Supernatural thriller x emotional rollercoaster
(Reviewing the entire show here)When I started death's game, I was fairly intrigued. The idea of a character being forced to live 12 lives that are destined to end quickly was an exciting plot idea, and I was curios to see where they could take it. As the show progresses, it gets more and more interesting.
Yee-jae's life seems to be clouded by misfortune. Without ever being able to catch a break, he decides to take his own life, only to be confronted by Death herself with a punishment that she sees fit: he must live as (and attempt to prevent the imminent death of ) 12 different people. But no matter how hard he tries to prevent them, the deaths seem completely unavoidable. Slowly, he realizes that the deaths he's facing seem to be related, and so he attempts to figure out this common denominator using the knowledge of all the lives he's lived. Naturally, Death doesn't want him messing around in her punishment, and is sure to make each death more painful than the last.
This show was much more emotional than I thought it would be, and I really enjoyed it. I thought that the way the episodes led into the next was well done, and it didn't feel like the tone shifted abruptly, but rather throughout each life Yee-jae lived, he seemed to learn more and become more empathetic. The cast was AMAZING and did an excellent job portraying these very different characters, while still conveying the same emotions that Yee-jae would have felt in every new situation. The ending was very well done, and wrapped up the show very nicely. It's a fairly short watch, and definitely worth taking a look at!
Was this review helpful to you?
Don't watch for the mafia plotline...
I almost wish I could rate this lower. The "gangster" aspects mostly involved a loose mafia plotline, complete with poorly choreographed fight scenes and a rivalry that made no sense. However, despite the lackluster gangster oppa plot, I found myself enjoying every single episode WAY more than I expected.This show is fun. It's light, an easy watch, and unintentionally goofy. There's not too much drama between the couple over the course of the 8 episodes, which is ideal in a show like this. Tew (Meen) and Guy (Ping) meet while playing online games together and decide to meet up. The two totally hit it off and start hanging out together more regularly, which of course leads to them falling in love. However, Tew's attempts to hide his "gangster" identity don't go well, and this could put Guy in danger. I find mafia BLs to be hit or miss, especially when it comes to the action scenes. I don't typically expect a lot out of Thai BLs when it comes to that, but if you're going to do a gangster concept, I do think that's pretty important. While it may have missed the mark there, it made up for it in the cute and fun romance, which is worth watching.
Was this review helpful to you?
Short but Impactful
I was hesitant to watch this drama, mostly because I typically find myself not enjoying sci-fi kdramas too much. However, this one surprised me!!In a bleak and dystopian future, the world (or at least S Korea) has been destroyed with little breathable oxygen left. A strict divide in social class leaves the top of the pyramid in a cushy, oxygen-filled environment and the refugees fending for themselves in a barely livable and barren landscape. Moving up the social ladder is impossible - unless you're a delivery driver. Sa-wol decides he will do his best to become a driver like the legendary 5-8, who seems to do his job and help refugees at the same time. However, the job is much more dangerous than it seems, and the people at the top seem to have no interest in helping those beneath them.
This short series depicts a not-so-new take on a dystopian future, but does so in a way that's very enjoyable to watch. Sa-wol is very committed to his dream of being a delivery driver and gets himself wrapped up in a mess bigger than he ever anticipated. Many plot points were totally under-explained, but overall for 6 episodes it was super solid. I think this would've worked better as an 8 or 10 episode drama, but still definitely worth the watch.
Was this review helpful to you?
Genuinely funny
Typically, jokes in BLs don't land well. Whether that's due to translation errors or the constant sound effects in unclear, but this one actually made me laugh. The humor in it was well done and the storyline felt super fresh. Having a show that tackles the toxicity of the BL industry while keeping the show mostly light and fun is impressive.Gene is an author who is convinced into writing BL, even though he doesn't want to. To his surprise, his novel is such a big success that it's being adapted into a series. Gene is asked to come to the casting call where he meets the man who will play the lead in the series, Nubsib. Nubsib immediately falls for Gene. However, Nubsib is supposed to be acting as if he is in love with his costar Aoey - both on and off camera. This conflict between Nubsib's career and love life, as well as Gene's wish to stay out of the spotlight, cause tension between the developing relationship between Nubsib and Gene.
This show was a fun watch that never had me at the edge of my seat, but always kept me entertained. It was light, the romance was cute, and the actors did a great job portraying their characters. However, the classic episode 11 curse ruined the ending a bit for me, but mostly because I think it's over done and just not an enjoyable conflict to watch. Still, the show was worth the watch and a nice break from the university/engineer BLs.
