Beautifully done slice-of-life BL

I had heard good things about Blueming for so long, but put off watching it because of the format. I find that many Korean BLs with 15-min episodes fall victim to the same pitfall - there's simply not enough time to get things done. This one, however, surprised me by how much they were able to do with their short time frame.

Siwon has always been taught that the most important thing is how other people view you, which has made him overly insecure about how is perceived - his looks, his interests, etc. Most of the time, he comes off as charming and interesting, but a lot of what he says is actually just a facade so he retains this image of himself. However, Dawoon sees right through him. This makes Siwon anxious, and he really dislikes Dawoon for it. Once the two of them start to understand each other more, feelings between Dawoon and Siwon start to emerge.

Even though this is basically the length of a movie, they managed to convey so much in so little time. The conflicts surrounding both characters' personal lives, as well as their issues within film school, are very realistic without being overly complex, which makes them ideal for this show. I do think that the relationship aspect of the show would have benefitted greatly from more time, but overall the show was a really great short watch with a lovely romance between the main character. I ended up much more invested in them than I thought I would, and the ups and downs made this a fantastic watch.

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Should have kept it simple

I wasn't quite sure what to expect going in to DFF, but it really got me hooked in the first episode. Though there were some frankly unnecessarily explicit sex scenes for a thriller, the setup to the plot was done really well.

Eight college friends take a trip to one friend's house in the woods, where there's no internet or cell service, to get away from the stress of school and have a big party before one of them goes off to study abroad. Our main(ish) character Phee (Ta) finds an old recording of a short film that 5 of the friends had made back in high school - but there's a 6th friend in the video that Phee doesn't recognize. That 6th person is Non (Barcode), who went missing after filming. The vibe turns eerie as they attempt to remake this short film, only to feel as though they're being watching. Suddenly, bad things start happening, and with no way to contact others, the 8 friends are left stranded, scared for their lives.

I assumed this show would take the typical cabin-in-the-woods horror movie idea and turn it into a TV show. However, the plotline started to become overly complex as it delved into the backstory of the original short film. Breaking up the tension at the cabin really did a disservice to this show, as it felt like it had to do a lot of explaining over the course of multiple episodes just to get the audience to understand what was happening. I felt like I was waiting to get out of the flashbacks and back to the cabin to figure out what was happening. I think they attempted to make this show overly complex, which ended up not working in their favor. There were too many characters and too much messy backstory for what could have been a really great thriller. Not to mention, the show gets really gore-heavy towards the end. However, as I expected from beoncloud, the budget was clearly pretty high for this one and the effects and production were great, as was the acting. I think they lost themselves in the story a little, but it was still very enjoyable to watch.

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A good crime drama that had something missing

Any time there's a new crime kdrama, I'm likely to watch it. It's one of my favorite genres. So when I saw A Killer Paradox on Netflix, I knew it would be worth a shot. While it's definitely not my favorite show, it was a fun and short watch. I do think Netflix has been doing itself a disservice with these shorter shows, as there always seems to be something lacking from them.

Lee Tang is our main character and at first, he seems incredibly normal. He doesn't get good grades and seems to be a bit lost on what he wants to do with his life. While working at his part-time job at the convenience store, some particularly annoying customers come in. Lee Tang doesn't seem to be one to lose his temper, and mostly ignores them. However, as he's leaving, one of them attacks him - and Lee Tang fights back and kills the guy. However, when the murder case is "solved", Lee Tang is not charged, or really even suspected. Plus, it turns out the dead guy wasn't just some annoying customer, but a horrible person himself. It seems Lee Tang got lucky - and it seems this luck continues to follow him with every murder he commits. As he starts to be consumed by guilt, will Lee Tang's luck run out? Will the cops finally catch on to what he's doing? Or can Lee Tang manage to keep scraping by?

This drama was nearly comical even though it has a serious tone. A murder unknowingly kills horrible people, and always seems to get away with it in a superhero (or villain) style. Lee Tang is an interesting main character because he's so....normal. I think the one thing I really would have liked to see in this show is more tension between Lee Tang and the detective that's pursuing him. It seems like it would've really helped to round out the story, which I believe could have been done if they had had a bit more time. As much as I love shorter series, I think it's hard to do a complete crime show in just 8 episodes. That being said, I really enjoyed this one and thought it ended very well.

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Watch for OffGun

Cooking Crush was about what I expected it to be: a silly goofy gay romance. Don't go in expecting anything other than that, and it's a great watch. There might not be much in the way of drama, but boy is it cute and fun!

Prem (Gun) is a culinary student, who doesn't really stick out with his abilities, but does an okay job. When his sister loses her tuition money, Prem needs a way to get it back fast. Ten (Off) is a med student who decides he wants to learn to cook - but really, he just wants to be around Prem. Prem charges him an outrageous fee for cooking lessons, but Ten doesn't mind since his dad is wealthy. The two get closer during their cooking lessons, and feelings start to emerge between them, but it seems there will be some obstacles before they can be together.

