Reviews

good follow up with terrible audio

Overall: if you liked Love In The Air, then you'll like the special (can purchase on Vimeo). You can read my review of the series here https://mydramalist.com/profile/blcompilations/reviews/226713

Content Warnings: dub/non con touching, manhandling

What I Liked
- Rain and Sky's friendship returned and was adorable
- the NSFW scenes are once again well done (except they should have removed the music and just left in the natural sounds of kissing/breathing/moaning)
- clear flashbacks
- cute moments
- brief PSA about same sex marriage
- the cosplay was fun and Daddy stuff

Room For Improvement
- the sound/music: I took a half to full point off for the terrible audio including muffled noises due to lack of using boom mics, music being much too loud over dialogue, bizarre music chosen in some scenes, etc.
- I probably shouldn't have expected any character growth because there was none, Rain leaping to conclusions is on brand
- Rain's extreme jealousy was not attractive to me (i.e. blocking other people from looking)
- Pai apologizing for someone else's actions, he had nothing to apologize for

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A must watch drama

I finished this drama in about 3 days well loved it.

The story the interaction between the characters the chemistry between the main couple and the struggles each character faces.

The second couple is really interesting and so is their story.

Loved the storyline it was perfect no misunderstandings between the main couples that stay long and I 100% no 1000% loved it.
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Full of flaws, but somehow still enjoyable...?

Like I said in the title, this series is full of flaws. I don't believe it would be fair to pretend there isn't any: stiff acting, slow pacing (and slow dialogues!), plenty of overused tropes, plotlines that were introduced but never developed, and even the English subtitles on the official episodes on YouTube being pretty awful.
The reason I'm giving this series such a high score is that, despite all of this, I was still able to finish all the episodes without much trouble, and even enjoyed myself. So, for a change, I also want to list the things that I appreciated in the series, just in case you have nothing better to watch and you're looking for reasons to give this show a try.

- The couple dynamic isn't overly polarized. It might look like the typical combination of rich+caring and childish+innocent, but it's not exactly like that. Sure, Ai IS rich and takes care of Nhai in many ways, but Nhai is an actual adult with a few childish traits and not just a baby in an adult body. It's shown multiple times in the show that he can make his own mind about things, that he can be equally as romantic and loving to Ai, and that he can be determined enough not to let other people walk all over him.
- The group of friends of Nhai and Ai is one of the best I've ever seen in a Thai series. They get a good amount of screen time, and while their side couples were not explored much, they are fleshed out well enough and they don't just function as a convenient "frame" for Ai and Nhai's love story. Most importantly, they are NOT ditched after Ai and Nhai become a couple and the characters hang out together throughout the entire story.
- The parents of both Ai and Nhai are pretty cool and fun (with an important exception, iykyk). I also heard that the two actors interpreting Ai's father are an actual couple in real life, so it was fun to see queer people representing queer characters.
- The story is fluffy and romantic. It might have felt slow at times, but I was just so endeared with all the cute moments I could watch here.
- The lives of the characters are explored enough to show some clear likes and dislikes, and they weren't another instance of a show revolving entirely on two guys kissing or anything like that.
- While there were some typical tropes here and there, there was also a significant lack of annoying tropes that are way too popular, such as: miscommunication, unnecessary angst, break-ups for the sake of the other person, and stuff like that.

This being said, I understand that this show is not for everyone, and probably not even for most people, so watch at your own risk. All I know is that I had fun watching, and wouldn't mind watching again sometime either.

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i love jichang wook,his acting,his dramas and mostly his action .I mean who wouldn't.According to the drama ,he is a mercernary who is on the run and then the actual story starts .In my point of view ,the writer wanted to have a dark but with a soft side kinda plot.The drama could have been darker but then it would not be for everyone well to be honest it still is not for everyone but the one who likes the darker plot will watch the darker part and the one who like the romantic plot would watch the romantic part.For me,it was a great drama as drama is meant to be fictional and this kinda fictional plot where hero is one man army and can never be beaten is pleasing to my eyes as i love happy ending for the protagonist in every way.

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It was good. After episode 4, I couldn't stop watching it. Just like a true thriller I was hooked. It was unfortunate how little the characters were developed. Our Changmi kept the same attitude and approach throughout her search. The planned revenges were nicely done and thought so I was disappointed that all confrontations felt lacking in comparison.

Like many thrillers, the "plot twist" was a bit overused. Every event had its own plot twist. You can hardly see it while watching so I hope if you are seeing this before watching the show it doesn't stop you. In the end, this is a good show and I truly enjoyed it esp the first 10 eps of its run.

