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Don't over think the series, just enjoy it

This series has so many different stages to it, with lots of different emotions throughout. It's a comedy to a drama to real sadness all blended together.
That being said, I have to give so much credit to Jung Hoo. He was so fantastic being Ji Hun, showing us what a female would look like in a man's body. He had every mannerism down to perfection as a girl (Ji Eun). Just a great job!!
The rest of the cast had its ups & downs. I don't think I've seen a more annoying character is quite some time as Min Ju. Chuu was really good at making herself so irritating in every single scene she was in. It just became so bothersome to watch her character drag Jun Jae around by the nose, it gave me a headache. I think it might have been a bit better to have Jun Jae be a bit more in charge of his life. So many moments I was waiting for him to speak up to his parents, sister, Min Ju, even Ji Hun. You just wanted to to yell at the tv "say something, speak up" ... but it never happened.
The one character that always put laughter in the scene was Min Hyeok. Hyun Jun fit in at just the right moment when you needed a smile. He definitely balanced out the story to keep the comedy strong.
Toward the end of the series, you kind of start to wonder how on earth is this going to work out to a happy ending. They walked a fine line of being a male/female relationship to a BL appearance at times ... but surprisingly, they did a great job at making happy endings all around. I wasn't expecting it to end the way it did, but thumbs up to the writing. They gave a satisfying and enjoyable ending!!

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Wrong Place at the Wrong Time

If ever the motto wrong place wrong time can be used, it would be here!
This was a movie that unexpectedly caught me off guard. I had no idea what the movie was about when I stumbled across it, but one I started watching it I couldn't stop.
This is a very dark and extremely unhappy ending of not just the movie, but the lives of four best friends completely destroyed because of deception and misunderstanding.
The four protagonists in this drama go through such a transformation in such a short period of time. innocent teenagers to criminals in a few short minutes.
The acting is fantastic from the all the main players in this drama. Ji Soo is exceptional with his performance. You wish you could step into the tv to help him and his friends out, but no such luck.
I think the only negative I found was the way it ended. It is true in life that sometimes the bad guys get away and the good guys take the fall ... but you really don't like to see it happen, especially the way it did in this story.
Nevertheless, it is an extremely powerful movie, but definitely not one to watch if you're looking for something to make you feel good or cheer you up. It's dark and extremely depressing and eventually you pass a point of no return.

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Better than expected ...

After the incredible season one, it was always difficult for the continuing seasons to get high marks. I do think that season three proves itself worthy for a high score. In my opinion it was definitely better than season 2. The kids games used as sadistic weapons with the players were a good choice this time around, from Hide & Seek to Jump Rope. I think the most bizarre twist was the addition of a baby added during the game. That proved to be a bit twisted and problematic, especially for the surviving players.
I think the VIP group left a lot to be desired. I didn't care too much for them this time around. I thought the VIP's from season one were a much better fit for the series. That was definitely a negative for season three.
Reading some of the reviews, I see people were really a bit harsh, particularly toward the ending. I'm not sure what a better ending would have been. I was a bit disappointed in the way the two protagonists, #333 & #456 met their ending, but I thought Si Wan and Jung Jae did a great job with their characters. You knew it couldn't end happy ever after, so it was not so shocking that everyone dies. I was just hoping for the best for the two of them, which unfortunately didn't happen. The usual antagonists met their fate with some wicked death scenes, which of course they deserved. You were counting the minutes for #100 & #203 to get "eliminated".
Jun Ho seemed to be the one character with the happy ending, and why not ... after all, Ha Joon has been dragging his character through hell and back for three season, trying to get back to the island. That was the one bright spot at the conclusion. He even brought out the best in his brother, with his decision for the baby and the baby's winnings. Good for him!!!
I guess the final scene with In Ho (Brung Hun) leaves the window open a crack for a season four in the United States???
I guess we'll wait and see.

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How Misunderstandings Can Change Someone's Life Forever

After the first episode I really had a strong dislike for Jin Hwan, but I have to say, watching the next few episodes, I was never so wrong about a protagonist like I was about this character. Without giving too much away, don't judge the early relationship of Jin Hwan & Min Jun without seeing all the facts play out in later episodes. It shows how misunderstandings can lead to so much unnecessary despair.
Having a complete change of heart toward Seung Ha's character, I honestly felt he was the best thing to ever happen to Min Jun. He truly had a deep love toward him. Jong Hyeok does a great job at being miserable, but it does get a bit tedious watching him in agony episode after episode. His reasoning for not allowing Jin Hwan back into his life becomes annoying. Thankfully, the persistence of Jin Hwan proves beneficial to make a happy ending. The special episode 7 wasn't too necessary, considering how episode 6 ended, but it does cement a satisfying relationship with these two characters.