If you like OffGun, you should watch this. It's really goofy, and no problems seem to be drawn out too long. Overall a good show and an easy watch.

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One of the better K-BLs I've seen

Love for Love's Sake surprised me a little! I had gotten a few clips of it on social media, specifically the fight scenes, and assumed it would be a high school romance with the classic K-drama-style bullying in it. When I started the show, I realized it was much more than that.

Our main character Myung-ha gets transported into what seems to be a video game, and sent back 10 years to when he was 19. The game gives him a mission: make Yeo-woon happy within 300 days, or receive a penalty of death. Myung-ha is able to see how much Yeo-woon likes him, which should be helpful, except for the fact that this score starts at -20. Myung-ha has to attempt to make Yeo-woon happy, but tragedy seems to strike at unexpected times. Myung-ha is simultaneously dealing with his own feelings towards Yeo-woon, as well as school-related issues now that he's in high school once again.

This show was much more emotional than I expected it to be, and it worked in its favor. I did find the ending to be not quite what I expected and not in the best way, but overall it was a super solid show that was very enjoyable to watch. The actors did a great job portraying these characters, and I feel like their growth worked really well even in this shorter series. My biggest complaint about the show was the Myung-ha got a bit frustrating to watch as the main character, as it seemed like he was always unwilling to deal with his own feelings, even if it would be to the benefit of everyone involved, including himself. It sometimes seemed like he didn't really like Yeo-woon all that much, even though the viewer can see he clearly does. Besides this, the show was a great watch and visually very pleasing. I thought the different aspect ratios used throughout the show helped to capture the emotions and the difference between the previous and current life that Myung-ha is living. As far as Korean BLs go, this is definitely one of the better ones!

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Another victim of the K-BL format

Nearly every Korean BL I watch has the exact same issue: not enough time. And this one is no exception. I was excited to watch this one as a fan of SF9, and was slightly disappointed to see such potential in a show that could never live up to it, due to the time limits that K BLs seem to always have.

Hanjoon has secretly been in love with his childhood best friend Yoojae for a long time now, but only truly realized it when he starts to get jealous that Yoojae is pursuing a girl. This brings out a lot of tension in their relationship, as both of them are quick to anger when it comes to issues with each other. It takes a long time for them both to realize that the reason they're always on edge with each other is because both of them are harboring more feelings than they thought, and neither of them know how to process it.

Each of these 15-20 minute episodes could have and should have been 45 min. There's a quick conflict in every episode, where the causes, conflict, and aftermath are never fully fleshed out. Plus, they attempted to give both characters complex family situations without having the time to do so properly. They either should have cut out some unnecessary conflicts to flesh out the characters, or lengthen the episodes to flesh out the conflicts. As is typical, there is truly no way to have multiple complex characters with multiple complex conflicts in a series with a total run time less than a movie. Frankly, a movie would have been better because at least it would have been one continuous storyline instead of 8 separate conflicts that they resolve in under 5 minutes. I was, however, pleasantly surprised by the acting of the main two. The tension and fights felt like real issues that 18-year-olds would have, and nothing about this show felt cheesy. A fun watch that I wouldn't recommend too highly.

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Perfect balance of fantasy and romance

My Demon surprised me with how well they managed to do a romance drama while still keeping the fantasy elements all the way through, and keeping an entertaining storyline. I will say that most of the twists were fairly predictable, but even still the story itself was very enjoyable to watch.

Jung Gu-won (Song Kang) plays a demon who makes deals with people in exchange for their soul. Additionally, he has powers that essentially make him invincible. Do Do-hee (Kim Yoo-jung) is the CEO's favorite potential successor of Mirae group, though she's the only non-blood related candidate. This naturally creates tension within the family of this corporation, and the lengths to which the other family members are willing to go to in order to destroy Do-hee become clear as the story progresses. When a twist of fate bring Gu-won and Do-hee together, they both reluctantly become reliant on each other, which leads to unexpected romance between them.

Overall, a great fantasy romance. They somehow managed to hit every romance trope and still pull off each one. The actors have great chemistry together, and the development of the relationship is well-paced and fun to watch.

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Supernatural thriller x emotional rollercoaster

(Reviewing the entire show here)
When I started death's game, I was fairly intrigued. The idea of a character being forced to live 12 lives that are destined to end quickly was an exciting plot idea, and I was curios to see where they could take it. As the show progresses, it gets more and more interesting.

Yee-jae's life seems to be clouded by misfortune. Without ever being able to catch a break, he decides to take his own life, only to be confronted by Death herself with a punishment that she sees fit: he must live as (and attempt to prevent the imminent death of ) 12 different people. But no matter how hard he tries to prevent them, the deaths seem completely unavoidable. Slowly, he realizes that the deaths he's facing seem to be related, and so he attempts to figure out this common denominator using the knowledge of all the lives he's lived. Naturally, Death doesn't want him messing around in her punishment, and is sure to make each death more painful than the last.

