Reviews

This Was Going To Be My Favorite K-BL Of All Time

I loved this series so much. From the characters to the story and the overall plot. It was simple yet so well done... until the ending.

Though the story was simple, it completely sucked me in from the beginning. I was invested in the characters and story from the first episode. I spent week after week enjoying every minute of this show.

There are not many ways to write an office romance that is new, fresh and not cliché. Even though this series did not stray from what we have seen before, the story was still well written. So was the plot and the main characters. I could relate to Seunghyun and loved watching him take on being an intern. His best friend was awesome and so was his fellow intern.

I loved watching the romance between Seunghyun and his boss unfold. Them falling in love, starting to date, having fights and misunderstandings and just dealing with the fact that they were intern and boss was so enjoyable and then the finale.

This series started off so strong but it's finale was such a letdown. It left me feeling disappointed because of how oddly mediocre it was. It's like the writers didn't know how to end the series. This resulted in them delivering a rushed unsatisfying finale. This show was going to be may favorite K-BL but just because of that ending, I doubt that I'll ever watch it again.

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Deceptively honest story about loneliness.

This drama took me by surprise, I had no real expectations going in outside of it just being a fairly light and fun romance drama. However, it turns into an incredibly relatable and deceptively complex story that does an incredible job tapping into emotions and feelings that I think most of us have experienced at one time or another.

The prevelant theme of this season is loneliness, manifesting itself in a variety of different ways across the main cast of characters, who find themselves experiencing and dealing with their loneliness in their own way. Some doing it more destructively than others.

Very strong performances from all the female leads (Yoshikawa Ai as Yuki is billed as MC, but scarcely has story for at least half of the shows episodes). I especially enjoyed the slightly unhinged performance by Saito Nagisa as Takahashi Yua, and Yanai Yumena as Maya Moe; who for me was the star of the show.

Very excited to being Season 2!

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The goods : compelling plot, great actors , great cinematography
The bads : very slow pacing. Could’ve been a movie. Not thrilling enough.
I couldn’t understand the reasoning behind characters behavior for the life of me. Everyone suffer from severe psychological issues. I wished they went deeper into characters past so we know why they are the way they are. They tried with Joo Ran character but Im still confused. How her sister died? Was she murdered? If so who killed her? How does this effect Joo Ran? What about the highschool girl? Was she really pregnant? Why she contacted the son first? Why was she acting like that? Why was Dr.Kim a psycho ? too many un-answered questions.
I dont pay attention to OSTs so I made the score up

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La Pluie is a show for the mature bl audience

Let me just say this upfront because there seems to be some confusion in the reviews here: the most important thing to understand about this show is that it is not, in fact, a soulmate romance, but rather a direct subversion and dismantling of the soulmates trope. La Pluie is a brilliant little show with tight writing and clearly laid out themes, and most viewers who are disappointed with it seem to be reacting more to what they wanted the show to be rather than what is actually is.

This is a show about the importance of choice and putting in the work in your relationships. It’s a rebuke of romantic fantasies that fate and destiny will take care of your love life. It is directly in conversation with the romance genre and the way it can warp our perspectives on love. There are no villains in this story - just good people trying their best and sometimes making mistakes anyway. It emphasizes that we need to communicate and treat our partners with respect. And it says that while some kind of fate may be at work to give us opportunities in life, what we choose to do with those opportunities is what actually matters.

The show is excellent - writing, story, pacing, directing, editing are all confident with no real wobbles. There are some less experienced players in the cast but the acting is all around up to the demands of the script. Pee and Suar in particular are very impressive and really rise to the occasion when the time comes for their characters to light up the screen. The romantic pairs also have fantastic chemistry and the show makes the intimacy scenes an important part of the relationship development - there is no fan service or fluff in this show.

This show is really meant for a mature audience that wants to think more deeply about its themes, and that can handle emotionally mature characters who tend to resolve things via quiet conversation rather than high drama. It’s not the typical fluffy bl that a lot of the audience prefers, so I’m not surprised that it didn’t resonate for everyone. But if these themes are of interest to you, and if you are someone who likes to see couples actually be in relationship with each other and work through their issues, I cannot recommend it highly enough.

