Kate

Hit pause on the turning point.

This movie is a gentle reminder that it’s okay to just take a moment to breathe and figure yourself out - be it a day, month or a year. There is no point in chasing after things that do not bring you peace and happiness. Yes, you still need to deal with your responsibilities, you need an income to support yourself financially, but that does not mean you need to desire and want what everyone else strives for. We are all different, with different motivations and needs. One person enjoys a fast paced environment, someone else needs more calmness in their surroundings. There are no right and wrong answers in how to live your life, as long as you are not hurting others.

And that’s basically what the movie is about - Hye Won putting her life on pause as she tries to figure out what she truly wants, and if the goal she was trying to reach so far is what she truly desires. She reconnects to her roots, reignites her old friendships and slowly learns about her mother’s decisions in the past - understanding things she was not able to understand when she was younger.

What Little Forest offers is comfort and warmth. Beautiful scenery and amazing short cooking scenes. A message that simple life is meaningful. That making amends with your past is the way to move forward, even if it means starting from the beginning.

Additionally, we get an amazing cast delivering perfect performances. Honestly speaking, the movie is Kim Tae Ri’s, and Kim Tae Ri’s only. She carries the whole film. She fits the rural slice of life genre so well, I would have no issue watching a full 16 episodes show based on Little Forest.

Overall, big recommendation for anyone who loves a calming slice of life content with few cooking scenes that will make you hungry.

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“Okay, but why?” and “Okay, but how?”

Were the questions I kept asking as I was watching, and I did not receive answers for the majority of them. The only things the movie had to offer were gore and the performances. The writing was nonexistent just like the logic behind the rules of the curse/hypnosis.

There were maybe 2 decent characters, but none that truly caught my attention. Most of the teens were either boring and just there to die in creative ways, or borderline psychos, and the laughable attempt to make it seem like “everyone would act this way in a similar situation” just made me laugh. There is a difference between doing awful things for survival, and doing awful things for survival while also laughing and enjoying yourself.

The ending is just dumb. Makes sense in the most shallow perspective, but when you start to think about it even slightly, it all falls apart.

Overall, they should have used some of the money from special and practical effects of gore to hire a better writer. Unless the source material is also this dumb, then there is no hope.

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Step into the right direction, but we are still walking, not running.

On one hand I want to give big props since this drama is a massive improvement in terms of directing, editing, storytelling and acting compared to many Thai bls. It includes genres that are not often used, being more daring and bold in tags. On the other hand the execution still feels sloppy. The pacing was draggy at a few points, the horror aspect slowly vanished as the drama focused more on the romance. There were times where I felt like they tried too hard to be artsy, fancy and serious. And I don’t even want to talk about the conclusion.

What Khemjira does well is create a cohesive and rich in cultural details world. What I mean by it - the culture was an integral aspect of the story, not just decoration. For most parts I understood the strength and limitations of everyone's powers and the impact they have on them and people around them. They also did a good job showing how capable Ramphueng was in action not narration - that’s always a big plus.

What’s more, I actually strangely enjoyed the sometimes questionable moral takes this show presents. Personally I find the idea of Karma that follows you in different reincarnations unjust, but because of that I found the reasonings the characters gave for certain storylines fitting the overall themes, even if I personally disagreed with them.

I also truly appreciated all the characters, not only the male leads. With how much was already happening plot wise, I felt relieved that they did not create unnecessary mundane drama with cheap cliches. Rather than that, they used what usually is an annoying trope for a little bit of a mood change with positive characters that brought a smile to my face (looking at you Phong).

I was also extremely surprised with how good the special effects and styling was. Visually speaking this drama is a feast (yes, Master is a whole damn meal alone, main course if you ask me). Especially Ramphueng - the way her styling and make-up gradually changed, you don’t notice it at first, but by the last episode you see how badly she is affected by everything that happened. With how supernatural was not just a little part, but the driving force, all the magic, ghosts and various beings were presented in a really… tasteful manner? I could see that they took their time making sure all the details matched and it was not some “stock idea”.

On the positive side I have to talk about acting. First my favorite - Green. Her performance was so strong I started to root for her in the second half. The more we knew about Ramphueng, the more I connected to her character. Her delivery was so strong, I could feel every emotion she portrayed.

Then we have FirstOne. This man managed to show so much depth in what could be easily presented as just a comic relief character, I have to applaud him. Be it silly jokes and remarks or truly raw and heartbreaking moments - he aced them all.

Truth to be told, I loved almost everyone in the cast. Keng was able to balance Peem’s stoic persona with deep emotions, Tle balanced the nerdy, but also mature side of Chan well.

