Yumi

Underwhelming

This has been on my PTW list for so long and it promises mystery with supernatural element and folklore stories with curses and ghosts... Say no more I'm sold.

Sadly this was so disappointing!
First, stories were so lame, nothing interesting or gripping about them, the mystery isn't really "mystering", each ep was tad too long than necessary in telling the whole story, it could be made a 30mins max per episode and you won't miss a thing.
2nd: acting was fine, nothing spectacular and the characters are barely fun to watch, they didn't even raise my curiosity about the lie-detecting mystery and the end proved my point, as it was the most anticlimactic end ever.

I don't really think its worth the rate, I don't even have anything on the positive side to say to sell it, it's just typical Japanese drama everything is so mediocre.
İt wasn't unwatchable, but maybe I had a little higher expectations than needed so probably keep your standards low and give it a go if you like this type of dramas.

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Anything but a bodyguard

I love Japanese light dramas and this one checks that box but after finishing it it was a huge let down.
It has a nice story, good cast, a mystery and great villain and I'm not really picky with Jdramas, if it's enjoyable enough them I'm in.
But the final product is far away from this great combination I mentioned making me slightly unsatisfied.

Acting was nice, I like Hikaru but Shiraishi Mai here wasn't at her best, also I loved Junpei and Joichiro roles. The whole cast was nice Nevertheless none of them were very good, just average at max.

The story is a total mess, and I'm only talking about the parts they promised in the plot, the comedy part was non existent, the hate-to-love troupe was totally a miss and there is nothing memorable about the drama.
The whole bodyguard part lasted for the first 2 episodes maybe then it's all about the crime, they took so much time showing how endangered Rika is in the first episode, only to push her to be a side story, the rest of the drama was very very predictable, you don't even have to think about anything the mystery was solved right from the beginning.

The series as a whole was acceptable, slightly choppy and very random but watchable.

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The perfect closure

I really liked the first part, and the second is a very good continuation.

Tbh at first I was bugged as why would they make two parts just to finish the story and now after finishing the 2 parts I don't think I'd manage to go through both of them as one drama without feeling bored.

Giving that I had some time between watching the first and the second part, i only had to rewatch the last ep of Tsuioku hen to remember everything about it which means it left some impact on my terrible goldfish memory.

I hated how many times Natsumi had her heart broken or saw her lover fades away, that was too much but again -and as in Tsuioku hen- the drama was light and didn't feel heavy at all, also -which surprised me a little- despite having a good closure and good end to the whole thing, it still got some loose ends, I can't seem to figure out why they ended it like that but I believe the drama has another sequel that would tie them up nicely, or at least i hope, although I'd be reluctant to watch it just to answer some question marks since the main story had a good and happy end so i don't know why would i watch any more of them, I already got my end.

So another sequel is probably not a great idea IMO.

That been said, I loved the two leads and enjoyed their interactions and good chemistry, the second part focus mainly on their relationship which is another reason to watch Koiji hen if you liked Tsuioku hen, aside from the closure we all needed.

Would I recommend it? Yes, absolutely, it's not the best but it's good enough.

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Good watch

It's really difficult to find a good fun drama that doesn't drag nor get boring in the middle, and despite being generally good and very enjoyable, it still lacks one thing or two to be the perfect drama.

What I really liked was the cast, they were great and the second couple were amazing, tbh I continued with this despite the slow beginning just for them, and sadly they appeared after a while so you gotta stick with it till it gets better.
I liked the relationship between the 3 girls but sadly I couldn't feel much sismance between them, there is hardly any strong bond to be shown specially with Huiseong and the 2 FLs.
It was full of funny moments, GyuHyun family and secretary were scene stealers, even his creepy mother.

What I didn't like was parts the story, I don't know why they can't skip the stereotypes found in every single rom-com, also the cast the just appear to serve a purpose or just show something then Poof! disappear.
The end was vague and the whole Book family problem just wasn't solved, also I couldn't understand some characters behaviour in some scenes, specially the FL with the ML and also Huiseong character was completely removable, I don't even think her story was needed, it added nothing but very questionable moments.

Overall it's watchable and enjoyable even, but forgettable and I don't think I'd rewatch it, yet! I'm too excited to watch the spinoff with the 2Leads because they are the best thing about this drama.

