Love Class (2022)

perfect casting, sm fun to watch

this drama was genuinely so much fun to watch every episode had me giggling and kicking my feet in some type of way.

the leads had very good chemistry and were both amazing actors so in places where the show slightly lacked (a kind of rushed plot line), they made it work and understandable. the story made sense which is rarer than it should b in a lot of kbls and the actual couple were perfect their personalities balanced eachothers and their height difference is heartbreaking.

i really hope the actors get another project together/ a s2 bc they have a lot of potential(they are also both gorgeous). the biggest shame was that there was only about 5 minutes of them being an official happy couple but apart from that i dont really have many complaints, this is easily one of the better kbls of 2022 and i hope everyone invloved know they did a great job

Read More

Sweet. Don't Take Too Seriously And Enjoy.

Simple, sweet, light. It made me smile a lot and I ended with a big smile and lingering warm feelings.

A lot of suspension of disbelief required, especially around the stalker and the avoidance of going to the police. That was ridiculous, but the show never felt too serious so I was able to shrug off the awkward things and enjoy the series.

Though I would have enjoyed more time for the story to unfold a little more organically, for six 20min episodes, it surprisingly didn't feel unsatisfactory. It was a little awkward in spots jumping time to progress with the story but that was easily shrugged off.

The acting was good but the show also didn't require huge depths of emotions. Han Hyun Jun as Ji Woo easily kept my attention even though I personally wasn't visually attracted to him. He did a great job with some subtle yet deeper layers of feeling in the last episode that produced a little emotional angst (that gets resolved). Kim Tae Hwan as Ro A was a good match with him though I was wishing for a little more intensity in emotional expression the last episode. That didn't diminish the feel-good ending though.

There's some skinship and physical closeness throughout. The kiss at the end is not very animated (a step above a dead-fish-kiss) but it lingers and the body language of the leads gives it emotional intensity.

The secondary characters were good in their roles

The music was fine and didn't distract. Nothing special about cinematography, lightning, or dialogue, but nothing cringy either.

There were two bits that made me laugh a lot. The best was in Ep 1 with the tongue-in-cheek use of opera music while sharing a drink; clever and hilarious.

I could see rewatching this at some point.

Read More

Disappointing Short Series

Well, darn .... every new bl that comes out generates some excitement and anticipation. And then wham, what a disappointment.

Please, please do not label these as bl's when they are this lame. Not only was this a super short series with six episodes of maybe 20 min each, but the acting was also horrible (except for the one male lead - he really deserves a better script and cast than this series). The story felt like someone took a good book and chopped out sections to come up with a barely workable scenario. There is no music, there is no kissing, nothing great about the settings, etc.

The rewatch value on this series is zero. What a huge disappointment!

Read More

I enjoy this series

I am not type of watcher who wants all people to be suddenly gays in the BL series. So, this series is my type. It is not too gay. Side characters are not designed to be gays all so suddenly. All characters are put where they belong in terms of the story's setting.

The deliverable of the characters, to me, is believable, and fun to watch. Kim Tae Hwan (Ji Wo) and Han Hyun Jun (RoA) seem to be enjoying their role and I would like to give them more opportunities by seeing how they will develop their interactions, if any, in season 2.

Ji Wo is definitely behind RoA on understanding his sexuality and feeling. And I feel like, it is a normal experience for a person who does not live in a society where LGBT is broadly accepted. RoA and Ji Wo can be a perfect match to see what is next steps in that type of relationship. And I want to know more about Ji Wo.

Read More

A nice surprise

This series came almost secretly and I was not very convinced after watching the trailer. I saw it because they released the 6 episodes one after the other. I made a great choice. Korea rarely disappoints. ❤

STORY & CHARACTERS
The plot was original, and also the way they carried on the love "triangle". We had not the usual hot actors as the main couple, but they were very cute around each other: this shows that you don't need the prettiest actors to make the viewers fall in love with them. ? The girls were interesting and central in the plot, finally.

