twiz aka unagibento

Whew I know it's another week until the next episode but IT WAS SO WORTH IT! No regrets. They got way further than I thought they ever would before the end and I can watch it like 8x. WeiWei is obviously fooling herself thinking she can maintain a friendship with someone she's strongly attracted to while in another relationship (don't do it folks, it almost always ends in disaster), but I think Ke Huan knows it's the only way to stay next to her, and that he's still looking for his path into her life. In other news, did anyone else have a bad feeling about that interrupted confession of Zi Yuan re: her abortion? Why do I feel like she's about to say either she was never pregnant and lied or it was a non-viable pregnancy (tubal etc) where she had no choice, or it was actually a miscarriage, or anything that's about to make him feel guilty enough to agree to a relationship with her again. Here's hoping not!

This was better than I'd hoped. I did find Shao Fei's reactions/expressions a little too exaggerated in the early episodes, so I'm glad the acting smoothed out. The chemistry between the two is what sold me. However, Jack was my #1 in this. The mischievous smiles... ah. I could watch him woo anyone all day!

I liked it. The subject matter is heavy and dark, so note the tags above and be warned. I especially liked their dependent relationship, and that both sides valued what they had, even if not at first.

Follow-up: so I just finished the first one, Pornographer, and this one is the best for me, hands down. Team Kido all the way!! Rio's relationship with Kuzumi is tender, but it also feels... immature. More like a boy experiencing his first passion and a lonely, older writer. But Rio and Kido's connection is so raw, dark, and intense, like an unstoppable force that just comes over them. Like they're soulmates and they're just lending themselves to other people. :p Also, after going back and watching Pornographer, I can see that all the moments between Rio and Kido are so loving and and intense, even interacting years later. Kuzumi had a right to feel worried, that's the real thing, hah! Pornographer is a solid drama (not the ending, though), but you can tell everyone involved put more into this story. And they left so many trailing breadcrumbs in Pornographer about Kido's relationship with Rio that I honestly suspect the writer may have written this one first but filmed it second. I hope they make a third in this series.

I love both this one and the new prequel that was released, but I'm Team Kido all day, no regrets! :p Both of these are beautifully executed with quiet scenes that pull you in. I watched both in one day and I didn't want to do anything else - eat, drink, even move. Still, the prequel is the winner for me. This one is hot, and I reacted more to the funny/awkward/shocking things in this one, but the prequel is FIRE. The ending of this one also fizzled for me. There's an after-credits scene in the prequel that will wrap it up better, but I felt like the entire last episode here could been have better. I can watch both dramas over and over!

WOW! Since this is a prequel to Pornographer, I decided to watch this one first, and it's so beautifully done. Every scene is gorgeous, the chemistry between the leads is amazing, and I love the soundtrack (does anyone know if the soundtrack was released or who did it?). The leads and the old sensei had stellar performances and I loved the dynamic between them, editor vs writer, writer vs sensei, etc. The intimate scenes do get pretty steamy, but considering that it's a drama about writing erotica, it'd be odd if these scenes weren't intense.

The good: this tiny film is beautiful: every shot, every angle, and holy crap, the smoldering looks! The cover scene does not disappoint. It makes me want to see more work from everyone involved. The bad: ugh, would it kill them to give ANY BL story a happy ending? 8 minutes long and it's still like this? Who hurt you? Rant over :p

I suppose this could be labelled art house softcore, so be warned that the opening scene (and about the first 10 minutes) is a softcore explicit scene, and the ending is a bit abstract. The rest deals with the people involved going back to their normal lives. I think the best actor was the host of the party (it may have been Ark Zheng?), and I'm frustrated that this title isn't fully credited with all actors involved. Overall, it seemed to be showing the contrast between physical need and emotional need. The main lead was the least involved in the party, but by the end seemed like the one most in need of a permanent connection.

Conflicted here: if I'd gone off the reviews alone, I wouldn't have watched this, and now that I have, it was really enjoyable. Yes, the final episode falls flat, the last 5 minutes that's animated feels unnecessary and like a trailing plot line they could have worked into the live action story, and there's some serious issues with censorship of BL in China. But comparing this to my two other top BL dramas, Guardian and The Untamed (currently airing), the amount of physical contact and cozying up with each other is mindblowing, to the point where I'm not sure why so many folks were upset by the lack of a kiss or outright love declaration with this one. It doesn't feel like there's any way to interpret this as *NOT* BL. If the main couple in Guardian had this much physical contact, I might have totally short-circuited, and so many of us love Guardian for the couple's obvious longing looks for each other! From my interpretation, pretty much from Episode 11 on, the main pair here is a couple. They're doing all the couple things, some of which, like the sleepovers, we would NEVER get in a standard hetero drama without serious plotblending. And I can't count how many hetero dramas I've seen with no outright kiss. So if you're on the fence about watching this, this is full of lovely moments, longing looks, physical closeness, and general adorable love that should more than make up for the underwhelming final episode. Also, Chen Xun is seriously hot and I wish he had more screen time.

