KISEKI: DEAR TO ME (2023)

Esperava mais drama

O começo foi MARAVILHOSO, depois do timeskip achei bom, mas deu uma caída.
O casal secundário eu amo demais e ainda bem que eles foram desenvolvidos bem feitos, ainda bem que nenhum deles morreu, menos mal (trauma de HIStory 3).
O plot de amnesia foi esquecido (ainda bem), a reviravolta da irmã esperava mais, mas pra um drama de 13 episódios foi satisfatório.
Casal principal perfeito, química ótima entre personagens e dos atores, amo demais, romance foi sendo construído ao longo do tempo, não foi um romance que brotou do nada, foi regado e cultivado.

Leia Mais

Taiwan nunca deixa a desejar

Bem, como a série é taiwanesa, eu já esperava um espetáculo, e não me decepcionei.
Confesso que quando assisti a primeira vez algumas coisas me deixaram confusa, mas quando revi ficou tudo muito claro, e a série entrou para o hall das minhas favoritas.

HISTÓRIA: Sobre o roteiro, minha única crítica é a respeito de flash backs que surgiam do A ost dessa série nada para explicar uma situação do presente e acabavam deixando mais confusa, pois nem sempre ficava claro que era uma lembrança. Fora isso, a questão da máfia foi bem colocada, teve drama na medida certa, sem exageros. Todas as situações envolvendo o casal principal e as histórias paralelas são devidamente explicadas. Falando em histórias paralelas, existem várias acontecendo, mas todas são ligadas ao casal principal, e todas se desenvolvem muito bem sem ofuscar os protagonistas. O elemento surpresa esteve presente; tenho certeza que quase ninguém desconfiou que a irmã era uma bandida. Os casais tinham uma química de arrepiar, não existem contradições no enredo, tudo está colocado no lugar certo, e o amor dos casais foi construído passo a passo, não é uma história boba de amor à primeira vista. O elenco de uma forma geral tem muita química e combinam com seus personagens.
Achei uma jogada de mestre pegar vários casais de séries de muito sucesso e inserirem na trama, isso deu um up grade, já que eles tem um fandon fiel. As questões familiares também ocorreram dentro da normalidade, roteiro e direção excelentes, e o fingimento da amnésia foi uma ótima solução para satisfazer todos os lados e garantir o final feliz.

A ost é super coerente com a trama, realmente eu amei. Os detalhes técnicos estão todos dentro do padrão de qualidade de Taiwan. Com certeza pretendo rever e indicar essa obra tão linda, que já tem seu lugar no meu coração.

Leia Mais

é uma obra dramática

A minha primeira preocupação com a série foi o age gap que acontecia entre os personagens. Eu não acompanhei a série quando estava saindo então não pude acompanhar como foi a reação das pessoas nesse quesito. a minha maior birra com age gap é quando se trata de uma relação problemática, não necessariamente uma relação abusiva mas problemática mesmo (envolvendo questões de dependência, uma clara hierarquia etc) não é o caso aqui (enquanto a relação ainda envolve um menor de idade) mas ainda fica esse fator no ar.

Sobre a história, eu realmente acho que é uma boa história, com um bom enredo e bons personagens. Quando se trata de BL se tem uma variação muito grande de conteúdo mas ainda é possível perceber um certo padrão de obras e acho que essa foge um pouco desse padrão. O que me incomodou foi o fator de muita informação e pouco tempo de solução, algumas coisas me pareceram apressadas demais e alguns momentos que eram para serem tensos não tiveram tempo suficiente para se criar essa atmosfera.

Leia Mais

Is there A REASON not TO WATCH IT????

First of all, talking about the story of this drama, it is nothing special, you might have already come across this kind of story trope - but what makes it so special is - we all know it is Lin Pei Yu's novel based drama. Her writings may not be unique(my opinion....no offense LOL) but the way she portrays the story makes it more interesting and gives you a feeling that this is the first time that you have come across something like this. Aslo, the character development.......oh! tell me about it......I can talk about it the whole day hahahaha. Each and every character is given its own importance. She defines every character to be so adorable.

So yeah, If you like Lin Pei Yu's previous works(We Best Love 1 & 2, My Tooth Your Love, Few of HIStory series) then have no second thoughts, watch it you will definitely love it!!!

Now, coming to the acting. I feel that the actors have done a good job but I felt like they can do even better. According to me, the actor who portrayed Ai Di's character slayed it!!! He stood out the most because his character is the most mature character I have come across even though he was just 18. OMG!! he understands when to make a move and when to not....so mature.

Also, at one point of time I thought the story is not progressing at all but at another point of time I felt that the story is just going fast paced. Yeah! The stability and the balance in the flow of the episodes is not well maintained(acc to me). If you are binge watching it you might not feel this way tho. But I have no complaints nevertheless.

I felt that the leads(main leads and the second leads) have great chemistry and the team tried their best to portray it. But my only concern is that the chemistry could have much more better. Still a big kudos to the team and actors for giving us this enjoyable show.

