Completed
Bad Buddy
9 people found this review helpful
Jan 21, 2022
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 9.5
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.0
This review may contain spoilers

Good chemistry can fill in for where the story is lacking

Bad Buddy has taught us two things. First is that a great chemistry between the actors can bring out the emotions of the viewers no matter how good the story is and second is that the standard for BL dramas is tragically low.
And by neither of those points do I mean to say that the story of this drama was awfully constructed, but am simply pointing out how the plot itself isn't anything note-worthy compared to the real strong points of the series.

STORY:
With the exclusion of the romance we aren't left with much. The main point of the story is that the guys were forced to become rivals due to the pressure from their parents, but even if the reason for the hatred between the two families is explained and they eventually let their sons interact with each other, we've never really found out why the two families decided to live next to each other if they've been in a conflict since high school.
The story is introduced by a fight breaking out, but we still don't know why Pat and Pran ended up getting involved with the "gangs" in the first place or why their faculties had such a deep rivalry to the point when they were willing to beat each other up.
Everyone seemed to start secluding Pat and Pran after having found out about their relationship, but when Pat went to give Pran the USB and was asked to shout out his love for Pran, nobody had expressed a disagreement with it.
There was a build up to Wai being a fake best friend who was guilt tripping Pran and using him when it was convenient, but then he did a complete 360 and suddenly came around to help Pat and start being friends with them after only one favour.

I think a lot of these points are related to how the story of the novel was changed in order to introduce a happier ending, but this had unfortunately fragmented the plot into serious and dark parts followed by easy solutions and light-hearted moments with happy conclusions which made me feel like there wasn't a very consistent flow of the overall plot.

HOWEVER, the romance part and the way the drama revealed its plotwists was the more significant and majority part of the story.
We were introduced to Pran and Pat being faculty rivals who had nothing in common, but the impression was progressively broken as the two began revealing their closeness, common history and their long-term pinning for each other. The reveals had the power to make people invested in their story and want to know more about the characters' true feelings and further developments. The build-up was done at just the right pacing, we watched Pran realise his feelings while Pat was out there subtly flirting for 5 episodes straight. The first kiss was completely unexpected, yet hadn't brought a conclusion to their story, instead opening space for even more difficulties and the flirting game which ended with Pat finally indirectly confessing his feelings brought quite an exciting development with a satisfying end. And even after they'd started dating, their relationship dynamic was fun and sweet enough to keep people interested no matter what the non-romance part of the plot was focusing on. Episode 11 felt like a promise of them staying together no matter what the rest of the world thinks or how conflicting their opinions were and episode 12 had absolutely delivered and diligently stuck to this mindset.
Each of the episodes ended in a way which made the viewers highly anticipate and theorise about the next progress of the story no matter at what point their relationship was.

Lastly, let me talk about the low standards for BL dramas now.
I have this opinion partially because of the non-relationship part of the story and mainly because of all the harmful stereotypes Bad Buddy has managed to avoid.
One of the two reasons this drama is so highly praised is the healthy relationship development between both of the main couples. The dialogues have not only omitted any uncomfortable BL tropes, but also outright mocked them. We had the whole "it'd be ridiculous if I said I was straight and you were my only exception" conversation, no mentions of wives or girlfriends in regards to Pran and Pat's relationship and even when Pat was roleplaying as Pran's girlfriend in episode 3, he'd purposely exaggerated his behaviour to seem as a guy who was jokingly acting like a girl instead of portraying himself. The dynamic between Pat and Pran never felt one-sided, they both respected each other as partners, neither of them was overpowering over the other and they talked out their conflict with each of them being allowed to equally express his opinions.
The relationship between the girls was portrayed so refreshingly too, they didn't have any long-lasting conflicts, it was just pure love that started out of a coincidental meeting and their dynamic was fit to be that of a side couple. There is such an underrepresentation of GLs that it made me overjoyed to see this kind of relationship in a popular drama of its neighbouring "genre".
Neither of the couples were sexualised, there was no bottom/top talk, none of the kisses and touches happened without consent or while under the influence of alcohol.
And a really thoughtful detail was shown at the end when Wai with Korn openly "flirted" as a part of their bromance despite both being in a stable relationship. It proved how people can be great friends while still flirting and jokingly acting as a couple, as long as they have that kind of trust with their partner.

