Two worlds, one love

You cannot imagine how happy I am to be able to speak French, now! I wish I could speak japanese most of all but since I cannot, this is definitely the second best today. Why? Because I could watch this amazing short drama and the only subs available are in french! So first of all, thank you Rosé Fansub Traduction for subbing this little gem!

The story is about a girl and a boy secretly dating. She is getting more and more frustrated with secrecy that she starts posting on line photos of their moments of happiness(dessert, park bench etc.). Until one day someone recognizes his shadow and he gets angry. So much so that she makes a wish to live in the happy world. And her wish is granted. But in this world, he is unknown. Soon enough, she realizes she has entered the social media world where the pecking order is determined by the number of subscribers in the real world. She is surprised to discover that some very shy and unassuming people in her class have a huge number of followers.

In addition to the sweet romance, this drama mostly talks about social media vs. real life, about being yourself anonymously vs. hiding your real self afraid of rejection. This drama is optimistic, very positive about acceptance: you just need the courage to assume your choices and the others will admire you for the courage. There are a few other examples in this drama: a trans boy and a hidden singer who, to their own surprise, end up being accepted as they are! It would be nice if it were true in reality but hope springs eternal so...Baby steps internet, baby steps fixing hole in the net!

The production is exemplary for a webdrama: the plot is tightly woven, perfectly well written, the acting is top notch and the cinematography is stunning (the light is subtly different in two worlds).

I highly recommend this if you speak japanese or french: it is easily found on youtube! Half a point off because it was too short, I wanted more. Don't worry, the story wraps up nicely but I still wanted more!

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Pretty empty...

Well, here goes another typical korean bl under the belt! Nice production value, warm and rather beautiful cinematography, zero chemistry and a lot of lipstick. A lot!

Jazz For Two was one of the first webtoons I ever read a couple of years ago and I remember liking it a lot. The art was pretty, the story gripping and I even found a playlist on Spotify featuring every song mentioned in the webtoon. What I do not remember is the plot just that it was about two boys in high school bonding over jazz!

The drama is another superficial bl romance koreans are known to produce. It touches upon serious issues but it never tackles them in depth. And issues here were many: homophobia, suicide, bullying, assault. The way to deal with these issues? Love, of course! Love, which magically cures mental problems, behavioural problems etc. etc.

Teens are still children, exploring the world and figuring themselves out, so their reactions towards anything outside the instilled norms may turn violent. Care and kindness are not necessarily the standard. They are scared of being different, to stand out and therefore, when faced with the unknown, they tend to reject it violently! This was shown relly clearly in this drama.

The main characters are four boys in an arts high school who eventually form two enemies-to-lovers couples. The actors were correct, the best being Song Han Gyom(3rd lead) who played DoYoon. The worst by far, Kim Jin Kwon(ML). I had trouble recognizing him even though I remember him from To My Star. The costume and make up designers created an unlikable image: oversized clothes and too much make up (nobody has such red shiny lips naturally: he looked really artificial). Moreover, he had no chemistry with his partner.

I would like to end just with one question: is there such a thing as korean drama taking place in high school but with absolutely no bullying?

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Butterflies inducing hope

Practically perfect in every way!

A butterflies inducing, tears of rage provoking story of two lost men who find happiness and solution in each other's company, with love being the cherry on the top! One, Hiro, is a programmer convinced by his boss(workplace bullying/harassment) that he is incompetent and therefore putting more and more effort into ungrateful work. So much so that he is completely exhausted and drawing onto his last drops of strength. The other one, Kai, is a taciturn man used to being alone and always abandoned, expecting nothing from the world. When these two meet, their worlds slowly but surely start to change and merge, almost unwittingly!

The drama is full of romance tropes: opposites attract, childhood connection but it works perfectly well here. The actors have good chemistry and the evolution of their relationship is slow but steady, with their respective insecurities taking turns in blocking it. Misunderstandings appear but are solved immediately! There was only one problem I found in the first episode: in order to help him sleep, Kai "helps" him release the stress through a handjob which can be seen as SA since Hiro keeps saying No. He does sleep well afterwards but this scene just repeats the aggressive gay man stereotype! I thought we were beyond this!

Kudos to casting director who found young actors who resemble the main actors. I find this often in j dramas: more often than in other countries' ones! They really make it an issue of finding a believable looking young counterparts.

