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Completed
Wrong Carriage, Right Groom
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by puwupy
Nov 19, 2023
24 of 24 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 7.5
Rewatch Value 8.0

Satisfying, fun and romantic!

This is the first historical Chinese drama I've watched, and also the first Chinese drama I've watched that didn't have at least 30 episodes or more. It was a very pleasant surprise nonetheless!

Besides the obvious premise of the story, the plot is split in two different settings to show each bride's situation with the "wrong" groom.
Li Yu Hu's side revolves around the conflicts and mysteries in the Qi family. It feels very similar to a soap opera, with lots of secrets, lots of eavesdropping, lots of tricky situations and malicious family members. Despite this, the atmosphere feels light and fun most of the time, mainly thanks to Qi Tian Lei and Li Yu Hu's couple dynamic.
Du Bing Yan's side is more about her trying her best to finally see her husband and clarify the misunderstanding. Her share of screentime was always more thrilling and dynamic and brought most of the action to the story.
Overall, the plot was nice and well-balanced: it kept a lighthearted and fun tone most of the time and didn't have many dramatic elements. Li Yu Hu and Qi Tian Lei's story started to feel a little too static and redundant after a while, but thankfully it wasn't too bad - mostly because their moments together were absolutely adorable. Du Bing Yan's story was quite interesting, but she and Yuan Bu Qu didn't have nearly as much time on screen as the other main couple, so I can't say I was entirely satisfied with them. Personally, I wish we got to see them more, and could have easily done without one or two of the side couples that were introduced in the story little by little.

It's a fun drama, nothing mind-blowing or exceptional by any means, but it was still an enjoyable watch for me. Recommended if you're looking for something with little angst, lots of fluff, and mostly relaxing!

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Completed
Kiseki: Dear to Me
0 people found this review helpful
by puwupy
Nov 15, 2023
13 of 13 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 8.0

Didn't expect this to be so romantic

The beginning of this drama is a little confusing, because there's a short opening scene in the present and then there's a long (!) flashback that lasts for more than half of the entire series. I recommend ignoring that and just focusing on the rest of the story, which luckily doesn't use flashbacks and flash-forwards as much as I feared.

The story itself is good, but nothing exceptional: a fated encounter between a member of a gang and a high-school student leads to them having to live together for a while and slowly develop feelings for each other. The plot also follows the story of two other members of the gang and the love triangle between them and their boss. I feel like the organized crime aspect of the plot should have been explored more, especially in terms of who is aligned with whom and what do these gangs actually do other than fighting each other whenever they meet.

The romance can be good or not, it all depends on personal taste: it feels like the love stories don't have solid foundations and they're mostly based on the ideas of "fate", "soulmates", and more in general the will to give up on anything for a lover. The main characters seem to share this extreme sentiment when it comes to love, so if that's too much for you, I can't recommend watching. I personally found it very romantic - maybe a little too idealistic to feel real, but it's also nice to dream every now and then, isn't it?
I believe that the couples featured in the drama are the best part. The acting is not stellar, but they deliver their performances very well and their chemistry was enough to glue my eyes to the screen.

I can't say that this story was great, or that I'd recommend this drama for its plot. On the other hand, I had fun and the couples are very sweet and memorable to me. I believe you should give it a chance if you like romance with a good amount of angst.

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Completed
Why R U?
0 people found this review helpful
by puwupy
Nov 11, 2023
8 of 8 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 8.0

I'm very happy with the outcome!

I like the idea of the main character accidentally (?) turning his life into a BL fanfiction. It's silly in a good way and also feels new compared to other stories. I would have liked it more if the plot showed more ambiguity about this matter, but seeing Iwon worrying so much about it and being so weirded out by Jioh was still lots of fun to watch. Seeing both of them bicker and seeing their feelings for each other grow was quite nice! At some point I couldn't decide whether I wanted Jioh to have some peace of mind, or I wanted Iwon to panick even more. It was just a very entertaining dynamic overall.
The second couple had a less animated plot, and while it was good to see their peaceful moments, it was also a little harder to follow, all because of the untold information that was only revealed to us viewers little by little. Sunwoo and Yugyeom were adorable together despite this and managed to deliver a very sentimental and romantic performance.
Overall I wish the plot was developed a little more - maybe with more episodes, or with longer episodes. I feel like it didn't have the proper space to "breathe" fully and lead to a very satisfying ending, but I can't say I disliked what I got at all.

