Reviews

Tearjerking is an understatement.

I postponed watching this for a while, everyone was talking so highly of it that I was scared it was not gonna reach my expectations, but oh boy. It was totally the opposite.
This might be probably one of my favorites genres, but the fated trope didn't disappoint me.
I loved the speed it was going, the way emotions were portrayed, honestly a masterpiece.
I must say I'm sad we didn't get more of some side characters, but the two romances the story gives out are so well put, they made me cry more than once.
And honestly I didn't expect the happy ending, but I was so relieved.
This will probably end up taking a sweet spot in my heart cause it just got me so emotional.
The cast is amazing, they made me fall for each one of them. Gong Yoo, Kim Go-eun, Lee Dong-wook and Yoo In-na made such a spectacular performance, their tears were my tears.

The ost was great, also there's not once I skipped the opening or the credit song cause they were SO good.

I'll probably rewatch it often cause it was just way too good to be forgotten.

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It's eveything I ever wanted in a gay film

I appreciate movies that can effect me deep and touch my soul. The movie made me depressed for days. Even tho it's hard and I'm waiting for that feeling to fade away, but still the movie is a masterpiece and totally worth it. I waited SO long for a movie that feels REAL and it's finally here. I don't like it when people compare it to call me by your name. shame on you. What I like about this movie is that it showed what most of us went through, and still going through. Being gay is still not easy even if your country is cool with it now, still a lot of us had that complicated relationship no matter where you live it can happen anywhere and at any age. There are a lot of people who are afraid of their sexuality and would rather run away from it. I also loved that it was about love more than a sexual attraction. even that sexual scene between them was more emotional than sexual. They were really into each other emotionally so deep. I love this kind of love. The love that can be proven by so many ways bigger than sex. just pure love.
What I didn't like much was the amount of deleted scenes! so many important scenes were missing. I wish there were more scenes that showed Birdy's love for A-Han. This is a movie to remember for decades to come.

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Exceeded expectation

I started this drama with no expectations at all. It turned out to be one of the few dramas I didn’t drop and watched till the end.

The main leads have amazing chemistry!! First time watching ML and I was very impressed by his acting and micro expressions (plus point he is sooo good looking and a cutie :P). I hope he will get more main roles in the future.

The supporting roles (classmates, ML father, FL parents, teachers) are great too. I love that the story didn’t only focus on the main leads and touched on other character’s story (i.e. teachers and classmates). Overall, a drama worth watching and (somewhat) satisfying ending,

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EDIT: This is NOT a rip off or the same thing as "In A Good Way". I'm going to assume that viewers who are saying that haven't watched more than the first few episodes and feel that because there is a group of characters the story follows over the years that makes them too similar. I feel those people are really losing out on watching a really great drama, but of course that's up to them, it's just a shame.

I have to say right off the bat that this is hands down one of the best Taiwanese Dramas I have ever watched. The last episode is arguably the best ending to ANY Asian drama I've ever seen despite the bittersweet feel it had.

Story (10 out of 10):
Wow. Where to begin with such a thoroughly thought out and beautiful story. If ever there was a realistic drama, I feel this would be a great example. There is such depth and nuance that it is hard to put into words without spoilers. This series takes a story that has been done many times in dramas, but isn't afraid to go all out with it, it packs so many feels that you barely have time to catch your breath. Even if some things were arguably predictable, it didn't take away from the story, because of the realistic way it played out. 16 summers in 16 episodes feels so appropriate, and I feel is one of the best examples of demonstrating the passage of time. Too often it feels that dramas take place over the course of days or weeks. Fang Wei De states at one point how time passed more quickly when everyone was having a good time, and that certainly felt tangible in this show. I just can't praise the ebb of time in this show enough.

