Reviews

predictable But Watchable

A Female Student Arrives at Imperial College follows the journey of a young woman navigating her new life at Imperial College. While the premise sounds promising, the drama often feels very predictable, much like many other historical-style college dramas. Most plot twists are easy to guess, and the story sometimes struggles to stay engaging.

The characters are decent and relatable, and there are a few heartfelt moments that add some emotional depth. However, the pacing can feel slow, and the drama lacks the spark that would make it truly memorable. Despite these shortcomings, it still offers a watchable experience for those who enjoy historical or college dramas and want a light, easy-to-follow story.

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A Second Chance At Life With A Twist.

Abyss is a fantasy-romance K-drama that blends mystery, comedy, and a unique second-chance-at-life concept. The story follows two people who die unexpectedly and are revived in completely different bodies through a mysterious “Abyss” orb. As they try to uncover the truth behind their deaths and chase down the real killer, their relationship gradually deepens.

The drama has a fresh and interesting plot, strong chemistry between the leads, and a good mix of emotional and fun moments. Although a few episodes feel a bit slow, it still stays engaging and enjoyable overall.
If you like romance mixed with fantasy and mystery, Abyss is a solid pick.

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The obnoxious Nak-su will win you over!

I wasn't expecting much from this drama, I initially decided to watch because of Ryu Seung-ryong (he was brilliant in the kdrama "Moving") but ended up loving it! The main character Nak-su is arrogant, stubborn and pretty obnoxious 😅 but throughout the drama there are times were you feel sorry for him and can't help but root for him! Watching him transform into a completely different person by the end and discover happiness was truly heartwarming. I'm going to miss him! 😭😅

I also love how the drama touched on mental health aspects making it less of a taboo in Korea!

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A spinoff I need a spinoff of

This was a really sweet spinoff and now I kinda want to see Sakuma and Yamase have their own series as themselves, not characters from the series. Well the fictional series. No wait. We get my point.

Hiru no Yume follows Teppei and Yamato, and their love story after the events of Daytime Dream, the drama that was filmed in S1 of At 25 in Akasaka.

It was obviously very short, kind of like an actual special you would get of a side couple that had five seconds of screentime in the main series, and of course I would have loved an actual full fledged story here.

But again, this was very cute, we got what I imagine was part of the special they filmed within the series, we got to see all the leads again and the chemistry between Takuma and Shoma is actually amazing, would love to see them in a spinoff of Akasaka or in a different series.

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Great Cooking, Weak Drama

I really wanted to enjoy the show since it was listed top 10 on Netflix in my country but unfortunately it fell flat for me overall.

The storyline feels poorly developed (even though they already have a source material to work off on), with plot holes and lazy writing that undermine the show’s interesting setup. Characters make decisions that don’t make sense, and the build up to the finale is filled with extremely stale and boring scenes that adds zero value to the overall plot which makes me want to skip the scenes so badly. Most character's acting was incredibly overly exaggerated and lacks genuine emotions which ruins the entire experience for me.

The one genuinely positive aspect is the cooking, the food visuals and recipes are great, and I could see the appeal that it adds to the success of this drama. But if the best part of a drama is the food, you’re better off watching a good cooking show instead of this.

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May not be everyone’s cup of tea!?

I enjoyed watching this drama despite its flaws. I would recommend this drama to anyone who doesn’t mind the slow burn type of romance with a touch of misunderstandings here and there but that’s part of life hey. I can’t point out exactly one thing which kept me glued to the show but l did watch it from the beginning to the end without regretting it!😂 Honestly speaking, it’s not the type of story which has an out of this world storyline! DO NOT WATCH IT IF YOU ARE EXPECTING A FRESH BREATH OF DRAMA! There were so many loopholes in the drama so do watch it if you are willing to turn a bling eye to some of them. It’s not the type of drama with many romantic or steamy scenes so don’t expect that.

