I was disappointed
I might be too attached to Hidden Love, so I was very disappointed with this drama. Though I will say that I liked the story idea, I just found the show very slow and boring. Sure, there were parts where it got exciting, but I found the FL annoying because she kept refusing to open up to the ML, even after everything he did for her. I felt like the ML deserved better.I was especially frustrated because it felt like the FL wasn't developing as a character at all and was actually getting worse as the story went on. I kept waiting for the FL to grow from her experiences, but each time it seemed like she was about to open up, she pulled away again.
I also found the side characters boring and lacking personality. I'm not saying they were terrible—there were some really funny and cute moments between them. I just found their storylines confusing and boring, and they felt too slow for me. I really love shows with strong side characters, but this drama just wasn't doing it for me.
Of course, this is only my opinion, but I found this drama boring, lacking in character development, and ultimately disappointing. I can understand why some people enjoy this drama, but it just wasn't my cup of tea.
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Great chemistry in this light, easy to digest story about merman looking for his soulmate
I was in the mood to watch mermaid / merman short dramas so I chose this one. I watched it on youtube because only VIP members can watch full episodes on WeTV. My Mermaid Boyfriend was fun & breezy watch.What I liked:
1. Acting - I consider chemistry as a subset of acting and wow, both leads got very good chemistry. They were in sync from the get go. I liked that they exuded warmth when on screen.
2. Plot - It is familiar, simple, easy to digest story. The water splash scene reminds me of Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo.
3. FL characterisation - I liked her personality. She wasn't weak girl with low self-esteem.
4. ML characterisation - He was sneaky! The first 2 episodes cracked me up.
5. Romance - Friends to lovers dynamic.
6. Styling - I liked the pink and blue clothes worn by the leads.
7. Supporting character - ML's sister was a wonderful addition. I liked her advice to ML.
What I disliked:
1. Antagonist - His arc was underdeveloped but overall he was selfish.
Favourite scene
When ML intervened in a potential fight
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A Heroine With Brains and Backbone — The Heir Delivers
The Heir hooked me from the very first episode, and the glowing reviews I'd read beforehand turned out to be well deserved. What grabbed me straight away was the FL: a genuinely strong character who is sharp, entrepreneurial, and brimming with fresh ideas. She's the kind of protagonist who commands the screen: clever enough to outthink almost everyone around her, and fiercely protective when it comes to her family. She refuses to let anyone bully or belittle the people she loves, and watching her stand her ground is deeply satisfying.Beyond its lead, the drama keeps me thoroughly invested with a consistently intriguing plot. Each episode raises new questions and tensions, leaving me eager to see what comes next — that rare "just one more episode" pull that's so hard to find. The pacing, the stakes, and the way the story unfolds all work together to keep me looking forward to every new instalment.
The Heir has earned a place among my top 10 Chinese dramas of all time. If you love a heroine with brains, backbone, and heart, paired with a story that never lets your attention drift, this one is absolutely worth your time.
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AMAZING
Genuinely adored this show, it had such a compelling and interesting plot I forgot it was supposed to be a comedy, still loved the absurd and dry humour though, all the main character's are so endearing they're all unique from each other and have their own flaws and their personalities aren't shrunk down by the end like a lot of shows tend to do with similar sort of bumbling characters, the chemistry between both the romantic pairings and the friendship ones was pretty natural feeling.Although there are only really two or three main songs that play throughout the show they really fit the moments and I loved hearing Creep by Radiohead in this. I do kind of wish they dug a little bit deeper with Chae-Ni's immortality as a superpower, but at the same time I really like how they didn't overuse it.
Overall I loved this show though, would love a second season!
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I had a lot of fun watching this. Even though I wasn't quite fond of the "game" theme in the beginning, I got used to it.
There were some really good surprises during the story which probably comes with its game setting. I felt a bit in the dark about the original novel story here, different as I usually know it from other dramas of this kind. So, I had flatout no idea where this was going and in which way the FL was changing the plot or had to go along with it. But it didn't become less entertaining. It always remained exciting.
In the end the story created a grand finale which didn't seem that way at first. It was even somewhat poetic and presented an even bigger surprise.
The main couple's romance developed quite nicely, and they got some really emotional, heavy moments together. I just love their way of acting, especially their dramatic, heart throbbing scenes. And they got an even more touching finale.
On a side note, even though the SML was the SML, he always felt somewhat inconspicuous. He had his important tasks and moments, but he always felt like a cloud or something.
