Reviews

A drama. a tragedy and a farce.

The structure of the plot is great, the exposition is credible but the roll-out is often farce. What do I mean by that? Well the structure is deciding things like A betrays B, the exposition is the world building around it and the roll-out is how everything actually happens. And how it happens is the difference between credible and ridiculous.

There were three different directors for this drama. And my perception was that there were three distinct styles to the beginning, middle and end. The beginning was solid, but the middle was eye-rolling. Even a daytime soap would have struggled to match the melo that swept all before it. It was not in general the fault of the actors (Lin Jing excepted), imo, although they all did a nice line in pop-eyed surprise at some point.

The OTT voice acting, the cringe-worthy false laughter, the overly dramatic editing, the piling up of catastrophe on catastrophe, the average script, the relentless impossible fights and tedious predictability, all added together to take their toll. Getting people into a tight spot is relatively easy, getting them out of it dressed in the shreds of credibility requires ingenuity and imagination and tbh there simply wasn’t enough of that to go round.

Occasional moments in the first half but much of the second half provided me with a lot of laughter. Unfortunately, in all the wrong places and for all the wrong reasons. The pinnacle was the prince and the candle. If you’ve seen it, you won’t forget it. It took me out for at least a minute of convulsive mirth.

Apart from lots of loose ends for most of the characters, the last 6 episodes largely redeemed the deficiencies of what had come before. Although the emotional stakes were ramped up, this director turned down the wailing melo with the result that it really made an impact. Ethan Juan did a great job of Wuji and his voice actor, Ma Zheng Yang didn’t let him down. But unfortunately not everyone was as fortunate and the ranting and maniacal laughter continued in some quarters.

Somewhere underneath however there is something to praise in this drama. Even if the CGI and the unbelievably tacky military costumes (the sort that are garishly awful and look like something your mum ran up on the sewing machine for a float at the Lord Mayor’s Parade) left a lot to be desired. It had some interesting characters, a great plot structure, good twists and to start with some sizzling chemistry (well on ML side at least). Admittedly that paled into a sort of fond married couple dynamic later.

It rips along at a cracking pace and drags you along with it and there’s enough in there to satisfy most tastes and desires. So, if you’re the type to not notice the glaring faults and you can take rampant excess in your stride, go for it, you’ll love it. There’s plenty of folks that do.

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mentally ill ppl deserve love too

Ive seen an absurd amount of reviews headlining that kelvin's redemption arc was unnecessary. The response to Yesterday has proven once again that this generation of viewers lack the capacity to handle and appreciate complex characters. Kelvin has bipolar disorder, one google search should suffice in informing you about the condition - unstable sense of self, distorted view on reality, inability to regulate emotions, leading to intense mood swings that fuel abusive behavior towards oneself and others which in the moment does not register as abusive to the person with bipolar disorder.

“I dont know how to love you” - ep 9 (39:30) to me just cements that Kevlin is unsure whether he has the ability to express his love to Vier in a healthy manner. Does he deserve to be forgiven? Yes absolutely, given his circumstances as well as if you stand in his shoes. Bankrupting Vier and his entire family in his pursuit of power was justified in HIS eyes because 1. Only then would he have avenged himself and his mother as well as achieve his goal 2. In his eyes, his power is Vier’s power therefore the more power he had the more he can give Vier. He held Vier hostage in a fit of rage, understandable bc if my fine shyt ran off for months id lose my mind and lock them up as soon as i saw them again. Was it right? No. Do I understand, hell yes. I think people are forgetting that after a while ( i believe on the 3rd day) he let him go after it clicked to him that just maybe Vier didn't appreciate being chained up and the attempted sexual assault. Vier choose to stay, they were living together and as deluded and sick Kelvin was he truly wanted the best for Vier (reference him getting Vier a psychiatrist). In the final ep everyone was quick to jump on the "Kelvin need to be punished" bandwagon without truly having some compassion. "When people truly love each other there are no mistakes, its about whether or not your willing to forgive" encapsulates the answers on why Vier acted towards Kelvin the way he did and honestly FortPeat did an amazing job. I wished there was less focus on the side couple and more focus on Vier and Kelvin but i truly appreciate the care and attention that was put into Kelvin's character and his relationship with Vier

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Gross

The first scene literally being SA should've been my first sign to click out of it, never open with something like that what the hell? This story is so clearly made by some random fetishizer like there is no way anyone on the team for this show thought it was normal whatsoever, and if you get rid of the clear SA then it's such a boring cliche been done 100 times. If you have to add SA to your story for it to have some kind of entertainment (?) to it you are just a bad and uncreative writer, so gross so dumb. And the ML was so delusional like BRO your BEST FRIEND is bringing you medicine because you are sick and he's your… BEST FRIEND not because he wants in your pants my GOD. Anyways, could have been done a lot better overall just kind of nasty and gross.

if i could've given the story a 0 i would've

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It needs Season 2!

