The only errors here are the limitations of the budget and unwillingness to leave a college setting.
South Korea has been bombarding the 2022 marketplace with BL's. Like the Philippines last year, it seems everyone is starting to salivate over the dollars that can be made in the genre. However with the bombardment, we are getting a large serving of subpar, stilted, or simply archaic stories. Unbalanced acting, truly thin skimpy budgets, and forgettable series are starting to fill up the South Korean landscape. Soon, and honestly already beginning, BL (and LGBTQ+) audiences will have to separate the good, the bad, and the just plain ugly like you already must for Thai (or the aforementioned Philippines) for shows worth watching.Luckily, Semantic Error, is not litter upon this landscape, and is something filled with genuine attraction, development, and pulse. It delivers bona-fied episodes of 20 minutes or more making it feel like an actual show and not simply a chopped up movie. Yet unfortunately, it still scrapes the bottom of the budget barrel. But, like many lower budget endeavors with strong players at the helm, it uses its budget effectively and for the most part you will forgive (and even forget) the cost cutting finish. The cinematography is cool with realistic tones of winter pallets. The world feels honest and tangible. The characters come off as true people and not just dolls here to tell a saccharine love story. Thus, the strengths begin to far outweigh the shortcomings.
One of these shortcomings is the stale setting and even staler story. This is an enemies to lovers tale unabashedly and it is, of course, set in college (at least it is not another High School series). While, it tries to be more modern and fresh with the main cast being digital designers and computer programmers (Not ya know, the forever Thai Engineers and Doctors) it still succumbs to the cool kids versus nerd trope which gives us our set-up. Luckily, the story moves adeptly through this repeatedly tread ground and doesn't waste time or draw plot points out needlessly.
The characters, and the casting of those characters, are what make this series shine. Park Jae Chan as our main lead Chu Sang Woo is an endearingly stubborn rule stickler with compulsive "robotic" tendencies. While the show never mentions anything psychologically or developmentally, you get the feeling that Sang Woo may be on the spectrum, though severely highly functional. Park Jae Chan is shockingly worm and funny in this role, even while the story makes him an unforgiving, friendless, developer savant. He is unquestioningly attractive with some of the pout-iest lips you have ever come across, and a face that is strangely expressive, it is all in the eyes, while remaining very stoic. You will become attached to him and root for him easily.
Park Seo Ham as our other main lead Jang Jae Young is a more stock bad-boy rebel artist designed character. The cool kid that gets all the girls, he is revered by everyone he meets and has swagger for days. Jan Jae is of course the bully of the pairing that ignites the back and forth of the enemies to lovers plot. Yet, Park Seo Ham does a great job at bringing a light-heartedness to this character and quickly, not to mention easily, makes our Jae Young cuddly, likable, and funny. Seo Ham is very much more of South Korean archetype beauty. Tall, pale, high cheek boned, strawberry shaped face, fit, and fashionable he is a literal check-marked boxes of perfect leading man design. Luckily, he never comes off arrogant (something that seems many times used as an actual attractive quality to my disdain). He is the one that starts to recognize his burgeoning feelings first and watching him move through his understanding of who and what he wants is quite a lot of fun indeed.
When the leads are with each other, playing off each other, and building the relationship on screen it is enrapturing. There is a current that runs between them and it intensifies throughout the story as their relationship grows. It is, perhaps, the strongest entry South Korea has given us since 2021's To My Star in the world of displaying a sense of true want and attraction between the leads. There is never a moment where the cast seems not to want to be here, or to hesitate and hold back from what they are portraying. Everyone really seems to have come here to give us a story of two guys falling for each other, and everyone seems both fully willing and happy to do so. This is undeniably refreshing to watch and fun to wade through. Butterflies will blossom in your belly as you watch these two spark with each other. As for the kissing, I dare say this entry maybe posses the strongest South Korean has to offer in the current BLs they are delivering. This isn't the cardboard empty uneasy to watch kisses you find in Color Rush or My Sweet Dear, nor is it a one and done affair tacked on at the very last moment like Were Your Eyes Linger or Light on Me. Again, like To My Star, the kissing happens very naturally and a multitude of times, though I will say Semantic Error brings a bit more heat and passion than the former.
