Reviews

Dare You to Death felt a bit too cliché for me.

Dare You to Death felt a bit too cliché for me. The story didn’t really bring anything new, and the action scenes often left me with a “that’s it?” feeling.

It also seems like the budget may have affected the overall execution, especially in the action and production quality, which made the series feel underwhelming at times.

There were some cute and fun flirting moments that added a bit of charm, but they weren’t enough to carry the whole series.

Compared to Heart Killers, this one falls short in terms of impact and storytelling. Honestly, it felt more like a filler in the 2025–2026 lineup rather than a standout series.

The concept had potential, but it needed stronger execution to really deliver.

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Mission Obvious

Mission Cross had a strong cast saddled with flatly drawn characters and action. It lacked what a sexy thriller that blatantly copied some Mr. and Mrs. Smith moments requires, at least a modicum of chemistry between the leads. I like both actors but it was hard to understand how they ever ended up--or stayed--married.

Detective Kang Mi Seon, aka The Crocodile, is less than thrilled with her school bus driver and house husband, Park Gang Mu. They’ve been married for a few years and her kindest compliment is that she could have done worse. She leads a team tracking down drug dealers and a missing CEO, and stumbles upon a secret government cover-up. Park Gang Mu works hard to make Kang’s day easier any way he can in the new life he has chosen. He is contacted by an old spy friend whose husband has gone missing. Though Park had given up his undercover life he is willing to come out of retirement to help old friends. The spouses unknowingly begin working on the same investigation from different angles.

The first hour of the film dragged for me as Kang’s team thought that her “wifey” was having an affair. Park’s instincts had definitely rusted as he never realized he and Jang Hui Ju were being followed and photographed by the bumbling detectives. He also never questioned anything. I kept hoping he and another spy were playing a con on the Big Bad, but nope. They were the ones being played by a patently obvious fake out. Made me lose all respect for them. The writing was painfully bland with no surprises. At least Kang was a competent police officer which was a nice change of pace.

The film didn’t become more engaging until the last 30 minutes and even then, the fights were badly staged. The Big Bad overacted. The fire fights weren’t shot very well. The cinematography and direction lacked a professional, polished look to them. Basically, given the cast, I was disappointed. This paint by numbers script had no depth or originality, no spark. Hwang Jung Min and Yeom Jung Ah deserved better.

19 April 2026

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Why bother?

This was exactly like the Thai special, except - well no except, it was exactly the same.

A little cute, a lot cut out and extremely unnecessary.

Fuu is the one with a crush on Sara in this, and he's a creepy little stalker who is in love with an incredibly mean person. They go camping together because their respective friends believe they're perfect for each and that somehow works because they start dating? I think, it was pretty nonsensical.

Think I prefer the Thai version to this, atleast something happened there, this was an hour of nothing.

It's not really necessary to watch this special after the series (like I did), so save yourself some time and maybe make it a background watch.

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My ultimate comfort BL.

I’m still pretty new to BL dramas, and honestly, Duang With You is the reason I fell so deeply into this genre. I actually started watching BL last year, went through about 10 series, then suddenly lost interest. But somehow, Duang With You pulled me right back in… and this time, it didn’t just bring me back... it made me stay.

There’s something about this series that just hits differently. It’s not just “good”… it’s the kind of show that lingers with you even after you finish an episode. The story feels heartfelt and genuine... not overly complicated, but still emotionally engaging in all the right ways. It balances softness, tension, and those cute moments that make your heart flutter.

Duang and Qin are definitely one of its strongest points. They feel real, flawed, and easy to connect with. Watching their growth felt natural, not rushed, and you can really see how their experiences shape them over time. Their chemistry? Insane. The kind that makes you pause, rewind, and just feel everything all over again.

Teetee and Por did such a great job bringing these characters to life. You can tell they truly understood their roles, and it shows in every small expression and interaction. Nothing felt forced... everything felt lived-in.

The OSTs deserve a special mention too! They’re the kind you keep replaying because they take you right back to specific scenes and emotions. Every track just fits perfectly.

What I love most is how this drama became a comfort show for me. It’s the one I think about randomly, the one I’d rewatch without hesitation. It even got me into shipping, which I never thought would happen… but here I am.

At this point, I can confidently say this is my number one Thai BL drama so far. It didn’t just entertain me... it changed how I experience this genre. And honestly, I don’t think I’ll ever forget the feeling it gave me.

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Layers of Lies and Twist of Fate

Its been a long time since my last time watch Hou Minghao's drama. And I have an urge to watch Lu Yuxiao so I'm give it a try. This is my first time watch Yuxiao and I'm not disapointed

Story,
Such a nice story from the start till the end. We know that no xianxia go without misunderstanding, and this drama served perfectly how lies can create such a beautiful by layers of lies. The good thing is there are no disapointment that I got. All the conflict done as I expected in a satisfied way. But sometimes I feel this drama is a product of entertainment (and this is true tho) for some part.

