Reviews

青出于蓝 (Qīngchūyúlán) – Gaming The Teacher

I have mixed feelings about this drama. I enjoy the scheming parts, where everything is “shi, ye bu shi”(是,也不是), a phrase constantly used by the ingenious one. Anything can be true or not true, leaving an ambiguous connotation where the line is not clear cut. However, at times, I find his schemes not so brilliant but rather frustrating as they defy logic. I also find the romance taking up too much screen time, rushing the unfolding of the supposedly epic events that led up to the finale; many of those scenes are just by-passing in conversations.

For me, The Ingenious One is probably more appropriately called the King of Deception. Unlike the Mei Changsu character in “Nirvana in Fire” who is genuinely the ingenious one, Yun Xiang (Chen Xiao) schemes and deceives with no bottom line; he is more like an antagonist. Like Mei Changsu, Yun Xiang cannot fight but is brilliant in escaping, which is really funny to watch especially when he manages to run away from those great martial arts antagonists, causing them to scratch their heads. Both (Yun Xiang and Mei Changsu) have talented martial art friends/followers to hang around and protect them.

Similar sequence structure as most wuxia stories, Yun Xiang leaves his mountain where he has lived for 15 years and learned his craft, and then goes for a mission set down by his master. He takes the opportunity for an adventure in search of the ones responsible for the massacre of his entire village. He meets interesting people and makes friends that could be trusted and help him in his plots. He even falls quickly in love with a girl who is a brilliant martial art fighter but with a background he cannot find. While his newfound friends treat him sincerely, he uses them to achieve his own goals, usually causing huge damages to his friends only to be mitigated later through the completion of his schemes. He is the one who digs the hole, leads the plot and fills the hole later. He can stoop as low as he needs to achieve his goals.

The whole cast is well selected. Every character is being performed optimally and convincingly. Chen Xiao’s performance is great but he looks tired, and at times, his expressions confuse me. This is probably due to the Yun Xiang character being a complex one who is ambiguous, as he says, “shi, ye bu shi” (yes, or no).

Many viewers criticize Mao Xiaotong (plays Shu Yanan) mainly on how her face looks, puffy, bread face etc, which I feel totally irrelevant. She exudes a sharp charisma with good acting, and her chemistry with Chen Xiao appropriate. As a talented martial art fighter, she is believable with beautiful fight choreography, and her emotional turmoil shows clearly on her body language when she finds herself falling for a man she can’t love.

The other side characters and side couples are lovely. I regret the deaths of a couple of my favorite characters and wish they have not been written off just like that as their deaths are unnecessary. I have also enjoyed the official soundtracks. The ballads are melodious and memorable.

My Verdict

I love the subtle color palette of the drama with toned down garments and accessories. Though started as a wuxia in Jianghu story, it eventually leads to palace politics and power struggle. From the beginning until towards the end when such politics become apparent, viewers are only shown Yun Xiang’s mysterious master as an invisible character which is almost like that of the Wizard of Oz. The prolonged lovelorn suffered by Yun Xiang is rather boring because romance should not have been the focus in the first place. I also find the missed opportunity in the development of a potentially great character, Qian Rong (Huang Haibing), the housekeeper of the Su Family. The second half of the drama is less compelling and lacks luster compared to the first half as the logic becomes uncalled for. Imagine the mastermind spends 30 years scheming and controlling two powerful century-old organizations, 15 years cultivating his best disciple, only to have all these crumble within the last 30 minutes of the story. I am speechless. And by the way, where is the antagonist Nan Gong Fang (Ran Xu)?

Nonetheless, a rather fun watch for wuxia lovers! Recommended!

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This drama is good, you should watch it ;)

This drama is about revenge and romance.

Shin Bom and Choi Sihoon are dating, but their relationship is hidden. Shin Bom suspects that her boyfriend is cheating on her. With the help of Jung Maro, she finds out that she was correct. Her boyfriend is cheating on her with his ex-girlfriend named Yang Bora. She tried her best to get back her boyfriend by making him figure out who he likes more, but she always got disappointed. She decides to get revenge. Jung Maro helps Shim Bom to get revenge on Sihoon.

