Zii3

Heartwarming, realistically grown romance.

(I rate vertical dramas on their own sliding scale). A vertically filmed, 3 hour drama that focused on the romantic development and progression between the two leads (instead of relying on crazy plot devices to propell the story).
It felt more grounded and emotionally/psychologically realistic than most vertical dramas. The leads are fabulous. Great actors and amazing chemistry together. A very sweet, romantic story with a touching, healthy, and balanced relationship between the two.

The leads felt like 3-dimensional characters. The FL is gentle and earnest but with a backbone. The ML is calm and competent but with vulnerabilities. They respect and support each other.

It had a slow burn feel but with many butterfly-inducing moments, and was extremely satisfying as a a romance. The two actors have been in multiple short dramas together and are very comfortable with each other. There are a couple kisses and intimate moments that are gentle and realistic. Their scenes together often had me smiling uncontrollably, yet it never became overly saccharine-sweet.

There is a 3rd wheel for the FL (the SML is her ex boyfriend), but the FL never waivers once she dumps him for cheating.

The two things that didn't quite hit the mark for me: 1) The ending felt rushed and some secondary/tertiary characters had a change of heart without the story showing much of their process. 2) Right near the end there was a little bit of the crazy plot clichés that are typical in most vertical dramas and it felt unnecessary.

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Healthy relationship dynamic, Good for one watch, Toki is the best.

(General spoilers only.) One of the few highschool-teacher stories I've seen (so far) with a truly well-balanced dynamic. How their strengths and weaknesses line up made them equals and they grow together. I found it sweet, endearing, and non-cringy. This is NOT a sexually charged, passionate, or taboo-focused story.

Overall light, sweet and easy fun that's good for one watch but isn't that memorable (except for Rintaro as Toki).

I really liked and greatly appreciated that Toki and Sahara communicated, supported/encouraged, and TRUSTED each other. They both had character growth and thrived with the attention and care of the other.

FYI: Japanese highschools are 3 years, so Toki being a second year student is equivalent to being a junior (third year) in the USA.

Rintaro as Toki was awesome and always fun to watch. Toki is bigger-than-life yet acted with nuance. Though Toki is wild in the physically over-dramatic Manga-style way (and often funny), multiple aspects of his personality and approach to things are admirable and even mature for his age. He is a 'doer' and doesn't think too deeply, yet he is thoughtful and puts effort into understanding others. He came across as an actual highschooler with a good heart who was a 3-dimensional character and not a caricature. He's sincere, straightforward, and totally lovable.

General Spoilers below.

There was an obvious balance in Toki and Sahara's personalities and their relationship that made their age gap a non-issue (for me anyway). Especially since they consciously kept their interactions PG, and Sahara had them wait until Toki graduated highschool before verbally making their romantic relationship official. There is a brief lip press at that time.

I mostly didn't mind the time spent on Sahara's past because it highlighted the differences between Nekoto and Toki and further demonstrated why Toki would make a good partner even though he's younger.

What I didn't like:

Takumi as Sahara was okay but not compelling. I liked him but didn't fall for him. He didn't do anything poorly, just didn't have much charisma and felt a little flat in his acting.

The school play bit made me cringe hard. It wasn't necessary and felt like pure contrivance to get an oops-kiss moment. The only thing that made it better than a trip-and-fall accident kiss was the humor of bigger-than-life Toki trying to act demurely as Snow White.

The end felt super rushed. There's a time jump, happy ending scene, and it's over. In that regard, I would have preferred less time spent on Nekoto to get more of Toki and Sahara (or even more of Todo's story since he kind of gets left out after halfway through).

The past connection was a simplistic, cliched, writing cop-out for tying things together. At least it was obvious from early on that it was coming due to little flashbacks and wasn't a complete surprise in the last episode as it is in so many shows.

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Started wonderfully clever then weak writing turned it simplistic and unsatisfying.

General spoilers only. Most people will like this, and I'd encourage giving it a try. I, however, was left quite disappointed, so I'm posting this review to give an alternative to popular opinion.

If you've never seen the Japanese live version (series, special episode, and movie), then you might enjoy this more. For me, the only thing the Thai version gave in the second half of the show that wasn't already far better portrayed by the Japanese version, was the physical intimacy.

