Brutal, Heartbreaking, Bleak, but somehow still Beautiful.
Watched 26/10/2025 at opening weekend.Before going in to watch, I happened to see the director had said that she wanted to showcase the harsh realities of rising poverty amongst youth, an issue not often enough highlighted in modern Japan. The main symptom seen of this in media is the rise of so-called ‘yami baito’ in the news - in English, effectively ‘crime part time’ as desperate youths whose backgrounds aren’t so fortunate desperately try to stay afloat to afford rent, university, and the like.
This film showcases four such people, whose circumstances leave them nothing else to turn to. I did not expect to be so emotionally moved by this film, at all. The storytelling was also cleverly done, as nothing is revealed too quickly, yet upon seeing the whole picture, there is still beauty in the humanity you can find amidst the brutality. The story is largely told in three arcs, one for each protagonist, and the pacing was exactly as it needed to be. The use of perspective was also particularly clever in the sense that you start the film through the lens of the youngest and most inexperienced of the three protagonists, which also serves as an appropriate introduction to the world of yami baito for those unfamiliar with it. Acting was spectacular and gut-wrenching in exactly the ways it needed to be.
This film brought a range of emotions out in me, from the visceral nausea of reality to the sweetness that cannot be separated from the bitterness. This is not a film full of cheer, hope, and optimism, but it is still a film with a painfully heartwarming glimmer even at the most desperate times.
The closing song is beautiful and fitting, and other than that, the soundtrack was unobtrusive. In fact, I was so deeply invested in the story and characters I didn’t notice any music until the credits rolled, however there was most certainly music there and a composer credited.
I absolutely recommend this to anyone who can see it in cinemas, or anyone who enjoys crime-thrillers in general. It is a superbly well acted film. This is easily the best Japanese film I have seen since 18x2 Beyond Youthful Days (which I also reviewed at the time).
TRIGGER WARNINGS: Violence, Blood, Gore.
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Be true to yourself and the people around you !!
wow, amazing I got no word for the last scene just because that is a 10/10 for me. I like to make my point of view about everything and in the end no matter the final result deep down it was my choice and I can't blame anyone. this series was well made it is not just a series but an educational one that showed about (understanding, accepting your real you, learning how to be reasonable, flexible, honest with your partner, respect everyone, and only care about the people you love and not focusing on the outside opinion while some are still hiding their true self ) good job for every person that made this production possible. both seasons 1 & 2 are amazing people feel free to take a look. on that note bye bye PAPA & DADDY Series I love you. I am a big supporter of LGBTQ+. big Love ❤️Esta resenha foi útil para você?
Snow during spring
"A masterpiece may be in someone's possession for a while, but once its purpose is done, it goes to the next person."Sometimes when you are looking at a work of art, many different emotions overcome you and iribito is exactly like a work of art. It can't be really explained with words. It is like a painting with vivid and dark colors that makes you feel the complexity of human nature and the beauty of human creations. Its atmosphere is unsettling and suffocating, but at the same time liberating and cruelly beautiful. Takamura Naho is mesmerizing, assertive and infatuated with art, while Shirane Tatsuru is ethereal, passionate and unbelievably creative. They complement each other in a way that resembles human creations. Those creations are made by human beings and can only be appreciated by other human beings.
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Mu-Te-Luv: Not Your Father
Os próximos quatro episódios, Mu-Te-Luv: Not Your Father, foram simplesmente um caos delicioso. A história gira em torno de uma seita/culto secreto, que tá conquistando um monte de gente pela província, e a coisa só vai ficando mais maluca conforme tudo se desenrola. A Ploy, toda apaixonada pelo Phupha, resolve se juntar a ele nessa missão de infiltração pra tentar expor a família Chantharusati. Só que, claro, ela também tá indo com a esperança de se aproximar mais do Phu… e as coisas não saem nem um pouco como ela imaginava.Lá dentro, ela conhece o maravilhoso Wutthikrai, e sim, eu me derreti um pouquinho, que na verdade é um policial disfarçado e acaba ajudando ela e o Phupha a fugir de lá. A ideia de ter um culto bizarro, com um “Pai” que se acha um deus, foi uma das melhores escolhas criativas até agora. E eu juro que não consegui levar ele 100% a sério porque, por algum motivo, achei ele a cara da blogueirinha kkkkk.
