Reviews

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What I thought:
It’s been a while since I really liked a Japanese BL… but this one surprised me in a good way.

I genuinely enjoyed it. 😊

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🌸✨🌈 Hiii~ Welcome to my kawaii corner~ ♡(≧▽≦)ﾉ✨🌸

You can find more of my reviews on Instagram~ 🌟💖

Check my homepage for my account~ (｡♥‿♥｡) 🌷

Some reviews are under 500 words, so I can’t post them here~ (≧ω≦)ﾉ💫

Thank you sooo much~ ☆:.｡.o(≧▽≦)o.｡.:☆ 💕🌸

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Short-length BL series (6 episodes) but very cute

PLOT: Hiro, an IT, is on the verge of burnout, squeezed dry by an abusive manager. He collapses in the street from exhaustion and is picked up by Kai (a very close childhood friend he hasn't seen in six years). Kai asks him to put him up for a while. Kai cooks for Hiro, gradually filling his life with joy, and confesses his love. Hiro is distraught, depressed, unable to make decisions, and the pressure at work intensifies.

+++ Nomura Kota as the MC is charming and very talented. He's very young, but very promising. I'll definitely be following him from now on!
Kaneko Shunya is also excellent in this role of an ultra-stressed, manipulated, and exhausted employee.
+++ The series accurately portrays the working conditions with a toxic manager. It also shows how difficult it is to break free from this control.
+++ The direction is excellent, with good pacing, emotion, and beautiful visuals (actors & food).
+++ The OSTs are well-suited.

No flaws (except we would have liked a slightly more developed ending).

=> A very cute BL series, full of Nomura Kota's charm :)
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Série BL Courte (6 ép) mais très cute

PLOT: Hiro, technicien IT, est au bord du burn-out, pressuré comme 1 citron par 1 directeur abusif. Il tombe d'épuisement ds la rue, et est "ramassé" par Kai (ancien ami d'enfance très proche, perdu de vue depuis 6 ans). Celui-ci lui demande de l'héberger pr 1 moment. Kai cuisine pr Hiro, remplit peu à peu sa vie, et lui avoue son amour. Hiro est désemparé, dépressif, ne peut plus prendre de décision, et la pression au travail augmente.

+++ Nomura Kota as MC, craquant et très talentueux. Il est très jeune, mais très prometteur. Je vais le suivre désormais ! Kaneko Shunya est également excellent dans ce rôle de salarié ultra-stressé, manipulé, épuisé.
+++ La série décrit bien les conditions de travail avec un manager toxique. Elle montre aussi comment il est difficile de se défaire de cette emprise.
+++ La réalis° est excellente, avec du rythme, des émotions, et de belles images (de cuisine, notamment).
+++ Les OSTs sont bien adaptées.

No flaws (sauf qu'on aurait bien aimé une ending un peu plus dvlpée)

=> Série BL très cute, remplie du charme de Nomura Kota :)

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I will not get over this. Ever.

I'm writing this review seconds after final credits. My heart is still racing. This series is incredible. In the short while that China has been making use of the loophole they found to be able to produce uncensored, they have managed to put out several amazing series, but this one takes the crown.

Everything is perfect to near perfect. It's setting in the old walled city in HK and the cinematographic opportunities this provided have been used magnificently. It looks gritty, dark but with a succinct 80's vibe. Some costume choices or props looked a bit off, but that happens to the best.

Story and story lines are clean, without loose threads or strange turns. The backstories make sense, and there is explicite room for an airy humorous note here and there. Sometimes subtle, sometimes not really but always fitting to the story.

The acting of all cast is great. From the main leads, the secondary leads up to the guest roles.. Perfection.

As is customary in BL, we find many tropes in this production. Heroic rescue (from a plant, no less), fate, confusion, unconscious kisses, etc. Most of these are acceptable I just found the unconscious kisses a bit meh. We don't kiss people that are not awake, dammit!

And while we are on the subject, the thing that really annoys me is the fact that the rooftop love scene is never mentioned again. Not in thought, not in flashbacks, not in conversation. It's like as soon as the sheets were cleaned, so was the memory. Like, whatt? Not only was this non-consensual, it was ignored. Bad move.

I loved the contrast between the main characters. One dorky in daily life but very forward in affection. The other a real life crime boss, but a shy and cute mess when it comes to love.

