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Time waste
Very slow drama ,each episodes were boring . Story had no spark and charm . Involvement of too much characters made the drama uninteresting . Many times I thought to drop the drama but only to know that both the person was same so helplessly I had watched till end . No need to stretched the story too much . Many scenes were unnecessary. Starting song and ending song was good. From my side I big no to drama . Very boring . Ending story disappointed a lot. No doubt theme pdf the story was not bad but it was not executed properly.Was this review helpful to you?
If i have to choose Top 3 Dramas in 2020, TKEM will be on my top list, of course.
If i have to choose Top 3 Dramas in 2020, TKEM will be on my top list, of course. I always adore Kim Eunsook writernim and her works. The idea of the plot is brilliant, i can guarantee that she totally did a great research before makin this drama. The casts selection is also good, i cant imagine another male actor taking this role as Lee Gon instead of Lee Minho (it applies to other roles too). It looks like they were born for those roles.Well, for some people, the plot might be confusing. But if youre smart enough, i think it wont be a problem, you'll like it! Kim Eunsook wrapped this drama so neatly. She gives us the clear and clean closure (+ beautiful ending for everyone). Ah, and for some people the PPL (product placement for ads) are a bit annoying, but it's not a big deal for me since it doesnt affect the plot of the story. Overall, i really love this drama no matter what!! Great job, Kim Eunsook writernim!
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Reality
I'm a 90's kid that could relate very well with the series. It really showed how it was back then but this is the down side of it. It can't be relatable to kids of the current generation (as advances with technologies have progressed, which means a teen's attention can be occupied by cellphones instead of nothing like back then). Still, this is gold when it comes to showing how vices could greatly affect your life in a negative way.The series covered sensitive topics that still exists in this generation and will continue to exist in the future. The only things that weren't shown were issues of teenage preganancy and STDs (I think), so basically it's everything negative.
Home. It should be the very place that one could find their own place and comfort. But what if you can't find your place within nor can you find that comfort? This series placed a heavy emphasis on the importance on healthy family relationships, which was the sole reason why each of the main characters went astray. From handling that one problem in the wrong way, everything went downhill.
What's great about this series is that it didn't sugarcoat things. Yes, depression plus drugs can lead to suicide. Yes, you can overdose. Yes, it isn't easy to get out of the addiction once you're deep into it. Yes, parents can be wrong at times. Yes, you can get imprisoned or worst, killed when you get involved in dealing. Yes, being an lgbt+ isn't easily accepted even by your own family. Yes, bullying exists. Yes, it starts with being curious of the small things and yes, it escalates to big things.
I can't find any complaint on the actors with their portrayal of their characters. They delivered and they delivered really well. The soundtrack fits the 90's thing but it wasn't my 90's cup of tea.
I highly recommend but again, this series isn't the doki-doki fluff nor doki-doki smut. It's the serious stuff and underaged viewers should be accompanied by adults. Personally, I wouldn't prohibit because this is a great learning material. Even though I didn't shed a tear, this is actually a heatbreaking series that isn't for the light hearted ones.
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Well, this is one of my favourite Japanese dramas - it has that little bit of everything that makes a drama fantastic - a good storyline, brilliant acting, those handsome boys to gawk at, and that tiny bit of romance doesn't go unnoticed.
I was hooked from the very start, as this drama has a clever little way of hiding important things, so you need to keep on watching to discover the true meaning behind things. There are little twists and turns throughout the plot, some surprising, some devastating.
The plot is so new and interesting, something not usually found in dramas - clones. But not just clones - clones that have to kill one another in order to survive. But it's not some sort of crazy killing spree, there's so much more behind things than just that, trust me.
You will definitely not regret watching this drama, I hope you enjoy it!
Oh, and another little thing I liked is the fact that the episodes are only around 20 minutes long, which was great for me, because they don't drag and are straight to the point, and I love being able to sit down and know I have time to watch 3 episodes instead of just the one.
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Beautiful Star Crossed Love Story
Guys, this show absolutely, completely, and totally wrecked me. WRECKED ME. It is sure to satisfy the most die hard romantic with dynamic leads, stunning cinematography, and angsty romance. Let me count all the ways this show had me falling in love.❤ I wasn’t 100% invested in the romance between charming Lee Gon and pragmatic Jeong Tae Eul initially. Their chemistry increased the more time they spent together, each of their moments one more step toward building an epic romance. I felt their ending fit with the overall narrative of the story.
