Reviews

I found the series by chance on kisskh and I'm surprised that I enjoyed it at all. I've only seen 2 or 3 GLs in the whole time and I tend to stick to the BLs, so it's a miracle when I find one and I really enjoy it. At first I thought I'd give it a chance until at least episode 3, but by episode 3 I was already hooked. I have to applaud the acting performances of both actresses, which were incredible. At one point I was seriously crying like a little baby, not only because of what was happening there, but also because of how they both acted. I really applaud.

I also really liked the depiction of being rejected by society or family for who you love. I liked how realistic it was and that alone brought me to tears. However, there were times when I didn't enjoy the series or was just bored watching it. Other than that, I think it's just the right thing to beat boredom.

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What do you think?

i like it and hate it
1) ice didnt act well at the first 5 episodes. Idk if he did it on purpose but it didnt look believable at all. Saint was great from start to finish
2) the side couples (wxw, bxb) are cringe to the point i had to skip their scenes. Especially the two guys, the acting is bad, the "jealous" scenes look forced, their eye contact insufferable.
3) the crazy ex and the professor? im traumatised, it went on for so long and the "reactions to their actions" felt rushed at the end eg when the professor was caught in the moment. Even saint's dad was against them the whole time and on the 13th episode he said hmm okay (????)
4) the music is great as it is in most bls
the ending was better than most of the episodes, but i doubt i will rewatch this ever again

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Cute & adorable pairing here.

Okk But is it just me or you might agree that
Hou Minghao would be a great choice for Playing Inuyasha. If only there ever was a live action adaptation of "Inuyasha" An Japanese Anime that I love & grow up watching.

Maybe, just maybe? I maybe trying to manifest this light bulb idea in my head. Who knows it could actually be good, cause after watching all his fantasy dramas where he either plays a demon or a fox. His getup, his costume and his makeup is always on point & super slik. I would differently tune in for just that.

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Strong potential, but uneven writing and flawed execution hold it back.

I was supposed to love this. It started off strong: a compelling setting, intriguing premise, solid production values, and impressive world-building. I especially appreciated how Thai culture was integrated into the story. The special effects were good, and the overall atmosphere was enhanced by beautiful sets and music.

Unfortunately, as the series progressed, the story lost its momentum. What could have been a powerful drama became weighed down by draggy pacing, noticeable plot holes, and one of the most frustrating climax resolutions I’ve seen in a long time. I also disliked how the show handled women’s pain in several instances. It often felt insensitive and occasionally preachy, reducing serious issues to careless plot devices. This negatively affected my perception of both Khem and Peem because of their absolute lack of empathy or common sense at times.

One of the highlights for me was the second couple. Their relationship felt organic and meaningful, and the actors had excellent chemistry. In contrast, the main romance felt flat. Aside from their past connection, the show did very little to convince me that the leads belonged together. The lack of proper development made it hard to feel invested in their relationship, and my struggles with Khem as a character only worsened this issue.

I partly blame the writing for this, because pretty much every other character was more layered or likable than him, while the show desperately tried to convince the audience that Khem is special, or at least mildly interesting. I hate to say this, but apart from the writing, it was mostly the acting that kept taking me out of the story. Namping does not have the capacity to display the emotional range needed to carry this show as a main character, which is a huge problem when you’re the core of the story. Everything revolved around Khem, and I went from feeling indifferent toward him to actively frustrated.

Overall, this series had strong potential and some standout elements, but uneven writing, a weak main character, and a disappointing resolution of its main storyline ultimately held it back.

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It was a nice change to see some progresiveness

Good things happened so early and naturally that I was surprised. Also some great characters.

Let's see,
Yes after the 10th episode things fell down to the cliche hall. I started having physical discomfort when the half sister manipulated Da-rim to leave. Fast forwarded the mandatory break up scene. Got entertained when they announce the best person to be the CEO was a woman living in a hospital for the last 10 years. Like even if it was falsely done and her mental health was good, is it that easy to return as CEO but ok. I laughed my head off when the car accident happened and then. after that a memory loss was again mandatory.
But none of that matters much I think, because the first half of it was light, happy and warm. Jang ki young was so cute with his mimics. His energy was amazing.
Though the star was Yoo ha yeong for me. Such a refreshing side character that didn't hooked up on the ML blindly. Her story was so fun to watch.

