Completed
Something Happened in Bali
16 people found this review helpful
Oct 21, 2014
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 2
Overall 9.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 7.5
Rewatch Value 5.0
WHIB is not about love triangle like it seems on the surface. In fact it's not about love at all, it's about obsession over money and how that screws people up. It's not the most typical drama out there and it will make you depressed. But I feel like it really hits the nail in criticizing Korean society and explains why so many people just can't be happy.

Jae Min feels like In Wook is taking all his women.
In Wook feels like Jae Min is getting his women.
Young Joo feels like Soo Jung is taking all her men.
Soo Jung? She just has to choose but is having a hard time.
But choose between what?

And so the show goes on in small circles, again and again and again. The force what drives life and moves the world is money and it dictates the laws of darkness. There is no love, no happiness, nothing meaningful in money but everyone needs it. One doesn't have it, second has too much and third experienced both situations. No one became happy. That's life folks.

The whole drama is boring and drags on like your feet after walking 100 miles but... BUT! The beauty of the show comes to light after you have finished it! This dark show is not to be taken too lightly, you have to analyze everything and you will understand the beauty within!

The cast is wonderful and acting super good. The main girl, of course, super annoying. She is miserable but at the same time hateful. Then there is Young-joo the nasty girl. I liked her pretty much. She is bad and desperate but well... everything makes sense in the end.

I am sure many people will find this drama hard to like and easy to loathe but give it a chance and dive into it as deep as possible. This one show is deep and needs devotion, you won't get anything out of it without analyzing the psychology behind every action. It's going to be a depressing and miserable ride but that's what life is about sometimes.

What happened in Bali?
Happiness.

Complaints? Well, backgrounds of some characters could have been explained better and there were some questions left unanswered. And there could have been less episodes. And it's a bit unsatisfying that instead of getting over their problems these people... well... yeah.

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Completed
Gelboys
16 people found this review helpful
Mar 22, 2025
7 of 7 episodes seen
Completed 3
Overall 7.0
Story 6.5
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 7.0
This review may contain spoilers

Gel nails, Airdrops, Blackpink and Teenage Angst

While these boys and their crushes and rejections had them peeing themselves on zoom calls, mine had me saving someone son’s name as ‘Psalms 45:2’ on my phone. Also, these boys had me out here frustrated and stressed. Cuz: Fou4Mod is in love with Chian, who is in love with Bua, who is in love with Baabin, who is in love with Fou4Mod, who is in love with Chian. It was a love circle and it gave me a headache. Let me explain.

The CRUSH CIRCLE OF GELBOYS.
Chian—>Bua—>Baabin—>Fou4Mod—>Chian

See, a love square. Everyone had a crush on someone who didn’t like them back. Children please put that phone down and see the life happening in front of you. But of course, that would have been too easy, and there wouldn't have been any drama. No, but really, this whole show was a giant headache of stress and idiots in love. I was stressing for someone to shut up and be with someone, so we'd have some peace. Then of course, all the nonsense ended with Chian—>Fou4Mod & Baabin—>Bua. People, I could have told you this family tree weeks ago. All that teenage angst and for what?

These boys, oh these gelboys. Was having a crush ever that serious? YES, yes it was, and I'm sure we all understand why. Most of us have been there: Crying your eyes out at 2am to a sad song while going through their socials, stalking them in person and online, the panic when you see them and you aren't prepared, the stress of what to wear on days you know you’d see them, the delulu scenarios you make in your head to love songs, then the absolute pain and heartbreak when your crush announce their dating Janet from Class B. Like, what does Janet have? Sure she looks good in lipgloss and her hair always does that thing, but… whhhhhy Psalms 45:2 why you didn’t love me back when in my head we married to a Taylor Swift song???

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that, although all these 4 characters should pay your decision is dumb taxes, having been in their shoes and understanding the angst that is being a teenager, I don't blame them. I'm actually surprised they figured it out in the end and everyone went where they were supposed to be, and those who needed to apologise did, and those who needed closure got theirs too. Me, I'm still stalking Psalms 45:2 on instagram. Janet's hair still does the thing... love that for her, but also not.

