Ryan B

Hmmm I really can't decide

The one thing I got from this series is that it is near impossible to follow everything thrown at you without having to watch it again or, having to rewind and play scenes over again until you fill in the blanks and catch up. At times (an iQIYI issue) the subtitles were so fast you would need a photographic memory or, start a Duolingo course to learn the language. Also, when the writers/director realize that they only have two episodes left - they cram so much information in that it could be three days later before your brain finally puts it in the right order and you say "Ahhhh. That's why the father was such a..."

Yi's transformation from a**hole to nice person was never believable. It was never truly explained why he treated Diao so badly. Agree - Nat is not the best actor and agree - how can a medalist in martial arts be such a wimp and unable to fight?

Another reviewer posted other titles from this company and their seems to be a running theme...take a book and hurriedly and sometimes badly, convert into a series. Though, I must say that they are usually, good enough to plow through to see the ending. Not thrilled but, you know what I mean.

Side characters were entertaining. If you think of this as a Cinderella story - it makes a bit more sense and having the "extra" stuff thrown in is all there to help move the story along.

Hard to recommend. It is like both versions of Why R U. Thai one made all women to be vile and opportunistic. The Korean one cleaned that part up and improved it - a little. Do we wait for the Korean Naughty Babe and hope for more? Enquiring minds want to know...

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Better K Style even...

When writing my review for the original Thai version - you can see I was very frustrated with some of the storyline. Using people for personal gain is not my cup of tea and that is all over the original.

For the Korean version - while they had 17 episodes of material to work with - this slimmed down version almost gets it right. For some of it, you can see they were dealing with a low budget and didn't make the time to find product placement deals to help it all out. Their location shots were real - even to the point of not fixing the curtains in the classroom to give it a better feel. If that's the way the students see it everyday - leave it. Same with the other location shots - real. But, the sound person - OMG - they should have been given everything they needed. When the insects have more time on the screen than the actors - ugh. And, the voice overs were as bad as the Chinese dramas we see. The voices - from a studio somewhere in Korea - have nothing to do with the environments they are in. Outside noise? Wind? People walking by in a cafeteria? Someone putting a pen or, pencil down in a classroom? None of that is here in this world - just their voice - in a personality deprived vacuum.

The Korean version threw away most of the mistakes from the Thai version. The sister is not as self serving and evil as the Thai version. This sister takes the time to tell her brother that the story is too far along to make such changes and she is truly sorry. You believe it. In the Thai version - she never is sincere about what she has done and the writers had to add three extra episodes to make up for it. If you couldn't do it in the first 14 - why do you think the fans will accept the new version in 15-17?
Gone are the fair weather friends who were only there to make fun of people and use them for personal favors or, gain. Gone are the side storylines that were never fully developed in the Thai version.

In this version - we get some characters actions and such changed - so, try not to bring the baggage of the Thai version with you - it will confuse you for a bit as you adjust. Because this is only an 8 episode miniature version - they leave out important parts and leave you hanging (often) from badly cut scenes and wasting your time revisiting the whole story at the beginning of each episode - lazy on the production and directing side.

What saves this (and I have already watched the series twice) is the casting and acting on our main characters parts. They do a great job and you do get invested in them. I loved the scene between Sun Woo and Ko Yoo at the bus stop. It helps put those two characters in the proper perspective - showing both personalities clearly and you understand why they don't understand each other. This moment gives them both time to reflect on how they have lived their lives and how their own prejudices against themselves have held them back. When they get together - you believe it and cheer them on.

The whole relationship/interaction between our other two main characters between Kim Ji Oh and Jung Lee Won are also believable if you take into account time passing in a school sense. LOVED the versions of the same shots as seen from different eyes. When the girls watch the interactions - they see the lovers. Those wonderful scenes add some fun to the production and must have been fun to film. We get to see both versions and judge for ourselves.

It would have been nice to see this company take all of those 17 episodes and improve/fix for the Korean version - with a nice budget but, I do understand that the K-Drama world is still treading lightly into the BL world. I have seen some dramas redone with larger budgets - at a later date. There is a Chinese one where we get to see two versions of the same story and then, a Thai one. Let's see this one with better treatment when everyone is ready. Would love to see a full budget 16 episode K-Drama of this one - even if they have to buy and use Red Ginseng and go to Subway - soon.