I LOVED this! It combined one of my favorite genres (action) with a very tender romance. The intimate scenes were both endearing and steamy, with probably the best kissing I've seen in a kdrama. Nothing about it felt low-budget and the acting was superb. I really loved the brother/sister relationship, too.

Wow TIL. Ready to watch this after the live action ends!

I picked this up because of Saito and I enjoy a good age gap drama, but my goodness, this just didn't keep up my interest. Saito is at his peak of wild, long-haired beauty, so if you're a fan, it's worth the watch. But the main couple's chemistry went from lightly sweet to almost nonexistent and a little forced by episode 5. All the supporting roles were so lively, but it felt like they were propping up a main pair that didn't mesh well. And maybe it was the script, but even though the FL was only 45, her mannerisms made her seem closer to 60. I'd file this drama under, "I need to watch something to help me fall asleep."

Very cute, and it'll keep you guessing until almost the last episode. I think I rooted for every guy at some point. Also, how is this not tagged with reverse harem?! :p

This is a relatively light, sweet watch. I like that they didn't try to find a "magical cure" for his illness, as happens a lot with illnesses used as plot devices. And, that none of the relationships had to be sacrificed with the conflict. In any other kdrama, the younger director would probably have become his enemy and stabbed him in the back a few times because of what happened to his mother, Veronica would have been a real scheming love rival, Min Ik's stepmom would have been pure evil, etc etc. But all of these relationships come out stronger by the end, which is a nice touch.

Also How to Train Your Blind Boss... yikes!

This is a pretty solid drama. The couple was so cute in the first few eps with their boldness - him just walking into her place of work, wow! It stays sexy and intense all the way through. I was pretty annoyed with how he began treating her halfway in the series, but she definitely made all of the right choices toward the end, and it paid off.

Well, that was a ride. I watched this without subs (and read a translated movie summary someone linked below) right after finishing the series, just to get a little more screen time with this couple. I want to ask the writers, "Who hurt you?" but hah, it IS a jdrama. When they go right, they go right, but when they go wrong, it's like getting shanked in a back alley. It was nice to get more time with the couple, though.

This is a fairly detailed examination of adultery from all sides. Everyone was fairly humanized, and only the ML's wife approached the cartoonish villainy that I'd expected. Knowing there's a movie sequel softened some of the harshness of the last couple episodes, and by that point I was really watching to see if the second couple could get a happy ending. I do also like that the ML gained some closure at his school and with his students.

Before I start I just want to say that Seto Koji, omg. I'd never seen him and wasn't ready! This must be the first time I was jumping out of my seat like YASS GIRL GET THAT YOUNG CUTE THING. He wasn't the end-game and I kinda wished he was, because damn. Moving on. If you're a jdrama fan you'll realize that the "spinster woman gets advice from surly man" is a whole sub-genre in itself, and this show is similar to Last Cinderella, Tokyo Tarareba, etc. You have to take them at face value, or you'll think too much about the sexist trope they're playing on: that a woman's sole purpose is marriage, and if she isn't married by a certain age, she needs help. That said, I feel like this drama went right in the end where Last Cinderella went wrong. It's more realistic than Tarareba, too. She ends up with the guy that she should end up with. Nostalgia is great, but you can't build a future on the past. It would have been great to get a kiss or something, but I was satisfied. They showed the minute he realized he'd fallen for her, and all of his actions after that made sense. It doesn't need a 2nd season, but it would have been nice if they'd trimmed a few useless minutes with Mr. Nostalgia to work a kiss in there.

This is my absolute #1 kdrama. Makjang is not my usual genre, and there's certainly more outrageous plots out there. The romance is drawn with a light touch, but knowing the main lead's feelings makes each tender scene worth 3x more. What I fell in love with here is the production value, and the gorgeous soundtrack. The ending of each episode was flawless: like the director was filming the episode's cliffhanger ending first, then filling in the rest of the episode to match with perfection. So many endings took my breath away, including the very first, which says a lot. The beginning of the first episode was a bit complex, and I found myself lost in the subtle currents and endless parade of new characters. But they did a wonderful job portraying just what the main lead valued, and what he was sacrificing by the end of episode 1. Wow! So gorgeous and heartbreakingly ruthless. I've never paused a series so many times trying to find a gif of the last beautiful scene I watched. This show really is in a class of its own, and makes a lot of other kdramas feel juvenile in comparison.