Reviews

Top Form — When a BL Reaches Its Peak

Sometimes a BL comes out and you enjoy it. Sometimes one comes out and you binge it in a few days. And then once in a while, a series appears that reminds you why you love this genre in the first place. Top Form is exactly that kind of drama.

From the beginning, the story feels fresh even if the premise is simple. The setting inside the acting industry gives the drama a different kind of tension. Fame, rivalry, pressure from producers, expectations from fans… all of that surrounds the relationship between Akin and Jin. At first it looks like a classic competition story: the veteran actor who has been “the sexiest man of the year” for years suddenly challenged by a younger rising star. But what makes the story interesting is how that rivalry slowly transforms into admiration, attraction, and eventually something much deeper.

Boom Raveewit as Akin completely owns the screen. He plays the confident, experienced actor perfectly, but what makes his performance special is the vulnerability hidden behind that image. You can feel the pressure of fame on his shoulders. On the other side, Smart Chisanupong brings an almost innocent energy to Jin. His character starts as someone a bit lost in the industry, trying to find his place, and watching him grow emotionally through the series is one of the most satisfying parts of the story. And then there is their chemistry. Honestly, this is where Top Form becomes unforgettable. Some BL couples look good together, some feel natural, but Boom and Smart create something that feels electric on screen. Their interactions feel playful, tense, romantic, sometimes even a little dangerous. There are scenes where you barely have dialogue, just eye contact or a small gesture, and yet the emotions are completely clear.

Another thing that impressed me is how cinematic the series feels. The lighting, the framing of the scenes, even the way the actors move in certain moments makes the whole drama feel bigger than a typical BL production. It almost feels like watching a film about actors rather than just a romance story. The music also deserves praise because it actually supports the emotions of the scenes instead of overpowering them. What I loved the most is that the romance never feels forced. It develops naturally from admiration to attraction and then to love. It doesn’t try to shock the audience with unnecessary drama or exaggerated conflicts. Instead, it focuses on two characters learning to understand each other while navigating the complicated world of fame and expectations.

Final Thought

Top Form is the kind of series that shows how strong a BL can be when everything is done right: writing, acting, chemistry, and production. It feels mature, emotional, and visually polished, and the connection between the leads carries the entire story. For me, it’s one of those dramas that reminds you that BL can be more than a genre — it can simply be great storytelling. A perfect score feels completely deserved.

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FL who actually has the hots for her ML!

the story itself isn't exactly innovative; if you've seen dogblood storylines + family drama, it essentially follows the same script. in the second half, it got too repetitive for me to really care, and the ML was OP asf (how did he manage to save everyone just in the nick of time? we'll never know)

the star of this show is the incredible chemistry between the two main leads, and especially the FL. she does not hesitate to ask for sex when she feels like it! on multiple occasions! which is practically unheard of. and the ML is as absolute sweetheart; truly the epitome of the perfect husband in every sense of the word

watch solely for the romance.

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Started promisingly but started to get worse

This drama started off really promisingly with classic undercover action with Mark Ma as an undercover cop trying to arrest a drug dealer, but it slowly turned into a generic drama. The drama is just looking for an excuse to put a bunch of women together in skimpy clothes and jump about the place.

The point when it jumped the shark was when Mark Ma was reinstated as a cop after the drug dealer was caught in the early episodes, but after being reinstated he decided to go back undercover, so half the police station had to sign NDAs to not reveal his identity because they all knew his identity. Man, in real life you know he could not go undercover again because too many cops knew who he was so it was so stupid. Suddenly, the story took a turn and Mark Ma needed a girl group to compete in a competition to gather information on an organisation. Huh? The excuse was so weak it was clearly just a reason to get hot women together to show their legs.

Mark Ma weirdly is the best part of this drama as you’re always guessing what he is really up to. The ladies that make up his team really have me going huh? Kelly Cheung Plays a very rich and qualified Psychiatrist who is a consultant for the Police. She is shown to be observant and to notice stuff and make deductions that make no sense. One thing that had me going “pardon?” Was when she saw a notebook and noticed some marks on it where a clip was held on it, and somehow from that she deduced Mark Ma used it to hide an SD card and slip it out of the Police Station. What the actual f? Despite her position, she agreed to join the undercover girl band group. Why? She’s not a cop, why involve a civilian?