Fou4Mod
This boy broke his own heart over and over again. He knew he was being kept on the hook, knew Chian was in love with Bua, but still he went ‘ah, it’s fine let’s be whatever’ and then made a whole delulu relationship out of it, thinking it would turn real. And the whole time, my arse was like: 'This aint disney honey, that frog aint gonna turn into a prince'. Then of course he decided to hurt two innocent people for his own selfish reasons, poor Baabin and Faifa did not deserve what he did to them. Did I feel sorry for him, yes, cuz we all do stupid things when our heart is involved, but really, most of the problems he had were caused by himself, so at the end of the day he deserved some of the hurt. I'm glad he wised up in the end, put himself first until he was ready to give Chian a fair chance.

Chian
Yes, at some point everyone hated him for how he treated Fou4Mod but he was honest about where his heart was, sure he led Fou4Mod on, but he was also being kept on the hook and looking for a way to heal his broken heart, so really can we fault him for everything that went wrong? He did learn in the end, when he lost Fou4Mod and saw that he’d been stupid. It was good on him that he kept fighting and waiting after knowing his true feelings. I also felt bad for him at some point, and after he came around, was okay he ended up with Fou4Mod. Frankly would have been fine either way.

Baabin
Poor boy had me wiping pixelated tears from my screen during that episode when he got his heart completely shattered. No, baby was so sad. That scene broke me, made me form a protect Baabin squad, only to immediately regret it when he started putting Bua on the hook as well. Like, that was not on the bingo card child, reset. The whole time I was like: 'boy if you don’t stop your nonsense and love Bua back this instant, dafug you mean all that meant nothing?' No, but our kind-hearted baby immediately denounced Bua when Fou4Mod started his ugly crying, dude??? But I can’t fault him, the heart wants what it wants, so…

Super glad he later explained his reason, that yes he liked Bua back, of course he did, but he kept denying his feelings cuz Fou4Mod didn't like Bua and he didn't want to hurt his friend's feeling. Glad Fou4Mod came around on Bua, and was happy for Baabin, it's what those two deserves. If they hadn't end up together, I'd have been a bit sad.

Bua
I never blamed this dude for not liking Chian back. And after learning about his family situation I understood him more. He’s deprived of attention at home, and Chian gave him some, so of course he didn’t want to lose that. I don’t know about you, but you can get jealous when your friends get new friends and you start feeling like you are losing them. Yes, he was wrong for keeping him on the hook, but I felt so sad for this boy the last two episodes like... no honey, if he don't like foreigners with blue eyes and brown hair, it's alright, I don't like his stupidity either. In the end, I was glad he said his peace, and Baabin came to his senses, cuz if I had to see these 4 characters cried more ugly tears I'd have rioted.

Listen, the overall matter is that, all these 4 characters were wrong and right at one point, none of them were saints or completely green. But given that they were teenagers dealing with first loves and whatnot, I don't fault them for being dumb and downright mean in some cases. Now they’ve experience it, and they are more wiser for it. I hope.

I knew the very moment I finished episode 1 that this drama was going to be a favourite of mine. Everything from how it was filmed and directed, the documentary feel of it, to the cast, to the music, to the script made me enjoy it a lot. Sure it was very relatable and made me remember some stupid mistakes I made not so long ago, but I enjoyed it for that reason too. The way this was filmed put us right there in the moment with the characters, it felt so raw, and I liked that a lot. Look at that, Thai bls finally giving us something new to gosh over after a long time. Kudos director-nim.

Anywho, great show, the best out of Thailand this year so far. Looking forward to seeing more work from the 4 leads in the future. I recommend this to all bl lovers, and those who loved the director's previous work, it's worth a watch. Be warn though, it's teenage stupidity and angst in full force.

For anyone wondering...Psalms 45v2...: 'You are the most handsome of the sons of men; grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever.'

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Completed
Familiar Wife
16 people found this review helpful
Mar 19, 2021
11 of 11 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 9.0

Life is a continuation of choices.

After watching "Clover" 3 years ago, I have waited for next slice of life/romance drama from Okura Tadayoshi. I feel my wait has been rewarded well and his acting has improved greatly.

I didn't like the original, Familiar Wife, but I loved Shitteru Waifu from the first episode. Familiar wife, seemed more frustrating and didn't invoke that nostalgia and longing sadness which Shitteru Waifu exceled at. Japanese remakes have disappointed me. By some magical stroke of luck, the creators took familiar wife and made it their own style, the classic Jdrama style of raw emotions.

