coming_dreams
California
Seol Nan(Soo Baek Hyang) is my favorite heroine of all time. And that's saying something because I've seen a lot of kick-ass heroines. Her character growth was stunning and after I finished the drama, I was left sitting there, gaping at the screen, because I couldn't believe how much Seol Nan had grown. In the beginning, she was a kindhearted, carefree girl who was an angel. She doesn't take the easy way and act as a maid when she enters the palace. Oh, no. Instead, she joins the nation's most special elite military force. And no, she doesn't just walk in and demand she be part of it. She gets put through trial after trial, constantly kicked, punched, and doesn't receive special attention because she's a woman. She's not afraid of being dirty. She's always covered in her own blood and bruises. She's always tested, and almost dies in many of the tests. She hardens and learns that not everyone can be trusted. But, at the same time, she gains the respect of the men in the military force. She gains many life-long friends who are loyal to her. She's sent on numerous, highly dangerous, undercover missions because she's the only one who can do it. She's beaten, tortured, betrayed, and ridiculed, but she never gives up. Ever. She remains loyal to her nation. She is the reason why her nation has become so strong. She is the key person responsible for the success of the nation. She is a warrior princess. She fights in the front in wars, goes undercover, and not afraid of death. At the end, I can barely recognize her. The woman I see at the end is infinitely times more mature, strategic, calculating, but still kind. She's not afraid to get revenge, and to destroy anyone who threatens her country. As she says, "Don't push me. Otherwise, you won't even recognize me, as I will be a terrifying beast."
Seol Hee. I don't know how to describe the hate/love relationship I have with this girl. She's evil and manipulative but at the same time immature and ignorant. In the beginning, Seol Nan and Seol Hee have a sweet sisterly relationship but that relationship changes, drastically. By the end of the drama, I was crying for them because they once had the sweetest relationship in the world. But, everything changed. They can not go back to what they originally were like. You'll love her. You'll hate her. You'll want to strangle her. And you'll want to hug her. She's a character that makes the audience goes through a mix of emotions.
The romance: the romance was funny, sweet, emotional, and heart-breaking. It's a 108 episode drama so there's bound to be a lot of conflicts. In the beginning, they were mere acquaintances. That developed into friendship. Then, a budding romance. No instant love. They slowly trusted each other. Then lovers. I love their romance, a lot. There's a lot of heart-breaking towards the end as the truth is revealed.
The acting was amazing. Especially Seo Hyun Jin who acts as Seol Nan and Seo Woo as Seol Hee. Both of these two actresses made me cry, angry, and get extremely emotional. Seo Hyun Jin's portrayal of Seol Nan's growth was stunning. She can be extremely kind one second and turn into a cold, calculating woman the next (when necessary if she's threatened). Seo Woo gave an outstanding performance of Seol Hee. She understood her character completely and she was basically her character. I couldn't imagine anyone else playing Seol Hee.
This was an amazing drama and I encourage everyone who loves stunning character growth to watch it.
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Story:
As all retellings of Mulan, it's about a young woman who enters the army in her father's place. Ruo Lan's story revolves around war/military while Yu He's story revolves around court backstabbing and betrayal.
The Good: The story had political/court intrigue, betrayals, tons of backstabbing, and a semi-love triangle? I hate love triangles, and I don't think I can stress that enough. However, this wasn't really a love triangle, which I was thankful for, but I couldn't quite pinpoint what it was. There was romance, but much more emphasis on friendship. The trust that these 3 people have for each other is an amazing and wonderful thing; they're willing to go through death together. Mu Lan embodies many themes like maternal love, morality and ethics, and family bonds. None of the characters in Mu Lan are one dimensional, black and white. All of them are complex, and their intentions, though sometimes because of personal ambitions, are usually influenced by others. The story revolved around 2 girls essentially: Hua Ruo Lan, and Hua Yu He(Ruo Lan's sister). I liked Yu He's story line because it emphasized an extremely important theme, but Ruo Lan's story line could have been more spiced up.
The Bad: Although Ruo Lan's kindness and honesty were two very admirable traits during a period of war, I felt that the story line wasn't very realistic. There is character growth, but I wished there was even more character growth. Mulan was supposed to be an amazing leader who could influence others. for some reason, Ruo Lan never clicked as that leader with me. I never saw her a leader. I sometimes wish there was more strategy and military tactics.
