Reviews

Rare feel good Cdrama

Watching was my daily 2 episode happy place: assume best for those thirty and older. A second season is in order as there is a lot of gold to mine as they date and perhaps marry. There was good lead chemistry built on very slow burn and modest enemy to ... trope. I enjoyed all the supporting characters, the filming quality/locations, and the humor. Only change would be to NOT have Xia Xiao Man "like' ML. Since I have only been watching K/C/Taiwan dramas about a year this was my first Wallance Huo and less know but equally entertaining Zhu Zhu. I have to admit I'm still dismayed about C Drama dubbing as occasionally the actual actor/actress does their own voice but know it's rare. It would be nice if every drama had to list the VA's too.

Read More

Here lies Dear X: Born Brilliant, Died Confused.

I’m going to be honest right from the start: Dear X is a drama that made me fall in love, get betrayed, and then sit alone in the ruins wondering how something so brilliant could implode so fast. If I could freeze this drama at episode 5, I’d be singing songs of its greatness from rooftops. But since we have to consider the full package, here’s my eulogy for a drama that could’ve been legendary, but ultimately forgot its own identity.

Let me start with the praise, because the one thing I will always give this drama is Kim Yoo-jung’s performance. She was outrageous in the best way. Truly phenomenal. She didn’t just play Baek Ah-jin, she inhabited her like she was slipping in and out of different skins. The way she could shift from a wounded girl to a calculating strategist to someone who looked you dead in the eyes with nothing but ice behind them? That was masterclass level. She made emotional masking look like a finely tuned instrument. Even when the script was disintegrating in later episodes, KYJ kept delivering like she didn’t get the memo that the writing team had gone on vacation. If there’s anything I will remember fondly from this drama, it’s her work.

And honestly, those first five episodes were some of the best early-arc sociopathic drama writing I’ve seen in a long time. Tight. Sharp. Precise. The tone was controlled, the character motivations were clear, and Ah-jin’s world was built with this fascinating blend of trauma-driven instincts and strategic manipulation. I loved watching her. I loved studying her. She was a beautifully crafted paradox , someone who looked like a monster but was really just a broken girl surviving with the only tools she had left. If the drama had kept its momentum, if it had trusted the spine it built in those early hours, we could’ve easily been talking about one of the best psychological thrillers of the year.

But then came episode 6, where the show basically walked out of its own body and said, “What if we try being… a different genre?” And from that point on, it felt like the drama lost its confidence. Like it suddenly became terrified of its own brilliance and started backpedaling into blandness. Instead of escalating Ah-jin’s complexity, the show deflated her. Instead of sharpening the stakes, it softened everything into mush. Episodes 6 and 7 were such a nosedive that I almost couldn’t believe it. The drama suddenly didn’t know what story it wanted to tell, survival, revenge, fame, romance, comedy? It tried to juggle everything, dropped everything, and then acted like nothing happened.

Let’s talk about that fake romance arc. My god. It was already flimsy as an idea, but they dragged it out so long that I started aging in real-time. It wasn’t even fun, or spicy, or necessary. It just… sat there. A limp fish of a plotline that drained all the tension out of the show every time it appeared. And worse, it completely cheapened Ah-jin. This character who was introduced as a tactical, emotionally guarded mastermind suddenly… what? Decides seduction is her new superpower? I’m sorry, but that’s not character growth, that’s character confusion. I went from watching someone who played psychological chess to someone who suddenly decided her whole arc was going to be Jessica Rabbit cosplay. The whiplash was real.

Then there’s the marriage arc with the psycho chaebol. I don’t even know what to do with that storyline. It felt like the writers wanted shock value, remembered they forgot to escalate anything for five episodes, and tossed in a new plotline like a last-minute seasoning packet. It was rushed, messy, and honestly beneath the potential the show had. There were moments, tiny glimmers, where I thought, “Oh, maybe they’re getting their soul back.” But nope. It immediately collapsed into nonsense again. It was like watching someone try to revive a plant by watering the plastic pot next to it.

And the ending? Don’t get me started. Absolute garbage. A deus ex machina disguised as plot armor disguised as “meaning.” Suddenly Ah-jin is immortal. Untouchable. Invincible. The laws of narrative gravity don’t apply to her anymore. All tension evaporates because the drama refuses to let consequences land. This isn’t clever writing. This is the storytelling equivalent of shrugging and hoping the audience won’t notice the holes big enough to park a bus.

