Quantcast
Completed
Fahlanruk
68 people found this review helpful
Nov 28, 2022
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 3
Overall 8.5
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 8.0

Its a shame most do not understand this series, worth every minute

Believe it or not, this series is the most realistic representation of relationships out there. Relationships are not all cute and cuddly like we see in other bls, some relationships are hella toxic but the partners choose to work on them over and over again because they are committed to each other,

To start with, the beginning of the whole series was not love at first sight kind of a thing, It was horny at first sight. The writers and the directors, and the actors did an amazing job showcasing this. Remember how the sex was so cringe you would just feel like just fast forwarding to after its done? It was precise depiction of, hey I have zero feelings for this dude I just want to bed him.

Second, these are two plyers who have no idea how to cherish a relationship. They know they used to play other people so trust levels are at a negative. How they show love, one is being supper possessive and selfish because they do not know how to deal with the overwhelming feelings they cannot understand. The other thinks just because I stopped sleeping around and am only with him he should automatically understand and trust me even when I have put zero effort to risk it all and share how I feel. Of course the relationship is going to be so toxic, and don't stay in your bubble of perfect meet, fall in love, have emotional sex and think that's how it is.

What I love most about this is how the actors portrayed the growth, from two people who just have no idea what they are doing to making numerous mistakes and having horny sex you do not wanna watch to two people who took time to understand each other, not afraid to show their emotions and have butterflies in the stomach kind of sex scenes. Kudos to the whole team for the ability to show the difference. They were not afraid to take the risk and that's why they have my support a million percent.

Fahlan and Sherbert are my favorite couple because they portrayed the most growth emotionally and their chemistry on screen improved a lot. I love that the other two side couples were there to balance toxicity with cuteness showing different sides of relationships. I think this series does not deserve the hate its is getting out there and I hope the team does not give up. I am definitely looking forward to more projects from them

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Love Sea
61 people found this review helpful
by Jojo
Aug 12, 2024
10 of 10 episodes seen
Completed 2
Overall 6.0
Story 6.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 6.5
Rewatch Value 5.5
This review may contain spoilers

Sea of Wasted Potential with Weak Story and Fragmented Chemistry!

I had expectations from this drama but was ultimately disappointed! We had 10 episodes and such a weak narrative throughout!
When they were on the beach , it at least provided the visual appeal and was at least enough to keep me engaged in the story but as soon the story shifted to the city , it went downhill !
It felt one dimensional and boring!
Nothing substantial happened and the things that did happen didn't contribute to a positive development nor seemed necessary.

Coming to acting, Fort as Mut carried the whole show single handedly. His acting has improved and felt natural but in the case of Peat , the whole cold ML role was very unconvincing often coming off as overreaction.
Yes , the chemistry between them was there and was good but was very fragmented and inconsistent.
The tantrum that Rak threw in the last episode shows he literally had no to zero character development. And his sudden epiphany in the last 10 minutes felt rushed and unnatural. It might be impressive if the realisation came a few episodes earlier to make it more sincere.

And the other GL couple, they felt too forced. Vivi's treatment of Khaimuk didn't look like playful teasing to me. Treating the one you like as a slave and troubling them is not funny in my books! We are not in kindergarten where we tease the one we love to get their attention!

Even the friendship between all the characters felt utterly superficial, and I felt no emotional connection whatsoever!

Overall , I see only a sea of wasted potential with a weak story , underdeveloped characters with  fragmented chemistry!

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Island
61 people found this review helpful
Jan 14, 2023
6 of 6 episodes seen
Completed 7
Overall 5.0
Story 4.5
Acting/Cast 5.0
Music 4.0
Rewatch Value 1.5
This review may contain spoilers

CEW´s character was the only worth watching part of this season

I started watching this cause of KNG is Jin´s fav actor so I wanted to see his acting and I was not impressed.

I can´t think of really nothing that was memorable about this more than Johan.

The first two eps were very slow and nothing much happend there (I thought it was a kind of intruduction and 2 ep s is a lot to introduce a character but I was still trusting them) somehow they managed to keep me watching, and since it was 6ps drama I think that was a help too.

What I liked:

-As an introduction to a bigger plot it was kind of ok, still I think they could´ve put more into its short eps.
-Incredibly the character I liked the most was CEW´s. Why is that incredible for me? cause I´m not the biggest fan of his acting, BUT I must say I found myself crying along side with him in the last ep.

