hum
This review may contain spoilers
So unrealistic in many aspects. Bad acting from ML.
1. Unrealistic:
Let's get straight to the unacceptable points.
(1.1) The way the ML stares at the FL as if he has a lot on his mind but doesn't say anything—he literally stares all the time since they first met, before the FL got interested in him—is super creepy in real life. I don't think any girl in their right mind gonna fall for a guy who look psycho like that. Actually, I've met a guy who did just that before and it creeped me out. I couldn't reject him in the normal way. I had to think five folds to be sure he wouldn't feel offended and seek revenge instead. To be honest, he might not be that psycho, I didn't really know him since we only met one time, but I didn't want to know him more to make sure either. Staring at someone you're interested in like that doesn't make people want to be your friend. It scares them!
(1.2) During a championship match in Finland, the MCs start to talk about the athlete's love life right before her match. My gosh! How rude and inconsiderate! They don't consider at all how their public announcement on this personal matter of the athlete would affect the athlete psychologically during the game. And this is an international arena in Finland, where people don't have the culture to put their nose in other people's business, nor are they extroverts who like gossip—this is in no way expected to happen in Finland at all.
(1.3) The ML was kicked out of the club and eventually retired from the career when he was 16 years old... They cast a 12-year-old boy to play that role... -_- It's unconvincing. Later on, they also cast a 6 year-old to play a 2 year old boy... It's not believable!
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2. Bad acting of the main character:
The worst performance goes to the ML... I'm quite disappointed that he didn't do well. I watched him since he played Nirvana in Fire and always cheer for him. But after Nirvana in Fire, he gained significant public interest and transitioned to main lead roles super fast—which was too fast and too soon for him. He had to play many roles older than himself and he couldn't portray them properly. It's very obvious in this role. I see there're 2 main points of misinterpretation of the ML character by the actor, which are:
(2.1) Being mature means being stiff.
The actor was about 21-22 years old when he played this 27-29 year-old character, but this isn't a free-spirited 27-29 years old. The ML character is an orphan and was kicked out by his teacher in his teenage years. He lives on his own, reflects a lot on life and it shapes him to be a very determined person. The actor portrays this character just by being stiff—throughout the series, he maintains a stiff expression while not talking. It's as if he thinks being stiff equals being mature and cool. Additionally, many of his gestures, such as the way he points his fingers, uses his hands to make signs or tries to communicate with his eyes, are not natural at all. It's obvious he's not used to making those gestures and just pretends to look cool.
Watching him is like watching a teenager who wants to be an adult, so he straightforwardly imitates what an adult does to appear cool. Most of his gestures look forced. It's truly like a kid overexerting himself in trying to be cool. Watching him, I feel he's comical rather than cool, and I feel pity for him rather than enchanted.
Actually, there's another guy who acts quite the same as the ML thinking being stiff equals being mature and cool, but he has much less proportion of air time, so he's not as much annoying as the ML. That guy is the FL's brother.
(2.2) Being in love means being in heat.
Really, the ML acts like he's in heat all the time. It's as if he's prepared to have sex with the FL at the first blink each time they meet. His character is quiet, determined and self-controlled. So when he's on the verge of not being able to stop himself from getting the FL to the bed, it's like he's in heat and can't help it. He acts like a young boy affected by his hormones, driven by his sexual desire.
Actually, I hesitated a bit about whether to put this point under the topic of character design or acting, but I feel how these scenes become more sexual than romantic is more due to the actor's interpretation of the role. So, let's just put it here.
(Note about FL):
On the contrary, the actress who plays FL has done a very good job. Her nuance in acting is great. Her presence in the series is smooth and natural even in some of the over-cringey scenes.