This is a prime example of what can be given even if in a tired cliched setting and story. It is thoroughly enjoyably, highly re-watchable, well acted and yes even sexy making you honestly not really care that you've done this story to death, because for some reason, this time it feels fresh and new.
9 = A, 4 1/2-Stars. Strong in all aspects, Best of the Bunch and worth your time.
Now if South Korea would just take this as an example, plop it into a more original base story, get it fully funded like straight romances, and churned up to hour long 16 episode orders, then we could knock it up to perfection.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
WOW! That was all I was thinking for the last few episodes with my mouth hanging open. I feel like every few months I stumble upon an awesome Japanese mystery/thriller that reminds me why i love this genre so much!Story: Refreshing new twist to an old plot line-a female villain?! Its usually a crazy male who is playing cat-and-mouse with the police and takes an interest in the lead during the investigation. In Siren, its completely reversed-its BECAUSE of the interest the villain (Kara Tachibana) takes in Yuki that the cat-and-mouse game begins. And boy what a game it is! But don't take anything at face-value because the ending will leave you scratching your head and surprised at where all of the twists lead you!
Acting/Cast: Perfection! Let's be honest, without a good charismatic villain manipulating everything behind the scenes series in this genre would not be worth the watch. And Nanao as Kara Tachibana delivers crazy flawlessly (so much its scary!) I can't see any other actress pulling this role off as well as she did. As a matter of fact, there are other times and in flashbacks (which I won't speak of so as not to reveal any spoilers) when she is portrayed by another actress, but it falls short in comparison. And Matsuzaka Tori as Satomi was the perfect lead to play off of. Watching the two fight over Yuki for 9 episodes was a real chess match!
Music: Don't look for an OST that you can sing along to, but the instrumental build up to some of the more shocking moments were well-placed, and the comedic moments were cute and well timed.
Rewatch Value: A must. Especially the last few episodes when everything comes together and is being explained. I like to think of myself as a somewhat smart person, but I had to go back more than once to make sure I was following along without getting confused. Because the 'big reveal' at the end needs time to sink in and understand....And I'm still not quite sure I've got it all right!!
Overall: Highly recommended to ANYONE! Its got the romance, thriller, mystery, action and so much more.
Was this review helpful to you?
Not a show you regret watching, but…
You can also just watch a compilation of the best scenes on youtube and get a similar experience. Honestly speaking, I watched it for the enjoyment of flirting between Juns, and not the actual plot.That’s honestly what the show has to offer - really enjoyable moments with great chemistry. It’s such an unrealistic fanfic scenario with unrealistic casting, but you can still enjoy it, because Choi Jun just delivers with each and every pick up line and obvious flirting.
I don’t really have much to say about the plot, because it does not really exist. Rookie interns doing their rookie work unrealistically well, while one of them gets into a situationship with the team leader. Nothing makes sense, but no one watches it with their brain sharp and focused.
The acting was decent. During the romance scenes the cast did great, some more daily life moments felt awkward.
Overall, I really liked the first two episodes, but later I just needed more than just great chemistry during some scenes to truly keep my interest.
Was this review helpful to you?
Boyhood takes you on a nostalgic trip to the 1980s, unraveling the lives of students at an agricultural high school in Chungcheong Province. Jang Byung Tae, a small and seemingly powerless kid, decides to change his luck by switching to Buyeo Agricultural High School. The top-notch cast, led by Jang Byung Tae, delivers performances that hit you right in the feels. The drama unfolds with unexpected turns, and a pivotal incident becomes a game-changer for our protagonist. For me, Boyhood is like a comfy blanket, weaving a narrative that feels familiar and comforting. The cast's stellar performances and engaging cameos add depth to the storyline. While I might have imagined a different ending, the finale, albeit a tad rushed, was still well-executed and made sense. Boyhood is a heartwarming journey that resonates with anyone who appreciates relatable stories and a bit of '80s flair.
Was this review helpful to you?
