Reviews

Frustrating and Wholesome

Fantastic, give me 14 of them right now.
As an eternal single/introverted and awkward person in my 20s myself, I absolutely adored this show and related so hard to most of the cast. I need to be these girls’ friend. Cried so many times especially for Yido and Jiyeon.

I like how the makeovers in the beginning were not focused only on visuals but on what they personally wanted to work on and be better at, and I think for the most part every had there own coming of age story. Also I appreciate that the main message seems to be that everyone is deserving and capable of love.

My main and only complaint/things I think can be improved on next time if they do a second season, is for everyone to get the chance to have a one on one date with everyone (lowering the chance that they all like the same person), and that the mentors should be able to talk and help them throughout the week.

Read More

First half was all kind of awesome but it faltered a bit in the second half imo. As much as I love Danoh in the beginning, she started to grate on my nerves with her overly aegyo (it was cute at first but you get tired of it very quickly). Her world literally revolves around Haru and only Haru (that I almost felt sorry for her other loved ones) I loved her spunk and sass in the beginning but this girl totally disappeared in the second half to my dismay. I really liked Haru but I can't help but think that his characterization fell a little flat in the end. Did he have another meaning in life other than being Danoh's love interest? No. What a shame. Don't get me started with Baek Kyung...his only role was to be a cockblock to our lovebirds...he didn't stand a chance but was too stubborn to admit it *sigh* (they better thank Lee Jae Wook, his flawless portrayal made me care more than I should for an otherwise obnoxious character. Even though, his redemption arc came far too late, he still managed to move me and it brought me to tears when Dan Oh forgave him)
Do Hwa was another character I was really fond of but once again they didn't explore him much and has been relegated as a comic relief.

Self-aware Juda was badass but her decision was quite questionable. While I felt sorry for Nam Joo (and that's probably why she chose him in the end), Do Hwa was a better fit. But we have to remind ourselves that Nam Joo never gained his awareness and that's a bit unfair to solely judge him based on how he's written. Tbh, I wasn't even annoyed by his character, his characterization was so one dimensional that it made me laugh in the end (he was such a riot)
Sae Mi never gained hers or did she? She did bully Juda in the shadows or was it a mistake of the production? She was a lovely friend to Dan Oh but a bitch to Juda (pardon my french). I'm probably the only one that agreed with Baek Kyung's comment on her being a villain (I know that's the pot calling the kettle black but still it was so satisfying). She had to hear the truth somehow even if she forget it in the next scene.

They focused too much on the pointless love triangle that they lost sight of the main themes (and the most interesting ones imo): free will, changing your fate thus stopping the neverending cycle (I would have love for everyone to work together against the writer)
Resulting in underdeveloped characters, plot holes, no explanations whatsoever of crucial points and rushed ending. Still, I enjoyed that drama for the most part and will miss it nevertheless.

Acting-wise, everyone was brilliant.

Kim Hye Yoon was great and though her character lost its momentum in the second half, she managed to give Danoh enough gravitas to keep me invested in her character.

Rowoon/Kim Seok Woo surprised me the most, he nailed the emotional parts and held his own quite well. Kudos to him! Haru is not an easy character to play since his blandness and lack of development could bore the hell out of anyone but he shines and makes you care and root for his happiness (shame they didn't explore more his bad boy side, prefer his look when he returned and lost his memories *shallow me*) . As an idol turned actor, he has the potential to be in the top-tier imo (with Im Siwan, Lee Junho, Do Kyungsoo or even Park Hyung Sik).

Lee Jae Wook ah Lee Jae Wook, my main reason on why I watched this drama and stayed...he was just perfect as usual (give that guy the awards he deserves, he's the rookie of the year, hands down) despite a terrible and disadvantageous characterization. He managed to elevate the character and made it his own. You hate his character (or rather you want) but you can't ignore him and in the end you even pity him. Baek Kyung could have easily become one-dimensional character with no redeemable features but Lee Jae Wook's amazing acting saved his character's poor characterization (conveying loneliness, vulnerability, anger and plenty other emotions as if it was a piece of cake...I swear it seems effortless to him. To think he had to juggle between two complete opposite characters (BK and Seol Ji Hwan) during 1 month makes me respect him so much more. He's a keeper.

OST was beautiful, catchy and fitting.

Does it deserve a rewatch? I'm not one to rewatch series even my most favorite ones so no I won't rewatch it...some scenes, yes (mostly Baek Kyung?! Because...Lee Jae Wook<3)

Final rating: 7.5/10.

Read More

Thank god it's prohibited to write reviews before a drama has finished airing. I actually already wrote one after half of this drama was aired. If I had posted it, I would have had to edit it ten times by now.



So, yes. This drama was hyped alot and now that it's finished, opinion is deeply divided on this issue. I think the only problem is that the more you label something as perfect, the more you'll get disappointed when it doesn't reach your expectations in the end. You know the saying 'Don't count your chickens before they're hatched.' That perfectly describes what went wrong here. So yes, everyone said it was perfect in the beginning. As it went further, the excitement and hype expanded and many people said it was flawless, so it HAD to be flawless. Not letting in even one mistake.



