sachapz

Reader beware - I didn’t realize my reply was soooo long!

TPOB is honestly the best drama I watched this year - I’m a sucker for enemies to lovers / contract marriage thropes so this really hit the spot. It even restarted my interest in Costume Dramas (TTEOTM trauma was high apparently 😂). ADWAD is on my watch list but I’m waiting till I’m over Wei Shao before moving on to this role🙊

“Warm on a Cold Night” sounds interesting so I will give it a try- thanks for the recommendation! I was planning to watch “Shadow Love” next month since it felt too soon to jump from one Cheng Li General drama to another back to back🙈. How cringe is it dare I ask?🙈

LOTFG - I didn’t mind ZY’s performance I guess. She was a bit too cutesy at times for someone undercover but once you remember that ZY’s character was oppressed all her life, so her forgetting all her boundaries once she found her safe space made sense- specially with the ML who could read her like a book. The first few episodes might feel slow/ awkward but it gets better after episode 4 or so if you want to try it.
What’s RC? I tried to find it but couldn’t for the life of me🙈

I watched “Xian Yu”- totally forgot to mention this! It really was a fun relatable drama (despite being a fantasy) right? I love how they managed to bypass C-time travel censorship in a rather obvious way-wonder how they managed it🤭

Have you watched “The Wanted Detective”? It’s pretty interesting too - romance is pretty subtle though since the leads are already together at the start of the drama but are apart due to a misunderstanding.

“Twelve Letters” is really good - i didn’t even realize that the ML was Rang Rang until I checked out the MDL page after a few episodes. TL covers heavy topics though so I recommend having a light hearted drama on standby if you usually get affected by dramas😌. The ending is worth it though! Have you watched Keanue Reeve’s “Lake House”? It’s an old American movie from the 2000s? Based on a Korean movie (can’t recall the name now)? It’s kind of similar to Twelve Letters since the story goes between the past and present.

“Love, Take Two” is on my watchlist - thanks for the reminder! I think they wrapped it recently right?

“Tempest” is awesome if you are into action! Their chemistry is seriously on 🔥 - like the FL is supposed to be a grieving widow (who truly liked her late husband) but it’s hard to remember this when the ML and FL share the screen🙈🙈

BLs wise I agree with you on how some countries (*cough* cough* Thai land *cough* cough*) can really go overboard with the fan service. Then again ever since I joined X, I’ve come to realize that K-straight ships can be even more toxic at times . Just today I saw 2 ship wars - KTL shippers are apparently mad at Bon Appetit’s MC coupling - and LR shippers had said something snide about BWS’s new drama pre-promotion with IU.

I used to watch Thai BLs but I’ve lost interest for the most part now. They are too focused on ships and recycled thropes/ PP/ lame jokes. There’s a new one called “Khemjira” that’s kind of interesting since it covers sharmanism/ kharmic reincarnations.

Think the last time i truly enjoyed one was with “I can feel you linger in the air” (involves time travel to the 1920s with zero product placements and a more realistic approach to gay/ women’s rights back then).🤔
J-BLs are more comforting since they are more slice of life? A tad unrealistic at times but quite relaxing for the most part? “Amaegari no…” was indeed quite fun to watch - very anime styled but not too over the top. Life was their worst enemy. “My Love Mixup” was indeed another lovely gem. That’s how I discovered Ren Meguro and “Silent”🙈

Another interesting J-BL movie i watched recently was “Monster” (more like a coming of age LGBTQ movie). It explores domino effects and how different POVs can impact a person. The only thing is the movie has an open ending so the audience gets to pick if they want to have a happy ending or a bitter sweet ending🙊

“Usotoki Rhetoric“ is a fun watch - almost nostalgic since the drama style reminded me of Enid Blyton’s or Agatha Christie’s books for some reason. It has the same vibe as Famous Five and other similar serieses?
“ Ebi Datte Tai ga Tsuritai” - is this a slice of life romcom drama?

True. I'm glad they at least tried to justify Joker's decision to the owner's own past trauma but overall, it does leave a bad taste.

Hope there's a twist here. Specially since Manami's friend still sees Kauru as a liability🤞

Since the fiancé probably will be getting a redemption arc, I don't think they'll villainize hosts either.

Honestly, i'd rather see the 2 dynasties fight with food than have long bloody battles covering several episodes 🙈

The foods good, the competition is good too...and the visuals? Mouth watering 🤭

She's a michelin star chef and she sticks to french- joseon fusion. So I guess for her, she's still playing safe for the most part.

She's just lucky the king loves food. If he was a spiteful tyrant, she'd probably be 💀 by now🙈

I admit using "romance" is a bit of a stretch since the story ends with both finally acknowledging their feelings (with themselves) but do not voice it out loud/ officially confess. But I've noticed this with certain slice of life Jdramas so it's probably a thing in Japan.

The concept also reminds me of more classic english dramas/ movies aimed at young audiences in particular where you don't get a complete romance but there's a general vibe where you know the two characters will get together?

I agree that it would be fun to get a new season to see them explore this further since the drama pretty much already confirmed that the mum definitely would give her blessing, Kanoko knows that she likes Iwai more than just a senior, and Iwai cherishes her too (and not to mention the entire neighborhood supports them too).