Hwang Jin Yi herself (excellently portrayed by Ha Ji Won) is a legend and a difficult character to center a drama around because she's so enigmatic. The show handles this by making her almost otherworldly, the epitome of beauty, grace, and intelligence whose passion for dance eclipses everything else in her life. However (or perhaps because of this), there was too much of a focus on the supporting characters - love interests especially - and how they were affected by Hwang Jin Yi, often putting her on the sidelines. As the series progressed and she became more guarded, the emotional weight of the story shifted to them as well. Instead of Hwang Jin Yi being the subject of the drama, she was the object.
Nonetheless, although the show had a tendency to be over-dramatic towards the end, it has great commentary on art (painting, music, and dance) and the life of gisaengs. If you are interested in these, then this is the perfect drama for you.
Was this review helpful to you?
2Recipe: Loveable characters, relatable stories and heartwarming messages.
20+ minutes long episodes that leave you with hours of reflections and open you up to perspectives you might have never thought about.What the drama does great is showing the variety of issues people who are hard of hearing might have. They are not monolit group - depending on their personal experience, personalities, social circles, environment, they might deal with different hardships. And that’s when communication enters the chat! One of the clear messages of the drama was to speak up - whenever you need something, do not understand something, are curious about something, dislike or like something.
While the hearing disability was obviously on the forefront of the story, the plot was not limited to that. The writing was not stuck in the bubble of presenting the struggles of the minority - for me the writing was clear in showing that even though they have their own unique problems, they also face mundane issues and daily hiccups like any other person. There is far more that we share, than what differs us.
And that’s where the two mail leads shine - Kohei and Taichi obviously shared the same world, and they made an effort to stay connected. Kohei did not blame Taichi for mistakes he made that were the result of his lack of knowledge. Taichi was trying to see the world from Kohei's perspective and understand potential hardships that he himself never had to deal with on a daily basis. It was such a heartwarming story of two people fitting so naturally together, but also working hard to improve their understanding of the other’s point of view.
Even though their connection was clearly deep and obvious for anyone that was watching, it’s hard to call this drama a romance. At some point the writing focuses a little bit too much on Taichi and his personal journey of self discovery, making Kohei seem more like a supporting character in his own story. I’m not sure how I feel about drama that centers around representation sidelining the character that is the key to said representation.
As for the supporting characters - Taichi's friends were amazing. They’ve got exactly as much screen time as needed for me to see them as real people with distinctive personalities and not just fillers for the screen, but I never felt like we are wasting time on them. But then, I do feel like Maya’s story could have been improved. On one hand (this might sound weird), I truly appreciate how they were not afraid to show her as a complete egocentric asshole who is unable to see anything outside of her own perspective, because yes, people with disabilities also have personality flaws. On the other hand, I think they spent too much time on her “annoying phase” and the flashbacks, explanation and development happened way too late.
Performances though - so good. Nakazawa Motoki aced the surprise and amazement every time he looked at Taichi. Kobayashi Toranosuke perfectly presented how bad at hiding his feeling Taichi was, but also how he failed to understand his own emotions, while also understanding others.
On technical aspects, I am still mad about the “fake kiss” camera angle. I do not care how accurate it was for adaptation - some things that work on a still drawing will not on a moving film. You need to adjust to the media you are using.
Overall, with flaws, yet great drama. It’s for sure more than romance, I’d even say romance takes a backseat for the majority of the runtime and I’m not mad about it. Adding one or two episodes to give a bit more fulfilling closure to the relationship the boys had would be preferable, but even with a bit rushed ending, I’m just happy with the journey I’ve got to experience.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
A bit chaotic (Spoiler alert!)
I am a foreigner who lives in Thailand for some time and I went to the movie theater to watch this movie. Thai media have been talking about it for a while and I was curious to see what Naruebet Kuno (the same director of I Told Sunset About You - ITSAY) was going to do here.I can say I have mixed feelings about the overall result. Kuno is still very good in cinematography. The photography in this movie is so pretty and eye catching as in ITSAY, but we have here the same problem we had in ITSAY also: it is a bit overdramatic in some points. Don't get me wrong, I really like ITSAY, but I have the feeling that episode 4, for example, was a bit too much in terms of emotions. The same thing happens in Paradise of Thorns. The first 2/3 parts of the movie are more balanced, but the last 1/3 looks like somehow a stereotyped Latin American Soap Opera.
