Reviews

Review after first episode

Love the actors , I didn't expect it to be that much of a comedy tho... As Cutie pie was more of a rom-com style, this one is looking like a comedy telenovela where you can predict most of the plot....
Cringe comedy drama but enjoyable as a light watch especially if you watched Cutie pie before.
Definitely going to watch the whole thing.
Sound effects are making me cry half of the time.... From laughing so hard XD
Max is catching me off guard with his expressions as Hia Yi every time , and his jealousy of Nong is just hilarious. Also the way Diao trained the dog to understand him basically? Impressive XD (although they could have find a dog with similar color at least if they had to change it... I noticed the change immediately and it was confusing)
Waiting for the next episode now to see where it goes :)

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Comforting

To say in one word, comforting.

It's a story about a teacher who travels every weekend for one day. Not always a far away place bt sometime the nearby alleyway tht u don't use for ur everyday commute.
Then try new food, meet new people, have conversation wth them about jst everyday things without much deep thoughts.
So it's all about some chance encounter, some strange conversation and some good foods.
I really loved the vibes of it. It's like a cup of hot coffee on a chilly day, warm and comforting.
The last ep is my favourite where she met her frnd.
It's not much of a story just good vibes.
So beautiful

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Ray of sunshine

Young designer Sheng Yang (Xiao Zhan) meets his longtime idol award-winning director Jian Bing (Bai Baihe). Despite a 10 year age difference he has a strong affection for her and she’s drawn to him as well. He tries to be a little ray of sunshine to brighten her life.
Filmed in the city of Chongqing this workplace drama has a movie feel to it. The way it’s shot, the attention to detail, and the great city scapes make for a very artistic urban atmosphere.
In addition to the slice of life story surrounding Sheng Yang and Jian Bing, the drama depicts struggles faced in different generations and stations in life, broaching hot-button issues such as sexism, ageism and bullying.
The acting is natural and on point - cast and crew included seasoned professionals along with fresh faces.
Xiao Zhan is an impressive actor with great range. He has three dramas of different genres in 2023 with three very different characters. The loyal persistent social cow Xiao Chun Sheng, the cool reserved high priest Shi Ying, and now the joyful and warm puppy Sheng Yang. Sheng Yang is so real that after just a few episodes I feel like I know him.
Sunshine By My Side is an interesting and entertaining watch so far. I’m looking forward to seeing how the story unfolds!
——
If you’re expecting a typical modern love story with intimacy and happily ever after ending…Here are some interview snippets that may prepare you for a somewhat different type of drama.

On the screen time for leads…
This is not a pure love or idol drama, it show lots of relationships, not just the protagonists.

On the slow burn/lack of skinship…
It does not cater to the audience's fast-paced drama-chasing psychology, but instead handles the progress of character relationships in a step-by-step plot development.

This is a story that flows like water. It has no particularly dramatic conflicts or plots. Everything is natural, just like a story that would happen around you.

This is one of the really realistic things, the didi doesn't immediately push the jiejie up against a wall, the two of them don't immediately get into it, they gradually come to understand and test and walk toward each other.

Love is like a glass of wine. When you put it in mouth, it’s one taste; after swallowing it tastes different; then there’s an after-taste. Love is actually like this, not very intense…getting to know each other, testing each other, There are sweet and sour moments in between.

On the open ending…
Life is a marathon. You may meet someone who is at the same pace as you. You two will run together for a certain distance; If one person loses speed, then you separate. And continue running and meet new people with the same pace. In the end, it doesn’t matter who you are running with, the important thing is that you have to reach the finish line.

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The Uncanny Counter Season 2 is just fine not good as Season 1

The start of the season was good but after that I feel bored sometimes.Season 1 was so good and it was my first k drama and I loved it.I don't know they follow the webtoon good or bad.Because I have checked few chapters they all are practicing to fight hwang pil.In this season they are just eating noodles etc.Ga Mo-tack is so weak in this season.He is not fighting good don't know why.All of the time he was looking confused.He can't save his partner from hwang pil and run away was so bad i laughed.He was strong in first season.The new smell counter irritates me when he smells evil spirit he just ewww this is so bad.He didn't develop a skill in whole season like controlling his power of smell and fight evil spirits .Villians are good Ma ju seok and hwang pil.Whole season they are just dependent on so mun.In their new base they are just eating you can check the episodes just eating eating eating very less practicing.Ha-na was good she fights very good in this season.Last episode action was good the scene where so mun enters ma ju seok body the scene is excellent.But I feel this season is just okkish fine.But It was my first k-drama that's why I want season 3.please make it good like season 1.So mun was badass in this season.

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You should've asked

This drama goes for the worn-out Misunderstanding trope. A twenty years old and childish misunderstanding at that.

