LightHouse74

Was Better Than the Last GMMTV Vampire Series

I placed spoilers at the end of this review.

Overall, this was an enjoyable series. Was the script perfect? No, but it did a better job keeping me interested in the storyline and characters. As for the positive, the script did a great job grabbing my attention. It also had the perfect balance of a dark, moody comedy. Although somewhat predictable, I still liked the little twists and turns. As for the weak areas, the script started to unravel a little by episode 5. I love supernatural storylines, but there were many things in the second half that really stretched the concept of suspended belief too thin. For me, episode 9 and 10 was just too bizarre and had things that did not make sense. There were a few characters that had inconsistent development, especially with Elise. The entire cast did an incredible job. This also did a better job with the fighting scenes and CGI. For the most part, the special effects make-up was good. There were a few times it could have been better. This had a nice sound track and well-placed background music, but there were some miner audio problems in episode 2 and 10.

Random Note:

The opening credits are visually stunning.

I love when GMMTV does cross merchandising of their own productions. For me, it was funny to see “My Golden Blood” in episode 1 considering I couldn’t even finish that series.

Various rooms used for Punn’s house and Ramil’s hotel room was also used in the series “Only Friends” (Boston’s house and Top’s hotel room).



******Potential Spoiler Alert******

Although it had a weak ending, at least it was happy.

Elise starts off as a diehard “All vampires must die” mentality and then drastically changes to “Let’s help end the feud” mindset. There was no real smooth transition with this.

I had a feeling that Punn was one of the hunters, but not a master hunter.

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Office Romance Done Right!!

The movie/series: This was a really charming series with an awesome script. I will admit there are some weak aspects, but they were only minor. The cast was great and did a wonderful job with their characters. My only complaint about the series is how some episodes start off completely different from the previous episode which was slightly bizarre. However, it made more sense in the movie format.

The movie: They did an excellent job editing the series into a movie version. The only downside is it eliminated one of my favorite things about the series which was the gaming scenes at the end of each episode. However, I understand why they had to edit them out.

Random Notes:
So far, this is the only BL office romance in 2023 that was enjoyable to watch.

(Added on 9/29/2023): After thoughtfully considering which one to watch, I strongly recommend watching the series version. This is because I really love the gaming scenes at the end of each episode and missed them in the movie version. Although the editing between the episodes were bizarre, It’s not that bad.

Once again, the synopsis on Viki does not accurately describe the movie. It gives information that does not happen.

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This was a very entertaining series. Although the comedy aspect was minimal, the script was great. There was a slight romance element, but it was not overpowering. I love the analogy of work life and the zombie apocalypse. The main theme is to enjoy life and not let work make you into a zombie. It had a wonderful cast which did a great job portraying their characters. The cinematography, special effects, and FX make-up was outstanding.

Random Note:

Warning! There are some gory scenes, but it’s not that bad. However, my tolerance level of gore is pretty high because I grew-up watching horror films of the 80’s and 90’s.

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Another Good BL Series from Taiwan

This had a really good story concept. Once again, it was nice to watch a mature BL series that involved working adults. Some might find the pacing slow, but I think it was just right for this series. The script overall was good, but there were a few week elements. One example is the last story conflict with Yuki and Ying Ze (don’t worry no spoilers). This last conflict to me seemed very week and made no sense. I love the cast which did an excellent job with their characters. I also loved the various guest appearances with actors from various BL series throughout this series. You can basically play six degrees of separation with how each actor is connected with the different BL series.

Random Note: As usual, the synopsis on VIKI is not accurate. There are many different aspects in the series that are not included in their description of the series.

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The Next Stop is Forever Hopeful

I placed spoilers at the end of this review.

This was a great series with an interesting storyline. I think the pacing for this series was perfect and was hooked from the beginning. However, you may want to skip this if you are looking for a fast pace, high action drama because this series is not it. The script was very well thought out. I love how they interweaved the passengers and their loved one’s stories throughout the series. It had some farfetched elements but there only minor. I thought the three main characters (Kayashima, Shirahama, and Hatano) were well written and helped counter balance each other. The script also had a nice balance of personal storylines with the other supporting characters. There were some romance elements between multiple characters, but it was not overpowering. Some individuals may have a problem with the ending. See the spoiler alert at the end of this review if you want more information. The cast was excellent and did a great job with their characters. The cinematography and special effects were amazing.

