Middle of the road
I love the Joss/Gawin pairing and I felt like they worked together really well.I felt like Joss really did amazing for what he was given. His expressions and emotions were fantastic. On the other end of this, sometimes Gawin's performance seemed to pale in comparison / his character came across a little flat.
Major issues I had with this series overall was the noticeably BAD audio. At times it felt like it was recorded on a phone stuffed in a pocket. For me, this is pretty much unacceptable at this point in time. This is from GMMtv, not some mom and pop production. Also, the effects were not great. I would have rather they didn't add them because they felt cheaply done and were distracting enough that it took you out of the story.
Also the finale felt a little too glazed over for me.
This had a lot of promise, but it almost sucked the life out of me to finish it.
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Beautiful Growing Pains
More than a BL, this felt like a realistic portrayal of LGBT / queer life with all of the complexities of growing up and the challenges of loving others and also yourself.There's so much beauty in the story telling: the longing, the desperation and oh the loneliness of finding your own way in life. And the poetic justice of things not being perfect in the end, because isn't that truly l i f e? Sometimes the happily ever after is only in the acceptance of yourself and the capacity to find your own beat in the world. There's joy in that too, joy in the discovery that mundane days with a lost lover could be what you crave most.
This story truly is perfect in all of its imperfections.
Major kudos to Nam Yoon Su for bringing a needed story to mainstream media in South Korea. I give him major applause for choosing to fiercely charge ahead with leading this project, knowing that South Korea has such a long way to go as far as LGBT acceptance. He has faced backlash and has stood his ground, and I think he is exactly who was needed to tell this beautiful story.
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Hmm.
To be honest, I finished the finale of this series and literally said out loud to myself, "what the hell was that?" to myself.It started off with promise, but quickly lost it's footing and I foolishly kept watching hoping it would somehow get better. But... it didn't.
Pros:
- Beautiful cast. I could write poetry about Petch.
- I loved the mixed languages of Thai and Korean.
- If you love NC scenes, this series serves them hot and heavy.
Cons:
- Storyline is... messy and failed to deliver. So many plot holes and screentime for nothing.
- I felt like SangminDinneaw (the title and main pairing) didn't get enough time to tell their story well enough. I felt like Sangmin lacked focus and good resolution. We didn't even get a proper reunion scene for them, but we got to see Dinneaw and a pillow having fun???
- The two extra friends, who I can't even remember the names of but were weirdly placed for comedy and their cringey NC scenes. In the finale, the scene with the cucumber had me scratching my head so bad. I just don't understand why that was needed. So much time wasted.
- Also the random doctor pairing? Why?
Overall:
- Wouldn't recommend watching.
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Pit Babe wins 1st Place in my heart
Pit Babe's pilot episode is one of my favorite episodes of the series, it has the magic to pull you in before you even realize it. The story is fresh and sprinkled with omegaverse elements. Pavel shines on the screen, fully embodying Pit Babe, almost like he was born for this role. Pooh follows in stride and eats up the golden retriever boyfriend vibe 100%. The entire cast is full of talent and I enjoyed seeing them all onscreen together.This series, while far from being perfect, still had me clinging to every episode desperately. And there will be a void felt for some time now that it's done airing.
Positives:
- Complex storyline that felt new and refreshing
- Solid acting, especially from Pavel
- Amazing cast through and through (hard to not love them honestly)
Negatives:
- Omegaverse or not omegaverse? I really think they should've leaned harder into these elements or they should've removed them altogether. For the casual BL watcher, who maybe doesn't read fanfic, these dynamics are confusing and create a lot of distracting points if aren't already brushed up on what omegaverse is.
- Too many characters / storylines - too little time to make them all worth it
- I love Pooh, but there were times he did pale in comparison to Pavel. Some of this is intentional, and some of this stems from lack of experience. They needed to give him some emotional depth, but it was missing and he felt one dimensional at times.
Overall:
Pit Babe captivates from the starting line, has a few bumps in the road, but finishes solidly. Will be adding to my rewatch list and to my favorites overall. Would love a s2, special episode, or movie.