This started so strongly then became yet another Thai BL let down by weak writing. At first, the screenplay was clever in how it honored the original material while adjusting things here and there to add some new depth to the characters and their interactions. I would give Ep 1-4 a 9.5/10. It was familiar in a comforting way yet fresh and interesting.

Then it slid into simplistic & shallow writing, it rushed plot and pivitol moments, became cheesy & corny, character arcs plateaued, the number of overheard thoughts dwindled away even when people were being touched, and an increasing number of plot points required suspension of disbelief (I'm not talking about anything magic related- that's just a natural part of this story). It started to feel more like a string of fan service moments than an emotionally moving story.

Because work and life challenges became so easy to get through, it felt like Achi and Karan didn't really get to grow as a couple. There wasn't a meaningful learning curve for them in navigating life as a team. (Especially when compared to the Japanese version.) Their words to each other are very sweet, but the further in the story goes, the more their love is told to the audience more than it's shown by examples (which wasn't the case in the beginning, which is why those episodes are stronger).

Tay and New kept me watching. Especially Tay; he's just a perfect match for the character of Karan. His energy and earnestness were endlessly endearing.

The theme song is great; it's so catchy I watched through the intro credits every week just to hum along.

I will rewatch Ep 1-4 at some point because I thoroughly enjoyed them, but I'll never sit through the rest of it again. I'd rather just watch the Japanese version.

GENERAL SPOILERS below.
My thoughts on episodes as I watched the weekly releases:

Ep 1-4: A great adaptation so far. It's clever in the way it added depth to the characters and in the differences from the Japanese live version. I'm excitedly looking forward to it every week. The casting is great, Tay in particular. I absolutely love Karan's zaney internal dialogue and Tay's vocal acting with it.

Ep 5-7: Good but not as great; it's feeling less clever but I'm still invested.

I wish I had skipped Ep 8 (or just watched the last 5 min)! It's is soooo awful. The plot of this episode is so contrived, idiotic, frusterating, ridiculous, and requires a stupidly high suspension of disbelief. The boss's reasoning and interference is shallow and cliche, and the fact that he let things get that far with the awful power-play client before intervening makes him a terrible boss and unlikable human being. And Achi stayed quiet too, which was frustrating.

Ep 9 was better than 8 but it felt like it rushed the really pivitol moments. There was a lot of sweetness but also a lot of cheesy-ness. This script is just not as good with slice-of-life writing as Japanese ones often are. It feels like the quality of the script has been unraveling for the past few episodes. I doubt I'll keep re-watching it like I do with the Japanese version. I felt the first few Eps were a 9.5/10 but I am now reducing my overall rating to a temporary 8/10, I'll see if that holds.

Ep 10 was better in pacing and content. The script did a better job building up to and proceeding from the pivitol moment of Achi reaching out to touch because he doesn't believe Karan's as okay as he says he is. I'm still feeling let down with the script; there are moments that are supposed to be hearfelt but miss the mark because they are a little too cheesy to me. Also, the plot stretches credulity to force certain things to happen and it makes things feel clunky and less believable, pulling me out of immersion and reducing my ability to stay emotionally invested. Tay and New are doing great with what they are given and are the reason why I'm still watching consistently (I'm also fond of the girl Pai). I'll probably be lowering my rating but I'll wait to see how the last two episodes pan out.

I do like how Karan and Achi talk things out every episode and never let misunderstandings simmer for long before resolving them. On the other hand, the fact that they do this consistantly (every episode after they start dating) and reletively easily, undermines the validity of how uneasy Achi feels about them being in different cities for 1-2 months. Half a year I would understand, but 1 month? When you have been able to communicate with each other well every time there's an uncertainty? They haven't even used the mind reading much. Achi's voice over thoughts have been much less systemically insecure and yet the script is having him act like that's still a big issue.

Ep 11: Only the last 2 scenes (42min in, aka the last 9min) with Karan and Achi exploring intimacy were really enjoyable. The rest of it was too cheesy, shallow, and rushed. The challenges and uncertainties of life (work and relationships) that were brought up were laughably easy and simple to navigate. The screenplay dumbs everything down to the point that it's not interesting and barely enjoyable. I had to speed watch most of this episode to get through the cringness.

