Reviews

Did I Love WinTeam's story? Yes.

Did I skip every scene involving the many side characters and their romances? Also yes.

(One thing to point out beforehand is that I have not watched UWMA before Between Us. So my experience may be very different from someone who has. I have not read the novel.)

But as you can tell, this makes rating this show a daunting task. While I thoroughly enjoyed WinTeam and thought they were absolutely lovely in every way--from the romance itself to the characters involved--I did NOT enjoy the countless side characters that either the original author or the production team for some reason thought should have their own romances.
I skipped Every Single Scene that followed one of the side couples. And despite this, by the end, I still got the gist of their plot arcs. Funny how that works.

Boun and Prem I adore as actors. Besides good chemistry and the sweetest of scenes given to them, their emotions felt real. I truly have a soft spot for actors who can cry believably, haha.

In the end, I wish they made a version of this show with only WinTeam's story, cause then I'd rate it much higher and would actually want to rewatch it. But the pain of manually skipping through the scenes with characters I frankly didn't give a fuck about lays in the way of rewatch enjoyment.

TLDR; If based only on what I enjoyed, ie WinTeam's plot and characters, I would've given this show a 9 or perhaps even higher. But it wastes so much time on side characters that I never managed to care about that I just simply cannot put it amongst my favorite BLs.

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Loved it more than expected

At first I found it a bit boring, but I got invested. The plot and story was intriguing me as the episodes came. I also think it was a unique kind of drama, I love the plot in general, the desert setting and everything, the 2 worlds. Never watched a drama like that.

I also really loved the romance, it was present more than expected. The leads have amazing chemistry, good kissing scenes and they are literally perfect for each other. No break up and I love their relationship. I also like the second couples, even if we didn’t see a lot of them.

I like the plot twist and the ending was good, a happy ending always make me happy. Even if some deserved a better ending 😭 and was a bit short, but okay

I love the reunion of the leads in the last ep, you can feel the emotions, the way they hug and kiss was perfect. That’s a good reunion in a drama

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Irritating and boring FL...

I picked this up to watch by Inukai Atsuhiro. As his fan, I want to watch all of his work, but honestly what makes this drama hard to watch is FL itself. Amihama Nami is a difficult character to put up with. The plot buys into the idea that the audience will fall in love with Amihama, but from the first episode I felt exactly the opposite. She is boring, irritating, scandalous, with bad manners. His behavior at work is completely inappropriate, and his actions are far from honest. There is a difference between being frank and rude, and Amihama is extremely rude to most of her co-workers, especially Honda, of whom she is openly jealous, which only gets worse when she realizes Inukai's character's interest in Honda, trying to "harass" Yamashiro inside a taxi. Out of jealousy of the two of them together, Amihama invents lies to harm Honda, and even steals another employee's project to get along. I'm sorry about the script, but I can't like a FL like that, and putting up with this woman for 20 episodes is definitely not possible. I'll just settle for Inukai's brief appearances, because everything else is unnecessary...

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I decided to watch the Original Version of "Leh Ratee" first!

"Yesterday you treated me nicely, but today you are slicing me with thousand knives. Why are you doing it? Do you want me to die?!" -Sak

***
I don`t know what came over me. I just wanted a quick popular slap-kiss lakhorn watch and i checked this title out and decided to immediatly check the original version out from 2004 since the lakhorns back then have something i strongly adhere to, i don`t know what it is quite, but i think the way stories were executed back then have this magic and how passionate they used to be. In "Leh Ratee" we have much to see, fateful lovers and all the obstacles and misunderstandings coming their way to separate them. Both are very strong headed individuals in their own way, especially our domineering devil prince Sak Sutthakorn who argues against everyone and never backs away from a challenge. He is a force to be reckoned with. Already cold-blooded enough, he becomes more ruthless than ever when he knows of his wife`s deceit. Like a formidable villain he is after the thief that stole money from his company, that man desperetaly tries to find a chance for safety when he knows he is to be doomed together with his family, so he mixes cards together one last time to find the card that will give him last hope- he gets one card: The Heart Queen.

