Reviews

The Yakuza was not mafiaing enough.

Instead of making the female lead less bland as the drama progressed, they decided to make the drama itself more bland to match her vibe. Why? No one knows.

If you want to watch it for mafia romance? Don’t bother. Bad guy turned good for female lead? Don’t bother. High stakes and thrills? Don’t bother. I feel like what the show initially presents and what it actually delivers is completely different.

The mafia plot, even though central to the story, somehow barely exists and feels like it lacks impact. It’s the “good mafia” if you know what I mean. I did enjoy how puppy-like Odagiri Ren was towards the female lead, but when faced with danger and trash people, I wish he was more… mafia like. Otherwise, why is the yakuza even part of the plot?

I enjoyed Sugawara Makoto as a character at first, because I expected well delivered character development. And no, I don’t need her to become a confident extrovert, but girl needs to grow a backbone and learn some assertive skills. At the end of the day, she always had to be saved and could not deal with anything alone.

While the chemistry between them was great, it was the best when they were not kissing. Yet again - my man you are almost 40, playing a character who is probably in his mid 30’ - what is that fish kiss? What is this k-bl from the early 2010s? He is supposed to be madly in love with her, so why does it feel like they don’t really want to kiss each other?

Performances were decent. I think it’s hard for me to judge since for me the characters were weirdly written - a bit too juvenile for the age and circumstances they were in.

At the end of the day, the Yakuza aspect ruined the experience for me, because I kept expecting something else, something more. If it was just an office show with forced co-habitation, I’d probably rate it higher. Adjust your expectations and it might actually be a decent watch.

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fantastic chemistry (need a spin off)

Overall: stellar chemistry, but too much plot for a short run time. This is based on the web novel "Ball Boy Tactics" by Ji Seung Hyeon which I have partially read but I tried to review the series based on its own merits. 8 episodes about 27 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala (not available in U.S, Canada, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, U.K., Spain, Portugal, Japan, Korea) https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/5418/ball-boy-tactics-2025-e01 ; iQIYI (assuming for the other countries) https://www.iq.com/play/o48rhx5yhw and Heavenly (South Korea).

Content Warning: slap, past abuse

What I Liked
- opposite personalities (I'm normally not a fan of timid characters but I think his personality made sense based on his past and there were a few changes)
- chemistry/tension
- that a character recognized his feelings fairly quickly and was forthright about it (also stated his sexual orientation to his friends)
- the friends (supportive, funny)
- ongoing intimacy (might get a number of hugs award), episode 8 was very well done
- visuals
- production value

Room For Improvement
- not generally a fan of voice overs although it didn't bother me as much as it normally does
- the plot zoomed by too fast, many things took place off screen, felt choppy in places, 2 weeks supposedly passed but it felt like a couple of days
- seemed to be not drunk then the morning after said he didn't remember the night before (which he would have needed to be extremely drunk) and a character said he didn't take advantage but there was heavy kissing...
- a potential side couple had an open ending, would love to see a spin off with them
- (neutral) didn't really have time for episode 7 stuff and I generally hate this trope but it was much more realistic (better reasons for it) as well as the time frame felt like it could happen in the real world vs 10 years later nonsense

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This is what I call a perfect ending...

You might think I'm overrating this because I'm still in the TharnType fever but tbh that's not the reason it gets such a high rating. I thought about it and decided it did deserve the 10 points. Let me tell you why though...

Story: The story of this "special episode" keeps true to the original series, recaps some of our favorites from before and gives us new stuff to fawn over. They managed to include the perfect amount of humor and cheesiness, mixed with emotional turmoil and so much romance, you will have hearts in your eyes. The comedy scenes are full of humor and clearly separated from the serious stuff and the serious and heavy scenes are made even more exciting through high production. The story in itself gives us a new chapter of Tharn and Type we didn't really explore in the series: Type's family. And it is definitely worth delving into.

