Reviews

Where is the romance at ?

from the beginning of the story to the end it only talks about business and there is no progress between the ML and FL characters. I know, even though it's only 8 episodes, there should be some spice of romance, even if it's just a little. What's more, for me, I'm watching this drama just for romance, not to learn about business or investment, and in this drama it's too in-depth to talk about investing in company owners/company power. I think the story is pretty good but I still don't enjoy watching this drama. I don't know why. Maybe dramas like this aren't my favorite. If the author adds spices of romance to progress the romance of ML and FL, maybe I will like this drama more than just talking about business. .

Read More

Nice, sweet, realistic and romantic series (but not a Masterpiece either)

PLOT: A young (24 year old) ML, voice actor, very introverted, meets again his crush from university, the FL, a few years later. She is actually 30 years old, director of an animation start-up. She becomes the tenant of the apartment next door, which the ML's mother owns. They will work together, fall in love, face countless difficulties (age gap, unfair competition, return of the FL's ex, etc.).

PROS:
+ discovery of Winwin as ML, beautiful, touching, subtle with a whole range of micro expressions, ... He brings this tormented character to life in a masterful way. (ﾟ∀ﾟ) Green flag, 10/10. I'm waiting for his next series!
+ A very endearing CL, and well-developed secondary characters (colleagues, parents).
+ The storyline is (almost) realistic: there is no CEO, no Mary Sue, just young adults who try to live and work with passion. The psychological evolution of the characters is consistent.
+ Great OST (all in English), very suitable.

CONS:
- slightly slow pace of narration: there is no Great Villain, nor any twist.

Drama recommended for its softness, during the long winter evenings ╰(✿´⌣`✿)╯♡
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Série sympa, sweet, réaliste et romantique (pas un Masterpiece non plus)
PLOT : Quelques année plus tard, un jeune (24 ans) ML, doubleur, très introverti, rencontre à nouveau son crush de l'université, la FL, dirigeante d'une start-up d'animation. Elle devient la locataire de l'appartement d'à côté, dont la mère du ML est propriétaire. Ils vont travailler ensemble, tomber amoureux, faire face à d’innombrables difficultés (age gap, concurrence déloyale, retour de l'ex de la FL, etc.).

PROS :
+ découverte de Winwin en ML, beau, touchant, subtil avec toute une gamme de micro expressions, ... Il donne vie à ce personnage tourmenté de façon magistrale. ( ﾟ∀ﾟ) J'attends ses prochaines séries !
+ Un CL très attachant, et des personnages secondaires bien développés (collègues, parents).
+ La storyline est (presque) réaliste : il n'y a pas de CEO, de Mary Sue, juste des jeunes adultes qui essaient de vivre et travailler avec passion. L'évolution psychologique des personnages est cohérente.
+ Super OST (tous en anglais) très adaptés.

CONS:
- rythme de narration un peu lent : il n'y a pas Great villain, ni de twist.

Drama conseillé pour sa douceur, pendant les longues soirées d'hiver ╰(✿´⌣`✿)╯♡

Read More

Very jumbled and rambling plot line

This show has been on my list for a while, and since I have enjoyed Bae In Hyuk in other things, I figured I'd give it a try. For me, it was torture to get through, and I've never been so happy to finish something in my life. I usually like to give all the positive aspects of a show, regardless of whether I ultimately ended up liking it, but hmmm, can't think of any here.

1) I found the Fl extremely irritating. Her bouncing around and then suddenly pouting about something, pick a mood and stick with it. This might seem like a small thing, but every time she said 안녕하세요 to someone, her voice went up about four octaves and she used this baby, breathy voice that was SO irritating!
2) STRONG triangle. It went on entirely too long and SML kissing her without consent, just no.
3) Why did ML and FL like each other? Never really saw development, they just suddenly liked each other.
4) The mystery. Why? I didn't care for it, and it went on for so long that once I got to the end I didn't care anyway.
5) The one "dance" they did throughout the whole drama. Their rehearsals revolved about that one arm-swinging movement, over and over again.
6) And can we talk about the costuming?! Oh, my gosh, the costume designer should have been forced to wear one of their own designs as punishment. It was really hard to take any of the conversations seriously while they were wearing their cheer costumes, they were so ridiculous. In real life, you would not have anyone want to be on the cheer team unless they were getting paid to wear those costumes. I can't get over how bad they were.

