Reviews

A masterpiece that blends youth, music, and heartfelt family bonds

Twinkling Watermelon (2023) Korean drama…
It’s truly a masterpiece in its own time slot. Watching this coming-of-age drama with a touch of music was an exciting and emotional experience. It teaches the value of family, friendship, parenting and all .

ACTING AND CHARACTERS:
The cast was perfectly chosen, making the drama feel alive. The innocence and charm of each character were worth watching, and every role was carefully written with well-crafted stories. Ryeoun gave one of his best performances, perfectly capturing Eun Gyeol’s emotional growth and innocence. Choi Hyun Wook (well-known from Weak Hero Class 1) and Seol In Ah added even more depth and endless charm. My favorite was Shin Eun Soo — her breathtaking performance was full of emotion and surely captured every viewer’s attention. Not a single character was wasted each had depth and purpose.

MUSIC:
Since this is a music-centric drama, the OST deserves more recognition. The songs were not just meant to be heard, but to be felt. They carried emotions, elevated important key moments, and sometimes even told the story better than words could.


HIGHLY RECOMMENDED if you enjoy heartwarming youth K-dramas blended with music and emotional twists.
For me, it’s a perfect 10/10, a drama I’ll always recommend
one you should watch at least once in your lifetime.

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A crap shoot and a half

I don’t usually write reviews for shows this terrible, but this one is almost laughable. For all intents and purposes, I dropped it half way through but skimmed through to see what happened…

This show is everything wrong with minidramas. I was literallly laughing out loud at how inane the plot is. Pseudo-sibling romance where half the time he actually does think their siblings? Check. Another actual sister who is actually in love with him incestuouslh? Check. Oh wait they’re not siblings either? Check? I honestly can’t figure it out.

Memory loss? Check. Absolutely psycho second FL? Check. Evil mother who someone gets forgiven? Check. Abuse, self harm, rape? Check. It’s like we take terrible tropes and put them in a blender…. OH AND THE FL DIES AT THE END IM SORRY WHAT THE ACTUAL HECK IS THIS STORY AND THEN WE GET A PARALLEL UNIVERSE FOR TEN MINUTES THIS IS INSANE.

I don’t know if I’ve ever watched a drama this level of crap—which sucks because the first few episodes were awesome. Then it all went spiraling down the toilet.

Goodness, someone fire the writers.

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ML, literally just him

TLDR: the ML is the only reason to watch this show.

Overall: This show never quite found its footing with me and I would point to the tone as the driving factor. It didn't know if it wanted to be a funny action comedy or a serious romance and the bullying aspect did not do them any favors when it came to mixing the two. I'm not sure what the obsession is with Korean media and extreme portrayals of bullying but it is pretty difficult to watch at times. I've never been through any Korean schooling so maybe it is that bad but in every depiction I've seen thus far (drama or manhwa) it goes from extreme bullying straight into full on criminal offenses in no time flat. I think bullying is a pretty tough topic to get right, especially when you try to include comedic moments like this show does because its quite jarring to see some kid quite literally left for dead in a dumpster then cut to some quirky music/one liners.

The ML is fantastic and his raw charisma carried me through 5 god awful episodes where everything without him was borderline unwatchable. Acting on point. Character on point. Only good things to say. Deserves better than the FL.

The emphasis on bullying hits the FL's character really hard because you have to remember the show is trying to be a romance so we need to like her. But they also pull the Kdrama trope of making one of the leads completely irredeemable for no reason at the start (so we can see them grow? I guess??). I'm not a teacher but even I was personally offended watching her debate the merits of just letting one of her students get bullied so she can get a full time job. Like what??? We are supposed to like her. After seeing her do that on top of her blatant incompetence before the ML got there (because if its happening then its happened before and she hasn't noticed), I no longer care about her character. Yes she does end up doing the right thing but it shouldn't take a secret agent rolling through your school for you to do that. Just as a teacher it doesn't seem like she cared any more than surface level about the well being of her students from what I saw so pretty difficult to get invested in her character and as a result the show since romance was such a large component.

