Reviews

Finally a BL K-drama where the world didn't feel empty

I'm not used to Korean BL dramas having a budget or having a cast bigger than 4 people. This series had both. Maybe because it didn't really focus on the romance at all, to the point where I didn't believe they actually loved each other, so they decided to actually put money into it?

The romance was so far into the background that they could have made this a bromance and had the 2 NC scenes replaced by investigation scenes, and it wouldn't have made a difference to the emotional level of the story. It was so unimportant that even the characters avoided the topic for most of the show. At least until we got closer to the end, and apparently the scriptwriters decided the show needed some emotion outside of sad and angry.

The script was also a little ridiculous in the beginning regarding Ju Taeseon's lines. I burst out laughing and said "What do you mean?" way too many times within the first couple of episodes alone.

The actors all did a great job, especially the actress for Oja Hyeon. She pulled off batshit crazy scarily well. She actually made me uncomfortable a couple of times. I would have liked to have seen more of her internal & family struggles because there was a lot more there than was unpacked.

The CGI only bothered me a little. After seeing a couple of series with the most fake CGI models recently, looking at you 'Double Helix', anything above it doesn't bother me as much.

Loved the OST. It's not often that I notice the OST; honestly, if I don't notice it, you've done a great job, but the OST really stood out here in a good way. I also really liked the OP; I never skipped it.

Now, as for the plot. I will admit that when it comes to crime dramas, I'm not the biggest fan because they never put enough research into things. I was mildly impressed with the amount of investigating being done in this series (it would have been nice to see both sides of things since it was obvious who was behind most of it) and that they made it make sense why they couldn't find any solid evidence. HOWEVER, I took points off for the fact that it was obvious who the son was and the victim's connections after learning about said secret son. I had already picked up on Song acting weird in episode 1, and he and Tak exchanged looks a couple of times that weren't normal. I didn't need them to connect the dots for me for the murders because everything clicked right away once we talked to Oja Hyeon's sister & learned about the possibility of a son. I understand it was only 10 30ish minute episodes, but that's why I said they should have just taken the romance out of this series.

Am I glad we finally got a BL K-drama with an actual budget and cast? Yes, but not at the expense of a better plot. Romance should enhance the plot, not weigh it down, which is how this felt to me.

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Too serious to be fun, too silly to be taken seriously.

Nancheng Banquet starts with an engaging premise. The martial arts sequences are entertaining, unfortunately, that's where the drama peaks before losing its footing.

The biggest disappointment is the female lead. A deadly assassin suffering from amnesia is a familiar trope, but somehow she loses not only her memories but also every ounce of intelligence and composure that supposedly made her formidable. Rather than feeling like a dangerous warrior adapting to a new reality, she spends much of the series causing chaos, acting overly cute, and stumbling through her disguise as a eunuch. I know realism isn't the goal here, but even fantasy needs some internal believability.

The male lead and the emperor have stronger screen presence, better-written dialogue, and far more compelling interactions. I also appreciated the friendship between the emperor and the female lead. Instead of turning him into a resentful third wheel, the story allows him to step aside with maturity when he realizes where everyone's feelings lie. The empress also deserves praise—her sincerity and unwavering dedication make her one of the more grounded characters in the drama.

What primarily didn't work for me was the inconsistency in tone. The martial arts lacked impact, the female lead never convinced me as an elite assassin, and her exaggerated baby voice often felt annoying rather than charming. The emperor, despite his charisma, could have benefited from a more serious portrayal during key moments.

The drama struggles to balance its identity. It presents an increasingly serious political plot, only to interrupt it with exaggerated comedy and romantic antics from the female lead. Instead of complementing each other, these extremes constantly compete for attention, forcing the audience to switch emotional gears every few minutes which becomes exhausting after a while.

Overall, I think Nancheng Banquet would have worked much better had it fully embraced being a lighthearted romantic comedy. Instead, it tries to combine high-stakes political intrigue with cartoonish humor, and the result never quite finds its balance. Add in the female lead, overly idealized romance, and it became more frustrating than charming.

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Sweet, simple, and easy to enjoy, but easy to forget

Love Design is one of those dramas that isn't bad, but it also isn't particularly memorable. I enjoyed watching it while it lasted, but once it was over, there wasn't much that stayed with me.

My biggest issue is that... nothing really happens. There isn't any major conflict, emotional tension, or significant character development. The story mostly moves from one romantic moment to the next without giving the characters challenges that help them grow. Because of that, the relationship feels pleasant rather than impactful. (Not complaining, just an observation.)

