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Strong Leads, Flirty Romance - but I expected more
This drama has a really cool CP dynamic, with a lot of mutual flirting and two strong, mature leading characters played by actors with very good, natural chemistry.I totally had a girl crush on the FL, who is exactly how I imagine a cool woman in her thirties would be.
She is more than "just“ strong, she has a lot of common sense + in all things she is no-bs, when handling issues she often voiced the things I criticize in how other dramas handle relationships. She might be one of my favorite cool-headed FLs.
As for the male lead he was really nice + had a calm aura, honestly I wish cdramas had more of those nice and loyal guys that only have eyes for the FL.
The first 10 episodes of the drama raised my excitement for the rest of the drama sky high - however I soon was awakened from my dream of rating this a 10/10, when the writer appeared to have fallen asleep.
There is nothing wrong, nor would I say it took a nose dive, but the build up was so strong, that I had expected it would only go up from here but it kind went from sprint to marathon, where the good episodes came out first and then nothing happened for multiple episodes.
The business plot of the drama was slightly boring to me, as I was in it for the romance but the message about being a strong women, identifying PUA and relationships in general from a female perspective was good.
Critique: (spoilers ahead)
The three major critique points I want to highlight are for one, the therapist/patient relationship of a side character that was incredibly unprofessional and like many other things in this drama was anti-climatic. If you want to showcase a unprofessional therapist, then go all the way and let it "explode" and then deal with the fallout, but to just let it fade into the background and not address it? Hm, no thanks.
Secondly the secondary couple. Oh boy. I loveeee age gap couples but what happened to the poor woman's brain once she met the guy? A little spoiler here but when a woman in her early fourties suddenly talks and acts like a 16 year old, it's just plain embarrassing. When she fell because she saw a dog, I could only laugh.
But I have to admit since age gap couples are my kryptonite I somehow still enjoyed this pairing but it was a love/hate relationship for me, lol.
And my last critique point is that for the amount of flirting and spicy scenes we got early on, it was really was a lackluster later on. Yes, they had a very healthy and mature relationship for most part of the drama but it focused more on the business side and supporting characters after episode 10 and that was a let down.
I can only repeat myself but the first part of the drama was simply the best. The plot of her friend and the affair I thought was really interesting because the dynamic of a second family was different than your average husband-cheated storyline. I was bummed to see that this person just completely vanished and that part of the story was dealt with super fast. Same goes for the FLs family background, which I had expected to have more of an impact but it seemed like that was a story of the past.
!!ENDING SPOILER!!
....like so many chinese dramas it suffers from a very rushed (happy) ending, it didn't have last-episode-feeling and for all the investment in side characters earlier on, only a few showed up at the end. There is a lot of room for a second season but there are no major plot holes or open endings.
Like I mentioned above I felt like the writer fell asleep. however the flirty romance in the beginning was worth it in my opinion and if you know what you're in for I believe this can be a great watch if you want something flirty + it has a really great OST and for once I did not skip the intro because it's so darn cute!
All in all I would say I expected it to be different after having such a great start but I also enjoyed it a lot at times.
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Short and easy watch with delicious food scenes
“Nagatanto to Aoto: Ichika no Ryourijou” also known as “Kitchen Knife and Green Chili Pepper” is a sweet, slice of life drama about a female chef’s fight to keep her family restaurant open due to financial difficulties. In order to save the restaurant, she has to marry a 19-year-old student, 15 years her junior. This sounds like a HUGE age gap, and it is. However, the drama does not give me an icky feeling due to this age difference.Amane (ML) is way mature for his age and luckily, Ichika (FL) is not written as an innocent and irritating older woman. You really only feel the support Amane has for Ichika. He is there to push her to challenge her limits and to believe in her talents. He supports her by managing the business side of things, so that she can focus on her creativity in cooking. The duo complements each other. In the backdrop is 1951 Japan after the war. Ichika challenges the tradition of only male chefs in the kitchen and fights the prejudice against women. the drama shows us a glimpse of the struggles of Japanese women after the war.
