Reviews

The Warriors Reconvene!

To see the notariety all of them achieved from Season 1 left no doubt the rabbit would create trouble again! What was nice is the individual updates they all accomplished from the success of Season 1. To see them in other variety shows and the acknowledgement and recognition they received for Season 1 created other opportunities for them outside of their normal workflow made them tv stars beyond their expectations. To see them outside of Earth Arcade when they cross paths with each other reflects the closeness and how tight they are in supporting each other. As always the cast chemistry and wit with PD NAH doesn’t disappoint

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In the heart of the forest, sometimes being lost is the best way to find yourself, even in the dark

The story of a passionate young boy, Faifa, who got exiled in a forest by his own grandmother and entrusted him to another man, Hem, who didn't want another distraction which would eventually threaten his peace.

—From the beginning of the story, the audience's eyes are blessed with beautiful scenes of lush green Thailand. Watching this show correlates with healing. It was love at first sight for me. I didn't know what would happen in the future, but I completely lost myself in the scenic woods like it was calling me.

—Aside from the senary, the characters were also interesting and the storyline itself was enough to make me seated.
Faifa's optimistic attitude towards life was refreshing. No matter how demotivated he felt inside, he always kept his chin up, motivated himself and never stopped dreaming. On the contrary, Hem was a hardworking young man, but he was always demotivated inside, so he kept himself busy with taking care of elephants, the duties of a forest ranger, and overall in charge of the Pokpa sanctuary.

—Fifa's rabbit mask representation was crucial as it wasn't just a cool accessory but a shield to escape. By hiding his face, he hid his true emotions and feelings and gulped down his unspoken words; his coping mechanism was masking. He was optimistic outside, but deep down he too was suffering in fear of losing his dream. That mask helped him to hold onto his emotions when he knew he couldn't control his facial expressions.

—Hem and Faifa both had opposite views of each other, but as they got to know they realized how much they'd healed each other. Faifa's innocence infiltrated Hem and melted his hardened heart which was hurting him. Both of them are unfamiliar with their feelings, just coexisting like earth and water. Water softens the Earth. Fifa brought out the more emotional side of Hem, while Hem helped Fifa understand better how to manage real-world struggles from a more rational perspective. Once separated, they let you know why they are inseparable. Hem's tenderness towards Fifa showed a bit of his overflowing emotions. As usual, sulky Fifa is the cutest; who can resist teasing him?

—It was a 7-episode drama, but I felt like I had known them for ages. I devoured each and every second. It was like a warm cup of hot chocolate hugging your body with a warm embrace, slowly, gently and gradually. For some, this can be a boring, slow show, but to me this was good because it was slow and let us view their characters from every angle. They gave each other time- a time to realize, to heal, to start again in life with happiness and prosperity.

—This was a show I would be happy to watch once a week, to slow down, forget about everything and just concentrate on nature, humans and salving every moment. The slow burn is so slow that it makes you forget about romance and just concentrate on their character growth episode by episode.

—This is the charm of independent projects. Their content can be low budgeted and not so frequent sometimes but they never compromise quality over quantity. They never relied on NC scenes but built the storyline based on their precious bonds of the characters slowly. That's how Lost in the woods was born.

Aahh, I loved this. This show was truly my weekly dose of fresh oxygen, which made me look forward to every Wednesday. Overall, if you are up for something peaceful, slow and simple, then you'll love it. But if you are looking for a quick romance, fast-paced relationship growth, then this might disappoint and frustrate you. Otherwise, I would recommend this to everyone.

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A lifetime of Devotion

The emotional intensity between the male lead and the female lead created tremendous chemistry. The story overall was a very good one. The eventual development of their relationship was heart touching. Their inability to be vulnerable with each other from the beginning of their marriage and open in their communication and feelings cost them a lot of unnecessary anguish. But, it did make for a very complex relationship. I do feel somewhat frustrated by the male lead's need to punish himself for something he did not do. Several of the supporting casts added in a positive way to the story. I especially liked the cute romantic Kang.