Kelly has a younger cousin played by Yuki Law, who is a cop, a very short cop but she is a cop. Despite being in her thirties now, the drama tries to portray her as this young adult in the drama who pretends to be 18 years old as she requested to join the undercover girl group. Huh? She is probably the worst member of the group because she leaks all confidential information when she is drunk. With this, she should have been removed from the operation but nooooo.

And finally we have Jeannie Chan, who in classic TVB serious drama fashion, is in depression mode for most of the beginning of the drama and it really got on my nerves. Somehow Jeannie also ends up joining the team.

I really hope things improve as I am 10 episodes in and it is still pretty average, but who knows maybe it can turn around.

Update up to episode 19: man this drama got so much worse. I thought the girl band would be a major plot point where the entire drama would center around it as thy competed and passed each round while investigating behind the scenes. Instead, they get together, sing one song, competition is over, and now they are all doing individual jobs to gather intel like Yuki is working at a launderette, Jeannie was a bodyguard then returned back to being a cop, and Kelly now works as a security consultant (wtf) at the company to gather intel. Wasn’t the main advertising point the girl band? Why was it disbanded after a few episodes? This is basically false advertising.

To top things off, the female leads are all so annoying. Yuki meets one of the antagonists played by Felix Ng while working at the launderette and somehow falls for him, so later when she discovered he was a bad guy she spends 2 episodes crying and moping over this fact. Come on! I also cannot get the thought out of my head that she is in her thirties now, so when she tries to act all cute in her cosplays I just have to cringe.

Jeannie is still the boring meh she ever was. She won’t let herself get pushed around anymore but she still does the monotone depressed voice.

The biggest sinner here is Kelly. The drama keeps trying to push her as this intelligent and observant psychologist, but it is too forced and so full of crap. One scene had me going wtf was during dinner at a restaurant she noticed Mark Ma bringing in a backpack and she noticed it could fit a 15” laptop in it. Then when all the ladies left the room, she surmised that he must have swapped out a key piece of laptop evidence because he brought in a backpack that just so happened to be the right size to carry that size of laptop. She was right, but what a completely stupid way to get to that conclusion and completely unrealistic. And man, she has such a great boyfriend played by Hugo Wong, like he is such a great catch in this drama, but Kelly treats him so badly. When her dad has a heart attack, Hugo rushes to get treatment to save his life, I mean that is a man you can depend on. When he later proposes she agrees but immediately regrets it saying something feels off or wrong. Later she tells him the news she wants to call off the engagement, he rightly loses his shit like wtf girl? I really hated her character after this, like what on earth were the writers thinking?

The best episode was episode 16, which had none of them in there and was a simple flashback episode of how Mark Ma met Jeannie’s friend and started dating her until her untimely demise. It was a great episode showing how they grew close and started dating, a great example of how you should show and not tell.

And man… Oscar Tao cannot act. He really sucks. He is Yuki’s old school friend who happened to be a beat cop and he secretly likes Yuki, but his acting is terrible.

This drama is 25 episodes long and so far nothing amazing has happened yet. Just slow-paced boringness and with 6 episodes left I can only imagine it not really improving much.

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Bad Guy My Boss — When a Strong Novel Becomes a Weak Adaptation

Bad Guy My Boss is one of those dramas where the concept sounds much better than the final result. The story itself isn’t terrible. A powerful CEO and his loyal secretary, secret feelings hidden behind workplace hierarchy, jealousy, and emotional tension — all the ingredients for a compelling BL are there. But in the drama, those ingredients never come together in a convincing way.

The biggest problem is the chemistry between the leads. James Hayward Prescott and Kad Ploysupa relationship rarely feels believable. Instead of watching two men slowly realize their feelings for each other, many scenes feel like two actors trying to imagine what that attraction should look like. The romantic moments are present, but the emotional connection behind them is weak. I appreciate the physical intimacy, but the steamy scenes couldn’t compensate the lack of a strong narrative, and it becomes more noticeable as the story progresses. What begins as an interesting workplace dynamic eventually turns repetitive and monotonous, with very little real character growth. The relationship development often feels pushed forward by external plot events rather than by genuine emotional change between the characters. The supporting cast adds some visual interest, especially Zax Nattapat, who easily attracts attention whenever he appears. He has a natural screen presence and the kind of charisma that could easily carry a BL drama as a main lead. Seeing him in a more mature or emotionally complex role in the future would honestly be interesting.

