Noona romance done right

The series shows the importance of keeping a core group of friends who will give you guidance for the sake of your well-being. It also shows how important it is to keep a core group of people who believe in you.

The family dynamic presented in the series reminds me a bit of Reply 1988 while the golden trio reminds me of the kdrama 39.

I loved the characters' growth throughout the series and loved the main couple. Although their chemistry wasn't the best, they played their roles as best as they could.

Being from a "study first" family who couldn't help try to experience being in a relationship, I couldn't help but see myself in the main couple - many times I had to smack my forehead thinking "so this is how stupid it looked" but it was a thrilling ride.

I disagree with the comments saying the ML is mature - rather he was surrounded and guided by mature people - otherwise he was really just a clingy and whiny kid.

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Noona romance

"Age is just a number" is a phrase overused by people who enter relationships with a huge age gap. While this is acceptable in some cultures - this kind of age gap is still frowned upon in other cultures.
I say this because viewers need to arm themselves with a good understanding of cultural norms because even though this is a work of fiction, the behaviours portrayed aren't too far from the truth. Without a thorough understanding of culture, viewers will easily question the motives of the characters portrayed in this series.
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The way this kind of relationship was portrayed was well done. I liked how they toned down the bullying and sexual harassment unlike the original which seemed to dwell on the abuse more than anything else.
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Now the elephant in the room - non blood related step siblings. ML's mother married FL's father. I'm not going to detail what the domestic arrangements are because this aspect of the story will be a hit or miss. Others in the comment section are already turned off by this taboo-like situation. I say taboo-like because again there will be cultures out there who will not be bothered by this so I chose to suspend my disbelief so I could enjoy the show at peace.
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Regardless of the situation our main leads had to go through, at its core this is still a perfect example of a noona romance which I wouldn't mind rewatching in the future.

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Political

40 hours of promoting the Chinese Fire and Rescue with medical drama and romance on the side.

This is a story about a:
- A delusional mother typical of her social caste passionately obsessed with ruining the MLs opportunities in life.
- A henpecked father
- An obstinate and secretive ML with a hero complex more obsessed with his job than his bride.
- An FL with clinical detachment suffering from Stockholm syndrome
- A half-brother with incestuous tendencies

The interaction of the main leads seem to lack that ummph that you'd expect between lost loves reuniting - passable but I guess the writer must have led a happy life. I found their reconciliation too rushed as well and failed to reconcile the issues from their previous separation.

That they still ended up being together against all odds and that she was able to stand up for him against her family is a testament that this is indeed a work of Chinese fiction.

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Contemplative and atmospheric

This is another one for my list of contemplative and atmospheric shows. Admittedly not everyone's cup of tea but I just love these types shows which move in a seemingly real-time pace.
We have a stoic guy and a bubbly girl who keeps the conversation going - I absolutely loved it.

The story isn't new and it's definitely been done before - before sunrise, before sunset, hello stranger. Strangers meeting in an unfamiliar city or in this case unfamiliar island.

Again not everyone's cup of tea but if you're like me who loves slow burns like these - Main leads just talking, walking looking around and talking again with a bit of music or narration then this is it.

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Title mismatch

If you are only watching this because of Song Joon-ki like many so-called kdrama fan then there's no need for you to read the reviews. Just watch it already.

In the mean time for the rest of us who do watch kdramas because of the story you will have noticed that the title sometimes is not reflected well in the show.

This show started really strong, it has timetravel and reincarnation elements and the inclusion of historical events and how the main lead used it to his advantage was very interesting. Revenge dramas have always been a joy to watch. Then suddenly the show forgot about the title and the events from previous episodes and started to take another path.

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Fun ghost story with romance and mystery/thriller on the side

I normally don't pay attention to plot holes so I could chill and enjoy the show but I have gripes with this common trope where characters act shy and bitter when the main leads won't date them - as if it was their first time going through it - when they literally just got off a previous relationship.
- the romance transition from the college friend to the FL could have been handled better in the same way that the FLs change in behaviour needed more work.
- acting was superb as to be expected with the FL.
- The amount of disregard to personal safety in this series is unreal - wasted men or women just walking about in the dark as if waiting for an accident to happen.
- I'm glad the workplace bullying aspect is toned down on this one.

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Misleading title and summary

While an enjoyable watch and the story is good, the title and summary provided in the site is misleading as this series focus more on the back story and the revenge plot of the antagonist. The so-called "shop" and even the niece were mere plot devices.

The back and forth between the past and the present provided a great way to stitch the narrative together and helped the viewer find out why assassins were after the niece. But then again contrary to what is on the title and on the summaries, the assassination attempt has nothing to do with the shop or the identity of the niece but has to do with what happened in the past.

