Boyfriend on Demand

Black Mirror meets cliche romance Kdrama

I was suuuper excited to start this show because of its premise. Imagine being able to date multiple characters at once and there never being consequences, it genuinely does feel like more of a game than actual dating just like Mirae’s best friend treated it LOL.

I absolutely loved the cameos of the actors EXCEPT for one and I’m sure all of you know who it is…

Points off for having Siwon in there. I guess kdramas just LOVEEEE giving problematic actors a platform, don’t they?

Overall the kdrama was pretty good. I liked the silly tropes they portrayed in the virtual reality, it reminded me of fanfics I used to read as a teen. I would’ve absolutely loved Boyfriend on Demand irl 🤣🤣🤣

I don’t really have anything to complain about tbh, this show was pretty entertaining from start to finish although it did get boring around like 3 last episodes because WHY did they need to have like the most stupidest miscommunication ever 😭 did they run out of ideas …? like 😭

I’m not gonna be too mad at the cliches since the whole premise is making fun of cliches but then it seems like they completely forgot about the irony of cliches and fully leaned into it with the main couple at the end, it kinda irritated me lol. half of their problems could’ve been easily avoided by talking…and these are two grown adults who described themselves as ‘realists’ in the beginning who don’t get swayed by cliche romance…like alright buddy whatever that means.

also as much as I love Seo Inguk and his role here… Seo Kangjoon…can’t move on from him. He should’ve been the main lead my goodness 😫

This is the first time I’ve watched Jisoo act and I’m actually not that disappointed as I thought I would be. People criticised her acting im snowdrop so I just assumed she’s a bad actress overall but if thats the case, she definitely got better. Her acting wasn’t that bad.

But yeah it was an entertaining show. But really…having Seo Kangjoon and Siwon in the same Kdrama doesn’t sit right with me. Eugh..

Read More

Es el primer drama de jisoo que me gustó!

Muy lindo el mensaje que deja el drama: vivir el presente y dejar de ver el final.
Pero en la vida real todo termina eventualmente y trae consecuencias catastróficas; entrar en una relación es como estar sedado para luego darte cuenta de que debes nuevamente despedirte de las personas. Es estar pasándola increíble y tener siempre presente que llegará un día donde extrañarás ese momento.
Si la vida fuera un drama, podríamos tomar más riesgos como la protagonista, pero la realidad es mucho más consecuente. Si no mueves bien tus fichas, podrías pasar un par de años de tu vida intentando volver a ser tú, y con el tiempo te va consumiendo. Poder amar libremente es solamente una quimera; en cambio, debemos andar con cautela en el mundo real. Pero supongo que para eso vemos este tipo de historias, para desconectarnos de nuestra propia realidad y refugiarnos en un mundo de blancos y negros, lejos de nuestros eternos grises.

Read More

Boyfriend on demand - Fiction or reality?

The protagonist is offered a device that allows you to virtually experience different dates as if they were real. She falls in love with a boyfriend but discovers she's not the only one going out with him, and she says and does the same things to all the others. So she upgrades, where, at his direction, she describes her ideal boyfriend and discovers she's been describing her colleague with whom she didn't get along. A moment of confusion as she tries to figure out where fiction ends and reality begins, and she opts for reality.
I initially liked the idea of ​​this plot itself because it was novel, but then it was poorly (trivially) exploited.
Virtual life is great, but if it were actually commercialized, it would lead to a disconnect from reality and chronic/dangerous indebtedness.

