Reviews

I just finished watching this drama and WOW, could it be any better?! I almost cried when it ended and don't underestimate my "almost cried" because I don't cry but this drama touched me so deeply.
I waited until now to watch it, I mainly watched it because of its story which was a masterpiece of art. I couldn't think of a better cast than Min Ho as the lead actor; this is one of the dramas that made him snatch a spot in my favorite actors list.
The prosecutor Kim Young Joo, I totally fell in love with his role; I keep waiting for any scene he have with Yeon Sung! And let's not forget the rest of the cast who were awesome; their roles were done perfectly: I rarely give a 10's to the cast so if I do so, that means I am more than amazed.
The music: One of the fewest drama's music that I will never forget, I keep waiting for the OST and sing along with it (^___^).
I watched this drama with an average of four episodes per day, usually when I reach the middle of a drama I skip parts but in this drama I couldn't do so because each and every part is extremly important that i couldn't miss it.
Basically, if You're action lover (as myself) you need to watch this and even if you're rom-com lover (as I became lately) you won't regret watching this because it have a romantic side; the kind of a sweet romance not too innocent and not too straightforward.
The reasons I didn't give this drama a 10 overall even though I loved it so much are basically two : the 1st is the unsatisfying ending, don't get the wrong idea it's not sad or something but it didn't convince me, the 2nd is because I am pretty cheap when it comes to 10's I rarely do that.
Anyway, if you haven't watched this you need to start!

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Great Acting But w/a Too Busy Script & Unnecessary Characters

Watched this for XZ and yet a new storyline that was in the slice of life section. I've only seen two other actors before in different series and genres as support; otherwise I'm new to most of these people. I strongly feel that after reading the article the screenwriter wrote about the characters, she meant well, but it just didn't translate on screen as it was way too busy though the acting was for the most part appropriate and the situations were somewhat realistic.

Pros: I like slice of life stories and favorite characters included the ML or SY and FL or JB. I liked his stubbornness and bright attitude. I also liked how XZ could use his previous life experiences in design as well as film in his hometown. JB was mature but she was able to evolve out of her divorce to accept SY into her heart. The only thing I would change about her is that, I would have loved to see her actually take a stand for herself and not just listen while people spoke condescendingly to her and about her. Other awesome characters were dad and mom (though there was a moment there where I thought mom was a bit harsh, but she came around), SC and PR, who made the right kind of sense together and apart and I liked that they got together at the end. LSS was great but where the heck did she go for most of the second half of the series? The OSTs were nice and the fact that they essentially filmed in a city made sense too.

Cons: Busy script, way too busy. Three plus unnecessary characters were the hockey twins aka JB's sister and her crush/later boyfriend and his obnoxious uncle. I fast-forwarded them for most of the show. What was their purpose? JB's sister; I couldn't take at all. She was a college student but couldn't speak normally to save her life. She was either irritated or yelling or just acting like a 12 year old constantly. Then throw in their father in the last like 5 episodes just to show why they're so dysfunctional when it could have been explained in maybe a 10 minute scene and it still didn't explain why the sister was so ridiculous. JB's ex hubby deserved to be hit with a brick for his possessive, condescending attitude but though I can understand he was in there, his then disappearance and reappearance much like LSS was disjointed and jarring.

While I understand there were life lessons in there, if you got rid of at least three of those characters, this show would have had been better flushed out and given the main characters a more realistic portrayal and screen time.

Would I recommend it? If you like slice of life dramas, then yes I would. Overall it was a good watch, just make sure you know how to use the ffw button.

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Great concept!!!

My Stand-In has multiple layers, making it a highly textured and emotionally complex BL series.

The show has a highly refreshing concept, which brings up some interesting questions on the relationship between love and personhood. If the person you loved died and revived as someone else in a different body, how does that alter the nature of the relationship?

The series should be lauded for not shying away from complex, and deeply flawed characters. It explores fairly mature themes, given the show’s sexual relationships and the characters’ manipulative nature. Perhaps it can be criticised for romanticising toxicity, but I don’t think it is any series’ job to be an ad for civics and moral education. Characters like Ming are everywhere in real life.

Ming’s mercurial tendencies and obsessiveness makes him challenging to like and root for as a character. But for Joe, who has been collateral damage from getting caught in the crosshairs of power struggles – he finally gets his turn to understand what it means to have somebody to fight for you.

And it was superbly satisfying to watch.

