Reviews

NEW Take On 18 Yr Old, Bodyguard, Rich-Kid-Poor-Kid Story!

Overall 8.5 rating. Story 7.5, Acting 8.5, Chemistry 9, Music/Audio 9, Cinematography/Lighting 9, Rewatchability 6.5, Secondary Characters 9, Suspension of disbelief required is moderately high, Emotional angst level (mostly resolved) 9, Character emotions & psychology make sense.

Not a typical highschool, bodyguard, or rich kid poor kid story! The dynamics and interactions between multiple characters really kept my interest and the script was mostly written well. What didn't work for me is mentioned in the "general spoiler" section at the bottom of this review.

I really liked how they showed the class divide between Nuengdiao's world and Palm's through everyday examples; in both big and subtle ways. It really ties into the psychology of Nueng and Palm and their actions/decisions throughout the series stay true to character and are believable (especially for 18 year olds in love).

There is a definite magnetism between Nueng played by Phuwin and Palm played by Pond. There is a lot of great physical tension between them as they fall for each other, then a lot of skinship and some very emotional kisses.

This series had a fantastic secondary cast. Both of the moms are wonderful (yet very different from each other), Uncle Kit is an antagonist who feels like a real person (not just a one-dimensional "villain"), Chimon as Ben is charismatic, and Perth as Chopper is phenomenal with inner conflict and emotional depth.

I especially loved the dynamic between Chopper and his dad (Uncke Kit). They were both completely emotionally convincing in some very high-tension scenes.

Sound and silence were were utilized really well to enhance emotions and tensions. There were 3 songs I loved and have added to my playlist. Many of the songs have English lyrics so it was easy for me to tell how well they fit the scenes. What was odd is that there were 2 or 3 times (brief) where instrumental Christmas carols were used as background. That seemed really out of place to me and mentally took me out of the moment each time.

Pond and Phuwin are strong actors and easily had me invested in their characters quickly. They felt a little bit flat or not quite comfortable, however, in scenes that required panic (of which there are a couple). It wasn't a big detraction, but it was noticeable to me.

I really appreciated the little scene about gun safety that was added in as the young adults were training.

I will likely rewatch this at some point. I'll probably view episodes 1-8 and 12 the most frequently.

GENERAL SPOILERS below

My biggest issue with the story was how unrealistic it was about some very common-sense things. Some examples:
A very wealthy family has members who are injured or threatened yet no professional bodyguards are hired, at all? But then late in the series they are? Things pertaining to safety come up multiple times so this had me rolling my eyes.

When various people are shot the first, second, and third instincts are NOT to apply pressure on the wound to slow bleeding. Facepalm.

Palm refuses monetary payment or assistance multiple times yet later in the series is somehow able to obtain what he needs when he needs it.

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In Love is an Understatement

Even if for whatever reason I wanted to hate this season, I can't. With everything in me, and just like the first season, I absolutely loved it. In all of it's terrible miscommunication, cat and mouse chasing, adult-baby glory. Minato Shoji Coin Laundry Season 2 proves once again to be just the bitch.

Let's Dive In.

Now nowhere is it as perfect and seamless as the first season, with Shin and Minato getting used to each other's company, more so Minato with dating someone so young, and Shin just being -- well Shin. But this season, we get those repetitive tropes for what seems to go on the entire season. Akira is still not okay with being open and honest to Shin about his feelings, can barely look him in the eyes, and doesn't think for a second he's okay with the most minimal amount of touching. It's very annoying, it gets to be draggy, and maybe they could've stopped that by like episode 5. But sadly this drags on until the end of the series with Akira just having this weird thing about intimacy, but like in the most immature way possible. But again, because I love these characters so much I really don't mind that cat-and-mouse chase (to some extent) and Akira being a silly little goofy ball of idiocy.

No onto the amnesia storyline..really? Was it needed? No, not at all. But did I love it? Did I absolutely love seeing Akira fall apart and come to the realization that he should've had a long time ago? Did I get teary-eyed at Akira's note to Shin and then the way he paralleled back to all their moments? Did I kick my little feeties when they met again at the beach to parallel their first season ended by playing in the water? -- yes, yes I did. Nowhere was that something we needed and yes to some degree it was frustrating, but oh my god, I love them, so it was so good.

Moving onto the side couple, Asuka and Shu, I think they were cute. I wasn't head over heels for them, but I think they had their moments and then some. I especially liked the way Shu came around to his feelings for Asuka, without the weird chasing and more just a realization and acting on it. We loved to see it.

