Reviews

First Impression: Journey With You

Overall: gorgeous visuals/costuming and a unique setting/plot. 8 episodes about 45 minutes each. Airing on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/7095/journey-with-you-2026-e01

Content Warnings: there are major ones right at the beginning, I'm keeping this spoiler free for now but this is not a fluffy romance

What I Liked
- costuming/setting
- unique plot

Room For Improvement
- there were a ton of characters/plot introduced and it was a bit confusing, but I figured out the main characters/plot fairly quickly
- that mom looked like a sibling
- some characters are kind of stupid to believe other things, knowing how dangerous their situation is, also the emperor is stupid since he seems to have 5 sons (2 of which have been dealt with whatever that means) and also doesn't seem to realize how dangerous his situation is

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The portrayal felt unfair and overly negative

I was disappointed with the way the movie handled its main character and overall topic. Instead of presenting the situation with balance and depth, the film relied too heavily on negativity and unfair treatment. The character was constantly portrayed in a harsh and unsympathetic way, making it difficult to connect emotionally with their journey. Rather than developing the character thoughtfully, the movie seemed more focused on creating drama through humiliation and suffering.

What made it more frustrating was how certain important themes were handled without care or sensitivity. Some scenes felt exaggerated and unnecessarily cruel, which took away from the emotional impact the story could have had. A stronger script could have explored these issues in a more meaningful and respectful way, but the movie often chose shock value over genuine storytelling.

The performances from the actors were decent, but even good acting could not fully fix the weak character development and unfair narrative choices. By the end, the film left me feeling uncomfortable and dissatisfied instead of thoughtful or inspired. It had the potential to tell a powerful story, but the negative portrayal and poorly handled treatment of the character overshadowed everything else.

Overall, I would rate the movie poorly because of how unfairly it treated its characters and themes. While some viewers may appreciate the dramatic style, I personally found the storytelling frustrating, emotionally heavy, and lacking the balance needed to make the message truly effective.

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Toxic as hell but I ATE IT UP

* Trigger warning for sexual assault *

TLDR: This show is has a lot of problematic moments and isn't for everyone. However, it's well made and a lot of fun to watch so if you aren't put off by the toxicity, you'll probably like it.

Full review:

The premise is ridiculously wonderful. A virus that turned the world into an omegaverse? Hysterical. SIGN ME UP.

The acting, music and directing are all great. The show looks really clean and the premise is easy to buy into, I never felt taken out of the story, even when it got really ridiculous. The flowers on the hands were so funny to me though, my friend and I kept referring to them as the My Little Pony marks XD

The show did randomly switch up narrative style a couple times. For the first couple episodes we would get Hua Yong's thoughts written on a black screen but that was dropped early on and never happened again (that I can remember), and at the end Wen Lang's breakdown is just narrated by some random voice out of the blue lol, but these things didn't bother me, I just noticed them.

I'll go through my detailed thoughts in sections:

Hua Yong and Shao You (main couple):
Hua Yong gave me MAD whisplash throughout the show because half the time he was this cool, powerful mafia leader man with his Enigma powers, and the other half he was a pathetic, manipulative stalker boy who made me understand what 'getting the ick' felt like (e.g. the way he follows Shao You around and sends him so many letters after Shao You breaks up with him). Thankfully for the last few episodes he is the former and he was a lot of fun to watch.

Shao You was well written and well acted. The actor is a fantastic crier, like damn. I enjoyed his motivations and characterisation, and I also enjoyed his reaction to finding out about Hua Yong's lies. There was at least an ATTEMPT to set boundaries, which in a show like this, is already an achievement. Based on the premise, I found their getting back together believable and satisfying (though the consent of the marking scene was dubious at best, at least we got a scene showing Shao You being ok with it later). Despite the whole relationship being toxic as hell, Shao You is aware of and accepts Hua Yong's psychotic tendencies by the end (even calling him his 'Little Psycho') so at least he knows what he's in for. As a FICTIONAL romance I enjoyed them, although I only really started supporting them as a couple around episode 12.

It was around episode 12 when Shao You accepted Hua Yong as not an Omega and they get together without any lies or pretence. This is where they get really fun to watch. I loved Hua Yong protecting him from his brother's attack and the following pregnancy reveal. I love a good dynamic flip, and I feel for the most part it was done really well with Shao You.