But the best thing about this show was how the kissing and sleeping together weren't a big thing. They just happened, not much thought on it. Two adults met and liked each other and they were making out in a bed on the day after in a vacation place. So normal yet hard to see in a show. And also in the first episodes. So I'm adding extra points.

It was a nice change to see the timeline reversed. I'm accepting that nothing is perfect and grateful for this much freshness that I can overlook the last episodes bombed with cliches.
Definitely recommend watching till 10th episode.

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Too Much, Too Soon, and Probably Too Little, Too Late

Summary: At first, I loved this underdog dramedy featuring an unlucky guy and his misfit crew. It was so heartwarming and some of the loss hit home for me. The acting was great and it made me appreciate Lee Jun-ho more as he showed his character versatility vs. in King the Land in which he played a boring and predictable chaebol. I also love that the female lead was a normal size compared to the often unrealistic obsession with stick thin as the standard body type, represented in many other modern Asian dramas, which made her more relatable and believable (at least to me 😅).

Later, I started to hate the show when I realized that NEARLY EVERY EPISODE involves some sort of MISFORTUNE to the main characters, to the utter point of exhaustion. I lost attachment to the storyline after the inventory destruction scene in Thailand and was just numbed out by Episode 12. Also, it was a bit strange how Kang Tae-poong outsmarted his way out of every difficulty he encountered (were his handsome looks his superpower?). It was too much heartbreak, too soon, but also lacked hooking me at the same time, especially by this late in the series. I never thought I would say this but the Netflix episode scheduling wall gave me a much needed emotional break from all that tragedy.

Eventually, that emotional break turned into a hiatus, and still wasn't enough. When I finally came back to the show at Episode 15 and saw another tragedy strike, I just couldn't... On top of that, the filmmakers had the nerve put a bunch of previous scenes into a sappy montage. Jinjihage??? I'm kind of afraid to finish the show now. Lol.

Other than those critiques, I found Typhoon Family a lovable comeback story. Would I rewatch this? Probably not. I like the uniqueness of the story, with a cinematic twist on the tragic South Korean economic downturn in history. But it's kind of depressing seeing how much hardship all the characters suffer over and over again, topping that WITH a bullying competitor breathing down their necks at every turn.

At least the soundtrack was good (love Gukkasten/Ha Hyun-woo) with period appropriate (late 90s/early 2000s) jams alongside modern ones. The advertisements weren't too blatant, with the modest plugs for Solarique juice, CepoLAB skincare, and Pepero chocolate sticks. 😂

Details: eh, too exhausted to write them...

Side Notes:
- Why were there subtitles for when they spoke Korean and Thai but not English?? I had such a hard time understanding those lines. Lol
- Pyo Hyeon-jun teasing Oh Mi-seon with "freckles" nickname was totally getting on my nerves but I really appreciated that they showed a FL with normal complexion that many women possess. Not all folks can have perfect porcelain skin like most Asian dramas like to portray. Hoping there's a trend in featuring all types of skin rather than the Hollywooded ones.
- Why would someone run with an open envelope? Why didn't Oh Mi-seon put the envelope in her bag like she did with all the other documents before? Also, the negatives proved nothing since it's harder to identify them then with actual photos...🤦🏻‍♀️
- Why would the construction worker in Thailand keep maneuvering his excavator crane into the taxi after he sees it blocking his path? AND why would they freak out when just some of the product was destroyed and there's like PILES of boxes right behind them?
- How does Pyo Hyeon-jun keep coming around at just the wrong (but also just the right) time to ruin Kang Tae-poong's company plans? Ugh...😮‍💨 Also, how did his dad survive being bashed in the head and locked up in the shed like that without any apparent sustenance provided nor a way to relieve himself? 😮

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Strong start messy middle infuriating ending

