Reviews

I rarely gives a 10 for drama, BUT DAMN

Uhh, ps, sadly, i change it to 9,5 now.. only b'cause i thought it looses its glint in eps 10.. maybe its just me but thats what i felt..

(btw, I will keep updating this review, cause this is one way to vent the emotions ❤)

I CAN GIVE THIS AN EASY 10 ANY DAY!

Idk how, BUT THE STORY KEEPS GETTING BETTER!!!
That's it! You should watch this now!
Ever felt like drama puts too many filler? or just the same problem being dragged on for too long?
ITS CERTAINLY NOT THE CASE HERE!
The main thing I like about this drama is their story and acting. These talented actors act so brilliantly! Ohm and Nanon both have an amazing skill and beautiful eyes to convey the character's feeling. When you give this series a go, you should pay attention to their detail expression it was beautiful.
Kudos to all staff! Actors, writer, director, for they've made an amazing drama!

IT GETS BETTER EVERYTIME THEY AIRED!
It feels like they really use all the potential the story gets to offer! Episode 6 killed me, and I'm more than willing to die of happiness again in eps 7.
IM OFFICIALLY A SIMP. I keep rewatching this again and again in waits of their next episode, which is unhealthy, BUT WHO CARES

I really hope they will keep this up, or even somehow do better in the upcoming episode!
I'AM LOOKING FORWARD FOR THE NEXT EPISODE!!!

Episode 7:
So, hi.. I've watched the 7th episode.. IM DEAD, I'm talking to you from the grave rn.
this, is the first time I CRIED OF HAPPINESS...for a BL drama..
The ending of the 7th episode just.... shi- imma rewatch that 20 more times and will comeback for a proper review without my head being a total heaven of roses field and pink clouds

For those who gonna watch this, good luck soldier, I hope u make it out alive and sane
❤

Episode 8:
Its all fluff at first, yet always calm before storm right?
I'm so happy for them, just when I CAN FINALY SEE MAJOR CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT.. then shi* turn south..
My heart cant take the shock..

End thought:
This drama is so interesting, tho i hope i don't watch it until they're finish,, maybe im not the type to get hype for a long time? i kinda settle down at episode 10,
I still do think the drama is enjoyable! ^^

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This series cinematography and visuals was what got me hooked. It felt like I was watching a high budget Hollywood production, each episode felt like a movie in itself. Casting was on-point maybe except for Ae-sin who I think have very soft features to be a gun slinging sniper. At times she looks like a teenager who seems out of place in that chaotic Joseon era. The main characters deep and tragic history and development was superb. However, the main fault for me was that having the 3 male leads with such powerful characters go after Ae-sin.
I mean, I get their deep history with her but I feel like a more interesting storylines could have been explored if the plot did not stick to this "love quadrangle" until the very end.
Ae-sin's passiveness and poker face acting just didnt do it for me. There was Hina who was a unique lovable character but Dong-Mae failed to even realize her love for him because he just had to get Ae-sin. I cried so hard when Hina died in Dong-Mae's back while confessing her feelings to him. They were not even given a single day to spend together after she waited for him for 3 years 😭.
The finale made up of the last 2 episodes were just dang good! I mean I have never been satisfied with a kdrama ending like this for a loonggg time. As expected in a war death came and a piece of my heart died with each characters passing. Each death may seem rushed at the end but it was artistic and meaningful and heart wrenching to the core. Ae-sin as the last man standing was as it should be. All in all this is a series definitely worth watching! ❤

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This is what I call a perfect ending...

You might think I'm overrating this because I'm still in the TharnType fever but tbh that's not the reason it gets such a high rating. I thought about it and decided it did deserve the 10 points. Let me tell you why though...

Story: The story of this "special episode" keeps true to the original series, recaps some of our favorites from before and gives us new stuff to fawn over. They managed to include the perfect amount of humor and cheesiness, mixed with emotional turmoil and so much romance, you will have hearts in your eyes. The comedy scenes are full of humor and clearly separated from the serious stuff and the serious and heavy scenes are made even more exciting through high production. The story in itself gives us a new chapter of Tharn and Type we didn't really explore in the series: Type's family. And it is definitely worth delving into.

