Reviews

Best of the Pinoy BL bunch

"Hello Stranger" is the BEST of the bunch, I think. It's realistic, relatable, and passionate. It's oozing with "kilig" factor, proving that s3x isn't at all a magic pill to have a sizzling BL series. The real magic lies in the ACTING (much credit goes to Tony Labrusca), the PLOT (simple yet sophisticated, unlike most BL's that are either empty or shallow), and above all the DIALOGUE & EDITING. The editing is superb in many ways: it's compact-- leaving no slack time; it doesn't give you everything in one plate or in a boring predictable lineup of events from A-Z, but maintains a sufficient amount of thrill and surprise in each succeeding episode (one example is the root cause of the lead actors ending up as partners in a school project); and the TIMING-- evolving from the easy to more complicated scenes without losing coherence till the end. The episodes are stitched so well they make a solid whole. "Hello Stranger" comes in 2 parts: Hello Stranger TV Series (8 episodes, can view or download from YouTube), and Hello Stranger The Movie (sequel to the TV Series). I find the TV Series more romantic and memorable.

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It was just mwah <3

Oh my god, It was worth the wait. So, I dropped this a while ago since I wanted to wait until the series was finished before I watched it and it did not disappoint.

Perth an Chimon's chemistry was great and I'd love to watch more series that they're in, in the future.

Despite the bullying at the very start of the series, this series has a LOT of wholesome moments that I really REALLY enjoyed and I also loved the character development of Kang as well.

There is also a part with crime and mystery, and it just made it better as a lover of that genre. There was not too much and not too little drama.

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Ki Sun Gyeom is a professional sprinter who was forced to quit due to legal issues. He crosses paths with a film translator Mi Joo briefly works as his translator. Through time and communications, their mutual interest pushes them passed their boundaries

Run On is a drama that is not baiting for my attention as it has a very subdued vibe, but I enjoyed it very much. Not many external conflicts going on, it’s a character-driven show where the main and supporting characters’ plot are very much intertwined. I like Sun Gyeom's quirky and very kind-hearted personality, and I’m enjoying how he interacts with people around him. I appreciate how he’s very blunt to anyone. The romance is also toned-down but wholesome. Sun Gyeom and Mi Joo’s chemistry is a lot softer than most Kdramas, it feels very realistic and heartfelt. The secondary romance of Dan Ah and Young Hwa I wasn’t really paying attention for their plot but they have great emotional moments.

Another highlights for me is the playful, quiet, subdued humor in the show, it was pretty clever and sharp, those moments were few and precious. For example, when Seon Gyeom wakes up in the morning and he's getting ready for his morning run as it has been his routine for years. One morning, when he's getting ready, he stops halfway and realizes that he doesn't have a reason to run anymore, so he turns around, throws off his jacket, kicks off his shoes, and rolls back into bed. I found that’s absolutely hilarious! This is just a small no-dialogue moment but so memorable. Also, I am happy to see a positive representations of LGBTQ characters here, as they are seen as part of society. The only nitpick I want to mention is that there’s something missing throughout my watching experience… Although the character development of the main lead was great, it felt slightly boring. Overall, I am happy to have known these characters.

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Better than I thought it would turn out to be!

The plot was pretty much predictable and has the typical bully/badboy falls for the poor protagonist trope. But the difference is that the protagonist is not some weakling who takes whatever the bully throws at him, he is a men with dignity and self respect. That's what I love about the main character. Sailom is a strong character, not shy has his priorities straight. I felt sick of weakass MCs all the time in "morden romance" dramas so this is a breath of fresh air.

I've seen so many ppl saying that the main leads had no chemistry but in my opinion chemistry isn't always needed. They both did good in acting, that's all that matters. They portrayed the romantic scenes very smoothly and of a domestic couple.

Anyway the second couple was very cute too, pretty cliche but I'd devour this type of cliche hate to love relationship tropes. I'm glad all the characters got there happy endings.

Overall, I'd say that a second season is not needed but do i want one? Yes, Yes I do. So we can see our Saifan (MCs brother) & Name get to meet again and our cute GL couple to grow romantically.

