Reviews

During the first few episodes this series seemed a bit bland, but it picked up in the fourth episode.

* The main couple are just adorable! I love how gentle they are with each other from the first moment they met until the very end. The progression from comfortable silences to learning how to express their emotions with each other was also really well done.

* The scond cuple was a bit ... weird at first, with the "bunny" and "owner" it gave uncomfortable vibes. Also, Phu playing hard to get took a bit too long. Overall, they have a similar progression, in that they have to learn how to give and take -- and not one only giving and the other taking.

* I hated the het romance, if you can even call it that. Starting from Khim, who ships real-life people and posts their photos online without asking for permission, and ending with Dr. Lies -- why two people have a crush on him, I'll never understand -- this whole storyline was a mess. It also didn't have anything to do with the others. Khim's illness was only there as long as it was usable for the plot. Overall, too much screentime for a (badly written) het romance -- there are already enough het romance series, I don't need them in my BLs. (Maybe as a very small side couple, but this here was too much.)

* I don't really get the father. I have no idea what he thought, and why he acted that way. They could have done a "Gui has to prove himself" subplot without a fiancée, and without that much pressure. It also changed the tone of the drama a lot. Instead of the het romance, it would have been much more interesting to develop this further.

* There are some smaller inconsistencies, but they can easily be overlooked.

* The cinematography was good though. At first I found it a bit beige-y and dull but it got better later.
* Also, the slow pacing of the first ten episodes was nice and appropriate for the development of the relationships. The music underlined this feeling.

Overall, I'm glad I picked this series up again (after dropping it last year after three episodes or so), but I probably won't watch it a second time.

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I loved a lot this one.

I started this show only knowing that Choi HyunWook was a part of the cast and thinking I wasn't going to like it. I loved it from the first episode and it became my favourite. Good plot, good cast and very good acting. It touched my heart a lot.
Sometimes it was a little bit confusing for me because I didn't understand the time changes but this wasn't a problem.
I have learn a lot of things about CODA's and all their difficults and feelings in life. It was so beautifull.
Other think I liked was the way they show how stressed the musicians are, I identified myself in many situations.

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my brother in christ...

— i went in blind, & i haven't even read the summary beforehand...i should've. it's confusing at the beginning, but dots start connecting quite nicely somewhere after the first revelation. i don't believe that it could've been confusing to anyone, you just need to pay it minimal attention, at least.

— it's strange, & then it's quite horrid but overall it's just heartbreaking. i dislike sibling bonds in movies precisely because it was gut-wrenching to see the dynamic switch between the two brothers after we discover the truth. it's hard to bring your brain out of that illusion once you're convinced that they're blood-related. nonetheless, i liked this movie a lot. my brain glitched for good five minutes after finishing it because you rewind all little details that didn't make sense & you see them in a totally different light.
— i cried, like a lot.

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Not sponsored by the Japan National Tourism Organization

I just watched over three hours of a tourism advertisement for Japan. Four guys roaming around Tokyo, hugging trees, eating food and singing. Of course, making out, unnecessarily.

I've watched a handful of movies and dramas where a lead travels to find themselves and unexpectedly ends up finding love, no, no, this isn't that. This barely came close. I genuinely love those kind of stories because they find a way to move you, bring out certain emotions, but this was nothing.

Two friends (one living in Japan, the other visiting him) meet two brothers and the four of them somehow end up living in one person's appartment for the duration of their stay in Japan.
They go out, eat food, visit tourist spots, sing all the time and.. that's it. It's just a repeat cycle of eat/drink/play a game/make out/go out. They also talk a lot, but most of it was inconsequential, nonsense conversations. And the ones that were supposed to deep and emotional didn't really feel that way.

This was just bad, and I have no way to assess what I actually feel about this series. I know I don't like it, so I guess that's something. At least the episodes were short, because I don't think I would have handled more of this well. I didn't handle what I watched well in the first place.

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Wonderful Vibes and an Award Deserving Actor

 Being an avid consumer of films, I appreciate all types of stories, but being the optimist that I am, clearly I prefer the happy ones. And this is just my cup of tea. It's one of those good mood inducing pills. The series has wonderful vibes all across its length.

Suvijak Piyanopharoj truly deserves an award for the amazing job he did. I hope he gets it. And all the more appreciation for him because he is so young. Not that the other actors didn't do a good job. They did. But "Keen" literally made the entire show, he outshone everybody else by far.

 The story itself is not necessarily new and not necessarily interesting, but the main lead did such a wonderful performance that I didn't even realize it until I decided to write this review.

 The Moo character is so sunny, so innocent, so sincere, so playful and at the same time so determined, so loyal, so hardworking towards his big dreams (career and love) that it made me wonder: what if all of us were a little bit more like him? Sure, his circumstances were a little better than they are usually in real life, but still...

