Stand by Me (2023)

20 Episodes 10 Minutes Each w/1 Smart & 1 Dumb Lead Each

First time watching this type of drama where the episodes are 10 minutes each. Wanted to check it out because the ML I've previously seen in antagonist roles, so to see him play a protagonist was too good to resist. If you're a TBOY fan, you'll understand. I love Republican Era dramas as they're beautiful when it comes to costumes and sets. This review will be short. Again thank you @Lian for providing subtitles on Kisskh; couldn't have watched without your phenomenal work!

Pros: ML or FGY is very good at being a hard ass and a stubborn one at that and here it played to his advantage very well. You got to see the character's vulnerability, trying to save his childhood friend at all costs even when said childhood friend was a total moron. If I hadn't seen him play ruthless asshats in TBOY and Destined, I would have thought he was just really good at being deceitful while trying to save everyone that mattered to him. Though SML or HWJ finally grew a brain cell in the last episode and I really liked the church shootout sequence plus the actor played him well, I can't really find much else in the pros with him. LTT was a good addition for as long as she needed to be. Costumes (when they weren't oversized), sets, OSTs were beautiful. The comedy was good for the most part.

Cons: The storyline though understandable was edited very roughly. It went from as serious as a heart attack to comedy club funny in 2.5 seconds and it just made things very shaky. I wish we knew who the other characters were played by like the antagonist, the traitor, the girl who helped them out. Plot hole of HWJ being basically brainless to all of a sudden possessing extraordinary martial art skills and being able to fire a gun in the last few episodes was very questionable. For a good portion of it, you wanted to hit him with a desk for just being so stupid, it hurt your own head.

Would I recommend it? This series is really one of those in between ones that you watch when you're bored; it's short and sweet. But I am glad though short and small, I was able to see DK in a protagonist role for a change. He needs more of those and I hope he gets them in normal length series in the future.

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Forgettable, But Still Worth The Watch.

(Spoiler free)
The first half had me confused, but I still really enjoyed it, (thanks lian for subbing, or else I would have been confused for the rest). The setting and main plot isn't usually my cup of tea, but it's good to step out of your comfort zone.

The million dollar question, which a lot of people were wondering: Is it a censored BL or hints at it? My personal take is if you want to watch it as so, then yeah, but if you don't think it is, then it's not. It's really up to the watchers imagination. I found it a bit suspicious at parts, definitely gave a vibe, especially in the last few episodes. No matter if it is or not, I really enjoyed the main lead's friendship and relationship dynamic.

What I liked/didn't like:

Cons-
1. The opening was way too long for such a short runtime. It was okay for a couple episodes, but 20? Not necessary.
2. The characters were boring, and no one really had a good backstory. Again, there was little screen time, but it's important to give some insight to the characters... Even the ML's just seemed to magically come into existence. I had/have so many unanswered questions.

Pros-
1. The bromance. After watching so many romance dramas recently, it's nice to see a (mostly) platonic pairing once in a while. I really felt like they had chemistry and the friendship felt realistic, comfortable, and fun.
2. The comedy aspect. The story seems fairly dark, however, it was quite lighthearted and funny. Wei ji, as dumb as he was, certainly was amusing and I enjoyed his personality.
3. Cinematography, Set, & Clothes. I don't like the 1900s historical setting, but Feng Guan Yu gave a New York mobster from the 50's vibe, which is rather specific, but it fit the story well.

Stand by me, overall, was fun and interesting. Worth checking out.

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