Some might argue this, and that's fine, but as I watched ASC, I admired what I felt was a tightly-written narrative about three women who decided to take a stand in a world that would otherwise tell them to sit down, shut up, keep up appearances, and melt in with the masses. Thus, while ASG is a comedy (and it is incredibly funny), it is also a wonderful social commentary about sticking one's head out, taking a risk, and bringing down corruption.
I can't say enough about the cast, in particular, our three women protagonists, played by Lee Yo Won, Ra Mi Ran, and Myung Se Bin. Their sisterly chemistry is off the charts, and it truly shows in how they interact with each other despite being from different backgrounds. In fact, that might be one of my favorite aspects of this ensemble--the fact that three women of three distinct backgrounds were able (in drama transcript) to rally together. It's something not often seen in dramas. Lee Yo Won as Kim Jung Hye is incredible; one might find her a slight bit rough around the edges at first, but later, she shows amazing gusto with effortless poise. Ra Mi Ran is great as the neighborhood ahjumma with great charisma and an even greater heart; her bond with the two younger women is beautiful. Myung Se Bin does well with her character as well, and her observable growth in the show is great.
Revenge is sweet, of course, and is always better when accompanied by nice background music that adds details to every plan and playful mischievousness to every new revenge-filled venture. In this, the ASC OST shined.
I'm definitely going to watch this again, even if it's just to hear Jung Hye say, "You son of a b****~" once again.
Esta resenha foi útil para você?
Anyone disappointed after watching this? NOT ME.
An incredible series that GMM25 has delivered and a dangerous new standard for the upcoming series. Why? Read below. This is a longer review than usual, but this series is INCREDIBLE and therefore incredibly hard to put into only a few paragraphs. :))(Quick recommendation. Listen to this while reading: https://youtu.be/dBW9c7QS99M?list=RDdBW9c7QS99M)
The story is unique and nothing that anyone has easily come close to achieving. Political topics have a high risk of not being well received by the viewers because the pacing often becomes very sluggish and boring if it is not implemented correctly. Another danger with this trope is that romance can often feel redundant and inappropriate, thus degrading the quality of the story. Neither is the case here. Why? The answer is not very simple.
PRODUCTION
Let´s start with the production and filming/ writing of the scenes. Throughout the entire series, one can not deny the beautiful shots that were taken. Everything seems to have gone under detailed planning of how to use the natural light the best and how to film beautiful scenes at locations that don´t depend on much editing. However, one thing is certain: professionals are at work. Both in the filming and editing, but also in the individual usage and choice of music. Incomparable to other series.
Praise to Nuchy Anucha Boonyawatana, Noolek Sureechary and M Rittiktai Kanjanawiphu for the incredible screenwriting. I did not stumble across any grievous mistakes. I want to thank the creator of "Not Me”, Dem Thanutnun Vitsivakun, for creating this incredible story. She has succeeded in merging the topics of politics, injustice, LGBTQ+ and revenge to a point where you can only be amazed.
And of course, praise for the cinematographer Beat Pramett Chankrasse, who gifted us with captures of breathtakingly beautiful moments. The scenes embody the emotions of all the characters and carefully embrace them. But how are other series supposed to keep up now, mister? I have no idea.
The difficulty that this series has met was the decreased number of episodes because of budget problems. This problem was briefly felt towards the end, but the overall presentation is so brilliant that the few inconveniences can be overlooked, really!
PLOT
Black and White are twins with a powerful connection, but the two are as different as day and night. White is very dedicated to revealing the truth behind the state of his hospitalised brother, but his personality is, FORTUNATELY, too different not to cause other problems, incidents, etc. This fact is very well implemented by the writers: Without being too obvious about it they make White purposely misbehave in his role as Black. The story and its execution go hand in hand in this series.
The entire plot had so many risks in its adaptation, but the series succeeded in not getting trapped by them. On the contrary, they used this fear to create a masterpiece that will amaze everyone, probably even the people involved. The expectations were more than met.
The side stories also have their unique charm, and the introduction of a mute person just gives the overall picture that certain something of a realistic scenario that you get addicted to watching. No matter if politics, injustice, LGBTQ+, revenge or disadvantages, each topic is accurate and not exaggerated.
The female characters did not meet the cliché standards of many other series of the same genre; on the contrary, they were no tools for the story, but - and that should be the norm - they were their own masters, had their own lives and did not have any unexplainable toxic trades. All their reactions were understandable and well implemented.