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Very Underrated Series

This starts out as a classic story of boy loves best friend and best friend has no clue, but everyone else does. I wasn't expecting too much out of this series ... I came away completely surprised how entertaining this turned out. Through the first few episodes the story kept improving. It did take a few twists and a little far fetched plots in the middle of the drama, but overall it was much better than expected.
All the protagonists in this story are great, fitting a perfect puzzle to each other. The acting, especially by Ryusei Fukada is excellent. The final episode started to lose points with me a bit, BUT ... what saved this series as far as I'm concerned was the extremely POWERFUL & REALISTIC last five or so minutes at the end. I think the final scene between Ryo & Hikaru is absolutely amazing. You should watch that one scene maybe three times over to get the complete explanation and feel of the total understanding these two characters have toward each other. Hikaru shows us he's not as clueless as you think, and Ryo gives us the insight of how their friendship will go forward. Definitely a must watch.

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Surprisingly Great

When I was about 10 minutes into episode one I asked myself why I was watching such a stupid series ... but that quickly changed for the better. This really turned out to be a well written & acted drama. I actually wish is was more than six episodes, because by the last episode it was really so enjoyable watching things play out between these to characters.
I must admit, it becomes extremely dark with the story line about half way through the series, bringing out some good acting by Shuhei & Takuya. Although very unlikely in the beginning, these two actors blended well together on screen, making for an unusual but believable bromance.
In the final episode, it is a bit heartbreaking with what transpires, but the very last minute of the series gives a brilliant & satisfying ending. It definitely leaves a smile on your face!

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Adorable coming of age ...

You can see immediately the two protagonists Akari & Izumi are perfect together from the first minute they meet. Jyutaro does a great job at showing his character with such innocents. It's really adorable how these two start off together. Naturally, like any of these stories, other people are going to change things along the way. What makes this story a bit awkward is the fact Akari's past boyfriend turns out to be Yamato, the brother of Izumi. It's an interesting concept. What you can't do while watching the early episodes is jump to any conclusions towards good guy bad guy. Right away you definitely despise Yamato, at least I did, and for good reason. He shows several bad judgement moves throughout this drama, but toward the end he isn't as horrible as first thought. The title may be a bit deceiving, because nothing was done with bad intentions at the onset ... everything was pure coincidence.
When all is send and done, there is a happy ending just the way you hoped for. All in all, it was enjoyable to watch. A few bumps a long the way, but that's life, especially when it's a coming of age drama.

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How the love of a woman set everything in motion

It's nothing new how the love of a woman could come between two best friends, but this story takes it to another level. It's unbelievable the path this threesome of friends take throughout this drama, for the good, but most definitely for the bad.
I wasn't sure to stick with this, but I've become a big fan of Choo Young Woo, so I decided to keep watching. I'm really glad I did.
The way episode 1 ends so shockingly, you're kind of glued to this series without stopping.
Young Woo is amazing, along with Dong Yoon & In Ah. Perfectly matched up to make a great trio throughout this drama.
It's a bit disturbing how you could allow your best friend to go to prison for something you did, but as the series goes on, you realize not just what a special friendship they have, but how Du Hak will do anything & everything to protect Cheol Ung.
It does get kind of ugly to watch the hated surface with this two best friends later in the series, but it was to be expected.
I was worried how this would end, because you kind of know that it can only end up badly, ... but the writers were pretty good at keeping this story satisfying, particularly at the end. It actually does end in a sort of happy way with a bit confusing but laughable ending. It kind of puts a shiny bow on the entire story and brings in around in one complete circle to make for a great series! Thumbs up. Great job

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An excellent story & cast

This extremely long series is worth ever minute of every episode to devote your time to.
The first couple of episodes are to be followed in detail, because it can be a little confusing as they set the foundation to the story line, but getting beyond that, this turns out to be an absolutely outstanding "epic" drama.
Hyun-Joong gives an incredible performance. He's practically unrecognizable from his past acting dramas due to his physical transformation for fighting ... and he does a lot of it throughout. He takes a beating and gives them out as well in almost every episode. It's actually exhausting to watch at times.
Ok Ryeon & Gaya both pair up great with Jeong Tae. The supporting cast is equally fantastic, producing some really evil characters that you just counted the minutes to see them get their demise. I loved Mo Il Hwa played by Jae Rim. He was great at adding drama, fighting & comedy when needed ... was great at the side of Jeong Tae. They start out as enemies, but quickly form a bond of needed friendship & support.
Despite the length of the series, it goes rather quickly ... in fact, in the end you kind of want it to continue because of the attachment you get to seeing these characters.
One of Hyun-Joong's best by far!!!!!

