Tag: Drama Reviews

Review: Hotel Del Luna

Posted December 15, 2022 by Rowena in Reviews | 0 Comments

Hotel Del Luna

Starring: IU, Yeo Jin Goo, Shin Jung Keun, Bae Hae Seon, P.O, Jo Hyun Chul
Year Released: 2019
Number of Episodes: Drama, Comedy, Fantasy, Horror, Romance
Country: South Korea
Director: Oh Choong Hwan
Screenwriter: Hong Jung Eun, Hong Mi Ran
Where I Watched It: Netflix
Who I Watched It For: IU

Nestled deep in the heart of Seoul’s thriving downtown sits a curious hotel, the like of which no one has ever seen before. Old beyond measure, the building has stood for millennia, an ever-present testament to the fact that things are not always what they seem. Running this hotel is Jang Man Wol, a greedy, suspicious soul who has spent the past thousand years acting as the establishment’s CEO. Bound to the hotel by a deity who keeps her there to save her from going berserk and self-destruction with rage, hatred and thirst for revenge. Her only hope of escape is if she could let go of her resentment and hatred, and find love. Trapped in her resentment for a betrayal, Man Wol is doomed to spend all of the eternity running this odd establishment, catering to the needs of the most peculiar clientele.

Things take an interesting turn when Goo Chan Sung shows up. Once the youngest assistant manager ever to work at a multinational hotel corporation, Chan Sung finds himself forced to manage the Hotel del Luna because of a deal his father made with Man Wol years ago. Excellent with managing money, he starts to put Jang’s excessive spending and disastrous finance situation in order, that may be exactly what this odd establishment and its cursed CEO needs.

I’ve heard a lot of good things about this show so it’s been on my radar for a while now. It didn’t come up on Netflix or Viki or anything whenever I would browse for new shows to watch but when it finally did, I didn’t even stop think about it. I just started watching. IU has fast become one of my favorite k-actresses and I thought was another solid effort of hers and if anything, made me an even bigger supporter of hers now.

I’m going to skip the story portion of my reviews and jump right into everything. The blurb included above does a pretty decent job of explaining what this drama is about. 🙂

Main Male Lead

I can’t remember seeing Yeo Jin Goo in anything else before so this was my introduction to him and his acting. I don’t have a single complaint about his work here. I was so invested in his journey, and in him finding his way with and without Man Wol. Over the course of the show, I grew softer and softer for his character and I cried a lot with him and for him.

Chan Sung was an interesting character that captured my attention from the very first episode seeing him fight and bicker his way into some super heavy feelings for Mang Wol and seeing him come to terms with his part in just everything made the show that much more compelling for me. I really liked him.

Main Female Lead

IU did her thing in this show. Jang Mang Wol was such a complex character that had a lot of hidden depths. She was so complex that at first, it was hard to connect with her but with each passing episode, you start to connect and feel for her and what she’s been through. She comes off as one kind of person but the more you dig, the more you realize that there’s more than meets the eye. By the time her story is completely out there, you won’t be able to help yourself. You’re going to love the hell out of her. At first, she frustrated me with how bratty she was but by the middle of the show, I was completely Team Jang Mang Wol…and so was Goo Chan Sung. Hehe.

The Cast

There were a lot of familiar faces on this cast and I liked each and every single one of them. My favorites of the bunch being Ji Hyun Joong (the bell boy) and Sanchez, but also the high school girl, Kim Yoo Na. As great as everything and everyone else were, aside from Man Wol and Chan Sung, I was most interested in these guys.

I thought each character made a great addition to the overall story being told and I really enjoyed the way that they all came together.

Final Thoughts

IU, Jin Goo, and everyone created a fun, interesting, and delightful drama and I’m super glad that I watched it. I wasn’t expecting the humor and the brightness in such a dark drama but I’m so glad for those additions because they made the drama pop with a color that I enjoyed. I will say that there was a beginning hump that I had to get through so there was a lot of confusion on my end but once everything started clicking, it was hard for me to stay away. I watched this one pretty quickly and even though it’s a drama that is heavy and on the dark side, it wasn’t hard to watch at all. Once the confusion lifts, it’s pretty easy to keep up and root for our main leads. Though it’s not my favorite drama ever, I still enjoyed this one and would definitely recommend if you’re in the mood for a humorous supernatural watch.