Acting: The acting, with around 2% of exceptions, is great and the characters did not lose any of their charm from the series. The chemistry is still going strong, maybe even stronger since this one is not so much about Tharn and Type learning to care for each other but learning how there love fits in with the world around them.

Production/Music: Every show out there, that messed this up, please go watch this. It is perfect. Perfect volume, perfect timing. There were two scenes that were done so powerfully, I won't forget them anytime soon, I swear.

Overall: A definite re-watch and a great milestone in BL production. It was done amazingly and fits together perfectly, that's why this deserves such a high praise. Beware though, as it will give you serious wishes for a second season and hopefully we will get it!

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Grand plot of a long format made to work amazingly in short format, we stan

This drama deserves a far higher rating. I was soooooo excited to watch this drama. I saw a snippet on Insta and noticed that it is both FL and ML from Seal of Love which I really liked (and honestly, this drama could be considered as a continuation to Seal of Love imho). Richard Li and Ming Jia Jia are such an amazing couple cast, I hope they'll make it to bigger/more popular dramas. They look amazing on camera and have chemistry. I haven't watched many short format dramas yet (this is the third one so far). It is. The BEST. So far. I don't really have anything to complain about, I wasn't even mad about the ending. The character of Yu Wen Yuan is utterly reckless, despicable, rotten and toxic at first (we learned later where did everything come from, but still, that isn't the way to deal with your emotions), he softened up a lot towards the end. Richard Li is just so lovable and such an amazing actor even when he is casted as an pretend a-hole character. Su Yan is just trying to balance both men on each side according to her abilities, she doesn't want to go against her values but also tries to keep the decorum for the sake of her sister's wish. Yu Wen Yingren seems harmless at first, but don't let his eerie calm face fool you. The madness, the drunkenness of power, intrigues, the thrill, everything what usual long format dramas drag on for ages is condensed into this short format. Beautiful costumes and decorations, I appreciated that there was little to no CGI. I'm not a ost music type of fan, but I think the ost could've been a little bit better. Idk the budget for short format dramas, but as far as this genre goes, this drama worked magnificently for me.

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Decent, but not a masterpiece or a "rare gem".

Let me begin with saying that I enjoyed watching this show, but after having watched some pretty great and recent cdramas that also had no OTP related love triangles & decent communication between the leads, I just don't think this one stands out. Calling it a clichefest might even be correct depending on one's point of view. I have read many Chinese webnovels over the past 10 years and this one has adopted MANY of the cliche things from those works, especially about doctors & soldiers. Technically the ML is part of a SWAT police unit, he is not really a soldier, but the things they do to train & the moving targets etc etc are the same that every one of those soldier MC novels have. Mi Ka as a doctor is even more outlandish. She is supposed to be a surgeon, or aiming to be a neurosurgeon to be more specific. However not only is she a talented surgeon, but also a diagnostician on the level of Dr House MD. Her goals as a doctor are not exactly consistent all the way through the series and there are lots of crazy things she has done and is expected to do. Mr Miyagi sending her to the emergency surgery department (could be a mistranslation, because that's a strange, but not impossible department for a hospital to have) for her own good is just plain stupid.
If I were unfamiliar with Chinese pulp fiction, I would just assume that the medical things occurring in this drama were poorly researched.

All of the above doesn't bother me too much. The reason why I don't think this drama is so great is that that there were quite a few annoying things. The second couple's story makes no sense at all. Not only is their weirdly undefined relationship dragged on and on forever, there is even a pretty annoying love triangle..
The leads seem to have had a decent chemistry, however it took too long for them to get together and once they were together they kept being really awkward with each other for like 10+ episodes.
Naturally this drama too needed to have a 2 years long forced separation plot, because studying abroad as a relatively senior resident doctor is an absolute must.
Episode 6 was so bad that I almost dropped this drama out of anger there and then. (see the end of this review for more information)
3 episodes were wasted on the bitchy Shen sisters, that's 2 hours of my life I'm not getting back.

Calling the overall plot draggy would be unfair, but long action(medical action, or police raids) sequences were frequently used as fillers. These weren't boring too watch, in fact the early ones were quite great, but after waiting for some foreshadowed progress to finally happen sidetracking this way is not what I wanted to see.

