Reviews

I'm sorry, but I need to like SOMEONE in the show

Maybe I was watching a different show than everyone else, maybe I was in a bad frame of mind, or maybe I just didn't get it, but this show irritated me no end. It was full of unlikeable characters, especially the FL. She was self-centered, self-absorbed, and every other "self" word that you could come up with. This is someone that wouldn't have any friends, because she can't think of anyone other than herself. There was a lot of name-calling, and overall, the relationship between the FL and ML was just toxic. Break up, make up, repeat ad nauseum. Then, at the end, when he is baring his soul to her, she continues to nag him. I just wanted to tell him to run away while he could.

I did like the music though.

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I really wanted to write a review as soon as the series had ended. Since spoilers are not tolerated in a review, I decided to do a pro/contra list in the comment section containing spoilers because there were concrete things that bothered me a lot and I needed to get them off my chest.

I started watching Hwarang because it is a historical drama and I was interested in the story. I am not an expert when it comes to history, my knowledge on Korean history is particularly poor, and so I read some articles on Silla/Hwarang to be prepared a bit. Of course you have to keep the fact in mind that this is a drama, thus fiction. Some things had to be dropped for sure, and some things had to be (re-)invented to create this drama. I’m saying this because I do not want you to have extremely high expectations on this show being historically accurate. It is not. Personally I did not mind, it wasn't TOO bad for me. I will not compare real historical events with this drama in the next lines for several reasons; instead, I will provide summarized impressions of mine and tell you about the things I liked and disliked.

First of all, what _is_ “Hwarang” in my eyes? It is a historical drama mixed with modern elements, comedy, and romance; action, silliness und suspense included. It is partially somewhat of a high school drama embedded in an earlier century I would say, because you will recognize some types and things related to school dramas for sure. The supporting characters are likeable and enjoyable; I wished some of them were more vivid.

At first I was slightly addicted to this show, and I even stopped watching other dramas because I wanted to concentrate on “Hwarang”. The cliffhangers made me wanting to go on with the next episodes badly, Sun Woo was cool, and so were Ah Ro, Ji Dwi and the supporting characters. I was interested in Sun Woo’s development, but I fell for Ji Dwi very soon, and at some point, I was mostly interested in his fate because I started to see the major flaws. My addiction disappeared, but it still was enjoyable.

I had the feeling the makers were not sure on which aspect they should focus on more: The lives of Hwarang and their impact on society, that one love story going on, political stuff in general, Sun Woo’s story or on Park Hyung Sik’s role. I am perfectly aware of the fact that, usually, a story has several plots being connected to each other at some point. I liked nearly all the plots within this series and nearly all of the characters involved, but the plots are unbalanced. I would not go so far as to claim the first episodes not being important or to count them as dispensable fillers, because that is not what they are at all, but at some point, so many significant things happen one after another that all previous events become blurry. Besides, the characters are not given time to reflect on certain things properly, at some point stuff is thrown at you in raw form piece by piece; sometimes it did not make any sense to me. Instead of 20 episodes, the makers should have either made 15 or 30 episodes to avoid a very slow first half being followed by a very fast-paced second half. As it stands, the relationship between fast and slow is deeply unbalanced and harder to digest.

The thing that annoyed me the most is the main couple. It is hard to explain without posting spoilers, it really is. I did not feel it, maybe you will, I don’t know. They would have been off better as separated individuals and not as a couple because the developers wasted too much time on them instead moving on with things that I considered more important.

I liked the equivalences and symbolism. You will stumble upon analogous and opposite equivalences between human beings, humans and things, humans and forces of nature. To me, these things along with symbolism are important because you expand the meaning to create a huge substantial net without organizing a verbal orgy. The “meaning of something” is relevant to this drama. Two other things I liked are the writers’ ability to generate deep, emotional scenes and character development. Unfortunately, all of this has to face neglect soon; equivalences and relationships are created and then thrown overboard; adequate character development is avaliable in small amounts only. Ji Dwi and Ban Ryu’s progression were the only ones to be witnessed visibly.

I would divide this series into two parts, part A and part B. In part A you get to learn the characters, their relationship among each other and their motivations. In Part B things become… beyond good and evil, let’s put it that way. I really wish there would have been more interactions between all Hwarang in part A. I wanted them to talk to each other more; I wanted them to get to know each other better.

