heartwarming comedy loaded with cuteness

Absolutely enjoyed this movie. While there isn’t much to it, the simplicity about family, dogs and love is just captivating.

It is such an easy watch, we laughed, we gushed, we cried. Cha Taehyun and Yoo Yeon Seok were amazing. Their bond feels so real, their banter feels like something I would have with my own sibling and their care for each other as well. Human actors aside - the puppers!!!!! It isn’t like Hachiko or 10 Promises to My Dog. If you don’t like watching sad dog movies, this is for you.

11/10 watch if you love dogs. Probably a 8.5/10 or 8/10 if not.

Read More

One word: Charming

I am generally an impatient person and can’t watch anything beyond 20 episodes but I ran out of shows to watch and decided to watch this, expecting to leave this in the background. 3 episodes in and I am glued to the sofa.

Absolutely charming drama. It’s slow paced, slow burn but it is exactly this that made it so so so charming.

I have sobbed and laughed at dramas but this is one of the first where I had tears from being touched. The slow pace had me attached to all the characters, had me shedding tears when they did. It’s almost as if I got to know them irl.

I am a sucker for romance and while this is super slow burn and doesn’t have many romantic scenes, I can only say - I appreciate that, I love that the focus isn’t on the romance.

I am elated, beyond elated that I found this drama (I only found out later that it is super popular). Give this a chance, even if you are impatient.

Read More

Cheesy to the point of tacky - unsure if it’s a parody drama of the mid to late 2000s?

I started the drama with my partner as it was hot topic and while his review is ‘not the best, but okay’, I was dying to finish it and get over and done with. We have a thing where we choose a drama and complete it together (bonding time) and this bonding time had me sighing and rolling my eyes too often!

While I understand that the show IS about the couple and it’s purely a romance drama, there are a million other dramas that have done this 3000 times better. Some Chinese dramas like You are my glory, Hidden Love. Korean dramas like Touch Your Heart (cheesy but not tacky).

I have no idea how to truly describe how tacky this drama is. Nothing was truly sorted out or explained. Supporting ‘evidence’ of why some people acted the way they did or did what they did are extremely weak (sister’s back story, mother’s departure and return, friend’s divorce story and more).

If the point was to make it a pure romance drama then there wasn’t really a need to include all that underlying stories and then deliver them so so weakly. Hidden Love did such an amazing job at just being what it was - romance. Touch your heart too.

I am disappointed that this was such a hype but delivered just tacky, slapstick comedy and cheesy lines. I even had a thought that maybe this was meant to be a parody on purpose! Of old Korean dramas. If this was the case, it’s acceptable but still has weak delivery of every other story aside from their romance.

Best trope and character? Chorong. You go girl.

Read More

How many times did I watch this? Yes.

Maybe it’s the influx of complicated, dark dramas (cue: Celebrity, Glory) but this was such a refreshing watch. I fell in love with Sang Zhi and Jia Xu.

One word to describe the drama: Simple.

It was so simple, it was simply about a puppy love crush turning into a deep love.

I cried when Sang Zhi cried at the airport. Both times. I smiled all the time at the TV. There was no big villain, no big road block. Even when there were small stumbles, it was so quickly resolved and so well resolved. No weak delivery AT ALL.

I would love to write more about this drama but it was so simple with nothing to complain about.

Can’t wait for Sang Yan’s own love story.

Read More

Read the novels, currently regretting that I did before watching the series.

I read both the novels and they might be my favourite Thai BL novels EVER.

Novel spoilers ahead————————————————-

It touches on SO many topics, like shipper culture, homophobia, the toxicity of the media, the loneliness of being a celebrity and there were conversations about being gay potentially ruining Fueang’s career, Krom being potentially pan etc etc.

I am not sure if all of the above topics will be mentioned, I’m not hopeful for very obvious reasons. But 2 episodes in, I am pretty sure I need to manage my expectations.

The acting is mid at best, they all seem like they are reciting lines. The comedic undertone and overusage of comedic sounds… The tropey accidental falls ?

I am hoping that they get more comfortable with each other over time and that they are not going to stray TOO far away from the source.

I loved the novel, I highly recommend it to anyone who reads source material! It’s available on MEB.

Read More

Laughter, tears, heartache, heartwarming smiles….

Just finished this drama 3 years late with my partner who doesn’t watch any Chinese dramas and the both of us are still reeling from this.

We don’t know how to move on from this drama. It almost felt like we were in it with them, watching them grow up, go through everything.

While there’s underlying ‘big’ issues in the drama, it’s not overly dramatised and it felt like it could kind of happen to any of us.