Maybe it's overrated as some people say. But that doesn't mean it was a bad drama. It was still great and many people enjoyed the ride. Because there WERE great parts in it. Parts that filled us with excitement, with joy, with happiness and with sadness, frustration and anger.



So, what was so great here?



The bromance. Two totally different guys being the best buddies you've ever seen.



The romance. Refreshingly no love triangles, instead you can ship not only one but two couples wholeheartedly and not be afraid of some twists within their relationships as those we have already experienced in other dramas. You can enjoy the sincere feelings, the genuine caring and worrying and loving. There's chemistry between all of them and you can feel that the actors also felt proud to be part of something so special like this. The whole team is complementing each other.



The comedy. You have to admit, you laughed your butts off. Hilarious scenes all over the place.



The side characters (the good guys): It's not the first drama but there aren't THAT many dramas out there, where you actually sympathize with every character that appears in one show. Regarding that, it never gets boring.



The scenery: Not the usual korean areas around here but something new and refreshing. Beautiful landscapes and impressions.



As to where we took a hit: In my opinion it was the story. It wasn't bad. And until reaching a certain point it was quite entertaining. I would have liked it more if there had been one big story running like a golden thread through the whole drama. Not those many smaller stories following one after another - as interesting as they were in their own. But what really created some headaches (at least for me) where some issues that didn't add up to a logical process. And that was what made me kinda disappointed because those flaws were obvious. It seemed like all the effort they built in the beginning subsided towards the end and made some scenes seem ridiculous.



As for the bad guys... Well, that's an issue per se. They weren't that bad. They did a decent job and gave off thrilling moods, although sometimes it seemed a bit overdramatized. Maybe because most of them were foreign villains. And as we all know, foreigners in a korean drama just seem weird most times. Plus the foreign languages. Well, I wasn't really bothered by it. We are happy when they can actually pull that off better than what we'd expect. But we're also not disappointed because that's just the korean 'style'.



The OST was great because it created a unique feeling and beautiful atmosphere for the drama. Definitely on my mp3 list, soon.



So, nevertheless of all the critiques... Descendants of the Sun is by far not the most perfect drama out there. But it still manages to entertain us in many, many ways and often throws us in some big thrilling turmoil, what shouldn't be disregarded. And of course at some point it made us all hooked up.



Although I had some disappointed moments myself, I still enjoyed the drama. I will definitely rewatch this one as I want to re-feel all the emotions I run through during the first watch, but this time without having to wait until next week.

Read More

A GOOD 1000 YEARS LOVE STORY

I have to admit I initially got discouraged from watching this drama just because of the low rating, but once i started it, i just binged all episodes non-stop in one night. IT IS THAT ENJOYABLE! If you liked "I will Knock You", chances are you will like this too. Pun may be the greenest flag character in almost all of BL.

BL genre has fast evolved in the last few years - and so are the viewers. Nowadays, a lot of series without real substance gets good and high ratings even when the show isnt really deserving of it just by putting cutie cutie famous couples/stars in it or by putting a lot of shocking NSFW scenes . I will not put this one as one of the the best BL ever, but it certainly doesnt deserve to be in the low 6.

Just a quick recap. Yo is a university student who is fascinated by the extraordinary - thats why he became part of a gang of friends who are devoted UFO seekers, but deep inside his heart he knows something un-normal is happening in the world and he will discover that its not extraterrestrial in nature but something mystical. He was instantly drawn to Pun when he met him at a local eatery - was it love at first sight? Was it his mysterious demeanor? Then he adorably stalked him until Pun revealed to him what he is - a vampire! And you guessed it- this is how their love story began, and together with their friends and family they will prove that their love will conquer all odds. This just sounds about right, the end.

Eventhough the title of the series is '1000 Years Old' which pretty obviously tells us that one of the chracters is indeed an almost immortal, still the series managed to keep us guessing for the first half of the show if Pun is really what he says he is or just a weirdo who thinks he is something that he's not - after all he is not the familiar vampire we see from the lores - First, he is a poor vampire who lives in an old building. Second, he keeps saying he is burned by sunlight (SPOILER ALERT HE DOESNT) and always covers himself up fully and uses an umbrella . He is also not afraid of crucifixes, and he doesnt get burned by Holy Water. He aslo sleeps at night( not before the sun rises and in a coffin-like bed in a messy living room because the bedroom is his cat's room) Lastly and most importantly, he is not afraid of garlic and he also doesnt eat anything besides cooked Pork Blood Soup. He is weird but you just cant hate this guy!

One of the funny highlights for me was when he was trying to prove to Yo that he is a vampire and jumped off the building's rooftop!

Also, even if early in the series they showed a few flashback scenes from Pun's past, and even with the presence of another mysterious and scary character SoomChai - just like Yo, we as viewers still end up questioning whether he is really a true blooded bloodsucking immortal or was he just delusional?

While trying to hide the reality of Pun's true identity, the first half of the show felt like we were watching a Thai version of the Korean series "Start-up" when Pun and Yo and their newly formed gang were so focused on trying to make their food business succeed. The antics are so corny but you also cant help root for them!

It was around the later episodes when the truth was confirmed - that Pun is an alien.