And that's why I think it's a huge shame such a bare minimum has to be celebrated when this should be the norm for all BL/GL dramas. Imagine how good a drama of these "genres" could be if it had more than a basic plot while still focusing on this the relationship dynamic in this way and to this extent. Obviously, we're still at a point when we need to up-bring the healthy gay relationships in order to increase the quality of these "genres" and make them more realistic instead of settling for anything we're offered. So hopefully Bad Buddy can be the motivation for directors and writers to do better and not ignore the voices for the actual LGBTQ+ viewers.

ACTING:
This brings me to the second reason of why this drama was such a success.

Ohm and Nanon's amazing chemistry has seeped into the characters they were playing and further served to improve the relationship parts of the story. The bus stop designing scene from episode 3 probably would've been quite awkward if actors who weren't as close had to portray it. All the expressions of affection felt very natural since they'd put effort into practising even those kinds of things off camera. They'd always managed to express the right amount of affection and adoration during the scenes and dialogues.

All the main side actors were great, but the OhmNanon chemistry is definitely the main highlight of it all.

MUSIC:
Pran's two songs were well composed, catchy and memorable and their incorporation into the plot also made them stand out. They complimented the atmosphere and despite having quite cheesy lyrics, it worked well with the pair.

What I personally minded was the rest of the soundtrack. Some songs felt too overpowering to the point when they seemed to be interfering with the scene instead of setting the atmosphere. There were scenes with rapid changes of mood where the strong changes between background music wasn't very pleasant and felt too dramatic and unnecessary to me.

OVERALL:
Despite its minor flaws, Bad Buddy absolutely has to be one of the best BLs to have ever been produced in East Asia. This drama has finally reached the standards which should be considered the norm and aimed to be achieved by other BL dramas in the future.

I'm just really hoping the fans of this "genre" can also improve their mindsets together with the dramas and learn to do their part by ceasing to ship the actors, making a clear divide between the character and its actor and stop obsessing over the top/bottom debate (it's just as harmful as thinking gay relationship need to have the traditional labels of the husband and wife roles). I believe that if these kinds of opinions stop being so normalised in the BL community, we have a higher chance of seeing the quality of future dramas improve.

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Completed
Couples
9 people found this review helpful
by Nana87
Apr 27, 2013
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 7.0
Wasn't sure about watching this movie but decided to give it a try for Lee Si Young.

A fun love story about 5 people whose lives are connected by either fate or coincedence leading to a series of events. This is one of the movies you have to finish watching to understand the whole story. Wouldn't say it was one of the best I've seen but I did enjoy watching it.

Looking for a fun/cute/light movie then this is the one for you.
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Completed
My Girl
9 people found this review helpful
by JulesL
Jul 17, 2020
24 of 24 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 7.5
If you are willing to suspend your disbelief and accept the "convenient" setting of some scenes, you will likely find this light and fluffy rom-com highly entertaining. The events that followed after the female lead switched to her alternate personality were often hilarious and unpredictable. With comedic moments like those and many others interjected at the right time, this show is a good pick when you don't want to watch something intense or be that emotionally invested.

I think the show would have benefited more if it were a couple of episodes shorter since I found the pace in the middle just a little draggy, and they overplayed the "third party threat" theme. To me, there was some melodrama that felt more like filler episodes. I am not a fan of angst-filled scenes that last more than 2 episodes when it comes to a rom-com. Still, the angst factor is low overall.

The chemistry between the lead couple was good, and they played off each other well. The progression of their relationship was delightful, despite the numerous disruptions from external parties. Also, I like how the show emphasized how the FL would always have the ML in her heart no matter who she turned into. The way the male lead came to realize and be sure of his true feelings for the female lead was also nicely done.