Full review: https://asianblreviews.wordpress.com/2024/07/20/my-stand-in-2024-bl-review/

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Lots of Summer Days

Lune = the moon. Personally, I don’t believe in the moon, I think it’s the back of the sun… still, I understand why Lune came off as a red flag. Ever heard of the blood moon? Anyway, is Star like a friend of Sera's or an enemy? I can't believe my WhiteIvy ship didn't sail... my year is ruin until January 25th. :((((

Look, I don’t know what school y’all went to, but in what class would anyone not notice a student like Lune? Dude was tall with hair, brooding, and looked like an angel coo'ed every time he breathed. Like?? Lune being an invisible kid was so far-fetched I’d sooner believe thai bls would one day stop the guitar scene than to believe Lune is a loser. Like did y'all see his model face during that runaway show??

There was a lot of drama on this show. Good, and nonsense drama. Many hated Lune when White punched him, some sided with White cuz he felt like an extra and background prop. Most of us were team #WhiteIvy, while a lot of us called Star names for acting unreasonable, and of cause, we all swoon whenever Jewel and Tan were on the screen. Avadakedavra and whathaveyous.

But listen, when that drama that separated them happened, I did not side with anyone. Matter of fact, I almost lost an eyeball rolling my eyes at White’s dramatic arse, and Lune’s pathetic face.

I UNDERSTOOD WHITE:
but he was annoying for acting like he trademarked Star.
Yes, if I brought a loser invisible boy who look like a cover star into my friend group, asked him if he like my crush, he says no, then said crush rejects me, and I later find out he’s dating her, and my friends are now hanging out with him and ignoring me… I too, would punch him and disown him.

White’s pain, and feeling betrayed was justified. He had a reason for feeling the way he did. The pain from the reject was still fresh, and with how they were ignoring him to protect him, it was no wonder he blew up in their face, and especially felt more hurt with Ivy, since she was the one he confined in the most.

BUT BUT… boy! Come on. Like, this girl rejected you, give it a rest and go find something to eat. Sometimes, I don’t understand the ‘code’. The unspoken rule about not dating someone who a friend have a crush on or dated. Hmm, just because they don’t vibe with you, I ain’t allow to feel for them? Boy was acting like he had trademarked Star, when she literally rejected him by saying she liked someone else.

That being said, White was my fav character. He was such a good friend and an amazing human being. Being there for this friends, taking the blame to protect Nana. I felt sad for him when he was rejected, but my arse was highkey shipping him with Ivy, so like, it made me happy. I kind of get why they didn't end up together, their friendship was waay too good to ruin, but still, it hurts. Also, he gave the best advice, we all need a friend like that. The only advice I ever gave my friend was to never say no to free food. She'd gain weight now, but she hasn't paid for meals in a while...so #winning. AND, he slayed that runway.

I UNDERSTOOD LUNE:
But homeboy was such a people pleaser and a try hard. Lune as a character was one of those red flag that comes with green wrappings. The worse thing being he himself didn’t even know he was a red flag. Sure, he was a good person and tried to do the right thing always. But by putting everyone before himself, he literally drove everyone around him insane.

Dumping Sera with no explanation. Sure he got his arse whooped, but at least if he’d explained, poor girl would have moved on. Telling White 'bros-before-hoes' only to turn around and date his crush in secret, boy!! The trouble he went through for White when he got in that scandal, all so he could apologise for dating a single girl who agreed to go out with him. And the whole driving his girlfriend crazy by trying to give his ex-girlfriend the time of her life.

All these was a good attempt on his part, but also made him come off as a red flag. At one point during that dinner, I was like...OMG will you shut up about Sera??? I understood he wanted to make up to her, but the way he did it, if I was his girlfriend, I too will yell at him in the rain. Heck, would have thrown all those plates on the ground for dramatic effect ^^

As the main character, Lune was dull, sure most of the events evolved around him, but he still seemed so grey, not a lot of color. I admit, I did like his character and was cheering for him to stop being a bish and admit he likes Star back. That being said, I liked how effortlessly Lune and Star's relationship developed, and how warm they felt.

I UNDERSTOOD STAR
Did Star come off as a fake friend for how unreasonable she was being towards Lune’s intention to make Sera's last couple of days memorable? Yes! BUT, GIRLLLL. Her boyfriend literally had an ex who was like her long lost doppelgänger, like, they had the same interests and they both came off very kind, smart, cute, demure. I too would have thoughts, and to keep hearing about their past, that must have hurt. I was surprise she didn't blow up sooner.

So yes, I understood her. and Lune just couldn’t take a hint, Sera this, Sera that, like, child would you keep quiet? Though, I thought she was smart enough to communicate before it came to that point when it got too much for her, but we all know what happened.

As a character, Star was…well, she didn’t annoy me to the point I gave up on her, so good. But her friendship with Sera felt so conditional, that it came off fake. Yes, you are jealous and your boyfriend can't take a hint, but communication is the key girl. Her giving an ultimatum was such an arse move. But am glad Sera understood her, gave Lune's thick head advice, and in the end they became genuine friends.

