Saeng

The premise is great; the runtime too short.

The idea to blend an office setting / a boss-employee-dynamic with a fantasy plot of reincarnation and curses which have to be broken, is interesting.

Unfortunately, the boss-employee-dynamics with its inherent power imbalance is only kind of important in the beginning -- for me, Dong Baek was much too accepting of Yu Dam's story. But that may be because I did not feel a connection between the director and his employee. The director was so standoffish at the beginning, and then suddenly, he is concerned annd worried? The employee is confused and more than a bit uncomfortable, and then, suddenly -- love? A bit more time for character development would have been nice.

I think there's a lot of more character back-story and world-building here than we get to see; and this is what makes the whole series feel unfinished. It is as if we get an incomplete puzzle and are asked to fill in the missing pieces ourselves, and the pieces that are there are just the people, and none of the surroundings.
We don't know why it was so important that the "child of god" / "the kid who grew up in the shaman's house" not get a name. We don't know who it was who shot Dong Baek (looked like Dennis, maybe?) and why. We don't know what kind of curse it is and how exactly it can be broken. And we don't know how Yu Dam knows. We don't know who is was who possessed Dong Baek that one time. We don't know anything about Dennis, and why he thinks so lowly of Yu Dam.
The list could go on and on.

I don't understand why those who were responsible chose this story when it was clear that there's not a lot of time to fully explore it. Even a 10-episode drama of 25 to 30 minutes per episode would have been enough to at least explain the most pressing questions.
But if you know that you don't have the time, then why not choose a much simpler story?

As it is, most of the episodes felt rushed or disjointed (or both); which is a pity since the acting and most technical aspects were fine.

The ending .... is probably something people love or hate. It's open-ended bt hopeful; and I think it fits so I like it.

If you're interested and have the time, you could watch it -- it's short enough and certainly not bad enough -- and form your own opinion.

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I watched this and the series version side-by-side. Apart from a few scenes that were switched around, both versions are identical; the movie feels more like a cohesive whole since it isn't interrupted every few minutes. If you want to watch this, you should choose the movie if you can.

What I liked:
* the beautiful scenery at the ocean
* the simplicity of the story
* Han Gi Chan's acting
* Also, stories that are not set in highschool or college are always welcome.
* The Ex-boyfriend. It was a nice touch, not to know at the beginnning what to expect from him, and to discover in his third scene what he is actually like.
* The story didn't make use of the typical BL tropes, only standard romance tropes. The gender of the two protagonists actually did not matter much, which is always nice, if you want a light romance.

The story though has some qusetionable parts:
* I have so many questions: Where does Tommy come from? What is his motivation in staying with Ba Da? -- Why is Tommy there, right behind the car, at the beginning? Was it an accident, did he get in the way intentionally, did he just lie down there? -- Why does a chef buy at the grocery store?
* The gap year -- Why should two adults not know to try a long-distance relationship? What did Ba Da do while he was not at his small establishment and why did he decide to come back? What was the motivation for Tommy to return, and why at this point of time?

Holland's acting is, unfortunately, not suited for his role. I'm sure he did his best, but it seemed stiff to me, and even after rewatching I'm not always sure how his character feels. Especially since we only get Ba Da's POV, and Tommy doesn't really talk about his life, we have to rely on body language. I didn't, for example, notice that Tommy actually comes on to Ba Da until I watched the story for the third time.

Overall impression:
This is a nice and simple story, that focuses on few characters, sets and a single storyline. It didn't waste time on too many flashbacks or scenic shots, just enough to set the mood. The makers obviously used what they had wisely and tried to make a good story within the short time of an average movie.

I still would have wanted more info, be it explicitely stated or implicitely shown, to understand the motives of both main leads. Things are often too subtle to see them during a casual watching, or did you notice that Ba Da says in minute 33 of the movie "I didn't come here to do this?" and probably means that he notices a certain kind of attraction to Tommy? I didn't, and there are some other points where I'm really not sure if we get the intended message.
That subtlety doesn't mix particulary well with Holland's acting style.

Still, it's a nice movie to spend a lazy afternoon or evening on, even worth a rewatch or two, if yu need to shut off your brain. It's not an outstanding masterpiece but certainly better or at least not worse than some het romances.

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I actually watched the show a second time, just to check if there are any clues in the beginning (or somewhere before the last episode) to what is happening. There are not.

And that's the least of the show's problems.

But first: What I liked:
* All of the actors played everything straight and took their job seriously.
* The funny scenes made me laugh, the cute scenes made me smile, the serious scenes were sombre.
* There were no technical issues.

But the story. Oh my.
I think the first, and most relevant, issue is that we as the audience do not get any clues that this is not supposed to be anything but one of the usual BL romances (or romance comedies).

