A breath of fresh air in the dry land of BL storytelling.
This is a very well written, well acted, well produced mini series I highly enjoyed.
The cast was very charming, their interactions felt natural, the chemistry was on point. I really liked how they included the volleyball theme. It's not only a series about cute boys falling in love, it's also about your dreams and not giving up (even though they had not enough time to explore this further). All the side characters were great to watch. It was funny, light hearted, romantic and really kept you on the edge of your seat. The music is worth mentioning too. Very, very beautiful. Unfortunately because of the low budget, the development felt rushed sometimes. Even so they did a lot with 8 episodes.
10/10

Leia Mais

This is my second attempt to write a review, because with time passing, my thoughts and impressions changed a lot.

Let's start with the good things: the chemistry of those two guys is very nice, the production felt high quality despite the choppy editing we got sometimes, the acting was very good from everyone, the music was also great.

Now let's talk about the elephant in the room: Ji Woo's behavior. We learned in s1 that he is an awkward guy, who has some trust issues and likes to put up walls. But he was also adorable, he smiled occasionally, he was pretty lively despite most of the time appearing rather calm and looking gloomy. He had interest in the world around him, and he also was interested in Seo Joon. Seriously, he was cute. Good-looking too, a good cook. And last but not least: he was good at heart. He had a lot to offer, and I could 100% see why Seo Joon felt for him. They both had different personalities, but resonated well together. A match made in heaven. Sure, the viewer could assume they would get some problems in their relationship. Maybe their different personalities would be an issue sooner or later, maybe Seo Joon being an idol/movie star and having a tight schedule would make everything difficult. But still we trusted in that love, and - I'm talking here for myself - I trusted in those two guys because they have a pure heart.

Now we got s2. We learn they broke up. Why? Well, that's the question that wasn't answered for the longest time. We as viewers had to guess what the reason was for Ji Woo suddenly ghosting Seo Joon. He just left him a note and vanished. Is this a mystery series? We then got some flashbacks (we later learn those scenes were from the future too), we get a lot of angst, a lot of drama, in the first two episodes at least we got a bit of humor too. Nothing was explained well. They used their time to introduce new characters with their own storyline. They weren't just there to support the main story. During all that time, we still didn't know what was going on in Ji Woo's head. Instead we had to endure how he treated Seo Joon like sh*t. It was pretty obvious he didn't enjoy it though. It was his way of pushing Seo Joon away. He just put up a big wall like he did in s1 too, but this time it was too much. He just crossed the line. He was cruel. A person that's good at heart, shouldn't be that cruel. He could have behaved differently. People tend to forgive this behavior, because Ji Woo was also suffering. I can't forgive it. From my perspective, being weak and hurt and confused, is no excuse to hurt other people badly, especially the ones you apparently love. He just went too far.

So what happens next? The series is almost over, and we don't even know the full reason for the break-up. Some mysteries were resolved about Ji Woo's parents, and then we FINALLY see that Ji Woo indeed cares for Seo Joon. He decides to not run away any longer, maybe after Seo Joon told him he gave up, and now Ji Woo is running after Seo Joon. Great. Seo Joon pushes him away, once, twice, but then Ji Woo tells him, he will not be able to chase him any longer if he keeps that up, and Seo Joon gives in.

People say this is realistic, relatable, emotional, romantic, complex, mature. Is it really? The core ideas of the series aren't bad. But they just went too far. Ji Woo became a gloomy and unattractive guy who behaved like a baby - he was even crying like on! - that had no real character growth throughout the whole series. At the end he AGAIN had lots of demands, and Seo Joon was the one who now must adjust to him even more, so he won't run away. What's the message here?

The author apparently wanted to show us "that in a relationship, one always loves more and works harder". Is this a good message? One that leaves you with a warm feeling in your heart? Not in my case. It's very questionable and honestly depressing.

To sum my thoughts up: They destroyed the Ji Woo character by taking away his good qualities and emphasizing his weaknesses. They even destroyed the Seo Joon character to a certain point. He obviously loves Ji Woo, but I wonder why at this point. Why does he want to be with him? I never asked myself this question when watching s1. I thought he was attracted to his big heart. He felt safe being with Ji Woo. The writers took that away completely.