The production was decent. It looked polished enough, and I don't have any complaints about the budget. The acting was good overall. All three main actresses delivered solid performances. Rin was probably my favorite character, and I found her the most enjoyable to watch. Jane (Rin's actress) also reminded me a little of BLACKPINK's Rosé in terms of her looks.

The romance itself is sweet, but it never reaches the emotional highs that my favorite GLs do. There isn't a breakup, there aren't any emotionally complex conflicts, and there aren't any scenes that left a lasting impression. It isn't the kind of drama I'll randomly think about months later. (Again, that's just my personal opinion/preference, not a complaint.)

Overall, Love Design is a comfortable, easy watch if you're looking for something light and wholesome. It doesn't have any major flaws, but it also doesn't give me a reason to rate it any higher. I enjoyed it while it was airing, but once it ended, it was just... there.

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Strong from episode 1 and all the way through

Honestly one of the best series' i've seen, not just as a BL but as a standalone series, it's strong from start to finish. There are some truly dark scenes, with a brilliant revenge plot that is sustained through the series, but thats not all this series is! Watching the character growth of everyone is amazing, they are all phenomenal actors with fantastic chemistry, and you really get to understand each of them, why they are how they are, and you get to see this explored. Really impressive in a 10 episode show.
Without any spoilers, i can just say, watch this if you like dark stories, but where there are light hearted moments, deep personal connections, and a good dose of hurt/comfort (although i'm a sucker for hurt/comfort so as always there could always have been more of this for me :D)

I have already rewatched this as the weeks have gone on, and a lot of people will rave about NC scenes, they are so brilliant, but there are so many scenes that stand out, outside of NC, so many moments that just punch you in the gut. I've never wanted to reach through the screen and give a character a hug so badly as with this drama.

Watch it!

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underwhelming rushed finale... and too condensed

As it is with every thai series that approaches a good story it rains down 10 ratings & reviews. Of course it's neither a masterpiece and far from a 10. First we have all the changes to the manwha. Sky had a natural phobia of cameras and being filmed - so they added the bullying just for "dramatic effect". Was it necessary? Of course not, there are people with all kinds of phobias and many have them without a trauma to begin with. Jay was far more of a red flag in the manwha than in the series. So they tried to tune it down which may help to sell the series. But even the downtuned version of Jay is a red flag especially forcing himself on Sun. That's sexual harrassment. Sun lets it happen because he is broken and guilt ridden. There is no apology or any talk about it in the whole series. Do we need toxic behaviour in every third BL? Nope, they could have made Jay not that way, he could have revealed that he knows the little bunny from the beginning and they could have made it a more romantic story. And of course we have also a lot of rape in the series, with explicit representation, which is problematic at best.

Then we have the ridiculous finale. First Jay could not have found Sun stabbed because he went to the USA. What may be doable on a tight timebudget from Korea but doesn't work from Thailand. First, there is no direct flight from Bangkok to the USA. The only destination in north america is Vancouver which is a 13 hour flight and then you have to switch planes to a destination in the USA. Or you can go over China, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Phillippines, Singapore to the USA. Such a flight takes around 19 to 24 hours depending on the destination. When he left at 7 in the morning and he found him at night the next day (we don't know the time because it's dark quite early in Thailand) - that does not compute. They needed one day extra, but the scriptwriters were sloppy and did not research because nobody will notice. Sorry, I may be a nobody but I do notice.

Also the resolution of all the evil people were hilarious. First, when you claim a wrongful transfer of shares, you can't do it just so. There should have been a court order, we didn't see that mail or any documents attached to it. Also lazy writing. The old guy was the only one who died "properly". But to have Sunny to be raped - even when is a murder - it's nothing what I would consider a fair punishment. And Mr. President shot by his driver? How cliché do you want it? Yes! I guess the driver worked for the old guy, but the old guy was already dead when that happenend, did nobody in his organisation inform all the others? And of course that was not in the Manwha at all, that was a really lazy way to resolve an "open" end. The production run out of time. This is one of the few thai series which should have had 12 episodes.

So the positive: It was never boring. For their first roles the MLs did very well for most of their scenes, chemistry worked most of the time, alone they worked perfectly. Production quality was top notch and even the OST was great. The negative: The changes to the manwha. If you want to change things, change it completely but not half assed (Sky, Jay, confrontation @Dreams). Of course I didn't like the comedic bits inbetween. They broke the series vibe and where unnecessary. We don't need comedy in every fucking thai BL.

