Reviews

Lacking romantic plot complexity, even for a Thai GL.

The biggest problem here is that the romance is very Hallmark-like in it's lack of plot. I tend to like uncomplicated romance stories not featuring love triangles, breakups & delivering nicely wrapped up happy endings, but this is on the uninteresting side for sure. Other than very early on there is very little comedy & almost no fun bickering either..

The non romantic story is also super simple & predictable, but at the very least nothing particularly annoying happens in the show at any point. It's just a bit of a shame that all the excitement comes from the extremely beautiful actors & their chemistry. While that is great for any romantic show to have & most don't, that's all this drama has, there is literally nothing else. Though I have to admit it's ALMOST enough!

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A MASTERPIECE ??

MAYAMA IS SUCH A CUTIE PIE I WANNA PUT HIM IN MY POCKET🥹🥹🙏🙏, ALSO ASAMIYA IS SO HOT LIKE OMG!? They’re like genuinely made for eachother, and their chemistry is CRAZY AF‼️ This drama reminds me of School Trip but a softer version🥹Im really excited for the upcoming episodes and count the days and hours ‘til another episode is released😋😋If I’m honest I'm rooting for the two side characters Sakaki and Tsunekawata aswell🫣🫣 They have so much potential and I hope they end up together aswell🙏🙏And also NPC being the OST makes so much sense, since it matches the concept of the drama really well‼️This is definitely worth watching and I’d 100% Recommend😌

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CUTEST DRAMA EVER? (WOULD RECOMMEND‼️)

Asamiya and Mayama are PERFECT for each other and I think it’s so adorable how gentle Asamiya is with Mayama. Gentle yet Possessive, almost reminds me of Watarai from School Trip! It’s absolutely worth watching if you liked School Trip, even if you haven’t seen it, go watch it! It’s absolutely beautiful and also realistic, the chemistry is definitely there and I‘M SAT. Even the side characters are PERFECT! Hayate Iijima from Super☆Dragon as Tsunekawata Hikaru, and Ken Hiramoto from DXTEEN as Sakaki Tōma is a perfect match. The characters’ personalities actually match the actors‘ personalities as someone that stans both groups of the side characters. I do think though that Tsunekawata and Sakaki have a lot of chemistry together and although it’s not likely that they’ll get together throughout the episodes THE CHEMISTRY IS DEFINITELY THERE! Both supporting casts have enough screentime for my liking. The only thing that bothers me is the fact that THE EPISODES ARE TOO SHORT!! I’m rooting for this Drama and especially for my two Oshis, Hayate Iijima and Ken Hiramoto🥹🙌

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Hilarious Satire of BL Dramas

Reading through reviews for this drama made me realize a lot of people don't seem to understand that it's a satire, a very funny and on point one.

The writing is sharp and silly at the same time with jokes like the in-universe producer being a fujoshi named Ms. Yayoi (sounds like yaoi) and the BL manga's title being I'm In Love With My Best Friend. There's also riffs on child stardom, cheesy TV ads, insecure idols and manga fans ready to rip apart live action adaptations.

One of the MLs is a hot up and coming star who's also an otaku and super stan of the other ML who is a washed up child actor. The otaku is played by Alan Abe who is fantastic at ping ponging between being cold as ice and hysterically melting down whenever he gets close to his oshi. The show deliberately inserts every BL cliche possible into their reel life and real life relationship so if you've watched a lot of these shows you'll likely be laughing out loud like I did.

I also want to shout out the drama's director who does a great job at staging scenes and making the most of an excellent cast. The director likes to use deep focus with the two leads in the foreground while the rest of the cast reacts to them in the background and it's very effective.

I also can't forget the second leads who play the managers of our flailing actors. They're both incredibly funny and have sexier chemistry than our leads (not that the chemistry between the leads is bad but it's more innocent).

The only criticism I have is we don't get a proper kiss between the leads though we do get a very memorable bedroom scene between the managers that makes up for it.

A lot of the people I see criticizing this drama don't seem to understand that it's a satire. People, the cliches are in there on purpose!

I highly recommend this one to anyone who loves BLs but is also very aware of how silly they can be.

