Blkittykat

Anguishing Allure

The journey of Lada and Earn in rediscovering their spark was a painful one for them and us, but at the end of that path, there always seemed to be a glimpse of hope.

Misunderstandings, parental pressure and prejudice, scars of the past, rivals in love, these were just a few of the obstacles the leads had to overcome in order to resolve their issues and discover that they never stopped loving each other, but no one makes it easy for them, least of all themselves.

It was frustrating through and through to watch, but that was part of the formula, part of the experience. I found myself saying multiple times that none of this would have happened if they had just had communicated like they constantly did before it all went down and out, but all the drama and angst was part of the appeal. When one thing began to get resolved, the next problem cropped up, and that's just how it went along.
Weirdly enough, this is something I've seen a lot, but it's been quite a while and it took some getting used to before I was able to sit back and enjoy the drama as it came, because it kept coming.

Until that happened though, it was the chemistry between the leads that kept me in it. A healthy relationship and not, the leads definitely had enough chemistry to move the story on even when it seemed to be stalling. The acting was extremely good from the both of them, all their emotions were on full display and you could feel their pain and sadness as they did.

It was good, a good balance between romance, drama and slight comedy. It may take some getting used to, some of the scenes may seem extremely over the top but stick with it, and it may be a happy ending for the viewer as it was for them.

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As advertised

This was as advertised, literally nothing else happened.

Both couples are shown after a year of dating, with Yi coming back to Thailand and meeting with Plaeng, and Gene and Nuea navigating their relationship after a year of dating.

They decorate the café for Christmas, teach each other how to make coffee and play the guitar and discuss stuff that happened over the past year and also what they have in store for them in the future.

There are two episodes, the first featured Yi and Plaeng, the second featured Gene and Nuea. Besides a ton of cute moments and a lot of conversations, there wasn't quite much else.

Also, this is the follow up to the finale of Coffee Melody, and in retrospect, it's a choice. The finale did have some updates on all the characters, but I would have preferred them in the special as well. It's just a weird production, a finale that didn't feel like one and a special that didn't feel like one either.

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A return to teamwork thrillers

I'm incredibly glad to see the return of investigative thrillers, and with it some great teamwork. Crash is innovative in some ways and follows the formula in others, creating the perfect balance. While maintaining the formula with the episodic arcs, typical rich boy villains and fathers, the very basis of the TCI (Traffic Crime Investigation) team was a very new concept.

Add to that an ensemble of dynamic characters, and subtle comedy, I was sold after the first couple of episodes. Despite the simplicity of the solution for each case, the teamwork displayed by the TCI squad made each of them worth the watch. That's what set this show apart from many other investigative thrillers for me, there was never a hint of distrust among the team, even when they weren't a team.

I was a little dissapointed with the main villains once again being rich jerks and their corrupted parents, but the direction in which they took the story, and the character arc of each individual, protagonist or antagonist, definitely made up for that disappointment.

I've missed my crime dramas with good teamwork (I realise I've used that word so many times, but it's true! It's really good), and Crash nailed it. Despite starting on a slow note, each episode picked up the pace with the fast plot, attention to detail and yes, incredible teamwork. It very much reminded me of some older crime shows and I can say with confidence that this is very much an underrated title. An underrated title you should give a try.

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The highs and lows.. of a wedding.

This is what I would categorise as an ensemble comedy, where each character gets their time to shine. Because this wedding was not only about the bride and the groom, it was about everyone who came together for them, and then a few more.

From the groom, to his boss eager to make a comeback, and the bride and her father wanting to display his skills, their friends nervous about the wedding performance, juniors and seniors wanting to make an impact on the wedding and the world, teachers, mentors, and family. And the wedding planner. Each character had a purpose to fulfill, closure to attain, goals to achieve, and all of it came to a head on this wedding date, and of course, chaos and hilarity came with it.

I loved the in depth look we got into not just the wedding trade, but the traditions of modern day Japanese wedding and the role of everyone part of the ceremony and reception. I didn't quite understand the need of the roles of the ex and the random thief, except for maybe comic relief (which I still think was unnecessary).

Funny, chaotic, maybe tapering off a bit for a while, fun nonetheless.

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Historical Accountancy

I'm pleasantly surprised by this movie. I won't go as far to say that it's perfect, but for being two hours long, there wasn't one dull moment.