I think the director has a talent to make everything artistic, cryptic, complicated, emotional and beautiful. It's an EXPERIENCE watching her work. So she fools the viewers in thinking it's "deep". Indeed it was pretty shallow at the end of the day. Minor issues were blown out of proportions, and where we expected some big revelations for example regarding Ji Woo's parents or Seo Joon's trauma, everything felt trivial.

I still rate this series rather high, because I was glued to the screen the whole time. They did something right if people talk about it so much, discuss it so much, and in general are so deeply affected by this story. That sure is an accomplishment by itself.

Leia Mais

Well, let’s talk about the elephant in the room. Unfortunately there are two: 1) the re-telling of Tin&Can story with mixed up timelines, and 2) the chemistry between Tin&Can. Well, the re-telling was an odd choice. I’m not bothered by it, but other people are. I have seen many loosing interest in this series because of that reason (and also because Saint isn’t part of the cast). Starting from zero with Tin&Can while showing us Ae crying through 3 whole episodes makes no sense. It’s not like they tried to reboot everything and make a stand-alone series. Also they wasted 6 episodes with the re-telling without providing something new and exciting. Some of the scenes they had to re-act were not as iconic as the original ones. I liked some of the new scenes, but they didn’t change the story at all. It just feels unnecessary. The characters changed a tiny little bit with Tin being more soft and vulnerable and less arrogant and dangerous looking (which also seem to disappoint many) and Can being a bit softer and more mature. But yeah, not a big difference. It's not like in DBK where they changed Kao's character so much he was unrecognizable (I'm still salty about that). So let’s move on to the second elephant: The chemistry between Tin&Can. I thought the chemistry was so great (much better than in s1) and that's why I looked up the actors (what I rarely do). I was surprised to see how close they are in real life. They seem to have personalities that resonate well together and that explains the great chemistry. But this chemistry vanishes completely when they have to kiss. You can feel through the screen how much Plan hates it, and that makes me sad. It’s not like I get some homophobic vibes from him. I highly doubt Plan would do any better in those scenes with a woman. I have seen him kissing a girl in another series (if you can call that a kiss) and it was even worse. He did well in the famous couch kiss at the end of s1, so I really don’t know what’s the issue suddenly. Maybe they shouldn’t cast two guys who are good friends? Watching them kiss makes me rather uncomfortable. Sometimes I prefer to look away, which shouldn’t be the case. It’s not their fault if their „couple“ becomes so popular, but perhaps they should just stop doing those roles when they don’t feel like it. I highly doubt they are so poor that they need the money. That said, I think the director’s decision plays a role too. Kisses were purposely not shown. They didn’t even kiss when they had sex. That’s a first, really. I’m pretty sure I have never seen a bed scene without a kiss. Enough negativity. Despite Plan being the mood killer I have to compliment him for his acting. He has to play the ugly, stupid monkey which isn’t easy and requires some courage. In fact I have never seen a similar character in any other BL series. He is not just there to look handsome, he has to be lively, crazy, cute, funny, sex-hungry (lol). It’s not an easy role and he does a good job. I’m really into the character when he appears on the screen. But yeah, at the end of the day the whole series feels so uninspired. I feel awkward watching it. I giggle like a little girl (like I never did before, I will admit it), I laugh, I shake my head, I feel embarrassed (really embarrassed like I never did before either watching any other BL), I have to look away, I hold my breath – it’s a whole EXPERIENCE. And then I’m sad, because it could be so much better and I know they messed it up. I wish they had done a better job (better writing, better intimate scenes) and I wish more people would love it. I didn't even mention the other couples, because I feel it's a waste of time. They don't have enough screen time, aren't very exciting or they are just toxic. Tin's background story and the issues with his brother aren't well told or well presented. I'm just not a fan of the writer. If not for Mean&Plan who are very charming, I highly doubt I would bother watching this.
EDIT: Since this series ended I have a strange feeling in my gut. For whatever reason I don't want to think about this series anymore (and I will not rewatch it). Hearing about questionable behavior of the cast towards the only gay character in the show (Earth) isn't helping either. This really was a train wreck.