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Adorable

I don't know why the Japanese have this fascination with BL and food, but I kinda like the genre born from mixing the two together.
While Japanese BL are generally either too dark and deep or too light and fluffy, this drama falls in the second category.

What I liked about it is how light and cute it was, the relationship between everyone's good and healthy, no annoying characters whatsoever, and the two leads are so lovely, I also liked the friendship between Izumi and his colleagues, it was short, very enjoyable and have relaxing vibes, also the two leads fits together despite the age gap, you can't even notice it.

What I didn't like is the lack of proper romance, the relationship during the whole drama lies in the category of friendship therefore the interaction between the leads is so limited to eating and chatting about random things, also despite being relatively good, it's very forgettable drama because there is nothing unique or special about it, it's just like any other fluffy JBL.

Overall it's a good drama with many fluffy and adorable moments that worth watching for but nothing spectacular.

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I expected more

The boring version of school 2013

I'm sure many would hate me for this but seriously as much as I wanted to love this, compared to the original this was so lame, and after giving it a few chances, I decided that this version isn't for me.
Now I loved school 2013 (k.ver.) so I somehow unintentionally kept comparing the two in the back of my head, and sadly I couldn't rule out for this version.
The characters are so tuned down, the bullies looks so softie and the bullied characters didn't gain my sympathy, the main thing I was excited for was Foei because I loved his character in the original series and wanted to see his interpretation for the character and somehow he did well enough to keep me watching most of it.
Now, is it a bad drama? No.
Is it unwatchable? Still no, but i had a hard time watching it, what helped big deal was the acting, and the flow of the story, and the fast pace, it manages to help me watch longer than I thought I would.
Still, it failed to keep my attention for a long time, I found myself zooming out while watching and this is probably the worst thing that can happen to me.
Generally not a bad series, compared to the original it's worse, but still watchable, the actors delivered and I would recommend it for the cast, but personally, and judging the drama as a whole I didn't like it very much.

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Oh ... Ma gad!!!

Every time I say I won't watch. Any more XianXia/WuXia dramas because they are too long for me, I go down the rabbit hole all over again and my freaking curiousity gets the best of me and I start one.

This drama is great, but as much as I like it, I hate it so much.
The story is really interesting but I'm basically watching it for the romance which is my first mistake, these wuxia dramas has a billion side quest the two leads have to conquer a whole new realm and do a bunch of shenanigans to reach a god knows what end, and I sit here like a potato trying - and failing - to understand what is going on for 40 episodes.

I understand that it's a whole genre, take it or leave it but why does these stories has to be so interesting, ugghh!!!

The two leads, actually the whole cast are amazing, I still don't understand the whole bad to good or good to bad personality shift for side characters but I guess that serves the plot so who am I to judge!!

I still however can't stomach a few things that making the whole "I'm torturing myself for the sake of the good romance here" more unbearable.
The main thing is the whole cultivation thing, some weird sh!t happens and we all supposed to be like "yeah yeah that makes sense" like what is these things!!! What do you mean her golden globe core is missing and what's with him breaking his transmigration !!! The only thing that is broken is probably my mantal stability,, What is that? And what is with the spirit thing!! Don't get me started with the sister and that evil guy *facepalm*
But it's ok, because if somehow I understood one thing, I'll probably have to do a yoga pose for 30 mins to cultivate this new information and I'll probably be up a level or something....

I'm not trying to be funny nor that I'm sh!tying on the drama but I seriously have to follow the bread crumbs of little romance between the leads till the end, and despite being really interesting, 40 episodes are just too many 🤦🤦

I want to rate this higher but I'm putting it on hold at ep27 ... I finished 27 episodes which is an achievement for me tbh ~~
I just hope of someone reading this, just watch the drama if you like the genre, if not or you are like me can't do long dramas, just don't get tempted to start it, fled immediately and call for help!!!!

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Holy mother of lazy writing and messy scripts

What ... Was that !!!???
I mean I was wondering why this drama isn't popular because I found it by pure chance... And now I know why!!!

Writers!? What happened? What's with that script??
It had a really good premise, the first couple of episodes were great and intriguing!! Then something went terribly wrong, not only that, they had to drag this drama to 12 episodes of weird sh!t.