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I ABSOLUTELY DESPISE THIS SERIES

I only watched it for Jun Muto whoever says this is a good series are just talking and speaking about the explicit scenes that’s it, nothing interesting. I didn’t drop the series because I thought that maybe it will get better throughout the episodes but that obviously wasn’t the case so I wouldn’t recommend I would NEVER rewatch. The actors were great and really handsome but all that for what ? I would say this is corn without plot. Was so embarrassing this changed my view from Jun it is THAT BAD 😭 The acting skills were alright, nothing special. I felt more like watching a hetero series than a real bl. Cringed most of the time and it was pretty predictable. I knew from the start how it’s gonna end without watching the trailer nor edits. Really bad, wouldn’t recommend. Give Jun another chance to act this is not it.

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it was fun to watch

This has been sitting in my playlist for so long and decided to watch this. It started out and ended great I enjoyed every single episode. At first the FL made me angry because of how she acted, she was made too corny and she was not like the other girls but I’m glad they stopped that as the episode goes on. I find the actress that played Chanel pretty and I’m glad the character didn’t end as a villain. Now about the ending I absolutely hate open ending because I know most of the dramas never gets renewed for a season two. I was lowkey curious of the other players but it is what it is. Anyways I loved it and it passed my expectations

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The perfect historical rags to riches!

This is a masterpiece! It is not your average Idol drama. We get into the story from the get-go and we embark on a long journey with our leads. A journey full of trials and tribulations, where they both discover who they are and what are their limits. The cinematography is stunning, the costumes beautiful, the acting more than on point! From the leads to the supporting cast and the veteran actors, everyone game is on. We feel for every one, we hate and love as if we're living in the show, lol. Ding Yuxi and Deng Ancy gave their best performance so far. We see them go through such wide ranges of emotions, you can't help but feel for them. And at some point, cnetz were complaining about Ding Yuxi posture in the drama but they couldn't be more wrong. He embodied his character so much, we can see it through his posture and body language from the beginning to the end. His style of acting in this drama is just ourstanding.
And the storytelling, oh my god, perfectly executed. We really get to see the leads go from rags to riches and go through everything it takes and implies to do a such thing. We see them grow and mature, have flaws, make mistakes, fail from inexperience. As well as learn from all that and become a better version of themselves. It's also very hard to guess what's coming next, so the show keeps you on your toes and excited for the next episode. It's a happy ending and we get to see what everyone became, even the supporting characters. This drama is really like no other. Another must-see! ^_^

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Mediocre mainstream kdrama

There’s nothing much to add, the title of the review says it all. A cliche story about poverty that has been repeated many times in other kdramas, constant annoying time jumps without explanation, a complicated family tree of the female lead where I still don’t understand what was the actual relationship of the FL to the many village relatives introduced in the kdrama, same goes to the ML. The daughter of the FL is an annoying arrogant brat. An unnecessary plot about the son and his girlfriend was watched on a 2x speed. The love stories shown to us didn’t look realistic or genuine at all. A FL being a poet made me cringe so much. Basically all the possible tearjerker plot lines under the sun were thrown in, maybe the screenwriter is a big fan of Indian soap operas 🫠

I regret wasting my time on this one but until the very end I didn’t give up the hope to understand where the high ratings came from. Anyways, a solid 5/10, not even a bunch of mainstream names casted to save the series helped. The show is only popular because IU’s fans are mass upvoting it.

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A Multi-Layered Case With Outstanding Performances

I really enjoyed this watch.

The story begins with a seemingly small event that leads into a much larger mystery. Once the premise is established, the pieces start to come together, and the initial case grows into something much larger. This is ultimately what I enjoyed most about the drama. The entire case—from uncovering what happened to following the process of proving it—was engaging, and I especially enjoyed how the story gradually revealed the truth behind past events without giving everything away too quickly.

I also loved how nearly every character seemed to have a story of their own. Some were smaller while others were more significant, but they all helped provide context for the characters' actions and behaviors. Despite the cultural and historical differences, the drama's exploration of human behavior and the divide between the rich and poor was something I could easily relate to.

The performers also did an excellent job. Some were actors I was already familiar with who have long filmographies, while others were completely new to me. Overall, all of these elements came together to create a drama that was a strong match for my personal viewing preferences.

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LUKE AND FLORA.....

