Shiro

Powerstruggle and the lies told, seen though lies through the eyes of teens

❤️This drama is so good showing some of societies structures, behaviours struggles... Seen through the eyes of teens... okay maybe not through the eyes bus since the story is about a guy named aye it felt right to say that. ❤️

It shows us some pretty powerful social criticism as it is very easy to see parallels to how people talk about some of the fights and movements out there... As well as how structures and power is held.. All in the form of a school instead of society. Lies told in the name of keeping the peace and keeping things the way some people think they should be. Making references to George Orwell's 1984 (one of my all time favourite books) showing extreme lengths people will go to out of fear and so on… Making way for some pretty amazing dialog and a bunch of very powerful scenes.

The scenery in this drama is very pretty so is the cinematography, even though we get to spend a whole lot of time in a pretty generic school building the editing and lighting makes sure each episode has at least a few ecstatic scenes.

The characters in this drama are relatable, lovable, fun to watch and show very few annoying tendencies. Even Neo Trai Nimtawat who normally plays an over the top character that gets on my nerves goes from slightly annoying to lovable. And there are some pretty amazing pick up lines too.

The leads have great smiles and great chemistry, one of them almost seemed to grasp the notion of consent reading into his partners signals, and actually using word such as may I… But then he goes and does something a little bit boundary-less, making me question his knowledge after all… he is however very attentive and…Well there is no dead fish kiss in sight. As well a sa whole bunch of real emotions done right.

There are some unpredictable twists here and there, I am not sure I actually liked them but they did definitely catch me off guard so kudos. Also people it is not okay to out people no matter the purpose is.

Bingabilaty high,
Entertainment high
Important message- high
Heart flutter- decent.

Definitely one of the best youth dramas out there and I highly recommend it

Read More

Where toxic fumes and fluff create HOT steam...

This drama may not have a lot of story to it, as it practically is two guys in an arranged engagemnet keeping secrets from each other creating lots, and lots of trust issues and playing games instead of communicating with each other... Lots of cliches not much plot, highly entertaining and defiantly fun to watch for all us cliche fluff lovers out there... a feast for the eyes a fest for the ears... Toxic goo everywhere... However having parents not only support but encourage a gay marriage is kind of sweet and not very common in Dramaland... And I dare say it is really well done, not completely ignoring the society we still live in while trying to make the idea of an arranged gay marriage no less strange the idea of an arranged hereto marriage, with all their +s and -ses.

What is slightly troublesome in most of the show is the way two of the couples younger half are treated like kids with curfews, withholding of information, lies, lies and more lies... And well control and disipline ,.. more like they were their younger siblings or their kids but with steamy kisses and well made steamy sex scenes... People you should not have to control or discipline your other half.... However this does make for a starting point for character development and I did manage to separate the acting like parents and the steam but for those who find that stuff hard to separate and/or are sensitive to this type of stuff MOVE ON there are plenty other titles to watch you do not have to watch this one. It is entertaining but not that entertaining that it would make it worth it for those who get triggered by this type of stuff.

Kirin the young half of the main couple is such a talented sweetheart, hiding his true self 8for good reason), does a pretty good job jumping between personalities and conveying conflicting emotions, fear and desire to be loved. He has some pretty awesome friends (especially Syn )who are sweet, supportive, interesting and make for some pretty fun couples of their own.

Hia /Kilen is a typical cold CEO type with a fun and warm side waiting to be discovered... making for a whole lot of fun humour and some pretty fun scenes. Also not every time but many of the times they say Hia it sound more like they are saying sheeeea, kind of entertaining for those used to hearing that word as something else than a name...

Both guys very 2 different personalities (each) that are a blast to watch especially watch them swith between them.

The other side characters are pretty decent and this is the biggest revolution of them all the parents here seem to be the voice of reason. the other Hia Yi (Hias best friend and older half of the second couple) bothers me for some reason, could be the lack of reason...

But the overall message seems to be pretty decent, once you get past some of those other issues...

Bingabilaty High
toxic levels: medium high
Healthy relationships: none
Fluff: 9
Steam: 10
Entertainment value: 9
Quality: 7
Chemistry: fireworks
Kisses: A LOT, no dead fish in sight

Defiantly worth a watch for those who can stand the heat and separate fiction from relationship goals.

P.S. There are 2 cute dogs and some pretty heallereos PPL also make sure to stick around pasta the credits of the last episode.

Read More

So bad it is good... Cringe and Cuteness as far as the eye can see...

This is short, easy to watch, easy to smile and definitely made me laugh once or twice per episode... And taught me that even cake can be funny...

The leads are cute as buttons... and have very interesting flirting techniques... The Second lead made me wonder if he was supposed to be a parody or if he was meant to be an authentic second lead... whatever their intention I loved him and he was probably the source of most of my laughter...

