A good cute story

First things first, a warning about this drama is that there is a lack of attention to detail. Just small things like, ‘how is he not wet after being in the rain’ or ‘what happened to those cuts from five minutes ago’. There are also parts where some actions lack explanation for example, ‘how does bunny’s dad have people that beat people up. what is his occupation’.

Also there is a situation where solo is drugged and almost raped by a woman and it’s just ignored. I didn’t like that but as far as I’m concerned it’s because she ran out of the building and got hit by a bus....

SoloGui:
I know people love the side couple, but SoloGui where definitely my favourite. They have a relationship built on mutual respect and honesty so they appear to be perfect, but no relationship is perfect and the flaw of their relationship I’d say is transparency. To explain, when Solo fall in love with Guitar, he falls hard. Gui was his entire happiness, all that mattered was Gui and because of this he doesn’t really think about much else and by that I mean his fiancé. He honestly never loved her because he loves Gui but he just didn’t say anything about it. He should have at least warned Gui about her. Same with when he just disappeared. However I liked that Solo never actually lied to Gui.

PhuKao:
This relationship was fifty shades of pure fluff. it was just really wholesome and cute. At first the bunny thing was pretty weird and cheesy to watch, but it eventually grew on me and I enjoyed it a lot. As they where a side couple they never had any real conflict with each other, so I wasn't that emotionally invested in them. So, when we learn that Phu needs to go to England I didn't expect it to hurt that much lol. but it did.

Kao was also the most supportive friend even when he was missing Phu, which I find so amazing. He is really the perfect friend.

PetchKhimPerthKhem (ugh):
This whole love square thing was an absolute mess. It really made no sense .
Dr. Perch has THE MOST punchable face I’ve ever seen OMG I’ve never been so frustrated. He has got to be the most useless excuse for a doctor how this idiot got a medicine degree is beyond me. He hurts and lies to so many people without even realising how much harm he’s done.
At the start I really didn’t like Khim because she didn’t know how to respect peoples boundaries and would invaded people's space, which I hope was the production mocking the fans that behave like this in real life. I think there was some development in her character, because at the end she seemed to have changed.

Initially the acting of the main couple felt quite awkward, but as the story progressed their acting, as well as their chemistry improved greatly.

I loved the ending of this drama so bloody much. Solo finally fixes his relationship with his father, and he is finally with Gui and their stepson*insert giggle*.
In the last episode, where Solo came to the farewell party and Gui kissed him on the cheek and ran away.... that was by far my favourite moment of the drama. The smile on GUI’s face was so authentic and it felt so real .

Lastly what I love of this series is the OST and sound effects. I don’t know if it’s just me but I love being surrounded by music like I can’t even sleep without listening to music so I really liked that and the intro was perfect. I literally never skipped it .

To conclude if you just want a ‘lightly sweetened’ series with many fluffy cute moments I definitely recommend this one. But be warned!! If you stay to the end it gets stressful as the main drama happens from about ep 10 before then it’s literally all the calm before the storm.

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Binge for maximum enjoyment

This is a drama that you must binge to fully enjoy, if you think too deeply about each episode you will find it hard to ignore the mediocre writing. But if you binge it, you will find yourself having a lot of fun.

THE STORY:
Honestly, there is nothing particularly special about this story. Ra yi eon is a noble man who is chosen to become an inspector. He meets Jo yi a newly divorced woman who wants to find her mother who returned from Qing.
They work together and eventually focus on bringing justice to the late crown prince, yi eon’s best friend who died unjustly.

What I appreciate about this story is that it contains some of the most ridiculously funny moments I’ve watched in a long time, meanwhile it never undermines the severity of certain situations, such as how woman and children were suffering due to the war.

A criticism is that the actual inspecting wasn’t believable. Most of what happened was due to either luck or the other sides oversight.
Another issue with the story is that it doesn’t give proper attention to a specific plot line. They are always sidetracked into talking about other things. Because if this, the drama began to feel more like an everyday family type drama, with multiple things circulating at once.

THE ACTING:
There was nothing wrong with the acting, the main cast and the villains played their roles as they should. No complaints there.
The heroines felt like heroines and the villains felt like villains (Do soo was particularly creepy I must say).

My favourite character was Tae Soo, he was given the most detailed character set up, from his villain origin to his redemption. His story received lot of the attention from the production, and was seemingly going to play a large part in the final retribution of the main villains, however it just didn’t. That was majorly disappointing and pretty random.


THE MUSIC:
The timing of the music was great to add to the comedic aspect. The OST itself was weirdly entertaining and I definitely liked it.

Good points:
- The chemistry of the whole group was great and so enjoyable to watch. In my opinion, this is what made the drama so entertaining to watch.

- the comedic timing of the whole cast was perfect. I found myself howling in laughter on many occasions.