Read More

True slop

watched till ep 7
True slop from the slop factory for lonely people who are way too deep in idol culture . The way it presents the vr device as a cute little escape from reality was really distasteful , although I can understand why people would like this drama if they turn off their brain even then I feel like I'm just not the target audience for a drama like this as a cis hetero man.
Very star studded cast .
Ml is a bland underdeveloped character.
Fl is a lonely person who doesn't want to live in the real world but that escape is presented as a cutesy little thing with only glimpses of its true impact , Imagine a lonely middle aged man or woman who sleeps with a body pillow and treats them like a real partner and presenting it as if its a good thing . Its only perceived as ok by the audience here because of the prevalence of idol culture and its extremities in South Korean media and culture . I am saying this as a person who consumes media extensively to escape their own reality that something like this shouldn't be presented as healthy for a functioning human member of society .
Even when you ignore all of this the romance between the fl and ml is not fleshed out at all their connection seems extremely superficial. Its genuinely just the most pure slop drama I have ever seen .
Even if they show the ramifications of the device in the last two episodes its meaningless and impact less.
The cast is nice acting is nice but that's about it .
A simple fix for this drama would have been to flesh out the romance between the ml and fl and to show the ramifications of an unhealthy coping mechanism or even to just show what you miss out on if you choose the world you create inside your head , to present it as though there's nothing wrong with it just shows the lack of depth of thought here it just misses nearly all things that constitute a good piece of media .

i completed it
rating and gripes don't change much but they do address somethings i guess .

Tl dr ; watch only if you want multiple eye candy relationships and can turn your brain off,nothing else is offered in this drama .

Read More

Female Lead Gets Lost In The Noise

My 4 categories are Acting/Cast, Writing, Direction/SFX/Music, Entertainment Value.

I wasn’t expecting this drama to be good. I was just excited for all the cameos.

Acting/Cast: The cameos are awesome. I was really missing Seo Kang Jun (서강준) once he left the drama. I didn’t really have an issue with the male lead (played by Seo In Guk/서인국 ) – who is a hit or miss actor for me. However, the female lead (played by Ji Soo/지수) disappointed me. I don’t know if it’s an acting issue or a directing issue, but she just looked confused the entire drama. I had a hard time connecting with her character because of her lack of emotional range. I’ve seen Snowdrop and Ji Soo does great in that drama (which has an extremely intense story), so I’m not sure what went wrong here. I enjoyed the rest of the characters and their casting. None of the characters felt like an extra, as if they're just there to push the story along for the leads. They all felt like unique and realistic people, which was refreshing and added a certain charm to the drama. 6.5/10

Writing: I liked the direction of the first half of the drama. With each episode, I was enjoying the story more and more. I think it was a good idea to show the events strictly from the female lead’s perspective. That way, when the male lead suddenly changes, we’re just as shocked as she is – it helps us to connect with her and how she’s feeling. However, this is the only time we are really able to do that. Her character seems so inconsistent, confused, and almost like a side character for most of the drama. I do like the healing aspect of the drama though. I think that concept was shown well through the writing – such as how the VR boyfriend experience is a way for her to come to terms with the loss of her previous relationship. There’s a part towards the end of the drama where that trauma is brought clearly into focus and I found it very relatable. I feel as though the writers really understood what someone goes through mentally and emotionally after experiencing something like that. Unfortunately, the second half of the drama is a bit all over the place. The VR plot point isn’t even really that important anymore. It splits time between multiple side character storylines that aren’t too important either. I was wondering if the drama would get into more of the psychological and ethical aspects of the VR dating. It seemed like it would because the VR AIs act like drug dealers trying to get people addicted by exploiting their loneliness so they’ll keep giving the company money. Unfortunately, it really doesn’t get too much into it aside from briefly mentioning it. So in the beginning, the VR company comes across as being creepy and manipulative (which was actually pretty entertaining as it could have gotten pretty dark and psychological), but the writers seemed to change course on this concept by the end of the drama and instead made everything all rainbows and butterflies. 3.5/10         

Direction/SFX/Music: The pacing is interesting. I felt like the story was only finally set up halfway through the drama (5 episodes in), but then it changes course and I had no idea where the story was going. There’s some dragging during the second half. Then, we hit the typical Noble Idiocy segment with just 2 episodes left and it easily solves itself and wraps up very quickly. Excluding the direction, I don’t really have any more complaints in this category. 4/10 

Entertainment Value: Despite my issues with the drama, it kept my attention all the way to the end. The female lead is frustrating at times. Also, the Noble Idiocy point immediately annoyed me as it always seems like a forced conflict. Fortunately, it plays out a bit differently and doesn’t last very long. I think the ending is too idealistic – too feel-good – so that caused a disconnect for me. I feel as though the plot is lacking substance, especially in regards to VR dating and its potential problems. 4.5/10

Overall, I gave this drama a 4.5/10 (4 or higher is ‘enjoyable enough for a watch’ on my scale). I like the healing element of the drama. It is relatable and insightful. However, the female lead doesn’t feel like a very strong character – she seems to kind of just blend into the background. Seo Kang Jun is easily the highlight of the drama.