Acting: The acting, with around 2% of exceptions, is great and the characters did not lose any of their charm from the series. The chemistry is still going strong, maybe even stronger since this one is not so much about Tharn and Type learning to care for each other but learning how there love fits in with the world around them.

Production/Music: Every show out there, that messed this up, please go watch this. It is perfect. Perfect volume, perfect timing. There were two scenes that were done so powerfully, I won't forget them anytime soon, I swear.

Overall: A definite re-watch and a great milestone in BL production. It was done amazingly and fits together perfectly, that's why this deserves such a high praise. Beware though, as it will give you serious wishes for a second season and hopefully we will get it!

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Grand plot of a long format made to work amazingly in short format, we stan

This drama deserves a far higher rating. I was soooooo excited to watch this drama. I saw a snippet on Insta and noticed that it is both FL and ML from Seal of Love which I really liked (and honestly, this drama could be considered as a continuation to Seal of Love imho). Richard Li and Ming Jia Jia are such an amazing couple cast, I hope they'll make it to bigger/more popular dramas. They look amazing on camera and have chemistry. I haven't watched many short format dramas yet (this is the third one so far). It is. The BEST. So far. I don't really have anything to complain about, I wasn't even mad about the ending. The character of Yu Wen Yuan is utterly reckless, despicable, rotten and toxic at first (we learned later where did everything come from, but still, that isn't the way to deal with your emotions), he softened up a lot towards the end. Richard Li is just so lovable and such an amazing actor even when he is casted as an pretend a-hole character. Su Yan is just trying to balance both men on each side according to her abilities, she doesn't want to go against her values but also tries to keep the decorum for the sake of her sister's wish. Yu Wen Yingren seems harmless at first, but don't let his eerie calm face fool you. The madness, the drunkenness of power, intrigues, the thrill, everything what usual long format dramas drag on for ages is condensed into this short format. Beautiful costumes and decorations, I appreciated that there was little to no CGI. I'm not a ost music type of fan, but I think the ost could've been a little bit better. Idk the budget for short format dramas, but as far as this genre goes, this drama worked magnificently for me.

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A BL where the BL is overshadowed by, you know, an actual story

Manner of Death is presently something of a unicorn: it’s a BL drama where the BL aspects are incidental to a primary story rather than driving the plot themselves. Hopefully, that’s a sign that same-sex relationships are shedding the novelty factor that called the genre into existence in the first place. In the future, perhaps Asian dramas can incorporate same-sex relationships into other storylines just as in real life the people engaging in same-sex relationships have other things going on. Things like jobs and crazy family dynamics, for example. In this case, Manner of Death incorporates those rather standard tropes from non-BL (melo)dramatic television premises into a murder mystery detective story that grows in complexity as the series proceeds. Oh, to be sure, the two main characters will fall for one another along the way--after all, it is still a BL! It's just that finding the culprit motivates these characters more than finding a boyfriend. Anchoring both aspects of the tale the viewer will be pleased to see the legendary BL duo MaxTul, here in their fourth series pairing as a couple.

As anyone conversant with the history of (US) television has already discerned, the title "Manner of Death" positions this series within a particular tradition of TV crime-solving: the medical examiner as detective. Such series revolve around determined forensic pathologists who get drawn into tracking down the killers of murder victims for whom they performed autopsies. Like his TV predecessors from Quincy (1970s), Crossing Jordan (1990s), and Bones (2000s), Dr. Bunnakit (Tul Pakorn Thanasrivanitchai) will occasionally go up against unhelpful relatives of the victim, police officers who refuse to believe murders took place, and overly obvious initial suspects who turn out instead to be a good guy. Or, because we are in BL world, he turns out to be a good guy to go on dates with. In what surely must qualify as a fresh take on the enemies-to-lovers trope, the most obvious suspect for the murder in Episode 1 is not only dashingly handsome but also manifests a surprising interest in the good doctor. Soon Dr. Bun and Tan (Max Nattapol Diloknawarit) agree to become partners—and that partnership won't end with crime-solving.

