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Engaging stories. Interesting topics
I watched this drama after Kiss Me Again, since the events in this series were supposedly taking place after that one although this drama was shot earlier.Well, it is not an actual follow-up story. I kept getting confused, mostly because PeteKao is not happening AT ALL until the final eps and even then its not a follow up, but a repeat of Kiss Me Again. Weird.
On the other hand, the stories that we get in this drama are very engaging. We have good guys and villains, we have humor, tension, love and excitement. The story I liked most was the SanDee/Thada arc, where these two are quite obviously in love, but don't want to risk their friendship for a relationship. It takes a pregnancy scare and their friends intervening for them to finally admit their feelings to each other. Their interactions feel very real and raw. Side-note: Thada's hair deserves it's own drama!
The other interesting story is between SanRak and Na. Even though they are both a few years older than SanDee and Thada, they both have a lot of growing up to do, and they both do before they are ready to be together. I got a lot more chemistry from Na than from Rak, but that could be intentional.
Props go to the makers for realizing that side characters matter to the experience of a drama. The villains as well as the friends are well-developed characters with their own lives, hardships and reasons. Pick, Jane, June... thank you for making this drama even better. I'm paraphrasing June saying he may be viewed as the comic relief, but that's because he wants to make his friends' life better than his own. Such a gem!
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A lot of characters not a lot of variety
Since the synopsis mentions that this series' events take place before Kiss:The Series, I decided to watch this one first. This is about the lovestories/first loves of 5 sisters and their love interests. This series focuses on 3 of the sisters, SanWan, SanSuey and SanSon. We see the other two mainly when they discuss their siblings or interacting with their friends. Their stories do not differ from each other very much. They have a boy they like, but they don't know if he likes them back and they discover if they do through various problems, among which of course a rival. We also see a BL couple PeteKao, who are friends with one of the older sisters, SanDee. They encounter much of the same issues, and they hit each other just as much as they kiss. which provides some surprising interactions.What I liked: Petes Father is by far the best thing in this series. We do not come across a lot of parents who are this supportive in BL-stories. (Most of) the actors. Some are really good (June, Mork, Pete, Kao, SanWan) Some are mediocre but none were really bad. The atmosphere. The series has a relaxed and mellow atmosphere. It gave me a great vibe.
What I didn't like: Very little excitement. The stories move at an equally mellow pace, which is good for some stories in a series, but please not all of them! Even the parts where the love rivals show up are slow and flat. No fire in the kiss scenes. Speaking of kiss scenes, the only kisses we can get an actual view of are the BL couples kisses. Almost all others are feather kisses or completely blocked from view. We'll just have to accept the kiss was real I guess.
Although there was not a lot of passion, It was never really boring. It kept me just engaged enough to finish it with a good feeling.
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Bullies and other suffering
This series made me go from angry to sad to happy back to angry and this several times. Yelling at the screen to either speak tf up already, walk away or grab the boy. Which ever suited best at that particular scene. It was not so much the bullying itself that got me twisted, it was the utter cowardice and disregard of the onlookers and especially the FL. This girl needs some assertiveness lessons. Pfew. I cannot understand why Oh never really calls her out on this.Characters are on the whole a bit one-dimensional, but thats the kind of story this is.
The BL couple SunInn left me in pain. Sun got the short end of the stick for sure, settling for dating without real commitment from Inn, while being so very much in love. The scene in the bed left me in tears. So painful. Needless to add that there are plenty of feels here, but certainly not all good ones.
SO to the OST, the music was very well suited for every scene. Its a shame I couldnt find an OST album on my streaming app.
Greatest disappointment was the utter lack of skinship. 1 (yes, ONE) kiss ON THE CHEEK fcol. I felt a bit cheated in that department.
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Good but not great
To be quite honest, I'm not a big fan of Drake. I'm always distracted by his hair and eyebrows and not in a good way. Besides this fact, I found the series quite enjoyable. The interactions between the characters (within the couples and without) are very natural and believable. I adore dad Muad, he obviously loves his sons to death. The one character I could not support is Mama, and not because of her obvious homophobia, but for her lackluster performance. I have seen this actress in MUCH better roles, it seems this just did not suit her.The drama was obviously struggling with financing, since editing is sloppy at some points (situational chronology is off). The sound is abominably bad. But even with these flaws, the drama was a good watch, which means the story stands.
I would have liked some more skinship, but the love between the couples is clear enough on its own. There are many loving and sincere interactions that made my heart flutter.
