Reviews

If you are interested in a self-aware romantic comedy that doesn't take itself seriously and is refreshing in its use of cliches, then this is the drama for you. If you ain't about that life and don't like anything silly, best to walk away now.

This drama is truly a pleasant surprise! I thoroughly enjoyed every episode and felt each one had something to offer. The FL and the ML, of course, are the absolute best part of this drama as they keep you interested in the story and their overall developments. You see growth in a lot of characters, some smaller than others. But hands down the love between FL and ML is true and true. There was a cliche Noble Idiocy moment, but for me, it worked better than most because the situation was calling for it. What I truly loved was how they solved their problems. The ML was not a complete idiot with Tsundere Syndrome, and the FL wasn't an idiot either. I adore the FL, she is a scared-y cat who when it matters most won't let you down. ML is also one to root for as he falls for her and starts changing his way of thinking. He was LOYAL to his love even when he doubted her actions, you knew his love for her wasn't shallow. This couple is who you freaking ROOT for.

Now on to other things....Of course, you do have you classic SFL (aka was suppose to be the originally FL in the novel this takes place in) but you slowly watch her descend into her crazy. I feel many viewers were rooting for her to change her ways, but other than admitting that she was wrong near the end, don't be too hopeful!

SML was legit annoying as fuck. I actually found him more annoying than SFL, who had at least reasoning behind her. This guy got rejected time and time again and still tries to get close to FL with his love. He also keeps believing ML doesn't love the FL which an intelligent person can tell you that HE FUCKING LOVES HIS WIFE. So he was frustrating to deal with but I did like that he changed the prejudice and became Minister.

There are so many side characters who played their roles, and the story really doesn't giving you much care for them because they are the side characters and in a breaking the fourth wall kind of way, tells you "Nobody cares about the side characters". It still gives you side character stories and development, nonetheless. It is just up to you to see if you like it or not. I enjoyed some of them.

The FL & ML are so freaking good though, that its hard for others to compete, at least, it is hard for me. THAT ENDING, thank you.

Leggi di Più

Brilliant acting, but goes around in circles

I started watching this series due to all the hype and awards. It's a psychological thriller (not a mystery) so you do need patience and the willingness to understand the motives, behaviour patterns and relationship connections for all the characters. It's a very intricately woven story, with a lot of nuance and some phenomenal acting from all the cast members.

However, I found the pace inconsitent from episode to episode, and it was annoying to have a lot of the story told with flashbacks ranging from months to years to days to hours! It also had a gimmicky approach towards some of the characters, making you suspect this character and the other character quite randomly, and then the story heading in a completely different direction. They could have done without these gimmicks.

Overall, it's a good, though slow, watch and worth it purely for the performances of all the cast members.

Leggi di Più

Challenging Watch with an Ambitious Realism Theme

This Kdrama was an addictive watch that had me tuning in weekly to find out what will happen to its 4 protagonists. There aren't any clear good guys and bad guys in this show - there are simply people who do sometimes do honorable things and at other times do shady or evil things. Sometimes, you're sympathetic to the situations that the characters find themselves in. Other times, you're mad because how-could-that-character-be-so-manipulative-and-why-won't-they-be-honest-with-each-other. This is the series' greatest strength and greatest weakness: it tries to capture the nature of the human condition with a lens of looking at love and interpersonal relationship. However, to me, it fell just a little bit short of this goal. Still, it's worth a watch.

The acting was mostly top notch. The cinematography of this Kdrama had a muted, melodrama tone, so it demanded a similar flat-affect from its actors and actresses, with the appropriate outbursts of emotion when the situation calls for it. Of the leads, I found Moon Ga Young, Yoo Yeon Seok, and Geum Sae Rok to be the most effective at displaying this kind of style where most of the time, they are just acting like normal people wearing typical faces, but occasionally, they need to dial it up to 10 and display tender love or extreme indignation. The only person I took a little issue with was Jung Ga Ram: he seemed a little stuck in that passive look most of the time, and I didn't really buy his moments of tenderness, and felt that his anger seemed unnatural but that may have just been how his fictional character was written.

