Reviews

Could have been so much better!

I liked the concept and I appreciated that they didn't have the hidden identity between the main couple last for too long. The couple was cute together.

However, her not wanting to tell anyone else her true identity throughout the whole show got old fast. She had the "I'm not good enough for you" vibe going on (she actually verbalized it a couple of times) and that made me feel, through her inferiority complex, that she didn't love him like she should/claimed.

I'll admit up front that I don't like bullying, but this show went so far in the other direction it was ridiculous. Ai was good to everyone, and wanted to help everyone out, but unfortunately, her boyfriend seemed to be nowhere on the list of those she wanted to help. His needs always took a backseat to everyone else.

I felt that the end was unsatisfying.

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BIG WASTE OF TIME

I don't understand why people create mystery/thriller shows when they only how to create intrigue and have no idea what so ever to resolve any of them.
The message with which they started was really very good but they totally completely absolutely missed the point.
I assume that they wanted to show that if you have confidence in yourself and continue to follow your heart you can defy your fate and create your own life but boy oh boy .. what a disappointment
There are so many questions and none of questions are answered and the viewers are left in WTF state and think why the hell did we waste so much time on this utter rubbish.

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Dont past this jem

Ok the drama is low budget. The acting could be improved with the villians, the mom is super supportive of our ML, the FL isnt your typical weak girl for the ML to protect her all the time. She's smart and can fend for herself, but the circumstances of her surroundings, she cant help it.

It's cute that the mom offer 20M for her to date him for a year, then marriage. I mean in CDRAMA, where does the ML mom offer such.
Its not like he's ugly or fat or something wrong with him, he's gorgeous, hot and such a candy eye.

Its fast paced storyline and you can understand from point A to point B. No stupid support females chasing the ML or annoying support males chasing the FL.

Whats annoying are the villians, her ex who cheats with her bff and her bff. These characters are the only thing ones raises both eyebrows with their kidnapping and trying frame or sabotage the FL.

OVERALL, its a cute storyline and ines shouldnt pass up.

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Sweet Home lacks good direction, script and pacing. This is a slow and boring show.

If you want something new, Sweet Home is one of the TV shows that might entertain you. However, if you want something new with good pacing, direction, script and edits, watch All of Us Are Dead instead.

Sweet Home is dry, the plot is stale, and it lacks character and depth. It feels as though the Characters are one dimension and that the show is not driven by plot. I'm not sure how others are able to seat through this and still give this show anything above 7/10. As much as I'm a fan of the Actors and Actresses of this show, the plot was simply boring. The saving grace of this show is the uniqueness, it's not every day you would see a Korean Drama with gore and monsters.

Sweet Home has a good concept but they could have executed this way better. I hope season 2 and 3 gets the engine started.

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Its not for the people who can't see toxic relationships. It screams toxic right from the start

Okay, um this might not be very great but this is the first review I'm writing, and for a reason.

Theory of Love, I had high expectations and this one disappointed me everywhere. The story? I personally hated it. I mean when I read the plot, I thought oh maybe this will be a good one but I personally feel that the story could have been written much, much better. Honestly, if I could I would give the story a 0 out of 10 but apparently, that doesn't work so I gave it the least i could.

The acting was fine, Gun's (Third) acting was great, I could feel the emotions and I felt like crying. His crying-in-the-shower scenes were one of the most iconic things for me. However, even his acting skills were not enough for me to continue watching this.

What I saw in this drama were a toxic relationship and a toxic friendship. Let's start with the friendships because that's where the story starts from. The one thing that really stood out was how Third and Khai would make plans and then Khai would always find an excuse (ahem, girls) to cancel and bail on Third. It was purely toxic. Do you see it? That's not how a friendship is supposed to be. If you make plans, you rarely cancel, not rarely go through with it.

Now, I know, Thai BL's most of them are very toxic, but I think this was the most toxicity I saw in one place together, it took the cake. Apart from the friendship, in the last episode, when Khai was trying to win Third over, his public "proposal" was not cool. To me, it felt like forcing Third into accepting him. Of course, he could have rejected him but I'm sorry, that was very much a big no. Especially when Third rejected Khai multiple times in the same episode.