The OST could have been more exciting, I would say it's below average compared to other cdramas that I've seen that have come out in the last 2 years.

The good things that everyone is saying about the drama are not all wrong. The leads and second leads were really great at their roles. The entire cast is great, pretty much all the supporting actors were more than on point. The visuals, the cinematography were just awesome. The typical flaws of Chinese cinematography were completely absent.
The OTP did indeed communicate rather well & they had quite a few borderline brilliant scenes. I really liked the FL's appearance. She looked like how a normal (admittedly pretty) doctor would look like, as opposed to the nation's little sister pretending to be a busy resident, while sporting a 2h hairdo.

DotS has its flaws, but I think that's a way more fun drama overall. (not like comparing these two dramas makes a whole lot of sense though)

I thought about giving the show a little higher rating, but decided it's too highly rated anyway and I will never rewatch this, nor do I feel the usual feels after having completed a truly great drama.



This is the comment I wrote while watching episode 6:
I just picked this up. I'm watching ep6 right now. I'm not saying that I don't like the show, but what kind of crap hospital is this. Queue at a lift, so they cannot take a patient recovering from brain surgery to the ICU? Netizens not understanding that brain damage takes priority over a broken arm? Let's not even talk about the transfer. It's just a plain stupid episode so far.
(in a real hospital there are enough lifts and if not people with minor issues can just walk up the stairs.)

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A BL where the BL is overshadowed by, you know, an actual story

Manner of Death is presently something of a unicorn: it’s a BL drama where the BL aspects are incidental to a primary story rather than driving the plot themselves. Hopefully, that’s a sign that same-sex relationships are shedding the novelty factor that called the genre into existence in the first place. In the future, perhaps Asian dramas can incorporate same-sex relationships into other storylines just as in real life the people engaging in same-sex relationships have other things going on. Things like jobs and crazy family dynamics, for example. In this case, Manner of Death incorporates those rather standard tropes from non-BL (melo)dramatic television premises into a murder mystery detective story that grows in complexity as the series proceeds. Oh, to be sure, the two main characters will fall for one another along the way--after all, it is still a BL! It's just that finding the culprit motivates these characters more than finding a boyfriend. Anchoring both aspects of the tale the viewer will be pleased to see the legendary BL duo MaxTul, here in their fourth series pairing as a couple.

As anyone conversant with the history of (US) television has already discerned, the title "Manner of Death" positions this series within a particular tradition of TV crime-solving: the medical examiner as detective. Such series revolve around determined forensic pathologists who get drawn into tracking down the killers of murder victims for whom they performed autopsies. Like his TV predecessors from Quincy (1970s), Crossing Jordan (1990s), and Bones (2000s), Dr. Bunnakit (Tul Pakorn Thanasrivanitchai) will occasionally go up against unhelpful relatives of the victim, police officers who refuse to believe murders took place, and overly obvious initial suspects who turn out instead to be a good guy. Or, because we are in BL world, he turns out to be a good guy to go on dates with. In what surely must qualify as a fresh take on the enemies-to-lovers trope, the most obvious suspect for the murder in Episode 1 is not only dashingly handsome but also manifests a surprising interest in the good doctor. Soon Dr. Bun and Tan (Max Nattapol Diloknawarit) agree to become partners—and that partnership won't end with crime-solving.

Since the core story is a whodunnit, I will forego the usual plot synopsis. Suffice it to say that our two heroes face increasingly dangerous scenarios as they persist in trying to solve a crime that powerful figures in this rural town want to disappear without a full investigation. Towards the end this story becomes overly complicated, macabre, and dark. But don’t let that detract from the fun. Manner of Death offers two-fold pleasures for diligent viewers. First, trying to figure out the mystery. Who is behind the escalating series of crimes (side characters in this series have a limited life expectancy!) and why are they happening? Second, the chance to spectate as one of the more hallowed couplings in the BL realm dig into new roles and fall in love with each other all over again. Er, I mean their characters fall in love with each other. Because I, like ,totally, understand Max and Tul are just actors. And that just because they are convincing and delightful as a couple it doesn't mean they themselves are a couple. Dammit.