Acting and Character,
I'm in love with both Ji Bozai and Ming Yi. Hou Minghao and Lu Yuxiao did such an amazing job bring them alive. It is hard to created character that feel alive and human. Thank you Hou Minghao and Lu Yuxiao for taking the job and act for our lovely Ming Yi and Ji Bozai.
This is my time to acknowledge your talent, Lu Yuxiao. Actually I watch this because I want to know you more before I watch your 'Nan Yi'. To be honest I don't really expect much from you but wow gurl you stole my heart! Now there is no way I doubt your talent.
Yu Chengen, this is my first time in your drama that I got slowly irritated when you appear. From adored to annoyed. This proved me you did perfect to potrayed the evolution of cute Situ Ling to ruthless Chao Yan.
I see familiar face like Quan Yilun (honestly I fall for you this time), Pan Junya, Zuo Ye, some kids actor and also some actor that I know from short and mini drama such as Zhang Hongming, Wu Tianhao, Yang Pengcheng, Deng Xiaoci, Zhu Lilan, Wu Yiqiao, etc. They all did a great job.

Music,
Hou Minghao's voice are hypnotizing. Such a warm-soft-comforting voice you are.
All of the song are so good and express each scenes properly. Thank you music director.

Rewatch and Overall Value,
First I want to praise the editing staff. Gosh the CGI is CGI-ing. Such a beautiful execution of every part of drama. From lighting or properties placement, graphic action, or event the comical visual are top-notch! I will remember this drama in my heart.

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“More than expressing myself, I destroy—in my own way.”

Within the highly prolific period of the so-called Nikkatsu Action—particularly between 1960 and 1962—"Youth of the Beast" (1963) stands as one of the most significant turning points in the trajectory of Seijun Suzuki.

Some critical readings—often shaped by a rather rigid, auteur-driven perspective—tend to interpret Suzuki’s cinema as inherently pessimistic rather than programmatic, drawing on the ideas of another “outsider,” only seemingly distant, such as Jacques Rivette, who believed that cinema should strip the viewer of clichés and project them into a destabilizing, even unsettling dimension.

A strong idea, one that aligns surprisingly well with Suzuki’s aesthetic: a cinema that does not build, but dismantles, that does not reassure, but exposes. And yet, it is interesting to observe how the so-called B-movies of the late 1950s—apparently indebted to American hard-boiled aesthetics—would, in retrospect, prove to be among the most transformative moments of his career.

From an initially and inevitably imitative model, a gradual stylistic and cultural hybridization emerges, allowing Suzuki to introduce increasingly bold formal shifts: jump cuts not far removed from the lessons of the Nouvelle Vague (particularly Jean-Luc Godard), often eccentric widescreen compositions, sudden visual allegories, and an expressive use of color—elements that break away from the linearity of contemporary productions, which were generally more aligned with international trends (unsurprisingly, these were also the years in which Japan entered the aesthetic orbit of the James Bond phenomenon).

Within this framework, "Youth of the Beast" emerges as a work in which the hard-boiled matrix is not merely referenced, but fully absorbed and reworked. From its very first scenes, Suzuki introduces a key element through the play of reflections inside the nightclub.

Mizuno acts in front of a mirror that is far more than a simple visual device: it becomes a threshold. On one side, the gesture, on the other, the gaze. On one side, the action, on the other, its observation—as if it were already cinema within cinema.
And while all this unfolds, elsewhere—just a few meters away—the cabaret continues as if nothing were happening: music, bodies, lightness. Two planes coexist without ever truly touching, as if the picture itself refused to reconcile them. It is precisely within this disjunction that the first sign of a gaze already out of alignment begins to emerge, ready to fracture what initially appears perfectly readable.

Much of the film’s impact also lies in the magnetic presence of Jō Shishido, whose performance shapes a protagonist that seems to step directly out of the world of Raymond Chandler or Dashiell Hammett—filtered, however, through a distinctly Japanese sensibility.

Mizuno is, in every sense, an outsider private eye: a former policeman expelled for unorthodox methods, who inserts himself between two rival gangs in a structure reminiscent of a “servant of two masters,” only to reveal a far more personal objective—uncovering the truth behind his mentor’s death, too hastily dismissed as suicide. It is here that the picture fully descends into the territory of the bleakest noir.

The truth, far from restoring order, ends up eroding everything: it exposes, contaminates, destroys. And when the full picture finally comes into focus, what emerges is not justice, but a form of awareness that is irreparably compromised.

