Reviews

A Near-Perfect Romance: Right Person, Wrong Time and Explosive Chemistry

Can This Love Be Translated? is a masterclass in romance, earning a solid 9.0/10 from me. While I rarely give perfect scores, this drama came incredibly close. The premise of two strangers falling in love is simple, but the execution is flawless. It balances lighthearted comedy with a poignant "right person, wrong time" backstory that adds genuine weight to their connection.

The standout element is undoubtedly the chemistry. Go Youn-jung delivers one of her best romance performances yet; the spark between her and the male lead is palpable from their very first scene. It’s the kind of "love at first sight" energy that feels earned rather than cheesy.​

The pacing had a few moments that felt slightly slow, but the writing was smart enough to introduce interesting twists right when it mattered, keeping me hooked. It’s rare to find a drama where no one is annoying—just pure character growth and relatable emotion. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to feel butterflies and heartache all at once.

Read More

It didn't appeal to me

Things I liked

1 The ML and the FL. Both are charming actors but I didn't feel any chemistry between them. Something was lacking and their relationship never took fly for me.

Things I disliked

1 The concept and the mix of reality and fantasy. The story never managed to draw me in. It was silly and at the same time it tried to be deep. I don't know, I just didn't care. I didn't hate anything, but I didn't love anything either so to my book a failure. I think the problem was the direction, it wasn't good enough and it felt like it didn't know what it wanted to be.

Read More

A great production of an unhinged fanfic

First, I'll star with what I loved.

Since you read the premise, you know what you'll get. Yes it is unrealistic, but I don´t think anyone expected that. I loved it was sort of a love letter for fan culture. It was great to see all sides of fandom, from the good to the ugly, and also, the representation of a grown, succesful woman who enjoyed beign a part of a fandom as a hobby. People tend to think it's a "teenage" or "childish" thing but never bat an eye when men ar die-hard fans of sports too, but I digress.

The cinematography was great, this has so many beautiful scenes, very well shot. Soundtrack was great too.

The casting, superb. Everyone had chemistry with one another, from the Gold Boys members, to the prosecutor and the detective. You could actually bought they all knew each other from a long time before the start. Same with Hye-Joo and La-Ik, you could feel the history and the broken bond between them whenever they interacted.

Main couple, excellent. Their banter and flirting and of course their kisses 10/10.

Yes you do have to suspend your disbelief a little, in real life something like this probably would never happened, but it is like a fanfic adaptation, and a great one at that.

Now for the one thing I didn´t like, I believe the murder mistery could´ve been handled better and tbh at some point I actually lost interest on who the culprit was. Anything they could've done would've been meh to me cause I don't think it was handled well and I did not like at all mental health issued being the reason for the murder.

The final episode, I loved. It was cute, sweet, everything resolved, lots of cute scenes, everyone happy.

I do recommend to watch, always keeping in mind it is a fanfic, don't expect the logic of the real world here.

Read More

Loved every member of the cast and the story

Things I adored

1 The premise. So relatable and so funny at the same time. I was so happy to watch a different premise for once and even though it seems it's a remake I haven't seen the original and it doesn't take anything away from its quality. Great idea, great execution.

2 The ML. He nailed the role. He never crossed the line to annoying to disrespectful or to anything negative. I felt for him each and every time something he did turned badly for him. I think he is one of the most positive and real heroes I've seen in any K or Cdrama. The actor did a phenomenal job and kudos to him for managing to create such a compelling character. He may be labeled cold, or eccentric, or weird or anything you want. To me he was a great character. He cared about everyone around him without ever losing his unique perspective on things. Truly a fabulous character.

3 The assistant. What a kind and again relatable character. I wanted him to succeed so much and I was happy with how his character evolved. So real and rewarding.

4 The FL. She's gorgeous and she acts so well. I think she did a great job as well and I wish she had more main roles so I can watch her in other series. Honestly, one of the most beautiful actresses out there. Her character was great as well. Likable, smart, realistic, fun and compelling. What more to ask?

5 The little dog. I think he was integral part of why I loved the series so much.

Things I loved

1 The 2FL. She was good at playing the young and naïve sometimes woman and she was also relatable. I can't put her in the "adore" list, for the simple reason that I didn't like one of the arcs for her. Not her fault and she acted quite well that part, but I still didn't love that.

2 The whole cast. I think it's the first time I didn't find anyone to dislike in the whole cast. The mother, the sister, the brother in law, the girlfriend of the assistant, the colleague, they were all likable, relatable and good people. Ten out of ten for all of them. I had so much fun watching this series because of such a great cast.

