no logical episodes
rating it less ONLY because of the last episode. i just don't get it what happened why. and it was totally illogical episode....
tho the episodes being illogical i still enjoyed watching it through out. the ML is hot af 🥵🔥
and even the acting of both the leads is top notch.
..
i have alot of questions. but since everything in series was so illogical and stuff. i don't think there is a need to be precise with epsiodes.
..
i mean it is how it is. there is no logic i tell you .
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Frustrating with a capital F
This was one of the most frustrating dramas that I've ever seen, for a multitude of reasons.First of all, the pacing and plot distribution was just all wrong. The main male lead's own e-sports team was not fully established until episode 30 (yes, episode 30 out of 35), and that meant that we got barely any time to see how the members would actually grow together. The team felt like a hodgepodge of different characters, randomly pulled from here and there, and until the very end I still felt like only understood them in their previous contexts, not how they would grow in this new environment. We were only given about five episodes of gaming montage, and it was not nearly enough to convince me that this team would win, and that they deserved it.
Before the team was established, was show was just super frustrating and it never gave you a breather. Both the main characters basically just kept getting yanked left and right by evil antagonists — different characters, I might add — and that's the main source of plot development. It made both the characters feel really passive, and it was irritating how both of them seemed to recognize who was mean to them, but then became completely clueless when they were sabotaged and things went wrong.
There were simply just too many antagonists. Everyone aside from the two leads and about five side characters were either evil, easily manipulated by evil characters, or were just judgmental and obnoxious. While most e-sport dramas are inspiring and about people coming together, this one, for 30 episodes, felt like it was more about how people could be pulled apart. And the way many of these antagonists were handled were extremely weird — either they were given a redemption arc that felt out of the blue and unearned, or they were just unpunished and it felt like we just moved past big events.
I was not a fan of the romance either. The first ten episodes were a constant cycle of the FL making decisions to be nosy and annoying, followed by the ML being extremely rude, and then the FL randomly crying over her dead mother. I was not emotionally invested enough in her backstory to care about these sobfests, and when the leads suddenly started flirting and going on dates one episode later as if they had never argued, I had to backtrack and make sure I hadn't accidentally skipped an episode. It didn't help that the ML kept getting flashbacks to his first love throughout his initial interactions with the FL. Regardless, throughout the course of their flirtationship and relationship, the communication was just not there. The female lead constantly saw things and jumped to conclusions, and she never heard out the male lead, and all I kept thinking was that it never felt like their relationship could withstand outside forces.
The second couple was alright; they had some cute moments but were overall quite cliche with the typical more outgoing female character. Still, Lu Yiyi often came across as more abrasive.
I think the best part of this show was Pei Xi (and I am eternally grateful he wasn't dragged into a love triangle) who I think we desperately needed more backstory for as he had a really intriguing relationship with the ML, and Lin Yixuan (the sidekick, if you will), who wasn't that exciting of a character but provided the loyalty and friendship that was missing from a lot of the show.
Overall, I've watched a few gaming dramas and this is definitely not one of my favorites — the title for that still goes to Falling Into Your Smile, a drama where its strongest point was a female lead who was actually in the e-sports industry and who was capable and career-focused. At this point I'm a little over these gaming dramas where the FL has to be an outsider; there are moments where it's done decently but even when the FL in this drama was getting into e-sports commentary and joining the Phenix team, it felt like she was always asking questions and never knew what was going on.
The one thing I will give this drama is that the OST is quite good. But everything else...if you want to watch a gaming drama, I recommend you look instead to Falling Into Your Smile or Out With A Bang.
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This review may contain spoilers
Underdeveloped Female Lead Character and Story. Overrated to me.
...................................................Let's start with 'why I choose to watch this?'
So, I chose to give it a try because of e-sport and romance as main theme, secondly for Yang Yang and thirdly it is quite popular.
I hadn't seen any work of the Main Lead actress before, so this was the first one. And to be honest, I'm very disappointed in the actress and dissatisfied with the makers.
