Reviews

I wanted to write a long and elaborated review, but seeing how other people who are more capable than I am in expressing their thoughts (in English) did a much better job I could ever do, I decided to keep it simple and short (and hopefully funny).
Together With Me got me so excited like ... well, never before. For someone who loves BL stories since many, many years, it's like a dream coming true. To be honest, I never had such a good dream.

STORY: Nothing we haven't seen before, but the execution was okay - until the end. There were some things I found pretty silly looking back. You wonder what all the "drama" (I'm quoting Korn, ep13)  was for. Well, it's called a love story (I'm quoting Knock). They could have done a better job showing us Knock's conflict. The so called "love" between him and Pleng was not visible, that made Konck's inability to figure out his own heart a bit unbelievable. I'm not a fan of the Bright/Farm relationship, but I appreciate how they tried to show us something different. TWM is not a series where only cute boys fall in love, it's much more. Talking about cute boys, the buffed up guys (of course I mean Korn7Knock) had many beautiful scenes together. You feel the love.

ACTING/CAST: Korn7Knock (Max&Tul) did a fabolous job like everyone else. I woudn't be able to point out a single weak actor in this series. Everyone was convincing and everyone was charming in his/her own way, even the bad guys.  

MUSIC: Whoever put this series together, did a great job. I loved the background music.

REWATCH VALUE: There are some scenes I watched at least 20 times (no kidding!). I plan to continue with this schedule in the future. Nobody can take this away from me!!!

OVERALL: Not sure about the rating system here, I want to give it a 10. Even though the story didn't convince me 100% , other things did. 10 is well deserved. This series brightened up my sad little life. A big THANKS to the cast, the producers, and the writers.

On a sidenote: The kisses and intimate scenes were out of this world. Like I said, not even my best dreams could turn out that good :P

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Not a worthy of your precious time

This drama was my long waiting drama but deeply disappointed. The direction team is not at all suitable for this kind of genre’s. In so many situations I felt the direction is too childish or immature. The rating is really misleading one.
This is the first drama I felt it’s better if someone kill the ML and FL. The reality is far faaaar different than this drama.
Each episode duration is approx 80 minutes but there are very less new things(story), simply circling the same things. Stating few episodes are very new and good but when the hostage situation starts it keep repeating same thing, some hostages escapes (few tried to kill them and few backstabbed them) and the terrorists (other country spy) catch them and again bring them to hostage’s by giving the same warning that this is the last warning but next time will not be forgiven, same hide and seek game done repeatedly. I really don’t know which country terrorists or spies are soo soft hearted to give number of chances repeatedly to same persons who betrayed them and wants to kill them. Most of the episodes has same thing, hostages they keep on escaping and trying to harm them (spies) but the spies they keep on chasing and catching them by giving number of last warnings.
I must say about the FL, she is soo soo annoying (after hostage situation starts) I really thought like the same thing how the ending has done should happen. Frankly speaking I am really completely satisfied with the ending (because of the reckless dumb FL)
I have mentioned only few of them but there are lot more unrealistic things that I couldn’t express here completely.

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This drama doesn't deserve your time.

"I was waiting for almost 1½years just to break my own heart, why do I feel that Sun-Oh was never a part of this season. How could they just do that to him, And JoJo just rejected him for no reason and leading a happy life with Hye-young. Wow! Is this a story portraying about how to break someone's heart and be happy. They really played with our emotion or atleast my emotion. They never really knew what this drama meant for me. From the best drama of my life, it has changed to the worst drama I has ever watched. So if someone never watched season 1 then just don't begin with it. This drama doesn't worth your time after all"

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The essence of living

To be honest, I decided to watch this dorama cause of who-else-if-it-is-not-Ryusei, but the story is absolutely well written as it was reflected in daily life. Kikazaru talks about the dream, the job you are having or you wish for, ideal living, even the lifetime partner. It is totally a whole-packaged dorama with a lot of superb casts. Yes, days could be gray or rainbow, but what matters is how we cherish the people surrounded us and how we love doing what we love. Also, the OST is as expected really great ^^. Then, I am going to elaborate more about the 6 characters in this dorama.

1. Kurumi. She is a girl who knows what she wants to do and gives her very best in everything she could do. Her work makes her stay always as 'it' girl as she turns into an influencer. At first, she wore everything that could boost her confidence even though it is tiring enough for her. But, thanks to Fujino, she learns to accept that you couldn't always stay '10' and it is okay to be yourself. And also thanks to Sachi (i love his nickname), she learns to keep moving forward no matter what happens and sets the goal that your tomorrow is today. A girl who lives up to her dream.

2. Shun. At first, I thought he is just a minimalist person who just wants to live the way he is without dreaming of something big. But after learning about his traumatic experience, I get to know why he just lives as simple as he could. The world has knocked down him once and he decided to totally back off. As time goes by and with the help of Kurumi, he realizes he can't run away or stay closed himself. With a lot of fear, he decided to once again move forward.

