Kaneki Ghoul

This is a horror film, disguised as a romance.

This felt disturbing to watch, from the church setting, the subtle music, the cinematography and self-harm depictions, there was no time to breathe in between and actually feel happy for the romantic moments.

Never once in my lifetime have I ever thought it as wrong for a girl to enter a relationship with another girl, but this film just gave me that feeling firsthand, and I hate that feeling. Is this what real lesbian girls have to go through in a religious household? Just the thought of it makes me sick to my stomach. I physically could not get myself to watch the ending to this film, because I already saw what it was leading to.

The main girls aren't at fault for anything, they did absolutely nothing wrong. I feel so bad for both of them! Their one comfort and escape (their relationship) is seen as problematic by their parents and the church.

The film itself was done really well, I think it probably did exactly what it intended to. To explore a disturbing reality and bring more attention to this issue. But now I'm conflicted if I should recommend this film, as much as I love it for bringing my attention to the issue, I don't like how disturbed it left me.

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Jolly Good Show

Firstly, I'm glad I watched it to the end, and I would recommend it to anyone still hesitant! My first ever dating show watch, and hopefully not the last. Please make more GL-dating content.

Now to give some criticisms;
There were many moments that almost made me drop this show out of frustration for all the misunderstandings/miscommunication that seemingly came from nowhere. But alas, I just had to step back and realise the cast members practically had no information and were going in blind for almost 80% of the show.

The love-note system remained ambiguous for too long, imo. If even couples who already confessed they like each other and write to each other can still misunderstand each other, then what's to say about receiving a note from someone you barely even know. Even when everyone got a chance to reveal 1 hidden note's sender, their reactions just boiled down to "Oh, it was her. Okay." because the feelings and emotions had already past, and each person had already vastly changed their minds by then. I thought the point of dating shows was to make time for everyone to get to know each other before even deciding who to even Start pursuing, yet by the time the one-on-one dates happened, everyone had already made their final decision simply because they ran out of time and didn't know the other candidates well enough. If only somewhere in the middle, everyone was told to confess who they're interested in openly, followed by some competition (if many chose the same person) or a mini-date with that person, more people would have known if their choice was correct early on, and would still have time to change their mind if the date didn't go well. I'm sad because Heeyeong seriously believed no one liked her right until the end, despite being the most beautiful and enchanting amongst them. And after Dagyo confirmed she was interested in her a bit at the start, all Heeyeong could do in that situation was latch onto a fleeting love interest.

Perhaps the show is aiming for more realistic portrayals of love (silent feelings/unrequited love/overthinking/misunderstandings, etc), but it could still benefit from adding more variety-show-like competitions and more open discussions on their interests and who they'd like to pursue. That way, even if Dagyo ended with several people wanting to get to know her (for curiosity’s sake), she should be allowed 1:1 dates with each person freely before deciding who to start pursuing seriously (for love's sake). The other candidates, if they don't get chosen by her, would be notified immediately and then be allowed to re-apply for dates with the other members, starting again from curiosity/compatibility before even pursuing love.

The ending also felt a little rushed and messy, but at least all the people I was rooting for seemed to have gotten something positive from this experience. I truly wish them all happiness and hope they find their true love.


Side note: I was not aware of any controversies while watching, so to see one member completely disappear from the show was pretty jarring. She's the first person we met and the one I was most curious about. Truly a shame, I wish they kept Riwon's scenes in as is, but be allowed to issue a notice on SNS somewhere stating they were unaware of her situation and hope the viewers will watch the show with an open mind. Separate the art from the artist.

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Underrated Gem! That gets even better during the second half.

Before I watched this drama, I was a little hesitant because of the ratings. But the comments and reviews said this was an underrated gem. After watching, it completely, I fully agree with them 100%.

The first half (EPs 1-19) starts off quite slow and depressing. If I had to guess, there were probably a few people who either dropped off or were left with a bad impression because of the pacing here. For the second half (EPs 20-34) the writing suddenly improved, and the show started moving in a great (more positive) direction. ML starts evoking more emotion, and the biggest conflicts and character traumas are slowly starting to be resolved. New interesting twists arrive, and love is finally starting to bloom. My enjoyment of the show kept increasing till the end. All thanks to the FL, her mother, her boss/mentor, and the ML new human side.

