Reviews

More than just zombies

I loved this drama, it has everything I have learned I enjoy in a story. Starting with zombies/apocalypse that puts characters at the edge and tests their limits, through romance that feels genuine and makes you root for the couple, mystery and twists that keep you on edge and of course characters you despise from the bottom of your heart.

The disease outbreak that the story follows is such a cruel one, infected lose themselves to an extreme thirst that only blood can quench, but they regain their conscience soon after and are met with a dreadful realization that they cannibalized someone, someone most likely close to them. And most terrifying of all? They were happy doing all that.

Amidst this cruel reality the writers decide to show us what happiness could be and how to achieve it. For some it comes from holding certain social standing, others find it in having money or fame, but all of that pales next to the happiness that comes with having close relationships. Because sharing your life with someone is what lets you pull through the worst and that’s what I think this drama shows again and again through its characters.

And the romance. Sae Bom came into Yi Hyun’s life like a typhoon and with one quick shove managed to push him from the standstill he found himself in after a career-ending injury. With that, his years-long yearning began. Their relationship feels so genuine, like they had already meant so much to each other long before they moved in together. And as they face difficulties throughout the show, they slowly realise just how much they truly mean to one another. I love them together so much!

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Came for her, stayed for him

I clicked play for Wu Jin Yan. She's one of my favorite actresses. What I did not expect was to walk out of the finale thinking almost exclusively about Chen Zhe Yuan.

His Ying Gua is holding this entire show up. A young emperor who slips out of the palace to play vigilante as He Du, cleaning up the corruption his own court is drowning in. He builds two men you can tell apart in a second and still recognize as the same person. He acts with almost nothing, too. Stillness, posture, the eyes, a twitch at the corner of the mouth. There's a permanent regal weight he never puts down even in disguise, and underneath the polite imperial mask there's something genuinely cold that only surfaces when nobody's watching. It's a restrained, disciplined performance in a genre that usually rewards shouting.

Meng Ting Hui has one of the best premises I've seen in a while: the first woman to sweep the imperial exams walking straight into the Court of Oversight, and for the first ten episodes Wu Jin Yan plays that suppressed fury beautifully. My problem isn't her, it's what the script does to her afterward. She is steadily pushed from the person driving the investigation to the person delivering the principled speech, and then to needing rescue. That's a waste of both the character and the actress.

This is marketed as historical romance and it is barely either half of that. They fall for each other, fine, but nearly every scene they share is a crisis. No ordinary time, no quiet, nothing that lets an audience actually feel the thing the plot keeps insisting is happening. When the romantic beats do arrive they land like items being ticked off a list. Restraint can be a real choice, but this reads more like the writers ran out of room.

The first arc is tight and the corruption cases genuinely work. Then villains start collapsing faster than they were built, and the last stretch rushes.

What actually carried me through was the two side couples. Shen Zhi Shu and Yan Fu Zhi felt like two adults who see each other clearly and choose each other anyway, no manufactured angst, just warmth, and I lit up every time they were on screen. And Di Nian and Shen Zhi Li wrecked me, even when the writing wasn't fair to him. Both of those pairings gave me more in a handful of scenes than the leads managed across thirty-two episodes, and when the secondary romances are the ones you're actually rooting for, that tells you everything about the main one.

A 7 for the drama. Chen Zhe Yuan alone is a 9.

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bosenin dan tertebak

menurutku cuma seru di episode 1, pas awal-awal cewenya lupa ingatan. terus makin naik episode kayak ga jelas konflik utama yang mau dibawain tuh apa, ga fokus satu masalah tapi kayak langsung serentak sama konflik-konflik kecil lain yang malah bikin ini drama makin awur-awuran😹 konflik balikin ingatan eunsae, terus pas emaknya taeha meningsoy, nenek taeha tetiba sakit parah, mafia-mafiaan, taeha berhenti boxing, flashback masalah pas baek saenggil muda, ada yang ketabrak dll hampir bersamaan, kayak ga coba fokusin disatu masalah utama.

