Mechanic Needed

Going into Love Mechanics, I was expecting something pretty special. I'd heard some pretty high praise for it, not to mention the high rating, and based on the hype, I figured this was going to be one of my new favorite dramas. But after watching it, I really don't understand that hype. It was decidedly mediocre, certainly nothing to write home about. The plot, what little there was of one, was repetitive. Miscommunication ran rampant, more so than in a lot of other BLs. It got to a point where it was just tedious. What other absurd reason are the writers going to come up with to keep our leads separate? And what makes it even more disappointing is the fact that Yin and War have fantastic chemistry, but we get so very little time of them actually together and happy, not fighting or sulking or some other terrible emotional state. This drama gets added to the list of ones that had potential but just went nowhere.

Love Mechanics gets added to the ever growing list of dramas without a plot. I know I've said this before, but why is it so hard to write a story that actually has a point? What happens essentially is that Mark and Vee get together, or almost get together, something or someone comes between them, they fight, one or both gets blackout drunk, rinse and repeat. I'm not kidding, that is exactly what happens and not just once, but three or four times. It's ridiculous and sad. Especially the drinking. Almost every character here needed to go to AA. I don't think I've ever seen a drama where drinking was so prevalent. Scenes of characters going out and getting drunk were featured at least once an episode, sometimes more. And besides the drinking being repetitive, the conversations that went with it were equally repetitive. It was a constant conversation of who liked who, trying to force confessions, or woe is me I'll never find love. It got old very quickly, especially with people, Yihwa especially, trying to find ways to force others, namely Mark, into revealing their feelings. Who needs or wants friends like that? It was all very toxic.

Ploy, Vee's ex-girlfriend, was a repeat offender when it came to separating our leads. That being said though, I didn't hate her. She was not portrayed as the villainous woman who deliberately came between them. Her cheating on Vee was, of course, unacceptable and she acknowledged that and that she had made a mistake, but when she found out that Vee had moved one, she didn't maliciously try to sink her claws into him to stay. That final kiss between them was a mistake on both their parts, Vee for putting himself in a situation where it could happen and Ploy for letting her emotions get the best of her, though considering what she'd been through, it's understandable that she'd be a bit emotionally fragile and unstable. But she still tried to make things right, explaining what had happened to Vee's friends and trying to explain to Mark as well. Having her become a source of contention between Vee and Mark three times though was just overkill because then you had Mark misinterpreting their relationship during the photo shoot. What I found most disappointing in regards to Ploy and Vee's relationship is that there is an element of Ploy being depicted as the bad guy for cheating on Vee, however, at the same time, you have Vee cheating on Ploy with Mark and not only does he never tell Ploy of his philandering, the fact that he was cheating as well is never really brought up. That aspect felt very sexist.

Miscommunication is always a popular method of causing drama and moving the story forward, but Love Mechanics took it to the next level. It was just miscommunication after miscommunication between Mark and Vee and it got to a point where it felt very lazy. I began to wonder if they were ever going to get together and there were more than a few moments where I just hung my head because, yup, here we go again with one of them saying or doing something stupid and causing the other to misunderstand them. I really wanted to see these two sit down and have a long heart to heart conversation which, naturally, never happened.

Everyone falling in love with Mark was just weird. Yes, he's cute, but to have multiple men positively pining over him seemed highly unrealistic. Krat especially came out of literally nowhere and started pursuing Mark hard. That whole plot line was just super weird and out of left field. It really didn't fit in well and since by that time I was beyond sick of all the roadblocks that kept popping up for our couple, I was never going to be a fan. Nuea's relentless pursuit of Mark wore thin pretty quickly as well. Consent was not a strong point in this drama as Mark told both men that he wasn't interested and that didn't faze them in the slightest and they just kept coming on to him.

The characters were a mix of good and bad. Mark, Vee, Bar, Kan, Yoo, Mark's mother and Vee's and Yoo's parents were the sum total of characters that I overall liked. Despite the drama between them, I did mostly like Mark and Vee. Mark's moments of immaturity towards Vee when he was trying to push him away and the way he essentially taunted Vee with whether or not he would forgive him were his less endearing traits, but overall I don't think he was a bad guy. Loving Vee was certainly not easy and there is an element that some of what he did was done in an effort to protect himself from further harm. He was shown though to be a good and loyal friend. And even though it hurt, I appreciated his maturity in letting Bar go once he knew he was taken. His sassiness was entertaining and I liked his strength of character. Vee was basically a teddy bear. He never seemed to learn from his mistakes and his heart ruled his head most of the time, but he was overall such a sweetheart. He kind of liked to play the bad boy, but he obviously wasn't and he had a nobility to him that I found endearing. I liked how Bar and Kan to a lesser extent were the only two of Vee's friend group who were actually supportive of he and Mark together. Bar as Vee's best friend was featured more prominently and it was refreshing to have someone who actually seemed to have Vee's best interests at heart and was a kind and sympathetic friend. Unlike Vee's other friends who constantly razzed him and got in his business, Bar was the quiet voice of reason and someone Vee could actually trust. I really enjoyed their friendship. Yoo had some great moments as Vee's brother. He had some very entertaining one liners, but he was also a voice of reason for Vee, trying to shake him out of his stupors after yet another misunderstanding with Mark. He acted very much like I imagine a big brother would in the situations he found himself. I liked that Mark found a second home and a second set of parents at Vee's home. Vee's mother especially was wonderful, just warm and sweet and understanding. She immediately took Mark in without question, loving him and taking care of him like he was her own. Vee's father was not demonstrative in his affections, but I really liked him. His tidbits of wisdom, like the one he bestowed on Vee regarding his motorbike, were a subtle display of affection and a way to prepare his son for the world. His defense of Mark and his family from Mark's own father was a great scene as was the one shortly thereafter when he has a one on one conversation with Mark's father. Mark's mother was also very sweet in her own way and I liked her quietly momma bear ways. She was certainly more moderate than Mark's father and it was clear that she loved her son and only wanted what was best for him.

The majority of Vee's and Mark's friends were overwhelmingly annoying. Everything with them felt like a cliché from their entire friend group being gay except for Yihwa who filled the gap of the female straight friend to their over the top antics. Mark's father came across as a very unpleasant person initially, I truly wondered how he and his wife ever got together, but after speaking with Vee's father and revealing a bit more of his concerns, he became much more understandable character. I still would have liked to have a bit more information on him and what exactly made him tick, not to mention an actual conversation between him and his son where they came to some kind of understanding, but I liked that he was given some depth and wasn't a raging asshole for no reason.

Yin and War are the standouts in terms of acting. They both expressed their characters so well and seemed to have a real understanding of them. Their chemistry was one of the few high points of the series. They were just phenomenal together and had a real connection that translated very well to the screen. It's a pity that everything else didn't reach their level.

The production was overall pretty decent. I really liked some of the cinematography, there were some great shots and angles in there. The music was another highlight. Aside from one or two tracks that I wasn't hugely fond of, the rest of it worked very well.

This is one drama where I wish I'd read some of the reviews beforehand to have a better idea of what to expect. I don't think I would have been quite as disappointed in it if I had. I'm not going to say that it's a drama to avoid. It has it's redeeming features, though not many. I think in the end, I would say it's worth watching once. It's not one that's worth watching more than once though. Then again I'm not a fan of that level of angst and miscommunication and drama, so I'll leave repeated viewings to your discretion.

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My Space is Here

The Eclipse is one of my favorite BL dramas and I was really looking forward to these two episodes. I found what they did with these two episodes really interesting and creative and even though it wasn't a hit with every scene, the characters are what really made these two extra episodes special. It was the characters that I fell in love with in the drama and they are what made me really enjoy this continuation of their stories.

Of the episodes that have aired thus far, I felt these two had the best combination of story and fluff. There's a good balance of both. Unlike with Never Let Me Go, the story is a continuation that fits with the original drama and unlike Star in My Mind, it's more than pure fluff. I thought going with a continuation of Wat's moviemaking was a unique choice since it played a relatively minor role in the original, but a good one. The scenes with the characters imagining themselves in various movies was incredibly cheesy, but also rather entertaining. It does feel a bit rushed at times, but with just two episodes, they didn't have a ton of time to fully flesh out the story and it's still good as is.

I did like that there was a clear progression in the character's growth. They were not exactly the same as they were in the original which makes sense since time has obviously passed and that was refreshing since a lot of times specials or subsequent seasons pick up acting like no time has passed when in fact it's been years. I liked that Akk and Aye were shown as having to actually work at their relationship. It showcased that relationships are something that require effort and aren't something you can just neglect. With everything that happened in the original, they didn't really have a chance to get to know one another on a more personal level. They were always a study in opposites, but with the drama behind them, that comes to the fore, and they need to learn to communicate and compromise. I do wish there was a little more of a focus on them learning to communicate. Akk keeps things bottled up and there's no way for Aye to learn from or try to rectify the problem, when he's being tight lipped. Kisses are great, but they don't solve the problem. On the flip side, I liked that Thua did communicate his feelings to Kan. There was still the element there that kisses solve problems, but I felt it was a better progression than with Akk and Aye.

I love the friendships here, especially between Akk, Wat, and Kan. The way they support each other is just so wholesome and I really love that even though Akk and Kan aren't into the indie movies that Wat is, they are still willing to encourage and support him in his dream.

The acting is, of course, fantastic. This is such a great cast and they all play off of and interact with each other so well. First and Khaotung have such a level of authenticity and I think that just comes from the fact that they've known each other for years and are comfortable with each other. That can be good or bad as sometimes actors who have known each other for an extensive period time seem to struggle with bringing romantic chemistry to the screen. That is not an issue with these two though. There's an almost perfect blend of romance and friendship between them that just works. They have such warmth and I adore how they've brought these characters to life. Neo and Louis are also very talented and I really enjoyed their portrayals of Kan and Thua. They did a good job showing how their relationship has developed since the original drama and their chemistry together is equally good. They're more subtle than First and Khao in how their relationship is shown, less demonstrative, but there's a lot communicated between them simply by eye contact and body language. AJ, Pawin, and Ploy all brought their A game as well.

