I remember years ago scrambling to find a completed translation of this novel. Fast-forward to 2026 and there is a show!!! Well, f*** me silly and call me a danmei whore. I'm so excited to binge this when it ends. Whoo hoo!!
Yes, there are tiny women who can pack a punch and beat up dudes. No doubt. But I would also like to watch a crime/cop cdrama with a regular sized woman, who doesn't look like a twig or so delicate a hard breeze would knock her sideways. This has nothing to do with body shaming and everything to do with having an everyday looking female character play a bad ass cop. Soooo many of these cdramas consistently star FLs who just leave me shaking my head. It is a sea of petite chicks doing the nigh impossible ALWAYS.
Again, yes women can fight well, but a bit of "real" would be great to see every once in a while. You know, a brash, ass kicking cop with muscle tone and bones that won't snap like crystal eg a Mariska Hargitay type. Just a thought. Okay, back to my show.
Look, I love the sweet girl romance dramas as much as the darker temptress/villainess ones, but this was soooo refreshing to see. A grown ass woman, acting like one and not shying away from intimacy with her damn husband like a petrified tree. He asks her to sit/join him in bed and old girl goes scurrying to her room to get her pillow before the man can even lay his weary body down. hahaha Loved that scene.
By the way, how in the name of "holy neck cramp in the morning", did they sleep on those things, especially the square blocky looking ones? Anyway, I digress. Great show so far. I love Bai Lu for not picking simpering female roles, they suit her well and she embodies each role perfectly.
Currently #2 movie of the year in mainland China in terms of box office gross, but still wide gap to the #1 movie…
"Then their daughter has to marry a Black man becoz no other suitable bachelors there. Was this what their grandparents or parents trying to achieve when they sought a "better" life abroad?"
I rarely jump into/respond to what people have to say here, but this called for a response... do you not see something very wrong with these comments you made?
Good show. Just missed greatness by a smidge but still a quite compelling watch. I love these type of police procedural/crime solving shows that also involve human drama and events occuring over a long period of time. Wish there were more of these, at least enough to balance the glossy, over produced ones with little to no real grit and "grind" in them.
Well done to everyone involved, they had me second guessing myself but I had narrowed t down to two and one of them was the guilty party. Still didn't ruin the ending for me though. Yes, it could have been a bit more suspenseful, but, still an enjoyable watch.
The rating is high according to the story. I don't understand Akira at all.. He loves Kanata then why is he still…
Tutor is his security blanket he found comfort in during a tough time in his life. Hard to let go of what you know for an uncertainty considering what that other asshole did to him once he discovered Akira's feelings for him. Sure, Kanata seems welcoming but in Akira's head he's thinking " But, IS he REALLY? I thought the other dipshit was trustworthy too."
Adorable. Good old Japanese shows. Always with one character desperately running to someone and the weird confession/not confession till the last episode where we get the weird kiss. haha I love them anyway.
Wasn't bothered by the tutor story, I wouldn't call it grooming per se . I am not sure WHAT the age gap is, the show never really tells us or I forgot. (?) He wasn't THAT much older I'm assuming and a crush on a sibling's friend is pretty normal/common. They come around the house a lot and are the first people outside of your own circle that you see a lot of. Their closeness to your sibling becomes a sort of connection to YOU. Plus he never really took advantage of him, they just in their own weird dynamic found comfort in each other. There was no direct, malicious manipulation and they genuinely cared for each other. Did he have a huge influence on him? Sure. But that happens with anyone you spend a lot of time with. Their tastes start to align with yours or vice versa, they introduce you to things they like etc. and by psychological osmosis (for lack of a better word) you kind of absorb their interests.
I need Japanese shows like this to delve further into the actualization of these relationships (between the leads) instead of leaving me on the cusp of its onstart. I enjoy them well enough, but this constant/neverending edging is getting tedious. This is why I appreciate their darker works more. Those ones dive DEEP into trauma and emotions and don't leave me hanging. Shows like this are cute etc. but at the final episode, I always end up feeling I am on chapter one of their love story...
Anyway, it was endearing and well acted with minimum cringe. If you are hesitating, just go ahead and press play. Cute, for the most part light-hearted fare.
People are really so naive to think that irl relationships are like the soft fluffy shows they witness in these…
Sorry for the horrendously late response. Life kicking my arse and all I have strength for is coming here and logging my watches. It is so frustrating when I see a well made BL that shows real life problems or imperfect people and a viewer misses the entire point. No one says it's a life manual. It is telling you that representation means "we are going to cover EVERY corner of this community" including the grimy, hypersexual, red flagged, asshole lover, cheater, toxic etc. etc. etc. It's fine if you like fluffy, I am THE LAST to tell others what to watch and enjoy, but c'mon man. Let the stories BREATHE, otherwise you are an unwitting (?) censor of the LGBTQ world while thinking you are championing it, by asking for rainbows and unicorns ONLY.
I guess the ?-th time IS the charm. I have started and dropped this show more times than i can remember. FINALLY, FINALLY I have gotten over that annoying -for ME- baby voice ( I just can't help but feel like I am watching a young child character) and am actually enjoying the show. Ok, no, still irritated by it, but I am pushing through haha
HOLY MOTHER-EFFING LIP GLOSS!!! They wore/had on more in this show than a Sephora shelf (pick a brand)! Lawd have mercy. Anyway, I loved some parts, I was indifferent to others and some I just absolutuley hated. I guess I had a full 360 experience so.... NO idea what to rate this.