- I loved how unconventional the characters were. Jo Yi and Yi Eon both new they liked each other however they both saw no need to be married, in fact Jo yi was adamant on not getting married as she enjoys her freedom as a non married woman and Yi Eon seemed to just simply not want marriage. Despite this they still planned to live together as life partners. Although this mindset it pretty unrealistic to the time period it was nice to see.

- There where important conversations about the way women and children had to suffer both with being taken to Qing as well as how they where ridiculed on their return.

- rather than having the big showdown and only seeing a short happy ending, we got a full episode worth of a happy ending. Episode 16 was dedicated to closing loose ends and seeing everyone thoroughly happy.


WARNINGS:
- I already mentioned this but the ‘inspecting’ looked like child’s play. Yi Eon was pretty much always one step behind the villains so realistically he’d never have won.

- The downfall of the big villains was ok but not satisfying enough if that makes sense. They suffered and definitely paid, but it feels like something was missing.

Story wise this drama should be a 8.0/10 or a 7.5/10 if you’re feeling harsh, however the enjoyment and laughter I experienced makes me feel it deserves a bit of an inflated rating.

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‘Didn’t give what is was supposed to gave’

Firstly, this show was watchable for the sole fact that I am a shallow woman that likes to look at attractive men.

Honestly I technically only watched up to episode 9, however I’m marking it as completed as I basically watched that last episodes through edits and I’m not willing to actually finish it alone.

The plot - the plot for this show had a lot of potential, it was meant to be about how the past can come back to haunt you. However it just turned into a huge medley of s*x and past mistakes that weren’t even mentioned directly (all the ‘men’ from fiats past just turned out to be bad people).

The acting - the acting of this show was satisfactory at best, the cast is clearly made up of new actors that require practice. It was clear that the cast was following a script word for word because even the way they moved felt scripted. Like after a emotional/seggsy moment they will deliberately walk to sit right in the middle of the camera frame. It just looked very unnatural.

Pros -
- In the first half I enjoyed the cute moment between both leads. The second leads in particular.

- LeoFiat have amazing chemistry, (so do LeonPob) especially they’re seggsual chemistry.

- They’re story started weak but i grew to really love LeonPob.

- I can’t think of anything else *face palms* but I will say I like in the very beginning the use of inclusive language “to all the boys, girls and non binary’s” “he’s pansexual”. There was acknowledgment of other identities and sexualities which isn’t common in Bl dramas especially the pansexual part. They’re usually either gay for you or straight lol.

Cons -

- The character Fiat plays one of the most complex characters of this series, therefore the role is significantly harder to act well. Although I definitely saw First (the actor) as Fiat, this role significantly displayed his lack of acting skill/talent/ability. Despite this I couldn’t see anyone else act as Fiat.

- Leo’s character is 2 dimensional. He’s the perfect rich guy with a perfect face and perfect house. He exists only to be with Fiat.

- The script was cheaply written resulting in many contradictory actions/behaviour.

- This is the productions fault 100% but they failed at creating a lasting tension/intrigue for me. The next episode preview and highlights and trailers basically reveal everything that will happen leaving not much to be desired.

- The start and finish of most/all plot lines are rushed, so there isn’t a nice build up, developed story or satisfying resolution.

- The seggsy scenes are hot, don’t get me wrong but there were too many for me to enjoy it. Every single episode has a scene or at least a kiss and this actually made the future scenes get more boring for me. Especially since there wasn’t much variation in the bedroom roles. By this I mean, Leo is the perfect, nice top that gets seduced and Fiat is the sultry seducer bottom that initiates. Except maybe the last episode, Fiat initiates every sexual encounter and has to seduce Leo for him to be into it. It almost feels like he wouldn’t be sexually attracted without the seduction part.

- This isn’t a huge deal but I’m not a fan of the overall look of the drama. The lighting, outfits (red suit at the end was beautiful tho) etc all look fake and unnatural. Even when Leo’s mum cooks for them it looks so fake, they’re in a kitchen that looks like an IKEA display.

- We never once met one of Fiat’s regular one night stands. The few we met he never slept with and where bad people. Why? I believe this is due to the concept of ‘out of sight, out of mind’ - Leo repetively says he doesn’t care about Fiat’s past only because he has only met the few bad ones. What would happen if he saw the regular ones, the decent ones? Cause to be fair, there wasn’t anything wrong with Fiat sleeping around, as long as everyone’s consented.

If you want the same aesthetics and writing style of ThanType season 2, without the blunt/clear toxicity, then I suggest this drama. Although the plot is different the way it was written in terms of progression and depth I’d pretty much the same. The show moves seemingly quickly with some big conflict but the actual main conflict is officially started and finished within the last couple episodes.

It was kind of shocking how similar the writing was for these to dramas. What do u expect when they’re written by such a person?

Overall I’m pretty upset with this show, it had real potential to talk about past mistakes and their influence on later relationships, but Instead it fell flat on its face and still missed the point. This isn’t a surprise considering the writer. (All her stories are like this although I liked some, I admit that they too missed the real overall point of the plot - imagine missing the point of your own writing…sad!)

