Fondueforkharpoon

Half rom-com, half meta-comedy, all charm

Aw hell they really got me with this one. I wasn't expecting to be so thoroughly charmed by this little show, but they truly won me over.
The balance between incredibly clever meta-comedy, classic rom-com shenanigans, and genuinely emotionally impactful scenes is absolutely pitch-perfect. The writing is consistently excellent, the editing is tight and precise and enhances both the comedy and the more serious moments perfectly, and the acting is frankly phenomenal.
This kind of over-the-top humour can be really hard for me to get into but here it feels weirdly natural and grounded and made me laugh out loud quite a bit.
And even if the humour isn't quite your thing you'd be hard-pressed not to fall in love with the characters. Not only are our two mains absolute sweethearts whose dynamic is highly engaging and honestly a joy to watch, they are backed up by a wonderful cast of supporting characters who are all uniquely weird but equally lovable.
I won't claim this is some sort of cinematic masterpiece which has revolutionised the genre, but for a relatively straight-forward romantic comedy, this show sort of has it all - I honestly can't think of anything they could have done better.
In short, this story is funny, sweet, feels oddly real, and is incredibly fun to watch. I highly recommend you go check it out for yourself.

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A genuinely lovely show, despite its flaws

This series belongs firmly into the "beloved messes" category of media I've consumed - it has some glaring flaws but it also does a lot of things so very right, on top of being damn charming and earnest.
I'm a huge fan of food-centered romances in general so I might be a bit biased, but I strongly believe there is a lot more to enjoy about this show than people are giving it credit for.
The editing, visuals, music, and acting are all incredibly solid and the writing is, for the most part, genuinely excellent.
All the characters feel like fully realised three-dimensional human beings and their struggles and emotions are understandable and relatable.
Mahiro's defensiveness and general distaste towards confronting things head-on are almost painfully realistic and his internal struggle and frustration with himself over his shortcomings will likely hit very close to home for a lot of viewers. He's used to preemptively shielding himself from rejection so when his unrequited attraction suddenly turns out to be returned he has absolutely no idea what to do with himself and freezes every time he wants to openly communicate his feelings. How do you deal with suddenly getting what you want when you weren't prepared for it to ever happen?
Souta, on the other hand, has no such problem; he speaks his mind freely and clearly and is actually a pretty good communicator. It just often takes him a while to fully understand his own feelings which, combined with his inexperience, naturally leads to clashes with skittish Mahiro, who isn't interested in being nothing but a convenient opportunity for Souta to experiment with his sexuality.
Over the course of the show these two go through a lot of conflict and misunderstandings which, in a pleasant twist of fate, serve to further plot and character development rather than to string out the story longer than necessary.

Another strong point of the series is its respect and care for its queer characters. Souta's character arc in particular is incredibly well-written, satisfying to watch, and a fairly accurate depiction of discovering and coming to terms with one's sexuality. It's also a very gentle rumination of self-determination vs conforming to expectations and the many different shapes happiness and satisfaction can take, which I personally absolutely love.
Hao Shan is another stand-out character who adds a lot of humour as well as depth to the story.
Specific descriptors like "gay" or "bisexual" may not be mentioned (as is the case with a lot of queer Asian dramas, unfortunately) but the topic of sexuality and identity is explored much more thoroughly and carefully than it is in many similar shows, which is very much a step in the right direction in my opinion.

Unfortunately the writers also make some big missteps which muddle the story and slightly mess up the pacing at times.
The whole sleeping kiss cliche is a good example. At least it's openly addressed and does drive the plot significantly, but it still feels gross and unneeded.
Komachi's role is similarly dissatisfying, in that her story starts off strong but then goes downhill at the end, and certain things, such as the slap, just hugely detract from my enjoyment of her, no matter how important she is to the story.
Likewise the inclusion of Kosuke during the last two episodes just feels unnecessary and adds a weird element to the get-together scene. Don't get me wrong, I don't think a grand gesture or dramatic confession was needed here, but this strange combination of possessiveness and lack of clear communication feels some-what anticlimactic especially considering how much of the story revolves around the importance of honesty and openness in relationships, and the characters growing as people and learning to convey their wants and needs to one another.
The last two episodes are generally a little all over the place, although they do have some great moments and end on a very satisfying note. Personally I found these annoyances tolerable when weighed against the high quality of the rest of the story, though your mileage may very much vary.