The characters aren't denied their mistakes either; rather, in the series, these people try to work on their mistakes. That's what makes them so human and the series so perfect.
ACTORS
Before I get to Gun´s outstanding performance, I start with the supporting cast. The acting of all of them was solid, and no one seemed to be uncomfortable to look at. Additionally, I also want to praise whoever cast this outrageous cast. Because even smaller roles like the parents or the antagonist have proved themselves well and worked fine with the plot.
Film (Eugene) and Lookjun (Namo) delivered two incredible performances as two female characters in a gay romance-oriented series. They acted very naturally, and one could sympathise with their portrayed roles. Especially Film was well cast for her role as Eugene. Filmshy was also doing a good job, but she didn´t have much screen time, so it´s hard for me to review it.
Let´s get to the boys. Oh. I have so much to say, but I don´t know where to start. I have never imagined Sing to ever get this kind of role, but he succeeded in any means. If you ask me, he deserves to get more main roles in series because he is such a flexible and good actor.
The leader of the garage, Gumpa, was played by Papang. Two words. Unexpected Gem. This guy did such a good job in his role. He also deserves more screentime because he is truly gifted. The same goes for Mond, who portrayed Gram. Personally, I like this actor a lot because he always managed to meet my expectations, and I love the control he has over his facial expressions.
When it comes to emotions and portrayed intimacy, First (Yok) and Fluke (Dan) were blowing my mind. I loved their shots and on-screen scenes. Everything in this series worked incredibly well together, but especially these two. After watching their sequences, I got inspired and overwhelmed by a sudden wave of motivation. I will miss them. I will miss the PAIN. THE PAIN.
There was also incomparable harmony between Gun (Black/ White) and Off (Sean), again ... but honestly, how do they do it? How crazy can one succeed in their role? The two are a great match, and I hope to see more of them in the future. Speaking of how incredible these two are, Gun deserves a special mention. He managed to draw a clear line between Black and White. Cold and warm. Physical and psychological. He was playing both twins, but you could tell them apart. Manifestly! What an incredibly good actor! Mastering a twin role alone is something many have attempted and failed, but none has been as good or compelling as Gun. Give him a huge award and lots of love and attention.
OVERALL
At this point, I´d like to cite our POP-Queen Lady Gaga:
NOT ME is “talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show-stopping, spectacular, never the same, totally unique, completely not ever been done before, unafraid to reference or not reference, (…)”. In a nutshell, this show is everything and more that the LGBTQ+ film community has ever wished for. The scenery and shots are breathtaking, the actors outstanding, and the edit incomparable. Even the use of music has been merging with the entire awesomeness of this show. Every expectation is being me, and it´s honestly nothing you should miss.
The upcoming series has a lot of work ahead if they ever want to meet this extreme standard of perfection.
Who am I lying to ... it´s impossible.
Esta resenha foi útil para você?
I was burning of impatience to start this drama especially with such talented and acclaimed actors, Go Hyun Jung, Shin Goo the best father of dramaland (in my opinion # ROYOW), Na Moon Hee, Yoon Yeo Jeong, Go Doo Shim (it was my first time seeing her), Park Won Sook etc. It was not only because of the cast but because of the story which I kinda guessed would be easy for me to connect with and I was right. It's a straight 10 for me, and my first of the year *.*
A big part of the story revolves around Park Wan's relationship with her mother and her Aunts (her Mother's friends) who all are around their late 60s (some in their 70s) but not only as we also get to learn bit by bit about all of them , our 6 other main female characters of the show (Jeong Ah, Hee Ja, Nan Hee, Yeong Won, Cheong Nam and Ssang Boon) and 2 male characters Seok Gyun and Seong Jae. I really love how Wan is so close to all those people who are for most of them 30 years older than her.[off topic= I'm really envious of her as I consider elders as the most adorable and caring people of the world (with kids), they make me feel comfortable, happy and also more at peace and generally I have more healthy discussions with them and I learn a lot from them especially about their personal experiences. I definitely feel more at ease and more like myself in their presence. End of off topic].
Wan is there for them and share most of her free time with them as much as possible and we can feel all throughout the drama the special attach between Wan and her aunts, this special and indescribable love they have for each other, the genuine and soothing one.
As I said Wan is not the only main focus of the drama, all the veteran actors have equal screentime and have their own stories to share (I mean the characters they portray).
