Completed
BL Compilations
21 people found this review helpful
Jul 29, 2024
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 2
Overall 7.0
Story 6.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 5.0
This review may contain spoilers

excellent visuals, actors deserved better writing/editing (watch suggestions)

Overall: there was quite a bit of potential but the choppy storytelling/editing hurt the series a lot. The last few episodes were better so that week break seemed to help. Aired 12 episodes about 45 minutes each. YouTube cut version https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzTP1IMPICl6R_dsvgKnBAMp6htoQwswK (episode 1 uncut was 47 minutes 29 seconds which is what I added up the cut parts on YouTube minus the breaks between parts so there wasn't a difference in episode 1, later cut episodes removed NSFW) and iQIYI Thailand only uncut version with delayed English subtitles https://www.iq.com/play/battle-of-the-writers-episode-1-21ue1zzg12c?lang=en_us I rated the cut version a 7 and uncut 7.5.

Content Warnings: non con picture taking, threat, stalking, non con kissing, drugged, non con touching?, injured/clubbed, violence/blood, manipulation, sexism, homophobia

What I Liked
- aesthetics/visuals
- good/realistic that she wouldn't give out his phone number
- tropey falls but they were cute
- supportive group of friends
- sweet moments
- good intimacy/NSFW scenes were well done

Room For Improvement
- with dreams, flashbacks, fast jumps, re-telling scenes from a different perspective, etc the series feels extremely choppy both in modern day and in the Xianxia parts
- the writing felt very contrived, the characters didn't act like real people and what people would say/do, also inconsistent characterization with the guy in black who started by being self assured and then suddenly was nervous/anxious, a character who was multilingual chose to speak a language that no one else could understand in the beginning
- having the panda face paint/jammies on the Chinese character felt a bit iffy
- completely not needed to character assassinate an established queer couple, there were multiple other ways the writers could have achieved what they wanted
- comedy sound effects detracted from the humor, the magic mushrooms in episode 3 were cringey and not funny
- the manipulation/lying by a character in episode 9
- random marriage in episode 11
- wearing socks (on feet) in NSFW scene
- no international release for the uncut version, only available in Thailand (deducted a half point for this as the uncut was better)

Watch Suggestions (it was really challenging in the beginning episodes so I included the Xianxia parts and then also included some sweet/steamy scenes)
- episode 1 part 1 beginning to 2 minutes (zero explanation of why one was blindfolded...)
- episode 2 part 1 beginning to 2:15 (pinned against tree, sword won't harm soulmate)
- episode 3 part 1 beginning to 3:10 (got something in his eye), 6:43 to the end (seem to be in school???)
- episode 3 part 2 beginning to 3:05 (talking about a character, gets a royal decree to kill the other guy? then flash forward then flashback???), 4:13-4:45 (2 other random characters talking to the guy in white), 10:10-10:30 (short fight)
- episode 3 part 4 10:50 -13:12 (introduced a noble genius character who becomes the demon guy's master???)
- episode 4 part 1 beginning to 1:25 and then jump to episode 4 part 2 at 2:55-3:12 to see the end of this scene (flower from his hair)
- episode 4 part 1 8:10-end, roasting a chicken blew out dust from his eye (same scene as in episode 3 part 1)
- episode 5 part 1 1:50-4
- episode 5 part 3 beginning to 3 minutes, 5 min to end
- episode 5 part 4 6:17-6:32
- episode 6 part 1 3:30-6:45 and episode 6 part 3
- episode 7 has a random couple introduced but they kiss at 16:30
- watch episode 7 uncut 29:50-33:15 steamy scene and then 33:30-42:30 for Xianxia kissing
- watch episode 8 part 1 3:45-7
- watch episode 8 part 2 2:40-4, 6:15-end
- watch episode 8 part 3 6-7
- watch episode 8 part 4 4-5:50
- watch episode 8 uncut 16-18:55 for a steamy scene
- watch episode 9 uncut 27-36:20 for a very steamy scene and then 43-end
- watch episode 10: part 1, part 2, start part 3 at 7:45 and part 4 at 4:30 (watch ep 10 uncut around the steamy parts for more steam)
- watch episode 11: part 1, part 2 beg to 3:30 and 11:45-13, part 4 beg to 1:45 (the elevator kissing might be a bit longer in uncut)
- watch episode 12: part 1 (watch the uncut until 10:30, they cut 4 minutes of NSFW here), part 2 and part 4 5min to the end

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Completed
MimiTheReaper
7 people found this review helpful
Oct 21, 2024
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 2
Overall 4.5
Story 5.5
Acting/Cast 5.5
Music 4.0
Rewatch Value 5.0
This review may contain spoilers

Scissors... Dog Walks...Riding...and...Mushrooms?

