Reviews

Slow as treacle

If you’re into historicals then you’ll probably love this. But by the rave reviews it’s received you’d think this was the best BL ever. It isn’t. What it is is a very pretty drama in a historical setting.

This is glacially slow and also peppered with lots of random violence and S/A against women. Which a lot of people will yell is ‘period appropriate’ and yes that’s true but isn’t necessary as a plot device to show a guy is evil. There are better, smarter ways to do that.

Pick it up if you like historicals and beautiful cinematography don’t if you don’t.

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One of the more famous kdramas, lots of adaptations

Overall, the drama was well crafted for the times. I feel that many aspects would have been dealt with more in depth in more recent productions (and probably there was more than enough material for each couple to warrant its own series).

Regarding YJ took much more than she gave back. She was incredibly possessive by comparison and blew her fuse over his one sided mini-clush and one small unreciprocated kiss (no tongue), considering it an incredible affront that he would ever even look at another girl with affection or read her messages (which were really just platonic) when she wasn't looking. Which I could have accepted and taken seriously had she been a paragon of virtue, but in the context of her having deceived HS by telling him she was working while she had been seeing DK behind his back for more than a year, only to later run away with the guy for two years without another word, not to mention continuing to talk with DK on the phone and see DK one on one and have lunch with him still being smitten with her and trying to hit on her, and HS having just taken her back. Not sure in what universe HS should count himself lucky to have YJ around: someone so self entitled and self absorbed that she repeatedly reduces someone she claims to love to a groveling, begging mess. Is she proud to have "won" that way, to have spared her pride the potential bruised ego of having him leave her?

She was factually speaking, and by her own admission, utterly manipulative. If the husband in World of the Married had tried to be half as manipulative as to threaten the spouse she cheated on with running back to his lover absolutely nobody would be justifying that behaviour or rooting for him: there is nuance, and then there is sociopathic callousness and cruelty that frankly goes beyond simply being self serving. I do have to agree with her assessment that she is not a particularly good or nice person (to use a euphemism), and hopefully HS's cousing doesn't know the whole story of the more than year long lies and deception, or of her using DK, the man she had cheated with for more than one year, to make HS jealous -I can't recall if she explicitly told HS's cousing that she was going back to DK, maybe she only mentioned leaving HS again to go to NY, since she also had a job there, so not sure if he was up to date with all the details, not that her getting back together with DK would have stayed hidden from him had she actually gone through with it, as she almost did, given that she is famous and the press would have reported it-, but even with just what he knew, it's safe to say that he would have to be either blind or an idiot to form that opinion. The dynamic of the betrayed wife taking the husband back in, say, World of the Married and other dramas, is truly repulsive. If the parts are inverted, it does not get any less repulsive. For that matter, I feel the same way about FL's sister's cheating boyfriend, he too was pure scum, if he didn't like her behaviour he ought to have either talked to her or left her, not two timed her, since she didn't do it to him. She should never have stayed with him. Meanwhile, ML can be a playboy and hit on YJ half the drama, and the snowflake can supposedly not take his gf having been given a little kiss by HS, without reciprocating, before they were even in a relationship? I mean, what is the standard here? True fact: if FL had put him through a fraction of a billionth of what YJ put HS through, ML wouldn't be with her now. So I wouldn't exactly call HS being with YJ a success.

YJ brought up the fact that his begging didn't stop her leaving the first time, and wouldn't stop her now... could she be any more hurtful? How could one believe her previous half uttered apology when HS took her back when she then treats the matter with such flippancy, mocks and makes light of his insecurities, only to exploit them when convenient, by parading DK in front of him and reminding him that she had lived with the guy for two years in NY after leaving HS after more than a year of seeing DK behind his back. The more I think about it, the more sociopathic and messed up YJ's behavior appears... and I must admit that I have difficulty reconciling her current image with someone that would. I starting thinking about what would be enough to convince HS to leave YJ... I must say that I couldn't come up with an answer, and I don't think that this is a good sign. At that point, one's relationship cannot be any more unequal, given what her reaction was, and her factually speaking much more pronounced inclination to just pick up and leave... Frankly, I kind of wish she is right in guessing that he might have left her (the reason she almost chose to pre-empt this by leaving him again for DK), because otherwise this level of dependence where he will pine on her no matter what she does -waiting for her for years... what would have happened had her and DK not broken up? He would still be waiting, and telling himself some fatalistic lie about the special nature of a relationship in which he had been deceived for more than a year, before she run away with her lover and he never heard from her again for two years, and she always treated him as a doormat that would always be there at her back and call if she needed him, taking him absolutely for granted and blowing the fuse when he gave any indication he might possible love someone else other than her, while admitting that loved DK at the time... but let's not enumerate her flaws because we would be still her by the time the Sun dies-.

