Reviews

guys hurting each other

Overall: the writers needed to narrow the scope and make the protagonists more likable. Based on the book series "Takumi-kun Series" by Gotoh Shinobu (1992-2014) which I haven't read and the review is of this series only. 6 episodes about 25 minutes each aired on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/5814/takumi-kun-series-drama-2025 (not available in Thailand, Taiwan, Japan or Korea).

Content Warning: dub/non con touching/kiss, sexual assault turned consensual, trauma, hit/punch/violence, blood, slaps, past: incest, molestation/sexual assault, rape?, death)

What I Liked
- visuals
- a straightforward rejection in episode 5
- good production value

Room For Improvement
- there were way too many characters introduced (and I've seen the older movies), I couldn't tell who the characters were, their relationships to each other, who loved who until several episodes in, multiple exposition dumps
- did not like any of the couples, the main couple had a guy say this to his sleeping boyfriend: "How can I move forward? Don't wake up. You say no with you mouth, I see, I'm done waiting" and sexually assaulted his boyfriend in order to cure him (by the way freeze and acquiesce are also sexual assault responses that the brain might make on its own) , another guy slapped his love interest who innocently asked about a past crush and the 3rd couple had one guy as a cold jerk
- recent flashbacks and farther back flashbacks added to the confusion (seemed as if they both expected people to know what was going on and also didn't think people would know what was going on)
- telling another person that they need to be responsible for his feelings, everyone is responsible for their own feelings
- poor communication trope

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Do not watch

I love the drama that the cast become a doctor so I watched this drama even though their rating was low. I’m okay with the first episode to the half of the episodes. Nearly ending, the drama became so bad! This is what I’m really really mad since the drama has 44 episodes which quite long and at the end of drama you’re found it so bad. I cursed so many times since I felt really dumbfounded. This is what I want to review about, second of the last episodes, ML wanted to go overseas to study more about his cancer treatment. He can bought one of his family member and consider to take FL with him since they’re couple. But FL refused to follow him because of some reasons. One of the reason is she do not want to leave her ex boyfriend which was hospitalized because of the accident and they’re no other people who waited for her ex at the hospital. The other reason is because her work about designing. I can accepted her reasoning to reject ML to follow him but I can’t accepted when ML need to fly and she was late because her ex was found missing at that time and she focused on finding her ex rather than go meet her boyfriend at the airport. When she arrived at airport and found out ML already departed, she didn’t even text him to say sorry for her mistake and waited for ML to text her first but ML do not text her for a long time ( when he at overseas for one year) since he angry with FL. It is acceptable because FL didn’t take any chances to say sorry to him. This is because, I’m really annoyed with FL character.

Second reason why I found it dumbfounded to watch which during ML at overseas, FL got a customer dm her to buy her items for several times and they became online friend. It’s was illogical to share your problem with customer that you contacted online which you’re never meet them outside. But FL can asked and shared her problem without hesitation. They have been contacted with each other and became friends. Rather than communicate with her boyfriend and apologize to him, she was contacted with stranger and get along with him. The writer did a bad job during this time and I can’t help to get annoyed.

The story was become so bad and annoying then I’m stopped watching immediately. Please do not watch it since it will annoyed you to maximum range.

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This feeling can't be concealed! So here I am

their acting is so good
in love with them
the story is so pure and made me emotional seeing the secret first love of sang zhi for duan jia xu
duan jiaxu is a gentleman
sang zhi is adorable ( luisi did a great job portraying her character)
sang yan is a silly dog hehe ( I love him so much)
this drama is the ultimate comfort and my most fav
the drama of the year award goes to hidden love
I'm glad I came across the manhua in 2022 and gave it a try..waited it for months to get chapter updates
and waited another months for this drama to be released
the summer vibes are immaculate
the way duan jai xu has raised my standards,it's pretty hard finding someone like that
I watched this while airing and everyday used to wait for 6pm for them to update the episode and used to get all excited , this is my precious drama memory

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First of all- I want to thank some fellow MDLers for introducing this drama to me. As this drama is not that new and the description doesn't express the awesomeness hidden in it, I'm not sure if I would decide to watch it on my own. But because some respectable ^_^ members of our community kept mentioning it here and there, I decided to check it out. And I'm glad that I did! Thank YOU! Hail to the most awesome community ever! Now, the review...

Story
It's a wonderful love story. There are 2 people, quite normal people (no okanemochi CEOs or painfully poor angels)who meet in pretty normal circumstances and then... the magic happens! Because they fall in love, and open up to each other - and we get to see that they are truly admirable, though complex people.For me 90% of the story was amazing, refreshing and truthful, I really wanted to give it 10 points, but then I didn't like about 10% of it (I've ranted about it in episodes' reviews if somebody's interested, but it contains spoilers) so thus it's a 9.

