Reviews

absolutely worth it

Once you get through the first episode or two and the story unfolds, you see how much it was worth it. I think all the storylines were closed well, which in the amount that there is in HSF is a hard task. There were obviously ones touched deeper and ones touched only from the surface but they still spoke for themselves and held a message. There wasn’t a storyline blatantly flat or forgotten about.

The dynamics between characters are shown so well, especially the bond between Saint and Shin is portayed better than in most romance series I’ve watched in my entire life. All they do has a context, there’s a proper background given and it makes everything feels more intentional. The tension is over the scale sometimes.. The script and acting makes it so satisfying to watch.

The music suits the vibes. It’ not silly sound effects which is already enough for me to rate it highly, but beside it, they’re genuinely nice songs that add to the atmosphere.

I can wholeheartedly recommend this series, really gives a new perception of how a friendship can look, a good show about forgiving a loved one, school environment, repairing our past mistakes and putting love and understanding over pride and violence.

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Survival of the evilest...goodness prevails

It's truly a drama, no frills or attempts for humor. It is a tale of survival. Palace life is cut-throat and only those who step on others survive.

Enters Sam Ho, literally the most FL of all the FLs out there. Not only is she beautiful and skilled, she believes in the goodness of people when she's surrounded by pure evil. Like seriously, her bonded sister got her mother killed making them stuck in the palace yet she stills believe in the good of her. It's almost obnoxious that she's in a love triangle with the gentle, hyper-intelligent king and the badass, hot general. She got everything going for her. Everyone and I mean EVERYONE loves her.

It is a satisfying drama just because Sam Ho does actually does defeat her enemies with "kindness". With every compassionate act, there is a ripple effect that leads to the FL being saved every time her foes try to take her down.

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It would be cute if the production wasn't a mess.

I know this is an older short. But I still don't like it much. The production seems a mess. Maybe it's just me but I seem to often care a lot about the acting and production rather than the story itself. Although I rather not be critical I really have to be for this one. Not gonna larp this time.

So my main issue was the production. That colour correction hurt my eyes. It's sooo bright. I often see this happening in older Thai media. But one of the things I rarely see is this bad of an editing. I can't. it's like you can see them saying action ON CAMERA. There's like a millennial pause. Another thing I really disliked were the unnecessary shots that were shaky. Many times it's chosen to do but this sucked. One thing I learned while editing myself is that those fade's are absolutely forbidden and I finally understand why.

Some shots didn't even have any background noise. Although this short was silent in general I really hated the scene's without any noise. It sounds unnatural. I don't think a silent film is that bad but it was soo weird. Also, it was really funny to me how he had payphone downloaded on his phone.

Overall watching this was as if I was watching a film project from a first year film student. I don't even think the director was a film student, it was that bad. It's funny to me that the assistant director now makes amazing shit like love you teacher. She's still an assistant director but now she actually makes good stuff. I can't find much info on the actual director so that makes me a bit sad. Rlly hope he makes cool stuff now tho.

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Listen all you need is patience

I almost did not watch this drama. Two episodes in and I almost gave up based off the amount of sheer cringe the FL gave me. It was so hard, I had to physically turn away from the screen. I understand that's her character arc but by god, WHYYYY

However if you stick it out, you are in for a wild ride. One of the greatest xianxias in Cdrama history, it is truly the story that touches upon it all; immortality, human strife, wild beasts, fairies, and demons. It's wildly entertaining that the episodes literally fly by.

The dynamic is so cute between the ML and FL. He's so annoyed by her and her dumb, naive self but he can't stay away. Such a humorous yet tragic love story, a drama for the ages.

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Could be better, could definitely be worse

I mean this is possibly the most cliche and type-cast Kdrama out there. Naive, innocent, heads-over-heels FL in love with the incredibly handsome, top student, cold ML. She liked him for so many years but he doesn't take any action until the popular, sporty, flirty second ML enters the scene. Coupled with stupid mean girls, quirky best friends, and all the classic tropes of a classic school drama, it is incredibly predictable.

I did enjoy watching it but I really just hate the trope whee we have this adorable, energetic FL relentlessly circles the uncaring ML who only gets away with it because apparently it's cool to behave like an ass, not properly communicate, and all they got going for them is a handsome face. Like why is this so common?? Face cards only take you so far, you need the personality too.