Then we have the symbolism. Visually beautiful, yes. Symbolically meaningful? Absolutely not. Symbolism only works if the story establishes a visual vocabulary early on and then builds on it consistently. Dear X didn’t do that. Instead, it slapped symbolic imagery onto unrelated scenes in the final stretch and expected us to clap like seals. I’m sorry, but no. That’s not profound. That’s the writers setting the script on fire and pretending the ashes spell poetry. The audience isn’t confused because we “don’t get it.” We’re confused because the drama never taught us the language it suddenly expected us to speak.

So here’s my verdict: Dear X is a tragedy, not in its plot, but in its wasted potential. The first half of this drama is a masterpiece waiting to happen. The second half is a slow-motion collapse that left me emotionally drained in the worst way possible. This is a eulogy for the brilliance we glimpsed but were never allowed to fully have. And while KYJ gave one of her best performances ever, everything around her simply fell apart. By the end, I wasn’t even angry. I was just sad, exhausted, and ready to move on.

If you ever watch Dear X, stop at episode 5. Pretend the rest is fanfiction. Your heart will thank you.

Read More

Chaotic, entertaining and funny to the core

Oh man, what a ride this is/was. Absolutely one of my favourite series along with Cherry Magic, Kieta Hatsukoi and Ossan’s Love.
The acting, as always, is top notch. I really love Mob’s character, and seeing him trying to avoid BL flags was so funny and entertaining. While each season was a repetition of the same plot — avoiding BL flags and not falling in love with a guy — each season introduced something new, a new character that made everything interesting despite the repetition.

Kikuchi’s sudden return to his ex-boyfriend was disappointing, as he looked dejected when he found out that he would never have a chance with Mob, but in the next scene he was back with Igarashi. As much as I love Kikuchi to the core, I really didn’t understand what the writers were doing. I mean, weren’t he and Mob supposed to be the endgame? While I love the Kikuchi and Mob pairing, since that was what was fed to us from the beginning, I couldn’t exactly hate the Hatano–Mob pairing. But obviously, I had the same problem with that pairing as everyone else: the age gap. Though the age gap isn’t that big, maybe 3 or 4 years, with Mob being 20 and Hatano being 17, the only problem was that he is a minor. If only he were at least 19, that would have worked so well. I really wish Hatano were 19 and Mob were somewhere in his early 20s, like 22 or 23.

But still, in episode 5, Hatano was celebrating his birthday, that basically means he is 18, i don't think 2 years gap is that big of a deal, specially since many countries view 18 as the start of adulthood. So Mob being 20 and Hatano 18 shouldn't be that big of a problem.

But if I take off the shade of morality (which I shouldn’t do), I actually love Hatano a lot. He is good-looking, has a good nature, seems pretty grounded and has a good storyline, his yearning eyes is what works for me so well. His acting is great, his character is nice, and even though to a lot of people he might seem pushy, he doesn’t to me. I think one of the reasons I’m unable to hate Hatano’s pairing is also because no matter what, I can’t see him as a high school kid since I know his real age. That’s pretty stupid on my part, but whatever.

All in all, a pretty good series. Just sad that this is going to be the last season. And I really can’t wait to see what will happen in the final episode.



***********
Finally the series ended and yeah it was disappointing.
Really wish they extented it atleast 5 more minutes.
I couldn't even tell if Mob was even happy or not.
I don't want any kiss or hug, but atleast his reaction to being proposed again by Hatano, so yeah disappointing.


But maybe they will have a sequel, as mayama hinted. Please let this be a real hint.
I never get bored watching Mob.
Let's have another season, hell, let's have 5,6,7 mob vs bl. I love it.

Read More

The best thing I can say: I'm happy it ended...

The biggest problem with this show it the main cast called "Win". He has the charisma of a wallpaper. He speaks more robotic then most and his facical expression was mostly not existent. Of course nobody told him, that his orangeblonde hair does not fit his type, but that's only my opinion. 🤣

As usual this series has a ridicilous story, but it can't reach Khemjira or Goddess Bless You from Death. It has nothing interesting in it. The ordinary BL stuff is there, yes, but it makes this series not interesting. Also the naked ghost with his rabbit mask was an eyesore, because when he took of his mask we know how handsome he really is. But at least he got an nonsense happy end.

The only interesting character of the show was Tong imho. He had emotional scenes and he was the best written. The rest of the script is trash, the direction was weak and overall this show is mostly boring af. The other characters did not make me feel anything, I couldn't have cared less. The finale did not resolve anything, because the writers had no clue what they wrote about. There is something positive: I don't hate it like others in this rating bracket. It's just bad, but it does not get my riled up of it's stupidity. So, if you have not watched yet, skip it, it's not worth your time.