The adaptation also struggles because the original novel handles the relationship much better. In the source material, the emotional tension and connection between the characters are stronger and more believable. The drama simplifies many of those elements, which makes the romance feel rushed and less impactful.

Final thought

Bad Guy My Boss isn’t completely unwatchable, but it feels like a missed opportunity. The premise had potential, the novel proves that the story works, and the cast certainly looks the part. Unfortunately, the emotional connection that should carry the entire drama never truly appears. And in a BL story, when the audience doesn’t believe the love, everything else starts to fall apart.

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Flawed, but a heartfelt story

Characters:

Characters were overall very good and well balanced. We had complex male and female leads with Seong-A and Gyeon-U. Yeomhwa as the villain was very interesting, but I felt like her character arc didn’t have enough time to unfold properly. I also didn’t fully understand her backstory because it was never explicitly explained what happened between her and her spiritual mother.
I really liked our second lead Ji-Ho, who was selfless all the time and basically a loyal puppy. I also really liked the chemistry between all the characters. Not just the leads, but also the mother-daughter bond was really nice. The classmates had great dynamics as well, especially Do Yeon and Seong-A, which surprised me in a good way. I would say the characters themselves are the strongest part of this drama.
But let’s move on to the parts where it could have been better.

Story:

The concept and idea behind the drama were nice, but what I didn’t like was that they didn’t really follow the main thread of the story. At first, everything was about saving Gyeon-U from his death, but they kind of resolved that halfway through. Keeping that conflict until the end would have made the drama much stronger and kept the tension alive. Instead, the focus shifted and things became messy.
There were a lot of plot holes, and characters like Ji-Ho suddenly didn’t act like themselves anymore. This was especially apparent when he went to Yeomhwa to find a solution for his friend. Why didn’t he just communicate with his friends instead, especially when he already thought Yeomhwa was sketchy? A lot of things suddenly stopped making sense, which was unfortunate.
I also felt like the main leads didn’t really develop as characters. They weren’t flawed enough to gain or learn something significant along the way. After the halfway point, some plot points also started repeating themselves, like Bong-Su first inhabiting Gyeon-U’s body and then later Seong-A’s.
It also didn’t feel like much was truly at stake. The first time Bong-Su appeared, I thought that would be the end for our group, but he ended up being a little child. The same thing happened when he later possessed Seong-A. I thought, “Okay, now our group is really in trouble,” but again nothing serious happened. Because of that, it always felt like there wouldn’t be real consequences, which made the tension weaker.
Other than that, I liked the ending. It was a happy ending, even though our spiritual mother died in the end, which made me really sad.

Production:

Production-wise, it was good. I liked some of the OSTs, and the cinematography was nice.

Final Words:

Overall, it’s a cute drama to watch if you enjoy bonding with the characters. Even though it has quite a few flaws, it still grew on me and ended up being a nice heartfelt watch.

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Love Alert — When the Cast Tries to Carry a Story That Doesn’t Understand Them

Love Alert had the potential to be a decent BL, at least on paper. The concept itself isn’t terrible: a playboy named Jimmy ends up discovering unexpected feelings for Toh, the older brother of the boy he originally tried to approach to get closer to his crush. It’s a simple setup that could have created a slow emotional shift from confusion to genuine love. But the execution never reaches that potential, and the biggest reason is how uneven the characters and cast feel.

James Hayward Prescott clearly dominates the screen as Jimmy. He has a strong presence and the confidence of someone who knows how to attract the camera. The problem is that the story starts to revolve around him almost entirely, which makes the emotional balance of the relationship collapse. Jimmy becomes the center of every scene while the rest of the cast struggles to keep up. Kad Ploysupa as Toh suffers the most from that imbalance. The character is written as sensitive and emotional, but the way the script constantly pushes him into crying scenes becomes exhausting. Instead of feeling vulnerable or sympathetic, the repetition makes him look weak. And that’s frustrating, because with a stronger script Toh could have been the emotional counterweight to Jimmy’s personality. Instead, he often feels like he’s reacting rather than existing as his own person. David Matthew Roberts, playing Teh, still feels like a newcomer. You can see moments where he’s trying to find his footing as an actor. He’s not terrible but compared to more experienced BL actors you can sense the difference in confidence and emotional control.