The only thing I really disliked about this drama was the sound mixing. I watched this on Viki, so I'm not sure if this is just a problem of that platform alone, but the sound was VERY quiet, with some parts significantly more quiet than the others in the same episode. I had to work with my volume settings a lot while watching. On top of this, the audio quality wasn't very good, both in terms of lines and in terms of ambient sounds.

I guess it would be hard not to mention the original Why R U in this review, but to be honest I'd rather not compare them. The production styles are very different from each other, the plot here went through major (unavoidable) changes, and I also still remember how there were problems during the filming of the Thai version because of the start of the pandemic.
All I can say is that I have a soft spot for the original, and that I believe that this rendition was very good at giving justice to the plot. I was also very happy to see the little tributes to the original series here and there (first and foremost, Max and Nat having a cameo in the first episode).

In conclusion, I recommend this drama to whoever is looking for something cute and fun to watch, that also isn't too demanding both in terms of engagement (the story is very easy to follow) and in terms of time (each episode is about 20 minutes long if we don't count the theme songs and the recaps, so it's very easy to binge-watch).

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Completed
Love in Translation
0 people found this review helpful
by puwupy
Oct 20, 2023
8 of 8 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 8.0

Fun and light-hearted romance

The plot starts with the two main characters as enemies who are forced to cooperate to reach their personal goals. Their relationship warms up to a sincere friendship as they begin to trust each other and get to know each other better. I really liked how their romantic feelings developed, I felt like I could see them grow and bloom as the episodes went by.
The premise of the two main characters becoming equal business partners is also something new for me - I'm used to see romance between office workers, or romance between a boss and their employee, so this was a refreshing change of pace!
While the plot is cute and it's shown well in the first five episodes or so, things didn't look as good toward the end. Some elements of the plot would have benefited from being introduced earlier on rather than being shown at the last moment; there was no proper build-up for them and it felt more like an attempt from the writers to stir-up things. These plotlines were also not cared for properly, as their resolution felt kind of underwhelming to me.

The cast was very good. It's the first series I watched with Daou and Offroad, but I could immediately tell that they're very at ease with each other - it's hard to find this level of chemistry in most on-screen couples. I was also really happy to see Ngern here! His performance as Phumjai's older brother was actually my favorite out of the entire cast.
The secondary couple was interesting, but I believe they needed more screentime for a proper development of their plotline.
The secondary characters were all chosen well and I really liked the atmosphere they created in the series, making the store feel like an actual home to everyone.

In conclusion, while this series definitely has its flaws, I still believe it's a fun show to watch and its romance deserves the attention. Recommended if you're looking for something mostly light-hearted!

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Completed
Wedding Plan
0 people found this review helpful
by puwupy
Oct 9, 2023
7 of 7 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.5
Story 6.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 7.0

Cute enough!

I am not a fan of most of the stories coming from MAME novels, so I started watching with very low expectations, but in the end I can say that I had fun.

The story is very simple and very predictable, so the main charming point of the series is all about Nuea, Lom, and their constant pull toward each other. Seeing Lom getting more and more bold with his flirting and Nuea trying not to fall harder and harder for him was fun. The story also keeps a steady and rather fast pace, which helped me a lot with not getting frustrated or bored while watching.
The actors all did a good job with what they had. My biggest annoyance were the character monologues, which is something that I can't stand: I'd rather have the characters show me their true feelings naturally through actions and expressions rather than have them recite it out loud like a school assignment.
The couples are cute. They're not hyper romantic and memorable couples, but they have good chemistry and their moments together are really cute.

I don't have anything especially bad to say about this series, I just didn't find it to be anything other than reasonably entertaining. I can recommend it to you if you have some spare time for a shorter series!