sama yang jadi turn off lain tuh aku merasa pemeran utama gapunya kemistri yang bagus, terus kek maksa dibagian yang female lead, dan male leadnya kek mehhh. ibarat kek lu excited sendirian terus cowo lu iya iyain aja😹😹 idk mungkin ntuh sifatnya si go eunsae yang bubbly dan ceria cuma si taeha butut banget karakternya.

endingnya sangat tertebak, mulai dari endingnya villain, ending pemeran utama, aduh semua mid & biasa aja. emang susah bikin romance comedy yang bagus ya?🧐

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Deng Kai gives a legendary performance

I came here straight from Pursuit of Jade. Sui Yuanhai ruined me, and I went looking for whatever else Deng Kai had done. I did not expect to find one of the best male lead performances I've seen in a short historical, but here we are.

Yu Wen Sheng is a brutally difficult role. He is cruel, and he is in love, and the drama refuses to let you separate the two. A weaker actor would have picked one and played it safe: either the cold revenge prince or the tragic lover. Deng Kai plays both at the same time, in the same frame, sometimes in the same look. Watch what he does before he says something: the jaw, the breath he takes, the half-second where the man loses to the grudge. He acts more with silence than most leads manage with a full monologue. His eyes betray him constantly, and that's the point: Yu Wen Sheng is a man who has decided to destroy what he wants, and Deng Kai lets you see the cost of every single choice. It's a performance for which legendary is not too strong a word.

Li Mu Chen deserves far more credit than she got for Ban Ruo Shui. She takes a character who begins soft and ends up made of steel, and she earns every step of that change instead of flipping a switch. What she does is the backbone of the whole show. Put her opposite Deng Kai and the chemistry is genuinely painful, in the best way.

Everything else supports them: 22 tight episodes with no filler, gorgeous cinematography, costuming that serves the mood, and an OST that follows you around for days after.

This is a story built on hate, damage, and slow repair. It is designed to be unbearable in the first act, so if you don't like angst, you have no place being here. If you rate a 22-episode drama after three of them, you haven't rated the drama, you've rated your own discomfort. The show answers almost every objection people throw at it, but it answers them later on, not episode 3 or 4. Judging a story so early on isn't criticism, it's impatience. I don't rate anything I haven't finished, and this one rewarded finishing.

Dark, angsty, not for everyone, and a 10 from me without hesitation. Watch it for Deng Kai. Stay for what he does to you.

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One Drunken Kiss, One Forbidden Summer, and Two Beautiful Boys Who Were Meant to Fall in Love!

I watched the 57 minute movie version of The Summer You Kissed Me on GagaOOLala instead of watching the individual five episodes, and honestly, I am so glad I did because I absolutely cannot stand waiting every week for the next episode!

This was such a cute, adorable and surprisingly charming little BL. Wang Chen Rui as Gao Ran, an art student, immediately caught my attention from the opening scene where he is naked and drawing himself while looking into a mirror. Drawing yourself is already difficult enough, but doing it while staring at your own reflection takes some serious skill. And yes, his body definitely made that opening scene even more memorable!

Then Gao Ran meets Chen Zihan as Mosua, and their first interaction instantly turns into clashes, bickering and playful arguments. Their chemistry was so much fun to watch. For Gao Ran, it was basically love at first sight, and I absolutely loved how openly flirtatious and dirty minded he was whenever Mosua was around. It gave his character so much personality and added a really fun charm to their dynamic.

One of my favourite moments was when Gao Ran described Mosua as white and cute like a lychee and then basically said he could not wait to peel his lychee. 😂 That was an absolutely wild line to say, but somehow it perfectly suited Gao Ran!

Then they meet again at a bar, things get complicated, and they end up kissing. It was a drunken kiss, but the chemistry between them was intense and surprisingly passionate. What made it even more interesting was that this was both of their first time experiencing something like this with another man. They were clearly confused about their feelings and what the kiss actually meant to them.

Luckily, Mosua's flight gets cancelled, giving them another chance to see each other. I really enjoyed how the story eventually moved beyond the idea of a one night stand. Their confession towards the end was genuinely adorable because they realised they did not just want that one moment. They wanted each other.

"Can you only kiss me and only me?" 🥹

That line perfectly captured what they were feeling.