I love that they often put a maxim that encloses everything at the end of the series, and leaves a pearl to hang in your room ?
We had three beautiful and deep speech in just one episode: Namjun+Ji Woo, Ro A+Namjun, Ro A+her boss at the surf café. Amazing.

WHAT I LIKED MORE
The originality and the way Ji Woo slowly falls in love with Ro A little attentions. He senses the senior is caring for him and falls for him. AND, he keeps fighting for this love even when Ro A suddenly runs away from it, in an extreme attempt to protect him.

WHAT I DISLIKED
Come on, Korea, such a nice show and you give us only 6 episodes? Wish it was longer. Not a lot, just like the classic 8 episodes we usually have in Korea BLs would have been enough...

Read More

Not much, really

Let's just say general feelings for now.

The main problem of the drama is its length. 6 episodes of less than 20 minutes each is not enough for anything but the simplest plot. And they tried to do more than the simplest.

The story is fine. Pretty interesting premise, though not unique. And the stakes weren't high enough for me to care about it. It just distracted me from the romance, which was barely there in the first place. It had few little subplots, none of them developed enough. Didn't care for them, either. The romance part was handled quite well with the time they had left for it, but they had too little time left. So overall, I just didn't feel strongly about anything either way. It looked good and didn't have any glaring mistakes. So it's a meh 7.

If they cut at least half of the subplots and developed the romance more, it could have jumped to 8. Now, I don't think the romance is good enough to stand on its own. But the story by itself isn't that great, either. It's passable. It's also pretty forgettable, so there might be some rewatch value there. If you are really bored, that is.


TRIGGER WARNING FOR THIS DRAMA (SPOILER) - stalking. The ugly, creepy, violent kind. Nothing else is notable.


SPOILERS FOR THE ENDING FROM NOW ON:

Won't even bother with the stalker subplot. If it was someone more important, maybe. But random person? Who cares?! Same with other subplots. Who cares? I kinda expected the girls to end up together, though.

The romantic ending for boys makes little to no sense, since it goes from 10 to 100 in matter of 20 minutes. Even in episode 5, there's little to no sign that Ji Woo likes Ro A. And then, he just suddenly loves him so much he rejects the girl he's been pining for during the whole series?! Weird. I wouldn't have been surprised if Ro A didn't believe him or thought that Ji Woo is just confused. My personal interpretation of Ro A rejecting Ji Woo is different, though. I think he wanted Ji Woo to be with the girl of Ji Woo's dreams. Happy. Safe from homophobia and insecurities of same-sex relationship. Which leads me to my controversial opinion. This shouldn't have had a happy BL ending. It just isn't realistic with what little they've done for the pairing. They should have given us an ugly ending. For one of them, or both. That way, I would have at least felt something.

[I would also complain about the queerbaiting then, but still. It would make for a more emotional story imo.]

Read More

Felt a bit lackluster

My problem is that I keep expecting all Korean BLs to be as good as semantic error was. They set the standard too high and because of that this show felt a bit mediocre not in terms of acting or cinematography but mainly storyline. All of the surrounding characters felt like they got way more screen time than our main couple. And this show includes my biggest pet peeve which is waiting until the very last minute of the show for the couple to finally get together which means we didn’t really get any happy times between with them as a couple. I know Korea is still finding their footing in the world of BL and for that I’m grateful but what Korean BLs really need now to take them to the next level is to be as long as normal kdramas are or at the very least give us longer than 15 minutes and episode and six episodes a season.

Read More

really good, appreciate their acting, and their …chemistry? Not even a strong enough word

. I have watched a lot of romance shows and I’m often more convinced by one character’s love than another. That was not the case here. The whole time I could FEEL ML2’s love for the ML, but when ML fell, I could FEEL his love for ML2. I was equally convinced. This manifests both from a terrific story line, AND terrific acting. Thank you. You weren’t perfect, but you were one of the most special.