And of course there is food: what would a japanese drama be without it? Love goes through the stomach, everyone knows that!

The opening credits are actually the "happily ever after" sort of compilation of scenes we never really see since the drama stops when they get together.

It is a great watch. Japanese have done it again! Except for the weird title...

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Twists and turns: unexpected!

I usually start a review with a short synopsis but anything I may say can be a spoiler and for the first time ever, I want to keep a review spoiler free. You just need to watch it and enjoy the ride with a satisfactory conclusion!

I have yet to watch a c drama which has a sense of a cliffhanger. Usually they do not practice this art form! Therefore, it came as a huge surprise when practically every episode ended with a twisty sort of cliffhanger. What is even more surprising is that they managed to do it with short, 10 min episodes! Extraordinary!

The story deals with time travel, reincarnation, entertainment industry and mental health. The writing is top notch! I would like to know who wrote this and if they wrote anything else. Because this is by far the most original, interesting and gripping short c drama I have ever watched! Music is the usual c drama songs, heavy on the flute and the cinematography is adequately windy and flowery.

There is romance, there is comedy, there is mystery here! It is easily bingeable! If I have any complaints about this drama is that most of the cast is bland, charisma free except for the actor playing the FL's father: he was somehow different from others, rather remarkable! The drama and the story are definitely worth your while!

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Art or life? Choose! Why?

NB: Thank you for the brilliant subs evasive subs!

I discovered rakugo. I never knew it existed and one episode was enough for me to spend an hour on the internet trying to find out as much as I can about this art. And I discovered many interesting things and not only on wikipedia!

First : the lesson! (LOL!)

Rakugo (落語, literally 'story with a fall')[1] is a form of Japanese verbal entertainment, traditionally performed in yose theatres.[2] The lone storyteller (落語家, rakugoka) sits on a raised platform, a kōza (高座). Using only a paper fan (扇子, sensu) and a small cloth (手拭, tenugui) as props, and without standing up from the seiza sitting position, the rakugo artist depicts a long and complicated comical (or sometimes sentimental) story. The story always involves the dialogue of two or more characters. The difference between the characters is depicted only through change in pitch, tone, and a slight turn of the head. The monologue always ends with a narrative stunt (punch line). Rakugo has been described as "a sitcom with one person playing all the parts". Around 1670 in the Edo period (1603–1867), three storytellers appeared who were regarded as the first rakugoka. (wikipedia)

Second: the plot!

This drama was gripping from the first to the last minute! It tells the story of Bou, a young boy whose dancing career had been ruined and who is sent over to a master rakugoka to learn the craft of storytelling. He meets Sukeroku the first day there and they become fast friends in spite of completely opposite characters. The drama tells the story of their lives over a period of 60 years which covers Showa era (from approximately 1933 to 1997 with the epilogue 16yrs later!). The boys change names as they grow and get promoted within the rakugo association.

I used to watch a lot of western dramas with this kind of basic plot: story of one character's life practically from cradle to grave, spanning a long period of history when major changes happened. Since I usually avoid asian historical dramas as if they were plague, I have never seen an asian version of these life stories. I loved this one, it was gripping, but it tugged at my heartstrings too much in the last episode so I shall probably never watch anything like this again. Too painful in spite of them trying to be upbeat about main character dying of old age!

The plot describes the fight, very restrained and civilized, between the holders of the tradition (masters) and those who try to bring a bit to modernity into strictly coded art (Sukeroku). Yakoumo(Bou) is torn between the safety of known rules and codes and the admiration for the freedom and originality of Sakuroku's performance. And even though for a short moment Yakoumo felt jealous of his friend, he quickly accepted that his art is different, classical not as exciting as Sakuroku's but still admirable. The bond between those two people was unbreakable, they loved and cherished each other immensely and no matter what the world thought , they were there for each other. This was a real bromance!

The problems start when Yakoumo falls for a geisha. When his master asks him to choose between her and rakugo, he breaks up with her. She consoles herself with Sukeroku who was banished from rakugo for insubordination and everything leads to a tragedy with consequences felt for a long time afterwards. This was never really a love triangle and they showed it clearly. The rules and hidden envies ruined lives of three people who starting from that moment just survived and not lived.