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Completed
Stay by My Side
0 people found this review helpful
by puwupy
Sep 2, 2023
10 of 10 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 8.0

Fluff with crumbs of supernatural elements

I wasn't really expecting this drama to be this cute, but I really liked how it turned out!

The story mainly revolves around the relationship between Bu Xia and Jiang Chi, with a lovely combination of tropes. There is a supernatural element in the story, but it's not explained nor developed all that much and is mostly used as a device to bring the two protagonists closer. I'm not a big fan of this, to be honest - I wish they used the supernatural element more in the story, or just took it away entirely as I don't believe it's too important for the sake of the plot, but it didn't spoil the fun so I'm not too disappointed.
The romance, which is the most important part of the story, was developed beautifully. Buxia and Jiang Chi grow closer over time naturally - their forced proximity and Bu Xia's circumstances made me worry about the pacing, but it was just right and very satisfying to see! All the events between them happened neither too soon nor too late, and most importantly THEY ARE SO CUTE. There might be some cheesy lines and moments here and there, but I didn't mind at all. While neither Bu Xia nor Jiang Chi get too much introspection, they are shown well enough to let their personalities shine, so I was already in love with them by the end of the first episode.

It's a rather short series, it can easily be binged in the span of three hours, so if you like a cute romance with lots of fluff, this is for you! On the other hand, if you're interested in the supernatural elements of the plot, I suggest you watching something else.

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Completed
Our Relationship Ended Before It Began
0 people found this review helpful
by puwupy
Aug 25, 2023
4 of 4 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 9.0

Cute coffee shop romance!

I found this title by chance and I'm so glad I did!

It's already hard to find wlw shows in the first place for me, so I was hoping I would enjoy it without setting my expectations too high, but I believe that despite the short screentime, the writers did a good job with the material they had. In the span of the first few minutes I grew to like the main characters and started rooting for them.
The story is very simple and romance-focused: a girl who fell in love with her manager at work, and said manager who keeps giving her mixed signals for mysterious reasons.
The atmosphere is very light-hearted and most of the drama focuses on the cute interactions between the two main characters, but it never gets silly and even incorporates queer themes properly without making things overly heavy for the viewer. The actresses did a good job, especially the two protagonists, and their interactions are just adorable - I can't count the number of times they got me smiling like an idiot at my screen.

Since it's a short web drama (there's even a short movie version that is less than 30 minutes long), it's ideal for whenever you have some time to spare. If you'd like to watch a cute and light queer romance, this is for you!

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Completed
A Boss and a Babe
0 people found this review helpful
by puwupy
Aug 11, 2023
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 7.5
Rewatch Value 8.0

A fluffy and soft slice of life

I started watching while assuming that this series would be some kind of silly comedy, and to some extent it is - there's a lot about it that is mostly for comical relief and it would be unfair to say otherwise. What I believe makes this series so intriguing is the way the writers managed to put in good balance comedy, introspection, and romance.

The plot of the story is pretty simple, and to be fair, at the beginning even the characters are. As the episodes go on, however, there's more and more that is revealed to the audience through dialogue and meaningful scenes about the characters and the relationships they have with each other. This method of unveiling the world of Cher and Gun was what caught my attention the most and made me want to watch more and more: I really felt like I was sinking deeper and deeper in the story. Multiple situations that seemed simple were revealed to be much more complicated than they might have looked at first, and the characters showed multiple facets of their personalities and lives little by little.
The romance between Cher and his Boss was truly sweet to watch as it developed. The two characters are very different, but it's also obvious how the two start growing fond of one another, and the way they seem to suit each other perfectly despite having very different lives was a huge satisfaction. The two actors have some solid chemistry and they are blatantly at ease and comfortable when they're together.

Something I didn't like as much about this series was the way some problems and situations were put aside without a proper conclusion (I don't want to spoil anything so I'll avoid mentioning anything in particular). I believe that leaving more room to show certain secondary characters and their lives better would have made the ending much more satisfying to me.

I can recommend this series to whoever is looking for something cute and sentimental, with themes that never get too stressful or heavy to watch.