The development of the events and the relationship felt natural (if you can speak of natural in that kind of environment).

The last episode was really the climax we were building up to. The final kiss was truly epic. But there are loose ends that desperately need tying. The 2nd couple has no real closure. All they has was a hot encounter and some aggressive flirting. That's not ok.

What I loved most was the build-up, the visuals, the interactions between Liuyu and Chusan and the back stories. This really 'made' this drama for me.

Now hurry and get me an S2.

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A lot of good stuff - studded with flaws

First of all, this drama sticks to its vibe/path from beginning to end. It's not like you get a certain atmosphere in the beginning, and the second part suddenly feels totally different. Except for it being a romance, it's also an investigative story of murder cases to be solved and justice be served, which was quite entertaining. Sadly though because of that the romance fell on the sidelines and never fully flourished - at least for me. Never truly felt it, even though they had some really sweet moments together.

The story had its ups and downs. I appreciated the effort they put into telling about tea cultivation at the end of each episode. It still fascinates me how much care they put into that part of their culture, as I love tea in its various types and tastes, too.

As for the main theme: Women in charge and about all, being the head of the family. Yes, I liked that approach and the fact, that everything was the other way around. Men being displayed as potential husbands for the FL to choose was refreshing to see. Yet they dragged that "challenge" of them, passing tests and compete against each other to show their worth, a bit too long. At some point I almost lost interest since I couldn't see where this was going at all. Yet, the character development of the side cast was a predictable story of good people turning bad and bad people turning good. I got tired of the constant quarrels and intrigues between the sisters as well those husband candidates.

Though I don't want to talk much about the acting since it was decent from most of the cast, I must say that Gulnezer Bextiyar's (FL) performance stood out the most. Character writing is a different matter and I didn't like the FL's aloof and distant behaviour most of the time. Only in the last quarter of the drama she actually showed improvement while staying true to her imposing and dignified nature.
On the other side - and it pains me to say this - Hou MingHao's character writing (not his acting! which was good) somewhat felt all over the place and I could never fully get an understanding of his self. There were times when I really loved his personality, esp. when he was in his imperial magistrate's role. Other times he was woolly and obscure. Weirdly though (or let's say, thank god for that last trial), in the end his actions and decisions still worked for me. He had great fighting scenes (though only very few) and that last part of his story saved my rating quite a bit.

Regarding appearance this drama definitely has a unique style with its costumes, scenery and sets (rooms, gardens, manors, etc). Also , the background music has a memorable sound and accompanies the different situations quite well. Fun fact, I actually got reminded of the music from One Piece (you know those grand entrances of our heroes :p). But other times, the music in this sounded somewhat alienated, not fitting that period of time at all. And with alienated I do mean as if it was picked from some sci-fi movie.

I mentioned this before, but my biggest complain is the make up. Though being plain and simple, it still managed to disrupt my focus on the actors and their stories. Call me stupid or what, but it tarnished the acting a lot. I think, the FL's make up was the only one which didn't distract me.

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Episode 11 was emotionally devastating.

After risking his life to save Wayu, Krit falls into a coma, and the series shifts from action and crime drama into a story about fear, family, and unconditional love.

What touched me most was Wayu's struggle. He loves Krit deeply, yet he keeps questioning whether he truly deserves a place in Krit's future. Even after Krit wakes up, Wayu chooses to step back because he is terrified of being rejected again.

The hospital scenes were powerful, especially when Wayu finally begged not to be separated from the man he loves. It felt like the first time he allowed himself to speak honestly about his own feelings.

I also appreciated Wayu's mother in this episode. Her support added warmth to a story that has often been filled with pain and opposition.

With only one episode left, the biggest question is no longer whether Krit and Wayu love each other—it is whether they can finally believe that they deserve happiness together.