All in all, I consider this show well worth your time despite its issues and if you're a fan of tame slow-burn romances with lots of genuine emotion and depth then you'll find a lot to love here.
This may not be the off-beat, raunchy romp the description suggested it might be, but it is an absolute diamond in the rough with a lot of charm, heart, and interesting things to say - and I think it can and should be appreciated just as it is.

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Silly, slightly off-beat, good fun... but nothing more

I was actually surprised by how much I liked this series. I went into it with very low expectations given the reviews but I actually had a pretty good time watching it.
It's true, this show has many obvious flaws, the main one being how much plot the writers tried to force into such a short runtime and the choppy editing does not help.
These 80-90 minute shows are always pretty densely packed and most of them use these constraints to their advantage but here there was simply too much going on for there to be any time left to get to know the characters properly or even for them to get to know each other, which is obviously a problem when you're trying to tell a story centered around a relationship.
If they had done away with the love triangle (which isn't even really a triangle at all) and some of the sister's meddling and had instead focused on showing a growing connection between our leads then this story could honestly have been great.

That being said, the series is still engaging and entertaining as it is. The performances are solid, the visuals are beautiful and the overall production quality is pretty high.
The characters feel like actual, real people and they lend the whole set-up, contrived and ridiculous as it may be, a certain seriousness and credibility as well as some genuine emotional impact.
I personally also really enjoy the dynamic between the main characters. It would have been easy to box them into hetero-normative relationship roles, I mean one of them is literally playing "wife", but unlike so many other stories that's not what happens here. There are no "haha man in a dress" jokes, no cheap comedy at the expense of queer people's dignity.
Both mains treat each other with a lot of respect and each try to fix the situation as best they can.
Between the two of them Kiwan is the more energetic and confident while Hosun is slightly more reserved, but neither of them are particularly broody, bubbly, or generally over-the-top so they actually mesh quite well with one another.
Their dynamic also doesn't change when Kiwan drops his disguise and goes back to his regular appearance, they just continue on as before without any panic or sexuality crisis on Hosun's part which I really appreciate.
The ending is also very sweet and ties off the story quite well, even if there are many plot-holes left unaddressed.

All in all this show is worth watching if you're in the mood for something breezy, fun, and slightly different in the vein of Tinted With You. And maybe one day we'll get a historical queer romance that's actually good as well as fun. Until then this will do just fine.

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Well... they tried

Honestly, there is a universe in which this show could have been great and I'm disappointed it failed to live up to its potential - I'm not all that surprised about it though.
After having watched the show and seeing a lot of people bemoaning how it should have just stayed true to the source material, I decided to read the manga and see for myself. And it's... fine. It's just fine.
Sure, certain things are handled better in the manga (I think we can all agree Kaneda's weird shrine should never have made it into the script), but over all I feel the script writers made a valiant effort to expand on the source material and give the characters more depth.
Padding out a 5 chapter manga enough for an 8 x 25 minute TV runtime is no easy task but I actually think the show pulls it off pretty well, at least as far as pacing is concerned. The acting, editing, and cinematography are all extremely solid as well.
Where the series falters, however, is just about everywhere else.
The additional characters are all either completely unnecessary or ruined in some way, new sub-plots often start promising but then quickly go downhill and never quite manage to actually contribute to any character growth for our main leads.
The show adds a lot of little details to the characters and environments, but for every loving addition that gives the characters depth and makes the story more compelling, there's another addition that swings way too far the other direction and just makes things odd. It's a constant see-saw of one step forward, one step back and it gets a bit tiring after a while.
All in all this story has a very good concept which it only partially manages to make use of, but given that the source material never lived up to the potential either I personally can't bring myself to be too mad about it.
There's still a fair few things to enjoy about the show and if the synopsis interests you I suggest giving it a shot. Don't expect too much though, or you're unfortunately likely to be disappointed.

