This review may contain spoilers
Gut-wrenching drama that will haunt you for ages with an incredibly compelling male lead!!!
SPOILERS....As a veteran drama watcher (grew up watching Asian dramas), I'm extremely picky and only like dramas (prefer romance or ancient historical fiction) with a decent script and production. Story and characters are the most important to me and I find many romantic dramas these days to be crappy with non-existent plots.
"Goodbye my princess" took me completely by surprise and will go down as one of my favorite romantic dramas of all time along with "Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms" and "Someday or One Day" (both are well-crafted/quality dramas with a romance that stole my heart). "Ten Miles" also has one of the most charismatic/powerful MLs (male lead) who's as relentless as Li Chengyin (ML in "Goodbye my princess") when it comes to the FL (female lead) -lol, love it!!!
I initially never even bothered to look at "Goodbye my princess" as not only is it a tragedy, it's based on a novel by Fei Wo Si Chun, an author I avoid like the plague because I don't like the type of angst she writes -depressing plots and angst just for the sake of torturing her characters. Even when someone who shared my exact taste for possessive MLs recommended it, I still resisted.
Luckily, my sister stumbled upon some clips and finally convinced me to watch at least the first and last 10 episodes since it has the kind of angst I like, an extremely compelling and obsessive ML, and a very lovable FL. The clips she showed me peaked my interest and the rest is history. I hunted for the director's cut and knew from the first episode that this drama was going to be my jam. It had everything I wanted in a drama: Irreplaceable leads with explosive chemistry, an obsessive/powerful ML, a high quality production, and a decent script that mainly stayed on track even if the pacing did slow down massively from episodes 15-29. I loved episodes 1-15 and 30 to the end the most (though the drama did get rushed towards the end and I would have liked to see more episodes of Chengyin dealing with his memories coming back -that kind of angst would have be stellar).
And aside from being a tragedy, GMP (Goodbye my princess) surprisingly embodied the kind of romantic angst I love and avoided almost every type of angst I hate.
The kind of angst I hate in a romance is noble idiocy (ML pushing the FL away for her own good, etc.), cheating/constantly parading women in front of the FL, angst for the sake of angst, ML being too passive and self sacrificing (I only love MLs who go after their girl no matter what and like to take the initiative), and ML giving up/letting the FL go (only love MLs who never give up or let go of their girl).
GMP mainly had angst I liked and it all fit into the story organically and didn't feel forced. I generally can't tolerate the ML sleeping with anyone other than the FL, but in GMP, he actively avoided it as much as he can while keeping up his charade and it can even be argued the number of times he may have touched the secondary FL, Sese, was minute as she was constantly subjected to house arrests by the Empress due to his shenanigans. I was able to handle it because the drama made it clear Chengyin only wants to be with the FL, Xiaofeng, but is forced to spend the occasional night with Sese to keep up pretenses. Even then, he does his best to keep himself pure by using work/the Empress to ward her off.
Above all else, when it comes to the love story, the ML encompassed everything I could possibly want in a leading man. He's obsessive/possessive and relentless when it comes to Xiaofeng -will never give up on her. Plus, he's faithful, capable, intelligent, charming, charismatic, hot as hell, and can see through subterfuge.
He can be ruthless to everyone except for his beloved Xiaofeng and that just really appeals to me in a romance. Ruthless and powerful MLs who's only soft towards the FL and can't live without her is my kryptonite in a romance. Never in a million years did I expect one of Fei Wo Si Chun's stories to have this kind of ML. Especially when the source novel has Chengyin being abusive and always hiding his affections.
I never expected the drama to portray the "abuse" in such a humorous and charming manner. It just never felt malicious to me (there was too much love/affection in Chengyin's eyes and mannerisms -he acted more like a spoilt child) as the drama made it so blantantly obvious that every cruel act's a show that I was thoroughly entertained and enjoyed all of their bickering. Lol, I found it as endearing as Chengyin did. He's literally engaging in foreplay with the heroine even in their public fights and whenever he gets mad for real, it's always due to his petty jealousy. Lol, this guy becomes wary of every male Xiaofeng has a good relationship with. It's like he wants to be the only recipient of her smiles and laughter.