And this is a small extra but if we where to analyse Leo, I don’t think he’d pass as a perfect, healthy to be with boyfriend IMO.

Another extra lol, but the ending for both couples should have been switched cause I’m not having it.

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I started watching Bad buddy once 5 episodes had aired, I binged them all and have been keeping up with it weekly ever since.

And what I will say is…..I loved it!

STORY:
What I strongly appreciate is that the writer and producer of this show made the logistics of Pat and Pran’s relationship from rivals to lovers make actual sense (did they hate each other or did their parents tell them to hate each other?). Pat and Pran both have strong logic in their actions and words.
Not just them but everyone, their behaviour makes sense and most of the times is understandable, whether it’s justified or not.

It feels like if the plot ever happened in real life it would play out like this.

What I loved the most about the main couple is their dynamic, there is none of that Top/bottom, husband/wife, heteronormativity, ‘I’m not gay I just like you’ stuff. In fact it’s actually called out on various occasions.

ACTING/CAST:
Actors that can act is unfortunately a rarity within the bl industry, but I can confidently say that the main couple in bad buddy can act. In fact they can’t just act but they can act believably, they can make you understand what they are feeling, why they are feeling it and make you feel it too.
I’ve seen some of Ohm (Pat) and Nanon’s (Pran) previous works and I will say they are truly talented actors and it’s an all time talent, not just with each other. They could make chemistry with goats.

You put two 10s together and you get 20.

In terms of the rest of the cast. I will say that some are weaker but the shockingly good main couple, have all your attention.

Something I’m glad they didn’t include is the enemies to lovers ‘ship’ that is popular on social media. Without spoiling too much their dynamic even after reconciliation did not suite that of a romantic relationship at all!!!

MUSIC:
If I have to pick out the best aspect of this drama it will be the music. All of it. The songs ‘just friends’ and ‘our song’ just elevated the whole watching experience for me.

FRIENDLY WARNING:
- this drama isn’t drenched in endless spice **side eyes THAT drama knowingly** but there is some….enough to take your breath away. Literally! I don’t think I breathed once in THAT scene.

-Now that the drama is fully aired this is easy, but I advise binging the drama in one go to feel all the emotions the fullest extent. After 6-7 weeks of chasing the drama, I found that the excitement and heart constricting passion for this show dwindled…..don’t get me wrong I still loved it but having whole weeks in-between each episode doesn’t work for me.

- This show isn’t perfect as a whole, that is almost impossible, at least for me, but this show was dam near close.

- this show is emotionally charged: anger, love, passion, every damn thing.
It doesn’t help that so much happens every episode that at the end, my chest wants to implode once it realises I’ve been sentenced to another week of waiting as if I didn’t already know I’d have to wait.

- The focus is the main couple so although there is a second (GL) couple they don’t get much attention, am I mad that I got more PatPran scenes, I can’t say I am.

To conclude, a note to further encourage you to watch this show:

“Please make me beg for my life”

*Whispers* Watch it!!!

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*very minor spoilers*

I skipped almost every episode of this drama., not necessarily because it was bad but because at the end of day, this drama is your typical high school love triangle romance kdrama. The only difference is that all the characters (excluding 1) are boys at an all boys school.

The cast in general have a collective problem with their acting. They underact. I mean this very literally, they aren’t necessarily bad or unbelievable but they all speak in this slow mellow tone and have minimal facial expressions (excluding the hilarious Namgoong). However this is better than overacting as you can still believe the story. Acting improved toward the end I will say.

Pros -
+ the main lead, Taegyeong, is not a pushover AT ALL! he’s incredibly clear and honest with himself which is what attracts his suitors. He says what he thinks all throughout the drama.
+ the love interests: Da on is genuinely nice and caring and Shinwoo starts of cold but quickly becomes adorable. Both men are at different stages of accepting who they are which I like because it adds depth to the characters. But they're both equally as kindhearted and genuine. Shinwoo has fully accepted himself whereas da on has only just realised and begun his journey to self acceptance.
+Namgoong ( go woo jin) was the funny friend. He was also the friend that always new what was happening to everyone and what to say to comfort you.
+ short and sweet

Cons -
- slow. The plot itself isn’t slow but the actors are. They walk really slowly, they speak slowly, they move slowly. Everything they physically do is done slowly. Literally!!
- I already mentioned but the underacting.
- the random girl that kept appearing at the all boys school lol. I hated her, she had a redemption arc and she genuinely changed at the end but what she did is what I consider to be one of the biggest betrayals you can do to a friend for the sake of your own satisfaction.
- there wasn’t any consistency/flow with the episodes. By this I mean that the episode don’t feel as though they connect. Every episode starts abruptly with something completely different from how the previous episode ended. So when ur binging you feel as though you’re missing something.



