Reviews

I get where the writers were trying to go with this drama, but I don't think it was executed very well. First, the development of the story and the characters was too slow. I take points off because they had to "narrate" at the end to explain the point of the drama when they could have used more plot and character development to explain. When a writer has to do that, then I feel the story wasn't developed well.

As for the acting, I think all of the actors did a great job with their characters. None of them really looked like high school students, but it didn't matter. It was pretty much an all star cast. Too bad the veteran actresses stole the show. Kim Ki Kyung as Eun Sang's mom and Kim Sung Ryung as Kim Tan's mom were just too funny and their relationship was fully developed and fun to watch. I enjoyed their part in the drama the most.

The music for the most part was just horrible.

I won't rewatch this.

If you are looking for something that doesn't make you think and you want to see hot guys...Lee Min Ho, Kim Woo Bin, Choi Jin Hyuk, Kang Ha Neul, etc...then this is the drama to watch.

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Big Disappointment

I read reviews of shows because I only have so much time, and I can't watch everything. I'd seen the hype over this show, and I was looking forward to it - but looking at other people's reviews here and having actually watched the show, I'm completely flummoxed. My only explanation is that many fans have read the novel and have carried their appreciation over to the series where their imaginations can fill the enormous gaps in the narrative.

This show is jaw-droppingly unoriginal, with every BL trope you can imagine - in fact all the characters are engineering, medical and music students, because nobody is allowed to study anything else in a BL. The tired and untrue-to-life seme/uke dynamic is in full force, there's a tiresome fujoshi, and there are no countervailing positives, at least not in the main pair. Substituting warm milk for pink milk is not originality, it's almost laughable cribbing. And the evil gf is apparenly on the way.

The premise of the show is that Solo's mother has died and so he's lost his smile - but did he also need to lose his entire emotional range? And shouldn't Gui have a contrasting personality? He's equally dour and unsmiling.

The problem is the lack of acting skill in the main pair, and this is underlined with force by the secondary pairing, where Phu is equally unsmiling - but played by a talented actor, he is with virtually no dialog and only a handful of scenes able to convey his character's loneliness, pain, and repressed longing. We get nothing from Solo except his creepily expressionless face and his dead eyes. Losing your smile doesn't mean losing all facial expression.

If PhuKao were the main pair, this would be a really compelling series - the two actors playing these characters are really impressive, and their characters are interestingly drawn, and I can't predict every word they'll say and action they'll take like I can for the main pair. Kao has to work to chip away at Phu's walls, and you can see it slowly working, which is wonderful and beautiful. Kao manages to make his whiney and annoying character charming and endearing, and conveys a greater depth than the surface characteristics of his character suggest. He's cute as f@#$, too.

But I don't see any motivation for the relationship between Solo and Gui. What does Gui see in him? They have no shared experiences, they don't know each other, Solo just stares at him with his creepy blank eyes, and occassionally does something really frighteningly aggressive, like when he backs him into a corner at the flower shop. If you'd seen desire in his eyes, it would have been hot - but instead you (and Gui) had to wonder if he was about to commit murder. For that matter, what does Solo see in Gui? I'll admit he's cute, but that's all there is. So is this a purely physical attraction? One doesn't normally fall in love with someone cute but dull because he boiled milk for you.

I think another problem may be that losing your smile works better in a verbal medium than it does in a visual one, where you get a sort of uncanny valley effect that makes Solo look Not Quite Right.

In Episode 8, there's a character played by an experienced actress that's ill and so also quiet and understated, with only a few lines of dialog, but the actress gives such a powerhouse performance that I was in tears all the way through the episode, which underscores how acting ability is so utterly important and so utterly ignored by Thai BL, at least for the main roles (with the hugely notable exception of I Told Sunset About You and mostly for 1,000 Stars). If Solo had been played by someone with 25% of her ability, this would have been a truly memorable series.

The positives of the show are compelling side characters (except the fujoshi), including one of the best pairings I've seen in PhuKao, and the music is way better than your average Thai BL.

EDIT: Also, if you're going to hire an actor to play another character's father, you should really consider hiring someone more than 3 years older (Solo actor is 27, his father is 30). The little grey streaks of hair dye and glasses aren't fooling anyone. I'm sure the reason is because it's strongly implied he's the lover of a much younger character and they wanted to make it less creepy. But it makes me crack up every time they show him. I will say that he's just as dull and expressionless as his son, so that helps make it believable.

EDIT: The acting issue may largely be the directing because Nut Supanut is amazing in Something In My Room.

