First Love, Again o amor que ultrapassa a eternidade
Ao encontra esse título e ler sua história achei promissor, pois de todos os BL que assisti nunca havia me deparado com essa temática. Portanto, comecei a história com expectativas altas e posso dizer que estou feliz de ter encontrado esse título, claro a história e a trama em si tem um erro ou outro o que considero normal, o sentimento que se tem ao terminar é de satisfação.Dentro de toda a expectativa que tive o carisma e a atuação do elenco me deixou satisfeito é uma história simples mas que tem o seu charme, que é justamente a simplicidade de uma história doce, os atores mostraram muito talento ao ter um contato físico mais real do que em muitos BL, e a trama têm seus pontos altos e baixos, que poderia ter se resolvido com mais episódios. No entanto, me surpreendi com a duração dos episódios que tem uma média entre 20-28 minutos algo que marca um diferencial nas produções da temática na indústria coreana, definitivamente estamos mais perto de BL com maior duração e investimento e dessa forma, First Love, Again tem sua contribuição.
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Um drama muito bom, porém passageiro.
First Love Again, foi um drama que eu demorei um pouco para começar porquê eu não olhei as informações dele e achava que era super longo, hoje quando peguei para assistir, vi tudo de uma vez só, consegui nem parar para ir no banheiro. É muito viciante, e por ter eps mais curtos você pega muito no embalo. Mas a minha opinião sincera, é de que ele é bom na hora que você assiste, depois você meio que esquece dele. Não passou nem 1h depois que eu terminei e eu já nem lembrava o nome dos personagens. Tentei lembrar aqui o que aconteceu no final do primeiro ep, mas simplesmente não vem na cabeça. Mas eu me lembro de surtar bastante, achar muito fofo, e gostar demais de tudo. Então essa é minha conclusão: na hora que você assiste (e quando termina), ele é incrível, você fica apaixonado, mas depois que o efeito de êxtase passa, você não lembra de mais nada, só que você gostou. Claro que isso aqui é a minha experiência!Sabe, eu até que gostei da história, mass não acho que a plot foi totalmente explorada, acho que faltaram algumas explicações. Porém, eu entendo que é um drama mais curto, então pensando nisso, acho que eles fizeram um bom trabalho em relação ao desenvolvimento. A atuação eu gostei demais, principalmente das cenas mais emocionais, os atores deram tudo de si. E queria fazer um comentário a parte para o Changha, que fazia o Hayeon, como ele pode ser tão fofo??? Sinceramente, um dos seres humanos mais adoráveis que eu já vi em toda a minha vida, não tem como não sorrir olhando pra ele!! E esse foi seu primeiro drama, ansiosa demais para os próximos!!
É bem gostoso de assistir, e como eu disse, bem rápido e viciante. Então recomendo muito, só não vá com o pensamento de que vai ser um bl que você não vai parar de pensar depois. Pensa nele como algo para passar o tempo, talvez até como um drama para te tirar da ressaca.
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Ahh a Coréia e seus doramas fantásticos sem lógica.
Primeiramente, sempre me preocupo ao ver doramas com temática sobrenatural, ainda por cima quando se trata da Coréia, pois os BL's coreanos geralmente são curtose os eps raramente ultrapassam a casa dos 20 minutos, então construir um plot convincente, cativante e que não termine cheio de buracos é realmente difícil.Falando especificamente de "First love again", posso dizer que a história é cativante, isso somado à ótima atuação, uma bela fotografia e uma ost encantadora, formaram um conjunto que deu certo e apesar dos furos, a história foi plausível e teve uma final lindo. A parte fantástica é meio ilógica, 300 anos atrás ele alimentou um gato, que era uma espécie de fada, e seu pedido foi poder reencontrar sua amada e viver seu amor, mas partindo desse princípio, como se deu sua vida, infância e juventude? Ele nasceu com a consciência de que era sua terceira vida, e sabendo o motivo desse fato? Também ficou faltando o desfecho de Mikael, que agora cumpriu sua missão e não tem mais obrigação de ajudar Yeon Seok. Quando Ha Yeon viu a foto, de imediato soube o que estava acontecendo? Essa parte ficou meio que sem lógica, principalmente no ep seguinte, quando Yeon Seok relata para Mikael que Ha Yeon não entendia se ele o amava realmente ou amava quem ele foi em vidas passadas, essa parte foi muito sem lógica. Mas pra que lógica com um casal tão lindo e fofo? Até o empata love, amigo de Ha Yeon no final foi super legal e não teve como não gostar da série com uma história tão leve (apesar dos furos), e do carisma dos atores.
