RomanticRosebud_BL

Don't Waste your time!

This series was a huge disappointment. I remember how excited I was when I saw the trailer. It actually looked pretty decent, even the acting did. I've never watched anything by Oxin before, so I had no idea to what an awful train wreck I was in for. YIKES! The acting was horrible from beginning to end. Which was shocking because it looked ok from the trailer. The only decent actor was Eurwin and even he for the most part was awful. The rest of the cast either looked like they were trying hard to hold in their laughter thru out or were just reading the script lines like robots without emotion. Then the director or editor left in the dumbest of bloopers like the Grinder one. The cast tried their best, but it was embarrassingly bad.

Adrian is good looking but never cast him again. He made this show unwatchable for me. Not only that but the story is all over the place. One minute it's up then it's down. Like the story tellers had no idea where to go. I only finished it because when I start something it's really hard for me to drop unless I really hate it. For some reason I didn't hate this enough and decided to finish.

I'll give Rainbow Prince this: it had some decent songs, and the last 4 episodes were a bit better written. IMO the only salvageable part of this whole series was Ken and Malik. They're the only reason I give RP a 3.5. If it would have been centerd on them maybe I would have enjoyed it more. I'm glad this is over. Never again will I be rewatching this mess or listening to the soundtrack.

Don't waste your time on this unless you want to watch it as a parody. It had potential for so much more especially since it was the first Fairytale/Musical BL. But, it failed in every way possible. Run far, far away. If you want better Phillipino BL series watch: Game Boys, The Boy Foretold By The Stars/Love Beneath the Stars series or Gaya sa Pelikula. Skip this abomination all together.

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My Guilty Pleasure

Cutie Pie started out so good but somewhere along the line it lost its way. The story was never that entertaining in the first place tho a story about two men being engaged caught my interest. In that aspect it was interesting but only til episode 2. After that the story became about: lies, lies, lies, secrets, more lies and misunderstandings between the main couple. That became really frustrating. Not to mention the worst was a 20yr old acting like a 2yr old toddler for most of the series. Where was his development? I guess he got some in the finale. Was it enough? No butI digress. If it wasn't for NuNew's talent I'd probably would have hated Kuea. Truth be told it was NuNew, Zee, Nat and Max who saved this series for me with their acting. That's why I gave it a 10.

Despite my above rant, I did enjoy it and stuck with it til the end. That was mostly because of the fan service XD. Both Zee/NuNew and Max/Nat had incredible chemistry which made this series watchable aside from their sketchy characters it was fun watching them make out even if the sex scenes didn't make sense at times. That's why I call it my guilty pleasure I was literally just watching for that in the end. The story lost its way long before halfway.

I did like the finale tho and the message that the writers, producer and director along with the cast were trying to send which was equality, marriage and lgbtq+ rights. Not many series go for social commentary and CP + Not Me before it, did. That's why I gave it an 8.0 overall because of the cast, the message they were trying to deliver and the beginning. If the story wouldn't have lost it's way, my rating would have been higher.

Would I rewatch? Probably but after awhile. But, mostly for the fanservice and music.

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It pains me to say this esp when the series features one of my favorite pairings but

This series started out so good, but I feel like after episode 7 it lost plot. Also, the official trailer was so different from what this show turned out to be. Did they change the story halfway after filming because I swear after Pheem shot Than and left him for dead in the same episode, seems like the writers had no idea what to do. The story was so different from what it was sold as in the trailers. I think some of those scenes didn't even air like the sex scene in the warehouse, Jet shoving Pheem into the chari and belitting him until Than came in and defended him etc. I really want to know what happened there and why this series was changed halfway without any explanation? I'm so confused. Not only that but Pheem was too much of a red flag to deserve a happy ending. His redemption was too fast, like I didn't even understand why Than still loved him in the end. Sure, they showed us that Pheem still had a heart and he sruggled with what he was doing at times, but I feel like Than forgave him too easily. Because honestly? Pheem went too far when it came to Than even if it was to save his life. I'm disappointed because I thought this would turn out to be my favorite DaouOffroad series when it started and it just turned out to be a mess in the end. Even the "villainous" character brother didn't make sense in the end. He was replaced by the sister out of nowhere.
Honestly if it wasn't for DaouOffroad's chemistry and acting I think sadly I would have dropped it. But for them I watched until the bitter end.
Overall I give it a 7 and I doubt I will be rewatching much unless I'm in the mood to rewatch this silliness.

