#our blooming youth review

[namjhyun]

Our Blooming Youth Review | Episode 03 and 04

In this week's episodes Hwan and Jae-yi form a sort-of alliance, to test and see if they can trust each other. As they spend time together, it becomes clear they come to an understanding of one-another and the fact they are after the same goal.

Both, Hwan and Jae-yi, have been victims of indescribable trauma by witnessing and being blame for the death of someone they love. They share this in a conversation, in which Hwan finds out from Jae-yi how her father worried about him not having enough people to trust inside the Palace. We can feel Lord Min's sincerity towards the Crown Prince but also, I think, it's becoming more and more clear Jae-yi's earnest desire to protect Hwan no longer comes from duty but also from a place of affection.

We were also further introduced into Lord Min's political views through the way he raised his daughter. He was a strict man but also open-minded and willing to listen to other people's point of views. He supported Jae-yi's endeavors, even if it meant going against custom and law of what a woman should be and do, but also gave her a reality check on how harsh the world can be when you go against a system. He was a powerful but most importantly a wise man. It's clear why thought of his as a threat and wanted him dead.

I have to wonder, tho, why kill the entire family and put the blame on Jae-yi? Seems almost personal. What would be the gain? I confess I suspect the Queen. The drama is making a point of showing Princess Hayeon has a crush on Chief Han. If the Queen wanted to kill two birds with one stone then Lord Min's death would not only weaken and alienate Hwan further but also make sure the wedding never happened by making Jae-yi the culprit. This would leave Chief Han free to marry into the royal family. Am I the only one crazy for this?

Another one I am keeping an eye on is Chief Han. I can't help but think him choosing to protect his father, before the Crown was telling of his priorities and character. Minister Han poised an interesting question to his son, which I think it's going to be his arc throughout the drama, about how he needs to let go of personal feelings in order to be loyal to something bigger. The only thing clear, right now, is the Chief Han will have to make some very difficult choices in the future.

An interesting point about these two episodes is Hwan and Chief Han's relationship. They are childhood best friends but it's clear the Crown Prince doesn't feel he can fully trust Chief Han. So much so he's willing to secretly (and later openly) make a parallel investigation with Jae-yi and young Lord Kim Myung-jin.

The drama also offhandedly showed how Hwan knows about Myung-jin's interest in criminology, and not only supports it, but also trusts in his knowledge on the subject to give him jobs that he wants to keep secret from the court. I said last week I thought Lord Kim's family would play a bigger role in the future and I think Hwan and Myung-jin's relationship proves me right.

Overall these were two solid hours of learning about our main characters's personalities, their relationships, dynamics, struggles and motivations. This information will come in handy later on to understand the decisions they will make as the mystery surrounding them starts to unravel and enemies step into the light.

[cere-mon-ials]

2023 in kdramas

*that i finished

**in order of how deep and lasting the brainrot was/is from barely a smidge to stitched to my soul

[12] I figured See You In My 19th Life would be trying when I couldn’t understand why an extraordinary individual in her 18th life—18 incredible lives lived over some of history’s most happening centuries—would fixate on one pesky schoolboy. I bought it because (a) Shin Hye-sun was selling it (b) the show tried to make it clear that while she remembered her past lives, it is not the same as living the one she is in. So when the young Ju-won meets Seo-ha, she is still a 12-year-old who happens to fall for a 9-year-old, except she has heightened emotional maturity.

The plot follows Ju-won, who is reincarnated as Ban Ji-eum, her 19th life after her 18th was cut short in a car accident with Seo-ha. Then, the show fumbles its own logic, unable to choose if the real gift is living in the present or remembering how we got there. We are told that Ji-eum is determined to fix the life she didn’t get to live as Ju-won and because Ju-won’s family and Seo-ha are still alive, that’s who she seeks out. She also finds a dear one from her 17th life. The twist is that the 18th life was meant to be a fated reincarnation of two lovers, who in their time—the first life—were wronged. In the end, when the sins are atoned for, Ji-eum loses the memories of her past lives. She is Ji-eum, smart and talented, daughter of an abusive man and born destitute, free of karmic obligations. But who is this Ji-eum? Who does she love? Why are the memories of everyone who knew her as the extraordinary Ju-won/Ji-eum so valuable and hers isn’t? Milquetoast writing and a genuine lack of interesting characters in the rest of the show.

[11] I didn’t finish the first season of Dr. Romantic because I had a violent reaction (derogatory) to Yoo Yeon-seok’s character. I went straight to the additional episode ft. Kim Hye-soo who is ~flails~ and warmed up to this fantastic ensemble, thanks to a YYS-less sequel. Season 3 is ambitious and follows the raggity crew of overworked doctors in a country hospital now coping with its expansion into an elite trauma centre. The show does neither this premise nor the incredible cast they managed to bring back together (at least four of who could demand three times what they were paid in S2) any real justice. It had all the ingredients and an emotional core that is most pleasing to me. Seriously, it was so good: in reaching for the Michelin stars of healthcare, ostensibly Kim Sabu’s legacy, both he and his colleagues find that they may need to reassess what he taught them. Look at the implications. Doldam is a hospital that has run for two seasons on the strength of close-knit interpersonal relationships in ways (some might accuse) hazardous to professional codes. Something's gotta give.

DRR S3 does not trust the emotional tensions that these ideas can provoke and instead, throws in spectacle after spectacle. A bloodbath on a ship carrying illegal migrants, a raging forest fire, a building collapse. And there are villains, written as yangs to yings, in a main character's father played by an actual trash person, and then groan a politician. I mean, the vagaries of ill fortune and death is right there. Isn’t that enough? Makes you wonder just how did Lee-Shin partnership accomplish what they did with HosPlay. Someone who loves DRR’s characters will sit through it. But it’s junk food.

[10] Lee Bo-young is a force in Agency. It's a tried and tested formula: a brilliant creative person with abandonment issues in fantastic clothes. I enjoyed the snippy dialogues, peppered with refreshing metaphor and irony reminiscent of vintage Hollywood flicks. The writing isn’t confident about what it wants to say about an ambitious single woman in a workplace (and other women too including working mothers, women who find no need in dressing up to do their jobs, expert women who still have to struggle when they want to build something). But perhaps you, like me, can let it pass. It is not ideal to fetch a real answer to women’s struggles amidst capitalist excess.

[9] Our Blooming Youth begins with a cursed prince (Park Hyung-sik) and a noblewoman (Jeon So-nee) accused of murdering her entire family joining hands to free each other. Lurking behind is a national conspiracy spearheaded by several degenerate officials who wish to erase a people and their history—interesting that OBY and My Dearest later in the year featured the most marginalised being branded as traitors. The prince and noblewoman (cross-dressed as a eunuch of course) are joined by four young individuals who feel a sense of duty. I adored this band and their shenanigans. The show is kind to the youth in question, to their capacity to chase freedom and friendship. I was moved by such love for characters in this story about nationhood as an ongoing project.

But enjoying OBY means reading in between the lines because the show doesn’t know what to do with its 20-episode length or the depth of its interest in the scars of unacknowledged genocide. I felt impatient and unfulfilled more times than I’d like. I wish OBY was more meaty because it had the opportunity to be radical and chose to be inoffensive. Hyung-sik, very dear to me. So-nee, GOSH. I have loved her since Encounter (2018) and she fills a frame like nobody’s business. If there is such a thing as female gaze, she’s got it. I caught her in the little I watched of Soulmate (2023) recently. A marvel, just like Kim Da-mi.

[8] One Day Off is whimsical and celebrates the mundane in eight chapters following the wanderings of a school teacher, played by the luminous Lee Na-young. Japanese entertainment does discovering minor joys and its everydayness so well that it’s a genre in itself. I have seen it in a handful Korean variety shows too. As a drama, this is new to me and ODO felt special. It giveth in multitudes taking us to a monastery, an art exhibit, a film festival, a planetarium, many bakeries. At other times, it puts us in the middle of a rainy day and ancestral rites and a bus station where the teacher is stuck with condescending boomers. It's lovely.

