This review may contain spoilers
A bit cringe, a bit drama and much fluff...
The most amazing thing about this series is, that it's a japanese/thai co-production, even when filmed in Thailand, everyone except "Junji" is thai.The start is rough with the subtitles, but it got better with ep 5... The first episodes are easy to follow even when you don't know exactly what they say, but everyone should get the gist of it. This story is similar to "Our Dating Sim" but with major differences. First the company is much bigger, second the couple did not meet in school, but through a game, even when that is not obvious for some time.
While a japanese production it follows the thai forumla, which means a bit of cringe and funny scenes which are not that funny in my eyes. But overall they did have a good story (not a stellar one), good character progression and even the "side couple" had ample of screentime and did not feel like an afterthought. The only sad point was, that Fluke resembled his acting in UWMA but his character was much stronger and focused. He did a good job and of course he did not need to cry every episode.
Interesting the main couple did not have any BL experience before this series and for their first outing they did exceptionally well. Hill (March Chutavuth Pattarakhumphol) is an inspired game designer who finally lands his dream job and Junji (Mukai Koji) is the CEO of the thai branch of a japanese gaming company and the only japanese working there. The writing of their characters was well done and they gradually show other sides of themselves and reveal that they are not as stereotypical as I have expected them to be from the first two episodes. They grow together in a mature slow way and both overcome their past trauma through trust.
The side couple has the veterans Judo (as Bay) & Fluke (as Phat) and both seem to have fun with their roles. While Bay is a game designer with a big ego and portraited as womanizer, Phat is reserved but a focused chef. Both couples find together due to the research there are doing for their new game which is a dating game but the main characters of said game are only boys. While Junji & Phat are obvioously gay, the other two characters seemed not to be, but this is not the typical hetero to gay trope. Bay sees/feels something in Phat he never felt before and Hill recognizes whom he loved all along (I will not spoil that to you). The only negative is the forced drama in the end, which is imho too much thai influence. They could have solved that in a better way in a less dramatic way.
We will see the side-couple hopefully again, because they announced a second season of "Make a Wish". Koji (Junji) will be back in a BL movie "Love Song" (https://kisskh.at/782204-love-song) this year which is also a japanese/thai co-production playing in Thailand and Japan but sadly with another actor but who look very similar to March (Hill) imho.
The production was good, the actors were good and the vibe was good. I don't know why, but I felt happy watching this. So I see no reason why you should not to watch this series imho.
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Would have been better as an ad on YouTube or smth
Don’t expect good writing and character development here.The first issue I have with All The Liquors is that Kihoon has too many problems and they’re solved all too easily. This is a story of a stubborn chef who meets a foolhardy marketing employee. Somehow, the chef manages to break all his personal rules. WHY??? And more importantly, HOW???? To those who say "it's because of love!! love is the answer", come on. The story was seriously underbaked.
Second issue - I’m not sure if it's just me but the couple didn’t look terribly compatible.
I know Kihoon is supposed to be a stiff and antisocial chef, but that doesn’t mean he couldn't have any personality whatsoever. He came off as really awkward in most scenes (I can’t tell if this is intentional), and seriously ruined the vibes for me.
All in all I must say that this isn't the worst South Korean BL, but it's not memorable either.
Full review: https://asianblreviews.wordpress.com/2023/03/24/all-the-liquors-2023-bl-review/
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The inconsistencies & lack of continuity was intolerable for me
Review @ ep1-14I actually do like this drama but I so wanted to love it for the sake of Zhou Ye, became a fan of hers after watching her in Word of Honor (I can’t rave enough about that series, special shoutout to the one and only Chief of the Ghost Valley, the philanthropist Wen Kexing) but I don’t love it so far. There are so many continuity fails but I will highlight two.
1). He had huge scars from Su Ying stabbing him in ep1 but all of a sudden the scars disappeared few episodes later
2). When he went to retrieve his sword the first time, the journey was so hard / tumultuous that’s why Yan Hui couldn’t go with him but when they went the second time, they just basically strolled into the place.
She keeps losing things just for the sake of furthering the plot which is out of character for someone who cherishes everything she has.