ML is okay, but in my opinion this character doesn't suit Yang Yang, maybe because of the storyline. I have seen a few works of him, most of them are amazing, but this one 'a big no'.
...................................................
Now come to the plot and characters:
...................................................
The setting is in University. FL (Bai Wei Wei) is a student in CS engineering as well as ML (Xiao Nai), but ML is senior to her.
So Xiao Nai is quite popular in college and Wei Wei is among few girls who study CS and believes 'if boys can be smart in this field then why girls can't be'. So she chose to study CS and is quite a good student & intelligent and wants to prove herself.
She plays online games and met Xiao Nai through this game, but didn't know that this person is actually her senior. They made a team in the game and get success in their almost every mission as Xiao Nai is one of the best players in the game as well as Wei Wei. They both started to fall for each other. Xiao Nai discovered her identity first and asked her out, while she didn't know how exactly is Xiao Nai looks like in person, yet. They met, and she found out that the online partner she fell for is actually the senior she admired. Their real life relationship starts from here.
I admit, it was a good relationship as their was no misunderstandings, they trust and respect each other fully. But, it feels lacking in terms of chemistry. The expressions of main lead actress seems off sometimes.
There is little to no character development in the whole drama.
Xiao Nai started his own company but Wei Wei, she's just there to be a helping lady rather than, actually working and making contribution to prove that 'girls can be as smart as boys in software development'. What's her goal? Where are her efforts? She's just being stuck in romance and doing nothing else. And her friends, they are so annoying and just waste of screentime.
...................................................
At last, Xiao Nai's company get success in their project and his dream comes true, but what about Female Lead.
I don't understand why even was she in drama? Did she do something for herself? Did she do something for Xiao Nai? Did she do anything for anyone to make any change in their life? She did Nothing. Her character is so underdeveloped.
The only thing I like in this drama is that Xiao Nai and Wei Wei's relationship is good and appreciable. That's solely the reason I'm giving it this much rating, otherwise it's just waste of time, despite being highly rated and popular, to me.
...................................................
I would not recommend this to the ones who want to watch a good plot and developed characters.
...................................................
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One of the best BL series
I watched this series without any expectations, even though I noticed the rating was quite high. Given my past experiences with BL series, I often found the execution lacking, be it in chemistry, editing, or costumes, especially in those set in the past like this one.However, I really enjoyed watching 'I Feel You Linger in the Air,' particularly the interaction between Khun Yai and Jom, which didn't feel cringe-worthy at all.
The only thing that bothered me was the ending, leaving me with many questions. Fortunately, after searching online, I finally understood the conclusion.
I hope a second season can happen, as I've been somewhat traumatized by numerous BL series that were supposed to continue but were suddenly canceled without any clarity.
I'm also looking forward to the special episode!
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What kind of ending
Ko Chia Yen plays Shen Xi quite well, and Zhai Zi Lu is the reason I watched this series.Up until episode 15, I was still excited to follow the story, but as it progressed, I felt it was dragging, and some scenes seemed unimportant, not significantly affecting the story.
The ending left me really disappointed because, in my opinion, it didn't feel like the right conclusion, and some episodes were cut, leaving the story unfinished. It's a shame, even though I find the storyline interesting, and the main characters played their roles well
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This review may contain spoilers
MY NEW FAVORITE DRAMA ??
