A Must Watch Hidden Gem

To be honest with you, I came to watch this for Lai Edward and Wang Run Ze because I've seen them together with the same roles in a different drama (A Little Thing Called First Love). I didn't expect much thinking it would be a typical school romance drama. I was surprised by how complex the plot is being only the first episode. But if you're looking for a romantic-based school drama, I don't think this one is for you. It surrounds the plot of growing up and facing dilemmas, romance lingers as well but isn't as developed. The plot twist, in the end, is worth it. It answers everything!

The plot is a little bit cliche with time travelling and I was looking forward to its uniqueness and it didn't disappoint. The story is complex and was driven by both the characters and the plot itself. I personally can't think of any characters that are unlikeable or had underdeveloped stories. Everyone was equally important—Mr. Wang was just as important to the plot as Lin Xiaoran or Nan Xiangwan. Their friendship with each other is strong and healthy, and so are the love tensions between the characters which is rare in most dramas but I'm glad we're straying away from romanticized toxic relationships :)

The female lead, Nan Xiangwan's development surprised me the most. In the first few episodes, she comes off as arrogant and self-centred who only wanted to achieve her goal, to get back to Class 2 because of that, I understand why people are discouraged to continue—no one wants to watch an unlikeable lead. But as time went on, she becomes more 'human' who is shown empathy, she helped her classmates find a way out of dilemmas and problems. She still stayed to her true nature with her goal in mind yet helped her classmates as they face dilemmas. She's one of the strongest female leads and if you were to take out the male lead, she'd still complete the drama. The male lead, Lin Xiaoran started off as an alpha who makes a lot of impulsive decisions. He later grew into this person who thinks about what he's doing because of the female lead's presence.

The music is beautiful, especially Xiangli Xiangli! This is definitely a much watch. It is everything a cliche drama is not. There are no heavy misunderstandings and every single problem is solved, there are no plot-triggering characters and both the leads realized their love over time.

Overall, as much as I'm not a rewatch-er, you'd definitely catch me watching this again (and yes, I was teary-eyed).

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A Devil's Own Creation Can Be Their Downfall.

(Note* There might be spoilers ahead. Read at your own caution.
This is also all of my opinions. Do not be affected by my own rating as we all have different entertainment values.)

I never knew I'd love a series so much. I already favoured Girl From Nowhere season one but season two brings so much more. I personally prefer season two over season one. Season one lacked the main conflict (which is pretty understandable). Each episode was different and had no connection to the last but that's what I loved about it. Season two was much more flavourful, in terms of writing, cinematography and even acting. I admit I was a tiny bit hesitant watching season two thinking it'll be similar to season one but it wasn't.

In terms of each episode, I do have to warn you that this is gore and it is not for those who don't like blood or anything gory, guns, suicide, body anatomy, r@p3 etc...
Now, even further warnings: Episode two is light and nothing like you'd think (happy ending? surprisingly yes!) but it goes all dark in episode three. Episode five is probably the most disturbing of them all but the rest is similar (in terms of content) to season one.

I'll start with the individual episodes. Each episode brings their own messages and consequences of their action. The acting portrayed by everyone was amazing and the music is suspenseful as always.

This season brings such a powerful message that even those who seem on top can topple down. Nanno, probably the strongest and untouchable character I've ever seen in any drama, has NEVER shown any vulnerabilities in season one but it all changes when a mysterious girl with a red ribbon 'sabotages' her plans.
I've never seen Nanno so scared of her own creation and with that information itself (Kitty's acting is no joke, it's amazing how everything feels so natural), we know that it was a foreshadowing of what was going to happen to her.

I'm so glad we got to see another side of Nanno, being vulnerable and cautious around Yuri but showing her she was still the boss was just amazing. The range in Kitty's acting is standing ovation worthy. Nink's portrayal was also amazing!!

I loved Yuri and Nanno's dynamic relationship. They both had the same end goal but they approached it differently, you could tell Nanno was the professional one compared to Yuri who seemed new (she was impatient with Nanno's ways which could also be a foreshadowing of Nanno being slowly replaced). The two were like Yin and Yang—it depends on you who you think is the Yin and Yang.

I will also admit I was hesitant of Yuri's appearance, it shook me as well mostly because I loved Nanno the way she was. I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy another, 'Nanno' but to my surprise, Nink portrayed Yuri so well.

