Reviews

A bit raw, but still great

ATTENTION SHORT REVIEW (if you want something more in detail pick another one)

This was featuring the members of OnlyOneOf. Sadly, Rie and Junji didn't have a lot of screentime but well. I'm pretty happy about this drama. As for KB and Yoojung, they were amazing. I profoundly despised KB's character, which proves how good of an actor he is, eve though all mmbers are rookies to acting. Mill and Nine were good too. Eden kind of annoyed me, his character is really, really an idiot, but that was in the script. He did well for being an idiot. As for Jihoon, wow, just wow. Nine really did a really good job. I think his acting is my favorite of the drama. Now, the plot was pretty simple, but still it worked well. There was a bit of misunderstandings, but not too much. As someone who is really sensible to the "cringe" (I still don't have a word to define it but you know what I mean), I didn't have to pause it too much which is a good sign. Though, I'm pretty mad that we didn't have a kiss scene (I mean, normally I'm not bothered but this time they were litterally about to kiss and were interupted FOR WHAT? WHYYY). I supposed that it was pretty complicated to have a kiss scene since, you know, they're idols, but yeah, I'm kinda pissed. Music was good. The OST is made by Nine and Mill, and since they are singers in real life, it was really good. Stan OnlyOneOf yall. Wish we could have seen more. One problem is, it kinda feels rushed. They didn't have a lot of episodes and they were short, so of course they had to fit all in such a short amount of time and it felt like we didn't have much depth to it. I would have really liked an insight on Jihoon and Hyunbin's past relationship but I guess this it all that we will get... Overall, pretty good drama, of course a bit raw, but still great for something made in 8 ep. of 15 min.

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Ok

It's a short drama, with an interesting story, even though I've seen similar dramas before. Was the drama something special? Not really, but still interesting to watch.
The main actress was very good and played her role nicely. The other actors made an effort, although I didn't think Yuda Kazuma was that good. He seems way too awkward and in my opinion he didn't act that well. But you can look past this flaw.
It is still a good drama that you can watch in the meantime. The story is not too complex. Some plot twists that I liked. This drama is definitely worth watching.

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Better K Style even...

When writing my review for the original Thai version - you can see I was very frustrated with some of the storyline. Using people for personal gain is not my cup of tea and that is all over the original.

For the Korean version - while they had 17 episodes of material to work with - this slimmed down version almost gets it right. For some of it, you can see they were dealing with a low budget and didn't make the time to find product placement deals to help it all out. Their location shots were real - even to the point of not fixing the curtains in the classroom to give it a better feel. If that's the way the students see it everyday - leave it. Same with the other location shots - real. But, the sound person - OMG - they should have been given everything they needed. When the insects have more time on the screen than the actors - ugh. And, the voice overs were as bad as the Chinese dramas we see. The voices - from a studio somewhere in Korea - have nothing to do with the environments they are in. Outside noise? Wind? People walking by in a cafeteria? Someone putting a pen or, pencil down in a classroom? None of that is here in this world - just their voice - in a personality deprived vacuum.

The Korean version threw away most of the mistakes from the Thai version. The sister is not as self serving and evil as the Thai version. This sister takes the time to tell her brother that the story is too far along to make such changes and she is truly sorry. You believe it. In the Thai version - she never is sincere about what she has done and the writers had to add three extra episodes to make up for it. If you couldn't do it in the first 14 - why do you think the fans will accept the new version in 15-17?
Gone are the fair weather friends who were only there to make fun of people and use them for personal favors or, gain. Gone are the side storylines that were never fully developed in the Thai version.

In this version - we get some characters actions and such changed - so, try not to bring the baggage of the Thai version with you - it will confuse you for a bit as you adjust. Because this is only an 8 episode miniature version - they leave out important parts and leave you hanging (often) from badly cut scenes and wasting your time revisiting the whole story at the beginning of each episode - lazy on the production and directing side.