Initially, I couldn't stop myself from comparing both but the difference became so obvious as show progressed.
I couldn't stop myself from admiring the narration style, the nostalgic flash back scenes filled with beautiful light glare effects and the music which felt like a tune you had heard long time ago.
I couldn't stop myself from feeling both resentful and sorry for ML. (He looks aged now or is that his level of dedication?!)
I couldn't stop myself from saying "ah cute" at both the leading ladies,(and feel bad for them) and cutest of all, the FL's mom. (I love my mom, but she is so cute and sweet, I just cant..).
I couldn't stop myself from pausing mid-episode, and ponder my own life choices.
I couldn't stop myself from crying a tiny bit in every episode and at my own regrets.
I couldn't stop myself from feeling that elated joy and satisfaction of the ending. (I wish I could talk about the ending and how starkly different it was from the original's.)
I couldn't stop myself from being sad now that it has ended.
I couldn't stop myself from thinking about the innumerable messages from this show.
I don't think I can stop myself from fondly lookback at this show for years to come. (surely will do a full rewatch some time later.)

I guess, I couldn't stop myself from giving a personal and biased review. (There are minor flaws, like they didn't show much about bank people in last episode, or most of the scenes were a bit predictable but I'm not complaining.)

To quote the show, life is a continuation of choices. You could choose to watch this show and feel grateful for living or you could choose not to watch this show and live with regret of not pressing the play button.

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Completed
One and Only
16 people found this review helpful
by JoU3
Aug 29, 2021
24 of 24 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

Amazing drama, amazing acting

I mainly watched this for Bai Lu and finally i was able to enjoy a drama where Allen acts and i could see his true talent and understand why so many people hype him up. I watched this drama in less than two days for how amazing the story was developed , how shiyi character became the perfect balance of a strong , sensitive and smart female lead can be and even then showed some mistakes as young but grew once she had to mature . The way ML battle team was arranged I LOVED IT. Finally its not a group of 5 guys and one girl. Two amazing sisters ready to help ShiYi to grow and rely on. None of the girls doubted for their power or skills. Most important I felt like all of this was a Girls support girls and my favorite part was when Empress said she didnt envy shiyi but felt sorry for her because she didnt even see her as a threat but as a sister. This drama is amazing and as someone that hates sad endings this one is indeed unique and worth it. It will stay in my heart forever. Thank god we have a second season else i wouldn't be able to handle it

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Completed
Orange Days
16 people found this review helpful
Apr 6, 2011
11 of 11 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
Even if the summary may be a turnoff for some, Orange Days is a very distinct drama and you'll get intertwined in its beautiful and bittersweet tale. The drama touches on romance, friendships, self-acceptance, life after college, and other topics young adults face today in our world. The drama isn't too serious; it has sparks of humor as well. The characters are brilliant, endearing, and make this drama come to life. Now if you are not a fan of romance or youth drama, this probably isn't your cup of tea, but I still feel you should give it watch a try, watch an episode or two. I highly recommend this drama. If you like romance, youth dramas, or any of the actors from the cast, give it a shot!

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Completed
Only Friends
16 people found this review helpful
by Shiro
Oct 30, 2023
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 3.5

Hook ups, throw ups, fuck ups, hiccups...

Only friends does not really have much of a story at least not the first few episodes as there will be people touching each others genitals in pretty much every single scene making me wonder 1. did they use protection and 2. how durable are the skin and muscles of youth down below...

Pretty much every single one of the men in this is despicable at one point or another with the exception of the bartender who just had to little screen time to be so...

Only friends can apparently do a whole lot of shit making me wonder if these people really are friends forget the only, I would settle for acquaintances at some point, s this is probably the loneliest bunch of friends I have seen in all of Dramalad.

The main characters;
Sand- Smile to die for is shown to be this kind of saint but deep down we kind of know this guy is disloyal and can easiely throw his friend under a buss... He is however a good influence on some and has the best t-shirts.

Ray- Boy is crying for help so loudly... he does give up some psychopath vibes and I keep on going between wanna hug the guy and wanting to put him behind bars...

Top- Man is good looking, the ultimate bad boy you want to tame and make go good... but for the life of me I do not get what he sees in Mew... badboy desrservs better

Mew- I really do not get the guy, selfish annoying, fake... Psychopath... yes he has a nice smile but that is where the guys character ends. Why can't this actor get better parts?

