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Better than Where Your Eyes Linger
As this was by the same director of Where Your Eyes Linger and To My Star, I was excited and had high expectations for it. I really enjoyed the cinematography here especially at that beach kissing scene and bed scene though I was like "Ms. Hwang Daseul please turn on the light a little I wanna see the action?!") It was still shot so beautifully and artistically that you could still see and imagine what was happening! Really liked the shots at the end too where they came back to the hotel. I'm impressed with how Kang Eunbin who played Cha Siwon is a rookie actor, yet he made me cry so much along with him (maybe it's because I could somehow relate to his story? yup probably) because you could really see and feel his hurt and trauma from the divorce of his parents and how he was pressured to lose weight by his mother so no one could judge him. Not a good thing even though she was "doing it for his own good" but I appreciate how they somehow forgave each other. Jo Hyuk Joon who played Hyeong Daun was really charming when he smiled too, and his voice is really nice to listen to. There was no internalized homophobia from both leads so that's refreshing. Also, anyone notice the guitar has the initials D.B.W on it? I feel like that was a clue that it was that guy who Do Banwoo liked playing the guitar. Overall an 8.5 for me because it's not that much of a unique plot and I felt a little cliff hanger from the ending. Compared to Where Your Eyes Linger, this had a better cinematography but To My Star is still the best story wise for me for sure.Was this review helpful to you?
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Average
Short and simplistic. I saw the 8 rating and thought I would give it a go but it didn't work for me.The good
On the face of it, this a story about a young man overcoming his insecurities and finding love. The setting of a university film class is also interesting. I'm sure the anxieties of being handsome and popular is something most people can relate to. It was refreshing to see the role reversal of a ML lead in this situation and is reflective of modern life.
Kang Eun Bin does a good job of showing the facade put on by Si Won and the anxious person beneath it all.
As other reviewers have said, it's positive to see an LGBT romance that is not immediately shunned by the other characters. However, this series seems to skirt around the issue altogether, with all the romantic scenes separated from the rest of the cast. I won't complain too much though because there is a decent amount of intimacy between the two leads.
The bad
Far too short to have a developed plot or characters. Unfortunately, this is often the restraint of this genre but 12 minute episodes really did not work for me. I could understand and appreciate Si Won's character but there wasn't much time for anyone else. This wasn't helped by the fact that there was limited dialogue.
Da Un felt very wooden as a character. We get glimpse at his backstory but it is never fully explained. He spends most of the latter episodes looking solemn and not saying much. I found the apology scene in the final episode particularly unconvincing.
All in all, it lacked the subtlety and chemistry of leading genre dramas such as To My Star. Perhaps if the episodes were 20 min they might have been able to do more.
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Romance is a bonus book!
Finally, the wait is rewarded, no fanservice, no bright smiles to seduce the audience, no PPL, no militancy, no questions about sexuality, no lover hunting, no unrequited love, just an ordinary story of two guys with their inner problems. I like the fact that the thread of this drama is the making of an autobiographical film (they major in filming).Don't judge the book by its cover, it's a very good summary of their personal story. Yes, they are good looking and popular but no one knows them really because they don't let anyone get close enough to see the crack in their minds, in their hearts. This drama told a story of trust, trusting other enough to open up, to stop trying to be perfect, to believe in themselves, to close the scars of bullying / of past and move on.
As their friends said so well, they will be fine, they have found each other.
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It's (kind of) healing
It contains personal taste so please take it with a grain of salt for everything I said.I really enjoy the watch! I'm someone who is a fan of this kind of drama, something that isn't too heavy, but isn't too light. Everything seems chill and laid back, something I would watch when I want to get away with everything and have a quick escape on my own (and I guess I should give the credit to Ms. Hwang for that). The pace feels right, not too quick but not dragging at all. I don't understand about the cinematography and any other technical stuff, but for something that has limited budget and limited airing time, it did a great job! The one who acted as Siwon and Dawoon also acted quiet well, remembering they're new (?) in the industry. But standing ovation for Siwon's mom!! The scene where she got emotional was done really good!!