The acting was good. Park Hyung Sik and Do Ji Han’s acting skills impressed me the most. Park Hyung Sik’s facial expressions, his speech, his postures and movements are indeed that of a man of high importance, his face is made for this kind of dramas, and Do Ji Han’s emotions were frighteningly real. The others did well too, except for Go Ah Ra (and Park Seo Joon) in some scenes. I had the feeling that this is not her kind of drama, somehow.

Please do not assume I am here to simply bash her or her contribution to this drama, after all she is one of the main characters and I gladly “ship” her with one of the male leads. As I said before I liked nearly all of the characters, but they aren’t all perfect (putting the fact aside that we did not get to know them well enough). Ah Ro appears to be plain in some scenes, which is a shame. I haven’t watched another movie starring the actress so far, so I do not want to judge her acting skills as a whole. Ah Ro started out as an interesting and funny character, but in the further course I realized she was poorly written. Sun Woo is a rather irrational and static being, too one dimensional for too long, too much overkill towards the end. I think I do understand why they portrayed Sun Woo the way he is. I still think the developers gave him too much credit, even though Ji Dwi and some other boys deserved it as much, but the ending was legit, at least.

I am not sure whether the contemporary musical numbers were chosen on purpose to remind the viewers that “Hwarang” is still a drama and not a historical documentary or such, but I considered the music to be really off-putting sometimes. Sure, after five to six episodes you learn to ignore it/get used to it forcefully, but, eh, it should not be this way.

The last criterion here is “rewatch value”. To be honest with you: The possibility of me rewatching a series with more than five episodes or so is low. But if I were a person who likes rewatching things from time to time in general, I would probably watch this show again one day just to see the scenes that touched me the most/I liked a lot.

I was not satisfied by the final couple and the final scene, apart from that the outcome was appropriate. I had a difficult time while ruminating about a proper rating. First it was 8,5, then 6,5, finally I decided to rate it as 7/10. Episode 19 was a complete mess, and the final scene was screaming bruh, cliché right in my face, they rushed the ending and too many questions remain unanswered, although it is suggested that you will get the answers.* Nonetheless I liked many things about this show.

To sum up, “Hwarang” offers entertainment, some likeable characters; the plots within are interesting but things are solved poorly. This drama is neither extraordinary nor a must-watch (unless you want to get to see your favourite) and has obviously some major flaws. You can say the makers had reliable tools, but they didn’t know how to use them properly. Give it a try if you want to; after all you can still skip stuff or simply drop this drama if this isn’t your cup of tea. I hope this review is helpful!

*I like open ends, and usually I am fine with some things left unanswered AS LONG AS it has a function and is well presented.

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teased spice and delivered a romcom

Overall: I mostly enjoyed this series, though there were some nonsense character actions and cliched plot points that started in episode 7 which frustrated me. 12 episodes about 45 minutes each. Aired on GMMTV's YouTube channel. Later re-aired on Viki https://www.viki.com/tv/40678c-wandee-goodday

Content Warnings: manhandling, punches, drugging?, grief, trauma, past death, non con kiss, non con touching, held against will, violence, blood, beaten up

Watch Suggestions
- skip episode 7 except watch part 4
- stop episode 8 part 3 at 9 min and start episode 8 part 4 at 9 min
- watch ep 9 part 1 at 10:30 to the end, start episode 9 part 2 at 2:28, then episode 9 part 3 start at 6 min

What I Liked
- intro got my attention, though not a fan of flash forwards/backs in general to start a series
- did laugh a few times
- asexual representation (however wish they had developed this more instead of just a little at the end)
- established couple*
- sweet moments
- excellent grandma, supportive friend & supportive brother
- ongoing physical affection/interest and discussing preferences
- HPV public service announcement/skit
- easter eggs of The Eclipse, room 609 (for 609 Bedtime Story) and 666 which revers to the devil, Tanwarin Hospital
- mentioning that seeing a psychologist was normal
- incorporating marriage equality