What saves this (and I have already watched the series twice) is the casting and acting on our main characters parts. They do a great job and you do get invested in them. I loved the scene between Sun Woo and Ko Yoo at the bus stop. It helps put those two characters in the proper perspective - showing both personalities clearly and you understand why they don't understand each other. This moment gives them both time to reflect on how they have lived their lives and how their own prejudices against themselves have held them back. When they get together - you believe it and cheer them on.

The whole relationship/interaction between our other two main characters between Kim Ji Oh and Jung Lee Won are also believable if you take into account time passing in a school sense. LOVED the versions of the same shots as seen from different eyes. When the girls watch the interactions - they see the lovers. Those wonderful scenes add some fun to the production and must have been fun to film. We get to see both versions and judge for ourselves.

It would have been nice to see this company take all of those 17 episodes and improve/fix for the Korean version - with a nice budget but, I do understand that the K-Drama world is still treading lightly into the BL world. I have seen some dramas redone with larger budgets - at a later date. There is a Chinese one where we get to see two versions of the same story and then, a Thai one. Let's see this one with better treatment when everyone is ready. Would love to see a full budget 16 episode K-Drama of this one - even if they have to buy and use Red Ginseng and go to Subway - soon.

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Didn’t Live Up to Its Full Potential

I was honestly kind of disappointed in this drama… I’d still give it a 6.5 out of 10 because of the overall production and excellent acting. However, I found the ending to be pretty underwhelming. I’ll explain why below (SPOILERS AHEAD).

First, I understand that Pildo was able to get through to Jiwoo and convince her that revenge was not the best path forward. She embraced the idea of a new life with Pildo by her side. What I don’t understand is why Pildo had to die. Sure, his death motivated Jiwoo to once again seek revenge. But why did Mujin kill Pildo when he knew Jiwoo would come after him? Wouldn’t he benefit more if Jiwoo looked the other way (especially since she finally seemed content to move on and leave Mujin to his own devices)? And if Mujin wanted to get rid of Jiwoo to ensure that she wouldn’t share his wrongdoings with the authorities, why did he shoot Pildo instead of her? Thinking from Mujin’s perspective, he could have saved himself a lot of trouble if he had taken Jiwoo out when he had the opportunity.


Another gripe I have relates to the final showdown between Jiwoo and Mujin. I’m not someone who needs fight scenes to be super realistic. However, I was disappointed by just how unbelievable the scene ended up being. With the number of injuries Jiwoo sustained, it seems nearly impossible that she could have defeated Mujin, let alone survived to fight another day. Although I’m glad Jiwoo didn’t die, I honestly think her collapsing in the tunnel would have been a more fitting, albeit darker, ending to the story. Jiwoo got her revenge, but it took a toll on her. She lost everyone she cared about and gave everything to kill the man responsible. Now that Mujin is dead, Jiwoo will need to find another purpose in life, but we really don’t get any hint as to what that will be. If Jiwoo had died in the tunnel, it would have at least given us a solid ending to the story, rather than leaving it open-ended like so many kdrama writers love to do.

One final thing that stood out to me was how suddenly Pildo and Jiwoo developed a romantic relationship with one another. Now don’t get me wrong: I love a bit of romance, so this didn’t bother me as much as the previous things I mentioned. However, it still felt rather rushed. Pildo and Jiwoo gave no indication of being interested in each other until episode 7, at which point they quickly became romantically involved. To me, it felt like the writers threw the romance in at the last minute to make Pildo’s death more impactful—even though it didn’t make much sense based on how Jiwoo and Pildo’s relationship had been portrayed previously.

All in all, My Name was an enjoyable enough drama, but one that certainly had its fair share of plot holes. I wanted to love this show - Han So Hee is a great actress and I’m happy to see strong female leads take the spotlight. However, I felt like the execution of this story left something to be desired, especially after having just watched another, more well-developed mafia/mob drama (Bloodhounds). I know some people may disagree with me, but overall, I’d classify My Name as an exciting yet flawed kdrama.

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they could've done better

Doona is edited weirdly, its very oddly made, Especially for a Netflix kdrama, they usually have a high production quality and editing is usually done well so I am genuinely surprised by this one...