I think the story has a very good plot. I would rate the plot a 9.5/10 but I took a few points away because the music was louder than the dialogue. I couldn’t hear most things that were said by the actors and actresses because of the music.

The female lead has character development and becomes strong. She uses a very good strategy to get revenge and she is very straightforward. I like it best when the people communicate with each other to help. I think I agreed with every step she took to get revenge. The actors and actresses acted very well. You can feel the love-hate between the characters. I hope that Shin Bom would end up with Jung Maro. Hope you like the drama too :)

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We're here for romance, right?

Not sure why this drama gets so much hate from some people. Perhaps they expect Korean culture to be something its not? Perhaps they hold the Mi Rae character to unrealistic standards? There are a lot of comments saying its a 'damaging message' and the leads can't act etc. I can understand that response in some people, but I loved this drama, personally.

This drama starts off with an emotional bang; it's a little trite but everyone has gone through pain like Mi Rae (not maybe to the extent she has) growing up, and it hits home in a painful way. I found myself hooked and bawling after the first ep. It does such a good job of setting up the story, and the first half of the drama is good at showing the internal struggles of Mi Rae and the hateful things she endured as a teenager.

And I think this is where some people get lost. The issue is that the drama sells itself as a coming of age story about a girl who was bullied and is learning to love herself-- and yes it is totally that-- but ultimately at its core, the drama is a love story. And if you are going into it hoping that it will be a massive life-changing drama where the protagonist makes leaps and strides and grows as a person and says, 'eff society, eff beauty standards,' etc, you will be disappointed. It's not really that. I mean, it is powerful in its message, and it effectively saying that but not very directly. Yes it makes a comment on superficiality of people, and It's also about how personality trumps beauty... and characters do grow etc, but its not a massive feminist message. As for a strong female lead.... well, the lead is strong, but she is also a late bloomer and very beat down. She is incredibly stunted in the beginning and there are some 'damsel in distress' moments in this, especially in the first half of the drama, but these fade away as Mi Rae finds her courage. But if you hate damsel tropes, this is not for you, as there are many of them in this drama. There is also a lot of meek attitudes. However in the context of the society in which its taking place, the deference makes sense to me. There is a scene in the start where awful stuff is being said by seniors, and none of the freshmen speak up towards them--in the comments section of those episodes people were incredulous about this. I wasn't-- Cultural hierarchy is a big thing in Korea-- As an example, there was a tragic plane crash in Korea where the co-pilot couldnt stand up to the Captain because of this kind of cultural deference, despite the fact their lives were in peril. In that context, people not speaking up makes sense to me. Though they actually improve in this and many characters grow a backbone later on, I understand the initial hesitation. Not only are cultural and sexist roles at play, peer pressure is also a thing.

In fact, this drama benefits from people viewing it from the lens of Korean culture in general-- its not really trying to stand up against plastic surgery or anything like that. Like it or not, Korean culture is obsessed with beauty and plastic surgery-- its emphasized in the beginning where the mother and daughter walk through Gangnam station and there are massive ads for plastic surgery places everywhere. Furthermore, there are many many shameless moments of vanity by various people in the cast, not just the college going males who objectify the girls they go to school with, but even Mi Rae's mother who constantly comments on both her daughters beauty "Now she's pretty...." and the beauty of guys that like Mi Rae. This is definitely annoying, but it isn't addressed in the drama at all. I mean, why objectify men when Mi Rae herself has been judged so harsh? But in the end, it IS realistic. These are the way people view each other; it's not ok, though, and it is called out in some ways, but in the end, just like in society, objectification and judging of peoples appearances is just something you cannot eliminate. No matter what you look like you cannot escaped being judged.

So again if you want a strong feminist message, this isn't the drama for you. If you want a semi-realistic story about an incredibly insecure and stunted girl who falls in love for the first time and the cute moments that ensue because of that, then maybe check it out.

