Reviews

Let's just say I was one of those people who actually wanted to root for this drama. I have never seen Ahn Jae Hyun in anything else but I liked him in the beginning. Playing a vampire does not require a huge acting range. You can act broody and intense without needing to have 10 years' worth of acting experience. The beginning too was good. Finally a take on vampirism where it is an actual medical condition instead of a myth. That was quite interesting, writer-nim. Brownie points to you for that. Ji Sang's youthful looks were because he stopped ageing at some point. And as for the villain, he wanted the whole world to benefit from a condition like vampirism instead of it being treated as some medical evil. I loved your use of rationale in certain cases. I even loved all the information on biochemistry that is relentlessly hurled at the viewer.

But seriously what happened to you after the first 5 episodes? The moment Ji Sang stopped performing surgeries all I saw was him taking leisurely strolls all around the damned hospital and meeting either the Director or Yoo Ri Ta or Min Ga Yeon or Dr Joo, talking about all kinds of useless stuff and nothing else. Hello PD-nim, instead of overloading my brain with information, just show me through actual action. Too much exposition ruins any narrative.
And the romance? Uh why did they fall in love again? I'm sorry I just don't understand. Am I supposed to swoon at them mouthing lines swearing undying love for each other with not an ounce of emotion in them? It seemed like Ri Ta kept throwing herself at Ji Sang who was not even interested. And then all of a sudden, he is interested for lord knows what reason. (Oh wait it's because of their cosmic connection..he saved her from all those bad CG, Twilight-rip-off wolves....oooooh shooo romantic!)
I did not even think their scenes cute.

And somewhere around episodes 8-9 it all went downhill. The same things kept happening on infinite loop. Let me list them -
1)Ji Sang and Director having some kind of confrontational conversation in which sometimes they attack and snarl at each other and sometimes they don't. YAWN!
2)Token romantic scenes between Yoo Ri Ta and Ji Sang which were anything but romantic (who the hell calls their girlfriend/boyfriend 'Doctor Yoo' and 'Chief'?)
3)Walking around the hospital
4)Conversation between Ji Sang and VTH-16 researcher doctor
5)Ji Sang fighting off vampires and mostly getting beaten
6)Chairman and Associate Director having boring passive-aggressive conversations
7)More walking around the hospital
8)Min Ga Yeon and Ji Sang scenes which were too few
9)Patients in ward 21A going bonkers
10)More walking

The only portions I looked forward to where the parts featuring Sister Sylvia, Hyun Woo and Min Ga Yeon and Ji Sang's interactions which were actually genuine and made me feel something for them. They did not come off as forced and contrived unlike the Yoo Ri Ta and Ji Sang scenes. Even Ji Jin Hee couldn't save this trainwreck and he tried his best to make Jae Wook memorable!

And don't even get me started on the ending. What the hell happened? It was like the writer picked out every nonsensical, irrational cliche from the dramaverse and crammed all of them into an hour's worth of time.

Dear writer-nim, do us a favour and DO NOT EVER WRITE A DRAMA AGAIN. I feel like jumping off a bridge after watching that atrocious finale. I want those 20 hours of my life back! And this is coming from a busy person who no longer has sufficient time to watch all the K dramas she wants to watch.

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Temptation is a strange story. It isn't necessarily about an affair. It is the story of a couple in a desperate situation that make desperate decisions which changes their lives forever. One woman turns from sweet to bitter while the other turns from cold to caring. The men's characters pretty much stay the same. I'm confused as to why I watched this and found it interesting. I found that my opinion on the characters of this drama is very different from the opinions of other people.

I have read countless comments of symathy for Na Hong Joo played by Park Ha Sun. I'm probably the only person that finds her character to be at first fake, then bitter and hateful. I don't for a minute buy into the thought that she was ever sweet and innocent. She forgets that she started the chain of events with her desperate action. What did she think her husband would do knowing that he caused her to take that desperate act over money? She made Cha Seok Hoon played by Kwon Sang Woo do something that he would have never thought of doing except that he knew it would save his family monitarily. Then when he tried to make it up to her and prove his love, she turned away from him. To top it off she goes on to blame him for the misery she creates herself and becomes a bitter bitch that I just can't stand. Now, I don't for one minute believe that Yoo Se Young played by Choi Ji Woo is blameless. However, I don't think she is the evil crazy bitch that everyone seems to think that she is. I think she was lonely and bored. She says she was testing them, but I believe she just wanted what they had for even a minute. However, the writer turning her into a victim is stupid and doesn't fit her character as a strong successful woman. Now, for Kang Min Woo played by Lee Jung Jin. I find no redeaming characteristics in this narcissistic jerk who treats women like objects and has no respect for people in general. I can't stand him. The other actors are fine. If you like C.N.Blue, then you will enjoy Lee Jong Shin's part as Hong Joo's brother.