Leia Mais

Okay, I will write the first review, because I feel nobody wants to do it. Haha!
This is a mess and most likely a disappointment to many. Nothing was shown or explained clearly. It's only a "spinoff", 10 minutes long, that felt more like some kind of longer music video. I still hope s2 will answer all our questions. That said, this spinoff was beautifully filmed. The backgrounds, the colors, the places, the music were great. The acting was perfect too. Especially when there wasn't much story they had to act out. They just put some scenes together in such a random way that's hard to even form an opinion about the whole thing. Shu Yi's behavior felt out of character, which I'm not a fan of. But we don't know the whole background, so hopefully at the end of s2 all those puzzle pieces will come together and make sense.
EDIT: those puzzle pieces made not much sense. Very lazy writing.

Leia Mais

The biggest compliment I can make this series: It brought my love for the BL genre back. After many disappointments in the last year with soulless stories and actors that look uncomfortable, Taiwan is back with something natural, raw and refreshing. The acting is superb. Everyone is doing a great job, but the main couple is stealing the spotlight. Their chemistry is mind-blowing. Both actors are talented. Sam is very charming, but the newcomer Yu is the star of the series for me. He can do it all: being arrogant, cute, funny, sad, emotional and dramatic. I felt in love with the character after only watching two episodes. If you see the actor in real life he is a completely different person which proves how amazing his acting skills are. The plot itself is rather generic - nothing new here! - but the storytelling is pretty good. The series flows nicely, every scene seems meaningful, there is no boring moment, the dialogues are funny, charming and smart. It's NOT cringy. Not even once I felt second hand embarrassment. It's just sweet, cute, beautiful, heart-warming, charming, lovely, emotional and last but not least: very satisfying. It's a feel good series with a great couple that doesn't hold back touching and kissing each other. The camera work is a bit shaky and the editing a bit edgy, but it's low budget after all, and the rawness adds to the charm. I also love the OST. It's obvious that everyone involved in this project was passionate about it and worked very hard. This is the result of a talented and motivated team. I hope s2 will be a success too. They deserve more recognition.

Leia Mais

Oh boy! That movie did things to me ...!
First of all, the music is phenomenal! I downloaded the soundtrack. It was so beautiful and made me almost cry. Well, at the end I cried anyways.
Yong Ju is a very optimistic, always friendly and smiling person who comes across as very strong. Gi Woong is more the gloomy type who is not honest with himself and very insecure. The relationship is not easy and Yong Ju has to endure a lot. It's not a fluffy love story, but you can feel the connection between those two. Seeing Yong Ju break at the end was one of the most shocking things I have ever seen in any kind of movie. It touched me deep in my heart ... incredible. While writing this review I feel like crying again.
It's such an outstanding work. Not perfect, I'll admit that. But it's so good in many aspects and such a great piece of art. Go watch it!
Btw, the movie has a happy ending. Don't be afraid!

Leia Mais

I wanted to write a long and elaborated review, but seeing how other people who are more capable than I am in expressing their thoughts (in English) did a much better job I could ever do, I decided to keep it simple and short (and hopefully funny).
Together With Me got me so excited like ... well, never before. For someone who loves BL stories since many, many years, it's like a dream coming true. To be honest, I never had such a good dream.

STORY: Nothing we haven't seen before, but the execution was okay - until the end. There were some things I found pretty silly looking back. You wonder what all the "drama" (I'm quoting Korn, ep13)  was for. Well, it's called a love story (I'm quoting Knock). They could have done a better job showing us Knock's conflict. The so called "love" between him and Pleng was not visible, that made Konck's inability to figure out his own heart a bit unbelievable. I'm not a fan of the Bright/Farm relationship, but I appreciate how they tried to show us something different. TWM is not a series where only cute boys fall in love, it's much more. Talking about cute boys, the buffed up guys (of course I mean Korn7Knock) had many beautiful scenes together. You feel the love.

ACTING/CAST: Korn7Knock (Max&Tul) did a fabolous job like everyone else. I woudn't be able to point out a single weak actor in this series. Everyone was convincing and everyone was charming in his/her own way, even the bad guys.  

MUSIC: Whoever put this series together, did a great job. I loved the background music.