Enjoy this pairing because all signs are that one or both of the actors will move on from acting to pursue interests outside the industry. To the detriment of BL storytelling, because Max and Tul have an ease with one another that elevates the productions they perform in. Their chemistry as scene partners is undeniable. That alone makes Manner of Death worthy of sampling.

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It's worth your time

IT'S THE BEST HISTORICAL DRAMA I'VE SEEN (apart from Mr. QUEEN). It basically have everything, action, comedy, mystery, romance, etc. Also usually most of the kdrama's are about romance and romance only, but a plus point in this drama is that it's focuses really less on romance (not gonna say that their are really little romantic scenes specially after what happened in ep 13 ;)) and if you are really into detective stories then THIS is the story you definitely HAVE to watch. I don't know why the international audience has given this a really low rating, specially when it's doing great in Korea. Trust me when you start watching it, you won't be able to wait without watching the next episodes. Since i'm watching it while onging, yes I'm honestly SUFFERING here while waiting for the mext few episodes. IT'S DEFINITELY WORTH YOUR TIME AND YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED

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most anticipated but most disappointing

I was excited to see that Gemini and Fourth were getting another project together, and ultimately knew it was inevitable. With the popularity of the pair from their recent (and best so far..) project which was My School President I was excited to see another imaginative and original drama from the pair. Unfortunately for me the originality wasn't coming because this drama is a remake of Keita Hatsukoi, and it is again.. unfortunately not anywhere near as good. What comes in the end is an adaptation I can neither recommend as a stand-alone drama, or to any fans of the original. This drama is just worse in every single way possible.. let me explain

I am not a hater of the fact it is a remake. I know remakes can be done well and have been before, I didn't expect for this to be better or worse, the least I expected was some effort.. and I didn't even get that. The acting is done well enough from the new faces I see, Gemini and Fourth I can't help but see that they are just acting out what was originally done.. and the depth behind their performances aren't there because of a simple reason. The direction and production shot them in the foot, and it isn't any of the acting at fault, it is the writing, the editing, directing, and everything but them. So the editing is extremely cheap and it tells me that whoever is in charge of this project simply didn't understand or care for the source. This drama was just a way to make a quick dollar, that is what it all tells me. They use shammy music and sound effects in ways that aren't effective and just a shame to be there in the first place.

With Fourth in particular. He is a fun person and is an amazing actor, and I know that from his leading role in My School President. The difference there is that he had room to act, instead here they shove sound effects to try and get an emotion of humor out of a scene. The original source material is a manga, and I can see this being done with animation, live action is completely different. The actor can stand alone by himself and I don't know.. act! Fourth is more than capable of holding a viewers attention in the humorous scenes, but instead they drag it out to its limit by stretching the camera and adding cheap sound effects which are what I said. They are cheap ways for the audience to go.. oh this is funny! It isn't, to me it is insulting. I know Thai dramas tend to do this, but they should've reeled it back. My School President was a fun show but also had its mellow moments, it was so well received and had heart because of the directing and care in every scene. In this drama there isn't any attention to detail other than call backs to any other source material. There is a whole lot of extra time in this drama, but it is wasted for cheap and phony reasons. This drama uses the leads and the source material as a way to market and doesn't do anything new by itself, it drowns the original concept to an abyss and I can't see it coming back from it.

Crucial parts that may seems small are taken out, with the Cinderella episode in particular being the worst and the point I realized this show just sucks. I really didn't want it to either. So Atom (who is played by Fourth) isn't even Cinderella, and that is fine by itself, but when you really think about it where is the logic? Originally he volunteered to do it, so the only reason I see that they didn't is because either Fourth didn't want to cross-dress (which is fine) or because this drama wanted to toss the coin in the pot of things they are progressing. That did the opposite, with Atom not being Cinderella it messes the whole identity of the stage itself as well as Atom's character. He does thing in spontaneous behavior, because it is just who he is. He is someone that thinks before he acts, and that is how it is in the original and not here. With Atom having time to think about it, get rejected, and then to do it again takes away a bit of that charm from him, and ultimately strips the dynamic between him and Kongthap (Ida). Ida is a guy who thinks carefully, and even too carefully. He doesn't even understand the concept of liking someone and it doesn't make much sense to him just based off a feeling alone, and Atom (Aoki) is the opposite. Aoki is the person who does things all of his feelings and without feeling, but just is a genuine person. So he subbed in for Cinderella not just because he liked her, but because it was just in his nature. His whole class had no problem and here? Well they refused until he had to and he did it by himself? He had no reinforcement and it made his behavior seem odd? Like Atom isn't the type of guy to do things off of a one moment decision, but they find it weird? So it was disingenuous even if they wanted to pull a homosexual relationship in the mix.