Room For Improvement
- the slapstick comedy sound effects detracted from the humor a few times
- the very fictional so drunk a person is passed out and then a few minutes later appeared not drunk at all
- friend left him extremely drunk, he should have said he had a hospital emergency and called a taxi which Wandee then didn't get into
- in episode 2 a character says stop and the other character didn't though it can be inferred the 'stop' was not an actual 'stop'
- nonsense medical stuff like gossiping in front of patients
- the worry Yak brought up in episode 3 suddenly didn't seem to matter
- *in episode 5 Cher was acting immature which is not what I wanted to see (more steam would be great/realistic from the beginning would have made more sense from an established couple)
- corny/too stylized like the neon lights or spray painting 'friends with benefits' on the window
- switching between 2 couples' NSFW scenes in episode 6
- in episode 7 several characters did 'because the writer said so' nonsense stuff, also nonsense doctor things like lack of patient doctor confidentiality
- a dead fish lip press
- stupid "plan" in episode 9 which makes zero sense
- throwing in a nonsense couple (Dr. Ter) and not giving enough screentime to an asexual character/s

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"There's no way you can be lost if you don't set a destination"

Mr. Plankton told the story of three wounded people finding love and reconciliation down a messy, uneven path. Woo Do Hwan can make any role compelling and he had some heavy lifting to do in the early episodes of this drama, thankfully he’d been working out.

Hae Jo and Gi Ho run a boys for hire service, picking whatever jobs Hae Jo thinks will be fun. Hae Jo was emotionally abandoned as a child due to a mistake at an IVF facility and seems to have no love to give. The entrepreneurs take on a job of “kidnapping” a bride which goes south really quick and ends with Hae Jo discovering he has three months to live. He decides to search for his biological father to try and make some sense of his life and in the process kidnaps another bride for real. Soon he has the first bride’s villainous gangster groom after him as well as the second bride’s loving groom.

The first few episodes were difficult for me because I had real concerns about the lack of consent on Jae Mi’s part when Hae Jo kidnapped her. Despite having a past, it came across as problematic. Of course, eventually their shared loved and Woo Do Hwan’s gorgeous face and body convinced her to help him on his parental quest, but that doesn’t negate the kidnapping. Jae Mi’s fiancé, Heung, became hopelessly entangled in their lives. I actually liked Heung. While he had mommy issues due to an overbearing mother, he was a good man who genuinely loved Jae Mi and didn’t deserve to have a front row seat to Hae Jo and Jae Mi’s burgeoning love story. Gi Ho, who became embroiled with the gangsters searching for Hae Jo suffered greatly for his loyalty and friendship which went all but unacknowledged.

Now that I’ve stated the things that didn’t work for me, here’s what did. I’m a sucker for reconciliation stories and found families. Once everyone was mutually onboard the crazy train without a destination, the story worked better. Hae Jo discovered that his family was not the only one with problems. Heung began to develop enough confidence to defy his overbearing mother. Jae Mi came to understand that she had worth. And all three would have their eyes opened to the love all around them.

Woo Do Hwan’s performance was mesmerizing even when Hae Jo behaved liked a self-centered jerk. He has a way of making any character sympathetic and did the same here which was a momentous task as Hae Jo spent much of his time hurting others. Oh Jung Se had the difficult job of making a middle-aged man who could not stand up to his mother likeable. Heung was such a compassionate character that he could set aside his own feelings and respect Jae Mi’s choices. The character that downgraded this drama for me was Jae Mi. I found the writing for her and the acting grating. Jae Mi spent much of her time yelling or acting childlike which caused me to hit the mute button numerous times per episode. All three characters were complicated and flawed, having been wounded by their parents. All three were on a journey towards love, growth, and forgiveness. Though much of the growth was understandable, there was some that felt unearned.

Mr. Plankton was an uneven drama with moments of humor, sorrow, and love driven by Woo Do Hwan’s compelling performance. The specter of Death lingered in the shadows from beginning to end. Hae Jo’s vision of what was important cleared as his final days approached. Family isn’t always what we’re born into, sometimes it’s what we make it.

“Never set a destination. Just let your instincts take the lead for you. That way you’ll never lose your path.”

11 November 2024

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A "romantic comedy" with barely any romance or comedy. The business aspect of the drama takes up about 90% of the plot. There was no romance plot development till the very last minute of the last episode. Absolutely frustrating. Most of the characters are extremely unlikable. The second half of the drama gets very convoluted and dumb and by the 15th episode I was very angry and didn't even want to watch the last episode. I only gave this drama a chance because of Siwon and Kang Sora, and if you're in the same boat and thinking of starting this drama because of them, save your time and don't watch this.