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What's more beautiful than the blossoming of flowers of love in his barren tree

As if I have finally regained my confidence in anticipation and I can tell myself that some things are still worth the wait. Love Between Fairy and Devil (chinese: 苍兰诀 / pinyin - Cāng Lán Jué) is a fantasy themed romantic Xianxia based on the popular novel of the same name written by Jiu Lu Fei Xiang that strikes at the right time when I was just finished ranting out my other anticipated dramas. Disclaimer - forgive me this is long, I have a lot to say.

Story [10/10] —
Not best but charming. Amongst the profound depths of the three realms, there was a bossy devil (Dongfang Qingcang) locked up in Haotian Tower for thousands of years but a cheerful fairy (Xiao Lan Hua) mistakenly saves him. Like the beast that meets his beauty. There starts a story between them, they even swap bodies and they fall in love eventually. But "WAIT" they were not meant to be together at first. Because they are from different sides. I didn't even realise when I got so invested in their immortal world, its fun how apart from the romantic tale no one is "EVIL" without a reason, how enemies become sworn brothers and how comedy is one of those main elements no matter how much angst we are expecting soon.

The leads chemistry is something I would recommend this drama for. Cold ML × Naive FL. I was the first one who shouted "SO TYPICAL" yet my heart melted as I watched more. The journey made them more precious with their bonding, bickering, all the tests and sacrifices. For the angst I cried a few buckets too.

The Visuals, CGI and production quality —
I can list hundreds of scenes where I couldn't help but rewatch like two of my favourites are –
1. Dongfang Qingcang's entry scene in Haishi city (the one that has a big moon behind him, he goes to save orchid and he legit looks like the boss of the world)
2. there's a scene with two Gods talking and enjoying fine wine but guess what they're inside a painting on a boat ~ how creative is that!
Then her Arbiter hall, Haotian tower, Cangyan Sea's castle and those northern lights in sky its all dreamy wonderful themes so pretty and this level of creativity in scenes and details is something I would die for. Not to mention, Dylan Wang in the role of the the Moon Supreme, his costume, his looks, his visuals!

And I think I never got bored as things change quick and this was pretty addictive instead. Though some complained of dropping this very early, I think it's just until those first 3-4 episodes where the characters need more time to get introduced and then the plot develops stronger with time. This has used quite a minimalistic approach in depth of characters having a not-so complicated structure unlike other Xianxias.


Characters, Casting and Acting [10/10] —

Dylan Wang (Wang He Di) was one of the best casting choices ever made. I can't even imagine anyone else as the arrogant cum sweet devil Dongfang Qingcang (DFQC). His emotional scenes are as strong as his body-swap scenes where he quickly shifts to a pouting, jumping girl. He is very versatile and an amazing actor.

Yu Shu Xin – the temperament of a playful and easy going Fairy Orchid suits Esther very well, her voice might have affected some audience but I think it was just okay. Esther is usually a bubbly girl (as I have seen her in Youth shows before) so both her and this character was pretty similar. Acting wise I don't really think she deserves so much hate, she played well in both sweeter side and the cold vibe (Xi Yun) in later half. Anyway opinions and preferences might differ.

Other leading casts ~
✡ Zhang Ling He (as Lord Changheng) ~ the current God of War stuck between his responsibilities and love that he has hidden for years
✡ Xu Hai Qiao (as Rong Hao) ~ a disciple who wishes his master to come back
✡ Cristy Guo (First God of War or Xie Wan Qing) ~ a warrior who once sacrificed herself to protect the peace of three realms

All were good in their respective roles.
✡ Special mention to the silly, soft-hearted and adorable Dragon Shang Que (portrayed by Lin Bai Rui).

For dubbing, Yu Shu Xin voiced herself and Dylan Wang (Wang He Di) was dubbed by Wang Bao Shun. supporting actors like Zhang Ling He and Xu Hai Qiao were voiced by Ren Jing Hao and Wang Yong Gang respectively.


OSTs [10/10] —
One of the best parts of this drama is those musical scores. There is one for every situation ;)

◍ "Parting Love" (诀爱) - Faye Chan (the stunning illustrations we get for this intro song and the voice! I have never skipped this honestly, it turns out to be my favorite song from this drama, everytime it's played for the leads, it adds a special magic to their chemistry)

◍ "The Oath of Canglan" (苍兰契) - Li Changchao (the song for both Dongfang hellfire and orchid's first powers as well. I love how the singer shifts to a different pitch in middle and the upbeat music behind is just my style, my second favorite)

◍ "Loss of Memory" (失忆) - Yu Shuxin
◍ "Looking For You" (寻一个你) - Liu Yuning
◍ "Shore" (彼岸) - Jing Long & Jing Di
◍ "Longing" (念) - Shuang Sheng
◍ "I Still Remember That Day" (我还记得那天) - Shen Yi Cheng
◍ "I Want To Be With You" (想和你) - Yu Shuxin & Dylan Wang
◍ "Remaining Love" (余情) - Zhou Shen (smoothly ending every episode with his angelic voice)



REWATCH VALUE [9/10] –
How can you not rewatch a show often when you've absolutely loved most of it. So yeah, going to rewatch. I think I got something good to watch in my drama slumps.