I don't want to spoil anything so I'll just point out a few thing I liked and didn't like... And a few that just didn't make sense at all, however I'm going to be detailed about everything ~ proceed with caution 🤣

I didn't like:
1- obviously, the story: so we have this really traumatized idol who suddenly out of no where after 6 years decided to comeback only because a little kid told him he is long in the tooth and can't even sing anymore!!! Really?? That what got your heart pumping ??? That's a lame excuse for a story.

2- the romance, the two leads had about 5-6 episodes of nothingness, then bam!! They are in love? B!tch when did you even fall in love?? The ML falls in love with a kid he barely know, we call that 금사빠 🤣🤣🤣🤣 I mean you literally saw the guy 3 times and you are in love? oh, please! It was abrupt, unnecessary and the whole show could pass with them just colleagues Which would be better IMO ~~

3- how to piss me off 101! Have two people speak two different languages to each other and understand eachother perfectly!!
As a polyglot who speaks quite a few languages, I've never, and I mean NEVER speak a language to someone who doesn't understand it and expect such understanding like in this drama, and I have to exclude the parts where they chose the safe route and spoke in a third mediating language because that's what normal people would do, I don't care about the accent or the mispronunciation.
Man, I'd be damned if I sat here in my comfortable chair and judged someone working hard to speak a language that isn't his first! But the Thai-Mandarin mix is just pushing all my buttons!!!

Things that didn't make sense

1- Thai actors: I'm not by all means against the idea of collaborations between countries, or sharing actors, that has been there since ages and one of my top favourite BLs ever had KoreanXThai MC, (Bangkok boy in case anyone is curious)
But what did Mos and Bank do exactly??? Cameo that is completely unnecessary and odd, I didn't hate it but why???

2- the side characters that got marginalized, I loved the Boss and the senior, but while watching I saw less and less of them, where did they go?? And why showing them too much in the beginning if they are not that unnecessary!

3- too many questions unanswered! Like Sea's family??? What's with his mother calls, what happened to him when he was younger?? And how exactly does Neil imposing on a child and technically forcing him to listen to his song helpful? He is his saviour but from what?? We don't even know what he was dealing with?? Why was he alone? ... Just nothing

4- how can a sophomore deal with all that? Like part time, school, homework, composing songs, and training to perform?? Is he a magician!? No insomnia or sickness! I mean, I envy him, really!

What I liked:

1- acting is nice, not perfect but they were convincing in their roles, and I'm not talking about chemistry here at all, I mean each scene, they delivered their emotions well enough

2- Xiao Mei!!! My favourite thing about this whole sh!t show is Xiao Mei!! Oh my baby sunshine!! I have a crush on her! She was adorable, sexy,, oh those outfits slayed! And her sense of humour is spot on! Also how come she can be this adorable and funny at the same time!! Simply the best!!!

That's is!! Nothing else worth mentioning really!!
I would NOT recommend it at all, just watch something else of you got time.

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Adorable and funny

I love light Japanese romcoms, especially if well-acted, they are too fluffy and cute and help melting all your stress away ... At least for me.

This one tops the list.

The chemistry is great, the leads look good together and they looked their age in the movie, great casting choice, their interactions are nice, they seem like two people raised together, instead of being too stiff, their touches were too normal which is a plus.

Story, let's be honest, manga stories are just too simple, they don't need you to challenge your brain or anything, so it was very light and fluffy, the comedic touch was nice, I had a few smiles here and there, no over the top cringe acting which is rare in such stories.

Overall very light and entertaining ~

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Good but not perfect

It's a very good drama if you look beyond the illogical things that's going on.

Honestly, whenever I see the word "fantasy" or "supernatural" in a very normal drama, I immediately turn off my brain cells, because I know that it would piss me off with ridiculous and illogical situations. And Boy!!! Little did I know that this would be the best decision to make before starting this.

This drama lacks many things, but be that as it may, that didn't change the fact that this is a very good drama.

I kinda have to say the positives and negatives because how else am I going to explain how is this good and bad at the same time.

First a big shout out to Martin Wong, he singlehandedly carried the whole show, and he didn't disappoint at all, he was spectacular.
The rest of the cast were good too, no one was bad or cringe and chemistry was smooth and enjoyable, also a fair amount of kisses and making out (for people who enjoy those things, you are in for a treat)

Story is pretty simple, soul exchange then falling in love with the new person, but as a BL not a straight couple. It was entertaining, the pace is nice and little to no unanswered questions (as it usually tends to be with these type of dramas), cast was good, I loved Yaron Qiu, he nailed his role and gained a new fan.