The development of skinship looked natural, and the kissing scenes were good. Nothing super steamy but nothing awkward either. I give credit to Zhao Yi Qin, who plays Shen Yi, the ML for the kissing since even for the "surprise attack kisses", he was pretty smooth. I watched him in "Fake Princess" and decided to give this show a try because I was curious about his acting in a modern drama. Despite being a newbie for lead roles, he did not disappoint. Besides being good-looking, he also showed a good acting range, and I look forward to seeing him mature in his acting skills, especially when it comes to his facial expressions.

Personally, I did not find Li Jia Qi as Meng Hui that attractive, although I am sure most would find her adorable. She is a newbie as well, and in general, her portrayal of the female lead was good. She transitioned well between her different personalities Finally! A female lead in a Chinese drama who dressed well and looked stylish and appropriate for the occasions. I often lament at how badly the C-dramas style their female leads, but in this case, Meng Hui's outfits were enviable and matched well with Shen Yi, who looked pretty fine in his outfits. I wish they would post where the show stylist got the clothes because I was practically drooling over many of them.

i also enjoyed watching the relationship develop between Jiang Jiang and Ah Tao. They were really cute together, and it was interesting how there was somewhat of a role reversal when it comes to the male and female dynamics in a relationship. As for the third couple, Sui An and Wei Lei, I felt that this relationship was unnecessary and thrown in as a consolation prize. Something was lacking, not enough chemistry perhaps, plus I felt that the character Sui An was suave and matured enough that he would have stood out on his own without needing a partner. Fan Zhi Xin played Sui An well, and he's another one to keep an eye on since he appears to have the looks and talent.

Music-wise, the selection was good, and each song fit the mood of the scene well. I did like a couple of them enough to add to my playlist.

Overall, this is an endearing drama that I would recommend for light watching, good-looking actors who can act, and laugh out loud moments. I would likely re-watch it on a rainy weekend.

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Completed
Girlfriend
9 people found this review helpful
May 30, 2020
36 of 36 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 5.0
Story 5.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 3.0
This review may contain spoilers
This a drama really has a good potential & started really great but... it got boring. They dragged the love triangle way too long. There arent much development for the main actress except that she became a nobody to a lister actress. whatever that means. Started watching in youtube then the mgtv app. The subs are way so off in both. My mind has to do a double work in thinking what the hell they were saying. If u can find it somewhere with better subs then good for you. As a drama lover, ive seen so much plots & Id say there aint nothin new here. Seldom do we see a rich mom liking the poor gurl so it was cute but aint new. The stereotype was passed on to the friend though. Arranged marriage and wanting them to separate, name it, they have it. The tsundere was way too much it took 25 episode till they got together. They keep on mentioning that the lead was a younger version of the ex but seriously, they could've done more auditions if they wanna push that cos after reaching 20ish episode of hearing it youll get a tick in the ears coz the lead & the ex female definitely don't look in any way alike. leads have good chemistry but dont expect good kisses because this has few. They have the drunk kiss, then the shooting kiss, confession kiss , then the ever after kiss. Thats it. This drama has a bunch of hot actors. From male lead to the director friend, to the VP friend, the actor cousin. Even the a** of an ex is good looking. The female lead is very pretty. Not skinny. Just curves at the right places which was refreshing to see in her light color ensembles. To each his own, it was an ok drama. Just dont expect too much. I never rewatch especially if there’s way more better dramas out there

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Completed
Hi Producer
9 people found this review helpful
Jun 4, 2023
35 of 35 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.0

If you appreciate the arts of China, it's a watch

This is a drama wrapped around producing a documentary about many of China's amazing culture of arts-embroidery, weaving, ceramics, laquer, opera, costumes, etc. so as not to be just a standard documentary series (of which those parts are actually rather boring--but it could be because the English subtitles were not great). It features a quirky girl who is said to have a disorder that makes her anti-social, yet she is so observant of others that she can constantly come up with creative ways to find a human story behind the artistry vs. just relating facts and features.
I had fun watching it to see guest stars (several current idol and well known actors) in episodes portraying those stories.
It in line with other "Celebrate China" (propaganda?) shows like Our Times (watch the episode called Night At A Tang Dynasty Banquet focused on a dance) so I bet that is why the stars chose to be in this project. So if you are interested in the arts, it's a watch.