Also, since it seems like, for the first time I’m my life, I haven’t reached the word limit, I also wanted to add that I loved how both the main characters were NOT models. They were not the highest standards of beauty and that made them all the more beautiful. Especially Roah, ML 2. Edit: second time around and Ro-a is beautiful in my eyes. Indubitably. And made that way by what I feel was simply good acting (when looking at Jiwoo ?) so whether he’s physically handsome or not, I am unable to say, because it’s all blended together. ML 1 (jiwoo) isn’t pretty either, but he’s SO cute when folded in Ro-a’s arms ? and this is infinitely more important than physically beautiful actors.

More to the Edit; I’m back editing this review because I when I asked myself, what’s one of my favorite bl, this came to mind first. Why? Acting and well, embarrassingly, their chemistry. Like I’d always been suspicious of “chemistry” but for me, they … at the end, I really felt that their hearts were breaking for each other. And being mended by each other. Especially Ro-a.

Read More

Refreshingly Different Plot

A lot of BL dramas take place college but the twist here is two guys are taking a couples relationship course (thus the name, "Love Class") and there aren't enough girls to pair up the genders equally so our two male leads are forced to pair together. One of the guys immediately tries to get into another class but they're all filled. Presumably this is a required course so he has no choice but to do the assignments with the other guy, as if they were dating. This seems like a stretch but somehow it works. (It did occur to that a more plausible plot would have required all of the men and women to pair up with the same gender for the kick-off class assignment to learn empathy, but I digress). Korean BL dramas are still pretty tame compared to their more racy Thai counterparts and "Love Class" is no exception. We do get a good final scene with our heroes but their chemistry is a bit uneven throughout the drama. I'm guessing the writer isn't aware that stalkers with baseball bats is a horrific gay drama cliche, so it's an unnecessarily ugly and offensive scene in an otherwise G-Rated drama. There were a lot of missed opportunities to beef up the plot but what's here is highly entertaining and worthy of a strong 9.

Read More

Strangely Charming

I am going to start off by saying this is NOT an example of a good BL. However, that being said, I kind of loved it. There was much awkwardness and less than perfect acting, dialogue, directing, cinematography, etc. yet it somehow managed to pull together a charming story that I thoroughly enjoyed.

The story was less BL and more mystery to be frank. The BL aspect really only comes about in the last episode. Like most BL's of this length, it felt like it could have been better if it was longer. There was just too much going on. The romance was rushed, the stalker aspect took up too much screen time, there was at least one unnecessary character as well as unnecessary drama. And then there are things like the class itself which makes little sense. Its supposed to be a Marriage and Family Occupational Therapy class, but all it seemed to entail was going out on dates and writing papers about it. Weird, but okay. Then there's the pairing up which I initially thought was going to be an opportunity to touch on the fact that being a heterosexual couple is not the only way to go and, yes, homosexual couples can have kids and a family too, but it was basically just a plot device to put our two leads together. And, of course, the post that gets everyone talking and is, for some reason, a kind of scandal. I never got a sense of why it was such a big deal and so incredibly overblown. It was pretty well established that Ji Woo wasn't really anyone people paid attention to and even Ro Ah isn't portrayed as being someone super popular, so what was all the fuss? All that being said, I was impressed that it actually had a linear storyline albeit one that was a bit overstuffed.

The acting was shaky. There were some really strong moments and there were some really weak ones. I felt like the more relaxed scenes like in the classroom, when Ji Woo and Ro Ah have lunch together, the double date, those were where the acting felt strongest. Especially the double date, it felt very natural and was fun and cute. The heavier, more dramatic scenes is where I felt the acting slip and seem more forced, not horrifically but enough that I didn't feel as much and wasn't as invested in the scene. Han Hyun Jun was definitely the stand out which is impressive considering this was his first drama role. I felt he embodied his character better than Kim Tae Hwan and was much better at using his eyes and facial expressions to convey emotion. Tae Hwan was more stiff and less expressive, almost robotic at times.

