To cope after Taxi Driver
I remember reading the manhwa but this was really good, I think it’s one of the best releases of 2026.This drama was very fun(satisfying revenge), handling heavy themes but also having some comedy and engaging stories. The ending was particularly bittersweet.
People say it’s for people who like weak hero and study group, though it does have action aspects I think the true meaning strays outside of that. For people who like dramas about a group of struggling people banding together for justice. I think it’s for people who liked dramas like Vincenzo or Taxi Driver.
And it does deeply remind me of our Taxi Driver crew, Taxi driver if it had more glimmer and sparkles. But excited for season 2 (Maybe to cope with the ending of Taxi Driver another banger).
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if you like chalant men you would love this
this drama is full chaos and fun . who the heck need a nonchalant boss or ceo . this man was head over heels for our fl and it was the highlight the main attraction was his smile ☝🏼I thought that actress wasn’t suitable for this role bcs the last time I saw her was in glory now seeing her in rom com was lil weird but she pulled it off so effortlessly . all the characters were well written . the way the ml is portrayed in the last episodes were just perfect and awesome I would highly recommend this to those who like chalant characters like the ml is perfectWas this review helpful to you?
ANIMALISTIC DISASTER
The first 2 episodes nothing more than NCs with pretty visuals. But eventually it gets better in episode 3 and you can see a potential plot in all of this mess.They finally discovered the ability of communication and not only sniffing each other like dogs. Yes, I do get that this is omegaverse, but still this kind of intimate acts could be performed with much more gentleness and grace. I can't stand to watch these scenes at all. All of them look clumsy and unnecessary. If you skip them all nothing much changes..
Is acting in the room with us????
Ok, joking, everything's not really that bad.
~ I really love how Oat (Phasta) portrays emotions maybe not flawless but still better than half of the cast .
~ Boat ( Nakhun) seems a little bit stiff sometimes while performing, but still doing good job. He remindes me of Lee Do (from kpop group oneus) sometimes.
I don't like the stylist's job here. He has nice constitution but why do they hide them in all this feminine clothing? Even if the novel requires it still this could be done much better then curling his hair and wearing a blouse.
All of the supporting characters feel so blank to me. I don't know if the development gets better.
Overall, it is obvious that production is cheap, but they've done everything that was possible I guess. It has plenty of rooms for improving. But it is bad as it is now...
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Bad
I really pushed myself through to complete it. The idea is there but was poorly executed. Acting is cold bad not fit. They tried but it did not work, the story doesn't capture you, the mains acting is a total flop, some secondary were better. I don't recommend it, especially if you are looking for cute soft romantic or the gives you butterflies type of drama.I wish they had worked the idea more and got different actors as main characters.
It gets also a little but confusing at some point.
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Smile After Tears — Beautiful Ideas, Missing Emotions
Taiwan has produced some of my favorite BLs over the years. Whether it's We Best Love, See Your Love, Plus & Minus, Be Loved in House: I Do, or The On1y One, Taiwanese productions have a unique way of making emotions feel genuine. That's exactly why I was looking forward to Smile After Tears. The premise had everything I enjoy: first love, music, fantasy, grief, and a director, Chiang Ping Chen, whose previous BLs I have loved. Unfortunately, this is one of those rare Taiwanese BLs that left me emotionally disconnected. The story itself was never the problem. A romance interrupted by death, with one character trying to help the person he loves move on from the afterlife, is a beautiful concept. It's also a theme we've seen in several BLs before. Whether through reincarnation, ghosts, or unfinished goodbyes, many series have explored the idea that love can continue after death. Smile After Tears doesn't reinvent that formula, but it didn't need to. What mattered was making me feel the loss.Sadly, that's where the series struggled the most. Death should completely change the emotional atmosphere of a story. Here, it almost feels like another plot point. The characters cry very little, the grief comes and goes incredibly quickly, and before I had time to process what happened, the story had already moved on to the next scene. Instead of allowing silence, sadness and absence to settle, the editing constantly pushes the narrative forward. As a result, I never truly felt the weight of losing one of the main characters.
Brian Cheng's character also made that emotional journey more difficult for me. I understand why he exists in the story. Loving someone since childhood while knowing that person loves someone else could have added another layer to the grief. Instead, I often found his presence frustrating. Rather than helping me experience Jun Jia's loss, his storyline repeatedly pulled my attention away from the emotion I was supposed to be feeling. That also affected Chang Junjia's performance. At first, I wondered if he simply wasn't expressive enough. But the more I watched, the more I realised I don't think the acting was the real issue. I actually believe the problem came from the directing and especially the editing.
There are moments where Chang Junjia clearly shows pain. He cries, he breaks down, and you can see the emotion is there. The problem is that those moments rarely last. The series cuts away so quickly that the audience never has time to stay with his grief. A few minutes later, he's smiling again, continuing his daily life, and the emotional impact almost disappears. Because of that, the title itself started to lose its meaning for me. A smile after tears should feel earned. It should represent healing after a long journey through grief. Here, the smile often arrived before I believed the tears had even ended. Instead of seeing someone slowly learning to live again, I sometimes felt as if Jun Jia simply accepted everything far too easily. He kept telling us how much he missed Yan Kai, but I rarely felt that longing through the way the story was edited.
