Reviews

When love beats hate ?️‍??

I genuinely *loved* this drama! 😍 It completely deserved all the hype it gets — especially the main couple! Their acting and the way they expressed emotions were perfectly executed. 🎭 The enemies-to-lovers trope was portrayed beautifully, and I loved every bit of it. 💖

I also loved the friends’ roles! 💕 They were supportive when they needed to be and angry too when they found out the guys — who were supposed to be “rivals” — had actually fallen in love. 😂 Their reactions felt so real! And the girl couple? They were *sooooooooo* sweet, cute, and absolutely freaking adorable!! 😭💞 I loved them — they added such wholesome energy and balance to the story. 🌸

One thing I really appreciated was how the drama didn’t fall into the cliché “I’m not gay, but I like you” narrative. 🙅‍♂️ Instead, it explored the idea that love isn’t about gender — it’s about the person. 💕 That message really resonated with me, and I could truly *feel* it through the characters’ journey. 🌈

However, I wasn’t too happy with the ending. 😔 I didn’t like how Pat and Pran still had to hide their relationship, especially from their parents. Their parents eventually found out, even if indirectly, but it felt unfair that the kids had to carry the burden of their parents’ old feud. Like, come on — it’s a fight between the parents, not the kids! 🙃 When two people love each other enough to elope, that should say something. 💔

And I just have to say — Pat’s father really frustrated me. 😤 Dude, *you* were the one who caused this whole feud by stealing Pran’s mom’s opportunity, and now you act like this noble family head? The manipulation, the guilt-tripping, the pressure to compete with the neighbors — ugh, typical Asian parent behavior! 🙄 I understood Pran’s mom’s point of view after the truth came out, but still… let your kids live and love already! 😩

But honestly, that’s what makes the show hit close to home — it reflects real-life family pressures in so many Asian households. 🏠 It’s messy, emotional, and painfully real, and that’s exactly why it sticks with you. 💭

Overall, *Bad Buddy* has an amazing plot ✅, brilliant acting ✅, and incredible OSTs 🎶. It’s absolutely worth the watch! 💫

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Humor, Intelligence, Action, and Mostly Heart

I didn't know this series wasn't finished. Ack, I have to wait until 2027 for season 3. I'd complain that life is unfair, but as that's the theme of Joy of Life, I don't dare!

I fell in love with the character of Fan Xian. All he wants is a simple, happy life, but that's not what fate has in store for him. He begrudgingly takes on duties and responsibilities out of a sense of decency and wanting a better life for others. He becomes the pawn of the Imperial family, but he's the chess piece that refuses to move in the expected direction.

Zhang Ruo Yun does an amazing job as Fan Xian. He's intelligent, brave, iron strong, and emotionally vulnerable. He is unshakably loyal to his friends, family, and love. I live for those scenes where he is listening to atrocities and is internally livid, yet outwardly calm.

The Imperial Court intrigues keep the viewer unbalanced. Who to trust? I've decided no one! And yet, I keep hoping for redemption for some of them, even those who don't deserve it. The actors have done such an excellent job balancing villainous tones with sympathetic ones.

I'm off to add more of writer Wang Juan's dramas to my list. I've added an extra half star for writing intelligent characters.

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It could have been great . . seriously

If I'm being honest, the first few eps are good. It holds your interest as you wonder how will this pan out. The exaggerated plot suggested a wild ride. It all feels a little surreal.

We finally take a breather when the FL escapes to the titular kindergarten. The early scenes gave me "Kindergarten Cop" vibe. That would be delicious if they pull it off.

Oh woe is me! I'm actually lost for words to describe the next few episodes. It is a mess. So many plot holes. It is bordering on nonsensical.

For instance, the FL flees to the countryside for anonymity. Yet she was identified by multiple people and hunted down by thugs and assassins in short order. Korea is not a big country but it is not that small either. She might as well stay in Seoul! Instead of going into hiding again, she stays put after a little heart-to-heart from the ML. Really?