The music is excellent.

I probably won't rewatch this.

I'm not sure if I recommend this drama. Watch it at your own discression.

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Best Korean BL I had ever watched

I stayed up until 2 a.m., despite having work at 8 a.m., just to watch the final episode, and it did not disappoint. The TV adaptation surpasses the 120-chapter Manhwa I read, offering a darker, more thrilling experience.

For those who complain about toxic characters, I would argue that without them, the story would lack depth and excitement. I recently finished Heart Stain (Korean) and Impression of Youth (Taiwan), both of which did not feature any toxic characters or villains, and I found them to be quite dull and simplistic to watch.

In contrast, Secret Relationship kept me engaged throughout. Every episode was thrilling, exciting, and filled with cliffhangers, and the flashbacks made perfect sense. The actors delivered exceptional performances, the male leads were captivating, the cinematography was outstanding, and the plot was gripping.

This is one of the best BL series I have ever watched. I would rate it a solid 10/10.

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We can start with the story. Already from the start, the story plot had me twisting in anticipation. At the most time when I thought I knew what was going to happen, it was the opposite. It is a very beautiful story, at the same time, it is kinda scary as it shows the darker side of the human nature.

I like the cast very much. I feel like the main characters had a excellent chemistry. Both of the male leaders portrayed their characters very well. And Xin Yue was also great.

I also enjoyed the music. At first, I didn't like the Bai Tou Yin by Della Ding as the music was a bit odd. But you grow to like the two songs by her as they play throughout the whole drama. Also, the opening song is also very nice and has really meaningful lyrics. Definitely a 10 from me!

Actually, I have rewatched this drama two times, and every single time I just couldn't stop watching. Even though I already seen it before. It is just so good.

Overall, I think they have made an excellent drama! I feel like the clothing and scenery was quite nice. I definitely recommend this one to everyone that loves for example Prince of Lan Ling, which is also one of my favorite drama.

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I can't believe how small the number of audience who watched this drama! I started this with the least expectations and it turned out to be much more. The story is so simple yet so refreshing to watch, I enjoyed every second of it. A mixture of feelings, a beautiful friendship, confusing emotions, and YOUTH... all wonderfully put together!! I still can't believe how much I enjoyed this I'm really glad that I started it now because I could watch all the eps in a raw.

This is a story about friends and how they deal with their emotions, life, and the fact that they are growing into adulthood. Again the feelings that are delivered in this drama, all the emotions are just too refreshing, beautiful and really enjoyable. In fact, (I can't believe I'm saying this but) I fell in love with Choi Min Ho after watching this. I never ever considered him a decent actor he was just an idol like the rest of the idols getting casted with no acting skills. I've seen him in (To The Beautiful You) which I dropped and I remember very well that he couldn't act back then!! When did he improve like that?! He was absolutely AMAZING I was watching the drama and can't help but be taken by him (wait it's Min Woo I'm talking about o_O)!! I can't respect him enough for the hard work and improvement he has done for himself I never thought it's possible when you don't have "it" within you but he proved me wrong, any drama that he takes from now on is on my Watch List.

This drama makes you feel like smiling the whole time you will be watching it as simple as it was,,, What is love exactly? What's first love means? Can we really forget about our first love/crush and move on? Well let's watch and see,,,Simplicity is beauty indeed. I highly recommend it.

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Nostalgic and Humorous

I gotta say, the humor is spot-on. It’s a perfect combination of witty remarks, dry humor, and dramatic irony. There’s also a good amount of S1 nostalgia without trying to recreate the original show. Best part of all is the chemistry between the actors that makes these fictional relationships feel so real and unique. I’m also loving the historic setting!

