Reviews

I Hate Omegaverse and This Is My Review

I am a long time fan and then an even longer time proud hater of omegaverse. I was fresh out of bls to watch, except stuff by mame, so I was prepared to look at literally anything else. I didn't notice the omegaverse tag and was horrified when I jumped into this and it came up. It's my least favorite trope-- it's almost always used to make a plot go from (possibly) interesting to outright horseshit. My personal saying after nearly a decade of being an ABO fiction reader was: once every five years, there is a cold day in hell, and an actually good ABO fic is born.

All that to say: I now stretch that over to series as well with great prejudice because, despite how much I actively wanted to hate this

OMFG ITS SO GOOD WTFFFF
And damn did I wanna be a hater, I was so, so excited for it but...the ABO is not in my face-- normally I'm cringing every time someone says Alpha or some shit but the ABO is like a background element. WHICH IS THE BEST WAY FOR IT TO BE. There's so little bs here I had time to forget the ABO entirely some episodes. This part of the review is literally just for others like me: I see you, I feel your pain, and stand in solidarity with you because if you start watching this, you will finish it. It's hot, good plot, nice conflict, no misunderstanding bs storyline, characters just ask what they wanna know. (And even with the one misunderstanding plotline, it's set up right-- you can pick a side instead of everyone just being immature, annoying, and wrong.) I should also mention that it doesn't seem to be cut-and-dry bog-standard omegaverse rules, so that helps.

Anyway, if you enjoy whump there's a lovely, modest dusting of it in here which is enough, I guess. I was constantly grinning in anticipation of one of the characters having a bad time. And when that character wasnt, a different, equally whump-tastic character WAS. Perfection. I won't spoil anything so I'll just say this: the peak whump you'll end up hoping for will be satisfied ?????? (Please do remember that I described it as a moderate dusting of whump and don't get too excited though, there will be at least two moments where you beg a character to stand up or at least consider growing a spine/self-respect.) I'm having the bestest time though, friend, you gotta go watch it and get caught up.

Also, sidenote: I didn't think American culture affected me that much, but when bro sent 8 texts in a row in a single minute? I won't lie, it really threw me off. No bearing on the review or my rating, I just noticed myself counting how many messages he was gonna send lol.

I had a short period of being interested in racing/NASCAR a long time ago, so I thought I'd probably end up skipping most of the racing scenes (I just watched Love in the Air and skipped every single one there. Or at least every one in the seven episodes I got through.) I skipped the first race and then there was always some gimmick or plot point that made every following race interesting. This script is so offensively good bro, I'm trying to explain that as clearly as possible. A lot of times, I have to give BL a bellcurve to stand it up against other genres, but this is just good. It's just a good story with good acting and good pacing. It's a satisfying watch, nothing dragged out for too long (especially the dramatic scenes omfl, looking at you wabi sabi. So refreshing to not look at a character for ten straight seconds of nothing)

I had to do a stroke test a few times because I couldn't tell if the translations suddenly made no sense for a few lines or if I'd lost the ability to read. Luckily, it was the first. Unluckily, it was the first. Sometimes you're gonna miss stuff because the words on screen could mean anything at all except a coherent sentence.

Cute side couple is cute and doesn't make me wish they were the main couple but also doesn't bore me. Ads are as aggressive as usual so if you dislike that, good luck, but I just find them funny so I didn't factor them into my rating. Everyone in the series is an adult and acts like it and it is so damn refreshing. There are issues in it that I'm actually torn on!! Issues complex enough to not have an immediate and obvious right answer! Heaven really is on earth sometimes.

The music is good (that generic club beat gets me bouncing in my seat) but the one sad piano track does get repetitive and can be a bit annoying by like episode 5. Everyone's eye candy in this show to the point that it's almost irritating. The side side couple is also cute, it actually took me a bit to realize they were another pair but once I did? Whoo-wee, I wasn't made about that at all, nosiree! The side side side couple is also cute but kinda unnecessary? Like I dont need them there, but I'm happy they are because I like them.... but also they're also taking up valuable story time, idk.


I was a little sad they made the plot points that should've been mysterious kinda obvious but, if you're an overthinker, you should be able to gaslight yourself into thinking you don't know what's going on. And even if you can't, it's still entertaining regardless!