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Well, at least Ja didn't plank on First

I'm so disappointed about this drama and how it turned out, it felt like a really rushed unstable mess,
at first i was so happy seeing Ja and First new project and thought to myself, maybe this one won't be that terrible as 'Don't Say No' but now, 'Don't Say No' is like a masterpiece near this one.
from the first scene i was like "please tell me that they're shooting a film in this scene cause this can't be true" and gladly i was right, but the series later didn't do any better.

First of all i couldn't believe in the slightest in their falling in love story, Pun is acting like an obsessed puppy and Ashi couldn't even be bothered about love (they mentioned something about his parents like once and then it was never mentioned again later) it was really painful to watch, also did they have to give Ja this haircut that made him look like that? the entire streaming i was like "please get rid of these bangs".

Also why do they keep doing these slow motion scenes with the eye contact or accidentally falling into each other's face, it's getting really boring and repetitive. from episode 6 i kept ff this show only for PunAshi moments since i stopped caring about the plot (that was hardly there) but i really love Ja and First.
i couldn't really understand why were they fighting on episode 11 like why was he so insulted by that? also Ashi kept coming like 3 times later to tell him that he is sorry and he truly loves him why was it so hard to get through him??
the only thing i know, is that in Thai BL in every episode prior to the Finale, the MC has some problem that they need to fix so they can end up together again in the finale.

Second couple are NPC's and nothing else you say can make me feel otherwise they were there to take some screentime and somehow stretch the show to 12 episodes, it is never explained how they turned out together nor was i interested in their story to begin with.

I'm so sad to hear this might be the last project of JaFirst as Ja left his agency.
cause i love their chemistry and they look really nice together onscreen, i hope we get to see them again sometime, maybe in a better BL with a better script.

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Not entertaining to be honest

I checked this drama out because thought Zhai Zi Lu & Chen Peng Wan Li would make a good team....

Long and short.... The story is boring. This is obviously a low budget drama but dialogue not entertaining....

Female Lead, Ko Chia Yen for me was actually most interesting character. Very introverted character she plays but star of the drama I have dropped.

Male Lead, Zhao Zi Lu for me has limited ability. He is a likeable actor but does lack the charismatic factor to keep people tuned in. Looking at his upcoming dramas does look like part of alot of low budget dramas so still not fully proven. However I think he is on similar pace to actors like Wang An Yu & Hu YiTian whom I felt struggled abit years ago but have developed new charm to their personas to keep people drawn in so I think in time will be fine, however not this drama

This drama might have 8.2 rating now but viewers 86 so irrelevant stat

If you are still watching please enjoy

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All aboard the angst train. This is going to be a bumpy ride!

This show started light-heartedly. A bit of awkward meet-cute sets up the love line between our OTP. I have to give credit to the FL for her portrayal of a 16 year old even though she is 30 in RL. In fact, most of her roles tends to be in that late teens to early 20's range.

While the romance is a slow burn, it is engaging and quite cute. It did turn dark when the FL "accidentally" poisoned the ML. He fell into a coma for a long time and when he woke up, he has the mind of a child. That is a shock for all concerned because he was an intellectual giant before the accident.

This brought about the second phase of their relationship. In his dim-witted state, he latched onto the FL like a chick onto a mother hen, In turn, she dedicated all her efforts to cure him and be with him. Around this time, the show really went to the dark side. The melodrama dial is turned up to the MAX when the FL's whole family was killed. It is excessive, but not 100% shocking when you consider the historical setting. It was designed to hit us with the feels, and it works.

I'm shipping the OTP at this point because they both suffered so much and yet they are trying their best to be happy in their little world. However, the show starts making questionable decisions from this point onwards. They piled on the angst and dragged out the ML’s plot. While his childlike innocence was a novelty at first. It went on largely unchanged for 1/3 of the entire run. What was cute earlier is now wearing.

If that is not enough, the moment the ML recovers his memory and mental capacities, he plays the noble idiot card. As expected, the OTP suffered even more. I still don't quite understand his logic. At first, he thought she has feelings for her senior. However, after she clarified the misunderstanding and declares her undying love for him, he continues with the charade even though he is in pain and pining for her. The brakes are off the angst train by now.

