A silver lining on the Korean BL horizon
Semantic Error may not reinvent the wheel, but its authentic characters, convincing performances of the lead actors and charming storytelling make this one of the most entertaining BLs I've recently watched.The strongest aspect of Semantic Error are the characters and the palpable chemistry between the lead actors. Both Jaeyoung and Sangwoo are incredibly likeable characters, which is always a good thing in a romance drama. If I don't like one of the leads, it's just hard to get invested and root for their relationship. Our lead actors seemed to have fun playing these roles, and it felt like they genuinely wanted to tell this story. There was absolutely no awkwardness or apprehension between them, instead we got sizzling chemistry and gradual attraction that convincingly builds up the tension between our main couple. It's reminiscent of last years "To My Star" in terms of quality and chemistry between the leads.
Park Jaechan plays Chu Sangwoo an intelligent but emotionally distant computer science major. Sangwoo´s stubborn nature and obsession with rules could have made him come off as cold, but he was surprisingly sweet and funny. Through Park Jae Chans excellent portrayal, Sangwoo´s robotic tendencies come off as charming and endearing instead of unnerving.
Park Seoham plays Jang Jaeyoung a confident, popular and talented design major. Seoham is a social butterfly, seemingly getting along with everyone, he's the typical handsome cool kid. What makes him different from a lot of other leads of this stereotype is that he's actually a kind soul and rather self-reflective. Something I was very thankful for since Jaeyoung´s charming, caring and fun personality made it so easy to root for him.
The supporting cast may have not been fleshed out like our leads, but we got some memorable additions to the cast. Often when side characters show up in short dramas like this, it feels like they are taking away screen time from our main couple. That was absolutely not the case for Semantic Error, since we usually got fun banter or meaningful conversations whenever one of the side characters showed up. Apart from the characters, I really enjoyed the dialogues and humor in this show. It never felt forced and enhanced the lighthearted and fun atmosphere.
The cinematography gives you a cozy feeling with its fall setting and use of vibrant colors. I also want to point out the excellent soundtrack by Coldin. "Romantic Devil" is super catchy, while "Can you stay" is a soothing track that makes you feel all warm inside.
Personally, I was entertained from the first to the last episode, so there isn't much to criticize. You could argue it's rather uninventive with its university setting, enemies to lovers trope and the school rebel falls for nerd setting. All of these valid reasons to give this a pass since it's been done so many times before. If you aren't tired of it yet or if you're the type to be won over by good storytelling and endearing characters, I would give this one a chance nonetheless.
Semantic Error was able to not only establish incredibly likable characters, but also show the gradual affection between them. We see they're falling for each other and most importantly we understand why they are falling for each other. Frankly, that's something not all romance centered dramas accomplish. Although short, this show is very well paced, perfectly utilizing the amount of time they have without focusing on unnecessary fillers or rushing anything. It's a short and sweet youth drama which is the perfect comfort watch if you need something to warm your heart and make you smile. Definitely re-watch material.
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A warm, comforting hug on a rainy day
This drama is pure comfort in its sweetest, most nostalgic form and I absolutely loved it for that.Each episode had me smiling like an idiot while watching, desperately wanting more yet feeling so fulfilled and satisfied with each piece of the story. The two main leads, Jyun and Zhen Hao, have astounding chemistry. I was especially impressed to learn this is Zhen Hao's debut as an actor! His performance at times did not have the most depth, but he did great with the script he received. Jyun on the other hand, perfectly embodied the character of Qi Zhang. He is just such a beautifully open, warm and comforting person - watching him just made me want to give him the biggest hug. I loved that their characters were so different, and by interacting and getting to know each other, they both learned and grew in wonderful ways. Their interactions and the build of their relationship were so endearing!
The side ship, Ray and Ah Jian, was such a well-written contrast to the main couple. The two actors also had fantastic chemistry and their scenes, while at times feeling a little disjointed from the main story, were so well done that you can't help but root for them and enjoy their story. I don't feel it happens very often that I love all the ships in a drama but this one really hit it on the mark. The other additional characters all had depth and personalities that were great to see - I particularly loved Qi Zhang's band/friend group. The love and care they have for each other was just so good.
The story is nothing wild or crazy, but it isn't trying to be anything other than warm. That's the best way I can describe it - like getting a warm, comforting hug on a rainy day, when everything around you feels like it's falling apart, but the hug helps warm you up and keep you stitched together. There is fluff, there is angst, there is a lot of hurt and comfort. It portrays toxicity in family and relationship dynamics and promotes healing, learning who you are, what you want and how to stand up for your ideals. The OST is also fantastic! I've added both the intro and outro to my regular playlist.