You have no idea how much my pride was smarting when I bought iQiyi premium to watch an ABO show, so I hope this review also convinced you to do the same and join me in the comfortable lap of hypocrisy lmao, it's worth it (I got it for $2, I think it was a sale or newbie benefit or something¿ mighta hesitated more if it was like $10.) Anyway, long story very, very short: watch this.

EDIT: Ive finished the show now and....wow, everything in the last few episodes (maybe since 9?) Really ruined this. I thought this would be an all time fave but it just devolved into a shitshow. Some points of contention and then Im outta here:

1. Jeff can seenthe future but never uses it to help in all the dangerous situations? "Yeah guys, lets go contront traffickers who have guns but Im too scared to see if anyone dies lol" Please dont pmo

2. The amount of time wasted in Tony's house doing shit they could do very much out of Tony's house??? Like is this your home? Do you want to be caught?? LEAVE. Or leaving guns in arms reach of people who want to shoot at them. Little stupid things that are infuriating.

3. The KentaPete plot was unnecessary and wasted time they obviously needed to make the plot less awful.

4. Either give your villains knives or, if the must have guns, dont give them stiff trigger fingers and stormtrooper aim. And the MONOLOGUING, GOOD GOD JUST SHOOT. IDC WHO JUST FUCKING SHOOT. Actually make it me, get me out of here.

5. They needed more episodes or more writer rooms. Or both.

6. The easiest acceptance of someone faking their death ive ever seen.

7. The ending wasnt just rushed, it was mach speed.

8. People dying is treated more like a slight sad inconvenience than... idk someone fucking dying.

9. Way deserved better fr.

Im so annoyed because this had such potential but then it BL'd itself into oblivion. Ugh.

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There is ANGST in coupling up

Singles Inferno 3 brought the drama big time, and for that reason, it has been my favorite season so far, and that is saying a lot as I just loved season 2. Love him, hate him, swoon, or wish to throw a drink in his face, Gwan-hee brought the drama. It was entertaining, and it got people fired up and responding to the show. It also supercharged the panel and they were highly entertaining in the commentary of Gwen-hee's antics.

Here are my PROS and CONS for this season:
PROS:
The twist of the two Infernos and mixing up the contestants in the beginning. Loved this! Just wish it would have gone a little longer.

Dex being part of the panel. He really brought an insightful and entertaining contribution to the show.

All of the panel!! I loved their commentary!!

Strong personalities in the cast. I loved Hye-seon and Ha-jeon, their confidence, and not being afraid to speak their mind to Mr. You-know-who when his ego and just all-round jerkness got out of hand.

The drama Gwan-hee brought to the show. Most of the time I wanted to slap him for stringing along the girls, but at the same time, what he brought to the show was highly entertaining.

CONS:
Paradise was BORING!!! All they did was sit in a hotel room and eat. Let them have real dates where they actually do stuff.

The flower petal hot tub scenes were the worst! All the couples were excruciatingly awkward and they were hard to watch. I think it was the producers attempt to bring sexiness to the show, but instead it was just cringey.

I miss the kitchen on the island and the cooking scenes.

While I loved the drama Gwen-hee and his trio of ladies brought to the show, for the most part it seemed staged and fake.

The women in heels and carrying a bag on the beach. Let them wear comfy beach clothing!!

Really good season with a good deal of drama that can't be beat. The panel adds their reaction to the events unfolding both on the island and in Paradise. They are funny and honest in their reactions to the contestants, and brought even more to the entertainment level of the series.

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A real M-A-S-T-E-R-P-I-E-C-E!!!

Over the last few years, with alas increasingly common recurrence, I end up being in such despair ("à la" Zetsubou-sensei, I mean, LOL) due to the Nth "westernized" J-drama ("made in Hollywood", as I put it), that for a brief moment I find myself entertaining the idea of dropping Japanese dramas altogether.../.____.\
Luckily, though, every now and then good old Japan still manages to come up with the Nth masterpiece, so that I'm happily made to abandon that idea completely and my love for J-dramas is once again maintained and reinforced.
It was precisely the case of this "Tsuma, Shogakusei ni Naru".
A real M-A-S-T-E-R-P-I-E-C-E. There's no other way to correctly describe it.
The script? PERFECT. You cry, you laugh, you think....the whole nine yards, really.
The acting? MARVELOUS. Hard to name only three members of this *great* cast, but traditions must be respected, so I'll go with Tsutsumi-san, Kamiki-kun and most of all the adorable - and amazingly talented - Maida Nono (seriously, to be able to act that well at her age is kinda scary! Can't wait to see her in more dramas!!!)
The "packaging", as I put it (directing, editing, photography, music, etc.)? TOP-NOTCH.
The message? W-O-N-D-E-R-F-U-L!!!
'Nuff said, go watch it *now*, you'll thank me later! ^_______-