Overall, The Summer You Kissed Me is extremely short, but sometimes a short and sweet story is exactly what you need. It is light, cute, romantic and thankfully non toxic, with two gorgeous leads who have great chemistry. I really hope these two actors get the opportunity to lead a full length BL drama together because I would 100% be watching.

If you like good looking boys, love at first sight, rivals to lovers, a one night stand turning into something more, cute romance and a very flirty male lead, definitely put this on your watch list.

Another short but sweet Chinese BL that proves China can still surprise us with something this cute.

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um dorama muitíssimo querido e gostoso de assistir. personagens queridos, casal fofo, o casal secundário também me cativou muito, e o plot era bem legal de acompanhar, o tema de cinema me interessa bastante e eu também gosto muito de história com ex. tem uma nostalgia muito gostosa e bem feita aqui e também um feeling de dorama raiz que aqueles que a netflix coloca o dedo não conseguem mais transmitir. algumas coisas aqui e ali ficam meio comercial de margarina tipo a resolução das mommy issues da hana e as vezes pode soar repetitivo, mas eu gostei bastante e valeu super a pena assistir.

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At first, the story did not appeal to me at all. It looked boring, and I was not interested in watching it. However, after watching the first episode, I quickly fell in love with the setting, the costumes, and the story.

I especially like that the story is lighthearted and not as stressful as many other Chinese dramas that focus on women fighting over men, concubines, jealousy, and palace politics. Instead, this story is about an ordinary family trying to make a living and build a good life. I find that much more relatable and enjoyable.

I also appreciate learning more about the culture and history of my Chinese ancestors through this drama. The historical towns and traditional settings are beautiful and fascinating. They make me want to visit these towns in person someday and experience the history and culture for myself.

Certainly I would always treasure my grandparents who left China due to poverty. People had nothing to eat and constant war, killing, etc in China. This is a good story to learn about life through drama. Only Chinese would appreciate their roots.

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A painfully obvious, uninspired cashgrab

I really wish producers stuck to making sequels ONLY when the creators have an actually interesting, well thought out idea about how to advance the story instead of simply milking it for the sake of money!

This season was literally embarassing. Character development was all over the place (Ji-an going from being disgusted by her uncle's work to suddenly being capable and cold-blooded enough to lead a small army against Babylon in a span of two episodes is the most glaring example), there were so many plotholes that i won't even try to list them, and don't get me started on forced and frustratingly nonsensical deaths in a pathetic attempt to add some emotional weight to a painfully bland story! I was really hoping we'd get more scenes with season 1's characters interacting - they are already established, so it would've been really cool and emotionally impactful to explore their dynamics - but instead, we're bombarded with too many new characters that the writers didn't even bother to flesh out.

The only thing i liked about this mess is the acting, because it takes real talent to do it when the script either makes no sense or gives you nothing to work with. Lee Dong-wook is my favorite actor and i tend to watch most of his work, but no amount of great acting can save a drama when the writing is this abysmal. Needless to say, i really hope there won't be more seasons if this is what they're going to be like.

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Linda Linda Linda

Queria fazer parte dessa banda!
''Linda Linda Linda''

Vendo essas coisas que percebo o quanto eu amo música!
Ambiente incrível, eu sinto que simplesmente gravaram realmente a rotina de quatro meninas e fizeram um filme. Eu realmente adoro o cinema Japonês como ele é intimo com quem tá assistindo, você fica completamente imersivo nisso e sempre ângulos bem abertos mostrando bastante do cenário fazendo a gente pertencer aquele lugar junto das meninas, e o show final delas cantando Linda Linda Linda, foi incrível com certeza voltarei a assistir novamente no mais tarda...

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It really isn't bad

After reading reviews after finishing the show I can see why some people didn't enjoy it. People talked about the ai but i lowkey didn't notice it only for like a scene I was like is this ai?