3 The friendship between the FL and the young neighbor of the ML. It didn't seem weird, they dealt with this so well, it seemed natural and heartwarming.

4 The brother in law. I found him over the top a bit but still very funny and a good person. I loved his relationship with the ML.

Things I disliked

1 I didn't like that though leads weren't together until the end and that there was only one kiss. With such a string cast and a solid script I was expecting at east a few kisses and some more scenes with them together. That's my only complaint.

Read More

From the stars to the stables

I love Jung Kyung Ho's character, cunning and intelligent, yet playful.
It's a shame that because of a video showing him being corrupt, he's demoted from a prodigy judge to the newest addition to a small, dank "PRO BONO" law firm.
Far below his expectations, he makes a deal to work there for only one year, after which he'll be nominated for chief judge. Since the agreement stipulates a 70% success rate, he'll give it his all.
The cases he'll take on are truly unique, but with his acumen and the cooperation of his team, they'll achieve good results.
Unfortunately, the video circulating about him reaches his colleagues, who begin to doubt his actions.
At that point, the man who wanted to frame him turns to his own team to defend him.
So he finds himself in court having to defend himself against his own subordinates.
From episode 9 onwards, the situation becomes even more interesting. The ending is consistent with his personality, and I could see a future "Pro Bono 2" coming up.

Read More

I almost dropped this series

I didn't like the show when I first started it and I probably would've stopped at episode 5 if I didn't have friends that recommended that I keep going. If you are like me and were not invested in the lead couple, but had a soft spot for Jet and Charn, then it's worth watching to episode 7 and then re-evaluate from there if you want to keep going.

Tle and Firstone won me over with their performance throughout the entire show. To me, it was worth watching all the way to the end just for them. But even with all of this and my criticism, I still think this is the best show Domundi has put out so far. But I wouldn't say it's the best BL I've seen.

I think Khemjira had a lot going for it, but the execution didn't quite make it there for me. The way I felt about Khemjira reminded me of when I first watched Until We Meet Again. In both, I thought the secondary couple overtook the first. The first couple felt lacking to me for the same reasons where the past life of PeemKhem & DeanPharm held more weight to their backstory then their current lifetime. Actually, Fluke’s character (Pharm) reminds me of Khem. They both cook and cry their way to romance, which those acts aren't inherently a bad thing if there was weight to that emotion. Even grandma Si’s backstory cooking sweets for Peem had more emotional weight than this.

Khem’s sadness is soooo tangled with his previous life and we have little connection to it as a viewer who only looks through a window of short flashbacks into the past. Yet as a viewer of the drama we are asked to feel so deeply for them in these short bursts despite when the only thing they are giving us in the present day is longing looks, Khem's cooking as his act of service, and a medicinal scene with Peem wrapping Khem's wounds on his fingers. Yes, Peem does help Khem dispel his Choyod in the first act. But he is tied to that karma as his brother is the ghost haunting Khem. And Peem's knowledge of their previous life has baring on his feelings for Khem in that situation. What about the present lifetime made them fall in love? They can’t help but fall in love. It just is. But, that was my issue.

In fact, I actually don’t have a problem with fated love stories. I have a problem with fated love stories that is used as a shortcut to skip out on building romance. Just because they loved each other in their previous life doesn’t mean that it’s enough to sustain their relationship in their current life. What I was missing from them was found with Jet and Charn.

“You’ve been helping me. But I also cursed at you. But you’re still nice to me. You even mess with, but maybe I started it.” LOL (Jet fully knowing he is the instigator most of the time but I digress). It’s not hard to see why Jet would fall for a lovable dork who would do anything for his friends. For Charn who tries not to get knocked out unconscious by Jet’s dancing skills, you can see why he fell for him too. Jet wears his emotions out in the open like the way he dances. He is unguarded and he feels so deeply. They were the ONLY reason why I kept watching the drama. They felt like a real couple to me who are in love versus Peem and Khem who were performing the acts of love. And I do not think my issue with this has anything to do with Keng and Namping as actors, but has everything to do with the script. Overall, I think it's still a solid watch even though the pacing can be slow at times. I was ultimately rewarded at the end because of my absolute adoration for Jet and Charn. I will undeniably follow Tle and Firstone's future works because they are so talented!