We were waiting, and they did not disappoint us at all!! OMG, i am obsessed with this drama, especially our Luke and Flora...The chemistry these two have has me on a chokehold, i was literally catching my breath with every single closeness they have.....i was just smiling and screaming like a fool

The club scene in ep 4 where his friends asked him to sing, and he said no, but catches her on the other side, with the extreme eye contact locked in on her, OMG, it's giving that one Ed Sheeran song, ''When I saw you in that dress, looking so beautiful''....., but this one is 'When I see you across the club, smiling so beautifully''...type SHIT

ALso, when she was lost, and he came looking for her, but he crashed, and she came to save him, and then to get out of there, he had to tie ropes around both of them, the tension between them there was soooo SPICY...

The biggest obstacle with everything with Luke is his DAMN MOUTH, bro just cannot say nice words...wdym flora asked what flower suit her, and this mf said ''Green foxtail''( wtf is a green foxtail, went to research it and it was a grass..not just any grass, PLAIN GRASS), like are you high bro?....he finally admitted after that he said that cause he was jealous.....HELP
another time is in ep 13 when he thought Flora was gonna leave with Alex, and then sent a text message calling her ''cheap and obedient'', and then started saying to her face that she has no brain, she is doctile...bro, I almost wet myself...can't he just say nice things for crying out loud...why can't he just say please don't go, i don't want you to......and continue and explain nicely....good that Flora block his ass cause I generally couldn't...tho that didn’t last longer cause he apologised at the bus stop in the next ep

I CAN'T WAIT FOR BREAKUP ARC...i want LUKE TO BEG AND BEG...[ he sure did, yearned for 3 years, could have been more, but he really did]

The biggest obstacle for these two is their communication issues, they communicate well physically, but emotionally they are down the bridge....[this was in the first few eps guys]

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This is truly a masterpiece, packaged as neatly and as well as possible!

When I finished this, I really cried.. I felt touched, proud, empty, because this drama was so good, my feelings were really mixed up. From the beginning of the episode, this drama has its own advantages and charms that make the audience curious, especially when Tingyun and Zhao Ling start their lives from scratch, It really feels like they are struggling to face various kinds of problems, even when they are successful... in fact their lives are not going smoothly, there are still many obstacles they have to face together. Although I think the political conflict in this drama is really WOW heavy (I almost gave up halfway, because the obstacles they faced were endless), BUT seeing them both still supporting each other, standing by each other, it's truly a very precious and rare thing. Tingyun and Zhao Ling, they are an equal couple, both in their care, affection, love, they are really balanced.. I really admire and love them so much! Honestly, this is a really beautiful drama.. the cinematography, the visuals, the story, and the soundtrack are no less beautiful, I don't regret buying the express package of this drama, this drama is truly that good... a must-watch! Hopefully, the DingDeng couple will be back together for the third time! (I'm sad because I'll feel empty without this drama in the coming days huhu)

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A Game That Turned Into a Tragedy

I watched this film years ago, and since then I've watched it a couple more times. It still fascinates me, but I am only now doing a review, triggered by the upcoming release of the K-drama version of the story The Scandal. Of all the adaptations of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos' Les Liaisons dangereuses, the 2012 Chinese version starring Zhang Ziyi, Cecilia Cheung, and Jang Dong-gun remains one of my favorites. While I still place Stephen Frears' 1988 Dangerous Liaisons with Glenn Close, Michelle Pfeiffer, and John Malkovich at the top, this adaptation comes remarkably close because it understands what makes the story timeless: it is not really about seduction. It is about people who believe they can control love, only to discover that love is the one thing no one can control.

At its core, the plot is deceptively simple. Mo Jieyu (Cecilia Cheung), a wealthy, manipulative Shanghai socialite, makes a wager with her former lover, the notorious playboy Xie Yifan (Jang Dong-gun). She challenges him to seduce the virtuous young widow Du Fenyu (Zhang Ziyi) without falling in love with her. If he succeeds, he wins the prize he has always wanted: Jieyu herself. If he fails, he loses more than just a bet. He loses the carefully crafted identity that has defined him for years. The entire scheme begins as little more than entertainment for two bored, privileged people who view love, morality, and human emotions as pieces in a game. It is cruel, cynical, and almost laughably frivolous. That is precisely what makes the story so effective. Neither Jieyu nor Yifan expects genuine feelings to enter the equation. They believe they are the puppeteers, pulling strings from a safe distance. They think they control the script.