And then we have Namping… I am sorry, but for me he cannot act. It was not obvious at first - he does well with simple daily mundane scenes. Happy, surprised, little scared, hesitant, flirty. But when the story took a more serious turn and required to tap into these deep and raw emotions, he failed every scene. He was trying to squeeze these tears, sometimes managing to get one or two, but I felt nothing watching him on screen. His level of reaction was less “life or death” and more “dropped the last piece of pizza on the floor”. He also struggled with switching and moving from one emotion to another. He always pulled that hard cut between being heartbroken and fine.

Though I do think some of the issues with his performance came from directing choices too. There were a number of scenes of him crying, stopping for the dialogue to happen, and then crying again - like the emotions were being paused to deliver the lines. Some other characters also had similar issues - weird pauses between words, weird pauses between replies.

Since I was not convinced by the performance, I did not connect to the character, which led me to truly not care for the overall plot. The only reason I could potentially feel emotional is the reaction other characters would have, rather than what would actually happen to him. This is bad, real bad. He is carrying the whole story, everything revolves around him, everything is connected to him… and here I am not caring about him at all. Boy was the center of it all, but he also did nothing.

Here’s the thing though about the story - with how much the villain went through and with how poorly Khem was portrayed, I kind of was on her side. Sue me, but I will die on that hill.

Another issue I had was the fact they truly did not know how to hold the tension and transition between different scenes that had different moods. They built something up just to break it up with silly jokes and comedy so neither the serious nor the fun actually landed.

Then we have the conclusion, the lack of explanations and the “because it had to happen” as if this would be enough for me to just accept and move on, when the whole plot was built on the mystery of the curse and how to break it. The drama ended and I still do not fully understand the curse… I asked around and honestly no one gave me a proper explanation just “maybe it’s this or that”... The ending was just disappointing.

Strangely I think I have more positive feelings about all the side stories rather than the main one.

Anyway, I'm done, but it feels more like the show is done with me after slapping me in the face with random shit over and over again in that last episode. I was obsessed in the first half, but when my expectations were not met I got more and more disappointed.

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When the mains deliver, but the setup is underwhelming…

I’m not gonna pretend like I started this drama with hopes of getting a high quality inspirational tale of overcoming your struggles, finding support in people around you, dealing with your trauma and fears, but I am glad the drama delivered in that area. Why did I start it though? For Lee Yang Seob’s face, and his face only. And here I also got what I asked for - damn he looks fine.

Here’s the thing, My Lovely Boxer is just a drama that completely lacks balance. It switches between a heartwarming slice of life focused on the character development and makjang mafia and I’m just confused why. The whole rigged bets set up was so underdeveloped, overdramatic and distracting, I’m here asking - was there really no better way to force Tae Young and Gwon Sook into working together? Every time the focus shifted towards Kim Oh Bok I wanted to scream “NO ONE CARES!”.

If only we’ve got more information about him, if they actually tried to develop the main villain into a complex and interesting character. But no, he was there as the most cliche and empty plot device and I’m not happy. And he is not the only bad character that sucked writing wise - same goes for Gwon Sook’s father. I am sorry, but his crimes were too severe for an off-screen character development. I’m not buying it. You cannot give a character off screen development and then act as if it’s all good, it’s not.

That said, I did enjoy most of the plots not related to the bets and the father in any meaningful way. The development of trust and support between Tae Young and Gwon Sook was amazing. Her dealing with her past and being strong enough to face it - great. Every friendship she makes - loved it. Wish we'd seen more Han Ah Reum, since for me she was one of the more relatable and interesting characters.

Acting truly varied depending on the actor. Both Lee Sang Yeob and Kim So Hye did an amazing job portraying the main characters. On the other hand, Kim Jin Woo did not impress me with his delivery. Random observation, but there were also two extra actors in the last episode playing members of the rigged bets ring, and let me tell you, that was some high level of wooden acting and robot delivery.

Production value was fine. There were some editing issues - hands positions not matching between cuts, but nothing too in your face. Pretty much a standard Korean drama quality.

Overall, it was a fine watch I don’t regret finishing, but you would also not catch me recommending it to others.

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So many timelines, so little development.

I want to start with - I really did enjoy the show a lot, I hyped it at the beginning like crazy and got quite a few people to watch it too. That said, I cannot act as if it had no flaws. In fact, it had many.

Started as a fun and entertaining rom-com delivering some well established cliches in a refreshing way, with just enough angst to keep you invested. And next? It turned into its worst nightmare - poorly written development making the last few episodes lose the initial charm. The fate of many dramas in the past. The fate of many dramas to come.

