Reviews

25 21 is a much loved drama by many.. and I see why now...

A lot of people love this drama, so I had to watch it to see why it's so loved by many...
Story: This drama is beautifully written, usually I don't go for shows involving sports as I usually find them boring to watch and drop them but for this drama I loved it and kept binging episodes without skipping through. I couldn't stop smiling at all of the happy moments and there were times I almost broke down into tears with the sad scenes. The ending was painful to watch as I'm sad the main couple wasn't end game but I'm happy the 2nd couple had their happy ending. I also like the message the writer gave to the viewers by telling them to relish everything such as people, memories, etc. And that it prioritizes different topics such as friendship over romance and the present over the past.
Acting: Kim Tae-Ri and Kim Jihyeon's acting stood out to me the most. Kim Tae Ri did amazing as Na Hee Do, most of the time I forgot she was an adult because she fit her character very well with youthful acting (her tantrums were hilarious to watch and it was so wholesome seeing her so excited over stickers) Kim Jihyeon did incredible acting horribly towards Kim Tae Ri's character and with her sad scenes. I couldn't help having a love-hate relationship with her character. Nam Joo Hyuk and Choi Hyun Wook did well as well their chemistry with the girls were beautiful and made my heart flutter many times!
Music: OSTs were nice, Stardust Love Song and Starlight are a must-have for my KDrama playlist!
Not sure I would rewatch this again cause of how painful the ending with the main couple was to watch, I think watching once is enough for me haha...

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tutoryim tried their best

the thing about this is that the script was just not good from the very first episode. and it sucks to see, because i really do think both tutor and yim have the potential to do something great with a good script.

yim really tried his best to make do with his character, but by episode 2 i literally just could not stand the failed comedy attempts and the silly goofy faces. although you can simpathize with jade, it gets to a point where it's just too over-the-top. literally no one is like that. by episode 5 the plot has NOT advanced one bit. there's just nothing going on at all. the goofy faces and the silly noises get old pretty quickly. tutor and yim deserved better and can do better, imo.

you might like this if you're looking for something extremely light and superficial, plus the comedy might be for you.

as for me, i'm just incredibly disappointed.

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had potiential but didn't hit for me

Everyone says the same thing about how great this is, and only one thing that I can agree on is that the cinematography is great and the actors did their thing with the script they were given. I personally found the story confusing at best and poor/lacking at worst. It was around like 4/5 where I was like wait do these characters know they're gay? Like the whole show is about subtly and realism but for the couple I just don't find it realistic to be romantic with one another and like be portrayed as like acquaintances?? I'm not sure, it felt gaslighty to the audience and didn't add any intimacy to the main couple. Like yk the flirty looks and stuff work and the intimate touches work in the beginning but if there's something there and theirs like weird cuts idk. I wish they delved into jae wons brother/depression also there's like a lot that can cause depth to the show, but it felt underwhelming which was disappointing. The therapist could have gotten some great lines but her character was a flop so was that ex gf. Some shit is stupid as well
I know it's like one of those creative projects that is like greatly praised for it's story and cine, so I kinda hate y'all for this. If the purpose was to be pretty it did that but don't expect to much like I did

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This is what I get for thinking Zee is really pretty

I will preface by saying that I'm not really a fan of mainstream Thai BL for multiple reasons, but watching "Why R U?" altered something in my brain and I might be terminally in love with Zee. Which was my main reason for watching "Cutie Pie".

Before you continue reading - yes I have watched the entire show (without skipping any scenes, though looking back I wish I would've skipped all the Yi\Khondiao scenes), but....... On 2x speed. After trying to power through the first episode "normally" I just couldn't bear it anymore. I have slowed down back to normal on the prominent Lian\Kuea scenes but other than that, my expectations were horrendously low so I didn't see a point in being properly invested in the show.

Now for the good parts:
- Acting! Nunew, who was in 90% of the scenes, did great with what he was given. Sometimes he was given really really bad stuff but he still managed to make it look as honest as possible and he gets huge kudos for that. He was never cringier than the script and I truly enjoyed watching him. Zee, my love, was great at what he does - being pretty and in love. He was always really pretty and he's exceptionally good at acting in love so he did not disappoint me in those areas.
- Chemistry! Needless to say, Zee\Nunew are great, and the supposed confirmed IRL nature of their relationship was also a convincing factor for me to watch the show. I get it! I truly get it.
- Some "progressive" parts, like a scolding for "are you angry because you're on your period" and the reccuring talk about the legal status of same-sex marriage in Thailand in a show centered around a (future) same-sex marriage. (Though the "love who you love" falls short when you realize that we're still kinda talking about an arranged marriage here. Also, the beginning\ending speeches were out of place to me and I feel like the show didn't actually get that point across at all. And as they say, actions speak louder than words so it was really unnecessary to me)
- The Boun\Prem cameo which reminded me I should check out "Between Us".
- The scene with "The cauliflower looks yummy" - "It's broccoli" - "I can't cook" - "It's okay". Peak cinema.