I personally enjoyed the story; though its not perfect and there are a lot of gaps in it. In the end they seem to cram a bunch of side stories to a close all at once and dont do a great job of resolving them, and there are major characters they stop using and/or only use when it suits them. This is disappointing because the cast is huge and the side characters are great; perhaps there are too many? There is a cute friend character in the beginning that you think will have a B story but halfway through you stop seeing here. All the 'B' stories kind of suck in my opinion; mostly because they don't really gain traction like they should and are executed badly. Again as I said at the beginning-- this is ultimately a love story, so in that context its understandable the other plots dont line up in a great way, but I would have liked a few solid B and C stories, honestly.

Moving on. I personally thought the acting was great; Im Soo Hyang shines as Mi Rae-- her character grows with her. At first it seems like she perhaps doesn't have much range, but I think this is intentional. Mi Rae's self esteem has been completely flattened, despite being feisty inside, and the drama does a good job of showing this. Someone said that Im Soo doesnt look like someone 'overly done' so that peoples judgments dont make sense, but I disagree. She (while still extremely pretty) does fit the ideal of a 'Gangnam Beauty' to me, and yes she looks a bit older, but in the context of the story it makes sense.

A lot of the comments criticize Cha Eun Wo's acting in this and I disagree heartily. Yes, his character is distant and wooden, but it is intentional. If you think that Cha Eun Wo can't act then you totally missed the point of Do Kyung Suk's character--he is a guy that has learned to repress all feelings and he is very direct and reactionary. The point is that he is also emotionally stunted-- despite being opposite ends of the spectrum looks wise to Mi Rae, they are actually very similar internally. His friend comments at one point that Kyung Suk has no friends as he never lets anyone in; that he is unapproachable and distant, and Cha Eun Wo does a great job showing that. His micro-expressions convey it all; especially at the beginning where he goes from blank to a flash of anger when a side character is being antagonistic towards him. His character is especially intense, and it is again, intentional-- you can tell by the fact the director gives the young versions of Kyung Suk the same blankness. Also, As Do Kyung Suk grows and such, he shows more and more emotion, and his aloofness fades somewhat.

If you take this purely as a squee-inducing love story then its a 10/10 though. This has some of the cutest moments (even if they are tropey) of any drama I've ever seen. Some bits are even cuter than my holy grail of dramas 'A Witch's Romance' -- that's the gold standard of love stories for me, haha. So this drama is really seriously cute. But the slow burn is incredibly slow, and almost painful, but worth it in my opinion. I didn't fast forward once, even though I was eagerly awaiting the cute parts. Moreover it makes sense-- these may be college students but they are shy broken and inexperienced people in various ways and it makes sense that their love will not all be immediate and smooth sailing. I also wanted more-- the chemistry is there between the leads, but they dont give it as much passion. Thats my only gripe with the love story. Its passion is hinted at only briefly, and I would have liked more.

Another niggling criticism for me, that there is not a lot of depth to anyone except Mi Rae-- you dont get into the thoughts and feelings of many of the other characters except a few. This makes it feel more like a shojo manga than anything, though it makes sense if it was based on a web toon. I would have liked more development in this area, personally. It makes everyone, especially the love interests to Mi Rae, seem kind of unreal. Even the TA character, who is extremely nice and personable, lacks depth sometimes. You know he's nice, but you dont know why or who he is really. Same with Kyung Suk; this lack of depth almost makes him feel like a mary sue sometimes.

Still, a cute drama, I recommend. I would love to see a sequel but I'm not sure how that would work, but I really did enjoy the world and the characters a lot. Check it out if you want an adorable romance between beautiful people.

