Refreshing and THANK GOD - THERE'S MORE THAN ONE SONG!!!

Loved this one. Agree with others - pacing is just right. Typical Korean BL - they still treat kissing as almost taboo and therefore - limited. That's okay. Still handled well.

Love all the characters including, the evil one. He stays perfectly sewer dwelling throughout. I would hate to know who else he took advantage of during his teaching years before trying to debut himself. Chemistry is good with all the main characters - love it. Little family. People taking care of each other and looking out for each other.

Another reviewer made reference to - understandably - Han Ba Ram misunderstanding both characters touchy feely-ness being confusing. Been there. I am so concerned about not understanding those moments - I usually avoid being touched! And, avoid too much touch/affection with people I don't know.

And, I did love Im Han Tae's growth as he slowly realized how much he grew to love Ba Ram. First, you don't think about it. Then, you deflect - Naw...I'm not falling for him...then, you finally admit you love them and can't be without them.

Love that there is more than one song. And, the main song is never played fully as the series goes on. The director and those involved pay attention to what the viewers notice and appreciate. Agree that this is a OST worth owning.

Leia Mais

Loved it - Wished it was longer

When I started this one, I wasn't sure where it was going to take us. When it was over, I wished they had given us more.

While Chinese rom-coms and dramas drag things out to 48 episodes with the main characters learning nothing and going through everything imaginable - BLs still tend to be 3 hour movies chopped into small segments and called a series. That's okay...baby steps.

A few faults in continuity - but, forgivable. No real time tracking for us. What day is it? How much time has passed? What led our characters to think and act the way they do/did? Enquiring minds want to know...

I really felt for everyone. The feelings and reactions seemed very true. This is where I wanted more detail. What was the result of A, B, or, C?

Characters:

Lee Yoon Soo was the most developed. You knew everything you needed to know about him. He knew who he was. You know where his passion lies. You know enough of his story to be believable - and, one you can invest yourself in. You want him to succeed.

Jung Do Hoon's details needed some tweaking. He shows an interest in girls in every scene he is around other groups and people but, he's okay with exploring another side of himself? This is where we needed help in how much time has passed. It could have been solved with the reason he focuses on work so much and just lives to work is because he really doesn't know who he wants to be with and can't understand why any attempts at a relationship always fail.

I have seen this successfully pulled off in a few other BLs where the guy has many one night stands or, starts new relationships with girls but, they always end/fail. I loved the way this was handled in Theory of Love. Khai - being rich - was able to hide his failed attempts at relationships by being a jerk. The attention would focus on his actions rather than, why he wouldn't let a relationship proceed past quick and easy sex. When the girls wanted more from him - he would put an end to it. When he found out Third really loved him - he went into fear and acted the only way he knew how - and the writers remembered to put that in Khai's words to Third.

Jung Do Hoon needed to come to terms with himself while we got to watch and cheer him on. As with many BLs - we only get to see the beginning of their relationship and have to guess the rest.

Now, that this company has three BLs under their belt - do like MAME and give us story continuations through new BLs. Let's see the characters a couple years later getting married or, being a small part of the new couple's lives. We want to know.

Loved the side characters - would have loved to learn more about them so, we could connect. As the money and product placement grows - we will see longer BLs. I love that in Wedding Plan - they landed The Arches.

Leia Mais

This could have been a winner...

Not sure what happened. Bad writing? Young director? Small budget?

As others have stated there are continuity issues:
- Let's have lunch to celebrate our first day together! Boss guy takes over ordering and mentions that everybody orders the same thing each time. But, this is their first time as a team. Desserts purchased. What happened to lunch? Translation issue?
- Coffee spilled on shirt. They almost take off their shirts but, never do. Yet - after dinner - it's mentioned he has his boss' shirt on and needs to return it. And, between the shots of when it happened and during the discussion of squishy and soft - the shirt becomes magically clean.
- Gossip from the interns about everything you would expect but, none of it comes to pass and there are little repercussions. One gets talked to and, everyone gets hired. Why was it even there? Tension wasted.

Not enough backstory and development of the characters. We know they got separated and the lead up was one set of parents fighting but, the other kid ends of moving away and while there is brief mention of why he chose not to contact - it doesn't float. Why would he feel responsible for leaving? Did his parents surprise him and he couldn't say goodbye?

Jun Eonni had a wonderful backstory that we only get hints of. Feels he isn't good enough to be loved. Doesn't realize what a great person he is. Is afraid of getting close to someone for fear of them leaving. But, we see almost none of it. We get the explanation of why the manager cares so much but, why explain it like that when there is love there?

Jun Director had a cliche backstory but, we see and barely hear of what he went through. Is he job determined because he was lonely? How can he be such a successful flirt if he kept to himself all these years? It's true that his drive and stumbling along show he needs to communicate better but, my guess is his fiancé helped him as a person to grow and learn how to be around people.