Ok, he isnt an alien, but a real Vampire. The limited screentime of SoomChai is both annoying and effective - I would have loved to be bitten by that actor just like Shin. And as much as i hate it and just like a lot of other BL shows that create an annoying female character to be a villain, Janja's (she does look like a vampire seductress even without the fangs) presence is important in establishing the connection between Pun and Yo and the truth about their long history and past lives to make their love story seem more epic in scale and not just spur of the moment.

Let me also say that despite the many things that I enjoyed about the series it is not without shortcomings. First, for almost the entirety of the series nothing physical happens between the Pun and Yo (only a mild hint of a kiss) which is almost unbelievable. Second, I hate that the YOU.F.O and the gang were sidelined as if they never existed entirely when they were the group that opened the show. Third, the cluelessness of Pun's character to the current technologies is just unbearable and incredibly stupid (even if it was intentional to misdirect us about his true identity) like walking to mall, no idea how to get to point 1 to point 2, really? Fourth, Yo's contninuous denial about his feelings and Pun's intention to him is eyerolling.

Id like to end by saying that the final scene of Pun and Yo is genius but also both tragic and conflicting. While it was implied that they had a happy ending and they get to at least spend a really long time together in this lifetime, Yo's passing under the sunset is just so heartbreaking and it made me cry.

Overall its a 8.5 for me. Great leads and support with good direction , very rewatchable too.

Read More

Overrated

While the story itself was strong, the execution left much to be desired.

First, the editing felt quite messy,scenes often cut off at odd points, and some episodes felt more like random segments pieced together rather than full, coherent episodes. Episode 27, for example, gave most of the screen time to side characters, which disrupted the pacing of the main storyline.

Another issue for me was He Yan’s disguise. I honestly don’t understand how she managed to fool everyone, her mannerisms, compared to the other Yezhou garrison soldiers, were distinctly feminine and almost childish, making her cover less believable.

I was also disappointed with Yan He’s death. It seemed included only for shock value, but it didn’t really land emotionally or add much to the storyit felt unnecessary.

That being said, I’ll give credit where it’s due: the fighting scenes were very well executed and definitely a highlight of the series.

Overall, this drama had potential and an interesting story, but the poor editing, questionable writing choices, and overhype online made it fall short for me.

Read More

I admit it -- I LOVED IT! Such a sweet story with tender kisses and a romantic plot. I watched it in 2 days, after which I felt I am walking on the cloud nine. I felt like Cinderella myself. The drama left me at peace, with warm feeling, smile and few verses that were so smart, I can't forget them. The kissing scenes were tender, and almost real. I was left with impression I just watched a real story drama. The main leads had the chemistry together, but Zhang Han left me with his image of not only a great Boss but a wonderful husband image. My most memorable and romantic moment?.... the way he watch her eat her lunches through his office, while she was unaware he was watching... the fact how he copied her, ate with her and smiled at her was tastefully done. For me it was one of those things that hit my heart and stayed there.... I like him as an actor a lot.

Read More

Perfect comedy and romance drama 2026!

The moment I found out what this drama is about, I started counting the days until the date it would start to air! I have been desperately waiting for a contract relationship drama with monarchy existing in the modern times! I have been blown away by this new most magnificent RomCom 2026. The moment I started watching the first episode I was absolutely hooked! Suddenly, I regretted watching it while it was airing! Because it has been long while that I have watched a Korean drama while it's airing and most annoying thing about that is you have to wait a whole week for next episodes to air!😭😭😭 but I was so addicted to it that I had to watch it everyweek even if I had to face my old enemy 'waiting painfully long'. But I'm glad my pain paid off and every second of each episode was worth the watch. 💞

💫First my greatest commendation to the brilliant director for choosing most perfect and incredibly talented cast that are unquestionably suitable for this drama 💯👌. From Actresses/ actors to their secretaries to the support roles and to the villains - All the choices are chef's kiss! This drama is studded with top class actors/actresses. IU (LJE) is my very favorite actress, her dramas are my very first Korean dramas, she never fails to mesmerise, captivate and enchant her audiences with her flawless and impeccable diverse acting skills. As an ambitious chaebol Heiress SHJ, she has incorporated her naturalistic, remarkable versatility, raw vulnerability and deep emotional restraint acting style. She excelled in portraying SHJ with quite and complex emotional pain, while also showcasing a bold, campy and magnetic charisma in this diverse character-driven role. She never fails to strike the audiences with awe, with her ability to convey heavy, complex internal trauma through micro-expressions and tone of voice. I'm also thoroughly impressed with BWS's stunning, dazzling, awe-inspiring, mind blowing, astonishing and remarkable acting. He has masterfully employed his signature acting talent in this drama to bring Prince YA (LW) to life perfectly, which is defined by his impressive emotional range, subtle microexpressions, and commanding on-screen presence. He has handled the complex emotional scenes really well. He excelled at conveying the character's internal thoughts and silent suffering through subtle shifts in his eyes and facial expressions. Both main leads executed their highly complex and layered roles to the highest standards and captivated the hearts of the audiences by bringing this gem to life working very dynamically, perfectly in sync and smoothly with other characters. All the others actors also entranced me with their brilliant, dynamic and captivating acting.