Other things I found funny was the very purple flat mate, scenes at the gym... completely illogical shower scenes... And a lot more...

I also liked the wisdom within the youth, teaching me new things...

I cringed, I laughed, I binged it too fast and I want more!

Read More

A beautifully captured moment (okay years) in time

This drama is such a trip down memory lane, relatable lovable, sweet and deep. Not so much for the sports and romance this dramas strengths are rather the slice of life, nostalgia, real events, issues, mixed with beautiful stories of friendship, hardship and some other ship...

To be honest I was a little bit annoyed at the way they portrayed the female lead in the first few episodes making her seem a lot younger than she was supposed to be as well as making the male lead seem a lot older than he was supposed to. I understand that it was probably done to set the scene and mood but it was little bit over done and borders on annoying. However that faded out as the story progressed and rather turned in to character growth instead of annoyance.

I was also annoyed at people pushing blame, wishing others harm o and it did have just a little bit to much yelling for my taste... But hone it had all these really good one liners and scenes encouraging mistakes that I almost forgot about those annoying elements.

There are a lot of good and interesting messages in this drama, great cinematography, gorgeous use of umbrellas... cuteness, fluff and everything painful... The short visits in to present day are well placed and though they could be considered spoilers making this drama spoil itself... the spoiling still keeps us wondering why, how and in what way are they going to... dare I feel happy? In other words these so called spoilers keep the emotional level high thru out the drama.

The people and situations portrayed in this drama are often complex and are often shown from different angels taking a step away from the typical good guy/bad guy as well as showing the affect on the people behind them.. As well as showing the circumstances leading up to the situation or sometimes questionable decision.

The setting in the late 90´s was so much fun to watch, having been a teen at that time my self I just loved the way they used tapes, showed the fashion, the computers, the first phone... the fear of the 2k-bug and the events that helped form the people of my generation, even if I myself liven on the other side of Asia at the time,

I have, laughed, cried, been angry... Yep felt just about every single emotion out there making this drama just right for me and would have given it 10 stars if it wrest for some cringey annoying dialog here and there as well as a few (very few) twists that felt like they were trying to make us a bit to emotional. The emotions were there just fine without those scenes so they ended up annoying me. However I do love this story, the way it is told and the overall messages conveyed in this drama

In numbers
Bingeabilaty: 10
Lovable and interesting characters: 10
Annoying elements : -2
Frustration: 7
Sidestorys: 10
Main story: 10
Oneliners: 10
Relatable characters: 9
Visuals+ eye candy: 10

In conclusion I loved it!

Read More

The story may be iffy at times but the execution is gorgeous

This was just so pretty, from the scenery to the colours, lighting... And OST making me ad an extra or maybe even two star just for being a pleasure fore the ear and eye.

The story itself has some issues, I am not going to lie not so much for the age gap as the main leads are indeed consenting adults, and not in a type of power relation where one part is dependent on the other.

The female lead, young as she may be is smart, forward, and is going in to this with her eyes wide open. It is easy to see that she and the male lead connect on several levels. She does of course have some issues but they are more about other stuff than age. However the way they style her most of the time does make her look a bit to innocent and child like, something that did bother me.

The male lead has an awful headband most of the time reminding me of 80s rock,I personally love 80's rock but the look was just bad. that sad, aside from the head band the guy did indeed show some great aesthetics and was indeed shot in slow motion from a bunch of very flattering angles. His character was kind, pretty passive, and seamed to try to hold back most of the dram a. And as long as he holds back we the viewers are offered a lot of build up, gazes, slow mo stuff... And fluff, colourful lighting and stem or fluff making the frame look all dreamy... steamy...

The second male lead is probably one of the most oblivious characters in all of dramaland, I honestly think they made him stupid and childlike to show us that the female lead was a better match to the old guy than the guy her own age. Other than that he was just in the way and slightly annoying.

The female leads mom shows us yet again that controlling your grown up child is a bad idea, she is in desperate need of therapy and did not really add anything good to the plot at all , not even good drama and flavour, just flavourless spice that burns your mouth but gives you nothing.

The rest of the characters range from ok I see you are there to wtf, just don't.

There is a really cute cat, a bunch of fish some of dramalands most amazing umbrella scenes with not only black and yellow umbrellas but also leaf umbrella and painted umbrella. Besides naming the drama "The Forbidden flower" the drama incorporates a whole range of interesting flowers, both on canvas and out in fields. Making both animals , umbrellas and flowers an in-separate good part of the plot, more interesting than most of the supporting characters.

All in all a good watch with plenty of steam, but it is definitely not for everyone, and while there are a few boring episodes some odd editing choices (censorship?) here and there it is overall highly binge able and a decent drama to watch if not for the plot than for the beauty of cinematography and OST,

P.s there are quite a few flashbacks and montages that look a bit like an 80s romance intro/power-balad video.