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That was... a show I watched

This show is fine. It's just... fine. To be honest, I wasn't sure whether to archive and review it at all or whether to let it fade away and never think about it again. But I have to admit that it did get one or two chuckles out of me so I suppose it at least deserves to be remembered for that.
The plot here is basically non-existent and the editing is somewhat disjointed, but the series does have one strong point - its characters. I do find them all genuinely interesting to some degree and I think there's a lot of potential for a really good story starring these people, but this unfortunately just isn't it.
Such a short runtime just isn't a good fit for a story with a large-ish ensemble cast and the script simply isn't good enough to make up for that disadvantage. The characters therefore all end up feeling fairly underdeveloped and unfamiliar.
I really wanted to root for them but since the audience are given so little time to get to know even the leads, it was frankly quite hard to care about any of the characters at all.
Don't get me wrong, the show never does anything particularly offensive or problematic, it's honestly just... boring. Which is almost worse, in a way.
If you're looking for something completely devoid of substance to put on in the background and which will occasionally make you chuckle a little bit, then you might as well pick this show.
You might just as well pick literally anything else though, too.

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A cut above the rest - in its own way

Oh Behind Cut, my beloved mess.
This movie makes me FEEL things that I don't quite know how to articulate.
It can't be denied that it makes for an incredibly confounding and high-effort viewing experience - this is not a movie to simply breeze through without giving it your full attention. There are a lot of details the audience are left to fill in for themselves; the film absolutely refuses to hold anyone's hand and walk them through the plot, it expects the viewer to make the connections themselves. In that, as well as with the general pacing, atmosphere, and occasionally inconsistent audio quality, it reminds me a lot more of a queer indie film than of a professional K-drama.
And on one hand, that's exactly what I love it for. The acting is absolutely stellar, the dialogues feel wonderfully real, and the way the main characters' relationship builds does not just feel entirely believable, but also a refreshing step removed from the more common romance beats. Don't get me wrong, I love me a good romcom and there's a reason why the classic formula works so well, but there's just something about getting to see a relationship at a slightly different pace and through a slightly different lens that I really appreciate.
But on the other hand, was it all really necessary? Did they need to lean so far into the artful incoherence and away from a more straight-forward storyline?
I absolutely detest the one-year separation trope, but here it could have worked so well. There's something interesting there, some genuinely poignant commentary on the nature of passion, dreams, and what it means to pursue them. There are insightful observations to be found about the fine line between self-determination and rejecting all help, between finding inspiration in someone you love and loving someone for the purpose of being inspired by them.
All of that and more is right there, so close to being fully woven into the story and coherently brought across, almost, almost, but not quite...
I don't know if you'll like this movie, I honestly couldn't tell you. I can only say that I, personally, really love it. I bemoan what it could have been with juuuust a little more polish, but I also adore it for what it ended up being, in all it's sincere, chaotic glory.

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Oh! I actually liked it!

I was not expecting to like this show and yet, astonishingly, I did.
Is it silly? Yes, very much so. Is it horny? Yes, although not nearly as much as you'd expect given the setting.
But it's also quite genuinely charming, often humorous, and deals openly with sex and sexuality in a way that I haven't seen before in a K-drama, much less a queer one. Not only does it directly address bisexuality (which, again, I've never seen in a K-drama), the characters' sexualities and preferences and their exploration thereof play a big part in the story in general.
I didn't even mind the miscommunication plot, which is a trope I normally abhor, since it kind of makes sense here.
Feelings are complicated, relationships are complicated, and even the most self-aware and introspective of people - which, to be clear, these characters aren't - will occasionally go to stupid lengths to avoid having conversations they're worried about. I'm not saying the story is incredibly realistic by any means, but it's also not nearly so far removed from reality as a lot of reviews here make it out to be; at least in my opinion.
I will admit that the show suffers under its short run-time, especially during the last episode where some scenes feel like speed runs of what should have been much more drawn-out conversations and plots.
I also wish Joon Seok, whom I found myself quite fond of, had gotten a slightly less open-ended storyline.
All in all though, there is nothing so egregiously wrong with this series that I wouldn't recommend watching it.
It's certainly not a masterpiece, but it is weird, fun, and refreshingly, earnestly queer.
If you're looking for a somewhat less-than-typical romcom and you've got a certain tolerance for strangeness then I'd say this show is definitely worth a watch.

