Why was this not a movie?!
What a lovely 30 minutes I spent. I haven't felt a short story impact me so much before that long after I finished watching it, I still can't forget about it!So aside from the brief synopsis, lemme tell you why you should invest your 30 minutes in this short film:
- Available for free on YouTube with subtitles
- Super cute & super fluffy romance
- Park Hyung Shik & Han Ji Min
- Brilliant acting
- Learn the importance of understanding the lives of people with physical disabilities
- Understanding the necessity to make the world more easily accessible to people with physical disabilities
- Learn to feel happy and grateful for all the little and big things in your life
- Feel grateful for your body no matter how it is
- Feel light-hearted & happy (there's no crying involved here.....but I still cried)
Was this review helpful to you?
My first BL series ever
This was the show that introduced me to BL, and I kind of regret that I chose this one first because I feel like nothing will ever be as good. I've watched this series twice now. The first time I watched it, I loved everything about it, but I didn't know this site existed to talk about it or to read other people talking about it.Since that first time, I've watched a pretty big handful of other popular BLs, and this one is still my favorite, and is the only one to have gotten a 10/10 rating overall so far.
This series ended so perfectly, that I actually don't want there to be a second season. I'd love a special episode, but I'd be scared that a second season might change the magic this series brought into my life.
Was this review helpful to you?
Engaging romance and charismatic anti-hero
The title Love Better than Immortality sums up the heroine's sacrifice for the dream of experiencing true love. Even so, she is quite naive and has some preconceived notions that make her quest for love more difficult than necessary.What I truly like about this drama is the gradual development of romance between Chun Hua (CH) and Qiu Yue (QY). Here the leads portrayed well in depth characterizations, ranging from lighthearted comedy to emotionally charged scenes. They subtly grew due to their experiences and I was glad to see them enjoy a happy ending.
QY has been very interesting to me as the manipulative anti-hero, who stays true to his values, yet at the end is the only one willing to offer the ultimate sacrifice for love. QY slowly opens up to CH, who shows him care and acceptance, revealing a painful past and his strong wish to grant a place in the martial world for his sect. His way is covert and scheming, marked by shadows and moonlight.
By contrast, Xiao Bai (XB) is the acknowledged hero who walks in the sunlight. He is driven by deeply held beliefs that were instilled by his father. Their sect holds the monopoly on right and wrong, while also having double standards in the stuggle for power within the martial world. I dislike XB's very rigid attitude and that he never really evolved throughout the story.
CH was fixated on XB as love interest for quite some time, and painfully grew out of her naivety. It took a series of tragic events for her to realize that, though XB loves her, he will always sacrifice anything and anyone to what he considers to be the greatest good.
What did not work for me was the often long winded plot, particularly when focused on XB and his entourage's investigations. The dubbing is often problematic as well, but the leads' chemistry far surpassed these issues in my opinion.
Was this review helpful to you?
Legit Strong FL but the Men are not demonized
|Riddled w/ cliches but the KEY IS IN THE DETAILS|My Uncanny Destiny’s main premise about a cross dressing monarch who falls for her enemy might not be new, but the way the producers directed and wrote the characters to be 4D without being too angsty is just so refreshing!
I don’t know who the writer is and their other work, but the way they decided to pace out the story by having subplots in each episode that contributes to the overall story arc made each episode exciting and relevant. We don’t see a lot of those useless, draggy scenes, repetitive misunderstanding between the leads, or side characters stealing the spotlight because most if not all of the episodes had a climax that had you wanting to watch the next episode. The writing was so on point that I don’t even mind that they teased about a 2nd season because the current season was tied up nicely.
|70% comedy and romance, 30% court intrigue|
Several costume dramas posing as rom-coms end up as being trying hard angsty, court intrigue dramas which is irritating. This is why I appreciate the fact that MUD never forgot it’s true rom com identity by giving us a lot of extremely cliche that it’s hilarious scenes, together with interesting romantic scenes throughout the episodes. That’s not to say that there’s no hardships in the story but rather that these obstacles are presented in a very matter of fact way and resolved in just 1 or 2 episodes. No need to drag the drama in several episodes. Likewise, we have to appreciate the directing because even with the limited budget, the team knew that for rom-com it’s more effective to concentrate on your characters than big sweeping battle scenes or boring repetitive court scenes.