You can just understand the gist of the story if you watch the trailer. Maybe not the entire story but you can know the genre and the elements like what you can expect from this drama. Even if you think few elements are not your type like the Memory Loss stuff or the Time Skip stuff, I still suggest you watch this drama because this drama is more that what you think it is...So Give it a shot!!

PS - Have no Second Thoughts. It is worth your time. Go WATCH It!!!!

Leia Mais

I loved the second couple

Overall: I absolutely adored Ai Di and ended up enjoying their dynamic/story more. Aired 13 episodes about 25 minutes each on iQIYI, GagaOOLala (not in Taiwan, Japan, Korea, or SEA), Viki & WeTV. Later aired on YouTube https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLk2gvyPpHLRfpyBmdMhePR2ntRNk3GqGs&si=hjJj5M5ZwqmJN7Rm Watch the post credit scene in episode 13.

Content Warnings: murder, attempted murder, blood, violence, past parental abuse, trauma, non con kiss, dub con sex*, blackmail, manhandling, held against will, 17 year old/22-25? year old** (also teacher/student), stalking, manipulation

What I Liked
- more unique premise
- clear timeline (first scene starts in the present then the rest is 4 years before)
- sweet/caring moments
- styling, especially Ai Di
- secondary couple's dynamic
- cameos of HIStory actors, Be Loved In House actors and Plus & Minus actors
- Bai Zong Yi's family, and liked how they knew about most things regarding his decision/actions
- intimacy/nsfw

Room For Improvement
- overall it felt rushed, this covered a long time span but didn't feel that long, they could have removed some parts like the cliche wannabe girlfriend and spent that time explaining things more/showing time passing
- the ending felt especially rushed with cliche plot points tossed in and one plot point left open ended
- comedy sound effects in the beginning didn't fit with the very serious scenes/tone
- villain should have been smoking a cigarette not sucking on a lollipop (it's explained in episode 9 which was too late for me)
- evil wannabe girlfriend cliche
- I got pretty lost with the the gang plot stuff but I also fast forwarded a bit
- not a fan of manipulation/stupid "plan" between romantic partners
- *with the main couple, one was super drunk/on sleeping pills but it was the fictional scenario where he was an active participant and then seemed sober
- **I really wanted them to have aged up Bai Zong Yi but it actually was important to the plot that he was 17 and I do think 17 year olds can be mature enough to enter into relationships with those over the age of 18 so in this instance it didn't bother me and I didn't take off points, though they could have removed the teacher/student element

Leia Mais

gimme gimme more gimme gimme more

You should probably most definitely watch it. There’s something about this drama that just has me dangling on a hook. The chemistry between both couples give me life. Granted I’m a little skeptical about the age difference with one of the main couples with one of the main leads still in highschool presumptuously but the other male leads character doesn’t seem that old so but ANYWAYS I GOT OFF TRACK. As an avid BL watcher of all countries Taiwan has some of my favorites as in this one we get so many cameos of iconic bl duos so that also has me thrilled!
So I actually take back my starting sentence with probably most definitely watch and instead replace it with you absolutely most definitely should watch.

Leia Mais

Where there is love, there are miracles

The plot was interesting. It might not have been something completely new, but it had some interesting plot twists that I did not expect. The first 8-9 episodes are happening in the past, before we jump into the present for the remaining few episodes. I like the fact that the distinction between past and present is very clear. There is also a very clear reason why the jump happens, and it’s not just there.

The story did seem rushed at times. There were a lot of unrealistic scenes. I know a lot of it was done to add dramatics to the plot, but it just made me cringe. Like one of the first scenes is Fan Ze Rui blackmailing Bai Zong Yi to take care of him otherwise he will frame him for murder. No respecting court will convict someone by only what Fan Ze Rui had on Bai Zong Yi. Not to mention he could have easily gone to the police and told them about the crazy man who is blackmailing him.

The OST was nice and catchy. I think the cinematography was okay, but I was bothered by how bright some scenes were. They almost blurred details and edges of the faces with the brightness. Some cuts between the scenes were not the best either.

Fan Ze Rui & Bai Zong Yi: the two of them are an interesting pairing. Bai Zong Yi is very hardworking, a good student and brother, he is someone you can rely on. And Fan Ze Rui appears to be quite similar to him in those aspects as well. The two of them do come from very different backgrounds, but that doesn’t seem to cause any problems between the two. If anything, it almost seems like Fan Ze Rui is used to taking care of himself on his own. They truly loved each other. Bai Zong Yi lost a lot in order to be able to have a relationship with Fan Ze Rui. He lost it not even being certain that the relationship would ever be possible. And Fan Ze Rui got off too easy. After everything that has happened and knowing that he kept a certain lie up for who knows how long doesn’t sit right with me. Yes, Bai Zong Yi made the decision to sacrifice so much for Fan Ze Rui because he loved him. But I also think there was more Fan Ze Rui could have done once things improved. There should have been more begging once we get to the present. The actors had great chemistry and were very expressive with their eyes. And I really liked that.