Read More

Light on plot but heavy on kisses.

I think to fully enjoy this show, you have to realize it is not a full course meal, it's more like a little treat. The stakes are never monumental and the romance is quietly understated. The yearning gestures aren't soul wrenching but the heart still aches. There's not that much plot and it mostly focuses on character development. I can't say it's the best or funniest or most swoony drama, but it's a good time.

I picked this drama up mainly for Seo Inguk but the show did him dirty. I desperately needed more screen time from him, especially in the earlier episodes. He's amazing, sexy, charismatic as always and there's some tough competition but I think this drama has his best kiss scenes ever? He was eating her up every time!!!!

I cringed through episodes 1 and 2 (the humour was sorta funny but super embarrassing lol) but by episode 3 you can easily tell that Jisoo shows remarkable improvement in her acting as Seo Mirae. Perhaps Jisoo just suits the romantic comedy genre well because I didn't like Snowdrop but found her relatable and charming in this drama. She had great chemistry with not only Seo Inguk but Seo Kangjoon and Kim Sungcheol.

The cameos were really fun and swoony and when we progressed passed that, I also enjoyed our budding romance between the leads but the plot could have used more meat.

The whole drama is actually pretty light on plot to be honest, it's mostly a slice of life, healing story for Jisoo's character. Which isn't a bad thing, but I think the story would have been more engaging if the characters had more to work with. But in the same breathe, it felt fresh because it excluded so many tired kdrama tropes like childhood friends, evil CEOs, life threatening scenarios resulting in rushed love declaration etc.

The rewatch value is high for me, just because of the kiss scenes lmao.

Read More

unexpectedly fresh & funny

Boyfriend on Demand follows Seo Mi-rae, a single 30'ish woman with a routine but somewhat tumultuous (& dateless) lifestyle, working long hours as a webtoon producer at a highly competetive online publishing company. She manages the company's most popular writer, leading to a collaboration with a tech company in basing a new virtual dating app on one of the writer's characters. Mi-rae is given a free VR set to trial the app & give a review, thus becoming addicted. On comes an exploration of how emotionally & financially exploitative an AI created "perfect date" can be.

After going wild with role playing through several of the 900 risk free programmed virtual dates - involving hilarious cameos with a couple of celebrity idols - Mi-rae then settles into a comfortable ease with one perfect VR boyfriend, with whom she just just lets herself be herself. Through conversation with him, she examines her own real past relationship with her college sweetheart, its failure, & learns how to let it go. After achieving such a significant personal closure, however, a rude awakening occurs when Mi-Rae discovers her VR boyfriend is not personalized to her & that others are dating this character in the same way in the app, much like experiencing everyone else wearing the same outfit at a party.

Her real life co-worker & rival producer, Park Gyeong-nam, is calm & muted with a strong nerd vibe . He's a tranquil sea in contrast to Mi-rae's near constant turmoil. They work in rival teams as they manage fiercely competing writers, keeping at arms length from each other. Mi-rae meanwhile trials a new VR boyfriend, customized after a lengthy personal questionnaire. Of course, what pops up is in the exact image of Gyeong-nam, but with an idealized personality based on what Mi-rae thinks she wants.

Reality & VR start to meld as Gyeong-nam eventually confesses to Mi-rae when she is already in the throes of virtual dating. Mi-rae is forced to confront her true feelings & the feelings of the flesh & blood person standing in front of her.

Seo In Guk does very well in portraying Gyeong-nam with a quiet consistency. Ji Soo (my 1st time seeing her) pulls off the role of Mi-rae well enough & I enjoyed both performances.