This is definitely going to be a comfort series to re-watch for me!
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We Go FAST Through the Censorship Process...
This is one of those dramas where we witness how patriotism and propagande pretty much take away all the focus from the otherwise ok plot. A drama with some really good characters, friendships and relationships that just do not get the time they deserve to develop and give us our romance and fluff... Instead we keep on seeing how evil the foreign countries can be... How they just discard the Chinese engineering, and that China is better off fighting alone... or together with other Chinese people... putting trust in pretty much any one outside Chine is bad... and so on and so on... Between the moments of Go China we get to see opposites attract, trauma will confine you but love, trust and the mother land will set you free...The pacing for the couples is frustratingly slow, and on again off again at times even if most of the characters are lovely. I did find it hard to relate to their choices. The drama could have been 10 episodes or less if they just cut out the flashbacks, slow mo, and repetitive stuff.
That said I did find myself curious about how things will turn out, I was rooting for the couples, and the umbrellas in this drama where top, top, top!
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Love this
After watching the first six episodes, I'm already loving it. I think it's funny that so many people already prefer the second male lead when we're not even halfway through the story or the main couple's relationship yet. 😭I've seen a lot of dramas and read novels with the academic rivals trope, but most of the time it's the female lead who's trying to surpass the male lead. That's usually seen as cute, inspiring, or even romantic because she's working hard to catch up to someone she admires. So I find it a little strange that when the roles are reversed, people immediately label the male lead a red flag just because he wants to surpass the female lead. Wanting to prove yourself doesn't automatically mean you're trying to put someone else down. Context matters.
In this case, I think his motivation actually makes sense. If he succeeds while they're on the same team, people could easily say it's only because he had the genius beside him. Even her own brother wants to step out of her shadow because everyone would assumes his achievements are only possible because she's his sister or because she helped him. That's why he hides the fact that they're related.
Even the title itself centers around her. She's introduced as the genius, and the story constantly reminds us of that. Everyone around her including the male lead is viewed in relation to her brilliance. If he finally achieves something while standing next to her, there's a good chance people will still see it as her achievement rather than his. That's why I don't think it's unreasonable for him to want to prove that he can shine on his own first.
To me, that's not a red flag. It feels more like someone wanting to build his own identity instead of always being compared to someone else's success. Of course, we'll have to see how the story develops, but so far I'm really intrigued and I'm loving it.
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Porque Esta é a Minha Primeira Vida
24 pessoas acharam esta resenha útil
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Utterly brilliant from start to finish
Wow!From start to finish this is a brilliant drama. The main characters have so much chemistry (even when she does want to stab him in the eye with a chopstick) and their support teams are fabulous with plenty of amusing moments to further elevate this story. Fabulous costumes, fight scenes and attention to detail round off this production.
Not gonna lie, there is plenty of blood and drama with believable bad guys and the odd death thrown in..
Had me hooked very quickly and binge watched the whole thing as I just couldn’t put it down.
Will definitely watch this again.
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I loved Sprout because it really captures the essence of that first love, and it does so with great cinematography, beautiful piano music, catchy rock tunes, and lots of eye candy. The intense feeling that you're destined, the incredulity that you're not the one for the one you love, the fact that you can feel both agony and exhilaration at the same time when you catch a glimpse of the person you like when you're going down the steps in school. It also shows quite well how one refuses to accept that one has stopped loving someone and moved on to someone else--that first disappointment in oneself and in love in general.
The show is very slow, but I think this is because with the fixed images, the piano music, the seemingly simple scenes, they want you to savor how intense and unique the commonest of moments may seem to you when you're first in love. Perhaps this series works better for those over 30 who know love changes flavor after a few years, who knows.
The acting is a bit off, particularly in Jesse Lewis, who is gorgeous but has much to learn. Miku is awkward, but it does not go poorly with her character, and Chinen Yuri displays all the warmth and charm that one would need to fall for a boy in high school. All in all, I think this relatively young cast did a pretty good job.
I encourage you to give it a try if you enjoy romantic stories that are slow, understated, and emotionally honest. But it is certainly not one of those exciting shows that have you gripping the edge of your seat.
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Better than expected, less cringe than expected and some fluff...