My only major gripe with them is their rape scene in episode 9 which DID NOT NEED TO BE THERE. It doesn't forward the relationship or the plot. Shao You would still have figured out Hua Yong wasn't an Omega without that scene and their first time could just have been after the marking. The pregnancy thankfully came from a later, consensual love scene. I know it was supposed to make Hua Yong feel guilty and be more careful or something, but then just do a close call, I dunno, the way it was filmed all romantically as well just frustrated me.

Gao Tu and Wen Lang (secondary couple):

I use the word 'couple' lightly because they never actually get together. I've seen a lot of people complain about this but I LOVED it, it was so unexpected in the best way! If Hua Yong and Shao You were toxic, these two were irredeemable. To me, the big difference is that as a rich CEO and an S-tier Alpha, even though he's being manipulated, Shao You still holds power and a way out if need be. Gao Tu has none of these luxuries. He's poor, has a pheromone disorder and has to hide his status as an Omega from his abusive, phobic boss, and predatory, gambling addict father. Plus he has a sick sister he needs to provide for. Gao Tu has it rough, man. He also has my heart. Best character by far. So sweet and gentle and patient, and the way he makes the right decision for himself and his baby in the end made me so happy for him because the whole show all I wanted was for him to get away and be happy.

Wen Lang SUCKS SO BAD. STRAIGHT TO JAIL. To be fair, Hua Yong and Wen Lang both belong in jail but at least Hua Yong is fun evil (usually), Wen Lang is just a hot loser with money. He's constantly verbally abusive to Gao Tu, RAPES HIM, and then has the audacity to BLAME IT ON HIM. When he eventually finds out that he's pregnant (through Gao Tu's dad trying to extort money in exchange for aborting the baby against Gao Tu's will), Wen Lang, the man who has known Gao Tu for over a decade, believes his dad over him??? Gao Tu was right to run away and never look back. I cheered. Their ending is open-ended and I am open to believe they maybe co-parent their child in the future but I just can't see them together unless Wen Lang gets a personality transplant. I did enjoy him being the uncle figure for the main couple's kid though, it was nice to see he became a bit friendlier over the years at least.

I will say that unlike with Shao You and Hua Yong, the existence of the rape scene for these two doesn't bother me as much because it's somewhat essential to the plot. It's how Gao Tu gets pregnant, which is a major part of the reason why he leaves. Wen Lang is shown to be a scumbag and doesn't get the guy in the end, so it doesn't feel so unnecessary or romanticised as it did for the main couple.

The secretaries:
I loved the secretary characters and what their thoughts on any given situation might be. I particularly loved Pin Ming getting teary during Shao You's crying and birth scenes. My friend and I like to imagine Chang Yu, Pin Ming and Gao Tu having a secretary support club where they gossip about the crazy stuff their bosses get up. Especially after Shao You and Hua Yong get together, I like to imagine Chang Yu and Pin Ming become good friends so they can suffer their bosses' drama together lol

The ending:
I liked everything that happened in the ending, I just wish we'd gotten more detail. I feel the show could have been 18-20 episodes, rather than 16. I wonder if they ran out of budget and had to rush the ending or maybe the book really is written like that. I would have loved to have seen some of Gao Tu's life after he leaves since he's so unwell and unhappy most of the show, I really wanted to see him living a better life. It's implied of course, but it would have been nice to even have one scene of it.

I was also pretty frustrated with them skipping over the birth of the main couple's baby. Shao You has a dangerous birth due to being an Alpha and another trope I really love is a character's life being in danger and everyone worrying about them but ultimately they make it, so this could have been SO GOOD and exactly the kind of drama you need for an ending. But sadly they do a three year time skip right after they take him to the hospital. It would also have been such a great opportunity to finally have Hua Yong cry when Shao You wakes up from the birth because they built up his inability to cry so much and then never did anything with it. The main couple's baby finally being born, Shao You almost dying and surviving, Hua Yong finally crying, the friends celebrating, there would have been SO MUCH emotional pay off in this one scene it actually boggles my mind that they didn't make it. So much so that I decided to just write a fanfic to fill in the gaps for myself lollll

In conclusion, I loved it, twas incredibly entertaining. If not for the main couple's unnecessary rape scene and the rushed ending, this would have been a 9.5/10 for me. Despite that, I will definitely be rewatching this, and I will also be reading the novel.