And near the end, the assumptions the app's creators made in what women want from an ideal boyfriend are all hilariously turned upside down. Ha Young is very funny as Mi-rae's best friend who burns through the app's characters like a professional arsonist. Gong Min Jung is perfect as an eccentric talent who never accepts the handouts she's given. Neither character apologizes for being themselves.

I was surprised at how fresh & funny this drama feels. Full of romantic tropes while making fun of them at the same time. The writing is intelligent, with the precautionary warning of never losing sight of what role AI should actually play in our lives. I enjoyed this show very much.

Read More

Better than I expected

I started this series mainly because of the big hype around it, and I didn’t really know what to expect. Unlike most dramas, the first two episodes bored me a bit and I watched them without much focus, but later the show really picked up. The FL was played well, the ML even better. Aside from one overly dramatic scene with the ML crying etc., I think it’s a very good series. Despite the seemingly trivial topic, it presents an interesting story about searching for a soulmate, loneliness, and maybe even an attempt to portray modern society—not just Korean, but more generally how we set expectations for a future partner. In a way, it also touches on the topic of AI, which is becoming more and more present in our everyday lives. I was very pleasantly surprised by the comedic elements—the writer lady’s dating experience was AMAZING, just a pity those parts were so short. Similarly, the subplot with the main character’s friend was great.

I’d even say it shows relationships quite realistically for a k-drama, meaning actual kisses and visible affection. The ML did a great job portraying indifference and awkwardness. Lastly, I’m really happy to see Yoo-in Na in another drama—I like this actress a lot.

Read More

A Good Palette Cleanser

this show is the perfect palette cleanser when you want to recover your brain cells after a bad drama. it’s not exactly deep or groundbreaking, but it completely keeps your attention. the pacing is good, the setting is nice and the visual effects for the application are really fun and colorful.

the acting from the male cast was just completely elite. i desperately went into this show wanting mi-rae to end up with seo kang-joon because of all the edits i saw. but oh my god, i officially fell in love with seo in-guk instead. his micro-expressions are insane, and during his confession and the finale when he cried, i literally cried with him bcs kyeong-nam is just the ultimate best boy. i loved seeing his pov and the way he comforted mi-rae when she was so afraid of getting hurt again was just so adorable. this show did a great job of showing a lot of complexities in love without making it exaggerated.

not to shade jisoo bcs i love her but she definitely got outshined by her male leads. she was okay, but being paired up with such heavy professional actors just made her look a bit weaker this time.

but the plot is where it completely falls apart bcs of the absolute waste of the sci-fi setting. in a world where ai is literally taking over everything, this show had a perfect opportunity to deliver a deep message about why real human connection is superior. kyeong-nam was willing to repatch things with mi-rae bcs he realised he was better for her because he was real and he cared. but the ending totally copped out. look at the author yun song. she just keeps using the app, gaslighting herself into a fake relationship, and literally turning against actual humans who tell her it's bad. it felt so shallow and annoying. i wish she had just given the machine away, learned to love herself, and found real love like ji-yeon sort of did—though even ji-yeon’s ending with min lacked any real depth. if a vr app like boyfriend on demand existed in real life, the world would literally go haywire and destroy itself, so treating it like a harmless, consequence-free lifestyle choice at the end just felt lazy and simple.

its a solid 8.7/10 for the romance and the male leads, but an 8/10 overall because of the shallow plot.

Read More

unexpectedly tender

I started the show because of Jisoo, and although she is still new to acting and at times awkward, I really liked the previous drama she starred in (Snowdrop) and wanted to give this a try as well. I’m ngl, at first, I found her acting very unnatural and just plain bad, and I was sooo close to dropping the whole show— BUT I stuck with it because I wanted to see how the plot would play out, and honestly Im glad I stayed. Idk how but somehow her acting got better as the episodes went on, and I found myself really invested in the life of our main character and her emotional turmoil of choosing reality or the safety of the virtual universe. Boyfriend on Demand isn’t a cinematic masterpiece, but it is cheesy and so fun to watch. There were small plot holes and other aspects I wish were addressed, but overall- I had a great time watching this. It’s silly, but also unexpectedly tender and sweet. Its nothing insane, but still enjoyable to watch :)

Read More