Read More

Bickering Fun

If you love bickering, hate to love, to hate, to love this is definitely a good place to ind it.

It is such an easy binge, one moment you started it then next you are waiting fo that last episode to be released the next day,

While I am not going to lie, there are a few very annoying over the top characters, their screen time is limited enough to not drag down the score to much.

The rest of the characters are lovable, sweet, and jus ta blast to watch. Especially the Past versions of the leads. Those to had me feeling a whole lot of nostalgia, pain and sweetness all at once. The chemistry between the two kids was just so perfect. so playful and cute. The way those two conveyed emotions impressed me a lot. Actually ID say all the teens in this drama where really well casted and did a great job both past and present.

If you are looking for something to surprise you , unpredictable twits and thrills this is not the place you will find it,. Unless you are new to dramaland that is, and if so then part of me envy's you...This is definitely a good drama for beginners. But for those experienced in drama land the you are bound to smell the twists several episodes a head.

While the grown up cast was all pretty good. I want to give some extra point, and love to the female leads new best friend she definitely had me wanting more

A fun and easy binge for all bickering hate ti love lovers out there.

Read More

Icicle humor, icicle plot and sweet, sweet icicle love

Is it better to have loved and lost or to never have loved at all? well this drama attempts to answer that question in the most twisted way.

This obviously not a drama for everyone seeing it got allot of negative reviews but I liked it. Could they have gotten more of this cast with a slightly better story sure, but if you enter this with low expectations you will probably be as pleasantly surprised as I was, but if you are reading this then well that may just be ruined for you.

Things I loved: about 90% of the humor it is cold, a tad dark and hits just the right spots with me . Icicle men, Icicle woman, icicle humor... Humanity does make you wish for doom once in a while so it is nice to be able to see something that tells us dude people suck ... I loved the chemistry between more or less everybody. the little brother and ceo did have some annoying parts but they were short and easy to overlook. The male lead in the second couple is cool as an icicle can be and I love him for it! Bo Youn is as funny, sweet and great as always making me smile over and over again. Yes I may have a slight crush on her, and the rest of the cast is highly crushable compensating for the less interesting partes of the drama. .This drama shows great friendship and family bonds and does not really have any one to bring out your inner anger or frustration (I do not know if that is good or bad but it just is). The pace varied from to fast to way to slow to just right... so its a mix. The visuals where great and so was the OST.,. It has some several interesting twists but they are very well defined and easy to follow. Oh and their wardrobe and styling was great except for Dooms black pants that were not well fitted at all (it looked like he had a diaper on).

It does not have much new if you have seen things from this genre before but it is still enjoyable and made my heart flutter once or twice as well as tikel my laughing muskels.

So if you are in it for the fantasy sure you will probably hate it, if you are in it for the humor and fluff you will probably love it.

Read More

Fantasy vs. reality

This is a sweet and fluffy drama, with just enough drama for it to be a drama. The acting/directing could be better, I wouldnt say it was bad but it felt a bit awkwered at times and could probably easily be fixed by more experience and directing.

The characters are interesting but a lot is under explored and could use more screen time and depth but where rushed instead leaving me with a slight feeling of meeh... However it does have its fanboy charm... And does have a nice touch of idol vs human behind idol idea to it.

If they were to make a season 2 I would probably watch it, not that they have much more to explore but more out of curiosity of where they would go with this,

Read More

Impossible to rate spiritual mess

I am going to start by saying, watching a drama about heaven and hell may not be the best choice for someone as atheist and completely lacking in the spirituality, faith etc. department as me. So for those of you who have some kind of faith or spirituality your view on this is most probably going to be a lot different than mine.

This drama is a total mess and not in a good way. As I do believe they try just a little bit to much.

The comedy is mostly low, but does have some moments, such as Lee Hae Suk Kim Hye Ja) constantly falling asleep in church. But there was so much second hand embarrassment thruout this drama that I am almost suprised I did n´t drop it.

There were some moments or episodes that touched me and almost made me cry even though they where cringe they made me miss my dead dog.

Han Ji Mins character (Som I)) was interesting, well made (at times predictable, at times not) slightly inconsistant but girl did a great job and her storyline was the most interesting one in the whole drama, unfortunately we had to suffer through about 8 episodic episodes to finally get to her story.

And our male lead was confusing at times.... others charming, others made me want to shake some sense in to him.

There was enough good for me not to drop it but also enough bad to make me wonder how I made it to the end.

I want to rate some parts 9-10, but others -3... So I will settle with a 7... For the acting, the visuals, the music and the good parts between all the rest.

Read More

Was it really love?