Characters:
Ruo Lan: She's a determined, selfless, and loyal young woman who is probably the most genuine and sincere female lead I've ever seen. Unlike Vicki Zhaos' potrayal-a stoic, badass Mulan-, Elanne's portrayal is a much more kind-hearted, and naive Ruo Lan. All she wants is peace.
Yu He: An ambitious, and selfish young woman who aims to probably become Empress one day. She's sly, and very clever.
3rd Prince: He was a very strong, and caring leader who cares about his people. I really liked his character.
Zhao Yu: He's a funny guy. But I never liked him, at all. I found him pretty boring and repetitive at times. Sometimes I stare at the screen and wonder if his character is even necessary at all. But, that's just my opinion.
Acting/Cast: I felt that though sometimes the main cast could have done a better job at expressing their facial expressions, the cast was pretty well done. Because China dramas dub their actors/actresses, I sometimes wish that I could hear their real voices. But then again, sometimes the dubbing is better because China is a large nation with several different dialects.
Rewatch: I don't rewatch dramas, so a rating of 5 is what I usually give all dramas.
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Story: The thing that I love above the story of this drama is that it doesn't revolve around one core thing (i.e. revenge, politics, assassins etc...) but it covers a broad range of life issues like friendships, first loves, college life, etc. The story is a story about a group of college students growing, learning, and developing as they become more acquainted with each other. The developing friendships and love are realistic and natural; it's such a REFRESHING change from forced love and enemies-become-lovers kind of stories. I LOVE the interactions between friends in this drama; they are so sincere and genuine-not forced at all. The story is a kind of tale that pulls you into it, making you bitter with jealousy of this beautiful world. There are conflicts, love, rivalry, frustrations throughout this drama. After all, this is a drama about the stages of friendship and love.
Characters: For once in my life I am ecstatic to announce that BOTH main girls in this drama have such beautiful hearts. They are not whiny like most female leads. On the contrary, they are the exact opposite. The main girl, Jia en, begins the story as a girl who can't quite let go of her childhood friend. Her growth into an independent and strong woman is realistic; her new found friendships are simply super! The 2nd female lead is not bitter about everything-she is kind and understanding, something that is very rare in most dramas. The main male lead is for once, not a jerk. He may seem perfect but as the story unravels itself, it is clear that he's not perfect; he has internal conflicts within his family and himself. The 2nd male lead is hilarious; his actions make me laugh my head off and turn my stomach out. He's the comedic highlight of the drama-the extremes he goes to please Bai Xue is excessive and unnecessary but that is what makes it funny. No character is annoying to the extreme. To me, the characters are lovable.
It's a breath of fresh air in the midst of all these dramas featuring revenge, chaos, war, and politics.
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Story: Oh wow, the story was amazing. Even though several people had said that in some parts of the drama, it was dragging a bit I didn't notice very much. I love the setting, the characters and mainly the plot.
Acting/Cast: EXCELLENT! All the actors & actresses put in everything to characterize their characters well. I loved all four members of Yi Zhi Mei, they each had time to shine. I love how the writers developed each character well and that you just can't hate any of the characters. He Xiao Mei was adorable, he was polite and gentle. Hu Ge was the rash character in the story. He was likeable as well, he was strong but brash, the bull in the Yi Zhi Mei. I think Li Ge Xiao is my favorite character because of his lazy nature and posture, pretending he doesn't care when he really does. He reminded me of Akiyama from Liar Game(the manga) but I loved Li Ge Xiao more because he can fight very well. ^.^ Then there's Yan San Niang. She's probably one of the few female characters I actually like. Not only is she pretty, but she can take care of herself. Unlike those girls who whine and wait to be saved, she can fight herself, thus people nicknaming her "The Divine Swallow Thief."
Music: I didn't pay much attention to the music, but nothing striked me as amazing.
Rewatch Value: I rarely rewatch dramas, because I just prefer not to. But for 'The Vigilantes in Masks,' I think I will because the story is so well developed and the characters are lovable. I would call this drama a masterpiece but then again there are a few cheesy effects that made me laugh at loud. Still, it's a well executed drama, one of my top 5 favorites.
Overall: I thoroughly enjoyed this drama. Even though at first I didn't expect much, I got hooked on the first episode and each episode afterwards gets better and better. I couldn't stop watching, and I can honestly say this is one of the few dramas I actually loved.
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Story: Let's say, to be honest, there isn't much of a real plot going on. It's just the girl trying to win the guy over, basically, for the entire 16 episodes. Yes, it does get boring at some parts. First it's the I-hate-you-but-you-just-keep-coming-to-me kind of relationship which I really don't understand. I did not hate this drama like some people do, I also do not LOVE this drama either. I think it's a drama to watch if you have a lot of free time and nothing to do(preferably in the summer).