While I may not say run away from this show, I would suggest turning and walking away quickly, and find something better to watch.

Read More

A Political-Societal Drama about Elites

LOVELY VILLAIN was an interesting slow-burn Taiwanese thriller Drama. It felt like a slower-paced, socio-political drama mashup of "Stepford Wives", "Mean Girls", with commentarial undertones of the Korean movie Parasite. Don't be fooled into thinking it's merely a slice-of-life drama, about family life in a wealthy gated community. This series focuses heavily on inter-social-political relations and elistist power struggles. While the pacing of this did move a bit slowly, it certainly was intriguing and got better with time.

"While posing to be her rich upper class sister, Han Zhenzhen, moves her unhappy poor lower class family into an prestigious high-class community where she can't help but get involved in the power struggle for the position of community Chairman among with her female neighbors."

This series is all about politics, motivations and power. Rich vs. Poor. Upper Class vs. Lower Class. Psychological and political intrigue. The struggle for power and dominance drives this thriller. Alliances, factions, who to trust. The position of power is the "Chairman" or head of the community. The Chairman is given power in government and there is a brutal warring for this position and privilege. Not only power but title, reputation and prestige as well. A heirarchy ladder within the elitist group of wealthy people. Overall, this was a interesting watch and I'm glad I gave it a chance, as the intrigue developed over time and it gave a lot to ponder on.

[NOTE: There are some triggering images and themes, i.e. Suicide. Bullying. Rape/Sexual Assault. etc.

Read More

The feeling this drama gives is out of the world!

Comedy, action, and storyline are all balanced with great acting. I don't normally wish for dramas to be longer but this one is an exception. All about this drama was great for me except for one thing I'm not clear about which I'll come to later. So, first of all, I'll describe why I like this drama.

1. At first glance, anyone can see this is not your typical Chinese drama. I really liked the feeling this drama gave me, it's neither ancient nor modern. We don't get many dramas which gives this feeling so that's a plus.

2. Feng BaoBao all the way!! Her acting is superb. How she nonchalantly displays the facial expressions needed for her character is wonderful.

3. Calm and sweet Neo Hou. For me, it felt like he's the most talented out there except for Zhang Chu Lan's grand master. Sadly we didn't get to see how far his abilities go.

5. The funny elders and the rest of the characters like Zhu Ge Qing, Feng Sha Yan.

What I was confused about was, in the last episode when Zhang Chu Lan and Lv Liang were dealing with Duan Mu Ying, how did all the others come into this 'hard-to-find-another-dimension' Valley of 24 terms instantly? Could be possible with the grand master and the elders, but how come the youngsters too came into it instantly?? Maybe I missed anything idk. Also although the barrier was made from the power of 8 superpowers, there were like 5 or 6 people using those powers out there plus the grand master who was portrayed as ultra super powerful in the ep where Sinister Pleasure attacks the temple. So it was kind of impractical imo considering how hard it was to break that freaking barrier. Other than that I'm really happy with drama.

Really hope they'll stick to the decision of continuing to the second season with the same cast.

Read More

Nights full of goosebumps

First of all, I might not know what was Angkhan Khlumpong and haven't listen to it if it's available on youtube but the one I listen from time to time is The Ghost radio on youtube.