The leads had such a bittersweet love story which l enjoyed watching. I guess the curiosity of wanting to know when things went south, how and when they would be fixed is a huge factor that led me to keep on watching the drama. Si Ting and Le le moments were so wholesome!🥹 Feng Rui embodied fatherhood so well that l enjoyed all the father-son scenes. The drama may seem dragged but l feel like that’s the beauty of it, they are grown ups with so much to protect and lose so they had to tread carefully regardless of whatever decision they had to make. The funny thing is each time l thought of dropping it there was always something that pulled me back😂🫠

Si Ting took so much time to take action after finding out the truth. Well, to some extent l understand that she was in so much disbelief and fear which may have triggered her to trade carefully in case she lost everything once again. I wasn’t satisfied with her character development in terms of embracing motherhood and directly working on her mental health, to some extent it just felt as if she ran away. The downside of her character was not getting enough chances to showcase her motherhood side. I expected to see more interactions of them as a little family but l will settle for the crumbs they gave us🥹

l would like applaud the uncanny resemblance between the young and old Feng Rui!!! Their maturity and aura truly matched as if it was the same person!🙈The calmness and aura older Feng Rui carried deserves to be applauded. However, if he had stood his ground as a person who had his own life goals, l am sure some of the things wouldn’t have gotten as messy as they did.

I must say, in the history of toxic friends, Wang Shu Han ranks highly!!! Shouldering jealousy, hatred and bitterness for more than a decade is crazy business. I always saw her side eyeing Si Ting and found it suspicious but when the truth came out, l didn’t expect her to have gone that far! How did she even expect herself to succeed in life then while she was being a devil’s advocate full time! 😫 “Si Ting you are the other side of me l could never be!” ohh girl bye

Ohh well , Feng Rui’s mum always had me rolling my eyes 🙄 but don’t let her frustrating actions stop you from giving the drama a chance. That woman just needed someone to put her in her place earlier.🫠 Sadly we could only see the good side of her when she was no longer mentally fit.

I hope l didn’t spoil too much!🙈🥰 l watched this drama while l was in a Cdrama slump, l guess l enjoyed it because it wasn’t too dramatic😂😭l had to vent my anger here for some of the scenes😫😂

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50/50 of you liking it

I just love this drama! But I must say that it was because I already knew what I was getting into. I knew the manhwa, which was adapted from the novel, so when I looked at the title and premise I thought "it can't be? it really is?" and it really was an adaptation! The only thing that made me hesitate was the inclusion of a romance, which wasn't in the original. But this wasn't a problem! I liked our fl.
The conclusion is: this is a romantic comedy with fantasy! It's really a fever dream, so be prepared. If you like a funny protagonist, stories about the entertainment world, romance with comedy or fantasy, you might like it. I'm grateful for this adaptation, even if other people didn't understand the drama's premise, I recommend it to my partners with similar tastes and fellow readers of the manhwa.

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typical tear-jerker made in style

There was no synopsis when I started watching (I am on Shen Hao Nan spree) but from the first scene I knew this was going to be about lovers separated but clinging to each other obsessively. And right at ep 2 I realized this could be like The Tale of Love and Loyalty with my favorite Li Fei, but I was in for a great surprise: this is better in quality of script, twists and turns of the plot, more intricate dynamics among the characters that are impeccably developed and a really powerful delivery.

If you wonder: we get 4th prince and his girl of at least 3 years talking marriage while playing as a couple, making promises and tasting each other's lips - only for the girl to be forced into marriage with the Crown Prince while her beloved defends the country. FL does so to save her family from execution by the dying emperor. Thankfully the king dies and the crippled Crown Prince ascends making his wife the empress. Then the 2nd prince stages rebellion and the FL decided to ask her former boyfriend to come to the rescue. And of course, 4th Prince demands "payment" in return for killing the usurper. One can guess what she has to give him but, if you did not see The Tale of Love and Loyalty, unlike in the short drama from the early 2024 almost all the demanding and some taking here is done in front of the emperor (that is ML pushing for intimacy with her) and FL yielding willingly to become his maid/slave- all fervently opposed by the crippled emperor. No need to add that leads still love one another yet have to stay in their roles because of misunderstanding/outright lie and pride/concern. What follows is humiliation and emotional/physical violence toward FL-also by 2FL and the ML's lovely mother (who would want to have a mother-in-law like this?). And then we get more surprises-the emperor is really the good guy and the 4th prince the villain???

The angst of the leads being deeply hurt/cruel/protective/self-sacrificing/tormented/ruthless is superb however while this is definitely more dramatic than in another drama with the same trope, I was particularly irked by the "logic" behind the leads' decisions: the FL lying to ML about not loving him -to protect the lives of her clan-was not convincing. She could have ended her life (and had plenty of opportunities from the moment ML declared he too could blackmail her with the family lives like the emperor did)! And why is she protecting her emperor husband??? ML's emotional thinking included a belief that a man in a wheelchair could actually consummate marriage and that he had to torment his beloved for the sake of the past intimacy that really made them married before she became another man's woman. And risking her well-being for not good reason. What I did like was the whole good guy/gal turning completely nuts/ruthless and doing it in such a believable way!