On the topic of YJ almost running back to the man she had cheated with, DK, and the reasoning she gave for why she didn't, while I appreciated the fact that she came back because she realized how messed up leaving and getting back together with DK would have been given how much worse HS had endured for her sake, I must say that I wished she had also given the reason that she didn't love DK and loved HS instead. Because she did say that she was starting to love DK back, but it was, I suppose, a lie to hurt HS, but then she talked to DK on the phone and they met up alone and had lunch together and there was certainly some tension/banter/ambiguous vibe, not helped by the fact that he was trying to get back with her, and she didn't really put a stop to it in a strong manner, but rather indulged him and gave clever little replies. So I really, really would have liked some clarification on whether she would have really ended up with the man she had cheated on HS with had she gone back to NY for the job, and what it means in terms of her feelings for DK -because he seemed aware of the fact that she was using him and loved HS... what does that mean? That they would have been getting together despite her not loving him and loving HS? Again, I would have liked much more clarity about DK, and I guess HS would have as well: she said she loved him when she run away with him, what about now? She said he loved her and she was starting to reciprocate, but the context made one think that it was said to egg HS on, and after all she had used DK by putting them in the same room and bringing up the topic of their house in NY where she had lived with DK for two years after the more than year long period where she was seeing him behind HS's back when she was still with HS, and on the other hand the fact that HS seemed unavailable seemed to mean she loved him more than before-.

On DK, I don't know if it's anthipathy or new sensibilities, but the conflict of interest in him being her patron and sleeping with her does make him feel a bit sleazy. But maybe it's something that was considered more normal in 2007, and in any case I am probably nitpiking because I don't really like the guy. Obviously, I am not giving him all the fault of the affair, because ultimately YJ is her own woman, responsible for her actions, and she was the one that chose to lie to HS for more than a year instead than treating him with a shred of respect and honesty, breaking things off clearly. She was the one that knew fully well how much he loved and trusted her, and that should have been honest with him about the situation instead of deceiving him, either not seeing DK behind his back if had it not been a serious interest, or, if she loved DK at the time like she claimed was the case, breaking up cleanly with HS instead of deceiving him for more than a year. So I am not claiming that she was "stolen" as if she was someone's car, with no say in the matter: she is solely responsible for her actions and choices. But DK did make the decision to put himself in the middle of an established couple, basically not caring that he would end up hurting someone he didn't knew and that never did anything to him (or at least not caring enough not to do it: with him as with YJ what matters in what, when push came to shove, they ended up doing and choosing, which clearly reveal their priorities, priorities that, let's keep it real, in either case being entirely self serving).

Again, the issue here is the fact that he participated in the more than year long deception, not that YJ fell in love with him and chose to break up with HS. That would have been the decent thing to do from the beginning, lying to him and treating him like a fool for more than a year was a deliberate choice they did, so he was the kind of scumbag that would walk all over people he didn't even know, and that had done him nothing wrong, in order to get what he wanted. In the end, the "what ifs", the "if he had not been there it would have been someone else", the "it's not me that had been in a nine years long relationship with the guy", are all excuses: for any bad thing one might do in the world, from over-polluting because "everyone does it" (not really, in any case it doesn't mean you should do it) to a vegan never being unable to bring themselves to be a butcher despite the fact that somebody would do it if they didn't (okay, but it matters, should matter to you anyway, that you are the one doing it, at the end of the day, if it's hurting something or someone you care about, in the case of pollution the environment, in the case of the vegan animals, in the case of DK a guy that never did anything to him), bottom line, *he* was the one that YJ ended up meeting behind HS's back for more than a year, he knew he was deceiving someone that had never done anything wrong to him, and didn't care at all, or certainly not enough not to do it. Bottom line, and coming back to the golden rule, it comes back to treating others like you would like to be treated: DK wouldn't want someone to think about the situation like he does if he was on the receiving end, and neither would YJ (as we later saw, she blew her fuse for much, much, muuuuuch less). So he shouldn't really complain when the poetic justice of YJ using his feelings to make HS jealous comes around. Toxic, the both of them.