Also once again we have a female character Su Ying who is so obsessed with a man (the only difference this time is her obsession isn’t with the ML) she is extremely vile and vicious and willing to go to any and all length for him. This perpetual CDrama plot is getting so damn old. Especially the level at which they make this female characters reach. It’s beyond ridiculous and unrealistic. I personally don’t know any woman in my real life who behaves in those extreme ways.
Update @ep21
I am struggling so hard to continue this drama. It’s not terribly bad but it’s not great either. The acting from the ML is actually so bad. He’s had exactly one expression so far. He’s acting range is very limited IMO but he’s handsome so I guess that covers up for lack of acting abilities to some people. Whatever floats anyone’s boat….
The comedic parts of this drama just feels out of place for me.
One more thing I don’t care how handsome or beautiful someone is, or whatever reason they had to stab and almost kill me, nobody is falling in love with someone who literally stabbed them and left them for dead. The lovers of this series can try to justify it any which ways they like, “he has to save the kids” “he was going to return the protective heart thingy to her so he knew she won’t die” etc but to look someone you claim to love in the eyes and stab them for the 3rd time I might add is just beyond unacceptable. He could have asked for it but nah, let’s stab her and then she literally fell so badly, he didn’t even try to break her fall, he just left her there, but wait, he’s really so sorry and because he’s so sorry she has to understand and not only forgive him but let it go and continue the relationship after he couldn’t take 2mins to ask for it and just had to take it in the most cruel way possible. I am sure eventually she’s going to forgive him and they will live happily ever after but that’s a relationship I can never get behind so that arc of the drama has already left a bitter taste in my mouth.
Update @completion.
The production team for this drama really dropped the ball big time especially the editing department and script writers. So many inconsistencies and lack of continuity. The errors in the details was just way too much for me to ignore and tolerate. Marks appear and disappear in the same scene. The characters powers and strengths (with the exception of the dark lord aura guy) where so inconsistent and felt like it was based on what each scene needed. I can go on and on but I have already spent days watching this drama and that is enough time I’m willing to give this drama.
The only thing that was good for me in this drama was the costumes., they looked beautiful and rich.
I am obviously never going to rewatch this drama.
Rewatch value 1/10
Overall value 6/10 (i am being super generous with this rating)
I highly do not recommend but that’s my opinion, you are free to make yours.
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Up until the end I would\'\'ve given this movie a 10 in story, but the ending just ruined it for me. It wasn\'\'t a bad ending, it just wasn\'\'t my type of ending. Some people will probably love this movie and give it all 10\'\'s but for me the ending just wasn\'\'t how I would\'\'ve ended it so i\'\'m giving the story a 9, the acting was a 10 since all of them were amazing actors, the music an 8 because while it wasn\'\'t the best music it did fit the story just fine. As for rewatch value, while I personally don\'\'t like to rewatch movies or dramas until 1-2 years afterwards, I would rewatch this one so i\'\'ll give it a 7. Overall, i\'\'m giving this movie a 9 because if you\'\'re a fan of any of the cast(lucky me for being a fan of all three of the main actors!), or a fan of the Wuxia genre, or a fan of Chinese choreography, you\'\'ll absolutely love this gem of a film.
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Indie Chinese BL: interesting premise but flawed in terms of production value, editing and writing
This Chinese drama did almost not made it through, it was first stopped while airing after 4 episodes by the Chinese platform on which it was being released...and then it was picked up for full release by another international distribution platform. That in itself picked my interest and after watching it, it is a real BL story (not disguised at all as a bromance) so of course it did not pass the censorship and explains the release issue.Regarding the drama itself, there is a very indie and artsy vibe that I appreciated for some aspects. I liked for example the art school context and the opening generic. I also enjoyed some of the relationship evolution that feel quite gritty. But there is also to my eyes a lot of production issues. The low budget is very clear : it gives a raw aspect to some of the scenes but it explains a lot also regarding the limitations of the series. The director is using too much fish eye effect, most of the time there is no clear reason nor need for it, it is not flashback-driven and seem to be used to hide the poverty of the background/sets. The editing is really odd between scenes: you jump out from one to another and it feel a bit amateurish. The camera moves are also sometimes a bit odd.