Also, the production doesn't stick to one "genre" -- between scenes the mood jumps from serious to cutesy to plain silly.

The show could have been
-- either: a serious, heartbreaking story about a relationship that's come to its end, and how the couple deals with it, and maybe find a new way to be together,
-- or: a cute, maybe a bit trope-y story about a couple that tries to balance their relationship and work / college with cheesy slice-of-life-scenes,
-- or: a silly, over-the-top story that makes fun of alle the tropes of het and BL romances, maybe with some slapstick thrown in.
Considering the quality of the technical aspects and the acting (and, again kudos to all of the actors), either of the three genres would have been great!

I suppose this show was conceived as a parody, which is the only thing that would make at least some kind of sense -- but the audience needs to get clues what this show is supposed to be!
As it is, the show does not know what exactly it is (what it is is a mess) and leave the audience not only confused but also disappointed.

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It feels like the writer had four or more different ideas for a story, couldn't develop any of them enough to fill all the episodes, and then decided to just throw them all together like Dr Frankenstein when he created his "human being".

The four stories are:
* A silly time travel story with supernatural elements
* A story of corporate intrigue
* An office romance
* A story about finding yourself and your place in life.

I loved the first episodes (Time-travel story with lots of silliness and over-the-top acting) -- loved many of the elements, such as the deities using modern communication, the inclusion of Covid, Ho Bo Wei's attempts to return to his time and the developing relationship between Ho Bo Wei and Hai Yi. I wish they had shown more scenes of Ho Bo Wei marvelling at the development of his hometown, of him using his ability to find anything and everything, and more of the supernatural elements (I would have liked the god's backstory and how the Jade Emperor reacted to his mistake).

But then this plot is (almost) completely dropped and the second story about the corporate intrigue starts. Both main characters seem to change their whole personality -- Hai Yi turns into a closed-off, workaholic person (which, at least, is explained later) and Ho Bo Wei is suddenly a whining guy, whose only goal in life is to get together with Hai Yi. The sexual tension that had been building up completely disappears in favour of one person lying and not telling important things and the other (of course) completely misunderstanding. These episodes made me dislike both of them, and I almost gave up.
This story, too, could have been something good -- but on its own, not in conjunction with the time travel part, and without so much one-sided lying.

It is only in the last two episodes that the first story is taken up again, and underwhelmingly "resolved".

Some other minor plot points that are dropped, and sometimes picked up again -- the god, who is responsible for this whole thing, shows up and disappears again; the girl disappears for several episodes, shows up briefly because they needed a female person who can play pregnant, and disappears again; Covid plays an important role in the beginning but then everyone just walks around without masks or anything -- except when it is needed for the story.

The parallel story of the second couple does not have this problem of trying to tell two stories in one, but I hate how the managing director lies to his future partner from the very beginning. He does explain his decisions at the end, but it still doesn't sit right with me, and I don't think it's a good basis for a balanced and trusting relationship, especially as there is somewhat of an age difference.

I think this could have been much better if someone else had a look at the script and made a more cohesive story. Or, alternatively, go back to the roots of the HIStory shows, and tell one story in just a few episodes, like in HIStory 1 and 2.

Since others seem to like it, go and try for yourself, but I won't be coming back to this show.

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Cute cat-boy story about a lonely man finding his family

If you're famiiar with "cat boys" and all the tropes that come with it, you'll already know how Meow will be portrayed: as a naive and innocent, sometimes childish, always playful, very young-looking boy with a slight build and a smooth and soft face.
If these stories about cat boys (whether in fan fiction or in manga/manhwa/manhua) do not devolve into straight-up porn, they usually stay light-hearted, soft and very, very cute. This one stays consequently on a PG level of intimacy, there's some toe holding, hand holding and one cheek kiss (where the kisser has no romantic intentions).

Content warning for some animal abuse, although we don't see any bodily harm.

First: The acting is okay. We are used to the newbies in Thai productions. and this is a bit above average. The main characters' actors, James and Gap, are more than above average, Gap did well in portraying his change from lonely artist to overwhelmed room-mate to a guy who is very much in love. James is a perfectly innocent cat-boy, showing every bit of his emotions very clearly, but without more exaggeration than the genre needs.
Second: The intro song is annoying, but bearable, the rest of the background music non-remarkable.
Third: I liked the sets, the locations and the editing. Not outstanding, but never empty and always realistic, fitting to the genre.
Fourth: I would have liked the ears to look a bit more realistic, and there were some instances when the actor's earlobes were visible.

