Reviews

This series is not an official sequel to Addicted.

If you started watching this series thinking it was a direct continuation of Addicted, you might end up feeling a little disappointed. This is because the show is not actually an official sequel to the novels or the original story. Instead, it feels more like an alternative universe something along the lines of “what if the story had continued in a different way?” So if you were a big fan of the original series, it’s better to lower your expectations a bit before watching.
Overall, the story isn’t bad, but at times it feels overly complicated and incomplete. As the series progresses, you start to notice that some plot points are left unresolved. For example, there’s the storyline about the woman who drove Yoki to such a low point, but what exactly happened and how those events unfolded are never fully explained. There were several moments where I found myself wondering, “What exactly happened here?” It almost feels as if certain scenes were filmed but later cut during editing.In my opinion, one of the biggest problems with the series is its pacing and time management. The first episode has a long opening and intro sequence that lasts about six minutes. Honestly, if that intro had been shorter and more time had been given to the story, it would have worked much better. Especially in the last two episodes, everything moves very quickly. A lot of events are packed into a short time, which makes some parts feel rather superficial. Even the final episode being slightly longer doesn’t fully fix this issue. Although it runs about 11 minutes longer than the others, some important details are still left unexplained. For instance, what exactly was the agreement with the village head? What did they accept, and what were the consequences of that deal? These things remain a bit vague. At a certain point, you find yourself having to fill in the gaps and make your own assumptions. That said, the series does have its strengths, and it’s fair to mention them.First of all, the acting is genuinely very good. The lead actors portray their characters in a very natural and convincing way. The scenes between Yoki and Yang Meng, in particular, feel very sincere. Their chemistry is easily one of the strongest elements that keeps the series engaging. Another positive aspect is the music. The soundtrack is really beautiful and supports the emotional tone of the scenes very well. Especially in the quieter moments, the music helps create a strong atmosphere. The locations and setting are also quite appealing. The small-town atmosphere, the nature shots, and glimpses of everyday life make the series feel more authentic. Sometimes, simply watching the environment and scenery is enjoyable on its own. However, there are also some noticeable shortcomings on the production side. At one point in the series, there is a “show within a show” concept, where characters are filming a drama inside the story. Those scenes don’t feel very realistic. Normally, you would expect to see camera crews, lighting equipment, boom microphones, and a larger technical team on set. But here it almost looks like there is no crew at all. This was probably due to budget limitations, but adding a few small details could have made those scenes much more believable. Another issue is the side couples in the series. Personally, I don’t think they were really necessary. Their storyline doesn’t contribute much to the main plot, and in some moments it slows down the pacing. At times, I even found myself skipping their scenes because what I really wanted to see was the story between Yoki and Yang Meng. The time given to the side couples could have been used instead to develop the main characters’ relationship or to fill in some of the gaps in the story. That might have helped resolve some of the missing pieces in the finale. In the last episodes, the editing becomes a bit more scattered. Especially during the one-year period after their separation, it’s not very clear what exactly happened. For example, there are scenes where You Xi is in the desert, but the reasons behind it or the process that led him there are never fully explained. This makes parts of the story feel somewhat disconnected.
Overall, the series is not perfect there are definitely some significant flaws. But it’s not a bad show either. The performances of the actors, the chemistry between the leads, and some of the emotional scenes make it worth watching.Especially if you watched Addicted years ago, seeing these characters again creates a strong sense of nostalgia. The story may not be incredibly powerful, but it’s nice that it manages to bring back a bit of that old feeling. In short, this series sits somewhere in the middle for me: It’s enjoyable to watch, but it’s not an unforgettable masterpiece. It has some really good moments and some clear shortcomings, but in the end, it’s still a show that I don’t regret watching.

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A masterpiece

No way is the rating so low. This series is a master piece. It has such a heart. At times heartwrenching but always heartwarming. A beautiful slice of life story telling. The characterisations, story development, cinematography and OST were so good. What a brilliant cast. Absolutely loved the three main leads but also all the other cast and in particular Xia Lei’s parents and Xu Ruo Han as Chun Chun. So many standouts especially Mr Ding and Mr Yan and of course Zhao Shu Zhen as Grandma in the earlier episodes. The focus on Mr Yan’s Alzheimers was most authentic and communicated the difficulties realistically but also revealed the wonderful community love and support which was so touching and for me is a highlight of this series. Johnny Huang was so perfect in his portrayal of Xiaoman from his teenage years until adulthood as too were Wang Tian Chen and Guan Xiao Tong. That final scene on the bridge with the three main leads and the camera sweeping across is quite memorable. They are very likeable characters who lived their lives with integrity and passion. A very beautiful and moving series.