E aqui, uma pausa pra aplaudir: o Prem arrasou muito como Phupha. Ele começa como esse jovem ativista cheio de ideais e, aos poucos, vai enlouquecendo com toda a manipulação do culto. A atuação dele foi intensa, convincente e bem construída. Já o Nani… eu sou suspeita, né? Além de lindo, ele tava divertidíssimo como o policial atrapalhado com “magias” que nunca funcionavam, eu ri horrores com ele. E a Pern, então? A mulher tava incrível! A cena dela fingindo ser a mãe pra enganar o “Pai” foi simplesmente uma delícia de assistir.
Eu vi umas pessoas falando mal dessa parte, mas honestamente? Eu adorei. Fogem do clichêzinho padrão e abraçam a loucura de um jeito que funciona. Caótico, divertido e bem mais criativo do que eu esperava.
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Highest quality of any BL
For sure this is the best yet of the Thai BL's. Bravo! I can't remember even on episode that I thought the story was off track or they were stalling or going on a tangent. The story developed out from start to finish logically. There were some twist and turns but not too much and not too fantastical to be believable. Earth for sure was the best actor award. He was believable playing a stern and difficult part. All of the actors including the kids were believable and likeable. That again is a great accomplishment without being too cheesy. I will really miss this one. Maybe I'll feel better about the rewatch value after a while but because it is a story with a they live happily every after and no want of a season 2. The Dr (Nam) is also an honorable mention. He needs his own series.Esta resenha foi útil para você?
Obsessed with this drama now
Hii....! Thank you director for beautiful story, im so obsessed with this drama, especially ji chu & Qing...Love every episode especially episode 20 , ML the he look at qing after telling her that lets make this marriage real.. Omg, killer eyes killer look,, 🤗❤☺
Ji chu ❤ love story between two is so natural n realistic... Aah..! Love all the characters... Ji chu body guard have another vibe ❤
Blush... Blush...blush whenever qing n ji chu scene use to come... There talks, serious, funny, ❤☺🤗
Lots of love ❤ to JI CHU & QING
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Festival of misunderstandings and a bit of clear thinking, highly enjoyable
Misunderstandings are one of those things that completely infuriates me when it comes to dramas. We know it very well, one of the characters mishears something and then we have to watch through five episodes how it spoils relations or leads to cringe situations. Complicating plot just because two grown ups cannot really articulate what’s wrong is just lazy writing for me. Saying that, I’m so happy, that those situations, in Her Private Life, even tough happen, ale so smoothly handled by well written and clear thinking characters. That was a great relief for me while watching this drama.I’ve seen someone already writing that this series could end on 14th episode and I kinda agree. It seems like writers had the main plot finalised at this point but were bound by the contract to write two more episodes so they’ve just unnecessarily overcomplicated some minor themes making them a bit too long. This unfortunately spoils reception of the finale, but without much damage to the drama as a whole. I’d say it’s just slightly annoying. Luckily characters are cleverly written so all misunderstandings that come from this prolonged motives are quickly resolved.
The main praise I have for this drama must be characters. I’d say that this is one of those dramas that defends itself solely by the characters, making main plot secondary (what is not necessarily bad thing here). I had the same with some other series (like What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim), where action is used more for character development, rather that the action itself. With Her Private Life, feeling is similar. Characters are just so well written and interact with each other so smoothly, that watching it itself is sufficient.
But of course we have an action and we have classic drama tropes that are so repetitive sometimes in drama world, that we could make a drinking game out of them already. So one of the characters must have some sort of childhood trauma that took its toll on his adult life, we have long lost acquaintances that figure out that they’ve met long time ago very late in the drama. At least one of the parents has to be slightly unhinged (this time not even slightly, but I can fully forgive it, since the character is so entertaining in her quirkiness that it makes amazing comic relief). And of course second lead syndrome must be there, but in this case I’d say it’s here only because someone decided it has to, since it’s not very convincing and certainly we can see that it’s not gonna happen. Honestly, I’d see someone else on this position.
