4
10
1
1
This review may contain spoilers
Make this a whole series, pretty please?
Overall: In about 15 minutes, Strongberry again delivers a well written & acted story (you can watch it on YouTube)Content Warnings: none
What I Liked
- the actors, they did a great job and have good chemistry (except the first kiss* in part 2, I give them a pass on the kiss in part 1 because it might have been the characters' first kiss)
- the background music was nice
- a short and sweet story
- I liked how the camerawork moved a bit more when they were walking but it wasn't too shaky
Room For Improvement/Questions
- the scene towards the end of part 2 was a too dimly lit for me
- I don't like how he called his boyfriend a pervert, I realize that he is joking, but it feels like an undercurrent of homophobia or looking down on when someone wants to be physical in a relationship...and I didn't like the cheater line either - maybe this is a translation thing
- doesn't the other guy have to serve in the military as well? Why wouldn't they have joined at the same time, now they'll have 4 years apart right? Or does he have a medical exemption? I'm confused by this.
- *that first kiss in part 2...I don't think anyone kisses a significant other like this, at least both people would pucker their lips a bit. Since they are in public, it could have been a cheek kiss instead.
I really hope Strongberry continues to make more and longer things. I bet if they did a Kickstarter for this to be a whole series or a sequel for Long Time No See, people would contribute. Right now they have YouTube channel membership. Wishing them all the best!!!
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This review may contain spoilers
Screams of agony could be heard down the street
Content warning: you'll want to claw your eyes out after watching...What I Liked-
it had an interesting premise, a god of love tries to help a human
- the actors were cute
- the first few episodes were okay
- I liked that the female character wasn't some crazy ex-girlfriend or a stalker fangirl
Why I Got So Angry
- the terrible 2 kisses - Nite is the god of love so he has to know how to give/receive a kiss right?? right??? (me screaming into a void)
- the entire episode where Tae just moped around and there were flashbacks, so boring
- almost all of the cast vanishes in the last few episodes
- an unknown time later Tae is at a beach and meets a doppelganger of Nite (let's call him Nite 2). There is no explanation but we all assume that Nite 2 is Nite in a different body based on the ridiculous number of similarities (I was thinking an Ariel type thing). This drags out until....
- What on god's green earth was that ending???? Nite 2 specifically says that he is NOT Nite, whaaaaaaaaa?????!!!!!!!!! What on earth happened to Nite? Where did this Nite 2 come from? Who wrote this????!!!!!!!! I almost threw my computer across the room and I screamed in agony at that ending.
Perhaps they had to do 12 episodes and had problems with the pandemic. They should have paused filming OR just added 1 scene between Nite & that other god to explain that Nite needed to get a human to give him a 'true love's kiss' in a new body without revealing he is Nite. Then Nite could remain human and be with his true love (i.e. Ariel situation). Explain to me why this scene could not have been filmed and I'll up my review.
