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Left my brain at home to enjoy this
This felt like one of the stories dissatisfied housewives read in between the struggles of their daily life. It's got action, sensuality and mystery but yet needed not a single brain cell to be able to follow. Maybe it's because as a bookworm with never enough reading material I grew up reading books like that and hence gotten used to overlook plotholes and red flags as if I was half-blind that I was actually able to enjoy this as much as I did.This was a mess. The relationships between characters were wildly unhealthy, to say the least, and consent was in the grey area most of the times. If red is your favourite colour, go watch this.
While many details were so well-made such as the choice and use of music, small hints, complex entanglement and a generally pretty stable concept for the action-part of the plot, it at the same time had plotholes the size of Sagittarius A*. The amount of coincidences and dumb decisions was crazy.
People pointed out the lacking acting of the FL but I honestly have no clue how the story could have worked with a character that actually seemed to care about what was happening around her. The ML did a good job at acting, though, he actually did display emotions quite well when suited. From how much I enjoyed this series, I would rate this a 7 or even higher, but my own morals won't allow to rate something with so many red flags higher than a 6.5.
I recommend watching if you want an easy action-packed watch that's nice on the eyes, has some spicy scenes and a little mystery. With the short episodes it's very easy to breeze through on a bad day. Even if you find nothing else to like, the stupidity of some scenes might make you laugh.
That being said, if you're easily triggered by questionable consent or want an action-packed plot with less holes than fishnet tights, I recommend you pass on this one.
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Sadly not the best of both worlds
For whatever reason I was hoping for this to be similar to Unforgettable Love. A nonsensical, sweet story with adorable characters to just watch for fun. This series never aspired to be that and I never should have treated it as such from the start.I would separate this series into two quite different parts, although both happened at the same time with different prioritisation throughout the episodes. They seemed to follow different intentions and appeal to different tastes, which might be good if you are consciously looking for several very different emotions, intensities and tropes in one series, but honestly, I didn't. I wanted to watch a sweet cute family romance so that second part sadly failed to catch me.
Regarding the "first" part: The kids were cute and the overall acting skills of all characters were pretty good. The main lead however didn't seem to have the full bandwith of emotions in his acting repertoire. He was so good with sincerity, sadness and consternation, but his smile really wasn't to die for or even to be taken seriously.
The developing friendships and other relationships were such a nice watch and probably the only reason I still enjoyed the drama as much as I did. The two main leads had great chemistry - as best friends. They did things most people would not consider appropriate to do with a best friend like kissing, holding hands and such, but their overall interaction to me felt like exactly that. I didn't think they properly showed the development of their romantic feelings for each other, it came quite abrupt for me, and the following scenes couldn't make up for that. At times, I rooted a lot more for the second (and hinted third) couple, but that arch turned a bit too childish for me at a certain point. Overall, I wasn't fully satisfied with either couples, but would have given this drama a solid 7.5 if it had been only that for the sweet kids and the great friendships forming among the way - as well as the relationships that weren't too intense, sweet or romantic, but nice to watch.
Regarding the "second" part: They tried to bring mystery, suspension and a connecting common theme into this and I frankly didn't enjoy it. It was very exciting, very dramatic, but first, again, that wasn't what I initially came for, and second, it was simply too much. The drama either was too short to display both sides of the plot evenly well, or too long to go with just one of both. The couples barely had a few actually happy moments with each other as the next bad thing happend. And the next. And another. I don't recall a single episode where we could simply see them grow as a family. It was never a small mishap or short drama easily resolved, it was plottwist after plottwist after huge dramatic events - and most of them were quite foreseeable. The connecting common theme was quite obvious quite early on but was artificially exaggerated to create so (so) much tension when it would have fully fit into that sweet family story without all that extra drama.
Now, if you think this would actually suit your taste quite well because you love one thing happening after the other, the suspension, the drama - let me warn you, the first half might bore you to death. If, on the other hand, you are looking for a sweet cute family drama - you might never want to finish this, just as I ended up watching this while doing chores to just get it over with. (Which didn't do it justice, the last episodes were convincingly thrilling and would've made a pretty decent thriller series.) Be prepared to see both and you might be happier than I was.