The drama mostly narrates us the stories of Wan's Mother and her friends, their own adventures and anecdotes worth being told to their own children, grandchildren or nephews, some are very sad, painful and heartbreaking and will move the most sensitve ones to tears (like me :p) and some more funny and sweet. I love all of those Helmoni because despite having a very hard life and some being deprived of freedom (partially) they always look cheerful, they laugh and have fun on their own way like anyone else, they are true bon vivant I'd say. They all touched me and broke me because they are genuine, sweet, sometimes very funny and weird too.
My fave characters are definitely Jeong Ah and Hee Ja, I can already tell you that both of them made me cry not less than 50 times, mostly happy tears but some were also sad tears. Those two women caught my attention since the first minutes of the drama, other characters I love them too so so much but I found Jeong Ah and Hee Ja's stories more powerful and heartbreaking, and their friendship is so strong and unwavering, they have their moments of doubt of course but it's what make them even closer.
I've said enough about them but they are such lovely and cute women, they are honest to themselves and to others too, never hiding their true feelings especially Jeong Ah who always speaks her mind even if it can be a little bit hurtful anyway I love her for that. As for Hee Ja I think she's the kindest and the most innocent one, this makes her so gorgeous and what a delicate woman she is *,*. I also need to mention that the Hee Ja/Min Ho's bond really got me, so real, beautiful and unshakable, Min Ho is such a filial son, their scenes were the sweetest ^^
Of course all other characters are so fantastic and deserved to be loved, Ssang Boon the lovely grandma who's always playing with her phone, Yeong Won the elegant and caring friend, Cheong Nam the curious and honest friend, Nan Hee the hot tempered and caring mother and Wan our lovely young woman who's having some issues dealing with her love and family life. All of them made this drama the gem it is to my eyes.
The Ost is also very beautiful and the songs perfectly fitted for each scene, the funny, the cute, and the sad ones. Probably among the best Ost I heard this year, very addicting and memorable, especially ''Want to Be Free'' by Lyn and '' Wonderful'' by Jannabi.
If I were to say in a few words what truly made me fall in love with the drama, I would say : its realism, its endearing and funny characters, its serenity, peaceful tones, and its natural and brillant writing. Dear My Friends from start to finish made me feel jovial and calm which is something that happens very rarely when I watch dramas especially Kdramas but this is one of the few exceptions, and that's exactly why I'm watching dramas : feeling relaxed, connecting with the characters, evading from reality, spending a good time and not feeling anxious, DMF gave me all of that so I'm very thankful to the actors's hard work and the team who worked on it. Indeed finally South Korea came up with a realistic and heartwarming drama, never letting me feeling uneasy nor angry about the events or the characters. From this country the only other drama which gave me the same feelings was Ruler of Your Own World,I hope more dramas like this one and Dear My friends will be produced though I don't have high expectations.
I decided to give it a 10 for personal reasons, though the drama can sound slow or simple due to its length (around 70 mins per ep). But here are some of the reasons why I went for the highest rating.
- The story, exactly what I've always been waiting for, a drama which would mostly focus on friendship between elders and make them the center of the story.
- Every second was precious and meaningful for me, never I felt bored and I savored every moment.
- Great family and friendship drama and all actors portrayed their characters so flawlessly and convincingly.
- The characters are so relatable.
- Showing the true love of mothers for their children and vice versa, thanks Dear My Friends for those great moments of emotion <3
Na Moon Hee and Kim Hye Ja, My lovely actresses <3
Esta resenha foi útil para você?
Best 20 hours of my life
Never would have thought there could be such a storyline. The clueless acting of the ml was Oscar worthy and I am sure fl won the hearts of many people. Shin hye sun(fl) I had watched her in a lot of other shows but this character was just built for her.The music for the show was spot on, especially the outro song at the end of each episode was so good. Plus all the music or sounds at funny moments made those scenes even better.
All the supporting characters where making this already awesome show even better.
I don't know who the author/writer of the shows but you can definitely tell I am gonna check out his other works until I die. I just want to thank all the people who where responsible for this show , amid all the covid-19 problems you guys kept me happy. Truly best 20 hours of my life
Ps. I am a picky guy , I find fault in everything but no mater how much I tried for some reason I can't think of any. This feeling is certainly wonderful.
Esta resenha foi útil para você?