Acting/Cast: First off, I don't feel the two leads have much chemistry between each other, at all. Jung So Min acted her character well but it's a very light drama, so then again you don't need to possess great talent to be able to act in Playful Kiss. Kim Hyun Joong was alright, I'm not a squealing fan girl for him because I haven't seen any dramas besides PK with him in it. Overall, the acting was alright, nothing actually stood out.
Music: I watched this too long ago to remember the music. :/
Re-watch value: Well, I typically don't re-watch dramas. I only re-watch if they are masterpieces like The Princess' Man. So giving this a 6 is a fair choice because there are some sweet funny moments that made me laugh.
Overall: I wouldn't call this a terrible drama. You just need to have patience to watch it. I recommend this drama to people who just want a light drama to watch when they have nothing to do.
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This drama draws you in, probably by far one of the best korean dramas I've watched. The lead actor, Joo Won does a brilliant job of portraying Lee Kang To, a ruthless pro japanese officer. He did such a wonderful job that I hated his character so much. His acting is just superb, I didn't expect this cruel side of him. The lead actress, Jin Se Yun is a new actress. To be honest, I did not quite like the main female character, Mok Dan. I wish the screenwriters could have developed Mok Dan into a better character because so far in the drama, all she has basically done was run, get caught, run, get caught again. She does serve as an important character to Lee Kang To because she becomes a love interest. Then there is Kimura Shunji, played by the second lead actor. Shunji's character development was a big twist in the drama. I praise the actor for Shunji because I certainly did not expect such a character change.
Overall, this drama is a must watch.
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STORY--7/10: In the beginning, the story showed a lot of promise. A story about an empty, broken man who and a vengeful, bloodthirsty girl was certainly very different from many stories; it was unique. The beginning showed potential of a man who would progress from a rash, street fighter into the best fighter in the nation but that idea was discarded when writers changed in episode 10. The first 10 episodes were not bad; they held an enormous amount of potential to evolve into a more exciting and logical series. However, after the writer switch, the series did not involve. Instead, it scattered into illogical pieces that didn't make sense and became very unexciting and boring. Too many illogical time skips happened and events were only said and not shown on screen; I found this to be the most disappointing of all because I would certainly liked to see the events since they were significantly important. So many unsolved mysteries and ends...the new writer totally forgot about the characters' childhoods (Jung Tae's promise to Gaya...) And also...what happened to Ok Ryeon becoming a spy/singer? She faded away from the story line and never really became a solid character.
Characters: In the beginning, I loved how humane Gaya was. The first writer highlighted Gaya's humanity. After episode 10, it seemed like Gaya just turned into some empty killing machine that possessed no emotions. She became difficult to relate to and was a very cruel and cold character. I think the writer meant to make her a self sacrificing character who putted up a cold exterior but actually cared for Jung Tae, but this was not clearly written. It was all very confusing and nothing was clearly explained. The audience had to just assume and many people had conflicting view points on Gaya. Jung Tae just became really boring in my opinion. I didn't really look forward to his scenes because he was the typical hero. He always believes in saving others and always gets beat up for it. I wish the writers made him a more complex character. I also really wished that the writers would emphasize his relationship with Gaya more because that was the core of their childhood story and their separation. I also wish that Ok Ryeon played a more significant role. She was literally just a love interest. Nothing more. I really like her personality but at the same time, I wish she played a much bigger role.
Acting: Im Soo Hyang played a cruel, badass, and cold woman very well. Although I wish she had more emotions in her eyes, her voice was phenomenal. She can act with her voice. Kim Hyun Joong improved as an actor...but I wasn't very impressed. I don't know if it's the character or his acting, but I really did not care for Jung Tae as much as I did for Gaya. Jin Se Yeon made Ok Ryeon extremely lovable and cheerful. I think this was the first drama of hers that I actually felt emotion through. All the other actors did very well but even the best acting in the world cannot help a stale story line.
Rewatch Value: I will rewatch some parts such as the actions, Gaya's interrogations and action scenes were really valuable. The action scenes in Inspiring generation were very thrilling and exciting to watch. Gaya's way of dealing with people is fascinating but at the same time, cruel. I would watch the beginning up to episode 10...but after episode 10 the story just went downhill. So i would not watch the remaining 14 episodes.
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