Reviews

Once the main couple gets together the drama just becomes very bubbly, cute, loveable and cliche. Also the cat and dog audio effects makes this drama a lot more fun to watch.
In the beginning I was upset with the main lead, Si Tu Mo because she wouldn't leave this man who is one out of two most irritating and annoying character in this drama. (The other one is a snitch and I wanted to punch him everytime he raises his hand or snitches on ehem someone.)
Anyways, eventually she began living together with male lead, Gu Wei Yi who taught her how to chase her dreams and come out of her shell. When that happens she's more outgoing and basically wears the pants in the relationship. I grew to love her because she knows what she wants. haha
Gu Wei Yi is an awkward nerd but handsome student. He's quite innocent when it comes to relationships so he's clueless 100% of the time when it comes to how Si Tu Mo is feeling. Needless to say, I enjoyed watching him from not caring about Tu Mo to growing feelings for her. The way he did it was ADORABLE! He respected her boundaries but he can get jealous. haha
There's not much of a plot going on in this drama. Its like a sitcom where you see a life of a couple living together except they start out as "strangers." We see the main leads interact with one another and how they grew close to each other. As well as hanging out with friends, misunderstandings/jealousies, asking advice from friends about love. There's also work related things as well. But overall, nothing tooooo exciting besides the love life of Si Tu Mo and Gu Weiyi. I guess in a way there's nothing that is too memorable for me to fully love this drama aside from the main leads. However, I enjoyed it a lot.
The acting from Fei Xing who plays Si Tu Mo was great! She acted quite well and I love it when she makes her puppy eyes face expression. Gu Wei Yi CANNOT deny that!
The actor who plays Gu WeiYi needs a bit of work. His acting was quite stiff, yeah he's suppose to be awkward but its his acting is just stiff and off to me. Its difficult to explain but it did bother me sometimes when I notice it.
The ending is a happy +1 ending. ;)

I love the transition effects in this drama as well as seeing how Gu Wei Yi does things without the audience knowing initially. It seems to be a trend in cdramas lately. ^^

If you want to watch a campus love story then this is a recommendation for you. If you do not want to watch something that doesn't have much of a plot then its not for you.

Leia Mais

What a disappointing last two episodes

I have such a mixed feeling of this drama. Up to Ep14, it was one of the perfect score 10 that made me cried so many times. However the ending of this drama was total disappointment. That’s why my review is rather low.

It is well written family drama, sportsman-women ship, school friendship, teenage first love and etc. However the drama created such an anticipation how it will end, then it crashed me. The final episode was total disappointment, especially for ML. It may have been a bitter sweet teenage first love experience for FL, but ML was already a young adult with hardship due to family issues. That is one of the reason why I hoped the ending would be a happy one. It was too much hardship for young adult to down fall financially at such a young age. It would have been much better drama if ML and FL to stay together by overcoming the difficulties. Such happy ending may be a cliché but I will give 10 if this was happy ending.

Oh boy, I just have such a bad taste in my mouth after watching such a disappointing ending. It is funny thought, I do not dislike bad ending like ‘Moon Lovers’. It was such a heartbreaking drama, But I keep watching the last episode over and over knowing I would cry so hard.

Too bad there is no way to make season 2 since characters are already in 40ish. Especially FL closed her chapter, her true love , at the very end. It would have been better if it was an open ending to bring them back together and makes happy ending at season 2. I would liked if ML meets FL at funeral and finding they are still single. Then daughter was their love child. And she was finding their parents love story in season 1. Hmmmmm I should have been the director of this drama. LOL

Leia Mais

No doubt, you have to watch it!

First, this is not a remake of a Korean drama. This drama was first adapted from a novel with the same title, and the novel has been published since 2012 (correct me if I'm wrong). Even though I don't watch Korean dramas, I think it's enough to attribute that drama to this drama (sorry if anyone feels uncomfortable with what I said)

Okay, You Are My Hero is one of the best Chinese dramas I've watched. Unlike most Chinese dramas I've watched, this drama really makes me always curious for the next episode. Honestly, I watched this drama by accident, and guess what, I was completely blown away by the first episode! It was really cool and different from other Chinese dramas.

It was very hard to be apart with Mi Ka, Xing Kelei and friends. Even an hour after this is over, I already feel so empty lol.

Some of the reasons that make this drama one of the best Chinese dramas (my version) :

1. The first episode opened so cool. Really amazed me!

2. Mi Ka and Xing Kelei's stories just flow, and I feel that there are many parts that are so natural. Their chemistry is very good. Indeed, before they dated, I felt that they were very awkward, but that didn't happen again after they became lovers. Xing Kelei when looking for attention to Mi Ka, that's so ridiculous 😂 They are so cute! I even forgot about the age difference between the main characters in real life. Good work!

