Shiagi

Chang-min started to annoy me more and more towards the middle of the show, then he kind of redeemed himself a bit, but then I went straight back to being even more annoyed at him! AARGH. I feel sorry for Junghyun, who I didn't care for much during the show, but deserved better than that!

Just watched the Taiwan version that I loved because of the people and friendships so watched this too. I am so annoyed with one particular contestant. I watch a fair bit of dating shows over the years and no one has annoyed me quite like this person .

This is just a slice of life drama that gives comfort feeling. No major dramas, just plodding along. Very sweet moments between the pair. The ML just gives and oozes chemistry. I watched this coz I am a Seven Tan fan. This is different to her usual stuff.

Only a few things that irked me a bit: the flashbacks were so random and bitty, some times hard to figure out what happened but also, there wasn't anything to figure out. The only flashback I liked was one that showed the passing of time and her change and what lead to them breaking up the final time (I think). That was pretty well done to show their emotions and how difficult long distance can be. But they didn't really add much other than cuteness.
Another weird thing that stood out for me in this drama is their treatment of doors. Yup. I do notice weird things. But theres a blizzard outside or its dead winter and all the doors are open. China must have super cheap and very good heating if all the doors are constantly open that even the wind chill doesn't affect anyone. Even a scene in a hotel room they left their door open while canoodling - for what reason?? I really don't understand why no one closed a door. Must be a filming situation but it took away from the realism of the scene because thats all I could notice when its supposed to be snowing in the evening and extremely cold.

The biggest thing that really annoyed me was how they (the writers of the story) used the little boy. He was a pre-teen but was absolutely the perfect child that everyone instantly fell in love with him, was always studying and always left the scene quickly to give the adults their screen time. He has a mother that the father never sent him to for some stupid childish reason and the father himself was never around or visited his son even though he was able to spend a couple of days with his girlfriend while his best friend is able to travel back and forth to see his loved ones even for a few hours. This dad did nothing at all but ask random people to raise his child and he gives money and we are supposed to believe this kid is totally happy with being passed around? But everything is okay because they are heroes so can't do no wrong!

Anyway, it was good steady drama. Gave me 'You are my Glory' vibes. Well acted but nothing major to really get invested in. Just a slice of life drama with warm feelings.

Sorry I meant Bobbo not Gino. I have corrected it now.

I don't know about that but maybe I can see it a bit just like how I thought Guide gives me Up Poompat Iam-samang vibes and Tod gives me Tutor Koraphat Lamnoi vibes.

The main leads had amazing chemistry together but I wish the story went deeper than it did and it seemed to just lose the plot in the last two episodes. It was a missed opportunity to delve into loss and grief and some of the storylines were a bit unsatisfying when they concluded. So much more could have been done. I've seen depth in shorter series with less time per episode so it could have been done.

I wish I could burn playful kiss out of existence and my memory and all instances of it. That really was an awful drama with an a bad message to young girls.

Hmmm I see. Thank you for your analysis. I prefer Asian dating shows for this reason. Tame, tasteful, respectful and sincere.

For a short film this was cleverly done and the ending was hilarious. There was a clear point you could start guessing where things were going and where things changed and the situation became clearer. Clever filming and story telling in such a succinct way.

Agree about Susu and Bobo. Then you see all the clips of skin ship they just dropping in at the end. I don't know how much 'clever' editing was done to make something out of nothing. But if Susu liked Gino once, they its not too far fetched that he could like Bobo based on physique, but personality wise for a romantic relationship... who knows.

I have not seen His Man. Does that seem more shipped and unrealistic? Is it worth a watch?

Most Asian dating shows I have seen seem to be like this. What can you do when you don't feel romantic feelings with anyone strongly enough to make efforts and risk pain? So everyone becomes really considerate of each other and it because more about learning about yourself. It's a really small pool and a small production so I don't know how much effort the show put into matching people by personality traits and their wants and needs. Also it may be that the only people willing to do a show like this were social media types. I did find it somewhat odd that so many have heard of each other before but then again the community pool may be small anyway so it's not that suprising.