1) The Characters and primarily their core relationships made this story extraordinary. Cha Dong Ju and Bong Woo Ri and their love story; once it began there was no wavering. It was a solid loving relationship that had the perfect mix of sweetnes, spark and friendship. Bong Woo Ri and her father and grandmother; when you watch, you will realize why this family is so special. Cha Dong Ju and Bong Ma Ru; their brotherhood, their bromance and the way they loved and looked out for each other. There were countless ways in which these core relationships and the love that sustained them, helped them overcome the trials they went through. Now that this show is over I feel like the message at the core of this drama is sometimes, in spite of blood ties or the lack of, your family is made up of the people you choose and those who have chosen you. It is sacrifice, loyalty and never giving up on or hoping for, the person you love with all your heart.
2) The writing was very solid. It felt like there was a real story line trajectory rather than on the fly, off the cuff script writing that sometimes takes place to appease the masses/ratings. I got the feeling this story was planned from the start and stayed on course. There were beautiful words brought to life on screen by the actors. My above raving about the characters and friendships wouldn't exist without this writer's insight and story telling ability. The themes of family, loyalty and love rose above the necessary story/drama propulsion of revenge, hate and hardships.
There were other things to love as well. The cinematography was great. It was a pretty sweeping story as 30 episode dramas tend to be, so the sweeping views and pretty color palette fit the story and scope.
I loved the way they handled Cha Dong Ju's deafness. He was such a strong character all throughout the story. He had moments of fear and uncertainty but mostly he was brave and wonderful. The "writing" always treated the physically or mentally challenged characters with dignity...even if some of the characters within the story didn't always do the same. Does that make sense?
It is a testament to good story telling the 30 episodes went by pretty quick. The angst wasn't so constant and prolonged that you felt wrung dry emotionally. Lots of light moments in between! There was never I time I felt I wanted to drop this show or give up. Actually, I'm kind of sad it is over. It is a wonderful Drama! Give it a try if you are hesitating.
Esta resenha foi útil para você?
1Rational life.... unexpectedly with much pleasure!
"You've never asked me why I like her. I like her because of how special she is. Her ability and strength, everyone can see that side of her. But her cuteness and softness, only I can see that."First of all, this show is for a mature audience, it's slow-paced doesn't have heavy romance. Rather Character-driven and Female-centered and revolves around how characters achieve their goals.
The story dynamics, structure, characters, and their personality development it's just in the perfect place. Romance isn't the center of attention or big aspect small yet beautifully done. Characters are three-dimensional, realistic, having their own pros and cons. And not trying to get perfect but just trying best to be themselves.
It has some coincidences but as its name isn't unreasonable.. everything has its own reason. If we take Ruoxin's mom's character she is possessive but it's her past what made her like that, she is controlling in many places but I found her cute too, and that what makes this drama special every character has different shades as if they are a real person.
It doesn't make a big issue or taboo of the age gap or revolve around that but it's handled so carefully. The drama focuses on their life, work, how they chase their goals. This is proper office drama.. where they actually work no hard work and the office doesn't become a dating spot.
Dylan Wang finally got a role, where he shines! and shows brilliant acting skill. His expressions, liveliness is very natural as if it's not acting its real self. Qi Xian is energetic, charming, confident yet so mature. His smile, sometimes weird expressions are just cherry on the top. Though being a chocolate boy he is different from most of the stereotyped leads. He has dreams, plans for the future... and he always gives his 100%.
"When he smiles at me I feel… I feel like this cold world, this world that is full of rules and restrictions has become so warm. I don’t know if it’s love or not. Because I don’t know what the definition of love is. But I know one thing for sure. In all these years, he’s the only one... Who came into my heart."
Shen Ruoxin definitely one of the best female lead characters I have ever seen. She has her own charm that made me fall for her. While she may look cold on the outside and only cares about her own interests, she’s actually a soft-hearted person. Her compassion for work, competence, smartness. She is rational, logical, and careful ready to face any problems and difficulties without wavering, a perfect definition of 'Strong Female Lead.' But aside from this, she has a different side where she can be very cute.
I don't think without Qin Lan and Dylan Wang I can imagine this drama. Even having 19 years difference in real life. There's a process we get to experience, why they fall for each other. Not out of nowhere or because of physical appearance, they like each other as a person. Their relationship progress is natural.. which is slow but realistic and pleasant, the way they look at each other, small, small gestures.
It's not a perfect drama it has many problems too, some annoying characters (But there are many characters whom I adore a lot), a bit draggy in some parts. But with leads sizzling chemistry, comfort with each other's presence is a great pleasure to watch.
Esta resenha foi útil para você?
