Reviews

10 on 10 for sure

I don't know how anyone can give lesser rating than 10 for this epic drama. Not once I thought to drop this. The drama in this drama had me hooked crazy. Two leads were simply extraordinary and the chemistry is on peaks. The only regret I had is their emotional connection. Yes they have chemistry but I didn't find love their eyes other than that the story is extraordinary. The first episode itself hooked me and the kiss in the first episode and the way zhen lost control while kissing and had to take a breath before diving into it again is just wow. Do not drop this drama at all. Chinese ramas are going to next level drama to drama.

Leia Mais

An Honest Response to the Negative Reviews of Payback!!!

I know everyone has their own opinions, and I respect that. But I think you should be clearer with your words because there are so many things I want to clarify. I'll explain them one by one.

1. About the main character

Almost every manhwa revolves around one main character. Payback is Sun's story—it's about his revenge/healing, not anyone else's. So I don't understand why you're expecting every other character's storyline to be explored in depth. Maybe you people haven't read many manhwas or novels, which is why you're looking at it that way.
Even fitting Sun's perspective into just ten episodes was difficult, so how could they possibly include everyone else's backstory as well?

2. "His acting is not good."

After finishing both the manhwa and the novel, I can confidently say he gave the best performance possible. I don't know how you expect someone who has lost both his mother and brother to behave. He's emotionally dead inside. He has nothing left to lose, and that's exactly how Sun is supposed to be. Jay is the person who enters his life and slowly makes it bearable again. He's the one who brings back Sun's smile, and the series portrays that beautifully. Also our pookie manager and sky.

3. Their chemistry

Again, everyone has their own opinion, but for me, they had perfect chemistry. Their kissing scenes were natural, emotional, and absolutely spot on.

4. About Jay and Sun's Relationship

Jay falls in love with Sun because he's different from everyone else. He's brave, fearless, and, in many ways, similar to Jay himself. Their connection is instant. Not everyone falls in love with their school friend or a cute office colleague. We're human, and human lives can be dark while still being deeply romantic.

5. About the director

People often criticize the direction without really understanding what a director's role is. They simply say the direction was boring. But have you watched Reclaim? It's directed by the same person. A director's job is to bring the story to life, and in Payback, the emotions, atmosphere, and pacing were exactly what the story needed.

6. About revenge

There is no such thing as a "big" or "small" revenge. Revenge is only fulfilled when the person who caused the pain is left broken and desperate enough to understand the consequences of their actions. No one can truly understand that pain except the person who has lived through it.

So, more than the depth of the revenge itself, I'm happy that Sun finally found a reason to smile again. In the end, that was the greatest victory.

7. My final thoughts

If even one person decides not to watch this series because of these comments, I genuinely feel they're missing out, because there will never be another Payback like this one.

At least watch the opening credits—they alone are enough to make you want to continue watching.

For me, Payback is raw, dark, and emotionally gripping. It makes you think about life, death, relationships, guilt, regret, and healing. It teaches you to value not only the lives of the people you love but also your own. It shows how to face your fears, overcome your regrets, and move forward.

Most importantly, this story makes you realize that life isn't about taking revenge or even fulfilling it. It's about finding a reason to live again, finding happiness, and having the strength to rise from the deepest pit.

I truly believe everyone should watch this series at least once. ( Fun fact: Payback was my favorite manhwa long before the live adaptation was announced. Even back then, I always felt that if any manhwa deserved a live-action adaptation, it would be this one. And guess what? My manifestation came true.)

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No plot

This is one of the worst series i wasted my time on the story is so bad I would say this whole thing is just por.n at the point no plot at all waisted the couple potential people are just thearsty over any gay show
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Maybe the real revenge was the friends we made along the way

Wanna know what the capital of Lithuania is? Are you into pink bunnies and men with bloody faces? Every time I pitch this to my friends they go "how on earth does that make sense" and every time I have to convince them that it kinda really does. YES this guy used to extort people for money. YES he got ripped off by his ex. YES he's now going to take revenge on said ex by... becoming a famous actor? This works because Minlee is Minlee and I believed everything he did as Sun. I was sold the moment he slammed that knife into the table at his audition. Perfect beautiful man. Toptap as Jay is also good, but there's something uncanny and slick about his styling that is not my cup of tea. But no matter. This drama serves:

- FIGHTING. BLOOD. ACTION.
- EMOTIONS. CONFLICT.
- FOUND FAMILY. CONNECTIONS. SUN DESERVES TO BE LOVED, ACTUALLY
- SE....X

the NC scenes are quickly becoming infamous, and for good reason. People on Reddit have been working overtime to adjust lighting and slow things down to see if they can catch a glimpse of Real genitals. That's how explicit the scenes feel. A statement was released begging people not to share and upload the clips to social media (and porn sites?), which might have been a very sneaky tricksy way of getting more eyeballs on this show. All the love and respect to the actors, producers, intimacy coordinators etc. etc. etc. This show works because there was so much talent on board at all times, both in front of and behind the camera.

Either way. I've had a blast watching this. I have some issues with how the main conflict was resolved by the end, and feel like Payback could have used a couple more episodes to really stick the landing. But this was good fun and emotional turmoil. Waiting for the next episode was agony and I must thank the Payback team for releasing Minlee and Toptap's reaction videos in between eps to tide us over until the next one.

Anyway 9/10. Big recommend.

Leia Mais

eh

Put Your Head On My Shoulder

Xing Fei - Situ Mo
Lin Yi - Gu Weiyi

This drama was okay. It reminded me a lot of First Love with Wang Xingyue and Tian Xiwei I think it was. It is very youth and like trying to navigate one’s first romantic feelings for someone else. It was made in like 2021 or earlier, so not that recent I think. That might have been another reason why it’s not hitting very much. This drama wasn’t bad, but there was nothing captivating about it. The ML was played by Lin Yi and I may have some bias based on the actors. I don’t really care for Lin Yi’s look or acting. I think that sometimes, he is a bit too static and the styling in this drama just was not it. Also, his character in general was very boyish and nerdish, and he didn’t really know how to like cook or anything. So, he didn’t appear very manly if that makes sense. Also, I didn’t like how he like explained so many things using science just to show that he is knowledgable. After a while, that whole spiel got annoying. Gu Weiyi was just very emotionless and it was hard to connect with his character. Although he was always a gentleman and a good guy, there was definitely not anything special. Situ Mo’s character also just didn’t stick with me either. She wasn’t the smartest and she was extremely dramatic and almost babyish at times. Just seemed like a very naive girl who was also affected by men a lot. I mean that in a sense that whether it be Fu Pei or Gu Weiyi, her mood and actions would largely surround them. I like independent woman more in shows and this drama did not show that. Nor did it really show the protective side of either one of them either. It just fell flat in many different ways. Overall, I think that for someone just starting out watching cdramas, this drama is simple and easy to understand and watch. But, it just doesn’t have the complexity or depth that I like watching.

(These are my overall thoughts. Below is some more detailed thoughts based on certain episodes and scenes, but the reason why there are so little tells you about how many thoughts I had about this drama.)

Fu Pei is really something. He obviously knows that Situ Mo likes him, but he’s always disappointing her. Not only that, but he also avoids any hint at Situ Mo’s feelings even though she’s made it clear before. What a jerk. He’s just trying to invalidate her feelings when he himself has known that she likes him. Now, not to say Gu Weiyi is perfect either. He’s very emotionless, but at least he’s a gentleman. Every time Fu Pei disappoints Situ Mo by not showing up or smth, Gu Weiyi is always there to make up for it. Gu Weiyi does have a high EQ though, as he can instantly tell when Situ Mo is feeling down because of Fu Pei’s actions. Gu Weiyi is a standard good guy, just lacking some emotions.

Episode 4 pissed me off. Fu Pei has no right to act like that. He was being so petty and just unneccessarily rude and sarcastic. If you like Situ Mo, just tell her. Why do you have to say hurtful words and act like you don’t care? Fu Pei was the one who said they were just friends, so I don’t see how it’s any of his business where Situ Mo lives. Also, I really dont want this to be one of those dramas where the FL keeps on going back to the toxic second ML while there is a better option right in front of her. That scene where Gu Weiyi got her the hair tie at the hospital, but threw it away because she went back with Fu Pei was really sad. Gu Weiyi is already falling for Situ Mo by episode 4 and the fact that Situ Mo is still affected by Fu Pei is pissing me off.

