Reviews

A mystery melodrama about two women who are married into a wealthy family, struggling to stay true to themselves among the deceit and lies in their household. One woman has a secret hidden from the world, while the other stumbles upon one.

This one takes a while for me to finish. I seldom drawn to high-class society themed drama, but I was drawn to it from a friend's advice, Lola, as well as the actors Kim Seo Hyung and Lee Bo Young. Although the first 4 episodes were grand, I wasn't sold yet. I was on and off watching it because it has an intriguing concept, script and visuals. The architecture of the house they are living in... Can only be said extravagant. It’s more a hotel than a house to me. The main plot never drags for too long and it is carried so artistically through recurring scenes of an art piece, animals, their behaviors and the discussion around them. They contribute meaningfully to the drama themes on what it means to be a woman, a mother, family, someone with power, someone with privilege, and even someone with nothing aspiring to have more. One of the highlights that got me reeling for a while is that nothing in the world is never really yours except for yourself, your words and your actions… Inspiring!

Every single character own their scenes, the maids, the polices, the sons... But shout-out to the ladies of MINE elevate the drama that without them, MINE wouldn't be as good as it has become. Kim Seo Hyung always become a highlight for me no matter her role is. She thoroughly embodies the layered character of Seo Hyun so brilliantly. Not to spoil you on the character but the positive gay representation is so hilarious and entertaining, not for being sexy or flirting, but though his organic portrayal of being gay. You just have to see him yourself. He become my favorite adult male character because everyone else were trash #hehehe. Also, Lee Hyun Wook played the whole arc of Ji Yong so satisfyingly.

This drama isn't without it's flaws, it might've been better with lesser episodes. I found the self-effacing rich people scenes are overdone. I wouldn't recommend this show to someone who wants a good mystery, but I truly recommend MINE to anyone who wants to see female characters find power among one other and use it to their advantage in critical situations. Nothing was more satisfying to me than watching the people who felt trapped by their circumstances, gain the strength, or find a reason of their own to take what they deserved. The end climax is the true momentum, unassuming plot twist which was greatly executed and resolved!

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A beautiful love story

FINALLY, a historical BL love story that didn't end in tragedy. I am absolutely in love with this series. Although they've changed some things from the novel, the setting, the acting, and the chemistry between the cast really enriched the story as a whole. The pace of the show was a bit slow for my taste, but I think they did it so that you'd have time to appreciate the Thai culture and history, and of course, the architecture of the houses. Also, the OST is absolutely fantastic, and really showcased the love and emotional connection of the two leads. Overall, I'm really happy with how this series turned out, and I can't wait for season 2 to come out.

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A great memory with a scent of frangipani

The story is really interesting, it was so sweet, so beautiful and so emotional. Even though I might try to find some loopholes or negative things..I'm blind lol because that was so perfectly done. The slow paced was not that slow paced to me, it's like following them with each scenes and get along with what they want to convey. I was invested in this serie and these characters. I really appreciated to wait each week to watch a new episode but I feel like I was waiting for so long lol
I feel like we have not only the romance part but also, the mystery and other interesting subjects that have brought up in this and that's why, it's worth to watch it.

I also really liked the colors / lightening, the props, the atmosphere of the serie. It has a really beautiful cinematography, so pleasing to watch. Even when I'm taking screenshot, it's like a painting (I'm a bit exagerating but still, I'm impressed by the quality of the scenes and the landscape). Nice clothes as well and they did a great job to convince us, we have travel time back in the 1920s! Even the editing part was nice as well.

Characters are so well written, even the female characters (especially Ueung Phueng, Fong Kaew and Mei) and I even liked the side characters. It's a breath of fresh air and I'm so proud that they didn't forget or left them out but the three outshine too in my opinion.

Every actors have brought their characters alive, they really did an excellent job to portray their role!
I'm also impressed by the main leads played by Nonkul and Bright, it's their first BL and I must say, they nailed it, that's unbelievable but it says it all that they are indeed such amazing actors. I love how they were so dedicated to their characters.

