While it's not the best episode ever, but A Boss and A Babe showed that role-playing is a choice! It's a thing! Something that maybe My School President should have considered rather than creating the alternate universe, while cute, but brings nothing.
I actually like A Boss and A Babe. It's cute, and I don't really expect a lot of plot since the show mainly about two people being cute together. There's not much plot, but it's also not that bad.
I hope the second episode will have the same vibe as the first episode.
And I hope, the alternate universe plot ended with My School President.
This might have been the biggest disappointment for me, even more than the Star in My Mind that's full of fluff cute domestic life of the couple. I don't hate multiverse, I'm someone who reads more than enough fanfic for 20+ years of my life that I enjoy multiverse, but I guess the My School President team really let me down this time.
The original was already so cute, so I don't see the point of them trying to make the multiverse to just amp up the cuteness. For what purpose?
I really feel that it's a lazy story writing. It feels like the writer just didn't know what to do with the characters and they're pressured to create a script fast, so they think, let's just do the multiverse and change some things! These 2 eps definitely feel like this.
I was not angry or unhappy. It's still a very cute drama with cute leads doing cute things together. But I'm disappointed that they miss the chance to create something new. I was really expecting them to at least be happier trying to navigate the university life, and Tin's mom warm up further to Gun, but I guess that's just me. Everyone pretty happy with the multiverse so I guess the writer knows what they're doing and what they do to sell the drama to the viewers.
After all, people have different expectation about the show. If you have no expectation about the kissing scene,…
Yes, as you said, people will have different opinions. That's why I am also inquiring on the OP, how do they know what the actors are feeling? Like, do the OP know them personally? You know, I was curious. And an intelligent debate didn't start with big letters that feel like you're being dumbed just because you don't have the same ideas as them.
And if you read my original comment to the OP, I have never once said I dislike the kisses. I didn't even blame the actors. I was just stating my opinion.
And like you said, MDL is a place where people can talk and have discussion as they will have different way of understanding things. That's why I am politely inquiring, but was given the reply that didn't answer my question.
I asked the OP: how do they know the actor's feeling? Because in their comment, it seems like they truly know the actors. So I am just asking. And what I got in reply is a long paragraph about how the actors look like dead fish when kissing female (irrelevant), BTS scene (irrelevant), and other answers.
They can just answer: It's my personal opinion, and wouldn't that be great? After all, like you mentioned, people have different opinions. And I am not going to refute the OP of their opinions, because it's entirely theirs.
Someone said here that the director wanted it to be VERY 'PG,' so that's why the kisses were toned down a lot.…
At least someone replied to me in a rational way.
I didn't even criticize about the kissing, as I don't really think ot was that important. I am someone who likes hug more than kisses.
I just think it's weird they choose the manhwa with "smut" category and then remake it in PG. Of course, it's not like I am complaining. I did say the chemistry was fine, but people was so quick to blame me and label me as a hater, even before they truly understand my comment.
After all, people have different expectation about the show. If you have no expectation about the kissing scene,…
I don't understand why you have to reply to me with big letters. I can understand your point just fine.
And it what part that my reply is immature? I literally said people have different expectation.
People would most likely blame the actor because they're on the screen. It's always like that.
And like I've said, that's a BTS, they know they're being filmed. They can't just say that they dislike something on camera right? That's why it's back to my argument, how do you truly know that's what they're feeling? Just because of the BTS video?
I am not attacking you or anything. But your reply, with those big letters make you look much more immature than me. I rationally trying to explain about why people have different expectation, and why this is suddenly making me feel like I can't say my opinion?
And if you read my first line: I have no expectation towards the kiss.
People who are blaming the actors for mannequin kisses why blame the actors? Its director who controls what scene…
After all, people have different expectation about the show. If you have no expectation about the kissing scene, like me, then that's fine. But there are people who have higher expectation in this area.
How do you know that the actor didn't refuse in kissing their co-star? Like, are you them? How do you know what they're feeling? If you argue, "But in the BTS, they have so much chemistry!" then isn't it better to show it on-screen? Just a thought.
People are expressing their complaint and their opinion, so there should be no need to attack them about what they believe is good. After all, they make up like what? Maybe 5% of the entire comment who said that the drama is one of the best.
Someone said here that the director wanted it to be VERY 'PG,' so that's why the kisses were toned down a lot.…
Why the very PG though? If they wanted to adapt the story, then bring the story to its fullest. The chemistry is quite okay, so with better directing it will be better.
