Reviews

Immaculate vibes

Many thoughts. Number one is that the whole mafia thing was perplexing to me the entire time. What were they doing? I don't know. Why were they doing it? No Clue about that either. What I do know is that the men were hot and Vegas stole the show. I read some comments beforehand about him dominating every scene he was in, and you know what, they were RIGHT. Was he the reddest flag that ever walked the Earth? Mayhaps. Was it hot? Damn right it was. Problematic fave forever and always. At some point I stopped caring about Kinn and Porsche, but I must commend this show for including one of my favorite tropes ever - when two nerds are left in the wilderness to fend for themselves. This was such a stroke of genius that I thought maybe that episode was crafted specifically for me.

The lighting team was amazing and production should be proud of how pretty the entire show was.

The sex scenes get a section of its own because they were splendid. The bathroom scene. Need I say more? Speaking of lighting, that green and yellow vibe will stay with me forever. Tied up sex dungeon thing? Hello? Vegas the man that you are……

Special shoutout to Tankhun for being batshit insane but also secretly the wisest person in that house. Reverse shoutout to Kim for being frustrating and emotionally constipated. Side-eye to Kinn for fully forgetting all about Pete in his time of need, but also thank you. Love and lust to Vegas for everything.

You will not like this if you care a lot about everything being consensual and tidy. If it means a lot to you that the story makes sense, you will probably also not have a good time. If you're in need of some good fun with competent acting, beautiful fight scenes and hot men, KinnPorsche will be right up your alley.

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Middle-Aged Men, Assemble!!

The story Agent Kim Reactivated is very good and highly engaging. It won't bore you at all and hooks you right from the very beginning. The story follows Agent Kim, who lives an ordinary life, but when her daughter gets kidnapped, his actual character comes to the screen.

The action scenes are absolutely amazing. The raw and heavy Hand-to-Hand Combat is also incredibly good. Agent Kim's explosive action Comeback is highly impactful, and every single fight sequence has been brilliantly executed. Agent Kim's (Kim Do-hyeon) character is very smart and silent. The actors playing his companions (Choi Dae-hoon and Yoon Kyung-ho) also delivered powerful performances, and their trio looks fantastic on screen. The other actors did a great job too.

The story is strongest in the first half with the kidnapping arc. However, it stumbles a little when the heavy-handed political arc starts around Episode 7. While the story does end satisfactorily, the narrative felt stretched out towards the last couple of episodes.

Overall, Agent Kim Reactivated has a strong narrative and plays well due to it's action sequences, however feels stretched and little bloated towards the end. Although it doesn't get boring, it should have been wrapped up a little earlier to keep the screenplay tighter and more impactful. Still, a great watch!

My Rating : 4/5

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Sweet but Overstretched

A simple, fluffy romance with touches of trauma. Overall, the story is okay. It's your typical romance where the white knight swoops in and saves the female lead. My biggest issue is that if that was always going to be the story, there was no reason for this drama to be 28 episodes. They easily could've told the same story in 20. The script would've been tighter, the pacing would've been better, and the story wouldn't have dragged as much as it did. Overall, The Best Thing is a decent, easy watch if you're looking for a comforting romance with a genuinely lovable male lead. The leads have good chemistry, and there are plenty of heartwarming moments throughout.

The whole ex-boyfriend arc annoyed me, not just because he was such a detestable character, but because we never really learned why he was so determined to get back together with her. Since the drama starts before their breakup, we witness everything unfold firsthand. I actually think it would've been much more interesting if the story had started after they had already broken up. Then the audience could've learned about Shen Xi Fan's past alongside He Su Ye, slowly uncovering what happened and why she became the person she is. Instead, there wasn't much mystery surrounding her history because we already knew exactly what happened, which made that entire part of the story feel far less engaging.

He Su Ye is a major green flag, and it's easy to see why so many people loved him. I also appreciated how the drama handled his ex-girlfriend. They acknowledged that she existed and that she'd had an impact on his life, but they never brought her back just to create unnecessary drama like so many romance series tend to do. Instead, they showed how his previous relationship still influenced the way he viewed love and approached new relationships without turning it into another love triangle. I thought that aspect was handled really well. That said, I do think they leaned a little too hard into making him the perfect male lead. He barely had any flaws, and after a while he started to feel more like an ideal fantasy than an actual person. He was endlessly patient, understanding, accommodating, and willing to compromise. There's nothing wrong with those qualities, but eventually the balance felt off. He became less of a fully realized character and more of an ideal partner.