Lastly, I want to mention the original soundstracks and even the instrumental, really, really beautiful to listen and I even felt so nostalgic about it. It also match the scenes very well.

To me, this is seriously the best serie of this year but looking back, it might be also a hit if it was released a few years ago. Even time flies, it's still the best or atleast one of the best that I've watched).

I want to thank everyone who was behind this project (Director, production team, actors..) because this is one of my greatest memory.

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It is okay to be sick

It was one of the most beautiful drama I came across.The message I got in each episode is just so compelling to love oneself.It created a bubble where I want to stay and never come out.From complementing oneself to prioritising oneself , I don't know if I learned to do that yet but it did create an impact over me and I am grateful for that.You can have an episode and still embrace yourself.If you are sick or your near ones are sick , you should understand not to give dark times to those who are recovering or who have recovered.Being sick is okay and accepting it is not embarrassing , love yourself and make both gloomy and happy moments to remember them and go through them all over again.Every pain is painful and don't belittle your own pain for the sake of other, because that is the least you can do for yourself.These messages were so overwhelming and capable of reaching my heart that I can rewatch it and go over through it all over again just to understand it a little more.

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An entertaining action-romance drama with interesting plot.

I started this series because of Sandra Ma, but I ended up liking William Chan as well. The story is focused on action, romance, family and friendships but also has some humor thrown in.

What I like:
• Excellent acting of William Chan (as Liu Zi Guang) and Sandra Ma (as Hu Rong) – They have a good grasp of their characters and were able to bring them to life.
• Great chemistry between the leads! Love their banter and how their characters and relationship developed. Of the dramas of Sandra Ma that I’ve watched, she is able to have good chemistry with her co-star.
• Supporting cast that gave good performances – They helped make the drama well-rounded.
• Interesting storyline – There were surprises up until towards the end of the drama.
• There is a balanced focus on action, romance, family relationship and friendship.
• Exciting and well-executed action scenes – William Chan knows how to fight! He's a good action star, and is also very good in the emotional scenes.
• Interesting opening theme – Instead of someone singing, there’s background music and some key dialogue from the characters inserted into it.
• Overall good OST – aside from the opening theme, the ending theme song is quite catchy; in fact, I often had LSS after watching a number of episodes.

Other Comments:
• There were a few scenes that I find unrealistic, but I know these add dramatic flair, so I'm willing to overlook them and not take them too seriously.
• There was a part towards the end that is somewhat unbelievable, bordering on negligence of protocol (not wearing a bulletproof vest on a critical operation?). It felt forced.
• Though he was not a major character, it would be good to have more info on Ah Se. He appeared suddenly and followed Liu Zi Guang around as his apprentice, seeming to live in his own wuxia world.

Final verdict: I would gladly recommend this series, especially if you like police action with romance.

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fascinating!

best OST hands down. found the last few episodes illogical and dragged out, but phenomenal acting by all the actors. it's a fascinating show to watch nevertheless all its faults. the age gap was weird. bromance between reaper and goblin were the best part of the show. really liked sunny's character too.


also what happens to the goblin eventually? he is still immortal. all his loved ones left or are leaving. eun tak has just 3 lives left including the one shown in the end. what happens to him after this? his punishment goes on forever? i mean, I accepted him choosing to not move on even after the sword was pulled and being called back to this world by eun tak. but he shouldn't even have been an immortal in that case. there are many illogical and very convenient plot points in the drama such as this.

although last episode confused me a bit. why did sunny leave? is it as goblin said 'she didn't wanna see him this life, that's the greatest punishment she could give him?' also how did eun tak remember everything, but not sunny and Wang yeo in their new lives? they didn't drink the tea either.
also, who was the car mechanic goblin send the president's way after that Sandwich scene? what's the point there? was dweok ha the one in the car?

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One of the best romance dramas ever!!

I forgot that the uncut version had a separate page so I've been commenting on the other one all this time. But I don't want to stop talking about this drama yet so I'll post my review here too.

