Reviews

WELL DONE STORY

This is the first BL series I've watched to the end and I didn't miss a single scene. Well, I haven't watched any BL series until the end, until this one. The book may not be the best, but the premise is a chef's kiss, and what makes this series special is that they do justice to the book... Overall, this series has the best cinematography, acting, and soundtrack.
The cast's acting is extraordinary, especially Keng Harit's. The portrayal of the character through his eyes is everything. Namping's acting, on the other hand, successfully portrays a child who has suffered alone and still maintains his good side, but I really liked the other side of his acting in episodes 10 and 11. In episode 12, Green (Rampheung) managed to make me cry and want to hug her.
Overall, the Khemjira soundtrack is heaven, there's nothing that isn't my favorite.
What bothered me a bit is that sometimes there are parts where the actors pause a little too long between their conversations. and sometimes there are parts of the background music that I feel don't need to be added to the scene, let the cast carry the scene because oh my god their acting is really standout.

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Our heroine travels back in time to stop her parents love-story!

Ah, this is a rare gem! Where a Maincharacter timetravels and meets her parents as 18-year olds. I mean, that would be a dream come true for me to watch my parents fall in love! I grew up watching Back To the Future Trilogy, so this is a plot dear to my heart. Watching the rich star cast was a balm to my soul, the Firework Squad had great chemistry with all of them together. I thought FL´s mother such a beautiful cutie and her father soooo cool! (i mean you can never go wrong with YiLei`s deathly swag) FL´s love interest is in the hot-tempered bad boy Jiang Yi. YuYin & Zhang Chi have so much chemistry and pulled off their characters struggles to perfection!

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if you enjoyed secret relationship , revenged love, Abo desire.. just give this a chance

This series is pure morally dark BL perfection.
Fan Xiao is operating on an entirely different psychological level; every manipulation, every calculated silence, every lingering touch feels deliciously intentional. The way he plays with everyone’s emotions is so twisted yet so captivating. It’s impossible not to fall deeper into his mind games.

And the actors? Phenomenal.
They’re carrying the entire emotional weight of this story with such precision that even the smallest gestures feel loaded with meaning. The tension between the leads is insane; quiet, sharp, addictive.

Also, I never thought I’d say this, but the cigarette scenes deserve an award on their own. The way the smoke curls around him, the way he holds it, is Dangerous, seductive, almost symbolic of the whole show’s atmosphere. It’s criminal how sexy it looks.

I am absolutely hooked on this emotional rollercoaster. Every episode pulls me deeper into the chaos, the angst, the obsession.

China really came out swinging with this one. Go China, go.

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Trust and interdependence were pivotal in this slow burn romance. Wonderful acting & chemistry

I was in the mood for Xie Yu Wang's dramas so I decided to watch this drama because I wanted something recent that already has MDL page. Chen Jie Yi was unfamiliar to me so I was curious to see her performance and chemistry with XYW. I enjoyed this drama a lot.

What I liked:
1. Acting - Superb performances by both leads. I could sense that both challenged each other's capability especially during the emotional scenes. There were great chemistry and synergy between XYW and CJY.
2. FL characterisation - I empathised with her because she never had anyone else to rely on except for her father. When she had to become self-reliant, she grew more mature as time progressed.
3. ML characterisation - I also liked his character despite the mystery vibe. I also sensed growth in his character as time progressed.
4. Supporting characters - I liked ML's assistant who witnessed good changes in his boss. FL's bestie was a good character too.
5. Romance - Slowburn but rewarding. Trust and interdependence were pivotal in the growth of their relationship.
6. Cameo - I wrote a reddit post about Labubu appearances in Chinese vertical dramas but I missed this drama. So I was pleasantly surprised when I saw Labubu plushie on screen.

What I disliked:
1. Antagonists - FL's foster sister was an opportunist, pathetic & insensitive. Her boyfriend was horrible too.
2. Communication - It was frustrating to watch their misunderstanding & lack of frank conversations. However ML noticed this weakness and acknowledged it, which surprised me in a good way.
3. Duration - The drama is close to 2.5 hours. At times the pacing was slow and I was almost distracted.