I really felt Chengyin's all-consuming love for Xiaofeng: I actually loved watching their married life because even though he couldn't display his feelings in front of her, he still wore his heart on his sleeve for us viewers. Every one of his supposed "mean" actions toward Xiaofeng was juxtaposed by his pained/regretful reactions when he later talked to his subordinates.
Lol, as a viewer, I actually thought Sese suffered more in the palace than Xiaofeng because of Chengyin's fake love that effectively used her as a meat shield to protect Xiaofeng from the Empress's jealous antics. Many people in the palace were very nice to Xiaofeng as the ML concentrated on surrounding her with trustworthy people.
Unlike some fans, I didn't mind his scenes with Sese as his fake interactions with her made for a brilliant contrast in comparison to his genuine interactions with Xiaofeng. His eyes literally light up whenever he sees her, even when Sese's around -his eyes are always kind of dead when he's spending time with Sese. In my opinion, Sese's presence in this drama highlights Chengyin's deep love for Xiaofeng even more.
He always acts so distantly polite whenever he interacts with Sese and it just gets worse as he finds it harder to rein in his passion for Xiaofeng. Towards the end, he looks like a zombie and is struggling to even maintain decent courtesy whenever he bothers to see her. I found it hilariously entertaining and can't understand the fans who think his scenes with Sese were too lovey-dovey. His affections were so obviously (his mask was always on and I felt no affection) fake and it only served its intended effect, which was to keep the Empress off of Xiaofeng.
I love Chengyin and find him to be one of the most fascinating and compelling protagonists I've ever seen. I've always loved more villainous MLs and Chengyin is a poster child for that trope. I live for drama characters like him. Honestly, the only thing Chengyin did wrong was to both fall in love and covet the key pawn in his plans. His unwavering love for Xiao Feng is both his curse and salvation.
My heart bleeds for both Xiaofeng and Chengyin as she can never be with him with her memories intact and he can never stop himself from chasing after her because she's his only hope of happiness, the light to yank him back from the darkness. Only when Chengyin is with Xiaofeng does he let down his guard completely and reveal his true self. I completely understood why he went nuclear and full on yandere when he thought she hated him and loved someone else. He's terrified of losing the one thing he can't live without. It's utterly heartbreaking when what he feared the most inevitably happened and he couldn't even follow after her as he was binded by his promise to her to live on. Even then, he had to delude himself into thinking she faked her death in order to make it through those 30 yrs. His love for Xiaofeng is all-consuming and he will go down as my favorite ML along with Ye Hua from "Ten Miles."
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Not as great as Taiwan's best BLs, but still OK
Falling in love with a friend can be terrifying but exhilarating.Ligong can’t be sure that Zeshou would even want to commit to anyone romantically, let alone him. And yet, their relationship always teeters on the edge of something more, a delicious sexual tension in the air as they begin to tip dangerously into the territory of more-than-friends. For me, this is really the best part of the show (the pair is just so whipped for each other).
As expected, their relationship goes through a rollercoaster of ups and downs but the show remains rather predictable at most turns with family and relationship drama. I would say that the first half of the series was more watchable than the second half, where the conflict proved to be silly and frustrating.
The side couple’s relationship, while noticeably fluffier, was a little shallow, but that is perhaps to be expected since they don’t have as much screentime as the main guys. As a laundromat owner and a bartender, I must say they make for an interesting couple, though.
Plus & Minus is not in the same league as Taiwan's best BLs but is still an all right watch.
Full review: https://asianblreviews.wordpress.com/2022/06/25/plus-and-minus-2022-bl/
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Fluff, fluffier, fluffiest! !
This was just a huge dose of fluff and is probably the sweetest fluffiest drama out there at the moment, Everybody is just so cute, not only as characters, but together too. The story is both interesting, sweet and of course not completely without drama, but even the drama is cute and resolved in a sweet manner making your (my) heart flutter over and over again of ooooh that is just so cute!While many other shows may have some unnecessary drama that may frustrate you, the drama here is different, it shows some struggles (without letting it take over the cute), some well known prejudice one may face or be afraid to face, but that too is handled really well.
The grownups here do not make me want to scream, or ashamed of being part of the grown up community. There is actually a teacher who is shown to be kind, supportive and honest, who knew that was possible?
The mother here is just soooo sweet, I just wanted to hug her!