With WeTV it's always a gamble, either we get crap or we get medicore and only sometimes we get something good. In this case I would say it was "good". While the first two episodes did not catch me it got better with every episode after but of course the finale did disappoint me. Not because it was very bad, it was just lazy writing. Solving conflicts with drama and of course the bad guy had to die and lots of fanservice. This could have been resolved in a better way.In this case I won't be too tough on them, because besides some cringe, they depicted the characters very well, all of them grow throughout the series and there were even subtle moments which I like the most. If facial expression and eye contact can tell a story without words, it's perfect for me. Compared to "Monster Next Door" this was lighyears ahead. Both actors excelled in their roles and they felt so much more into it too. The side-couple was the secret star of this show, because while they had not so much screentime, they did the best with it and the "cat and mouse game" was funny to watch.
Other reviews will depict all the ins and out, but I'm quite busy today so I will keep this short. Cinematography, music, settings, props and so on was top notch. I felt entertained and storywise they put some thought into it. The only shortcoming is the finale which felt rushed in the drama-department, because they needed time for the fanservice. But overall worth a watch.
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Eh.
The number of tropes in this drama is sky high, but luckily it's a relatively short drama so it's still palatable...Yes, we got the some lead loses their memory (that's actually the setup of this whole drama so this isn't a spoiler)
and then we got some parents that don't want the leads to be together
and some jealous second leads / random girls
leads thinking the other lead is together with a second lead
etc
you know, we got ALL of these -sigh- (just missing the Korean drama kimchi slap and the water splash scenes lol
But I still gave it a >7 because Li GeYang is real cute and I'm glad that our second lead Cai Yasi (from The Love Equations) finally got rom com first lead and doesn't have to watch his best friend fall in love with someone else!!!
And the leads' interactions are pretty cute. When they aren't fighting.
I don't know. This is a good time filler and cure for the Cai Yasi second male lead syndrome. But other than that, there are much cuter / more original rom coms than this.
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IT WAS SO GOOD I WANNA GIVE IT A 100000 BUT THATS NOT POSSIBLE SO I GIVE IT A 10
NOT ME WAS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE. I didnt review while it still aired because I was curious to see how everything would play out. If the writer could maintain the plot and keep it as good as it was until the very end.The storyline was one of a kind. I get to watch dramas with such unique plots once in a while. Both the characters and actors grew on me so much.
White and Black - their bond was just so lovely. No matter how far they were or how different they became they still managed to portray SIBLING LOVE/BOND at its best! I think this is the best character of GUN I've ever seen and it will forever remain with me.
Sean really grew on me. I found myself wondering what his character was about to rooting for him every sunday, crying while he cried and smiling while he smiled.
YOK & DAN - while some people may have hated Dan for his decisions. I understood everything he did. Sometimes loving someone is not so easy and I was so glad Yok could understand that. I loved this couple every step of the way.
Gram & Eugene - I had reservations about them and may have rolled my eyes at them until towards the end but I came to understand. As much as I wanted Black with Eugene, I admit he really did hurt her and she deserves to be happy with whoever she chooses.
Gumpa - Oh my Gumpa! What a character! And Grams ex girlfriend was such a queen! I was hoping Todd wouldn't be what I suspected but everyone cannot be good. He wanted same thing as Black but just choosed a different direction. It really hurt to be see how their story played out!
I'm not sure how they managed to make not a single scene boring in this drama. I cannot think of a single thing wrong with it. Watching dramas these good has raised my standard so high, even more higher than it was before. This was a MASTERPIECE! The plot, the actors, the music! I have to say i dont think any other show can beat this anytime soon.
One last thing! THE MUSIC WAS 💋 WHOEVER was in charge of the music deserves a Bonus!
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Story: Aside from loving the teen/school romance theme [Yuma and Tsubasa were pretty cute], I was mainly drawn in because of the mystery plot revolving around a certain classmate's death. As the story jumps between the past and present, the mystery begins to tie or "piece" all the main characters together and delve into their own personal lives and innermost feelings/secrets as they search for answers about their classmate's past. One thing I will say in advance is that you may love or hate the ending. I actually liked it, but the only thing I'm not completely satisfied with is that some questions were left unanswered. Nevertheless, the story itself is really engaging as there are so many twists and turns that have you guessing until the very end. You'll also find that the romance in this drama depicts a darker side of love as each character has their own secrets and struggles that prevent them from being true to the people around them or unable to let go.
Acting: I thought the acting was decent. There could've been a bit more improvement, but they still did a good job. I must say though that Nakayama Yuma played his distorted character Hikaru really well. I found myself charmed by him one minute, and chilled by him the next. Definitely a big step up from his Koishite Akuma days.
Music: Everything was great. The songs went nicely with the characters, I loved Yuma's opening song, and even the matchbox twenty song went well with the drama.