3. The story about the second partner and the third partner is quite interesting. Although I was quite annoyed with the story of Shu Wenbo and Ruan Xia. But it doesn'tmatter, they are so cute after getting married

4. There weren't many kissing scenes and dramatic scenes (lol I don't know how to describe it) they kissed about 4 or 5 times? Although there are a lot of people who want them to do more skinship, I don't think that's okay. Because how they looked to each other, it really shows that they really love each other. That's much cuter in my opinion.

5. Strong female lead, without any stupid action.

Even though at first I was hesitant about quite a number of episodes (40), I didn't realize that I had watched them all! (I rarely watch this many episodes) but for this drama, I enjoyed it so much that I spent a lot of time watching it.

Ah, it's really hard to say goodbye (lol I'm too dramatic, but it really is!)

Leia Mais

A Plot that Betrays the Title

This review is not for you if you haven’t watched the show. It’s a rant—an emotional outpouring—but one I believe the community of fans needs to hear.

Finishing this show was exhausting! I’ve read several reviews, yet none seem to address the glaring issue I had with it.

At first, I was captivated by the premise. The show laid a strong foundation, introducing three main characters with compelling backgrounds. It beautifully conveyed the idea that family isn’t about blood or legal ties—it’s about love and connection. I wholeheartedly agreed.

But then came the 10-year time skip, and the show completely derailed. One particular moment sealed my disappointment—Hae-jun makes an offhand joke about marriage that, in hindsight, foreshadowed the troubling path the story was about to take.

Is family just a joke in this show? How do you go from being family to being lovers?

“As long as they’re not blood-related,” some might argue. But don’t you see? That logic only works if they were never truly family to begin with. If they genuinely saw each other as siblings, the idea of romance wouldn’t just be uncomfortable—it would be unthinkable.

The relationship between a brother and sister is fundamentally non-romantic. If Ju-won really saw the San Ha as a brother, she should have consistently shut down his feelings. Instead, within an episode or two, she agrees to date him. I kept asking myself, Do you realize you’re falling for the man you called your brother your entire childhood?

The show started with a powerful message: family is more than blood or legal ties. But in the end, it contradicts itself. Hae-jun struggles with the concept of a chosen family and only finds peace when his biological mother returns. Meanwhile, San-ha and Ju-won end up romantically involved. So what was the point of it all? In the end, blood and documents still define family in this story.

Perhaps this is a cultural difference, but as an African, I know family to be sacred. It isn’t something shallow. It is taboo to even introduce the idea of romance within family.

And that brings me to my final realization: they were never truly a family. They were just close neighbors who played house as children. The show never truly encapsulated what its title promised.

I was honestly too irritated to enjoy the rest. The only way I could finish was by mentally erasing their childhood memories—because otherwise, it was unbearable.

Leia Mais

IT'S A GOOD SERIES, NOT PERFECT BUT ACCEPTABLE

This is one review that I have absolutely looked forward to writing, I mean I have read the novel and they have been teasing us with this show for two years, so how could I not be looking forward to this. But my reviews have eight areas:
1. Introduction
2. General Review, Themes, Specific Issues
3. Story arc and Storylines
4. Characters and Casting
5. Acting
6. Misses
7. Production
8. Rewatch Value

Introduction
You do not know how long we have waited for more adult themed BLs something happening outside just a university something more intense and that's KinnPorsche. I mean this show makes a lot of promises and so far, it has delivered so well on most promises, they promised to be different, the series promised to be interesting, it promised to be great, and I mean it is giving me a lot of the things I want in a series. it is making me laugh, it is making me happy, it is making me feel towards the character, it is just giving me joy, it has also disappointed and failed in others, but it is all fine. Of course, the theme of this series is a mafia family, but more specifically the son of the mafia and a person that becomes his bodyguard right and the love that kind of develops there. it is easy going it is funny without necessarily losing its seriousness, it has great production, its budget is obviously present because everything is so top notch. so, I absolutely love this.
Now, I won't lie and say this BL is a 100% in all areas because there are certain places where you genuinely need to put your logic aside to appreciate it but on an overall, I give it a pass because of what the series does in so many other areas and what is successfully achieves.

General Review
OK on general this series is beautiful
1. I love how lighthearted this series can be, but at the same time it does not take away from the overall seriousness and danger that is each character faces. we see that it's definitely going to handle very serious issues for example Porsche and Che family story, the things that have messed up Khun and Kim, and so many other societal issues that are very important to address but at the same time they give me comedy they make me laugh, which I think is one of the best things that is series can do because while it's important to have those moments of serious discussions those moments of going into real issues, it's also important for the viewer to get moments of Comic Relief.