But my point is, even the devil is scared of its own creation, knowing that whatever they created is their downfall. Nanno reviving Yuri. Controversial but maybe Nanno knew what her end game was. Why else would she create a person like her if she doesn't know what her fate is?

Now that all of that is said, I do highly recommend this. No, I don't think you necessarily have to watch season one but it'd give you the background information on Nanno and how far she can go.

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Cute Short Story

Seeing as how GL's are rare to find, I knew I wanted to watch it. The drama is nice and refreshing, one I enjoyed and we get to see the main character who we don't know who'll end up with, choose between two other girls—a seemingly badass, straightforward character and an adorable girl who's on the other side of the spectrum.

Though this was short and cute, I do think it lacked a storyline and depended on the characters more. Even then, there wasn't much character growth except for one of the girls ready to find new love after breaking up with her ex. I do think that she wasn't completely over her and shouldn't have impulsively asked the main character to be her girlfriend, only because the other girl did.

The ending is unexpected and creative but I'm not going to spoil too much. It's still a cute story nonetheless and I would definitely recommend this for someone who wants to watch a light drama.

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Favourite Movie!

Short little story time: one of my friends from Thailand and I actually exchange songs with each other. A month or two ago, she sent me the OST for this movie, 'พี่ไม่หล่อลวง' by the one and only, Bambam of Got7. Let me tell you, the first five seconds made me fell in love with the song and I've played it on repeat to the point where it might be top 5 of my Spotify Wrapped of 2021 haha

It was only then recently (just a couple of minutes ago), that I decided to watch it. It was one of my favourite decisions ever!! I knew from the first 60 seconds when Ina said, 'being in debt is like being married to poverty. Once you're married, you must find a way to live together,' that I was gonna fall for this movie. I actually didn't think I was gonna fall this hard but I did.

Everything was time perfectly and paced well. The acting is great, their micro-expressions and close-up made you know that they can act and the music and dialogues are easily remembered. It kept me on the edge of my seat and I would constantly think, 'Ina's ex-boyfriend, Petch is a con artist as well. Does he know? No, he doesn't look like he knows. Wait, but look at the way his facial expression is. He definitely knows.' It was a dilemma that kept me going back and forth.

I loved the characterization but I felt it could've been more. Something about it was a little off to me but other than that I really enjoyed the movie. I do wish that Nongchun and Jone ended up together but that's just my romantic-ass.

Speaking of romantic, I love how this wasn't romance-based and they really stayed with the plot until the end. I love the ending dialogue as well, 'do you have a boyfriend yet? Is it too late to tell you I like you?' These two have great chemistry together and Baifern did not hesitate to be shameless (sweating profusely after taking the helmet off). She was humorous and I love how she only really wanted what she wanted in the first place. She didn't get greedy and she learned from her mistake. And because there wasn't any kiss scene at the end, I was very satisfied. I don't know, I think I've seen too many end kiss scenes for me to be all lovey-dovey fangirling.

Definitely would be able to rewatch with my whole family. I bet they'll love it!

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Respectfully represented.

If you ever need something to trigger a cry in the first six minutes, this drama is for you (but let me warn you, this might be a spoiler so you can skip this part but the first six minutes is a Trigger Warning itself: two suicides).
When I first decided to watch this drama I never thought that the scene would make me bawl my eyes out; I remember sitting beside my family as I watched this drama. I couldn't stop crying because my eyes didn't let me. And to be fair, I don't like to cry but watching this, my eyes weakened and the tears came out.

This is such a beautiful love story. You could tell they really took time with both the character development and the story itself. And if you've seen a handful of dramas, you'd probably notice that a lot of them would lack one or the other. This story focused on both, they let the story control them and let it unfold. The scenes were stable and consistent and everything just felt so right.
In and Korn, despite having less screen time than Pharm and Dean, had the most emotive characters. Earth and Kao's characters struggled the most in their lifetime and they showed it so well. The emotions they exhibited to us felt so real and it hit right in the heart.
One of the scenes I remember the most was when Korn and In, were at the beach. One of the biggest and most impactful scenes happened and this song came. The isolated voices singing the back as the two shared a beautiful moment really made me remember. Every time the song comes up in my playlist I can see the scene in my head and it replays.
In and Korn's scenes were respectfully showed and they really cared about detail.