Boston- Dude is crying for help... I hate him I love him I hate him again... I have had issues with Neos acting but honestly this time he nailed his character and did a great job.

Nick- One pretty huge mistake but after that I think Mark finally made my crush-list the most charming of the bunch...

Bowing- I have no words... dude needs to get some help...

Actually the whole bunch could use some help....

That said it was an entertaining watch, it completely lacked substance (unless you count saliva as substance), but it was indeed entertaining and filled a whole yers quota of watching people hook up!


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Completed
Dating: What's It Like To Be In Love?
15 people found this review helpful
Apr 4, 2015
10 of 10 episodes seen
Completed 3
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 6.0
This was one hilarious drama! The premise itself is unusual, and sometimes hard to swallow. A rigid woman who never fell in love wants to get married and a hikikomori is looking for another woman to leach off because his mother is getting older. The drama follows their story as they decided to date and if all goes well, then get married. Of course it never goes well and it is not an easily attainable goal. More than just the couple, their family and closest friends are all involved in the process. What we get here is a fun, endearing, entertaining, uncommon romantic comedy that brings you to unexpected places. We end up exploring a question that is strangely not that often explored: What is love. The drama doesn't leave us hanging and does show us it's own interpretation of it. Whether it is true or it is left up to each viewer and their experience with love.

What differentiated this rom-com from other is its characters. Starting with Higashide Anne as Yabushita Yoriko. She is a girl obsessed with numbers and with things being exact.She pre-schedules everything and always needs to plan ahead anything she needs to be done. She's already set with her life and is inflexible even with the most mundane things. I find that she has a big heart and emotions, she just deals with things practically so can easily be viewed as heartless. Then there is Hasegawa Hiroki as Taniguchi Takumi who's treated as a NEET by all though he prefers a different title on himself. He refuses to work and just want someone and his view of women and emotions is unrealistic and comes from books and movies. He can easily be perceived as a loser, but somehow we start to understand him and the reason behind him becoming a hikikomori. Despite such odd personalities they had such a great chemistry. I loved each and every scene they had, and their conversations are always most fun to watch. Seeing them go through each hurdle that may be normal for most people with their particular views is part of the fun.

Other than the leads, we have many secondary characters. Nakajima Yuto as the innocent Washio as a delight. He is a sensitive young lad who cannot accept our leads' point of view on love and marriage and wants to prove them differently. He also has ulterior motive, and has such a sweet heart. Kuninaka Ryoko playing the cool Kaori is my favourite role for her. She kicks ass, she's cute, and she talks like a yankee XD. Her brother Sotaro played by Matsuo Satoru is maybe the most hilarious of all. He also is the one that makes things move when people are being in denial and refuse to move forward. Then there's the parents.
I really love Takumi's mother with her nature of not taking anything seriously. She does hide her pain behind a façade but she is very strong and doens't deny neither her weaknesses nor her son's. Yoriko's dad is also a sweetheart. He only wants his daughter to be happy. It is heartwarming how he accepts her the way she is. Another highlight is Yoriko's mom. There are many ways we can interpret her character but she always says the most hurtful things everyone want to ignore. For sure her mother has a big impact on her life and has Yoriko constantly competing with her.

So overall it was a great drama. It has an unconventional romcom with many interesting chararters and excellent performance. It may not be for someone who expect a romantic story despite the title. If you like light comedies and different themes about love, then that is your drama.

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Completed
Love Mechanics
16 people found this review helpful
Jun 21, 2022
10 of 10 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 7.0
This review may contain spoilers

angsty BL with excellent lead actors/chemistry

Overall: Although I struggled with the angst/flawed characters and especially how the series started, I think it was well done. Make sure to watch past the first credits of the final episode, more like that please! Note: this is a remake/extended version of En of Love: Love Mechanics which aired in 2020 and was about 2 hours runtime, you don't need to watch the shorter version first. Watched on WeTV.