Suzuki builds this trajectory through a mise-en-scène that is violent, stripped down, almost brutal, yet constantly interrupted by visual insertions that resist any single interpretation: elements that seem to drift out of context, such as the yellow dust that invades the assault scene (and then the wind, an indispensable feature in the director's cinematic language), the sudden fall of the addicted woman, or abrupt eruptions of violence and sadism that oscillate between realism and abstraction.

These are images that do not explain—they suggest, unsettle, remain open. In this sense, the work does not simply tell a story; rather, it fractures it, distorts it, placing it under constant tension between narrative surface and something more elusive beneath it.

What emerges is a deeply corrupted world, permeated by a violence that spares no one. Within this universe, the portrayal of female characters takes on extreme contours, often tied to dynamics of manipulation, exploitation, and betrayal.
Seen through a contemporary lens, this aspect may appear problematic—but it can also be repositioned within the grammar of hard-boiled noir, where female figures often function less as causes of degeneration than as reflections of a world already compromised.

In this context, the protagonist’s so-called 'misogyny' appears less as a moral stance and more as the byproduct of an environment in which every relationship is contaminated.
Mizuno himself is neither a traditional hero nor a straightforward anti-hero. He operates according to a personal code—seemingly more stable than that of the other characters, yet far from irreproachable. In a world where everything is tainted, his position inevitably begins to crack: he is not detached from the violence that surrounds him, nor from its most ruthless logic.

The ending, in this sense, is revealing. Mizuno does not simply expose the truth—he actively shapes its outcome, deliberately closing a cycle of violence that leaves no room for redemption.
It is precisely in this gesture—lucid, fully conscious—that the character’s ambiguity comes into focus: not a judge, not a savior, but someone who, while holding onto a personal moral line, ultimately shares in the same dark substance of the world he moves through.
What remains is a sense of emptiness, almost exhaustion—as if, once the mechanism has been revealed, there were nothing left to preserve.

In this regard, "Youth of the Beast" is not only a remarkably effective noir, but one of the most accomplished expressions of the internal tension that defines Suzuki’s cinema: an unstable balance between form and sabotage, between adherence to genre and its gradual dissolution.

An image that offers no foothold, seeks no redemption—and because of this, retains an extraordinary power even today.

9/10

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WE NEED THIS GENRE !!!!!!

Love This Story and Genre, Make me feel so Happy ! Not a Complicated Drama. Easy Going, But Meaningful. Full of Happines. Good Job for all the Team and Actors !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤗🤩🤗🤩🤗🤩🤗🤩🤩🤩🤗🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️🤗🤩✨️🤗🤩✨️🤗🤩✨️🤗🤩✨️🤗🤩✨️✨️🤩✨️✨️✨️🤗🤩✨️🤗🤩✨️🤗🤩✨️🤗🤩✨️🤗🤩✨️🤗🤩✨️🤗🤩✨️🤗🤩✨️🤗🤩✨️🤗🤩🤩🤩

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A charming series with a few problematic aspects

I started watching An Incurable Case of Love because of the actor playing the main role, after his performance in Glass Heart. I don’t think this will be the last series I watch with him, because he’s really great :D and I’ll definitely follow his future projects.

As for the series itself… it’s a sweet and charming story about the innocent, initially platonic love of a young girl for a doctor who fascinates her. It’s really love mixed with fascination, maybe even a kind of idol-like admiration. Overall, the idea of being fascinated by an older, experienced doctor is understandable, but I do have a few issues with this series, and I think the age difference is actually the smallest problem here.

Maybe I’ll start with the fact that the main character’s behavior doesn’t match that of a 22-year-old, but rather a teenager, which, from what I’ve seen, other commenters have also pointed out. Some of her behaviors are very childish. The second issue is that three men fall in love with her at the same time. I get the whole rivalry thing and all, but without offending our heroine—how is that even possible? Two middle-aged men plus a millionaire all fall in love with a young, not particularly sharp nurse. Of course, she is sweet and charming, kind and empathetic, but she is also childish, not very perceptive, makes mistakes she shouldn’t be making as a trained nurse, and overall the whole millionaire subplot seems quite unnecessary to me. Similarly, I find it unconvincing that she was the one sent for overseas training—like, why exactly? What was the selection process? Maybe I missed something?

And finally, my biggest issue with this series, the cherry on top:
Who would want—or react with a smile—if their loved one called them a donkey? Even at the altar? Was this mistranslated? It’s constantly either “donkey” or “blockhead,” used at work, then thrown around as a joke, and in the end said to his future wife? What kind of relationship is that, where one person treats the other in such a patronizing way? Of course, I understand it’s a series and not real life, but what I value in series is a reflection of reality. If a 22-year-old falls in love with a 33-year-old doctor and, completely blinded by love, marries him, then after 10 years, when she matures, she’ll be a completely different woman… It’s strange that a grown man is attracted to a girl with such childish and immature behavior.