When the drama ended, we both discussed if there was anything we wanted to change about it and the conclusion was that while it left us slightly bitter that the biggest baddy didn’t get her just desserts, there really wasn’t any other way around it because that’s probably how it would have been in the real world. Maybe we would like to see them all happy together for another episode!

I loved the pace of the drama, loved that they had support in their helpless moments and loved that they loved each other through it all. The friendships, the weird, loving blended family, the bond between the siblings.

Be warned! Prepare tissues!! We teared at the simplest moments just because we felt like we were in it with them.

l usually can’t wait for dramas to end so I can move on to the next, especially for long dramas like this. But I desperately didn’t want this to end.

Read More

Endearing, heartwarming, adorable!

I’m 18 episodes in (binged 18 episodes..) and I am regretting even starting it before it is completed, now I’ve to wait day to day ?

While there were certain plots that seemed a little spotty and almost like they kept forgetting about it and decided to insert it back in just to remind us these characters still exist, I still love everyone of the characters, the portrayal and the story.

Where I am at now, I love how they heal each other, help each other and gave each other strength to move forward in their lives.

The cute interactions are the cherry on top!! (spoil super slightly - love it when they try to apologise to each other when one is angry)

While, like I said, there are small drops of certain characters and storylines (to focus on the main), everything else makes up for it.

FL is strong, determined and yet not overbearing like many of the other FL. Her respect for and towards ML and ML’s trust and respect towards her is so refreshing to watch.

I’ll update again when I’m done but for now, LOVE.

Read More

Thank you Villian?

Summary:

A group of young nothings growing up to be everything thanks to one person's misunderstanding and revenge. Kingdom gained prosperity and peace thanks to THAT misunderstanding and revenge. Thank you Villian?

I've to say that I skipped watch most of the drama, political dramas really ain't my thing most of time, it bored it a little. I think the drama COULD have ended at episode 28 when Fan Xuan took the throne. The last 12 episodes became extremely political and mostly felt like it took a shift from a romance/political drama to full on politics.

Things I enjoyed:

1. Relationships - not just the romance but the friendships they picked up along the way and FL/ML's growth together and apart.

2. Character growth - really enjoyed the growth of the characters in the first half of the drama, especially how FL was really about marrying well, being a good wife to a capable lady and having her own ambition. ML's growth was great, but expected.

3. No misunderstandings - my pet peeve of dramas is when a relationship keeps going into breakups and patching, even for friendships. OH AND ALSO, NO EVIL MIL THANK GOD FOR THAT. (Well, evil mother/MIL existed but did not play a huge part)

Things I didn't enjoy as much:

1. Overall plot - Oh my god, ALL the politics were really caused by ONE person due to ONE misunderstanding that his father was a rapist and abandoned him???? HALP. Well the good side of this is that thanks to him, all the leads and characters grew and the kingdom(s) (4 emperors in 40 episodes lmao) went from turbulent to peaceful. DADDY ISSUES SAVED THE KINGDOM WOOTS.

2. Too much politics - this is just my personal dislike of political drama, bores me.

Overall a pretty good drama, was fun to watch, relationships/friendships especially.

Thank you villian.

Read More

The evil inside us!

I have to start this off by saying - what an excellent horror, crime, thriller. I am USUALLY a sucker for romcoms but this had probably 0.5% of romance and I LOVED it. Every minute of it. We binged it till 5am because there is no way you can stop. The suspense, the twists, the acting (oh Kim Tae Ri), the everything.

We stepped into this expecting it to be a pure crime/horror drama but walked away with so much more. Without spoiling - the evil spirits would never have been able to do bad, to possess, without the evil and weakness inside of us.

There were definitely some small plot lines that were not tied up entirely nor explained in full but it does not affect how amazing the show is.

I love how there was no redemption arc for the biggest evil - hint, not a spirit. That it was just pure evilness with no underlying story or explanation.

12 episodes of suspense, well wrapped up. Watch it if you enjoy thriller, suspense!

Read More

Not for everyone but 100% for me!

This drama is full on romantic comedy. While there are briefly, very briefly, some serious parts, for the most part, it’s romance + comedy.

I see that there are some who don’t like the drama and that was me in the beginning! I only started because of ZLS but oh my my, I fell into the drama like she did ?

I see why some might really dislike it - it’s silly, it’s ridiculous, there’s slapstick and seems so cheesy.

I loved it for all the above reasons plus the most important part is that it is intentional. The cheese, the silliness and the ridiculous scenes.

It is so intentional and so out there that you don’t feel like they are ‘trying too hard but failed’ because that is the essence of the drama. They poke fun at inequality, they make people fight in slow motion, they make men take on the role of women.