Since the core story is a whodunnit, I will forego the usual plot synopsis. Suffice it to say that our two heroes face increasingly dangerous scenarios as they persist in trying to solve a crime that powerful figures in this rural town want to disappear without a full investigation. Towards the end this story becomes overly complicated, macabre, and dark. But don’t let that detract from the fun. Manner of Death offers two-fold pleasures for diligent viewers. First, trying to figure out the mystery. Who is behind the escalating series of crimes (side characters in this series have a limited life expectancy!) and why are they happening? Second, the chance to spectate as one of the more hallowed couplings in the BL realm dig into new roles and fall in love with each other all over again. Er, I mean their characters fall in love with each other. Because I, like ,totally, understand Max and Tul are just actors. And that just because they are convincing and delightful as a couple it doesn't mean they themselves are a couple. Dammit.

Enjoy this pairing because all signs are that one or both of the actors will move on from acting to pursue interests outside the industry. To the detriment of BL storytelling, because Max and Tul have an ease with one another that elevates the productions they perform in. Their chemistry as scene partners is undeniable. That alone makes Manner of Death worthy of sampling.

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Another series ruined by Netflix's greed

The season 2 finale was conclusive and satisfying. It tied everything together perfectly imo but of course Netflix had to bring it back for the cash grab. And it's still not enough as they're trying to stretch this even further into season 4... oh lord. And let me preface this by saying, I love this series, Alice In Borderland (Seasons 1-2) is one of my favorite drama's of all time. However Season 3 was a disappointment as the plot felt forced and so many things did not make sense to me.

Let's start with the plot. The premise for this whole season is Arisu must return to the Borderlands to save Usagi, who was lured there by Banda ("Joker"). And Banda's reason for this was that he was lonely? He said he missed having players who were good at games so he wanted Arisu to become a citizen. But citizens don't even play the games so...? Anyway, one of the new characters Ryuji (professor who has this weird kink for death) is used as a tool to get Usagi back to the Borderlands. I did not understand their relationship at all lol. They said Usagi wanted to go back to the Borderland because she misses her dad? But her dad was dead a long time ago and wouldn't be there. Ryuji also has this weird obsession with Usagi, I couldn't tell if it was romantic or like it reminded him of his dead student he got killed (though I don't really see the correlation). On the other hand Usagi also seemed to keep protecting him even though he literally kidnapped and drugged her. Anyway that whole dynamic was just weird. Usagi in season 1 and 2 is a loyal and badass, but in this season she just becomes selfish and her sudden extreme depression didn't make sense to me. Like it didn't bother her for the past five years but now suddenly she has to take some extreme measures to deal with it. I hated this relationship between Usagi and Ryuji. Ann returns which was cool but her role was kinda lame and didn't make sense. Some of the other new characters were well written and interesting to me like Tetsu, but some were just horrible and not really fleshed out. The games are decent I suppose but not as emotional or intense as last time, since we didn't have two seasons to develop understanding and connection with the characters.

I apologize this ended up being more of a rant than a review.

TLDR: Poorly written plot that did not make sense, some games were fun and interesting, new characters were hit or miss, ruined Usagi's character. Alice In Borderland is a top 5 drama for me but only because I will pretend this season doesn't exist. Wasn't as bad as Squid Game season 3 though :D

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most anticipated but most disappointing

I was excited to see that Gemini and Fourth were getting another project together, and ultimately knew it was inevitable. With the popularity of the pair from their recent (and best so far..) project which was My School President I was excited to see another imaginative and original drama from the pair. Unfortunately for me the originality wasn't coming because this drama is a remake of Keita Hatsukoi, and it is again.. unfortunately not anywhere near as good. What comes in the end is an adaptation I can neither recommend as a stand-alone drama, or to any fans of the original. This drama is just worse in every single way possible.. let me explain