I really appreciated that we are presented with our core characters as children and see them through their experiences into adulthood, the character development is real in this. The ups and downs, and how words and actions DO have consequences whether it is in the form of regret or in the form of enlightenment. Often times, I feel like characters will say and do things in dramas with little to no repercussions, but that is not the case in TWWW, and that is why I feel it is certainly one of the best dramas I've had the pleasure to watch. There are no evil type characters, just times when people make bad or sometimes even horrible mistakes... but instead of going overboard, we're able to see each character as a person, with real problems, real emotions, and having to again really deal with what comes after.

Another big thing is closure. This is handled SO well, and it doesn't come off as though the writers were just trying to wrap things up in a nice neat bow, but to further demonstrate life in general. My only regret is not being able to articulate well enough just how great this story is.


Acting/Cast (10 out of 10):
I've only ever seen Leroy Yang in Love Forward (2012) and while I enjoyed his prickly businessman persona in that, I wasn't all that impressed. However, he more than impresses as Fang Wei De. He definitely plays jerkish well, but the latter half of this series, just took my heart and breath away. I'm definitely going to be looking into his other dramas when I can because I could seriously be missing out. I really can't think of any other Taiwanese actor to fill that role than him.

I've seen Tiffany Xu quite a bit and in general it feels like she always plays characters I can't stand. I first saw her in Autumn's Concerto (2009) and later Drunken to Love You (2011) and especially had the urge to want to slap her characters. She's had supporting roles in It Started with a Kiss (2005) and ToGetHer (2009). She's been in many other dramas, but those are the only ones I've seen so far. Having said that, I was glad to NOT hate her character in TWWW. She did something pretty awful, but the way things played out, I was even able to forgive her by the end.

Despite Ruby Lin having such an extensive drama/film career this was my first time experiencing her acting and I have to say it was great. I felt she played a great strong female lead. I always like the spunky female leads that don't take any crap. She's strong, but has a sensitive side and I think she handled them both really naturally.

Rounding out our Quintet is Jason Tsou (Ding Guo Qing) and Melvin Sia (Wang Jun Jie), this is my first time seeing them in a drama, so I really have no frame of reference but definitely I felt they owned their characters and made them feel relevant. I find sometimes when you have more than 2-3 leads in a drama the other tend to fall by the wayside or just blend into the background or at worst are just straight up forgotten. Not in this case though.

Each actor brought their A game as far as I'm concerned and it really paid off.


Music (9 out of 10):
I'm still upset that I'm unable to download Eric Chou's - Let's Not Be Friends Anymore song on itunes. Some may feel like it was overplayed, but I'm not one of them. It's such a beautiful song that was really much more than a theme song. It was the only vocal that I really liked, but even still, I felt the OST went very well with series and I enjoyed the instrumentals.

EDIT: Eric Chou's song actually IS available now on iTunes, I guess they wait to release OSTs until after the drama airs (I'm so used to K-dramas releasing singles while airing - I'm so spoiled :P ).


Re-watch Value (7 out of 10):
I wouldn't re-watch the entire series only because I don't think my heart could handle the intense feels, but there are definitely some funny and powerful scenes that are worth re-watching.


Overall (10 out of 10):
I would HIGHLY recommend this drama to every Asian drama lover. It really has it all and even though there are drama tropes scattered throughout they don't come off as tropes, but just great moments within a great story. It is not perfect, but honestly I felt especially in terms of writing and story this is pretty damn close. There are no questions regarding the characters motivations, there aren't any WTF?! moments that are never resolved. It's just a really well made drama that definitely deserves more praise than it may receive.

Some have compared this as a knock off of In A Good Way....please. Not even close. In a Good Way WAS a good drama, don't get me wrong, but it was not nearly as thoughtful as this drama, not nearly as well written. What they do have in common is that they begin in the past and you see the characters grow throughout the years a la Reply 1994 and Reply 1997. If you want something more upbeat, sure, that is In a Good Way, and then down right LOL by comparison is the Reply series.

Lastly, the writers did a great job of closing out this drama. The last episode was not filler or BS like most dramas seem to be nowadays. It was beautiful and I highly recommend having plenty of tissues when the onion ninjas come for your eyes.