So the episode there became just the characters singing instead of developing their individual characters they sung songs for the play... If you want GemFouth to sing write another drama that has it make sense.. here it made no sense? It was another skip for me..

They screw up the main parts of the characters so badly and they seem a shell of themselves. Atom and Kongthap alike are stale and uninteresting. The ending of episode one wasn't nearly as impactful from the editing and because of the direction towards the portrayals. Kongthap is someone who in the end is also an extremely good person, and very thoughtful. Atom ended up actually liking him but not in any way that was serious or understandable, it was actually pretty confusing. I keep watching and hoping they just go to the source because that did nothing wrong, and if they change things then can they add? There is more than enough time to make this drama good or watchable, this drama just makes me think that I should just go back to watching the original. I really should, GMM shame on you. Shame on you for just shoving this out into the open for the money, where is the heart? Where is the passion? The comedic timing alone is enough to turn someone away from this, this isn't funny at all, not even in a so bad its good.

Taking away the little details.. especially the garbage scene.. oh boy.. that is just not needed. Taking those humor bits away show to me that whoever is in charge really doesn't understand the source material at all. It is just fan service and bad fanservie and is extremely dissapointing. Watch My School President again if you like Gem and Fourth, don't kid yourself into thinking this is good.

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A Queer Story Like No Other

This was an incredibly refreshing queer story. It told a brand new story in a unique but befitting way that, despite the slow pace, kept the show in my head and sent me re-watching episodes every week while it was airing. It didn't rely on dialogue to tell us everything that we needed to know, and it didn't need to. And the soundtrack, cinematography, and symbolism throughout makes it truly worth every re-watch.

There were a few scenes that felt slightly over-acted - but they were in the minority. And I still feel like some plot points were breezed over in order to make a more, and unnecessarily, complex plot/climax. But overall, this is a show that I will definitely be going back to time and time again. And I look forward to the more diverse stories that this drama will help encourage.

*Please see my comment below for a note to all non-Mandarin speakers for once you get to a certain plot revelation and start to angry at the subtitles.

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Error! Error! Error!

I really like this drama cause the lead actor act well and both of them have a great chemistry. Actually Semantic error is one of my fav manhwa so my expectation is so high BUT THIS DRAMA SLAP ME HARD! ITS REALLY GREAT and y'all have to watch and support this masterpiece.
Some part its different from manhwa story (as long as i remember) but thats not much i guess. The soundtrack is good and match with the plot ❤️🤯
I dunno why but for me, this drama have a potential if the production wanna make a season two! Cause i'll wait if the really make that!!!

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FEEL GOOD DRAMA AND ALSO CUTE!!!

This drama is so cute bot visuals and the storyline....This KBL has come after a long time and the wait is literally worth it.....Korean BLs are having a moment this year as they keep releasing one hit show after another. If you are done with Eighth Sense, Semantic Error and other KBL's and are looking for the next show, A Breeze of Love is here to watch!

For those who don't know yet A Breeze of Love is adapted from the “Weather Forecast Love” webtoon. The show tells the story of Ban Dong-wook, who has insomnia. His condition gets worse, especially on bad weather days. On one of these bad days, he coincidentally meets Lee Do-hyun, who becomes his haven. Soon, Do-hyun develops feelings for Dong-wook.

Unfortunately, his confession goes awry, and misunderstanding festers between the two. Fast forward to five years later, the two meet on campus and try to fix their broken ties..........