💫IU has portrayed SHJ's intricate character expertly. SHJ is extremely ambitious, smart, talented, brave, rebellious and bold character, who always wants to win, to shine brightly, fights for her way without bending even an inch and always stay on top of her game. She always wears her tough, nonchalant, daring, audacious and imposing demeanor as an Armour against all the injustice, prejudice, social, and familial pressure but in reality she wants parental love, acknowledgement, care and approval. While Grand Prince YA is also incredibly smart, brave and talented character, his ambition, will and desires are shaped and molded by king's approval/disapproval, royal relatives' meddling, past traumatic events and his regard for putting well-being and happiness of others before his. He is very used to bending down to others' will and being manipulated without a word of complaint. Although both are embroiled in similar kind of childhood traumas, their way of dealing with aftereffects and consequences were different. Prince YA is epitome of perfect prince being stoic, adaptable, possesses prudence, have integrity, balances strength and empathy, is courageous, compassionate, has magnetic presence, have virtuous presentation, respect of politicians, honor, money and power in his hands. But he deliberately let's others push him around and let's it go in fovour of the happiness, protection and peace of everyone around him even though, he wants to have what rightfully belongs to him, he wants fairness, justice and wants to sort all the affairs out. However, he always held it all in, until SHJ waltzed her way into his life again and he learned to stand up for himself and to protect who and what he must and realized that keeping his head down, remaining restrained/ suppressed and quite and just working hard to fulfill his duties is not an answer to solve every problem.

💫Both main leads have insanely sweet, electrifying and crackling chemistry! 🔥 this incredibly fiery romance and flirting was always in the air throughout the drama. They have dazzled and gripped the audience with the waves of their strong heated push and pull. Even though the enemies to lovers is not the trope of this drama, both of them managed to build incredibly intense tension, and attraction that melted the viewers hearts, compelling them to fiercely root for them to fight for their happiness together. The audience are made to vividly experience the long journey of their love life - from them being rivals in archery and acquainted as high class students to partners who came together using contractual relationship to gain something they lacked to falling in love with each other to confessing their sincere love to bravely stepping up to protect each other even at the cost of destroying what highly mattered to them before and if it meant sacrificing their life. They are very unique in making sure to be very transparent about their needs, emotions, future plans and always resolve challenges together through effective communication, trust and reliance on each other. Their character development is also executed ingeniously well both ml's and fl's character start to change after being in relationship, learning from each other and compromising to strike that perfect balance and harmony. SHJ learned to obey rules/regulations and be humble when required and Prince YA learned to be defiant, Assertive and decisive when required for the sake of each other. Together instead of being each other's weakness they became perfect support for each other and synced in perfectly to form a perfect crown that was fortress against anyone trying to step on them and harm them.

💫Other couple which have my heart are the secretary couple CH xDHJ, who are very witty, disciplined, smart, efficient, dramatic and incredibly humorous, their love chemistry is incredibly cute, sweet and adorable. They are extremely supportive and loyal to our main couple and deserve to be the right hand people of their respective bosses. They are always protecting, supporting, fiercely caring and working hard to help their bosses to best of their abilities. There is never a dull moment with them around adding their chaotic and brilliant strategic energy to the events, challenges and situations. The late older brother king YH and the queen YIR Couple were sadly a tragic pair, our main couple are totally the opposite of this couple. SHJ didn't bow her head to her dad's whims and desires at the cost of her will, desires and dreams unlike the queen and Prince YA did not follow the footsteps of his brother and didn't become a coward to bow his head to political, royal, noble, social and nations expectations and manipulative pressure. They both magnificently pulled off what the previous king and queen failed to achieve. I also absolutely loved the dynamic of SHJ's half brother STJ and sister- in-law HAY they are very sweet pair, who turned out to be very solid support for SHJ. In dire circumstances, they have never thrown her under the bus, shown genuine concern and tried their best to help her and care for her wherever they could.


💫The story/ plot of this drama is extremely engaging, exciting, mesmerising and gripping✨️. I have seen similar dramas before where the protagonists are usually nemesis or have hate/love relationship but in contrast this drama very rarely and brilliantly makes the protagonists team up to achieve their goals, making this already very unusual plot into super rare and new experience for the viewers. The humour of this drama is peak, it paired the opposites together and placed comedy in their clashing personalities and inevitable, fate-driven and also some very deliberate encounters. All the main characters have shared deep interconnectedness in the past. While primarily being romance and comedy, this drama incorporates elements from other genres like fantasy, mystery, crime thriller and slice of life. The villains in this story have done really well in portraying their characters as well, the audience are clearly shown how they have taken the wrong and evil routes/paths to fulfill their selfish desires with no regard for others feelings or their safety and wellbeing, in doing so heading for inevitable disaster or severe recompense of their diabolical, cunning, vicious and wicked actions and schemes. With the villians showing impressive amount of emotions and their back stories being very compelling, the viewers end up wishing that some of the desperate ones who went astray, find a way to redeem themselves and be happy as well. I also enjoyed the short epilouges at the of episodes revealing very interesting details . 💓

ENDING:

OMG!!! we have got the bestest and most satisfying happy ending for our main couple! LW has made a great choice in abolishing the Crown for the sake of their own future, for the royals, the nobles and the nation. I have loved how warm, close, honest and caring SHJ's family became to her while LW, his sister-in-law and the nephew are living their dream peaceful life. There is happy news of SHJ will become auntie soon. Our secretary couple also went from cute, sweet and friendly to hot streaming couple. All the villains who didn’t repent and persisted going down the wrong path for the selfish reasons, sure got what was coming for them.