The editing feels like you’re in a sort of fever dream, or a state of lucid dreaming. It has a fantasy feel to it in an odd way, and it jumps between takes oddly too. This is very clear with the ending that intentionally does not clarify year timelines which would’ve been helpful for us to know any time skips....

My issue with this kind of endings is how unnecessarily ambiguous they are. Open endings work, but in few cases. In this case, it was leading up to how the couple wouldn’t make it with this industry, they should’ve been more frank and gave it like it is, either they break up and find their way back to each other eventually, or they break up, that’s it.....

My feelings this lne are complicated. On one hand, I liked the casting overall and the story has many interesting elements, and on the other hand, I feel the drama is missing a good chunk of what could’ve made it special...... but over all it's an okay drama...

And The ending was…. Fine.

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Imagine the most predictably unpredictable main character. Yeah.

I love dramas where the main character is in peril (character development! high emotion! fun!), and I definitely started this show absolutely knowing that this main character is going to be put through the wringer every second of her screentime. I was ready. I was so ready.

But...she, supposedly, saw it all coming. What? All the lying, the scheming, the action, the nail-baiting tension...she was always, ALWAYS, one step ahead of everybody else. And that's just unbelievable.

Therefore, this character had zero growth and zero flaws. Her only "flaw" was loving her sons too much? Give me a break! All the other characters, including the Queen Dowager and the concubines, are given well-fleshed out, thoughtful arcs where they grow as characters, but our main character is born so perfect that from start to finish, every decision she makes, every word she speaks, every punishment she mettles out, is thought through with the world's most elaborate game of 3D chess playing in her head.

Acting wise, while everyone was okay, the Queen Dowager and First Consort really stole EVERY scene they were part of! And with characters as rich, deep and well-rounded as them, it's a real treat to see how these talented actors make them come alive so incredibly. Which brings me back to the conversation about the Queen's character because this is, after all, an entire 16 episode TV show about the Queen protecting her children from certain death. The slight overacting aside, I really don't think the Queen's character really made me feel anything for her except, "Damn, she thought of this too?" Some of the "logical deductions" she made were absolutely insane given how shoddy, incomplete and limited the evidence for it was, and yet, with an eyebrow twitch and run-walking, she managed to outsmart some really, really smart people/plans.

Which is just boring, in my opinion.

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not enough runtime for the plot/characters

Overall: this was the victim of the same pitfall as many Korean BLs, 2 hours was not enough time to adequately develop the number of characters/plots that they had. 8 episodes 15 minutes each. Aired on iQIYI and GagaOOLala (Taiwan/SEA countries).

Content Warnings: drugging?, non con touching, manipulation

What I Liked
- ost/their dance/singing numbers
- touched on gay for pay/fanservice
- their visuals

Room For Improvement
- starting with a flashback didn't hook me
- too many characters/plots that weren't developed enough, I didn't really understand the villains "plans", plot was rushed and choppy at times
- cliche plot points like being drunk and forgetting a kiss
- nonsense things (i.e. a deep rooted fear being cured by the power of love)
- too many near kisses (including the one at the end)
- a cold/confident guy paired up with a warm/reluctant guy isn't my favorite dynamic
- confusing release that was announced last minute, all 8 episodes were out for some subscribers/countries on iQIYI, some had 1 or 2 episodes available, Gaga will have 3 episodes a week later
- the odd background music

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HOW I SEE IT, BE WARN!

The storyline of this drama is quite interesting, and all the cast members did an excellent job portraying their roles. Their emotions were palpable, and the chemistry between the characters was evident. However, there were several aspects of the drama that left much to be desired:

One, the story, while promising, suffered from slow execution and drawn-out flashbacks. It felt like the plot could have been condensed into just a few episodes, rather than being stretched out over half the series.

Two, the villains in the drama lacked convincing motivations. For instance, the sister of the male lead's mother held a grudge against the male lead and her sister, but her revenge plot seemed somewhat irrational and took an unnecessarily long time to materialize.

Three, the delayed confession of feelings between the secondary female and the secondary male-villain was unsatisfying. Their conflict seemed to revolve solely around unrequited love, and their sudden demise felt anticlimactic.

