Reviews

First Impression: Love Is Like a Poison

Overall: I was imagining a different vibe based on the title but am enjoying the comedic aspect. This series is adapted from a manga "Doku Koi: Doku mo Sugireba Koi to Naru" by Makino Keisuke which I haven't read and I am reviewing the series on its own merits. Airing on Netflix Japan, no official international release.

Content Warning: blackmail

What I Liked
- made me laugh a few times
- the friend
- good dreams
- the tie pull

Room For Improvement
- I can't really root for their relationship right now because I'm not clear about a character/his motivations, hopefully they reveal more soon

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You'll excuse me if I won't spend another 1080 minutes on this

In context of lakorns, having one fantasy themed is a MINUS that burdens it from the start. As it's extremely tricky to make without the result come off as ridiculous, even for far more developed filmmakers than they are in Thailand. Also - for me personally - it's boring.

I was prepared to quickly skip-through this one or drop it as soon as I read the synopsis. Of course single episode runtime is twice longer than bearable... There is Jub Jib to lighten it a bit but that's just a momentary alleviation.

Basically, nang'ek gets mysterious visits by a strange clothed dude who enters through her bedroom mirror. At first he appears there to help her not get murdered, later he keeps appearing everytime she gets asleep by a table and needs to be carried to the bed gently. When she finds herself hanging off a cliff outside the house, he has no problem momentarily appear there (far from that mirror) as well. Apparently he's from a strange world formed by cheap CGI purple flower meadows, huge golden trees, mountains and waterfalls, where he's got nothing else to do than to watch our nang'ek like she's on a telly, or smth. Every single time he fancies it, he can go and join her story. One day he drags her through the mirror to see his country, too. She now sees he's really from a different realm (where they speak thai) and obviously kinda morally superior, despite being portrayed by Sean Jindachot with his bohemian looks of a heavy smoker. Therefore, nang'ek obviously forgets the hot cop pursuing not only her grandmother's death case, and sets her sights on him firmly. Shall I continue?

That's what I asked myself. Should I continue watching? Because that's like episode 2 out of 15. It already feels I've seen enough. I skimmed through episode 3 and felt just ZERO interest in it... all. Had she at least go for the copper (love their uniform in Thailand) it might be bearable. At least he's got Jub Jib accompanying him frequently. But everytime we switch in the "beautiful" realm with the waterfalls which Sean Jindachot is always standing next to (as he apparently doesn't need a roof over his head) trying to make his face all serious, or any of the side characters, I get reminded that time is precious. You'll excuse me if I won't spend another 1080 minutes on this:)

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does anybody know what are the songs that they sang to each other at night in their tour? Sun and In are so cute together, I hope for their own series. And i'll do my best to support them when that happened.

Episode 2 shows that you should not wait for a potential rival to profess your love to someone. If you feel it, say it, show it and be true to what you feel.

and to be honest the only episode i want yo watch is episode 2.

I have this sense of accomplishment, a closure if I may say so, as far as their respective relationships is concern and it is hard to see if it is going to anything else other than how each episode ended. What I am trying to say, it is the end of the road for their relationships as it ended happily.

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This is the type of drama I dislike the most. Over the top story line, totally unbelievable plus over dramatic acting.

This drama is full of all the cliche story line, an over ambitious and revengeful person, broken family, chaebol heir, doppelgänger and corruption. There is nothing new, or even fresh in the story. The synopsis is intriguing, that’s why I’m giving it a try, but it’s really not well executed or well written.

All the acting is over dramatic, nothing natural. You would know who the bad guy is by the first episode, which makes the whole story line boring I think. All the bad guy is bad, and the good guy’s good. No depth or layer to the character. That, on top of the over the top acting make this one drama a really blah moment for me.

The music is okay, not that I remember anything, since even watching 4 episodes was spend on fast forwarding.

Not going to rewatch it or even remember this drama.

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An Endearing Romance between University Student & Police Officer

Sometimes, we all need solitude. It’s in these moments of being alone that we truly discover who we are. Yet, solitude can also reveal just how lonely we feel, making us long for someone to share those quiet moments with.

Finding that special someone is exactly what the new Japanese BL drama Sugar Dog Life sets out to explore. Adapted from Yoriko’s manga of the same name, the series follows university student Sakuraba Isumi (played by Tanaka Koki) and police officer Tawada Hideya (Amasawa Kyosuke). After a misunderstanding leads Tawada to mistake Isumi for a minor and nearly arrest him, their paths unexpectedly cross again at the convenience store where Isumi works. From there, a unique bond begins to form—centered around shared meals and a growing admiration, as Isumi discovers just how much feeding Tawada brings a sense of ease and comfort into his own life.

Read the complete article here-

https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/08/17/sugar-dog-life-first-impressions-ep-1-2/#more-16268

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Frustrating AF

I found "My Absolute Boyfriend" to be one of the most frustrating shows I've ever watched. After eight episodes, I had to stop due to rising stress levels. I've never been a fan of Yeo Jin Goo and his Frankenstein’s monster like head. I don’t find his acting compelling at all and has lost the potential he showed in The Moon Knight Embracing The Sun. I decided to give the show a chance because I like Bang Min-Ah, but unfortunately, that wasn't enough to keep me engaged.

In my opinion, Yeo Jin Goo's character was incredibly annoying. Additionally, the show fails to capture the essence of the manga it’s adapted from. Although it's been a while since I watched the Taiwanese version, I recall it being significantly better.

It's hard to pinpoint whether the blame lies with the actor, the writer, or the director, but it seems to be a combination of all three. It's a shame to see such a promising story concept poorly executed.

