Completed
The Rational Life
6 people found this review helpful
by sony_t
Oct 19, 2021
35 of 35 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 7.0
I hadn’t expected to actually like it this much but I was pleasantly surprised how much enjoyable I found it.
I think the strength of this drama is definitely the female character. It's been a while since I saw a woman written like a normal human being. Writers seem to confuse strength in a woman with aloofness, coldness, and belly full of schemes especially if they are writing a career woman. Because a woman can’t build a career if she’s not a ballbuster. Or they’ll give you a woman on the other end of the spectrum so immature and whose sole focus is on a man and a man alone. I half the time question if these writers have ever met a woman or it's just misogyny and patriarchy shining through.

The female lead here is an ambitious woman in her 30s. She is smart, good at her job, and here is a kicker, she’s actually nice. She knows how to draw boundaries, is firm but never arrogant or rude. She works hard, knows when to fight and when to retreat. This woman actually looks and acts like someone who’s matured with wisdom gained through lived experience. Even when she was breaking up, rejecting a romantic advance, or responding in a workplace exchange she was never a screaming shrill woman. She never threw tantrums or cursed out people even in places you wish she had. She did everything with dignity and poise. She really was the selling point for me.

The other thing I loved about this drama was how it used our female lead and her best friend to showcase two women, who made different choices in their lives and what problems they face. And more importantly how there is no such thing as a perfect life. One chose to work, the other to get married and when things get tough they look at each other’s life and say “at least your life is better than mine” only for life to show them that what seems perfect is only surface level. Each choice has its own issues, its obstacles, its own freedom, its own happiness. The drama showed us how each woman navigated through it while supporting each other until they came out the other side. It wasn’t dramatic, it wasn’t heroic or epic it was ordinary life. I found it very relatable.

The romance was indeed a slow burn. It was also sweet, mature, and more importantly very much less cringe ?

Now having gone all gaga like this doesn’t mean it doesn’t have problems. I found the work issues rather repetitive at times. I strongly feel this drama should have been about 5 episodes shorter.

The best friend seems to have things available to her at each moment she needs it — having a hard time finding a job, oh I happen to know the kitchen has an opening and omg a housewife for a while and you happen to be a great cook… you don’t want to cook anymore and need something else... Uhm you used to play the drum in college? my band just so happens to have our drummer walk out on us, what a coincidence… what’s that you say? You don’t feel like being a professional drummer.. wait here’s a random guy who happens to own a music school for kids who coincidentally happens to hear your performance and want to hire you at your own term, you don’t like kids ah, not even your nephew? but that one odd kid whom no other music teacher can get through miraculously clicked with you and wants you and you only… ? — please it wouldn’t have killed them to make her struggle just a little.

Another issue would be the terrible taste in jewelry this drama has. Be it the “expensive” dream catcher looking thing they claimed to be a necklace and draped over her neck or the “charming” simple necklace made out of love or the one designed for competition under grueling mental and emotional gymnastics, all looked cheap and tacky. This may seem like a nonissue but the male lead is a supposed wanna be jewelry designer. You can’t tell me the character you want to make a successful career as a designer make things that look like ones my baby sister picked from Clairs. Sorry, I can’t accept that.


"Compared to the 18-year-old or 20-year-old who's still searching, I like myself better in my 30s. Although nobody thinks I'm cute anymore, and I'm aging by the minute, the 35-year-old me compared to my past, knows me better than I've ever before." — As someone in their 30s, I related to this on a spiritual level.

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Completed
Heartbeat
6 people found this review helpful
Sep 9, 2023
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.0
Story 6.0
Acting/Cast 4.0
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 1.0

Started well but became a disaster/ Wrong choice of FL

NO SPOILERS!!

What throw me off the most in this drama is acting and script.

Acting:
1. FL: I don’t see many comments on her performance here but everyone comments about it on imdb. I think The lead role is too big for the actress to handle. She needs to learn acting and do more supporting roles for another 4,5 years before she can handle a lead role. Her emotion and facial expression stay the same throughout the drama. When she’s sad, happy, angry, love or being loved- SAME EXPRESSION! I almost think that any other female supporting role in the drama can do this role better than her. They are also more visually attractive. Lead roles have a lot of screen time and character development, therefore, the actress needs to be skillful enough to show the development in character and emotion. Won Ji An failed miserably. Another unpopular opinion is that I personally think she looks better when she doesn’t smile. It gives me a very uneasy and unsettling feeling whenever she smiles. Maybe because it’s fake? IDK.