Acting/Cast

I seriously consider stalking Kimutaku's dramas now, him and Takeuchi Yuko were spectacular in this! Aki and Haru were deep and complex characters that were truly well crafted. This drama contains some of the most touching scenes I've ever seen. Ok, there were some additional characters there- better and worse, but for me they served more as a background and explanation for the main leads' story.

Music
It's Queen- it's great! There isn't much to talk about ^_^ "I was born to love you" truly fits as the theme song(actually I really like the opening- it was really cool). Also the instrumental tracks where really pretty too.

Rewatch
I can see myself re-watching scenes from this drama so it's pretty high.

I hope this review will encourage some more people to watch this drama . It's one of a kind.

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Exceptional

Guardian: The Lonely and Great God aka Goblin is exceptional in all aspects. Be it writing, directing, atmosphere, acting, ambiance, and even wardrobe. Nothing was left to chance and with a story this fantastical and emotional, it could easily have careened into fluff and cliche; however, the actors all brought their A-game which made every second captivating and beautiful.

Special shout out to Gong Yoo who gave a brilliant performance; likewise, the wardrobe director who made his character stunningly gorgeous. Similarly, his hair did some heavy lifting and deserves an award.

If you're looking for an emotional and heartrending series then do not miss this. I absolutely recommend it to those looking for a mature and beautiful story.

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The story of a boy who can read people and objects by touching them. A sprinkling of romance. A secret from the past. The effects of corruption. The warmth of human relationships. The issue of moral ambiguity. The need for redemption and the difficulty of forgiveness. Plot twists that make you sit up and pay attention, then leave you rattled.

Is this show able to keep your interest and make you come back for the next episode? Yes.
Do you become invested in the characters? Yes.
Does the story try to give an unexpected spin to otherwise predictable clichés? Yes.
Does the combination of cinematography, acting, pacing, music, and plot work? Yes.
Is it worth your time? Yes. Uhm… well… probably.
Is it worth rewatching? No.

It’s a type of show that is enjoyable to follow while on-air. Some of the gaps may become more visible when binge-watching.

He Is Psychometric is destined to suffer from the M. Night Shyamalan syndrome: the main draw is a Big Reveal gimmick; once the central mystery is resolved, the other components of the narrative don’t compel you to revisit it any time in the future. And unfortunately, to add to the viewer’s dissatisfaction, the show doesn’t successfully address one central point of the mystery: why was the coming together of the main couple—especially as trainer/trainee—so insistently and deliberately orchestrated? The reasons are implied, but not spelled out: a defect frequently found in Korean dramas which repeatedly state what is non-essential and obvious, but fail to clarify a core issue, leaving it diffuse or glossed over.

[NOTE: spoilers beyond this paragraph!]

As a viewer I found myself almost resenting the feeling that I could practically see the wheels turning in the screen writer’s head. If put into a monologue, it would go something like this: “Let’s see now… we need a spin on the childhood connection trope… Ah, Healer had this trio of the younger male and female leads, plus an older second male lead… And he was ambiguous most of the time, we couldn’t figure out whether he was a good guy or a bad guy… Let’s add this…Great… Now, what about the shared trauma and its potential to destroy the newly-formed couple? Hey, speaking of Ji Chang Wook projects, Suspicious Partner had this apartment fire thing… and the guy discovering that the girl’s dad is the one he blames for his parents’ death… but the dad is wrongfully accused… Awesome, this will work, let’s throw it in there in the exact same sequence, no need to mess with a working formula… Can’t make the parallels too transparent, though… How about a little twist here: the scale of the fire is a result of cutting corners because the big construction company is corrupt. Super! (Good call, BTW.) OK… So… what we need is a stark contrast between the puppy-cute young couple and a dark world of obsession and crime… Kind of like Strong Woman Do Bong Soon, but darn, we are not doing mixed genre parody here… hmmm… still, I like the creepiness of confining a woman to a lightless basement… alright, let’s do it! Major benefit: can link the backstory to the crime organization that appears at one point, then reinforce the arc on police cover-ups. (Another good call.) Well… we need to up the ante here… Let’s sacrifice a main character. Good, it’s unexpected! What else, what else… How about defy expectations and make the non-monster an actual monster? Oh, yeah, they won’t see THAT coming! [Pat on the back for being original]”

There’s nothing inherently wrong with this line of thinking. It could have been successful, too.