Conclusion [10/10] –
The 8th month - August has almost ended and I doubt if any other Xianxia is crossing this standard for me, so with all my pleasure Love between fairy and Devil becomes my Xianxia of the year 2022! On a side note, I really wish we can get more wholesome dramas like this.

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Here's the summary of why I hate this drama.

1. Let's remember that Saeroyi's mission was to destroy the Jangga company.
2. Let's remember that Saeroyi loves Soo Ah for more than 10 years. So does Soo Ah.
3. Let's remember that this drama is a good drama. It tells us about business and marketing strategy. At least at the early episodes.

At the last episodes:
1. Saeroyi is ACTUALLY failed to destroy Jangga. Soo Ah is the one who destroys the company.
2. Soo Ah had been struggling to find the way to destroy Jangga company stealthily. (this drama doesn't tell you what, how, when, where she did it = plot missing)
3. Soo Ah had been waiting for Saeroyi to destroy Jangga so that she would be able to resign from the company and live happily with Saeroyi after he succeeding his mission.
4. Instead, Saeroyi fell in love with Yi-Seo and dumped Soo Ah, who loves him for FCVKIN YEARS!!!
5. This drama turns out to be "the story of a boss, who dumped his beloved, just to fall in love with a manager"

Conclusion:
I hate Saeroyi so much. It breaks my heart when he dumped Soo Ah. He FAILED to destroy Jangga but he got the company after acquiring it. WHERE'S Soo Ah?
The romance stuff RUINS the plot. The drama went from business-themed drama to sick romance drama.
After all, the conflict resolver is Soo Ah. Saeroyi? He went to a date with Yi-Seo.

PS. Still, I give 5/10 star-rating: 5 for business and marketing stuff. I appreciate that.

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How this has more than 7 is beyond me

I am not sure how this drama has over 7.0 and that would be a very generous rating. I had high hopes for this drama as people around me praised how good it was and the production value seemed high, so I decided to give it a chance.

At the start the drama had potential. The relationship between the male lead and his sister, and the mystery around his traceless mother. The female leads friends even had their own conflicts and I found that they were more interesting than the actual leads. The friends carried the entire comedy angle. The romance is mundane and nothing new. There are so many overused scenes like the male catching the falling female lead kind of bs. There's a lot of unnecessary and long awkward kissing scenes that could have been removed. I find that the male lead is often stupid and simply simping over the female, completely disregarding his goals to chase her around. The female lead doesn't seem all that special or unique either and I am unsure of her appeal.

The only interesting bits of the drama were rushed and haphazardly written in. The sibling rivarly was barely touched and basically unresolved. The missing mother was dangled like a carrot on a stick and then the male lead suddenly says he is no longer interested in pursuing her. The heck? Those who watched knows what happens after. There are so many reasons that this drama is mediocre at best.

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QUEEN OF K-DRAMA TROPES

Exactly how many tropes is too many tropes.... ?
This drama finally defines it. Ending at an amazing rate, it has everything but a sane storyline.
The question here is will you like this drama? Of course you will. Who wouldn't like this amazing cast and the expectations were sky high even before we heard the pairing but what disappointed us is the crappy storyline that started out well but eventually became a complete tangled mess.
They probably decided they wouldn't take any chances and combined every possible trope that ever worked in the history of kdrama like dying lead, amnesia, village comedy, quirky spoiled chaebols, makjang nonsense, betrayals, foreign dates and stalking. Now i wouldn't have complained even if they stuck to the story of maintained a proper flow but there are so many plotholes that i would rather walk that go through that bumpy ride. The only reason you finish this is if you are that invested in the characters or absolutely have been missing Kim So Hyun.

Will i watch it again? Hell No. Once was enough crap.
Will i recommend it to anyone? Depends if they are a newbie being introduced to kdramaland but if you're a veteran like me, this is some recycled shit that you can skip.

