BellaGoth

I'll say one thing I finally understand what Knetz mean by the term visual shock after watching SJK in this lmao. I keep looking at his skin and lose track of subs sometimes.

Just saw the preview of a conversation between the ML and FL, I'm sorry to her stans but JYB is bad in this. The comic element would have been better if only she exercised some restraint. My theory is right, it's not particularly hard to perform in well-written dramas like Be Melodramatic but not everyone has the versatility to pull off exaggerated characters. Anyway, I hope she gets better in the upcoming episodes.

Watch Arthdal Chronicles on Netfllix. His greatest performance imo, that and Innocent Man.

People looking for a serious crime thriller from the team of Fiery Priest are bound to be disappointed lmao. There is no sudden shift in tone, this blend of action-comedy is literally their signature style. It may not appeal to everyone but I personally really enjoy it. It's refreshing amidst the onslaught of dramas that take themselves too seriously. On another note, SJK has improved a lot, a less capable actor and this would become OTT cringefest super fast.

New teaser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sWfAbH7nYo&ab_channel=JTBCDrama
cute<3

I love fake dating and marriage of convenience tropes so decided to give this a try. I do like the FL and the cute interactions between the leads but Gong Jun is really awkward onscreen. His stiffness is sucking the life out of the drama. There is such a distinct lack of vibrancy and gravitas in him, he is like a pretty mannequin. Just goes on to show that romcoms really depend on the talent of the actors and a well-written journey.

I admit I am surprised by the popular/unpopular binary criticism because I felt the drama did a good job of deconstructing it in the 4th episode. Adachi seems relatable to me because let's be real, most of us feel the same way. We scroll through instas of other people and decide that they're nailing life while we're falling behind. There's a reason why social media heightens depression and loneliness. Adachi's insecurity makes sense to me because many of us look at the lives of others and believe that they're living better lives, they're earning more money, they're happier. This episode was really good imo because Adachi finally learns that external appearance isn't everything, people may seem perfect, happy and care-free but they all have their individual burdens to bear, their private anxieties to deal with. There is a visible growth in him, an indication of him attempting to move beyond his insecurities. I thought the execution was quite nicely done. To be quite honest, most romcom tropes are indeed conventional, everything depends on the execution.

Watched the first two episodes and this series is adorable so far. There is a certain authenticity, a sense of genuineness... I love how it balances the slightly exaggerated Manga style with a more realistic approach. The characters especially are well-portrayed. Both the leads are naturally likable and kind people, it's a joy to watch them, individually and together. Kurosawa's internal monologues are extremely heartfelt and I liked that Adachi was moved despite his initial confusion. The abrupt romantic build-up surprisingly works in this case because of the storytelling and characterizations. The acting is pretty decent too. Really hope it doesn't go downhill.

I don't think it's wrong to expect certain things from the adaptation of a beloved book. People are justified to criticize homophobic censorship and severe plot changes. I don't think people should be grateful for the crumbs that the corporates throw at us. The problem only begins when they start complaining about the actors without even seeing them in their roles and compare every adaptation with a specific adaptation.

I mean both the international and domestic fandom. Ifans are less in number and belong to the Danmei connunity in general, hence their hatred doesn't seem to be as intense. But they can be just as annoying. It has to be one of the worst novel fandoms I've ever come across. There are two other Danmei adaptations coming up soon, never seen their fans act this entitled.

Look, if this is true at all, every other production has clowns like these. There is absolutely no need to bring up such drama internationally. This useless XZ/WYB based YT channel does this every single time for HYX. They bring up nonsense and CQL fans instantly smell blood in the water and jump in to attack the actors. It's so tiring.

Well you haven't seen enough then. Yunxi is pretty loved though, as he should be. But the drama involves both the leads and it's starting to become really annoying to see complaints about Arthur under every HYX related video, from certain novel fans on twt and insta and even here. It's particularly strange because no other novel fan is doing this with their leads before the drama has even aired. Rational people will obviously not do it. It's okay to dislike a certain casting but it's quite pointless to keep complaining about it. IMO the alternative choices for actors were worse. The series will focus a lot on CWN anyway if rumors are to be believed, people can close their eyes to Mo Ran and enjoy Yunxi as CWN. Just stop complaining lmao.

Re. CQL stans, that's just daily schedule at this point, they'll never get tired.

Right, I mean Erha and MDZS have no connection, literally none. Authors aren't same, the characters and stories are wildly different. But everything must connect to CQL since it's their gateway to Danmei. What gets me is that there are many upcoming Danmei adaptations but CQL stans for some reason stay hyperfixated on this particular series. HYX can drop anything and there will be weirdo CQL stans making ridiculous comparisons. I need them to move their CQL NUMBER 1 agenda to something else already, it's been going on since January.

TBH, I am not some champion of the drama myself, I don't trust most of these teams but let's just wait? We really don't know anything for sure at this point. I don't think people should stan it or hate it right now. Concerns about the plot are perfectly valid, except it always circles back to another CQL DA BEST chant. It's really exhausting to see them ruining every single bit of excitement about this drama. Only MDZS and CQL should get good things, nothing else should. Toxic mentality.

Anyway, regarding the series, the most I can say right now is that they added the novel's name on the poster so at least it's not distancing itself from its Danmei origins. The novel fans need to calm down a bit too, failure of a series is worse than anything else. Chances of long-running Donghua and Manhua also lessen with a flop drama.

These are character posters, they are usually underwhelming TBH. But I liked the details they put in. They also added the author and the novel's name unlike some dramas.

