This review may contain spoilers
Awkward piece of work
This one is clearly supposed to have been a BL series. This is not to say that it isn't BL. I won't even group it together with censored BL series from China in which the romance is turned into bromance or in which there are clever suggestions of romance between the main leads. This series can't be labelled easily and not in a good way.As I said, it is quite clearly meant to be BL with some vague enemies to lovers trope. Apart from how it recycles songs from other Thai BL series, there are the tropes of Thai BL that by 2022 have mostly either gone out of fashion or become controversial, such as an effeminate side character and a conniving ex-girlfriend. Yes, what is the ex-girlfriend doing if not to break up the lead and his newfound love? I mean, she already seems quite unhinged if we assume that the deliberately causes her her ex's new love interest to be locked up in a sports facility--how much more unhinged would she be if we assume that she merely sees her ex playing basketball with his roommate and gets to jealous that she causes him to be locked up somewhere?
Unfortunately, even though the BL elements are not simply turned into bromance despite the mention of friendship on more than one occasion (at least in the Chinese dubbing and I don't think there is an uncut Thai version something), there aren't enough attempts to cleverly suggest romance. Instead, the emotional intensity of the scenes are lost. For instance, instead of fully exploiting Qin Jun Hao's jealousy when he sees his "roommate" with his arch-rival (or rather old friend-cum-rival) to suggest romantic interest, the portrayal of the jealousy is rather muted. When Yuan Zhi Ming disappears because he is locked up in the sports facility, Qin's panic is obviously not merely that of a friend, but again, there is no attempt to exploit it.
To make matters worse, the scene that best suggests romance is not between Qin and Yuan but between Qin and his friend-cum-arch-rival, Yi Tang. In a haphazardly inserted scene, Qin tries to trick Yuan into going into a room only to end up being locked up together with him there. Filled with a top/bottom joke, the scene ends with tenderness as Qin carries an injured Yi away. No one watching the scene can be blamed for thinking that Qin and Yi are the main ship. The series would have been better if there had been such a scene between Qin and Yuan.
I cannot help but feel that the series could have been so much better even with censorship. Qin, Yuan and Yi all have back stories, but these are not really fleshed out well. The change Qin undergoes after meeting Yuan is not clearly portrayed. Yuan has a guitar he treasures because it's a present from his father--something happened after he gets the present, but we don't know what. Yi has a brother who drowned (a storyline that is reminiscent of Between Us)--Yuan is the spitting image of his brother, but there is no attempt to show whether Yi manages to overcome his trauma and guilt because the subplot lacks development.
It is not clear why what is essentially a Thai BL (the studio, director and many actors are all from the Thai industry) is dubbed in Mandarin. It seems intentional given that even the songs have Chinese versions. I can only speculate that there are Chinese investors involved who wanted to promote the Chinese actors, though this may not explain why what is clearly supposed to be BL is turned into this awkward thing that can't even be qualified as a censored BL. (Perhaps it is meant to be streamed on Chinese platforms?)
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O melhor final possível
Todas as falhas que a série havia cometido foram corrigidas aqui!Fiquei extremamente feliz ao constatar que esse BL tão querido por mim teve um desfecho digno. O encerramento do romance entre Tharn e Type foi feito com maestria, combinando uma abordagem engraçada e, ao mesmo tempo, profundamente romântica – exatamente como só TharnType consegue fazer. A presença especial dos personagens de "Love By Chance" adicionou um toque a mais, e refletir sobre como cada problema foi solucionado, transformando o "felizes para sempre" em uma nova realidade para o casal principal, me deixa incrivelmente feliz e com a sensação de tê-los visto crescer. A primeira cena, que resume tudo e mostra uma compilação de todos os beijos compartilhados, sem dúvida, é a minha parte favorita. Simplesmente adorei!
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dreadful come back
the story is about the come back of an orphan who suffered many kind of mistreatment in her adoptive family, and ended up being the scapegoat of all their wrongdoing.what I loved: the pace of the story is dense. lot of things happened during every episode. I was very surprised too about the multiple layers of this story, it's almost like every time you discover something, there is something else under this story too.
what I didn't like: I could tell almost everything from the first episodes. I guessed the way the story would end. but it didn't spoil my pleasure because the actors were good and having them in my living room was pleasant. if you are used to mystery solving, perhaps you'll have the same issue I had.
not suitable for under 15 because of violent scenes (accident, attempt murder, and so on).
watch it with friends on week-end to relax. have fun!
