Sweet, funny beginning for 2022

Business Proposal shines brighter when taken as what it is: a light, funny, heart-warming romcom, not meant to be realistic or too over-the-top. It has just the right amount of silliness mixed with heartfelt characters and stories like ones you've probably heard in countless other kdramas - yet, it is the comfortable acting and ambience in each episode that makes you want to watch more. Last two episodes were a bit of a mess though, I have to admit.

Sejeong was definitely the highlight, her way of acting makes you want to pay attention solely to her; there's an earnest, beautiful energy whenever she's on the screen. Inah didn't fall short in her performance, I especially loved the more serious moments. Personally, I think the cast was very well picked. I had my doubts regarding Hyoseop but, surprisingly, his slightly awkward yet determined charm did a number on me. It's a great deal, because now I look forward to all of their individual future projects ^-^

It had some funny CGI here and there, the soundtrack in my opinion could've had more variety (but since SBS gave us a Sejeong OST, I won't be too angry). If you want something funny to watch, or just to have a really good time, go ahead! You surely won't be too disappointed

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Mild spoilers for this review (I won't reveal anything, only speak lightly over themes)!

There's something wistfully sad and empty about this movie, and many others of the same genre of love-meets-some-magical-loophole (I'm looking at you, The Beauty Inside and Your Name). Because the tragedy feels so unavoidable, it makes every memory, even the happy ones, feel sorrowful and pitiful. There is also a stillness, a calmness that isn't common in western cinema in all these films which contributes to a sense of reality, if it makes sense. It turns something made out of fiction to a scene resembling a memory, like when you're recalling a passage from a book.

The lack of a huge plot twist in this one makes you almost feel suffocated.... call me a hopeless romantic but there was always a chance for something more to happen, for a solution, a cure and yet, it didn't. That just deepened the emptiness of everything, and made the story much sadder. I was surprisingly not angry at the end, only compassionate and left with a vague feeling of hopelessness.

The one big detail that bothered me was the intensity that is given to a relationship that barely has a week. There's a rushing to built closeness, to have you attached to characters you barely know, barely see, that fails a lot with me (I've seen it in another Japanese works before..). If I wasn't curious and (mildly) patient, I would've dropped this film.

Acting and filming were both on point, everything was far too beautiful! I absolutely adore Nana Komatsu, I feel this pull to watch more of her works (which seem very diverse, from romance to psychological thrillers).

This is honestly a great movie if you don't have high hopes and want something still, calm like river waters.

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The World of My 17 is the adaptation of a popular webtoon, set around the lives of a group of friends and their adventures: their crushes and romantic relationships, as well as the ups and downs in their friendships.

The drama fell victim of the usual high school kdrama troops: there's a cold-hearted yet beautiful girl that attracts everyone to her, there's a bully with a tragic backstory, there's a very bubbly main lead that believes the world is made of rainbows, there's the adorable airhead and there's the outspoken wannabe idol girl. This aspect really limits
any authenticity given that many times the writers will always have to break the same old boxes they put their own characters in.

Nonetheless, it had the gift of a very fluid story with no halts whatsoever and a good pacing - with just a little bit of an awkward acting here and there (i'm staring at you HyunBin). And it wasn't badly produced, just plain and simple, with some good lovely life lessons. It was nice that we got the point of view of various characters and generally speaking, the main cast is adorable. The very ending scene was my favourite.

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I seriously didn't expect to like this series as much as I did! I somewhat started it with the impression there'd be something about it that would throw me off - which turned out to be a complete lie. We are met with two different stories and given the premise that only one will have a "flowery" like ending. It's interesting how they explored both narratives, although I wished they could've developed them a tad more.

It had some familiar faces, like Gun Joo and some Love Playlist cameos that any die hard Playlist fan would recognize right away, and some new faces. Shi Eun's character is the one I liked the most, even if her ending didn't met my expectations of her. Kang Hoon was also quite cute, I'm happy to hear he'll be a supporting character in an upcoming kdrama I want to watch.

The soundtrack and pacing were both wonderful too. Overall, this whole series is lovely and nicely put.

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I think part of why I loved this series so much it's because it reminds me of "Age of Youth"- which is, by far, my favourite drama of all time.

It doesn't have the same orchestrated plot nor the big, one hour long episodes, but Love Playlist has those oh-so-typical characters that we grow fond of, that plot that captures life in its particular ups and downs and even cliché moments. And that's what gives this drama its own charm; its colourful and personality-wise diverse cast that manages to touch us, and the characters struggles, that resonate with us and leaves us just as tense, as anxious as them.