Episode 7 was sad but beautiful at the same time. When Shanshan and Fu Pei almost kissed because Fu Pei was drunk and thought that was Momo, Momo’s face was utterly disappointed. She was already uncomfortable with Fu Pei coming to their house to celebrate when they weren’t even friends anymore. Gu Weiyi may be awkward and not that in-tune with his emotions but he can definitely read Momo’s emotions. When he was beside Momo and saw her face when she saw that, he instantly knew the disappointment that she felt. He protected her in that instant by telling those two to leave. He’s always so observant of Momo. Fu Pei on the other hand just keeps on making mistakes and trying to make up for them, but making even more mistakes.

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Increíble *meme de Pablo Echarri*

La serie cumple con todos los requisitos para ser una buena serie., pero debo resaltar más que nada que el cast estuvo muy bien casteado. Todos hiper talentosos y se ve que muy bien cocheados también porque no uno NINGUNO que diga "bueno, medio pelo esto". La actuación de todos siempre fue creíble, mis preferidos fueron el trío Sun, Sky y su manager. Mención honorífica para la chica de pelo largo y rulos que es una terrible mamacita. HERMOSA.

Está muy bien desarrollada porque nos da contexto desde el principio sobre quién es Sun desde el principio, no nos aburre con flashbacks innecesarios completamente fuera de historia para ir contandonos los traumas del pasado. También la introducción del tema de porqué quiere vengarse sobre Sky, que justo lo escuchó hablar de cómo guío al asesino de su hermano justamente a su hermano. Desde muy temprano en la historia entendemos porqué el tipo es tan cerrado con sus sentimientos y cómo no se abre con nadie, siendo que se siente el principal responsable de la muerte de su familia. Se siente lo muy solo que está. La actuación de Minlee 10/10. Su personaje es el mejor construido e interpretado, junto con el de Sky.

Después tenemos a Jay que de a ratos la actuación de Toptap me pareció medio dura, pero por el tipo de personaje que era quedó muy bien igual (o quizá el personaje era así y lo interpretó muy bien). De a ratos la relación entre los dos me pareció muy forzada por la trama, porque el personaje de Jay me parecía medio gil. No sentí que Sun estuviese muy enamorado de él pero seguro tiene que ver porque Sun estaba muy reprimido y demás. O sea, Jay me pareció medio pesado porque siempre estaba caliente I mean típico hombre y por eso creo que me pareció molesto.

El personaje de Sky y del fotógrafo estuvieron muy bien. Me gustaron muchos ambas actuaciones al punto que quería que ambos concretasen algo o hubiera un poco más de coqueteo por su parte. Los actores se ve que tienen química, así que veremos. La aparición de Max también estuvo muy bien, inesperado que apareciera en esta serie. Me intrigaba mucho qué papel iba a interpretar en esta serie y le quedó perfecto. Como anillo al dedo.

Por otro lado yo pensé que la historia solo iba a relatar el trayecto emocional de Sun para superar sus traumas, pero a medida que avanzaban los capítulos la serie iba tocando temas más profundos como la prostitución forzada en la industria para lograr un lugar en la misma. El capítulo 9 fue muy difícil de ver, la verdad, porque me fue difícil separar la ficción de la realidad. No podía dejar de pensar "Esto seguro le está pasando a alguien en este momento" lo cual fue un bajón. Después vi el capítulo 10 y dije bueno, bien. Final feliz.

Lo que no entiendo en particular fue el final de Sunny. Está bien, el tipo tenía la carrera arruinada. Pero no era un tipo sin educación o sin otro tipo de oportunidades; fue por la guita que podía hacer laburando para el ex jefe de Sun? o porqué? O sea, lo entiendo por la moraleja de la serie, pero tampoco me queda claro si fue invicto o no por el tipo que mató o qué fue lo que pasó exactamente y por eso no podía conseguir otro laburo decente tipo... nosé, bartender. Vendedor. No sé, algo que no sea prostituirse.

