Reviews

A Must Watch Series

When I watch a new BL series, I always reserve myself for disappointment with regards to toxic tropes and stereotypes. Issues tackling consent and prejudice against people of the LGBTQ+ community is ongoing in society and often is reflected in the series that we watch. I cannot confidently say that those tropes will ever go away to the full extent, but it's always nice as a viewer to be pleasantly surprised when the story line of a popular series defies the odds and addresses those common themes from a behind the scenes perspective.

Lovely writer does an excellent job addressing topics revolving around the BL industry including: consent, prejudice, harassment, and other toxic tropes that we often see in these types of series. I watched through the series with minimal frustrations regarding those themes and better spent my attention on the actual story line. It was also refreshing to watch a BL that takes place outside the typical college/university setting.

In regards to the acting, I was happy to see Kao (Nubsib) back in the saddle with another main role. I thoroughly enjoyed his acting both in this series as well as the BL series Until We Meet Again. Poompat (Gene) to my knowledge is a fairly green actor in the industry however, his performance in Lovely Writer proves that he has great potential and I can't wait to see him in future shows to come. I think in general the cast was pretty solid and there weren't too many instances where I was disappointed about the acting.

Overall, Lovely Writer is a must watch series in my opinion even if you only watch it once. The story line is sweet while giving you a peek behind the curtains at the BL industry at the same time.

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Just a high budget drama with full of boring romantic scenes

PS: This is the worst comment I type in my life and I hate the person who suggested me this drama (whoever that is)
I don't understand why people love this. There are thousands of reasons not to like this.

I know that different people have different tastes. But do you call this a good chemistry? Am I the only one felt cringey watching the main couple and wanted to skip?  I mean the FL was not that comfortable with the ML!
Even though they are good actors, and acted some parts amazingly, sometimes the acting is a bit dramatic, forced and didn't feel real.
Some of the first few episodes were good and had some kind of an interesting story that I could enjoy.

But after the first story ended, everything was totally about the main couple's love story. And it's not even that interesting. Maybe it could be interesting if it was shorter. There were like 5 minutes of interesting parts for once in 5 episodes.
The whole story is focusing on the ML and the FL and the writer did not care about what happens to the other characters and all the other characters were just background characters for their love story. They just come and do their part for the main couple's love.
I absolutely hate the way they ended the story of Xiao qi. He was the only character I liked. (Yun hen was also a bit interesting)

I was expecting a legend, but there was just a boring love story. The writer tried to make their background story an amazing back story, but for me, it was ruined with long and boring scenes. Right when I think oh it's getting interesting, he cuts off that interesting feeling with something annoying.

The drama is also full of childish jealousy and bullying which I hate to see in a drama. Normally I avoid these cruel continuous bullying dramas. I think adding more scenes like this promotes bullying, and it should be stopped!

I've never fast forwarded a drama, (I watch average 2 dramas a month, at least 5 historical cdramas a year) but I fast forwarded almost all the last 10 episodes of this drama while cursing the person who suggested me this. I felt so relieved after finishing the last episode. I was like "thank god it ended".
I've watched dramas that focus a lot on the main couple, and I could enjoy them even though I'm not a big fan of romantic dramas. But this is annoying and boring than interesting.
Finally, this is my least favourite drama I've watched for the past 4 years. I've wasted 2 months of my life!
Again, I know different people have different opinions and tastes and this is just my opinion.

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Frustrating to watch. Problematic characters. Toxic FL.

The character design is quite problematic. I'm really struggling to understand the FL's mother and brother.

----------Mother----------
Regarding the mother, she's been blaming the FL for her own negligence in supervising her small children, which resulted in a serious accident when the FL was just 10 years old. It's absurd how she continues to openly blame a child for 20 years when it's obvious that the adult should take responsibility. She doesn't just do this in their personal life, but also in their work life, going as far as finding reasons to sue her own daughter, which could harm their family company that's publicly traded on the stock market. And all of this is happening right under the noses of the FL's grandfather and father, who are much more rational and surely wouldn't want their corporation's reputation tarnished. The whole situation is just so unrealistic and absurd.

----------Brother----------
As for the brother, it's unbelievable. His wife deceives him into marriage and even has a child with another man while they're married. Then she flees away with money of her husband's family, only to return after being abused by her child's biological father. Despite all this, the brother unquestionably welcomes her back with open arms, and still loves her illegitimate child as if the child is his own. It's like he lacks any capacity for learning or judgment. It's hard to trust someone like him to run a company at an executive level, yet he holds a high-ranking position in their publicly listed company. How is that even possible?

