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Absence of Acceptance 대도시의 사랑법
From the very first scene, you know this show isn't here to play it safe. It hits hard and it tackles the kind of deep topics a lot of people avoid. Go Yeong's story feels painfully real, he is drowning under the expectations of his family, dealing with the constant judgment from society and on top of that struggling with the kind of love that consumes you but might never be enough. And there is also his mom's denial of his sexuality which isn't just a personal issue it's also showing what so many families go through. They love their kids but can't reconcile that love with the traditions they have been brought up to believe. The show doesn't sugarcoat this and it's not here to hand out easy answers. It is messy and uncomfortable, the way it is when you are queer in a world where acceptance is still trying to catch up.And unlike with other shows, Go Yeong's growth isn't that epiphany that comes out of the blue and then suddenly everything just falls in place. It is slow and it is frustrating at times. The pressure of fitting into the mold wanted by society and family does not just disappear and the show keeps the tension alive. It's his story but at the same time it says something many people are feeling right now....the struggle of trying to figure out where you fit when the world is constantly shifting and when who you are is in direct conflict with who everyone expects you to be. And the beauty of it all is in the balance which is great because the show manages to be introspective and deep without tipping into melodrama and there are still these little moments of humor that remind you that even in the darkest times there is still room for joy.
Mi Ae is another key piece of this puzzle. She is proof of how important chosen family is especially in LGBTQ+ narratives. In a country like Korea where traditional family values are so embedded in the culture, acceptance doesn't always come from your biological family. Mi Ae and Go Yeong's relationship is showing that the people who really have your back aren't always the ones you share DNA with, they are the ones who choose to walk alongside you through the mess and the beauty of it all.
I think this show is a gutpunch in the best way possible. Messy love, identity and family are all told so delicately. I also really like how real these characters are: the struggles are real and it doesn't shy away from hard truths with respect to what being queer entails. Heartbreaking at times, hopeful at others and yet another reminder that love in all forms leaves its mark on you, even when the happy ending isn't there. I am STILL not over it!
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Three men, one love.
Kim Nam-gyu : He represents the kind of love that Go Yeong wasn not prepared to face, it was intense, genuine and emotionally demanding. He is everything Go Yeong might have needed but wasn’t ready to reciprocate. Nam-gyu is the "what if" love, the one who could have been a transformative presence in Go Yeong’s life but circumstances, timing and Go Yeong's own hesitations held them back from ever fully realizing that potential. He is the person who stood on the edge of becoming something more, someone who could have brought stability but it never quite happened.
Youngso: He is the love that Go Yeong was finally ready for but the other one wasn’t prepared to meet him at the same place. Unlike the other relationships of his past, with Young-so, Go Yeong had reached a point of emotional maturity where he was willing to invest, to open up and to fully commit. He saw in Young-so the potential for something lasting, something real. But did not get the love he needed in return.
Gyu-ho: His true first love ♡ the one who he genuinely loved and who wholeheartedly loved him in return. There was no pretense in this, Gyu-ho was the love that Go Yeong needed, someone who truly saw him, accepted him and loved him for who he was. I think Yeong found a security that had been missing in his other relationships. It was a love built on understanding and care. He is the one who made him feel safe, seen, and wanted in a way no one else had. He was the anchor Go Yeong needed, the one who grounded him in a world that often felt unstable.
Gyu-ho was that person, the one who embodied everything Go Yeong had been searching for and at last found.
His only Wish.
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On that note, can we just take a moment to appreciate the incredible talent of the actors in this show? they are absolute STARS and they completely brought these characters to life in a way that left me SHOOK! Go Yeong is portrayed so sensible and I am just in awe of how the actor brought all those emotions out. You can literally see the struggles in his eyes, he perfectly shows us the heartache and longing that makes you root for him.
One last thing: as someone who has read the novel, I can confidently say they absolutely nailed it with this adaptation! they managed to keep the essence of the story intact while adding just the right amount of creativity to the characters and their struggles. You can tell the creators really understood the source material and respected the things that make it so impactful.