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No BL, but a true gem

The last six months have seen some remarkable BL-highlights, like 'A tale of 1000 stars' or 'I told sunset about you', where a lot of money was spent to create beautiful series. Wayufilm once again proves that it's possible to compensate the lack of a huge budget and lucrative sponsorship with creativity, dedication, and a cast of highly talented and overwhelmingly cute actors. And – to make this clear from the start – although this is not BL, it is a true gem that BL fans will love, I promise.

The plot is simple on the surface: A student from Bangkok visits Chiang Mai to experience life in the countryside and therefore travels with three Chiang Mai friends to a remote rural 'hotel'. This simple plot is, however, used to address some of the problems Thailand (like many developing countries) is facing, not by making the actors elaborate at length on migration from land to cities, left-behind marginal rural areas, unequal distribution of wealth etc, but by seemingly incidentally displaying their consequences in the daily lives of the people.

Let me give two examples. When the country boy's mother tells her son she's afraid she will be left behind alone some day, after her daughter has already escaped to the city with a guest, we see like in a magnifying glass what internal migration means for the countryside. When a debt collector of a money shark threatens Kep his boss will take the 'homestay' away from the family who have run out of money due to the covid crisis, this little scene en passant makes it obvious that the pandemic hits poor people the hardest and makes the rich even richer.

Now this may sound as if 'Country Boy' was a depressing account of poor people's problems, but it is exactly the opposite, thanks to the carefully constructed storyline, which contrasts the big problems with little pleasures on the personal level. In part 2, the film offers a solution to overcome the divide between prospering cities and left behind countryside: the visitors decide to help Kep and his mother improve their 'hotel' and attract more paying guests, and donate their money so that the outstanding debt can be paid. It is a small example of how the problems of marginalized regions can be solved: by the transfer of money and skills, on a much larger scale, of course, supported by many more good-willed people like these four boys, and local people ready to adapt to the changes.

So we have to talk about the characters. Kep is the country boy who succeeds in smiling away all the obstacles of the hard life in the country. However, he isn't the one-dimensional naive optimist, he has his moments of fear and frustration, too, but he always finds the beauty in the little things of life. As his guests expect 'activities', and there are none, he invents some over night: watering the plants, for example, which seems weird to the visitors at first, but then they love it.

The Bangkok student and the three Chiang Mai boys, on the other hand, at first only see the quaint, romantic side of country life, but soon realize that things are not so romantic when you have to face the naked truth behind the pictoresque scenery. They do appreciate the clean air, the beautiful landscape, and the rural life, but they are soon confronted with the basic problem of poverty. Unlike many well-off city people, they don't close their eyes, but do the best they can to help their new friend Kep. At the same time, they learn that the local food that looks like 'dog's puke' to them, tastes wonderful.

Now you may ask, 'where is the BL-factor' in this? Well, there actually isn't much, no kissing, no sex like in previous OakMon movies, just a few secret glances in episode 1, and two hugging scenes in the final part. That may be disappointing to some viewers who have expected more, but honestly, more wouldn't have fit the characters of Kep and Nabdao. Not so soon. But maybe in a sequel? Somehow it feels like Nabdao and Kep will meet again.

Which takes us to the actors, and they are just brilliant. Oak has proven he is able to give depth to his roles at the age of 16 already (if you haven't seen 'Key Love' or 'Night Time', you should watch them, too). The way he expresses joy, fear, surprise, shyness, and love proves he is a natural. With Mon he has a congenital partner which makes these two young actors an iconic couple already (even if they don't become a couple in this movie), and all that without the fan service from a big production company.

But this movie doesn't only rely on the talent and chemistry of the two leads. The supporting actors are all very good. What makes the performance of these five young men so outstanding is their natural way of depicting their roles. In many scenes it feels like the camera is only there to accompany a group of boys for two days, so you get the impression they aren't acting at all.