This all luckily is overshadowed by high quality of the drama.
Overall I highly enjoyed this drama. It’s one of those that you watch with constant grin on your face by how cute some scenes are. I don’t expect very much from romantic dramas, for me all they have to be is enjoyable and this one delivered it fully.
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Dont bother with season 2
I totally agree that season one is way better ! Season two is messy and unnecessary!Main couple- Zhou Shi and Wei qing
second couple- Ning fei or Xue Ning and fei fei
Third couple- Bi qiu jing and Li ming cheng
The story started some what interesting... with the fact the the male lead became blind. the female lead loses her ability to draw. The story gets kinda weird and confusing because the female lead left for two years. In this time she is taking care of ning fei aka xue ning because he lost his memory while trying to save Zhou shi from being rape.
All the lead does is bicker and obvious they still like each other, but the female lead always rejects the male leads kisses.
Also Zhou shi is in the company of Xue ning's sister, who doesnt like the male lead( Wei qing) They are business competitors. There is also the addition of an evil character which is Xue zhi's brother. ( xue shi is the older sister, aka competitor.
So many story lines going on... ning fei lost his memory... trying to remember it....
It's just too much scheming, planning to the point that i got confused whats actually happening..
I liked the relationship of the three girls who where friends since college? Dont expect a fluffy romace. Im so disappointed by this drama. The first one i watched like 2 times..
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Overall, a fun light show!
I started this series without any expectations, since I found it out of nowhere while it was still airing.It's about a mother who tries to set up her three sons with girls she thinks they're the best for them, but she finds that it's not easy when they all fall in love with someone else.
I confess that I decided to watch it mainly because I wanted to see Tay Tawan in a comedy, because he can never disappoint, but I have to say that my favourite storyline was Arty's, played by Gun Atthaphan, who keeps being an amazing actor.
I thought it was pretty funny how Gun can still play teenage characters when next year he will be 30, but he's very convincing anyway. There is something to be said about the actresses who played the love interests as well! They carried the storylines as much as the main boys. Overall, it was a very well defined cast, that worked pretty well.
The stories were fun to follow, even though the way some of them ended disappointed me a little, because they felt a bit rushed. Although, I appreciate how the series was built, dedicating six episodes to each of the brothers and their own stories and backstories.
In conclusion, I have to say that it was a pretty light and easy to follow series, which is always nice to find, even though I don't think I'd rewatch it anytime soon; but the theme song will stay in my head for way too much time!
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Riveting study of the staffers behind a presidential candidate
This drama succeeds in making the the lives of staffers and strategists behind a presidential election absolutely riveting!The staffers deal with all range of challenges, from helping their candidate, Lin Yue-Chen, reframe a seemingly trivial incident with a dog to navigating policy questions about immigration, the environment, and capital punishment. They are in a constant state of trying to please the public while staying principled, and they also struggle at times with losing their grip on their personal lives due to the nonstop labor they provide. The series represents this sense of chaos so vividly!
The drama also spotlights issues of sexual harassment in the workplace and homophobia in media and politics, but the message through these themes isn't all grim. Because the main characters are so sympathetic, we're drawn in to believe that justice and progress will win and can be achieved through perseverance, an engaged electorate, and principled political leadership.
The drama represents strong women characters--older women, young women, working women, wives, daughters, queer women. In fact, almost of all of the main characters are women. This focus on women is backed by a memorable statement from the presidential candidate in episode three. She says,
"Do you know the proportion of female government officials is less than 10%? This means that in terms of Taiwan's current political environment, we're still a long way from the so-called gender equality. People would often ask me, 'as a woman, is it particularly difficult to be in such a masculine political environment?' I said, 'Yes, that's right.' It's precisely because it's difficult that we can't back down all the more. We must work harder and persevere more."
This drama seems to speak directly to that reality, but also to redress it by showing women taking active roles at the center of Taiwanese politics and staking a claim in the future of the country.
