Reviews

Kdrama cliches done right

I put this drama off for so long assuming it'd be another overrated snooze fest. I finally watched it and am so glad to be proved wrong! The story is definitely not perfect. You have amnesia and chaebols and bribery and rich guy/poor girl tropes, but it's still surprisingly refreshing. The "rich guy" is goofy and cute, and not some rude, aloof character. The poor girl is smart and resourceful, not necessarily always in need of a savior. The chaebol family is refreshingly mostly kind to each other. Even the villain isn't constantly seeking to end someone's life. The "other girl" character is of course rude, but not overly so where it just gets annoying. It was definitely nice to see them not so focused on revenge after all the revenge dramas that have come out this past year (2023/24). It was just a very cute and endearing drama and the story never slowed down or became boring. The music is not all original but oh wow, they picked great songs. Lots of classics. Definitely one of my new favorites.

The only think I disliked was the second ML. He was okay, but just seemed so old. Kinda creeped me out. He seemed more like a big brother not a love interest. Didn't bother me too much ultimately though.

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Fabulous start ruined by disappointing end

First drama completed in 2024! And what a fabulous start it was until it got ruined by a cliched ending. The first 7 episodes were a solid 9 for me, but sadly, the last few episodes took a turn in favour of unnecessary dramatic flair, making me lower my rating.

Pros:
- I really liked the main characters here! Ayaka was such a refreshing character (especially in the beginning) and I think the actress did really well in her role. Let's talk about the ML, I absolutely loved Togo, esp his hilarious expressions and the sound effects for him. Loved his character development. They were both pretty realistic and relatable, for the most part. They had "hidden caring personalities" but were jerks on the outside until they slowly grew to let the world see it. It was also nice to see the FL fight back with the same indifference/attitude as the ML in the beginning. They had good chemistry and I liked them together. Togo falls first and he falls hard lol I absolutely loved the slow mo "oh" moments when they realize they liked the other.
- There were some very funny parts that made me laugh out loud (during these parts you can tell Yamada was breaking character due to sheer ridiculousness of the scenes but those were my absolute favourites!).
- I liked how there were no second pair to distract us from their development and how they grew to trust and forgive each other realistically. Even the love triangle wasn't really a thing. I'm glad they also choose to focus on the family angle. There was some very interesting dynamics within the family that surprised me because it was different/not what I expected. I did love their families (minus the wacko mother-in-law, everyone else was wonderful). Plus the doggo! That was one hella well trained pupper and his development with Togo was so cute loll
- The attention to detail in the sets was fabulous, especially in Ayaka's home, like that place genuinely looked like it was actively being lived in by a large family with its ghibli-esque clutter. Also loved the growing collection of their pictures in their own home!
- I was really hoping/knew they were building up to planning a same-sex marriage so I was glad they did. I think they brought that in at the perfect time after establishing the importance of accepting all different types of marriages in the previous episodes.
- This was my first Yamada drama and oh boy did he grow on me so much omg I'm excited to see him in his upcoming movie Silent Love! It was already on my list of movies to look forward to and now even more reason to watch it! I did spiral into Hey! Say! JUMP after this and its safe to say I'm a goner. Seeing him dance in "Ready to Jump"??!! excuse me?? NO don't do this to me Yamada TT I was not ready for that
- This was one of the first jdramas I completed after my recent trip to Japan and it was so nice to see all the areas I recognized! I miss it so muchhh! Esp not my guy Togo looking absolutely gutted in front of a spectacularly clear view of Mt. Fuji TT

Cons:
- How did they think they'll get away with not living together tho?? that's wack
- Spoiler alert: Evil mother-in-law is eviling, I don;t understand why no one was stopping her.
- The conflict with Kamiyama unsettled me, like I understand the position he was in but I still think what he did was too extreme for them to forgive so easily? esp when after he did what he did, he literally went and told such a brazen disgusting lie to Togo's FACE??!! I was shook. I really liked him before but this made me see him differently the rest of the drama
- There was a lot of miscommunication or just lack of communication in the last few episodes between literally everyone which was wild
- they really did what I was hoping they wouldn't and had the useless breakup trope, LIKE WHYYYYYY when the evil mil thing started I knew it was leading to this "I'll break up with her to protect her" trope, TELL ME WHYyyyyy, aint nothin but a heartache TELL ME WHY, why they have to have the break-up then the time skip trope TELL ME WHy why couldn't they have had this talk 10 months ago and have saved everyone the painnnnnn, and this intervention with the mother should have happened long ago, I don't understand why they let it go on for as long as it did...like her behaviour? what a slap in the face for Arata
- sighssssss, I'll have to settle for a 8.5 for all this crazy mil/breakup business even tho I was enjoying it so much.