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not a found family drama, more like a found frustration

This has been sold as a family drama, about two protagonists who, after losing their respective siblings, must take care of their nephew. What can I expect? What we found in the first chapters: living together without getting along, living with a baby, managing parenthood and work life...

The problem is that halfway through the drama, everything shifts to a love triangle. Where's the baby? The protagonist has no idea because she's preoccupied with the second lead. I hope the second lead actor was paid well, because he was on screen almost as much as the main lead in the second half of the drama.

I hope they stop selling me false premises in the future; I'm frustrated.

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Cute but fell short

This could've been a really entertaining and nice drama, but there were some episodes which bored me and I found myself skipping the parts of ZhuZhu pursuing Dr. Zhou. Really, they were just filler episodes to be honest. Also, your head will spin with how fast the characters change their minds and their stance regarding issues they're facing. The only consistent characters were Qirang and his wife. But the main star of this drama is really QuanQuan! He is so cute and smart for a kid his age. I actually loved the kid's chemistry with his dad more than the main couple haha! Another adorable character is Hardy =) Not the usual boring assistant at all.

All in all, it's your typical romantic comedy with all the cliches, but the sudden cute and witty moments made up for some of the boring and frustrating ones.

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Bad Script

This was one of my most awaited drama of the year and it sadly didn't live up to expectations.

Ep11 should have came 6 episodes ago with Hyunjin and Taehyung parenting Woojoo. Their family moments were everything that episode. For once, after a long time, Woojoo didn't feel like a prop and Park Yuho is a future Baeksang winner. Also it is a terrible script where something as fundamental and crucial as guardianship of the main character is left to the penultimate episode while the bulk of episodes are about romance. This should have been Episode 4 at least. They didn't need 11 episodes to establish that Hyunjin often comes late from work and depends on others to look after Woojoo.'

At the end, all my emotions I had for this drama disappeared and it's all because the writer chose to drag out an unnecessary love triangle. They wrote this like it had 16 episode. The chemistry between the leads which was so good at the beginning got ruined. The cast deserved better, especially Bae In-Hyuk.

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Dropped after 5-1/2 episodes

After watching The Love You Give Me, which made me like the Wang-Wang chemistry, I decided to watch this too. Same as TLYGM, it's a cliche romantic comedy but with the same old tired storyline of a contract marriage. I have to give it to the writers at how creative they were to come up with ways to get the two main leads to agree to a contract marriage. It was quite pleasant until episode 6 where I couldn't stand the female lead's lack of intelligence and even more her friend, Xiyao's, dumb antics. They were urgently in need of money and trying to return the bridal gifts, but they impulsively buy a Balenciaga blouse instead??? Ugh, where did the brains go? So there, dropped it.

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Beautiful, pleasant, underlining music.

Most of us have long noticed that Korean short films are special, engaging, different, and often even "Koreanly mysterious." And especially the pieces that gradually appear here are not completely new, but are gradually pulled out of the course of time.
It's no different with this five-year-old film, which really caught my attention and was shot exactly as the plot dictated, even though I would have imagined the ending to be a little different, more emotional and less physical, but I understand why the creators wanted to make it this way and made a whip out of shit. In Czech, they made something that you can think about with low production costs.
As always, I was impressed by the deeply sung Korean language, I can't imagine how the womanizers with high-pitched squeaky voices (not related to this film) are even able to communicate, when the content is often perceived based on the tone of voice.
I was extremely interested in the character of the "client" Chanwoo in this Escort Service. At first, I was bothered that he was too young for a client, until it was explained why just like that ... Deliciously lovely face with beautiful teeth and delicate Korean features and just as I wrote, I didn't need the conclusion as it was. I searched for a long time about this actor, but I was not successful, after all, Kim-s are full in Korea ... actually, not to be a dirty full ass, even Kim-ek, because "Kim" are also women
Beautiful, pleasant, underlining music.

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Great Premise, Terrible Execution

Boyfriend on Demand has a great premise but it fails to develop a comprehensive plot that explores all the themes and plot points it introduces. The drama does not know if it wishes to be an exploration of the effect of advancements in AI technology on romance or simply a romcom drama with the Boyfriend on Demand as a tool to further the plot.