I usually drop dramas where there is stupid misunderstanding or immaturity of the characters and definitely will not watch mindless humiliation or violence against people both genders, but I did not drop this because the whole thing was staged fantastically and edited with skill (but I will be honest-the last few episodes were choppy). Also, if there is a rape scene in the drama, I am going to give it low rating as a rule but here, well, I actually was impressed with how they framed it and kept watching also because I cared for all the characters from the beginning (well, maybe not the mother-in-law and 2FL, although the latter was really clever and -dare I say? -likable) and even the times them turning evil did not end my interest. This was much more complex than Li Fei's short drama and for VD this was actually filled with variety of unexpected things giving it the feel of at least a short drama and not VD which usually focus just on interactions between the leads.

The costumes and wigs and makeup were OK: non-intrusive and moving the eye to what mattered: the actors delivering dramatic yet realistic emotions, situations and actions that supported their character portrayal (down to a kick of the fainted FL by ML believing she is faking it). I particularly liked that the emasculated emperor actually cared for his wife and showed more emotional maturity than his counterparts in other dramas (and understandably only to a certain point). And I tell you - whoever wrote the dialogues was a literary master. I will go back to it just to savor that part of it.

Also, the version I watched (Daily Motion link curtesy of Jwells ❤️❤️❤️) had really good bgm even though I recognized half a dozen big budget dramas some of it came from.

This was probably the first vertical drama that both distressed me but also delighted me. Altogether a pretty good watch.

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Love it comfort bl series

I like how there is no messy love rival or romance that dragged the whole audience into frustration for long episode. Yes, there is emotion entanglement between 2 male lead but i can understand the reason and luckily it not like stupid misunderstanding / ridiculous emotion ride. It finish just at the right moment. It not boring at all. It felt fresh and out of the usual bl troupe series. I love it about a supermodel is hiding behind a normal college student identity. That was very awesome. The acting is online ✅. The actor for model AE, you done a very good undercover identity. The walk, the eyes, the speech really make me think it was 2 peoples . Love it. Will rewatch again next time. This is the drama that doesn't require me to use my brain, 100% comfort bl

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Bad

My perception of the audience for this drama is this: you either hate it or you love it, there are no intermediate steps. And I belong to the group that hates this drama... you need to remove some gears from your brain to swallow this story. The drama is triggered by the protagonist's stupid actions; his personality doesn't match the type of work he does. He's an idiot and stupid.
His profile doesn't fit with the work he does; he wouldn't be able to stay in a job like that with such stupidity, let's be realistic. Fl is annoying. I didn't get past the first few episodes, but I wanted to punch her in the face as much as I wanted to punch the protagonist's and I don't! have anger issues... No problems with the acting tho, the real problem is the story.

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Sored to become my favorite show I’ve ever watched

If you’re considering watching this show, please give it a chance. It’s one of the most beautiful and well made shows I’ve ever seen and that’s saying something considering hiw many bls I’ve watched.

I was constantly intrigued and cried more than once while binging it in the span of two days (I have a 9-5 too).

I could understand each and every characters perspectives because they werent purposefully trying to hide details like other writers will sometimes. Every single actor nailed their role ans made me feel something for each one.

The love story between Sasin and Saenkaew was simply beautiful and heart wrenching. The connection and chemistry they had was mesmerizing to watch. I’ve actually been repeating certain scenes just to feel the emotions again.

The music was also beautiful and the scenes the osts were added to were perfectly done. I couldn’t have asked for better song choice or placement.

I highly highly recommend this show to anyone that sees this. It opens your eyes to so many social issues and the feelings of those who are trying to prioritize family and duty over love and vice versa. Give it an honest chance and I’m sure your emotions will go on a rollercoaster from this heart wrenching but lovely show

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Loved it, but could’ve been better!

I can’t put into words how much I loved this 😭
It’s really unfortunate that it’s them as Teppei and Yamato instead of Hajime and Kazuma… would love more of Hajime and Kazuma as a side couple in the original story.

I’m all for plots like this lol. Would recommend it 100% but I know it’s not for everyone.

Hopefully we get to see Takuma and Shoma actually starring in a different show together. The chemistry is THERE! They gotta do something about it and put it into production or whatever. I did not expect less from Takuma… he’s just so good at doing his job.

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