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Good Feel Good Drama

I saw that the site i use to watch dramas had uploaded all the 16 episodes at the same time.
The only thing i knew about this drama was the synopsis and nothing more, with this reason i started watching this drama with low expectations, but i got a positive surprise.
Its a feeling good drama, and i highly recommend to everyone.
One thing that i was surprised was the fact that they included a transgender character and i think they did a good job at portraying a trans man.
But with all the goods we also have bads , in this case was the constant fatphobia, one thing that i hate in kdramas is that in 90% of time the story of the "fat" women character is ONLY that she needs to lose weight and that she can never have a love interest who actually likes her for who she is and only likes her as friend, and this one sadly is following the stereotype.
I hoped that she had a love interest by the end, but she did not, it was a shame
There are 2 couples in this drama and i feel in love with both of them especially with Gi Bbeum and Moo Yeol, in the beginning i thought that he is 2 much of a player for her (a person who never had a boyfriend and as difficulties with communication), but with the elapse of the plot he made feel assured that he really liked her.
I would give this drama a 10 for the story but i didn't like the constant fatphobia and the fact that no one apologized to her.

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So Stinky Cute That I Can Look Over Sea's Acting...

What started off rough for me ended up being a very entertaining watch that I'm glad I gave a chance to. This series is not perfect, nor will it be one of the more memorable GMMTV series, but, I enjoyed it while watching, and that's all that matters.

Let's Dive In.

Starting off, the story is this interesting concept of a country boy who loves art falling for a city boy who loves music. His dream is to become an idol, but while doing so, he falls for the country boy, and of course, the rule is that they can't date. The story/plot is so intriguing and cute that you can't not just love it. Keen plays the incredibly extroverted Moo who's adamant on showing his love for Kang. Kang is super helpful and stoic, but he gets around to being open eventually. Again, the story is so adorable and there are so many precious moments that I was able to look over some of the glaring problems in this, like Sea's acting.

Sea's acting in this was extremely rough. People in the comments tried telling me, "It gets better the more you watch" but it's the exact same until the end. I understand he's a new actor, but geez, I don't think I've seen this much below-mediocre acting from someone in a GMMTV series in a minute. If this series wasn't so stinking cute, and Keen's acting wasn't so good, I would've dropped a long time ago. He had his good moments, but most of them were bad. He doesn't know how to show expression on his face, so it's just a blank stare for the majority of his scenes. He needs so much work before he moves on to the next series, and I mean a lot. Keen carried their ship until the end (also, wouldn't mind seeing him paired with someone else..) But speaking in terms of Moo and Kang's relationship, I think it was adorable. They had so many scenes where they were just being passionate and open, and they really delivered some beautiful moments. I like the subtle things they did while Moo was an idol (blank letters, Kang dressing as a mascot, private messages, etc..), and I'm not a "ride on my motorcycle and hold me" trope fan, but these two made it extremely endearing, I loved it. Overall, their relationship was cute, they had decent enough kisses, and by the end, I appreciated their romance.

Moving onto the side couple, honestly, I went in being so obsessed with them, but left feeling anti-climatic, Their relationship is a perfect build-up: best friends, dance partners, subtle hints that they have feelings for one another. Just so many reasons that I absolutely adored them, but they have minimal setup after Yos confesses. It's like the writers wanted to keep the angst and not do anything about it until the very last episode. Overall though, they were perfect in the beginning, but their ending could've played out a lot better (dating earlier, Tae realizing his feelings earlier, etc...).

Some of the casting felt a little...weird? What was stopping them from casting Shone and Peth closer to Sea, Keen, Aun and Ashi's age? Something just felt out of sorts with Shone's character having feelings for Kang. I realize they're supposed to be the same age in college, but it just doesn't work. You can obviously tell they are two very different ages, so it's hard to believe the story. Same with Kang supposedly being two years older than Moo's character (I thought he had dropped out of high school until the 6th episode).

Obviously, this is a series about trainees becoming idols, but oh gosh, the dancing was probably the hardest to sit through. It's not that bad, but so many mistakes and not-in-sync moments that made me cringe. Also, a little annoying that when Moo sang (and I actually cared to listen and not skip over it) his live voice sounded completely different than the OST that would play immediately after (assuming that he also sang that as well).

Ratings:

Story: 8/10 - really entertaining, extremely cute. So good that I'm able to look over some of the glaring mistakes/problems with it.

Acting: 7/10 - Sea's need so much improvement before I decide to watch a SeaKeen series again. It's only tolerable to sit through because this series is literal fluff, but if they were to have a more heavy-hitting drama, there's no way I could've sat through his acting. I hope he gets better in the future. Besides that, Keen did an excellent job and he played his character incredibly well. Aun needs more recognition in GMMTV and he did really well in this, same as Ashi.

