Reviews

Frustrating and boring (very little spoilers ahead to make a point)

To be honest, I found this drama to be mild. It's main problem is the script, trying to find problems where there are none and taking way too long for things to happen. I don't mind a long burn but when absolutely nothing happens on a personal level and, most of the time, the characters are in corporate meetings talking about chips, it's a bore.

On the other hand, there are very real problems, with lots of potential, that take the entire drama to be resolved and it's done badly. Example: leading lady has to constantly deal with a nasty and jealous co-worker who slanders her and even physically hurts her at one point. When the boss can no longer avoid the issue, leading lady's personal life is brought up and questioned. Excuse me? Her relationship it's nobody's business and furthermore why are y'all weaponizing it against her when it hasn't affected her work or the work place in the fist place? Seems to me you are all dealing with a terrible case of sexism among women and a change of attitude would have been nice. But, no, nasty co-worker doesn't even get fired. She's transferred and choses to quit altogether as if she was trying to save some face. Bitch, please. This particular storyline was frustrating.

There are other two couples, apart from the leads, that we spent a good amount of time following, only for them to completely disappear from once they respectively find happiness. No follow up, nothing, until the last scene of the drama.

The one saving grace is the cast, which is flawless in the respective roles they were given and had good chemistry (at times).

It honestly seems like a waste of a good cast on a mediocre story. A shame.

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"Love at Second Sight" is a short web drama that had potential but the main leads don’t have good chemistry and for a male lead that is a great catch, the plot really messed with him too many times. The female lead is wrong over and over again and the male lead deserves better. The female lead is not even completely honest with her best friend about the real reason to why she broke up with him and her friend is always barraging him with false accusations that the female lead doesn’t care to correct and portrays herself as the victim. Wang Zu Yi (as Gu Yi Bei, the male lead) is great bringing his character to life and shows a good range of emotions but Shao Yu Qi (as Su Nan, the female lead, lacks proper use of facial expressions and body language. Overall, the drama was not convincing in bringing the leading couple’s relationship to a satisfactory end since the end seems more like a dream.

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Overall... it's just okay.

Unfortunately, it was a bit on the mediocre side, if not leaning towards bad. The movie had the potential to be an engaging murder mystery but it messed up by revealing everything too soon and by being predictable imho. There were some visually appealing shots (the pool scene!!!) but I don't think that makes up for the rest of this mess.

Oryo was great as always and such a dreamboat... However, the chemistry between him and Miyazaki Aoi was seriously lacking. The supporting characters were rather uninteresting, except for the role portrayed by Yoshida Yoh, who stood out as magnificent and fabulous whenever she appeared on screen. Her charisma is simply unmatched.

Overall... it's just okay.

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Inconsistent.

The appeal of the show is that it's a deductive mystery. Mafia is essentially a whodunit mystery. The mystery should be the primary focus and the high school drama and romance should be secondary. After all, that is how the show was marketed.

However, after the male protagonist is killed off by a nervous lynch, to preserve the romance, the writers revive him. But by doing so, the dynamics of the game changes drastically. The announcer conveniently no longer announces the roles of those who are killed, the doctor can revive anyone even if they weren't killed in the Night, and the viewers no longer face the thrill of danger for the protagonists because we now know the writers will simply bring them back to life. This show, in a single moment, destroyed the sanctity of all its genre. It is a mystery that has lost its logical credibility, a horror and thriller without a genuine threat of death, a high school romance that isn't quite romantic, and a high school drama with unreasonable stakes—where trivial conflicts lead to death and murder.

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Expected to much for nothing

Story started confusing with dumping characters. No natural flow of story and plot.
First 2 episodes acting is no up to standard . If Fairytales is geared toward family watching then it should not have intimacy that is not proprietary for families with children. For the adults Fairytales is just too boring. Drama focuses on nice outfits rather than on story. Some of introducing videos are on border of being totally inappropriate full of flirting and intimacy, focusing on individuals rather than a drama that they promote. From actors profiles expected more

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nothing new under the sky

I didn't expect it to be a movie, thought it was a drama. relieved it was just a movie, would have been so disappointed.

that's just another palace intrigue. the story isn't as unique as I thought while reading the synopsis. I think they tried to tell a story to complex for the movie duration. so it ends up with a lack of depth. I would have loved being told about how these matchmakers learned how to do their work.

I didn't like the actors. there is just something odd about how all the movie was bring together.

this is just bland, and coarse. I don't recommend.