----------Female Lead----------
And don't even get me started on the FL herself. She gets kidnapped by the villain in a car. And when the ML catches up with them after a violent car chase, succeeding in rescuing her while he's injured, she complies with the villain's gaslighting to say that she voluntarily follows the villain, then she willingly gets back into the villain's car to be kidnapped again. The reason the villain gives her is that if she doesn't go along, the ML will realize her illness is worsening, causing her to mistake the villain for the ML. But later on, the ML still has to break into the house where the FL is being held captive to rescue her once more, and she still has to tell the ML the truth in the end. It's infuriating how easily she falls for such manipulation, especially considering the ML already knows about her illness and its progression.

----------Toxic love----------
Let me address the ML's love for the FL as my last point. I find his renewed affection for her perplexing. While his initial love before their marriage is understandable, I fail to comprehend how he could still love her after enduring a toxic relationship. Despite their troubled history, she continues to resist cooperation, vilify him, withhold her true feelings, and maintain emotional distance. It appears to be a very one-sided effort, devoid of reciprocity. His affection seems solely driven by blind devotion, without any tangible reason or justification. Their past history of love before marriage doesn't seem to influence his current feelings, and the FL's behavior offers little to warrant his continued love. In essence, it feels like he is merely serving her as a servant of love. Such a dynamic doesn't foster a genuine and sustainable relationship in real life, though.

The story's irrational elements are so frustrating to watch. I keep going with it until the end because I'm a fan of the lead actors. However, while the FL's acting is passable, it still comes across as quite stiff to me. I've seen her in 3 series, including 'Descendants of the Sun' and 'Fight for My Way,' and her acting seems to be consistently one-dimensional, and not even the best version of the character she's portraying.

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Beautiful Love Story

This is about as good as it gets. You have a rookie cast that does a phenomenal job telling a story of 2 boys/men who separate and what happens after they reunite. When children are faced with adult situations, sometimes they do not make the right decision when confronted with a major event or illness. Both leads are very good, especially for their first project. The supporting cast is great as well.

This is the first Thai BL series (Japan has the film, I Heard the Sunspot) that has a lead character with a disability, actually the amputation of his dominant arm.

Mean does a fine job his first time out as a director. There may be a season 2, if there is, I will watch it.

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Didn’t really care for this

I actually had this series on my watchlist for a long time and I was left highly disappointed. This is a very forgettable series IMO.
I don’t know if that was a directional decision for the actor Yoon Do Jin to portray the character in that extreme manner but the overreacting/overacting/pouting and then combined with the loud voice was just so intolerable and off putting to me. I don’t know any 20year old male or female who talks and behaves like that especially in 2023 and I don’t care to know any either. I finished this solely because it was a short series, otherwise I would have dropped it.
IMO there was zero chemistry between the leads, it felt more like older/younger brother relationship to me. I also agree with some other reviews, who are questioning why Yul will not only fall in love but also want to date YeChan, I too cannot for the life of me understand why Seon Yul will fall in love with YeChan but to each their own. Someone else in their review said that love works in mysterious ways, so I guess I will take that as the explanation for this, even though I’m not buying it.
This is obviously a no rewatch for me and I really regret not dropping this. I highly do not recommend.

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Utterly freaky and weird

Ok, so I was hooked to this drama for like the first 10 episodes until that PLOT TWIST came up I was just like WTF. By then, it just started getting really weird and uncomfortable for me. I genuinely hated the remaining episodes after that and I question myself on why I even decided to try and finish it.

First, I guess the writers were trying to make it interesting and all with the plot twist but naw bruh it did not work it just terrified and made me disgusted. Basically, the main girl was told she had leukemia and the main guy told her that if she marries him, then she'd be able to get a bone marrow transplant sooner. So she married the guy. HOWEVER, it turns out the main guy either faked or switched the medical records (I watched this awhile ago so I don't remember which one) in order for her to think she had leukemia and get her to marry him. Little did we know, he knew and had a crush on her a long time ago and she did not even know he existed. So he made up this whole leukemia plan in order to get her attention and get her to fall in love with. But I'm here just like that's complete BS and wrong and creepy. That's not romantic at all. Do you think watchers can comfortably watch this after that plot twist? And after she discovered he basically held her as HOSTAGE in their own house as he put body guard all over the house in order for her not to leave. I'm like WTF? This is some toxic stuff here that I'm just utterly in disbelief on.