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Completed
Love Mate
0 people found this review helpful
by puwupy
Jul 28, 2023
8 of 8 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 5.5
Story 4.5
Acting/Cast 6.0
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 1.0

Barely finished it

The theme of the story was interesting, but that's the only good thing about this series, I'm afraid.
The plot had good potential, but the pacing and the portrayal of the characters ruined everything. For the first three episodes things were more or less stable, then from episode 4 onwards I found myself unable to follow the thought and emotional patterns of the characters. The way they changed their mind about certain situations or even about each other were not shown properly, so I found myself thinking "wait, how did we get here?" more than once as I watched. It felt like the writers were more concerned with showing Ha Ram's cute pursuing of Lee Jun than actually putting some care in their emotional growth and the development of their relationship. Things got even worse during the last two episodes, where I actually struggled to finish the whole drama (which is the reason why it doesn't even reach a 6 out of 10 for me).

The acting was decent from Lee Jun, but unfortunately I can't say the same for Jeong Ha Ram, who often looked like he was just faking his personality. Since Ha Ram wasn't explored in the least as a character, I was fully expecting some incredible plot-twist about him, but that didn't happen, so I guess that's just poor acting. Yun Do Kyung was the worst of all as he really looked like he was reading his lines out loud rather than acting.
The chemistry between the two main characters is not there either. The two of them never really bond with each other, so I wasn't impressed.
The production is nothing impressive, and the music isn't anything worth noting either.

Overall it felt like a waste of time. Can't recommend watching it.

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Completed
Present Perfect
0 people found this review helpful
by puwupy
May 1, 2023
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 6.0

A sad but fluffy reality

I can say that I enjoyed this film enough. The pacing and the acting all remind me very closely of Japanese movies and dramas I've watched in the past, so don't expect the liveliness that you might find in Thai series - there's none of that here other than the two main characters speaking the language. It's also VERY quiet - I'm pretty sure there's just a few moments where some OST can be heard, while everything else just has ambient sounds or is completely silent. The pacing is also pretty slow and meant for the viewer to take in all the details and the acting without rushing in. I can't recommend this if you're one who gets impatient or distracted easily!

The story itself is actually touching, although in its own sad way. Toey and Oat meet in Japan in a small town, both far away from their personal problems (Toey just broke up with his girlfriend after years of being together, Oat is on his last solo vacation before getting married). Since they're both so far away from their life in Thailand, the entire film feels almost dream-like, as if it was a fantasy rather than made of actual events, which is something that I liked a lot. This dreamy atmosphere is broken from time to time by real-life events and discoveries, which made me want Toey and Oat to keep being happy in a bubble of their own even more.
I don't want to say more than it's necessary as I believe that it's better to watch the film than have a review tell everything. All I want to add is that there are some themes and events that might not be everyone's cup of tea, so I can't recommend watching before bracing yourself in case you don't digest sensitive contents well. Overall it was pretty good, so I'd say you should give it a go!

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Completed
You're My Sky
0 people found this review helpful
by puwupy
Apr 15, 2023
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 5.5
Rewatch Value 8.5

Not perfect but still great

I recently watched this series for the second time and wanted to write a review, since I didn't write one before.
This series is very good, but it also focuses on more than just romantic relationships: it's mostly about following your dreams and finding a balance between your dreams and the other things and people in your life, about finding happiness in unexpected places, and about finding in yourself a light even when all hope is lost.
The story is about three different couples of sports science students, the main one being the best written in my opinion.

Thorn and Fah make a cute couple and I really liked their story. Their background as childhood friends was explored well and their relationship includes both their romantic feelings for each other and their love for basketball. I really liked the fact that basketball here is not just an aesthetic for their setting, but it's not a minor detail of their characters either: it's present throughout the entire series and a very important part of their dreams and ambitions, often functioning as a way to portray their emotional state at best. It's something I rarely see in series set in university and I really enjoyed it.
I also really liked the idea of them growing closer as they decide to be there for each other and support each other. Their balance is not always good, Thorn is often times the one left with the shorter end of the stick, but this aspect is shown very well in the series. There is quite a bit of angst for them, especially during the last few episodes, but despite it being painful it was a pretty good journey. Tae and Suar don't have groundbreaking chemistry with each other, but it worked for me.