Music: 6.5/10 - when I wasn't skipping over it, it sounded decent enough.

Recommendation Value: 7/10 - super light-hearted, a giant puddle of fluff. It's hard not to enjoy this one, it's literally so sweet. It's a good starter BL for people getting into the genre.

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This is a mindfuck movie.

And I love mindfucks!! And this movie fucked mine up pretty good. This movie will keep you on your toes, you might make your own conclusions up and you'll feel excited watching this movie!!

The acting is really good, I was in the movie. The music fitted every scene en the story? The story is really good, it's mind breaking and somehow sad.

I loved the ending where it all comes together. Some movies pull it off to fast and doesn't let it end properly. But after watching this movie you'll have no questions left anymore.

Good movie, great mindfuck and worth watching!

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Less Joke but make you love the characters more

Ok, this will be a short review because the series itself is really short that I finish quickly after it’s released on GagaOOlala.

Story:

I was interested because the season 1 cracked me up so hard that until today I still laughed thinking about it sometime lol It was satire comedy about BL manga tropes and shouldn’t be taken too serious, however it is slightly different for season 2 here. While Mob having to continue fighting the world of BL that kept having men trying to join his harem, This time instead of enthusiastically trying to deny that he doesn’t like boy it was more like he’s broken hearted and can’t move on to like another guy even though they tried to hit on him with those BL flags so It became a bit more serious and less joke. I like this though, our Mob became a more mature character and even gave relationship advice to other guys lol There’re some parts that still crack me up. I read manga of this before and I know most people dislike how the drama is going to different route by giving mob one and only love interest but I find it fun to be different, this one you seeing a man who’s taken but still having to dodge the tropes lol

Music:

Nothing much to say, the OP song stuck in my head since season 1 and I’m glad they kept it and even better with an even more extra dance video LMAO I never skipped it.

Rewatch Value:

It’s short and fun so I will say I can rewatch it anytime if I feel down.

From the ending tease, It seems they are opened for season 3 ?? I hope they make it lol even though he has a boyfriend now he will still have to fight the tropes in that world.

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Funny & Somewhat Relatable Family MeloDrama

The first episode hooked me on this drama right away with its nice setup of the characters' personalities and relationships. There was a mix of funny, sad, and interesting moments in that one episode to keep me watching each week. However, around the halfway point of the drama, I started getting bored so I would skip through some moments in the episodes. Soon I even started watching at 2x speed because the characters would speak slowly and the scenes dragged on. Despite this, I would still say that I enjoyed watching this drama and that it was written pretty well. There were some very relatable things said about being a family that made me realize that other families are similar to mine. Though the family's situation is a bit dramatized, it was nice to watch how they unraveled their complicated problems in each episode.

Good things I liked:
1. Amazing acting by the entire cast! (they seem like a legit family from the chemistry and interactions they have on-screen)
2. The ending was wrapped up well - I was pleased with how they ended this family's story :)
3. Interesting plot with unique characters and story set up (Eun Joo, Eun Hee, and Ji Woo had personalities different than other siblings I have seen in other dramas)
4. GREAT ost!
5. Relatable things said about being a family (how family don't tell each other everything, but only things they want)

Some things I didn't like:
1. Some moments in the drama passed by so slowly/were boring, hence the 2x speed, but this could just be my own impatience at how the story was going
2. How sometimes I really didn't understand the actions of some characters (Eun Hee dating Geon Joo when he didn't break up with his current gf yet)
3. How it got draggy about Eun Hee and Chan Hyuk's relationship although I can understand why Eun Hee was hesitant (like just date already!)

Overall, this drama was a good watch and although I would not rewatch this, I would recommend if you're looking for an interesting melodrama about an unfamiliar family. I do suggest at least 1.5x speed if you get impatient at the story's pacing because it really gets through the episode faster ;)

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I almost gave up on this drama after episode 1 because, honestly, everything from acting to dialogues to the story bored me to death. But thank the Lords I continued to watch. This drama had so much more to offer than I had ever expected. The plot finally began to shape up after 2-3 eps. Siwon's acting improved drastically and I actually laughed at a few parts. Especially that one part where the Ajjumma started singing to make Siwon laugh (if someone knows the song please tell me! haha).

Overall, I got a really warm, fuzzy feeling out of this drama. And not because of the romance but because of these cute, little family reunions which really get me every time.

Will definitely watch it again. For Ye Eun (:

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