To finish off. It’s not really my thing which explains my lack of enthusiasm but it wasn’t bad at all. It’s probably one of the better high school love triangle dramas. So if you tend to enjoy other dramas in the genre.l you’ll like this one.
For me, watching this drama was totally worth it just for the ending. I was incredibly satisfied with the ending which is why I slightly inflated my rating to 7.5 instead of 7. It’s that ending where the writers clearly know who (at the time) deserves taegyeong and what the audience want to see because they delivered.

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Thanks for coming into my life

This drama made me laugh just as hard as it made me cry my eyes out. 10/10 would recommend.


What a painfully perfect way to start 2024. I loved this drama from start to finish so I want to sing its praises since it’s not often I binge a 40 episode c-drama and don’t feel I’ve totally just wasted my time.

The plot is both simple, easy to understand whilst also being pretty complicated, as it talks about the intricacies of human relationships in relations to royal families, war, politics, found family and of course romance. There were beautifully executed fight scenes, tearful moments and very unexpectedly funny scenes. Like I had moment where I’d burst out into laughter after a scene being completely unexpected.

Every person in this drama has a personality, they all have feelings and emotions that justify their beliefs and decisions. There’s no saintly good person, and there’s no blindly evil character.

Now, onto the main couple, Ning Yuanzhou and Ren Ruyi. Their acting both as individuals and a couple was amazing. The chemistry was passionate and strong, and they were just as strong alone. Their relationship was built on mutual love and respect for one another and it remained that way throughout. I loved their romantic build up, the actual relationship and the way it progressed, I was in love with absolutely everything about their love.

Ruyi, our fl, is badass personified. A strong, powerful assassin to the end, and she was never made to appear weak or incapable due to falling in love. If anything love made her a more thoughtful, impactful person.
Ning Yuanzhou, the ml, is also a strong person who values deep human relationships above all else. He never wavers when it come to defending his family, even if that means staring down the fricking emperor. The respect he has for Ruyi was so swoonworthy and cute, I was quite literally kicking my feet and giggling whilst being slightly upset that he is a fictional character.

I mean where does one find a man who sees me as an individual, and constantly encourages, loves and supports me no matter what, whilst also being outrageously fine af (I say as someone with 0 experience lol). I can’t put it into words how perfect this man was to me. *tearful emoji*

On another hand, the entire cast of the drama were enjoyable. Nobody bored me and although some did annoy me, it just added to the enjoyability of the whole drama.

The extensive soundtrack of this drama was flawlessly beautiful. It was impactful, perfectly timed and honestly just sounded amazing.

To conclude, 40 episodes wasn’t enough. For my piece of mind, I need at least another episode so I can see in detail how everyone’s lives turned out. (Preferably another like 10 episodes but that’s pretty unlikely ik lol).

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Where were the lays???

Between us is essentially the remake of the bl classic ‘until we meet again’ in the point of view of the side couple WinTeam.

I enjoyed but didn’t love ‘until we meet again’ so I wasn’t particularly excited or expecting much form this sequel. I guess since I has no expectations I found myself really enjoying this series. Its enjoyable despite its flaws, and in fact it made BounPrem one of my favourite ships.


The story -

‘Between us’ presents a more in-depth version of the relationship of WinTeam by giving more context to the short snippets we saw in ‘until we meet again’ although, the scenes from uwma aren’t all shown in between us.

I’d say that this series is more character-driven than story-driven, so you get an insight on both main characters trauma, and how it pushes them towards and away from each other. Due to this, the drama is structured in a way that the relationship buildup is favoured and takes up the majority of the story. I personally prefer this format, rather than the get together then break-up in episode 11 formula.


Another thing I enjoyed about ‘between us’ is that we see the ‘behind the scenes’ of Dean and Pharms relationship and we also get a deeper understanding of the relationship between Manaow and Preuk, giving her character a bit more depth than just the funny supportive friend.

Because I unexpectedly was enjoying this drama I avoided acknowledging its flaws, however when there are 7 days between each episode its kind of hard to ignore so here we go:

As much as I didn’t want to admit it, yes there are just too many side couples. DeanPharm and PreukManaow are essential to the story and cannot be removed but there where two additional couples that literally did nothing for the plot: WanTul and BeePrince.

That being said the side couples weren’t boring and were interesting enough so I’m not necessarily annoyed with it.


Acting/cast -

In terms of acting (as well as script writing), this drama give off the impression that is was filmed and edited immediately after its prequel ‘until we meet again’, so in 2020. I say this because the acting, and how certain scenes are orchestrated feel very 2019-2020 drama reminiscent.

The main characters where good actors back in 2020, and they still are now, although I don’t necessary see any development.
That being said, ‘between us’ has allowed the entire cast to showcase a wider range of emotions, of which they performed greatly.

With Prem (as Team) we got to see a more emotional, traumatised version of himself.
With Boun (as Win) we got to see a more unsure, and worried version of himself, which was convincing.
With Sammy (as Manaow) we got to see a more sad, and emotional person of herself.

This really helped connect and sympathise more with characters, since we never really saw this side of them in the prequel.

