Heartbreaking in the best way
This show is so insanely well done and beautifully shot. It's devastating and painful to watch. I'm not normally one to cry at a show, but this one deserved it.The internalized homophobia is portrayed in the most realistic way, to a point of it hurting. As a queer person, watching this was painful. It felt like such a true and authentic representation of a queer experience, even if that meant that it hurt. A lot. I feel like most BLs throw queer characters into an otherwise heteronormative storyline, but ITSAY didn't. It was a beautiful portrayal of what it feels like to realize you're queer, without shying away from the difficult aspects of this. The building of the tension in the relationship was so well done, and the interactions between the leads were almost too realistic. This is a show that I'm glad I watched once, and I don't think I could rewatch.
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It would be better if they didn't split the series
I was interested in Payu and Rain's storyline, which is the reason I started watching this show. I didn't know the focus shifted halfway through, and I wasn't a huge fan of the second half. The motorcycle storyline went nowhere, and they reference a character constantly and you just...never meet him? They also played the exact same 8-minute or so long clip of the motorcycles being transported like three times. Why.The best part about the show was the chemistry. Both couples felt well thought out in terms of development, and they managed to have two very different couples. I think I just don't like the whole switching to new leads thing they did. I felt like I should have been more invested in the Pai/Sky storyline than I was. It also felt like the show got way too serious way too fast in the second half. Instead of a fun, lighthearted show, it turned into a story of trauma and assault. If they were going to have more serious themes, I wish they would have brought them in towards the beginning of the show, instead of having them all at the end when it's totally unexpected.
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WAY sadder than I expected, but not in a bad way
Honestly, probably one of the healthier relationship dynamics in BLs. The two main characters only have eyes for each other and make that very clear. It's a cute relationship dynamic with building intensity over the course of the show.Personally, I was much more invested in Dean and Pharm than in their previous reincarnations. I think that because they show how their past lives died within the first few minutes of the first episode, learning their story before that wasn't as interesting as seeing Dean and Pharm uncover their past lives. Plus, having the knowledge of how their past lives died while Dean and Pharm are clueless is less fun as a viewer, since you're just waiting for them to have the information you do.
Very cute show, but with the occasional scene that is way darker than expected. The characters did feel a bit flat sometimes though. Also, is it technically incest to date the reincarnation of your dead uncle??
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The ghosts were totally uninteresting
A short and sweet series that was fairly enjoyable. They tried to do way too much with the ghost plotline though, and attempted to create all these rules that ghosts must abide by in far too few episodes. At that point, I didn't care about what the ghosts could or couldn't do.The two leads are great. It's a cute little relationship that is fun to watch. Nothing too exciting, but a pleasant watch.
The whole conflict with Kevin's family was a bit odd. Again, it just felt like they tried to do way too much world building in the few episodes they had. I also thought this show would be a bit spookier since it was ghost themed, but there was nothing scary about it. It was just a fun little show with a little bit of ghost hunting.
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Not much happened, but it was a quick and fun watch
Honestly, I only watched this because of BounPrem. The plot was fairly uneventful but the chemistry was great. They definitely could have done more, but for a short series it was a fun watch. The initial conflict seems a bit odd, but it sets up the story nicely and the beach scenes are nice to watch.Sun being unable to collect debt from anyone even though his job is a debt collector added some nice comedy to the show. It was lighthearted and enjoyable, but if you're looking for a deeper plot, this isn't it. A debtor and a debt collector meet up, some things take a turn for an unexpected twist, and naturally they fall in love. Simple as that.
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Fun and lighthearted
While the storyline did feel like another retelling of a classic trope, the actors do a good job portraying it and making it believable. The romance was cute, the slow opening up to each other was enjoyable to watch, and overall I thought it was a nice, easy watch.As with most Korean BLs, I feel like the short time frame doesn't allow for as much character development as I would like. Still, this show did what it could in the time that it had and I thoroughly enjoyed watching the development of the couple's relationship.
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Too much worldbuilding, not enough time
Color Rush was a show that tried to do way more worldbuilding than was necessary for the short time frame they had. However, they did take an interesting soulmate AU idea and turn it into something a bit darker.The concept of the show revolves around certain people that are colorblind (called monos) that can only see in shades of gray and their "probes," which are certain people that can allow them to see color. However, monos have been convicted in crimes revolving around trying to meet and stay near their probe, as seeing colors doesn't last forever if you're not with them.
Taking the idea of colorblindness until meeting a soulmate and turning it on its head to create a much more dramatic version was a great idea that could have been executed a bit better. I think that the show tried to expand on the idea of monos and probes a bit too much, and it just ended up being too confusing and took away from the relationship between the main character. Still a fun little watch though.
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BLs and comedies....good try I guess!
Cute and cheesy university BL (where the leads aren't engineers?!). The overall plot was fairly uninteresting unfortunately, because the main characters spend so much time fighting over...nothing? PondPhuwin is a great pair though (and NeoLouis of course). I honestly only watched this because I'm still waiting for the new episodes of Never Let Me Go.Pi has had a crush on Nan for a long time but has never had the courage to say anything since he knows Nan is way out of his league. But after a ~makeover~ he finally gains the confidence to approach him. However, Mork is always with Nan, giving Pi no room to be alone with him. Pi continuously gets annoyed at Mork, who always seems to be in his way, until he realizes it's actually Mork who he has feelings for.
Mork and Pi would have been great together if Pi didn't spend the entire series convincing himself he only liked Nan and didn't have feelings for Mork. It took them FOREVER to be into each other. Why must the "cheesy romance" BLs never have much of the actual cheesy romance, and instead be so much fighting and arguing over things that never further the plot? The scenes where they were flirting/actually together were so fun and cute, but there are so few of these that it makes watching this one less fun.