The different types of friends here are also, yes you guessed it, Sweet, supportive, super cute!
Even the love triangle (yes real triangle) is just sweet and cutely done....
To top it off we get a bickering couple, and adorable dog, a lovely visit of the see thru umbrella and opposites attract...
Yes even the misunderstandings in this are.... CUTE...
Did I mention it is cute? So for you in need of a shot of some highly bingeable cuteness and fluff, this is it!
A small warning: I will however just mention that I was a bit bothered by the leads way of over acting with big comedic gestures that I normally hate, but they grew on me and I ended up finding it, yes you probably guessed it: CUTE
Also this probably is the drama, with the highest ratio smiles per minute I have ever seen...
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The Boy and I Who Will Break Up in 100 Days
26 people found this review helpful
This review may contain spoilers
One line from Itsuki stayed with me until the very end.He compared himself to "a tropical fish that feels too hot even in the water where it is supposed to live."
I interpreted it as someone who isn't weak or broken, but simply cannot survive comfortably in the environment they were born into.
Sometimes leaving isn't running away.
Sometimes it's simply a survival strategy.
This drama isn't about deciding who was right or wrong.
Yuma loved Itsuki's freedom at first, but later realized he couldn't live with it.
Itsuki wanted to be accepted exactly as he was, and eventually realized that Yuma could never truly understand that part of him.
Neither of them was a bad person.
They simply reached a point where neither could compromise on what mattered most.
That made me think about relationships in general.
I don't believe living together depends on understanding everything about another person.
I think it depends on whether you can accept the parts you'll never fully understand.
Empathy is wonderful, but it isn't always possible.
Acceptance may be even more important.
The director said she wanted to create a film that could change the world.
Can a story really do that?
If people could accept differences instead of trying to erase them, perhaps there would be fewer conflicts.
But at the same time, I don't think the world is ever that simple.
I only hope that, someday, both Yuma and Itsuki will find someone who can accept them for who they are.
Not every love story ends happily.
Some simply leave us with questions that stay long after the credits roll.
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Game Changer
At first I didn't know what to expect but...they got me. Excellent series. I don't know what else to say but let me start with the basics...First up - the performances. Gun's double performance absolutely caught me off guard. Two completely different characters, both of them top notch performances (Gun as a badass action hero...whoa! Who saw that coming?). And the rest of the cast isn't too shabby either. Watching Off go from dripping with contempt for Black, to wondering what the heck is up with Black to falling for Black to - THE BIG REVEAL! - his expressions just say it all. There's the second tier couple - Dan and Yok - that are so well written (down to the bitter end) that I was rooting for them no matter what turn the story took. They're my second favourite side couple of...ever(!)...right behind Uncles Cheep and Dej in "My Ride" (but that's for another day). Then there's the understated performance of Papang as "Gumpa" - the glue who holds this entire thing together. Love him.
On top of that here, is so much that I did not expect: - Politics, Disillusionment, Rebellion and Art as a means of Protest. There's so much more, but I refuse to spoil the experience for anyone.
Well, 2022 has been an exceptional year for GMMTV, that's for certain - with their stories of Anarchy in Thailand, Ageing and facing one's own Mortality "55:15", a Romeo and Jules Love Story ("Bad Buddy") and their Epic
production of "F4 Thailand". I hope they can keep it up 'cause I'm rooting for them.
There's so little else to say about "Not Me" except I love! LOVE!! L.O.V.E!!! it!!!!!!
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This review may contain spoilers
The story of the lil bro trying to chase the older sister ((not blood related)
Seriously someone should update the summary of this drama,..Female lead studies psychology and contemplates whether to do grad school. Male lead is 6 years younger than the female lead. The female lead was always there to take care of him. He has always had a crush on his "sister". He;s obviously a little more naughty and playful , while the. female lead is more calm and collected. The dad always tries to set her up with dates. In order to stop the dad from setting more dates the male lead claims the female lead is pregnant! lol starting their fake romance!
Although their relationship is super cute! like you could totally feel the love of the male lead for his sister..... They kinda have a weird relationship. Weird in the sense... is like i thought they were together, wait they actually arent,,,, they have miscommunication, break up, get back together. They get their marriage license... yet the male lead still proposes to her. It just seems like a back and forth chasing...Like the female lead likes him but i dont even know when they were offically together.