Fourth, the character of the reporter took too many episodes to achieve her goals, and her ability to capture pictures unnoticed by the fox people seemed implausible, considering their supposed ability to sense humans.

Fifth, the love triangle involving the female lead's best friend and the male lead's assistants had potential, but it was underdeveloped and lacked a sense of conflict. It took far too long for the characters to address their feelings, and the resolution felt lacking.

Sixth, several characters felt unnecessary or irrelevant to the story, such as the father of the female lead's best friend, who didn't contribute to the overall narrative.

Seventh, the leads had limited screen time than the others, which was disappointing, but what was even more frustrating were the unnecessary scenes involving them.

Eighth, the ending left much to be desired, especially in how it handled the fates of the supporting cast. It seemed rushed and unsatisfying, particularly in the transformation of the male lead's assistants into foxes.

While the drama had a promising start, it suffered from flaws and inconsistencies in its later episodes. The pacing, character motivations, and resolutions left much to be desired. Personally, I found myself skipping parts, and the only reason I stuck with the drama was because of the characters played by Johnny and the intriguing love triangles.

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I love the incorporation of the real life problems

Lovely Writer marks a milestone with mixing romance and real life problems of BL publishing industry. The humour is both fun and dark when thrust in front of the mirror.

Gene is a BL writer and writing is his bread and butter. Even though he wants to write more than BL, his publishing house forces him to write more BL with extreme explicit content often bordering NC (which I believe is the short form of non-con or non-consensual) because that is profitable.

One of Gene's story is picked up by a production house for drama series adaptation. And he is invited in the casting couch. There he meets Nubsib, one of the actors who is finally chosen as one of the main characters of his novels.

Nubsib takes an interest on Gene in the first meeting which Gene wants to thwart at first. But later his feelings grows and all hell breaks loose.

Lovely Writer shows a story from a writer's pov and I absolutely love all the side stories and aspects it brings along.

Gene's publishing agent, from a very humble background, dreams to become a writer as well but is not taken seriously. The shipping wars among fans and the hate to other characters. The homophobic parents. A young man is being called "Gay" because of his looks. A strong woman portrayal (which is good but could have been better) and the best part - one morally grey character called Aoey. Bruce Sirikorn ate up that role.

Lovely Writer talks and makes fun of all the shit and unnecessary drama regarding publishing industry, specifically BL, problems of shipping real people, problems of not realising that actors and the characters they play are different beings altogether, the forceful non-consensual themes in BL (I love when Nubsib protests the production crew that what they were suggesting was almost rape) , casting one gay artists for the sake of it because "representation makes the media profitable to fans" and toxic fan culture.

The only I did not like was the overbearing sound effects.

Overall, I enjoyed the drama. I would request more people to watch it. After all, it's freely available on youtube.

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Give it a Chance

This series started out ridiculous. The gang, the fake fighting, and cheesy lines were all ridiculous. But, good grief, these characters totally grew on me. This is like nothing I have ever seen before.

First off, no one can convince me that Bom is almost 30 years old. He looks at least 10 years younger. Tar’s character seemed older to me the way he had confidence and was the aggressor.

But it all worked. The main thing I liked was the overall story. Loved how they showed how even delinquents can turn their lives around.

I will look forward to more work from these guys.

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What a fun ride

I'm so impressed of this show, to be quite honest, I didn't have big expectations seeing the rating. As soon as I started watching it, I was totally immersed, not to mention time travel is a theme that I thoroughly enjoy in each and every drama.

The story was absolutely unique and by that I mean the way the time travel was made. I enjoyed a lot the way the doctors were portrayed and the struggles they go through. The number of episodes was ideal. Again, the ending was rushed.

The character developments were so well built and I'm so glad it didn't happen just for the main characters! Kim Nam Gil as always went through a range of emotions, I never saw Kim Ah Joong in a drama before but she did an amazing job! She and Kim Nam Gil had an amazing chemistry on the screen, at times you might think they were dating in real life, that's how believable their chemistry was.

The OST was good.

My rewatch value is 9, it was such a fun show!

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