Fans of this novel have to be the most entitled bunch I have ever seen. For a novel that's highly criticized even within Chinese Danmei circle, its fans act like they have the right to demand and dictate everything. Meatbun isn't MXTX or Priest, 2ha isn't TGCF, SPL or Modu. I understand their concern for the plot, but the constant shady comments about the drama and the actors have to stop at some point.

One would think they'd at least learn to tolerate the lead actors, especially Arthur but no. Which other actor rumored for Mo Ran did y'all prefer? Wu Lei? The one who drops out of every danmei production over positioning issues? Are you sure he'd have been a better Mo Ran after seeing him being small and scrawny as Ashina Sun? Fan Chengcheng? He was the second rumored actor. Would he have been better? How many young actors were going to accept an adaptation based on something as racy and highly criticized as 2ha? Arthur has been nothing but hardworking and gracious throughout the hard filming process, read the book, tried his best. But weirdos seem to have some specific grudge against him. I don't even care for him but the vitriol is so OTT. As if most young C-actors are emmy-winners. Most of them are bad only. Cnetz were right, 2ha never should've gotten any adaptation. The plot is impossible to adapt anyway and fans don't make it easier. SPL casting didn't please everyone but I have never once seen Priest fans being derogatory towards the actors before the drama even aired.

Also, to the annoying CQL stans camped under every single Haoyixing comment section like vultures, CQL's production team has Modu coming up, please move there and cry about how it'd never beat CQL. MXTX's TGCF is also up for an adaptation, go whine about it and leave HYX which has zero to do with CQL/MDZS alone. I don't care who gets mad, I am sick of the whining about this particular series since January. LET IT GO already.

Idc what people say, Perth is an excellent actor. Ae's character arc is kind of bland and he has no dialogues but he brings such intense emotional anguish to the most basic scenes. I do understand why Ae is in such a state but real life is distressing enough right now. In any case, Perth is amazing and I love watching him act. I'm not super fond of the TinCan reboot yet but we'll see how it goes.

Exactly. I did feel their chemistry at one point, which makes the current lack of chemistry all the more disappointing. Their first couch moment where Tine turns the "I'll kiss you till drop" on Sarawat and he says "Yes please", that was so genuinely endearing. But now that there're together, I feel nothing. I think their mistake of developing a romance out of forced jealousy is coming to haunt them and us. They only have this tired jealousy trope to push the plot forward, the Mil issue is still not resolved and now we have Pam. Tine will be jealous, Sarawat will declare Tine is his first love, make some grand gesture and done. There is literally no plot. Subplots are horrible. I have been annoyed by the lack of plot since the beginning, I had issues when Tine's initial jealousy came out of nowhere and other randomness but those could be forgiven because the central romance was cute. But now.. idk.
I'm not expecting Six Flying Dragons from a Thai BL but this writer wrote Theory of Love, at least build some realistic conflicts this time? The series runs on isolated cutesy moments and glamour shots. As you said, there was a certain tension between them at one point, a sweetness that was enjoyable to watch despite the nonsensical plot. But ever since they got together, their interactions have been mostly boring. They cannot execute the being-in-love phase at all. I'm still watching it to finish it but I definitely don't feel the excitement anymore. Worse, I don't feel invested in their romance, yeah okay cute is my only reaction lately.

Frustrating how so many people are making it seem like some of us are asking for torrid bed scenes or french kissing (not that there's anything wrong with them) when we want a couple to behave like a couple. Idk about others but I never expected even one kiss, what I'm looking for is the feeling of their togetherness as a couple. Sarawat and Tine literally act like close buddies who live together, not two people who are supposed to be in love with each other. Their chemistry has been nonexistent since they got together. I don't ask for kissing or hugging, I ask for the basic casual intimacy that should exist between a supposed couple, handholding, casual sidehug- just regular everyday intimacy. They had so many opportunities to make up for it in this episode but what did we get.. staring and more head pats, putting head on shoulder won't kill them. I don't know if the actors are awkward or the direction is the problem, but the romantic intensity has been completely wiped off. This series never had a well-written plot but the sweetness between Sarawat Tine made up for it. However, now that the falling-in-love phase is over, the glaring lack of chemistry between them is becoming increasingly obvious. They still have those isolated fluttery moments but the editing, the terrible script etc ruin those as well. There is no exhilaration, no toe-curling sensation that their togetherness should provide. It's the same jealousy-flirting-jealousy routine over and over again. There is no plot, no character arc, no layers, no consistency, no motivations and most importantly, no romance. I hate saying this but I believe at this point, this series is so overpraised because the lead actors are good looking, this series has nothing else going for it right now. The acting isn't good enough either, neither of them is talented enough to elevate this dull script. The chemistry.. well, it was there in the beginning, it still manages to shine through at times but it's been nonexistent ever since they became a couple. Plenty of actors can pull off the phase of falling-in-love but being in love? That's difficult, both onscreen and in real life. Also, the Mill subplot is ridiculously dull, two episodes are left and we're still dealing with dumb jealousy tropes for forced angst. So much more could've been done with this concept, it's so frustrating. I wanted to see Sarawatine learning live with each other, learning more about each other, their household, Tine's struggles to accept his new environment. Instead, they rushed through the essential 10th episode and now we have whatever this is . The bipolar hot-cold vibes of Sarawat in the beginning, make little sense too considering the flashback. Regardless, I liked the flashback scene, silver linings.
They had a fresh take on romcom cliches in the beginning and are now using every other Lakorn cliche to liven up the messy affair. For a series that's rated this high and is so praised, I expected a lot better.
Anyway, guess we have another jealousy-flirtation sequence coming up that will probably end in a kiss.. Everyone will be happy and shade the people who have been complaining about something else altogether. Best series ever etc. The end.