The trope of being thrust into unfamiliar situations is usually one well done, and when the lead experiences it here, he rises to the occasion as one would expect, doing it better than I expected. With his rag tag group of friends and advisors, and adversaries unexpected, from all directions, it's up to our hero to gain the support of those he meets and turn their accounts around.

I especially loved the setting around accountancy and finances. Watching them come up with various solutions, and seeing how they handled the financial records was fascinating.

The principal takeaway though was the sense of family the lead created with all those around him. Not just with immediate family, the lead's persistence and positivity won over people left and right, making for a surprising and enjoyable watch.

Although it is foremost a comedy, I found it to be so much more as I watched on. This is the kind of title that can be watched on a lazy afternoon, and I assure it will keep you engrossed.

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The story of a man and his school meals.

This is the saying "good food, good mood" in cinematic form. I've always thought there's a correlation between the enjoyment of food and the environment we choose to consume it in, and I liked seeing that as a movie.

The story revolves around junior high teacher Amarida Yukio and his love for school lunches. We watch him navigate his enjoyment of school lunches, his relationship with the others in the school and the feeling of enjoying food in general. He also has a rival in the form of his student, Kaminou Gou, to see who can come up with the more creative way to eat lunch with the dishes they are presented with.

I laughed, I cringed, I was moved by something I had no backstory about, even though they did (two seasons and a movie prior), and somewhere between the childish rivalry to see who can enjoy food more and the pure instict to just enjoy good food, I saw the development of a wonderful mentor/mentee relationship.

Eat well, in your favourite environment and then give this movie a try :)

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Give it a try

This review is a LONG time coming because I watched the show months ago, but I couldn't think of what to put in my review once I finished it. I thought giving it some time would help and then I promptly forgot to actually do it.

Since High Street (sequel to Senior High) just started airing, I decided to write it now.
Here's the review:

⚠️ CONTENT WARNINGS ⚠️
The show contains depictions of bullying, violence, SA, murder and much more. I found it pertinent to include this because the depictions are rather explicit, and caution may be exercised before watching.

I started watching this because I came across some clips on YouTube, but I decided I wasn't going to watch an 50 episodes (100+ with both seasons) just to catch a glimpse of two people who may or may not become a couple. I decided the clips were enough until I realised that I didn't really have the complete context of the story, plot wise or romance wise, since both seemed to be integral for my understanding.

I then caved and started watching it, deciding that if I didn't like it, I could just stop. And would you know it, I couldn't stop. The show is dramatic, a little cringey, and downright impossible at times (most of the time), but it keeps you invested.
It's the kind of series where the kids have more common sense, compassion and just plain humanity compared to the adults. It's more dramatic than it needs to be and that's probably what worked.

The story follows Sky Love Cruz, a recent transferee to Northford High, the school which her twin Luna Amore Cruz attends. Not long after, Luna dies of an apparent suicide, but Sky thinks otherwise and decides to investigate. As she rules out suspects and gains allies, she discovers the deep, dark secrets of the school and the people in it.

Without giving away much about the plot (which I won't either way because it's far more complicated than one would expect) the story manages to keep you on your toes the entire time. Yes, the scenes are drawn out, yes plot points could have been concluded much faster than they actually did, but there is a high chance that you'll be invested either way. It very much reminded me of the soap operas we get on television where I live, and maybe the familiarity made me like it a bit more.

Now, I will admit that both seasons have sort of become one in my mind because I watched them at a stretch, but I do vaguely remember where they made the cut, and season 1 provided quite the setup for an even more dramatic, over the top and traumatic viewing.

Give it a try and see if you like it. If I'm being completely objective, this is not everyone's cup of coffee, maybe even not mine but be what it may, it surprised me and maybe it'll surprise you as well.

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Unprecedented emotions

It feels like as the stories progress, the more risqué they get. The ending of this drama cleared things up well, but that's not to say that things weren't a little confusing all the way through.

The story is about fraternal twins Kun and Korn who are at a point in their lives where they're facing the prospect of not being the most important people in each other's lives for the first time. They're incredibly close, so much so that it takes a while to figure out that they're actually brothers, and when a new student named Tod, and an old friend named Pond are added to the mix, jealousy, possessiveness and the feeling of being unwanted flares up in the twins.

I feel like I need to clarify that this isn't romance (although they made it seem like it was, oof), it's more about the feelings of seemingly losing the person you love the most and them being unable to comprehend and adjust to the situation. The romantical inclination they showed may have been a small mistake in expression, they didn't quite nail the closeness of the siblings in the way they intended.