Harrowing, heartbreaking, phenomenally well made drama. I have many words, but the huge impact of this drama cannot be overstated. The acting was stellar, the storytelling riveting; the plight of the victims was not depicted onscreen in a graphic manner, but that made it even more disturbing as one lets their imagination run free as to the despair and horror they experienced. I had read a little about these events in history so I knew about what these people were put through. Seeing it onscreen, seeing the depiction of the callous nature of those involved, made my blood boil.
Humans. We don our clothes, act civilized and intellectual, deem ourselves of a higher standard in comparison to other living beings but many of us are nothing more than savage animals. Wicked, evil beasts and this was an unapologetic (likes its Japanese subjects) glimpse of that cruelty. Decades later, little has changed and I fear it never will. Because no matter how many of us are good, there will forever be those with no scruples, with selfish survival instincts, with a raging thirst for power who will try their best to do us all in.
A bleak but necessary viewing. It will break your heart but at the same time remind you that "there is a light at the exit." How bright it is and how many live to see it when a war is over, is left to fate.
Dammit. I had a quite long comment on this show, forgot to hit post, page reloaded and now its gone. Anyway, basically, it said this is a great show that can hold its own amongst full, regular lengthh dramas. Acting was good all around, there was not a single wasted moment.
Villain was believable and not a parodr or caricature. The two leads were a well synced pair and worked well in tandem. Feelings were declared in a straightforward manner, no silly waffling, pacing was excellent. All in all, it is a well made drama and worth the time. They had only so many minutes per episode to tell a story and they did it well.
The movie suggestions below are varied but contain some similar themes at least in MY opinion (sad, bleak futures,…
Keep in mind when I say capitalism and its effects, I am not speaking on the incredible development of technology/ infrastructure etc. but mainly to the negative impact it unfortunately had on some of its population. Here are some I loved and remember off the top of my head. Might add more when/if I remmeber to come back
1. So Long My Son
2. Movies by Jia Zhangke (Still Life, A Touch of Sin, Ash is the Purest White etc.) many of his movies deal with people facing the repercussions of a changing world/those finding themselves "left behind"/facing unemployment etc.
Great show. I can't help but wonder (I am not one who follows production details etc. of shows so I don't know) , was this supposed to be loosely based on Gone With the Wind?? Because man, the similarities in the storyline are glaring and the whole time I was watching I was reminded of scenes in GWTW. Not a criticism, just an observation. Anyway, I very much enjoyed this.
1 
Again, yes women can fight well, but a bit of "real" would be great to see every once in a while. You know, a brash, ass kicking cop with muscle tone and bones that won't snap like crystal eg a Mariska Hargitay type. Just a thought. Okay, back to my show.
By the way, how in the name of "holy neck cramp in the morning", did they sleep on those things, especially the square blocky looking ones? Anyway, I digress. Great show so far. I love Bai Lu for not picking simpering female roles, they suit her well and she embodies each role perfectly.
I rarely jump into/respond to what people have to say here, but this called for a response... do you not see something very wrong with these comments you made?
Well done to everyone involved, they had me second guessing myself but I had narrowed t down to two and one of them was the guilty party. Still didn't ruin the ending for me though. Yes, it could have been a bit more suspenseful, but, still an enjoyable watch.
Wasn't bothered by the tutor story, I wouldn't call it grooming per se . I am not sure WHAT the age gap is, the show never really tells us or I forgot. (?) He wasn't THAT much older I'm assuming and a crush on a sibling's friend is pretty normal/common. They come around the house a lot and are the first people outside of your own circle that you see a lot of. Their closeness to your sibling becomes a sort of connection to YOU. Plus he never really took advantage of him, they just in their own weird dynamic found comfort in each other. There was no direct, malicious manipulation and they genuinely cared for each other. Did he have a huge influence on him? Sure. But that happens with anyone you spend a lot of time with. Their tastes start to align with yours or vice versa, they introduce you to things they like etc. and by psychological osmosis (for lack of a better word) you kind of absorb their interests.
I need Japanese shows like this to delve further into the actualization of these relationships (between the leads) instead of leaving me on the cusp of its onstart. I enjoy them well enough, but this constant/neverending edging is getting tedious. This is why I appreciate their darker works more. Those ones dive DEEP into trauma and emotions and don't leave me hanging. Shows like this are cute etc. but at the final episode, I always end up feeling I am on chapter one of their love story...
Anyway, it was endearing and well acted with minimum cringe. If you are hesitating, just go ahead and press play. Cute, for the most part light-hearted fare.
Humans. We don our clothes, act civilized and intellectual, deem ourselves of a higher standard in comparison to other living beings but many of us are nothing more than savage animals. Wicked, evil beasts and this was an unapologetic (likes its Japanese subjects) glimpse of that cruelty. Decades later, little has changed and I fear it never will. Because no matter how many of us are good, there will forever be those with no scruples, with selfish survival instincts, with a raging thirst for power who will try their best to do us all in.
A bleak but necessary viewing. It will break your heart but at the same time remind you that "there is a light at the exit." How bright it is and how many live to see it when a war is over, is left to fate.
Villain was believable and not a parodr or caricature. The two leads were a well synced pair and worked well in tandem. Feelings were declared in a straightforward manner, no silly waffling, pacing was excellent. All in all, it is a well made drama and worth the time. They had only so many minutes per episode to tell a story and they did it well.
1. So Long My Son
2. Movies by Jia Zhangke (Still Life, A Touch of Sin, Ash is the Purest White etc.) many of his movies deal with people facing the repercussions of a changing world/those finding themselves "left behind"/facing unemployment etc.
3. An Elephant Sitting Still
4. Blind Shaft
5. Black Dog