Now, for the overall quality, both parts seperately, I would rate this a 7 at least. But the amount of reluctance every time I started a new episode because I was hoping for something sweet but figured I'd get served something sour once again wasn't all too appealing to me.
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Short, but full of potential
There is absolutely no reason not to recommend watching if you are looking for a short diversion.The initial setting wasn't to my liking but I liked the almost philosophical implications that came with it. The end of course was highly predictable, but even though it wasn't my preferred way of closure, I was fine with how it turned out. Just know that there is some suspense, especially towards the end, it is not just a sweet short romance story.
You can leave your brain at home watching this, but it's not like the series isn't giving you a chance to dive deeper into it if you prefer to do so.
Speaking of diving in deeper: What I don't understand is why they had to make the supernatural abilities so inconsistent. There were huge gaps between scenes. The special effects of course weren't brilliantly made either. Call me nitpicky, but it's so sad that a few minor changes could've fixed those.
Furthermore, I just didn't see the main leads as a couple, maybe because there just wasn't enough time to get to know the characters. But I liked the side characters a lot more than the main leads so I guess it was more of an issue of chemistry and personal preference.
On the up side, it made me smile and even laugh a couple times, so as a cheer-up drama, this fulfils its purpose well enough. There were no massive red flags, no overexertion of misunderstandings and drama, no side storys left in the grey, no grave plotholes. And despite naturally being foreseeable, it's not trope-packed either. Hence it was able to avoid many of the biggest hurdles for short series and I clearly enjoyed watching.
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A worthwhile watch to pass some time
I am glad I took my time to watch this series , hence it already accomplished what it was meant for. Considering it was their debut I think the actors did a decent job. The chemistry betweem them both was definitely there and it was addictingly satisfying to watch their relationship grow in the course of this series.The end did seem rushed, but, honestly, even series of 20 or more episodes manage to rush their end similarly, so I will give them the benefit of the doubt and blame it on the limited time they had to deal with. I really think the plot would have benefited from more episodes.
Lack of time also muddled up a lot of the story. The characters had depth to them due to their background stories being shown, the development was there, but there was just no time to mend all the lose ends, display the characters motives, thoughts, emotions and growth.
Contrary to other reviews, I did not mind the characters not being more physical with each other - I actually appreciated that. But even with the actors not feeling comfortable with physical intimacy on screen, there could have been solutions other than hinting at doing it without ever following through. For them to grow so close with nothing actually happening, it would have needed to further get into why they decided to keep it low like that.
As for my recommendations: If you hate the "developing a liking for your bully" trope, you might want to reconsider whether you really want to watch. I dislike it a lot, but can deal with it if the turning point is made well and the bullying stops as soon as there is a first hint of sympathy. I percieved that to be the case, so I was able to overlook it.
If you consider watching, adjust your expectations to the limited time available to tell a rather complex story and you'll probably be satisfied. If you expect a drama where every detail fits, the setting would have to be entirely different to enable that with so few episodes.
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I've never been so ambivalent about a series
I didn't know anything about this series when I started watching it years ago. And to me, personally, it was hard to get into every single time I picked it up again. But after the first half episode, I watched several episodes in a row, because something about it had me hooked. Just to then forget about the series again for a while.So, will I watch the second season? Honestly, I don't know, but since it's only 8 episodes, I might, simply because I like the initial concept.
Most important to say is this: this is not about revenge. Or justice. It's just like real life - outsiders and innocents get their share of consequences, too. . But that is also where the series failed to catch me.
In general, I liked the idea behind it. It was to show that anyone can be manipulated into doing horrible things, it was about group dynamics, social pressure and the lenghts some people would go to to preserve what's important to them - as well as digging into people's fake facades and their reasoning behind it. But even though the message mostly was very clear and hence delivered well - it wasn't convincing.
With messages like that, they can only leave a long-lasting impact if people identify with the situations. If they feel like "oh, that could have been me" or "I probably would have acted the same", but I never thought that with any episode I watched.