The music was appropriate for its setting and has a lot of those tracks with a coffee-shop feel. I don't think it will go down in history as a legendary OST, but it had some pretty catchy beats. In particular, I enjoyed 손을 마주 잡고 ("With Me"), which ended up as the signature lovey dovey track.

I think the reason this Kdrama gets a bad rap around these parts is because it's pretty atypical: it isn't a wish-fulfillment-type of romance where you're watching two gorgeous, fictional characters fall in love on screen. It tries to capture some of the normal pettiness that comes with real human relationships, which involves a lot of things that don't make sense to an omnipotent viewer: characters lie or manipulate for their own purposes. I think this also makes it a hard watch. But, if you enjoy muted melodramas, I recommend you give this one a try - it's not perfect, but I think it tries to stay true to the realism of its source material to deliver a satisfying show.

Leggi di Più

A Vampire Romance That Sinks Its Teeth In Deep!

I just finished all 12 episodes of My Golden Blood (2025) and I have to say—it was such an entertaining and memorable ride. I gave it a solid 9/10 for its unique concept, strong chemistry between the leads, and a fresh take on the supernatural BL genre.

🩷 What I Loved:
All the NC scenes were hot and steamy 🔥—Mark (Joss) and Tong (Fluke) had amazing chemistry. Every kiss and intimate moment was filled with tension and passion 💋.
Both actors were not only talented, but also tall, handsome, and visually stunning. Serious eye candy all around 😍.
Loved the English OST 🎶—emotional, catchy, and perfectly placed.
The university campus setting was probably the most modern and high-tech I’ve seen in any Thai BL 🏫💡—really added to the production value.

🧩 Room for Improvement:
The ending felt a little rushed—I wish they had spent more time wrapping things up emotionally .
Some of the fight scenes were a bit underwhelming compared to Korean or Western standards ⚔️—could’ve used more impact and polish.
I was really hoping Tong would turn into a vampire after Mark bit him 🧛‍♂️💉—and then they’d have a wild, passionate love scene 😅. That didn’t happen, but I’m holding out hope for a special episode!

✨ Final Thoughts:
Despite a few minor flaws, My Golden Blood really impressed me. It blends romance, fantasy, and suspense in a way that feels fresh and addictive. With sizzling chemistry, striking visuals, and a touch of mystery, it’s definitely one of my top BLs of 2025 so far.

Rating: ⭐ 9/10
Rewatch Value: Yes! Especially the steamy scenes and sweet romantic moments

Leggi di Più

Aesthetically beautiful and good acting but what a frustrating romance story

I am a massive fan of Guo Yu Xin. I have only started exploring Liu Xiao Xu's dramas and so far I enjoy his acting. This drama was released after My National Husband so I expected Summer Rose to be as good as My National Husband. However I was disappointed once I finished the drama.

What I liked:
1. Framing - Beautifully shot drama that reminds me of a small but well-written indie film I used to watch. Directors certainly knew how to capture scene that are aesthetically memorable.
2. ML characterisation - It was endearing to see a stuffy ML who wasn't able to articulate his feelings. His personal struggle is different from other CEO MLs I have seen.
3. Acting - Both LXX and GYX employed a lot of "restraint" in their performances for this drama. They had magnetic chemistry which was more evident in the behind the scenes clip.
4. FL characterisation - I liked that her personality contrasted with ML's personality. She expressed most of her feelings including desire freely.
5. Supporting characters - I liked ML's grandmother and guest characters played by He Jian Qi and Wang Ge Ge.
6. Styling - What a gorgeous pairing of LXX and GYX. Beautiful outfits worn by both FL & ML. I am a fan of pyjamas and I loved the pair worn by GYX.

What I disliked:
1. FL's actions - She was stringing two men along when she broke off the engagement and pursued other man. I didn't like her at this point.
2. Writing - There was too much time spent to tell this story. I'm sorry to say some parts are draggy and boring and I struggled in the final hour of the drama. I must say that the writer and director wasted the talents of LXX & GYX.
3. Romance - Unfortunately I didn't buy their romance. There was too much push and lack of honest conversations. By the time they got together I already lost interest in this drama but just pushed through to mark this drama as complete.

Favourite scene
When FL seduced ML and succeeded.