The bad parts:
- The plot? For the life of me could not explain to people what the show was about. Even the premise is a bit confusing. They're in an arranged engagement but they're childhood besties but they don't really talk more than once a week but they love each other but now one has decided that he doesn't and. Again I watched it on 2x speed and some episodes just had nothing happening in them which was a bit insane. Nothing really moved and nothing really changed and Lian\Kuea fought out of nowhere and reconciled really quickly every time and it was just. Unsatisfying. The last episode almost went into a really cute, IMO, direction, and then it was ruined again by the sameeeeeee dynamic, again. And it basically ended at the same place it started, but Now Kuea Wears A Leather Jacket In Front Of Lian.
- Everything about Yi\Khondiao, and just Yi in general. To say he's controlling is an understatement. Showing us how Khondiao is literally scared of him in certain scenes was supposed to make me what, coo at how "fiercely protective" Yi is? They didn't even explain their whole backstory properly, either letting me piece together the hints or just saving it all for the spinoff (which I'm not watching if it's the last show on earth). I hated their dynamic, I hated their acting, they don't have any chemistry and don't look good together. To think that some people believe this to be a normal relationship in any way is genuinely concerning to me. (I even hated every scene Yi and Lian had together because they just seemed like bad friends to each other)

The songs I simply did not care about so I don't have anything bad nor good to say about them. I also expected to like Syn\Nuer more but I didn't, mostly because it felt like it came out of nowhere. The comedy was also not funny to me most of the time. Just a lot of things about this show were very wattpad-y, in a bad way.


In short, would not suggest it to anyone unless they're insane about Zee Read More

Our Gloomed Youth

The story kicked off with the female lead getting falsely accused of murder and the prince is connected to the incident. So how would they structure the drama around this narrative? They had the female lead spend most of the drama hanging around the prince waiting for something to pop up for the story to move again, which didn't happen until the last few episodes. Unbelievably long and draggy for little to no story or character development. Everything can be summed up with 6 episodes without compromising anything from the narrative. The romance and the secrets were too delayed to care about, instead of laying them out evenly. Which made romance redundant by the end. Aside from the initial few episodes, I don't see anything appealing in this drama.

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you will not remember this

actually I didn't remember this drama, I watched it probably in 2017 in my early beginning of watching asian's dramas, and I remember finding it entertaining. but I had no comparison, or very few ones. then I stumbled again on it, watched it, and remembered the drama on episode 5 or 6, then watched it again because I didn't remember much and needed a second view on it, and felt disappointed.

that's entertaining if you have nothing else to watch and have not much time to spend on dramas, because the episodes are short and the story is very shallow. it's funny though, if you don't overthink it, because the guy is an obvious narcissist. on that point, I learned a lot about narcissists last year, and this drama felt to me like a "how do narcissists choose their victims and why do they get interested in normal and loving persons in the first place?". like a class case.

how do they choose their victims? they just keep the one who is unable to protect himself/herself from them. that's all.
why are they interested in normal people? because they lost their ability to feel their emotions, and they are longing from them. that's why they love empathetic and loving people because they can pray on their emotions through them. and if they feel unable to pray on these emotions, they will destroy the victim out of frustration. this drama is very awful if you overthink it. but you can also do both, enjoy and overthink it.

when to watch? when you are bored and don't want to make any effort.
audience: family friendly.

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Sungkyunkwan Snoozefest

The drama felt like it was held together with duct tape. Unbelievably long and draggy for little to no story. Everything can be summed up with 6 episodes without compromising anything from the narrative. The drama was infested with pointless repetition that didn't serve any purpose other than stretching it thin. The romance, the identity reveal, and the secret all were too delayed to care about, instead of laying them out evenly. By then, you would be bored out of your mind with no interest left in anything. On another note, the directors weren't paying attention to Yoo Ah In at all, half of his dialogue was muffled and barely picked up my the mics. This isn't not how to make a character speak quietly.