Regarding the story, the series shows its manhua roots -- I did not find much about the original material; it seems that the manhua is at least 68 chapter (or books?) long; the few episodes of the anime version that I found were only a few minutes long. I suppose (and I just extrapolate from other manga and manhwa) that the oringinal material is one of those episodic endless manhua that never go anywhere, have little to no character development, and have no "ending", because if the couples would become official, the seres would be over. I guess that this is the main reason that this live action series's ending is more open. (Also, would anyone call someone their lover if their relationship is still unclear? Of course they don't.)
I would have loved to see more backstory for Meow, and I'm unsure if it's because of time constraints of the series or if the original did not provide more info? I do wonder why Meow is more childish than other members of the Ear People -- he's obviously slower to learn, but it also seems as if he's been sheltered from the wider world by his adoptive family? There's been some allusion to mistreatment as a little kitten but that doesn't explain everything.

Considering all the couples have the potential for power imbalance (adult / child-like cat boy, student / teacher, boss / intern) -- there's no need for concern here. The partners with more power never misuse this to push anything. The female couple is the most balanced -- while one is the bss, the other's compliments and clear adoration always melts the boss's heart. The second male couple also has its balance -- it's the student who would like to have more intimacy and tries to get closer. /Also, I think that Evan is more of an assistant than a full professor?)
Considering the main pairing: Even though Dermden (the adult artist) feels some kind of attraction in the first episode already, which evolves into love, and even though he would very much like to have a romantic relationship with Meow, he never acts on it. He even avoids situations where he could potentially cross boundaries, to Meow's great confusion. In the end, Dermdem is just happy that he has Meow in his life, and he'll take anything he'll get.

Overall, a nice and light watch, if you can accept all the tropes that come with cat boys and if you like some innocent romance.

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I should learn that the first episode in Korean dramas is never helpful in deciding which plot and tone the other episodes will have.

What I liked:
* I liked Wie Dae Han's character and its development throughout the series. He's a man who once had a very clear reason for going into politics but has lost it -- and is struggling to find it again through much of the series. That makes him a very flawed character, who are the best in dramas.
* My favourite character by far was Kang Joon Ho though, who had struggles all of his own -- who has to decide if he'll put his personal integrity above his familial ties.
* I also loved the supporting characters, foremost the aide, the Jung family, the kids, and the young ex-trainee. All of them were not only there for comic relief but also for the plot.
* I liked that on the politics side of the plot, the elements fit together and made a whole.

The whole drama is very much about personal values, and what it means to be a family and a good family member to the others, I think -- not only Wie Dae Han and Kang Hoon Jo have to learn but also the kids' father (I forgot his name), Kang Kyung Hoon, Han Tak...

What I did not like:
* They could have done away with the romance. Love triangles are overdone anyway, and in my opinion the romance did not add anything to the plot or the character development. Jung Hyun Soo could easily have remained a friend and colleague (she had enough reason for engaging with Wie Dae Han's daughter all of her own). Kang Joon Ho had more chemistry with Wie Dae Han than with her -- why not play up the rivals-since-school-days-angle instead of a lacklustre romance? Regardless who she ended up with, I really was not interested. I hate that writers think they have to force (het) romances into their stories.
* I would have loved to see more of the kids' stories instead. Han Tak was a really interesting character, and also Song Yi and her anxieties ould have been interesting to learn more about. Or what about the boy's need for eating and jumping around? There's more story there.
* I think this would have made the drama more interesting -- it was rather lengthy from episodes nine to eleven, which is where the romance subplot was most apparent. It was decent before, when it was about Wie Dae Han and the kids, and after, when the race for the election picked up.
* All in all, I was again disappointed by the female characters. The girl had spunk in the beginning but the got reduced to her role as impending mother, Jung Hyon Soo was overly emotional, the female journalist was a strange mix of ambitious and passively accepting the men's plans.

Overall, it's okay to watch. The ending was rather predictable -- but still I liked the character development we got to see.

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Even three years after its release, this is still one of the better Korean BLs.
In a lot of other Korean BL dramas, something is always off -- either the story doesn't make any sense (or only had old-fashioned and even harmful clichés), or the acting is stiff or the production (sets, audio etc.) lacks details or the directing is lackluster etc.

