How to destroy a well built story in the final episode

Step by Step is a cute, slow-burn office romance about a new employee falling in love with a guy, who later becomes his boss (that's all you need to know, really).

The story in the beginning is really nice and well built. We can see grown ups falling in love slowly. Because they are boss and employee, which isn't easy, and because they both have backstories. I am in love with Jeng and Pat, who consider what their feelings might do or mean. The two of them grow stronger together, push each other to become better people and they both make mistakes and learn from them. For once, we have a love rival appearing who actually gets a shot - and it doesn't work out. Not because Pat is destined to be with Jeng or because Put is a villain. They just are different and things have changed between them.
The side couple was a great story, too! They are friends and scared of the next step or don't know how to take that step. And then one of them is in a relationship, which creates even more problems. All the characters are so real and I loved so much about the series. The acting and writing, some of their conversations and quotes... At times, there was too much about business for my taste, but it is an office series, so it was to be expected and okay.

What cost this series so so many stars - and made me write the review - is the ending. It took the writers one episode with overlength to destroy the whole series they had built so carefully. What we built over 11 wonderful episodes and what made this series so great was thrown out of the window with full force in the end. Pat becomes a hotheaded boy who overreacts and Jeng a shy mouse who won't speak up for himself. And then they jump in time - for whatever reason - and we are back to zero. How did they expect the viewer to buy that the trust they'd allegedly lost in each other after their big drama would be back after a bit of a timejump? If it wasn't bad enough for Pat to get over Jeng, why did he wait to meet him for years? And they did Jaan and Jane dirty, but sending them off to Japan and not letting viewer see their happy end in an OVERLONG EPISODE!! I am still so angry.
I did enjoy the lovey-dovey scenes of Pat and Jeng once they "resolved" their issues. They were cute, they played the roles well. But I couldn't forgive the writers for simply causing a big drama to get some tears and then ending it the way everybody wants it to end.

All my love goes out to the actors, who did a great job. Chemistry and acting were great, I enjoyed everything between them. But that last episode would have been better off not written.

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Aoto Junko is working in a famous law firm. Her boss is Serizawa Gou and even though he enjoys attention, he'd rather have it come to him itself than work for it. One lucky day, they have a case of a closed room murder, where they meet Enomoto Kei. He is interested in the way to open a locked room, not so much in murder. But still, he helps the lawyers to solve the case. And it will only be the first of many...

Another classical detective drama, where the one who solves the cases has a special talent and they use it to solve cases. The good thing about this drama is the character of Enomoto. It's just fun to look at him. I also think I would have liked more development between him and Junko. There were signs of Enomoto getting more involved with her, but not as fas as the audience would like to see it.

The ending was really nice, and even during the series I wasn't bored, because the cases were never the same. It was about unlocking the rooms in many different ways, so it was enjoyable.

So basically, I would give this drama a good rating if there were more character development, but seeing how it is a classical detective drama, I will gladly give it 3* for keeping me entertained. Watch it especially if you like Ohno as an actor, because if there is an idol who can act, then it's probably him.

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After a 6 year coma, the police officer Yang Si On wakes up with many of her memories lost. But she gained the ability to see ghosts. Realizing that she starts to see them when she touches their stuff in the lost and found center - her new work place - she starts to help them. Soon her co-worker Geon U gets interested in her ability to find corpse that where somewhere buried in the woods and stuff, so she keeps her close. Si On helps many ghosts, until she sees the ghost of Hyeong Jun und slowly finds out more about her own story...

Let's see. I'd describe this drama as some kind of romance, detective-action. But both a lacking a lot. For a romance story, it has too little chemistry and romance parts. For action, it is way too slow. You know everything two episodes before the main character discovers the secret. But while you already know it, they still try to slowly lead you to the "truth". So for an action drama, it's too slow. But it also isn't a drama or detective story. So clearly, it's just anything.