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3. Shallow character design:
Both main leads have one-dimensional characters. There's nothing complicated about them. They're programmed to love each other without doubt, so they are very accepting of what the other does, even though it could be a red flag for normal people. For example, the ML like to control the FL. He orders food for FL without asking her preference and place it in front of her while she's having something else. He also buys train ticket, forcing her to travel to where she just came from (although with him) without asking her opinion as well. He even arranges his friend to be her tour guide without checking if she has her own plans. It's a troubling dynamic that lacks depth and realism, leaving much to be desired in terms of character development and relationship dynamics.
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4. Nothing in the story:
Finish watching it and I feel so empty. After 30 episodes and there's nothing to the point that I doubt if it's about promoting Finland tourism. I even wonder if the Finland Tourism Organization sponsored this series since they set it in Finland, one of the most expensive countries to live in in spite of having nothing much for sightseeing, as the location for more than half of the series (the first full 15 episodes take place in Finland and they still come back in the latter episodes). The only thing I get from this series is to see the very intimate kissing/hugging/flirting scenes of young actors/actresses who are the main leads as well as how the ML acts like he's in heat and wants sex with the FL all the time. So, if you're their fans, welcome. If you're not, it can get irritating.
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5. Messed-up timeline:
They're already confused and messing up the timeline for a few time.
For example, they say after the male lead's first comeback game for a year and a half, he moves back to China. That's supposed to be about 2 years after ML and FL first met. Two months after that, ML and FL go to Finland for FL's competition, but they say FL has competed in the arena before which was last year (=the same time when they first met.)
Another time toward the end, when the FL finds out she isn't pregnant, she asks why the ML looks happy. The ML says something along the line of when he was 22 years old, he knew so little, so if his life had stopped there, he wouldn't have become as successful as he is today. But they first met when the FL was 22. As of now should be more than 2 years after that. She can't be younger than 24 years old...
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6. Mundane music:
Their background music sounds mundane and lacks originality, esp. those used during all the competition scenes. They resemble free midi music found on the internet. It's like they simply use whatever they can find to fill the silence during those long scenes where people can't be talking. (And yes, those competition scenes are too long for each time. They use them to drag the length of the whole series.)
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Let's get straight to the unacceptable points.
(1.1) The way the ML stares at the FL as if he has a lot on his mind but doesn't say anything—he literally stares all the time since they first met, before the FL got interested in him—is super creepy in real life. I don't think any girl in their right mind gonna fall for a guy who look psycho like that. Actually, I've met a guy who did just that before and it creeped me out. I couldn't reject him in the normal way. I had to think five folds to be sure he wouldn't feel offended and seek revenge instead. To be honest, he might not be that psycho, I didn't really know him since we only met one time, but I didn't want to know him more to make sure either. Staring at someone you're interested in like that doesn't make people want to be your friend. It scares them!
(1.2) During a championship match in Finland, the MCs start to talk about the athlete's love life right before her match. My gosh! How rude and inconsiderate! They don't consider at all how their public announcement on this personal matter of the athlete would affect the athlete psychologically during the game. And this is an international arena in Finland, where people don't have the culture to put their nose in other people's business, nor are they extroverts who like gossip—this is in no way expected to happen in Finland at all.
(1.3) The ML was kicked out of the club and eventually retired from the career when he was 16 years old... They cast a 12-year-old boy to play that role... -_- It's unconvincing. Later on, they also cast a 6 year-old to play a 2 year old boy... It's not believable!
--------------------------------------------
2. Bad acting of the main character:
The worst performance goes to the ML... I'm quite disappointed that he didn't do well. I watched him since he played Nirvana in Fire and always cheer for him. But after Nirvana in Fire, he gained significant public interest and transitioned to main lead roles super fast—which was too fast and too soon for him. He had to play many roles older than himself and he couldn't portray them properly. It's very obvious in this role. I see there're 2 main points of misinterpretation of the ML character by the actor, which are:
(2.1) Being mature means being stiff.