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This review may contain spoilers
excellent chemistry (need a special episode and a spin off)
Overall: I was excited about the first episode. Then there were some nonsense character actions and plot that lost me a bit, but the finale reeled me back in. This is based on the book Reset by Crystaljade which I haven't read and I reviewed the series on its own merits. 10 episodes about an hour each. There are sometimes an extra scene after the initial end credits. Aired on iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/reset-episode-1-2812ixbgl6w?lang=en_usContent Warnings: punches, blood, violence, vomiting, kind of death, past death, grief, sex trafficking, near suicide, non con picture taking/sharing
Watch Suggestions (to get rid of toilet humor, some angst in the middle and some of a cartoonish villain)
- watch episode 1 (major content warning, it's complicated though)
- episode 2 skip 14-19, 20:20-33:40 and 39:05-40:05
- episode 3 skip 44:40-48:25
- episode 4 skip 8:05-11:20, 40:40-end
- episode 5 watch 48-end
- episode 6 skip 13-15 and 27:45-34
- episode 7 watch 17:30-22:10, 27:30-31, 39-44:30
- episode 8 watch 13-15:25, 19:45-23:10, 28:30-32:30 and 36:45-54:30
- episode 9 watch beginning-3:25, 9:50-13:20, 18-51:50
- episode 10 watch 29-end
What I Liked
- interesting premise
- engaging intro
- chemistry
- Pond's acting
- protect/caring moments
- episode 3 explaining Armin's love of acting and explaining Thada's backstory in episode 6*
- best wingman & manager (need a spin off with them)
- an antagonist actually received decent consequences for his actions
Room For Improvement
- cartoonish villains
- the timeline didn't make a ton of sense regarding how everyone did not look that much older/younger
- toilet humor, too much of a character in the bathroom
- a character kept telling people things and completely freaking out, he should have been smarter instead of still bewildered when months had passed
- world building error in episode 4, Armin mentioned hashtags would be popular but he didn't explain what they were yet Thada knew what they were even though they weren't yet invented
- Thada could have easily foreseen what would happen at that party and talked to Armin before
- stupid "plan" in episode 5
- *they waited too long (episode 6) to explain Thada's background
- security until there suddenly was zero security
- sound effects didn't make things funny
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This review may contain spoilers
lackluster vertical micro series
Overall: 40 total episodes for about 1hr 15 minutes runtime (a little under 2 minutes per episode). Episodes 1-10 are free to watch on the Alwayz Shortdrama YouTube channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNSRcn2apDarHe7Tml51AIxwuqIE1SAO7&si=RWE6BtHqjZdxkdSV - on Dec 6th I watched all 40 episodes for free with a special livestream https://www.youtube.com/live/zNQiDd3UiY0 ; March 14th it was released on the Shortime app https://shortime.app/en/content/cb1f4cf (my invite code is NKNIWI - those are all capital letters, that's the capital letter i) It was later released on the iQIYI app which has several BL verticals.Content Warnings: past suicide, grief, mental health struggles, suicidal thoughts, near suicide
What I Liked
- caring moments such as first aid, piggyback ride
- good kissing
- that 1-10 are free on their YouTube channel and they did give a short window to watch all episodes for free instead of needing to download their app
Room For Improvement
- love triangle
- slow pacing
- didn't feel connected to any characters or their relationships with each other
- too many flashbacks
- night scenes needed more light on the actors' faces
- the band aids were much more distracting than whatever they were covering (scars, freckles, tattoos)
- the pool was so shallow that characters could all stand in it and yet a character said "how did you get to me, oh you swam"
- ending left something to be desired, after being so determined to do something a character seemed to make a strong 180 turn
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a coming of age ensemble series (not a BL series)
Overall: I re-watched the trailer to see if my expectations were way off but the trailer was narrated by Ryan and showed mostly Ryan/Jane moments. While I enjoyed the quirky humor, the misleading trailer and writing was disappointing. Aired on GMMTVs YouTube Channel, playlist link: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLszepnkojZI7b0q-zvdbbziNCv5VNDufI&si=t5Xhss_rfPl3ybkEContent Warning: sexual harassment
Watch Suggestions (I don't have the energy to go back thru the first 8 episodes, here are timings to focus on Jane & Ryan's romance)
- watch episode 9 part 4 7:45-end
- watch episode 10 part 1 beginning to the credits then 8-end
- watch episode 10 part 2 5:20-end
- watch episode 10 part 3 beginning to 1m 10s
- watch episode 10 part 4 8:30-end
- watch episode 11 part 2 beginning to 2:30
- watch episode 11 part 3 4:45-end
- watch episode 11 part 4 2:30-3:45 and 6:30-end
- watch episode 12 part 2
- watch episode 12 part 4 1min to 2:55 and 15:30-the end
What I Liked
- relatable main character (not knowing what he wanted to do in life)
- editing style, not sure how describe it, really vibrant colors
- laughed a few times
- informational bonus scenes at the end
- good that they touched on sexual harassment and I think this series passed the Bechdel test
- characters apologized
Room For Improvement
- misleading trailer
- pacing could have been tighter
- disappointed with a character/pair arc
- not all of the humor worked for me
- a character said "never ask me anything" and later said "if you don't know something ask me"
- Ryan was too incompetent such as not knowing how to silence or turn off his cell phone
- underwhelming/camera blocked kisses
- in episode 12 the time jump was totally not needed, technology exists, they didn't need to write a pair's relationship in that way
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dark and messy soap opera style series with cute side m/m couple
Overall: this isn't the type of plot (dark/murder mystery) that I enjoy, but I think they did a good job with it. Wish the side m/m couple would have had more screen time. Watched on YouTube.Content Warnings: pretty much every single one, this could be really triggering for people so please take care if you watch the whole thing
Timings for the side m/m couple (in case you'd like to just see their scenes, I think I got most of them). The best are episode 5 part 4 and episode 6 part 1.