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This "Kamisan no Waruguchi" is imvho the *perfect* example ("a contrario", as the old Romans would have said) of how PC (Politically Correct) has mostly ruined storytelling (and not only that...).
Back in the Golden Age of J-dramas it was possible to make a drama with such a politically incorrect title (it roughly translates as "Badmouthing the Wives" - but don't get it wrong, at least 80% of the times - if not more - the badmouthing husbands aren't portrayed as being right at all in doing so!) and with such tridimensional characters, so full of faults and yet - or rather, precisely because of that! - so tremendously humane.
The script doesn't take sides "a priori" (OK, today it's Latin Day, bear with me, please), but rather shows two main characters who are right or wrong depending on the situation. They argue, they fight, they yell, but at the end of the day - and that's the lovely message conveyed by this old comedy - both are made better people by being together and learning from each other and from their mistakes, day in and day out. There are no *perfect* couples, but rather *functioning* ones, that are so exactly because they know that they're not perfect and *accept* it! (compare that with the current trend of demanding nothing short of *perfection* from your partner, and any failure to comply to that impossibly unrealistic demand leading to a divorce...>_____<).
Back to the drama: the script is wonderful, managing to be at the same time hilarious and thought-provoking. The acting is top-notch, with virtual standing ovations for both leads. The "packaging" might feel dated to younger viewers, but those who appreciate "oldiesbutgoldies" won't have any problem with that.
No surprise it was so successful it got a second season (alas, not yet subbed, if I'm not mistaken...?), not really a common occurrence for comedies.
Oh, a last side-note for my countrymates - who'll get the reference: this is basically the Japanese version of "Casa Vianello", LOL! ^_^;;;

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Afterlife of Love and Revenge is a lighthearted miniseries that starts with the premise of second chances in life. Pang Long Yue (played by Ma Qian Qian) suffers a betrayal and is killed along with her husband. Next, she finds herself alive on the night of her wedding when she decides to make the best out of this second opportunity. With the knowledge of her past experiences, she manages to outsmart those that hurt her and joins hands with her husband to better themselves. The leading couple was good together but there was no strong romantic chemistry, just a strong and steadfast support for each other and some funny scenes from her comedic antics. The drama has a nice ending.

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"Supokon" at its best!!!

As I've already confessed in a previous review, my favorite sport is baseball.
Of all different sorts of baseball, Japanese "yakyuu" is my favorite (in a nutshell: no doping - or at least much much less than in the MLB; less muscles and more brains; nobody munching tobacco and spitting it on the field, etc. etc.).
And of all different types of Japanese "yakyuu", my favorite is precisely high school baseball.
Why? Because it's poetic, pure, epic...it's Sport with a capital "s", sport as it *should* be.
Now, the Japanese have a whole genre dedicated to sports-related stories, called "supokon", and since baseball is (one of) the national sport(s), you can guess that the vast majority of "supokon" are about baseball, and particularly about high school baseball, 'cause Japanese *love* it and the Koushien's final game is basically the Japanese equivalent of the Superbowl in the States!
So does all that mean that there's nothing really new in this story? Could be, yeah.
Does that make it any less fabulous? Hell no!
A good recipe doesn't necessarily need any fancy ingredients to make for a delicious dish; more often than not, it's precisely the simple, good old ones that are the best of the lot!
As is the case with this "Gekokujo Kyuji": all the tropes of the genre are there, but still, you can't help but enjoying *every single minute* of it! Marvelously written, acted, directed. Production value reached Himalayan heights. The message conveyed was simply beautiful.
Jeez, I finished watching it before Christmas, but I'm still getting goosebumps thinking about it now, so good it was!!! ^______^;;;
Highly and wholeheartedly recommended! Perfect 10 all the way!!!

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"The evening sun shined on us like a freshly picked orange in the sky"

Orange Days brought out the sweet and sour times for five students in their final year at university. This coming-of-age drama explored friendships, hardships, romance, and finding their place in the world. I watched Orange Days during its 20th anniversary year and its stories of life and love still hold up even if the technology and styles were dated.