If I liked the premise of the story, the artsy context in which the characters are evolving, I was a bit disappointed by the way the script resolved out-of-screen or too quickly a lot of the conflicts and issues. Some situations seemed very dangerous and complicated but their resolution was kinda anti-climatic. The acting was not bad but not transcendent. Guo Jia Le, playing Qi Lu, had the most interesting character growth. He had also a believable chemistry with Zhang Xuan Yu, playing Qin Xiao. I was unfortunately less convinced by the chemistry of the secondary couple: it could have been much more interesting but it was a bit of a letdown (not sure if because of the acting or the script).
I would recommend this to people looking for a Chinese BL which does not shy away from what it is and do not disguise it as a bromance. It has a strong indie flavor which is not an issue in itself but the low budget is clearly felt and there are quite a bit of editing / production issue. There are some interesting and gritty parts in the script but the way the story unfold is far from perfect. I think it is quite comparable to the Chinese BL Addicted in terms of production value. So if you enjoyed it, you might as well want to give a shot to this one.
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This movie is the worst thing I've seen this year.
This movie is the worst thing I've seen this year, and it will probably stay that way until the end of the year. Some fans of the actors have been discussing very enthusiastically about the actors' looks and self-improvement in acting. I can't imagine how horrible their acting in previous movies was if they call that stiff and lifeless acting progress. This is definitely the worst movie of 2025, bad from acting, plot, visuals. I only rate 1⭐ because I can't rate 0⭐ or negative, 1⭐ is too high for this disgusting thing.Was this review helpful to you?
REAL Exhausting!!!
The series started with two strong individuals that found themselves in unique situations at the same time and respected each other enough to want to help the other. But in the end, it became two individuals with no backbone that go through a constant obstacle course of abuse and torment with no peace in sight. Messy and sloppy scripting. Inconsistent character development. Over exaggeration of torment and relational links. Extra ineffective and unnecessary side storylines which makes the torment drag even more. Chemistry between the leads is nonexistent when considering what they had to endure 'in the name of commitment and love'. The 'villains' continue to have an unrealistic connection to continue tormenting the leads with everyone knowing. Are these the only 2 families in the city? This is not what anyone wanted to see. Even when the ML and FL have a 'moment' of happiness it is lack luster and more of a relief than swoon worthy. Even for a soap the script isn't clean enough to see. STAY FAR AWAY from this MESS on FILM!Was this review helpful to you?
Probably the best korean drama in terms of its execution. Brilliant cinematography elevates this drama to a league of it's own. Tight editing and fast-paced narrative will leave you wanting more. Rewatching this one because it is that good. Highly recommended.
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This review may contain spoilers
Useless changes that never happened in the novel./manhwa, that ruins the movie
I find it really disgusting how they changes absolutely Everything about orv in the movie, I don't know why but I find it really disgusting, Because in my opinion, the story of the original orv was already amazing. There was no need to change it. Changing small little stuff, I get it. It's understandable but changing the major arcs in the novel/ manhwa this makes it feel like you just went to chat gpt and ask it to summarize the whole entire novel/manhwa in 100 word or smth. And changing major plots like them using a sword to them using a gun, it feels like the producers didn't even read the novel. I feel like this is not a orv anymore, this is a whole different story. I don't really care about the cast that much in my opinion.Of course we as the viewers have opinions on who we would like to have in the cast , but I don't personally don't really care about it that much. And it pisses me off so bad how they butchered one of the characters. (Bihyung) there were so many ways to make it loor accurate but they fucked it up A LOT , Also, something that pisses me off is. What the fuck do you mean they made Yoo Sangah a healer and that kim dokja is a bully and that they made joo jonghyuk a side character!?!?!?!? Lets be honest the only people who are gonna watch the movie and give it a good review are people who never knew about orv(the novel/manhwa) to begin with or are blinks and want to support jisoo. Even though I don't really care about the casting that much.I feel like it all started with the casting and then they butchered everything that came right after the casting.