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Completed
Only Boo!
9 people found this review helpful
by Jojo
Jun 23, 2024
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 9.0
This review may contain spoilers

Recipe of Only Boo: Sugar, spice and Everything nice!

The story is simple - Cute and endearing one meets the stoic and cool. They fall in love. Fluff...fluff..issues..fluff.
But in this case, it is executed VERY well.

It is sweet, heartwarming and a drama you watch when you want to snuggle up on rainy gloomy days to cheer yourself up!!

Moo and Kang are both green-est flags with adorable and entertaining chemistry.

Moo's conviction towards his goal was really cool to watch. I liked how his journey was portrayed. From him being naive and an irresponsible kid toward his studies to meeting Kang and falling in love and still not giving up on his lifelong dream for the sake of love !! *slow claps*
Kang was the opposite. Given up on his dream (sort of) but then him meeting Moo and falling in love gave him a much-needed push to start chasing his own dreams. And he does!!
He is the epitome of being understanding.

I loved how the motto of their relationship was - "WE GROW INDIVIDUALLY AND TOGETHER!"

The interruptions caused by the constraints of Moo's idol life and their separation later actually made sense (Though I did cry with Moo). It didn't feel out of place and was not an unnecessary plot device. The time skip was manageable and wasn't ridiculously dragged.

As for the acting by the leads, it is done well considering it is Keen and Sea's first main role. Looking forward to seeing them in more! The other side actors also delivered well. Though I was a bit confused at first for the 2nd couple's story but glad it worked out in the end. I thoroughly enjoyed the friendship and bond between Potae and Moo in the last few episodes.

While the ending did feel somewhat rushed and the story could have better connected it's loose ends but it didn't diminish the enjoyment it brought !

Overall, RECOMMENDED if you want to watch something light-hearted with overflowing cuteness and green flags!

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Ongoing 36/36
Lighter & Princess
9 people found this review helpful
Nov 30, 2022
36 of 36 episodes seen
Ongoing 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 9.0

World is a battle field , few just haven't given up yet.

If you're here to connect with few characters deeply to their present, past and future, this drama is for you. If you are one of those who doesn't want to hope because of broken friendships or relationships, This drama is just right for you.
You live through the rash youth, the one where you have hope, You will live through the adulthood where you have to push yourself to hope and maybe , maybe if you have atleast one person in your life who would stand for you when the world stands tall against you, this is where it is. Overall watch this to see dreams , to just love even when you have nothing and when you are just surviving, it is alright , This is your fight.
Loved few characters , hated few but overall lived through it all.

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Completed
Master of My Own
9 people found this review helpful
by Zogitt
May 18, 2022
32 of 32 episodes seen
Completed 7
Overall 7.5
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 7.5
This review may contain spoilers

A passable rom-com that got swamped by a tsunami of relationship disasters

Let me be frank, the ML was a horrible person for a good 1/3 of the Show. He is rude, arrogant and a bully. Thankfully, the growth in the FL offset this and gave the Show a positive momentum. For the first half of the drama, it was very rewarding to watch the FL overcome challenges and strike out on her own. The business aspect of this chapter was also engaging and interesting unlike many c-drama which is supposedly based on the business world. Not surprisingly, the ML changed for the better over time, but it was a slow journey and he continued to be taciturn and awkward for the bulk of the show. It was hard to ship the OTP initially. Nevertheless, everything was heading in the right direction and there are solid hints that the OTP is on the verge of going official when the ML suddenly has an attack of the vapours and told the FL not to have any silly idea about liking him. OMG! That is the smackdown of the century and of course the FL took it badly. This is where the wheels begin to fall off this cart.

I know push-pulls and misunderstanding are the cornerstones of a rom-com, but our dear writer double down on the relationship nightmares thus flipping the narrative on its head. It went from a positive, sunny outlook to a total disaster area within a couple of episodes. The doom and gloom went on for a good 8-9 episodes before the FL finally broke up with the SML. Suddenly, it is as if a curse has been lifted and the sun came out again. Upon reflection, there was little to gain from all this pain while making the Show feel stilted.