I enjoyed the drama actually, more than I thought I would. I have read the manhwa and they did change some parts, but it's not too much. You get 90% like what they presented in the manhwa.
The parts I like. 1. Story While people say that the story might be overused or overdone, I think that it has an interesting touch to it. There's no confused gay, for once. They're all confident gays. Well, except for our little apprentice who slowly fall in love with the potter. But even he is more like, "I don't have strong feelings towards others" before he met our handsome potter. It's a convincing love story, for me at least.
2. Music Love it so much! Many BL dramas tend to overuse their ost, though I don't know why. But the music in this drama is played nicely. My mom even commenting on it (not knowing it's a BL, but she did watch up to episode 4 and still not knowing it's a BL). The music is a banger!
The parts I hope to be better: 1. The actor, exclusively, the actor who played Ji Wonyoung and to some degree, Kim Donghee. While they were not totally awful, but I could see that both of them feel like they're reciting their script instead of adding nuances to their characters. The actor who played Kim Donghee is slightly better towards the end, but the actor for Ji Wonyoung is still a little bit stiff. Maybe he was not really used in the drama, or the BL drama itself, or the director just don't know how to make the actors look their best. There are times when it was so painfully clear that he was reciting script. Maybe he couldn't get those lines right, or maybe he was unable to emote during those times. Though I have to say that the interaction between the couples actually quite good, as I can actually believe that they love each other. Surprise surprise.
I posted comment about Ji Wonyoung's actor's acting before, and I think that's still valid. I hope he could be better, as he's paid for his participation in the drama. He should do his best to emote. But at least, he did remember his script. So I guess, it's one step for him.
2. Story pacing Maybe they feel the pressure of having to turn it into 8 episodes or something and couldn't add more episodes, so some parts of the story felt jarring due to the poor editing choices. It would be better to just increase a little bit of the time in each episode. For example, instead of 20 minutes, make it 25 minutes. I am sure there are many cut scenes that didn't make it to the final ones. Add them, don't just cut it.
3. Evil people. I just think that this was super cliched and super overdone. Both the ex and the vice manager have this "cartoonish" villain feeling. I wished they could improve this one better, as the manhwa itself also shallowly introduced them. I wished they could be given more depth in the drama.
In conclusion, this is a nice drama. Not the "oh wow amazing" type, but more like "oh yeah, it's nice".
I purposely try not to give my review right after I finished the drama. The reason is to make my review fair and objective, without any lingering feelings included.
Score: 8/10 The reason I give this overall score for the drama: 1. Topic It touched on the topic that not many drama ever consider to tell, which is about the rare disease (whether it's true or not) that Zhang Xiwen has. He suffered from it, and we could see the aftermath through his timid and most of the times very uncertain personality. Many people might think that this is lazy storytelling. Just make one of the BL pairing this naive and timid guy and call it a day. But to Zhang Xiwen, the affect of the rare disease, hard and strict upbringing after changing to the male, including the bullying he received, make him lonely and unable to say what's on his mind easily. I think Zhang Xiwen's personality fits with the entire theme of the story, which is about gaining courage to get what you want.
2. (somewhat) Fantasy element Even though this was only touched briefly, but it plays an important role to bring our leads together. This might be a myth, a nonsense fairytale made by the people in the past, but whatever it is, it has some kind of power that helped our leads to be together. This is also another fun aspect to the story, which added some kind of mystery, though not too much, to the overall arch of the story.
3. The girl When I was watching it the first time, I really dislike Yuhe for being petty. She can see that Lechien once again fall in love with someone who is not her, so she end up being our jealous girl many many times. Though she was not terrible or evil, but what she did still hard for me to swallow at times. True, she had good intentions, but the way she do it might be wrong. Despite that, her character is so realistic that I can't stay mad at her for a long time. After all, she also had a crush on one guy for 10 years. She's allowed to be a little jealous, and she also didn't really do anything that's very bad, and she even helped our clueless male lead to realize his own feelings.
4. The leads The two leads are amazing individually, but they become super charged together. They have an amazing chemistry which makes it easier for us to believe in their love story. I love the leads, especially the actor who played Zhang Xiwen. He's such a gem. Amazing actor with amazing acting range and skill.