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A pretty good drama about love and trauma
This drama didn't really match my expectations but it was really good. I expected it to be different but this wasn't too bad... I enjoyed watching it. It has a nice story line that progresses quite smoothly and it was quite realistic too. The actor have yet again done ana amazing job and the crew has definitely done a great job! The music was lovely! I could't stop humming it all week and it's just absolutely adorable. It was very nice to see the characters growing and overcoming their traumas and understanding what they truly feel, want and need. It was an incredibly adorable yet painstakingly sad drama true. Overall, A truly adorable work 💋👩🏻⚕️❤️🩹👨🏻🚽Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Watch this of course for Bai Lu & Dylan Wang. And I'm not disappointed. Haha... Yes, after read many review here, I realize this drama have many problem. But however I still really like the chemistry between Dylan & Bai Lu.This drama tell story of 3 main couple & 4 side couple. And almost all of the relationship stories kinda unhealthy in their own way. The most healthy above 7 story maybe only 2, 1 main couple & 1 side couple...
1st couple. Our ML & FL
Shi Yan (SYa) and Shu Yi (SY). Start with the wrong foot, leading to misunderstanding & hiding the truth. Haha... Start with SY get closer to SYa with the purpose of her carrier & revenge against her ex-boyfriend. Her ex-boyfriend, Yue Xing Zhou (XZ), broke up with her to be with niece of SYa. So with the mind to show off to XZ, SY get closser to SYa. Of course you can't forever hide the evil-smelling, soon or later we can smell it... And when SYa finally know about that 'little secret', SY not instantly confess & ask for forgiveness, but still try to hide it. The consequences between got caught & confess is so clear here.
2nd main couple. Guan Ji (GJ) and Bi Ruo Shan (RS)
The playboy & playgirl. Both have fair share of naughty & affraid of commitment. But GJ more honest to himself & his feeling. And in the end, he is the one that take the first step into the relationship.
3rd main couple Yu You (YY) and Qin Shi Yue (SYu)
Story of young woman and an older guy. The initiative SYu get block a few time by YY, that feel he is a little bit too old for SYu & think SYu at first chase him only for fun & nothing serious. But overtime YY finally feel a little bit missed when SYu suddenly dissappear from his daily life. That's when he finally realize his own feeling for SYu.
4th Yue Xingzhou and Qin Lezhi
The story of the EX. From the first their relationship already scream problem. The rich girl that proactive with someone boyfriend. And turn out in the end this rich girl still hide very dark & twisted secrets...
5th Guan Xiang Cheng and Tang Yi.
6th Shi Wenguang and Song Le Lan
The secret couple. Well this 2 couple basicly have the same story line. The couple that have reason to hide their relationship from the world. The diff only 1 is married & the other is not.
7th Chen Sheng and Kong Nan
The most healthy relationships in the whole groups. Meeting because of work & just get interested with each other & start the relationship. We don't get more from this couple...
Ok that's basically the introduction of our couple. Now the other ploblem that arise in the drama.
- Why in the first place GJ & RS must hide their relationship never really told. How come best friend that always share every problem suddenly so secretive about her own relationship. Even when RS struggles with her own feelings, she never once told SY about it...
- Yeah a little stupid advice that RS told SY about hiding the truth from SYa in the first place.
- The funny litte fact that man always ask for forgiveness. When SYa ask his assistant what he do if his GF angry, he can instantly answered. But how SY so confuse how to ask SYa forgiveness.... And how in the end YY give her direction where her mistake actually is....
What i like:
+ the chemistry between Bai Lu & Dylan Wang.
+ to see other character of Miles Wei. I usually watch him as arogant boss like SYa here, but in here I can see him as soft & gentle man.
Overall I still really like this drama.
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Would i recommend watching this? No. I would just suggest you watch a compilation of clips of their scenes together instead of subjecting yourself to long hours of watching and not getting the actual plot of the story. If they ever work together on a series again, i really hope they’ll be given a good story atleast.
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This review may contain spoilers
very boring show .