For a Thai BL, this was great, but the lazy writing is imho inherent in most thai scripts. It's was an entertaining watch, but as usual the finale fell flat. I have no idea why this was not a 12 episodes series where all the "loose ends" could have been resolved in a better way and all the crap series have 12 episodes of boredom. When you can live with a red flag ML and want an interesting story in a thai BL, you can watch without wasting your time.

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Apparently one week is enough for love... and police training.

The first two episodes were so bad that I genuinely wanted to drop this drama. That has never happened with a Thai GL before.
Unfortunately, my brain refuses to let me drop dramas. It genuinely bugs me, so I sat through this one waiting for it to be over.

Thankfully, after Episode 4 it got somewhat better somehow.

My biggest issue was probably how unrealistic the writing was.

How does a bakery girl get accepted into a special VIP police training program just because her father is the deputy? Nobody questions the obvious abuse of power? Then, after only a few days, and just a few hours of training from Than, she suddenly starts outperforming trained police officers in combat and ranks near the top of the class. These women should have years of training behind them. I love fiction (it's my favourite genre), but if you're setting your story in the real world, at least follow real-world logic.

That entire training arc was painfully boring, and it was where I wanted to drop the drama the most.

The romance also didn't work for me. Than had only met Vickey ONCE before the training camp, yet suddenly she's changing rooms to stay with her, helping her with everything, training her, motivating her, and even breaking rules for her. Then comes the classic cliché: they're caught sneaking into the showers, hide in a stall, the instructor conveniently gets called away before checking, and they have their first kiss... at the end of Episode 2. It happened way too fast and felt completely unrewarding because I never felt the chemistry between them.

The mystery wasn't much of a mystery either. I guessed early on that the minister was the villain just at his entry, and that the deputy had helped cover up the murder without directly committing it because he was the female lead's father (so they won't make him a murderer). I also expected the ending to portray him as someone who had changed. That's exactly what happened, so there was no suspense for me.

I liked that the story actually had murders, but the victims barely got two or three minutes of screen time before dying. Why would I feel emotional over deaths of characters I don't even know?

One thing I did appreciate was the second couple. Instead of making them another WLW pairing like most Thai GLs do, they were a straight couple, which was a nice change.

As for the acting, Than felt a little stiff to me. Maybe it was intentional because her character was supposed to be stoic after her father's death, so this could just be a me problem. Vickey's acting was good.

The fight scenes were actually decent. Action is usually one of the weaker parts of Thai GLs whenever it's included, but this series handled it okay, so kudos for that.

The finale brought back all the problems I had with the writing. Vickey, who had barely handled a gun before, suddenly became a perfect shooter—taking down an enemy bodyguard with a precise shot near the chest and then shooting the minister in the arm to stop him from attacking Than. Very realistic.

Then, in the middle of a life-or-death situation, while hiding behind a pillar from an armed minister, Than decides it's the perfect time to kiss Vickey. Umm... okay?
That kiss would've been so much more rewarding if one of them had actually been shot/dying. (lol. sorry)

And then, out of nowhere, we're told Than has been shot near the stomach.

...When?!

The show never actually showed it happening. Vickey helps Than, the police arrive, everyone freezes, and suddenly she's injured. Who shot her? When? Did I miss something?
Or if it even happened, show a backflash of it!

The pacing was another major issue. Everything felt rushed. The VIP course only lasted about a week, yet these two were already kissing within the first couple of nights. Then, once the course ends, Than learns Vickey is the deputy's daughter and becomes heartbroken. It just didn't feel earned. Girl, you've known her for, what... a week? The emotional reactions never matched the amount of relationship development the audience actually got to see.

I'm pretty sure I had even more complaints while watching that I've forgotten by now. Oh well.

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The suits were better than the story

Dangerous Queen honestly had realllllllly good potential, but they completely blew it.

I was excited going into this because I heard Nur is the CEO of her own company, produced the series herself, and even picked TK as her co-star after seeing her on TikTok. That's a cool story, but unfortunately the final product didn't live up to the hype for me.

I didn't like Nur's acting. TK was okay, actually pretty impressive for a debut. Kem's actor did a great job playing an obsessive lover, and Bo's mother was such a horrible woman, I genuinely hated her, which means the actress did her job well.
Meanwhile, both Queen and Bo felt expressionless a lot of the time. I also never really felt the chemistry between the leads.

