“The Untamed” – Chinese Drama Review 1

8/10: THE BROMANCE WAS EVERYTHINGGGGGGG. That is all.

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Before I started down the Koreaboo path of K-dramas, lol, I was an avid fan of Chinese dramas! For the longest time last year I was obsessed with the wildly popular “Ashes of Love” (Or the novel name, “Heavy Sweetness, Ash-like Frost”), so I may write a review for that one of these days!

Anyways, this drama. One of my co-workers highly recommended it to me, and I’m so glad I listened to her suggestion! I really enjoyed this drama!! For Chinese dramas, I tend to enjoy the fantasy/action genre, so this was right up my alley. I loved the complex plot because it really touched on many aspects of the human condition. Specifically, the hypocrisy of self-righteousness and how we often bring others down or use scapegoats in order to elevate or validate ourselves. There were many hard truths that were explored in interesting ways, and I really appreciated that I wasn’t just mindlessly watching a romping good time.

[WARNING: mild spoilers ahead!]

The main premise takes place in a more spiritual world where humans can “cultivate” energy to gain wisdom, strength, powers, etc, and there are demons and ghosts and whatnot chilling around as well, haha. The story centres around a playful, carefree, but extremely talented and witty spiritual cultivator named Wei Wuxian (or Weiying), who forms a surprising friendship with a stoic, uptight, and graceful young lord named Lan Zhan (or Lan Wangji). Wuxian ends up becoming an extremely powerful magician-like person through unconventional means that most people of the time (except faithful Lan Zhan) would deem “evil crooked paths of spiritual cultivation” (EVEN THOUGH HE WAS FORCED ONTO THAT PATH OMG okay sorry, lol). Anyways, without giving too much away, he gains infamy and notoriety, but there are many insidious dealings and goings-on that he and Lan Zhan must face together.

The highlight of this drama was definitely the acting and the beautiful brotherhood friendship between the main leads, portrayed by Xiao Zhan (Wei Wuxian) and Wang Yibo (Lan Zhan). I know in the original novel and manga and even anime (called the “Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation”, or “Mo Dao Zu Shi”) that the two men were definitely in a more romantic relationship, but in the drama it is portrayed as a deep, platonic soulmate connection, which honestly I think makes the relationship even more epic!! Romanic connections always involve a level of physical attraction, but with a deep platonic friendship, the two people are tied purely by a love and respect of the other person’s character and personality. There were some hints of them feeling some kind of way perhaps, but I appreciated that it was fairly subtle and not explicit. I know people like their deviances these days, but I’m glad an amazing male friendships got to be given centre stage, even if the decision to make that change was probably due to China’s strict social laws about these things, lol. If anyone is familiar with the Bible, the relationship between Wei Wuxian and Lan Zhan is what I imagine the friendship between David and Jonathan to be like in the Old Testament. In 1 Samuel, it is written that Jonathan and David loved each other as themselves, and were of one soul, and Jonathan even goes against his own father to save David. There are many parallels between that friendship and the one in this drama, and I was honestly so moved. Not every deep intimate relationship between two people has to be romantic or erotic, just saying!! We’re all about gender equality these days right? If girls can have amazingly intimate, but non-sexual friendships with one another, why can’t guys? Anyways, I digress haha. Yes, the main actors did a terrific job of developing their characters, and I felt myself growing to love both of them! Wei Wuxian is the obvious heartthrob – dashing, outspoken, clever, charismatic. He is for sure my favourite character because he never loses himself despite his troubles; he stays a hopeful, selfless, wise-cracking and fun-loving person who doesn’t let the world break him. Also, the man is seriously the sassiest mother-hugger alive, there were some points where I legit was gasping because he dared to go there and speak savage truths. He’s also so hilarious in general I can’t haha. And contrasted with Lan Zhan’s icy “no-nonsense” demeanour, the dynamic is priceless.

But by the end, Lan Zhan won me over just as much, even though I swear he spoke like less than 100 words in the drama total. His eyes and actions were so expressive, and the way he stood by his friend with the unfaltering innocence of a child but the hard wisdom of man, showing his loyalty unwaveringly, was truly second to none. Juxtaposed against other people in Wei Wuxian’s life who took advantage of him, turned their backs on him, or were straight-up conniving bastards, Lan Zhan was the only one who had honour.

