Blueming (2022)

Nicely done, just not my genre

I'm giving it a 7 on my review even though on my personal rating for the show I did rate it a little lower out of bias.
I just binged this show after having binged Cherry blossoms after winter and the last episode of both CutiePie and Secret crush on you, so I could have also been a bit worn out from all the shows in one day.

To start off, I totally understand why so many people love this one, it's not really my style so it fell a little flat. But because I can objectively see the appeal I did want to rate it higher in my review. This genuinely isn't a bad show at all, it just simply felt... like I was being shown things I couldn't feel. I had a hard time feeling the chemistry between the leads, especially when it came down to Si won's character and what made him fall for Da woon. There wasn't really a build up, which can be quite tricky with such little footage for a show, so I do commend everyone who worked on this show for trying their best at creating a full fleshed out story. I can see how some are enamored with the cinematography as well. I did like that they used the lectures as a way of hinting on different directing and filming styles in the show. It made me, someone who doesn't know a lot about these things, pay attention to them and feel excited to notice those little details. I also liked how subtle the last episode felt, with presumably from what I experienced seeing Da woon have dream about making up with Si won. The transition was so smooth that I wasn't sure if it was a dream until the next day occurred. It did have some really beautiful points in the show.
All in all if you like the more scenic and serious shows this will definitely be a nice watch.
I wouldn't call it fluffy or cute. More so like a slice of life type of feel.

I did really appreciate how real they tried to make the kissing scenes. Instead of barely touching lips, it felt genuine.
The sub plot of Si won's past that came full circle in the end was nicely done as well.
I think I just expected something a little different from the given Synopsis on this site. It was hard to tell that Da woon was suppose to give off the vibe that he had everything. And the rivalry felt from Si won's side didn't feel as apparent as I thought it would from the beginning. It's one of those shows where I understand why things evolved the way they did, but I just simply didn't feel part of that journey.

I still recommend it as it is relatively short and there were some really nicely done and beautiful moments that could easily inspire someone, especially those in the creative fields such as myself!

Leia Mais

WOW.

If you enjoyed how emotionally real I Told Sunset About You/I Promised You The Moon was, then you'll thoroughly enjoy this story too.

I will warn everyone, though: if you are sensitive to body image issues, then please be careful with this story. I was cringing a bit at times, but not because the story was bad or anything. But because of how real the situation with Si-won felt.

See these two characters, well, *bloom* into themselves after years of hiding who they are was very sweet. Even with the mother herself. All 3 characters are victims, and I feel like they did a great job at portraying that. Sure, I wanted to strangle the mom at times, but I also felt for her too.

I'm not familiar with the actors, but I felt all of them did a great job! Especially Da-won's actor. He did a great job at portraying this massive wall his character puts up and hides behind.

The part that actually had me in tears was when Si-won and his mom hug and cry, but then he hear Si-won say that his mom never apologized to him. That hit real deep for me. But more so when Da-won showed up and apologized again and again, and so did Si-won. Growing up hearing no apologies but then being able to unlearn that behavior and try to build healthy communication skills which includes saying "I'm sorry" is so much more difficult than a lot of people may think. And I felt that both scenes portrayed that beautifully.

Visually, this is a *gorgeous* BL. The color grading and cinematography were great. I found myself at times pausing to study the angles and use of colors. Amazing.

One complaint I do have is that while I enjoyed the other subplots, I felt like at times they were a little distracting? The whole thing with Si-won little sister trying to get with his female friend could've been better is A) it wasn't a high school kid trying to get with an adult, but also B) if maybe they had their own little special episode(s). And we get to see how the sister has been affected by everything. Just bump it to a year or so later, and I'd watch it.

All-in-all, a great watch! Very emotional, and yes, you may cry.

Leia Mais

BEST KOREAN BL TO THIS DATE!

This is my first review because I felt like I had to give justice to how amazing this BL was. If you are thinking about whether you should watch it, don't hesitate, WATCH IT! The story is beautiful, the plot is refreshing and the acting is top tier.

The main character Si Won has such a great depth to him as you find yourself relating to his feelings of insecurity and acting to please others. The relationship between Si Won and Da Un unfolded at a smooth pace and their chemistry was off the charts (the intimate scenes *chef's kiss*). The cinematography was absolutely stunning and the music was the icing on the cake in every scene. It has definitely taken it's spot at the top of my list of korean bls (yes on top of semantic error).

There is no more to be said. WATCH IT!