Second, the main guy was just really weird. Like his character was just very uncomfortable to me and the way he makes flirty moves on her before she gained feelings for him was just cringey and weird. Other than pretty much deceiving the main girl the whole time, his character, in general, was just weird, utterly flirtaciousand possessive to the point it's uncomfortable, and stalker status. The cute moments they had just made me cringe in a bad way.

Unfortunately, they ended up still staying together in the end. I wasn't happy about it but oh well. I'd rather her be wit the second male lead. Overall, this drama was just not right.

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Sweet, refreshing rom-com

What a lovely, refreshing rom-com. It is almost a 9 but for the unnecessary break-up and a messy tail (see later). It is refreshing to see the cool, clever ML doing all the chasing while the FL is clever and bold but a bit clueless when it comes to dating. Not that she is ditzy, just a little innocent and happy-go-lucky. The chemistry of the OTP is very good. Not raw lust, just pure first love from two nice sweet characters. There were genuine LoL moments as well. The scientific approach to dating from the ML is sooo cute, not done for laughs like other dramas but totally in character. There are just so many cute moments during the first 2/3 of the show, it really brings on the feels. That makes the obligatory break up so much harder to take. Especially, when the reason behind the break up was so thin and weak. I'd call it poor writing, to be honest. We don't need that just to have the bitter sweet reunion later on (can't recapture the light tone for several episodes). I can do without the manufactured pain and suffering for our OTP, thank you very much. All the support casts were great. Strong characters and lively banters. One last thing, there are 27 episodes on Viki. The ending at the end of ep. 27 is not the true ending, a bit meh and half baked. The reason is that there is an episode 28 (26 mins long) on Youtube with eng sub which you must watch to conclude the series properly.

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Not very good either as horror or BL

If bare skin could compensate for other weaknesses in a film, this would be quite a good film. For no good reason, the male characters spend more screen time in just their underwear or less.

However, there isn't much of BL here except that one man has a one-sided love for another, and it doesn't feel at all like BL. As for horror, there are plenty of the usual tactics (ominous music, ghosts appearing in mirrors, etc) to scare those who would *not* want to watch horror because they are easily scared. The film isn't at all likely to appeal to those who actually enjoy horror.

Still, this isn't a lengthy film and if you are not expecting groundbreaking work in either BL or horror, it isn't altogether bad. There is a bit of a plot twist towards the end, though it seems like a twist that seems to exist for the sake of having a twist. One might also appreciate the characterization of Obet--the motivations for his behavior and the struggles he undergoes lend some semblance of depth to an otherwise superficial film.

And while I'm not averse to nudity in film, the focus on the men's bodies is pointless. The characters may simply be in their underwear, but does it serve the story for the camera to linger on ... whatever region the clothing is covering with more eagerness than an underwear commercial. It would actually seem more respectable if an underwear company had sponsored the film and asked for product placements. Perhaps the filmmakers are eager to have something to attract audiences, but if this is so, it is baffling why they have not gone for full-blown BL and steamy sex scenes.

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Strong premise that got lost along the way

I started watching this drama not actually knowing what the story was about, and it almost immediately piqued my interest as the premise of the FL being able to detect lies seemed interesting and unique. I really enjoyed the first few episodes, however it slowly started to lose itself and it felt like it didn't really know what it was trying to achieve.

My biggest issue is that there are far too many episodes. They clearly did not have enough material to fill 16 episodes of upwards of an hour each, and it was just impossible to drag the storyline out for that long without it getting lost along the way. There is so much unnecessary filler in here, which I often don't even mind in dramas, but in this case it wasn't even particularly interesting a lot of the time. By the time it gets to the final 2 episodes it's just completely pointless and nothing is happening as they have already wrapped up the main crux of the story by this point, and it was so fillery that it was not only boring but also felt incredibly awkward because already pointless scenes were being dragged out longer than they needed to be. I didn't even want to finish it since the story had already been completely wrapped up and so there was no incentive to, and ended up skipping through huge chunks of the final episode because nothing of value was happening at all.

It also got to a point where it felt like the FL being able to detect lies - which was the main selling point of the premise - felt completely inconsequential to the storyline, as at it's core it's really just a basic murder plot and while to some point her lie detecting powers did help them solve the case, it very easily could have been solved without her being able to hear lies. There was also no reason for her to lose and regain her powers towards the end, in my opinion, as they didn't really have that big of an impact on the story in the first place and there were no consequences to her losing her powers either. I understand that it was part of her character development of her learning to accept hearing/not hearing lies, but again it just felt completely inconsequential to me.