It is important to say that the story doesn't talk much about the inequality brought by the lack of recognition of gay rights by the State. This is not an LGBTQIA+ agenda movie (which is not necessarily bad). This topic is just a starting point for the main issue: The fight between the characters for possession of the lands where the Durians are planted. Basically, all the characters are pretty f*cked up and they see the Durians as their gold ticket. The cast is pretty convincing, specially the four main actors and actresses: Jeff Satur, Engfa Waraha, Harit Buayoi and Seeda Puapimon.
Thongkham (Jeff Satur) and Mo (Engfa Waraha) are the main rivals, as they dispute the preference of Saeng, the new owner of the land after her son's death. Saeng is a greedy and arrogant old woman who likes to see Thongkham and Mo humiliate themselves to please her, while Jingna (Harit) is the handsome Mo's brother who comes to work in the farm and falls in love with Thongkham. Jingna and Thongkham's relationship is sweet and charming, but not that well developed. This is probably one of the problems in the movie, although it didn't bother me that much. Some people also might think that the "greedy topic" is not so developed also. I would agree. What is this movie about? Love? Greedy? Selfishness? Rivalry? A love triangle? Maybe a bit of all of this? Well, when you try to put so many things together, maybe you might fail to develop so many topics at the same time. This might have happened here.
The rivalry between Mo and Thongkham grows to the point where they commit atrocities. Mo kills Saeng and makes the old woman sign a declaration before she dies, transferring the land to her name. Mo tries to expel Thongkham from her new possession, but he reacts and tries to r4pe her. The scene is full of screams and violence. Like a real Mexican soap opera! When the two are about to resolve their problems, Mo's new husband appears and tries to kill Thongkham, who is saved by his boyfriend, Jingna. In the middle of this confusing fight scene, Jingna ends up being killed too. With that, Thongkham loses the second love of his life. Tragic as a Greek tragedy!
My biggest disappointment with the film was not that it ended with the death of a beloved character (Jingna was perhaps the only character with any integrity in this whole story), but the fact that it was a very cliché ending. Before the husband showed up and tried to kill Thongkham, the first thing I thought was: "I hope they don't end the film with the husband showing up and killing someone." Well, that's exactly what happened. I thought it was an uncreative ending. More of the same.
Paradoxically, I still enjoyed watching the film. I should have hated it, but I didn't. The thing is: this movie makes you get the feeling that you're watching something with flaws here and there, but when you put it all together, the end result still pleases you in a strange way. At least that's what I'm feeling now, two days after seeing the film. My advice is that you watch it and draw your own conclusions.
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
Probably what I loved the most about this film is that nothing really extraordinary happens, nothing extremely dramatic, unexpected or overwhelming; the film is not trying to capture your attention by doing anything movie- hollywood- like with the story (if you know what I mean)... What I'm trying to say is that this is just real life, to be more accurate the life of only one person displayed on the screen and is not a crazy, exciting, or amazing life. Yoon's life is nothing else but ordinary and (in my case) very relatable.
The plot is simple, the focus is not romance and the center of the story is Yoon and his thoughts. Even the way the movie was filmed was simple, it felt like there was someone just holding a camera and filming Yoon daily, not an entire production team living inside of Yoon's apartment. In spite of that it never felt mediocre or low budget, no, not at all.
I think the acting was really good, the actor who played Yoon succeed at portraying this typical young man that struggles to balance work, and life.
I will probably rewatch this soon, this is the kind of films that I like the most, Easy to watch but still really good, with great quality,and with a script that feels like reading a book; that's why I gave this a perfect rate.
Was this review helpful to you?
The only real complaint I have with this drama is the music got a bit repetive, but otherwise I loved this drama through and through. This is a must watch drama and I highly recommend it.
Was this review helpful to you?
The actors/actresses all did a WONDERFUL job and the actor who played the main radio host was perfect for his character. I loved the cinematography and the many scenes where you viewed above the city during day and night were gorgeous. I really enjoyed the music composed for this film and every track fit each scene wonderfully.