Favourite scene
When they talked about their feelings

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It has the most toxic and green flag characters

This is my new top series of all time. I absolutely love (fictional) toxic queer relationships. And, I enjoyed guessing who was more unhinged and being very surprised!

I really liked how the story unfolding, and going from hating a character, tolerating them, being sympathetic, pitying them, then REALLY enjoying them.

Joo is such a golden retriever, I love him <3

The only thing that REALLY irritated me was the miscommunication between Daon and Joo. I understand that it was for tension, but still.

With each f*cked up thing that happened, I got more and more excited. Nonstop calling? yessss. Possessive behavior? Yesssssss. Stalking? YES. OBSESSIVE behavior? YES! Alliance of unhinged behavior? YESSSS. EMOTIONAL MANIPULATION??? HELL YES I’M IN. (Especially because it somehow manages to have a happy ending, so I went through this emotional rollercoaster and still finished in a positive mood.)

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IS THIS EVEN A DRAMA?

OMG I SWEAR I WAS SO SO SO SO DISAPPOINTED IN THIS DRAMA. LIKE I won't spoil TOO MUCH, but she acted all cringey at the beginning just to get him, being completely different from her actual self. YOU DONT KNOW HOW CRINGE IT WAS UNTIL U WATCH IT. AND THEY LITERALLY STARTED DATING SUPER DUPER LATE, AND WHEN THEY DID, THINGS WERE STILL AWKWARD BETWEEN THEM, AND THEY WOULDN'T TALK OPENLY ABOUT ANYTHING. THE FACT THAT THERE WERE ONLY 3 KISS SCENES AND THEY JUST.. OMG I SRSLY HATE THIS DRAMA. I EXPECTED BETTER FROM LIN YI, AND I WOULD NEVER RECOMMEND THIS DRAMA TO ANYONE. DO NOT WASTE UR TIME.

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He has a heart of ice, but for her, he'd burn the world

OK I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO SAY ABT THIS DRAMA. I was clueless at the first 2 episodes, but once their flashback started, everything was just.. AWESOME. I LOVE EVERYTHING ABT THIS DRAMA. LITERALLY EVERYTHING. GUESS WHO FINISHED 36 EPISODES IN 3 DAYS!! People recommend Hidden Love, WIFTY, The First Frost and The Best Thing, but forget abt Lighter and Princess. AND THE THING IS LIGHTER AND PRINCESS IS BETTER THAN ALL OF THEM. I do NOT regret watching this drama. It's truly remarkable and rlly hard for me to express my satisfactory in words. But trust me, YOU WILL NOT REGRET WATCHING THIS DRAMA!

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The series attracted me mainly with its trailer and then the beautiful OST (which is on my daily playlist by the way). Even before it even started airing, I believed it would be great. Just the OST, the story and the actors who appear in the series and many of them have appeared and I was jumping 2 meters in the air with joy. Not to mention that I really liked the main leads and Boun and Prem are currently some of my favorite actors. From the very beginning I cried that the series would only have 10 episodes and I refused to finish watching it, and so it happened. This roller coaster, where I cried with cuteness and enjoyed every second, is over and I secretly hope that there will be a second season. Revamp will definitely be one of my favorite series because of the editing, acting skills... Well, everything, it's perfect and I didn't find anything about it that would make me give the series a minus point, more of a plus point. If you love BLS and vampires with the supernatural, this series is exactly for you, full of romance, mysteries and their solutions, and also plot twists that few would expect❤

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If you need a cardio-workout alternative, this one’s for you

Story:
This drama is incredibly gripping—you’ll find yourself hooked after every episode. It’s packed with thrills and suspense, with no dragging moments at all. Even the side romance works well; the chemistry feels real, and the subtle gestures are enough. No kisses needed—just the way Cheng Yi looks at the female lead says everything. His micro-expressions alone convey a deep, genuine love.

Acting:
The entire cast delivers excellent performances. Everyone feels sharp, smart, and cunning, perfectly embodying their roles and the tense world of espionage.

Overall:
This is such an underrated drama. Give it a chance—you’ll be hooked by episode 4, I promise.