The acting, music, and direction are all outstanding! The city views of Taipei will make you want to travel there immediately!
As a side note, I'll add that I've been a big fan of Ying Shiuan Hsieh since seeing her in "The Making of an Ordinary Woman." And fans of My Tooth Your Love will enjoy seeing Yu Jin in a cameo role here. Gingle Wang continues to prove her outstanding acting chops. She's simply amazing on screen!
Dropping this really interesting review written by Divya Malladi here at the bottom, "‘Wave Makers’ Review: Why The Taiwanese Series Is Far Better Than Korean ‘Queenmaker’": https://dmtalkies.com/wave-makers-season-1-review-2023-netflix-south-east-asian-series/
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Lighter version of "Remembrance of Things Past"
Completed - 1/7/2022"Delicious Romance" is a pretty underrated drama, and probably because the cast members are not idols and not as famous. However, it's a heartwarming drama about friendship, love, career and dreams. I feel that it's a lighter and happier version of "Remembrance of Things Past" (which I strongly recommend).
I enjoy the close friendship between the three main leads. They have funny and witty banter, are open and honest with each other, even if they are criticizing each other's decisions. I believe the friendship is what attracted most people to this drama. These ladies are 30 years old and are facing life's challenges as 30-year-old women in China. It's not surprising the following topics/challenges are covered in this drama:
1. Family and Society Prejudice against single, unmarried women.
2. Prejudice of divorced women
3. Sexual harassment and inequality treatment at work
4. Boss and Subordinate vs. romantic partner relationship
5. Stable and steady job vs. following your dream to unchartered territory
6. Income and Status inequality
This is a very short drama, only 20 episodes long at about 30 minutes each. The pace is fast and I was not bored at all. I quite enjoy the comedy inserted in the drama to deal with some of the heavier topics. I feel that the drama does a good job in introducing all three leads and show us their stories and personalities. I like them all and feel for them when they are faced with challenges. They each have their own flaws, but I root for them.
On the other hand, I feel the romance storylines are under-developed. I'd like to see more between Liu Jing and Jiang Shan Mu and how they fall in love, esp. from JSM. I also want to see a little more about the resolution between Xia Meng and Lu Bin at the end. As for Fang Xin and Zhang Ting, I want to see more of them after they get together. Because the drama is quite short, there isn't enough time for all, in addition to the other plots.
I also like:
- Xia Meng critiquing all the tropes and cliches in rom-coms.
- Jiang Shan Mu and his daughter's relationship - she is one smart cookie
- the funny drama shooting scene with the concubines
- first drag show I've seen in C-dramaland
Overall, I enjoy this very binge-able drama. It might not be as good as "Remembrance of Things Past", but it's an easy and enjoyable watch. I recommend this to those who like dramas of women-centric friendship and their life's challenges/decisions.
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At its very core, this lakorn is really the age old story of Romeo and Juliet. Heroine Yanin Jakrawut (aka Nikki), played by Jensen Sririta, returns to Thailand from living in America. As an heir to the Jakrawut fortune, she visits Thailand regularly to see her father even though she feels unloved as the odd one out - the “half-breed” her relatives call her - the only American in a large wealthy family. She meets her opposite number, San or Sanyakorn Rungsarith (played by Wasukraipaisarn Witaya) while traveling as an ordinary student. He’s the very proper son of the wealthy Rungsarith family - her family’s business rival - and Nikki’s half-brother’s cousin. Sparks fly between the two as they get to know each other despite their cultural differences.
Expect as a many twists and turns as an American soap opera or a Korean makjong drama in this story as there are deaths, birth secrets, hidden loves, conflicts between servants and masters, guns, and beatings as well as lots and lots of broken hearts. I was surprised by how addictive this story was and how, despite some pretty coarse language and situations, love wins out for all the surviving characters. Secondary characters Niyomsup Worawut as Bunleu and Yaowananon Pitisak as Kampanart/Raywat have a particularly deep story line. Unlike some of the more slap/kiss lakorns, this show features true loves and a fair amount of un-forced skinship that makes this a very appealing drama. Be prepared for some horrible relatives, though!
