Completed
Dangerous Romance
1 people found this review helpful
Nov 5, 2023
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 6.5
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 5.0
This review may contain spoilers

A Windless Windmill

The title Dangerous Romance is very much an oxymoron. There's nothing dangerous about the romance in this drama unless you want to very loosely connect it to the fact that it's an enemies to lovers story. It's Thai title, Heart in the Wind, is far more suitable and poetic. The name aside though, Dangerous Romance is a fairly fluffy drama with a few doses of angst and a touch of drama towards the end to spice things up. It's not complicated, it doesn't break the mold, but it's fun and I was mostly entertained by it.

The drama follows the fairly common enemies to lovers trope. Kanghan is the school's rich boy bully whereas Sailom is the school's scholarship whiz kid. Predictably and quickly, the two clash and then fall in love. Too quickly for my taste. Kang and his friends aren't just your garden variety bullies. They're not only physically abusive, but Kang takes things several steps farther by threatening Sailom's jobs and even takes a gun, albeit not a loaded on, to threaten him with at his home. However, when Kang saves Sailom from getting beaten up by debt collectors, suddenly all the issues between them dissipate and their relationship starts to develop. While Kang does acknowledge and take ownership of his actions, he never really faces any consequences for them and it all gets swept under the rug so to speak. Given how Sailom was willing to stand up to him, it felt a bit out of character that he so easily forgave Kang. Their romance, while at times a tad dramatic, is never dangerous. There's nothing forbidden about them being together, there's no impression that either of their families would object, and while they do have several instances where they're in danger, it's not because of their love. Aside from the first and last couple of episodes, the rest was mostly filler. Kang's moment of teenage rebellion lasts a couple episodes in the middle but doesn't really accomplish anything other than some very slight character development and a few sweet moments. The plot line with Name and his boss and cronies at the end was very nonsensical and generally just a mess. As a side note, the series is rife with tropes, from having actually met when they were younger to the accidental falls to the ever present sponge bath and on it goes. The pacing left something to be desired. The beginning was fairly fast paced, but quickly mellowed and became almost laggy at points before picking up again in the last couple of episodes. Part of the issue was the number of time jumps. It make things seem like they were happening faster than they were, like the development of Kang and Sailom's relationship.

I struggled with Kang's character in large part because there were aspects that made no sense. He clearly started developing feelings for Sailom early on, and then quite suddenly seemed to be torn between his feelings for Sailom and the sudden development of his feelings for Pimfah. Now whether he actually had feelings for Pimfah or he just didn't want to acknowledge his feelings for Sailom and so was deflecting, who knows. Regardless, it didn't work and was confusing to watch because up until that point, we'd had no indication that he viewed Pimfah as anything more than a friend. Similarly, after Saifah confessed to killing Kang's father, Kang distanced himself from Sailom and was, at times, quite cruel to him, despite obviously still caring about him. When he and Sailom reconcile, he tells him that he never wanted to leave him, etc., etc., however, no one ever forced them apart, it was his decision. There's also the underlying current that his family life and the issues with his father somehow justify his bullying others. It does not and it didn't sit well with me how quickly his actions were overlooked. And once he and Sailom did get together, he was almost too sweet. I would have liked a better balance between the sweetness and the bad boy persona he had. Sailom was enjoyable just for his razor sharp tongue. He had some fantastic comebacks to Kang's bullying which immediately increased his appeal. I appreciated how he stood up for himself and his friends and refused to back down. Some of his sass though was lost once he and Kang got together. There were moments where I expected him to fight for their relationship, but instead he just moped. In general, his character just became less compelling as the story progressed.

