Reviews

Sometimes things start with a lie

I really liked how different the premise felt compared to the usual university BL. A fake childhood connection, fortune telling, and a romance built on a lie sounded like a recipe for chaos, but it ended up being a fun and surprisingly charming watch. I enjoyed seeing the relationship gradually become something real, and the second couple added a nice layer to the story instead of feeling like an afterthought. My biggest complaint is that everything happened a little too fast. I wanted more time with the characters, especially once their feelings started becoming genuine, because the emotional moments never had enough room to fully land. Even so, it was an easy drama to binge, with likable characters, good chemistry, and enough heart to keep me invested until the end.

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i just love everything about this drama

at first i actually debating with myself whether to watch this or not, just because im not into too fantasy kinda drama,, but like i give it a try for the first and second ep!! IM HOOKED!! yall just pleaseee watch if u ever considering. to begin with the actin, it was top, i dont actually get it why people be saying esther yu’s acting was so annoying here, but like for me, honestly speaking she acted so well, her character completed the storyline so good like it blend well with the male lead. ughhh now i want to rewatch this again. okay moving to dylan wang ,, do i need to say more about him?? he just good, i cant even think about any male actor that can replace his role in this drama. both leads match eo that makes this drama so perfect

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NO REGRET WATCHING IT! You enjoy Dark Romance & Toxic Love? You will like this!

DISCLAIMER: The most overdo thing about this drama is the hate it received. If you're interested, watch it to make your own opinion. I usually also check reviews to see if I should watch a show or not, but I never saw a show receive this much hate by people who dropped it so they don't even know what's the story is about anymore.

REVIEW: It was one of the show I was anticipated the most this year and I'm so glad I watched it! Since last year, the story and the trailer promised toxic love and red flags leads then guess what? We got served toxic love and red flags lead! I'm very happy about that. Is the drama top notch? No, we can tell the editing is not all that. But not one second I regret watching it. The setting and the fashion are beautiful, we really feel in the republican era.
This drama type is nonsensical over the top dramatic soap opera-like. A bit too much when it comes to the story, like how they purposefully make the leads suffer but it's not that bad of a show. We get that it's just part of the story, lol. The story is a mess and somehow that's what makes you want to keep going, because you can't guess what's coming next. It's a very entertaining show with a cast that have great chemistry and embody their characters well.
The characters are complex and it seems some people can't handle when characters are not good or bad but actually both because of their own trauma. We see the leads hurting each other more than loving each other, while also knowing they really are in love with each other and would die/kill for the other. Despite their toxic love, they are really made for each other.

I don't think you missed anything if you have not watched it, like it's not a must watch, but I do not believe it's the worst drama of the year nor of Zhang Ling He and you will waste hours of your life watching it either.
To me, it felt like the closest show one could get if you enjoy mafia/dark romance and want that in a cdrama. It's very unique in its genre and I appreciated the time I spent enjoying this drama and wondering what was coming next. ^_^

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Loved it!!!!

The show is great. I know it had a lot of controversy for not being true to the source material. I found a lot of those complaints disingenuous, especially the colorism one. The BL watch community is notorious for refusing to watch shows if the main lead isn't attractive. I'm not saying people with darker skin, like myself, are unattractive, but I've been a receiver of some of the BL community's harsh comments. If you want to laugh throughout and really enjoy a show, I would definitely recommend this one.

The last thing I don't get is people complaining about a fictional story not having enough fictional politics and fictional controversy. It's a fictional story.

Story: I actually found the story very entertaining. I enjoyed all of the characters, even the bad guy. I also liked that a lot of the cliffhangers weren't dragged out. A lot of the scenes and questions about who the traitor was weren't dragged out either. It was a great, easy story to watch.

Acting: Everyone was in their acting bag! Everyone's performance was spectacular. The villain's performance was spectacular. Of course, Wandori/Prince performance was spectacular. The star of the show was definitely Banjorn. I did not like the character, but the actor really brought him to life, and he made me laugh. I was literally crying tears laughing during the prison scene.

Music: Not going to lie, the music was trash. (3/10) I just didn't want it to screw the rating even lower.

Overall:This was a great show, and it really pulled me out of my BL drama slump! Don't take it too seriously, and you'll truly have a fun time!

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This is not best story. Its story of boy named best ?

