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Hmm. I don’t even know what expectations I had going into this. I like quiet films. So while overall this was quite easy to watch and get immersed in, none of the emotions or dialogues felt particularly meaningful nor deep. And it’s definitely better and more respectful than other films about white people going to Asia, but when it comes down to it, the hero of this story is a white guy and the narrative is quite protective of him. To put it a little bluntly, he gets to swoop in and decide what's best for everyone without having to do much reflecting on his own behaviors. He undermined the authority of the actual family members that were paying him, by doing things they asked him not to do. But of course his meddling always works out for the best, because this is a cozy feel-good film for the whole family. What if he had actually fucked up with one of his clients? Even thinking about all the different ways he could've ended up making huge mistakes feels redundant though, because the film isn't interested in looking too closely at these things. The narrative gently wraps Phillip up in cotton and sends him on his merry way, with no room for error, even pushing the death of a character back a little so that it can become an emotional moment instead of trapping Phillip in legal issues.
I think this is a big reason why this film failed to move me more deeply; it's about human connection and yet the main character didn't learn more about his colleges and his relationships with the other two main characters he was paid to get close to felt very unbalanced and a little hollow.
As for the theme of 'Rental Family', I don't think that that was particularly well done either. It all felt very surface level to me.

(Idk. Idk. Or maybe my heart is a stone.)

It had some nice moments that made me chuckle. The two main actors, compared to other works I've seen them in, showed their best acting performances in this. And overall it was quite enjoyable, especially the first half. But. Although there isn't one bad thing in particular that I can point to, 'Me and Thee' simply didn't occupy any space in my mind. I wasn't excited about new episodes, didn't look forward to the weekends to be able to see them and sometimes even forgot that there was going to be a new one. Ultimately, this was a very low stakes, low tension Rom Com. Albeit one of the better GMMTV dramas as of late, it still felt pretty lukewarm. And the last episode wasn't really enjoyable for me. (Getting married that quickly and not even telling your partner about adopting two kids? Surprise, tee hee. Ugh.)

A 'dating' show of people only flirting and playing sexy games on the beach or in a pool usually isn't my style, but the messiness and the variety of the contestants' sexualities made it quite entertaining to watch. And, well, TodTime completely captivated me from episode 1 and were the biggest reason why I kept tuning in every weekend (hello (somewhat?) one-sided longing, my weakness). 

Most of the time I don't like thinking about how scripted these shows are, because I don't care too much about the realness of them nor whether these people will continue to date after the final episode. But with 'Love (X)' some moments simply felt too fake and like they were set-up in a certain way.
For instance, the fact that neither Time nor Namnung chose Sunny when it was her round in the final episode left me a little speechless. All so that Tod could get his chance to confess and we get to watch it. If Time had actually chosen Sunny before his turn as he said he would ('yesterday, today and tomorrow') and they left the show together right then, the big confession that the show was working towards wouldn't even have happened. That would've been realistic. Or if Namnung had decided to make a choice and Sunny had left with her, only leaving Time and Tod behind, the situation would've looked very different as well. In the end, it felt like one huge set-up, but oh well.

Lastly, hiding the contestants' sexualities from each other until the second to last day was pretty fucked up, severely influencing people's actions. Knowing from the beginning could've especially helped the two gay people, who were already limited in their choices and thus very reluctant to pursue anyone. Even the mess that was Sunny, Namnung, Time and Tod could've profited from knowing about each other's preferences earlier.

This was really boring. Nothing in particular stood out to me. A tearjerker that kept my eyes completely dry throughout. I think Cho Young Woo shouldn’t even have been cast in this role.

A story that I have come across a few times before. It started out being entertaining enough (I enjoy characters just looking at each other from afar), but the second half became a lot more boring. Probably wouldn’t have watched this on a weekly basis.

The plot didn’t make much sense and the ending was very underwhelming. Overall, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be, but it definitely wasn’t good; just a way to pass time.

The beginning was a bit abysmal and I skipped through a lot, the same goes for the last episode. But the middle had something that was interesting enough for me and kept me watching. I liked Arthit's casual way of touching and being close to Dao.

'More Than Words' was quite a heavy story, told in a quiet and gentle way. The main characters' naiveté and hopes of being okay as long as they achieve what the world prescribes as happiness actually made me uncomfortable for a bit. Their drastic decision to protect what they had ended up being the catalyst that broke them apart and all that they were left with was the life that stubbornly grew out of the cracks as time blindly marched on.

All in all, it was an interesting and heartbreaking drama, told in a way that I enjoyed.

This was surprisingly fun and entertaining. Although it didn't make a lot of sense at times and the dub was a little annoying, I liked the overall setting, time period, colors and characters. I got especially obsessed with Liu Yi (he is sooo pretty, a little unhinged and demisexual (yay)) early on, which was a strong factor for my excitement about new episodes each week.
I couldn't have cared less about the secondary couple most of the time, but I liked the revelation in the last episode and how that shifted their dynamic. Since I haven't read the book, I don't know exactly what the drama was missing, but it would've been nice to see even more of Chu San's shrewdness.

Hopefully they'll be able to make a second season. I am already looking forward to it.

Somehow this didn't work for me at all. The action didn't look good, the plot was way too thin and not doing anything new with all the old tropes and the romance was barely there. Maybe it would've been more interesting if Madoka had opened his eyes towards Kaname.

Going into this, I was only in the mood for something short and quick, so I thought this had the perfect length. But while watching 'Kakkee Doushi' I found myself not wanting it to end. This was such a cute and chill short film about making new friends and sharing passion for a hobby. I would've loved watching a full-length drama with the two of them slowly becoming even closer and exploring the world of fashion together (and maybe Iguchi making clothes for Shuto himself??).

I couldn't help but focus on the similarities between 'Soul Mate' and 'More than words' while watching it. Although I did enjoy the exploration of unique family situations again in this, it didn’t move me as much as I had hoped it would.

‘We are all trying here’ constantly flip flopped between moments with the most insightful writing to random gags that didn’t land to perfectly set-up gut-wrenching scenes to ‘nothing of this makes sense to me’. I can’t quite make up my mind about whether I actually liked it on the whole or whether it was simply immensely underwhelming. But it was fun to see flawed characters with obvious weaknesses and anxieties interact and be mean but also so, so human.

Maybe fighting our own sense of worthlessness is always going to be a constant occurrence in our lives. Or maybe we all need to put in effort to realize that no one is worthless and act accordingly to make each other believe in it.

"아 행복해, 같이 미칠 수 있는 이런 관계가 있다는 게."

It took me a few episodes to start enjoying ‘Shitsuren Karuta’ and overall, I don’t think I can say that I liked it much. But Ayase was my favorite character and I liked the last episode the most.

I liked the relationship Liu Chun He had with his grandma.

I loved that this took place on an island and we got to see so much of the ocean. I also really liked the friendships in this. But the excitement I felt after watching the first two episodes never came back, instead watching this weekly felt somewhat dreary and boring.

“Anyway, after going through this, I’ve finally realized I was always seeking approval from people that were not worth it, trying to prove something, only to fail again and again and push the people who love me further and further away.”

Neither the mystery nor their relationship was compelling enough for me to say that I enjoyed this film. But reading a good explanation by someone else made me like it a little more retroactively.