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This can be so frustrating...

This one can be very frustrating. What they do for comedy just doesn't make sense. And, the things they do to each other - can be cruel sometimes yet, they all act like it is normal everyday stuff. Zon's sister is awful. Apparently, the series must have had some serious blowback due to what she did and they wrote the new Sai-Zon episodes to make her look like she wasn't as bad as we saw for 14 episodes. And, how Zon's friends - talk about him to get Sai-Zon back together proves my point about how worthless they are.

Girls/family members using real names in fiction just to get popular? Girls ruining reputations for their own selfish pleasure? Shipping innocent people together for their own entertainment and then, embarrassing them into an event so, they don't look bad?

The most evil characters - consistently, in this entire drama are the women. No matter what they say and do later - it never erases the pain they caused to everyone involved. The shipping pair simply celebrate that they used people for their own benefit. At least you could understand the father of Fight, he ended up having to face his son and realize the damage he had caused over the previous years to his own family.

It took more episodes than it should have but, the real stories finally started to weed out the lesser characters (and that is a good thing). Half way through - and it finally pulled itself together.

I finished this because the casting/acting is acceptable though, so many scenes have you wondering if this is really a university or, if there is too much lead in the water. Really bad directing - first timer? Or, just bad at directing? The writers should have been penalized for the red flag incidents they created for viewing pleasure and then, glossed them over by simply leaving those characters out later or, not even mentioning the pain they caused.

Thank goodness the production doesn't understand how to do the product placement stuff. You see it but, you never know what they are drinking or, if they even like it. A breath of fresh air on that note. I just finished one where the episode would end early just so they could do a several minute long in character commercial for a wireless carrier. When they got to the make up - it was more apparent but, never overly done. Again, a breath of fresh air.

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So well done...

I really liked this KDrama. Done so well. And, it ages well. I have just finished my second viewing with little to no fast forwarding. As with any series or, show - there are storylines and characters that can get on your nerves and even in first viewing, you find yourself scrolling to get back to the story. In Missing - that doesn't happen. It seems that everyone involved made sure that every moment you are watching, there is a reason to stick around and pay attention.

Loved the cast - great acting all around. I just love the consistent quality of the child actors that make it into any Asian dramas. In American TV and movies, directors and casting accept such low quality that many times - the entire production suffers because of an actor that is too young to understand what is going on around them. Imagine having a director walk a child through a scene where they have to show fear, remorse and more as if being forced to remember something terrible that happened to them. Brilliant on everyone's part.

I like that the show doesn't go out of their way to give everyone a happy and complete ending. Things change rapidly and everyone has to adjust - that's life. The story doesn't get bogged down by forced romance or, the "triangle" - there isn't any time. The focus remains on being extended family to each other and good friends. If there is family involved, all the better.

Give this wonderful series a try. You will cry with them and for them but, that is not always a bad thing.

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Love this one.

Very cute and realistic. Small firm, dependent on star employees. Petty squabbles that affect whole careers. Ignorant upper management used to pushing away anything that they don't want to deal with.

Having worked corporate. Having experienced what many of these characters go through...I could relate. Loved how the romance came about. Understated. Quiet.

Loved how they showed the levels of maturity in each character. And, I appreciated that Choi Si-hun's character never figured out that Woo Seung Hyun had a thing for him. To be that oblivious showed his callous side and how much he was into himself. As BL's gain strength and make more money - we will see the episodes get longer and larger in quantity. But, I never felt any of the character's were underdeveloped. This will always be one I can bounce back to when I am in the mood for it.

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Tough one. Stuck with it - Kinda...

This one was a tough one to watch. In the beginning, some of the characters are so irritating that I was disappointed to find that they would be a love interest or, still in the story 4 episodes later. I thought, casting wise, this group was a bit of a mess. Maybe, closer to reality? But, I just couldn't see the two leads together - at all. She was so mean and so unforgiving. He went out of his way to continue to patronize her business, replace the phone, etc. and she still couldn't let anything go. Who cares if we see a character show regret if they don't follow through? A character should not be rewarded for being a thorn in someone's side.

As usual - some stellar performances - the only reason I watched a portion of every episode. , Ji Dong-hee (Shin Jae-ha) was brilliant. To change his personality on a dime like that - perfect. I could understand why he chose to die in the end. All the actors/actresses for the high school characters were perfect. Lee Chae-Min's breakdown while taking the exam was perfection - you really felt what he was going through.