The ending kind of fell flat though, it was obvious that they would follow their own paths, but there was a better way to do it than have them just ghost each other for months. I would have preferred if they had written it to be a situation where the twins are still involved in each other's lives and still close, but realise that there are some things they're allowed to have that are just theirs. But I appreciate what they tried to do, and it's not the worst miniseries in this anthology.

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Childlike Antics and Stone Cold Superstar

Superstar may be a stretch.

Ja and First have so much potential, and Remember Me (which I'm still trying to forget) and this do literally nothing to showcase the chemistry they share.

Their apparent connection is then overshadowed by childish behaviour, talent managers performing criminal acts, and a second couple with only NC scenes. Really, their scenes together are mostly NC.

Most of the scenes are of them filming the drama within the drama, or Punn and his brother fighting like children, or Achi involved in a weird love triangle that doesn't include Punn, or the two managers throwing insults at each other that are frankly hard to watch. Or, it's filled by the cherry on top, the NC scenes. The scenes that Achi and Punn share are in turn filled with a weird sense that maybe these two shouldn't be a romantic couple. Their chemistry is great obviously, but the way their characters are written, it feels like both of them are in very different stages of life and the ability to be in a relationship.

Achi is definitely a grown up, he's seen life, he knows what he wants and that he definitely doesn't want a relationship. Punn on the other hand is a grown up child, and he's irrevocably in love with Achi or rather the idea of Achi he's got from idolising him. They go through a series of events in which Punn shows that he admires Achi, is capable of taking care of him, and even takes a couple of strides in showing that he's maturing as a person. And yet it feels like they go back to square one in every single episode, superstar and doting fan. It's kind of frustrating to see the same thing over and over, just on a loop.

Until the last episode, the character go around in this exact same circle, doing exactly what they did the last 11 episodes. This definitely had it's potential, but there's only so much chemistry can do.

I do need to watch the drama they're filming though, the acting is so over the top, the story seems like a mess, and yet it's the most popular thing out there, I just need to know what it's all about

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The blurred lines between law and attraction

The line between love and hate is barely visible, but the distinction between lawful good and chaotic good is clear as day. The very first scenes establish the characteristics of our main characters, Charn, a high profile lawyer who is ruthless and not above bending the law to further his will. One the other side is Tin, a martial arts coach who believes the law is just and the law will do it's job. These two are brought together on several occasions, the most notable being when they meet as plaintiff and defense in the case involving the death of Tin's niece.

The story moves along with Tin and Charn joining forces once Charn realises that something doesn't sit quite right with the case, and from here on out follows the adventures of the gang as they try to figure out the truth behind the accident.

The series is through and through a lakorn, from the gratuitous violence, terrible parents on one end, and incredibly supportive parents and guardians on the other, a villain who's not really a villain, and the plethora of other lakorn tropes that make it interesting (yet sometimes horrifying) to watch. Another great part is that this is also a character driven drama. The story and situation plays an important role in progressing the plot forward, but the involvement of the characters keeping in mind their personalities and allegiances make this a series where it is impossible to predict the next movement of any character. The story is fairly predictable, but the way the characters interact with each other in addition to the fact that you can never predict what exactly they're going to do next keeps it interesting on all fronts.

The best part though is the chemistry. Charn and Tin have this undeniable chemistry between each other, and they seem to have it with everyone else as well. The dialogue flows when they interact with each other and during those moments you almost forget how their relationship started out.

This is a genuinely good series, and while it does have its fair share of gruesome scenes (some of them were hard to watch), it's definitely worth a watch, especially for the romance.

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Well that deteriorated quickly..

Why is it that this happens every time some sort of plot is introduced?

For the initial half of the series, the entire plot was 'I have a toothache and my dentist is really cute', but when they decided to bring in the plot points they set up in these episodes into full force in the next seven, it felt incredibly forced and rushed.

Not developing those storylines would've been worse, I can admit to that, but cramming ten of them into seven episodes while also maintaining the romance between the leads is a difficult line to walk and this is proof. There was just way too much going on for any of them to have any real substance and it felt like the creators recognized that as well, because at one point they tried to revert back to the cute dentist and cute patient plot, but by then, they were in it too deep.