The romance develops naturally and sweetly. It’s not the focus of the drama, but it’s enough for me to satisfy my romance cravings. I enjoy all the cooking scenes and the explanation on how each dish is prepared. I don’t care much about the brother/sister-in-law relationship, but I understand we needed that for the main romance storyline and to showcase the beginning of a new era for women.
I recommend this if you are looking for a short and easy to watch drama with delicious cooking and food scenes.
Completed: 6/13/2023 - Review #318
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First of all this webdrama is based on a webcomic and is not wrapped up at all. For people who are fans of the comic this might not be annoying at all, but if you are a person who likes cleanly finished stories this might not be your piece of cake.
Story: The story is focused on the main lead who is trying to survive school. And I must say he is absolutely hilarious and a huge dork as well. I found it really funny how he screws up every time he has an opportunity. There are also subplots, which a have their own charm. If you expect to see real romance tho, you will be disappointed, because the moment the drama-lovetriangle-heartthumping moments could have started the drama ended. If there were a few more episodes such a nice bromance could have blossomed as well... such a pitty.
Acting/cast: All the characters in this drama are quite exaggerated, which is the main comedy of it. Overall the actors managed to do their part staying funny and not becoming annoying, which can easily happen in these types of comedies. I found Park Geon's and the red haired bully's portrayal the best, I enjoyed each moment of their screentime.
Music: The music want exactly outstanding, but it complemented the story well. Unfortunately my playlist wont become longer.
Overall, I found this webdrama very enjoyable and I will without a doubt rewatch it when I dont have much time, but want to have a really good laugh. It is indeed not the story of the year, neither did it get the chance to live up to its real potential, but I belive it is still worth the time.
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It was definitely worth a watch.
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This review may contain spoilers
A Tale of Thousand Stars
Where to begin? This drama has immediately joined my top 3 list. I don't want to do too much spoiling and spoil the drama for would be viewers. But for me, this drama is in the ranks of Until We Meet Again and He's Coming to Me.Without spoiling much, the reason why this drama resonated with me was the tension between Tian and Phu Pha. Both actors expertly conveyed that feeling of the tension when you fall in love with someone but you're shy to say it first because you don't want to be rejected by that person because you care so much about them. There is so much tension that goes back and forth, where you think one person will finally confess their love for the other, but they don't have the courage to do so. There's one scene at the end of Episode 8 that I have rewatched over 10 times. In this scene, Phu Pha and Tian are talking to one another, and indirectly Phu Pha is saying how he cares about Tian without ever saying those words. Tian keeps trying to push Phu Pha to come forth and confess, and even then Phu Pha can't bring himself to say it. But the lovingly way that Tian stares at Phu Pha was so relatable.
I think Mix is an extraordinary actor, and I'm surprised he doesn't pursue a career in acting. His acting is never exaggerated. It's subtle and nuanced, but when he stared into Earth's eyes in the drama, I believed he was in love with him. It never felt awkward or forced. If someone told me they were lovers I would have believed it. This is definitely hard to pull off because in the back of our heads we know that most BL actors are straight and not actually romantically involved. Therefore, sometimes we can pick up on the awkwardness they might have with each other when they act lovey-dovey scenes. Definitely not these two. It feels genuine, and it feels believable; that is this drama's forte: the ability to pull you into the story.
My only beef with the drama, and this is mostly for all Thai BL dramas: the advertising. I know that these companies are advertising your show. I get that there must be some sort of agreement between the company advertising their product. But if suddenly in a drama someone stops to say, "Oh this product is really delicious," or "This is a really good facial cleanser because it's not oily and it has a wonderful smell," it breaks the viewers from what is happening in the drama. You know, product placement in USA dramas and TV shows are rampant, but usually discreet. Like someone only drinking coke all the time. Or having coke bottles in the room without ever mentioning that they're drinking coke. Or how Transformers used General Motors for most of their cars. We can pick up which brand it is without having the cars stop and say, "Wow, you're a General Motors car, you must drive smoothly," etc. I think if Thai dramas find a better way to advertise, it will help dramas not lose focus of the story they are trying to tell.