[7] King The Land benefitted from low expectations of prestige. Junho lovers were tuning in to see him frolic after his Baeksang-winning performance as King Jeongjo, I can’t speak for Yoon-A lovers. The makers wanted to bank on these beloved actors and there is minimal friction between who they are and what they play on-screen. Junho, handsome, rich, kind. Yoon-A, pretty, hardworking, warm. There is a good chance that this show was part of a joint marketing campaign by Dior and Estee Lauder. And also, possibly, Thailand's tourism department. KTL is classic popcorn, easy on the eyes, easy on the mind (save for that irritatingly stupid arc with the ‘Arab prince’), designed to be innocuous. Here’s the thing, though: the cast and crew were not messing around with that dough. They chose to inject this fan + consumer service with an earnest desire to entertain missers of fluff romance. Lee Junho, permanent resident of my heart.

[6] Going in with low expectations helped when I watched My ID is Gangnam Beauty too. Kang Mi-rae is starting college with a new face, having shed her old one at the surgeon’s table because of life-long bullying at being conventionally unattractive. But Mi-rae now has to deal with gossip and judgement about the extents she has gone for what’s deemed as a vanity project. When Mi-rae says that it matters what people think of her, I can't object. It’s because Gangnam Beauty tells a story about familiar feelings and yet, it is also defiantly about Mi-rae. You can walk with her but you’re aware that not all of us walk in her precise shoes, and it’s not about measuring who’s having it worse either. I loved watching her settle into her skin, remaining compassionate in whatever is the opposite of noble idiocy.

Very sweet romance. I may not have noticed Cha Eun-woo if I hadn’t been derailed to the hilt by him in Island—also a show I finished but you will not find it on this list For Reasons.

[5] I wanted to love My Dearest a lot more. It was promising what with Namgoong Min as the perfect Lee Jang-hyun and Ahn Eun-jin as the perfect Yoo Gil-chae. NGM’s ability to smirk in a way that elicits both a punch and a blush is unparalleled. He owns the role of clever playboy merchant who sees the rules of polite society as impositions and who values human life above platitudes. AEJ's Gil-chae is stubborn and witty and audacious and has no interest in anything that distracts her from her desires. I loved them, and that became one of my problems when Part 1 ended. NGM is the perfect Jang-hyun and AEJ is the perfect Gil-chae but I wasn’t able to root for their romance. I never quite got over how the desire that they shared, which war put a damper on before it got a chance to bloom, gets cheapened at the end of Part 1—please read @elderflowergin's excellent post about this. In Part 2, that conversation isn’t adequately addressed but I was there to watch these two actors earn their Baeksang nominations. I found myself willing to move with the tides when Jang-hyun and Gil-chae let each other in after they learn to devote themselves to the people who make their community.

I cannot fault MD, however, on its commentary about how war disrupts ordinary life. There is nothing more moving in the show than the Joseon slaves in Qing singing their songs and harvesting rice, yearning for home while the King and his scholars commit to preserving standing and write these countrymen off. It’s a sharp critique of an upper class that delude themselves about their importance. MD is courageous enough to say that the nation does owe something to its people and the nation must prove itself worthy of sacrifice before it can demand such a thing. I haven’t stopped feeling the pangs of this love letter to a people and their land. The first seven episodes, set during the invasion and in the early days of the Joseon surrender, is real television. It’s what I watch sageuks for.

What else? Great telling of Crown Prince So-hyeons’s story. Lee Chung-ah is captivating. MD would have risen in my heart and on this list if it were more attentive to Ryang-eum. Double amnesia was comically exhausting to watch but I do feel generous now. The first time round Jang-hyun regains his memory because of a tangible article that proved Gil-chae’s love for him. The second time he traces back the arc of his life that spawned enduring memories of love and dreams. He’s not looking to retrieve what he doesn’t know he has lost. He knows he has lost and he is piecing together what he can. That’s a bold note to conclude on by makers who have risen to question the state of a nation in the hands of incompetence and cruelty and obscene pride. The racism is unsurprising—I wish this meant that I had better tolerance for it. I also wish the story knew better than to push Eun-hye to the sidelines. My favourite scene is Gil-chae finding Jang-hyun clawing to life by a string on a pile of corpses and proceeding to play dead while holding him tight to escape.

[4] I kept tuning in to Moving week after week despite my reservations about high school life, superheroes, and gore because it is a feat of storytelling. A rewarding first act, an absorbing second, and a near perfect third. It’s a compelling story on its own about superhero parents who will go to any lengths to protect their superhero children. But it’s also poignant in how it tackles passive peace.

Critiques of the state’s abuse of power often turn fangless in the face of this idea about national security, the notion that secures our future. Writers fumble because they feel forced to provide an alternative: how else do we protect what we must? Moving kills the question by letting you see past that what (national security) and takes you to a who (our children, our literal future). It dismantles the illusions with its central stage as a highly-surveilled school where undercover secret agents observe and train gifted children. The litmus test isn’t going to be the abstraction of a nation. It’s going to be whether our children can grow up, can learn, can be free to be who they want to be, irrespective of talents they may or may not possess.

A state which can’t imagine freedom as such is a failed state and a failed state resorts to joining hands with those who have every interest in keeping us from seeing that we do in fact want the same things as our neighbours. The real world bleeds in when the story of two Koreas becomes apparent. It’s acutely observed in a way that’s trope-y but perhaps not untrue. But the show is more interested in the shared Koreanness, in their love for their children, and for the unimpeachable desire to make their lives better.

Park Hee-soon had me hugging myself from his first frame to the last. Electrifying performance. Han Hyo-joo, oh my god.

[3] My Lovely Boxer was made for me. It’s about Gwon-sook (Kim So-hye), a boxing prodigy who disappeared from public eye after failing to show up for a championship game and Tae-young (Lee Sang-yeob), a ruthless sports agent at the cross hairs of matchfixing. Tae-young has messes to clean, payments to make, and he finds Gwon-sook to bring her back to the limelight for one final game to lose. Gwon-sook wants nothing to do with the sport and Tae-young promises that if disappearing for good is what she wants, then this plan would work for her too. It’s exactly as angsty as it sounds.

The show works because it doesn’t touch a thing that it isn’t willing to gnaw into. It doesn’t merely dangle matchfixing as plot omen—it explores the emotional and economic damages for the sportsmen with heft. Gwon-sook feels no love for boxing but she isn’t the only boxer in the world and that feeling is hardly universal. One of my favourite characters this year is Ah-reum, the opponent of that championship game for which Gwon-sook didn’t show up. That day, Gwon-sook may have chosen to leave the game for self-preservation but she also took away Ah-reum’s right to fair play. MLB is at its best when it navigates Gwon-sook seeking Ah-reum’s forgiveness because therein lies sportsmanship and what it means to tirelessly push your body for a shot at the ring. It’s an exhilarating journey with these two girls because (a) you want Ah-reum to have her moment (b) you don’t want Gwon-sook to lose and let the matchfixing bookers pocket money (c) you begin to wish Gwon-sook could win because she is too good. The stakes are delicious because the bookers are also a tad bit murderous and the final match had me at the edge of my seat.

Lee Sang-yeob was a shock to my system with his intense stare and a thespian interpretation of a man in shades of grey. Sexy bitch. I want to see Kim So-hye and Shin Se-kyung play sisters one day.

[2] Into The Ring tops my list of kdrama romcoms. Nana is a star and the fact that Se-ra cannot walk straight to save her life makes me giggle. She is blunt in the wrong ways, sharp in the wrong ways, and honest in all the right ways. Her heart is big and she has a sense of service to the people around her as though she really believes she was raised by a village. I loved Se-ra’s parents who reminded me of my own in their warmth and clownery. Park Sung-hoon’s Gong-myung is the dream guy: competent at work, loser in everything else. There’s only one kind of valid workplace romance and it’s this: accidentally becoming an elected representative and your childhood nerd friend volunteering to be your secretary to cover your ass. Perfect, no notes.