I started The Best Story right after finishing Jack & Joker. At first, I thought the title meant it was going to be the best story. Then I realized it literally meant the story of a boy named Best. 😂

What I wasn't expecting was how heartbreaking it would be. It's only three episodes long, but it still managed to make me emotionally invested. Just when I was hoping to see them finally get together... it ended.

No happy ending, no relationship, just pain. 💔

It's a short drama, but it leaves a lasting impression. If you're looking for a sweet BL with a satisfying ending, this isn't it. But if you're okay with a bittersweet, emotional story, it's definitely worth watching.

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Payback did NOT do Payback well

To be honest, I'm confused how to rate this drama. There are parts that I enjoyed and several things that I didn't enjoy. For it's hype, I'm quite disappointed. 6.5 feels a bit too low yet 7 also feels a bit high. Maybe this is a 6.8 but I'll round up.

Trigger warning - this drama depicts sexual assault, self-harm and rape which did make me uncomfortable so keep that in mind. These scenes didn't affect my ratings (with 1 exception). Details and several spoilers ahead.

The drama's main protagonist is Sun who has a violent past but since losing his mother and brother, he decides to change his life and works as a delivery man. While making deliveries, he meets a manager who would like to scout him as the next actor at their company. Soon after he finds out that his ex-boyfriend was actually the one that got his brother killed but he's now a big shot actor. So he swears to get revenge and decides to take up the acting offer. While at the company, he meets Jay who is narcissistic and they end up butting heads. Unbeknownst to Sun, Jay is actually the director at the company and he ends up needing his help at various stages in order to get his revenge.

So far the plot is great, the set up is great but nothing about Jay was worthy of liking. Not only does he behave horribly towards Sun for no reason, he even beats him up later. Eventually he progresses to kissing him forcefully and practically molesting him at one point. Considering the power dynamics, this is sexual harassment and assault and the reason why I did not like Jay. What frustrated me is that Sun is capable of fighting extremely well but he could never seem to overpower Jay. The drama failed to coherently explain why Jay even started liking Sun and likewise why Sun ended up liking Jay beyond needing his help at times. It was explained to me by people who read the novel but the drama was useless at relaying that important information. I'll add an additional spoiler related to this in the comments.

Sun and Jay's relationship mostly feels forced because of this power imbalance and Jay's actions. I actually felt uncomfortable even during their NC scenes. Especially since Sun seemed miserable. The actors were performing bottomless and I did question if that was really necessary. Also I wish they had highlighted safe sex practices. Another triggering scene was Jay forcefully making Sun cut Jay's wrist. Despite all this, Jay does have softer moments were I liked him. Just wish there was more of that at the end but it was quite rushed which was another disappointment. They were also joking about jumping off a building which was in poor taste.

There are like 3 good characters in the drama - the kind manager who scouts Sun, a trainee with trauma named Sky and a sweet director. I swear I shipped Sun and Sky at one point. I also thought a photographer and Sky might start dating but the vibes I was getting went nowhere. Majority of the show is filled with horrible characters which made me pity Sun a lot. There is one main man who is running a prostitution racket by supplying budding actors to other men. He also expects sexual favours for himself. All this was happening right under Jay's nose. He even mentions that he has recordings of everyone's conversations, yet till the end he never used those to destory that industry and everyone involved.

Jay also has his own reason for seeking revenge and the show ended up focusing more on Jay and how he manages to get what he wants. Meanwhile Sun's payback completely took a back seat. His desire to be the top actor just never happened. He didn't even really start his journey as a lead actor. His ex, Sunny, stayed unapologetic until the end and his end just felt cheap and unrealistic. The bad guys were toppled easily which seemed like it could have happened earlier and too many people were hurt for nothing. Nothing needed to wait till episode 10. Because all the wrap up happened in the final episode, it all felt rushed and lacked impact and satisfaction.

The main reason I could watch Payback is because the pacing of the show was fast and there was never a dull moment even if it got a bit predictable towards the end. The thing I liked is the use of humour to cut through several of the tense scenes. However it's not the kind that makes you laugh till your stomach hurts. It's the kind where you feel relieved that the thing you dread is not about to happen. All the actors did well. There were some actions scenes that were decent.

