Niniane

Masterclass in modern fantasy C-drama!

Basd on the very high rating, I expected a good drama, but I didn't expect it to be actually worth the high rating. Modern C-drama's don't usually excite me that much, but this one is really different.

The first 3 episodes are setting the scene. The problem, an explosion where everyone dies, is served and the main characters are introduced. The thrill and events really pick up from ep 4 and onwards. Every new episode, new problems and situations are presented and the issues get more and more complicated. Our 2 protagonists are dealing with getting everyone out alive, not dying in the process and not getting arrested and questioned because nobody will (and does) believe them.

Despite the many repeating situations (since they are in a time loop), the fact that there are some days they stay in the bus and others they try and succeed to venture outside makes it so it does not get boring. We are being fed clues and information to keep us engaged in the whodunnit part of the story, but we also get glimpses of the characters and lives of the people involved. Nobody is who they seemed to be in the beginning.

There is amazing pace, just enough action, plenty of suspense and even a little romance. This is a master class in how to make a modern fantasy/sci-fi drama.

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Original story with great acting

I went into this kind of reluctantly, since the rating was only 6.5. I ended up really enjoying the originality of the story and the great contrast between the reality of relationships and the fantasy of a wishing cafe.
Yes, it's messy. But isn't that what relationships are? All main characters performed very well. Good chemistry, good timing. There were some gaps in the plot, but not too disturbing.

What I did not like was the lack of acting skills of the supporting actors. Overacting, weird expressions, robot like performances.

For a young production house and inexperienced actors, this was extremely well done.

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Great chemistry and creepy villain

I really liked this lakorn a lot and not only because of Luke Ishikawa Plowden (although that is who I came for initially). The chemistry between the 2 leads is great. The respect Dino has for the much more traditionally brought up Pam is very sweet. Grandma is a lovely woman and I have no idea what made Grandpa hate foreigners so much (even one so well integrated is Dino!) but he got over it way too late. Poor Luke must feel so bullied with gramps talking about him and his parents. The dialogues and events were interesting enough to not let me be distracted by Luke Ishikawas beautifull features and voice. His voice is really worth mentioning apart this time, as he uses it amazingly. Soft and sensual, humorous and high-pitched, he does it all. I loved it. I would have liked Pam to be a bit more fierce, and Aood a bit less demure, but we cant have everything. Leaves just the music. Aside from the horrible theme song that irritated me from the 1st episode on, to the Never Ending Story theme/score (I looked it up, it is ACTUALLY from Never Ending Story!) this was really, really bad for an ost. Like really bad. The leads and the villain saved the drama and made me score it a 7. Would have been way worse without them

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Not up-to-standard

As a long-time Lee Joon Gi stan this drama was of course a must for me. I was a bit disappointed at how it turned out. The concept and cast are amazing. Solid performances from everyone. If this is your first drama or even your first prosecutor-trope drama or maybe even your first LJK drama, you will probably come out of it enthousiastic. For me, it was just standard. I felt like the main cast was mostly going on auto pilot and not giving us their top-game. Same gous for the story. Quite predictable, the surprises did not really chock and a lot of repetition, Again the hitman, again the rootop, again the corrupt politician... The ending was unnecessarily open, probably meant to show that corruption and the work of a just prosecutor never ends. Well ok, we got that. I skipped through the last 3 episodes and that is a baaaaddd sign for a drama w my fave! Still scored it 7,5 because LJK and the OST.

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Unnecessary addition

As other reviewers have mentioned, this was a S2 that did not need to be made. Its not as bad as that it shouldnt have been made at all, and I liked the acting, the realness and parts of the story. However, it did not add anything to the og story. They could have just let that ending stand w/o this whole 8 ep. S2. Such a waste. There is hardly any character development, the side couples are weird, there's hardly any skinship, let alone fluff. No chemistry like in S1 (what happened?) It's almost like there was a contract that had to be fulfilled, but nobodies heart was really in it.

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Advanced BL-creation!

This is advanced BL-creation!
Not only is there top-notch acting across the board, the cinematography and production quality are amazing and don't get me started on the OST!! The songs are beautiful and actual part of the story, adding layers to the whole.
Butterfly level was through the roof, with sizzling chemistry with all 3 cp, which is, as you may know, extremely rare. The love and fluff scenes are beautifully filmed, with exactly the right musical score, all to achieve the highest level of romance. And the kisses... oh.. the kisses.... And it all works! It made me feel all the feels, I LOL-ed a lot, I teared up when I should tear up, I -awwwww-ed when I should awwww. The fact that there was also a clear message of equality, anti-misogyny and pro-lgbtq+ rights in it that did not in any way take anything away from the story is prize-worthy. Very smooth, very well done. The reason it does not get a 10/10 is that there remains some inequality in the relationships. There is a boss and a subordinate. This to me gets old quite fast, even if so well executed as was done here.