💫Overall, I have wholeheartedly enjoyed this heart warming, extremely fun and exciting drama. The top notch plot and the unforgettable characters have won my heart, I am going to miss all of the amazing cast. Only bad thing about this drama is it came to an end, I really want more! So, I highly recommend it to everyone who loves romcom! 💕

Read More

An insult to women and men at the same time

This is surely the worst drama that I have ever watched and it's not because of the production value (which is very impressive sometimes), it's because of its awful writing. This drama is an instant drop in the first two episodes. I dropped it when it came out in 2017, but I made myself a promise to finish it one day, so here we go.
Let's start with the bad (there's a lot – I should have made notes while watching):
- Do Bong Soon's character is the typical fake strong female character. We start with Do Bong Soon helping an elderly man and saving a bus, which are very heroic feats, but the character goes downhill very quickly. Do Bong Soon eventually becomes CEO Ahn Min Hyuk's bodyguard. She completely fails at being a bodyguard. She lets the CEO get hurt because of her, she lets a cop get hurt and she also lets the villain escape multiple times. The writers completely failed to recognize that she heard the main villain's voice at a pharmacy. When girls start getting kidnapped in her neighbourhood, she does nothing. When her friend almost gets kidnapped, she lets the kidnapper go even though she could knock him down in one hit. Why? After some time, Do Bong Soon is an intern at her own personal Planning & Development department with the CEO. Once again, we see her doing nothing all day. If she is shown doing anything, it's working on the same character model and drag and dropping things into a presentation. This was a missed opportunity to show women working in game engines and programming, but instead they showed us a pathetic character who thinks she deserves to be in the actual Planning & Development department without any actual skills... After Kyung Shim gets kidnapped, she goes to beg Min Hyuk for help and then completely invalidates his feelings. After Do Bong Soon rescues kidnapped women (at a location which only took everyone ages to figure out), she goes on to confront the main villain in a dramatic way that makes her lose her strength (even though she basically abused her power all throughout the drama and even hurt innocent people). After losing her strength, she is absolutely useless. She goes unconscious from two blows to the chest and she doesn't even try to free herself from her restrains at the brink of death. She does nothing but cry even though she received training in combat from the CEO. After escaping from her death, the three leads formulate a plan to catch the killer by exposing her out in the open to a sniper rifle while only she wears a bulletproof vest. I suppose headshots don't exist in her universe because that was so stupid.
- Do Bong Soon is not a strong character. She couldn't even tell the man she liked that she liked him. She is very childish and doesn't have much personality outside her powers.
- Na Kyung Shim (Do Bong Soon's friend) only cares about her face and looking pretty after being beaten up by the serial kidnapper / killer.
-Do Bong Soon's grandmother enters the scene at some point and beats up some goons. Which is fine and all, but the first thing she does when she visits her grandchild's home? She verbally abuses Do Bong Soon's father.
-It's inconsistent powers-wise. Do Bong Soon can't run, but she can jump high and basically fly as shown in the last episodes?
-Bomb designed to kill Do Bong Soon explodes into fireworks... What??
-Domestic violence. Do Bong Soon's mother is seen regularly abusing her husband, both verbally and physically. This abuse is sweeped under the rug with comical music played in the background. Even though the writers seemingly tried to redeem the mother in the last episode as having pushed him only once, it's just not believable. She was also physically and verbally abusive towards Bong Soon.
-Extreme homophobia, awful representation of LGBT community and queer-baiting in almost all of the episodes. It's so toxic that it took every ounce of my willpower to get through the scenes.
- Bong Soon and her mother and basically all the female characters are obsessed with Do Bong Soon snatching away Min Hyuk and having sex with him and basically raping him. These are not strong women.
-Min Hyuk goes to convince Do Bong Soo's father Do Chil Goo to return to his abusive wife because he cannot marry Do Bong Soon in such a situation. What a sad moment.
- All three leads are very misogynistic in some scenes. Do Bong Soon's character is misogynistic in itself. She is the opposite of strong and actually serves as a bad example for women.
-It has Kim Ji Soo, who is a known bully, but that's not really the drama's fault, so I would be willing to let that pass.
-Do Bong Soon has her own gang of high school kids.
-The characters are absolutely brain dead most of the time with no logical sense.
-Poop jokes.
-Racist representation of Indians with random Buddhist monk a.k.a. the scammer.
-There is no natural comedy in the situations, only poor writing. The romance was just pure fluff, nothing more.
-Min Hyuk and Bong Soon were extremely possesive.
-Useless police as always.

The good:
-Hee Ji's character was the only normal female character in the entire drama. I wanted to see more of her, but we got very little of her.
-Excellent villain who deserved so much better. He was the only consistent character and the reason I kept watching, but sadly writers didn't allow him more time to shine. The actor's performance was absolutely amazing.
-Some scenes were shot in a beautiful manner, but this got overshadowed by how despicable the characters were.