Well, normally I would freak out more since it's based on true story but I guess, I had some courageous feels to keep me watching this serie. I don't know if I can say this but I truly enjoyed it, for each story I was so scared and had goosebumps. It was really good, interesting plot, great acting, a really nice atmosphere but I had to agree that some scenes were so dark that I barely saw what's going on lol but overall, it was still creepy and scary, especially because of the makeup and the timing of when a scene is coming!!

I don't know which one is my favorite and or which is more scary... Maybe the fourth (nang ram with the couple which the wife is pregnant) and the fifth with the kid and the ghost (the imaginary friend).
But it was also sad because after all it's dealing with death, it's a bit deep than we thought, it's not only to scary us but to be open-minded about it.

What I also liked was the plotwist, I was easily taken aback by each story.

Read More

I initially watched it for Akaso Eiji, but the story kept me going! I loved how Mukai-kun's discovery of what he really wanted out of dating/being in a relationship was slowly exposed, while at the same time healing from the past, and also causing others (i.e. Sakaido-san) to unlearn things as well. I love that the ending was a bit open-ended, too! Anything can happen!

Acting- and production-wise, as usual Japanese dramas are more theatrical, which appeals to me! Even the composition of the shots in this drama are so much like theater scenes.

Overall, I really loved it.

Read More

A Great Ending (not saying sad or happy, it's not a spoiler)

First time writing a Review , bear with me
As you all know ending is very important in your opinion of how you value a drama after you see it.
A bad drama with good ending can raise the value and a good drama with bad and rushed ending can destroy it for you.
This drama had a unique and wonderful ending. You can see it that in the entire drama they were preparing for it and it wasn't like one those dramas that you feel the director woke up and decided that He wanted to end his drama some way depending on his mood. (LOOOTS of dramas are this way)
About the acting it was nicely done. PWY did a good job and I could feel his emotion through screen.
In the Back From The Brink I was completely disappointed in ZY and I didn't want to watch her dramas again. However, now I'm glad that I didn't make that mistake. Her acting was great and I will definitely continue her work.
Wish the best for both of them.

Read More

Love Letter to Romance on the Farm

Not every drama is going to be everyone's cup of tea. For me, I can't remember the last time I loved a drama this much. As a mid-30's woman, most of the dramas out there don't do it for me. It's bad or mid acting, contrived/ridiculous/illogical plots, poor writing, lazy (or non-existent) character development, pandering to idols and over-romanticized notions, overwrought tropes galore, and unrealistic/overblown (and sometimes downright toxic) romantic behaviors. Most feel like just cash cows; the art of storytelling is lost. Slice of life dramas are too heavy for me so, for years now, I've been watching drama after drama but finding most inane.

Then, here comes this drama. The characters - every single one of them - is so well-written that they feel like real, live people from the first episode. Ironic, no?, that these are people who are supposed to be NPCs have more life in them than any non-first or non-second lead character in every other drama? Say what you will of the family and what they do (I won't argue with you on that one), but the fully fleshed character development for each of them is so good that they all act in line with their character. That's some incredible thought put into acting and storywriting.

The FL is one of the most realistically badass and fully fleshed out characters I've ever seen. She doesn't feel like a character to me - she feels like someone who exists out there in the world. I want to see more of this in dramaland. Because this is what truly inspires me in real life. To persevere as Man'er does, to navigate tricky situations as she does, to be smart and kind as she does, to be guarded at times, to be brave at times, to be feel how it feels to receive love at times, to forgive at times. To grow and transform.

I also really admire this director. I will be following her work for sure. She does such an excellent job with allowing us to see all characters' emotional beats (in a look, a glance, a hand or eye movement), no matter how small, so that, whether you hate them or love them, you can understand their motivations, why they act the way they do, and maybe even empathize with some, if only for a short moment. She shows their flaws and also their humanity. And she does this with every single character that has a name.