Jeon Do-yeon's Nam Haeng-soon and Jung Kyung-ho's Choi Chi-yeol - did not work for me. I could not get to the point of accepting that they were suitable for each other as a couple. I could see them helping each other out in their own ways but, it would have been nicer to see them end up with other people. The late addition of the true mother was a waste of time on everyone's part. It wasn't even needed - especially, since she had zero redeeming qualities. Jae-Woo(Oh Eui-Sik) - eh - did not like that his issues all pertained to what the story needed to keep moving. Writer's convenience = lazy.

Also, regardless if it is life-like or, what - just because characters are together in a scene - you don't have to fill every waking moment with their nonstop conversation. I got to the point every time certain characters showed up - I knew I could fast forward through their whole time and not miss a single thing.

Really hated how hard the writers worked at making the whole cast have a happy, fairytale existence in the end. Villain? Takes his own life. Leads? Happy successful life. Teens? Exciting happy college life - not a speck or, mention of therapy or, how they healed anywhere. Parent's - awful to the core - ruined people's lives? All forgiven. Ruined and nearly put your own children in the hospital or, the morgue? All forgiven. Ruined marriages because you focused on all the wrong things? No worries.

Thank goodness for the fast forward button.

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You will keep this one handy to watch again...

Loved this series. LOVE the connection between Earth and Mix. The playful banter. The shyness - who wants to admit it first? Everything. When I saw this the first time - I wasn't sure how the whole heart transplant thing would fit into the overall story but, it was handled so well.

I liked the level of detail of having the Chief know almost everything that was going on - with the exception of what happened to Torfun beyond dying. The side characters are entertaining and I loved that the corruption was kept to the area and didn't branch off into dangerous mob territory that could/would never end the tormenting of the villagers. Think - small town crime.

One of my favorite moments is when Tian meets the Chief for the first time. The writers and director took the time to build up to that moment beautifully. We know he is still recovering and it takes this moment for us to see what could happen when you push yourself too hard post surgery. Beautifully photographed and captured. How many of us dreamed of being in Earth's arms at that moment? LOL

Happy the child actors were up to par - believable and you got to know them enough to care about what happened to each and every one of them. Would love to see a sequel - just for the pure joy of seeing the whole cast again.

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What a great series!

Love Masaki Suda in this series. When he makes his curry before going on his date and then processes that this is going to be a date - I have shown that scene to so many people. Always makes me laugh.

Love his character. Love the attention to detail. Love the stories and how they all tie together. I won't bog you down with a detailed analysis but, I will say that I keep this in my watchlist so, I can go back to it often whenever I need a Sherlock Holmes type fix. My favorite episode is when he encounters the bomber who has temporary amnesia - so well done.

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Could have been a great drama but...

I really wanted to like this one. Great story and lots of detail. But, the director - ugh. The pacing was near glacial. Character says a line - pause. Other character responds - pause. Lather rinse repeat.

I had originally given up on this three episodes in and let it sit in my queue for over a year before I went back to it again. I decided I wanted to see what happened and how the story unfolded. All in all - I wasn't disappointed. Good cast - good story. I just felt myself wanting to push it along sometimes.

Loved the ending - loved how everything was brought together and to a satisfying conclusion. Honestly, I would recommend it for a lazy Sunday afternoon viewing where you can let yourself get distracted and not miss anything.

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So well done...Great story...Great Cast

I loved this one. The details were so strong that I spend an afternoon researching to see if the book they kept referencing was real - I wanted to get a copy. And, if anybody just rolled their eyes - I have found two books this way. In Life is Sweet the lead couple discuss a Japanese book - in detail. I found it and am already half way through it.

I thought the relationship growth was handled perfectly. They covered all the possibilities and made sure that the mother (at the moment) had to pay for her choices. She had to live with it.

I also appreciated the truth in the way everyone lived. In many Chinese dramas they go out of their way to show clean streets, beautifully lit plazas and happy people shopping and dining. In this one we see happy people living with what they have and where they are. They aren't pining for a corporate job in a cubicle.

Highly recommend this one for anyone who wants to watch a relationship grow - in a real way.

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Have your finger on the fast forward button...

