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Found family and friendship matter far more than blood ties, series brought up a lot of emotions
This is simply a great family drama. A story where found family and friendship matter far more than blood ties. I loved-to-bits the relationship between the three youngsters as they grow up, between themselves and with their father figure. The various arcs of the series were well-built and developed, with maybe a less inspired last act which could have been better balanced than a succession of misfortunes.I loved the main characters and the actors and actress really brought likeability into their roles. They had a good chemistry together and you felt the change and shift in their relationships over time. It was very pure and satisfying with a lot of looks and attentions from both boys toward the girl. The cast playing the older generation did also a good job, I really disliked some of their characters which mean they did a good job portraying them. The "villain(s)" of the series are really enemies you hate, I could not manage to gather an ounce of sympathy for them as they were (or at least one of the "antagonist") unredeemable in my eyes and not worth of any redemption. Some of the secondary roles were more averagely played but it was ok in overall.
I enjoyed a lot the production value. There are a lot of cooking scenes that are very appealing as well as some striking and memorable moments for many of the relationships. The OST is beautiful: it is sad and nostalgic but very pretty at the same time, it is tugging your heart strings. The opening and ending generics are great and un-skippable but you really need to listen to it without watching the images in order to avoid spoiling yourself (which I managed to avoid fortunately).
I would recommend this to people looking for a great family drama. There are quite a lot of characters and they take their time to develop each of them. It is a very satisfying watch which can brought a lot of emotions. The ending was a bit tiring in terms of scenario for the last arc and a bit too quick at the same time. I would have loved a smoother landing but I was not disappointed in any case.
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Could an investigation ever feel more sluggish and inefficient ? I don't think so.
This drama follows the investigation of a series of murders targeting a group of friends while making them play a very sadistic game of truth or dare. On paper, this sounds like a great idea but the writing was so bad that the police work and resolution of the mystery cannot be taken seriously. Dialog and plot points felt absurd with a lot of flirting and bantering in the midst of a pile of bodies.However, I must admit that if the crime aspect and the police work was as unconvicing as it could be, the over-the-top flirty scenes between the leads brought me a lot of giggles and entertainement. Indeed, while the fight scenes were awkward, I enjoyed a lot the chemistry between Joong and Dunk. While I was fully sold on the hot scenes between the leads, the gap in acting skills was very pronounced here. Indeed, while Joong is quite good (and super hot), Dunk was a beautiful statue painfully bland, who cannot deliver and emote any kind of angst. Maybe if their roles were reversed, it would have been preferable given their respective skills because Dunk might have executed better a "lighter" character, like his role in "The Hear Killers".
I would not recommend this because of the writing being a real dumpster fire. However, I cannot denied to be entertained by some of the cheesy moments, the flirty scenes between the leads, who are living their romance in the middle of poorly investigating crimes.
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Impressive and memorable BL that wrecked my heart and took my breath away in the best way ~~~
This BL drama manages to do so much over the course of its 11 episodes of about 30 minutes. It portrayed the relationship of two highschoolers in a very worthwile and touching way. It made so much sense why they grew closer, despite (or rather because of) their difference in social class and personality. Their family background was instrumental in bringing them together and nurturing their connection. The writing of the series was very solid in getting to the point, without too much fioriture and creating a clear picture of the story for the viewer in very limited time.The chemistry between the two main leads was very good. The evolution of their relationship felt very credible in their feelings as well as the way the intimacy naturally increased between the characters. There was a brilliant progression over time in the skinship moments and the way the kisses got more an more passionate as the series progressed took my breath away. It felt very real but poetic as well. There are a myriad of gestures, little touches that gave life to the characters and their romance in a meaningful way. Some scenes will definitely stays into my memory for a very long time.
The production was really good with water being a common thread in the making and a key element for the storytelling. I loved the OST with the un-skippable opening song and the emotional and sorrowful music which was inserted purposefully in the background of some of the scenes.
I would strongly recommend this stellar and emotional BL to everyone looking for a poetic romance with gut-wrenching storytelling. I wish they had a bit more time to even further develop some elements but it is also because I loved it so much ! Do yourself a favor and don't miss episode 11 who serves as a beautiful epilogue to the story with a strong and important activist point of view ! Far from being preachy, it opens the door in a mindful way to reflection on the place of gay relationship in Japanese society.