First off, I'd like to apologize for episode 9...blood of the holy ghost, how do I explain that unholy episode to my ancestors? I thought scissors were a device used for cutting hair... but boy was I wrong. Ob-un did all that while having a sword wound!! Child?? And did Ob-un dog walked Shan up those stairs?? Also, Ob-un's villain laughter had me weak, dafug you mean, uhuhum uhuhum hummm. Boy, stop playing.

Listen, these actors are brave. Kudos to them for being able to act these scenes in front of so many crew members. Tutor a better human than me though, cuz after that stone bed scene, I'd have pulled Yim to the side and acted like that one k-drama and go... 'Listen buddy, I didn't want to say this, but like, my family have 30 cows, and my mom knows a monk...get dressed, we getting married.' No but, seriously, how you go back to being friends after all that??? This is the wildest they've been.

And like, as if that scissor scene wasn't enough, we had the dog walk, which imma be honest got cringy in the middle, and that double riding in the finale... Susan, I think someone can get pregnant from all that. And the second leads also had that couch scene which had full on display cheeks and the whole demon lord thing in the finale. How these actors look into each other's eyes after that? Cuz, I can't even make eye contact on public transport, I always have to act all creepy like something interesting is on the floor. Like one time on the bus a baby smiled at me and I tried to hid behind one of them thin poles, cuz I ain't trying to have no awkward stare offs with no baby but like that's...wait, what was I talking about?

Right, mushrooms. yes, I definitely needed whatever mushroom those two took to fully enjoy the first couple of episodes of series. It was soo boring. Before I knew they were on mushrooms, I was like, does TuturYim need paper that much? I’ll start a go fund me, ain't no way they out here on this bus acting a-fool, cuz what in the bloody hell was that? Literally, as writers, I’d assume they’d try to steal a library or type on a rock, instead of acting like frogs on a public bus, the second-hand embarrassed I felt stayed with me until that Thursday.

I had high hopes for BOTW. TutorYim are one of my favs from Cutie Pie, so I'm seated for whatever they do, but this show took some time to get into. I didn't care for the plot that much, and all the childish over the top-acting nonsense didn't help. And what was Shan's work? And was it me or there were too many characters? The writers tried to give everyone their moment, but really, I did not care one bit about that wedding. Up until that point, I'd be lying if I said I noticed him being part of the writers. Her dress was beautiful though.

So yeah, it disappointed me, cuz the plot didn't hold my interesting, and I found it boring in some parts. Yes, the cutsy outfit in their writing space scenes were cute, but I didn't really care for it, but I liked those cute things they had in their hair. and I had no idea what half of the characters were going on about until much later. I did like some things, like the Costume plot. They looked sooo good as ancient characters. Really, I wanted to watch that plot-line instead. Sin and Jingjang's story was cute and I liked it.

CHARACTERS
I liked Shan and Ob-un, there weren't any unnecessary drama between them, and even the 'big fight' when Shan lied about his eyesight ended with a reward so... But I felt the show had too many characters, and I barely remember half of them. That one character who acted like a bad face mask, confessing to Shan but getting turned down and coming back like a bad lunch, trying to pull stuff, like boy be quiet and go hug a tree. Literally, in the finale when he was there during the proposal going 'kiss kiss kiss' I was like.: 'wait that guy is still in the show?' lol.

PLOT & FINALE.
They did have one with Ob-un and Shan's past and everything, then of course them writing that bl. I just felt like it was all done in a jumble. The execution made the plot come off boring in same parts. It felt like after episode 9, they sort of ran out of ideas and we got long 'papapa' scenes and just filler stuff. Literally, what was the point of the finale, and what did we really get? The story felt concluded waay before the finale, so it just felt like a filler episode. Though, I was happy Sin's partner came back.