The main story could have been over in five minutes if the lead characters just talked to each other. But I guess eighty percent of all dramas would not exist if the characters just communicated their issues.

It doesn't stop there unfortunately, and the writers are really pushing it by using the Falling Into His Arms trope multiple times.

Then there is also the immature petty behavior of the ML, that feels off-putting at times.

So is there anything good about the show?

I actually liked the mischievous SFL. As flawed as she is, at least she has no issues communicating what she wants. :)

The story as such is simple and light-hearted. They didn't try to drag it out and kept it 10 episodes short. So the pacing is good.

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Actors' potential wasted; story is a mess

I liked the initial 6 episodes a lot. I was looking forward to more episodes. But as more episodes passed, I thought "what am I watching?"

The positive: The actors did a pretty good job I feel. They kept me hooked initially and I watched till 11th episode only because the acting is good. But acting solely can't carry the show.

The negatives: Everything apart from acting.
The OST doesn't stand out. They did spend money on set and costumes but what's the point? The story is a mess. There are too many couples and the focus keeps shifting every now and then. The direction is similar to the story.

Overall, I didn't feel I should invest more time beyond 11 episodes due to the above mentioned reasons.

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That famous story of Chirpy cute girl falling for cold genius boy!!!

Looking for a fluffy cringe romance??
Here it is!!

Honestly I watched it because it's from the same author as Hidden Love.
It's a high-school romance where the cute and chirpy girl Su zai zai falls for genius of the school jang lu rang who is ofc cold and introvert!!
Eventually the boy falls for her but harder.
The story is cute but sometimes cringe and I feel su zai zai is little extra at times!
It's a cute story that's all. I m not understanding the buzz of 10/10. It's just a 7 for me.
I am happy with my one time watch. Not gonna watch again though!!

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A good watch!!!

A period drama with political mistery! Initially it started with a bang, but what I feel, that it ended up not as good as it started off.
They could've been showed Min Jae yi (FL) charecter more in action. She did her part well. However, the story leaves many open ends. Even at the end she couldn't remember the day when her family was murdered. She was indeed a victim of dirty politics but her situation and grief of losing family was never avenged. I know it's not a love story but I expected more warmth from the crown prince, because the feeling was mutual.

Now come to the ML, the crown prince, started being cursed and all but suddenly he starts doing just fine. I really wanted to see unraveling of that curse part. Also he could have been little more warm towards the FL but even he loved her he kept holding back his feelings even after her honest confession.

The story of twins (the body guard and his assassin brother) was also sort of incomplete.. could have showed little more.

The support roles are pretty fine. The story was absolutely good but after 19th episode it was wrapped up like there is no time in the world!
I mean all these mistery was resolved in just one and half episode in hurry so that many things left open ended.
Wanted more story on that old guy who hypnotized grand prince!
There were many filler parts which could have been removed and they could resolve the mistery from episode 17 may be!

However I liked the story, it's definitely a good watch. I like both the leads. Park Hyung Seek is good but he could do better. I love the FL. She is just perfect and did just to charecter even in the last episode when crown prince came to confess to her.

All over I would say, if you like period drama please give it a try you won't regret watching it.

P. S - I dint understand that justification of the title at all!! If anyone understands please share.. :-)

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If I say I like this drama very much, you can hear a ring bell.

I don't want to lie. Starting is very good, but when episodes continue I feel they try to push something. The story starts very unique and mysterious. FL has her own story, ML is mysterious. They


But I can't feel the chemistry between FL and ML. They can show their feeling very well I think. Kim So Hyun was amazing in School 2015. But nowadays her acting doesn't improve. She can't show the character's feelings very well. Sometimes I feel she just reads the lines. They look like siblings or friends.

Also, supporting characters are so annoying and just put in the story because of the screen time. I don't understand why they are in the story. They are sooo extra to get closer main character. I just skip them.

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Really Good in the Beginning, eh by the End

Force and Book are back on our screen after the disastrous Enchante that graced our screen in 2022. I'd like to start off with the fact that I saw growth, and that's the most important thing. But I would also like to state that for whatever reason, Force and Book still don't do it for me. It's like they would give me an inch, and then 10 minutes later, we fell five steps back. I'll explain that one more later, but for now, A Boss and A Babe was the somewhat redeeming series that this up-and-coming GMMTV couple needed.

Let's Dive In.

So A Boss and A Babe is a story about a CEO and an intern falling in love with a few more, low-key not important details. This series really is just a cutesy, no-real-problems-are-happening series. We get a little bit of back-stabbing, poor communication, and the very little stakes of them being together, but nothing in the story gives, "Oh wow, this is getting good." Which is why I said I loved it in the beginning since the set up of the characters was nice, but it all comes tumbling down after maybe the 5-6th episode and things get boring.

