warrenaa

It took me a few episodes to get into this series but as it progressed I became more and more invested in it, especially the beautiful and heartfelt relationship between Thame and Po. There was much more going on than mere love affairs; what boy bands must endure personally as a consequence of what management imposes on them was exposed as never before and how they freed themselves of that oppression was an object lesson in overcoming it. The boys are a talented bunch and were given good material to demonstrate their vocal and dancing abilities, culminating in that impressive concert at the beginning of the final episode, with its overall concept and a massive audience cheering MARS on. That final screenshot of the mugs inscribed with Thame and Po's names was just perfect. This was a great series from GMMTV for which they should be justly proud.

Available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ae0Epz_oxfk

The premise is a handsome young YouTuber meets a mute young guy with thick black rimmed glasses while on holiday and a romance ensues that ends when the holiday is over. That a romance would even begin with such unlikely partners is highly unlikely. The supporting characters here were uniformly awful. Barely worth watching.

Available on Daily Motion: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9ff4fk

Oh dear. So many bad reviews and negative comments. The official review by Honglou Meng, cleverly written and quite funny, is devastating: 'Avoid it like radioactive waste.' Ouch. With respect, I disagree. Though not a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, it told a compelling story in which I was invested. The picturesque setting and the accompanying music enhanced it. The juvenile antics of Lu Hui didn't worry me. He also displayed an impressive emotional range in his acting when the script called for it, and similarly, neither did the relationship with Yu Xing, his art tutor, as the age difference was negligible. Their romantic moments felt genuine as did their love for each other. The ending was low key and satisfying as it tied up all the plot lines. That's why I rated it 8.5, a charming series in all respects.

I think Jaemin likes Daon but can't let him know because of that stupid contract he made with that controlling psychopath Suhyeon. Meanwhile, Seong Hyeon confesses that he likes Daon and is of course ignorant of that contract. Poor, cute little Daon, to be the object of desire to three different guys. It's really hard on him. What's a boy to do?

Ep. 11 which runs for about 30 minutes is two short eps. combined.

On the whole it was a good little series with nothing to complain about. 8 stars from me.

Leon, the rich, handsome bad boy, is a jerk for more than half of the movie, holding the teacher under his control for allegedly stealing a valuable necklace, but occasionally shows his tender and caring side. Near the end he redeems himself and there's an unlikely but inevitable confession followed by a kiss. Though long, it kept my attention. The two of them played their parts well.

What makes this show such a delight is the brilliant ensemble acting from the cast, most of whom have known each other for years, and a pitch perfect, precise music score combined with sound effects that adds a little bit extra to the humour. Ep. 19 is a case in point.

One of the best Korean BL dramas I've seen in a long time. It's meaty, the dialogue flows nicely (not stilted as in so many of them), the four main characters are very distinctive, the acting is great and the storyline pulls you in very quickly. No wonder Daon looks exhausted having to deal with three guys (and a deadbeat father) apart from his demanding job. Although he and Seong Hyeon got off to a bad start, they've quickly patched things up and there's a flicker of attraction between them. I was shocked at Jae Min's reaction to Daon's declaration. Su Hyeon is an arrogant, nasty, self-important bastard with an odious personality; at least he can be ruled out as a love interest. I can hardly wait for the next episode.

You appear to have missed the ramification of Jin liking Wim. With that confession, the ability to read his thoughts vanished. That's my interpretation anyway.

A perfect epilogue to the series.

There's a new word that has come into prominence with the ascendance of Trump and his horrible way of dealing with people and other countries. That word is transactional. It is exactly how Lemuel behaves with various contestants he has dealings with and it casts him in an odious light. One has to feel sorry for the boys who are at the mercy of his manipulations and skulduggery. They just want to compete in these contests and do their best but with this going on it descends into something less savoury. Fortunately, Jarret and Gin are not involved in his sticky web of control. Instead, they have their own issues to deal with - Jarret needing the winnings to help him financially while Gin appears to have a chip on his shoulder and seeks to drown his misery with an excess of alcohol. His mother's solution is to have Jarret befriend Gin and curb his drinking problem and should he succeed she'll cover his rent for him. In time, these two will undoubtedly develop feelings for each other (there are no other secondary couples) so it will be interesting to see how that comes about.

Initially I gave this a 7.5 but moved it up to an 8.0 by the time it finished as it improved along the way. The two leads were nice and the shorter one had a particular cuteness as a high schooler with his fetching hairstyle. The height difference also added something to the relationship but I can't put my finger on exactly what it was. I'm a little tired of the 4 year jump, neither of them moves on and just resume where they left off only it's more sincere this time. Overall, it was worth watching.

I think the best description for Pemika is 'The Smiling Assassin'. She is the ultimate company executive, purely money focused and heartless to the real needs and wishes of people she has control of.

Is it just me or is the dialogue in Korean dramas just weird? I don't think it has to do with the translation either which, at least in this series, leaves some things untranslated. It's stilted, responses to questions are odd, they're forever saying 'what' or indicating they don't understand, people breathe out sighs of annoyance with increasing frequency and interactions are often awkward or make little sense.

What I get out of Ep. 8 is that there are multiple parallel worlds for Phu and Cir and they spent all of this episode in them but suddenlly the worlds will merge and they'll be the loving happy couple they are most of the time.

At the heart of Ep. 10 is a profound philosophical discussion: the relationship between humans and robots and how far they should go. The only certainty is that nearly everyone will have a different opinion. Complicating the matter is that of real emotion in the form of love which here is reciprocal with both parties realising what they're getting themselves into and is only possible because of the advanced developmental state of Ever 4. It certainly does transcend species.

With so much time given to Fujisawa's explanation to Sei as to why he wouldn't have sex with him, it left little time for Sei and Kazuaki to reunite as expected and it happened because Sei overheard that Kazuaki had broken up with his girlfriend. What is lovely about this sequence is how they brought up the museum's closing where Sei knew Kazuaki would be with Sei arriving there during a downpour and able to provide his umbrella as cover, harking back to a similar scene. That left only a few minutes for the happy ending, far too short in my opinion. Heaven forbid the producers make the episode longer as often occurs in other series (but never those from Japan), so one can only hope there is an additional special episode focusing on them and adjusting to life together as a couple with a satisfying sex life - that is, after all, what it was all about.