A little above the curve of korean BLS
It's a little better than your regular korean BLs, what shocked me is that both of the protagonist are members of the SAME idol group? Wow, that explains a lot, but also really shocking, I might have to tune in into their idol releases. uwuThat's it, that's my review. I liked the more profound subjects that aren't present in regulars kbls, it plays well in their favor
waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
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I Really Loved It
First, let me say, that South Korea produces the best BLs with the most production value, best writing, directors, and actors. This series was no exception.My only criticism would be that I would have appreciated being let in, a little more, on the characters motivations and thoughts, and the other characters could have been fleshed out a bit more.
Like almost all of the Korean bl series, this one was too short, could have been longer to include more details about the characters.
But, I STILL loved it. I guess I’m lucky I don’t read the Manhwa versions before watching a series, because the readers always end up disappointed. But, hearing that there was more intimacy in the Manhwa, I may just see if an English version is available and read it, after the fact.
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Drama vs Manhwa
So I watched this before, and I really liked a lot of parts of it, but it did have some, where it was lacking a lot, especially the ending is pretty bad honestly. So I read the manhwa it was based on to see if it's any different.First of all the manhwa does have a different vibe, a more edgy vibe I guess.
First thing I realized is the drama is missing a lot of internal dialogue which helped a lot to understand the characters more.
Especially with Tae Hyun, he is a very complex character in the manhwa, who is struggling with the aftermath of a horrible trauma that left him quite messed up mentally. He has a deep problem with self love and loving others, and he is seriously struggling with this emptiness especially after meeting Da Yeol who is very forgiving and kind to him.
In the drama I love the actor playing him (so much ahh), but the writing is lacking to show more of this very dark side of his.
Da Yeol feels like a different character in the live action one, a more mellow and naive guy, and honestly I like his portayal like this more. I think the manhwa creator was trying to go for something more like this, but their version ended up feeling more rough.
So even if the writing is lacking to build more character, still it's easier to overlook as I'm completely happy with the mains' casting and their acting, they go well together too. They do a great job drawing away your attention from the writing issues.
Most of the side characters were changed a lot, I'm neutral about it, they have about the same purpose in both, not much honestly.
Most of the plot points are also a bit mixed up, like confessing happens in a bit different way, and so on, but they are not that big changes or might actually work better for live action stuff, so I think it's acceptable.
One thing I do want to praise the writing for, it's how we see more of Da Yeol, like the change about his home life felt better and more personal, and how most of the show focuses on his struggles with archery, which was a nice decision I think.
Also Da Yeol doesn't change schools at the end in the original work. Which I liked better, it felt rushed and weird in the drama.
but OMG, so you know the title, A shoulder to cry on. Well, there is a part in the manhwa when Tae Hyun has sort of a breakdown and actually cries on Da Yeol's shoulder, which was a very close moment for them. And yes, it is NOT in the drama. Honestly big L for the drama.
So what about the ending?
Weeeell, so it turns out, the ending also sucks in the manhwa... so it's not exactly the drama's fault. It's pretty dumb I think considering Da Yeol's writing in the original work, it doesn't feel like him at all.
Though it's important to note that in the manhwa the time skip was 3 months, while in the drama it was 2 YEARS omg... (I hate time skips)
Also the drama's last episode I can't compare, as it has about nothing to do with the manhwa... I suppose they just wanted to put some fan service there, but it feels really out of place for me and not very honest.
In the manhwa there are some extra special chapters at the end showing the two living together which would have been I think a much better choice to film as the last episode... But maybe the special chapters were not out yet at the time? I don't know.
Would I recommend the drama? Yes (for the first half definitely). But I'm biased because I absolutely fell for the actor, Shin Ye Chan... ehehe.
Would I recommend the manhwa? Yes, I think it's a fun read, nicely drawn, you can finish it in an afternoon. It's not very satisfactiory though, when it comes to lovey dovey stuff.
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This review may contain spoilers
Enemies to friends to lovers… nothing new to see here
Countless series have been produced on the enemies to lovers genre and this one just adds to that ever growing list. Although there have been some BL series that have broken new ground with this genre like History 3: Trapped or the sheer chemistry between the main leads have stolen the show like Bad Buddy, but this one just sticks to the cliché. The only thing going for this series is that the 2 main leads have some depth in their character more so with Tae Hyun than Da Yeol.The series wastes no time in introducing the characters. Da Yeol is a student who is a talented archer and that has gained him a scholarship. Not a popular student from any stretch of the imagination nor good with his studies, his only passion remains with archery. During one of the practise sessions he is sent to the nurse’s office for a shoulder pain and there he encounters Tae Hyun. Tae Hyun is a happy-go-lucky student who cares little about rules. Due to some shenanigans, Tae Hyun and Da Yeol are caught in a compromising position and Tae Hyun places all the blame on Da Yeol angering him. Tae Hyun now keeps pranking Da Yeol all to his anguish. But the more time they spend with each other Da Yeol learns more about Tae Hyun and can’t help but fall in love with him.