On a more controversial note, I’m glad Ji-ah doesn’t make an appearance in this so far, even though all the other main characters have. To me, Ji-ah and Lee Yeon’s relationship felt lacking. Perhaps it was the writing, the direction, or just the lack of chemistry between actors, which is hard to say, since the rest of the actors seem to have such great chemistry maybe it’s the character of Ji-ah that just felt flat…

Anyway, highly recommend!

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This show started off pretty nicely but if it were not for my "Drama OCD" I would've never finished watching it though.

The story was pretty decent until about the mid-way point and then it just went completely off the rails into unbelievable land. As an avid drama watcher, I know that I go into a drama suspending belief because if you've been watching a long time, you know that's how it is. Most dramas have a lull about mid-way even the best dramas, but this... yikes. It just lost its way and never came back for me. The end was highly anti-climatic for me, it wasn't satisfying at all because I felt the characters' problems were really only due to their own stupidity rather than any real outside threat.

The acting didn't really help much. Aaron Yan is adorable, especially as Xiao Luo, but I feel that contrasted with Tia Li's stiff and rather emotionless face almost made it seem like he was overacting. As great as Aaron Yan is, it didn't save the drama or the couple for me. I actually was far more interested in the supporting couples than I ever was in the odd love triangle/square. In other circumstances where the character's actions make sense, the acting probably would've come off a lot better, but when characters begin to act like 2 year olds and common sense goes straight out the window, it's hard to feel anything other than annoyance. I try to not skip through episodes, but in all honesty I did it quite a lot and still was perfectly able to understand what was going on and save myself from the urge to cringe with not my palm to my face but the keyboard.

The music was pretty good, nothing stellar or what would have me running to iTunes, but it wasn't bad. Had some catchy upbeat music.

Having said all of that, I will not be re-watching this or even recommending it too anyone. I really hope that Aaron Yan's next drama doesn't involve the noble idiot trope and that Tia Li loosens up and shows some real emotion (crying profusely and looking blankly down or into the distance does not a good actor make) :P

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I've completely lost faith in humanity after watching this drama. How the absolute fuck does it have an 8.9 rating? Are all the happy reviewers some kind of bots that mass rated it with such a high score and sang hallelujah because after suffering through 30 episodes of this shit, I really am confused.

This drama is a total hypocrite. It tells one thing and shows something entirely different. Supposedly, it tells the viewers that it's against patriarchy with the 'girls can be great at computer science too' bullshit. It preaches 'brains over beauty' and all that spirtual crap however, it 'shows' an entirely different story; for this drama, in its core is wholly patriarchal. The main heroine only truly gets acclaimed for her beauty and even though she is supposed to be this smart person with a trillion scholarships, we don't really see proof of her intellect. Sure, she wins a few games against other weak ass females but the moment she goes against a powerful male opponent, she loses which is why her MegaGenius boyfriend has to sit by her and dictate all the moves and only then, she claims victory. Like okay?

The male character is honestly, so overhyped and again, if we really try to find the heroine's contribution to the plot, you'll find none. She is supposed to be this brilliant computer junky and yet, when she does the internship (in a company filled with men) her sole job is to bring food, drinks and matresses to the guys who work day and night. Like??

So even though, on surface it looks like this unique drama with a never before seen plot, in its core, it is still filled to the brim with superficiality.

Now, lets talk about the cast and characters. The main guy is literally a robot. Like, the kid has no emotional depth whatsoever and so clearly the actor didn't have to tire himself by actually acting because all his role requires is to be a pretty but expressionless face. To make matters worse, he's a chauvinistic a-hole. And not in the 'bad boy' way, where you love and hate them, no, in his case you're just annoyed by him. He is literally so perfect and the only flaw he has is the fact that he can't cook. I mean, come on.

To be honest, between his extra hairy armpits, pre-pubescent face and red ears, he isn't really much. Also, what irked me is the fact that he treats his girlfriend like a pet (dog). (No kidding, she actually herself makes the comparison once.) And he's full of himself, sadly, without much basis.
Like the girl is having a fight with her best friend and instead of really consoling her or saying some meaningful shit he says, "She's a very small part of your life, while I'm your everything. From now on, you're not allowed to shed tears for anyone else." Now this is the exact fucking quote, no lie and the braindead heroine actually feels comforted by this. Deceased.