The plot is tightly woven and there are no plot holes. The characters are clearly presented and they are fully fleshed out: we follow their growth over a long time period.

Third: the production.

Since this drama is a life story, there are a lot of time jumps so the extraordinary actor, Okada Masaki, first and foremost, had to play the character between the ages of 17 and 70 which is a no mean treat. The way he changed voice and posture and attitude with age is impressive. The actors also had to learn all the rakugo tales and codes of performance as well. Amazing. The only problem i had was the ageing make up (which was expertly done, no details were missed- like hands or neck.): the character who is supposed to be 70 looks more like he's 95, he looks too old for his age. Maybe it has to do with the personality of the character: dry, succinct, cold, unhappy, bitter, restrained so he looks older than he should?
The music is just perfect, with enough pathos to tug at your heart. The time period was rather faithfully recreated.

Conclusion

Drama is about rakugo, an art form thought to be on the decline but still alive and kicking and the people preforming it. it is about people in doing rakugo. As I said, I'd never heard of rakugo before this drama, but it is still easy to follow since it is a human story. Beautifully told story of people trying to overcome obstacles put before them by society, rules and prejudice. Sorry, this review is a bit messy...

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Cheers!!!

Well, nothing earth-shattering here! Just an ordinary, run-of-the-mill, based on a manga romcom. And it is fine! If that's what you're looking for!

I thought I was! And I loved the first couple of episodes! And then I did not any more! It is not that it gets bad but it gets too long and eventually it becomes boring! I think that says something when the drama has only 8 episodes 30min long!

But first I would like to than donsubbers for the subs! Keep up the good work! We do appreciate it!

It is an office romance between an icy straight forward office lady and a people pleaser, handsome but spineless office worker. He is forced to accept a bet involving her, she overhears him accepting said bet. So they start dating, hesitantly enjoying each other's company but still holding back because of the bet. Their respective best friends try to help them out.

I loved the FL: strong, principled, honest and taking no nonsense which made her an outcast though she was appreciated for her professional attitude and her competence. She always managed to keep a straight face while the storm was brewing behind it: the j dramas' favourite trope i.e. the inner monologue came useful here though they used it a bit too much when she was all alone and acting out the very monologue! Those were also the moments when the manga origins of this drama came to evidence: grimaces, gesturing, jumping around, turning eyes...the actress did all of this to perfection but managed not to go overboard so I was not put out by it much (since I usually drop a drama when they go OTT with manga codes, this is a good sign!).
I hated the ML: spineless, wanting to please everyone, boring, flavorless and annoyingly cowardly but, to his defence, he grows a pair by the end of the drama and stands up against the office harassment.

The office harassment was actually the main topic behind the romcom: it is used as an initial motivation for the plot but it is left superficial even though the main harasser is punished, learns his lesson and becomes a better person. It is very unrealistic but I should not expect more from the treatment of this topic here since this is first and foremost a romantic comedy and it is not to be taken seriously.

There are some interesting support characters, like the FL's coworker who hero worships her and then observes from afar her love life cheering her on, the FL's parents: the talkative mother and the newspaper reading absent father(they were funny), and last but not least the chemistry overflowing best friends and hopefully a future couple. They were a spicy couple in contrast with the vanilla main one! Much more interesting but not present enough!

I liked the music: it was the right kind and right amount and it accompanied the story well without drowning it as is often the case in j dramas (at least among those I've seen so far!).

The production was solid but there was one scene in which I found the extras' attitudes bizarre! In the scene the second couple is walking down the almost empty street discussing their friends, they are not speaking particularly loudly so it was surprising to see extras, far away from them stop and watch them: there was no reason for them to do that! I was wondering if they filmed it with real passer bys who stopped to watch the filming of the scene out of curiosity because that is what the scene looked like !

This is an easily bingeable, light and fun drama and you might spend a relaxing moment watching it if you do not expect much!

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Ah that hairline....

Well, this does not stand a rewatch!

I watched this for the first time when it was first released and I loved it. So a week ago, when I was feeling a bit down and not wanting to start anything new, I decided that rewatching this was a good idea.

No, it wasn't!

It took me three days to finish the first episode and than another two to watch half of the second one before finally abandoning it: it was unwatchable.

The story is not bad, the hook up was all PC, asking for consent and all that jazz.