The characters were well done considering how short the drama was. While there was no way to give extensive background on any of them, I still felt all the information that was needed about them for the story to progress was present. I do feel like it would have been nice to have a little more background on how Ji Woo and Yu Na came to be friends aside from him drinking a bowl of liquor for her. And I also think that Ro Ah's friend, Nam Jun's role should have been greatly reduced. He didn't add much other than unnecessary drama and angst and I would have preferred to see that screen time used to develop the relationship of the leads.
- Ji Woo was fun to see him come out of his shell and become more secure in himself. He was such a sweetheart and I thought he was absolutely adorable. I don't think his character really brought anything new to the table, I've seen other BL's with very similar characters, but even so he wasn't boring. I feel like his change of feelings from Yu Na to Ro Ah was a bit sudden, but, again, since it's such a short drama, I can't really fault it for that. I do think the gradual change of his feelings was well done, little things that showed he was starting to fall for him. He was overall just a very likable character.
- Ro Ah, Ro Ah, Ro Ah, the man caused drama where there was literally no drama. I liked his character for the most part. He was a generally nice guy who fell for his junior and never expected to have that love reciprocated. But his level of self-sabotage was incredibly high. He spends the entire semester seemingly trying to win over Ji Woo, but the second Ji Woo says he likes him, he's like, nope, its all in your head and just disappears. His whole spiel of "what are the chances of your crush confessing to you" just had me rolling because, sir, pot calling kettle black. You're crush is literally trying to confess to you and you blow him off. And then we have his drama as he leaves with his talking about how he's made Ji Woo suffer and he's in pain. Exactly how did anything you do cause him to suffer? Literally nothing. He's the one who got his arm broken because he was trying to protect Ji Woo. And if Ji Woo was in pain at that point, it was because Ro Ah had just rejected him! There was just absolutely no reason for him to reject Ji Woo and it made no sense other than to up the drama factor and have the drama conclude with the two on the beach. This boy just had me face palming over and over again with his drama and shenanigans. He took falling on his own sword to the max.
- Yu Na was an interesting character and I liked that she actually had a personality. Most BL's fail to use their female characters as anything other than a way to cause drama between the leads, help get them together, be little more than props, or be the gay fangirls. Yu Na was her own person with her own story and I loved that. I also appreciated that she was willing to own up to her faults. She realized that she'd been using Ji Woo and manipulating him to an extent and she apologized for it. Despite using him though, she showed that she did truly care for him and I loved that their friendship remained intact despite his rejecting her.
- Hye Won just made me laugh with her strong/intense personality and also her crush on their professor. I don't know if some of those scenes between them were supposed to be humorous, but they were. That last scene between them was hilariously cringeworthy. Still, like Yu Na, I appreciated that she was her own person and she had her own agenda.

This drama tried to deal with some heavier subjects that aren't generally touched on in BL's and though the short length minimized their impact to an extent, it was still refreshing to have them presented. Stalking/the dangers of social media aren't issues that generally play a main role in BL's, but they are real issues, particularly for women. Social media like Instagram unfortunately serves as a hunting ground for predators where people post intimate details of their lives for anyone and everyone to see. I think it did serve as a good reminder to be careful about what you post and to keep in mind who may be looking. I appreciated that Yu Na learned that lesson and while she didn't hide, she did take precautions to make her new account private. Stalking is another issue that mainly women face. The fear Yu Na felt aware that someone was watching her was well portrayed and again, served as a reminder to be careful of what you put out there.

In terms of quality, it was hit or miss. There were some great shots where I really liked the lighting and other shots where the camera angle was good, but very few where I liked both. The sets were okay, but there were some not so great shots that I'm not sure were due to poor decision making skills or the set design. The music was okay but forgettable, nothing that I'll be adding to my playlist.

Despite the less than positive review, I really did enjoy this drama. It got a much higher rating than I think it actually deserves because I did enjoy it so much. Despite its many failures, it managed to charm me and convince me to see it through to the end. Its short enough that its worth the watch even if your unsure if you'll like it. Just consider it a short, fun, sweet diversion from the monotony of day to day life.

