Some cute parts but very cringe overall

I kind of LOL at this being the first Philippines drama I ended up watching because I'm sure it isn't representative.

There are some cute moments and I do enjoy the enemies-to-lovers trope — when it's bullying it's always questionable but I definitely don't think this is as bad as Boys Over Flowers / Meteor Garden, though it does have many of the same cliches.

I'm not sure if having more episodes would have helped some issues I had, but I think it would have helped character relationship development for sure; the main leads did have some development but I would have loved more scenes of those. The side relationships also could have used a lot more development; they felt random and out-of-the-blue and because we had no context I just felt like it was taking up time and adding weird dialogue where the characters would cycle through discussing each ship in conversations .

Speaking of which...the dialogue and writing just were really awkward and cringe most of the time. I felt like even regular teenagers wouldn't talk that way — it was like watching a chick flick parody. Though I do admit there were some genuinely funny moments, scenes where the drama didn't take itself too seriously either.

The acting was also not great sometimes — I feel like it was very clear who was a seasoned actor and who wasn't, and many of the side characters were robotic and awkward.

Other than that, there are some subplots that are cliche but still sort of fun to watch, but the writing style and acting felt like something I'd write and act out in middle school and it took me out of the show a lot.

Good OST though.

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Exciting finale to the trilogy, Still the best fight scenes

So this series has the best fight scenes I'd ever seen and this is no different; the choreography, sound effects, cinematography for them are all just amazing and it is definitely something I'd rewatch over and over again. It gets me hyped every time.

In terms of plot, this one had the most solid one in my opinion — it had established characters and there was a nice balance between personal growth and battle scenes. I loved seeing more of our main character's past and how he was with his mentor, leading to how he applied lessons to fighting with antagonists. Amazing development there.

The side characters were still consistent and fun, and I do think everyone got some scenes, but part of me did miss having the gang travel, work, live, and just chill together. I loved the scenes they did interact with each other and craved more of them.

All in all, I haven't read the manga so I don't know how great this series is as an adaptation (it sounds good from what I've heard) but as a movie and movie series, it's great and I'd consider it a classic.

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Boring and not thrilling

This movie was marketed as a thriller but upon watching it, I did not feel thrilled at all.

The story was just really meh — nothing really stood out to me, and it was kind of predictable. The characters didn't have much depth outside of their stories and the pacing of the movie just felt really slow and boring. I didn't feel the stakes in anything, mostly because a lot of the decision-making was questionable; it just felt as if the characters were going through the motions in order to make the plot play out tragically the way it was supposed to.

I'll still watch the next few movies but hopefully they make me feel more emotions; I didn't feel any while watching this one.

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Fun and intense

This movie is different from the first one — there are some things I liked better and some things I liked less.

I thought the plot was great — it was a lot more high-stakes than the first one, and the villains seemed to have more backstory and be more layered than the caricature money-hungry villain from the first movie.

This goes without saying but the fight scenes were great (cinematography, choreography, audio, and all).

There was a little less humor in this one, but it was still enjoyable nonetheless, and I don't have a problem with this movie having more intensity and seriousness.

Kaoru is not my favorite character and it doesn't help that both movies ended a similar way because of her; even with that, however, this was a fun movie with a great performance especially by the main actor.

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Endearing with great action sequences

There are some points of this movie that are a bit cheesy, and I wasn't a huge fan of the caricature-ish main villain and the addition of guns (close combat is just that much more captivating).

All that aside, however, there was something just so endearing and fun about this being the first movie where we would get all our character introductions and see the gang come together, even if sometimes the storylines felt disjointed.

The main actor just KILLED it though. The transitions from hitokiri badassery to wholesome-guy-carrying-vegetables were great and the combat scenes were perfect, in terms of choreography and cinematography and sound effects. They're just so fun and satisfying to watch, and I especially loved that it was combined with hidden identity reveals.

There was a perfect balance of humor and seriousness — Sanosuke's scenes especially.

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Beatiful — but watch the Director's Cut instead

Title. I had watched the drama version before realizing there were extra scenes and going back to watch those. It's only about 10 minutes more but WOW, that cut added a bunch of scenes I had been craving and wrapped up a few loose ends. I'd definitely recommend just watching that instead of this drama.

All that aside, however, wow. This was just beautiful and it had stole my heart from the beginning. 10 minutes in and I was sold. The chemistry between the leads, the little bits of nervousness and secrecy — it was all done so well.

The second half got a little cliche (The director's cut does explain it better than the drama does) but even though it had a twist I didn't love, I felt like it was understandable and it made the later climaxes worth it. Would definitely recommend this, it's going to give me a hangover for a week.

The OST was great too, especially a really nice beach scene with a song called Don't Turn Away by 5 Alarm!

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Beautiful

I had watched the drama version before realizing there were extra scenes and going back to watch those. It's only about 10 minutes more but WOW, this cut added a bunch of scenes I had been craving and wrapped up a few loose ends. I'd definitely recommend just watching this instead of the drama.

All that aside, however, wow. This was just beautiful and it had stole my heart from the beginning. 10 minutes in and I was sold. The chemistry between the leads, the little bits of nervousness and secrecy — it was all done so well.

The second half got a little cliche (The director's cut does explain it better than the drama does) but even though it had a twist I didn't love, I felt like it was understandable and it made the later climaxes worth it. Would definitely recommend this, it's going to give me a hangover for a week.

The OST was great too, especially a really nice beach scene with a song called Don't Turn Away by 5 Alarm!