As for Shen Xi Fan, I found her to be a pretty boring protagonist. Yes, she's sweet, kind, and considerate, but beyond those traits there just isn't much to her. She doesn't have a particularly strong personality, and her character growth feels very limited. I kept waiting for her to become more confident or decisive, but that moment never really came. She spends so much of the drama hesitating and dragging her feet that it eventually became frustrating to watch. I honestly think the ending would've been stronger if she'd chosen to study abroad while staying single. For much of the first half of the drama, she was still dealing with the trauma left by her ex-boyfriend, and then she immediately entered a relationship with He Su Ye. She never really had a chance to breathe or figure out who she was on her own. The time she spent single simply wasn't enough. Let her grow, gain new experiences, and return as a more confident person.

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show that fully earned its (now confirmed) third season

this review is definitely going to be biased because the main cast and the theme are completely my kind of thing. honestly, just getting a show like this already felt like a treat, but the fact that it was executed so well was the cherry on top.

as a kochi fan, i can't think of a better show to fully showcase his strengths and everything he's good at. even before watching, i knew i was going to love it based on the premise alone, and it absolutely lived up to my expectations.

what i didn't expect, though, was how much i'd end up loving the junior cast. i didn't really pay much attention to them during season 1, but by the end of it, i had started to appreciate them a little. season 2, however, took it to a completely different level.

the development of kochi's relationship with the juniors ended up being the highlight of the season for me. i could barely remember most of their names after season 1 (except maybe rinne and takemura), but now i'm actually invested in all of them. watching kochi go from saying at the beginning of the season that he didn't really know how to approach or interact with the juniors to becoming the kind of senior they feel comfortable opening up to, sharing their worries with, and asking for advice was genuinely heartwarming. no wonder totsugi said in the interview that the conversations before bed were his favorite part of the season. i'm really glad they kept the same junior cast from season 1, and i'm looking forward to seeing how their relationship continue to develop in the upcoming season.

another thing i really liked was how they improved the overall format. they clearly adjusted the structure and made everything flow much better. the new rules made the challenge a lot harder, but they also made the show much more interesting to watch. there's still plenty of room for improvement, but overall, i think they did a great job.

totally unrelated, but a few months ago i came across some youtube videos of people visiting the locations featured in the show. they made me realize i had seriously underestimated just how rural and remote those places actually are. i remember thinking the cast was probably exaggerating how difficult the journey was, but if anything, the show actually made it look much easier than it really was. it gave me a whole new appreciation for how hard everyone must have worked behind the scenes.

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DO NOT MISS OUT ON THIS!!

This is truly GOATED. One of the most amazing and top-tier Chinese BLs. Man!! Chinese dont come to play, they come to conquer.

The post credit scene ending of episode 12 made this so META that I can't wrap my head around anything.
It's a gorgeous show, EXTREMELY WELL PACED AND WELL SHOT, the lighting, the acting ... Especially by the Feng Chi (the character) and Wu... Won me over.

Everything was so picture perfect production wise! And so much drama, chemistry, comment on reality and toxicity, dealing with sensitive issues like rape..

It was just so well woven together and so well put, HATS OFF TO THE TEAM, TO THE CREW, TO Everyone WHO WAS A PART OF THIS!!

Especially to the writers who wrote this plot, this script, everything!

WOW!

THank you to everyone for bringing this to life! You did make our lives better! Thank you!

WOW!

(ALSO, here's to hoping that China brings BLs back and make LGBTQ legal. China, u r way off in modern culture, man, grow tf up. Restricting art and artists and chinese culture dictating whom to love .. Really should be gunned down)

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This is truly a masterpiece

I don't even know where to start. This is so brilliantly done! I guess I'll begin with a slow hand clap for Chinese BL. 👏👏👏 You're killing it right now.

The story is soooo good. Deep In describes the story, the storytelling, and, for me as a viewer, the way I experienced this drama. I can't remember the last time I was so absorbed in a show!

The acting and the actors contributed to that. I loved watching the mains. Their characters were complex and the chemistry was fire. The visuals were amazing as well, by which I mean they are both beautiful and the way they were captured on film was soft and inviting.