I happened to be reading Sara Ahmed’s Complaint! around the same time and I think it made me love the show's take on political action more. This is where Se-ra begins, just her and her complaint diary. That early episode where it dawns on her that she wants this job as much as she needs it got to me. There’s much to love in a show that is okay with however small a population she represents, as long as they are fun about joy and serious about justice.

[1] At the outset, Call It Love sounded like the makjang I avoid—a relationship between a woman and the son of her father’s mistress? Turns out, it's possible to tell that story like an accomplished spare poem with meticulously composed frames overdoing headroom and pared down dialogues. In effect, CIL is beautiful to look at and inviting to spend time with. This is kdrama caviar. Debut writer Kim Ga-eun has a gift for writing loneliness and solitude as not mutually exclusive to being a loved and loving person. She’s drawn comparisons to the extraordinary Park Hae-young who is the master at this sorcery. To my mind, the comparisons hold merit in subject but they operate with different intentions and styles. I hope they meet one day and I get to be a fly on the wall.

I was struck by how Lee Sung-kyung played Woo-joo as the responsible middle child, the one most burdened by the timing of her family’s collapse. The show is about her revenge but often, you see her struggle with the coldness this demands of her. She cannot resist what comes easiest to her and that’s her ability to see people having bad times as a reflection of the times, not the people. It's why she can forgive the aggrieved man who harms her, and why she tidies Dong-jin’s ex’s house while the ex is recouping from the heartbreak of losing the same man she is falling in love with.

No one has gotten the allure of the quiet guy, the shy guy, the good guy who is too awkward to be nice like Kim Young-kwang has. Dong-jin knows he has to work very hard to keep up with the pace of the world. He knows his mind but is afraid to impose it, because he doesn’t think it matters and because he doesn’t want to be a bother. Young-kwang just gets that line between clarity and low-esteem. I will never forget his teary eyes and total submission to loving Woo-joo in the single word he lets out with a hitched exhale. He slouches a lot but he will look you in the eye when he has to say something he doesn’t want to repeat. I loved him for that dignity. Special kisses to him for ditching neck ties.

It is true pleasure to see two male leads, majestic and towering in physique, composed to look tiny and frail. At one point, the costume department steps up Woo-joo’s wardrobe as her feelings intensify and it doesn't come across as a makeover. It is presented as the ordinary consequence of paying attention. I loved everything and everyone. The siblings. The ex-girlfriend, the bad mother and also, the generous & kinda clueless one. The stepfather who lingered, the best friends, the loyal & competent manager lady. Favourite kiss.

*

I am currently watching four dramas: A Good Day To Be A Dog (cute & fun), My Demon (silly & fun), Park's Marriage Contract (testing my patience), and Tell Me That You Love Me (relishing but for some reason not investing). I missed Not Others and The Eighth Sense when they were airing and they are the two shows from 2023 that I am adding to my watchlist. I am looking forward to 2024 because we seem to be getting at least one release from several greats and beauties. See you then! I hope no one emails you for the rest of the year and you eat well.

[somanykdramas]

OUR BLOOMING YOUTH

GENRES: Historical, Mystery, Romance

SUMMARY: A woman accused of murder has no choice but to live another life in order to help clear her name.

THIS SHOW HAS EVERYTHING: Women who get shit done, Joseon forensic investigations, hunting, poisoned memories, ghostly mail deliveries, eunuch mysteries, delicious apples, chiseled cheekbones, turtle compasses, chair carrying, deep friendships, deeper romantic feelings, and OF COURSE scheming state ministers.

HOT TAKE: Feed me more historical kdramas with kickass heroines, savvy royal family members, and clever scheming that keeps the audience guessing.

So basically more of this. I want more of this show.

[kdramacrybaby]

⭐My kdrama 2023 wrapped⭐

I’ve seen some other blogs doing this and thought it would be a fun tradition to start myself. So here’s my 2023 wrapped of the dramas I’ve watched this year (in order of when I finished watching them):

Big Mouth (★★★★☆) I just remember being so engaged, glued to the screen the entire time because I had a hard time keeping up with everything happening. It keeps you guessing the whole time, and at least I never saw the twists coming. The actors were so good, especially during the darker, more heavy scenes, which can sometimes be hard to really get into. After watching, I recommended this to a friend, and she loved it as well.

Alchemy of Souls: Light and Shadow (★★★★☆) Oh boy, where do I even start. The world building here blew me away, and the drama is absolutely gorgeous. I adore the characters and all their relationships with each other. I do think season one has the better story overall, as season two did some things I didn’t really love, but overall I love this drama.  

W: Two Worlds (★★★★☆) This was recommended to me by a friend, and I had a lot of fun running all my theories by her (I was usually wrong, but hey). It is a bit of a messy drama for multiple reasons, but in the end, I had a lot of fun watching, which is why it ended up with four stars. Sometimes it doesn’t have to be amazing, it just has to be a fun experience.

Soundtrack #1 (★★☆☆☆) Full disclosure – I only watched his because of Park Hyung-sik. The drama is too short, too superficial. It’s okay for what it is, but I was so bored watching this. I guess it has its cute scenes and all, but it doesn’t do anything for me.

Our Blooming Youth (★★★★☆) Yes, I watched this because I wanted a proper Hyung-sik drama, so what? I ended up liking the drama more for the female leads in the end, though, so that was a happy surprise. A murder-mystery with a badass female lead was not something I thought this drama would give me, but I loved it even more for it.

Joseon Attorney: A Morality (★★☆☆☆) I was so excited about this drama only to end up so disappointed in it all. The writing is just… really not good. The characters annoy me so much and everything just feels fake. The setup itself could have made for such an interesting story, but they really did nothing right with it.

While You Were Sleeping (★★★☆☆) Overall a pretty good drama, though I do remember it dragging out at certain points with repeating storylines. A pretty standard rom-com with a cute couple and actors with good chemistry. Nothing that blew me away, but not a bad drama at all, either.

Black Knight (★★★☆☆) A typical dystopian story produced by Netflix. It was good, everything looked amazing, and the actors were so good. I do think it was too short, and therefore felt rushed in some places – especially the last episode that just went absolutely off the rails. Overall, nothing mind-blowing, which is why it ended up with three stars.

The Glory (★★★★☆) This was everything I had hoped it to be, and it certainly lived up to the hype. Definitely a dark, very heavy drama that deals with a lot of serious trauma, and I think they handled it perfectly. It’s unhinged in the best ways, and really takes you for a ride.

Hidden Love (★★★★★) At first, I was really iffy about the age difference, but I think they handled it beautifully and nothing ever felt wrong or gross to me. This is a love story I’m going to be comparing future romance dramas to for a long time. They are such a cute couple, and I just loved everything about this drama.

King the Land (★★★☆☆) Now this drama got a lot of hype when it was airing, and it did start out so good. But in the end, it just fell flat for me. It was pretty to watch, but it felt hollow and without real feeling. They did all the typical rom-com clichés that I usually love, but nothing ever really hit properly. It’s not a bad drama by any means, it just didn’t really resonate with me.

The Uncanny Counter: Counter Punch (★★★★★) I’m always so wary about second seasons of shows I love, because it’s so easy to mess up and can really make or break a show, but they really did everything so right with this season. I cannot think of a single thing I don’t like about this drama. The characters, the found family, the friends – it’s just perfection.

My Lovely Liar (★★☆☆☆) Started out fun and quirky, but it just lost me along the way. It’s such a messy drama, and you never really know what’s going on. There wasn’t ever really any feeling in any of the writing, and it felt like they were just pulling storylines out of a hat at random. I think it could have been a good drama, they just made all the wrong decisions.