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Super Cute

Only watched episode 4 for PeteKao. Maybe I'll finish the other episodes if I watch their respective series.

First of all, I really love how much more assured Kao is, both in the way he carries himself and the way he shows affection towards Pete. In most of Dark Blue Kiss, he's very shy even when alone with Pete (save the end). Now Kao shows affection in public in ways even Pete finds embarrassing. Or maybe Pete's just sulky. Anyway, it's really cute. Second, while Kao deceiving Pete to spend the day with him is funny and rather cute, it's not believable since Pete obviously had the day reserved for Kao anyway. Pete guessed the truth mid-way as well. Also, Kao promised Pete not to lie way back in DBK; he should've learnt his lesson. Third, the beat-up-then-patch-up trope is SO overdone in every BL drama. It's overdone in the KISS prequels, sequels and spin-offs already. Please give it a rest.

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Good lord, the overacting in this. I would say that Toda Erika was the only sane person in this show except that she somehow agreed to be in it.

The overacting was acutely cringeworthy, far surpassing that seen in the likes of Tamiou or Keibuho Yabe Kenzô. And it’s unfortunate, because episode 2 centered on one of those deeply human moments that made seasons 1 and 2 of Code Blue so compelling. Regrettably, the brick-to-the-face acting of everyone but Erika made this unwatchable.

I have friends (heck, family members) who won’t watch Asian dramas because of the Japanese reputation for overacting. I have never had much of a problem with what on reflection I suppose some Americans would see as overacting—Nodame Cantabile, Gokusen, good ol’ Moriyama-sensei from DOCTORS—but this show crossed the line for me and my spouse; in fact it stepped so far beyond it that had we watched any longer it would have retroactively sullied Ryo’s spellbinding performance in Code Blue.

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Dropped

I hate to drop any series, but this one had such bad writing and production. If you want to put a band in a drama, it has to sound better than whatever it is that they did, unless it's purely for comedic effect. The characters, the storyline, the chemistry, the interaction between the actors/characters, and even some of the actions taken (you don't force a new band member on an established band and make them feel like they have no choice in the matter).....it all made me feel bad. I just felt icky after watching. And that's a shame, because it could have been so much better. Of what I saw, some of the acting was simply poor, but I am not blaming the actors. The director should not have accepted poor acting, that's why they do multiple takes, especially with new actors.

If I can come back to this series and complete it, I will update my review. However, at this moment, I just had to get away from it, because I don't watch dramas to feel bad. I think at least some of the actors have potential, so I will be looking to see them in something better.

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Long and not that interesting

Can't really blame the cast, their acting was good. Chemistry between leads was good. The story was just a ton of filler, with not much romance nor anything that interesting happening. The initial storyline is mostly about business. It's not nothing all that exciting to begin with, then throw in annoying parents, a bunch of boring side characters, a side character romance, and the same old crazy chick that thinks she is perfect and can force a guy to fall in love with her when he clearly finds her just shy of repulsive and this is what you get. Tried so hard to like, because I like the two lead actors, but the story is simply bland and way too long. The ost is forgettable, and has zero rewatch value. Even tried to read episode recaps to see if it gets more exciting, and sure enough it continues to plod along at the same boring pace with more drawn out side character stories that are sadly boring as well.

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Really Nice Components

I have nice things to say about this drama:

- The FL was great! Only somewhat annoying in her pursuit of her boyfriend.

- Story was light and fun.

But I didn't find it worth completing, personally, just because of my personal taste in comedy dramas. This is a very goofy comedy. When it came time that the FL pretended to be pregnant by tapping the vein in her arm, is when I tapped out of the story altogether.

The ML has no memory of his real world life. But why? He had amnesia whilst playing this game and then forgot who he was entirely? There's probably an explanation for this, but I didn't stick around to find out. His virtual character was an arrogant jerk, and there is no way he wasn't an arrogant jerk in real life as well. It's more likely this is his real personality. He wasn't even handsome, and when he called himself an artist, or a musician, it made me a bit nauseous, as he clearly wasn't creative, artistic, nor talented in any way.

So, basically the funny, smart, albeit goofy FL was chasing her stupid, arrogant, spoiled, delusional, and ordinary looking boyfriend around this virtual world, and I didn't buy it. I mean, it showed what a great girlfriend she was, but I didn't enjoy watching her chase down this guy. I had to drop it, but, I can see the potential of this story as light entertainment.

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I am only watching because the leads are good looking... so far.

They tweaked the storyline a bit to match Thai market.



So far i don't care about the stories, i just kind of enjoy the scenes of the FL and ML. It's my first Thai series, though kind of shallow, it find it entertainjng.



I'll ad more to these after completing the series. I'll ad more to these after completing the series. I'll ad more to these after completing the series. I'll ad more to these after completing the series. I'll ad more to these after completing the series. I'll ad more to these after completing the series. I'll ad more to these after completing the series. I'll ad more to these after completing the series. I'll ad more to these after completing the series. I'll ad more to these after completing the series.

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I don't feel guilty dropping this drama...

I really tried to watch this drama because I enjoy Zhang Han and male-led ensemble series, but after a while it felt like a waste of my time. The initial premise of four male friends is pretty simple, but quickly became boring. I wanted to enjoy the enemies-to-lovers romance between Tong Yu (Zhang Han) and Xu Duo (Wang Xiao Chen), but her pettiness got on my nerves, and the whole group of them were very immature given that they are well into their late 30s. The other male leads weren't that interesting and so their romances dragged on.

The Korean drama, A Gentleman's Dignity, would be the closest comparison and I really enjoyed it years ago. Each of the leads had distinct differences and very different story arcs, but were all similarly successful.

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