Reviews

SHALLOW WHO? A++ story of its kind.

Okay i don't really do this but i'm seeing a lot of "shallow" and "disappointed" comments so i'd like to share my view.

(Spoilers)

Firstly, i don't think it was shallow more so it didn't have enough time to show the nooks and crannies of their world! A lot of questions remained unanswered and the end was a clear foreshadow of another season, THE LITERAL REALM IS IN DANGER RN WHY WILL THEY END IT THERE?
The story is tightly packed even though we don't know where it began, MR. S being the good guy at the end and our FL being the main antagonist was a really nice plot twist, i hope they elaborate on them later.

Now, it began off well for me, the placement of the ad for the spider agency was very fitting to the show and i love the details even though the bigger pictures aren't really explained yet, we can still piece together some of it.
The mouse guy might also have some backstory as to how he became a demon, probably by also working the dead end job?
How many people and what kind of people exactly knows about the two realms, like the hospis director? The security guard from the milk job? Are they all demons too or are they slaves to someone even higher up who is maintaining the balance? Cause surely someone is hiring people like MR. S, our ML in the end. Also the entire arc of his father turning into a demon to provide for his family...

The acting was also remarkable, LJW literally brought every emotion our ml was feeling to life and i was feeling it too. The actress for his sister has also done a very good job, my favourite character!

The premise, the storyline is very promising to me atleast and I PRAY THEY RELEASE S2 SOOOOOON!!! Lots of unanswered questions that i'm dying to get the answers of, LOVED IT.

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Captivating mystery drama with a standout supporting actor and a rushed ending

I started this drama with medium expectations and was surprised at how I ended up thoroughly enjoying it! Each case draws you in and doesn't let you go. The character dynamic is one of the few things that really makes this drama stand out. They all work together and their different personalities complement each other, making for some entertaining dynamics!

The main downside for me is the ending, or the last 3-5 episodes. They feel rushed and make it apparent that a lot more had been filmed but didn't make it to the finish line. There was too much focus on the final battle, reveals and the great cause rather than character interactions which is what made the show stand out to me as it was well balanced with the mystery setup. For example, we never get to know if Meng Rui wakes up. I also expected some more secrets being revealed about his master or some more interactions between him and Li Si as these two were the heart of the show for me. There was no reaction shown to Li Si actually being the Fourth Prince, Zhou Yan, and this was the revelation everyone has been waiting for.
Another detail is that during the reveal they forgot about his weird friendship with the Crown Prince, his second brother, that he had formed with him whilst the latter didn't know who he was. There was no reaction from the Crown Prince that made sense in that context.

However, the good far outweighs the bad. I have to say my favourite supporting character is hands down Li San, played by the very talented Zhao Xun who has now become a favourite of mine since I discovered him in this drama. He was acting his heart out and was on par with Luo Yunxi's acting. Their personal and professional chemistry was palpable through the screen. Zhao Xun's acting was addictive and left me wanting more. They acted off of each other so well! My favourite episode will therefore remain episode 20 which is centred entirely around them. I wish we would've gotten more interactions with them. Nonetheless, I hope Luo Yunxi and Zhao Xun can work together in another drama! I started this drama as a Luo Yunxi fan and left being a Luo Yunxi & Zhao Xun fan.

I highly recommend checking this one out. The overall production quality can be felt even right to the end even if things aren't ending as smoothly as they began. Watch it if you're a fan of different mystery murder cases that need solving but have a red line going through it that connects it all in the end. Watch it also if you like character dynamics and appealing visuals and if you're a Luo Yunxi and/or Zhao Xun fan. You won't be disappointed.

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Don't Listen to the Love Grinches! Robot Romance Rules!

I really can't find anything not to like about this charming romance.

Sure, 9 is a robot (an android really) but his programming is so complex and his learning capability is so advanced, that he guides himself into loving. Is this any weirder than vampires and werewolves (Twilight), a mermaid (Splash), a humanoid alien (Starman) and, in the delightful "Galaxy Quest" -- a being with tentacles!

Isn't the show's 'Love' message that you can create love by being mutually committed to receiving and giving love to each other, no matter who you are? Isn't this the premise that makes BLs so wonderful? And on the continuum from as3xual to pans3xual, isn't that a message to encourage us all?

Being Taiwanese the production values were excellent. The music was well chosen to enhance the mood of each important scene. I have to admit the NC scenes were very chaste (but we know that censorship is tightening there.) But both the passion and the warm companionship between the two leads was spot-on.

The seven-year gap was presented a bit abruptly (I would have liked to see a montage of Yi Ping's lonely 7 years) but it was essential to show the Uncle's change of heart. After seven years he realized he wasn't actually doing what was best for the nephew he loved.

I don't think it's right either that people thought that I Ping was a failure because he didn't interface well with other humans. Ping's neglectful upbringing by shameful parents, the controlling behavior of his uncle, and the fact that very few people were his intellectual equals, had left him with an emotional disconnect that only someone who really knew how to love could overcome. [The dog memories showed that only with his dog had he experienced selfless, faithful love.] 9 was the first being other than his dog who loved him unstintingly. Presented again with that unstinting love Yi Ping blossomed, able to receive love and reflect what he'd been given, to love 9 back.