But: the actors may be cute and handsome, they cannot act to save their lives. The line delivery is monotone, the facial expressions non-existent or rather they each sport one single expression throughout the drama: Boun is trying to be cocky and seductive (just cringy and unconvincing!) and Prem has eternally trembling lips and panicky attitude. And they have absolutely no chemistry between them: Boun falling for Prem when he sees him in the first episode comes from nowhere. I guess that's what they call love at first sight and that is something reason, logic and appearance cannot explain.

Then there is the only actress with lines Samantha, fidgeting and grimacing and trying to show shyness and seductiveness but failing miserably. She was painful to watch. Dean with his expressionless face and zero acting talent is a known and expected quantity, while Fluke cries easily and very often.

The production value is standard though they forgot about continuity when it concerned Boun's blond hair: that was the most amusing aspect of this drama i.e. keeping track of Boun's roots!

I have either seen too many BLs now and my rose-tinted glasses are off, or I am a bitter and blind person who needs to have her eyesight checked.

A good watch once but not to be repeated !

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Magical cocktail therapy...

Taste of Cat has a great concept, incredible cats and my favourite genre: fantasy. So why only four short episodes?

The cats take over their owner's bar late at night and help out strangers who stumble upon it. The drama covers two cases: a girl who finds out her ex is badmouthing her and a man who bumps unexpectedly on his ex and is ridden with regrets. The cats through drinks and more (fantasy element: body swap and time travel!) help them see more clear and sort it out!

Does anyone know what happened to these three actors? They are by far the most convincing. (and the cutest) cats I have ever seen! I could watch them play with a ball of yarn and throwing steamy glances to each other for hours: plot is not needed! So why did they sink into oblivion, doing bit parts, if any? What a waste! I looked them up while watching this short drama and the fact that their careers never took off as they rightfully deserved, made me incredibly sad .

The production is the usual for a korean web drama: some bad acting, some empty sets, some bad cinematography, though not all (the date was filmed soft like a dream...), I loved the original idea of the plot: the bartender listens to the customer's story in exchange for a shiny toy (bracelet, tie) and offers a corresponding magical cocktail!

Cute but too short! I know there is a sequel....still this concept deserves a better production and a longer drama!

review 100

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Quirky and illogical....

....if you trust the human vampire movies. But, as they say, "Don't trust the human vampire movies!"

There are 4 vampires: three men and a woman who is fed up with living and wants to die but does not know how. So the men come up with different ideas. So this introduction part was interesting but after that I found everything they did illogical to say the least.

So she wants to die but has never tried to go out in the sun? That is THE big vampire trope: sensitivity to sunlight. But she never thought of that? Has she been living in a bubble for over 70 years and learned nothing about herself and the vampire species?
Then one of the guys says that vampires die if they have sex with each other. I find it hard to fathom vampires living for centuries (700yrs!) together and never once trying to have sex especially since they seem to have feelings for each other. So the woman has sex with the guy and apparently it is mindblowingly good but they are both still alive.
So she tries garlic, crosses and eventually sunlight. Nothing kills them.
In the end, they just have to keep on living like "ordinary" immortals.

If you do not try to nitpick like I just did, it is a funny little film I would not mind watching a much longer version since it shakes up all known vampire tropes.

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Peer pressure

Thank God for small mercies: halfway through this film I was certain that one character was going to off himself, everything was pointing in that direction. Korean shorts usually have a tragic ending. Well, this one was not tragic just unhappy. And very much expected considering the topic: high school boys and the power of appearances.

Two boys are friends and more (couple of chaste kisses prove that!) but a third boy is jealous, bigot, suspicious, discriminating and he manages to influence one of the boys to stop seeing his friend/boyfriend. That boy is very susceptible to other people's opinions and caves in easily in spite of having deep feelings for the other boy, who is used to be talked about in derogatory terms.

The film manages to say a lot in the space of 20min. The usual topics arise: high school, coming out, discovering one's sexuality, experimenting, peer pressure, gossip, self-confidence and the lack thereof. The cinematography is cold and dark and the direction rather straightforward.

Nice short film probably describing first experiences of many young men: it feels very raw and real.