Surprisingly, product placement needs some work. While the wonderful The Wedding Plan snagged The Arches and more - this one seemed to forget who was paying their bills. In a way - that is good but, were the check writers satisfied?

I had to restart watching this twice to catch on to what was happening. I figured out the flashbacks, caught the conversation, and really paid attention. If you only watch it once through - you may end up being confused but, still happy at the overall story.

Leia Mais

Thank goodness for good looking people...

As with most Chinese Rom-Coms, you will have difficulty trying to believe the storyline. We see effeminate men in BLs all the time and we have seen some amazing women pull off a guy part in past shows. This one - not a chance. She doesn't even try. And the director - surprisingly, just doesn't care.

She has the same irritating mannerisms all the women have in these type of shows (until their amazing transformation) but, since they think she is a man - it is overlooked and forgivable. If I was a woman - I would get pissed at the double standard.

She doesn't even bother to disguise her voice. Lazy. She doesn't do anything make up wise. Lazy. She fawns over her boss - openly. Lazy and risky - especially, in Chinese society. Get someone drunk (usually, off very little alcohol to move the story along). Lazy.

Thank god for fast forward. I wanted to see if she simply makes the "man" disappear as "she" takes over or, if they discover she is a woman and miraculously forgive her for lying, committing fraud, etc. Handled okay but, I would file this one in complete escapism and don't think about all the overlooked details.

Leia Mais

Dear gawd, who directed this dumpster fire?

You know a series is on rough ground when once you see three of the characters on the same screen - you know you can fast forward through their whole scene and not miss a thing. My guess is that they are the comedy relief but, they are so bad it becomes near unbearable. You worry for them.

Liked three - maybe, four, of the characters. And, the overall story wasn't bad. I only stuck with it through the end to see how it all finished. It's a shame in rom-coms - characters can't disappear. Truly, what was that long red haired girl even there for? Ugh.

The doctor is in the room. He knows he is allergic to alcohol and for comedy's sake - they serve him champagne and put him in an embarrassing date situation. They risk his health and his life for laughs. That should tell you everything about this series.

This might be something you can almost pay attention to why you are cleaning. Background.

Leia Mais

Love this one!

Loved this one start to finish. And, I have watched it several more times since.

What did it for me, along with the great cast - was the writing. This could have gone very wrong if they handled the progression in any different way. The key to holding it all together is when Shin says out loud that he rejected Lee but, he was the one left all alone. If he wouldn't have said that, him pursuing Lee wouldn't have made any sense and would have required more backstory.

Loved the wrap up with Lee finishing what he started with the webtoon. Loved that they also, ended the series/show with a different ending as if life allowed you a second chance.

This should get a better audience beyond the BL crowd - it is that well done.

Leia Mais

One of the Best I've Seen...

Loved this series to the point I am watching it again - all the way through to catch more of the details. Well written. Well acted. Great cast. Found it disappointing that some viewers/reviewers are treating it as a Romeo and Juliet again type of thing. Who cares? If it is well done - enjoy it.

Loved the level of acting from the main two. You can see that they got along off screen as well - otherwise pulling off some of those very emotional moments would have been more difficult. And, as we all have seen - it is easy to over-act when it comes to emotionally charged scenes.

On those cliché notes from other reviewers - I disagree. The writers and director worked very hard to show you that there was something there between them that went back to when they were young children. For me - I can remember having the "more than friends" feeling for those around me back to an early age. Pran's longing for Pat went back years. Pat's connection only took more time because he hid behind a tough guy image.

Side characters are all believable. My only concern with GMMTV productions is when they feel they have to make everyone gay for the story to happen. All three children from the same family? Lazy writing? Loved that they showed that Pat's family still didn't get it. The "It's just a phase" reaction is telling. My guess is that until they get married - there will be a form of denial on both parent's parts. Pran's mother seems to just want to love her son - appreciated that.

Love the little details. My favorite scene is when Wai wants to meet/talk with Pa and while discussing this with Pran - we see Pa leaving school with Pat waiting. Understandable - Pat has the car and he is driving his sister home. While Wai is talking with Pran and getting up the courage to talk to Pa - you can hear and see in the background Pat and Pa having a brother sister conversation. When Pat explains that he got five mosquito bites while waiting for her and then shows her (while counting) - it made me laugh out loud.

I will save this in my library to watch again when I want to watch something and can't immediately decide. Just like Tale of 1000 Stars - love that one too!

Leia Mais

Don't think of this as a series...

I have read many of the reviews and found that because expectations were not met - this is a bad series or, has too many flaws.
If you haven't seen it yet - remove that thinking before you even watch this.