I mean don't get me wrong, I love his type; the cold, uncaring, perfectionist asshole who eventually thaws towards the heroine. We have Simon Bo, Kang Ma Roo and so on but all these characters have different sides to them and they show complex personalities, Nai is the same from beginning to end and I can't believe I'd tolerate a lifeless and boring as hell person like him in real life.

Now, the heroine: Sure, she's cute, quirky and very gorgeous and unfortunately, the only one acting in the show. But soon, you realize that she's recycling her facial expressions, so much that her acting becomes quite monotonous after a while.

Speaking of monotonous, the whole show is dead asf. Here are so irrelevant scenes that you just stare at the screen trying to comprehend why the hell are you being shown this unnecessary shit. The game scenes are depthless. The fighting scenes lack vigor. And I wanted to bang my head against a cactus, everytime the heroine interacted with her friends because all they did was act like juvenile brats and gushed about the main guy. I mean, you guys are supposed to be these tech savvy college students, the least you can do is show an ounce of maturity, but no. Too much to fucking ask.

Furthermore, I think I froze because of all that ice between the couple, tbh. There is no heat or chemistry whatsoever and they remain awkward and detached throughout. The affection seems forced and their union wasn't natural at all. Atleast the guy has one quality; he's an excellent kisser but the girl literally stands like a dead fish in response. No, even a dead fish has some sort of pucker going on, this girl just has her lips in a straight line and proudly shows that kissing her is akin to that of kissing a cardboard box.

For me, romance or basically any sort of relationship can only thrive and grow stronger if two people go through complications and get out of it together. Or if, they do selfless and thoughtful things for each other, no matter how small. Here, everything is rainbow and joy- literally no problems at all- and the best things the characters do for each other is treat each other to meals. That's all. Which is why their relationship is so flat, unrealistic and plagued by stangnancy throughout the show. Tsk, tsk.

The only thing fairly enjoyable was the actions of the hero's friends. Those three made me laugh a bit from their silly antics but that's about it.

Rewatch value? This stuff doesn't even have 'watch it once' value. The drama truly highlights that people will always be attracted to surface beauty no matter how much substance it lacks. This is an absolute fail and I only recommend it for people who want mindless fanservice and zero plot.

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the acting, the actors were INCREDIBLE. have always loved nam ji hyun and lee joon hyuk, and it was incredible to see them together in this. the story may not have been the most mysterious and mind blowing, but it was definitely enough to keep you on your toes and make you want to watch more. Lee joon hyuk really did it for me this drama, i loved his character and he did such a good job playing. the last episode broke my heart though! poor hyeong ju deserved better, but i love the drama still. very refreshing, definitely worth rewatching despite the mystery being known. the characters and their chemistry was lovely. i loved it.

lastly, GIVE NAM JI HYUN AND LEE JOON HYUK A ROMCOM, PLS. they were so cute! need more content. loved them sooo much together and the ending really left me itching for more. yikes. they deserve a romcom for all the heartbreak this drama gave me :p but the good kind!

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Where do you even start when a show makes you experience so many things all at once? This show was a huge surprise, right from discovering it in the clips on youtube when I only started started watching it because the couple looked cute. That time the show had aired only 2 eps and I watched both of them the same night I discovered it on youtube. The show had such a strong pull starting from such innocent beginnings to exponential development over the course of 2 months. The pull of this drama is no exaggeration when I say that every single Tuesday I waited for the episodes to release and watched them over and over again and posted summaries (lately there are handful of dramas that I completed till the end) , discovering my passion for writing about Drama/Movies. The show was an obsession from start to end. Even the MVs make me feel the pain.

Story/Emotions: Such a controversial topic was handled delicately and realistically and still represented the positive possibilities which one person should pursue when caught in the harshness of life. It is not just a love story, but a pure and beautiful life changing one at that. You quickly forget the age difference between the main couple when you look at their characters and their process of falling in love with them. At first one might question their beginning of love, but what this drama does make you realize is that you never quite know what exactly makes you fall in love with one particular person and why that one person is the only one who holds that special spot in your life. Other people even though having the same specs or even better ones still don't make the cut in your life. Their love story from start to end remains realistic at best. It is the love that empowers them to discover themselves . Their is a perpetual question of whether you give in to the love or realize your personal dreams; especially when faced with such a difficult love. But this drama beautifully shows how love gives them the motive of achieving other things in life as well. The opposition is all expected , yet you ride this roller coaster begging some understanding and happiness for the couple. Their journey is a long one and this drama will tug at your heart. It is an extremely incredible feat that the director and writer managed to make a love story even more interesting than a thriller. And this is a story you are not bound to forget for a long time.