Speaking of the SML, there is no chemistry between him and the FL. Forget fish lip kisses, they were dead fish swimming. The body language of the FL made it clear that she wanted out, but it still dragged on for too long. Ditto parachuting the ML’s crush into the mix at the same time. All it served was to throw fuel onto the flaming wreak of our OTP “romance”. If that is not enough, the seemingly perfect relationship of her BFF and her partner became a complete train wreck.

This brings us to a related issue. While the first half of the Show was focused on the OTP with some side plots, the latter half became a free-for-all with all the side stories taking over the bulk of the screen time. The leads became the supporting act. So not only was there no progress in their relationship, but they were also caught up with everyone else’s problems.

In this sea of gloom, there was an odd spark. Oddly, it was a death, but the story was integral to the plot. It was poignant and well acted. It marked the turning point when the Show pivot back on course.

The last few episodes are used to dispel the gloom and put things right. More time and effort are spent on side characters while the leads are stuck in the dreaded friend zone. The pacing is languid to say the least. The ending is cute and predictable but more appropriate for a movie. The confession did not happen until the literal dying moments of the last episode! Why can’t we have more sweet CP moments? I believe the Show followed closely the book which it is based but after 30+ episodes a bit more fan service is not unreasonable. So much time is wasted, . . . so much.

Acting wise, the FL was very good while the ML struggles with his delivery. I have not watched any of his show which I can say his acting was outstanding. Most of the support cast earned their keeps. There were some one-dimensional characters and some overacting but not too bad.

OST is good. I can rewatch bits of it, but I would skip a lot as well. It started well and promised much but in the end, it failed to reach new heights and came down to a soft landing.

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Completed
Jiu Liu Overlord
9 people found this review helpful
Nov 13, 2020
36 of 36 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.5
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 4.5
This review may contain spoilers
I was excited to see another Bai Lu drama, but to me this drama didn't meet my expectation. Was hoping it would be a cute story but this drama just packed too much. I got a little lost watching it at the end. I felt this drama was kinda choppy in it's plot development...

Let me try to summarize it.... Male lead is from the Upper Jiu Liu ( aka upper class person) He has a clothing business.
Female lead is of the lower Jiu liu ( from the lower class) where she is the leader in the Dragon Bamboo sect. Two people from two classes come together to solve a case of missing gold thread from the male lead 's store/factory. ( Many episodes were about this case , which i didn't find particularly interesting). The female lead gets to stay at the store to unravel what has happen .Beside the Dragon bamboo clan there is a snake clan , who does evil and try to inflate the silkworm. They were also behind the missing golden thread. After the case is solve, the female lead is there in the shop as a designer, and help design different thing likes bras and pillows to sell to the public. In their shop there is the second female lead who has an evil father. The evil father basically tries to kill the male and female lead because they know of his evil and deceptive ways. He gets saved because , he actually has another identity, he's a crown prince. Just like that the story turns and he moves Chang An.

There is also a mystery behind the female lead's identity, but the big reveal was just kinda confusing and like wth ? it took way too long for her to solve the case/find out why someone killed her master. she goes into the royal palace and tries to find more , but she doesnt really find much information.

Also the female lead is suppose to be a leader of the dragon bamboo clan , but i didnt find that she had the characteristic traits that fit. I mean she is a little loud, rough , brave and can drink but she doesnt know martial arts , so she cant protect herself, while on the other hand the male lead who is from the upper class and is much more tamer knows martial arts and kicks butt!!!

The female and male lead pairing didnt work. I didnt feel like they had chemistry at all. Like it took so long for the female lead to figure out she liked the male lead. The male lead was a little too stone cold face lol, but he was cute when he smiled. I felt she had more chemstry with the second male lead. They didnt have enough screen time to build that relationship up, maybe one incident, but afterwards nothing so it was left to dry lol ( dont know if you know what i mean) So if you are looking for romance, this is not the drama for you !