Rather than silencing the people who recognised her, she takes them into her home so that they can spy on her in comfort. This includes her horrible mother. Why? It makes no sense. The FL is supposed to be resourceful and clever yet almost everything she did is counterintuitive. Oh! Did I mention she has a loaded gun and a million won just sitting in her suitcase. Really?

On top of that, she would give chase when given the slightest provocation. She'd confront her assailants single handedly time and again. I wish she is amazing at Taekwondo, but she always comes out second best. The ML has to rescue her repeatedly. How convenient.

The ML is a nice guy, handsome but a drip. They have little chemistry. There, I said it! They are the OTP by default.

We must now address the worst aspect of this show. The characters are poorly written. Most have the depth of a puddle. Some are quirky, but just when you think it might get interesting . . it doesn't. This is a recurring theme.

The classic example is the 2CP. The 2ML is supposed to be possessed by the ghost of a general. Sounds like fun, right? It went nowhere. The 2FL is cutesy and a little needy. Maybe she has some hidden agenda? Nope, she is just cutesy and a little needy. Did I mention their love story is inconsequential. Ouch!

There are many subplots and we can see glimmers of possibilities, but they meander for a bit and go no where. Maybe her inexperience is showing.

The antagonist do have their moments. When the female antagonist is in her full psycho mode, she is one scary b*tch! Her brother has two speeds. Angry and REALLY angry. They are not subtle. We are meant to detest them. They feel like caricatures at times.

The housekeeper and chauffeur are a matching set. They are there for comedic relief. Mostly harmless. On the other hand, the in-house lawyer is a gem. He might be a support character, but he stole many scenes.

The chairman is a highlight. He is the ultimate puppet master. There is a big twist concerning him towards the end. It was meant to be the gotcha moment, but all the clues are there if you bother to look. Some of the nonsense finally make sense. I have so many questions, but few answers. I can see they made a stylistic choice, but have to swept a lot of the details under the rug. You really have to switch off your frontal lobe at this point.

Moment to moment, this drama showed us glimpses of what is possible. Yet, viewed as a whole, it is all smoke and mirrors. I was pining for an edgy, noir thriller or maybe a high octane romp, it is neither. So much potential . . . One time watch. Peace.

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Four Stories, One Heartbeat

4 Destiny is a beautiful collection of four BL anthologies, each directed by a different visionary and offering a unique story about love, heartbreak, and quiet redemption. You can watch all four for free on the 9NAA Channel on YouTube, and it’s absolutely worth it if you enjoy emotional storytelling with heartfelt performances. Each anthology is only two episodes long, but every one feels like a complete experience. My individual ratings are 7.5, 5, 8, and 8, bringing the overall to a strong 8 out of 10.

The Last Night 7.5/10
The first story makes a strong impression right away. P and Pan return with undeniable chemistry, portraying best friends caught between loyalty and unspoken love. The realism in their performances, combined with a grounded story about hardship and emotional restraint, gives the anthology a mature tone. It’s not really a BL romance but rather a heartfelt tale of one-sided love, told with sincerity and quiet power.

Red Moon and Wine 5/10
This one didn’t quite land for me. The pacing was slow and the plot felt confusing at times. It lacked the emotional grip and clarity that the other stories carried.

Un-In Heart 8/10
The third anthology is the highlight of the collection. P and Plai deliver one of their most emotionally raw performances, portraying lovers struggling to reconnect after years together. The story captures the pain of drifting apart and the beauty of love that lingers even when words fail. Subtle, emotional, and beautifully acted, it stands out as the most moving of the four.

Blood Fighters 8/10
The final story closes the series on a strong note. Seng impresses with his transformation into a tough boxer, showing just how much range he has as an actor. His chemistry with Pong feels fun and natural, with light romantic moments balanced by heartfelt undertones. While the boxing scenes could have been stronger, the story remains entertaining and full of charm.