Story: [9/10] I really liked the concept of a medical mystery. As it really adds another layer to what may be a typical medical show. You are seeing the doctors take care of patients in a stressful situation as in most other medical dramas. At the same time you have a group of murders going on that continues to keep you curious. These murders add a layer of complexity to the drama. The surgeries and the mystery together pretty much keeps you on the edge of your seat for most of the drama. The main characters are also very well written. The characters do not stay flat and act the same the whole time. The characters learn from the events in the series and some of them grow more as a person. I didn't give this show a 10 for two reasons. The first is because the shows pace ended up being sped up because of 2 episodes getting axed. I feel like the extra episodes could have answered a lot more questions and made the show and the pacing better. The second reason is because I feel like the ending was slightly flat. The show had so much action that each and every single episode (okay maybe not every single one) seemed like the climax. However at the same time, it also made me feel like the ending didn't have much as an impact as I would see in other endings. Hence I couldn't really give it a 10 for the story. Of course that's just my own opinion though. Although I did give the show a 9 for being very action-packed and having good character development.
Acting/Cast: [8.5/10] There's nothing much that I can say about the acting and cast. For the most part no one really stood out to me other the Dr. Lee Yeong Oh. I thought that his acting was really good and that he portrayed his character really well.
Music: [8.5/10] Music is pretty likable. It uses an array of different tunes for different situations.
Overall I recommend you watch the series. This season was very good in general. Beautiful Mind was definitely the dark horse of this season and it ended up proving that it was worth my time. It was a 14 hour well spent :)! I suggest you watch it too if you haven't already.
Esta resenha foi útil para você?
First I want to start by saying that if you are considering watching this series, then you need to know that this is not your usual fluffy drama with tons of comic relief. This is a very raw story and it's not so much about their relationship (them being together) as it is their emotions and how they handle the situation(s) they are put in.
This series is very heavy with the topics it brings up and is not a drama I would recommend for someone who's just looking for some cute relationships, because this is NOT that. This drama is more psychological and may be triggering if you have experienced violation of any kind. There's manipulation, lying, heavy drinking, dubious consent and very explicit scenes involved. I saw one of the reviews written for this show gave it a very low rating because I don't think they were expecting it to be as explicit as it was. Because it is very NSFW, and also again, NOT A FAIRYTALE LOVESTORY.
There is a lot of depth to this story, and I don't think everyone choosing to watch this will be able to see passed the cruel nature of a lot of the things that happens. This series requires the understanding that it isn't about the romance, because this isn't romantic. It's about the characters and how they deal with the situation they are put in, how they take into account the feeling of the other people involved, etc. Also, they do not romanticise the seriousness of the topics in this AT ALL, but then again some may think they do, but they don't. Just don't watch this with the mindset that this is going to be a fully functional and healthy relationship throughout with fluff and epic romance. Because, it isn't.
So, do I recommend this drama? Absolutely, I thoroughly enjoyed it! It is probably the best Japanese drama I've seen. The acting is on point, the emotion is raw and honest, the dialogue is natural, they have chemistry and are not shy to be doing the things they do for the performance to be truthful and believable. 10/10, honestly. However, I would be careful when deciding to watch it, because they do bring up topics and themes that could be very sensitive and triggering for certain people, so it honestly is not for everyone. So, I also DON'T recommend it for those looking for that cute fairytale BL, because again, this drama isn't really about that. And I would be careful if you have PTSD or similar mental health issues related to being subjected to manipulation, sexual and psychological trauma, or similar things.
I hope this helps some of you with deciding whether or not you should watch this. Also, watch this before Blue Indigo (this came out before anyway) because there's a few things you won't get with Blue Indigo in terms of character development if you watch that before this. Also, it makes Kijima's character a lot more mysterious and that is what makes the plot make sense. Kijima's character is supposed to be a wild card and unpredictable, so watching Blue Indigo first sort of ruins that.
Esta resenha foi útil para você?
Esta resenha pode conter spoilers
I wanted to wait until I had processed the ending of this drama before reviewing it. The emotional investment I had in these boys and their story stopped me from writing down coherent sentences at first. But here we are, a week later! For the first few episodes, we see a fairly regular (and wonderfully done) set-up between an A+ student with a poor background and a rebel with a soft heart. I must say, I really fell head over heels for both boys and how soft they are with each other. How much happier Shigu became after gradually letting Haoting inside his heart and life. Haoting shouting from the rooftops how much he loves Shigu...
The promising flow of this story was what disappointed me and resulted in a lower score overall after the last episode aired. Having Shigu die, off camera, and fast forward 6 years felt like a cheap trick for making the audience cry. An ending can be sad without being disliked. This was just bad writing.