Now Pharm and Dean, I was actually worried about them (as characters) because they suffered so much in their past life that it started to hinder them in their reincarnated life. Throughout the show I worried about, 'do they really love each other or is it their past lives who can't move on?' and of course, they debunked that and we know that they (as characters) took and controlled their past lives. Their past lives (as In and Korn) made their relationship stronger and well, after watching the show that's when I really realized. Love will always be love. You'll always eventually find someone to love, and for them, it was the red string the brought them back together.

There was also this one scene where Pharm (as he was Intouch in his past life) reunited with his sister and it was everything I could ever ask for and more.

The side characters were also amazing, especially the BounPrem love team. Even Sammy's character was amazing. In this drama, they wanted to make sure everything is well represented and nothing is left out.

I don't want to say too much but this drama is worth everything. It takes you into this rollercoaster and sometimes even question yourself. Do you really know what love is? Was it really love that Pharm and Dean had or was it their past lives? Everything was respectfully well represented and realistic and worth the watch.

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Produced Like A Teleserye

I do want to mention a very important thing before I start, I recommend this show for people who are more into soap operas or dramatic storyline acting as this had traditional teleseryes (common tv type of series in the Philippines) tropes which might be the reason why a lot of people either liked it or disliked it.

I’ve had this on my PTW list and I decided to watch it because I wanted to lessen my list and I enjoyed it myself—maybe because it was something I was familiar with. I grew up watching a lot of teleseryes (even now) so I wasn’t as disappointed by the outcome of their story.
A little background on teleseryes: teleseryes are known to be dramatic and have realistic but unrealistic story, dialogues, acting, pacing, delivery etc... which is most likely why a lot of people were frustrated with the tragic ending and why it ended how it did but it’s a familiar thing in teleseryes.
We have that dramatic mother who doesn’t want to accept what their children does unless it’s something she wants to accept, a best friend who we know will betray, tragic love story etc... it’s all familiar in teleserye so in that sense for a lot of people it felt hostile. This wasn’t something they expected.
This might’ve been a tragic story but I wished they made it tragic in a way no one died. In older shows where there were LGBTQ+ representatives, they almost always end up with tragic endings such as death and so, seeing it here too made me feel queazy. Don’t get me wrong, it’s alright to kill characters but something about the death of Shake and Ken was off-putting for me.

I also want to mention the frustrations I had with the characterization. Sandee did not deserve to be forgiven. She outed him to his mother and if you have basic common sense, you should know that you should never out someone as that is their personal choice. Are you them? No? Then use your brain.
Even when he died his mother could accept he did but not the fact that he was gay? How inhuman can you get? But props to Lawrence, he was a great brother who truly stood beside his brother’s side.
This might’ve been a tragic story but I wished they made it tragic in a way no one died. In older shows where there were LGBTQ+ representatives, they almost always end up with tragic endings such as death and so, seeing it here too made me feel queazy. Don’t get me wrong, it’s alright to kill characters but something about the death of Shake and Ken was off-putting for me.

Yes, this had the most unrealistic storyline and it never went into detail about the things we thought it would go into detail about (such as homophobia, acceptance—yes the acceptance scene in the end did not get me at all). It merely scraped the iceberg but overall I found myself enjoying the show.

I think most people who would enjoy this shows are people who can tolerate or enjoy melodramatic pieces and tragic but happy endings. Overall, I suggest you don’t take the show too seriously and maybe you’ll enjoy it.

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Failed 'Comedy' Act

I'm basing my rating before reading the manga (although this movie discourages me from ever reading it haha).

When I saw this on Netflix, the description of the movie read, 'Kanna Hashimoto stars as the pink-haired college student moonlighting as a 'John Wick' style assassin.' Of course, the words, 'pink-haired' 'assassin student' and 'John Wick' in one sentence caught my eye. However, after a quarter through the movie, I quickly realized it was nothing but a comedic act or a movie to shade action-assassin movies.

The premise of the movie was good, if they had executed it well, maybe this really could be up to par with John Wick. Unfortunately, it was nothing but flat comedy and bad CGI (this would've been a great movie to watch in 2014). The acting itself was disappointing, it was as if the actors and actresses were just given a script at that moment and were forced to learn it throughout their scenes. Of course, there were good moments but considering the almost 2-hour movie and the number of scenes I couldn't believe I was watching, the absurdity was real. With the music, there was nothing significant either. It happened to be your typical horror-like crescendos in tense scenes and mellow instrumentals in vulnerable scenes — quite predictable.