Characters: Not one character is such that you wouldn't empathize, Even the most difficult of characters are still the one who you will warranty your understanding. Both Akira and Hijiri's characters undergo a growth that is otherwise only superficially shown in other dramas. Full marks to all the characters , even the minor ones. No character in this drama is dull or stupid. The highlight being Akira's character who grows from a boy to a fantastic and extremely capable young man who doesn't give up even in the toughest of times. His is an astoundingly clear-headed character. The depth of the awareness of his own emotions is displayed right from the beginning. Even his childishness which is often the part of your first heady days of love (couple it with his adolescence) is hardly blamable. But the transition that he undergoes post the first half of the story is a real piece of cake. Akira's mother also has a very strong character and is also one of the strongholds of the story. Yoshida Yo's character is a brilliant one and one that will have a lot of impact on the viewer throughout the story. Her depth of character reading of the people around her is a personal goal.

Acting: This a department that elevates the drama to the all time lists in my opinion. This story commanded exceptional acting due to the complexity of each of the characters and the story line anyway. Even the minor characters are made memorable by the respective actors. Akira's mother, the renowned middle aged actress does the mother's part exceptionally well. You would hate her persistent opposition throughout the drama and yet understand her protective heart for Akira. She is fiercely portrayed and has some of the toughest scenes in the series. Yoshida Yo gives another brilliant performance as Haraguchi. You are bound to like her character the best in the series and it is all thanks to this great actress. This also gives you a rare example of a fierce and extremely outspoken Japanese woman that is hard to come by in japanese society. Arimura Kazumi is a little shadowed due to other stellar performances but by no means is her acting lacking. She plays the naive and kind hearted teacher to the best and you empathize with her hardships and even with her initial confusion over Akira and her fiance. It was a pretty tight spot to pull without making her character hateful but she still manages to display the precise emotions. Machida Keita is also decent although his is the only character that you would find less attractive in spite of having the perfect high specs.
The real gem of this Drama is and will always be Okada Kenshi. I can pretty much write another full article on his acting. Enough has been said about no one believing this to be his debut role and having a huge potential and everything is 100% true yet I somewhere think it still doesn't do him enough justice. To begin with he clearly steals the show every single time he is onscreen. You will not get over his smile, the slightest twitch of his lips, the slightest change in his expressions and light in his eyes and the body language which is all so powerful that before even Hijiri falls in love with him , you will find yourself spiraling down that lane unknowingly. It is crazy how many emotions he can make you feel through his character. It seems that the role was written just for him and there is not one scene where I can pinpoint that he needed improvement. His looks already make you wonder if he is the handsomest man out there and to top that those acting chops are sure shot lottery to stardom.

Music: The background music has never been so apt and fitting. It played with my feelings big time. Some of the scenes while already memorably written and acted out , became absolutely ten fold phenomenal because of the background score. This background score will always remain on my playlist and still makes me go through a 100 emotions , all that I cherished while watching the drama. The Prologue by Uru will also remain etched in your memory.

Rewatch: Anytime! And every time it will make me feel sadness and happiness on a new level. For a love story it has amazing rewatch value for you will have new found appreciation for all the symbolism, dialogues, acting and cinematography. You are bound to discover something new every single time.

In gist, this was an extremely impacting and emotional drama that will grow on you with every passing moment until it becomes an obsession for you. It is bound to play with your feelings big time and yet inspire you throughout the journey that you live along with the characters. To each this will be a personal journey. The drama satiated all my drama expectations and made me reevaluate all the other dramas I had watched till date and mentally I deducted at least one star from all of them. In a world where kdramas rule the roast, this will make you hungry for Japanese dramas and leave very big shoes to fill in it's wake.