What I did not like:

-The absence of actual development on the main plot. We were told she has great powers that should be awaken and we spent 6 eps and her powers are still sleeping. When ep 4 ended I thought to myself "We are gonna see her on action next week" but it did not happend.
-I feel like the characters were so close and it didn´t feel believable for me. I mean you meet someone and that person is cool, and kind and all that, but you don´t trust someone that fast, You don´t become THAT close THAT fast.
-They killed some characters for not apparent reason, I mean Johan´s brother may have some repercution on the character development for s2, but the other guy. What was the reason? if that´s not going to be important for s2 there was not point on killing him. Came here again to say, they didn´t even adressed his death properly, like they showed us the funeral but that was it.
-And that leads us to another problem. During the whole season they made every murder and problem as if it didn´t happend, like the guy on the police station at the airport. Like no one ever asked what happen to those people or where they are, it was like they never existed to others.
-And talking about development, the only one with it was Johan. Van and Miho were there but what were they doing the whole season all along? Is like they were but they weren´t there.

-------------------------------------

Overall I think this should be called "Priest Johan and his friends" I would Actually love if CEW where the only ML on this cause his story was the only thing actually being told here. If they had given more screen time to him it would´ve be perfect.

If eps 1-4 were squiched into 2 and then the las 2 it would be better, and I don´t think it was a good choice to split this cause there is not so much plot for it. I haven´t seen part 2 and I did not read the manhwa, but I´m probably not so wrong if I say it would be good as just 8 eps drama as a whole, maybe.

Just to say I´m not a fan of CEW nor I am fan of his acting, but it is what it is, he was the only worth thing on this season.

I´ll watch s2 because I want to know how they´re gonna wrap it up and if they´re gonna do better, but this trending of part 1 and part 2 is doing kdramas dirty ig.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Celebrity
61 people found this review helpful
Jul 13, 2023
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 5
Overall 5.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 6.5
Rewatch Value 5.0

I see the potential but it just never got there

This was an exhausting watch. I suppose you'd expect that given the heightened world of social media but wow did things drag. Idk why i kept watching tbh.

I mainly watched for the social commentary but that felt very flat. Rather than adding something new to the social media/consumerism conversation the same points were repeated and got stale. It’s a shame bc these things should be talked about but the script just didn’t deliver. I was confused about exactly what Ah Ri was trying to accomplish. She wasn’t like the other influencers yet she turned into a hypocrite by imitating the actions of people she claimed she wasn’t like.

The actors were all ok. Nobody was outstanding, just ok. This is the second Park Gyu Young drama I’ve seen where she’s the FL, and I didn't like either of them a whole lot. She suits a side character much better, and personally I think she lacks the charisma it takes to be a FL. Kang Min Hyuk was so mf fine here but I’m afraid that's all he was. Why people are saying the leads had such good chemistry, I don't know. Chae Hee was a CHILD. Shi Hyun was supposed to be the opposite of the two extremes I suppose, but she wasn’t giving me anything to work with. She wasn’t annoying so that’s good. The other influencers were forgettable.

This drama obviously had a lot of effort put into the production. You could feel the weight of the materialism through the screen. It still ended up missing the mark in terms of what it was trying to accomplish. Rather than12 eps this could've easily been 10. Hopefully in the future another drama with this subject matter and bettwr execution will come along.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Reply 1988
61 people found this review helpful
Jan 20, 2016
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 4
Overall 8.0
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
One thing is sure- this is the best drama in Reply series and the best Korean family drama I have ever seen. I can't stand makjang, I can't stand Korean family dramas of 50 episodes and I don't watch them. Nor I was some fan of previous Reply series. I find them overrated and not interesting enough but this one really got me. It was on different level in terms of family relationship and bonding, in terms how each member of those families has won me and made me fall in love with all of them.

Honestly, I have never got attached to more than one family in some drama but here I got too deep into the story of every family. Their interactions, their actions, their conversations, it all felt so raw, so real and so damn natural. I totally had a feeling like they're my neighbors and their kids my friends.

The reason why I love this Reply so much is also cause of the '80s, that nostalgic period of time where my parents were young and had their own kids and friends like the adults in this Reply, that period of time where some of the best movies and music artists appeared. I love how they made all so real, like in the real '80s, from their clothes, make up, haircuts, electrical devices, houses to music, movies, cinemas, bars, taverns. Production is awesome for this drama, I don't have one single complain about that. Plus OST is so wonderful, some songs are made to be danced to them, some are so melancholic with some sad tones and some are so beautiful and made for pure enjoyment while listening them.

I didn't care for the husband hunt. I really didn't care. While in other two Reply dramas that romance part was much more important and pretty much the whole drama plot, here it was just on the outside the main plot but actually inside of it that was the least important. Here words like family, friends, childhood, bonding, neighbors are way more big than romance. Which worked totally fine for me.