They ate (sometimes) , they ran (away) they loved (money) but above all they loved the self sacrifice and the self blame... So much that it became agonising to watch, yet for some reason I stuck with it probably because the highly predictable side characters where kind of sweet. That said I came to the point where I was so fed up with the leads self inflicted misery that I figured they could just keep at it and live in regret for the rest of their lives...

If my wish came true or not is of course up to you who choose to watch this (or check the tags) to find out and for me to know since I made it to the end.

The leads in this are not human, at all there is not a single bit of logic humanity in them, super fit, workaholics with no neuance either they are in complete dispeir or the best of the best rich, fit, top of their class gods. or poor, on the floor, pale bearly surviving or they can be deep in debt, sued , not be able to get a job... but magically get back up agin to the top.... Up and down, back and fourth never ending jojolike business gibberish that was so boring I honestly stopped caring.

The side characters have to little process and screen time, but where actually pretty decent and lovable.

The parents in this are either gems or the perfect villain, still lack depth and their storylines make very little sense but I did enjoy how one of the perants was impossible to love, at all breaking the all parents are good. the rest of the villains in this lack depth, but they are indeed evil and kind of lacking in braincells even if they seem smart at times their actions as well of what motivates them is just off.

That said for some reason this drama was an easy binge but I would not recommend it unless you love business the leads, love people who self blame and self sacrifice to the max In that case you may have a new favourite.

Read More

Do not try this type of relatiinship at home...

This is the story about the another one of those CEO types (okay general manager) whos communication skills boil down to wrist grabs,.. and well not much more.

As rich meets poor... Sleepless meets sleeping pill and so on... Showering us with bare upper bodies and sexual harrasment and power abuse for as far as the eye can see.

The acting ranges between bad oh so bad to awesome, sometimes the same actor.

However the characters (if you ignore the sexual harassment) are sweet, the collegial relations lovely ... and the kisses are actually really, really good.

There are also a few (very few) good lines making this a so mediocre it is entertaining and maybe even worth a watch for the special that I will be rating an 8, or maybe even an 8,5

Basically a drama purely for entertainment value, but for the love of what ever you believe in DO NOT TRY THIS TYPE OF RELATIONSHIP AT HOME, run for the hills, call the cops... moove to e different city....

Read More

An easy binge, fun characters and interesting takes on marriage

An easy binge that shows a whole lot of relationships and ways to approach the issue of marriage... Be it facing the pressure to get married, finding ones own path or the whole system of marriage.

To be honest it does get a bit preachy at times and seems to have a very clear agenda telling the viewers to question the restrains the institution of marriage often brings.

It also has a whole lot of interesting discussions about healthy and less healthy relationships as well as the diffrence between slight jealousy and possessiveness driven by male rivalry. While slight jealousy can be cute and may have elements of love possessiveness does not. There is also an interesing show of different perspectives to the same situation. And while a lot of western shows will show women desperate to get married it is kind of refreshing to see men try to hold on to the institution of marriage while the women are the ones to try to oppose it.

The characters in this are lovely, while there are a lot of "eeeh" the over the top comedy is held to a minimum.

The found family, friendships and ways they talk about life in general can get to be a bit draggy and is not what I would say revolutionary but it is pretty ok and holds an okay balance between fluff, prechyness and just a slice of life in general.

A decent watch, that even htough it has some episodic elements is still easy to watch and has a decent red thread that runs through it...

Read More

AN interesting window in to widows of the past

This is a movie that raises rhe question is self-sacrifice really the way to go... or will marrying the man your sister loves but can not marry because of stupid traditions really such a good idea?

As I kept wondering who is manipulating who?

What is the point of all this?

And is this supposed to be a dram about evil sisters, the bond between sisters or a feminist agenda about emancipation to all!

OR maybe it is all of the above.

Anyway the movie is from the early 1950s so it dies give a window into passet times , not really my tipe of music as it is the type to hurt ones ears but the story being told is actually rather interesting even if the mimics, moovment and gestures can be overbearing.

Read More

An interesting take on society

There is something about this movie that reminds me of My mister, not that it gets near to the mindblowing dialog and content that you get in 16 episodes but more of a preview, My Mister with the same feel and a bunch of pretty good lines. A movie that offers a mist of My mister that covers a movie about found family, prostitution and above all adoption.

Through the characters of this movie could be deemed in somewhat extream situations the moive offers is a an odd familiarity, day to day... beige feel to it.... Not at all out of the ordinary yet still really out of the ordinary all at once wich is pretty cool.

There is a great show of character development and change of discourse throughout the movie that highlight a whole lot of important issues and the importance of safety nets and or support systems and how it is all connected.

First we let social wokers have their go, and when they fail it is the cops turn to swoop in...

The actors did a great job, the cinematography was dark and depressing (which fit the movie really well) and the story is one that needed to be told.

Read More