I cannot even begin to express how much I love the song Akk and Aye sing. It is perfect and I am anxiously waiting for it to appear on streaming so I can listen to it on repeat.

My biggest qualm, honestly, was Aye pretending not to remember it was Akk's birthday. I know he was trying to surprise him, but every time I see that come up in dramas, I can't help but think it's just a recipe for drama as it nearly always leads to issues. If you want to surprise someone, then find another way to do it. Don't do something that can hurt the person you care about and potentially damage the relationship.

I really enjoyed this special. Some of the lines from it just really hit home, like when Aye talks about the difference between "place" and "space". I think its safe to say that The Eclipse and many of these other dramas became a space for a lot of us where we feel warmth and love and I think that is just beautiful. This was a wonderful addition to The Eclipse story that you don't want to miss.

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Poetry in Motion

Chinese dramas are always hit or miss for me. I often find that they struggle with pacing, overinflated casts, and solid storylines. Ancient Love Poetry, to my extreme pleasure, suffered from almost none of these and is on par with Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms in terms of quality. Nearly everything was perfect from the acting to the sets to the OST. I enjoyed every moment of watching it and will definitely watch again in the future.

The story is relatively simple, but I found that to be a strength. Instead of getting bogged down with multiple side stories or an overcomplicated plot, it pretty well stuck to the main story. And that story is played out very well, with enough action and slow moments to balance things out and keep the viewer engaged. It is, at its heart, a love story, and not just romantic love, but also the love of family and friends and how that love changes and shapes the characters. Pacing, something that I nearly always find fault with in Chinese dramas, was actually quite good. The first few episodes are necessarily slow in order to set the background and build up the characters and story, but I didn't find it boring. There are certainly a few episodes that seemed more filler than substance, but I can't even really complain too much about those as I didn't feel they dragged too much.

The acting is superb, I truly couldn't find much to fault with any of them. Zhou Dong Yu and Xu Kai were excellent in the leading roles. I was very impressed with how they both created such unique and separate character for Shang Gu/Hou Chi and Bai Jue/Qing Mu/Bo Xuan respectively. While they appeared the same, obviously, their characters were so different that there wasn't any chance with confusing one for the other. Jenny Zhang was fantastic as Wu Huan, just every part of her performance was flawless. She made Wu Huan into such a complex character and I really enjoyed watching the character development or devolvement, in her case. I've always enjoyed watching Lai Yi, he's an excellent actor and he just blends into whichever character he plays. While I enjoyed his performance as a younger Gu Jun, I was truly impressed by his acting after the fall of the God Realm. He perfectly played the role of doting father as well as aloof god. His interactions were Zhou Dong Yu were so sweet to watch and I was impressed with the both of them considering there's only a two year age difference. Liu Xue Yi was very entertaining to watch as Tian Qi, I imagine he must have had a lot of fun with that role. As I said before, this was just such a phenomenal cast, from the leads to all the side characters, they all just did such an amazing job bringing this drama to life.

While I often find that Chinese dramas have overinflated casts where there's no possible way to do justice to all the characters, I found that Ancient Love Poetry didn't suffer from this nearly as much. There were a handful of instances where I wondered what had happened to a character since they just seemed to be forgotten, but overall, I was very impressed with how well all of the characters were incorporated and given their own stories. I enjoyed the side couples and was pleased to see that they weren't neglected and actually had solid storylines for the most part. I truly enjoyed each and every character and I didn't really feel that any of them were overly superfluous or unnecessary. I also appreciated the amount of character growth seen, whether good or bad, in many of the characters. Even some more of the minor characters showed significant character growth and I enjoyed seeing that.

Another issue I tend to have with primarily Chinese dramas is their tendency to let off the villains lightly after they've hurt or killed countless people. I have mixed feelings about how Wu Huan was dealt with. On the one hand, her going mad seems to be letting her off easy, but if she was just killed, that would have been too good for her. I also felt like Jing Zhao got off pretty easy with just losing her voice. However, what offsets the disappointment of the villains getting of lighter than I would like, is the fact that nearly everyone who dies comes back. I was so happy to see Hong Ri back there at the end, as well as to hear that Gu Jun and Jing Jian were going to be coming back as well, though I would have really liked to see them reunited with their loved ones.

The OST was gorgeous, the songs fit with the story and emotions of the episodes. I was really impressed with it and have been enjoying continuing to listen to it.

The production was well done, it was obvious that this was a higher budget drama. Despite the extensive use of CGI, for the most part, it didn't look or feel fake. I particularly liked how each location had its own theme in terms of style and how it fit with the characters. The costuming was gorgeous as it always is in these dramas. I liked how the character's costumes changed depending on where they were in life. There's a subtle, but distinct difference between how Shang Gu dressed and how Hou Chi is dressed and the same goes for Bai Jue and Qing Mu as well as other characters. It was all very well done.

I really cannot recommend this drama enough. It captured me from the opening credits and held me until the end credits of the final episode. It was a very enjoyable experience and one I look forward to repeating in the future.

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One Palm Distance

If any director was going to direct a Thai BL that would lead me to give it a perfect 10, it would be P'Aof. And Last Twilight is *chef's kiss* perfection. There is nothing about this drama that I did not love. The story, the characters, the cast, the music, every part of it came together into this beautiful, timeless whole that left me laughing, crying, sighing, and in the end, feeling utterly content.

Last Twilight starts out big, introducing the characters' pasts and what led them to their present selves and the struggles they're facing. For Day, it's the gradual loss of his eyesight and coming to grips that his life has been irrevocably altered and the fear of how others will perceive him. For Mhok, he is still dealing with his sister's suicide as well as the implications of having spent time in jail which makes it difficult for him to find a job move on with his life. When Day and Mhok meet and Mhok becomes the jaded and closed-off Day's caretaker, they slowly begin to heal each other as they find acceptance and eventually love in each other. Mhok is the one person with the ability to pull Day from the darkness he's been hiding in and back into the sunlight and back into life. With the help of others, he shows Day that his life can still be fulfilling, even if he can't see. One thing that binds the story together is the book Last Twilight which one of Day's friends had recommended for him to read. Mhok reads it to Day throughout the series and Day identifies with the main character and her struggle. They have multiple conversations about the book and it serves as an important turning point for them when they seek out the view pictured on the back of the book. It's at this lookout that Day completely loses his eyesight and when they return home, have to deal with Day's mother's wrath at Mhok having not only crossed the line with her son in entering into a relationship with him, but also, in her mind, putting her son at risk. When the surgery to fix Day's eyes fails and he's forced to reconcile himself to the fact that he may never see again, there's another shift in Day and Mhok's relationship as Day seeks to become more independent and on a trip with just the two of them, Mhok finds himself fretting about Day's safety and the pity that he has never before felt creeps in. When he receives a job offer to work as a chef in Hawaii, he turns it down, not wanting to leave Day. The fact that pity for Day played any part in his decision, even if only incrementally, leads Day to break up with him. One of the very few aspects I didn't love about this drama, and it's a minor one, was the number of time jumps at the end. If memory serves there are technically three, two that jump three years in the future each and then one that inexplicably decides to jump back three years. That first jump reunites Day and Mhok for Night and Porjai's wedding with both having been quite successful during their time apart, but the feelings are clearly still there. However, when asked for a second chance, Day turns Mhok down, afraid of a repeat of past events until a chat with his mom makes him realize that he does want that chance and after some running around, the pair are reunited, this time for good. There's a back and forth after this of Day three years after having another surgery which was successful and gave him his sight back and then bouncing back to immediately after the surgery when he first opened his eyes. The conclusion is, fittingly, back at the view where Day lost his eyesight as the pair once again talk about the book and Day is able to actually see and appreciate the scenery. It's a satisfying and beautiful conclusion to a wholesome and beautiful story.

I've seen some complaints about the pacing, but personally, I though it was pretty perfect. It was steady with hardly a fumble and never once did I find myself bored or wanting it to speed up or slow down. While I am not blind nor is anyone I know, I felt like they handled the topic of blindness quite well. Day's feelings were shown as valid and understandable as was the learning curve both for himself and those around him as he reentered the world and learned to live in it. I think it really pinpointed that oftentimes what stands in our way is ourselves. If we're willing to put ourselves out there and take a chance, then abled or disabled, the sky is really the limit. I similarly appreciated that despite getting pregnant outside of wedlock, Porjai was not treated as a pariah and was not judged, at least not that we saw. As women are often ostracized in that situation, it was refreshing as was Night and Day's mother obvious acceptance of her and her daughter.

Last Twilight really was, for me, practically perfect. There were a few things that I might have liked more information on or to delve into more, but I feel like I'm being more nitpicky than anything as most things couldn't be expounded on due to time constraints I'm sure. August was a there and gone character in a lot ways; he came back into the picture, was there for a brief period and then disappeared. But the effect he had on Day during that short period made me wish we had a little more insight into him and his thought process, particularly when it came to how he was, in essence, pursuing Day which ultimately culminated in their kiss. How exactly was he expecting that all to end? Did he really think it would make Day happy to be falsely pursued by him and then have him up and leave? There was just a lack of common sense it seemed behind most of his actions. I would have liked to delve more into Mhok's past and his emotions and thought process. A big one was when he and Day broke up. Day's reaction to Mhok pitying him could be construed as over the top and if this was another drama, I might have rolled my eyes and thought he was overreacting. But given the material and the characters, I actually thought it worked quite well, because it was made clear that one of the things Day hated the most, was how people pitied him. The fact that Mhok didn't pity him was part of what attracted him and what he found so satisfying in their relationship and what made him feel secure. I think knowing that Mhok pitied him destroyed the illusion he had and he was afraid that feeling would continue and affect their relationship. There was probably an element too that he didn't want Mhok sacrificing his future to be with him. I found Mhok's fear of losing Day and the sentiment that he didn't want to lose out on time to be a valid one and I really wish that we'd been given more insight into that fear. Again, given Mhok's past, with what had happened to his sister, I could understand where that fear came from and it shouldn't have been dismissed quite so easily. I would have liked to see him and Day have a more serious conversation about the whole thing at some point, but that would have taken up far more time than was permitted. The medical side of me wanted more information about Day's eyes and what exactly had happened. My best guess would be that the accident caused non-infectious keratitis which then developed into infectious keratitis, but generally that's treatable so I would have liked some details. There were also a few other issues that popped up that could have been resolved with less drama then there was, but, again, I'm nitpicking.