[THIS PART MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS]

I Really liked the first episodes. The close-ups, the camera work, the lighting, are all peak K-romance. The boys are gorgeous and they can act - we already have a good idea of their characters and the chemistry can be felt the moment they face each other.....also props to the girl who help them meet much faster 🤭
this one's cute haha especially Dohyun broooo he such a cutieeee so as Dongwook......also I was expecting that this one would be like " A Shoulder to cry on" (having no kissing scenes) but your bro is shocked when I saw that there is!!!!! I immediately screamed like omg that's such a memorable scene 🤭 the atmosphere, the feeling, the- AHHHH hahahah and also I think the title change for this one (well) it fits with the drama....no stress or whatsoever hahaha so if you are looking for a 'feelgood' drama that also has an aesthetically pleasing cinematography I'll recommend this to You! 💯🤍

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I'm Happy and Merry That it Ended Quickly

The wedding singing sequence in the first episode captured me. (Side note - the decoration on that venue was absolutely fantastic), I thought it was a strong promising start. Unfortunately things didnt get better after that.

What i dont understand is if this series is meant for streaming or web, why cant they just add few more minutes per episodes. Aside from the obvious intention of patching the episodes together to transform it into a feature length movie - Is there a standard format that requires them to squeeze the playtime like this?

I love short series - when done right. The problem is, Korea has bombarded us with quite a few luckluster short series that are not only under developed but are totally forgetable and that is exactly what we have here. There is nothing in the series that made me want to care about the main leads. Characters keep making questionable choices. There wasnt enough to tell us their backstory, and they didnt develop their love story in a way for me to care about them.

The only thing i liked is the music bcause these two leads can really SING. Jae Hyun's finale song is heartmelting.

The sad truth is Im just glad it ended quickly and i can just put it behind me and forget about it. If these are the caliber of series that GagaOOlala can offer, i think they will have a hard time capturing subscribers.

Rewatcheability - 4 just because Sung Tae is so cute
Story - 5. What story?
Songs - 9
Overall its a 6.5 and thats me being generous. Watch only when youre stuck in a traffic somewhere.

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Short and Sweet Cliché

Honestly Once Upon A Small Town is like a breath of fresh breeze. The last couple of weeks, the dramas that I have been watched/watching are quite heavy and dark and this is the perfect drama to take a moment from those dramas and relax.

It's not a long story which is one of the main reasons I started the drama (Only 12 episodes and each episode is around 35 mins). The story is quite simple with the typical Seoul person trying to adapt to the countryside. (Reminds you of Hometown Cha Cha Cha)

Although I found the SML to be bit too passive aggressive. And at the very beginning I was a bit taken back by the FL as she didn't really seem to do her job as a police officer. In the end I just put aside all logic and just relaxed watched the drama as the other dramas which I am currently watching is making me go through a rollercoaster of emotions. Tbh there are many things that seems not so logical and sometimes a bit cringe but still it's enjoyable. Last two episodes seem to be a bit rushed since they had to put everything in two episodes.

Overall Once Upon A Small Town is a sweet and endearing drama that will make you relax and smile throughout its episodes. Perfect drama to take break from the current heavy and dark kdramas.

Ps. there is ALOT of animals as an animal lover I was very very happy.

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WARNING: This review does NOT actually contain spoilers, however, if you truly want to watch this show, you shouldn't read this because I took my kid-gloves off while writing it.

So here's my dilemma ...

Usually I live by the standard "If you don't have anything nice to say, it's better to just shut up," but in this case not saying anything will drive me crazy. Do you know the feeling when you look forward to something only to be deeply disappointed by it? Sadly that's exactly what happened for me with this show. However, trying to live up to my own moral code, I do have one nice thing to say about this show though, and in good rhetorical fashion I will put it at the end of my review, where the most persuasive point should be, so please bear with me ...

First of all, I think the actors did a decent job at trying to bring the characters to life, however, their efforts were butchered by the senseless writing most of the time. Characters are established as one thing only to react and behave completely opposite to what you would expect – not in a good "wow,-that's-a-cool-twist!"-way but in a "WTF-just-happened?!"-way.