These families are pure gold. I laughed so much with them, I cried with them, I rooted with them, cheering with them, screaming and yelling with them, I was singing and dancing with them, they did all that to me. One family though stood up the most and that would be the Kim's. Omo, family like that is so freaking rare, I mean president Kim must be the most unique and funny dad ever with most gentle and good heart, his wife, Mi-ran is one hell of a mom, the coolest mom ever and so crazy, I seriously adore that woman, she carried the whole show for me truthfully. And their kids, JB- one big guy with big dreams who always wants to help everyone and always smiles, such a sensitive, romantic and funny soul; and JH- oh well I could talk about that guy whole night and day.
He is for me the most complex character in this drama, the one who was the most selfless, most realistic and strong one, yes the one who didn't show his feeling to the end to anyone ever but through his actions you could feel and see that, sometimes words aren't enough to say and explain what heart feels and agree completely with that saying. You could feel his emotions if you'd want to, that's what I think. And no matter what he was there for everyone, for his parents- how he in one episode did that stupid joke with his dad just to make him smile, how he continued to follow and to accomplish his brother's dream, how he prepared that awesome surprise for his mom's birthday, how he helped Taek in some way in most crucial moment, how he drank with Sun-woo in silence and was beside him to comfort him, I mean he is just too perfect and I was so satisfied and my heart was full when I saw him smile at the end, I knew he was happy. ;)

There are others I loved, Mr. Choi-Taek's dad, very cool and charismatic man, Bo-ra with all her intelligence and vulnerability combined with being strong and tough, DR- the hilarious, funny, crazy and always supportive friend who just knows what to say and when, so many wonderfully written characters are in this drama and that is what captured me. And their friendship, between those little 5 friends from their childhood till who knows when, they had so much fun together, so many sad moments, difficult moment, amazing and adventurous ones, I can only admire that powerful bond they had. And those three women, their craziness in their ages, their full loyalty to each other and care, just fantastic. That is what drama is about. Completely firm and undeniable friendship.

One thing I just didn't like is that romance part. It was weak for my taste and two last episodes were really weak from that point. I didn't mind who was the hubby at the end, well I was sad and cried a little and watched all I could find about other second lead but I accepted as DS's decision and her choice. And that was what actually bothered me. I won't say much cause opinions are so subjective and different so from my point of view I couldn't feel her chemistry in that amount with neither of them. I felt and saw love from second lead's and from main guy but from her head and heart it was too rushed and even after I read many things about clues and all those feelings, yes I could see that he was the one but as for her, it was too rushed and not deep at all. Also what made me angry it was that part when you make some guy to be a main role, having his narrating, voice, feelings, actions, everything from his point of view and then not include him in last two episode with enough screen time, I think it's very unfair and illogical. At least we should see how they stayed as cool as before, how they talked about that what he said even as a joke, at least they should say one damn sentence at the end as adults- like he is there and there,and also about DR, I mean those guys are main leads in this drama, they deserve it. I didn't like how it all came down to the Sung's, DS , Bo-ra and happenings only in that family.
But that is of course my own opinion. As for the rest it is absolutely amazing and outstanding drama and it should be seen most definitely. it is truly one heartwarming, sweet, great story about one little part of the neighborhood, families who live there, their kids, their stories, their adventures, their lives. And everyone of us could easily identify with them. I know I did and it was a great and unforgettable journey.
Kim Jung Hwan, I'll miss you, good bye ;)

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Blossom
113 people found this review helpful
by caramel Finger Heart Award1 Flower Award1
Dec 24, 2024
34 of 34 episodes seen
Completed 11
Overall 7.0
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 6.0
This review may contain spoilers

IM GONNA BE VERY HONEST

General Setting: Happy Ending, low romance, high on politics

If you are looking for good execution, directing or romance then this is not for you. To be honest, the clips of the leads I saw on twitter made me excited to watch this. However, when I saw the actual scenes it was so disappointing. The first half of the drama is good although the pacing is messy and there are many mini plots which they try to end quickly. But still its interesting and you feel like watching more. Around eps 20 onwards it started going downhill with poor build-up and really bad introduction of plots. One main example is the story of song han. Just by watching the drama I could tell how much they had to cut out because really the progression was bad for his arc. One minute he is following songmo like a loyal brother 2 eps later suddenly he wants to kill songmo and has all the ambitions he never had. This is just one example.

The entire drama started with a time slip. This time slip was mentioned like maybe 2 times(?) in the entire drama. But i can understand cause the minute she stopped Songmo from his rebelling plans she couldn't really predict what happens anymore. BUT at least she should have like explained it to Songmo (she tried for like 5mins on their wedding night). So the entire "time travel" plot was dropped.

Romance....I didnt feel the chemistry at all....the chemistry the two had in ep 1 practically carried the whole show cause once they got married it felt like i was watching a 50year old married couple instead of a newly married couple. Honestly i blame this on the execution cause their kiss scenes were shot so bad all the random camera angles and cut scenes...their tension was much stronger when they weren't together lol .