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Intriguing whilst shaky Ep-By-Ep review (Ep. 1-19 covered so far)

Ep. By Ep. review, updated as needed at irregular intervals.

This drama feels like it came out at the exact right time. There is a shift going on in the BL drama world, especially coming from the viewers and the industry seems to (slowly) respond to this with sort of an emancipation move. War Of Y is rumoured to be based upon real stories from the BL-industry. We have all heard stories coming from behind the scenes of abuse, misconduct and tragedy and some of these stories can be recognized in this drama. This makes for an interesting but painful watch, as sometimes we may suspect who this story is actually about and it hurts. The way the stories are being portrayed is completely void of "juice". It does not feel like a reality tabloid. It feels like a painful look at what actually goes on (past or present?) with our favorite ships. I have been a BL addict for a few years now and also follow some of the ships on Twitter, YT or any other outlet. So here's a review of the series from a BL lover

There are 4 stories in total, each spanning 4 episodes.

1. New Ship (ep 1-5)
As much as we love our OG ships, we are always excited when we see a new cp in a drama. We don't always realize that any new cp can mean less work for an older one. The way ships stay relevant is up to how their managers decide to market the ship as a whole and the actors individually. Fans follow their favorite ships and biases like glue and every glance and move is painstakingly analyzed. Anything can be interpreted as either a confirmation of realness or denial of the same. Well, in this first story of the drama one of the managers all but prostitutes their actors and goes behind their backs striking deals left and right with only their own wallet in mind. This effects the actor who feels trapped between their manager, an upcoming ship and his ship-partner, with who he develops feelings, but who gets better career opportunities which puts strain on the relationship. The actors mental state is getting more and more unstable until he chooses himself over his career.

The ship, played by Billy and Seng (Secret Crush On You) is portrayed very realistically. The manager is an extremely hateful b*tch and the people around them must be aware of what's going on but do nothing. Help comes from an unexpected source and everything seems to turns out ok. Acting here is *chefs kiss*. There is not one really likeable character and there wasn't meant to be. You feel bad for the actors but also in a way they bring it on themselves by their actions or in-actions.

2. War Of Managers (ep. 6-ongoing)
Like in the previous story, managers do horrible stuff to market their actors and line their pockets. In this story, the 'moms' of the ship partners come up with an unsavory plan to keep the ship going. One of the actors is particularly sacrificed without him knowing. It is painful to watch him be so happy while knowing it's all a lie. His ship partner is ultimately suffering under the situation as well and when shit threatens to hit the fan, the managers step up the game and everything goes south really fast. This story feels even more uncomfortable than the first. The ship partners do have chemistry, but is this chemistry actually there or are they such good actors they can fake even that? At one point I expected Bew to push his partner off the roof, since in every scene something seems to be brewing in the air. So far both actors seem to be putting their career above their and their partners happiness. This will most likely not end well.
Eps 7&8 up the war significantly. The gloves come completely off and the managers dont shy away from any means to eliminate the other. Bews manager Toon even poisons Gus, compromising videos and fishy people are being used and the line between right and wrong keeps shifting in the wrong direction. at this point, the managers are not even doing it for their "child" anymore, they just want to win. Gus and Bew seem to realize this and agree on taking things in theyr own hands. I can only hope that this will prove to be the right move for them....
Ep.9: The story is getting a little sluggish. Although a big reveal is happening this ep, there is nothing really exciting happening. Just back and forth between managers and their "kids", a sasaeng fujoshi coming forward (but nothing happening with her...) and the feeling that there is something very fishy going on. Bew's hyper ventilating always comes when he is about to be called out, and it is highly suspicious to say the least.
Ep. 10. On the night he is about to receive the award he's been dreaming of, Bew gets called out. He is apparently behind everything. The leaked videos, the harassment of Pla, even Gus's arrest. He tries to get out of taking responsibility but Pla, Toon and Gus are having none of it. Bew decides to confess and take a break from everything. Gus is a real angel for still wanting to even speak to him, let alone forgive him, but that seems to be happening. It is all a bit disappointing tbh, and depressing. No clear heroes or villains, winners or losers. Just the gloomy toxicity of the industry.