OST was perfect, especially the opening and closing themes. I often just pick a number for the music rating but this soundtrack was truly 10 of 10!

The writing was good. It was the perfect balance of easy to follow but also what the heck just happened moments. I was clinging to every word.

The production was fantastic. Camera work. Direction. Lighting. Set design. Wardrobe. Editing. So so good. I never felt like something was off or distracting.

Top notch job by everyone involved! And now I kinda want to read the novel!

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Healthy Partnership vs. Conditional Love

Many People miss the point of this drama. The drama isnt about judging the MC and her weight, its about a Healthy Partnership vs. Conditional Love.

In high school, MC was a beautiful slim girl and known for ehr beauty. But 15 years later, she has gained a lot of weight and become "overweight".

How she gained weight is totally relatable, as ive been in her exact situation too. The stress of everyday life: work, relationships and much more leading to stress eating. Ive struggled with it too and still do. And with MC, she would eat her stress away, which after years and years led to her gaining weight.

NOW, THIS IS WHAT THE DRAMA IS ACTUALLY ABOUT:

Her boyfriend has been together with her since high school and fell for the pretty her. As she gained weight, he grew resentment towards her and the way she looked. And this is where the drama conveys the differences of Healthy Partnership vs. Conditional Love:

Her boyfriend loves MC conditionally. He was always sweet to her and stayed with her, but he would treat her bad because quietly he had started resenting her for the way she looks. He only loved her when she would look good and fulfill his expectations of her.

Enter the ML, which is supposed to be the opposite of the boyfriend, who shows unconditional love towards her. Instead of being mean and passive aggressive to her, he treats her like a normal person and loves her for her personality and who she is as a person. He points out her overweight issues, but not because her aesthetic bothers him, but because he is genuinely worried about her health, as her diet was like 90% sweets and she wasnt active. Instead of telling her off though, he tells her she should change her lifestyle for the sake of her health BUT together. He will go in the trenches with her: Same diets, cook together, work out together, live healthy together. Its a GENUINE PARTNERSHIP. And even if she is overweight, he likes her because she is who she is.

Realising the show is about this contrast of how a healthy and unhealthy relationship handle change (and its not necessarily about weight, you can insert/think of any change that can happen in a relationship here. The show just used weight as its subject to deliver the message, but its universal.) made me appreciate the show a lot and im sure it will help a lot of people navigate their own relationships and their problems better.

Love this show!

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I love this drama so much

because of yun weishan. I've grown to like Esther and I finally understand what it means when they say that prejudice in one's heart is like a mountain. Many people judge Esther is too one's side and I used to be one of them. I didnt watch her show before but I dare to say she can't act by looking at many comments without bothering watch the drama. while watching this drama. I realize I only cried two time and each time all relate to yun weishan. one she eats the porridge while crying and other one is when she cried for her sister. what's an amazing performance.
I have so many characters that mean the world to me but yun weishan is number one white moonlight in my heart. She's not the most beautiful and not the perfect character but I just love ah yun the most.
Many audiences failed to understand her and only see her as a love struck villain that betray her own organization. They failed to see the pain and conflict beneath her calm exterior. Just read some comments here. Most of them don't understand yun weishan even a bit. They almost don't understand the plot of the drama yet dare to shade the characters .

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Great CGI, Weak Emotional Impact

The East Palace is a good drama with amazing visuals. The CGI, action scenes, cinematography, and acting are all very well done. The suspense is also built nicely, which kept me interested till the end.

The best part of the drama for me was the baby Gwi-mae. It was ugly but somehow so cute. 😭 Every time it appeared, I kept hoping it wouldn't die. Its little whimpering sounds and eyes made me feel more emotional than any other character.

The drama is labelled as horror, but I don't think it's scary at all. I enjoyed watching it, but it never made me feel strongly about anything.
I also felt the female lead lacked the main character aura.
It felt like the creators focused more on the visual fx than the story.

The ending wasn't satisfying either. There were too many unanswered questions. How did he come back? How did he survive the mother Gwi-mae? Since there's no Season 2, those questions will probably stay unanswered.tbh, I am not even curious to know.

the visuals are really good like 9/10,
if I rate the story it's more of 6/10. they were just trying to save the despicable, ungrateful king.
the story and emotional impact weren't as strong. I don't like saying this because the production quality is excellent, but I do think the drama is a little overhyped.

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