Leia Mais

College Slice Of Life About Insecurities & Opening Up To Others.

Recommendation Value 9.5, Acting 10 (everyone was good, especially the leads), Angst Level 8 (resolved), chemistry 9 (Actors were comfortable with each other. Some skinship, a few amazing/emotional kisses, and a brief but lovely lead up to a love scene shot in silhouette), Cinematography/Lighting 9, Music/Audio 5, Rewatchability 5 (for personal reasons), No suspension of disbelief needed, character emotions & psychology made sense.

Another reviewer said it well: an "empathetic and observant slice of life story." How insecurities accumulated growing up can impact the psyche and in different ways for different people. Beautiful emotionally and acted very well but it resonates a little too much with my history so I don’t see rewatching this often. That's why I'm ranking it a little lower in my personal list even though I would easily, and highly, recommend it.

The interactions between characters is the focus more than the plot is. The dialogue is written well and has a realistic flow to it. Pretty cinematography and lighting. Music was okay; not memorable but nothing distracting.

GENERAL SPOILERS
The last scene between the main character and his mom is especially powerful. Also loved his interactions with his sister throughout; very realistic. Made me cry a bit in happy relief the last episode. Feel good ending though I wanted it to last longer and show more of their lives.

Leia Mais

Entertaining K-BL

I'll keep this pretty precise because I watched this a while ago and forgot to review it, but my mind is clogged with other stuff now, so I don't remember concrete details about Blueming, but I'll give it a try. For one, I think the cinematography was different from what I'm used to with Korea. It was beautiful and felt very indie/short film-like, And I really appreciated that. The BL part of this wasn't my favorite aspect. I think it was a little rushed in certain parts, and for some reason, I wasn't really feeling the chemistry between the two. However, I think the beach scene where they kiss and Siwon is teaching Daun how to kiss slowly was very sensual and perfectly shot. the use of silhouettes for their heat scene was something I'd never seen before, but I loved it. It created a very different type of sensuality that I will appreciate (more silhouette heat scenes!). I think the part of Blueming I like best was Daun's situation with wanting to be perfect and looking perfect. He had issues with his self-esteem and body, with his mom being the enabler and the main reason why. It opened an entire door to a situation that is rarely talked about, especially in Korea and especially with men. I've never felt so overwhelmed in a scene before but watching his mom yell at him and they both just break down together -- whew.

Ratings:

Story: 7.5 - Wasn't a huge fan of the BL aspect of it all (besides a few parts), but the characterization and development of the main lead was perfect. I also liked the story of his sister and her very subtle yet large crush on Jeong (Daun's friend).

Acting: 9 - Great acting, especially from the main lead. He really could pull off each emotion he had to portray. The side characters were nice as well. Overall, I think the acting was this series' strong suit.

Music: 5 - Didn't really pay attention to it but it wasn't distracting so it was fine.

Rewatch value: 3 - Probably not.

I think this series works in many ways, but I don't think the BL part of it was one of them. It wasn't endearing enough, I didn't really yearn for them to be together, and wouldn't have cared if they broke up cause I felt nothing towards them. I semi-recommend this one, especially if you want to watch something cinematically pretty, or to watch an important topic be told, but for the BL part of it all -- I could probably recommend something better.

Leia Mais

Pretty mid tbh

I finished it yesterday at 2AM, after watching it all in one sitting. And, honestly? I can't remember 70% of what happened.
I do think that they had some cute moments - they have chemistry (nothing out of this world, but there's something there), and their scenes together were entertaining to watch.
I think maybe I was just bothered by the age difference between the actors? It's a pet peeve of mine, especially when one looks young-ish and you can tell that the other is in his thirties. Which is weird, because they're only 5 years apart - either Da Un's actor looks older than his age or Si Won's looks way younger. I honestly couldn't tell you. To me, it looked like a grown man hanging out with a college freshman.
I did like the first couple of episodes, they were funny and okay - but after that I just stopped taking notes.
Also, I didn't really get the hatred that Si Won felt towards Da Un?? Like yeah, I get it, you're poor and he's rich, but he hasn't done anything to appear as unlikable or snobby?? Da Un was always quite polite, even though I was expecting an incredibly smug rich asshole after reading the synopsis. He did annoy me when he asked his mom to choose Si Won's project when it wasn't even that good - I get that he was trying to help, but in what world did he think that was going to go over well?