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It was overall boring
I fell asleep while watching all of the episodes except for the last 2. They focused too much on the dating and the virtual reality game that the relationship between the 2 main roles left me wanting more. I love Seo In Guk and I watched the drama because of him and he was truly exceptional. Jisoo’s acting is definitely 10/10 also she didn’t fall behind and I truly think that both characters had good chemistry I just wanted more from them considering they don’t start giving them time together until about episode 6.Was this review helpful to you?
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fated hearts
First of all, I want to say that both the male and female leads did a really good job. You could tell they genuinely gave it their all and tried their best to deliver a great performance.As for the drama itself, I've known this director and his team since The Long Ballad back in 2021, so I already knew there were some serious weaknesses when it comes to shots, especially in SOKP.
For the first ten episodes, I was mostly busy trying to get used to the filming style, the filter, and the dialogue. Around episode 10, though, it finally became interesting for me, and I watched it till episode 25 at once.
But then I started losing motivation to continue, mainly because of the story
The Prime Minister spent 25 episodes as the villain and even colluded with the enemy, only for it all to end with that funny ridiculous stunt? I honestly kept expecting there to be some bigger plan behind arranging the Princess's marriage to the enemy prince, but there was nothing at all.
Both the marquis and the Princess changed way too suddenly.
The marquis had been helping everyone so sincerely all the time, but the moment he was put in that position, he turned on them without even a second of hesitation. He didn't deserve that fate or that ending. Princess too . She spent the whole drama talking about how much she loved him, then suddenly changed overnight without anything significant even happening. If I were the writer, I would've had that change happen after she found out about her father and brother being killed. At least that would've made some sense.
Even the Emperor suddenly went from being a good father who cared about his children to a selfish and negative character, and it felt completely unnecessary and forced.
My third issue was the main couple's storyline. I really liked their chemistry, but after Feng Sui ge got injured and the story went into the completely cliché amnesia plot, i get bored
On the other hand, in the end I really liked emperor of Jinxiu and his feelings for the Princess. I felt like he was actually changing and had some interesting character development. Unfortunately, I didn't like his ending at all, and I genuinely felt bad for him.
As for emperor of Jinxiu's Queen Mother, there's honestly not much to say. She was a truly stupid character who ended up doing nothing but ruining her own son.
Overall, the drama had some high points that helped keep the story engaging. Combined with the cast's strong performances and a great OST, I'd say the drama was overall good to average. Personally, I think it would've worked better as a 30-episode drama, and storylines like the Storm Alliance arc should've been much shorter.
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The production quality, costumes, and cinematography are visually appealing, helping bring both the historical and modern settings to life. Although the plot relies on several familiar K-drama tropes and occasional predictable twists, the engaging cast and fast-paced storytelling make up for these shortcomings.
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Gender dysphoria, cross dressing and internalized homophobia
(SA mentioned!!)I LOVED this series, and I mean with my whole heart. Genuinely one of my comfort series. I never expected to like this so much and that has one big reason, the fucked and lacking representation a lot of Japanese or Asian drama's have on transgenders and anyone falling under the trans umbrella. And recently I have rarely rated a movie or series a 10/10 aswell. Decided to watch it mainly because I like short series, with short episode. I feel like I can really relate to this series as a female looking guy, I'm always judged. I love how it's filmed and edited in the typical 2000s-1990s Japanese style.
I love how they added internalised homophobia, however, I'm not a fan of the bullying scenes. They were heavily needed through this whole series but I can't believe Futoshi was okay and accepted the apologies so fast. I did have to laugh extremely much at the them catching the guy who is homophobic use their lipstick lmaooo.
I was kinda confused until the last few episodes, does Futoshi just like cross dressing? Is she a Trans girl? Or maybe just body dysphoria? Through the show I notice they are just experiencing with gender a lot, but it clear there's also some dysphoria. I doubt they identified as a girl but definitely liked being treated like one. (I'm calling Futoshi them.) No matter what Futoshi actually identified as, the representation was extremely well and without clearly having dysphoria scenes there it was very obvious those feeling were involved.
Another extremely well done part in the series. Often, SA is portrayed wrong and as a victim it really sucks to see characters forget about the SA the next day. Again, especially in Asian and American series the SA scene's are often easily pushed into a series to create some trauma. But in this series it was super accurate and I'm really happy about that. I'm gonna be honest I didn't think weird of that teacher at first until he made fun of them in front of the class with the spanking. I still trusted him and then was quite surprised when he actually did so. I love how they made me trust him at first, showing how wrong you can be about someone.