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Bland...Lacked some depth to get into it
I usually love friends-to-lovers trope but this drama, while centred around it, felt super bland to me. It lacked some spice or gripping factor to get me invested...And the way the tone of the series shifted but was superficially addressed did not sit very well with me...Regarding the acting, I did not feel very impressed by the chemistry between the leads but to be honest, the script and the way the characters were relatively empty and one note, probably did not help them...Maybe the male lead role had a bit more meat but the female lead role was really more an empty vessel than anything else...Any of the inner and outside conflicts that happened was resolved so quickly that it felt lacking.
I would not recommend this to people as it felt like a very mid run-of-the-mill office josei story. Would it have been spicier, crazier or simply more heartfelt, it could have been good...But here it remained at a very mid level, with nothing outstanding nor memorable.
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This epilogue really made up for the fumbled finale of the drama
Once again, I'm wondering why the epilogue is not included into the main series instead of being splitted on a different page. For me, this is the real ending of the drama and does not warrant to be separated from it as it is a straightforward continuation of episode 9 of the show.Having said that, I am super happy with this epilogue. After a "finale" that I found disappointing (even if it did not diminish my overall enjoyment of the series), this episode really made up for it. It showcased the best part of the main characters relationship perfectly and provided a very satisfying conclusion. The only thing that annoyed me a bit was the soundtrack, and despite my love for the opening song, I don't get the choice to repeat it ad nauseam...But at least sound was less disturbing than in episode 9.
I would strongly recommend this to people that have watched the "main" series. It is really the continuation of the drama and provide a proper conclusion to the series. It had no reason to be separated from it, so make sure to watch it to say a proper goodbye to the characters, as it round up beautifully their rivals-to-lovers story.
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I was probably not the right audience for it
This drama is a live adaptation from the manga of the same name from Oshimi Shuzo. His work has apparently been adapted several times but this is my first contact with his story. I had no prior knowledge on it and I can't say if it is a good adaptation or not, however it has for sure the feels of a manga, and it is pretty dark and disturbing. The hero of the story, Kasuga Takao, is a middle school teenager, feeling suffocated by the remote city he lives in, surrounded by moutains. He hates everything about it and build a quite disturbing relationship with Nakamura Sawa, a girl from his class, who shares the same feeling of rejection about the place they live in.I overall quite liked some of the more psychological aspect of the story but there is also a big part of over-the-top fetishization, which can feel quite jarring. It is also funny how the male lead, seem to have such a strong appeal for the female characters he met along his journey. This might be the most unrealistic part of the story, very in line with the harem shounen manga, with the "hero" being quite a "looser" but attracting girls almost "in spite of him".
Regarding the acting, it was overall too over-the-top, with some scenes feeling very grotesque. The cast felt also a bit strange : they are supposedly playing middle schoolers but it definitely don't feel like it. The actor playing the hero might have been the best at it (despite certainly seeming much older than the role) but the actresses felt kind of awkward at time. On the positive, the production value was good with some impactful and memorable sequences which I imagine strikingly mirror the higher beats of the manga.
I would recommend this to people looking for an impactful thriller, featuring adolscent turmoil. Overall, I did find some aspects disturbing, some others quite fascinating as it explores darker psychological aspects of teens, rejecting society. But at the end, I don't think I ever enjoyed the story per se, every character feeling pretty unlikeable and unrelatable to me. Though I was not necesserally receptive to the main's characters journey, I can understand the appeal, as it is a big fuck off to societal norms and the need to free oneself from it.
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I liked the concept, much less its execution
This BL featured a very interesting premise, with one of the lead regressing to a younger child self. Like the saying says "it takes a village to raise a child", and indeed it takes quite a bit of people to take care of "Sun", the child figure into which sunshiny elementary school teacher Solar, one of the main character regressed to. Not only his boyfriend, Pobmek, disgrunted elementary school teacher but also colleagues, friends, students...all rise to the occasion to support their beloved teacher, facing his difficult (and completely fantasy-like) condition.The premise was interesting, the scenario managed to feel not too heavy nor too light, the script thread quite successfully a fine needle regarding the mental state of Solar, making a point at making sure that Pobmek his boyfriend never feels as taking advantage of him...All good points for the show, a colorful production and pretty good acting from the leads...However, unfortunaly, despite all the positives, I could not help to feel that there were not enough material to hold in a consistent way the series for its full duration. A lot of scenes felt like fillers, and the tone of the serie was overwhelmingly fantasy like, making it very difficult to take anything seriously and at the end to even care when the story got more serious at points. The chemistry between Perth and Santa was very good and they are solid in their respectives roles. I wish I could say the same for the remaining cast, but it was more bland and even awkward for some of them.