The biggest faux pas though, was this silly game of fill - in - the - blank the series played with the audience. We are left to our own devices to fill in dialogues, scenes and sometimes even storylines, which is okay if it's a series that's all romance. In fact, that requires some room for interpretation.
Doing it when the plot is plot heavy? You're just creating a recipe for chaos.

It's truly a pity though, because that first half was near perfection for me. It was reminiscent of so many other BLs like 2gether and Fish Upon The Sky, and I was just enjoying the banter, and the cuteness, the romance.
All of a sudden at the mid way point, plot came in and ruined the party. From that point it never really picked up for me.

I will say Ohm and Mark have good chemistry, they did manage to showcase it despite the glaring discrepancies in the way their characters behaved at times and that chemistry pretty much carried the plot that refused to plot. Their acting was good, their comedic timing was good for the most part.. or rather they did their best with the given story. I can appreciate their efforts.

The second couple/love triangle was completely unnecessary. I love Poon and View, but their characters added very little to the story and so did their strange and confusing arc.
And Captain.. my boy Jimmy deserved better writing for his character because what was that? Instigator of jealousy.. that's it.
Most of the supporting characters added no real substance to the story honestly and that is truly one of the most disappointing aspects of this.

Even with all that I thought they could've done better, this was a decent watch. I enjoyed it for the most part, but I can't help but think about just how much potential it had. To be a simple and sweet love story. It was just that, but also had so much more going on that it didn't need. And I would've gladly taken just a simple and sweet love story.

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A SHORT AND SWEET LOVE STORY

What do we expect when we start a series?
In accordance to the tags, or the trailer, or the review, we expect it to be a certain way.
So, in keeping with this theory, when you watch this series, you should swoon, feel the love and finish it in a small amount of time, and you will.
Honestly, you could finish the series in the time it takes you to read this review completely.
(Just kidding 😀. This will take 3 minutes at the most)

See You After Quarantine? may be an extremely short series, and I mean one that you could finish in one and a half hours short, but there is quite evidently no problem in the story telling or the acting. Even the production value seems high, considering the series was filmed entirely using a phone.

The series tells the story of Bo Chun and Itsuki Sato, who although from different countries, find common ground through an antique camera, leading them to form a friendship, that turns into a relationship.

This story of mistaken identities and love at first sight has been written in a way as to reflect not only the time of the pandemic, but in a way where it would be genuinely possible to happen at any and all times.

Ultimately, if you want to watch a series with literally no drama and just tons of cute moments, this is the one for you. So if you find yourself with a little time to spare, do give this a try.

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Humans are a lot of things.. most importantly, they are unpredictable

The entirety of season 3 was a big what if.
What if this character did that? Or what if they story went this way?
I guess all three seasons were that way in a sense, but we need to keep in mind that the clause of "what if" for this season held more stakes than before.

What tumbled out of the huge bundle of pressure created to live up to the hype while still delivering a good story, was somewhat of a mess.

Picking up on that very grim note they ended season 2 on, this season only gets grimmer, and it never stops. There was some sort of brutality to all the characters this time over, and I mean all of them. There's no room to debate if any of them had a reason to do all they did, because there will never be a good one. In displaying just how unpredictable, desperate and cruel humans can get, they did it, and how.

Episode by episode you watch the characters get more and more ruthless, balancing their own morals against their desires. There are heroes and villains in this story, but watching more and more you begin considering if your heroes are all that heroic.

It's.. yeah.. it's kind of depressing.

It was infuriating, sad and depressing, and these feelings only magnified after each episode. And the ending only helps to drive in that nail. It was truly one of the most unsatisfactory endings I've ever watched, but when I asked myself if any other ending would've made sense? It didn't. Didn't make me any less mad. It was such a depressing way to end something already on the decline, and the choice they made left me even more upset than I expected I would be.

I will say, the characters were written very well. The story may have been slightly unsatisfactory (a sentiment it shares with season 1), but the characters were amazing. The new set of characters, I somehow developed more of a connection with than the characters in the first season. I did think the characters in this arc did have more depth, even the returning characters were more fleshed out. Whether I liked all of them or not is a completely different story (see: you die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain), but they were more complex and deep than I expected them to be.

The acting, the cinematography, everything about it was amazing obviously, no doubts about that. Netflix should invest in writers though, because again, without spoiling anything, it just felt like a huge letdown after a half attempt at creating a buildup. And they did seem to be setting up for a sequel/spinoff/remake.. let's not. Let's finish the saga here.