Also, Third said Khai did not know how to love. I agree with that. So Khai decided to know about love by watching films. And that... was again a big no. See, love is not something you'll learn about from watching movies. Of course, you'll see various types of forms of expressions and what people in love do, and how you get to that point. BUT you don't learn how to love, what exactly love is. Because you feel it and understand it. Or at least that is what I believe. But here that's exactly what they showed, learning how to love from movies. It was another thing screaming a no for me.

All I can say is that after seeing the big no's coming at me, I did not like watching this. I forced myself to watch this, I read a comment while I was watching this and it said something like this, "I'm rewatching this and I still don't understand why Third fell in love with Khai" and I agree, I couldn't either. I did not see any redemption points or any good qualities which would make him love Khai.

I started this drama in September and binged the first 11 episodes. But I could not continue after that. I was done with theory of love by the 11th episode and I didn't watch after that until almost 3 months later, in December. I actually breezed through the 12th episode because it was not something I could watch, I only watched it because I didn't want to put it on the dropped list after watching 11 episodes.

I'm sure many people liked it but for someone like me who hates seeing toxic relationships, this was just some bad writing. I'm skipping on a lot of details because honestly I don't remember much and I don't want to. Of course, the friendship between the others wasn't toxic (or at least I think so at the time of writing this) but it's still very low on the list for me. It wasn't what I expected and I'm clearly not a fan. I wouldn't recommend watching this for the story. If you're feeling sad and you want to feel worse then maybe yeah, watch it. Gun's acting will make you feel sad right from the first episode. There was nothing else that made me stick, and I did run away from this until I saw it in my currently watching list.

But personally, I don't see why it got such high ratings and the "best BL of all times" or just "best BL" title. No, it's not the best bl. there are better ones out there, even I know this and I'm just a newbie in this world of BL's. If you want really to watch a bl that feels worth it then you could try out Bad Buddy or maybe Don't Say No (not the best but definitely a much better one out there) or Love in the Air (Sky and Prapai's part). KinnPorsche was also toxic but I could stand watching it.

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A classic first love story

A story that inspired from the infamous Utada Hikaru's song "First Love", where the two main lead are each other first love who met during their high school day but seperarted because of unexpected event. They met again 20 years later where the female lead already a single mother and the male lead engaged to someone. Actually what's so painful from their seperation is the "amnesia trope" where the female lead couldn't remember the male lead at all. It's breaking my heart. Their journey to find each other again is so long, but worth waiting. For someone who love Hikaru and Takeru, I think their screentime are too short compared to their younger counterpart. But, I really enjoyed this drama. And Hikki's song really hit differents after watching this drama!!

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In this rendition of Snow White, social media is the "poisoned apple" in the form of cyber bullying. Where Cinderella covered socioeconomic inequality, Snow White covers beauty standards, social media and bullying.

Very strong first half followed by a weaker second half that all gets quickly resolved in the end. Like the lightbulb suddenly goes off in everyone's head in the last episode. I felt like the progression towards the resolution could have benefited from being more gradual. But it was like drama, drama, drama to all suddenly, be resolved in the end.

But I stuck with this because Snow is a great character (sometimes too selfless to a fault), the godmothers and the characters who weren't influenced by gossip and social media.

The reason the antagonist was out to destroy the FL's life -- I actually like and endears me to her, but there weren't enough scenes to support it. The writers were too focused on trying to mislead and throw off viewers but ended up veering too far off in the wrong direction instead. It's unfortunate because I think many people who has ever been in the situation Beauty has been in could understand and sympathize with her, but again, they went too far off in the wrong direction with her story arc for most of the story.

Plu's manager had the best character development. I was not expecting his romance arc, and it was a welcome development and reprieve from all the drama lol.

This is the first time I've seen the actresses who play Snow and Beauty, and they both did a wonderful job. I look forward to seeing their future works.

I appreciate the social issues that the story tackles and hope that it raises awareness about being more conscious and responsible for the things that we put out on social media and how it could affect others.

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please watch all im on my knees

The acting is always the most important aspect, and the entire cast carried out the story's emotions perfectly. I watched "The Legends" starring the same main leads before watching this show, and I immediately binged all of their dramas. Unlike many actors who are only casted for face value and fanbase, they literally work so hard for their roles, and their chemistry is just through the roof.