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Why seek therapy and help when you can just fall in love with your best friend!
The drama runs on the premise of the childhood friends x lovers trope. And when I see this trope, the first thing that comes to my mind is slow-burning romance where two people who grew up together with embarrassing memories and inside jokes, slowly come to the realisation that they are in love with each other all along. The yearning...the pinning.... the subtle hints...The holy grail of slow burn romance.But what I got was anything but that. Instead of character development, gradual tension and those push-and-pull monologues, what I got was fast-forward confessions with abrupt mood swings and no subtlety.
There was barely any tension or emotional build up. Just a series of "Oh, I guess I love you now" in a very reckless way.
Character Descriptions-
Han Tuo: In the BL world, we are familiar with a lead having a tragic past or a childhood trauma. A'Tuo was no different. This man didn't need a relationship, but a therapist. Despite having a backstory, none of it translates into actual depth. His internal conflicts existed but briefly and for name's sake. I wanted to sympathise with him, considering how emotionally distant his mother was and his abandonment issues by his mother, but somehow how it was portrayed and how he dealt with it as a character annoyed me.
His way out was to trauma dump Junxi with an invisible PowerPoint presentation with two slides - "I am sad" and "I love you". With his backstory came possessiveness on another level. If we remove the romance angle, it is controlling and manipulative. And let's not forget his communication skills, or lack thereof.
At best, he was an overgrown child desperately trying to prove that he is the centre of Jun Xi's universe and that being together is the ultimate solution to all his problems.
Lu Junxi: He was a third wheel in his own relationship and not in a cute way. He was always reactive to A'Tuo's mood swings and possessiveness, and somehow I wondered if he even liked him, or was it just the pressure and the anxiety that came with not having your childhood friend around that you mistake it for love. He makes all his decisions with the legendary stone, paper, scissors game and loses more often than you think.
Romance between them wasn't healthy, but if I remove the problematic lens, it was cute in fragments. It thrived on the notion that one partner constantly crosses boundaries because "that is how they show love", while the other passively accepts as if that's what love is supposed to be like.
There were many aww factors, especially when they were being absolutely sweet and domestic to each other. The way they bickered over the smallest things with silly arguments and small acts of care did entertain me, and I did enjoy their boyfriend era.
They had decent chemistry overall with some good kissing scenes, but honestly, the red flags were raised so high that there is no way to sugar coat them.
Lin Xiao Yang: She was such a breath of fresh air. She was understanding, supportive and out of the trio, the most sensible. I have many issues with how characters are written in the drama, but I am glad writers didn't turn her into the cliche female lead in a BL drama that we usually see, who only causes chaos and is irrationally protective. I wish they had explored her character more or in general, her friendship with the duo.
The other side character, He You Mei, was a hit and a miss for me. I liked her for her quirkiness, but sometimes her behaviour was abrupt. The emotional scene of hers came out of nowhere, and with much context.
I liked Junxi's parents for not being the stereotypical asian parent we see. Them being supportive and treating A'Tuo with so much love was heartwarming to see!
Acting-wise, I found both the leads passable. I mean, the emotional scenes could have been way better, but it wasn't unwatchable. The rest of the cast also did decently based on what the script had to offer, but nothing outstanding.
Writing & Production: I think writing was the weakest link here. The character arcs were painfully uneven. I kept expecting meaningful emotional growth both for the individuals and their relationship, but it rarely appeared. At times, we seemed on the brink of progress, only for the story to backtrack and reset us near square one. On top of that, there were far too many flashbacks to their teenage years, most of which didn’t add much to the present-day story. It felt unnecessarily redundant. Production seemed decent as well. The sets were clean, and the locations felt believable. (The college had students and everything).
Overall, this isn't a masterpiece by any stretch, but it's oddly entertaining in its own way. I reviewed it very critically but if I keep my brain aside, it has a weird charm to its flaws.