Leggi di Più

I'm not the biggest fan of Yoona so i was reluctant to watch this drama even though it's lead was Kwon Sang Woo. I'm really glad i ended up watching it though. The acting is very well done. Sang Woo plays both people so well that it makes you actually believe they could be completely different actors. I feel like this drama really deserves more credit than its gotten. It isn't so popular because it claims to be about the two men that look exactly alike where as its really only about one of the men, and Yoona. Definitely worth watching. Very good movie. Make me respect Yoona a lot more as an actor as well.

Leggi di Più

Horrendous, nauseating, and yet still boring as f.

That was awful. I'll start with the positives:

- Mos is supernaturally attractive. Every bit of him is stunning - hot body, porcelain skin, handsome face, those eyes, sexy voice, all of him.

End of positives.

This feels like it was written by a very sheltered 13-year old girl who inserted herself into the story as Bank's character. I'm not sure how else to describe his total lack of agency and relentlessly female wardrobe. You might think he has agency, but think about it - he's just a plot device, not a person. Even the one ability he has, designing jewelry (and the necklace is hideous), only exists when it's needed to move the "plot" "forward", and it's usually inspired by the supernatural elements of the story that are totally pointless and have no effect on anything.

I feel zero chemistry between Mos and Bank except insofar as Mos is so hot that he has some with anything that's in the same room with him. Partly because Bank's character is so vacuous and unrealized that there's nothing to be attracted to. Think about it. Describe his character: he... uh,... well,... he dresses like a girl. And wears so much makeup that if he actually were a girl, he'd look like a sex worker. That's really it. Oh wait, he faints a lot. A LOT.

This was the worst example of the worst kind of uke, who is incapable of surviving an average day without a seme to save him from drowning in 1 inch of water (this actually happens). Lin wants to use lovey-dovey nickhames, so he decides to call Sun "Dad". Not "daddy", which is at least an accepted slang term for an older (and generally wealthy) man, but "dad", which is only ever used in reference to your biological father (or occassionally a father-in-law) - is it possible for something to be more cringe? It's the ultimate infantilization.

The vaunted NC-17 scenes are so bad it's unintentionally funny. You get to see Mos's ass in the paint scene, so there is that, but that they didn't take off their high-fashion clothing first took me right out of the story. You could feed an entire village in Bangladesh for a year with what those outfits cost (in story). There's a BJ scene with slurping sound so loud that it would disturb Japanese people at a ramen bar. I guess Sun must have a micropenis, because otherwise there shouldn't be enough room in Lin's mouth to slurp anything.

One of the secondary couples has bird sex in a toilet stall while one of their fathers is watching while bent over backwards in a disturbing pose.

The only couple that's vaguely engaging also goes full uke-seme, the absence of which dynamic was what actually made them appealing - Yo behaved like a man, until he had a boyfriend, when he reverted to acting like a very sheltered 13-year old girl.

The production seems to think that loud = funny. All you need to do is have your characters scream their lines, and it's all very ha. (Or I guess it's "all very 5" for our Thai viewers.)

But worst of all, this was just dull. It wasn't fun to hate-watch, like Unforgotten Night - it just made me cringe almost continuously - and thank God for the +10 seconds button on iQiyi.

I can't recommend this - the only thing in it with appeal is Mos, and you can get anything you want of him and more on his instagram.

Leggi di Più

I will try my best to mention everything without any spoilers, so I apologize that this is a tad bit long, but an excellent drama deserves a long review!

To start: I love this drama. How the story unfolds perfectly with each episode, to how the characters carry the story with their actions, this drama is perfect. For me, enjoyment is the main factor to determine if I like a drama or not. If there are a few inconsistencies but I ended up enjoying watching despite them, I will still like a drama. For Penthouse, there were a few things here and there that I think could have been done differently, but I didn't dislike the drama less because of it like I usually would for others. There were barely any inconsistencies that ended up enjoying every moment I watched enjoyable.