2. ML: Taecyeon is charming and can definitely act but he couldn’t save the drama

3. All supporting roles: I thought they all did a good job. I’ve never seen the 2nd FL and ML before but the 2nd ML can act quite well. The 2nd FL is not too bad either.

Script: Sometimes i thought the script was written by a 5 years old. No logic or explanation whatsoever. All happened because of this cat man said it is what it is. The drama started very well and showed a lot of potential but then due to bad script and bad acting of FL the show became a disaster. Ep 1-9: worth watching. Ep 10 onwards: just skip.

Ending: Oh yes it’s not a happy ending. So if you’re opt for happy ending only this is not for you. I personally think it’s ok. Some dramas/movies have happy ending, some don’t. But this sad ending doesn’t make me feel sad at all cus it was poorly executed and poor acting. I can feel Taecyoen pain but I can’t feel the FL pain.

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Completed
Kieta Hatsukoi
6 people found this review helpful
Nov 1, 2021
10 of 10 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 10

Sweetness Abounds

"Kieta Hatsukoi" aka "Vanishing My First Love" is a wonderful series about going through the confusion, turmoil, fear, and scary joy of realizing that you're in love with someone and finding the courage to face those feelings head-on, in order to confess to that person. I love that the series doesn't forget about how important friendship is, to have people in your life, that will also support your journey down this path. I love the humor that this show has, in telling this funny, touching, and sweet romantic journey of Aoki, Ida, Akkun, and BFF Hashimoto.
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Completed
I Told Sunset about You
6 people found this review helpful
Jan 14, 2021
5 of 5 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

JUST WOW

Before I start, let me say that if you haven't watched this, YOU NEED TO RIGHT NOW. It is literally amazing, beautiful, and I'm someone who doesn't give out tens easily when it comes to rating BLs. This is one of three series that I've given a 10/10 (the other two are The Untamed and History3 Trapped). Originally, I only gave it a 9.5/10 but then it stuck with me. I kept thinking about it after I had finished and I kept thinking about wanting to give it a 10. So, after watching the documentary, I gave in and changed my rating. Which, by the way, I gave the documentary a 10/10 too I think.

OKAY LET'S START.

Story: I have no idea how to encompass all that is perfect about this series into one paragraph. The plot is perfect. The characters are perfectly developed. The cinematography is perfect. The writing is perfect. Literally everything is perfect. I love how they didn't use flashbacks to show what the characters were thinking about, they relied on the acting capability of the actors and trusted their viewer's intelligence enough to connect the dots. I love that you actually see them study and go to school (you have no idea how many university or high school centred BLs I've seen where you rarely see them actually studying lol). The plot itself is complex and so well executed. Everything is purposeful and the pacing is never slow. The relationships and friendships between the characters are well developed and just as complex. The story's portrayal of homosexuality and teenage desire is beautifully executed. You watch the characters struggle and go through many obstacles and you become so invested in them. A side note; I loved the incorporation of Chinese in the script, editing, and storyline.

Acting/Cast: I didn't follow PP and Billkin before ITSAY. I never watched My Ambulance with them in it. But wow, was I missing out. Their acting is truly amazing. They gave everything to their roles without hesitation and really trusted each other (as well as their director). In the documentary, you see PP and Billkin supporting each other and using the other to get the right emotions for their scene. They play off each other so freaking well and have incredible chemistry. PP and Billkin each do a beautiful job at portraying every emotion their character is feeling. Their performances are truly impeccable. Not just them either, the entire cast was great. Including the child actors. They're the ones who grabbed my interest right away at the beginning of the series. I was invested from the moment I saw their emotional argument after the play. I also want to give special compliments to Khun (who played Bas) because he was absolutely amazing. I especially appreciated his talent after watching the documentary. That was his first cry scene ever and it didn't take him a lot to do it, he is such a natural actor.

