Reviews

uncomfortable watch

A Taiwanese BL that began with a deeply intriguing premise but quickly turned into something emotionally uncomfortable and morally confusing. The story follows Xia Cha, an elderly man who transmigrates into the body of his deceased grandson, Xia Ze Fang. Now living in a young body, he encounters Ye Hai Yuan, a man who — in a karmic twist — happens to be the reincarnation of Xia Cha’s late wife.

At first, the idea sounds beautifully tragic — two souls finding each other again across lifetimes. But as the story unfolded, I couldn’t shake off my unease. Why was Xia Cha, who had already lived a long, full life and known love, given a second chance, while Xia Ze Fang, a young man who never even got to experience his own story, was erased completely? His body, his voice, his youth — all taken away without acknowledgment. Nobody truly grieved him. It was as if his existence didn’t matter at all.

That thought stayed with me throughout. I kept feeling an ache for Xia Ze Fang — unloved, unwanted, and forgotten by everyone, even by the narrative itself. The injustice of it made it hard to root for Xia Cha’s second chance at love, no matter how fated or soulful it was meant to be.

And then there’s Ye Hai Yuan, the supposed reincarnation of the grandmother. What struck me most was the inconsistency of his love — if he and Xia Cha shared such an eternal bond, why did he never love Xia Cha when he was alive? Why did affection only ignite once Xia Cha was reborn inside the youthful body of his grandson? That sudden shift made their romance feel unsettling — as if love depended on the vessel, not the soul.

The Promise of the Soul had the potential to be a profound meditation on reincarnation and love transcending time, but it lost its heart in execution. The premise was fascinating, yet the emotional balance felt wrong. Instead of a moving love story, it became a quiet tragedy about a forgotten soul who never got to live.

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Na Aejoon my baby

*happy ending*


I love love love Na Aejoon and the actor who acted as him. He portrayed the character really well and he was soooo adorable that he really turned into a baby in my eyes that I so wanted that chasing arc to last 5 episodes just to see Si Yeol suffer more.

Kevin is so naturally adorable that none of his scenes are weird or embarrassing to watch. His micro expressions are so adorable.

On the other hand, Kang Min, the actor of Si Yeol is so robotic for most of the episodes prior to episode 8. I actually can't differentiate when his character fell in love with Aejoon. And the chasing arc made it seem like he didn't have that much remorse. The series is cute though and the kissing scenes although short, is not awkward or uncomfortable.

How I wish they really expanded the chasing arc more but I know the manhwa did the same. Aejoon is just so in love that way. Still, how dare Si yeol hurt my baby like that. I am still seething. I hope he makes it up with Aejoon for the rest of his life.

I also loved the second couple's story but I hope that paparazzi gets his just desserts because the series seems to gloss over that issue.

I wish this was longer. I feel like the song writing, Aejoon's career, and other plot points can be more elaborated, but I also think it was made that way in order for us to read the original instead. So here I am rereading it 😂



P.S Aejoon looks a lot like Namping in other scenes. It adds on his adorableness


Edit: naah better to rewatch the series than reread the manhwa. The miscommunication there has been stretched to season 2. Si yeol looked more like a bigger jerk there than here.

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Nice to watch if you’re bored, but not worth your full attention.

If you have some free time and nothing much to watch, you can try this drama little by little — maybe an episode at a time to pass your leisure moments.

When this drama was airing, everyone was talking about it — friends, social media, and K-drama fans everywhere. My friends kept asking, “Haven’t you watched it yet? It’s so beautiful! Everyone’s watching it!” They were so excited about it that I heard about it again and again. At that time, I was already watching two other dramas, so I told them, “Okay, okay, I’ll watch it later.”

As a big K-drama fan myself, surprisingly, I didn’t rush to start it. But after a few days, I gave it a try. The first three episodes were quite good — I even watched them all in one day. King Lee Heon and Ji-yeong’s characters were fun to watch. But after that, my interest slowly faded. It didn’t feel important or engaging anymore, though I decided I’d finish it someday.

Almost one and a half months later, I finally finished it — along with two or three other dramas. Honestly, it wasn’t as amazing as people said. It felt more like a cooking show than a story-driven drama. At last two episodes 10 and 11, I just let it play on my phone while doing house chores. And 12th episode finished it by watching 1.75× speed! It wasn’t boring, but it wasn’t something I was excited about either.

The only part I really liked was when Ji-yeong returned to the future and learned the story behind the book — that was interesting. But overall, most of it focused on cooking recipes rather than an emotional storyline.

Talking about the actors — Lee Chae Min did a great job, and Yoona was as solid as always in her rom-com roles. There wasn’t anything particularly special about the plot, but one good outcome is that this drama helped Lee Chae Min shine more as a rising rookie actor.

In the story, King Lee Heon falls in love with Ji-yeong because she reminds him of his mother — especially through her cooking, which brings back memories of the mother he deeply missed. But honestly, there wasn’t much reason that Ji-yeong to fall for the king herself, and the chemistry between them didn’t really stand out. It felt more like the king was just spending time with one of his court ladies or soon to be Queen like lady that chosen by the Queen mother.