Why not let Shigu be sick from the get-go and let the audience experience them fighting-perhaps even losing the fight, but alongside them? Why not show us what happened on that god-awful day and watch Haoting pick up the pieces of his life and move on? Both would have been a lot more powerful in my opinion. And both Wei En and Juan Zhi could have carried that as actors.
I think the decision to take Hao Ting's incredible love for Shigu and make it so he seems stuck at 18, broken and unable to move on, too much. The LGBTQ community has had enough of those sad and useless endings, dramas don't have to be lifelessons. They don't have to have the shock-factor this writer aimed for. Sure, we were shocked. But also pissed off. And I was unable to even talk about it because I was so upset that a poor boy who finally found love and warmth got ran over by a car we didn't even see. One of Haoting's lines at the end even insinuates he'll go climb the highest mountain in the world and die there to be with Shigu again. Healthy image for queer romance? I think not. Sometimes it's okay if dramas wrap everything up in a little bow, making people happy can be just as powerful as making them cry.
I guess in the end, this was not what I signed up for when I started this and therefor I cannot stop my emotional reaction of giving it a lower rating. I do wish for the actors involved to get more work and recognition through this, as it is thanks to their performance that the ending hurt so much and the happiness made my heart soar.
Esta resenha foi útil para você?
I came for Jung Hae In, and I stayed for the issues
This is just beautiful, like a walk in to some pretty cold waters from a beautiful beach, slowly getting deeper, and deeper, while the winds rise up to the perfect storm....If you are looking for a comedy this is not the place to look, even if it does use quite a bit of humour this is certainly a drama dealing with some pretty heavy issues and will probably make you feel a whole lot of anger, sorrow and may even make you cry. The early episodes will probably make you laugh too but the further you get the deeper the issues and by the fifth episode you will have been close to tears, kept on your toes and angry at the world.
What I love about this drama, besides the obvious presence of Jung Hae In, is that they dare to show the complexity to the characters, how one thing leads to another and tackle important issues such as bullying, suicide, group mentality, domestic violence, poverty and the all important bystanders in a beautiful way by using all means available. Music, cinematography, lighting all work perfectly to set the mood and are just up my alley. So I rated it with ten stars. However you should know this is my type of drama and I am extremely bias towards Jung Hae In. But if you like me enjoy issues, dark humor and Jung Hae In this drama will leave you hoping for a second season, and thinking it was way to short , they should have given it at least 10 episodes instead of the short 6.
For fellow Jung Hae In fans his character here (as well as the drama ) are more like Prison playbook than the flirty guy in Something in the rain, and yes he does this role perfectly (like always)
All in all I definitely recommend this to those who are not afraid to dip in to some dark deep waters...
P.s I laughed every time Jun Ho repeated his name and rank... I hope you will too
Edit: make sure to stay all the way, the epilog in the end is really important and worth watching (even though jhi is not present)
Esta resenha foi útil para você?
Everything was just great .
At first I wasn't sure that It was going to be good because most of the cast was under 17 years old . But they did an amazing job .
They did suck a good job of portraying the characters I was scared of them while watching the movie.
It very emotional as well I wanted cry half way through
It so good it made on UK TV !
ITS a must WATCH !!
Esta resenha foi útil para você?
Esta resenha pode conter spoilers
the Best Song from my Crush
This will now rank in the top 3 of my most favorite KBL drama, ever.First of all, id like to thank the heavens for gracing us with this drama in a Netflix-style one-time drop of 8 episodes. I think I would have felt a lot differently had I seen this one or 2 episode per week. The bitch watching, i mean the binge watching has helped me cope with my week.
Second, its rare to see a Korean BL series that is not long but doesnt feel rushed. This one has the perfect pacing and rightly focused on the main characters, without the unnecessary fillers. The creators have amply contained the storyline and used what little time they have in progressing the story.
Third, my goodness the soundtrack is amazing. Is that the real voice of Jang Do Yoon cause he sounds divine? The first main song "Letter of Apology" and the last song "Second Wind" are both emotional and perfectly sung!
Fourth, and I don't know if I still need to mention this, but the two main leads made me fall in love with their characters. They are both really pleasant to look at and believable - even when they were playing young students to the time that they were living together chasing their dreams, I cant even believe that both actors are already in their late 20s.
Understandably, the show isn't perfect.
I specially find it unbelievable that the guitar teacher became a newly-debuted idol at his age - he looks a bit old to be honest. However i did appreciate the series'way of tying his storyline without him being too evil.