Will I recommend it? Maybe, but with a giant asterisk. If you are in the mood for some low-stakes entertainment but a clumsy attempt at romance and a hint of sweetness... then yes. Also, their height difference was really cute.
But if you are here for a deep, healthy relationship with a well-developed character arc, please look elsewhere.
Thank you for reading my review! I hope you have a good day! <3
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• 𝗡𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗜 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀 altogether in a drama, the appearance of those flowers on my screen were real healing element and stress relief to my busy days ✨ So thanks a lot to the crew of The Best Thing for making my days with those beautiful sceneries and cinematographies!
✅ Plus points of this drama :
- no depressing misunderstandings, we had a few but they get resolved in the cutest way
- ml being the greenest red flag, this gege with ulterior motive has used every single means to seduce our fl
- beautiful styling (loved all the outfits of fl, so big appreciation to the styling artist who was responsible for deciding and pairing outfits, absolutely loved them)
Tbh, in terms of story, it probably felt like one of those ordinary stories to me, I won't say we had anything new on radar. It was sweet, cute, beautiful, and would be relish to green flag sweet story suckers. So if you are the one who falls in this category of viewers, I would definitely be recommending this!
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This review may contain spoilers
MAME does it again.
I guess I should expect this from the creator of TharnType, but to be honest I didn’t know it was this author until I was 4 episodes in.The actors are okay. I don’t want to say they have no ability simply because they have no reasonable script. I haven’t seen them in anything else, so maybe if they had something better to work with, they could have done well. The music is mediocre. I haven’t found anything great or terrible about the OST. As you may have gathered from the above: the plot is pretty much non existent. Outside of the relationships, there isn’t anything to be said so far. Not really a compelling plot and sometimes the storyline is nonsensical.
I can explain the whole story with some very simple dialogue:
Payu: “Let’s have sex.”
Rain: “No. I’m not gay.”
Payu: “You’re stupid.”
Rain: “I’ll make you love me so you can’t call me stupid.”
Payu: “Let’s have sex.”
Rain: “Okay.”
Pai: *Forces Sky to have sex with him.*
Sky: “What a jerk.”
Pai: “His sex was so good, I think I should make Sky my sex friend or boyfriend, as needed.”
Sky: “Go away..”
Pai: “You’re sick? Let me take care of you.”
Sky: “Okay, maybe we can have sex, but I won’t be happy about it.”
This is the gist of the show to this point (episode 10). It makes little to no sense and has very little plot. As usual for this author, imbalance of power in relationships and forced or non consensual sex that ends in loving relationships. I agree with another reviewer who asked if MAME has ever been in a relationship, cause this is not how people behave. This is soft core porn with very little story. And unfortunately the story you get isn’t worthwhile. We should expect more from our BL series.
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Rom-com 101 with an extra spoonful of aspartame
If there is a cheat sheet for a DIY rom-com script writing then it might look like this;FL is young but ambitious. She just started her dream job as a baker/banker/brain surgeon but she faced a lot of challenges and prejudice. ML is the chef/CEO/civil engineer who took the FL under his wings and guided her to her destiny. OBTW, they fell madly in love and have X kids (kids optional, check current trend). Add extra CP to pad out screen time. Add antagonist just because.
Without too much deviation, that's just about summed up this show. Dial up the artificial sweetener dosage, downgrade the antagonist to mostly harmless and add a couple of extra CP from central casting and voila, it is done!
To be fair, using dubbing as a backdrop was interesting. It worked for half the show but it pretty much faded away and the usual business/relationship shenanigans took over. Thank goodness the dubbing here is for anime and not dramas. Don't get me started about the overuse and patchy quality of c-drama dubbing!
All the leads are good looking. There were some skinship and one CP was hot and sexy from the get-go while another CP had the worse case of the fishy kiss this year. The chemistry goes from ok to weak amongst the CP's. You know they are pre-ordained anyway. Ditto with swoon worthy moments. They are there but your mileage will differ. I do like the ML in several of his other shows but this time round he just felt too scripted.
