Lack luster and tedious
LIKES:Storyline: The concept of the 3D medical printing for which the drama was based on and the idea of a strong, intelligent woman in the business world at the head of a successful company. I liked how they brought the concept of the playing cards and ML’s interactions with FL, full circle to tie it all up.
Wardrobe: The suits worn by the male characters were all well tailored and sharp. And I loved the female antagonist CEO that wore the most beautiful green suit jacket.
Location: some familiar settings, but where they shot the office scenes for ML’s company and the trip to Germany, were good.
Colour pallet: good colour schemes throughout the drama.
Filming: inside the cars was decently filmed, and the drivers didn’t use the steering wheel like they were swerving left to right lol.
The cat: so sweet, patient and adorable. (Although sometimes I think they used a stuffed animal too).
DISLIKES:
Storyline: it started out interesting and then got confused. There was no AI applications shown, just 3D printing. There were too many speeches and long boring parts. As much as I like Xu Kai, not even he could make this drama interesting and the love scenes had no buildup or chemistry, so they fell flat. Others give more of a detailed breakdown of the little good and mostly bad plot. It was cookie-cutter office drama, with the usual tropes and cliches. Too much filler scenes and the side romances didn’t help add any interest.
Wardrobe: almost all of the females, especially the FL and 2nd FL were always dressed with skirts or shorts that were way too short to be considered appropriate business wear or even business casual. And the trendy online influencer girl and her love interest the bar owner, had mostly distasteful clothes too.
Timing/Pacing: some scenes were too long and often redundant; the board room or the group meetings. Then the last few episodes seemed overly rushed. As others have said, too many episodes and it could have done better cutting it down to 24 episodes instead of 40.
Filming: shaky camera syndrome happened again and some times the green screen was very noticeable.
OST: over played and sometimes too loud to hear what was being said in the scene.
Cast: Initially I thought they actors/actresses were well chosen for their characters, but I felt none of the couples had any chemistry, to the point of being cringy. The parents of the FL & Grandfather, Aunt of ML, added nothing to the story.
OVERALL:
I gave the drama a chance, because in other dramas I found Xu Kai to be a good actor, but not even he could save this one. I understand why others dropped it. It’s a bit tedious of a watch, but if you are new to C-dramas then this is an okay one to start watching and ending was well summed up although rushed. I don’t recommend it to others who have already watched a few office dramas. 3.5/10
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Pacing issues, but a nice message
LIKE:The friendships developed due to the love of music.
The message: never give up, believe in yourself and you can achieve anything.
Music score was nice and the repetition was limited for their competition song.
Location shots, lighting, cinematography.
DISLIKE:
Directing: Many overly long pauses or lack of anything happening/being said. Whether delayed reaction or change of scene or someone thinking, all of it was very delayed causing pacing issues. At the end the face of the ML, his expression looked like he was about to take a big poop or die of a heart attack. It didn’t match the moment.
Writing: The coming together at the end, was ridiculous in a few ways, especially the dancing and celebrating being so comedic. That just didn’t fit the atmosphere that was created. Almost like they were ridiculing the efforts of those involved. (Trying not to give a spoiler). The writer tried to create romance with a few characters, but it was just thrown in, especially with those at the end. Had there been more backstory then that could’ve been done, but wasn’t really needed. Very cliche/usual trope with predictable ending.
Production: Shaking camera, which tried to show POV, but it didn’t work or fit.
OVERALL: It was nearly as good as expected, like a bad version of Aogeba Toutoshi. This movie’s teacher had very little impact, even though they tried to make him more human towards the end. Time management became an issue, as noted in my dislikes and that took away from what could’ve developed the story and characters. It was cute, average and not something I will watch again. If this is your first viewing of music/school/youth genre, then I recommend it. If not, I wouldn’t bother watching.
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Rollercoaster for the Heart of Viewer
LIKES:PRODUCTION:
Other than my dislikes, editing was great, cinematography, lighting and colour pallet all good. Directing was decent too (other than the romance portions).