Also, just a viewer discretion, there is quite a bit of gore and graphic imagery, as well as spooky supernatural shit lol, so be prepared for that. And there are some truly sad unjust things that happen, so maybe have some tissues ready. If I have any criticisms, it would be that the very first scenes are SUPER confusing. It all makes sense later and ties together really well, but yeah, if you aren’t willing to stick around for a while and patiently watch things unfold and be revealed, you might lose interest. And as with many Chinese dramas, they do tend to drag out certain scenes and story arcs, but girl, just fast forward a bit, no big deal! I’m re-watching it with my sister right now, and she is into it so far! And I loved the ending, tbh.

Overall, I would recommend this drama to people who enjoy fantasy action “wuxia” dramas and are okay without romance hahaha. By the end, I hope you’ll love the characters and friendships as much as I did!

Bonus: the OST original character songs sung by the actors are fire! The lyrics are all very poignant and relevant to the story, so I would encourage you to look them up and have a listen!

Thanks for reading, and happy watching!

 

“Memories of the Alhambra” – Korean Drama Review 9

9/10: I enjoyed every minute of this drama! And I thought the ending was pretty much perfect as far as giving me closure, but also leaving potential there for more story to be told.

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What an intensely wild and fresh drama!! I had heard mixed reviews about this Netflix original, mainly that it suffered from a confusing plot and got really messy near the end. The writer, Song Jae-jung, was the writer for “W”, and that drama got similar criticisms…I loved “W”, but even though the reviews didn’t deter me much, I still went in with some reserved expectations. I re-subscribed to Netflix AGAIN for this hahahahaha.

Folks, it was really good!!! The concept and storyline was very unique and intriguing, and the many complex layers of plots and developments is really what kept me compelled and interested from start to finish. I don’t want to give away anything, because part of the reason it was so good was because I didn’t know what the fudge was going on half the time, lol. I know for some viewers that could be a point of frustration or weakness, but for me, I love stories that challenge or confuse me, as long as the pay-off and resolution are satisfying. (side note: OMG THE ENDING…I’m speechless. No spoilers, but…goodness.)

The basic premise revolves around this newly developed “AR” (augmented reality) game where players put a special lens into their eyes and are then able to walk around their real-world defeating enemies, completing quests, collecting items and weapons, levelling up, etc. You can imagine the amount of shit that can potentially go down with such technology in the works. I would say this drama’s genre is definitely fantasy-action, with a healthy dose of thriller and mystery. Romance does make a well-developed appearance, but compared to the other working elements in the drama, I was less concerned about the main couple’s relationship (even though it was very well-done, and I did care, don’t get me wrong) and more concerned about HOW THE HELL YOO JIN-WOO WOULD GET HIMSELF OUT OF THE VARIOUS MESSES HE WAS IN.

The main protagonist, Yoo Jin-Woo, played by Hyun Bin, is a CEO of an investment company and is extremely interested in buying the rights of the aforementioned AR game. I’m not familiar with Hyun Bin’s other works, but he did an AMAZING job in this drama, and I loved his character so much haha. Park Shin-Hye plays the main female lead, Jung Hee-Joo, and she does a great job as usual. She plays the owner of a small, mildly run-down hostel in Granada, Spain, and for a number of reasons gets caught up with Yoo Jin-Woo and the AR game as well. The character herself was not super unique or interesting compared to other female leads, but to me, this drama was mainly about Yoo Jin-Woo, so Jung Hee-Joo’s purpose was to complement his story, and I think she fulfilled the writers’ intentions. Perhaps people who were hoping for a more romance-driven plot would be disappointed, but I personally didn’t mind that the relationship was a side plot. Also shoutout to EXO’s Chanyeol, who has a very significant and mysterious supporting role. I was super impressed by his acting, and his character was by far one of the most interesting!! Another supporting character I absolutely loved was Jung Hee-Joo’s younger sister, Jung Mei-Joo. SHE WAS FRIGGING HILARIOUS HAHAHA, and I loved all her interactions with Yoo Jin-Woo!!! Sorry for being ambiguous, but the drama is really best enjoyed going into it knowing as little as possible!

