Reviews

Do you believe in magic? Do you believe in yourself?

Do you believe in magic?

Did no one else watch the scene after the credits? Because that is what ultimately made this a 10 for me instead of a 9.5. They revealed that the entire thing was a musical on a stage. It was all a performance, played for an audience, us, and what we watched was the story through the eyes of the audience itself. In a theater, people are far more willing to suspend reality and let their imagination fill in the gaps between sets, props, and limitations. Seen that way, everything suddenly made sense. What we watched felt real.

Seeing everyone bow at the end, the audience clapping, every performer smiling, it was beautiful. Not just a perfect ending for the drama, but for the whole project itself. And it finally answered the big question:

Do you believe in magic?

After watching this, I do. At least a little more. :)

At first, I was not convinced and even considered dropping the drama. That would have been a huge mistake. This was such a refreshing watch. I was intimidated because musicals usually only work for me if I speak the language, but they performed everything so well that the emotions carried through the acting, movement, and staging alone. Nothing was lost.

I loved how we first saw Ri-eul as someone cool and mysterious, almost bigger than magic itself, only for the story to slowly teach us that magic is only real if we believe in it. His parallels with Na Il-deung were surprisingly strong, and sadly very realistic. Far too many Korean teenagers are victims of the education system. Thankfully, Il-deung chose his health and dreams after learning what happened to Ri-eul. In a way, Ri-eul saved him too. :D

Ri-eul’s relationship with Ai was especially compelling. He helped her stay afloat through hope, only for her to realize in the end that she had to believe in herself all along. That is what this drama is really asking us:

Do you believe in yourself?

The characters themselves are intentionally clichéd, which makes sense, especially after the end-credit reveal. While they did not reinvent character archetypes, they absolutely reinvented the story.

Ai, the classic smart and poor girl, does not become a high-powered lawyer or professor. She becomes a magician. Someone who helps others smile, one person at a time. She helps people believe in magic, and in themselves, even if just for one night. She was a wonderful character, and Choi Sung-eun played her beautifully.

Ri-eul’s backstory was tragic, but expected. No adult clings to magic this desperately without a reason. His character was built with care, and I even briefly believed he might have committed the crimes. D: Instead, I chose to believe in him. Seeing him disappear without resurfacing was bittersweet, but I like to think he is still out there, teaching people to believe in magic, one person at a time. :) Ji Chang-wook played him masterfully.

Il-deung’s character, the smart, rich kid crushed under impossible expectations is familiar, but the asphalt versus dirt road and flowers metaphor made it resonate deeply. Watching him choose his mental health over his parents’ dreams was genuinely satisfying. Hwang In-youp was charming enough to make Il-deung likable even at his worst, which was absolutely the right casting choice.

In the end, being a musical worked entirely in this drama’s favor. The acting was strong, the symbolism rich, the metaphors layered, and the pacing excellent. I am genuinely glad they did not stretch this into a 16-episode drama. It was perfect exactly as it was.

Annarasumanara

Read More

Not the Love Story I Hoped For

Even though Eternal Love technically has a happy ending, it feels far too small and sudden compared to how many episodes I had to get through to finally reach it. Out of 58 episodes, only a handful actually show warmth or joy between the main leads — everything else is conflict, sacrifice, separation, misunderstanding, and pain. I wanted to watch a love story, but instead, I got a long chase where love is always out of reach.
There are a few genuinely beautiful moments between the two main leads, and they are well acted. In fact, from an acting perspective, the drama is impressive — the actors deliver emotional depth, and the fantasy world is visually stunning. However, when it comes to romance, it feels like a constant pursuit rather than a relationship. The happy scenes are too brief, making the emotional investment feel unrewarded.
I also wish we had more everyday moments between the leads, or even scenes with them and their child — who, by the way, is one of the only bright, pleasant parts of the drama. Instead, everything is rushed and overshadowed by suffering.
So yes, the drama has a “happy ending,” but it doesn’t balance out the heaviness of the journey. I watched dozens of episodes for just a few minutes of closure. If you’re here for a satisfying romantic journey, be prepared for more tragedy and frustration than love. If you’re here for acting and aesthetics, it might impress you — but as a love story, it left me wishing for much more.