To address the elephant in the room, Fan Ze Rui is five(?) years older that Bai Zong Yi. When the two first get involved with each other, the latter is 17 years old, still underaged. I am usually not a fan of such age gaps as such relationships are not something we should promote in real life. There is also often no reason why the younger person couldn’t be a few years older. However, there was a very good reason as to why Bai Zong Yi had to be underaged. It played a big role in the plot and in how things turned out. I still think there are certain thigs that should have been avoided, like Fan Ze Rui working as Bai Zong Yi’s teacher for some time. And I also didn’t like the few non-consensual scenes between the two. I liked even less the way those were handled. So it’s not the age gap that is bothering me, but how they went about it.

Chen Yi & Ai Di: Ai Di is a cutie with deadly intentions. He might be my favorite character. Whenever he was in the scene, all the attention was on him. And the blond looks so good on him. He is fierce, loyal and reliable, but also slightly guarded. He has loved Chen Yi for years. He has been hurt many times, pushed to the side by the man that was his everything. Chen Yi is someone who seems to be set in his ways and unwilling to change unless he really gets shaken up. At least that’s how I saw his obsession with being in love with the boss and seeing Ai Di only as a friend, even when he was acting like a jealous and possessive boyfriend. It wasn’t until certain things happened that he opened his eyes to what was right in front of him. The two actors had amazing chemistry. I also really liked their height difference. It made them look cuter together, especially with Ai Di being such a little spitfire and Chen Yi just putting up with it.

I liked some other side characters, but I don’t think we really got to see that much of them. Chen Yi’s helper was fun, I liked how he was trying to teach his boss how to win over his crush. Bai Zong Yi’s father and sister were nice too, I liked that they supported him no matter what.

I didn’t really like how cartoonish the villain was. If he’s some sort of gang leader, at least make him slightly scary and not kindergartener safe. The lollipops were just too ridiculous for me to take the man seriously.

Leia Mais

Captivating...An Emotional Journey

Based on the novel "Miracle" by the legendary Lin Pei Yu, this series is about a gangster and a high school student fighting for their impossible love.

What I liked about their relationship was that their obstacles were external. Once they admitted they liked each other, Bai Zong Yi and Fan Ze Rui were totally committed. They were unshakeable in their devotion, but they have to overcome threats from the outside.

The second CP have their own gut-wrenching plot line. Ai Di and Chen Yi were both raised by the mafia, and Ai Di has suffered from unrequited love for his friend. Watching Ai Di come into the realization that his love may not be as unrequited as he thought was a joy to witness. He deserves all the love!

The Big Boss of the gang has has his own romantic spark with another man but their backstory is not fully fleshed out in the show. I heard Lin Pei Yu suggest in an interview that the 3rd book in this trilogy is their story. I'd love to see their story on screen. Since Pei Yu is both a screenwriter and producer of this series, I'm hoping we can see this team film all three books in the trilogy.

Finally, I wanted to comment on the ages of the main cp. I've read the book. Bai Zong Yi is 17 and Fan Ze Rui is 22. Spoiler ahead: The fact Zong Yi is a minor is important to the story, because it means he gets a lighter sentence for the crime (which he doesn't actually commit). This point about his age is reiterated by the big boss in the series.

None of the characters have a problem with their age gap (because it isn't illegal in Taiwan) but I understand that many viewers may be uncomfortable with it. If this is you, I recommend not watching any further. It's a disservice to the series to dismiss it with a low rating just because of their ages.

Series Highlights: The acting and chemistry between the cast. The endless parade of cameos from BL actors. The OST. Ai Di's wardrobe. The rewatch value...I've already rewatched several times!

Tip: Make sure to watch the special episode called Kiseki+ on Youtube. It basically ep 8.5 and should be watched between eps 8 and 9.

Leia Mais

Far too many toxic elements in the story

Spoiler heavy. This could have been so much better. Cinematography and technical aspects were good. The mismatched friendship had promise at the beginning and could have been a good start but only to a completely different story. Ai Di's story could have been great if he'd been allowed to stay away and rebuild a better life.
Instead we start with someone barely above the legal age limit but very inexperienced in relationships and an older mafia underling (actors' age gap is 10 years and if the novel made the characters' less it wasn't mentioned in the series) who really should know better. He gives some token resistance on age - enough to show he understands that it is wrong - and then dives in. He doesn't even do that on the risks his criminal family will bring to the kid he repeatedly calls Kiddo.
Add in (fake) amnesia, (not fake) short term memory loss (which they keep saying is temporary but show no signs of that), time jump for prison cause the kid was coerced by the mafia to take the blame for a murder he didn't commit, another young man who gets free from the mafia but is carried back in literally kicking and screaming but it's all fantastic because the man who dicked him around for years finally decided to kiss him.
Seriously? All for an absolute kitchen sink mess of a plot which says EVERYTHING will be forgiven for a first love.
The fandom really will ignore any red flag situation or behaviour if there are cute boys kissing.

Leia Mais