ep 2 4/4, 3m30s
ep 3 2/4, 1:30
ep 5 3/4, 4
ep 5 4/4, beginning
ep 6 1/4, 9
ep 8 3/4, beginning
ep 14 2/4, 4
ep 16 3/4, 13 and 16
ep 17 2/4, 1m10s
ep 18 4/4 4m30s
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poorly done slice of life
Overall: I would advise starting it at ep 5 34 minutes and you'll avoid a whole bunch of random child characters. This is from the same production company that made: Ai Long Nhai, Coffee Melody, With Love and Second Chance. 10 episodes about 40 minutes long aired on GagaOOLala and iQIYI.Content Warnings: past death/grief, blood, bullying, hit/kick/punch, transphobia mentioned, intimate partner violence, drug addiction
What I Liked
- Khana and Pao (who had almost no screen time)
- how Barbie called out those bullies in ep 1
- good discussion of how if you are queer you are held to a higher perfection standard, you have to represent all queer people and can't make mistakes/learn like non-queer people*
- supportive friends
- Tin told his mom off
Room For Improvement
- boring, nothing really happened, scenes dragged on for too long they felt randomly thrown together at times
- Tin is maybe supposed to be in university but acts like he's in middle school, comes across as whiny and immature and he didn't know what a boner was???
- too many characters including children, lack of development with main characters specifically Kana and Pao
- *the trope of a hypersexual trans woman
- not into the Park/Tin dynamic, the cold/angry/reluctant guy hitting the peppy/persistent/harassing character, in ep 2 also Park randomly was flirty at one point which was an odd shift, Park later had a personality transplant in the second half of the series and was super flirty which was better
- comedy sound effects didn't make things funny, I didn't laugh once
- ep 1 started with a voice over/exposition dump
- why doesn't anyone called an ambulance, they just stand around shouting and that cpr technique was terrible
Question - what does Tin Tem Jai mean,? Tin is a character's name, internet searching says 'tem' is 'to do' or 'to make' and 'jai' is 'heart'.
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so much potential
Overall: this series could have been a 9.5 for me with the amount of potential but the writing didn't deliver. 8 episodes about 25 minutes each, 2 episodes per week. Aired on Viki https://www.viki.com/tv/40439c-boys-be-brave and on GagaOOLala (in Macau, Hong Kong & Taiwan) https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/4231/boys-be-brave-2024-e01Content Warnings: harassment, punch/fight
Watch Suggestions (takes out love triangle and focuses on cute parts)
- watch the beginning of ep 5 to 3:30 (when Jung Ki Sub was a little kid and explained why he acted like he did when people asked him out)
- watch episode 8 25:30-end (for when they first met)
- watch episodes 1 & 2
- episode 3 skip 23:20-24:30
- episode 4 watch 5:30-9:30 and 10-15
- episode 5 watch 4:20-15
- episode 6 watch 6:30-16:30, 24:20-end
- episode 7 watch 3:30-5:40, 17-27:30
- episode 8 watch 6:30-9, 21-25:25
What I Liked
- the friend relationship
- direct communication when it happened
- funny moments
- switching perspectives
- character growth with main couple
- end of episode 3
- one of the best hugs ever
Room For Improvement
- what we saw at the beginning of episode 5 needed to be shown much sooner so I could have rooted for the main couple's relationship, it felt like the 1 guy was playing games
- needed to get rid of the mostly cliched female character and family drama to focus more on the two couples
- the second couple had wasted screen time, also 1 character was cruel in the past and in the present and the other was content to be a doormat, needed a better explanation in the past and more/faster character growth in the present, then an unsatisfying ending
