slice of life mini series
Overall: this is a 20 minute short movie that was originally released in 2022 and was broken up into 3 mini episodes (first episode was 5 minutes without the credits). Aired on Strongberry's YouTube channel over 3 weeks (1 episode per week)What I Liked
- fighting over the diary
- realistic vibe
- production value
Room For Improvement
- beginning didn't hook me, and how I couldn't see the main character's face
- released such short episodes at 1 episode per week instead of all together
- the ending was open to interpretation with contradictory clues/evidence for each ending
- the title (just do an internet search on "happy ending slang" if you don't know what it means) but I didn't take off points
- the subtitles needed to stay a little longer on the screen as people read slower than when they are just listening (didn't take off points)
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Short but sweet and poetically beautiful...
This is a 20 min short film produced by strong berry...one of the best bl creators...I love strong berry creations because they always focus more on the feelings and emotions of characters more than the storyline....the stories are straight to the point and simple but the characters are relatable and lovable...So, I was first confused by how they split it into 3 ep which are 7 min each...Idk the reason they did it but Imo it would've worked a lot better if they'd release the full 20 min at once...but it's not a huge issue...
This isn't anything groundbreaking but this Sure is unforgettable one...
Pros:
-the characters are simple and relatable without any drama...
-the writing (dialogues) is immaculate...the way story is told through the perspective of Hyun..and how every emotion is delivered through poetic words from his diary...it's so interesting and beautiful...
-it looks rich and well made with sincerity even though the budget is obviously not high...
Cons:
There are no major cons... everything's great...
I just wish this was more longer...I wanted to see more of them...
Overall a excellent watch, very short and sweet...
This is going into my quick re-watch playlist...
I'll keep rewatching this once in a while...
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This review may contain spoilers
"Happy" Ending
I do like that you could see that it's a mutual crush from both main characters from the beginning though it's not clear to the characters themselves. There there is the ending, which is the more messed up the more I think about it. It's really unsatisfactory to see that the happiness of the gay character is left to interpretation. It's such an outdated copout and it's open ended in that it's open to the tragic interpretation that Hyun is only reimagining what he should have done that night after walking away from Dong Ho.I think it's nice that the Strongberry CEO addressed a few important things to know for the context of this production.
1. Strongberry is the distributer of this series, they didn't make it.
2. The CEO asked why the director didn't end with a kiss in the bookstore for a satisfactory feeling ending, The director regretfully said, "I should have filmed that". The actor was even actually the one who showed up to open the door at the end, but was just never shown.'
I'm so happy that the Strongberry CEO spoke my thoughts, because I do think the shortfilm/series was nice up until the end. Filmmakers need to remember they can and should SHOW instead of just tell or imply that these queer characters do have a happy ending. I feel it's so especially important to see that depicted if that is the intent.
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This review may contain spoilers
A Short Slice of Life But Could Be Better
Strongberry, a name Boys’ Love fans know internationally as one of the most honest and profilic gay production companies in Korea comes back with a short series titled “Happy Ending”. After the success of “Choco Milk Shake” I was pleasantly pleased to see actor Kim Seong Hyuk who plays the silly Kang Dong Ho, in this new series. In the three episodic series, he is paired with Park Jun Mook who plays his good friend Hyun. The pair exist in a pre-established story already in progress which is how Strongberry normally does it.Read the complete article here-
https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/03/02/happy-ending-series-review-ep-1-to-3/
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To Short
The show is really sweet and so loving, but it's only 3 episodes, each episode only being like 10mins so it's like a short 30min show. i would have enjoyed it if it was longer and did more details, I love Korean BL's but this was just not it, I wouldn't even rewatch it ??.The whole story was pretty, like it basically just tells the story from the Diary POV and from there at the end you can't really tell if they got together or if they didn't.
tbh this could have given more
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Short but packed
This is an impact full & beautiful story told in under 4 minutes. Hard to rate this low when it was able to stir emotion, stir my imagination, made me rewatch and crave for more in under 4 minutes.In a short time, the adult at the bookstore narrating the story introduced the characters, lives, feelings and how it ended. The ending gave viewers the opportunity to continue the story on their own. Who could have come through that door but the same person who is always late as told in the story. The last line being "you are late...."
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This review may contain spoilers
Alt Happy Ending
Strongberry gets it right every time. I do not need Strongberry to make longer series because they squeeze everything out of their directors, screenwriters and actors into their series. For something that is only 20 minutes if you take out the opening and closing credits in this series. They got every nano second done right.Episode 1 gave you everything you need to know the foundation of a not so one sided crush.
Episode 2 gave you the proof of the not so one sided crush
Episode 3 gave the misunderstanding which led to the breakup and open ending
Here is how I interpreted the ending. The MC turned down the ML which lead to ML leaving the MC’s life. The MC then rewrites the ending when he sees the note. The caller from episode 1 is the ML. This is why the MC is smiling when the door opens. The MC meets the ML after he reads the fallen note in diary. Now he has another chance at love with ML so that’s the happy ending.
Another alternative is you omit the MC crying scene and think he confessed to the ML and they had their happy ending.
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Too good that it really hurts
Just finished this movie. Kim Seong Hyuk, thank you for being alive, thank you for your acting in this masterpiece. I love you so much Kim Seong Hyuk! Park Jun Mook, thank you for delivering the emotions really well that actually it hurts so much. So glad that this move has happy ending as it is suppossed to be.Was this review helpful to you?
Terminada!
Es la historia de dos amigos de toda la vida y del como inicia su historia de amor, la verdad esta serie, mas que llamarla serie le llamaría corto, apenas dura unos 20 minutos, y es que su historia es simple, pero bonita. Es de esas que puedes disfrutar y que te sacan de un momento de estrés, relajantes y sin mucho que pensar.La integración de los protagonista es bien bonita y se nota que se quieren, aunque ni ellos mismo lo digan, pero es así.
La musica es sencilla pero complementan bien la historia.
Me gustaría ver a estos dos en una serie mas larga y con una historia mas profunda.
No se si esta serie pase a ser una de las que recordare en mi alma y corazón, pero de lo que estoy segura es que puedes verla para salir del estrés de estar pensando teorías o cuando estas arroyado de trabajo y solo quieres distraerte un rato, sin asumir el compromiso de ver una serie muy larga y que no te vaya a distraer todo el tiempo. Esta serie es de ese tipo, que relaja y te deja seguir con tu vida sin distraerte.
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