As side characters, I really enjoyed Auto and Guy. They were good, solid friends for Sailom and I enjoyed their interactions. Max and Nawa left me with mixed feelings because while I did enjoy the development of Guy and Nawa's relationship, neither character ever acknowledged their part in the bullying started by Kang other than to joke about it. I would have liked to see them owning up to what they did rather than it, again, just be swept aside. Pimfah was generally likable, although her inexplicable crush on Sailom came out of nowhere and was so quickly resolved that it felt almost pointless. Saifah left me feeling a bit frustrated, because he was obviously not dumb and yet some of the things he did made no sense. The hinted feelings between him and Name were sweet, but ultimately left underdeveloped and not needed. Same with Pimfah and Napdao. Kang's grandmother was a queen and I'm so glad they didn't kill her off as I was afraid they would. She was one smart cookie and I really appreciated how even though she loved Kang and clearly doted on him, she also didn't just brush aside his misdeeds and she didn't just view him through rose colored glasses. Kang's father, on the other hand, was a disappointment. His reasoning for how he was raising Kang was incredibly weak and he just came across as someone with weak character. I will admit that I did cheer when he showed up to Kang's football game though, if for no other reason than it made Kang so darn happy.

Perth and Chimon are both incredibly talented actors, but this was not their best work. Their chemistry lacked consistency and there were more than a few awkward scenes. The kissing scenes in particular just did not work and were almost uncomfortable to watch. Chimon also seemed to struggle with several of the more emotional scenes where he had to cry. It felt forced. The acting wasn't bad, I've just seen stronger performances from both.

There were several episodes that were unnecessarily flashback happy. I'm generally fairly ambivalent towards the sound effects used, but there were instances where they really didn't fit and stood out. The wind/windmill analogy was cute the first time or two, but then just got repetitive thereafter. One thing I did like though was the costuming, particularly the school uniforms. While not shabby, you could definitely tell that the scholarship kids' uniforms were older and less pristine. It added a dimension to the characters that was appreciated. I also liked the music, particularly the theme song although it was overused per the usual. I liked it enough though that it didn't get too annoying.

Based on the trailer for Dangerous Romance, I was expecting far more from it than I got. I was expecting it to be more fast paced and, based on the title as well, to have more at stake. Instead, it turned out to be a fairly generic piece of fluff that, while entertaining, didn't give anything deeper. It's underlying theme, Do you think all people are equal? poses an interesting and compelling question, but ultimately doesn't give a particularly satisfying answer. Nevertheless, if your expectations aren't too high and you go in with an open mind, you may find it to be a pleasant diversion.

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Completed
Arthdal Chronicles: The Sword of Aramun
25 people found this review helpful
by Jeana
Nov 5, 2023
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 9
Overall 2.0
Story 3.0
Acting/Cast 6.0
Music 6.5
Rewatch Value 1.0

The stupidest drama award of 2023 goes to … you guessed it right: Arsedal Dumbronicles

Character Consistency? Who. Logical Storytelling? Who. Emotion, heart and substance? Who.
I feel so disappointed, that we have to get into it.

❌ Acting:
I have said it before and I’ll say it again- Lee Joon Gi and I vibe. I think he is a better actor than SJK, does killer action scenes, has a lot of range and knows how to play complex and dynamic characters. That said, he sucked absolute ass playing a dual role in this drama.

Oh, don’t get me wrong, the man acted more than some actors will in their entire careers. He made all the right faces, all the right moves and you could see how hard he was working. Yet, it was like he accidentally brought Moon Lovers’ script with him and played the Fourth Prince for 12 episodes straight and nobody said anything,

Because whatever LJG played was definitely NOT Eun Seom or Saya. He played his own characters that lacked the essence of the ones we saw in the previous three seasons. I mean sure he didn’t have much to work with because the writing of the season was absolute trash but still- his Eun Seom and Saya were the exact same people. There was no difference at all and it was just annoying to watch. They knew it too which was why they just yeeted Saya out of the script and called it a day.

Other than that, we had Shin Se Kyung, I don’t wanna talk much about her cause the thought of her acting makes me wanna stab myself with a chopstick. She’s one of the worst actresses alive and this writer duo keeps giving her strong female characters to play which she effectively dumbs down with a portrayal that mostly consists of her wide eyed and sputtering like a fish outta water. The rest of the actors were good but really, when the two main leads who are constantly stuffed in our faces are so meh, what’s the point?