The film does really well with showing you the struggles and personalities of all the characters involved and was more realistic with outcome. It's less of a rom-com that feeds you an unoriginal fairy tale romance and more of a modern day take on the ups & downs of the relationships you experience in life.
It was funny.
It was lovely.
It was quirky.
It was heartbreaking.
And it shows you that sometimes things work out, while other times they don't.
I wasn't bored once.
(Also, Yang Yang is adoooraaaable)
GOOD MOVIE!
Was this review helpful to you?
"My Tommorow, Your Yesterday."
Watching Chinese dramas for a couple of years finally makes you realize what exactly is wrong with the plethora of them released every month: there is little to no uniqueness in many of their productions or even if it did hold up for a while, they somehow manage to make me lose interest halfway through.For a country that is far behind when it comes to changing their game or shying away from neat finales, An Ancient Love Song satisfies all that I wanted: a no-nonsense story that sticks to its logic to the very end.
So, if you are looking for some regular, well paced drama with sweet fluff, this one might not be for you. "Reverse timelime" is quite serious. Meaning you know the ending before it even began.
An Ancient Love Song reminded me strongly of the Japanese movie, "Tomorrow, I Will Date Yesterday's You." Or the alternate title which is the same as my review's.
Both of them deal with the concept of reverse timelines, although, AALS is anchored to a plot with an objective: fighting your destiny.
Shen Bu Yan, a professor/writer, has released a hit novel he had written based on the few evidences and relics left behind regarding the "Kingdom of Sheng". Unfortunately, when he is pressured to write a sequel about the leading character, an obscure Demon Queen who plundered the Kingdom to ruins, inspite of lack of further information, he hits a dead end. While pondering about the future of his tale, he dreams of the so called Demon Queen and finds that he has time travelled to the past.
Whats more? Lu Yuan, the Demon Queen herself seems to be waiting for him.
While trying to piece together the truth of the events, Shen Buyan discovers that he plays a far greater role in determining Lu Yuan's fate… and that he was stuck in a reverse timeline. He decides to attempt to change destiny.
☆ The Story/Characters/Acting:
I have to mention, I felt that the writers messed up the timeline a bit: it's stated that he meets Lu Yuan after every 10 years into her past. Meaning that there is no way he could've met her at 21 and then at 18 again.
The run time of almost 25 to 30 minutes per episode was well utilized. The story did not stray away from the main leads and their missions.
Setting this aside, the story has a solid plot with strong characters, albeit not having many of them.
Lu Yuan is definitely the star of the show: Zhang Ya Qin manages to portray every single emotion convincingly. From the naive 18 - year - old to the 36 - year - old Empress, she did not falter. The scenes were she grieved for the dead were particularly striking.
Her character was a person of her own, intelligent, powerful and sharp.
Although Shen Bu Yan falls on the silent side of the crowd, I liked him as a person. Though, I would like to know who chose his wig in ancient times - he reminded me of the second senior in Love and Redemption.
The romance was just pure. [I can't find the right words to describe what I felt.] It's not overly passionate, but sincere and gentle. The time reversal does leave us with an unpleasant feeling once we lay down everything from both the leads' point of view, but it is this very feeling that makes the couple one who are not easily forgettable. If you have seen 'My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday', you might get a feeling of deja vu at times.
The secondary couple had little time onscreen, but even the focus on them did not appear annoying.
The supporting cast were strong enough to appear believable and invoke emotions to varying degrees.
In a way, all the characters were tragic in their own right. Though, I found the portrayal of Prime Minister Li Yong's pivotal moments lacking. The time skip of 10 years into the past left several voids in the storytelling -- we are 'told', but never shown how things came to be. One another downside of seeing the story through Shen Bu Yuan's eye's.
☆ Soundtrack/Visuals:
After seeing some flamboyant dramas such as Till the end of the Moon, AALS doesn't have much. But, it did not really matter to me as the story was the one that had me hooked. The OST was plain simple. And the title An Ancient Love Song did not even strike until the end of the series.
Kudos to the bilibili video editor who is the reason why this drama exists. I hope other studios are inspired by this and start making content with quality and not quantity.
All in all, I will recommend this to anyone who seek something unique, romantic yet unfluffy, frustrating yet logical, and entertaining, yet emotional tale of love, loyalty and loss.