I am not a hater of the fact it is a remake. I know remakes can be done well and have been before, I didn't expect for this to be better or worse, the least I expected was some effort.. and I didn't even get that. The acting is done well enough from the new faces I see, Gemini and Fourth I can't help but see that they are just acting out what was originally done.. and the depth behind their performances aren't there because of a simple reason. The direction and production shot them in the foot, and it isn't any of the acting at fault, it is the writing, the editing, directing, and everything but them. So the editing is extremely cheap and it tells me that whoever is in charge of this project simply didn't understand or care for the source. This drama was just a way to make a quick dollar, that is what it all tells me. They use shammy music and sound effects in ways that aren't effective and just a shame to be there in the first place.

With Fourth in particular. He is a fun person and is an amazing actor, and I know that from his leading role in My School President. The difference there is that he had room to act, instead here they shove sound effects to try and get an emotion of humor out of a scene. The original source material is a manga, and I can see this being done with animation, live action is completely different. The actor can stand alone by himself and I don't know.. act! Fourth is more than capable of holding a viewers attention in the humorous scenes, but instead they drag it out to its limit by stretching the camera and adding cheap sound effects which are what I said. They are cheap ways for the audience to go.. oh this is funny! It isn't, to me it is insulting. I know Thai dramas tend to do this, but they should've reeled it back. My School President was a fun show but also had its mellow moments, it was so well received and had heart because of the directing and care in every scene. In this drama there isn't any attention to detail other than call backs to any other source material. There is a whole lot of extra time in this drama, but it is wasted for cheap and phony reasons. This drama uses the leads and the source material as a way to market and doesn't do anything new by itself, it drowns the original concept to an abyss and I can't see it coming back from it.

Crucial parts that may seems small are taken out, with the Cinderella episode in particular being the worst and the point I realized this show just sucks. I really didn't want it to either. So Atom (who is played by Fourth) isn't even Cinderella, and that is fine by itself, but when you really think about it where is the logic? Originally he volunteered to do it, so the only reason I see that they didn't is because either Fourth didn't want to cross-dress (which is fine) or because this drama wanted to toss the coin in the pot of things they are progressing. That did the opposite, with Atom not being Cinderella it messes the whole identity of the stage itself as well as Atom's character. He does thing in spontaneous behavior, because it is just who he is. He is someone that thinks before he acts, and that is how it is in the original and not here. With Atom having time to think about it, get rejected, and then to do it again takes away a bit of that charm from him, and ultimately strips the dynamic between him and Kongthap (Ida). Ida is a guy who thinks carefully, and even too carefully. He doesn't even understand the concept of liking someone and it doesn't make much sense to him just based off a feeling alone, and Atom (Aoki) is the opposite. Aoki is the person who does things all of his feelings and without feeling, but just is a genuine person. So he subbed in for Cinderella not just because he liked her, but because it was just in his nature. His whole class had no problem and here? Well they refused until he had to and he did it by himself? He had no reinforcement and it made his behavior seem odd? Like Atom isn't the type of guy to do things off of a one moment decision, but they find it weird? So it was disingenuous even if they wanted to pull a homosexual relationship in the mix.

So the episode there became just the characters singing instead of developing their individual characters they sung songs for the play... If you want GemFouth to sing write another drama that has it make sense.. here it made no sense? It was another skip for me..

They screw up the main parts of the characters so badly and they seem a shell of themselves. Atom and Kongthap alike are stale and uninteresting. The ending of episode one wasn't nearly as impactful from the editing and because of the direction towards the portrayals. Kongthap is someone who in the end is also an extremely good person, and very thoughtful. Atom ended up actually liking him but not in any way that was serious or understandable, it was actually pretty confusing. I keep watching and hoping they just go to the source because that did nothing wrong, and if they change things then can they add? There is more than enough time to make this drama good or watchable, this drama just makes me think that I should just go back to watching the original. I really should, GMM shame on you. Shame on you for just shoving this out into the open for the money, where is the heart? Where is the passion? The comedic timing alone is enough to turn someone away from this, this isn't funny at all, not even in a so bad its good.