2. I also think another thing that is important is the idea that it shows that even though you are born into the mafia you are not born without a heart when you leave in a condition long enough you get desensitized to it. Were Kinn and Vegas the perfect men? HELL NO, if anything Vegas deserves therapy and jail, and Kinn deserves a year or two in prison as well for his actions because a bad environment doesn't excuse the shitty actions that have been done, it just makes me understand the perspective from which the character is coming from and I must say that Kinn and Vegas are fighters. I respect Kinn because of the pressures he must face to survive in the mafia but somehow Vegas' story really made me feel bad for him in episode 12 and 13, and this is coming from me, a person who disliked Vegas as a character.


3. Observable Themes and Issues that can be picked from the series.

ABUSE - This is such an ever-present topic in this series and I know our fandom loves to justify the existence with the fact that it's a mafia series but what most people don't tend to understand or appreciate is that, we can accept the presence of it in the series while acknowledging that it is a form of abuse which in regular society should not exist.
Meaning = In the series, it is all right, in real life, it is unbelievably bad
But presence of abuse we see, Kinn and Porsche first time together, no matter how much we want to use the fact that he resisted Vegas and accepted Kinn, it doesn't change the fact that morally it was wrong for Kinn to take advantage of Porsche and we saw the clear after effects on Porsche and Kinn accepting several times after it was wrong. Another form of abuse is obviously Kan and Vegas asides physical abuse, we have the emotional abuse, it was so deep and psychological and Vegas always saw it as regular and this speaks volumes about how so many victims of abuse don't see anything wrong with the abuse they suffer (Note: I won't lie I was happy every time Kan slapped Vegas, it was like Kan was manifesting all the slaps I wish I could give Vegas for what he did to Pete amongst others).
Obviously, there was Vegas torture of Pete which I just absolutely hated; I will not write any further on that.

a. Social Pressures and Mental Health: Mental Health is a theme that stood out to me in this series from Vegas and Kinn and the specific set of social pressures that they faced especially with regards to the families they were born into. On Vegas' side we see what it is like to have, not just a physically abusive parent but a parent who constantly and consistently degrades their child, we see the inferiority complex that Vegas' suffers from and it is so bad and crippling that it puts him in constant with the main family trying to prove himself and worth. On Kinn's side we see the cost of having to give up your dreams and having to live a life you would rather not, I mean overall Kinn is one depressed guy without realizing it. So, I love that about the novel and series, how they can acknowledge these aspects of their characters making them that much more complex.

b. Getting married to the wrong person: Now, not a lot of people would have picked up on this but from Kan's character and his hostility to his Kids and the way he always insults Vegas, this is why you always make sure you don't end up with the wrong person, for your sake and the sake of your kids, so your parents don't get stuck with a shitty life because their parents couldn't use their head to think and just avoid getting married. Now where Kan was in love with Nampueng, to the extent he could kill someone else for her, he had no business being married to someone else and it reflects in how badly he treats Macau and Vegas.

c. Manipulation and playing with people's feelings: I intentionally did not say led on, because I feel Chay was not led by Kim, but he was manipulated. I hated how much their entire relationship was premised on what Kim needed, like it was really when Kim needed something and, on his terms, and we see the impact it has on Chay after the fact, like it is reflective of what happens with so many persons in reality especially dealing with someone who is emotionally vulnerable. Kim as a character just rubbed me wrong.

d. Value of relationships: Now this was something that particularly stood out to me in one place, I love Porsche but he was not the best brother or friend in certain instances, I mean I wasn't expecting him to be a hundred percent in all angles but there are places where I felt kind of disappointed in his decisions. An example of this was his agreement to bring Pete within Vegas' axis, I mean if he says he knows Vegas did what he did, there is absolutely nothing that would make me bring you into proximity of my friend. This action is paralleled against Pete willing to sacrifice himself to prove Porsche's innocence, I mean it just showed me a difference in valuation of their relationship. This is sadly representative of the reality of life that often people do not appreciate or value things as well as they should.

Any ways, I should end this segment here, so I am not going on and on


Story Arcs
All right so one of the story arcs we have here obviously is the story up of Kinn and Porsche falling in love, which is the main storyline, I think we will also have all trials and tribulations that they would have to face but we have several that are explored:

1. Kinn learning to love and be loved again after being previously hurt
2. Porsche experiencing a relationship that was all consuming
3. Vegas learning how love himself and also how to love and appreciate others as well (the only thing that bothers me in this story arc was the fact I am worried that Vegas might still not have a true sense of self-worth that is tied to his own independent value i.e. his value is lowkey reliant on Pete, hence his desperation for Pete, it's almost a miserable existence, so I don't know if the self-love aspect of this was fully executed well especially if the end goal was for Vegas to discover a new sense of identity. But I must note that because this is not the end of the series, they have said there would)
4. Pete's story arc covered how we can be broken, have our smile and light taken away from us, when we go to the lowest of the low and how often we do not deal with that so well especially after Vegas abused him.
5. Kim had no arc
6. Chay's arc was more of the naive first love, first crush and first heartbreak and how devastating those often tend to be for us.