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I don’t understand, why all the hype with this drama?? The only reason I watched it, was because I’ve read all these highly rated reviews.,
The main female character was ANNOYING and she’s such an airhead.. Her, running after the guy who hardly looks at her, was humiliating to watch and frustrating.. How can you think that’s cute?? It’s like she had no self respect or dignity..
The poor swimmer friend, he was great and sweet and completely loveable, unlike the lead male!
I honestly fast forwarded through most of the episodes because I got too annoyed to watch it.
The only characters who I thought were great, were both in support roles, her best friend and the swimmer.
Girls just a heads up, it’s NOT cute running after a guy who doesn’t even look at you!

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The ending was great right ?

This series is getting better really , each episode comes with some interesting parts , mostly ep 4 they sang “ Truth in your Eyes ” from We Are the series and William Jakrapatr also appeared as a cast of this series maybe as Mokh's ex partner . In the 5th episode William appeared as Khun Rome also the first kiss between the leads took place awwwwww , episode 8 was the best one , I can't forget the way Peach talked to Thee in the whole episode and at the end Thee asked Peach to call him P'Kian afterwards he was demanding a lottt , that was so cute . Bro I didn't know that this would blow my mind like this . I am very happy that gmmtheev will produce a special episode Idk how can I even forget this one damn I liked it so much the last two episodes were so good that I can't believe.... Firstly thought that peach is very impulsive and hun thee doesn't know anything other than money but from 6th episode I totally changed my mind , Episode 10 was the best one for real , the way khun thee proposed peach and everything got aligned , awww I love this one so much..... Also Khun thee brought the whole Gmmtv from p'tha and renamed it as Gmmtheev whose idea was this , a wanna salute...... The screen writers were so great ..........
I waited for each and every episode every Saturday and now I know that it is really worth it ...

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extremely adorable and sweet - green flag guys

Overall: this is an exemplar of a romance series. 12 episodes about 45 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/4626/monster-next-door-2024-e01 and WeTV https://wetv.vip/en/album/y1ocjz3bjta0prm

Content Warnings: past death, grief, manipulation

What I Liked
- their dynamic was lovely, very considerate of each other
- mutual want and ongoing physical affection
- sweet and caring moments
- respecting boundaries
- good consent
- supportive friends
- supportive mom/grandfather
- characters were fairly intelligent
- funny moments
- the short flashback in ep 2 set up a character's reluctance well
- Almond & Latte cameo from Knock Knock Boys
- how Diew looked at the book Monster Next Door in the library
- good calling out infantilizing a romantic partner
- the drama between the leads was realistic, they both made mistakes
- talked about how introvert/extrovert are not fixed traits, it depends on who you are with/the situation you are in and can be flexible

Room For Improvement
- bad voice over to set up a character
- plot felt a little drawn out in some places
- nonsense stuff: I'm sure those working in the library would notice students doing that and put a stop to it (and then the explanation in ep 12 was cringey), a university class with 3 students
- some choppiness
- continuity errors, complete daytime and then night in what was happening at the same time, messy hair to perfect hair
- not a turtle expert but that cage looked pretty small for that turtle
- a 3rd side couple was teased but we didn't see their relationship development
- the 'did you get your period' line
- 17 minutes of moping in episode 11
- too much drama in episode 12 should have cut it to just 1 issue, the mom having the epiphany from the random mom/daughter when it could have come from talking to grandpa/Diew
- time jump in the finale was not needed and felt they could have had a better ending scene for the 2nd couple

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Warm, Caring, Supportive Male Lead

Let me start by saying I loved the feel of this drama. The warm undertones and emotional connection between Zhoa Jin and Xu Nuo kept me watching. This drama portrays the growth of the relationship between the ML and the FL. They met by chance and felt a pull toward each other. At the start, the FL was in a long-term relationship with her boyfriend, Peng Yu An who never seemed to have time for her. It is also clear that his father is against them being together and wants Yu An to have a more advantageous relationship with his partner. Without going into details, the FL breaks up with the boyfriend, but he refuses to accept the breakup. Yet, Zhoa Jin and Xu Nuo continued to grow closer and this is the part that made this drama so beautiful.