He is instantly relieved, because he knows at that moment that Sak is destined for his stepdaughter, the sweet and innocent heroine Kate. Ah, i loved Sak`s furious face when he requested his awful proposition in selling Kate to him, to give him a heir. But Sak had indeed always been secretly attracted to the angelic heroine, they were destined to fall in love. They bicker, fight and challenge each other, but we have so many sweet moments between them were they connect and try to understand each other. Sak will have to learn to trust his heroine, his future wife. What a lovely story in its core, such a beautiful romantic story. The OST and the romantic heartbreaking themes made my heart burn! I am so glad i watched it, got me binge watching three days in a row. Pepper & Ann in my opinion have wonderful chemistry, so much sparks in their every scene, this is such a underrated classic.

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We will talk about this masterpiece for decades

I Feel You Linger In The Air is eternal, the years will pass and it will still be remembered, there is something here that is very different from everything I have seen to date, the richness in the details, you can have so many interpretations of the ending, the characters are captivating, the script is exquisite, I really hope for a second season, the novel is also one of the works I love most in life and what they did in the adaptation was superb, they added so many things but it didn't disappoint in any way. I think it's the bl that most approached Thai culture and it was in an extraordinary way.

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Good for your Mental Health

I think beyond Romance, my favourite topic for a KDrama has to be Mental Health. Some of my favourite dramas fall into this category, and i'm gonna spoil the review (but not the show) by saying Daily Dose of Sunshine shoots to the top of that list.

For a start you've got a great cast, led by Park Bo Young who never falls short. Lee Jung Eun is another favourite and is superb in this drama as well.

One of the writers, Lee Nam Gyu, was also one of the writers on "The Light in your eyes", another beautifully told mental health drama.

The basic plot of the story starts out looking like a "case of the day" type show but evolves rapidly.

My takeaways from this, were that the story was there to highlight that everyone, no exceptions, and without any warning, can start to feel under the weather. Whether it's the patients that come in - or the nurses and doctors themselves.

It pays particular attention to Depression and Panic attacks but there's a range of other ailments including self harm that are included as well.

On the warnings front, I would advise that there is actual suicide and attempted suicide as well as graphical depiction of self harm. Let that show you however that these are topics taken extremely seriously, and viewed from all perspectives.

The other aspect I liked was the "other side" of mental health, stigmas associated with those who have had treatment and are now classed as in recovery, but how they are so poorly treated by society - even by those who are themselves either getting treatment or are caring for those who are.

Each episode tugs the heart strings, beautifully acted and I loved how it was told. I've binged this over 2 days because honestly I just couldn't stop pressing "next".

I class this one as quite re-watchable too, there's probably more to see from a second viewing and while there are things that happen which obviously won't have the same impact the second time around, you'll see them from another perspective and perhaps see things building up earlier.

Highly recommended, there are lessons for us all here.

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Il consenso, questo sconosciuto...

Non è solo per il dubbio consenso a cui assistiamo nei primi episodi che non ho dato una votazione eccelsa a questo drama. Se è ben vero che Tharn in principio sembra fregarsene abbastanza della necessità di ottenere il consenso del suo partner prima di molestarlo (Type è incosciente) bisogna rimarcare come situazioni di questo genere siano ancora abbastanza presenti in questo tipo di drama quasi come se, fra uomini, il consenso fosse un non prerequisito.

Se non mi sono risentita troppo per questa situazione, perché solo 7 a questa serie? Perché in linea generale non mi ha soddisfatto molto.

La recitazione l'ho trovata purtroppo sovente abbastanza sopra le righe, ma può essere una peculiarità del genere e della nazione, per cui il difetto potrebbe essere mio. A Gulf hanno fatto recitare la parte di Type in modo terribilmente tsundere, e non sempre la cosa è andata d'accordo col suo viso. Mew, peraltro, a volte era fin troppo dolce e accondiscendente. Forse sono i due attori in sé che, presi insieme, hanno fatto cortocircuito nella mia mente. Non è di secondaria importanza neppure il fatto che la coppia principale dimostri diversi anni più dei presunti 18 o 19 che dovrebbero avere nell'opera. Tutti quanti, e non solo loro, però, all'occorrenza hanno saputo singhiozzare con molta convinzione. Soprattutto, bisogna riconoscere che, passati i primi episodi in cui Type lottava contro se stesso per accettare una relazione omosessuale, le scene romantiche fra i due piccioncini sono state soddisfacenti, anche se non bollenti.