Overall, 4 Destiny is a well-rounded anthology that explores different shades of love, from friendship and heartbreak to
rediscovery and passion. It’s emotional, well-acted, and full of warmth. A must-watch for BL fans who appreciate short but meaningful stories.

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Fists, Hearts, and Chemistry

Overall, I really enjoyed this final anthology. The last time I saw Seng act was in Secret Crush on You as an awkward, quirky high school student, but this time he completely transforms into Kampan, a tough delivery driver and skilled boxer. It’s such a huge shift that truly shows how versatile and talented he is as an actor.

Paired with Pong as Yim, a cheerful and funny guy, their dynamic felt natural and entertaining. The chemistry between them was surprisingly good, with cute moments, great kissing scenes, and that refreshing charm that makes short BLs so easy to love.

The fighting scenes could have been sharper, and the plot could use a bit more depth, but the series still delivered solid entertainment. I do wish the second episode was longer than 30 minutes, but overall, Blood Fighters is a light, fun, and enjoyable BL with heart, humor, and just the right amount of heat.

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Ms Incognito is all set to resume her life. Her tenacity helped her in surviving all those impeccable ordeals.

After her life is endangered numerous times, and putting Dong Min behind bars, she decides to get back at her enemies. Her coordination with the Chairman changes, but things are impeccably harder this time. She needs to prove the innocence of Dong Min and get her life back.

It is a rare case scenario, when we get a kick in the ass female lead. Each and every week,Young Ran delivered a new layer of her. She is not a broken doll nor a hopeless soul. She clinches her fist and destroys every obstacle that tries to invade. She knows to protect her people. After Vincenzo, this is Jeon Yo Bin’s powerful performance that we have been protecting. After delivering back to back performances through Who is She, Sweet Home Series, Jung Jin Young nails as a doting father and soft man yet chivalrous man to Jeon Yo Bin’s fierce Ms. Incognito.

Sweet yet fierce tale. One of the best series of this year.

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This is another South Korean BL drama that doesn't use its potential. And no, this is not due to the obviously small budget. Having a good script does not depend on your budget -- on the contrary, if you have a great script, your budget won't matter as much.

I do think that the drama did well regarding sets, casting and directing. The actors were good for rookies, and the way they were styled and dressed and the set design gave the drama a distinct flavour.
Another aspect that I liked were the characters themselves, who were charming -- everyone had his own personality too.

But the one thing that I find most important was lacking: the story.
Yes, I know. It's a cute and fluffy love story -- don't expect much depth, right? And if this was all the drama would be, then it would have been fine. I could live with "vampires" being just the framework for the story. I could live with a simple tropey love story.
The problem here is that they tease with hints of world building but never deliver. There is no singular vampire lore that every vampire story uses; it's rather that there are many, at times conflicting, takes on how vampires "are" -- can they be exposed to sunlight? Are they born or made? Are they shape shifters? How do families work -- is it more coven-like or more like a human family? Can they eat human food? And many more.
And "My Secret Vampire" seems to think that viewers know these answers already (when they don't), so they never explain them. Or maybe even worse, it seems that the vampire lore here contradicts itself, the vampires can't eat human food, but then they are looking forward to Dongha's eggy toast? At times, I can't decide if the script is bad at keeping to its own world rules or if the character development is just not written well: Seonjae claims that "relations between vampires and humans never end well" but then he supports their relationship?
I could give more, and better, examples, but I want to avoid spoilers.

Overall, the drama had potential in its premise, in the actors, and in the design quality, but it's let down by confused writing that fails to explore its world to the point where I understand the world's rules.


Was it good?
It's so-so. It's entertaining, sure, but leaves more questions than it answered.

Did I like it?
I would have liked it more if the script were better.

Who would I recommend it to?
I would not recommend it at all.