There is a secondary relationship between the FL's best friend and ML's friend Xu Yang. There is also a touching storyline with the ML's sister and her friend. This drama shows different relationships and motivations. Some relationships are based on dependency and convenience. Some are formed based on what might be considered to be advantageous. And some grow even when up against adversities...this is the slow burn we see with the ML and the FL.

I loved the ML! It baffles me that there are so many negative comments against the ML. He was warm, caring, supportive, considerate, gentle, and smart. His character is appealing because he shows strength and conviction. But even though he appears soft on the outside, he can defend himself. The ex-boyfriend sees him as pitiful as he is divorced and has a younger sister who has health issues. But this is just one of the indications that the ex-boyfriend is overconfident and too much into himself because others see the ML as handsome and wonderful. The ML is the main reason I watched this drama. Zhang Wan Zi is now on my favorite actors list! Sigh...

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I don't quite know what to say about this movie. I did not think that this movie would be so affecting, but at some point, I realized I was crying and didn't stop for a long while. Choi Woo Shik is very, very good as Young Jae.

As far as plot goes, there's not a lot to it. Young Jae has a very unstable home life, and consequently, lives in a group home that's kind of a Catholic orphanage/halfway house headed by pseudo-parents. He does his best to keep in their good graces so he can stay there. He goes to mass, he sings in the choir, he wants to be a priest, and so he has to spend even more time at church and with his tutor. However, all these things aren't enough. His position is never secure at "home". So he reacts to the uncertainty by devising some not-so-priestly backup plans.

The way I see it, the uncertainty eats away at him, eventually turning into desperation, and that's when he reaches a breaking point. Everything in his life is in such a precarious balance, and he fights so hard to keep it there. But nothing he does is ever enough.

I think I'm probably not making a lot of sense, but if you like a good character piece, check it out. It's very well done, if this is the sort of thing you enjoy. The music is minimal, but very effective, the cast is solid, and I would totally watch it again, sometime when I won't mind being an emotional wreck. :)

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Comfort series with introverts in a charming relationship

"Ameiro Paradox" is one of those dramas that are not complex, but even though very enjoyable to watch. There is no extensive network of connections between characters, no digging into their pasts, and no twists and turns. I came across the term "comfort series" the other day, and I think this drama fits the category perfectly.

Yes, I love to lose myself in multi-layered plots and breathtaking frames. But, for balance, I like stories that warm my heart. That's why "Ameiro Paradox" will stay in my memory for a long time.

The main characters are Onoe and Kaburagi, who work for the weekly gossip magazine Dash! - Onoe as the reporter, Kaburagi as the cameraman. They are assigned to work as a duo, which is not convenient for them. Onoe follows ethical principles in life, while Kaburagi has nothing to do with them in case of getting a scoop. Onoe despises Kaburagi's flirtatiousness, and Kaburagi is annoyed by Onoe's naivety.

At first glance, they are different and do not fit together as partners at work, let alone a romantic relationship.

However, as history progresses, it turns out they have as much in common as they differ. Just like the fact they are both introverts. Their dislike for each other is incredibly short. Most of the story is feigned dislike, which only adds charm to their relationship.

Onoe is fascinated to discover that Kaburagi actually has a gentle personality. The hard shell is something that Kaburagi created because of and for the work. Onoe is the only one who manages to break through it. While he doesn't endorse Kaburagi's methods of achieving goals, Onoe also admires that he always gets what he wants.

Kaburagi admires that Onoe stays at peace with himself even in such environment. Onoe appears to him as pure, unsullied in this dirty world. He notices his brilliance, analytical thinking, and ability to connect the dots. Looking at his advantages, even his flaws, such as clumsiness or naivety, seem winsome.

At some point in the story, there is a misunderstanding between them. Onoe is carrying out the action alone, without Kaburagi and it ends successfully. While Onoe is very pleased with himself, Kaburagi becomes cold and distant towards him. Why is he sulking for no reason, is he a hypocrite? After all, he is the one who deceives people to achieve a goal, so why is he so offended when Kaburagi only did his job well? What's this about?

When they worked as a duo, there was a kind of division of blame. When Onoe went on a mission alone, it stripped him of his innocence. Kaburagi always wanted to protect him during their work - not only from direct threat as kidnapping or abusing. He didn't want Onoe to become cold and soulless like him. Poor Onoe, he just wanted to show himself as an independent individual who could be as good at investigating as Kaburagi. It took the opposite turn than intended.