At first, the horror part was showing. I liked how she saw ghosts and the atmosphere they created. But from episode 5 on, they somehow messed up with the story. I felt a bit bored and even thought it kept me watching, there were so many times where I just thought "Oh. My. God. Why?" My biggest minus point is the way Si On acted at the end. I understand that she was a cutie girl with Hyeong Jun, before she had the accident. But after the accident she was calm and cool and I liked that about her. But during the last episode she goes back to her cutie character. Why? Wouldn't that show even better that she was able to move on and forget the accident and everything that happened? So I was kind of disappointed in the main character. And of course the lack of chemistry. I think I would like the drama more if there was less romance. Since they didn't have the chemistry for it, I felt bad whenever they had to kiss and show their emotions for each other...

So with that, I can only give it 3*. Sometimes it was boring, but it was still a good drama to watch. I enjoyed the episodes each week and liked the characters, even if they didn't go well with each other. If you like ghosts, you'll probably also like this. And even if you don't like horror, let me tell you: It's not that bad. The first ~4 episodes were a bit creepy but it is not so bad that you would get nightmares. The ghosts don't look creepy and it's only the atmosphere that makes it a tiny bit a "horror" drama. I hate horror and didn't think this was scary.

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Natsuki is completely devastated on her wedding when her husband runs away right before the ceremony. In her most desperate moment photographer Asahi takes a picture of her. A week later, his boss sends him to take the money from her, so he sends her a comforting letter with a picture of her smiling that he took on the wedding. He also offers her a job for the summer in the tiny village he lives, since he found out that she is a cook and they need one for their beach restaurant. Somehow Natsuki ends up working in that village and getting entangled in the love triangle between the disappeared Kasumi, Asahi and Kanae.

So, this drama has Yamapi and a love story. Seeing how it's a Japanese drama, most of the more experienced drama watchers can already guess that it won't be the most exciting love story ever made. Instead, they have nice chemistries, cute stories and give importance to all the areas of live. Love, heartbreak, friendship, work, dreams, hope... You name it. That's what makes this drama good but also a bit bad. It has so many nice characters who grow on you, but on the other side there isn't anything happening with the characters you want to watch. For me, there was also some development with Yamapi missing. Not his character, but his feelings seemed so random to me. It was a good story, but I want to see him changing more. If he can't play it, they have to script a scene to make his inner feelings obvious or something.

So, I actually enjoyed the drama, but not enough to give it more than 3*. There are better romance dramas out there, but also worse. You will enjoy it if you want to relax, if you like Yamapi, Karina or Toda Erika or if you want to see a tiny story like Anego or Sapuri.

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Asako is a lonely woman, who tries to forget that feeling by sleeping with various men. At some point in live, she realizes that she won't get the warmth she is looking for by doing that, so she wants to find a man who will make her pregnant. The one she decides on is the gay Katsuhiro, who just found a boyfriend, Naoya. Naoya doesn't know why the woman would want to have child by a gay guy. He also doesn't understand why Katsuhiro would want a child, since he is gay and will never have one. During the film, the three of them have to overcome some test and the opinion of society.

The story is basically about the social structure of Japan, about three people seeking warmth in that society and about intimacy. While it is a serious theme, there are many comedic elements in it. Not in the usual Japanese comedy style, but just situations that turn out funny or strange and that will make you laugh because it's genuinely funny, not because it's overacted or crazy. The whole story idea is actually cute, only the ending a bit too serious for the rest of the movie.

The characters are lovable and I really like how they portrayed the relationship to the family members or how the relationship between the gay couple and Asako develops. It was all nicely paced and I enjoyed watching the movie. They have some bed scenes in it, so the movie is not for the younger audience, but it's discretely done, so it should be fine to watch it, if you know that they are in there somewhere.

I gave this movie 4* because I wasn't too fond of the ending. But if you want to see a serious film, like gays and want to learn about Japanese society, this will be your movie!