Read More

Melancholic. Beautiful. Bittersweet

I know It is a sad movie and yet I found it is one beautiful movie. Melancholy that we experience with loss of the true love, makes us know the depth of that love. That melancholy hits you like the saddest note of the violin. It leaves you feeling empty long after, because you know such love and such youth will never come back. What remains is the memories. Moments they die, yet in the memories they remain alive.
What also was touching was how male lead avoided going to her home because he could not come to terms with her death. He wanted to experience her life and not come face to face with her death because in his memory she was more alive than anyone he met. Love is not about possessing but about knowing and experiencing even if without the one whom you truly love. Thank you for such warmth that was lighted by this movie even though it makes you traverse through tunnel of darkness and into the cold snowy place.

Read More

An In-Depth Exploration of Childhood Trauma Set Against a Romantic Backdrop

If you’re going into *Can This Love Be Translated?* expecting swoony romance (I mean Kim Seon Ho paired up with Go Youn Jung!), adjust your expectations accordingly.

While the drama features romance, it’s important to note that it’s more focused on the complexities of mental health and the healing journey for our female lead rather than a traditional K-Drama love story. It will be evident when you start watching and notice that Cha Mu Hui gets quite a lot of screen time as opposed to her love interest. And obviously, this is for a reason.

I typically divide K-dramas into two categories: the quirky, over-the-top madness that follows a typical formula and is a full-on cliche ride that’s totally a wild ride, and those that stray from it. Lowkey, slow-paced, and nuanced stories. And they can be real gems. *Can This Love Be Translated?* belongs to the second category and, while I often find these dramas can really stand out from the crowd (Worst of Evil, Somebody, Eat, Love, Kill to name a few), this one didn’t hit the mark for me.

To be honest, I’m disappointed because I truly enjoy both actors, especially Kim Seon Ho as Ju Ho Jin. I’ve been waiting for a new romance drama featuring him for a while.

The drama starts off slowly but the first episode sets up the story’s foundation really well and I think it almost does the drama disservice because I expected that we would progress in the same manner. But the pacing for some reason did not take off or kept up. I don’t mind the slow pace at first because I know sometimes Asian dramas like to get really detailed with their exposition. However, my expectation is that once the foundation is laid, we need to make sure we start building upon it rather quickly, or build towards something.

But in *Can This Love Be Translated?* the plot kind of just wobbles through the motions. Yes things are happening and yes, some of them are interesting and there is a secondary couple. That’s quite cute, and I liked that there was not a lot of drama around them and things got resolved pretty quickly. But I think our leading couple deserved a little bit more. While they had some really great scenes and dialogues, they also had some strange ones too.

The drama attempts to explore deeper themes like childhood trauma, mental health, and the complexities of human relationships. However, it stumbled in the execution, particularly in how characters communicated with one another. I understood what the writers aimed to convey, and why the communication was meant to be still good and not clear (I mean, the show is literally about translating and understanding), but some dialogues missed the mark and didn’t effectively get to the point. I'm pretty decent at reading between the lines, but even I struggled to get the idea behind their interactions.

While I appreciated the detailed portrayal of Cha Mu Hui’s character and the focus on mental health, Ju Ho Jin felt underdeveloped. He seemed to have his own issues to tackle, yet we barely got to understand him beyond the family drama presented, and the situation with his mother was resolved pretty quickly. But why he was the way he was (because let's be honest, the guy was kind of a dick 70% of the time) wasn’t explained. There was a lot to explore about him that was left untouched.

I’d say overall, *Can This Love Be Translated?* is a decent drama; it’s well-written with great acting and good storytelling. It’s a quality TV. However, I do think the pacing could have been faster to address the elements that would have made it more engaging. For those expecting a romance-centric story, you might want to adjust your expectations. While there’s a lot of romance, the focus is more on overcoming trauma and navigating human relationships and it feels almost one-sided because we are mostly going through it with Cha Mu Hui.

I think a lot of people will still love it. But for a seasoned Asian drama lover like me, I have seen better dramas.

Read More

One of my favourites.

I really like this drama, it was really easy watch and it didn't make me feel like it's a struggle for me to finish it.

I really liked the idea of fate and going back in time, usually it's not potrayed that well but this time it actually made sense. Also loved how it was showed that when you change one bad thing for a good thing in the past it can change everything, and then because you don't know what will happen you don't know if changing this one thing was a good idea. Maybe leaving it as it was was the better option?
As for the plot, I also was afraid that the crime aspect of this drama would feel like they made it out of nowhere or something but it actually was played well!

I wish that we would see Inhyuk and Taeseong get their happy ending. Yes, we saw that they are happy but it didn't feel full for me at least.

Loved the chemistry between the main couple, on-screen and off-screen they made it well-known that they have love and respect for each other. I really like how it was Sunjae that was first one to fall in love and HARDER. Also, I was happy to see that they are not "afraid" of skinship.