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Cringey Leads With No Chemistry and Rather Forgettable Plot

STORY:
The plot was basic and nothing new or unique. Long-time BL fans have seen this done (and done better) a thousand times before, and I felt like nothing new was added to the genre. The pacing was severely rushed in the first episode, as if the writers wanted to cram in as much from the book as they could (read: quantity over quality) but to its credit, the pacing and scene selection did improve as the series progressed. I understand that the writers only had four episodes to work with, but that makes it all the more important to carefully select which scenes from the novel to adapt, make sure the writing is super tight, and that every single word and interaction has meaning behind it so that not a second is wasted. I also felt like episode four could have been cut completely and we wouldn't have missed anything, since the climax and resolution occurred in episode three. The series overall gave me the impression that the writer (of either the novel, screenplay, or both) cherry-picked their favorite scenes and attributes from other, popular BLs and dumped them all into this story, leaving me feeling as though I watched a low-budget, fan-made homage.

CHARACTERS/ACTING:
This is where I had the biggest issues (and if you've read my comments, apologies for the repetition). Oh, where to start? The main leads had absolutely no chemistry together whatsoever, and that made their "love story" very uncomfortable to watch. Gun was gross, cringey, a creep who had no respect for Bar's boundaries at all. From the very first episode, we see Gun constantly force himself into Bar's life, touch Bar without consent, control who Bar can and can't speak to, and proclaim that this is all in the name of love. Meanwhile, Bar responds with looks of disgust, discomfort, and flat-out refusal, until halfway through and he suddenly does a 180 because how else can they end up together? The problem is that Bar never indicates he enjoyment of this attention from Gun; he doesn't flirt back, and he always looks sour when receiving it. Even when they became a couple, he still looked uncomfortable with Gun's "affection," leaving me confused as to why these two got together in the first place. I think that for a character like Gun to be portrayed successfully, the actor needs a certain charisma that Win unfortunately did not possess. I also needed Folk to deliver something in the emotions department that his character was into this courtship from Gun, but he failed to deliver there as well. The relationship left a very sour, toxic taste in my mouth.

As for the other actors and characters, nothing to write home about. They, like the plot, felt like stock characters that are used in just about every BL, and none really stood out as distinct and memorable.

OVERALL:
Some really enjoyed this. I clearly did not. I can handle worn tropes, low budgets, less than stellar acting, and subpar writing--to an extent. But I need something special to make up for those shortcomings, a spark that just wasn't present in this story. I can't say I'd recommend the series, mainly because I got more disgusted by Gun the more I watched, but it's only four episodes and a rather quick binge, so if you're interested, why not? I'm left hoping that the next two installments of this franchise won't leave me quite as disappointed.

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If My Gear and Your Gown had come out a couple of years ago, I would have given it a higher rating. But BLs have come a long way since then. Overall, this was a pleasant enough diversion from everyday activity, that's all. Here are my pros and cons:

PROS:

LIKEABLE ACTORS. I found some of the actors adorable: Win (Pai) played a loveable, shy nerd, Fiat (Pure) is sassy and cute; Neen (Beau) is so sweet, while AJ (Waan) is so cute you just want to pinch his cheeks. Back to Win: I liked the way he played introverted Pai, and his bitter weeping in the final episode was heartbreaking.

GOOD MESSAGES. The Pure/AIDS storyline seemed a bit sudden and severe, but it's never a bad idea to promote safe sex. The final episode dealt (a little bit) with homophobia and acceptance from parents. I liked Folk's line (paraphrasing): "Parents are usually fine with it unless it affects them personally." Sadly, that's often very true.

CONS:

DULL STORY. For me, it started out well enough, but then just lagged. I felt the story could have been told in half the amount of episodes. And the Pure/playboy thing was maxed out. At the end, when Pure apologized to Folk for cheating on him, he said "but I was thinking of you the whole time." Barf.

WEAK CHEMISTRY. While Itt is a handsome guy, has chemistry with Pai was practically non-existent, and Itt's character was just weak. I wasn't really sold and Pure/Folk, either, but I did like Waan/Beau (would have liked to see them with more screen time as a couple).

FRESHY CONTEST: As much as I liked Pai, there is no freaking way he could have won that contest! Everything he did was a complete failure. I get that Pai wins in the story but, at the very least, the scriptwriters could have given him some sort of believable talent. As it was, Pai's win was incomprehensible, unless every other competitor was in a coma.

Overall, I enjoyed it well enough. Nothing groundbreaking here, I give it a 6.5.

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