Now I believe this could be shortened quite a lot, I thought the majority of the scenes were irrelevant but I did stay watching. In the end, it flatlined horribly. I watched this with my sister so we had quite a laugh, still, I wouldn't recommend ever watching it.

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Memorable Storyline

I finally decided to watch this movie after seeing it repeatedly on our TFC ads with the iconic line (I remember the most), 'I thought you were better than this!'

It's a very bittersweet movie feeling that goes into a rollercoaster. It's a little bit slow-paced for me but the ending satisfied it for me. There are a couple of plotholes (like Luke's friend who had called him an F-slur. How was he still friends with him? What happened after? Maybe it'll be answered in the upcoming drama).

I like the soundtrack but I really only remember one song which was Ulan by Bugoy Drilon (I'm not kidding when I say it's on repeat for me. It's such a great song). The cinematography was great and it was beautiful, especially scenes with the lanterns at night.

The Boy Foretold By The Stars has a very unique storyline that kind of goes beyond traditional Filipino beliefs such as; Dominic and his best friend going to Baby R who's a famous fortune-teller (because we're very religious-based people, we don't believe in that stuff); Luke flipping a coin to choose his destiny; the obvious, sexuality which is slowly being embraced in our conservative country. This movie isn't that typical, 'I don't like men, I only like you,' which often becomes a huge part of the storyline in a lot of dramas (and even movies) we watch. We know by the end, Luke comes to terms with his sexuality although it might've taken a while (which is very realistic).

It's pretty realistic when portraying high school romances and especially in a religious school where two men fall in love because there will always be those who don't support and those who do. Luke's character is realistic as he came to terms with his sexuality. Not everyone would suddenly go, 'oh, I'm gay. Cool.' We go through emotional phases that CAN hurt people around us and in his term it was with Dom. He slowly begins to realize he was falling for him but being gay could make a lot of people hate you and throw slurs at you in their school (we know that was the case with Luke's very homophobic friend) so he blew off on him and the iconic line, said by Dominic, 'I thought you were better than this!' came. They weren't on speaking terms and Luke even flipped the coin to determine his destiny with Dominic.

It was a rollercoaster of a ride with a third party ruining their relationship but as expected, they did have a happy ending!! I would definitely watch it again.

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Amazing Cinematography and Good Characterization

This might be a little bit long but if you're unsure because of the review if you want to watch this, you can read this :)

tl;dr (if this ends up being too long for some people to read):
it's a 'relief break' show with an unrealistic storyline but realistic characterization. The cinematography is beautiful as well as the cast. No plot trigger characters :)

I think the reason why I'm writing this is because of how low some of the reviews are and I actually found the drama pretty good.
I understand why people rated this show pretty low as there wasn't any plot to see and it seemed to be 'directionless' but I enjoyed this drama. It's short and gives you a lot of the feels.
I would recommend this for people who needed, 'relief breaks' because I know a lot of the drama could be well, overfilled with drama. It can be exhausting when there's too much drama happening but this one is chill and I guess nothing big really happens until the very end of the season which indicates the confirmation of a second season.
This is also a very unrealistic (but in some ways realistic) and cliche drama as we are seen with characters whose parents are absent and no prejudice could be seen (which is sadly not the case in real life). There is also Bart's fast-paced model progression which we know in real would not be the case as it is hard to find a job and progress in Manila especially if you're new.

Now what I really want to say is how beautifully they captured the Philippines. The cinematography they show in the province is beautiful and realistically portrayed the locals as they only take what is enough for them (of course not everyone is like that) but Manila is also beautifully shot and it gave me a new perspective on Manila (I've been to Manila and have not had the best experiences).

Okay, now the cast is no doubt attractive and could act (though their beauty was one of the main things that carried the show). I think they really focused on Renz when it came to aesthetics as most of his scenes is very, 'you'll fall in love with me', (it's very true. i've fallen for him haha). His drunk scene on the first few episodes was well shot and even where he taught Kurt's character, Bart how to use a chopstick. Brendalynne was my favourite character, she could be irritating for some people since her personality is so big but she was lovable to me. She was always there for Bart and comforted him plus he made him laugh when he was sad!!