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When Reality crushes your Dreams, Values and Romance

I’m glad that “Rabbit on the Moon” is on Viki now, so that more viewers can watch it. It’s not a perfect drama, but one that I quite enjoy. Reading the synopsis, it sounds like a rom-com (it’s not a rom-com) of two individuals from very different backgrounds met while on vacation, had a short fling and then disappeared from each other’s lives. Of course, they met again and a lot of things happened between them and prevented them from being together. From ML’s profession, to an obsessive and high-powered 2FL and of course, a FL where you really could hate her for her decisions for 70% of the drama.


Plot/Pacing
The drama started out with a bang, aka, a sexy scene. It immediately hooked you in, if you are a romance lover. We saw flashbacks of their little fling here and there. But the drama actually focuses on after they’re back in Bangkok when business is mixed with romance. Compared to other Thai dramas or lakorns, there really aren't too many characters you want to strangle. Well, there is the annoying sister and mother who mistreated FL in the name of love, but more because of reputation, saving face and wanting to look perfect. The women in this drama, female lead Phitcha included, are selfish and manipulative. That’s why it could be difficult to fall in love with Phitcha early on and not drop the drama. But I do think the drama does a pretty good job in showing us the internal conflict and the reason why she makes decisions at the expense of ML, Jira/Jay. When your self-esteem is low and being looked down on by your family, your passion for your career is the only thing that can keep you afloat.. There are comments/complaints on why Jira decided to lose his morals and ‘sell’ himself halfway through the drama. I don’t see him as losing his morals, but a way to show his love for his family and Phitcha, and to plan for the future. It’s not a decision made lightly but it did cross that bottom line he’s been defending all his career. This is a drama with many flawed characters who made decisions you might not agree with. It also shows that life is hard and not rosy. Tough sacrifices and compromises have to be made, and romance might have to take a backseat. With 16 episodes at about 45 minutes each, the pacing is good. I was engaged throughout and there’s enough going on to keep me entertained. I do wish the obsessive 2FL, Annita, didn’t last that long. She took up so many episodes and I would have loved more scenes of Jira and Phitcha. There’s some business talk here and there, mainly about land sales and redevelopment. This also gives the drama a chance to leave the busy city life and takes us to the rural part of Thailand.

Acting
The acting is pretty good all-around, except maybe Phitcha’s dad and Jira’s grandma. There’s no overly dramatic and lakornish acting. Bright (as Jira) and Kao (as Phticha) did a great job. I’ve seen Kao in a few other dramas before and her acting has always been good. I noticed she has a habit with side-eyeing or eye-rolling, which annoyed me just a little bit. As an actress, she can always deliver the emotions and those tears. I’m glad to finally see her in a drama that I like. This is my first drama of Bright, and I’m an instant fan. I’ve put a few more of his dramas on my PTW after watching him here. He’s charming and adorable, handsome and charismatic. You can see how he carries himself very differently when he’s with different people - comfortable with his family and friends, loving and puppy-eyed when with Phitcha, charismatic and sexy when he’s the host. Bee (as Annita) is fabulous as well. What a beautiful and powerful woman! She oozes an energy that sucks up the air in the room when she walks in, and then you see her as this obsessive woman trying too hard to hold onto Jira.

Romance
Great chemistry between Bright and Kao. I would have loved to see a little more lovey-dovey scenes between them and more kisses and hand-holding. We only have a few scenes of the dream-like world they were in on the island when they could truly be themselves and be happy. There’s just too much going on between them that life doesn’t allow them to have too many happy times. Despite what I mentioned earlier that Phitcha could be selfish and takes Jira for granted, I do think she really never outright lies to him. She might have some internal conflicts going on for a little bit, but eventually, she shares what she's going through and the tough choices she is asking Jira to make. Ultimately, Jira is the one that agrees to the deals. Jira is just a lovely male lead. How can you not love a guy who takes care of family and a non-blood related aunty, a pro’s pro in his line of work, and also does things he might not completely want to do but for the sake of his woman? Fine, he could have dialed down on that last kiss with Annita in the last episode, but I am going to interpret that as a final gift to someone who has been nice to him. Think of it as a little final fantasy, because he’s a professional. I really enjoyed Jira and Phitcha’s heart-to-heart honest conversation in episode 8 before Jira leaves. The other romance is a contrast. It’s uncomplicated and cute. Initially, I was worried Ker might turn out to be a very different character. I enjoy the few scenes of him and Maprang. They are just adorable and provided some lightheartedness in the romance department. There are also a few other side plots of the (lack of) romances. Cheating is quite a theme in this drama as well. There aren’t too many funny and comedic moments in this drama. I do enjoy the funny conversation that Jira has with his friends about his relationship questions.