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All over the place. The idea was good but the screnenwriters had no idea how to handle it.

Also, please Gawin, never, ever do another virginal character ever again because it doesn't fit you. After seeing him as Dan in Not Me and especially Piseang in Be My Favorite his character here gave me the cringe factor up the wazoo. Gawin deserves better characters, he's too much talented for these embarrassing ones. Anyway, the idea of vampires was good but it gave me so many twilight feels all the time and that wasn't good. I know people love Joss and he's ok I guess but sometimes he was way too stony for my liking. As for his chemistry with Gawin? Sorry but I didn't feel it they seemed way more like buddies than two men who were supposedly in love. Back to the story sometimes the villains were good, and sometimes they were bad. If only they writers would have come up with a better plot this story would have worked better. The twist aout Ms. Tara wasn't really a twist because I saw it coming from the first episode. I'm only giving this a 7.0 because Gawin Caskey is one of my favorite actors, he did his best and kept me watching this tripe. As for the rest a 5 would be suffice.

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Such and emotional ride with wonderful characters.

I'm going to say that even though I found the first 4-5 episodes really boring and slow, I'm glad that I picked it up again. I fell in love with the story because once it got going it never let go. I was happy to finally find a Xianxia that hooked me after Moonlight Mystique and that took time. Love in Pavillion was it! I loved the characters every single one had their nitch and made me root for them. I couldn't help and feel sad for most of their endings.
And that was the thing with Love in Pavillion, it made you care so much about their characters and this world that once it reached it's tragic ending you can't help and be heartbroken. I haven't watched Red Moon Pact yet but I decided to give LiP a chance and I'm glad that I did because it took me on an emotional journey.
The love story's here are beautiful too. Although Zheng & Mu Yuan were my favorites I adored Hong Ye and Huai Zhu too even if all their ends are painful. Now, I wait for HZ and HY's son story and hoping it hurts a lot less. But knowing the tragedy of Fox Spirit Match Maker series, I won't hold my breath.
Highly recommended if you are in the mood for a good xianxia with great characters all around, excellent acting and beautiful music. But beware this will yank your heart out in the end.
9.5/10

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Very enjoyable and funny.

I think this is one of my favorite EarthMix series. It's light and fluffy yes but it also dealt with those angsty moments that both Earth and Mix excell at. The series kept me laughing but when it got to this emotional moments, I couldn't help but tear up. I have to say both Mix and Earth excell in those emotional moments that make you clutch your heart and want to sob your eyes out. I think this was one of the major reasons why they were picked as the leads in Ossan's Love.
It was also nice to see EarthMix in something lighter to the series that they've done before. And I think both proved what versatile actors they are. They can do dark and depressing series, but they can also do light and funny ones too. They are just extremely talented actors, and I love that they got to showcase that here. Earth as Heng was exceptional, he proved that he can excel in comedy too. I loved him as Heng. Mix has great comedic timing. I feel like both can do comedy as well as drama on the same high level.
Now the series isn't without faults it can be extremely cringey at times and Mo's character can be frustrating at times but all in all it's an enjoyable ride. I also think that EM's chemistry here got even better, the kisses here were some of the best they've done in their over 5 years together.
In the end I'm extremely happy the EarthMix got to helm this project because they were the perfect cp for Ossan's Love TH. I'm extremely proud of them .
Final rating 8.5

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Looking at the rating, I'm one of the few that enjoyed this drama.