I heard people mention the ending is very different in the. manga and now I'm hyped to read the manga aswell. In my opinion the ending was quite lacking and it was nice but could be nicer. I was also kinda confused who Futoshi ended up with but that's my fault for watching this at 12am.
I'm a trans person aswell, I'm not open about this and I let people figure my gender themselves hoping they'll get it right. It's very exhausting but I don't exactly feel comfortable saying I'm trans in my class since I feel like they are already talking behind my back. I feel like I can relate soooo much to Futoshi.
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Not bad for a shallow watch
This show doesn’t really qualify as a short drama, but sometimes it feels like one. The pace is quite fast. I think this is both good and bad- the cases are all rather short (a couple episodes, maybe) so you get quick gratification in finding out whodunit. Add to that the way the cases all feed one into the other, and the show is particularly easy to binge.On the flip side, though, the case-solving is rather rushed- that’s how they can solve so many, so quickly. Rather than walking us through each case properly, the investigative team simply uncovers a few clues and then “deduces” a full-blown elaborate story. It’s a mystery to me how they got there. So in the end, this is a crime show that doesn’t really show crime solving. Instead I think the focus is on the stories that are uncovered.
A side effect of breezing through so many cases is that there are a lot of characters for the amount of story. Sometimes by the time the mystery is solved, I was still trying to figure out who is who. This is fine for characters who disappear, but a lot of the cases are interlocked, so many characters become relevant again and then you’re sitting there trying to remember who they are. Characters need more development to make an impression.
If you can look past all that, and all the other random plot holes, I did find the actual stories behind the cases to be pretty good. Interesting and often touching. Many cases have some element of the fantastical (similar to Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty). It would almost be a spoiler to reveal whether the supernatural is actually real in the show, so I won’t say more.
The detective team grew on me. It’s great to see a father-son relationship; father-aged characters rarely get main roles and I really enjoyed his interactions with everyone. There is also a budding romance which is not done too well, like you can see the signs here and there but they are subtle, and then when they suddenly get together it’s rather abrupt. But romance is not a huge part of this show and I was fine with it.
The FL herself is bright, cheery, and outgoing. I found her quite likeable but a bit anachronistic, which the show glosses over. At the beginning, a lot of her expressions and reactions seem exaggerated in an attempt at comedy- it’s not really my style of humor, but I still liked the lighthearted vibe. For better or worse, the comedy dies down as the show goes on.
The FL does her best to be useful, but the character who actually comes up with all the magical deductions is Jueming, the ML (or one of?). He is fairly likeable (and has some sort of super nose!), but mostly I just wanted him to tell me what happened. Overall I liked the team but I wasn’t in love with the characters, and I don’t think it’s a particularly character-driven story.
I do like that this show isn’t afraid to let “good” people do “bad” things. Even people on the protagonists’ side can do wrong things or have prejudiced ideas. There are also some pretty good plot twists and reveals. So the various cases, along with the central mystery (Jueming figuring out what happened to his family), kept me interested.
My main complaint is probably that some things are handled in ways I simply don’t agree with. I couldn’t help feeling that many of these tragedies only happened because society and the law have failed the common people. The characters don’t seem to recognize this or have much empathy. Of course, our modern values are different (eg our opinion of how much a life is worth) and it’s better for a show to stay true to its setting. But my favorite shows still acknowledge my modern values, maybe with some sympathetic character recognizing where the blame truly lies. The closest this show comes is refuting the idea that somebody is predestined to crime via birthright, which seems pretty basic to me.
Acting-wise, I think everyone did ok. Some of the show felt overacted, but it might just be the fast pace pushing too many dramatic scenes too close together without enough “normal” scenes in between.
The production seems decent for a smaller drama. The sets and costumes are nice, there are plenty of extras, and even the props look real which I find is important for these murder shows. This show does have a style of acting out hypotheses, memories, and descriptions whether they are correct or not, and sometimes it’s hard to tell what’s past, present, or imaginary. So this led to a little confusion, but it’s not too bad.
The music is alright- the BGM is used well to set the mood and includes some nice orchestral pieces. I thought the OST is ok but I didn’t love it, though that might be because it mostly only plays during recap scenes (flashing memories, which the show seems to use to say goodbye to characters) and I am not a fan of those, as I would rather watch more story.