This drama has none of those problems.
The plot is is solid, if a little predictable. What's making it special are the little hints at more backstory -- especially for the two main leads, who are wonderfully vulnerable and both have scars from earlier events in their lives, which we only get hints of -- and they both accept these vulnerabilities and the weaknesses of each other.
The acting enhances this further. There are many small moments when you have to look closely at the actors, they often express their emotions through small changes in posture or even just with their eyes (I loved these moments when Son Woo Hyun shows how his character is hurt by Han Ji Woo's harsh words, and equally, how Kim Kang Min can say whole paragraphs by just averting his eyes.) Both main actors and the supporting cast are obviously invested in making this drama into something good.
The sets feel real, and with much attention to detail. In the beginning of the story, Ji Woo's home seems a bit bare -- except for the kitchen, which is clearly well loved and often used. This is the only place in the whole house where Ji Woo has left traces of his own personality -- until Seo Joon, that is. Then suddenly, decorating items start to show up (and it's clear that Ji Woo put them there for Seo Joon).
The directing puts all these things into a cohesive whole. For me, it feels as if the director had a clear vision of the story, the characters, and their backstories.

Yes, the budget could have been higher, the run time could have been longer. But I think they did what they could, and it doesn't even show too much that it was shot during the first autumn/winter of the covid-pandemic (I suppose that South Korea had quite a few restrictions back then, as did other countries).

I recommend that you re-watch this after season 2 -- there are several scenes that hit differently after you know more about the characters.

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The drama's main theme is a small, declining business with a tradition of 100 years that fights against financial pressures, the bank, a behemoth of a business rival etc. etc.
There are some earnest speeches with a lot of pathos and "ganbarimasu" -- I feel as if every main character has a similar story of failure (a patent that has not been picked up, a declining business, failed interviews, sports injuries) and it's a story about being the underdog who takes second chances they don't actually have.
It's very David ("heart and soul", the people are what's important, hard work and tenacity makes you successful) versus Goliath (money won't make you happy and shouldn't be your goal in business life), and the general outcome is quite predictable.

The acting was top-notch, and the overall quality great; even after just a few minutes of the first episode I started to care about the little tabi factory and its people, which made me watch the entire thing. Nevertheless, I found that the episodes were structured too similarly, so they got a bit repetetive, with one or two main obstacles, that are solved during the episode, and at the end there's a joyful "We made it", at times with an added a glimpse of the next problem. There were about three musical pieces that were mostly uplifting in nature, which also got a bit boring.

Something I liked is that there were more people in their fifties than younger characters.

I was annoyed by the implicit misogyny -- none of the female characters had any role but to say supporting things to the men; anything that pushed the plot forward was done by men. And, when the older son doesn't want to inherit the business, nobody even asks if maybe the daughter might want to?

One thing that I found rather unrealistic:
A person, who invents a whole new material and builds the machine to produce it with his own hands, and then holds a patent -- wouldn't he rigorously test his invention early on, to understand which influence all of the variables of production have? It seems that after Iiyama had invented one working verson procedure, he called it a day?
(Also, a mechanical engineering, material engineering and electrical engineering are different fields of expertise! Does Daichi have three degrees?)

I was also some other plot points I found a bit strange. For example: There's a fire, and a machine is destroyed -- and there's no insurance? Not even a small one? Also, why do neither Iiyama nor Miyazawa ever try to negotiate when they get offers they don't want to take -- only in the second to last episode Miyazawa gives a counter offer.

All in all, it was entertaining, and I'm glad to have watched an example of the dramas based on the successful Japanese "business novel" genre. If I do watch another one, then maybe a story by another author though.

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Every meeting means there will be a parting

Time-travel stories are always tricky, especially if you have, like here, several "travels" back or forth in time. Not only needs the fictional world keep its own internal logic -- who knows what, what has influence on what and so on -- there's also the question of whether to explore "timelines" and "alternative realities" and all the technicalities that come with time travel. "Absolute Zero" does this relatively well, by making the time travel a magical one (implicating that there are unknown forces at work) and not attempting to explain how it all works. Some questions remain a bit unclear, especially the "Where did it all begin?" and why the third time someone travelled worked differently than the other two.
But overall, the story is quite obviously not about the logistics, it's much more about meetings and partings, love and loss, and the hope to meet each other again.

The drama also caught one of my weaknesses: I love it when the same part of a story gets re-told from different perspectives or when it explores a "What if this one thing is changed?". "Absolute Zero" has both, so the cast and crew would have had to do a lot of things wrong for me to not like it.

I loved quite a few more aspects. What hooked me in the first episode was the use of colour and light; I also loved the sets which looked both cozy and down-to-earth. I liked that the story takes its time to explore the emotions, even if that made the pace quite slow. The pace and the way it is filmed, combined with the surprisingly high acting quality, took me in, and I cried with the characters when they cried, I hoped with them, I laughed with them. But really, there was a lot of crying -- in the end, "every meeting means there will be a parting" (paraphrased from the DVD shop grandfather).