Arthdal Chronicles: The Sword of Aramun (★★★☆☆) Now overall I have given this drama four stars, but for just this season, I can’t give it more than three. It has nothing to do with the change of cast, I just kind of felt like nothing ever really happened in the story? Compared to the first season where we were constantly moving around and learning about the world, this season was such a stand-still. Don’t get me wrong, I love this drama – the world-building is absolutely insane, and I will definitely watch another season if they ever actually make it. I just like the first season better.

Strong Girl Nam-soon (★★★☆☆) Just go watch Strong Woman Do Bong-soon instead. Is this a bad drama? Not at all, it’s cute and all, but did it need to be made? No, I don’t think so. Very generic Kdrama overall, nothing special at all about it.

[holdingpeaceindust]

(via Our Blooming Youth: When the bloom fades)

[marymekpop]

[Discuss Away!] Our Blooming Youth: Episodes 19-20 Finale

[koreanlovey]

Watching secret identity Korean dramas always gives a thrill and increases the suspense level. Guessing the next move is always difficult so we always stick with the drama till the end. These dramas give a rollercoaster of emotions from betrayal and revenge to romance. Here we have listed down the top Korean dramas with secret identities.

[dustedmagazine]

Dust Volume 10, Number 5

Arab Strap

It’s lovely out. The lilacs are in bloom. The weather is warm enough to make a sweater/sweatshirt/coat redundant, and the bugs are swarming happily all over the garden. And yet, here we are, inside, ear buds in place, music on high, because however nice the weather, what if we missed something? What if, you, our readers missed something? Well, fear not, because we’re back with another set of short, impassioned reviews. Scottish lifers obsessed with their phones, South African jazzmen nearly forgotten, mumbling rappers, untethered improvisers—it’s all here for you. What, you were going out? Too nice to stay inside? Well, okay, it’ll be here when you get back.

Contributors include Ian Mathers, Justin Cober-Lake, Ray Garraty, Bill Meyer, Bryon Hayes, Jonathan Shaw, Andrew Forell, Christian Carey, Alex Johnson and Jennifer Kelly.

Arab Strap — I'm totally fine with it 👍 don't give a fuck anymore 👍 (Rock Action)

Even more surprising than this Scottish duo’s perversely triumphant return a few years ago is that in 2024 Aidan Moffat is writing more about the internet than about cheating and booze. (He’s still writing about those things too though, don’t worry.) Less shocking is that his laceratingly keen eye is no less effective when turned on his own relationship with his phone, or the way women are treated by the “fathers, husbands, sons and brothers” around them as soon as the deniability of a screen is in place, or the psychology of someone who turns to QAnon. And not just technology; with songs addressing those who’ve never recovered from the early-pandemic hit to their ability to go outside and those capitalism leaves to die in solitude, this might be the least relationship-y Arab Strap LP to date. Malcolm Middleton roughs up their sound again to match the bruised, heartfelt brutality of Moffat’s subject matter and the result is one of the most simultaneously empathetic and unsettling records from a band who’ve never been short on either quality.

Ian Mathers

Bad Nerves — Still Nervous (Suburban)

For their second album Still Nervous, punk rockers Bad Nerves take their ready-made formula and just amp everything up. Everything's loud and fast; the band clearly descends from the Ramones, but they've gone more manic. They secretly mix in flourishes of power pop. Underneath all the ruckus, they have a knack for catchy melodies, guitar solos and even vocal harmonies. Then Bad Nerves rough up the pop elements to make sure their disaffection comes through with enough spite to keep everything properly punk. The record does little to vary mood or tempo, but it doesn't need to. The band does one thing, but they excel at it. The Strokes comparisons the band's received mostly work, but the lo-fi production keeps everything sounding as if it's in an actual garage. “Plastic Rebel” offers a youthful rampage, bubble gummy enough to touch on Cheap Trick, but continually plowing forward. The Essex quintet closes the album with “The Kids Will Never Have Their Say,” an evergreen sentiment for the young and irritable. The point doesn't break new ground, but it's beside the point. Bad Nerves tap into something long running and rush the tradition on with plenty of verve and a hint of bile.

Justin Cober-Lake

Conway the Machine — Slant Face Killah (Drumwork \ EMPIRE)

If it wasn’t for Conway’s name on the copy to the album you’d think this was a long solo producer tapes with 40 guests on it, each mumbling about something nobody’s interested in except for the mumbler himself. It is not an exaggeration: it really lasts more than an hour, has close to 20 guests (depends on how you count) and even though Slant Face Killah is produced by a dozen of people the beats all sound the same. If it already sounds awful even for the diehard Conway fans, grip for the worst part of it. It ain’t even worth the trouble to skip all the tiring guest verses for the Conway verses because they are not good anyway. A total failure.

Ray Garraty

Alex Cunningham — Rivaled (Storm Cellar)

Remember October 2020? The time of still-subdued traffic, no shows and a looming election? Rivaled is an artifact of that moment. Nowadays, Alex Cunningham is an intensely active improviser, based in St. Louis but active all around the middle of the USA. Back then he was stuck at home and moved to make some noise. “Faith” and “Void” offer two paths to obliteration. The former is pretty plugged in, with electronic effects and appropriated radio noise turning Cunningham’s violin into a full-on electrical storm. The latter is unreliant upon electricity, but maybe even more dogged and savage. Originally released as an edition of 20 cassette, Rivaled is now a CD with a bonus remix that mashes both tracks together, both vertically and temporally, like a piggybacked highlights reel. Of noise relaxes you, you’ll want this close at hand when the next election rolls around.

Bill Meyer

Dun-Dun Band — Pita Parka Pt. 1: Xam Egdub (Ansible Editions)

Dun-Dun Band is an all-star cast of characters comprising some of Toronto’s most creative musicians and led by musical polymath Craig Dunsmuir. Dunsmuir is a shape shifter, trading guises and styles for decades: a guitar loop conjuror known as Guitarkestra, a purveyor of mutant disco vibes alongside Sandro Perri in Glissandro 70, a welder of minimalism, dub, and avant-garde weirdness as Kanada 70. His Dun-Dun Band collects members of Eucalyptus and Badge Époque Ensemble along with stalwarts Colin Fisher, Karen Ng, Josh Cole and Ted Crosby. Pita Parka is the group’s debut on vinyl and features three extended cosmic jazz jams that fuse multi-horn interplay to African-inspired polyrhythm. The music slyly winks at 1970s fusion but is more akin to that of modern ensembles such as Natural Information Society. The extended nature of the pieces allows the reedists to stretch their lungs and roam around, and for the rest of the ensemble to engage in creative interplay. Pita Parka is a stellar offering from some of Toronto’s finest players and one of the city’s most inquisitive and inventive minds.

Bryon Hayes

Roby Glod / Christian Ramond / Klaus Kugel—No ToXic (Nemu)

The three participants in this session are all veterans of middle European jazz that’s free in spirit, if not always in form. Bassist Christian Ramond and Klaus Kugel are from Germany, and soprano/alto saxophonist Roby Glod is from Luxembourg; their collective cv includes work with Kenny Wheeler, Ken Vandermark and Michael Formanek. Online evidence suggests that they’ve played together as a trio since 2015, which explains their easy rapport and nuanced interaction, but this is their first CD. Freedom for these folks means having the latitude to linger over a tune or to settle into nuanced timbral exchanges, but if you carded them, they’d all have jazz driver’s licenses. This music swings, often at speed, which is a very important aspect of their shared aesthetic; the excitement often comes from hearing Glod invent intricate, evolving lines that are lifted off by fast walking bass lines and kept in the air with light but insistent cymbal play. While the album is named No ToXic, the sheer pleasure of hearing these guys lock in could truthfully be labeled counter-toxic.