I liked it from the very beginning although I admit there was some parts of the drama that dragged, particularly towards the end, it kept me engaged. I like the concepts of soulmates and this story had it. I was rooting for them to be together after all they had suffered in their past life. Yes the ending is not satisfactory at all but in this case the journey matters more than the ending: good or bad. Honestly tho the drama could have done without all the filler but hey what can we do? I liked the acting from both the ML and FL. FL gets a lot of flak but honestly, I've seen much worse than her. For me she did a good enough job.
And I did think she had good enough chemistry with the ML. The comedy was spot on and tbh that's what I enjoyed the most about Kokdu next to the ML's acting he did a good job basically playing three characters. Yes this could have been so much better but I liked it and it is one of my faves of 2023 so far. In that case I give it an 8.0 out of 10.

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Started interesting but then

it fell off. After the FL is attacked in episode 5 everything started going wrong. I was excited for this because at the time I was also watching Kokdu and I kinda wanted something similar to watched at the time. Although funny and the cast doing the best. The story was meh. I was so bored after episode 7 where nothing happens. I started not to care about the characters and it was a drag to finish to be honest, esp when I was watching way better things.
I guess the friendships and the cast is what sorta made this watchable in the end. There's very little romance aside from moments here and there. If you want to watch a comedy with a good ML then I suggest weatching this. Other than that I can't recommend it much more than that.
over all 6.0

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Such a rare, underrated gem.

I usually skip series like this because I prefer the more angsty, gritty and plot driven stories to the sweet, run of the mill High School series but right from the get-go I knew this was gonna be different. Sure, it's the typical HS Bl series but what makes this so special is how healthy, natural, supportive and romantic the relationship between Gun and Tinn is. So, I'm glad I geve this a chance. It's rare to see a relationship between two teens or rather any couple at all in BL be this communicative and supportive of one another. Tinn and Gun spend the whole series communicating, supporting and trusting each other. With that their relationship grew stronger at every turn. Every misunderstanding they had it was solved rather quickly, and I loved that.
The bonds of friendship were also strong in this one. I love how much Chinzilla loved each other, more than friends and a band they were brothers. Always there for one another and helping each other thru. Another example of healthy relationships expressed in this series. And who doesn't want a friend like Tiwson? He would do anything for Tinn, and he did. Best friend ever for real.
Sound and Win stole my heart. Second couple that came at the right time, didn't take much spotlight from the main couple & made perfect sense. They had great chemistry and who doesn't love the enemies to lover's trope? Perfect.
I loved the relationship the boys had with their mothers. Different but pretty much similar: loving, trusting and healthy. Gun could talk to his mother about anything and while Tinn's relationship with his mother was more reserved she was a great mother as well. The writers did well in showing the contrast between the relationships and how they shaped the boys lives.
The acting was also so good. Fourth showed how talented he was, this kid can do anything. I see inklings of all the great actors of GMMTV. This kid is gonna go far and I'm gonna be right there watching his journey. Gemini surprised me as well with how good he is. He can emote like the best of them. The chemistry between them was also one of the best I've seen too. Not a surprise if we see much more of them in the future.
Another reason I loved this series so much was that it took me back to my High School days and made me relieve my experiences there at times. It felt real to being a teenager: the atmosphere, the friendships, the feeling of falling in love for the first time. Just very well written.
And let's not forget the music. This OST has got to be one of my favorites. All the songs were exceptional. The cast being multi talented makes MSP even better.
Overall I'm so glad I watched it but now my only regret is that it's over. I give this a 10 and would give it more if I could. Highly recommended series and I wish it would have gotten more of the hype it deserved. Word of advice: watch! you won't regret it.