 Also, I deeply appreciate the fact that the film tackles the "fans" problem, and not only that. As far as I know, as a non Asian, fans in that part of the world are quite delusional in their love and support towards their idols and more often than not they have unrealistic demands. Those artists are literally denied the right to a private life of their own. Which is inhumane. I know it's a vicious circle between the moneymakers of the industry, the Asian culture and the unrealistic fans, but the fact that this problem is brought to attention in more and more films is a good sign. Let's hope that things will improve in a near future.

 Coming back to the film, it was definitely worth watching. Irrespective of the domain, a person who does well in their work is always shining and inspiring. For the feelings and the energy this show gave me, I ought to thank all the filmmakers that contributed. Thank you and bravo!

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An Ending That Feels Like It Was Just There To Shock You

I want to give a brief overview of this movie, because I did enjoy watching it, but there were a few key points that made it more difficult for me to watch:

Some points I liked:
- It shows an insight in how rape victims (try to) overcome the aftermath of being sexually assaulted. It feels painfully realistic, which makes this all the better. Do note that this can be triggering for some to watch, due to the storyline.
- This is one of the few instances where I can condone a teacher-student relationship, because the teacher had no idea the student was his student until the very end. It was very well made in that sense. No creeps in the main relationship.
- The storyline with the main character's wife is wrapped up in the end, when usually it is just left there to hang. It was nice seeing her again and that they parted amicably.
- The main actors acted incredibly well, especially considering Endo Kenshin (Kai) was 20-21 when this was made.
- The two main characters kiss well. I've seen a lot of kisses in dramas, both straight and gay, and these two actors kiss really well.
- Just in general; The two main characters had really good chemistry.

Some points I disliked:
- The ending. It alone made me take off half a point from my rating. As the headline suggests, I feel like it was more there to shock you than anything else. The ending didn't add any value to watching the movie. My suggestion: watch the movie until 1:50:25 and you won't be traumatised by nonsense.
- Jin assaults his wife, and it is not mentioned ever again.
- Jin basically ignores the fact that Kai did a background check on both him and his (ex-)wife after they get closer. It is barely an issue.
- A lot of the characters weren't very fleshed out. The only ones were the two main characters and even then I feel like Kai still has a lot of mysteries.
- For a movie that has rap as one of its key centre points, the rap in this movie was honestly subpar. Jin's rapping also felt more like slam poetry than rap.

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The lesson was not really the lesson

Frankly, the "Life Lessons" tag seems rather ironic given the distance between what the lesson the drama thinks it is imparting, and the lesson it is actually imparting.

The actual lesson is that ML's issue was not choosing almost anyone else besides FL as a spouse. More concretely, he might want to notice how basically everyone, from the less helpful dads, to the philandering Yoon-ki, to his wife's lover, are not cheated on by their spouses (not even Yoon-ki, whose wife simply dumps him after a long time of putting up with his hogwash, while his wife's lover was, insultingly, taken back essentially immediately).

The take away is clearly that he should have chosen someone worthy of his loyalty and trust, which FL, being disloyal and having broken his trust, is clearly not.

We are instead regaled with utter hogwash, such as the incredibly insulting notion of an Orwellian thought crime, where having fantasies and feeling attraction, which are perfectly normal, are compared to having a full blown affair, which is a complete and deliberate violation of your partner's trust. One of these things is not like the other, unless one is insane.

ML's big fault was not being not even a mind reader, and actually trusting his wife when he asked her if she was okay. He was willing to help, so it's clear that he would have not been against splitting tasks if she felt overwhelmed. Instead, was supposed to know something she didn't realise herself (so, actually, not even a "mind" reader, but a "future mind" reader), and lied about when she did, putting up a facade as if everything was just peachy. This is not a reasonable way for "communication" to happen in a couple: he might just happen to notice something she herself didn't notice, but he might also not (and it doesn't mean that he wouldn't care), and it's simply unreasonable to have that as an expectation, rather than choosing not to be completely uncommunicative or outright lie about it. That's not a strategy for successful communication. Successful communication involves people actually 1) talking to the other person, and 2) not lying to them. Her lover then found her when she had just realised her issue (because of the mention of the book thing), and had her guard down, and it was her decision to be completely uncommunicative with her husband, when she had so many other options, from asking for her husband's, family's or friend's help, to just dropping some commitments, such as pandering to the other moms.

What is certainly not going to help is having an affair with your client. That wouldn't magically clear up your scheduler, though for some reason she seems to suddenly find the time to buy sexy lingerie, text her lover, and carry on a full blown affair... time dilation? Not sure what universe has such physics. Probably one where the supposed "message" of the drama makes sense.