However...
The story is simple but messy, like what is the point, what are we focusing on? The grandpa or the grandson? Xia Cha or Xia Ze Fang?? Also the way they messed up Hai Yuan character from cool and poised to clingy childish and impulsive character is overwhelming!! He basically became Guan Ri Qing... I see no difference, I even wanted Ze Feng to come back so that the grandpa and Hai Yuan won't be an endgame....

Nevertheless, I can understand that for the sake of "character development" or degradation in this case but anyway, also the fact that Xia Cha has been a straight guy who doesn't even fathom the idea of two men falling in love, and you turn him into a gay guy who falls in love with a boy his grandson age??? Good lord! What the heck was that writer high on??? Also the 70YO man is too childish I couldn't stomach it in some scenes, how come he is that innocent acting like a 10 YO kid who knows and understand nothing of this world, despite being a very very lovely character, in some scenes I was questioning who he is actually!!!

Another thing I didn't like but it's generally presented in some BLs is that every guy is gay, and every woman is a lesbian, no straight characters whatsoever, and I'm not saying that because I want to see straight characters in BL, I couldn't care less, but the fact that you assert and show that every single side character has a partner of the same gender is just a bit too much, unnecessary and superficial.

After saying all that I'm embarrassed to say that I actually liked it, because it was actually good, but you definitely have to shut your brain down to be able to enjoy it.

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I need to learn that highly rated Thai dramas don't necessarily mean good dramas.

But I thought, I've seen bad ones, bad acting? No problem I can handle that, terrible story? Boohoo, Cry me a river, most Thai BLs barely have any, got boring halfway? I got time.

But this wasn't like that, it has good solid mystery story with Fantasy build up and the cast did good so far, even great, chemistry was amazing, and Billy fits with Babe more than his previous partner so you would say there is nothing to complain about, right?

Nope!!! This show was terrible, I couldn't go past the 4th ep, but somehow managed to finish 6 before deciding to give up.

First of all, story is fine, no problem, but it's barely there, I've seen 6 episodes of it and I'm not interested to learn more, they didn't make the whole crime stuff significant! And boom! Sex scene in ep4, like I know it's a BL, but you focus on the two leads and they got their happy end already, why do I need to watch any more? Dead people, meh! A mystery and a weird woman in the sea? Nah, it doesn't matter ~ I also have to mention that the action sequences in the first ep were not that great, so that's another reason for not wanting to continue ~

They should have balanced the story between the mystery and the romance between the lead and build it up, like if they are in love by ep4 then the rest would be what I hate the most, the sticky and cringe part of the romance, and don't get me wrong, I'd love to see the honeymoon phase, but only when I have LIVED with the characters throughout the show, get attached to them and they grew on me that their relationship becomes by mission, not after 3 EPs of random things happening.

Also, a big put off, why do they have to show this much nudity, I understand it's a training program and it's all men and so, but why showing us a person taking a dump and flushing the toilet!! What did this scene serve in the story?? Like why did the director think, you know I'll show a scene with someone sitting on the toilet, opening the door while sh!tting to speak to other characters about a very important issue.

Seriously??? I even saw the gadget or prop or whatever it's name that Billy uses to hide his frontal body for the shower scene!!! Like I don't mind Some nudity, a naked butt or two just to let us know that oh they are men full of muscles down their asses they are exposing testosterone and masculinity and ugh and agh!!! that much is ok, a scene or two It's fine, but this!!!!! Good god I need to wash my eyes with holy water now, right from the very first ep, I don't know when will the next butt hit me! Oh from here No from there!! I'm at the edge of my seat, waiting to get flashed.🤦🤦

I have seen enough naked butts to last me a whole lifetime, I believe the director is a BOC graduate, because they started this butt fetish thing.
Again, i don't mind some nudity, even sex scenes are fine, But this!!! This is just pørn at this point!!!