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Anthony Kim is dubbed the King of Dramas. What made him become that king is his lacking scruples of spending money, kicking people out and risking something. He loves numbers and goes by them. But one day, a person dies because he was too eager to finish his drama. And with that, Anthony is kicked out of his production firm and dead in the drama industry. That is until three years later, he gets an offer. If he only had a script for a dark, ancient drama, that wasn't like all the other dramas... And that's where Lee Go Eun comes into the game. She wrote such a script, three years ago. But who knows if she is willing to work with Anthony Kim, the person, who made her loose her dream of becoming a script writer, because he was too eager.

This drama was interesting already, just by the fact that it shows how a drama is made. Add the good actors and the story to it and it can only become better. It isn't centered on the romance, more on the development of the characters. I felt like they grew and changed so much from the first episode until the last. Of course, a character like Anthony is supposed to change. But even all the other characters didn't just stay the way they are. It made the drama seem very real and I got attached to it because of that. Even if we look at the side characters, we can see them develop, grow and change.

I especially loved the acting in this one. Siwon might not be perfect (acting wise), but his character just fit so perfect into that role! He was hilarious but serious at the right times. Just as they needed it.

But even though I say this drama is a masterpiece, there is something bad as well. If there are problems in producing a drama, I understand that. I understand, that everybody tried to keep Anthony down, keep him from producing another drama. But that's material for the first three, maximum four episodes. It can't be, that they are still fighting over producing basics up to episode 8. I got bored of it and was so happy, when it ended. Of course the problems were exciting and different from each. Unexpected, so to say. But annoying. It dragged the good story a bit.

Aside from that, I really enjoyed watching it.

I would recommend it to you, if you like Siwon, want to know how dramas are made and how strict the entertainment business is. But also, if you want a nice romance story, that isn't over the top but rather real.

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Kimi wa Petto is an amazing story in itself, so this series was nice and good! There is this career woman called Sumire who ends up breaking up with her boyfriend because he couldn't deal with her earning more money, being taller than him and having a higher education. Of course she is very hurt, so she wants to find a bit of comfort by buying a pet. Just that morning, there had been a box with a dog in it in front of her house, so she wants to get that dog. Sadly, it is already gone and instead she finds a young guy in said box. He takes her home after she faints and when he refuses to leave her house, she lets him stay under one condition: he has to become her pet.

It is a classic story, has already been told in another series and a movie and is based on a manga. All of them pull on my heartstrings. I just love how Momo and Sumire are and that nobody is really 100% hateful.

The cast for Momo was really good, because he has these big eyes and fluffy hair you would want to see on someone who is a 'pet'. Sumire might not have been the best choice in my opinion, because she looks a bit too young and also always insecure, but still did a good job. Hasumi was a good choice, I think they tried to make him be a bit less serious by having more sound effects, since he himself isn't much of a fun character where Momo and Sumire are really funny. Also, what was that with his lines being replayed three times, in a dreamy manner? At some point I just wanted him to go away. (sorry, Hasumi-senpai!)

It is also inevitable to compare this work to the series with MatsuJun and Koyuki in the main roles. That series was one of the first I ever watched and has a special place in my heart. Aside from that it was so well made, because MatsuJun is a great Takeshi and Koyuki as Sumire was perfect. She has that ice-queen attitude but can also become really warm. I love her, I love MatsuJun, I loved Kimi wa Pet, I didn't expect this new version to reach it. In the end, it really didn't quite reach the 2003 drama, but I enjoyed it very much and was able to finish it within a few days, which speaks for itself. The story was no surprise but I still enjoyed seeing Momo and Sumire.

So, if you liked the old series, you definitely can check this one out as well! If you like cute romance stories, where you don't have to think too much, this one is for you.

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In the Japanese prefecture Koichi opens a new devision called "Hospitality devision". They are responsible to make the prefecture more admirable to visitors and should think about how to get more tourists to come to this prefecture. To make that happen, Kakemizu starts to get one famous star, who was born there, to represent the prefecture and talk good about it on TV - and who would've known that this famous guy would actually be the key to the success of the hospitality division! He somehow leads Kakemizu to a famous travel agent and with the new part time employee Myoujin they work hard for a better Koichi.

