Wing3dBean

It was nearly perfect

So close, but the messaging in the end ruined it. I was right in my skepticism of the message of this drama, and I was proved correct by the last episode, especially in those last 5 minutes. I'm not South Korean, so all I can do is read are statistics on the suicide rate. With that said, I think the message was skewed or maybe a little unsatisfying.

Yes, killing himself hurt his mum deeply, but did his coming back to life change his circumstances? Did things miraculously get better? Did he find a stable job, or did he end up finding satisfaction in being a part-time worker? Did he get back with the girlfriend that he dumped b4 deciding to off himself?

What about all the other lives that he lived? Did they end up dying as b4? Did their lives get better? Did the serial killer painter continue killing? Did the Taekang CEO get away with murdering his brother, getting high, and abusing his power while harbouring murderous thoughts? What about the high schooler? Is he back alive now and being bullied? The infant, what happened to him? How about the boxer? The assassin dude? What happened to all these lives?

I feel like they want us to dwell on his 'come to Jesus moment' and his realisation that suicide isn't the way, but there are just too many loopholes for me to be satisfied with that ending. Episodes 1 to 4 in part 1 were amazing. In part 2, episodes 5 and especially 6 were an absolute banger

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Made me wish that I too, was in love

Did I start watching this because someone over on Reddit referred to it as 'School Trip over Flowers'? Yes, yes, I did. I've never watched 'Boys Over Flowers' and I never will, but I've heard about it — and that reference made me laugh so hard I decided to start Ep 1.

The story in this is nothing new or groundbreaking. It's a cliche we've seen hundreds of times before — two high school boys falling in love. One is hella popular, and the other is an awkward loner (kinda, Hioki isn't a loner per se, he just didn't have friends in this specific new class).

However, what makes this story stand out from the rest in this sea of high school BLs is how beautifully it's done. I thought I'd have to deal with miscommunication, or the utter lack of it, but that wasn't the case here. Sure, they (largely Hioki) get all up in their heads sometimes and overthink things, but they are promptly dealt with. That helps keep the story at such a great pace - it's also great for my blood pressure, but that's neither here nor there.

🚌Stand-out episodes for me were episodes 7 & 8🚌

Episode 7 - Here, we get Watarai's backstory of how he fell in love with Hioki and the confession scene. Watarai fell for Hioki in such a simple, slow, and pure way — simply because Hioki saw him as a regular dude, contrary to what he'd experienced most of his life. It was gratitude and curiosity about Hioki that eventually turned into love

I also appreciate Hioki's reaction to Watarai's confession. It's common to see the person confessed to in BLs be dumbfounded. They remain silent and will often avoid the other person as they try to make sense of the confession and their feelings towards the other person. Or even sweep the whole confession under the rug, pretending it didn't happen, till something eventually down the line pushes them to acknowledge it. I despise that trope. I 100% expected that this would be the case here.

To my surprise, it wasn't, and thank the Lord for that. Not only does Hioki acknowledge the confession, but he also tells Watarai that there's nothing wrong with him liking another boy. And that he'll genuinely take the time to consider Watarai's confession. That consideration was very heart-warming to see. Hioki is such a cinnamon roll - an easygoing and warm soul

Confessions are hard as it is. Confessing to someone of the same sex without knowing if they are of the same orientation in a society that's still very much against queer people..... Oi (I'm not pointing a finger at or highlighting Japan here, just the world in general. It isn't all that kind to queer people). The fact that Hioki rushed after Watarai to speak to him after the confession really stood out to me

Episode 8 - This made me fall even more in love with Watarai's friends. Not only did they accept that 'hey, our friend is bi', something they didn't know about before, but they also do their best to bring these two together when they sense that something's wrong.

Their teacher was right in that final episode. That friend group will probably last forever. They were so genuine not only to each other but to the new face in their group, and later to Hioki's friends. Hot, popular guys that don't fall into the asshole/bully/playboy tropes... Hallelujah. More of this, please!

🚌💐🚌💐🚌
All in all, this is a cute, long angst, low drama, slice of life story that's very easy to revisit and rewatch.

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So Darn Cute - A Review For The Re-Edited Version

The story is generic - a bit of 'enemies-to-lovers' with a bratty, entitled idol & a straight-by-the-book couldn't-care-about-idol's status stuntman. The episodes are short, and the overall vibe is very soft, slice of life. And that's the beauty of it. It's uncomplicated, sweet, and straight to the point. Very calming and cozy.

The main actors have good chemistry with their interactions and their banter, and the side characters also did a good job. I wouldn't say I saw any cringey acting in this one. I will say that the 1st episode was a little shaky for me. The editing was abrupt, but I think that's because this was in reel format before. However, after that, everything is done well, and the story follows beautifully.