One thing I wasn't so sure about right after watching, was whether I liked that it's not quite clear if this universe is a deterministic one, i.e. if everything is fixed and unchangeable. The first two thirds make it seem like it is -- but then, the ending seems to imply that it's not, that the writer wants us to know that with determination, we can change our fate. But it's also not made explicit, so maybe it was their fate to end up like they did?
After a night of sleeping over it, I now believe that it's a good thing -- that the author doesn't make a clear decision made me question my own stance on it. Would I like to think that these two men are "soulmates", destined to find and love each other no matter what? Do I want to think that the universe wanted to help them? Or do I want to believe that it was their own strong desire that overcame their pre-written destiny, that only with their sacrifices were they able to overcome their previous destiny?
I love it when a story can make me think.

That said, not everything was great. There are some (minor) aspects that could have been better, many of them would be major spoilers, but I can give you some non-spoilery examples:
* I think the drama could have been tightened up in places. Not by much -- because I do think that we needed the time to explore the characters and their dynamics, as well as their developing emotions -- but maybe by two or three episodes.
* I would have been nice to learn more about adult!Ongsa before the first time-travel. I think it would have made the diferences between teen!Ongas and adult!Ongsa clearer, as well as the difference between pre-story!Ongsa and post-story!Ongsa. This would have also had the effect to have more material for flashbacks, so it's even more obvious that Soon loves both the 18-year-old that Ongsa was and the adult Ongsa he will be in equal measures.
* More variety in the music and its use would have been good. I could predict when which kind of music (a capella, non-verbal vocalisations or instrumental) would be used down to the second. It was also always the same music. So, that got on my nerves by episode 9 or 10.

But these are really minor criticisms -- the drama did well in taking me through an emotional journey, and after finishing it, I felt both full and empty, which is one of the best outcomes for this kind of story.


Was it good?
It was, for the most part. The internal logic worked, and I liked that there were things left unanswered in the end. Actors were excellent in making me feel with their characters, which is essential for a character-driven story.

Did I like it?
Yes! I loved it, even with its flaws. It hit a favourite way of mine for story telling, so I am positively biased.

Who would I recommend it to?
To those who love soulmate fics, who love stories about yearning and the pain of loss. To those who can get on with slow-paced dramas.

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Occasionally, there is a drama that gently touches one of my soft spots, and it finds that spot so precisely that I find it very hard to see if there are any flaws.
"The Proper Way to Write Love" is one of them. After I finished it, I immediately queued it up again, something that hasn't happened for at least two and a half years, and then I proceeded to watch it another two times withing the next weeks -- and that has happened only once before, with "Secret Crush on You".

I love "The Proper Way to Write Love" not only for the central issue of a person who has been an outcast and a victim in his teenaged years and learns to let go of the past, I also love it for the way it slowly, almost imperceptibly, lets their protagonists change (Natsuo's is even less visible than Hiro's) and the way it develops their relationship dynamics.

The drama tells a small love story about two young men who both bear mental scars from their time as teenagers at high school (one more visible than the other), who learn to clumsily express their feelings and learn to read the other's expressions -- which directly ties back to the Japanese title. It's a story that shows us how they grow together through little "adventures", with a slice-of-life feeling that reminded me of "Rokuhodo Colorful Days" or "The Four Yuzuki Brothers".

Others might find it mundane, even boring. They might say "why should I care about a random little boy cutting flowers or about a hair styling competition"?
However, this is not about these things themselves -- it's how Hiro and Natsu react to these events. It's how they learn to do things together. And it's how we see what is important to them, and how they learn to understand each other and how they learn to adapt to the other's presence in their lives.

In a way, this is a very Japanese drama; in which the protagonists are neither rich nor famous, their lives are very average, and meaning comes from paying attention to the little things.

And here's one of the few things that could have been better. If the little things are important, and if it's about the small changes in the protagonists' lives, then I would have loved to see more close-ups of them. The actors certainly have great ability, and it's clear that they are excellent at expressing emotions. Unfortunately, the director not only adheres to the usual Japanese way of often using wide shots, they also seem to have a fondness for not focusing on the person who is speaking. There were more than a few scenes where I would have liked to see Natsuo's or Hiro's expression when they talked, but they were just outside of the frame we were seeing. I'm sure this was a deliberate choice, since there are many shots where the frame, the lighting and the colours are obviously chosen with great care.

But in the end, I only care for this aspect because I love the whole so much that I want to see more details than there are shown (I would love to see more of Natsuo's life at school outside of his interactions with Hiro, for example), so I'm not sure I would be satisfied, even if there were more close-ups of Hiro and Natsuo.


Was it good?
I find it hard to give an opinion on whether it was "objectively" good. I do think that the actors were excellent and that the overall technical quality was above average -- and that it all felt rather Japanese.