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"My Tommorow, Your Yesterday."

Watching Chinese dramas for a couple of years finally makes you realize what exactly is wrong with the plethora of them released every month: there is little to no uniqueness in many of their productions or even if it did hold up for a while, they somehow manage to make me lose interest halfway through.
For a country that is far behind when it comes to changing their game or shying away from neat finales, An Ancient Love Song satisfies all that I wanted: a no-nonsense story that sticks to its logic to the very end.
So, if you are looking for some regular, well paced drama with sweet fluff, this one might not be for you. "Reverse timelime" is quite serious. Meaning you know the ending before it even began.

An Ancient Love Song reminded me strongly of the Japanese movie, "Tomorrow, I Will Date Yesterday's You." Or the alternate title which is the same as my review's.
Both of them deal with the concept of reverse timelines, although, AALS is anchored to a plot with an objective: fighting your destiny.

Shen Bu Yan, a professor/writer, has released a hit novel he had written based on the few evidences and relics left behind regarding the "Kingdom of Sheng". Unfortunately, when he is pressured to write a sequel about the leading character, an obscure Demon Queen who plundered the Kingdom to ruins, inspite of lack of further information, he hits a dead end. While pondering about the future of his tale, he dreams of the so called Demon Queen and finds that he has time travelled to the past.
Whats more? Lu Yuan, the Demon Queen herself seems to be waiting for him.

While trying to piece together the truth of the events, Shen Buyan discovers that he plays a far greater role in determining Lu Yuan's fate… and that he was stuck in a reverse timeline. He decides to attempt to change destiny.

☆ The Story/Characters/Acting:
I have to mention, I felt that the writers messed up the timeline a bit: it's stated that he meets Lu Yuan after every 10 years into her past. Meaning that there is no way he could've met her at 21 and then at 18 again.
The run time of almost 25 to 30 minutes per episode was well utilized. The story did not stray away from the main leads and their missions.

Setting this aside, the story has a solid plot with strong characters, albeit not having many of them.
Lu Yuan is definitely the star of the show: Zhang Ya Qin manages to portray every single emotion convincingly. From the naive 18 - year - old to the 36 - year - old Empress, she did not falter. The scenes were she grieved for the dead were particularly striking.
Her character was a person of her own, intelligent, powerful and sharp.

Although Shen Bu Yan falls on the silent side of the crowd, I liked him as a person. Though, I would like to know who chose his wig in ancient times - he reminded me of the second senior in Love and Redemption.

The romance was just pure. [I can't find the right words to describe what I felt.] It's not overly passionate, but sincere and gentle. The time reversal does leave us with an unpleasant feeling once we lay down everything from both the leads' point of view, but it is this very feeling that makes the couple one who are not easily forgettable. If you have seen 'My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday', you might get a feeling of deja vu at times.
The secondary couple had little time onscreen, but even the focus on them did not appear annoying.

The supporting cast were strong enough to appear believable and invoke emotions to varying degrees.

In a way, all the characters were tragic in their own right. Though, I found the portrayal of Prime Minister Li Yong's pivotal moments lacking. The time skip of 10 years into the past left several voids in the storytelling -- we are 'told', but never shown how things came to be. One another downside of seeing the story through Shen Bu Yuan's eye's.

☆ Soundtrack/Visuals:
After seeing some flamboyant dramas such as Till the end of the Moon, AALS doesn't have much. But, it did not really matter to me as the story was the one that had me hooked. The OST was plain simple. And the title An Ancient Love Song did not even strike until the end of the series.

Kudos to the bilibili video editor who is the reason why this drama exists. I hope other studios are inspired by this and start making content with quality and not quantity.
All in all, I will recommend this to anyone who seek something unique, romantic yet unfluffy, frustrating yet logical, and entertaining, yet emotional tale of love, loyalty and loss.

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Truly a rare find ! Don't ever miss watching it

I stumbled upon this rare gem of a drama by accident and started watching it. As the show moved on I found it so intesresting and facinating. It was written so thoughtfully and one could not have asked for a better writing.