This is one of the rare dramas that triggered me to even write a review. A scam that made me so invested at first and left me angry. I had such high expectations up to episode 9. and then it just crashed and burned and the ride was so wild. The plot holes were everywhere. logic went out the window, and “evidence” kept magically appearing out of nowhere. And the final twist was downright disgusting.
The only parts worth praising are Gao Feng and his adoptive parents’ complicated relationship and sisterhood between Qu Meng and Hong Yue.I really like these parts and I am genuinely so angry that it was ruined by the nonsense “suspense” and disgusting plot twists that make me never want to rewatch this drama.
Director has some obsession with this one song he made the ML’s mom sing over and over again. It was a nice listen at first but it got really annoying and cringe after hearing it the nth time in one episode.
Honestly, the real mystery is why so many big name actors signed on to this script and still acted their hearts out. I even felt sorry for actor who played Wu Gaohao who worked so hard at his old age to make such a rubbish character alive in this rubbish script

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Too focused on Industry Detailed

I was excited at the beginning but it disappointed me. I think the drama may be targeting the prestigious award ceremonies fulfilling the requirements of patriotism, social responsibility by heavily focusing on PV industry, and national policies/development. I am not against dramas that motivates the young generation by including them to some extent. But this drama pays too much attention to those details than acting depth or script quality. It became boring after sometime even being someone interested in Science and Tech. I continued the drama because of Zhao Jin Mai's acting but wasn't thrilled by Song Weilong's acting this time. They are replying on his handsomeness and idol figure rather than quality of acting. He wasn't expressive nor natural most of the time. Finn Hann (Xi Guan's cousin) and Lai Wei Ming (second ML) performed very well for me. Xi Guan's cousin was my favorite character in the entire drama.
The thing I liked most is the skiing location which is really beautiful.

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Beyond "Deserving" and "Blame"

I feel like "I Saw You In My Dream" moves past "possessive" tropes to offer a mature look at love, responsibility and persoanl dreams.

I liked the relationship between P'Yu and Ai, even P'Yus teasing. Having grown up too fast after his parents' death, Yu uses teasing as an emotional outlet. I also think that around Ai, he feels safe enough to be "childish" and it also shows a realistic realationship which often happens between "siblings" (which he feels like it is in the beginning).

I really appreciated the character dynamics in this series; the chemistry didn't just exist between the leads, but felt genuine across the entire friend group. While the pacing was a bit slower than other BLs, the connections kept me completely hooked. I was really drawn to the concept of the dream sequences and the wall of drawings in Ai’s room to visualize his dreams. Those sketches provided a fascinating look at his inner world, though I think the show could have dived even deeper into this (it got a bit lost). Overall, it was a beautifully grounded take on romantic relationships and the weight of destiny.

I personally also think Pan’s departure and reasoning was pretty realistic, it was a response to an industry that oftenimposes an "expiration date" (esp. for women) and the "shipping" culture". I persoanlly think (and I know this is maybe not the way most ppl see it) she had the courage to leave a so called "safe life and relationship, for a difficult dream". Had she stayed with Yu, no one would have been happy: Pan would have lived with the resentment of a stalled career, and Yu would have watched her light dim and maybe blamed himself and Ai would have realised his feelings for a someone who is already in a relationship. She realised that her dream was more importand to her, than the romantic relationship at the moment in her life, and I think that is completly fine.

I also like that Yu later treats her with dignity, not because of "love", but because he values human safety. While I also think he could have communicated this better to Ai initially. I think this can also be seen very well in the way Ai and his family rally around Pan (when her path became dangerous due to the actions of a third party). This challenges the "victim-blaming" narrative, showing that a person's past career choices or relationship history never justify harassment.

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A Comfort Drama I’ll Gladly Rewatch

10/10. Everyone Loves Me is one of those rare modern romances that genuinely feels right. What stood out to me most is how balanced and respectful the relationship is. Both leads are competent, emotionally grounded, and allowed to be their full selves. The female lead never loses her backbone, and the male lead grows without being idealized or put on a pedestal. Their chemistry feels natural and comfortable, not forced or exaggerated. The story transitions smoothly from campus to workplace, and the romance unfolds with warmth instead of unnecessary drama or misunderstandings. Episodes 17 and 19 were especially memorable and quickly became rewatch favorites for me. This drama is comforting, satisfying, and highly rewatchable — I’ve already watched it twice and enjoyed it just as much the second time. A well-earned 10/10.