IVY IS MY GIRL
She was a very good friend. I like how she let go of her long crush and immediately supported Star and Lune. I felt for her when White was mad at her, sometimes being a good friend sucks. I love when she bantered with White and their friendship. We all deserve a friend like her. She was my third fav character. I'm high key super sad we didn't get a WhiteIvy ending, but, but he didn't close that stupid line she drew though...so there's hope.

JEWEL AND TAN RULES
Need I say more? Their scenes were so precious, and I loved how Jewel was so rich rich he was flat out naive. I love their interactions. I was laughing so hard when Tan was talking about the hardship in his life, and Jewel was like, 'Yeah, I understand, sometimes I don't know what car to choose.' CHILD! That's not... That's not even remotely relatable. He was basically like, I'm soo rich, it's exhausting. And Tan just stared like, 'ain't life bish.' skskkss. Jewel was my second fav character, homeboy just went off to the side and fell in love with a Harry Potter impersonator who made coffe, and missed all the actions. Jewel waiting a year to go to Uni with Tan was... tears. Yeah, I loved them, wish them whatever comes after 'the end'.

Anyway, I am nosy. Sometimes, I pull up on twitter with a glass of wine and popcorn, cuz some of y’all have some juicy drama. So yeah, when I saw two bl actors were gonna do a f/m lakorn, my arse immediately stood up! Going in, I wasn't expecting much, but I was surprised at how good this was. I came to look forward to it every week. Phuwin and Dunk's acting was better here than the bls I last saw them in. I like seeing how they've improved, hopefully they take it to their next projects as well.

Star's mother suddenly understanding her, when she's been a helicopter mom forever was far-fetched, but am glad we at least got to see that she and Lune had a supportive family behind them. I liked that Sera seemed to have become part of the group, and Lune was no longer a people pleaser. I'm satisfied with the ending we got, but super sad about my ghostship. WhiteIvy will always be in my heart.

All-in-all, cast did what they were supposed to, bringing their characters to life. The plot itself was nothing new, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. The drama exceeded my expectations, and so I'll recommend it to everyone looking for a high school drama. This was my first ever thai f/m drama and I was not disappointed. Give it a watch.

Looking forward to more work from the cast, especially Ryu and Java.

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At some point I didn't know if they will end u together or not

It's so rare to see a drama which makes me wonder whether the main couple will end up together. The characteristics of each of them were so profound. The story progression was great and every episode gave me anticipation of what is going to happen next because of the way the couples went on and off. I had a hard time trusting any of them. FirstKhao, as usual did a very good job with their acting. They felt so natural and the emotional scenes were perfectly made. JoongDunk killed their characters. They are the ones that kept me going. The level of acting they served in this is better than all their previous works.
The scenes were not rushed, which I loved so much. I wish the story had more depth and showcased more about the sideline plot about rich people and their abuse and the social problems etc. because I expected they will focus more on that. All in all it was a great watch and the emotional scenes were done so well.

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I will cherish MaxTul till the end of life.

I am crying and writing this, Words cannot express how beautiful and thrilling, this series is. One of the bold Bl series. the ending is so beautiful, I will cherish MaxTul till the end of life. MaxTul is one of the powerful BL couple. Till my last breath, I will always stan them. The ending is just too beautiful, I just want to cry. Without saying anything, Tul's eyes can express a thousands emotions. I love the scenery is this drama. I wish the production to be little more better. I wish I could have read the novel, the story in the novel is more deep than the drama.

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I found the story somewhat similar to Pride & Prejudice, where you've got what seems to be a handsome, rich, extremely narcissistic and selfish MC paired with a smart, caring secretary who's been 'tortured' by her boss' narcissism and has formed her own prejudiced opinions about him, which is far from the real picture. Each episode aims to reveal little by little, the MC's real character and how secretary Kim responds to the those revelations. It is a simple and sweet story which started out strong but fizzled out in the middle. Even the big reveal wasn't so much of a surprise and failed to inject any excitement into the plot to keep me from feeling bored. The actors did a good job at playing their roles, although I can't say I fully understood PMY's character's behaviour sometimes.. It's difficult to completely describe it, but the story felt shallow and listless. Parts that were meant to be deeply felt failed to evoke any real emotions, and as the story progressed, it felt less and less authentic. I can't deny the chemistry between PMY and PSJ; they've managed to play out the romance in a sweet and lighthearted manner that makes me smile. All in all, it's very mediocre. I liked it enough to finish 16 episodes. Truthfully, I would've dropped if it had been longer because it was getting really draggy. Would I watch it again? Definitely not.

