A Ghost of a Good Time

I placed a potential spoiler at the end of this review.

I am a sucker for supernatural storylines and this was really up my ally. This is one of those series that has a great script that successfully connects multiple storylines and characters together. They did a great job in the beginning of the series with introducing the characters. It also had a few twists that I didn’t see coming through out. I enjoyed watching this but admit some of the sections felt rushed and the last episode was a little off. The actors were great and did an incredible job with their characters. The special effects and cinematography were awesome.



******Potential Spoiler Alert******

Although the ending was mostly happy with most of the characters, the set up was not the greatest. There is a time jump forward, then backwards, and then back to the jump forward. I know they wanted to create suspense with this but wished they did a better job with it.

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When more is not better!

Well, I gave this series a chance. The series started off interesting (despite the very bizarre beginning) but this faded away with each following episode. I realized 3 things after watching episode 6. I didn’t care about the storyline, about the characters, and how this series would end. I actually love slow pacing storylines, but this was mind numbly slow. The script was a mess that had many elements that didn’t fit together or make sense. Everything about this story feels too forced. Especially the reasoning behind Piuno needing to work at the dog café. The overall acting was good. There were some actors that were better than others. However, I give the cast kudos for doing their best considering the script they had to work with. I like they didn’t waste screentime with opening credits, but they did waste it by doing unnecessary flashbacks from the previous episode. I may be old, but I can still remember things that happened in the last episode when each one is only 16 or 17 minutes long. There was also shaky camera work with some of the scenes and some scene placements that was weird.

Random Notes:

I’m probably one of the rare few that likes and enjoys Korean BL series with shorter screen time with a small episode count. This usually forces them to be more mindful of the pacing and story quality, but of course there will be exceptions.

At the time of this review, Viki has this listed as a “Hidden Gem” on their website. Of course, this is just my opinion but this is one stone that can/needs to stay hidden.

Once again, I’m going to sound like a broken record because the synopsis on Viki does not give an accurate describe of this series.

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Cutely bizarre which just became bizarre at the end.

I placed spoilers at the end of this review.

I enjoyed most of this series despite its flaws, but I am a pushover for supernatural storylines. That being said, you should probably skip this series if that does not interest you. This was an interesting and bizarrely cute series with some cool story ideas. The script was light, fluffy (most of the time), and quirky. Unfortunately, the implementation of the ideas was not the greatest at times. My main problem was the end of episode 11 and episode 12. This is when it just became bizarre. Some of the comedy aspect didn’t really hit the mark and there were sections/things that didn’t make sense. Although I liked it, the mystery/suspense aspect was not incorporated very well and seemed out of place. The overall story pacing was good, but there was a lot of wasted screentime. The acting is ok (not horrible or great) considering many of the actors were new.

Random Notes:

Maybe I enjoyed this because I already went into this with low expectations. I was not a fan of the screenwriter/director’s last series (I Will Knock You) which I dropped.

The subtitles are ok. Sometimes the lines get mixed up with the words of the song that is playing in the background which was confusing.


******Spoiler Alert******

I would have loved to see more of the ghost story element. You do see the girl ghost a few times, but nothing about her backstory.

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Enjoyable story that clashed with poor execution.

I placed spoilers at the end of this review.

Overall, this was not a bad series. Unfortunately, the script and editing were not it’s friend. This was a shame because the series had a lot of potential. In its defense, the series main goal to keep views interested was good. If the idea was to keep you confused about the storyline to keep you watching, it succeeded. I kept watching because I was trying to figure out what the hell exactly happened with Ji and Achi in the past. However, the script was underdeveloped in some areas and lacked direction at times. The first episode did a great job grabbing the view’s attention but set an expectation for the rest of the episodes that was not met. The script also did a poor explanation on many things. I did not mind the slow pacing of the series, but they did not use their screentime wisely considering this is an 8-episode series. They could have eliminated some unneeded aspect to help fully develop the more important parts of the script. All of the characters were great and likable. The actors did a great job considering what they had to work with. Overall, it had beautiful cinematography but the editing seemed a little off. There were scene sequences that appeared out of order which caused some continuity problem. Actors made references to things that happen in the past from previous episodes as if it was still happening. However, the flash back scenes were done very well and not confusing. Most of the songs they used were good, but they made some odd background music choices that did not fit the mood of the scene.


******Spoiler Alert******

They were actually very smart on keeping us in the dark about what happened between Jirawat and Achivich in the past up to the second to last episode. I was so confused as to why Ji was giving Achi the cold shoulder which made me want to finish the series. Thankfully this only had 8-episodes.

They didn’t do a good job showing the progression between how Ji and Achi became friends in the past and how they became friends again in the present day.

The kiss in episode 2 was unnecessary and served no purpose to the script.