Especially Episode 25 is a masterpiece. Definitely a must-watch, for its portrayal of joy, comedy, cringe, family bonds, love, sadness, character growth, etc. were all masterfully explored. You can tell the writers and staff made an extra special effort for this one episode in particular.



As for the second couple, I'm glad it ended the way it did (break-up). They were not fun to watch, and had really dumb reasons to fighting. All of which could have been resolved if they just communicated more. Ironically, she's the one who gave FL advice on how to maintain a good relationship with your partner, but didn't heed her own advice. As for Yu Dule, I have no idea why he acts that way. Guan Xing Xin warned him not to get involved with her, because she can't fully experience or recognise what love is. He ignored her words and pursued her relentlessly, so they became a couple. Yet at the first sign of trouble (her parents), he dipped and abandoned her. She fought with her parents, ran away from home, to chase after her boyfriend (to his home). And he just tells her to 'f*k off, you don't love me enough, you should have defended me more'. Bro, she just fought with her own parents to chase after you... WTF are you on about!?! Why would she do that if she didn't love you??? Even later on, when she was cast on a Dating Show, her only reason for doing it was 'I want to make money so I can be with my boyfriend'. Yet, he purposefully misunderstood her just so that he could break-up with her. It makes no sense, why did he even date her in the first place? She has been honest about herself (her flaws) for the most part, so why is he so spineless? He refuses to elaborate himself, has low self-esteem, low income and constantly tries to run away from her or his own problems. It's all so frustrating to watch, especially when the show kept blaming her till the end. She's the only one who apologised, and is still trying to get back together. She's too good for him, hopefully she meets someone better.

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Introducing a new love rival after the big break-up episode is certainly a choice......

If you've seen enough of these romance dramas, you already know to expect the dreadful break-up episode. However, I have to say, this is by far the worst break-up episode I've ever seen.

It already made no sense; FL knows ML would never do something without reason. He's known to be a great investor, with a spotless track record. He's invested in you, in your company and staff. After she found out about his secret company (her competitor, although she kept denying that, stating they had different goals), her thinking immediately went to betraying him. Why do this? She already asked him this question before; "Would you destroy me (my company) too if I got in your way?" and he said, "No, I won't!". After she betrayed him, he still fought to save her and her company, incurring a loss (his old company shares) in exchange for her company shares. She nearly destroyed her own company with her own hands, and he saved it. He then tried to hand the shares back to her, telling her she can still be in charge of her own company, if she wants. She refused!? Called him heartless, manipulative, a hypocrite...... Huh?!..... for stopping her from destroying her company!? What??

Anyway, to a certain degree I can understand it. She felt betrayed and wanted to betray him back. She didn't know any better. Since she just recently started a new company, she's still prone to bad influences and bad decisions. I'll allow it. But what I absolutely cannot forgive is, somehow the writers decided, this would be the perfect time to introduce another love rival for FL. Right after the big break-up with ML. It baffles me that they thought this was a good idea. This single decision nearly made me drop this entire drama on the spot, as soon as he showed up. Our ML is shown heart-broken, nearly drinking himself to death, while our FL is happily enjoying dates in Germany with the new guy. Way to almost ruin the entire drama for everyone. I'm glad at least FL rejected the new guy bluntly to his face, but imagine I never continued watching to see that happen. As they were dragging out their scenes quite long before that finally happened.

All in all, aside from those moments, I thoroughly enjoyed this drama. ML and FL had some fantastic romance scenes & chemistry. That bonus episode too, was absolutely amazing, and exactly what I've been waiting to see after watching so many 'happily ever after' romance dramas. It was refreshing to finally see a true happy ending in action, and not just words being thrown at you before the credits roll.

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A mother-daughter centered story first, romance is secondary.

This is very much a story exploring the relationship and role of a mother and her daughter, everything else (including romance) is just set dressing to elevate the central plot. If you're here just for the romance, this might not be for you. As for a drama about family, I would highly recommend it.

The main message being how motherhood can take over a woman's life, her goals, dreams, identity, routine are all sacrificed in the pursuit of the family's happiness. Instead, she pushes all those hopes and dreams onto her own daughter, to a suffocating degree. She's supposed to be annoying, stubborn, loud, clueless, authoritative and the actress and writers conveyed that almost too well. There's a chance people will drop this drama too early without getting to see the mother learn and change for the better.