So yeah, it wasn't perfect, and to any regular fan that's not literally smitten with these characters and the plot and the overall series, then this was probably rather the most annoying and unnecessary second season to a series ever. However, because I'm NOT a regular fan, I loved this season, I loved seeing my boys again, and I'm content with what I received.

Ratings:

Story: 7.5/10: Akira's little voiceover at the end coming to the emotions of the episode to the forthcoming news of the laundromat is kind of everything to me. Anyways, the story itself (me trying to be as unbiased as possible) was eh. It was just pretty much a glorified season 1 but they were dating -- kind of. The side couple was a nice addition, and I think they matched perfectly with the tone and flow of the series.

Acting: 9/10: Urgh, I love Akira's acting. It's so irritating and so full of emotions. Gosh, Takuya is too good. Same with Tomoya (Asuka) who did an excellent job too. Of course, the same goes with Shin and Shu's actors too.

Music: 5.5/10: I don't pay much attention to it, but I know the intro is a little much for me.

Recommendation Value: 9/10: Honestly, no one really needs to watch it because it's pretty much that unnecessary and very repetitive, but because I loved this, it's getting a high score.

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Competition at it's finest

Watching this show made me realize "damn.. how are they so darn smart". The winner was very well-deserving of it! all of the cast were so good and I could tell they formed a bond and made this as something to learn from! They chose the right cast cause at first there was some things that makes you dislike them but it ends up being reasonable and makes you just love them. They did well trying everything to not get eliminated.

I watched this for seungkwan lol but the whole cast did so well and throughout the series, it's like I lived with them and experienced what they were experiencing so I was bound to love all the cast.

--SPOILERS--

Only things I don't like about the show:
1. The Alliances - We know there was a minority and majority-kind of alliance.
What I don't like about the minority alliance- I think it started on the first game, with the 3-people alliance that the others had no idea about, I JUST WISHED they didn't form an alliance that soon cause it turns everything about alliance after and made the others have some trust issues so soon. I was surprised when they were shocked that everyone went against them since they formed a small group within a lot of people since no one's eliminated yet and won. They also continued working together on the second game, so other's thought that their group is definitely a strong-kind formed of alliance. It was so obvious they won't be trusted that third round so I was so surprised that they actually planned to not help each other and played apart respectfully which was even for me so unexpected. it was sad and I felt guilty when they went and teamed up on one person to eliminate but this minority alliance outright made themselves a target and made the trust issues. Until the end, I kinda feel bitter since they started it but is like "this game is boring cause they copied us and turned it against us".
What I don't like about the majority alliance- It was a nice idea to help each other survive but that ended up just being something that's outright stupid cause they ended up sacrificing a lot to save someone which worked but for a competitive series, it did not sit right with me cause it was inevitable for the minority alliance to worry about their members getting eliminated cause they outright keep pushing them to be the last to push themselves forward which was a very selfish thing to do. I think after the second game, even in the end the alliance and mission was still alive that they made the minority group feel like an outcast, they were literally away from them from that point on except on the teamwork games! This group ended up being one with the leader who leads the others, and that's bad cause if you're competing it's only right to play for yourself, the members of this didn't get to show their ability much cause of trying to save others from elimination which was quite unfair.
2. The Games - If I'm being honest. I've never felt so stressed and tired from watching a series but this surely did, I can't imagine how the cast survived. Did they let them have a break? After one game (which were so darn hard) another comes which was so crazy and draining which I think made some of them to not be able to do well and get eliminated. It's also crazy how they make the first game be betrayal while the second is teamwork but I'm glad the cast were mature and still worked together despite literally betraying each other not that long ago cause I wouldn't if that was me lol

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new life to a tiring series

though I personally dropped the Thai original, I found this interpretation entirely more enjoyable! there was some nice, low simmer tension going on between the pairings that didn’t leave me thinking more was needed.

though I personally wished we could see a better amount of intimacy (hand holding, conversations, small moments between a couple) I can’t truly complain about the roles.

one thing I kept getting annoyed by was the bad sound engineering. the voiceovers were really loud and not mixed well so they would take me out of the scenes too much.

other than that, I found the series enjoyable! it was kind of funny seeing max & nat too lol. not sure what that was about but they were cute to see.

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I wouldn't consider this BL

Are there two amab characters? Yes. However one is the spirit of a cis woman trapped in a man's body for the vast majority of it. Honestly, Lan Xi is annoying af. I started to get genuinely irritated, frustrated and annoyed that I was having to watch HER story of trying to get her bf to fall in love with her in another body.

