Reviews

Nothing fancy about Fantasy but it has the right amount of plot filling in it

#MyRoommateisaGumiho (간 떨어지는 동거) Review:

/- Actual Rating: 8/10
/- I had a peculiar impression of the conflicts that happened here. The way it felt was like every twist in the story was structured and placed for it to look like an engagement of sorts to destiny and how we control our lives around it. To be honest, I was more inclined to Hye Sun's story/atmosphere. I liked her parts more than the actual leads here.
/- But, overall, I enjoyed most of the fun parts since the acting really looked natural and funny at the same time. Enjoyed much of the episodes!

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I had a very tough time getting into this show and thought about quitting it more than once. But I'm glad I stuck with it, as this is one of those shows that gets better towards the end.

Shows that revolve around a killer are very hit or miss, since ultimately the identity of the killer is always what makes or breaks them. Viewers spend 90% of the show trying to guess who the murderer is and their motives, so if the reveal is unsatisfactory, it kind of ruins the whole thing (or at least it does for me). Here, I wasn't mad about the shaman being the killer, but I wish his motives would have been something else other than "psychopath". Like, this guy never actually killed or hurt anyone before getting his psychometric powers, so was that what turned him into a murdered? It doesn't make much sense.

Personally, I think trying to combine a serial murder plot with plenty of comedic moments was ambitious, and for the most part, it worked pretty well. The only parts I really, really disliked were the ones about the aunt and the police captain's romance (particularly the scenes of their "teenage" selves). Honestly, their story line added nothing to the plot other than profound cringe. Conversely, I always laughed at the guy calling Ok Hee "eonni". They were also a little cringe, but in a purposeful way that actually meant to be funny, and that's why I think they worked better. Their storyline was so silly and ridiculous, that it became endearing.

The call back towards the end to Ye Bun learning arabic during the first few episodes was a nice touch. At the same time though, Seon Woo could have just called Ye Bun and told in arabic that the shaman was the murderer, or sent her a text. Kind of a plot hole, really.

Other than that, the acting was good, the OST choices interesting, and a whole bunch more people than I ever could have guessed ended up dying. For a comedy show, there were a surprising amount of tears.

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Cute and complex. A must watch!

Ok ok this was a really cute series, it really explored a strong women and them learning to love themselves, to not have to fit the thin, frail image that many people use for the ideal.
The female lead and male lead grow together throughout the series, learning about each other and learning that love comes from learning to trust and expose your flaws to the other person.
I really loved that it showed that not only was the female lead a strong woman but that she was also very in tune with her emotions since many archetypes will only have one or the other since showing emotions are normally associated with being weak. Also on that note showing the male lead crying and dealing with the twisted history with his mother gave a lot of dimensions to his character and showing him maturing.

All in all I loved this series and really recommend it to anyone wanting a more complex romcom

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Good Romance with a hint of murder

An enjoyable show. I found the celebrities playing these roles to be more than capable in this drama, no shortage of good acting. I have to say that the two leads are so cute (in a toothache but not sickening kind of way) and cheeky. Good possession TV series, with a budding romance and hint of who dunit murder.

The second female lead trying to get laid was tiring for me just cause it caused me second hand embarrassment. Her character grew a little too slowly for me, but she grew. The recurring cast were a funny bunch they definitely help me enjoy the show. The (kitchen) office politics are funny with the Sous Chef who irritates his staff because he's too excessive in everything including complaints and neediness.

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The Guessing Game

Subjective Gut Rating - 7.75

“The Date of Marriage” is a very typical Japanese rom-com. It’s comforting, cute and also very predictable. It’s great for stress relief, but don’t expect it to blow your mind.

I had a pretty enjoyable time watching this. But I think my enjoyment stems from me being a fan of the trope - “Does he/she like me? Nah.. probably not and it’s all in my head. There’s no way he/she will like me”. If you like this trope, you will have a very fun time watching “The Date of Marriage” because the leads are adorable, good-looking and have good chemistry. But if you don’t, you will be super annoyed as they spend more than half of this drama guessing each other’s feelings. The back-and-forth can be very annoying and frustrating.

J-dramas are known for their fast pacing and this drama jumps right to it. In supersonic speed, our female lead was dumped by her boyfriend in the beginning of the first episode and she fell for another guy by mid-second episode. You might also want to suspend realism and common sense. You know, a guy probably won’t promise to marry you if he doesn’t like you, no matter how kind he is. There’s no question to it and no guessing needed. But you have to go with the flow because this guessing game is a big part of the show. Our leads had other long-term relationships in the past but they acted like it’s their first relationship and forgot how to communicate and act, once they got together.

I do like how the stories are told in both the male and female lead’s perspectives (for part of the drama). You can hear their inner thoughts and their own narration. This storytelling seems to be most common with J-dramas, compared to other Asian countries. We also get a few good kisses and not just shy fish kisses.

Overall, this is not the best Japanese rom-coms out there, but it’s passable if you want to watch something short and easy. If you don’t like the trope I mentioned, then don’t watch it.


