Reviews

"The devil loves to play the angel"

Detective vs Sleuths aka Demon Hunter was a frenetic carnival ride strewn with dead bodies, mental illness, and revenge. It proved the old adage to be true, “Just because you’re paranoid, doesn’t mean they aren’t out to get you.”

Lee Jun is a disgraced ex-detective who sees and hears things that other people do not. His motto is, “Whoever battles monsters should ensure that he does not become one.”* A dead man reveals a sinister plot to Jun. With each death comes a clue pointing to the next one-all cases of Jun’s that lacked the evidence to prove guilt. A very pregnant inspector, Chan Yee, becomes caught up in Jun’s madness all while her department is convinced he is actually mad and may be the criminal perpetrator.

Jun was considered a Chosen Sleuth before he broke down. But in this film, the question of who was the sleuth and who was the psychopath, became deeply entwined. A team of murderous avengers calling themselves The Chosen Sleuths hunted down the suspects in Jun’s notes, meting out their own form of justice. The Hong Kong police were often shown as ineffectual and quick to jump to conclusions leading to tragic results. Jun’s manic episodes and connections to the cases eroded any confidence in his abilities and innocence.

DvS moved fast and erratically with a large cast. When cops were killed and everyone cried, I had no idea who they were talking about. The bad guys had at least three huge vans of deadly avengers. The camera bounced around as much as the cast did. A few breathers for the audience to process the information being rapidly dumped minute-to-minute would have been nice. Most annoyingly, the Cantonese dubbing was terrible for several characters.

Lau Ching Wan was excellent as the brilliant, if very unstable, Lee Jun. Once I learned how to keep my balance on this topsy-turvy rollercoaster, it became more bearable and thrilling. The grand finale was a grossly over the top explosion that threw everything it could at the screen to be memorable. In some ways it succeeded, while still not managing to feel convincing. A wild, hallucinogenic, and violent film with numerous red herrings, Detective vs Sleuths dizzily stumbled about as it sought to discover who was the sleuth and who was the psychopath. Sometimes, both things can be true.

16 June 2026

*Quote Note: "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche’s “Beyond Good and Evil”.

Trigger Warnings: Countless deaths by knives, guns, and fire. The bodies really stacked up in this one. One torture scene.







Slightly spoilery maternity note: Perhaps Chan Yee’s baby was the real demon. No umbilical chord? Yeah, that’s creepy.

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Duaaaang!

Watch this, really!
I watched this a couple days ago and wow!! I was searching for a more cute soft bl drama, kinda youth vibes, and thats what i've got. This bl really healed me, i was tired of bl's that were too complicated or hard to watch, and this one is definitely easy and good to watch, i felt good and happy all the episodes that were happy, and i could get emotional when i had to. And when i was watching i always felt kinda silly happy bursting with happiness just like Duang. Its a very light series that made me wanna live again, lol. We had some spice and emotional moments too, all in good amounts. The chosen actors were amazing, all of them good choices, they're all adorable and act really well, even tho they're not in this career for much long.
I know some people could "cringe" in some moments, but thats absolutely not me, i felt just like Duang freaking out cutely.

To finish: Duang love Qin, Qin love Duang!

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Love Upon a Time: A Place I Visited, Not Just a Series I Watched

ove Upon a Time ended up being everything I hoped it would be and more.

After production delays, recasting, and significant changes from the original pilot, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. What I got was a beautifully crafted historical fantasy romance that completely swept me away.

What surprised me most was how playful the series was. I expected something far more serious, but JJ's performance as Nakhun injects the perfect amount of humour and chaos into the story. Honestly, if a Gen Z university student suddenly found himself 400 years in the past, I would expect him to react exactly like this. His exaggerated expressions and comedic timing never felt out of place to me. Instead, they made him feel human.

Net and JJ are phenomenal together. Net brings warmth, emotional depth, and quiet strength to Phop, while JJ fills Nakhun with charm and life. Their chemistry is undeniable, and by the end of the series I was completely invested in every glance, every conversation, and every moment they shared.

What truly impressed me was the balance. Love Upon a Time is simultaneously a romance, a mystery, a period drama, and a fantasy. Remarkably, none of those elements overshadow the others. They weave together naturally, creating a story that constantly keeps you engaged.

Visually, the series is stunning. The rivers, landscapes, traditional homes, costumes, and historical locations all contribute to a world that feels rich and lived in. The production quality is among the best I've seen in Thai BL.

And then there's the finale.

What a finale.

It's the kind of ending that feels earned. After all the love, heartbreak, danger, sacrifice, and longing, the final chapter lands with enormous emotional weight. Long after the credits rolled, I was still thinking about it.

More importantly, this series achieved something few dramas ever manage. It didn't feel like I was watching a story. It felt like I was living inside one. I wasn't simply observing these characters—I felt present alongside them.

I'll carry Love Upon a Time with me not as a show I watched, but as a place I visited.

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Nem todo amor salva. Alguns ajudam a sobreviver.