It was interesting to see the show pushed tentatively at a few tropey boundaries but pull back timidly. Age gap love, toxic fandom, etc all had an airing but nothing much came of them. Evil schemes had little teeth. Antagonists were grey blobs. Relationship problems were passing storms, a "heartfelt" apology and it is back to kisses and cuddles, stat. The flip side to this angst aversion is that most of the typical angsty tropes have been banished and I am not too sad about that.
A few societal issues did make an appearance but all beat a hasty retreat as the Goddess of romantic comedy does not allow such impurities to pollute her temple. I'm not even sure what to make of their version of dementia. It was definitely used to milk the soppy angle to good effect. Dementia is a serious medical condition but it was given a very off-handed treatment here.
This show is actually not bad. Manufactured fluff this was but it is a perfect filler with a decent cast and mildly interesting story. If you are new to c-dramas or wanted the extra sugar hit then add an extra point to the score. If you are suffering from diabetes and groan every time you see that plot summary then subtract one point.
This is one of the most subjective score I have given in a long time. This is due in part to a sense of frustration/disappointment of the state of Chinese rom-com's. To reward mediocrity is to hasten the heat death of the genre.
Maybe this is why so many similar shows are being churned out by the mighty c-drama machine lately because it fill the gaps in programming schedules, relatively cheap and quick to produce and will sail past censors.
One time watch, one time listen and peace out.
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A kiss is just a kiss.
This drama is set in 1949 during the prelude to the Communist Party of China's descent upon Shanghai the most strategic city in China at the time; which the nationalist Kuomintang had vowed to defend. The loss of Shanghai paved the way for the CPC to sweep into power and the rest is history. Given this backdrop, it is no surprise that this drama is often mischaracterized as a spy thriller. And certainly while espionage is a prominent feature, it is not at all what this drama is really about. It is much more a slice of life drama that explores the social economic challenges and shifting political ideologies that affects friends, families and lovers at this great inflection point in modern Chinese history.I normally heartily dislike dramas set in tumultuous times like this because one cannot realistically expect happy outcomes. So I put this off for the longest time even though I am a huge fan of Chen Kun. But to my surprise, I enjoyed this drama almost from start to finish. The drama deftly avoids being melodramatic or maudlin by telling the story as a witty and intelligent dark comedy; effectively masking the sad, somewhat cynical undertone. I laughed my head off at the comical antics of the flighty widow who tries to turn back time with her first true love, a married man who is clumsily both tempted and terrified by her. It was only much later that it struck me what an ironic and cruel trick fate played on them and their families. Beyond Chen Kun, this drama is well cast with actors with excellent comedic timing.
The newly widowed Huang Liwen (Wan Chen) encounters Qiao Zhicai by chance as they both return to Shanghai. Having just lost her husband, a communist agent, Liwen tries to stay connected to him or perhaps give meaning to her loss by embracing his cause. Qiao Zhicai on the other hand is a a street savvy rogue and a bit of the black sheep of his family who ably navigates through the hyperinflation and shortages during those chaotic times. Their antagonistic initial interactions and misunderstandings blossom into a touching friendship and they become increasingly entangled into each other's lives. Together they try to protect the work of Qiao Lijie, Zicai's identical younger twin and a brilliant nuclear physicist. Their activities invite the scrutiny of the brutal secret police, putting them and their families in harm's way.
Where this drama shines is in its satirical portrayal how the main characters respond to provocation, conflict and deprivation. On the one hand, the drama mockingly lays bare the shallower, superficial and baser human traits of many of the characters and then redeems them by actions that also reveals their capacity for good. This darkly humorous depiction of familial bonds, sibling rivalry, love and betrayal as well as loyalty and friendship is vivid, hilarious and wistful. The overarching plot however will not satisfy true spy buffs although there are some thrilling, suspenseful moments and twists. It amounts to little more than a bunch of rather amateur spies pitted against a bunch of equally incompetent villains and making huge sacrifices for a mission that is ultimately of dubious historical significance.