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Futile fights of Y

The show promises to expose the dark underbelly of BL industry. But with examples that are convincing just enough to make you overlook some of the obviously fake drama, it's not exactly a cold hard truth people might expect. And while the first two stories do a good job of balancing the social commentary, conflicting characters and the sweet Y fanservice that pays their bills, later half of this series is more of your standard petty drama with pacing issues and questionable script. If you're looking for a social justice, you won't find it here. If you instead want to feel disillusioned with the same system you partake in to support your favorite shows, the first 10 episodes are more than enough. And for some, maybe a little too much. Trigger warnings not applicable, since they would ruin the whole point of this show. Just be extra careful with it.

My main take from this long ass BL of ours is - very good premise, progressively more lacking execution. It focuses mostly on multiple personal conflicts, which (no matter how refreshing in setup) are fairly mediocre in thai BL script writing. Adding to it AIS PLAY's renowned disinterest in international audience and questionable editing skills, you might end up with something that's significantly more challenging than rewarding. Ultimately, I wasn't satisfied with my investment in it. Ending episodes of each story tend to be either rushed or underwhelming, which really soured the mood for me. Overall quality of stories goes steadily down with each new segment.

The first one is (aside from the ending) almost perfect, easily getting a strong 9.0 score. It can be scary and make you sick to your stomach, but it's also oddly cathartic at the end. Even if a bit unnaturally so.

The second part is still very clever, with yet another underwhelming ending. As is customary in eastern media, villains aren't really punished for their transgressions. Especially where seniority plays a role. You can add victim blaming to that list, too. But life isn't always pretty, so it deserves at least 8 or 8.5 out of 10 points.

Third one is... calm? Basic? While it manages to keep up with the darker, messy tone at the start, it quickly devolves into mushy nothing and only slightly picks up at the end. It doesn't feel like it wants to tell something, nor does it manage to do so by accident. It's pretty though, and I like openly messy plotlines. Shame it didn't amount to something more. I'd give it an 8/10 if it were a standalone, here it's more of a 7.5 in comparisson with previous stories.

The last part, however, was a major disappointment. It lacked message, clear direction and conflict for the vast majority of time. The ending was both rushed and underwhelming. It showed an idea of good conflict, but utterly failed to deliver on it. Instead of neatly tying the whole thing up at the end, it made some awkward knots and called it a bow. It's barely worth a 7 at this state, but let's do a 7.5 for the bigger picture.

Overall score - generous 8.5 out of 10. I don't think it's a show you would want to binge, though.

While the stories are slightly connected, only adjacent ones have enough overlap to warrant watching them in intended order. The link is weakest between second and third story in my opinion, strongest between part 3 and 4. Which leads me to recommend watching WoY in these possible orders, based on my preference: (gagaoolala version has better translations)

1. Watch only the first 2 stories, episodes 1 - 10. They are dark, messy, unpredictable and icky in all the entertaining ways.

2. Watch only the first story, episodes 1-5. Second story expands a bit on the first one, but it's more of an alternative run of similar situation and doesn't add that much more to the overall creeps.

3. Watch the first two stories, take a break, then watch story 3 (episodes 1-10, 11-15). The later one is significantly more light, more petty, and less well-thought-out. It's still an okay watch, though.

4. Watch only for the main CP(s) you're interested in - episodes 1-5 for Billy-Seng, 6-10 for Gung-Korn, 11-15 for Mark-Milk and 11-20 for Toru-First (characters of Toru and First are very present in episodes 11-15, but their relationship starts developing from the episode 16 onwards.)

5. Add story 4 to option 3 (episodes 1-10, 11-20), mainly if you are interested in Toru-First relationship.

6. Watch all episodes in the order they were released in, slowly. Some of you might be completionists, but be careful not to rush it. It's quite a heavy watch on its own, mainly because of the darker themes and bad editing/translation choices.

7. Watch only the later two stories, starting with episode 11. I'd only recommend this for people who tried the first story and it was too much for them (emotionally speaking).



Some other remaks about the show, might be minor spoilers:

I was surprised by the DMD cameos/promos/god knows what it was. It didn't fit there in my opinion. I'm biased against the company, so you might not care about it much. But it was an odd choice that affected the stories either way.

It was a missed opportunity not to actually create the twitter polls from @GossipXoxo user as the show was releasing. One thing this show does really well is representing how online fandoms act, and I'm genuinely interested the polls' results from real life fans. It would also be a quirky marketing move that would have cost them next to nothing.