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MY opinion on the drama i watched with expectations.

I initially got drawn to the drama after seeing an edit, and it started off strong, captivating me to the point where I neglected my final exams. However, as the story unfolded, it took a downturn with noticeable plot holes that even Luo Fei’s handsome face couldn’t distract me from. The overall plot felt underwhelming, especially with the villain’s background story lacking depth.

Now, regarding Lu Fengping, the supposed main character, his limited involvement was disappointing. Unlike typical main characters with an air of arrogance and skills to back it up, Lu fengping fell short, merely being a pretty face with rare moments of actual contribution. I anticipated his “big moment” showcasing his skills as the best hypnotist, but it never came.

Despite these drawbacks, the standout performance of Luo Fei kept me engaged. His well-written character, a man of few words, never had his spotlight stolen. Unfortunately, the ending also left much to be desired.

While acknowledging the hard work of the actors, actresses, and the production team, it’s evident that the writing fell short of doing justice to their efforts.

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You are going back and forth on earth and dream world

One of the pretty interesting fantasy dramas I have watched! Every charecter has their different storyline and were also tangled with each other in drama! Every charecter has a realtionship with every charecter in the drama which you'll slowly get to know as you move forward!! And it was not boring as all the episodes made sense . The twists in the story were so stunning that once you get to know the purpose of each character it tells you why exactly the charecter was build that way! Fantasy can sometimes make absolutely no sense but this one did!
The actors did a great job in playing their role pn point ! if you hate a charecter in the series who is doing a evil role he's doing his job perfectly!
Lastly the sweet chemistry between main leads gave the drama a different glow! At first you'll not understand who the main male lead is or is their any but once you get to know you'll feel that it was a perfect match !

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Tepid....as bad as luke warm tea that you don't want to drink.....

First the positives:
Great second couple. Their romance was unique, great chemistry, slow burn, exciting to watch. And the best part - the second ML is absolutely a dish! What a universal good looking guy!!
And the female is very downplayed and wonderful. Toward the end she actually overtakes the FL.....in a very subtle manner. However they are not given enough importance and their story slides away.

The FL character is also very different from the standard 12-year old female with a squeaky baby voice, wearing tiny skirts that barely cover her crotch.
This female lead had a great personality etched out for her and more importantly, she carries off the role with aplomb.

That's it. Those are the only saving grace for this drama.

The negatives::
Such a boring story. N..O..t..h..ING ever happens.
You can easily watch every alternate episode and miss nothing!
If it's a slice of life, then believe me, you'll quit eating pizza slices for a month!
There must be a demographic that watches these insipid, tepid, lifeless dramas.

China has released a few stunning romances in 2023 - and sorry to say, this one needs to be buried away in cans.

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A Heartfelt Journey Through Love and Self-Discovery

A light-hearted look at love and relationships interspersed with humor and dark elements like parental neglect, childhood trauma, pessimism and mockery are what makes this 3-episode special so compelling and captivating.

The story revolves around Aoyanagi Hajime, a childhood star who suffers from self-confidence issues who gets an opportunity to work alongside an upcoming actor Akafuji Yuichiro on a live adaptation of a famous BL manga. In order to improve the chemistry between the actors, they decide to live under the same roof. Akafuji being in love with Hajime, falls short of making his true feelings known all the while hiding behind his persona from the BL manga. The characters try to navigate through these misunderstandings and hidden feelings to make the series a success.

The story is a series of misunderstandings between the two leads while they hide the respect that they have for each other as actors. This makes for some interesting and humours conversations between the 2 leads. However, as the story progresses you realise this isn’t just a series of comedic misunderstandings but shines light on some real-life issues through the point of view of actors. Through Hajime’s characters we are introduced to the expectation of manga fans from actors playing their beloved characters. This can easily build or break the series and he is acutely aware of this fact. Second, is the issue of self-confidence triggered through the comments from fans and general public about the actors. The cause of this issue is the childhood trauma caused by parental mistreatment. Through Yuichiro, we learn how people are quick to judge on the basis of you likes and hobbies. In all this, we also find that everyone needs a support system in life to help you push through your inhibitions and build yourself up.