I don't know if I like this, I'm having a huge quandary over that decision, and I genuinely do not know what the basis of my rating is, but I hope my review helped you decide whether or not you want to give this a try. If not, I'll try to sum it up in this sentence:
It's brutal, painful and depressing, but you can see a faint light at the end of the tunnel. Kinda.

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A wonderful story, and a better sequel

Don't we just love it when anything defies all expectations? I'm not a fan of sequels, that's the truth but every so often, there's a gem that gets me to change my tune and I am glad to report At 25 in Akasaka S2 is one of them.

Because we see, the problem with sequels is that they tend to fall into the same drumbeat we've come to expect - the relationship with no real progress even after ten years, the couple who just can't communicate despite promising to actually open their mouths and talk every second episode in the previous season, or the love (who doesn't incite any) interest who just refuses stay off screen - the options are endless.

But thank goodness they knew what to write. No awkward moments between Shirasaki and Hayama like they started dating yesterday, no unnecessary love triangles and rivals, and no misunderstandings that had anything to do with their relationship - actually, no misunderstandings. We need to recognise how precious that is in sequel land, we don't get this often!

The actual conflicts stemmed from the main focus (save Shirasaki and Hayama of course) of this season, something that actually made sense in the grander scheme of things. Their careers.
How do you balance a romantic relationship once you stop working together is a good base, but they developed that into dating as two very public figures, into how do you mediate the fact that you're actually rivals in love and turned up the heat by focusing on their personal struggles as actors besides just having to compete with each other!

It is inspired storytelling in a lot of ways, though the idea behind the conflicts are simple, they are layered in a way that escalates the tension with each episode. The reactions of both the leads were also in tune with their personalities we discovered back in S1, with a bit of change, which credit to actually writing them as characters who can grow. They're not perfect, they change and develop as actors and humans throughout the ten episodes, right up until the ending and it was great.

Coming to the characters, Shirasaki and Hayama were completely amazing. Though there were some choices they made that I specifically didn't agree with, they weren't anything huge, and most importantly - those choices made them more flawed, more human. There's no awkwardness in their relationship (thank you again), it felt mature and grounded, they talked to each other, understood each other, what more do I want.
I also enjoyed Sakuma and Yamase, they provided some great perspective to our leads and were part of some great relief scenes.
Rounding out the roster is an incredible new character - Kuroki Keita - who.. well, did wonders for the story plot wise and character wise.
I love the way this show kept surprising me.

My only real complaint would be that Shirasaki and Hayama got a lot of chances and room to grow as a couple, but not as many as I would've liked to just take in just how great a couple they already were. By that I mean I would've liked more scenes of their playful and flirty interactions.

I very much enjoyed this sequel, it was truly well done and if you loved S1 (I did), chances are you'll love this just as much or maybe even more! Totally recommend.

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"Hi"! - my (un)likely love

I'm just so happy to see Sea and Keen together on screen again.

"Hi" by my luck follows Err, our self proclaimed "race horse" and high achiever as he braces for life with new competition in the form of Mawin, our "dark horse". Both of them qualify for a highly competitive, high stakes math camp - and the payoff is a scholarship to a school of their choice. But plot twist! Err's confidence was also shaken with Mawin's appearance in his life, and he's been consulting an online fortune teller on the advice of his friend.

Err has gotten advice previously on how to pass a sports examination and the entrance test for math camp, and his newest query is how to get the scholarship. His fortune says - make Mawin fall for him. At least that's how he interprets it, because his fortune teller is kind of vague.

And while at the camp, he and Mawin get closer. They were classmates and they were roomates and Err doesn't feel comfortable following through with his interpretation of the reading the closer he gets to Mawin. Because despite himself, they've grown close, friends.. maybe even more.

Without going into too much detail, I'm glad the fortune teller aspect wasn't exactly what I thought it would be and not as influential in the plot as the premise made it out to be. Because it was wonderful to see the relationship between Win and Err grow ever so slowly before it suddenly bloomed, showing us both their personalities and exactly why they would be a good pair.

Sea and Keen were as wonderful, maybe even better, as I remember them in Only Boo, and their cute chemistry truly worked for this kind of story. It was a very 'enemies - to - lovers'/'first love' kind of story, and they were a perfect choice.

That being said, this is a perfect weekend watch for when you're looking for something short and sweet, and perfect re-watch while we all wait for Head 2 Head ♡

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