ACTING
Bai lu (FL) actually cut her hair for the role, and many of the male actors did weeks of intense training prior to the shoot to prepare for their roles. It's refreshing to see actors who are willing to dedicate themselves to the scripts once in a while since many dramas have lazy actors who use stunt doubles for the most harmless scenes and never care about the script. I feel like xukai and bailu match perfectly in both of their main lead dramas because they are open people. I wasn't annoyed by a single side cast member, since they all played their roles perfectly and genuinely.

SETTING
The story is good, but it is understandable if some may drop the show. Many people only look for rom com dramas and may not like the political/military aspects of the show, but for me it's like a bonus. It's plausible for a show based on the previous century to accurately display past events and perfectly weaving it with the plot. For context, China did not have military forces such as they do now, thus the people were constantly in fear of foreign invasions. In the early 1900s, Japan was formidably powerful and attempted to invade China and control/influence its people. The title, Arsenal Military Academy, is the name of the military school where the main leads attend to fight for their country. I was never truly enticed by the military aspect, but the emotions of loss and will to fight are shown through the bits and pieces of historical events.

GENRES
Besides the military aspects, AMA is also a romcom action drama. The romance in the show is refreshing, as in the characters remain sane throughout the plot without doing absurdly underhanded things (historical drama watchers ykwim). There are many sweet moments that are actually relevant to the plot and not thrown in there like fanservice. Obviously the romance isn't over quickly since there are 48 episodes, but the gradual development of feelings between the characters is so satisfying to watch. The comedy in the show is just perfect. It contributes to the lighthearted/silly tone of the drama's first half, which balances out the intense and tearjerking action scenes. The expressions of all the cast members are very comical, and they click together like friends in real life. Watching this show had me simultaneously crying laughing screaming and pacing around (could be caused by sleep deprivation, but it genuinely evoked so many emotions in me). The action scenes of a military drama obviously include guns and swords etc. I don't believe there is excessive gore in this show, but some may be sensitive to the sight of blood (warning, mild gore like gun wounds or scars). The fight scenes were always filled with suspense, and honestly they were choreographed perfectly. To sum it up, the genres all blend well with the plot and will send you on an emotional roller coaster.

MUSIC
I literally created a spotify podcast just to upload the ost for my pleasure. The ost is on spotify, but I'm pretty sure it is only available in mainland china. The main song, Dreaming, is sung by the two main leads. Their voices match so well and the intro of violins and violas or wtv the instruments are sounds like the ascension to heaven. Unlike historical dramas (dynasty periods), there aren't a long list of 4 minute songs that each match with one romance scene, but the discography is still enjoyable. Only complaint is that they should have made more music with those same artists bc it's just too heavenly. After watching all 48 episodes, hearing the songs makes me recall each scene and look at the ceiling and start reminiscing.

REWATCH
Personally, I rewatch dramas right after finishing them in case I missed any information. Often times, watching through the whole drama will help you better understand past scenes, and that feeling of "ohhh damnnn thats what that meant" is nice. Not even joking I've rewatched this drama start to end at least 5 times without skipping, which is rare since I drop shows quickly usually. All the aspects of the show are a 10 to me except this one and it's a 9.5 for rewatching because certain suspense in the show is built up by not knowing the true criminal or the true story etc. It is still enjoyable to watch nonetheless.

SUMMARY
That was too long, I wouldn't even read all of that again. To sum it up, I feel sorry for those who turn away from the drama due to its unique plotline because it actually is such a lifechanging experience. My only complaint with the show is that a few scenes were cut out due to censorship in China (not a big deal, all can be found on yt, but kinda sad). Acting is perfect, story is perfect, music is perfect, watching this show is like therapeutic. PLEASE WATCH WITHOUT DROPPING LIKE EVEN IF ONE PART SEEMS BORING JUST KEEP PUSHING ITLL BE WORTH IT TRUST

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Kind of reminds me of stale bread tbh

I don't think this is the worst drama I've ever seen nor do I think it's the cast's fault that it was as bad as it was. Everything is just dry and bland. It had potential... until it didn't. It was boring, the characters all sucked (I'm not saying that the characters need to all be good people, but at least give the character's enough depth to bring out SOME emotion). The actors did what they could with what they were given but it was just poorly written and dry. The only upside to the uncut version is the spicier scenes... but they weren't all that exciting either (the actors, once again, were fine but the writing was so lazy there was literally no possible way to fake chemistry). If you're on the lookout to pass the time and you're so bored you'd either be watching this or chewing your arm off... then this is for you but if you're looking for a good plot with good characters this isn't it.