Did I like it?
Yes! Yes! And Yes! It is one of those stories that touches a weak spot of mine -- but not so that it hurts, but so that it feels more as if someone gently applies balm to an old and itchy scar.

Would I recommend it?
Yes. Maybe not to those who need melodrama and big emotions, and not to those who are looking for the love story of the ages.

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"No matter which path you choose ... know it will be for your own sake and your own happiness."

[cw for the drama: death of a parent, death of a daughter, abortion, grief]

This was all around an outstanding drama; perfectly acted, gently filmed, and not at all what I expected from the synopsis.

For all that Tsukioka Natsu, the father, is listed as the sole main character, this is a drama that is primarily about women.
It is about family in the broader sense (and we get to see various family constellations here), and it is about becoming and being a father, but it is much more specifically abut motherhood, about mother-daughter-relationships, about children who are wanted or not, about abortion, and how hard of a choice it is; it's about women who make choices.
And grief. So, so much grief, and grieving, looked at from every angle, how each of the characters feels the loss, whether it is daughter, mother, friend or ex-lover.
And apart from some lashing out, not out of malice, but because the characters are overwhelmed, there's so much gentleness, kindness, and patience.
The characters do their best to give each other time to adjust. They make mistakes, they try to amend them. They listen.
And there are characters who find it hard to express themselves, and still try so hard to understand and be understood, and to find the best way forward.

Consequently, this is a drama that takes its time to tell the story, of how the characters got here, and of how they might continue. It's slow-paced, but no scene, no dialogue feels superfluous. The actors play their characters with gravity where needed, and with levity where possible -- naturally, with care and with respect. Just like the characters listen to each other with patience, and accept their choices, the drama asks us to do the same.

Because this is a drama, that, much more then it is about family, is about the right to choose. It's about choosing your own happiness. It shows how every choice will have consequences, for ourselves, and for others; how every choice wil have a price -- and a prize.
And in this drama, it's almost always the women who take the agency, not the men. In a patriarchal society that expects women to be mothers, and mothers to sacrifice their own happiness for family (in conservative Japan even more than in Western Europe), this drama shows us alternatives.
It gives us a women who decides to not have a child -- and how she still feels guilt and nevertheless lives a happy life.
It gives us a woman who decides to have a child and be a single mother -- and how she is happy even though it's hard.
It gives us a woman who needs to let her daughter find her own path.
It gives us women who choose to be in a romantic relationship -- and women who reject it for themselves.
It gives us women who choose.
And women who protect other women's choices.

We, as the audience, won't agree with all of their choices. But it's their choice to make, not ours. Like Mizuki says in episoe 9:
"There is no such thing as a choice that will appease everyone. But know this. There's no reason to sacrifice yourself. Do not become too kind to others. Do not act like a person who acts out of understanding. Please, allow your self to be a bit selfish. Make this choice yourself. And no matter which path you choose ... know it will be for your own sake and your own happiness."

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For the most part, this was a sweet and simple story about different kinds of teenage crushes and first loves (the supporting characters also have their crushes). The characters all suffer from the usual misunderstandings, self-denial and teenage angst, but it always stays light and low-stakes.

Woo Hyeon's journey from a crush to understanding the feelings of first love (which, of course, turns out to be "true love") is at the centre of the story -- and the other characters' love stories serve as a nice background, so we can understand Woo Hyeon's own story better. Kim Ji O was excellent in portraying the character, and I hope we'll see more of him in the future.

Another thing I liked was that they didn't push aside the question of what it might mean to be gay in contemporary Korean society (it was addressed a few times, and one of the supporting characters had internalised homophobia); but they also didn't make it a big part of Woo Hyeon's journey.

The longer part of the drama takes place during their last year of high school -- and I found that the passing of time stayed a bit too vague -- the shorter second part four years after. While I appreciate the slow story telling of the first part, with it's journey of self-discovery, I think the second half would have profited from tightening the script. Here, the desperation of both Woo Hyeon and Doha felt not intense enough and it got a bit lengthy. I also don't think the short jealousy story arc added anything to the story.
However, I know that the drama was based on a Manwha. So, it's likely that the script writers followed the manwha's structure here.


Was it good? -- Yes, it was a sweet and straightforward teenage love story, with all the usual tropes and ood characterisation.

Did I like it? -- I liked it well enough, and I was entertained. However, it wasn't eough for me to say I'd watch it again.

Who would I recommend it to? -- For people who want to see a teenage love story, this will definitely hit the spot.

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Delightfully overdramatic

A disclaimer first: I watched this drama while I was sick, and in pain from an ear infection -- what I wanted was something sufficiently fast-paced and engaging but not too complex in terms of plot. It was clear from the first episode that "Century of Love" would be exactly what I needed.


