Reviews

When the man found the 52-hertz whale that lives in a mountain

The acting performances from the three of them made the drama more remarkable. Despite shooting in a limited location, episodes, and casts; the outcome was insanely great. Pond with his long hair and exposed chest is legendary. I am drooling at how sexy he is but more importantly, in awe of how great he is with the dramatic exchange of lines with Uncle In and his mother. A boy who is seeking an answer to the death of his father but eventually falls in love with his father’s true love. A complicated flow of events but I am buying it.

Nike, as Uncle In, is the definition of a daddy. I can’t blame Wang for shooting a fiery glare on those tight muscles. Both of them are too hot to handle. The more episodes I’ve watched, the deeper I wanted them to kiss. Those stares sent signals of them craving to eat each other but holding back because of their tangled relationship. The sexual tension is high and showcases a perfect atmosphere to convey the feelings of their characters,

They also introduced me to the story of a 52-hertz whale which is sad knowing how isolated it is while patiently waiting for someone to reach its place. It was a prominent concept in the drama as it visualizes the life of Uncle In. Not being together at the end was understandable and I love how the finale ended with taglines representing the lessons we got from the three characters; Wang, In, and the noisy mother. This has already carved their uniqueness in the BL history and I salute them for bringing a new trope to BL fans.

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light-hearted, entertaining, with a good mix of thrill

I definitely had so much fun watching this drama! It wasn't just because my favorite lead couple, Zhao Yiqin and Li Jiaqi, starred in it, but also because the drama is light-hearted, entertaining, and has a good mix of thrill. Fake relationships or marriages are definitely one of my favorite drama tropes, which made Debit Queen even more enjoyable. I was easily hooked on the storyline, and the little arguments between the lead couple made it even more entertaining.

This is also a great costume drama for beginners, as the story is not overly complicated, and the pacing keeps things interesting without being overwhelming. Its simplicity makes it easy to follow while still being captivating, making it perfect for those new to the genre. I’d recommend this drama to anyone looking for a fun and engaging watch!

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It was shockingly enjoyable

It has been a while since I have watched a Filipino series, my last one being in August, and it was the 2021 series 'Love Beneath the Stars.' So, I was a bit sceptical in watching this. But I must admit that it surprised me in the end.

Is it the best Filipino BL series out there? No, it's not. It does have some flaws. BUT! And hear me out on this one. But it was a bit different. I have watched numerous stories between a human and a ghost, yet this one was somewhat different, yet similar. They met at a party. Jack didn't realise Magic was a ghost until later. Jack was doing everything in his power to get Magic to cross into the afterlife. He found out the secret Magic was keeping from him. They were able to resolve it, and Magic was able to move on.

Something happened in the ending that is understandable why people may not like it. But I believe it's a better ending than some previous endings that I saw where the person just lived out their life and met with the ghost in the end for them to be reunited. It may not be an outstanding series, but it was still enjoyable, and it is also an easy watch.

You can watch this for what it is—a cute, quick web series.

P.S. - Saying this now, so people don't have to ask. No, Chukchuk isn't in this web series.

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This dragged for what felt like an eternity

Let’s get spoilers out of the way first: this story is about two teen best friends who used to be in a gang, one wanted to leave to have a football career, the other didn’t want to let him go, so he gave him a “customary” beating, breaking a leg of his friend and ending his football dream. The perpetrator felt ashamed and vanished while the victim felt abandoned. 3 years later they meet again and – instead of clarifying things – begin a prolonged back and forth with the perpetrator wanting to apologize and the victim refusing to listen; they eventually reconcile, but by that time the show introduced several side plots which sidelined the main plot and the series can’t end before those side plots are concluded. At the end of the day we get whopping 16 episodes filled mainly with repetitive content (e.g. in ep. 1-6 Saint follows Shin and tries to talk to him, Shin doesn’t want to talk; they nevertheless kinda talk, but nothing comes out of that – no conclusion nor resolution – so Saint follows Shin… And this happens 2-3 times per episode) or side plot content – about various problems of Shin’s and Saint’s classmates. I admit I got tired of the main plot by ep. 3 and started watching the show on FFDW.