Another example of the acting being left in 2020, would be the bed scenes. Due to the nature of WinTeams relationship, bed scenes are unavoidable. In dramas filmed around 2019-2020, there was a specific way to film these bed scenes that was explicit enough at the time (I’m talking neck kissing, shirtless etc), however this aspect of dramas has evolved to the point where this is basically a pg representation.

Of course between us doesn’t need to be so explicit, but the way the scenes were edited and acted felt off and slightly weir to watch honestly. Like when you can help but laugh or cringe (which shouldn’t be the case). I would’ve preferred some kisses and inferred seggsy times.

Nevertheless, being reminiscent of 2020 isn’t completely a bad thing, because it also contributes a sense of nostalgia that can make the watching experience pretty fun.

Music -

I liked most of the soundtrack. Some songs, again sounded very 2020esque and this created a fun sense of nostalgia. Even some of the newer songs where good and are already in my playlists lol.

Rewatch value -

I definitely see myself rewatching certain cute episodes and scenes of this drama.


And lastly, there were not a single pack of lays eaten in this episode?? Whenever Team would go shopping for snacks he would reach his hand past the lays without hesitation and pick up some random chips that nobody cares about!

So to conclude, I really did enjoy ‘between us’ the series from all its emotional, and deep feelings to the funny comedic relief bits. It has a bit of everything and despite being imperfect is an easy and enjoyable watch.

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romance my arse - slight spoilers/warning!!

this drama delivered half of what I was looking for... a slow paced, peaceful family drama.

THE STORY:
the overall story is quite simple. a young woman, Ye Xiao Mei, takes over the nursing home left by the late grandmother and looks after the elderly people there, which is when she meets Guo San Shuang, an opportunistic salesaman who sells 'health' products to the elderly. slowly they become closer and work together to look after the elders.

with this set up, you know there will be many sweet, fun moments, as well as some bittersweet ones, which is what made me able to watch 43 whole episodes.

now.....let the ranting begin because I have two main issues with this drama that I just have to talk about.

firstly, we have the fact that I was DECEIVED by the romance. now I love slowburn romance, so I was thoroughly enjoying what I thought was a slow 'buildup' to an eventual relationship but I was played. it wasn't slowburn, it was just slow. the chemistry was decent, but there where not nearly enough scenes to satisfy me. in fact I argue that there is not even enough romantic scenes to deserve the romance tag. for 43 episodes I watched the fl play hard to get, but you could not actually feel that she liked him at all, until the very damn end.

my second complaint is with the redemption arcs of the parents of the main leads. as you'll realise from the start, both of the main leads where raised by their grandparent, whilst their parent was absent. I hated both parents with my entire heart and soul, because they came to of nowhere expecting to be involved. they where entitled, shameless and completely undeserving of being parents. they ruined their children lives, and still have the audacity to demand forgiveness on account of being their parents still. what peeves me off even more is that the tone of the drama is that 'you should always forgive your parents because they are your parents' and I dislike this message because in this case the parent's sins do not deserve forgiveness. the sins don't match their redemption whatsoever.

ACTING/CAST:
the entire cast was good, and where honestly a delight to watch. watching the elderly go about their lives was quite heartwarming and they where all really good actors.

the main leads where also pretty good, although I never really warmed up to the fl's character.

MUSIC:
I don't really have much of an impression of the music in this drama, but I don't remember it bothering me.

REWATCH VALUE:
I definitely wouldn't rewatch this entire drama, I just have it as a semi-nice memory at the back of my mind.

with the knowledge that there is not much romance, and some characters are incredibly unlikeable, if you are still interested id definitely say you should give it a go.

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The fever dream of fever dreams

Ok, so its been a while since I watched this drama, but I want to write a review now, so here we go....

For context, I binged this drama nonstop for a few days almost immediately after it ended. I mean it. I spent about three days with no sleep because I was sucked into this very weird drama, and therefore neglected by educational obligations, which definitely came back to bite me.

Due to watching this drama as a substitute to sleep, once I had finished, the thought of it genuinely felt like one big fever dream. I remember it, but gosh it was so weird, and definitely not my preferred genre.

THE STORY:
The plot of this drama runs on the found family trope, in which a group of strangers meet, and gradually grow into the closest people to each other.
I believe that the most addicting aspect of this drama is the world building. This detailed, and completely separate from reality, world was built with its own rules, problems, and concepts. in Douluo continent, the people spend their entire lives cultivating themselves, in the hopes of becoming soul masters. there are also rules dictating how you gain soul rings, how many you can have, and when you can collect specific types. all these rules make the plot more addicting and interesting to watch because you are always learning, along with the cast, about their very different capabilities and accomplishments.

one annoying thing is that the ending was annoying. after bingeing so many episodes, the ending just gave me more questions, which isn't an issue at all if there was already a season 2 released. but there isn't, and the questions therefore remain at the back of my head.