I need to cleanse my brain from this drama.

Read More

Give it a Chance.. it's worth

Writing this after watching 8 episodes...

I found this drama accidentally while watching some YT videos. So I just watched.. literally binged watched.

I don't know why some people have given low rating to this drama. Normally its happen after 20+ episodes because of fillers. But this one so far interesting. Maybe because they don't like genre. Anyway usually I don't write reviews but I am writing this because I don't want some drama enthusiastic to miss this drama because of a bad reviews. So give this a chance.

The cinematography is absolutely stunning. The creators took great care in introducing each character through well-choreographed fight scenes. These scenes aren't just background noise – they're beautifully filmed and truly set the stage for each character. The fight choreography itself is top-notch, and the CGI seamlessly blends into the action.

The acting is on point as well, and the plot has me hooked so far.

If you're looking for a drama with impressive visuals, engaging characters, and a captivating story, don't be discouraged by the bad reviews. Give this one a try – you might be surprised!

Read More

How this has more than 7 is beyond me

I am not sure how this drama has over 7.0 and that would be a very generous rating. I had high hopes for this drama as people around me praised how good it was and the production value seemed high, so I decided to give it a chance.

At the start the drama had potential. The relationship between the male lead and his sister, and the mystery around his traceless mother. The female leads friends even had their own conflicts and I found that they were more interesting than the actual leads. The friends carried the entire comedy angle. The romance is mundane and nothing new. There are so many overused scenes like the male catching the falling female lead kind of bs. There's a lot of unnecessary and long awkward kissing scenes that could have been removed. I find that the male lead is often stupid and simply simping over the female, completely disregarding his goals to chase her around. The female lead doesn't seem all that special or unique either and I am unsure of her appeal.

The only interesting bits of the drama were rushed and haphazardly written in. The sibling rivarly was barely touched and basically unresolved. The missing mother was dangled like a carrot on a stick and then the male lead suddenly says he is no longer interested in pursuing her. The heck? Those who watched knows what happens after. There are so many reasons that this drama is mediocre at best.

Read More

I've never wanted amnesia until this bl

I want to address the fact that some reviews are saying "it depends on what genre you like" how does that make any sense? The genre has nothing to do with how most of us feel negatively about this drama right? So, I'm going to be blunt about how much I hate this series. Also, at episode 10 I couldn't take how slow this show was going so I watched it in 1.75 speed.


STORY- TW: Pedophilia/Grooming, Non-consensual Sex

The story is dry, and the script is so shit. The same problems were repeated over and over again where the characters keep lying to one another. They put in some sex scenes so we can ignore the fact that they're in a toxic relationship of lying, abuse of power, pedophilia/grooming, etc. However, the sex scenes still fall flat cause there was no build up and it's just Lian forcing Kuea to have sex with him. This drama is a BL it's not a porno, so a sex scene was so unexpected. Also, the people who were praising this show for "consent" are absolutely wrong because after halfway through the show they throw consent out the window because whenever Kuea kept telling Lian to "stop it" he never stopped and just kept going. This is also true for Hia Yi, and Diao cause their sex scene was so out of the blue and came just after Hia Yi confessed to him and there was no verbal communication, just did it without even saying anything.

About the pedophilia/grooming part, Lian was 7-12 when Kuea was born so there is a big age gap. If I can re-call I think Lian said something about loving him since the day he was born which I find really weird because I assume the type of love he is talking about is romantic and not platonic. The abuse of power comes from how Lian forces Kuea to live with him and doesn't take no for an answer. They're lying to each other because they can't trust the other. Trust is an important factor of a relationship, so this just further shows how they don't have a healthy one.

At the beginning of the show, they made it seem like Diao also had a fiancé but that wasn't even close to what was going on between him and Yi because they weren't even in a relationship. The plot was dragged on and on and didn't develop till the last 2 episodes either.

The arranged marriage part wasn't necessary since there was no reason for the adults to arrange one in the first place. Also, the way Kuea's father just arranges a marriage for them even though Kuea is just an infant is so odd and gross to me.

Diao interfered in Kuea and Lian's relationship after being told he shouldn't which is so childish. Diao and Hia Yi have a major plot hole in their relationship because their past relationship and how they met and what happened to Diao wasn't cleared up.

Lian says to Kuea "I don't think it is love yet" so Lian didn't love him but after Kuea says he's going to call off the engagement he suddenly loves him? They also didn't explain how Lian and Kuea's family became friends. It's also just insane how they make Lian hide the fact that he bought the Keerati family's property from Kuea because something as important as that I think Kuea should definitely know. Honestly, this show is just absurd.