While victim blaming and gaslighting the victim of the betrayal is obviously wrong, I do feel that there is also an attitude of self serving cynicism and equivocation, where "realism" in used as code word for "people just being disloyal and untrustworthy" and "nuance" is used for "I don't really think a toxic manipulator willing to betray and deceive their loyal long term partner indefinitely without any guilt is really all that serious/not so bad". Of course, such attitudes tend to evaporate when such people, or those they care about, are on the receiving end (and it's a very good thing that they do evaporate). But really, there is noting "nuanced" about this: they had someone that is loyal, and treated them with no loyalty, honesty and respect. This betrayal is clearly not something they would have liked to be on the receiving end of. So, it's just basic golden rule level stuff. No need for a PhD in ethics. This was clearly wrong, and easily avoidable.

My Mister perfectly explained the difference between unhappiness, divorce and an affair. These are distinct. Unhappiness might lead to a divorce, but it's a non sequitur that it should make one inclined to treat their loyal spouse with no loyalty, honesty and respect: the latter is just not a necessary implication of the former. More generally, it’s as if someone could easily get a job, and tried to use "putting food on the table" as a reason to rob a bank. Here, that's not even the situation. Yoon-ki's actions were connected to his wishes: he wanted to sleep with other women, and he did. But FL's actions in no way addressed overscheduling, so her affair was cruel, but also needless and easily avoidable: she could have dropped some commitments or talked to her husband. In the "food on the table" example, it's more as if she started running backwards on the street: no connection between action and solving the problem.

Franly, while Yoon-ki was repulsive, both him and FL were ready to betray and deceive their spouses indefinitely for self serving reasons, without any guilt. Not that there are non self serving reasons to have an affair, it's a matter of wheter the one being betrayed and deceived deserves it... the cheating wife whose husband had a kid out of wedlock was someone I 100% supported, in that respect: he was not loyal to her, so he had no right to expect her to be loyal to him, in fact it would have been absurd for her to hold up her hend of a deal he was willing to break. However, at least Yoon-ki's naked shamelessness was less hypocritical than FL and her lover's dignified facade: if they were going to stab him in the back and deceive him forever, at least don't try to act nice and pretend you care: if you ever did, you clearly didn't care enough to avoid betraying and deceiving him (or sleeping with FL, in the lover's case), anyway.

Nothing more irritating than FL's lover politely greeting ML when he would have been sleeping with his wife had he not been in that elevator, or FL buying ML a birthday gift... am I supposed to be impressed? When you were willing to betray and deceive him forever without a thought for him and the kid? Are you kidding? That's like someone stealing all your money and leaving you an Amazon gift card: it's just adding insult to injury. The other thing was the aforementioned fact that at least in Yoon-ki's case there was a clear connection between his goal and his affair: he wanted to sleep with other women, and he did. In FL's case, this was not the case, and not only were her actions cruel, but they were utterly needless, and easily avoidable, so the "overscheduling" thing made the affair all the more insulting for its sheer futility. The affair didn't address that problem at all, if anything it should have made it worse. But this is something that was touched on above, so I won't repeat that argument.

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One the best Cdrama

Honestly this drama is so engaging and really well made and executed. Everything from the plotline to cast to story was perfectly executed. I loved the various fight scenes all the three male leads had throughout the series. I especially loved the two females cast as their acting was impeccable. The character of Jiao Liqiao and the actress who played the male leads love interest. Both the actressess did a really great job at portraying in what they do. Now I come down to the three male leads chemistry. And I must say it was a treat to watch them together. I only know the actor who played Fang Doubling cause I watched Ultimate Note and he really ia a cutie no doubt and really good at his job. The other two actors were great . The way they solve mysteries were intriguing to watch. I loved this all I can say it's a must watch.

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That hurt

Rarely has a piece of media stuck to my brain in the way that Journey to the Shore has.

From the very get go I was invested in these two's relationship and their dynamic. How had they first fallen for each other? When did they start dating? You are immediately put into an established dynamic that only grows clearer by the minute. I truly felt for Ming Ha, wanting to rally around him whenever the world and the bullies around him put him down for being gay. He seemed so strong and ready to stand up for himself and his identity, so surely the world will respond positively to that? Right? But I was constantly reminded of the truth of the situation by way of Sang Bum, as well as the scars on Ming Ha.
Just because someone seems strong and keeps their head up, does not mean that they don't feel pain, even if we don't see it.

Sang Bum was not ready to be an out gay/queer teenager and thus feels stuck in between his love for Ming Ha and the desire to keep his head down and go through school life not being a target for bullying. So even though it breaks his heart he needs to break up with Ming Ha to avoid the homophobia of the school. And the way Ming Ha keeps his head up, holds Sang Bum as he cries, and even makes jokes - just twisted the knife in my heart even deeper.

I truly commend these two actors, they really put in a great performance.