Quella che veramente non mi è piaciuta è la scrittura di alcuni dei personaggi, soprattutto di Type.
Type è francamente un po' eccessivo e violento nelle sue manifestazioni e passa troppo in fretta dall'odio all'amore. Mi riesce difficile credere che un ragazzo fino a quel momento etero, traumatizzato da una orribile esperienza infantile, possa di punto in bianco chiedere a quello che considera un suo persecutore di portarselo a letto una volta e mai più per toglierselo di torno. Insomma, mancano le transizioni. E Tharn? Innamoratissimo sin da subito di questo ragazzo che lo insulta ad ogni piè sospinto e gli fa pesanti dispetti per farlo andare via... perché? Cosa ci ha visto? Mistero.

Un altro elemento di pesante disturbo, almeno dal mio punto di vista, è la scarsa plausibilità di alcune scene.
Ho perso il conto delle magliette e delle camicie che sono state afferrate mentre due ragazzi si affrontavano strabuzzando gli occhi per sottolineare il proprio punto di vista (posizione normalmente presa da Type). Le scene di effettiva lotta sono abbastanza risibili, sia che si tratti di ragazzini gracili che immobilizzano non si sa come un uomo grosso il doppio di loro, o che qualcuno si lasci pestare a sangue e quasi strangolare senza opporre la minima resistenza.

E' un peccato perché la trama offre un paio di colpi di scena anche abbastanza apprezzabili, ma che purtroppo rimangono un po' affogati in scene esageratamente drammatiche e prolungate, specialmente nell'ultimo paio di episodi.
Dire che lo showdown finale è protratto è un pallido eufemismo ma, finita la scena madre, gli ultimi minuti della serie sono terribilmente sdolcinati e francamente anche un po' noiosi. E non ho minimamente apprezzato che il big bad boss non sia stato punito dalla legge e nemmeno svergognato coi suoi pari, suppongo per proteggere la sua vittima.

In definitiva un drama che ho visto una volta, anche con un certo piacere, ma che non credo riguarderò mai.

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Deserves a lot more recognition!

This is a great drama that I can't believe everyone is sleeping on! I love modern Korea royalty interpretations. The story - although it does have several clichés - is very original in the way it is put together. You constantly know where the story is going and it keeps you on you toes. I love that in dramas. The second I ask myself while watching a drama "Okay, where is all this going?" it's loosing me. But not here. The character development of ML was amazing. He was so unlikeable in the beginning but became my favourite character of the drama. Also FL being badass and being able to save herself was extremely satisfying to watch while not loosing her femininity.
I do have some mild criticism concerning the acting of the foreigners (still don't get why they couldn't get better actors), the villain acted like such a clown in the beginning, the "cute" acting of FL was not good and the portrayal of North Korea did seem quite unrealistic at times. But I can excuse some of these points due to the drama being from 2012 - dramas just weren't as sophisticated back then.
But please don't let these points stop you from watching the drama - it's great and deserves a lot more recognition!

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A beautiful story

I've waited this drama to finish in order to binge watch it and thank god I did it because this drama is so good that I couldn't wait to watch another episode every time I finished one.

The story is not really original but it is so well-done that it feels unique on its own. The cinematography is absolutely wonderful and the pacing of the story is absolutely right, I think: not too slow but not too fast either (which is a problem in some series nowadays).

