Hounds (2023)

Action packed

This drama promised action, and action it had, from the get go. The action choreography was just out of this world, *chef's kiss*. The acting was also quite good, with Woo Do Hwan and Lee Sang Yi being the best action pair one could ask for. I loved how the women were also quite well equipped to handle their own, and not mere sidekicks. I just wished Kim Sae Ron didn't have this abrupt exit though.
Let me just take a moment here to shower praises on the lead actors' bodies. They have WORKED OUT FOR IT, and it shows... Every muscle, every sinew in their bodies are so fucking well sculpted, it was a feast for the eyes 😍 I was particularly impressed by their running shots - most of them were taken in a single shot, and they sprinted the whole time. Just goes on to show how FIT AND ATHLETIC the actors were for this role. It was a short watch, but packed with a lot of suspense. Till the last half of the last episode, I was unsure if it will get over in one season or if there will be a 2nd season chasing the villain. Also Park Sung Woong as the villain was a delight to watch. Cold, killer eyes and that maniacal smile was enough to protray all the malice that his character demanded. This was quite the refreshing watch after a series of average to bad Cdramas binge sessions. Overall, would totally recommend it for the action scenes and the easy camaraderie between the two lead men.

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For the most part this was a really enjoyable series. Fantastic cast with some excellent fight scenes. The last epsiode was kind of a let down and very anti-climatic. I wanted Myeong Gil to get more punishment than he got. The man was ruthless and way too many good people died b/c of him. Park Sung Woong deserves all the awards for his portrayal of Myeong Gil!

Episode 6th effing pissed me off so bad! It was so nonsensical and made my blood boil. The actions of the characters was so illogical. After that I thought episode 7 was really good and then episode 8 was a let down. It just felt rushed.

I loved the bromance between Woo Do Hwan and Lee Sang Yi.

12/31/23

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‘It’s not over til it's over for real’

OmG. This drama was incredible!
The cast! Was EXTRAORDINARY. It's amazing how the story was created. The plot! The friendship! And the dedication the main character has to their facial expressions. Holy. I'm also in love with the two main characters. I've been a fan of WOO do Hwan since his drama with JOY and seeing him in different kinds of roles... I'm proud as a fan!
I felt devasted with the other characters tho. That hurts a lot😫😫
All the cast did an outstanding job. After a few episodes, I realize the main girl was Saereun... I was shocked she was still part of the drama as controversy is a huge thing in Korea. However, I liked how they kept her.
She portrayed her character well.
The The ending was good! I was also shocked when I saw Siwon is part of the drama. Omg, I love him HAHAH.
I actually started watching this on the plane home from Cancun hehe
Good choice of downloading this. I'm somewhat traumatized from certain scenes as it's too brutal but hey.... It's BLOODhounds.
Haha.
Anyways, I would totally rewatch some scenes. Those scenes 🙈6/30/23 6:40pm
Good day to end JUNE 2023❤️

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Gritty action, frustrating story.

I really enjoyed the fighting scenes and bromance in this drama, but unfortunately that wasn't enough to make up for the drama's faults.

My biggest gripe is just the writing/story, specifically with regards to how the actions of some of the characters were written and how some scenes played out. I feel like in each episode, there was always at least one mistake a character made that, on one hand, you could realistically drum it up to being an honest to God mistake, but on the other hand, you can just tell the mistake was purposesly written in order for the bad guys to get yet another one-up on them and for the plot to move along.

It's just frustrating to watch as a viewer, because based on what we have come to know about each character, their background, strengths, fighting specialisties, etc., we would expect things to play out a certain type of way, and when they don't it just seems like a disservice to the character.

In summary, I just felt like the bad guys were given plot armour 99% of the time while the good guys had to suffer the most and it was frustrating to watch.

Aside from the plot frustrations, everything else was good. All actors did a great job, even Saeron, and I loved the bromance and fighting as well.

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Packed with action, bromance, and thrill!

I absolutely devoured this show! It was heart-racing level of good! Full of adrenaline! Small spoilers towards the end.

Geon Woo meets Woo Jin as rivals in a boxing match but they quickly become friends. Geon Woo's mother falls for a loan scam and thus starts the journey of both men trying to take on a dangerous group of men.

The bromance is impeccable and fun with a bit of jokes thrown in here and there. It reminded me a bit of Midnight Runners. Though Bloodhounds has a lot of violence and blood and a bit of torture. I had to speed up some of those parts but mostly I was filled with an adrenaline rush as the show went on.

Episode 6 made me anxious and I was sweating. So be prepared for that. It's not a very easy watch.

There is no romance in this series. It's pure grit and testosterone. But they didn't forget to add some badass females. I was delighted by them not simply depicting women as helpless or eye-candy. Nope. You'll love them!

I only have two small issues but it's not something that would make me like this show any less.
SPOILER
- Why did they (writers) send Hyeon Joo away? I was so ready for her to be there at the end.
- The ease with which Kim Myung Gil kills the deadliest killers felt a bit of a stretch. Especially since he says he was scared of them.