Rewatch Value: I'd probably watch this drama again because it was a refreshing take on a teen drama. I suppose the mystery being solved might not be as fun as the first time, but the relationships between the characters and the underlying messages about life makes it worthwhile to watch again. I'd say give this drama a chance if you like teen/school romance stories or mysteries =]
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This part is not yet the actual "review" but some sort of a disclaimer.There are scenes in the season that will show substance abuse with unsafe sex practice, rape, implied prostitution and self-harm. And they did not in any way sugar coat it. If these kind of scenes are the things you don't want to see, move on to a different drama/series.
From Season 1, no character is a student. That should give the viewer an idea and a mindset that this is very distinguishable from the typical Thai BL series/drama as it involves school and students. All characters since Season 1 are consenting adult.
Now with that laid out, the proper review:
STORY
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This season, "Final Call", is how you ruin a good enough prequel.
The plot could have taken a more direct path and should not have included frivolous scenes.
Yes, in the novel Pop will become a Flight Attendant and Oat will be a monk... However, this season feels like it is beating around the bush.
Case in point: Bo and Pent. Even if you take away their scenes, when they are together, you can still get at the outcome of the drama. As for Mo and Nick, they should have limit their airtime. I for one like a proper "closure" for the character of Mo. For the characters of Newyear and Win, they did not directly interacted with Oat, Pop, Bo and Pree; so my question is: "Why include them?". The only logical reason I can think of is that the are preparing a spin-off for their relationship. And to think that their relationship is so messed up, I am inclined not to watch it if ever there would be one. But for Newyear alone, I might watch it.
If the production team did that, remove Bo-Pent and Newyear-Win; and lessen Mo and Nick scenes, they could have include more sweet scenes for the lead characters, Oat and Pop after all, they are the focus of series since season 1. Unfortunately, that did not happened. And give you the impression that they cut corners just to included the said "unnecessary" scenes.
Last rant on how could Oat-Pop more airtime. The side story. I know it is pretty important for series/drama to advertise their sponsors' products and services, however, in this specific series, it is lengthy to say the least. Like in My Tee/Cause You're My Boy. I am wondering, why WTD-FC did do what they did in SS1, when Pent was doing a liver stream, they should have infused the Blued app in this season. Like other thai series, they show their sponsors products within the scenes of the episode. If Blued had a big "advertisement investment" in this series, then sorry, it somehow ruined the series.
For the story proper... What is the greatest sacrifice that you can make to see the person you love most be happy even it means not being with that person or to achieve his/her goal in life. That where the script writer should have focus on this season.
And achieving your ambition or goal in life can make you happy? Will it make you feel complete and contended? Or will it leave an empty space in you knowing that someone made the ultimate sacrifice just for you to be where you want to be?
Unfortunately, Episode 8 did not salvage the entire season as it has damaged beyond redemption eventhough it is the best among the rest in terms of content and emotions.
The quotes: "Fortune favors the bold", "Fortune favors the brave", "Fortune favors the strong", for this specific series, did "Fortune" favored anyone? Or left everyone broken? Or do we need to see the silver lining amidst what happened? Try to be positive and hopeful perhaps? Ultimately, after you watched this series, you decide what will happen next. You make your own ending. Will you unearth the time capsule or just leave it buried for the years to come?
ACTING/CAST
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Episode 8 showed how Strong and Oreo mature in their acting ability. Needless to say, how Strong shifted his personality from season 1 to this season is a noteworthy performance. For Oreo's improvement is his facial expression. It became more expressive and shows more depth in his emotions.
And as for the rest,they have just been consistent how they acted from season 1.
MUSIC/SOUNDS
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I never thought when slowing the pace of this song, On Dao Dtok (Romanized) original: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiXp7xjDru0 and the slow version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4dujt2ObJQ , will drastically change your emotion. Evidently in Episode 8.
Boy Sompob's OST ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbLyKTGCH6c ) is a fitting ending for this series.
REWATCH VALUE
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As it is badly produced with cringe-worthy scenes. I could not see myself re-watching this. With the dark themes (not in terms of cinematography) in the plot that did not have any bearing in the totally of the story can throw off anyone from liking this.
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No development, no depth, no meaning, but nevertheless, love, I guess...