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I CANT BELIEVE I WATCHED THE 3 MOVIES TO HAVE THIS ENDING

istg if i ever get a confirmation that haruto actually killed ruka I MEAN FOR WHAT LIKE PLEASE CMON THAT DOESNT MAKE ANY SENSE RUKA WAS THE ONLY ONE THAT UNDERSTOOD WHAT HARUTO'S BEEN THROUGH i just finished and for real im beyond dissapointed w this ending if it really is what i think it is because haruto and ruka had the perfect potential to be an amazing couple i am extremelly sad i now i have at least 15 different traumas after watching the trilogy.
i also would love to know what happens to seiya and yasaki in the future, if the boy who i forgot the name rn stays alive (seiya's "bf")
plus those two guys who kill ppl made a nice couple i actually liked them
anywayz that's it im traumatized and prob will think about these movies for a very long time and idk why i did this to myself

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Yes, it has 31 episodes, yes, it’s quite long, but well, IT’S WORTH IT.

Story: A romance drama which has a lot to offer than what you expected it to be. Believing and redeeming oneself, overcoming obstacles, trusting someone till the end, finding new love after heartaches, there’s more on it. I just loved how the story richly dealt on life’s lessons , it’s inspiring and heartwarming to watch. With a lot of best lines, indeed, the story was well- written. The flow of the story, though long was not dragging, there’s something you’ll want to watch for on the next episode. It’s a melodrama but it’s not too serious, it has its own laughable moments that kept me interested and enjoyed. The romance went well, it’s realistic and pulled my heartstrings, there are sweetest moments but at the same time not too cheesy, in my opinion, it’s rather, mature. I loved how the one I was rooting for from the start did win not only in achieving his goals but also in capturing the heart of the woman whose about to give up because of love. Since they finally got back together , the ending was really happy for me. Aside from that, the pairings I love eventually became couples as well!

Cast/ Acting : Just like the others in here, I initially watched for Park Shi Hoo and of course, I’m not disappointed. The acting was done quite good, I just love him and his smile, whenever he was sad, my heart went on him. Kim Nam Joo was awesome, I love her character in this. Her personality on her role was interesting to watch, and the mix of different emotions she portrays were really done well. Although KNJ was a bit older than PSH, they looked good together with obvious chemistry. The involvement of the supporting casts molded the story even more, no comments on their acting, they played well. I specifically loved Goo Young Shik’ s secretary, he’s the one who constantly entertains me., in simple ways, he can be funny, plus their bromance was cute!

Music: The songs tend to highlight the emotions portrayed by the characters, it’s touching and affects me much. There was a song there that when played, was heart-wrenching, I resist to cry though.

Rewatch Value: I'm not fond of rewatching dramas but it's rewatchable if you want a really heartwarming drama with rich storyline.

Overall: This is a romance melodrama that will give you mixed emotions , definitely worth the watch and a must –see for PSH lovers.

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''You get unlucky because you give your turn to others.''

In the due course of one night, two young people meet coincidently and their lives change forever.

An abused theme right?? Fate and whatever. But this drama special and though it presents some Utopian ideas and preaches hope, is well-done and worth the journey.

Park Bo Gyong (Lee Chung Ah) is spotted on a train wearing a wedding dress and red sneakers. The man who notices her is a webtoon cartoonist by the name of Jang Hee Sun (Kim Jin Woo). He gets inspired at the scene and decides to buy her story. Therefore he follows her and for one night they get entangled into each other's lives.

It's one hour of comic and serious themes presented simultaneously. You find yourself unable to completely laugh or get absorbed into the sad moment. There's more fun than serious and you'll get a good laugh. The acting of the two leads is truly good. This is my first time watching Kim Jin Woo as a cute and kind man and the surprise was pleasant. There's one shocking turn of events at the end and it's a good one.

The special tackles notions like fortune, luck, miscommunication in relationships, selfishness, cheating and fate. Will tomorrow be different or any better? Do people change?

''You can't take care of yourself but you help others that's why people think you're easy.''

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When i started watching this drama I was looking forward to a generic romance comedy drama and this is exactly what this is. It's not bad, it's not BRILLIANT, but it's decent. The story is relatively ordinary, though it did get me to laugh and feel sad in some occasions(otherwise i wouldn't watch), but it wasn't an amazing drama. That being said, I did like the Cast and their acting. The music was okay. As for rewatch value, like I always say, i'm not much of a rewatcher, especially for an ordinary drama like this. Overall, this drama gets a 7 from me. It's a drama that is perfect for extremely boring Saturday evenings.