The character of Tae Hyun is interesting as he has a tragic past and layer by layer we are shown what that is all about. This makes Tae Hyun intriguing and you tend to sympathize with him as we learn more about him. But as the series inches closer to the finale, we feel that the creators have abandoned that plot point. His reactions though justified in the beginning seems rather rushed by the end and does a complete 180 degree during the final episode.
The final episode seems rushed and makes little to no sense due to multiple time jumps. Earlier Da Yeol is shown as confident in his feelings and Tae Hyun being the one who is aloof and questioning but in the final episode, they seemed to have exchanged their characters. Its Da Yeol now who acts aloof and makes you wonder is he no longer in love with Tae Hyun? All the great character development that took place in the first 5 episodes is flushed down the drain in the last 2 episodes and this was just so disappointing
In conclusion, the series has some handsome male leads with some good acting and character development in the initial episodes but disappoints you at the very end.
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it's like mountain goes up and than goes down ??
For me it was 10, until the last 2 episodes... And come on, not even a tight hug if not a kiss 🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲Was this review helpful to you?
Bahasa Indonesia:
Pengennya sih bisa bisa bilang hal yang sama tentang serial ini (seperti yang aku ulas pada serial Unintentionally Love Story). Aku bersemangat penuh dalam 5 episode pertama. Namun mendekati akhir-akhir episode, Kok ratingnya tiba2 turun ya perlahan-lahan? dari 8komaan hingga sekarang hampir menyentuh angka 7.5. Tapi sekarang, Saya tahu betapa kecewanya saya sama 2 episode terakhir. Kayaknya karena ekspektasi saya yang berlebihan kah?
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The BL Drama Was Alright
I thought the drama was alright. It wasn't a terrible, terrible, terrible drama. And it was boring. However, It's not the best Korean BL drama out there. It could have been better in certain aspects. By which I mean the acting and production value (audio) could have been better.First-time actors Kim Jae Han and Shin Ye Chan's acting was decent. However, their acting was stiff at times, but other than that; their acting wasn't horrible. I think the main actors' chemistry was causal and pretty natural. The audio was inconsistent at times. As in, the audio was not at the same level.
With all that stuff said, the drama had a simple yet complex story.
The production value was naturalistic. The music was one of the best things about the drama. The music was great. One more thing, the last episode/season finale was fluffy. So anyone who watches the drama, you better prepare to die from fluff. Lol
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The sweetest and adorable series that you guys will need to watch!!
It has the best trope and the sweet cute interactions even though there is no kiss scene (i am a kiss scene addict) but it felt like there is no need of kiss scene here in every scene because they words and actions express everything and the chemistry is perfect they have spent over a year being together so of course the chemistry is good and the story is very good and unpredictable at some times and last ep was wholesome!!! The visuals of the actors are what we all need in our life i am not only talking about the main leads but even they friends look good. And it's ost is perfect 🤌🏻. I tell every bl watcher to watch it, it's perfect.❤️Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
a shoulder to cry on
I have watched a decent amount of kdrama bls, and this is a very creative one as a girl that loves school setting kdramas, and especially enemies to lovers, I loved this. but I hated yechan character at the start because I hate when people put the blame on someone for something they didn’t do for example trying to hurt taeyuns character sexualy. so that made me angry, and there were a lot of plus moments in this for example I loved the ear kiss at the end, and this kdrama also led me to find out that both of these boys are in a KPOP group called omega x and now this group is my entire life! Stan omega x 💋Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Nice series but a bit lacking
I enjoyed the series but needs a lot of work. All felt one sided. Characters are fun and can be light hearted. It has a lot of toxic moments sadly. Horrible teachers and adults that clearly don't care who is right or wrong, students that don't get punished ever. The Series can feel annoying at times with the characters and direction. At time it all felt over done and other times it showed hardcore mental abuse and illness, don't know where to put your emotions making you like and then hate some characters. The series has some cute tender moments but very toxic at times relationship with friends and couple. The series had a lot of promising moments but then feels very rushed and at moments gaps are missing that don't help explain one moment of emotion to the next, can be a mess at times. Over all it's a nice series but lacks true story development. The real sad part was not even a kiss 😭Was this review helpful to you?
The acting was good, their eye contact was sizzling. Their friend group was really cute and made me smile.
If you want to watch angsty school romance/bromance with some good acting you can go for it.
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Everything about this was disappointing :(
I thought I would really enjoy this because 1) It involves sports (I LOVE SPORTS-THEMED SHOWS!) and 2) the rivals-to-lovers trope usually never fails to sizzle. In this series, both aspects managed to fall miserably flat.Dayeol was a fairly bland character and I seriously struggled to connect to him in the earlier episodes.
The other character, Tae-hyun, was slightly more interesting. I appreciated that underlying his extroverted, playful behaviour is a tragic backstory. This provided more context and complexity to his character, but overall I didn’t really enjoy watching him.
Taehyun was way too much of an emotional trainwreck for me to root for the couple. There was also no satisfying resolution to their conflict, let alone meaningful character development. What a baffling happily-ever-after.
Full review: https://asianblreviews.wordpress.com/2023/04/26/a-shoulder-to-cry-on-2023-bl/
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