I'm honestly not sure why people are rating this so high and claiming it to be the drama of the year...its really not..its a very normal drama i feel. First half good second half bad. The villains are mediocre only appear at the end, the battle was so underwhelming (they tried to make it emotional but...). Jiyong the character i thought will be her advisor and guardian for the time travel plot was a character with no role and just acted all mighty.

Overall, had expectations for the drama but was let down. Acting was subpar as well so probably will not rewatch this...

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Love between Fairy and Devil
113 people found this review helpful
Aug 30, 2022
36 of 36 episodes seen
Completed 26
Overall 8.5
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 8.0
This review may contain spoilers

Don't hate me for being critical & cynical and not giving this a 10

Completed - 8/29/2022 - 8.25 rating

I enjoyed “Love Between Fairy and Devil” but maybe not as much as most of the audience. I’ve watched my fair share of xianxia dramas and usually I am not a big fan of the cute and bubbly lead. I don't dislike the Little Orchid and am OK with her voice. I am just indifferent. It's Esther Yu's real voice so I am fine with it, as I am a strong proponent of actors using their real voices. The heart-breaking romance did not move me as much as I wanted. The lighthearted tone of the first 18-20 episodes took me a while to get used it. I might just be a cynical old lady that takes a little more effort to move me., especially after finishing "Love Like the Galaxy" not too long ago. Please do not hate me for not giving a perfect rating. There are plenty of things I like about this drama as well.

What I Like:
1. Anti-Hero Male Lead - Just like many others, I am a fan of our anti-hero, Dong Fang Qing Cang (DFQC). Most xianxia heroes are either gods or princes, and rarely do we have someone from the devil side as a male lead. Dylan Wang did a fantastic job in portraying the ruthless and heartless devil, and was able to switch gears during the body swap. You can see from his big eyes how his emotions change from ruthless to adorably pouty. Most anti-hero and gray characters in C-dramas are second male leads, so it’s nice to see a change here. I’ve also enjoyed his transformation from beginning to the end. I do have a minor criticism about our male lead below.

2. Lack of these xianxia tropes + fun new things:
♦︎ No annoying female characters who were obsessed with their unrequited love and became scheming bitches. I am so glad Dan Yin remains a good person from start to finish.
♦︎ No misunderstandings/scheming - xianxia dramas frequently have annoying plot lines created just to break the leads apart. And these misunderstandings are usually caused by jealous men and women. I am glad we don’t really have that here.
♦︎ Hanging out inside a painting is fun and creative.
♦︎ For once our main leads are not going through trials in the mortal realm themselves.

3. Costumes and Accessories - Beautiful costumes for both male and female characters. I really like the hairstyles of the male leads, with simple hair accessories (except those flimsy looking war gears which really don’t seem to be made for battles). Our Little Orchid looks beautiful in all of her dresses no matter where she is. I was particularly interested in the wedding fans. I've rarely seen such beautiful and intricate ones with golden accessories adorned on them. Most of the time, they are just beautiful patterns or colors.

4. Overall Acting - I’ve already mentioned that I really enjoy Dylan Wang’s acting. I didn’t watch “Miss the Dragon” so I don’t know how bad he was, but I’ve seen “The Rational Life” and he did fine. But in this drama, his character allows him to showcase his acting skills. I’ve seen a few Esther Yu’s dramas in the past and she is also playing the cute and bubbly roles. I think she met my expectations but not amazing. With the body swap, you could clearly see Dylan Wang did a much better job. Esther’s gazes were not sharp and stern enough. She tried to look serious but it’s not coming off right. Zhang Ling He has come a long way since his first drama, “Maiden Holmes”. This is my fourth drama of his and it’s his best acting yet. Playing two very different characters in this drama provided him the best opportunity to show us how much he has grown. He’s not amazing yet, but he’s going in the right direction. I've been a fan of Xu Hai Qiao since I first saw him in “Lost Love in Times” and he played Rong Hao admirably, especially his sad and emotional scenes. At least I pity him here instead of hating him in “A Dream of Splendor”. The rest of the supporting cast did a decent job. I would not say the veterans outshine the younger generation in this drama. I think Dylan Wang is the brightest star in the drama.

5. OST - I like the songs in this drama and also the background music. 诀爱 by 詹雯婷 is my favorite song.


What I have mixed feelings or don’t like:

1. Male Leads in Love - As much as I love DFQC, I miss his ruthlessness in the later episodes. I have a similar criticism in other dramas. Once you are in love, you seem to lose yourself and become a lovesick puppy and forget who you were in the past. I believe you could be totally in love, yet still don’t lose your former self. Unfortunately, I think both DFQC and Chang Heng fell short in this area.