However, in order to create a really good story as opposed to a merely intriguing one, the focus needs to be more on the characters’ development in reaction to the events, not so much on the events bending and spinning the characters.

Lee Ahn and Kang Sung More, the two male protagonists, highlight this point.

Park Jin Young as Lee Ahn does a decent job, the character grows on the viewer with every episode. It’s a pitty that his presence in the story has so many underwhelming aspects. There should have been more coherence when presenting his psychometric abilities: how come he sees in 3D, outside of his own POV or the POV of the object he touches? If psychometry is draining for him, why isn’t this consistent or tied to specific contexts? How did he evolve, provided that he actually did improve? A lot of emphasis was put on his training and the unreliability of how to interpret what he was seeing, then it all dissolved into a non-issue. Ah, writing for K-dramas: rarely the paragon of logic and congruity.

Kim Kwon in the role of Kang Sung Mo is very, very good. He is nothing less than magnetic in the last episodes, his portrayal more heartbreaking than chilling. The writer’s decision that this character get the short end of the stick is unfortunate. He was humanized only to be dehumanized in the end. Why? His arc of atonement could have been served equally well—or even better—by emphasizing the amygdala difference, and making him act more out of panic rather than calculation. The pre-fire murders could have easily been presented as a knee-jerk reaction to the nosy building manager walking in at the inappropriate moment and seeing the contents of the suitcase.

To put so much effort to transcend genes, conditioning, physiology and life experiences, to develop ties of genuine affection, to become sympathetic through the need for human contact and love turns out to be futile for this character. What was the writer trying to say? A bad seed is a bad seed, no way around it? Very disappointing. It could have been so much better if the message was that trying to be better is worth it, that redemption is possible.

A major problem with this show is the fuzzy focus on what the story is actually about, apart from the suspense elements.

Is it about the struggle between Nature vs. Nurture? Is it presenting a negativistic, “evil is relentless, effort is futile, endeavor is meaningless” worldview? Or is the sudden flip in favor of biological determinism simply a ploy to make the viewer uncomfortable, just because?

Or is the story about the difficulty of possessing, gauging and effectively using abilities that are considered paranormal? Is it about reality and interpretation, and the limitations of perception, no matter how augmented? Is it about the value of knowledge and training – or the irrelevance of either?

Is the show introducing violence in order to talk about repentance and forgiveness? Their possibility? Their impossibility? Which one, exactly? Even if the main point is the inherent ambiguity of notions such as love, hate, good, evil, this should be made clear. Annoyingly, core ideas are left undefined.

It doesn’t seem that the writer put any significant effort to conceptualize the big-picture story. It hurts both the value and longevity of the show, which in hindsight remains fairly pointless.

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A voice for the voiceless

An engrossing political thriller that manages a fine balance between human drama and suspense. Reflecting our world where it often seems as though corruption and misinformation are the order of the day, Shinbun Kisha lays out a David and Goliath tale of ordinary citizens standing against government corruption. While the inciting incident might seem small, that’s exactly what the drama tries to highlight; if society remains apathetic to the “small” corruptions, what will the powers that be try to get away with next? It also hits back against the pervasive thought that one person couldn’t possibly make a difference when it comes to political change. After all, we never know what our actions might inspire in others.

Some may find early episodes slow, although I felt they did a good job establishing the broad strokes of the story and characters. In later episodes, however, there were some places where the story struggled to keep pace or stumbled over minutiae; the overall quality of the episodes was undiminished, but I sometimes wondered if a scene wouldn’t have been better placed elsewhere or even cut entirely. This was often the case with scenes that included Mayu, who could feel superfluous despite her early involvement in the development of another character.

That said, I found it difficult not to binge Shinbun Kisha. Since it often seems to mirror real life, the plot somehow appeals to the audience’s sense of justice. The characters are relatable for the same reason and win sympathy easily. Like any good story, Shinbun Kisha made me want to know more—but even beyond that, I needed to know if justice would actually be served. It was difficult not to get invested.

The camera is unobtrusive, yet still impactful. For example, during the press conferences where Yonekura Ryoko’s Matsuda is the only one brave enough to drill the administration for answers, she’s literally seated alone with a block of empty chairs surrounding her. Sickly greens and yellows are employed in sequences when corrupt dealings are underway, and chilly blues overlay rooms in which a character has been driven into a corner or frozen out.

Yonekura Ryoko and Go Ayano, perhaps unsurprisingly, are clear standouts in terms of performance. However, Yokohama Ryusei turns in a solid performance as an indifferent youth who slowly begins to understand the power that young people have in shaping the future of a country.