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Cute but also frustrating
The pairing for this BL is really cute and they have insane chemistry (as most Taiwanese BL partners do). The story started off really promising, but I did find myself really tired of the cat and mouse episode to episode, especially in the last few. I just wanted them to be together. I also didn't like how dumb they made Shunyu out to be, when it came to Shang Zhou's feelings (and his own). So, that kind of took a few stars away for me personally.All in all, the actors here deserve another BL and I hope we get to see them in another series with a better story.
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Star Struck didn't leave me seeing stars
Unfortunately this show fell into the KBL cog and wheel of 8 eps with 12-18min run time and the result was less than star worthy in my opinion. The story was too overly complicated with many elements happening at once, while execution of them was less than wonderful.Childhood friends to lovers is a great trope, but instead of feeling the pining and the slow burn, I felt a huge annoyance {almost bordering complete dislike} towards Yoojae. There were points where I honestly questioned what it was exactly that Hanjoon had fallen in love with. Because even before Hanjoon confesses, to the confession scene, and afterwards--Yoojae was a jerk to Hanjoon. And even after they were separated and finally reunited at college, when Yoojae threw away those chocolates that Hanjoon had kept all that time {right in front of him}, I wanted to kick his face in.
I never felt genuine love or care come from Yoojae towards Hanjoon. He felt self absorbed, selfish, and at times cruel. These feelings couldn't be resolved by the last two episodes and those were the absolute worst ones out of the 8. They were a mess: spending too much time on family drama that isn't resolved for more than HALF of the episodes and leaving a small window of time for us to see Yoojae and Hanjoon together.
I'll never understand why Hanjoon was desperately looking for his mother, only to see her in the hospital and then leave two seconds later because he was late for his anniversary with Yoojae. And not only that, but afterwards, the boys never talk about what had happened and Hanjoon never discloses that he was late and lost his phone because he was seeing his mom in the hospital? Of course I would expect Yoojae {laughs} to understand, but instead it's pinned that Hanjoon has to apologize for disappearing and he promises to never do that again.
This was literally a mess and there's nothing really salvageable about it.
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Found Family
This is a great JBL from start to finish. The pacing, the story, the end game... everything felt right from beginning to end. The overall touching point being gathered around the dining table was very unique and really drove home the overall feeling of all of us wanting to belong somewhere. The navigation through both of their stories, of love, loss, and a sense of not belonging are very human concepts and are touched on beautifully. To love is special, a miracle in itself, and it does not come without risks. But to love, is to also risk the most of ourselves, and I loved how this was explored also.I couldn't complete this review without mentioning that Tane was a highlight throughout, the actor did so well and the series wouldn't be half of what it is without him. He definitely has a bright future if he chooses to continue acting.
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Don't judge a book by its cover.
This show completely surprised me. Not only in the acting department, but in the NC department as well. I think this story was well crafted and executed and it makes you go through a journey of emotions. The way Ritsu is painted during he first part of the series is terrible, and I found myself really hoping Masumi never got back together with him {even if the world was ending}. But as we go along for their journey towards the end, things come to light and we have to rethink the past. Also, I really enjoyed the unexpected {at least to me} supernatural-ish touch we got in this series. Overall, this was an enjoyable watch and I would recommend.Was this review helpful to you?
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Not perfect, but good enough.
I didn't plan to watch this, but it came up in my viki recommended and I decided to check out the first ep. A lot of things don't really catch my interest, but this seemed to do it and kept me interested to the end.The only real criticism I have is for the second pairing and the holy moly rollercoaster they made us ride throughout the show. JJ seemed largely one dimensional throughout this series, where he's on edge and annoyed/angry at every bend of the story. At some point it does get really annoying and for half of the series I was just thinking that this guy really needs to get his **** ****ed and chill out. But then he tries to save Inhyung and gets hit by the truck and honestly it made me laugh (I know it sounds terrible), but finally he was silent and somewhat enjoyable to watch on the screen. Also the fact that they wrote Inhyung denying a record deal to take care of JJ was infuriating. Inhyung deserved so much more at the end of the series.
Despite this, overall the series did make me laugh and had me pulling for the two leads. Geunyoung's dad had me rolling a few times. No matter what, the good does outweigh the bad and is worth the watch.
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Is the 'Love' in the room with us?
