Reviews

it is really that good

WATCH IT, GO RIGHT NOW AND WATCH IT!!!!!!!!

I don't usually go out of my way to write reviews unless a series really impresses me or doesn't meet my expectations. For this series, it has really impressed me. Being open about trauma and pain is something new I have seen in a drama, and it is so well done. There are no unnecessary cliche tropes where love heals all trauma or anything like that. Watch the series to figure out how they fix all this (lolz, is this a spoiler? I hope not).

It contains NSFW scenes, but none of them are awkward or unnecessary. A lot of BL series add NSFW scenes just to boost views, but in this one, it felt natural. I'm a sucker for the storyline this series follows, so I might be biased, but I enjoyed the series. I just finished watching it for the third time just minutes ago.

Non-CNC: Yes... not more than once.
NSFW: Hell yeah!
Tugs your heartstrings: TUGGED!
Brings up sensitive topics: Really well done.
Overall: Really well-made and deserving of a 10/10 rating. Also, both the main actors and even the side actors are eye candies. I was drooling over them for the entirety of the series.

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you WILL have a headache watching this

The story had so much potential, but the constant yelling gave me a headache. I managed to keep watching simply because the story was good, but I definitely screamed at my laptop nearly every time the main character (the screaming one) appeared. I liked the story, but I will go out of my way to avoid rewatching this.

Personally, I wouldn't rewatch this series despite liking the storyline simply because of the screaming. Even if a million dollars were offered to rewatch this, I wouldn't accept it because it would mean losing my sanity.

THE PROBLEM: THE SCREAMING, THE SCREAMING, THE SCREAMING.

I cannot believe any sane and grown adult would approve of this kind of screaming. I have no idea what the writer or director was thinking, but I personally feel really mad about this because the storyline is really, really good and the screaming actor could have really levelled up the story simply by his acting (acting is good when he is not screaming and is calmer).

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BTS is more interesting

I watched the first two seasons and half of this. The first cast was the best, but at least we can see some new pretty faces in the second. It was a good opportunity for newcomers in the industry to show themselves. At the third season everybody knew that the project will flop, so they cast from the bottom of the barrel. I still wandering how Lom's actor got this role, because he is average looking and lack of talent, but still got the most screentime. The old couples barely get a story, so it's disappointing. I heard, that the company would like to make a forth season. They should make a story about the producton and the actors, because what happened Behind The Scenes, much more interesting, than the plot.

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An Endearing Romance Between a Delinquent & His Teacher

It takes courage to love. While it doesn’t seem like love requires an ‘I can do this’ mentality, it’s a fragile, easily broken emotion.

Adapted from the manga series Sahara-sensei to Toki-kun by Toriya Ko, starring Kizu Takumi (Sahara Ichiro) and Hachimura Rintaro (Toki Kanade), Mr. Sahara and Toki-kun spins a heartwarming and humorous tale that beautifully intertwines the worlds of a tough-as-nails delinquent, Toki Kanade, and the unexpectedly charming Sahara Ichiro, his dashing PE teacher.

Despite the over-the-top humor and stereotypes, the story unfolds with a keen attention to detail, revealing Toki’s pure-hearted nature beneath his rough exterior. Kizu Takumi’s portrayal of Sahara Ichiro adds charisma to the character, making the growing connection between teacher and student all the more captivating.

Read the complete article here-

https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/02/07/sahara-sensei-to-toki-kun-series-review-ep-3-to-8/

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i loved every actor and character , that's rare !

almost perfect , almost
one less star for forgetting lee ri an , she deserved her love to be fulfilled with chan , pretty sad about that.
another less star for the doctors plot , literally useless , there was no need for any of it , glad it just took a couple minutes here and there throughout the whole drama.
other than that everyone was a genuinely good person , i loved every single actor and character , that never happened , specially jennifer , i want a drama just for herself !
also didn't like the writters for blaming the driver , why blame anyone even , accidents happen without the need to have someone making a mistake , as soon as i heard he paid for the bills i prayed for jennifer to meet him and fall in love and that both can be cured , but i guess the writters had to blame him roght after , sad but realistic i guess
anyways , "don't shit , pee !"

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Harem story I shouldn't have watched

The tile alone should have kept me from watching this one. Sadly, I’m too stupid, so I watched anyway. I really hate this multiple wife universe where the women are little more than breeding vessels. No wonder those “B”s become scheming and calculating in order to survive.
I know the relationship between the Emperor and FL was set to be some kind of “against all odds” love, but the scene where FL is in bed after the snakebite and him having sex with another woman, enjoying himself with a woman that isn’t even his concubine at the time, had me so disgusted with him, I almost stopped watching.
After watching anyway, I realized that the only character I actually liked in this was the Emperor’s brother, Lord Jin. At least he was smart and made conclusions based on facts.
Well, I guess this kind of story isn’t for me.