Also, a side note, Lee Tae Hyung, the actor who plays Gu Jae Yeon in this show, his ears remind me of Wonho's ears

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Low stress and funny watch.

My fave couple was the youngest sister and her husband. Loved how she beat the shit out of him and his aunt. Unfortunately, I didn't like the forced angst in the end with the separation.

After that, the 2nd youngest sister and her husband. For once, the amnesia plot worked well for the plot and the relationship. Love that she was smart and helped deal with the court cases. Plus, they dealt with their issues with the quickness.

The story with the 3rd eldest sister was good, but they also got annoying at the end with the angst.

I shall not be talking about the eldest sister, coz she most certainly got the short end of the stick with her husband. Definitely my least favourite couple

Comic relief from the 2nd eldest sister and her husband was gold. We didn't get much from the daughter-in-law and the son who came back after they thought he was dead, but that's neither here nor there

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Loved Loved it.

💑1st Couple - loved the angst in the main couple. While their story was sad, it wasn't overdone or dragged out. The fact that the younger one - Hyun - was the pursuer and he kept being lively despite the older one, Kim A,n ignoring him at 1st helped not make the story too angsty/annoying. Their story with the stalker wasn't the best, but... What can we do?

💑2nd Couple - Maru & Minwoo - Another dose of angst. Had me out here wishing Minwoo would disappear and that someone would slap Maru upside the head. Thankfully, Minwoo's plan to pretend he had a gf worked in getting Maru's head out of his ass. Their kiss scenes - esp the one Maru initiated in... was it ep 7 or 8... That kiss was fire.

💑3rd Couple - Joo Hyuk & Sung Min - They were the highlight of the entire thing for me. They were absolutely hilarious, esp the 1st meeting after the 1 night stand n when Joo Hyuk was playing hard to get. Loved that the younger one was pursuing the older one. Also, his aggressive style of pursuing was funny. PS. their NC scenes - the one in ep 9 - Holy Jesus. That was so well done and shot. Perfection

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My 1st Chinese Drama

The cinematography in this was quite something. I loved their use of bright colours and the cozy decor in the houses, esp Sang Zi's room back home, her dorm room, and the eventual house she n JiaXu got.

JiaXu is honestly the greenest flag of all green flag men out there. His attitude and treatment of Sang Zi from when they 1st met till they started dating and after was just perfection. Aside from JiaXu, Sang Zis' brother was so cool n hilarious -also so hot. Their portrayal of the sibling relationship was so good. I envy them.

While I quite liked it, it's a slow cozy drama...which generally aren't my type, esp when they have this many eps. I'd lose interest if I tried binging it. Also, the angst in those last 3 eps... So slow, so boring. Did not enjoy it. That's why the plot gets an 8.5 - so, it's not them, it's me

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I genuinely do not understand the hate.

Pple complaining about cliches... It's a romantic comedy. What life-altering plot did you expect to pop out of it? Humans are wild. They claim to want throwback type romance, they get it, they are mad. Hard eye roll. Personally, I liked it.

The ML was such a green flag - very adorable consent king. The FL was also well written. Not overly dramatic and firm in her mind and choices. The couple was also very mature - and I don't mean the 1 million kisses, but in their interaction, communication, conflict management, etc.

What I wish was better was
(1) Eps 15 and esp 16 were boring as hell

(2) The love stories with her friends. I wish we got to see more of the budding romance btw the FLs friend and the younger guy. I think it'd have been really cute. As for the friend with the useless husband, I wish it had been done differently. She ended up looking like a tyrant to her stay-at-home husband. I wish she had
(a) Left him and her terrible in-laws or,
(b) The husband would have been shown enjoying being a stay-at-home husband. basically a role reversal without the subtle misogyny that "utakaliwa kama bibi yako is the breadwinner".

(3) Oh, also, not all family members should be forgiven. The sister was shit. N his mum, it should have taken more conversations

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Was it toxic? Yes. But was it extremely engaging? Also, yes.

I put this story in the same category as stories like The Novelist, My Personal Weatherman, My Beautiful Man, KinnPorshe, The End of the World With You & to an extent, Love Mechanics. They all have some level of toxicity (albeit in varying degrees) that absolutely no one should want IRL but they do make good plot.

IRL Joe should have completely disappeared and never let Ming back into his life, but as someone said, the heart wants what it wants. And Ming did get a redemption arc and changed for the better. My only gripe with the story is the Tong and Ming's parents' situation. Tong should have been kicked out of the family and lost his career, but they just gave him a slap on the wrist and paid off his debts for the sake of his kid. That was not ok.

Also for Ming's parents, the mum did the quickest turnaround ever after threatening to out his son. Also the Ming's dad threatening Joe with a gun... The explanation that he gave saying why he didn't want Joe and Ming to be together was kinda dumb.