Ironically, that's what disappointed me the most. This wasn't a script problem. The ideas were all there. The fantasy element works, the relationship between the leads is sweet, and the music naturally connects the different stages of their story. Even the production remains beautiful from beginning to end, something I've come to expect from Chiang Ping Chen's work. Considering he previously directed series such as Be Loved in House: I Do, Plus & Minus, See Your Love and Secret Lover, I honestly expected the emotional pacing to be much stronger.
Final Thought
Smile After Tears isn't a bad BL. In fact, I actually liked it. It has a touching premise, a lovable cast, beautiful cinematography and several genuinely heartfelt moments. But when a story is built around love, loss and learning to smile again, the audience needs time to grieve alongside the characters. Unfortunately, the series never allowed me to stay in those emotions long enough. Instead of making me cry with its characters, it simply showed me that they were sad before quickly asking me to move on. That's why, despite enjoying the story overall, I never connected with it as deeply as I hoped I would.
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Korean Gangsters cause trouble
It's hard to be a gangster in Korea these days because CCTV cameras are everywhere. That's why Korean gangsters are expanding their operations to the Philippines, where people tend to admire Korean culture, making them easier to manipulate. In this film, for example, Korean gangsters promise young Filipino women K-pop careers, only to enslave them. Of course, they're involved in plenty of other criminal activities as well.The story follows Mi-jin, a Korean woman who falls into the hands of the mafia and has no one to rescue her except her son, who fortunately happens to be highly skilled in martial arts. From the very beginning, it's obvious that this isn't a film aiming for outstanding acting performances. The acting is rather mediocre, although much of the blame lies with the director, since the narrative often feels disjointed and lacks logical progression.
What ultimately saves the film are its fight scenes, so I don't regret the time I spent watching it. The hand-to-hand combat is well choreographed, and I only wish there had been more of it. I especially enjoyed the underground street-fighting scenes, where crowds gather around the ring, cheering for their favorite fighter. They reminded me of something straight out of a video game. I think this film had the potential to be much better if the story had been structured more carefully. As it stands, it's a fairly forgettable action movie with a handful of entertaining fight sequences.
Although this is a Filipino film, the lead actors are Korean, and most of the dialogue is in Korean, with somewhat less English and only a few lines in Tagalog. Even so, I think the combination of Korean and Filipino talent works very well, and I hope to see more productions like this in the future.
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This review may contain spoilers
An excellent start, the cast is fantastic.The role suits William very well.
The plot quickly moves to the first major exploration, maintaining sustained interest without superfluous scenes.
The series gets straight to the point with the disappearance of Unit 401.
The hospital scene with the lost soldier stood out for its genuine sense of Chinese horror.
William retains the same commanding presence and military discipline that made the character famous in 2016.
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5 Episodes In, Still Waiting for a Plot.
Five episodes in, and the fact that it’s an omegaverse is doing all the heavy lifting.Aside from the sexual tension, there’s little in the way of actual plot - no real stakes, no clear direction, no character development, no actual relationship growth.
Just “I’m an omega, I was bitten, and I’m bored” stretched thin across each episode.
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A solid watch from start to finish.
I'll start saying how much I loved this drama. It grabbed my attention from the very first episode and just kept getting better.There isn't much else to say because I genuinely enjoyed every aspect of it, from the action to the comedy, which surprisingly worked really well as comic relief. While it did feel a bit anticlimactic at times, it always managed to win me back.
The cast and acting were excellent, and I'd like to give special mention to the actress who played Minji. In my opinion, she really stood out, especially considering (as far as I know) this was her acting debut. She did a fantastic job.
On another note, I know there are mixed opinions regarding the use of AI in the show, but I won't get into that since I feel like it's already a losing battle at this point.
Anyway, that's just my take, and I'd highly recommend it to anyone looking for some action and a fun time.
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This review may contain spoilers
This is making me want to join a club or start one...
A social club is a great way to expand ones sense of self. Each of the Fingers had their own distinct personalities, and were open-minded and non-judgmental of U Yeon, even going as far as helping her find her own color. Beyond romance, this drama is about self-growth, growing pains, unlearning insecurities, and pursuing the things (and people) one truly loves, regardless of age, background, or external opinions.Great casting. Lots of characters, but it never felt overcrowded. The tension between Se Ra and Tae Seon is incredible even just with their gazes. Kang Hye Won is surprisingly a convincing villain. Park Ji Hu and Cho Jun Young are promising young actors. I look forward to seeing more of their future work. It's surprising to see the juxtaposition of Gi Jeong's dispostion from Cho Jun Young's real-life personality. We also see the way Park Ji Hu acts as U Yeon vs. her ego (Delulu) vs. Slightly Dressed Up U Yeon Trying To Break Out Of Her Shell vs. U Yeon With New Found Confidence & Self-Trust. These are all the same character in drastically different states of mind, and her ability to execute the subtle differences speaks well about her acting skill.