Overall I think this show is not bad for a shallow binge watch and can be finished in decent time, especially if you watch it sped up. The stories are decent but don’t expect much from the case solving, or to particularly fall in love with any characters or ideas.
ENDING – READ AHEAD ONLY IF YOU WANT TO KNOW, CONTAINS SPOILERS
The show’s ending seems to be a setup for another season. Jueming is shown walking off with the FL, discussing the next mystery he wants to tackle. Of course, the leads do manage to first resolve the big case of the show and bring the ultimate villain to justice- it turns out to just be another corruption case, which is not that interesting but at least easy on my emotions.
The show actually dares to (probably?) kill off one of the main characters. But we don’t see any follow-up or confirmation of this, or Jinglan and Jueming’s reactions. As a standalone ending it would be pretty unsatisfying with loose ends, but my guess is they want to do a S2.
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Based on the myth of the Samurai rather than the history.
As far as story telling goes, the plot is very basic and doesn’t make a lot of sense. There are a lot of plot wholes. That being said, it does include historical facts in interesting ways.The reason behind the presence of the character Futaba is a mystery to me. I can see the drama plays out exactly as it went without her character and nothing would change with the other characters nor the story.
The drama is star studded and most do a great job at distinguishing their characters no matter how small the role is. Except for the actors whose roles were ridiculously short. I’m still wondering the reason behind bringing such a talented actor for a role that lasted less than a minute.
The main attraction of the drama and where it succeeds is the action. Not all action scenes were great. I personally find scenes where dozens go after a few with weapons are difficult to believe. However, one-on-one fights were a feast! It’s nothing over the top and controlled. It’s quick when needed and limited when required. It was stylish and fun.
Except for Higashide Masahiro’s fight scene which appeared fake. Not bad, just not in the same height as other action scenes. The character he plays though is interesting.
Though I have my criticism, it was entertaining and I am looking forward to the next season.
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"HIDDEN LOVE is resilience, honesty, care, and timeless love."
This drama really deals with the tragedies of young first love in such a sweet, respectful manner that it's so refreshing to see. The drama hits off with absolutely lovely writing of Duan Jiaxu and Sang Zhi. Their chemistry is on par with actual real-life couples, and especially how the age gap is treated here is so sweet and brilliant. I think the drama emphasizes this by constantly reminding the audience of the differences in Zhizhi and Jiaxu's environments, and also the different pressures for example, when Jiaxu had to cancel the dates because of what he said were "trivial life matters," but in reality there were true problems with him being the man, showing that it was his fault, and Zhizhi being the woman respecting that while also asking him if it was really okay. The number of times Sang Zhi showed what falling in love means is to stand up for love when times get hard, with Jiaxu reciprocating the same, supporting her. The prejudice of others about their age gap, the very real worries of parents about their children dating, and whether Zhizhi and Jiaxu were really honest with themselves about their feelings are all explored.It shows what it is like when you support someone endlessly and do not doubt the person you love. In this case, the story of Jiaxu's family history and the Sang family knowing it and questioning it, and how Sang Zhi comes forward truly and maturely with a tender heart about liking him for a long time, is shown in a very true manner: first being just an infatuation, then when Zhi reaches a certain age realizing it may be a crush, and then the story kicks off to the "hidden love." The show doesn't undercut when it comes to choosing or having to make decisions, with Zhi enrolling in Yihe University and then having an internship, which matters not just for love but also for personal growth both Zhi's feelings and career, and Jiaxu's feelings and career. The parents show concern and take steps like confiscating phones and making time to be at home for Zhi, having Yang pick her up, actually video calling her in college days, and everything in between. The college days are shown very truly: friends, school bullying, college tests, and seminars.
Very mature characters, both Sang Zhi and Duan Jiaxu, show respect for their original concerns about being together, from consent questions like "Can I hold your hand?" to "Do you want to...?" to showing menstruation problems, predatory relationship issues, and putting dreams and family health relationships first. Zhi smartly takes on the pressure of the problems given by the debtor's family while supporting Jiaxu's feelings of "You've done your part; she can't bully you forever; it's not your fault." Very lovely, both Jiaxu and Zhizhi, and the hard-hitting line "Am I really getting too old? Why are my parents no longer here?" just encapsulates everything in one line. Then Zhizhi embraces him and tells him, "I've got you," showing he has a home, a family that will love him.