Production
Nothing looks cheap here. The ladies are beautiful and well-dressed. The offices and houses all look grand and modern. The rural scenery is not bad, though I can’t tell from the screen if Jira’s land is really as attractive as they say. Jira has the most varied wardrobe from handsome attire as a host, to casual comfy sweatshirts and pants, to rural t-shirts and flip flops. Well, Bright looks good in anything. But, maybe towards the last quarter of the drama, they realize they needed money, thus, product placements increase! I really don’t need to see a maid cleaning the floor with a smile for 5 seconds a few times, or Eurocake so prominently displayed as snacks.


Overall, I had a pretty good time watching “Rabbit on the Moon”. Having a current MDL rating of 7.3 is way too long, even by non-Thai BL standards. Overall, I think this is a pretty balanced series. There’s enough drama but not super angsty or melo or lakornish, enough romance throughout the drama, with a splash of family drama and business talk. It is by no means a perfect drama and it’s definitely for a more mature audience who can appreciate flawed characters making decisions we don’t agree with.



Completed: 11/16/2025 Review #642

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Silly, but charming set-up that dragged too much in the second half

It took me quite a while to finish this series because it did start to drag somewhere in the middle and never fully picked up its pace again. Overall, I think this story could have been told in maybe ten episodes and would have profited from more concise storytelling. However, I ultimately liked more than I disliked about it and while it is not among my favourite series this year, I would still recommend it.

While Nut is definitely the star of the show (the comedy can be a hit or miss, depending on what you find funny, but he did a good job with the type of comedy they went with) and fabulous as Prince/Worradej, the biggest surprise for me was Pop, who played Banjong. I kept forgetting or rather struggling to remember that he also played Winner in Pit Babe. There he was always mean, scoffing and obnoxious, and here he was this insecure, soft, lovesick puppy for most of the time, so simply because of his acting his characters looked nothing alike to me.

My biggest criticism in regards to the writing are the female characters. It only took this drama ten episodes to make the only female character up to that point that was not an extra likeable… when will BL writers stop doing that?

Apart from that I don't have a lot to criticise about the plot. Is it silly? Sometimes ridiculous? Over the top? Full of unlikely situations? Yes, to all of it, but that's part of the charm, and there were many scenes throughout that I found funny, or heartwarming, or truthful.
Like I said though, the plot tends to drag a bit, especially in the second half, so I really don't recommend binge-watching it.

This series has beautiful sets and costumes, a mostly compelling, but somewhat dragging plot, and if you don't mind silly, often over the top humour, you can definitely give it a try.

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The Obliteration of the Samurai

Last Samurai Standing is about an impoverished and struggling ronin just trying to make ends meet in the Meiji era where the samurai class had been abolished, wearing swords is considered illegal, and the remnants of his kind are shunned and treated like scum. Saga Shujiro is a former distinguished retainer of the powerful Satsuma clan that helped restore the Meiji rule in Japan and defeated the Tokugawa shogunate. He is betrayed and discarded like trash by the very people he reinstated in power. In a world where the samurai have become as obsolete as their katana and code of honor, they are forced to resort to drastic means just to survive, including engaging in a deadly game orchestrated by those in power.