It's a delightfully overdramatic series -- from San's over-the-top reaction to Vad's death in the past, to the supernatural elements, the heinous villains, and San's family in the present. It was fun to watch, appropriately ridiculous in the fight choreographies (and their sound effects) and the main villain in his wheelchair, which was juxtaposed with the silliness of San's family members trying to get them together.
Some plot-changing decisions didn't make any sense to me -- why did the shrine keeper/priest in 1924 agree to the ritual, if it would result in the destruction of the last piece of Nüwa's Five-Coloured Stone? Why did he not refuse, since death and loss are part of the cycle of life? Why didn't Tao (the shrine keeper/priest in 2024) recognise the signs of Nüwa's approval and why didn't he trust in his own calculations but let himself be confused by lies later on?

Nevertheless, the drama is remarkably consistent in keeping to its universe's rules, in the actions of the main and supporting characters and in the story they want to tell.

Because the story is not without depth. The core message the writer wanted San / us to see is being spelled out towards the end of the last episode, so I won't spoil that for anyone who hasn't seen the drama yet.

Another aspect I found much more interesting is the way two forms of homophobia are shown here -- the overt homophobia of San and the internalised homophobia of Vee (which is reinforced by his low self-esteem, more on that later). San's homophobic behaviour comes from the time he grew up in, he believes in the values and customs he's known all his life, and after he has overcome them, he is very much willing to pursue a relationship with Vee. We've seen that in other BLs already, even if not that often in the last year or so.
Vee, on the other hand, is even more interesting. Outwardly, he's openly bisexual, he is out to his grandma, he has had sexual relationships before, and he admits early on that he has a crush on that handsome man named San. However, the deeper his feelings for San grow, the more insecure he becomes. He doesn't trust this budding relationship, and with good reason -- don't we all know that "you should never fall for a straight man"? It gets worse when a young woman, who calls herself Vadfah and tells them that she has dreamed of San all her life (unlike Vee), and has the same birth date and place as Vee, so they share the same destiny -- as Tao says, the probability that she is the real Vad, is higher for her than for Vee. The probability is also higher just because she is a woman -- isn't it more "normal", more "usual", and doesn't it make more sense that she is the one San has been waiting for? Vee believes all these things.

Vee also has quite low self-esteem. He manages to hide it by playing up his goofy side, by smiling and laughing, by making self-deprecating jokes -- but occasionally he will let another character (and us) in, and tell us about growing up poor, about how he was cheated because of it and now has a criminal record, how having his grandmother as his only family member made him an outcast among his peers; and then he will try to laugh it off, play down his experiences, while the others look on in horror. With San, he is a bit more direct; he tells San that he's not worthy enough to be with him because he's from another class, because he's a man, because he is Vee.
I love Vee's complexity, his optimistic side, and his love for his family, as well as his insecurities and self-doubt. He is a well-written and consistent character, and I wish they'd have explored him a lot more.
However, I do understand that this is not the main story the writers wanted to tell -- it's a side story, and just the story that I, as a viewer would have found more interesting. So, this doesn't affect my rating.

These three aspects -- San's overt homophobia in the beginning, Vee's internalised homophobia and his low self-esteem -- all of them could have given the series a deeper meaning if the writers had made them stand out a bit more, made the character's emotional journey clearer, or maybe given them a bit more room.
On the other hand, I do understand that this drama was always supposed to focus on the romance, the villains' plot and the message they spelled out at the end (although I would have liked to see that shown more clearly throughout the drama, rather than being said outright -- but then, I'm a fan of subtle storytelling).

One other thing I'd like to point out is that I love the colours and the sets -- I love how the living spaces reflect the characters, and even Vee's room in the first episodes, which we only see in a few scenes, does this. I love the shrine, with its rich reds and its shadows. I love how San's mansion stands out ridiculously among the low and small houses around it.


Was it good?
For a Thai BL, it definitely was. It had a theme that was different from the usual plots, it was consistent, even if a bit overdramatic and more or less predictable.

Did I like it?
I did! I do wonder though, if I had liked it as much if I hadn't been sick.

Would I recommend it?
I would, with the caveat that it feels very Thai, and not to expect a masterpiece of art.

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Bait & Switch

After Anti-Reset (and the preceding Stay By My Side and You Are Mine), I already did not have high hopes that this newest product from VBL would delve into the SF aspect or even the philosophical aspect of Human-Android relationships.
But what I got was even worse, a Bait & Switch.

