Blkittykat

Exceeded my expectations

I'll admit it, I wasn't very impressed with the trailer, no, but the series truly exceeded all my expectations.

First off, story wise. I expected equal parts romance and mystery walking into this, they set it up that way in the first few episodes. I didn't get that, but I was still enthralled.
Would it have been nicer to explore the mystery and backstory more? For me, yes, but that's more about me wanting the side characters to have been more fleshed out. Otherwise? You can absolutely tell that the creators took a lot of care in creating an airtight story, where the past confusions, bitterness and anger plays into the present. The reveals in each episode seem obvious in retrospect, there's really only one way it could've played out, and it did exactly that way, but what made it interesting to watch was the characters.

Speaking of the characters, they were complex and red flags for the most part, I mean, I spent some episodes just wondering how on earth they could pull off all the things they did quite nonchalantly. But I'll be honest again, this was as entertaining as it was because they were that messy. All three of them, the leads. And so many side characters, but again, we didn't really get to see a lot of them.
But you still want to root for them! Most of the time, at points I didn't like any of them, but for the most part, you want to root for them. As individuals, as romantic partners, as siblings. They were morally grey and doing things that pushed the plot and their lives to be more complicated, right from the beginning and it's because the characters were written this way, that the story blossomed the way it did.
Let's address the weirdest side couple before we move on though. It was weird. Individually, those characters didn't add much to the plot any way (side characters again), but the love triangle there was somehow weirder than the love triangle between two literal twins and someone they both liked. I'll leave it at that, the absurdity and amazingness of it must be watched to be understood.

Finally, the acting. That's not true, because I did expect some good acting when I started, and I got it. Absolutely. Film and Namtan have good chemistry, they can act well, they pulled off their characters perfectly (Namtan did it twice over, lol), and so did all of the supporting characters.

Pluto truly did exceed my expectations, I did think that the episodes could have been shorter, but that would've meant the story would've been fragmented and hard to understand. At the end of the day, it was fun to watch and I genuinely enjoyed it.

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What can you do in 4Minutes?

You can listen to Why Don't You Stay by Jeff Satur.
You can watch an episode of Back to Seventeen.
You can drink a Thai Milk Tea.
The things that happened in four minutes here though..

Saying anything would spoil something, in essential, that would mean I can say nothing about the story.
But even this statement is an indicator of how mind bending the plot is, it keeps you on your toes, makes you come up with theories and you're invested throughout, just waiting to get all the answers to the tens and hundreds of questions that will inevitably pop up in your mind.
The synopsis is basis enough to go off on, at least according to me, since that way, there's no ideas on what you can expect, you can just let the complexity and intrigue of the story surprise you.

What you can expect though, in addition to the above, is great acting, NC scenes and brilliant cinematography. You'll want to rewatch the episodes over and over again to see if you missed any details and with eight episodes, it's a series you can watch quickly and revisit as many times as you want.

So grab your notebooks and pens, grab someone to discuss theories with, and just go for it. If you're not in the mood for something this complex and confusing, set it aside and come back to it later, because it is so worth it.

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Truth or Dare? (I DARE you to watch this series)

Once again, the advent of the established pairing has brought along the loss of plot. Not that there was much to begin with, considering this was more And Then There Were None - with none of the nuance or intrigue. And you add to that two children with their pretend walkie-talkies as your leads? That's a formula about to blow up so quick.

The trailer made it seem like all the romance in the entire series was packed into it, even Joong and Dunk said so.. Now I know that they were made to lie! They said that romance was apparently only a tiny part of the story, the rest of it was a crime thriller. Their words had as much truth, as the story had mystery. And now I feel kind of weird having compared the leads - Kamin and Jade - to children because they behave more like teenagers. I hope the connection is made without having me spelling it out. Teenagers in love?

Everything in this story is BANG! BANG! BOOM! Including their attraction, which happens for no other reason but a shared trauma of hair in the eye. IYKYK, but if you don't, let's just say they never had to wear sunglasses because their hair provided excellent protection from the glare. They meet in episode one, are in love by episode four, and with just ten episodes, it's not a lot - but remember. This is supposed to be a crime thriller.