Taking away the little details.. especially the garbage scene.. oh boy.. that is just not needed. Taking those humor bits away show to me that whoever is in charge really doesn't understand the source material at all. It is just fan service and bad fanservie and is extremely dissapointing. Watch My School President again if you like Gem and Fourth, don't kid yourself into thinking this is good.

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unfortunately pretty much a failure

I went in this with not much expectation with that kind of plot and it ended being worst than expected.

So, let starts with some positive points before my rant :
- I actually like a lot the costumes and styling
- acting was okay
- music was okay
- not really good, but still a happy ending
- the friendship between the ladies and the guys
- side couple : this romance was pretty good, I liked the flow of it, but not enough scenes in my opinion. they sometimes disappeared for episodes and they were some of the only interesting parts. How it started as arranged marriage, but affection, trust and love gradually came
- I like ML’s mom relationship with him and FL

so now the rant :
- SML and « Love triangle » : what a pain to watch and it lasted for more than 30 eps. SML was the literal third wheel and the leech that you can’t get ride off. he was the kind guy, but why did he had so many screentime and always appearing. At time, I was like finally a scene with the leads, but didn’t last long before he appeared. Don’t get the people who wanted FL to end up with him, she never liked him, she rejected him and he still wanted to try ? and he wasn’t minding his business. Him confronting ML and that like deal they made, so weird. ML accepting that was weird too. But no wonder some liked him better, he had a lot of screentime with FL and they made so little importance on the leads for a while. I was happy when he said to his aunt that it was a misunderstanding (the edict for marriage) and that he wanted to annul it, but the next scene of him talking to FL, after she said it wasn’t possible with ML, he started talking about her giving him a chance, etc… (I honestly fast-forwarded, don’t know what happened after). Can’t believe this guy🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️. even if ML didn’t existed, she wouldn’t like you. when she had no memories, she wasn’t attracted to him or feeling, it was only friendship. he didn’t had much to the story at all, his only purpose was what, helping FL ? Something he did to help could have been done by someone else, like saving ML in prison, in the end the dad acted.
- The amnesia lasted way too long, more than 30 eps. And after that, the leads broke up and it was just annoying. I can understand a bit FL, but she was still annoying. I thought after knowing she wasn’t his sister the story would progress more, but not really
- way too long, this didn’t need to be 40 eps. Boring and not interesting for most of the drama. Feel like nothing was happening, filler and boring side plot to the detriment of the relationship between the leads that wasn’t well written and not enough scenes or whatever. They were playing brother and sister for too long and not enough build up for a good romance, just like The Rise of Ning in which the romance was disappointing. Should have cut out that whole love triangle with ML’s mom or the third couple who in the end gave nothing interesting. It was only kinda weird that whole thing with his mother, they even edited out their kissing scene. and some side plot along the way and SML. Feel like maybe not enough focus on the case of ML's mentor or FL's family massacrer in general
- feel like they could have had good chemistry, but it couldn’t shine brightly. Kissing scenes were okay at best. they got back together end of ep 37. so they were together for max 5 eps ? I skipped some parts, don’t remember but dating era was short lived before the breakup. they had some few scenes that succeeded at making me smiles and that weren’t too bad. Another drama marked as romance that has almost no romance
- the last few eps with the revenge, the prince trying to take the throne, etc… were nothing exciting
- Poor choices from the director. I read scenes between the leads were cut and even the side couple. Just like in the last episode. FL « the bride » is here to snatch ML, but they edited it out??? ML is talking to that guy and next is them in the bridal chamber after the wedding that was never shown. What a big disappointment. And then, they talk and she’s like someone is missing, your sister. That was unnecessary dialogue

the leads character were okay to me. Never really disliked the ML like some comments I saw.

this drama is one of the worst drama I watched this year. This is not a drama to binge watch, watching it while it was airing everyday and watching at 2x made it more watchable

anyway, don’t watch this if you are a romance lover and you plan to watch this for the romance

the thriller part and revenge wasn’t much better

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A Queer Story Like No Other

This was an incredibly refreshing queer story. It told a brand new story in a unique but befitting way that, despite the slow pace, kept the show in my head and sent me re-watching episodes every week while it was airing. It didn't rely on dialogue to tell us everything that we needed to know, and it didn't need to. And the soundtrack, cinematography, and symbolism throughout makes it truly worth every re-watch.

