Reviews

A mini series worth watching

This drama was definitely worth watching -- everything was on-point - never once losing momentum in terms of taking revenge against those who killed the main female lead's family - to all those hot kisses exchanged between the two leads -- to the main FL being quite strong and always finding ways to get ahead of that game - to not be trapped in any way -- at the same time -- taking all those down around her. The chemistry between the two is definitely off the charts!! The trust between the two of them - the love (unconditionally) and support that Zhu Guan Wen gives to Lin Bao Er/ Xue Tong - is very well executed - and shown at the same time. That's what I can call true love - he supports all her actions and willing to fight alongside with her at the same time - giving no leeway for anyone to hurt her. He's always there to protect her no matter what - for their rest of their lives -- and that's one amazing relationship to have between two people. Super glad that they had a wonderful ending and that Mr. Zhu got what he deserves in the end for all that he has done to the others!! Courtesy to Lin Bao Er/ Xue Tong's advance planning to prevent anything bad to happen to her or Zhu Guan Wen.

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Kinda interesting, not everyone's type tho.

I personally loved this drama, despite the very toxic plot and a VERY toxic lead characters, tbh both of them were toxic and hence deserved each other just like yoh said in the last episode "to think about tying someone up just because he is anxious, this guy is dangerous, but to find intetest in it, i am equally messed"(us yoh us). ngl i found segasaki hot despite his behaviour. the entire series was nothing but just two people not knowing how to communicate, tbh i expected a much nicer confession, them to clear the misunderstandings but not everything happens to our expectations right? :')

well if there is going to be a second season i hope they make the characters more mature and not this dense T-T i just want some fluff tbh.

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Can I be the one in your heart?

This is purely my own feelings so my own opinion and this is my first thai survival show I've ever watched.
I would say, it's not perfect (what I mean is, wish they included one or two more judges instead of 3) but it's still a tv show and I enjoy it. But I wish I didn't know those 5 finalists before watching this, it could bring other feels lol

However, I feel like some were more favored than others, maybe it happened for every tv show, I don't know.

But thanks to this program, I've discovered such talented persons. As I said in my comment section I would be sad for some people that I've rooted for even though I already knew the end but glad that some people made it in their own way.

It was so endearing to see all of them, the passion they have, their efforts, their perseverance and they also brought some great performances!

It's a bit of irony but even though they were youngers then me except some were my age at that time, I also learnt from them about not giving up and no matter what happens, don't stop improving ourselve.

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Just perfectly adorable

This might be my new comfort watch. The leads are likeable and there is no unnecessary drama. It's a love story. Simple. Doesn't need bells and whistles. It's got a charming cast who you end up caring about in a short 9 episode arc. I will be looking for more with Takumi Kitamura who is a hug personafied.
As the main FL is a gynecologist there are some pregnancy problem storylines which may trigger some though it is very well done.
It's currently free to watch on viki but with ads. So, unfortunately if I want a quick Takumi fix to a certain kiss scene it is hard to jump to it. Lol, only complaint

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Doona: Lost Potential & Mixed Signals

"Doona!" began with a premise that promised an intriguing dynamic between its main characters - Doo Na, a former member of the girl group Dream Sweet, and Won Jun, a college student unaware of her celebrity status. Their initial misunderstandings had the potential to craft a compelling narrative about identity, fame, and genuine connections.

However, as the episodes progressed, the series seemed to lose its way. The first episode depicts Lee Doo-Na (brilliantly portrayed by Bae Suzy) in a prolonged state of introspection, seemingly detached from Won Jun (played by Yang Se-Jong). This sense of detachment quickly shifts in the following episode, making Doo Na's motivations perplexing. A subtle indication of her character's emotional volatility could have been appreciated, but the stark contrast between episodes feels inconsistent.

A significant subplot that added to my confusion was Doo Na's complex relationship with an older character, her manager P. This relationship, seemingly oscillating between paternal and romantic feelings, could have been a deep dive into Doo Na's psyche. Instead, it felt like an underdeveloped plot device that only muddied the waters. The series tried to touch upon Doo Na's inner turmoil and her need for validation, but the execution often felt superficial, making her actions seem capricious rather than profound.