Music: BEAUTIFUL UGH. I absolutely love the entire soundtrack. Billkin and PP are amazing singers - I could never get sick of their voices. I have all the songs on my favourites playlist and was just listening to them before writing this review.

Rewatch Value: I could rewatch this over and over without getting sick of it. I've said this in my other reviews, but I'm really not a rewatcher. I only rewatch things that either had a significant emotional impact on me or I haven't seen them in ages. (and they were good). I'm actually trying not to rewatch this already and I only finished it a few weeks ago. I'm so sad that the second part got postponed because of COVID but honestly, I would wait forever for it. I'm so freaking excited, you have no idea.

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Completed
The Love by Hypnotic
6 people found this review helpful
by Zogitt
Feb 9, 2021
36 of 36 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 7.5
Rewatch Value 7.0
This review may contain spoilers

Lots of skinship but lazy plots

Once again, this show started promisingly. The production value appeared to be high and scenes were lush and grand, at least in the first few episodes. The meet-cute was nice with reasonably fast pacing. However, the show went south with more and more storytelling issues and plot holes as it progressed. Overall, it was a disappointment.
A lot of the issue with this show comes from a very simplistic approach to plot development. Everything was telegraphed, characters and plots were mostly one dimensional. It wasn't so much character growth but more like personality transplant. Both 2FL and 2ML turned from jilted suitors to homicidal maniacs. It was straight out of Evil Plot 101 playbook but they were literally shouting "you will pay for this in BLOOD!".
By the half way mark the story just felt stuffed with set pieces that doesn't really related to the main plot (if you can call it that) but just so that they can stretch out the episode or add more skinship. The classic case in point is the black inn episodes (ep 31/32). It felt like they brought the writer back to add more scenes but paid scant attention to continuality or narrative logic.
I suppose it is time to address the skinship side of things, this show had a surprising amount of it for a c-drama. We are talking about lots of hugging, kissing (some of that quite passionate) and the OTP being frisky in bed. After completing the show, the cynical part of me is calling them out for using the skinship to distract us from the poor script or at least keep us watching the show. If that is something you like then thou shalt find aplenty. However, you can also find 15mins cuts of their romantic scenes on YouTube.
Similar to the personality shifts, the show also have drastic mood changes, it started off as Contract Marriage 101, Rom-com 101, Palace Intrigue 101, etc and some of it did work early on, especially the scenes between the ML and his group of close friends. He was so ignorant of love and sex that the show was almost like relationship tutorial and sex ed and you will get a chuckle or two. Then the show shifted to Tragic Revenge Melodrama 101 (subtitled "Every Trope Were Used"). Yes, it was designed to hit us with the feels and make us empathise with the characters but the plots were so transparent that you just felt like you have seen it all before (from the golden age of tv dramas).
The ending was laughable. The tone was completely wrong. We are talking about tragic scenes just a episode or two ago; Death and broken people stalking the scenes. The FL was in a coma for days and as soon as she woke up, they were getting intimate. It got worse, the ML then spend the rest of the episode trying to play parlour tricks on his friends (I was groaning with them) when there were orphan threads and unresolved sub plot just left dangling. Was that really all that was left to do after 36 episodes?! It wasn't even decent fan service.
OST was good for the first half but then it got repetitive. Acting was ok. The ML was quite stiff and wooden for half the show but he did open up. FL has to do a lot of heavy lifting but there was little growth in her character. The ML's brother was one of the main villains but he was so wooden, he was more annoying than evil. The 2FL acted her heart out (especially towards the end) but it was a very textbook role. The 2ML was interesting and handsome but once again, his role was so tropey that it was all done by the book.
Honestly, I was going to drop the show around the 2/3 mark but I thought I'd push through but I did fast forward some scenes. The OTP did have their sweet moments and decent chemistry but I won't be re-watching the whole show, may be the 15mins YouTube highlight reel.

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Completed
It Started with a Kiss
6 people found this review helpful
by Mayur
Feb 13, 2015
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 10
Since I have completed watching all the three drama versions of Itazura na Kiss(original manga) now I can sincerely say that It’s the best drama version of all three...In this review all are my personal views so if someone beg to differ with it then be it so......