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This depiction is not entirely true and I am glad I saw it and didn't go by what others said.
Although the other characters have a good story line going on, it in no way overpowers the main lead.
Some reviewers mentioned how the romance between the main characters was almost negligible and only developed in the end. This is true, but in no way is this damaging the show. Suho's character is a narcissistic person who is rude and doesn't care about others, so it's obvious that he will realize his feelings not in the 2nd episode, not in the 11th, but towards the end.
The love story between the two is pure love, one is trying to compensate for the love he lost a few years ago, one is still struggling to figure out what he feels because he knows what happened to him the last time he fell in love. They didn't fall in love instantly and spent the entire show trying to fight off people who are against their love like evil mom or power hungry dad. This love story was a little close to reality because we do sometimes realize our love a little too late.
I honestly think the negative comments are a little too much because the show isn't as bad as people are saying it to be.
As for the supporting cast, I loved how the show focused on the life struggles of Mi So and Do Jin. They not only looked cute together but this was among the few supporting story line that I did not want to skip.
As for Suho's acting that people seemed to be so disappointed with, the man is supposed to act like an emotionless robot who doesn't care for people around him and only thinks about himself. He is a human robot who feels nothing and I think he did it quite brilliantly.
I personally liked the entire show and I saw all the episodes to the end.
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Tropes: office romance, identity theft, cohabitation, messy gay
This is a complicated and engaging plot about professional ego, reputation, safety, and trust, but not much about romance. Or maybe it is but it’s a romance about an editor’s love for a writer’s work? Or for the writer himself? And is there a difference?I think this would have worked better as a romance if the Writer had known the Editor in (at least) a friendly way in the past/at school as well - so there was more established dynamic to their instant affection and shacking up. Apart from my qualms around the romance thread, the plot is actually good. It’s very angsty and tense for something so simple, which suits this length of show.
As a BL it kinda isn’t (sorry to say) though, there’s no BL tropes dropped and no real romance beats. This is about dishonesty and pride and there is an elegance to the theme. Which is essentially the idea that possession is not love, and therefore, those who love the Writer have to prove their love by letting him go. Honestly, I’m not sure how to rate this show as a result. This is a blog about BL and this wasn’t that.
RECOMMENDED (but not if BL is what you’re after)
P.S. For a change I like the OST, Leo is one of my favorite main singers among the honey-voices of Kpop. Speaking of, Leo is stupid pretty here.
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This military drama killed it, as did Yang Yang
Glory of Special Forces opens with a bang with a team of 7 elite soldiers mounting an assault on a drug lord’s stronghold. Bullets and grenades are flying fast and furious in all directions as the soldiers’ attack are met with fierce opposition. The scene cuts to protagonist Yan Po Yue [YPY] as he takes a hit and plummets into the water. The sequence ends; the next time we meet YPY again he is entering the military academy as a recruit. The bulk of the drama charts YPY’s journey as an arrogant, selfish man-child who transforms into a first-rate soldier through grit and determination.From the onset, drama creates a military training setup that is expansive, realistic and gritty — the sense of being in a war zone and getting caught in cross-fire gave viewers those ‘oh-sh**’ moments. As for the training that the soldiers must undergo, there is no let-up in pacing as the soldiers are relentlessly challenged and tested. Only the best, in terms of physicality and aptitude are accepted; and of course, that includes not pissing off your commanding officer. And that’s where YPY finds himself, constantly at odds with his superiors.
About Yang Yang who plays YPY. In here, he’s shed his pretty boy image, and turned in a performance that’s committed, believable, even psychotic at one point. No easy task since this role appears to be more emotionally and physically demanding than his previous ones. Seeing him scaled walls, traversed hard terrains, and dodged bullets made viewers cheered him on. We wanted him to succeed however hard the tasks were, and however much he was side-lined by his superiors.