Truth to be told, I have no idea how to write the review in a way that will point out all the issues I had, while also delivering the clear idea of the fun and joy I felt while watching. The drama is honestly mediocre, but it’s such an excellent presentation, you just forget and ignore how mediocre it is.

The plot was messy, with little explanation of how anything works. Time travel had close to zero rules truly established, the villain had literally nothing going on for himself and I feel like the yellow umbrella had more personality than him. He had no business being so important to the plot with this little fucks put into actually writing it in engaging and coherent manner.

Kim Tae Sung and Baek In Hyuk were pure sunshines, but it’s a joke to call them main characters (and they are named as such even on namu.wiki). The supporting couple was painfully unnecessary and the whole drama had overall too many filler scenes and flashbacks of things that happened even in the same episode.

And yet it was fun and adorable. The chemistry between Byeon Woo Seok and Kim Hye Yoon was amazing from literally the first scene - they aced the romance, comedy, drama. Lovely Runner is filled with scenes that will make you smile and laugh and lighten your mood. The down to earth comedy driven by the characters’ personalities and daily accidents was probably one of my favorite aspects of the show. Even though I felt like the characters were not truly complex and well developed, at the same time I fell in love with their quirky personalities. Seon Jae and Tae Sung? Surprisingly great and fun chemistry. Now I wish to see the two of them in a drama together as close friends.

What’s more to love? Amazing soundtrack with many uplifting and moving songs. Sudden Shower (소나기) just melts your heart when you listen to it. With a great soundtrack goes beautiful visuals - loved the set design, lighting, camera angles. The drama also had amazing timing - turning some romantic and dramatic scenes into comedy bits with a fun presentation. So many things worked, so what didn't?

Ryu Seon Jae is technically the main character, but the writing matches the supporting ones more. Where is the development? Where is the rich characterization? Where are the flaws and personal goals? Why is he Haru 2.0? On paper he is perfect, but would I want a man like that in real life? A person with little to no individuality, whose whole existence revolves around me? That’s how Seon Jae is presented. He is a 1+1 deal with Im Sol and that’s it. Yes, he is good looking, yes he is adorable with his loser charm, he is dedicated, killing viewers with his puppy love towards Sol. But I need more from my lead characters… I need some spice with that sugar.

Sol is not much different, so at least we have equality here. Everything she does is done for Seon Jae’s benefit. I get it, it’s a plot driven show about preventing the bad thing from happening - it does not mean they cannot use some screen time to develop the characters a bit more beyond what the plot needs them to do. Why are they giving so much screen time to a side romance when your main characters are 2-dimensional plot puppets even half way through the show?

And it’s not like the plot was well developed. As I already said, time travel has no rules established except how to get back in time. The crime/mystery part is laughably bad with ridiculous conclusions. 80% of the show is just cute and fun moments, and there would be nothing wrong with that if the drama did not try to pretend as if the reminding 20% were interesting and important. Make it 12 episodes and switching a crime to depression and we would get top quality heart warming healing rom-com. You could feel how they did not have enough material for 16 episodes when they started to show flashbacks of events that happened maybe 20 minutes ago in the same episode.

Acting wise I overall loved it. There were a few moments when I found Kim Hye Yoon’s performance not quite convincing, especially during a few lighter romantic scenes - the smile was just too much, it did not seem real. Something about her being so excessively happy did not vibe with me, as if she tried to convince me she is happy with her smile instead of showing it with her eyes. But these were truly just a few moments and overall I truly loved her as Sol. When you think about it, at least in some aspects it was in fact noona romance. Byeon Woo Seok did an amazing job too. Loved how he could be both cool and charismatic and a dorky loser and it made perfect sense.

Overall, often after I finished watching the episode I had this thought: wow, that was really a filler episode, but I had so much fun. It’s happy and bright, overdramatic with its mystery when the mystery is shallow and barely working for this plot. I had a great time watching, but I would hesitate to recommend it.

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What a useless husband…

Finished the movie and my first thought was - this would have a different ending with a better husband. Not that he was the only useless character, but his lack of fucks given was surprising.

The movie is almost 2 hours long and they do not try to get rid of the doll for more than half of it. The denial that something shady is happening reaches new heights. The doll be running in front of them, climbing on their backs and we get “I must have imagined it”, baby girl it’s not the case of “seeing movement in the corner of the eye”, this doll was less sneaky than Annabelle. Even Chucky was better at pretending to be a normal doll.

The professionals in the movie were also of questionable quality - the psychiatrist ignoring clear signs of panic and delusion, the police that does nothing except getting in trouble, the spiritual experts that fail over and over again.

