This review may contain spoilers
Practically perfect.
This is one of the most interesting concepts for a BL that I have come across. It took the typical high school setting and flipped it right on its ear with this twist akin to "alternate reality." The idea that Myung Ha could be sucked into a to-be-made game based on a work-in-progress story where he had a few ideas on how to change it was interesting enough. But add to it the subtle (almost hidden) aspect of his depression and the fact that Yeo Woon was based on Myung Ha's life added so much emotional depth to the story. While it may seem like a BL on the surface, underneath it was more like a "learning to love yourself" story.There were hints from the very beginning, what with Myung Ha said he would change Yeo Woon's story because it was "too much like my own," hinting at the regret he felt for his own personal discontent. Everything the game made him do was a way to validate Yeo Woon's life in a way that Myung Ha thought his own life was lacking. Then the game began to glitch when Yeo Woon was beginning to have romantic feelings toward Myung Ha because the objective was simply to make himself happy and love himself, not necessarily have romantic feelings. But then this is where the fun, BL aspect comes in and I personally think it worked well.
The only downside to this series was the short amount of time they had to tell such an in-depth and complicated story. In the first half of the series, I was impressed with the pacing and thought this series was probably the best I'd seen at making things clear and moving things along at a pace that made sense. (The "likeness meter" was a big help with that.) Then, somewhere around the middle, things were happening where I though to myself, "Did I skip or miss an episode?" And then there were a few things introduced or mentioned that never really were explored that was a shame since they were interesting plot points to me. (Kyung Hoon mentioning his BF and how he was supposedly coming for a visit soon; Sang Won getting into that fight while no one seemed to notice.. to name a couple of examples.)
While I understand and appreciate that they did not try to have a secondary couple with the limited amount of time they had to resolve the main one, I do also wish the two primary side characters got more screentime/storyline because they were done really well, both in writing and acting. I also wish the ending was a bit more clearer (did Myung Ha die and was given a second life or maybe the game was a form of afterlife? Who was Myung Ha's senior, really? )
But, overall, still a very solid series and, minus the few questions left unanswered, it was a satisfying and thought-provoking story. I would definitely watch it again and recommend it to any BL fan.
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Love Supremacy
Interesting plot premise right from the start and the execution was even better. The cast was great, no awkward acting (in fact, Lee Tae Vin knocked it out of the park with his acting), and the storyline had depth and not just fluff. It's about learning how to love and be loved, and a self reflection on what it means to be happy.However, there were some pacing issues, which I feel was kind of expected with the number of episodes. They probably could have benefited from maybe 1-2 more episodes, but overall, I don't think it detracted too much from the drama, which was still high enjoyable and meaningful. Highly recommend a watch, even if you're not a BL fan.
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It left me wanting more.
The only bad thing about this Korean BL is its length, it left me wanting more. From the beginning it managed to grab me because of its interesting plot, although I think it could have been more exploited.Although the time we get to know deeply all the characters was short, it was enough for them not to feel like simple fillers, evend the second characters were of value for the development of the plot.
Of the main characters I must mention that I liked their performances, and enjoyed watching them on screen every moment.
But, I repeat, I wish it would have lasted a little longer, so that we as viewers would have understood things a little more and some aspects would have been deepened.
Anyway, it was cozy, cute, interesting and that's why I would highly recommend it.
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This review may contain spoilers
an absolutely lovely gem!!!!
boy did I like this drama.it is very short so I managed to finish it in one session.
this drama is so so so so sweet and I cannot stop smiling after finishing it.
the story , which is very simple, revolves around min (let's call him that way, I am so bad with names) who is meeting a friend in a bar. they talk about the last novel his friend wrote and discuss about what is an happy ending and all things around the concept of happiness.
the friend ask min what he would do to find an happy ending and min gets magically thrown back to his teen ager years.
he meets Cha woo (let's pretend that's the real name), who is the protagonist of the friend's novel.
min's mission is to help Cha woo to find happiness and that's where the action starts.
spoiler: this drama is obviously mainly about love but also about loneliness, hope, desperation and many other themes. everything is handled lightly but not dismissingly.
it is a very sweet and enjoyable drama. you never get a Moment of boredom.
trust me a random stranger on the internet.
if you need to watch something heartwarming just give it a go, you won't regret it.
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This Chemistry is Too Damn Sweet, For Love’s Sake!
Love For Love’s Sake is one of those dramas you’d think wouldn’t see the light of day due to its unusual concept, but here it is.. and it delivered!Here, the actors delivered an impeccable performance amidst the fictional backdrop of a fresh, somewhat still "foreign" concept / setting in K-drama land— transmigration. I’d have to admit, it’s hard nailing a genre as complex as transmigration where good worldbuilding is absolutely crucial; and truthfully speaking, the plot, in terms of worldbuilding… fell a bit short. Understandably, since LFLS is a short series, I didn’t expect for all the plot holes to he filled. However, we’re still left with some loose ends.