3. Kuoko. The kind-hearted woman who is able to gather good people under one rooftop. She thought once if she married, she would living the happiest life of her life. Unfortunately, after learning that she trapped in the household with her husband who used to be consumed by his job, she changes her perspective. I love how she always cherishes the 50 years she spent every time she talks. At the end of the day, she feels lonely but getting remarried is not her answer. Mad respect for her ex-husband for always trying to be there for her.

4. Ryuhei. Another kind-hearted man who tries to listen to everyone's problems as his job dealing with counseling. Ryu-chan doesn't place himself as a counselor but as a human first. I love how he mostly helps his housemate with his mature advice. Kuddos to this character ^^

5. Ayaka. The exact representation of people who keep chasing their dreams. She knows that chasing her dream could be a long journey or even a lifetime journey and at some point, she feels exhausted. I totally can relate when she asked that if we keep chasing our dreams, will we get true happiness? The world has knocked down her over and over. When she decided to give up, she realizes what important is she does what she loves to do.

6. Our Sachi ^^. A free-spirited man who sets his goal in his every step. The thing I love about him is his mindset. He takes every challenge as his stepping stone instead of an obstacle. And about his Loveline with Kurumi? She loves him too early, he loves her too late.

Ah forgot to mention. Both the main couple and the side couple have polar personalities which make this dorama so good. Definitely worth watching dorama ^^

PS: Please watch this dorama on fansubber (Furritsu-san). She and her teams work so hard for providing this wonderful dorama for free. By watching through her work, you will really appreciate her and her teams. The streaming sites only steal her work so please don't watch it on there.

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Worst Plot and Character Development

The drama started off really well, and I enjoyed the concept of this drama as it is relevant to current trends in technology. At first, the childhood love story between the main character and the second protagonist seemed perfect and I thought somehow the story would get the closure it needs. However, that didn't happen.

I wouldn't have minded the romance between the first lead and the main character if it only didn't give off very disingenuous. The first lead had such terrible character development from a timid guy who felt his purpose was to please his parents to a guy who treats the main character as if she was a prize. The interactions seemed so forced, and I get uncomfortable watching them together. There were many red flags in their relationship, and I was not really happy with how the drama wrapped up.

The first lead also threw the second lead under the bus at the climax of the drama, whereas the second guy didn't. I admit the second lead had a cocky personality and cold atmosphere surrounding him at the beginning, but it was for him to avoid getting close to people so he wouldn't get vulnerable and hurt by others. He ended up developing into a more open individual who actively tried to help the ones he cared about. Throughout the drama, he also ended up being the first lead's emotional punching bag (also physical at some point of the drama). Whenever the main girl got pissed at the first lead, the second lead always defended him and tried to convince her to give him another chance.

The main girl is a whole other story, I ended up liking her older sister more at the end of this drama and she ended up having the best redemption arc. Overall, the drama was very unrealistic, and there are just so many flaws to name.

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Mmmmkay, it's overrated.

(This is my first review.)

Okay so, to be honest, my opinion of this show is largely about the framing of the Sotus system. The sotus system is abusive in this show and the presentation of it as some sort of courting ritual for Kongpob and Arthit is kinda disturbing to me. The tone and the content are so at odds they are almost mutually exclusive from one another. Sotus is a system that exists in real-life in Thailand and hazing/initiation rituals exist in many other places. People die and suffer serious physical and psychological trauma each year due to this system in Thailand. This only makes this series more disturbing to be quite frank. There is a short film (not a BL) made in Thailand which tackles the sotus system (it is against it). The tone of the film and the content match far better and it is honestly a far more rational presentation of a system in which power can so easily be abused. Here is the link if anyone is interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NgYr6GqofM

Now, with that out of the way let's talk about things other than the plot.

The acting is fine. I have seen many of the actors in other things since this and their acting is better. So, it's okay but it often could be better and I've seen better acting from them since then.

The chemistry is mediocre at best in my opinion. This is something a lot of fans love about ArthitKongpob as a couple, but honestly their chemistry felt very platonic the whole way through to me. I never bought into the romantic or sexual attraction between them. This is not because of the minimal PDA, it just didn't feel like they were attracted to each other to me.

The music itself is okay. Sometimes it felt unnecessary and frequently it was too loud.

The series does have a somewhat nostalgic feel, so for people who love the series I can understand the re-watch value is probably high.

When the sotus system was not the centre of the scene I generally enjoyed it. (I have seen Sotus S and the Our Skyy special and preferred them a lot more, especially Our Skyy.) Hazing is personally something I hate. I have been close enough to it in real-life to have a visceral reaction to seeing it (especially in the romantic way it is presented here). But there are scenes that are well made. The scene in Arthit's apartment was sweet and the phonecall/almost confession scene was my favourite performance throughout. But yeah, it felt like propaganda for a controversial system more often than it felt like a story of love between people.

Of course, many people love it so I'm probably missing something. I actually would recommend the sequel and Our Skyy special. The main relationship and friendships are far more equal and easy to feel comfortable about for me.

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There is one word that sums up this whole drama; contrivance

What people like or dislike, might not be what you like or dislike so I do suggest to ignore any type of feedbacks and give this drama a try. When you start having mixed feelings about it, my review is here to help.