5. Music Though the music felt overused in some parts, but I think that music was made with love. I still love the main ost, Butterfly, so so so much. Listening to it brings back so many memories while watching this drama, which mean that this drama always had a spot in my heart.
Well, that scene of him pushing the other against the bed was the hottest scene in the show. It's as if they only…
IKR. Seeing cute guys lifted up my tired heart, and that's also the reason why I watch so many Thai BLs. It's so easy to watch and they're all cute and handsome, it's a feast to the eyes. And they're well-known for bad acting, so when you dip into Thai BLs, you know what you get. The Korean BLs on the other hand, has a lot of good quality productions. Seeing bad actors just wanted to make some easy cash and to get more new fans by joining BLs make me mad.
Most of the idols don't really care about trying to learn how to act. There are a few who do that, of course, but it's like so rare. To them, acting is just like a side-job. Their fans will still gushing over them anyway, whether they do a great job at acting or not.
Agree on those two having natural talent. They're so good in their role it convinced me that they're the character in that drama. Light on Me actually also quite good, though I don't know whether those guys are idols or not. But they convinced me, and that's what matters most of the time.
Well, that scene of him pushing the other against the bed was the hottest scene in the show. It's as if they only…
Ameiro Paradox actually my most favourite BL manga of all time. I truly love it. That's why to me the acting was the biggest disappointment from the drama. I still love both characters, but the bad acting really got to me. Takara-kun to Amagi-kun I don't even remember the content of the drama itself.
My fave for J-drama is Eternal Yesterday. The acting still need some kind of improvement but the story is very good, to the point that it makes me feel the acting is still bearable.
Thai BL, I watched quite a lot. Even the low-budget production. I have a lot of faves in Thai BLs because it's cookie-cutter and easy to watch. I could free myself from stress watching the Thai BLs. But the problem is still the acting. Sometimes I can't even stand them because it's just that bad in acting. But there are some decent stories though.
Moonlight Chicken, I don't know. The theme is not up to my taste, which is about cheating. But I might watch it when I am too bored.
Yes, I also don't mind for idols to join the BLs train. Like, the more the better. Give it to us. I like to see handsome people on my screen. But please, at least know how to act first. It's annoying to see people play BLs because they think it's easy money. I am sure because of the guy in Semantic Error who is an idol who plays BLs and it's successful, so other idols also tried to take part in BLs. But the difference is, that guy is good at what he's doing and he did it with 100% determination and commitment, so it also touched other's hearts and make us like the story as well.
This drama actually has potential. I've read the manhwa and I do like it quite a bit. But the idol guy ruined the drama experience for me.
Well, that scene of him pushing the other against the bed was the hottest scene in the show. It's as if they only…
That's a new fact to me. Never knew those two are idols. I also remember someone telling me about the guy from Semantic Error also an idol. But I don't really give a damn as long as they did their job properly. If you signed up for the project, then truly go for it. Don't just do it as a stepping stone.
Like, I watched a lotnof Thai BLs. Like, A LOT. I am drowned in them. Some actually very good with decent and sometimes stellar acting, but it's just too small in number.
Japan BLs are improving but bad or exaggerated acting still part of their culture. No matter how much I like Ameiro Paradox, but some parts in the drama just make me cringe from bad acting.
For Thai BLs, it's almost like an identity for them to have bad acting. They're mostly do it for fame and money anyway.
I agree with quality over quantity, but sometimes I just want to drown myself in BLs so I still go to Thai BLs if I need comfort watch. So yeah, the more the better
I'm only the most disappointed with My School President for being lazy and using the alternate universe.
Btw, what about Ohm's scandal?
I actually like A Boss and A Babe. It's cute, and I don't really expect a lot of plot since the show mainly about two people being cute together. There's not much plot, but it's also not that bad.
I hope the second episode will have the same vibe as the first episode.
And I hope, the alternate universe plot ended with My School President.
The original was already so cute, so I don't see the point of them trying to make the multiverse to just amp up the cuteness. For what purpose?
I really feel that it's a lazy story writing. It feels like the writer just didn't know what to do with the characters and they're pressured to create a script fast, so they think, let's just do the multiverse and change some things! These 2 eps definitely feel like this.
I was not angry or unhappy. It's still a very cute drama with cute leads doing cute things together. But I'm disappointed that they miss the chance to create something new. I was really expecting them to at least be happier trying to navigate the university life, and Tin's mom warm up further to Gun, but I guess that's just me. Everyone pretty happy with the multiverse so I guess the writer knows what they're doing and what they do to sell the drama to the viewers.