Story - In the entire three versions story is somewhat same with some backdrop changes but twists are all same. Main differences which set them apart are mainly Direction and Acting.

Characters -Starting with Kotoko Aihara (Here Xiang Qin), she is really well played by Ariel Lin and the chemistry between her and Cheng Joe (Jiang Zhi Shu) is totally fantastic, the clashing of her unwavering will with Jiang Shu's cold and stubborn nature is really a treat for the manga fans, though I liked the Japanese version of Kotoko more which is played by Miki Honoka (my biased view).

For Naoki Irie(here Jiang Zhi Shu)...Hats off for Cheng Joe ,I really liked how he played the role of cold, Intelligent and distant Jiang Zhi Shu, from all of the three version it’s the best bcoz here i can see all the subtle changes that happens to his personality in the whole drama like how he is having fun teasing Xiang Qin and his frustration when he is clueless and dumbstruck by her actions, his journey from an arrogant and aloof genius to a caring and understanding (how he supports Xiang Qin)person is one of the best part of the story.

Supporting cast is one of the best; all characters are very well played by the actors especially Jiang Shu's Mother who plays a very vital role to set up the couple.

Music: Music is one of the best parts of this drama; it really goes very well with the whole series.

Rewatch Value: I already watched it 3 times ?’

Overall I think that this version of ITAZURA NA KISS is A must watch for all manga and romcom fans.

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Completed
Super Family
6 people found this review helpful
by Huruhi
Feb 1, 2018
40 of 40 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 10
This drama deserve an essay.  There are some dramas.. after watching it, you can't stop thinking about how good was the dramas, you can't stop smiling and you start missing all the characters of the drama. Super Family 2017 aka Strong Family relate the story of a "normal" family  dealing with different problem that all of us can face.  At the 1st time, the family looks normal, a father, mother and the only one child, a daughter. We can see the abnormality on their way to resolve their problem.

The drama :
All the actors played very well.  The story.. I mean the stories were good. Indeed, each episode has his problematic. I think it's very interesting to lead things like that, then if we didn't like the 5th episode we can like the next ect but the story is consistent, you can't be lost.

Family :
The family is trully strong, sometimes they had some problem separately and they try to solve it alone, they always find solutions thanks to each member.

Comedy :
The drama is very funny. We can notice 3 generations and the gap between them is so funny, the daughter and her friends, the parents and the grandparents.

Romance :
It's the best part ! Na Ik Hee, the daughter is a highschool student, so she has some problems with love ! She fell in love, she cried, she fell again. Every scenes were cute, well done, emotional and warm.

Friendship :
At the begining, all the characters despite Na Ik Hee , didn't have friends. We can see them building a friendship. Seeing all different generations having support apart from their family is inspiring and encouraging.


You can't be bored while watching it, everytime I miss the drama, I watch it again and I feel all the warmth and happiness around me, the same feeling of the first time.  You guys should watch it.


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Feb 15, 2018
50 of 50 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 9.0
This drama is must watch. The first one was spectacular and this was a worthy sequel. Although it have a different storyline and directly not related to the first one, I feel it is excellent in its own class. As a fan of drama with family values, friendship, and loyalty, I really loved this drama. The cast were amazing in portraying their own characters. Complex characters are believable. Wise words, and reality of life relationships were depicted very well indeed. Can help but to truly love-hate and feel for the characters. Truly, there are so many things you can learn from this drama. Truly, tears, smile, laughter, regret and understanding, content, letting go and acceptance can be found in these 50 eps. It is definitely a worthy drama to watch.