Other Random Observations:
1. Matsuda Genta is really handsome! LOL He looks older than his real age of 24.
2. Did our female lead wear the same nail polish for a whole year?
3. The comedic inner monologues/daydream confuse me a little in the beginning. I wasn’t sure if they were speaking to the camera/viewers, or to each other.



Completed: 10/3/2023 - Review #362

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We are never getting back 2gether

I’ve seen mixed thoughts on this series but due to its high rating and it being considered one of the more popular Thai BLs, I figure why not check it out? Big mistake. It took me roughly three months to complete this series. Episodes 1-6 were tolerable at best but afterwards, I had to finish the series on 2x and even then I was still fast-forwarding through them. This series was passable in 2020 but not so much in 2023.

I share a lot of other reviewers’ sentiments so I won’t go into detail but whether it was the acting or storyline, I cannot feel the romance let alone bromance between the leads, Tine and Sarawat. They’re both attractive but their characters are not. Other than looks, I can’t confidently say they like anything else about each other. Tine and Green had more chemistry than Tine and Sarawat, then again everyone seemed to have chemistry until you throw Sarawat into the mix. For a very popular guy, the show really gave him nothing. No charisma, no personality. Except for throwing cheesy lines around, he doesn’t change at all for someone who’s finally got with the guy he’s been crushing on for a while.

The leads’ brothers are a good twist and addition but rather than having them engage naturally with the leads, they’re mostly used for shock value and then pushed aside to live their very limited lives. Mil and Phukong’s relationship was a waste of screen time as their relationship basically went from 0 for the longest time to suddenly 100 in the finale.

The only cute relationship was between Man and Type. Despite getting little screen time to develop their romance, I thought they really stole the show as the best couple. However, like all the other couples, the biggest issue with this series is the lack of communication and poor character development. Initially, Type was introduced as this calm and composed guy that Man ran into and has a crush on. But once he was revealed to be Tine’s ruthless brother, you really see a cold and mean side to him. So for someone who seems peaceful yet tough, I wished he had stood up for Man or had an explanation why he chose to go with Beam over Man given that Man was clearly teased and insulted at the celebratory party he was invited to as a guest. When Man confronted Type about it, he basically dismissed it and said he never wanted the luxurious life Beam was trying to sell him…okay, then why leave with him? Why save the jerk’s face? Perhaps you wanted to talk to him in the car and scold him for his behavior towards Man? But nope…nothing. Kind of disappointed but they are still the best couple either way.

The music was unmemorable so that’s usually either good enough or not bad enough, even the ones sung by the characters. I’m aware of a season 2 or sequel but I’m saving it for last resort. The bottom line is 2gether started out fun but by the end of it, there’s really no direction for it. It was just checking all the tropes and creating conflict for the heck of wanting to make more money and hitting 13 episodes.

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Main Leads' Chemistry is Great, Romance Itself is Lacking

Right off the bat, Tinn is one of my personal favorite main leads of the series I've watched so far--he didn't frustrate me, which is one of my pet peeves due to the copious amount of angst in BL that could be solved if only they talked. I understood his reluctance teaming up with Charn and was fully on board with how it took a while for him to trust Charn.

One of the things I was most worried about after the first two episodes with how seriously I could take Charn's viewpoints and the actions he takes because of them, but I was pleasantly surprised. I loved seeing a character such as him--selfish, greedy, with a hint of psychopathy and no shame. Now obviously Charn changes throughout the story, which is another point that I really appreciated; it was clear that he changed and adapted because of Tinn.
But can we say the same vice versa? Tinn remained quite static from how he was originally portrayed. He didn't have much of a character arc--which, don't get me wrong, I didn't actually mind in this particular case, but it still stands out.

I do wish we had some more explicitly romantic scenes because I felt like they could match very nicely with the mature atmosphere and older characters. I think they could've made on-screen sex scenes very impactful and beautiful, but sadly, it was only very obviously implied. Which is fine, I just. . . think that it could've sold the romance much better due to the focus on solving the mystery and action. The chemistry was there, but the romance itself lacked. In fact, I truly felt like the series may as well not have included the main leads' romance and nothing much would've been impacted. You know, if they'd ended up being besties, it'd work fine.

Now the side characters. Absolutely adored them all. All the actors in this drama are good, not just the main leads. I didn't expect to end up liking Thaenthai as much as I did, nor the romance between him and Thee ("romance", as I said before, this BL isn't that romantic).

There are a few painfully bad CGI/special effects moments. Let's not even talk about that horrible fire effect. Some fight scenes are a bit overdramatic and simply not very well-acted--the main leads clearly shine in scenes that require emotions and focus on character, not so much action or high-stakes moving about.

The story fell a little flat in the end. I might've missed why Charn couldn't tell Tinn his plan--it felt to me like Charn still didn't actually trust Tinn that much--but him leaving the way he did with Nawin felt dramatic for the sake of being dramatic and angsty. The plot twist also wasn't that surprising, however, the murder-mystery vibes did keep me hooked until the very end. It's pretty good for a BL.

CONCLUSION/TL;DR: The main leads had good chemistry, the side characters were great, the acting was mostly on point, lack of satisfying romance/sex scenes, a surprisingly cute secondary couple, quite horrible CGI/special effects, emotional scenes were very good and realistic, mystery vibes are solid enough, OST didn't stand out.

