The Journey of Flower

Episodes: 58

Synopsis: This drama was made in the year 2015. The story takes place in ancient China with strong fantasy elements. Hua Qian Gu is a young girl who was born with a perfume-like smell. Her mother died upon giving birth and her perfume attracted a lot of evil. The Taoist priest notices this and helps her hide the smell. He warns her father that her scent will attract evil and that his help will only protect her for sixteen years. By her sixteenth birthday she would have to go to Zu Mountain to be apprenticed. Along the way, she falls in love with Bai Zi Hua. She has friends for the first time. She begins to develop her skills. She has many love interests who are willing to sacrifice their own lives for her. Soon, Bai Zi Hua becomes her teacher to help her train. Her feelings for him grow despite the forbidden romance between teacher and student. As Hua Qian Gu struggles to hold back on her feelings and continue training, the people around her slowly begin to die or turn their backs on her as she tries to rise to her full potential. 

Review:

      I really liked this drama and the characters. This definitely wasn't romance-filled but I still loved it. There was no romantic action such as kissing or intense making out or anything like that. Things were kept very innocent such as hugs or caring for the other secretly since the romance between Bai  Zi Hua and Hua Qian Gu was supposed to be a forbidden romance. I loved the characters and with every death, I felt sad. I enjoyed it greatly. It had two of my favorite celebrities acting as the protagonists. One, Zhao Li Ying played the role of Hua Qian Gu and did an amazing job of it. She played a cute, innocent version and then a sexy, evil version. It was great to see her do that. Two, Wallace Huo played the role of Bai Zi Hua. But he looked so different from his previous dramas and his eyebrows looked really weird. 

      I really liked the whole martial art concept of it. I loved how though her love interests are considered the "enemy" or just a "friend" they are willing to sacrifice everything just for her. They were willing to give up lifetime goals just for her. It was just so amazing to watch. You also get to see her true friends and her fake friends. Every story line was well done. It did drag in some parts but I still liked this drama a lot. It's not one of my favorites but it was still enjoyable. 

Orange Marmalade

Episodes: 12

Synopsis: 

Although humans and vampires signed a peace treaty 200 years ago, there is still much misunderstanding and animosity between the two groups of citizens in modern society. Out of fear of discrimination, Baek Ma Ri (Kim Seol Hyun) has been forced to move around a lot and hide her true identity as a vampire. Although she just wants to settle down in a new city and lead a quiet life, her desire to live anonymously is foiled when she catches the attention of Jung Jae Min (Yeo Jin Goo), the most popular boy at her new high school. And when Ma Ri accidentally bites Jae Min’s neck, both their lives will never be the same again… “Orange Marmalade” is a 2015 South Korean drama series directed by Lee Hyung Min. It is based on a webtoon by the same title.

Review: 

This drama is based on a webtoon so I went into it expecting something cheesy and typical. I was so confused when the drama went from modern day corny high school drama to historical weird fantasy-like drama. It was just so bad that I wanted to stop watching it all together. But I continued on and hated it even more. First of all, I did not like our male protagonist's personality. He was just so annoying to me. He was just so dogmatic, so weak, and often irrational. Things could've been so much easier if he wasn't in his "I'm in love so I get to do whatever" mindset. It was ridiculous to me. It also was frustrating that this girl just kept going to him despite being emotionally hurt every time. This is suitable for a younger audience but it is really poorly done for those trying to see something with fantasy elements. 

The Technicians (Movie)

Synopsis: 

Ji Hyuk (Kim Woo Bin) is a safe cracker and steals diamonds from President Cho, the dangerous owner of a high-end jewelry store. However, instead of prosecuting the thieves who tried to rob him, President Cho decides to forcefully recruit them and help him with a bigger plan. Along with his trusted partner Koo In (Go Chang Suk), Ji Hyuk links up with the untrustworthy genius hacker, Jong Bae (Lee Hyun Woo) and assembles the perfect trio for the greatest heist of their lives. 

Review: 

I really enjoyed this movie. It was so fun to watch and very intense at times. At the same time, I loved the characters and their distinct personalities. It was very unique how this movie tied their personalities together and also give that unexpected end. Everything that you watch is important to how the story turns out and ends. It was well-made with a very intricate plot that flowed smoothly. I really enjoyed watching every minute

of this movie.