It made me feel like I'm part of a game instead of watching a drama. It felt like an immersive experience instead of passively watching! That's why I understand the mixed reviews at the same time the hype.

First, it's not the typical idol drama-its appeal is not for the hype it's more of a cinematic experience-and as for me I find myself asking questions along with the characters! That is why it does not appeal to everyone. There may be scenes that may seem boring, dragging but honestly it comes with the plot. I think it was intentionally made the viewer be attached and painstakingly be a part of the main character's journey.

The cast were amazing - they all shined in their own respective roles gave justice to them and more!

Xiao Zhan's chemistry with all the other main characters were amazing! The scenes were gripping and the mystery of these characters is what make this whole drama interesting. I always also look forward to all the other story and scenes with other characters. They all have interesting stories and the actors for the roles were also amazing!

Special mention!!
Duke Ping Jin and his son's character development what a well written character!

Scene stealer!!
Xiang An Tu! Zhang Jingyi was always so beautiful and great actress for me but seemed always with the same characters in her dramas BUT here, her character was the icebreaker! I was surprised of her versatility as an actress It didn't occur to me this type of character may suit her too love her and love how they wrote her character and her scenes are a scene stealer what a treat! She should not be underestimated!

What then stood out?
It's different from your usual male-centric idea of a male. Zang Hai is flawed, unsure, and calculating. He just makes use of what he has even without having that usual characteristic of male leads. He was not the typical high-ranking General, the glorified warrior, No outstanding fabled / mysterious martial artist. He was just an ordinary person that led an extraordinary life achieved with a journey filled with diligence, perseverance and the refusal to give up.

Zang Hai's grit led to his glory.

My only comment is the lack of chemistry of Main character-Zang Hai and the so called Master Gao Ming I don't know they supposedly have a tight bond/father-son bond but for me I find their scenes lacking/a bit boring-maybe due to lack of chemistry or what I tend to fast forward or play it at a higher speed when it's their scenes! haha

WHY SEASON 2?

The story has a lot of unfinished stories for me, needs more exploration, background and with that it has a lot of potential! A movie spinoff would also be ok considering the success it achieved- just anything that would give a background of the whole story! It's deep and wide and very interesting! It has a different point of view of fantasy - not straightforward that is why it does appeal to a lot of people especially for the impatient ones! hahahaha

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good intimacy with draggy poor communication/mopping ep 7 and after (watch suggestions)

Overall: I rated this much higher before episodes 7 and after. 10 episodes about 45 minutes each. Aired on iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/magic-move-episode-1-1akg1uvb3g4?lang=en_us and Moonlight Glow YouTube channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEhCS-4vUKl-Dbe6cHsOnTLjDVWWNkKmC&si=tEQJiU6q7Mqvpzco

Content Warnings: manipulation, blackmail, held against will, violence, self harm, blood, death, grief

Watch Suggestions:
- watch episodes 1-6
- episode 8 watch 26-38:20
- skip episode 9
- episode 10 watch 12:55-16:20 and 36:20-end (including the extra scene after the initial end credits)

What I Liked
- it was funny how he got into fortune telling (though he's going to need to slow down lol)
- the dream in episode 1
- intimacy

Room For Improvement
- what the writers did to a character in episode 9
- multiple main characters annoyed me. Who needs enemies with "friends" like those (bartender dude was fine turning his best friend into an alcoholic). Itt knew he was hurting Rit by not saying he knew also did the "I can explain" and never explained. Rit also lied and then somehow thought all the actions/feelings they experienced were false? And I cannot believe he did that AT A FUNERAL
- the finale a character apologized for manipulation by more manipulation lmao and they reconciled at 39 minutes...of a 46 minute episode!
- constant comedy sound effects

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Could have been one of the best...

My Only Sunshine is definitely going to be my biggest disappointment of the year. The series had the potential to be one the best for 2026. The cast has chemistry, it has a fantastic OST and on a technical level, it is one of the best so far this year.