Ep 12: So simplistic and cheesy it made me keep cringing and itching to skip forward. Again, potential life challenges were built up but then easy to get through once the time came (all of the family stuff felt so hollow). I was left feeling disappointed.

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Lacks Substance. Harassing & Pushing = Love (apparently).

In reality it would be ick, as a fantasy I gave it a chance but it's lacking in many ways. The characters and story are poorly written and failed to engage me emotionally.

There are eight 20min episodes. The first 3.5 episodes are all physical/sexual harassment (that's weirdly encouraged by coworkers and manager), stalker-ish obsessive behavior, and ignoring what the other character says.

As a fantasy, the frequent close physical proximity does build tension and the lead actors seem comfortable with each other and have good chemistry. The intimate scene is surprisingly realistic, especially for a Korean BL. And sadly, that's the best thing I can say about this whole series.

There's not much to the story and the script is dull and full of clichés. Things became a little less shallow and more emotionally interesting in Ep 7-8 with the introduction of a certain character, but that was too little and too late for me. I couldn't really care at that point because the story had failed to get me invested in the characters.

Character words and actions contradict each other. Ex: "Your feelings aren't insignificant. They're very special." BUT, I'm going to ignore everything you say, especially every time you say you don't want something, and keep making you uncomfortable (even after they get together).

The actors did okay with what they were given, but no one was truly compelling.

Cinematography and music were generic (but didn't distract either).

I can't recommend this when there are many Korean BLs that are much better written. Love Class 2 is a great option if you're looking for realistic intimate scenes (the 2nd and 3rd couple have them). At the same time, there's more emotional depth and sweetness, naturalistic dialogue, and engaging stories. FYI Love Class 2 is a stand alone, not a sequal, so you don't have to watch the first series (which is good but not as good).

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Love OffGun But Losing Brain Cells.

You should be able to tell if this show is for you within two episodes. You may enjoy this if you love Off/Gun, want something light and easy to watch with some sweet/cute moments, and are in the mood for simple/silly humor.

At Ep 9/12: My previous review of Ep 1-5 holds. I decided to give it a try again for OffGun's sake and watched Ep 6-9. Apparently the YouTube version is cut (in the USA). I switched to the uncut version via Telegram after Ep 5, but it didn't change my lack of enjoyment with the show.

Previous review: At Ep 5/12. This may not be a popular sentiment, but from my perspective, this show is a slog through simplistic boredom. Apart from Off & Gun's characters, most everyone else acts like middle-schoolers (around 11-13 years old) instead of university students. The 'humor' is extremely basic and simple. There's no cleverness in this screenplay at all. Most characters are more like caricatures and what little plot there is, is so far predictable.

I was so impressed with the series Not Me and Gun and Off were so fantastic in their roles. They acted with nuance, depth, and authentic emotions. The production of Cooking Crush is a huge downgrade for what their talent is capable of.

I'm watching the scenes with Off & Gun together at normal speed because they manage to elevate the generic material to bring some interest and depth to their interactions. For everything else I'm watching at 2x the speed to keep myself from dropping this show entirely.

I really want to support OffGun, but the screenplay is so shallow/simple/boring/predictable, and the secondary characters so annoying and often over-acted, that I really can't bring myself to rate this higher currently. If OffGun weren't a part of this show, I would have no qualms about rating it a 4 and dropping it.

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Leads truly feel like a couple & solved misunderstandings w/20min to spare

(I rate vertical dramas on their own sliding scale. General spoilers only.) Green flag ML, no abuse, no kidnappings. The chemistry between the leads was awesome. The flirting was both adorable and exciting. The leads seemed fully comfortable with each other and really felt like a true couple. Great skinship, multiple moments of romantic or sexual tension, a couple of suggestive lines and even a scene where they exit the shower together in towels, and a couple of good make-out scenes.

The ML was great! (Lan Lan was fabulous, as usual. I didn’t always like her character's choices, but I always liked her.) First time I've seen the ML and definitely curious to see more. His confession scene closer to the end was beautifully layered. The long-standing pain of unrequited love (as he was recounting the past) was palpable alongside his open devotion. Moments of self-deprication and old helplessness blended with relief and hope. All very natural and touching. My only wish was that the screenplay had given the FL more to say in reply, but the way the actor's embraced held a world of words anyway.