To add to this, the storyline itself once you remove the FL being able to hear lies is incredibly basic and predictable. I knew exactly what was happening at every moment before it happened, and I had guessed the culprit almost immediately. I also had a feeling that the "twist" with Deuk Chan being in love with Do Ha was going to happen, although I wasn't sure if they were actually going to go down that path or not. The mystery as a whole left me feeling underwhelmed as nothing felt shocking or had an impact on me, and it really was just a run of the mill murder mystery.

The acting overall was pretty decent, and the main couple was cute enough, although I thought that this was supposed to be a romance first and foremost and it kind of lacked in that department for me too.

It's overall relatively decent and I managed to make it through to the end, but it didn't feel like it did anything particularly special and I felt a little underwhelmed and disappointed in the end as I had much higher expectations for it based on the first two or three episodes. I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more if it had been condensed into maybe 12 or even less episodes, but it's an easy enough watch (although TW for self harm/suicide) if it's the kind of drama you're looking for.

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I really wanted to be one of the ones that watched this show and completely fell in love with it.... sadly, I wasn't.
Interesting enough though, this show kept me hooked from start to finish -- for the wrong reasons. I feel like the more I got into the show, the less I cared about the characters because I really just wanted to see justice, because let's face the cold truth here, everyone minus maybe 3 people, did Seol completely wrong and dirty.

The story was really interesting, there is no way I'll say it wasn't. While it was your typical drama, it did have it's uniqueness in it's own way. I also really loved everyone's acting in this show except Sung Kyung (In Ha) don't come at me, I love her acting....in other things but in this show I felt like she was extremely over dramatic and walked like a zombie half the time and when she stood she reminded me of a Monster High doll. Remember how they used to be bent weird like something was wrong with their spines? Lol That is what she reminded me of.

I hated probably 98% of the characters. I loved Seol and her 2 friends, --oh, and her brother. That's it. I wish more friendships where like that though. No matter what she went through they were always there for her... even the small bit when they were mad at each other. Lol Those kinds of friendships are so rare.

Everyone else can fuck off though. For me my most hated characters were probably In Ha, Stalker Boy, and lazy drunk bitch. I don't care enough to remember their names... and I say that with my whole chest. oh and add on that snobby little bitch she had class with. lol Ol crusty musty ass.

ANYWAY!!! back to the review.

Everything about this show was left open and I hate hate hate hate HATE open endings. This took it to a whole new level though. Because everything was left open. Characters were there then suddenly they weren't? People were with others and just nothing was explained? I get that this was adapted from a webtoon, but that doesn't mean you should leave out information. Lol Especially since these characters were there since episode one. By episode 10 you shouldn't be like "okay well.... we just don't need you anymore" that's not how that works. Lol I mean I'm glad to see them gone but because there was no information on how or where they went, It kinda stressed me out always looking for them because I expected them to come and fuck shit up some more. cuz you know.... fuck happiness? Lol


Speaking of happiness... what kind of damn ending was that? What kind of main character treatment was that? You do on and on about people are using her and she needs to put a stop to it -- then you proceed to use her in manipulative ways. and let's not forget any time she was attacked, somehow it was her fault and if it wasn't her fault they made it super clear they she shouldn't hold it against ol-pwoor-pwiddful-widdle *insert someone's name, there's a list to choose from at this point*. Like wow, okay - she ended up physically injured how many times but still, she should forgive them? All while saying she needs to stop putting up with people's bullshit.

Geez the more I go on about about this the more I want to take away stars. So I better stop here.

All in all, yes the acting was good, the story, while hole-y like swiss cheese, was good. i just wanted more justice. I wanted actual ending.

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Just a friend

I really love this drama...the most...its Nanon's 1st bl drama and he nailed it like a pro.....i would rewatch the whole drama for a thousand times.. Too...its sooooo good....i really want a special ep. ...as i want more..i will support both of them.in their other upcoming dramas.....their friendship is the best..too...susuna♡this drama had everything we required it had no toxic relationship ...it was a a pure bliss..their love was potrayed in the best way...ever.....P aof.....really did the best work ever....as it will always remain no. 1 for me...the memories will always stay with me....foreva

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TRULY WONDERFUL! Watch it now!