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Poong, the Joseon Virgin

The earlier episodes of the first season were decent and promising but there was a clear and undeniable pattern slowly starting to emerge after a few episodes. The drama was heading in a downward spiral throughout its both seasons. There was no clear direction to its story, I wanted it to remain as a slice of life but even that was not attractive on its own. Each passing episode felt like a downgrade of the previous episode. By the end of 2nd season, my interest had plummeted and it lost any remaining appeal. The only plausible reason for this drama to get a season 3 is if the studio wanted to commit some kind of money laundering/tax fraud scheme. It's never a good sign to adapt something and have its serialization based on public perception. This will most likely result in incomplete stories and padded semi-soft endings unless its creators were to pull through and be the exception. In more than one way, the Anime sphere shifted mostly towards this scheme in the past 6-7 years and it turned into a survival of the fittest type of race. The Kdrama is slowly heading in the exact same direction.

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Poong, the Joseon Virgin

The earlier episodes of the first season were decent and promising but there was a clear and undeniable pattern slowly starting to emerge after a few episodes. The drama was heading in a downward spiral throughout its both seasons. There was no clear direction to its story, I wanted it to remain as a slice of life but even that was not attractive on its own. Each passing episode felt like a downgrade of the previous episode. By the end of 2nd season, my interest had plummeted and it lost any remaining appeal. The only plausible reason for this drama to get a season 3 is if the studio wanted to commit some kind of money laundering/tax fraud scheme. It's never a good sign to adapt something and have its serialization based on public perception. This will most likely result in incomplete stories and padded semi-soft endings unless its creators were to pull through and be the exception. In more than one way, the Anime sphere shifted mostly towards this scheme in the past 6-7 years and it turned into a survival of the fittest type of race. The Kdrama is slowly heading in the exact same direction.

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My Weekly Dose of Sweetness

I really loved how sweet and cute this series is! Tutor is the consummate straight man to Yim's funny man. I did not realize until this series just how angelic Tutor looks during his closeups. As Jade and Mai, they made a great acting team with great chemistry and the ability to be vulnerable when necessary. I also liked that both lead characters had warm and loving relationships with their families. I think that Asian families are often unfairly portrayed as very cold, homophobic and forcing ambition on their children. As an Asian, it's simply not true. Just as in other cultures and ethnicities, Asian families come in all varieties. It was nice to see two families where the parents and all of the siblings were close and loving.

There are so many serious topic and intense supernatural series airing at this time (winter 2023) that I needed a ray of sunshine from behind the clouds. There was only one other series (a serious one) that I looked forward to watching every week, due to the acting and storyline. Yes, the sports day episode wasn't my thing, but I've worked for places where we have sports day (without uniforms) and they are super fun. Ym and Tutor has such great chemistry, and their love scenes were both hot and loving and the same time. No, I cannot gush enough about Jade, Mai, Tutor and Tim.

The second couple, Tong and Gus were a cute couple, but they never fully explained by Tong was so rude and mean in the beginning of the series. I would love to see Leo and Tai in another series.

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The Forbidden Scam

A girl pretending to be the Crown Princess's ghost, a spirited leading lady, and a minor hiccup in the grand scheme of historical tales—the ban on love. It sold itself as this wild, carefree series, promising easy laughs and a blissful escape. However, the writers tripped hard trying to weave in melodramatic and political plots because the original concept was unsustainable for more than a couple of episodes. They birthed these laughable plots and pitiful antagonists in the process. The female lead, originally devious and witty, took this nosedive into becoming this sad, serious persona spouting profound but empty and hypocritical lines. It was hard to believe or feel anything she said or did after this drastic change in character. Again, forcing a systematic change across the board after a couple of episodes. At the end of the day, this is just another poor cosplay show.

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To warm your heart!!!

If you are looking for something cute and funny to watch, i sincerely recommend you this. The enemies to lovers story is hilarious and sweet. Sang wpp character it’s such so damn funny because he literally doesn’t know how to express his emotions and feelings and it’s just really cute watching him learning how to do it. Jaeyoung is literally the funniest person ever. This couple made my heart warm. It’s both good and addictive in a way that makes you want to know more and more and keep watching it. Gonna be serious: i almost gave up on the second episode because i wasn’t enjoying it but then BOOM. I feel in love. The characters are honestly so freaking cute, it’s cuteness overall. And most importantly: it’s healthy. I didn’t give it a 10 because i wanted and needed more, i wished we could have more scenes of this couple and more interactions between them and Jaeyoung friends.

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