This show was much more emotional than I thought it would be, and I really enjoyed it. I thought that the way the episodes led into the next was well done, and it didn't feel like the tone shifted abruptly, but rather throughout each life Yee-jae lived, he seemed to learn more and become more empathetic. The cast was AMAZING and did an excellent job portraying these very different characters, while still conveying the same emotions that Yee-jae would have felt in every new situation. The ending was very well done, and wrapped up the show very nicely. It's a fairly short watch, and definitely worth taking a look at!

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Don't watch for the mafia plotline...

I almost wish I could rate this lower. The "gangster" aspects mostly involved a loose mafia plotline, complete with poorly choreographed fight scenes and a rivalry that made no sense. However, despite the lackluster gangster oppa plot, I found myself enjoying every single episode WAY more than I expected.

This show is fun. It's light, an easy watch, and unintentionally goofy. There's not too much drama between the couple over the course of the 8 episodes, which is ideal in a show like this. Tew (Meen) and Guy (Ping) meet while playing online games together and decide to meet up. The two totally hit it off and start hanging out together more regularly, which of course leads to them falling in love. However, Tew's attempts to hide his "gangster" identity don't go well, and this could put Guy in danger. I find mafia BLs to be hit or miss, especially when it comes to the action scenes. I don't typically expect a lot out of Thai BLs when it comes to that, but if you're going to do a gangster concept, I do think that's pretty important. While it may have missed the mark there, it made up for it in the cute and fun romance, which is worth watching.

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Short but Impactful

I was hesitant to watch this drama, mostly because I typically find myself not enjoying sci-fi kdramas too much. However, this one surprised me!!

In a bleak and dystopian future, the world (or at least S Korea) has been destroyed with little breathable oxygen left. A strict divide in social class leaves the top of the pyramid in a cushy, oxygen-filled environment and the refugees fending for themselves in a barely livable and barren landscape. Moving up the social ladder is impossible - unless you're a delivery driver. Sa-wol decides he will do his best to become a driver like the legendary 5-8, who seems to do his job and help refugees at the same time. However, the job is much more dangerous than it seems, and the people at the top seem to have no interest in helping those beneath them.

This short series depicts a not-so-new take on a dystopian future, but does so in a way that's very enjoyable to watch. Sa-wol is very committed to his dream of being a delivery driver and gets himself wrapped up in a mess bigger than he ever anticipated. Many plot points were totally under-explained, but overall for 6 episodes it was super solid. I think this would've worked better as an 8 or 10 episode drama, but still definitely worth the watch.

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Genuinely funny

Typically, jokes in BLs don't land well. Whether that's due to translation errors or the constant sound effects in unclear, but this one actually made me laugh. The humor in it was well done and the storyline felt super fresh. Having a show that tackles the toxicity of the BL industry while keeping the show mostly light and fun is impressive.

Gene is an author who is convinced into writing BL, even though he doesn't want to. To his surprise, his novel is such a big success that it's being adapted into a series. Gene is asked to come to the casting call where he meets the man who will play the lead in the series, Nubsib. Nubsib immediately falls for Gene. However, Nubsib is supposed to be acting as if he is in love with his costar Aoey - both on and off camera. This conflict between Nubsib's career and love life, as well as Gene's wish to stay out of the spotlight, cause tension between the developing relationship between Nubsib and Gene.

This show was a fun watch that never had me at the edge of my seat, but always kept me entertained. It was light, the romance was cute, and the actors did a great job portraying their characters. However, the classic episode 11 curse ruined the ending a bit for me, but mostly because I think it's over done and just not an enjoyable conflict to watch. Still, the show was worth the watch and a nice break from the university/engineer BLs.

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Nearly Great

MoD was a very enjoyable show to watch IF you're more invested in the storyline than the romance. There were so many scenes where the relationship should have developed more, but then there's a cut to the next scene! Max and Tul have such great chemistry together, and I honestly wish we could have seen a more gradual development of their relationship instead of kiss scenes that seem out of place and a lack of romance in the scenes that should have it.

The plot was really interesting and I enjoyed the crime aspect of the show a lot. I think things could have been sped up just a bit, but overall it was fairly well paced. The characters outside of the MaxTul were still super interesting to watch, and the viewer is kept on their toes trying to figure out what actually happened in the murder case. I think that this is a great watch, but the writing of the romance scenes was a little rough. Max and Tul were able to pull it off, but it could have been executed a lot better. Intertwining the romance and the crime plotlines in a way that didn't make either seem out of place would have made this show flow much better.

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Better than Cutie Pie!

Personally, I didn't like Cutie Pie. I thought the only good thing about that series was ZeeNu's chemistry. The plot was bad, let's be honest, and most people probably only watched it for the 18+ scenes. However, Cutie Pie 2 was honestly way better than I expected it to be. Still not a favorite of mine, but the conflicts were much more enjoyable than whatever happened in the first season. If you enjoyed Cutie Pie, you'd definitely like this. And if you're like me and just barely managed to get through the first season, you might still enjoy this if you liked Zee and Nunew.

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