IMHO I don't think Payback is for everyone. I feel like there were plot holes because the novel probably wasn't adapted well enough which is a shame. If you do decide to watch it, you might like it more than I did.

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I Blame Tiktok!

Technically, I dropped this one midway through episode 12. However, MDL doesn't give you the option for that kind of thing. It doesn't matter too much in the grand scheme of things but I did want to preface this review with that minor correction.

First things first, time travel is one of my favorite tropes of all time. Hands down, bar none. If there's a drama where time travel is the central focus, or at least the beginning of the story, then count me in. However, the time travel wasn't enough to draw me in and keep me there, you know? The FL in this drama gave me Bai Lu vibes - essentially, I couldn't quite tell if she was romantically interested in the ML/her male counterpart or not. With Bai Lu, I can never tell if her characters even LIKE their male counterparts/love interests. It's the strangest phenomenon and ultimately the primary reason why I stopped watching her dramas but I digress.

So, this FL gave me those same types of vibes and I don't like that. Sure, the romance won't always be the central focus of these types of dramas but I expected a LOT more than I got. From social media and various edits scattered across different platforms of this couple, I expected to be knocked OUT by their romance and the fiery chemistry. Alas, that didn't happen. Where was all this fiery passion and magnetic chemistry I was promised? Because it wasn't here and I actually want my money back. I was bamboozled! I want a refund. The first episode will lead you to believe there will be MORE between these characters and it just never happens. It's definitely in the overrated and overhyped pile.

Granted, I understand that they won't automatically fall for each other because of the very valid mistrust between them. It's normal and par for the course. However, the ML started getting softer and softer (in my opinion) as the drama progressed while the FL simply didn't. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind a drama where He falls first and falls harder BUT I still need to see some reciprocity from the FL. The ML can't be the only one doing all the heavy lifting with the romance and I have a very kneejerk reaction when it does happen. Then again, I try my best to stay far, far, far away from dramas if I get a whiff of that being a thing because that's not my personal taste. To each their own, of course.

The acting from the leads was fine. It wasn't horrible but I will say that I found myself way more intrigued by the ML than the FL, which is another thing that I'm not too fond of. If I'm watching a drama and the ML is drawing my eye meanwhile we're spending most of our time with the FL, there's an issue there. A big one. My mind shouldn't be drifting towards the ML when we're with the FL and I find that happening a LOT. The guy who played Song Mo is pretty decent; I definitely see great things for his future. The woman who played the FL is fine but I do wonder what she would do with a character who is meant to be more open and playful and less guarded and stone-faced. If I'm not mistaken, she also played one of the side characters in The Untamed (which I dropped) but I don't remember there being a big difference between that character and this one. The characters seemed to be quite similar to me.

I really wanted to swoon over the illustrious Song Mo as that's what all the girls were screaming about, but the drama didn't give me any real reason to do so and that's the biggest misstep of them all. So much wasted potential!

Would I recommend it? Honestly, no. Unless you're in the mood for a drama with very little romance and heavy on literally everything else, then sure. I'm here for the romance and I'm not sitting through a drama where the romance is an afterthought. Would I rewatch it? Also no. I couldn't get through it the first time and I doubt I'll get through it a second or third. In fact, this drama actually made me go back to rewatch Si Jin.

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So excited to watch this drama and I so wanted to like it. But by episode 26… it was just a miss for me. I’m not sure what the director was trying to do… a soccer drama but with very little soccer and actual coaching. We were given passive coaches that stood silently on the sidelines as the camera panned and captured their intense gazes and reflective moments about life. The FL who was so filled with energy and passion for these players never cheered for them during a game. How does that make sense? I would think she would be going crazy, cheering and yelling, especially when one of her “babies” got hurt on the field. But instead we got FL and ML standing next to each other in silence, with their “intense” looks of worry as the boys got beat up out there.

Too many parts of the drama was under developed that it made the drama seem very contrived and surface level. Before I start on the FL and how unnatural it felt watching her snack when clearly it was to make snacking look cute instead of her actually being hungry … I’ll stop. I don’t want to get too negative and I know actors can only do their best with what they are given.

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I liked this, despite its faults. It was entertaining and well-paced.

Actors ... Very good.
Characters ... Lovely.
OST ... Was nice, not overpowering, which fits this type of show.
Storyline/plot ... It was different and different is good.
Re-watchable ... Maybe.