The writers clearly forgot that because having Joong and Dunk flirt on screen while all the other characters get killed off is.. well it does kind of sound like a plot I'd weirdly be into.. but no! There's a plot and time, and this wasn't it. The leads are introduced as two people dedicated to their jobs, it took them ten episodes to find the killer. Instead they just flirt inappropriately, everywhere they go. And you may ask, "But what is the place where you flirt appropriately?"
Not anywhere, anytime they did.

You are assigned to a high prolific murder case, where the victims are literally being picked off like flies, yet! It's the perfect time to play boyfriends and buy each other terrible fridge magnets.

Of course, to make up for the lack of any plot, we get weird segues to drug cases that, may or may not be related to the murders, no, that definitely was not an attempt to get Joong shirtless or have Aou and Boom make a cameo (the best part of the series by the way). (The cameo, not shirtless Joong, we got a lot of shirtless Joong).

To cap it all off, by all means, the big reveal was so hilariously predictable, I was actually gagged at how badly done it was because no way I was able to guess it in the second episode. Yes, I have watched my fair share of thrillers but ask anyone, I'm not the best as putting the dots together. If I was able to get it, we know the writing was laughable.
And after all of that, the conclusions for every single character made me so furious, genuinely, I haven't gone into the details of the "thriller" much (because again, it's not really a thriller), but the characters involved in that part of the story were actual trash on earth, and none of their actions got any consequences that we could see. Instead we got the hallmark of BLs, a beach trip.

I'm not even angry or disappointed, because in retrospect, that neon yellow poster told me everything I needed to know. They clearly tried to take this way too seriously and I say they should have leaned into the silliness. If it was truly meant to be as silly as it was, I would have loved it! (that's a lie, but who cares). But if you're going to be talking about serious topics or dealing with sensitive issues in your story, at least have the people dealing with it take it seriously. There's a lot going on this story, like I said, it was insanely fast paced, with many characters but no one really managed to make an impact. I actually called the leads by their actors names until the very end, that's how bad it was.

The writing, editing, all choices made here were definitely not done with any consideration.

Maybe there is something to be said for Joong and Dunk's chemistry though, they've had good chemistry for a long while but not enough that I believe your first meeting has you at odds and by the second encounter you're practically salivating at their thought. I did not buy the romance, or the mystery, anything they were trying to sell me.

Because again, I'm not angry or disappointed, I'm just. Numb? I got a few good chuckles and an Aou Boom cameo out of it, and I'll take it, even though it's not enough. And even if you enjoy buddy cop comedies and you've always shipped the buddy cops, I wouldn't recommend this to you.

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The only thing we can 'Dream On' about is that this were better

I'm annoyed with how disappointed I am because
1. We know that most sequels don't exactly live up to their shared stories
2. We should never really have much expectations, ever

Sometimes, you watch a drama and go 'why do I even bother?' because it's just that bad. I could say that Dream On had no depth, no good character development, no nuanced writing of any relevance, but why bother? What does it matter when they didn't have a decent plot or characters from the get go?
Because drama that goes down between six guys on the set of Romeo and Romeo because all of them clearly like just one person but force themselves to pretend they like others is not exactly a watchable plot with characters you can root for.

Let's just rehash this couple by couple in no particular order (except for the amount I liked/tolerated them)

Arnold and Tua
I believe they were supposed to be the 'steady pairing' - the couple who is kind of always into each other, has a ton of cute moments and one smidgen of drama that is not actually worth crying over (I made up that last part but it happened!)

Tua has forever been in love with Arnold - Arnold has a policy to never date friends and against all odds, they date. But that one smidgen of drama? It comes in the form of Dean, Tua's friend and Arnold's co-star in that play. Dean has this idea to create 'ship content' with Arnold (more on that later) but things start to get kind of real and a photo of them indulging in an angle kiss goes viral. That causes some distress but they make up so quick I began to wonder why break up?

Because they're that couple! Strong, dedicated and so boring. They were so bland as a couple and as individuals that remove them from the plot and it wouldn't really make a difference - which speaks both to how badly and boringly written these two characters were, but also how messily and terribly the other characters were written. I didn't enjoy this pairing much (didn't help that their last work was the Sniffle Story) because either have them be more involved or do not have them at all!

Dean and Jack
Before I start, please repeat after me - Jack is the worst!
Now let's go. I'd argue that these two got the most screentime, which genuinely upset me, not only because Jack was one of the worst characters in the series but also because of how terrible they were to almost everyone, including each other!