The strange thing is that the cast itself isn’t necessarily the problem. The writing is. The screenplay by Bhumjai seems to misunderstand male-to-male relationships in a way that becomes noticeable across the episodes. Emotional vulnerability is reduced to constant tears instead of emotional complexity. In many scenes, the characters behave as if the drama is trying to remind the audience that they are gay rather than letting the relationship develop naturally. Ironically, the original creator Nottakorn has been involved in several BL projects that fans really appreciate, such as Tonhon Chonlatee and Ai Long Nhai. Knowing that background makes Love Alert feel even more disappointing, because the original concept clearly had potential. The problem lies in how the adaptation reshaped the story.

Another issue is how the series relies on sexual scenes to maintain attention. Those moments appear abruptly, without the emotional build-up that would make them meaningful. Instead of strengthening the connection between the characters, they highlight how shallow the relationship actually feels. In a way, Love Alert feels like a BL that belongs to another era of the genre. A formula that might have worked when BL storytelling was still developing but now feels outdated compared to the emotional complexity audiences expect today.

Final thought

The cast tries. James carries scenes with confidence, Kad shows flashes of potential, and even the newer actors occasionally find emotional moments. But the story never gives them the depth they need. And in the end, what remains is a drama that isn’t terrible… just frustrating, because you can clearly see how much better it could have been.

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Although it started well, charmingly and sympathetically, and even with comedic elements, it didn't work. The reason is very simple: bad examples. First of all, a brutal emperor and a person claiming to be God's Messenger, presumably from outer space, who helps this emperor. An emperor who eats human flesh, throws a tiny child into a cauldron alive and cooks and eats him simply because he is intelligent, agile, and alive. He expects to gain blood, life, or something else from this. I had difficulty understanding how this screenwriter could write a script with such an example. After watching that scene, I stopped watching the series.

Similarly, a woman is executed by being dragged from all sides by horses and torn apart. I know that such a practice is done to traitors. It's something applied in cases of the most serious crimes. Here, an emperor who kills people for not submitting to him, and a tragic scene involving a woman to catch these people. It's unbelievable. It's filled with every bad example imaginable. It's as if the emperor is the most cruel of the cruel, committing all kinds of atrocities for his own benefit. To portray this by doing things that are inhuman and unspeakable. I condemn it. I condemn the screenwriter. Hiding behind a historical drama and writing such sadistic approaches and showing them to the audience is not rational. It's psychopathy. Even suggesting these things is wrong. It's a bad example. Children watch these dramas too. WRONG. It's a shame for the actors. Ou Hao, Hai Ling, and the other actors gave very good performances. Don't watch it. I don't recommend it.

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Rainbow Pallete

Romantics Anonymous follows an anonymous chocolatier and the new director of a chocolate shop who somehow get connected and help each other overcome their anxiety.

It's a really light yet calm romcom. There are no hard feelings, no long misunderstandings, and the characters behave like an adult, no childish attitude at all. The chocolate topic is also really fun to watch, each episode focuses on a chocolate from the "rainbow palette" package, and we follow the story behind it.

The cinematography is really great. The chemistry is on point, and the acting is good. Han Hyo-joo delivered a really great performance, and her Japanese skills are excellent. However, the script felt quite lacking for me. Because it's only an 8-episode series, some plots are left unexplored and don't get proper explanations, like the male lead's anxiety and his relationship with his family. They did explain it, but I think it would have been better if they explored it more. Some parts in the first half were also quite boring for me.

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Great Bond and Fun "Conversations"

Her story follows Wang Tiemei, a hardworking single mother who has just moved to a new flat with her daughter. There, they meets the free-spirited woman Xiao Ye. The three of them form a great bond and learn from one another to better understand themselves.