It feels like the element related to a Company takeover of the shop was shoved in just so the title would make sense. At its core this is a revenge drama about a villain throwing a tantrum because he was chastised in the past for his criminal deeds.

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A victim's family ignored by an ambitious career woman

I dropped the series because of how ridiculous it was getting. Also I couldn't bear the mental abuse the FL had to go through because of the law enforcement officers. FLs request to include her sister got denied by investigator but when proven right, the investigator decides to rub it on FLs face that the FL is to blame.
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The plot isn't overly complicated.
A serial killer and a serial train thief is on the prowl and our passionate FL is determined to go above and beyond her orders in order to apprehend the criminal.

While labeled as fiction the neglect, limitations and lack of empathy from the police officers and their drive for results based on what they think is right in order to meet their qouta and obtain for themselves and their superiors the glory of "solving or closing" the case is definitely spot on. It cannot be denied that this happens in real life as well.

With this fact in mind you will be less frustrated watching the police officers and their bureaucratic red tape in this series.

I enjoyed this because of the different types of cases they got to handle. It's disgusting how the showrunners tried really hard to push the romance envelope between the leads and it was so cringe, uncomfortable and unnecessary - they should have just focused only on the investigation side and removed the romance element.

ML and FL did not look good together. I have to say MGY has not aged well and the way she smirked the whole time made it worse. Her acting is still top of the line of course but I think she should just stick to non romantic roles.

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If "Parasite" included superpower and romance elements

More like a dysfunctional group.
At its core this is nothing but a 12 episode series about the love story between a conman and her victim. So other than the superpower aspect, the story isn't anything new. I guess most of us watch it just to see how the writers melded these elements together.
- a cuckolded man with a hero complex who tries to betray his family in order to get laid
- an unhealthy woman in denial of her weight
- a cranky insomniac
- a woman with Stockholm syndrome
- cringey teenage love with a touchy-feely boy
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This series was definitely a fun ride - some scenes I found cringey because they seemed forced in order to fit the storyline - easily skippable. The series is a bit overhyped thanks to socmed content creator wannabes sharing clips of the series. But in the end there's nothing special about it.

All in all a great watch after you have suspended your disbelief.

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Rich CEO mindf**ks with flirty journalist

Headline says it all and it was cringey. The series will remind one of those online novels and old M&B pocket books with typical tropes involving domineering males and flirty females.

The high rating given by others is probably only because of who the main leads are and they just want to simp all over their favourite actors. Otherwise the series has felt draggy to me. Episodes focusing too much on office deals and what not which gave no value to the progression of the plot.

The title is "only for love" but it seems the Romance is kick-started because the FL wanted to seduce the ML for more juicy info related to her work. This should be retitled "work related seduction"

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Stupid partner

A man whose girlfriend slept with his bestfriend decides to forgive them. This sounds like a terrible political propaganda but there are obviously a lot of proponents to this kind of "righteous" behaviour.

I was ticked off by his so-called bestfriend who kept on chasing him around all puppy eyed and when I found out what he did, the more I despised him. How the ML could stomach his presence and sneering behaviour is beyond. The way he followed the ML around and feeling hurt that the ML does not reciprocate to his "friendly" behaviour is the gaslight scam of the year.

The story was interesting - cohabitation being an interesting if old concept in kdramas. I could not help but look forward to how they would pull it off. Regardless of my excitement, even that could not convince me to hold on.

I am dropping the series because of the "righteousness" morality they are trying to preach. ML makes friends with the people who emasculated him while the FL makes friends with the woman whom her ex cheated with. Such BS is not my cup of tea.

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Strictly for female audiences

The synopsis which introduces the male character before the female character will lead you to believe the is equal focus between the male and female character. But the title should give you an idea that this is not for everyone and is strictly for female audiences.
The premise will remind you of those M&B and BC pocket books your mother used to read on her free time. Poor female pining for a change in her circumstances and an aloof rich male trying to make his mark.
FL characters and their situation in those old novels is probably what birthed the present term "strong independent woman".
FLs goal for working is not to earn money to survive but to meet a rich male she can marry who can turn the tide of her life whether that's what it means to be a strong independent woman I'll leave it to someone else to figure out.

I'm dropping the series because I have no room despairing over someone else's miserable life - I watch dramas in order to get a respite from the realities of life not to see other people suffering more than I am.

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Smut but vanilla

From episode 1 with political undertones looks like a glorified smut story.

I can't help think of Mulan's story after reading the synopsis but after seeing all the toxic masculinity in the first episode and knowing the Main FL is being set up with her roommate as a romantic interest who literally tried to kidnap a woman just because he liked her made me want to scratch my eyes out. While this may be acceptable in some cultures and the setting of the drama looks like it's from an important part of Chinese history but the toxicity of men playing soldiers is not worth burning my brain cells over.

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