I recommend everyone to watch this with a light heart. Don’t over read it, don’t think too much of the underlying ‘inequality’ topic, don’t think of it as a drama that is ‘trying’ to change the world or highlight something. Maybe it is, maybe it did but while I watched the men get ridiculed for rolling up his pants, I ROFLed and while I watch the men in Xuanhu criticise their women and them revolting, I LMAOed.

Take it lightly, with a pinch of salt. Even the plot holes were fine for me, because I just enjoyed every part of it.

7 capture, 7 release. For haters, maybe try and the 7th time might be it for you.

Read More

Adding to my list of favourite historical dramas!

I have a recent obsession with ZLS so I picked this up although I’m more of a Xianxia fan.

0 regrets. I can probably say this is ZLS’s best performance. All other characters too.

When it gets funny, I’m laughing out loud. When it gets emotional, I am sobbing with tissues in my hand. The ending was slightly rushed and there are grey areas in the story where things were brushed away or brought over very quickly but compensated with everything else.

While this wasn’t just a romance drama and I remember holding off because I read a review saying that it isn’t a very deep love romance like General and I but I beg to differ. I felt every inch of their love even when they were apart, actually maybe more when they were apart than together.

There are many that are annoyed by the FL’s mom and dropped the drama but please don’t! She kind of redeems herself along the way and it wasn’t really a in a second flip which is the usual drama way. While her past actions were inexcusable, you see the way she reflects and learns that she’s wrong.

BRB, rewatching!

Read More

Warm, heart-fluttering romance with great side stories!

I watched this because I saw that it is the same author of Hidden Love which I LOVED. I wasn’t familiar with the actors of WIFTY so I was apprehensive.

While there were a few tropes that seemed like it was swept under the carpet, it was still extremely lovable to watch. The actors did a great job, their budding love progressing to the strong love they had was well portrayed and didn’t feel out of the sudden.

Everything was so sweet, even when they were in high school. My favourite part of this all is that while the ML is smart and attractive and the FL is less so, it wasn’t like some other dramas where the ML falling for the FL was a ‘just because’. The drama really portrayed how FL’s 偏爱 (impartial love?) towards ML brought him out of his insecurities and trauma.

Everything was so, so lovable and adorable. Must watch if you loved Hidden Love like I did (although HL to me is still the best romcom I’ve watched in a long time)

Read More

super cute! feels like a fanfic come true

I remember when I was a teenager, I used to write and read fanfics about my favourite idols (don’t ask who, i die of embarrassment thinking about it now).

this feels exactly like a fanfic come true and the entire filming and production was great. it constantly felt like there was a… sepia filter over, romantic constantly.

while there definitely are parts that are meh, like the weak ML being extremely weak (it really got quite annoying at times). but overall, I’d say this is a drama to watch curled up on your couch on a rainy day to just heal your heart and warm you up.

issues are quickly solved and every other moment is just candy like (ok one moment wasn’t).

it’s a really simple drama, 8 episodes revolving around the mains which is great in this situation, extremely easy watch, super cute.

Read More

unsure about how I feel really!

i am usually a very strong lover or hater of a drama but I am super unsure about how I feel about this drama! I suspect I might be spoilt by Yanxi and Scarlet Heart so I constantly draw a comparison with how this was done.

Pros:

- I always like Wang An Yu and I didn’t feel much about Landy but I liked them both here! acting was great, the cuteness, sweetness, the seriousness and the tears were all great.

- NO ANGST between the main couple thank god. well, minimal, in that while FL was unsure about her feelings in the beginning, ML was always sure. and once they found each other, it was always them against the world. love it.

- Minimal angst between the sides in the fight for the throne, even if there was any, it was quickly resolved. (I’m a hater of misunderstandings and angst for no reason)

Cons

- how the f can the entire harem and politics be one handedly played by one woman who gets her happy f-ing ending in the end?????? and it was all because of her jealously????

- nobody really gets their just desserts ^ refer to above. maybe they want to stick close to history? but they already deviated at some points (i.e. missing out Yinxiang’s 10 years of confinement until Yongzheng took the throne) then just kill some people!!! like the 8th, 9th, 10th prince or the Consort De…? unsatisfying.

- I think I draw too much comparison with Yanxi and Scarlet Heart which are both longer than this so the history depiction is more accurate and also happens to be abit more serious. this has a less serious tone, so probably I’m nitpicking.

all in all, this is an ok watch, I like Wang An Yu and the cast, especially Kangxi. but there are definitely loopholes and wtf @ Minghui lol.

Read More