The characters were solid and I really came to love each and every one of them. Even with the side characters, there was a satisfying amount of character development and it really did add another layer of depth to them and the story.
-Day was definitely handed the short end of the stick. I cannot even imagine what it would be like to go from a national athlete to being disabled. His anger and bitterness at the world was understandable and was shown well, as was his fear of the judgment he might face, but not be able to see. It was incredibly satisfying to see him gradually blossom with Mhok's help and venture back into the world and discover that while there were people who might pity or judge him, there were also those who would not and there was still so much for him to experience. His reconciliation with his brother was well done and not rushed at all. When it got to that point, I felt it was believable that he had grown to the point where he could truly forgive his brother. I loved seeing him there at the end with his own bookshop and being independent and thriving.
-Mhok was similarly unlucky, hanging out with the wrong crowd which led to his imprisonment after a fight combined with his sister committing suicide and the fear it instilled in him. I appreciated the spotlight they shown on how people who have been imprisoned for one reason or another are ostracized and the difficulties they face, particularly in finding employment. There are few employers out there willing to give second chances unfortunately so it was especially gratifying to see him grow and succeed once he was given the chance. And while Day was used to people pitying him, Mhok was accustomed to being judged once his past was discovered. He and Day found their home in each other in part because neither reacted the way others did. Mhok did not pity Day and Day did not judge Mhok. I think Mhok's growing fear that something might happen to Day if he wasn't right there all the time was a valid one based on his own experience and, again, I wish we'd had the opportunity to delve into that and it had been addressed more. I did appreciate that Mhok did not blame Day for breaking up with him, but instead decided to take it as an opportunity to learn and grow.
-Night carried the guilt of having been the cause of his brother's blindness and in many ways it defined him for a large part of the series. He was constantly seeking to atone for what he had done, doing his best to take care of his little brother in as much as he would let him which wasn't much at all. Still, he never gave up and he was supportive of Mhok and Day's relationship and helped however he could. He made lifestyle changes like no longer drinking and truly sought to better himself. And while Day's attitude and behaviour frustrated Night, it was clear that no matter what, he loved his little brother. I loved that they were able to reconcile their relationship and the Christmas dinner scene when he feels like he's finally accepted back into the family is so sweet and wholesome. I do wish we'd gotten to see a little more of his relationship with Porjai, but even without that, I really enjoyed their relationship and how accepting he was of her and how he loved her daughter like his own.
-Porjai was the kind of female character I wish more BLs had. She wasn't a villain, she wasn't a roadblock for the main characters' romance, she was Mhok's ex, but they had the kind of relationship that I'm sure some wish they could have with their ex. They were close friends, protective and supportive of each other. Mhok provided her with a home and she was a sounding board for him, giving him advice at times or just taste testing his food and she helped him get a job at her workplace. When Day decided that he wanted to give Mhok a second chance, she jumped into the car in her wedding dress and was all ready to hunt Mhok down, grabbing the mic from that poor airport employee to yell for him over the intercom. She was a beautiful, strong woman and I just loved her character.

The acting was so good on all fronts. Jimmy has come a long way from the first time I saw him in Bad Buddy. I was not impressed with him then, but he has just continued to improve himself and I felt he really nailed the character of Mhok. I thought he handled all the emotions he had to portray really well and gave a nuanced performance. Sea blew me away. He had a challenging role, but he had me truly believing that his character was blind and I could really feel the character's emotional turmoil. So well done. And Jimmy and Sea's chemistry has improved as well since Vice Versa. I really enjoyed the build up of the relationship and they just portrayed it so beautifully. Mark is a winner no matter what role he plays and this time was no different. As both the repentant big brother and loving boyfriend/husband, he was perfect. Namtan is also great no matter what role she plays and she hit the perfect balance here between sassy and caring and I really enjoyed her performance.

The production was overall very well done. In particular, the scenes in Songklah on the mountain were so well done and beautifully shot. I thought the opening was creative with the way it was blurred and then became clearer. Again the incorporation of the book Last Twilight as well as The Little Prince was a fun addition with the way the stories were interwoven with the plot. The music was perfect, though I particularly love William Jakrapatr's song for the series. I may have been listening to it on repeat since it was released on Spotify.

Last Twilight, for me, is the pinnacle of BL dramas, it's what other dramas should aspire to be in their own way. There are others that have come very close, but for me it was the most consistent in terms of pacing, story line and character development. I fell in love with it from the first episode and that didn't change as it progressed. I cannot recommend this drama enough. It hits on some hard topics but does so in a respectful and sensitive way and ultimately is just so heartwarming.

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Fired the Weatherman

It's been a minute since I've seen a drama so completely lackluster and pointless. My expectations weren't high, frankly I wasn't sure what to expect, but I certainly thought it was going to be better than it was. I truly don't understand the relatively high rating this drama has. The relationship is toxic, which is fine, not every relationship is sunshine and daisies and it can be interesting when those kinds of toxic relationships are explored. But there is no exploration here, no sense of why these people are together, and no character development to bring clarity. It's just eight episodes of nothingness that left me wondering what the heck I'd just watched.

Plots are apparently boring as there is barely one present. I kept waiting for something to happen, for some kind of progress, but nothing ever happened. It's basically two men going around in circles and nothing ever gets accomplished. It was incredibly frustrating to watch and I kept wondering, how on earth are they going to give this a satisfying ending? The answer quite simply is that they didn't. The pacing is mediocre, just good enough to keep me watching to the end. That's the best I can say for it.

The characters are frustrating and weak. They're supposed to be in love, but neither one is good at expressing that love or even admitting to it. They can't even communicate to any real degree. Their conversations are by and large short and stilted. There are several instances of miscommunication because they are both incapable of opening their mouths. Segasaki is a meteorologist who's charming on tv, but at home is less than agreeable. He treats Yoh as more of a servant than someone he cares about and that never really goes away. Rather than developing positively as the series progresses, he grows ever more possessive of Yoh to the point that he literally ties him up to prevent him from leaving. Yoh, for his part, is a very passive person who fails to speak up for himself or really do anything for himself period. He takes Segasaki's treatment and while he contemplates leaving him, never actually does anything to facilitate that idea. He's just such an ineffectual character. The ending is very similar to the beginning, except they're supposedly happy. Yoh has apparently come to the conclusion that he likes Segasaki's abuse and Segasaki is ever so slightly more attentive, though still very possessive. They both just lack any kind of real depth of character and there's nothing present to make me care about either of them. It's a huge disconnect between them and the audience. And despite the fact that their initial history with how they met and connected is shown, the in between of that time period and the present is left a mystery. The character development is basically nil which is disappointing because there could have been a lot more to it.

Both actors are fairly generically cute and that was the biggest thing they had going for them since their acting skills left something to be desired. Even if characters lack in vocal communication, a lot can be conveyed in other ways. Unfortunately that didn't happen here. Their overall performance was as lackluster as the story. Funnily enough, their chemistry during the intimate scenes was actually quite good. It's just a pity that didn't translate to the more mundane scenes.

The production value was good as is to be expected with a Japanese production. The opening and ending credits were very aesthetically pleasing with music that meshed well.

Ultimately I found this drama to be disappointing and incredibly mediocre. It's aesthetics are about all it has going for it and that's simply not enough. With a stronger story and characters, it could have been compelling and unique but unfortunately, it is neither of those. If you want a drama that leaves you feeling unsatisfied, this is the one for you.

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Letting Go Of This One

Of the dramas being continued with Our Skyy 2, Never Let Me Go is my least favorite. I didn't think it was a great drama to begin with and it's one that seemed to have a pretty conclusive ending that didn't need any further embellishment so I didn't have high hopes for these two episodes. That turned out to be a very good thing as these two episodes were completely underwhelming and frankly, quite tedious to watch.

The story just seemed ridiculous. To go from the more serious tone of Never Let Me Go with being hunted down and trying to survive to these two episodes where we suddenly have fortune tellers and magical bracelets and curses and jumping through time, it was incredibly jarring. Introducing a rather complex concept in such a short period of time was foolhardy and it doesn't flow well. There are far too many plot holes, too many questions left unanswered and not nearly enough time to properly flesh everything out.

The acting, as I've come to expect from Pond and Phuwin, was a mixed bag. Pond continues to bore me with his lack of expression and Phuwin varied from decent to over the top. I was, however, pleasantly surprised by Pawin and Marc. They both played minor characters, but I liked their acting. It felt more natural to me than either Pond or Phuwin and, honestly, I would have preferred more of them.

The few things that I liked were that Palm and Nueng did communicate. Not necessarily well all the time, but they made the effort. Compared to Never Let Me Go where I felt like they never really communicated, this was an improvement. Despite not feeling like it really fit with the drama, I was intrigued by the historical setting. If the special had fit in better with the original drama, I think I could have liked it, but that disconnect just killed it. It also didn't help that Palm and Nueng really didn't make any effort to blend in, Palm in particular. They stood out like sore thumbs and it ruined the atmosphere. The power swap was interesting with Palm suddenly being the rich and powerful one and Nueng as a servant. It created a bit of a different dynamic between them at times. I think it could have been played with to a greater extent to reveal more about the characters and allow them to grow both as individuals and as a couple, but I'll take what I can get. I liked the side couples of Phum/Petch and Kan/Kla. I found them more compelling than Palm and Nueng, particularly as Petch and Kla. Their romance, though brief, was sweet and innocent, a breath of fresh air. And while they couldn't be together due to the time they lived in, it was gratifying to see their descendants able to be together without fear.