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Unique & Cute Historical-Contemporary Romance Mix

The plot of this drama was quite unique to me and I gave it a try. The first few episodes were pretty interesting and funny, and I enjoyed watching more than I had expected. There are a number of funny scenes but they were not overly comedic. The storyline developed steadily for the first half of the drama with Zhu Xuan Wen's illness and his treatment by Luo Kai Huai. However, halfway through the drama (like episode 11-12), it started to focus more on the male lead's company power struggles more and there is a big reveal. There is also too much of a focus on the two supporting characters' love lines ( Luo Kai Huai's bro and Zhu Xuan Wen's secretary). I had to skip much of those parts because their stories were not as interesting. And, because the plot lost its focus, I skipped through much of the last half of the drama and only watched the main couple's scenes.

On the other hand, I really liked the loveline of Luo Kai Huai and Zhu Xuan Wen. I really felt their chemistry since they first met in the drama even though I did not really like the male lead at first. They're cute together but not in a too sweet/cringey way. The actor and actress playing them did a great job at these two roles. ALSO, I really love the OST of this drama. It always played at the right moment and added to the mood of the scene.

Overall, I would recommend it as a drama filler if you are waiting on some other ongoing dramas since it was still a pretty cute and interesting drama to watch. You may need to use 1.5x speed in the second half though.
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SPOILERS AHEAD
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Things I liked:
1. Main couple's loveline
2. THE OST!!
3. Unique storyline (first half at least) - it was refreshing to see a drama where it was a mix of historical and contemporary because the male lead has mental illness [although in the end it was all an act]. It was also fun to see their past lives being told during Luo Kai Huai's dreams.

Things I didn't like:
1. How their past lives story seemed to have been forgotten after half of the drama
2. How it turned cliche and they have a childhood connection which Luo Kai Huai has a trauma over
3. Too much focus on supporting characters' lovelines- they were boring to watch

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A flawed drama that somehow stole my heart

I don't know why, but I ended up loving this drama despite all its flaws.
It definitely had a lot of issues. Around episode 6, it started to get boring, but it got better later on i guess.

I think the characterization could've been much better and deeper. Sometimes the drama would show little details about a character's life, then suddenly move on to the main story and never bring those details up again. Because of that, sometimes i didn't understand why the characters felt or acted the way they did.

It also felt like the drama couldn't decide whether it wanted to be episodic or tell one continuous story. That made the pacing feel a bit off at times.

The acting was really good, but I feel like the characters weren't fully developed. It wasn't the actors' fault—it just felt like they weren't given enough to work with, so some characters still felt a little incomplete.

What made me enjoy this drama wasn't the writing. It was the cast, the relaxing vibe, the OSTs, and the character growth.

The character growth was easy to notice, and I liked that. I just wish it had happened a little earlier. The middle episodes spent too much time on side plots, which made the story drag.

Overall, I'll remember this as the kind of drama I watched when I wasn't in the mood for anything heavy. It was comforting, easy to watch, and somehow managed to make me feel better despite all its flaws.

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Finally! A drama where sincerity and goodness always triumph over bad intentions

Chun Cheu Bussaba's merging of romance and comedy against a backdrop of delicious Thai food scenes, resulted in a show that was a lot better than I expected. The show is filled with slapstick, clowning, and funny dialogue, which have time and again really hit the funny bone. At the same time, it had some poignant moments, addressing certain prejudices against older single women and societal perception of beauty.

This 'ugly duckling' version with a nice twist did not have Bussaba go through any significant makeover. In fact, I like how they styled Bee Namthip as Bussaba from the beginning. She looked normal, albeit a little unkempt and dowdy with her oversized clothing, but still pretty, especially when she smiled. I love how Bussaba improved her outer beauty naturally and realistically as she started to pay more attention, like using contacts and tidying up her hair. Most of all, I appreciate how Saran, the ML came to love her for her character, but he also noted that Bussaba's beauty was more subtle, less flashy than other women who wear a lot of makeup, high-heels, and fitting clothes.