I would recommend this to people that are looking for a cute BL, quite fantasy like, with an interesting premise. I regret its lightness at time, which prevented me to feel fully invested to what's happened on screen, but there are a lot of qualities to the series that can make it worth your time if you enjoy colorful production, and are not searching for realism or a lot of deepness in the resolution.
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Rivals-to-lovers done right ! The atmosphere. The plot. The angst.
I really enjoyed this BL featuring two colleagues having a rival relationship and falling in love with each other. Their background was quite layered and the jealousy factor was great at adding spices to their dynamic. The progressive shift with their constant "battles" to up each other to a more tender relationship was amazing to follow and very butterflies inducing. It is the kind of show you regret starting while airing (like I did) because you would want to binge it.The actors did a great job at portraying their characters : Zen (played by Sato Yusuke) with his tsundere and cute side, and Ryo (played by Hori Kaito) with his caring and worry side. The story is not just about love but also about rivalry, and that both characters are very much protective of their relationship but not necessarily on the same aspects. I think their nuance acting really manage to bring to life the various aspects of their personnalities and their bonds.
The pace of the drama and the opening/ending song was great overall, but the finale fumbled unfortunately a bit the ball in terms of production and directing, with some overpowering unstrumental that took me out of several scenes and critical dialogs because of how obnoxious it was. That's unfortunate, because it was not disturbing in any of the other episodes.
I would strongly recommend this to people that enjoy rivals-to-lovers trope as well as office romance. It has solid acting and the romance build up is very swoony.
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MONSTA X was built through pain : NO.MERCY was really no mercy!
I started this survival show, thinking I did not know much about MONSTA X...However, I was surprised on how much I knew about the line up of the debut group. Names recognition is real and those guys have quite an incredible extensive career that made it impossible to go fully blind into it. Having said that, I still felt a lot of excitement and (let's face it) nostalgia (because of how outdated the fashion style from that time period now feel) watching this show.The competition was very intense from start with a strong rivalry between the trainees. They were all from the same agency (Starship), so I did not expect the atmosphere to feel so cut-throat...The average age of the trainees was a bit older than some of the other survival show that I saw, giving a general more mature feeling to the show. The judges were mostly artists part of the same agency or producers working regularly with them, some really taking their role to heart and some seeming to be though for the sake of creating angsty situations.
The songs and stages felt also quite gritty and underground, with every participants fighting hard for their spots with the production team constantly pushing some rough tricks on them. I liked the imperfections of the performances, it felt real at showcasing the skills of the participants without overproducing it. Pacing was also pretty good with not a lot of filler, quite straight to the point.
I would recommend this to people that enjoy survival show and / or want to learn more about MONSTA X and how the group was build up. It clearly belongs to the category of "agency-led" survival show, featuring a reduced number of trainees from Starship. It has a more mature vibe than some shows promoting youth / fresh style, here it is more dark / rap / sexy performances. It is also such a nostalgia throwback of the 2014 era, with the make up and styling from this time period. Despite usually preferring to go blind and surprisingly knowing much more than expected in terms of names recognition, I am definitely happy to have watched it to learn more about the group as I knew very little about MONSTA X lore as well as the specific faces, talents, personalities of most of the members. There were also some very good performances with very creative concepts, making it worth the watch.
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The best season so far !
The production team really managed to renew this tv show by making it a team competition between countries. It felt more interesting and balanced, as each team had the same number of female and male participants. There were also less participants which make it more easy for sharing screen time, as most of them have a bit of it.They also brought up some fun mini challenges and moments making it more easy to observe the various dynamics between and within the teams. The esthetics with some of the challenges being arbitrated by people in Korean costume was also on point.