Some claim that this is actually a BL. I guess some people could get this impression as the show was produced by a company specializing in BLs, both main characters are male, young and attractive, and the show’s about their relationship. Others might believe that nonromantic love between males is impossible (hence it’s no “bromance” – it must be a BL) or that the supposed chemistry between Nani and Sky proves that their characters are more than friends. I strongly disagree with the above – and not just because there’s nothing in the story that would imply “High School Frenemy” to be something else than a “bromance”. It’s also the structure of the story. In most BLs (and love stories in general) story is about characters developing their relationship, going from strangers to a couple. This is a gross simplification, but – with a few exceptions – that’s how vast majority of BL are written. “High School Frenemy” is about two characters who already had a strong non-romantic relationship and want to rekindle it – which takes them most of the 16 episodes. I’m not saying forgiveness, healing and rekindling of a friendship are easy nor that they can be achieved quickly, but in case of this show it’s more than obvious that this process was treated as filler for as many episodes as possible. The aforementioned repetitiveness does not result from Shin and Saint needing a lot of time to reconcile (they actually do it in two scenes), but from the show needing content. There’s like 2 hours of actual story and content of the main plot and it could have been told in a concise and emotional way; it loses a lot of emotional weight due to being stretched over far too many episodes, with the few decent scenes getting drowned by constant repetition. The “give up what’s most important for you” thing in ep. 7 is a good example of what this show does to good concepts: it was supposed to display Saint’s sacrifice and importance of friendship, but was executed in a horrible way, ruined by awful dialogue (spelling out what Saint was giving up), poor delivery and dragging it over three utterly pointless scenes, making it lose all emotional charge.

As for subplots, I feel all save one were shoehorned as additional filler. Sure, when you have a school/classroom setting for a story (regardless what the story is about), you need people to appear in the background – as students, teachers, administration etc. What I don’t get is why any of them needed their own small story, which was unrelated (or very loosely related) to the main story.

Ken’s subplot, the only one somewhat connected to the main plot, was stretched just as unnecessarily as the main plot. This had several consequences – we got tons of pointless violence (apparently one fight scene wasn’t enough to illustrate the problem) before characters were allowed to realize that it serves no purpose: neither side could “win”, asserting permanent domination, and even if “winning” was possible – it wouldn’t change much (they would still be students at a high school). Furthermore the show presented school violence (and violence in general) as something ordinary, an element of everyday life – normalizing it. Violence and danger are so common, that the stakes are oddly low: we get a solid beating every other episode, yet it ends with a few bruises, no apologies and no punishments.

The school setting makes sense – but only when viewed from a distance. As someone who does not require full realism I can say that too many things felt nonsensical and were written like that because of plot (and not realism or relatability); I listed some examples of that below.
1/ Teachers (not just Jan and Sung) had no idea what they’re supposed to do, imposing “clever” punishments to force students to think (punishments that no school in the civilized world would dare to apply). The method of tricking someone to change their behavior or mind was also used on one of the teachers.
2/ The principal was unhinged, throwing tantrums and switching between having bright ideas and going hard on students, between being bent on expelling an innocent student and overlooking those that are responsible and applying collective responsibility.
3/ The exam cheating issue was presented in a crude and heavy-handed way, plagued with banal statements by Jan and Sung (which were, of course, made sound like something profound and important). Jan punishing herself/forcing students to “punish” her for them cheating during the exam was pure cringe.
4/ School bullies who associate themselves with criminals were scared of a teacher quoting penal law and threatening to tell their parents about what they do. Were they naughty teens, who can be kept in line by teachers, afraid of getting expelled, or delinquents who don’t care about graduating or their parents finding out that they’re bullies? Which is it – cause it can’t be both, and the show sure wanted it to be.
5/ During the “investigation” into cases of violence (in ep. 6-7) nobody remembered the brawl which resulted in Chatjen throwing a chair through a window nor about the one class member who was recording all the school fights for “content”. And how come virtually all the surveys from class 2 incriminated Shin – did Saint, Chatjen, First, Thiu and Cable accuse Shin of being a violent troublemaker in their surveys?

A few words need to be said about the cast. Most performances are either weak or unimpressive – this includes what both Maria and Foei bring to the screen. Nani’s delivery is pretentious and annoying in nearly every scene, while Sky is stiff and wooden; in all “emotional” scenes he’s reciting lines like an automaton and gets better only during the very few “friendly banter” scenes he shares with Nani. Neither of them can act and they have little chemistry (although these two things are not related – there are many couples and ships with no acting skills, but with good chemistry), with just a few better scenes in later episodes, when Saint and Shin reconcile. The single good performance of the series comes from Mark Pakin – the only actual actor in the cast. I did, however, enjoy Winny’s guest appearance, while Marc Natarit was surprisingly convincing in his little role.

I enjoyed some of the music used in the series. The opening theme by “Kong” Jaithep Raroengjai is very good and I was upset upon finding out that it’s only 1:08 minutes long (no “full version” or longer version is available).

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The Land of Smiles on Trial

If you plan to watch the Thai adaptation of “Lawless Lawyer”, I recommend approaching it with an open mind. This remake does bring something fresh to the table, with more thoroughly developed backstories and a pace that doesn’t feel rushed. While the Korean version wasn’t necessarily hurried, the Thai version takes its time to flesh things out, which is worth noting. That said, there are a few disappointments.