1) Nanno was the catalyst of all the scenarios, which I would have been fine with, but
2) At times, the outcomes were so unrealistic, they had to give her mysterious magic powers to explain the escalation of a situation
3) These mysterious magic powers in itself were weirdly inconsistent between and in episodes so everything could go as the writers wanted it to
4) Which added a ton of smaller and bigger plotholes and incomplete settings, making the whole scenario pitted like swiss cheese
5) Yet the writers often shunned away from happy ends just as much as sad endings - and while sometimes this lead to a great open ending to make up your own mind, some endings felt very people-pleasing (like "choose whatever ending you'd prefer")
The quality of the episodes differs vastly and so does the acting. While "Nanno" is doing a great job throughout, many of the side characters don't. The horror elements and special effects often were terrible, even for me, and I hate violence and gore anyways and prefer my series to go light with these if needed for the story.
As I had a four year gap between watching the first and the last episode, I realised that I barely remembered any of the episodes I watched four years ago, which is highly untypical for me. There couldn't be better proof on how few impact it was able to create on me.
Do I recommend watching it? If you like the concept in general and don't mind a... questionable execution, absolutely. If you are looking for a high-quality production in terms of consistency, I'd say you could only enjoy watching if you are able to ignore a ton of plotholes and incomplete settings.
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Exactly what I needed
As I was looking for a light-hearted, diverting yet not overly cliché ridden BL-drama to watch, I stumbled upon "See your Love" quite early, and am so glad I found it. I don't have much experience with LA BL-dramas yet, but feel like this was definitely on the better side of things - if a light-hearted drama where you can leave your brain at home yet feel with the characters is what you're looking for.Most important to keep in mind is that, despite having around 13 Episodes, each only lasts 20-25 minutes, so there isn't much screentime to work with. That considered, I loved the depth the characters, especially the main characters, got, as well as their character development. I was not prepared for that.
Then again, I was prepared for the "plot" and all the side characters to be lacking screen time and hence "proper" development. While I understand the attempt to further elaborate certain sides of the character's personalities, I am sure that could've been achieved differently - especially towards the end, where a couple things did feel a bit rushed and over the top.
The music did not feel too fitting and especially in a series with one character being deaf would have better been left out at times. It wasn't particularily bad, just not used skillfully.
The disability is displayed comparably well, considerate and empathetic, but most certainly not entirely realistic (the amount of lip-reading superpowers involved alone was questionable...). I advise to appreciate the effort put into a realistic demonstration of being deaf, while not taking it as real-life advice in that regard.
The comic elements might as well be seen as over the top, but it was exactly what made it hilarious and easy to watch amidst big emotions. The chemistry between the characters was great and didn't suffer from the comedy at all. I would have prefered more screen time for the plot and characters instead of fanservice and showing skin, but as these scences were done well too and the chemistry didn't get lost, I didn't mind it either. Instead, I got exactly what I needed. Something to laugh about loudly, something to smile, something to emphasize and something I could quickly watch in between or binge for an evening to relieve some stress.
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Consistent (lack of) quality
I forced myself to watch the entirety of 20 episodes and want to advise you this: If there's something positive to say about this drama, it's that its overall quality stays very consistent throughout. Hence, if you like the first episodes, you also will like the rest, but if you don't - drop it and don't look back.I can see the high production value that went into this. Visuals, music and acting were stellar. Additionally, even knowing not much about South Korean society, the social commentary got across. The main plot was brutal, but thrilling, the antagonist's moves making you wonder what means they would use next to counter their opponent.
This drama tried to have it all - exhilarating action, grippingly brutal violence, comedy to lighten the mood and romance as well as emotional backstories to engage the heart. However, I found the tonal shifts to be too harsh to allow for setting a general atmosphere, the mixture a stack of blocks rather than a neatly fitted puzzle piece.
Characterisations didn't go beyond the cardboard cutouts needed for the plot, which made it almost impossible for me to care about any of them. Character development can't be found except for one side character. Even with Vincenzo staying the morally grey antagonist who doesn't waver in his principles, we should have seen him further grow into these. Characters were too consistent, proof that the plot's events didn't have the impact they should have had.
