Reviews

Revisiting the magic of high school crushes

Kieta Hatuskoi’s premise is simple but highly original. There is no real ‘problem’ in this whole series except for typical high schooler anxieties. Which may be a nice distraction from the dreadfulness of adulthood, or cringey and immature, depending on how you look at it.

But to give Kieta Hatuskoi some credit, my guess is that that’s exactly what the show sets out to do: revisit the magic of high school crushes, friendship and getting into a relationship for the first time.

As far as young loves go, it provides an observant retelling of what it’s like to have a crush on someone in high school.

It retains a quaint charm because parts of the storyline are just so relatable to anyone who has ever been young and in love. Like overthinking about whether your crush likes you back, wondering if they’re teasing you only because you’re a joke to them and panicking when their face gets too close.

Overall, it's a wholesome, fluffy and mildly humorous BL about high school crushes but probably won’t be fulfilling if you’re looking for something to connect to on a visceral level.

Read my full review at: https://asianblreviews.wordpress.com/2021/12/21/kieta-hatsukoi-vanishing-my-first-love-2021/

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Severely Underdeveloped

Kengkla and Techno were based on one sided love and the lack of consent which was a questionable desicion if you ask me. Complete waste of a really good character, Techno. It seemed to be a couple that was just thrown in last minute without any thought or purpose.

Tum and Tar are literally step brothers so explain that? ? The only thing holding this couple up is Earth's acting. Why can't they just be loving brothers? Why do they have to be in love? Why is this even a thing?
They missed such a good opportunity to show the importance of sibling love and the importance of family. But noooo instead they decided, "You know what this story needs? Some good old incest to spice it up."

Tin and Can are by far the most tolerable couple which is saying something because i dont like this couple either. It was like a failed enemies to lovers type scenario. Can is whiny and cringy at times, he acts like a child, which i guess makes sense if he was a child, but he's literally a college student so i dont really understand what happened there, and Tin is just... hot lmao. Like i cant tell if i like this couple or if i just think Tin is really good looking. Regardless, they had some cute scenes, followed by some really weird scenes, followed by unnecessary angst, followed by another cute scene to patch up the weird angst.

Moving on to the main couple. Pete and Ae are... boring. Which is dissapointing considering that i love the actors playing these two. I don't really have much to say on them. The 18+ scenes were... strange, and i skipped almost all of their scenes together.
I don't know Pete just really rubbed me the wrong way for some reason. He's just so weird i dont get it.

Anyways that was my review. Boring plot, weird characters, and underdeveloped relationships with no meaning.

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Very bad story line

Would such a good learner not able to detect the interest of a male especially when his everywhere every time. I cant force myself to continue watching it.
Any female who accepts the offer to such a false marrage will 100% knows the male have other interest and intentions. By accepting it, she either greedy ans making use of the man and sutulation. Bad character and influence to new generation.
To be honest, in real l life, would any relationship be able to continue and live happily ever again after such a bad scenario had happened!!!
The writer, dont try to give excuses. Nothing beat ture love

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LOVE AND SACRIFICE

It’s a sad story, but I think that’s meaningful in its own way.”

This is a bittersweet drama about the sad things that happened during the Gwangju Uprising. It's a drama, you will start watching with a great sweet and loving romance, with a bit of suspense during the middle and you will end the drama with a lot of pain.

It's a sweet love story about 2 people who didn't give great childhood memories, which made them act strong and not worried about themselves much when they grew up but once they found each other. They didn't want to leave each other even when their family and close friends were all against them being together. They try all their ways and options to be together but guess God had different plans for them.

The drama also tells how the people were deeply affected because of the Gwangju uprising and how much pain it has caused for victims' families who made it out alive while their family members didn't.

In the end, it is about how you live even after losing someone who meant the world to you, and the worst part of it is that you will be the one living in regret about letting that person go first and you couldn't save them or be with them but in you will also be relieved that you are the one who survived, the person who left you didn't have to go through this pain for 41 years if you were the one who left the world first.

"I prayed every day that worse pain in life would come to me instead of you.
If I had been the one to die in the crossroads of life and death and you had lived, you would've experienced the tides i had experienced all this time."

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A story that causes controversial overreaction by viewers without doing anything controversial

This is my first time writing a drama review because I was usually a silent viewer but this drama was so interesting that I ended up feeling the need to write one despite this is not a language I speak.