❌ Writing:
This has to be some of the worst writing done by these usually awesome writers. It’s abnormally bad. The characterization completely goes to shit in this season. Saya, who was arguably the most loved character of the first three seasons, becomes as useless as a doormat and has major side character energy. They completely dumbed him down and made him act like a cowardly weasel who keeps running from his enemies. I was so so so frustrated because it was like they wanted to effectively break all of his fan following so they could champion Eun Seom and make him a convincing hero considering he was Beta as hell in the first three seasons.

Speaking of Eun Seom, they decided to shove him down our throats as this overpowered God who was one-note as fuck, could never lose, was suddenly Machiavelli in a wig, hardened and ruthless as Inaishingi- which as we all know is a complete 360 from what his character was supposed to be. I really came to dislike Eun Seom because I didn’t connect with him at all. They killed his emotions and stuffed him with one dimensional heroism which was boring to watch after a while. All the rest of the characters were on some spectrum of dumb to dumber and lacked basic sense.

The best character was undeniably still Taealha- the vicious, tigress of a queen and mother. She’s the only person interesting to watch. It’s funny to me how the villains had more heart and emotion than the good guys who were just robotically going from one battle to another with surface level feelings.

❌ Lore:
What lore, really? They just made up whatever they wanted to. The prophecy that was driving the whole shitshow came into being with the most underwhelming climax of all. They totally ditched it last minute and added new stuff that frankly, insulted the audience’s intelligence.

❌ Direction:
Let’s be honest, the direction wasn't great as well. The previous director jumped ship and without him they never landed on their feet again. I hated the editing and abrupt cutting in this one and the camera work for a production this big was just average. That’s not to say the cinematography and special effects weren’t good, cause they were - especially with the fight scenes, it is to say that as far as scenic shots are concerned, none of them were good enough to be memorable. They focused too much on the fight and gore to really give a shit about anything else. Also I can’t believe that they decided to put an English song and used it as OST for literally a historical show based on the early civilizations of Korea. Make that make sense.
Every time it dramatically started playing as one ancient warrior slashed another ancient warrior, I stopped taking this shit seriously.

✅ The Good Stuff?
Honestly, there wasn’t much. The hype action scenes were exciting, yes. The strategies and politics were slightly interesting but they dragged way too much. Taealha kicked ass as always and the instrumental was good. It was fun to watch the gorgeous and talented LJG do his thing even if he was completely out of character for the roles he was playing and I sincerely believe his talents got wasted on this script.

❌ Other than that, this was a waste of time. I get that there were a lot of hiccups, I get that the time was short with only 12 episodes and I get that there were new actors but honestly, if you know all of these things, then you should be focusing on a few important themes than just overstuffing the drama with plot lines and hype scenes with no real substance.

I think this is one of those very few shows that had such a big budget and a lead actor that I absolutely love with so many strong female characters and still ended up being a complete basket case.

100% Jeana Disapproved
#JusticeForSaya

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Completed
I Feel You Linger in the Air
1 people found this review helpful
Nov 5, 2023
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 5.5
This review may contain spoilers

Albeit the Slower than usual Pace, The Chemistry is Chemistrying

From the pilot we knew this was gonna be a brawler to some extent and there were expectations for the series given the casting of seasoned actors for the lead characters.

What I liked about this series was the beautiful cinematography, dialogue and pace (which was slower than usual and reflective of the pace of life then), the impeccable acting by Nonkul and Bright (never heard of them before this series), and the character designs. Majority of the characters were likeable, even with their flaws. The main leads truly hard carried this series, but the supporting cast and characters were equally amazing (albeit some awkward acting by the extras in the market scene). I have never seen an actor (Nonkul) act coy so well (without being cringe) and Bright was able to pull off that innocent yet hungry look effortlessly.

And their hands! The way they moved their hands during the intimate and emotional scenes, the choreography and their hands need an Oscar. The chemistry between the two main leads was sensuous, genuine and natural, and beautiful to watch. The main characters feed off each other and together made each other whole; when one was weak the other was strong, when one was lost the other led. It's been a while since I've seen such great chem and acting in BL (in general). There was also notable effort put into set design, costume and even CGI, to give us good production quality.