Recommended overall, especially if you like this genre. I'd love to see more like this from Netflix.

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Cute Rom Com With Great Chemistery!

If you are familiar with me, you may be aware that I frequently blog about the D/s element in various shows. However, I desired a break from that. I desired something that was cute, romantic, and amusing, which would serve as a distraction from the intense content that I am currently observing. This fit the bill perfectly, and I'm glad I gave it a shot despite the reviews. The fun parts made me giggle, and the romantic ones made me sigh. If you enjoy Rom Coms, then you will adore this hidden gem.

Please refrain from paying attention to other reviews on here that are comparing this show to other shows that aren't Rom Coms and making disparaging remarks. You're comparing it to genres it's not in, it's like comparing a horror movie to a dance show. It's a Rom Com! Maybe don't watch Rom Coms if you don't like them!

I found the chemistry in both pairs to be excellent, the acting felt comfortable and there was never a point in which it felt fake or forced. I didn't have moments where I was thrown out of the series, but in fact was immersed in it. Not only that, but I stayed up far too late to finish it. As far as the story line? I, personally, enjoyed it, it was realistic in a way and there was smooth delivery. Plus, the character communication was chief's kiss. Seriously, ignore these other people and listen to me! It's cute! It might not be Semantic Error cute, but it fits with My Love Mix Up cute.

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Complacent writing ruins the ending to a show that had a great potential!

I was intrigued by the 2gether series because it had a great start and avoided the common trope of pairing a very "flower boy" uke and "macho and strong" seme. I also liked the pace that the drama was maintaining with the leads quickly recognizing their feelings for each other. There wasn't much of the usual struggle to come to terms with their sexuality that most BL's grind to the bone.

But it all started going downhill quickly -halfway through, the pace just goes all wrong. The writers can't blame having only 13 episodes to show a meaningful progression in Tine and Sarawat's relationship. I've seen shorter BLs (Because of You) that were not constrained by the available screening time.

Sarawat and Tine moved in together almost immediately after starting their relationship, and that's so farfetched to me. Not only they didn't show a decent "dating" period but the leads started acting like an old couple that's been living together for 20 years or so. But they certainly don't have the maturity that comes with such a long-term relationship.

Contrived arcs to "separate" and put obstacles in the lead's relationship, zero trust in each other and abysmal communication skills leads them to the mandatory trope of breaking up just before the finale. But not to worry, they still their HEA within half an episode with not much explanation as to how they resolved their problems. -_-

I'm seeing a trend where most BLs are just taking the viewers for granted - casting good-looking leads and writing arcs with so many plotholes and tropes that they just churn out one BL after another expecting that the "fujoshi" audience will consume whatever they throw out either ways.

Writers, please have a little more respect for your audience and don't just focus on the aesthetics.

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How to do everything wrong in BL

This was an example of just about everything I hate in BL. They did a few things right, but very little and definitely not enough to get me to watch 2 more seasons of this SH**.

The writing is HORRIBLE. So many times I would anticipate the great come-back a character SHOULD have said but didn't. Instead of truly exploring the characters' inner feelings, we are left with long, slo-mo shots of them staring into the distance. That might have worked if the actors could actually act and their faces displayed real emotions. But this cast (at least the 2 leads) cannot pull that off. The characters just kept repeating themselves, sometimes 3 or 4 times in the same scene. If you're not going to progress the story or characters, then just cut to the next scene. Because of that, I think 4 of the 12 episodes could have been eliminated entirely. Maybe even more.

The direction is MISERABLE. The pacing is sooooooo sloooooooow. Those long, slo-mo reaction shots. Moments where characters ask a question and no one answers EVER, they just cut back and forth and back again and forth again and back again and forth again to blank stares from the actors. Entirely unnecessary scenes, shots, sequences. Do we really need to see the judges of the Moon/Stars contest get up on stage and watch them applaud for 30 seconds? When they have no interaction with the main cast, the answer is NO.

The acting is WOODEN (at least the 2 leads). Nothing but blank faces, even during the most important and emotional scenes. Poor Yo is forced to play petrified throughout the entire series. He never looks comfortable at all. Even when he's won the popularity vote, runner-up Moon and has a boyfriend he still looks miserable. I did enjoy most of the secondary actors. Kim as Ming was very natural. He had charm, comedy, camaraderie. I also enjoyed Copter as Kit. His friendship with Tee as Beam seemed genuine. Naturally, all the actors I liked have been replaced in the sequels.