Story:

When I first read the synopsis, I thought that It must be one of those lazy shoujo/BL story that used to be popular with trope like bully x victim cheesy high school romance which usually end with bully kept enjoying the bullying while the victim just submit to them after awhile because they can’t fight back. It started with two kids with troubles of their own who seemed like it will end up in a bad relationship but the story turned out different the more I watched. It was about calling out their deep rooted issues until they are ready to face it together and touched on topics like communication, idolatry, consent and first love. Because of first episode alone I feel like these characters have more behind what they are showing on facade so I chose to look for the source material and found the audio drama adaptation which is close to the original Novel. I LOVE IT. I was anxious and anticipated to see how the drama which only have 2 and half hours run time overall would be able to adapt such complicated story accurately.

Characters:

They started like one of those boring flat characters, an obsessive introvert boy and his crush who’s the opposite. However, what you will realize is that, the story is being told in first person point of view, which mean for the over half of the drama you will hear from this boy Hira about his life and his obsession over his crush. From his point of view, me and the other viewers are sympathized with him and feel the anger toward the crush who seems like bland untouchable character but we are so wrong when the narration switched to Kiyoi, the popular boy, to be the one telling the story from his eyes which to be honest, more realistic view than Hira’s. It told you the complexity of both characters and WHY there was misunderstanding between them because even we, as the third person who watch them, also misunderstood them. Worth noting that this story might not have much of them as romantic partners but more like HOW they became a couple because this is only adapted from 1st book of the novel trilogy.

A lot of people’s reaction to this drama was a shallow view and criticism on the story and characters without looking closer and reflecting. The word “Toxic” and “Abusive” wouldn’t be what I would call their romance, I would say they are two teenagers with their own issue who found comfort in each other but miscommunication happened, loneliness and bad timing didn’t help either.

Rewatch value: HELL YEAH this is the only romance drama that I suggest rewatching because trust me, every rewatch will give you new details you didn’t notice before and that should thank to awesome and attentive production team as well as the young actors who surprisingly are good at portraying complex story and characters with such a short limit of time.

I believe drama-only fans won’t find it anything special but this drama put a lot of effort in including favorite lines and hidden detail from its source material so the rewatch value is MUCH higher for fans who love the novel and audio drama version.

However, I would suggest everyone to give it a try and watch for yourself. This is a good story but probably not for everyone, especially those who refuse to open their mind.

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Worth your time

(Minor spoilers)

What got me to start this was knowing the ML from another drama and enjoying his performance as well as the absolutely gorgeous poster. I went in with average expectations, and I was not disappointed. It was even better than I imagined.

Watching Kieta Hatsukoi and this back to back was an interesting experience. This featured a fairly masochistic character, some unhealthy relationship dynamics, and ominous music and shots. It's also somewhat dark but honest about it, with characters who are at times morally grey. But, believe it or not, you can enjoy this and Kieta Hatsukoi.

This was an addictive drama that always made me curious enough to go back and rewatch the recently released episode about six times before the next one was released. I had to pay attention to see what I may have missed. And there are quite a few small details that can be missed.

It was also wonderfully shot, had moments that promised something dangerous, and the music in particular really lended to the eerie/uncomfortable atmosphere at times. The light masochism was also quite interesting to watch. Not to mention they did a great job at building tension between Hira and Kiyoi. You feel those stares.

The way this was shot in particular really lended itself to the idea that Hira views Kiyoi as a King/God. They did an amazing job of making us see him the way he did too. On a pedestal. Above him. Some untouchable ethereal person. He comes into the classroom and a light shines on him while petals fall gracefully around him. He turns to the camera and gives us one smile and our heart stops. Or with symbolic moments such as Hira getting down on one knee to kiss his hand and even that small touch is so precious and he feels unworthy for receiving it from his King.

One last compliment:

The ending shot literally looks like a painting based on ancient times. They literally look like art pieces. I want to capture it and frame it on my wall. Just... Hats off to the person who directed this and the people who filmed it.

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Smile ear to ear while watching

I thoroughly enjoyed this series.

Yeong Joon's arrogance is masterclass!! Park Seo Joon pulls it off rather well!! I was enamored with PSJ before but his turn as the Vice Chairman made me love him all the more. The Vice Chairman is so obnoxious but it's hilarious. His antics would normally get on my nerves but PSJ is so likeable all you can do is fall in love with him.

