Light on Me (2021)

Not super memorable

There aren't a lot of k dramas with queer romances. I can't really think of any aside from this one and I think Semantic Error. That being said, while I appreciate that this is one of few, I didn't really love this. It's clearly low budget - which isn't a knock on the show per se, but it did affect how small this world felt. There aren't a lot of scenes that take place outside of school. The humor was very muted, in my opinion. A lot of the acting was very muted, to be honest. Aside from Da On, who stood out as charismatic and charming.

It's an interesting situation where, while I feel that the guy chosen at the end was the nicer guy, I didn't really feel like the ML had chemistry with him. At least, not more than with Da On.

I liked the music. I immediately added the main song to my playlist.

So, since there aren't a ton of k dramas with queer leads, anyone looking for one will likely watch this one. However, I was not impressed.

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Cute!

I loved that this South Korean BL was actually a lot longer than most S. Korean BLs: ~30 minutes and 16 episodes! It's a full-on show! Not only that, but the sweetness of high school crushes and the bitterness of the truth of being LGBTQ+ in S. Korea was a really nice, realistic balance. I liked that they reacted in realistic, high schooler ways. Not only that, but we got an HE!! I didn't expect to get a kiss, and I was okay with that, but we got TWO kisses at the end, which was amazing. I loved this entire show (except for Lee SoHee... I feel like her character development didn't make sense) and will definitely rewatch in the future. I'm not normally a huge fan of love triangles, but I think they did it well here. Hope we get a season 2!

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Honestly Blown Away

I'm not really into BL dramas because so many of them aren't made very well or are rushed. You never get to connect to a character and many of the side stories don't add flavour to the show, it just adds some time to make the show longer. (Personal opinion)

However, that being said, this was one of my favourite shows and I really have to commend the writer, director and cast. They all did such a good job of telling this story and got me emotionally invested. It was well paced and they put effort into telling the story of representing the difficulties of coming out in Korea as well as genuinely representing LGBTQ+ love as a real love story.

The only reason why I haven't been a fan of BL is because they put 10% of the effort into BLs as they do on straight love dramas. My point being, I already want to rewatch this and relive the happy, sad and heart-fluttering moments. This is an absolute gem and I hope more shows like this, representing LGBTQ+ love correctly, will come out in the future.

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One of the only examples in BL I can think of where a love triangle is done right. 99% of the time, we know exactly who the main character is going to end up with - Light On Me did a great job with both of the potential love interests being likeable and rooting for both of them for different reasons. All of the three characters involved were mature about the love conflict and not messy - which was probably not realistic for high school students - but it was refreshing to see.

The issues I have with this drama are a variety of little things that add up. Why were Da On and Shinwoo so interested in Taekyung? He wasn't particularly interesting, nor did he have much personality. There was no background on any of the boy's lives whatsoever, except for a tiny bit with Da On, which made him one of the more easy characters to understand. By the later episodes I was ready for resolution, which felt anti-climactic and like it took too long to get there. Why did we need the only prominent female character to be a villain? How on earth could Taekyung have possibly won the prince competition? Did they ever actually do anything for student council? There was just a lot that didn't land for me.

Also, Namgoong carried this series. It would have been so much drier and more boring without him. Not only was he the comic relief, but he was the most rational and relatable character. There were times while watching I basically just waited for when he would show up and lighten things up.

Side note - if you enjoyed the ending song "Spark", STAN A.C.E! Extremely talented and underrated k-pop group that deserves the world.

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A hollow show where nothing ever happens.

What I liked: The love triangle was well done, quite heartwarming, and somewhat realistic. Didn't fill me with frustration like the trope often does.

Why is it a 5: I feel this show is somewhat a compilation of all the worst aspects of K-Drama.
It does the weird thing of making you feel like the story is progressing, the characters evolving, and the plotlines thickening. And then, after finishing the episode, you look back and you realize absolutely nothing has happened. The story is stuck in the same mud. The characters are the same depressed ghosts.
The whole show feels completely hollow. I do not believe for a second that this is a real group of friends, they quite simply never seem to be having fun with each other. For the entire first half of the season, the entire friend group is convinced the MC and ML hate each other and the whole atmosphere is decidedly bleak. Yet they act like they're having fun, and continuously force the two characters to make up. They were never friends in the first place, just stop trying so hard - noone is having fun!
The characters are all far too well-behaved. They speak only when spoken to, never interrupting each other. They all have incredible posture, not moving or fidgeting even slightly. They keep to their timelines impeccably and do all their chores. They even volunteer to do many extra chores. And when teased, or pushed to do something against their will, they all just resign to their fate.
And then of course, when they finally get together, they are together for about half an episode. The kissing is fake, the chemistry is non-existent, and the whole show has been for nothing. What a waste of time.