So, I rate it—perhaps a bit generously—an 8.

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Gore, Revenge and Highschool Drama x100

It is not really my usual type of show but I watched the earlier seasonsand liked them well enough, so was intrigued to see what this season would bring.

Before watching the show I would recommend looking up trigger warnings. There is alot of scenes and concepts in the show that, I think most people, would call disturbing. It´s alot of blood and gore but also situations that can potentially be triggering, especially if you identify as a woman. It is all fitting to the plot of the show and it does not feel like it´s there just for shock value, but it can be pretty disturbing.

The plot is basically contained to seperate stories, episode to episode, with an overarching theme. Each episode plot focused on some kind of revenge. It can be a little confusing at times but is overall pretty intresting and the revenge part is usually satisfying.

None of the characters are not really likeable, by nature of the show. I liked Nanno as well as her helper/admirer. Nanno always felt like she was in controll and knew exactly what the deal was, which can sometimes lead to a character to feel smug and not likeable, but Nanno just felt confident and secure.

Overall this show is not one of the best shows I´ve ever seen but if the triggers don´t bother you and you got some time to spare I don´t think watching this show would be wasted time.

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Sweet and cute done absolutely right!

This show is a unicorn. It sparkles, it's unbelievably cute and absolutely one of a kind. This level of cuteness is usually 100% cringe to me. But the delivery from Teetee and Por is perfectly balanced. They complete each other. So although the story itself is not very substantial, there is a message here: You need a supportive and safe partner who, even if they don't understand you, will try anyway.
Another take away is that communication can be very attractive indeed. The way Qi and Duang try to understand and know eachother is amazing.

And who expected that these cuties would be able to switch to hot and bothered is a millisecond ?

It was agony waiting for a new episode every week. And every episode made me so happy.

Absolutely a masterpiece in the college genre, and I'm putting it high in my re-watch list.

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I had to write this

I generally don’t review, I only comment on this site. I saw what the reviews were trending and I had to even out its score. I don’t know where they found these two guys, but I was so completely wrapped up in the believability and the chemistry between these two guys, that I have it in my minds schedule to watch it again. I gotta tell you that I was a little confused by the storytelling, and that it was a little bit convoluted, broken, and hard to follow. If however, you make a little effort and backtrack a little from time to time, you’ll be glad that you did. One of the leads had sort of a consistent facial expression, but when you look like him, I think you can get away with it. I mean, he got away with it! I would love to see these guys in another show. Hey, don’t get me wrong. I think this kind of plot device is a little played out. I think the whole forgetting 10 years of your life is a little unbelievable, maybe it happens but I think it mostly happens to 90-year-old people after a stroke and not hot 28-year-old Korean guys. People can beat me up over this all they want, but one of the things that I did like about this was the minimal use of makeup. I understand why K-pop bands wear makeup, but I don’t understand why they put these guys in make up when they’re supposed to be depleting real people, so hate on that all you want. These two guys were beautiful and I’m sure they were wearing stage makeup, but they weren’t overly done and I felt that it made the show a lot more comfortable to watch.

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PAST , PRESENT N FUTURE ALL IN ONE

I’m watching because of Li Yun Rui. After seeing his rebirth drama, I searched for his past works on Viu, and since they’re available there, I decided to watch them. It’s interesting to see the difference between his ancient and modern dramas. His eyes, though small, are very expressive, and his smile is so cute, almost as if I can see dimples when he smiles.

Usually, I don’t write much, so I might only jot down a few sentences. Even though I disliked the bad characters in the drama, I have to admit they sometimes make the show more interesting.

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The Classic Romcom That Everyone Should Rewatch

I just did a rewatch one of my first kdrama. It made me appreciate this drama more looking at their property, stage, styling, to music, the filming team really did an impressive job with the korean modern monarch concept that ascend beyond time.

I really love how the palace maid corporate the uniform blazer with the traditional belt and keeping the hair braid with ribbon / daenggi. fl's fashion is iconic and she often wears a modern fusion hanbok. how they shot within the palace and then the traditional bgm tune in made the scene more enchanting. of course the iconic stuffed bear too that is always the chapter highlight.

somehow older drama made more thoughtful craftmanship and i miss that so i often turn back to the classic. i rated it 7.5 before only focusing on the story, but my best decision was rewatching this and noticing even the tiniest details the team had worked on. solid 9!

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