Bill Meyer

Göden — Veil of the Fallen (Svart)

Longtime listeners of death doom will recognize the name Stephen Flam, guitarist and co-founder of storied band Winter whose Into Darkness (1990) concretized the subgenre in the US; the record was great, and still is. For his recent work with Göden, Flam has dubbed himself “Spacewinds,” and his bandmates follow suit, with stage names that are equal parts risible and ridiculously gravid: vocalist Vas Kallas performs as “Nyxta (Goddess of Night)” (those parens seem to be her idea…) and keyboardist Tony Pinnisi appears as “The Prophet of Göden.” Okay. This reviewer’s inexhaustible appetite for Winter’s slim output disposes him to think kindly of Flam, and there’s nothing especially terrible about Veil of the Fallen — but that’s only because there’s nothing all that special about the record. The sound of the title track is appealingly austere, and the NyQuil-chugging riffs of “Death Magus” are sort of fun. But any listeners hoping for flashes of the inimitable, awesome awfulness of Winter would be well advised to recall the meaning of inimitable. Not even Flam, it seems, can provide a convincing replica of those energies and textures.

Jonathan Shaw

Mick Harvey — Five Ways to Say Goodbye (Mute)

Former Birthday Party and Bad Seeds member Mick Harvey looks back at his life on his autumnal new album “Five Ways to Say Goodbye.” Although he contributes only four original songs, his skill as an arranger and interpreter reaches its zenith. Harvey imbues his own and others’ songs with intense emotion that never tips into melodrama or histrionics. Augmenting his acoustic guitar with evocative string arrangements which provide counterpoint and color to his lyrics “When We Were Young and Beautiful” may be the finest song he has written; poetic in structure, elegiac in feeling, Harvey faces his past with dispassionate empathy for lost friends and acceptance of where he is now. His version of David McComb’s “Setting You Free” locates a Faustian menace in the song, using the strings to carry the dynamic thrust and emphasize the turbulent ambivalence of the original. “Like A Hurricane” becomes an intimate, piano ballad. By changing the tense from present to past and stripping the song of its rock roots, Harvey creates an emotional impact missing from Neil Young’s original. On “Demolition” Harvey replaces Ed Kuepper’s funereal drums with an off-kilter drum machine that clatters like an old projector to evokes the disconnections inherent in the lyrics. Harvey’s treatment of songs from The Saints, Lee Hazelwood, Lo Carmen and Marlene Dietrich are beautifully rendered. A wonderful summation of Harvey’s often underrated talent and an album that deserves a wider audience.

Andrew Forell

I Like To Sleep — Bedmonster’s Groove (All Good Clean Records)

This combo from Trondheim, Norway started out bridging the sound worlds of Gary Burton and Sleep. That’s a canny move if you’re looking for relatively untrodden ground, and as it turns out, a successful one. On Bedmonster’s Groove, which is album number four, the trio has dialed back the heaviness; you won’t hear a power chord until the beginning of side two. Instead, they have taken a turn towards experimentation. The microscopic applications of filters and effects give confer a variable glitter to Amund Storløkken Åse’s vibraphone, squeezable padding to Nicolas Leirtrø’s six-string bass, and some texturable variety to Øyvind Leite’s drums, which are all shown to good effect by some lean grooves and uncluttered melodies. Åse has also added some instrumentation; synths flicker and swirl in the empty spaces, and a mellotron heads a deliberate charge towards prog territory.

Bill Meyer

Kriegshög—Love & Revenge (La Vida Es un Mus)

Throughout the long existence of Kriegshög, it’s been customary to identify the band as a d-beat act. Love & Revenge is Kriegshög’s first release since 2019 and only its second LP in their (at least) 16 years of playing in and around Tokyo. Prolific, they ain’t, but the music is always worth waiting for. On this new record, the band rolls back the pace a bit and amps up the crusty, metal textures. Less squall and rampant chaos, more muscle and riffs that roll up in well-worn biker leathers — but all those qualifiers are relative. There’s still a raw edge to the production (if that’s the term we want…); the bass is laced with so much fat crackle that you’ll want to fry it and eat it. Sort of fun that one of the most volatile tunes on Love & Revenge is titled “Serenity.” Make of that what you will, but don’t spend too much time thinking about it. You’ll miss the next couple songs.

Jonathan Shaw

Niels Lyhne Løkkegaard and Quatuor Bozzini — Colliding Bubbles: Surface Tension and Release (Important)

Niels Lyhne Løkkegaard is a composer based in Copenhagen. On his latest EP he joins forces with the premiere Canadian string quartet for new music, Quatuor Bozzini, to create a piece that deals with the perception of bubbles replicating the human experience. In addition to the harmonics played by the strings, the players are required to play harmonicas at the same time. At first blush, this might sound like a gimmick, but the conception of the piece as instability and friction emerging from continuous sound, like bubbles colliding in space and, concurrently, the often tense unpredictability of the human experience, makes these choices instead seem organic and well-considered. As the piece unfolds, the register of the pitch material makes a slow decline from the stratosphere to the ground floor with a simultaneous long decrescendo. The quartet are masterful musicians, unfazed by the challenge of playing long bowings and long-breathed harmonica chords simultaneously. The resulting sound world is shimmering, liquescent, and, surprising in its occasional metaphoric bubbles popping.

Christian Carey

The Ophelias — Ribbon EP (self-released)

Ribbon is stormy, scathing and often quite beautiful. “Soft and Tame,” the EP’s emotional center, is all three. It begins wistfully: easy acoustic guitar strums and Andrea Gutmann Fuentes’ layered violin, nostalgic and close to sweet. Vocalist Spencer Peppet also starts slow, talking us through the aimless sensory motions of missing someone – “the sun on my cheek/as I walk around/I pick up a pear/I put it down/the radio plays a song we loved.” It doesn’t take long, however, for the skies to darken and the scene to become bleaker. By the line “the hollow sound/my jugular makes as it rolls around,” Mic Adams’s foreboding drums and a percussive creep of electric guitar have stalked in. And by the time Peppet has shown us “an overturned bus on the highway,” heard a“tornado warning” and told her subject to “stay the fuck away” for the second time, the band has built to a blown-out, climactic frenzy, the violin finding operatic heights over mammoth cymbal crashes.

In her review of The Ophelias’ last album, Crocus, Jennifer Kelly described Peppet as sounding “like she’s tilting her chin up and squaring her shoulders.” Likewise on Ribbon, where the band seems resigned to but also quite prepared for a fight. If “Soft and Tame” is aimed to knock “love in southern Ohio” down for good, then “Rind,” the final song, may tell us why they’re in the ring at all. At a brief break in the dynamic, flowering arrangement — it could be a particularly bucolic Magnetic Fields instrumental, especially in Gutmann Fuentes’ spry riffs — Peppet bursts out, “There you go!/On tour with my hometown friends/fucking score/they must have all forgotten!/Look back at what I tolerated.” There’s more to the story, but Peppet pulls back from the fray, settling things ominously: “to name it/makes your life/a little complicated.” Whatever “it” is, The Ophelias seem to have landed their punch. I don’t think I’ve heard more cutting, triumphant “Oohs” than those that end the song and Ribbon’s multifaceted fury with it.

Alex Johnson

Paperniks — Oxygen Tank Flipper 7-inch (Market Square)

Jason Henn is a master of catchy psychedelic punk. Honey Radar, his highest profile outfit, has unfurled a constant stream of hook-laden gems for well over a decade. Paperniks is his newest guise, a solo home recording project that amplifies the Guided by Voices meets Syd Barrett vibe of Honey Radar and doses it with nuggets of guitar noise. This tiny slab of wax is the sophomore Paperniks outing, following a single-sided lathe cut that strayed toward the clamorous edge of the octopus’s garden. On display are a pair of tunes that bear a striking resemblance to Honey Radar. “Oxygen Tank Flipper” is a groovy dose of psych replete with a catchy riff and a roller coaster bassline. Handclaps up the catchiness factor, as does Henn’s honey sweet sigh. “Essex Poem Dial” is a punky, garage-inspired tune. Henn’s reverb-soaked vocal hides inside the propulsive guitar chime. A noise interlude leads to a mellow vignette that slowly fades away. Paperniks showcases Henn’s boisterous side, and the music is certainly engaging, so hopefully there are more songs on the way soon.