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A delve into social anxiety

The story delves into the complexities of social anxiety, personal growth, and the power of understanding between humans. The series centres around Eun Hwan-ki, the CEO of a public relations company who is so introverted that he becomes a mystery to his employees. His world begins to shift when Chae Ro-woon joins the company with a hidden agenda related to her sister's past.​ One of the things that really stood out for me personally was the aspects of the series when it explores the struggles of social anxiety through Hwan-ki's character while also having the ability to blend lighthearted moments with the profound challenges of social anxiety that Hwan-ki faces. His journey from a reclusive leader to someone who starts to open up is portrayed with sensitivity and depth, which resonates with the viewer. The show doesn't shy away from depicting the challenges faced by individuals with social anxiety, making Hwan-ki's growth feel authentic and relatable. This also made me feel so much more empathy for some of the characters in the show while on the other hand making me annoyed at the characters who tried to stop the growth from happening. The show is warmhearted and a good watch for if you want to watch an office romance where the characters feel like one big family. Namely, the Silent Monster team, as it evolves from a group of quirky colleagues into a warm, supportive family that plays a pivotal role in the emotional heart of the series. Generally, I think the writers managed to portray the themes in a great way.

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Congratulations to TBT for breaking C-drama stereotypes!

From where do I even start?! First of all, GUYZ, domineering CEOs do NOT always win, male leads do NOT always need to be on their knees to express their love towards female leads & female leads CAN take the bold first steps, whether it's kissing, proposing or gifting a ring!! Thanks to "The Best Thing", for making these things clear like pure water!! Surprisingly, this drama talks about many real-life situations 100% realistically & solves them beautifully as well. I also loved the pieces of information about traditional Chinese medicine. I'm now interested in TCM, tbh! Also, not all the time, people need to sacrifice something big like their long-cherished dreams to get their better half- thank you for reminding this to us, dear plotmakers. We tend to forget that happiness DOES exist without any big sacrifice, thanks to the over-unrealistic BlingBling dramas we watch all the time! However, this drama is a solid 10 on 10, wait, 100 on 10! And, it's recommended to anyone who wants to feel good & watch a realistic romance series! Carry on with loving yourself, guyz!

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“The Eighth Sense” — A Love That Drowns You, Then Teaches You to Swim

𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗯𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁
I thought I was signing up for a gentle, slow-burn romance between two university students. What I didn’t expect was a raw, soul-shaking dive into grief, mental health, unspoken pain, and a love that doesn’t always come wrapped in clarity—but in courage.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐜𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐦
The sea was never just scenery—it was the story. In it, Jaewon and Jihyun found comfort, thrill, and ultimately, tragedy. The same waves that brought them closer also tried to pull one of them away. The ocean, like their emotions, was deep, untamed, and mercilessly honest. And when Jihyun almost drowned, so did my heart.

𝐉𝐚𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐧: 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭, 𝐘𝐞𝐭 𝐃𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠
Jaewon was not your usual BL lead. He was messy, broken, unsure. His silence screamed. His guilt was so heavy, I felt it through the screen. But instead of romanticizing his trauma, the show let him sit with it. And through therapy, breakdowns, and grief, we saw him trying—slowly, painfully—to live again.

𝐉𝐢𝐡𝐲𝐮𝐧: 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐔𝐧𝐚𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐝
From countryside boy to resilient survivor, Jihyun’s journey was quieter, but just as powerful. He didn’t just fall in love; he chose to love—even when it hurt. His tenderness, his courage to return to the person who almost lost him, was the kind of strength we rarely get to see portrayed in male leads.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐔𝐧𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬
What struck me most wasn’t the kisses, the gazes, or the tension-filled moments (though YES to all of that). It was the silences. The fear of saying too much. The pain of saying nothing at all. “The Eighth Sense” made space for the unspoken, the awkward, the unresolved. It was beautifully, brutally human.

𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐓𝐢𝐞 𝐈𝐭𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐍𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐥𝐲
There’s no “happily ever after” here—just two people, scarred but still choosing each other. The show doesn’t lie to you: trauma doesn’t vanish, and love doesn’t fix everything. But it can hold your hand through the darkness. And sometimes, that’s enough.

𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀
The Eighth Sense didn’t ask to be perfect. It asked to be honest. It took its time showing us that grief and healing can coexist. That pain can sit next to love. And that sometimes, the bravest thing isn’t running toward the light—it’s staying when you want to disappear.

