Reviews

Feelgood and charmingly funny

A «growing up drama» that makes you smile loads and leaves you with a good feeling.

Very brief synopsis:
The female weightlifter Kim Book Joo works towards her goal of joining the national team, living life happily at school with her two close friends on the weightlifting team. She has never been in love, and doesn’t give much thought to boys, until she falls head over heels in love with a handsome guy shielding her from the rain one day. She also gets reacquainted with a former classmate, who is now a handsome swimmer at the same school as her.
We follow her along the journey of how her crush develops, how her friendships tackle it when love comes into the equation, and life itself.

What bugged me:
I was surprised when I found out how old she was supposed to be. I thought she (and her friends) acted extremely childish, so thought they were supposed to be younger.
I wasn’t thrilled with the fake crying, and am no fan of screaming girls.
I didn’t really notice at first, but I guess after halfway or so I started noticing the two main leads had a very big (unrealistically big?) wardrobe. Especially coats and winter jackets - they wore new ones so often!
There was a few times I wondered about shift between day/night time in scene changes.

The positives:
As mentioned first, this is a feelgood drama with funny charm. I found myself smiling and chuckling loads of times.
The cast was good. FL had very rich facial expressions, and ML managed to ooze charm befitting of his character.

The story progresses well, and gives you the necessary breathers. I was very glad they didn’t go overboard with scheming/jealousy/intrigues/sabotaging.

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Ghibli-esque atmosphere, unique story, compelling mystery. A+++ in my books.

I knew from the get go this was going to be good, what with the writer being the same as Moving (2023).

It absolutely did not disappoint. It is confusing in the best way, until it’s not and how validating and satisfying the payoff is!

I mostly cried, was thoughtful, felt understood and profoundly moved by this drama. The acting was for the most part amazing (not a big fan of Seolhyun but eh), especially from Hyunjoo’s actress and of course Ju Jihoon. But they all did amazing. Everything is so important in this, every little detail so well thought, you can only watch with full intention. It felt a little like a Ghibli, because the aesthetics and mood settings are extremely unique and draw you into the plot in a way no drama ever does. I love that the soundtrack is so lowkey. Moments of silence are so important and underrated in nowadays’ productions.

Loved, loved, loved this so much.

Watch it at night, under a heavy blanket, with hot chocolate on a comfortable bed 🫶🏼 You’re in for a treat.

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Honestly, I couldn't help but notice how YH constantly accused DH of faults she was far guiltier of herself.
DH would come home after work to handle house chores and tidy the apartment before she returned, often after grocery shopping. YH was rarely home, and when she was, she would retreat to her studio, leaving him afraid to even watch TV in case it disturbed her. So, because he didn’t want to stay in an empty house, DH met up with his brothers and friends. This dynamic was something YH herself acknowledged, claiming this was a vicious cycle that led them to see each other less and less, though notably this admission came only after she unilaterally gaslighted DH, despite both knowing of her affair, and he pointed out that it’s not as if she was around much either.

YH was often absent as well, I would maybe even say just as much, if not more, than DH. I got the impression that sometimes it was for days, and even involved her coming back after he was asleep. You didn’t see him complaining and gaslighting her about this, the way she did to him. Even when she was at home, she was cooped up in her office. She even missed her own niece's wedding to spend time with her lover, yet DH defended her against his brother's (unfortunately correct) suspicions, insisting he trusted her implicitly. He was clearly hurt that she didn’t even bother to call, which stands in contrast to his routine of calling home after work to check what she needed.

YH's dismissal of her niece as family and skipping the wedding to meet her lover felt shocking, especially considering how the girl's mother supported YH and treated her son like family. Similarly, DH's mother helped raise their child so YH could focus on her career, yet YH was convinced DH should not view his own mother as part of his family. Imagine telling JA that her grandmother was not family. JA's bond with her grandmother mirrored DH's with his mother, both rooted in shared survival after parental loss.