The actor was about 21-22 years old when he played this 27-29 year-old character, but this isn't a free-spirited 27-29 years old. The ML character is an orphan and was kicked out by his teacher in his teenage years. He lives on his own, reflects a lot on life and it shapes him to be a very determined person. The actor portrays this character just by being stiff—throughout the series, he maintains a stiff expression while not talking. It's as if he thinks being stiff equals being mature and cool. Additionally, many of his gestures, such as the way he points his fingers, uses his hands to make signs or tries to communicate with his eyes, are not natural at all. It's obvious he's not used to making those gestures and just pretends to look cool.
Watching him is like watching a teenager who wants to be an adult, so he straightforwardly imitates what an adult does to appear cool. Most of his gestures look forced. It's truly like a kid overexerting himself in trying to be cool. Watching him, I feel he's comical rather than cool, and I feel pity for him rather than enchanted.
Actually, there's another guy who acts quite the same as the ML thinking being stiff equals being mature and cool, but he has much less proportion of air time, so he's not as much annoying as the ML. That guy is the FL's brother.
(2.2) Being in love means being in heat.
Really, the ML acts like he's in heat all the time. It's as if he's prepared to have sex with the FL at the first blink each time they meet. His character is quiet, determined and self-controlled. So when he's on the verge of not being able to stop himself from getting the FL to the bed, it's like he's in heat and can't help it. He acts like a young boy affected by his hormones, driven by his sexual desire.
Actually, I hesitated a bit about whether to put this point under the topic of character design or acting, but I feel how these scenes become more sexual than romantic is more due to the actor's interpretation of the role. So, let's just put it here.
(Note about FL):
On the contrary, the actress who plays FL has done a very good job. Her nuance in acting is great. Her presence in the series is smooth and natural even in some of the over-cringey scenes.
--------------------------------------------
3. Shallow character design:
Both main leads have one-dimensional characters. There's nothing complicated about them. They're programmed to love each other without doubt, so they are very accepting of what the other does, even though it could be a red flag for normal people. For example, the ML like to control the FL. He orders food for FL without asking her preference and place it in front of her while she's having something else. He also buys train ticket, forcing her to travel to where she just came from (although with him) without asking her opinion as well. He even arranges his friend to be her tour guide without checking if she has her own plans. It's a troubling dynamic that lacks depth and realism, leaving much to be desired in terms of character development and relationship dynamics.
--------------------------------------------
4. Nothing in the story:
Finish watching it and I feel so empty. After 30 episodes and there's nothing to the point that I doubt if it's about promoting Finland tourism. I even wonder if the Finland Tourism Organization sponsored this series since they set it in Finland, one of the most expensive countries to live in in spite of having nothing much for sightseeing, as the location for more than half of the series (the first full 15 episodes take place in Finland and they still come back in the latter episodes). The only thing I get from this series is to see the very intimate kissing/hugging/flirting scenes of young actors/actresses who are the main leads as well as how the ML acts like he's in heat and wants sex with the FL all the time. So, if you're their fans, welcome. If you're not, it can get irritating.
--------------------------------------------
5. Messed-up timeline:
They're already confused and messing up the timeline for a few time.
For example, they say after the male lead's first comeback game for a year and a half, he moves back to China. That's supposed to be about 2 years after ML and FL first met. Two months after that, ML and FL go to Finland for FL's competition, but they say FL has competed in the arena before which was last year (=the same time when they first met.)
Another time toward the end, when the FL finds out she isn't pregnant, she asks why the ML looks happy. The ML says something along the line of when he was 22 years old, he knew so little, so if his life had stopped there, he wouldn't have become as successful as he is today. But they first met when the FL was 22. As of now should be more than 2 years after that. She can't be younger than 24 years old...
--------------------------------------------
6. Mundane music:
Their background music sounds mundane and lacks originality, esp. those used during all the competition scenes. They resemble free midi music found on the internet. It's like they simply use whatever they can find to fill the silence during those long scenes where people can't be talking. (And yes, those competition scenes are too long for each time. They use them to drag the length of the whole series.)
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