Final Rating

via GIPHY

4 out of 5

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Review: Alchemy of Souls

Posted December 13, 2022 by Rowena in Reviews | 0 Comments

Alchemy of Souls

Starring: Lee Jae Wook, Jung So Min, Hwang Min Hyun, Shin Seung Ho, Yoo Joon Sang, Oh Na Ra
Year Released: 2022
Number of Episodes: Drama, Action, Fantasy, Historical, Romance
Country: South Korea
Director: Park Joon Hwa
Screenwriter: Hong Jung Eun, Hong Mi Ran
Where I Watched It: Netflix
Recommended By: Therese
Who I Watched It For: Go Yoon Jung

Set in a fictional country called Daeho that does not exist in history or on maps, it is about the love and growth of young mages as they overcome their twisted fates due to a forbidden magic spell known as the “alchemy of souls”, which allows souls to switch bodies.

It follows the story of an elite assassin named Naksu, whose soul is accidentally trapped inside the weak body of Mu Deok, Jang Uk’s servant, from a powerful and noble mage family in the country. The young master of the Jang Family, Jang Uk, holds a dark secret about his scandalous birth. He wants the formidable assassin to help change his destiny.

I almost didn’t watch this show because I wasn’t that interested in the premise but then my best friend told me that she was watching it and enjoying it so I took one more look and saw that my girl, Go Yoon Jung from Law School was in this one and I was immediately in. I’m so glad that I started it too because this is hands down my favorite drama of 2022. Therese and I have been obsessed wth this show since we started it. I was on pins and needles every single week and every single week, I was left wanting more. I adored the chemistry between Jang Uk and Mudeok, but I also enjoyed the story being told, and the other characters, and I just had a blast watching this.

The Story

The story follows Naksu, a trained assassin, as she tries to carry out her lifelong vengeance against every family that had a hand in the killing of her father. When she gets in over her head, she uses her magic to shift her soul into a random woman, in the village she was in so that she can save herself and figure out a way to come back from this setback. When Jang Uk asks her for her help in exchange for his silence about who she is and what she’s done, they enter into a mutual working relationship. She, as Mudeok, is maidservant to Jang Uk, a mage with no magic from one of the powerful families in Daeho.

He needs her help in unlocking his magic and she needs his help in keeping her soul-shifting secret while she figures a way out of the mess she’s in. Seeing these two battle their own individual struggles and then fall in love with each other and then battle everything together made for a very interesting drama. One that I’m very glad that I watched from beginning to end.

Male Lead

Jang Uk was my absolute favorite part of this show. There’s a lot to unpack with his character. When we first meet him, he’s down on his luck, trying to unlock his magic with the help of different teachers but so far, nobody has been able to help him. He’s the laughingstock of Daeho and yet, he’s got a stubborn streak a mile wide and he doesn’t know the meaning of give up. When he comes across the assassin Naksu, he asks her to help him unlock his magic and he’ll keep her secret. Seeing him work his ass off to unlock his magic, fall on his ass from trying all day and all night, and getting back up to try again made me soft for him. Like, all over soft for him. He was an amazing hero that I loved cheering for. He made cheering for him with each passing episode worth it and him being fine as hell didn’t hurt.

The love that blossomed between him and Mudeok (Naksu) had me hooked to my seat every single week. I am a sucker for a good romance and Jang Uk’s love for Mudeok was everything that I hoped it would and more. I loved Jang Uk in love. His character arc was interesting, it was fun, and I absolutely loved it and him.

Female Lead

I’ve only watched Jung So Min in one drama and I hated that drama so much that I never watched her in much of anything else. I’m glad that I was re-introduced to her again because I really liked her character in this drama. She played Mudeok really well and I rooted for her like crazy. She was a hard nut to crack but Jang Uk cracked it.

She was smart and she was savvy, but she was also a bit soft on the inside. Sure, her softness was hidden so deep that it was hard to see right off the bat but you could totally see Jang Uk’s influence over her and it was just so stinkin’ great. I loved that she grew close to him and that knowing him, changed her for the better. She really holds her own against pretty everything and everyone and you can’t help but respect the hell out of her. Often times, everyone loves the female lead but you don’t really know why (hello, Bella Swan) but it’s not hard to see why everyone loved and wanted Mudeok. She was that bitch and even though I started this show for the real Naksu, I still really liked Mudeok.