Honestly, I wasn't really fond of the synopsis, I only started watching this because of the great reviews and the accolades it achieved. But I enjoyed it much more than I expected. The story is simple, most of the plot happens through their conversations while sitting together, with no overdramatic developments. The feminism topics are delivered quite well too. The Shanghai cinematography is captured beautifully.

The acting and chemistry are really the best parts of this show. I especially love their banter and conversations, everything feels so fun to watch. However, as a 2-hour film, it sometimes feels a bit slow, and other times a little rushed. But overall, it's really really an enjoyable watch.

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Average Romcom Elevated by Choi Jin Hyuk and Oh Yeon Seo

I was in the mood for something low angst, and this featured Choi Jin Hyuk and Oh Yeon Seo, both of whom I enjoy watching. I never read the manhwa, so I didn't go in with preconceived ideas, which was nice because I usually find screen adaptations of a favorite story lacking.

The leads were appealing, and the best parts of the drama happened with their interactions. Romance lovers may be disappointed, as the relationship was held at arms length for a prolonged period, and then it was conducted in a business-like manner. I wanted to see the couple enjoying a honeymoon phase instead of having that lost to the ever popular time skip.

I added a half star because the last episode wrapped things up nicely and left me with a smile on my face.

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Didn’t expect that ending but I did…

I didn’t think I would be able to catch this drama so soon considering… well, you know…

But I am glad I did get a chance to watch it (thank all the souls who made it possible) and I must say it was a good watch though some things weren’t answered. Like the video clip Best took of that animal of a man which I was certain she would use against him, maybe to help Korn’s mother, show her what a bastard he was, or to ask money but nothing came out of that clip. 🤷‍♀️ Another thing is the accident of Pleo (why the hell did he run in like that?) but in this case, I guess Pleo did not know it was him until it happened. The story was kind of predictable but it did not take away the suspense, it was still thrilling to see how everything unfolded. I didn’t expect that ending but I did too, I realized I was just trying to convince myself that I might be wrong. 😅 I didn’t really like that ending because I felt that they could have prevented his accident (if only they let him know it was him, he wouldn’t jump in like that).

The cast and acting were great, they all did justice to their character. Though I have heard of Ken, I have only watched bit and piece of his work but after seeing him in this role, I think I am going to try some other dramas of his. His acting is decent. As for Bright, I have seen a few of his dramas and I think his acting is decent too, I have hoped for him to lands more leading roles and I was very happy and excited when I heard he was one of the leads in this drama. And he did not disappoint and delivered timid but unpredictable (as Pleo said, he could be pretty “f*cked up” when he decided to be one) Makorn. Typhoon as Ter was good but knowing they had Oh Anuchit as one of the cast and did not think about making him Ter was saddening. I believe he would have been phenomenal as Ter, the versatile actor that he is. I was like why did they make up Typhoon to look old when they could have used Oh and made it believable. But I guess they feared viewer might raise questions if they made him the same age as Pleo (Ken) and the character Ter had more screen time in their young age too, sadly. As for Best (Linn), omg, I just want to go into the screen and slap her. She irritated the hell out of me (Linn acted her so well).

As the novel of this drama was adapted from was implied BL, there is a few scene here and there that made you ask if they were finding one another to be more than just brothers, like the scene where Makorn pulled a blanket over Pleo and stood a really long time admiring Pleo’s face. Or how Pleo really look at Makorn, like really looked at him and it happened most of the time they were together.

But because of maybe their cluelessness, along with Pleo’s head mostly on getting justice/revenge and Makorn having that awful trauma, most of the time it felt like they are still not aware of what they are themselves. And personally, because of that animal of a man (Makorn’s stepfather), I don’t want to think this as BL at all. I felt that Makorn won’t be able to have a relationship with a man. Although his fate was changed by Pleo, the fact that it happened (could have happened) and Makorn already experienced it once says that he could still have that trauma. But I guess he would be able to convince himself that it did not really happen because the present life was his life.

Another thing I loved about this drama was the ending song “Good to be bad”. It depicted Pleo’s mindset so well and Maew Jirasat’s voice is phenomenal, he really rocks this kind of music.

I would be rewatching this drama again for sure and I recommend this drama to anyone who likes thriller/suspense.