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Completed
I Told Sunset about You
6 people found this review helpful
Dec 16, 2020
5 of 5 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
To be honest I’m not really someone who gives review but reading one of the reviews just really upsets me . This whole series may not be perfect but to me it is one of the qualities. I don’t really watch Thai movies or dramas. So this one kind of amazed me or like considered as stunning . Me myself is not lesbian or gay but I really love the culture and have friends that belong to this culture. I won’t say I watched a lot but considered as watched quite much of LGBTQ series movies and drama . So like I said for me this drama is considered as a very nice one . Not too cheesy everything is just right . Me still a teenager felt empathy like all the small moves testing each other and the struggle and and facing it . Story may not be super amazing but realistic so it’s easier to understand the message and feel what the drama’s trying to bring us . I can’t understand Thai but the songs the ost to me is really nice . Everything’s in the right point and the songs syncs with the movie . The music is really enjoyment for me and I really like Bilkin’s sound . And the little details in the movie as a Chinese I can understand the words and the message that the screenwriter is trying to bring . Different timing and different ways that they get along . Every Chinese word they use symbols something . And the little details of younger version of them and now sync so it’s really nice I feel Plus I really like the scenes they use really nice the way they shoot is amazing . The toning they use is really satisfying for me . Phuket under their camera is so beautiful. Of course I could understand why some would say that the acting needs improvement on some points Bilkin would go a bit to hardcore on expressing the emotions . Some of his crying scene brings me out of the mood but to me overall not too affective for me . So like overall this drama is really quite nice not like super duper amazing but like I could watch it twice means is really not bad . One of the comment gave all the rating a one star and said if he could give zero he would . It’s really upsetting it’s NOT as terrible as he said . It may not be perfect but to me it’s nice and enjoyable. I really like this and is very excited for next years season two?

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Completed
Naughty Babe
6 people found this review helpful
by skootz
Oct 21, 2023
8 of 8 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 6.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 5.0
Unfortunately this show ended up being a bit of a let down and struggle to watch to the end.
Although the story itself could have had potential it was done in a very lame way and some scenes were tortously drawn out.
Max is undeniabe adorable but he doesn't have the strongest acting ability while Max is just wooden meaning they are more suited to support roles - it's a step too far expecting them to carry the show, much in the same way I felt about Jimmy and Sea in Vice Versa.
There were some hot NC scenes but it I so hate it when they do that common BL thing of classing lip sucking as kissing - if you want to make it believable do it properly boys.

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Completed
Kataomoi
6 people found this review helpful
May 25, 2018
6 of 6 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 8.0
First and foremost, there are some amazing performances in Kataomoi, particularly from the two leads. I'd say it's the best I've seen both Nakatani Miki and Kiritani Kenta. The nuances of the relationships here are not always verbal, but both of them contain all the ambiguities and paradoxes, similar to one of the themes of the story, which is that relationships and identity isn't always black-and-white.

One of the motifs is a Möbius strip, which technically has both one and two sides, which is also why I think the correct English translation of Kataomoi should be the more literal One-sided Love (I think the title is meant to have a double meaning). The story does have many "unrequited love" situations, but that's not the theme—it's about much more than that, about loving more wholly and unconditionally in spite of not understanding every side of the other.

STORY
While the story is based on a Higashino Keigo mystery novel (for those who don't know, he's one of Japan's most popular writers), the tone of this series is not that of a detective/crime/investigation drama (although there are elements of investigation), but rather, a thoughtful relationship-focused friendship drama with a cloudy murder mystery plot that weaves together those relationships. It's relatively slow-paced compared to another kind of genre you normally see mysteries filmed as, but it's extremely compelling and could really be marathoned in one go if you had the time!

It's rather artfully filmed at points, including the end sequence of the first episode, as someone mentioned. I almost feel this could have been a better feature film with a higher budget, but it's really well-made and was the perfect length for the story at six episodes.

As for all the hand-wringing about how they'd handle transgender identity issues, it's done in a sensitive and compassionate way without being maudlin or overkill like you might expect from Hollywood. Honestly, I wasn't surprised at that at all, but I did find it refreshing and insightful without being preachy or telling audience members how to think. While it's a huge part of the story and is discussed at length, it isn't The story. There is the mystery, but the story is ultimately about friendship, and each character is wrestling with many questions about relationships in their own way.

What some viewers may take more issue with is the ending, but in context I found it satisfying. It's certainly very Japanese in its embracing the ambiguity of many technically explosive moral situations, and recognizing sacrifice as part of love. Okay, I just made some sweeping generalizations there, and it may come off as a judgment/rationalization of those situations, but it's not, at all. I just wanted to mention these things, as I sometimes feel like certain elements of many J-dramas get a bad rap because they're seen through a different cultural lens...