Aii and Saen are a very cute couple together, and also the one that brings less heartache and less angst to the series. Saen's passionate and sincere courting towards Aii was just adorable, and it was also very satisfying to see Aii slowly but steadily warming up to him. I was afraid that Aii would either fall too fast or end up as one of those partners who stay grumpy and reluctand to the end of the series, but that was not the case at all. This couple also faces the long-distance relationship theme, which was handled very well in my opinion. Something I didnt' like was the fact that, while Aii's passions and dreams were thoroughly talked about, Saen was not explored as much.

Finally, Vee and Dome were the recipe-for-disaster couple. On one hand, they were kind of a let-down, because their scenes were focused almost exclusively on the growing feelings for each other and barely anything else. They are also the only couple that strays from the dreams/ambitions/love balancing struggle of the other two couples, so they felt out of place to me. What compensates all of this is their chemistry, which was undoubtedly amazing: their gazes alone said all they needed to say and it was enough to make them very interesting to watch.

The production was pretty good as well, with a good use of camera angles and interesting shots - I wasn't a huge fan of the persistent yellow tone over the entire series, but I got used to it after a couple episodes. I read that other viewers had trouble keeping up with the story because of the flashbacks and time skips, but I personally didn't have trouble understanding what was going on.
The music was, for me, the worst part. It was decent most of the time, but I really didn't like the songs and felt like they runied the moment more often than not.

I recommend watching this at least once!

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Completed
Moonlight Chicken
0 people found this review helpful
by puwupy
Apr 6, 2023
8 of 8 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 8.0

Slice-of-bitter-life

I believe that, in the end, the good bits outnumber the bad ones, which is why I gave this series an 8 out of 10 overall. The essence of the series is good and most things were taken care of pretty well, but some others seemed to be put there carelessly or were just neglected. I'll try to sort my feelings about Moonlight Chicken as best as I can.

Starting from the plot and the overall narration: I believe it's good enough, but not really as good as it could be. The story itself is pretty simple (no surprises there since it's an obvious slice-of-life), there are a couple of major surprises but nothing huge. Something that I really liked about it was the cinematography, along with some specific dialogues and symbolisms sprinkled in: it felt like being fully immersed in the life of the characters and the metaphors and parallels made for a very satisfying watch during the most important scenes. What I didn't like was how the show seemed to cling onto the "realistic" side of it all way too much for my taste, to the point that a good chunk of the events are very anticlimactic - even when they were really important, I ended up not feeling much about them. The pacing felt too slow at times, and I also had lots of trouble understanding how much time went by between the main events: in certain instances it feels like it's only been a day or two, then it's suddenly revealed that it's been weeks or months.
There are multiple interesting themes in the story as well: moving on from grief or a past relationship, learning to be responsible for the people around, learning to let other people go and make their own choices for their life, and so on. These themes found their place in multiple characters and situations, but not all of them were explored as in depth as they could have. Since the pacing already felt too slow to me, I believe that putting some of these ideas aside might have helped to let the others shine more.
I wasn't able to enjoy the story as much as I wanted because it felt incredibly bitter, with money issues and lack of understanding among the characters looming over all the episodes like a huge black cloud. But that's just my preference and I'm not considering it an actual flaw.

