4
10
1
2
This review may contain spoilers
skip episodes 3 and 4
Overall: the first two episodes were cute and promising but it went downhill in the 3rd and 4th episodes and it just couldn't recover. They combined 5 of the TikTok episodes into each longer YouTube episode. Aired 7 episodes about 30 minutes each on the Puregold YouTube channel (from what I gather Puregold is a grocery store chain in the Philippines)Content Warnings: non con video recording and posting, past death
What I Liked
- a few central characters
- the dad (initially)
- that they explained the word Plantito towards the beginning (a guy who likes plants/gardening)
- cockroach scene
- eventually explained about Mico's sister
- Mico's abs
Room For Improvement
- they needed to show why Mico and Charlie liked one another, more bonding moments and less Bianca time
- before my rant, I need to say that video recording someone against their will and publicly posting it could get a survivor of intimate partner violence killed
- disliked several characters in eps 3 and 4, I was enjoying Charlie's dad but then his answer to Charlie's illegal actions was 'don't worry if you get sued I'll get you a good lawyer' like WTH?!? Charlie was obsessed with making money but we didn't have any real indication that they are poor until episode 6 so he came across as very self-centered/materialistic. Bianca gave awful advice but Charlie was a grown adult and could make his own decisions. And after being rightfully yelled at, Charlie didn't even do what was instructed (he hid them instead of deleting them which are not the same thing). Then he wallowed in self pity. He didn't seem sad about missing a chance to date Mico, more that he wouldn't be popular/make money with his vlog
- kind of a dig with the comment that his neighbor seemed too big to be a trans man in episode 1
- hiring Charlie as a social media manager made zero sense
- rushed ending
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short and sweet BL series
Overall: this is a small production with some rough subs, but definitely worth a watch. Watched on YouTube https://youtu.be/2DDL0oXS9UsContent Warnings: manipulation, maybe colorism (he says 'dark bastard' in ep 1 but the translations aren't great so maybe it wasn't translated correctly)
What I Liked
- the OST is really good and they have a MV of the two leads singing it
- funny and cute moments
- that puppy was adorable
- good continuity with injury, i.e. he wasn't healed the next scene or day
- the setting/cinematography at the end with them sitting on the rock was really nice
Room For Improvement
- there are some non logical things, like not untangling keychains right then or the cliche thing in the final episode
- too many comedy sound effects
- the subs are pretty rough/missing, but it's enough so you know what's happening and I appreciate that they did add subs
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This review may contain spoilers
not a fluffy series like the trailer indicated
Overall: I had to adjust my mindset when the first episode took a dark turn towards the end. Although the series had promise, it had too many characters/plot points with not enough run time. Watched on Gagaoolala.Content Warnings: (not between m/m ship) stalking, non con taking photos, violence, manhandling, teacher/student relationship between side characters
What I Liked
- some cute moments
- the opera music on their date
- the release schedule of 1 episode a day for 6 days, makes it easy to binge if wanted
- production value
Room For Improvement
- the idiocy of not telling the police right away (also that they all relax and think it's solved when it's not...)
- why does Ro-A like Ji-Woo, we don't even see a "love at first sight" scene (we finally see one in episode 5, I'm still not satisfied)
- love triangle/s
- weird plot with the other female classmate and the professor
- super cliche ending makes me want them not to be together
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30% Eating, 70% Traveling, 85% Win Being An Immature Jerk (YouTube version)
Overall: this is yet another plot where a 1 minute conversation would have cleared up poor communication. It is especially infuriating because the two people involved have been lifelong best friends... Watched on YouTube (the re-edited by director Aof)Content Warnings: off screen side character death in flashback, manhandling, punch/kick, non con touching (sleeping), non con? touch/kiss (using another body)
What I Liked
- the intro animation/sequence
- the cute moments
- the funny moments
- Korn did 1 smart thing regarding the water
Room For Improvement
- Win is a jerk and unfortunately did not have character growth. Grieving does not give you the right to scream at people and drag them around.
- the misogyny of constantly portraying Lin's body as weak (she can't even drive a car?!) If they had explained that she had a chronic illness then this would have been fine, but instead, her body is continually referred to as weak. Also, I didn't like how the pms was portrayed, it feeds into stereotypes that all women become very emotional when having their period (which apparently lasts 1 day lol). While some people do become more emotional, for many women you don't even know they are having their period... They could have just stuck with the painful cramps.