Anyways after my stupid tiring rant, all that I can conclude Is, don't watch the movie it's gonna be ass. But then you might be like. " But you didn't watch It.". But I read the novel and everything is completely different from whatever they're yapping about in the trailer. Like wdym they use gun????? The whole movie was just a big waste of money. And a big mistake. There was no need to even make a live action to begin with... anyways i'm really tired of typing all of this bye. Lololololol
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Beauties of the Emperor is based on the difficult faced within these critical eras of war, when the females also have a large role to play in the growth of a nation. I like how the four main characters developed their personalities and emerged with a strong belief in their dreams. The actors worked hard with the roles, even though at some points it was sort of ridiculous to see how desperate some people are for their love interests. I think the overall point in this drama is how emotions play a enormous role in the development of any dream, and it is the ones close to you that influence your choices. From the beginning it had a sad, sweet and overwhelming desires to reach for our own dreams and wants. However, it became engulfed in tragedies and many innocent people being killed, or lost in the dangerous situations. There are a lot topics to discuss and think about in this drama.
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First point...Jessica. She was not a good actress. She was annoying sometimes. That's why the cast got 9 instead of 10. However, by the end I actually really liked her character and even felt her acting improved. I don't know Jessica, I'm not her fan, never heard of her before this...so this is totally unbiased. I LOVE Lee Dong Wook with all my heart, and he was just adorable in this! It was so neat to see him in this kind of role. The main chick...I saw her first in Playful Kiss and BOF and was so shocked to see her character in this drama. She did SUCH a good job. I was seriously impressed. She can definitely act, since this is a complete 180 from the characters I've seen her play. She was so cute!
The story...I gave it a nine. Only because it wasn't the best drama I've ever seen, but as far as entertainment value it was great! I'm watching several dramas right now and this is the one that I actually watched unsubbed first just because I couldn't stand the wait! There was drama, romance, bromance, and towards the end there was really good suspense!
There were a lot of different characters in this drama and some of them you don't like at first, but by the end you will love them all!
I would have to say two of the side characters had the best drama romance I had ever seen. Seriously, they are the most adorable couple ever, you could watch this whole series just to see the parts with them in it an it would be worth it. They are like in a whole different world odd balls. It was awesome and hilarious and sweet.
One of the complaints I've read about this drama is that there wasn't enough romance, etc. However, I thought it was really well done. It was different than other dramas and had other things besides the romance going on, but once it started I felt it was always there and not lacking. I was not disappointed at all in the romance department with this drama, and I'm a huge romance buff.
The main plot line, that wasn't about the romance, was done really well in my opinion and added a good amount of suspense for the characters. I absolutely loved how it came to a climax and the resolve. Seriously. I was impressed.
The music was excellent. I don't know Korean songs and singers...but I really enjoyed the main song.
The rewatch value is a 10 because I will definitely be watching it again in the future. The first several episodes of this drama are hilarious! Seriously funny. There is good humor throughout and I literally laughed out loud at some point in every episode...usually several times. So the humor is always there. I enjoyed the progression of the romance between the leads and enjoyed the romance between the side characters just as much.
Another plus is that all the side characters were fleshed out and in the end their stories were wrapped up as well. Nobody was left hanging.
I hope this was half way understandable...I just want people to appreciate/enjoy this drama as much as I did!
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vertical series are a pain to watch...
Besides vertical, the story is also not thought trough. The question my mind asked from the beginning is, why does Nam know that Han is a killer... And why is the title "next door" when they live together. There is no explaination or background.Acting was decent, the "BL" parts are ok, but besides that, is quite stereotypical. There is not much to say, besides that the episodes are too short, the shortest just 45 seconds, that you NEED to binge-watch all of them otherwise it makes no sense and the better option would have been to make them at least 8 minutes long.
This is a series nobody needs to watch, if you do, you might like it and it's for sure not terrible. But I would have prefered much more episodes to explain the background and of course a better storyline. For a Korean productions this was weak.
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That’s the question that this drama want you to answer.
I watched this drama just because Kyungsoo was in there. And, I’m afraid to say, it was the only reason why I didn’t drop it after two episodes.
The plot is quite interesting. A family is crashed by a young and clever serial killer. That handsome serial killer takes away the little kid of the family, making the older one crave for revenge.
The plot itself isn’t the real reason why I gave this drama 6 out of 10.
It had a great potential : an epic battle between two brothers and the man who teared their family apart. BUT, as we all know when it comes to korean drama, the only thing that spoiled it all was the romance that the screenwriters tried so hard to gave us.
Two completely opposite characters : the dumb, nagging and useless female cop, who didn’t act once as a heroine. And the clever criminologist, who’s character was pretty good but got ruined by the female lead toward the end of the story.