The Cast

From Yul to the Crown Prince, to Dang Gu to the brothel woman and the granddaughter, Maidserveant Kim, there are a lot of wonderful characters. Each and every single character brought their own charms to the story and made me a fan of them all. There wasn’t a weak link amongst this cast and for every character that I loved, there was a character that I hated just as much but even the characters that I hated had me interested in what they were up to and how my favorite characters were going to take them down.

There were a lot of familiar faces in this cast and I had a fantastic time watching them every week. The story, the cast, the romance, all of it made for a great tv viewing experience and I’m just the happiest camper that right now, the second season is under way and I’m enjoying these characters all over again.

Final Thoughts

I think what really set this drama apart from all of the other dramas that I watched this year was the chemistry between Jang Uk and Mudeok. They worked really well together and they really sold the roles that they played. They were a lot of fun to get to know and their individual stories, along with their shared story was one for the books. You start off rooting for Jang Uk to unlock his gate of energy and then you start rooting for Mudeok to find her jade stone, for them to finally be able to happy and in love, but in the end, you’re left shocked to your core that their story isn’t done and you have to wait months to find out how their story officially wraps up.

Along with some other pretty fantastic and colorful characters that carried the show well when Jang Uk and Mudeok weren’t at the center, the story is so well written and brought to life that I can’t find fault with anything, not even the way that the show ended. I’m good and well hooked on this show, the characters, and the main romance. While I didn’t like every single character in this show (hello, Jin Mu and well, all of the Jin’s along with the fake blind girl can all take a hike), there was too much substance and so much great storytelling that I loved this show to death. So, so much.

Final Rating

via GIPHY

5 out of 5

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Review: Again My Life

Posted November 8, 2022 by Rowena in Reviews | 0 Comments

Again My Life

Starring: Lee Joon Gi, Lee Kyung Young, Kim Ji Eun, Jung Sang Hoon, Choi Kwang Il, Hong Bi Ra
Year Released: 2022
Number of Episodes: 16
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Law, Mystery
Country: South Korea
Where I Watched It: Viki
Recommended By: N/A
Who I Watched It For: Kim Ji Eun

Kim Hee Woo came from an inauspicious start as a low-grade high schooler to work his way up through university and finally pass the bar examination. His relentless hard work has finally paid dividends, and he has become a public prosecutor. During the course of his investigations, he must conduct a probe into a politician suspected of corruption. But his investigation is abruptly ended when a mysterious man kills him.

However, he later comes to, finding that he is actually alive. Restored to the mortal realm, he finds that he must return to university and complete his academic journey again – while he tries to discover the truth about what happened to him. On his journey, he encounters Kim Hee Ah, an exceptionally intelligent young woman who also happens to be the youngest daughter of the family that owns the wealthy Cheonha business group. As Kim Hee Woo and Kim Hee Ah intensify their search for answers, they discover that a shady cabal of rich power brokers may have played a part in his “death.”

I really enjoyed Kim Ji Eun in The Veil so when I went looking at other shows she was in, this one came up. I watched this entire show after all the episodes aired so I binged it over a weekend but every episode was interesting and I was rooting for Kim Hee Woo to get it right this time around and even though the romance was super small, I enjoyed Kim Ji Eun’s character in this show as well.

Our main character is offered a second chance at life if he promises to use that life preparing to take down the bad guys that he was fighting against in this life. He’ll return with his full memory in tact but he’s got a figure out how to get it right this time around. Interesting plot, right? I thought so and I’m glad that I gave this one a go because I enjoyed it.

Main Lead

This drama centered around our main lead, Kim Hee Woo, who was played by Lee Joon Gi. I haven’t watched very many shows with Joon Gi at the lead so this was my first one. I greatly enjoyed seeing him in action. I thought he did a great job leading this drama from beginning to end. His character was well rounded. He had me laughing, gasping in shock, and crying as well. I felt all of the feels watching this and I have zero complaints with Joon Gi’s delivery, with the way that he wove his character’s story and the way that he was dogged in his determination to bring the bad guys down. Gotta respect that and I did.

Second Lead

The second lead was the bad guy. I’ve seen him in several other dramas before and I can’t remember if he’s ever played a good guy. I will say that he plays the role of villain really well. I hated him in every single drama that I watched him in and this drama was no different. It was low-key scary how many people he had in his back pocket. The power he held in this drama was creepy at the same time that it was scary. It was satisfying to see him watch his dynasty crumble bit by bit because of Hee Woo’s drive to blow his shit up. There was no stone left unturned and I rather enjoyed watching Cho Tae Seob suffer with each passing episode.