At a glance, this seems like a simple story about people killing each other for survival. But it really is not. This doesn't only have a historical setting but also features known figures in Japanese history. Lord Okubo, the Home Minister was a real person who led the Satsuma clan during the Boshin War. He was named the Home Minister of the Meiji empire and helped shape the future of the country with his ideals and accomplishments. Unfortunately, with change always comes resistance and though he quelled many rebellions (many were led by his former associates), he ultimately couldn't escape assassination by his own former comrades. That segment of Japanese history is the core of this drama. It is also the reason why the “Kodoku” exists. The abhorrence for the samurai and the old ways stems from their inability to accept and adapt to change as well as their gruesome history of bloodshed, unsquashable belief in their code, and their previous position as the elite military class of feudal Japan that they so vehemently abused. There is no unfounded hatred for them, they were hated as much as they were revered. Kawaji most likely suffered or have seen people suffer from the hands of the samurai who demanded respect from peasants and ordinary folk. I do not condone his actions but I do understand his hatred.

The Zaibatsu or the four powerful oligarchs involved in the Kodoku are based on real power hungry families who had a hand in governing the new Meiji empire. They were most likely in favor of obliterating the samurai considering their positions in government and their desire for reform. The death game aspect in Last Samurai Standing is merely a tool to demonstrate the lengths that this new government took to rid itself of its former military class in order to modernize Japan. I just wish they had written them in a less caricature-ish way, though.

The rest of the characters are more complex, thankfully. Shujiro is not your typical hero. In fact, he's flawed, cowardly, and selfish. He left his siblings to fend for themselves because he was afraid. He fought under the Meiji banner with the goal of reforming his country, but he was betrayed, lost allies, and drifted away into obscurity. He started a family but is on the verge of losing them to another enemy, the cholera epidemic that hit Japan. He wanted only to save himself and his family until he met a young girl who reminded him of his dead daughter. So no, he didn't join the Kodoku to save his village. Far from it. Even Kanjiya is not your cookie cutter villain either. In a time when warriors that were bred to do just one thing, which is to kill, lose their purpose, they struggle to find their place in the world and refuse to accept a world that no longer needs them. Sakura is also an interesting character, a former samurai who decided to help oligarchs eliminate his own brethren. His story has yet to be revealed.

While the plot may be more straightforward with little to no twists, I don't think it's that predictable. For one, some characters that were played by prominent actors were killed off almost immediately after being built up to be potential contenders in the game. So really, how did they know who will die exactly? Not to mention Tsuge's character is still a mystery. Do people who say that it's predictable actually know his plan? Who is he? What kind of twists do they want to see? That Saga Shujiro is actually the mastermind? I just can't with some of the comments and reviews of this drama that I've seen on MDL and Reddit. lol

Yes, it's no Shogun, I've been telling people that from the start. But it's not like any other death game story either. It is not a Squid Game-wannabe. In fact, the “death game” concept was popularized in Japan as early as the 1990's, reaching global heights in 2000 with the highly acclaimed Battle Royale. It doesn't rip off from Squid Game. If anything, it's Squid Game that follows this Japanese trend. But that's another argument.

It's also not Rurouni Kenshin. Although the setting is the same and both main characters were former retainers of powerful clans who supported the Meiji restoration, Shujiro is no Kenshin. He doesn't have a strong “no-kill” code and he's not idealistic or self-righteous. He became a samurai because he was raised as one and that's all he knows unlike Kenshin who had a traumatic childhood that drove him to pursue fighting for the weak and affecting change. The fights in this are visceral, bloody, and undeniably brutal that mirrors the horror of Feudal Japan. The fight choreography is more grounded and less stylized, very reminiscent of samurai films of old.

The cast is perfection! Okada Junichi channels a young Sanada Hiroyuki with every swagger and precise strike of his sword. Ito Hideaki is almost unrecognizable as the monstrous Kanjiya, fully immersing himself in the role and probably having a blast with it. Almost all of the cast members are highly popular actors. If you're familiar with J-entertainment, you could probably recognize all of them. lol

This is a well-produced and excellently acted drama that deserves more praise than it's getting. I would recommend it to anyone who has an ounce of interest in Japanese history and samurai culture. Action-fans will no doubt find this enjoyable too. It is now the number 1 most watched show on Netflix globally so a season two is certain at this point. The only question is, when will it come out?

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