All-in-all, interesting plot done in a messy way, but as a fan of the leads I still tuned in, and enjoyed some episodes. I recommend it all bl lovers out there, watch it if you have some time or you looking for spicy bls, cuz...episode 9..blood of the holy ghost that ish was wild! I am looking forward to TutorYim's next work, I'll be tuning in, hoping without mushrooms.

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Completed
LWJ Dream
7 people found this review helpful
Oct 11, 2024
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 5.5
Music 7.5
Rewatch Value 4.5

Unexpected

The trailer of this drama looked very interesting but I am not satisfied with this drama. First there are many rooms for improvement. I don't know how the script writers created this series but feeling like this is their first time . First few episodes were good but then everything became messy. Most disappointed point is the acting. The actors are definitely not professional at all , felt like they were telling us scripts. Heavy make ups on their face especially the MC really looked bad . The wuxia part was really funny , there are so many things which made that part stage play . But the most satisfied part was their historical costumes and modern costumes. Their visuals were great especially the ML's . Their friends were supportive, so many positive characters, beautiful OST .
Overall a Not Bad or so so types of drama. They should improve the wuxia part more .

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Completed
__ishu__
8 people found this review helpful
Sep 16, 2024
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.5
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 7.0

Better than MIDDLEMAN'S LOVE




















































































































































































it's better than so


THE MIDDLEMAN'S LOVE


I'm going to watch it till the end.
















































































Thank god they gave them a normal drama.
I may not give it 10/10 but it's good. give it a try































































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Dropped 10/12
jreviews
7 people found this review helpful
Sep 9, 2024
10 of 12 episodes seen
Dropped 0
Overall 4.0
Story 2.5
Acting/Cast 6.0
Music 7.5
Rewatch Value 1.0
This review may contain spoilers

I want to battle these writers

When I first got introduced to Tutor and Yim in Cutie Pie, I fell in love. The announcement of Middleman’s Love had me super stoked, and then the end-result was so bad, I couldn’t even watch it. The whole thing gave me so much secondhand embarrassment that I physically couldn’t get myself to finish it because I was cringing so hard. I was super sad about it because outside of GMMTV artists, Tutor and Yim are one my favorite BL ships. However, looking back, there is one positive about the whole Middleman’s Love debacle — my expectations for this new show were at an all time low. I expected absolute garbage saved only by TutorYim’s chemistry, and that’s exactly what I got. Though chemistry only goes so far, and in the end, nothing could save this mess.

I don’t even know where to start with this one. It’s so absurdly badly written that one would honestly think it’s some kind of parody. The whole thing is so poorly done that it’s actually pretty hilarious to watch. Definitely falls into the so-bad-it’s-funny category, which is the only reason I watched up until episode 10, albeit with a lot of skipping. Well, that and TutorYim. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think they’re the best actors, not at all. I think Yim is a bit better with his emotional delivery, and he has managed to make all his characters at least a little bit unique despite them all feeling very samey. He’s also incredibly adorable with his puppy eyes which is a plus. Tutor feels pretty much like the same guy just with varied outfit choices in all his shows. However, I do love their chemistry, and I’m glad to see it’s still there. The series does pretty well in creating moments for their chemistry to shine, so that’s nice. Just sad that it gets ruined by an overdose of cringe. Still, their chemistry might be the only positive thing I have to say about this show.

Actually, there’s a few more positives: When Ozone catches Shan trying to kiss Ob-un while he’s asleep, he calls him out on it. More of that please because I’m sick and tired of this cliché being romanticised. The show also has the characters kissing and have sex a lot, which I appreciate since a lot of shows about adults treat kissing like some sort of sin that can only be done very sparingly. So that's nice to see.

That’s it on the positives. Now, let’s get into the negatives, aka the entire rest of the show (in no logical order because the show couldn't be bothered, so neither can I):