Now, I must admit that I think that the main issue here was DH and YH wanting different things. Notably, he never tried to hide his values, she pretended to go along with it while planning to get into DH’s good graces so that he would distance himself from family and friends, which in my mind seems kind of a love-bombing situation (idealization/devaluation/discard cycle, transactional view of favors, etc. with the expectation that your partner would allow you to manipulate them into changing their core values in return… compare that with DH’s brother paying for JA’s grandma’s funeral without asking or expecting anything in return).

Bottom line, DH accepted YH for how she was, knew that her career was important to her and accepted her absences, which he had to justify them in front of his family, in a way that YH simply didn’t reciprocate when it came to DH’s actions and what was important to him, i.e. his family. I mean, given how she viewed this all as a competition, one could just imagine the abuse she would have put him through had he dared to miss an important family event, due to his job (“do you care about your career more than me?”, etc.).

More than wanting to spend time with DH, YH seemed primarily concerned with preventing him from spending time with others he cared about, driven by jealousy. While these aren’t mutually exclusive, I think that it’s pretty easy to see from her actions where the emphasis lie. She had no problem ignoring DH when she came home and retreating to her office, not to mention her frequent absences (especially toward the end, when she was meeting up with her lover). Even then, she continued to gaslight DH and question his commitment, showcasing a staggering double standard.
If this was not the case, I would say that we would see different behavior from her. While DH admitted to feeling abandoned, he accepted what mattered to YH (her career) and wanted to support her without treating their relationship as a competition. YH, on the other hand, did not reciprocate. Her actions reflected not the desire to spend time together but a determination to control DH and isolate him from others he cared about.

As another example, when DH, despite them both knowing of her betrayal, offered a compromise, YH rejected it without suggesting an alternative, and in general not once did she express a desire to adjust her own schedule to spend more time together (nor did DH ask her to when he suggested meeting her half way, only talking about his own schedule). She showed no empathy for DH’s need for space, even when they both knew of her betrayal, at a time when he had to physically turn away from their apartment when he saw her car outside. All along, her only “solution” involved DH’s complete surrender: cutting himself off from his family and friends, including his elderly mother, whom they had moved closer to support.
DH, feeling lonely in an empty house, sought solace in the company of family and friends. YH, however, seemed to prefer that he remain alone, even in her absence, if it meant he wasn’t with those he loved. She was indifferent to his suffering so long as it prevented him from connecting with others. Her behavior revealed a possessive and controlling view of love, treating it as a competition rather than a partnership.

YH refused to accept what mattered to DH (his family) the way he supported what mattered to her (her career). She saw love as a competition, rather than acknowledging that there are different types, from friendship to familial to romantic love: it’s not as if her love for their child diminished her love for her husband, for example. Her possessiveness was shown also in her behavior with her lover in the first episode, where she attacked him for not constantly calling her, even at the risk of exposing their affair, questioning his commitment in a controlling pattern eerily similar to her dynamic with DH, suggesting to me that her new relationship was likely to end as her marriage did, and probably much earlier (not that he would have married her, anyway, as it turned out).

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ML’s (and his male and female colleagues’) lack of basic housework skills (and the exaggerated marveling and fawning that followed) was quite irritating. Lack of skill is understandable if one is unfamiliar with the work (and I don’t think tasks like knitting should ever be mandatory), but my initial thought was that they should have spent time living alone to develop independence and self-reliance. Yet, I realized that at least his colleagues had, in fact, lived alone, and still, here we are.

That said, by the show’s narrative, ML did more around the house and with the child than most, if not all, the other men in the drama. He was certainly more involved than the other dads, and unlike Yoon-ki or the wife’s lover, ML wasn’t sleeping around behind his spouse’s back or planning to deceive her indefinitely. Yet, him, not them, was the one that was betrayed and lied to. The key difference seems to be that ML chose to marry someone who turned out to be disloyal and untrustworthy, unlike those other men.