Both Zhao Lu Si and Chen Zhe Yuan had lived the part actually. It is my first time watching them and their expessions were so good. It felt like I was watching something so precious. I started missing the show so much after it ended. The brother character (Sang Yan) by Victor Ma was also exceptional.

Once you are done with the show the hangover from it is so heavy that surely we will want to rewatch it many times. True drama lovers will never want to miss this gem of a show. The OSTs were so good. They suited the drama very well and captured the feel of the show aptly.
So glad I watched this show and watching it for the first time is an experience which will never come back. Amazing story and acting! Wish the dream team will do more shows together.

This is the one show where I could give full ratings without even thinking. It was that good.

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my fav novel became my fav drama ♡

Words are not enough to express how much I love this drama.
I am very excited every time I get new news about the making of this drama until it is broadcast and until it ends.

Before the filming process for this drama, I had finished reading the original novel, so I know how the author carefully arranges an innocent puppy love story to turn it into an adult love story.

I am very satisfied with the drama's cast, all of them are very suitable, especially Zhao Lusi as Sang Zi, Chen Zheyuan as Duan Jiaxu, and Victor Ma as Sangyan.

I'm glad that this drama is following the original novel, with a perfect story, a very beautiful ost, and a cast that fits the characters. I would say Hidden Love is one of my favorite dramas of all time!♡

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I expected more

Let say first that I`m dissapointed!
I expected more and it was torture for me to watch this series till the end. To be honest, i dont know what good to say about Step by step. First, i didn`t like the main couple. Pat and Mr. Jeng were handsome and all, but have zero chemistry (my opinion), they weren`t good for each other. I like Put more and feel sorry for him. Yes, he made a mistake in the past, but was more for Pat than Mr. Jeng. Second - i thought that Jaab and Jen will be together at the end. Jaab didnt have a chance to apologise or express his feelings to Jen. We saw one kiss between them and that is all! Third - Pat`s facial expression really annoys me. The actors fake crying all the time, especially Pat. They should play their roles better.
The plot was boring, the episodes was longer than should. Zero chemistry between the actors.
I gave 6 stars because of the happy ending and for Up.

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revolting lakorn you should avoid at all costs!

legitimately the worst, most infuriating lakorn i've ever watched. maybe i should have known when the first 1.5 minutes made me wonder if i had pressed play on the wrong episode that the budget and pacing were not going to wow me, but still, i persisted. well, that was a mistake, because i remained disgusted from around ep 10 onwards, and by the end i hated EVERY SINGLE character in this whole show, except possibly ji, and maybe even her too.

you can ignore a lot of absurd plot holes for the sake of a fun story, but this one pushed the boundaries of stupidity at every turn. you won't BELIEVE how dumb these people are. you will guess the twist around episode 3. meanwhile, the MC's don't guess the twist even after they see a VIDEO OF IT!

never getting over the ML cruelly gaslighting FL about her own twin sister's GRUESOME abuse and likely murder, even after he himself sees his brother's domestic violence on tape. this moronic coward isn't even called to action by his own complicity in sa's death, that she had asked ML for help and he turned her away. this man should have been broken, groveling, on his knees, for the rest of his life. the police chief too—gaslighting and ignoring evidence. prejudice against a crime victim....because of something that happened with your mom 20yrs ago? this man should have handed in his badge.

but the ML's treatment of the FL, was particularly repulsive. yes—even for a lakorn. i am NOT easily offended, in fact i actually enjoy toxic tropes on the regular, but this was a travesty. i was yelling at my screen and not in a fun way. this show DOES NOT treat these heavy topics (domestic violence, the silent struggles of women in a misogynistic world) with the respect they deserve. i really thought this show was trying to bait us somehow—that ML was treating FL this way for her own good in a noble idiocy type of way, but nope! even after repetitive bland plot and repetitive bland performances by every actor, i was still giving this show far too much credit and it kept getting worse. ML didn't have a character, he did whatever the script needed him to do in order to move the plot along. FL had zero backbone and consistency, and was doling out forgiveness—to the dregs of humanity around her—like it was on sale at the dollar store.

never before wanted a lead couple to end up together less than here. i wanted her to pack her sh*t and fly to another continent to escape these lunatics.

hellish. i will never get these 17 hours of my life back.