I hope other writers/producers can learn from this team that even if they want to milk their stars, they should create stories that end properly and none of those misleading 24 episodes but are in fact 50 episodes but divided to 2 seasons so you’re left hanging in season 1. I’m looking at you drama with popular C starlet.
| Female characters are strong without being Mary Sues and demonizing the male characters|
I can recall several recent dramas define “strong” female leads as mary sues protected by plot armor — incredibly strong just because, doesn’t do or like feminine things, genius tactician, that doesn’t bow down to anyone (basically toxic traits in female form). What sets MUD female characters apart from the recent ones is that most if not all of them represent women in different shapes, form, and personalities and how they are strong in their own way.
We have the cross dressing FL, who proves she doesn’t only need to be good in kungfu to be a great heroine but she also needs to empathize with the people around her, and also use her brain to solve her problems. She’s not averse to asking help from the people around her (even the male characters) because she acknowledges everyone’s strengths.
We have several supporting female characters that are also strong in their own way. The spoiled princess that’s very witty and ingenious in her tricks that she was also able to use it to help her friend and change her man for the better. The initially irritating jealous girl that had a character arc turning her into the FLs friend. The doormat concubine that showed her loyalty and kindness that acknowledged her worth and fought for her own happiness. And the female villain/s that used her abuse to fuel her ambition making her a worthy opponent of the FL.
The male characters were not your typical aggressive, domineering type but more like the whole rainbow of male characters. The brawny, slightly dumb, ambitious, but patriotic general. The smart, suave, but playful 2ML. The bumbling adoptive family. And finally the smart, capable, confident, but also goofy ML that can plan as well as the FL but also knows when he needs to support the FL to do her thing.
|Ok chemistry, but not as addicting as LBFAD|
I thought I’d seen all kinds of romantic scenes, but MUD managed to show some interesting new take on kiss scenes. The ML and FL have ok chemistry which made their romantic scenes believable. If I were to compare the chemistry, it would be like Minglan’s chemistry with her ML — like soul mates turned lovers. Not as fiery but still as fun.
Was this review helpful to you?
A SIMPLE MASTERPIECE!
Let's get straight to the point, if you are looking for action, angst, drama, or whatever kind of complicated plot, you won't find it here.Bad Buddy's story is really, really, really simple. Two people whose family hates each other and can't be friends but love grows and now can't be just friends.. that's it. No fantasy, crime, extraordinary plot twist full of tension... nothing. AND YET it was able to pull off a 10/10 score.. but how?
STORY: As I said, the story (if directed wrong) could turn out lame. Cause the major issue is their parents' hate which ALSO isn't as dramatic as it could be. The little obstacles we get through the series aren't also big and are easily overcome within the same episode. So therefore we as viewers aren't dragged into a problem for more than a few minutes, which could be good for some but could make the series monotonous and prevent people from clinging onto anything cause after all "it is gonna get solved as fast as it happened" becoming cliché and boring.
So even though I like uncomplicated story plots I wouldn't say this is my favorite story in terms of events cause they are pretty common among BLs and if we add the lack of tension it holds, we get just some other story from every other series
BUT WE HAVE GENIUS P'AOF!
He made every expected scene unexpected, he added his twist, little details, dialogues. All the staff and the way it was edited and placed made the ordinary extraordinary. There were no boring or slow scenes, even the most "lame" scenes, weren't. That leads me to the second point...
ACTING : 100 out of 10, action scenes? good; Feelings? Beautifully executed; Chemistry? out of this WORLD. Whoever comes here and says Ohmnanon has no chemistry they STRAIGHT UP LYING. They have just performed one of the best (if not the best) CHEMISTRY IN BL or even GENERAL SERIES. Not one awkward or cringe scene between both (maybe one, at the beginning of ep 11 but c'mon, that scene is way too embarrassing even for the characters themselves). Skinship, eyes staring, kisses, pecks, hugs, all is waaaay too natural, literally how real couples act. They showed complete commitment with the characters, so there's no shame to do a scene, there are no restrictions between them both, cause just right at that moment they are PatPran and you believe them, and therefore everything about them is enough for you to stick to the series.