To be honest, I jumped straight to this series since it felt the most interesting out of the first three (based on trailers), and the cast all captured my attention. The first two seasons seemed to be far too focused on the same people/group, meanwhile this one felt more "open". We are introduced witty, charismatic Pureum and quiet, reserved Hanneul, two best friends with almost opposite personalities. They were the characters that charmed me the most - apart from Jae In, with her confident spirit, and her close guy friends.

The pace and shooting of the drama felt very professional. The ending phrases, which I guessed its Love Playlist's little touch, were one of the aspects I treasured the most. It gives a bit of a lyrical, almost poetic sprinkle on top of the cake that is the webdrama itself. I liked the ost as well, although I grew tired of hearing 10cm's "Perfect" almost every single episode.

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i have some mixed? feelings about this drama... overall, it was disappointing. but instead of ranting for too long, i'll sum it up in a list of pros and cons.
pros: the plot, as bland as it is, it's bearable and quite bingeable. 0.5 stars for the moonbin performance because i love astro. cinematography was good too
cons: felt far too short, which made the acting feel very bleak and at times even meaningless?
but it wasn't exactly bad either... it's just that when you make such a short drama, you can't expect it's impact on the viewers to be grand. the mermaid prince will be scattered by the wind and eventually forgotten, as much as it's sad to admit

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Averagely good

When it comes to webdramas, one can never have their hopes far too high: their budget is clearly limited, some shots here and there were awkward, not to mention that, as the viewer, you can easily predict the entirety of the plot - however, like in many other series, what matters isn't exactly the line of events, but rather how they're executed, how they're acted. There's this very nice, cute charm thrown over a quite creative idea - a Goblin that wishes to become human must have 10 kisses and with each, he learns a new emotion - which is all due to the cast that is young and all equally pretty (kudos to Bae In Hyuk for managing to look gorgeous in every. single. scene. and.outfit.). Their performances weren't all over the top, but enough to make the drama entertaining and flow well.

Kiss Goblin is very bingeable and honestly perfect if you really are looking forward to some comfortable time. It's fun enough to not make you feel like you're wasting your time, and rather gives you a sense of warmth, with some sprinkles of cringiness here and there.... I do wish for a sequel one day (those that watch the drama will surely share the sentiment).

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There's a very "Comfortable" feeling with this wedrama that I can't exactly put into words: It's light and fun to watch, with an original concept and, although it's not groundbreaking (some important reveals here and there, no memorable big scene, no memorable osts to get you thinking about the drama), the story and the characters are enough to have you interested, to have you smiling and perhaps looking forward to knowing what happens next. It reminded me of W.H.Y, another Playlist drama.

Pop-Out Boy did have more potential than the one Playlist worked with: I think the relationship between the friends could've been developed and showcased a lot more, and that would make the drama funnier and even more interesting. Basically, if it had been focused on the 4 of them instead of mainly the main couple, the friendship wouldn't feel so flat. It was hard for me to care for them has a "whole package" when 90% of the episodes is mostly about Nam Wook. The romance was ok - I've seen worst, with less chemistry, and I've seen better, with more realism. As for pacing, it was okay most of the time.

I was very surprised with the main cast! Doyeon's performance was incredible, I had never seen her acting before but, of all 4, I think I'd place her in the second, right before Hyun Wook's performance! Mingyu had his awkward moments here and there, which the cheesiness of his character helped create, but for a first drama it isn't unbearable. I also knew Ji Hyo from her reality show and was smitten by her.

That ending was so promising, it makes me sad to think Playlist won't continue the drama's legacy.... Overall, Pop Out Boy is okay, perfect to binge!

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Let me start by saying I thought this was a web drama and not a reality show. The 'acting' that I thought was odd came from the fact that it wasn't acting at all. Curiosity got the best of me, so I decided to watch it anyway and find out who ended up with whom.

The editing took a huge tool on making the ambience for this, which is usual in this sort of programs; it romanticized and tried its best to not let the awkwardness be felt just like it also "deceived" the viewers, kept and cut some scenes in particular moments. In my opinion, having all the information would've made the experience much more interesting from our part. Of course that I'm speaking only as a viewer, and I know that it's the job of the editing team and producers to make this as interesting as they can, but it felt... superficial, artificial, when it could've been much more real and gather a much vibrant/present audience.