Throughout the nine episodes, there were moments that felt drawn out, such as prolonged smoking scenes and introspective silences. While such scenes can be artistically valuable, in "Doona!" they often felt like fillers, detracting from the overall pacing. The dialogues, though meant to be meaningful, often fell short, leaving me craving more depth and clarity.

In conclusion, while "Doona!" had the potential to be a nuanced exploration of fame, identity, and relationships, it felt disjointed and, at times, directionless. The series tried to tackle complex emotions but often skirted around them, making the narrative feel somewhat hollow. I had high hopes but was left with a sense of unfulfilled potential.

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Already My Favorite

Be My Favorite is definitely one of my favorites.

•❅✧❅✦ Story •❅✧❅✦

Always an introvert and outcast, Botkawi has been in love with Pearmai for over 10 years. At the age of 30, his life isn't going that great, but everyone else's lives are amazing. While weeping over his sorry life, Kawi receives an invitation to Pearmai and Pisaeng's wedding. Kawi has always had a hatred for Pisaeng for not only being hot and popular, but also stealing away Pearmai when they were in college. While on a hunt for a wedding gift, Kawi receives a special crystal ball from a strange old man which sends him 10 years back in time. Kawi takes the opportunity to fix his mistakes and get with Pearmai, but he also unknowingly forms a friendship with Pisaeng, who wants more than a friendship with Kawi.

While the time traveling is not too unique, I really love how Be My Favorite pulled it off. Time travel wasn't too much of the focus, but rather the series was character centric. It wasn't about fixing situations and scenarios to better suit Kawi, it was all about Kawi learning to be more assertive and voice his opinions and thoughts that really drove the story forward. It was really nice to see from the first episode that all Kawi had to do was be more assertive to befriend Pisaeng and to learn that he really had no bad intentions when he "ruined" Kawi's chance to give his gift to Pearmai. Kawi could literally have had a better life he wanted and would be happy if he just had confronted Pisaeng and Pearmai.

That being said, the series could have gone with 10 episodes rather than 12. The last few episodes did feel a little bit draggy.
The storylines about Pisaeng going back in time, or even the minor storylines about Max, Pisaeng's mom, and even Pearmai's family backstory could have been cut. Pearmai's storyline wasn't really necessary as she wasn't really a main character. Instead of her, I would have loved to see Pisaeng's backstory, which we got a little bit of, but not enough. Pisaeng's mom's political story was a little confusing to follow and really didn't push the story forward as there wasn't really any big drama or issues with her politics and Pisaeng and Kawi's relationship. I was kind of expecting her to be against the relationship despite advocating for LGBT rights, but that never happened. As for Max, his story kind of felt incomplete since he was advocating for LGBT rights throughout the whole series but never once was seen with boyfriend. Still a great series though.


•❅✧❅✦ Characters •❅✧❅✦

Pisaeng x Kawi

Pisaeng and Kawi are that couple that's perfect for each other, but seems to have never had a "honeymoon" period. Every time I see Pisaeng and Kawi, they remind me of an old couple that are soulmates, but constantly bickering with each other. They are definitely a new take on a romantic couple.

Pisaeng is so adorable. He's literally the perfect man. He falls for Kawi after talking to him for a few days and becomes loyal and dedicated to him soon after. Pisaeng's love is so loyal and strong despite Kawi pushing him to the side for Pearmai so many times.

Fluke, who portrays Pisaeng really stepped up his acting game and was amazing. I couldn't stop watching him. I want to see more of him.

Kawi is annoyingly adorable. When he starts being true to himself and starts being more assertive, people are naturally drawn to him. The only thing that was stopping him from being happy and successful was himself, which he soon realizes after traveling to the past.