And if you read my original comment to the OP, I have never once said I dislike the kisses. I didn't even blame the actors. I was just stating my opinion.
And like you said, MDL is a place where people can talk and have discussion as they will have different way of understanding things. That's why I am politely inquiring, but was given the reply that didn't answer my question.
I asked the OP: how do they know the actor's feeling? Because in their comment, it seems like they truly know the actors. So I am just asking. And what I got in reply is a long paragraph about how the actors look like dead fish when kissing female (irrelevant), BTS scene (irrelevant), and other answers.
They can just answer: It's my personal opinion, and wouldn't that be great? After all, like you mentioned, people have different opinions. And I am not going to refute the OP of their opinions, because it's entirely theirs.
I didn't even criticize about the kissing, as I don't really think ot was that important. I am someone who likes hug more than kisses.
I just think it's weird they choose the manhwa with "smut" category and then remake it in PG. Of course, it's not like I am complaining. I did say the chemistry was fine, but people was so quick to blame me and label me as a hater, even before they truly understand my comment.
It's actually quite okay and fun.
And it what part that my reply is immature? I literally said people have different expectation.
People would most likely blame the actor because they're on the screen. It's always like that.
And like I've said, that's a BTS, they know they're being filmed. They can't just say that they dislike something on camera right? That's why it's back to my argument, how do you truly know that's what they're feeling? Just because of the BTS video?
I am not attacking you or anything. But your reply, with those big letters make you look much more immature than me. I rationally trying to explain about why people have different expectation, and why this is suddenly making me feel like I can't say my opinion?
And if you read my first line: I have no expectation towards the kiss.
How do you know that the actor didn't refuse in kissing their co-star? Like, are you them? How do you know what they're feeling? If you argue, "But in the BTS, they have so much chemistry!" then isn't it better to show it on-screen? Just a thought.
People are expressing their complaint and their opinion, so there should be no need to attack them about what they believe is good. After all, they make up like what? Maybe 5% of the entire comment who said that the drama is one of the best.
The chemistry is quite okay, so with better directing it will be better.
I enjoyed the drama actually, more than I thought I would. I have read the manhwa and they did change some parts, but it's not too much. You get 90% like what they presented in the manhwa.
The parts I like.
1. Story
While people say that the story might be overused or overdone, I think that it has an interesting touch to it. There's no confused gay, for once. They're all confident gays. Well, except for our little apprentice who slowly fall in love with the potter. But even he is more like, "I don't have strong feelings towards others" before he met our handsome potter. It's a convincing love story, for me at least.
2. Music
Love it so much! Many BL dramas tend to overuse their ost, though I don't know why. But the music in this drama is played nicely. My mom even commenting on it (not knowing it's a BL, but she did watch up to episode 4 and still not knowing it's a BL). The music is a banger!
The parts I hope to be better:
1. The actor, exclusively, the actor who played Ji Wonyoung and to some degree, Kim Donghee.
While they were not totally awful, but I could see that both of them feel like they're reciting their script instead of adding nuances to their characters. The actor who played Kim Donghee is slightly better towards the end, but the actor for Ji Wonyoung is still a little bit stiff. Maybe he was not really used in the drama, or the BL drama itself, or the director just don't know how to make the actors look their best. There are times when it was so painfully clear that he was reciting script. Maybe he couldn't get those lines right, or maybe he was unable to emote during those times. Though I have to say that the interaction between the couples actually quite good, as I can actually believe that they love each other. Surprise surprise.
I posted comment about Ji Wonyoung's actor's acting before, and I think that's still valid. I hope he could be better, as he's paid for his participation in the drama. He should do his best to emote. But at least, he did remember his script. So I guess, it's one step for him.
2. Story pacing
Maybe they feel the pressure of having to turn it into 8 episodes or something and couldn't add more episodes, so some parts of the story felt jarring due to the poor editing choices. It would be better to just increase a little bit of the time in each episode. For example, instead of 20 minutes, make it 25 minutes. I am sure there are many cut scenes that didn't make it to the final ones. Add them, don't just cut it.
3. Evil people.
I just think that this was super cliched and super overdone. Both the ex and the vice manager have this "cartoonish" villain feeling. I wished they could improve this one better, as the manhwa itself also shallowly introduced them. I wished they could be given more depth in the drama.