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A bromance?
This could have been so much more than it was! It started off as a cute high school romance between the popular school president Taehyun and the quiet archery team member Dayeol. The circumstances under which they originally meet set them up to be enemies, but they quickly start to get along instead.Unfortunately, this one missed the mark a little bit. Every time their relationship should have taken off, something happened to stop them. And just when you think everything is going to work out, it still doesn't! It seemed like they were trying to get around the fact that this was a gay relationship by....not letting them have a real relationship. No kiss, no handholding, nothing! Just two bros with some tension and an unexplored relationship.
They're clearly gay so I won't call this queerbaiting, but it nearly was.
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So cute!!
A lot of Korean BLs fall into the unfortunate issue of not having enough time to develop their characters but Our Dating Sim found the perfect way to show characters who have grown and changed in just 8 15-min episodes. Plus, the main actors do a great job and have great chemistry. Super cute and fun show to watch.I'm a sucker for the "right person wrong time" trope, and seeing that play out in these characters was fantastic. You get to see the high school embarrassment of a (seemingly) one-sided love turn into a relationship years down the line in adulthood. Super well done and well paced without any unnecessary conflicts or that horrible second-to-last episode breakup trope. Biggest complaint is that it isn't long enough!
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Better than I expected!
I wasn't sure how this was gonna go with how short it is, but I was pleasantly surprised! They didn't try to do too much with the vampire lore and didn't try to overcomplicate things. Junho is a vampire who is going to die and needs to drink pure human blood (still not sure what this means but oh well) to turn into a human. To do so, he needs to make Minhyun, who has pure blood, fall in love with him. But of course, Junho falls in love too and isn't willing to risk Minhyun's life for his own.Most realistic part is Minhyun learning Junho is a vampire and immediately telling him to drink his blood. Honestly he's so real for that.
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Refreshing!!
This drama was nearly perfect. It was shot in such a beautiful way that felt really fresh and didn't feel like the typical over-produced kdrama.Jihyun, a college freshman, meets Jaewon by chance one night while working at his part-time job. The two continue to cross paths, and Jihyun joins the surfing club in order to get closer to Jaewon. As the two begin to spend more time together, their relationship grows as they navigate hardships.
The interactions between the characters in this felt so much more real than most kdramas. The conversations have awkward silences, they're nervous on first dates, etc. and it's super enjoyable to watch. I was super worried that this would end on a sad note, but was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this one, start to finish. There was a bit of a lull in the later episodes where you just want them to solve their problems and be happy, but it's never overly frustrating. The colors, the music, and the shots were all beautifully done. 100% worth the watch.
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World's Most Incompetent Cops
Going into this, I was super excited for the murder/crime aspect of this show, especially as someone who really loves crime dramas. If you're going into this for that like I was, SKIP IT! This show is a romance that happens to have a crime happening in the background. The cops can't solve a case for shit, and spend all their time flirting instead.Jade (Joong) is the cop in charge of a new murder case when a new inspector Kamin (Dunk) arrives to help. The two of them investigate the murder of a college girl and the subsequent murders of the other students in her friend group. As murders continue to happen, Jade's brother Jay is also put at risk, as are the cops themselves. Even though the cops don't get along at first, they grow closer as they work on the case - and Jade's immediate attraction to Kamin is obvious to everyone.
I have never watched a crime show with more incompetent cops. These guys did not solve ANYTHING!! Even up to the very end (no spoilers here) they basically didn't do anything themselves. They quite literally just spent their entire time flirting with each other. The romance fully took away from the actual plot of the show. If you don't care about the crime and just want to see Joong and Dunk flirt, go ahead and watch it. If you care about the crime aspect at all, there are much better crime dramas....
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A college friend group growing up
We Are showcases how a friend group will change, expand, and grow up together as they experience love and complications. I was honestly worried that the show was going to get annoying with how many characters/couples they have, but it was done so well and was so fun to watch. I looked forward to it every week!Peem (Phuwin) is an art student who is about to submit his painting for the school gallery, until Phum (Pond) ruins it. Peem gets so mad he kicks Phum, and Phum gives Peem a choice: either pay for the most ridiculous doctors visit ever, or be my servant. Naturally, Peem has to choose the latter, with the stipulation the agreement ends once Peem finishes remaking the painting. Naturally, as the two start spending more time together, their relationship develops as feelings emerge. Alongside Peem are his good friends, including Tan (Aou) who has had a crush on Phum's brother Fang (Boom) for awhile, and Q (Winny) who starts becoming closer with his peer mentee Toey (Satang). All of these relationships have their own struggles, which helps to round out the show. While it is definitely mostly focused on Phum and Peem, the other couples are really fun to watch as well.
This is one of the genres that GMM will always excel in: a school-setting with friends that fall in love. It's light and fun and could easily become a comfort show. The conflicts tend not to be trivial misunderstandings, but rather deal more with the characters trying to figure out their feelings and how to pursue their crush. I didn't think that anything was overly drawn out, or that the pacing was off. There were a few moments between Phum and Peem where you're ready for them to just be together already, but the slow building of the relationship was worth it in the end.
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Mediocre At Best
I was soooo looking forward to watching this because I've been wanting a good GL to watch and I had heard so much about it! Unfortunately, it was extremely mediocre. The entire plot was predictable, the characters were only sometimes likeable, and every conflict could have been resolved with a single conversation.This was not a queer story. Yes, it had queer women as the main characters, but this exact storyline could have been done as a straight or BL romance. I wished the writers and directors focused more on the relationship dynamic between the two women and less on silly arranged marriage plotlines.
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