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Very Unique BL Story

This was a really good drama with a few twists throughout the episodes that make for a very interesting story. Both Ritsu & Fumiya and extremely likeable characters in this and you really want things to work out after the accident, which causes the unusual memory loss.
You kind of are expecting something bad to expose what Fumiya has been doing in keeping the past a secret to Ritsu, but you really can't figure out how that's going to play out.
Once everything is exposed, you really hope, but are not sure how things will be corrected. Kyoya Honda & Suzuki Kosuke both do a great job on screen struggling to bring things together again. It's enjoyable to watch them work it out.
I really liked the ending. I thought it was a great finish to a unique BL story.
Definitely worth watching.

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A Brilliantly Written Epic ... One of the best I've ever seen

This series was absolutely one of the best written, best acted dramas I ever watched. It's an extremely lengthy series, but it's so fantastic, each hour & fifteen minute episode flies by.
From the moment Tae Yeong/Deok I & Seung Hwi/Yum Gyeom meet, you know a special relationship is forming, despite their different status in society.
I think Episode 4 is definitely the first pinnacle episode and shifts the entire series into a different direction. Several shocking revelations really work into the rest of the story ... but then again, every episode after that seemed to just extending the storyline with amazing new plot twists. It was great to try and anticipate what direction the writers were going with this tale, and sometimes it was a really shock.
Young Woo & Ji Yeon were absolutely brilliant & masterful with their performance throughout. Not only Young Woo playing a duel role, but he made himself different with body language and personality depending on which character was in that scene.
I'm not sure when nominations for awards are given out in South Korea, but they both deserve winning something for their performances.
Without a doubt, one of the best characters in this drama was Man Seok, played by Jae Won. He was the comic relief in this epic. So many good supporting roles in the cast, but he was the best. That character gave you a laugh just when you needed one. He was teamed up perfectly with Young Woo as well. Two best friends performing slapstick comedy together.
The way this wraps up in episode 16 is nothing less than magical. The plot really takes you in one complete circle. Just when you have nothing but despair in that last episode, don't give up hope, it's a great finish to a great story!! One of my favorites!
"Happiness does not need to be a struggle" is a quote from this series ... but they sure made it out to be.

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A Marathon of BL Storylines

I really was surprised how good this series turned out to be. I enjoyed the first season of Love Class, but never thought the sequel would be so much better. It was kind of interesting to see three different stories going on at the same time, each of them connected to each other in their own unusual way.
The most interesting story, naturally was the main one between Hyeon & An. J-Min & Yong Seok were great. Lots of mystery between these two from their past together, so that made for a very interesting set up as to how they were eventually going to get back together again.
The really comedy part of this, and there were lots of funny moments in this series, came with Sung Min & Joo Hyuk. They were meant to be together from minute one in this drama. It was great to see it unfold.
The last episode was a bit too stretched out between all three couples getting together, but at the very conclusion, the ending was just great, couldn't have ended in a better way.
Very entertaining to watch, drama, mystery & comedy rolled into one series with a great cast working well together.

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The Red Thread of Fate

This was kind of an interesting approach to two people destined to be together. In the beginning, both Si On & Hong Seok really didn't deem like the likely pair to become a couple. Totally didn't worlds for each of them, but as Si On states at the end, "People who are really meant to be together are connected by a red thread between their little fingers"
The story itself seemed original, one character trying to live a very innocent life and establish a career, one living a bit of a darker side of life. Yet, both people holding pain inside from their youth.
The story seemed to work, although it seemed a bit rushed to get to the finish line. Normally these kind of stories take too long, but I think this could have been extended a bit to make a longer journey to get to the end.
Both Young Woo & Tae Min definitely matched up well together, making for a realistic relationship.
Overall very enjoyable.

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The Power Of Music

There's so many people to have sympathy for in this series, whether is was for the loss of a family member, a lost love or a forbidden love that was not allowed to be expressed.
There's an enormous transformation in characters from start to finish in these episodes, all for the good.
All the actors were great in this, but I felt an extra special performance from Han Gyeom. What he brought out in his character of Do Yun was really above and beyond. The scene with him and Jung Ha as Ju Ha late in the series in the locker room was such well performed and special written part of the drama. Just fantastic.
The way the writers brought all the story plots together with all the characters at the very end was perfect.
Very enjoyable and a really feel good series to watch again.

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