Here, the violence's brutality meant to shock viewers did not match the lack of f*s the characters gave about what happened to them.
Where the initial setting could have offered a lot of tacit, well-orchestrated moves of two antagonists outsmarting each other on their way towards a bigger goal, the plot ended up being entirely repetitive and only secondarily caters to the main purpose. If I had to summarise what happened in the course of 20 episodes, it could easily fit onto one page.
I won't even elaborate on the ton of convenient coincidences and the characters' almost superpowers that, again, weren't learned but already installed in them from the beginning. Nobody in this series improved their skills or mindset, they all magically had them, because they were needed by the plot.
All the Geumga Plaza fillers annoyed me. Their characters felt like caricatures of the archetype they were meant to represent.
Almost everything had some sort of overexaggeration to it. The comedy and characters as well as the overall plotline.
Together with the hidden side quest plot stretching it out for 20 episodes, watching felt like a huge waste of my time, the enjoyment of seeing each party counteract each other's moves a weak payoff for the time invested.
I've been told various times now that the whole drama is a metaphor, mocking classical Hollywood and K-drama tropes. But with that goal, you either make it hilarious and over the top entirely as an open parody, or draw in the viewers to only at the end confront them with their own gullibility. The mixture of both really threw off my brain every time I wanted to begin getting into it.
If you watch for entertainment purposes only and like the dynamics of the first episodes, absolutely start watching. I certainly couldn't stop overlooking this drama's flaws enough to see them as anything but faulty production choices.
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If only the puzzle pieces fit better...
I had to adjust my expectations a bit, because, as other reviews already mentioned, this isn't a murder mystery. In fact, there's not much mysterious about the plot as a whole. It's more of a family drama wrapped in pleasing aesthetics. But oh how pleasing those aesthetics were.The intros were cinema-worthy and almost all scenes showed a great attention to detail in filming. Without the great presentation, the plot probably would have fallen flat, but it was the atmosphere it created that made me want to keep watching. Also, while others found it to be too much, I loved the focus on the flowers and the way they used them as metaphors.
Although I correctly guessed the culprit(s) quite early on, the following episodes made me doubt my initial gut feeling, which is more than many other crime series manage to do. We have a couple of the typical tropes like people waiting patiently to be told the whole fascinating story or the police not doing a great job, but it's not shoved into our faces which makes it easier to overlook. The connections between actions and characters aren't overly complex and do not come without holes, but the overall ground base is there.
With how the story was told, I'm not sure they knew what they wanted the series to be. The first episodes were a bit confusing, leaving what exactly happened in the grey (and I had my fair share of confusion trying to figure out the characters but maybe that was just me), but by around the half of it, it all became clear and we could watch the characters find out themselves. I would have preferred had they decided for either way of storytelling, but I also got spoilered about the first part, so I might be biased.
Anyhow, I guess, the confusing type of storytelling would have fit better as the lack of screen time for clear characterisation of each character made the emotionality of many scenes fall a bit flat. I developed a liking for several of the "side" characters and would have loved to see more of them. While understanding this was never meant to be emotional, a tad more interest in the character's progression certainly would've kept me hooked even more.
That being said, if you are easily triggered by graphic depiction of traumatic events, you might want to pass on this one or skip certain scenes (more details in spoiler below).
In summary, the main selling points of this drama are its nice filming and the amount of curiosity/thirst for revenge it creates in the viewer - although I have to make clear this isn't about revenge. If you expect a masterminded crime mystery plot, you might want to pass on this one, but if you're all for dramatic family reveals and plottwists, you might want to give this a go.
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You can watch this - but you better not
It's a mini drama and probably pretty low-budget, too, so expectations were already low on my end. But it's also not my first mini drama. It's not even my first South Korean romance mini drama for teens.Hence, I think I can safely say this: I know how much better those can be.
The cinematography is very solid, so much that I positively noticed it from the beginning. That's about all the good things I have to say.
The plot was barely existent. Even with the short runtime, they could have either used screentime for more backstories or more actual plot. I'd even say they tried to include too much but had too little experience on how to actually convey these things. Message? None.