Recomendo muito! É curtinha e vc maratona rapidinho.
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A turning point in the Korean LGBTQI+ film industry? Kinda.
I was not having high expectations for this series, to be honest, but I am glad it could prove its worth to me and hopefully other viewers too. The Korean LGBTQ+ film industry is growing and improving its series in terms of production and duration., which is noticeable when watching this drama. It´s definitely a good decision to watch “First Love, Again”. In the following, I try to justify my recommendation briefly and concisely.PRODUCTION
Nothing extra outstanding nor something they failed in. However, it gets closer to the normal high standard of Korean dramas. One thing I´d like to highlight is that the use of light and shadows in this series was on-point. Compared to other Korean LGBTQI+ series the dialogues and monologues have been better in both quantity and quality. The story feels less rushed than usual, and I am sure we can expect similar dramas to be produced soon.
PLOT
The plot is, I mentioned this in the heading, unique and exciting to watch. I especially enjoyed the soft pacing and the comedy side of a more serious story. Both characters seem to not be written as extraordinary people, but rather normal citizens like you and me. One of them just happened to remember their incomplete love story and is trying his best to make their ends meet so that his consciousness can finally rest in peace. Other than Yeon Seok remembering his past, there is no superpower or characteristic that makes him less ordinary, except for his multilayered personality and his weird humour. Additionally, I also enjoyed the sweet moments Yeon Seok and Jeong Ha Yeon had. So cute. However, towards the end it kinda got boring.
ACTOR
What surprised me the most though is that it´s the first appearance in a drama (on MDL) for both main leads. This get´s even more confusing when you witness their solid performance in terms of facial expressions and natural behaviour. So what can I even say? They did a good job, and I am glad that Jeon Chang Ha and Jin Gun were chosen as the main leads because they matched the characters and thus the entire series is harmonious.
The Supporting Cast also showed a satisfying performance in their roles. I can't think of anything that I would have found disturbing or unfitting. Well done. Especially Song Han Hee showed off in her role as Mikael. I adore the idea and origin of this character, firstly that they are genderfluid/ non-binary and secondly that the series mentioned their identity. Good job!
OVERALL
As I said in the beginning, in terms of innovation and production, this drama is definitely recommended and it is indeed a good decision to watch “First Love, Again”, as it is a turning point in the Korean LGBTQI+ film industry.
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The definition of mediocre
This drama is so mediocre it is impressive!The dialog- mediocre
The chemistry- mediocre
The kisses- mediocre
The acting- mediocre
The scenery- mediocre...
EVERY SINGLE DETAIL SCREAMS MEDIOCRE
With one exception Song Han Hee who played Yoo Sin Bi / Mikael was actually pretty good and impressed me in her role, she reminded me a bit of IU....
But I guess that is the exception that reinforces the rule... But there really is nothing bad about this drama but nothing good either.... it just is...
So all on all... Mediocre... did I mention it is mediocre?
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Enjoyable although improvements could have been made to the plot
Because I enjoy this series quite a bit, my initial reaction to some comments I have seen was: “Why are people so harsh on it?” Yet, admittedly, it has a number of flaws.The story spans three lifetimes, and the focus is on the third lifetime set in the contemporary era, but the flashbacks to the first two lifetimes seem somewhat inadequate. How did the two lovers fall in love in the first lifetime and, really, how deeply in love were they? I would be more convinced that Yeon Seok feels gratitude towards Ha Yeon in the first lifetime as she is kind to him and gives him a name. But romantic love? In the second lifetime, the two seem in love, but the story is a little thin.
I’m guessing that one reason for the lack of attention to the first two lifetimes is that there simply isn’t the space or budget for additional development given that this is a miniseries of only six episodes. Another reason could be that this is a series targeted at BL fans and paying too much attention to the first two lifetimes when one of the lovers was male and the other female might well backfire.