But I do want to talk about some of the conflicts we see in the series, with one of the main ones being the situation with Drake's character and Boss. The stakes are there, but overall, it's a simple resolution and nothing serious happens besides a silly little punch. Then moving onto Tian's storyline and the troubles Cher had with his brother Troop, which is not given enough space to flourish. they delve into it a little, but it's so little that it doesn't feel fleshed out enough. They scraped the surface and that was it. I wish we had a whole episode dedicated to this storyline and dedicated to the story that they gave Tian. The same goes for Boss' mother popping up at the end to complain that Cher was a terrible choice for him. Felt like very cheap writing to throw in a last-minute problem that's given no real resolution, just Cher shows up to Boss' office and asks him to be his boyfriend and then it's all better. Okay.

Again with Book and Force's connection. Them being friends shows through their acting, and it's a good and a bad thing. In some scenes, it's perfect. They look comfortable, their dialogue feels organic, and their chemistry feels great. and then in other scenes, I feel that tenseness again, with the slither of awkwardness, and it gets even worse for some of the intimate scenes they have. Again, I judge harder on GMMTV series because I know they have the funds and means to do better, so I expect better, and that's why I'm going to go on a limb here and say that the kisses and intimate moment in this series gets a big ole thumbs down. Some weren't as bad as others, but boy oh boy, let them have a scene where they have to kiss just once, and I'm cringing. The dead fish kiss, the standing ten feet apart, Cher's eyes open doing their last kiss, all of it, just..bad.

Like I stated earlier, I see the growth in their acting which is why this series kind of worked for me. I see that they've tried their best with these new roles they've received, and yes, a lot of it could've used more work, but overall, it's good. The only thing unbelievable is Boss having the label as being mean and super demanding with his employees, when throughout the series he just felt like he didn't care about his job are the things his employees did other than getting him his coffee. But with Book, I think he did a fantastic job. Loved loved loved his character and the choice he made for him. came off as believable, and we see that immaturity mixed with his extroverted energy and his slight shyness around Boss. He did a really excellent job.

Onto the side characters, Mike is back and he was looking better than ever. He's always given the funny best friend roles, and just like in the other series, he did a great job. I would like to see Mike playing a character outside of the norms he's given because I really believe he has more to show. The side couple was very lackluster. Some random fainting, and a bunch of sweet nothings, but those two characters felt like a really odd pairing, and that never changed for me even by the end. Their skinship felt a bit forced, but at least Thi would be labeled the best boyfriend ever. The other characters, Tubtab, Porsche, and the office workers drove the story in a good direction but didn't really add anything (other than the fact that Thor's eye had me in a chokehold). What I really loved though was when their friend group was all together. It added in some great comedy moments and that was probably one of my favorite parts of the series.

Ratings:

Story: 7.5/10 - None of the stakes felt very stake-y, and this really was just some cutesy moments given to both Book and Force to execute which they kind of did. I'll give most of the stars to the Tian storyline that I was most interested in but wasn't given enough of. I also loved the friend group which felt very natural and organic on screen.

Acting: 8.5/10 - I saw so much growth in Book, and he did an excellent job. Force did well too, but I still see the parts in which he can work on those improvements. Maybe it wasn't him and more of the director's choice for his character, but I feel like he could've given us more. All side characters were good too, but the side couple felt way too forced.

Music: 6/10 - It wasn't distracting so good.

Recommendation Value: 6.5/10 - I would recommend this series over the other series they had, but I still wouldn't recommend this if someone wanted to watch a GMMTV series (that spot is still given to ATOTS, which is still GMMTV's best BL series). But Book and Force are two very beautiful humans to look at, so this series is at least not on the bottom of shows to recommend, I'll just say that.

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This Review is 100% me gushing ☺

Yea I got nothing to say other than the fact is I'm crying at the fact it's over... I'm crying at the ending cause I think my soul died a little and most all I'm crying cause now my weekends are gonna be boring as heck. I really wanted this to never end.... that's literally all I have to say on this. It was just spectacular... the only thing bad about this show... IS THAT IT IS ENDING T-T if I had to go full detail on how I felt about this show... I think I would need a 1200 page book (little exaggerated but I mean I really am just star struck) All I can say is a 10/10 recommend (I've already rewatched the first season like 10 times) the rewatch value on this show is totally there and the actor choices were legit perfect for the roles. Loved this so so so much!!! I really just want another season, I need another season ?

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Fantastic atmospheres and a good job for a quality indie series.

I loved this series!
I loved the choice of introducing the storyline of the two gay couples from the point of view of a couple discussing life and love: this reminded me of old Chinese (and Franch) art film.
The cinematography and music are great, the colours are beautiful… the night scenes in Hong Kong streets just amazing. A great intensity transmitted by a few jokes and a handful of frames. We have to be honest: other asian production, often with astronomical budgets and 12-episode, fail to be incisive and leave something like, in a very short time, Stay Still did.