Park Min Young as Secreatry Kim Mi So was such a breezy, beautiful woman. I loved her too. I usually can't stand the FL is series like this but this show really surpassed my expectations. She was compentent and gave as good as the Vice Chairman gave. I really found the 2 of them charming, likeable and loveable. The chemistry was off the charts!

The supporting cast at the office was so funny but President Park takes the cake. So funny and tried his best to help the Vice Charmain through his predicaments. The dialogue between President Park and the Vice Chairman had me on the floor most episodes.

The reason this series is not getting a 10 overall is b/c there was a small makjang plot in re the Vice Chairman's brother and a kidnapping that happened when they were children that also involved Secretary Kim.....WHAT????? Anyway, in my mind that part didn't happen!!

The Vice Chairman has some great one liners; wish I had kept more of them but these are 2 of my favorites:

When Mi So talks about ordinary he says "I've lived my whole life extraordinarily. I don't know what ordinary is like."

His friend tells him his face is full of love and he says "It used to be full of deadly attractiveness, and now love as well?"

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awesome plot with a disappointing ending

The revenge plot was perfect, and i know that from the beginning it was centered on taking justice into their own hands, but the journed that the lasts eps took indicated something else...the outcome seemed obvious, imprisonment, and even if they still wanted the jiwoo killed the mujin, there were other ways, there were millions of near-deaths, they always used knives, but just with the pildo they used a gun, i dont conform, i think they wanted to give it an air of drama that the ending is not so happy. She already had a thirst for revenge for the death of someone she loved, it didnt need to be repeated for her to kill the guy, she didnt need to start a romance, which until then was just something in the air, in the 45 seconds of the last time just to minutes later its all over, and its very discouraging when something unnecessary happens, they wanted to be unpredictable but the surprise was negative, in my view i didnt even need to develop a romance, the ending would already be perfect with her revenge and leave the two as one possible romance for the future, i cant explain it, that "we'll be together in the future beyond the episode". Anyway, im disgusted because the drama is incredible, the development, the plot, the characters, everything, but the ending left something to be desired with an impression of "we did something because there had to be an ending", or something like that, but I give 10 stars anyway, just pretend it was another way haha

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Nothing special

This is a very "by the numbers drama". It uses a lot of the storytelling devices, plot points and cliches that are typical of the genre, and does them fairly well, but it never exceeds them. I have seen all the individual components of this drama done better elsewhere. I think the appeal of Weiyoung is that it is consistently decent throughout and in all aspects, so it doesn't have the sharp drop-off in the second half you often see with Chinese dramas.

Of course it's not perfect. There are sketchy plot holes, some weak acting, and a repetitive and bland perfection from our leading lady. I also think the makeup is weird (the male lead looks like a corpse sometimes, lol) and the costuming as well, but that's a fairly minor quibble. Overall, it's simply not very memorable, but perfectly fine.

I would recommend this to new drama watchers and people that are trying their hand at historical Chinese dramas. Big, tragic, exceptional, dense dramas may be overwhelming or disappointing. Something like Weiyoung, which is straightforward, simple, uses classic tropes and does it well, is a good choice. Because of it solidness it's also good for a rewatch down the road!

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Kept me glued to Hira and Kiyoi’s story

Fascinating, different, intriguing, just a unique show. From the cinematography, the story, to the actors. The actors portrayed their roles so well. Kiyoi and Hira are both very distinctive characters.

This drama is based off the first novel Utsukushii Kare. There are three novels. Utsukushii Kare, Nikurashii kare and Nayamashii Kare. I also heard there is fourth book with content the writer wrote of extra stuff that didn’t make the three novels. This drama only tells the very beginning of their story which is the first book. With only having six episodes I thought it told the beginning of their story well. The pacing was a mix of you wanting more to you being hooked on each scene in the average 20 minute episode if that makes sense lol. I also loved the music!!

You really have to watch it before judging off of others opinions. I actually think it’s a bit more complex and unique than your average popular boy meets shy quiet boy trope that you might be thinking. This drama is for mature audiences and not for everyone. It’s not suppose to be a portrayal of reality so don’t come into watching it thinking that. Though I do like that it showed that flawed people with certain traits do indeed also have the ability to like someone and the difficulties in forming a relationship. I like that it doesn’t hide away from that and is essentially what it is about.