CHARACTERS-

Kuea:
Lian proposed to Kuea, but Kuea rejects him and even after all the "misunderstandings" are cleared he still won't accept his proposal because he wanted to propose to him instead which shows how selfish Kuea is. Kuea is also one who doesn't clear things up and just makes assumptions like, "they didn't tell me because they think I'm a kid". Kuea assumes that Lian doesn't love him despite Lian CLEARLY repeating that he loves him over and over again. He also overreacts and cries way too much. A good example of a character crying a lot is in Theory of Love where they made me actually feel the pain the character is going through and for good reason too. Also, Kuea's real character wasn't elaborated on enough cause the only things we know is that he's a biker, a singer, wears cool clothes, and an engineer student. And once Kuea revealed his true self to Lian he hasn't changed at all and still acts somewhat like a doll.

Lian:
He thinks that Kuea is a "bad boy", who needs to be forced into an environment where he has no choice but confess who he really is. Lian has a small set of facial expressions and is supposed to appear as a cold boss of a big company but clearly doesn't seem to appear that way. Lian at the start of the drama payed little to no attention to Kuea and was cold to him. At the end he has completely fallen for him and acts like a puppy desperate for the other's affection. Lian also is someone who does things behind his lover's back like stalking and getting information on him from people he knows which is really weird.

Diao:
Making it seem like he is a kid who needs to have someone look after him and keep him in check. Diao acts like a kid and still does things like interfering in someone else's relationship. Making NC scenes between him and Yi uncomfortable.

Yi:
A man who pities a guy he loves. Hia Yi got in an accident with Diao at some point and pitied him for what he had done so he gave him a house to stay in. Hia Yi is possessive and controlling to the point where he wants to know where Diao is almost 24/7. Hia Yi and Diao can't properly communicate (which is really bad for a relationship) so Yi buys Diao a dog instead hoping to make up with him.

University friends:
Kuea is a university student and studies engineering. seem familiar? bet it does. Well although his university life doesn't appear a lot in the show there is a side couple of Syn and Nuer. Syn and Nuer had chemistry but barely any screen time at all. The show showed one scene of Kuea's university friend Nuchy where she stood up for how when a woman is mad it doesn't mean they're on their period. This drama has made 1-3 attempts to show how they "care" about lgbtq+ people and women. However, I don't see it as how they care they're just trying to gain likeability.

ACTORS/CAST-
The actors are all good looking and some have great acting experience. I like the cast but their acting in this show wasn't their best. NuNew's acting was.. it was good enough, but he doesn't have any other experience in acting and also the only times he didn't seem cringe to me was when he's at university and when he's on stage.

CHEMISTRY-

Lian and Kuea:
Their chemistry was practically non-existent for me. Only during NC scenes did I feel like they had some tiny bit of chemistry.

Yi and Diao:
Not a lot of chemistry.

Syn and Nuer:
They had good chemistry and a healthy relationship, but I feel like they could pull it off better if they had more screen time. I hope they get to act in a different series together with more screen time.

MUSIC-
2 birds with 1 stone. Thats what it was. NuNew is a singer and an actor he is also good looking. They made him sing the opening song (which I didn't like). He also sang a lot of other songs in the show, but I only liked 1 of them. I feel like they could've just made him the singer and have a different actor for Kuea.

PRODUCTION-
Production quality was definitely great.

TROPES/OVERUSAGE-
The childhood friend trope is definitely an overused one to be honest. Also, Kuea is in university and does engineering which is obviously overused and anyone would know this if you've seen university based bl's. Like they could've made Kuea be in computer engineering and that would honestly make me feel better about this.

OVERALL-
This series is a waste of budget and a waste of your time. This show makes people think being controlled and manipulated is "hot" when it isn't.

P.S.-
Why is an 18+ rated drama on YouTube? that makes no sense whatsoever. If I could give this show a lower rating I would.

If you actually read all my nonsense then thanks. (This is my 3rd review, so I bet it's really shitty)

Read More

I honestly decided to watch this only because of Zhang Han (he's just a total bae) and I'm glad that I did. This drama is definitely one of my favorite Wuxia drama and I totally fell for this.

Story- To be honest, the summary really caught my attention since it was somehow similar to the anime, Fushigi Yuugi. Wherein the female lead will journey to find her apprentices that would help her battle the bad guys and she will fall in love with one of them. But I think it was much more different and interesting than that. I think that the CGI was not overly done and it was really pretty decent. I loved the parts when they were fighting and the red and blue effects were there. It really made every action sequence very cool. The costumes were great! Especially the wardrobe of Xin Yue Hu. He carried it so well. I binged watch this for 2 days and every episode got me hooked. I usually fast forward some scenes when it comes to Wuxia dramas but in my surprise, I did not fast forward at all. This shows that this drama really succeeded in making every scene worth a watch.

Some may think that the story started to roll downhill as the end is becoming near but I actually oppose that. Every decision that the characters made was understandable and the ending was actually one of the best part of the series. It made my heartache and at the same time it made me very happy and I fell in love. The ending was the perfect ending and there's nothing that can change that. It was really really good to be honest. It will give you a lot of feels, I promise you.

Acting/Cast- Oh man, where will I start? Zhang Han was flawless. He was able to convince me that Chi Yu and Xin Yue Hu has a total different personality. Every actors portrayed their characters very well and they really gave justice to them. It really fits them perfectly. The main leads chemistry was just so great. They became one of my favorite pairs. Even though they are just doing simple gestures, they will still make me blush and feel butterflies in my stomach. Cheesy right? They are just that great. The connection between all the characters are superb. I hated the villains but at some point I fell in love with them. You will really feel the connection with the characters. It was a roller coaster ride for me, sometimes I hate them but sometimes I love them. You will really understand how their mind works and why they did that kinds of things. Every character was interesting for me. As in, every single one of them. I loved how the characters developed a lot through out the whole series. You will really see them grow and become mature, and this is why this drama is one of my absolute favorites.