I didn't particularly hate anyone, although I didn't like everyone there based on the little we got to see of their personalities. Their preferences are mostly unpredictable as their actions, and maybe that's why I didn't like everyone. I did favour Jihyo since the very beginning and grew to really like Jihoon as the episodes went by though.

Watching this sort of stuff is always a roller coaster of emotions: happiness, sadness, anger, disappointment. And you'll most likely not feel happy with the ending just like me. The best piece of advice I have for anyone that wants to watch this is to not get attached to any pairing. Keep an open mind and a closed heart. I wish happiness to everyone though!

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"Burning" is a quite slow-paced, vague and open mystery.

Similar to the very first episode of "Persona", a South-Korean mini series, I got the sensation that in this film, they don't make any considerable, evident proof or scenes to explain to you what exactly is happening. No, instead, they do meticulously pan, show you certain moments, patterns and details but let you, the audience, be the one to try to make sense. Hence why I personally found the film vague. It's not that it lacks in emotion or scenes... it lacks sense. But then, again, it is a mystery, just one were there's an additional particle that puzzles you, an additional mystery besides the one in the film: the one between you and the plot.

The pace is very slow too (and the duration is generous, almost 2 hours and a half), so those with smaller attention spans (like me) might have to force their way to focus properly, and there were indeed some sequences that, although I understood they were placed to give ambience, to characterize the film, I found them not only boring, but odd. They were clearly chosen out of artistic need, out of wanting to achieve an aesthetic. So I won't call them necessary.

Kudos to Yoo Ah-In's peculiar performance and soulful voice!

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Although very brief, Seventeen's charm is its story-telling method: old high school friends meeting up again to remember the good times. It was lovely, sweet, innocent, and always enhanced with a little twist at the very end of the episodes that makes your jaw drop just a little. I absolutely adored the cast: even with such a short period, their chemistry had many sparkles, they fit so well!! They were by far one of the most charming aspects of this mini series. I'll definitely keep an eye on their next performances.

If you're looking for something to watch on a friday night, then this series is definitely a must!

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There's not much to point out about this second season; little aspects changed (the characters where, in the most part, the same, and so where the storylines and production quality -acting, scenario and such). My biggest fault with this series is how short/brief it felt (but then, again, it is a webdrama, so it's something that it was to be predicted).

As usual with coming of age works, it is the characters personalities and stories that spice up the plot line. It's what keeps the plot moving forward and one's attention fixed. The humour(?) aspect in this series did have an upgrade from the first though!

If the chance comes to make a 3rd and 4th instalment of the series, I'd gladly watch it. I don't think "Just One Bite" offers a deep emotional connection (in comparison to, let's say, other dramas in the Playlist channel), but it's still worth the watch.

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Woah, what an upgrade from the first series!

WhyNotTV kept the same premise as the first series (the question of should we have an office romance or not). This time around, however, we got bubbly Ji Woo, a manager with strong, reluctant opinions when it comes to dating your colleagues. However, things change once she meets handsome and straightforward Min Woong, who shakes her up and makes her question her own beliefs and vows.

The chemistry between the leads was on an all-time high, it was always fun to watch; if in the first series it felt a bit static, this one took the care to not waste any time lighting up the sparks. The little we saw of their personalities matched well.

However, I'm noticing that WhyNotTV seems to have a bit of a problem when it comes to pacing. Given that it is a webdrama, with 10 episodes, each having around 10 minutes, I can't blame them for wanting, or rather needing to fasten up the plot and the events in order to conclude the series with a "cookie" ending (the type of ending where the last episode feels like a filler one, meant to give lovey-dovey scenes). Timing is essential to me and, as much as I admitted the chemistry to be good, it could've been paced better, it'd be more...realistic and even enjoyable that way. There's not much to say about ost - same goes as for other aspects, such as the script (which was nice, nothing to blow anyone away) and filming (same as the writing).

I watched the whole thing with the feeling I recognized the main female lead (which in fact I did, she was also the main in 2017's My Secret Romance). She's just as beautiful as I remembered! The main lead was also a surprise, as I haven't seen his face anywhere else before. His looks (and height) reminded me of CIX's Hyunsuk. I hope I get to see him around more in the future, he was adorable here. The side characters were also good, just like the absence of the first series' office "drama" when it came to office crushes and romances. This second series took a more adult approach, hence why I liked it best.

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