Ratings-wise, I gave this lakorn a 7.5 overall for its story, which surprised even me! Its plot involves several generations, love and hate, and appropriate business settings - all aspects that pleased me. There is a lot of almost-gun-violences, however, so that brought my overall score down in my opinion. The cast did a very good job with what they were given. You’ll see a lot of the standard lakorn characters but by the end, the writers did a great job explaining the very complicated motivations.
I don’t often wish a lakorn is longer but this one was so action packed that it really could have been extended by an episode or two. Music-wise, this lakorn was nothing to write home about. Even the theme song did not stick with me. Despite this, it wasn’t annoying or distracting so that is a plus. As a rewatch, well, this lakorn doesn’t call to me. It was actually so complicated that I felt like I gave it my full concentration the first time and it doesn’t need another viewing yet. Despite the 6 for rewatch value and a 7 for music, the plot (plots!) itself keeps my total viewing score higher than I’d expected.
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Fun, sexy, & with likeable characters.
Ten 25-30min episodes. Some of my thoughts below. I also recommend reading the review by Virgievirgie, which sums things up well: https://mydramalist.com/profile/voicelesslove/review/330409I will add:
I thoroughly enjoyed this. There are some moments where the manga-style humor and situations made me feel secondhand embarrassment, but it was still funny.
All of the character's are likeable and well acted. The male lead really grew on me. The female lead was written differently than many Jrom-coms and I loved it!; she's a little goofy because she's so zealous about her work but she's not ditzy or annoying, she's a bit naive but not dumb, she's not great at reading social cues but she can be empathetic, and while she has moments of shyness, she is also an engaged participant in physical intimacy and even instigates some things herself.
There is a lot of very well done, hot eroticism in the first 2/3rds, and then that fades a bit as things become more emotional in the last 1/3rd.
I expect that I will rewatch this.
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don't let MDL's rating fool you...
VERY light spoilers, mostly near the end where i talk about characters. skip that if u haven't watched (the rest is safe). it's also lengthy, but i promise you'll want to consider what i talk about before jumping induring this drama's airing, the discussion was either filled with two types of viewers: people who were growing annoyed with it (or hated it) and people who enjoyed it. this drama is very much a love-or-hate drama. personally, i loved it.
does it have its flaws? yes, because every drama does! however, i don't think it deserves the reputation some viewers have given it. before i talk about what i viewed as the drama's flaws, i'll focus on the things i really enjoyed.
people have called it bad, or messy, or manipulative... i don't think that's fair to say. the thing is, it's a mystery drama. suspense is its biggest weapon. what some viewers have labelled as "manipulation" or "messy storytelling" has been.... suspense. this drama plays HEAVY on intentionally misleading the audience - don't go into this drama thinking you'll have answers halfway. you won't know even a smidge of what's going on until past the halfway point... i personally enjoyed that. iit requires patience to watch this drama, which is why i encourage potential watches to consider if they enjoy waiting for answers or rather something fast-paced. the suspense builds up slowly at times, but it kept me on the edge of my seat.
had we gotten answers halfway in, the story could have potentially grew boring. yes, there were some questions left unanswered and things i wish the writers would have elaborated on - but i don't think the solution to that would have been solving the mystery sooner. solving the big mysteries right away would have taken away from the drama. i enjoyed the fact that we only got answers in the finale. every episode left you wanting more. the intentional misleading was VERY well-done, and it was fun to try and figure out if you had actually gotten answers or if the writers were trying to trick you into thinking you had figured something out. it made you think... so if you don't like to think about what you're watching and solve the mystery based on little clues left behind, you probably won't enjoy this.
i didn't mind the pacing, either or the focus on support characters. as i said above - i think the pacing was necessary to keep it interesting and the support characters had their purpose. some had more screentime than the second leads, which i found weird and bothersome. but they had a purpose, and overall were entertaining.