The story development is a little lacking in the sense that it just goes back and forth between the leads. I didnt feel much character development from the female lead or male lead. Also they made it mysterious as to why the male lead eats candy /sweet he gets an allergic reaction They dont really explain or elaborate on it.
She starts her own dessert shop after...And it wasn't successfully initially. Joey chua is cute in here but her personality is to wishy washy.... Can't believe the actor is born in 2000.
I definitely would not rewatch... but for first timers its decent.
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I have a habit of watching shows which no one watches and giving reviews. So I started this show after seeing there is no review in MDL about this show.
This show starts with college life and goes to after 7 years. But college life scenes are not looking fresh bcoz the actors are older enough to play college students. Then after the leap both leads still fight for various reasons but they love each other deeply too. Which we can easily guess.
I like Jia Wu and Ke San couple more than Yu fei and Chen Yi. Jia Wu looks very friendly and approachable. George Hu is another reason for me to complete this show. Songs are okay. The scenes which made me really angry are, the unnecessary plot at the end. And she leaves him and comes back after getting better. Those are not needed, since they wanted to drag the episodes, they used these plot twists.
There is nothing much as art in this show.
Rewatch - no no never
Music - k
Acting - could be better
Overall 5/10
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The first 8 episodes with the young/teen cast were sensational. All the young actors were excellent in portraying their characters. Kim Yoo Jung is cemented forever as the finest young Korean actress, in my book, with her touching and brave performance as the young Hae Joo/Yoo Jin. The story is set around the shipping industry, with revenge, love triangle & birth secrets galore. After episode 8 the story leaps forward 15 years later & at that point the story continues until the end of the drama.
Most of the actors in the adult cast do a very good job. Lee Deok Hwa as the pantomime villain “thug with a rug” as I dubbed him. Kim Gyu Chul as the weak, slimey butler forever in Jang Do Hyuns power. I hated them both, which was the point.
I loved Hae Joo’s adopted dad, he was wonderful and the love they shared was so moving to see. At first I didn’t think I would like the character of Hae Joo’s adopted mom but the journey she took was lovely to see. Lee Bong Hee and the Chun family ensemble provided some truly hilarious moments and much needed comic relief with all the drama going on. The Prosecutor was an admirable character, someone striving to right wrongs to the best of his ability throughout.
Chang Hee (young) I loved but I was not so enamoured with the adult version, he seemed to be weak and ineffectual even as a successful adult. I don’t blame the actor, more the writers for his lack of character development. Kang San on the other hand was played beautifully by Kim Jae Won as the happy go lucky guy hiding all his pain behind a façade of a clown.
The biggest weak link for me was adult Hae Joo (admittedly I have not seen this actress in anything else so cannot write her off completely) but in this drama she evoked no emotions from me whatsoever (except annoyance). The young Hae Joo was so excellent and the adult Hae Joo failed to live up to that promise quite spectacularly. Another weak link was Hae Joo's biological mother she just seemed to be a useless, weak woman who collapsed to the floor at any given opportunity, she did redeem herself slightly in later episodes, but her whole relationship with Do Hyun was a mystery to me.
I tend not to re-watch so that mark is always low for me.
The music/score was good, The main theme song I didn't like too much and started getting on my nerves in the end.
If you like melodramas this is well worth a watch the story moves at a fairly brisk pace (although it could have done without the extension).
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A beautiful workplace romcom set in the thrilling realm of flight and aeroplanes.
What I like:Female pilot: Though the beginning may prompt an eye roll, that difficult start sets the story in motion. It pushes the female lead, Ruan Sixian, beyond her comfort zone, leading her to attend flight school and return three years later as an in-demand pilot. This tension makes her comeback especially satisfying. It is inspiring to watch her wear the uniform, train in the simulator, and handle the cockpit with confidence. She shows that women can excel in a demanding profession like piloting. I also appreciate actress Liu Xiening's preparation and training for the aviation scenes, which make them feel convincing.
Miles Wei: He portrays Fu Mingyu, a sharp, rational vice president turned CEO. Tasked with major reforms and airline modernization, he exemplifies calm under pressure, high standards, and dedication to civil aviation. He combines professional authority with romantic tension, and Wei captures this role with depth, making him both commanding and charming, dreamy, and relatable. His character balances seriousness and charisma, embodying effective leadership with engaging personal qualities.