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Not my cup of tea, but still worth watching

So this one just wasn't for me. I'm usually a sucker for soulmate stories but here the concept didn't really work for me.
I will say, however, that the production quality is fairly high for a short little indie movie and I very much enjoyed the final message and the spirit in which the story was told.
This was clearly a passion project for the film makers and that love really shines through.
I am beyond thrilled about how YouTube and the like have become platforms for queer creators to realise their vision over these past two-ish decades and this short film is a perfect example of exactly such a vision come to life.
Give it a shot, maybe it'll hit just right for you even if it didn't for me.

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Lukewarm, but enjoyable

If you're looking for anything but vibes you won't find it here, but if it's atmosphere you're after, this show's got it in spades.
The story has absolutely no substance to it whatsoever, but there's something so pleasant and calming about the energy that radiates from every single shot that I just couldn't bring myself to mind.
If you take the show for what it is - a lovely advertisement featuring queer women (a bold choice even in the increasingly progressive social climate of modern South Korea) - and don't expect anything else, you'll definitely enjoy this little sapphic slice of life.

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A swing and a miss

I really wanted to like this show and I'm kind of sad that I didn't.
There is potential in this story and in this cast but the final product fails to live up to it, which is a shame.
I feel like the series is stuck in the unfortunate limbo between being enjoyable as an actually good show and being enjoyable as a silly, self-aware rollercoaster ride.
It's too nonsensical and off-beat to be truly taken seriously, but it also takes *itself* just a bit too seriously to be a fun thrill-ride like this year's Why R U was, for instance.
The overall production quality is very decent and there are a couple of genuinely good scenes, but that's about all the show has going for it, unfortunately.
If you want something simple to turn your brain off to, this might do the trick. There simply also happen to be a lot of better shows you could be spending your time on instead, just saying.

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So close and yet so far

This show was so close to being actually good and enjoyable but then it tripped and fell flat on its face just before the finish line.
To be clear: I didn't expect this show to be a masterpiece by any means, but I was hoping for a romance drama that, while shallow, would be just charming and self-aware enough to spark my interest. And for the first few episodes that's what I thought I was getting. Sure, there are some fairly obvious flaws with the series even early on, but all in all the first half of the show is still entirely watchable.
But then, instead of slowly improving on the main characters' dynamic, the show inexplicably starts spiraling, sidelining its lovable supporting cast, introducing strange conflicts that go nowhere and an antagonist who sees zero consequences for her actions, before ending on an incredibly strange note that feels nothing like the satisfying happy ending it presents itself as.
I admit I'm being fairly harsh here, but I suppose I'm just annoyed at the wasted potential. This didn't have to be some queer epic, but it could have at least been a pleasant, if slightly silly, food romance. It's just a shame, is all.
If you're just looking for a show that's easy on the eyes and requires absolutely zero brain cells to follow you might like this fine. But even as far as mindless entertainment goes, there's better series out there, in my opinion, and you'd probably be a lot better off watching one of them.

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The tractors were just okay

Well I don't know what the hell I just watched but it was mildly entertaining I suppose.
Let me start off by saying that this show is pretty much entirely inoffensive (apart from some completely unnecessary remarks steeped in colourism, we absolutely could have done without those) but after watching it, all I was left with was the fleeting awareness of having grown some two odd hours older.

The dynamic between the two leads has a lot of potential that the show, in my humble opinion, entirely fails to live up to.
Yul is a man living out a perfectly standard K-drama life with all the emotions and pitfalls this encompasses, while literally everybody else around him (perhaps with the exception of Inseo) is clearly inhabiting a muppet movie world; over-the-top emotions, tongue-in-cheek silliness, visual gags and all.
Now, this concept can be, and very much has been, used to great effect. But here, all it does is create a strange tonal dissonance that permeates through the entire story.
The emotional moments have less impact because they are often directly followed or even interrupted by some off-colour joke or another. The deliberately humourous moments are harder to enjoy because, compared to the genuine emotion of some other scenes, they seem somewhat hollow.

Which is not to say that there is nothing to enjoy about the show at all! There are several sincerely funny and charming moments and the two main characters' relationship, when they are allowed to be alone together, is actually very sweet, and the performances, whatever my personal opinion, are all objectively quite strong.
I do understand why people enjoy this series and I certainly won't discourage anyone from watching it. I just also think there's a lot of better ways to spend a couple of hours.
So, if you think this specific brand of silliness will work for you, go ahead and watch Love Tractor.
But if not, then I'd probably give it a pass and watch Restart After Come Back Home instead, to scratch that countryside romance itch.