While the choice of music was rather predictable, I'm thankful there was no overuse of the theme song which can get irritating by the time viewers reach mid-point of the series. The plot line and character designs were also good, except for maybe ep 10 and 11, where there was some in-congruence in character (Yai, and his mother).

What could've been better for me was the context setting and ending. I thought more effort could have been put into building up the 1920s universe, especially since this could be interesting for international fans who may not be familiar with Thai history and way of life. That context setting would've also helped understand the impact created by Jom. The ending also needed some damn explanation... I hope they help put a proper conclusion to the series with a special edition. *Spoiler* and personally I don't really want to go further back in time...

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Completed
Handsome Siblings
0 people found this review helpful
Nov 5, 2023
44 of 44 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 8.5
This review may contain spoilers

Xiao Yu’er

I had low expectations given the reviews, but I was pleasantly surprised. The cast and the “handsome siblings” won me over, even if the storyline wasn’t that stellar.

I’d have to say that this drama made me a fan of Chen Zhe Yuan. I saw him in Hidden Love and was shocked he was the same actor portraying Xiao Yu’er, which he nailed. Depending on the situation, his facial expressions were expressively spot on, especially towards the latter episodes.

The story could have been stronger and the drama shorter to make this story more fast paced, but regardless, I enjoyed watching it for the bromance between the two brothers. It started it well, got slow in the middle, and finished strong in the end.

The good
- Chen Zhe Yuan as Xiao Yu’er
- bromance between the brothers
- well choreographed martial arts
- Yan Nan Tian’s comeback
- Su Ying’s smarts that rival Xiao Yu’er’s

The bad
- could have been condensed into 30 more substantial episodes
- storyline could have been stronger
- Tie Xin Lan’s character started off tough and capable but somehow just became weak and helpless

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Completed
When I Fly Towards You
1 people found this review helpful
Nov 5, 2023
24 of 24 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 8.0

O maior feito da China

Chorei que nem uma cadela carente nesse cdrama. Os vlogs da Zaizai são a coisa mais linda e o fato que ela documentou todos os momentos especiais durante a vida dela mexe muito comigo. Todos os momentos inesquecíveis, as despedidas no pôr do sol, as aventuras inesperadas com os amigos, o cuidado com eles mesmos, o Guan Fang, a escola, o vestibular, a faculdade, estágio, emprego... me fez questionar se estou realmente vivendo o presente da minha juventude. A cinematografia é linda e eu amei ver a trajetória do Rangrang se apaixonando aos poucos por ela.
Não dei 10 porque eu merecia mais da Jiang Jia com o Gu Ran, muito lindos????
enfim, se consolidou o pedido de casamento mais lindo dos doramas.
"Quando conheci você, eu passei a ficar ansioso pelo dia seguinte."
Saudades do meu quinteto já!! ??

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Dropped 1/8
Color Rush Season 2
0 people found this review helpful
Nov 5, 2023
1 of 8 episodes seen
Dropped 0
Overall 7.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 2.0

I did not want to give this ratings, as it would be unfair, so ignore that and read the review only.

I did not really attempt to watch this, and I got through episode one and had a feeling that YooHan would not be here. And reading the other reviews, it seems I was right. The main reason I had wanted to watch season2, was entirely because I wanted to watch YooHan and YeonWoo's relationship develop, while solving the mystery of the disappearances.

While the mystery bit seems to be present, YooHan is not. And that is a huge no for me since there was no point for me to continue watching if not for their relationship. S1 left me hanging as I did not feel romantic sparks from them and I came for s2 for that, albeit there was sparks in s1 but I couldn't really say they were very romantic per se. I gave it a 7 so it doesn't affect the overall ratings that much.

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Completed
Immortal Samsara: Part 1
0 people found this review helpful
by solace
Nov 5, 2023
38 of 38 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 7.0

Painfully beautiful

Yandah, oh, Yandan. My heart ache for you. My heart ache for Yumo. My heart ache for Zhaolan. But for some reason I can't feel pity for Yingyuan nor Tangzhou.

I love this. I love the characterization of every characters. The story unfolds made me understand why some characters are like that. I think my only complain is the filler scene of Zilin and that fox princess. To be honest, I skipped their story since I think it was unnecessary to the main plot.