This workplace romcom has genuine depth. By prioritizing the characters’ personal growth, company reforms, and flight challenges, the story ensures that when they finally unite, they form a true power couple rooted in mutual respect rather than fleeting infatuation. This focus creates a meaningful, believable romance built on shared development and resilience, making their connection stronger and more authentic.
A key strength lies in its cinematography. The drama effectively portrays its setting, utilizing the flight decks, uniform designs, and sweeping aerial views to create a polished, high-end visual style that amplifies the romantic atmosphere. I'm truly impressed by the airport's designs, everything from the runways and cockpits to the simulators and aircraft, all the way to the Hengshi airlines building and its office spaces, showcases exceptional quality throughout.
The interactions between Ruan Sixian and Captain Fan are truly captivating, and the dramatic emergency they face is expertly portrayed. I'm confident that more of these compelling moments will unfold in subsequent episodes.
The romance unfolds through a series of intense misunderstandings. Their connection is fueled by sharp professional clashes. Fu Mingyu is immediately drawn to her bravery and commitment, while Ruan Sixian, initially guarded, gradually comes to recognize his genuine efforts and her own feelings, ultimately surrendering to him.
Supporting the main couple, a compelling group of characters fills the aviation world of Hengshi Airlines with their loved ones and acquaintances, enriching the narrative with elements of drama, romance, workplace competition, and humorous moments.
Easy to Watch: The story moves at a good speed. It is not too sad or too stressful, making it a very happy and cozy show.
The second half of the series serves as the dramatic conclusion, progressing from the main characters' career development to their romance's final resolution and significant familial discoveries.
If you want a romantic show that makes you smile and inspires you to follow your dreams, you should definitely watch this! It is a lovely, feel-good drama about love, flying, dreams and ambition.
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enemies to lovers, secret identity, identical twins, good boy/bad boy
(Thailand, Jan-March 2022 on YouTube)Starring very established holy trinity pair, OffGun in possibly their final BL. Also Mond (Water Boyy), First (The Shipper), Gawin (Dark Blue Kiss), Puimek (SOTUS S), Gigie (2gether)
Another one that is joining the growing cornucopia of shows that I’m not sure I should really review as a BL fan, because I’n not not sure they’re really BL. (For me, Manner of Death really started this trend and dialogue with myself. I see Not Me as its successor.) GMMTV gave us a dark disestablishment narrative (in a time of civil unrest) with established queer award-winning director Anucha and starring OffGun.
Let Me Be Perfectly Clear
THIS IS AN AMAZING THING to get to experience in the BL world - nerve racking but remarkable. The politics of it rather overshadowed the art (just like for Dan’s character) and certainly overshadowed the romances. But the dialogue it generated was cool. This is the dark, gritty gang-set BL series we all expected from Motorcycle (before it disappeared from the radar) with some supped up soap opera tropes (twins, secret identity) and some crazy talent behind the wheel.
But was it ACTUALLY BL?
Not Me had a lot of BL elements, but in the end that’s not what the show was about, or even what it was genuinely trying to be as a show. (A BL series MUST use the main relationship arc as the plot driver.)
In fact that’s an issue I have with it. What was this show ultimately about? What did it want us to take away? Because as a piece of queer cinema and activism it was fine, but VERY heavy handed and clumsy. I can’t rec it to my cray queer artist or film industry friends they’d find it laughable, but I can’t really rec it to my BL friends either, it’s a lot for the sweetness-and-light crowd to swallow. Who was this for? What market? A few of us in this one corner of Tumblr? But who else? Netflix isn’t going to pick this one up, that’s for darn sure. And does that ultimately matter critically? (I think yes actually, because it won’t be profitable without an audience. But that’s an issue arthouse cinema has struggled with for a very long time.)
I DO think Not Me will have impact on BL as a genre going forward. Whether it technically belongs to it or not.
This is a lot of waffling from me, already a champion waffler.
Oddly, some of this is because I feel a lot about this show as I did about Bad Buddy. (Let me be clear: Bad Buddy was definitely a BL.) I appreciate both for the same reasons. And I will not be re-watching them often, if at all, for the same reasons. And that’s why I am not able to give either show a 10/10. Rewatch value is a huge deal for me.