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵. 𝘐𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯, 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳—𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦.

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Monster's Ball

Demon Hunter's Romance or Wuyou Crossing(无忧渡) is a thrilling and chilling monster's ball where demons and humans collide, love defies fate, and morality blurs like ink in water. With its exquisite aesthetics, meticulous world-building, and haunting narrative, this drama revives the eerie charm of classical supernatural tales, blending Buddhist/Taoist philosophy with visceral emotion.

Since she was a child, Banxia had yin-yang eyes that gave her a weird ability to see yāo (妖)—demons hiding among humans. Her family dismisses these "delusions" and medicate her. When she confronts and enrages a demon who seduced her cousin, she is rescued by Xuanye, a demon hunter. After this encounter, she begins to accept that demons really exist. When her father disappears, she is convinced he is kidnapped by a demon and travels to Guangping City to enlist Xuanye's assistance in retrieving him. Together, they investigate six strange cases that explore complex entanglements between humans and demons. The cases dive into how humans and demons experience love, greed, anger, ignorance, emptiness, and transformation. The drama's core message is that both humans and demons can be monsters and they often feed upon each other's best and worst instincts. As for whether humans and demons can co-exist, viewers must decide for themselves.

The cases are engaging, thought provoking and leave a lingering impact as they escalate brilliantly into a devastating and poignant finale. The narrative respects the audience's intelligence and is replete with enough clues and foreshadowing that the how-did-it at the end of each case is succinct as the mysteries largely reveal themselves. The first three cases are spooky in a Chinese horror kind of way, which is subtly hair raising rather than jump scares. The mirror demon case was the scariest and it ruined pears for me. I also enjoyed the creepy Reunion Inn aka Hotel California unit but the best case for me was the City of Illusions. It had the most cohesive sub-plot with multiple clues in plain sight and the humor and ironic role reversals were a welcome shift from the earlier spooky toned arcs. The narrative focus turns to the reveal of Xuanye's back story in the final two cases, which tie everything together into the final reveal and plot climax.

I picked this up mainly for the strange stories and was surprised by how much I enjoyed the romance. Ren Jialun and Song Zu'er look very cute and like they belong together. While the sparks didn't fly right away, the slow build in the romance better establishes a deep and abiding bond between Banxia and Xuanye. Song Zu’er shines brightest as the fierce He Quelian, overshadowing her initial portrayal of the timid Banxia. As for Ren Jialun, this is his career best to date. Though his early line readings falter, he improves markedly in the latter half with a moving delivery of the emotional moments. The cast delivered strong performances all around, with the demons outshining their human counterparts, as they should.

This drama is adapted from "Ban Xia" (半夏) by Ban Ming Ban Mei (半明半寐), which is a popular, unfinished supernatural romance. While the visual storytelling is captivating and immersive, the dialogue often drowns in verbose monologues. The biggest monsters in this story are human and they tend get off too lightly. Meanwhile good souls sacrifice and suffer unjust outcomes. While the intent may be to highlight the randomness of fate, the lack cosmic justice leaves a dissatisfying aftertaste.

There are many good villains in this drama but the final mastermind is too obvious early on and is the least interesting one with shallow and pedestrian motives. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the final two arcs as Zikong's (Cao Jun) adds layers of intrigue to Xuanye's origin story. There were moments the magnetic Cao Jun stole the limelight with his good looks and breathtaking fight scenes. The ending is profound and it makes sense in a way that respects the genre. The Changle (常乐) Sword or Sword of Lasting Wellbeing fulfils its legacy but extracts a high price. Something was lost but everything was gained and there remains a sliver of hope.This is a magical and poignant story about a demon who loved a human enough to set them free to be the person they were always meant to be. Flaws and all, Wuyou Crossing is a rare gem that will surely linger like a half-remembered dream. My rating 8.5/10.0.






SPOILER WARNING!







ENDING SPOILER COMMENTS

I know I belong to the minority, but I loved the ending tears and all. The production rightly overruled the screenwriter’s original plan—a hackneyed “half-demon compromise”—would have betrayed the story’s core: a taboo love between a human and a demon that defies fate.