I'm not a person who re-watches shows often - but this one deserves a rewatch. And if I were rich enough; I tell ya'll I'd be running to the Robot Boyfriend shop as fast as my legs could carry me.

IGNORE THE ROMANCE GRINCHES. WATCH THIS AND GIVE YOURSELF A YUMMY TREAT.

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Knew nothing, came out satisfied

This is a long big production and it has a build up thats on purpose. I had only seen a couple trailers and knew of no other information and wow, it was a ride. Im always worried with new movies if things are CGI or GenAI filtered / assisted, afaik its cgi and the director has commented the creatures are 'meant' to look like that.

I would not classify this as a horror, it wasn't scary by my standards. Fantasy / sci-fi / and comedy yes!
The writing dialogue was a bit lackluster with the cops and banter between characters. If anything the creatures moving around was very funny, if you've seen Attack on Titan you may know why we were laughing. The amount of times guns were reloaded without firing a full clip - even firing the gun at ALL was... a lot. For such a big budget production how do they mess up all the little things? Even the audio sometimes seemed weird, in the beginning when they're investigating the body you can see its outside, windy. Yet the audio has no wind, it sounds very "in studio" voice overs and for me it takes away from the scene. Cinematic shots were wonderful, filming locations, the horseback riding through the forest was beautiful. Really cool to know that its a real couple playing together in this. Feels very "hollywood gunslinging action" I would've loved more horror to be under that genre.

I would watch the sequel if they make one. (unless I find out they used genAI then I wont be.) Its a fun watch with friends!

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William and Est Deliver Explosive Romantic Friction in You Maniac

You Maniac serves up a fiery, chaotic, and emotionally charged romance powered by the undeniable star quality and raw talent of William Jakrapatr and Est Supha. Following up their previous work, William and Est bring an absolute spark to the screen as Dean and Moth, shifting effortlessly from giddy, flirtatious banter to intense, believable heartbreak. The true highlight of the series lies in its complex character dynamics; neither lead is written as perfect. Dean’s journey from a non-committal, red-flag playboy into someone genuinely trying to understand and navigate real love offers fantastic character growth, which is perfectly mirrored by Moth’s hesitant struggle to drop his guarded walls. This mutual imperfection generates delicious friction, even if Moth’s push-and-pull defensiveness occasionally crosses into confusing and slightly frustrating territory. While the secondary pairing of Ten and Pun provides a sweet counterweight, Pun’s sudden romantic shift toward Ten feels somewhat jarring given his long-standing feelings for Moth. Narrative execution-wise, You Maniac bursts out of the gate with high-energy, butterflies-inducing early episodes before hitting a sluggish middle act where misunderstandings repeat themselves and the momentum stalls. Fortunately, the finale recovers sharply, delivering a thrilling burst of dramatic action and emotional resolution that ties up the journey on a highly satisfying note—making it a thoroughly entertaining, recommended watch for fans of messy romance.

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Don’t Let the Bandwagon Decide for You

I like to think I’m fair, so I’ll try my best to be just that while also not boring you to sleep, so I’ll keep this concise. This drama takes on a lot of big topics: cheating, depression and mental health crises, suicide, grief, guilt, dysfunctional families, and corruption and crime. With that much ground to cover, the story naturally tries hard to let you into each character’s inner life. It does, but it can only go so far. I wished the writer had gone deeper so the audience could truly vouch for a character, but I see how that could have been a challenge, and it was still executed rather decently.

I know many people complain about the storyline and fixate on certain aspects, such as the cheating. To that I say, if you’re still fixated on that by the end, you’ve missed the point entirely. The writer portrays a plethora of characters, each one flawed but also admirable in other ways, just like you and me. This drama in no way follows the traditional fairytale K-drama formula, and I liked it even more for that. If you’re looking for a drama that goes against the grain, pushes through clichés, and does the things you wished you’d seen in other dramas, this is it.

It draws on beautiful metaphors that may take a second to understand, but once you see it, you see it. It’s about two people and their connection through life, and it shows that a relationship takes many layers of effort. It’s not simply love, but also communication, chemistry, and understanding. Everyone deserves someone who sees them for who they are, flaws and all, and loves them for it. Everyone deserves happiness in a relationship. Sometimes it gets hard, and there are ups and downs in every relationship, but issues can snowball if they aren’t addressed. Time doesn’t heal that. It just creates scars, and some scars are too deep. Sometimes you need to let go, and to do that, you need to learn to love yourself.