Story:
As long as a makjang drama is done right and makes sense, I don't mind how dramatic it comes off as. For Penthouse, it had the right blend of insanity with the plot and characters which made it work well (for me). What I love about this drama is how it's not predictable. Sometimes it comes off like you know what's going to happen, but then it throws you off-board by going down a path least respected. The overall flow of the drama was something I also really liked, as it never felt slow but at the same time it didn't feel like things were happening so fast. It had the perfect pacing, which helped keep me on board and made me enjoy the drama more. Another thing I really liked was how each prominent character gets focused on for a few sets of episodes instead of the story of each character getting told in the same episode. Because of this, each episode doesn't feel jam-packed and is able to properly tell the character's story without rushing anything. Overall, the plot was extremely enjoyable and constantly fascinated me which made me enjoy it more than I thought I would

Characters:
One of the bests things about this drama is no doubt its characters. Not just the three leading ladies (Soo Ryeon, Seo Jin, and Yoon Hee), but the leading men and the supporting characters are what make this drama spectacular. The acting is well done that sometimes I forget to separate the characters from the actors since the portrayal of each character felt so real. I also applaud the younger casts for how well they did with the intense script they were given. Penthouse gives you characters to like, characters to hate, and characters where you can choose whether you want to support or not. This balance makes the character ensemble interesting and enjoyable to watch, as you never know what will happen or what each will do.

Others:
Despite only getting to 3 OST's, both of them, especially Crown, was really good and fit the drama well. I also like the usage of classical music, which fits the overall drama extremely well. I also really like the design of Hera Palace, and even forgot a few times that It was completely made of for this drama.

One thing for sure is that this drama is not for everyone. If you're one that gets easily enraged or is sensitive then this drama might not be for you because of how intense and "dramatic" it is. However, I don't think because of that this drama should be labeled as "bad," since that is a preference.

Final Thoughts:
Penthouse will go down as not only one of the most intense dramas I've ever watched but also as one of my favorites of all time. The intense, unpredictable but fascinating plot captivated me and made me excited each week for new episodes. Penthouse was a drama that I didn't anticipate as much as others, but I ended up loving it more than the ones I anticipated.

I can't wait to see what happens next in season 2!

Leggi di Più

I am definitely for dramas with character development, and this one does it pretty well for the main male character. Yihan transitioned from being a spoiled obnoxious celebrity to someone who actually cares for people around him and matured towards the end of the drama. Pei Youyou, the female lead, is an independent woman, who basically stays the same throughout the drama. In the beginning, Pei Youyou believes that she has a "lower status" compared to him, which prevents them from actually loving each other. This is further cemented when Yihan constantly does everything for her without consulting her. Pei Youyou has lived all her life as an independent, so she does not need a rich husband providing everything for her. But in the end, she learns that husband and wife should try to face everything together and that she should only be mad at him for a short time, which I think is the sweetest moment in the drama.

The writers also did a very good job with the side characters and their stories, especially Lin Tian Nu and Kandi, since both characters are very passionate about their work, yet they find love for each other.

I started this drama with skepticism and thought it was just another short romantic comedy drama. However, it turned out to be pretty unique with a great cast and good writing with the last few episodes being the best.

Leggi di Più

With money, power and connections, what more will one need to become a formidable opponent? It is fun as our lead proves that no matter how strong this combination is, justice can still be served.

Story: True to its title, it has a continuous money-maneuverings blending with intrigue, humor, suspense; add a sprinkle of makjang elements, touching moments and lastly, a smartly-written revenge plot that will keep you hooked from beginning to end. The way the story handled prosecution battles and conspiracy within characters themselves will keep you engaged. It is funny, cute at times in the romantic side and can be felt more on the 2nd half of the drama. For me it was never boring throughout because there is a variation of tone the writers know how to execute in the story: if it’s funny, you’ll laugh and when it gets serious, you’ll like it best as it’s more solidly- awesome. The farther you get, the more gripping it gets. The ending gave me a huge smile on my face. All in all, Mission accomplished, plus more!

Acting/ Cast: Different in the sense that there is a minimal number of “real” good people here. At least 2-3 people and our lead is not even included. In this drama, the characters seemed realistic though. In terms of acting, I can say that all the characters are very well-portrayed by the casts and I felt connections on their characters from the start. Apart from Kang Ji Hwan who did great in his role – his expressions are loveable here; I also the loved the mom a lot played by Park Soon Chun, she simply shined in this! Though likeable from the start, Hwang Geung Eums’ character warmed to me also on the 2nd half, mainly because her character is stronger there. The supporting casts did a great job also, I loved the sidekicks! You'll love to hate the villains here, very well-thought characters written as well! Their battle of wits is one of the best things on this drama!