ML is Hu Jiacheng 胡嘉程, not yet on MDL as of 9/12/25.

There are long-standing, and repeating, misunderstandings/misconceptions between the leads, but they do all get sorted out 20min before the end so there's a good chunk of time with the leads just being happy together.

There are some of the typical antagonist scenes (like a green tea that won't give up) but at least they felt like secondary plot. Things regarding the ML's family were rushed near the end and didn't feel fully finished, but the ending for the leads themselves was solid.

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Too much focus on unhinged antagonists.

(I rate vertical dramas on their own sliding scale. General spoilers only.) I really wanted to like this more than I did. I really liked both leads and loved them together. It was a fun twist that the ML this time around became the air traffic controller because of his secret crush on the FL, while she was a top-tier pilot (there are multiple shows with a similar set-up but with the roles the other way around).

BUT there was way too much time spent on thoroughly annoying and deranged people; three of them: the SML, SFL, and the SML's mother. The show is only 2 hours long and the first half is all about the FL learning about her boyfriend's affair and detangling herself from him. Which was fine; the FL is good and got me invested in her.

However, I was looking forward to the focus shifting off of the SML in the second half. As most of the other shows with a somewhat similar set-up put a lot of focus on developing/building the relationship between the leads, I was expecting this to happen again. But nope. The SML's side of the story (and the people related to him) continues to get as much screen time as the "ML" (in quotes because overall the SML definitely got more screen time).

The relationship between the leads suffers depth because of this. There's definitely magnetism, and it's obvious how much the ML respects and cares for the FL. But there's not enough time for the FL to fully heal from her last relationship, and not enough time with the two leads doing everyday things together. Many of their interactions happen arround the antagonists approaching/interfering with the FL.

It felt like the screenwriters thought, "You know, the audience knows the ML has loved the FL for 7-8 years and is a good guy. We all know they will end up together, so we can just take that for granted and not spend so much effort developing their love story. It's more fun to write obsessed and unhinged people anyway."

The writers also decided to overlook common sense, laws, security, hospital privacy, and airport regulations. So many things happen that just defy reality. Nothing stops the antagonists from going anywhere they want to at anytime, and that includes any area of the airport and it's offices. Restraining orders also don't exist in this world, apparently. And it's the first time I've seen an antagonist put many dozens of innocent people in peril just to take out the FL. Yeesh.

My favorite scene was around the middle of the show, early on in the lead's interactions. The SML comes to get the FL to agree to get back together when the ML is dropping her off. The ML stands away, not interfering. He only steps in to force the SML to let go of her hand/arm after the FL has told the SML to let go. Then the ML steps aside again and lets the FL continue to handle things however she wants to. This happens a couple of times in this scene, as the SML doesn't want to listen to reason, and I just really appreciated the respect for her autonomy and mental strength that this kind of back-up support shows (instead of deciding to take over and try to "fix" things for her without being asked).

So far, my favorite show with a pilot and air traffic controller (that is more realistic and focuses on building the romance) is with Wang YiRan and Hou ChengYue:
https://kisskh.at/779096-san-wan-ying-chi-de-an-lian
Personally, I recommend watching that one instead.

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Unrealistic plot but sweet, mature slow-burn romance.

(I rate vertical dramas on their own sliding scale.) General spoilers only.
I enjoyed watching the leads fall for each other through mutual respect blossoming into attraction. Though their relationship started as boss and subordinate, they both learned they could trust and depend on each other.

The leads are both into the 1-month waiting period of their divorces before they start letting themselves entertain the idea of liking the other more romantically (not knowing that they are, in fact, each other's "long-lost" spouses). Things start out professionally and then they try to keep it that way for a long time. They are also aware that the other thinks their own spouse hasn't treated them well. So, their relationship didn't feel immoral to me in this specific context.

As for the plot, it's the same as many others, and it's one I'm a little tired of. But I started watching because of Yang Han and ended up enjoying it more than I thought I would, though I did employ fast-forwarding at times. Is the plot ridiculous, yes, but I liked the romance anyway! It's slow-burn and not that steamy. There are more moments of romantic and sexual tension than there are kisses (but there are quite a few of those moments!).