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Cliche but cute

It's true that this is similar to A Love So Beautiful and Playful Kiss in its cliche premise of the not-so-smart girl chasing after the genius, aloof male lead. But there's actually not much similarity beyond that in my opinion — the vibe is completely different and All I Want For Love Is You is actually less cringy, and the chasing girl isn't as annoying and does stand up for herself.

I still wish the FL had more independence and her own ambitions — I thought they could do this with her fighting ability but this ended up being kind of a side humor thing.

There were some good friendship moments but I really think this drama could've used more. There was a lot of girl-on-girl hate even for characters that otherwise had good development, and overall side characters were funny but I didn't love them. (Aside from my sort of second lead syndrome)

At the end of the drama, they also pulled a typical eleventh-hour conflict which really got on my nerves and felt rushed. Other than that, I actually felt like subplots proceeded very smoothly.

Overall still a really fluffy and fun watch despite all the cliches and over-the-top love rivals, and the female lead actress is adorable and perfect in her role!

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Fluffy but underdeveloped

This started off really cute — I loved how they kept running into each other and having awkward moments; it was adorable and I think the premise for both the side ships was really promising as well.

Ultimately, though, I'm not sure if this drama just didn't have enough episodes or if they just developed it too fast, but I felt like there wasn't ample build-up to any of the ships after they were introduced. It felt like they used very cookie-cutter tropes without actually spending time developing them.

Still, though, it was fluffy and fun from start to end and I quite liked all the characters. This is one of those wholesome dramas where there are no villains.

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Adorable chemistry and healthy relationship

The relationship between the leads in this drama is, for the most part, so healthy and adorable — they were undoubtedly the best part and I just loved how much they communicated and trusted each other. Both the female and male leads were independent, smart, hard-working, logical...and were just overall really refreshing and natural personalities.

I admit that I do think the relationship and the plot seemed to slow down afer the ships got together, but the chemistry stayed pretty strong overall.

There are a few things that left me unsatisfied, like characters whose arcs were seemingly just dropped, characters who got no closure, or just conversations between characters that I waited for the entire drama and never got. I felt like the parental characters could've been dealt better for sure.

Overall, the drama was still an enjoyable watch and I really loved how they handled different conflicts. There was one last ditch conflict that was a little annoying because it was borne out of miscommunication and just didn't make logical sense. Although they did resolve it pretty satisfyingly and the tone of the drama was consistent, the entire thing just felt unnecessary and made me drop my rating a bit.

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Endearing but cliche

For the most part, this was definitely a fun watch. But though it has high production value, everything from the female lead's personality, to the horrible turn of the second female lead, to all the plot tropes that were used, just made it feel like an oldie drama, It was just all the tropes that were already on my list of pet peeves that I just did not want to see again and was hoping this drama would veer away from. It didn't.

Overall, the production value and visual effects of this drama were really a pleasure to watch, and like many other viewers, the second male lead stole the show for me. Honestly, I might've been a little more lenient for this review if it weren't for the last two episodes, which really pulled a time jump cliche and leaned fully into the love triangle, making the actual plot arcs feel irrelevant. I'm not a huge fan of character development happening off-camera in general, but it felt like I was watching a completely different drama. Those closing episodes very much snuffed out any momentum I feel like the drama had going for it.

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Light-hearted but missing plot

I had watched the drama before this and of course, I expected the movie to cut a lot out simply due to time constraints. Because of that, however, I felt like we ended up with a mediocre movie. It was light-hearted and we still got a really warm and mature relationship between the two leads, but in terms of plot and character development, this version was lacking.

Essentially, I felt like nothing really happened in this movie. I'm not sure what the plot for this movie was and what conflicts there really were; because there was no big conflict, I also didn't really see our characters grow or change or have to face any obstacles.

I liked the tidbits of bromance and sismance between the cast, but it's also true that we weren't able to see much of it and everyone was very cookie-cutter.

I did like the visual effects however, though the actual gaming didn't take up a big part of the movie either (understandably).

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Has its good parts but is formulaic

This started out pretty endearing — I liked that the main girl was the one with high grades, and that the guy was teasing but kind and had his dream of dancing. However, I think it quickly became too formulaic, with all the typical school cdrama plots (sports day, talent show, tutoring, etc.) and none of the character or plot development.

The main girl's passiveness quickly became really annoying, and it was like she never had a good verbal reaction to second lead and never had a conversation with her parents and never had her own thoughts unless she was judging main lead without knowing all the facts. Even past the time jump her actions made no sense and made her seem clingy still; It's fine if she started out like this but staying this way for 24 episodes was too.

Overall, the time jump just wasn't enjoyable and the future plot was very anticlimactic after using a very common trope for it.

I also just wish we got to learn more about the side characters so that they didn't feel second-rate; I really liked the second pairing's banter but their story was left behind.

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Lighthearted but cliche

At its core, this was a really fun watch. I liked the character of the female lead (who started off doing cringy and ditzy things but quickly showed she was capable and headstrong) and I thought there was a really fun relationship between the leads. I also liked the female best friend.

I did not like the male best friend who seemed stalkerish and creepy, and I also thought the random addition of a love triangle with a later-introduced childhood sweetheart was unnecessary.

Ultimately, though, there are a lot of cliches in this, from the second leads' and side characters' cookie-cutter personalities to the actual misunderstanding tropes that they used.

My problem with the latter came in that there was a sort of disjoint with cause and effect; it was like the writers knew they wanted Character A to react this way and go through a specific emotion, and so they created a situation for that to happen. But the situation didn't warrant that big of an emotional response, so the addition of sad music and tears just made everything seem overblown.

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