Naru
I lost braincells watching this
I think my main issue with this series is that Nhai is so unrealistically brainless. His childishness has been an issue for me since EP1 and I feel like no character development occurred. The dialogue was ridiculous (though this could have been a subtitle issue because I felt that they got progressively worse).Ai and Nhai are cute, don't get me wrong, and I like their little gang but really what was the point of this series? 12 episodes and barely anything happened. If I was more invested in the characters maybe I would have appreciated the constant fluff but they had no depth despite several plot points being presented yet not explored.
This would have been better as a short series with maybe half the amount of episodes... Don't waste your time.
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A small act of kindness (in the form of a cup of coffee) CAN make a difference
"Would You Like a Cup of Coffee?" is a very heartwarming and thoughtful drama centred around Kang Go-bi (played by Ong Seong-wu), a highly-motivated young man who welcomes change and Park Seok (played by Park Ho-san), the selfless owner of '2Dae Coffee' who's not so accustomed to change having run his quaint coffee shop alone for over 20 years.Despite Park Seok's unfamiliarity with change, he gives customers of any background a warm welcome and aims to bring positive change into their lives with a humble cup of coffee and an open mind as his medium. Kang Go-bi is similarly inclined and, although some customers may intially hit a nerve causing Go-bi to become short-tempered, he has similar goals to the coffee shop owner and wishes to change peoples' lives for the better with '2Dae Coffee's magic formula.
Though the plot may not be extremely engaging or have you on the edge of your seat, it's a nice watch to wind down after a long day and carries the important message of 'a small act of kindness can make a difference'. Overall, a very feel-good miniseries with a relaxing atmosphere and a good message to take away.
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Awful script-writing and character development
To start off with a positive, the two main actors had great chemistry and their acting carried the entire show. Intimate scenes were done well but they were often very abrupt and I had trouble understanding the characters' thoughts or intentions most of the time leading up to these scenes. In particular, the character of First (played by Folk Jakrin Sangruan). First's character showed no development throughout despite meaningful talks with the acting teacher - he continued to treat Play (played by Gameplay Garnpaphon Laolerkiat) meanly with an excuse of 'teasing him because his reactions are cute' and I'm not entirely sure how that led to them getting together, nor do I understand First's feelings towards Play.The supporting characters added nothing to the plot and I ended up skipping all of the random side story parts as I really couldn't care less about Penelope... The love triangle was mostly unnecessary other than to give First a shove in the right direction and they should have allocated more time to focus on the two main characters and the development of feelings between them. It felt like their relationship kept going from 0 to 100 and then all the way back down to 0 again.
I only finished this since it was short, wouldn't recommend unless you have nothing else to watch.
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Mildly frustrating but not a bad watch
This is such a unique concept and could have been great with better writing and directing. Some characters' words/actions felt awkward or were frustrating at times, particularly Prakan and Metha, and I feel like this is no fault of the actors.Their characters are simply portrayed as somewhat immature which I don't think is fitting for two respected doctors running for the director position. As two highly intelligent individuals they seemed to lack common sense or reasoning half of the time.
But on to the good things:
- The pacing was good with Prakan's slow realisation of his feelings for Tuaphee, though I do wish they made the passing of time more obvious in some places.
- Since the actors have worked together before their chemistry is pretty good. The couple scenes were cute and enjoyable and without any of that weird shyness depite dating for a while that a lot of BLs have.
- A realistic, bittersweet ending. I feel like the impact would have been lost had this had the perfect fairytale ending.
- Boy Sompob doing the most with the OST.
Overall a good watch despite a few minor frustrations. Definitely recommended if you like supernatural things or want something a bit heavier/more mature than highschool romance.
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Chaos, but in the best way
"Happiness" takes a new, unique spin on apocalypse-themed media as infected individuals experience episodes of bloodthirst rather than being in a constant infectious state. This allows us to empathise with the infected as we can view them as humas as opposed to 'zombies' like in traditional apocalypse-themed media.Whilst there are a few minor plot holes, I think "Happiness" was executed well. It kept me engaged every week and left me wanting more.
"Happiness" shows how quickly people can reveal their true colours when faced with an unfamiliar or threatening situation. The residents became greedy, selfish and disloyal when faced with the endemic situation of the 'Madman Rabies' outbreak. As the situation worsened, they became distrusting of one another and this ultimately led to the demise of many residents that could have been avoided had they worked together. Many of the residents were frustrating or even disgusting at times but the hatred I had for these characters goes to show how well their roles were played. A prime example of this is Oh Joo-hyung (played by Baek Hyun-jin). I hated this character so much I wanted to enter the show and kill him myself. I think a series able to evoke such strong emotions is a series worth watching.