I've been watching this since the day it started airing when I accidentally found it on youtube and I am so glad I decided to watch this. It's really the best and now my mind is completely filled with thoughts about this. Each and every episode was so good that every week I was not able to watch anything else after watching this. I couldn't even sleep properly because I kept thinking about this just like now. Whether there's a season 2 or not this is still the best drama I watched this year. And I really loved the ending because even if there's no season 2 I already saw Yai and Jom meeting in the modern times. But I do want to see Jom travelling back to the past and also see how Yai was in that life.

I really love love stories where the love lasts through several lifetimes or for hundreds or thousands of years. So Yai's love and dedication to him in all his lives is really beautiful to me. And I feel bad for him because he had to live a lifetime missing and waiting for his love. Just thinking about how strong his love for Jom is to live with so much pain just to keep his promise is making me cry. I don't know when was the last time I cared and felt this deeply for a character. He's so beautiful, kind and romantic that I can't help but love him. Also he's like the definition of romantic... everything he does or says is romantic. When will I ever find another character like him?? After writing all this I realise Yai is what I loved the most about this series. But I do love all the other characters too... especially Jom. He went through so much in his life so I'm glad he found Yai... in the past and the present. Also another thing I loved about this drama is that the supporting characters and their stories never felt boring to me. I loved each one of them. It gave me a better understanding of how life might have been during that time.

Another thing I loved about this drama is the acting. Everyone acted so well and it never felt awkward or bad. And the chemistry between the main leads was the best! Bright and Nonkul's acting and their chemistry made me believe in Yai and Jom's love.

And the OSTs are really the best! I've been listening to the OSTs by ASIA7 and COCKTAIL on repeat ever since I found them. And now I have two more beautiful songs to listen to.

The more I think about this drama the more I want a season 2. I thought I would be okay without one but now I feel like I won't be. Also I want it so that I can finally read the novel in peace. Anyway this drama is definitely one of my most favourites ever.

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Some things I couldn’t get past

Okay so I had to drop this drama for a couple of reasons. The story in itself is okay, a typical coming of age school CDrama. The usual tropes. Mediocre acting, odd chemistry between the 2 main leads and weird colorism that seems to be plagued in CDramas.

What was a little strange to me were their ages and the cousin arc. I never usually comment on the real actors and actresses ages because I typically don’t care but when the entire main cast are minors except one then it starts to feel a little weird. Wang Run Ze who plays Lin Kai Tuo is very much in his late 20s while the rest of the other 3 cast were 15-17 at this time. To top it off, they added him as a love interest and to have a crush as well. They couldn’t get another underage person to be in that role… second thing that didn’t sit well was the cousin arc. Chai Wei who plays He Xin is the cousin of our main male lead and she was in love with Lin Kai Tuo who happens to be the step brother of our main male lead. Whether it’s biological or by law, they are still cousins and it’s a little odd to push that arc on a tv show. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

I think the drama may be better suited for teenagers than adults.

Overall, I ended up dropping the drama halfway through since it really didn’t stand out to me either way and couldn’t really get past some of those things. If it doesn’t bother you, then check it out for yourself.

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Terrible comic adaptation

[Minor spoilers for comic]

As someone who’s read the webcomic after watching both tv seasons, the show is bad as both an adaptation and on its own. There are many more counters in the comic. Comic actually has two Korean teams, and they both work together to defeat Ji Chungshin. Yujin, Hansuk, and Beomchan are nowhere to be seen in the show. I would’ve loved to see more counters besides the main cast. The other counters they have in the show get killed off immediately. In the comics, two Chinese counters survive instead of all of them dying.

The counters are also much weaker in the show than in the comics. In the comics, Motak is the strongest counter in all of Asia, and Ms. Chu is one of 5 healers in the world. All of the Korean counters have psychokinesis by the end of season 2 in the comics. Counters only need an hour of sleep a day. They don’t need to sleep all night.

A bunch of storylines in the comic are resolved much more quickly than the show. The show stretches out stuff for so long, and even add pointless storylines.