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Title and Earth??

Been watching shorts all day and came across this one with Earth and Title?? I never knew they had a small short together. I can't even see them together as a pair and they looked sooo different in 2017. Barely able to recognise them.

I don't know who Guide was sitting with but he was clearly jealous of Guide's crush. Or maybe it's rlly just me. Also I don't think he was sitting with Cooheart or am I being stupid now?

This poster is soooo misleading. It looks so adorable but in reality the colours are sooo different. I would've chosen a cute poster but with darker colours. It was cute but like really short and a bit of a stupid plot. I get why they never kissed at the end.

It was really cute just a stupid plot and it's kinda giving 'older' bl. I don't even think 2017 is long ago but there is still this weird 2017 vibe to it. If you've been watching bl's for ages just like me, you might be able to understand what I mean.

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Great Drama

This was a very dark, intense, thriller type drama with one of my favorite actors, Dai Gao Zheng whose an outstanding actor that nails all his roles, no matter what series he is in. Absolutely brilliant in this role as always, adding such realism to this cold, verbally abusive, volatile character he portrays. This is obviously an extremely exhausting role mentally and physically to portray by any actor, but, Dai delivers beautifully in every scene.
With the background history of the character, you realize very quickly how broken, how traumatized this character actually is.
This was a well crafted script that gave all these extraordinary multi-talented actors the room to truly shine,
Well Done 👏

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It’s not a drama, it’s meditation.

Not gonna lie, as much as I loved this show, by in the end I had one thought: maybe instead of watching it I should have gone outside and touched the grass myself.

No story, little to no dialogue, pure healing vibes. You watch it to detach from daily stresses and relax a little bit. Following The Walking Man on his walks filled with little moments of his imagination was a bliss to experience. Mundane in the best possible manner.

Iura Arata is an amazing actor. Roles with no dialogues are so hard to nail - expressing the feelings without one of the main channels of expression: speech. Not everyone can do that. He aced it.

Then we have the sceneries - the beauty of nature mixed with tradition. The peaceful coexistence. The sounds of nature, little encounters with animals, simple chats with people.

Overall, a drama not for everyone, but for those who enjoy projects like this, it would be a therapeutic experience. Highly recommended as a morning meditation to start the day with good vibes, or evening meditation after work, to heal the stressed body.

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The Casts Outmached The Script

It was a fun show. The classic trope of cold boss and kind-hearted employee is easy to execute. It was quite intriguing with a great pacing and the combination with the comedy. Set at the office, this type of classic romcom rarely fails. It started really well and has a good pacing too. Additionally, the comedy quality felt fresh.

Shin Hae Sun really never disappoints! I also loved the development of her character. The pairing with Gong Myung was great, it brought a very nice chemistry. Most importantly, I really love the chemistry between Team 3: They were the star of this show. The whole cast really made this show far better.

Kim Jae Uck somehow felt like a waste talent in this show. Jeon Jae Yeol character felt too essential to be a supporting character, but too small for a second lead. He wasn't evil enough to be a villain, but not good enough to root for. Rather than keeping them evenly, the show switched focus multiple times between In A and Gi Jun and the office politics. The vibe changed drastically on every switch, even the comedy level was uneven. Park A Jeong was really annoying since her the reason for all she did was just "if I can't have him then nobody can". Shame her downfall was pretty soft, I was really hoping Jae Yeol could really reconcile with his wife so it would be more bitter for her. On the other hand, they never stated what was actually the problem with Haemu Pharmaceuticals and what was actually not. I mean what's so secret about developing a cure that they had to hide the financial report of the foundation?

Overall this was another office-themed romcom. It was nothing extraordinary, watch this for the casts and comedy.

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Cool

So this is a serious story without being serious. Let me explain. There’s a pretty evil guy with accomplices in very high places. That’s quite serious and it is problematic for society. The problem? The bad guy has a quirky sense of humor that makes you want to laugh when you shouldn’t, because he’s evil. Then the group doing the detective work to catch this guy, has a notorious crook named lizard, and a bunch of fake family goofs that can’t be taken seriously.