It was nice to see Krist back in a BL, but I wasn't quite sure what to think of his acting. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't eye catching. I haven't seen any other Krist series or movies aside from SOTUS and SOTUS S, so I can't comment too much on his acting, but it didn't feel as great as he did in SOTUS. I honestly found Kawi to be annoying during the first few episodes, and as the series continued on, scenes where Kawi should have been nervous around Pisaeng came off more as Kawi being "repulsed" and "turned-off" at the thought of sleeping with Pisaeng. Maybe Krist is better at playing the more "stoic" and "masculine" characters, but Kawi was definitely not his best character. He still did a great job though.

•❅✧❅✦ Overall •❅✧❅✦

I really enjoyed Be My Favorite. It was a different take on the time travel concept and I loved what they did with the character growth. Pisaeng will definitely be on my mind for a little while now. Where can I get a person like Pisaeng?

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tearful but great

I didn't watch the original series, so i have no comparison point.
It s a happy ending, you have to wait the last 15 minutes though !
But I cried at each episode !
The first one shows a woman (Jeon Yeo Been, FL in Vincenzo) who lost a beloved husband (Ahn Yeo Seop, ML in Business proposal) in a plane crash, it s sooooo sad.
The plot is very sophisticated, and shows actors from 1998 to 2023.
In 1998 they look the same, but are they really the same in 2023 ?
The time travel is made through a tape.
The acting is very good, the leads are skilled, the support as well.
The only thing i didnt like, it s episode 8 netflix had to add gay content.... too bad, i love Rowoon ! but this gay romance coming from nowhere is ridiculous.

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Too depressing for too long for the payoff at the end

The executive summary here is that there was too much sadness and trauma for too long for the final payoff. I don't like series that give you happy only in the last 10 minutes or some such. This series did that

Others have written excellent reviews, as usual, so I'll just put a few points out there to perhaps help folks decide if this is their cup of tea.

The Good
========
- The acting!

Ra Mi Ran is great as the mother, although the role was really annoying to watch.

The twins were, as everyone said, adorable.

Ahn Sun Jin was fantastic, We watched this series because of her, after seeing her in Hospital Playlist.

- The few, and unfortunately only a few, funny moments were done well.

The Not So Good
=============
- As noted, too sad for too long. We needed more of the happy times with Mi-Joo and Kong-Ho after the trauma was (mostly) resolved.

- Not enough Ms. Ahn! She is great and we did not see enough of her in this series.

- Something about Young-soon's mourning was just off. I can't place my finger on it, but that scene just did not work.

- The side characters were too over the top. For a very serious series, they may have wanted some comic relief , but it was often out of place.

Recommendation
==============
This is actually hard to recommend, which really bums me out. But if you are looking to being bummed for the great majority of the series, and need a big dose of sadness, this may be for you

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A lot better than expected

It's an interesting drama based on the reality of how the kpop industry works. I came to this drama because I know OnlyOneOf as a group. Because of that I thought this drama would be really cringe to watch (they are rookie actors and have no experience in acting), but I was honestly surprised with the overall quality. It's a low budget drama, but it's ok in terms of korean BL dramas.
The story was compressed in 8 episodes of 15 minutes what made it feel too rushed. Things were happening too quickly so they used a lot of flashbacks to tell the story. It was smart in storytelling, but as a viewer it feels like you are being attacked with a lot of information from all sides. But that's my only complaint about the script per se. The adaptation from the webtoon was well done and I honestly think it was WAY more sensitive about the topic than the original work.

Like I said before, they have no experience in acting so I wasn't expecting much, but some of them really have a lot of potential. Hyunbin is an annoying, but really charismatic villain. You can know the actor for a villain is good when you feel angry the moment he shows up. In the terms of acting, I think KB was the best one. He looked evil for real. Eden and Jihoon were good as main characters. Eden did look innocent, but not dumb (so common in BL) and Jihoon was an experienced sunbae, but he wasn't an annoyingly cold character for no reason (also common in BL). The characters were well balanced and the actors did well. Nine did a specially greater work in the scenes he was angry which seems a funny thing to actually happen. I don't know if he rehearsed those parts more or if it was fun to him to manhandle KB, as he's the youngest and KB is the oldest.
Jay was an adorable character and I hope to see more characters like him in BL. A character that will back off after hearing a "no". As any BL fan know, characters in Bl usually thinks a "no" means a "try harder".