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A god among humans

The story is basically about a god, presented as a human, being admired and praised for how "unfathomable" his powers are in comparison to the human's standards... and it honestly felt great to have a hero who isn't a victim and spends half the story getting beaten up. I thought it would give very little space for character development, since he's already so powerful from the start, but with his new opponents coming stronger and stronger, he had to keep up with the cultivation so they still managed to make it entertaining until the end. He still could have used a bit of personal development as well though.

The ML isn't humble or particularly nice, understandable given his status, but he could have avoided most of the conflicts if he wasn't such a disrespectful brat. Although it did creat some funny scenes. But he is of a kind nature and did a lot of good around him.

Most of the characters didn’t have much background so it was a little hard to connect with them, but there were some good ones in the mix.
The FL was barely present and had basically no impact on the story, not a fan of the actress’s acting but not bad. The scenes with the Master of Dan Pavilion and ML were annoying, not sure why they put so many of them.

It was funny to watch all of the masters being amazed by ML's knowledge and skills - trying to help him to be in his good grace - while all the other low grades fighters were trying to belittle and mock him xD such a contrast.

I hope Season 2 comes soon!

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Should You Watch?

I gave this a try despite several negative warnings in the media. I found myself binging - unable not to watch each next episode. The story and predicament of the characters is intriguing, and the short fast paced episodes hard to resist. These high school kids make some odd choices, but given their ages within the story it's believable. It is obvious early on that given the fantastic and impossible and 'supernatural' things that are happening that this must be some sort of unreal dream scenario. All the impossible things are OK if the ending satisfactorily ties matters up. However, that's the downside - the last 15 or 20 minutes will likely leave you unsatisfied. Does all the good story telling that comes before compensate for the soft ending? I found it did and enjoyed the binge.

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Lost me

This story lost me. Started out pretty decent with the translation vs translation app battle but it went down hill fairly quickly.

First off, this show being about top notch translations was odd. The quotes that were read at the beginning of each episode was very laughable. There were lots of grammar errors and it was poorly spoken English. I study Mandarin Chinese so I can understand that learning a language completely opposite your own is a challenge. I know my pronunciation isn’t perfect but I also don’t market myself to be the best either. Wish they could have found stronger speakers to make it more believable.

I left this show for a couple of weeks thinking I would eventually come back to it but that definitely did not happen.

Honestly, the characters in this show were forgettable and rather dull. The main conflict between the couples seemed like child’s play. It was also unnecessarily drawn out and came off very shallow. I’d like to think that most adult relationships have deeper rooted problems that keep them apart and don’t drag out over so many years but maybe that’s in my bubble. Their issue didn’t seem like it was enough for a 36 episode show. This show could’ve been wrapped up in 20 or less episodes.

Basic production value, forgettable OST, and mediocre acting. Make your own judgement and watch for yourself.

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Surprise hidden gem with a polarizing male lead

Being a working mom of 3 whose free time is sparse, I watch dramas purely for entertainment value. Does a drama need to be high budget or have well-known actors to appeal to me? Of course not. This drama was not even on my radar as I was trying (and failing) to watch The Last Immortal. I rarely ever complete a historical/fantasy C-drama as I almost always lose interest and anything with more than 24 episodes is too long for me. In fact, I cannot remember the last wuxia/xianxia that I've ever watched from beginning to end without a whole lot of fast-forwarding. The last historical drama I watched in its entirety was The Imperial Coroner. Under the Power and Maiden Holmes are also favorites of mine so I guess I lean towards mystery dramas with romance. After reading some comments, I decided to give it a try as I did not like either versions of Sword and Fairy that were out and looking for something new to watch. And I am so glad I did! This review will be long, sorry.

Story: Nothing new here as it seems there are a lot of dramas about the female lead transmigrating into a book. I was hooked after the amazing opening scene. It was enthralling and straight to the point and had me rooting for the 'villain', Ji Chu. His cold stare, arrogant strut towards the throne and smirk immediately made him my favorite character. In fact, his character was so great that the actor's sometimes rather wooden acting almost didn't matter. The actor, Ding Ze Ren, was pretty great when he sparred with our Fl but he needs improvement during sad scenes but I'll cut him some slack because he's fairly green. He has a lot of potential, though. Anyway, back to the story. The mysteries were nicely woven into the main plot and all the characters, including small side ones, had an important part to play. The reveal of the real big bad was a surprise. In fact, I was kept guessing a lot throughout the drama, especially Secretary Du being a bad guy. I really did not expect that!

Acting/Cast: Song Yiren nailed her character. She was smart, cute, silly but not overly to the point of obnoxious. I wish they hadn't dubbed her voice because I like her real voice. She and Ding Ze Ren had good onscreen chemistry which is always a deal-breaker for me. If the leads don't have chemistry, I tend to get bored and drop a show. Thank goodness, they did. In fact, their bickering in the beginning had me laughing a lot. Of course, once the ML fell first and made it clear his pursuit of the FL, I was left swooning and squealing. The bathtub scene, the 'child-bearing pill' scene, the real first kiss scene, the 'forced kiss', and of course, the unexpectedly short, sweet and hot bed scene. That's how you show so little but make it suggestive, people! They had so many more scenes in between, too. Like, from the very beginning, the FL touched Ji Chu a lot. And he's a germaphobe yet he let her touch him all the time...so many cute moments. I can go on and on but please, do yourself a favor and watch it yourself.