Music: It’s fitting. The instrumentals on the cliffhangers can really deliver the suspense!

Rewatch Value: Again, unlikely for me, simply because I rarely rewatch.

Overall: IoM marks my very first great and satisfying drama from the ones that started airing on 2013. If revenge is in your liking, don’t miss this!

Leggi di Più

Although many say this drama is like Love O2O, I would like to disagree. The only similarity is the gaming concept. Other than that, the pace and chemistry between the characters are completely different. The main character guy slowly reveals himself and they slowly fall in love while in Love O2O, it's meet up and bam, true love. In my opinion, though this drama's [character] visuals are much lower than Love O2O and the plot isn't about these 2 popular kids, the way this drama is played out creates a much more natural scenario which I'm not mad about.

Zeng Lei is so underrated in this drama but I guess everyone just loves a cute and innocent girl T_T

Leggi di Più

A Dry Story Based on Actual Event

Under the Microscope is a story adapted from the Silk Case, one of the six cases under Ma Boyong’s historical textbook. The author has also written numerous well-loved novels, among others, Secret of Three Kingdoms, Luoyang, and The Wind Blows from Longxi. Like the other dramas, the mood of this drama is serious albeit with subtle humor. It is a departure from the usual stories of royalty, noblemen and aristocrats, and instead looks microscopically into the issues faced by the commoners during the Ming Dynasty.

The tax and financial system during the Ming era was a very complicated subject, and the story revolves around a tax called the “ren ding sijuan” (silk by head count). Shuai Jiamo (Zhang Ruoyun) accidentally discovers a silk tax entry on the county’s account book with a questionable amount. He deems it erroneous and requests the county official to rectify the error but is told he needs to appeal to higher up. While attempting to do so, he meets all kinds of obstacles, including attempts on his life; someone is trying to prevent him from appealing and digging deeper. Together with his only friend, Feng Baoyu (Fei Qiming), they are determined to get to the bottom of it despite putting themselves in great danger.

Shuai Jiamo is a young mathematical genius with signs of autism. To him, math always tells the truth and he doesn’t allow a speck of inaccuracy in it. Because of his obsession, most people regard him as an idiot, except Feng Baoyu who thinks Shuai Jiamo very special and would do anything for him. Zhang Ruoyun is an incredible actor. As the autistic Shuai Jiamo, he is genuine and very believable.

To readjust the tax amount on the account book, Shuai Jiamo is told to bring his appeal to court. While in court, he meets Cheng Renqing (Wang Yang), a talented but morally and ethically questionable lawyer working for a shadowy character to try to throw Shuai Jiamo’s case out. He has been successful, but Shuai Jiamo and Feng Baoyu do not give up easily despite getting thrown into prison and their life being threatened. Wang Yang is a veteran actor, and has a charismatic aura. With a smirk on his face and a sharp tongue, his performance is on script and has no holes to poke.

All the other actors give a wonderful and believable performance. I particularly love the Magistrate Fang character (Hou Yansong). Seemingly lazy and useless, he turns out to be the hero of the people and the actor Hou Yansong has performed with full marks. I also like the Feng Baoyu character who loves gambling and is a real friend worth having for anyone. Fei Qiming’s portrayal is outstanding, bringing out the essence of the character convincingly.

My Verdict

This is a true story based on a historical event but not a drama for everyone. Some of the characters such as Shuai Jiamo and Cheng Renqing (written differently but with same homophones) were real historical figures. Shuai Jiamo’s obsession in math and in going to court to correct the tax errors can bore many viewers unless one is very interested in the complicated and confusing Chinese bureaucratic and financial system during Ming Dynasty. To add fireworks to a dry story to make it more palatable for entertainment consumption, some ninjas and wuxia sword fights are added. The scene when Cheng Renqing comes to the rescue of Shuai Jiamo and Feng Baoyu in the nick of time on the beheading tables by throwing out two knives is simply hilarious and unreal.