Read More

I am my own worst enemy

Have you watched Khemjira?
Are you interested in a discounted version?
Well let me introduce you to My Secret of Seer - now with an extension pack including a karmic debt, love triangles, and a shirtless rabbit ghost!

I'm serious, this is like a badly made version of Khemjira and I don't know how else to explain it. If you've watched them both, it's very easy to make the connection, the only difference may be the fact that Por Khru himself needs protection and the one who can do it is Khem. Everything else is pretty much the same or very similar.

We've got the karmic debt that won't stop chasing Win, our seer, and it's definitely going to catch up to him before he completes 26. The solution? Seek someone out with great karmic energy (I think). He finds this person, Phleong, almost immediately but then this isn't really brought up again until episode 8.

Because the only thing consistent about this series were the dreams Win had where he was haunted by discount store Darth Vader. Otherwise we spend the episodes watching our seer and his friends trying to establish themselves as influencers, get invited to ghost podcasts or go ghost hunting in places haunted by ghosts who are irrelevant to the plot.

There are several plotlines that run parellel to Win's struggles to find out who is haunting him, including ones where his friend tries to harm him because his crush has a crush on Win, unnamed employees who get major screentime dealing with relationship problems that Win can somehow handle - I don't know a lot of it was nonsense.

There are several characters who are seemingly important to the plot pop in one episode and disappear the next, completely irrelevant in retrospect of course. It was all so weird and disjointed.

After all that, was the romance even good? It SUCKED. The leads had zero chemistry and zero personality. Phleong's only dialogue was "I don't believe in ghosts" and for being a good seer, Win's favourite dialogue sure was "I don't know". He didn't know anything.

And the final reveal was the worst of the lot. It made no sense and was such a terrible explanation to close out what was truly an awful series. The acting was bad, I didn't like any of the couples and I was bored out of my mind.

Do yourself a favour - if you're looking for a good, scary BL with shamans and past lives and the sort, just watch Khemjira.

Read More

The expectations were completely different. The trailers had a completely different atmosphere and plot, well, that's the impression I got. I was really looking forward to this drama because of its interesting and dynamic pictures, but in the end, the drama turned out to be very tedious and the narration was strange, the events were shown in some fragments, the plot stood in one place for a long time. Although it was interesting to watch the development of main leads relationship, but due to the fact that they had been dragging out the conflict for a long time, it was boring to watch.
Ofc you can give this kdrama a chance, but I definitely wouldn't review it.

Read More

Frozen Fist Frustration!

I am a little disappointed in this one because despite the actors being at top form, it just completely failed to deliver - as a comedy or a romance or even a heartfelt story.

Fist Foot Fusion follows Khlairung, a Tik-Tok boxing influencer who has been at odds with Sunshine, an influencer debunking influencer (he basically goes around "exposing" people's online presences). Sunshine says Khlairung is a fake boxer, so he asks for help proving that he's a real boxer from the shrine of a former Thai traditional dance teacher, by promising that he will dedicate a performance to the shrine. But when he forgets to do it, his fist is frozen into place. So to fulfill this promise, he enlists the help of Malai, the teacher's granddaughter who is an aspiring idol.

And that's it. That's the story. They say so and so has to happen, it happens. Done.

I loved all the performances - acting and dancing. Sky was his usual best, I actually enjoyed Prim's performance, Mark just gets better and better, and though we don't get to see much (or as much as I wanted) of Piploy or Thank, I think they did a solid job.

The script just let me down though. Everything felt like a half attempt. Hingeing on a few reactions for the entire comedic plot. The romance not really hitting the spot. And I think there may have been a encouragement/heartfelt try at writing but it fell flat.

It's a nice little addition but definitely the weakest of the anthology (until now) for me. The other three until now had a balance of heart and comedy and/or romance, but Fist Foot Fusion tried so hard to have all three and ended up with almost none.

Read More

Last Summer Review: ML Saved the Drama

Just finished Last Summer (2025), and honestly… it was kind of a drag overall, but there were parts I really liked. The beginning of the story was actually interesting - trying to figure out what was happening with their memories kept me hooked. Then we eventually realize that they’re geniuses and that there are actually two of them, which takes a while to understand. At the same time, you start noticing things that don’t make sense, and slowly piece together that maybe there really are two of them. Up until that point, the story was genuinely engaging.