I really do not like the show because it has no story at all . two strangers who did not even meet each other , they just fall in love because of their voice . there is nothing except for messaging on phone , smiling at each other , eating food and traveling .In this drama , all the casts life are so easy and unrealistic . the female lead character is also annoying because he sees Qiang qing ci as his idol not as his boyfriend whenever he tries to touch her she is so nervous i sometimes feel like he is harassing her .
story somehow feels like a dream story for a girl , as he gets a good looking , rich , simple , famous boyfriend with no fault , who can even cook and never dated before . i mean , is the writer living in her dreams ?
story has same faults as of love 020 and i have to drop both dramas .
because of lost you forever i have high expectations for tan jianci in this drama , but because of boring and unrealistic story i can 't continue anymore .. lets meet him in love has fireworks ..
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A TOUCH OF MAGIC
I have a bad habit which I am sure a number of us do. Thing is if there's an original and it gets a remake, we expect it to either match up to the standards of the original, or even better surpass it. It was the same with ANTIQUE BAKERY, BOYS OVER FLOWERS (this one not a BL but it had a cute bromance in the Thai version and the Chinese Remake METEOR GARDEN) , WHY R U which received a Korean remake which in my opinion felt much better. To mention but a few. And now, here is CHERRY MAGIC, let's dive in.Firstly, I barely give Japanese BLs time, this year it was different because I had fished all the fish in the River to the point of even watching CRAZY HANDSOME RICH, which I miraculously endured more than CHECK OUT. I watched the Japanese Version of Cherry Magic and it was good but if I were to rate it was a 9/10 for me, because I liked the plot, the support character though for some reason, Adachi's character felt Cringe. Seeing the production quality made me raise the stakes for CHERRY MAGIC from THAILAND and now I can in deed say, it was worth the Wait.
Time may pass but our love never grows old, since DARK BLUE KISS, I missed one of my favourite early BL SHIPS PETEKAO and upon learning that they would star as the main couple in CHERRY MAGIC earlier this year, one can imagine how excited it got me. These two depict one of the most intense, funniest and at the same time sweetest Chemistry. It couldn't go unnoticed from the first Episode and it immersed me in the show.
Secondly, KAO has the craziest thoughts and I love it everytime when he puts on that naive face of his. Generally, what I like better than Adachi on him is the fact that he seems to have a much deeper and more sincere understanding of his character, it's hard to find Thai BLS with actors that give justice to their roles that is why for me, this series has hit.
Thirdly Office Romance, hooray. 2023 was the year of many of those, for Thailand, lemme say not so so since the cut version of STEP BY STEP but I must say, as one of my favourite tropes in BL dramas, this is one of the best at executing them. Their idea of an office though being a hardworking environment at times tends to turn into a circus that gives the characters life. The Support cast in a way is in deed very supportive to the plot of this series and not thrown backstage through 90% of horrible acting by the Main leads.
Lastly, I guess the Crown Jewel so far goes to the delivery of the story, from surpassing a number of our expectations, to being perfectly paced, they didn't make it a point to beat around the bush and yet the plot is simple but being executed to its very best.
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Could have been much better, but definitely a one time watch
Watch the movie if you like street dance. Otherwise you'll sit here and complain that the movie wasn't good or that it was boring.I did not like the camerawork and editing, during the dance sequences. Too much closeup when dancers performed, jerky movements. The editor could have done with less cuts because it takes away from the fun of watching dance. The same camera team and editor did a fine job for the rest of the movie!
Yibo's character was a darling. A boy who does multiple jobs while keeping his dreams alive. Yibo has gone through the pain, has trained for years, keeps learning even till date. He was able to bring the character to life. His expression after Chen's successful head spin in front of the crowd was so well captured!!!
SDC viewers know that it's Yibo's habit of going to the pro dancers and learning their movies during break time. The movie used this aspect so well in the end. I spotted one movement that he learnt in last year's SDC.
Chen's family is his support system. Both the actors who played his mom and uncle were well cast.
I had never seen Huang act before, he was convincing.
It was so nice to see some of the SDC dancers.
Yang Di's cameo shocked me, I didn't even know he was in the movie. Jiang's name in the movie is erlang hahahaha
The humor was in the right amount and in the right places. Many directors think the audience will get bored by the journey of a character and place a silly sidekick. I'm glad this movie had no such thing. It was good to show that not all dancers are able to continue, some give up coz of either an injury or financial troubles or just coz they aren't talented enough.