What a waste of potencial, seriously. I don't understand how they took 10 episodes with the FML being the same as she was in the beginning: a girl with an insecurity about relationships. I liked Nabi in the first episodes because for me she's a real character and her emotions are really genuine. But we're talking about a drama, and us as viewers, especially women's, wanted a good development for her. Every character in any drama needs to be developed because we have to know that these characters learn something about the difficulties they were into. What Nabi really needed was a good time ALONE, to focus on herself but it seems like the message that this drama wanted to pass to us is that even Nabi being insecure about Jaeeon`s feelings and even him hurting her in many ways she just likes him so fuck everything. Ofc we can all have insecuritys in any relationship but I think that Nabi ending up with someone she's insecure about and almost went crazy for, was really wrong. At least they could have waited a little more and then, years later, when both characters matured, they could think about being together.And omg, it was so hard to empathize with Jaeeon. Sure, Nabi knew what she was into and Jaeeon not wanting to date isn't the problem, but a normal person who have a different thought about relationship wouldn't be chasing a girl that thinks way different than him. And beyond that, this character seemed so cynical for me... when answering Nabi's questions about the women he got involved with, he always blamed them, as if they were the ones who were chasing him. When Dohyeok tells him to stop fooling Nabi, he wonders if he could mess with her that much, as if he didn't knew he messes with her. I seriously couldn't understand him at all, even when he seemed to care about her and changed for her. Knetz blamed Song Kang`s acting but actually I think its the script fault as we saw before that Song Kang is in fact, a good actor. The character itself just don't have depth and it doesn't look genuine. For me, we end up not knowing important things about him and thats why I end up not liking him and not understand him. (and the script putting that scene with his mother to try to justify his personality was just cliche as well and not enough for me to understand him, he stills end up with no depth).
Dohyeok for the other side was perfect, but just another perfect SL. Altought I really liked him and preferred him over Jaeeon, Nabi ending up with him would be too forced because she never liked him or gave him any type of signs that she could like him. He really was there just to make Jaeeon`s character jealous. The side characters were definitely more interesting that the main characters and I really liked that we had a LGBT couple, I think that this is the first time I see a LGBT couple in a drama who isn't mainly LGBT.
Nevertheless had interesting topics such as the perspective of not wanting to date, abusive relationships and insecurities, but with main characters not having a good development and being persons who is difficult to empathize, its really hard to enjoy this. We can't say that the main leads doesn't have chemistry, because they really have an insane chemistry, but when we see how this drama is going, even the hot scenes with the main leads and even Song Kang being a really attractive character, things just won't be interesting anymore. And altought the drama tried to portraiy real things, the ending was just cliche as we had one more "problematic"guy who changed himself for the girl he likes. It’s a shame because for me this drama had a lot of potencial. Nabi`s emotions was real and I liked that Jaeeon was a different main lead with a different vision of relationship. They just wasted everything.
PS: One thing I really liked was the cinematography and the OST, they were really good. Besides that, the acting wasn't bad but not the best as well.
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I have no words on how much I truly enjoyed this drama. I have been meaning to watch this upon seeing the trailer, mostly because I have been a fan of Leon Zhang since V Love days and this will be the first drama I'll be watching with him as the main lead. He already had a few dramas with him as the main but sadly those are not subbed at all. Hence I thought this wont be subbed either and temporarily put it on the side. Thankfully though, it got completely subbed and I ended up binge watching this in two days lol. The chemistry between the two leads is off the charts and is definitely the main reason on why this drama quickly became one of my favourite cdramas this year. Their interactions and conversations are realistically convincing and amusing that I just want to squeal every time I see them on screen together. Their continuous bickering is just too funny to watch. And even though they did not become a couple till later in the drama, I still enjoyed watching their banters and flirty acts lol. No offence but Leon and Eleanor have done their roles so well that I don't think anyone could have pulled it off the same way.
The story is simple and does not have a lot of angst. I found the ocean research stuff interesting, as well as the Poseidon and Amphitrite backstory. Although I may get how not a lot of people will be interested with this and might find it boring (y'all can get away with skipping those parts tho lol). It did drag a bit in the middle, but I would say still manageable because of the two leads. The chemistry is truly the driving force of this drama I must say.
I loveeee the character of Ye Hai so much - how he's goofy most of the time but could also be serious and responsible when it needs to be. Although An Fei did not like him at first, he tried really hard and continued to show how much he likes her despite her indifference towards him. Ugh Ye Hai is just a boyfriend material alright?? I also like how they justified the actions of the characters - how they aren't really evil without a reason and how most of them changed towards the good in the end. I truly appreciate the writers for that.
The ending is a bit lacking but atleast it's a happy ending. As an avid fan of cdramas, I'm already thankful that the two leads ended up together in the end cos I honestly don't know what to do if they didn't T___T
Overall, I enjoyed this drama so much and would totally recommend it.
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