What's also strange is that most of the main characters are spoiled rotten but are still praised as mature and kind by everyone else. Even their parents rarely say anything about their horrible behaviour which is just unrealistic (and/or bad parenting). For instance, the female lead is portrayed as this mature but still innocent little angel (or as I like to call it "The only kind of Asian heroine"), but some of the things she says to her hard-working father are just downright disrespectful ... and he NEVER reprimands her! It's so bad that I honestly can't tell if he's the best dad ever or just bad at educating his daughter.

Before this gets completely out of hand and turns into a ranting of epic proportions, here are my top 3 reasons why I do NOT recommend this show:
3. The borderline unprofessional editing. Seriously, it's so bad that it actually obstructs the plot and messes up the timeline.
2. Speaking of timeline: There are some major plot holes in this thing. Just think about how the two lead characters supposedly met each other the very first time ... (WARNING: The gaping plot hole you will find might drive you mad.)
and last but sadly not least ...
1. The plot is not driven by the characters but the other way around. This is a recipe for disaster. It makes everything (worst of all the drama and dialogues) terribly forced and artificial, leaving the audience wonder most of the time why certain dramatic moments are happening in the first place, when they could have been so easily dissolved. Which they eventually are ... in the most anticlimactic way possible.

Okay ... I promised to say something nice, so here we go:

I like the title song.

Although the character that's supposed to have written the song in the show is portrayed by an obviously tone-deaf actor who should have been told to never sing in a public setting.

But still, yeah, I like the title song.

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I was trying to wait until the season had finished before writing a review but I don't think I can wait any longer >.<

I'm going to start by saying that I didn't hate this drama. In many ways it was really good.... however..... compared to season 1, Dream High 2 is a little disappointing.

I like how the plot this time round is completely different, I liked that there was a new cast of actors to play with and that the writers gave us an entirely new story of the problems idols face once they've 'made it' rather than more students trying to achieve their dreams of becoming idols. I also like that the couple pairings could go either way, this drama has kept me guessing the whole way through (but often for the wrong reasons).

The story had a lot of potential but I felt was slightly let down by the characters. Hae Sung is fairly lukewarm, she doesn't have much fight and her relationships with other characters are unclear. For example 14 episodes in and I have no insight into how she feels about Yoo Jin. And what reasons (besides the fact he's an idol) does she have for liking JB? I just don't know.

Im Jae Bum did very well to get the part of JB as his debut part and I initially felt his character was very strong. I disliked him for his arrogance but at least I felt something about him. As the series progressed his character became more and more confusing, I failed to notice the point at which his character began to change and develop, it went from one extreme to the other so I can't decide if anything he actually does is serious or not. Furthermore the JB and Hae Sung story line is unconvincing, both characters are so watered down and fickle that I just can't work out what their motives are for doing anything.

Yoo Jin was one of my favourite characters but I also felt as a main character, there should have been a little more focus on him. He seemed to get shunted into the background slightly towards the second half of the drama but every second he was on screen I enjoyed. He's funny and his emotions are convincing, his 'G minooooooor' had me in tears of laughter.

Overall Rian was by far the best character in this drama. I began the series thoroughly disliking her but as I came to understand her more she began to grow on me. She's the only character, in my eyes, that really shows a true passion for performing. The others didn't appear to have much fight in them, however much they claimed they did, for this reason Rian shone in this drama more than all her co-stars put together.

One redeeming feature of this drama was the music, there wasn't one song that I disliked or bored me and 'B class life' is probably one of the catchiest songs I've ever heard. The drama really lives up to Dream High 1 in this category.

Overall I did enjoy this drama, the individual story lines never dragged on for more than a couple of episodes each and SOME of the characters are likable. However after about eight episodes or so I stopped feeling excited about new episodes coming out. I think it was the characters that did it for me, I don't think the actual actors are to blame but the way the characters are written, many being weak and unconvincing.

I was putting off writing a review in case my views on this drama dramatically changed, but with 14 episodes of dreary characters and confusing plots I don't think there's going to be a sudden change in the last two episodes. Sad but true.

Alone I think the drama is pretty good, but anyone who watched Dream High 1 will agree that in a fight, Go Hye Mi would definitely floor Hae Sung.

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