As for the OST, it was okay — nice songs, but nothing memorable. I believe a good soundtrack shines when it connects deeply with the story and emotions of the moment, and that didn’t quite happen here.

Overall, if you’re looking for a meaningful K-drama to get hooked on or to lift your mood — this might not be the one. “Bon Appétit, Your Majesty” is visually beautiful and trendy, but the story simply isn’t strong enough.

Still, credit where it’s due — Yoona and Lee Chae Min both performed well. The main problem lies in the weak script, not the acting.

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Ancient Soap Opera

LIKE

I like how the story slowly moves through all the festive seasons

Did not know ancient times are so open minded where ladies could re-marry as many times as they want

Never-ending drama ups and downs one after another

Li Wu Niang’s marriage totally bizarre - hilarious

What Wu Niang did to Yang Xian on their wedding night and his friends at a restaurant

DISLIKE

All good

MUSIC - personal fav

红鸾 Hong Luan - 吴宣仪 Wu Xuan Yi
截冰 Jie Bing - 张曦匀 Zhang Xi Yun

REWATCH VALUE

Five for now

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Started good but fell short

LIKE

When Xu Yan doesn't want her grandma to attend her wedding and her grandma knew it and found an excuse not to go

When Lin Tao got called back to his hometown to work lol

How Xu Yan used her wits to assist Hao Ming’s career and his families’ relationships

The part where Xu Yan was with Huang's mother - cried so much

How Hao Ming gets rid of Xu Yan’s obstacles

Hao Ming all along knew about Xu Yan’s lies and still accepted her - trying to mould her into a person he needs and not love while Xu Yan really fell in love with him

When Xu Yan finally sees through Hao Ming and cuts him off and he realises his true feelings so going to win her back

Wow the ultimate plot twist omg

The part when Yu Lan sees Xu Yan trying to make a living - and what Yu Lan said and did soso impressed and touched

Chen Lin is so silly always being exposed by u Yan

When both Xu Yan and Hao Ming were drunk and what happened after LOL

DISLIKE

Kinda flat at the end...

MUSIC - personal fav

像烟火爱过 Xiang Yan Huo Ai Guo - 单依纯 Shan Yi Chun
一切都好 Yi Qie Dou Hao - 郑沐晴 Zheng Mu Qing

REWATCH VALUE

Not really

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Surviving the zombie apocalypse with the worst people you know

Look, I love a good complex character and I...am fine with zombies. While it's not my go to genre, I do love stuff like All of Us Are Dead and Train To Busan, The Last of Us, etc. So I wasn't opposed to this one, plus it had a lot of actors I like (Boun you were lost too soon lol).

However. If you're going to have a zombie show where the protagonists are knowledgeable about zombie lore, you either need to keep from making them do things that happen in these shows because they are stupid or give a good reason why these people would do these stupid things. But this show did not do the work. People talked openly about zombie lore and yet still did the most deadbrained things, like untie a dude who has fully tried to murder two others or leave your phone on when you know that noise attracts the dead people. Or stand there and CALL OUT to a zombie knowing she's a zombie. They did some quick "dude's off his meds" explanation for that one but come on.

And that's not even getting into how much they all sucked. Honestly if I were with any group but the cheerleaders I probably would have pulled a Pao and tried to offer myself to the zombies too, just to get away from them. I also felt like they gave us a bunch of characters who, sorry, were way more interesting than the main trio of Ning, Non, and San,...and then made us focus on those three anyway. I didn't necessarily like Prao either (I never do care for needlessly mean people, although I do like that the show never tried to explain her) but girlie had a point about them.

I also hated the ending. It's obvious sequel bait and I'm sure it'll get one, but it kind of made me want to slap Mook, lol. Like girl, I don't disagree that Ning acts like the protagonist in a drama (because she is), but you keep absolving yourself of some really stupid and/or cruel decisions by blaming her, lol. Shut up.

One thing I really did like and hope they expand on is this version of the zombies. *Is* the person still in there? And if they are, does that mean they can come back? I can't imagine not, because lbr they ain't leaving Nunew a mere zombie in any universe, but I will be curious to see how it pans out, if there is indeed a sequel. I really loved Lily doing her cheer, even if it led the zombies to them lol (and see, in this case them being stupid kind of makes sense). And she was in there enough to lead the other zombies away from her friends. I also was pretty interested in the mom and her dilemma - I love that sort of double life stuff.

Overall it was fine. It did most of the stuff that you expect from a zombie show, and it tried to do something a little different with the zombies themselves, although I expect the All of Us Are Dead comparisons will be inevitable. If there's a sequel I will probably watch, especially if they drop it all at once again, but I won't be chomping at the bit for it.