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Lovely Time Travel Love Story

I'm not going to say anything differently than what has already been said, but of course, I will say something anyway. I Feel You Linger in The Air was a beautiful time-traveling love story with the addition of the harsh lives of women and gay people, told through a spectacular lens and with such deep-rooted characters and their dynamics. I would say that this is the best historical Thai BL I've ever seen, but it also acts as my first historical Thai BL, so it's automatically the best.

Let's Dive In.

I Feel You Linger in The Air tells the budding romance of Jom and Yai, a man from the future who inevitably falls for a man from the past. Furthermore, we also get to see the lives of Yai's family, friends, and servants who all play a passionate role in the changing of the past and the implications it will have on the future.

I'll start by saying this: I liked the plot/story a lot more than I liked the romance. Now hear me out, nothing was inherently wrong with the romance (they were super cute, super domestic, and everything that came out of Yai's mouth was just heart-wrenchingly beautiful), but the complexity of the story overall was much more entertaining for me. I think it's because I love slow-burns and while this wasn't necessarily fast, it felt like they got together pretty quickly. Yes, they don't get together until about halfway through the series, but by then, it feels like they rushed them to get together. It was building perfectly until, bam, Yai asked him to be his lover. Super romantic, but not 100 percent believable just yet, especially when Yai says things like "I'll love you forever" and they just got together. If anything, I would've liked them to wait longer, maybe after Yai's engagement ceremony when he realized he was to be wed to Busabong (I think that's how you spell it, she's not listed on MDL). When he felt that urgency and that yearning to be with Jom. Still, regardless, I liked the chemistry and they did well when their intimate scenes so I'm not all that pressed.

But now onto this spectacular story. One thing I hate about time travel is when the character is thrown into the future or past and immediately someone from that time is telling them what year it is, who they are, and what they are to the main character. But in IFYLITA, Jom was truly thrown into the 1900s and didn't figure out what time and year it was until he did some exploring on his own and found out -- because nobody in the 1900s thinks that someone of his age wouldn't be sure of what's going on. It was perfect. Also just the little details: The currency being different, the way they dressed, their everyday activities, the food they ate, the way they spoke, the accuracy of how women and LGBT+ people were treated, surprise that Jom was able to speak English, when Jom said more modern terms like cool or yo, the creation of Bangkok having not happened yet. It's obvious that they took their time with the structure and details of this story and it's very much appreciated.

Now usually I could care less about the lives of the side characters, but I was almost a little more interested in their story than the main couple. Like UeangPhueng and Meay for example -- loved them for real. Same with Fong Kaew and her trying to find out what happened and getting Mr. Robert to finally get arrested for his actions. Same with James and Ming whose stories weren't as developed, but I just loved seeing them on my screen. It's very rare when I'm interested in everything going on in a BL series excluding the actual BL couple.

The only part I'm having trouble figuring out is when Jom makes his way back to the present. So Yai shows up; does that mean Yai was reincarnated? Put into a bottle to be released once Jom comes back? Is Jom just seeing things? Seeing a ghost? Is Yai going to go through the same thing that Jom did, just this time in the present? And after the credits, we see the other Yai who was a lot more stern and obviously from a different period -- If there's to be a second season, will Jom be falling for another Yai? Will there be two Jom's? So many questions, I hope eventually these get answered.

Ratings:

Story: 9/10 - Magnificent. I'll only not give it another star because it is a little bit open-ended and the first episode was a tad bit slow. But overall, the story was perfect. These were hour-long episodes and to my surprise, I didn't once check to see how far along we were, the story is just that good that it keeps you captivated throughout.

Acting: 9/10 - Bravo! Everyone did such a good job. Jom and Yai could cry when need be, and the actors just did so perfectly at portraying their characters. I loved Nonkul's (Jom) acting the best and definitely Guide's (Ming) next.

Music: 6.5/10 - I paid attention to it a little bit, but what I heard was good, however, there were definitely times when the music was too loud and made it hard to hear the characters talking.

Recommendation Value: 8/10 - Overall, such a good series. But it is long, even when you're not thinking about its longevity, but it still took me about two weeks to finish, so probably not the BL to watch if you just aren't patient and don't want to sit through the hour-long episodes. I will say that I almost didn't watch this because of the very slow pace of the first episode, but trust me, it gets so much better after that. I highly recommend it for the story alone -- so much time has gone into this and it's worthwhile for sure.

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My Teenage Girl: A Review

Honestly, this show deserves all the praise it got.