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Slow, slow, slow

Maybe being a western bl follower, I am expecting a faster development from each episode...I have written before that I am tired of the highschool trope...other more mature series, like trapped and to my star, are about young men in their 20th or 30th, with working careers and real life, not stuck in uniforms (with the exception of ' where your eyes linger' which was a pleasure)..as to ' light on me' I find myself loosing patience with the weird ( yet actually smart...) Main character wondering about what each gesture of the other students mean...it's true the triangle makes me
want see more, but on the other hand, I have resigned myself to binge watch it when it will be more advanced.
I am surprised at the high rating from other viewers, but it really may be due to different expectations or cultural differences re: speed of developments in hormone driven teenagers...lol.
Anyway, I plan to finish watching it in installments of 3-4 episodes at a time.

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Be a Gentleman and acts nicely and Love may come.

1. Korean web series are getting better (plot+ acting) esp this drama comparing to dramas of those national television networks (KBS, MBC, and SBS) which are heavily advertised and turn out to be disappointment.
2. These actors are not famous but their acting is so on point
3. Each line is meaningful
4. Time of each episode is enough to keep you yearning for the next episode. They can be 1 hour long like mainstream dramas but trust me you will feel they dragged the show and skip scenes or even loose interest in watching if the editing is bad
5. People usually blame actors for bad drama but director+ Screen writer+actors (main and supporting roles also) must work well together. After all it's the director decision if a scene is NG aka No Good or not
6. This drama give positive feeling during These Challenging Times dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
7. Shin Woo doesn't let own feelings turn him into a vindictive person towards Da On or manipulate Tae kyung by giving him "bad advice". You can see in episode 9 that Tae kyung believed in Nam Goong who gave his "words of wisdom to those who have never dated"

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The best summerwatch! Simply too cute

A simple amend to say this is getting better and better with each new episode, with well written characters getting more interesting and emotionally appealing!


This is a very light (so far) uncomplicated BL story with the typical setting of a student council gruop of friends that start to have feelings for each others. It might not be the newest or most original plot, but it's well done, very entertaining and quite adorable to watch.
Once again the characters may seems somewhat sterotyped but nonetheless they are cute and credible.
All in all it's not a stoy that will keep breath from anyone but for sure it is a such a soft sweet drama that will relax you and will make you cheer for these boys and their strange quirks and teenage awkwardness.
If you like classic BL plots this is for you.

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Once again we get a series showing that Korean BL series are in it to win it. Really love how Korea is coming up with really solid storylines and a great cast to back it up time and time again.

Light on me was a very decadent coming of age BL story that I found refreshing and very nerve-wrecking to watch because for the most of the series it looked more and more like my ship was going to go down like the Titanic only for things to pull together in the last two episodes.

The pacing on this was outstanding. Not once did I feel that certain scenes where being rushed or cut short in a way that broke the emotional investment I had as a viewer and what I appreciated the most is that all the characters brought something to the overall story so there was no wasted airtime that often happens in series were supporting characters come in that has no value.

characterization and developments was also on point. Often times we find character personalities change and not in favor of the character. In Light of me it was the opposite. Each character grew but still maintained their overall personalities (like the kiss between Shin Woo and Tae Kyung at the end. It was slightly awkward and Shin Woo displayed his nervousness and uncertainty which has been a core trait of his. I love that he kept this and not changed into an over confident person now that he is in a relationship).

Going to throw this out there, I really did not like Da On (just the character - the actor did a great job bring Da On to live), from episode 1 I felt him to be a bit of a player trying to please everyone (which was later addressed) and I was rooting for him not to end up with Tae (my heart nearly stopped when things looked like things might go his way). Having said that, I really hope that he does get an happy ending (here is hoping for a second season) and that he can finally fully except himself as being enough.

I really enjoyed this series and would definitely be watching it again.

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Unrequited BL cliche tropes done right…

Yup yall wondering why its not a perfect score because i watch kdramas a lot so i already seen this kind of concepts it seems cliche and so generic reminds me of highchool teen dramas but with a twist coz the main roles.are both males not your typical straight teen drama i was shocked bec its first time for me a korean BL that is like a kdrama length are yall kidding its 16 ep long im happy bl dramas in korea are getting longer and longer i hope in the dramas BL dramas will get recognition in korea as in mainstream/ public and get 1hr per ep up to max of 16 ep so that many people will know that Love has no boundaries!!! I love the flow of the story its slow at first but as the ep goes by its getting really interesting, i hate love triangle bec theres always a SLS but this bl drama it gives justice to the main leads, the chemistry of tae gyeong and shin woo i cant with them ther too sweet i might get diabetes lmao anyways very good actors esp. the villain hee soo she so good to be bad that i want to punch her at first but in the end im not mad heheheh its ok and also da on my god i hate him but in a good way hehehehe, i really love the BGM and the OST its so fcking good and its pleasing to my ears and aslo the sound effects are on point esp the slow motion parts my god i cant with this. Big kudos to the directors and all the staffs yall did great!!! We need season 2 right now asap!!!! Tbh this korean bl drama is better than most that bls this days… thats all tysm.

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