Situation about the translations was messy, even after both AIS PLAY and Gagaoolala starting translating text messages. Often there was too much text, for too short of a period to read it. Which is something that should have been tweaked in editing, especially for important parts. It was exhausting pausing the screen all the time, and rewinding, and even google translating at the start. Some of it was just useless banter, but a lot of it included context that was sorely missing otherwise. If they want to do a story where (social) media plays a crucial role, they need to do better next time.



In conclusion, the series lacks in bigger picture one would expect from their pointed marketing as the whistle-blower. Even if all of those situations actually happened in real life, the show didn't serve as a call to action in any way. It contradicts its own "messages" profoundly, so much you'll even start to wonder what those messages are. And it's not doing it in a clever way! Just plainly confusing, almost alibistic, none insulting and still money earning one. Its aim is shattered on multiple places by separated endings and obscured by bad editing and translation issues. In a way, it's kinda disappointing, considering what it could have been. But it still manages to be an above average and somehow unique BL show, and one I recommend at least trying. If the first story feels too dark or messy for you, give story 3 a chance ?

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main idea -how not to behave with other people so as not to lose love and not hurt anyone

The drama made a double impression on me .. Idk if anyone reads the reviews but I will share .. Positive (to a greater extent) in the image of the main character Jooyoung and negative in the image of Young Jin, her behavior and attitude towards people in general .. At first it may seem that she is a good girl with a lot of problems and she feels sorry for her, but with each episode when the true character of the heroine is revealed, it becomes clear that the main egoist is she who thinks only about herself and does not take into account the feelings of people who love her .. trauma is trauma, but others must be respected .. I I’m not sorry for Yongjin .. how many people suffered because of her, how many people offended her actions, and even more so her ex-boyfriend whom she treated carelessly .. but when she saw him with another girl in the hospital, she immediately decided to leave although he was honest with her and nothing did bad .. to put it mildly, such an image of the heroine is not pleasant and repulsive to me. l, although he wanted to scream and quietly cried alone .. he was in so much pain! He always tried to understand her and do whatever she wanted! .. I sincerely felt sorry for the main character who in this drama is the ideal of a man (well, he is drawn to the ideal for the time being), even if not an alpha male, but sincerely loving and caring for his girlfriend .. she didn’t even let him finish when he probably wanted to invite her to marry and decided to part with him .. disgusting! she married the one she avoided, in the end, because of her mistake, she divorced the doctor .. how many people she had to break the fate of people!? to realize that time was lost and there was no need to leave Jooyoung initially .. and after a while she appeared out of nowhere and decided to return to him .. thereby testing his feelings for the girl he was going to marry .. that's because of people like her, but in life there are many of them, either men or women, but with a character like hers who simply play with the feelings of others without thinking about the latter, believing that they will be forgiven for everything and will always wait for them .. a big mistake. if Jooyoung was stronger in character and found the strength to forget her realizing her true attitude towards him, it would be great .. would not hurt another person who has nothing to do with it at all .. I think people like Yongjin should not be given in life they have a 2nd chance, because after a while they will also leave, marry another and then when it doesn’t work out they want to return to where they used to be loved and jealous .. not realizing that every person is a person and his feelings must be respected, reckoned with and thought before doing something if it concerns the feelings of another person. I don’t think that lovers should all forgive each other. fear? when she exchanges it for another again because she doesn’t like something ?! Both are involved in the relationship, and not one of them always drags them on itself ..
will update.
Although Jooyoung is not without sin.. might also wonder if he really loves his new girlfriend.. remember himself. Put yourself in her place regarding how Young Jin did to him in the past.. he does the same unfair thing to his girlfriend, hurts her.. ironic? Hmm maybe but then you don't feel sorry for him anymore for the past pain that he experienced himself .. this is the mistake of most people .. instead of sorting out their feelings before starting a new relationship, they use others like a pill .. , take risks and cripple life to others .., in turn, others do the same with the rest ... people are not a toy, but only a few remember this. So I would have waited for my Yongjin alone ..
Yonji's problem is that she has no dialogue. She expects everyone to understand her, but in fact she just wants it to be as she wants, but she doesn’t seek to understand others .. it’s already disgusting .. I don’t like this character of people .. what’s the fun not to say it straight, talk about my feelings people are not magicians to guess .. I don’t even feel sorry for her in the story .. all this is a matter of her stupidity .. while everyone did everything for her, she imagined herself to be God knows who, although she played the role of a victim by manipulating the feelings of others. Climbs into someone else's life knowing that the wedding ... it already depends on the character of the guy, of course, he is strong or a rag .. decide who he loves and not torturing himself or others (such a burden frankly annoys me, I don’t like people who do not understand their feelings, who they drag others into the swamp and then they all leave it like a draft). It’s hard to understand what the director’s idea was, but as for me, he probably wanted to show how not to behave with other people so as not to lose love and not hurt anyone .. I want to is to believe .. and not to promote stupidity in relationships ...

