cute and endearing

Having seen both series now, I'm glad that the Thai "version" isn't actually a remake. It has its own story to tell with its own set of unique characters. The only thing really similar is that you have a science nerd and a creative falling in love. It's so fun seeing Gu Wei Yi from the 2019 Chinese drama as a cameo appearance here, as Pupaa's science idol.

I'm not a huge fan of the story for either drama, honestly, but it is light-hearted and cute overall. My biggest issue is that I didn't feel a whole lot of romantic attraction between the leads, but their romance is less "set the world on fire" and more "let's stroll through the park hand in hand." So once I realized that, I was fine with it. People can be in love without intense visual passion.

The second leads in Ta and Wawa were particularly fun. I ended up liking Ta best of all the major players, which is funny because I didn't like him much at first. But he did some growing and some maturing and overall was just a fun, quirky sort of character. Time, the Thai pop star, was okay. I have a trend in what I like as pop stars *cough, Saint, cough* and he doesn't quite fit it, but that's okay. He added the necessary drama to the story and I ended up feeling bad for him when he didn't get the girl. That's not a spoiler, btw, I'm sure everyone already figured out that Prapai and Pupaa end up together.

It did take longer to finish than I anticipated. I got bored at about episode 12 so put it on hold for a few months and then picked it up again to finish the Thai Watch Challenge 2022. If I hadn't had a challenge pushing me to finish it, I'm honestly not sure I'd have gotten it done. So, yes, it's cute and endearing, but I, myself, preferred Voice in the Rain much more. It's not that anything is inherently wrong with Put Your Head on My Shoulder, it's just that maybe it feels a bit too much like a K or C drama for my liking. Which is why, just like the 2019 C drama series, I'll probably never watch it again. Saying that, I think audiences who primarily watch K and C romance dramas will love it.

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all the things

I loved Zee until this series, now I'm struggling to even want to watch him in anything else because the character he plays here gives me the skeevies. I never thought that could happen because I loved him so much as Fighter, but apparently, it's the character I love.

In Cutie Pie, there's so much toxic manipulation going on. And I dropped it at episode 5, imagine how bothered I would be if I had kept going, which is why I dropped it. I know it's super popular, fans are all over Zee and Nunew, and all of that, but I honestly don't care about the hype, and did not like the drama. It's got loads of manipulation and toxicity running around the table, people not being their authentic selves, communication issues, and for all I know, consent issues later on. I didn't get that far.

I think if folks have any sort of trigger related to narcissists, manipulation, and toxic relationships, this is not going to be the drama for you. I handled the manipulation of Fighter with Tutor just fine because Tutor was one tough cookie in Why R U and knew how to hold his own where Fighter was concerned. Just like Saint held his own with Zee. But in this, Nunew just seems young and out of his depth and that's how the character is played. It bothers me because they're continuing to play the roles for the fans and recognizing Zee's addictive personality (watch him in interviews and such with Saint 3 years ago, you'll see what I mean), it's just going to get worse and likely Nunew doesn't have any defense mechanisms in place like Saint did.

I just backed out of Cutie Pie before it got worse. I actually was excited for this drama when I first heard about it so I was disappointed that it ended up being so concerning. But it's going to continue to grow in popularity, people will continue to love it, and so be it. I just had to join the small group of folks who didn't like it and have been brave enough to say something. I hope Nunew and Zee are excited about being glued together through the rest of their acting careers, because that is exactly what is happening. And, honestly, it's a cute trend in old Hollywood, but not today.

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a lovely Lakorn

Everything made sense to me, start to finish. Rarin realized she needed to discover who she was before she could give her all in a relationship. She'd spent so much time relying on the voice that she didn't even really know herself or how to take steps without Tan there. So the last two episodes made 100% perfect sense to me, regardless of the viewers who didn't like the last 2 episodes. I wouldn't have changed a thing. It still has a happy ending, the voice comes back, Mind and Porsche end up together, Rung wakes up, Kan gets his comeuppance although I felt sorry for him a little bit, and all is well that ends well. Tan and Rin are a lovely couple, ideally matched, they just had to grow apart for a season. It's a beautiful Thai Lakorn, a new favorite, and it deserves more acclaim and a much higher rating than it has.

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falls somewhere in the middle

Not terrible, but it could have been better. There's some issues with pacing and the scripting definitely needed some work. Never tell a criminal who has taken a hostage to "calm down." Do things to help them calm down without realizing it, but don't command them to "calm down." I was annoyed by the amount of times our leads just blatantly told people wielding knives or guns to "calm down." It was weird and is not how a hostage negotiation would go in real life. You also don't tell victims to calm down, either. Why would you do that? Yes, they're freaking out, but telling someone to calm down isn't going to help.