I almost dropped this show for several reasons, and one of them was because of Gi Jeong seeming like an absolute airhead. I know it is a Himbo trope, but sometimes, the things he says early on are outright nonsensical. (Which is confusing, because his character seems to have some hidden depth, that I feel was not explored enough in the show.) But, I'm glad I returned and kept watching. Glad to know he is not an entirely flat character who only exists for the female lead's validation. He also discovers things about himself along the way, through loving U Yeon. I love that they both grow individually as they love each other.
The other reason was, I felt impatient with Mint Finger and Blue Finger's storyline. It starts as the cliche miscommunication trope where the guy has always had feelings for the girl, which is a story that is kind of tiring to watch, at least for me. It got interesting when Mint Finger's inner conflict was given light, but I wish they had done it sooner (and shorter), because the earlier episodes prior to the confession felt like dragged out filler scenes at some point.
My primary issue with the show is the way it was directed. Some cuts felt abrupt and random, and the CGI was frankly awful. Occasionally, a romantic scene that is obviously mellow would happen, just to be accompanied by really upbeat background music that kind of makes me confused about the vibe. The flaws do add a campy feel to the show that suits the feeling of being in high school. I heard that the filming was delayed several times, so I wonder what it would have been like if it went smoothly. Overall, it was nice. Not the best show I've watched, but still comforting, in a sense. The actors, set/costume design, and overarching message carried.
P.S. This is the perspective of someone who has never read the Manhwa.
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I loved its unique storyline
I enjoyed the unique storyline and the new actors. I really enjoyed it. I liked both the main couple and the supporting couple. My favorite characters were It because of his complexity and Pitcha because of the way the actor seriously could be AouBooms child… I’m just being honest. His personality is so inline as an idol character.Was this review helpful to you?
Feels Like Dropping It, But Still Clocking In!
I like the story and all, the sweetness of FL and ML scenes and the second couple are really nice. I know conflicts should make the story interesting, but just for me, I've seen the tropes way too much in every office-related drama series, and the conflicts sometimes can be unbearable to watch. What just really brings it to me is the actors are doing their part really well. I would commend Ga-Eul's actor as he represent the most clingy and pathetic ex, and the Mr. Ko's actor as well for acting the stereotypical office drama boss who likes to play on his superiority on the others. Overall, wished that it could just be different.Was this review helpful to you?
A roller coaster that runs endlessly until the very end!
I'm so shocked to see no reviews written on this one? Because honestly the way this movie is so damn fast paced and the way main lead is SO CLEVER AND INTELLIGENT? I absolutely loveddd ittt.Whole movie will make you sit in one place & you wont be able to take your eyes off it!
It grabs you from the VERY start until the very end.
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pathetic FL | no sparks whatsoever
I don't like FL's character at all. Even the makeup doesn't help, she looks 20 years older than she is. She is absolutely unbearable, and EMOTIONALLY immature.FL and ML dont have aby chemistry.
why most of women act like children, why don't act like grown adults. So tired of this. They are very good at work but the private life, emotional, communication is disastrous. And dont do anything to grow.
I would love to see women and men that inspire us emotional, mental, creative... I was waiting to see this series. now, o mega disappointed in k land.
It was such an effort to watch and finish the 6th episode. Two bland people who meet in an office.
I like the second couple, the acting, the chemistry. I wish Seo In Guk to choose better scripts and to have good parteners in acting, that evidence his talent and uniqueness. This man is a pleasure to watch him. Sadly the drama was a floppy.
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The Rawest Love Story
Mr Plankton is the core definition of this phrase: "Happiness doesn't have to be permanent for it to be meaningful". The entirety of this series highlights the actuality of life and its no-so-happy-ever-after trope, that no matter how much we desperately want to stay, we simply cannot. Time is precious. Time is special. But time is limited. Hae-jo realises the significance of life far too late, and as he intensely cries out that he "wants to live" as his life begins to end, it depicts that even those who endure severe hardship and struggles throughout their time on earth are ultimately able to find comfort and peace in someone or something, making them wish that they had cherished them prior to their time running out. The beauty of Mr Plankton is not simply just in its visuals and imagery, but in the sheer heart-wrenching illustration of humanity. The comedy and sarcasm displayed by Hae-Jo towards Jae-mi and the fellow characters is meant to create a humane connection with the viewers, wiping the audience's recollection of the starting scene where Hae-Jo explains that he is going to die. As the series comes to an end, the viewers are then shocked by the unexpected memory of his death, and then understand the shows notion: that the happiness you just experienced was temporary, but extremely meaningful. Yes, Hae-Joe is going to die. Yes Hae-Jo is dead. But are you seriously going to diminish the thrill and joy you felt as you watched the show simply because life ran its course? No. Because happiness is precious, and lives forever in our minds. Death is strong, but always remember, our memories are stronger.Was this review helpful to you?