Just because a relationship fizzles out and ends doesn’t mean it was all in vain or meant nothing. People change people. Within us, we carry pieces we’ve gathered from every connection we’ve made, each one making us who we are in this moment. Those pieces can be good or bad, but it’s up to us how we move forward with them. We can let certain experiences eat away at us, or we can take them as lessons and gain humility from them. Just because it’s over doesn’t mean it wasn’t real. I think this was a beautiful drama, and it was never boring. Maybe frustrating at times, but life can be frustrating. If you’re open to following the characters as they come to realize this in the end, I’d say give it a shot. Keep an open mind, because sometimes things aren’t all they seem.

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the kids being his blood kids

I love how the kids treated He Yu Chen like their father even though they where told he wasn’t. although I am a bit sad the He Yu Chen found out he was the kids blood father while trying to save the son (can’t seem to spell his name) and on top of that it was on the second to last episode which made me so sad. Also, I love how Bu Yan raised these kids all by herself, she’s such a strong woman. But even though I love the show and would so watch again I feel like there should have been a special episode showing us the family after Bu Yan gave birth to the third child. Other than that I loved it.

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From Intriguing to Infuriating: When Bad Writing Takes Over

It starts off great - the plot, the romance, and the intrigues unfold at a measured pace. Everything makes sense, even if the drama is a bit over-the-top -but that’s just the nature of the genre and the conventions at play. Just as I was getting hooked- and feeling glad that the lead actors were finally being given a chance to actually "act" rather than just look good (though, naturally, they both look fantastic) - the writer suddenly started shoehorning in these cheap, tawdry scenes, clearly included solely to manufacture more tragedy.
It left a really bad taste in my mouth. I don’t have an issue with intense or dark scenes, but the way the secondary couple was treated felt incredibly crude and hackneyed. Instead of feeling sympathy for the characters, I just felt annoyed by such clumsy, heavy-handed writing. I gave up at episode 17. Maybe I’ll come back to it someday - skipping over the poorly written, shoddy parts—but I need the bad taste to fade first.

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eps 1_11 and 36_40 were the best eps, the rest just so mid

Before watching the last five episodes, I was gonna rate this drama 5 , but the ending changed my mind abit lol.
Honestly, I really loved the first 10 episodes. But things became unbearable for me when YCX imprisoned YPJ.and After that too, it was just the same thing over and over again: YPJ constantly getting into danger and YCX constantly coming to save him for almost 10eps
Then came To YPJ's amnesia arc, which I felt dragged on for way too long and i was so boring for me so i watched it on 2x speed. And even after she got her memories back, she spent 2eps being upset and left, which honestly felt so unnecessary. she didn't even try to understand him or trust him and it was so annoying...
I feel like the story would've been much better if they'd skipped some of these plotlines, wrapped everything up in 30 episodes, and spread the major events throughout the drama instead of cramming everything into the last five episodes.
and Some characters just got completely forgotten about. Like, after PJ's dad found out she is her daughter, did he seriously never check up on her again?lol
Cheng Lei's acting was amazing as always. This was my first drama of Xu Ruohan, and she's really beautiful, but I think she still needs to work on her acting a bit.
I loved the locations and cinematography, especially the battle scenes. They were really emotional and impactful.

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INSANE STORY. 10/10 RECOMMENDED

I genuinely don't know where to begin because I LOVE THIS SERIES SO MUCH. Fool in Love has quickly become one of my favourite ongoing BLs, and I cannot stress enough how good the storyline is. There's something incredibly captivating about the way the characters are written, the complicated relationships, the tension and the unpredictability of everything. Every episode leaves me wanting more, and I genuinely think we're approaching some absolutely insane developments.

But let's talk about Ing for a moment because THIS MAN. I am ridiculously fond of his character. He's arrogant, stubborn, ridiculously confident, a little insufferable at times, and has that particular kind of personality that makes you want to simultaneously roll your eyes and adore him. He's used to being in control, knows exactly who he is and doesn't particularly enjoy being challenged. Yet there's so much more to him than his wealth, confidence and larger-than-life personality. His character has so many layers, and watching those layers unfold is one of my favourite parts of the series. Bank is doing such a wonderful job portraying him, and I honestly cannot imagine anyone else bringing this particular character to life quite like that.

And his love life? Oh, the irony of a man who seems to have everything under control slowly finding himself caught up in feelings he cannot simply command or control. His dynamic with Yok is one of the biggest reasons I'm so invested. Their relationship is complicated, unpredictable and full of contradictions. There's attraction, resentment, jealousy, vulnerability and so much emotional tension. Ing's pursuit of Yok and the way their relationship develops make for such an interesting watch. I particularly love how the story plays with the idea of being powerful in every aspect of life but completely helpless when it comes to matters of the heart.

What makes this series even better is that it doesn't feel like everything has already been revealed. There's so much left to explore, and judging by the direction of the story, I have a feeling the upcoming episodes are going to be absolutely WILD. I have expectations, theories and approximately zero patience.

Honestly, I want more people talking about this series. The storyline, casting, performances and character dynamics deserve the appreciation. I'm already way too attached to Ing, and I cannot wait to see what happens next.

A 100% recommendation from me. PLEASE WATCH FOOL IN LOVE. You won't understand my obsession until you watch it yourself.

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