The ending... oh god the ending. To the very end I was holding out for a happy end. I was biting my nails hoping for a 'Ten years later' and the two are happily married and everything is great. But that's not the story being told. The story being told was about two kids facing bullying, and each just trying to survive and holding onto their identity. Sang Bum got out, Ming Ha didn't.

The choice of not directly telling the audience what happened to Ming Ha, does not stop one from putting the pieces together.

It's a beautifully shot, wonderfully acted film, that tells a pretty painful story but remains impactful.

(also want to add that right after this 'the one that got away' by Katy Perry came up on shuffle and I cried like a baby)

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This movie is so great! Kudos to Wang Baoqiang!

First of all, I just watch this because when I was watching youth periplous season 4, Wang Baoqiang gege said that this movie is different from his movies/dramas before because this is about life so when I already finished watching youth periplous, I searched this movie to see if I can watch it now and it shows that I can so I downloaded it. Earlier, I decided to watch the movie without reading the synopsis nor watch any spoilers. While watching it, I really don't know what was going to happen because I'm clueless (it's my first time watching a movie without any clue). But after a few minutes, I wa shock because I saw Yitong so I was what? Yitong is also one of the characters here? Then later, I also saw Haofan and Li Chen so it made me so happy but then when I was in the middle part, I cried because of the scenes especially when it's already about to end, I was hoping so hard that everything is going to end like what I wanted it to end. Then, it turned out just like I wanted it to be. I'm still sad tho because of what happened to Ma Hu ༎ຶ⁠‿⁠༎ຶ Thank you so much to Wang Baoqiang gege the director for making this film, I really liked it!! My mom was asking why I'm crying so hard while watching because she's busy with my nephew so I said, the movie is so great, mama. It's so nice (T^T) GUYS, I REALLY RECOMMEND THIS MOVIE! PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS MOVIE!!

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Breath of fresh air from the typical kdrama cliches.

I am relieved that the story was not like typical k-dramas. There was no love triangle, no memory loss and no past connection etc .It was refreshing to watch a coming of age show and 2521 exceeded my expectations.

The main leads had amazing chemistry. I watched 2521 for Kim tae-ri but Nam jo hyuk as Baek ijin stole the show for me. His journey for me was more relatable and challenging. Na-hee-do’s journey was inspiring too but Baek ijin’s journey was full of ups and downs. I am not sure if anyone noticed but ijin is not your typical ML who can’t function without the FL, he is realistic, keeping his love separate from his dreams, he has his own journey. He is not a ML filled with cliches but a vulnerable ML just like a normal person.

I felt every emotion while watching the show.. I cried when Ijin was reading hee do’s diary, when he hugged her in his dream and felt the longing when ijin replayed hee do’s voice message on phone booth multiple times because it comforted him . The break up scene while they hugged each other for the last time was painfull. The friendship between Hee do, yurim, ji ung and seung wan was full of fun moments.
Although I got to admit that i liked 18 year old Na-hee do more than 21 year old hee do. But i loved both 22 year old and 25 year old ijin.

I wanted to see them meet again in the future and I thought they might run into each other again but they didn’t sadly.I wanted to see if Baek ijin was happy. If he had a family like hee do. That part was left to our imagination.

Ps I also do not care who was na hee do’s husband. His identity was not important here bcz his character was never showed in the show and it was not about him. It was about hee do’s first love.

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Interesting drama with good pacing

was on my to watch list because of Yoon Chan Young.

With a total of 8 episodes, I felt that the drama was paced quite well, there wasn't any parts of the show that I felt bored or could be removed from the show entirely.

I personally like to watch "revengy" dramas, so this drama suited me well, as it shows how Yi-Heon slowly starts to fight back against those who bullied him (even though it was through Deuk Pal's spirit and consciousness).

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Acting wise, this is my 3rd drama of Chan Young, so I expected a stellar acting from him (which he delivered as always). I personally think Bong Jae Hyun also did a great job as Choi Se Kyung as well.

I do recommend the show if you are interested to watch some "revengy" drama that is not too heavy, though some might not prefer the fact high school bullying and domestic abuse are topics that were discussed in the drama.

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Could have been better

So I watched this drama solely for Gong Jun. I also like Yang Mi. This drama has spectacular visuals no doubt, beautiful costumes and really good CGI effects. However it all comes down to the story and the plotline which could have been better. The story according to my point of view was haphazard. Everything is happening and none of the matters are getting sorted out even though Honghong keeps on sacrificing her love seed and what not. After a point of time it got really tiresome as the villain was not dying. The villain plot got so annoying that I started to wonder if there was any point in sacrificing so much to stop Shi Ji from doing anything. The love stories were good but I didn't understand what happened at the end. Were all of them alive or not. I especially liked the story of bull spirit and constable Lyu. The plot twists a lot of them were so stupid and at the end I felt that things were kinda rushed. However I am rating this 7 cause of the actors and their acting. They were really nice.

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