Andrew Gregson as Aran was definitely this drama's strength. I'd never seen him before, and apart from having a striking resemblance to Alex O'Loughlin, he was really excellent. He has a great emotional range that seriously impressed me, and he's the only real reason why I kept watching. I like dramas that deal with someone who has lost a loved one due to their own mistakes. So watching him go on a revenge kick and then come to terms with it was important. His character was absolutely the high point.

HOWEVER, the writers did a serious disservice to their female lead, Captain Irin. I have no idea what they thought they were doing, but nobody is going to believe she is the top in her field. It's just not going to happen, and I put that solely on the shoulders of the writers. Yes, some episodes and dialogue for her are better than others. But that character makes a lot of critical thinking errors that are not ok for that type of role. Such a shame because Pancake did a great job. She just had so little to work with. The writers, yeah, it's on their shoulders that their script for her primarily sucked.

The series was a little gruesome, more than I like now, at my current age in life. So that was unfortunate. But I didn't hate it, I just didn't love it. I did like that it had no romance. You just sit down and watch a suspense Lakorn and don't have to worry about getting side-tracked by lovey-dovey looks. So that was great. I will track down more of Andrew Gregson's roles since I really ended up liking him a lot.

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a solid serial killer story

I'm not usually a fan of open-ended stories, but the more I watch Japanese entertainment, the more I get used to it. Because apparently the non-ending is something they love or they wouldn't create so many stories that just end abruptly with the potential for more.

Suda Masaki can be hit or miss for me, but he's definitely on point here as Yamashira Keigo. He gave a really solid performance. Oguri Shun as the primary detective was equally brilliant, if not more so. I really enjoyed his character a lot. He was designed with a lot of thought and care and Oguri Shun was up to the task of playing him. I'm not a "Hana Yori Dango" fan, so it's nice to see him in something else where I actually like him. Fukase Satoshi as our serial killer is new to me. I can't say I'll be chasing down any of his other work, if he does decide to pursue acting. That tends to happen for me when someone plays a villain so convincingly, it can ruin anything else they might do because they're just too darn scary. I like stronger females. I'm just gonna say it. So the character design and performance by Takahata Mitsuki as Yamashiro's wife didn't work for me. She was a little too prim, proper, and meek. She annoyed me.

I'm a fan of the "Red Dragon" movie in the Hannibal Lecter franchise, and this had several of the same components. So it's not very original, but it still feels like a solid addition to the serial killer genre. I wish we'd learned more about our serial killer, that would have been nice, but we can't have everything. I don't regret watching it and while it's not one I would ever go to again for warm fuzzies, I can see Sunako-chan from "Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge" loving it, so that's something.

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over-hyped but worth a watch anyway

While I'm enjoying this drama, I'm not loving it. The cases are too formulaic, the "mystery game" set of episodes makes no sense (3 out of the 7 invitees know his history and the history of the house, so how can they fairly be involved in the game play?), and I was having definite "Scarecrow and Mrs. King," "Diagnosis Murder," "Castle," and "Murder, She Wrote" flashbacks. That's what happens when someone who is not a PI or an actual law enforcement officer ends up embroiled in mysteries. They can be fun to watch, but usually nothing more because they're falling back on overly-used tropes that have been around for decades.

I like Suda Masaki. Most of the time. Here, he's entertaining, but the character doesn't have a whole lot of depth other than being a fairly smart-mouthed college student with so much intellectual prowess that he has a superiority complex. Rather like a certain literary detective everybody keeps alluding to. What that means is that this has been done before, and better, by far more skilled storytellers. And I am not impressed with any of the secondary actors. They're rather lackluster and only in entertainment would cops actually allow a citizen to help with crime-solving. Plus, the female cop is driving me bananas. If she had more confidence in herself than others would have more confidence in her. And she has no chemistry with the ML who she is supposed to be crushing on. So that side plot is just irritating.

The drama is certainly worth finishing. But in the mystery/thriller genre, it's not going to be a favorite. I won't regret watching it, I know that much, but there are already other mystery dramas that I like so much better (Shoutai, Seigi no Tenbin, Gourmet Detective Goro Akechi). It reminds me of "Strawberry Night Saga," so much anticipation and a bit of a letdown. I don't mind camp. Sometimes I actually prefer it because it works with the story (like Gourmet Detective Goro Akechi). What I hate is pretentious writing and this drama is full of it. And this is coming from someone who loves Jdramas.