But the moment genuine emotions enter the equation, the rules no longer matter. Yifan unexpectedly falls in love with the very woman he was supposed to seduce, while Jieyu realizes far too late that she harbors genuine feelings for Yifan herself. What began as a seemingly harmless wager gradually spirals into a tragedy neither of them anticipated. What makes the story so powerful is that both antagonists are ultimately undone by the very force they spent the entire film trying to control: love. Despite their intelligence, sophistication, and confidence, they are caught completely off guard by emotions they believed they had mastered. Their downfall is not that they lose the game, but that they discover they were never truly in control. By then, the damage is irreversible, lives have been shattered, and the wager that once seemed exhilarating and intriguing leaves no real winners.

For me, Zhang Ziyi (De Fenyu) is the soul of this film; she is the emotional center of this adaptation. Many actresses could have portrayed Du Fenyu as simply innocent or naive. Zhang instead gives her depth, dignity, intelligence, and quiet strength. Fenyu is not weak. She is simply sincere in a world populated by people who mistake cynicism for sophistication. Her performance is what makes Yifan's (Jang Dong-gun) transformation believable. We understand why someone who treats women as conquests gradually becomes captivated by her. She represents authenticity, something completely absent from his world. The tragedy is that Fenyu enters the story with genuine intentions, while everyone around her operates according to hidden agendas. When the truth emerges, Zhang plays the heartbreak with remarkable restraint. Rather than becoming melodramatic, she allows the pain to feel deeply human. Without Zhang's performance, the story would simply be about manipulation. With her performance, it becomes about loss.

Mo Jieyu (Cecilia Cheung) is the architect of this tragedy, and Cecilia Cheung delivers one of the most fascinating versions of the Marquise de Merteuil archetype. Mo Jieyu is glamorous, intelligent, wealthy, and emotionally ruthless. She believes herself above ordinary weaknesses and looks down on people who allow emotions to influence their decisions. Yet beneath her confidence is profound insecurity. What makes Jieyu compelling is that she is not motivated solely by cruelty. She is motivated by wounded pride, jealousy, loneliness, and resentment. She wants revenge against those who have rejected or humiliated her. The wager is not merely a game; it is an attempt to prove she still has power. Cheung captures both the character's elegance and her desperation beautifully. The irony is devastating: the woman who initiates the game ultimately becomes one of its greatest victims.

Xie Yifan (Jang Dong-gun) is the man who lost because he won, and that is the biggest tragedy. Like Valmont in the original novel, he views romance as a sport. Success is measured by conquest, not connection. He is charming because he never takes anything seriously. But slowly, almost against his will, he falls in love. This is where the story becomes fascinating. Yifan technically succeeds in the challenge. Yet in achieving his goal, he defeats himself. The moment his feelings become genuine, the wager becomes meaningless. He wins the game and loses everything. That transformation is one of the film's strongest elements.

Ultimately, the message to me is that love is not a game, and what has always stayed with me about Dangerous Liaisons is how effectively it dismantles the illusion of emotional control. Both antagonists believe they are masters of manipulation. Yifan thinks he can seduce without feeling. Jieyu thinks she can manipulate others without consequence. Both are so devastatingly wrong. The irony is that they are destroyed for almost the same reason. They spend the entire story treating love as a game and discover too late that genuine emotions are unpredictable and uncontrollable. The wager that seemed so insignificant at the beginning becomes the catalyst for tragedy because neither player understands the forces they are unleashing. That lesson gives the story its enduring power.

I think what sets this adaptation apart from all the others is the Shanghai Setting. One of the film's greatest achievements is relocating the story from eighteenth-century French aristocracy to 1930s Shanghai, often called the "Paris of the East." The transition feels surprisingly natural. The wealth, social hierarchy, glamour, and moral decadence that existed among French aristocrats translate seamlessly to Shanghai's elite circles. The lavish costumes, nightclubs, mansions, and charity galas create an atmosphere that is seductive yet emotionally dangerous. The setting is not merely decorative. It reinforces the film's themes of social performance, appearances, and hidden agendas.

