Alchemy of Souls

Oh this series, I am in love with this. After long long time a Kdrama to get me hooked.

The best thing of this show is How interesting the character of Lee Jae - Wook's is. I mean you expect typical historical/ Joeson character but no, he is completely different with great comic timing and seriousness when its needed.

His flirting scenes with Mu Deok is so subtle.

One more thing to add here, apart from the good CGI and different story, is that unlike every other historical show there is no rush to make lead couple fall in love immediately. Its new take on historical show. They hate, they curse, they fight, there are moments between them. I like it.

Last but not the least, the female lead - Jung So Min's character is very strongly built and it is not getting faded in the course of romance. Loving it.

A little spoiler which is not spoiler at all - It is very funny to watch that everytime she wants to help him she puts both of them in danger.

A very well made Korean Fantasy-Drama. While it seemed more like a fantasy and martial arts story initially, the series gradually evolves with elements of comedy, politics and romance. The script and direction are phenomenal and so are the characters. Kudos to the makers!

Season 1 (10/10): The first season is a really good season, probably the best historical/fanatasy drama I have ever seen. The storyline is just really unique and pulls you in fairly quickly. The balance between comedy, romance and action is just perfect. The characters are all really charismatic and interesting. You get to see many different stories develop through the characters and you grow to love most of them. My favorite thing about this series are the visuals. The whole series is just like eye-candy. I could honestly watch this series just because of the visually pleasing scenes. The graphics are amazing as well. And the soundtrack really just pulls it all together.

Season 2 (7.5/10): The second season continued with the great visuals, but something just felt a little off compared to the first season. The first episode in this season was a great starter, but episodes 2-7 weren't honestly that interesting. I feel like the story only started to take off in episodes 8-10. Don't get me wrong, the second season was still decent, but it just didn't live up to the same standard as the first one.

I watch parts 1 and 2 back to back. Like many, I was disappointed by the last two episodes of part one. That was simply because I wanted a happy story resolution. The writers could easily have done that but logically expanded the story to its next logical step. If I had to wait a season between parts, I would have been devastated. Fortunately I didn't have to do that, going straight to the second part. I was tremendously rewarded.

In total, there's 30 episodes, each running up to an hour and a half. That is a massive amount of story!!!

I'll keep it short. This series, even when viewed as a dub, is one of the best, if not the best (depending on the day) televised programs that I have ever been privileged to watch. The writing was incredibly well done. The world building was intricately developed. The acting was top notch. The production and music was excellent.

I can't recommend this more highly. Absolutely superb.

Reminiscent of the k-drama Crash Landing on You, in that it's a love story with charming and very competent actors. I'm sure I'm missing some relevant cultural context, but I find this series, through the first eight available episodes, thoroughly enjoyable, a needed escape. Accolades to the director who allows the actors to showcase both their individual charisma, and their chemistry with each other as they glide seemingly effortlessly through this light hearted escape.