- 'because the writer said so' stuff, why would a character be so open to a woman he just met when his characterization up to that point has been more closed/prickly, why does a character go from punches/hate to being a simp
- most of episode 7 was wasted on family drama, episode 8 had a ton of wasted screen time too
- beginning of episode 8 was extremely choppy with a multitude of flash backs/forwards, characters in different locations
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gave me a headache every time
Overall: the plot did not plot. Watched uncut on GagaOOLala. Also aired cut/uncut on WeTV and cut on YouTube (they cut the NSFW scenes). 10 episodes about 40 minutes each. MFlow Entertainment also produced: Beyond the Star, Ai Long Nhai, Coffee Melody, Second Chance and With Love.Watch Suggestion: instead of watching the series, watch the Behind The NC Scenes (note the thumbnails have nothing to do with the scenes) https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/3965/time-the-series-behind-the-nc-scenes-2024-e01 These are actually fully edited with music though they occasionally have someone giving directions.
Content Warnings: murder, sexual assault/attempted rape, dub/non con? (not sure what exactly that was around 30 minutes in episode 1), sexual harassment, beaten up, drugging, manipulation, slaps/fight, blood, mental health struggles, non con that turns consensual, breaking & entering, kidnapping, non con video recording/sharing
What I Liked
- the intro didn't make much sense but it did set up high stakes
- at least the manager eventually followed him to his room in episode 1
- the kissing/NSFW were decent (but felt directed instead of organic at times)
Room For Improvement
- not sure what the plot was supposed to be, we had fast jumps to characters that are not introduced well/I didn't really know who they were (especially bad in episode 5), it was also boring ie 7 minutes of guys flirting with women in episode 3
- everything felt odd, the dialogues, the lack of realistic reactions to things, no one acted like a human
- the timeline became especially choppy in episode 7, was not sure how much time passed between scenes
- way too much screen time in episode 1 with the stereotypical/cliche fighting/yelling trans women and evil wannabe girlfriend (reminded me of Be Mine Superstar, not in a good way), luckily the yelling went away
- the set up for the NSFW in episode 1 was awful
- the two leads needed to be styled differently, they looked kind of like brothers
- comedy sound effects that weren't funny
- episode 2 had a very long/odd flashback/dream
- nonsense stuff, that jump drive map in episode 5 being just one of a ton of examples
- cliche evil women
- cliche drunk trope (very fictional mouth says no but body says yes), cliche saw someone talking with a woman and then refused to communicate
- the twist at the end
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This review may contain spoilers
had me until episode 4
(potential trigger warnings in my review, talking about abuse and intimate partner violence)Overall: with a few tweaks this could have been a 9.5 series but I actively did not want the main leads together especially when 3 years later one of them was still a narcissist. It's sad but not surprising that people were victim blaming and calling Joe stupid. He wasn't stupid, he was an abuse victim (more below). Very similar aesthetics to KinnPorsche which made sense because it shared a director and screenwriter. It was adapted from the novel "Professional Body Double" by Shui Qiang Cheng which I didn't read and I based the series on its own merits. 12 episodes about an hour each. Aired uncut on iQIYI. First episode link: https://www.iq.com/play/my-stand-in-uncut-episode-1-1iwuiu9rlww?lang=en_us The production company also produced I Feel You Linger In The Air. This review is of the uncut which was the first version on MDL and I'm not sure if there even is a cut version currently.