Content Warnings: dub/non con kiss, non con sex (very drunk), briefly held against will, past suicide attempt?, manhandling, homophobia, vomiting, violence/beaten up, punch/slap, domestic violence, victim self blaming

What I Liked
- acting of Yin & War and their chemistry
- cute moments
- funny moments
- for once I didn't hate an ex (Mark's)
- they address wealth differences and homophobia
- production value

Room For Improvement
- very disappointed in the sex scene. In many places being mentally incapacitated means you cannot give consent and clearly Mark was mentally incapacitated as he thought Vee was a different person. Although we see 3 beer bottles in the garbage, Vee does not appear to be at an equal level of drunkenness. I don't care at all that Mark was the initial aggressor, Vee should not have had sex with Mark. I would say this was non con no matter what sexual position Mark was. If they wanted to go the drunk sex route then Vee should have also been totally wasted and saying that Mark was his girlfriend and both been freaked out in the morning. (this would also make me hate Vee less as he just casually cheated on his girlfriend)
- hearing vomiting sounds is not my ideal way to start a series
- Vee said something in episode 6 to Mark that I think would end many relationships, sometimes apologies are not enough
- cliche plot point in episode 7
- Vee has some bad friends, they should have at least talked to him to hear his side
- poor communication
- side couples starting out in the final episode
- lack of intro credits/OST and basic closing credits

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Completed
Love in the Air
16 people found this review helpful
by Lyson
Nov 20, 2022
13 of 13 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 4.5
Story 4.0
Acting/Cast 4.5
Music 1.0
Rewatch Value 1.0
This review may contain spoilers

I was hesitant with good reason.

•ᴍʏ ʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ ꜱʏꜱᴛᴇᴍ: 4.5 = [ᴀʟᴍᴏꜱᴛ ᴅᴇꜰɪɴɪᴛᴇʟʏ ᴅʀᴏᴘᴘᴇᴅ ꜱᴏᴍᴇᴛɪᴍᴇꜱ ɴᴏᴛ ᴇᴠᴇɴ ᴀᴅᴅᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴍʏ ᴡᴀᴛᴄʜʟɪꜱᴛ, ᴇɪᴛʜᴇʀ ɪᴛ'ꜱ ᴛᴏᴛᴀʟʟʏ ᴛʀᴀꜱʜ ᴏʀ ɪᴛ'ꜱ ᴛᴏᴛᴀʟʟʏ ʙᴏʀɪɴɢ.]

I initially skipped this, then with some free time I decided to try it. Couldn't make it all the way through, skipped a lot in each episode. I'll break it down why starting with;

THE GOOD;
1. Visually appealing. Budget was obviously not bad for this.
2. Sky was (for the most part) a likeable and fairly grounded character.
3. The kissing scenes (only, and not including the very, very, veeeery long lean in shots leading up to most kisses) didn't feel forced, especially between and Sky and Prapai.
4. ...I can't think of anything else.

THE BAD;
1. Rain (as an overall character) was not likeable and his stupid, flakey, flip flopping and nonsensical hot cold 'wtf is going on' behavior was very tedious. I thought it was impossible to get worse, but then the writers drowned the character in cringeworthy tropes during the couple arc with Payu and wow, it was so awful. NB: only really bad writers make their characters declare out aloud to random people (and TOTALLY uncalled for) that only their boyfriend can screw them. That is terrible. And it's not sexy. Self respect is attractive! At least to me.

2. 'Badass' characters should be written in a 'less is more' vain please. I did not at all find any of the bikers, and certainly not Payu and Prapai to be badasses or badboys or whatever. I mean, they looked cool most of the time, but that was about it.

3. The editing. Abrupt cuts scenes and background music abound. There is no flow here. Just 'something happe- cut to a different scene, lose the atmosphere, carry on'. Feels like a rush job. There's an art in cutting a scene at the right moment or fading it out, the editing here didn't flow well in many scenes. Also using boom mics will fix that noisy mic jostling sound that is heard when the actors are making close physical contact.

4. TROPE TROPE TROPE and none executed particularly well, if at all. I am not against tropes, some can be fun and enjoyable if they're done nicely, but no. Just no.

5. So many people are just gay all the way, and in such tight circles. Not realistic. I'm a supporter of sexual fluidity, but if we're basing a show in a factual setting, let's try not to write out fangirl daydreams maybe.

THE UGLY;
1. I don't get why in many BL shows these days things have to be rapey or have unequal power dynamics being abused or enforced. It's not attractive, it's not appealing, it's cringe and it's ugly. I won't comment again on the disaster writing of Rain, but when it came to Sky, I think portraying him as being a little easy would have been better than portraying it as him sleeping with Prapai under some kind of duress. As for his history, well I guess they kind of tried to explain something with that but missed the mark. And making Prapai essentially a stalker was very weird too. Generally, that behaviour would lead to a retraining order guys.