- The series is entirely unhinged. It thinks it’s funny on purpose by including random and stupid shit like Shan and Ob-un getting high on mushrooms and acting like animals. Whenever it’s trying to be funny, though, it’s not funny at all. The only time the show is funny is when it’s trying to be serious, because the whole thing is so laughably bad that you really wonder what they were smoking in that writer's room.
- The dialogue feels incredibly unnatural and oftentimes forced without a natural flow. Conversations shift in topic incredibly abruptly, always reminding you that someone wrote this dialogue rather than it feeling like two humans actually talking.
- While I like the concept of a group of writers collaborating on a project, the inclusion of it is incredibly confusing. The scenes from the novel feel disjointed and don’t really tell a cohesive narrative. The show is almost over, and I still have no idea what the story they write is supposed to be about. We get the same scene from different perspectives, and the scenes jump around in time, so you never get a grasp on the story as a whole. There definitely was a better way of including this.
- For the first couple of episodes, the show always starts with a scene from the novel, but they just kinda give up on that for no reason. Also, Tutor lowers his voice for some of the novel scenes which sounds comedically bad. Luckily, he stopped doing it after a while because I could not take him seriously. On top of that, the scenes are shot in such a horrendous way and are acted out so poorly that it feels like they’re making fun of wuxia storylines. It’s in really bad taste even if it’s probably not done on purpose.
- The editing of this whole thing is a MESS. Scene changes are abrupt and confusing. We see a visual representation of the group chat which happens in someone’s imagination, I suppose, but the first time it cut to it was incredibly awkward and left me wondering what the hell was going on. All in all, the editing feels jumpy and scenes feel scattered in a random way. There are also flashbacks to things that happened less than two minutes ago which is a personal pet peeve of mine. The story of one side couple is almost told entirely through flashbacks, instead of interweaving it with the actual present narrative. I really dislike when shows do that sort of thing unless it's warranted.
- Plot lines seemingly get forgotten about. Things that matter in one episode suddenly don’t matter in the next. The worst example is the whole plagiarism thing. It’s the big deal in the first episode, then Shan and Ob-un never talk about it. It’s not picked up again until episode 6, and even then, it’s not addressed properly. Sure, the whole thing wasn't plagiarism, but only Shan and Ob-un know about that. I assume Ob-un's readers are just left to believe he ripped someone else off, which leaves me wondering if they'd still support him, or if his company still would. But I digress. Similarly, Ob-un having a fight with his roommate and being thrown out never comes up again. It was just there so he could move in with Shan. In the first episode, it was also established that Ob-un needed to work as a delivery guy to make ends meet because writing wasn't enough. Once he gets fired, he never looks for another job again, though, and is seemingly fine without one. Well, I guess he has a rich writer sugar daddy now, so I suppose he doesn't really have to work.
- Most of the show is over, but I still have no grasp on any of these characters because they aren’t characters in the first place. They have one defining trait (if even that), that’s it. The one thing that is focused on most is the genre each character is writing in, however, we never get any real feel for the kind of stories they write beyond the genre being mentioned.
- While I like that there’s a bigger focus on writing than in most shows about writers, I don’t think it’s a very accurate depiction. The idea that a group of guys could write a cohesive novel together with as little discussion about it beforehand is one big joke. Their story would be plot-hole galore, and it most definitely wouldn’t be as well received as theirs apparently is. Now that I think about it, maybe that's how this whole show was written. Just a rag-tag group of writers with big ideas and little planning. So, one threw in the plagiarism thing, another wanted to write about a blind guy, and a third wanted to just make this a series of exaggerated sex-scenes with no plot. They met somewhere in the middle, each writing an episode without asking the others what happened before or after. Maybe that's how we ended up here.
- Shan and Ob-un meeting before the whole plagiarism thing was entirely unnecessary. They should’ve just met for the first time at Shan’s press conference thingy. I still don't understand what the purpose of all that was, and it kinda seems like part of an entirely different show in retrospect.
- The scenes of the Chinese actor are dubbed which is incredibly distracting.
- The entirety of episode 6 is just one massive flashback which, granted, does finally explain some things, but was incredibly clunky in execution. Surely there’s a better way at sprinkling in shorter flashback scenes throughout the series or something like that. The story as a whole came to a halt for an entire episode which is definitely not what you want in storytelling. It’s the TV equivalent of a massive chapter-long exposition dump in a novel.
- Speaking of their past… I find there’s something very disturbing about BL’s obsession with the whole 'They knew each other when they were kids‘ thing, especially in this case because Shan is a lot older than Ob-un. It felt like a teenager prying on a little kid, and if he was a few years older, it would’ve definitely felt like grooming. It comes across as creepy instead of cute. Sure, Shan mentions in a throwaway line that he didn’t fall in love with Ob-un until they met again as adults. But that goes against everything the narrative is trying to push. He’s literally been obsessed with the boy, actively including elements of their summer together in his writing. It sure seems like this grown man is pining after a kid. All in all just very creepy and obsessive. Their story could’ve been cute if they were both the same age when they first met. Them coming up with this story about the fox and the hedgehog and then getting into a plagiarism controversy over it, leading them to meet again, could’ve been cute and fun in theory. The execution ruined it though, because now we have like a 16 year old teenager fawning over a 10 year old child well until his adult years. No thank you.
- In episode 7, there is an abrupt shift to a third couple that comes out of absolute nowhere. Again, the story takes a break to basically recreate Love, Sea The Series just even more insta-lovey. I think they literally fall for each other in a day, at least the dialogue makes it sound that way. Also, it’s very bold to introduce a third couple when you have yet to make any sense of your secondary couple. Focus on fewer things, but do them right instead. In episode 10, the same thing happens with the other side couple. Clearly, the story fails at integrating the three couples in a way that makes sense, so it just takes certain episodes to flesh out the story of the side couples, which is a big fail in terms of story-telling because it unnaturally shifts away from what the rest of the story is about. It just feels so awkward and shoehorned in, like both side-couples were an afterthought.
- It’s getting pretty tropey with falling into each other’s arms, drying each other’s hair, sleeping on each other’s shoulder on a bus, and stuff like that. It's giving BL bingo.
- Shan pretending he's still blind after regaining his vision is obviously horrible, and Ob-un forgave him for it way too quickly in episode 9. However, what makes it worse, is that this whole thing leads straight into a sex scene — one with a BLINDFOLD. Like, come on! You're lucky your eye condition didn't leave you permanently blind, and the first thing you think about when regaining your sight is using a blindfold in bed? After you just pretended not being able to see? And Ob-un is okay with that???? I'm not trying to shame anyone's kink here, but after what happened, it was just a very... odd... choice.
- Speaking of their sex scenes... This show thinks it's insanely hot, but the sex scenes set in the wuxia novel are nothing more than over the top cringe. Again, making the whole thing feel like a parody. It isn't tasteful and it doesn't feel intimate or passionate, it's just borderline unbearable to watch. If I didn't laugh so hard about how bad it was, I might have cringed myself to death. In episode 10, it's no longer just the wuxia scenes, but also the ones in real life. I had to skip. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for shows being sex-positive, but it just feels like this whole show has crumbled into a series of sex scenes which doesn't go with the first half of the show at all. It feels like the writers gave up at whatever mess of a story they created and were like 'Fuck it, let's just have everyone bang for the rest of it. And let's make it as cringe as we possibly can because why not go all in at this point?'
- All in all, the longer the show goes on for, the more overbearing the cringe factor of it gets. By episode 10, it got so cringey that I've decided to drop the whole thing entirely, because I just couldn't handle it anymore without wanting to crawl out of my skin from secondhand embarrassment. We're talking Middleman's Love territories of cringe here, and I can't stand that.