Sonhar nem sempre é bonito. Nem sempre é fácil. Às vezes é cansativo. Às vezes machuca. Principalmente quando existe urgência envolvida, quando alcançar aquele sonho parece ser a única saída possível.

E, mesmo assim, a gente continua.

Continua tentando, continua insistindo, continua encontrando motivos para não desistir. Talvez porque, de vez em quando, apareçam pessoas que, mesmo sem poder mudar a nossa realidade, nos dão forças para continuar enfrentando ela.

E talvez essa seja uma das formas mais bonitas de amor que existem.

Quando terminei The Sparkle in Your Eye, eu percebi que tinha anotado apenas duas coisas:

"Quanto custa realizar nossos sonhos quando eles estão embebidos em desespero?"

E:

"Criar forças para se reerguer por causa de alguém."

E talvez isso diga mais sobre o impacto desse BL em mim do que qualquer resenha que eu pudesse escrever.

Porque, no fim, eu fiquei pensando justamente nisso. Em quantas vezes a vida nos empurra para um lugar tão escuro que continuar parece impossível. E em como, às vezes, a presença de uma única pessoa é capaz de nos lembrar por que ainda vale a pena tentar mais uma vez.

Sei lá.

Esse é um daqueles BLs que eu termino sem conseguir falar muito sobre a história, porque fiquei ocupado demais sentindo tudo o que ela me fez sentir.

Enfim, esse BL tem meu coração. Me fez chorar copiosamente em várias cenas, me fez admirar ainda mais as produções asiáticas e, de quebra, ainda me deu uma das trilhas sonoras mais bonitas que ouvi nos últimos tempos.

Daquelas que, quando a série acaba, continuam com a gente.

E que, a partir de hoje, também vão fazer parte da trilha sonora da minha vida.

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RESEÑA <3

Empecé esta serie con ganas porque los primeros capítulos enganchan bastante y plantean una historia interesante. Sin embargo, conforme avanzaba se me hizo algo lenta en algunos momentos y hubo varias situaciones que me parecieron demasiado exageradas o basadas en casualidades difíciles de creer.

Aun así, no está mal. Tiene algunos toques de humor que ayudan a aligerar la tensión, varias escenas bastante sangrientas y una trama relacionada con posesiones que resulta interesante. En general entretiene y mantiene el misterio, pero personalmente me esperaba algo más por las buenas críticas y el potencial que tenía la premisa.
Además, queda como que probablemente haya otra pequeña temporada..

Mi valoración: 7/10. Una serie entretenida, con buenas ideas y momentos impactantes, aunque no terminó de convencerme tanto como esperaba.

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Ted-Talk-ish K-drama

Six Flying Dragons takes a dynamic slice of Korean history—the decay of Goryeo and the founding of Joseon—and focuses on the institutional changes proposed by Sam Bong and the new regime. For those who enjoy lectures in a K-drama setting, there are many episodes in which to enjoy the sonorous voice of the scholar while his adherents cogitate silently in agreement.

While the actual history provides ample drama, the series introduces a secret society as a catalyst for decisions and as an excuse for gravity-defying acrobatic sword fights. The acting ensemble is competent, and the broad historical framework is largely accurate. However, the effects and costs of power are only lightly explored as the characters move through what often feels like a timeline-driven narrative.

The founding of Joseon contained enough material to create a dynamic exploration of the motivations, implementation, and consequences of political power from multiple perspectives. Instead, the series devotes much of its runtime to doctrinal discussions, rendering the overall experience surprisingly static. After spending dozens of episodes chewing over ideas, the series abruptly compresses many of its most consequential historical developments into the final episodes, tying off major threads with remarkable haste.

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Give it a Try! One of the most non-toxic Lakorn you'll find!

Finally watched it. This show has been on my "Plan to watch" list for a long time.. I finally came around and got the chance to see it.

I had watched 2 lakorns of FL before and always found her really charming and beautiful. She is pretty and has really stunning emotional eyes. In this show, she is even better. She handles the physicality of being a bodyguard with her petite body perfectly well. Her action sequences looks genuine enough. Really a praiseworthy performance by her.

Coming to ML, hmm where do I begin. I am pleasantly surprised. I thought I had seen all handsome asian actors that there were to see. Oh my, was I wrong. What a man. I couldn't keep my eyes off of him whenever he was on screen. I'll remember this performance and him for ages. XD Ken, you really did good.

Leads had such a good chemistry, their kisses were really very nice. Sometimes, I just found myself giggling looking at them. In short, very much enjoyed watching them together on the screen.

The supporting casts did well. There were your usual supporting characters you would expect in a Lakorn, with granny and FL's friends. Second leads were great as well.

Script could have been more refined, some actions and sequences lacked common sense, but lakorns being over the top is something you can always expect. Villains lacked any duality, they were just bad for the sake of being bad. But overall a good watch.

If you want to try watching a non-toxic Lakorn, go ahead and give this a try. You'll not be disappointed.

~Cheers!!

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