Though at the end of the drama, it seems everyone receives their justifiable rewards or punishments, it doesn’t feel right to me. Despite all the heinous acts by the villains, the ultimate culprit’s punishments seem like just a slap on the wrist compared to what Shuai Jiamo and Feng Baoyu receive for pointing out the problem -- some of the culprit's wealth is confiscated while the good guys are beaten and imprisoned -- this is probably quite realistic.

In the real event, Shuai Jiamo’s and Cheng Renqing’s fates were not as rosy as shown here; they were both sent away in exile for stirring up "trouble". In other words, the best way to deal with any problems at the local level was to punish those who pointed out the problems. As always, the drama depicts the aristocrats are the ones suppressing and stealing from the people, and the government the enhancer and the gestapo police -- a satire of wealth inequality, the world is never fair nor just.

Overall, this is a dry drama based on a real story full of ironies and paradoxes. The acting is very good and the script writing is tight and logical but too bad, as much as I have enjoyed it, the drama doesn’t make a compelling story for most casual viewers.

Leggi di Più

Drama Queens: A Cosplay

I asked two friends of mine, both old-school drag queens, and both with excellent make-up skills, to watch Cosmetic Playlover. Here is an excerpt of their conversation, edited for clarity.

MANI: Is this for real? This show?
PEDI: What do you mean?
MANI: Did we really just watch a Japanese BL about two gays behind a Sephora counter?
PEDI: Who knew? Who knew they had such dramatic lives?
MANI: What dramatic life? Apart from whatever’s going on with Natsume’s hair?

PEDI: That *is* a disaster, isn’t it? He stares at a mirror all day long... Did it not occur to him, at least once, to think, "hang on, my wig looks like it was sheared by a British dentist"?
MANI (laughing): The tall one, Toma, is it? His ain’t much better. But he’s so gorgeous that he can get away with it. He can get away with anything.
PEDI: He does.
MANI: By the way, in what world does a former supermodel work behind a makeup counter? Can you imagine Naomi Campbell working for Chanel at Macy's or Harrod's?

PEDI: Or Romy Féerique... Fun fact. Féerique is French for fairy. 

MANI: Now why would you know that?
PEDI: Because I’m a fairy, Mary.
MANI: Well, I'll tell you one thing, I'm not sure these two fairies deserve their own show. They are not funny, they are not sassy, they don't gossip... I'm sorry, but these are not interesting people. Beautiful, but not interesting. They take themselves way too seriously. And the show takes itself way too seriously.
PEDI: I mean, could the stakes be any lower? Let's face it. They're not neurosurgeons. Do you think the Gucci girl behind the counter has the time to take clinical notes on each woman who comes to her for free make-up? Also, silent callers? Hate mail? What is this, 2006? All because Ms Dimple Cheeks “poached” a “make-up client”. Who is this client? Sultan of Brunei?
MANI: If he did poach him, he’d be doing us all a favour. By the way, I don’t remember us taking an exam to become a “make-up expert”. Do you?
PEDI: Ummm, yes we did. Remember when we first went out in drag 20 years ago, and no one punched us in the face? That was the exam.
MANI (laughing): Do people in Japan really take make-up this seriously?
PEDI: The straight women who wrote this thing do. I’m absolutely certain... certain... that whoever wrote the manga wrote the first draft by imagining herself as the female lead, and then replaced herself with Natsume.
MANI: Which, I think, is how most BLs are written.
PEDI: I don’t think we, as drag queens, are in any position to judge that.
MANI (laughing): No, I will say though, I was surprised by the heat levels in this show. The kisses were quite hot.
PEDI: Yes. But the villains were not.
MANI: Except for the one skinny guy who now makes a regular appearance in JBLs. He’s in Smells Like Green Spirit, and that teacher-student BL. Whatchamacallit?
PEDI: I know who you mean. He’s good. He served some real camp goodness. He's very good. And hot.
MANI: Toma’s brother?
PEDI: Not.
MANI: Remind me again, why does he come between the leads?
PEDI: I... don’t know. I don’t remember. Something about their parents being in New York, and wanting him to run the family business... Listen, mama, there’s more drama between my fake eyelashes than there is in the entirety of this show. Here’s the thing. If I was a hot Japanese ex-supermodel, and my family lived in New York, I’m taking Ms Dimple Cheeks with me, getting gay married at the Plaza, and buying an apartment in Chelsea.
MANI: Are you kidding? You’ll be catnip for the polyamorous gays. Sniffies will crash.
PEDI (laughing): Exactly. These two though, they wanna play husband and wife in Tokyo. The vibe is very old-school JBL...
MANI: Ah, the monologues, the monologues... Because, you know, characters in JBL don’t believe in talking to each other, but they’ll happily talk to us, invisible people.
PEDI: Yes! And then with the pushing against the locker, the cartoon villains, and the "oh, but I'm a shy maiden" bullshit...
MANI: Again, because if there’s one thing we know about same-sex sex in BL world, it is that bottoms don’t want tops to top them…
PEDI: See, I don’t get that. I can't think of a single bottom in my life who won't jump on a hot top when he sees one. Hell, even a mediocre top! I don’t get that whole patriarchal “you belong to me” crap either.
MANI: I thought that went out with All About Eve.
PEDI: This is All About Steve.
MANI (laughing): I don’t mind the old-school vibe though. It’s fun. Loved that kiss against the background of fireworks... Ham-fisted symbolism? So sexy. Also, I kept imagining myself as Sponge Bob Hair Cut, and wanting to be pulled and hugged by the hot one and have my lips smashed. If that tall slice of meat were to come up to me and say, “you belong to me”, I’ll throw myself at him.
PEDI: Except you’ll cause an accident with those fake boobs of yours...
MANI: What if it turns him on? 