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Mature love wins over misunderstandings.

I really enjoyed this romance story and the fact that it was so tightly bonded with workplace, money, success topics. It was also nice to see a rich x rich couple where they both had money and status from the beginning but it did not save them from having human lives, problems and experiences that helped them grow. Both main characters were really extraordinary, pretty people from the highest possible standing that met, fell in love and stayed true to themselves.

A really beautiful story that actually had a personal effect on me. The way the story shows growth and a difference between what a good relationship is versus bad was really well shown. The way the first man treated her, how she was authentically herself and later got scared and had to heal to come back to being her own loving self. It's very universal when you get a broken heart due to misunderstandings. This drama shows that mature love wins over misunderstandings and anxiety of unsure love.

I adored the way the ML was decisive and fought for the girl he wanted despite heavy burdens. Money, handsomeness and success are really nice but most women want the basics: a man who is 100% into them and will fight for the relationship because of his deep conviction. The ex - he didn't have that, he was unsure and made our FL really stressed out. It was clear for us watching but when you are in it...it's quite hard to notice. So here goes my personal advice: How to know you are in a good relationship? Trust your body. Trust your feelings. Trust your nervous system.

Absolutely lovely drama that gets 10/10 for me and has a huge potential for rewatches.

PS that last episode and the family scenes were so good! Especially the morning scene when they are taking their respective cars to their respective workplaces?! DREAMY!

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This was an okay watch, but nothing special. It wasn’t ultra-boring or hard to sit through or anything, and the premise was fairly interesting, but I think it fell flat with the chemistry and relationship development. And I thought the show’s messaging about alcohol was flawed.

In terms of the overall storyline, I didn’t think the relationship development or the development of Kihoon’s views on alcohol made sense.

From the start, Kihoon agreed to serve Jiyoo food during the restaurant’s break hours, which was a rule he strictly upheld. It didn’t make sense given that he had no pre-existing relationship with Jiyoo and Jiyoo had only ever made a bad, extremely drunk impression on him.

But more than that, the turning point where Kihoon really started to like Jiyoo seemed to be when Jiyoo helped with a large party at the restaurant, but as part of that, he offered them alcohol. He did that despite knowing about Kihoon’s alcohol ban, but Kihoon wasn’t upset and actually ended up removing the alcohol ban as a result. That was totally out of character, given that he vehemently refused any type of alcohol to be served no matter how upset it made customers, and often got angry if he was challenged. He knew that alcohol would make customers happier from the start, so seeing that play out in front of him wouldn’t have been a surprise. Not enough to overcome his trauma and make him do a total 180 after strictly upholding his rules for so long, anyways.

For Kihoon to go from strictly banning alcohol in all forms to serving it in his restaurant, agreeing to partner with an alcohol company, and personally drinking alcohol, all within a span of a few weeks, just didn’t make sense. It seemed too abrupt.

And that brings me to my second point. I didn’t like that the show was about rehabbing Kihoon to be okay with alcohol instead of rehabbing or even acknowledging Jiyoo’s blatant alcoholic tendencies. Because it’s totally valid to not drink, to not want to serve alcohol, and to not want to be around alcohol, and those boundaries should be respected, not treated as unreasonable. Jiyoo was quite literally an alcoholic. He drank every day and with every meal - not just a drink or two, but actively getting shitfaced. He would show up at work hungover and smelling of alcohol. But his behavior was never acknowledged as problematic. Kihoon had trauma about his grandmother who drank daily, but in the end her drinking was framed in a positive light, with him saying that she was drinking to congratulate herself for raising him. So the show ended up normalizing alcoholism while framing sobriety as abnormal, and that didn’t sit well with me.