Think of it as a movie cut up into a mini series. What I have found and, thanks to Viki - many of these productions are movies that are cut up and presented as series. On some platforms you have the choice to watch the 10-12 episodes with recaps - five minute intro songs and 4 minutes of closing credits. Or, you can watch it as it was originally made - a three plus hour movie in one wonderful sitting (Semantic Error and Wish You are two good examples).

I watched The Director... in its multiple episode format and forgave them for all the wasted time. I learned to fast forward through the beginning and skip the credits. This is a movie and should eventually, be presented as one.

If you look at the story (and I have watched it whole three times), they covered all the bases. They showed you:

- Who - the principle characters back then and now. Back then and now - he only thought of himself and didn't think about or, care about the repercussions. It was only after ignoring the warnings and watching him die again that he let go of all the control and regardless of what would happen to him - begged that Dong Baek's life be saved. The universe gives them another chance - wonderful ending.

- What - while we would all like more detail, they covered everything. Back story, reasons why and good character development. All we needed to know about the Director Yu Dam is he is singularly focused and doesn't care who gets lost in the shuffle when he is going for what he wants. We see that he has used and tossed aside Dennis while waiting for Dong Baek.

- When - both past and present are covered enough for a K Drama movie. Just thank god it wasn't a Chinese 42 episode drama where they keep some of the main characters with mental issues so, they learn nothing for the first 24 episodes and only start to show growth after.

- Where and Why - Selfishness and single minded thinking drive the past and present. Everyone reacts to that. After he finally lets go of that need for control can we see finally working out.

Leia Mais

This should have been a 10-12 episode series

Loved the actors/actresses. Very well cast. Story - pretty good but, what is very clear is that they ran out of material and had to keep finding ways to drag this out to sixteen episodes. What you will find - while watching this drama - is that everything they do takes longer than it should. And, many things happen for writing convenience sake...example: Small town. Only three ways out of the area. They make it a point to say there are only three ways out. Bad guy gets fingered and chase ensues - the cars are never out of each other's site but, after a cutaway to another scene - magically, the bad guy was able to completely lose the police and have time to park his car and run away - to the point the police just announce - "He got away." Ugh.

At episode 13 I found myself getting so frustrated with the feet dragging and the drawing out of every story line, I skipped right to episode 16 to see how it all wrapped up. The only thing I missed (but, predicted) was the death of a major character. Didn't miss a thing.

This would be a good drama for people who understand Korean and can do something else while it is on. For those of us that need the subtitles and need to pay attention - you will find yourself fast forwarding or, getting distracted by things around you.

Love the plot twist. Love how they tied everything up. Just wish they would have got the train to the station earlier.

Leia Mais

Well done with a touch of laziness...

Really liked this one. I stuck with it - even re-watching whole episodes - and barely had to fast forward through anything. Strong and talented cast. I have learned to tone my reviews and let others get into the details of why they loved that lamp that was turned on 4 minutes into episode 23 in the background...

Gripes:
- We watch FL eat too many times. It started to bug me since she likes to talk with her mouth full. In one scene - I had my hand up to read the subtitles while blocking her face while she was talking and eating. Ugh.
- Flashbacks are so badly done they are laughable. If the artist is thinking back to her love why and how does she have the ability to see him running when she wasn't even around? How does she know he ran from the parking lot to save her when she was busy drowning in the water? Lazy crew - lazy director/editor.
- The artist's mother. What a horrible woman. I would have let her get in trouble financially to the point of arrest or, court order. She never learned and LOVED taking from anybody and everyone.
- Dad's bad past - wasn't covered enough in detail. What happened that sent someone to jail? Why the multi-year grudge? Why was one person brought on just to die?

Overall - a winner. Loved the cast and the story/plot is strong. One of my favorites.

Leia Mais

Better than you think...Very well done.

I really liked this series. And, I scored it higher than other reviews basically, because I went into it without expectations. After watching Be Mine Superstar, I have been searching out the First/Ja titles to see how they work together. I loved finding the audition scenes posted on TikTok. And, I noticed after finishing the series this evening - the Viki viewers averaged a higher score than, the MyDrama reviewers. Curious as to why.

This is a down to earth series showing a group of friends from elementary school age through college and beyond. Done well enough to keep your interest and they take the time to develop the characters just enough so, you care. With so many cast members and the usual stumbles in the writing/directing department - we always wish for more. Give us the beautiful work of Our Dating Sims where the extra characters are there just to balance the story and never take your focus on the main characters.

This director held the camera on the characters far too long in too many scenes. Okay...we get it...he's sad...move on! But, it is forgivable. Time passing is handled so badly. Em and Name spend the night in the same bedroom and as they fall to sleep - they are awkwardly holding hands. The next scene has them in the same bed together - Em waiting for Name to wake up. Okay. But, wait! This is a completely different day. What the H E double hockey sticks happened? This happens often during the series. Pay attention - you can catch the timeline - though, frustratingly handled by bad editing.