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looking forward to season two

Here's the thing.

I liked the idea a lot, and I feel like it was well executed. But I'm not a fan of Akaso Eiji or Yunagi Shuntari in the main roles. I'm especially not keen on Yunagi as Yobi, honestly. Something about him just didn't work, could have been that he doesn't wear bleached hair well, at all. Some guys do and some guys don't and he definitely does not, imo. If the casting choices for these two characters had been different than I might have been more engaged.

HOWEVER, with that said, I still enjoyed it and it was a very intense ride. And I'm anticipating the second season a lot since it focuses on Kara more (and I am in favor of Sakaguchi Kentaro in that role) and Itagaki MIzuki is supposed to put in an appearance and I'm rapidly becoming his fan. So I feel like for me, the 2nd season will be better and more engaging. Not that the first season was bad, it's just that I feel it focused on the wrong things. I would have loved it if we could have just jumped right into what promises to be an intense 2nd season and skipped the 1st season entirely.

Still, it's well worth a watch. I love that we've got some intense Jdramas coming out this year. Try Kamenashi Kazuya's "Shoutai" if you want another interesting one. Subbed by Mia-maw!

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so many issues of consent going on here

*~* Completion Update *~*

Okay, I finished it. And I stopped hating it maybe at about the 7th episode mark? But I still don't love it, through no fault of the actors. I just don't like horny ghost girl for too much of the drama. Who in their right mind thinks they're not reincarnating because they've never had sex? That's absurd and just, no, on so many levels. And I hated the sous-chef, Rain. Oh my gosh, how can one man be that horrible and chauvinistic?! It was fun to see Suam in this drama since I couldn't stand him in "Switch On" but thought his acting was way better here. So there were some pluses. It helped once there were some confessions that happened and there were some consequences that happened. Ghost Girl toned it down a bit once she actually fell in love with Artit, and ironically, that tamed her behavior a little bit. Go figure. So the changes in some destructive behavioral patterns and actual consequences helped a lot which is why my rating went up. However, the story will always be too similar to "Let's Fight, Ghost" and like I said below, "Let's Fight, Ghost" is superior in every way.

*~* Original Review *~*

Umm, so many issues with this drama. Just the very concept of this drama has so many problems concerning consent. Now, I fall in the middle where consent in dramas is concerned. I usually have no issues with stolen kisses. Probably because a neighbor boy stole my first kiss when we were both 9, so yeah, it happens. BUT, I have issues with a ghost possessing an UNWILLING host to use that host for sex. That's a big red flag in my book. This ghost also has no respect for personal space or someone telling her NO when she gets grabby. I just almost can't. The only reason I'm continuing to watch is because I actually like the Jiw, the human girl. At least, I did, up until the end of episode 7 when she essentially gives horny ghost girl permission to possess her for the whole sex thing. I'm not holding out a whole lot of hope that this drama is going to improve much. I will finish it because I must know how it ends and how much or little I should hate it.

But take my advice. Watch "Let's Fight, Ghost," instead. All Jeen does is try to steal a couple of kisses from Off, that's really the only serious question of consent in the whole drama where the leads are concerned. And it's stinking cute. Naturally, because the ML is SaintSup and he's AWESOME. "Oh My Ghost" is torture in comparison.

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so peaceful

Peace really is what I felt while watching Koisenu Futari. It's like watching your best and happiest dream unfold on repeat, just full of warm and contented feelings. One of the special people in my life is an aroace. She's a remarkable woman, gifted and strong, but also lonely and often feels misunderstood. I feel like I understand her a little bit better now after watching this drama. And while Issei Takahashi was the originating reason why I found Koisenu Futari, the theme is what made me determined to watch it.

Don't we all want to live our best and happiest life? And what does that look like for each of us individually?

That's the question that both Takahashi-san and Sakuko have to answer for themselves. Takahashi always gave of himself to fulfill the expectations of his grandmother and of society. He lived in the same, in the now, and he never let himself think his life could be any different. He blessed Sakuko so much, freeing her to be her true self, teaching her that it's okay for her to be different no matter what anyone else said. And she returns that favor to him tenfold by helping him discover just who he wants to be and what he wants to do and equipping him to follow that dream.

Everyone goes into dramas with preconceived ideas of what it will be like. This drama was none of my preconceived ideas. I'd even settled on disliking Kazu-kun because he just seemed like someone who would annoy me. When in fact he also became such an integral part of Takahashi and Sakuko's development, and he grew and changed so much through the course of the drama. I didn't like Sakuko's sister, until I suddenly did. I thought some elements would end up being tropes and they weren't. And of course, the ultimate fear that the story would devolve into a love story, which it never did.