The world of YPY would have been one dimensional if the director had just trained the spotlight on Yang Yang. Accompanying him is a supporting cast that’s strong and effective in adding layers to the story and YPY’s character. The perfect foil for the stiff and stubborn YPY is platoon mate Wu Xiao Tian, played by actor Jiang Long. Previously seen in The King’s Avatar as funny motormouth Huang Shao Tian, Wu Xiao Tian is wonderfully irreverent, cowardly and in the end, a much-needed catalyst that transformed YPY. Actress Jiang Lu Xia’s turn as sharpshooter Guo Xiao Xiao is brilliant and her pain become ours as we watched her struggle to accept her friend’s death. Unfortunately, lead actress Li Yi Tong’s role as Captain Ai Qian Xue is less effective, and didn’t come across as being relevant to the plot. At best, she’s an attractive injection in a testosterone-filled military environment.
As with most military genre, jingoism as subtext is inevitable. But the director has deftly tempered it with powerful action sequences and tight storytelling. Its annoyance quotient is nothing compared to watching non-Chinese actors bombed at carrying out a simple English dialogue. Perhaps they've run out of budget to hire someone to edit those lines.
Overall, this is a rare instance where I didn’t fast-forward a 40-odd episode drama to catch the best moments. I stayed throughout to watch a protagonist’s simple quest to be the best, and the love of brotherhood that helped him achieve that quest. And yes, those ‘oh-sh**’ action sequences were one of the best hooks in TV-drama land.
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Story- UNPREDICTABLE. The story starts off slow (not to the point of being bored) and is too focused on the character of Hae Ryung (not UEE's character)but by episode 10 things start to pick up and become super interesting because it focuses on UEE's character. The last episode made me want to rip my hair out. The ending kept in line with the unpredictable theme. Its probably the worst ending Ive ever seen in my life! Seriously if it werent for the first 23 eps having solid writing i would have rated the story lower just because of the sorry ending.
Acting- UEE can act her butt off! She changed my opinion of her (hated her in YB). The rest of the cast all made thier characters believable. I really despised the character of Hae Ryung though (very pathetic and no character development until the last ep.)
Music- Nice enough music that was memorable but nothing that i would be obsessed with.
Rewatch- If it werent for the ending Id probably would have rewatched it in 2 yrs or so but i have no wish to rewatch this drama, although it is at least rewatchable.
Overall this drama had huge potential but the lack of a believable romance and the nonsensical ending really ruined the good feelings i had about this show throughout its run. I'd still recommend this drama though because the writing is good and the acting is very good.
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Overall, I recommend this drama if you are looking for something light and romantic to watch. The show has compelling leads who elevate the show from being just fluff. I enjoyed watching the show and I am sure that you will too :)
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But know that when it comes to love, I know nothing.
The chemistry between JoongDunk is through the roof! Before we even get a few minutes into the first episode, the two of them are giving each other love eyes. I think they both did an amazing job portraying their characters’ emotions. Even though Kluen (Joong’s character) does appear a bit cold at times, he shows a lot through his eyes.Their friends are probably the most supportive and patient group of people ever. Kluen and Dao keep going around in circles when it comes to their feelings and relationship. I can’t even imagine the amount of times the rest of the boys got to hear them moaning about their emotions. And yet they never ignore them. They are full of suggestions, some more helpful than others, but they never discourage Kluen and Dao. And the fact that Dao’s brother and Kluen’s mother probably know everything about the two is adorable!
Kluen & Dao: I am a sucker for second chance romances. As well as the right person at the wrong time plots. I feel like the story of Kluen and Dao is both of those and I was definitely here for that. Kluen is aware that he absolutely sucks at talking about his emotions, so hearing him tell that to Dao was really nice. I don’t think Kluen is cold or arrogant, but I do think he is more of an introvert. He has one close friend, Noel, and he is not one who really enjoys participating in events or meeting new people. This also might tie into the fact that he finds it hard to express his emotions to others. Dao is a bit more of a social butterfly. He can be shy, don’t get me wrong, but I think he finds it easier to make friends and there is something about him that makes people comfortable around him. I really think that the two are a good match for each other.