2. CGI - There are many praises about how beautiful this drama is and we can see the numerous screenshots on the Feeds during the airing of this drama. And I agree that there are many scenery shots that are beautiful and very fairytale-like. However, I also feel that these shots are overused and after a while, the whole drama seems so ‘fake’ because it’s full of green screen scenes. I also find the final battle has the weakest CGI of the whole drama. On the other hand, I really enjoy the CGI in individual fight scenes, e.g. DFQC vs Chang Heng and DFQC saving the Little Orchid and battling the gods. Those were some of the best special effects I've seen used in battle scenes. It rivals my love of the purple CGI in “Ancient Love Poetry”.

3. Cannot avoid some common xianxia tropes - love obsession that started all evil deeds, the story is always about the aftermath of a war thousands of years ago, noble idiocy and sacrifices, Gods always seem to be more evil than the Devils, Love triangles/squares/pentagons, etc.

4. Secondary characters and plots are underdeveloped - Possibly because this is a shorter drama, I feel that the secondary romance between Shang Que and Jie Li is under-developed and quite boring. They could have been an interesting opposites-attract duo, but unfortunately I find Jie Li to be the most annoying character in this drama. Similarly, the truth and reunion between Jie Li and her family are very anti-climatic. Reuniting with her family was so brief that it only serves to move along Rong Hao’s story. I also want to know more of Rong Hao's story with the Goddess of War aside from the same few flashback scenes.

5. Pacing - As a short xianxia drama, the pace is fast. I don’t think you will hear complaints about a slow start. However, I still think the drama focuses too long in the initial 18-20 episodes in the Heavenly Realm and ran out of time in the last few episodes. Those early episodes were not my personal favorites. I didn’t start really liking the drama until they started the mortal realm, and then the story moves along more interestingly for me. However, the ending felt rushed and…predictable?


Other Random Observations:
♦︎ When you are so powerful, I think you could have saved your girl from drowning just by a snap of your fingers, without kissing. Fan service!
♦︎ Had to fast forward the scene when the Little Orchid was crawling in the sand. It took too long. LOL
♦︎ Why do these gods and devils need to give piggy back rides when they can teleport?
♦︎ I need better kisses. They are really not as passionate as I want them to be, especially the ones in the last couple episodes. Some kisses felt like they are just there to please fans of these idol actors. *I’m going to hide now*

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Ongoing 8/8
High School Return of a Gangster
106 people found this review helpful
May 31, 2024
8 of 8 episodes seen
Ongoing 5
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

It certainly has interesting characters and exciting storyline.

Awesome characters, great story, great balance between drama and action, love the humour in the series.

In my opinion it is a must watch.

The principal roles are perfectly cast.

Chang-Young is a brilliant actor, has been wonderful to see its growth and development as an actor. I loved the second chapter, so funny and interesting. Highly Recommended.

As painful as bullying can be, I feel that at the end of the series there will be a good message about tolerance, education and respect. ❤️
Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
It's Okay to Not Be Okay
99 people found this review helpful
by Jeana
Aug 9, 2020
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 8
Overall 8.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 3.0

Healing, beauty and acceptance wrapped in spooky fairytales

Gosh, I spent 70% of this show with a lump in my throat, 10% with happy warmth in my chest and 20% bawling my eyes out.

It's a fast, intense, twisty emotional roller coaster that keeps you engaged throughout.

The best thing about this drama is the smart and impactful portrayal of mental illness. It's not preachy, it's not overly idealistic, it doesn't try to pretend to be extra woke, it's not trying to pass itself as an educational program- it's really just a touching story about three damaged, emotionally stunted people who are trying to get by.

I am not a medical professional and I am not gonna waste time trying to analyze all the symptoms and guess the disorders and argue about that because that's grossly missing the point.

The main focus of this drama was showing the pain, frustration and sorrow that comes with suffering from trauma, dealing with conditions out of your hands and the hurt that comes with mental illness for both who have it and their family members.
But most of all it highlights the strength of these people, about how they help each other and get help from each other to make things a bit better.

It beautifully expresses themes of understanding, resilience, love and friendship between people who've had a very tough life.

Ofcourse, in typical K drama fashion, it's not without its cheesy tropes, cliches and some flair for dramatics but despite all of that it gets the message across in a powerful manner.

The beauty of it is that despite being filled with heartbreaking and emotional moments that make you shed tears and snot, it never lets the dark side become overpowering by adding much needed comic relief and heart warming moments that make you giggle and feel good inside.

There is extra charm in people who are beautiful AND excellent actors. All the cast delivers phenomenally with the two main leads having electric chemistry with each other and sharing glorious, steamy kisses that will go down in k drama history. ;)

The show is easy to watch with a bit of suspense, thrill, murder mystery, psychotic parents and drama mixed with emotion, heart and healing. It's fast paced peppered with wholesome slow moments and amazing character growth.

Seo Ye Ji's impulsive, passionate, gorgeously dressed, blunt, morally questionable female lead with childlike tendencies is undoubtedly a crowd favorite.