Gong Suo Cheng Xiang (Movie)

       I really enjoyed this movie for several reasons. For one thing, it was nice to see the baby-faced and innocent Zhao Li Ying play the role of the antagonist. Every drama that I have watched her in, she was always played the lovable character as seen in dramas such as Legend of Lu Zhen, Boss and Me, and the new Huan Zhu GeGe. So seeing her play the antagonist showed just how great her acting spectrum is and it made me appreciate her in a new light. 

       This movie takes place within the palace. Chen Xiang, the protagonist, is sent to live in the palace as a maid when she was a little girl. Her kind and timid nature made her quite vulnerable in an unfamiliar environment. Thankfully, she befriends a confident and bold girl named  Liu Li. The two grow up together. Upon growing up, Liu Li begins fantasizing marrying a man from a well-off family (such as a prince). Dragging Chen Xiang along, she seeks to bump into one of the princes one night and makes Chen Xiang do her shift's work. Liu Li met the ninth prince who was manipulative and cold-hearted and took advantage of Liu Li. Meanwhile, Chen Xiang bumps into the thirteenth prince who falls in love with her kind nature but he never saw her face as she covered it with a handkerchief. When news spread that he was looking for her, she couldn't come out and say that she was the maid from that night  because Liu Li would get punished for not being at her shift. Taking Chen Xiang's identity from the night before, she pretends to be the girl that was with the thirteenth prince and marries him. At the same time, Liu Li still is messily involved with the ninth prince and doesn't really love the thirteenth prince wholeheartedly. 

      Chen Xiang goes along with it despite feeling depressed. She got her chances to talk to the thirteenth prince though because the thirteenth prince came up to her often to ask her what Liu Li liked since Chen Xiang was Liu Li's best friend. As Liu Li gets used to her status, she begins to order Chen Xiang around and abuse Cheng Xiang at times. Overtime, the truth is revealed and everything begins to work back in place even if it was the most gruesome option. 

Love Myself Or You

22 episodes

Synopsis:

Can anything be more important than comics and good food? Du Kai Qi (Puff Guo) is an independent, single woman who loves comic books and her job as a sous chef in the fine-dining French restaurant, Figaro Cuisine. When an unassuming man, Fu Zi Jie (Jasper Liu), moves in next door, they immediately begin to bicker over trivial matters. But when Zi Jie shows up as a new employee at her restaurant, Kai Qi, as well as other staff members, mistake him for a lowly intern, not knowing that Zi Jie is a classically trained chef who just returned from France and that Figaro Cuisine is actually his father’s restaurant. Can Zi Jie help save Kai Qi from the wrath of the mysterious “Chef Louis”? “Love Myself or You?”, also known as “Love Meets Cupid" and "Pleasantly Surprised," is a 2014 Taiwanese drama series.

Review:
This was a really cute drama. It was nice seeing Puff again and her character wasn't as bubbly as her character in Just You so it was nice to see a more serious side of her. The male protagonist was very easy on the eyes. I enjoyed the chemistry between the co-workers in this drama because it reminded me of how Puff got along with her co-workers in Just You. There's a sense of family. I also really liked the second male lead because he really was a nice guy. He knew Kai Qi from before and were best friends at a point which was why he was used to her foul temper and he liked her for who she is. He was very kind to her and stayed quiet even though he noticed her feelings growing for Fu Zi Jie and immediately backed off when the choice was made warning Fu Zi Jie to treat her well. It was nice to see. This drama had a lot of food because the main setting is in this French restaurant called Figaro Cuisine. It was cute but it's not a favorite. 

Divorce Lawyers

Ep: 46
Synopsis:
Two opposing divorce lawyers wind up living next to each other, one a hopeless romantic and the other a bitter cynic. Can they settle their differences at work or home?