Now, FL feeling overwhelmed was clearly an issue, and I’ve already noted that ML’s ineptitude with house chores was frustrating in its own right. But this is a separate issue from the affair, and trying to connect them causally muddies the waters.
It’s a simple non sequitur: having an affair didn’t free up FL’s schedule; if anything, it added more tasks (texting, buying lingerie, planning meetups, etc.), all of which presumably took more time than, say, reading a few pages of a book. Her affair didn’t address the issue, and couldn’t have addressed it even just in principle. And regardless, it would still raise legitimate questions about her values and priorities, especially since she was willing to break her spouse’s trust and lie to him forever.

Moreover, FL didn’t recognize she had too much on her plate herself, and when she did, she actively lied to ML, assuring him everything was fine when he explicitly asked. ML isn’t a mind reader, and so he trusted her words. From what we are shown, he appreciated her a lot, even putting her on a pedestal, essentially thinking she was perfect and flawless (i.e. buying her deception). That was not an accident: FL was not only completely uncommunicative, but deliberately deceptive, explicitly lying to him about there being a problem.

While it would’ve been ideal for ML to notice the problem before FL did and for their common work at home to be rebalanced so that they could handle their common responsibilities without burnout (possibly with help from family, friends, or hired assistance), communication is key when one partner is unaware of an issue. Waiting silently or, worse, as in this case, lying about the problem, is counterproductive. People are not mind readers and they tend to believe their spouses are honest when they tell them stuff.

To me this is just a practical issue. They had shared responsibilities for their home and child, which should’ve been addressed collaboratively, not by betraying trust. Rather than framing it as just “helping out”, I would more accurately frame this as rebalancing their workload to prevent either from feeling overwhelmed. Again, this to me is a concrete, pragmatic question. For example, if FL was a doctor working 10h shift and ML had a freer work schedule, it would’ve made sense for him to take on more housework and childcare compared to her. If they had family, friends, or disposable income, those resources could’ve been leveraged to ease the burden, freeing up both of their schedules.

Ultimately, while we might wish our partners could always anticipate problems we haven’t noticed ourselves, haven’t voiced, or worse, as in this case, that we have deliberately deceived them into believing it did not exist. But that’s unrealistic. People have blind spots and won’t always be on the same page (and often the people closest to us are the ones we are blindsided by, maybe because, as in the case of ML, we trust them implicitly). The solution is to communicate, not deceive. In this case, given that ML already did more around the house than other dads, it’s clear he would’ve been willing to adjust the balance further. With one child (not a toddler) and available resources like supportive family, friends, and disposable income, this problem was eminently solvable.

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if it aint broken dont fix it

I love office romances and I like that this BL used the age-old tropes of boss/employee+enemies-to-lovers (although that was a bit shortlived) and forced proximity/cohabitation.
I think they could've exaggerated the headbutting a bit more when cohabitating and have it mix a bit with work life because for me, the characters acted to cleanly and too well-behaved. Overall I didnt have that many complaints about the story or the pacing considering the amounts of episodes!
I liked the music although sometimes it felt a little bit loud.
The ensemble cast was also fun to watch and the male leads were handsome and had pretty good chemistry!

One big minus point for me though was the big confession scene and backstory reveal in the final episode. The dialogue felt lame, stiff and not realistic. It didn't properly convey the emotions of the characters and the whole drama of SJY finding out the true identity of JHJ ended with a bellyflop instead of a magnificent dive into the inner turmoil of the characters :/

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So, to be honest I am also quite dissapointed with this one.

The storyline definitely had potential and the actors did their job well and fit perfectly. However, I feel like it was not well thought through and somehow lacking.

What bothered me most was that the FL wanted to be just and upright, as her father, but she betrayed her fiancé several times and played with both guy's feelings. Uncool. I know it was supposed to be a love triangle, but it felt so wrong.