- Motak doesn’t have a girlfriend in the comic, she was added to the show to be fridged.
- So Mun immediately decided to be a counter in the comic, show So Mun had to sleep on it. Comic Wigen immediately offers to let So Mun see his parents in Yung
- Motak never goes back to being a cop, he has the captain just give him info on cases.
- There are 8 Korean counters in the comic, not just 5
- Evil spirits cannot transfer to new bodies in the comics, that was dumb of the show to do.
- Ji Chungshin is a villain all throughout Season 1 of the comic, and he’s much more ruthless and scary.
- Pilkwang is only a minor villain in the comic, but the show makes him a main villain in season 2.
- Ma Juseok is actually introduced in the comics much earlier than the show. He’s also not a family friend of So Mun, they don’t know each other in the comics. His wife and kid died 7 years before the comic started, not during the story. Comic Juseok was already in prison for killing two scammers
- Hana’s family died because her mom got scammed by the Baekdoo real estate scam in season 2, just like Ma Juseok

The Yung spirits that the counters work with are all different races and ethnicities. Wigen is supposed to be German, and speaks German in Yung and So Mun can understand her. All spirits can talk to each other no matter the language they speak. Wigen speaks German, but So Mun hears it as Korean.

They made So Mun such an arrogant prick in this show. So Mun in the comic is actually pretty humble, and he usually only fights when he has to. Comic So Mun actually apologizes to hosts when he hits them too hard, or he accidentally gets thugs to shoot each other.

So Mun’s friends have bigger roles in the comic, and they actually find out that So Mun is a counter and Ms. Choo doesn’t erase their memories.

The comic is also much more violent and the injures are brutal. So Mun even gets his hand chopped off by Ji Chungshin, and So Mun throws a knife into his Chungshin’s eye. People lose limbs, break their arms and legs backwards, get their eyes gouged out, etc. The violence in the show is so tame.

So Mun’s CD player in season 1 has a payoff in the comic. In the show, it’s just something for the bullies to steal from him.

Jeokbong in the comic was actually useful and immediately agreed to be a counter, show Jeokbong is so annoying and useless. In the comic, Jeokbong was just as fast and strong as So Mun. But the show made him the weakest one.

The comic has such good build up and is suspenseful throughout. So many twists and stuff that I didn’t see coming. The show is so predictable and boring. I can’t wait for Season 3 of the comic to finish so I can read it.

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Terribe comic adaptation

[Minor spoilers for comic]

As someone who’s read the webcomic after watching both tv seasons, the show is bad as both an adaptation and on its own. There are many more counters in the comic. Comic actually has two Korean teams, and they both work together to defeat Ji Chungshin. Yujin, Hansuk, and Beomchan are no where to be seen in the show. I would’ve loved to see more counters besides the main cast. The other counters they have in the show get killed off immediately. In the comics, two Chinese counters survive instead of all of them dying.

The counters are also much weaker in the show than in the comics. Motak is the strongest counter in all of Asia, and Ms. Chu is one of 5 healers in the world. All of the Korean counters have psychokinesis by the end of season 2 in the comics. Counters only need an hour of sleep a day. They don’t need to sleep all night.

A bunch of storylines in the comic are resolved much more quickly than the show. The show stretches out stuff for so long, and even add pointless storylines.

- Motak doesn’t have a girlfriend in the comic, she was added to the show to be fridged.
- So Mun immediately decided to be a counter in the comic, show So Mun had to sleep on it. Comic Wigen immediately offers to let So Mun see his parents in Yung
- Motak never goes back to being a cop, he has the captain just give him info on cases.
- There are 8 Korean counters in the comic, not just 5
- Evil spirits cannot transfer to new bodies in the comics, that was dumb of the show to do.
- Ji Chungshin is a villain all throughout Season 1 of the comic, and he’s much more ruthless and scary.
- Pilkwang is only a minor villain in the comic, but the show makes him a main villain in season 2.
- Ma Juseok is actually introduced in the comics much earlier than the show. He’s also not a family friend of So Mun, they don’t know each other in the comics. His wife and kid died 7 years before the comic started, not during the story. Comic Juseok was already in prison for killing two scammers
- Hana’s family died because her mom got scammed by the Baekdoo real estate scam in season 2, just like Ma Juseok

The Yung spirits that the counters work with are all different races and ethnicities. Wigen is supposed to be German, and speaks German in Yung and So Mun can understand her. All spirits can talk to each other no matter the language they speak. Wigen speaks German, but So Mun hears it as Korean.