Now for the storyline and Pacing of the storyline, there were places that I feel like they could have done better. An example is VegasPete storyline, in as much as I did not like VegasPete as a couple or the story arc I knew that would come with them, I feel if they were introduced earlier in the series i.e. an episode 8 instead of an episode 10, their relationship development in this season may have been more substantive. Another thing I was not a fan of in the story was how easy Porsche's character was made and it was such a diversion from how he was earlier introduced. They tried to manage way too many stories and it became a problem for them
But on an overall, I would give them praise for their handling of most parts of the storyline


Characters and Casting

Kinn, the Playboy mafia who surprisingly is openly gay, he has always been serious, he knows he going to inherit the family, so he has never had the time for excessive play. what is the same time we see a level of softness to him, and this is best portrayed by some of his reactions to Porsche? this better portrayed with how he first told his father and brother he loves Porsche as well as the entirety of episode eight. Now Kinn as a character is not the greatest, he is flawed, flawed in fact but what makes it eventually better is that he recognizes this, accepts it, and strives to be better in most instances. So, while I am not saying all his actions can be excused but I think as a character he is acceptable. Also casting Mile as Kinn somehow feels perfect, he embodies the essence of Kinn which was vital to the overall cohesiveness of the character

Porsche is an absolute idiot with zero survival skills or zero survival instincts, like a lot of times I worry for him, I am just like boy shut up. he is such a comedic relief and such a wild character; I absolutely love his character I mean. I think behind all the wildness we see this side of Porsche, where he must put on this happy face so hide all this stress and trauma that he has been through, and we get the first candid of his character when he is drunk with Kinn. When he admits to the struggles both having to care for himself and his brother this gives this level of understanding to why he acts the way he does, he has had to be a parent from when he was young. So, I absolutely love Porsche, Porsche is simple and forgiving, he cares deeply for those he cares for, even though he does not always make the best choice. Apo's casting was also good because he is just as wild as Porsche

Tankhun, our resident fashion icon and psychopath. I mean even in the novel I loved Tankhun but in the series is a breath of fresh air, I love how much he adds to a scene, he is easily my favorite character. Tankhun is the smartest Theerapanyakul brother, he is always so spot on in his analysis, that I am convinced he pretends to be insane to avoid duties. Tongs casting as Tankhun was fine because her embodied the character well

Pete as a character was also another beautiful character I loved, because of how foolish he could be and his beautiful smile and his impressive heart. I mean how this man legit believed Porsche was blocking punches with his neck has me worried, but I chose to interpret that as Pete's pureness, also he just had a really beautiful smile and his willingness to go into minor territory family just to prove Porsche was innocent of being the mole is everything you need to know of Pete as a character. Honestly seeing him break down after the abuse suffered afterwards absolutely broke my heart. On the casting of Pete, Build was a wonderful choice irrespective of all the baggage he came with. I am your Pet turned me off

Vegas as a character was a lot, but I must say, his English always made me question my life and morals potentially, because I know I hated this man but somehow every time he spoke English, my brain went back to factory settings, nah Bible as Vegas was near perfect but honestly Vegas the character was a vile and flawed, he gave me the creeps, which speaks volumes to Bible's casting. Perfect ending with Pete and Macau

I was originally skeptical of Barcode as Chay, but I must say that he did a fantastic job in embodying what Chay was meant to be, young, naive and in love. I absolutely loved when he blocked Kim

Kim, we do not talk about Kim in this house.


Acting
Acting was great on an overall bases, Apo did well in carrying the complex emotions of Porsche and Bible did exceptionally well as Vegas, personally they were the best actors of the series, I might rank Bible slightly higher than Apo but its close. Barcode as Chay was really good as well, especially where he broke down after Kim left him, also Kinn was good as well, I wouldn't say as good as Apo and Bible but the entire bathroom scene (I am not talking about the sex), but the part when he came in angry and smacked Vegas and shouted, I had chills, also his apologies always felt sincere, so there was that.

Misses
While I won't go on listing a ton of misses, one that particularly got to me was what they did with Porsche's character in specific aspects of his development, it's almost like they forgot that they gave him some traits, on an overall it didn't reduce from the character's purpose but it sure gave me a frown in certain places, an example being how easy he gave into Kinn, I was like at least give him a spine. Anyways here are other misses

1. What was the point of Kim's entire investigation? Like they made the investigation to be this huge thing that we should all be intrigued about and yes, for sure they piqued my interest. I was interested in what was going to happen. What would he discover? How would he use that information in the series to affect the dynamics of character interactions, when would he unveil the information? So many expectations from that arena and it just fell flat. Like he found out his father covered up Nampueng and her husband's death and he did nothing with it, he just went back to regular programing. Like what was the purpose of the investigation then? Why the stress over it?