WARDROBE:
appropriate and sometimes even interesting.
GOOD FX:
for time/dimension shift and scrapes or blood. Decent effects for the gaming worlds too.
Liked how characters and their game characters looked the same, so easy to understand who is who, when they are in competition.
WRITING:
As for esports teams, Continue was as compelling and interesting to watch as 1 Coin, or even other drama’s esports teams.
Well developed characters in general, but especially for the main leads.
Good message about never giving up, being a decent human, friendships and teamwork.
The mystery of Xiao Feng’s present vs past, kept me hooked and binge watching for many episodes.
Acceptable ending and enough character development to be satisfying.
CAST:
Cast well chosen, and supporting characters had great chemistry with main characters.
I really like how Lu Han delivered his role as Xiao Feng and Seven. I even liked the “romance” parts for him and wished a little more time was spent on his chemistry with Song Yan Fei (An Lan).
DISLIKES:
MUSIC:
stupid music right from the start.
PRODUCTION:
Shaky camera syndrome
DIRECTING:
Unrealistic recovery for physical limitations, even with technological advancements and mental motivation.
WRITING:
The “romance” between Xiao Bee and Chu Ge was laughable, especially from university age and on. They had no sexual chemistry, it was more a friendship than anything else.
The “bad guy” was way too obvious and the motivation for all the actions taken by that person was a dumb explanation. How they concluded this person’s role in the drama was disappointing and again the writer took the easy way out.
A few plot holes, but none that really angered me. Some of the moments that were supposed to be very impacting between Xiao Bee and Xiao Feng, were a bit anticlimactic and too easily achieved. [I am trying very hard not to give spoilers]
OVERALL: English subtitles were a little messed up, like “she” being shown when it should be “he” and viceversa. But that was just a little annoying and I still enjoyed the drama anyway. The best acting from Lu Han I have seen so far, he really brought his character to life. I would rewatch this and recommend it to anyone who likes the Esports drama genre or is a fan of Lu Han.
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Bad Writing, But cute with a nice message.
LIKES:Cute, beautiful location shots like the Ocean.
Cinematography and colour palette was good.
Production for the most part was decent.
Wardrobe was appropriate.
Message: love yourself and don’t give up. If your pretty face is just masking the ugliness of your heart, you aren’t beautiful at all.
Very PG, any age can watch it
Easy, lighthearted watch.
Music:
okay, nothing stood out, but it was appropriate and didn’t overpower the voices of actors & actresses.
For once the parents were not annoying.
FX:
(the stitches and scar) were okay (sometimes the scar was very darkly applied and the next scene it was lighter, as if the makeup artist was different each time).
Cast:
Easy acting for Kamio Fuju. Riko was exceptional with all the quirks and expressions of Kamiya Manaha.
DISLIKES:
Production:
Zoom in too close, shaking camera (film stabilizer not used).
Writing:
no added message at end of episode for people dealing with depression and dark thoughts.
Seemed more like junior/middle school crushes, then senior/ high school love. Very few kisses and same with holding hands.
No conclusion for the 2ML or 2FL
Wardrobe:
For the Pageant I don’t understand why the girls were dressed in wedding gowns.
Pacing:
considering there was only 8 episodes, there were a few too many filler moments, where they could’ve spent the time better for concluding some of the characters.
OVERALL: Any age can watch it, very PG. Easy and fast watch. It had potential to be impactful but bad writing derailed it. I won't rewatch it, but recommend it for people starting out in this genre.
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terrible production & writing
LIKES:Acting: When Praewa was being possessed or affected by the black magic & was wreathing in pain, she did it well. The actress playing Praewa (Ticha Wongtipkanon) did a fantastic job, the rest were okay.
FX:
the black magic scars and worm like movement in Praewa’s arms was well done, same with the blood & decay/puss wound.
Music:
Suited the scenes well, but sometimes over powered the voices of the actors/actresses. The music wasn’t scary and didn’t add to the suspense, but it was fine.