The list goes on, but those are the most glaring issues. It’s kind of ironic how in a show about writers, they’re basically setting an example of all the ways not to write a story. So if you’re a writer and looking for a bad example, this is the show for you. Otherwise I suggest you either don’t waste your time, or you just go into it to make fun of it. Since my bar was so low, I’m not really disappointed. While the show is better than Middleman's Love, we're comparing two dumpsterfires here. So, really, there is no winner or loser. Or, well, the real loser is me, because I genuinely do love Yim and Tutor, so them getting put in all the shittiest shows really sucks. I sincerely hope they’ll get to be in an actually decent show sometime soon, since wasting their chemistry on garbage like this is a real shame.

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Completed
Eliot_Rulez
2 people found this review helpful
Oct 21, 2024
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 5.0
Story 5.0
Acting/Cast 6.5
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 3.0
This review may contain spoilers

Much better compared to Middleman's Love, but stil lazy writing

Some positives first: chemistry, costumes, and the better episodes later in the series, not romantising to try kissing a sleeping person and calling it out, sensible intim moments, some fluff, making the writing in a book play out.
Some negatives: Cringe, forced funny moments which were not funny, weak writing and no "battle" at all, bad adlib for the chinese actor, weak ending.

Maybe it's my guilty pleasure but I personally found it not that bad compared to other shows and they outdid themselves with the visual presentation. Lazy writing still prevails in Thai shows, so that was a given, but an improvement of the last show for the MLs.