I will start part 2 right away!
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Completed
Color Rush
0 people found this review helpful
Nov 5, 2023
8 of 8 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.5
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 6.0

A bit of a letdown

So I went headfirst into this series after watching beautiful edits, and obviously having pretty high expectations. Unfortunately, it did not end up as good as I had thought it would be.

The 8 episodes did not give it enough time to flesh out their 'Mono n Probe' relationship, and I felt like the love they claim to have, is not entirely clear whether it stems from obsession, or curiosity, or just because they believe it is their fate. There was no clear feelings of romance between the 2 leads, and I thought what came the closest to being romance would be when Probe was teaching Mono about colours, again is that really romantic?

I wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt, thinking that it would develop more before the end, but it never really did.

I do give it that the settings of the story is quite interesting, and the actors are fitting for their parts. But it was very rushed, and many scene was choppy and lacking congruency.

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Completed
I Feel You Linger in the Air
9 people found this review helpful
by sosopi
Nov 5, 2023
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

Maybe every single BL series will suck from now on

I started watching this series when it got released, ever since the first ep, I have never read the novel and neither watched previous trailers, just started watching because I thought the title was very poetic. Because of that I wasn't caught up on the hype around this series, that made me watch it with pretty much zero expectations and it was an amazing and beautiful surprise.
99% of the series is set in the late 1920's and yet the discussions that were brought up are still relevant nowadays, such as homophobia, sexism and social inequalities, even though these topics were never directly named throughout the series.
Every episode is an emotional rollercoaster, with perfect balance between light and heavy scenes, and even the heavy ones are displayed with a tragically beautiful sensibility. The actors brought to life such complex feelings with their expressions, that most of the time no lines were necessary to makes us guess what's going on inside the characters' mind.
I fear it'll take a long time until another BL series tops I Feel You Linger in the Air's plot, acting, music, (the soundtrack goes accordingly to the historical moment the series is set and no one pulls out a guitar out of nowhere and starts singing out of tune), simply everything about this is beautiful!
Time travel and lovers in different lives are such a cliché plot, yet this series works with it in a very smart way and it's totally worth it to watch the one hour long episodes. I'm eagerly waiting for a second season!

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Completed
Scent of Time
3 people found this review helpful
by Kiie
Nov 5, 2023
30 of 30 episodes seen
Completed 2
Overall 7.0
Story 5.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 1.0

Mixed feeling with this drama

I love this drama enough to write a review for it.
Perfect score for the acting. Story pacing was also great, OST was also amazing too. I dont hate secondary couple, for me they are not annoying, acting is superb for everyone, especially for ZY and WXY.
And I can say it's a happy ending. Just not a very satisfying one. If the director and storyboard can change so much from the novel, they might as well change how the story was told.
This is why I have mixed feeling with this drama. I don't want to spoil the ending for those who read my review.
TBH, I don't know if I like it or not. IT IS the ending that I wanted.
If there is one drama that you should go in watching it knowing the ending, it's this one. So you won't be so disappointed.

As much as I love ZY and WXY, this drama has zero rewatch value for me, not even any sweet scene clips because this drama has almost none. And because of that, I downrate this drama to a 7.

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Completed
My Gear and Your Gown
0 people found this review helpful
by Sakura
Nov 5, 2023
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.0
Story 5.5
Acting/Cast 6.0
Music 5.5
Rewatch Value 5.0
This review may contain spoilers

Thai Harry Potter Meets Thai Draco Malfoy but make it BL

This is a through and through enemies to lovers trope. I got to know about this drama after I watched Dangerous Romance.
The plot is weak, sometimes it's ridiculous enough that they had to force add some drama.

The whole series stands on Pawin, Fiat and JJ's acting honestly.

Pawin's expressions are what I was screaming abut during the whole series. The confusion, the slight fear, soft smirks and teasing eyebrow raises, puffing out cheeks in mock anger, even some sassy throwbacks, he is the best part of this whole series, even if the crying scenes made me laugh sometimes.

I liked Pawin more in Dangerous Romance and noticed many similarities.