These two episodes were just a mess. They didn't add anything of value to the story and just felt really out there and disconnected from the drama. If you're like me and not a fan of Never Let Me Go, don't waste your time on these episodes, you won't be missing anything.

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Midnight Mess

I am going to start out by saying this drama is a hot mess in almost every way. Going into it, I overall enjoyed it. Searching for the missing artifacts was fun and interesting and I enjoyed the cameos from other GMMTV actors. But the sudden departure from that into some weird religious/sci-fi/fantasy combo really didn't work for me. The ending was rushed and I would say unsatisfying in some ways. The farther I got into it, the more obvious the plot holes, underdeveloped or abandoned plotlines, repetitiveness, lack of world building and character development became. I really wanted to like this drama. The trailer made it seem so entertaining, but I found myself disappointed in it. It's one saving grace is its actors who clearly gave their all and managed to keep me invested.

For me, Midnight Museum felt like two stories that were smashed together and nominally linked. The first part, as shown in the trailer, revolves around stolen cursed artifacts and the search for them. This was the most entertaining part of the drama for me. It wasn't perfect, the main story didn't seem to progress much due the episodic nature focusing on a single cursed object each episode, but for the most part, it worked well. The second part is where it lost me as it takes a sudden religious/sci-fi turn introducing gods, the four horsemen, the concept of a multiverse, the ability to communicate with people from the past, and more. These episodes also have a weird combination of excess dialogue with characters monologuing to try to explain the unexplainable and a fair amount of action. It's like the writers decided to suddenly make this a much deeper drama than it was initially and failed completely. In the end, none of it was properly explored or explained.

Besides the story itself, the pacing was also a mess. The pacing with the first half or so of the drama was okay. A bit slow at times, but not awful. It kept moving and I was still invested in the story. The second half is, again, where the issue was for me with another weird combination of being simultaneously too fast and too slow. As a whole, it felt rushed, but there were numerous scenes that felt incredibly slow. There was also the issue of repetitiveness, namely in that Dome ended up unconscious every single episode and Khatha repeatedly got his ass handed to him, and the predictability of the characters who all acted exactly as one would expect them to.

And speaking of characters, the lack of character development in this drama was shocking. The only character with any kind of progression I felt was Anthika and even hers was pretty nominal. Frankly, some of the side characters early on were better developed than the main ones. I did enjoy the bromance between Dome and Khatha which stayed just this side of romance. It definitely had the potential to go there and if there's a season 2, I could see them going that route. However, as the main characters, they just weren't particularly strong. The side characters just existed. They didn't add to the story in a meaningful way and the lack of background and opportunity to really get to know them meant that I wasn't invested in them and didn't feel much of anything regardless of what happened to them. That being said, I did like them, I just needed and wanted more.

While the characters were a bit of disappointment, the actors were not. This was a strong cast that was unfortunately underutilized. Gun is an incredible actor and his ability to portray multiple characters, while not surprising in the slightest, was fantastic to watch. I was not familiar with Tor prior to Midnight Museum, but I was also impressed with his acting. He absolutely held his own alongside Gun, he was expressive in all the right ways and I overall enjoyed his performance. He and Gun had great chemistry. The supporting cast also performed well aside from Tay whose performance I found underwhelming. Of the guest actors, Nanon stood out far above everyone else. I know he's a talented actor, but I haven't seen him portray multiple characters within a single drama before and he absolutely nailed it.

The production value was hit or miss. The museum was huge, but we only get to see a very small portion of it, and it felt far too empty. The CGI was good at times and painfully fake at others. It didn't help that a few of the actors didn't seem either familiar or comfortable acting with nothing which made the CGI for those scenes that much more awkward. I don't normally mention costuming, but leaving Dome wearing the grey tracksuit for a large part of the drama was just weird. And the women were often dressed in completely unpractical clothing for what they were doing. That being said, Anthika's dress at the auction was gorgeous and both Khathka's and Triphob's clothing were generally hits. I enjoyed the soundtrack for the most part. Other than a few moments, I didn't find it distracting but rather complementary, appropriate for what was going on in each scene.

Midnight Museum had the potential to be an absolute masterpiece. It's a true shame that it failed so hard to live up to that potential. Frankly, I should rate it lower than I did, but it was just entertaining enough to keep it at a 7. It's worth watching once, but no more and even then just for the first half and the acting. The ending, leaving it open to a second season, was disappointing and unnecessary. I honestly cannot picture a positive outcome for a second season.

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Stronger Than Together With Me

I did not love Together With Me. While I really liked most of the characters, I found Knock to be incredibly frustrating and downright idiotic. I wasn't sure whether to be happy or sad when he and Korn got together at the end because I felt Korn deserved so much better. At the beginning of The Next Chapter, I found myself feeling much the same way. Even after three years, Knock was still an immature pain in the ass and Korn was left acting as more of a parent than a partner. It was honestly sad to watch.

What this show did so beautifully, was show how complicated relationships can be. It had a realism that I really haven't seen in any other Asian dramas. Most of the time, if cheating is featured in the story, it is made very clear who is good and who is bad in the situation. The ambiguity here, was far more realistic, and I really enjoyed that. In the cases of Korn and Yiwha, yes, they were in the wrong, but their reasons for unfaithfulness were, while not justifiable in any sense, understandable.

In the case of Korn and Knock, you have, as I mentioned earlier, Korn acting as more of a parent to Knock. He wakes him up, makes sure he has money to buy food, puts toothpaste on his toothbrush and basically everything else other than physically dressing him. He shows physical affection, worries constantly and basically his love and care of Knock is very much on display. And then you have Knock who's so obsessed with his online games and going out and partying and generally still acting like a teenager that he's barely functional. He's constantly running late and constantly tired because of his complete lack of responsibility. There is a serious unevenness in their relationship that was bound to cause issues eventually. And then Pete comes in playing both of them, acting sympathetic and understanding, particularly towards Korn who's understandably frustrated with how things are playing out with Knock, especially concerning coming out to his parents. A combination of Pete's manipulation, alcohol, and Korn's own conflicting feelings, basically wishing that Knock would be as understanding and mature as Pete appears, and the mistake is made. It's understandable, again, not justifiable in any way, but understandable and realistic because I think that's how it is in many cases of cheating. I think both Korn's and Knock's reactions to Korn's cheating were well done and realistic. Korn, obviously, feels horribly guilty and he apologizes repeatedly, but Knock's reaction is understandable in not wanting to immediately accept that apology and feeling extremely betrayed. And here is where Knock finally starts to grow some. When the two finally reconcile, Korn asks to take care of him again to which Knock says he doesn't want him to take care of him but to just love him. It's a sweet moment and a telling one to see that Knock has grown as a character. The only thing I would have liked to see a little more of is Korn earning back Knock's trust.

Coming out to their parents becomes a big issue between them with Knock showing frustration that Korn won't tell his parents. This issue left me with some questions because Korn's dad tells him that if he's gay, he's no longer part of their family. Korn never explicitly says and Knock never mentions if this fact was communicated between them which I think is hugely important. If Korn told Knock and Knock was still willing to force the issue, frankly, to me, that makes him a colossal ass. I understand not wanting to hide something so big, something that is such a part of you, but to expect and keep pushing for Korn to basically just give up his family would be incredibly cruel and insensitive. On the flip side, if Korn never communicated that to Knock, then that makes him a colossal idiot. Knowing Knock's character, if he knew what Korn's father had said, I feel like he would have been more understanding. I think the fact that its never specified if the two discussed this was deliberate to feed the drama.

In Yiwha and Cho's case, it provided a different point of view. In their case, they seem pretty happy together aside from Cho working too much. Yiwha has a semi-flirtatious relationship with her senior, Art, and eventually that flirtatiousness leads to mixed feelings. The reasoning of Yiwha's infidelity isn't quite as cut and dry as with Korn. She finds her senior attractive, they're thrown together more frequently due to working on a project, spending time alone, and then a few instances that push them together physically as well. Despite both being in relationships with other people, they ignore the warning signs that lines are starting to be crossed and eventually end up almost sleeping together. The difference is how they each react. Like Korn, Yiwha is almost crushed by her guilt and betrayal of his trust while Art continues to pursue even when she tells him to stop even dragging her to meet his girlfriend and announce that he's fallen for Yiwha. I do want to take a second here to commend his girlfriend, Mint, for her poise. She doesn't lash out at either Art or Yiwha and even afterward remains calm despite obviously being hurt. She didn't get a lot of screen time, but I really liked her and that they didn't set her against Yiwha. Anyway, in regards to Yiwha, I really appreciated how her emotions and reactions were played out, particularly the fact that she specifically tells Cho that she's betrayed his trust. She absolutely understands the mistake she made and she regrets it hugely and even though Cho is willing to forgive her and get back together, she struggles to forgive herself. Again, her portrayal felt realistic and nuanced and I loved it, though I really wanted to give the poor girl a hug.

Farm's relationships were more complicated. I have to admit, I missed the Farm from Together With Me, all innocent and sweet. I didn't like this Farm nearly as much, though his insight into his friend's relationships were helpful and spot on at times. He's basically a horny, cheating bastard for most of the drama. I was honestly disappointed in him. He gets his happy ending and all, but I don't think he really deserved it. I totally understand that Bright messed him up in Together With Me and he probably needed therapy after the abuse he suffered, but to see him turning around and basically doing exactly what Bright did to him just to get back at Bright was disappointing and just a continuation of the cycle of abuse. He obviously went back to Bright to get revenge, to hurt him the way he had been hurt, but the fact that he didn't stop when he realized that Bright had truly changed and continued playing both him and Rit was infuriating, especially since Rit did nothing to deserve that kind of treatment. Rit was such a sweetheart, he clearly really loved Farm, to the point he was willing to put aside his own feelings and help Farm get back together with Bright. He deserved so much better and I hope he found it. While on the one hand, I hope Farm and Bright work out, on the other, I honestly wouldn't have minded if he got dumped by both Bright and Rit, it would have been fitting. Of all the characters, he showed the least growth, in my opinion.