Still, one wonders if the story needs to be the way it is. [Spoilers ahead.]
For the third lifetime, is it necessary for Ha Yeon to look different now that he is a man BUT have a sister who looks exactly like his first two incarnations? What purpose does it serve? Also, the central obstacle to the relationship in the third lifetime is Ha Yeon’s uncertainty about whether Yeon Seok is really in love with him or in love with his previous incarnations. The complication of having a rival in love for Yeon Seok can simply be left out. In its place could be more space to explore the transition of Yeon Seok’s feelings so that the viewer is certain that he loves Ha Yeon for who he is in the third lifetime–even before Ha Yeon realizes that Yeon Seok has been in love with the same person for three lifetimes. There could also have been more attention on how Ha Yeon falls in love with Yeon Seok in the third lifetime, such as through scenes of the effect of Yeon Seok's books on him, etc. If the development of the affections of the couple had been done well, I would have felt more for the couple when Ha Yeon has a misunderstanding that Yeon Seok does not love him.
Despite the flaws, I did find watching the series quite enjoyable.There is some unevenness in the pacing, but it is still fairly acceptable given how short each episode is. The story is quite economically told, and while there may be constraints in budget, it doesn’t feel that much like a low-budget production. I might add that at least I feel involved enough to want to see the main characters end up together, unlike in some recent BLs I have watched (e.g. Gen Y 2, by which I would be more entertained in the couples are randomly paired up).
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fated mates, bodyswap (sort of)
(Korea, Feb-March Viki)AKA First Love For The Third Time based on a BL script that won a competition from Ascendio studio (You Make Me Dance). It starred influencer Jeon Chang Ha and actor Jin Gun. About a popular novelist who remembers his past lives and meets his soulmate who has been reincarnated into the body of a man.
I enjoyed this show in part because it tackled one of the questions I’ve always head with the red thread trope: what if your soulmate reincarnates as a different gender than before? What if he’s out and gay and you’re not? Watching our hero deal with this was fun. A whole new kind of queer crisis.
However, this BL started out a touch mean spirited, but we eventually got a good kiss for a KBL. Then they went from like to love to boyfriends in a red hot minute. When they’re domestic these two are cute together with lots of communication (except the truth). I suppose in BL it takes a man who has lived 3 lifetimes to actually understand that conversation is what’s required to make a relationship work. The informal address discussion was adorable.
The confession/rejection scene was justified if one person remembers reincarnation and the other does not, but it was a bit much with lots of crying and a charming little self parody/mockery moment. The reconciliation and ending was... fine.
All in all the pacing felt rushed throughout this BL, and the romantic arc was underdeveloped. But that’s par for the course with Korea’s short form (they can’t all be Semantic Error), so it didn’t bother me too much. If you don’t mind a heavy does of melodrama in your BL this one has a solid story with a strong concept that’s well acted and produced, making it a classic KBL with better than average chemistry but ultimately a touch forgettable.
RECOMMENDED WITH A FEW RESERVATIONS
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Dissapointing
What a disappointment!Summary: It's a shame because this show had such a cool premise. A 300 years old soul chasing his soulmate through three lifetimes, is finally in a position to finally be with his beloved but then is shocked to find out that the woman he loves has reincarnated in the body of a man. Drama ensues. (How cool is this idea?!)
Plot: The show takes this really interesting concept and does NOTHING with it! It wastes the entire potential. There's no development of the romance, the conflict is never developed or solved, it's just...gone. There's a freaking meaningless love triangle that does nothing. It's just so sloppy. There's not much more to say.
Acting: It was almost okay but Jeon Chang Ha is just bad at acting. Jin Gun almost survives but not really? They're both really rookie and wooden and their chemistry is not there at all and it all looks cartoonish and exaggerated when they try too hard. Especially since the script just gives them absolutely nothing to work with either. Song Han Hee is the only saving grace, acting-wise.
Music and rewatch value: No.
Production: Bad. It looks like they filmed the whole show, every set of it, in a hotel apartment?! Like a really cheap one that students on their gap years with a budget would only go to. No set design worth a dime, no proper lighting. It's like a young filming student's class project that he filmed with his friends.