Extra points because of the portrayal of HIV, Sex-Ed and proper protection during intimate relationships. Not many BL series speaks about these. Fiat ate up his role. He is quickly climbing my top fav actors list .

A subtle throwback to SOTUS and I loved Neen.

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Ongoing 6/16
Moonlight
7 people found this review helpful
by YYIph
Nov 5, 2023
6 of 16 episodes seen
Ongoing 0
Overall 9.5
Story 10
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 8.5
This review may contain spoilers

Another good mini drama

I actually find the director that directed “A familiar stranger “ very good.
Although he is not listed for this drama, I am sure it is him. In either episode 1 or 2 , he dropped in scene from “A familiar stranger”, a drama which I adored and have re watch a few times.

This is about a mistaken identity for a stuntwoman who often do stunts for a famous actress.
The romance between a rich business man looking for the lady that saved him years ago when he had a temporary sight loss.
There are also another plot brewing with 2ML and 1ML. Both are good actors and eye candy. The 2FL is also from “A familiar stranger”, so far her character at ep 6 is innocuous.

There are lots of chemistry between 1ML and 1FL…..So far the interactions are interesting but nothing steamy. However the story has lots of twists… watch this and I am sure you will enjoy it.

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Completed
Kimi no Hana ni Naru
0 people found this review helpful
Nov 5, 2023
10 of 10 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 10
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 10
Rewatch Value 4.0
This review may contain spoilers
I enjoyed a lot of things about this drama. It's not completely realistic with how things really work in the idol music industry, but the drama is very intentional about showing the group actually doing the work of being an idol group. They're practicing their choreography, they're doing performances, they're going to photoshoots, they're writing their own songs, and they're facing some of the sorts of challenges you would expect for a group attempting a comeback after falling out of popularity. Group members struggle with figuring out the best pathways to take in their lives, they get into fights and disagreements because of stress and pressure, and they frequently recommit themselves to each other and the hard work it's going to take for the group to come back. It can admittedly get a bit saccharine and dramatic at times, but more often than not, I felt sympathy for these boys rather than annoyance or second-hand embarrassment. I would say this aspect of the drama is where it shines most.

There are some story choices towards the end that are admittedly head-scratching, even if they mostly make sense. The most head-scratching is when one of the members voices his very strong opposition to the leads dating. His opposition has nothing to do with the leads very sizable age gap (which I will get to in a minute), but because a relationship between them would divert the male leads focus away the group, and apparently, the group should trump every other area of his life. This is obviously a nonsense attitude (although it's certainly how the record labels themselves would like their artists to act), and it also comes semi-out of nowhere. There are hints leading up that this character is bothered by something, but you never would have guessed this was the thing they were bothered by. Personally, I think the drama would have been better served by either removing or toning down this plot point, because doesn't serve the story, and it actually ignores the very real problem with the romance.

And that is that this romance has an unnecessarily large age gap. If the male lead had been just a bit older or the female lead just a bit younger (or better, he had been a bit older And she had been a bit younger), I wouldn't have had a problem. But he's quite a bit younger than her, to a degree that the mental gap is just too wide. She was also his teacher in high school years prior which adds another uncomfortable layer. A better scenario would have been for her to be an assistant teacher when she worked at his school, maybe 23 or 24 years old and getting work experience so she could eventually become a regular teacher, thus lowering the age gap to more along 5 or 6 years. I could have been more comfortable with that. The romance is admittedly very subtle and left somewhat open-ended at the end. I think it's pretty clear they get together in the last scene, but other viewers got a different impression, so your mileage may vary.

And I can't end this review though without telling you my absolute favorite thing about this drama. The soundtrack. This drama's songs are literal Bops, nicely weaved into the storyline as songs being written and performed by the drama's fictional group, 8loom. It's amazing just how much they add to the drama. I'm 100% going to buy them on iTunes, and if you enjoy Jpop or Kpop, etc. I imagine you'll probably love these songs too.

Overall, this drama has its charms and its flaws. It's not one of my favorite dramas I've ever watched, but it was a fairly pleasant and satisfying viewing experience, flaws notwithstanding.