Last thing I wanted to say was that the writers were clearly competent because there is an excellent portrayal of bullying in the sister's (cousins? I truly forgot her relationship to the ML) friend group. As the audience we get to see how the little comments, remarks, and gestures stack up to be a condescending relationship between the her and the rest of her 'friend' group. This was made even better because we can see how she might brush these things off as no big deal since they included her in the "cool kids club" so she might rationalize some stuff. I loved this portrayal because it hits all the right notes while being completely believable. The vast majority of bullying is not seen. No bully with any functioning brain cells does things that can obviously be traced back to them. Mad props to the person that crafted this portrayal because I feel like it both fits the characters and show really well while also having the IRL impact of showing people that bullying doesn't require you to get punched or something. This is probably the single best portrayal of bullying I've seen in Korean media which makes it so much more frustrating to see the main focus put on the other side where people should've been arrested ages ago.

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Accurate depiction of real life with a twist

I loved this drama ans it will hols a special place in my heart. I almksy didnt watch it hecause i dont like sad shows and it seemed like it would be sad. This show is not your typical happy go lucky show and thatd what makes it special. It really showed how life picks on some people and they can never catch a break. I really related to this show and the element of the mailbox gave me goosebumps several times it just felt like i was there experiencing it with them. I loved that they didnt focus on romance but just a beautiful bond between the two leads and i have always adored the male lead but this was his best role to date in my opinion. I was SO HAPPY that it ended happily for them. I thought they wouldnt get the happy ending but in the end they did. Its more than a lot of us get. Some never get that happy ending and continue to struggle through life. I will deff rewatch this in the future ❤️ dont debate it just watch, you wont regret it!

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What a beautiful love story

Let me tell you, I came RUNNING asap when I was done watching this. I was completely fine understanding the plot and translations. Some subtitles sometimes don't get translated, which is frequent with machine translated, but even without that, it was SO GOOD. It should've been 30 full 1 hour episodes since this is a beautiful love story.

The intro? Is rough but worry not, that is FAR from how the ML really is. The system of the novel wants to put him and the SFL together but thanks to the ML, he has spent 100,000 lives to finally get one last chance. That intro? Is the system controlling him.

Make sure to not skip any scenes since they're important to the plot.

All of the actors did phenomenal with this work.

The story is so damn good I wish it was longer. I wish more would put a different spin on execution of rebirth + system + roles going against the novel since it can go any direction. And this? Honestly, a masterclass and one of the best with those tropes tied into a lovely feast. The writers did amazing, despite what the other reviewer's experience.

Rewatchable? 100/10. This is so damn good.

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Popcorn but only the best kind

TLDR: Very fun popcorn for your brain with tons of fun moments and high rewatch value.

Overall: Overall a breath of fresh air from the typical romance centric Kdramas. The cast has great chemistry with the lead stealing the show in almost every scene he is in. Coming from a medical background I will say it's best not to think too hard about what is actually going on as you won't find realism anywhere in the same zipcode as this hospital. But thankfully the show doesn't take itself too seriously and leans more into the comedy and goofiness.

Story: Pretty average when it comes to medical dramas. Nothing super ground breaking and not horrible. The pacing was great with nonstop action which both mirrors the hospital and made it infinitely more fun to watch. I don't think this is the main focus of the show and is more a way for us to see the characters shine which it definitely succeeds in. Just don't go into this show looking to brush up on your medical knowledge and this part of the show won't get to you too much.

Characters: This is by far the best part of the show which is a recipe for success. The lead is charisma and competence made human and he is very convincing as a no-nonsense attending who's seen things overseas. I do think the backstory to his character is fine but probably the weakest part of his character. I don't think the show needed to give us an explanation or explore what he did in the past and I honestly think it would've been more interesting to drop little hints without giving the full picture. After all, once this show starts leaning into the more serious side of things it quickly loses its entertainment value imo and dark/gritty backstories fall squarely into that serious camp.

His team is also super fun and I think they are the perfect example of I don't need to know how they got there, just that they got there. From the intro in ep1 to the final scene we don't learn much about them and I think that suits this show perfectly. Anus is super fun as the comic relief that slowly finds his role. I love his arc and how slow the show took it. He always feels out of his depth (which is probably the only accurate depiction of real medicine) and he plays a good balance between hilariously incompetent while trying to do the best he can. Gangster is great as the 'veteran' nurse who knows more about the hospital than most physicians. She plays off Anus well as the yin to his yang and I highly appreciate the shows decision to not hint at any romance between the two because thank god. The anesthesiologist was the rock of the group and completed the group dynamic super well. Not a whole lot to say on their individual characters because frankly speaking they're infinitely better when they're all together and the show knows this.