I really can’t think of many things to nitpick about, as story-wise, I thought it was almost flawless in the way it was handled and visually rendered. Maybe the only thing would be that flashbacks were used generously to keep the audience guessing about the chronological timeline of events. I personally didn’t mind, but I could see how for some people it could get tiring to re-watch scenes, or become confusing due to all the overlap.

There were so many layers to this drama, each episode gives the audience a lot to digest and anticipate!! I would highly recommend this drama to anyone who enjoys video games, thrilling plots, and action! I wish I could say more!!

Thanks for reading, and happy watching!!

“Romance is a Bonus Book” – Korean Drama Review 8

7.5/10: It was definitely a sweet and charming, feel-good drama that made me smile 🙂

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Guys, I re-subscribed to Netflix just for this, that’s how devoted I am to Lee Jong Suk lmao (I had cancelled my subscription because I was basically only using Viki to watch dramas at this point lolz).

Unrelated sidenote: As I had mentioned previously, I convinced my fiancé to watch “While You Were Sleeping” with me even though he is totally not an asian drama person at all…and he LOVED IT haha. He got so into it right off the bat, and thought it was great! I was so happy he enjoyed himself hehehehe…and just for the record, for me, it was just as good the second time through!

And now back to “Romance is a Bonus Book” lol.

I really enjoyed this drama! It was a slice-of-life romance with likeable characters and realistic problems. I wouldn’t call it over-rated by any means, but it’s definitely a drama for those who enjoy lighter fare – no crazy action, plot twists, evil villains or tragedies. It was a heartfelt portrayal of the struggles of a middle-aged divorced woman trying to get back into her career. I’m not sure how socially accurate it was because I live in Canada, and as fas as I know, it’s very common for women to take time off work to raise a family and get back to hustling in the future. But it seems like in Korea the situation is much different! I was so troubled and surprised at how much negative stigma and  workplace barriers there were towards older women who take careers breaks. Hopefully this drama will create more awareness about the problems in Korea if such issues actually exist!

Lee Jong Suk as the main male, Cha Eun-Ho, a successful writer, university professor, and co-founder and editor-in-chief of a book publishing company, did a great job as usual playing basically everyone’s dream man, lol. Even though this character had a lot less “wow factor” compared to perhaps some of his other more dramatic roles, there was really nothing to dislike or complain about. He was a prince charming in a more real-world setting! Lee Na Young plays the main female lead, Kang Dan-i, a 37-year-old divorced woman who wants to get back into her career as a former successful business marketer in order to support her daughter as a single parent. She was such a precious character, I was truly won over by her patience, gentleness, and enduring optimism despite her rock-bottom circumstances. Her resourcefulness and skills help her throughout the drama, and her sweet personality had me rooting for her wholeheartedly along the way. The main romance between Kang Dan-i and Cha Eun-Ho was super cute, even though I am not the biggest fan of “noona dramas” where the woman is a lot older than the man. In this case though, the way they set up the relationship made sense to me, and I could accept it, haha.

As much as my sisters and I enjoyed the drama as a feel-good watch, I will say I think the re-watchability is rather low. The premise revolves around realistic people working at a book publishing company, so of course the pace is slower and less intense than other dramas. I think definitely some people might find it drags, or that the whole plot is a bit boring or uninteresting. But for me, I LOVE books and reading and writing, so my nerdy side was living for it the whole time hahaha. In fact, my favourite part of the drama was actually the focus on the literature and the process of book making – how a manuscript is sent to a publishing company to be cared for by so many different teams that review and edit, design covers and layout, and plan and implement marketing strategies. I absolutely loved how the characters in the drama had such passion for books! I also really liked how the end of each episode included excerpts from Cha Eun-Ho’s and Kang Dan-i’s own writings that express their feelings.

Overall, this drama left me feeling calm and happy, and it really made me want to read more books and buy more books!!!

Thanks for reading, and happy watching!