I’ve never found the FL’s acting interesting, though. Honestly, if it weren’t for the ML playing the brothers, I don’t think the drama would have had much potential. One couple that I actually thought had more potential than the main couple was the friends - the guy in a wheelchair. I really wish that storyline had been explored a bit more. I liked seeing the challenges they faced, and the part where the girl drops the bag and you see all the clinical and medical things she had been using to help him… he realized that she wasn’t unhappy, but genuinely happy with him, accepting him as he is and not caring that he’s in a wheelchair. In the end, he accepted her love, and now they’re expecting a child. That storyline ended up being more emotional and beautiful than the main one, and I just wish it had gotten more screen time.

Overall, the drama had potential but didn’t fully deliver - some of the acting and pacing felt off. I’d give Last Summer a 6.5/10. Honestly, I only made it to the end because of the ML; without him, I don’t think I would’ve finished it.

Read More

Confusing

I think it has a potential. But failed. Miserably. The plot was actually pretty interesting— It’s about a guy that suddenly blipped into another world and couldn’t stay far from the ML or he’ll disappear. But here’s the thing. They made it so goddamn complicated and so most of the time I was like this ‘😦’. Have no idea what they’re talking about and that’s bad because what they’re explaining is the most important part of the plot.

Personally, I think many elements still need improvements. The only thing I like about this drama is the visual. And yes maybe the main plot as well. Oh and I do like the plottwist. But again, I don’t really get the explanation behind it

Read More

a must watch

This drama is one of the few shows l've been interested in and willing to watch from beginning to end. Some might think the subject matter isn't particularly popular or slow paced, but for me it's truly outstanding among the mass-produced cliche dramas of recent years. The cinematography is exquisite + the plot, characters and setting are interesting. There's no excessive filtering or skin smoothing, the bgm/osts are magnificent and the actors performances are all excellent. If i have to nitpick about something it would probably be about how they handled some plots just to pass the review. But overall this a good watch and worthy binging on

Read More

What a dissapointment!

I was looking foreward to this, but in the end it was a real struggle to finish it.
The story was not bad, but nog great either. The best thing about this whole drama were the visuals and the music. If you don't count the song at the beginning of each episode, because that one wasn't very good.

The acting was very bad! Especially the main actor who played Win! How he managed to get a lead role is a mystery to me, because oh my gosh, he is really one of the worst actors i have ever seen...
There were only 3 good actors in this drama, Fluke, Yuuki and the old man.
All the other actors need to take a lot more acting lessons.

There was a bit of chemistry between the leads and the kiss scenes were ok.

I do not recommend watching, this is really a waste of your time.

Read More

Better than expected

Honestly I confused this one with another movie called Target, which also had SHS a lead so it took me so long to watch this movie and I regret not watching this sooner.
The movie starts from KGT's point of view so this automatically makes the viewers sympathize with him which can lead to not realize he is also a criminal just as Sora. Nevertheless, it's kind of a fresh breath of air to watch a movie from an antagonist pov too.
In my opinion, Sora is a sociopath rather than a psychopath. She thinks she is the most pitiful in the world and her background made things harder of her but in reality she is just using others to cope with the decisions she made along the way. Generally, psychopaths don't search for reasons to justify their bad decisions. Also, she is a really good manipulator too which could be seen in a lot of sociopaths.
If we talk about our stalker friend KGT, he describe himself as a good stalker but in reality there are no good in stalking. To be honest, I didn't even knew there are people who like to peep into a strangers' house before watching this movie so this is also good for spreading awareness.
About the ending, everything was well put together and I can say that I was very satisfied with the ending.

Read More

My goodness, this was such an unexpectedly entertaining full-length BL drama! It’s available on YouTube, and honestly, it’s worth every minute. From the very first episode, the show leans fully into its comedic charm, and I genuinely laughed through most of it. The humour is sharp, playful, and perfectly timed — but what impressed me even more is how seamlessly the drama shifts into serious, emotional moments whenever the story demands it.

And let’s talk about Nut, because he absolutely carried this series. His role was not easy; it demanded comedy, dramatic range, emotional vulnerability, and a larger-than-life personality. Yet he delivered all of it so naturally. In the emotional scenes especially, he didn’t disappoint at all — his expressions, timing, and depth made the character feel real, lovable, and unforgettable.

The supporting cast also deserves credit for holding their ground. Each character felt distinct, fun, and meaningful to the story. Their performances added layers to the narrative and amplified the humour without ever overshadowing the central plot.

Overall, it’s a highly entertaining, well-acted BL that balances comedy and emotion effortlessly. Definitely give it a try — it’s one of those rare full-length dramas that keeps you hooked, smiling, and invested till the very end.

Read More