tags/tropes:
Evil mother-in-law, blackmail, lack of communication (in the last couple episodes), contract marriage, ML falls first, break-up, time jump

(Completed Jan 2024)

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Dramma fantasy ma nemmeno così tanto.

Partendo dal fatto che è un drama con base fantasy mi incuriosiva tanto.Poi il cast spettacolare con due protagonisti così prometteva bene.
La storia raccontata di una maledizione di quelle che si raccontano in korea partita da una sciamana che maledisce tutte le generazioni di colui che l'ha ucissa.
Inizialmente non si capisce molto poi man mano andando avanti le storia prende più forma.Lei è una semplice impiegata del comune e lui un avvocato bello affascinante e di successo che decide di lavorare in comune,è fidanzato con una stron.. e sembra solo un freddo avvocato.Si incrociano e si scontrano,poi un libro di incantesimi,una pozione d'amore,un terzo incomodo,uno stalker,colleghi di lavoro strani,genitori strambi,fidanzata bulla e stronza,una sciamana in casa di riposo e con molte lacrime sangue e sofferenze si innamorano perché alla fine di tutto questo era il loro destino e con il destino non si scherza.
A tratti un po' di confusione ma nel complesso un bel dramma che merita la visione.

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So stupid to the point of boring and annoying.

From the beginning, I enjoyed the first two parts. The theme, the exchange of pain and emotions, was, in my opinion, very well thought out. But every other episode just got more stupid and boring.
In the middle, there were redundant episodes, nothing happened at all. The only thing that kept me alive and forced me to watch this nonsense was only my strong will and desire to write a response.
But the last two episodes destroyed any good feeling I had about this drama. Sometimes, I was worried if FL was suffering from some kind of mental disorder. I was so frustrated because of that woman, she has no self-reflection and dignity. Halfway through the last episode, I believed that he didn't really want her back. And I absolutely understood that.

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Not just one of the best BL drama, but one of the best DRAMAS ever!!

I binge watched all 9 episodes in a day and it happened to be the best thing I ever did!

This series was like finding gold in a desert (or some other good analogy about finding something worthwhile amidst nothing)

I had been watching couple of clips from this series on Insta and thought of giving it a try. Being Aof's directorial I did have some expectation but this exceeded all of it.

JimmySea chemistry is undeniable. Jimmy has grown so much since BBS, it was a treat to watch him here. Seeing these two in Vice Versa and now in this, it's definite that they have grown comfortable around each other and it shows!!

They took an ordinary trope and made something spectacular with it. I really hope they finish off strong as well.

Story is fresh and all the characters in the series make us fall in love with them. You end up rooting for them and cheering for them.

NightPorjai - two best people finding best for themselves
Aon - best character I have ever seen. He is so full of life and lights up the show whenever he's on screen.
Gee - with a friend like her, we can overcome anything
Day - shows in the best way that change doesn't happen overnight and all it takes is a little effort and someone trusting to take the first steps

Mhok ❤️ - OMG this character 😍 I could write a novel describing how perfect he is. He is the greenest of all Green flags. All his little nuances - making sure Day does things for himself, never putting too much pressure, little habit changes that he went through, standing on the sidelines when the person you love is with someone else.. I fell in love with the character. Jimmy portrays him so well.