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Plot Twist... me think!

First of, after reading a few reviews i wanted to put it out there that i still have faith in Jeong Woo. This guy have been in love and friends with Hui-ju for so long that he will always have her back and loyal even if it means giving up his romantic ideas to make way for her love.. i really believe this.

Second, cant believe the palace, after so many fires still does not have the security ... or fire extinguishers 😅 to prevent this from always happening. Dude, security team should really be fired here.... really!

Third, is Lord Sung-won her father or her brother?! Hope Justin S Kim should really make up his minds here.. hahaha

Last, love love love this series! Ciao! ❣️

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Writing Falls a bit short but it’s still a fun show!

The cast has great chemistry but I feel like the writing fails them a bit.
First off when the CXXs character starts liking her I feel like the transition could’ve been better because he randomly went from disliking her to immediately liking her. I feel like they should’ve eased into it a bit more.

Secondly the ending was a bit weird. It seemed like they were going to show us how he came through but no he just somehow appeared out of thin air?!

I feel like the random truck plot was super unnecessary and that they were just trying to drag the series. Stupid ass Kdrama truck 💀

Anyways I really enjoyed WYWs character. I thought she was super fun and that the plot was a very fun concept. I enjoyed the little schemes and how she used her chances. I also really enjoyed the ex boyfriend plot.

I liked how a major point of this show was to normalize periods especially amongst men.

Althought I spoke about a lot of the things I didn’t like, overall I had a fun time watching this series.

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"The world must be a difficult place for a guy like you"

Yakusho Koji gave another brilliant performance in Under the Open Sky as an aging ex-con and former yakuza member. Known as the Brawler from Kobe, recently released Mikami Masao, had much to learn about the world outside of the crime families.

At 60 years old, Mikami Masao is released after spending fourteen years in prison. He is determined to be through with his criminal ties and never go back to jail. With the help of a sympathetic lawyer, he is set up with a place to live and a modicum of government assistance. He suffers from severe hypertension limiting the few employment opportunities available to him. A television station wants to share his story, especially if they can reunite him with his mother on air. Mikami has lived much of his life on a set schedule with emotional and physical guardrails. Now he must learn to deal with the casual cruelty in the “civilized” general pop he is surrounded by without resorting to violence.

Unlike so many actors who have limited means of conveying expression, Yakusho Koji put on a master class of nuanced acting showing Koji’s every thought and response without the viewer catching him acting. You could feel Mikami’s frustration with the system that treated him like a pariah, coping with the disrespect he was often shown, realization that the world had moved on without him, and joy when he used his particular skill set on a pair of thugs. Mikami was forced to learn patience and self-control around people who were experts at eliciting angry responses. His own body forced him to his knees with debilitating hypertension. And Koji glided through every emotional speed bump and ditch expertly. I loved that Nishikawa didn’t make Mikami perfect. Though generally kind and generous at heart, Mikami had a temper and had no compunction against resolving problems or slights with his fists. Or a ladder.

Director Nishikawa Miwa based her script on the novel Mibuncho. She deftly exposed polite society’s ability to ostracize those who did not fit into a perfect mold. Unhappy people who followed the rules felt entitled to mock those who had strayed or were different. The yakuza was not glamorized and for the most part Mikami accepted responsibility for his troubles. The film also showed how difficult it is for ex-convicts to turn their lives around. Aside from personally changing their ways of handling conflict, they are faced with limited employment opportunities. Most businesses are reluctant to hire anyone who has been incarcerated. It’s not surprising that 50% of released prisoners end up back in jail within 5 years. It’s the same in my country. Once they’ve paid their debt to society, they still need to eat, have shelter, and a way to make a living and going back to the safety of what they are familiar with can be tempting. For Mikami, the crime families never looked down on him and made him feel small whereas he faced rejection constantly in society. Unlike many released convicts, he had a support system of people outside the crime world who came to care about him.

Having spent nearly half his life in prisons, Mikami Masao just wanted to be an ordinary person. What he found was a whole new set of rules. “Let it slide…Don’t get involved…Look out for yourself.” The weak and other were still bullied and preyed upon by “good” citizens, but in acceptable manners. He not only had to learn to trust and love again, but also to look the other way. I enjoyed this bittersweet story of Mikami’s resiliency and determination to change his life no matter the challenges and to seek out the beauty hidden under the open sky.