The little brother, Lee Min, was the sugar to pour in this bitter tea.
He was educated by a serial killer, so in the end he became one himself. His personality, his appearance and his morals were fascinating. Yet, he was a huge attention seeker, he forgot really quickly about his revenge toward his brother, making the plot lacking some good concepts.
Lee JunYeong was supposed to be a creepy and dangerous man. Unfortunately, he wasn’t.
All his charisma, the charisma that Kyungsoo gave to the character while playing his younger self, was totally outshine after growing old.
He was a pure and innocent man who had two choices : to forgive his family or to punish them.
They tried to give him a sad story just to make sympathize with him. His characters became pathetic in the end. Just a poor man who just wants to built a family with those kids.
Cha JinHa was a pain in the back. A stalker, useless, sleepyhead girl who just wanted to make Lee Hyeon her boyfriend. She was such a bad character that I couldn’t stand her for only two seconds.
This drama had a good plot. But once again, korean screenwriters spoiled it with a romantic and stupid love story.
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The Soap Opera Game
It wasn't cute when Jack and Rose did it in the Titanic, and it sure as hell wasn't cute when they did it here. First off, yes, there was plenty of room on that damn door, and here, I spent the whole finale going, 'there wasn't room in that car for him to get inside too?' Cuz, why the eff did Pheem stay behind? And no, no explanation would justify that nonsense. The Wicked Game took itself way too serious, and ended up falling into the predicable hole.Listen, that brother Chet. What the hell was his problem? I felt like he personally hated me, cuz Mfker spent the entire series overreacting and throwing childish tantrums, instead of giving me what I wanted. The whole time, every time he was on screen saying whatever, and doing whatever the hell he was doing, I was busy staring from him to his bodyguard, you know that one dude who looked like the best regret. Like, whenever Chet opened his mouth, I kept going, 'Yeah, yeah, good for you, now kiss' Only for the mfker to up and die, and saying nonsense like, 'live your life and be happy, bodyguard.' Eff that happiness, what about me ,huh? Sure, bodyguard crooked two seconds later, still... they spent 10 episodes wasting all of that chemistry, and for what? This felt like a personal attack. Boooo!
Pheem and Than.
The drama wasn't called 'The Nice Game', so imma need all the people who keep being on Pheem's case to sit back down. Personally, I get him, he needed to be wicked to heal that child in him who was totally destroyed from how cruel the world treated him. Was he right in what he did to Than, hell no, but that ex-police officer knew Pheem was there for revenge and he still went all in with both eyes closed and heart wide open...only to immediately got shot, twice. LMAO, the eff he thought was gonna happening falling in love with a guy who hit him with a car on their first meeting?
Than is such a nice person it made him dumb. Like, come on officer, wake up a little. Dude got shot twice and spent 5mins looking real sad at the camera, and immediately went back and married the guy who literally dug a grave and shoved him in. Ain't no one that in love. May this level of in loveness-ness never locate me. Sure everyone think he's a dirty cop, but at least he got super rich, and has a not so dead husband, who loves running away, so, yaaay him.
Plot
The cartoonish shooting scenes. Literally, did they all aim at the air beside their targets or what? In the finale, I kept shaking my head, cuz what even are we doing at this point? Like all that shots and mfkers kept running around for like 10 more minutes, only for one to end up dead in a flashback... meh. The plot was also very predictable, cuz who among us believed for a second Than was dead, or that Pheem died? Both times I was like, stop wasting screen time and just show him already, I know his arse still alive, y'all won't even dare.
Characters.
The plot was okay, over the top in how it was directed and acted by some, but it did entertained me. Offroad's character was very interesting, and I liked him. I was actually rooting for Risa cuz the men were annoying. Please, I won't even start on the father, cuz that mfker doesn't even deserves me to waste pixels talking about his arsholeness-ness. I did like DaouOffroad, I always enjoy their work, so although this one wasn't the best they've done, I still enjoyed myself.
All-in-all, a watchable show, very soap opera-rly, so expect nonsense, over the top crap, cartoonish scenes. Apart from that, very decent, and I'll recommend it, especially for DaouOffroad fans. I look forward to their next work.
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