The acting left a lot to be desired, and FL's performance was very underwhelming, especially considering her character's supposed to be a natural talent at it.
The characters were all bad in their own ways. ML is a jerk, FL follows him like a puppy, 2nd ML turns from nice guy to doormat way too quickly, 2nd FL is egoistic to the fullest and the antagonist is almost too cliché.
If you wish to see an actual love triangle because you love the trope, I can't leave that silver lining of hope for you: it's barely a triangle (nor love).
I'm outright uncomfortable thinking that teenagers and juveniles watch this, thinking that's how love and relationships should be. Especially since the main leads have great chemistry together. Only watch this if you can safely confirm you know the difference between drama and reality.
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Nothing can save a weak foundation
Have you ever watched one of those mini dramas and wished they were longer? This drama is proof why that'd be a bad idea.Even if I didn't bother to structure my thoughts in this review, it would have a lot more structure than what I just watched.
First things first: I don't think they had much budget for this and that's okay.
But the camera was so shaky at times, angles felt weird and cuts were pretty harsh. Moreover, the make-up and costumes were terribly bad at times. The setting doesn't make much sense either and locations weren't chosen well. The only acting that sticks out is that of ML. Putting him into this drama felt like putting a cherry on top of a collapsed cake.
From the trailer and the description, you expect to see a thrilling murder case drama, and if you've read other reviews you will realise that family drama will play a much bigger part than advertised. Let me add that it's not family drama, but business family drama, written by someone who memorised important business terminology and is now playing bs bingo with it without understanding a word of what they're saying. Or, to put it short: It's absolute gibberish most of the time.
The romance is nothing very noteworthy either, the development rather hasty with barely any chemistry for the most of it. And of course we don't get spared the typical Chinese romance clichés. What would we do if we had a love story without some good amount of stalking? This romance was the icing on a cake that was a failure from the beginning.
You can't save a cake that's lacking in its foundation: The storytelling. They made every mistake you could ever make. There is almost no foreshadowing, which would be desperately needed to maintain suspense until the point things finally start going down. The lack of music doesn't help much, either. We have way too many characters not characterised well, only reduced to their function as plot devices for the family drama without clear distinguishment. The pacing is off, with a lot of loose build-up lacking substance followed by a rushed climax.
They needed an omniscient narrator, explaining from an outside perspective what's happening, what the characters' motives are and what they are feeling (what did you even need filming for if the images on screen can't even portray that?). That narrator talks in a voice as if they were commenting a documentary. And they are explaining things that should be obvious, instead of filling the ocean-wide plotholes. Not to mention realism took a day off as well.
The grand finale, the one thing everyone waited for, is narrated again - by the narrator, newly introduced characters AND plain text on screen. Tell me you can't write a script for the life of you without telling me you can't.
If you somehow, despite all the very obvious flaws, manage to develop a liking for any of the characters, don't figure out the culprit from the beginning and actually find yourself rooting for everything to go down, the emotional payoff still will be pretty mild. Only way you could like this is if you're expecting to see a very long vertical drama, because that's about the quality it has.
PS: If anyone complains about giving "participation points" with a rating, show them this drama. If it spares me from having another narrator in my next drama, I'll gladly give a better rating simply for its absence.
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Only slightly below my expectations
I wanted something very short with an easy to grasp storyline and got exactly that. It all could've worked well had it not felt so off.Having people in their thirties play high schoolers just doesn't work for me. The last exciting bit out of nowhere could have even still somehow fit into the story if it hadn't been so obvious this was happening to some actually very grown men that surely would be mature enough to solve these issues differently than the high schoolers they were meant to embody.
Due to the lack of time, they were a bit "pushy" with each other from the start, and while I'm not only about slow burn romances and like daring flirting, too, I really had to get used to being thrown into it from literally the first second. Combined with the not overly great chemistry, it wasn't very convincing as a whole.
The acting was great though, and they were so good with conveying that weird feeling when a relationship is in-between and both sides are not yet sure where they're headed. I loved that tension and kind of cringey feeling they created.