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Strong and Independent Heroine, Cold but Sweet CEO

Premonition Paradox (预知悖论 / Yù Zhī Bèi Lùn) is a typical Chinese short drama (mini-series / vertical drama) from 2025, with around 70–74 episodes, each lasting 1–2 minutes. Genre: modern urban + supernatural powers + CEO romance + elements of rescue and mutual redemption. The leads are Lei Yi Hao (雷艺昊) as the cold, domineering CEO/president and Li Yuan Jing (李媛菁) as the female lead with the gift of foresight.
Plot in a nutshell: The heroine Wen Shi Xi suddenly gains the ability to foresee crises 3 days in advance (client fainting, jewelry thefts, accidents, etc.). She uses this power at work (in a jewelry company or business setting) to avert disasters, rack up points, and climb the career ladder. Eventually, she encounters the guy she “saved as a child” — now a wealthy CEO — and the classic story unfolds: double rescue, hidden identities, mutual healing, breaking the “curse of fate,” and a sweet happy ending.
My impressions as a fan of short dramas :
• Pros:
• Insane pacing — every episode ends on a “what happens next?!” cliffhanger, perfect for scrolling on TikTok/YouTube/Douyin. You never get bored.
• The heroine isn’t your typical “white lotus” type; she’s smart, proactive, and uses her superpower practically (saving the business, making money, growing as a character). It’s refreshing.
• Great chemistry between the leads: he’s the classic “icy total control” guy who gradually melts, with cute and emotional rescue/protection scenes. The finale with “double redemption” (they save each other in different lives/memories) hits right in the feels — tears for the fangirls.
• Pleasant visuals: outfits, office settings, jewelry — all stylish, no low-budget trash like in some mini-dramas.
• The foresight theme is played simply but sweetly: not deep sci-fi, just a tool for romance and a happy ending.
• Cons:
• Short format means everything is surface-level. No deep character development, secondary storylines (family, friends) are almost nonexistent.
• Tons of clichés: “I saved you as a kid but you don’t remember,” “secret identity,” “workplace enemies/intrigues,” “final confession in the rain.” If you’re tired of tropes, it’ll feel predictable.
• Some “foresight” moments are too plot-convenient, logic takes a hit (why didn’t she foresee this earlier?).
• Rushed finale — the last 10 episodes speed through to wrap up the happy ending, without extra drama.
Overall — a perfect “snackable” series for an evening or commute: light, sweet, domineering CEO + strong heroine + superpower as a bonus. Ideal if you love short dramas like “相见甚欢恨两难” (where Sun Zi Hang also starred) or others with foresight/reincarnation themes. If you want something more serious, go for full-length dramas, but for pure relaxation — it’s great!

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Bosco steals the show!

Yeah Charmaine Sheh is great as usual in this but man the star who stole show was Bosco Wong. Watching him constantly drinking milk to promote the sponsor was something I got used to because watching Bosco in action was just so much fun. He is this sleazy, ambitious and manipulative bastard who is just a joy to watch in action. The best scenes are him laughing at people’s reactions and commenting on them, such as when he invited Kenneth Ma’s parents to speak to his AI avatar and his parents asked the AI “how are you feeling?” And Bosco immediately laughed saying “How are you feeling? What a stupid question to ask an AI.”

Some of the character are extra annoying this time around like Hera Chan’s weird fixation on trying to cancel Charmaine and Selena Lee being a terrible leader, but the most annoying character is Venus Wong and her relationship with James Ng. Man, I really did not care about their relationship and watching them was just pure cringe.

Luckily, Bosco himself is more than enough to bring me back to watch this. He won TVB Best Actor 2025 for this role for a good reason.

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You simply cannot miss the first great drama of 2026. It is wonderful!

When I come across a production like this, I find myself wondering what to say… how could I possibly encourage others to watch it? But then I stop and think—who am I to recommend anything at all?

And the answer comes to me: I am simply someone who loves everything that is good in the world of entertainment. I adore BLs, I enjoy historical dramas, I love crime stories, I am fascinated by mysteries—anything that makes me think, feel, and truly immerse myself in a story.

So, if you are even a little bit like me, you certainly won’t want to miss this rare gem.

Absolutely loving it.

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