About the whole plot, I GET that some people will get angry with it. K-pop fans will probably get kinda pissed too. The plot says "the K-pop industry uses gay fanservice to please fans". But is it a lie? EVERY K-pop group will do that and that's set by their company. If you read that and thought "those two (any ship name) don't do that because thy are really close for real", then you know the industry made it work and it already got you. Yes, most idols from same group are probably close, but the fanservice IS REAL, so please don't fool yourself. They will do things on stage, they will lovingly look at each other, they will hug and hold hands and do all that and 80% of the time all this is for show.

All that being said, the whole plot of this is great. It shows how the industry works and how fans respond to it. Now imagine this: companies make their idols do fanservice and among them there are straight people, but there will be queer people too. Imagine working in a place that forces you to PRETEND to be gay as a job, but WON'T ACCEPT you if you ever come out. In this story every main character is canonically queer. Eden even represent a queer kid growing up with a heteronormalized mindset. His first love was a boy, but he never really accepted that part of himself until adulthood.
In the story there's even a part that one of the trainees say there are rumors about Eden and Jihoon as a real couple and he make it sound like a bad thing (as if they weren't pretending to be gay to begin with). In a place like South Korea it' ok if you pretend to be gay, but it's not ok for you to be actually gay. The story is kinda fluffly and soft, but there's a real critique behind it if you pay attention.

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Disappointing End!!!

I really expected more from the end it started pretty well i knew it would be the typical haters to lovers streak and i was completely fine with that they fell in love so passionately that i thought Won Jun's decision to let it all go just like that was a bit fake she held onto him and even took the courage to come and appear before him once again after gaining an established career she wanted him back they both missed eachother and where obviously still in love so WHY?? just why didn't they end up together??? Or is it just an open ending is there perhaps a SEASON 2??? cus i don't know about anyone else but i need MORE!!!!!

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The BEST BOYFRIEND award goes to Won Jun!!!

First of all I would like to talk about the amazing cast and their wonderful acting. So, I would like to say that the first point that few people check for in a drama is satisfied. I felt that only an idol IRL can perform the character of Doona perfectly and Bae Suzy just nailed it.

The story is nothing new. But I just enjoyed this story so much, even thought the story is nothing new the characters and the way story progressed made it up for me. The character portrayal is obviously the heart of the story. Especially Yang Se Jong's character felt so refreshing to me.

Also the visuals in this drama are really good. Especially Doona, won jun, Jin-Ju, I-ra are really really good looking in the drama. I have no complaints regarding acting. This is my first time watching Yang Se Jong's acting and I really can't wait to watch more his dramas in the future.

If only they have an award under the category of best boyfriend, then definitely Won jun will get that award. He is such a caring boyfriend and understands Doona very well more than anyone else. Doona deserves the best as well, even though at first she irritated Won Jun, she is just misunderstood. Won Jun and Doona deserve each other as they deserve the best!!!

In the first episode, when they tried to portray the scenes that happened in the past, I felt that there is a bit of confusion while trying to figure out whether the scenes are happening in the past or the present. But in the upcoming episodes it was alright. But the last few episodes are really painful. Because I really couldn't stand them being sad even though they are doing pretty great in their daily life.

This is the first drama where I felt that opening song suited the drama the most and it felt really good listening to that song. I am not a big fan of these kind of climaxes. I watch dramas for pleasure and to feel happy, but the climax made me a bit sad. Only if they just given us a hint about their relationship instead of just vaguely defining it. But overall I enjoyed watching this drama. The chemistry b/w the leads is off the charts.

Then again this is a kind of drama where the director wants us to guess everything and have not explained few things in detailed. Like for example I-ra's dating phase, Jin-Ju's trip and occupation, also Won-Jun's job whereabouts. I am curious to know what job did Won Jun get and how is his family doing. Considering all these things, I wish they go for a season 2, cause I want to see more about Doona and Won Jun's story!!