Was this review helpful to you?
Nearly Great
MoD was a very enjoyable show to watch IF you're more invested in the storyline than the romance. There were so many scenes where the relationship should have developed more, but then there's a cut to the next scene! Max and Tul have such great chemistry together, and I honestly wish we could have seen a more gradual development of their relationship instead of kiss scenes that seem out of place and a lack of romance in the scenes that should have it.The plot was really interesting and I enjoyed the crime aspect of the show a lot. I think things could have been sped up just a bit, but overall it was fairly well paced. The characters outside of the MaxTul were still super interesting to watch, and the viewer is kept on their toes trying to figure out what actually happened in the murder case. I think that this is a great watch, but the writing of the romance scenes was a little rough. Max and Tul were able to pull it off, but it could have been executed a lot better. Intertwining the romance and the crime plotlines in a way that didn't make either seem out of place would have made this show flow much better.
Was this review helpful to you?
You can't go wrong with the bodyguard plot
A cute Korean BL that once again fell victim to the 10 minute episode tragedy where no matter how good the story is, the characters are never fully developed. This plot could have easily been a longer series, and I really enjoyed both of the main actors performances! I love the classic bodyguard trope, and it was done well here, though all the relationships felt a bit underdeveloped due to the time constraints. Gotta love the homoerotic tension of wrestling with your "friend" only to stare into their eyes as they have you pinned to the ground. Classic.Was this review helpful to you?
Extremely unhealthy relationships that you can't stop watching
Personally, I'm a sucker for a good bodyguard drama AND a good mafia drama. Put those together and I'm gonna like it. However, in good conscience, I can't give this series 10/10. As much as I loved this series, the consent was questionable at best (arguably non-existent for most of the scenes) and the characters...still end up together after that. I feel like they fail to flesh out the consequences of these scenes (and honestly, why did they include them in the first place?) The mafia plotline was pretty loose if we're being honest, but most of that could be explained away by Kinn not being the head of the main family yet.The one thing that made this drama as good as it was is the chemistry of the couples. There's the perfect amount of conflict and plenty of tension between them and it makes for an interesting watch. I dislike shows where they seem to get together too easily, or where the conflict is so drawn out to a point where they're barely even together. The balance in this show is perfect. I still have complaints about the 3rd couple, but the main two are the important ones anyway imo.
The action scenes keep your attention the whole time, and the twists in the plot keep you on your toes. It's got the perfect touch of comedy added to the otherwise fairly serious plotline. The actors do a fantastic job portraying these characters. Unfortunately, the storyline brushes over huge issues of assault, manipulation, and torture, and treat these as normal aspects of the relationships instead of addressing them.
Was this review helpful to you?
Heartbreaking in the best way
This show is so insanely well done and beautifully shot. It's devastating and painful to watch. I'm not normally one to cry at a show, but this one deserved it.The internalized homophobia is portrayed in the most realistic way, to a point of it hurting. As a queer person, watching this was painful. It felt like such a true and authentic representation of a queer experience, even if that meant that it hurt. A lot. I feel like most BLs throw queer characters into an otherwise heteronormative storyline, but ITSAY didn't. It was a beautiful portrayal of what it feels like to realize you're queer, without shying away from the difficult aspects of this. The building of the tension in the relationship was so well done, and the interactions between the leads were almost too realistic. This is a show that I'm glad I watched once, and I don't think I could rewatch.
Was this review helpful to you?
It would be better if they didn't split the series
I was interested in Payu and Rain's storyline, which is the reason I started watching this show. I didn't know the focus shifted halfway through, and I wasn't a huge fan of the second half. The motorcycle storyline went nowhere, and they reference a character constantly and you just...never meet him? They also played the exact same 8-minute or so long clip of the motorcycles being transported like three times. Why.The best part about the show was the chemistry. Both couples felt well thought out in terms of development, and they managed to have two very different couples. I think I just don't like the whole switching to new leads thing they did. I felt like I should have been more invested in the Pai/Sky storyline than I was. It also felt like the show got way too serious way too fast in the second half. Instead of a fun, lighthearted show, it turned into a story of trauma and assault. If they were going to have more serious themes, I wish they would have brought them in towards the beginning of the show, instead of having them all at the end when it's totally unexpected.