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Be ready for a comprehensive script and excellent actors everywhere

Spreading its unique, quite appealing, and in places wittily pointed charisma, "Delightfully Deceitful" surprises with a multi-layered crime fiction, that is set in the milieu of people with extraordinary talents and qualities. Even if the poster may suggest otherwise: it is not a romantic comedy. However, "Delightfully Deceitful" does neither shy away from a little comedy here and there, nor from finely nuanced emotions.

At the beginning there are the personality portraits and relationship dynamics of a bunch of (because of their distinct peculiarities) 'a-social' contemporaries, who as such being colorfully thrown together eventually form a group of their own. With time, though, the plot of the crime story unfolds, raising once more the question of whether law&order have anything to do with justice; or isn´t vigilantism more promising?  In any case, the story revolves around organized crime, unscrupulous villains, malicious fraud and a lot of money.

Nevertheless, there is this bunch of idiosyncratic, unconventional, angular chessmen on the chessboard. Regardless of whether they are psychopathic, sociopathic or hopelessly empathetic, they are all rarely black or white, yet mostly in rich shades of gray. In any case, with their talents they are beyond the social average. While the KDrama could very well surface along at high speed, with a cool and casual esprit, it eventually comes along with a pleasantly profound grounding, since the socio-psychological premise , that we humans are inevitably social beings, swings the baton in the background. The thing is: we want to belong.
Exposure, stigmatization and exclusion also lead to the realization that the rules of the others do not apply to me. This might become associated with some kind of freedom. It also leads to a feeling of loneliness. Yet, the feeling of loneliness inevitably causes humans to slowly but surely wither away. No matter if it may be considered a gift or a burden, stigmatized individuals have to develop a emotional strategy for themselves in order to escape the sometimes more and sometimes less obvious psychological strain. That’s tough for grownups, let alone children...

This premise is handled from different perspectives. Additionally, the KDrama dares the balancing act of mixing this psychodynamic issue with no less complex interwoven crime fiction. Thus, in terms of the genre, the story may initially sail along in foggy realms, but over time the view becomes clearer.

"Delightfully Deceitful" has a well blended mix of spices to offer. Over 16 episodes it is always exciting, intense, opaque, emotional, also dark, sometimes two-fisted. Additionally: Be ready for a comprehensive script and excellent actors everywhere.

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somthing is missing

Beautiful storyline with lite storyline.. they have best chemestry. Some things are missing in this drama i really can not point out it. But i fell somthing is off.. i think tht is the reason for this is under rated.. but actully both male leads chemestry was real best and they made us feel.. but the way story written somthing is missing... i mean the way story build up is kind of fail.. and the way they confess also boring. And thire chemestry gone down little vit after that... it would be intresting if they add more romance and cute parts without suddenly dead of grandmother etc et. I mean itz not good timing. And i dont like that flight missing part too actually it is unessosry becoz this is mini drama.. it would be ok if this has more episodes.. i want more romance dude ?

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An epic!!

A must watch drama
It will made u realise the dreams are more important than love...
I too deny the the fact that they break up atleast but till it will show how life moves on..
So i highly recommend you to watch this drama...
Be ready with ur tissue becoz it will flow like a riverr...
Not everyone deserves an happy ending
Now about the second lead...
It will bee soo cute to watch their scenes... And they will last forever
And about friendship shared btw the mains will be awesome...
And the director didnt miss anything its an complete packagee....
Never ever give up on ur dreams...
What we gained from this story:
Even though life puts you in difficult situation there will be someone who motivates us even in that situation and they will be reason for your success..... But sometimes we have leave that person for their happiness and one we only have memories to cherish and its enough
Chemistry between the leads:
It will bring butterflies in our stomach
Conclusion :
If you have loosed your hope give this drama a try and you will filled with hopes

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