CAST/ACTING
The casting is great, as all the team members featured in past and future are totally believable both at age 20 and in their mid-late 30s, even though some of the actors are pushing 40 or over. (Miki is even shockingly convincing as a high school-aged Mitsuki in one brief scene! And not just because her make-up artist was great!) The three main actors (the Nishiwaki 'couple' and Mitsuki) showed a huge range and a depth of emotion that gave me the sense they truly put their all into their characters. While Kuninaka Ryoko plays a role similar to others she's done [the emotionally complex wife who looks sweet but is tough], it's because she's so good at it. She plays off of both Kenta and Miki's characters wonderfully and somehow makes the weird tension (that isn't even what we'd think) actually believable.

REWATCH?
I'm not an avid rewatcher at all, especially when it comes to a story with a mystery plot, so normally I can't figure out a score for this! However, I think Kataomoi's rewatch value is high as you'd likely be able to better appreciate some of the great little symbolic touches, as well as the psychological aspects of what characters are going through at various times (that were initially more of a mystery). Most of all, probably Kenta's role as it's a subtle emotional character arc that only becomes more meaningful later in the story. On the other hand, this is a story that stays with you, so you'll probably still be thinking about it later and retroactively appreciate these things!

OST
Music was on-point as usual, with a great theme and emotive score. It almost never got sentimental or emotionally manipulative, but rather added complexity and mood. I feel like the end credits song has for sure been used before...if so, anyone remember what drama? I can't remember, but it's evocative and a perfect fit.

NOTE: For those wondering about the sex scene in the first episode, it isn't graphic/realistic but more atmospheric, is short, and serves a purpose. It's not jarring and you can see why it happens. But 'mature' is still a valid tag because the themes in this may not resonate for perhaps younger teens as the characters are nearing midlife and dealing with many of the emotional, relational, and identity issues of that age.

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My Bromance
6 people found this review helpful
Feb 28, 2019
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.5
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 10
Rewatch Value 6.0

Cute & Light

STORY:
Nothing intricate or complicated here, but that's not a bad thing! Descriptive words that come to mind are lighthearted, fun, silly, and over the top. I laughed several times while watching this series, and it put me in a good mood. That plus the fact that the episodes are so short (around 7-10 minutes) makes this a great series for lazy afternoons or when you need some filler in between dramas. The production value and filmography impressed me as well! Not sure what the budget was, but even if it was small you wouldn't be able to tell from watching.

A note for anyone curious about the BL: It's there, but it makes up a relatively small portion of the show, which focuses more on the relationships between the mother and her children. It's still a fun and entertaining series to watch, though, but don't go in expecting this to be primarily a BL story (but what we did get was really cute!).

ACTING/CAST:
Loved all of them and they all did a really great job. Like the story, they were silly and over the top, not taking themselves too seriously, but they have some sweeter, more serious moments as well (without being too heavy). I thought the ladies were a tad stronger (and I freaking love Erica!); the guys were good, but I did notice that some of their delivery was a tiny bit stiff (like they were just saying the lines and going through the motions but not really acting).

MUSIC:
No complaints here. I liked the opening theme and thought it set the mood for the show nicely.

OVERALL:
If you're interested, go for it! This was a nice little break and I thought the producers and actors did a really good job with this web series. I would love for them to make a follow-up season so we can see more of the relationships that developed near the end.

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Cupid's Last Wish
6 people found this review helpful
by Xu1020
Mar 23, 2022
10 of 10 episodes seen
Completed 2
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

My two cents

I was reading others review after watching the whole series (watched it for 1 day because I got so hooked up with the story they said this series got backslash like wth! What's the reason? This series is to refreshing and so good. Very different from BL series we used to watched. Mix (Win) character here is very different from what we saw last time in A Tale Of Thousand Stars, his cute, innocent and charming image changes to this Win Character, it was awesome and mind blowing at the same time. Earth (Korn) of course, he always have this cool image, pleasing eyes and beautiful image. Sorry but I could not resist him (my heart ?). I won't be detailing down the plot of the story ( please watch it, it, it will feed your BL soul and body) but I will highlight the ending. The denouement was given enough time and did not forced the story to end. Also, this type of BL where the characters lived in the urban places really suits for Earth and Mix. i hope to see more and more of this. Please.