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When a guy in a revenge drama meets a family from a comedy

This was an entertaining ride that I enjoyed all the way through. I do think it's quite crucial to understanding the story that the watcher realize there's a revenge drama happening along side the comedy. The male lead's goals don't change, and neither does his tragic back story. The first act of the drama is all about the comedy that the family is in intruding on the male lead's very serious drama and slowly drawing him into a more light-hearted existence. In the second act, the revenge drama starts to assert itself again, and things get a little more dangerous for the family while everyone tries to solve the conspiracy and help the ML get his revenge (I mean, more justice than "revenge"... like, this isn't The Glory or anything!).

Thinking about it that way, the tonal shifts didn't feel jarring for me. I felt like the revenge plot stuff was satisfyingly complex and the resolution believable. The comedy aspects lightened that story line, while the drama aspects put some extra angst in the comedy storyline, but I found the blend satisfying. I enjoy both revenge dramas and comedies, and I think that the blend here was good at taking the strengths from both genres and using them to lessen the excesses of the other. Revenge dramas often get bogged down in angst and darkness, but the show had comedic scenes throughout. Comedy plots can be underdeveloped and they can tend towards silliness and repetativeness, but the drama elements kept things moving and changing. The comedic characters had more depth and more emotional range than a lot of comedic characters do (although the father and brother are a little more one-note than everyone else) and there are some really enjoyable side characters and stories.

The ending.... well. As another review pointed out, time travel stories in China are a bit tricky because of regulations and I think most of my complaints about the ending can be chalked up to that. I agree with others that it was more "bittersweet" than "happy" but the final note was more sweet than bitter. Overall, I found it really enjoyable and fun.

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Well written and never a dull moment

LIKE

Li Rong and Wen Xuan reunited with two decades of memories and kept on bickering about the past - loved it

Love the politics especially you already know what is going to happen

When you are re-living your life for the second time, you can be honest about what you couldn’t say in the first because there were regrets

When Li Rong went to save Pei Wen Xuan - soso cool

DISLIKE

Pity about Su Rong Qing's decision in life

MUSIC - personal fav

风吹 Feng Chui - 千言 Qian Yan
爱而不休 Ai Er Bu Xiu - 陈红鲤 Chen Hong Li
藏心 Cang Xin - 叶炫清 Ye Xuan Qing

REWATCH VALUE

Five for now

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Don't stop watching Zomvivor after the first eps!

So actually this isn't really my genre..
But I was waiting for this series and was watching it especially because it's from Domundi, because I like and know most of the actors and for ZeeNuNew.
And I have to say the first episode was a bit boring and complicated for me, but the episodes after that made me stay.
~Story~
I think the story is pretty interesting and makes sense, some points were maybe a bit complicated tho.
What I liked is that most things made sense within the next episodes.
~Acting/Cast~
As I said I know most of the actors and really like them too.
And I have to say I'm not disappointed.
They all did such a great job!! The way they showed all these emotions and everything was just great!
~Music~
I guess I didn't pay much attention to the music because I was more paying attention to what was happening at that moment, but I think the music suited each scenes quite well.
~Rewatch value~
So even If there were some things I didn't LOVE, I'm happy with how Zomvivor turned out.
It was an exciting, emotional series I'd like to watch again! 😊
So all in all I'd say Zomvivor is such an interesting series which made me (who doesn't like to watch Zombie movies/series) really enjoy it!!

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It's a ride that'll make you learn plenty.

*I honestly don't know how to write a review, and how to put into words what I truly feel about this drama. But here it goes.

At first, I was doubtful wether I should watch this drama or not, considering that it isn't what I usually watch. But when I jumped in the first few episodes, I couldn't stop myself from watching anymore— this is what I've been looking for, the type of drama that will have you looking back, and would want to watch it again as if the first time.

The way the plot and the characters are written is very detailed leaving no hole. The acting was top notch. Each character's personality was portrayed clearly— showing maturity and development among their selves. The chemistry of the main leads is a chef's kiss. This drama will have you fully grasped— making you feel every emotion, will deceive you, will make you cry, and will make you feel as if you're riding the same journey as them, witnessing their growth as a person, and will teach you lessons in life throughout the ride. It's a lovely drama that will actually show you reality, no cliches in romance, just people learning the meaning of love while finding their true selves and focusing in their own careers all while helping each other.

It's pace is just right, not too slow, and not to abrupt. Letting the viewers ride in the journey of the characters and witnessing them fall in love and deceive each other, and their walk to reflection and change as individuals. It will have you at the edge of your seat, anxious on how the truth will rise. And the twists will leave your eyes wide open. It's very interesting getting to know each character and what they have up on their sleeves. I love the way the drama was sequenced, it doesn't put every information or event in that person's life all at once, but by bits and pieces, which will make you learn more about them, and empathize with them.

The drama was written beautifully and justified with the execution. Everything is in harmony, there was no too much or too less. The exposure of each character was balanced, it didn't only focus on their story but as well as the people around them, who were also a big part of their journey. The actors went all in to their roles which made the drama extraordinary. It will make you look forward to every next episode, and will leave you hanging for more. It's a must watch.

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