DISLIKE:
Production:
Camera work was terrible: Zoom in too close. Shots where their heads are cut off, due to not framing the scene properly, shaking camera (no film stabilizer), all so amateurish.
Lighting was very dark often and that on top of terrible filming, made it hard to watch.
Editing also had some issues, with abruptly cut scenes.
Director:
Brave (actor Fluke Pongsapat Kankam) when driving was using the steering wheel like he was off roading or swerving all over the road.
FX:
The possessed dead/zombie people were terrible makeup.
Writing:
As I have come to expect from most Thai dramas is a terribly written show, with many plot holes, character emphasis on the main leads and also in this one if you don’t want to explain the supporting characters let them meet the wrath of black magic [trying hard not to give spoilers away, but they are so obvious anyway].
Also the writer seemed to rip off ideas from the show: The Girl From Nowhere S1 (2018).
They explained the back story from Praewa and Sia (the friend she grew up with), but then used the same film as a memory, which seemed like filler. IF they were going to use memory flashes, the didn’t need to show all of the back story.
OVERALL:
There are better dramas in this genre from Thailand. This revenge storyline was pretty lame and by the last episode it felt redundant and a waste of time. Not thrilling or scary at all. The “who was in the video” bit dragged on and was so obvious. I don’t recommend it, even for fans of Boun & Prem. However it did introduce me to Ticha and I will look forward to seeing her acting in other shows. No reason to rewatch it either.
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Laughter & Fun w/ Familiar Faces
All the previous reviews were right, this is a must watch show if you like even just one of these actors and actresses!LIKES:
Three of my favourite actors and many fave actresses participated in this show.
The locations for all filming were beautiful.
Their activities were fun and full of endearing moments and laughs.
I loved watching them all interact and compete!
I laughed out loud and so hard, during the flying chair event!
Many great moments.
Music was okay too.
DISLIKES:
The event where they wear headphones and try to guess what is being said, was so annoying. I hope if there are more seasons, that they choose something different. I think something like Pictionary or its S. Korean equivalent would be perfect and really funny!
OVERALL:
This was so funny and I really liked watching the actors and actresses when they could be more themselves, than a character. I highly recommend it and will probably watch some episodes again.
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Cute Rom-Com with pacing issues
LIKE:The martial arts used in the drama and the fight scenes were good too, (even when the special effects were added).
Locations, scenery, sets for indoor scenes, all good.
Music was okay and didn’t over power actor/actress voices.
Beginning 15 episodes were good and caught my interest. Nice to see focus be on FL, but then it became all about ML, as per the usual formula.
Wardrobe of ML was good and for other characters too, except the FL they tried too hard to make her quirky.
Acting: for what they were given, all actors/actresses did well. I liked the range of emotion the ML (Sam Lin as Mu Liu Bing) was able to express.
DISLIKE:
Writing:
Typical cliches and tropes, very similar concept to Heirs and Boys Over Flowers. As usual we have 3 rich girl bullies with one dominant one that is possessive of ML, scheming/greedy adults that interfere with the ML & FL, social class discrimination (aka classism) dominant theme throughout the show. Show started with a strong FL, then she was made into a crying mess, but at least ended relatively okay.
Directing:
Pacing issues; lagged in middle and rushed ending. Too much time spent on unimportant scenes or extra delayed reactions. Not much “romance” established to secure the chemistry between FL & ML, very few kisses, lots of hugging.
Production:
Some shaky camera moments and zooming in too close. Noticeable editing where scene abruptly cuts to another.
FX: bruises and fist fight scrapes were not well done in the makeup department.
OVERALL:
It was a little long and could definitely have used the extra episodes better. For someone starting out in the Young Rom-Com martial arts drama genre, it’s a good introductory show. No super memorable moments that make me want to rewatch it or search for video clips online. I won’t rewatch it.
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Short & Predictable
LIKES:Locations & scenery were pretty.
Colour pallet, cinematography all good.
Wardrobe well chosen.
Cast suited their characters too.
Writing: I enjoyed the friendship/bromance vibes and the two new girls were given just the right amount of screen time.