2. Kinn and Porsche relationship/Tawan's return - The idea that KinnPorsche was the healthiest relationship in the series bothers me because they have three key issues; a. their communication is absolute shit, b. the trust is absolute nonsense, c. the starts of everything and this reflects in the Tawan situation. One thing I never understood is why no one ever questioned why and how Tawan was still alive, like he said he has been hiding with the Italians, but like everyone just accepted that he was alive like it was just another business day. which eventually of things, it does not really affect the series, but it was just a miss for me

3. None of their relationships were particularly the healthiest especially how they began. I mean overall of things; I know we like to say this is the mafia and all the other excuses that allows us to shove down our morals and principles while trying to enjoy some media content. But one thing that I did not particularly fancy in this series is the fact that none of their relationships started properly on healthy basis, we had the borderline rape/sexual assault of Kinn (note: I said borderline because legally in Thailand, it is not rape or sexual assault apparently), we had the very abusive abduction of Pete by Vegas and we have Kim lying to and manipulating Chay for his own purposes. Like none of these are particularly healthy and the idea that the storyline always had them falling in love with their abuser, I mean I understand this is meant to be a Mafia fic but honestly there are still somethings that are not so easy to stomach, this was one of those situations.

4. I did not like the Big and Ken endings, because it made no sense, like they did not even try to give a proper motivation for why Ken would betray the main family, just expected the viewer to accept it as given.

5. The explosion budget, LMAO, I was like, did they run out of budget in episode ten?

Production
I do not think I need to say a lot on production, but I will, the budget of this and the dedication of crews to produce a good show was beautiful, watching the behind the scenes and all the effort put in was great. Another thing I loved was the cinematographic shots, like they had angles and views in this production, I am absolutely impressed (but there was episode ten and their explosions, hahaha)

Rewatch Value
Oh, I would rewatch this, it is a good drama and a breath of fresh air in the BL industry

Leia Mais

Let's keep it simple. This is a drama that had a lot of potential due to its amazing cast, solid story, and incredible production. It had all the makings of a 10/10, but therein lies the issue. For some reason, Dramaland loves to stretch out any drama that has such potential; "why have 16 episodes when we can have 32?" they must say amongst themselves, "of course the fans will want more of the same!" This way of thinking has ruined or subtly damaged several dramas for me, Hotel King amongst them.

The two leads - favourites of mine since My Girl (2005) - were good, don't get me wrong. They are two very attractive people with acting ability?---but after watching Lee Dong Wook repeat the same crazed or sobbing face a million times over, ANY expression of strong emotion got boring. It no longer evoked any sense of compassion, just "this again?"

Which leads us to the plot. This is a good 'un: a delicate, emotional plot about the bonds and power of blood. The twists are foreseeable, ESPECIALLY for a seasoned drama-watcher, but the true strength of this drama is more how these twists are delivered. Alas, over time these twists are exhausted and there is so much surface back-and-forth that the drama doesn't really progress and spends a LOT of time just floundering and filling time. I feel like I've spent 32 episodes watching Lee Dong Wook and Lee Da Hae repeat the same conversations about the same issues, which unfortunately cheapens every breakup that happens and ruins every reunion because you doubt - either way - it will last.

Overall, the experience was undeniably a good one---if mediocre despite its outstanding potential. I'm glad I've watched it and I'm sure it will influence dramas to come, but I will not be watching it again.

Leia Mais

not worth watching

as a bisexual woman, i was excited to finally get an asian wlw movie. it started promising for me until the end came... the amount of close ups annoyed me and the long scenes with no talking too... i played this movie on x1.5 cause i wanted it to be done. they made Rei look like she's not really a lesbian by having her have sex with men twice. it really felt like they were making this movie for straight men who get turned on by seeing girls fuck. oh wait that's cause it's directed by a straight man! maybe that's why it's so bad. i had really high expectations from this movie and it all disappointed me.

Leia Mais

It was okey I guess...

So let me say a few words about this series.
It´s pretty short but I don´t mind it but what I really don´t like about this series is how dumb all of the characters are. Aspecially the main characters. It was killing my brain cells lmao. I don´t want to write any spoilers here so if you already watched it or you don´t mind then the spoilers will be at the end of this review.

STORY: Meh...like nothing original. It was kinda boring and nothing much happend. In every episode you´ll see almost the same thing. The main characters falling for each other, the vampire regreting and crying over his past, another weird vampire and the one woman i don´t understand at all. Like who was she??
ACTING: Not the wors, but could have been much more better. It was kinda cringe especially in the last episode. It felt weird.
MUSIC: I wasn´t paying attention to the music so I can´t say much abt it, but it wasn ´t bothering me so i guess good.
REWATCH VALUE: 2...I will propably never watch it again but like just for chilling it´s alright and cute
OVERALL: 5 stars. It was right in the middle. It wasn´t good, but it wasn´t so bad either.