Content Warnings: death, grief, non con kissing, punch/violence, intimate partner abuse, held against will, gaslighting, manipulation, coercion, past suicide?, manhandling, vomiting, parental abuse, kidnapped, homophobia
What I Liked
- the premise
- showed a condom and discussed sexual position preferences
- had a good conversation at the beginning of episode 2
- wanting/ongoing physical affection in the beginning episodes
- sweet moments in the beginning episodes
- supportive sister
- production value (some really nice camera shots, use of mirrors, switching focus on foreground to background etc.)
Room For Improvement
- I can't root for their relationship as explained below
- Ming was stupid, he could have easily shown his dad evidence first before telling him the other part, he could have shored up his financial situation first as well
- Joe's lack of agency, he had a bunch of awful things and felt cornered into doing things instead of it being his choice
- multiple failed redemption arcs
- trash characters have no consequences, just instant forgiveness for terrible things they did
- multiple romances introduced in the last 30 minutes of the last episode
- voice overs with exposition dumps
- some of the music didn't fit the tone (that fight in episode 4 was made comical instead of dramatic)
- wish a character hadn't been shown as extremely drunk at the end of episode 1
- love triangle, Sol overstepped and took away agency from Joe especially in episode 9
- nonsense stuff i.e. Ming just happened to have something at his house in episode 4??? Joe didn't have any bruises/blood on his face/head in episode 4, Joe happened to overhear key conversations, 1 person being extremely drunk and a stunt person not being able to get away
Thoughts on Grey Characters/Their Romantic Relationships
Sometimes these characters and their dynamic work for me and other times they don't. Here are the factors that I think about:
1. was there a realistic reason why the character/s acted the way they did in the past (sort of, but not to the level that Ming was at)
2. how bad was/is the treatment (extremely abusive and violent, Ming could have accidentally killed Joe in episode 4, 3 years later and Ming stays a narcissist he says "I always get what I want" and he actively ignores what would make Joe happy)
3. were both characters grey or was one squeaky clean (Joe was mostly squeaky clean but unbelievably dense in not believing that Ming wanted him and Ming was abusive and a narcissist and stayed a narcissist/manipulative and also stupid to not know why Joe didn't tell him something)
4. was there some kind of apology/amend making (verbal apologies, promised to treat him better/give him job opportunities, was sweet with him but to me it was just the make up phase of an abuse cycle)
5. was there character growth (no, 3 years later and Ming was still a narcissist which was reinforced in episode 9, he made decisions involving Joe without asking what Joe wanted because Ming did whatever Ming wanted)
6. do I believe that the characters will stay together in a happy romantic relationship (no, because for Ming it was about power/control and not love)
final verdict: I didn't want them in a romantic relationship together
Joe wasn't stupid, he was the victim of intimate partner violence
- Joe was the victim of physical, financial, emotional/mental and sexual abuse
- Ming didn't love Joe, he wanted to control him to get what he wanted
- abuse survivors can have a very difficult time escaping the abuse because abusers can be extremely excellent manipulators "if you hadn't done abc then I wouldn't have had to say/do xyz", also there are periods of nice times that trick the survivor into thinking the abuser does love them (the make up phase in the cycle of abuse), in the real world intimate partner violence is deadly and widespread, it is estimated that 10-40% of law enforcement officers are abusers and they are frequently the first people to respond, it's all very terrible and not at all romantic
If you or someone you love needs help, here is a resource in the U.S. https://www.rainn.org/
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This review may contain spoilers
all over the place (watch suggestions)
Overall: the series swung from comedy (most of which I didn't find funny), to slice of life, to random steamy parts, to melodrama and ended up not being a cohesive series. 8 episodes about 50 minutes each. Aired cut on Glory Day Ent Official YouTube channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE_mMXNJViWUKaXdkT7ZgBEaTk35wYbZg&si=tB7zzhUJmFIHnvuD and uncut (longer steamy scenes) on iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/sangmin-dinneaw-episode-1-xmk7546rfwContent Warnings: past death, non con/dub con, violence, blood, manipulation, non con touching played off as comedy, slap played as comedy, past child abuse (shown), depression, sexual harassment, slaps, attempted murder, murder?