FINAL THOUGHTS;
Over all, both main character pairings had underlying 'manipulated and coerced' vibes. Icky. I would not recc this. Go watch Semantic Error instead!

I don't blame the actors, they follow the script and the director!! I believe they tried their best!

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Completed
Sakristan
16 people found this review helpful
Jul 18, 2020
8 of 8 episodes seen
Completed 2
Overall 1.5
Story 1.5
Acting/Cast 2.5
Music 4.0
Rewatch Value 1.0
This review may contain spoilers

Such a huge waste of time...

There are so many things about this I didn’t like. It would probably shorter if I listed things I liked about it but nothing comes to mind. I felt there might have been a good story somewhere in the series, but it seems like most of it got left on the cutting room floor. Instead we have marginal acting at best, horrible editing and sound quality. The film itself seemed to vary in quality. I found myself not really caring about any of the characters or their motivations. I was rooting for Zach and Wolf and it seems like that nigh’ expectations happened in the last episode, but once again, the scenes seemed to be taken out of context. This felt like the director was trying to make a bold, artistic statement that ended up looking like a student project. I can’t think of one thing I liked about it, unless you count watching someone shoving food into her mouth for half an episode. Was that supposed to be funny? Because the tone seemed out of place in the series. Watch Gameboys or Hello Stranger for something uplifting and fun. Don’t waste your time on this.

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Completed
One Week Friends
16 people found this review helpful
by aiyono
Jul 14, 2022
Completed 2
Overall 9.0
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 9.5

DEF worth the watch!! the plotwist GOT ME GRIPPIN MY SEAT

bro this movie was like so slow at the beginning, and i was so fooled cuz i was like lol this sucks. I was also comparing it to better days so i was like damn this shit bad. BUT THEN IT ALL LIKE STARTED MAKING SENSE AND I WAS LIKE OOOOOO OKOK AND BRUH. The acting is FIRE, but i personally don't think the main couple had much chemistry but it was bareable cus hs romance is usually not super like intense ykwim. I could really feel the emotion through their acting and honestly had to tear up. The story is kinda slow and doesn't make much sense at the beginning which makes it kinda cringey to watch but later on it progresses and ur able to assemble the pieces together in ur head. Also, im like not even gonna lie, the romance was not the star of the show, but rather the friendship. However, the movie focused so heavily on the romance that it did not live up to its potential. THE CINEMATICS ON THE OTHER HAND, OMFG THEY WERE BEAUTIUFL. I felt like each second of the movie could be paused and would be so beautiful and perfect that it could be like my computer wallpaper. It really helped immerse the audience in the young and youthful typa vibe. But overall, I would say its a great experience and def worth the watch if ur into coming of age films.

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Completed
BORDER
16 people found this review helpful
by helkwo
Jun 6, 2014
9 of 9 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 8.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
This drama was my introduction to JDrama and I am glad that I ventured outside of KDrama. Oguri Shun and the other cast members portrayed their characters very convincingly and I especially liked the dark undertone of the show. I also appreciated the understated approach of the show; the characters were not overly emotional or reacted to situations in an exaggerated manner. Each episode dealt with different crimes and most of them were quite original. I would recommend this drama to anyone who enjoys good crime dramas.
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Completed
Back to Seventeen
16 people found this review helpful
Sep 22, 2023
25 of 25 episodes seen
Completed 3
Overall 9.5
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 9.5

The Best Time Travel Mini Mini Drama Love Story You Will Ever Watch

This is my first and possibly last review. The only reason I am writing this is to persuade more people to watch this, in spite of it's low rating of 8, it really deserves 9.5 as a minimum!

I caveat it as a mini mini drama because each episode is on average 3-6 minutes long. There's not even an opening or ending song just a couple of repeated tracks. So you are totally focussed on the drama.

I really like this premise - Zhong Xiao Xiao goes back in time and actually gets to know the guy she has a crush on. She had a longstanding crush on Xu Yang who never knew anything, and I don't think she really knew him either just thought he was cute. Left school, that was it, all left behind.

Won't spoil it except to say she gets to know him and she gets to know other people along the way.