THE ACTING/CAST:
now that I think about it, the acting was pretty bad across the whole cast, but whilst watching, it went over my head. in the whole main cast, the acting ability was pretty weak, but that being said, they all did perfectly embody their characters. so at the end of the day, it still worked.

the main male lead, Tang San, played by Xiao Khan was probably my favourite character. He was kind, humble, genuine and of course attractive. He had the typical story of a male lead that began as a weak, unacknowledged character, into a strong, powerful soul master, because of his refusal to give up. He makes mistakes, is not conceited or arrogant ever. the perfect male lead honestly.

An issue I had would be a combination of his voice dubber, and the sound quality. His voice just sounded off, like it was recorded in an empty room.

the main female lead, Xiao Wu, played by Wu Xuan Yi was my favourite female character, which I understand to be an unpopular opinion. this character is perfectly defined by the phrase 'you either hate her, or love her'. she is clingy, very bubbly, and has this almost childlike naivety to her. these qualities can pass of as annoying or endearing depending on how you view the story as a whole.

I loved her pretty much from the start, and never saw her as annoying once. her clingy nature never felt forceful and was definitely reciprocated by Tang San. he was just as attached to her, and had a deep bond with her. Her childlike naivety was also endearing as her intentions where genuine, and honestly introduced a reasonable and controversial question; is it right to kill animals for your own personal gain, to become a soul master?


THE MUSIC:
Not much to comment on the music.

REWATCH VALUE:
I don't typically rewatch dramas, but I definitely see myself going back to a lot of enjoyable scenes.

to conclude, I really enjoyed the experience of watching this drama, although I don't necessarily understand it.

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I enjoyed this more that I thought I would!

Dramas set in the rural parts of Thailand, typically involving a volunteer teacher have unexpectedly become a hidden pleasure of mine. watching this drama only reinforced the enjoyment I get from this setting.

THE STORY:
This drama explores how the male lead, an outsider gains a gift that has been a tribal secret for generations. This gift not only gives him a lot of responsibility, but also a lot of trouble. The drama shows how the ml has been handling this responsibility and the drama that comes alongside it, whilst of course falling in love with the new volunteer teacher.

The premise of this drama is something quite new to me, it felt unique and original. I loved the tribal aspect, as it presented a different part of the Thai culture. That being said the primary message of this drama is to protect wildlife against hunters and such, which also allowed the drama to present the absolutely breathtaking scenery of rural Thailand.

Consistency is a problem the story struggles with unfortunately. with this story, there are always going to be established rules to world build and make sure the actions and behaviour of the characters make sense, however there are times that this drama fails to remain consistent with the rules they set up. for example; when/how Dr. Sama (male lead) can become the tiger king.

THE ACTING:
There is honestly not much to mention on the acting ability of the cast. As a whole, the acting was very much fine. it never brought me out of the story, nor did it annoy me.

the male lead put on a really convincing performance, and definitely embodied the role of a volunteer doctor with the spirit of the tiger king. Admittedly I found his acting style to be strange at first. however, as I got into the drama, I realised that his acting perfectly suited his character. A man who has literally grown up with the spirit of the tiger alongside his own. in the main leads acting you can see this conflict throughout the entire show, and its very interesting to watch.

The female lead, Parichart is played by an actress in a very different acting style. Hers is vey subtle and simple in comparison to the male lead. I enjoyed her acting because it went perfectly with the character, a simple, sweet, and young volunteer teacher who loves children. Additionally, the fl's acting style and character perfectly compliments the male lead.

The main couple's relationship in this drama develops rather quickly. they where attracted to each other from the moment they met, and throughout the entire drama, you can see how well their own personalities compliment each other. they're chemistry was warm and simple. I think part of my love for this couple comes from their overall situation, despite having such a simple love for each other, they went through a love to get together. their relationship was forbidden and unaccepted by basically the entire tribe, so the forbidden lovers aspect just made me more in love with their love.

THE MUSIC:
The music was fine. it never annoyed me, despite playing rather repetitively which I know is common.
- my favourite song used was probably night love by Bowkylion.

in conclusion, this drama left me with a very warm and happy feeling. it was sometimes emotional and slightly angsty but it was never boring.

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What does love look like?

Stuck on you is a short Pinoy series following two very different strangers who, through some unlucky coincidences, have to quarantine together.

Story:

- Despite poor production quality and evidently low budget, it is clear that some effort was put into getting the message of the story across.

- what I appreciate about the story is it’s sense of realism. It’s set during the pandemic and addresses how it affected people’s work lives, personal lives and mental health.

- the script of the drama however lacks attention to detail. This is made obvious by the behaviour of the main characters. Some of their choices or behaviour either doesn’t make sense given their personality or doesn’t make sense in relations to the situation they’re in.

- The story itself has the feel of a weak wattpad story about the mean guy and the nerdy one. It was cheesy (in a bad way) and therefore difficult to enjoy.

Acting:

- the characters had flaws, which both frustrated and satisfied me. With JM being detached and pretty rude and Rem being hopelessly romantic.

- the acting specifically was pretty weak and was hard to watch a times - but that might just be due to the cheesy script.