I also greatly appreciate the director's attention to detail. There were so many moments where I could feel that she truly cares about this story and her craft - and how much it enriches the story. Certain cinematography and shots were really breathtaking - used to serve the scene/story without being overdone. There were also many subtle details - I can't remember them all, but there is one (not a spoiler) where someone says that the pancakes are getting burnt. Then, as the pancakes are being plated in the background, you can actually see that they are burnt. This is TOTALLY a detail that most productions would absolutely ignore but it's little touches like that that completely immersed me in every second of this story and continued to immerse me for the entire 26.5 episodes. This is all intentional on the director's part - she wants you to feel as Man'er feels. Are you in a virtual world or are you watching a drama or are you just experiencing life whether it's real or not and does that even matter at the end of the day?

Overall, for me, this drama is nothing short of art. (Even the opening and closing credits are art in of themselves.) I can understand if a lot of people don't agree. For me, this was a very well-told and well-executed story, by a director who truly cares, with an excellent cast (that's 10+ people!) that each made me invested (good or bad) in every single one of them, along with one of the most meaningful character arcs that I've seen in dramaland. I thank this cast and crew from the bottom of my heart for bringing this to life, so that I could experience, at times, cathartic bawling; howling laughter; the most tender of love between mother and daughter; anger and grief and joy and shock and judgement and compassion towards imperfect people but nonetheless watching and appreciating them grow in ways big and small.

P.S. I also think the politics in the drama is incredibly smart (at least to me, someone who doesn't think politically at all). I was kept on my toes to see how the leads would solve a problem and manipulate people and circumstances. I found it all to be clever and thoughtful writing.

Read More

Timeless Love

Maybe it's an age thing? I'm a Gen X and Im in love with this so far at episode 6! The timeless love is so precious. I was furious with the older one for his intentions to have them never meet. He doesn't want his loved one to die and he would rather lose all that precious time just to save his loved ones life. But on the other hand, it's very unfair of him to make that choice on behalf of his lover. I would have been creeped out by the 10-year age gap but they kept it very innocent and it was clear the kiss was not lip to lip. the whole time I'm like, "where is this kid's parents? why are they sleeping in the same bed? does the bar owner and everyone else just approve this behaviour?" it was weird but I refused to let it interrupt the flow of things for me. Yes, there were minor holes in the story But all in all I can considered it so freaking good so far and thank God I didn't go by the reviews here! Like I said in the beginning of this review, maybe it's an age thing. younger generations have less tolerance for age gaps and touching while one is sleeping. It's not like he fondled him, he gently stroked his hair. Anyway, eight and a half out of 10 recommend!

Read More

Great Until it Wasn't

Only Friends has a great beginning, but I can't lie that the incline to it being great crashed somewhere and just started getting rather tedious to watch. And don't get me wrong -- the plot, the acting, the romances -- everything worked like it was supposed to, except, still something just didn't work towards the end of this for me.

Let's Dive In.

Jojo knew what he was doing with this series, specifically with these pairings too. Putting a bunch of hot people in one frame and having them get into some heated mess -- okay yes, of course, I'm seated. I absolutely adore the concept of this BL, which I don't even know if I would label it a BL. This felt more like a genuine queer messy-gay series with no specific yes on a pairing and everybody was just kissing and sucking and fucking one another. It was about friendship and love and betrayal and hatred and loss and it worked perfectly with these actors. They put on a brilliant performance, and I can't wait to see what's lined up for them in the future from here on out.

Now, onto specific characters/pairings: I'll be honest, I would've loved a RayMew endgame. Of course, Ray and Sand worked well together too, but I'm a sucker for friends to lovers and we can't pretend like the moments that we did get between them weren't so fucking cute. Anyways, passed my wrecked ship, I'll start with Top and Mew. I absolutely hate that they ended up together. I really wish that Mew would've moved on, which might be my own bias because I can't imagine staying with someone that cheated on me, and even worse, cheated on me with my best friend. Also, yes, Boston is like a terrible human being, but if Mew can't find it in himself to forgive his friend but forgive his partner when they were both in the wrong, then Mew is being a bit of a hypocrite -- is he not? But skipping past before Top cheated with Boston, I was all aboard the Top Mew train. But initially Top only got with Mew to fill Boston's bet that he couldn't be the person Mew loses his virginity to, so now that I'm remembering that, I actually still didn't really like this pairing much. And I get it, he realized he actually did have feelings for Mew, but the intentions were still there. In reality, I give their relationship 5 months until they end for good.

