A 3-in-1 C-drama that included investigating, romance, and historical action. We have a cunning and fast-witted male lead, a witty and independent female lead. No cringe, no boring romance story. What ELSE would you ask for? This is the best drama to start out for this year.
Despite the main characters aren't your wavelength typical of beauties, they're more accurate and sincere to the characters than a "pretty" main character.
I usually focus on the story plot and how "good-looking" the main characters would be but trust me, I'm in love with this one regardless of how they look. The male lead isn't just a good looking cover, but he is a smart, prideful, and skillful in his job field. I must especially point out that he looks so cool and sexy when he tortures criminals. xD
Mad-crazy acting skills. Full respect. I really have no words to describe how much I love this drama.
Was this review helpful to you?
A true treasure among the sea of Thai BLs
I rarely do reviews but I truly want to write this one.Before I start, I want to clarify first that I came to watch this series with a low expectation since live actions always have that stigma of being bad due to maybe the storyline doesn't stick to the og version, or the vibe, settings, characters, styling, etc. don't fit into how the original works were portrayed, or maybe just not what the fans have visualized/anticipated.
I also have the tendency to drop BLs since nowadays this industry just seems so "wash, rinse, and repeat." BL after BL, cp after cp (not calling any names here) that commonly reached the point of plain boring and ridiculously forced/stiff/fake (personal opinion). And I have been seeing BL contents for almost a decade. Very little things (including storyline or plot) can please me at this point...but this one? Took my breath away quite literally.
First of all, I love love loveeeeee SmartBoom's chemistry. Immediately became obsessed with them and I only liked 3 pairs so far from tons of series I have seen before, so you guessed it, they are now entering my fav list as well. Imagine my surprise when I learned that this is the first time these two were paired together because I, for the first time, really thought to myself, "wow, this is what it meant to be real actors. They must have been together in another series before." (oh how wrong I was) And apart from their amazing chemistry, their fan-service is top-notched. XD
I initially started watching not knowing what to expect aside from knowing that this is Dakaichi's adaptation, and I liked the anime to some extent many years ago (mostly nostalgic sentiment that I still do now), but dare I say, it's even better than the original works.
Comparing to the manga/anime, the series feels more relatable, and the emotions portrayed by the actors were done perfectly; it felt like the real characters have walked out and entered the sets themselves. I'd say there's a perfect balance of "human touch" in it that makes this live action so lively. And whoever did the casting, you deserve a raise!
Plot wise, I was really glad that they cut off a lot of red-flagged scenes and make Jin a green flag but still tried to stick to the original version. It feels like the manga, anime, and live action went on three complete directions yet still delivered the same ideas, and that makes me appreciate the efforts that the filming crews and actors have put into to make this story as "Dakaichi" as possible.
The only downsides of this series are the pace and some plot holes....how a little rushed it was towards the end, some parts felt like it could be expanded better but weren't. But overall, those factors weren't a turn-off point for me since issues were resolved, and the situations ended on a brighter side. I also enjoyed the fact that the live action brought real-life struggles of celebrities into the plate, something that Dakaichi had somewhat glossed over. And truthfully, I really cannot blame the series to be this way because those plot holes came from the script/story itself, and not how the actors delivered it.
I was able to finish the series on a happy note (and smiled like a mother seeing Smartboom cried at every episode's reaction haha). I am currently on my sixth rewatch because I just miss Smartboom and every Thursday of TopForm airing so much. And those NC scenes? Oh. my. God.
It might not be the best series ever, definitely not absolutely mind-flowing or anything, especially if you are already familiar with the plot from the get-go (and maybe I like it so much because I entered the frame with a low expectation) but as a viewer of the original works? It is one of the best live actions I have ever seen, and I'm saying this from the bottom of my heart.
So definitely give this series a try, and see for yourself whether if you'll enjoy it just like I did! :)
Was this review helpful to you?