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If you are thinking whether you want to watch it or not. This one is for you.

Although I gave it a 10 /10 if I can provide it with my score, then it would be 1000000000000000000000000/10.
I have watched many shows but this is the first review I have ever written and I want to say that "Angel Last Mission" holds a very special place in my heart. I watched it many times and it always moves my heart and the chemistry between the two main leads and the second male lead.

When it comes to the acting all of the cast members did a great job. But my favorite one would be Shin Hye Sun (the main female lead) who portrays Lee Yeon Seo. In the beginning, she acts as a blind person, but she does a great job expressing the feelings of the woman who went blind and lost her family. When she cried, not just my eyes and heart were crying that is just how much I was moved by her acting. Oooh let me jsut say how beautiful she is and I actually went on and watched a couple of her series.
Moving to the male main lead Kim Myng Soo, is portrayed as an Angel. This was the first series I watched him as a main lead and he became one of my fav main leads. I almost went on and bench-watched all of his series.


Why should you watch this ?
Beautiful acting ✔️
Beautiful love story ✔️
Beautiful OSTs ✔️ (i still listen to these OSTs )
Great direction and storytelling ✔️✔️
I almost forgot the outfits and styling is just ??✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️
Emotion ??✔️✔️


So what are you still doing here goo on watching the beautiful love story?

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decent continuation

Overall: though I really dislike this type of plot for a season 2, I think they did well with what they had. I'd love to see the actors in something else, especially the guy that played Pee. Aired on YouTube season 1 part 1 is here https://youtu.be/ZV00vfaAFZc?si=nE63OYDGG4vy1TYA and is about 12 minutes, part 2 is about 15 minutes.

What I Liked
- the theme song is really cute
- breaking the 4th wall (where characters talk directly to the audience) is unique
- a few cute parts
- Pee was forthright
- Bam called Mike out

Room For Improvement
- the love rival plot for a season 2
- that Pee said even if Bam liked Mike that he wouldn't give up
- too much time spent at the beach, we needed more of Bam & Mike
- something that almost happened at the end but didn't

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THIS IS NOT A ROMANCE DRAMA

Okay so going into the show I thought it was a romantic thriller and for a while it seemed that way since there were like love interests for the fl but no. The ml seems to like to but
then it just looks like he is using her, we never really get to see their relationship as a romantic one.

moreover, I gave it a low rewatching rating because in order to actually enjoy it, you need to be completely clueless so u can go around guessing the culprit together with the characters.

I would have given it a higher rating if the fl and ml had some romance because it seemed like everyone but them did

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This was a big no for me

I took a break cuz I couldn't handle that annoying girl meddling in someone's life she considered her friends when in reality she was absolutely insane and used her guilt to keep a guy close to her cuz her sister died in an accident that he was involved in. Once she finds out he was in a relationship her "best friend" appears and encourages her to act even more unstable to get the man she thought she owned. She even tries to kill herself twice! Her "friend" leaves still thinking her "friend" failed for not fighting or doing it right. They later try to make it seem like this batch shit crazy bitch got a happy ending but it was written badly, poor acting and you can tell they probably added on the parts with her getting with the pink hair guy to try to give her a happy ending after everything she did especially trying to break up a relationship, force a man that clearly didn't love her and everyone knew didn't love her, she probably had a feeling but refused to acknowledge it cuz she was crazy. When she gets dumped at the alter she wants to kill herself again. Right when the show introduces that plot the show is no longer good and it is poorly written. If they just kept the plot of the girl with the glasses trying to get her dad's approval of letting his daughter be independent and not have to be in an arranged marriage the show would have been 10 out of 10, but they had to continue the crazy "friend" who thought the singer was her property up until the very end of the damn show. it ruined the whole show for me the atmosphere changed and the show became cringy and not worth the watch if you are like me. Oh, and I forgot to add this part after everything this damn couple goes through right at the fucking end of the last ep they try to add more drama just cuz they want to separate the couple with two really huge life-changing opportunities that you'll be stupid to say no to but they both say no and stayed in China to stay together. The whole time I was like seriously what more do you want to add to this show even at the very last second, I'm surprised they didn't try a wedding scene for the 3rd time. I think they didn't add it cuz when you start the drama on the 1st ep you see the female lead running away from getting married cuz it was arranged and the 2nd was with that crazy girl near the end when she was using suicide as leverage to keep the singer as her property and to marry her. So I guess the writers had to draw the line in 2 wedding scenes.....

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classic but weaker than I expected

Boys Over Flowers might be the drama I looked forward to watching the most. All of the actors/actresses were great EXCEPT the female female lead. there were plot holes but the story was cute. The lead female character ruined the drama for me. she was crass, loud, rude and constantly has her mouth full of food. There was nothing that would attract anyone to her. with different casting and a few tweaks to the script, I would have loved it. the lead actress and her character really killed it. The writers should have given her some manners and some attractive qualities. An actress with more talent should have been cast in the lead who could have at least given the character some warmth. Her kissing scenes were so bad it was painful to watch.

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