Which leaves Fai, who I was honestly disappointed in there for a while. I loved her no nonsense, tough girl attitude in Together With Me and how she was willing to stand by her friends and support them. I felt like they dialed back her character some in The Next Chapter, but not in a bad way. She was still Fai but a little more mellow. My disappointment came from her reaction to her friends' cheating which was so incredibly cold and judgmental, I lost some respect for her, especially since she wasn't willing to listen to any kind of explanation. It's understandable for the rest of the world to react extremely negatively, but you would hope that your friends, especially ones that you've had for so long, would at least listen and not make a snap judgment. Her lack of relationship experience also didn't play well in her favor and made her seem very shallow. I was glad when she finally seemed to come to her senses, at least with Yiwha, and offer comfort and support. There were a couple of scenes between the two that were very sweet and touching. I felt like her growth was a bit more understated than the others, but it was still present and I really enjoyed watching it.

This drama proved to be really solid and enjoyable. It was a bit slow to start with, but once it got going, it was unstoppable. There are very, very few things in this world that are black and white and I really liked how this drama showed that in such a real and grounding way. But what really made this drama is the characters and their continuing friendship. This proved to be one of the best dramas I've watched in a while and I will definitely be watching it again in the future.

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Perfectly Vengeful

Perfect Marriage Revenge is not the kind of drama I typically get into, but every once in a while one catches my attention and I'll end up watching it. And what fun it was! Brought back to life after suffering a lifetime of abuse and neglect, Yi Joo comes back for revenge, but along the way finds love and the family she'd never dared to hope for. It's one of those dramas that you know is going to have a happy ending, but the ride to get there is a touch bumpy and the drama is delicious.

I tend to struggle with Makjangs because they always feel slightly too long and somewhere in the middle things start to lag and I lose interest. At 12 episodes though, Perfect Marriage Revenge mostly avoided that issue because there was so much going on that there just wasn't a whole lot of time for filler nonsense. There's a fairy tale element here, I think someone mentioned Cinderella, which is certainly apt given the evil stepmother and sister vibe, but in this case, Cinderella is, in many ways, her own fairy godmother and the handsome prince is more than just a pretty face. Yi Joo spent her entire life as a door mat, letting pretty much anyone and everyone walk all over her. Yet, despite the extreme abuse she suffered, she refused to let it turn her bitter, at least until she's on her deathbed and begins to realize just how deep that abuse ran. Given a second chance at life, she sets out to take revenge on her adopted family and utterly destroy them for the pain they caused her. Her first move, is stealing her sister's love interest, who is all too willing to join forces with Yi Joo. Do Guk had fallen in love with Yi Joo before he even really met her, her paintings capturing him, and when they died on the same day, he wished for her to find the love she so desperately wanted. Also given a second chance at life, he throws his lot in with Yi Joo, determined to help her seek her revenge and make her fall in love with him along the way. Of course, it's not smooth sailing. Their enemies, namely Yi Joo's adopted mother and Do Guk's brother, aren't entirely stupid and they manage to win a few hands, but in the end, good prevails and evil falls. Being a soap opera, naturally you have to throw common sense out the window and just go along with the absurdity. There are plenty of twists and turns, most fairly obvious, but with one or two that actually did surprise me. The ending was a tad prosaic. Everything gets wrapped with a neat little bow and it's almost too perfect. Still given everything our leads went through, I suppose they deserve a non-dramatic ending. The pacing was decent all things considered. It did get a tad laggy about midway, mostly with repetitive scenes, particularly between our leads as they reassured each other that they were in this together and they would succeed. Yes, we got that the first five times you said it. But otherwise, things progressed pretty steadily.

Ah, the over the top characters, dramatically plotting, hunting down secrets and desperately trying to conceal secrets, righting the past and attempting to destroy the past. They're all larger than life and almost to a man, or woman, polarizing.
- Yi Joo is the perfect woman. Despite her family's abuse, she continued to go through life with a smile and refused to let their hatred tarnish her. But once she set her heart on avenging herself on them, she was ruthless, meticulously tearing them apart. The change in her from the first episode to the next is stark. Gone is the naive, trampled young woman and in her place is someone who knows her worth and is willing to go to bat for herself. While the need for that change is clear, it's still abrupt. And while not apparent in that first episode, it's quickly shown that she is a very intelligent woman, though how she has some of the knowledge she possesses is unclear. Her relationship with Do Guk, while slow moving, is overall well done as she grows to trust him and then to love him. Despite the drama surrounding them, their relationship is relatively drama free, save for when she discovers that he was also brought back. Even so, they maintain communication and soon overcome that obstacle. Yi Joo's character development, despite having a few moments where it stalls, is also well done. While Do Guk certainly serves as her biggest support, she is not without agency and is pivotal in changing her own life around.
- Do Guk is the perfect man to Yi Joo's perfect woman. Caring and loyal with a strong moral compass, he comes alongside Yi Joo to help her accomplish her mission in taking revenge on her family. Obviously taken by Yi Joo from their first meeting, it's not revealed until much later just how deep those feelings go. While the reasons Yi Joo fell in love with Do Guk are more obvious, Do Guk's reasons are more shrouded. His feelings originated from how her painting made him feel and grew from there. He serves as a safe space for her and she for him. His character development is much more subtle and yet it's still present as he comes to find his own purpose and gain the strength and courage to pursue it.
- Jung Hye is Yi Joo's deliciously malicious adopted mother. Rotten to the core with a cruel streak a mile wide, she made Yi Joo's life a living hell, until she comes back and Jung Hye finds that she's met her match. A woman willing to do absolutely anything to get ahead, she is a master manipulator. Lying comes as easily to her as breathing even when it comes to her own daughter. She's consistent in her vile ways until the bitter end when she's left with the knowledge that she has been utterly forsaken.
-Yoo Ra is the worshipped daughter of Jung Hye who can do no wrong. She looks down on her older sister because she's adopted, flirts with her sister's husband, and is a pampered princess. While not generally taking an active role in her mother's schemes, she attempts to do her own damage to Yi Joo and discredit her, though she's rather inept and her own reputation is damaged instead. Piece by piece she is brought down as she discovers she's not even her father's daughter, her mother has been lying to her, and she's pregnant with the wrong man's baby. I was concerned for a bit that they were going to go for a redemption arc with her, but was very glad they didn't as that just wouldn't be as satisfying.
- Jung Wook is Do Guk's conniving older brother. The presumed heir to the family's company, his moral compass points in the exact opposite direction as his brother's. Willing to cut corners, lie and cheat his way to success, there's very little he won't do to get ahead. Holding the event that left him with an injured leg over his brother's head, he actively seeks to leave Do Guk out in the cold, making home an uncomfortable place for him and reminding him of his supposed superiority. While Jung Wook never shows any remorse for what he does to his brother and Yi Joo, he is eventually brought down a few pegs when his father reveals that all the resentment he'd built up and held onto, blaming his father for abandoning his mother, was all for naught as it was in fact, his mother who abandoned them.
-Honorable mentions go to Do Guk's mother and grandmother who were both badass women in their own ways. I loved them both and how willing they were to accept Yi Joo as a member of their family. And, of course, can't forget Yi Joo's own mother who overcame so much to be reunited with her daughter. The one character I did feel a bit bad for and whose ending wasn't wholly deserved was Se Hyeok. There's certainly an element of he made his bed and now he has to lie in it, but he at least seemed to have actual remorse for his actions and was trying to turn over a new leaf. It's a pity that he couldn't escape Yoo Ra.

This series had a great cast that really embraced the drama. Jung Yoo Min was lovely as Yi Joo. She did a great job of combining Yi Joo's softness with an iron will. Sung Hoon was effortlessly charming as Do Guk with an added depth that gave the character dimension. Together their chemistry was a little more subtle, but also very much present. They didn't need excessive amounts of PDA to show that they loved each other. Lee Min Young did her job very well as I absolutely despised Jung Hye. Kang Shin Hyo as Jung Wook, however, was not as compelling. I certainly didn't like his character, but my feelings were much less strong when compared to how Jung Hye made me feel.

The production was quite good. I liked the cinematography. Possibly because painting and art work played a part in the story, there seemed to be a higher level of attention paid to color in the costumes, set, and design in general. It was very pleasing to look at. The women's costumes in particular were gorgeous. It was clear that a lot of time and effort was put into those. The men's, however, was lacking a bit and it would have been nice to see them given the same attention to detail.

Perfect Marriage Revenge is not a drama to take seriously or try to find sense in. It is a soap opera so anything goes, no matter how absurd. But there is humor to be found in the absurdity, fun in the drama, and satisfaction in the knowledge that good will triumph over evil.

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Bury the Dinosaur

There is really not much, if anything, to love about Dinosaur Love. The only reason I even took an interest in it initially was because of Pepper who I liked in Love in the Air. But I found that I wasn't a fan of either his character or acting in this series, and I saw far more of his tongue than I ever wanted to. This isn't even one of those dramas that could have been better if X, Y, Z was different. This is one that probably would have been better off left on the cutting room floor in it's entirety.