All that said, it was still such a good and fun movie. From the opening scenes I thought it would lead more towards serious psychological drama, but it quickly took a u-turn into wacky supernatural madness. Some scenes gave me goosebumps and the “nope, that’s it, I’d be out of this situation yesterday”, some scenes were borderline funny almost bringing me to tears.

If we go by plot points, there are so many separate acts here, but the transition between them and the pacing was well done - it did not feel jumpy, they all connected smoothly.

Acting wise, the biggest props to Ikemura Aoi who played baby Mai.

For the production, I have to say they must have been drunk when they were constructing the face of the doll in the second half. Is it creepy? Yes. Is it hilarious? Also yes. The teeth… These just made me feel uncomfortable.

Overall, it’s not new, it’s not groundbreaking, but it does a good job of delivering the obvious story in an engaging way.

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Nothing is as simple as it may present.

I’m your local overanalyzer - trying to predict the twists, understand the plot and the motivations of the characters before the drama actually explains them is one of my favorite things to do while watching any show. So for a drama to make me give up and just enjoy whatever they throw at me, and it all actually making sense by the end - that’s a miracle. And 3 Nen A Gimi achieved that.

I want to start with the best aspect - Suda Masaki’s performance. He ate the role, he delivered the raw emotions and the complexity of the character in literally every frame. Hiiragi Ibuki is a character you cannot get enough of. He was fascinating to watch. Trying to understand his motivations and goals and if and how “sane” his plans are - all A+ entertainment. The duality between being a strict teacher and compassionate adult never felt like a contradiction.

One could think - how can a drama that takes place in basically one room for 10 days be engaging? Will it get boring? No, it won’t. Each episode delivers a side story of students that are being hostages, while also adding layers to the overall plot. It’s a perfect buildup with many great twists. At some point you won’t trust any new revelation, doubt every scene, as you know there is more to it than the eye can see.

I already talked about Suda Masaki’s amazing performance, but the whole cast did just as well. I was quite impressed with the students - that’s a large group of young actors and actresses, some misdeliveries would not be surprising, and yet we got none of that here Each and every cast member did exactly what the role required of them to do.

That said, even if I loved the overall plot and the performances, I do think one of the last scenes and revelations was an overkill in terms of the presentation. They really hammered the message in my face and there was nothing subtle about it. For a drama that is all about making us “think”, they really made sure to tell you exactly what you are supposed to think by the end, instead of giving the viewers opportunity to figure it out themselves - at least in terms of details and complexity. Honestly speaking, that’s probably the only complaint I have.

Overall, what an exciting and great story with a message that will forever be relevant and something worth reminding us from time to time.

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Zombie flick with lots of laughs and surprisingly moving moments.

I did not expect to cry during a zombie horror comedy, yet this movie surprisingly had a few touching moments and a lot of good comedy.

Flawed family that obviously cares about each other - I am weak for things like that. Add a found family trope to that and you won’t see me complaining. The characters were the core of the movie and they were both amazingly written and perfectly portrayed.

I am honestly not much of a comedy person, but this was amazingly funny. Some jokes were more in my face than the others, but it was all well balanced so I never felt overwhelmed. They were able to keep the light atmosphere without killing all the thrills that come with zombie apocalypse.

Out of all the characters, Hae Gul, Jjong Bi and Man Deok were my favorites, but with how unique and fun everyone was, I’m sure each viewer can find their favorite to root for.

It’s almost a 2 hours movie, but it never felt long. Some might think the set up took too long, as the true action starts well past half point of the movie, but for me it was all necessary. For the characters’ choices to have sense in the last few scenes, we truly needed all that built up. Personally I believe this had some solid pacing - not too slow, not too fast.

Production value was amazing. Honestly beautiful shots. Sometimes I did not know if I should laugh about the comedy or appreciate how pretty the scenery is.

Overall, I would highly recommend it. Great cast, great characters, great story and great jokes. It’s simply a well executed zombie horror comedy.

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Wikipedia pages narrated.

Honestly feel like this season delivered close to nothing. Other installments I have seen were either completely ridiculous so I could laugh about them or had a great and interesting cast of the characters I got extremely invested in. Here they gave me some of these for a few episodes, but the rest was just boring.

I think the biggest issue was the length of the show - this was not a plot to be stretched for 40 episodes. 30 should have been the max they went for. Too many scenes seemed like filler and I was slowly losing any focus and interest. By the last 10 episodes I was completely lost about what exactly is going on, since the story was not told in an engaging way.

Storytelling wise one thing that I was not on board too was the countless flashbacks and side stories from various different timelines. I truly did not care about the majority of them.