Music- I only gave this a 8 since there was not really anything special about the music but it was pretty decent. This is not like Korean Dramas where the OSTs are spectacular. But, the music really did fit in the drama but there's really nothing more to it.

Rewatch Value- In my personal opinion, I would like to only re-watch the sweet moments of the main leads and some of the funny scenes of the lead characters. My absolute favorite scene was when all of them was gathered together, all complete, and they are just having genuine fun. I might have said this already but the ending was my favorite. It will hit you right in the feels.

Overall- As I've said, this drama will truly be one of my favorite wuxia dramas. There may be some ups and downs about this drama but overall watching this is really worth it. You will grow to love every single characters and understand how they think. I was not able to watch some of the drama's episode for a whole day and I actually missed them. Yes, I missed the fictional characters. This shows the strong effect of the characters to me.

I would recommend this to all the wuxia lovers since I believe that this drama will grow to you as well. This is actually just a light drama compared to all the other wuxia dramas out there. This is definitely a must watch. But if you are not a wuxia lover, then just don't watch this at all.

Read More

Started out strong, ended up being BAD!

I have loved the first 6 episodes and every week I used to rave about this drama and how nearly perfect it was and then, what happens in drama land happened. The curse of the second half, where a perfectly good drama just takes a nose dive and end up ruining all the set up it had worked so hard initially to charm and engage the drama viewer flying out of the window.

To begin with the sweet grandpa turning to be a mid villain or how his character took a 180 turn for me was one instance but then as it continued the drama couldn't explain the loophole of how the same Kang Tae Ha in the past and present is one with all the characteristics but couldn't be a reincarnation but different people at the same time! Huh? Like, if Yeon Woo could time travel and be in the modern world, why couldn't Tae Ha be an reincarnation of himself but two different identity and why did the Joseon Tae Ha have to suffer and see his wife fall for someone else, (more like his future self) but not him. How was that fair? How did it make sense? I mean do I make sense? Why couldn't it had been the same person with the same memories and just have lived in both worlds?

I hated the ending. I hated how past Tae Ha just died not knowing why his wife suddenly was with in love with someone who looked like him but not him but him and on and on...grr

This drama was just confusing with confusing characters with loophole like land mines every corner with no escape. The chemistry between the leads was amazing and I swooned in the initial episodes at how great they were together and also the secondary characters were worth the screen time they got. This drama had all the ingredients but then the second half just had to go and blow it all up.

I wish the writer took some time to flourish out the ideas and explained more about the connection of the past and present world and its inhabitants.

I would recommend the first 6 episodes since it was just too sweet and cute. The rest? Naaa...

Rating 2/10

Read More

The Hidden Gem Smile Code

The NEW CDrama of 2024, "Smile Code" has awakened Fans from around the world to watch this upcoming story about a young man played by Lin Yi who suffers from Alexithymia. What is Alexithymia? It is a condition where a person is unable to express emotion, and 1 in 10 people suffer from it and their unable to "LAUGH". It is common condition with people that suffer from depression and Autism (ASD).

Next, comes the witty, clumsy, and humorous Shen Yue who makes everyone laugh except Lin Yi. They develop a friendship based on coincidences and it sparks a new relationship about Love while still dealing with the aftermath of their past family trauma and circumstances. This is another beautiful love story with 34 episodes and is a must Watch series. This is a drama that is unlike any other drama because it deals with a condition that is not talked about and the only cure is finding another person who has the opposite personality.

What I Love about this Drama? Both Lin Yi and Shen Yue are the 2 Most Popular International Chinese Stars that are underrated in China, but around the World they're "Loved" by their fans across continents from: Thailand, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Brazil, Venezuela, Italy, France, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Canada, Mexico and the USA etc. All the promotion from this Drama is "Fan" based because platforms only provide advertisements for the well-known actors in China. Fans from around the world have come together to watch this CDrama for their favorite two stars, Shen Yue and Lin Yi. The chemistry and friendship of these two actors is displayed on the screen.

The amazing Director, Randy Che his experience in Cinematography displays some of the Best Screen shots and even with less resources when you watch this drama it is a Top-rated Film production. The English music, "Yes" you heard me right International fans, the songs are in English so we can sing along including singer-songwriter Lily Allen.

International Fans subscribe with Viki to watch Smile Code. They have better English Translations and the drama is easy to find on their Website: https://www.viki.com/ and for more information here's an Article, you can read about the Storyline: https://mydramalist.com/article/shen-yue-returns-to-the-small-screen-with-smile-code.

Congratulations Smile Code on providing audiences with a sincere Story and a heartfelt drama that will be watched by millions of fans. Hopefully soon Netflix will pick this drama to showcase to all countries. The dynamic duo is really a must watch drama that will leave you laughing and entertained.

Read More