❤ I loved Lee Gon so much. He was smart, charming, and incredibly nerdy. It never felt like he looked down on anyone despite him being pretty much the smartest person in the room.
❤ The visuals and cinematography are breathtaking. The production set a romantic and intriguing tone with beautiful twinkling lights, seductive fog, an endlessly array of cozy sweaters. Like, seriously, I just need the catalog they used to buy all those sweaters. The CGI wasn’t always great, but it was probably the best I’ve seen in a long time.
❤ The supporting cast gave me all the feels. I could not be happier with the secondary characters in this series, particularly Kang Shin Jae and Jo Yeong. Honestly, Jo Yeon was MVP for this series. While all of the actors did some sort of double duty as characters existing in multiple universes, Woo Do-hwan’s performance was phenomenal no matter his character.
❤ I couldn’t resist the story. Typically, I hate time travel and parallel universe stories. Trying to keep track of all the threads over multiple universes and time lines can be a bit exhausting. I found this story to be utterly fascinating as it threaded together elements of mystery, science fiction, and romance.
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Crazy and romantic!
I was skeptical at first to start this drama, due its rating and some negative comments about the acting and the overall story.Despite everything, this drama includes a lot of genres ; from romance and thriller, to mystery and dark comedy.
The writers did a good job turning a cliche topic to something more. KJW shines in this drama and even the villains did a wonderful job depicting their respective roles. Not a fan of krystal, but she did a decent job.
The story might seem bland in the first 4 episodes, but as the drama progresses, the characters and events develop into something least expected by the audience. Literally, not only would you not get bored, but also you would crave for more!
The scenery, production, writing and acting are all exceptionally proficient.
The only downside in my opinion is the soundtrack collection. The songs just repeat and are limited to a few songs.
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I really liked how different this drama is. It's nothing like I expected and the ending was surprising, I changed my viewpoint every episode and didn't even know how I wanted it to end.
Of course it gets a 10 for the music. The ABBA songs fit perfectly on the one side and on the other side they seemed totally off. It's something you will definitely remember, though and I loved it.
This is a really emotional drama without much action, but lots and lots of love.
Let yourself be surprised and watch it, it's worth a try. :)
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Oh dear...*facepalm*
ENDING REVIEW after completing the season = There is just no way this could get a second season it really is too much of a colossal mess, those wasted hours of my life gone. So many missed opportunities with the plot and characters that I actually want to slap the director, editor and writers. Sometimes I wondered if it was just poorly subtitled or the script was just THAT bad and most of the time I felt insulted that they treated the audience like we were stupid. I honestly don't know what they were thinking. It will be the king of the Golden Raspberries (worst) of BL Thai series. A lesson on what NOT to do, to force every up and coming film maker to watch while tied to a chair would be a good use of its rewatch value. I know I'm being mean but I'm sorry it deserves it.ORIGINAL REVIEW after watching the first 7 eps = I don't completely hate it as I'm still foolish enough to continue watching it. The very few things it does have going for it, is a strong soundtrack and the chemistry/acting of the two male lead actors Pakoo Athiwat as Nut and Tawan Kanachot Worachottrakul as Satha. Its not a particularly original story, another Thai school set melodrama because there aren't a hundred of those. Two guys meet in college and of course they clash at first. In this case the popular senior (Satha) is actually younger then the freshman (Nut). I'm guessing they will fall in love but I'm thinking Satha who has never had feelings for a guy before is going to turn his back on Nut, before 'seeing the light'. There is also an Ex boyfriend of Nut's who of course will probably be the catalyst that brings the two leads back together to wrap up the ending in a nice pretty bow. There are of course a side couple in Nut's two male friends who I'm guessing from the trailer will end up together, OMG I couldn't care less they are that annoying. I find myself cringing quite often through each episode between the horrible dialogue and the over use of cliches that make me want to facepalm so often it may leave actual bruises by the time I reach the end of the series. The worst is the absolute ridiculousness of having the side stories into the lives of the teachers who act more childish then the actual students, the editor definitely should have cut them out, I Fast Forward through this mind-numbing dullness because I feel embarrassed for these actors. I'm hanging in there but I don't have much hope for improvement. All I can say is if you are desperate for BL you will watch this for the 2 lead actors and hopefully skim through the rest. You have been warned.