Read More

Heart of the fire

A very good romance thriller. I was surprised by the strong production values, this is actually on par with legit cop TV shows. It really took me by surprise as those romantic modern day minis tend to make do with scraps and feel amateur. Not here, this is Serious Fare baby, we are not here to play we are here to make you feel you are right there in the heat with our heroes. The actor's direction is on the same level : there is very little camp (you can even argue there is none), I found myself thinking Leo Yang (chosen more for his energy, talent and charisma rather than perfect skin or hair) could be playing this role on the big screen, and nobody would bat en eye. I think Han Ye Lao is one of the most beautiful actress on the mini/micro scene, and she can act ! Her character was a bit cliche and out of her depth but she's so charming I was forgiving of her naïvety. The tone and story reminded me of the dark tragedy A Bittersweet Life where Lee Byung Hun plays a gangster who falls in love with his boss' mistress played by Shin Minah. This version of two lonely souls connecting in society's seedy underbelly is less sad, and dare I say sexier. The way he looks at her and holds her is everything you want in a Noir-coded romance. If you want something a bit more classy and old school than usual with a sweetheart heroïne and rugged hero this is a fine pick.

Read More

Not scarry

This drama is divided into three stories, and each one gave me a very different feeling.

First Story – Fake Couple

The first story, about the fake couple, honestly felt too much and unfair to me. The idea that the princess kills the person who prayed to her as part of a fake couple was already okay, but what I really didn’t like was how their friends were killed for no reason. Those friends didn’t do anything wrong. They didn’t pray, they didn’t go to the “princess,” so why did they have to die? That felt completely unethical.

Another problem is how the story just ends after the girl is killed. There is no proper closure. Older people and others clearly saw what happened, but the drama doesn’t show the university finding out the truth or any consequences afterward. That made the ending feel incomplete and unsatisfying. Even though I didn’t like the story, I must say the actors did a good job.

Second Story – Hazing

The second storyline, which is about hazing, is kind of okay. However, I don’t understand why horror dramas always have to be so dark—literally. Everything is shown in deep darkness. Even when the characters are in a university, they walk around using their phones as lights. Why are there no proper lights in the university? It honestly feels like the production tried to save money, and that affected the quality.

Also, I don’t think this story truly ended. I feel like Sun might still be possessed. He hummed the ghost’s song, and in the morning scene, his eyes looked red. That detail made me think the ghost was still inside him, or at least that the ending was left open on purpose.

Third Story – Comedy

The third story is my favorite. I laughed a lot while watching it. It has a proper storyline, good comedy, and well-balanced scenes. Everything worked well together, and the actors did their best. Compared to the first two stories, this one was much more enjoyable and entertaining.

Overall

Out of the three stories, I liked the third one the most. The first one disappointed me, the second one was just okay, but the third one was fun, light, and engaging. Overall, the drama is not boring, and you can enjoy watching it—especially for the third story

Read More

When Self-Reliance Meets Shameless Flirting.

Proper noona romance. The age gap is decently big - enough to potentially cause problems, but not big enough to make the romance feel weird. What’s more? The characters actually acted their age and certain external conflicts were the results of their past experiences and the maturity levels.

One thing I for sure enjoyed a lot was the male lead who gets caught in his own trap. I adore how they handled him falling in love. Initially I kept questioning his motives - is he just using her for peace of mind at work? Was it love at first sight? Is he flirting just to have fun and from pure curiosity, or are his feelings deeper? I knew he was interested, but how much? And the performance? Perfection. I love when we can actually see the attraction in the characters’ eyes, even if the character himself is not aware of it yet.

Then we had the female lead, who was far more reserved - she was burned once, and preferred single stress free life. I like how she was not completely clueless about everything that is going on between her and Katsuragi Yukino - it was less about her denying he likes her, and more about her hesitation to allow herself to be in a relationship. I appreciated how in that aspect the dynamics between leads felt more mature and realistic.

We know Katsuragi Yukino has been in relationships, so if they tried to sell her as a character that is clueless about romance, it would not work. Rather than that they centered the story and the conflict on her self-reliance that she struggled to let go - being alone felt more comforting and comfortable and she was not sure she wanted to and was ready to change.

Sadly, I do not think Nakamura Anne did as much of a good job acting wise. She aced the majority of the scenes, but I feel she struggles with conveying fear - the moments where she should feel scared, whatever the reasons were, just did not land.