Lee Kyung Young’s portrayal of Cho Tae Seob was a good one. He did his job well cause I hated his ass from the jump. I was actually surprised that he spread himself so thin on account of holding on to all of that power that he had. From the top to the bottom, there was someone from every walk of life working for him. And he was a real jerk, too. So they weren’t following him because they respected and wanted to help him, they were scared to do anything else. I was glad to see this guy fall from grace and I thought it was interesting, the way that Hee Woo did it too.

The Cast

Most of the cast was familiar to me from other dramas and I liked each and every single person. Everyone did their jobs well and I don’t have a gripe with anyone really. I really liked the team that Hee Woo put together and I liked everyone that came together to bring the big bad down. It was a lot of fun getting to know everyone and seeing how their small or big parts came together to paint a pretty awesome drama picture. I was happy with everyone.

The Story

The story was a fast-paced story that kept you interested with each episode. There are a lot of thrilling moments and scenes that had me wondering where it was all going. The story itself was solid and the cast did their thing in bringing that story to life. There weren’t too many gaps in the storytelling that I could remember and though there were some episodes that dragged a smidge for me, for the most part, I enjoyed it. The only thing that I would have wished for is for the romance to have played a bigger role in the overall story. Still, some romance is better than no romance, right? I just felt that the romance was barely there and then BAM, they’re engaged and then even bigger BAM, they’re living happily ever after…like what?

Overall, this was a fast-paced, action thriller of a drama that had me gripped in each episode. While it wasn’t the most perfect of dramas, it came pretty close and if you’re in the mood for a mystery, some fantasy, and a great cast of characters, pick this one up. It’s a good one, I promise.

Final Rating

via GIPHY

4 out of 5

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Review: D.P.

Posted September 21, 2021 by Rowena in Reviews | 4 Comments

D.P.

Starring: Jung Hae In, Koo Kyo Hwan, Kim Sung Kyun
Year Released: 2021
Number of Episodes: 6
Genre: Action, Contemporary, Comedy, Drama
Country: Korea
Where I Watched It: Netflix
Recommended By: Nobody
Who I Watched It For: Jung Hae In

Private soldier Jun Ho is a confused youth who served in the military normally like other Koreans. One day, he suddenly becomes a member of the military defector arrest team. As such, he is tasked with capturing deserters and must grapple with the more troubling cases of why some soldiers feel they have no other choice but go absent without official leave.

I’m a pretty big Jung Hae In fan, ever since watching him in Goblin (yeah, he had a very small part but still, he made an impression) so every time that I see he’s coming out in something new, I put it on my to be watched list because why not? Now, some of his shows pissed me off but mostly it was the hot and cold act of his female lead but I’m happy to report that even though this show pissed me off plenty, I still rather enjoyed the show as a whole.

This show follows Ahn Joon Ho, a young man who reports for his mandatory military enlistment and finds a whole lot of dickhead bullies. The more senior military members hella bully their juniors and the bullying leads to a lot of guys deserting their posts. Ahn Joon Ho keeps to himself a lot but when he’s recruited to work for the military defector arrest team, being alone isn’t an option anymore because my guy gets himself a partner. His partner was a delight in the midst of so much darkness and I hella loved their pairing.

This wasn’t an easy show to watch by any means. It’s a heavy watch that doesn’t stop being heavy throughout the entirety of the show. On the upside, the show is only 6 episodes so you’ll breeze right through each episode and there’s enough packed into each episode to make the viewing worth the heaviness. There was also a lot of humor sprinkled into each episode to ease the heaviness some. I laughed a lot, and I also teared up at some of the stories of the defected soldiers. There were times when I got so angry at what was happening and at the folks causing so much trouble in these poor guys’ lives but never did I want to stop watching.

The acting is pretty fantastic throughout. Each actor gave what they were supposed to give and I appreciated their efforts because I was glued to my seat through each episode. I believed everything that was showcased so the bad guys did a great job of making me want to kick each and every one of them in the balls and the good guys did a fantastic job of making me cheer for them. The ending was a little too open-ended for me but that didn’t detract from my viewing experience too much. I definitely recommend this show if you’re looking for a kdrama with a meatier story. I think this drama sheds light on the broken military system in Korea and is a good watch. It doesn’t hurt that you’ve got some eye candy in Jung Hae In and some other swoony actors so yeah, give this one a go.

Final Rating

4.25 out of 5

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