On the other hand, Kim Soo Hyun's handsome, selfless, persevering male lead with bambi eyes and a mutinous heart brings his own to the table. (Even though I am usually not a fan of his acting and feel like he has nothing behind his eyes, somehow this role happened to be convincing and basically one of his best.)

Finally, bringing them both together, the veteren Oh Jung Sae brought forth an endearing character suffering from autism who is extremely pure hearted and just trying his best.

The moments between these three are powerful and literally make you pray for these people and their happiness. The side characters are all relevant and enhance the flavor of the show

The OST is stunning, the direction is beautiful and the pretty story telling incorporating scary fairytales and creepy animations brings everything full circle.

It's definitely binge worthy and a full of feeling ride that you don't want to miss.

Enjoy!

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
My Only 12%
99 people found this review helpful
Nov 17, 2022
14 of 14 episodes seen
Completed 19
Overall 7.5
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 6.5
This review may contain spoilers

IM ONLY 12% AWAKE

I'm scared to write this review. For sure, I'll receive a lot of backlash again for saying bad things about it, but I CANT just keep silent.

First, let's discuss the good things. The outline of the basic plot is good on paper; it's the love story of a couple who have been each other's first loves. In all fairness, the first few episodes were a little slow but engaging. It also feels like they have enough of a budget, as the series looked decent enough. I also appreciate the subtle changes in technology that show the difference in timeline. And yes, the main lead's hairstyle changed after the time jump! Also, let's give props to the actors because they did a good job. Of course, Earth did all the heavy lifting, but we must also acknowledge that Santa did a good job for someone so young and not as veteran as Earth.

Now, for the not-so-good parts. First, and this is totally my own opinion, I hate seeing gay characters who are portrayed as softer and more delicate than marshmallow. It felt like a backward progression for our quest for acceptance when on the  other side of the world, a lot of female characters are being portrayed as EQUAL to their male counterparts. In this day and age, portraying gay men as crybabies and scaredy cats is simply unacceptable.

And then there is the endless crying, especially in the last two episodes. Why, for crying out loud, do they make Earth cry this much? I didn't even know why it was necessary to kill Seeiw's mother just so we could have a last episode that was almost entirely Earth crying. It is not entertaining. It is so boring and unnecessary that whenever he cries, fast forwarding becomes a necessity. In fact, no matter how hard I tried, I was only 12% awake in the last 2 episodes. There are other ways to show how good an actor can be aside from shedding tears. It was a series finale, and the episode could have been used to further the storylines of our characters.

Other readers will kill me for saying this, but as strong as the start is, this felt like a cheap imitation of Love of Siam and I Told Sunset About You; unfortunately, this show can't hold a candle against those classics.

I'm sorry, as much as I adore Earth and Santa, I just cannot rewatch this show. I'm giving it a 7.5 for the effort.

EDIT: To be fair, I thought I couldnt rewatch it but i have and have increased my rating a bit. Thanks for people pointing out that I was also a bit homophobic with my review, I promise Ill be better in the future!

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Fall in Love
47 people found this review helpful
Dec 8, 2021
36 of 36 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 10
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.0

Enjoyed it!

I'm not into Republican Era drama but Chen Xing Xu caught attention. He looked so good in military uniform as did all the supporting male characters did as well. The story is well-paced. Male and female lead is both smart and strategic. They were made for each other. I enjoyed watching male lead scheme to get his way, in a good way of course. He comes off as a jerk but that's just a cover. Female lead is a smart business woman and she knows what she wants, whether in business or love. She doesn't allow male lead to string her along and she stands up for herself. All the supporting cast did well in their roles. There are ones you love and ones you hated so much. I think the only character I found truly annoying is male lead's sister. The music is okay but for this drama, I wouldn't want the music to be the redeeming point. Overall, I'm glad I stumbled on this and gave it a shot!

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Love in the Air
47 people found this review helpful
Oct 7, 2022
13 of 13 episodes seen
Completed 2
Overall 9.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 7.0

AFTER KINNPORCHE I NEEDED THIS.

THIS BL is written by MAME thus naturally carry CRASH OF OPINION'S and CONTROVERSIES.
In terms of their relationship, this might be one of Mame's least toxic relationship that she has written. EVER. BUT I can see the development in their characters BUT when it comes to intimacy, they become unhinged and wild.

(TW: toxicity, kinks, fetish, one night stands, sexual favors, manipulation, non-consensual touching, mind games, kidnapping, torture, gaslighting, rape, PTSD]

After kinnporche ended i though i would not be able to watch any BL. Like seeing BL's like UN and CO killed my brain cells. But this i can say is one of the good bl's out there. No its not great but its better than other. Forget better its actually one of the best bl's out there actually.