There were a few scenes that felt slightly over-acted - but they were in the minority. And I still feel like some plot points were breezed over in order to make a more, and unnecessarily, complex plot/climax. But overall, this is a show that I will definitely be going back to time and time again. And I look forward to the more diverse stories that this drama will help encourage.

*Please see my comment below for a note to all non-Mandarin speakers for once you get to a certain plot revelation and start to angry at the subtitles.

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Error! Error! Error!

I really like this drama cause the lead actor act well and both of them have a great chemistry. Actually Semantic error is one of my fav manhwa so my expectation is so high BUT THIS DRAMA SLAP ME HARD! ITS REALLY GREAT and y'all have to watch and support this masterpiece.
Some part its different from manhwa story (as long as i remember) but thats not much i guess. The soundtrack is good and match with the plot ❤️🤯
I dunno why but for me, this drama have a potential if the production wanna make a season two! Cause i'll wait if the really make that!!!

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FEEL GOOD DRAMA AND ALSO CUTE!!!

This drama is so cute bot visuals and the storyline....This KBL has come after a long time and the wait is literally worth it.....Korean BLs are having a moment this year as they keep releasing one hit show after another. If you are done with Eighth Sense, Semantic Error and other KBL's and are looking for the next show, A Breeze of Love is here to watch!

For those who don't know yet A Breeze of Love is adapted from the “Weather Forecast Love” webtoon. The show tells the story of Ban Dong-wook, who has insomnia. His condition gets worse, especially on bad weather days. On one of these bad days, he coincidentally meets Lee Do-hyun, who becomes his haven. Soon, Do-hyun develops feelings for Dong-wook.

Unfortunately, his confession goes awry, and misunderstanding festers between the two. Fast forward to five years later, the two meet on campus and try to fix their broken ties..........


[THIS PART MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS]

I Really liked the first episodes. The close-ups, the camera work, the lighting, are all peak K-romance. The boys are gorgeous and they can act - we already have a good idea of their characters and the chemistry can be felt the moment they face each other.....also props to the girl who help them meet much faster 🤭
this one's cute haha especially Dohyun broooo he such a cutieeee so as Dongwook......also I was expecting that this one would be like " A Shoulder to cry on" (having no kissing scenes) but your bro is shocked when I saw that there is!!!!! I immediately screamed like omg that's such a memorable scene 🤭 the atmosphere, the feeling, the- AHHHH hahahah and also I think the title change for this one (well) it fits with the drama....no stress or whatsoever hahaha so if you are looking for a 'feelgood' drama that also has an aesthetically pleasing cinematography I'll recommend this to You! 💯🤍

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I'm Happy and Merry That it Ended Quickly

The wedding singing sequence in the first episode captured me. (Side note - the decoration on that venue was absolutely fantastic), I thought it was a strong promising start. Unfortunately things didnt get better after that.

What i dont understand is if this series is meant for streaming or web, why cant they just add few more minutes per episodes. Aside from the obvious intention of patching the episodes together to transform it into a feature length movie - Is there a standard format that requires them to squeeze the playtime like this?

I love short series - when done right. The problem is, Korea has bombarded us with quite a few luckluster short series that are not only under developed but are totally forgetable and that is exactly what we have here. There is nothing in the series that made me want to care about the main leads. Characters keep making questionable choices. There wasnt enough to tell us their backstory, and they didnt develop their love story in a way for me to care about them.

The only thing i liked is the music bcause these two leads can really SING. Jae Hyun's finale song is heartmelting.