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Good watch, no surprises
Good watch, solid story. It's a bit standard, with mega explosions, biased bullets and macho men and women. But there is an delicateness to the story that deals with border espionage between N-Korea and the bordering countries that I found intriguing. Everyone has their own reasons for being in the place they are, and this is mostly outside of their own doing. The catchphrase in this movie is "I had no choice!"The actors all give a great performance, however the lead seems a bit on the autopilot at times. But its the sort of movie that doesn't really suffer from that so we'll forgive him for it. The other lead, the prosecutor, seems more invested and gives a great performance. There were some plot-lines that could have done with some more attention, but that's just me who is usually not very much into these sort of movies. There were a lot of moments where my husband and I fist-bumped when one of the bad guys got what they deserved.
It all ends well after a significant body-count and the bad guys are gone. The last scene unveils that this will be the start of a beautiful friendship. Will watch a next installment if it comes out.
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Top Tier Drama
Promised and delivered. The love of these guys is so pure and real, the way they take care of each other and their friends, the way they look at each other... Top tier BL romance. The story picks up where S1 left off, with our boys temporarily living together. They are still very much in love, but the real world is slowly working its way into their lives. Old "friends" show up, doubts arise, Covid is raging. In the end they need to make a heartbreaking choice which left me ugly crying. There are some storylines that could have used more attention, but it doesnt take away from the rest. The love and lovemaking is exactly that. Lovemaking. Not sex, not lovescene. Not often do we see switches in BL. Usually just top/bottom This gave me joy! Thankfully I know theres going to be a S2 soon. Can't wait!Was this review helpful to you?
So Sweet!
Nice Bingewatchable BL. Finished it in 1 morning., just because it was so sweet and cute. Its not really anything special, and there are no attempts made to avoid typical tropes, but the acting and chemistry is amazing. Butterfly rating 7/10. The 2 leads are stunningly handsome and can act the characters they are portraying quite well and subtle. I liked the lack of overacting that you see a lot in BL dramas. What i liked less: the support cast dont get nearly enough story. I would have liked to know more about them. S2 doesnt seem likely though, so were stuck wondering :).Was this review helpful to you?
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Masterclass in adaptation!
Wow, this series had me absolutely floored from the start. I have seen the animated series a while ago, and remembered it being quite toxic and non-consensual in parts. I will need to rewatch to see if I got that wrong, because the live action is the absolute opposite of that. It is sweet, passionate and loving. The actor's chemistry is out of this world. The cinematography is amazing. Color choices, lighting, angles... everything top tier.The choice to cast Smart (Don't Say No) and Boom (Chains Of Heart) together is nothing short of genius. These two have the best chemistry in a first cooperation that i've ever seen. It's a treat to watch. Apart they stand out in acting skills as well. They totally embraced their characters and they paly their roles as if they have done them for decades. They never outshine eachother though, they leave enough room for the other to shine, while supporting their performance.
The story has stayed intact for the most part. I did miss some scenes, like the parked car conversations and the anxiety on award-night, and some of the side characters were given a smaller part than they had in the anime, but i'm hoping this will be corrected in S2. There's even talk of an S3 now, but let's see it that will happen. The BL world is very dynamic after all.
My guess is that this show has set a new standard and raised the bar for anime adaptations and even for BL in itself. A true masterpiece!
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So happy I stuck with it!
This series' theme is one of my favorite: Time Travel, so I was very excited to start watching. It was soon clear that not all time travel is created equal, however and the slow pace turned me off. It took me ages to watch the first 3 episodes and I left the series in my CW list for a longgggg time after that, reluctant to get back into it while it was still airing. I found the adult SuanSoon a cry baby with toxic behavior, and the slow pace bored me. I got back to it though after a few months after it finished airing and BOYYY AM I GLAD I DID.The pace does not pick up speed, but the slow telling of the story appears to actually have purpose. It is to help us keep our sanity wit so much back and forth. We need breathing and thinking room to understand what is going on. theres still enough crying to fill an ocean, but the way the actors portray and express the characters and emotions is fabulous. I don't really get why SuanSoon goes back as an adult, and SongSa as a highschooler (although I have my theories), but we can feel how much they love each other right to their souls.
The soundtrack by the wonderful Boy Sompob does it's job and we get a huge tearjerker with a beautiful happy ending.