- the cliche miscommunication/lack of communication, and saying "you know how I feel" is NOT the same as actually saying how you feel
- non logical things (there is no one else on the farm that knows how to do that procedure??? The doctor couldn't find a short video on youtube and do that???)
- stupid decisions by several characters
- mom's instant forgiveness
- this truly awful line/sentiment "you have to listen to the older generation and when they are gone you can do what you want" (but younger generations have to live with the consequences of the older generations decisions, ugh)
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a cute short movie
Overall: a writer is told his poem? script? isn't honest and his friend tries to help himContent Warnings: internalized homophobia
What I Liked
- there was some nice piano music
- come cute moments
Room For Improvement
- it isn't clear what their relationship is at the beginning, I guessed that they were platonic friends but that could have been made more clear
- I wasn't sure if everything we saw actually happened, or if some of it was in his imagination
- some of the lighting was too dark
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This review may contain spoilers
short and sweet
Overall: A soft 25 minute story about a college tutor and his high school tutee. You can find this on YouTube.Content Warning: under 18 (assuming, but he could have been 18) and an over 18 year old. Personally, this didn't bother me as their age gap is two or three years and the younger one made the first move.
What I Liked
- the montage to show that time had passed and they became friends
- I didn't like how it came about, but I actually liked the direction this went and was fine with the ending
- that Tone was clear about his sexual orientation (though the word wasn't subbed, I can guess what it said), but sad he showed internalized homophobia
- Pun doesn't say a lot at the end, but when you think carefully about how he was struggling with school, how he must have worked hard and then selected that college, it says quite a bit
Room For Improvement
- although I kind of understand the sister's reaction, I wish she would have been honest with her brother. Instead, she flat out lies to him when he asks her if she said anything to Tone. She didn't want to be the "bad guy" and made it so it looked like Tone was the jerk. Thankfully, Pun wasn't a moron and saw through things.
- the subtitles have errors but you can understand what is going on, from 15:20-16 the subtitles are missing, turn on auto translate from the Korean subs to English and it works or check the comments
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Cute 15 min film
Overall: short & sweet. Able to watch on GagaOOLala for free https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/3498/delivery-boy-2019 and also officially on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CL6MbI2dHzwContent Warnings: none
What I Liked
- fun jokes/lines such as, I'll bring the glue to put together your broken heart
- the symmetry of Eric wearing the jacket at the end that Chun Ho wore at the beginning
- loved the song he danced to towards the beginning
- his friend Jasper is amazing and that last shot is hilarious
Room For Improvement
- it would have been fun if Eric actually spoke the language and heard what the Chun Ho said when the bag of oranges fell (and we find that out later on)
- some improbable moments/lines
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cooking and cuteness (please give fans an international release)
Overall: I was hooked right away on the characters and their dynamic. 10 episodes about 25 minutes each. No official international release.Content Warning: kind of non con pulling, spying, attempted violence
What I Liked
- clear premise
- their dynamic
- sweet moments
- the food/cooking
- interesting characters
- *supportive friends
Room For Improvement
- wish what happened the end of 8 had happened an episode or 2 earlier so we could have seen a character's conversation with his dad on screen instead of off screen and also instead of a montage at the end we should have seen those scenes play out
- not clear about how much time passed in episode 9 but I was frustrated with 1 character's indecision for what felt like a longer amount of time
- *the friend overstepped boundaries and took up too much screentime, it wasn't funny that they were basically stalking their friend
- repeated misleading cliffhanger endings
- sick from the rain trope
- the final press kiss, I was fine with the earlier one but the last one seemed a tad too chaste given their relationship at that point
- (neutral) a love rival but thankfully handled it well
- unfortunately there was no international release (didn't take off points)
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family bonds and tension
Overall: this was a well done short movie (30 minutes.) Aired on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/7383/already-know-but-2024I was annoyed by every character at least once; however, their actions were realistic and it ended in a solid place. I can see why the mom didn't apologize for all the pain she caused her son by not being honest with him. It would have been nice for her to recognize that and verbalize it, but many parents never do that.