Pros: I have to give some kudos to the beautiful sets and costumes. Never have I seen such memorable outfits, especially for the ML. The colors and hair styling really suited him. He and the FL also had a lot of complementing couple's outfits which was nice. The music was also great...the ending ost is on repeat for me.

Cons: I wish they had cut the whole arch with the little emperor and his sister and given us one whole episode of the leads being in the modern world. I knew that would be the ending but was hoping for longer than a 1 minute of them just meeting each other.

Overall, while this drama is not perfect, it's perfect for me because it held my attention, made me laugh, smile, and cry. In the end, it had everything I love and it'll be hard for me to move past Ji Chu and Hua Qing Ge's love story.

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Smart main leads

This is a nice drama to watch if you like fantasy genre, action and having strong and smart leads who are on top of things and are always together supporting each other. I like how fl are cold at first but changes after meeting ml and becomes more friendly as she make friends. The sfl is not annoying and has her own love line even though at first she has feeling for ml. It's a watchable drama but can be draggy when drama doesn't focus on the main leads and their friends. Xukai was great as dongbo xueying, his perseverance and strength of conviction is admirable in the face of hardship and his drive to rescue his mother. This has some very good kiss scenes between the leads, xukai and gulli nazha are good kissers.

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A subtle, feminist show

Had a drop in quality towards the end, but the last episode redeemed it. The message was consistently strong (but cleverly subtle in its delivery): this is a show about female emancipation and self-determination. This message elevates it from fluff fantasy to meaningful storytelling.

The lead actors deliver 10/10 in terms of acting, but the villains fall flat, with uninspired motivations. The true “villain” in the show is patriarchy and social conventions derived from patriarchal norms so that partially explains it, but suspension of disbelief is required from the viewer to put up with their brainless, illogical actions.

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Really good is u like a good cute drama

I loved this drama a lot it’s cute has a nice storyline and the actors as expected of Esther and Ding Yuxi are absolutely amazing they could not hv done a better job. The eps itself were just the right amount and perf to binge.
Only complaints would generally be with a few things in the plot this is spoiling so if u hvnt seen yet just letting u k
I hated the fact ml best friend liked fl eventually as well that really irritated me as not only did it put strain on their relationship the fl obvs seeing ml friend as an idol of hers didn’t see much about going to get coffee or stuff with him if it came to work stuff which sort of developed to normal life which I didn’t quite like as it made ml feel jealous and annoyed I think if they just didn’t put the best friend liking her and everything if would hv took out a lot of the aggravation I had during the drama. Another would be the annoyance that the ml did not tell fl that he is her online best friend it was so annoying and could hv been admitted much earlier which would hv cause much more cuteness and closeness between them.
I wish there were more cute scenes of them but not too much to like a sickening point since it did lack a bit of it however I truly loved this drama and would rewatch some eps defo hope u guyz enjoy ❤️

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Important messages throughout

The cast did an excellent job of portraying their characters
Yu Sen's story is by far the best as it is simple yet elegant and loved how it was a chance encounter with Yueh. The scene at the funeral was just well done as it showed passion but also hurt. Is it just me or was the grandma watching them?
Would've loved a bit more screen time for his story.
The youngest was relatable but remember if you are getting inappropriate messages or trolling go to the police. I feel she discovers who she really is as you can't love others without loving yourself.
She sometimes bottled problems up which is never good.
A married couple the husband needed more communication on his side. The wife was interesting especially when she went on the retreat to understand her body but glad they learned what they really wanted through the tests.

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Crazy, but Fun

Like the title of this review, Only Friends was crazy, but fun. There's a LOT of drama, but that's the whole point of the show. If you're looking for a gentle, sweet, kiss-on-the-cheek drama, check out 2gether or something like that. This show is NOT for the people wanting the innocent first love story. This show is meant for the people that want the drama that comes with boys that are capital M - messy!

Story:
I gave the storyline an 9.0 instead of a 10.0 because there were so many misunderstandings. Don't get me wrong, I love me a good misunderstanding, but it felt like there was a point where the only drama for every couple was the a misunderstanding arc. Use it once or twice, but don't keep reusing it in the same fashion for every couple. Communication is key!
I will say, the ending was pretty good and the way that the characters reacted to things was fairly understandable/reasonable for their characterization. This is to say that the reactions may not have been reasonable in a modern IRL setting for an everyday person, but for the characters and their stories, the reactions and motives were fairly on point.

Acting:
First/Khaotung were amazing as always. Their chemistry is OUTSTANDING. I loved them in The Eclipse and I loved them here. They were messy messy, but they were real in a way that I appreciate. Sand stayed firm in his boundaries and Ray learned how to see himself through Sand's eyes leading him to loving himself more than he had in the past.

Give it a go if you're looking for a far more mature series (and you're not afraid of a little mess.)

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