PEDI: That means you've died and gone to heaven.
MANI (laughing): This show is absolutely ridiculous.
PEDI: And hot.
MANI: And ridiculous.
PEDI: And stupid.
MANI: And ridiculous.
PEDI: And surprisingly watchable.
MANI: Do you think Netflix will pay us to watch BLs like they do Trixie and Katya?

PEDI: Only if it’s a podcast.

Reader's Digest:
DO SAY: Maybe she's born with it.
DON'T SAY: Maybe it's Maybelline.

Leggi di Più

This is a review for seasons 1 and 2 together because they really are just one story, very very little gets wrapped up at the end of season 1.

The best thing by far about this drama is the characters. Nearly every single one will make you fall in love with them (and also probably make you cry at some point), which is no small feat because there are quite a few important characters in this considering how short the drama actually is. I was so in love with so many of the characters by the end of the drama that I felt a tiny bit robbed to not know how every single one of their stories played out.

Be READY to fall in love with Luo Fei Fei, Bei Tang Tang, Xie Yan Ran, Chu Shang Nan, and Bai Wu Chen (and probably quite a few others).

One of the things I loved most about the characters was that you get to see so many different and fun relationships develop between all the characters, it's not just the leads that you watch grow and fall in love. There are multiple love stories, wonderful friendships (the friendship between the leading lady and the second lead lady is AMAZING), and great family and imperial relationships.

The story itself was really interesting, not a concept I have ever encountered before and it develops in a really interesting way. Though time travel is a common concept in dramas, the zodiac element made this one different. There is a ton of romance and comedy, I laughed (and giggled) a lot, but there is so much else as well, the fantasy plays an important role in the drama which I haven't always seen in every drama so that was great.

The beginning of the drama was a little rough (there were some very awkward or cringe-y bits) and some of the actors took a few episodes to stop being stiff and start being likable (which, given that it's an idol drama, wasn't shocking) but the leading lady is so adorable, funny, and cute that you pull through and it's worth it for the way the drama develops as you really get into the meat of the story.

The things that stop this drama from being just fantastically fun and fluffy, aside from the rough beginning, are the ending, which left me wanting and left a pretty big question mark, and the incredibly annoying minute or two of EVERY SINGLE EPISODE where they were literally just advertising face masks and it was just shoehorned in SO badly. But skip through those and it's bearable.

Even though the ending left me more unsatisfied the more I dwell on it and the beginning was a little rough, the interesting story and the fantastic characters made me really enjoy this fun little drama. It's fluffy and fun and cute and it will make you smile (and probably cry sometimes too).

My overall rating is higher than my rating breakdown because it kept me so interested and so many of the characters stole my heart. It's not perfect, the ending especially, but overall this drama made me smile so much.

Leggi di Più