See i am one of those people that need some dose of a LESS 'lovey-dovey' and 'green flag' relationship. I need my dose of RED FLAG'S and a little bit TOXICITY from time to time. And NO this doesn't mean I encourage abuse of any form but sometimes you need to be realistic.
This BL felt realistic. IT's not your typical green flag relationship which we see in BL's. It was controversial, many scene's seem to have the non- con problem in them but they were not overdone, they conveyed what they were meant to. People had many problem with it being toxic and shit but honestly i didn't see that much of toxicity. NO this was not 100% healthy relationship but it was really realistic cuz it really happens in real life.

I felt people have connected MAME'S name with toxicity. Where people saw sexual verbal abuse i actually saw flirtation, like come on guys don't you dirty talk with your partner or tease them??? they may not have the best relationship but they were TRUE AND REAL AS THEY CAN BE.

BOTH COUPLE'S relationship is RAW. Its raw and passionate. They are INTENSE.
I MEAN IT WHEN I SAY IT'S RAW. The tension is real. YOU can see the LUST, THE PASSION, THE CUTENESS AND EVEN THE LOVE IN THIER RELATIONSHIP.
The chemistry is sizzling and scorching hot. DESPITE the facts that all the 4 actors are newbei's they have really acted well [i can even say better than most of the famous bl actor who still don't know how to act.]
AND FOR ONCE THEY CAN ACTUALLY KISS AND ITS NOT THE 'TYPICAL' COLLEGE ROMANCE. Thank god for that.

LEGITIMATE 18+ ranking. i am not kidding. THIS IS ADULT, There are quite a LOT OF detailed NC SCENE. And for once NC scene are actually amazing, like hatsoff to the actors and production. The NC scene are RAW and HOT like their chemistry.

I´m impressed by the visual quality. The music of the series both main theme song and the background song's are amazing and well placed. Both the thai and English song they have put in the series are AMAZING.
The cinematography of this series is so good, like you can see the money in the camera quality and shooting places. Like the production was in bar with the production of Kinnporche and cutie pie. The screenwriting was done really well.
The side characters are also really good, firstly they can act and for once you would actually be interested in them as well.

MUSIC. CINEMATOGRAPHY, PRODUCTION, VISUALS AND CAST get a full on 10/10 from me.
OVERALL, the PLOT may be simple, but the couple's killed it with their chemistry. The production is amazing ang this is what was needed honestly. IT's new and fresh. THE story will hook you.

PAYU AND RAIN'S story was the fluff and sweetness i needed before they dropped the bomb of RAIN AND PRAPAI, there story was full of heartbreak and pain. I FELT FOR SKY SO MUCH. Prapai was such a sweetheart.

PERSONAL OPINION- SkyPrapai >>>>>>>>>> RainPayu

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Sunshine by My Side
47 people found this review helpful
Sep 8, 2023
36 of 36 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

Love to watch again

basically age doesn't matter to love .good job all members. best of luck. xiao Zhan once again rock it . every one should watch . definately .. story is unique, none of can imagine this can be relationship come in love . good script. while watching it feels todays lifestyle. every is busy their life how to express our childhood cursh . finally she accepted his love


twist and turn is their whole drama keep you waiting what will happen next episode.

overall very good story and cute romantic love story
Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Run On
47 people found this review helpful
Feb 18, 2021
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 3
Overall 7.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 2.0
This review may contain spoilers

This drama has some nice elements but overall not for me.

Like other critical reviews of this drama say, it's not a bad drama, and I really wanted to like it and went into it blind like I typically do when I watch dramas, but... after finishing all 16 episodes, it wasn't ever really for me and I feel like I should have dropped it after 4 or 5 episodes.

I'm definitely missing something in this drama. Everyone has been praising this drama as being heartfelt, mature, relaxing, and realistic in its portrayal of relationships and how they develop. I disagree, and I'm not sure if it's due to my age (older than the leads) but I couldn't find the maturity and realism that others seem to talk about over and over again. Maybe it's because I feel like I would have communicated differently than the couples portrayed, but I didn't understand how either couple either discussed their issues with each other. Nothing made any sense to me. There were times when they were straightforward with each other, yes, but I mostly found the dialogue either dull or puzzling.

I did like some things about it. The characters themselves were nice. I loved the playful humor in the banter, it was pretty clever and sharp but those moments were few and far between. I also loved the movie references and I wish they would have put a little more time into Seon-Gyeom's finding of himself, building up of his new career and being an agent for Woo-Sik - I felt like it was clumsily done and could have been tightened and would have added a lot to his overall character development. It seemed like it was squished into the episodes as a sidenote.

I would have also liked more meaningful interaction between Seon-Gyeom and Mi Joo earlier on. I didn't feel their attraction to each other at all. Individually, they were great and in theory they seemed like they would be really cute, but for some reason the pairing felt forced to me. I think maybe the whole beginning scenario of the track team scandal, the translation job that allowed them to spend time together, and the father's interference could have been done better for me personally, and because I didn't like the way it developed and set up the drama, I think it set the tone for the rest of the drama as well. Some of the scenes felt cut awkwardly and mixed together all over the place.