A strong emotional setup for the finale. ❤️

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HOT GARBAGE

First of all since it carries Only Friends title, I was expecting it will be messy and traumatic kinda like the successor. And boy oh boy I'm disappointed. I even make myself watched until episode 10 just to give it a chance.
Let's start with the storyline, the storyline is a hot mess, it's almost all over the place with no substance to it. We have a potential good storyline like Dean's background, they could dive into it and they didn't. Simply put, they have everything and nothing at the same time. So does the casting, with that many characters, there's no chemistry at all (well except for the pairing), in the previous series, we can see how the main characters group of friend really there and convincing, but this casts? Zero chemistry.
The characters dynamics is frigid, meaning that there's no flow in them. They interact almost like in sequence, outside of that, it's like nothing happens. All I can say is this series relies on the fixed couple stans, since they only interact intimately within their own pairing only, even the stage kiss was fake lol 🙄
Even NickBoston closure is a meh, because they just bringing Ohm, which is the fixed couple for Nick's actor to bring up the hype(?)
TopMew cameo is really out of their characters.
The only thing that good in this series is Mix's acting, he's doing it too good for an ass plot. Like how can you waste a talent like that lol
So to me, this is just fixed couple fans wet dream and of course their fandoms will love it.

In conclusion, it is hot garbage.

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I DON’T WANT THIS SERIES TO BE OVER 😭
I need a Season 2 right now. Like… immediately.
I liked it — no, that’s the wrong word.
I loved this series.

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🌸✨🌈 Hiii~ Welcome to my kawaii corner~ ♡(≧▽≦)ﾉ✨🌸

You can find more of my reviews on Instagram~ 🌟💖

Check my homepage for my account~ (｡♥‿♥｡) 🌷

Some reviews are under 500 words, so I can’t post them here~ (≧ω≦)ﾉ💫

Thank you sooo much~ ☆:.｡.o(≧▽≦)o.｡.:☆ 💕🌸

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A Brilliant, One-of-a-Kind Watch

Absolutely Beautiful!!

The tears this show pulled out of me weren’t just emotional; they were the kind that come from witnessing pure generosity and the joy of making others smile. Every moment felt intentional, driven by genuine effort, sincerity, and thoughtfulness. I found myself crying, laughing uncontrollably, and even feeling that spike of nervous anticipation whenever there was a risk of everything being exposed.

It’s the kind of show that stays with you, completely rewatchable and undeniably phenomenal. I loved every second of it, especially recognising and connecting with the entire cast. It brought such a refreshing, uplifting spirit that feels rare and needed.

I’d absolutely love a Season 2! More of this heartfelt, feel-good magic, please.

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Def 10/10, but watch with caution!

Wow, this hit hard. I've finished all episodes and the special episode (ep11), and here is my review: I'm actually quite a sensitive person and cannot bare to watch gruesome dramas, which is why I wanted to drop this many times, yet I stayed for FortPeat. I'm gonna say, once you start watching this, watch it till the end. I must say that this must be one of the best psychological dramas Thailand has ever made. The acting is cherry on top, the chemistry of all characters are amazing and this drama is slightly more realistic than other ones. Even though I, personally, could never forgive Kelvin and would actually kill him, Vier's actions were realistic, as a person, especially a man, could never really hate/kill the person they truly love. So the plot is amazing, and everything, especially witg the different time periods was really well planned. Sure, it might have been confusing at first, but it felt like a journey, getting a piece of information every time like a puzzle piece until you got the whole picture. So even though I don't like psychological dramas, this is definitely on my top list! 10/10

Btw, I never expected the lovey-dovey and cute actors FortPeat, who acted in Love in the air and Love Sea, to be in a psycho drama and act in dark roles, but... they were amazing! And Peat also got a major glow up, he looks wayy hotter in this series and is not only the "fragile, cute character".

Also, even though there was a disclaimer, such behaviour from Kelvin should not be normalised and romanticised, which is why I definitely do NOT recommend this for children, immature people and mentally unstable people.

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great but still lacking...

the beginning was strong and it will keep you watching to uncover the mysteries yet it dragged and became boring for a while in the middle and leave us with unsatisfying ending.

gong ziyu's character had many flaws and he had things going his way only because he was the protagonist I can't see it any other way , a stubborn and a crybaby I mean shangjue's character , yuanzhi and even jin fan had better characters, I can't believe the supporting character is what kept me going .

overall the drama was great especially with the plot twists towards the end , shangjue and ziyu working together , and yue weishan switching sides and helping the gong family.

I don't get the ending , when weishan went to see her twin sister she found wufeng leader there and we will never know what happened like did she return to the gongs?
why wasn't wufeng leader shown?

I don't get why everyone was helping and rooting for zi yu his character was very annoying 🙄 .

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Beautifully melancholic

It's my first time watching a remake of a drama that I have rated a perfect 10 with dozens of rewatches. It's beautifully made & must be unforgettable one for the viewer who hasn't seen My Mister.