All that said, the chemistry between the leads was great. Mizuki shamelessly flirting and Yukino keeping her guard, but also going along with it to not blow their cover, while mentally probably wanting to strangle Mizuki was fun to witness. What’s more, from the start Yukino had the door to her heart closed, but not locked so while she was hesitant, she was not completely opposed to the idea of starting something with Mizuki. That created fun interactions that did not make me feel like Mizuki was pushing himself onto her without her consent.

Them kisses though… With how flirty and confident Mizuki was, and with Yukino who we knew had past experiences (so the “first kiss, don’t know what I am doing” excuse does not work) I do not understand these utterly disappointing kisses. Of course they could have been worse, they did not go fill “frozen surprised fish”, but in the context of the drama and the characters personalities, this just did not sit right with me.

As for the plot outside the romance: the drama added unnecessary spice concerning Mizuki’s family dynamics. At first it served as an outlet to verbalize Mizuki’s internal dialogue and doubts, allowing me to understand the character more. But then unexpectedly another element was added that existed purely to create mediocre chaos that led to nowhere.

For the production, one aspect I truly appreciated was the styling that was in fact age appropriate. Male lead dressed like a typical guy in his mid 20s, the female lead dressed like a typical officer worker in her mid 30s. What dramas sometimes try to do is make the age gap less apparent with the outfits by either dressing male leads into mature fits, or female leads into trendy outfits that were clearly targeted for someone 10 years younger.

Overall, it was fun and a light watch. It was not groundbreaking, it did not try to be more than it set out to be in episode 1 - entertaining rom-com.

Read More

Very nice love story

Overall, this drama is absolutely amazing. The storyline is very well-written and feels complete from beginning to end. Every episode connects smoothly, making the plot easy to follow while still keeping it engaging and emotional.

What I really appreciate is how the story develops naturally, without feeling rushed or dragged out. Each character has a clear purpose, and their growth throughout the drama makes the whole experience even more enjoyable.

The ending is extremely satisfying and wraps up the story perfectly. It answers the important questions and delivers a strong emotional payoff, leaving a lasting impression after the final episode.

In conclusion, this drama is highly recommended for anyone looking for a well-rounded story with a powerful and fulfilling ending.

Read More

Hardest k-drama watch ever

Honestly, I have never been more annoyed at a series than this. The initial idea was great but the execution and the storywriting was just painful, illogical and frustrating. The first couple of episodes were nice, I was interested to see what is next, but when they got into the apartment, it just got bad.

Let's start with the man who operated the desease prevention teams, looking for a cure etc. Nobody in their right mind would keep it a secret when it is dangerous and people could get hurt. Also, locking up healthy people with infected ones just to keep them inside and also to see if they can develop a cure, whatever the reason was, is a felony. It was completely irrealistic for the government and the official disease team to make these decisions, especially when things got only worse and the higher up dude was a total ass. Overall, their decisions and actions only put oil to the fire and it was absolutely not okay.

Then the other part, the residents at the apartment. I have never seen such annoying characters. Most of them didn't have a single kind bone in their body, they always were acting childish, irrational and selfish. I get that people can get scared and also can be really mean, evil too, but this was too much for me just with this few characters. There was no comic relief, it was only whining and being undecisive and always trying to get an irrational advantage. It was a tough life-death situation where they should have fought together, that would have been rational, but instead, they were always sabotaging the two main characters, who could actually do something. They were the only ones who were able to protect them, and they never saw it like that. I think this was because of the terrible writing, it was dragged out so much that they had to repeat every elemnt like four times.

To mention a few good things, at least the main characters were good actors with heartwarming chemistry, they were the ones who endured the most and actually tried to make things right. Their conversations had meaning, actually getting deeper by the episodes. I appreciated the badass attitude and bravery, so at least that was something. I also liked the theme song, it was great at some scenes. Happiness would be a great message, but it wasn't highlighted at all.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend watching it, if you are triggered by annoying, irrational people and an unrealistic plot. I don't get why this got such a high rating, probably because of the two main actors, they deserve the praise but this is just not what I would like to see ever again.