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Completed
Fachigo
1 people found this review helpful
Oct 21, 2024
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 6.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.5
Rewatch Value 7.5
This review may contain spoilers

Where's the battle??

First time writing a review...

First of, I adore tutoryim, they are my favourite bl ship and I'm honestly happy to watch whatever they are in.

This series isnt bad but for me its meh. There were a lot of unnecessary scenes and then scenes that actually mattered were all jampacked and so rushed.

But all in all, they are all cute, every one had their happy ending although i was hoping for a tragic ending for the novel world because it seemed more fitting for a period drama with forbidden love... I wish they gave us more Sin and Jingjang but oh well...

The one thing this series did was show just how much of good actors tutoryim are and their chemistry. Domundi better stop wasting their potential and give them a series with a big production so they can shine more.

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Completed
Dreamy-Nali
1 people found this review helpful
Oct 21, 2024
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 6.0
Acting/Cast 6.5
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 5.5

All for the eye-candy

First of all, I had watched the pilot trailer or something and got intrigued by the concept as I love story linked with writers and maybe some Wuxia elements with Thai actors..? However I was a bit too disappointed by the plot/script in general and I'm quite shocked by giving a 7, I thought I would give it a 6, I'm not joking.

I think, the way they edited some scenes and even executed them it was not well done, it was sometimes even over the place, awkward and a bit cringy.. I don't know.. I feel like I was not that excited, something was a bit off. Some characters were not that important, they had less screentime, it's a pity because it feels they were here just because they are in a supporting role.

I had kind of high expectations because it looks expensive in terms of the quality of the production. It's indeed pleasing to the eyes with the high quality of the cinematography (settings, costumes, the lightning that reminds me of DMD's productions). Ok I loved that, I had to admit.

The acting was a bit better, sometimes way too unbelievable, the chemistry was indeed on point and all the OST were super nice to listen, I have to applaud the fact that they were singing in mandarin chinese, it was a nice effort!!

However, I won't remember much of this serie (except the fact that the intimate scenes were kind of unforgettable but you see I don't want to remember a serie just for their NC scenes) and I won't watch it again. I really hope to see TurtorYim and other actors / pairings with a new plot that can really grab my attention.

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Completed
GimmeCorgiBabies
1 people found this review helpful
Oct 22, 2024
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 4.5
Story 6.5
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 4.0
Rewatch Value 1.5

I’d have rated it higher if it gave me more

there was too much plot for such a short series. it felt like things were dropped in for the creator’s sake then tossed out just as quickly to get back to the main story. I like Yim and Tutor too much to give this a lower score but this show didn’t give them enough room to flesh out the story. I honestly didn’t know half the characters name by the last episode. another annoying factor that bothered me is that most of the conflicts are built up and then it’s immediately forgotten. that could be due to the brief nature of the series but it made it easier to not follow any side characters close enough to comprehend their plot lines.

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Completed
zyxsln
1 people found this review helpful
Nov 21, 2024
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.0
Story 6.0
Acting/Cast 6.0
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 5.0
This review may contain spoilers

"Reunited by Love": The Sex, The Snooze, and The WTF

Okay. I need to breathe. Deeply. Inhale, exhale, because this review is about to go OFF. I came into this show expecting fireworks, drama, chaos, and maybe a few tears. What did I get? A lukewarm cup of instant fluff that couldn’t even stir my emotions. But let’s get into it because I have thoughts, and y’all are gonna hear them.

---

The Plot That Wasn’t: Snoozefest 2KForever

So, the premise? Cute. Childhood reunion vibes, Obaun and Shan reconnecting after years, yada yada, blah blah. Sweet? Sure. Engaging? Nope. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not terrible, but it’s also not giving anything. Like, where’s the spice? Where’s the DRAMA? 12 episodes and not one solid oh shit moment. No complications, no stakes, no real progression. Sis, even my morning coffee has more tension.

And don’t get me started on missed opportunities. They could’ve gone FULL enemies-to-lovers. Picture this: Obaun accused of plagiarizing Shan’s work. The company forces them to collab to clean up the mess, and BAM—awkward cohabitation, passive-aggressive shade, and eventual smooching. Obaun? Arrogant and icy. Shan? Feisty and chaotic. Imagine the banter! The tension! The inevitable 'I-hate-you-but-let’s-make-out' vibes. BUT NO. We got soft, mushy, forgettable instead.