I wish they gave more screentime to Ki and Kambee. As much as I loved them, don’t introduce a second couple if you are not going to give them a proper storyline. Again, a miss use of screentime.

Although it had the mostly used story element to drive a classic story concept, I like that they did not use any of the predictable conflict scenarios in the last two episodes.

What the hell was up with Ki's college degree? What was that all about?

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Weird All Around

First off, this is not a horror movie and I don’t know why it has this tag on MDL.

This move was just weird, and not in a good way. It tried to incorporate action, comedy, and romance to give a meaningful message. Unfortunately, it has a bizarre mix of all three elements that did not succeed. I apricate them trying to use comedy to balance out the serious topic of suicide, but some of it was not funny. The script also did not fully explain many aspects about the world it introduced and events that were happening. However, the movie ended with a clear heartfelt message. On the positive side, the acting was great. The movie also had spectacular cinematograph, graphics, and special effects.

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The best one out of the 4

I placed spoilers at the end of this review.

I stand corrected, this is the best one out of the compilation series. However, I may be bias because I love sci-fi storylines.

The positive: Although it had some elements that did not make sense, the script was good. The pacing was great and did a decent job introducing the characters’ backstories with one exception. I like the underline analogy about relationships in general. The two lines from episode 6 that sticks out to me is “You are an independent entity.” and “None of us own anyone.” The actors did a great job with their characters and portrayed them very well. Had very good cinematography, graphics, and music.

The negative: The script had some underdeveloped section which were only minor problems. It did take some liberties with the AI concept which some may not like. They also didn’t do a good job explaining the backstory with Chu Yi Ping’s dog. The script has one of my most hated story elements, but it actually made sense for a change. Again, this was only a minor problem for me.

******Spoiler Alert******


My main criticism is the length of the time jump. I’m not against it in this story because it did serve some purpose, but 7-years seemed too long.

Their first few kisses were predictable, but still cute.

I sort of understand the dog and Ever 9 comparison they were trying to make but it was weird and seems like a stretch to me.

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Just as good in its own way!

I think it is possible to like, or love (in my case), both the Japanese and Thai adaptation of the manga. I know this is not a remake of the original series, but it is hard not to compare it with the Japanese adaptation. I loved that series, but I’m the first to admit that the script had some weak elements.

This part is about the series as a standalone without any comparison to the Japanese adaptation of the manga. This was a very good and cute series. They did a great job with the story pacing and introduction of the characters. It was also refreshing to have a more mature BL series with characters that talked to each other about their problems. Overall, the script was good with the exception of episode 8, which was ridiculous. I understand the overall idea behind it, but the execution was not good. Although Rock and Pia’s storyline was cute, this felt out of place and was added as a time filler. However, this was only a minor problem for me because their storyline didn’t take up too much screen time. As for the ending, it was perfect. All of the actors were incredible portraying their character. Great cinematography and music.

This part is comparing the Japanese adaptation. Again, I know the Thai version is not a remake but I would be lying if I didn’t compare both. Originally, my main concern was how they were going to fill 12, 45 minutes long episodes. Thankfully, my fears were relieved as I watched it. The only exceptions are the ones I noted above. The main thing I really liked was the Thai version didn’t completely mirror the Japanese version. For me, this series was able to keep the same charm while creating a way to fit into Thai culture. I really liked the added scenes with Jinta and Min that created more depth to their story and relationship. I thought it was smart, and funny, that Jinta was also able to read the cat’s mind too.

Random Note:

I like the silent nods to the manga.

The Thai adaptation incorporated story content that was used for the Japanese series and movie adaptation of the manga which I think was a very smart move.

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I wouldn’t call it a masterpiece, but it was pretty close.

I placed spoilers at the end of this review.

Overall, this was a very interesting series. The general story concept was great, but the script quality was not consistent. However, it successfully connects multiple story lines and characters together. The ending of the whole series was ok, but it was a little lack luster. However, I liked how they tied up everything in the end.

The positive: The series had a very strong beginning and really knew how to draw you into their world. The areas that the script did very well in were the supernatural and suspense thriller elements. The actors were incredible and did a great job with their characters. The cinematography was stunning and had incredible special effects.

The negative: The big miss for me was the comedy element. It would have been fine if this was your usual series with a high school or college setting. Considering this was supposed to be a more mature series with the police setting, the comedy seemed very out of place. A lot of the humor came across as very juvenile.

The in-between: The romance element was a hit or miss for me. There was just something off with the romantic relationship with all of the characters. The relationship development between the main characters in the beginning was also a little off, but it did get better as the show moved forward. The only two characters I didn’t like were Yai and Dao. The character Yai was very annoying, immature, and unlikable during most of the series. As for the character Dao, she was very irritating.

Random Note:

Don’t stop watching after the ending credits in episode 12 because there is a bonus scene after it.

The location used for the coffee shop scene in episode 4 is the same location used for the restaurant scene in episode 8 of “Step by Step”.