I also noticed how super physically touchy the male characters around Han Ba Ram -sometimes to an uncofortable degree. It happened both with the teacher and then with Im Han Tae. 'One would feel and see they were clearly leading him on. I would have misinterpreted those moves myself if Im around these 2 guys. But when Ba Ram told them about his feelings both of them acted surprised - and I really found it perplexing in Han Tae's case since I thought he himself was inloved with Baram eversince episode 1.
However, despite its flaws, I still find myself pining for the leads and cheered for the triumph of their love story. For me, the strongest part of the whole series is when Ba Ram and Han Tae were just hanging out together. Great easy watch for a day (or two) and will relatively be easy to re-watch on a rainy day. Overall, I give it a 9 out of 10.
Esta resenha foi útil para você?
Overall this drama was a complete joy to watch and also very satisfying. It gave me an incredible and emotional experience and I can highly recommend this drama. It is worth investing 10 hours of your time to watch this lovely and heartwarming family story which totally captured my heart.
Esta resenha foi útil para você?
How To Become a Perfect Lover
I wasn’t planning to pick up “Hi Venus” in the beginning because I had had a bad experience with Liang Jie in “Time Flies and You are Here”. But I couldn’t resist Zeng Shunxi (aka Joseph Zeng) because I have really enjoyed most of his dramas thus far. He has a magnetic charisma that pulls the viewers in and his adorable good-looking face beacons. I was taken by surprise how enjoyable this series is. This drama gives viewers a perfect lover here in the male lead.Though given a hospital setting as the background, the story is more akin to an office romance. There are no hardcore hospital scenes, nor talented/ambitious female/male lead doctors trying to save lives or inventing new medical technologies/procedures. This is basically a love story between a boss who has no medical experience, and his personal assistant who is a pediatrician with no administrative experience.
Ye Shilan (Liang Jie) is a fresh pediatrician of a private hospital. She is temporarily assigned to the Chief Executive Officer, Lu Zhaoxi (Zeng Shunxi) as his personal assistant. Reluctantly, she complies. Coming from a broken family with a father who killed himself and a mother who remarried, Ye Shilan is insecure and has a low self-esteem; she is awkward, guarding and reserved. Despite the inadequacy she feels of herself, she is upstanding, accepts her own mistakes, systematic, clear-cut, and independent. I’m so relieved that Liang Jie has handled this role very well. Her styling is soothing and down to earth, and her serious demeanor is appropriate for the character. Most importantly, she has an amazing chemistry with Zeng Shunxi.
Born with a silver spoon in an entrepreneurial household where his parents run the hospital business, Lu Zhaoxi is not the typical cold, rude, arrogant, and authoritative CEO. He is mature, considerate, playful, never imposing, optimistic, empathetic (as shown with him going through simulated childbirth pain), romantic, earnest, accommodating, sweet, warm, friendly, fearless (except for insects), intelligent and confident; he’s a perfect partner that all girls want and deserve.
When Lu Zhaoxi falls in love with Ye Shilan and she him, both are not exactly sure of the other: she thinks he is too good for her and she doesn’t deserve him, and she fears losing him if she accepts him; whereas for him, through various rumors and conversations, he thinks she still cannot come out from the hurt of a previous relationship, so he hesitates for fear of being rejected.
Not only very good looking, I find Zeng Shunxi a very good actor. His large round eyes speak volumes, capturing his playfulness, thoughtfulness, exacerbations, romance, intelligence, and confidence. I always feel soothed watching him, even in my most critical drama of his in “Time Flies and You are Here”. Zeng Shunxi nails the role as Lu Zhaoxi. He’s perfect here and I don’t think another actor could do better.
The story is narrated through Ye Shilan's perspective, how she changes from an inferior character to a positive person; she meets her 救星 ("jiùxīng" or savior), her Venus. This is quite a slow burn, pull-push kind of relationship which is subtle and humorous. The couple’s official relationship begins in Episode 16 when they are more open to their closest friends. I'm usually not a very patient person with intentionally made misunderstandings and wasteful moments. However, I find the development of romance here very charming and interesting; it's the little moments that are precious and unforgettable. The dialogues are so funny that at times viewers must think twice to get the meaning and truly understand the words. I feel the scriptwriter has given the viewers one of the best dialogue writings here: subtly funny, humorous, oxymoronic, and paradoxical.