And finally, I wish they had explored more with the theme of physical appearance, pretending to be someone you're not, being overly worried about how you look or how others perceive you, pretty privilege and the halo effect, etc. I thought that's what the entire series was going to focus on (and it kinda did, but not as much as I was expecting). I would've liked seeing Si Won relax and gradually stop putting on a facade, or seeing a different side to Da Un which wasn't as perfect as he was presented at first.

Leia Mais

The rating is currently, while I write this review, around 8.4. I'm a bit suprised.
Let me start with saying this series was pretty charming. There also were nice intimate/kissing scenes. They were able to create a certain atmosphere and feeling that was very enjoyable. Despite that, the plot was messy. This was mostly about the main characters insecurity and rather a coming-of-age-series than a BL. That wouldn't be a problem at all, but unfortunately they somehow forgot to develop the personality of the second lead. He was extremely bland. Also the side characters were boring and not interesting at all. The plot in general was very confusing. I couldn't really figure out what they were studying or doing. They worked on a film project together, but ... I don't know. It was just not presented in an engaging way. I felt lost most of the time. Still the feelings between the leads were well presented and enjoyable to watch. Despite the actors being rather weak. The main guy had the same face most of the time. The second lead was even worse. But ... yeah. I don't know why everyone seems crazy about this. It lacked a good plot, good characters, good acting and good film-making.

Leia Mais

A WELL MADE BL SERIES

The manhwa is one of my favorites, aside from comedy and romance, there's a lot of things I learned in the story and it's kinda relatable too, so I was really excited about the live adaptation.

There are a lot of scenes from the manhwa that I wish it was adapted, and there are a lot of differences, however the drama is really well made, it was good and I really enjoyed it, also a highly recommended series for everyone.

The plot might not be that original, but it talks about real life situations, and I think most of us can relate to the characters. What I liked about the plot is when they put a right amount of comedy, drama and romance, however I admitted that there are some scenes that can be improved, especially towards the end and Daun's character.

In comes of the cast, at first I was hesitant especially to Daun's actor because when I heard his voice it was deep, when I read the manhwa I imagined him to be a puppy or somehwat soft, but when I started to watch it, I was wrong and he is really perfecf for the role especially his smile. I don't know them but I was shocked about their acting, not that they are the best but they actually pretty good compared to other actors in web dramas like this, their expressions are the best thing I noticed from them, the narration is a bit off but overall they are really good, even the supporting casts are good.

The way they shot the scenes are the best among korean bl series I've watched, there are some aesthetic scenes and it really helps to feel the vibe or atmosphere of those scenes. The music is nice too, especially the song in the last scene, it was actually good and perfect for the scene.

Overall, the drama is great, I could say that it gives a justice to the original story, highly recommendent, and I kinda wish it was longer.

Leia Mais

slow-paced, thoughtful, and sweet

Honestly, I have a hard time watching Korean BLs all the way. Almost all of them (especially recently) are poorly produced, clumsily edited, overly cheesy, and rushed with questionable storylines and extremely stilted acting. So I was pleasantly impressed when I began watching Blueming. It's not surprising to me that the same director helmed Where Your Eyes Linger, To My Star, and Blueming (they are, at least in my opinion, the best of the wave of Korean BLs these past two or three years), but I would still say Blueming is her best work by far. I would even say it's on par with some of my favorite full-length kdramas, something I can't say for practically all of the Korean BLs out there.

The thing I appreciate most about this short series is that it doesn't seem like a BL churned out to take advantage of the growing number of BL fans. It doesn't try to pack in a million tropes or BL character stereotypes. It doesn't engage in an absurd amount of fan service. It actually tries to put in as much depth as it can in such a short time frame. Although the premise (and the major conflict at the end, which was a little merghuughgh) might bring out the skeptic in some of you (especially the mother being so obsessed with how her children look), I don't think it can be written off as completely unrealistic. And out of this premise comes a real message about insecurity in society and the power others' opinions hold in shaping who we are. Cha Si Won and Hyeong Da Un aren't cardboard cutout characters either; they have complex personalities and backgrounds, from Si Won's irrational fear that Da Un threatened his own hard-fought popularity to Da Un's reluctance to talk about himself. And shockingly enough, there's actually character development. I loved Si Won's transformation from an insecure, shallow-seeming person to a more bold character that gives pretty great advice. It's really nice to see BLs maturing, not only in terms of romantic scenes, but really in terms of its themes.