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vertical series with a supportive ML
Overall: I rated this against other vertical series. Originally aired on DramaWave, 1-3 free, 30 episodes in total. Later aired on iQIYI app.What I Liked
- awesome how an IT major was also into make up and he had cool accessories
- natural flow/progression to their relationship
- supportive ML/didn't let others bully him
- good confession
- visuals
- the ending
Room For Improvement
- cliche accidental kiss
- was odd they didn't show them as kids, maybe due to budget restraints
- a dead fish lip press
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needed to center on the leads (watch suggestions)
Overall: needed more focus on the leads' relationship development and for both of them to not be so wishy-washy. 8 episodes about 20 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala (not in US, Canada, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Columbia, Argentina, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, UK, Spain, Portugal, Japan or South Korea) https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/5085/heart-stain-2025-e01 ; iQIYI (guessing most of the countries not covered by Gaga) https://www.iq.com/play/ouzi1rg5sc and Heavenly (South Korea).Content Warning: bullying, homophobia
Watch Suggestions
- watch episodes 1 & 2
- episode 3 watch 1:30-4, 14:30-15:50 and 18:15-23
- episode 4 watch 10:50-12:40
- episode 5 watch 20:45-end
- episode 6 watch beginning-13 and 19:15-20:10
- can skip episode 7 or watch 3-4:40
- episode 8 watch 10:30-15:40 and 20-23:55 (can watch until the end but I think their plan is stupid/sad)
What I Liked
- clear premise
- supportive friend
- fast pacing
- sweet moments
- he knew it wasn't good/would cause problems
- no dead fish lip press
Room For Improvement
- not a fan of the intro for episode 1
- exposition dumps
- spent way too much time on the teacher and so bizarre the teacher didn't respond clearly right away, he gave creepy vibes but I don't think he was supposed to
- throwing in the bully character instead of focusing more on the main leads, also didn't understand why the bully waited to say something for so long
- a trope in episode 6
- one character came across as desperate and the other came across as cruel/insincere, he was even hot/cold in episode 7 where one scene he says he doesn't know if he likes him and the next scene he says he really likes him
- refusal to answer calls/texts/communicate
- the time jump and their "plan" at the very end of episode 8
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cute vertical short series
Overall: this was a slice of life micro series with a satisfying ending. Watched for free on Shortime (took about 3 days). 31 episodes less than 2 minutes each. Shortime (app info below) also has Please Teach Me, The Secrets of Male Students and Buddy Boy. My referral link is https://playground.shortime.en/invite/NKNIWI (all letters) and it should get you a bonus.Content Warnings: non con picture taking, mention of past abuse
What I Liked
- cute moments
- chuckled a few times
- perspective switch
- non cliche female character
Room For Improvement
- more moments after they clearly communicated with each other
Shortimes App Information - Each episode costs 20 popcorn, 4 episodes are free and 27 need to be unlocked, need 540 popcorn to watch the whole series, you can't skip locked episodes and they will re-lock
My Watch For Free Plan (updated Jan 2025)
(on the popcorn rewards page) check in = 5 (increases over 7 days up to 25)
(on the popcorn rewards page, go to the very bottom of the page) = 110, watch all 10 ads each day, have to wait 30 seconds in between ads
(on the popcorn rewards page) turn on notifications = 30 (1 time bonus)
My referral link is https://playground.shortime.en/invite/NKNIWI (all letters) and it should get you a bonus.