The sad truth is Im just glad it ended quickly and i can just put it behind me and forget about it. If these are the caliber of series that GagaOOlala can offer, i think they will have a hard time capturing subscribers.

Rewatcheability - 4 just because Sung Tae is so cute
Story - 5. What story?
Songs - 9
Overall its a 6.5 and thats me being generous. Watch only when youre stuck in a traffic somewhere.

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Short and Sweet Cliché

Honestly Once Upon A Small Town is like a breath of fresh breeze. The last couple of weeks, the dramas that I have been watched/watching are quite heavy and dark and this is the perfect drama to take a moment from those dramas and relax.

It's not a long story which is one of the main reasons I started the drama (Only 12 episodes and each episode is around 35 mins). The story is quite simple with the typical Seoul person trying to adapt to the countryside. (Reminds you of Hometown Cha Cha Cha)

Although I found the SML to be bit too passive aggressive. And at the very beginning I was a bit taken back by the FL as she didn't really seem to do her job as a police officer. In the end I just put aside all logic and just relaxed watched the drama as the other dramas which I am currently watching is making me go through a rollercoaster of emotions. Tbh there are many things that seems not so logical and sometimes a bit cringe but still it's enjoyable. Last two episodes seem to be a bit rushed since they had to put everything in two episodes.

Overall Once Upon A Small Town is a sweet and endearing drama that will make you relax and smile throughout its episodes. Perfect drama to take break from the current heavy and dark kdramas.

Ps. there is ALOT of animals as an animal lover I was very very happy.

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WARNING: This review does NOT actually contain spoilers, however, if you truly want to watch this show, you shouldn't read this because I took my kid-gloves off while writing it.

So here's my dilemma ...

Usually I live by the standard "If you don't have anything nice to say, it's better to just shut up," but in this case not saying anything will drive me crazy. Do you know the feeling when you look forward to something only to be deeply disappointed by it? Sadly that's exactly what happened for me with this show. However, trying to live up to my own moral code, I do have one nice thing to say about this show though, and in good rhetorical fashion I will put it at the end of my review, where the most persuasive point should be, so please bear with me ...

First of all, I think the actors did a decent job at trying to bring the characters to life, however, their efforts were butchered by the senseless writing most of the time. Characters are established as one thing only to react and behave completely opposite to what you would expect – not in a good "wow,-that's-a-cool-twist!"-way but in a "WTF-just-happened?!"-way.

What's also strange is that most of the main characters are spoiled rotten but are still praised as mature and kind by everyone else. Even their parents rarely say anything about their horrible behaviour which is just unrealistic (and/or bad parenting). For instance, the female lead is portrayed as this mature but still innocent little angel (or as I like to call it "The only kind of Asian heroine"), but some of the things she says to her hard-working father are just downright disrespectful ... and he NEVER reprimands her! It's so bad that I honestly can't tell if he's the best dad ever or just bad at educating his daughter.

Before this gets completely out of hand and turns into a ranting of epic proportions, here are my top 3 reasons why I do NOT recommend this show:
3. The borderline unprofessional editing. Seriously, it's so bad that it actually obstructs the plot and messes up the timeline.
2. Speaking of timeline: There are some major plot holes in this thing. Just think about how the two lead characters supposedly met each other the very first time ... (WARNING: The gaping plot hole you will find might drive you mad.)
and last but sadly not least ...
1. The plot is not driven by the characters but the other way around. This is a recipe for disaster. It makes everything (worst of all the drama and dialogues) terribly forced and artificial, leaving the audience wonder most of the time why certain dramatic moments are happening in the first place, when they could have been so easily dissolved. Which they eventually are ... in the most anticlimactic way possible.

Okay ... I promised to say something nice, so here we go:

I like the title song.

Although the character that's supposed to have written the song in the show is portrayed by an obviously tone-deaf actor who should have been told to never sing in a public setting.

But still, yeah, I like the title song.

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