This was my first taste of CDramas and wow the bar has been set extremely high.
It took me a while to get used to the pace, and at 40 episodes long it's much longer than the usual Kdrama. PLEASE stick with it though and you'll be rewarded with a truly wholesome, healing, wonderful story all wrapped up in the most beautiful scenery and people. Oh, and the food is incredible!
The cinematography and soundtrack are stunning as well.
Liu Yi Fei was a brilliant lead as was Li Xian. The supporting cast was great too. Some subplots felt like they dragged on, but I think, due to the length of the show, they paid off in the end.
So sit back, relax and enjoy this 40-episode therapy session!
I'm going to try Go Ahead next.

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A Thrilling Journey Built on Nonsense

By reading the synopsis of the drama, you already know that it's complete nonsense.  Plastic surgery, as mentioned in a comment below, takes a long time to recuperate (gatalito). And even longer if you receive full-face surgery. Another commenter mentioned that voices can't be changed, which is obvious (Waikiki man). I'm sure the writers are aware of this, but I'm guessing they're hoping the audience will turn off their logical thinking. Thus, if you plan on watching this drama, go into it with your brain off.

Now, many things annoyed me. The first is, of course, the plastic surgery plot device. It just doesn't make sense. I was hoping it would be the end of the drama's nonsense, but it wasn't. The writers had to do something ridiculous towards the end of the drama that reminded me of wuxia dramas somehow. I literally have no idea how or why they ended up there. There's also another illogical thing in the drama where a character has a great sense of smell. I mean like, they can smell something miles away. Okay, I exagerrated a bit but you get the idea. Another thing that irritated me was Pan Qi Wen's (Zhou Yi Wei) strange relationship with Wang Xiao Ai (Yuan Shan Shan). Don't get me wrong: I respect Wang Xiao Ai for her courage and strength. However, there were times when I disliked her. Her weird relationship with Pan Qi Wen didn't work for me. I won't go into detail about this because it would involve spoilers, so I'll just leave it at that.

However, if you persevere through the nonsensical, you will find yourself immersed in a thrilling journey that our main character, Pan Qi Wen, embarks on. From the first few episodes, there are already so many twists and turns. There were moments when I thought to myself, "Oh, I know exactly where the writers are going with the story." Of course, I didn't. Everything is not as it seems. Everyone is not as they seem. The real fun begins when Pan Qi Wen eventually chooses to utilize his new face and identity as Song Kun to his advantage in order to discover the truth behind his face alteration. That would require him to enter Song Kun's dangerous world of corruption, and train to truly be him.

I have to say, the drama did an great job with the villains and the mystery aspect. The villains were a treat. Each one of them had their motives and each was cunning in their own ways. Pan Qi Wen's scenes with them were among the most interesting and exciting. The mystery in this drama is quite convoluted. There are several layers to it, and numerous people are involved. Looking back, the writers left many crumbs throughtout the drama. Even a minor reaction from a character might be a significant clue to the mystery.

I started the drama for Zhou Yi Wei, and I'm not disappointed. He truly delivered. He embodied Song Kun and Pan Qi Wen. And surprisingly, I also enjoyed the many bromances in the drama. Zhou Yi Wei had great chemistry with all of them. The bromances provided tremendous comedic relief as well. I also have to applaud Chi Jia as Li Yao. His scenes with Zhou Yi Wei were some of the best. Unrelated, but the drama's setting is very nice and I loved Song Kun's outfits lol.

In short, don't use your brain when watching it, except for trying to uncover the mystery. The villains, mystery, and the acting are worth giving New Face a try.

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A cute, but bittersweet BL drama

Trigger warnings: suicide, homophobia/unsupportive parents.

I've never written a review before, but I just felt like that I had to do it for this masterpiece.
Although it's a bittersweet story and somewhat heartbreaking i really loved the story and the way it connected the main characters with each other. If you want to know, if there's a happy ending: Yes, there is one, luckyly. I am usually not one to cry when watching dramas but this hit different. It's very well and carefully written and it didn't have even one scene I didn't like. The acting is great, I have a lot of respect for the four leads especially. They managed to depict Korn, In, Dean and Pharm so well, it seemed so natural and believeable. Also I really liked the screenwriting and directing of this peace.

I really recommend watching this drama, tho I wouldn't watch it, if you are down because of something or not ready for an emotional rollercoaster, so keep that in mind before deciding to watch it.

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