Overall: Don't waste your time watching this. You'll only get depressed at the wasted potential of what could've been. This could have been so good and it just wasn't. It barely functioned.
Better luck in your next life, soul!
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Please Give This Series a Chance
I'll be the anomaly here when I say I absolutely loved First Love Again. I was surprised at the number of negative reviews and comments, even to see the show's overall rating is below an 8, hell, even sitting close to below a 7. Sure, this series had its issues and the half-assed title poster doesn't help, but I could probably label this as one of my favorite BLs so far this year, and maybe even overall in the Korean BL department.Let's Dive In.
For one, I love reincarnation BLs, and it's not something we always see (I'm pretty sure the last one I can remember is UWMA), so going into this, I was so excited. The synopsis is a man whose fated love (as a woman) continuously dies in each life he lives, and during his third life, he is destined to find her again, except, he's utterly shocked to find out his past love is reincarnated as a man. He goes through the understanding of this, and by the end, it's happily ever after. My favorite part was watching as Yeon Seok takes into realization that his fated love is a man. Watching the inevitable was great, and sure his initial reaction wasn't the best, but bit by bit, you see these small details in which he starts to care for Ha Yeon, and it's really stellar.
Some things I didn't like: Parts of the story were pretty unnecessary, like Ha Yeon getting mad and Yeon Soek after he finds out he's his past love. Sure, he's worried that Yeon Seok only likes that the past him was a woman, but it's so out of the blue behavior that it throws you off. And it wasn't so clever to add in conflict in the very last episode which was only about thirty minutes long. It would've been totally fine for them to just continue on being happy.
Yeon Soek's initial behavior to finding out his fated love was a man is a bit much. He's too hostile and mean, and it just doesn't look good on his character. However, this is forgiven since he goes through an immense amount of character growth; from a bossy and privileged man to a guy who opens up to his reality and learns to soften his core and let people in while learning to let go of the past. It's beautiful.
I say don't judge a book by its cover cause the title poster is so ridiculous. It makes this drama look like it was surviving off a 2 dollar budget and filmed in a garage. It's not like that at all. They had a huge budget, with luxurious setting locations, and a very expensive-looking wardrobe. The scenery, lighting, color grading, and cinematography were also gorgeous, and FLA's problem was never the budget or anything to do with production. Whoever made that poster needs to resign. Sure don't judge a book by its cover, but if it looks like it was made by a first-grader, then you can go in at least a little bit judgey.
The inevitable happened again, and this BL was just way too fucking short. If this were to have a decent run time, I swear to you, this would've been the series of the year. Sadly, they fall under about 20ish minutes for only 6 episodes, which doesn't give them enough time to really tell the story as authentically as they can, which is why some parts feel rushed. God, when will Korea cut the freaking extremely short BLs??
What I adored: I really loved our leads. Again, I love seeing those small moments when Yeon Seok was falling for Ha Yeon little by little. I think in some aspects, it can feel like their relationship was rushed, but when you've been in love with the same soul for centuries, that it's understandable. The best part about their relationship is when they are together, and just their small domestic moments that get my heart fluttering.
The acting is really good, especially from our main lead. He put on a very strong performance, one that I don't see all that much in Korean BL. Sure, anyone can look sad or happy or in love, but this dude just gots it. During his more sentimental scenes, you could tell in his posture, the way he walked, the look in his eyes, it was all so superb. I would love to see him again in literally anything. His love interest couldn't hold up to his standard because he was just really good, but Chang Ha did well, especially for it being his first acting gig. Sin Bi was both gorgeous and excellent, I liked that she at times put Yeon Seok in his place, and the actress put on a fantastic performance.
I really can't complain about the side characters here. I pretty much appreciated all of them, even the third wheel/love triangle that always seemed to get in the way. Aoora was a sight to behold, and just beautiful (can't believe he's 36 hello..?!) His character was the comic relief that the series needed.
Ratings:
Story: 8.5 - Really loved the entire concept. I loved watching everything twist and how it all played out. There weren't any unnecessary filler moments, and not a single character felt irrelevant. The connection between the main pairing could've been stronger so I'll take a star and a half off.
Acting: 9.5 - Everyone did a fantastic job, but Jin Gun threw them all out of first place. God, I do really hope to see him again. There was room for improvement for the others, but nevertheless, it was still amazing.