There's a lot going on here, and this is just an abstract but Jack and Dean are exes who broke up because Jack believes that Dean is a player who will eventually cheat on him. They're working together on a play and somehow end up in an on/off, FWB to couple relationship (complicated, I know) but throughout it all, Jack is just a complete jerk. Not just to his boyfriend, but almost everybody. I could actually write a paper on how badly written Jack is. Anyway, they have constant arguments working together, fueled even further by the presence of Raffy, Dean's rival in everything, including love.

The constant jealousy and arguments only get worse when Dean has the idea to shoot content with Arnold to promote the play, and that faux-kiss happens. And obviously Jack is super chill and that's that (ha-ha)

Their part of the story obviously has a lot going on, even aside from the petulant relationship troubles. They take about things like addiction, financial troubles, infidelity, trust - but they don't really talk about it. It's mentioned in passing and immediately forgotten to talk about relationship issues that do not exist. It's like they wanted to say something but were worried for some inapparent reason.

And we've already established that Jack is a jerk (the awfulness must truly be witnessed to understand) but Dean is actually a decent person. A good friend, smart and tenacious but when he's around Jack he turns into this monstrous person I really hated. This pairing actually angered me so much, I just - ugh.

Raffy and Rome
My favourite pairing, why? Because they had the most potential.
Raffy - in love with Jack, would do anything to get him, might be in love with Rome but won't accept it.
Rome - in love with Raffy, hated his step-brother Jack and will do everything to ensure those two don't end up together

These two start off as a quintessential FWB, annoyance to lovers pairing but I quite liked the way their story progressed. Despite being an integral part of the mess, it felt like they never really moved away from each other. Yes, they argued and fought, but somehow always kept looking for each other. Maybe it's the fact that they actually looked like they liked each other, but with a few tweaks, their story would've been one to rival even those from S1.

And even as individuals, brilliant characters. Not perfect but they actually had character growth. Compared to the other characters who didn't move an inch (personality or face wise) these two were aces better.


A story that was supposed to be messy, hard hitting and thought provoking like S1 turned out to be almost nothing. Don't get me wrong, this was MESSY. I haven't even covered so many of the things that happened in this series - embezzlement, the return of Boston, cameos from Only Friends, it had it all but it mostly felt like a hollow shell. Characters sometimes refused to interact outside their set pairings, and when they did it was mostly to fight. That was one of the biggest problems with this series, it felt like I was watching the love story of three different couples who rarely interacted with those around them.

Nothing worked beyond a certain point and we owe it all to the writers and makers who weren't willing to actually go anywhere with the story. The same drama was spun around hundreds of times, characters moved one step forward to take ten steps back, basically ending the story exactly as it started. Even the actors (who I know are brilliant performers) couldn't move their facial muscles to save this lackluster story.

If you've stuck it out until here - go you! It could not have been easy to read my rather incoherent rant (almost done I promise). I don't think I was the target audience for this series. Yes, I love flawed and messy people being themselves but there's a certain amount I can tolerate of people making the same bad decisions over and over again, and standing by that decision lol. If you're looking for a genuine messy bunch and a bunch of messy relationships, go for it. But don't say my rant didn't warn you ;)

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The show that proves lazy summers are not what they're made out to be

If this is what a summer romance is.. please don't sign me up because I do not think I will like it.
On paper, the setup for That Summer is limitless because where do you actually go with a prince who washed up ashore?
(They went nowhere if it helps)

The rest of the story is kind of preposterous though because from the very beginning, they're doing this setup to try and con you into believing this island is a small spec in the larger scheme of things because we have a ton to cover! Darwin's a prince who's lost all his memories and he's been rescued by Lava, who seems to have lost all his manners, Tum whose entire identity seems to revolve around SNS and smoking.. stuff, and Kratae whose entire identity seems reduced to being Tum's crush.
But of course, we also have Peng and Dr. Wut, who have one of the better written plotlines in the series, revolving around the secrecy of their relationship and how it affects them and all the other people around them it shouldn't really affect, because the universe believes in balance and sometimes chooses to give us something comforting before absolutely pulling out the rug from under us.