All that said, I enjoyed the chemistry between Wu Xie, Qi Ling and Pang Zi. These three together were so much fun to watch. Just them chatting was enough to keep me entertained. They all had vastly different personalities and that’s what made the dynamics that engaging.

The acting was great. The fact they were able to keep a serious and straight face with all the flying fighting scenes and Scooby Doo monsters was impressive. I also appreciate Cheng Yi’s portrayal of Zhang Qi Ling. His version of the character, even though still stoic and detached, was more humane and relatable.

Production value was definitely higher than the first drama in the series. While the CGI still left a lot to desire, the improvement was clearly visible. What I found disappointing was the lack of wide shots of the scenery. They filmed in quite a few beautiful locations and I wished they showed it a bit more. Another aspect that could have been improved was the poor lighting. I understand that tombs are dark, but there are ways around it. Many adventure driven shows and music found ways to introduce more light sources in said tombs, so the beauty of them could be appreciated more.

Overall, I sadly barely had fun.

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Tight writing, smooth pacing, satisfying conclusion.

I went into watching this drama with a lot of reservations and fears - how can they make a 15 episode series about a one day loop in one place and not make it boring? How many versions of the same event can I watch before I take myself out of this journey? On that aspect, Reset surprised me quite a lot.

The writer/director did an amazing job at slowly expanding the shown world - including more people and places - one loop at the time. Showcasing the same event from different angles and perspectives allowed the drama to avoid a painful repetitiveness that is often a problem with time loop stories. The writing was surprisingly tight. Add to that background stories for the characters and you get 15 episodes in which nothing felt like a filler.

Is the plot predictable? Not really. While it’s possible to guess some things not long before they are revealed, nothing is obvious from the get go - what happened, why and who was behind it. They concluded the stories in a satisfying manner, not leaving any plot lines open nor plot holes to be detected (maybe except for the effects time loop had on our main lead). As a viewer, I was able to fairly well understand the mechanics of the time loop thanks to a rather smooth narration and well paced hints and explanations the main leads came up with each repeated day.

If I had to complain about anything writing wise, it’s the police attitude towards the leads closer to the end - with how they were set up, the ending just felt a bit… convenient?

For a suspense show like that, it had surprisingly a lot of heart and depth to its characters. Even though the majority of side plots and background stories of the bus passengers were not explored to a full potential, they still represent a variety of different social issues and struggles - allowing everyone to find a story they can relate to.

The main leads were well written - flawed, but driven young people who ended up on an unexpected journey of finding the truth and preventing a tragedy from happening. I especially enjoyed Xiao He Yun and his character development. Li Shi Qing was more hot headed in her actions and decision making, which led to quite a few obstacles that could have been avoided. That said, the duo worked well together with He Yun being the brain and Shi Qing being the heart and driving force.

Other characters that caught my attention were Lu Di - the adorable Kitten Boy and Zhang Cheng - smart and observant detective.

I have no complaints about the acting. One performance truly amazed me, but stating who it was could be a giveaway on how important they were in the plot, which is not obvious from the start.

Overall, It took me about 6 episodes to truly get into it, but from that point it was an exciting and smooth ride at the same time. They kept the suspense tight, and the pacing smooth. That said, while I enjoyed the plot, I was not really that invested in the characters. Will they die? Will they survive? I did not care, as long as I got my answers.

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Behind the whimsical presentation lies the harsh reality and the promise of improvement.

It’s a good drama, but it's an even better adaptation. They did not try to make it more "realistic" and explain stuff that does not need explanation for the plot to progress. They still keep it whimsical, but they also balanced the teens and adult perspective - it felt youthful, but not really childish.

Is this a teen romance show? Yes. But first and foremost it's a coming of age story that presents U Yeon’s journey of gaining confidence in herself, but also in people around her. As the drama progresses, she becomes more open to new situations, people and opportunities. She learns how to set boundaries, how to voice her opinions, and how to enjoy life. As she changes, so does her relationships with her family, friends and Gi Jeong himself. The path was rough with many ups and downs, but that’s how life is - nothing comes easy, not all resolutions are perfect. Sometimes we take a step forward and then take two steps back.

I enjoyed how at first all the characters seemed like extremely one dimensional perfect examples of empty cliche tropes, but as you watch more episodes you see that U Yeon is not as timid as it may seem; Gi Jeong is not really dumb and carefree; Seon Ho is not perfect and Geu Rin is not as strong as she would wish to be. The adult spirit fingers are not as eccentric and weird - while they enjoy the happy and silly moments in the club, we countlessly see how mature they also are.