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Was expecting it to be shit, but boy oh boy it blew me away

Since the live action felt mature, i really felt the family drama between garp and luffy, that was really good that it almost made me cry.

The acting of the main actors are good, but since i watched it in jp dub, there will be times where the voice acting is top tier, but the facial expressions of the actors doesn't match at all, but i didn't mind it nonetheless... but some of the side characters acting are shit.

The story felt rush sometimes, but it would slow down on important moments, but i guess that's the result of the time constraints. Like every crew gets introduced every 2 episodes and would get resolve within the span of 2 episodes as well... i don't know, but somehow it still works.

CGI is decent as well, it's honestly not bad, like it's kinda similar to dc

Lastly, a minor critique is that i cannot get used to the western cinematography. as someone who watch mostly asian shows, you know how they love trying out different kinds of camera angles, but here you can tell they love the camera angle where the subject is in the center and it's very up close as well... it's like they're filming a horror movie. And I'm kinda getting disney beauty and the beast vibes..

And of yeah, I'm kind of disappointed that they didn't show arlong's other power that he could do with his teeth's here....

All in all it's still good, would recommend it to others and I'm hype for season 2, I'm really curious how

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The pit of despair

I will start with the only good thing about this drama, it was only 7 episodes long. That was still 7 episodes too many, but compared to most BL it did finish early, it's just a shame it even started.
We have our two ML's, one is mentally challenged and the other one is a more dominant liar, coercing and manipulating the other one. This is the Thai formula for BL, this drama is just another regurgitated mess with an extra slice of toxicity added because it seems, BL fans love toxic filth in their BL drama's.
So how did they manage to make it even more toxic? They had a wedding planner getting it on with the groom to the wedding he was planning. I know people will be screaming now " but it was a fake wedding!"
I know that it was a fake wedding, that the bride was a lesbian with a girlfriend, but the wedding planner did not. He flirted, kissed and finally had sex ( Drunk sex obviously, we can not have a Thai BL without some questionable sexual encounter). He never showed any guilt or remorse for what he was doing, the only reason he stopped was because he didn't want to get hurt.
It was meant to be this big love story, that they both fell in love and couldn't stop themselves, the wedding planner saw the groom in McDonald's and found him hot. Most people save that memory up for later and beat one out, but not the wedding planner. He went back to work still thinking about the hot guy in McDonald's, then shockingly in walks the hot guy with his bride to be, they want him to plan their wedding. This should burst anyone's bubble, but no, he takes the job and then the flirting starts between the wedding planner and the groom.
Episode 5 the groom explains that he just wanted some fun before the wedding with the wedding planner, but then he fell in love with him.
How does this make sense?
If you wanted some bum sex before your wedding then why wouldn't you just tell the wedding planner what you want on day one and then get it on?
The falling in love idea also doesn't make sense, why would you fall in love with someone who is happily flirting with you when he knows you are getting married soon? The guy is obviously scum with no morals, sweet talking the bride while flirting with the groom.
When did they fall in love anyway? The groom saw the wedding planner working at another wedding, that was it.
The wedding planner saw the groom eating in McDonalds, then he found out he had a fiance and was getting married.
So when did they fall in love? It must have been while planning the wedding, when the groom was lying and manipulating the wedding planner and the wedding planner was thinking " this hot guy is trying to get it on with me behind his bride's back, what a catch"

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A pleasant surprise

So this show being announced was actually what kick-started to me start the anime in the first place. I'd just finished the Arabasta Saga when this came out and even then there was a little spoiler that I got — they revealed something a little earlier. It's not a deal-breaker, but this is just a note for someone who wants to start this but isn't all caught up on the source material and other adaptations.

Other than that, this was actually a great watch, but I wouldn't recommend it as someone's FIRST venture into the world of One Piece.

The plot moves super fast compared to the anime. On one hand, it's great because I'd definitely felt like fight scenes were too drawn out in the anime. But the downside of condensing them in the LA and leaving out a lot of side characters resulted in the opposite: I don't think all the battles had the emotional weight and physical stakes they were supposed to.

I also think a lot of character development was lost because of it; sometimes characters would change their minds or have motivations that weren't fully explained, or character relationships to each other wouldn't be too clear. If I hadn't already known the details, I probably would've been a lot more confused.

Still, this was a really good live action adaptation. The set design, character design (especially for Buggy!), and cinematography are all fantastic. The acting was also pretty good, though I definitely needed some time to adjust myself and reconcile the LA versions with their anime counterparts.

I absolutely hope they continue making more seasons.

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