3. Y-IDOL
Ep.11 y-idol is a reality talentshow where 3 'ships' of aspiring y(bl) -actors compete for a role in an upcoming bl series. The plot revolves around 2 of them, Kla and Peak, who we met in the previous story as new 'kids' of managers Pla and Toon. Peak is having a hard time getting into the bl-side of the character he's expected to fulfill. This seems at least partly due to a bullying he experienced before. His ship partner Kla tries to help, but so far with little luck and with questionable motivation. This is again a story with a lot to unpack it seems and I hope it goes in a less painful direction from the previous one. Acting is certainly less impressive, but it's early days.
4. Y-Idol
Ep 12-15 I found this story both compelling and at times off-putting. Nobodies' motives are clear, everyone has an agenda and honesty to another or even themselves seems non-existent. Please never put me in an idol-contest. I will either kill someone or die of anger and frustration. The chemistry between Peek and Kla is amazing, but I can't tell if its real or not. Peek and Chai seem to break down and come clean at the end, but I feel there is so much more intrigue and behind the scenes than we have seen...
5. Wife
Ep. 16-18
The story of Most and Achi, who are a ship that's taking off, but Achi has a girlfriend (which Most doesn't know) who is part of their group and series. Most is in love with Achi, but Achi seems manipulative and I am not sure about his feelings or motives. This story is again food for thought, because what does happen when 1 shipped partner is in love but the other is already in a relationship? Acting and chemistry are top level. Some very very cute moments also in this story.
Ep 19. Well, the cat came out of the bag and secrets are being revealed. I can't decide if I believe Achi is really attracted or even in love with Most OR with Fern. When asked to choose he ran. These people are al idiots ruled by hormones it seems. Next week last ep. I hope they will make it a good one.

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Temu version Khemjira?

If you're expecting a drama like Khemjira, you will be sadly disappointed with this one. The story is inconsistent to say the least, there were plenty of times I had no idea what was going on. I couldn't even give you a summary if you asked for it.

The first 2 eps. were promising. I liked the tarot card psychic thing combined with the podcast. Unfortunately it goes downhill from there.

The most disappointing is that all elements to make a good show are present. A pet ghost, a love triangle, a jealous bff, a handsome rich suitor, who is a natural protector, a twin shaman, ghosts, possession, etcetera. None of these are properly fleshed out and remain merely a potential.

The acting is bad overall. The dialogue only half done, scenes are cut off before we get to the point. We don't get any backstory from anyone, and some plotpoints are never followed up on.

Anything good? Hmm maybe the visuals? The music isn't bad. The main romance has a good build-up. That's it. I don't think i'll rewatch or recommend. And then they even gave us a post-credit scene, that could suggest we will be tortured with ehm treated to an S2??

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A clear message?

I am struggling to see the point of this extremely short film. It portrays the struggle with reconciling your sexuality with your religion. While we are not unfamiliar with this topic, we rarely see this is an islamic context. Not that there's any difference, intolerance looks the same in any religion. The ML is apparently the son of the imam and needs but one sentence from his father to break things off with the boy he likes. They have just started to be more than just friends and are both really sad about this. There's no real struggle, no arguments, no discussion. Just compliance, I am left wondering what exactly is the message here? Be compliant to your God/religion? It's hard being a gay muslim? Listen to your parents? I have no idea what the point is. Acting is ok, especially since these are very young actors. Music is just muslim chants. Story is hardly there.

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Perfect production but messy story

This BL was highly anticipated by many. BOC, Bible, Jes. This is a potentially golden combination. And it started off just as promising. Many different storylines that we could see were related, but how exactly was a big question. A lot of questions got answered from around ep. 4. but a lot still remained obscure. What exactly did these 4 minutes mean? and what was real? Because apparently some events were fictional? Ep. 5 and 6 gave us answers. But for me, those were not really the ones we were looking for and even more questions were raised. Who died? And if they did, who killed them? Tha last two eps. wrapped it all up. But not in a neat little package and we are still left with why's how's and who's. Should we have seen some bigger picture? I did not find it if it was there.

Overall the acting is superb, as is the production. Perfect lighting.coloring and stages. Big love here. As for the other parts of the show, like consistency, story, music.... theres still some to be desired. It felt like there were parts of the story missing. Not as much essential parts, but still important "setting the scene" parts. We are thrown into one scene after another and are left to our own devices to connect them all. Which coukld have worked out great, but I still felt like we were looking at an unfinished product.

Maybe it was my expectations that were too high, or maybe it was BOC's ambitions that were too high?