Koisenu Futari is perfect. Its value is so far-reaching and I hope it gains more traction and viewers. Thanks to Kaizen Subs for their hard work. Many thanks to the brilliant performances of Issei Takahashi and Yukino Kishii. The more I learn of Takahashi-san's filmography, the more I love him. He doesn't settle for the norm, but stretches boundaries. If you want another equally magnificent drama starring him, try Bokura wa Kiseki de Dekite Iru. Another hands' down favorite, only this time he plays a man who I believe is on the autism spectrum.

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definitely a new favorite

Do you know how some dramas just make you happy? Well, "Let's Fight, Ghost" makes me happy. It makes me happy because Saint is AMAZING as Off, because his chemistry with Orn as Jeen is off the charts, and because the emotions feel very real. I've watched the Korean version and while I enjoyed it, the Thai version definitely has a tighter plot, an ending that makes more sense, and is just overall more cohesive. Saint has never been more powerful, more intense, and more charismatic than he is as Off. It's like I knew he had it in him but was just waiting for that moment when he would prove it to me. "Let's Fight, Ghost" is that moment.

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How I loved Switch On, let me count the ways!

Let's start with all of the awesome things.

First, I'm a sucker for gaming stories. I grew up watching "Tron" and then "Tron Legacy," so yeah, I love stories where people disappear into or out of games. Is it an original idea now? No, but that doesn't matter, because for me, it's a favorite plot. So all of the VR glasses and the moving between the game world and the real world was awesome. I also love the concept of AI becoming sentient (thanks Terminator), so having Akin reach a level of AI sentience where he can no longer be manipulated by anyone in the game or outside it is brilliant.

Second, his name is Gee and he plays Akin. Yes, please, and thank you. Gee has such a dynamic and expressive acting style. He sold every single experience his character(s) are going through, and by the second episode, I was completely invested in his side of the story. He also managed to wring chemistry out of his female lead, Aom. They were outstanding together, really just sold the relationship elements, and I suspect she wouldn't have given such a strong performance if she'd had a different male lead.

Third, and randomly, but I can't get the soundtrack out of my head which means it's a winner. Love that. If anyone knows the name of the song, please let me know in a comment.

Fourth, Michael, I mean, Peter Tuinstra who plays Michael. That guy is pretty dynamite. He truly knows the language which lent his acting a whole lot of credibility.

Now on to the not-so-great.

First, yes, there is a "twist" ending. But I saw it coming so I wasn't bothered by it, and it kinda made sense, but at the same time, the drama would have probably been stronger without it. Oh well, just skip the last 3 minutes of the series and you'll be fine.

Second, the secondary cast, almost all of them are extremely stiff and wooden, except for Phukhao who plays Leo who I liked. But everyone else, there were times when I felt like they were just reading their lines. This is a shame because I think with a stronger secondary cast the show would have shined more.

Third, yep, we've got some production issues, not so much in the filming itself, but in the fight scenes, doctor scenes, etc. I'm sorry, but I watch a lot of Japanese dramas where they know their martial arts to such a degree that they literally come without a hairs' breadth of connecting with their opponent. It feels real. This did not feel real, so that was disappointing. Gee needs more martial arts lessons if he's going to continue to do these types of dramas.

So there you have it. Even with the flaws, I am personally still rating "Switch On" 9 stars because I love it that much. I know there are complaints from people that it's a "rip-off" or "copy" of a Korean drama. That's fine. Let it be a remake. I love Thai dramas, and so I'm not supporting folks who are going "oh, but the K drama is so much better." That's your opinion and it's fine that you have it, but stop trying to influence folks to not even try "Switch On." If you like Thai dramas and enjoy sci-fi/gaming stories, then go for it. Maybe you'll love "Switch On" as much as I did. One can hope.

Coming up soon will be me watching "Let's Fight, Ghost" with SaintSup, and I am extremely stoked for that one. I actually did watch the original Kdrama "Bring It On, Ghost" and liked it a lot, but since I'm completely in favor of a Thai remake, like I said, I'm stoked. I'm sure Saint will blow all of my expectations out of the water. Because that's just what he does.

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all the feels!

If you like any sort of illness story (terminal or otherwise) then you're probably going to love Hatsukoi Loss Time, just like me. It's a beautiful little movie, so sweet and charming. It has that gorgeously slow pacing of really good Japanese films that just take their time to tell the story.

