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Blue Lock (2022– )
8/10
Such a fun and unique concept with its own strength and weakness
12 April 2023
It was good overall, it was fun. I believe many have said Blue Lock portrayed football in unrealistic ways and I agreed with it. However, I do find it fascinating in its own ways. I really like the premise, it's unique and fresh. I love how each character has their own times to evolve and show off their abilities, so the story didn't solely focus on the main character. The games gave me chills most of the times. Also, even though this project was made to create the best strikers, I like the way the creator kept his characters this way, they had their own unique strength & weakness and they were not forced to simply follow the order or to simply do as they were told. They did what they believe it's right and I like it.

Whenever the students played, they usually showed their complicated thinking process, through a long monologue, especially Isagi. At first, I was so annoyed, to be honest. It was unnecessary, you wouldn't have this much times to overthink in real football games. But as time went by, I started to understand this might be real football players' state of minds anytime they're on the pitch. They have to face so many possibilities and options and they have to make the best possible decision in span of seconds and it is not easy. I think Blue Lock portrayed this quiet well, it made me wanted to understand the players more.

Anytime I found the team members fought with each other, I thought it was maddening and a bit frustrating to watch. They wasted their times on fighting and debating over a lot of things while they're in looking for goals. But then I realized it was so difficult to integrate different visions and in the end, a compromise was needed. Blue Lock described it well too.

I love the graphic, it was neat. The sound effects, the OVA, it suited the whole story.

However, just like the other series, I do think it has some problems that cause confusion to me personally.

1. I don't really understand Ego Jinpachi & the red-haired lady roles here. I get they're the ones who initiated the project but they weren't really involved in the students' development, imo. I know it was a very different method, but I think their involvement is also needed. They showed up several times through the screen and explained the rules, but then what? They didn't monitor the students' training techniques, they didn't really give them advice, they didn't really tell them what should they improve, all they did was obligating them to compete and let them figure their own problems by themselves.

2. Contrary to majority of viewers, I found the last episodes of season 1 a bit underwhelming, compared to the first 12 episodes. The students were getting more inhuman and it was almost feeling like they have some kind of superpower, I don't like this.

3. I found it hard to sympathize with Isagi's character. I don't know perhaps his character development is yet to be shown, or the creator didn't give enough backstory to allow the viewers to understand him more. I feel more attached to Bachira and Nagi. They're the most interesting characters to me.
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Duty After School (2023– )
10/10
If you're starving for different kind of apocalyptic story, this may be a good choice
3 April 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Duty After School limited drama series originally comes from Korean comic or manhwa with the same title. The story is about 3rd grade high-school students who become army reserves, to fight against aliens. This series is a bit different from other apocalyptic stories, where we usually see how the government and researcher trying to find solution to end the disaster. Here, you will not see a lot of that.

The manhwa writer, Ha Il Kwon, is well-known for his coming-of-age stories. He mostly talks about a facet of growing up, so the focal point of Duty After School, is about how Platoon 2 (3rd grade high-school class 2 students) deal with this crisis, along with their platoon leader & his trusted companion. This series gives us an insight on the psychological side of the students and how each of them are dealing with this disaster, so I can say it's more emotional.

Judging from the way this drama is executed, the director & script writers have tried to stay as faithful as possible to the original source. That being said, if you expect you will see the government's role, or in-depth explanation of the extraterrestrial and how to annihilate it, you will not get it here, unfortunately.

It's quiet fast-paced, so much things happen in short amount of time. There are many characters, but they are given a fair sceen-time so the story is not focused only on one, two, three main characters. I find all the students relatable. They have different ways to deal with such situation. Few of them are good at shooting and calm, some of them are quiet rational, the others can be crybabies and have a mental breakdown, and for me personally, this is one of the strong points of the story. Not all of us are Na Ra and Jang Soo. Not all of us can be as kind as Chi Yeol. Not all of us can be as tough as the Class President. Some of us can be like Soon Yi, Ha Na, even Ae Sol. I can say this is the strongest point of the series.

As for the CGI, it's good enough for me although some editing perhaps are quiet rough. The cinematography is top-notch, however.

Also, you should not be worried because Duty After School will provide you a well-balanced and rightful amount of suspense, drama, and comedy. It's light, but also terrifying, and on the other hands, it's meaningful. You can learn a lot from this miniseries.