All the actors seemed very professional and fit their characters. The characters themselves were relatable and fit their perspective roles. The side characters' backgrounds were deep enough to give them real substance although there was very little about the main leads, which was very annoying and a little strange.

The premise was pretty good; there were some occasions that I got frustrated due to a lack of reasoning skills and intensity from the FL and ML. There were occasions where the leads let their emotions take over and it caused a lot of unnecessary delays.

I pretty much knew who and what from the very first/second episode, so for me it was more about how and why. This show made you put yourself into their shoes to try and come up with solutions and that made me want to keep watching. That is pretty rare these days.

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Refreshing personalities!!

It is so nice to see a male lead that’s not completely full of himself, who’s not thinking bout putting on an act 24/7. I love the main couple’s dynamic. Friendly despite being on bad terms. This is exactly what I want when I look for friends to lovers, or enemies to lovers shows. Let there be beef but beef with friendliness and charm. And the female lead is so understandable. Like, I get her. It’s a show about two people who reached for the same dreams but only one of them achieved it. I’m giving it a low rewatch rating solely because I don’t like to rewatch a lot of shows

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loved it but i understand why some people didn't

i didn't read the manwha so i started watching without any expectations, i actually decided to watch in support of minlee only as i've been a fan of his for a few years now.
i was positively surprised since the very first chapter. there's a lot of details i loved about the show that it'd take me a while to list, from the soundtrack to the photography and the action and nc scenes. i was even satisfied with the ending as i truly think that sun's best revenge was healing. to me the whole cast did a really good job and the couple's chemistry is even better than some well established couples (again, to me).

however, i understand the backlash regarding the way they handled certain topics and the side plots. i do think that some scenes should've been done with more care, not saying that they were done 100% terribly, but they could've been better. the scene in which jay cuts himself (specially in front of sun, who from what i understand, struggles with suicidal ideation), the pool murder, bank's life after dream ent, etc.. i feel like the show couldn't give the viewer a proper explanation as to why these scenes where important and how they affected not only the overall story but the characters as well. thus, we're left with weak scenes of impactful events that only ever felt triggering. hell, even some short trigger warnings at the beginning of each chapter would've done some of the job.
i also agree that the romance took away a bit the relevance of the other topics that the show relied on, and i wish we could've gotten more in depth developments for some characters like sky, two-o and sunny, but this is a bl drama with sun's as the ultimate focus, so im really not surprised of how things ended up.
they probably could've done a much better job if the show had more episodes, but then again i didn't read the manwha so i don't know how close to the original story that would've been, and adaptations are supposed to be as close as the original as possible.

i also wanna highlight how proud i am of min, cause after his previous roles (which were lowkey mid if im honest), i could tell how much his acting has improved and that he poured his heart, body and soul into this project. it feels rewarding to finally see him succed after trying for so long, watching people praise him and finally notice how charming and talented he is has been, for me, the best part of this journey, and i hope that from now on only better things come his way.

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I liked a side character and the final reveal. That was it.

This show is kind of inconsistent. The tone and pacing seem to change a lot; the beginning feels muddled, but by the end it does resemble a proper show. I wish I could say that salvaged it for me... but no, yet another one that I’m simply glad to be done with.

This show is FL-centric, so naturally she’s a strong and capable character. But at the beginning, she really is quite unlikeable. She’s beyond ice queen- arrogant and rude, just treats the people around her like trash, frankly kind of scary. Supposedly she is a merge of two personalities, and this is pretty unique and interesting, but unfortunately the show doesn’t really lean into this idea or even make it clear.

By the teens of episodes, she softens into the kind of FL I’m more used to- a smart and in-control character who still has some empathy. She continues to get nicer as the show goes on (not particularly explained), so really you just have to grit your teeth through the beginning.

The ML might have been interesting enough if his main defining feature were not how obsessively in love he is with the FL, and how shamelessly he pursues her. A few times we get hints of something deeper- a dying man with a flippant façade and decent schemes- but mostly he just hits on her.

I think their romance dynamic is where most of the show’s humor lies, at least based on the musical cues. Haha! Look how shamelessly in love he is! Look how cleverly she refutes him! It’s not really my style, though I did laugh a few times at her comebacks.