I think they gave a little too much time in showing the relationship between the second male and female lead. I didnt like the fact that he turned evil, but at the end had such a wth ending.... ( dont wanna ruin it all) Also the evil father has an evil daughter.... Didn't like her either, a lu cha biao!! green tea b....

What i liked was the relationship between the female and male lead's servants. Their story was pretty cute!! They ended up falling for each other.

I mean this drama is bearable, watch at your own warning! hehe

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Completed
Long Time No See
9 people found this review helpful
by honey
Sep 13, 2018
5 of 5 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 7.5
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 8.5
So firstly, I really did enjoy this mini series, it has many good points, but I do want to give a fair warning that it FLIES through the plot. I mean A LOT is glossed over, to the point you might think its a budgeting issue not just lazy writers. This series really should have been a full 12-15 eps in my opinion. The characters and the overall plot would have benefitted from it. That being said,

STORY
Super intriguing on a base level. I like this plot line they were trying to flesh out, and i could do enough back-fill myself to make it seem more full than it really was, but still it was very enjoyable and entertaining. This is also a down side though, as because it's so short you almost feel ripped off or that there are 5-7 extra eps laying on the cutting room floor in the editors office. I like seeing two capable, independent and strong dudes fall in love because it keeps away from the often ham-fisted fem!sub with a masc!dom that spurs up in these type of stories often. It's pretty cool

ACTING
Okay the acting pretty much made everything worth it. The two leads are great and there is definitely chemistry -- I enjoy the dichotomy of kr film being either NOTHING or going the full 9-yards and beating you over the end with make-out and strip scenes. Luckily for this film there was the latter.
the sister is also a great actor and she's very cute and genuine.

REWATCH?
yes just because there are some missing plot lines and such that'd i'd like to take time to fill in on my own. also the scenes mentioned before are hot sooo... ace.

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Dec 16, 2021
11 of 11 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
This review may contain spoilers

Genuine and hilarious at the same time.

I think this is the best variety show I have watched this year. Very enjoyable from beginning to the end. My favorite episodes were episode 1 ,6 & 7.  They should named this Villains Home Decoration lol. They really worked hard in making the house beautiful  got me thinking it was such  a waste to part with it when the show ended. Now it has ended, I have two questions about the show if anyone knows lol.  First,who is the real owner of the house?  What a lucky owner lol. Second, they spent a fortune redecorating the house but with whose money ?

About the cast :
-Uhm Ki Joon = His calm personality balance the trio. The older hyung who take care of his dongsengs in his own way.
-Bong Tae Kyu = He  cursed the show's concept alot, said it was a crap and awful but he was the one who worked the hardest in every task he got.
-Yoon Jong Hoon : Our Golden Youngest. Despite being the youngest, he did what a mother would in a family. He cooked and take better care of his hyungs.His synergy with BTK was the best.

I could feel the interaction they had were all genuine and not scripted .They seem to say what they want to each other depicted they have a close relationship with each other in reality. You can't love what you don't know. In WDB, you would see their real personality behind the villain masks they wore in most drama they were in and  surely fall in love with them by the end of the show. Recommended!

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Completed
BOSS
9 people found this review helpful
by reika
Mar 21, 2013
11 of 11 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 10
The acting was VERY GOOD. I just really want to emphasize that. Excellent plot. I've seen it before on gooddrama.net while looking for more detective series to watch, but the series cover picture and the name, just didn't click to me. But then, I found out that Junpei Mizobata is one of the cast. And that did it! Haha.

If you're looking for a detective tv drama, this is it people. Another thing that I actually like about it is it's funny, makes you laugh hard every now and then.

Great character development.

All said, I'm looking forward on watching the second season. It better be greater or equal to this!

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Completed
Love Casting
9 people found this review helpful
by Jojo
Apr 18, 2025
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 2
Overall 7.5
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 7.0

A sweet summer ride with a dash of drama!

7.7/10

Positives :
✅ All the cast members were sweet, supportive and adorable. There wasn’t a single "extremely problem child" in the bunch, which made the overall atmosphere and vibe genuinely heartwarming.