Kai, Shohei, and Keita are friends at university. Kai and Shohei are still trying to figure out what they want to do when they graduate while Keita knows his future is in his family’s wedding business. One day Kai comes across a young woman, Sae, playing the violin and his world is turned upside down. Sae and her friend Akane are slowly integrated into the group, eventually called the Orange Group which has its own spiral notebook in the lounge for the members to write down their thoughts for each other.

I was pleasantly surprised that the male lead, Kai, was a nice guy. Too often in older dramas, the MLs were cold alphas. Sae was the cold and volatile character in this story. A musical prodigy and on her way to fame and fortune she lost her hearing which caused her to close her heart off. Shohei was the player of the group, but Akane quickly sussed out that he had a heart of gold under his sarcastic exterior. Poor Keita ended up being the fifth wheel, unlucky in love but still supporting the others.

True to life at university, the characters were struggling to figure out who they were and where they were going. Having a degree and knowing exactly what to do with it are often two different things. And much like in real life, the lovers often made mistakes, sometimes stupid ones as they discovered what made each other tick and what ticked each other off. The group began to learn sign language so that Sae would not feel left out. If there was anything that didn’t feel realistic it was that a lot of people became fluent in sign language quickly when it would be like learning a foreign spoken language. Sae's desire to cling to her gift of music provided for numerous violin and piano solos along with the classical background music which I greatly enjoyed. The drama didn’t shy away from showing how her disability affected her skill sets.

Tsumabuki Satoshi gave a gentle performance as Kai with the porcupine hair who wanted to be a handrail for people to help them up and be their best selves. Shibasaki Ko had the more difficult role of Sae, conveying all of her complex emotions without saying a word. I tried to not give up on Sae. She could occasionally come across as a temperamental toddler, her volatile moods swaying back and forth. Her character growth was slow and as often happens she took a dramatic step backward in the last episode which was nearly the breaking point for me. For the most part, Kai would call her on her selfish actions and cruel words.

Orange Days highlighted the time in life when the bonds of friendship were vibrant and love could be elusive, rapturous, and excruciating. The group attempted to squeeze all of the joy and meaning they could out of their days, knowing that they were on the cusp of adulthood. If I could change anything it would have been Sae’s impulsive and self-protective decisions in the last episodes. But as in real life, change is hard and takes time and most people will slide back into old behaviors before making lasting transformations. Watching these young people face their unknown futures with hope and enthusiasm was addictive and comforting, well worth trying out.

9 January 2024

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It’s a guilty watch

I usually love noona dramas. I am so tired of the age old cliches were the male lead is much older decades even. But heroine is always young and beautiful. Chinese dramas do the reverse age gap very well. Thankfully the Chinese douban ratings also seem to love / like reverse age gap so it’s cool. Having said that, the age gap was a bit too much, I prefer if it’s 10/12 years at most. Anything more, can lead to awkward moments with the cast. Here the director was quite skillful so that camera angles did not focus on the lead during those awkward moments. So some scenes were not as enjoyable.
Separately both the female characters and both the male chacarcters acted well. The slimy husband really felt very slimy. The story was also very cliche. Anyways I did enjoy watching this but not as much as I had hoped.

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Small town drama misses the mark

This is a story about a small seaside village, two childhood sweethearts, and the male lead’s dreams of making it big in a singing competition. The story tries to be funny and heartfelt but falls short in the end with a convoluted message. The production aesthetic clearly gives off a low budget production vibe and many side characters overact at times. Male and female leads were fine but nothing more. Their styling throughout, even when the characters were supposed to be stylish, was just a bit off. Wang Youshuo sang all his songs so that was a plus although the OST is not that interesting. Wouldn’t recommend, unfortunately.

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Pawn off my horrible husband to my horrible best friend

I don’t know why but sometimes I just get a. Certain feeling while watching a drama. The kind where it’s one of a kind and soon to be irreplaceable. Now I’ve seen many drama with Park Min Young in it, and I love her. She’s so sweet of an actress and a visual, and is a very talented woman. I’m captivated by every performance, but now I’ve finally seen a drama of hers that really does her acting justice.