Watch Suggestions (focus on sweet/steamy moments, note: the uncut version has longer steamy moments)
- watch episode 1
- episode 2 skip part 2 8:30-end
- episode 3 watch part 1 6:50-11:15, part 2 beginning-end, part 3 8:50-10
- episode 4 watch part 1 3:30-8:10, 10:35-12:40, 14-end, part 2 9-end, part 3 5:20-end
- episode 5 watch part 1 beginning-3, 10:40-12:25, part 2 beginning-3:10
- episode 6 watch part 2 5:10-6:20, 13:30-end, part 3 6:20-10:35
- episode 7 watch part 2 14:25-end (watch the uncut for the 2nd couple's steamy scene)
- episode 8 watch part 1 11-12:25 (cut the kissing shorter), part 3 3-4:10 and 9:30-end
What I Liked
- countryside setting
- visuals
- the dream massage
- the mom talked to her son and then the apology in ep 1 and the mom overall
- sweet/caring moments
- an established couple
- the language aspect felt realistic, every character didn't magically understand the other person's language like we've seen before
- the traditional outfits were beautiful
- non cliche female friend
- good consent in episode 5
Room For Improvement
- did a character just murder someone?!!!! he could have gathered evidence and brought it to the police
- the near constant comedy sound effects didn't make things funny
- episode 2 had the fictional so drunk didn't recognize a person but still able to be an active participant in sex
- episode 3 and the manager was cringey instead of funny
- nonsense plan in episode 5/cliche plot point
- exposition dump in episode 6
- two more random characters in episode 6
- a character acted like a toddler in episode 7
- western/cowboy music and white underwear
- the leads only had 4 minutes together in the finale
- nonsense plot stuff: never really explained the reason for not communicating at all even when he was an adult,why didn't he do something first and then reconnect with the alleged love of his life (the order he went in in the series made him look extremely selfish)
Cut (is always 46 min) vs. Uncut
- episode 1 uncut was 50 minutes, I couldn't tell what 4 minutes they cut out.
- episode 2 uncut was 52 minutes, they cut out a bit of the steamy scene with the side couple
- episode 3 uncut was 52 minutes, they shortened/didn't show the steamy scenes of the established couple
- I did not want to continue comparing but overall the cut version took out steamy scenes
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Kabe-Koji-Nekoyashiki-kun Desires to Be Recognized
11 people found this review helpful
good production value and acting, but not a fan of the main character
Overall: the production value and acting was great but I actively disliked Mamoru's character and might be judging more harshly than normal as I was in this type of relationship (low self esteem/affect/morose and happy go lucky) and it was terrible. Aired on Viki.Content Warnings: manhandling, non con photo taking/posting, unwanted outing, homophobia, punch
What I Liked
- funny moments like after Mamoru and his friend/fan ate
- the editing/animation references its manga origin
- Mamoru was set up well
- Issei's backstory for the constant smiling
- Mamoru's female friend/fan
- production value*
Room For Improvement
- really terrible communication especially from Mamoru, but Issei definitely should have talked to Mamoru before he said what he said on the stage
- never saw a reason for Mamoru's moroseness (and drawing nsfw stuff in high school and being (understandably) made fun of for it does not count), and there was a lack of character growth
- non reason in episode 7 and then sudden switch in episode 8
- the false idea that love can cure mental health struggles (been there, tried that, it was awful)
- Issei was at the end of the line, then vanished but later had the book???
- stereotypical character at the convention
-*too much spinning camera work end
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want the actors in something with a better script
Overall: I really want to rate this higher (and I think I'm being gracious with a 7), but the writing/plot is nonsensical and jumpy. Watched on Viki.Content Warnings: none
What I Liked
- the OST/music
- the kiss
- a few cute moments
- Tommy's outfits
Room For Improvement
- the plot was really lacking, there were too many characters and plot threads that didn't tie together. Scenes sometimes jumped randomly and did not feel well connected to one another. Episode 7 had a major event that happened off screen?! Cliche plot point in the 7th episode, bleh! A 1 year time jump in the final episode?!