SPOILER FREE
This series deserves at least a one time watch. Especially if you saw Woo Do Hwan in Joseon Attorney, then watch him in this different avatar in Bloodhounds. He is spectacular!

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SO GOOD

Man I didn’t know what to expect watching this show but one thing for sure is that it frustrates you…A LOT!

So many things happen at once that at some points I needed to pause the show and take a breather. Definitely another exhausting watch but in a good way! It tires you out along with the characters, you’re not the only one fed up with everything, so are the characters and that’s what makes you connect with the characters.

I was hoping for a cliffhanger so it could hint at another season because seriously the main characters’ chemistry is no joke. Both of them worked so well together and I wish they would play more roles together!

On another note, the ending was extremely satisfying. Even though it was frustrating, everything paid off in the end. Seriously great kdrama!

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A Top Kdrama of 2023

This kdrama has become probably one of my favourites of all time! I was a bit unsure when I first began watching, but as a fan of Woo Dohwan, I figured I'd see if I liked it.

The storyline throws you right into the mess in the first episode which was a bit of a shocker, but it worked well with the production of the show. I really enjoyed seeing a drama where it focused on friendship without having side-plot romance. Gunwoo and Woojin's friendship and as people on tiktok say "bromance" was really comforting to watch develop and strengthen throughout. I also really liked how Gunwoo's character wasn't your typical "mafia-esque" male lead; I liked how he was kind-hearted even to those on Myeongil's side, and that he never became this rugged criminal that's happened in many other shows I've watched. It was nice to see a balance with Gunwoo and Woojin, where Gunwoo is more reserved and soft-spoken, Woojin is more extroverted and sarcastic.

Overall this series was amazing and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys revenge dramas. There is a decent amount of gore so watch at your own discretion, but my rating is a 9.5/10

Ps. Du-yeong's death broke me

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Terrible Writing Packaged with Good Action

LIKES:
Action right in first episode
Decent fight scenes
Writing:
No romance thrown in, because it didn’t need it.
The bad guys didn’t upgrade to guns.
The bromance between Gun Woo and Woo Jin was fun and heartwarming.
I liked the young archery character and her dynamic with the two boxers.
Production:
for the most part was good, sometimes zooming camera in too close, but at least shaky camera wasn’t noticeable.
Music:
was fitting, but no song stood out.
Cast:
well selected and I love that Woo Do-Hwan is a main lead. (Both boxers were delightful eye candy!)
FX:
blood and scars were decent.

DISLIKES:
FX:
the stitches looked to be done by a butcher and not a medical professional. Some of the facial damage, like broken noses were omitted. The big facial scars should’ve been a little more raw looking, compared to what was shown.
Directing:
Pro criminals not noticing a car tail gating them on an empty highway and following them every turn they make?
The elite bad guys seem to be able to handle a lot of force on their heads, which throws the realism of the fights out the window.
Writing:
A few characters we need more information on what happened to them, especially at the end. However I understand why they had to get rid of Kim Sae Ron’s character due to the actress’s DUI, but the way it was done made no sense due to the character that was created up until that point.
The whole Marines part about the two boxers: Marines are trained in hand to hand knife fighting and many other weapons. The South Korean military are trained in Teukgong Moosool. Their characters knowledge and skills therefore very lacking.
Criminal element was very unrealistic, especially since the master villain gets defeated by two young boxers. Also all the masters (the brains and brawn) get defeated so simplistically, which made for a disappointing conclusion for their characters.
A lame plot was covered by violence.
Pacing issues:
Ending felt rushed, but they had plenty of extended drinking moments. Time could’ve been used better.

OVERALL: The fitness level that the main actors had to achieve was awesome. This should've been an action movie and not a series. It's fun to watch for the fights, but don't expect anything from plot. I don't need to watch it again, maybe just clips of the 2 boxers (lol), I would recommend it for fight scenes and action only.

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Great watch! Will not disappoint

I'm not someone that likes action that much, nor do I like gore, but this series deserves a good review.

Things that especially deserve praise:
First of all, the fighting sequences were top class 💯 amazingly executed, they'll keep you on edge. You just cannot deny how good those scenes were.
Second, the acting. The main leads were amazing, the bromance between them was very natural. The actor that plays Geonhoo has such delicate expressions, you can see the happiness, fear, anger, passion – everything clearly in his eyes. The other actors were good too.

Things that I personally don't like:
1. Quite a lot of gore. Sometimes it even felt like it was too much for no reason lol like they even showed little things like drawing blood during a blood donation very graphically. And obviously everything else was much worse, I couldn't watch. So yeah very graphic display of blood and injuries, be warned.
2. Since this isn't a favoured genre of mine, I was pretty distracted during most of the discussion scenes. I'm not very good at paying attention to those long serious talks and discussion of plans by the good guys and the bad guys. And there's quite a lot of that in this series so I was often lost on the plot and just let myself figure out what's going on as it went on. I actually thought I wouldn't like this series for that reason, but the story and acting kept me hooked later on.

It's not a series that one would re-watch though, although I can see people rewatching just the fighting scenes haha

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