Was this review helpful to you?
WAY sadder than I expected, but not in a bad way
Honestly, probably one of the healthier relationship dynamics in BLs. The two main characters only have eyes for each other and make that very clear. It's a cute relationship dynamic with building intensity over the course of the show.Personally, I was much more invested in Dean and Pharm than in their previous reincarnations. I think that because they show how their past lives died within the first few minutes of the first episode, learning their story before that wasn't as interesting as seeing Dean and Pharm uncover their past lives. Plus, having the knowledge of how their past lives died while Dean and Pharm are clueless is less fun as a viewer, since you're just waiting for them to have the information you do.
Very cute show, but with the occasional scene that is way darker than expected. The characters did feel a bit flat sometimes though. Also, is it technically incest to date the reincarnation of your dead uncle??
Was this review helpful to you?
The ghosts were totally uninteresting
A short and sweet series that was fairly enjoyable. They tried to do way too much with the ghost plotline though, and attempted to create all these rules that ghosts must abide by in far too few episodes. At that point, I didn't care about what the ghosts could or couldn't do.The two leads are great. It's a cute little relationship that is fun to watch. Nothing too exciting, but a pleasant watch.
The whole conflict with Kevin's family was a bit odd. Again, it just felt like they tried to do way too much world building in the few episodes they had. I also thought this show would be a bit spookier since it was ghost themed, but there was nothing scary about it. It was just a fun little show with a little bit of ghost hunting.
Was this review helpful to you?
Not much happened, but it was a quick and fun watch
Honestly, I only watched this because of BounPrem. The plot was fairly uneventful but the chemistry was great. They definitely could have done more, but for a short series it was a fun watch. The initial conflict seems a bit odd, but it sets up the story nicely and the beach scenes are nice to watch.Sun being unable to collect debt from anyone even though his job is a debt collector added some nice comedy to the show. It was lighthearted and enjoyable, but if you're looking for a deeper plot, this isn't it. A debtor and a debt collector meet up, some things take a turn for an unexpected twist, and naturally they fall in love. Simple as that.
Was this review helpful to you?
Fun and lighthearted
While the storyline did feel like another retelling of a classic trope, the actors do a good job portraying it and making it believable. The romance was cute, the slow opening up to each other was enjoyable to watch, and overall I thought it was a nice, easy watch.As with most Korean BLs, I feel like the short time frame doesn't allow for as much character development as I would like. Still, this show did what it could in the time that it had and I thoroughly enjoyed watching the development of the couple's relationship.
Was this review helpful to you?
Too much worldbuilding, not enough time
Color Rush was a show that tried to do way more worldbuilding than was necessary for the short time frame they had. However, they did take an interesting soulmate AU idea and turn it into something a bit darker.The concept of the show revolves around certain people that are colorblind (called monos) that can only see in shades of gray and their "probes," which are certain people that can allow them to see color. However, monos have been convicted in crimes revolving around trying to meet and stay near their probe, as seeing colors doesn't last forever if you're not with them.
Taking the idea of colorblindness until meeting a soulmate and turning it on its head to create a much more dramatic version was a great idea that could have been executed a bit better. I think that the show tried to expand on the idea of monos and probes a bit too much, and it just ended up being too confusing and took away from the relationship between the main character. Still a fun little watch though.
Was this review helpful to you?
BLs and comedies....good try I guess!
Cute and cheesy university BL (where the leads aren't engineers?!). The overall plot was fairly uninteresting unfortunately, because the main characters spend so much time fighting over...nothing? PondPhuwin is a great pair though (and NeoLouis of course). I honestly only watched this because I'm still waiting for the new episodes of Never Let Me Go.Pi has had a crush on Nan for a long time but has never had the courage to say anything since he knows Nan is way out of his league. But after a ~makeover~ he finally gains the confidence to approach him. However, Mork is always with Nan, giving Pi no room to be alone with him. Pi continuously gets annoyed at Mork, who always seems to be in his way, until he realizes it's actually Mork who he has feelings for.
Mork and Pi would have been great together if Pi didn't spend the entire series convincing himself he only liked Nan and didn't have feelings for Mork. It took them FOREVER to be into each other. Why must the "cheesy romance" BLs never have much of the actual cheesy romance, and instead be so much fighting and arguing over things that never further the plot? The scenes where they were flirting/actually together were so fun and cute, but there are so few of these that it makes watching this one less fun.
Was this review helpful to you?