Read More

found family❤️

I’ve been so busy lately that I stepped away from the BL world for almost a year. I only watched a few series here and there and wasn't nearly as active as I used to be and I honestly regret it so much! I really wish I had been part of the fandom while Perfect 10 Liners was airing, especially for the debut of PerthSanta.
They are one of my favorite discoveries, and I truly don't understand all the hate they’ve been getting. I'm saying this as someone who was shocked and saddened by the end of PerthChimon but I feel like Perth and Santa just complement each other perfectly. You can tell they’ve really found their spark; the chemistry and affection are so visible! If you hate them, you hate me too!
After finally going over my bl slupm, I can say this series made me feel at home for the first time in a long while. I started watching BL in 2022, and while I don’t think any year will ever top that one, this show is one of the few that gives me a genuine sense of comfort.
I loved every single couple:
• ForceBook: As the first pairing, they were stunning. I’ve followed them for a long time now and they never disappoint.
• AouBoom: They deserve a special shout-out! They felt so real the entire time. I’m dying for their own lead series to finally come out—they truly deserve it!
• JuniorMark: They are a beautiful couple too, though I’ll admit I struggled a bit to focus on their storyline. I was so completely hooked on PerthSanta that I couldn't think of anything else! I’m definitely looking forward to seeing more JuniorMark projects in the future.
Even though it’s a simple series with straightforward, everyday stories, it truly made me feel good. Sometimes simplicity is exactly what you need to heal.

Read More

The story follows Khem, a young man born into a family cursed by a terrifying fate: every male in his bloodline is destined to die a horrific death before reaching the age of 21. To protect him and “hide” him from the spirits, his mother gives him a feminine name, Khemjira, which means “forever safe.”

As Khem approaches his 21st birthday, the protective measures his mother put in place begin to fail. He starts seeing vengeful spirits that are not only haunting him, but actively trying to kill him. In order to survive, Khem and his best friend Jet travel to Ubon Ratchathani to seek help from a powerful shaman.

There, they meet Master Pharan, a young yet exceptionally skilled spiritual protector. Pharan is initially cold and reluctant to help, believing that one should not interfere with another person’s karma. However, as they spend more time together, it is revealed that their souls are bound by a deep-seated grudge and a tragic love story from a past life—one that involves a vengeful spirit named Ramphueng.

Slowly, something begins to shift in Khem and Pharan’s relationship. At first, Pharan tries to deny his growing feelings, refusing to form attachments of any kind. But eventually, even Pharan can no longer deny what is developing between them.

Now the questions:
Can they successfully overcome the curse, and will Khem survive in the end?
How is the curse truly connected to Khem?
And how does everything ultimately end?

That's pretty much the story without giving anymore spoilers. Now what I like and don't.

What I like:
+ Unique drama, because it focuses heavily on Thai folklore, shamanism, and horror elements rather than just romance.
+ The 2nd lead story. And how they're also linked to Khem from his past life.

What I don't like:
- Napatsakorn can't act. He can act well when nothing happens. Well I mean, when he just needs to be a calm boy who is just enjoying his day… But when he needs to act sad, hurt or even jealous, that's when his lack becomes obvious.
- The ending… It's just, they made it too pretty… Everything just peacefully ended like that… Ugh… talk about lazy writing…

Overall this really offers us a unique story about Thai folklore, shamanism, and horror elements rather than just romance.

Read More

Let's assemble...

As a closer, I didn't watch the survival show on time. Even though I discovered them when they were preparing their comeback with Snowy Summer, I wanted to check the process of the group.

It seems unfair for some points but it's a korean survival show after all..

I indeed had some fav trainees but I also love the current members.

I think, they all should debuted but in different groups because after all, I don't really see other than the current members for CYE (or maybe because I'm biaised).

That being said, I also think some moments in the show should be shorter and they could show us more some other scenes such as lessons with directors?

Hope everyone have found their path to their dream, it's still sad and heartbreaking watching this kind of show (yeah that's a survival show LOL)

Read More

Oh, I see. OK.

Right, so this is not a season, not a spinoff - they just cut out 6-ish episodes of the third season of Strange Tales.
Why? Because they were decent?
NGL, I enjoyed this a ton more, despite the stupid "episode" length of 15 minutes, because it's not all about the insufferable politics.
The emperor is a side character, nobody's constantly grovelling before obnoxious royals, there's only like one Uplifting Inspirational Speech about how the empire is the best and everyone has to gambatte.
They're "just" two decently fun cases. The first one has a bunch of Yingtao and Su Wuming's relationship, which I appreciated.
(they still have barely any chemistry between them, but I like both characters.)
Secret assassin guilds, weird cults, ominous paintings and gruesome poisonings.
This is the kind of stuff I watch detective shows for, not palace intrigue.
It's not a show, but it's also not absolute propaganda garbage like "season 3".

Read More