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Love is messy

and sometimes it isn't enough. I appreciate what the writers were trying to tell with Hara and Eun Beom's story, but they missed the mark. Especially with how highly unlikable the main characters were even the secondary couple were annoying. It was hard rooting for any of the 4 characters. I found the two females even worse than the males. That's saying a lot with how unlikable EB was. Hara needed to grow up a lot so did BW, for being celebrated lawyers both were equally awful. I think that was one of the biggest mishaps in this drama aside from the plot holes. I get the trend of making realistic dramas with flawed characters, now a days, but with how awful the world is many of the times the audience doesn't want to watch these kinds of dramas. No matter how important or intriguing they may be. I did however, like how the divorce cases Hara and Eun Beom handled paralleled their relationship. Sometimes it propelled them forward and had them learn lessons right before they reverted to being unbearable once again. Eun Beum especially felt like he was going around in circles until the very end where it seems he finally learned that he needed help and to grow as a person.
I get that the writers wanted HR and EB to be human instead of cardboard cutouts of other dramas but still you got to move your characters forward or it becomes tiring for the viewer. Aside from this I did like how Eun Beom's trauma felt real, this happens in families when a tragedy happens, and I feel it's something that isn't shown or talked about a lot in society. People shut down and push everyone else away. Their defense mechanism is to run away which is what EB did. As for Oh Hara for her being a lawyer she had to be one of the nastiest, more immature fl I have seen lately. She never cared about what anyone else wanted but herself. I'll give her this tho: she finally matures in the last two episodes. For that, I was happy. And let's not talk about how nasty her best friend was, I don't even want to talk about what a waste of space this character was.
Anyways enough ranting about the characters. Now onto the plot I feel like this drama would have been better if it would have avoided the misunderstanding trope at every turn. Also, the plot moved forward only to backtrack from episode to episode. I think the writers lost the plot around ep 6. The story seemed to drag its feet from then on.
Although one tiny highlight was how the series showed that sometimes love isn't enough. No matter how much two people love each other if there's no communication or trust then it's not gonna work no matter how many times people try. If the couple is vastly different and want different things in life well then, that spells doom, sometimes it's better to let go than to hold on. And that was the root of HR and EB's story and I guess the lesson the writers wanted to leave the audience with.
The open ending fit the characters the best,honestly after eveything I can't see a happy ending for them. Maybe in the future but now? NOPE. So, I'm glad the writers went with the realistic ending and wrapped up the story fairly. For those who wanted them together, the hope is there.
Overall, I give this a 6.5and that's mostly for the acting and the OST not the writing.

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Not Much to the story. The first three episodes

basically go nowhere and almost made me drop this. It's just one of the ML basically stalking the other and being overly annoying for 17+ minutes. We do get some flashbacks to their past but it's not enough to push the bad story telling aside .If the first 3 awful episodes can get past then the story finally finds it's footing aroung episode 4. At its core it's a typical story of misunderstandings and non communication that makes the audience want to slap both of these characters upside the head, sit them down and get them to talk without any pettiness or anger. I mean most of their problems would be solved with communication no? Still underneath that it tells a relatable story of feelings developing between two friends. How those feelings can change everything causing misunderstandings and fear that leads to a break in the relationship. For that reason I gave it a 6 because I can relate. I've been there and I thought that was told well.
I think the cast did a good job for what they were given. And I loved the music and the locations. Plus. the last scene was pure cuteness and whole some if not my rating would have been lower than a 6.
I think Korean BL's are still finding their footing which is why I have a hard time finding one that I really love. Although. I think with some of these stories they are on the right track.

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Simple, workplace slice of life drama

with a side of fluff. Got to say that I loved this. It was simple but so cute and wholesome. I love how healthy the mains were. And, How they helped each other grow as people and in their workforce. Yes, there was a bit of angst thrown in there for the sake of it in the end it worked for character development. While I did find the romance rushed( I mean what can you do with 7, 20 min episodes?) but I think both the main actors did a convincing job with it.

I liked how their romance was mixed with their work because it was true to their characters. Both were workaholics who strived to be better at their job and make their dreams come true. In the end they achieve that, even if they have to start from scratch.

All in all 8.5. I usually have trouble with Korean BL's but the New Employee was different and is going in my favorite Korean BL's. I enjoyed it thoroughly and highly recommend it.