I did really like the ML's internal dialogue about not blaming the kid for his mother's "cheating" (misunderstanding), and their interactions were really nice. The kid is written more like an 8-10 year old (than a 5 year old), but quite cute anyway.

If you are a stickler for logic, this story will drive you nuts. But if you can shrug off glaringly obvious plot contrivances, then give it a try. Just imagine it's an alternate reality where people can't make calls or send emails or letters outside of the country they are in. Also, that a woman has absolutely zero contact with her own family or her husband's family without him. That's the only way to explain why the leads never communicated for 6 whole years while the ML worked abroad immediately following the wedding night when the grandma's drugged both the leads so they would consumate their marriage. And that would explain why the ML's grandmother, and he himself, never knew that the FL was pregnant and gave birth to his child. And that the FL appears to have no relatives at all even though she had a grandmother at the wedding. Lol.

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Push & pull dynamic into sweetness and partnership.

(I rate vertically filmed micro dramas on their own sliding scale.)
Fantastic chemistry with lots of intimacy, great acting all around, good plot with people using their heads smartly, the lead couple has a captivating push and pull dynamic (between seduction, true feelings, and misgivings) and then transition into sweetness and working together, and a satisfying happy ending. The leads are also together officially quite a bit before the end, which was awesome and increased satisfaction. Even the music was well done with this one and enhanced multiple moments.
Intimacy was fairly realistic and passionate, lots of high sexual tension moments, lots of kisses from lip presses to big movements, multiple makeout scenes, and some skinship. Breath sounds were kept in. Actors looked very comfortable with each other.

The ML manhandles the FL a couple times when he's hurt/frustrated, but is basically a green flag. The FL takes a long time to get over her misgivings and the ML makes a good argument on how selfish she's been now and in the last 5 years. But they finally clear up the misunderstandings and from there move forward together with full trust and support.

I love how the leads are smart enough to be successfully proactive with the main SFL antagonist. It's very satisfying how they, and their friends/family, deal with her craziness.

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Memorable. Ep 1-4 are very thoughtful & Ep 5-8 are more melodramatic.

General spoilers only. "You can't help if you fall for a boy or a girl, or someone else." About multiple characters who feel different from "normal" in various ways. Characters experience a lot of yearning and pining (a lot of it is romantic in nature though characters also yearn to fit in or to find their place in life too), internal struggles and insecurity, and waivering back & forth.

The two main characters are blood-related siblings, so this is best watched with a non-judgmental approach, otherwise you might want to skip this one. There is also an openly gay secondary character and a tertiary character who loves their step-sibling (not related by blood).

There are great messages explored throughout the screenplay about questioning societal norms, mores, and expectations (especially when it doesn't hurt others- the people who feel like outliers are the ones that are hurt by trying to conform to other's opinions), deciding what's right for one's self, not being passive in one's own life, and more in that vein.

Nothing is handled lightly, by the story as a whole or by the individual characters. Various concerns about each character's feelings and their situations are explored. There are voice-over thoughts from multiple characters.

This is NOT a spicy story. There is some skinship but not a lot, two light lip presses, and one brief scene near the end that only implies the two lead characters slept together.

Technically I would rate this a 7.5/10 overall, but there were a few things I loved about it, and it engaged my thoughts and emotions enough to be quite memorable so I'm giving it an 8/10.

The first half is well crafted and thoughtful. I would give Ep 1-4 a 9/10. The second half gets more melodramatic in ways that I found excessive at times and I would rate Ep 5-8 a 6/10; the plot starts feeling less realistic and increasingly stretches credulity. A couple of actions or reactions didn't feel quite in line with a character's previous build. Overall I still found it pretty satisfying though; it helped that the show starts at the end before going back in time so I already had an idea of how things were going to work out. That allowed me to mostly shrug off the frusterations in storytelling and character actions as I watched things unfold in the second half.

All of the actors (except the mother) were very well suited for their rolls. Suzuki Jin, Yamashita Mizuki, and Ito Asahi were especially enjoyable to watch and almost immediately got me invested in their characters. The mother, on the other hand, is extra in a way that is not written or acted particularly well. Which makes her even more annoying. Luckily she's not around much.

General Spoilers below.