The romance, while decent, doesn’t quite compare to the electric chemistry between Joon Gi and Jae Yi in the original. However, since the show isn’t centered on the couple’s relationship, this isn’t a major issue. Namtan and Lee deliver solid performances and carry the show well, exuding an on-screen charm that makes them undeniably engaging. Their acting holds up throughout.

One significant difference I noticed between the adaptations lies in the tone of the characters. In the Korean version, when a character was furious or impassioned, it was impossible to miss—they let you feel every bit of it. Conversely, the Thai adaptation adopts a more subdued approach, reflecting Thailand’s “Land of Smiles” ethos. While this doesn’t derail the plot and allows for a more patient storytelling style, it does impact the intensity of certain scenes, particularly those involving the main villain.

Speaking of the villain, their story was perhaps the most frustrating aspect of the series. While their backstory adds a layer of tragedy, framing them as a quasi-hero, their actions throughout the show make it hard to sympathize with them. The lack of a sincere apology to Win (the male protagonist) or any meaningful consequences for their crimes leaves the ending feeling hollow. The villain and their associates walk away relatively unscathed, and this unresolved arc undermines the emotional payoff.

On the flip side, one of the major villains had a more satisfying resolution, though they, too, left me feeling slightly let down. That said, the actor playing this role did an excellent job, which deserves recognition.

The ending itself is where the Thai adaptation falters most. While I might have understood the ambiguity if it were setting up a sequel, the inclusion of a time skip—marked by a “many years later” title card—suggests otherwise. We see Win and Praw return as celebrated (Bangkok?) lawyers, but so many questions remain unanswered. If the moral of the story was to highlight the futility of fighting a corrupt system, then it succeeded. However, unlike the Korean version, which left viewers with a sense of hope, this adaptation offers little resolution or closure.

Despite its flaws, the Thai adaptation has its strengths. The protagonists are written as genuinely sympathetic, and the actors’ camaraderie on set shines through in their performances. The good guys know when to be ruthless, particularly when acting within the law, which adds to their appeal. Still, the Korean version ultimately comes out ahead for me. While the Thai adaptation held its own for most of the series, the disappointing ending undermines much of what it built along the way.

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A thriller of Culpability

The story kicks off with a mystery of all the teens being forced to play Mafia and is propelled with fear of death and bullying at every point. The deaths themselves become spectacles. All of the head hits are impactful, as are the ones where they throw themselves over the railing. The self strangulation one was too silly, they should have rethought that one. Selfish bullies push people to the edge just as much as the assigned Mafia do. Everyone is forced to be complicit participants in someone's death by voting. Friends turn against one another. Kids blame themselves. The selfish flourish until their time is up. Intrepid asthmatic Yeon Seo analyzes the crime scenes and tries to find clues out of this giant, murderous Mafia themed escape room. Aside from her observational skills, she's also special in that there is a force who wants her to see beyond the code.

Jung Won turns out to be this force, a character designed to win the game and causing discord and murder in the wake of it, decided to lose it to save the two players who became her friends instead. She's the virtual stand-in, the virtual ghost of Se Eun who took her only life from bullying. The intense loneliness being targeted everyone around you is truly suffocating and it may be hard to understand by those who have not experienced it themselves. It doesn't matter what type of reason was used to bully her, it mattered that it was the people's attitude and actions or inactions towards her. Her parents took it upon themselves to kidnap her entire class and use them to mentally and physically hurt each other. There is no legal recourse that would give them justice for the daughter they lost. Yeon Seo gets to see the set up she's trapped in so the parents could find out what made Jung Won go against her programming to help. They are unwilling to see that Jung Won/Se Eun has found the feeling of friendship and loyalty that she didn't have before. Jung Won found a catharsis in the game that the parents are not willing to embrace yet outside of it even though they have engineered the repeated suffering of the key perpetrators and bystanders. Jung Won is reset along with the rest and she was not able to free Yeon Seo by letting the citizens win as Yeon Seo is only able to awaken when the parents allow her to. The kids aren't there to learn a lesson, they are just to suffer indefinitely. I wonder if aside from Jung Won, the other roles are randomized? If Yeon Seo is put into the mafia role, what would she do? Ultimately her morality doesn't matter to her jailers. Even Se Eun is trapped in this virtual hell until her parents can find their way out of their grief.

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Disappointing Drama with Missed Potential

Overall, the drama isn’t THAT awful; it’s watchable, but there are several issues that stood out to me.

First, the format is a real problem. With 80 episodes that are only about 2 minutes long each, it felt like the creators didn’t know how to properly edit the scenes together and just decided to go with this format. The pacing sometimes is too fast, and some scenes feel abruptly cut, which makes it hard to stay engaged.

Second, I struggled to feel any genuine connection between the main characters. They hint at a mutual interest, but they dont show us how they fell in love. It’s as if they just decide to like each other with no emotional build-up or depth.