Honestly I do understand some of the critical reviews, but if you stick with it and go with the flow (of tears), you'll love it. Or maybe, it's just me who was in a fragile state while watching. Whatever, it will go on my re-watch list for sure!
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JimmySea did it again!
These 2 actors are pure gold, with an extra trim of diamond in the name of Oaf, the director.The way these portray emotions is something else. it's in their voice, their whole being. Of course helped by a very moving story, a perfect cast and amazing settings and music, this was such a joy to watch.
In the course of this drama, we get repect for disabled people like Day, who is gradually losing his sight, we get a fantastic analogy with a story in Day;s favorite book, we get redemption for the brother, the mother and the father, we get a happy ending for the best friend, we get the importance of second chances. we cry, we laugh, we get angry and we swoon over how Mhok takes care of Day.
I hated the break-up, but the way Mhok later thanks Day for it is such a flex!
I was maybe only a ;ittle disappointed they put in that 2nd surgery. Story could have been even stronger without it. But i'm not mad. It's already almost perfect as is,
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Hot confusing mess
I might be due to the fact that I skipped some parts or got distracted, but I could not retell the plot of you held me at gunpoint. The biggest flaw is that what needs explaining or elaboration is just left there and what is obvious and in your face gets explained too much. Choices in flashbacks (when to show them and how often) or memories (clear only to the one remembering) are confusing and even frustrating. Relationships remain unclear for a very long time.That all being said, it's at times a very intense watch, with great scenery and an interesting story and theme. The romance part is secondary to the crime and revenge plot, which is great if executed well. If that had been done this would have been a smashing 9/10. But due to above mentioned flaws it gets a mediocre 7.5/10. What's with the gloves by the way???
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Actually quite nice and sweet
I had been putting off watching the En Of Love... series for quite some time now, but there was a slump in good BL dramas so I thought why not give it a shot. I was actually pleasantly surprised! The leads seemed to fit quite well together and although it did not crackle and sizzle, I felt quite a bit of chemistry. The gradually falling in love of Bar because of Gun's unrelentless but super sweet wooing was believable and there was start, middle and end to the story. Was there a real plot? No, but that is not always why we watch. Sometimes we just want romance and cuteness. And that is surely what we get in this one. Butterfly lever about 6 and quite re-watchable on another slump :)Was this review helpful to you?
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Watch when you just don't care
I have considered not reviewing this series, since it is so noteworthless. It started off quite interesting, with a nice concept of winning someone over with food and sweetness. But that is where it all remained and there was no follow up, no progression and just repetition. How the makers managed to poor this flimsy story into more than 4 eps is quite the achievement.What I liked:
- Lukchub is so cute and sweet. There is so much sweetness and care between him and Ram.
- The level of psycho that is Nam. Great drama angle.
- The side couples. Very well matched
What I did not like:
- Just sweetness, no real chemistry in the main cp.
- Except for Namking's family, everyone is so happy and sweet its cringe
- it is just too long for the lack of substance.
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Hate/Love relationship
With this BL drama I have a hate/love relationship. There are many things that I absolutely ADORE, but there are also MANY things I despise. One of my biggest issues I have is with Kao. I cannot understand Pete's affection for this whimpy little liar. Although Kao starts to redeem himself from ep.8 onwards, I still feel that Pete is wayyy out of his league. Kao and Non kind of deserve each other is all I'm saying.The relationship between Sun and Mork had me screaming. I have a tendency to like secondary couples more than primaries, but these guys are the GOAT when it comes to slow burn until it blazes. I hate the aggressiveness of both Mork and Sun. And there is no explanation on why especially Mork is so violent. I actually cried when Mork finally decides to not fight (back) and ends up in hospital for it, with Sun being a total dumbass about it.
I loved the parts of both Pete's dad and Kao's mom. They are real understanding and defensive parents towards their sons. I adore them so much.
I will watch Kiss The Series and Our Skyy after this one to complete the PeteKao story.
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Nice and sweet binge-watch
With 6x20 minutes, this is a perfect drama if you have a few hours to kill. It's uncomplicated, sweet, lovable. The story is not overly childish or cliche. Though the trope of "wow I suddenly fell for a guy" is the main theme here, it is not done in an annoying of comical way, but surprisingly mature and sensitive.What I did not like nor understand is the fact that the class mates had never seen a gay man/couple and were genuinely surprised that it happened at their school and even in their class. I have seen many BL's, including many Korean ones, but in modern BL's this is never really a thing. I can't help but wonder if this is representing of modern Korean society or not...
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