KSM4

He's portrayed as a very ordinary, weak-minded person who believes rumors left and right and changes his mind depending on who talks to him. If they wanted to show him as worthy of obsession by a character like PJ, they failed. But then again, all characters except for the main duo are basically cartoons, so maybe PJ just didn't have anyone else to choose from.

As a huge fan of the novel who's read it 4 times already, I think the series is brilliant. It's one of the most faithful adaptations I've ever seen. Minimum scenes removed; whatever new stuff they added is great. There are some key moments missing from the last 2 episodes because of time constraints, but even that doesn't break the flow, in my opinion. And the characters feel like they walked right from the pages, especially Fan Xiao.

Why AI, though...

E8 is the best, really curious what you'll think about it! And yes, Fan Xiao is in for a looot of pain.

Yes, exactly this. This drama has a lot of potential, but the writing isn't good in some important parts, especially when it comes to Little Jane.

Oh, hello there! It's great to meet the same people in comments to different series :D Thank you as always for your detailed response!

I don't really dislike this drama; I just think it's very average and very, very overhyped. The plot of the investigation is simple and predictable; it's clear who everyone is pretty much from the start. At the same time, they throw so many names around that it's difficult to understand what they are talking about sometimes, and it's all because of how rushed everything is.

For example, the same plot in the novel flows much better because it has many milestones. You keep wondering if Lee Chaeha's father is actually guilty, who the son is, etc. We are getting all the realizations slowly, the answers aren't immediately obvious.

In the drama, they are rushing through every point like hell. There are moments that make no sense, like the killer-mother attacking the leads with that knife. I thought the novel might explain it better, and this scene wasn't even present! They made it up for the drama, and they forgot to add more meaning to it.

The relationship is so deliciously slow burn in the novel, but in the drama, I don't really buy it beyond the surface. The switch from hate to lust to love is just too sudden. It's not bad, exactly, just rushed.

I agree with what you're saying about KBL having a hard time, but then I think they shouldn't choose big novels to adapt. There are plenty of shorter BLs; they could also just write an original script for their show. But when they pick lengthy novels, they have no choice but to rush and cut too much, so in the end, they release a mess.

I'm mostly confused why people keep presenting this drama as some super smart crime thriller with well-developed, obsession-fueled romance when it's not that at all. Hot NC scenes aside, I think it's as average as it can be.

Hope I explained it properly. Thank you for the link, I'll go check it out!

To My Shore is a Chinese drama. But I agree with all your points.

Honestly, I think this series is overhyped. Everything is extremely rushed, the effects are bad, and the plot is both too simple and confusing at the same time. I don't think it's interesting at all. The actors are great, and they have great NC scenes, but it's just not enough to justify the hype to me. I wouldn't recommend this to people I know. The good thing is that I started reading the novel, and it's actually pretty good. I don't know why they take lengthy novels and try to make short series based on them. It never works.

I'm sorry, but we are clearly watching two very different shows :D To each their own, of course. However, I also get a feeling that you are very young because only young people can say things like "if Little Jane isn’t kind, that makes him cruel." The world isn't black and white; as long as you keep thinking it is, you won't be able to understand what I, and other people, are talking about, so there is no point in doing it.

I actually struggle to think what Fan Xiao hasn't done in terms of toxicity compared to others, so he's a definite king of black flags to me.

Little Jane was absolutely spooked by Big Jane throughout their relationship. He acted more confidently before learning the rumors, though he was weirded out even then, and once he did, he was pretty much the same as everyone else.

He looks uncomfortable and tense in almost every scene they have together. He doesn't trust him, so again, he's not shown as some unique person who made all the difference by treating BJ in some special way. He's doing the bare minimum. For a romance and obsession, it's not enough.

When kindness is a defining feature of some character, it's shown time and time again. We don't see it with LJ. The half-baked effort with a girl and the ambiguous attitude to her situation later mark him as a normal human being, but not as someone who is steadily extremely kind throughout his life. Again, it's the bare minimum of what could have been.

BJ is a character. He didn't choose to be in love with LJ, the writers did, and I don't think they did a good job at all here. No one is saying that LJ is cruel, selfish, or a coward. However, calling him a kind, selfless, and brave character is also a big stretch. LJ is just a very ordinary person, nothing beyond that.

YES. The best show and an amazing novel.

I feel like this about most of the episodes, and I'm especially shocked when people say it's faithful to the manhwa or novel.

Or maybe some people are used to better characterization...

Little Jane looked spooked and awkward when handling that ball. He clearly felt uncomfortable. He constantly believes the rumors about Big Jane and mistrusts him deeply. He almost never looks relaxed or happy with him. There is only a minor difference between how he treats Big Jane and how others treat him. Certainly not enough to stand out and explain why Big Jane has gotten so obsessed. As for the girl he helped: yeah, he tried, but then he got quickly swayed into considering that maybe she had it coming. That's human, yes, but it's not exactly kind. Certainly not enough to say that kindness is one of his distinctive traits.

It's very easy to show a kind and brave character. Little Jane is just not that. He looks spooked around Big Jane all the time, from the very start. How is that treating him all that differently from others? He believes the slightest rumors about him instead of having his back. He doesn't trust him and accuses him of lying even when Big Jane simply doesn't share some neutral info about himself.

He seems to try to help others, like the girl that was being beaten up, but he backs away pretty quickly, and it's easy to sway him into thinking that maybe she had it coming. The only things he did for Big Jane I can recall is giving him the herbs for his headache and the cute toy. It's sweet, but it's catastrophically not enough.

What are the moments showing his brighter sides? Like, I'm watching as I do my work, so I might miss some scenes, but my friends who also watched it have the exact same impression, which makes me suspect the problem is indeed with the writing.

Four-Faced Buddha is a great and well-translated novel. Some SA is present, but it's not explicit, and the road to redemption is very long and very good. Utter obsession, possessiveness, etc.

The thing is, I don't feel like any of the things you listed were shown well. The intention is there for sure, but Little Jane didn't come across as someone particularly kind, caring, brave, and selfless to me. It's like they wanted to imply that he is, but they forgot to show it. The moments they included are underwhelming and shallow, at least the way I feel it.

Yes!! This is exactly what I've been thinking. I just don't find little Jane compelling enough, I feel like big Jane could have a way more interesting, better-written, brighter partner: this would justify the obsession and make their dynamic much more exciting. In my country, we have a saying, 'He's neither fish nor meat.' That's what I feel about little Jane.

Couples from ABO Desire and To My Shore seem to have more projects coming up.