OST/music for once wasn't annoying.
DISLIKES:
Writing: I felt annoyed by the ML pining for his ex GF, it lasted too long. Also very predictable ending and I feel they left Hwang In Yeop's Gi Jae Yeong the odd one out at the end of the show. The could've concluded his story line better.
Acting: wasn't the greatest (at one point Yoo Dong Guk while wearing the lensless glasses, put his finger through the "glass" to rub his eye (lol).
Production: Shaky Camera Syndrome [they should've used a film stabilizer] and zooming in too close. Camera work was very amateurish.
OVERALL:
I don't need to rewatch it, but it is easy fluff and a quick story. I want to see more of Hwang In Yeop dramas and hope he has more ML roles. I recommend it for those liking friendship dramas that are short and not very developed.
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Supernatural + light dose of romance= Satisfactory
LIKE:Cinematography, colour pallet, locations and the interiors of the apartments and funeral home.
Wardrobe was appropriate and in good taste.
The FX for sending the people on to heaven were very feel good.
Writing:
the concept of helping both the living and the dead.
The idea behind why FL was ‘gifted special hands’.
I liked the message of being truthful with those close to you, so you don’t have regrets when they are gone.
Music:
was well suited for the scenes and I didn’t notice it being overpowering when actors/actresses spoke. However I didn’t notice anything standing out or really memorable either.
DISLIKE:
Production:
Shaky Camera Syndrome [Someone forgot to activate the film stabilizer!]
Zooming in too close; don’t need to see their nose hair or clogged by makeup pores.
Writing:
Similar concept seen with Mystic Pop-Up Bar and other shows, so nothing new.
The ML and FL are cute for the first portion of the drama, then ML’s trauma shifts the whole show to be about that, before ending with FL trauma. But don’t worry there’s a happy ending, comedy included! Some parts were rushed and it felt a little disjointed. Could also be the editing though. There was some character growth, but we get no definite conclusion for a few supporting characters that were seen throughout the show.
OVERALL:
Very very slow burn for the romance, but we got a little bit of it. Thankfully the comedy wasn’t over the top or frequent. I would recommend it for a supernatural drama, if you are just starting out in this genre. There are better dramas than this, but it is satisfactory and even young teens can watch it. I won’t rewatch it and there were no moments that I wish to see again.
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Dreamworld for high school juniors
LIKES:cinematography, location settings, fx were okay too.
beginning concept was interesting but got lame fast.
acting was okay for what they were given.
DISLIKES:
STORY:
Typical cliches and trops for the plot. No character growth from any of them. Harem style of friends. None of their issues were resolved. No back story for the main characters; the girls, the non-binary and the guy in the club.
MUSIC:
Terrible, except maybe the song at the end. I muted it sometimes.
EDITING/PRODUCTION: not sure if this goes in this category but the story starts by saying the blonde boy is that way due to being half white, hence his hair colour. BUT you can see the dye job was done badly because his darker hair is under the blonde and you can see his dark roots. Also it is 2014, you can go back to 1980s and see people colouring their hair, so the concept of him being a loner due to his blonde hair is absolutely ridiculous. All he had to do is dye it black.
OVERALL: Like a manga it had the panty and boob shots from the females, but nothing comes from it. The beginning was okay, middle was dumb and the end unsatisfactory. The concept was very obvious. Too much hinting: (boy and girl hook up) & (potential boy and boy moment with the NB), but nothing happens. It felt like a very unfinished story, not a movie. I wont watch it again and no memorable scenes.
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Bullying + Violence + Triggers = last half of movie
Likes:lighting even during the darker scenes was okay.
acting was decent.
fx were okay.
Music and sound effects done well.
Dislikes:
Writing:
Plot holes.
No punishment for the two guys who controlled the "finding girls". Bullying had no consequences either. No growth for the main actor and no true conclusion either. Sloppy ending, seemed very rushed compared to the slow beginning. The crying of Se Jun after what he did, seems dumb, because he had no problem doing what he did before the bathtub scene.