Me gustó mucho que Sun no sintiera felicidad después de completar la venganza y que la moraleja sea justamente "cuánto tiempo le va a llevar a Sunny aprender lo que yo aprendí en 5 años?"

Leia Mais

tellement rafraîchissant ….

Un gérant de supérette timide engage une jeune fille sans diplôme … qui n’est autre que la fille qu’il a aidée des années plus tôt.
L’alchimie du duo principal est purement et simplement électrique, j’ai tellement aimé leur fraîcheur, ainsi que le côté pétillant et badass, ainsi que l’humour de Kim Yoo Jung … elle crève litteralement l’écran dans cette serie !! Ji Chang Wook égale à lui même, y’a t il une serie ou il est mauvais sérieux ???

Mention spéciale à la mère de Dae-hyun, Kim Sun-young, qui délivre encore et comme d’habitude une prestation énorme dans un personnage secondaire, ses scènes avec Saet-byul, où elle la traite comme sa propre fille, sont tellement touchantes.

En gros, c’est une comédie romantique légère et irrésistible, portée par des acteurs au sommet de leur charme. Une pépite à binge-watcher sans prise de tête !

Leia Mais

The Misadventures of a Transmigrating Green-Tea Prince

Finally a ML transmigrating drama that is not only not misogynistic, but actually role reversal!

TL;DR: A solid drama with a very endearing role reversal ML and quite some commitment to the trope, but a very underwhelming FL that kept it from being truly good.

The Good:
• ML - A quirky transmigrator who ends up in his girlfriend's novel as the green-tea courtesan and by god was he not going to let that opportunity go to waste. The commitment to keeping his character a helpless prince-in-peril who throws himself dramatically to the ground at FL's feet at any minor inconvenience was exquisite! He really just wanted to be the FL's boytoy and nothing else mattered to him! I also loved the subtle femininity he displayed. Absolutely lovely!
• ML's styling - Gotta give credit where credit is due. Chen Yunting is a gorgeous man, but with his styling in this drama he looked even more stunning! Everything from the whimsical outfits (especially his first red one and the light green one? 10/10), to the make up, hair jewelry and curls was intentional and gorgeous.
• SFL - She was hilarious as the greedy madam of the brothel ML worked in. I loved how devoted she was to making money and her involvement with the leads' squabbles were hilarious. Her and ML were a great duo!
• No bait-and-switch - Surprisingly, despite ML's hidden identity, there was no bait-and-switch when it came to the role reversal. Some of the execution was mid (mostly for the FL), but no actual switch. ML never has a "I'm the man" or dom moment!
• Set-Up - I liked how the drama's set-up/premise is ML reading his girlfriend's GB/RR novel to better understand her and become her ideal RR boyfriend and how it wraps this up by him seeking her out in the real world and them finally being able to pursue their RR relationship <3

The Okay:
• Role Reversal - Both more committed to the RR than expected and somehow also less. It was a weird balance where one character (ML) was *very* RR, while the other (FL) was barely RR, which makes for a weird dynamic. The plot was pretty consistently RR, unless FL was involved and then it was mixed. It's not like it wasn't RR, but it also wasn't truly RR. Not sure how to explain it.
• Dynamic - The leads had a compelling and complicate dynamic that they did not really deliver on. He was so devoted and eager, yet she kept him at arms length on the best moments. I didn't like how she kept turning on him at the drop of a hat and how she always blamed him for everything. She was just too hostile to him more often than not... As far as RR dynamics go, this is still tolerable, but also still a disappointment.
• Feminism - I was quite surprised by how feminist ML was (and vocally so at that). Was it a bit on-the-nose? Yes, but it's still better than a lot of slop we get. The reason this isn't in the 'good' category is because, though the drama preaches feminism and women's rights, the FL, the main woman in the drama, is kept shallow and pathetic... which yeah, is not feminist.
• Plot - Standard vertical quality with laughable amounts of villains that never seem to leave until they suddenly do and then that's it... It's fine for what it was, just a bit too long and draggy imo.
• Acting - ML absolutely ate with his green-tea role. Gotta be the most committed feminine-behaving pitiful ML I've ever seen! His sidekick (the brothel madam) was also really good, but others like FL or SML were rather underwhelming... Bit of a mixed bag.
• Ending - I wasn't too keen on them reuniting in the main world because it very much felt like his girlfriend and the book character were different people? Idk, it felt weird to me. I did like the final scene tho, so.... *shrugs*

