My Bubble Tea (2020)

Don't judge a book by it's cover

When I first came across this show on an Asian drama Facebook group, I thought it must have been some sort of joke or meme, especially when reading the synopsis. However, my mind changed the moment I watched the first episode. At first glance, this should have been some sort of crazy Thai lakorn, but it isn't. The story and the characters have a lot of solid development, the acting was great, the visual effects of the magic were great.

I thoroughly enjoyed this series, and wished that it was a bit longer. I loved that this show was so unique in it's story, despite laughable at first glance. As a bubble tea/boba lover, I simply got onto this thinking it might be a fun and hilarious story, but what I found instead was the magic (pun intended) in the story. The story has so much heart, and I loved that there was actually some life lessons built into the episodes.

What was also so different about the story is that there isn't really a first or second male lead, although there technically is one. I guess what I mean to say is that there is no stereotype plot of either male lead being a complete a-hole, though I think some may disagree that Light, who, by the way is the first male lead, was an a-hole to Modem in several moments throughout the show. But, all in all, I found myself in love with the first male lead even more than the second male lead, which is hard to find in a Kdrama, and even less in Asian dramas in general. And this applied to all the characters. I felt such an attachment to all the characters, from Auntie Shell and Uncle Hoy, to Wifi (Modem's little brother), and Modem's sidekick friends Up, Oor and Yogurt - they were all lovable.

The villain in this story also gained a lot character development, though overall, I still dislike her because of what she did to the main lead (Modem). However, she gained my respect with her overall development and this is something that is also pretty hard to find in any Asian drama as the villains almost rarely get a chance at redemption or even just a solid character development.

One thing, however, that did disappoint me a little, was the little use and mention of magic. The synopsis makes it seem as if magic takes full center in the entire series, but, after a couple of episodes and Modem finds all the magic pearls that she accidentally lets loose into the world, it's put onto a back burner, until we find out that Boss (played by 2PM's Nickhun), who we find out plays the role of Cupid and is a literal angel, who Modem has technically known since she was a kid. And later, we find out the magic counsel wants to punish Modem for releasing the magic pearls and letting magic be known to the world. All of this happens in the last couple of episodes and feels quite a bit rushed in my opinion. I wholeheartedly felt that they could have done more with the magic, since it was emphasized (in my opinion) in the synopsis of the story. The development of this could have been better, such as answering questions about how Auntie Shell became a witch - was she born with it, did she gain the powers, etc. - but such questions are pretty much unanswered. As such, maybe a spinoff show about Auntie Shell, her magic and the world she might have came from would be nice.

All in all, this is definitely a series I would definitely recommend watching. Even if this was just one big advertisement for bubble tea, I wouldn't have minded at all, since I'm an avid bubble tea lover. The story being as good as it was, was just a huge advantage, and I think it will probably make anyone who has never heard of bubble tea or had it before want to try it. Bubble tea is magical, and the show literally went with this idea, turning something so cliche into a literal magical work of art. Please don't judge this show based on the plot, or else you will miss out on a gem, or should I say a pearl?

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Good Enough

" My Bubble Tea " is a pretty fun drama to watch.

Light and fluffy, it keeps things simple, without adding unnecessary drama to the plot. The love triangle was sweet and interesting, with many plot twists, but with a solid ending. And, truly, the drama does its best to be fresh and not to have things get boring, as it kept being interesting till the final episode.

The mood of the drama was accompanied by nice performances from everyone in the cast, but, especially from the leading lady, who was a delight to watch, funny and energetic.

So, overall, eight out of ten.

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