The ending was sloppy and a bit random. Most annoying that we don't get what we were made longing for this whole time. Either make her marry her fiancé and be as upright as she wanted to be. Make him change for her or something. OR let her be with the other guy, but I want a certain ending!

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grumpy x sunshine at it's best

this drama was a great surprise and it's my favorite of 2024!
the plot is crazy, but it's a very fun story!
i was very pleased by ding yu xi's acting, and i was really surprised by how good of an actor he is (it was his first work that i watched) and esther is great as usual. their interactions were what made this so special, and the grumpy x sunshine trope was everything!
overall, there were some small issues, but they were not that bad and i managed to watch it in a very short period of time (even when i was studying for my finals lol)! i had a fun time, i liked the characters and they wore STUNNING costumes, for me, that's all i look for in a drama.

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Worst story I've ever seen with the worst ending ever

I would've preferred a different ending where the characters just don't end up with each other. Frankly, hated almost everyone. The FL is stupid as hell for wanting to be with the guy that mistreated and raped her, the guy is stupid as hell for wanting to be with the FL after she cheated on him and had her lover's baby.


The only guy I didn't hate is the FL's ex lover who I felt was the only normal person in the entire story. He has his flaws, but I still kinda liked him or at least didn't hate him.

Won't recommend nor will I ever watch another show from this writer.

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DRAMA HACK: Watch this AFTER Love Game in Eastern Fantasy

This drama has been on my radar but I never got around to starting it. Wound up watching Love Game last month and it left a lot to be desired. The drama hack is to watch Moonlight AFTER you watch LGIEF because then you can just pretend that Ziqi and Miaomiao's relationship just continues in the real world ;P Even the bunny shaped apple slices make an appearance in both!

Actually, in all fairness, I do believe that this drama is good all on it's own. Ding Yuxi is such a dedicated and talented actor. He has one of the most expressive faces in cdramas. While I didn't care for LGIEF story that much, his acting is undeniably great in both of these dramas. You can tell he definitely puts his all into his acting and truly became Zhou Chuan and Mu Sheng. As for Esther Yu, I really love her singing voice and her comedy is always spot on. No one else can deliver the facial expressions that she perfectly nails every time. She just falls short in the emotional scenes in every drama for me. I think it's because she does so well in the funny/silly scenes that I don't take her seriously when she's trying to be sad. But her chemistry with Ding Yuxi is undeniable and I love watching them together all the same.

What surprised me with this drama is how engaging it was. I think what made me procrastinate on watching this was that the story didn't seem that interesting but the reviews were all good. The workplace story wasn't boring to me at all. I had no prior knowledge of the publishing process before and how intense of a job being an editor could be. The writing and pace were both perfect in my opinion. Every character's growth was both substantial and realistic, especially ZC and his father. Their ending scene almost made me cry. The balance between the comedy and romance while also portraying their career stories was done really well.

I also credit the actors for keeping it interesting. ZC starts out as a grumpy, immature introvert but I felt myself siding with him. He hated most people but loved his dog. I think a lot of us are like this! To me, his reasons for disliking the people he did were actually justified because a lot of people in his industry were just trying to take advantage of him. I also really liked that Chu Li came off as sweet & silly but she was actually pretty straightforward, fearless and intelligent. Watching their love grow was so sweet from start to finish. The more you see them together the more it becomes apparent that they are made for each other. When Chu Li is in trouble at work or sad about anything, ZC scrambles to do anything he can to make it right and it's the cutest/sweetest thing. Throughout most of the show ZC is pretty strong and independent when it comes to his career but when the ghostwriting scandal comes up you can see how much Chu Li loves him because she cries more than he does when she sees him breakdown and become sad and vulnerable. Neither of them are perfect people but they really do make a perfect couple.