The contrast between the teen and adult perspective was probably one of my favorite parts of the drama. I appreciated how Pink, Black, Brown and Khaki Fingers were not moralizing or lecturing the younger members - they let them make their own mistakes, learn from them. They knew when to silently support, when to step forward - what time required serious conversation, and when the youngsters needed joyful distraction.

What’s more to love? All the flaws. So many flaws… Not one character avoided having some annoying trait that made them so perfectly human. The egocentrism, making assumptions, too much hesitation, too much boldness. Not knowing how to set boundaries and setting too many boundaries that lead you to loneliness. I truly enjoyed how at times characters made me so annoyed.

If I had to name any flaws of the plot itself - probably how they handled U Yeon’s family conclusion. A little bit more realism would be preferred - not much, just a little bit more.

Production wise I am happy they did not waste time on explaining things we did not need the explanation for. Who cares who pays for the freaking tennis court in the cafe so the group can have fun themed meetings? How many rooms are there even in that cafe? Who cares? That’s the whimsical aspect that was the main charm of the setting in webtoon, and I am so happy they did not try to rationalize it or make it more realistic for the sake of the drama.

Then we also have a nice attention to the details - little things you need to think about and include on all stages of production to make the characters feel more real and the story more cohesive. For example - how the characters go to the club: U Yeon who had a more shy personality always changing into her outfits in the cafe, and then Gi Jeong being dressed up, no matter how flashy, already on his way not caring for the attention he is getting.

Acting wise - perfect casting. As someone who read the webtoon years ago, I was quite scared if they would manage to find proper actors for all these vibrant and unique characters, but they managed. Not only that, they aced it. The one casting choice I was unsure of was Cho Jun Young as Red Finger/Gi Jeong. The drawing style of that character was far more sharp in facial features, so the cute baby face Cho Jun Young has seemed like an ill fit for me - Gi Jeong was supposed to feel more intimidating than that. Boy, was I wrong. Cho Jun Young ate the role - the way the crazy ass seemed so real and relatable was amazing. Gi Jeong is honestly quite unique of a person, so to make him feel like a teen you could actually see on the street was a challenge.

The soundtrack was nice, but not exactly memorable. Maybe that’s good. The whole drama is rather flashy in all aspects, so an OST that accompanies the scenes well without overshadowing them or distracting the viewers seems like a good choice.

Overall, what a pleasant watch. Could the story be better developed? For sure. Would it be nice to see more of all the side characters’ stories? Obviously. But with the limited time they had and rather challenging source material in terms of tone and setting, I think they did an amazing job bringing this plot and characters to life on screen.

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Coming of age, becoming your own person.

What I looked for was a shallow feel good fluff slice of life, what I’ve got was so much better. Be it in terms of romance, character development, the depth of storytelling or the quality of presentation - it went beyond what I expected. As much as I enjoyed the romance, the portrayal of the hardships these characters had to go through and how they supported each other was what truly won me over.

The complexity of abuse and neglect - difference between physical and emotional abuse, direct and indirect, intentional and unintentional behavior. Truth to be told, both Jin and Haruki were abused by their parents. One could argue Jin was “only” neglected, but is that true?

In the case of Hirukawa Haruki it’s really clear - he was psychically and emotionally abused by his father, who used him as a relief for his own issues. Fueled by his grievance about divorce, sense of abandonment and alcoholism, he channeled all his anger, hatred and sense of incompetence into abusing Haruki. It was awful to witness, but the scene that actually broke me was when Haruki blamed himself for his father’s death. This is the true horror of abuse. It’s not the bruises, it's not the physical pain, but the way your personality, identity, confidence, self-value shatters. When you start blaming yourself for others’ choices and the consequences that follow.

I also do not want to give any slack to his mother. There is no way on the planet she did not put two and two together that his father was abusing him. She just did not want to acknowledge it, even to herself. The lack of interest in her own child’s well being was just sad to witness. She cared enough to make herself feel good and blameless in this situation. She failed as a parent as much as the father did. And it’s not just her neglect about Haruki’s current situation, but what led to it in the first place. The fact it was Haruki who thought he needed to protect his mother and her new family, instead of him feeling like she should go to her for help tells you all you need to know about their relationship and her role in his life.

Minase Jin’s family situation does mirror Haruki’s. Even if initially it feels less severe, long term it has similar consequences. Here we have an abusive mother and neglectful father. From one perspective his family situation was worse, because it did not seem like neglect and abuse. When your father beats you up, people know it’s wrong. When your mother tries to control every aspect of your life and emotionally guilts you into obedience, how do you even explain it to people? When you say you are scared to leave, because your abusive father might actually kill you, people understand your fear. But if you say you are scared of making your own decisions and being disobedient to a parent, because you fear disappointing them - that’s so much harder to grasp for someone who looks at your situation from the outside. People won’t say that you should be grateful to your father for beating you up, because he did it for you and he had good intentions. But people will try to convince you that your mother is dictating your whole future and telling you to not have friends and only study for your benefit. Abuse that does not seem like abuse is scary, because in most cases you won’t get external validation for wanting to get out of it, you won't get support or understanding.