Towards the end of the show, the romantic tension betweeen the leads was particularly strong. There was a clear build-up of feelings throughout and I think it made for an impactful finale. Park Hyung-sik played the character of Jung Yi-hyun so flawlessly. He really understood the character's intentions and emotions and put on an incredible performance.
The last two episodes cleared up a lot of things, had a lot of emotional value and wrapped up the show nicely (with bonus points for the music choice at the end of episode 11). I would have liked closure on some of the other side characters such as Kim Jeong-Gook (played by Lee Joon-hyuk) and Han Tae-seok's wife and some other scenes regarding the virus so in that sense I feel it was a little rushed.
Overall an enjoyable watch and definitely a recommendation for any fellow thriller fans!
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So sweet you'll get cavities
"Kieta Hatsukoi" depicts a 'puppy love' type relationship between two inexperienced teens struggling with their feelings and insecurities. This drama had me smiling from ear to ear every episode. Its simplicity made it so easy to enjoy the cuteness, and the cast, despite being mostly rookie actors, did an incredible job at portraying their characters and the awkwardness that comes with a new, unfamiliar relationship. Michieda Shunsuke is literally the perfect Aoki; he nailed this role and made me fall in love with the character alongside Ida (played by Meguro Ren).With a lighthearted vibe, great character developments and interactions between characters and good music, "Kieta Hatsukoi" is a perfect pick-me-up show and I'll definitely be rewatching it if I ever need a bit of cuteness to lift my mood.
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Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Japan always manages to come out with the most unique and ridiculous plots and I love it. Fukuhara is so unrealistically unlucky that you almost feel bad for him but the show doesn't take itself seriously and leaves you smiling instead.I loved all of the characters in this (save those taking advantage of Naoya), Naoya is a literal angel and his friends are so supportive.
There were a few parts where I thought the acting was a bit awkward but the cuteness soon draws you back in. Fukuhara and Naoya's relationship turns out to be so beautiful and every episode had me cheesing so hard.
If you're looking for something cute and light-hearted, look no further! I highly recommend giving this a go.
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Captivated, by this drama
As someone that hasn't read the manga, it was difficult at first to understand the message "Muchuu-sa, Kimi ni" was trying to portray. But even without considering the message; the editing, acting, sets, the relationships between the characters, the addition of new side characters every episode, the multitude of genres woven into this show and the reoccuring theme and extract from the book had me captivated. This really felt like a whole new world coming to life.After thinking about it, I came to the conclusion that the message might be to 'live in the moment'. One of the main characters, Hayashi Miyoshi (played by Onishi Ryusei), is very impulsive and carefree. If he wants to do something, he does it. If he wants to speak to someone, he speaks to them. He puts himself out there whilst also living an enjoyable life, spending his free time doing 'meaningless things'. He realises that he might not have so much free time in the future, so he lives in the present instead.
On the other hand, Nikaido Akira (played by Takahashi Fumiya) lives in the past, haunted by his middle school horrors. His classmate Medaka Yuichi (played by Bando Ryota), enraptured by Nikaido and the rumours surrounding him, tries to bring him out of his shell and help him to live in the present once again. We can see that Nikaido becomes much happier due to his budding friendship with Medaka and is able to be himself without his past dictating his life.
Overall, this little production was enjoyable and interesting. I'd recommend it if you want to binge something short or need a getaway from real life for a bit.
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Will KimCop ever get a good script?
I get what they were trying to do with this (I think) and I'm not opposed to nonsense dramas because I see media as an escape from reality. Things don't always have to make sense, but the execution of this was just downright frustrating.Despite the pleasant twist at the end, there was absolutely no character development throughout. A preschooler could have created more dimensional characters.
However, the message was decent and I did find at least one scene funny.
If you're desperate for more KimCop content, it's short so you may as well watch it. If not, it's not worth your time.
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Happy Ending Romance... but where was the romance?
I honestly don't know where to start. The (very slightly) above average rating is mostly due to the acting and general K-drama feel of the show. That being said...1. None of the characters had any chemistry whatsoever. I didn't believe that Jungwoo had feelings for either of them but at least he and Taeyoung actually had kiss scenes (if you could even call them that, it was more like they were kissing a wall)
2. The storyline had potential, but was ruined by the omittance of major plot points
3. There was really no need for there to be a different conflict every episode. It was so hard to follow
Personally, this would have been better as a bromance/friendship drama. The 'romance' didn't necessarily take away from it, but it also didn't add anything. At least it did have a happy ending and, of course, stellar OSTs (thanks to Leo and Karam)
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