Ratings:
Story - 9/10 (might become 10 depending on how it ends)
Music - 10/10 (Titles OST is lovely and the song suits the story so well)
Acting - 100/10 (everyone is just living their roles)
Main pairing - 100/10 (chef's kiss.. no awkward acting, no unnecessary jealousy storylines and glowing chemistry)
Re-watch value: 10/10

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Loved the relationships

It was like watching a Korean Marvel movie. Sure, there were some plot holes, but in general there was plenty of action and plenty of heart. For me, I liked the episodes with the adults the best. How their relationships began and progressed. I also liked the relationship between Joo Won and Doo Shik.

Off of the top of my head, I can't remember the last time I totally fell in love with a character like I did Bong Seok. Just a big teddy bear of a young man, with that intrinsic sweetness always on display. His relationship with Hee Soo was so cute! They seemed like a couple that, on the surface, would never work. But they both had secrets, were loners and I think they found their kindred spirit in the other.

I have already recommended this show to someone. The only reason it doesn't have a higher score from me:
- way too much blood, violence
- terrible language. Sometimes what they were saying was not a curse word, and when it was, why did they have to print it? This is something I feel very strongly about and am really bothered by.
- the setup for a season 2. Why? I'm not liking this current trend of dividing the show in half or having a season 2.
-I would have loved to see a bit of Bong Seok and Hee Soo together at the end.

So, I'd say give it a try. You'll probably like it.

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This is a very bad story to be honest.

I started watching it because of the bl but in the end the bl did not survive.there are many questions to ask Like why they kill kim?and why it is not happy ending for the way and kim?why that couple survive which was not interesting at all.Only thing good about this serie is comedy.The ending is horrible.I am very disappointed im GMM tv for this project.I cried in the last episode so much that I didn't even like the happy ending for all other couples.I am gonna say only watch it for once but keep in mind that it is not a good bl for me.If you are interested in comedy series then watch it.I am sad because they killed the most cute character of the serie P First.If you want to watch a soul switching bl then watch cupid's last wish by EarthMix. Way better than this one.

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FL's Change and Classicisation

This story started off really great. FL was a great character. She was confident, cool and unique with a mysterious side. It made perfect sense for ML to fall in love with her. But then FL started to turn into a classic, typical, unoriginal romantic drama woman. At this point, all the burden fell on ML and the more caring and loving ML was, the more watchable the series became.
In fact, in one scene towards the end, the chemistry between ML and the second FL felt more attractive and believable.

Overall a good series, not much to say. I watched all the episodes, which is difficult for me. I was only upset that the original and different female character turned into a clichéd female character. After all, we suffer a lot from the lack of original and different female characters in romantic series.

Of course, there are a lot of cliché scenes. We are used to them now and we don't find them strange.

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Super Slow Pace, but a nice Vintage look and feel.

There really isn't anything that is going to take hold of your attention. You kind of go into the drama with just watching characters play out stories with a super slow pace.

I thought Xiao Zhan really shined through in this drama. The story was truly about him. It portrays his life from his twenties up into his mid-forties. The first half of the drama circles around the struggles of twenty-something youths in China. It's tough and cold, but there's a community.

I am not a huge fan of Li Qin, only because I find her acting style a bit lacking. Like true to form, she under acts and her meek and good-girl vibe is hard to get into. However, you do like her character and you want to root for her.

This is not a romance or love story (it's there, just simmering in the back), but a story about a bunch of kids in their twenties doing their best to survive. It's a very slow and easy going drama. I think if the drama was edited down to 20 episodes instead of 38, then this could have been a hit for me.

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Wholesome, Nostalgic & Feel Good Drama

Ah, I completed this drama in 2 years. Yes, I started it in November 2021 and watched 15 episodes, and then in January 2024, I completed the other two remaining episodes. And I can say it is one of the best dramas you see. If you're someone with a low attention span or ADHD, you probably won't like it.
Because it's like a slow melody, like how Korean dramas used to be back in the day. The acting, cast, and story are all fulfilling. Gong Yoo is hands-down the best Korean actor for me.
I really wish it would have had 20 episodes because this drama has potential. But nonetheless, I recently finished it, and I recommend it to every human being to watch these wholesome 17 episodes. You can have a better story, you can bring a better cast, and you can bring better directors, but still, nothing beats this 2007 show, even after 17 years. I'm so ecstatic, and I thank God every day for introducing me to Korean dramas. I love you, Gong Yoo!!