Music:

- the song , ‘Naghamamahal Din Lang’ is definitely what I liked most about this series.

Rewatch value:

…..I think it’s clear I wouldn’t rewatch this one.



Personally this show didn’t work for me although I appreciated the message. It lacked a certain hook or addicting quality that would make me interested in the outcome.

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Two working adults and their simple love story.

To start of, I was initially worried that good looks would be the only good thing about this drama but I was proven very wrong. I binged through this drama and enjoyed it thoroughly.

Firstly, the drama is about two people with very time demanding jobs and how they navigate their relationship without compromising their careers, therefore the small plot lines throughout the drama are related to their work and it’s affect on their relationship.

Secondly, acting. I’m not particularly fans of either actors however I’ve seen at least one of each of their works and I’d say they both are better than my first impressions of them. That being said they’re not amazing, but they definitely did their jobs well.


Positives:
1. A truly well developed and healthy mature relationship from start to finish.
2. The presentation of an aerospace career seemed well done and accurate (I believe they actually consulted aerospace engineers), although I’m not experience so I wouldn’t know but it looked professional.
3. The story wasn’t trivial or needlessly fluffy. They spoke about real mature concerns that people of their age would. (Eg. Money, family, career goals)
4. Wasn’t dramatised for the sake of it. The story went at a pretty slow steady pace which I love (but could be a negative for you).
5. The main couple chemistry was very good and convincing. They’re both insanely attractive so they look good together. I also love the simple and sometimes pointless conversations they had. Not every conversation has to be a big deal.
6. No petty fights or break up AT ALL.
7. Kiss scenes ??
8. Some of the OST songs are really good, and I really like they’re timing as well.

Negatives:
1. Again, slow pacing - this is not a negative for me but it may be for some.
2. Although they had great chemistry I will admit in some scenes they could have been a bit more relaxed with each other.
3. Acting was good but wasn’t perfect. One example is with YY. In some scenes it feels as though he’s paying a bit too much attention to how he looks on camera, it’s especially noticeable when he appears to be flexing his neck length.?

To conclude, I definitely recommend this drama. It’s a mature well made drama that is very enjoyable and nice to watch to relax or to de-stress. It’s not overly dramatic very easy to binge. It’s also surprisingly funny at times.

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50% good 50% meh

I binged this drama in two days, so i feel like that alone shows how much fun i found it. But alas, it in fact had enough problems that i felt the need to write a review soon after completing it.

Story:
The reason i didn't watch this drama as it aired was for the sole reason that the plot sounded stupid as hell. however, the power of edits made me start it and... it was stupid as hell but omg it was so much fun. the characters were so un-ironically funny and enjoyable to watch that i couldn't stop. The moment that 'sad' background music started playing i started cackling. it was the perfect comedy. at least the first 8-9 episodes were.

the second half of the drama is the 'meh' part. it dragged. This is where the tone of the drama is actually more serious (although not overly), and it get into explaining the lore of the female leads 'predicament'. This honestly was totally unnecessary and unimportant, but if they had to include it , I wish it made sense. This portion also explained in unnecessary detail the reason behind the main villains illogical behaviour, and guess what...the explanation just made his behaviour more illogical.

To put it simply, the villains personality was really well written, he made you trust him then made you scared, but his behaviour and justifications where pretty pathetic imho

key extra: the chemistry between the main couple was so adorable, the way they interacted even before dating was so cute and wholesome. even when they started dating the chemistry was good, and the edit that brought me here showed that (iykyk). that kiss was the most shocking thing i've seen all year.


Acting/Cast:
I enjoyed this drama and therefore enjoyed the acting. Most characters where great at making the drama fun, sweet, and entertaining.

this drama also unleashed a love for the male lead actor Cha Eun Woo that I never realised previously lol, so thank you for that.

the cast was also pretty perfect, everyone really suited their roles.

the main villain, you initially couldn't tell whether you hate him or love him, he was very good at his role. However i have a MASSIVE bone to pick with him. Not once did i feel his actions on the main couple where justified, in any ways i looked at it. there was a moment that suggested their guilt but it was very quickly shot down. like....he did all of that and for what??
With his identity he could have even prevented the need for any of this to even happen so that just irritated me more.
AND on top of that, a simple apology from him would have at least been slightly satisfying but of course not....

Music:
the music in this drama was so good. thats all i have to say lol, and i've definitely added some to my playlists so yea.

rewatch value:
i totally see myself coming back to watch my favourite moments. Although this wasn't a particularly impactful drama, it was fun whilst it lasted.

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Just 9 years later…..

The story revolves around an alien who has been stranded on Earth for the past 400 years and finally has a chance of going home in 3 months, when he meets the once ‘nations sweetheart’, who disturbs his otherwise peaceful life, leading to a very very eventful love story.

With this type of story it is so easy to become repetitive……and this drama unfortunately did just that. There was a lot of repetitive back and forth in almost all plot lines. I suspect this was done to stretch out the drama, because without it, 17 episodes would be enough.