In some of the big Bangkok productions the main criteria to put together the cast of a series is the cuteness factor; talent and acting skills come second and sometimes are lacking completely. In this movie we have one of the rare cases where all the actors are extremely cute, each in his own way (don't tell me Oak isn't cute. Gosh, this smile, and these eyebrows!), and they are talented and skilled at the same time.

The settings are also carefully chosen. When at the beginning the Chiang Mai boys proudly take their Bangkok visitor to the most popular coffee bar, he's bored because he knows all the coffee bars in Bangkok, and coffee bars aren't the reason for him to visit the North of Thailand (which reminds me, a country boy myself, of proudly inviting my city-friend to our newly opened pizzeria, and he was complaining pizzas are much better in the city. He rather wanted me to take him to the forest which I find boring because it's just full of trees and nothing else. Well, the other man's grass...).

Kep's Homestay feels like a haunted house, opening the opportunity to show that boys from the city are more frightened of ghosts than the country boy who finds it completely normal his late grandmother's spirit still inhabits the room he rents out to the visitors. I had to smile when he apologized to her she will have to spend the next few days in his mother's room. The environment of Kep's 'hotel' is used to show the rural people's love of nature, e.g. when Kep teaches his visitors to water the plants, which for him is an act of pleasure and respect.

The cinematography of this movie (I won't call it a series, it's more a movie released in two parts) is an improvement compared with previous Wayufilm productions. This isn't meant to say the older ones weren't good, but the surroundings of Kep's Homestay allow more attractive shots than a classroom, a small flat, or a dirty alley like in previous productions. It doesn't reach the quality of series like '1000 Stars', but it's still good.

Finally, I must mention the soundtrack. The song performed by Mon and Oak is so beautiful it makes me smile every time I hear it, just like the movie makes me smile every time I watch it. I rarely re-watch series or movies, but I have already re-watched the first part three times.

To sum it up, this movie is a true gem, and a real highlight of 2021, maybe not as BL as you would have wanted, but Oak's smile and the natural acting of all the boys easily make up for that. If you're in a sad mood, watch it (again), and I'm sure you'll feel better. If you're in a good mood, still watch it (again), because you'll have one more reason to feel good.

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Cute, Meaningful, and Heartwarming

Omg I love this show, and why shouldn’t I love such a cute show?
Here is a very short review:
This show is like Back to 1989(Taiwan show) female version with similar concept but better executed. As a huge fan of time-travel and youth(high school) dramas, this show was definitely my type. Things I enjoy most are mother/daughter relationship and main characters’ development. FL can be annoying at times but it is not unreasonably annoying and she has her own reasons for that.
Casts are not super well known, but acting is quality, especially our two female leads; Amy Chen and Zhaung Da Fei. Though male characters aren’t as important, Chen Jun He and Duan Xiao totally captured my hearts
High School part is well done and I’d rate it highly for nostalgia.
But again, it is not a perfect drama, and it has some flaws; some parts should be explained more clearly and Wu Zhi Xun character development is a little disappointing
But it is understandable...
Overall, I love it!
If you are a fan of time travel or high school dramas, I highly recommend it
And watch it for nostalgia, it is worth your time.

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Jpn dramas are the best when it comes to human stories

If it wasn't because a regular subber started working on this sub, I wouldn't have picked it. Boy, am I glad I watched this! One of my favorite dramas of this season. It was sweet, with a wonderful cast, soothing OST, and amazing script. Like Kounodori S.1. Medical dramas in the pediatrician department is usually more moving, and it always depend on the scriptwriter to not make it corny, and it worked with GD.

I have to apologize to Yamazaki Kento, since when I've read he was going to be the lead, I wasn't interested. He is OK, but that's all for me. But he was amazing as Minato-sensei, since the very first episode. Portrayed wonderfully a sweet guy with Autism and Savant Syndrome (I've read that he did a research over the subject, so he was well prepared). I have not seen Freddie Highmore's version so I can't compare.

Of course, to me the MVP was Ueno Juri, such an amazing actress. Very natural, and looked very comfortable working with YamaKen.