The plot is completely nonsensical. It jumps from point to point without necessarily wrapping things up and the transitions are abrupt. The beginning with Mek and See-Kram getting together and cheating on Rak was poorly done. Why either of them chose to betray their friend and lover was not well explained. The fact that they both came back begging for forgiveness was pretty rich of them, particularly Mek considering he'd tried to rape Rak. That mess really only served to make Rak single and available to get together with Dino, but could have been utilized far more wisely to establish the characters and build on them. There are a few plot holes that are more annoying that they're not explained than anything terribly critical and multitude of unanswered questions. The passage of time is not well established either. It would have been nice with some events to know how much time had passed just to get a grasp on how quickly things were progressing. The ending, if you stop at Episode 8 is jarring and doesn't feel like a conclusion. The pacing was all over the place and generally just frustrating. I got to episode 6 and very nearly dropped this drama because I was so done with it. Not that I got anything out of finishing it. It really wasn't worth it.

Dinosaur Love suffers from an overinflated cast. There are so many supporting and guest characters that it got really hard to keep all of them straight, especially Dino's multitude of friends. There was no need for all of them and they took away time that could have been better spent trying to sort out the mess of a storyline. There was also a tendency for characters either pop up unexpectedly after being absent for a while or just disappearing. After apologizing and saying that he would win Rak back, Mek was never seen again. See-Kram is last seen in the hospital and then is absent for multiple episodes before suddenly popping up to ask for Rak's forgiveness. Guy had a mental break down and was suicidal last we saw him, but suddenly he's out and about and fine? Unsurprisingly the few ladies of the cast were completely underutilized. Sammy as Plabu was there for the jokes and Michelle as Please was present to be a "rival" for Dino's affection, but not really, and once she and Rak had their talk, she was another one who disappeared. I will never not be disappointed when they do that. If you're going to cast women, use them.
-Dino simply looked too old to believably be in college. I think the story would have worked better with him having already graduated from a realistic point of view. He was a weird combination of red and green flag moments. He had moments where he was an absolute green flag like when Rak offered to be his boyfriend in a panic after almost being raped and he declined. But he had other moments where he pushed Rak's boundaries and was pushy in general. He did generally back off, but sometimes Rak had to say it more than once. His temper was also a serious concern. It took very little to set him off and make him turn physical and that was not addressed in a satisfactory way. Also, what exactly was Dino a part of? That's never established and once that point was no longer useful, it was thrown out, but I was genuinely curious if he was part of a gang or just a good old fashioned thug.
-Rak's whole personality almost was him being cute and that got old really fast. He was this odd combination of naive and innocent and yet at the same time, not. I will give him credit for his consistency, once he'd made a decision, he really didn't waver. And despite his kind and innocent nature, he never led any of the multitude of men pursuing him on if he wasn't interested in them. Why he had that many men interested in him in the first place, I cannot begin to fathom. While I generally would commend his honesty, there were times where he kept secrets from Dino despite knowing it would cause conflict since Dino hated lies and secrets. While I have no doubt that Dino's temper was the primary reason, it's something that Rak should have felt comfortable addressing.
-Chalam was moderately amusing initially, but quickly grew boring and repetitive. He just had no personality outside his obsession with omelets and he was featured far too heavily to have that and his manner of talking be his only traits.
-Suea was fairly entertaining and was one of the sole bright spots. Not a great character, but Aomstin was expressive and that helped.

The acting was fairly disappointing. I was not a fan of Pepper here, he didn't suit the role for me. Kong was boring. He lacked any kind of diversity in his expressions and mostly just walked around with this wide-eyed, innocent look. The chemistry between him and Pepper was overall lacking. There were a few moments where I felt a spark, but for the majority of the series I was left unimpressed. Again, Aomstin was entertaining as Suea at moments if nothing else because he knew how to use his facial muscles. Even if a lot of is expression were a bit exaggerated, he had some variety. I love Sammy, but this was such a stupid role she really did not get a chance to shine unfortunately.

The production was lacking a lot. The lighting within scenes was off at times with one angle being bright and another being dark. It lacked consistency. The comedic sound effects were severely overused and had me hitting mute more than once. That horrible bird sound was used so much. The music was extremely generic and at times annoying. The transitions were also very poorly done. They'd go from relatively intense music to something perky and upbeat which did not work. The opening credit song wasn't bad though and I ended up kind of liking it.

I can't recommend this drama in any way. It was a positive chore to get through and I don't feel like I gained anything from it other than disappointment and lost time. Go find something better to watch and avoid this one.

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Middleman's Disgrace

It's hard to believe that Middleman's Love and Bed Friend are in any way connected. They're so completely different, it's almost jarring. While I wouldn't say that Middleman's Love was a series I was hotly anticipating, I was curious about it and looking forward to it to some degree. Bed Friend had a host of issues, but Jade was not one of them. I thought Yim's portrayal of him was a bit one note and there just wasn't a whole lot to the character, but with the focus on him and a proper storyline, there was potential. Unfortunately what we got was a complete disaster. Where Bed Friend tried to be darkly sexy with a healthy dose of trauma thrown in, Middleman's love went for a rom-com feel, heavy on the slapstick comedy. It doesn't work and it was almost physically painful to get through. If it was any more than the eight episodes it was, I would have bailed and I very nearly did within the first fifteen minutes, but clung on because of comments that it improved. And while there is some improvement in the last two episodes, it's far too little, too late to make a difference.

The story is a pretty generic office romance between an employee and his intern. It had the potential to be cute, but there's so much crap and unnecessary drama to bog it down that it's anything but. And sometimes that's redeemable if the characters are likeable, but they weren't. I guess there's the theme that there's someone for everyone, but it definitely could have been done better. I was put off almost immediately by the animation sequence that started things off. It was weird and unexpected and pointless. There were a couple more instances of that and they failed to add anything beneficial. They just continued to be weird and pointless. Equally off-putting was the abundance of comedic sound effects. Those were eventually toned down, but still very much overused. Given the title, I anticipated the fact that Jade always found himself in the middle would play a larger role than it did. In effect, it really played no role as it was mentioned a couple times, but that was about it. I think the drama could have been much more interesting if they had leaned into that concept and how always being in the middle really affected Jade. The NSFW scenes were...interesting to say the least. The scene between Gus and Tong felt abrupt. There had been the whole push and pull between them for a while, but when they finally got to the point where they were a couple, they immediately jumped into bed. To me, it felt out of character and out of place. Jade and Mai's scenes were even more out of character. Considering how Jade is Jade and that he was a virgin, the level of sensuality he gave was not believable to me. There needed to be some awkwardness and fumbling and not straight to sex god. Also going to say that the two of them eating the rose was just weird. There were, however, a couple things that I did appreciate like the theme of consent that continued over from Bed Friend. Gus actually verbally giving consent to Tong was nice to see. I also really liked both Jade's and Mai's families and how supportive and loving they were. With Jade's family, the conversation they had where they acknowledged his feelings was very well done and I wish we'd had more scenes like that.

The characters were pretty much irredeemable trash.
-Jade in Bed Friend was cute, a bit quirky and eccentric, but not in a bad or obnoxious way. He was a good, loyal friend who seemed to have a solid head on his shoulders. But with this series, it's like they took his eccentricities and magnified them a thousand times to the point where it didn't even seem to be the same character. And that was a major downfall because Jade ended up feeling more like a caricature than a character. He was loud, awkward, and painfully self-conscious, not at all cute. Other than getting over his fear of rejection to pursue Mai, there was very little character development. There was a lot of potential for Jade and if they had retained his original character, I think the romance between him and Mai could have been quite sweet.
-Mai was a besotted puppy who truly was essentially perfect. He was not one of those characters who seems perfect on the outside, but as things progress his flaws are shown. No, he was portrayed as being the perfect employee, the perfect boyfriend, the perfect son, everything. He lacked any kind of dimension or interest. He revolved around Jade and that was it.
-Ueau and King returned to serve as love advisors for Jade and Mai. We didn't get to see a whole lot of them outside that role, but the few moments we did revolved around petty drama. The fact that Ueau couldn't have a simple conversation with another man without King getting his hackles up was absurd. And while Ueau was still pretty much himself, they neutered King. In Bed Friend, he was confident and sexy, and while he pretty much always caved to Ueau, he had a personality and was his own man. Middleman's Love saw him turned into a simpering puppy whose most frequent line was calling Ueau Teerak (darling). Sort of cute the first time or two, but it quickly became redundant. He as a name, King, consider using it. Also, be done with the jealousy. It's not cute.
-Gus and Tong were a cute secondary couple, but their back and forth and where they stood got confusing at times. It would seem like they were getting somewhere and then next scene Gus would be sulking for some inexplicable reason. They needed more screen time to really build on their relationship. Also found Tong's comment that Gus never annoyed him and that he was just foul-mouthed to be utter BS. You were acting very annoyed a time or two there, sir, being foul-mouthed had nothing to do with it.

I'm not going to hate on the actors because they had garbage to work with. The script was a disaster and should have been shredded then burnt. Watching the behind the scenes, you can see how much effort they put into it, but there was just no saving it. As much as I couldn't stand Jade, I will give Yim all the kudos because I can only imagine how hard portraying him was. Playing high energy characters like that is exhausting, but he remained consistent. Tutor, again, just had nothing to work with. I know he's a good actor, but there were so many close ups that I don't think he had a chance to really spread his wings. He wasn't wooden though which he easily could have been and there was expression in his eyes so I'll give him that.

The production needs to be fired. How they looked at any of this and thought, yeah, this looks great is beyond me. They let down their actors who deserved so much better and they let down the fans who had been looking forward to this. There were a number of scene cuts that were very awkward and really killed the flow and tone as well as a few scene jumps that were equally awkward. In both cases, they made the story progression more confusing than it needed to be. The opening credits with the bobbleheads was not cute or funny. That was one of my first indications that this series was not going to be what I expected. And the music, particularly during the NSFW scenes was either forgettable or distracting. For the NSFW scenes, it didn't fit and I ended up muting eventually. I don't understand why they feel music is necessary for those kinds of scenes. If you have to have it, use instrumental pieces, it flows better.

To sum it up, Middleman's Love was a dumpster fire that should never have been made as is. The few cute or wholesome scenes are buried so deep, you have to sift through a mountain of garbage to find them. This is such a case of wasted potential and I hope Tutor, Yim and the other actors are given better opportunities to show their talents cause this was not it.