Among others, one thing that stands out to me is, there are no annoying bad parents forcing their kids to marry for wealth and status, or for people they (the parents) approve of. Here, Lu Zhaoxi's parents dote on him and give him freedom to discover himself, hence making him very close to them (the parents); he tells them everything on his mind, including his love life. In fact, Lu Zhaoxi's mother is his best confidante, talking and listening to him pouring out his happiness and frustrations every night, and his father warns him not to use his power to coerce his subordinates to go out with him. Rarely I see such open-minded parents in Chinese dramas. This has definitely taken out a lot of angsts in any romantic relationship.
There are also no annoying ex-girlfriends nor ex-boyfriends, no toxic relationship nor emotional hijacks, but a pair of very engaging best friends who later become our beloved side couple. Unlike in other dramas where the OTP’s best friends always give silly and outlandish ideas, the best friends here, Yao Jiajia (Li Linfei) and Lin Kaiwen (Zhou Zihan), are intelligent and analytical, giving our couple insights and sound advices, helping them to see themselves and find each other.
Finally, the background music is amusing, usually fast and upbeat. There’s a wide usage of assortment of musical tunes, including classical music such as Mozart’s Ala Turka, to accentuate the moods and blunders of the scenes. The flow of romantic music can abruptly stop when something unexpectedly happens. This adds even more humor to the moments and is brilliantly executed.
My Verdict
This is a story with a very simple storyline and no plot twists. I find the writing of the final few episodes not as engrossing as the earlier ones, and the drama becomes rather bland towards the end -- everything is smooth sailing. Nonetheless, this drama is soothing and light-hearted, a chicken soup for the soul, great for erasing away the stress and anxiety.
I love the writer’s humor. It’s so subtle that one may not catch it right away. To me, this is some very excellent writing and a lot of thoughts have gone into it. Many lines spoken here can be used by lovers to enhance their relationship. The “confession conversation” is the type of conversation all viewers should learn to say, in whatever circumstances. It can help us move positively forward in our life.
Another conversation that stands out to me is when Lu Zhaoxi tries to address Ye Shilan’s concern, “Many families are better off than ours, and many are worse off. We cannot use these, better off or worse off, to determine success or failure. But hard work, ideology, compassion can. So don't compare with others to chase after success; we compare within ourselves to have a better life, that's suffice.”
"If you want people to help you, you first have to extend your hand." "If you want people to save you, you first have to save yourself." And this is the message of the story.
Love life. Love everyday!
Great watch! Recommended for all romance buffs and all viewers with fragile hearts (like myself).
BRAVO!
Esta resenha foi útil para você?
Let's start with the story, One Spring Night tells a tale of two people who fell in love despite the whole world telling them not to. They tugged at my heartstrings with their beautiful, mischevious relationship that not only had to bear the weight of internal struggles but also had to face the societal pressures that came along with being Korean. It's as much a social drama as it is a romance story, so please go into it keeping that in mind. The cultural differences will make some decisions hard to understand but all of them make perfect sense, regardless. Jeong In and Ji Ho's slow burn romance coupled with extremely lovable side characters, realistic and fleshed out "antagonists" (though I'm not sure if I want to call them that because they weren't inherently evil, just handicapped by their circumstances, upbringing and morals). All in all, OSN offers what most dramas tend to lack these days: authenticity. It makes you feel like you're there with the characters and you grow fond of them. A beautiful, minimalist love story.
The acting is so extremely well done that I don't even feel like I'm watching Jung Hae In or Han Jimin (or any of the actors for that matter). Everyone, EVERYONE, did a brilliant job of internalizing the characters. From the minor characters to the major ones, all of them gave a very natural performance that made me think that the characters were people that could actually exist IRL. I would also like to applaud the writing and directing. There are plenty of scenes whose artistic value could be seen even through my inexperienced eyes. The drama is a treat to watch.
I also really, really loved the music. It fit really well with the setting of the scenes. Best of all, I feel like the OST wasn't used to manipulate the mood of the show which gave it an even more authentic feel. It complimented the scenes and wasn't distracting at all. They do have limited songs playing in the background but tbh I didn't mind that at all. I'll think of OSN when I listen to We Could Still Be Happy haha.
I want to add that another reason why this drama is so special is because of its exceptional secondary characters. All of them feel like you could be friends with them. They're flawed yet extremely raw and realistic. They aren't caricatures or used as a plot device to further our main couple's story but instead they power through struggles of their own. They're all very different from each other but equally endearing. This show deserves an award for creating characters like them.
Anyway, I really loved this drama and it has become one of my favourite dramas of all time!
Esta resenha foi útil para você?