So, yes, the last 2 episodes had some absurd bits and felt a little rushed, but overall, I really loved the story. I hope we get more interesting stories like these in the future. They don't always have to be toxic, but just, good and engaging plot

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I Tried. I Really Did

Dropped after 25 episodes. The story started going down for me after like 16 episodes, but I pushed on to see if I'd still like it.... I don't

I hate amnesia as a plot point. All it does is drag down the story and basically halt it. Instead of us dealing with new things, we are on pause n kinda go back a few steps.
Also, I read episode recaps from that 'Cho Na Writes' website, and they keep dying and going through the amnesia thing.

So far in ep 25, she's the one who supposedly dies, then he'd die next coz she'd accidentally kill him. Then she's immortal n meets his amnesiac reincarnated self in lik 16(19?) years. Then she dies, and they meet again in the modern world, and the show ends..

Aaai. Nani anataka kushinda hapo akizungushwa? Not me! ✌

I did like their chemistry, though. They were really cute together. He's a cute tsundere. N her lazy self was a fave. All she wanted to do was eat and sleep. N she got to do that n ended up with a hot, rich, powerful man who loved n indulged her... Dream life right there

If someone were to twist my arm to rewatch this, I'd only watch the 1st 14/15 episodes and stop there

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It's formulaic and predictable, which makes it boring.

Sure, they gave us an incredibly good-looking and talented cast, but forgot to match the plot to their looks and acting chops

Park Bo Gum's character is too moral and is the boy version of a Mary Sue. Also, that whole 'has a brain injury but won't go to the hospital, take care of himself, or tell anyone' thing pissed me off to no end.

I was curious to see Lee San Yi again after Bloodhounds, but his character is also boring. The jilted male lover who just won't leave or give up. They tried making his character interesting with his weird, mysterious family dynamic, but still... Meh.

Our female lead... she doesn't leave much of an impression. She's there to be the romantic interest, and that's all she majorly is. They don't use her to her full potential. I wanted to see that sharp shooting talent of hers put to good use, but as of ep 11, I think we only saw her use it once - in that episode with the break-in.

Oh Jung Se's character, I think I read an article here that said that he wanted to portray 'a grotesque monster with the most ordinary face'. That is actually what made me give this show a chance. However, all he is is a stupidly rich fellow who doesn't smile much.
They did good with that 'most ordinary face thing' - he's not a heartthrob type villain, he looks like a regular dude - but lost it with the whole 'grotesque monster' thing. I wanted him to get his hands dirty. Min Ju Yeong (Oh Jung Se's character) didn't scare me. He looked constipated, though.
I wish they had given me someone like Ok Taec Yeon's character in Vincenzo. Or the murderer guy from Beyond Evil. Then the word 'grotesque monster' could have fit perfectly

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Bored? Wanna laugh? Give it a go. Also, somebody call HR

Is the story good? Well... Have you ever come across those billionaire romance stories that are all smut and aggression? If so, then... That's the vibe here. Is the acting good? I mean..., I wouldn't tell anybody about them.
Are the music choices good? They are largely annoying and had me wondering about copyright laws

But.... I don't know the last time I laughed so hard watching something. This story is so absurd. Like it's so bad that it's good. IDK how to explain it, man. It keeps you engaged. You wanna find out what other random out-of-pocket thing they'll throw at you

PS. For anyone who cares, there's A LOT of kissing. Nothing that will go in anyone's slank bank, but their lips touch a whole lot

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Funny, Touching & An Interesting Look Into Relationships

While I genuinely enjoyed watching all the couples, I think I enjoyed the BL couple the most - and not just because gay romance is a guilty pleasure of mine. Their love story was such a perfect opposites-attract trope. From the brother having to deal with the terrible ex, to having to work for his new man, and all the things that happened in btwn.. they were so good. Didn't like that the new man ended up in jail, but, character development, I guess.

The couple with the sister was such a high-tension couple - so much can be sorted with just more communication. Glad they went to therapy.

The main couple - I do wish we had more time with them together. I guess our main girl did need to find herself, face herself n grow enough to accept the MLs love and the ML needed to grow up n stand on his own without daddy's credit card, but still... I wish this had been sorted earlier so they could have more screentime together.

As for the mum and dad... I'm not a fan of the dad for sure. I guess it's a nod as to how older couples work things but still, he was a terrible communicator who let pride rule him and almost lost his wife over that. I'm not saying the mum was perfect either, esp with her pressuring older daughter to get kids but she deserved better from her husband

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Overpromised but Underdelivered

I remember binging the 1st 3 episodes and coming on here where I wrote a note that said in part, 'Great chemistry, pacing, and tension. Hope they keep it up till the end.' Clearly, I was thoroughly impressed by those episodes; unfortunately, the chemistry, pacing, and tension all but disappeared after that. We got some of that chemistry and tension back for a while in ep 6, but then it disappears again. Then, 2 episodes later, the show ends very anticlimactically.