I think I shed tears in every episode. I loved each one of them. Every episode was heartwarming, emotional and to the point.

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This truly was a drama that reminds you of a cold car that has been sitting for awhile; like that cold car, it takes it awhile to start; so too does this drama. The first 5-6 episodes, I kept asking myself why do people like this? The next 10 episodes were a lot better but I still didn't see the fascination; however, from that point on it kept getting better and better. The bromance between the brothers; the individual romances, even though the second brother and his wife's story will grate on your nerve, hang in there. However, the highlight romance and story, you must give to Uee and Joo Won. I was so glad to see him again and have a great chemistry with his co-star lead. Their chemistry was so sweet and so was their story. You really didn't want it to end. The conflicts, even though serious, you hated to see them. I loved the brothers, the women in their lives, everything. Great story! Great acting!

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Compelling Rendition

My Final review take:

This has been 4 very charming episodes.

The way Yoon Ho grabbed-hugged So Hyun in the rain just striking. Palpitating darling moments, indeed.

This drama definitely has that angst, tension, thrills and a-tinge-of-romance which amped up the whole atmosphere on each scenes. And without any brooding bits, just makes it excitingly fascinating.

My first review take:

Why is it compelling? Because:

First. I am hooked with the music. Brit rock rules! Need the OST tracklist stat! Then again with this type of music tracks, it needs a good match. This drama has it, deserving storyline. It tells a story of a troubled girl. And she is even a pickpocket, for crying sake. Looking for her Dad. And just because she has unsettling mother-daughter relationship with an alcoholic Mum that is, does not justify her action for stealing. It still wrong. But, hey. Life is about planning and options with this case.

Second is the Acting. I just loves it when everybody delivers. So okay, the sweetest treats is still about a nice and kind next door boy. Yoon Ho is so adorable, and he’s the kind with Knights honor soul. The lady with vengeance is HeeJin/So Hyun with all of her ocean eleven mind game. Or is it in a way Sherlock Holmes would go the extra miles. Heroin like her and at nineteenth is a character indeed.

Third. The charm.
Attraction is made without hesitation. Confession is within a heartbeat. And that decoy kiss is just a tad of sincerity away. Bullies is tackled. But the suspense retaliation just puts you on the edge. With only 4 episode, this drama has that subtle approach. Let’s wait the next and final two episode...

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Even better than the movie!!

As a fan of the movie and BNK48, I was really excited for this remake (the lead actress is from a Thai idol group, BNK48). There are two main reasons why remakes fail; either it's too simple or it told a completely different story.

Bad Genius (2020) was able to retell the story that we love without being redundant. That's what makes it so good.

I personally think the series was able to give justice to the characters more compared to the movie. The movie had a lot of elements which were jam-packed into the limited movie runtime. The series was able to expound on those elements which I really appreciate. The characters were given more time to develop and it's not simply an exam cheating story; it's a story about friendship, family, betrayal and many more.

There are many unexpected twists and turns which keeps me interested. The intensity of this drama is on another level. I would say, the ending broke me. I was mad, but a part of me feels like I don't have the right to get mad. I was also happy. I don't really know how to explain since I don't want to spoil the story.

This series is a must-watch! Actors are really great, Plearnpichaya Komalarajun (Lin) and Sawanya Paisarnpayak (Grace) really stood out. Great cast, great story, great series. I will definitely rewatch this someday!

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When Cute is not Enough

Over five years ago, “Lovesick - the Series” and it’s sequel “Lovesick 2” paved the way for the Thai BL genre. It opened the door for main stream young gay characters where the focal point of the story is their love relationship. Before “Lovesick” gay relationships were were often relegated to a secondary role. “Lovesick’s” success is due to a simple storyline, two lovable lead actors, straightforward interactions between secondary characters, and an iconic OST in “Shake” which is the best song from any Thai series regardless of genre. “Lovesick” made the slew of BL series, movies, and short films that followed possible as it showed high interest level for the genre. You know you’ve arrived when you’re one of the few series with a BL theme that’s playing on Netflix in the US.