There are a number of opportunities to reunite the leads. The show could have profited from their love and longing. Hit an emotional high and gift us some much-needed fan service. Alas, it was not to be. I'm not going to spoil the last few eps, but let's just say the writer doubled down and went all-in on their sufferings.

Before we all reach for the Suicide Help Line, the writer parachute in a happy ending but it was literally in the dying seconds of the show. There is no preamble nor extra fan service. The scene is so contrived, I'm speechless. I can only imagine the writer being told by the upper echelon to cough up a happy ending or else. In hindsight, maybe it'd have been better if the writer decide to die on that hill and insists on delivering a torture porn unto the bitter end. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Acting wise, the cast did ok. The FL was in her element. The ML is handsome and not too wooden. I like his earlier portrayal of the man-child. However, the same-y role becomes boring to watch eventually. The ensemble cast is standard issue for a costume drama of this ilk.

I was ok with the angst . . up to a point. It is that type of show after all. However, the last few episodes really throw everything at the OTP including a weaponized kitchen sink. We have all manners of weird plot twists inserted solely to pull the leads apart even though they more than earned their rights to be together. That was too much for me. I am posting a lower score as a warning to others. Peace out.

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Que acabo de ver???!!

Si estás pensando en ver este drama, hazte un favor y no lo veas, no pierdas tu tiempo.


Para empezar, la trama es ridícula!!!!

Estos personajes necesitan un psicólogo urgentemente (o debería decir que le lleven un psicólogo a la persona que escribió esto?)

Una decepción total, no entiendo como puede pasar de una situación rara a otra peor.
Empezando por que:
• La protagonista no tiene dignidad.
• Tomo es egoísta y es prácticamente alexitímico.
•Hase y sus mommy issues, solo quiere tener a la protagonista para que le de el cariño que nunca recibió de la madre.
Y que no se me olvide que también trata a Terada como un objeto o un animal, hablando siempre de marcarla, para que otro no tenga oportunidad de estar con ella! (Que horror)
•Y por último, la unica que se salva un poco es Akari, que simplemente no hace nada!

No hay progreso ni en la trama ni con los 4 personajes.

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I really loved it

I don't know why many didn't like the story. I think it's so cute and I really loved the Actors. It reminded me of a Wattpad story so they had me pretty fast with the bully-to-lover part. I see why people say Bromance but I don't get why it's a problem i would love my Boyfriend to be my friend and my lover and they did a great job beeing both. I love it and it is one of my favs. I cried, I laughed so everything I needed. I also really loved Sailom, he was my highlight of the Show. I really felt his pain and everything he was going through. I will definitely watch it again!

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Love & Resentment

I found this on my PTW list while I was looking for something short to watch. And I was blown away by it! I thought it was going to be the usual low budget web drama mess. But it was everything but that.

Three men confess their love to Sun Jung and she receives a strange photo of herself, all in the same day. Soon enough she realizes that someone is stalking her and her first suspicions go towards the three men who confessed to her.

The writing is superb: they managed to weave a tight plot without plotholes but with plenty of suspense and red herrings! Up until the final episode, they managed to keep the culprit a secret. Amazingly well written.
Extraordinarily well acted as well by the whole cast. Only after watching this I found out that most of the actors are actually idols. They are so freaking talented. I definitely want to see more of them on screen.

Please, someone give Han Gi Chan (who played the manager here and was in Where Your Eyes Linger) a lead role in a major drama. He is as cute as a button and is a very very good actor.

I wish more of the mainstream dramas were so well written and filmed. I was surprised at the high production value, unexpected in korean web dramas.

If you have an hour and a half, and want a short

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Better Motivations, and fewer episodes would have made this great

It is a good enough show. It was, in large, part engaging. That tapers off towards the end largely due to the plot not being enough for 16 episodes. I believe this show would have been better condensed even by 2 episodes.

The character motives were fine for some, terrible for others. The ML had a good motive to start but I don't think they did a good job depicting it changing. Him abandoning his win by all means attribute should have meant seeing him become, not only more empathetic, but attempt to do things the right way. This would have helped the plot too, I think, since the challenges of investigating things the right way would be more engaging. The motives of some other characters, like Gi Hoon's dad and the other attorney, weren't quite clear. Like why does the attorney try to help Gi Hoon even risking upsetting his employer? Why does the dad try to sabotage our lead's character for something he didn't seem that involved in.