So I’m going to say, 9/10. Just as a rating. Let’s move on from numbers and just talk more about this show.
Production Values Assessment
If I have one major critique of Not Me it’s that far too many scenes were filmed too dark. I get that we are meant to take this show super seriously, but when will filmmakers learn that serious doesn’t have to be executed by forcing us to squint? Metonymy has a lot to answer for.
Otherwise the staging, music, and all production values were high, if not pristine. It was closest to 3 Will Be Free or A Tale of Thousand Stars (which also had the darkness issue) than anything else from GMMTV.
Style and filming it matched to the best that Taiwan can do, so not as high quality as Korea or Japan, but then neither of those cinematic styles would have suited this narrative. But for Thailand, we can consider this top tear.
Story, Characters & Pairs
If you go in expecting this to be BL then the pacing is off on the romance arcs (but not the rest of the narrative). They’re rushed and uneven (like a Korean BL). For example Dan crying suddenly was... odd and jarring. The first SeanWhite kiss came outta nowhere. However, this was definitely OffGun’s best kissing ever. It only took them 6 years the get here.
Like Bad Buddy, Not Me seems to be pretty explicitly and intentionally going against problematic narrative choices that prior GMMTV series made/highlighted - from consent, gay-for-you, husband/wife language, heterosexual dysmorphia and more. They made certain to have explicitly queer characters positively represented (not for comedy).
I loved Not Me’s queerness and grit. I liked that it dealt with things that other BLs (let alone Thai BLs) haven’t. And I was prepared to forgive it a lot because of this stance.
DanYok
For me the DanYok couple, despite limited screen time, outshone SeanWhite (as a PAIR). Their chemistry is superior in almost every regard. They were so well acted and I appreciated their story as a true representation of enemies-to-lovers. It delivered on ideology, class, and social position conflict in a much more humane way that ToddBlack. They had an excellent arc and ending, if, at times, their romance felt a bit rushed - the intensity and suddenness of it suited the narrative and the characters.
SeanWhite
OffGun did a fab job on a romance story that, to be fair, wasn’t much of one. But that’s because it also wasn’t the point or driver of the narrative. Them being comfortable boyfriends was great and this was very much a queer relationship.
But to have truly ended this show narratively full circle, it actually should have concluded with the White & Black scene.
But instead it ended on a BL moment, or, to be more precise, on an OffGun goodbye moment.
Do I think that ending was for us… for the fans? Yes, I really do.
Am I grateful? Yes, I really am.
It’s been a wild ride.
Do I think you should watch Not Me? Yeah. Yeah I really do.
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This review may contain spoilers
Arc Toward Justice
Wow! This drama is amazing.You have to watch past the first episode. The first episode is disjointed on purpose. It withholds information from the audience. Episode two presents a plot twist, and the missing shards of her begin to come together as the series unfolds.
This drama is part mystery and thriller, but more about how sexual violence impacts an individual, a family, and an entire community. It shows how people respond differently, including victims but also their loved ones.
Quite poignantly, the drama explores and condemns the cultures of silence that develop around acts of sexual violence. This silence allows predators to get away with their crimes and then commit them again. Meanwhile, victims are blamed and left without justice.
While the subject matter is serious, the drama is redemptive and moves toward justice and hope. The ending is presented with sensitivity and realism. I can’t praise it enough!
The acting is outstanding. And the OST is crazy good!
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The cutest, fluffiest little rom-com ♡
For a one-episode drama special that is one hour long, this was so enjoyable and so, so adorable. I was giggling and smiling like an idiot, kicking my feet while trying not to wake the whole house up because it was way past midnight here. Why are they so cute omg!? I saw an edit of this today and as soon as I realised that it was Kim Do Hoon from Moving and saw that it was a rom-com special about two genius rivals, I decided to watch it. BEST DECISION EVER!!It was like watching a short campus rom-com movie, it had everything: the enemies to lovers, she fell first but he fell harder, college rivals, funny moments, and cute (almost cringe at times lol) and romantic moments, the whole episode was so nicely written. Seriously, I never rewatch anything, and never dramas, apart from some of my absolute comfort movies or Korean variety shows, but I could rewatch this again any day, whenever I feel like not watching anything from my list or when I can't find anything to watch. Perfect for an evening when you want a break from your current watching or on-air dramas, this has all the elements not to get you bored, it's cute and funny, and the actors have amazing chemistry. That kiss omg I don't think I ever jumped and giggled this much at a kiss scene before lol, that took me so by surprise lol, just the funniest scene ever!! Although the whole fake love confession plan was silly and childish from the male lead's side, both leads were smart and relatable, they were in two very different but similar situations and the message at the end was perfect. As a student myself, this really resonated with me and really gave me a little boost, so I loved it even more. It was a relatable message offered to us as viewers in the form of a cute little love story.
