is 20 years old (at time of review).

Parts of the story is "too crazy" - like how is it possible to sell her house without her knowing? And exactly HOW naive, gullible and shortsighted is it possible to be? And who in their right mind would stay in contact with friends like that?
Their constant bickering is also kind of over the top - I can't imagine many actually taking it for so long.
Main storyline is OK, except beforementioned weaknesses. It could probably have been stronger, but then it would probably feel even less original?

In the later episodes I thought the flashbacks at times were a bit too many/long.

Even so, I found it difficult to stop watching – although some of it on faster speed, LOL.

The acting of the two ML and the FL (Rain, KSS and SHK) were good. I was not as convinced by second FL (HDG).
Music was quite fitting.

By today's standard I probably wouldn't rate it as high as I have (7), but I am taking age into account. Rewatch value is a bit lower though. This is more of a "see once as kind of a classic", but not such a classic you see more times.

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Do not watch if you don't like open endings

I quite liked this, even if it was a bit dragged on.
You might cry (I did), and it does have an open ending, up for enterpreting. I did Google it after finishing, and what some comments said made sense, but I won't reveal any more here.

This is kind of a typical role for the ML, and he does it well. Not exceptional, but better than "OK".
I liked the FL in some of the other roles I have seen her in, and this is also a bit similar character to some of her other ones. It is the same for her as for him: Good portrayal, but not "wow".

The story itself doesn't romanticize the depiction of the firefighter profession, but shows some of the struggles that comes with it, both for the firefighter and for those around.
I kind of wish they had kept the story a bit simpler at times - some added plots for tension/drama could have been avoided, in my opinion.

It does have some similarities to other dramas in the same genre (first responders/military).

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Comfort drama

Not super-original, but still a nice comfort-drama about growing up and young love.
The story is held amongst the more realistic lines (no scheming, no overly controlling parents/grandparents...), which makes it more relatable (but also a bit predictive), and you grow fond of the characters. Hence I call this a comfort drama, that is easy to watch.

Even if the story spans over a long period of time, the story flows quite nicely and doesn't dwell too much on unnecessary time fillers.

I did find the FL character a bit too childish at times, and she didn't really sit right with me. I think it was a combination of the character, her appearance (the hair looked so fake), and the acting. It was a bit better in the later episodes, but still not quite "right". I wish she developed into a bit stronger persona – the foundation for it was there.
All of the female characters were a bit "exaggerated" character-wise; I don't quite know how to express it, but they all felt just a tad bit "off".
Both of the two ML were good though, and I especially liked Zhao Yi Qin as Lan Tian Ye.

Even if this was a good watch and left me with some warm emotions, I am not sure how good I will remember after a while, just for the reason it is not very original - I suspect it will kind of "blur together" with the other Chinese school dramas I have seen. I will still recommend it if you are up for watching something that is easy and enjoyable. It doesn't require you to process a lot or gives you huge ups and downs in emotions and energy.

I watched this now simply because it is leaving Netflix (in my region).

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A rock that turns into a gem

First of all, I must proclaim that it is quite a while since I watched this. But: This is one of those shows that you don't forget easily.
I must also admit that the first episodes or so I wasn't really impressed. I think the female protagonist was a bit "over the top" for my liking.
But then, just as a rock that gets polished by the waves, the underlaying themes revealed themselves and I saw the beauty.
I guess my best way of describing it is to take some rather serious themes, spin a story around said themes that is a bit "over the top" to not make it feel too heavy, but rather make you laugh, feel some suspense, and love - both familiar love, and a bit of romantic love – and maybe you even got a bit emotional.

The acting was superb. Seo Ye-ji, Kim Soo-hyun and Oh Jung-se especially all gave convincing portrayals.
Seo Ye-ji's charachter Ko Moon-young (FL) was annoyingly crazy, but also managed to let you see the cracks in her armour every now and then.
Moon Kang-Tae, portrayed by Kim Soo-hyun, made you want to take him in, give him lots of hugs and support.
And then last, but not least: Moon Sang-tae, brilliantly brought to life by Oh Jung-se. He gave so much life and development to his character.

The supporting cast was also good – I can't remember a single one I frowned upon.

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