It's also nice to see that their are no other serious competing love interests for either of them. ZC only has eyes for Chu Li from the beginning and rolls his eyes at any other female attention. Chu Li only gets excited over the small things with ZC and gets so giggly when he does anything for her. Although his best friend seems to find her cute and interesting and openly confesses to wanting to date her, he's really doing it to agitate ZC and scare him into showing his true feelings. Also, Chu Li's reaction is more horror than her being happy or flattered and she quickly tells him she likes someone else.

Side stories: It's very rare that I don't find the side stories boring but I actually didn't fast forward these scenes. They perfectly weaved in Chu Li's efforts at building her career into the story and made it relevant to her relationship with ZC. The second male lead is also lovable and his love story is just as sweet, that and his bromance with ZC. I actually found him more likeable in Moonlight than as Liu Fuyi in LGIEF. He was adorable, caring and way more expressive as Jiang Yu Chueng imo. Liu Fuyi was too stoic for me to really care about.

The ending: The ending was beautifully done as well. I won't go into detail but they did a great job with closing every character's story. I also love that Er Gou stayed a relevant character in every episode and they didn't phase the pet out after some time like I've seen in other dramas. This drama was tasteful, heartwarming and satisfying from start to finish. Definitely recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the two leads and definitely recommend watching it AFTER Love Game in Eastern Fantasy.

-----Favorite moments:
- when ZC gets drunk the night before and Chu Li teases him the next morning, making him think he proposed.
-also the following scene and how mad ZC gets when JYC is confessing to Chu Li
-when ZC finally gets his revenge on Chu Li when she gets drunk the night before and he makes her think they kissed. The scene in the living room is comedic gold and just spectacular acting from both of them.
-ZC & JYC's "big fight". Their friendship is as hilarious as it is endearing.
-ZC internet searching how to apologize LOL
-ZC internet searching how to not break up on vacation LMAO. He's so emotionally inept but his efforts are too adorable.
-ZC is doing research at Yuan Yue and Chu Li tasks him with listening to pitches from new writers. His reaction to the 1st horrible writer had me in tears. Needless to say the task was taken from him after that.

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Not bad at all.

This wasn’t as bad as I expected, I actually quite liked it. The FL felt very relatable in the way that she was conflicted and had low self esteem. A lot of people have felt those same feelings and confusion over relationships and our self worth. With the ML I wasn’t even sure I should root for him, I was as confused as the FL. The 2nd ML was interesting and I really felt for him once his childhood was revealed. You could understand where he was coming from with his actions. The 2nd FL was adorable and even though I was afraid she’d be someone obnoxious she actually turned out to be the most well rounded of the 4.

Theae characters worked on understanding themselves and talked things out, by the end they were a happy dysfunctional family.

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This show was great! Probably one of the best GMM series this year, if not the past couple years.

I almost didn't watch it due to it *not* being listed as LGBT or Gay. In my opinion, the genre should be changed, there is quite a bit more than a bromance between the main leads here, and some of the girls are also a bit sweet for each other. I would say that it has slight elements of LGBT throughout. No kissing or anything like that, but there is hand-holding and lots of sweet gazes and suggestive comments and I love you-s.

There was terrific chemistry here, especially with the main leads, but also with the supporting characters. I think there was more flirting and chemistry in this series than in most of the BL series of the past year! The acting as a whole was terrific.

There was a lot of violence, but the underlying story was good, and it had good character development and for most of characters they didn't leave too many loose ends. I won't say too much, many have commented about elements of the story, so no need to rehash it here other than to say it was unique, and well thought out. It didn't drag, nor did I get bored with this series like I did with other GMM series this past year.

There wasn't much to criticize, there was some very obviously fake rain in a couple places (dry in the background) and the fighting was a bit over the top compared to what injuries they sustained during the fights. But overall this was a pretty well produced and edited series.

Couple of notes:

Saint really does have a cute puppy dog face. Saint and Shin are definitely a couple, and are fooling around with each other. Everyone knows they are a couple, even (or especially) Chatjen. These boys are in denial here.