Production:
Shaking camera, especially with close ups, they should've used a film stabilizer.
Pacing was extra slow in the beginning, then rushed at the end of the movie.
Overall:
There was no bromance as it is tagged that. What the male leads had was barely friendship even. People read way too much into the two male leads calling it boy love. Not at all. They used each other; one for money, the other to get involved with the uncle that's never shown. Bullying, violence and triggering content that due to the rushed ending, doesn't give a satisfying resolution or conclusion. Even if you like graphic violence, this is on the low end of the decent movie spectrum. I don't recommend wasting your time watching this. No scene grabbing parts, that make you want to watch it again.
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Fujio and Crew Never Disappoint
LIKES:CAST: as always our favourite characters are back in action! I loved the new additions.
PLOT: yes this is more of an action and street fighter movie, but the theme of never giving up and friendship, is always prevalent in this series.
PRODUCTION: Some shaky camera moments and some fighting choreography was off, but still well done.
OST: fit the situations and was better than most.
FX: Their fight wounds looked realistic and didn't disappear the next day, like in some dramas and movies.
DISLIKE:
WRITING: the bad guy, wasn't as dark and dangerous as he should've been made. Also a lot of this movie had undertones or even concept taken from Crows Zero (1 & 2). The biggest parallel being Fujio and Crows Zero's Genji.
EDITING: the flashback Fujio has of Murayama, they used a clip that showed lines in it like it came off an old reel movie camera, instead of using the original clip. Also some parts were a bit choppy, like scenes were cut out, that might have originally been in it.
ACTING: some of it wasn't the greatest, but they have improved a lot.
OVERALL:
I loved this and how it was tied to High & Low The Worst. I will be watching this a few times. I like this genre of high school fighting. This goes very well with the whole High & Low Franchise. I do recommend it for everyone (eye candy is everywhere and a guy for any taste). I hope they make more movies or series like this one.
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Good Idea ruined by Production & Directing
LIKES:Chemistry between actors and actresses.
Scenery, like when they went to the “sea”.
Wardrobe: well chosen to show the different stages of maturity for the actresses and tasteful clothing for the actors.
Transportation: Liked that they were consistent with what Badz used in comparison to Kyro.
Nice apartments for Kyro and decent rooms for the students too.
The different restaurants that were shown, without grossing us out due to talking with their mouth full of food (like some other dramas do).
Concept of the show about hiring a boyfriend.
DISLIKES:
MUSIC:
too loud, hard to hear actor & actresses talking, thankfully I read sub titles & could mute the music, which was annoying.
PRODUCTION:
Zoom in too close, cutting off heads and allowing us to see they have zits under the makeup and some times nose hairs.
Smile played by Fon, (acting too over the top cutesy, didn’t come across as innocent, more idiotic) and her extra friend Onnie who was too annoying to watch.
CONTINUITY ISSUES BIG TIME:
One minute Liz has black hair, next it’s red. [Episode 8 all the way to episode 12 (hair colour still switches constantly) Liz is back to having red hair (dinner with fam) (after dinner her hair is back to black.]
Also bruise on Pig tail girl’s face missing the next day., the Gf has black hair again at uni the the next day
LIGHTING ISSUES
Ep. 5 when Kyro is standing on bridge with Liz, near a street light, it’s way too bright, lighting issues to the extreme. It’s like they are standing in front of a spot light.
SOUND:
Lots of background noise like in episode 6, then terrible music played on top of that. Impossible to hear the actors /actresses.
Punching sound effects are late.
Instead of using a boom arm to catch the actors/actresses voices they put the microphones on the clothing of them, so if they hugged voices got muffled and the sound of the moving clothing overpowered the rest of the sound.
WRITING:
Rushed ending
no real consequences for any of the bad guys, and same with the abusive parents (verbally and physically), which really sends the wrong message
Smile was idiotically immature, especially with her voice and nuances, it got old fast.
Making Liz appear a badass singer, but she was almost as immature as Smile who was supposed to be younger than her. Liz always dependant on a guy, maybe due to her daddy issues, but that’s stretching it to figure out why.