As for the characters... well. Like others have already said, Earth was not the right actor to interpret Jim. Earth is about my age, so I kept feeling very weirded out when I saw him being called old and being treated like a middle-aged man at all times. I feel especially bad about it because Earth is a favorite Thai actor of mine, and also the main reason why I decided to watch this series in the first place, but he just isn't the right fit for this role. I believe that the other actors were a good choice, but since Jim is the main character and basically everyone interacts with him at some point, he made a lot of interactions feel off.
The characterization was pretty good for all the characters, support roles included. I liked the fact that no character was entirely perfect, and rather than making villains and heroes out of nowhere, there was just a group of people doing their best with their life.
As a couple, unfortunately Jim and Wen weren't interesting enough to me. Aside from Earth trying to interpret someone 10 years older than he is, I just didn't feel any chemistry between them. I don't believe it's the actors' fault since they had incredible chemistry in other series I watched with them as the main characters; it's probably because of a combination of overall mood and pacing to me. I saw some sparks on the very first episode, but then their individual circumstances made each of their appearances feel oddly gloomy and uncomfortable. I felt like Wen wanted to stick around for no real reason other than, well, the plot.
Li Ming and Heart were absolute show stealers. The acting of Gemini and Fourth is already amazing at their young age, and Gemini in particular did amazing portraying a deaf character. Their chemistry was incredible to see even in their smallest moments together, and the development of their relationship was steady and well-paced. Their story was also easily the most lighthearted of all, so I unconsciously started to look forward to their moments instead of focusing on the bitter and gloomy main plot.

In the end, I can say that it's a good series and that it should be watched at least once, but at the same time I can't recommend it. I don't even see myself picking this up again in the future, if not to watch Li Ming and Heart falling in love one more time. It can be good if you want to watch a more serious Thai series and take a break from goofy comedies with lots of sound effects, but that's it.

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Completed
Why You… Y Me?
0 people found this review helpful
by puwupy
Mar 22, 2023
10 of 10 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 10
Rewatch Value 7.0

A cute and enjoyable ride!

Before I start talking about the series, I have to specify that I didn't pay much attention to the scenes about Maito, Shogun, and Green's storyline. I watched the first half of the show in its entirety, but even after five episodes I wasn't able to get interested in them at all, so I started fast-forwarding or even skipping their scenes. Needless to say, this review is based on everything else.

I was a little hesitant to start this one, because whenever I saw fangirls in any series they're always portrayed as obnoxious, invasive, inappropriate, and ready to deliver a huge load of second-hand embarrassment to the viewers. As I saw that one of the main characters was a fangirl, I braced myself and got ready to stop watching as soon as it would get too much for me to handle. Now that I watched until the end, I can say that this might be the healthiest portrayal of a shipper that I've ever seen in a Thai series so far. Namhwa is passionate about her ship and her "main" Maipai, she participates in the events and gives her best to support in any way she can, but she never violates boundaries and overall it's just cute, funny, and even wholesome.

The plot is simple and predictable, but this doesn't take away from its charm. As I kept watching I quickly grew fond of Namhwa, Kanoon, and the members of Evening Sunday (which is a real band, and the band members in the series are the actual members of the band!). The biggest quality of the series is the care it put in the bonds between friends, other than between the couples. They all felt sincere and close to each other, both thanks to the dialogues overall and thanks to their dynamics during all the episodes.
Gap and Namhwa stole the show for me. Gap gets close to Namhwa because of his ulterior motives, but he observes her closely from the get-go and never treats her as just a tool or someone unimportant. He actually cares about her well-being and comfort, about what she likes and what she cares about. Namhwa is the same: she never acts like supporting the band is an annoying chore and actually gives her best to promote them with all she can, instead of just letting her brother do all the work, and she also pays close attention to Gap while not just distancing herself from the fandom for no actual reason. These are all things that end up being neglected most of the time, especially when it comes to straight couples in media.
As I said above, unfortunately I couldn't bring myself to watch all the scenes with Green, Maito, and Shogun. I really don't like love triangles so that might have been part of the reason, but they didn't get my attention even when I was trying hard to focus on them. While the other characters were fleshed out immediately, they always seemed annoyingly plain.
As for Paul and Nice, they were definitely hilarious and adorable in their own way, but they had very little screentime and their subplot lacked substance to have much of an impact on their characters.
Last but not least, I appreciated the lack of fanservice. Not many scenes with the characters randomly stripping or being without a shirt (I actually only saw a couple) and no steamy kiss scenes, even within the couples. The focus was on the communication and the emotional bonding and I loved it.

If you're considering watching this series because of the BL couples, I can't say I recommend it. I want to recommend it because it's cute, fun, refreshing, and has one of the best straight relationships I've ever seen in a Thai series.