Was this review helpful to you?
Bai Lu’s Xi LiangChen is very endearing, so very much more so than she was in Legends. Being a woman who has gone through boot camp myself, I could certainly relate to this character, even if we don’t have to pretend to be boys. She expresses the difficulty, determination, and feeling of accomplishment very well.
Xu Kai was perfect for Gu YanZhen. I can imagine his career skyrocketed after this. He was able to go from playboy jerk to valiant young man without ever once annoying me. Which is rare. Is he ever not adorable? Ok that may be annoying just a little bit.
The chemistry between the main leads is uh-may-zing. Like, so crazy intense that you just watch kind of hypnotized by it like a snake with the charmer’s weaving. I think my eyes may have gotten dry from not blinking when those two would start up. And it makes you laugh so hard at times during this show while they’re working their relationship out. Brilliant writing there.
It was really Toby Lee that had me cheering for him though. It may be my tendency to root for the underdog or my preference for the still-water-that-runs-deep personality, but he was the quietly complex and noble Shen Junshan in in a way that had me looking forward to seeing him every time.
The supporting cast was spectacular. IT was SO SO NICE to see Hong Yao play a good person. I’m so used to seeing him in villain roles that I was already cringing to see what he was going to do this time, and I have to admit it made me enjoy his Shen TingBai just a little bit more when I came to realize that hey, he’s pretty freaking amazing. To the point where I wanted to poke Wu Jiayi’s otherwise fun ManTing in the head for the way she treated him. Why do we as girls perpetually go after the ones we shouldn’t and develop blinders to the ones we should be seeing? At any rate he was kind of my hero as well in this. Which is probably going to really mess with my head the next time I see him as a bad guy. Le sigh.
I will say that I absolutely was beguiled by the under-story of Guo ShuTing and Huo XiaoYu. It added complexity to the show that couldn’t have been achieved if it had revolved entirely around the younger set. Both actors did amazingly in their roles as well.
There were some silly parts- that crazy and slightly weird fireworks party that YanZhen threw for LiangChen that had me cringing a bit. But…. That everyone there just rolled their eyes instead of instantly manning an anti-gay revolt was refreshing. Yay.
Overall it wasn’t profoundly deep or anything but it was fun, engaging, at times riveting, and definitely something I would watch again in the future. The OST was pretty good too, and suited the drama well. Watch it.
Was this review helpful to you?
I was drawn to this drama because somehow it is like watching a long movie with a nice going “poetry feel” to it. There are no villains and scheming plots, just passionate characters put into situations wherein they have had to make difficult choices and therefore go through one consequence after another.
It was hard not to empathize with each of the main characters because they were very well molded and also played well by the actors/actresses. I find that their actions and reactions to the circumstances are well justified by their characters. Although some have gone to the extremes, I still think they are within reason as they were moved by overwhelming emotions.
Jeong Ryewon is such a great actress here, the cute scenes were cute and the emotionally pulling scenes were solid. Oh Jiho’s crying parts though not yet his best in this drama weren't as bad as to ruin one's viewing pleasure.. (perhaps his good looks is enough compensation =))
I hope more viewers take time to watch this drama. I’m writing this review after a second re-watch. If you are up to some seriously thought provoking moments on love, this drama is sure worth your time immersing in.
Was this review helpful to you?
So at first, you're presented to a homemade film of two homosexual lovers spending their day at a motel for their fifth anniversary. Honestly, I didn't expect it to be much or make me feel as emotional as I felt by the end of the video. It got me smiling and laughing with them then crying with them.
The acting was great. I was really impressed. The way the movie was filmed and the actors' acting skills made it look so authentic and realistic it just makes you easily sucked into the story and the emotions that are conveyed through the script. It felt as if someone took a camera and filmed one day in their lives, not a movie.
There were some a bit of graphic scenes but it wasn't overdone -- overall it was balanced without showing too much sexual content which I found more suiting to the film than anything else. Nothing major though, didn't bother the movie.
Finally, I recommend everyone who doesn't mind homosexual romance to watch this. You'll absolutely enjoy it!
Was this review helpful to you?