The key to understanding the ending is that the Changle Sword can only be drawn to reverse cause and effect when there is a deviation from fate. Xuanye understood that when the sword beckoned him to use it and the way those fat silent tears rolled down his face is the drama's saddest moment. As it turns out, Banxia was never meant to wander into the Wuyou Realm or to meet Manying or to bring him into the human realm. The end effect of their ill-fated meeting was tragic for everyone from Xuanye's entire family to Chixue, Chu Youhuang, Sima Lingying and Banxia herself. The Changle Sword's intervention set everyone back on their rightful path but erases Xuanye's existence. Banxia should have forgotten Xuanye and gone on to live her best life as the brave and indomitable He Quelian. But the grateful butterfly demon stored Banxia's memories in the conch. And the universe threw them a lifeline by returning the conch to Banxia.

Thankfully the Changle Sword must have also muted the wordy screenwriter as the finale left so much unspoken because it did not need to be said. It trusts the audience to understand what is implied. Banxia and Manying don't belong to each other's world and Xuanye doesn't even exist anymore to anyone besides the two of them. In their new reality, they both have responsibilities and ties that bind in their own world. The Wuyou Realm is a magical and dangerous place for humans; even Shen Tunan dared not venture there without powering up. So I don't think it is realistic to expect Banxia to leave with Manying. The snow was Manying's promise to Banxia that they would grow old together. And by introducing him to all their old friends, Banxia is laying a path for Manying to find his way back into her world. So to me, this ending is a not yet happy ending; there are many challenges ahead but I daresay that it will be.

The only thing I truly hate about the ending is that the bigot Shen Tunan and that utterly selfish and whiny Xingxian get a do-over. That's just not right.



Footnote: Interestingly Li Xian doesn't pop up again in their new reality. Maybe he really is the runaway puppet Qingshan.









X

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Amazing Chemistry, Good Story But Falls Apart

I usually don’t feel this conflicted about a rating, but I do now.

When I began this drama it totally gripped. I started binging it and I was totally engrossed. The story is not standard. I really like that it is an unconventional romance, but definitely still a romance.

The chemistry between the leads is top notch. I’m a sucker for good chemistry and this drama definitely has it.

Also, the characters were interesting, both admirable and flawed. This is one of the messiest love triangles I’ve watched in an Asian drama. Each of the three main characters, contributes to the complicatations of the love triangle and also suffer because of it. I felt compelled to empathize with each of them but also scream at them for not being stronger. I was deeply invested which I enjoy in a drama.

However, the story begins to falter towards the end. In the last third, the pacing is totally out of wacks. Some plot points are dragged out and over complicated, and other points are rushed. Overall, the sense of romance is not fully sustained.

That being said, I did enjoy this drama thoroughly the majority of the time so I’m happy I watched it. The story is unique and gripping and the chemistry between the leads is fantastic.

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Every Breath You Take

RainKissed Fate (2025) is a wonderful Chinese Melodrama which has the sauciness of the Korean Drama ‘Perfect Marriage Revenge’. This drama is about an Heiress (Bu Yan played by Chen Fang Tong), who has a one night stand with a Boxer (He Yu Chen played by Dai Goa Zheng), then she drops off the scene. When Bu Yan turns up pregnant with twins her family disowns her and kicks her out of the house. She is a strong woman and in spite of these issues, she builds a highly successful business. However, one of the twins gets leukemia, which sends her searching for the father for help.

RainKissed Fate has the VIKI translation team named “How to Reclaim a Daddy”. The drama is a very sultry and a tantalizing romance drama of the ‘Heiress and the Boxer’. There is so much frisky physical contact between these two actors, you will stay up all night long to finish. RainKissed Fate is like the sensual Korean Drama ‘Nevertheless’, but still in a PG 13 kind of way. It is lots of fun with lots of visuals and heart throbbing action. There are 30 episodes, but each episode is less than 15 minutes per episode for this Chinese Drama Short. The Chinese are leaning towards Shorts this year. You can binge Rainkissed Fate in no time. This is the type of drama which will get you hooked to Chinese Dramas. You will look back and say, “This was my first one”.

Shorts are a new wave for Chinese dramas. Shorts have a short episode count and/or shortened time periods per episodes of under 20 minutes each. Grab popcorn and an air conditioner (required). You will need both.

Applying medicine is a love ritual.

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