The Bad:
• FL - The biggest issue in the drama, hands-down. They try to convince us that she's strong, independent, and determined, but she had no backbone, no smarts, and no idea where she actually stood. She was pathetic and fickle but also mouthy about it, pointing her sword wherever the villains wanted her to (usually the ML). For the FL in a RR/GB drama, she was exceptionally underwhelming.
• Agency - The leads had little agency in the plot. ML's only goal was getting FL to fall for him and FL's only goal was investigating her mentor's death which she does, then doesn't, then does, then doesn't, then kinda forgets about. So many plot threads ended up resolved without the MCs involvement 😭
• Chemistry - I didn't feel it at all... Idk if it's because of the FL's acting or the character (or both), but it was like there was a gigantic wall between the leads.

Notable scenes:
- Initial green-tea encounter
- ML sitting at FL's feet while she confronts the bad guys.
- When FL and TFL fight over ML
- Final dip and kiss scene in the end

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All that build-up, only for the payoff to fall flat

Payback almost became one of the best BL dramas of the year, for me, at at least. The first half was incredibly promising. The story established its revenge plot so well, building tension and making me genuinely excited to see how everything would unfold.

Then things started going downhill.

The biggest issue was how the villains kept winning over and over again. Every episode felt like another opportunity for them to get the last laugh while the protagonists kept falling behind. Instead of feeling suspenseful, it became frustrating. I kept waiting for the revenge to finally hit, but honestly, that finale was disappointing.

After everything the antagonists had done, their downfall felt way too easy. That’s it? They were simply killed off without facing the kind of brutal, public humiliation and consequences they deserved. I was hoping for a much more satisfying payoff, especially after watching them torment everyone throughout the series. The revenge, which is the very heart of the story, didn’t feel nearly as rewarding as it should have.

As for Sun… he drove me crazy. For someone fueled by revenge, he constantly made reckless decisions and kept putting himself in danger without thinking things through. Instead of looking determined, he often came across as unnecessarily careless. Thankfully, his rich, handsome boyfriend was always one step ahead, constantly saving him from his own bad decisions.

That said, I can’t deny the cast carried the show. The actors were incredibly attractive, and they fully committed to every emotional and intimate scene. I absolutely loved the trio of P’Kajorn, Sun, and Sky. Their friendship slowly became the family they all needed, and those moments were some of my favorites. Also, we were robbed of a Sky and Pakin kiss. Their chemistry was amazing, and they deserved at least one romantic and intimate scene together.

There were honestly a lot of things I enjoyed about this drama, but the final stretch left such a strong negative impression that it overshadowed many of its strengths. Even so, the production quality remained consistently impressive, and the episode-ending cliffhangers were genuinely effective at keeping me invested week after week.

It had an engaging premise, strong performances, great chemistry, and solid production values. Unfortunately, it stumbled where it mattered most: the revenge itself. A revenge story lives or dies by the satisfaction of its payoff, and this one simply didn’t deliver the level of justice and emotional catharsis it spent the entire series building toward.

Leia Mais

If you get past the experimental vertical format, it’s actually not that awful

I -almost- skipped this hot potato because of how much hate it’s been getting, which, tbh totally understandable because it feels unpalatable if you’re not ready for it. Same feeling when you think you’re eating sour cream and onion chips but turns out they’re shrimp flavored.

I don’t know what the thought process was behind the high intensity vertical style cinematography and storytelling, but you can tell the director was really trying to make a splash with the trendiest new thang. There was some thought there, I guess, but tragically it went sideways. The boken and light refraction filters are jarring, the dramatic zooms are hilarious and the 1000 intensity level of every emotion is just so funny.