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Completed
HIStory5: Love in the Future
0 people found this review helpful
by puwupy
Mar 11, 2023
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 4.5
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 6.0

Struggled to finish it

This is a classic example of what happens when a story has good elements and potential, but ends up being ruined by awful plot devices and bad pacing.
The beginning was actually pretty interesting. I was really enjoying the series for the first 4 or 5 episodes: stories with a time-traveling trope usually have the main character going back to the past rather than to the future, and I thought it would be interesting to see how would the writer develop a plot like that. I also really liked the dynamics of both couples: the main one is very energetic and funny, the secondary one is more calm and sweet overall. The actors are good enough, although they are not mind-blowing in their performances, and very cute in their respective couples.
...and then the plot just went in unexpected directions. I don't mean it in a good way: I felt like the plot just decided to change topics and overall atmosphere all of a sudden. Huge problems seemed to appear out of nowhere and for no good reason. Last but not least, this drama seems to be affected by some of the worst miscommunication issues I've ever seen in any romantic series or film. There are multiple instances where the characters could just talk to each other sincerely, explain themselves and their thoughts or feelings, but they just don't (they will literally stay quiet or even leave the room in front of a question). Some of the episodes are just full of unasked questions and lack of explanations, which made the series feel frustrating, long and tiring to watch.
The last episode was the most annoying one, because it's the one that should connect dots and give proper closure to everything, but it only made me feel like it could all be done a lot sooner and spare me a couple headaches.
It might sound weird, but the actual highlight of this series was the appearance of the couple from HIStory 4 (the step-brothers), which I guess says a lot.

In conclusion, while I can still say that I've seen a lot worse in the past, I can't say that this was good enough. In some ways it was even worse than HIStory 4 (didn't think it could be possible), although at least it didn't include some of the worse tropes available. It can still be a cute watch if you're exclusively interested in cute guys kissing, but if you're looking for a proper plot then this is not for you.

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Completed
Bite Me
0 people found this review helpful
by puwupy
Mar 7, 2023
11 of 11 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 5.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 10
Rewatch Value 4.0

Unfortunately it's just not enough

First of all, I want to say that I started watching with really good feelings about this series. There's many things to like about it and the first half of the episodes made me wonder why did Bite Me get such a low score here on MDL. In case you're looking for good reasons to watch this series, here's a list:

- The chemistry between the two main characters is actually very good. I already knew Mark from other series and I was expecting him to do a good job in terms of acting, but Zung really surprised me. Their gaze alone communicates a lot in terms of thoughts and feelings and made me look forward to every scene of theirs.
- This series is about chefs and cooking, and believe it or not, there IS a lot of cooking and food! Both the making and the final result of each recipe are shown in great detail and the quality of the camera work made it very satisfying to watch. I found myself drooling or feeling hungry multiple times as I watched. I recommend watching this with either a snack or a full stomach!
- This might sound like a low standard, but still: the music was used perfectly. There were no moments when I thought that the soundtrack didn't fit the moment, and even the silence was used in a clever way. Last but not least, there are no annoying sound effects here: if you're tired of Thai series where characters aren't able to blink without some goofy sound effect playing, then this will feel like a true breath of fresh air.

The true flaw of this series in my opinion is not even the pacing: I really enjoyed the series during the first half, and the slow pacing actually made me enjoy the touching moments and the cooking even more. I don't believe that the romance between Aek and Aue was supposed to bloom any faster either.
What actually got on my nerves and ended up ruining the series for me was the build-up of the dramatic/angsty elements of the plot. None of the threats and obstacles that the protagonists faced felt like huge problems at all, yet they were treated as such, making it hard for me to keep watching without feeling frustrated about the characters' decisions during the last few episodes. Even the resolution of these problems didn't get a proper build-up, making the ending of the series feel rushed and incredibly unsatisfying.

I don't want to spoil anything, but all I can say here is that the good of this show is indeed excellent, while the bad, while not as awful as it could get, is too annoying for me to want to rewatch this ever again in the future. In conclusion, all I can suggest is to watch the series for yourself and make your own opinion about it, because my feelings about it are too mixed to decide whether or not I should recommend it.

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