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The Ambiguity of Affection

A beautiful drama that it’s impossible to remain indifferent to. It explores friendship from a fresh and original perspective. It doesn’t shy away from making the viewer uncomfortable, because that is precisely the intention of its narrative: to make the audience question and reconsider their own opinions about the characters’ actions. The ambiguity between affection and resentment expressed by both protagonists in every gesture is something that accompanies us throughout the entire series, just as our perception evolves with each new revelation about the reasons behind their behavior.

In my case, this series was the confirmation of Kim Go Eun’s enormous talent, and a very pleasant surprise in discovering such a great actress as Park Ji Hyun. I was also impressed by Kim Jae Won’s outstanding performance, since in the other dramas I’ve seen him in, he hadn’t stood out as much.

This series features a beautiful OST that will go straight into my playlists. In case you’re interested, the songs I’d most recommend are: Hope by Kwon Jin Ah, Blue Temperature and Note and Pencil by Seori.

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Beautifully Produced With Some Plot Issues

FANTASTIC production and an incredibly interesting concept, but i was super disappointed by certain aspects of this show :(

firstly, i wish Khemjira had committed to fleshing out khem's character (its literal namesake) more. he didn't do anything except ??? cry ??? and ask for help ??? and then cook ????? throughout the entire show. he had almost no agency and it was lowkey so hard to watch. he became a walking, sometimes talking damsel in distress trope. so so so sad to see especially as so many other characters were really intriguing.

there were also so many random exposition characters who showed up, fixed a problem or answered a question for khem & company, and then disappeared into irrelevancy again for no reason. let khem do things for himself!! he's a grown man!!! i promise it isn't that scary!!!!! like why did his dad randomly show up again at the end, why did his ghost mom protect him so much, and WHY can't he have any personality!!!!!!!!

also, i personally don't like the way these two "fell in love"... there was hardly any buildup, and even though the characters kept insisting that they were different people from their past lives, the only reason they got together was due to that past connection. however, perhaps this lack of prior interaction stems from the fact that, as i said before and will say again, khem has 0 personality.

as a final nitpick, i really didn't like that it was such a "thing" that peem saved khem from forest spirits when he was ~16 and khem was like????? 6-10?????? weird af, barely relevant, could've been left out so easily.

i will say that i did enjoy jet and charn as a duo much more. they had some semblance of an actual connection, far better communication than khem and peem overall, and some moments that were actually quite sweet.

ugh. i wish i could've liked this show. if khem was given any character traits other than cooking and crying, and if the romance was driven by any sort of actual connection rather than trying to fulfill the desires left over from their past lives, this would've been awesome.
despite it all, for the beautiful execution by production and the wonderful performance from most of the actors, i can't go any lower than 6/10 on this one. i unfortunately can't go higher than that, though, because why was khem so uninteresting and useless omfg i'm genuinely so pressed about it.

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Despite having witty dialogs and great acting, it's not well-executed

Subjective Gut Rating: 7.75

Well, the synopsis sounded interesting to me, and I am a fan of second-chance romance. Slice-of-life melodramas are a hit-or-miss for me. So, did I end up liking “My Youth”? Mm…it’s OK.

There are elements of the drama that I really enjoy. The witty dialogs and conversations between the 4 leads as a group, the 2 couples, and the 3 siblings. This comes from the same screenwriter who wrote “Run On”, one of my favorite K-dramas. So I am not surprised that I am really loving those sarcastic remarks and witty comebacks. These conversations brought the relationships of these characters to life and exuberated excellent chemistry - friendships, family and romance. I love the 4 leads. They are interesting and multi-faceted. The two pairs fit each other so well.

I also enjoy the acting of the whole cast. From the young ones, to the teenagers, adults and the veterans. There is no weak link. I haven’t seen Song Joong Ki since “Vincenzo” and I think he did a great job portraying the main lead. Ok, his hairstylist and the costume department could have done a better job with him. Seeing a grown up Nam Da Reum (he’s 23!!) is like watching my kid grow up in front of my TV. And how nice to see Seo Ji Hoon again. He’s the eye candy that I needed. He’s so cute and handsome, and I love his character as well. The ladies, Chun Woo Hee and Lee Joo Myung are sassy and interesting. They play the untypical female leads well and make them fun.