PS - Great Acting! Usually Unusual Story LOL! Worth Your Time!!

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I am so proud of them!!!

I am so incredibly proud of all the members of OnlyOneOf for this but I am ESPECIALLY proud of Nine, Mill, KB and Yoojung. I've only been into Kpop for a few years but one of my 5 bias groups is OnlyOneOf and I have seen their music videos and I love the series of ones that watch like short form BLs. I knew they could act well but I honestly didn't realize just how good Nine and Mill are and I did not realize KB could really pull of a role like this. I mean. I this isn't a super complicated or intricate story but I felt the love connections between everyone needed some good, believable emotion and they delivered on that.

The chemistry between Nine and Mill was so lovely here (no surprise) and the emotion and attention to detail they delivered, especially in their eyes and in the tiniest of facial expressions and body language was so nice to see. Gosh they are just such a wonderfully connected, cohesive group and that was really shown here. KB played his part as the lying, manipulating ex perfectly and Yoojung delivered his role honestly and gently, just as his character seemed to be. It was lovely to see the trans community represented here. It was beautifully done. Nothing over the top or way out there. It felt natural to me.

I got a kick out of seeing actual OnlyOneOf video footage and songs used in the series. This felt like a group project to me and as a fan of the group, I appreciated seeing all of them appear in this at some point even if it was very small roles like Rie's jealous trainee role and Junji awkward kind of silly trainee role. As small as that role was, I feel it is different from how he seems to be in real life and I appreciate his effort. Again though, I've only been into them for a year so maybe I'm wrong about that but to me his character he played seems very different from how he seems in real life.

My only gripe with this series was the ending. I felt it was a bit rushed and there could have been a bit more time and story put into the ending but it did leave me satisfied, overall. Now I am so so SO very ready for a series with Rie and Junji as the lead couple and a series for KB and Yoojung just like how their music videos are shown. In fact I would love for there to be full length series BLs based off of each of their music video story lines because those are so darned good!!

Anywho, well done by all of them and I hope this is just the beginning for each of them in the terms of acting.

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This Drama is…Mmm! Mmm! Good

I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect when I first started watching this drama. But boy, was I happy that I started watching it. You will not be disappointed because this drama grips you from the very beginning because of the two main leads. Which I can only say, they are hot!

Leo Yang (Zhu Guan Wen - ML) and Chen Shujun (Lin Bao ER/Xin Tong - FL) have the most amazing chemistry. Sparks fly as soon as they look at each other or are on screen together. You never know what you will get or who is going to make the first move.

Leo Yang just oozes sexiness with his subtle gazes and that husky voice. Chen Shujun holds her own with him quite well. I loved seeing that she remains the "smart woman" throughout this drama. She was able to show her true self in every scene which was leading and teasing him making her a woman who was not only in control of her emotions but his as well. The way they banter between each other and their flirting at every opportunity keeps you totally immersed in the world that they have us fall into as we watch this mysterious love story unfold.

Miss Mystery revolves around Xue Tong who witnessed her family being brutally murdered. For 18 years she waited to take revenge against those who killed her family. She returns back to her hometown under the guise as Miss Lin Bao Er, the daughter of a weather Nanyang businessman.

This girl is no shrinking violet, she is clever, smart, cunning, good with a gun, skilled with strategizing and understanding her opponents. As she is being chased by men, she knocks on the door of the charming young master of the Zhu family - Zhu Guan Wen. As he opens the door (only in a towel mind you), Lin Bao Er burst in and pushes him up against the door, telling him to be quiet. The men come to Zhu Guan Wen’s room (he is now dressed) and are met with him pointing a gun at them telling them they are messing up his good time, as we see Lin Bao Er hidden under covers.