Didn’t notice any comedic parts for this to be called a rom-com, because stupid isn’t funny.
OVERALL:
It’s only 12 episodes (thankfully) and I could watch it again, but not sure I want to. I watched it once a long time ago and did watch it again without skipping episodes or fast forwarding, so that I could leave a proper review. I would recommend it for someone starting out in the genre for something that is more teen level romance, than some other school setting dramas. For everyone else, just don’t bother watching unless you like the male actor eye candy.
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Short BL, but wanted more of everything.
This review is based solely on the drama, as I have not read the manga or seen the anime (but I might just do that now).LIKES:
Acting:
The chemistry between the male leads was great. You could also really feel the anguish of Onoe, when he felt hurt by Kaburagi. Even the supporting characters were well done.
Location shots were all well chosen.
Production:
Considering how short the episodes were and that the number of them were also limited, they got the story of each mission completed. Also the attraction between Onoe and Kaburagi was also finalized.
Writing:
The storyline was interesting, but needed more episodes.
Music: was okay, didn’t really notice it. It never overpowered the voices of the actors/actresses.
DISLIKES:
Production:
Ending was rushed, due to limited time for each episode. That also took away from the development of Kaburagi and Onoe relationship and growth.
Shaky camera syndrome (happened a few times, that it got annoying). For the love of film, please use a film stabilizer!!!
It was so obvious that there was too little funding for this drama.
Writing:
The plot was under developed and felt choppy at times, like there were missing scenes or moments.
Editing/Directing:
Some moments dragged on that could’ve been shorter. Also it’s a boy love drama, but not much kissing and a very limited amount of skinship. Even the relationship of the Male Leads was too short.
OVERALL:
It’s a short, easy watch. I’d recommend it to anyone starting out in the boy love genre or someone looking for a quick BL drama. It’s so short I would watch it again. But because it was so short, I was left wanting more, so I plan on seeing if there is an anime or if the manga has been released in English.
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Slow Paced Teen Rom-Com
LIKES:Colour palate, cinematography, lighting all good.
Music for the most part was appropriate and added to the scene, especially since the ML Jun-u didn't talk much, even when he should. The music filled in those parts, what he didn't say.
Acting was great for all the teenagers and their teachers, the parents were okay for the adult actor/actresses. The cast was well chosen.
DISLIKES:
Writing:
How anti-climatic and badly written the whole show was. There's one part near the beginning that they had Jun-u get over WAY TOO FAST, that it was laughable and ridiculous. They should've concluded the supporting characters that they built up throughout the show too. Also character growth seemed limited to just Jun-u and it was minimal at best. Since they stretched it out to 16 episodes they could've shown us everyone two or five years in the future, to conclude everything properly.
Bulling, cheating, early motherhood, peer and parental pressure, were just some of the topics covered, but none of them were well developed or handled.
Directing:
Often Jun-u and other character reactions were way too slow. They are in high school and kiss like they are in middle school, not like they are eighteen as the title suggested.
Production:
Zooming in way too close, I hate seeing up people's noses and how the makeup hides their acne or whatever. Also hate when faces are cut out of the screen.
Pacing issues, made the drama drag on in some ways and the ending became rushed.
FX:
The scars for Jun-u and Hwi-yeong, disappeared too fast or they forgot to do the makeup for it. Jun-u's black eye never changed from the pink makeup to a darker tone. If they didn't want the black eye anymore, they could've written that Su-bin used concealer to cover it, to help hide his fighting. And for Su-bin her lipstick often was not even, having half the upper lip missing the lipstick. That's just sloppy.
OVERALL:
Sloppy writing and pacing issues, really gave this drama a low score, only due to the great acting by the students, is why it got 4.5/10. For a drama made in 2019 it should've been better, especially since this theme is from a saturated genre in S. Korea. I would recommend it to anyone just starting out in the student rom-com category of dramas. I won't rewatch and there are no parts that I would want to see again or that truly resonated with me.
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