Plot wise it was great the only flaw is that the male lead lowkey is a support like everyone else. I think if you watch this with the mindset that this is Chu Zhao story and her journey of life instead of whatever the summary had for the drama. You will def like it more and not end up disappointed

Some people also felt like the rivarly between xie yanfang and deng yi went on too long but I felt like it was realistic. I really enjoyed the story tho it was obviously dramaified for a few parts where I was like ummm holy plot armor but besides that i felt that it was fine and wasnt too bad. We honestly can't expect everyone to stay loyal during this time when power was a thing most people wanted.

I will say for some of the other characters besides Chu Zhao their stories were not fully executed or well was not fully closed as we didn't get to know more about their character

The acting was good from everyone I wont lie and everything else was great. I think with more budget they wouldve had more episodes and everything wouldnt be too fast but this is great if u want a girl boss type of cdrama. I would say similar to the FL in pursuit of jade, Chu Zhao is strong mentally she doesnt fight much but if u dont want to watch a weak fl then this is it.

Sorry if this isnt good I was trying to say a lot without spoiling but this is great if you dont want to watch like 40+ episodes of a cdrama

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that summer we'll always remember

I almost didn't watch this because RIP WinnySatang but I am so glad I did!
this show had a great combination of good actors, a well-paced story, a solid soundtrack, and a sweet ending.

I'll highlight a few positives:
- WinnySatang chemistry delivered as always, as did the chemistry between MondRyu and NeoMint (at this point I'm convinced Neo would have great chemistry with a dead fish. he always delivers)
- casting Namtan as a princess and Gawin as a bodyguard was gold
- we get a wedding and babies (rare for BL to show an adoption)
- it was refreshing to watch a show with essentially no real antagonists yet have it remain interesting for the entire 10 episodes
- I like how they handled the second amnesia with it taking time for Wave/Davin to regain his memories instead of it all flowing back instantly (the cliche route other shows have done). under normal circumstances, I would have called out the double amnesia as a cheap plot point to create some last minute conflict, but it was executed so well that I actually really enjoyed it. plus, it allowed the story to stay away from other overused conflict tropes such as the royal family being homophobic or against Davin and Lava's love because he's a non-royal. (Davin's coming out was the sweetest scene, truly. "I'm a prince searching for my own prince.")

I do, however have a few criticisms:
- although I found the story to be refreshing for having no real villains, I thought it was odd that the assassination attempt on Prince Davin's life played such a minor part of the story when it also was the catalyst for the entire show. He only nearly dies twice (once right at the beginning and once right toward the end) and there aren't many fight scenes despite the royal monarchy being in peril. In fact, we hardly even see the monarchy be in peril. on one hand, I'm glad it didn't follow a typical narrative, but as a result something felt absent from this story. They could have had Wave/Davin leave without telling anyone where he went and a random accident causes him to lose his memory, stranding him on the island. No need for the royal takeover. but I digress.
- the boxing scenes. Felt really random with no payoffs whatsoever. I thought maybe Lava's boxing training was going to come handy when the assassins appeared, but as previously stated, they never had that climatic fight scene. Victor just shows up, shoots Davin/Wave, doesn't shoot Lava who was standing two-feet away (and thus allowing him to save Davin/Wave), and then dips lol. also I found it unrealistic that Lava was able to go from barely being able to box Tum to somehow winning an entire competition. it just felt really random and served no purpose.

all in all, though, it was a fun time and I finished the entire series within two days. if you like fluff (and can withstand the pain of WinnySatang's separation as a duo) give it a watch :)

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Chemistry was chemistriyng .?

Rewatched it , to be honest first and second time dropped after 3 ep.
Coulnd't exact find the flow , but renewed my Netflix account only for this drama. 💖
The 5 age gap .😂 in real lifr girls 16 date guys 21.
What was the fuss about age , the drama is so beautiful written .
First like a brother and little Sis who has a Child like crush.
And from that little sweet love restrained because age.
Developed a beautifull amazing story, with love that runs the bucket over.
So many sweet moments, uncertainties , dought , love that bloomed like a lotus flower in the mudd and grows .🪷 when the lotus seeing the sun and greetz is with a smile.
I cried watching this drama, and i never do .🥺 after all it's just drama.
But this love story, went under my skin , and touched my soul.
Zhau LuSi & Chen Zheyuan. 💯❤️

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