My one complaint is that Bussaba, with her talent in cooking, did not seem to have a lot of ambition, especially when it came to being a top chef. Her lackluster desire to excel did not seem consistent with her image as the top student of a cooking master.

The best part of the show is how good I felt watching it. In most lakorns, the villains always seem to be ahead until the very last couple of episodes. Not in this show! To quote Bussaba's grandmother, "Divine spirits protect good people!". It is absolutely gratifying to see our FL triumph over not only one but two Nang Rais, simply by being true to herself. Her sincerity touched almost everyone and not surprisingly garnered their support without her even trying. Not only that, we have an ML who was not wishy-washy, unlike many P'eks, vacillating between his ex and the FL. The audience never had to stress about love triangles. While Saran may be uncertain about his feelings for Bussaba in the beginning, he was always clear about drawing the line with his ex. Likewise with Bussaba, while the second ML was a delicious tall drink of hotness and was in every way perfect for her, she never wavered once she developed feelings for Saran. What's refreshing is that the drama did not drag the plot out with misunderstandings. Any potential melodrama was resolved quickly, leading to a satisfying ending.

This rom-com has an older woman, a younger man theme, and Bee Namthip and Film Thanapat had great chemistry and were adorable together. Film was especially cute when he acted all flirty and charming, and Bee complemented him nicely. And the kisses were real and well-done, people! I felt embarrassed, like I was intruding on their privacy and, at the same time, impressed, wondering if the oozing sexiness was due to Bee being a seasoned actress and therefore less inhibited. I thought that both actors emoted well, and Film, especially with his micro-expressions, did a great job. One can tell when Saran was thinking naughty thoughts (although it could just be me, projecting what I want them to do - hehe!)

To be honest, I would not have minded if Bussaba ended up with Dr. Kim as long as Saran also had a happy ending. Utt Uttsada Panichkul is so swoon-worthy and was perfect as the suave, more experienced gentleman who courted Bussaba so gently and patiently. Even when he decided not to be a gentleman and instead be a man who went after what his heart desired, he did it with such dignity that a part of me could not help but root for him. Let's just say that I was 55% Team Saran and 45% Team Dr. Kim. I would really like to see Utt and Bee as the lead couple in another show. The cast overall did a fabulous job, with Bussaba's trio of female relatives who totally earned my respect and admiration as the best family ever!

The music served its purpose, softly playing in the background and enhancing the mood. There were a couple of songs that were pleasant but generally not that memorable.

Re-watch value is high, considering that this is the second time I have watched this series, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a feel-good rom-com that conveys messages of karma and the value of knowing one's self-worth.

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You will never feel the same way about Peaches after this drama (in a negative, cringey way)

“Peach Lover” is best enjoyed if you are watching at 1.25-1.5x speed. Otherwise, you will be bored to death. I realized this after a few episodes during a watch party when all we did was complain about the slowness of the drama, not just the plot moving slowly, but also people talking slowly, pausing between sentences and taking forever to finish that one sentence.

“Peach Lover” actually could have been a decent drama, if the execution is done right. It has a provocative angle via the lens of porn stars, with two individuals who carry their own baggage, and a story to tell how they are made for each other. Unfortunately, the screen time distribution between these elements is too uneven. We have so many episodes of just the two main leads hanging out at home, looking pretty, kissing, flirting, having sex, cooking and eating, and barely leaving the house. Then we spend maybe 0.5 episode on Po’s family drama, and a quarter of an episode on Sasom’s former peach lover drama, and then maybe one-eighth of an episode on talking about the porn video that may or may not happen by the end of the series.

Because the director is also the director of “Playboyy”, I was expecting a lot more out of the sex scenes. The expectations were high when you are talking about porn stars here. No matter how good the kisses are (and they are good), how good the chemistry is (and it’s good), the sex scenes did not live up to the expectation because it’s always cut short when it could have been daring. I was expecting the level of spice and explicitness to be the same level of what Korn and Tonkla showed me in “4 Minutes” or what Krailert and Naran showed me in “Shine”, or those in “Playboyy”. Am I unfair to expect this spice level? Fine, I admit I’m perverted. LOL Ok, finally saw something worthwhile in episode 7 but still….