Actually, I sometimes felt like I was watching some advertisement. But it wasn't one that's boring. They really brought out the best of both, the story and Koichi. Of course I wanted to watch it because of Nishikido Ryo. His character was cute, but nothing special. Even the other characters weren't that great. But that also wasn't really the point of the story. It is a part of the story, and that's what makes me like this movie so much. It's kind of an advertisement, mixed with some real life stories. It could be some documentary on TV, just that this one is really based on a book. I won't say that this movie doesn't have flaws. It sometimes indeed is boring and in all honesty, even though the story is heartwarming, it's not all that exciting. It's one of those flowing, calm Japanese stories, that you are able to enjoy after a tough day at work.

Meaning, if you are okay with watching Horikita Maki. Her character this time was exceptionally pure. I wasn't against that, since it fit the story, but seeing her act like that again and again makes it hard to watch her after some time...

Anyway, for the acting of Ryo and the good mix of Koichi and story, I'll give this 4*. I really enjoyed watching a part of Japan that I haven't experienced myself yet - but I'll definitely go there.

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Shijikou Kyousuke is the love child of a M police officer and an S domina-gangster. But he is lucky, in his DNA are both of their parts, S and M, so one day, when his crush is kept a hostage, his hidden Hentai Kamen (=masked pervert) power awakes when he puts on a females panty on his head, thinking that it was the mask of the gangsters. And since then, he fights the evil guys with his Hentai Kamen power.

After reading the synopsis, I will suggest you one thing: Watch it with friends, who like strange movies. And if you'll watch it alone, then approach it not with the thought of "I want to watch a good movie" but more with the thought of "This is going to be so strange!".

I really have to say, I liked this movie. Even though it was strange and ridiculous, I loved how everything in the storyline still made sense. Of course the theme is a bit pervy, but thinking about how good Hentai Kamen's body looks, I am actually thankful for the pervyness of the movie. It is fun, nothing serious and still has a cute and fun story. It's like a good parody on all the superhero movies that people seem to love recently.

With that said, please only watch it if you are old enough. The Hentai Kamen fights with his crown jewels, so if you are too young to laugh about it, you might not be able to enjoy the movie.

For me, this is a masterpiece. Not for the epic storyline, but for the good balance of strangeness, story, acting and the good humor. Watch it at parties!

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Min Hyeok is the rich heir of a big company, but instead of following his father, he would like to marry Ji Hui, the love of his life. Sadly, his father wants him to marry Se Yeon. At the same time, Yu Jeong is happily together with Do Hun for seven years now. When they celebrates the day of their engagement it starts to rain and they meet an accident. When Do Hun goes out to check what the car hit he discovers a girl, bleeding but still breathing. Being scared of loosing his bright future as a prosecutor he lies to Yu Jeong and goes home with her. When the police comes to find her, she tries to save her boyfriend and tells them, that she drove the car. With that statement, she gets all the anger from Min Hyeok, who from now on decides to make her life as hard as possible - and sending her to jail with the highest sentence possible is only the start of that.

First I want to repeat that I am not a very big fan of all the melodramatic series, especially if they are Korean since they tend to let all the characters cry enough tears to water all the deserts of this world. But having said that, I really enjoyed this drama! The best part was probably the acting. All the characters did well, even if they had to cry waterfalls. They did it beautifully. Also all the angry and crazy scenes were played beautifully, and let me tell you, there were enough scenes that would've made me crazy if something like that happened to me. And with that, we're at the kind of problematic part of this drama.

The story is good and classic. It's some kind of revenge, but then they fall in love. Been there, done that. But then the main couple isn't the only one involved. At some point, I didn't even know who wanted to take revenge on whom anymore. Because all the characters where somehow involved and it just was a crazy hate-story. That's also what made me doubt that romantic relationship between Min Hyeok and Yu Jeong so much. It came way too fast and out of the blue. I wished they took some time from the overlong beginning and put it at the back of the story. At first I thought I wouldn't like this drama much, judging by the slow start of it. But the previews kept me watching, which is a good thing. The pace picked up and I was happy as it was, only the ending was a bit rushed, together with the romance.