This has obviously got a lot going on and should be enough to cover ten episodes generously. I'm also partial to a good beach setting and tend to accommodate a solid five minutes every episode just for the ocean cinematography because what is a summer romance without the beaches and blatant disregard of other people's romantic lives as the leads run in slow motion across them?
Clearly the universe and the writers hate us all because we got a whole lot of squat. I should have known better because why did I expect a series called "That Summer" to be about anything else? Lava says about fifty times that this is anything but a summer romance but come on.. this was either the world's worst tourism advert because not once did they mention the name of the island they're on or it's the world's most mediocre summer romance because other than the beach and the rushed romantic relationship, they didn't get much else right.

It's one thing to keep saying it's not a summer love story, but I draw the line at mediocre summer romance!! My lines are as stable as ones drawn on sand, but they're probably better than the writing of this series. Which is incredibly solid by the way! It did not move an inch for ten episodes. We started out the series as we ended it - take from that what you will but I'll give you a hint - the biggest plot point happened twice but created no impact whatsoever. The story was at a complete standstill for most of the ten episodes, all the characters spent them having the same conversations, the same arguments, just rinse and repeat.

The characters themselves were no gems, all of them had maybe one personality trait and a single facet of depth each. What you see is what you get. I genuinely do not think I cared about any of them at the end of thing because I refuse to believe that three months of the exact same conversations gets you nowhere. That amount of lacked communication when all they do is talk should be criminal.

No surprises, the relationships were equally bad. Before we know it, all the couples are dating and that's it. Slow burn romances.. still need to burn. These ones were like a bonfire that got doused in the rain. It was all just so.. meh. When your leads lack personality, so does their relationship and turns out I have a limit for the amount of beach shots I can tolerate. I was annoyed and bored because even the usual chemistry I expect from Winny and Satang decided to go on vacation at the island's beaches.

Through it all I just kept hoping they would reference the lost prince, just once, but no. They truly took to life on the island and said buh bye to his whole actual life like it was some side quest. Even towards the end, where usually the focus would shift to an actual story, they refused to let go of that island because again, this was a poorly executed tourism advert and the writers have some vengeance against a plot. The shift only came in the last episode (shocker), and when it did, it couldn't have made less sense because the plot twist they pulled in the penultimate episode basically sent the story and the love story back to square one, like a sandcastle in all it's glory - you know it's going to be ruined by the waves or some bratty kid (or adult) at some point, so you're just waiting for the when.

The second build-up was obviously worse than the first because it happened in the span of two episodes and if the first relationship arc was barely believable, you know I'm not in the market to buy the second one. We get a time jump, a rushed reconciliation to conflicts introduced in episode one and forgotten until now (because this IS a summer romance) and a really shallow attempt at creating chemistry, a relationship and ever after.. because Darwin is a prince after all.

That Summer is truly a great show - for sleepy time because I cannot count the amount of times I almost fell asleep watching it. Winny and Satang deserved a script better than this, and we deserved something much better from all of them. I am truly disappointed because unfortunately the only thing I'll carry forward on a positive note from this series will be the title track because Winny can sing. Otherwise, let's let THAT SUMMER be the LAST SUMMER.

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Definitely sponsored by the Japan National Tourism Organization

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh...........
How did I not see this coming, and why did I not steer clear..
Another eight episodes spent watching them travel around Japan, seeing places, eating food and making out, once again, unnecessarily.

This one is somehow worse than season 1, solely because of the fact that someone watched the first season and went, "You know what? What this needs is a sequel!"
It did not need a sequel.

To be fair though, I did learn about some interesting places in Japan through it, so I can't really say it didn't serve it's purpose, but creating a series for tourism sake is just not an appealing concept to me. If this were a direct tourism ad, I would definitely feel differently, but all the camouflage they attempted couldn't help detach the story from the tourism and I was just not a fan.

The story is pretty much the same thing as season 1, the twins and two other new guys come to Japan, they live with the guy who lived in Japan in season 1, they travel, they eat and then do some NSFW stuff. It's like watching the world's worst travel vlog, where even something interesting can be turned into something incredibly boring.

Once again, it is a repeat cycle of eat/drink/play/travel/make out, with the added bonus of weird love square. Pointless drama in a drama that was pointless, they've completely forgotten that another character existed in the prequel (he is mentioned zero), and you're just begging the for a 10x speed to exist so you can get through it.

I had an incredibly hard time concentrating, not for lack of trying, but it was just not good enough to keep my attention. The characters only purpose in the plot seem to be delivering long, drawn out explanations for tourist sites, or to do NSFW stuff - which again, has no real connection to the actual plot?