They lured us with an intriguing opening scene (AI rights -- a often-discussed question in SF stories, should a self-aware machine with a free will have rights, just like a human?), tantalised us with more knowledge about how the Ever series androids work, the androids bleed, have a heartrate -- basically seem to have a human body, but are enhanced (at least Ever 4 is), and don't age, the story also gave us glimpses of the other Androids (talked about Ever 2, we saw Ever 7, who is a look-a-like to Gu Bu Xia) and so on.
The questions if a human-android relationship would work, and how this would impact society, or what "love" is (can a machine love?) are not new to the genre and are extremley obvious in the premise itself ... and the story gives us crumbs, only to leave us with nothing.
Instead, they gave us the switch: A clichéd story about a young man who still carries trauma related to his mother (ugh!) and who only needs a devoted butler/confidant/lover to heal him, and we never get any more information about the world they are living in.

Characterisations are weak. I already mentioned the ultra-chlichéd background story for Lo Bus Shi. Ever 4 also did not have a consistent character. He is supposed to be mainly a bodyguard/fighter/strategist type of android, who is not supposed to give emotional support to his master, so he should have not been given data for this. He talks about struggling with emotions, asks Ever 9 for advice, but then proceeds to do everything perfectly (like a stereotypical top, see below). This would have been an interesting avenue to explore: Where do emotions come from? How do they work? Or another aspect to explore: The inherent power imbalance between master and slave (in this case, android) -- what does this mean for a romantic relationship? And if they'd further developed the dom/sub vibes Ever 4 and Lo Bu Shi gave throughout the series, this would have added another layer to the question of power imbalance.

Other things that irritated me:
* Ever 4's glasses didn't make any sense. Not only the "dom mode", that is just another Bait&Switch, but especially when he takes them off because "He trusts Lo Bu Shi" -- why does he not put them on again whenever he is alone or in a confrontation. Feels like the director just wanted an excuse to put the glasses away.
* The whole top/bottom dynamic was stronger than in the other VBL productions I've seen, and it made me angry when several characters (Lo Bu Shi included) implied that to bottom during sex between men means that you are less manly for it. Couple interactions were written along the lines of stereotypical dynamics, and, of course, the top is more than capable of doing anything, while the bottom is the one who is cutesy and must be protected.
* The secondary couple was superfluous. There wasn't enough time to develop a good progression, and there could have been another reason for the fall-out between father and son. The writer should have taken the time to further explore the really interesting questions (see paragraph two) or to make Ever 4 more consistent.


Was it good?
As before, VBL take an interesting (and, for a BL drama, unusual) premise -- and only briefly dip their toes into it only to then give us another fluffy romance without much substance. I did not mind so much in You Are Mine, because that one was a comedy first and foremost, and it did that well (even if the power dynamics between boss and employee should have been more developed), but it had already frustrated me in Stay By My Side to the point that I had to put it on hold for a while. Here, in a drama with such an intriguing world, it's sad, even for VBL standards. And no, the last ten minutes of episode 12 dd not save it.
Did I like it?
I wanted to like it. But with this Bait & Switch, I couldn't. It was watchable, but also irritating because it could have ben more, at least a bit. Overall, for an android-human relationship, I'd rather rewatch Anti-Reset, which at least knew what it wanted to tell us, than this.
Do I recommend it?
Only if you are seriously into the looks of the actors. If VBL decides to make more BLs for the other Ever Series androids, then there might be some background informations that could be useful. But that's hard to say at the moment.

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"I Became A Star in a BL Drama" is, at the time I am writing this review, one of my Top 10 Comfort shows. It has everything I love:

* the runtime is not too long, so it's perfect for a rewatch in between new dramas,
* it is a sweet and beautiful love story with some tongue-in-cheek tropes, that makes me fall in love with the way the main characters fall in love,
* there is some character development, that links past and present, and gives some depth to the story,
* side characters have their own story to tell,
* the production value is high, in every aspect: I love the clour schemes they chose, the details on the sets, the make-up and hair dressing (which uses different styles for the characters when they are Akafuji and Aoyagi vs. when they are acting in the BL),
* Abe Alan and Akutsu Nichika play both of their respective roles very well, and are able to give them very distinctive personalities -- I love it when the director shout "CUT" and the BL character vanish, leaving Akafuji and Aoyagi behind,
* every actor in this is fully immersed in their role -- for some scenes with lots of characters, I like to rewind them, just to watch what is going on in the background,
* it's making fun of the BL world, with the feathers and the adoring fans, the tropes used in the "BL Drama" of the series and more,
* it's also a commentary on the film industry, how hard it is for child actors when they grow up, and the toxicity of fans,
* and the humour is my kind of humour, this Japanese kind of slapsticky over-the-top humour that some people can't stand.

Overall, I can't find anything I dislike about this, it's perfect for its runtime, has a simple plot on the surface but those who want to can also find some deeper meanings.

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