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In the first few [dozen] episodes it's all sunshine and rainbows, smiles and butterflies... and then as the story moves on there's less and less happiness until finally it's just doom and gloom. If you do make it to the end you'll be truly depressed.
As a viewer I feel cheated. I decided to watch this drama because it seemed to promise a fairy tale ending. The first few episodes were so happy and uplifting that I really wanted to see these characters conquer all and be happy. Then the story went to hell... they kept adding ridiculous plot twists and being overly dramatic. Everyone became miserable... or sick... or dead...
I really wonder what was the point of the whole thing. What were the writers aiming for? How could they ruin the story so badly?
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The acting is superb. I believed everyone, and how they reacted to the situations where so real. Sometimes in movie you'll think 'Hell no, nobody would respond like that'. Well in this movie they will show you how you really would respond in such situation.
You are going to feel with the characters. You will sometimes smile (tiny funny parts in the movie, but they are really acceptable) and in others you will hold in your breath.
The story is sad, really, really sad because this is a movie based on a real event. And when you didn't know about this (me from the EU) you'll get interested in the movie and will do some investigations, at least I did.
But in the movie, I'd loved some more background information, maybe that would have made the movie better.
Anyway this is a really good movie, you won't regret watching this!
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Unlike the first season QOM 2 really leaned into the over-the-top comedy and all of the cases felt very disjointed. It was weird. Almost like from season 1 to season 2 there were different directors and production teams. There wasn't though, I checked. That seamless blend just wasn't there. Instead it felt more like the series was trying to tell everyone's story in a way that highlighted the individuals away from the rest of the cast rather than having a true feel of an ensemble cast which I loved from season 1. I mean, it's a mystery/police drama: it's all about the ensemble!
Not to mention the sudden appearance of Detective Ha's brother who was never mentioned in season 1, Profiler Woo seemed to become even more robotic in season 2, where he was actually a relatable character by the end of season 1 with a budding bromance between him and Detective Ha, and the most anticipated plot revolving around Hyun Soo was confusing and never really explained in any way to make her story relevant.
I know this might all sound critical but there were some positives: the comedy was good and the individual performances were stellar. If nothing else, anytime the medical examiner, Hwang Jae Min was in a scene I was laughing my head off.
The ending felt very much like they are expecting a season 3, which I'm against if season 2 is any indication. There were so many open ended questions left but I honestly don't care. I'll admit that I only finished the drama because I was hoping against hope that it would all come together in the end, but it never did. So all of the big reveals and whatever closure there was just didn't feel as gratifing as the 1st season. Too bad. for all intents and purposes everything was there, but it was put together in the wrong way.
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You shouldn't miss this.
If I have to describe this drama in one sentence then it would be 'I laughed, I laughed a lot, I laughed a loot and I'm still laughing'It was one the most hilarious dramas I have ever seen, there wasn't even one moment that I felt it's boring. It was brilliant, I have was laughing from the first ep to the last, it was perfect, I wish it would have been more longer. The acting was great, execution, timing was perfect, loved the way of using music and sound effect it is one the main feature of this web drama, it's only 1 hour and 36 minutes so definitely it's worth watching. I f you like comedy then you'll love it. Ahh when they started to sing together it was hilarious I never laughed this much...
Overall it was great, I enjoyed a lot and trust me there's nothing here that you won't like it, it's very light drama that will ease your mind so don't think too much just enjoy this ride..:))
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Falling Into Your Smile falls flat, lacking depth in both storyline and characterisation
Sigh. This has been a sadly disappointing and underwhelming journey. I’ve been waiting almost a year and a half for this drama to come out, thrilled to see Xu Kai in a modern drama (just because he slayed Arsenal Military Academy). But unfortunately, despite all the hype, I was left completely underwhelmed and frustrated throughout Falling into your Smile, and alas it just fell flat on its face. I know this drama received rave reviews, and I myself tried my best to view it as objectively as I could, but be forewarned, unpopular opinions ahead.PROBLEMS
--The Storyline Itself--
I think the major turn off for this drama was its inseverable relationship with the internet/social media and how the toxicity of the online environment negatively impacted and influenced the characters. It was a major recurring theme throughout the drama and just felt over the top rather than impactful.