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Pinky promises

I remember watching this as a drama a couple of years ago and not liking it very much: I found it messy, lacking chemistry and with low production value. Ever since then, I keep stumbling on occasional review and feeds post and they are all praising it highly. So I decided to rewatch it as a movie and to see if my original appreciation still holds!

Unfortunately it does! Even though I like this concept of red string of fate, it was nevertheless underwhelming. The motif of the red string is repeatedly used in different ways throughout the film which I found rather original: scarf, rope, pinky promise.... The characters are complete opposites: a cold debt collector and his fiery dancer debtor. Their relationship and bickering was nice, the actors were very much at ease with each other and yet still something was missing. They looked like they were not in synch while filming. The rest of the characters are just caricatures, barely sketched clichés: the cruel lady boss, the idiotic flamboyant sidekick, the mean rival (actually we never find out what happened to him after they spent so much time on him and when he left their last showdown with a cocky smirk!). And the sets? Pretty winter scenery but no heating inside: it was very cold on sets - that is very obvious!

Again, we have a korean mother who abandons her child after getting him in debt and cutting all means of communication with him. Are korean parents really this cruel? This is something that keeps repeating in k dramas so there must be a sliver of truth there. And that truth is ugly and it paints korean parents in a very bad light!

But everything considered, it is an OK single watch!

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Between Love And Friendship

Never had a drama a more fitting title!
Never was there a drama for me where I did not want the main leads to end up together.
Never had I seen a couple of utterly dislikable characters with horrendous and extremely weak personalities.
Never were the truer words said than when the ML finally admits to his own shortcomings 5 min before the ending!

As the title says, this is a story of two friends who want to become more but they are just caught in a string of missed opportunities, lack of courage, misunderstandings, lack of courage, lies, lack of courage and of course, lack of courage. They are both so insecure behind the hard surface that they do not dare to speak the truth to each other. But the reason was never the obvious one: to keep the friendship intact because their friendship, even though they were close, was never really deep and sincere. They liked spending time together but both of them wanted to become more while neither of them dared to say it. It turned out to be an extremely frustrating watch.

What it proved, as if the proof was needed, is that the men are weak creatures, without spine or courage but who talk big. Women on the other hand are not afraid to talk and lie, to fight what they want, to abandon what they do not need anymore.

What I liked about this drama is the structure of it: the same story is told from the both main characters' point of view as each episode tells about the same events. What I did not like very much is the usual overuse of voiceover but that is such a j drama thing so we end up getting used to it! I loved the music : the final song was beautiful. But I did not like the ML: he is the most annoying, spineless, cowardly, stupid, idiotic ML I have ever watched. What I hated about this is the predictable ending: I did not want them to end up happily ever after! They had so many opportunities to be happy together but they let every one of those slip through their fingers so they can wallow in misery and pretend to be happy. They actually deserved to remain alone and really miserable while having huge regrets and never acting on them! It was never clear what they liked so much about each other: probably they recognized each other's flaws in themselves: they are both equally insincere!

The drama's 10 episodes, 5 from Rina's POV and 5 from Ren's, span a 7 year period: it took them over 7 years to finally realize what they wanted (especially Ren: he is an idiot when he needs his ex-wife to explain some truths to him!) and timidly try to do something about it. I really thought that Ren was going to run away again in the end when she said "No way!" to his proposal..

Interesting concept but annoying characters with an undeserving happy end! Watching suggestion: watch the two versions at the same time in this order: episodes: 1, 6, 2, 7, 3, 8, 4, 9, 5, 10.

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Be careful what you wish for!

The original plot, no unnecessary time consuming side pots, cute actors (except for one), lovely music and a short duration was what kept me hooked on this drama when I have been dropping recent thai bls like they were hot potatoes!

The main problem this drama has is the casting and it is twofold! Firstly: Why would anyone give Gun a main role is beyond comprehension: he cannot act and even though he managed to tone down his ugly grimacing, it is still there and going crescendo as we approach the last episode! Secondly: Is it really so difficult to find actors who look alike for the characters' young and old versions! Just watch japanese dramas: it is uncanny! Their ability to find similar looking actors is amazing!

Gun with his overacting has ruined the enjoyment of this drama. But not so much as to drop it as I have been doing a lot recently with thai bls! This drama has an original plot idea which was unfortunately undercooked!