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Save The Dance

This is a short and sweet drama that despite the limited run time still manages to deliver a decent story with relatively well-fleshed out characters. Both leads were interesting and nuanced though I would have liked it if their backgrounds were delved into a little more; there was a lot left unknown or just hinted at. But their chemistry was quite good, more of a slow burn than hot and heavy which I quite liked. The relationship does feel slightly rushed, but I think that's more due to the short run time than anything else. They still make it work. The dance aspect was unique and I really loved how it was actually a key part of the drama and not just a side note. The choreography was well done and quite lovely to watch. The OST was also quite good. I felt it matched the story well. Overall it was an enjoyable interlude from the daily grind. It's not a masterpiece by any means and, again, the short run time limited it in various ways. There are certain aspects I would have liked to see fleshed out more, but even without that, as long as you don't delve too deep and are able to suspend one's disbelief I think you'll find a rather lovely, touching story.

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Too Big A GAP

Going into watching GAP, I wanted to like it, I really did. Especially with it being, from my understanding, Thailand's first GL focused drama. Also considering it had Becky and Freen as the leads, I was hopeful. I was, unfortunately, sorely disappointed in it. It started out strong but just went downhill from there and eventually there was simply no coming back. It became repetitive, tedious, and downright boring. I severely struggled to get through those last couple episodes. I think what I find saddest is that it had all the ingredients for a solid, if not spectacular, drama, but instead it just imploded.

The plot is thin here, razor thin. Okay, fine, I can work with that. Character driven dramas can be great too if done well. Except this wasn't done well. I liked the beginning with Mon and Sam reunited but with Sam not remembering Mon. I thought it was a stretch for Mon to expect Sam to remember her after so long, but, again, we'll go with it. The build up of their romance was okay if not great. They both seemed a bit too obtuse regarding figuring out their feelings. If you're biting each others lips and noses, it's a safe bet that you're probably not just friends. A lot of the problems though came once Sam and Mon actually got together. We got thrown into a repetitive cycle of fights and misunderstandings followed by making up only to do it all over again. Also, the waterworks. There was hardly an episode where one or both didn't cry at least once. I'm fairly certain the water level in the Gulf of Thailand went up an inch or two. And what all that bickering led me to wonder was if they even really loved each other. There were so few moments of them actually happy together, it made it hard to believe that they were each other's happiness. The pacing was awful after the first couple episodes. By the time I hit Episode 10, I was seriously wondering if I would make it through. It was just rehashing the same things over and over again and I was so done with it all.

There were also some aspects that were left unanswered or unexplained.
-One of the big ones I had was what exactly did Sam's company do? Their spin off that Mon worked on, Diversity Pop, seemed more social media oriented, but the rest of it was unknown.
-I don't believe Sam's parents and where they were or what may have happened to them was ever addressed. I would assume they're deceased though given that she and her sisters were raised by their grandmother.
-And where were Mon's parents? Their daughter was shacked up with her boss and there were no questions? No discussions? I mean, her parents seemed willing to agree to anything regarding Sam, but it was odd that they just kind of disappeared.
-What was with Nita? The flirting with Sam was very weird and awkward, I thought that was going to come back up at some point, but then she never appeared again. What purpose did that serve?
-There were a couple of times, particularly in Episode 11 though, where Yuki would be present, but she would be asked to do something to get rid of her. One, I didn't get why, it wasn't like they were sharing state secrets, and two, even if they were, they weren't lowering their voices at all so she wouldn't hear what they were saying. It was just weird.

The characters of Mon and Sam were an interesting pair given their differences. I liked how Sam was created. She was just bitchy enough to show the character's development throughout as she softens without making you absolutely hate her. Her awkwardness and struggles with communication also leant her a level of realism as well as giving her background more believability. However, I didn't think we were given enough insight into her emotions and thoughts. She loved Mon, but had she really given any thought to their future? She knew how her grandmother had reacted previously so why hadn't she put any thought into what would happen when her grandmother found out? It was all fair too vague for my taste. Mon was interesting because her appearance belayed her actions. She appeared sweet and innocent and yet when it came to things like continuing her relationship with Sam despite Sam technically being in a relationship with Kirk, she didn't put up much of a fight. She was portrayed a very much a people pleaser, something that came back to bite her a few times. With her I also had the question, prior to Episode 10, of whether she ever saw a future for them together. That lack of insight again was frustrating. And neither character had particularly great character development. Minimal at best. Together, while the theme seemed to be that differences attract, their relationship was not fully realized. Yes, they had chemistry and physical attraction, but very little beyond that was explored. There was a constant failure to communicate effectively despite several conversations discussing how they needed to communicate and by the end, it didn't feel like their relationship had developed to any real extent. Not every relationship in dramas needs to be sunshine and rainbows, but it does need to be established why the couple is together and what they're fighting for. Aside from Mon's hero worship of Sam, I really didn't get why these two were together.

Mon and Sam together also created a level of interest due to their moral ambiguity. It's not a primary focus, and it's never really addressed as such, but essentially Sam was cheating on Kirk. Despite the fact that she had no feelings for him, they were in a relationship that was headed towards marriage, willingly or not. While Mon shows some reticence towards this treatment of him, she never pushes it and Sam has no qualms despite being fully aware of Kirk's feelings for her. Now this can make it easy to view Kirk as a victim, however, that's hardly the case. While not the same big bad as Sam's grandmother, Kirk is an antagonist in his own right, albeit a more sympathetic one. His privilege comes screaming through in his actions, forming the deal with Nita, pressuring both Mon and Sam about the wedding, taking Sam's grandmother's words as gospel, all of it comes together to reveal that he's a man who doesn't really respect or value Sam regardless of what he says. His actions speak louder. I really appreciated his character for all his dimensions because you really don't view him as an antagonist initially. He's sweet and handsome and likeable and it's easy to think he's been ill used until you examine his actions more closely. Although proposing to Sam at Jim's wedding, that was an asshole move.

Yuki, Tee, Jim, and Kade were vastly underutilized characters. They pretty much popped up whenever Sam and Mon had a fight and oddly, despite being primarily Sam's friends, were always seen supporting Mon. The typical excuse was that Sam was unreachable, but I would have preferred if they switched things up with sometimes being there for Mon, other times being there for Sam or dividing and conquering. Although generally over the top all around, they added a good dose of humor and served as a source of support and advice for Mon. I just would have liked to see their characters fleshed out more and given more screen time. At some point, Tee and Yuki appear to have started a relationship, but it's never fully confirmed and never really shown either which I found disappointing. A side couple to divert from the main couple would have been very welcome.

Sam's grandmother was the big bad of the drama and frankly I was really disappointed with how she was used. I hated that they gave her a redemption arc as it was done far too quickly and unrealistically. If she had found out about their relationship earlier on and had been given more time to reconcile to the idea of them together, then I could have maybe gotten on board, but as it was, I was disappointed. Considering how set in her ways she was and how obviously firmly she held to her beliefs, it felt contrived that she changed her mind so abruptly. I would have much preferred to seen her stick to her guns and instead have Sam finally have the cojones to break free like her sister and damned what happened to old biddy. But that wouldn't be a totally happy ending and we can't have that.

While all the crying got very tiring after a while, I was impressed with both Becky and Freen for their ability to bring the waterworks. They were, for the most part, believable in those many emotional scenes. They had to be absolutely exhausting though. Becky's acting had a bit more a natural and raw feel to it, whereas Freen sometimes seemed almost too controlled even within the character. Still I overall their portrayal of their characters and they did have great chemistry together. Yo who played Sam's grandmother deserves a shout out because she made me legitimately despise the character.

The production quality was nothing special. There are some shaky shots that, while infrequent, I found distracting. Flashbacks are massively overused, particularly in later episodes. The songs used were repetitive and got old after a while. Basically the usual occurrence of the same song is played every time someone's happy, someone cries, etc. The instrumental music utilized varied from fitting to almost discordant. In particular, there was a scene in Episode 9 where the music was very loud and distracting and did not fit with the scene. It was awful.

Despite all the criticisms here, there were aspects that I enjoyed of GAP. The lesbian representation was obviously a highlight as was having a large female cast. I also appreciated that unlike BLs which have a tendency towards misogyny and objectification of their female cast, that was not the case here. The few male characters were treated as full characters and actually utilized within the story. I was uncertain about how the sex scenes would be portrayed, but they were aesthetically pleasing and well done.

GAP lacks a lot. In my opinion, it is not worth the slog to get through it. However, I am hopeful that GLs continue to be made and gain popularity and traction so that at some point, something truly great can be created. I would love to see a female director take the helm to bring a non-male perspective and perhaps even a full female production and film team. Only time will tell.

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Simple Magic

I had high expectations going into Cherry Magic because I've heard so much about it. However, it left me with some mixed feelings. For the most part, I enjoyed it, but I don't think it quite lived up to the hype. The premise of the story was interesting and was pretty well done, I liked the characters and the fact there wasn't a villain, but the pace lagged towards the end and things started feeling repetitive. Even so, I found it to be a pleasant enough experience watching it.