The casting of each of the girls who made it past the midpoint checks was perfect (granted some who made it to the Entrance Exam were obvious cannon fodder), and the progress of each of them was so fun to watch.

I think all of the teachers, being masters of the industry and knowledgeable of what MAKES an idol. Joohyun is a veteran idol of the legendary Fin.K.L, Yuri is part of the original biggest girl group and also has years of experience, Aiki is a skilled choreographer for many K-pop groups, and Soyeon, who has competed on many survival shows and is a true industry all-rounder. You can see why every girl, even the eliminated ones, joined the industry so quickly after the show ended.

You can call riggory or say that some people were destined to fail, but even with the likes of Lee Jiwon, who nobody expected to get through the midpoint checks, or even score highly in the initial online rankings, the show grew her as an idol and showcased her confidence and star quality being preened to perfection.

Overall, this show is just perfect and I wish they could do a Season 2 in the same way, in my opinion, Fantasy Boys didn't follow the same format and it just didn't work that well.

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Ding Xian and Zhou Siyue's Heartfelt Journey in a Captivating Coming-of-Age Romance

Ding Xian's character evolution from a seemingly directionless follower to someone with newfound purpose added a touching layer to the story. Her relationship with her mother, initially a source of exasperation, became a testament to the resilience of family bonds.

Zhou Siyue, the epitome of the perfect male lead, surprised me with his depth. The narrative skillfully navigated his character through the challenges of familial adversity, revealing a vulnerability that humanized him beyond his initial persona. This twist in his story made him not just a typical "ideal" male lead but a character with substance.

The coming-of-age theme was expertly woven into the fabric of the drama, capturing the essence of youthfulness, dreams, and growth. Chen Zheyuan's portrayal, undoubtedly a standout, brought a charming authenticity to the character, and Rainbow Xu's performance complemented the narrative beautifully.

As the story unfolded from deskmates and neighbors to lovers, the progression felt natural, allowing the audience to witness the genuine development of a heartfelt connection. Watching this drama ignited a desire for a connection as genuine and heartfelt as the one depicted, making it not just a show but a resonant experience that lingered in my thoughts.

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A bemusing set of contrasts, Castaway Diva will stun you with its premiere episodes outlining a beautifully tragic backstory of crushed adolescent dreams and then launching into a headscratching modern day tale of.... I don't even know.
What was Castaway Diva ultimately about?
Seo Mok Ha (an always class act, Park Eun Bin), is an aspiring singer who longs to follow in the footsteps of Diva, Yoon Ran Joo (Kim Hyo Jin). Running away from an abusive father with the help of fellow classmate Kiho, she ends up stranded on a deserted island for 15 years. Improbable, maybe. But as a metaphor for having your early dreams slip away from you due to tragic, uncontrollable circumstance, it was pretty good. The show had shades of the delightful Thirty But Seventeen.

Fifteen years later, Mok Ha is rescued and tries to revive the career she aspired to while reconnecting with the loyal and generous Kiho.

Except that isn't what Castaway Diva is really about at all. Instead, the show veers off endlessly into the mid-career travails of the fading Ran Joo who isn't as successful as she'd hoped and is struggling with a disloyal agency and nodes. The idea this could somehow equate to 15 years on a deserted island alone after burying your abusive father is outright bonkers. The parallels between these two concepts - the literal and figurative isolation of obscurity for an idol - seems to be what this writer is trying to make and it's frankly gross. Ran Joo comes off as spoilt and entitled and narcissistic and Mok Ha gets dragged into outright fraud in trying to support her idol.

Kiho meanwhile is stranded on his own figurative island (or something) but the connections between these three 'castaway' plotlines is tenuous at best and, in the case of Ran Joo, borderline offensive.

The show is beautiful at several points and the casting is excellent. But the music, like most idol music dramas, is overproduced and often generic. PEB has several laughable moments with her guitar singing solo where the music is so overproduced that you can barely hear her real voice at all. The child actor in comparison had some real moments where you believed she was a raw talent. The rest of the music, apart from a few exceptions, is typically banal.

With an absolutely brilliant opening two episodes and a slow descent into the tedious, Castaway Diva truly is from the sublime to the ridiculous in one show.