The chemistry was there, but died with 3 dead fish kisses and not a single proper one. The relationship only gets to the awkward beginning stage. They’ve only known each other for a few weeks by the end of the show, and haven’t even reached the “love” stage yet, so it didn’t feel like a deep everlasting HEA, which is the type of fantastical romance I prefer.

Also, the show opens with Jiyoo’s break up with his ex, which I felt was irrelevant and should have been excluded. Why unnecessarily put in ex-related stuff? I don’t even like it when they put in ex-related stuff that is relevant.

Good consent / boundaries for the most part. The only minor issue was when Jiyoo put his face really close to Kihoon’s and watched while he was passed out drunk.

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Without Lai WeiMing, I would have stopped watching because it's very boring

A promising cast, enticing trailers—I started watching SHINE ON ME without hesitation! Having never read the novel, I'd only managed to glean a few details from fans. From the very first episode, I fell under the spell of the second lead, and that might be what ruined my overall viewing experience…

Indeed, the first few episodes, being part of our FL's college years, gave a lot of screen time to the second lead and "their story," and that's where I noticed three fatal mistakes.

I discovered the actor Lai Weiming in Fang of Fortune, but for me, he truly shone in Shine On Me, thanks to his striking good looks and expressive stage presence.

Why cast such a cute second lead? That was my first mistake.

2) Second mistake: giving him so much screen time! There were parts where I felt like I saw him more than the lead, and since I already had a soft spot for the actor, it definitely didn't help me prefer Song WeiLong (I'm only talking about the actors for now, not the characters.

3) And finally, the last mistake: creating all this mood around their story only to turn him into an immature guy, bordering on a red flag, by giving him unpleasant lines, incomprehensible reactions, and an alcohol addiction?? Why??? In my opinion, they sabotaged him. I would have much preferred him to be the best friend and have his own romance.

The protagonists: why didn't I feel anything? Well, because of the second lead, I had a lot of trouble connecting with the main romance despite their solid performances and Song WeiLong, whom I absolutely adore outside of dramas. Firstly, I didn't think the actress's chemistry was her best (I found her more at ease in Our Generation). Secondly, Song Weilong was too stiff and flat at times, with poorly tailored costumes. Aside from his good looks and haircut, I didn't think he was really showcased in them. And finally, the kisses took forever to appear!

Overall, without the second lead, there were two choices: either I would have been more invested in the protagonist, but again, I found their romance too bland, or I would have stopped watching this drama altogether because, overall, the story offers absolutely nothing innovative or addictive. It's cute, that's for sure, but it's also sometimes long, very long…especially with the family storylines that take up so much space in the second half.

Would I recommend SHINE ON ME? Yes and no. YES: because it's still a romance that follows all the hallmarks of a "green flag" romance, ending happily with attractive protagonists, but NO: if you prefer more developed and intense romances, and especially if you have a crush on the second lead, you're going to suffer terribly, both from the episodes and from people's comments about him. So, in the end, a mixed review, leaning more towards the negative than the positive! 4.5/10

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Nothing Happens, Vibes Occur - Sponsored by Photovoltaic Panels.

Nothing happens, but it’s still somehow interesting. That's a long story short of how I would describe the drama. It just flows in an even pace filled with either fun, lovely and heartwarming interactions, or rage inducing ones. But the plot is barely there. It’s mostly about characters and their interactions - vibes fueled. And the characters were not even that outstanding.

Starting with our male lead - Lin Yu Sen who was so perfect it was kind of boring. I am extremely grateful for that initial light pity party he was having and a tiny bit of mischievousness from him towards the female lead. That said, I don’t really have issues with him having less presence than the female lead. For me no matter the drama, one of the leads will always be more of the focus. I just wish he was a bit more than a supportive boyfriend. Even his own personal struggles seemed more like a way of showing how inspiring and encouraging Xi Guang is. Uplift women in dramas, yes. But you don't have to leave men behind.