Random Note:
This has an underline theme about society and how we should never judge a book by its cover.

This is listed as Pending Train on Netflix.

********Spoiler Alert********

There is a somewhat love triangle between the three main leads. However, it’s not that bad and does not become the main focus of the series which I consider a good thing (I hate this type of storyline).

You will not be satisfied if you need a clearcut happy or sad ending. This ending is open to your interpretation. For me, it’s an ending that has hope for the future.

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Charming

I placed spoiler alert at the end of this review.

If you are a fan of Cutie Pie, you will apricate the main point of this miniseries. See the spoiler alert at the end of this review if you want more information. It was great to see the cast stepping into their characters which they did a great job with what they were given. Unfortunately, this miniseries also had very little character development. The script was ok, but had some missed opportunity with some of the side characters. There was one editing problem with a backwards time jump in the beginning of the first episode that was not clearly noted.

Random Notes: It really depends on how much you like Cutie Pie if you should watch this.



******Spoiler Alerts******

The main point was to show the fans Kuea Keerati and Lian Kilen Wang’s wedding and stress the legal importance of same-sex marriage.

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Just Like the Series, Very Boring

The movie/series: See my full review for the series about the storyline, script, and acting. All of it applies to the movie too.

The movie: Overall, they did a great job editing the series into a movie version. However, I wish they had fixed the weird editing choice from episode 7 because it does seem out of place and affected the mood for the next scene.

Random Notes:
You basically can skip the series and watch the movie version because there was very little that was edited out. As I stated with the series, you can wait to watch the movie until you have some time to kill and have nothing better on your must watch list.

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Very Boring

I placed a spoiler alert at the end of this review.

I usually wait for the movie version before I write a review, but this could not wait. This series was very underwhelming. The storyline used for the series was nothing new or exciting. This is not a bad thing if it had a great script. Unfortunately, this was not the case because it had too many weak elements. The main culprit is the lack of communication between all the characters. Using misunderstandings as a story element is nothing new, but this series takes it to a ridicules level. Another problem was very little to no character development with the whole cast, exception with Seon Ho. See spoiler alert at the end of this review for more information. The acting was ok, but nothing groundbreaking. The cinematography was good, but there was a weird editing choice in episode 7 that affected the mood for the next scene. It does have cool opening credits.

Random Notes:
This is one of those series you can wait to watch until you have some time to kill and have nothing better on your must watch list.

******Spoiler Alert******

I appreciate they did not use the “gay for you” story element. It was very refreshing that they had Seon Ho question his sexuality. After all, there are more than two types of sexuality.

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Nice Collection of Short Films

The good part about this series is none of the episodes are linked together. Each one is basically a short film which means you can skip one with no worries. Warning, don’t watch if you are not a fan of gore. It didn’t bother me, but I grew-up watching the classic horror films of the 80’s and 90’s. With one exception, the episodes had a very good story concept and a great script. It has an outstanding cast that did a great job with their characters. The special effects were great with the exception of episode 5.

Random Note: I would just skip episode 5 (Headless Teacher). This was just weird. It’s not scary or suspenseful. I guess this was supposed to be the comic relief of the series.

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Everyone has Family Drama!!!

I placed spoilers at the end of this review.

This was a great series from start to finish. The script was outstanding with the exception of one aspect. See the spoiler alert at the end of this review if you want more information. The overall theme is that families are complicated, including the ones you create for yourself. The actors were outstanding in this series and did such a great job with their characters. This also had beautiful cinematography.

Random Notes:
I love watching series/moves that are set in a different generation. It was cool how they incorporated the Y2K millennium bug scare.



******Potential Spoiler Alert******

I personally felt the minor romance storyline between Keg and Bung was unnecessary. It would have been cooler to just see them form a close friendship without this. However, the good thing is this was not overpowering and doesn’t take up that much screentime.

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The name says it all (but in a good way)

I placed spoilers at the end of this review.

First off, don’t let Viki and MDL’s synopsis scare you off. I know this should be part of the “Spoiler Alert” section, but there is actually no stalking element in the series.