Read More

An Easy? 6 Episodes

LONG REVIEW AHEAD BC I'M DRAMATIC :)
----------
First of all, y'all are regarding this show too highly... in my opinion.

Was it easy to watch? Eh. Did it have a sweet message? Sure. Did it make any sense at all? Hardly.

Now hear me out. This story was fed to us as two male college students in a marriage&family class who reluctantly become partners for a dating assignment (Gagaoolala). That sounded pretty average to me (in the scope of BL's that I've watched), and it was only going to be 6 episodes, so I picked up the show as soon as it aired. However, it was very clear after the second episode that this storyline was not headed in the direction I had assumed it would. In fact, I think the train this show and its viewers were riding switched its course twice, teleported to another dimension, and then pulled into its final destination upside down.

SPOILERS FOR THE REST OF THIS REVIEW!!!

Why do I feel that way, you may ask? Well, let's start with the stalker.

This show is literally 6 episodes long. SIX. Why did the writers waste 30% of this show on a stalker that is practically forgotten about after the fourth episode when he's caught? It was irrelevant and time consuming--even as a trope to bring our main protagonist (Ji-woo) and his two love interests (Ro-A and Yu-Na) together. This scenario in six episodes would have only worked had the stalker been stalking Ji-woo, not Yu-Na, and if the setting was more thriller-like than soft and romantic. 4/10

Now, let's talk about Ro-A's roommate (Nam-Jun).

Was he hot? Yes. Do I just have a thing for bald men? Maybe. But I digress. What the hell was that? Did y'all see what I saw? I was all for the beginning premise of this show: guy likes guy, but the guy that guy likes, likes girl. I was not prepared for guy likes guy, but the guy that guy likes, likes other guy that likes girl. Now we have a jealous best friend harassing Ji-woo and kicking over tennis balls...... While I don't mind a love triangle, I cannot emphasize enough that this drama is ONLY 6 EPISODES. Thus, Nam-Jun's character felt 2 dimensional and as ridiculously placed as the stalker. 6/10 (higher score bc he's hot).

Finally, let's get into the topic of that one student and her teacher.

Why? 1/10


Now for my ratings! If you're still here...

Story? 7/10.
Honestly, it wasn't bad. But, it wasn't good. The only reason I found myself coming back for each episode was in hopes to see progression between Ji-woo and Ro-A's relationship. Yes, their story ended up progressing. Yes, we even got a kiss. No, I was not satisfied.

In every way, their story feels unfinished. I mean.. it kind of is unfinished.. and not in a way that I'd like to see a season two between these characters (and whichever other characters the writers will drop in). We see nothing build between them, unless you count a drenched Ro-A reciting a poem to Ji-woo through a locked door. And even that didn't do it for me, as the scene that ensues (where they're in the bed) only lasts for a minute or two, and there's nothing romantic about it. And now that we're talking about romance, I will die on any hill as I say that there is no genuine romance in this show. Ro-A kind of just stays by Ji-woo's side until Ji-woo realizes that his feelings for Ro-A are more than he thought. But we don't even get to see that shift. It kind of just happens, and then they're together and happily holding hands after the longest 20 minutes of my life.

Acting/Cast? 8/10.
I don't have much to say, honestly. Ji-woo (Han Hyun Jun) and Nam-Jun (Yoo Hyuk Jae) were my favorite actors/characters. They really encompassed their roles as the men who pine after their unrequited love, and I was able to feel their hurt, anger, confusion, and passion. Everyone else was just okay. Nothing spectacular, but nothing terrible. Honorable mention to the stalker: great performance, but you run weird.

Music? 6/10.
Can't recall a single song in this show, and OST's are my favorite. That should say enough.

Rewatch Value? 7.5/10.
I'll tell you what. I do see myself watching this drama again, but it won't be my first choice when I have nothing else to watch. It's just light, quick, and there's a kiss at the end to seal the deal.