I don't know, it's an actual mess. It was supposed to be a follow up to the first season - at least one of the couples, but it turned into a bad tourism advert.

The cherry on top? Each episode is around an hour long, so you can't even finish it quickly.

To sum up:
WORST. VACATION. EVER.

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Khon - of Ramakien, in the past and to the future

I really liked this - and I'm genuinely excited to be telling everyone why. The Masked Hearts was a perfect blend of story, romance and culture, and the perfect way for a drama to find a place in my heart.

The series was produced along with the Thai Ministry of Culture and is about Khon, a traditional dance from Thailand, based on the Ramakien and is part of the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage (let me be, I'm nerding out a little). And though the story doesn't focus on the intricacies of Khon itself, the narrative is beautifully weaved between past and present, situating the importance of Khon in each landscape.

In the past, we witness the struggle of the leads Saen and Rak as they attempt to establish themselves as part of the Royal troupe, amongst the very few people who could practice the art. But besides being artists who dance together, Saen works for Rak's family, and ever since their first meeting, they've quickly and quietly been falling in love. Unfortunately, the time they live in does not reward love, passion or dreams - making them face all kinds of obstacles to protect their love - both Khon and each other.

In the present, we're introduced to Sandy and Lucky, two students who love Khon but have very opposing views on how it should be performed. One of them argues that the tradition must be kept in all aspects, while the other wants to modernize the performance for newer audiences. When one such argument is filmed and posted on the internet, they have to work together to create content and ensure the Khon club is not shut down.

I adored both the timelines, not only because I'm a nerd who enjoyed situating a traditional art form in ancient and modern societies, but because the story was very well executed. All throughout, we get the sense that both timelines are very connected - it's an apparent reincarnation story, and the past is full of angst and tragedy, while the present is more light hearted. And immediately it works because it's a reincarnation plot done right.

Every aspect of the series felt grounded, all of them got equal importance in the flow of the story. The romance wasn't forgone to give us a history lesson, the story wasn't ignored just to give us a happy ending. It was beautifully done and you constantly want to figure out how the past is connected to the present, what exactly happened, and you look forward to it, even if it may be the most predictable plot ever.

I will say, I wanted to see more of them in the present (because I love enemies to lovers, and this was a genuine enemies to lovers setup) and towards the end of the series, I would've liked a lot more answers than we got. But for the most part, this short series was a very enjoyable watch that I'm quite impressed with.

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How do you write your love?

I certainly hope better than Hiro and Natsuo did.

From the very beginning, this was such a unique set up. The idea of "I hate him, so I'll date him" is the stuff of my enemies - to - lovers dream plots, but wait! This execution of the trope has an additional clause because one of our leads Hiro decides, "I date him so I can dump him". A revenge plot.

However, once again, from the beginning it was very obvious that this was no revenge plot. He wanted it, but he just got sidetracked. Like when you play a video game and forget to do the main quest because you were too busy harvesting a special limited edition crop. The two of them begin dating, they go on dates and the story teeters between being a simple rom-com and a story about growth and self confidence. It did the rom-com better. Because while I was able to believe in their romantic connection, I didn't quite see much depth to either of their characters, which made it harder for me to connect to them.

We do get a lot of glimpses to their past as high schoolers, during which time so much happened that the entire present day plot is a repurcussion of those incidents. We had a ton of side quests that added no depth to the plot or the characters, it all felt very superficial, because with every scene, you can kind of see what they're trying to say, but emotions don't quite reach.

The finale was easily the best episode - we got a payoff to the romantic relationship they built up in the first seven episodes, there was reasonable closure for all other parts of the story, but it came a bit too late to create much impact.

Now I did read that the story is based on a two episode (?) manga, a very short iteration, and in hindsight, you can absolutely tell that they didn't have a lot of story to work with. Because eight episodes based on a short story is long ask, and in adapting it, they tried to fill in the gaps by repeating and recreating the same scenes over and over. Again, teetering between taking the story and expanding upon it, or keeping it as is and making a shorter version, they decided to keep it as is and make a long version.

I thought I would enjoy this more, the actors did a great job, and like I said, the premise was very interesting. It was a very rare instance where the misunderstanding didn't feel frustrating and this had potential, a lot of lost potential. I wouldn't wholly recommend it, but if you're in the mood for a rom-com with tiny glimpses of some emotional depth, sure, give this a try.