Although the series does dwell in to some really dark elements, not much time is spent on explaining or expanding this due to limited episodes. Also, there is limited character development in the series and the secondary characters are relegated in to the background just to push the main plot points forward. The series also adheres to a common trend in Japanese BL by skirting explicit kissing scenes, a choice that, while not detracting from the narrative, may leave some longing for more authenticity in portraying romantic relationships. There are examples of some great BL series like “Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!” and “Kieta Hatsukoi” succeeding with no kissing scenes.

In conclusion, this series stands out as a compelling addition to the BL genre, skilfully blending romance with authentic portrayals of the challenges faced by its characters. While some aspects tread familiar ground and secondary character depth is desired, the series succeeds in delivering a charming and emotionally resonant viewing experience.

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only 4 epuare out but..

honestly its starting off really strong and i have hogh hopes for it, i love the sweet revenge shes taking and im definitely waiting for new episodes all the time and excited every week, i can say from now its worth the watch and won’t disappoint, the story itself is a little similar to PMR but im likings this one way more.







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Not really recommend

Pros:
I really liked Han Seo Jun, of course bc he´s handsome, but also his character, the way everyone misunderstands his character but in the and he is a really nice person and there is always reasoning in the things he did.

What I also liked is the way the characters personality changed and they learned from their wrongdoings like Kang Soo Jin (I really like her character improvment, even though I think what she did was really bad and disrespectful.)

The acting was also pretty good even though I don´t really know a lot about that topic.

Contra:
I didn´t like the ending (last 2 episodes), but I won't talk about this since I don´t really want to put a lot of spoilers in this review.

The way they represented being "ugly", its true that there is a lot of mobbing and a lot more in korea because of that reason, but i don´t like how they represented it since the fl was (in my opinion) not really ugly without make up if u would´ve fixed her hair a bit and changed her glasses, she would have been completley average, but thats just me.

Exept that it had so many cliches, for example the fact that the male lead said that she´s beautiful "the way she is/ in her ugly form" , I found that really bad.


I just all in all I didn't really like it , but I think its worth a watch in a day where you don´t have anything else to do.

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Orchestra & Affairs: Cha Seeum's Artistic Passion Amidst Life's Struggles

I really liked watching this show. It was my first time checking out a semi makjang series with art at its centre. The show had some drama but it wasnt too much, they kept it real without going overboard.

The main character, Cha Seeum was definitely star of the show. She faced a lot of problems but her love for her profession was something else. She is one of the strongest female leads i have seen in a while and Lee YoungAe did a great job.

Male lead Jeongjae was a complex character, initially portrayed as a calculative, manipulative, control freak who wanted to take charge of Seeum's life. However as the story progressed, his character developed and in the end you could see that he truly loved Seeum.

Luna was interesting too. Usually shows make obsessed characters act super ott but they made her seem like a regular person. You would never think she is obsessed until she actually does something crazy.

The show got a bit boring sometimes which was a downside but overall it was worth watching.

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The best drama in the early 2024.. I'm ady miss so much too neo hou and zhou ye because their drama also the hit in early 2023..This drama overall are just nice from the actor line up, storyline, crisis scene, romance comedy scene..The ML Chen Yan so cute tho also Song Zhu.. both so adorable and cutie but only the director maybe they put FL (Female Lead) so crazy and hard to get moreover song zhu in early so fancy to zhou ji but i don't care because she will fall in love with chen yan in a time. hmm i also hope chen yan will stay as prince son meanwhile he take a decision to move to an academic.. All of you need to watch this

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when you cast a perfect villain

Although it wasn't the best thing I have seen the chemistry between the main couple was good and I am obsessed with Woo Seok as the villain. We can all agree that he is a fine piece of cookie but I would have never expected that the evil character would suit him so much. His visuals and calm composure sell the show to me. I am still kinda sad that they had a really good story set up for him but didn't go much deeper. I think he deserved more. especially with this black-and-white attitude when it comes to good and evil. it could have been so much better. I think that his sweet and psychotic smile will live rent-free in my head for some time.