I think this series have an appeal. It got a innovative concept, an endearing FL, ML, side characters, and a mystery to unravel. I got to this far because I thought this show had potential to be even greater. But instead, it only went downfall when "minor" flaws kept stacking up one on top of the other to the point it fell flat. The writers message was to tell you that true events happen the same way but HOW (keyword) they decided to show it disconnected some viewers from the plot. It suffers from poor execution. I like the message but I dislike the way this drama handled it.

One of the two plotlines this series rely on is the mystery. It carries the show so the writers made the characters superficial. If you watch carefully, you will realize these two writer aren't writing "characters" anymore. They are writing plot points to push their story forward otherwise they won't have a story to tell (with the exception of ML. The FL as well except she loses her way here and there).

Like one of our anatognist here whose whole purpose is just to come in and out to create fake suspense and tension. He does that for 5 episode straight. His whole personality revolves around FL for no reason. Remember what I said? They are not writing characters. They are writing plot points. Ironically, he is the only one who knew what happened 18 years ago and.... drum roll please!

He wants to tell them. Yes, you read this right. He WANTS to tell them.

But they don't want to hear from him. Why? Because the story will conclude at episode 9-10. When a series does that but waits until the very end to "reveal" it, it just lack creativity to tackle it any other way. You already know the writers will come up with different "coincidence" or "reasons" to prevent this guy from talking. Like I said, they aren't writing characters. They are writing plot points.

They would do these type of plot points in other areas. I can mention over 10 instances. You don't not realize at first because you think it's relevant or might be explained later on but then you finished the drama and you look back and realize, they added nothing of value. They tied most of the loose ends like some PowerPoint presentations at the last episode. They expect you to fill the blanks. They expect you to come up with your own interpretation and justif, in your head, why it happened like that. I'm not a fan of those plots because it's pretentious. If the message was so "real" the male and female lead would have both died to reinforced its message.

As for the romance, it's the only redeeming quality this series have. This is where the writers strength are. The dialogue and interaction are pretty good. It handles trauma well. The male lead development is well written. He enhanced the story to another level. The romance though have a minor flaw where the characters are suffering from a "special" version of the break up trope. They are NOT breaking up because it's not "official", they are just constantly separating and distancing themselves from each other and finding their way back to each other. And it repeats for over five times. If this doesn't bother you, you will enjoy the chemistry. The link was also inconsistent. Just used for crying and fear most of the time. Any other emotions became pointless.

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I'M IN LOVE WITH THIS!

I love love love this drama so much I kid you not I stay up all night just for the next ep. Can we just appreciate qian kai yi's adorableness like damn he's adorable. Defo the funniest character and ye je hui is sus but I kinda like him. Ik everyone else hates him but that's what makes it interesting and if yall hate him it just shows how good his acting is. Tang lili is everyones dream bestie...well defo mine. (Kinda shipped her with ye je hui ngl but fate had other plans...)
And we must not forget the one and only queen YANG ZI. Truly does not dissappoint me every TIME. (why is she so cute but serious at the same time?) And the chemistry between he dun and qian kai yi is chef's kiss. Mwuah.

Future viewers are lucky as hell but I'm telling you if you want to watch this drama and you aren't sure then just try the first 2 eps...if they don't hook you then just slap me. ;)

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Great Action teamed with compelling story

My Name is a brilliant take on Action/Thriller involving gangsters, a woman seeking for vengeance and the hunt for the mole. The action sequences are done superbly and Han So Hee did a tremendous job with her part.

Clocking at only 8 episodes, My Name is shorter than other K Dramas, but it is definitely filled with amazing action and outstanding OST. It felt like every beat matched perfectly with the given scene, which made the overall show compelling and worth watching.

This Netflix original was good for its story, the attractive OST, the great casting along with commendable performance by Han So Hee, amazingly shot sequences with more than decent fight/action sequences and an overall violent atmospheric setting.


My Rating : 9/10

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It's hard to critique any 70 episode drama without finding some flaws in it - so I won't.

I loved so many of the characters that it would probably be an endless list of who and whys. Ning Yi (Chen Kun) / Male lead and Feng Zhiwei (Ni Ni) held their spots of being my favorite movie couple of all time and people in this drama. I loved the playful banter and tongue and cheek verbal exchange that they had especially during the difficult moments in their lives.

Chen Kun reminds a of Daniel Day-Lewis in mannerisms and acting style- when facial expressions and body language speak volumes. Ni Ni was such an endearing person - you couldn't help fall in love with her fierce desire to do what's right. I really like that in spite of the tangled mess of situations that unfolded - they and those close to each of them remained loyal.

I'm kind of surprised by the lower ratings - I loved it. Rewatch value? I could watch it again now - and I just finished it this morning. Suffice it to say it's been a long time since I've watched a historical drama I've enjoyed this much. I hope to see more of Ni Ni - I think this is her first TV drama since she's mainly a film actress. And well Chen Kun - I'm totally going to movie/drama marathon him.

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