For the first 2/3 or so, the plot moves fast in small mini-arcs, with lots of formidable-seeming villains taken care of surprisingly quickly. Above average suspension of disbelief is required as we watch the FL sort (or sniff?) things out. It’s still vaguely interesting, but feels too messy to be enjoyable- these smaller story arcs are simply not taken seriously. Unfortunately the only main, consistent plotline is the harem of men who are obsessively in love with the FL.

It’s partly my personal preference, but I just have never been into watching a bunch of people (hot princes or not) figure out their love polygon. It’s not that interesting, plus I feel sorry for them. But it’s extra annoying here because these men are exceptionally delusional and obsessive, way beyond rationality... which honestly is just frustrating to watch. And kind of stressful too- who knows what stupid things they will do in the name of love.

So for the longest time, the only reason I kept watching was for Bu Shulin. I love her! She is really likeable and has great expressions, and her romance is the most I’ve cared about any pairing- main or otherwise- in a really long time. But she only gets maybe 1 scene per episode, so I was basically racing through most of the show at accelerated speed, just for the trickle of her scenes. It’s too bad there aren’t more- apparently some got censored for looking too much like BL (...which it isn’t even...lol. But yes, her cross-dressing is really well-done).

Luckily by the time Bu Shulin and her boytoy move out of the story (somewhere in the 20s of episodes), the show has become more independently watchable. The focus of the main plot has finally started shifting away from romantic entanglements; the FL and ML have become likeable enough that I could root for them; and the story has calmed down, with more cohesive and properly developed story arcs, and antagonists with proper motivation. I still didn’t really care enough about the leads to be that invested in their story, but it was watchable enough to finish.

Actually, I ended up quite liking the final arc. I saw comments where some people didn’t buy the final villain, but personally I liked where they went with it, and I was also very satisfied with the reveals at the end.

For the acting, I thought it was fine- I believed all the characters. Meng Ziyi always gets so much criticism for her acting, but I thought it was fine, I saw expressions. Fan Shuaiqi as Bu Shulin is great- maybe partly saying this because I like her character, but some of her expressions are just really hilarious.

For production stuff, no comment on fight choreo as I sped through it all. There are some really cute cats near the beginning- the cat budget was probably decent but I think it should have still been higher because they later all disappear for no reason. The styling and costumes are alright. I know it’s just a general idol show thing, but at one point the ML helps the FL out with her morning makeup by making a few perfunctory gestures that change nothing on her already heavily made up face... like, come on?

For the music, I thought the OST is decent, and sounds pretty good at 1.5X! But I especially like the BGM. I particularly love the tension-building orchestral strings piece, though there are several other nice ones that I also noticed.

Overall... well. This show had enough going for it at different points to string me along and keep me watching, but I can’t say I was that interested or invested. I might have given this a 5-6 (show I don’t really care for) if not for Bu Shulin and the nice final reveal.

ENDING – READ AHEAD ONLY IF YOU WANT TO KNOW, CONTAINS SPOILERS





This show has a happy ending. Even among the side characters, there aren’t any big sacrifices. There is a nice 4-years-later block (featuring an adorable child actor) to show us the leads settled down, that is long enough to actually get a good picture of the situation. But I was disappointed that it didn’t address the characters I actually care about (like Bu Shulin and her boytoy, Prince Lie, the FL’s sister, their subordinates, etc). And whatever happened to her cat?

MORE MAJOR SPOILER AHEAD





I can’t decide if I like the ending or not. The final villain comes very close to being one of my least favorite tropes (SML gone evil), so I personally am glad they add a little twist to it. I also thought it’s very brave to kill off the ML several episodes from the end, leaving the FL to handle the final villains by herself- how unique and realistic! (Well, also my friend just died in a car accident so personally I appreciated seeing somebody deal with loss but learn to move forward).

...but nope, the ML is brought back in the last few minutes. I wouldn’t even call it deus ex machina- there’s no machina. He just shows up. A 10-min extra gives us half an explanation by flashing briefly to his extremely haggard-looking doctor friend, whom nobody in the show seems to care about. I guess he saved him at the cost of his own health, or something.

I really like getting extended scenes that show how they’re living a happy life together, but I still think the ending fails to deliver on many things like explanations and side character follow-up.

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