The term "a mother knows best" is taken to its absolute extreme, where the mother wants to dictate and control her daughter's life, like a puppet with no free will. The final episodes were handled quite well; we get to see the mother's past, her hometown, past living conditions, and old dream. We finally get to understand why she's so obsessed with money, to the point of pushing her daughter to marry into a rich family, despite that same family looking down on them. Her mother never got to realise her dream before, because she was too poor to continue, even after getting an incredible opportunity handed to her. That why she pressures her daughter so to get rich quick, not knowing her daughter has her own life, aspirations and pride. After all the arguments, conflicts, miscommunications, secrets, heartbreak, we finally see the daughter tell her mom her wish. She wants to be independent, and she wants her mom to be independent too. Cast away the role and responsibilities of motherhood and just be yourself, a woman with a dream, living for yourself once more.

BUT of course even at the end, the mother still insists her daughter get married and have kids, continuing the cycle of self-sacrifice at the peak of her daughter's career... Oh well, that's just life, I guess...

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FL actress is Gorgeous! So I'm biased.

Overall enjoyable watch. A lighthearted romance with no overdramatic drama or plot twists.

The story was okay; It follows all the same events and cliché's known to rich-man poor-woman type dramas. Doesn't make it any less enjoyable. The acting was great; fun to watch, nothing too serious happens. The romance was great; The love confessions were surprisingly blunt and straightforward, no room for misunderstandings, but came a bit late towards the final episodes. I just wished both couples formed a little sooner so we can see them actually be in love a bit more.

I like the FL actress, Lu Yang Yang. I'm watching this after seeing her in Step by Step Love, and fell in love with her quirky personality there. She's really fun and to watch, not to mention gorgeous too! Would love to see her cast in a similar role again, as I think it suits her perfectly.

PS: The final episode nearly gave me a heart attack, to suddenly go from such a lighthearted tone to extremely depressing and traumatic. I nearly cursed the writers out before they revealed it was all just a prank bro...

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The ending was expected, so in that sense, it's not that Bad.

The lead's acting actually surprised me, and the script made sense. I ended up enjoying this way more than I expected.

Now, why was this ending so expected?
Right from the beginning, it's shown both of the girls clearly have a communication problem, let alone clashing personalities. One is pursuing a better future, while the other is stuck going with the flow. She refuses to change, even after realising she has problems. Their relationship started quite abruptly, but even despite that, she just went along with it. I'm glad we didn't have to rehash the old questioning her sexuality trope, but a little more context is needed for why she was so nonchalant with kissing her Best friend. At first, I assumed it was because she was drunk, but the next morning the kissing continued without questioning it. I wonder how long they've been friends for? I assume they've been friends for a long time, yet they can still easily misunderstand each other, and fight a lot.
They were better off remaining as friends instead of trying to become lovers. Clearly they were not compatible, and yet one of them still tried to change herself and the other girl to be more compatible. Pity the other girl still refused to change herself too. Of course, you can't force someone to change, but still, it just came across as her not being worth the effort to change for. By the time she realises this, it's already too late, her friend has already moved on. The ending is only bad in the sense of losing her best friend, but in terms of a romantic relationship, this was the best possible outcome for both of them.

I would still recommend watching this, despite the ending. Their cute romantic moments more than made up for it.

Finally, I just wish it was a little bit longer to develop the relationship more in the middle, although the ending should still lead to the same abrupt separation.

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The Best Thing I've watched!

This drama is medicine for the Soul. It's so healing to watch.

I'm so glad this drama did not need too much over-the-top drama elements, and instead just focused on our main leads personal lives and growth, even showing the quiet moments in-between. I was dreading the big Break-up moment that so often happens in Romance dramas, and am glad it didn't need to happen here. Our leads are just so madly in-love with each other that I can never ever ever ever ever ever imagine when breaking up again. One of the very few romance dramas with an actual "Happily ever after ending", that no one can dispute.

I especially adored the quiet/dull scenes the most, it really lets the characters breathe and think things through before acting or speaking on anything. Also lets the viewer see what the character is feeling at the moment. Just that alone, made the characters feel way more real and relatable to the viewer. I wish more dramas would learn from this and implement similar details. You shouldn't have to shy away from showing dull moments in stories, because real life can be dull sometimes too.

I thoroughly loved and enjoyed every single second of this drama. Will be rewatching this several times over in the future for sure! Fantastic Cast, Fantastic Acting, Fantastic Story and Visuals, Fantastic Music, Fantastic Story & Message 10/10

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