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Good idea. Just not executed well enough

I'm proud that BL's/ Korean Bl's especially try to move away from the real of what is expected from them. The Director Who Buys Me Dinner was a mix of supernatural and fantasy which is good because BL's deserve more themes and different stories. Yet since it was only 14-16 mins an episode, less by all the summaries and the previews in the beginning and end of the episodes + the normal 8-10 episodes, it really affected the plot. Since the episodes are so short there really isn't an opportunity to tell the story correctly. The series suffers from a lot of plot holes that left me confused and I still don't really understand the curse or their past connection. The ending is bittersweet too, I liked it enough but I feel like it could have had a better finish.
While I liked the performances of the cast in the last two episodes there's still room for improvement esp if they are going to stay in the BL industry. Some of the acting in the intimate scenes left me feeling awkward too. Still it's important for Korea to tell these stories as much as the writers and producers tell the male and female romance ones. For that I'm happy that Korea has done that and are giving fans more BL's lately. The Director Who Buys Me Dinner was another step in the right direction.
Overall I ive this series a 6.0 because I enjoyed it and thought it was cute. Is there room for improvement? Yes, but I'm satisfied enough for what this series gave me. Loved the OST tho.

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This one was a tough one for me to rate

As much as I thought this was so good in terms of quality and acting, it just didn't capture me like it should. I liked the study of human thought, emotion trauma, love and how everyone deals with the same situation in different ways. How adults can be incredibly selfish or cowards and end up hurting the people who least deserve it. How a mother's" love" can sometimes be the worst thing for her child. And how love doesn't always win because people are too stubborn to fight or it sometimes. I wish I could give it a higher rating----------

Yet I didn't feel what I was supposed to from all the above. I did find the dialogue, situations and acting compelling still I struggled to get thru the episodes. I guess this series as mature and well written as it was just wasn't for me. I didn't drop it because I liked the acting and I wanted to see how it all ended. So I stuck it out to the end.

I got to say tho the two leads had phenomenal chemistry the sexual tension was palpable even if it led nowhere in the end. The heartbreaking end made sense. I just don't see how it could go another way as sad is it was it made sense for the characters.

Overall I give this series a 7.5 and that was definitely for the acting that was incredible. maybe others will enjoy this one more than I did.

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Breathtaking views and good dive into Thailand's culture

Got to say I enjoyed seeing the different places the characters traveled to and learning each piece of Thailand culture where Win and Korn visited looking for the holy water. I was impressed. I'm usually not a fan of body swap stories so I wasn't expecting much from this one. TBH in the way of plot I got what I expected. However, I did like how there was one plot point when it comes to body swapping that was different and fresh, I rather liked it. Other than that, there was not much plot wise.

I only really watched this for EarthMix and they didn't disappoint. Their acting and chemistry was on point like always. And I really enjoyed Jan's work here. First time watching her, and I really liked her. She did a great job switching between Win and Lin. She was cute and funny when she needed to be. What can I say about Mix? I liked that he got a lighter character in the way that he got more comedy and he pulled it off. Guess that made Win more complex since he was mostly a jerk until episode 7 or when he got comedic moments. It was good to see him spreading his wings and not just drama this time. Earth was good as the sweet well-mannered Korn. I fell in love with Korn immediately and hated Win thru the first half with everything he put Korn thru.

For the most part I enjoyed Korn and Win's love story. I'm a sucker for friends to lovers so I liked how that was handled here aside with my problems with Win's character. Tho I do feel like he had character development. I'm surprised this story came from the same team of Enchante since I feel like the story and characters were handled much better here than on Enchante despite some flaws. I did enjoy the little life lessons the writers thru in there too.

Overall I give this a 7.5 because it was better than I expected but not a masterpiece per say. Will I rewatch? probably but only if I want to get my EarthMix fix. The acting gets a 10 of course because I feel like the whole cast was superb.

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