“Thank God it’s Friday” (TGIF) is supposed to carry on the “Lovesick” franchise as it takes place five/six years after the Seniors from “Lovesick” graduated. The Friday College Music Club is again in financial difficulty. Because of their lack of appreciable success and maybe actually music playing ability, they enlist the help of the music club at their sister school in Chaing Mai for assistance. Although their initial meeting was rocky, the two groups bond and relationships (both platonic and otherwise) occur.

TGIF is directed by Andy Kusolkulsiri the same director as the both the “Lovesick” series'. Unfortunately, the only connections between “Lovesick” and TGIF are the school’s name (Friday College), the music club that the two groups are involved in, and a brief exchange between Jump and Yong in episode 1 where Jump refers to Noh as his idol and Yong asking Jump if he knew the rumor of Phun and Noh being in a relationship. Let’s forget about the weird suggestion at the end.

Although the three main couple storylines were fairly straightforward, where TGIF fails is that the storyline was muddled, had unnecessary side stories that we’re confusing, poor character development, random intrigue between characters that don’t make sense, and a main plot line of the Bangkok music club getting help getting completely lost. Could these guys actually play or not? I was often left wondering if I missed a half episode in between episodes because I couldn’t figure out what was going on for awhile at the start of each episode, it took a while to settle into an episode.

I felt like the overall story was being made up as they went along. Let’s start with the premise of saving the music club. That isn’t working so let’s focus on the budding relationship between Home and Jump. That’s turning out bland so let’s focus on the Por and Yong and the Lun and Nana relationships but fail to give it real substance because they’re not the main characters. The lack of storyline focus was confusing especially when they added the other side stories and characters without enough development. How long can you run a minor storyline of a missing condom from a bag?

I did find that the story and characters matured from episode to episode - to a point. That point was pretty much at the middle of the series when the three couples end-up at the dam. After their return back to Chaing Mai everything, with the exception of the Lun and Nana story, regressed.

The young female actors were actually not bad but unfortunately the performances of the male actors were all over the place. This is a failure in casting where it appears they favored cute over substance. The main characters of Jump and Home we’re so wooden it was sometimes painful to watch. Their acting did get better as the series progressed but as their bangs got longer their acting again got worse. The second couple of Por and Yong were fine but, their storyline could have been streamlined with better developed conflicts and character struggles. The best developed and acted relationship was the third one between Lun and Nana. Their storyline and acting felt genuine due to the two actor’s having good chemistry and ability, which was lacking with the rest of the actors and couples.

The soundtrack of TGIF also seemed to get better as the series progressed - again to a point. The main soundtrack is cute and catchy. It’s no where near the level of “Shake” but pretty good. The Jump and Home relationship song at the dam was also pretty good. But just like the majority of the series, the music fell apart in the second half of the series with some awful music tracks sung by the actors in the series. Pluggy has a very unique voice, not sure of anyone else in the series has lead vocal quality, so if he was in the song it was fine.

Why I really come down hard on this series is because I’m watching this concurrently with a number of far better Thai series. The producers of TGIF chose to release it at the same time of the end of “Theory of Love” and “3 Will be Free” and the start of “TharnType”, “Dark Blue Kiss”, “I am your King 2”, and “Until We Meet Again.” Yikes! That’s crazy bad timing! How can you go up against those heavy hitters with green actors and a poor script? The quality of the storyline and acting of TGIF pales in comparison to any of those series. I rate each of the aforementioned series between a 9.5 and 8, while I give TGIF a generous 6. Maybe if I watched TGIF during a period where no BL series running I would be more forgiving,

Five years have passed since the groundbreaking “Lovesick” series. The Thai BL genre has evolved so much in those five years that just having a cute series is not enough. I think that audiences are expecting more coherent and developed storylines, better writing and frankly better acting from their series, regardless of genre. I did stick around and watched all 12 episodes of TGIF so cute may have a place?