I had a pretty decent time watching in the first ¾ of the drama. I didn’t find the pacing too slow for me and despite being a character-driven drama, there’s enough plot to keep it going. But then, the drama’s pace starts to slow down in the last quarter of the drama. The back-and-forth of the main romance became a tiny bit repetitive. When I found out what ML has been hiding, I dreaded the story a little. Had I known this was his secret, I might not have started this drama (this is a personal reason, no fault of the drama). Although I continue to enjoy the interaction of the main leads, the plot itself does not seem as interesting anymore. It’s not moving fast enough and it seems like I’m just waiting for the bomb to drop. I wanted to see more of the secondary romance, but despite having enough time, time wasn’t spent on them.

The ‘villains’ aka parents in this drama are forgiven so easily. We didn’t see much of the process of forgiveness and it all seems to happen behind-the-scenes. On several occasions, the editing was weird. I thought the drama was going to show me and expand on what’s happening, but it just cut to a different scene. I am also not satisfied with the last episode. It’s not hard to guess the ending, but I wish it was executed better.

I would only recommend this drama if you enjoy a slow-paced slice-of-life melodrama. I enjoy the acting, the interesting main characters and relationships, and witty dialogs. But it’s not a well-written, well-edited and well-executed drama.


Completed: 11/6/2025 Review #640

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ok

Welcome to the world of assassins and lords where drinking tea and poisons are your everyday meal. premier of the drama was interesting, assassins invading the area in disguise as a bride, but later felt the true purpose of the story was lost in too many side stories. the true plot and the mastermind behind all this was revealed at the very end, alwhile it was just events leading to it.
my greatest disappointment was the lead chemistry, which seemed forced atleast on the FL part. the ML who was portrayed as a weakling was helped by the FL to pass the initial tests which seemed as a betrayal on the story to me.
and suddenly our ML becomes more confident and powerful with training, which seemed unbelievable.
the only thing that marginally saved this drama was the second lead and their Chemi, zishang and jin fan❤️, the plot of this drama which is also not 100% perfect, and had its own plot holes

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Unexpected Surprise!

I still have unanswered questions about this so I hope for season 2 with this cast!!

This story provided a fresh flavor for the BL genre. It was a happy surprise given I had no expectations going into it.
Even the poster wasn’t indicating anything spectacular, yet I really enjoyed it overall.

Written with some supernatural elements, this wasn’t overdone with CGI or other flashy effects. Its simplicity and short length time kept it even paced with a stronger character/story focus.

A sweet tale wrapped up in some confusing elements early on, but definitely evolves and progresses with each episode. While it doesn’t check off every mark for me, the creative writing kept me watching and I could see the real efforts put in.

The handsome cast and some light humor added in made it very enjoyable, so thank you to everyone involved in this production!

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Oh my..

Summit of Our Youth started a little strong, but quickly stablelized and continued at a smooth pace. The actors were great, the story was interesting, and the production was good. It's one of the better dramas that I've seen this year.
I was so happy that Gu Xue Jiao was trying to help those around her, even those who wronged her in the original timeline.
Gu Xue Jiao and Lin Zhi Hua were so fricking cute!!! I really loved their relationship and, honestly, was kind of envious lol.
I was over the moon to see them live the life they deserved! Which is why the last episode was such a punch in the gut!!!! WTH? They were happy, the people around them were happy, the new timeline was just filled with happiness, so why??! Well, at least Gu Xue Jiao and Lin Zhi Hua still have each other, right? That's all that matters.

I'm still rather perplexed...
But! Regardless of the ending, Summit of Our Youth really is a wonderful drama, and I would recommend it to everyone who reads this.

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