And I think we see it in the drama - after Hirukawa Haruki’s father dies, he is able to chase his own dreams, build a stable life, reach his goals and set new ones - find his identity and thrive. On the other hand Minase Jin still somehow lives his mother’s dreams. We know he got to the university of his first choice - was it his first choice, or was it his mother? How much of the path he is taking is what he wants to do, and how much is it him appeasing his mom and just going with her plan for his life? This is one aspect of the show I wish they explored more - Minase Jin family relations in adulthood.

For romance, I’d say this is the perfect example of meeting the right person at the right times - the plural here is important. Usually I am completely against the couple breaking up when tough times come, to lessen the burden on their partner, but here it just made sense and was the correct choice. They were extremely young, inexperienced in any and all areas of life, confused about who they were and what they wanted. What they both needed is alone time to explore and to grow and I think staying in a romantic relationship at that time would only become another cage that stops their progress. The deep feelings they had for each other would lead to them always prioritizing the other person and that’s unhealthy.

They were the source of each other's strength in the dark times, but without some growth and exploration as individuals, the support they gave each other would turn into co-dependency. That’s why I was fine with them saying their goodbyes as teens, and meeting again as adults. I wished the transition between these time periods was a bit smoother and better presented, but I am for sure not against the idea of separation itself.

For the production I especially want to talk about the make up for the injuries and bruises. Whoever was the make-up artist, they need a raise - these were truly well done. It’s one thing to half ass the job when the story does not center around abuse - throw that red paint and call it a day, sure. But for a plot where the injuries are in fact important, they are used as a tool to progress the development of the relationship between the characters, a way to portray the harsh reality Haruki was facing, you need to put more effort, and effort they put! Truly amazing work.

What’s more, the drama had its poetic flavor mostly delivered by Jin and that tone quite well contrasted the expectations put on him and the strong opposition to arts his mother had. I feel like this was another way of showing the internal conflict and confusion our main character had to deal with. Getting a glimpse of his writing style in his novel we can see that he does enjoy arts, that he has an artistic soul in him that was squashed by his mother's expectations. That directing choice just made me appreciate the drama more, even if I am not exactly a poetic person myself.

Acting wise I highly doubt anyone can have any real criticisms. Be it the chemistry between the leads, the fluffy moments that brought a smile on my face, the abuse and hardships they faced that made me want to punch a wall, the development and growth they achieved that made me feel like a proud mom - they cooked, I ate, no crumbs were left.

Overall, I went into it expecting fluff and a cute slice of life. What I’ve got had far more depth and realism. It presents a surprising quality of storytelling for a short drama dealing with such complex subjects. You understand the full picture of what the characters were going through, and how they overcame all the obstacles without each and every moment of their existence being spelled out.

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Every change begins with the word if, followed by the will and small first step.

This is for sure more of an office slice of life with romance, rather than romance set in the office. Rather than the story leading to romance, the romance is part of the greater self-discovery and development journey of our cute protagonist - Kano Akihito.

The thing is - I went into this completely blind not even knowing there will be a fantasy element (imagine my surprise at the end of episode 1), but no matter the set up it became clear to me this is Kano’s story and everyone else is there to highlight his improvement and growth, and I was all in. At first I was scared that the parallel world would hinder the romance and make me not invested in the plot, but romance is honestly not the goal here, but rather a result of a character driven story. It’s the cherry on top, not the main course.

There were many important life lessons in it, but two that for sure I enjoyed the most were:
You should not compare yourself at the beginning of your journey to someone who is miles ahead of you. You underappreciate your own abilities and also the other person’s hard work to achieve what they did.

Often how people treat you is a direct reflection of how you treat them. Taking the initiative and the first step can help you form close bonds and dear friends who will help and support you no matter what. You can all learn from each other and grow as people. Instead of staying in the vicious circle of being distant towards people because they are distant towards you, and them being distant towards you because you are acting distant towards them - take that first step to close the gap and create a healthier environment.