There have been glimpses in others. This drama just hits all the boxes, it’s funny, gripping, heartbreaking, and she’s put the work in. Hearing her story to get into the role got me to watch in the first place. I don’t know much about the other actors involved besides the second ML, who was in Welcome to Waikiki.. he is so hilarious.. go watch that.

So I’ve seen a lot of romantic comedies this year and have rated them well, but they slowly lose my interest all at once. This one just has so much to keep me watching. Revenge is something I love to see played out, a woman who is calculating and doesn’t get swept up by love. She’s got a motive here and with the first handful of episodes it’s already so satisfying to see her slowly chip away at a life she refuses to have.

I’ll go more into this when I can type on a computer. But for now I want to just recommend this drama. The ending ost for the last two eps is so so good and it’s just interesting ok. Believe me and watch.

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You should watch Hitorigurashi alone in your house

This show is executed really well; directing, editing, etc. The cinematography in particular is artful and skillful. Shots feel composed and designed to complement whatever is taking place in the story.

The scenarios are realistic enough, and the acting is nicely restrained. The main actress Tokiwa Takako is super believable throughout; makes it easy to immerse in the story.

The music feels of the time the show was made; a lot of moody soprano sax - almost Kenny-G-esque. I thought it suited the show nicely, but it's a style of music that might annoy some people.

I was really satisfied by the ending - open-ended, but suspenseful. The last shot/credits roll was very cool.

Also, the running fridge ambience... the way it's used throughout the show feels intentional, but I didn't pick up on the meaning.

Overall, the show strikes a nice balance between melodrama and reality.
A sophisticated and tasteful show! Easily the best J-Drama I've seen so far (out of the 20 or so I've seen at the time of writing this) :)

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How I Feel About This

I wish I started writing down my thoughts from ep 1 but here we go.
Don’t come for me, it’s just how I feel.

Ep 7 34 mins. Mew was spewing BS . If you watched it you’d know lol

Ep 8…I think I need to take manipulation lessons from Pleng. Cause what was that?

Ep 9 and I swear these “couples” are begging for scandal. Korn and knock , Bhu and the professor.

Ep 9 30 mins. It’s clear Farm doesn’t love himself. Cause how would you willingly want to stay with a player. Knowing so well he’s just using you for his extra horny days .
Can I just slap pleng through the screen ?

Ep 12 when Bright told Farm I have another surprise for you. I literally said it better not be a threesome and lo and behold it was ??. That guy is mad. He’s just plain mad ??. And did Farm just sit there and take that? What was he thinking? The fuck!!! Did he really go through with that four some?? Smh I’m done with that guy.

Final episode- I just feel like this series was dragged at some point. It’s just full of drama. Main couple just had few moments together.

Pleng was a witch

Knock was confused. Why would you believe your gf over your best friend you’ve know since forever? I guess he didn’t know him well enough.

Farm didn’t love himself enough and ended up turning into what he hated.

Korn at some point annoyed me, cause although he loved knock what they did wasn’t right. Even though knocks girlfriend is a witch lol.

Only character I sincerely loved was Yihwa. I hope I’m that type of friend and would love to have that type of friend too. Though I try to mind my business most of the time ?.

All in all the series was good. Will I watch Bad Romance or TWM s2? I don’t think so

Rewatch value- 4/10. I can’t go through that again.

I don’t mind checking out Ep 9 22:30 minutes tho lol

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I should have known from the poster alone that this will not be some great masterpiece. But did I expect this one to be? Certainly not. I’m just curious how such a large age-gap romance will play out on the screen.

Well, the sinister but ill-timed sound track certainly was a letdown many times where I anticipated a stabbing or two to take place. So all that foreboding knife-wielding was really there just for show. Much like the various ASMR of gurgling and brushing of teeth were actually people just practicing oral hygiene and did not carry some sort of symbolism.

At one point, I even expected the romance between Shinobu and Chiaki to go south. And I am so okay with that, as they later both took on separate paths and lived without each other for years. But aside from Yuta the son, and maybe Okano the Magazine editor, the rest of the characters were frankly unlikeable. From the misogynistic ex-husband to Chiaki’s mother, both battling each other out for “The Worst Parent of the Decade” award.

Then, towards the end, where each of these characters started their own monologue to tell their own backstory, but more like an excuse for their shitty behavior, I almost lost it.

But like some other rubberneckers, I can’t help but be glued to the screen watching this train wreck of a romance go by.

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