I cannot praise Chen Kun's stellar performance in this drama enough. He pulled off both twins with such different personalities so convincingly I really believed there were two of them. Some of my favorite moments were when the brothers switch places - when Zhicai pretends to be Lijie he gives you the barest glimpse of Zhicai's concealed personality and vice versa. That is incredibly difficult to pull off and I don't believe I have ever seen it done better. I ended up loving both brothers and to me, Qiao Zhicai has become an all time favorite drama character. On the other hand, I found Wan Chen's Huang Liwen somewhat lacking. To be fair, it is a complex, messy role - a widow who is struggling to find meaning in her loss and existence. But she never convinces that her zeal for her cause is grander than love or friendship or even life itself. And she needs saving all the time. She only has three expressions - woebegone, helpless and cold. For her, a kiss is just a kiss; a means to an end with little true passion. I find her feelings for and attitude towards Zhicai unfathomable and frustrating. I don't think that is what the writers intended. Although she almost redeems herself at the end, I still find her unworthy of the sacrifices and risks Zhicai took for her.
For me this is an 8.5 that would have been a 9.0 if a better actress played Liwen. Nonetheless, I very much enjoyed the story and dark humor - it is very rare to see it done so well in c-drama. I can highly recommended watching this even though as a consequence, I suffered a major relapse and started cyber stalking Chen Kun again.
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this came as las minute show to watch
the show started a little boring but progressed as it went. the casting and acting was great.. loved the lead actors chemistry.the drama wasn't much which i enjoyed and the emotional aspect of the show was touching especially when the male lead mother dies.
I only wishes the second lead male and female either got together or had found an happy ending.
I loved the parents in the show because it gave character and enjoyment.
the show was overall a 9/10 for me . i would probably rewatch in the future.
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It's not fancy, but it's weirdly addictive.
This drama reminds me of eating an entire bag of potato chips in one sitting.First you're like "meh i'll pass, i'm cool." But there's nothing else to snack on and they're just sitting right there staring you down, so you think "ok i'll have a few." And it's not like if someone asks you your 10 favorite foods that potato chips would be on that list. They ok. But you eat a few, and you just want a few more, and a few more, and before you know it you're like "THERE'S STILL SOME CRUMBS" and you're eating chip crumbs with your fingers like 'what am i even doing rn',
Well that's this drama. In most ways we normally describe shows, this is mid. The costumes, sets, acting, plot premise, production quality, bgm/ost... mid, mid and mid. But there's something so addictive about the SCRIPT, and the PACING. And on top of that, all the supporting characters with significant screentime are really handsome and gorgeous. ML and FL are too. The enemies and villains are given only as much screen time as necessary to fulfill their obligation to the plot. I wish more directors and producers would take note of that.... but anyway I digress....
My point here really is that this might not be the best thing ever, but if you start it, you're probably gonna finish it, because there's face cards everywhere, and the storyline and dialogue just flow in such a comfortable way that it's all too easy to just watch another ep and then another and another.
But just like eating an entire bag of chips, this doesn't truly satisfy. The show spends most of it's episodes with an emotional tone that's just a mellow flow of ups and downs. But then the final episodes take quite a strange turn and suddenly the emotional tone shifts very dramatically to "so, that happened..." You get something pretty different than what you bargained for, and... much like a bag of chips... you finish it and then say to yourself "why did I do that." And you're still hungry. Just not for chips.
It's a good way to pass the time if you have nothing else to watch, but I can't think of anyone I would recc this to. Spiceless, a lot of B and C tier acting performances by key characters, odd and fairly unpleasant ending (though it technically counts as an HE I guess???) Worth a bored, one-time watch if you straight up ran out of shows to watch.