Length-wise, an 8-episode, 30-40 min per episode Korean BL is a real treat! Nowadays, Korean BLs have a running time of 10-20 min per episode. However, the problem with LFLS is how the scriptwriter tried to balance the storyline by making it equal parts "plot" and "character"-driven. Character development was adaquate, but the relationship unfolding between the two leads felt rather rushed. Honestly, this drama would’ve been incredible if it had just a few more episodes solely to polish up the worldbuilding.
Apart from that, the characters are layered, soundtrack was good, and cinematography came out pretty well for a low-budget drama! Also, the two leads had insane chemistry that practically oozes off the screen. I mean, cmon', you’re watching a drama with leads who are eye candy, can act, and can cry-on-cue without it looking forced or unnatural. I also fell in love with the ML, Cha Yeonwoo— he’s such a cutiepie! Cho Joowan’s duality for his character is amazing. Looking at his MDL photo, you’d think the man would be fierce in real life, but the man radiates so much golden retriever energy!
Watch at your own risk— otherwise, you might get attached to the characters (nothing new, though)!
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Couldn't stop watching
I have stumbled upon this one by coincidence and literally finished it in one sitting.Overall I enjoyed this drama a lot, the plot is unique and it was executed really well. All of the characters were really enjoyable and personally I didn't mind the fact that Sang-won wasn't a 'real' thread for Myung-Ha's and Yeo-woon's relationship. However, I wish Sang-won, Kyung-hoon and Sia would have gotten more background story, especially for Yeo-won and how their relationship developed. A few things that bothered me in the series was how some scenes really just seemed to jump from one scene to another without making sense or some seemed to have no to little actual meaning for the continuous plot of the drama. And also Yeo-Wons sudden change from seemingly 'disliking' or hiding his feeling/being cold towards Myung-ha to kind of acting like a little puppy who cannot get enough love and attention from his owner. The Ending was good but imo I feel like the solution would've been so much easier. But, I guess they gotta make it more complicated and dramatic since it's a drama, right? :D
All in all I really loved the drama and didn't think I would binge-watch it, but I literally could not stop watching at all.
Although the 'gaming'-setting was obviously nothing realistic, the drama itself was still very much based on real-life situations and made realistic and relatable for its watchers, which I really enjoyed.
If you came this far, thank you for reading, I hoped it somewhat helped you and I hope you find your own happiness in this world. <3
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ONE OF THE BEST K-BLs, MUST WATCH!
Its really true, K-BLs are getting better, dang!I mean, from the storyline to the chemistry of the pairing up to the kissing scenes, ohh.
I am happy that even though its still a short 8 episode series, the amount of mins. per ep isn't that short as what's happening before. You can truly tell that SoKor is starting to invest and give more time in producing quality K-BLs.
The castinggg??!! TOP TIER! Taevin and Joowan's chemistry? Dang, they worked. Taevin's charisma as the funny ganster-ish Myungah and Joowan's duality as the cold turning soft boy Yeowoon, damn, these two played it like a fire. Woongki and Minsu added a great kick to the story, even with a small screentime, they made a cute impact.
THE ACTING?? TO THE HIGHEST LEVEL. I swear, they made me cry with 'that' break up scene.
Honestly talking, as a BL fan in such a long time, since K-BL arise, I find it hard to find a K-BL that would give me 'that kind of feels', you know. BUT THIS? THIS IS IT. MUST WATCH, INDEED.
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Melancholy and cheerfulness
I enjoyed watching this series. I had few expectations at the outset and so was pleasantly surprised.There are two things, in my opinion, that make the series work - the game concept, which adds an original dimension to the pursuit of the love interest, and the contrast between the two main characters, one cheerful and the other morose. I enjoyed watching how this dynamic shifted as the story progressed. The jealous side character also provided an interesting element.
Some things didn't work for me - the part-time work on the side, who was modelling and for whom, was not that convincing. And while I was okay with how the story developed, like other viewers I found the last two episodes too rushed and underdeveloped.