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A Hidden Masterpiece

I have watched MANY shows and this is the first time I have felt compelled to write a review.

What starts as a very convoluted and silly plot turns into a masterclass on subverting expectations. An incredibly unique take on the frustrating "harem"/"love square" trope. What stuck out to me the most in this show was the writing of the female lead. Both male and female leads tend to have extremely similar personalities and traits across different kdramas. This show has very deep and unexpected development for the female lead. She truly felt like a real person and not an over-romanticized perfect individual.

tl;dr Give this show a chance. It is very short (10-15 min episodes). The ending will be worth it.

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Don’t worry, nothing happened.

I just finished watching episode 11 and so far I have found no plot and no point to this series. Basically, Ai meets Nhai and falls in love. Ai is a handsome, smart, rich boy. Nhai is an adorable boy with very little brain power. Honestly, I think they said he’s going to school for Aerospace Engineering, but I have doubts about this guy’s ability to tie his own shoes. Anyway, they get together. That’s pretty much the story, all told. There are other people introduced, other possible couples left hanging, a possible plot with Ai’s mother that seems lacking and isn’t driving the characters or the story. But nothing else.

It could be a cute, sweet little love story except for one fatal flaw: the dialogue is ridiculous. Either the person who did the English Subtitles is having a good laugh while he writes complete nonsense or the writers of the series couldn’t manage an entire conversation without asking their 3 year old nephew to help. Possibly both. The dialogue is that bad.

I made it to episode 11 and nothing has happened. I keep waiting for something, some vague reason behind the story, but no. Nothing. Nada. Zip. If the actors had a story, they might have been good but between the lack of actual story, no reasonable dialogue, and lackluster direction, it’s pretty much a no all around. If you don’t get around to watching it, don’t worry — nothing happened.

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cuteee and accurate representation

Honestly such a cute wholesome show <3 I'm so happy we are getting more GL content and its just so sweet. I hope they do a season 2 or a continuation of the story because I want more so badly >-<

The pacing was really good as well I really liked the speed that the story went at and I love that the actors and director are actually queer it just adds to their understanding of queer culture I felt like my own culture was represented so accurately as well as learning some new thing about Korean lesbian culture and improved my vocab with phrases I could actually hear naturally if i ever get to go to Korea.

Might be my new comfort show as its super binge worthy and I've rewatched a few times already.
pls watch it!!!

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Worthwhile? Mmm, no.

Tbh, i never understood why people ship ohm and fluke. I never got anything from them... In UWMA they didn't have anything and they are so freaking mismatched. Ive watched the series for WinTeam. And lets be honest, UWMA had a good story... Unlike this one. So its not the same old "oh, they're good but the plot didn't help". No!
Back to this one... I started to watch it after i saw some short videos with payoo and rain. They kept the series afloat even though someone decided to just shun them somewhere in the nowhere for a number of episodes. I just binge watched 5 episodes or so to finish it already because i just do not like to leave things unfinished but my god, how i struggled. Fluke is crying, Ohm is a walking mannequin and the story sucks. There, i said and I'm not even sorry.
Just no. I didn't like it and i think OhmFluke are too overrated.
Watch at your own risk!

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Phenomenal!

Oh my God, so good! This reminded me of Reply 1988 in the best way possible - poignant, family-oriented, and full of life in all its hilarious, heart-wrenching, and beautiful glory! Seriously, it was amazing. The acting was phenomenal and the adaptation from the webtoon was well-done (mostly accurate, with expanded plotlines for various characters). Navillera really captured my heart (and my mom's) and didn’t let them go. I loved Chae-rok, Deok-Chul, and the rest of the cast. Song Kang, who plays Chae-rok, is also very handsome. And the ballet-based plot was gorgeous to watch, which was a joy. I adored it - I just loved the entire show to pieces. It was perfect. 5 stars! Would 100% watch again.

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