If you want to watch them, I guess just give it a try? Especially if you want a quick watch when you're bored, or if you want something that's not all fluffy but also not heavily angst-y either. But for me, definitely, it's gonna be my healing drama where I want to clear my mind and just have a good time for 2 hours and so, along with To My Star!
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I was impressed, and I think you will be too
Watching this all at once makes me believe releasing it in one day was the right decision. It flows and feels like a movie, not a drama. I don't think you'll like it or appreciate it as much if you just see an episode or two a week.This. This is top-tier. If Romance is a Bonus Book is a love letter to books, Blueming is a love letter to films.
It manages to capture "a feeling" in every scene, and the cinematography is everything. Semantic Error went for a style similar to its original work, with bright colors and loud music and graphics. This was toned-down, with warm colors, unassuming music, and subtle cuts.
Both are great, just in different ways.
I loved how, at its core, this was about opening up to someone. Finding a person you can share your insecurities with who won't look at you differently because of it, someone you can comfortably be vulnerable with.
Sexuality wasn't even a topic or issue because it was of no importance to the story being told. It wasn't the point. Seeing people onscreen actually declare their sexuality is great for representation. Having it be a non-issue is also great. We can tell stories with LGBT+ people without necessarily making it about them being LGBT+. Straight romances and stories aren't generally about them being Straight; it's about the story.
When I reached the end of this film, I realized it had never come up. And my reaction was simply, "Oh."
This was lovely.
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coming of age, self worth and self acceptance, lonely prince, sunshine/tsundere
Honestly I wasn’t sure about this going in, and I’m still not entirely in love with it. It’s a tiny bit dark and a tiny bit bittersweet, almost too honest to a university experience and first love for my liking. Not enough of a BL fantasy.I found the main character, SiWon, pretty unlikable for the first half of the series - even with a believable backstory guiding his superficial behavior. Even knowing that the way he acts covers up insecurities. I would’ve like to see the director take strides to SHOW US the things that DaUn later says he admires about SiWon - kindness, cuteness, softness with perhaps more gentle treatment of his sister? Even his mother? As True Beauty did.
As is often the case with an unlikable uke, I’m not sure why the seme is courting him at all. (See my problems with the first few eps of Secret Crush On You, too.)
DaWoon’s backstory of lonely prince is a bit too typical to the romance genre but it makes for a good contrast to SiWon’s warm, if superficial and slightly dysfunctional, family life. Sunshine to cover pain is a solid archetype.
Both leads turn in solid performances and by ep 5 this show turned the corner and got really good… for me. The bad guy was really well drawn, all of the characters and portrayals we dealt with honestly and were super believable. Every character was flawed in a different way and I liked that. So this became a narrative about understanding and accepting others people’s flaws without hurting them, and there is nothing wrong with that message.
Korea gave us decent kisses (2022 is the year Korean boys learned how to kiss each other… apparently, I blame the unexpected popularity of To My Star last year). There was even an elegant, and very Korean, sex scene. Not to mention a nice mature apology and makeup sequence. So that, for me, I found the ending quite satisfying.
Ultimately what this show showed us was two characters maturing because of each other and their mutual affection. And that affection was never itself the conflict point (coming out or being gay isn’t really addressed - again, normal for Korea). Instead conflict was built around other aspects of identity, popularity, and self-worth.
In the end, I actually really liked Blueming, it’s a solid BL. As is expected of Korea, there’s judicious and very elegant use of tropes, but production values are a touch lower than usual.
I was delighted that it had a longer treatment than most KBL, it has about a 3 hour run time, which really allowed the characters time to grow. And also grow on me.
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Not for me
I was really disappointed with this one, after hearing and reading on how good this drama was meant to be. I found this drama a little babyish and extremely childish to say the least.The one good thing that I came away with after watching this drama, is that insecurities are real, and I did like how he overcame them and carried on moving forward, the down side for me was the mother, not understanding how he felt and she kept on saying how she did everything for her kids so that they don't feel the absence of the father, in a sense yes I agree single parenting is hard, but not understanding how he felt and the reason why he portrayed his feeling through a short film, showed how he was dealing with things.