The villains of the show were suitably evil for the tone of the show. I think the GI attending (forgot his name) had a cool arc and I enjoyed watching the way he tried navigating his way around the proverbial unstoppable force and immovable object that was his boss and the lead. The rest were fine, they weren't given a whole lot of impactful screen time and were more obstacles with faces for the main team to overcome. I thought the reveal at the end that the director had been different in the past was interesting (seeing some jaded attendings it does make you think that at some point they were starry eyed med students at one point) and if they ever get a season 2 I'd be curious to see more of his character and which path he goes down.

The acting is fantastic all around. Can't give enough props to the entire lead cast.

Music: Was fine. Didn't standout and I didn't rewind any scene because of the song so makes it average in my book.

Rewatch value: Super high. I think the lack of any kind of romance subplot with the quick pacing make it very easy to rewatch and have a great time.

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I want, I want, I want, I want to break freeeeeee

This was such a good watch! I can’t believe I have been putting this show off for so long. It was fantastic!

Acting:

The casting was so good in this show, everyone was right for their role. It’s my first time seeing most of these actors’ performances and I was very impressed throughout. Est is so beautiful and boy can cry pretty which I LIVE for. William was such a good misunderstood sad boy frontman. The supporting cast was all amazing. Honestly, couldn’t ask for much more.

Writing:

This was far more realistic than I had expected. They didn’t go the “we can beat to odds through it all together” route in the way I expected. Like, there were no outrageous grand gestures that turned the story into a DRAMA drama, ya know. It was surprisingly refreshing because I usually prefer the over-the-top, unrealistic drama bs. But I liked that they stuck to reality more. This was well written from start to finish. I only wish there were more.

Chemistry/Romance/Kissing:

The chemistry was lovely between these two. I was giggling and frowning with them accordingly. I loved this as a romance. The idol x crew member is always fun and I like that they didn’t focus the story on that dynamic like many other stories do. The kissing was perfect, they did such a good job with it. Love a good smooch or three.

Music/SFX:

Music was pretty solid. I liked all the songs that MARS performed, but I didn’t love the other corny love songs they picked for important moments as much. SFX were solid, nothing to really note there.

This was sooooo fun to watch. I’m so glad I got around to seeing it!

Now, for some highlights from my notes:

- Bro is beautiful
- LEGOOOOOO
- Drake looks so cuuute
- Give baby the sandwichhhh
- Oh my GOD they are CUTE
- Bros for life frrrrr
- An angsty little guy, this Dylan
- Thame such a gem, my looove
- 9.5-hour phone call from dusk till dawn EEEEEEEEEEEEEE
- I’m giggling this is PRECIOUS
- Our ultra-capable little maknae
- THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN
- So Thame is a dumbass
- I knew something had to be up with Serrano
- Can we voice our feelings already, boy
- AHHHHHHH they are so cuuuuuuuutttttttteeee
- Jun would get a swift kick if he were my friend
- Bro thinks he’s smooth
- LEAVE HIM ALONE JESUS CHRIST WHAT IS YOUR DAMAGE
- AHHHHHH JUST SAY IT I’M GONNA SNAP
- AHHHH THEY SUCK
- There’s gonna be a wild misunderstanding here lmao
- Nahh cause I would spiral 100% if someone did that to me on our first evening together
- Oh the domesticity of it all
- Fern pissing me off. You are a grown ass adult, act like one
- Sad boy hours fr
- *But everything means nothing if I ain't got you, you, you*
- Est is such a good and pretty crier
- That concert was lowkey kinda fire tho
- Yay happy boys and girls all around

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A Fun Ride That Needed More Drama

As of today, I’m still scratching my head over why this series is rated so highly on MDL. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fun watch, and I love that it gives us multiple couples with different dynamics, but the storytelling just felt like it was missing something essential: real conflict. When you’re building a drama that spans several years of college life, from freshmen to seniors, you’d expect at least a few relationship struggles or challenges that feel a little more grounded. Instead, a lot of the plots just floated along, and I found myself wishing for some actual tension or drama to keep me hooked. If they had added that layer, I’d easily have given this series more stars across all platforms.