Overall? 7/10.
I really wish Korea would stop releasing less than average BL's, because we all know how well done their hetero drama's are; a low budget does not equate to a poorly written script. I want heart. I want reality. I want ROMANCE. I want to see a relationship between two male characters feel natural, and I want their story to make sense! BUT, we can't all have what we want, so I will settle at a 7 for this rating. Just know that you have been warned of the mediocrity of this drama.

Read More

Decent!

I loved it and I hated it, there is simply no in-between. I'm never one to be drawn in by only the first episode, but I genuinely enjoyed this one, with the simplistic set-up and the flow of the story moving steadily. That's how most of the series felt for me, with some things lacking, but overall, a steady plot flow. Love Class is a very short K-BL that stands out due to the cast's beauty and reused trope, except, for this series, it works out perfectly.

Let's Dive In.

Love Class uses an ordinary plot with an interesting touch on a literal love class; learning about relationships and connection while simultaneously pairing up with someone in the class to learn more closely about it. When there are no girls left for Jiwoo (who so badly wanted to pair with his in-class crush Yoona), he's stuck with the tall and brooding Ro-A. They interact more closely as a fake couple until throughout, they realize their feelings for one another. Oh, and also a weirdly thrown-in professor/student relationship. the end.

No, but seriously, the professor and student relationship doesn't work for me only because it's so dramatically irrelevant to the plot that it's comical. Yes, both actors are beautiful, but it was highly unnecessary.

The connection between Jiwoo and Ro-A lacked a lot in the beginning. It was more so me trying to figure out why Ro-A had an established crush on Jiwoo for no apparent reason. Only one measly conversation (one not even in their right mind) isn't enough for seomting like feelings to spark. At least in my opinion. So Ro-A flirts with Jiwoo, calling him adorable and cute and giving him longing stares. While it's never stated that Ro-A has a crush, it's evident through the actor's acting. Then the build-up starts to appear mid-series after a disturbing stalker plot and Ro-A fractures his arm. Then I feel their chemistry and their connection. However, with a short timeframe and only 6 episodes, it's inevitably rushed. Then Jiwoo loses feelings for the beautiful Yoona and even turns her down for Ro-A who then turns him down for the most inexplicable reason known to man. It was dumb and added in unnecessary conflict to a plot that didn't need it. However, they do meet again with a very chaste kiss and then the end. Their story needed more time to build stronger tension between them and also unadd some very underwhelming scenes. But we do get the best hug of 2022 cause Ro-A is 7 feet tall and Jiwoo is a small baby who cuddles perfectly into the body of him, and I rewatched that scene an unhealthy amount of times. If the romance didn't do it for me, then the height difference did.

Yoona's plot was a heavy one, and one I didn't see coming, She has a very hard time trusting men, which is never explained why, and yes, the stalker can be a reason, but she had the problem before then. It was quite disturbing to see someone so invasive of someone's privacy like that, but it happens, and it's very awful. Good thing she gets out of it, and at one point, I think I developed a liking for the thought of Yoona and Jiwoo since they built a closer connection than the leads had at some point.

Overall, a decently enjoyable series, though, it will be very easily forgotten as I move on to the next.

Ratings:

Story: 8.5 - steady and rhythmic. No repeated tropes or conflicts (although, some were irrelevant and unnecessary). Most characters are likable (oh yeah! I forgot about Ro-A's friend Namjun who had an unhealthy obsession with Ro-A and was abusive to Jiwoo for no reason! I don't feel bad for him in the slightest (although, the back rubs are very sensual and highly enjoyable to watch)). Some plots lacked coherence and others felt not needed.

Acting: 9 - Good, not too many problems. Hyunjin (Jiwoo) did as perfectly as he could, Taewhan (Ro-A) was a bit stale at times but decent. The others were okay, not anything bad, but nothing standout-ish other.

Music: 6 - decent.

Rewatch value: 3 - I will rewatch Ro-A hug Jiwoo to my heart's content. Other than that, probably not.

A doable cast and a decent plot. I'd recommend for anyone wanting another K-BL to add on their list. Wouldn't mind seeing these two paired again but in a stronger story (with a decent run time).

Read More