That being said, even if they improved a lot compared to the past season, the finale felt underwhelming and I would have loved to see even more variety in the type of physical competitions as those were mainly featuring strength. I would have loved to see also more one-to-one face off and more cultural moments given the variety of teams present.
I would recommend this to people that enjoyed the previous seasons, as this one has definitely improved on some of the elements that were a bit frustrating in the past, like the unbalance between team challenges. I'm really hopeful we get a new season of it !
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Are they aiming to meet new people or reuniting with ex-lovers?
The concept of this dating show was a total novelty to me. Multiple exes couples meet and need to live in the same house, trying either to foster new relationships, either to get back together. That leaves room for a lot of turmoil as all the exes have different reasons for separating and different background.The best part of it ? The viewers and the participants don't know who was in couple...So you are bound to spend a big part of the show trying to guess what were the past couples, as the cast is requested to treat every participant the same way and keep a secret who their exes were.
I had a blast following this show, because it felt very new. However I must admit that some of the episodes felt also absurdly long and that a better pacing would have help keeping me engaged until the end. I also found the ending quite awkwardly put together, but that's often the case on the dating shows I saw.
Other than that, there were so good production ideas to allow participant to interact with some of the other participants exes, while still keeping the secrecy, by making them chat together for example. Picture participants chatting with the ex of a new person they are interested in...But without knowing who is really this "ex" in the house...It makes for some fun show moments.
In addition to the fun concept and the refreshing ideas, to hype the secrecy, I also enjoyed the music overall. The panel was alright with 4 regular hosts and one changing panelist member. I would have preferred they keep it consistant, without the guest panelist because the panel interactions felt quite inconsistant as they were still finding their marks with each other.
I would recommend this to people that enjoy dating shows. It is the first season of a franchise features exes trying to find love, either through new encounters, either by reconnecting with their past. I am definitely onboard on watching more seasons of it, as this concept was super interesting and bringing a lot of variety to that genre of shows. Be aware that the episodes of this season can feel quite lenghty but still, it is worth giving it a try.
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Not memorable : nothing outstanding
This is quite a run-of-the-mill BL, pretty short and nothing really outstanding. Given its length, it feels more like a movie than a drama. I found it pretty basic, so there is not that much too say. Neither the acting not the production really left any kind of strong impression on me.I would not recommend this as I feel there are better and more memorable high school friends-to-lovers BL stories out there. Maybe it is worth a shot if you are looking for a short and easy watch.
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Dominant Yakuza and Wimpy Corporate Slave
1 people found this review helpful
Nothing worked for me on that one
Unfortunately I was not able to enjoy the series. It might be a me problem but I found the story quite bad in the way it set up the romance and even more in the way it all unfolded. I don't think the chemistry was well balanced between the actors, but honestly neither the script, nor the production and format were helping them.I would not recommend this BL. On paper the story could have been great but on screen, it did not work for me. Still, you might want to give it a shot to see for yourself as it is very short.
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It honestly could be a great promotion for a new K-band
This short movie makes a very good job at building a compelling story around a South Korean band, just before they go on stage. A lot is happening, in a very short time, the script makes the viewer immediately understand the stakes as the relationships between the various protagonists unveil.The casting was really good : especially, with Yunho from ATEEZ who was outstanding (which is not surprising, as he get really immersed in his characters in each MV I saw him in).
I would recommend this to people that enjoy stories featuring music and relationships in turmoil. Story wise, it did feel full fleshed, even if of course I wish it was longer to provide more meat to this interesting youthful story.
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Very powerful and impactful
This story of this movie felt very important to tell. It is set in 1987, at the end of the martial period in Taiwan and shows the brutal reality of that era, the discrimination and the protests. The relationship that it depicts in that context, felt super powerful and underlined by a very solid writing.I'm not sure the epilogue was really that needed, as it made me take a slight stepback in terms of emotions...But other than that it was extremely impressive in its writing, showcasing a strong militant point of view and well constructed. The acting was excellent, the production was really good at featuring the social context of the story and the OST was very fitting, even if I was not necessarily the biggest fan of one particular song.
I would recommend this to people that are looking for an impactful coming-of-age story set in a rough period of time.
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