The direction doesn't help either. Scenes constantly feel either rushed or dragged out, and the show can't decide whether it wants to be serious, romantic, or unintentionally funny. The pacing is awful too. Around halfway through, I was already thinking, "When will this end?"

The story is the biggest problem. It lacks coherence, originality, and emotional weight. It genuinely feels like a Wattpad fanfic, where random romantic moments matter more than actual storytelling. The script is full of clichés, the conflicts feel forced, and the characters barely grow.

The romance doesn't work for me either. Queen spends most of the series being bossy and self-centered, while Bo has very little personality of her own. Their relationship feels more like Queen obsessively wanting Bo all to herself. Bo also goes from barely caring about Queen to suddenly throwing herself at her, which felt incredibly awkward.

Also... Bo gets sold FIVE TIMES. FIVE. TIMES. Her mother repeatedly sells her to either Kem or Queen for gambling money. It became ridiculously repetitive.

And don't even get me started on the endless staring. I'd skip ahead 5–10 seconds thinking, "Tch... they're still staring?" The silence felt awkward instead of tense.

The BDSM in the final episode had me gagged, though. Never thought I'd see a neck collar in a GL—or any show I've watched, honestly. 😭 But I'm not deducting points for that 😋.

TK (Queen) though... *ahem, ahem.* She reminded me of Sam from 'GAP'. This whole series gave me SLIGHT 'GAP' vibes, which honestly made it even more disappointing because it had the potential i feel.

I probably gave it a 4 mostly because of TK.

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TayNew are perfect for each other.

I really love TayNew's chemistry. They're perfectly sweet with just the right amount of spice to make them unforgettable. I remember falling in love with them while watching Cherry Magic and since then have loved watching all of their content with Polcasan and the rest of GMMTV. As much as I love TayNew though it unfortunately wasn't enough to make me really love this series. To be perfectly honest the pacing was slow and the plot was a bit boring. This series really could have been done in six episodes, but GMMTV really loves padding out their shows. Reinforcing this was the inclusion of a secondary couple which was entirely unnecessary. RyuMond seem cute and I wouldn't mind watching them as leads in their own series, but their subplot here was entirely nonsensical and had nothing to do with the main plot whatsoever so it wound up just being distracting and pointless. RyuMond aside though I really did enjoy the rest of the supporting cast, they were fun. I especially loved seeing Tui, I haven't seen him act in anything besides ThamePo so it was a delight to get to see him onscreen again.
I'm sure people who absolutely adore comedies and slice of life series will love A Dog and a Plane, but it wasn't for me. I liked it well enough; the relationship building was solid, the conflict (even though boring) was realistic and relatable, but overall this series just never really captured my attention and truthfully I had to force myself just to watch the last couple of episodes. I hope TayNew's next series will be something more exciting.

General info for anyone wanting to know:
• Is it spicy/nsfw? No. This series is very pg-13. There are a few dirty jokes and we get to see TayNew makeout (sometimes very passionately), but what happens behind closed doors stays behind closed doors.
• Is there violence? No. The show does depict medical emergencies, but there's no violence behind them.
• Is there a love triangle? At one point yes, but it's hardly the focus of the series, it only lasts a couple of episodes.

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My Favorite Manhwa Adaptation Ever

For me, this was a really great adaptation of a manhwa. It not only adapted the manhwa pretty accurately, but also improved upon it by giving more depth and personality to the other characters, making them more rounded and human.

PROS

1. I think this drama wasn't afraid to really show the dark and gritty aspects of the entertainment industry. Some people might say that it's graphic, but to me, it's completely realistic.

2. Fantastic Acting - Both the main leads' acting was absolutely fabulous. Min (as Sun) managed to convey so much emotion in his eyes despite his stoic role. It's very, very impressive considering this is his first main role. His performance stole the drama for me. Toptap (as Jay) managed to put up an equally good performance in his role. Honestly, it just felt refreshing to see a show where both main leads match each other's performance level. Other than the main leads, the other cast (Shogun, Fuaiz, Khunnote, Claude, Gandhi, Pakin, etc) put up a great performance as well.

3. As said earlier, this drama managed to improve upon the manhwa. Characters like Pakin and Sky were kind of one-note and bland in the manhwa. This drama managed to take those characters and give them a backstory. I didn't care too much for those characters in the manhwa. I was neutral, but this drama managed to make me like them so much and made me want to see them as the second couple.