Agree with most of the other reviews. Spend another $1.98 and have another song added to the OST. There were some scenes where the words fit in an almost comical way - not intended - the lazy sound person would just press play and leave the room. REALLY hate the preschool background music they use for most of the production. Just awful. I had to turn the volume down to 4 and thank the gods for subtitles in too many scenes.

Name's arc was satisfying. I loved that they showed his near attempt at suicide when he thought his only friend had abandoned him. When you live in fear and only have people around you tell you to get over it - nothing changes. You really feel lost. When he thought Em had just used him and grown tired of him - what else could he do? And, then - to deal with his Mom collapsing - that scene where he lays on the ground and just gives up is near perfect. And, I love how their little group - parents and all stay together and support each other.

I like that this is just a normal BL. People get together - their friends love that they are happy - life goes on. Golf's parents are wonderful. When the dad wanted them to hold hands was so cute. They were just happy their son found someone to love. And, I love their shyness. So real. And, I thought how they handled Golf's issues were so well done. I know that look when someone does wrong and then, comes into the room being overly happy to conceal what an ass they have been. Evading looking at people, the smile, talking about everything but, being late...handled really well. And, while I thought it was lazy - I didn't mind how quickly they got back together. It should have gone on for a few days longer of Golf being a bit more sorry and tormented at what he had done over the course of many months.

Em's arc was a bit of a mystery. Was he fighting his feelings while in school? Was he feeling overwhelmed? Why he did the things he did seemed more mean than to help. So, I held my breath in many scenes with Name because I felt he was going to hurt him again. It was hard to believe his sincerity when he came to offer support when Name's mother collapsed. But, after that moment - his character never waivered. I grew to appreciate that and his character.

Champ - boy - that was hard to watch. You really hurt with him and thank goodness - he finally let go. What a great way to handle the whole wedding day. Appreciated that detail as well.

Give this one a chance and be patient - it is worth the wait. And, one little tidbit I want you to notice - you never see a straight couple kiss. I can't even remember a hug. They save those kisses and embraces for the BL couples. Cute.

Leia Mais

Why wasn't the Music/Soundtrack Person fired?

I understand the heavy handed way many rom-coms use their soundtrack - background music - but, the person who was on Dinosaur Love was either on something or, is mentally unbalanced. Dear gawd why did they think that preschool music background was appropriate for 80 percent of the production?? It got to the point that I had to turn the volume down to level 4 - barely hearing it but, still feeling like I was part of not just watching it with subtitles to keep myself from throwing something at the screen. And, I found the OST main song to be way too similar to other productions. Because of its style and familiarity, I just started ignoring it. Give us something stronger like we here in A Tale of 1000 stars.

I noticed the subtitle group does not know the difference between someone sighing and signing. Every time someone mentioned the other person's sighs - it shows up as signs. But, that is forgivable - and you get used to it.

Don't look for continuity. Dropped storylines. Disposable characters. Bad editing. It's all there. I appreciate the respect and waiting for consent. He needs it after Mek messed with him so much.

The acting is strong enough to carry everyone through all the episodes. And, you do care about a few of the characters. Some - you wish could be better developed but, it wasn't on the writer's minds and the director wasn't paying attention.

This particular series seems to pay attention to its larger - female audience and discounts any feelings or, connections a young man may be looking for. They can understand being abused by bullies and controlling partners. They may be able to connect with absentee parents. I love that they have given everyone a safe group of friends (very important during high school and college years). And, I appreciate that while they kept selling the series as uncut on the platform - it meant nothing when it came to actual content. If you aren't quite sure what that means - watch Big Dragon The Series with Yai and Mangkorn.

Leia Mais

Not as Bad as Some Say...

I liked this one. I understood why the characters acted the way they did. And, with similar interests (arts) and not really moving from their birthplaces - it is easy to understand why they kept running into each other.

I appreciated his growth. Keeping people at bay his entire life, when he finally admitted to himself that he liked someone - he didn't know what to do. Too much pride to ask anyone and too scared to risk being rejected. Loved his honesty. Her growth was well done. It took her time to get a backbone and start to fight back. To decide not to be a doormat takes time.

The parents? Understandable. Dad finally got it. He thought he had a chance to start over and she thought she was finally set free. I agree they should have divorced sooner. I appreciated the Dad's attempts at reconciliation with the son but, I would have been the same - thanks but, no thanks.

You need a triangle to create tension in the relationships. So, understood why we had the CEO involved. I will be happy to see how these last few episodes go.

Leia Mais