Fortunately, the characters explain everything to each other in the end. Their love is sweet, charming, and this is the warmth in the heart that I wrote about at the beginning.

Coming to the end of my review, I have to mention Masayan, Onoe's friend who runs the pub. The pub is Onoe's contemplative area, and Masayan is the voice that allows him to gather his thoughts, put together mismatched puzzle pieces, and helps him make a decision. In dramas we often deal with a phenomenon - I would call it - talking for talking's sake. Good friends but lousy advisory. I'm not saying there should be philosophical treatises, but I can't stand truisms and pointless advice. Here we have one of the most valuable characters in dramas at all. We need more of them! Such friends in real life too :).

As for me, the drama has the potential for the second season! I'd love to see further adventures in Kaburagi's and Onoe's demanding work and how their relationship develops.

Favorite quotes:

1)
Onoe: - I just thought if you had to do it against your will, I would do it myself. Because I knew you didn't like that kind of task. […] And I didn't want to see you suffering. So I offered to do it instead.
Kaburagi: - But I'd rather do it myself than let you do it for the same reason as you.

2)
Onoe: - You know, you always smell good.
Kaburagi: - Really? But I didn't wear any perfume.
Onoe: - It's probably the shampoo.
Kaburagi: - So… If we live together, we'll smell the same.

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A 12-year old's fever dream

This drama series is exactly what a 12-year old expects in a romantic relationship. The main positive is that the actors are all good looking.

The story itself is the usual cheesy cold-male and bubbly-female, who were friends as small children, but it quickly goes downhill from there. The 2ML is rejected many times, continues chasing, and doing things that are manipulative and completely inappropriate. The sexist stereotypes are infuriating, from the usual ditzy women, to the way contemptible way that ML treats FL, to a particular scene involving the third couple right after she visits his grandmother. Of the three older men in the drama (dad, and two businessmen), only one who behaves in a way I would consider a mature adult.

The reason I say it's a 12-year fever dream, rather than simply classic Chinese stereotype is due to some of the behaviours of the individuals. For example, when the girls get excited, they jump up and down squealing. The FL's voice is that cutesy soft sweet deeply annoying one that no real human being has. It's almost as if the characters magically went from age 12 to adult without ever actually maturing.

There are no kisses. Only a couple hand-holds and hugs.

I agree with the reviewers who dropped after a handful of episodes. If you want to enjoy something, this show isn't it. I watched all the way through the end because I kept wondering how much worse it would get. And they successfully kept surprising me by having each episode be worse than the previous.

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Not bad. Not great, but not bad.

There are a lot of good things about this - the acting is solid, especially from Hsiao Hung, who throws himself 110% into the role. His character can be a little OTT, but he pulls it off, and he has really good comic timing.

The story and writing are not the strongest aspect of this - it leans way, way too heavily on misunderstanding, which is a particular crutch of Asian drama. Shang Zhou's emotional constipation is well-supported, and it's clear his character was formed by an unloving mother, so I did buy that, but it's carried too far - there is a situation in particular that could have been solved by a "yes" or even a subtle nod of his head, and Shun Yu's misunderstanding of the situation is less explainable and comes off as forced drama.

This works well as a comedy, but the problem is that it veers to heavily into drama, which is tonally dissonant and none of the drama is sufficiently supported.

What might have worked better is to have made the mother a more central villain, and made her the obstacle that had to be overcome, rather than really stupid misunderstandings. That would aslo have made Shun Yu's "boss moment" in the final confrontation with her much more satisfying. It was very well-acted, and it was quite a moment to see him finally become confident in love, but if there had been more of a development arc to that point it would have had a larger payoff.

The interaction between the two as a couple at the end was some of the best I've ever seen in a BL, with both of them acting like men, and not shying away from affection, There's no sex, but the way they hug and touch each other is uninhibited and convincing.

I really hope to see Hsiao Hung again - he's really talented, not to mention beautiful and hot. That skin is like porcelain.

Anyway, there is a lot of frustration in the second half, but the payoff in the finale is quite good, so I can recommend this, although there are some parts you might want to ff through.

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