Onto Sand and Ray, the only couple that I'm okay with. I liked Ray's character development a lot, which is why I can actually see this relationship lasting. They had a lot of ups and downs and honestly, the only real one I can recall is Ray still having feelings for Mew. I think they also complement each other so well that it just works. The rich with the poor, the spontaneous with the calculated, the party animal with the quiet musician, the boy who yearns for someone to love them with the boy who yearns to be loved. It was all so good. Again, I think Ray and Mew would've worked better for me, but I can see why this pairing does too, so I'm not mad about it at all.

Moving onto Nick and Boston -- thank god they didn't end up together. I hated seeing Nick just up and give Boston chance after chance, especially after they actually get together and Boston screws up again. He's just an all-around terrible person, who needed no redemption arc but was still given one (slightly). But again, Neo is so charming, so handsome, so perfect, so I can see why Nick would *shrugs in understanding*. But Nick deciding to work on himself to find the key to loving himself was a perfect ending for his character. Poor dude passed up Gumpa, so he really must've been hurting.

Mond being in this was so random and yet everything I needed and more. Dude is so pretty, so perfect, so everything. I couldn't even be mad that he was put in to add conflict at the last minute, because gosh, I mean just look at him. And the glasses too?? I'm no better than any of these characters tbh.

So what I think went wrong with this series: For me, there were a few times in which this just dragged on. Seeing Mark be hurt over and over again, Ray and Sand going back and forth, Top and Mew playing a game of cat and mouse -- and then it goes on for episodes and episodes. By the end, I was watching this at 2 times the speed. This is me being completely nit-picky and everyone else can disagree with me and that's fine, but how come we never see Ray/Sand and Top/Mew NC scenes as intensely as we saw Boston/any-boy-within-a-two-feet-radius-and-Mark? Maybe because they wanted to put an emphasis on Boston being sex crazy, but it felt weird to incorporate something for one character but not the others.

Ratings:

Story: 8/10 - Overall, it was good. Kind of repetitive and a little bit draggy, but it still worked well and was on theme throughout.

Acting: 9/10 - I got to see Mond and Force shirtless (which has nothing to do with their acting, but they sure did show me a good performance so..). Anyways though, and for real, everyone did a phenomenal job. Again, I'll have to give most of the kudos to Khaotung who just hits it out of the park each and every time. But Mark also stood out and so did Neo too.

Music: 8.5/10: Like usual, I didn't pay much attention, but I would like the sudden shock on my face when I heard an English song playing. I don't know, it just shocks me sometimes. Also, the theme song is so very good.

Recommendation Value: 7.5/10: Watch this because the actors are gorgeous and they are kissing at least 1/2 of each episode -- and the plot is wonderful. I give it a low score because I think this would've actually worked out better had I binge-watched it. I just saw all the hype and had to watch, but having seen what I've seen, I could've definitely waited to binge-watch it.

Also, Mix coming in at the end almost felt like they were building up to a potential 2nd season?? I mean, just imagine it. And you know if Mix is there I'm also there. We shall see once the final GMMTV 2024 line-up comes out!

Read More

need substance

It started off really well but eventually it felt repetitive (!!) and i never got the deep emotional moments that were needed for this to really hit.

There was scenes that I could see where supposed to be the emotional backdrop and depth for the show but it wasn't done well enough. There should've been more.

The relationships in the show were also not that great. Mother/son needed more depth and the romantic relationship wasn't good either. Both of them could've been explored more.

Perhaps its good for a mindless watch but I went in expecting a lot more.

Read More