4. Plot- The pacing and the plot were quite engaging to watch. There was 0 moments where I felt bored. The story managed to create a great balance of romance and main plot, which made this an entertaining drama.

5. Chemistry/Romance - The chemistry between the main leads was fantastic. The romance, the bickering, and the intensity between them were quite enjoyable. Some might feel iffy about the romance with some of the dub-con scenes. I was able to look past it because I could see Sun reciprocating Jay's feelings to some extent. It really depends on what you as an audience can tolerate watching.

6. Character Development - It was quite lovely to see Sun go from this traumatized, guilt-ridden, and closed-off individual to someone who was able to find family, love, and meaning in life. The same goes for the Sky, who shows beautiful character growth as well. Tbh, you can’t help but root for all of the good characters (main and sides).

CONS

I think the only con for me would be that I wished certain villains had suffered a bit more, but this does not bother me enough to affect my score of this drama.



If you like grittier shows, then this would be a great show to try out. Do keep in mind that there’s some graphic stuff and trigger warnings, so if you’re someone who gets affected by dark stuff easily, I strongly suggest looking up the trigger warnings before watching this drama. For me, this drama is a great leap for adaptations and is a definite 10/10. Also, I do recommend giving the OST a try because it's an absolute banger of a song!

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boring

It's so sad that seasons 1-2 were so good compared to this one which is so boring...
I was so hyped for this new season but then netflix just made it awfully bad and repetitive!
I mean, there was some scenes that were really cool but most of them are monotonous!

I don't understand why Netflix couldn't make a good third season. It's like a pattern😭😂

but what saved this was the actors, they were brilliant as always.

It's such a shame that Netflix wasted an opportunity to make a good season 3 with these amazing actors and a story that could be developed properly

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The FL ruined it for me

Things I loved

1 The premise. It was exactly what I love. Tropes don't bother me at all and I love particularly the Friends to Lovers trope. I don't mind clichés, I'm looking forward to them and I don't even mind if I can guess the next scene. Yet this disappointed me and didn't give me any of the feelings I was hoping.

Things I liked

1 The ML. He's handsome, and he's not a bad actor. I haven't seen him in any other dramas so my experience is limited, but I liked him here although I feel like he hadn't much to work with. Maybe the role wasn't made for him either. Something was missing.

Things I disliked.

1 The fact that I didn't care for any other character. None.

2 The lack of chemistry. I didn't find they were good together, not as friends not as lovers. I was thinking all the time: That would be great if another actress was with him.

3 The FL character. I didn't hate her, but i's true that you had to try to like her. That's a shame because I'm not someone who dislikes bubbly and cute female characters. I just need them to be also relatable and sympathetic even when they are spoiled. I love spoiled characters by the way. She wasn't that. She was just mean spirited and too abrasive to like.

Things I hated

1 The actress. It's not so much about her character but about how bad an actress she was. She wasn't cute, she wasn't beautiful, she wasn't talented. That resumes the whole thing. You have to have at least something to make me watch. Mostly talent since the beauty is on the eye of the beholder and I can get past it. This role asked for a bubbly or cute or witty actress.. she didn't pull any of it.

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Adaptation that lived up to expectations

An adaptation that is made right, it exceed my expectations, especially the 2nd half of serie, it leveled up the drama, minlee as sun was perfect casting, incredible performance, his micro expressions were enough to tell us whats his character feeling, toptap Did so wall as jay, i have only praises, shogun, fuaiz, jirapat and alm cast delivered an incredible performance, the chemistry was on point, storytelling, character development, sun's journey toward revenge or more correctly, toward healing was entertaining to follow, i had so Many emotions watching his character, the dark side of story was as shocking and disturbing and it intended to be, revenge was delicious, i had my fun watching the downfall of all them evils, the ost and directing was great, i loved ending, it was well rounded serie

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Probably one my most favorite special episodes

Absolutely loved the special episodes. Enjoyed every minute. Although we didn't get to see RomeMhok and TawanAran's wedding.. atleast we kinda got some closure to their stories.. I do wish we'd get to see MiraPhub's story😅😅 I am really interested like how that'd go. Overall it's just beautiful.

I think the cameo of the gen 2 pairs was much better in the specials than the main series. My favorites being ForceBook and JuniorMark's cameo. Junior really just gave his all and Mark just lost it at the end🤣🤣. Force looked soo damn hot as Thee🤭🤭🤭 Loved book's reaction when Thee came it🤣🤣🤣

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