It spends far too much time showing the dates Jisoo’s character, Seo Mirae, has with her virtual boyfriends. The supposed male lead, Seo In-guk’s character is given very little screen time while the drama spends so much time either showing or building up Seo Kang-jun’s character. Although most of her dates with these AI boyfriends serve a purpose in her character development, the story lingers too long on these dates, making it a rather monotonous and dull watch at times.

All in all, the relationship between the ML and FL is mostly limited to montages of happy moments together, and the final conflict. She has more conversations with her virtual reality boyfriends than with the ML, and their relationship is not explored at all.

The drama has many interesting side characters but it rarely gives enough focus to them. The webtoon writer's role played by Gong Min Jung and the role of Mirae's friend played by Lee Ji Yeon both had intriguing character developments but they were mostly resolved off screen, and what we got were mere glimpses of their conflicts. Developments in both these characters could have added to the conversation on the Virtual Reality Dating concept but the drama just hops over them as if it is not interested in discussing the consequences of AI Dating platforms although it spent the first half of the show building up on the same.

The highlight of the drama were the cameos by many heartthrobs of kdrama world, which were hilarious at times and entertaining overall.

Boyfriend on Demand had the potential to be a drama that explores romance in a time where virtual reality has taken over the real world, but it fails to find the balance between real life romance and virtual life romance to create an impactful drama.

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Solid script and impeccable acting. And kudos for not putting a bodyguard/cop in high heels!

When it comes to action-themed Thai GL series, the choices are very limited, and the existing ones do not truly stand out and some are lousy made. However, Heart Code has come through with a bang and marked its name as a well-executed, well-acted, well-written and well-produced action-themed GL series. It raised the bar high in all aspects for Thai GL series.

In many GL series where drama and romance often take center stage, the plot development often feels loose, rushed or underdeveloped, as there's usually a lot to cover in a limited time frame and episode. But Heart Code does a fantastic job of balancing action, drama, and romance within 7 episodes, an approx. 60-minute duration, while other 8-12 episode series still can't quite get it right. Every twist and turn is delivered seamlessly with good pacing. The character development is also good. And I love that this series doesn't rely entirely on the chemistry and/or steamy scenes to make the romance good, but rather focused on interaction with a developed and exciting plot. Tungpang and Jessie simply give an outstanding performance. With a strong script and impeccable acting, this series left me satisfied from the first episode until the end.

One of the best features of this series is its outstanding production quality. From having watched many Monomax series, I can say I’m hardly ever disappointed in that particular aspect. The action is well-executed, showing how everything is well-choreographed instead of simply relying on camera tricks. Director Nui Suttasit’s attention to detail, visual storytelling and camerawork never fail to impress. I always love how he plays with foreground and ambience in most of his shots. The music score truly enhances the charm of this series, as every background music fits the scenes' mood perfectly rather than constantly using the OSTs. The set and design department deserves praise for their work in bringing each set/location to life with authenticity. Plus, the wardrobe, hair, and makeup teams have excelled in giving the characters proper styles and personalities instead of just ‘romanticizing’ their looks. I’m really glad they didn’t dress a bodyguard on duty in a crop top, an oversized blazer, and stilettos. (No shade, it's a fact).

Despite having a lot of good points, this series still not a perfect series for me. The only downside for me is some predictable storylines and villain arcs and typical tropes (like the childhood friends, the revenge trope) I've seen in many other GLs, which kind of make me feel a bit turned off. Hence, it doesn't quite earn a full score.

In conclusion, Heart Code is a testament to the fact that a great series should not compromise on any aspect of its production and script, regardless of the genre. While chemistry between actors/characters is important, it is equally crucial to not overlook the core elements of storytelling and production values, which is something that most GL series usually fail to achieve. This series stands out as a refreshing take on GL dramas and simply sets a new benchmark for future GL series to aspire to. For fans of the genre looking for a captivating and well-rounded series, "Heart Code" is a must-watch.

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YOUNG MASTER OF DEMONIC SECT AND HIS DEMONESS

i didn't think that I would love this drama so much and I would enjoy it a lot , i didn't get bor while watching it...not even for a single ep , I see lots of criticism about this drama but actually I really enjoyed it...it's my type of drama , "enemies to lovers to enemies"

I really loved fl's character, her courage, her devotion to save people and her loved once like her aunt + her carefree nature , even when people was hating her she dgf....loved it so muchh...!!