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Cute, feel-good drama for when you want to turn your brain off

I just binged this in less than a week. I have been busy with work, and all I have done after work is binge this show. I wanted to pace myself, but I found myself staying up late to watch one more episode. I don't think the story was that unique or superb, but the acting was amazing and I really enjoyed something light-hearted and funny after a stressful day & my ever persistent SAD.*

Storyline:
- I've read some reviews that appreciated the whole kidnapping subplot, and they make some good points, so I dislike it less, but I still would've preferred if it was not written in the story. I would have preferred if the plot stayed in the direction of a narcissistic CEO who slowly learns how to appreciate and value someone who had always supported him-- and fleshing out the difference between his need for control vs fear of losing someone he slowly realizes he has come to like. However, the kidnapping plot just kind of reverses the entire image of the ML and makes him into a misunderstood man who is actually sweetest and most perfect person for the FL (+ an occasional narcissism as a character quirk). It just detracted from the current relationship they built over 9 years of working together-- by playing it out as they were promised to be together since age 5. I will say that the kidnapping plot did make it more believable that ML has been single all this time & would hire the most unqualified applicant for the job.
- Another gripe I had was that towards the end, it seemed like the FL was getting cold feet. But upon second thought, it mostly seems like FL has only been responding to the affection, and only engaging/reciprocating retroactively after the ML has made a move and expressed disappointment in the non-response. I will say that I like how the FL's response to the ML's narcissism, as it makes it feel like she is the only one who can do that/finds it endearing.
- There were also a lot of cringe scenes (cue all the slow scenes of them falling onto each other), but there were also genuinely warm moments as the ML grew and learned how to love someone else. I felt like the ML progressed as a person, improving on his expressiveness, his thoughtfulness, and his ability to put others before him. It made his character super cute and likeable-- enough to overlook the continued self-absorption. The one thing I didn't like was how this character development only extended to the FL. He was still a jerk to his "best friend," which was kind of a let down. The FL also tried to reciprocate, but it was just tiring to see her do so only after something happened (ML is upset, FL doesn't know why --> FL also hears similar situation from her friends/co-workers and realizes how she had been hurtful --> makes it up). It was nice the first couple of times, because it shows them compromising/forgiving/overcoming rough patches in the relationship, but it was weird that that was always the directionality of the relationship. It gives off the feeling that he likes her way more.
- It was nice to see FL stand her ground and really take her time to figure who she was as a person, but she didn't really challenge herself to continue to grow (it would have been nice to at least see her try to do something else or pick up a new hobby). I like that she came to the conclusion of being proud of her secretarial work and chose to continue to stay in the company because of her passion for her work. It was refreshing to see that "finding yourself" doesn't mean making a 180 change, but rather finally sitting down to think about who you are and what makes you happy.
- The love stories of the sub-characters were light and fun. They weren't super fleshed out, but that's expected given the smaller screen time allotted to them.

Cast: PSJ got better and better as the series went on. I really came to like his character because of how well he was able to express the ML through his amazing facial expressions and timing. He did a really good job of delivering some of the narcissistic lines in a way that made it seem like sometimes the ML would say those things just to tease FL or had some level of self-awareness of the cringiness. I also really like PMY, but her character fell flat towards the end. It felt like she didn't do much besides smile, and even that looked forced. I think this was mainly because the camera work for PMY just tried too hard to stress her smile. PMY is already gorgeous, but blurring out the background and drawing out the scene every time she smiles just made it feel too forced. The other characters were more trope-y, but their respective actors & actresses shined when it was their time.

Pacing: Overall was pretty good! Once they became a couple, it seemed like each episode was them encountering a new rough patch that resolves by the end of the episode. I found it to be enjoyable and it felt like less time was wasted on miscommunication and misunderstanding.

Soundtrack: very heartwarming, I feel like they made the scenes more memorable and emotional for me!

Rewatch value: I usually don't like to rewatch anything, so this is no exception. I think it was a great series to help me out of a slump and was something I looked forward to after a long day. It's a cute little love story with an amazing cast, and you can always fast-forward through the cringe parts, as I think it is worth seeing the heartwarming romantic confessions (I think a lot of the ML's lines were done pretty well-- not too cheesy, but poetic enough to make your heart swell a little) and scenes.

*I do feel a little down now that I don't have something to look forward to after work now, but I also did put off some work I should have done, so I will be busy catching up anyways. I will also feel down because I want experience a fraction of the endearment ML shows to FL and get to pretend that money is just a concept-- but that is a personal issue to no fault of the series haha.

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