SPOILER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ( WHY WERE ALL SO DUMB?? )





Like what? I was dying lmao. Why didn´t he simply just drink his blood when he offered him? Like i get it, he was scared that he will hurt him, just like he did hurt the other guy, but he didn´t need to drink from his neck....? Like the human could have just cut his hand or somethnig, pour the blood to a glass and the vampire could have drink from a glass without hurting the human. And yes, you can say: "but if he tasted the blood, he could go crazy and kill the human even though he drank from a glass". I mean yeah...this could also happen but he could have lock himself somewere so he can´t go near to any human or something. Or they could at least try it.
I think they just wanted the series to have sad ending so they ended it like this.
Anyway i did enjoy it but the last two episodes were pretty cringe lol
have a good day :))))

Leia Mais

When the ML plays the supporting role in his own story...

Honestly I won't waste my time writing long paragraphs explaining why I didn't like this point by point, because it is pretty much obvious why.

It was a much awaited KBL project because we absolutely adored and loved the manhwa and the dorky character of Heesu. But at the end, it was such a let down. I want to sue the directors for deceiving me. I'm so damn angry!

Why did Heesu and Seung Won was given less time than they deserve? After all THEY ARE THE MAIN LEADS! They wasted time and time-passed on silly things, misunderstandings and concentrated on everything other than Heesu and Seung Won's relationship.
What's the point of highlighting Chan young and Jiyu's relationship for 8 damn episodes when they were not even the main leads? I guess I'll never know, you know what I don't want to know.

Just so you know I liked the story, their acting, the characters, their feelings, hesitations, navigating through troubling thoughts... everything except Chan Young's prolonged tennis and JiYu's guitar talks which eventually side tracked Heesu's storyline and kind of stretched it till the last minute for no reason. It was boring and I felt that it was absolutely unnecessary. Clearly Heesu has been wronged! We only got 10 minutes of their relationship and then end. Hah! What a shit show!

Overall, I've wasted my time so you don't have to. If you still want to torture yourself with frustration and anger, if you don't mind second leads taking 90% of the screen time then go ahead and watch it but I won't be recommending this to anyone. Watch it at your own risk.

Leia Mais

The rock start.... with lost potential at the end.

Having watched almost every adaptation... I'm not here for the story, that's decades old, and filled with almost every trope that dramaland can have. We love cliches, don't we? poor girl/rich guy, enemies to lovers, the bad guy turning good guy, kinda then kinda not love triangle (or rather square), some bitchy characters thrown in the mess, the iconic 'power of love.'... and course some extremely good looking people, who wouldn't want to watch bromance between four hot guys (is that even a question).. so yes here I am to test, how much can endure this story that I've been through soo many times.. and been frustrated a lot.

Warnings for the future viewers:

~The bullying in the first episodes is extreme, it's dark as it should be.
~Too much screen time wasted here and there.
~Gorya's screaming and beating never get better.
~Just don't watch it for romance.
~They say it's not that toxic but it's still toxic.
~Last episodes are all over the place.
~Thyme is the most adorable idiot.
~Ren is charming as hell.

It's the same but at the same time, it's not. The main arcs and their basic structure isn't changed... what changed is the execution and direction in a good way. Almost every antagonist of the story has given their share of story that makes you sympathize with them sometimes feel bad for them, they are not just one-dimensional side characters who do bad things coz-I-am-just-bored-and-have-nothing-to-do-with-life. From the entire history of Hana Yori Dango, I felt FLs parents were somewhat relative, her family genuinely looking like a family... little over the top but not too over the top. There was a bond between this f4, their friendship was raw and natural.. not just some hot four guys hanging together coz why not? they cared for each other and every guy got the screentime they deserved.

Gotta say I got a bunch of memories that I cherish... most adorable run of Thyme after-you-know-what, Kavin's charming bar fight (Damn it's not common that I replay fight scenes lol), Ren's fire alarm (or should I say every time he smiled), MJ was cool and best boi in the whole thing lol, and how can I forgot meow meow.

The focus of the story was more about the development of characters and how to put all arcs in just 16 episodes, they were successful BUT it also kinda ruined many things. A lot of time was given to the side stories of side characters than leads just so we could sympathize with them and though I did I'm unsatisfied coz damn that's not really why I'm watching this right? They tried to put almost every arc in a short amount of time (I mean let's take an example of the Japanese version, as jdramas tend to be of 10 episodes they had to make 2 seasons+movie to add all things) and as expected everything was condensed, fast-paced, too many things happening, simply put it messed up with the pace. The third thing it lacks is romance... I mean it, just don't expect too much screen time of lovey-dovey moments from the main couple coz 1) they get together for a very short time. 2) most of their couple moments are Gorya beating Thyme coz-that's-what-she-loves-to-do.