This is a great example of there is more thats meets the eye. There are many different perspectives to this drama and I saw it from the perspective of a great story showing two complex flawed characters trying to figure out love. They heal through each other in a way and become better and happier together. I would just watch it and see for yourself how you feel. I enjoyed it!

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I was bored

I loved the ML, both the actor and his acting and the character himself, it weren't for the fact that I didn't enjoy this drama he would 100% be one of my favorite MLs. He's sweet and funny, a pushover when it doesn't matter but never when it does, he's a little weird and overall lovable. I enjoyed his storyline regarding him and Wooshik and everything else regarding track and his family. However I just couldn’t care less about the romance in this drama, I found it boring, uninteresting, unsatifying and plain. I also personally didn’t care about the FL at all, just like the romance she was also plain and overall just not an interesting character to follow. I tryied really hard to push myself to finish this because I really did love the ML but alas I just couldn’t.

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Foundational Romance Tropes: whipping boy, spoiled prince, obsessive crush

I love a sympathetic main character and Japan delivers introvert well (emo is their brand, after all). This is a pretty classic whipping boy trope meets spoiled prince (it’s been a while my old friend).

Our POV is that weird kid who takes photos and thinks he wants to be invisible but actually just wants to be seen by one person (and belong to him). The beautiful boy who starts bossing him around is protective out the gate, having decided that this weirdo is HIS weirdo, no one ELSE can boss him around. This execution of whipping boy was a whole lot gentler than I expected, but because Hira is the seme character it did pivot into attack dog half way through and I LOVED that. One of the things I like about Japanese BL is that it's not afraid of darkness,

Utsukushii Kare managed to be harsh as all get up, angry with us and itself, reminding us of old tropes and archetypes long forgotten but still utterly appealing.

It was exactly as weird and as messed-up as any origin manga and it was great to watch a no holds barred authentic Japanese yaoi adaptation once again. Sure this was an angsty af warped little BL, but it was entirely true to itself with no attempt made to modify its POV for modern sensibilities or international audiences. It highlights one of the things Japanese cinema is best at, staying true to itself.

Up until the last episode this was a solid 8/10, right there with Japan’s other 2021 offerings... and then the final ep BLEW MY MIND. I did not understand how they could possibly end this series well, I half expected tragedy, but this BL turned into a life lesson in how to stick a landing. Japan, why you gotta do us all so fantastically dirty like that? I tend to put all my eggs in the endings basket, as a result episode 6 alone bumped the whole thing up 9/10. I may not rewatch all of Utsukushii Kare but I have already rewatched the final ep 3x. So, yeah.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, JUST KNOW WHAT YOU ARE GETTING INTO

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Which character are you in Happiness?

I started watching HAPPINESS for Park Hyung-sik. This is his comeback drama right off his military service. I've always found him adorable in Do Bong Soon and Suits. My go-to music video is his version of True Colors for the OST of Trolls with Lee Sung-kyung. (Watch here: https://youtu.be/mLmioSZk5-0 )

I'm not a zombie apocalypse genre fan. I never watched Kingdom nor Sweet Home and I unknowingly watched Train to Busan in the theater without knowing its zombie plot (because Gong Yoo).

But this series makes it to my top 3 for 2021, making it to my immortal favorites list Goblin, It's Ok not to be Ok, Hotel Del Luna, It's Ok that's Love, Beauty Inside and Full House. It's nothing at all like that cheesy CLOY or that sweet to the bones DoTS, or that fluffy romance Hometown Cha Cha Cha.

HAPPINESS is a 12-part series that explores humanity post covid times, while the world gets broken by yet another kind of virus. I love how the writers have exposed different levels of evil in all forms, how desperate times transform people into monsters or bring out kindness, how kabits will always be kabits, how the prodigal son is always welcomed home by his parents, how sibling love overcomes sibling hatred, how money really means nothing in this world, how fake people live fake lives, how mistrust in the government is seeded, how it proves that private companies with massive funding really run the world, and how a home is really based on family, loyalty and love.

Watch it not for the gore, nor the cinematography. I won't rate it much based on those. There ain't much romance and definitely not much skinship and intimacy. But watch it for the characterizations and reflect upon yourselves which character you transform into when we are all at the worst and most desperate of situations.

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