In conclusion, this is a nice drama. Not the "oh wow amazing" type, but more like "oh yeah, it's nice".
Score: 8/10
The reason I give this overall score for the drama:
1. Topic
It touched on the topic that not many drama ever consider to tell, which is about the rare disease (whether it's true or not) that Zhang Xiwen has. He suffered from it, and we could see the aftermath through his timid and most of the times very uncertain personality. Many people might think that this is lazy storytelling. Just make one of the BL pairing this naive and timid guy and call it a day. But to Zhang Xiwen, the affect of the rare disease, hard and strict upbringing after changing to the male, including the bullying he received, make him lonely and unable to say what's on his mind easily. I think Zhang Xiwen's personality fits with the entire theme of the story, which is about gaining courage to get what you want.
2. (somewhat) Fantasy element
Even though this was only touched briefly, but it plays an important role to bring our leads together. This might be a myth, a nonsense fairytale made by the people in the past, but whatever it is, it has some kind of power that helped our leads to be together. This is also another fun aspect to the story, which added some kind of mystery, though not too much, to the overall arch of the story.
3. The girl
When I was watching it the first time, I really dislike Yuhe for being petty. She can see that Lechien once again fall in love with someone who is not her, so she end up being our jealous girl many many times. Though she was not terrible or evil, but what she did still hard for me to swallow at times. True, she had good intentions, but the way she do it might be wrong. Despite that, her character is so realistic that I can't stay mad at her for a long time. After all, she also had a crush on one guy for 10 years. She's allowed to be a little jealous, and she also didn't really do anything that's very bad, and she even helped our clueless male lead to realize his own feelings.
4. The leads
The two leads are amazing individually, but they become super charged together. They have an amazing chemistry which makes it easier for us to believe in their love story. I love the leads, especially the actor who played Zhang Xiwen. He's such a gem. Amazing actor with amazing acting range and skill.
5. Music
Though the music felt overused in some parts, but I think that music was made with love. I still love the main ost, Butterfly, so so so much. Listening to it brings back so many memories while watching this drama, which mean that this drama always had a spot in my heart.
Since kisses not my real reason to watch BL, so I don't really mind. But I can see why people would want one.
Most of the idols don't really care about trying to learn how to act. There are a few who do that, of course, but it's like so rare. To them, acting is just like a side-job. Their fans will still gushing over them anyway, whether they do a great job at acting or not.
Agree on those two having natural talent. They're so good in their role it convinced me that they're the character in that drama. Light on Me actually also quite good, though I don't know whether those guys are idols or not. But they convinced me, and that's what matters most of the time.
My fave for J-drama is Eternal Yesterday. The acting still need some kind of improvement but the story is very good, to the point that it makes me feel the acting is still bearable.
Thai BL, I watched quite a lot. Even the low-budget production. I have a lot of faves in Thai BLs because it's cookie-cutter and easy to watch. I could free myself from stress watching the Thai BLs. But the problem is still the acting. Sometimes I can't even stand them because it's just that bad in acting. But there are some decent stories though.
Moonlight Chicken, I don't know. The theme is not up to my taste, which is about cheating. But I might watch it when I am too bored.
Yes, I also don't mind for idols to join the BLs train. Like, the more the better. Give it to us. I like to see handsome people on my screen. But please, at least know how to act first. It's annoying to see people play BLs because they think it's easy money. I am sure because of the guy in Semantic Error who is an idol who plays BLs and it's successful, so other idols also tried to take part in BLs. But the difference is, that guy is good at what he's doing and he did it with 100% determination and commitment, so it also touched other's hearts and make us like the story as well.
This drama actually has potential. I've read the manhwa and I do like it quite a bit. But the idol guy ruined the drama experience for me.
Sorry for ranting >.>
Like, I watched a lotnof Thai BLs. Like, A LOT. I am drowned in them. Some actually very good with decent and sometimes stellar acting, but it's just too small in number.
Japan BLs are improving but bad or exaggerated acting still part of their culture. No matter how much I like Ameiro Paradox, but some parts in the drama just make me cringe from bad acting.
For Thai BLs, it's almost like an identity for them to have bad acting. They're mostly do it for fame and money anyway.
I agree with quality over quantity, but sometimes I just want to drown myself in BLs so I still go to Thai BLs if I need comfort watch. So yeah, the more the better