Once the men leave, the two being to have a fight with a gun. Getting the upper hand on Lin Bao Er he takes the gun from her and tells her she owes him a favor for saving her. Not to be outdone, she then gets the gun from him. Toying with him, she runs the gun down his open shirt which shows his naked chest. Putting the gun down from him, she runs her hand down his chest as he says to her, “Ms. Lin, are you satisfied with my charm.” Which her response was taking his tie, wrapping it around his neck and pulling him towards her, as he leans in to kiss her, she places her finger on his lips, “Too bad, I already have plans, or I would spend some more time with you.” Thus, begins this very sexy “cat and mouse” game.

The sexual tension between these two is off the charts. Their game gets more intriguing when she shows up at his engagement banquet which she did not have an invitation. But upon his arrival, she latches on to him to use him as her entry to get into the banquet. But he turns the tables on her, because this is his engagement banquet to which he announces the love of his life and his fiancée…Ms. Lin Bao Er. As she stands there in shock amazement along with the other guests, oh and the girl who thought was going to be his fiancée, he leans in and says, “Now, this time, are you satisfied?”

They both need each other so they entered into this contract:
- Zhu Guanwen and Lin Bao Er are engaged in name only, with no interference in each other’s personal lives.
- During the contract period, Lin Bao Er can engage in business in the capacity of Mrs. Zhu, with profits split fifty-fifty.
- Lin Bao Er will reside in the Zhu Manor during the contract period but with separate beds and not disturbance to each other (you see how long that last).

You can’t help yourself cheering for Zhu Guanwen who has fallen hopelessly in love with Lin Bao Er by episode 5.

He finally confesses to her after another close moment of being injured: “It’s in Zhu’s manor, or more precisely, in Xue’s manor. At that time, you were hiding in the closet, and bore scars on your shoulder. I didn’t know why you were there, but all I knew was I had to hide you, protect you, and keep you out of sight from others. I never thought I’d ever meet you again. At first, I was just curious about you. But slowly, I was captivated by your every move. I couldn’t help but want to know more about your past. I even imagined every day how I wished I could be with you and protect you all the time in the 18 years since we first met. So now, I’m really grateful to fate for bringing you back to me and letting me fall into your trap. I don’t care if you’re using me. I don’t care if you’re Xue Tong or Lin Bao Er. All I know is…I love you.” She finally accepts his ring…and the kiss…whew, what a kiss…. which leads to, well, you know…

Lin Bao Er wants to get revenge at those who murdered her family, the Zue family which are: Zhu Mao, Yang Jian, Qian Tong, and Dou Huaizhong. Every opponent she takes down with precise precision except for one and he turns out to be Zhu Guanwen’s father - Zhu Mao.

But there is a mystery behind Zhu Mao which both Zhu Guanwen and Lin Bao Er discover which tells her why her parents were murdered. Zhu Mao was originally a gang member active in the underworld of Guangzhou. He transformed himself, or so everyone thought but was secretly trafficking humans. He even secretly murdered Zhou Jishu, a rich businessman in Guangzhou and took his wife, Chen Peiqin. This was Zhu Guanwen’s mother. He was forced to accept him as his father.

Further revelations ensue, Zhu Mao tells Zhu Guanwen that his father and him were best friends in childhood. He tells him he passed away at a young age. He saw how pitiful his mother was, so he took them in. Lin Bao Er’s family was murdered because they knew too much about Zhu Mao.

The final showdown does come, with Lin Bao Er and Zhu Guanwen facing off with Zhu Mao who gets his demise at the hand of Lin Bao Er. Justice has been served.

Now with all of the drama behind them, they now have a beautiful wedding with plenty of fireworks, oh and not those just in the sky, but those many kisses too!

I have to say each episode to me kept getting better and better. I could not wait to watch the next episodes because their love seemed to be deepening along with their sexual desire for each other. You will see that it is not only Zhu Guanwen who is the aggressor in initiating these sexy encounters but Lin Bao Er as well because she tried to but could not help but fall in love with him. This couple will just make you smile because they are so good together.

Oh, and the sexiest scenes are two, and trust there are plenty because these two just sizzle – but a piece of candy and a lollipop will have a whole new meaning for you after you see how he kisses her, and she kisses him. It is Mmm..Mmm..good!

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