I loved how the last part of the movie was only about dance. Only the camera movement and cuts ruined my experience. I wish it was stable and kept a distance from the dancers' faces to let me enjoy the hard work of the team.
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An Empty vessel
This drama could have been better but it’s just boring and blah. There is no story here. Yes there are many dramas about th couple fall in love but they had substance. This one not so much. The ML is far too good to be cast in this drama and all the FL does is smile and eat. They both just smile at each other and talk about mundane stuff . How much can you watch this for 33 episodes. There is nothing going on there. The FL is a woman child and there is nothing interesting about her. The ML is too mature for her - there is absolutely no character development nothing. Just weightless fluff. I usually don’t dig such stories and I am officially doneWas this review helpful to you?
pretty good for a season 2
We don't usually get a lot of great second seasons, especially when it comes to bls, so this was a pleasant surprise. If you were missing our sweet GaoShide and ZhouShuyi chemistry, welcome to season 2!The story in this season is admittedly a downgrade, it all revolves around misunderstandings that could have easily been cleared up but ends up taking years out of their time together. I'm not fond of the dramatics, and the fact that it crossed over into their professional lives to such a large extent is a bit cringe. That said, their acting and chemistry is even better than season 1, and we get some really cute scenes that make it all worth it.
We also see a whole lot of side couple in this season, which is bittersweet, I feel like it's a cute and intriguing story on its own, but it feels a bit like filler at times since you're just waiting to get back to the main story. Also, their story is a little weird, but I think it works for them.
As a standalone, this wouldn't be all that great, but with all of the history between these two, I think it's a pretty well done second season, have a watch!
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sweet blooming romance between frenemies
I actually rewatched this one, it had been a while and I'd forgotten how sweet it was. I love a cute frenemies to lovers, and this one was well executed all the way through.Pleasantly surprised with good acting in this, both of the main leads are pretty good and their chemistry was beautiful, Taiwanese bls can really be hit or miss in a lot of ways, but the overall quality on this one was pretty good. Sidenote, the fact that they used a half Japanese half Taiwanese actor to play the role of a half Japanese half Taiwanese character is awesome, the bilingual aspect of the show made things all the more adorable.
It's simple and sweet, and definitely worth a watch! Season 2 is decent as well, which is pretty rare, but I'll write a separate review for that one.
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A NICE ENDING FOR A NICE TV SHOW
GOKUSEN: THE MOVIE, give us a perfect goodbye to the story of Yumiko Yamaguchi.This time, we follow the teacher as she doesn't just have to deal with a new class of delincuents, but also train a new professor, to our surprise, Ryu Odagiri. I feel like this movie, as much as it is the final period of this story, was a thank you to all the fans, as everyone got to see one last time Ryu, Kazama, Yuya and Kumai, which if you watched the three full seasons, it's definitely something genuinely so nice.
The story is a bit more serious, but just as funny, as any movie from a series tend to be, finally having a big fight at the end. I think I would love that Ryu and Yumiko had somehow became endgame, but it still was a fairly good movie.
I would recommend everyone to watch this movie to see if you'll like the tv show, and if you do, then watched it all and again this movie once you're done with the three seasons.
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Like the first time
The original version was a masterpiece so this is like a sacred remake. As someone who follows the manga religiously, the tweaks they made here and there are acceptable. TayNew are no strangers to on screen chemistry and from the beginning you can feel oozing chemistry through the screen. Having seen the Japanese version, the animation, this version is still good and I actually like Jinta (originally Tsuge) character better alongside Min (originally Minato) in the Thai version. I’m super excited to have a Thai version with Thai elements being brought to the adaptation.I absolutely adore Jan as Pai which I first saw her act in Cupids Last Wish for the first time.
So you should watch it because it’s good and I can never get enough of Cherry Magic!
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Anyway, I'm happy to say that this drama has surprised me very positively; it reminded me a lot of "Tokyo Sentimental" and of the various "...no Satsukyu" dramas. It's part slice-of-life, part "iyashikei", part food drama, with a pinch of comedy and a healthy dose of "mono no aware".
The acting is top-notch, the production value very high, the music superb.
The only reason I'm not giving this a "perfect 10" is that, as it's to be expected with most dramas having an episodic formula, a coupla episodes were a bit weaker, imho. Still, it got very close! 9/10
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