More BOOs for the music. The overly sentimental piano music that played over those long slo-mo shots was cloying. They really tried to wring out your emotions - especially when they weren't warranted.

Failed on so many levels. Can't believe how popular this one is. It's gonna take years before I'll watch the 2 sequels.

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Messy, stupid story... as usual...

Thankfully some people are cutting together 55 episodes of 90 seconds clips making it a movie, so we can watch it in one go. While production quality is not bad, the story is. Also the vertical format does not help and the so called "action" scenes are a bad joke.

The chemistry is just ok, but nothing amazing and the acting leaves a lot of room for improvement. This series is mildy entertaining but also boring most of the time even when it only runs for around 95 minutes.

I can't even say I was disappointed because I did not expect anything. When you are behind in your watching schedule, you should watch something else because it's not worth your time. I have no clue why the actors do such bad series, but I assume they have contractional obligations and they need food on the table.

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Don’t let that poster fool you!

Based on real events that occurred in some villages during the Korean War, this movie touches aspects like political idealisms, morality, ethics and relationships without forgetting to add laugh-out-loud comedy and heart wrenching moments that keep reminding you this actually happened.

Regarding the cast, every character plays an important role in the movie, from the villagers with their simple ways of living to the North Korean troops who strongly believe in their mission to “liberate” the oppressed people.

At the end, the real message this movie leaves its viewers with is that life can take you anywhere, but you decide how to live it.

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In the beginning I started watching IWGP because Yamapi was in it - But after only a few minutes I had almost forgotten about him.

The characters in this drama are very believable and well-done, they are realistic and have their good and bad sides.

I like how important friendship is for the story, much more important than the romance or violence.

The acting was really good, especially in the dramatic and fighting scenes. The actors looked like they were really in character and I never thought someone looked awkward, when they weren't supposed to.

The music wasn't outstanding, but it was there. I didn't pay much attention to it and felt like it wasn't really important.

The story itself was great, interesting and full of emotions. I never thought an episode was dragging, though there were some that confused me in the beginning.

You do notice that the drama is a few years old, though, but I don't think it's a bad thing.

I recommend everyone to watch this and give it a try because I thought it was great.

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The "soulmate" idea is rather dated. In fact, I think its cultural relevance really took a nosedive when angry (or worse, desensitized) nineties kids became the proponents of modern youth culture. Their way of thinking was called cynicism back in the day; now it's just another norm. At least that's true in America. However, Korea, as I've come to see it through its popular entertainment, has a culture that still embraces (and positively beats to death sometimes) the concept of fate. Destiny. Meant-to-be. So what better format to tackle the soulmate conundrum than the k-drama?

Except this wasn't your average k-drama. It's called a sitcom, but that isn't giving it nearly enough credit. It's also called a romantic comedy, and while it has romance and comedy, that's not a nuanced enough classification. And, while almost 100% of Korean dramas follow the 16-20 episode format with such uniformity that predicting which episode the big confession will happen in is almost an exact science, this one turns linear storytelling into a loose guideline rather than the strict rule. Also, the fact that it was entirely preshot without the stresses of the live-shoot system really shines through; it is confident and the different plots dovetail and interweave with efficiency and steadiness.

The writers were particularly successful in creating deceptively sharp characters. On the surface, they appear to be stock and silly. Most of them WERE stock and silly. But, taken as different, embodied responses to the "do soulmates exist?" question, they become luminous in their own right. And, of course, I would be remiss to forget to mention the wonderful cast especially Shin Dong-wook (effortlessly charming and insouciant) and Lee Soo-kyung (hilarious in her permanent exasperation).

The one thing I really liked about this drama, the aspect that vaulted it directly into my list of permanent favorites, was its way of handling life's little intersections, the minor butterfly effects. How we're a lot closer to others (and by extension, different types of happiness) than we think. The format is a direct manifestation of this and also gives a physical motion to the very cerebral process of emotional maturity. To say more would be to ruin the pleasure for first time viewers, but there IS this one scene that involves rain and Lasse Lindh's gorgeous song "C'mon Through".....

Most importantly, the writers found that perfect sweet spot between the opposing poles of the big question. The tone was neither idealistic nor cynical; skeptical, perhaps, is the right word although it implies more negativity than actually existed. Maybe it is most accurate to say that there was a thoughtful melancholy to it, one that removed it from the realm of throwaway slapstick and placed it firmly on a higher plane. This is Soulmate's strength: It has the singular ability to turn what might have been utter, lowbrow farce into something intelligent and bittersweet.

Tl;dr? This has my definite endorsement. Watch it for something different with a lot of laughs and a lot of heart.
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