(I did create a login because otherwise you only get 1 Always Win box instead of 3 per day)
3 random popcorn from the daily Always Win box = 35 (I'd normally get 5-15, around 30 in total)
watch 5 episodes each day with ads
- there are other 1 time bonuses like following on social media so you might be able to finish in 2 days instead of 3 if you did more of the bonuses
Day 1 watch 1-4 (free), 5-16; Day 2 watch 17-28; Day 3 watch 29-30
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This review may contain spoilers
The Hidden/Slow Plot (cut version) - watch suggestions
Overall: the first episode made me intrigued but it devolved into a non thrilling/confusing mess. Aired 10 episodes about 45 minutes each on WeTV https://wetv.vip/en/play/17g7rz51mczkxkf-The%20Hidden%20Moon/a4100mvcw5u-EP01A%3A%20The%20Hidden%20Moon (uncut episodes were about 10 minutes longer)Content Warnings: death, attempted suicide, sexual assault/rape?, self harm, scary images, violence, blood, mental health struggles, choking
Watch Suggestions (suggest watching the cut version except where noted, this focuses on sweet moments between the leads)
- watch episode 1
- episode 3 watch part 2 beginning-3; part 3 beginning-1:15, all of part 4
- episode 4 watch all of part 1; part 2 start at 7:12; part 3 beginning-4 and all of part 4
- watch episode 5 part 1 4:30-end
- watch all of episode 6 uncut, they cut out kissing/implied sex
- episode 7 watch part 1 16-end, part 3 3:40-end and can watch all of part 4
- episode 8 watch part 1 before the credits for a quick kiss (uncut version has a longer kiss but it's more of a dead fish lip press) and 12:20-13:15
- skip episode 9
- watch episode 10 uncut from 40:20-43
What I Liked
- intriguing premise with mystery/horror/supernatural elements
- at least they asked why the ghost sensitive one wasn't seeing them
- sweet moments especially in episode 6
- supportive mom
- some of the production value* (the off key music at the end and then the music at the end was especially fitting)
Room For Improvement
- *choppy at times (even in the uncut version it felt a little choppy)
- confusing and slow plot
- Khen and a friend had several moments that made me ship them which was especially bad because the other ML wasn't introduced until the very end of ep 1 (this was less an issue in the cut version)
- odd that a character went from trying to kill another character to suddenly liking him and then back to hating him, did not feel chemistry between the leads
- did not care at all about the drama in the past and it was confusing because a character made it sound like she didn't want something but then she seemed to want that when she talked to her friend later
- I was going to give this a 7 but the very confusing/rushed finale/dead fish lip press dropped it to a 5 (the uncut adds 9 minutes at the end but it basically shows Mas and Khen almost meeting and how Khen was recruited to join the rest of the group and go to that house, they aren't together
- the idea that Mas would watch reincarnated Khen grow up and then get together with him when he was 40 and Khen was 20 was icky (this is how the cut version ended)
Episode 1 cut ~43 minutes vs uncut ~57 minutes (the removal of the following scenes may have added to choppiness but it was good to have less romance coded moments between Khen and another character and that they reduced the sing-along)
- parts 1 & 4 didn't notice any changes
- beginning of part 2 they cut a scene when they are back at the house, a brief group conversation, then Khen brings sweets and chats with the housekeeper
- in part 2 they cut a scene where the group is by a river, a character tells Khen that he senses a spirit hanging around him and then a library scene where Khen is trying to find additional info about the house, later cut out them doing additional research
- in the beginning of part 3 they cut down some of the singing/camping stuff
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Bad Guy & Angry/Sad Guy
Overall: this was difficult to rate. I really disliked the plot and the characters but everything was executed extremely well. 4 episodes about 10 minutes each. Aired on SUKFILM's YouTube channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYfaogVGCvwRtjaJ9-6V6InWnPJxR5z5U&si=sa6ViMn1SRginwgl Channel members get additional kissing scenes.Content Warnings: non con kiss
What I Liked
- clear premise
- visuals
- acting
- production value*
Room For Improvement
- *they needed to turn down or remove the music when characters were speaking because it was distracting
- I actively did not want characters together, I had zero faith they would stay together happily ever after
- a character said the other queer character was pretending to be normal which implied that being queer is abnormal which I do not believe to be true
- it was understandable that a character was upset but saying they wouldn't let another character go was cliche and annoying
- the end was kind of open, wondering if they will do a part 2
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promising start let down by the writing
Overall: I enjoyed the more realistic vibe, but the writing didn't work for me. Aired on Team Campy Entertainment YouTube channel. 7 episodes broken up into two parts each, each episode was about 20 minutes long.Content Warnings: racism, beaten up off screen
What I Liked
- realistic parts (being annoyed at someone talking on the phone in the bathroom)
- funny parts, like that he wore a suit (although who wouldn't ask what the job was???)
- sweet/cute moments
Room For Improvement
- that was too harsh of a way to start a series
- too much overlap/showing old scenes between the parts and the episodes
- Andre was an unlikable character (especially in episode 6) and I didn't really like Joshua either, I didn't feel their chemistry/relationship build up
- story threads/characters dropped like the dad
- the sister exposition dump
- loud, constant background music (and mostly the same music)
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