Overall, I liked this because the cast are great, and I mean everyone. The infusion of humor while never straying from the core messages is key. I’m lazy to tell them but hopefully you’ll want to watch to find out. Ji Sung is one of my favorite actors which is primarily why I watched though this isn’t quite my kind of genre. Once started, I stayed and had a blast. Enjoy

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A comfort GL!

"When one door closes, another one always opens."

I have totally fallen in love with this series. It features such an adorable script that brought many of my favourite characters to life. I had a very cheerful time watching this. It is the perfect series for MilkLove, focusing on adult life in society after their high school concept series, 23.5.

I am totally in love with the amazing, sweetest, and hard-working Maewnam. Every single time I believe Love couldn't get any cuter, she proves me wrong with a potential comeback. My god, Maewnam is AWESOME. Like, what can't she do? She teaches at a university and works for her Maewnam service—which puts A LOT on her plate—and my ma'am, I beg, the way she goes all the way to help and support her Wan! I just can't stop admiring her. XD

I really liked the way Wan was written. She isn't instantly down-bad for Maewnam. In fact, it's such a good take on Love's character falling in love first here, whereas in 23.5, Milk's character did. Although I strongly think Maewnam fell first and harder, there's something about Wan—the way she didn't immediately jump into a romantic relationship and took her time. Even though Maewnam is easy to fall in love with and the most AMAZING person (ahem), Wan insisted on standing her ground. Silly me felt happy at how Wan "graded" Maewnam for her romantic interest, especially since we have Mae as a teacher. Such a subtle detail!

Precisely, Wan was not excessively rich in her profession or too passionate like Mae, who already knows what makes her happy and is decided. Wan confuses, explores, questions, trips, and takes time; the more unsteady she is, the more relatable she becomes. More importantly, she never wanted to be dependent on others. It's like reading about a very relatable character from a YA book.

Their bond will be my favourite. They have an essence full of passion and true love for each other.

"We're just facing a storm. There might be some damage, but once the storm passes, we can repair it. Just don't give up." — Maewnam

I can't get enough of how Maewnam is always there, ready to motivate and guide Wan, all without being asked. Imagine what more she would be ready to do if Wan just asked. GOSH! MAY THIS KIND OF LOVE FIND ME.

I also liked Tonnam and Chomphu. You see, at first, it could be triggering how Chom kept asking Tonnam whether she was mad while constantly letting things happen that hurt Tonnam—the perks of being in a relationship with a person who hasn't come out to anyone yet. That's the exact point that had me hooked at the start of the series. Seeing Tonnam unable to be mad or sad at Chom for how things were—because doing so would make Chom feel bad for making her feel that way—was pure drama. It was a brilliant concept that I observed and grew to understand. Thankfully, Chom came out to her mother later. ;)

I didn't know Jingjing was in this. HOW DID I MISS IT? Her role, Manmuk, is eye candy. I kind of felt the role was similar to her Wine role from Enemies With Benefits. It could just be me, but the cold arrogance she sparks is surely effective.

It would be really good if Piploy had a GL project with her own partner. I want to see her more in a main character role; she and Kapook could just sit and do nothing, and I would watch them for hours, lol.

Maewnam: "Is this place selling love too?"
Wan: "Not anymore. Because I already gave it all to you."
Never in my life would I have thought I would like these cheesy lines, damn it! ><

Everything in this series was a chef's kiss. Every single character and every connection they built feels like home. It is one of my favourite series from now on.

P.s. This series represents a toxic-free, envy-free romance, which I am always up for.

"It's our success together anyway."

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More than I bargained for

This is my very subjective review. I wrote it, because I really wanted to. It's subjective, because I don't have another way of talking about it. It was the most transformational drama I ever saw. And I am 68.
I had to take long breaks between episodes just to digest and deal with all that I understood about my life, about the human predicament and life in general. For me, it was like a spiritual graduation. So ironic that the story's point of gravity was also graduation.
I can't promise it will mean this much to anyone else - we are all different with different lives and different challenges. However, for me thi story was deeply humane and really great despite any and all potential shortcomings (which are bound to be there in any piece of art created by humans).
It's a story that teaches you that sovereignty is not granted - it must be claimed. But when you do, nothing can harm you again. And it teaches you that while you cannot take over someone's burdens, you can help them carry, and ultimately shed them by giving them love and a safe foothold to stand on while they fight.

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