So is it Ken+Knot, Ken+Nate, or Knot+Ken+Nate in a throuple? Sure seems like there is some sexual tension there in that group.

Jeng has crazy psycho killer eyes here, but is somehow sexy/hot. I sure wouldn't kick him out of bed!

Could they have chosen any taller, larger, and more "Western" looking actor for Ken's dad? Ken sure didn't get any height or skin tone or looks from his dad. Maybe he is the postman's son, and that is why dad is resentful of Ken?

Chatjen was a very interesting and positive addition to this show. Mark did a great job with this part.

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I really really hate useless FLs

I really like the plot tbh. The whole premise of having to undergo 7 love tribulations with an almost stranger is interesting. The lives (2 so far) have been interesting as well.

The men in these series (as with almost every series) are intelligent, charming and borderline scheming which makes for good plot. I originally didn't like the 2nd FL princess as she was overbearing and entitled but i have changed my mind after this 2nd life. I have nothing against the actress for the FL and her acting. But the way they wrote her.... I was internally screaming with frustration. If not for DYX i might have just dropped the show.

*Spoiler*
One of the most useless FLs in the beginning. I really hate it when they write FLs that do nothing but cry. In the first few episodes she even praises herself as a genius. Stupid people who don't know they're stupid are the worst. I'm writing this review in rage after finishing the first 12 episodes.

She had AT LEAST 3 chances to stab the prince. She couldn't even do it right when she finally did. I nearly threw my phone. She threatens to kill herself then proceeds to push the ML away for trying to save her. Not to mention the fact that they're all in that situation because she decided to try and be self-sacrificial for nothing. She went in as a glorified hostage and didn't even exchange her parents' lives for it. Didn't even kill the person who indirectly forced them to take their own lives. Just sat on her little safe pedestal and did absolutely nothing. Girl, what value do you bring to anyone at this point? Just extra motivation for the ML to get himself killed for you. My goodness. His one wish was to marry you and you gave the evil person just that... Like... Imagine someone going "I killed everyone you love so you will only love me" and the girl going "Yes, you killed all my loved ones but i will give you your wish anyway" ???????????

*Rant end*

That said, the music is 100/10. Love all the OSTs!!! The CGI and the costume designers did an absolutely amazing job. One of the prettiest CGI sets I've ever seen. I want it as my desktop wallpaper. The costumes I can't help staring at the intricate details. It's not over the top and clunky like most xianxia costumes. It has a lot of fine details that make it look expensive. The design of their headpieces are amazing!!!

And the other actors and actresses did a good job. I really liked all of them. Even the evil prince dude at least had the determination to see things through until the end. The writers did a horrible job with the main FL... just another damsel in distress drama only worth a casual watch for DYX. Disappointed.

My friend says it gets better so i will continue to watch it for the plot. But i will probably skip all the FL parts from now on. She only pisses me off LOL

TLDR: what could have been a 9/10 or 10/10 drama with amazing set, music and cast was reduced to a mere 5/10 due to the writing.

Edit after watching it in full:
The later episodes are much better even though the writing for the FL is inconsistent. Her personality changes throughout each of her 'lives' while Chu Kong's doesn't even through the memory losses. The villain was also very one-dimensional and wasn't a complex character. Otherwise, I really like the FL as Cang Hai. She was a badass who knew what she wanted and went for it. I think apart from the 2nd life, the subsequent scenarios weren't too bad. It is still a casual watch for me. I will 10/10 go back for the beautiful CGI scenery and OST moments. The funny bits were also quite well written. The actors and actresses did a really good job! My fav would be the 3rd life - it was funny and Chu Kong's sect leader costume looks amazing on him even though i skipped most of the dumb misunderstanding moments.

There are quite a few rewatchable moments in this show but i still think it's a pity that the writing for a few of the parts are lacking i skipped quite a bit of the 2nd pair's arc. This could have been a 10/10 drama if the storyline details were more ironed out and less draggy in some areas.

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