I did not take point off for the obvious money grab maneuver they used for the last episode. I like how all of the series they made at this point address many social issues, but this has tarnished my viewpoint about Idol Factory a little.

*****Spoiler Alert******

Although the ending had one of my most hated story element (time jumps), this is one of those times it made sense and served an actual purpose.

The reunited scene with Tharn and Phaya was a little anticlimactic for me. I would have liked to see a grander way for them to meet again.

The bonus scene is open to interpretation. I don’t know if it was a hint of a second season or the only way for Saint to find a way to make his usual guest spot. Either way, it was cool.

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???Why 2???

I placed spoilers at the end of this review.

This special episode was just like the one for Coffee Melody, cute but unnecessary.

Once again, this had an old concept that was not well executed. It suffered from the same problems that main series had. The pacing was a little off and had long useless filler screentime. The cinematography was stunning, but had some poor background music choices that became annoying. Overall, the acting was ok.

Random Note:

This special episode really was not needed. This could have been easily included into the last episode of the series.

This also had the weird two opening credits.


*****Spoiler Alert******

It was just weird how everyone acted like they were all best friends and that nothing bad happened between them in the main series.

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Interestingly Cute

I placed spoilers at the end of this review.

So far, this is the best one out of the compilation series. It was very cute and interesting.

The positive: Considering the short running time, this had a well-developed script. It did a great job slowly introducing the characters’ backstories and the pacing of the main story was perfect. The actors did a great job with their characters and portrayed them in a very likable fashion.

The negative: The only negative aspect for me was the conflict scenarios were too predictable. However, this was a minor problem for me.



******Spoiler Alert******
Even though it had the one story element I hate (love triangle), it wasn’t that bad and was resolved quickly.

Sorry, I already knew that the mother would become a source of a conflict after the first scene. Thankfully it to was quickly resolved.

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The Cast Really Saved this Series

I placed spoilers at the end of this review.

Overall, I enjoyed this series. This is a good example of why picking the right actors makes a big difference. I usually don’t start my reviews about this, but the entire cast are the VIP’s that really saved this series. No, I’m not just saying this because we get to see most of them shirtless and occasionally in their underwear. A big shout out for Frame. Considering this is his first series, he did a great job creating unique personalities for Sprite and Zee. The rest of the actors also did an outstanding job with the script. You would not know that many of them are relatively new actors. At first, I was really worried about the amount of side characters they introduced. However, I was pleasantly surprised that they did a very good job making all of them interesting. I actually remember who they were and cared about their side stories. Why were the actors the VIP of this series. It’s because there were two main culprits that prevented this series from receiving a 10 rating, from me at least.

The first culprit was the script. For the positive aspect of the script, most of the storylines are actually interesting and did a decent job laying out the major plot points. As for the negative aspects, it failed on giving us a proper follow through. Best way to describe the script is it’s like a bleary picture. You can almost see everything but just can’t make out the finer details. For me, the main storyline of the twins trading places became very frustrating towards the end. What is weird is they introduce some very interesting side storylines, but once again we don’t get the full picture about most of them. Instead of introducing even more story plots towards the end, they should have just focused more on the side storylines they already established in the beginning of the series. I appreciate a good plot twist, but they could have incorporated some with the other storylines. It does have a happy ending, but everything felt very rushed.

The editing was the second culprit. It didn’t do a really good job at indicating the passing of time throughout the series. For example, the first episode came across like it all is happening in one day. If it was not for some of the lines, I would have not known this was happening in a few days (weeks?). They also have scenes that seemed out of placed which caused information inconsistency.

Random Notes:

As always, I’m fascinated by seeing familiar location used in different series. The location for Sprite and Zee’s childhood/father’s house is the same one used in the series “Something in My Room”. What is really bothering me is I know I’ve seen the café used in another series, but I can’t figure it out. Yes, this is annoying me.

Maybe this was intentional, but the actors were actually wearing the “Twins” logo promotional uniforms in the practice scenes in the first episode.

******Spoiler Alert******

Despite my long rant in this section, I did enjoy watching this series and would rewatch it.

They did a decent job explaining some of the past events, but it could have been better. There is no explanation why Sprite and Zee’s parents separated or why the twins were split up. We also don’t get a real explanation as to why Sprite and Zee’s relationship is tense or what happen to make Zee become such an arrogant A-hole. What is really weird is we get a better explanation of why First and Zee hate each other.

The twins trading places made sense in the beginning, but gets really annoying towards the end. Once again, the editing did not do a good job indicating when Sprite and Zee were switching places. There is also no explanation why they are switch off different days. Why not just let Sprite continue in Zee’s spot and vice versa full time? Another thing that became frustrating was there were so many opportunities where Sprite could have explained everting to First about what was going on.