I think the actual story of Hero & Gu Si Ren, which you get in small bits and pieces of flashbacks via journals, would have been much more interesting and satisfying to watch. Gu Si Ren seemed like a sweet guy and I would have liked to see more of him when he was alive.

I felt really bad for Hero being pushed and pulled between his actual feelings and his dead girlfriend's reactions to them which left him confused since he never knew it was her in the body.

Also Lan Xi was sort of ultra girlie in Gu Si Ren's body. To the point where he didn't come off as gay so much as he came off as touched in the head a bit, you know?

The ending was a bit of a redeeming factor, but too much of this was about an annoying, entitled, overbearing, pouty, sulky woman who didn't see the man she supposedly loved for who he actually was or how she caused him to stuff himself into a box.

This would have been a far better story if they just killed Lan Xi off and told the story of the men.

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Semantic Error was...an error

As a long time fan of Park Seoham and KNK, and is also familiar with DKZ, I’m sad to say that this was lukewarm at best. The acting was cringey at times; perhaps not being able to take Seoham seriously is a personal issue knowing he’s such a goofball, but at times it looked like he was holding back laughter or trying too hard to be cool. Much of the acting, like some kdramas, feel unnatural or very 2D. I couldn’t feel the romance, let alone bromance. The bantering was adorable at times but ‘gotcha’ moments weren’t hitting as they should be.

The story, overall, isn’t too messy but it felt slow and draggy for an 8-episodes-25 minutes-each series. The timeline wasn’t the clearest. Did they fall in love within two weeks? But Sangwoo’s birthday is in October? Jaeyoung leaving for France in the middle of the semester? So he won’t be graduating again? I’m confused.

I’m a big fan of Yuna, Jaeyoung’s female friend. Her character is so fun, calm, and badass. If she gets together with Jihye, I think they’ll make a cuter couple than Jaeyoung and Sangwoo. Originally, Jihye seemed like an innocent girl with little confidence, but she turned out stronger than I thought. Her straightforwardness would go well with Yuna’s relaxed attitude. And whatever happened to Hyeongtaek’s confession lol?

I don’t have a lot to say as nothing really happens but I do like the cast, the music, and the storyline of game designing. I did wish they used and had a wider range of music but that’s creative differences so--

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Too long and honestly kinda repetitive

I enjoyed the start of this series. The first episode is really solid and the cast is all pretty great at comedic acting. The story is a good launch pad to some interesting situations. However, my interest waned pretty quickly.

This series relies a lot of characters just doing incredibly ridiculous things to make a lot of plot points occur and it was a bit tiring to watch at times. When it worked, like the wedding episode with the eviction notice, it was really funny. When it didn’t work (in my opinion), like when Joon ki is running around trying to get a suit case Chewbacca was zipped in, it was too ridiculous for me to laugh at.

They drag out the main couple getting together for way too long. Joon ki and Chewbacca coming out about their relationship too so long Dong-gu looked like an idiot for believing their lies. And there were a few episodes where it felt like nothing really happened.

So, if you’re really looking for a funny show, this wouldn’t be top of my rec list. But if you’ve watched everything else, it’s not the worst show I’ve watched. Not sure that’s a real compliment.

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Comforting and great plot!

Overall, an amazing plot and just?! Worthy of being a comfort drama, without a doubt. Characters will really make you sympathize with them :') and there is a strong sense of companionship between them all, and of course, the main couple's platonic relationship is truly tender to watch! While I have not read the actual web novel, I can still somehow assume that this is the best adaptation they can make; besides, this was just the beginning! Anyway, the story pumps you up and you feel as if you are there with the characters and constantly improving with them. That's what I feel!

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*Family-friendship-comedy-sentiment*

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No words to describe
All episodes are great
Especially 35 episode is hilarious
Some times ~Esther Yu~over acting irritates you
Tremendous job done by
Actor & actors are Taylor fit Acting
Director
Cameraman
Editor
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Great story, poor script and acting

Love the storyline, really intriguing, have a lot of not so trivial plot twists. So far didn't like only the characters or play of actors
Jung Woo and Park Yoo Rim. They really seems unpleasant or their characters should look like that. Not always catch the meaning of various look\ways\etc of their act. Not quite figure out that yet but frustrated enough to write first review in MDL.
I'm more familiar with an actor Oh Man Suk and he is very ..logical so far. Ahn Nae Sang is always stealing the scene)
Looking forward to find out how the powers are works and how it all started in future episodes)
So good story but so bad scripts + actor acting.. very often seems not logical, poor. In one word: cheap
Nevertheless, I watch it in one breath and very like it!

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