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Slowburn Drama's Enemies-to-Lovers Twist Leaves a Lasting Summer Romance Imprint"

The rollercoaster of emotions I experienced while immersed in this drama is beyond words. Initially, the Slowburn pace felt foreign to my preferences, yet it gradually became a source of fascination, especially with the infusion of my beloved enemies-to-lovers trope. The female lead, whom I dismissed at first, transformed into a complex character whose layers I gradually peeled back, coming to appreciate her actions and motivations.

In essence, it felt like a coming-of-age drama, not just for the characters but also for my own appreciation of the narrative. Our beloved summer, portrayed so vividly on screen, transcended the confines of the show and made my own summer wonderfully memorable. The yearning for a love as profound as theirs lingered, becoming a wish to embrace the moment, relish life, and find joy in the simple yet profound experiences. The journey of the characters mirrored my own, leading me to a deeper understanding of the narrative and a newfound appreciation for the beauty of a Slowburn and the complexity of character evolution.

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“I don’t know why I feel like I’m not part of my family.” (Tam)

Let’s be honest, I gave it a shot because of the actors and actresses. The plot seemed interesting enough too, an angsty story about a group of misfits that come from different backgrounds and might not have a lot in common except that they are all middle children. A bit farfetched, but I can understand the appeal and it makes sense that they share certain experiences because of that.

It had a lot of potential, but it all frizzled out the longer the series went on. Instead of focusing on the problems that the Wednesday Club’s members face, we were following the stories of Venus and her political campaign, Top and his relationship with his dad, and Mink and her husband Karn. Not exactly what I signed up for. And while I can understand the plots related to Venus and Top, the whole ordeal with Mink and Karn was unnecessary. I don’t think it brought anything to the table except for taking up time.

Most of the side characters were very unlikeable. They did try to give them tragic backstories for us to sympathize with them. Or they tried to have them turn a new leaf, show them in a different light, etc. but none of that excuses their actions towards the others, including the Wednesday Club’s members. This goes for their family members but also characters like Top, Mink and Karn.

While it looks like they were trying to go for a found family trope, they didn’t necessarily achieve that. That might have been the plan. However, I don’t think that’s a bad thing. All of them are flawed and are dealing with their personal problems. That affects them greatly, it is not something they can just carry around with no consequences. It is expected that it will all come to a boiling point sooner or later.

Kong (Ohm) – He’s honest and reliable. Kong is also very loyal, which is both his strongest and weakest point. His loyalty makes him a friend anyone would want, but it also leaves him vulnerable when those friends turn on him. I think the biggest mistake they made with Kong is that they made him too similar to Ohm’s character in Double Savage. Ohm is incredible in such roles, I get that, but with the two series airing in the same year, it does blur the lines between his two characters.

Pali (Nani) – I don’t think he had any other purpose than being there for Kong when he remembered him. He was involved with the whole Mink thing too, she is his sister after all, but Pali’s relationship with Kanya was not developed enough. There was a lot of potential there, but it was all glossed over and we see very little of the two. Which is a shame.

Tam (Film) – Tam can be described as sweet, innocent, and positive. But she is carrying a lot of hurt with her. She keeps that hidden though. I do like that we get to see her stand up for herself as the series progresses, but I still feel like she was a very passive character most of the time. I was also not a fan of how the whole story with her grandmother ended. It was not a proper conclusion.

May (Piploy) – She is the character I wanted to hate, but I ended up liking a lot. She does appear like someone who doesn’t care about herself, like she gave up on life once her father ended his. She does play games with people around her, trying to make things go her way. I do like her character growth, the way she changes and starts to regard those around her differently. She becomes a real friend to Peem and Tam in particular.

Kul (Phuwin) – Kul might say he would do anything for money, but it’s obvious that he still feels excluded. Just like he did in the past. Yet he tries so hard to belong to what he considers the popular crowd that he often does things that hurt him, deeply, and hurt those around him. I am not excusing his actions, but I can understand where he is coming from and why he is the way he is.

Max (Kay) – It might be just me, but I found Max extremely unlikeable. Sure, he has a sad past, but who doesn’t? He is not someone you can trust, which is proven very early on. He is also very vindictive and can be quite malicious. And I think a lot of what happened to others could be avoided if he was a better person. I still think what happened to him before and during the series is sad, but it doesn’t really excuse his behavior either.

Peem (Satang) – He’s a glass child, someone’s whose life was always based around his brother and his condition. Peem loves his brother but also craves a chance to be himself, to discover who he truly is. He is very caring and protective, as he was taught to be, which is something that can easily be used against him. He is also loyal and doesn’t want to use his friends, that’s not what friendship is to him.

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