All of the actors are fantastic in their role (even the bad guys). I already knew Nonkul was a great actor but I discovered Bright in this series and he's wonderfully talented. The emotional scenes went straight into my heart and he got me teary several times along the drama, which is almost a miracle as it is difficult for me to cry watching fictional stories. I specially remember the scene in which Jom and Yai sleep together for the last time and Yai is crying as he's doing it. That was so beautifully filmed and acted by both Nonkul and Bright, it was amazing. Another scene that I found really beautiful for its rawness is when Jom is applying oil on himself. I didn't know how to feel watching this. I was embarassed at first, feeling that I was watching something that I shouldn't, but at the end, I felt that the scene was very magnificent, and I couldn't help but praising the work behind those kind of scenes. Because some may think that those scenes are just NC scenes to please the audience but I felt that they were something more than just s*x. In the first example, we can see Yai longing for Jom as he knows that the time with him will be over soon. And in the second example, we can see Jom just burning with desire and we understand later why he didn't ask Yai some help. Those scenes really made an impact on me.

Other actors that I want to talk about is Kimmy and his lovely British accent (I knew he was familiar and I've checked his filmography to see that he played one of the rugbyman in Bad Buddy - what a great upgrade!) and Attila. Robert's character was a real j*rk but I love that he was more than that and that we can see that he was really in love with Jeed as the look he gave her at the end before being taken by the police showed.

Of course, I liked the show as a whole and I really liked that they took the time to build the relationship between Yai and Jom instead of making them in love right from the start (even though, it's a bit what's happening but at least, they spend time together, learning about each other before being official). It was still a bit irritating to see Jom so dense when he was facing Yai's feelings (the guy told him right in his face that he had feelings for him and the next day, when he properly confesses, Jom is still acting surprised...) and to see them being all lovey-dovey in places they could easily be seen (don't they know where they are?).

I'm a bit confused about the ending, though, as it is not specifically explained who exactly is the guy at the end. Is he the real Yai from the 1920s (impossible because he should be dead unless he also travelled in time) or is it his reincarnation (possible, but why does he have the exact same name and the same memories as Yai?). I would have loved to see a bit more of them in 2023 and that they explained a bit more of what I'm wondering...

I highly recommend this series (watch the uncut version, it is probably better) and I hope that they will do a second season as I've heard a lot of people talking about it on social media (is it for real?).

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Great Acting, Lazy Plot Execution/Production

I like the idea of the storyline but the entire production was lazy. I genuinely wanted to like this show due to Song Yiren. I love her as an actress. However, the problem wasn't her acting but her character He Juiling and every other character except Rong Yu. I did enjoy some parts of the beginning to episode 13, but that's where the story falls apart. The rest of the episodes explains grief, vengeance and assassination that was planned out making the heroine run around and jumping on buildings just to do nothing and to the point it looked like there was scenes cut from the episodes. The martial arts performances were done with little effort, which made me questioned if I was watching a douyin (China's equivalent to tiktok) performer. The lighting was too bright, which made every character's face look pale. The tone of the series couldn't decide whether it should take the plot seriously or make it into a comedy. There were multiple scenes that didn't fit the story or was just randomly put into the series. Overall, the storyline had potential but killed it for me with its production value, cinematography, characters and writing.

Wang You Shuo should be praised for his incredible performance as Rong Yu. Out of all the characters, he truly overshined everyone and carried the show. Literally. If it wasn't for his character's presence on the screen, the plot wouldn't had move forward.

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Sweet to spend your time to watch this drama

A beautiful love story of three couple actors
Each of them shows their love in their way
First lead second lead And third lead actor and actors their performance are outstanding
Especially one who married couple there acting is full of matured
OST is well synced to the story
Thank you to Director - scriptwriter - screenwriter - editor to give as an ultimate love story ~ Sweet Teeth ~
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Fun and thrilling adventure with an awful pace

This story is mainly about two young men, Huzi and Qi Xiaoxuan, who team up with each other and fight to overcome a crisis that threatens to destroy the world. The structure of the story and the way it develops in each episode reminded me a lot of certain action tv shows I watched as a kid, in a good way: I really felt like I was embarking in a great adventure and the setting was very charming to me. Despite this, the plot was not easy to follow because of its pacing, which is just terrible: the story seems to slow down or even come to a halt at the worst moments, it speeds up way too much right when it's supposed to take more time to let the events develop naturally, and so on. I felt confused multiple times as I wondered why were certain events in the story taking so long to finish, all while some very important parts of the story felt rushed for no good reason. If anyone dropped this drama because they were getting bored or they couldn't understand the plot, I wouldn't be surprised.