As this is 2022 they had to do something with toxicity like they can't expect z-gen viewers to take decades yrs crap (though we kinda do).. they did remove some of the most toxic moments, I'd say it might be the first try of making ML a bit likable like-genuine (the only ML I liked from this franchise was from J-version def not for a character it was all Matsumoto Jun he was freaking adorable dork I'd say)... well Thyme isn't all jerk all the time, he takes his time, he has his moments where he shines. sometimes (many times) he's cluelessly stupid... but def, not the hatable type.

From the start, I liked Gorya, a modern and real strong female lead... but it didn't last till the end, coz I believe she didn't have her character development as she should, she was still the same. Like bruh, many times she's hypocrite like you are the who's always like violence is a bad thing and blah, blah, blah but all time she does with Thyme is beating him.. even when he's badly injured on the hospital bed, like girl what are your principals in real?

I'm not fully convinced by Bright's performance, he was good but not the best... Thyme's character had a lot of potential with a large spectrum of acting but Bright's acting wasn't up to that point, he was cute, adorable, and extremely good-looking at many moments but the emotional scenes, the outburst moments weren't well done. Though I'm happy with Tu and Dew considering that it's their debut... both were charming. Course Win and Nani had their moments, but I'm just so impressed by Cindy a.k.a Roselyn.. she was remarkable her presence and aura. On the other hand, her character was unlikable but her charm almost made it hard to do so, the perfect casting I'd say. But her redemption arc was bluff smh

The cinematography is stunning so is the music.

I loved the first half... Saturdays become my favorites I've never done this one-week one-episode thing but I was willing to be that patient coz I was enjoying the flow of the show, reading discussions and theories after each episode, it was fun... then it fell out off the cliff the second half was such letdown (for me), the pace was out of the place, many things were just bombarded, somewhat realisticness that was there was all gone... and I'm extremely unsatisfied with the outcome I mean we deserve more after many tortures, frustration.

I'll probably conclude I have a love-hate relationship with this drama... there are times I enjoyed it and many that I was annoyed, frustrated, and wanted to knock sense into the characters... it's good but not good enough.

*Still my rating is subjective, objectively it could be less than this:')*

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Could have been good. . .

At first glance: there's a great cast, an interesting story that's based off a preexisting work, actual historical persons who were legendary in their own rights, and a good quality budget. . .what could possibly go wrong, right??

WARNING: Major Spoilers Ahead!!

I only give this story 3 stars because the cast tries really hard with a crap script. It wasn't horrific, it's just that as a viewer, there's definitely a need to suspend logic and intelligence.
The Legend of Xiao Chuo centers around the lives of the three Xiao sisters whose fates result in them eventually fighting against each other. The three are unfortunately married into the three controlling branches of the Liao Kingdom which equates to these three sisters becoming enemies since all their husbands want the crown. So. . .why exactly are these sisters so coveted??
Beats the hell out of me. Except for being descendants of the Empress' Xiao clan there's nothing remotely remarkable about any of the 3 sisters.

Eldest sister, Hu Nian (played by the wonderful Charmaine Sheh) is perhaps originally the best out of the three. She understands the political turmoil and tries to maintain neutrality because she knows getting involved could spell the death of her family. Second sister, Wuguli is materialistic and shallow, and despite being from a prominent political family, she is completely ignorant to everything that doesn't involve her. Lastly is our main lead: youngest sister, Yan Yan. Undoubtably the father's favorite (she gets away with everything she does), she apparently has the "destiny" of empress. She's the typical naive free spirit who's suppose to be clever, brave, and has a strong sense of justice. Unfortunately, this all falls really flat and she just comes off as super stubborn and reckless...she actually endangers her family in front of their psychotic and unstable monarch within the first 2 episodes of the show.

Her sisters are both claimed by 2 of the 3 branches while Yan Yan finds her own love interest in Han De Rang (Dou Xiao). Coincidentally, Han De Rang is a strong supporter of the 3rd power branch: Ming Yi, the son of the former emperor. Han De Rang and Ming Yi grew up together like brothers so the former pledges himself to Ming Yi's cause. As for Ming Yi, his father was killed by the reigning emperor therefore, he has a personal vendetta against the latter. When shit hits the fan and Ming Yi has the reigning emperor assassinated, he is crowned emperor and his first order of business?? . . .steal his best friend's girl! It totally makes sense to him. Knowing he's going to die "soon" (he survives until episode 42 of 48), he reasons that he needs a strong empress to fill his shoes with all the reforms he plans on enacting as ruler, it's just "pure coincidence" that he also has a thing for Yan Yan. Damn anyone he betrays or whose feelings are hurt by his decision, after all. . .as emperor, he has the right to do whatever.