I was scared that Sol's personality will be only this cute, obsessed girl but it was a nice surprised to see that she was actually really mature but still with a little bit of fun.

Wish we would see more of the friendships in this drama, because I really enjoyed the episode when they went looking for Inhyuk. It felt warm.

As for the not so good points of this movie, well..

I think if this drama had only 12 episodes it would be better, it wasn't tiring to watch don't get me wrong – it just started to feel repetitive. They forgot each other, then they loved each other again, they forgot, they loved etc. etc. It def could fit in 12 episodes.

Sometimes I felt like the love between those two felt too obsessive, I understand the deep bond between them but they made it seem like they literally can't live without each other. Especially in the first episode it kinda felt parasocial.

I feel like the director made her disabled without really putting any meaning to it. It felt like one day she was disabled and the next day it was already forgotten, I actually forgot that it was the plot in the first episodes when I reached the episode 7/8. Which is again coming back to my first point – it should be only 12 episodes drama.

But in the end, even with those not so good things it still a really good drama.

Read More

Rude Guy

My problem is more about the story, I think the casting for the roles are good, Fumi Nikaido who played the Wolf Girl really suited her. Kento Yamazaki is a great actor but it was insteresting how he played this role, it was good but I wasn't expecting the role to be so rude. That brings me to my main problem. The Black Prince is so goddamn rude! I know the story was that but it just makes me so mad how she stays with her even tho he's a jerk. ALSO you can see the wolf girl really having a hard time with her feelings, trying to figure out if what she feels is real. But the black Prince literally shows use NOTHING??? He says one line about his feelings and called it a day, The movie felt a little rush. For example, the wolf girl suddenly decides that she likes him. Yeah there are some part where I see the closeness but the producers just kinda push her into liking him. I cried watching this not because of the love but because I felt so bad for the girl having to deal with a awful guy like him. I think they would have been better separated

Read More

A realistic representation of Idol life, but what else?

The drama excels on multiple fronts: Characters, meaningful story. Well-made love story with good chemistry between Sooyoung and Kim Jaeyeong, but is there anything else? Not much!

Don't get me wrong, this isn't a bad drama, but they couldn't stick to the standard they set. The last 2 episodes were good in general if you can ignore the ridiculous mistakes the writer made.

Before I mention the negatives, I want to list all the positives.

The premise of the show is good, there aren't many Kdramas where we get authentic representation of celebrity life and fan culture. In many cases it's sugarcoated, but not here. They showed us all the ups and downs of being popular. This and the connection between the two main characters remained just as good as it was in the beginning. I have to praise the writer for creating nuanced characters with flaws, because even the so-called "villains" of the story were up to their part. Every actor gives their all. The directing and the cinematography was good, even though I didn't like everything editing wise, because some parts could've been done better. The soundtrack is also great.

I loved that Sena didn't change drastically throughout the season. Her character development wasn't huge, but she definitely grew up a bit. Or more like she has become more courageous. As for Raik, he has been through so many things since he was a little kid. He didn't get much help from anyone, and that showed. His character showcased what happens when you don't have anyone around you who you can truly trust and who wants to see your true self.

I'm also glad they didn't do the same old love triangle plot with Sena, Raik and Chungjae, who was also a nicely done character. Just like Sena's boss, Gwangsu who was basically her second dad. We didn't get much screen-time with him, because Kim Won Hae was too busy.

Lastly the "villain". Byeong Gyun as one of the bullies of Sena in the school, and now her opposition in the court room is probably the most predictable part of the story. To be honest, I would've loved it if he stayed the same, because I don't really believe in second chances, let alone multiple ones, but overall, I was pleased with his character.

The main plot of the story is that Raik is the main suspect of killing his bandmate, Wooseong. The writer developed this story well till episode 10. Usually I can figure out who's the real killer fast, but here, I've had multiple suspects.

Now, look at the negatives:

Sadly, they messed up the crime story a bit before the finale. The problem isn't with the culprit, it's the fact that how the whole thing happened. As usual, they found every clue at the last minute, and it didn't make any sense. The first clue was the ear-piercing, and I was okay with this till I realized something. If that was one of the evidence against him, why have we never seen it before? Didn't the police mention it before? How can a lawyer ignore it? Why did Sena never do any research about it? The other clue was Wooseong's recordings on his phone and the most ridiculous one is the morse code in his music.