The drama is very well written and exceptionally adapted, with incredible acting and a lovely cast. No fake drama, no plot twists just real, mature, cared for, true first love. Zhizhi had to hide it for a long time the treasure of "HIDDEN LOVE is resilience, honesty, care, and timeless love." That's the brilliance of this show.
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I Had a Crush... Until the Drama Took Over
I like dramas that are sweet but still feel grounded in realism, which is why I felt drawn to this drama. One of the things that immediately interested me about Crush was that the main character is blind, because it opens up a completely different way of experiencing the world. I also liked the career choices in the drama. A braille teacher, a composer, and someone wanting to work at a radio station all felt refreshing and meaningful, especially nowadays when most people spend their time online or watching series.It even made me realize how important radio actually is in this context. Before watching this drama, I sometimes thought that radio might eventually disappear, but afterward I realized how sad that would be. The series reminded me that voices, sound, and imagination can create connection in ways visual media sometimes cannot.
I also enjoyed the sweetness at the beginning and the way the characters felt imperfect and awkward while trying to navigate their first relationship. Their interactions felt warm, sincere, and playful, which really gave this series its soul.
I especially liked the way the story explored perception and how different people experience the world differently. Because the male lead is almost completely blind, even ordinary moments felt sensual and mindful. Watching the characters discover the world together created some of the drama’s strongest and most emotional scenes. It was beautiful to see how they slowly warmed up to one another and began integrating each other’s perspectives into their own.
However, even though the trailer hinted at some dramatic moments, I still felt somewhat misled because I did not expect such a huge middle-arc conflict to completely change the tone of the story.
The middle section especially felt overloaded with family drama and misunderstandings. Many conflicts were introduced, but not all of them were resolved in a satisfying or emotionally sincere way. Some side characters and friendships also felt underused, and I kept wondering what purpose certain friends had in the overall story besides occasionally moving the plot forward.
I also felt the character growth became less authentic over time. Certain personality traits that were initially sweet and playful gradually started to feel impertinent or frustrating instead. The characters also seemed to lose some of the warmth that originally made them so likable.
One thing that especially disappointed me was how the drama handled the topic of blindness later on. Earlier in the story, it beautifully showed that although people perceive the world differently, there can still be beauty in those experiences. However, later parts of the drama made it feel as though being blind automatically meant being incomplete or “broken” until it could be medically fixed. I wholeheartedly support people gaining sight through operations if they want to, but I disliked the implication that blindness itself was something inherently defective. This felt contradictory to the more nuanced and compassionate message the beginning seemed to present.
Another missed opportunity for me was the couple’s shared daily life. I would have loved to see more scenes of them learning how to truly live together — creating routines, understanding each other’s needs, balancing messy and careful spaces, and finding practical ways to support one another. That kind of grounded relationship development would have been much more meaningful to me than the excessive dramatic conflicts that took over the story.
I also wish the characters had experienced more genuine healing by the end of the story, especially the male lead. At times, it felt as though emotional wounds were simply pushed aside rather than truly understood and worked through.
Despite my criticisms, I still think Crush had a beautiful emotional unique moments. Even after the drama lost most of its direction later on.
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Why Is This So Good Though?
Honestly I didn’t have very high hopes. I usually feel like time travel to modern day stories can seem a bit dull and not as fun as time travel dramas set in the past, but this one completely proved me wrong.The chemistry between both leads is amazing and I love how chaotic and all over the place their dynamic is while still feeling natural. The story flows really well with no dragging at all.
And the male lead the way he yearns and is completely crazily in love is just wow. It’s honestly top tier acting. Whoever cast him as the male lead deserves a raise!
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As for the story itself, it was both sensitive and heartwarming. Perhaps only people who have not yet found peace with their inner child will fully understand what I mean, but this story genuinely touched my heart. I wish comfort, healing, and self-acceptance to everyone who is dealing with trauma or struggles related to their inner child.
Santa's performance made me become deeply attached to the character of young Sun, and he made me cry many times throughout the series. I could also genuinely feel the pressure that Bobmik's character experienced while taking care of Solar.
However, despite all that, I felt that the series was a little rushed at times. Some of the most important events happened rather quickly, and I wish certain moments had been given more time to develop so that their emotional impact could have been explored more deeply.
The series is filled with emotions, whether it's sadness, sympathy, love, or the warmth of family bonds. I highly recommend watching it. ❤️
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