Music: 8 - I liked the somber music during the sad scenes, it really added to the moment.
Rewatch Value: 3 - definitely could see myself rewatching this. it was pretty short and cute (however, my Viki subscription is about to end so... not anytime soon)
Even though I think this series could use some maintenance, one being a longer run time, it still was really freaking good. So good, that I'm looking past my usual rating criteria to give this series a 10. Sure, not everything was perfect, but if a series leaves a lasting impression on me, it means something. I highly recommend this series. Please don't pay attention to the ratings and the reviews, just go into this with a clear mind and enjoy yourself.
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Good start but gets draggy at the end
The show establishes a cute and fulfilling first few episodes but loses its spark at the end. At first, I thought the story about reincarnation was different from other shows with the same genre, but it started to get messy with a cliche kind of plot they presented with a lack of originality.Poor acting performance of Jeon Chang Ha also affected my enjoyment of watching.It is obvious that this is his first on-screen role since he can’t put up a good act when crying. Although I like him when his character is fun and fluffy, I can’t sense anything emotional when he is being sad. On the other hand, Jin Gun is quite an actor with average skills and dependable during the exchange of lines between the rest of the cast. In terms of acting, the girl who is the nine-tailed fox nailed her character the best.
The first kiss was fine but the angle of the camera ruins the moment. I barely saw their passionate kiss with only two to three camera transitions in which all of them didn’t capture the scene perfectly. It was so dark that I almost saw nothing within the kiss, I even thought that it was a fake execution of kiss. The bad thing is the chemistry that they carried out during the half number of episodes faded away the moment they became a couple. During this time it should be the best part of the show and give us a numerous amount of romantic scenes but they choose to express a dramatic approach as the plot of the show. Until their story became another typical over romanticized story with no solid support of affection from the main character.
There is only one thing I am thankful about this, it is for introducing me to Kim Jeong Seok. He plays as the second lead guy who has been left unchoosen but in real life, he stole my heart. I like his acting, facial expression, his character, and the bonus of handsomeness. I even visited his IG account and was mesmerized by his captivating boyfriend-material posts.
Overall, First Love Again is another reincarnation norm which isn’t that impactful but also isn’t that bad. I really enjoyed the first half of the show but they failed to be consecutive and the reason why the story drags to the bottom. Anyways, I like the OST, perfect fit for the jolly vibes of the show. I guess the only major ousting of the drama is the saddening plot, the rest was good enough.
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Standard Korean BL Series
Overall: the general comments below applies to a whole bunch of Korean BL. I'd say overall it's fine, but suffers from the same issues as other series. Watched on Viki (minor spoilers)Content Warnings: murders (off screen), suicide, dub con kiss (sleeping)
What I Liked
- good production value
- the flashbacks were obvious
- I thought Yeon Seok's personality (with his confidence/big ego) was funny in the beginning
- the cat magical creature pretty much declares she is asexual, I appreciate the representation and I wish this character was more fully developed
- that both Sin Bi and Ha Yeon called Yeon Seok for being a jerk because he was a jerk
Room For Improvement
- choppy/rushed, I didn't really understand/buy into the sudden shift with Yeon Seok's feelings
- cliche poor communication at the end and Ha Yeon being angry at Yeon Seok when Yeon Seok is doing exactly what Ha Yeon asked him to do (eyeroll)
- pointless love triangle, that screen time could have gone to developing the m/m romance and/or fleshing out the cat goddess character
- the kissing was okay but not great
- why did Ha Yeon get killed the second time, we just never know???
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Good concept Poor execution
This drama has such a good concept and should at least be the typical bl drama length of 8 eps which most K-BLs always suffer from rushing anyways, I get that these are low budget dramas but if you're gonna do it, try to do it right. It cannot compare to other K-BLs that's doing it better sorry, It's still not the worst one I've seen which is good, but after completing it, feels like I couldn't care less about the characters. Sorry if you like BLs and you're new to watching dramas you might enjoy it a bit more, but for me who watched dramas over the past 10 years and support and like trying out new BLs this one isn't worth your time. Go watch Semantic Error or other BLs to see how you can make short eps work and feel natural.Esta resenha foi útil para você?