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Not bad. Not great, but not bad.
There are a lot of good things about this - the acting is solid, especially from Hsiao Hung, who throws himself 110% into the role. His character can be a little OTT, but he pulls it off, and he has really good comic timing.The story and writing are not the strongest aspect of this - it leans way, way too heavily on misunderstanding, which is a particular crutch of Asian drama. Shang Zhou's emotional constipation is well-supported, and it's clear his character was formed by an unloving mother, so I did buy that, but it's carried too far - there is a situation in particular that could have been solved by a "yes" or even a subtle nod of his head, and Shun Yu's misunderstanding of the situation is less explainable and comes off as forced drama.
This works well as a comedy, but the problem is that it veers to heavily into drama, which is tonally dissonant and none of the drama is sufficiently supported.
What might have worked better is to have made the mother a more central villain, and made her the obstacle that had to be overcome, rather than really stupid misunderstandings. That would aslo have made Shun Yu's "boss moment" in the final confrontation with her much more satisfying. It was very well-acted, and it was quite a moment to see him finally become confident in love, but if there had been more of a development arc to that point it would have had a larger payoff.
The interaction between the two as a couple at the end was some of the best I've ever seen in a BL, with both of them acting like men, and not shying away from affection, There's no sex, but the way they hug and touch each other is uninhibited and convincing.
I really hope to see Hsiao Hung again - he's really talented, not to mention beautiful and hot. That skin is like porcelain.
Anyway, there is a lot of frustration in the second half, but the payoff in the finale is quite good, so I can recommend this, although there are some parts you might want to ff through.
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The Long Struggle To Watch
First off: good acting, in spite of what the scriptwriter and director provided.Still, the female lead was not so engaging in her facial expressions, and with disturbingly white capped teeth.
Chemistry of the lead couple also lacking.
The first 10 or 15 episodes it was not so much for two female characters being "lost in the world", as it was for the two male characters searching for them in an endless succession of scenes showing them riding and taking turns on empty wodded roads. They looked like idiots, and so felt I for still sticking to see the end of it.
Also, if one owns the fact that this story was inspired by a comics book story to the point of replacing battle scenes or large scale scenes with comics book style renditions, then why, oh why, the same one provides so called battle scenes with just two dozen extras. Again, not only it looks stupid and cheap, but also makes the one watching the series look stupid.
And the long, loooong scenes of people saying goodbye or saying hello. What's up with that so much irrelevant stuff on screen?
And the many instances of susspension of judgment, not of disbelief...
Just one case in point: closer to the end, one male character sets out to kill the one who killed the woman he loved, albeit in an unrequited love.
Anyway, a few frames down the road, he rides along the guy he wanted to execute. What happened? Who forgot who this guy was and what he was bent on doing?
What can I say?
A lot. Only that it will turn into a laundry list of "don'ts".
A looooong laundry list.
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Tempering Man-Made Insanity With Calm Acceptance and A Belief of Inner Goodness
- Positives -❤️ Visually stunning cinematography
❤️ Strong ost evoking deep emotion
❤️ FL that can admit that a past life action doesn't deserve current life punishment
- Negatives -
😮💨 Story plotlines are thin and often leave the audience to fill in the gaps themselves
😮💨 More than one of the antagonists are underdeveloped, serving as a plot device rather than a character
- Description -
With a visually stunning and emotionally graphic first episode, this show sets the stage for a tale of twisted insanity under the belief it's love. While little time is actually spent in this first life, it leaves an impression of shock upon the viewer and a lingering question of how the rebirth will play out after our female lead has experienced what she has.
If there is a true negative it may be that the opening scenes and a few minor additional flashbacks are the extent of the knowledge gained about the first life. This causes a perpetual question to be raised about whether the female lead had ANY feelings for the male lead in the original life. It is because of this lack of clarity that there becomes a disconnect in the second life towards why she would suddenly soften 'simply' because he is acting 'less' insane in this new life.