Also, secondary characters make a great deal cause they appear the enough time to be loved without disrupting PatPran's story. And their acting is exact to enjoy when they share screen with our main couple
Over all, if you are looking deep plot lines and stuff, you won't find it here. Crazy dramas and disruptive issues between the couple, that's also a no. Unexpected scenes and outcomings, mmmm no. Then why is it so good?
Cause Bad Buddy, even though is simple and cliché.. is way beyond every common thing. You know how an acoustic song can drastically change if you add drums and electric guitar? Well, Bad Buddy did that.
They took the same BL formula, and made it their own.. but if you really wanna know what I am talking about, go ahead and watched it by yourself.
Cause what you can expect is, no stereotypes, funny and comedy scenes, healthy relationship goals and MANY MANY MANY ROMANTIC AND DOMESTIC COUPLE SCENES... but as I said, if you are reading this, go and watch it now, you won't regret
And if you are one of those who needs to know how it ends before even starting it....
Third paragraph, line 5, word 11
Was this review helpful to you?
For watchers of the anime or manga
As an avid lover of manga, Hikaru No Go was one of the classic of is time and this adaptation is really good is in own way and bad in others.The story is mostly the same which make it a nice story about a young boy with his mentor who grow up with the game of Go.
They add some parts here and there like a little love story and a cool bit with monks. The relationship between son and mother in this drama is also way better than in the manga which make it more relatable.
Where it start to go wrong for me is the change of mentality for the main character who is a pigheaded brat in this drama. The game of Go is presented as noble but many of the players in this drama play it like any chinese P2W game. It make it somewhat more realistic in their actions but it devalued the characters who where supposed to be more composed.
So take this drama as it is, a more dramatic adaptation which make this story sometime funnier and make you upset some other time.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
First of all I need to say that its my first time to feel urge to write a review for a drama. I wanted to write because in my opinion, this drama is really underrated. The very first thing you cannot forget about this drama is its osts. Really touching and catchy. After watching drama and listening countless of times its musics, I couldn't stop myself from tearing up whenever I hear them. Especially the ost that plays for the older generation, really addictive.
For the cast, nearly most of the my favourite actors were in it. Therefore I would be extra liked this drama. For acting, those actors didn't disappoint me as always.
However even though I'm really fond of bromance between YW and BDS, the story is more like mostly focused on the character of YW. BDS was like supporting character time to time. Only this aspect of story disappointed me little bit.
I do not want to give spoiler but I have much to say about ending. After my first watch I thought its unfair and stupid. I was really angry at writers. After my second watch, I thought that "altough I didnot like the ending it was unavoidable". After my third watch I was like "how it come to that I couldn't realize the melody of script until now? Its just awesome".
This drama also made me reconsider my tastes about k-drama. I noticed that rather than rainbows butterflies and pinky feelings, I 'm more like a melodram and friendship drama type girl. It doesn't mean that I don't like light romances, I love them. But second type of them is leaving more deep impressions on me and Warrior Baek Dong Soo was the most influental of them.
My rewatcing value could be 10 too, but I have already watched it three times, therefore I should wait and miss this drama a bit more.
I've tried to not to give spoilers, but if I made this show ruined for you by giving comments related to the ending, I'm sincerely sorry for this. I couldn't stop my self. I hope you had enjoyed this drama or you will. Since I really enjoyed :)
Was this review helpful to you?
The beginning episode was not what I expcted but as the drama continued it fell into the usual drama pattern. Although you can predict what will happen I really enjoyed this drama and have re-visited it quite a few time. I really enjoyed the relationship of the lead couple.
Was this review helpful to you?
As you may have guessed from the synopsis, it is a family drama but most importantly this drama focuses on how this family grows through hardships and coming in terms with reality. This drama was a big no-no for many Koreans because it involves homosexuality, SBS had to actually cancel the drama because of the huge criticism.
The drama deals so in depth with the issue looking through the different characters and opinions as if one character represented one side from society, e.g. does who support homosexuality, does who are against it, etc. It contrasts, the traditional societal views with modern views. Additionally, numerous other issues come up such as issues between step parents and step children, in-laws, marriage, birth secrets, love triangles and many more. It really shows what could happen in a family situation. (It is not all seriousness, there is fun times and lovey dovey ones as well ^^)
The actors did a great job throughout the drama and I can't emphasise enough how good it was. I remember watching any other drama that the actors have been in because I got to like them so much during this drama. After a few episode you get really into it.