Mu qingyan- 🥹🫶🏻what to say about him...one of the my favourite character in costume drama....even if he schemed alot for everything+ Zhao was also part of his schemes butt still he never harmed her or never leave her where he can easily even when qi yunke about to kill Zhao he still come in just to save Zhao ✨

I really love ml and fl's acting it was top notch not sure about others but ya these two killed their role perfectly...!!i never thought zhou yiran would be so good at costume drama... I want to see him in more costume dramas...!!

One of the main reason I loved this drama is their chemistry and their angst....!! Their angst was fav part of this drama for me....!!! I can watch it again without getting bored ....!!!

I also like master you's character he was quite funny and also xing jia's character..! He is always with zhou yiran😅

I really loved all the female character , they are quite strong and confident...!! I really want to know more about cai pingshu and her friends and also how she and qi yunke got so close that only he coming to cure her every year...!!! Like as he said it was not love then what?? Also loved how their whole group used to fight against demonic sect I can watch all these as another drama....!!

How can I forget YUZHI ...!! One of the fav character , he was not annoying sml , not only how he cared and protect fl but also he was upright, confident and strong character, I got to know that while filming this drama he was just 18 years..he was so good at acting i would love to see more of his dramas...!!

I did find some thing ridiculous like how can they give jade sunflower so easily like they know so many innocent people got kill because of it...!!

But overall i enjoyed watching...!!

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A disappointing reshoot

In reality shows, viewers generally accept a degree of scripting—reshoots, edited narratives, and moments shaped by producers. However, this season of His Man may be the most underwhelming and artificial yet.

The season begins with an awkward meeting at a café before it becomes clear—and is later explained—that most of the cast had actually already filmed together previously. Due to a problematic participant, the original footage could not air, and the cast were offered the opportunity to return for a reshoot. While this is understandable, the audience never saw anything from that initial filming. As a result, the cast returned with a week of shared history already behind them. Friend groups were already formed, previous encounters were hinted at, and the natural, wholesome atmosphere that His Man is known for never quite materialised.

To complicate matters further, two new cast members were added to balance the numbers. Unfortunately, they were given almost no backstory until halfway through the season, leaving them at a disadvantage from the start. Midway through the show, an elimination vote removed two cast member, and prior to that a participant from the second season was brought back for another chance.

By the end, the final couples felt predictable and unremarkable. Ironically, the real highlights of the season were the two new cast members, who approached the experience with sincerity. Although neither left with a romantic partner, they gained something arguably just as meaningful: a supportive new fandom.

If the show moves forward with a fifth season, I would strongly urge the producers to avoid eliminations and to provide clear context if a reshoot situation arises again—especially for any new cast members joining the show. Without that transparency, the viewing experience becomes uncomfortable and ultimately disappointing.

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This was a mess, but entertaining....

Wow what a season. And many did not like it, as I saw in the other reviews 🤣.

I'm not fazed with a messy season and this season was really messy. First it was a second shoot. The already had the season filmed three months or so before but one contestant - we don't know yet who - did something bad - we still don't know what happend - at least I do not. So they recast some contestants and re-shoot the whole thing again.

Then they put the happy couple of the first shoot in this show and they broke up before because one did not want to reshoot and the other one wanted to because of "outing". But even the one not wanting it appaered anyways.

Yeah and about half the episodes this was the central focus of the show... the messy after breakup process. One who already closed this part of his live and the other one still clinging on... Messy is not the right word for everything, it was also really intense.

At least we did get two couples out of "it". So not all was lost and not all was bad. It's quite impressive they did also 15 episodes as "The Boyfriend S2" which took place over two months(!) - the last episode is double the length.

I think that one week is not enough time to really do such a show, it should be a least two weeks. On the other hand most of them had two weeks, but not all of them. Also a point which I do not like is the removal of contestants by vote. I don't know, but I felt that was too much. The people participating are under enormous mental pressure as it is, to add this extra pressure was not a sensible choice. I would also not have put the breakup couple up again, because it was predictable that this would be messy and move the focus off from the other cast. I also felt there were fewer dates than before and the yoga date was not something fitting korean (and in this case japanese) personalities which are more reserved and shy then elsewhere which made the whole date akward. And of course what I really did not like was the removal of the iconic phone booth. If they invest a ton of money for the show, they could have placed a phone booth there too.

While it was messy, some people did grow their personality and found more understanding of themselves which is a good thing. Regardless of the tensions between the ex-es and the clumsy attempts by some I felt entertained.

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