Third, I cannot understand why r*pe scenes are still being included in 2024. I thought we had moved past that. T
An even has trauma afterward and is afraid of Jin touching him, but the show barely addresses it. There’s one scene that acknowledges the trauma, but then it’s completely ignored for the rest of the series. What makes it worse is that Jin wasn’t even toxic up until that point; he had the potential to become a great character. Honestly, I found An to be more toxic than Jin. An had zero communication skills and refused to talk to Jin, even though Jin repeatedly encouraged him to open up.
Also dont get me started on the side characters, like the Aunt and Uncle.
The story had potential and so did the character BUT they ruined it.

Overall, I wouldn’t recommend this drama, nor would I watch it again. There are just too many issues for me to overlook.

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Excellent Spin-Off!

The spin-off from No Gain No Love! This spin-off really shows how good is the second lead story in NGNL. The whole story is excellent and hilarious. HJH and LSY did a fabulous job playing both character. It's great that they made it just into 2 episodes, rather than a series of boring and pointless story. And apparently, this spin-off also explains the reason how Ja-Yeon fell in love with Gyu-Hyun in the parent series.

Though I think they should add 1 episode. It should contain the ending of the novel, since Ja-Yeon wrote the ending after being together with Gyu-Hyun.

I really recommend it! The story is very light and enjoyable. However, I recommend to watch NGNL prior watching this spin-off, so you can understand why Ja-Yeon really hated Gyu-Hyun so much.

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romanticizes SA

How this TV series passed censorship is a mistery to me. As a short series from Tencent with cold CEO as male lead, I expected something closed to SA or mild SA but this one just got the crown among all. Listening to romantic music while watching the ML corner the FL in a corner or throw her very hardshly against a wall and force kiss after kiss to a very scared FL who cannot move (Very clearly being SA) it just sits so wrong with me and make me question how f**ked up we are as an audience to like this to be in the second position of most viewed series on wetv this week.

The storyline looks great so far. The actors are great too and the picture makes everything eveything an eye candy. except it’s…romanticized SA.

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The Love Game in Eastern fantasy is truly one of the most fantastic dramas of 2024! It's chaotic, energetic, and surprisingly emotional at times, creating a rollercoaster experience for viewers. The graphics and visuals are stunning, really adding to the magical vibe of the show.

The chemistry between the leads is absolutely adorable, and their interactions keep you hooked throughout the story. However, the ending might leave you with mixed feelings—it’s an open ending. If you’re optimistic, you might find it hopeful; but if you think of it differently, it might feel a little bittersweet.

Regardless, this is undoubtedly a must-watch drama of 2024. The storyline, visuals, and performances make it worth every moment. Definitely give it a try!

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A Must-Watch Drama in 2024

I started watching this drama because of Cheng Xiao and Minghao—two of my absolute favorites! Initially, I thought the main couple would be Cheng Xiao and Minghao, but it turns out that's not the case. Cheng Xiao plays a supporting character, but she completely nailed her role and shines just as brightly as the leads. Honestly, her performance is so captivating that she steals the show at times.

The drama has already secured a spot in my top 5 favorites list, right after The Love Game in the Eastern fantasy. It’s currently in 3rd place! My all-time favorite remains Dashing Youth and The love game in Eastern fantasy in 2024 but this one definitely deserves its ranking.

The story and characters are exceptionally well-written, with every detail pulling you into the drama’s world. At first, I thought it might be a BL/GL drama because they emphasize not just the couples' chemistry but also the connections between Cheng Xiao and Chen Duling, as well as Minghao and Jiarui. Honestly, I’m obsessed with the dynamics between Jiarui and Minghao and love their chemistry even more than the actual couples (Minghao and Duling)!

This drama stands out with its strong performances, stunning visuals, and an intriguing plotline. It’s one of those shows that keeps you hooked from start to finish, and every character feels so alive. Definitely worth watching if you're a fan of complex relationships and beautiful storytelling!

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Beautiful

Oh boy, this was an absolute tear-jerker, especially in the last few episodes. The relationship between Geu-ru and his dad was heart-warming already, but it’s given such a perfect arc as we see Geu-ru coming to terms with his grief while he and Sang-gu get closer.

There are parts of this show that really surprised me with how deep it got, and even plot developments that weren’t necessarily new still managed to hit the right emotional beats.

I did enjoy the “case of the week” style and I enjoyed pretty much every single story, but I definitely don’t think any of them were extremely hard-hitting emotionally. Still, the parallels between them and the A-plot was really strong, and if I’m being honest I’d totally watch a sitcom type of show where they just do this every week for the rest of my life. The dynamic of the main trio — Sang-gu/Geu-ru/Na-mu is just THAT good.

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