Instead of introducing more unnecessary storylines towards the last few episodes, they should have focused on the ones they started off with. For example, the storyline between Jack and Mike. They should have also focused more on showing Zee trying to expose his attackers instead of completely forgetting this storyline and then rushing it in the last episode. They should have also kept it a secret from the audience and let us see the mystery unfold as Zee looked for clues/evidence.

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A full course meal that’s worth it in the end.

I placed spoilers at the end of this review.

This was a very interesting series. The first few episodes may scare some individuals off, but it’s worth sticking around. The way they introduced all of the stories was very compelling, for me at least. The overall theme is that learning, self-discovery, and individual evolution is an on-going, never-ending process. However, there were so many other little lessons incorporated into this series. In essence, the only constancy in life is change. Although there were some week elements, the script was still excellent. It spent the right amount of time introducing the backstories of most of the side characters. It also had the right amount of drama and quirkiness that I’ve become to love with series from Japan. All of the actors were outstanding and did a wondaful job portrayed their characters. They also did a great editing job with the flashback scenes.



******Potential Spoiler Alert******

I don’t necessarily agree with Kai’s methods, but everything he did was for the benefit of others.

It was very smart with switching between Gaku’s personality of 2023 and 2024 in the beginning of the series which is the reason that compelled me to keep watching.

The friendship development between all of the characters was great. I also love the undertone bromance in the series.

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Need To See This Version

Disclaimer: This is an edited version of my original review I posted on the cut version of this series.

This series is not for you if you don’t like paranormal story lines with a side of sci-fi. If it is, you are in for a treat.

I love this series even with the bittersweet ending. It had a great original storyline and script. The cast did an awesome job with their characters. This had a great music and beautiful cinematograph. was great and the special effects were used very strategically. I liked how they incorporated several nods to Lovely Writer in some of the earlier episodes.

Random Note:

I strongly recommend watching this version if you have access to it. As I stated in my original review, the editing of the free cut version was horrible. They cut a lot of scenes which made some of the episodes disconnected and/or confusing. The cut version had many scenes missing that were needed to help the viewers fully understand and appreciate what is going on. They also cut scenes involving the backstories of the side characters.

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Hilarious Satire

I placed spoilers at the end of this review.

This series was hilarious, cute, and heartwarming. This is a good example that you don’t need a lot of episodes to tell a great story. The script was very well written and didn’t take things too seriously. It had a lot of components that you think shouldn’t work, but it somehow did. The cast was awesome and did a great job with their characters. It also had great cinematography and graphics. I will have to say there is only one negative aspect about this series.

Random Note:

What an awesome way to end this year.

There was a few times when there are no English subtitles in the 2nd episode, but I was still able to figure out the overall mood of what was going on.

******Potential Spoiler Alert******

The one negative aspect about this series was the one kissing scene. We see the standard dead fish lips. If they are going to show this, I would have been fine with them not even having a kissing scene. However, this was only a minor negative for me because the rest of the series was just too funny and cute for me to care about it.

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I usually don’t do reviews on documentaries/reality shows because of MDL’s Rating Breakdown. This is also more of error correction on the show description and the other linked shows.

The Review Section: This 4-episode documentary was really good and focused on various social issues in Taiwan at the time. I love learning about what the LGBTQ+ community/culture is like in different contraries. I only had two minor problems with the series. The first is the production quality is ok, but not great which is why I didn’t rate it an overall 10. The other complaint is the English subtitles. The timing was too fast at some points and missing at times.

The Full Series Description

Episode 1: Back to the Start
The description on MDL is actually about this episode.

Episode 2: My Own Stage
There are men who have jumped out of their gender boundaries and embraced "drag" all over Taiwan. However, every drag queen sees this art differently. Some are proud of being drag queens, some see drag shows as a profession, and there is a group of youngsters who do not want to be categorized. They just want to get rid of all definitions, put on makeup, and become the shiniest dancer on the stage.

Episode 3: Seeing an Angel in the Dark
“Hand Angels” was founded four years ago. Their arrival was a wake-up call making people start paying attention to the sexual needs of disabled people. More importantly, these “angels” have been long-awaited within the disable community hoping for a deeper understanding of this issue.

Episode 4: A Path to Happiness
How hard is to start a family? Whether it is a gay or straight family, people go to great lengths to achieve their dream home. The appearance of surrogacy supposed a turning point for gay couples. However, the controversial figure of the surrogate is still illegal in Taiwan and most part of Asia. In the last episode of “Queer Taiwan,” we explore the issue of surrogacy from an objective point of view.

(Source: MyDramaList, GagaOOLala)

This series is a precursor to GagaOOLala’s Queer Asia series which include Queer Asia-Japan, Queer Asia-Vietnam, Queer Asia-Philippines, and Queer Asia-Hong Kong.

Random Notes:

It would be really cool if GagaOOLala did a 10-year follow-up on all of these series.

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