I did also spot some references to KinnPorsche. More subtle, like in some shots, but also very in your face like the song "Why Don't You Stay" by Jeff Satur (but here not sung by Jeff Satur).

I will rewatch this at some point and maybe then I will adjust my review.

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Too much of this, too little of that

Well, this must be a first. I usually complain about needing more eps for the story to be properly told, but in this case I could have done with (far) less eps. 12 (and a half) was just too much!

Reason for this was mostly the copious amount of fille scenes. The supermarket scenes were mostly uninterestin and unimportant, The scenes in the "USA" (where nobody seems to speak proper English) could have been anecdotal instead of literal. A lot of small scenes could have been shorter. All of this would have benefited the story and the pacing.

The lead couple (New actors foer me) did a decent job. The characters were a little too flat, all mischief came from the best friend Kor, played by Kimmon. His part was interesting, and he did very well. I liked tha fact that he has a relationship with a trans woman. I would have liked this relationship to be less vanilla though, but that's me.

Overall this was really cute. The NC scenes were aplenty (maybe even a little too much) but very well done. Tastefull and loving.

Due to the flaws as described, this does not exceed a mediocre rating for me. Could have been better, but certainly not bad.

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Philosophical and original epic tale

This drama does not deserve the current rating (7.1/10). I can't help but think if the main leads were played by more well known actors, the rating would've gone through the roof! They might not have done as good a job as the actual main leads, though. These men put on the show of their lives. Atom especially absolutely floored me with his performance, he is truly an amazing actor.

The overall feel of the drama is somewhat melancholy, very much in line with the story, which is an epic tale about life and death, love and regret. The dialogue is riddled with poetic and philosphical lines. With this theres a danger of cringe, but that never happens thanks to the immaculate delivery. Except for the audition scene, where Sunshines agony poors out. I felt there was a bit of overacting going on here.

There is no NC scene, but the chemistry is absolutely there. Not the raw sensual kind, but the slowly falling in love and getting to know eachother kind. There are a few (near) kisses and these are actually enough.

The story is reminiscent of supernatural Kdramas, with the twists of fate, the agonizing dilemma's and letting go of your love . The feel is Epic, with a capital E.
The music deserves an honorary mention. No typical BL tunes here. Jazzy, indie tunes kiss your ears like a smooth summer breeze.

So if you're in for a drama about love, philosophy, referencing Faust and MacBeth, with amazing acting and a melancholy feel, watch this and be amazed.

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Focus on medical stuff ruined it

Disclaimers first: 1. I'm not a fan of medical drama's 2. I am a fan of Luo Yunxi, which is why I watched this drama.

Yunxi is the only thing worth watching in this drama. Well, no that's not entirely true. the other actors give it their best effort with the material at hand, but that material is bad.
In itself, the story has potential: Brilliant medical student getas devastating diagnose of huntington's disease and drops out, going travelling to make money at odd jobs. Meets her brilliant professor on other end of the world and they fall in love. She holds off due to diagnose but love will be love. Simple enough, right? you could do so much building off of that. But what happens in this drama is emphasizing the medical side. Research for a cure. Ok, that's one way to go with this and even that can turn into a good drama. But not with lengthy dialogue on medical stuff, competing researchers, full explanations of experiments and such. I fell asleep more than I watched.

Besides the medical, we have the familial. One dad passed on the same disease, one dad is a cheating bully. The stepbrother is the main rival and many issues have not been spoken about on both sides. This is potential fireworks, but it's not. Or it's too far into te second half of the story and it leaves us empty-handed. Unfinished.

The main couples chemistry is non-existent. Luo Yunxi gives it his best effort and you can see him digging deep, but theres no reciprocation, I did not feel anything. No butterflies. It even looks like they don't really want to kiss eachother. No lipmovements . Horrible.

The last 2 episodes were the best. Where we moved away from the medical jargon and could focus on the relationships. That should have been done sooner, and shows what could have been, but will never be.

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Slow start epic finish

The first 10 eps or so of this show are not a good indicator of what comes after. It takes a long time to set the scene, introduce the characters and take us to the point where we start in the first ep. Until then it has been a good, but not great drama, with average arcs and tropes. But from this point it picks up momentum and does not slow down until the last second. We get thrown into a life or death struggle with multiple heartbreaking casualties, surprises, plot twists and reveals we did not see coming and a lot of romance. I was a little disappointed about the main couples chemistry, but this was made up for by the side couples. All in all this turned out to be a great watch that I will be remembering fondly.

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