Review: 
I really liked this drama for several reasons. For one thing, it is about divorce lawyers dealing with crazy people and their drama. Another thing, they were divorce lawyers going through similar situations in their own love lives. At the same time, it's about divorce lawyers who have a sense of rivalry with one another at the same time living next to each other in the same apartment and bonding through work and rivalry. It was also very humorous with a nagging and exaggerated mother that comes visit every once in a while. The romance was also very mature without a lot of the typical high school giggling and worrying. It was very refreshing to watch. I loved watching the chemistry between Chi Hai Dong and Luo Li. It was hilarious and cute all at the same time.
      At the same time, we had to watch relationships crumble and build up while dealing with irrational characters. For example, Chi Hai Dong's ex was a nightmare for the majority of the drama. Not only did she have this mentality that Chi Hai Dong was still her's after their divorce due to HER cheating on him but she was also constantly running back to him playing victim despite marrying the guy she cheated on Chi Hai Dong with. I did pity her though despite my annoyance toward her behavior because the guy she ended up marrying was filled with jealousy that she might still have feelings for her ex-husband and as a result spurred a domestically violent relationship. It was very awful to watch and it was great to see her fight to get out of that relationship at the very end.
       Tang Mei Yu is Luo  Li's best friend and she used to be a partner at Luo Li's law firm. Upon getting pregnant and then married, she resigns from her job to become a full-time wife and mother. But times are getting tough as her husband Chi Kai Qiang struggles to support his family and keep a job. As stress builds up and his inability to relieve that stress with Tang Mei Yu, the appearance of an old high school friend Shi Jiang sparks his interest and he "emotionally cheats" on his wife with her (whatever emotionally cheating means). Tang Mei Yu finds out and gives him subtle hints that she knows and forgives him time and time again asking him to stop without confronting him about it until she could handle no more. Their relationship gets rocky and divorce battles ensue as well as they drag in their friends (the good old divorce lawyers) into the mess. Though they solved the issue, it just shows that even the strongest relationships can experience turmoils that both parties wanted no part of.
     It was just realistic and hilarious and  I enjoyed it a lot. Some parts did drag and seem unrealistic but it's easy to overlook that. 

Who Are You: School 2015

Episodes: 16 

Synopsis:
The lives of identical girls with very similar names – one who disappears without a trace and one who loses her memory – collide in unexpected ways. Lee Eun Bi (Kim So Hyun) grows up in an orphanage and deals with the relentless bullying from a group of girls at her school. Go Eun Byul (Kim So Hyun) attends Segang High School, a top-notch school in Gangnam, but disappears without a trace during a school field trip. As Eun Bi tries to escape from her miserable life and ends up in the hospital with no memories of her past, Eun Byul’s mother (Jeon Mi Seon) thinks Eun Bi is her lost daughter and takes her back to live her life as Eun Byul. As Eun Bi tries to recover her lost memories, can she discover what happened to the real Eun Byul and why she looks so much like the missing girl?

Review: 

    I really liked this drama a lot. I loved the character dynamics and how differently the twins dealt with situations. At the same time, I did ship both the girls with the two guys. Even though my ship didn't turn out the way I wanted to and Eun Byul ended up staying single, I think in a way it played off in a more realistic sense. Not everyone gets paired off and some people have other aspirations. I did feel extremely upset about the bullying scenes. I did not understand why the dead girl's sister kept bothering Go Eun Byul when it wasn't anyone's fault for the girl's death. That girl died due to health issues. Just because her one and only friend didn't go up to talk to her doesn't mean that she deserves to be terrorized the way she was. 

   The OSTs were on point.

    I loved Eun Byul's friends because they were so funny and I liked how that class was so anti-bullying. The minor characters were a pleasure to watch. It was nice to see how everyone struggled a different way to school pressure and self identity. It was interesting to see how changes were made and how people helped one another out. Eun Bi is more nice but she is emotionally weak so I was extremely greatful that she had Taekwang's guidance and I wanted them to end up together. At the same time, I wanted Eun Byul to end up with Han Yi Ahn. It just seemed so much to me that Han Yi Ahn got over his crush of that many years so soon without even thinking "Ok...Eun Byul isn't acting like herself." And even when he did, he just didn't question it and went along with it. 

    There were a lot of beautiful scenes in this drama that brought on a lot of feels. Also, Gong Tae Kwang dyes his hair from blond to black at some point and he looked good. It gave him a sense of maturity and I preferred it a lot over the blond. However, I think the blond was essential to showing his character in the beginning and making him more distinct. I loved it when Eun Byul finally came back and showed Kang So Young who's boss. Kang So Young's actions seemed very exaggerated and I did not like her. I mean...come on, who likes bullies?