Also! Check ID before you date someone! This one was insane, like if you know someone's address but not their last name, that's red flags all around! Ask to see their ID!

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SO SWEET INDEED!!!!!!

My objective rating for this would probably be around an 8.. and that's still not quite objective, lol sorry about that!

I'm just going to outline what worked and what they could have improved upon before I go into my emotional rant on why this was so amazing, so that's some good news!

What worked:
1. Saint and Poom - the highest point in the series truly, was Saint and Poom. Whether it was the way they played Jom and Yo, or the chemistry between them, or just how charismatic they were on screen, it all just clicked. Their chemistry was adorable yet sizzling, their awkward trajectory somehow turning into a love story without them or us realizing it was just so cute to witness. And even individually, they were the strongest characters in the series, what being the leads and all, but sometimes side characters steal the show and I'm glad that wasn't the case here. Everything about Saint and Poom just worked, it was like magic to me.

2. The love story! - of course it did, I just raved about it. But I do love an enemies to lovers romance, and I wouldn't say this was a full fledged one, but watching the two of them going from butting heads to falling in love with each other without realizing it? So good. The best part is that even the audience might be just as confused as they were, but like them, we realize that the signs were there all along if we just think back to them. It was always in their eyes like was said in the finale, and their love story truly gave me the butterflies and made me so happy.
Jom and Yo were kind of perfect for each other, even through all the trouble and the drama, they (mostly) stood by each other, protected each other, literally ran into fires for each other.. how did neither I nor them see it sooner? Their love story will make you SWOON

3. The story - honestly, a solid plot! With the exception of one storyline, every other had its purpose for being a part of the series. I like how they connected all the storylines, starting with Yo coming to Pho Chai, and right down to a seemingly insignificant tussle for a contract, all of them had something to do with either Jom or Yo. All of them connected and converged quite well, and I always appreciate solid writing.

4. Good side characters - there were tons of side characters with both big and small parts to play that I loved. Their presence on screen not only added to the depth of the story by showcasing more of Jom and Yo's personalities and strengths, but also contributed to making the series more complex and interesting by virtue of being complex and interesting characters. Grandma Chan, Por, Kaew, Leung Yod - they added something positive to the series even if they weren't all protagonists.

5. Music!! - I loved the music. Oftentimes music makes the series extra wonderful, and no doubt about that here. Go listen to the OST, so whimsical and fun, just like the series.

What didn't work:
1. Filler - so many filler scenes, which were probably cut in the cut version, but still felt completely unnecessary. They sometimes did set up Jom or Yo to feature more, but I would have appreciated less.

2. Bad side characters - Earn? Tee? They added nothing to the plot. Except drama but eh. It's like they wanted to introduce these characters to create drama between Jom and Yo because they were getting desperate to add some sort of conflict but it didn't work.

3. The romance!! - I wanted more lol. Just that.

I just love this series - it made me incredibly happy, even when it was boring or kind of weird and sometimes you love what you love despite the glaring flaws and I say - YES! You love it!
And I love this!

My emotional mess rambling and rating aside, if you want something that's quirky and fun with a sweet romance, give this a try. I hope you like it :)

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It's three or none

This was one of the sweetest, funniest and heartwarming series I've watched about polyamory, because more often than not, it evolved into a love triangle that ends with heartbreak or tragedy.
Spoiler alert I guess: this one doesn't.

Throughout the drama, there was no indication that this was going to end in any other way but with all three of the leads, Mia, Takuzo and Shinpei being in a relationship. At least not for me, because despite the occasional ups and downs, it was always clear that it was going to be the three of them or none of them.

The writing was exceptional, the setting paired with endearing and likeable characters, it was a perfect balance. Watching the leads, episode by episode, navigate the complications of being in a three person marriage was refreshing, grappling with the idea themselves, and then having to deal with thoughts and inputs from those around them. This could've easily gone sideways, with having the supporting characters or the leads themselves becoming villainized as a result of their actions and reactions, but they were all written in a way where their sentiments were understandable, and their overreactions didn't come across as brash or annoying.

The leads themselves were quite the characters. Mia was a very interesting character, who I thought got the least focus out of the three. This wasn't an absurd difference in screentime, just a little less compared to the other two. Despite that, she grew into a character who went from being a people pleaser who was kind of selfish to someone who found happiness in what she wanted while also recognizing her flaws and growing from them.