oh my lord. THESE FEW WEEKS HAVE BEEN THE BEST THING THATS EVER HAPPENED TO ME😭😭oh my god. i didn’t think i’d ever feel the same after watching and finishing business proposal BUT THIS DRAMA made my mondays and tuesdays something to look forward to😭😭😭IM SO SAD ITS OVER. oh my god. the double couple. YOUNG HA YI CHAN SO SEXY. the time travel. THE FINDING EACHOTHER TIME TRAVELLING. Oh my hot. this was written so well like i couldn’t have predicted anything BUT IT WAS SOOO FEEL GOOD AND SOOO SWEET!! UGHH CHONGCHAN COUPLE 😭❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ WHEN HE LEARNS SIGN LANGUAGE FOR HER. WHEN EUNGYEOL ONLY LIKED EUNYOO/SEKYOUNG WHEN IT WAS THE REAL EUNYOO,,,, STfu. if i had to change anything, maybe the ending showing what’s it like w eunyoos new life and MORE CHONGCHAN oh and have eunyoo and eungyeol meet each other earlier on. also the grandpa being the viva la vida guy?? i kninda knew that but i need to look and think it over a bit more…. SO GOOD. ANYWAYS. THE LESSONS THIS DRAMA TAUGHT? LIKE i could write essays about this. UGH. SO FEEL GOOD. SO GOOD. THE BAND. UGH . just so many heart fluttering mom ents. i wish i could rewatch or see this for the first time again😭BEAUTY ALL AROUND! (oh and the sexy other band members,,, MEOW)Was this review helpful to you?
Cute & Sweet With Earnest & Thoughtful Characters.
Edit Jan 2024: increased my ratings after re-watching with proper subtitles after the international release. These two boys do actually put effort into communicating with each other, and keep trying even though they are interrupted at almost every turn. I think the only thing that didn't interrupt them was an animal, lol.A simple but very well done childhood friends to lovers story with good acting, soft cinematography, and no unlikable characters. Lots of mutual uncertainty and sweetness. All angst is resolved by the end.
An easy watch with eight 20min episodes. Also known as "I Cannot Reach You".
In the USA, I first watched it in Nov 2023 with fan subtitles, which were obviously awkward but better than nothing. In Dec 2023 it was released internationally and became available on Neflix and I re-watched it. The proper subtitles made a big difference! It noticeably increased my enjoyment and satisfaction with the characters, their bond, and their efforts at navigating their complex feelings with each other. Though I tried to give the dialogue a pass in my initial review because of the circumstances, I have now raised my rating a full star (to 9/10). I will watch again.
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Mind blowing, keeps you on the edge
If you love Crime, mystery and some thriller... this would be a nice watch. It is not long winded, a mere 24 episode long series. I would say this show is stunning, mind blowing, keeps you on the edge, suspension, thriller all in one mix. Both the male and female lead did a very good job, especially the male lead..... But I would say, overall the entire casts and crew really did a remarkable job bringing this series to life. Especially the psychotic casts. They are down right creepy and eerie. Great performance on that part!It is definitely a watch, even if it is only for once, to watch this thriller and crime series unfold. The songs are also very nicely paired to this show.
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First impressions - Only for hardcore period drama fans
I am a sucker for period drama and especially those that are based on historical figures or events. This show was sponsored by the Korean government cultural bodies so as you can imagine, would be quite realistic at least from a sets and costume point of view. They do state that it is somewhat historically accurate (as compared to a lot of other period dramas) but still to be taken with a grain of salt for dramatic purposes.I love the character development and plot development so far, but it's really early days. Comparing this to My Dearest which is broadcasting at the same time, this drama is really only for historical buffs or diehard period drama fans, especially of war dramas. It doesn't have the emotions, flair and sympathy that My Dearest evokes with the on-going love story set within the tragic backdrop (at least so far).
There are some nuances of unusual relationships (son - mother and gay vibes; being gay is still not openly accepted in S Korean society today). So if that's not your cup of tea, you might want to give this a miss. In those days, it was perfectly normal for full blood siblings to marry (to maintain the purity of royal blood) so it was a different time and societal norms were different.
Trivia: Ji Seung Hyun has a role in both My Dearest and this. I am starting to feel that he does a better job in period drama than modern drama.
Will update my review again at the end.
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a perfect blend of melodrama, light-hearted humor, and heartfelt moments
In this captivating 16-episode Korean drama, the narrative unfolds as a perfect blend of melodrama, light-hearted humor, and heartfelt moments. From the initial episode to the finale, the storyline progressively improves, delivering a touching and engaging experience. The cast, proficient in sign language, brings authenticity to their performances, enhancing the emotional depth of the drama.