The number of times people dramatically drop to the ground (in faints or illness) is ridiculous. I could handle one, but after that it breaks credulity.

I loved one of the internal thoughts of a character with unrequited love. The character being daunted by the difficulty and hopeless pain of it was so relatable; "You want to be best friends forever? Then I can't tell you forever."

FYI SIDE NOTE ON SUBTITLES:
I could only find this streaming in the USA on KissAsian (as a last resort) in February 2024. Ep 4-8 all had lagging subtitle issues. It would be fine for about the first 15min of every episode and then the rest would lag behind by multiple sentences.
So I recommend checking if this is going to happen in whatever platform you find it on before starting to avoid frusteration.

Edit: I ended up downloading the video and subtitle files on my computer in order to re-watch it properly.

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Lovely, With Heart-Warming Plot Twist.

The plot twist is easily missed because the translation of a word at the end is ambiguous in English! When the word "couple" is said during a phone call, think of it as "life partner" or "romantic partner". That will clarify the twist. This is based on Stongberry's (the production company) responses to viewer's comments here & on other platforms.

20min. Loved this, only wish there was more, but it ends at a good spot. The 2 leads actually interact like an established couple. It's realistic and so cute/sweet. The arrival of the brother leads to both humorous and emotional moments. The twist at the end made me rewatch the film immediately and I enjoyed it even more!

Yes, the brother is rude and annoying when he arrives, but there IS a reason for this that the shift in perspective at the end explains. (Details under "spoilers" below, but I highly recommend watching the movie first.)

A nice comment from Strongberry on Vimeo said, "Sometimes we argue, but I think trying to understand each other is a true family. This movie wanted to show that kind of family."

Watch the movie first, then, if you still want clarification on why the brother acts as he does, I've shortly explained it then pasted another viewer's comment below that summarizes the situation AND Strongberry's response confirming it:

.........

SPECIFIC SPOILERS

.........

At first, the brother is rude on purpose to test out his brother's partner. At the end, a month has passed and the way all three of them walk up the hill with arms around each other shows they have grown a strong comaraderie, which indicates the brother doesn't stay unlikable.

Comment by estar:
"This was so sweet - especially when u get to the end and u "get" that the mother and brother know all along, and are just checking up on the big-brother's partner to make sure he is an "ok" worthy person. Yeah at the start Yeong Min is a total abrasive brat, that u wanna punch - but "getting" that he's not being a d*ck just to be a d*ck, it was a sweet conclusion to a otherwise fun, well thought out plot."

Response by Strongberry:
"...You have a good grasp of the meaning of this movie. Thank you."

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Good For 1 Watch. Missing Some Emotional Stepping Stones.

Very general spoiler on the ending only. Definitely good for one watch but I may not rewatch as it wasn't very emotionally engaging for me. The fight scenes are great, intimacy is fairly realistic and there's more of it than the average Korean BL, the acting is strong (9.5/10 for the two leads, 7-8/10 for everyone else), and the plot-twist is surprising. I was glad I watched it but didn't feel completely satisfied afterwards, even though the ending is happy.

The review by Rent343 on MDL puts into words some of what I was feeling (my own notes are below this quoted excerpt): https://kisskh.at/profile/Rent343/review/63835
"...I dunno, it felt like I was reading a sparknotes summary for a great novel. I got all the big facts/ plot points but the delivery took little to no time to make those facts emotionally significant..."

MY NOTES:
That's what I felt too- like it was the Sparknotes to a greater story. I missed the romantic build of the connection between the characters (both by text before they met and then after) so when conflict came, the stakes didn't feel as high as they could have. They still felt like a few-dates-old crush. I mentally knew they were in love because the audience was told so, and they were certainly cute/sweet to watch, but I didn't feel it emotionally. I was rooting for them and the plot-twist scene did tug at my heartstrings, but I kept feeling like too many chunks of the story were missing/skipped to feel fully connected and satisfied.

It didn't help that there was absolutely no sense of time. It felt like they had only known each other for a few days, which is why their love confessions didn't feel that strong. It's possible multiple weeks passed, but who knows!

Some side threads are annoyingly left in the air, like the reason behind the plot-twist. A character says they will tell another everything but the audience never gets to hear it!