Another thing is the sheer number of characters. With so many couples, side characters, and overlapping storylines, I honestly lost track of who was who at times. Maybe that’s partly on me for skipping through some parts (yes, I admit I fast-forwarded the PondSand couple a little, sorry not sorry, lol), but still, it got confusing.

Now, the real highlight for me was definitely Faifa and Wine (a.k.a. Junior and Mark’s couple). Their storyline felt the most engaging out of all the pairings, and I can see why the creators saved them for the end. Faifa’s complex relationship with his brother Yotha, who’s also paired with Gun, gave his arc extra depth. That made his story the perfect way to close the series. Honestly, I’m not a huge fan of Junior as an actor, but Mark carried the couple for me. I first noticed their chemistry back in Midnight Museum, so seeing them “shipped” here was super exciting. If it weren’t for FaifaWine, I probably would have dropped this show halfway through. They really carried the emotional weight and gave the series its best moments.

On the flip side, I have to say I’m over the ArmArc couple. I know they’re supposed to be central, but their storyline just dragged on and felt repetitive compared to others. Faifa deserved way more screen time than what we got. He was such an intriguing character, outwardly the bubbly social butterfly, but underneath he’s actually guarded and kind of broken. That duality made him the most layered character in the whole drama, and I wish the writers leaned into that even more.

Looking ahead, I could actually see this show continuing with another season. There’s definitely potential for at least another 24 episodes if they keep introducing new couples and dynamics. But here’s my one big plea: please, please give us more relationship conflicts. Sweet moments and fluff are great, but conflict is what makes us root for couples, cry with them, and celebrate when they finally overcome obstacles. Without that, the storylines just don’t stick.

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Fast Paced, Gripping Plot, Subtle Romance - exactly the way i like it!

An informer from out of the town was killed together with his daughter on the streets of the capital and caught the attention of the Interior Guard Services and Court of Judicial Review. One of the killer was apprehended before he could kill himself, but before proper interrogation can be done, he was mysteriously killed in his cell. A mortician, Gao Bingzhu, stepped forward to admit the murder and was taken into custody immediately. On his way during prison transfer, he was attacked but managed to survive by killing the assassin. But because he fled the scene, all the deaths of the guards were pinned on him, and because he was spotted at a minister’s mansion during his son’s wedding, the minister’s death was also pinned on him. A huge chase ensued between the Interior Guard and ML, headed by Wu Siyue, FL. But as she pursued the fugitive, more truth started to come out one by one, and made her question if he was truly the criminal she should be after.

One thing that is obvious about the show is it’s extremely fast paced from episode 1. I’ve never seen a mystery/investigative drama made this excellent. Mystery/investigative genre has never been my go-to drama, cuz they usually bore me to death, i have dropped many of such drama that it became my bane genre. But somehow this title attracted my attention upon reading the many positive comments. I had to say the thing that attracted me is when they said the FL is strong and brilliant. It definitely did not disappoint. There was so much action going on, a lot of fighting and chasing. However the cameraworks made me dizzy cuz sometimes they set the POV on the characters involved during the chase, with the shaking and jittering of the camera as if the cameraman was running with the cast. How the relationship between the main characters come together is also done brilliantly well. A fugitive, an enforcer, an eccentric anti-social youth sound like an unexpected combination, but they came together flawlessly. And the plot twist in the last 3 episodes is definitely unexpected. The useless character turned out to be the most vital of all. i totally did not see it coming. The excellence of this adaptation made me want to read the novel to see how much they deviate from the original work.

Am really impressed with the actor playing Gao Bingzhu. I first saw him in The Mutation and it didnt leave much of an impression on me, and since this is just a filler title that i picked up as i wait for full release of Shadow Love episodes, I had little expectation, especially when it was a mystery/investigative drama. I had a bad experience with The Wanted Detective so I only started on this title solely due to the many positive comments of it and my hunch. And boy I am not disappointed at all. Huang Xuan definitely gave his all to this character, he was fierce and grudgeful when facing the enemy, nimble and powerful when he was fighting off the bad guys, and yet his anguish and sadness was so exceptionally conveyed in his sad scenes. I teared seeing him crying his eyes out, having to bottle everything up for 5 whole years living in guilt made the well burst big time. And to finally know who the assassin really was broke him even further. Who wouldve thought a guy from the slum who has nothing to his name, not fame, not glory, not even money, had two women fawning over him, ready to die for him? And yet he was not meant to be with either of them. What a sad, broken man he is. He has my 10 rating for his performance here. Totally changed my view of him from where i saw him first on The Mutations.