Unfortunately, even with a mostly good story, the series had to go ahead and romanticize sexual assault. Flint apologized to everyone about everything expect for the actual crime she committed when she raped Sun because she "loves" her.

I get it, sexual assault is an unfortunate fact of life, so I didn't have an issue with that scene itself. My issue is that it was then passed off as romantic and made it seemed like Flint was justified in her actions towards Sun.

I could not imagine rewatching this. Such a disappointment.

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Really cute main couple, but there was some inconsistencies with the story that were hard to ignore

first off, let me start this by saying I by no means disliked this show. I loved it. There were, however, multiple times during the story where I was confused. What was the point of Ta Khuean? And why did it matter that he was also a police officer who lived in the same town as Atikun, when it was obvious he didn't do it? why did they continue investigating Khuean, even after he called a victim who was already dead? If he was the killer, why would he call? Why did none of these people use their guns until the last two episodes? Why did King go into the cooler without a gun? Why were they not frantically searching for King when he was kidnapped, and why did we need a love scene when there were more important things at stake? I was also disappointed with how obvious it was who Atikun was.

I know I rambled a lot, and it seems like I'm upset about the show, but honestly I still really enjoyed the characters, and the cuteness between the main couple made up for all of the confusing plot lines.

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Did Not Watch the Original Series

The first 11 minutes was very interesting. Unfortunately, this faded away as the series continued. The script was mostly boring with many weak aspects. The comedy sections were not funny and the dramatic sections lacked human interest. Many of the characters were actually very likable with the exception of Risa. This character was very annoying and I started to dislike any of the scenes with her in it. Although I usually can overlook a weak script when I like many of the characters, this was not giving me enough to really care about the storyline or characters. However, the cinematography and acting were good.

Random Note:

As I noted above, I did not watch the Korean original story (Hot Stove League). I went in without any preconceived notion what this series should be. I personally think this series suffered due to a bad script regardless whether this was a remake or not.

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Why can they have a cast and a budget for such a poorly written story?

PLOT: Guy, who has had a long-standing crush on his best friend Wahl, is devastated when Wahl starts dating a girl. Guy takes refuge in an online game and makes friends in the guild. There, he meets Tew (Yuri in the game, whom Guy thought was a girl), who is later revealed to be the right-hand of a gang leader. Tew, in love with Guy, decides to leave the gang when he becomes Guy's boyfriend, but he is pursued by the other second-in-command, Kenji, who is ready to kill everyone. To protect Guy, Tew eventually leaves him. But...

+++ Meen (a good actor with a very natural style) and Ping (acting skills need improvement) in CL. They are cute together, but Ping's character is quite annoying.
+++ Fast-paced, but the editing is too rushed.

### The story is incoherent, VERY poorly written, with a "Kenji" narrative arc that doesn't hold water.
### The direction is clumsy, lacking essential transitions and development. As a result, it's impossible to get invested in the story.
### The fight scenes are terrible... It feels like watching a bad play (x_x)⌒☆

=> Frustrating series [especially, I guess, for the actors who had to perform in this awful drama :( ]
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Pourquoi avoir un cast, un budget, avec une story aussi mal écrite ?

PLOT : Guy, ayant un crush depuis longtps sur son best friend Wahl, est désespéré qd Wahl commence à fréquenter une fille. Guy se réfugie alors dans un jeu en ligne, et se fait des amis ds la guilde. Il rencontre ainsi Tew (Yuri ds le jeu, que Guy pensait être 1 fille) qui se révèle ensuite être un sous-chef de gang. Tew, amoureux de Guy, décide de quitter le gang qd il devient le boyfriend de Guy, mais il est poursuivi par l'autre sous-chef, Kenji, prêt à tuer tt le monde. Pr protéger Guy, Tew finit par quitter Guy. Mais HE.

+++ Meen (bon acteur, qui a un jeu très naturel) & Ping (acting skills à améliorer) en CL. Ils sont mignons ensemble, mais le personnage de Ping est assez agaçant.
+++ Rythme rapide, mais montage trop rushed.

### Story pas cohérente, TRES mal écrite, avec arc narratif "Kenji" qui ne tient pas la route.
### Réalis° maladroite, sans les transitions et les développements indispensables. Du coup, il est impossible de s'investir dans cette histoire,
### Très mauvaises scènes de fight ... On a l'impression d'assister à une mauvaise pièce (x_x)⌒☆

=> Série frustrante [surtt pr les acteurs qui ont du jouer ce drama nul :( ]

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