So why didn't I watch the cut version? because of two reasons, one, it's the only version I could find, I don't know why this version is more reachable than the cut but this is what I stumbled upon first, and two, I like to watch good intimate scenes that they usually cut, but I didn't expect that much nudity and explicitness, also I don't know how much exactly did they cut and how much they left, I don't want to watch that much asses yet I don't want to watch a shredded series...am I asking for too much?? Unfortunately Now I just don't wanna watch anything at all, thank you very much~~

Acting is ok, I don't have anything to complain about, Billy is just acting the same character again, but I can't Really say anything negative about that because he does that well, and the rest of the cast were fine.

I just can't go on with watching, obviously I'm not the targeted audience and this is totally overrated show here~
Not recommended ~~

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Almost perfect

My problem with historical Chinese dramas is that they tend to drag a bit with no consistent plot.
I mean, there is a main plot and as we watch some problems arise then get solved then another problem surfaces then solved and so on... in parallel with the main story.

So personally -since it's MY review- I haven't yet find drama that I'd give over like 7 or 8. hence my rating.
That been said, this was a great one, I really enjoyed it specially the beginning, I like the dynamics between the leads.

I love the Smart FL VS Smart ML, most dramas tend to have a clever lead while the other is always less intelligent but here I really enjoyed the ping-pong power games the two leads had.

Acting was great, I loved all character even the evil ones, the plot was interesting, at least most of the time.
I loved the leads, I don't know about their chemistry but I enjoyed them together.

Overall enjoyable, a bit longer than needed, not boring if you are into long dramas.

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Oh how I regret watching this

Just go and watch any two couple living together and making out every now and then because the story that started very interesting lost it's way half way through and the whole show is about 2 couples talking and having s*x...

It's already very very predictable right from the start but to make it more boring by having a few episodes in the middle full of absolutely nothing at all except for some random scenes of the 4 leads is a bit too much.

I have to admit one thing however, the cast was great and everyone did his job impeccably, but be that as it may that didn't save the series for me.

The only character I was interested in was Fadel, who had the same facial expressions for almost the whole show and when he started to change a bit I had already lost interest in continuing.

I'm not saying this was a bad drama per se but it was boring with no story, however if you like the cast/couple and just want to see them onscreen, you will enjoy because the whole show is the 4 leads acting all lovey dovey together ~~

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Good watch

C.First of all, before anything, shout out to Natthew (Nawin) for being the most adorable batshit-crazy idiot scene-stealer!!! This character deserves to be in more than just two episodes!!! I'd gladly watch a whole series with him in it!! And TBH he'd be my favourite character if it wasn't for Film (Charn) ~~~

And oh my god!!!! Charn stole my whole heart, mind and soul!! The complexity of the character was brilliant!!! Film was amazing!! This is the first drama I ever watch for the two leads, -haven't seen To sir, with love yet, but i plan to- and he was magnificent!!! ~~~
Loved the creepy smile with hollow stare! Like you're so weird, mate! But I don't feel grossed out, instead you got my whole attention now!
He was just too fucked up, the way he switches from evil revenger to sassy flirty with Tinn was very remarkable.~~~~

On the other side, there are a few plot holes here and there, and Tinn was the weakest Taekwondo Sabomnim I've ever seen, I feel like I could beat his ass easily even with my very humble skills, and the whole 5th EP does not exist for me, just deleted it from my memory 😂
I would give it a 10 because I enjoyed it as much but I could not turn a blind eye from the things that didn't make sense, they were just too many to ignore.~~
The series definitely deserves all the hype, and I'm glad I waited to binge watch it, highly recommended ~~~~

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aggravatingly boring

I tried... I swear ... But this was the epitome of boredom.

I watched the first 6 episodes waiting for this "dangerous secret" that would ruin their whole relationship, so I would understand the whole sadness and struggle undertone the show is having.

But that took so long and it wasn't even that great.

The two actors were ok-ish, Haneul's face felt like he was about burst out laughing at any time, he looks like he was trying hard not to smile or laugh even in serious situations, and overall their acting wasn't impressive but it was acceptable.

The story took too long to unfold, we have more than the first half full of nothing but odd conversation that hides a secret, and not knowing what's going on made me unable to sympathise with any of the leads, not to mention knowing if I actually want them to be together or not, they gave us nice kisses so the fan services were fine but still I couldn't see any great chemistry between them.

Overall not terrible, but for me was extremely boring, by the time I reached the end I regretted picking it up ~~

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