✅ For me this was a unique and refreshing concept. The idea of living together to find a BL partner for a drama role was completely new to me and I really enjoyed it. It felt like a fresh twist on the usual reality show format.

✅ The panelists "The Aunty Squad" were over-the-top in the best way. They were funny, dramatic and very engaging throughout. Their silly commentary here and there added an extra layer of entertainment to the episodes.

Negatives:
❌ I did not enjoy over-the-Top drama towards the end. While the first 10 episodes felt genuine, the drama and sudden twists in the final two episodes came off as a bit too much. It somewhat disrupted the otherwise vibe of the show.

❌ I think I would have enjoyed this more if it had been an 8 or 10-episode series. Some parts felt a bit slow and dragged on.

❌ Now this might just be my problem but Poom deserved more panel love. It often felt like the panel forgot about Poom, especially when he was waiting for translations in the early 5-6 episodes. I wish they had given him a few extra seconds to catch up. It occasionally felt like he was watching the show alone. That said, it was nice to see him interact more with the squad by the end.

Overall, this was a creative and enjoyable ride for the most parts with likable casts and a fresh concept. Despite a slightly rocky finish, the journey was full of warm moments and making it worth a one time watch.

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Completed
My Dearest Part 2
9 people found this review helpful
by ivybis
Feb 13, 2024
11 of 11 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 7.5

Caution! This will mangle your heart.

I needed a few days to process what I had just seen before writing a proper review. My heart was way too invested in this and I needed some clarity before proceeding...

If you are a sucker for a good romantic melodrama, this one tops the list. The heat in the room gets turned up by the smoldering male lead, Jang Hyun, played by Namkoong Min. He falls for his lady the moment he set eyes on her and sets out to steal her heart by any means necessary. Our female lead, Gil Chae, is aptly played by Ahn Eun Jin (Hospital Playlist). Gil Chae has no interest in our ML, however, because she has her eyes set elsewhere. What is obvious to us, though, is that our FL has fallen head over heels for our ML but she is the only fool who doesn't realize it. What transpires is a delicious game of push/pull and how Jang Hyun would cut his heart out of his body for Gil Chae if she wasn't so self-absorbed to appreciate it.
We get a sweeping epic of historical fiction that will throw our leads together or tear them apart. We get lost in the intense gaze of Jang Hyun telling his lady he resents the hell out of her, while granting her the simplest of wishes. We are swept along in the tidal wave of their love and it is beautiful.

Unfortunately, this beautiful epic love story has its flaws. Most of the plot was taken from Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind, in the first part and then riddled with cliches and sloppy writing in the second, leaving us confused and asking a ton of questions. There were time lapse issues, abandoned story arcs, and implausible scenarios. How is it that Jang Hyun can fight so well? He hates war and is a bit of a dandy, so when did he train to be so deadly with a sword? His past is alluded to but not clear. The storyline gets muddled and repetitive, so it would have been better to just stick with a simpler plot. After all, it was delivering spectacularly in the romantic aspect.

The OST...what an OST!! It was sonorous, sweeping, simple, and unforgettable. It conveyed the romantic emotions, the angst, the desperation, and the deep longing of two people who can't live without the other. Bravo!

Then there are unforgettable lines like, "I tried to hate you when you left me, but I couldn't, So, I hated myself instead." "I never left you, I just couldn't bring myself to have you." Add these to the stellar acting and breathtaking cinematography and you have yourself a noteworthy production despite its flaws, deserving of its many awards for best actors and best drama of 2023.

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Completed
Double Sweet Wife
7 people found this review helpful
Jun 1, 2021
33 of 33 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 5.0
Story 5.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 4.5
This review may contain spoilers

Unsatisfactory ending

I enjoyed this show and thought the main characters had good chemistry. The way they built a friendship was endearing. Even the mil and butler had a good relationship with the main characters. The fact that she had two women out to destroy the relationship made the drama interesting. I kept rooting for the fl to just tell the ml the truth. The ending is very unsatisfactory. No outcome; no answer to whether he ever finds out about the switch; no answer on whether the baby is really his; bad ending for the ml + fl.
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