It is a story of a magical cafe that appears before you when you are the most desperate and offers to fulfil a wish. There are three at first unconnected, stories being told here. The first one is a woman abandoned by her boyfriend when he discovered she was pregnant. The second one is about Reaow and Mai, a new student in his high school. The third follows a longtime couple whose relationship is starting to fall apart because of work and lack of communication.

The pacing of the drama is a bit off: draggy for the most of it, it feels rushed in the last episodes with all the revelations coming out at a breakneck speed. But they managed to explain the majority of questions we were asking as we watched. I wished that the fantasy element had been more present in the first episodes which looked mostly like a mash up of two dramas: a school BL and an adult bl with a weird cafe owner(she was extremely weird, cackling and laughing like a maniac!) thrown randomly in between.
The two love stories were interesting though nothing new. The final episode twist, which I frankly did not see coming (bad casting!!!!) put a damper on the teen romance and it changed my appreciation of the characters (Reauw unexpectedly turned actually to be an ambiguous and grey character). The teen romance was well presented and Mai's questioning of his own sexuality in spite of his macho upbringing (there is apparently a wrong translation in the crucial scene: he does not say "I am straight!" but he says "I'm a man. Men don't cry!") was very convincing. Are you strong enough to go against your parents when you are 17?
The adult romance was ruined by bad acting and the lack of chemistry though the premise was interesting. Thana has been with his high achieving doctor boyfriend for ten years and the cracks are starting to show in that relationship because he does not seem to be able to keep up the pace with the successful doctor and they do not seem to talk anymore. He meets a young man in the neighbourhood and they hit it off famously: they seem to be on the same level, they seem to understand each other and they definitely have better chemistry.

I really liked the drama a lot and I am a bit disappointed because it could have been something exceptional with this original plot, better writing, pacing and not casting Gun: the rest of the actors were excellent! The cinematography is rich, soft and sparkling. The background music and the final song about forgetting were very nice and fit the drama perfectly.

There are plotholes (how does the café really work?), there are inconsistencies but they just made me go huh! And they were not bad enough for me to drop this which is a good sign! The ending is open and not what I hoped for: I did not want for Thana and his doctor to stay together. In spite of all the attraction they felt for each other, the whole relationship was built on a lie (a wish!) and should have crumbled when the truth came out.

I liked this drama a lot: it is different from the unwatchable fluff and soft porn thai producers seem to be churning out at a scary speed and that I keep dropping even faster! It has an interesting plot premise and I wish they put a little bit more effort into writing and casting which would have made it perfect!

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Defying time

Brilliant idea but lacklustre execution, unfortunately! I was hooked after two episodes, so much so, I subscribed to Gagaoolala in order to finish it. It did not keep its promise, sadly!

There are two different time periods that suddenly due to supermoon, get in touch and two sad men start talking to each other across time! Something happens between them but of course, there are so many obstacles in their way that nothing can come out of their love story. Just more regret and sadness.
The characters are very real and I loved the Wade's mother: open, helpful, optimistic, friendly an ideal mother in short!

The cinematography is stunning. It gives the whole series an out of the world, hazy and dreamy feeling, as befitting a fantasy! Beside interesting camera angles, the two time periods are filmed differently. Wade in 2020, pandemic and isolation, is all white, overexposed and too bright. Jose Manuel in 1974 is just like the Marcos dictatorship historical period: hopeless, dark and sad. The only bright points are JM's T-shirts. Wade's T-shirts also carry a message connected to the story
.
The music is moody and ominous announcing from the first seconds that this is not going to be a happy story! The huge problem is the sound recording: very bad!

The writing is original though a bit draggy and it is not very clear at which speed the time moves. They start communicating through letters: I love that concept. Their ability to communicate is due to the full moon. But that full moon usually lasts no more than three night every four weeks. Here it seems that they talk to each other every day and that there is the full moon in the clear sky every day as well (the shots of the moon are too frequent to correspond to reality!). They talk through the mirrors but sometimes they seem to see each other and sometimes they seem to be talking to themselves in the mirror: so it is not really clear how the whole communication thing works. They can talk to each other every day but they can see each other only when it is the full moon. Maybe I missed something? Another issue I found strange is that Wade thinks of finding the contemporary JM only after he definitely looses contact with him. While they were talking to each other Wade was never curious to find him in 2020?
The writers used the legend of Sidapa and Libulan which is tale of a controversial love affaire of two male deities in precolonial Filipino myth showing how impossible can become possible if you don't give up.