Thanks for the detailed response- it’s very helpful 😊

The FL is a catholic school high school teacher - this is where the taboo lies. The teacher-student dynamic here is very informal since she (35 yr old) helps him (23 yr old) learn to read and write as a favour since he has a learning disability and believes he’s an “idiot” for not being able to.

The age gap is imperative for the story seeing as the characters too have an age gap of 23 and 35.

Ms Akina's position is interesting. You feel bad for her but at the same time is it really that excusable? Exploitation is fundamental when it comes to being a host. She knew what she was signing up for.

It's like suing Guiness or any other alcohol company for giving you cirrhosis🫠

Should the hosts have let her down more gently? Sure. But then again we already know how she treats hosts who show "weakness"🤷‍♀️

The FL’s character is pretty generic ngl. In fact at first the story low key reminded me of Ikinari Kon. The ML’s balance between Yakuza boss and “Yakuza Boss” is interesting - specially since his relaxed mode is completely different. Loved the way how the FL couldn’t even recognize him after her drunk shenanigans 😂

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Other dramas - Jdramas wise i think we are watching the same on going dramas:
Learning to love
Cinderella Closet
Usotoki Rhetoric - this is from 2024 but I found it recently 🙈

IDK if you are into JBLs but I’m also watching “10 things I want to do before I turn 40” - it’s very slice of life but strangely relatable if you are in your 30s and have been long term single/ you have a terrible work-life balance.

Kdramas wise, just “Bon Appetit your majesty” and “Tempest”.
“Beyond the Bar” is interesting too (just wrapped up last week).

If you are into Cdramas, totally recommend “the legend of the female general” - it’s over now but if you liked Mulan (animated Disney version), you will probably like this. There’s also another drama called “twelve letters” - it’s really good too and really short for a C-Drama since it only has 12 episodes (fair warning it has a very emotional journey!).
NGL I feel like I maaaay have mentioned these 2 with you before but not too sure 🙈


WBU? Did you come across anything interesting lately?😊

We really should stop bumping into each other every few time a week 😂😂🤭

Jokes aside, that’s what i felt too at first but you never know with dramas. She could be just generalizing🙈

He’s risking everything for her so I hope she doesn’t try to be a saint and “disappear” in order to save him🫣

The drama and crew would probably end up getting a lot of backlash if they didn’t give equal animation focus for the Ming’s food (i.e. the usual racist rant🫣)

Love the creativity though! And the Ming Envoy director’s reactions are hilarious (the king too, but the director’s are even more funny since you know he wanted to insult every morsel)😂

The Ming chef is the definition of a gentleman/ great sportsmanship. He doesn’t compromise his core values in order win. He’d probably do the same for any cook. :)

IKR?! You are supposed to hate him but every time he has a foodgasm, you tend to forget it.😂

The romance is subtle but it's there in an emotional sense. Their eyes speak volumes 🙈

The drama is light hearted, seems to be aimed at the general audience (including children), and based in a more conservative time so PDA is not available. But from ep 4-5 or so onwards, it's often implied that their care for eachother goes beyond a sensei/ assistant relationship.

She even pretty much told him "i love you" in one of the episodes ("the moon beautiful" is a japanese poetic way of saying "I love you" indirectly).

At least from what I've seen till ep 7, that's the idea I got. If it helps, even the manga ends with their official confession to eachother after 50 chapters 🙈

Subber is on vacation based on their website.

Can't wait till Makoto finds out about him 🙈

Thanks

I really love the fact that they kept Hikaru's character tan instead of portraying him "porcelain pale". His beauty somehow looks more exotic/ hypnotic this way. And the style shift is so effortless- nothing over the top. Simple and yet elegent- truly fluid.

Same goes with Haruka- she's sweet and so young but easily blends well with Hikaru and his style.

Finally got to watch it today (2023 feels almost like a lifetime now). Having read the comments before starting the episode, I was expecting the worst…but in hindsight it was for the best. It made my experience much better.

The first half did feel disconnected from IFYLITA’s ending but once the twist was revealed, everything made sense. The special feels more like an interlude between the time Jom returned to the present and the final ending of the main series. A moment where we got to see Jom in his own way cope with his loss by wishing for a chance to be with his beloved Kung Yae- even if it’s only for a day.

If you think about it, if they only had a short time to be together, rather than dwelling on their loss together, it feels like a very Jom thing to make the most of their short time by letting KY experience a part of his world. Given how in the series, one thing KY desperately craved for was to see the outside world, the screenwriter’s decision to focus on “enjoying the present” resonates even more.

So was it worth watching the special? To me, it was. I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed the couple and the theme song until I heard the first notes during the opening scene❤️🥲

Am I still hopelessly hoping for a “blessing” Season 2? Hell yes!🌸

TBH Khemjira is the first Thai BL drama I’m watching in over a year since I got tired of the recycled pattern of most of the story lines/ lame jokes/ excessive product placements.

What drew me in was mostly the story (specially the dark magic/ Sharmanism/karmic past genres). I agree that the acting has scope for improvement but I’ve seen worse acting in Thai BLs so I’m fine with it for now.
I’m more invested in the story behind the curse and the second couple more than the MC “ship” for now - I like them as individuals for the most part but given their situation it’s hard to imagine a perfect HE if sharmans are forbidden from having a significant other.

Just hoping for the best outcome I guess🤞

Haven’t heard of Shine so thanks for the recommendation.