I really like the FL Wu Siyue played by Victoria. She is a proud, strong, brilliant, stubborn woman with great martial art. She works at Interior Guards Services that are mainly guards for the royals. The head of the service was her brother and she hated being known as Madam Wu as it would link her to her brother and gives an impression that she was there due to privelege of connections. Although she and ML started out as enforcer and fugitive, she began to empathize with him after they got through life and death together, and decided to help him uncover the truth. And most importantly, this character doesnt need constant saving like the usual FL, because:

1. They have a character who is the don-in-distress which is the SML,
2. She and ML alternately saves each other 😆

Oh boy, i really love ML and FL chemistry. There’s just one thing that always bothered me with this character, that is how weird her hairline was. The wig looks too obvious and not streamline enough, which gives it away. There are many close ups of FL, so her hairline always becomes the first thing that grabbed my attention. Not trying to nitpick really, i am aware that female characters usually wear wigs especially to make up the buns on their heads and its length, but this is the first time that saw a weird hairline on a female character so it catches my attention each time. Wardrobe and make up department were not meticulous enough in this part.

Anyway, on a side note, how Wu Siyue confronted her colleague and the antagonist, believing they could not have been the real criminal/traitor despite many evidence against them is how I expected Xueman from The Wanted Detective shouldve behaved with her husband who was obviously set up. Not emotional, very clear-headed, objective, and not strike the other party at first sight. The reason why i dropped that title was because the FL is written to be so incoherent with her supposedly brilliant background. Screenwriters should work harder to make their main characters believable and not contradict its nature that they created, like how Louyang’s brilliant screenwriters did.

The SML, Baili Hongyi, is an anti-social, aloof and hard-headed second son of the Baili family who is renowned for their crasftmenship. Baili Yan, his father, was the Minister of Works, and he too worked in the same ministry before his resignation. Known as a talented and educated most eligible bachelor, he is also known as a food reviewer, a highly sought after one by restaurants in the capital that were willing to go tooths and nails to get into his review waiting list. His life is considered sheltered, before the murder of his father on his wedding day, which plunged the family into the whirlpool of conspiracy and sinister plots of the court. This character reminds me a lot of the FL in Melody of a Golden Age. One who doesnt know any self defense, keeps poking his nose where it didnt belong not bothering to inform anyone of his whereabouts, and keep needing saving when he’s stuck in a tight spot during his investigation. If MoGA’s FL keeps needing saving by the ML (yea the rule of the script kind), this Baili Hongyi keeps needing saving by either FL or ML, and most of the time by both 😆.

I never liked characters who throws themselves cheaply at the one they love, especially when the person doesnt like them back, Liu Ran played by Song Yi was such character. But her devotion to Baili Hongyi even when he was so cold towards her somewhat grew on me. I didnt like this character in the beginning, but her patience and indulgence made her character hard to hate when it was towards the middle. I feel sorry for her, but i still couldnt ship them both. The awkward scenes between them as they were supposed to warm up to each other look too forced, especially Liu Ran’s desperate acts in attracting Baili’s attention. I feel like their couple story is a waste of time and takes too much off the fast-paced plot. Maybe theyre supposed to be the tension relief to the gripping storyline, but i feel that their romance isnt necessary.

I am more interested in the subtle attraction between Gao Bingzhu, Wu Siyue and Yao Niang cuz they didnt have to try too hard to make it work. The ambiguity of their relationship is somewhat more intriguing than the married one, even though i’ve always had a soft spot for marriage of convenience where the love grows after marriage than before. That said, this character began to get on my bad side when she started to cling to Baili unnecessarily, getting in the way of his investigation efforts and disrupting his plans. Maybe this character really had a purpose - to be the SML’s bane on his road to the truth 🙄 other than her irritatingly coquettish crybaby personality, the notion that 80% of her script only contains the word “Er Lang” is also rather annoying.