How It Compares to Other Adaptations: I will start with the Dangerous Liaisons (1988) film; the Frears adaptation remains the gold standard. Glenn Close's Merteuil is colder and more calculating than Cecilia Cheung's Jieyu. John Malkovich's Valmont is more overtly predatory than Jang Dong-gun's Yifan. Michelle Pfeiffer's Tourvel remains one of the most heartbreaking portrayals of innocence corrupted by love. The 1988 version is sharper and more ruthless. This 2012 version is more romantic and emotionally sympathetic.

Untold Scandal (2003): Like the 2012 film, Untold Scandal relocates the story into an East Asian setting, this time Joseon-era Korea. Both adaptations emphasize emotional tragedy more than the original novel. However, I find Zhang Ziyi's Fenyu more compelling than many versions of Tourvel because of the quiet strength she brings to the role.

Cruel Intentions (1999), on the other hand, modernizes the story for wealthy American teenagers. It captures the manipulation and seduction but lacks the operatic tragedy and emotional weight found in the best adaptations. The Shanghai version feels far richer and more mature in its exploration of love and regret.

My final thoughts on what makes Dangerous Liaisons (2012) special are not merely its beautiful production design or its impressive cast. It captures the fundamental tragedy at the heart of the story. Everything begins with a foolish wager, a joke, a challenge, a game. Yet that game ultimately destroys the very people who believed they were in control. The greatest irony is that neither antagonist expected to become emotionally vulnerable. One falls in love. The other discovers she was never as detached as she believed.

Zhang Ziyi's deeply moving performance is what elevates the film from a stylish adaptation to a genuinely heartbreaking one. By the end, the story is no longer about who won the bet. It is about the terrible cost of discovering that love was real when it is already too late. Absolutely worthy of anyone's time, if not demanding of it.

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Most Intense, Addictive, Domineering Enemies to Lover's Trope Out There!!

This has been one of the most amazing enemies to lovers Chinese drama that I have ever watched the main leads their chemistry was fiery, it was addictive, it was dominance, it was everything that you would want in a male and female lead especially for a revenge plot drama... You'll be obsessed with them!
One of my favorite traditional couples for sure 🩷🩷

It was well paced, well written, so at no point in the show did you feel as if you could not bear to watch it.... I also feel like even though this drama was a revenge / enemy plot, they still manage to keep the casualties to a minimum and the people that truly deserve to die they got exactly what they deserved !!
I feel like that is the most satisfying thing about fated hearts, they did not disappoint in any way where the plot was concerned ... and yes it is a happy ending, not going to have any spoilers here but yes it's a happy ending!! Rest Assured!!
I feel like a lot of people who may have gone through trauma in their life would be able to relate to the male and female lead... They both came from a life without love and grief.. all they knew was Anger... Hatred... Disloyalty... So when they met each other and fell inlove, I feel like they found Hope and a Home in their relationship
It was the most beautiful thing to see bloom, their love which developed into something so intense... So secure... I was truly happy how they wrote their love story... Heartwarming 🩷

The only thing is change is the fate of the emporer from the rival side and star boy's sister.. they both deserved happiness... It's a shame how their story ended... But otherwise the show was good 10/10

Highly Recommended!!
This is also a drama that I would totally rewatch because it's that good !!
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Worth every second of the wait

I'd been waiting for this drama for such a long time, and I'm so happy it didn't disappoint. This pairing was everything I hoped it would be. Their chemistry felt natural from the very beginning, and every interaction made it impossible not to root for them. I have to admit, the height difference always gets me... it's one of those little details that somehow makes every scene even cuter. What I appreciated most about the drama was that it wasn't just about the romance. It balanced comedy, emotional moments, and the characters' personal growth really well, making it an easy and enjoyable watch from start to finish. The leads were both likable in their own ways, and I enjoyed watching them slowly learn from each other instead of instantly becoming the perfect couple.
The supporting cast also deserves a mention because they never felt like they were just there to fill the screen. Every friend, family member, and colleague added something to the story, whether it was comic relief, emotional support, or another perspective on the main characters' journey. They made the world feel much more alive, and I found myself genuinely caring about several of their storylines too. There were a few moments where I wished some conflicts had been explored a little more before being resolved, but overall this was such a satisfying watch.

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