The characterization for the most part could be argued as the only realistic thing in this drama. I think it's true especially because this drama is centred around self-discovery and self-growth. I'm not sure if anyone noticed but there was no third party to ruin the two's developing love for each other (I guess Josh could be one but not really). Josh's character development where he comes into acceptance of Bart and Bryce's relationship is worth watching for.
Now if you're wondering what I meant by, 'plot-trigger characters' are characters who are only there to trigger another character's feelings.
I love how they didn't use Edward or Josh as a triggering plot character to make Bart or Bryce realize their feelings for each other and it was one of the things that developed over time (cause realistically, we don't have someone whose main purpose in our life is to make us realize we love someone. We somehow just realize it). As much as some people wanted Edward to go on a date with Bart and 'coincidentally' Bryce comes in and gets all jealous and that's when he realized he was in love with Bart or vice versa with Bryce and Josh, it didn't happen. I was actually somewhat relieved as I always see it in other dramas so it was just another one of those, 'wow, that's different. I'm going to keep watching.'

Anyways, this is a pretty good drama for those who needed a break but at the same time wanting to keep watching dramas. It's short and could be finished in one sitting.

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The Character Development

(Depending on how you read this, there might be spoilers)
I wished I had seen this sooner but it's always better to be late than never (which by the way, thank you youtube for putting the trailer on my recommendations haha)

This movie was amazing to watch. The character development was the biggest thing and it showed the reality of love. Not all of us have a choice to love a person. Now I definitely don't condone cheating or affairs but this movie gave me another perspective on that. I also don't want to use any euphemisms so I'll be really straightforward. Cheng Xi's dad never really fell in love with San Lian. I think he knew he was gay but because he lived in a time where it might've been considered taboo. He didn't want to accept himself; thinking if he marries and bears a child from a woman he'll be normal — which we see is not the case. He still ended up loving his, 'male lover' whom he already fell in love with before San Lian. Love has no boundaries and I'll keep saying that over and over again.
The character development was my favourite thing because they really took time for the characters' development despite only having so much time.
Cheng Xi becomes bolder and courageous into standing up from his overprotective mother and realizes that although someone the love may die, everyone has different ways of dealing with grief — he was confused with Jay who seemed to be happy but as you progress watching the movie, you'll see Jay zone out reminisce memories which mean his way of dealing with grief must be that of thinking he is still alive. He lives in his memories because that's the only way to 'access' Zheng Yuan; to live through already made memories.
Cheng Xi's mom, San Lian was the character I anticipated the most when it came to character development. She was one of those characters we hate but in the end, not only do we understand and even empathize with her feelings, she slowly starts to understand everything herself. I also want to mention, her feelings are very valid. She felt betrayed and used. Imagine if you marry someone only to find out that they only married you for the sake of being normal and you were available to them at the time. You fell in love yet in the end you realize it was unrequited. I'm sure Zheng Yuan loved her but his love for her didn't compare to Jay's.

This movie is really good for those who'd love to see another perspective on things. The story was steady and consistent and it wasn't cliche. It respectfully talked about love, cancer, death, cheating and manipulation and a lot of things that are sometimes romanticized. I don't personally remember and songs which is why I rated it so low. There were also plotholes that left unanswered question(s). Overall it was a nice wave of new perspectives. The acting is also very realistic. The actor who played Cheng Xi was amazing. He was maybe only around 14 when he acted but wow!!

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Cute Story and Cliche Storyline

Considering this was written and directed by the female lead of the story (Kristel Fulgar) and produced by the male lead (Benedict Cua), this was a cute story. It was your typical 'unexpected encounter' and 'girl best friend of male lead makes female lead jealous' drama.

The story itself wasn't my favourite, and despite it being short twelve-episode duration, I think it could've been shorter. There were quite a lot of filler scenes that I skipped over and still understood what was happening. Their acting is well done and the two had undeniable chemistry but it could've been better.

The female lead's attitude towards the male girl's best friend could've been better. It was a very cliche play they used and the main conflict seemed to involve the love interest(s) girl best friend. She could've communicated with him instead of ignoring every time the two locked eyes.

Overall, I wouldn't rewatch this and the storyline is quite forgetful as they used a lot of the cliche plots and sub-plots.

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