I usually never notice bad make-up but here, it was so obvious it was distracting at times. Same for the music, that was mostly okay, but tended to be very annoying or misplaced. I really think the shortness of the episodes or even the general plot wasn't the issue here, it was the general casting and all these little details that didn't add up to get across the necessary atmosphere.
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Perfect to wind down
A lot of the important things have been said already and I can agree with a lot of the positiv as well as the negative feedback here or at least where it's coming from.The general discussion on what beauty truly means is displayed really well. There's a lot of character development even for the side characters and the drama isn't as exaggerated as in many other series. Overall, it seemed quite close to real life which made the story and characters highly relateable.
But the pacing is slow. So slow that I watched the series in 1.25-1.5x speed to keep me on track (which was perfectly doable, music and speech didn't sound sped up - I highly recommend doing this!). Facial expressions are also very held back, especially with both leads. Some people consider this bad acting, I thought it was simply a nice contrast to the highly emotional dramas I had watched before.
If you are looking for a more laid-back, less highly emotional yet touching drama, you might really like this. If you prefer strong emotions, intense drama and a faster pace, this drama might not be for you. If the pacing had been a tad faster, I would've given it a higher rating, but even for a K-Drama this was...slow.
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Clichés used well for light-hearted distraction
This drama was a great light-hearted show to watch as a short distraction from daily life and in that regard fulfilled its purpose very well. If that's what you're looking for, I can highly recommend watching.However, that also means there was barely any depth to it, so to enjoy it, one has to throw logic out the window. Don't expect any of the characters to actually work or know what they're talking about.
Furthermore, the drama is packed with classical tropes and clichés that I was fine with until the last couple episodes. Those last episodes felt a bit rushed and I didn't enjoy the sheer amount of additional clichés the series certainly could've done without. I really would've wished for the characters to start sticking to their decisions at least after half of the story. You could play "Asian Drama Cliché Bingo" with this series and definitely win a prize.
The comedic chemistry between the main leads was great. I usually skip those scenes in comedy dramas because the jokes rely too much on other character's discomfort for my taste, but this series actually made me laugh. The romantic chemistry on the other hand didn't come across to me and, again, the romantic relationship felt a bit rushed. Each of the main characters is adorable in their own way, but together... I just didn't feel it.
The child in the series is cute and made watching the show even more enjoyable, but is shown less and less as the story proceeds and focuses on the other characters. I wish they would've focused on all characters evenly instead of shifting the focus as the story progresses.
I've hence deducted points for the altogether immense amount of clichés used and the back and forth the characters create with their decisions for an otherwise well-made Romcom.
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Easy watch in-between to feel comfortable
The only reason I am writing this review is because I stopped watching this drama at a certain point where I felt it would become a lot worse. I was wrong. As foreseeable as the series is, I thought I could foresee the intense clichés and drama that was yet to come and as I was looking for something easy to watch, I put it on hold at that point.Hence here is my warning: If you want excitement and drama, look elsewhere, or it will really feel like "nothing" is happening. If, on the other hand, you want something low-level, keep watching. Anything that usually would have become a huge mainstay of a drama's plot was resolved in a calm and grown-up (yet no less emotional) manner. Also, the small "mystery" that spans through the whole series wasn't too exciting or unforeseeable, but it was still nice to follow as the characters found out step by step.
Apart from the portrayal for the love of books and writing that I found very down to earth yet inspring, I also loved the character development. It wasn't huge, but overall, it felt like all the characters got exactly the right amount of screentime to allow insights into their behaviour and their development - except for the daughter, who suddenly disappeared almost entirely. I just hate when characters get "forgotten" once they're not needed for the plot anymore.
The tropes used aren't new or innovational, but not overused either. There weren't any characters I disliked, although I didn't sympathise with all of them equally. The atmosphere they created together, on the other hand, was very accepting, inspiring and overall comforting to watch. The main couple's relationship was plausible and I liked them both together. It wasn't about being madly in love, but rather about feeling motivated and energised as much as grounded in a relationship, which I felt was another rather grown-up, less idealised approach on that matter.
All in all, this series made me laugh and cry and feel with the characters and I might rewatch certain episodes later just to feel comfortable. If that is what you're looking for, I highly recommend watching.
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