Takuzo was a quintessential male lead, confused, chaotic and very cute. Along with that also came a whole lot of back and forth, and a whole lot of hesitation. His character was written as a timid person who has a hard time expressing himself, making choices. But towards the end it was so great to see him stand up for himself, be an active partner to Mia and Shinpei, growing as an individual and a partner.

My favourite was Shinpei though, he was an enigmatic presence on screen and brought the drama to life. His idea for the three person marriage, which started out kind of rocky for everyone involved, turned out to be exactly what they all needed. He was just this ever positive presence, and the perfect balance between Mia and Takuzo.

The bond between these three was genuinely wonderful, no one felt left out, they had great communication skills and brought out the best in each other. I will admit that the chemistry between Mia and Shinpei was a bit lacking, especially considering they were the "established couple", and there were a few moments where the chemistry between Takuzo and Shinpei was overflowing for some reason, but when it was the three of them on screen, it all just clicked.

I would highly recommend this drama if you're looking for a happy and lighthearted take on polyamory, that still brings up some relevant details and issues that could crop up in a three person relationship. And it has a happy ending, with exactly what we were promised, a Sannin Fufu :)

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Cosmetics and Crushes

What a surprisingly wonderful series this turned out to be!

The story follows Natsume and Sahashi, who work for a cosmetics company as BAs (beauty assistants), and bring in considerable sales to their branch on account of talent and charisma. Starting off as senior and junior, Natsume immediately recognises Sahashi's potential and takes it upon himself to mentor him as best as he can, but Sahashi finds Natsume meddlesome.
They eventually have a run in with each other after certain events transpire at the store, but that is the catalyst that kickstarts their relationship. When Natsume accuses Sahashi of never taking anything seriously, Sahashi instead proclaims that Natsume will be the thing he takes seriously henceforth.

Their relationship was actually fast forwarded enough for me to be confused about when it even started, but once they started, it continued on incredibly. They brought out the best in each other, constantly challenged each other, grew as individuals and made each other more vulnerable and approachable.
Although it was frustrating to see Natsume get into his head as often as he did (almost every episode), they eventually communicated much better than I expected them to. It wasn't really a compromise that is usually done to move past an argument, but an honest conversation involving them both.

I also loved that they showed professional growth right alongside personal and romantic growth. Seeing them get better at their jobs, gaining more opportunities and experience had me grinning. And the fact that they integrated their relationship into this narrative without it feeling forced or taking away too much attention from their strengths as a couple was great.
They also had several supporting characters along the way help them out with their connection, establishing it as something stronger than it would seem on the surface level. I especially need a spin off of Nanjo, the man was an enigmatic presence who needed more screentime.

This was a very enjoyable short series with a good story, acting and cinematography that I'd recommend.

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What-

If a drama was a question mark, this would be it.

I still don't quite comprehend what I just saw, a bunch of trainees who signed up to be actors, but are being trained to be idols instead, a lot of interpersonal drama, around five couples, a sabotage plot.. I haven't even covered half the things in the series.

Every storyline was started up, had minimal movement and didn't conclude. So many characters disappear for episodes on end and pop back up like nothing ever happened, but even then it was completely filled because there are 20+ characters who all have around the same screentime.

There was no investment in anything as far as I was concerned, from my side as well as theirs. The only couple I actually cared about didn't have much going on, and like all the other characters, had nothing going on as individuals. There was no distinction between who they wanted us to like and who they didn't, because not one of them had the depth to give us something to care about. It's all a blur in my mind, plots come and go, characters come and go and no one seems to bother.

Finally, let's talk about that finale-
Wow. I have never seen a worse one. I've seen shows worse than this, but even there, the finale was something that served as a tie up. This did nothing of the sort. Not one single arc was concluded. Not a single one.
They also chose the last episode to try and talk about something important and serious, and didn't. It was concluded in a horrible manner, might I add.
Everything was left up in the air, and I was left with my hands up in the air in frustration.

So save yourself the torment, this isn't it.

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Could have been better

The fact that every apocalypse/disaster series seems more and more similar to one previous is nothing new, it may as well be one of the reasons I'm quickly losing interest in the genre.

Surprisingly enough, they managed to keep it fresh while still maintaining the same formula. They accomplished this by incorporating small details, establishing the story and workings early on, and focusing on the subsequent aftermath.