Despite resisting initially, Yan Yan and De Rang eventually come to terms with their ill-fate and instead turn their attention towards bettering Liao Kingdom. Oh. . . but let's not forget the other 2 branches. Both are pissed off with their new ruler because each believe they are better suited to the position despite having no clear goals on how to help their people or how to make their kingdom flourish. . .it's all simply: "I'm entitled to the crown, so it must be mine"

The character-thin men aside, I really wish I could say the women were better. . . but no. I think the most frustrating part of this drama is: the characters do stupid things but they don't ever think they are wrong, and their reasons for justifying their actions? . . .just because. That's it.
Hu Nian and Wuguli's husbands rebel and plot against Ming Yi and Yan Yan ALL THE TIME, to the point of trying to hurt Yan Yan while she's heavily pregnant. Hu Nian and Wuguli are also ALWAYS preaching about the importance of their sisterhood. . .but those words only hold weight when it's Yan Yan who's striking back. When their husbands go after Yan Yan; they turn a blind eye, they don't even consider that she will die despite standing literally right next to Yan Yan when some of these events occur. But the minute Yan Yan tries to dole out justice/punishments for treason, both sisters are on their knees beseeching Yan Yan to show mercy...which she does continuously (for the sake of their sisterhood) only for the same results to happen AGAIN AND AGAIN. But because Yan Yan doesn't pardon the crimes the way her sisters want her to, it ignites a ridiculous antagonism
Hu Nian and Wuguli develop towards Yan Yan.

If there's something this drama does do well, it's victim-blaming and how it makes its characters despicable because they are all masters at emotional manipulation. Example: after Ming Yi succeeds in stealing Yan Yan, he implies to Yan Yan that her misery is her own fault and she could be happy if she accepted her destiny of being his empress early on..uh what?!
Ming Yi emotionally manipulates Yan Yan into staying married to him. Yan Yan and Ming Yi manipulate De Rang into not leaving them because without him, they both would've died many times over. Wuguli and Hu Nian manipulate and guilt Yan Yan into constantly forgiving treasonous crimes. Example: Wuguli tries to poison Yan Yan to avenge the deserved death of her idiot husband and son...only to be outed by De Rang. She takes her own life and as a result. . .Hu Nian blames Yan Yan and De Rang for not forgiving Wuguli's assassination attempt....which then causes Yan Yan to feel guilty about not letting her vile sister succeed in killing her. . . .what the what?! Where is this logic??

As I said above, Hu Nian was originally the best of the 3. Unfortunately, her character takes a turn for the worse and she became as bad as Wuguli. Her lover attempts to assassinate their emperor (aka her nephew) and not only does she spring him out of prison, she blames Yan Yan's thirst for power as the reason for his death ... huh? The sisters have such tunnel vision that they quite literally can't see anything beyond themselves. Everything that goes wrong in their lives is automatically Yan Yan's fault regardless of the treacherous nature of their lovers/husbands.

What should've portrayed the brilliance of women who led their kingdom to new heights devolved into a series with love-sick girls acting no better than children; who were also married to narrow-minded men. Despite the supposed message of feminism, this drama was anything but.
Such a waste in production value and a good cast.

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The perfect drama to glorify toxicity

Just why in the world would they make Jaeeon in ep9 show his true colors and how he was never serious about Nabi, how he was absolutely shitty towards Dohyeok, how he asked her out just because he wanted to "win" over Dohyeok, make him yell at her, twist her wrist, actually harass her, sl*t shame her for being in a fwb with him, mock Dohyeok and so much more, AND she even threw him off her life, just for this crappy, mediocre and incredibly dangerous ending?
This isn't even about which ship won at the end or shipping anymore at all, it's about an awfully dangerous message that this drama sends. They're saying "it doesn't matter if they guy you like is toxic, a potential abuser and player, and if you're gonna get hurt, just go for it because he has a nice d!ck!!"
This is seriously such a huge waste of cast, potential, and everything. This drama could've been one of the best if they properly showed how NOT to act in a toxic relationship, but at the end of the day all they did was literally glorify an abuser and cheater. Like someone else said, the writers were progressive enough to write about same sex relationships, friends with benefits, open relationship, but were unable to give the leads a proper ending? If the writers of Love Alarm couldn't make Sunoh end up with Jojo even though Sunoh was a thousand times a better option than Jaeeon, why would Nevertheless writers do something like this, and why would the webtoon creator even allow this, AND why would Song Kang and Sohee do this too? From the interviews, they looked like they didn't approve of Jaeeon (as they should) and kept rooting for Nabi to snap out of it.
Honestly, this is all so disappointing. Someone should cut out all Soljiwan's scenes for anyone interested in the Girl Love plot without having to go through the painful experience of this drama. Bitna and Gyuhyun had so much more development than Nabi and Jaeeon despite the awful screentime cut. A seriously awful drama. Only giving 2.5 stars for Jonghyeop and each supporting couple only (and .5 for the sunbaes).

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