Overall, this was a cute series and not too dramatical. As much as I’m not a fan of the misunderstanding/miscommunication story elements, I thought it was done very well. I also like how each episode ends with a scenario that is not quite right which helped emphasize the series title. The cast did a great job portraying their characters. Their acting was very good considering many of them are new. The graphics they used were cute but disappeared at some point in the middle of the series. Now for some of the negative parts. The first episode was a little confusing and did not do a great job introducing the characters. However, it was a good sense of confusion because it got me wanting to know what was going on. There was a slight problem with the editing. There were flash back and forward scenes that were not clearly marked. If it was not for random lines in the series, I would not know a week was actually going by. Another minor problem was there is a lot of wasted screen time in the last few episodes. The good aspect was the series didn’t have any opening credits to add to the wasted time.

Random Notes:

You don’t need to watch the parent series “Bluming” because the only connection that I know of is the main character (Do Ba Woo) is in it (played by a different actor). However, it’s been a long time since I watched that series.


******Potential Spoiler Alert******

As for the stalking part of the show description, this was just one of a few misunderstandings in the series.

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The best out of all of them!

I placed spoilers at the end of this review.

The series/original movie: This had an interesting storyline. The script was simple but good. However, I’m the first to admit it had some weak parts to it. Although it had one story element I’m not a fan of, it does make sense in this series. The cast was incredible with their characters. There was only one exception which is often seen in Korean BL series/movies. As for the 2020 movie version, they did a great job editing the episodes into a cohesive movie. There were a few scenes that were deleted or cut short. There were also a few major scene placement changes towards the end of the movie. My only complaint was they removed the internal monologues from the two main characters. Both had beautiful cinematography, but the coloring in the movie version was more vibrant.

The director’s cut movie: The biggest plus for me was bringing back the internal monologues that was missing in the 2020 movie. Just like the 2020 version, they did a great job with the editing. There were some scenes that were deleted and some major scene placement changes towards the end of the movie. There are a few added scenes in this version. In my opinion, all of the changes greatly improved the quality of the movie. I also enjoyed the added behind the scenes footage at the end of this version of the movie.

Random Notes:

After watching all 3 versions, I strongly recommend watching the director’s cut because it incorporated the best qualities from the series and 2020 movie.



******Spoiler Alert******

The usual exception of course was the kiss scene. If they are not going to show an actual proper kissing scene, I would have settled with a kiss on the check or them hugging. Not every BL series needs a make-out/kiss session at the end.

Although it had a three-year time jump, it does make sense with this storyline.

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Somewhat Disappointing

I placed spoilers at the end of this review.

It’s been a while since I was disappointed with a Taiwan BL Series. Overall, it is not a bad series. It just could have been much better. I appreciate the majority of the characters were working adults. It has some interesting story concepts, but suffers from poor execution. The script started off good but began to slowly unravel by episode 6. It completely came undone by episode 11. See spoiler alert at the end of this review for more information. The actors were great with what they were given. It’s not their fault that the script was greatly lacking in many areas. The cinematography was great, but had an excessively long picture montage at the end of each episode for some reason.

Random Note: Don’t stop watching after the excessively long picture montage at the end of each episode because there is an additional scene after it.




******Spoiler Alert******

Although it had a happy ended, episode 12 was bizarre. It tried to minimize a series situation from episode 11 to make it seem like it was no big deal. It also throws in a random wedding for a side couple that is introduced in this episode.

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Don’t let the first episode scare you off.

This had a very cute, weird but cute, story concept. I started watching this with the mindset of a sitcom. I know it’s a comedy, but watching it as a sitcom made it more enjoyable for me. Although it had a few weak points, the script was very different and uplifting. The first episode is a little bizarre due to the heavy stalker element of Toh. However, this element is toned down in following episodes. I usually don’t like series with a big cast, but they did a good job with keeping you interested. I actually remember who they were and started to care about them. The group dynamics of both groups was great and they were very supportive of each other. Their teasing can get a little out of hand at times, but they were always there when someone needed it. The actors were incredible and did a great job making you care about their characters.

Random Note (Added on 3/4/2023): I strongly recommend watching this on Idol Factory’s YouTube channel, if you can, instead of Viki because the English subtitles on their channel is definitely a lot better than the ones on Viki.

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