If you're a fan of disaster, apocalyptic stories and you're starving for something different, Duty After School may be a good choice. Once you decide to watch this, I hope you can have the same sentiment as me :) Cheers 🥂
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Yumi's Cells (2021– )
9/10
This exceeded my expectations
26 June 2022
A webtoon reader here. I was a bit sceptical about this production as the webtoon was so good and this was going to be the first-ever Korean live action + animation to be made. But wow. This truly exceede my expectations.

As a webtoon reader, I felt so satisfied with this adaptation. It's so faithful to the original source, they added a bit filler but it didn't ruin the essence of the story.

Yumi's Cells is a quiet simple story about an office worker, Yumi, and her feelings. It doesn't have such a complicated premise. And it's amazing how the production team and the actors turned it into an amazing series.

Kim Go-Eun's acting was impeccable. The way she portrayed many different emotions and moods in such a short period was top-notch. The cells were cute and the animation didn't disturb the live action. It was a very good combination. It's a must watch, especially for Korean drama enjoyers.
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10/10
One of the most complete Korean drama I've ever watched
26 June 2022
When the Camellia Blooms mayhaps become one of Korean dramas I'll recommend to others. The story, the actors, the value. It really has everything.

If you're a romantic-comedy enthusiast, this drama will give you such an adorable relationship between Dongbaek and police officer.

If you're a thriller-mystery-suspense fan, you'll get a bit of it in this series.

If you want a social issues about a young-single mother and how she copes with the harsh society and reality, this drama will make you learn from Dongbaek.

It was great!
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5/10
Uhhh
25 June 2022
Once the trailer came out, I was hyped because finally Indonesia made this kind of genre. But when I watched this movie, I felt like everything was so half-assed. The mystery, the comedy, like, I had no idea what kind of movie was this supposed to be. The comedy was cringe af, I couldn't enjoy it. And they put it in the wrong times that resulted in ruining the thrilling vibes. The twists were forced. The actors played like they read the whole script.

I kinda loved the scoring, though. It's pretty good. The building too.
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6/10
I just can't enjoy this
25 June 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Honestly, after watching the teaser, I thought they'd make the current event was inspired by what the Spaniards' did in Madrid. Turns out, it's a whole same story with a different heist's motive. Maybe the biggest problem is, I have watched the original and I couldn't stop comparing the remake to the original version. I really don't know. I just couldn't feel the soul and originality of the remake. Feels like this ain't it and Korea could really do better than this.

The characters don't have such strong personalities. Their actings were good, but they failed to portray the og's characters. I think if they really wanted to create different characters, they should used different names instead. The music, the scores, are also bad for me personally. It's fast-paced, compact, which is good because we don't have to witness unnecessary scenes and fights between the member of the robbers. But, this makes the show feels a bit rushed.

Hope they make a better 2nd season, if there's any.
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10/10
Fantastic Crimedy
18 May 2022
I never thought the trio containing two famous comedians, i.e. Steve Martin and Martin Short, and Selena Gomez is one of the things I needed in this world! I've watched some mystery and crime movies and series and I found Only Murders in the Building truly fascinating. It's fresh. The concept, the comedy, the way they portrayed the city of New York and its occupants. It's a must watch!
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10/10
Do you believe in magic?
8 May 2022
A simple yet fascinating story about a poor high-school student who wants to grow up quickly because of how tired she's been with her current life and a self-proclaimed "real magician" who lives in an abandoned theme park.

Everything about The Sound of Magic is nothing but metaphor about how does it feel to be a grown up. About dreams. About hopes. About stereotypes. About the society standards. It's all wrapped perfectly in a musical and colorful yet pretty heartbreaking drama series.

For me, personally, ever since the first time I read the webcomic, "Annarasumanara", my perspective on life has changed. It opened my mind about the current modern society. About the obligation to be an adult that the society wants, e.g., rich, smart, having a permanent job, living in a nice house. And that we sometimes forget about our own happiness & peace, only to chase those uncertain things that might be or might not be there in the future.

And the drama portrayed it very well. The music and the songs made it even better. The actors' selection was perfect that everyone seemed so fit in their roles.

If there's a word that can describe this show, it's beautiful.
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