Nie Xi Guang on the other hand was actually a well written female lead with solid, but realistic character development focused on finding her own path, drive and goal in life. She slowly learned how to stand up for herself and speak honestly about her grievances - she was never a doormat, but she for sure gained more sass with every episode. As for the flaws - questionable taste in men at least in her younger age. I do think she was a bit too old for this level of fascination over the second male lead and how long it took her to move on. Especially taking into consideration how he treated her.

And here comes the cherry on top of the dama: Zhuang Xu, so annoying he became my favorite character. Yes, I hated him to the core, but at the same time when they kept him hidden for a few episodes I missed him. Mr. Audacity Wood stole the show for me and both the external conflict/misunderstanding and his internal issues were the most interesting aspects of the plot. Honestly though - where did the audacity come from? So little self confidence, so much self-doubt and victim complex, yet the audacity unmatched by the rich cold CEOs.

For more supporting characters we had the initial friend group which was rather basic. We did manage to get one amazing scene showing that at least one of the girls was truly Xi Guang’s friend, but overall they were there to fill the shots.

Work colleagues were better personality wise, but even they slowly vanished and lost their individuality. This drama never had friendship in its focus and that’s slightly sad. Out of all the relationships outside of the leads, one that was the best developed and shined the brightest was Xi Guang and her little brother.

We also got the standard family drama. On Yu Sen side the “competent male lead versus incompetent rest of the family” shenanigans. Glad it never developed into anything more than a side story that made a comeback every few episodes for a few minutes. On the female lead side we had the dad with too much unfounded pride and his evil (and also incompetent) girlfriend with a daughter (who was also incompetent - as you can see everyone, but the leads and the people they liked were incompetent).

How was the romance? Nice. And take it as a compliment. There was no ridiculous drama and angst between the main couple and even the initial misunderstanding did not lead to outrageous twists. Their whole relationship was based on both great communication and the underlying conflict based on misconception/misunderstanding - and it did make sense, somehow. There weren’t any massive ups and downs - this is for sure not a rollercoaster of emotions. More like a nice walk along the riverside accompanied by rustling trees, singing birds and the newest, most advanced, best in the world, innovative, groundbreaking and saving global climate Chinese photovoltaic panels.

So yeah, let’s all agree this drama is as much of a cute romance as it is an ad for a specific branch of the Chinese market (and just a tiny reminder that China also excels in neuroscience, in case anyone forgot). Maybe 20% of the business related scenes actually had an impact on the leads and their development in terms of their character and career, the rest was just long ass explanation how amazing PVs are, how China is going to be pioneers in that market, how it all works and what kind of profits and benefits it has. An ad. I skipped all these scenes and I’m not even sorry.

As for the production, I am convinced from episode 23 they changed people involved in filming and editing the show - the improvement of the quality was so obvious. The first 22 episodes were rather empty, simple and lacked depth and definition. From episode 23 be it use of light, framing scenes with forefront blurred objects, colors - everything was so much better, richer.

For the acting I mostly want to talk about Zhao Jin Mai since she stood out amongst her co-stars. The way you could feel everything Xi Guang was feeling. My favorite scenes were for sure the few confrontations she had with people in her life and how she firmly stood her ground, simply because there were so many emotions behind what she was saying. These were not just a “girlboss” badass moment. You could also feel all the disappointment, frustration, resignation, sadness and frustration. These scenes on one had made you proud of her, but also sad for how long she was keeping it all in not allowing herself to truly express her feelings.

Song Wei Long was fine. I guess that's a compliment. I feel like his acting is really reactionary - he acts on cue without being immersed in the character he is portraying.

Then we have Lai Wei Ming. I have no idea why he was so all over the place, since I know he can do better, but I lived for the sick pathetic vibe he gave me. It just added to the frustration and rage I was feeling when he was on screen. No idea what kind of tips the director gave him, but it did not work, but at the same time somehow worked. And that styling - dude looks like he was one foot in the grave the whole show. They did him dirty.

Overall, I feel like this is a drama you can enjoy in two cases: you truly adore the “nothing much happening, all we have are vibes, but these are good vibes” dramas, or when you are in a specific mood for a slow pace sweet romance with just enough plot to make you stay till the end.

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