I won't say i didn't like it, it's cute, but i found a lot of stereotypes in the character personality that made the drama unrealistic
and because of that you don' really empathize well with them. I also did not find the chemistry between the leads to be anything with a WOW factor they fitted each other but more on sympathy basis, the one was always left alone cuz the parents were producers so taking comfort from the insecurity classmate, I am not if there was love enough for that?
Overall: for me this drama is a NO, i am not sure the reason behind the high reviews, but this is my personal outcome, I might decide to rewatch it, to get a better sense of it.
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A little gem
OMG, that was amazing! One of those dramas that just warms the heart..makes you want to smile the whole time and tear up momentarily at times, and all at once… visually beautiful, nice music, a great pace and flow, and great acting…well done!I like the pairing of the couple… I like that there isn’t the height difference thing, which can work, but kind of reminiscent of M/F pairings… also that their vulnerabilities are laid bare, and are the essence and their differences of character in the story, even though on the surface they may seem very similar…
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Blooming Moments Full Of Butterflies
Awesome emotional LGBTQI+ Show to binge watch in 2022! <3This adapted series had me taken aback in many ways and hit me unknowingly. After we were gifted with the adaption of "Semantic Error" I thought it will be unlikely to get another LGBTQI+ series of this standard but I was wrong. "Blueming" is living up to these standards and truly gifted me with an awesome evening full of butterflies.
Production / Music >> 8.0
The "Blueming" was directed and edited under a strong and talented crew and displayed by some very good acting. The natural lighting was able to set a certain mood with calm and warm colours. The cinematography was on point and resulted in incredible moments being captured, which made the short-seeming episodes so much more powerful and impactful.
Plot >> 8.0
First impressions were rather weak but it kept improving and had me captivated starting from the 3rd episode. It´s a fresh university love story with misunderstandings from Si Won´s side, which originate from his self-doubts. Despite a few common twists, the entire story gets undermined with a comedic undertone which makes the series lighter and more relaxing to watch. Overall, the harmony of Da Un and Si Won made this rather ordinary plot, well ..., extraordinary!
Acting/ Cast >> 9.5
Personally, Jo Hyuk Joon´s portrayal of Da Un was the highlight of this series. He totally made this calm and reflected character come to life and not only enchant Si Won, but also the audience. Da Un´s caring and goofy personality match well with the reserved and a bit helpless Si Won. The actor's harmony had a huge impact on the overall effect of this series. The supporting cast was also delivering a knowledgeable performance and should not be left out of the praise.
Rewatch Value >> 9.0
Because this emotional series was RATHER light to watch there is no reason for me to not come back. Definitely, a series to come back to once in a while to enjoy some second-hand-blushing :) "Blueming" made my creativity bloom and is a show I´d highly recommend watching.
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Okay Watch
The story wasn't great, acting was a bit awkward at times (probably the fault of the script). Its a cute story which could have been finished in 4 episodes but they dragged it to 11 idk for what. Not the worst, but not good enough to watch again either.With the amount of episodes they could have easily fleshed out the characters a lot without bringing in the cliche tropes. Chemistry was good, the only good thing about this drama. The side characters could have been so interesting but they missed all chances.
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Wholesome but short
There were some scenes in this short web drama that really hit me hard when it came to insecurity and family, and I was really surprised that this drama was so pure — its really just about two people who found each other and fit perfectly together like puzzle pieces.There are some parts of it that kind of went in over my head though, where conversations were confusing and I wasn't really sure what was going on. And of course, since it's a short web drama, there are some subplots I wish they delved into and side characters I wish they explored but there was no time for. Other than that, though, this was still a really nice watch.
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way to know yourself
What a nice romance story it is, about confidence, believing in oneself, family, insecurities, acceptance and love. It is first drama after long time not about homosexual love and how ppl react to it, but about two young ppl, who love spending time with each other and have insecurities and change with time, accept them self and open to each other. Blooming/blueming....Very good video quality, color filters, directing, artistic style here and there. Also nice soothing music.
After finishing this drama, I felt very good, so rellaxed and comforted.
Favourite quote: "Something that doesn't bother me, could be someone else's huge burden"
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