That being said though, I’m only on episode 3 and it’s already cooling off into a better pace and we’re beginning to see deeper flavors of emotions develop through the conflicts that are being set up between characters. I still hate the blur filter but not as much as I hated it on “The Best Thing” which apparently people loved and thought it added a “soft effect”. No, it just makes me think my eyesight is bad. Idk why people literally need blurry images to think something is “soft”, there’s plenty of other ways to go about it rather than making me question my eyesight.
Still though, I think fundamentally the emotional core of the story is logical, consistent and coherent. Additionally ZLH and WCR’s acting is top notch like, ngl, I’m also watching Key to the Phoenix heart rn and man, it’s so bland, I don’t understand its hype. Despite all this drama’s flaws, ZLH is just… so much better I mean, his eyebrows move! He doesn’t have to speak for me to know his feelings. It’s so great when actors can do that.
----
Edit// Okay, catching up now and I'm early posting my update because this drama is getting a lot of unnecessary hate, I think. It is tonally 180 degrees from ZLH's role in PoJ and probably closer to his role in Our Generation. Which, by the way, I LOVED. He is so good at playing psychologically inflicted (and conflicted) characters. All the emotions are at 200% in this drama. There is no reprieve. I don't watch enough C-Dramas to know if they have a makjang genre, but if they did, this show would be top of the list makjang. In that light, the vertical style narrative makes sense because TikTok style videos are basically of the same caliber of high intensity drama, clipped cadence and insanity. Wang Chu Ran's character is also unhinged. She is too broken to make decent life choices. Qing Yi's mother is batshit crazy like... what is wrong with her, his adoptive father is basically a dictator. There is no character at 50% here.

So if you're starting this show, I'd shift my expectations from "will it finally make sense?" to "how hard does sh*t hit the fan today?"

Leia Mais

The Real Scarecrow

I just finished watching this drama. In the beginning, it felt like a normal thriller. There was nothing different about it. But as I kept watching, it gradually built up such a captivating atmosphere that you just couldn't pull yourself away. The story is set in the 80s. It truly felt like we were transported back to the 80s. Even the background Music takes us back to that era.
The murders themselves didn't create as much fear as the actions of the people and characters in this drama; what they were doing felt much worse. Until the very end, I kept feeling that justice would finally be served. I thought some good justice was about to happen, or there would be some heroic moment. But nothing like that happened.
The ending wasn't like what usually happens in normal K-dramas, or how we see in fictional stories where the hero defeats the villain. It wasn't like that at all. It showed us what happens in reality—that you don't always get justice. And that's just how it is.
First of all, Kang Tae joo his character is so beautifully written, so emotional, and filled with so much empathy. I truly felt such a deep connection with that character. In the end, things don't turn out well for him. We usually think that everything will be fine for the protagonist by the end, but nothing like that happens to him. Until the very end, I felt so bad for her because he never got what I had hoped he would. he didn't get a happy ending.
Talking about Sun Yeong who plays the character of his sister. In the beginning, I found her character to be okay, but by the end, I don't know what happened to her character. How can she abandon her brother—who supported her since childhood and took such good care of her—for a complete stranger and their family, whom she only met midway through her life? After that, she doesn't even go to meet him or keep in contact. It was his helplessness, but she is the one who cuts ties. Character-wise, I didn't like her at all. I found her character to be really terrible.
Cha si Yeong, who plays the prosecutor, in the beginning, I felt like he genuinely wanted to be friends with Kang Tae ajoo. That is why he kept coming after him again and again, and their bond even started looking quite cute. He had done a lot of wrong things earlier, so I thought his character arc would develop later, he would apologize, and become a good man. That's what usually happens, but no—he just kept doing worse and worse things. He became more and more evil, and I couldn't even understand what was happening. I kept wondering if he would finally realize his mistakes at the end. But no, he didn't. He never reformed and stayed wicked until the very end.
Gi beom's character was also very cute, very innocent, and highly righteous. I liked him a lot. Ji Won character, the reporter, was also very good. There were many lovely moments shared between everyone. The actor who played the role of the killer did an amazing job with his acting. I really loved it. Overall, Scarecrow is a very good drama. You will even find yourself crying by the very end.
As a thriller, Scarecrow is truly a show where we aren't scared of the serial killer until the very end. It is the real-life people who actually terrify us. Those people are far more horrific. I feel this was the true meaning and core message of this thriller.

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