Of course, viewers are doubly blessed with Mizuki Itagaki in a male lead role. That happens far too rarely for my taste since he is 100% ML material and his role of Kouji is absolutely precious. He's great as a warm or nice male lead, although I'm sure he can be darn scary if he wants to be. Newcomer Sakura Kiryu as Tokine is fabulous. Considering she was, what 14 at the time? Maybe 15 during filming, she gave such an incredible performance. There's a 3 1/2 year age gap between her and Mizuki but you would never know it. I appreciate that they were clearly aware of her age, though, and were careful with her scenes and how they interacted. You can tell that she was being looked after well.

And for those who want to know, yes, there is a happy ending. Sorry, that might be a little bit of a spoiler, but some viewers won't watch one of these types of dramas unless there's a happy ending, and Hatsukoi Loss Time deserves more viewers. It's precious like One Week Friends, and even gives me some of the same feels, although not the angst and grief, as He Won't Kill, She Won't Die. It's just a beautiful, well-acted film that I could pretty much watch on repeat.

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an entertaining romp

This one was mostly fun with a few serious moments sprinkled in.

I knew I would actually finish the drama when I pretty much fell in love with the secondary characters. Because as much as I like the leads, if they had been the only thing going for this drama, I probably would have dropped it since 16 episodes is longish for me. BUT, because all of the secondary characters were equally as amazing (love that comedy relief!), I kept watching. Love the ghost-hunting pair of crazies. They're just so quirky and fun and absolutely not suited for that type of job. And the monk, oh my goodness, once I got used to him, he became one of my favorite characters.

But in the end, I really kept watching for Kwon Yool's character. Because while he terrified me, at the same time, as more and more of his story unfolded, I prayed for a hopeful resolution for him. I had to know what happened to him in particular, so I kept watching, and I am glad that I did. I felt the most empathy for him, in the entire drama, which probably sounds strange, but is also true.

Now, as for the storyline with the leads, I guessed Hyun Ji's plotline. Not all of the elements tying everyone together, but the rest of her story is not all that original so I knew by the end of episode 2 what she really was. Which is fine, but it does show that while the drama is supremely fun, with all of the side characters and their personalities elevating the story to a bit more of a comedy than horror, the main story is just sort of basic. The leads couldn't have carried this drama alone. Bong Pal, as tsundere characters go, warmed up pretty quickly, but I actually liked him and Hyun Ji more before they started liking each other, if that makes sense. They were more fun when their interactions had a bit more bite.

And for a girl who's a pretty tough ghost, she didn't do a lot of screaming or fighting back in the last 2 episodes. Even just making yourself dead weight, especially knowing your kidnapper needs you, would have made a lot more sense. So parts of the ending particularly frustrated me because an actual persona in real life would have behaved differently if they had actually been kidnapped and knew someone was there to rescue them. And what happened to Hyun Ji's necklace? Because it was never resolved as to whether her mom gave it to her or not.

So while I did enjoy it and have rated it fairly high, there were some storytelling and timing issues that I wish hadn't happened

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method acting gone awry

This is actually a really intriguing movie about a method actor who doesn't know where to separate himself from the character. If the character he plays is in love, so is he, and that actually makes him a bad method actor. David Suchet (the British actor who played Poirot for 25 years) is also a method actor and a brilliant one. He became Poirot every time he put the mustache on. That was his triggering point to become the character that he played. The voice, the walk, the demeanor, the stature, everything else fell into place for him once that mustache was put on.

This guy does not have something that triggers him to become the character once the camera (a.k.a the play) is rolling. He just becomes the character permanently until the play is over and he doesn't have a use for the character anymore. This isn't about a guy suddenly discovering he's gay. It's about a guy who can't rein in his method-acting ability and give it a skeleton, a structure. It's really tragic, actually. I mean, his poor wife, suffering through this every time he's in a play? Yikes. This time seems to be worse though since he never filled out any of his method-acting notebooks for Unchain, which means he was even more unstable than usual with not even notebooks to ground him into Walter's motivations and personality traits.

I get people wanting to label this BL, but it's not. I mean, maybe Young Woo is gay or bi, possibly, but even more than that, he's pretty psychotic. The dude had scary vibes rolling off him in waves at the end. Everything they did was done as the characters of Walter and Singer. It's all fake, people. They're so into their characters of Walter and Singer that they're not themselves anymore. Which really means they shouldn't be actors.

It was good, and a really good look into the idea of method acting gone seriously awry. Maybe the original story was intended as BL (I honestly have no idea), but that is not the message I got.

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