Bryon Hayes

Ribbon Stage — Hit with the Most (Perennial/K)

Ribbon Stages hits the giddy sweet spot between punk and pop, their raucous guitar-drums-bass racket pounding on sweet, wistful little songs. The mixture varies with some cuts veering into the snaggle-toothed dream pop of, say, the Jeanines, while others rage harder and more dissonantly. “Stone Heart Blue,” the single, pulls the drums way up in the mix and lets distorted guitars and murmured vocals do battle attention behind them. The result is an uncanny balance of urgency, angst and solace, which is exactly what you want from pop-leaning punk. “Hearst” pushes slashing tangling guitar racket up to the foreground, letting a billowing squall spill over crisp drums and shout-sung vocals, while “Sulfate” lets a sighing romantic croon loose over boiling lavas of rock mayhem. Nice.

Jennifer Kelly

Rio Da Yung OG — Rio Circa 2020 (Boyz Ent)

This is exactly what the title says: a compilation of Rio songs stashed on the label’s HDD, no more, no less. No filler but no hits either. The tape has a “Circa 2020” feel to it, reminding us of when Rio did what he wanted with no shades of doom hanging over the songs. It’s unlike the music he wrote after the trial when he knew he had to do some time. There’s a little bit of everything in here: three songs with RMC Mike, two tracks featuring Louie Ray, a song on a Sav beat, a song on an Enrgy beat and a song on a Primo beat. Yet it’s hardly enough to last us until Rio is free.

Ray Garraty

Spirits Rejoice—S-T (Fredriksberg)

Spirits Rejoice! by Spirits Rejoice

A remastered reissue of a 1978 recording, Spirits Rejoice captures boundary-crossing South African jazz scene, which touches on fusion, rock, funk, soul, disco Latin and African sounds. The ensemble includes some of that time and place’s pre-eminent jazz musicians, Sipho Gumede of the fluid, loping bass lines, breezy, insouciant reeds-man Robbie Jansen, South African pioneering percussionist Gilbert Matthews, keyboardist Mervyn Africa and a very young Paul Peterson on electric guitar. The music is ebullient and clearly tilted towards pop accessibility, and the gleaming sheen of 1970s often dilutes its heat and fury. This is especially true on “Happy and in Love” which could double as a lost Earth Wind and Fire cut. Elsewhere, though, as in “Woza Uzo Kudanisa Nathi,” fervid polyrhythms, tight squalls of sax and an exhilarating call and response light up the groove, fusing African chants with a swaggering samba rhythm. And “Papa’s Funk,” is just what it sounds like—a slithery, stuttery, visceral bass-led swagger that bubbles and smolders and twitches in a universal funk.

Jennifer Kelly

Various Artists — GmBH: An Anthology of Music for Fashion Shows 2016 – 2023, Volume 1 (Studio LABOUR)

GmbH: An Anthology of Music for Fashion Shows 2016-2023 Vol. 1 by Various Artists

LABOUR is a multimedia project of Iranian musician Farahnaz Hatam and American percussionist/composer Colin Hacklander. Based in Berlin, the duo has collaborated widely and eclectically to produce soundtracks for sustainable, underground fashion house GmBH. This compilation collates 12 examples and showcases a variety of work from an international roster of artists including Iraqi-British oud player Khyam Allami, Turkish born DJ Nene H, Kuwaiti musician Fatimi Al Qadiri, American performance artist MJ Harper and Indonesian noise duo Gabber Modus Operandi. The thread that runs through all this is cross pollinations between genre, geography, and chronology. Allami’s oud plays against LABOUR’s electronic washes and synthetic percussion with each element emphasizing and interrogating differences in modality and structure. On “White Noise” LABOUR contrast a 16th century harpsichord piece with static and effects dissolving into a robotic club beat which ends up evoking a cyborg Hooked on Classics. Their collaboration with Harper on the spoken word “ablution” is a reflection on love, religion, and abnegation with elements of gospel, eastern and creeping doom ambience. The Anthology has much of interest but is essential for Belgian composer Billy Bultheel’s “YLEM” featuring German countertenor Steve Katona who soars incandescent from a backdrop of industrial grind. The contrast between earthly weight of the music and radiant purity of the voice is breathtaking.

Andrew Forell

Vertonen — taif’ shel (Oxidation)

taif' shel by Vertonen

Give the Oxidation label credit for radical truthfulness. One of the bummers of our time is the frequency with which folks on BandCamp and elsewhere will call a short-run, blue or green-faced disc a CD when they are selling you a CD-R. Oxidation, on the other hand, is named after the process that will eventually render its products unplayable. On to the sounds. Vertonen is Blake Edwards, who has been working around the edges of sound for over 30 years. On taif’ shel, he displays absolute mastery over the combination of collected, electronically generated and carefully edited sounds. His skill rests on three qualities; knowing where to place sounds, knowing how long to let them carry on and having some pretty good ideas about which ones to use in the first place. He can make a drone of infinite (but never unnecessary) complexity, or punctuate flipping film-ends with a precisely situated, never repeated sequence of chops and splices, to name just two examples found on this impermanent but thoroughly rewarding disc.

Bill Meyer

Villagers — That Golden Time (Domino)

That Golden Time is Villagers’ sixth album. The Conor O’Brien led project presents its most eclectic outing to date. A number of the songs are afforded pop treatment, consisting of memorable tunes and gentle, polished arrangements. The double-tracked vocals on “First Responder” is a case in point, about a relationship fragmenting while the singing coalesces, an interesting tension. “No Drama,” initially pared down to piano and O’Brien’s laconic vocals, eventually adds a coterie of Irish traditional instruments. “Keepsake” veers closer to mid-tempo electronica, with overlaid synth repetitions and treated vocals. The title track employs sustained violin lines, played by Peter Broderick, and an intricate form with supple harmonic shifts. “Brother Hen,” on the other hand, recalls the folk influences present from Villagers’ beginning. The diversity is diverting, even though That Golden Time feels like a collection of singles instead of an album statement.

Christian Carey

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

Insta | Storygraph | Literal | Goodreads

🦇 This Is How You Lose the Time War Book Review

❓ #QOTD If you could travel to any time or place, where would you go? ❓ 🦇 Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandant finds a letter. It reads: Burn before reading. Thus begins an unlikely correspondence between two rival agents hellbent on securing the best possible future for their warring factions. Red belongs to the Agency, a post-singularity technotopia. Blue belongs to Garden, a single vast consciousness embedded in all organic matter. They have nothing in common, save that they're both the best, and they're alone.

🦇 What began as a taunt, a battlefield boast, grows into something more. Something epic. Something romantic. Something that could change the past and the future. Except the discovery of their bond would mean death for each of them. There's still a war going on, after all. And someone has to win that war.

💜 This novella burrowed soft seedlings deep within my bloodstream, sprouted saplings that tangled my mind in a war waged on time, and left me blossoming, tears brimming in my eyes. Red and Blue's slow burn, sapphic romance is compelling, imaginative, dizzying, and disastrous; a beautiful collaboration I hope will breed many more. Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone ensnare you from the first page; their prose takes root DEEP and stays. I'll be nursing this book hangover for a while yet. Once Red and Blue are mentally (and in some ways, physically) intertwined, they bloom purple, their dueling prose uniting into a timeless, ethereal poetry. No real world could contain this story, but the pages of this book did well to contain their love. It's difficult to say more without spoiling the story's potency. No review I could write, even given a thousand threads or lives, would do it justice.

💙 I've made a mess of highlighting this one, each line lending to the next. However, I will say there are some references that left me unable to fully appreciate a well-written line (my own problem, really). I would have appreciated more information about the time war, the Agency, and the Garden, but it's not really necessary when the story's true focus is the blossoming rivals-to-lovers slow burn romance between our protagonists.

🦇 Recommended for fans of Killing Eve (imagine them as time-traveling pen pals and you have Red and Blue's story).