And what’s up with FL’s bro Wu Youjue? I didnt see him doing anything about the informer case that the empress asked him to investigate, and yet when there is progress, he was the one being rewarded bu the empress when everything was from FL’s efforts. It seems like the only thing he does on the show was to threat to kill people whenever FL goes missing or in danger while investigating the very thing the empress asked. She’s just doing her job, it’s her job to be in the middle of danger, she was supposed to protect the capital after all 🙄 if you don’t want her to be in danger then why did you let her enter the service in the first place? This character is very hot-tempered and ridiculous, threatening people left and right just because his sister goes missing, lol is this supposed to be the head of a department? So unprofesional and unrealistically impractical incompetent fool is all he is. How laughable. All he knows is to blame everyone around him for any mishap that his sister encounters. I wish somebody would just smack some senses into his empty skull for once. It’s really funny that the empress think so highly of him when he literally does nothing in the background but cough all day long. And whats even funnier is that the court won’t accept a talented man with an extra finger but is fine having a sickly man lead two departments that deals with security of the kingdom. Thats even more laughable than Wu Youjue’s ridiculous temper! However as the story unfolds, I started to understand the reason this character exists, though I am still puzzled why Liu Feng was thrown into the plot. Now this character’s utter pointlessness level is off the charts.

I really love the comic relief Bai Lang. He was there almost every time ML needed some helping hand. He is like his unofficial sidekick. Bai Lang was one of the kids ML knew from Unwelcomed Well who got away and made a living in the capital. He was originally a swindler to get by day by day, until he met ML again while he was fleeing the interior guards.

It’s a first time that i saw in ancient costume drama where the characters stop at a post station to change horses before continuing their pursuit. Before this i’ve only read such practices in novels where long and hasty journey would require frequent change of mounts since the horses are made to run all the way and without this change they wont be able to cover the intended distance before the horses tire themselves out. Such attention to details shows how meticulous the production is.

It’s too bad the soundtracks here aren’t much of an impress. Only 2 caught my attention but unfortunately it’s too slow to be included into my running playlist.

All in all, it was an extremely fun ride eventhough the ending might not fly with some audience.

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This could have been good

This show could have been good, it had in the beginning the right ingredients and then it went no where fast. From the beginning both these guys had incredible trauma all their lives due to parents and in five minutes the trauma and all the hurt in their past goes away after the one talks to his mom and the other talks to his dad. What a load of crap. Why even bring up all this drama in the beginning if it takes literally 5 minutes to cure it. No one gets over years of trauma that fast. If that aspect of the series was not bad enough, then lets throw in two guys who can barely have their lips touch to kiss and what was that they were supposed to be doing in the bedroom scene? They should have just left out any physical intimacy or gotten a director that knows how two people really kiss and have sex. Maybe 10 or 15 years ago this could have pass muster, but in 2025 this show was not good.

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Still a good series, but was expecting something more

Disclaimer

What I am writing here are my views and thoughts about this series. Some of you may not like it. That does not give you the right to try to come at me with your opinions on why this series should get a higher or lower score and why it is better/worse than I think it is. You have your own opinions, and I have mine. Kindly respect that.

I finished this series last week Friday (05/09/2025), and I am now writing a review for it today (11/09/2025). If you know me, you would know that I and period dramas – we don't mix. Doesn't matter whatever country – I just can't get behind them. For me to give a high score in a time period means that there has to be something very extraordinary and outstanding from the series. I unfortunately did not feel it with this series. And the sad thing was that the main characters were actually good and the storyline sounded promising – but this was just not for me. It started off well, but I personally feel like it was not able to get its footing for it to become an excellent series.

I felt that the secondary characters were the ones who stole this series. I did adore the secondary couple, as I felt that they added more excitement to the plot with their storyline. I do look forward to seeing Aou and Boom in their first starring BL when it comes out. The character who played Great's grandmother was actually good, as I did hate her character and wished her nothing but bad things to come her way. Also, the three characters who played the help added the humour to this series for me as well.

All in all, it was still a good series, but I just felt that something was missing from it for it to be a great series.

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