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Stupid heart wants what it wants

I tried to watch the short version a while ago but I couldn't get through the first episode. I somehow didn't like anything about that drama. This comes out and I completely ignore it with the intention to never watch it and that's the reason I watched it.

I thought I would hate watch it but I was so wrong.

There are many messed up things with this drama. The beginning, the cheating, the bets, Vee being hurt by Ploy cheating when he cheated himself, I could go into details but I won't.

So why did I give it a high rating?

I enjoyed the mess. It was awesome.
Vee is my favorite character and I loved seeing him suffer.

Two of my favorite scenes are:
1. Ploy hugging Vee at the balcony begging him not to leave her, Vee looks towards Marks balcony and Mark just stands there watching them. That's when Vee started crying hard.
That scene lives in my mind rent free.
2. Ton comes to ask Ploy to be together again, Vee leaves them and goes to the balcony, turns towards Marks balcony only to see Nuea and Mark smiling, turns towards the door, Ploy and Ton are hugging.
Karma really said it's my time to shine.

Vee definitely suffered his share of pain for everything he did to Mark.

Mark took his revenge but in the process he hurt himself too. It starts to get obvious he loves Vee too much.

I hate cheating but the story wouldn't be so spicy without it.

The angst was so good and then the sweet moments were even better because you know what they had to go through to get there.

Overall, I would recommend this to anyone who likes very dramatic and messy dramas and can look past all the red flags.
Put the red glasses on and enjoy.

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If you're looking for a Tonhon Chonlatee storyline, forget it. But this show is good, I liked it.

First I was afraid Porsh would do another character like the one from Together With Me, but I was very glad to see him as a married father (also his husband in the series is his husband in real life, I thought this was really cool). The main couple is really sweet and I love them for the cuteness and the fact that they are basically married. The relationship between them and their families is very sweet too (except for the crazy biological mother) and the lack of homophobia is great for me. There's a few problems like the secondary couples are very little explored and have no closure and the toxic trait about the main couple that you can see in one scene where Ai makes Nai change his shorts cause "nobody can see his legs, only him". Later on they went back to being so cute that I almost forgot about it. When it comes to Tonhon and Chonlatee, well... There's almost nothing. They have so little screentime, we know nothing about them but the good news is Tonhon is not a terrible person like the original.

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"The Only Thing Left Between Us Are Goodbyes"

TROP was one hell of a watch that consumed every part of me.
I binged the entire 70 episodes in mere 5 days and I am still mind blown by this masterpiece.

It's hard to start the review because I want to cover a lot of things without spoiling potentional viewers.
Let me break it down to: The Good, The Characters and The Pain & Problems (the last one will contain spoilers)

THE GOOD:
The production quality of this drama is by the best I have ever seen by a (chinese) historical and every-single-episode was a cinematic experience.
What sets this drama apart from all other historical is for one the outstanding performance by Chen Kun as Prince Ning Yi, but also how the story was set up.

There is no "one" villain that needs to be defeated, rather everyone had their reasons for scheming and every few episodes we were introduced to another unique character. I have to give it up for the scriptwriters, not a single re-occuring character in this drama was a copy-paste plot device. They all had loved ones, goals and ways to survive (or not, lol).

THE CHARACTERS:

Ning Yi is very eccentric and his days as a tailor, spending his time with his trusted squad, flirting with and teasing our female lead Wei Zhi / Fang Zhiwei were absolute EYE CANDY. In the early episodes he reminded me of Willy Wonka... sounds funny right? But the actor is truly amazing and shines in all ways.

My absolute favorite moments were when they'd save each other from dire situations. They both had their own strengths.
I loved that neither could control the other and a bonus for me was they were both the same height, so it seemed even more so like they are equal - even though the ML is a prince. Their feelings for each other grow quietly but their glances are INTENSE.
However, do not expect to see them as a happy-go-lucky couple. Because this is mainly a fight-for-the-throne drama, there are also episodes where the leads barely see each other - but I promise it's worth it.

I also want to say that there are really good other characters in this drama and our two leads share equal screen time with them.