The strongest point of this series is definitely in the characters. The main characters, the antagonists, even the secondary roles and a good chunk of the supporting cast were very captivating and well-detailed, most with a well developed story and personality that made for a very colourful cast.
Huzi and Qi Xiaoxuan are amazing as the main characters and make a very good pair: seeing their mutual dislike slowly turn into quiet acceptance, then respect, friendship, and even brotherhood was very satisfying. I'd go as far as calling it a bromance, because I feel like the chemistry they had with each other was unmatched. Seeing someone like Huzi as a main character was also a pleasant breath of fresh air to me, after seeing male protagonists who are always elegant and refined in all the Chinese fantasy dramas I've ever watched. Zhao Xintong and "Brick" Wang Yuqian completed the quartet very quickly, and their characters were explored to an extent that left me pleasantly surprised. I was afraid that their group would feel like "Huzi, Xiaoxuan, and friends" for the entire story, but that wasn't the case at all.

The production looked pretty good to me: the entire drama looks incredibly pretty to look at, and the fighting scenes are probably my favorite. I wasn't a huge fan of the CGI monsters, but that's something that I could overlook easily.

This series could have been a 10 out of 10 to me, if it wasn't for the bad pacing, which might easily discourage anyone from watching more than a handful of episodes. I still feel like Tiger and Crane deserves a chance despite this, because it's still a fun adventure and the characters are just too easy to love.

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Good drama with amazing characters and story

Production: For being low-cost I thought the costumes were well-made and high-quality, and I thought the outfits they wore looked cool. If they used wigs, it looked like they used a lot of hair gel, but the hairstyles were nice, and the makeup wasn't too over-the-top.
Story: I could tell the story was well thought out, and it requires a lot of piecing together to solve the mystery. I'm not big-brained enough to figure out who did what, but they explain the process after the big reveal. What I like the most about this series is the character dynamics; the main female lead is not helpless and plays a big part in actually helping the main male lead figure out the crime. When the characters get into misunderstandings, they are very mature about it and resolve it within the episode and aren't dramatic about it. The romance is a bit cheesy at times but it works somehow because the chemistry between the characters is adorable. The female leads work together and never get into big fights; the same thing is true for the male leads too. As far as I could tell, every episode had a purpose and there were no filler episodes. Each minute was used and none was wasted, which added to the suspense and substance of the story.
Acting: In the parts where the characters feel emotion, the actors portray it very well and their reactions make you feel things. Also, the chemistry between the actors is there. Especially the actor who played Jing Yi; I could tell he enjoyed playing that character and is low-key my favorite character because of his personality.
Music: There are some songs that I would listen to on repeat because the lyrics and the way they sing is expressive and sound good.
TL;DR Despite it being low-cost I think they did pretty well. The wardrobe and makeup were perfect. A fluid story with lots of stuff to piece together and excellent acting that fits each character. The music is expressive, and when they put it in the episodes are appropriate for the scene/context. Since the insurrectionist was someone I didn't expect, I wouldn't mind watching it again to see the little details I missed the first time, though I wouldn't go through that whole rollercoaster again if I wanted to.

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Standard high school BL with a twist

The ship between Perth and Chimon worked well. They both are experienced (BL) actors and got the chemistry well going. Chimon keeps looking like age has no effect on him.
The OST doesn’t stay with you, but they do have a famous classical piano piece coming in now and then (Spiegel im Spiegel, guided with the violin).
The side couple stayed a long time on enemy ground to get together in ep11. Found out later they played a main couple in 2020’s my gear your gown (not seen it)
Good that a non typical boy as Euro got casted. Other actors are also known from other BL’s
The story itself has some bullying in the beginning with appalling teachers not taking action. Moves further to Perth seeking recognition from his father to a violent twist in ep10.
Not bad to have watched it, but wouldn’t rewatch.

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