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Completed
Castaway Diva
89 people found this review helpful
Nov 5, 2023
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 8.0

If you wish for something with all your heart, it'll come true in an unexpected way

This Korean drama is a story of resilience, hopes, and dreams. It highlights the enduring spirit of a woman who continues to reach for the stars despite the odds. Mixed in are celebrity drama, family conflict, mystery, and doses of rom-com.

The series is the third collaboration of writer Park Hyeryun and director Oh Choonghwan, after Start-Up and While You Were Sleeping. They masterfully interweave humor with depth of emotion. The female lead, Park Eunbin, of Extraordinary Attorney Woo fame, brings quirkiness and charm, not to mention some impressive singing. The plotline is at times whimsical and imaginative. The visuals, sound, and design are polished, as to be expected from Studio Dragon.

Pacing is dynamic. Each episode generally contains some balance of serious problems and inspiring moments. The writer excels at portraying heartwarming friendships and is known to keep you guessing about who will end up in a relationship with whom. There are mystery elements here, and you're drawn in rooting for their dreams to come true. There is some rewatch value as you can notice the crumbs and intentional miscues throughout the story.

Parts of the first episode could be difficult to watch due to scenes of physical abuse. But I recommend you stick to it to watch a beautiful and inspiring story showcasing the struggle and merits of chasing your dreams and the value of loving family bonds.

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Completed
DNA Says Love You
2 people found this review helpful
Nov 5, 2023
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 7.5
Rewatch Value 8.0
This review may contain spoilers
This was such a refreshing change of pace from the bulk of BL dramas out there. It was a nice twist on the childhood friends - to - lovers trope that felt new yet comforting in its familiarity at the same time. It was also a great dynamic having the third friend in the mix to show the evolution of feelings and how the friendships differ from each other (platonic love to romantic love to unrequited love) and how they compared to the past verses the present.

The flow of the story was a little weird although I can't say it was bad.. just a little confusing. From the very start, we see a potential car accident so right off the bat, it is hinting at a tragic conclusion. We are made to believe it will become even more tragic over the course of the series as we see Amber's clear affection for Le but his reluctance to say anything out of fear. This would be a quintessential "secret crush" story if it weren't for the added depth of Amber actually being Wen Wen whom Le has always been in love with and had been waiting for to return. We see this through a series of flashbacks though the truth of Amber's identity is not actually revealed until pretty late into the series so unless someone read a detailed synopsis or spoilers, it may not make much sense. Maybe they did this to encourage multiple viewings so that we see it in a different light, who knows? But again, I didn't find it to be bad, just strange. It was as if they wanted people to already know the big plot twist before it actually happened.

I was very happy to see that they could create a drama without needing a "villain" or someone coming in to try and mess with the MC. There was a little bit of a hint of that with Yu He but I thought her journey was very realistic and very well executed that you couldn't help but feel bad for her. She never once tried to get in their way but she was honest about how her feelings were torn between being happy to find out Wen Wen was back yet knowing it all but demolished any chance she may have had with Le. Oh, and her brother is ultimate BF material... she's sitting there crying and alone and he just puts on music and gives her cake while he listens to her pour her heart out. Sometimes, that's all we need.. an ear to listen to us while we eat cake.

I honestly didn't understand the purpose of the car accident.. I mean, there was barely a scratch on Amber so why make us think it's going to be much worse than it is if it was barely a blip on the radar when it actually happened?

But that's probably my biggest gripe with the series. I knew going into it that it would be a slow burn which I generally do not prefer. But it definitely worked here and made sense. Also, honestly, that was probably the most satisfying kiss I'd ever seen.. not so much the kiss itself but just the fact that it FINALLY happened. 12 episodes of tension and buildup ultimately get released and it's like letting out a breath that's been held in for way too long. Then from that point on, it was seriously adorable.. I liked how they showed them as normal friends at the end with the flirty undertone. They were just so comfortable with each other after all that uncertainty throughout.

Honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect with the synopsis I'd read somewhere else but I'm so glad I watched this series and would certainly recommend it to anyone. Truly beautiful and enjoyable watch.

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