What I loved:
+ ML & FL teasing (the facial expressions around her are crazy hot and oh the biting... not gonna say more ;))
+ the friendship between the old Emperor & Wei Zhi when it lasted was very nice
+ Prince Helian Zheng; especially the salt and dancing scene


THE PAIN & PROBLEMS (ending spoilers ahead)

I often read about the last 10-20 episodes being bad and I somewhat disagree. Yes, it hurt but mainly the last 3 episodes.
The drama is heavy throughout and you have to hold your breath a lot but it's just SOO GOOD.

++ ending spoiler & interpretation ++
The ending itself was mainly heartbreaking because Ning Yi stares directly into the camera for the last few seconds, breaking the fourth wall. Not gonna say more BUT if you truly listen to the last few words you can sense hope, especially since in Chinese beliefs being reborn is not uncommon. + the novel version of the drama continues after the drama ending and gives a happy ending that I chose to belief in.

HOWEVER in the last 2 episodes it became evident that there was no hope for their love in this life, although one part was still holding one. Like sand it slipped through their hands, - we were so close but then we were so far.
I believe their love will start anew in another life as tailor and racoon.

I want to end this review with a quote near the end...
It's where I believe that the romance ended:

"Ning Yi, why are always saying goodbye?"
"Maybe the only thing left between us are goodbyes"


... and despite it's flaws this is the best historical cdrama I have ever watched.... I mean I watched this within 5 days and while having strawberry week. So I was already a mess. Ok now I gotta go cry.

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Childe Xie’s Wine is a nice and cute romance fantasy miniseries with a good plot. The story is straightforward and uncomplicated with minimal amount of characters. The drama uses a technique called “breaking the fourth wall” which is a common convention in Asian theatre traditions where actors interact directly with the audience, in this case, the viewer. The drama is a comedy so there are some awkward scenes but the cast did a great job delivering their characters; the leading couple has very good chemistry and many tender moments but their kissing scenes, although nicely done, were always blurred or seen from a distance. Still, been that is a short drama, it is worth watching if the viewer is looking for something lighthearted and simple to kill some time. Enjoy it!

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LESS APPRECIATED

Well....speaking of Allen Ren's fake chest and his cosmetically-done beautiful face. Nothing real about Allen Ren, straining his face for expression of anger, pain, or screaming. I can see all fakes from the lightning-over board visual effects. All the layout were, nothing to impress here, all done digitally computerized designs. I could imagine how the actors did minimum acting with green background as if...
This genre isn't my cup of tea, in my opinion, visual effect belittle actors skill in acting or layout/setting creative department. I would never enjoy this kind of drama especially when the actor performed minimal skill because lightning and computer would do all the tricks for them. Nothing beautiful about human's (or fairies) evolution in their story of the drama. Why did I watch this anyway? Wasting time alright, gave in after 7 episodes. I gave overall score 5 for Trying. But nothing to hold my interest here, beautiful Dilraba didn't do anything interesting...story boring...layout fake..music so so. Season 2? Hmmm....NO. They lost me.

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Falling into You fell right into my Favorites

I rearly write reviews, I only do so if I am moved or fall madly in love with a drama or when im bewildered by a drama. This drama is the former... How do I rate this a 20++++??!!! Not possible right lol but this drama would be fully and wholly deserving of such! I thought ALL my favorite dramas were already seen this year then here came Falling into You like a cute lowly kid bursting through the doors out of nowhere into my heart! Listen no one loves a Noona romance like I do and this one was GOLD!!! This story was told so well! The beginning, middle, end, was fantastic Twentine really knows how to tell a story ( Lighter & Princess is also another favorite of mine)!!!! I will say though the production houses & networks really need to start being able to identify quality over quanity scripts and giving more episodes to QUALITY dramas like this one!!! Could've been 30 episodes easily without dragging ? The plot, character, growth of said characters, conflict (flipping typical conflicts on it's head with quick resolution) made this story so enjoyable, moving and rewatchable.

ML Guan Yuchen made it impossible for you to root against him even in his bratty moments because he's just so darn loveable! Male Lead of the year seriously!!! I was already a fan of **Wang An Yu** from Skate To You and this just sealed the deal for life! This guy can ACT!!!!!!! He makes you feel every possible emotion as you watch his performance. He is definitely in my top 3 favorite actors list!

This was my second drama of **Gina Jin**'s... I was so impressed by her in *Why Women Love* that I made note of her for the future not realizing it'd just be a few months until another stellar performance! Parents and teammates are gems and highly likeable and watchable! If you're in doubt this is the push you need to watch Falling into You!!! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did ❤️

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