- did not feel chemistry between the leads or a good development of their romantic relationship
- really dumb rescue breathing, he didn't check to see if he wasn't breathing (i.e. was rescue breathing required???) or a pulse first, this seemed like a stupid plot device and there are many other fun ways that the two could have met
- the worst business plan ever, Ba Da makes really awful/stupid decisions all the way to the end of the series
- I like more realistic make up, but the actors needed some eyeliner and lip color, they looked ill
- too many drone shots
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This review may contain spoilers
a solid lakorn (watch suggestions)
Overall: excellent chemistry in a lakorn (aka soap opera like) plot. 12 /13 episodes about 45 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala (not available in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Japan, Korea) https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/5743/love-in-the-moonlight-2025-e01 and YouTube (not available in Thailand or Cambodia, either delayed or no subs) https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXopbKxiivxre4Y0Zn0JgZmgXiUYjpOLUContent Warnings: off screen murders, on screen murders, attempted murder, kidnapping/held against will, past death & grief, homophobia, manipulation, manhandling, violence, blood, threatened suicide, non con picture taking, unwanted outing, slaps
Watch Suggestions (to focus on the m/m leads and avoid most angst/violence)
- episode 1 watch 23:40-43
- episode 2 watch 3:20-7, 18-33:20
- episode 3 watch 40:15 and 50:20-51:40
- episode 4 watch beginning-6:10, 12-22:10 and 31:10-37:50
- episode 5 watch 19:55-24:25, 29:25-34:05, 37:40-41:09
- episode 6 watch 41:20-end
- episode 7 watch beginning-10:15, 18:35-25:55, 27:45-39:50, 51:20-end
- episode 8 watch 8:45-14:45
- episode 9 watch 23-23:35, 43:15-45:05, 48:20-50:50
- skip episodes 10 & 11
- episode 12 watch 40:40-55:50 and 1hr19min45 to the end
What I Liked
- chemistry
- opposite personalities
- the grandma and his fiancee (some may have been upset with her actions but I understood her considering the time period, her station and situation)
- styling/historic setting
- the club and club owner
- supportive friends
Room For Improvement
- the comedy sound effects didn't make things funny
- redemption arc in episode 12, he shouldn't have received a redemption arc
- unless I missed it, I wanted more for Pin's story at the end
- nonsense stuff: a character was supposedly extremely drunk and the next minute he appears sober, multiple accidental fall and catches/long stares, not grabbing something in episode 11
Spoiler for the type of ending for the m/m romance
- it is a happily ever after
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This review may contain spoilers
accurate title
Overall: I enjoyed the setting/styling and darker premise. Ending explained in a spoiler comment. 12 episodes about 35 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala (not available in Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, Thailand or Korea) https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/5680/kill-to-love-2025-e01 and YouTube (not available in Japan, Thailand or Korea) https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhd4wr2gniAIyI4nj00zP9hz_PNnJ41FnContent Warnings: mass murders/deaths, blood, violence, manipulation, drugging, kidnapped/held against will, near suicide, suicide, past: murders, blood, manipulation
Watch Suggestions (me trying to take out the angst and violence in this series would be like taking out all the scenes where Pharm says P'Dean in Until We Meet Again). Here are suggestions for the last few episodes to make it happy.
- episode 8 watch beginning to 3:30, 12:50-13:40, 15:10-16:20
- skip episode 9
- episode 10 watch 26:10-31.25
- skip episode 11
- episode 12 watch 16:30-26:10
- episode 13 watch 37:30-end
What I Liked
- setting
- chemistry/tension with the leads
- styling, visuals
- that they did explain why some of the villains became the way that they did
- the ending made sense
Room For Improvement
- with the side couple, they framed it as mutual love when it was clearly about power and control which is abuse, I wanted the writers to stay consistent to the end and not try to make it mutual romantic love
- nonsense, many nonsense character actions, an example is a cordial family meal in the finale when several characters should want to kill other characters
- world building/information dumps
- a ton of characters/plot and rushed at places made it a bit difficult to understand especially in the beginning.
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