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Had fun riding the Gunnie & Mi roller coaster to love. This version of the Taiwanese drama was hands down grossly improved by the actors & onscreen chemistry. The humor, chemistry and story made this an easy to get hooked on and felt right for end of summer drama. Did the storyline change from the Tw version - not much... the comedy portions were endearing to the plot and not overplayed. For me the soundtrack was mesmerizing and well placed throughout the drama. The most poignant track, were the touching instrumentals played at heartfelt moments serving to heighten the moments at hand. The ending was nicely summed up and overall was the right length - no more -no less. Interesting that the two end of summer dramas are dealing with mental & family issues - life goes on. As a final note, the two leads looked like they had fun doing this drama, resulting in magnetic chemistry heartfelt through the screen, coupled with the remaining cast who just made you smile every episode. Well done and lots of HAMO HAMO!

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It was fine.

This was just fine.

The storyline felt really jumpy and confusing at some points, the transition between them being in high school and then being in college really through me off, I didn't really understand that that time passed. I mean I caught on eventually but it wasn't obvious. The was acting was all right, though I felt like the girl literally had no personality. I guess she really didn't need one she was there to cause conflict. The ending was not satisfying at all to me, I don't need them to love each other in the end, what I did need though was an explanation of why he slept with him. Like why would you play with your best friends heart like that?

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Great premise, super addictive, but bad cast and execution

This show was great when I first started watching it. I was addicted - the premise was great, and personally relatable for me - I related to a lot of the cast members as despite being quite a bit younger than them I felt the same way about dating. However, they brushed through the ‘makeover’ element and severely underplayed it. My next big qualm was the SEVERE mistreatment of cast members Mi-ji and Seung-chan. Despite being cast members that were introduced relatively early for game changers (as typically in other shows they are introduced quite a bit later) they had NO screen time. NO dates, NO choices, we didn’t even have an update on WHO they liked? Were they even there? It would be fine for them to get less screen time sure, but they were IGNORED? This was honestly horrible of the producers and it leads me to disregard them. It’s not professional, and it’s not normal conduct. I feel horrible for these two. My next is not their fault, but the cast was horribly bull-headed and the girls especially were just plain mean.
Yeolmyung was plain rude to jae-yun. Jiyeon was rude and dismissive as soon as she got what she wanted. Jeong-mok is a walking red flag. And barely any of them matched, because each of them was fixated on someone they had talked to for ten seconds at the beginning of the show, despite that person clearly being interested in them??!!!! So whilst i loved watching this show, especially for a dating show - i surprisingly didn’t lose as much interest as i usually do - the conclusion was horrifying and i think the producers need to step it up if this show gets a S2. One, not all of our cast members need to be ‘traumatised’. They need therapy, not a partner. Two, the game changers need to ACTUALLY change something and NOT be ignored - everyone needs screen time, albeit little. Three, we need to stop treating the walking red flags like they are romantic prodigies. Make the activities a little more interesting, and extend the period. But I enjoyed watching this, so that’s why it has a high rating. The producers just underplayed a golden concept.

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First off, I'm so jealous of Yonekura Ryoko because at age 37 she just rocks that school uniform OMG. Anyway. I've watched a lot of these "troublesome class, solving one problem per episode!" dramas and while the fact that Baba is a 35 year old high school student is something new (doesn't top a yakuza in high school though, hanya~), the concept really isn't. The problems the class faces aren't exactly a new breeze in dramaland either, BUT I loved the drama anyway.

I really liked the way the problems were dealt with and there were always some nice twists added, to make the drama and the characters less predictable. The first episode is definitely the strongest, but I felt the drama kept a good quality to the end (although the last episode was a bit too draggy at times) and Babas background story as well as the whole school caste system are pretty interesting. I also felt that the drama wasn't as ...preachy? as other dramas of this type tend to be sometimes and most characters acted believable to the end, even though the story was a bit overly dramatic at times.

The acting was pretty good, Ryoko made me really like Baba and Junpei was convincing as the cowardly homeroom teacher, but to me the much younger Yamazaki Kento and Suda Masaki were best. Kento really shined in the last episode and Masaki made me sincerely hate his character up to the last 15 minutes of the final episode.

Overall I really liked this and I'd recommend it without hesitation if someone was looking for a high school drama. And the last 5 minutes or so of the drama are just super adorable :)

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Don't even start this piece of shit.

I haven't seen anything worse than this drama. I literally thought in the first 5 ep that the main lead is someone who is obssessed with having sex with her. It literally seems like some sort of abusive relationship.
Their chemistry sucks plus when I google the story of this drama there is a line that she will learn about his "DARK PAST" but but there isn't anything about his past in the whole drama and don't even get me started on the female lead I mean anyone can kiss her or harass her and she is like ss...sorry I mean wtf ? even a 7 year old child can be better or bold enough to say STOP and her boyfrnd is like I'm here now and booom that thing ends there. Like what the fuck.
and there isn't any explanation on why people keep harassing here, what is wrong with the guy's work is he even a normal person or someone who is just obssessd with her.
I'm so frustated that I can't even describe.

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