Talking about the investigation, I feel it was largely weak. Many times, things just seemed to fall into place for our protagonists. The villains start of seeming too competent but then that's no longer the case.

The ending is, again, mostly good. I like that they couldn't find evidence to nail the main culprit. It is more real that way. However, it is weakened by the decision to kill him off so cheaply. The antagonist going insane would have been more powerful ending.

I also didn't like that the other villain kids, Gi Hoon and the Ye Ri, get away with their crimes (I know Ye Ri is no longer an idol) . I would have loved to see them at least recognize their wrongs and work to fix them gradually for them to get a peaceful resolution. I am a sucker for redemption stories, but they ought to be earned and not as immediate as in the final episode.

I also didn't like how cheaply Tae Ra was killed. I know it would have affected the ending we got, but I feel the show would have done better to focus on her death a little more, maybe her mom too. Perhaps having the mom kill Beom Jin would have been better.

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This could have been better! I have seen better!

My friend recommended this drama and so, I embarked on it with anticipation and excitement. The beginning of the drama was truly pretty enjoyable! However, as the drama progressed, things started to go downhill.

What I liked (at first):
- The start was intriguing and interesting. The part about the magic meteorite was quite refreshing.
- The male lead was so tall and handsome. He carried the show.
- The plot was quite engaging and interesting at first.

What I didn’t like (later on):
- Fair Xing wasn’t that likable in this drama. I have seen several of her works and I’m quite a fan of hers but this drama made me feel that she hasn’t grown as an actress. Rather, her performance has deteriorated. I couldn’t understand her push-pull with the charming male lead. I felt that she should have acted like a mature woman. She behaved like an immature little child.
- The plot changed from interesting to bizarre and fairly confusing.
- There were hateful characters like male lead’s younger brother and others.

Overall, I think that this drama is okay to be missed. Watch Fair Zing’s other dramas which are much better.

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Started really strong up to episode 8 or 9

I watched it on Netflix and thought it had a very interesting start although it was a bit hard to believe. Why would someone get that attached to someone that's writing letters to them and putting it in a birdbox. Makes no sense whatsoever. But whatever, I went with it and it was an interesting start.

But what made no sense was how the girl could develop such strong feelings just based off a few letters and she lived her adult life avoiding relationships based on letters from 15 years ago. That made no sense whatsoever. It's like she is a monk or saint or something in between.

I thought the female lead was really good. I watched her in another Netflix show (I think it was Doona) and she was really good there too. She glows on the screen and great acting and expressions. Can hardly tell she was the actress for the other show. She just changed so completely.

Also the male lead, I watched him in Hometown Cha Cha Cha and thought that was a good show as well.

But there is something missing in this show towards the end. I am not even sure what that is. But it just felt it was not leading to anything after episode 10 or so. I just skipped and fast forwarded a lot after that. I lost interest in many parts of it and felt it was not really moving forward much or there was anything left to explore.

Music was good and acting was good. Story was good up to a certain point but then I just lost interest towards the end.

It was OK.

If you work in tech, I think some of it might produce a bit of anxiety. The constant work, competition, struggle, layoffs.

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Not what I expected.

I was a bit shocked at this series. I am not used to GMMTV series being so mature and with so many NC scenes.

The Story: There was a lot going on. It all tied together fairly well and was never boring… very dramatic drama.

The Acting/Cast: They all did great. Especially Neo…. Oh I hated and loved Boston. He was selfish and immoral, but he was damaged and didn’t know how to love. Neo did an amazing job bringing that character to life.

The Music: The music was good, I liked several of the songs. I wish MDL would put a soundtrack tab on the movie/series pages.

Rewatch value: it’s not high on my list of rewatches because it is a dramatic series… forget a love triangle…it’s a dang love octagon. But if I need some NC drama I might watch again.


Can I just say that I wish Papang (Dan) and Ja (from Don’t say no) could act in a series together as brothers. Some of the faces he makes reminds me of Ja. Papang reminds me even more of Ja in the Dangerous Romance series.

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