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a warm hug in a very cold day

A young love story put in a simple frame, but still shinning enough to win the one's heart!you may think that the only story is about Sang Zhi who falls in love with Jia Xu, her older brother's friend and he is 5 years older than her.
but after watching a few episodes,you get to know those characters more and find out how is Jia Xu suffers from the consequences of a painful past that his family had, he works hard since highschool, and even after graduation, he doesn't fall in love with anyone, he sometimes feel guilty. But still he is very gentle with everyone, and when Sang Zhi come back to enter his lonely world when she is finally 19 , she is still secretly in love with him, feel sad for him, and still hoping him to notice her as a girl friend not a little sister. But what i really love about these two that no matter what kind of relationship they have, they were there for each other, they protect each other.
And then they both take steps towards eachother to show us a wonderful love story full of trust and caring.
I enjoyed a lot of watching their love grows, and the romantic scene was so soft and heart warming.
The chemistry between Zhao Lu Si (Sang Zhi) and Chen Zhe Yuan (Duan Jia Xu) is unbelievable and gave me many butterflies 💫
Another thing i appreciate most is the brother-sister relationship in this drama is so real, while i watched how Sang Zhi always acted with her brother Sang Yan (Victor Ma), i thought " this is how i behave with my older brother. very funny scenes between them. So i loveeeed her brother, he was such a caring friend too.
And i liked that this story was focused only on the leads only.
The music is so good too, i liked the intro, and my favourite ost is " be your light" which I'm listening to it in repeat now.
So if you are home after a long tiring day, or even feeling depressed and blue, you must watch this drama to cheer you up. It's like a warm hug in a cold day.

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Deeply disappointing drama

This drama was fun enough at first, when dealing with the curse and getting to a point where our leads fall for each other, but the second half was a slog.
The only saving grace of this show is that closet kiss. I was absolutely not expecting Cha Eun Woo to kiss like that! One of the best kisses I’ve ever seen in a kdrama. Though I need to point out that Park Gyu Young was phoning it in for her kisses in this drama. She had our ML do all the work, which is disappointing if you’ve seen her work in Dali And Cocky Prince.

Anyway, the major problem for me with this drama is that both leads aren’t that interesting. By the second half I had a hard time caring about them despite how much drama was thrown their way. The past life stuff was not interesting to me. The antagonist’s plan felt half-baked.
Part of this is frankly due to the nature of the source material. A lot of webtoons imo feature these idealized, wish-fulfillment romances that don’t make for great television. They also often get heavy-handed with a certain progressive bent so as to have characters that are completely “unproblematic”. It’s boring. And while I enjoy a sweet romance, these stories tend to have the substance of cotton candy. The leads are two nice people who only have eyes for each other. That’s nice, but it doesn’t make for very compelling TV, particularly if you’ve watched a bunch of other kdramas with similarly inoffensive characters. They get together and proceed to have the standard by-the-numbers fluffy kdrama romance where two adults act like teenagers who are scandalized simply by the thought of spending time alone with the person they’re with.

Maybe I’m over fluffy romcoms for a bit, but I was watching The Story of Park’s Marriage Contract and while that drama had its problems with some characterization issues and plot, in the end I found it far more enjoyable despite also being a fairly fluffy watch purely on the strength of the leads, who were simply more dynamic.

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The female lead was a bad choice and the time-travel storyline was the same old with no happy ending

I must say that casting the wrong female lead can completely ruin a potentially good drama.

In my opinion, this drama failed miserably in mixing comedy and thriller. Casting this actress as the female lead, was a terrible choice. She lacked the physical appeal and failed to inspire any passion. It was difficult to imagine male leads falling for her, given the lack of chemistry between them. Her petite and average looks may work well in contemporary comedies but not in period dramas where the clothes have to look good on the actors. It is frustrating to see such casting decisions, especially when male actors cast alongside them are noticeably more handsome. Such imbalanced casting affects the credibility of the entire performance, in my opinion.