“You have to be patient out here. Patient with few rewards. But at least you can live under the open sky.”

8 May 2026

Trigger warnings: Bare bottoms and breasts but not in a gratuitous manner

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It stays true to the title of heart that skips a beat

Let me just give my most deep appreciation to the music... Bloody fantastic... the songs simply perfect.

The main couple were too good with each other that i wish the actors really date each other irl. Best parts are the plot that shows an idols life, a soft romance, and how they put importance to all the other characters and also a happy ending.

They did use a simple plot line showing how things are difficult in the music industry but although it was simple it was well executed in a manner that is purposeful and clear without putting in too many tropes and concepts... escpecially with the romance... i loved how the leads were straight forward to their feelings and how they handled things according to their personalities. Bonus Jun being Jun was way too good.

My favourite parts were Jun being Jun, Po and his sandwich, Thame and Po walking each other home back and forth, Hong beefing with Nut.

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Messy, but the demo version was a whole lot better!

There wasn't much of a story. It just were a lot of random scenes, some cut off. But other scenes are too long, so that combined gives it a very messy vibe. Someone messed with Liang Chen, put his workplace in the dark, but no explanation why or anything following that up. The production was a big mess.
The visuals and music were ok.
The subtitles were a mess.

Acting was good, not great. The mains had good chemistry, but the kisses were just lip pressing.

This was a waste of time for me.

Edit: I just watched the Full original demo version.
That was a whole lot better! At least that was a normal story. With good visuals and music.
The acting looked better and at least there was one good kiss.

But even after watching the demo version, some things in the 4 episode version still didn't make sense. They'd better used the demo version and never released the 4 episodes.

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Masterpiece.

I’ll keep it brief. I’ve been watching BL for five years, and I don’t know if I’ve ever felt this way in my life before. It’s been five months since I watched 10 Dance, and I still find myself watching edits of this masterpiece.
As a ballroom dancer, I was genuinely impressed by their dancing performance, it honestly felt like I was watching professionals. As for their chemistry, it was so powerful that I felt like I was watching a real life story of two people madly in love. They managed to portray every emotion their characters were supposed to feel in each scene perfectly.

Such an incredible movie.

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[HEAVY SPOILERS]

Veil of Shadows was a rollercoaster of a drama, with beautiful acting, lore, and visuals. However, its treatment of some of its characters and ending was where I felt it fell short: seemingly important characters were sidelined, and the entire show was essentially erased through a 'time reversal' ending, which personally seemed like a copout (personal preference, but I don't really get/like time reversal type endings it just erases everything the characters stand for and endured). Characters dying constantly and reveals happening every episode drained some of the magic as you begin to feel overwhelmed instead of connected to the characters.

At the beginning of the show I was absolutely in love with the visuals and lore. The dynamics between characters (specifically the fox sisters) were amazing to watch and the small visual details really had be flabbergasted (when the butterfly came out of Yuan Wuhuo's mouth to turn into his mask? Amazing. Also the entire pool at the Formless Moon Sect was absolutely stunning). I also loved each of the pair's dynamics, which were so different and so engaging. I found myself caring about both relationships equally as they switched between. Wu Wangyan and Wu Shiguang were the more mature feeling couple, with a tangled past and a relationship built on deception. But lord it was so wonderfully done. The tension, the chemistry was absolutely to die for, I found myself on the edge of my seat often watching them. The Star Stone arc was such a beautiful way to show their growing devotion to each other, even one based on 'lies'. And don't even get me started on Lu Wuyi and Ji Ling. The switch from their cute relationship in the first arc to him being a puppet reveal??? I literally mourned that little fox guy with Lu Wuyi. And the tension between Ji Ling as Chi Wen and Lu Wuyi was amazingly done and so interesting to watch! I had to take a lap around my room when Ji Ling died the first time (the first time. THE FIRST TIME. Why was there so many more times ToT) and then slowly realising Chi Wen IS Ji Ling? and still loves her? Wonderful. Sublime. Everyone's acting was top notch.