the ACTING... i'm going to give it a 10. all things considered, the acting by the cast (including supporting and guest stars) was REALLY strong. no one could have played kang yeo joo as could as cho ye jeong! she is a seamless actress.
i was not familiar with ko jun before this drama, but he did an amazing job as woo sung... how can someone be so disgusting yet still make you laugh? ko jun had all the right charms to effectively play woo sung. he was funny and had moments that ALMOST made you like him... until you remembered he was disgusting.
the second leads: yeonwoo and youngdae! i was very familiar with both of them prior to this drama and was super excited to see them both. they are both "new"/rising actors that i really love. yeonwoo really impressed me with her role as ko mi rae. i'm going to speak on her character later but - yeonwoo blew me away. if you're not familiar with her, she's mostly been cast as energetic characters. some have been whiney and some have been combative, but in the end - they all were loud and had a lot of energy. this was the first time she played someone quiet and mysterious - and the first time she was given a role where she could TRULY shine. her emotional scenes were truly impressive. she is one to watch.
as for youngdae - again, input on his character will come later. but youngdae's acting was strong. he wasn't given a lot to work with, if i'm being honest. but, as one of the few who didn't *particularly* root or ship soo ho and yeo joo, he managed to give me butterflies with how he interacted with yeo joo. the action scenes were impressive, too. another solid role from youngdae.
soundtrack was amazing. OVER by suran might be one of the best OSTs i've heard in a while! i loved the opening credits and the score that went along with it. the scores in the drama reminded me of a grimms brothers fairytale.
let's talk the flaws.
the BIGGEST flaw to me was the characterization. the best character, when speaking about development and backstory, was kang yeo joo. she was fleshed out and it was easy to understand who she was and why she thought/did certain things - even if it took a while to get there.
however, every other character fell short. we understood woo sung was a cheater, a player - but we didn't know anything else about him. his backstory wasn't fleshed out and we barely knew why or when he started cheating. not that that would EXCUSE his cheating (because there's no excuse for it!), but i just didn't understand who he was? maybe that was intentional, so you didn't like him. if so, that was a smart choice.
for the secondary leads... the writers really didn't give them enough justice. the detectives seemed to have more screentime than the second leads. i understood the detectives better than the second leads, at some points.
ko mi rae: a lot of viewers seemed to hate her character, but i didn't feel that way. i didn't particularly love ko mi rae, but i didn't hate her. she was clearly a very damaged character and, in the end, she didn't act on her temptation. one could argue her calling at the end was to act on her temptation, but she was in the middle of a lawsuit that woo sung was helping her with. her biggest desire seemed to be divorcing her abusive husband, taking his money, and locking him up.
she was a damaged character desperate for love - which i think explains why she attached herself to woo sung so quickly, and was unable to let him go. do i think this excuses her going after a married man? no, of course not. but i don't think she was an innately BAD person. she was damaged... which i think the writers could have expanded more on. they clearly tried to make the audience understand why she was so attached, but they didn't do a good job with it. her husband and the abuse she suffered was introduced too late. if there had been more expansion on her story, i think it would be easier to understand her and less people would consider her to be "bad". yes, she was wrong to go after him but in the end, she just wanted justice for herself. not woo sung.
cha soo ho: we knew NOTHING about him other than the fact he was an agent. i love youngdae and he did a great job with what he was given in this drama, but his character fell short. yes, he was funny and charming. but we didn't KNOW him as a person. i found it difficult to like him and yeo joo together because... his feelings came out of nowhere? when did he start liking her? episodes prior to him liking her, he was annoyed with her and wanted to spray her with beer and he also suspected her of murder. his development was poor. he wasn't a bad character, but he had no development and no backstory. i understood the male detective and the dead baek soo jung more than i understood soo ho. it's a shame.
and finally... the ending. i won't say anything as i don't want to put any major spoilers here, but it didn't disappoint me as it did for some others. remember what yeo joo says in the beginning. it makes sense once you think about it.
overall... it had its flaws. but it was not nearly as bad as some people think it was. rewatch value, i've ranked it 6.5 because it could potentially be fun to rewatch to catch clues you might've missed.
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