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Tongue-In-Cheek Clever-Silly And Romantic.

Lighthearted, fun, sweet, and cute with emotional depth that kind of sneaks up on you.
It's special because while it has many tropes/clichés that are often predictable, they're purposefully taken 1 to 2 steps further in unexpected ways. Because of this, the whole series is very humorous instead of cringworthy. They do it very well. Things are done/acted a little dramatically but earnestly at the same time. I was really impressed with the whole cast.

In real life the type of behavior Noey exhibits towards Thi is full of red flags and could lead to trauma bonding (unpredictable hot/cold, threatening/rewarding, etc). In this fictional tale however, I was able to enjoy the well done tropes of enemies-to-lovers, bully/nerd, and hard to others but soft to the love interest. It takes some time but Noey's character does mature and redeem himself beautifully.

FYI in the last episode keep watching because the epilogue continues through the credits and all the way to the end.

It was a little tricky for me to tell the grades and age difference of the main characters, especially at the beginning. I believe Noey starts the series about 16 yrs old and Thi is 5 years older as a junior in college, so about 21. Noey starting so young in the story works because he's young enough to act as immature as he starts out being.

The age difference was never made weird in this story, which I appreciated. Young people can fall in love too. And as MidwesternLibrarian says on Reddit, "I don't mind their fictional age gap because there is no way Thi is manipulating Noey. Noey is going to do what Noey wants to do." Truer words were never spoken, lol!

General Spoilers below.
There is a good amount of romantic attraction/tension that is tastefully done keeping the age of the characters and actors in mind, two interupted almost-kisses, and a very basic kiss at the end. (Which I was totally fine with, especially since Tar who played Noey would have been 17-18 at the time of filming.)

I loved how the miscommunications in the first few episodes lead them into falling for each other instead of falling out, lol.

There is some medium angst near the end but it is resolved and the ending is satisfying.

I likely won't watch again on my own but it could be fun to see with other people.

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Emotional Platonic Bond, Heartwarming & Heartbreaking.

Not a BL and I feel it's misleading to market it as a romance. There was maybe potential for that but then you learn the angel is around 16 while the adult is in his 30s. It felt more like big and little brother to me. Seemed like a redemption of sorts for Koki's guilt about his own little brother.

Heartwarming and heartbreaking with an ending that is hopeful and really sad at the same time.

General Spoilers below.
It started somber but with some lovely understated humor and then got really heavy. It did get more positive and hopeful but it was heartbreaking at the same time because the angels's wings filling in meant he would leave at some point. The very last couple shots were weird and not satisfying; it seemed to imply an open ending but just left me confused.

It's too heavy and unsatisfying for me to watch more than once but it was well done, and well acted. I'm glad I watched it once as it did have some poignant messages handled in a tactful way.

Trigger warnings for accidental death, suicide, violence, and bullying.

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Epic Friendship More Than Romance

Overall I enjoyed it and I would recommend it, just know you'll be watching for an epic friendship more than a romance. As a story it's an 8, as a romance it's a 6. A good ensemble show.

The sci-fi element was really well thought through and there were no plot holes or threads left hanging. Everything stayed true to the "rules" that were set for this world. There were quite a few moments I laughed outloud and only a couple of spots I fast-forwarded (either because it felt slow or because the messages were repetitive to what I've seen in other shows).

All of the characters were written and acted like real people (no 2-dimensional caricatures), except for maybe the main character Kawai who was borderline a little shallow as a character. Kawi did have some character development but he was often annoying and rarely acted his age (both in how he was written and acted).

Krist and Fluke (Gawin) have best friend vibes but not romantic chemistry. Fluke was believable as a gay character who is somwhat attracted to Kawi and wishes for more, but it never feels truly reciprocated. Krist has difficulty acting attracted, and the writers and director didn't help by making his character freak out and avoid physical affection apart from a few kisses.

Even after they've been together for many years Kawi seems put-off by touching, teasing, and sweet words. This trend in BLs is so unrealistic, annoying, and frustrating to me. It's like disguised homophobia that is supposed to be viewed as "cute". It's not, and it negatively affects my satisfaction with the series.

There are a couple of catchy songs, one of which I added to my playlist.

Great for one watch but I probably won't see it again.

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