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Jealousy Incarnate
6 people found this review helpful
Apr 20, 2020
24 of 24 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
Short: Fabulous! Chemistry between the leads is amazing, some genuinely difficult issues are tackled and some of the performances are just outstanding. It's a love story, but with many wrinkles along the way. It's familiar in some of its tropes but at the same time unique. Ending was perfect. Really enjoyed this one!

Detailed:
It's 24 episodes, one of the longer dramas I've watched - but I enjoyed every single minute. As soon as I realised where this one was going I was glad they'd given it the extra time.

This one has a love triangle in it predominantly but before you switch off - I thought they had a really interesting take on it, and it was made all the more interesting and difficult simply because both guys were great, so it's not like you are looking for her to pick the "right" one. I thought how this was resolved was really good too. I also thought it was amusing that there are numerous triangles between various cast, whether it's the two mums and the daughter, or the two mums and the restaurant owner, or the two guys and the FL etc. It really felt like they were hamming it up a bit as if to say, if we're going to do a love triangle, let's ramp it up :)

Numerous things come up in the story and each time there's a thought out resolution. The length going to 24 episodes instead of a usual 16 or 20 means that there's time to do a proper job, but at no point did I feel like it was dragging.

Of all the dramas with Gong Hyo Jin (It's Okay That's Love, Masters Sun) that i've seen, this is probably my favourite of her performances. There's one scene where her whole expression is full on, and she goes from a big full-face smile, to crying - and the way her whole expression morphs and her faces changes colour to a deep red, was incredible.

This is probably my second Jo Jung Suk drama (Oh My Ghostess being the first) and I probably enjoy his work a lot more after this (and I enjoyed OMG a lot). His character goes through some tough times - things that I am delighted to see being covered, it's very rare that male medical troubles are ever touched upon and in this they are far more than simply touched upon - his character changes a lot, and he's able to deliver the full spectrum believably.

Seo Ji Hye (Black Knight and Crash Landing On you) was good to see in this drama too, I like how she plays strong women and I actually think her along side Lee Da Hee would be something awesome to see.

There's numerous little cameos too, whether it's Han Ji Min (One Spring Night), Go Sung Hee (Suits, My Holo Love), or one that I am not 100% sure of but I think was Lee Sun Kyun, who Na-Ri goes out on a blind date with and judging by the comments made it sounds like he's the guy from Pasta (a drama that both Gong Hyo Jin and Lee Sun Kyun were in).

Some of the visual effects were added nicely too, some of the repeated use of TV screens to show what was going on in their heads were interesting and at times quite amusing, but keep an eye out sometimes it's not obvious and easy to miss.

Music was fantastic, several tracks stood out.

The ending was perfect. I had in my mind how I wanted it to end, and if they went down that route, how I wanted them to finish in the final scenes and they did just about exactly what I had hoped. Can't ask for more than that :)

Just absolutely great, heartily recommended.

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Completed
The Sound of Magic
6 people found this review helpful
by Shalu
May 9, 2022
6 of 6 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 7.0

musical drama

Ever since the musical drama was announced by Netfix, I was looking forward for it. Not to mention it lived through my expectation. The songs having melifluous voice of Ji Chang Wook made it more enjoyable.
A binge watching, coming of age drama, with spectacular visual effects and cinematography! What I most appreciated was the editing that kept storyline crisp.
The actors were perfect to their role, resonating appropriate emotions! It helps one to believe in magic and let oneself dream what satisfies them❗
Simply loved Ji Chang Wook's character. to act and deliver... he charms as a magician with his poignant acting and it's enough to leave you hooked. Even characters of Choi Sung Eun, as a teenager with harsh realities trying to grow as an adult finding solace in RiEul's magic . Or even Hwang In Yoop's character as a high school student in dillema whether to pursue aspirations of his parents or to take the path away from 'Asphalt' road to let the flower bloom and let him be happy.. were so grounded and realistic. A rollercoaster journey with many a tear-jerking moments and a perfect Final Performance by ALL.
Overall a worth watching drama.
Thank you.

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