The culturally relevant & some irrelevant changes were made to the original one which are allowed as creative liberty but the essence of the story definitely stayed.


The mannerism of ML is very very similar to Dong Hoon's in the original one & Mark Chao nailed it. Instead of my monthly rewatch lf MM I gave it a chance & enjoyed it.

My only minus point for this one was that Ahjussi thing that Ji An said to Dong Hon and he replied I'm your boss not Ahjussi. It faded in the remake.

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Intense, action mafia thriller-comedy (sadly no romance)

A fun, well-paced thriller that comedically intertwines the legal justice system and the underbelly of the mafia underworld. Absolutely NOT a romance (though they had the perfect setup), but a tale of found family.

Vincenzo is a complex character that balances his mafia background with his comedic group of troublemakers as they battle the justice system to keep their building complex intact. It's immensely satisfying when his dark side comes out when he has enough of the opposing side's shenanigans. Somehow it is the perfect balance of an dark action-thriller and light-hearted comedy.

However, this drama is just not my cup of tea. Gradually, I did become invested because the plot is so action-packed that it makes it hard to not keep viewing. I just wish they turned Vincenzo and Cha-Young into a couple. They were the perfect partners-in-crime with the best chemistry. Yet, the most we got were little, tiny crumbs that hinted they had feelings for each other. Honestly, it left a bad taste in my mouth and made the ending felt unfinished.

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I would lovve a whole 40 ep long form version of this

Sooo usually when getting into a short drama you would expect less.... but for this drama, the expectations should be high! The story and the way its shot makes me want a whole long form 40 ep drama. I am honestly dreading the moment it will finish. I am just so disappointed that this drama didnt have a huge budget bcs if it did than it would be POJ quality. I love the leads, especially the male lead. If this drama would ever be recreated to become a full length drama, they should def keep the lead cast (or maybe change the female lead). The best part is its not low quality cringey vibes. Anyways its a really good one and i really dont want it to end so soon

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Great little whodunnit with a side order of BookForce

There is so much to like about this story but I do feel the last few chapters could have been significantly shorter as once we get to the bottom of the mystery there are still several chapters to go and we end up watching a lot (ok so it was all cute) of padding so I docked a point for this.

The story centres round two characters Tankoon (played by Force) and Botpleng (played by Book). The former is a criminal psychologist and the latter a wealthy young man with no memory of his life following an unknown trauma approximately 10 years earlier.

One day (Bot)Pleng anonymously receives a diary documenting his life before his memory loss and in it he discovers he had an all encompassing love affair with a man called Tan(koon). Days later he finds a body in a suitcase and to his horror, as he turns round to see if there is anyone else nearby, Tan walks onto the scene which puts Pleng firmly in the suspect bucket as he is standing over the body when he arrives. Tan is immediately drawn to Pleng and as his curiosity (both personal and professional) is piqued he manages to get an invite onto the team investigating why the body they found belongs to a member of staff at one of Pleng’s many residences.

The plot thickens, another body is found, also tied to Pleng’s household and Pleng discovers that the man he waxes lyrical about his diary is not Tan but Tan’s dead brother Thunphob who for some reason says his name is Tan. Emotions run high and bonds of trust and friendship are built on pillars of sand.

Down the line we discover that someone is preventing Pleng from regaining his memories and he becomes worried that it was him that killed Thunphob. We also learn that Pleng is not really Pleng but a young companion called Tontharn brought into the family and unofficially adopted to become Pleng’s little brother. To top it all off a whole catalogue of lies and deception is uncovered when Pleng finally gets his memories back.

The chemistry between Book and Force is electric as usual with great banter and play fights. There is more skin than usual in their intimate scenes and Force spends quite a lot of time getting topless which is unusual for this couple but rather easy on the eye...

The other actors and their sub plots also add to the drama and we get to enjoy JuniorMark (from my perfect 10 liners) and Boun from between us) in all their glory too.

The penultimate scene paralleling Tan & Tontharn and Thunphob & (the real) Pleng on bicycles is really poignant and I will admit to feeling a lot sentimental and slightly tearful as I watched their carefree journeys on the same patch of dirt track. Kudos to the writers and direction for such a powerful scene.

The cinematography and the staging was great and added to the whole drama.

Would I watch it again? Probably not, but it was a lovely way to test the brain cells (the whodunnit) and enjoy Book and Force in action again.

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