The acting was honestly no issue at all, everybody knew what they were doing and the crying scenes of the male lead specifically spoke to my soul.

This drama was perfectly casted as a whole, and the female lead in particular perfectly embodies a woman that grew up in the acting industry, showered with endless praise as well as jealousy and greed. Her character is easy to dislike at the start of the drama but she just has this charm that grows on you.

Music isn’t that significant to the plot but it was good. The timing of the music as well as the songs themselves where good and worked well with the drama.

I don’t necessarily see myself rewatching this show, although I really enjoyed it.


Warning (small spoilers!!):

- the secrecy trope is used extensively throughout this drama and, although the reasoning behind this made sense, it still was kind of frustrating.
- There is a quite important side plot revolving around a murder.
- Slow burn, and the ml plays veeerrrry hat to get.
- so much crying/ overall dramatics (esp fl)


From the date it was made and the poster, you can tell the kind of drama this is; one of the classics that helped popularise the many tropes and cliches present in current kdramas.

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A medley of no communication, stupid choices and kisses that’ll make you weak in the knees

Now, the arranged marriage trope is a personal favourite when done right, and although this show has some redeeming qualities, there’s no way to excuse this….
The writers did not understand the assignment!

Arranged marriage has no actual relevance to the plot, it simply acts as a way to force the main couple together at the start without the initial build up of getting to know each other and developing feelings.

Now into the actual review lol.

The story and character set up of all three couples was lacking in some aspects.

Starting with Lian/Kuea:
what was the main message behind their story? In the first 5 episodes we can deduce that it is “he should love your real personality not your fake persona”, however this message gets completely lost in the middle of the drama, with the focus being on the actual romance entirely eluding a healthy relationship, however the original message suddenly returns in the later episodes and showcases this couples shocking lack of communication. (I mean really….they do not talk to each other at all!!!!).
In addition the logic behind they’re choices and actions wasn’t tight, the script kind of just made them behave in a way that allowed the next scene to happen without paying attention to the actual character and what he’d do, then working around that.
(+)This couple had the best chemistry

Second is yi/diao:
This couple’s story turns out to be kind of….unique (not to spoil things), by the end you get the gist but since they’re not the main couple there’s no detailed explanation.

This relationship in particular functioned weirdly. Sometimes we get Yi scolding or being protective over Diao like he’s a child but then the sexual tension is off the charts….is that weird? It is most jarring in the first half of the series and luckily dies down quite significantly as a relationship is established.

Lastly Syn/Nuer:
Although I don’t find their chemistry to be as strong, this couple grew to be my favourite. Unfortunately, they had the weakest set up, due to being on screen for like 30 minutes combined but whatever….I’m not bitter…much.

How Nuer even developed feelings for Syn isn’t clear, in fact I’m still not exactly sure when it happened but it did and I’m greatful for that lol.


Onto the cast:
The chosen actors for this show were perfect. Each actor made their presence as these characters believable. The acting however is a different story.

Kilen Wang (Zee) - This actor I would say was the best and most skilled actor by far. His micro expressions how he conveys sadness, the seggual dancing (*wink*) and those damn tears are all of high quality.

Kuea (Nunew) and Diao (Nat) - these two where quite clearly the weaker actors. Their line delivery was subpar and the facial expressions were lacking, but it was bearable.
Although they each have good chemistry with their partners you could still see a bit of the awkwardness I assume is due to inexperience in their interactions.
They are clearly inexperienced and need practice but they did a decentish job.

NOW! Onto the best thing about this entire show!!!
The music. If this show was anything it was promotion for the angelic vocals that are Nunew. In fact he should just sing OST for series. Every single song that leaves his mouth in this show is amazing, my favourite as of now being ‘will you still love me’ (bloody perfection this one).
Not just this song but the whole damn soundtrack. In fact even if you hate the plot I’d say deal with it simply for the music, because listening to the lyrics with the context of the moment just adds that extra something. (Sometimes you wanna dance and sometimes you wanna cry for Kuea, I’m telling you!!)

The songs are placed in the perfect place all throughout the drama, with the lyrics perfectly describing how he’s feeling at that moment.

This is the type of drama that you keep coming back to for that specific scene (whatever that may be).m, and with that……
A list of summarised positive points of this series to persuade/dissuade:

- amazing chemistry (all 3 couples and the main have the strongest)

- With amazing chemistry comes amazing kisses and more (*wink*) when I say kissing I mean it. The main couple where basically devouring each other. Damn!! - it bordered on me thinking; should this be age restricted?

- Zee in a suit (nuff said)

- Although quite simplistic there where important conversations about multiple socially sensitive such as; marriage inequality in Thailand, how trans people are used by the media, sexist jokes (like are you on your period?), respecting boundaries(not ss but you get it) etc.

- The main conflict was dragged out in my opinion and should either have been solved around episode 10-11 or the story as a whole should have just been around 10 episodes

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