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great ! but some plot points ..
i thoroughly enjoyed this drama ! i love how unique the plot is , and although i didn't get the meaning at first , watching the whole show helped a ton . really great stuff as it was pretty heart wrenching at many points . however , i feel like a lot of the plot points were not consistent enough for my liking . myungha's missions after "befriend yeowoon" became so strange like .. why save up 3m won ? why make a fanpage for yeowoon ? and they were quickly forgotten about too . they introduced a stalker and after he tried to kill myungha he fell off the face of the earth like why not expand more on that ..? they also mentioned yeowoon's father like twice and myungha's mother 3 times at most . hello ? don't even add it if you're not gonna explain further .another thing was the roles of kyunghoon and sangwon ; they're shown in the intro with yeowoon and myungha , so you assume they'll have important parts . (shocker : no they don't !) kyunghoon is barely there so he couldn't even have some character development or something .. and sangwon was there to make a love triangle between him , myungha , and yeowoon . they could've fleshed his character out more instead of just making him lowk kind of attention hungry . i wish kyunghoon's relationship with his long distance bf was explored more along with sangwon's sexuality ("i've only liked girls until now") .
next , yeowoon had a very strange character change after the fourth episode . his mysterious demeanour was swapped out for a completely unrecognizable one for his character , and it was so so odd . they could've softened him in a different way instead of making him down horrendous for myungha to the point where i had to go back and see if i missed anything during yeowoon's transition of personalities . super strange and it could've been done much more subtly instead of just suddenly after myungha came to his race .
moving from that , lgbtq+ love and the heavy topics of suicide and abuse/bullying were represented with care ; it's clear that everyone working on the show had pure intentions to make sure that nothing they showed could've been viewed as offensive . they also didn't dumb down any of the characters , and the choices they made felt real and human , almost as if i was the one who made them .
overall , this drama is seriously a great watch . i know i criticized a lot of it , but everything aside from what i mentioned was top tier and you can tell a lot of time , care , and work went into it . the cast get along well too ! happy to see cha woongki again :) if another season is ever decided , i'll definitely tune in . only hope , though , never expect .
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One of the better K-BLs I've seen
Love for Love's Sake surprised me a little! I had gotten a few clips of it on social media, specifically the fight scenes, and assumed it would be a high school romance with the classic K-drama-style bullying in it. When I started the show, I realized it was much more than that.Our main character Myung-ha gets transported into what seems to be a video game, and sent back 10 years to when he was 19. The game gives him a mission: make Yeo-woon happy within 300 days, or receive a penalty of death. Myung-ha is able to see how much Yeo-woon likes him, which should be helpful, except for the fact that this score starts at -20. Myung-ha has to attempt to make Yeo-woon happy, but tragedy seems to strike at unexpected times. Myung-ha is simultaneously dealing with his own feelings towards Yeo-woon, as well as school-related issues now that he's in high school once again.
This show was much more emotional than I expected it to be, and it worked in its favor. I did find the ending to be not quite what I expected and not in the best way, but overall it was a super solid show that was very enjoyable to watch. The actors did a great job portraying these characters, and I feel like their growth worked really well even in this shorter series. My biggest complaint about the show was the Myung-ha got a bit frustrating to watch as the main character, as it seemed like he was always unwilling to deal with his own feelings, even if it would be to the benefit of everyone involved, including himself. It sometimes seemed like he didn't really like Yeo-woon all that much, even though the viewer can see he clearly does. Besides this, the show was a great watch and visually very pleasing. I thought the different aspect ratios used throughout the show helped to capture the emotions and the difference between the previous and current life that Myung-ha is living. As far as Korean BLs go, this is definitely one of the better ones!
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Very unexpected
When I first started watching Love for Love's Sake, I thought it was going to be a very wholesome series. Episodes 1-4 were really cute but episode 5 and the episodes after that felt like I was watching a horror drama, which is why I'm saying it was very unexpected. Even the trailer looked like it was going to be a nice and innocent BL.Don't get me wrong, It was really good! I loved seeing Yeo Woon's fondness for Myung Ha slowly grow.
It's not easy to make someone like you, especially if that someone saw you as a weird stranger. But in the end Myung Ha succeded not only making Yeo Woon acknowledge him, but also making him happy. I loved that a lot.
I wasn't the biggest fan of Sang Won, he was really pushy and very annoying while Kyung Hoon was just in the background but atleast he was still a little bit more likeable.
To be completely honest, I was confused most of the time but the ending really helped me put the pieces together. It was very bittersweet.
Like I said it was really good, so I hope you watch this series with an open heart!
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Medium for societal awareness
I was initially lost watching this series, but rewatching it again incorporating the idea that it is from a society that still learning to openly understand and accept mental health issue gave me a better understanding.Death provided a medium to see life in another aspect that is worth living. For a society who is still not culturally accepting of mental health, this show subtly brought up the struggles leading to high rate of depression and suicide.
These young artists played their character well enough to manipulate me, as a viewer to think this is a light, fun series but in reality, it addressed the dark side of life.
If only everyone who suffers from depression can have an awakening then a second chance like the protagonists in this story, there will be less suicide.
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