But the most interesting part were the episodes' titles which are the most romantic untranslatable words from a variety of languages:

1. YUAN FEN: (mandarin) fate or chance that brings people together predestined affinity or relationship (Budd.) destiny. Being able to provide explanations in a positive way, Yuanfen has always functioned as an attribution, the psychological process of seeking reasons for particular events.
2. FORELSKET is a Danish word that means in love, enamoured, or in love with. Forelsket is also a Norwegian word for the magical state of falling in love: it is exhilarating partially because it’s so impossible to control. It’s that fluttery, heart-pounding, palms-sweating, complete bliss that you feel when you’re first falling in love.
3. SAUDADE is a Portugese word for the emotional state of melancholic or profoundly nostalgic longing for a beloved yet absent something or someone. It derives from the Latin word for solitude. It is often associated with a repressed understanding that one might never encounter the object of longing ever again. It is a recollection of feelings, experiences, places, or events, often elusive, that cause a sense of separation from the exciting, pleasant, or joyous sensations they once caused.
4. VIRAAG is a hindi word meaning the anguish you experience when you’re physically separated from the person you love. This could mean a wide range of things. Perhaps your crush is in a relationship with someone else, so you’re forced to love them from afar. Perhaps you and your partner are in a long-distance relationship counting down the days until you’re reunited. Or maybe (unfortunately) you’re enduring a breakup and struggling to cope with the idea of losing someone forever. That pain you feel? It’s viraag.
5. MAMIHLAPINATAPEI: derived from the Yaghan language of Tierra del Fuego, listed in The Guinness Book of World Records as the "most succinct word", and is considered one of the hardest words to translate.This word is all too familiar for those out there who are a bit on the shy side. You like someone, and you think (maybe!) (hopefully!) that they like you too. You’re sitting across from each other, hands almost touching, but not quite. Your breath catches in your throat and you’re sure they can hear your heartbeat slamming in your ears. You look shyly at them. They look shyly back. But neither of you makes the first move. This moment--one of joy and anguish, fear and excitement--is summed up by the word “mamihlapinatapei.”
6. ONSRA comes from Boro language of India and means loving for the last time; that bittersweet feeling you get when you know a love won’t last.
7. KARA SEVDE They talk about kara sevda, an untranslatable Turkish concept that literally means “black love” or blind love and alludes to how uncontrollable desire and unrequited love can render someone hopeless and broken. It also means tragic love. It used for a strong, unrelenting and unhealthy crush in tragedies and folk stories.
8. ICHIGO ICHIE "one time, one meeting" is a Japanese idiom that describes a cultural concept of treasuring the unrepeatable nature of a moment, the practice of making the most of every encounter and understanding how important the “now” is.
9. HAPPENSTANCE means something happened because of certain circumstances, although it was not planned by anyone.

There is an unsuspected depth in this story which is unfortunately bogged down with sadness and hopelessness.

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Love & candles

Apparently this is based on the K drama with the same title. I have seen said drama but years ago and all I remember are the candles and the Himalayas. But I remember liking it (though when time travel is concerned, i am not picky: I adore the concept!).

A man discovers a bunch of candles that can take him back ten years so he uses them in order to save his girlfriend's life. This is the basic plot: but it is eventually really complicated, with many changes accomplished in the past which radically altered the present.

I have to give it to the writers: every time I'd see a plot hole and say "Aha! Gotcha!" , they'd find a perfectly logical explanation in accordance with the overall plot. It is practically foolproof if, of course, you accept the original ridiculous premise of time travel inducing magical candles! There is also the advantage they had going with the short format: they did not have too much time to ruin the drama with unnecessary subplots and complications.

Production value is excellent, the pacing perfect, the acting solid, music nice.

Since it is a c drama and since they are not allowed to do time travel themed series, there is an epilogue after the credits of the last episode which explains, using some incomprehensible mumbo jumbo, that the whole thing was just a coma dream. The full version (3h50 on youtube) does not feature this epilogue so you will be left wanting answers since the story is incomplete (or rather left on a cliffhanger!).

Definitely one of the best short c dramas!

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