This series mystifies me, because I think it was filmed beautifully, but the story is like a soggy novel. I'm not really sure what the final messaging is, or what their story was supposed to invoke emotionally? I feel like the resolve between the two was flat; there was no conversation or resolve. I feel like there needed to be something more substantial to take us from the fall out of misunderstandings, to the intimate scene.I don't also understand how Natsuo never knew that Suzuki was Hiro. Especially if Hiro was his first love? Natsuo as a whole was a flat character, who really didn't have a story outside of being with Suzuki/Hiro. We never really got to see his side of the past or understand what happened before he met Suzuki.
Also, one thing that was glaringly obvious was the way they were supposed to be cutting and styling hair, but nothing was ever really different. I guess we were just supposed to use our imaginations or something, but it took me out of the story a few times.
The takeaway: The actors were great, but the story wasn't unfortunately. This was definitely NOT the proper way to write love.
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Could've been great, but ended up being mediocre
The bones of the story here had a lot of potential to be a great story that could leave a lasting impression, but sadly this series did not deliver. The writing of this series is questionable and it produced characters that you know you should feel something for but which you just don't. I think the CEO and the DR had wayyyy too much relevance in this series and instead of being bad guys, they just became annoying at some point. I feel like everything else was just dusted over. And the finale was esp underwhelming and just furthered the disconnect of the story. I feel like giving this a 7 is being kind really, but that's what I'm giving it anyways.Was this review helpful to you?
This felt like lukewarm leftovers...
I've spent a lot of time trying to comprehend just how season 1 could've gone so well and how season 2 could have gone so terribly? The magic of season 1 is completely lost in season 2. The grit and fun of season 1 is missing in all aspects; maybe Way took those with him into the afterlife?I truly only kept watching this season for one reason only, for Kim / Kenta and wowwww what a mistake that was. I could've just powered up ao3 and found a fix it fic to fill the VOID in my heart.
I feel bad for the cast and crew who spent so much time on this, because I'm sorry it was literally bordering the utter garbage category in my honest opinion. It was like eating lukewarm leftovers, it looked and tasted nothing like it did the first time.
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Won't turn back time on this one.
This series seemed to spin its wheels a lot, never going anywhere plot wise. It spends a lot of time doing nothing. There's so many questions that are never answered about the world they live in, or why Shen Nan has this special necklace, etc. I guess we're just supposed to accept it as is and maybe I could've, but the chemistry / love story didn't even compel me to do so.I also know there's a special episode, but I'll leave that unwatched because it's not even worth my time at this point.
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Diabetic levels of cuteness
I'll start this review by saying that Your Sky was easily one of the shows I looked forward to every week. It was an uncomplicated, unthinking, and c u t e show. Perfect stamp for the end of the week, when you want to relax and maybe squish your cheeks a little while you heart-eye your tv screen.Thomas and Kong have great chemistry. But I will say their newness to acting was evident. There was an emotionality that was sometimes missing and thus made the characters feel a little one dimensional in certain scenes. They really had the CUTE factor down and the sugar inducing sweetness on point, but it needed more balance in my opinion. It is for this reason why I feel a little torn about the NC scenes. If you're watching them standalone, they're A+++ but they felt a little too much or out of place in the show.
Overall, I know that we have so much more to look forward to from these two, as Your Sky is truly just the beginning for them. And while the show wasn't 100% perfection, it was enjoyable to watch and it will definitely be missed.
PS - I really hope we get a special episode, because for me personally I need to see more of Punlee and Ghlaijai.
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Hwang Da Seul does it again...
Oh the intricacies of life that are brought so achingly to the screen in such a brilliant way. This was masterfully executed, as expected from Hwang Da Seul. She continues to provide us with compelling and beautifully acted stories and she definitely didn't fail us here.Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo is a series of growing up and fighting with the expectations that are set forth and how we can break from those cursed chains that try to destroy us down to the bones. Or, what one is pushed to do just to survive, even if it means leaving everything and everyone you know behind. Not only does this story pull us in and keep us invested, but it gives us flawed characters and challenges us to understand (and still love) them.
All in all, this series was a solid work of art that deserves the high praise and a rewatch or two.
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