What made the story fall flat was the constant emphasis on the e-sports online forum being at the center of everything. Every time something was posted, over a number of episodes, we would follow the characters reactions and responses whether that be trying to mitigate the negative effects or finding a solution. And this sort of drama kept popping up and detracted from the storyline itself, the relationships between our characters and the actual e-sports competition. It left little time to properly explore team dynamics and character interactions. It felt like they were all being controlled by the comments of their fans and rather than promoting e-sports as a proud national sport that actually rather emphasised to their detriment the toxicity and negativity of the online environment, fans and their comments. And after awhile it got old and I felt frustrated, because it was obvious there would be a never ending onslaught attack on them and they just couldn’t catch a break to actually focus on what was important e.g. hand injuries, the feeling of winning, relationship and love, friendship and bonding etc.
The love story itself, for me, Lu Si Cheng fell too fast and too hard for Tong Yao and I felt it was completely unfounded. Though everyone’s been saying their chemistry was great, for me personally, I just couldn’t feel it. The bickering or banter dialogue lacked wit and class, and just felt plain boring and basic. And the whole height difference joke got old after awhile. It was a real struggle getting through the first 10+ episodes and I actually took a break from it. And sure it picked up when they started the kissing, but it just felt like a lack lustre relationship.
--The Game--
I really liked how we went into the gaming world, switching into the animations and really entered the game world. However, it stopped at that. The lack of explanation of: what was actually happening (they often just put up visuals of the game play and we had to decipher what was actually happening), the rules of the game and the avatar capabilities made the gaming scenes so much more confusing. The question on my mind was why where there so many competitions and which ones were actually important? There was no helpful commentary, no strategy for that matter and everyone kept switching game avatars that it made it so hard for me to keep up with who was playing who. This kept me distant from the gaming world, in addition to the games being entirely anti-climatic and very predictable. I think my main concern was that the competition gaming scenes felt like supplementary scenes to fill the main storyline rather than being the focal point, left on the backburner because there were so many other external problems at hand.
--Acting/Cast--
I’m sorry to say that I had issues with the acting and cast. I felt Xu Kai was pigeon-holed into this character of being tight faced and cold and tried his absolute best to bring some life into it, especially being one of his first modern dramas. I liked his characterisation and even development, from being well aware and acknowledging his flaws. Props to his ep18 7 minute monologue, that was some well written tight script writing that got his character and thoughts across really well.
Cheng Xiao as Tong Yao I thought was miscast and the only thing that worked was the height difference. Her acting felt expressionless, rigid and lacked the right emotion for the scenes. I couldn’t make out her character. I didn't really feel any character development, and she came across as arrogant, unapologetically righteous, and too easily influenced.
--Lost Potential--
They had an array of beautiful, lovable and ready crafted side characters, that were sadly dismissed as unimportant and majorly underutilised. In particular, Yu Ming (who had like one major scene in the beginning and then used as a side prop, despite having so much character potential to be explored), Lu Yue (brother dynamics that would have offered more insight into Lu Si Cheng's character), and Hierophant (this relationship was so fleeting and I don't know why, it could have been so well good if developed). These are such interesting side characters, I only wish their backstories and motivations were explored further, it would have helped craft rich characters and round off the team dynamics.
I think overall what got me was they were trying to cram too much into the storyline – while competing for the national title, juggling the pressures of social media and being a figurehead, the resistance of parents viewing e-sports as a mere game, managing the dynamics of the team, family relations and building a fresh relationship from scratch. All this in addition to the poor scriptwriting that felt flat and lacked the depth of clever conversation.
It’s honestly great to see an increasing number of e-sports dramas framing national pride come out on mainstream, as we learn and uncover more about the struggles and behind the scene challenges. I appreciate the drama’s vision and liked the world it was attempting to create both off and online, but just in this instance, it fell far from my expectations and I was left sorely disappointed.
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