I really recommend watching this drama and hope you will enjoy it like I did :)
Was this review helpful to you?
Premise is amazing, but that's where the good things end....
Honestly, i've been waiting to watch this TV series since they announced it. I was well aware that it will be once again short format story, just like all korean TV series which has LGBTQ romance. I was fine with it and expected some things to be lacking, but honestly, I was really disappointed.The premise is literally amazing and so many things could have been done with the plot, but sadly, the goal was not accomplished. The first episode was amazingly done, with the character and background development, but than, with each new episode it went downhill.
The leads became childish and just not rational at all, and the dialogues were confusing - no it is not problem with translation, since I speak Korean. The only good character was our gumiho - Sin Bi.
The ending was underwhelming and just confusing - at least for me. I don't know about you, but if I heard something shocking about my partner I would like to know the story, but here, the leads somehow got together without any proper conversation or explanation.
Acting was underwhelming as well, I didn't know if they were crying or squinting their eyes, just...take acting classes please because going into cinematography and starring in LGBTQ series does not bring you overnight fame - you have to earn it with proper acting.
In terms of music I got nothing to say, it was so-so, nothing to remember.
Rewatch value? None, sadly.
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
A Melo That Surprised Me
Just like the headline says, this melodrama surprised the crap out of me. (Hope I can say that in a review lol) In all seriousness though, it really, really did. I usually pass on melos, though there have been a few exceptions. I wasn't expecting this one to be added to that list at all. After the first two episodes, I even got on the feeds and asked if the whole drama was depressing with these main characters living their lives like zombies. I picked it up again a few days later, wanting to at least give it a fair try. I was, quite literally, suddenly hooked. I have not binged a drama in a very long time. I'd say the last drama that deprived me of sleep was Gu Family Book. I completed Call It Love in a day and half.I found myself emphasizing so much with Dongjin. Usually, I do that with the female characters, being a female myself, but Dongjin's life was very similar to mine. I, too, had had my heart ripped out by someone I loved and trusted for years and just like him, I fell into a long, deep depression. (It was years ago and I am fine now, btw mostly thanks to dramas actually.) Also like him, I had an absent mother similar to his,that I only saw occasionally until I was an adult. So I knew the character's pain very well and understood why he was like the way he was.
The story is sad, yet there is always this tension there with both characters that give you hope. Also, Shim Woo Jin is usually so straight foward and harsh in her words, yet her actions and especially facial expressions, really betray her true feelings. Lee Sung-kyung was absolutely brilliant there with showing the character's emotions with her eyes. She was also excellent in one scene where she delivers a powerful outburst with perfect emotion and confusion. I won't spoil it, but that part alone had my rating skyrocket because it moved me so much.
I do want to take special note of Sung Joon in this. This is the first drama I have seen with him in a few years and OMG did he suddenly turn from a boy into a man! His acting has improved, too. I used to get annoyed by him in dramas but he was great here and I was very impressed.
This drama hooks you in with wondering when these two will confront their feelings for each other. You are left with cliffhangers making you watch just one more episode to see if that will be the one. Then, eventually you are in the exact same dilemma, needing to watch just one more to see if they stay together snd if they have a happy ending.
In conclusion I would reccommend this to melo lovers. I would also urge those of you that hate melos to give it a fair chance like I did. Watch beyond ep two and see if it moves your heart, too.
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
Those who have been through breakups understand this drama a bit better
I watched this drama while it aired. There was a hype going on, and i decided to join the gang.This drama is about lovers who break up, despite loving each other for personal reasons.
The story is sad at times, but realistic.
Character development was the great point of this drama. We all carry a heavy baggage in our lives, and so did the leads. It's not like they couldn't move on. They actually did, but deep down when you love someone letting is go the hardest.
During the course of the series, i always told myself they will breakup again and it will be a sad ending. Who has ever seen a broken couple get back together, even better than their first encounter?? Well, this drama is all about that.
It's cliche, boring at times, but very romantic. You can feel with the leads and live with them for a while.
The soundtrack is just marvelous and carefully chosen.
Overall, a must-watch for diehard romance lovers!
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
Recent Discussions
-
theories of the storyline37 minutes ago -
BL Drama Lovers Club49 minutes ago -
Fan Fiction Thread for Lost You Forever51 minutes ago
-
-