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An absolute delight from start to finish

Where cozy, food-centered romances are concerned, there's just no beating Japan - and with this movie they've proved it once again.
The music and cinematography work together to create an atmosphere of warmth and comfort which serves as a perfect backdrop for this gentle slice-of-life tale of two long-time friends' first tentative steps towards shifting their relationship into something more romantic.
The characters are deeply endearing and lovable, their chemistry is so natural and comfortable, and they're both just so plain charming that every second of seeing them on screen is pure joy.
In a story that is as heavily character driven as this one, the connections between the characters have to feel real and grounded and this film absolutely nails it. I'm a complete sucker for realistic depictions of (queer) friendship in general and rarely have I seen them portrayed as perfectly as I have here.
I highly recommend this movie to anyone looking for a tender, wholesome slice-of-life story with lots of good food and friendship, and to any queer folks out there looking for a new comfort watch.
Fair warning - this movie is the first part of a longer story and therefore very light on the explicit romance, so if you're looking for something more romance-heavy, maybe give this one a pass until the next part of the story is released.
Personally though, I really do consider this movie a masterpiece in its own right and I absolutely cannot wait for the sequel.
Meanwhile I'll just have to pass the time by recreating some of Aki's recipes :)

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Not overly delicious, but still entirely edible

If I had to describe this show in one word I would go with "harmless". It's a sweet enough story without much bite (pun intended) but with some quite lovely moments. And that's about it.
Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike this show, it's perfectly fine. But personally I just didn't get very much out of it.

The actors did a good job and the editing and music were solid. The chemistry between the leads was good as well and I did quite enjoy some of the supporting characters.
I just also felt like there was something lacking. Sure, there were plot holes, but nothing particularly egregious or bothersome.
I occasionally had some trouble understanding certain characters' motivations, but liked them all well enough. Some of the conflicts were a bit ridiculous, but they weren't drawn out unnecessarily and over all the characters communicated with each other quite well.
I couldn't tell you exactly which of these things reduced my enjoyment of the story so much. Maybe it's all of them together.

But there are quite a lot of people who enjoy this show and I can understand why. It's a sweet, low-stakes, low-angst romance between to people who seem to genuinely care about each other and aren't afraid to show casual physical affection.
There are also a few novel aspects to the story such as the dreaded "love rival" who turns out not to be much of a rival at all and instead turns into a supportive friend.
But above all, the show is incredibly easy to watch. It's easy to understand, easy to like, and easy on the eyes.
You can blaze through it in a breezy 3.5 hours and, if nothing else, walk away with a feeling of not entirely having wasted that time.

So, while I personally didn't get much enjoyment out of the series and certainly wouldn't rank it among the greats of food-centered romances (of which I am usually quite a big fan), I would still recommend giving it a watch.
Maybe you'll find yourself vaguely disappointed, but maybe you'll enjoy it quite a lot. Either way, it's worth a shot.

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A story about people who often go unheard

This movie is a very rare gem indeed. It's not often that you get to see Own-Voices productions of stories about queer people or deaf people and here you get both woven into one, all based on the real life experiences of the director.
Because of this, the film feels undeniably real in a way which I really enjoyed.
The actors' performances are fantastic for the most part, and the sound design is phenomenal. It fully immerses the viewer in the world that its deaf characters inhabit while still being entirely accessible for those not hard of hearing, it really is masterfully done.
I also really loved how much the story focused on the importance of community and support, of found family in a way.
Now, will some viewers, such as myself, who enjoy certain privileges in their lives find this movie boring? Unfortunately, yes.
As someone who is lucky enough to be able to live openly and without fear and whose coming out was fully supported by a host of loving family members and friends, I couldn't relate to a lot of the struggles the characters faced.
But that in no way diminishes the film's value or should prevent anyone from watching it.
For anyone struggling with societal pressures due to their identity, for anyone who has to face rejection and recrimination for being who they are, for anyone grieving the "normal" happy life they haven't gotten to live yet, this movie will undoubtedly mean a lot. It's a promise that there is light at the end of the tunnel, the reassurance that, no matter what, you are not alone.
This is an incredibly important and meaningful message and for that alone I consider this movie well worth watching.

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