What stands out for this series is they manage to fit in a cohesive time travel story, relationship developments, comedy golden moments and even angst all in a matter of minutes in an episode. No fillers involved, and you truthfully just want more of their story.

Fine nuanced acting is in every second (we only have minutes to play with) here for all the key actors in their stories - you will feel the sadness/elation with the characters for the 4 minutes that the drama is on. I highlight episodes 9, 20 and 24 as great examples of these.

Many seem to think this would make great movie but I beg to differ - the way this was edited and shot was just excellent, drama series style - designed to give you that lingering cliffhanger feeling and wanting more with each episode closure. IN 4 MINUTES! And they achieved it with every episode.

Please, please watch this and give these 2 lead actors and the production crew the credit they deserve. And watch it without spoilers - I mean the drama is pretty short, no need to make it shorter by spoiling it 😆 The surprises/plot twists uncovered were all pretty good/unexpected, rest assured.

GO WATCH IT!

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Completed
Sculpted Light
16 people found this review helpful
Jan 28, 2026
5 of 5 episodes seen
Completed 2
Overall 3.5
Story 2.5
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 3.5
Rewatch Value 1.0
This review may contain spoilers

When the credits are longer than the story...

This is an odd one. The story could have been very interesting, but the execution was soooooooo bad. Even the murder of the uncle was comical using a butter knife... which does not even have a pointy end... As always I'm not a fan of the dubbing especially because it felt off. They had a big house, expensive car, but could not invest the money and time to tell the story more comprehensible.

And why did the credits run longer than the episodes? To split it in five epsiodes was a waste of time, especially if you have to wait for the next episode for a week. So, the execution lacked a bunch, the story should be much much longer, even a short movie of around 45minutes would have been better than this.

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Completed
The Most Difficult Romance
16 people found this review helpful
Jul 25, 2016
10 of 10 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 10
Rewatch Value 9.5
I was highly anticipating this dorama because it sounded like the cliched rom-com one may want to watch to pass the time, and I wasn't wrong.

The plot is not original, it's something we might have seen a thousand times over. If I had to summarise it in under 50 words, this is what I'd say: ''Tsundere president of hotel company falls in love with pretty employee. He's the best at his job but sucks at love. Mayhem ensues.''
To be fair though, this rom-com may be something more than your usual tsundere rich guy/pretty and pure employee story, but don't expect to find out about what it is that makes it different until the very end.

Let's talk about the characters. We have Ohno Satoshi as Samejima Reji, the brattiest 2 years old in the body of a 30-something years old you'll ever meet. He'll make you root for him, love him, then despise him around the 5th episode's mark, and then kinda like him again in the end. It's seriously a roller-coaster.
Haru plays Shibayama Misaki, Samejima's love interest, and does so convincingly. Amazing at her job, she's capable of standing up for herself when needed, which is good, but her habits of speaking in keigo really gets to you after a while. Overall, a likeable character, though.
Let's move on to my favourite character: Muraoki, Samejima's secretary! She's sassy, independent, strong, amazing, and awesome. She tells it like it is and she's quite simply the best. A+.
Finally, I'm not going to mention the rest of the characters, but each and everyone of them was a nice addition. Shout-out to Miura for being the best clueless buffoon ever.

The acting was good, albeit a little over the top at times (but I kinda liked that because it was fitting.) I loved Samejima's facial expressions so much. They were the funniest hands down.
Also, having watched Haru in some interviews and programs and stuff, where she barely speaks or moves at all, I was pleasantly shocked to see she's a good actress. There's nothing, or little, of Haru in Misaki.

I loved the music! The ending theme is, of course, Arashi, and it's a very catchy song.

I'm not one for rewatching doramas, but this was so good, so I'm definitely gonna watch it again sometimes in the next few years.

All in all, this is a great dorama. Funny as heck. Made me go as far as watching it without subtitles because I couldn't wait - and my Japanese is basic at best! Also, I believe the ending is probably hinting to a second season or a SP (more probable), so I'm holding my breath for that.

Definitely recommended for those of you looking for:
-a (somehow different kind of) rom-com
-a tsundere main lead (it doesn't get any more tsundere than Reiji, istg)
-a funny dorama with typical Japanese over-the-top acting
-(kinda) realistic portrayal of some aspects of romantic relationships

Isanami suyao ;)

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