I think they had to choose someone and Bobo for Nio was the safest person to choose of them all because there was no way Bobo is going to like him back. Bobo already said early in the show that he was definitely not into mixed people and the two of them hardly interacted at all. Apart from Gino, who already has Guan Yu, everyone else at some point was crushing on Nio. He was in a tough spot but his message was nothing serious either. Just as long as this doesn't affect Bobo and Eri friendship, I will be happy.

I think when you watch shows from other cultures you shouldn't harshly judge people you don't really know based on the lens of your own culture. These are their opinions and yes should be taken with a pinch of salt because they are being filmed, but also knowing how Asian culture is for public facing people, they would get brutalised on social media if they said anything contrary to how they would behave privately and it came out. Also everyone is entitled to their own views and seeing how much they talked in every episode I am sure they were asked to be as open as they felt comfortable to otherwise we wouldn't have anything to watch if everyone kept quiet or gave simple answers. One can also feel comfortable talking to certain strangers about certain topics and not to others. The people we closely interact with regularly does not represent how others in the wider community may interact. If you came across someone not willing to talk openly with you about a topic you are comfortable with then you move on and find someone who does. Your pool of people are biased towards your own ideals so painting and judging everyone with the same brush is unrealistic and close minded. You are slating someone for judging someone else but you are doing the same thing which is hypocritical. At least they admitted their initial judgement was wrong and were able to grow and learn from that.

First time I am watching something like this. I have only watched Heart Signal and i kind of miss the perspectives of professionals and panel. There seems to be a lot they didn't put in because I was wondering where Susu liked Bobbo out of the blue but later you see clips of their interactions and I then I was sad I wasn't able to see that.

Best thing out of this show that keeps giving was Eri adn Bobo though. What a beautiful friendship.

I wonder how they all are now.

Man I couldn't get past all that shrieking of the FL in the first couple episodes and the contrived scenarios. Wow.

I will be comparing it to the Japanese version as I love that version and it is incredibly faithful to the manga (which is Japanese) too so there will always be some comparison to make. Of course there may be some adaptations but its about how they capture the essence of the characters because the story and characters are so pure and very Japanese in style. I am also sure it will have its own style but still, those of us who love the original series and/or the manga can't help to make those comparisons naturally.

I have seen the Japanese version countless number of times and again last night and just came on to see if I can find the manga and saw this come up and was a bit concerned but then saw its Fourth and Gemini and I think they are the best for these two out of everyone. I am not sure though how they will end up filming it because the reactions in the Japanese version of Aoki's character is quite comedic and over the top sometimes but also very considered.

Where are you reading this? I came on MDL today to try and find it. Does it have more story of them? Just watched the Japanese series again for the nth time. Need more.

Did you even watch the series? The Lomfon/Thian thing was set up from halfway through the show should there be a second series to follow that thread they already foreshadowed it earlier in the show when Lomfon was talking to Thian about who he would choose and Thian said, until it happens to me, I can't say. Now it looks like it will happen to him. Also the whole point of the show wasn't about soulmate thing at all but about understanding what love means in its different forms. I mean, thats all the whole show talked about. They even repeatedly said that they don't know why only certain people can hear each other and its only an assumption that people think its "soulmates" but its not scientifically proven or understood so I wouldn't put all the emphasis on their story being about that. Its just a platform on which to explore what love and relationships mean given certain societal expectations such as the "Soulmates" thing.

I agree. There were no major cliches like interrupted kisses and crazy ex-girlfriends. Very healthy relationships with realistic misunderstandings and resolutions. Well acted all around and maturely done. I think this is the first BL I've seen in recent years that one person said they weren't ready to take it that final step and the partner was really respectful. Glad they didn't jump straight into it like most BLs do for viewership these days. Good themes and questions around destiny/fate and love and that thread throughout. Interesting premise with the rain/soulmate thing as well to set as backdrop to those themes. Much better than the comments here would have lead me to believe. Really nice soundtrack too that really added to the scenes.