---

TutorYim: My Kings, Why Did They Do You Dirty?

Let’s be real: as a TutorYim stan, I came for them, stayed for them, and… left kinda disappointed. Look, the chemistry is there—it always is—but they deserved more. Better material, stronger conflict, literally ANYTHING to show off their acting range.

Oh, but let me tell you, the sex scenes? WHEW. Saved the whole damn series. Like, is it art? Is it plot-relevant? No, but who cares? Sometimes we just wanna see pretty people be hot together. Sue me.

---

Gems x Mark: Cute, But Did We Need It?

Now let’s talk about the side couple. First of all, is it just me or does Gems look like Nat’s long-lost twin? Like, I had to pause and squint. “Nat, is that you, babe?” Anyway, Gems and Mark? Adorable. BUT Mark, sweetie, you were a walking red flag in that whole Nat drama, so it’s hard to root for you. Still, their chemistry is decent, and I enjoyed their moments.

What I did not enjoy? That terrible Chinese dubbing. Like, WHY. Just hire actors who can deliver the lines naturally, or let the Thai actors speak the little Mandarin they can. The cringe was REAL, and I had to skip through those parts because I couldn’t handle it. Who approved this? They need a stern talking-to.

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The "WOW" Factor That Never Showed Up

Look, the series isn’t bad. It’s just… meh. No wow moments, no standout performances (aside from TutorYim doing what they could with what they had). It’s not cringe, but it’s not memorable either. It’s just there. Like, will I rewatch? Nah. Well… maybe for the sex scenes, LOL.

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Final Thoughts: A Fluffy Letdown

Overall? It’s cute, but it’s not iconic. It’s the kind of show you watch once, go “aww, that’s nice,” and then forget about by the next BL drop. The plot was a missed opportunity, the side couple was okay-ish, and the dub scenes? Unforgivable.

Final rating: 6.5/10. Watch it if you’re bored. Or horny. Or both. Otherwise, skip it and go rewatch Bad Buddy.

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Completed
J-atty
1 people found this review helpful
Oct 26, 2024
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 5.0
Story 5.5
Acting/Cast 5.5
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 2.5
This review may contain spoilers

Only reason to watch.

Let's see:
Episode 9 - 32:54 to 36:01

That's it. No need to watch anything else.

Tutor and Yim have a connection. It is apparent. What is not apparent is why why why do they do shows that do not bring out the best in them. I'm reminded of Mos and Bank, but I digress. It's like they put a large amount of actors names in a bag and chose randomly.
Then in another bag they put a few mixed scripts and did they same thing. What is unfortunate is that TutorYim keep getting either the bad scripts or bad directors. I like them. I like them together. In and out of the fantasy world, they click. What doesn't click is the lackluster crap that eventually comes out.

A series such as this had too many couples to keep track of in and out of the fantasy world. I must admit after seeing Jack and Chat here, I lowered my expectations. Playboyy kinda left a wtf taste in my mouth. The only reason I watched was for the both of them but I was real about it. That was just to see how far they would go for shock value. Again, I digress. The erratic jumping between 3 worlds, coupled with the different relationships in each and writing alter egos proved to be too much. After episode 5, I found myself using this on a Monday to go to sleep.

If you like convoluted fantasy stories with a slightly erotic but more dramatic bed scene, refer again to episode 9, this is for you. The way Tutor looks at Yim alone will help get you through the episodes. Focus, Mark and Gems were decent enough. I was hoping for so much better, at least a better storyline, but that's just me. Others seem to love it. I will give them one more chance if they do another series.... because I do like them together.

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Ongoing 9/12
Amara Tera
2 people found this review helpful
Oct 7, 2024
9 of 12 episodes seen
Ongoing 1
Overall 7.5
Story 5.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 6.0

sweetest love story? - yes, sugar level up to the Moon? - yes

WATCH IT, IF YOU NEED SUGAR AND SPICE IN YOUR LIFE.
There's nothing special about the story, I couldn't point out the acting performance to anyone, it's max. Shan who's more talented than the others.
Despite all this, the chemistry between the main couple works very well. The kissing scenes are crazy, and the costume drama part is the spice. A lot of scene will make the viewer thirsty in the series. Oh, and watch the uncut version, ep. 9 is wild.
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