PS - Had to go to another site to watch the last episode as it’s been over a month and the producers of TGIF have yet to translate the last episode on YouTube, which they had diligently done a week or less post-release of an episode. Did they also give-up on the series?

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Warm and Fuzzy, but.....

Watching Binary Love made me feel fuzzy inside. The love between the main leads were organic and it genuinely made sense. The male lead's boldness added to his quirky charm, seeing that he was socially awkward, but courageous in love. The story developed a one-track man into someone who is foolish in love. All while this story is great, it may be worth for the male lead solely.

Dont get me wrong, the female lead was a good lead, but she was kind of flat. In the earlier episodes she seemed to be charming, but as the story progressed her character began to lack dimension. She began a generic female lead that you could find in many other dramas. The plot was great, but it was not in any way due to the female lead.

There was also the UNNECESSARY second male lead and the even more unnecessary third male lead. The second male was inevitable, seeing that he's on the promo cover, but his story went on until the bitter end. He was simply not someone you could route for. At the beginning the series his character was enjoyable because it added some drama, but he quickly became a very annoying entitled man who doesnt know his boundaries. I was fed up wifh him halfway through the show and his forceful behavior towards the female did not end until the bitter end.

And then the show introduced a third lead, who liked the female lead for no reason at all. It was very random and the male didnt even pay him mind, so the third lead was just there for fun I guess. And again the female barely has any depth, so its hard to believe that three men would be chasing after her.

But all in all, this showed had some powerful friendships that were entertaining. The second couple is honestly so cute. And the male lead is adorable, Ren YouLun did a great job acting out his role, and honestly he's the main reason the show was enjoyable.

If you can get passed someone of the negatives i have mentioned this was a good watch. But i have to say it was more entertaining the first episodes then it sort if fell off.

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Be sure to watch the Post Credit Scene

I saw Shining For One Thing: The Movie this morning in US and if you take nothing else from my review please WATCH THE POST CREDIT SCENE!

Key points:
- Happy Ending
- You don't have to have seen the show to understand or enjoy the movie
- Twists you didn't see coming (just like the show!)

General Thoughts:
The movie took to heart the key theme of parallel universes and expanded on that. Therefore, the movie is more adjacent to the series than a direct continuation but don't worry, we still get our Happy Ending! Of course because it's a movie with a limited run time and not spanning multiple episodes it's unable to create or show a real or psuedo-relationship like the main characters had in the show but it still does a great job of conveying how strongly and deeply they feel for each other. Also, this is all about Zhang Wansen & Lin Beixing; the side characters we also love aren't apart of the story much. As someone who watched the series I found it incredibly satisfying and cannot wait to watch it again.

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Short and Sweet - good acting with an entertaining and concise story

This drama is like the best of both worlds combining the length of a longer movie with the juicy details of a drama. I highly recommend this for those who love sweet moments without spending hours fast-forwarding through those unneeded storylines.

I have watched many dramas both of those long 40-minute episodes as well as those that are 2 minute long episodes. While most of the 2-minute episode drama productions are more on the lower budget that compromised on the quality of actors, costumes, and poor directing, etc. It usually makes me feel I am watching an amateur production, but I was pleasantly surprised by this one with quality actor/actresses (both good looking and good acting), pretty costumes, decent directing, etc... the entire production feels just as good as the normal full budget ones, but with a shorter concise story. A story that doesn't need to focus on too much plotting or any 2nd couple that I call the fluff, which I usually just fast forward, but this is a drama that gives you only the sweet romance and just the right amount of character development and story details of the main leads, from start to finish with beautiful chemistry between them.

Overall: The acting was good, both main leads have beautiful chemistry, the story was entertaining and sweet, just the perfect amount of story and romance without dragging on. In fact, it almost leaves you wanting more, wishing it was just a little bit longer. This story is completed with a 2nd season, which even with both seasons combined is still the perfectly nice and concise length. Instead of watching a 60-hour drama for the sweet storyline only, now you can have it without fast-forwarding together in these 2 seasons.

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