✨ The Vibes ✨ ❤️ Time Travel 💙 Sapphic Romance ❤️ Steven Universe Vibes 💙 Sci-Fi ❤️ Rivals to Lovers 💙 Slow Burn ❤️ Poetic Prose

💬 Quotes ❝ There’s a kind of time travel in letters, isn’t there? ❞ ❝ I want to be a body for you. I want to chase you, find you, I want to be eluded and teased and adored; I want to be defeated and victorious—I want you to cut me, sharpen me. I want to drink tea beside you in ten years or a thousand. ❞ ❝ Listen to me—I am your echo. I would rather break the world than lose you. ❞ ❝ I have built a you within me, or you have. I wonder what of me there is in you. ❞ ❝ I love you. If you’ve come this far, that’s all I can say. I love you and Iove you and I love you, on battlefields, in shadows, in fading ink, on cold ice splashed with the blood of seals. In the rings of trees. In the wreckage of a planet crumbling to space. In bubbling water. In bee stings and dragonfly wings, in stars. In the depths of lonely woods where I wandered in my youth, staring up—and even then you watched me. You slid back through my life, and I have known you since before I knew you. ❞ ❝ Dearest, deepest Blue— At the end as at the start, and through all the in-betweens, I love you. ❞ ❝ “Some things matter more than winning.” ❞

[ebsite]

Year in Review / My Top K-Drama’s of ‘23 

Destined With You

Our Dating Sim 

King the Land 

Crash Course in Romance 

My Lovely Liar

The Eighth Sense

The Matchmakers

Daily Dose Of Sunshine

See You in My 19th Life

Perfect Marriage Revenge

Death’s Game Pt. 1

Honorable Mentions:

GyeongSeong Creature Pt. 1

Castaway Diva 

Our Blooming Youth

Behind Your Touch

Moon In The Day

Bloodhounds

Divorce Attorney Shin

Black Knight

The Glory Pt. 2

Love to Hate you

Not Others

~~~~~~~~~~

Shows I’m still working on ( So many shows, too little time 😭 ):

Island

Call it love

A time called you

Worst Evil 

My Dearest 

Our Heavenly Idol 

Joseon Attorney

Heartbeat

DP (Season 2)

Uncanny Counter (Season 2)

Twinkling Watermelon  

The Secret Romantic Guesthouse

Strangers Again

Oh! Youngsim

Song of the Bandits

[rughydrangea]

2023 drama year in review

Okay, this year I'm really late. But better late than never, right?

Joining the pantheon of my favorites:

The Glory--The highs of this drama made me feel like I'd taken a hit of whatever not-found-in-nature strain of pot Sa Ra was on.

Maiko-san Chi no Makanai-san--Sweet, heart-warming, gentle. Its kindness made me cry!

Revenant--Just a satisfying, scary, sad, immaculately produced, wonderfully acted ghost story. In terms of sheer quality it may be the drama of the year.

Quite good:

Bad Mom--I loved how complex the character dynamics were here and wish the show would have gone more in-depth into them? Like, this mother gave her son an eating disorder (and was overall incredibly emotionally abusive), and by the end all is forgiven. Mi Joo hides from Kang Ho that he is a father, telling their kids all sorts of lies about their dad, and ultimately everything's okay and they're going to live happily ever after (we didn't even get the scene of them telling the kids, which was truly all I wanted). I'm glad for these characters that love was able to triumph over everything for them, but the genuine darkness of the beginning (especially that first episode, yikes!) primed me for something that was perhaps a bit more messy that this ultimately was. Still, a really enjoyable watch.

The Matchmakers--This one snuck up on me! Fun, funny, and disarmingly sweet.

Moon in the Day--Persuasively makes the argument that dating a corpse reanimated by a 1500-year-old ghost is a great life choice.

Moving--A great show about how dads are hot. I can't believe I spent the whole show waiting for JIS to be reunited with his family and meet his grown up son and the minute he does the camera zooms out and that's it and we see nothing.

My Dearest--"How much amnesia is too much?" is, it would seem, a question this writer has never asked. And yet, it was still pretty incredible. I just wish the last few episodes had lived up to everything that came before.

Perfect Marriage Revenge--I love a drama that knows exactly what it is and is determined to have fun with it.

Not bad:

Crash Course in Romance--There's simply nothing better than grown-up romance. And nothing worse than pointless serial killer plots.

The Forbidden Marriage--Ridiculously charming when it didn't pretend to care about the plot.

My Lovely Liar--"Spoiler" really was a banger.

The Story of Park's Marriage Contract--Poor Joseon Tae Ha really got a raw deal, huh?

WHY??!?!?

Joseon Attorney--I liked the part where the king decided to kill WDH's sister and never apologized for it and everybody, including WDH, was totally cool with it.

Lady Durian--Every episode was an out of body experience in terms of pure, glorious weirdness.

Our Blooming Youth--Every episode felt very long and yet also like nothing had happened. Which is also what the drama felt like.

Romantic Doctor Teacher Kim 3--So bad. So dumb. But Kim Sabu continues to have a smile that keeps me coming back for more.

Secret Romantic Guesthouse--It's certainly a bold choice to have your male lead be your least compelling character and performance. Kang Hoon is a star and a half and it's time for him level out of supporting roles.

See You in My 19th Life--It was okay (SHS great as always), but once I read the synopsis of the webtoon, I couldn't understand why that wasn't the plot of the drama.

[namjhyun]

Our Blooming Youth Review | Episode 01 and 02

The drama throws us in the middle of a political war already underway and the script is smart to give us enough information to catch up. You can feel the stakes are high and how betrayal, murder, conspiracy are all breathing down at the Crown Prince's neck.

Lady Min (Jeon So Nee) is smart and resourceful. I am already looking forward to see her solve her family's murder and how it's connected to whoever is threatening Crown Prince Hwan (Park HyungSik).

As we learn about the Crown Prince’s true face and insecurities, Lady Min proves to be an outstanding and wise adviser. Now that it has been stablished their enemies are probably the same, I think they will be a force to be reckoned with.

I'm keeping my eye on Sergeant Han Sung-on (Yun Jong Seok) and Lord Kim Myung-jin (Lee Tae Sun). I don't think they are directly involved in the murder of Lady Min's family or the threats to the Crown Prince but perhaps their families are since their respective fathers are Ministers.

I think Lee Hwan wants to trust Sergeant Han but since becoming the Crown Prince it has become difficult to do so, even if he is a childhood friend, because of whom his father is. I admit Minister Han (Cho Seong-ha) is cryptic AF. He looks like ally but is he?

If Minister Han is working against Crown Prince Hwan, it would make sense that he would send someone to kill Governor Min to keep the letter secret and since his son was engaged to their daughter, it would give him opportunity. But, what would be his reason to depose Hwan?

Minister Jo (Jung Woong in) seems like the obvious choice. He’s not trying to hide his dislike for Crown Prince Hwan and wants to depose him to put his own nephew in his place and take control. I think he might be some kind of red herring to distracts from the real person moving all the pieces.

I also don’t trust the Queen (Hong Soo-hyun). I think she might be playing the long game to get her way through her uncle’s machiavellian ways.

Meanwhile I can’t read Minister Kim (Son Byung Ho) at all. I am pretty sure he will become a bigger player later in the story but I’m still not sure for which side. I hope the drama shows a little more of him at court and his relationship with his son.

Crown Prince's bodyguard Tae Gang (Heo Won So) and Lady in waiting Jang Garam (Pyo Yejin) both seem pure and loyal. I am already praying nothing happens to them through the course of this drama because my spidey senses tell me main character is dying in Our Blooming Youth.

Technically speaking, the cinematography is beautiful to look at, the costume design really well done, the directing and performances fun to watch but also set the seriousness of the problems our main characters must overcome. The best part it's the script, which I found to be very smart and well paced.

Overall, I think this drama has the potential to be a great sageuk!

[kdramaspace]

MEMBER OF THE MONTH   ↳ Congrats Jia @park-hyungsik​

💌 NOTES FROM THE ADMINS

Layla: JIA! can i start with i love your url!!! it's a 10 out of 10 one... anyway, you've been feeding us content for months, so it's only natural to give you this spot!! you have a very nice natural coloring style, and i love love when you experiment in your sets, be it in effects or blending or typography, those always turns out great!!... also seeing you grow as a gifmaker over the past year has been a treat.. so thank you for being an avid content maker and being a part of our family.. can't wait to see what will inspire you next.. take care💛! ↳ favorite works: [ 1, 2, 3 ]

Sam: yay, jia!! congrats, happy to share this announcement for a fellowship hyungsik lover. I'm not even watching our blooming youth, but I feel like I am with the healthy dose of hyungsik you’ve been putting on our dashes. it’s been great to see your gifs develop over the  past few months. there’s always a variety of content to look forward to on your blog. I'm looking forward to seeing more from you! thank you for being a part of our network and being an active part of this community! ↳ favorite works: [ 1, 2, 3 ]

Alexa: jia you are so so sweet and lovely and i’m so happy to be writing this blurb for you!!!! it’s really amazing to see how far your content has come in just a few months. the set you put in for the latest userdramas event was absolutely STUNNING and i love the blending techniques and fonts you used for the set!!! it makes me so excited to see how your skills will continue to grow and how many more amazing sets you’ll bring to the tag! i still cry over the year in review eaw set you made me... missing our greenest flag lee junho every single day tbh :((( thank you for being such a wonderful & active member in our net. this shoutout it much deserved <3 ↳ favorite works: [ 1, 2, 3 ]

[kdramaxoxo]

These anons are straight up KILLING ME with these negative reviews of Our Blooming Youth 😭😭😭 I’m waiting until April so I can binge the whole thing so I can’t weigh in yet but I’ve been DYING for PHS new drama so I’m basically being murdered right here on your blog 💀 I’m still gonna watch it because I am absolute trash for that man lmao he is my bias I can’t help myself I’ll probably end up liking it just because his beautiful face will be there 😅

Anyway how are you bestie?? What have you been watching? I’ve been on a Lee Seung Gi kick lately, I rewatched Hwayugi and now I’ve watched Law Cafe (super super good) and Vagabond (I loved it but it’s killing me that they clearly intended a second season that’s not happening) that man is phenomenal I love his crooked smile and that DIMPLE send help. Ok I’m done rambling lol byeeeee have a lovely week *heart fingers*

Oh bestie, you should totally ignore us and binge that drama!

Our Blooming Youth might actually be good but I'm just allergic to historicals so I can't tell? You'll have to let me know what you think, and enjoy PHS's face!

OMG if you are on a Lee Seung Gi kick can I make a wild recommendation? You need to watch The King 2 Hearts. It's legit unhinged and totally classicly soapy. It's the first drama I saw him in and was like "I SEE THE LEE SEUNG GI MAGIC" and also was like what am I watching yet unable to stop. The villain is a MAGICIAN. Like, a theatre type one with decks of cards?? Ok that's all I'm saying.

[kdramacrybaby]

Our Blooming Youth (2023)

Genre: Romance, Historical, Mystery

Synopsis: Min Jae-yi's whole family is murdered, and all evidence points to her, but she is innocent. A clue leads her to the royal family, so she infiltrates the palace to get an audience with the crown prince. The crown prince himself is caught up in a mystery after a curse was delivered to him, and in an effort to prove herself useful, Min Jae-yi helps him solve one of the mysterious happenings in the palace. She promises to help him with his curse, if he lets her investigate who killed her family.

Episode info: 20 episodes / Runtime around 70 minutes

Lead cast: Jeon So-nee (Min Jae-yi), Park Hyung-sik (Lee Hwan), Pyo Ye-jin (Ga-ram), Yoon Jong-seok (Han Seong-on), Lee Tae-sun (Kim Myung-jin)

Link to watch: You can watch on Viki or Dramacool

Drama rec masterlist | Drama rant thread (beware of spoilers)

I don't really have anything bad to say about this drama, actually. It starts off really strong and got my attention immediately.

It does maybe feel a bit slow at times, but they make sure to keep you on your toes with clues and hints left everywhere. Sometimes it was a bit confusing to keep up with what was happening, where it was happening and why, because when it's not slow, everything seems to happen at once. It's not necessarily a bad thing, just something I thought about while watching,

I absolutely adore both Min Jae-yi and Garam - the actresses really gave their all, and it was refreshing to see the female leads finally being the ones who do most of the work in the drama. They don't need no men to get through this world as long as they have each other. Showing them both kicking ass, and then fawning over Min Jae-yi's fiancé together later, was really cool. Girls can like pink and pretty dresses and still kick your ass.

There is one thing where I'm maybe a little confused as to how I should classify this drama - because it does feel like they hint of something supernatural going on throughout the drama. There is an immortal fish and something with white hair... and I just don't really know. But in the end, I feel like it can all somewhat be explained naturally, so I chose not to tag it as a fantasy drama.

Lastly, I feel like I have to mention the love triangle, though, to be honest, I'm not sure if it classifies as a love triangle at this point. Either way, it did bother me a tiny bit at one point, but overall it's actually really well executed, and I have no complaints about it.

In the end, I think this drama is a solid 4/5 stars for me. I enjoyed watching every episode, and I can't really put a finger on anything about it, though in the end, I didn't come out of the finale thinking "wow, I really want to watch this again right away."

Though I do have to admit, I have no idea why it's called Our Blooming Youth, when it's more a murder mystery than a coming-of-age drama - which is what I initially thought it was about because of the title.

[michyeosseo]

tag 9 people you want to get to know better

thanks to @somewhatavidreader i enjoyed reading your list ^^

ship

three ships

jin hwayoung & choi changje - by now, you've probably seen evidence of ~my hwachang fixation~ teehee just no use resisting the epitome of sunshine: she's •᷅ࡇ•᷄ while he's o̴̶̷̥᷅ ̫ o̴̶̷̥᷅ and later down the line, a dash of 'reversal'. their solid marriage thoroughly catered to me. oh, and finally made me understood the girlboss/malewife concept ha ha ha

chen ran & xu jie - trying to get into the semi-sequel and the attempt furthered the sensation of missing partner goodness so much? peak characters-who-aren't-canonically-gay-but-whose-behavior-just-makes-no-sense-unless-you-read-them-as-gay energy. do not be surprised if i circle back and complete a fanedit idea from last year in time for valentines

yoon nanyoung & park chakyeong & yuriko - yet to see the korean adaptation of 风声, my most anticipated new chungmuro work thanks to that one early review that puts the experience succintly: "레즈의 사랑은 애국심보다 강하다." insane how honey lee romancing both esom and park sodam somehow flopped the box office

first ship

han baekyoung & park myeongyi - had a hard think about this one... the names are probably not familiar because these are the full names of lady han and jang geum's mom. yes, from jewel in the palace. deep dive hours here hehe remember when sageuks have this long running thread that pays off beyond death?

last

last song

leebada’s siren. been sampling her latest album, heaven, though there was also a phase where i was very into her song fox (the ocean, 2019).

last movie

black panther: wakanda forever or as i call it in my ltrbxd, bereavement. a shame i was too preoccupied when it was in the cinemas last year. angela bassett mothered so hard (thought the same even during the first film).

currently

currently reading

halfway through the left-handed woman by peter handke. actress kim shinrok made an homage which prompted me to grab a copy immediately.

currently watching

strictly speaking, only dirty linen fits this bill since i log it faithfully on tvtime app since it started. that said, ntflx does provide ease in streaming crash course in romance for jdy as nam haengseon-sshi week in, week out (behind compared to everyone else).

our blooming youth started airing and i made three sets out of the pilot alone so i'll give that at least another week to gauge whether the piqued curiosity fizzles.......

currently craving

butter cookies ♡

tagging @drivingsideways @rain-hat @elderflowergin @rosyfingered-moon @fromthedepthsandbeyond @stillaskew @dramateaque @iexbie @anyawatchestv