Blueming also takes advantage of its short length to achieve a slice-of-life genre without dragging. It can almost be compared to the likes of Run On and Our Beloved Summer – slow-paced and down-to-earth, but not overly calming or meditative. And I know a lot of people complain that slice-of-life shows like these drag on for too long or aren't interesting, but the eleven short ~15 minute episodes really make it impossible to get bored. Blueming ends up with the best of both worlds – it solves the rushing issue many mini series have by slowing the pace down, a characteristic that works surprisingly well when you don't have much time. With this slice-of-life atmosphere comes really beautiful cinematography and compositions. I am by no means in expert (at all) in this stuff, but I appreciate the thought that went into camera angles and film techniques that give the show a very elegant, composed air.

And I can't believe I waited this long to talk about this, but Cha Si Won and Hyeong Da Un are so adorable together – like the cutest, most wholesome couple ever. Beyond the great cinematography and the complexity and the pacing, I really really have to say that I stuck around because they are so sweet and I almost died uwuing. The actors are by no means Oscar-winning or shockingly great, but they are natural and convey their emotions well and have pretty amazing chemistry with each other. I have to shout out Jo Hyuk Joon (playing Hyeong Da Un) for bringing out a very charismatic personality and subtle nuances in emotion, even when he's technically not the main main character (off topic but his smile deserves an award). He made me forget too many times to count that this was acting and not reality. Si Won and Da Un together are human, genuine, healing, and also flawed. I feel like I could watch hours of them just smiling at each other and not get bored.

But inevitably, I have to complain about the length. I know I said that the slice-of-life genre works for Blueming because it's short, but I honestly still feel like it's a little too short. I mentioned earlier that I loved Si Won's transformation, but I was disappointed that we weren't able to see the more gradual process of his development – there just wasn't enough time. Da Un's arc, given that the focus is mainly on Si Won, is also not explored in depth or completed really, and there's a lot to unpack there. Overall, I think one to three hours more of screen time could've deepened the themes more, fleshed out the relationships better, and brought the watchers closer to the characters. I'm not sure if there will be a second part or not (although I think 'not' is more likely), since a few side characters were introduced, but their stories were never really explored or wrapped up.

Whether you are a fan of BLs or not, I think this mini series offers something for any kind of watcher (in the contemporary fan realm – unfortunately there is no fantasy/horror/psychological thriller/historical stuff in this one, sorry). I hope Blueming gets more attention (although I know it's getting a good amount) as the new standard for BLs and mini dramas in general.

(Edit: okay so now that I think about it, given that we were gifted with To My Star 2, a sequel to this drama is not out of the question seeing as To My Star wrapped up a lot more fully than Blueming did. But Blueming also has a lot more (unfinished) side character storylines, and it did end with a "we lived happily ever after" line for Si Won and Da Un, so maybe the sequel will focus on the side characters more rather than Si Won and Da Un?)

Leia Mais

Beautiful, emotional, artwork.

More like a piece of art than a BL. The acting.. OST.. and cinematography were ON POINT. Beautiful. Of course it is not just about that, but it definitely made a great impact on me and managed to heavily improve the story.
Apart from this drama being visually stunning.. the story is really great too. A lot of this also kinda felt like a life lesson somehow. There is friendship, there is love, there are struggles, great backstories, and good character development. They managed to make me tear up and I will definitely watch it again. Loved it.
I hope we're getting a 2nd season!

Leia Mais

This is what I'm looking for...

This is what I'm looking for, and what I'm hoping for that they will produce a bl kdrama that has very good storyline and direction. I love it and it was wholesome. I was looking for a bl series/movies that has good direction and storyline, thankfully, I watched this. The cinematography in this drama was excellent and has high potential. In addition, actors did their part very well, I applaud how they expressed their emotions bonus points for Siwon's mother also heheh. I really love the scenes at the beach, what an artsy and aesthetically filmed. They managed the scenes with good bgm also, I like it. I didn't finish yet the webtoon, as far as I remember some scenes were change, but the way they changed it was suitable also. It is good to see where they include family relations in bl kdrama, since it is not common in kbl series. A film/drama that has good direction or well directed can make the story well depicted. Such as for some film that has even light dialogues or slow paced (or even for some not slow and has full/half dialogue like this) where it contains good direction, it makes it poignant and beautiful. Without these aspects, it will be inadequate. I watch several drama and particulary films that has low budget production but made it good because of the direction, where you can observe standard and quality. Recently, korean bl industry produced several webseries but personally and honestly I didn't like most of them and some are messy. It's not just the korea also but Thai. I hope there will be more of this kind of bl drama and productions.

Leia Mais