One remarkable aspect is the enchanting music that accompanies each episode, leaving a lasting impression and warranting repeated listens. Choi Hyun Wook shines in his role, displaying exceptional talent in bringing a spectrum of emotions to the screen. His voice and infectious smile contribute to the drama's charm, solidifying him as a noteworthy actor.
The relationships depicted, whether in bromance or friendships, are authentic, and the romantic elements are delicately balanced. This drama proves to be a well-rounded experience, leaving a lasting impact with its captivating plot, talented cast, and a memorable soundtrack. The standout actor's outstanding performance and the genuine connections among the characters make this drama a compelling and worthwhile watch for enthusiasts.
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Slice of life
This drama unfolds at a relaxed pace, devoid of hurried plots or chaotic storylines. Instead, it delicately navigates life's challenges, offering therapeutic healing for the female protagonist's trauma through the optimistic and humorous demeanor of the male lead.The background story of a bossy president and a poor assistant is made more refreshing and realistic, making it more plausible for the audience. It adds a good combination of a second female character who serves as a novelist, analyzing the love story of the main characters, creating a path for the secondary love story. Lastly, the warm relationship between parents and children is enjoyable to witness.
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Silly goofy lil drama lol
Look it is not perfect but at the same time it is lol. Ye Chan comes off as silly in the most possible way but I would go to battle for him *insert crying emoji*. This is a cute lil drama that you can watch if you need something light and fuzzy. The only thing that kept throwing me off was Ye Chan calling Yul bro which in his dialect made it sound like he was calling Yul “ham” all the time at least to me TT. The main leads are so adorable together and hopefully we can see more of them! Ye Chan literally is like a life sized golden retriever. You should watch this if you want something light and easy.Was this review helpful to you?
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What was that ending?
This review is going to mainly focus on the last 2 episodes. When Makiko was finally confronted and they just decide apologizing to their mother was what they wanted had me ??? After all that, they just wanted her to say sorry and continue on with their lives? Then Kiichi jumps out of the window for some reason ??? It was so over dramatic and random. I also don't get why they didn't immediately turn her into the police when she admitted it, they just let her sleep tight and create more lies not to mention Osamu is a sorry excuse for a father.Now we get to Kiichi turning himself in which watered down Makiko being as bad as she was but then nope it was actually Shinji and it turned out to be an innocent accident and Makiko will not get punished for anything even though she still had their moms stolen possessions (which is also a plot hole because how did she return all of her things before the house burned down but still have so many of her stolen items???). And she's clearly a terrible mother who psychologically abused her sons but that was glossed over and the two never went against her or really confronted her even after she admitted to starting the fire. And when Shinji confessed to the mom, the whole grudge thing was??
And to top it all off, everyone has a happy ending. Anzu pleads to take Kiichi with her and cook for him and take care of him which was embarrassing honestly. Going back to the beginning, Kiichi definitely acted abusive towards her and we're supposed to be like yes, he's perfect for Anzu. Then Makiko gets back to being famous, Shinji gets a second chance and its clear he will probably end up with Yuzu and their mom plans on moving on with her normal life. None of it sat right with me. It just felt like a cop out ending where nothing really changed and no lessons were learned.
The end.
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A Business Gay Performance
This show is not good. I'll start there. However, it is hilarious. If you watch it like you're watching a badly scripted SNL skit, it's AWESOME.The plot is Nine and Mill are debuting together in a group with the concept of "business gay performance," which is essentially fanservice. Naturally, the two of them realize that they have feelings for each other as well. The pacing of the show is totally off, the script is bad, and the acting is worse. It's basically them acting out poorly-written fanfiction. It's never as queer as you want it to be, and instead you're left laughing at the absurdity of the show. I enjoyed watching every episode of this and laughed real hard at it. Don't go in with high expectations. It's probably only worth watching if you're a fan of onlyoneof, in which case the plot seems very fitting considering the group's concept.
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