As such, when watching two emotions will be at war depending upon how you view the original events:
1) Being swept away by the romance presented on the screen as it is shown developing at surface level
- or -
2) Being annoyed or angry the female lead went 'soft' on the male lead and 'fell' for him.
Because the show is marketed as a romance, she notices differences AND similarities in him as compared to the original life and utilizes her knowledge to her advantage so that she can work towards calming his mind BEFORE it reaches the point of full insanity. Due to this, one of the more frustrating aspects ends up being that in the second act she is relegated to a more passive role. Gone is her ability to go anywhere or do anything proactive so her scenes take place when he returns to speak with her.
Ultimately, the person who will enjoy this most is one who doesn't 'mind' the brutality the male lead used against the female lead. Likewise, being able to turn off 'some' of your brain is required because of the narrative structure demanding a bit of "just go with it". Finally, being okay with a lack of details and being required to fill the dots yourself is extremely helpful.
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I'm a little ashamed I watched this one because it was quite appalling in its depiction of sexual assault and emotional manipulation between the two leads. Definitely a toxic relationship. This one was meant to pull on our heartstrings with that horrible breakup at the beginning. But all it ends up accomplishing is horror-stricken shock throughout its run. Would have been a better drama if the lead who was killed at the beginning successfully left his abusive lover at the end and it was shown how his life was better for it. Instead we were relegated to disquieting scenes of obsession and assault, non of which show real love. Ultimately, this drama had potential that was then torpedoed.
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"No One Can Judge Me but Myself"
First underrated gem of 2025! I had no idea this show even existed until I saw the trailer on X and was like wow, this looks good. I knew two of the leads and a few of the support; the writing, acting, storytelling, suspense, surprise it was all there.Pros: The iron triangle consisting of the leads that knew each other pretty much from childhood though the ML or XTS/XH and SML or SY/HX (but I will use SML in this review because his "adoptive father" had the same initials)lost contact with each other and only met in the first episode. The plots revolved around a main story of the deaths of ML's parents which SML witnessed but because he was hit hard suffered from amnesia and didn't figure out who he was until later in the show thanks to the help of the other two. TS was placed in a foster home run by FL or JC's mom, so that's how they met. JC and SML met at work as he was a cop and she was a coroner. Bring in TS, the arson investigator and they created the iron triangle; a formidable team and great friends especially when SML regained his memories. Now they were up against two narcissistic psychopath serial killers; HP and SY.
This series left you guessing about almost everything; and just as you thought you had figured it out, they threw a surprise that was like holy cow, I didn't see that coming at all! There were individual cases to solve during the entire show but it all came back one way or another to the same two people who repeated the line that is the title of this review. All those cases were great and really showcased the strengths of our iron triangle and their sidekicks and leaders. HP had an identical twin HJ (but were different as humans could be; one was a cowardly nerd that always impressed their dad and one was a narcissistic psychopath trying to get approval from his dad) and one of them died in an explosive car accident in the very beginning and the whole show it was assumed by some characters that it was HP that died while HJ survived and was the kind one. Though everyone had their doubts and rightfully so. He stayed under the radar and didn't start showing his true colors again until the end of the series.
SY meanwhile was the serial killer that killed however he wanted and taunted the police until the very end. He was under their noses the entire time as he raised SML after figuring out that he lost his memory in the explosion that killed TS's parents; orchestrated by him and HK (father of the twins) and carried out by HP. All because they thought TS' dad had discovered their drug operation. SY was also responsible for SML's father's death in a way though that was his first one. Once he adopted SML he basically drugged him in some way to keep him from remembering the past. And though loving and caring; he was manipulating and controlling his "son" for 18 years.