I liked the story premise, though I can safely say it is, regrettably, not true. The way people's internal thoughts were portrayed, while not accurate, was still well done. The thought processes were too linear and too conversation like to be realistic, in my opinion, but within the story it worked to get what was needed across. I do think more could have been done with it. Adachi seemed to struggle more with the morality of his gift, while I feel like responding to people's thoughts instead of what they said would have been a challenge as well. We see that touched on twice, but only with Kurosawa and only towards the end of the drama. I think it would have been interesting to explore that aspect more. I also would have liked to have seen more of Adachi's life after he no longer had his gift and the change that created. Lastly, though not a huge deal, I didn't necessarily appreciate the kiss baiting between Adachi and Kurosawa. There are multiple moments where they are about to kiss, but something always interrupts and in the end, we never actually see them properly kiss. There was a fairly good distribution of humor and serious moments. There's more humor earlier on and then it gradually turns more serious though still with enough levity to keep things balanced. There is absolutely no judgement towards any of the characters being gay. While Fujisaki is the only one at work who is aware of Adachi and Kurosawa's relationship to any degree, outside of that, there's never any indication that they or Tsuge and Minato I did like the relationship development between Kurosawa and Adachi. Though that was part of what got a bit repetitive and slow towards the end, it held strong for the majority of the drama. Tsuge and Minato's relationship was less well developed and seemed a bit more implausible given their very limited access and knowledge of each other, but was still cute. The pacing was inconsistent. This drama is a slow burn, which I don't mind at all, but slow burn dramas needs to have steady pacing to keep the viewer from getting bored. And unfortunately the pacing here started to lag a little over halfway through and didn't pick up again until the last two episodes. It didn't feel like much was happening during those episodes and some aspects started to feel repetitive. At that point, the focus was starting to turn towards Adachi feeling a moral dilemma regarding his gift and what advantages it might be giving him. Outside those scenes though, a lot of what transpired felt unnecessary and didn't contribute much to the story or, like I said before, felt like a rehash of past scenes.

The characters were all fairly solid, again, I liked that there wasn't a villain and it was more a focus on dealing with our internal demons. One aspect that I particularly liked was the use of Fujisaki. I'm so used to BL dramas making poor use of their female characters or making them into the villain that it was a pleasant surprise to have a woman portrayed in a positive light.
-Adachi was a favorite character probably because he was the one I could most identify with. He's socially awkward, shy, self-conscious, and a bit of a wallflower. He struggles to see his own worth and positive aspects of himself. That is until his gift kicks in and he starts connecting with his colleague Kurosawa and discovers that Kurosawa likes him. His character growth is gradual but well done as he slowly gains confidence in himself and learns to step outside his comfort zone. He has a symbiotic relationship with Kurosawa beyond just their love for each other. Kurosawa is able to be himself around Adachi while Adachi learns from Kurosawa and is encouraged by him. Adachi finds his new gift to be both a benefit and a curse. From the beginning Adachi was shown to be unobtrusive, comfortable in his shell, however, he was also shown to be kind. Maybe not overtly, but he's attentive in his work and helpful where he can be. Once he finds that he can hear people's thoughts, though he doesn't generally go out of his way do so, when he does hear someone's thoughts and he has a way of helping them, he does so. And it's not just Kurosawa, though he does go more out of his way to assist him. But with Tsuge, Rokkaku and Fujisaki, he does his best to help them as well, often stepping outside his comfort zone to do so. Eventually though he begins to question the morality of his gift and if it's really okay for him to have the access to people's thoughts that he has and whether that gives him an unfair advantage. It comes to a head when he impulsively uses what he heard to help him in a work competition. Whether using his knowledge is cheating is left up to the viewer, but Adachi believes that he has. This event coupled with hearing about several surprises that Kurosawa has for him, eventually leads him to a breaking point and he tells Kurosawa about his gift before they end up breaking up. That is, until he finally realizes that he truly does love Kurosawa and want to be with him, regardless.
-Kurosawa is the golden boy. He's attractive, he's smart, and he's well liked, but we come to discover that he pushes himself to maintain a facade of perfection not only because that's what expected of him, but also to prove that he's not just a pretty face. He's attracted to Adachi because Adachi sees beyond what he projects and actually sees him and appreciates him. As they begin to interact more and he gets to know Adachi better, what started as something more akin to a crush blossoms into love. The positive aspects that many people miss about Adachi and that Adachi doesn't notice himself are seen by Kurosawa and appreciated. Kurosawa is conscious of Adachi's moods and behaviour and works to make him comfortable all the while wanting more. He's careful to not cross the line, no matter how much he wants to and he's very respectful of Adachi. He becomes a support for Adachi, building his confidence and helping him as he can, but also slowly learns that he can rely on Adachi as well and find equal footing. When he finds out about Adachi's gift, he's not judgmental or accusatory, instead he again puts things in Adachi's hands and let's him take the lead, even if that means he gets hurt. And in the end, he reveals that he doesn't think ill of Adachi for hiding his gift, but is instead grateful for where it brought them. He's just such a pure character and you have to really appreciate him.
-Tsuge is Adachi's friend from college and they are similar in many ways. Tsuge is also an introvert who doesn't like to step outside his comfort zone and is socially awkward. Despite being a virgin himself, he writes romance novels, and is the person Adachi initially goes to for advice when his gift manifests. Tsuge doesn't believe him, at least not until he hits his own 30th birthday and has the same gift. Tsuge is an interesting character because he looks very scholarly and put together, but he's actually a bit haphazard and his reactions are very over the top, amusingly so. His initial reaction when he meets Minato isn't exactly favorable, until he hears his thoughts and starts to fall for him. For Tsuge, he has to overcome his own perceptions of his self-worth and learn to communicate. His growth is quicker than Adachi's, necessarily so since he isn't a central character, but it is still present, and despite entering into a relationship with Minato and starting to learn how to be in a relationship, he is still very much himself. He doesn't change for Minato, they simply learn to coexist.
-Minato isn't given a whole lot of background and he remains a bit of an enigma throughout. He's on the younger side and we know he likes cats, wants to make it as a dancer, and is gay. That's about it. I would have liked to see him developed more and known more about him. His feelings for Tsuge and how they developed are relatively vague. He things Tsuge's a good person for rescuing Udon, but what more there might be is pretty much left in the dark. Nevertheless, I liked his character and thought he was good for Tsuge, pulling him out in the world more and exposing him to different experiences. We don't get as much of an impression on what he gets from Tsuge other than likely someone more mature, in age at least, and stable as well as encouragement as Tsuge doesn't find Minato's dreams foolish and supports him.
-Rokkako was adorable and unpredictable, I never knew what to expect from him. While he seems like he's good at his job, he's not as wise when it comes to interpersonal relationships and reading social cues. I was initially a bit wary of him, wondering if he was going to prove to be romantic competition for either Adachi or Kurosawa, but he quickly proved to be just a generally very decent guy, if a bit of a dope at times, though an adorable one. I liked how he admired both Adachi and Kurosawa and looked up to both of them. I also appreciated his loyalty to Minato and the way he was willing to fight Tsuge. That bein said he is a bit of a hothead and once he gets something in his head, he tends to run with it. Still, nothing he does is meant maliciously and I really enjoyed his character.
-Fujisaki was the lone supporting female character, but she brought a lot to the table. Initially introduced as a possible love interest for Adachi by his supervisor, she instead becomes a friend and supporter. Her thoughts reveal that she likes Adachi, though based on the interpretation I saw, it seems that like is as a person, not romantically. Adachi's initial support of her leads to a greater friendship between the two and she is seen acting as a support for Adachi later on and a bit of an advisor for Kurosawa. Unlike Rokkaku, she is perceptive and she can read the signs between Adachi and Kurosawa and she fully supports them, even orchestrating a firework show for them there at the end when the real event is cancelled. I loved her character and found her to be such a sweet soul.

The acting was quite good all around. Akaso and Machida had a subtle chemistry that really worked for their characters. It was quiet, comfortable, but also obviously not any kind of buddy chemistry. And the buildup of it was portrayed very nicely. Individually, I thought they both did a good job. Akaso's reactions as Adachi tended to be more over the top than Machida's but it didn't feel silly unless it was supposed it. He brought a good balance to the role. Machida was very steadfast as Kurosawa but he wasn't boring. He was consistent throughout and remained engaged regardless of the scene of what he was doing. Asaka was similarly over the top in portraying Tsuge, though his was certainly played more for laughs. He did it well though and despite the fact it was comedic and exaggerated, it didn't feel overdone. He also had a good balance of portraying the bookish author who tended to overreact. Yutaro was good as Minato even though he didn't get as much screen time. He brought a certain boyish innocence while at the same time showing that he wasn't naive. He had good chemistry with Asaka and they played off of each other well.

Japanese production is always a bit hit or miss for me. I don't always love the lighting choices, it can come across as a bit dark and gloomy to me, and the sets can have a sameness to them that just blend with other dramas. Cherry Magic, however, had a pretty decent balance with the lighting and with the office setting, it worked. While I didn't find the sets to be anything extraordinary, there were some aspects, mostly with Adachi's room that made it feel a bit more personal. I liked the opening and closing music, but didn't find them to be anything spectacular, although they fit well with the credits. I did, however, really like the visuals of both credits. The opening credits had an almost ethereal quality to them and I really appreciated the artistry of it. I would have liked to seen more of that quality in the drama as well, but you can't have everything. The ending credits gave a very comfortable and warm vibe, that I also appreciated.

I mostly watched Cherry Magic in anticipation of the Thai version that's currently being filmed. I wanted to get a feel for the story and characters as I find it interesting how various countries tell the same story differently and alter aspects of the plot and characters. Despite the fact that it didn't live up to the hype, I enjoyed this drama. The story was interesting and kept me invested for the most part and I really enjoyed the characters and their development. This is a drama I would recommend and while I don't know if I will watch it again, I do consider it worth the watch.

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Super Special Commercial

So this super special episode is essentially an extended commercial for laundry detergent. It's like those ones you see where the kid brings in their super dirty clothes and mom or dad uses the detergent being advertised and everything comes out perfectly clean, except this commercial is 15 minutes long instead of 30 seconds. That being said, it's still fun and it's still cute.

The story here is simply that Tinn wants to hear Gun say that he likes him and he goes to various lengths to get Gun to say so dirtying his shirt considerably while doing so. Gun also dirties his shirt and so they need to wash them, hence where the laundry detergent comes in. We're also treated to Gemini and Fourth singing their song You're Blushing.

It doesn't add much to their story, it really is just light and sweet, a pleasantly short diversion. But after the disappointment of their episodes in Our Skyy 2, this was a much more satisfactory way to wish the characters farewell.

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