The observation that I have made about Chinese comedy dramas is that they seem to have a very distinct type of actresses. These actresses are usually petite, have a cute appearance, and speak and act in a childish voice. They often portray the roles of a damsel in distress, appearing as a doormat to the male lead. Unfortunately, I cannot recall a single Chinese comedy drama that I have enjoyed. For me, these dramas often come off as cringeworthy, with a weak script, no on-screen chemistry between the main couple, and the presence of ridiculous villains. Overall, my experience with Chinese comedy dramas has been nothing short of a disaster. This drama is no exception.

Furthermore, the villains created by scriptwriters in this drama were not at all compatible with comedy. It can be quite challenging to take a dramatic story seriously when the main character is portrayed as being funny or clumsy. It makes it a predictable and one-dimensional storyline. Eliminate the feeble attempt, and what you have left is a time of intense political intrigue. Take away the intrigue, and you're left with a stale comedy filled with recycled jokes often found in time travel stories.

This is why I am not a fan of time travel dramas. The character's obsession with going back to the present made it quite boring. In the end, when she finally falls in love, she is sent back abruptly, only for the reincarnation of her lost lover to show up miraculously. I feel that the storylines in question lack originality and intrigue, as they seem to follow a predictable pattern that often leads to a bittersweet ending. I don't enjoy this particular type of storyline or the ending as I find it unfulfilling and unsatisfying.

Although I strongly believe that everyone has the potential to showcase their talent, I also firmly believe that not every actor or actress is suitable for every role. I understand the appeal of certain actors and actresses, where their physical attributes resonate with some fans. However, I do not fall into this category. I have a deep appreciation for talented performers, but I also have a preference for gorgeous actors and actresses versus cute looking. In all honesty, if production fails to deliver chemistry between its actors, or if the script lacks direction and is just a confusing mess, or even worse, if it's just another overdone time travel plot with the same jokes, then I won't waste my time watching it.

From my perspective, the script of this drama was poorly written and the cast failed to deliver convincing performances. If the drama had cast a different female lead, I would probably have been much more interested in watching it. The script is confusing, the casting is wrong, and there's no chemistry between the actors. It was painfully cringeworthy.

I gave this drama a fair chance and watched six episodes, The content lacked the ability to maintain my interest or motivate me to continue watching. To sum it up, this drama is a no-go for me.

**

Just a quick note. It is both disappointing and concerning to witness the level of intolerance and immaturity displayed by some users of this site. Treating others with respect, even when we disagree with them, is a sign of maturity and decency. On the other hand, leaving petty and unconstructive comments is indicative of the true character of the person. I have no tolerance for such behavior, but if you insist on exposing yourself in such a manner, be my guest. Thankfully, the block option has always been my favorite tool for dealing with such individuals.

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started off well but cliched plot elements led it astray (watch suggestions)

Overall: I initially gave this a 9.5 because it was a peak Japanese romcom. However, cliched writing really let this series down. 10 episodes about 20 minutes each. The series is based on a manga which I haven't read and I'm reviewing the series based on its own merits. Aired on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/3947/although-i-love-you-and-you-2024-e01

Content Warnings: manipulation

Watch Suggestions
- watch episodes 1-3
- end episode 4 at 22 minutes
- start episode 5 at 19:20
- watch episode 6 30 seconds to 1:30
- watch episode 7 11:02-11:40 and 17:30 to 21:55
- watch episode 8
- watch episode 9 until 15:50
- start episode 10 at 18 minutes

What I Liked
- funny parts
- sweet moments
- Sakae's friend
- restaurant regulars
- Soga's non cliched female coworker
- worked on their communication in episode 8 and Soga said what he wanted at the end of that episode

Room For Improvement
- confusing start, wasn't sure if that was a flash forward or flashback until they explained a little more later in the episode
- very cliched writing, spent way too much time on the ex, Sakae is shown as knowing what he wants until he suddenly doesn't, poor communication trope
- the comedy music was funny at first but it was overused
- thin plot stretched out over 10 episodes (needed to be 6 episodes instead), way too much time spent on side characters instead of developing the main couple
- what they pretended to do in episode 9 was stupid, the train ride is less than 3 hours, it wasn't as big of a deal as they made it seem
- 2nd couple came out of nowhere in episode 10, rather they had developed this couple instead of all the love rival nonsense

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