They made So Mun such an arrogant prick in this show. So Mun in the comic is actually pretty humble, and he usually only fights when he has to. Comic So Mun actually apologizes to hosts when he hits them too hard, or he accidentally gets thugs to shoot each other.

So Mun’s friends have bigger roles in the comic, and they actually find out that So Mun is a counter and Ms. Choo doesn’t erase their memories.

The comic is also much more violent and the injures are brutal. So Mun even gets his hand chopped off by Ji Chungshin, and So Mun throws a knife into his Chungshin’s eye. People lose limbs, break their arms and legs backwards, get their eyes gouged out, etc. The violence in the show is so tame.

So Mun’s CD player in season 1 has a payoff in the comic. In the show, it’s just something for the bullies to steal from him.

Jeokbong in the comic was actually useful and immediately agreed to be a counter, show Jeokbong is so annoying and useless. In the comic, Jeokbong was just as fast and strong as So Mun. But the show made him the weakest one.

The comic has such good build up and is suspenseful throughout. So many twists and stuff that I didn’t see coming. The show is so predictable and boring. I can’t wait for Season 3 of the comic to finish so I can read it.

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THE BEST JAPANESE BL?

As someone who read the original manga 30歳まで童貞だと魔法使いになれるらしい (Sanjūsai made Dōtei Da to Mahōtsukai ni Nareru rashii) by the talented Yuu Toyota, the changes that were made in the series was perfectly done.

Now, the manga is already good on its own (it is spicier, but the series version is wholesome), but the series bought the story into a whole new level! It is not only cute and adorable, but heartwarming as well. Even if it is set in the city of Tokyo, the cinematography and camera shots are spectacular! It is indeed a movie-making masterclass!

I love the character development of Adachi! From the meek and low-esteemed 30-year old man to someone who breaks out of his shell who became confident with his own abilities. Kurosawa who appears to be perfect to everyone’s eyes showed his inner imperfection as well, and his human-flaws was well-executed throughout the show.

One of the best takeaways I get from the show is the importance of communication in a relationship. Adachi and Kurosawa showed that communicating well with your partner and letting them know your insecurities and weakness is a sign of a healthy relationship. Keita Machida and Eiji Akaso gave a flawless acting in their respective roles. The non-verbal expressions and their eyes alone showed the emotions that the characters are feeling. It’s a perfect example of show-not-tell.

The show overall is a mix of realism and fantasy. A lot of real-life situations and internal issues are showed. The “magic” side of the story is also overly used as it is part of the theme, which for me makes the show unique and entertaining. It is one of the shows that I don't expect the leads to kiss or being too sexual, because the series is already great as it is!

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One of the best drama of 2023 HIGHLY RECOMMEND

I just finished watching this drama and I would give it a 9.5/10. They showed a story which is unique compared to other Kdramas. They gave awareness of the situations that a person with mental health goes through. All the Characters were portrayed perfectly by the actors and the acting was just chefs kiss. This drama made cry so much the last few episodes. The Friendship in this drama is something else and I’m glad that the director didn’t make the love triangle complicated. Usually people say that male leads are the one that shows green flags but in this drama SML he was one a greenest flags no offence. And the cast was perfect? hands off to that, they made the perfect choice by casting PBY as the FL(as always the queen SLAYYED!!)
The only problem with this drama is that the romance was mainly focused on the second couple rather than the main, they could have showed us more of the main couple. And idk if it’s only me but I didn’t feel that much of a chemistry between either of the couples especially the main couples maybe it’s because of the less scenes between them (but the FL and SML showed more tbh?and I think I fell in love with Jang Do Yoon?). Either way this drama took spot on my TOP 5 drama of 2023. ??

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED ‼️‼️

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