So, all in all, I can really recommend this drama. For people who like melodramatic stuff, this will probably be very exciting and good. If you are expecting a great romance line, don't watch it. It's not worth the romance, but the relationship of all the involved parties. The exciting part isn't the love, it's the hate and the things that change through time. The scary secrets everybody has and that make you see them in a different light, once you know them. I guess that's also why the drama is called "Secret". It's after all the essence of that drama.

3* out of 5* for a great drama, that just happens to be not my style of drama. Still, definitely recommended to fans of those dramas!

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Zhou Zhen - son of an ex-gangster and now a rich hotel-manager - is crazy in love with his girlfriend and would do anything for her. When she suddenly leaves him, he gets depressed and only enjoys listening to a special radio show from Liang Xiao Shu. Xiao Shu is the good daughter of an ex-police man who won't let her precious daughter stay out later than 22:00 o'clock because it's dangerous. Xiao Shu's boyfriend cheats on her in Zhou Zhen's hotel, where they meet the first time. And they become friends by trying to be the shoulder to lean on in the sad times they have to get through. Nobody knew how deeply they were connected...

So basically, this story starts out perfect. George Hu and Chen Ting Ni really are a good couple and I can't help but love them together. The side-characters all go well together, they are all lovable and cute. I was very addicted until episode 15. That was when the drama you were expecting for the last 10 episodes to happen finally unfolded. The climax was there, but somehow it got dragged out so much, that I got bored and actually wanted to stop watching a few times. I had to cut every episode into three pieces to finish watching this drama. And then the climax isn't all that great either, because they kept building up problems instead of keeping one or two episodes to resolve everything. The ending is hurried and unromantic, if you ask me, and the only good part at the end was Zhou Zhen being his romantic, steady, lovely character. He made the drama 100% better - just too sad that it's not much about him in the end. Also the time invested into side characters at the beginning was way better and more detailed, while at the end they couldn't handle all the storylines they built. I felt disappointed so much to miss out all the other love-lines.

But on the other hand, the OST was awesome, it was still always funny as well - especially if Ying Ying and the grandmother were there, and the feeling of love for the characters didn't fade away. The only thing lacking was the storyline, I guess. But still, the last 6 episodes were too cruel to give it more than 3*. Also the ending wasn't as good as the beginning, so it's just a so-so drama with a 3* rating. It wasn't bad, but just not paced good enough for my taste. I'd recommend it, if you like Taiwan dramas anyway, like the cast or want to see a lovely meeting to marriage drama with your classical involvement of parents and drama!

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Na Jeong moved from the countryside to Seoul. Her parents opened a boarding house for students who came to Seoul, so it never gets boring in her home! There is her very close friend since childhood called Trash, a Seo Taiji fangirl called Yun Jin, two country pumpkins they named HaeTae and Cheon Po and the two cousins Smiles and Chil Bong. This simple slice of live drama tells the story of these 7 young people and how they grow up to become adults.

After the popularity of Reply to 1997 they decided to make another story that's built up similar, just that they start in 1994. I really liked 1997 but I was so happy to see that they made something new out of the story. The beginning is similar - Na Jeong is a fangirl of some basketball player. And they show the future, how the main couple is married, without showing the husband. They just give hints every episode and tease you, so you don't know who it is actually.

I really liked all the characters in this drama. They are fun to watch, lovable and grow on you from episode to episode. The only thing that could have been better is the chemistry between the couples. Not only the main couple, but in general. The couple that was sparkling the most for me is the mother and the father.

But aside from that, the kids showed a good friendship with each other, so the drama was really enjoyable! The story never dragged, I loved to see who she would end up with and I especially like the ending, that's just lovely and peaceful. It shows exactly what you needed and wasn't rushed.