I also didn't understand the second couple very much. Both were very cute and had such interesting personalities but again... I wasn't sure how they came to love each other, and then break up, and then get back together. It looked like it started to develop well, and midway through I became very confused by the conflict, the resolution, the conflict again, and then all of a sudden they're together again at the end? Maybe this is a realistic depiction of a relationship for other people, but for me personally, it didn't work, and the way they communicated their feelings to each other never felt clear to me. It seemed like they would say one thing to each other and do something that conflicted with what they said.

The addition of the best friend coming out also seemed out of place to me. While I loved Young-Hwa's heartfelt reaction to the confession and it portraying the type of kind, gentle, sensitive soul he is, and I'm all about LGBTQ representation in media, this element seemed sort of random and unnecessary. I would have liked either more development of this side story or none at all. To have it as just a blip in the drama feels like an afterthought.

Again, it doesn't seem like a bad drama but I had a really hard time enjoying it and I just don't think it was for me. It's so great that so many enjoyed it and got a lot out of it but unfortunately I wasn't one of them. Soundtrack was nice and the drama was very nicely produced. Some of the humor in the dialogue was very smart and I wished there was more of it sprinkled generously throughout each episode. I think I understand the overall message of the drama and the tone it means to convey but it never quite struck a chord with me like I wanted it to. I think viewers still learning to find themselves and their place in the world and with each other might find more meaning and poignancy in this drama than someone who is at a different point in life.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Till the End of the Moon
116 people found this review helpful
May 24, 2023
40 of 40 episodes seen
Completed 5
Overall 7.0
Story 6.5
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 4.0

Till the end… Thank God… there's an end…


Till the end of the moon is a romantic tale that kicks off nice, goes on flat for a while but bumps down when it couldn't handle its own complications. High budget, star cast, beautiful costumes and what not but what we get served is a repitative story that makes you annoyed once every episode. Oh yeah I yawned and finally skipped a few parts too.

The narrative revolves around the to-be Devil God Tantai Jin (Luo Yunxi) and Li Susu (Bai Lu) who was determined to stop him by hook or by crook. The story wasn't as bad in the starting it was great until it was reasonable but when characters don't communicate and go awry by the concept of "lied for his own good"… its disappointing.

Even if they wanted to make TTEOTM angsty, there must have been a limit to misunderstandings and then reconciliation again and again. The story is pretty much predictable especially in the later half because you basically know that you can't expect anything better with these reckless, moody, jealousy driven characters.

TTEOTM isn't all bad and there were factors that I did enjoy like the second leads Ye Qingyu and Pian Ran's story, Tantai Jin and Xiao Lin's unsung bond… and since I'm questioning the logic of the plot at many places, maybe many things would make sense if the drama was not abruptly cut short by 16 episodes. Because 16 is sure A LOT!… …but if we were going to get this same thing for those 16 episodes too, I'm happy Chinese censorship exists.

For a Xianxia cum Wuxia the story isn't much special but the acting was phenomenal! Especially Luo Yunxi won me with his devilish role. I swear no one could play TTJ or the Devil God like him! TTJ's loneliness, trust issues, obsession all came out so much because it was Luo. Even his Ming Ye who is on the positive end was acted awesome! Hat's off to whoever casted him… although Bai Lu's all three characters were kinda similar but she was successful in making most of the emotional scenes impactful.

Their chemistry doesn't need words. They look so much good together that even with this lackluster plot I stayed and finished this drama. I don't mind if the producers bring a season 2, don't give us any story, anything, just send these two on a date on the day of Chinese New Year, let the emotionless TTJ feel warmth with Ye Xiwu and let them hang out (let the world or three realms be kept aside) and I'll watch that too lol xDDDD. But "no saving people and three realms plot please, I insist"

I was quite impressed by the acting of Sun Zhen Ni (as Pian Ran), Deng Wei (Xiao Lin) and Chen Du Ling (Ye Bingchang). While the first two made me love their characters, Chen duling's roles were so despicable that we need to agree she's such a good actress. After all playing a beautiful bitch who is both hateful and pitiable isn't an easy task.

Acting sure made this drama little entertaining for me till the end. Or I would've dropped this somewhere in the middle when things changed abruptly in the drama…. OST… hmm… There were a dozen songs that went well with the shots but none were that special to be heard again.

CGI was very pretty in some scenes, almost top notch and the costumes often took my attention. I think the makers focused more on their outer beauty and making it mesmerizing like all those snow shots. Wish they invested more on the script rather than all this eye-catchy stuff.

So we get impressive acting, complex three characters for every actor, a failed plot and satisfying CGI. That's how I define Till the end of the moon.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?