This would be excruciating to sit through if you couldn't fast forward. Nobody learns anything. Killers get off with a "sorry". The usual happy ending garbage Chinese soap operas throw at us all the time. Let someone go to jail. It is okay to kill characters off but, nobody gets in trouble for it?

They had a strong story but, dragged it out by having the characters do the same things over and over and over - never really progressing, Evil people stay evil and suddenly find god in the last two episodes? Really?

Someone ruins your business...takes everything from you...and you just forgive them? How many times do the characters say "...the past is in the past. Let it go." Lazy writing.

Things to help make this go faster.
- FL lead only has three expressions and uses the pouty 4 year old in trouble look for almost the entire production.
- Every time you see the evil jewelry designer girl - you can fast forward through everything she says and does. She is evil. She cheats. She allows others to cheat for her. A awful human being.
- Evil girl's mother is even worse. She should have been run over by a truck by the 19th episode.
- ML is the only one who drank bottled water and saved himself by living overseas. Just a screwed up group of people.
- FL's best friend has issues - FF through everything she is in.
- FL's mother is excruciating to watch - ignore absolutely everything she is in. She is disabled and pitied. That is all you need to know. She suddenly is cured for no apparent reason (they can't afford real special effects).
- A rich family with many worthless people. A grandmother who sends a child away to protect a b**ch? The SIL who ruins an entire family and doesn't care and thinks she can still drop by to throw insults.

To show how much of a mess this is. I started it at episode 12 and didn't miss a thing. This is a true soap opera that ran for almost a full year. They have to keep reminding you of the past for the people that had a life and would miss several episodes. Keep that in mind when watching it. Fast forward when you feel it is getting lather-rinse-repeatish.

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Just what you would expect - nice to have a good storyline and strong cast

Just what you would expect from a Chinese Drama. Leaning into the soap opera realm. Too many episodes. And, only shows you the pretty and clean side of China - as usual - they use the rich people to showcase and those striving to just make a living never complain. That's okay - these are made for enjoyment and escapism.

Here's the ongoing Chinese drama relationship issue that seems to go on and on. To get the most episodes out of any series - the characters never learn or, finally come to their senses in the last few episodes. So, have the fast forward button at the ready and use it. It will save you lots of frustration. I was able to skip nearly entire episodes and not miss a thing. When the ML and FL petty argue - skip it - it never goes anywhere. Lather-rinse-repeat.

Villain is from within and takes tooooooo long to be exposed and brought to justice (like that ever happens in a Chinese drama - insert eye roll).

Because this has a touch of rom-com to it - expect the major couples to drag out their stuff to the very end. Again - fast forward and save hours. Or, vacuum, cut vegetables, clean, etc. so you don't feel you have wasted your time when they have their next disagreement and spend three episodes working it out.

Because FL is college educated and acts like a adult in the first episodes - expect the drams to go off the rails in the middle. Fast forward and save yourself the frustration when those moments begin. Easy to spot when they end the way Prime shows the show progress while you are zipping through.

Overall, I liked it and would recommend it. But, I have learned to spot and ignore the fluff and wasted pixels. As long as i get to enjoy the characters for who they are and see the story have a beginning, middle, and end - I am happy. Enjoy.

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Loved this one so much

I won't take up your time with a minute by minute breakdown of why I loved this drama so much. I loved the casting and the acting is spot-on - perfect. The characters all felt comfortable in their own skin and owned their characters - you could (and do) easily get attached to your favorites.

My only gripe is how too many dramas make the bad person good before the end credits role. What Lee So Hee did was selfish and horrible - to be playing on the beach again with everyone by the end was sad.

She got away with everything and all she had to do was pout, shed a few tears and say she was sorry. She affected reputations of individuals - she took their private lives away. It was mean spirited and cruel. They should have promised to eventually make amends but, it should have been off camera.

Other than that - LOL - I will save this to watch again and again.

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Why are women portrayed as...

I don't understand why women are portrayed and conniving, evil, shallow people in so many Thai BLs. That is what ruined the Thai version of Why R U.

In Together With Me the women are loud, rude, manipulative and always out for themselves. Is this to make the men look better since this is a BL?

I liked the main characters - good chemistry. Good story development. Good cast - they got along well. The pacing is on point too.

I do appreciate that at least in this drama - there are some normal people who are part of the story. They offer some foundation to the series and some of the characters.

I still liked it but, it could have been so much better.

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