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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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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