That said, even if the romance was not the highlight, it was still great. I cannot just ignore the height difference - even if it does not play an important role in any of the scenes, and it’s just existing there quietly, it’s enough for me. I also love how obvious to us the dynamics between them is, and how oblivious to it Kano was. But that’s the charm of the drama - we can witness how Kano figures out that words can be used for communication between people, not only powerpoint presentations for work. The love story in it was honestly great. It’s all in small gestures, unspoken worlds, stolen glances. It’s about taking care of the other person, not wanting them to suffer, wanting to support them and lessen their burden. It’s slow and gradual, but it’s well executed. Wish the change of heart was a bit better presented though. With Kano I kind of get when and why, but I don't fully feel it.

Acting wise I loved the performances of both leads. Kano Akihito as this slightly neurotic salesman and Ogami Seiji as the stoic and what seems like a perfect senior. But it’s more than meets the eye - they both had their insecurities, hesitations, and fears. They both thought they made the right choices to help the other to later find out it was a misunderstanding and misstep for both of them. Especially big props to Nakagawa Daisuke with his dual performance, which had to seem close enough that it could be the same person in parallel words, but also different enough to justify the set up in the first place. Also, his tiny pinning moments? Amazing.

Overall, what a pleasant surprise. I went with the idea that fluff office romance will be enough, but instead got food for thought, soul and heart.

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Dark version of a Scooby Doo adventure…

…just with real supernatural elements and no shady imposters.

Let’s get some facts straight - this is more of a movie in parts, than a show with episodes. It flows well as a binge watch and would be even better if it was not cut into pieces. There are no real cliffhangers between episodes, no designated events and parts of the plot happening in the episodes - it’s best to view it in one sitting.

It’s a bit of a group possession, supernatural phenomena, just a hint of psychological aspects since (as always with shows like that), it’s all rooted in the negative emotions and the vulnerable minds. Each character is facing some kind of trauma or is driven by greed and selfish reasons, which makes them more prone to get affected by what is happening in the town. And that’s how the big baddie can have its fun.

The plot is extremely simple, everything gets explained in a way that’s easy to follow. For some it would be too simple. I rather have this than clusterf**k of plots. That said, this show might be boring for quite a number of people and I totally get it.

The acting was… hard to judge to some extent? Most of the main cast did amazing. But then there were the monks and I just could not get on board with their delivery.
I especially enjoyed Shin Hyun Bin’s and Kwak Dong Yeon’s performance - vastly different characters with different delivery, especially during the emotional scenes, yet both convinced me with their acting.

Production wise, they truly tried to bring the old classic horror elements in it, but they were painfully misplaced. The dramatic violin, the low color saturation, less cuts between frames, longer shots often following the movement of the characters, slow zooms in and out - all clearly stylized to mimic the old horror vibes, but somehow the whole picture just seemed off. The old styling sadly feels too artificial and not organic at all. That said, that directing and editing did not survive more than 2 episodes, and the rest of the show was kept in a more typical k-drama fashion.

I’m sure it was not intended, but with dramas and movies like that, they always give me the soft criticism of performative religiosity vibes. Everyone is religious, but not many actually believe in what their religion says. Picking and choosing what parts of their faith fits their lifestyle and personal opinions. That’s why when the Buddhists warned the town, no one cared and no one believed - that includes some of the monks themselves.

The random rap soundtrack at the end of all episodes (also a bop if you ask me) reminded me of Sweet Home with the random songs that at some point started to strangely fit the story.

Overall, just have low or no expectations and accept whatever this throws at you and you will enjoy it. This was a rare case when even though I found a lot of senseless things, I was somehow not bothered. I think the biggest issue people might have with the show is how simple the plot is and how slow the pace is. Chances are, if I watched it in a more hyped and energetic mood, I myself would find it boring.

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It took me 2 years to finally watch Sotus S, and I quite regret not picking it up earlier. It's not exactly your typical BL - the romance here is not the main plot, but rather means to showcase other underlying plotlines and issues around the theme of becoming an adult and struggling to adapt to a new environment and responsibilities and accepting yourself and your feelings.

I heard many people complaining how it does not have enough kissing/hugging/etc., but it made perfect sense for me as it was. I liked the realism behind their relationship and how unsure about himself Arthit was presented. How scared of other people's reactions and opinions he was. Most BLs show, as if everyone is cheering for the gay couple, they have fan clubs and ship names. This was closer to reality and made the story more moving.

The whole Arthit arc was amazing and Krist did a brilliant job portraying all the emotions. When he cried, I wanted to cry too, when he smiled and was all cute and shy, but in love, I had fireworks in my brain ;) That said, because the whole focus was on him, other characters and plotlines suffered quite a lot. All the side couples were there, but not developed. They were mostly happening off-screen and it was hard to follow them and get engaged, since we could not witness the development.

That said, I still believe it was a good follow up after season one. I have watched the whole season in one sitting, so I guess it must have been entertaining for me.

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