For the lack of chemistry when it comes to love I deducted one star, but I still recommend this to everyone, who likes funny dramas with a bit of romance and a good slice of live story!

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A mother of four children moves in to a new apartment in a very unique way. One of the children is walking with her, the other three are hidden in luggage. Only the oldest son is allowed to go out, the other three are locked up inside. And then the mother disappears. How will three children aged from 6 to 12 survive with a bit of money their mother left them?

This movie is based on a real case form Japan, where the mother abandoned her children. I wouldn't call it a bad movie, but since I am the type to watch movies to enjoy myself rather than being reminded of the cruel world, I couldn't really rate it better. It is not a bad movie, but it is saddening and depressing to watch and think how this really happened. This movie shows many of the social problems Japan had back in 2004 and still has. For example nobody seems to think they have to do something about the children who live alone. And then there is regular bullying. There is the issue of a good friend of the oldest son trying to prostitute herself to get some money for the kids and so on. There is a lot of serious stuff and even though the movie is not bad, it's not what I want to watch. So it get's 2* from, but a warm recommendation to everyone who likes realistic films that tell you the problems of a society. If you are interested in Japan, you should try and think outside of the frames while watching the movie, since it can teach you a lot about the Japanese society.

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When Shioris parents get killed in front of her eyes, she is saved by a devil and he starts to stay by her side as her butler. To take revenge, she goes back to her house as a boy, to inherit the Funtom corporation and searches for the killer. The devil beside her is always there to take her orders and does, whatever she tells him to. Until they can finally find the organization who killed her parents.

If you want to watch this movie, I suggest you bring two things with you. First of all, you should NOT think about the manga while doing so. And secondly, you should like Hiro Mizushima. I did both things and to be honest, I was able to enjoy the movie pretty well! What people will be most interested in is probably, how much the movie differs from the manga... Well, it starts with the originally tiny boy being a girl. And then there are many characters missing. Of course they couldn't fit in a long storyline, so for the most part there are no other devils (Grell) and some other side characters are missing (the cook).

If you look at it as just a movie, that by chance has similar characters like the manga, the result is actually decent! Most of the time, it's there to show how awesome Sebastian is and to be honest, I love that because Sebastian is the reason I watched it. The rest of the movie is a tiny, obvious detective story. There are only two or three things I couldn't see directly, but most of the time I got the hint immediately and with that, I wondered what the movie wants to show us, beside Sebastian.

So, in the end, I can say I enjoyed the movie. Though there were some scenes that I thought were ridiculous, I still can give this movie 4* because it showed me exactly what I wanted. A warning to those who watch it for the sake of the manga: don't. And a clear recommendation to watch it, if you love Mizushima Hiro.

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Na Mi Rae is not what you would call happy with her life. She works in a callcenter and even though she is popular, she wants to work in a field that has more meaning. Things change drastically, when a lady arrives that claims to be her from the future and wants to stop her from marrying the guy that destroys her life and push her into marriage with a famous chaebol.

The basic concept is really interesting, as well as the cast was chosen well. But in the end, they failed at so many parts. After some time, you get the feeling that nothing happens and only work matters for that drama. It is fine if you are interested into television work, but if you want to see character develop or relationships grow, you should rather watch something else.

For me, Mi Rae is a really selfish character, that seems to not have any feelings for anyone except for herself and at times for her brother. Loving is something she claims to do, but really, I never saw her. On the other side, Yu Gyeong was really nice to watch. She is also one of the characters that grew the most during the show, but sadly the focus never really was on her. I can't believe I actually like the side girl a bit more than the main girl.

Well, in the end, I still gave the drama 3* because I am one of the people that are interested in broadcasting work. I liked the stories she worked on and for me, the ending wasn't that bad. I felt like they all were kind of lucky.

I can't recommend this drama wholeheartedly. But if you like the actors, you will probably be able to sit through it.

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