Let's go back to those 1st 3 episodes coz this is where they overpromised - and show the multitudes(?) that are AE/Enaga. As AE, he is the walking, talking definition of debauchery. He's very sexy, not just in how he carries himself, but his face. The man is gorgeous. And also because he parties, drinks, and smokes, something that is foreign to Chiaki. I think AE even mentions at some point that he wants to 'ruin' Chiaki. Ruin that air of innocence that he has (I'm paraphrasing here). However, as Enaga, he's naturally clumsy, very shy around his design idol (who he eventually likes), slouches when he walks, and has this quiet sexiness, more like cuteness, about him.

I was very curious to see how these two sides of him would meld together. Especially when you remember that in ep 3, AE is jealous of himself when Chiaki tells him that he had fun with Enaga on a night out. How far was AE going to push Chiaki? He'd already gotten him to drink, party, and smoke, so... what else was there? Well... Nothing. There was nothing. Because after ep 3 AE basically ghosts Chiaki, and we spend the next episodes bouncing between Chiaki's & Enaga's heads/thoughts and prepping for the fashion show. The chemistry, pacing, and tension that I was very excited about are sacrificed for a series of inner monologues.

I guess you could argue that his realization of his lie (and feelings?) made him step back, but I feel like he sacrificed a part of himself. AE is Enaga and vice versa - two sides of the same coin, two halves of a whole. The side of him that loves partying and is very forward and flirtatious doesn't go away simply because he likes Chiaki. I'd have loved to see that side of him more. I think seeing that constant struggle happening in real time as he interacts with Chiaki would have shown a better light on this tentative IdolxFan relationship and his larger-than-life vs everyday clumsy classmate personas

🤘🏾Aside from that🤘🏾
🧷Music gets a 4 coz I don't like it when shows use the same song over and over again - not including the OST. Can't change that. I mean the songs within the episodes.
🧷If anyone were to twist my arm to rewatch, I'd stick to the 1st 3 episodes
🧷I didn't quite like how Sumiura was portrayed. I never like that wide-eyed, innocent, submissive look UNLESS it plays a part in the characters/relationship dynamic. E.g., underlying tones of a D/S relationship - My Beautiful Man and My Personal Weatherman are great examples of instances where I think this character portrayal works best

All in all, the show let me down, and the story feels unfinished. From what I've seen, the manga only has 1 volume, which would perhaps explain why this story is the way it is. I lowkey wish that those adapting this for TV had worked with the mangaka to expound this story to better fit a well-rounded TV storyline

Side Note:
If Mr. Kim Namjoon, my ult bias randomly showed up infront of me, I doubt I'd go wide-eyed, submissive, and clumsy like Sumiura did. Chances are that I'd run and hide like Soobin did when he met that babe from KARA😅

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If your friend group is like this..., LEAVE!!!

This show was such a delight to keep up with week after week. THE DRAMA?!?!?!?! It was sooo fucking good. The characters were messy and human, and above all, the story had meaning and a message in all the characters portrayed.

As for the couples -

1. SandRay were the best couple to me. Not only are FirstKhao pretty AF, but their chemistry is just beyond everything. Their acting, especially Khao, who had such emotional scenes, is top-tier. I love that they found their way to each other after all their trials and tribulations - mostly due to Ray and his drinking problem. I became a FirstKhao stan after this

2. TopMew - ForceBook were much better in this show than in 'A Boss and A Babe', especially Book's character. He was more mature. As for their story in this show, that's complicated. Cheating is something hard to get over, and I genuinely don't know how they'll deal with it.

3. TonNick - Who knew that NeoMark had such range? Anyway, I'm so happy that Nick finally chose to love himself over loving Boston, who never treasured or respected him as he deserved. My heart really broke for him in the last episode, but some lessons do need to be learned, albeit the hard way.
As for Boston, I feel the punishment was deserved. He spent all his time plotting against his friends and putting his selfish needs above all others. Finally, his selfishness left him with no one in his corner.

4. As for Cheum and April... They were kinda meh. And Cheum wasn't a good friend either, especially to Ray. She always favoured Mew more, and Ton wasn't even anywhere in her view.

5. Finally, Yo n Plug, I wish they had more of a role to play. I'd have loved to see their relationship dynamic and the inner workings of dating while trans or dating a trans character. Maybe someday trans characters will get better roles in BLs and not just like comedic relief or the random bar-owning friend.

6. As for Mix's appearance in the ending scene...interesting. Very interesting

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