Additionally, if you are a lover of the fruit, peach, you might never view it the same way again. The level of peachy preachiness in this drama is amazing. “Peach Lover” bombarded us with AI pictures, and then fed us with a whole bunch of peach analogy to compare it to romance and relationship. I am sorry, it’s just cringe to me. Maybe I could tolerate the analogy better if it’s not through AI art, or in such a preachy way.

That secondary couple? Horrible acting! What is the point of their story again? A bodyguard that doesn’t really do much and has the time to go flirt with his boyfriend. Their storyline is such an afterthought. You could totally cut them out of the drama and you would not even notice. There’s so much filler of nothingness in the drama that there’s plenty of time to develop these two characters and give them a proper romance.

Let me end on a positive note. Ki and Poom were given a horrible script, but they did the best that they could. They really do have great chemistry together. Their flirting is fun and the kisses are really good. Their bed scenes are shot beautifully and they gave it their all to make it believable. This is Ki’s second drama and first main role, and he did fine. Is it only me, or does Ki look like a mini Pop V from “Love Destiny”? Despite the slowness in Poom’s speech, his acting is good. I just don’t understand why the director make him utter his words and pause between sentences, instead of speaking like a normal human being. These two actors are definitely the best part of “Peach Lover”. Oh, they also look great together and have nice bodies and abs, which make many of their topless intimate scenes very enjoyable.

Unless you are in a mood to hate-watch and trash talk a drama, I would not recommend “Peach Lover”. This is a great watch party drama if you want to laugh with your friends about how ridiculous this is. I wish Ki and Poom would come together for another project with a better script. My 6.0 rating is for them, and the fun I had when hate-watching while laughing with my friends. Don't forget to watch in 1.25 or 1.5x speed.



Completed: 3/24/2026 Review #677

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the cliff took the wrong victims, it should have been the writers of the second half

it's rare that a show appears to give such clear insight into behind-the-scenes drama but if you told me the same writers wrote the story before and after both character and show fell off a cliff halfway through, I wouldn't believe you.

first half was a moderately entertaining, somewhat formulaic historical drama with all the lost child, palace abuse, ridiculous CGI wolves, and contrived finding oneself in bed with the enemy tropes that your heart desires.

second half was like one of those meals made with leftovers from the fridge, only the chef has no sense of smell or taste and their glasses are steamed up so they don't see too well either. it's a mess, with things that might have been edible if they hadn't been cooked all together with stuff with a best-before date of 2016.

highlights were the flawless Liu Lingzi, whose tightly controlled Meng Zhenzhen deserves far more praise and a far better drama for her skills; Liu Xueyi's peerless cheekbones and always solid grasp of his characters; Gao Han's crying; many of the sidekicks; Meng Huaijin and the weird cousin relationship; and being amused by how many viewers thought the 3rd and 4th prince were the same person. the OST is delicious by itself and Reno Wang's outro track has found a permanent place in my Cdramas playlist.

the lowlights are too numerous to mention and ultimately all of these efforts were overshadowed by a storyline lacking any type of integrity.

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...can they be ever reunited?

the question is simple but the answer is heartbreaking, the truth is harder than expected...

moving story about an actual case that never been resolved...the movie is based on a true case which makes the story even more painful to watch in addition the victims were only young and innocent boys

the movie represents well the family bonds between parents and their children, the hope to find the lost ones, the desperate state the parents are in, the opinion of the outside world, etc etc
it also represents well of what hardship this case brought to the different people that are involved in it

the actors did a great job throughout the movie... you could feel the emotions so sincerely and also could imagine the parents' state during that time very well
the characters were well portrayed and the story was well set out

IMPORTANT NOTE: the movie has some fictional scene in it around the ending (don't want to spoil it)
if you are interested about the case you can always google 'frog boys' / or even '1991 Deagu case'
there was another movie made in 1992 as well called 'come back, frog boys'

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