Let’s talk about Typhoon. I really hope he gets his happy ending at some point (Our sky 2, I am looking at you). He is a genuinely good person who wishes happiness for the ones he cares about, even if it means he is not the source of their happiness. He had his moments, I admit that, but he is still a character I really enjoyed watching. The fact he didn’t get into a relationship right away also speaks volumes about his character. He is not looking for a rebound, he is looking for his perfect match. Which is a very mature thing to do. And the right one too.
The locations are beautiful. The OST has this soft sound to it that I really enjoyed as well.
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Gaya Sa Pelikula (2020): A Romantic Pinoy BL Series Par Excellence
I consider “Gaya Sa Pelikula” a romantic Filipino (Pinoy) boys’ love (BL) series par excellence that paid homage not only to Pinoy dramatic and romantic comedy (romcom) movies and our most popular love teams but also to Thai BL series. Posters and scenes were adapted from Pinoy dramatic and romcom movies such as “All of You,” “A Very Special Love,” “Don’t Give Up on Us,” “Filipinas,” “Got 2 Believe,” “Hintayan ng Langit,” “LSS,” “One More Chance,” “Sana Maulit Muli,” “She’s Dating the Gangster,” etc. There were also appropriations of Thai BL series “Theory of Love” movie poster series as well as acknowledgements of OffGun and TayNew on the “Gaya Sa Pelikula” post-credits. Some say that there were too many dramatic and romcom clichés and BL tropes (like the fake/pretend relationship trope), but hey, who cares, they really worked on this series!Even with all the clichés and tropes, “Gaya Sa Pelikula” still managed to look fresh because of the well-developed multi-dimensional characters it created. Even with their conflicting views on genders, sexualities, and relationships, both Karl and Vlad were relatable. While Karl's not ready to come out yet, Vlad’s out and proud. I’ve known a lot of Karls and Vlads in my life so I really found them realistic. Ate (Older Sister) Judit, Anna, and Tito (Uncle) Santi were not simply intervening side characters (who definitely meddled out of love, whether we agree with them or not) but relevant players with depth. Being generally a slow burn, “Gaya Sa Pelikula” felt dragging at times but because of strong characterizations, episodes always ended strong.
There were corny dialogues and monologues here and there but they were negligible given the mostly excellent screenwriting. I can understand why others think some lines were preachy but they were powerful messages nevertheless. Screenplay, with its English and Taglish sentences, was generally natural -- at least for middle to upper class Pinoys. Overall, I think the script was largely impeccable.
The strong screenplay actually aided the acting of the lead actors, Ian and Paolo. While there’s always room for improvement (Ian needs to enunciate better and Paolo needs to avoid exaggerated movements), for newbie actors, they did pretty well. For sure, both Ian and Paolo were far better than the newbie actors of other Pinoy BL series! They have outstanding chemistry together and both are very good-looking! As for the supporting cast members of “Gaya Sa Pelikula,” Adrienne and Yesh were great while Franco was ok.
Minus some dark lighting and grainy camera shots, audio-visuals were quite satisfactory with very clear intentions. Every graphic, every item, every shot, etc. seemed to have clear purpose. The soundtracks, while mostly not originally made for the series, were nonetheless perfect for the scenes. The original soundtrack, “Kilometro Zero” by Juan Miguel and performed by Ian, was of course, my favorite among the soundtracks.
In summary, I would definitely recommend rewatching “Gaya Sa Pelikula,” a romantic Pinoy BL series par excellence. Even if you’re not satisfied with its finale, you should rewatch it because it’s a terrific set-up for the second season. Given Juan Miguel’s wonderful Wattpad story about Karl and Vlad, which was said to be the basis for the sequel, Season 2 promises to be even better than Season 1.
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The cases were great and so many details were planned to make them solve the locked room mysteries. Often the suspects were obvious, but the way they realized it wasn't.
The music was good, it matched the drama perfectly.
The acting was good, too. There weren't many dramatical or tearful / painful scenes to play, but everyone stayed in character and did a good job.
The story itself was okay. I was more fond of the characters because there wasn't much development in the story, it pretty much stayed the same.
I was completely disappointed by the ending, but it's not going to change my score. I'm hoping for a sequel or special now, though I think it's unlikely.
You should try this drama anyway and give it a chance. ;)
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