I 100% recommend this to everyone, and I hope everyone watching it enjoys it cos it is so fluffy and doesn't overthink it. This made my whole week, I honestly can't wait to rewatch it lol ♡
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The story was good, it covers a lot of different issues concerning things such as bullying, family problems and rumors. It's a story set in a high school setting, there's drama and even a love story. The drama is very short though, which is why I can't give it more than an 8 - because while it was a nice short drama, there are other things they could have done with it to make it an even better drama.
All of the main actors in this drama are younger ones, some of them even starting out with Kingyo Club being their first drama. That being said, I think they did a really good job! The acting seemed natural and there isn't anything bad I can say about it.
There were a few songs they played in the drama, I found both of them to be nice songs. Even though I'm not sure how they really fit the drama at some points.
Overall I think this is a really nice and short drama that I would recommend to anyone looking for something that deals with more than just school and a "cute couple." This is a drama that deals with more serious issues.
Also, I mentioned already - the episodes are only 20 minutes long! (:
The last 3 episodes were finally subbed recently and hopefully someone will update some of the streaming sites for those that don't download :D
I might rewatch this drama someday, although it might not be for a long while.
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Passionate kisses, save the damsel in distress, hilarious
This drama has the most passionate kissing scenes in both count and intensity of all Chinese dramas I had watched – I meant really passionate kisses not those obviously fake moments. As with most romance stories, there were plenty of save the damsel in distress scenes accompanied by endearing gazes as the hero held the damsel in his arms.It is a lovely romance story with emotional and hilarious moments. The hilarious moments really made me laugh out loud. Unlike Hollywood comedies which mainly play on words, some of these comedic moments were based on suggestive actions of the actors.
The drama is quite straightforward with some small, but not totally unexpected, twists in the story. It has the usual hygiene factors – handsome lead actor, pretty actresses, excellent acting, lovely costumes, lovely music, beautiful cinematography and endearing romantic moments.
What I appreciate most about this drama is the lesson on courtship and early marital life - instead of the usual unrealistic romance dramas. At moments when they were trying to figure out each other, the XiYue princess had her confidantes giving her some silly suggestions which she refuted with some sensible corrections. Similarly for the ninth prince, Song was always giving him some creepy suggestions while Zhen would refute with some sensible analysis. Zhen played the sensible relationship guru here.
The adjustments to life together were comical but not unlike real life when married couples live together for the first time and discover the bad habits of their spouses to their horror.
I noticed some flaws – for the production team to learn from if they should ever read this review. The piece of music chosen for the hilarious moments was too modern for this period drama and a misfit – sound like a piece adapted from some old Shanghai movies. There are some illogical moments, for example, the ninth prince was always turning up alone for dangerous investigations, and covering up for the rebel leader, which was essentially obstructing justice. And he was always lying to the emperor – although with good intent, it still made him a liar.
As I watched this drama right after ‘Goodbye my princess’, I could not help but draw a comparison, as both involved a marriage of prince and princess from different countries. The ninth prince in this drama was supportive of the princess and allowed her to make her choice, in sharp contrast to the fifth prince in ‘Goodbye..’, who forcibly kept the princess by his side regardless of whether she was willing. The two dramas were antithesis of each other, including how they ended. This drama leaves a warm cozy feeling which of course elevated my rating of it above ‘Goodbye my princess’ although the latter has a more interesting and convoluted story.
Finally, a title of ‘Love by Hypnosis’ may be more grammatically correct. Hypnotic is a drug to induce hypnosis or a person susceptible to hypnosis.
As a whole I enjoyed this drama a lot and would highly recommend it.
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