Now I won't go more into the show because then what's the point of watching but this was a show you just wanted to keep watching. I had only ever seen the actor who played SY in protagonist roles so to see him play this horrifying character was pretty neat and creepy as to how he nailed it. He could go from a loving and caring father to an emotionless monster in the flip of a switch. And you could see it coming. With HP, he would be fine and then he would just go ballistic screaming, punching, kicking, hitting. One would do things cleanly and meticulously while the other was a screeching lunatic. There were other villains that were part of this series but obviously less than and when their connection became clear if there was one, you would see just how complex things really were. Some of the cases were related and some weren't.
Sadly, we lost one our leads at the end but her going for that necklace would be the only way to pin the entire thing including her own death on HP and prove which twin it really was without a doubt. Every character was there for as long as they needed to be. The side kicks of all three leads were awesome and there was even some comedy. JC and her mom's arc was actually devastating because just as they more or less reconciled and mom wanted to learn how to be a good, loving mom to her daughter, she lost her forever.
I really wish this show had the proper promotion or any actually because it really deserved it. OSTs, fight scenes, fire scenes, etc were all on point. I can talk about this show and its characters for hours but then you wouldn't have a reason to watch lol.
Cons: Very few; one anticlimactic death of SY, throwing himself off the roof when cornered by SML (many of us thinking that going in for that hug he would have taken SML with him) and couldn't face punishment so as a coward who routinely played God with other peoples lives and thought of them as things and cases, as well as manipulated and drugged the only person he claimed to love, so he took the easy way out and I felt that just didn't really fit his character. He should have died in a fire and slowly; that would have been justice.
When JC traveled abroad to study, though she constantly refused HP's (HJ at the time) creepy offerings to stay at his house that she would find a place on her own, she still somehow ended up living with HJ's girlfriend's house. I thought that was too much of a coincidence. Though no one ever explained it, it was a huge loophole. Also, her coming home to find the girlfriend that disappeared like she was a cop getting herself also kidnapped in the process was just dumb. No idea how she managed to shake the cops following her which was stupid to begin with. That entire thing seemed to go against who she was as a character and her death was also beyond unnecessary. She could have gotten to the necklace and passed out and then recovered at the hospital. But no, they had to make TS lose his training skills as a firefighter when he found her unconscious on the floor and instead of scooping her up immediately and running out the door, he spent precious seconds shaking her before picking her up and walking out in almost slow motion. Like what? Her dying was completely nonsensical. That's it.
Would I recommend it? I absolutely would. This was a gritty, arson investigation drama that had everything you could ask for and more. If you like these types of shows, I'd have to say this is one of the better ones despite the cons.
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1 Litre of Tears deserves nothing less than a 10. This is my third time around watching it, and the only reason why I rated the rewatch value a 6 is because this is not an everyday drama, something you watch just to pass the time. It can be emotionally draining, and you need to be in the right sort of mood to watch it.
I wouldn't watch this drama all the time, but I would definitely recommend it to everyone out there. Whether you're a jdrama fan or not, I think everyone should watch 1 Litre of Tears at least once in their lifetime. Especially if you are a jdrama fan. How can you call yourself one if you've yet to see this? It's such a powerful drama. All about Aya, a 15 year old girl who's diagnosed with such a cruel disease. Her disease gradually takes away her motor functions, and little everyday things you and I take for granted.
This drama will open up your heart and really make you appreciate the abilities you have now. Ako (Aya's sister) says what I think is a pivotal message in this drama. "To actually have the ability, but to do nothing, I really don't like that." After watching this drama, you'll reevaluate everything. You'll definitely have a new outlook on life. I know I did. If this 15 year old girl, with such a hopelessly cruel disease is able to find a purpose to keep living, to keep pushing through to the next day, why can't any of us do the same?
1 Litre of Tears is near and dear to my heart. I love it so much. Of all the jdramas I've seen, I'd say this is the one everyone needs to watch. If you absolutely hate crying, and it's a deal breaker for you, then I can honestly say it's your loss. It's such a profound story, with an equally amazing cast, and the soundtrack is breathtaking. You're not human if your eyes don't at least water. Excellent drama.
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