However as the drama kept going on, the 'plot twists' and overall story became quite overwhelming and sudden. The overuse of the surprise factor really dulled down many moments where I began to feel more and more apathetic about the characters (I still cried...but well, less I guess). I think some of those 'reveals' could have been executed a lot better with more clearer foreshadowing: it felt like things were being pulled out of their ass at some point. Again, there was a real overuse of dramatic reveals and plot twists that kept switching up the story to the point it was confusing to follow, and honestly numbed me to the surprise. Conversely, there were also some arcs that were a little dragged at points (the Star Stone arc is the first one that comes to mind) where I remember asking myself when the arc was going to end because it felt like they had been doing the same thing for way too long. Keeping a better balance between these moments and the plot twists could have made the drama flow a bit more rather than feeling a bit staccato at times and flat at others.

The largest downside to me was the sidelining of characters, which many others have also pointed out. After the Star Stone arc, Wu Shiguang and Wu Wangyan got MAJORLY sidelined. I enjoyed Wu Shiguang's character at the beginning of the drama, but as time went on he stopped bringing anything to the table. He felt like a real dude at the start and then he morphed into the most generic character that was just. There. Ji Ling on the other hand was going THROUGH it and had reveal after reveal of sad and sadder backstory. Props to Joseph Zeng for doing the most with what he got for Wu Shiguang. Similarly with Wu Wangyan, she was such a powerful character but at the end all I saw her do were a few spins, make a bigger ice sword than before, then spit out blood and cry a bit (talking about crying, seriously I hardly remember any of the character's non-crying faces. They're always crying! Every scene! Ji Ling has a teardrop run down his face so beautifully like 50 times an episode. Why are we torturing these characters so much, let them have a break! And let me have one too! I think I went through 2 whole tissue boxes throughout the whole drama. Anyway, back to Wu Wangyan). I wanted to see more of the fox sisters and their power. In contrast, Lu Wuyi becoming a 'deity' was very fun to see (although the time loop thing was. confusing to say the least, but I have to say the Lonescale was so beautiful) and I wish we saw more of those scenes with Wu Wangyan and Wu Shiguang too, especially after Wu Shiguang was revealed to be the 10th Dragon. They really gave up on their characters. The ending overall didn't quite hit, it left me feeling empty. And oh my gosh You Chi dying without Wu Shiguang and then turning out to basically be a completely different person post time reversal??? Where did my silly weasel go??? I was distraught. Loved that guy and wish his friendship with Wu Shiguang got a bit more attention like Ji Ling and Li Jue's did. I also wanted to see more of Han Ba and was sad when he also died :(

Overall, I think a 7.5 is a fair rating from me. I enjoyed the first half of the show immensely, but it dropped off slowly as time went on (perhaps I was also just physically tired from crying so much). The music and visuals were amazing though, I found myself bopping to the beats every time they played (which might have been overdone but it didn't get old for me, I loved it) and singing along to the battle music which I had no idea what they were saying (As someone who studied Chinese I don't think it was?? It was so catchy though). And as a GM currently running a xianxia-based TTRPG campaign, the visuals and plot twists really gave me a lot of inspiration (and ways to emotionally damage my players!) so that's always a good thing! I don't believe I would rewatch this show anytime soon - safe for the first 12 or so episodes.

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Khun Thee is an absolute icon.. It's a 10 from me.

Gosh.. i was in for a humorous ride.. i watched this series as a treat to myself after a particulary difficult exam. And it was a lovely gift that i received. I had expectations before watching this series and safe to say it was fulfilled... that i wished it was longer. 😭
Let me just vent on how stunning everyone looked on screen.. The visuals *chef's kiss* I was so happy seeing Pond in short hair after his long hair era.. and Phuwin and Est looking way too good to be true.. like i replayed scenes just for the visuals at times.

I am sure Khun Thee is gonna be an icon.. he unlocked something that wasn't seen much in other bls.. a humour that so well done by acting itself.

My favorite scenes are the take all his pain away, good night stubborn one, rain dance, Peach being clueless to Khun Thees advances, Khun thee and peach on the boat, mok being sassy, Khun Thee playing handpan and measuring the ring size. Special mention to I missed you! (AHHH I SCREAMED AT THIS EVEN THOUGH I KNEW WHAT EXACTLY WAS COMING). I have replayed most of the the scenes from this drama atleast 5 times making it longer that i needed to finish watching it.

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