But even subverting the usual "everything is going to hell" trope, the story is bogged down by clichés you would usually witness in the genre, from the act first, think later characteristic that runs amok amongst all the characters, to the one - dimensional characterisation. There's the usual "who's the real villain?", and the darkness of human nature, everything you would usually see in the genre.

What seemed to be innovative started to take the usual, cliched route the minute it hit the halfway mark and just like that I began losing what little interest I had.

I put this on my list for Koo Kyo Hwan but also because despite my recent disinterest in the genre, I wanted to give the drama a try, and while I can't say I'm dissapointed, I can't say I'm impressed either. The short duration meant a perfect binge watch, but ultimately I didn't rate it as high as I thought I would after the first couple of episodes.

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The WONDERfulls? (Yes or no?)

If you could have a superpower, what would it be?
Me?
I'd pick the power to rewrite dramas that had so much potential but didn't really live up to them.
Not good?
Then I'll settle for my body turning into superglue every time I lie :(

I've actually been looking forward to The WONDERfools since it was announced, because read the synopsis and tell me it's not fun. I can't even say that after having watched it (we know it happens sometimes) it was super fun! And funny too, I'll admit it took a minute but once they were on a roll, they couldn't be stopped.
Watching three characters who inadvertently received superpowers try to manage it by following around another superhero they inadvertently found while an evil organisation plots the end of the world, set to the background of Y2K? That is fun.
The weird camaraderie between the four leads was a delight to watch, they may not be extremely expressive or outwardly affectionate, but those four cared for each and it was more than obvious.
And.. and..well, I still kind of wish some things were done differently.

To be clear, I am a huge fan of the "superhero saves the day" trope, I enjoy it no matter how outlandish it may be, and I wanted that here. Superhero with a side of relatability.
Even with the concept of superheroes whose powers are not really "super", Kdrama writers really do know only one way to execute, which is neither here nor there. If you're going to go for it, do it. Or don't do it at all! It's clear who the lead was even when there were four leads and I suppose it happens all the time but that's my point. It happens all the time, and why do the writers fear trying something new?
I guess that was my biggest problem - the Hero's Journey (which they clearly followed here) could only really be applied to Chae Ni's character. Un Jeong was the mentor, Son ahjussi and Robin her companions and that's nice, but I really wish the other characters had more depth. I will say they were headed there, and right then, the credits rolled.

Initially I was quite impressed with the balance between the mystery and the comedy, but the more I watched it was incredibly clear that this was a very tactfully marketed superhero series. Think about the story formula for any movie in the genre and it was it.
It is somehow both a Kdrama and a quintessential superhero story and I guess that's exactly.. that's exactly what it's supposed to be, but wait! Imagine the things that you would associate to any and every Kdrama or Marvel movie and they're ALL here lol.

I don't know. I'm just super confused about everything about The WONDERfools, even whether I like it or not and that counts for something, right? It's like for every positive I think, there's a negative I can think of, but right then there's another positive. I'd say the best option is to watch for yourself, pace yourself while you watch and yes, maybe you'll be just as confused as I am.. we can be confused together :)

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Someday I'll wish upon a star

I actually ended up enjoying this more than I thought I would, which is one of the best kind of surprises. I, for sure, thought this was going to falter halfway through (considering the number of episodes and the runtime of each) but for the most part, everything was as good as can get.

Think it reminded me a lot of Taiwanese BLs, circa 2020/2021? What with the very melancholic tone and all the cameos, it immediately felt like the dramas that were released then. For what it's worth, it did stay that way until the end.

The story was quite simple - He Xia Yong wishes upon a shooting star that no one know who he is, and his wish is granted - but it was the execution that felt very genuine. Watching him heal the broken part of himself while no one knows who he is but his best friend, and then learning to love his broken self as he heals, it was very nicely done. Because he is surrounded by people he left behind at one point or another, his best friend, his father, and the love of his life Chen Hao Wei. And he needs to figure out how to reconcile with himself before he ever gains closure to all the doors he left open.

The logic is as logical as can be, which is not a lot but this story had a lot of heart and because they did it so well, it doesn't matter that I didn't understand half of the shooting star's workings.

Great acting, great chemistry, I don't really have any complaints except for the fact that the pacing can be a little slow at times but I guess that's also part of the calm, seaside setting.

Overall, a pretty good watch in my opinion :)

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