I'm sorry, but if someone dies, the first thing the police do is go through their phone. Even if they can't find it, because Hyejoo probably threw it somewhere, they could've done the same thing Sena and Raik did. Hack into his cloud storage, and they didn't have to listen to all his music to find the password. Not to mention, Sena's best friend is a hacker, so I don't understand why they didn't ask him to help.

This was the worst part of the main story, because Hyejoo being obsessed like a crazy fan is nothing surprising. We've seen the clues for this from the beginning.

The other problem with the show is that we barely see any courtroom scenes. Okay, this isn't really a full-on legal drama, but it's about a lawyer, and we've never seen her defending Raik, not to mention her dad's case. Raik's case was solved thanks to the new evidence, but we never got to know what happened with her dad's. They solved everything so fast or just ignored it in the last two episodes.

Do we have to see Sena winning the case for her father? We can argue about this, but I think we should've, because it was one of the main story. This was the thing that made her a lawyer, but we never got to see her win and the prosecutor fall on his sword who didn't care about who's the actual killer.

So, overall this is a pretty good drama with the same old mistakes Kdrama writers usually make if they include crime in their story.

If you can accept these negatives, it's definitely worth your time.

Read More

Mainleads delivering awesome passion!

Indeed, the most wholesome part! I loved it! I have seen another Vertical with the same mainleads (where he portrayed twins) and their chemistry is awesome in this one as well! The plot is wacky in the sense that she is married to HIS NEPHEW. At least in other verticals the FL was usually engaged or dating the nephew, but in this one she is married. It is a horrible marriage, but still. So the romance is even more forbidden here, but IT IS ELECTRIC and yeah. Makes your heart beat faster every time they even look at each other. IF LOOKS COULD BURN! Wang Nan does the cold-blooded but passionate Alpha Mob Boss so well! He had such a tortured soul, but he truly loved his heroine! This is one of those dramas where you simply could not get enough of the hero! I wanted to know more about his past!

Read More

I really wish I had watched this movie before seeing its Chinese adaptation, because this version carries so much more depth and cinematic power.

Plot
100 Yen Love tells the story of Ichiko, a young woman who is unmotivated, unkempt, and stuck in a cycle of sleeping all day, playing video games, and buying her meals from a 100-yen store. She lives without direction, almost invisible in her own life. After a huge fight with her younger sister, Ichiko storms out of the house with all her belongings crammed into two large bags and is forced to start over.
To survive, she takes a part-time job at a 100-yen store, where she meets a strange regular customer everyone calls “Banana Man” because of the absurd amount of bananas he buys. After a series of painful and uncomfortable experiences—and after starting a relationship with him—Ichiko slowly begins to change. What starts as survival eventually turns into something unexpected: she finds her way into boxing, and with it, a path toward transformation.

Sakura Ando is one of those actresses you don’t come across often. After seeing her in Shoplifters, I knew I would always look for her name when choosing a movie. Shee is raw, unfiltered, and incredibly honest. As Ichiko, she gives us a journey to transformation that feels real, authentic and not just cinematic.
When Ichiko joins the boxing gym, nothing changes right away. Her head is still lowered, her shoulders slouched, and she looks completely out of place among the boxers. For a long time, there is no visible progress. And that’s exactly what makes this performance so powerful. The change doesn’t arrive through a dramatic montage but it arrives quietly. Only during her first real match do we finally see how much Ichiko has grown. Just because we don’t see obvious change doesn’t mean nothing is happening. I’d honestly say Ichiko’s transformation is one of the most powerful portrayals of a female character’s growth I’ve seen in cinema in a long time.

One of the reasons boxing becomes so important to Ichiko is respect. In boxing, opponents fight fiercely, but at the end of the match, they embrace. There is sportsmanship. When Ichiko sees this, she is clearly fascinated. For a woman who has been psychologically and sexually abused, discarded, and punished for not fitting social expectations, that final hug may represent something she has never truly had: acknowledgment. Respect. Being seen. In that sense, 100 Yen Love isn’t just about Ichiko’s journey toward self-respect but it becomes our own. And by the time the movie ends, you realize just how deep and quietly powerful this story truly is.

At the same time, the film is also brutally honest about the raw reality of being a woman in a closed, patriarchal society. At every stage of the movie, Ichiko is treated poorly, by her family, by society, and by men. When she experiences sexual assault, she doesn’t react dramatically; she simply moves on, almost as if she already knows nothing will be done. What makes this even heavier is that the world around her doesn’t even know what she has endured. We carry this knowledge with us throughout the entire movie a secret only we know about Ichiko and maybe that’s what makes her journey feel so personal and deeply sentimental.

Read More