REWATCH VALUE: There are some scenes I watched at least 20 times (no kidding!). I plan to continue with this schedule in the future. Nobody can take this away from me!!!

OVERALL: Not sure about the rating system here, I want to give it a 10. Even though the story didn't convince me 100% , other things did. 10 is well deserved. This series brightened up my sad little life. A big THANKS to the cast, the producers, and the writers.

On a sidenote: The kisses and intimate scenes were out of this world. Like I said, not even my best dreams could turn out that good :P

Leia Mais

Enjoyable but forgettable

I have seen previous works of the main leads. They are both good actors. The premise sounded interesting, the CGI was nice. This is my cup of tea, even though the conecpt is pretty old and overdone. Fighting some mysterious creature/virus/alien in space, doing some mysterious, dangerous and inhuman research, a dystopian world, humans on the way to save humanity - that's not new. The whole idea about the luna water was pretty unique, though. In general I was on the edge of my seat most of the time. I binged it in one day. Still the plot felt empty. Many things didn't make sense. At the end I was wondering what did I even watch? There was no real conclusion. It's the kind of space survival movie, where most of the crew doesn't make it. Despite the whole series being rather pointless and forgettable (also a bit depressing), it was an interesting watch, and worth my time.

Leia Mais

I have mixed feelings regarding this series and Taiwan BL in general. I remember when HISTory aired, the very first series was called "Obessed", and everyone was talking about it. I checked it out and thought the story makes zero sense, but the actors were committed and showed us great make-out scenes. Many years later, not much changed.
This series' author also wrote Trapped and MODC, and again, I have the same criticism. There is only one explanation for the author's success I can come up with (some even call her the "queen of Taiwan BL"): She puts so much stuff into her stories, that there is something for everyone. You like a couple where one guy is much older? Check. You like a couple with unexpected top/bottom roles? Check. You're into student-teacher stories? Check. You like the tsundere type and the cold/stoic type? Check. You like big height differences? Check. You like the one being manly, and the other being cute? Check. You like mafia guys? Check. So I assume whoever reads this found at least two points they like. So go watch it!
Seriously, the author talks about stuff she doesn't know anything about. In Trapped those police officers behaved like children playing detective, now in Kiseki the mafia guys behave like children running a car repair shop and doing some street fights. The older mafia guys are sitting in the hot tub, looking dangerous and talking in a way that it sounds important. It's low budget, I know, but don't go there, if you're not capable of making it believable. The whole plot is a mess. Two young guys going to prison for 4 years is a good example of the weak wattpad-style storytelling. You could write a whole series about their experience in jail, but they brush over it, and they even get out in the same episode. Not much changed, as if they had seen each other just months ago.
Back to the same criticism I had regarding Trapped and MODC: There is no balance regarding the mood of the story. Kisekei had some very touching and serious moments, but then it gets incredible cheesy and corny. It's funny, and in the next moment it's tragic. The author apparently wants to evoke as many emotions in the viewer as possible. The result? It's a mess.
But not only the plot is a mess, the acting is too. Ai Di (Louis Chiang) is the only good actor, I would even say, he is the only "real" actor. What do I mean by that? He embodies the character wholeheartedly. Even if the character develops or changes over time, you still feel it's the same character. I have no issue with Chen Yi (Nat Chen) acting. He is doing a good job, and it's not uncommon that an actor reaches a new level when paired with someone talented. But still, it's obvious he isn't as good as Louis. Unfortunately, everyone else, from the younger guys to the older guys, is just here for the paycheck.
My final thoughts and rating? I love the 2nd couple, they are my guilty pleasure for many reasons. I hope those two get a new series, because I love their chemistry and acting. Everything else was forgettable. The main couple was too cheesy, and Taro Lin should really work on his acting. For me this was second hand embarrassment.
7 stars for the effort (they did some things right, and some scenes were beautifully filmed), but since I'm madly in love with Ai Di and Chen Yi I will give 8 stars.

Leia Mais

I like gender bender stories a lot but there aren't many good ones out there. It's so obvious the girl is a girl and not a boy. Vice versa the same. Even boys with girly faces are looking like a dude in drag because of the broad shoulders. And girls disguised as boys can fool nobody because of the tiny figure, hands, feets.
That said Yoon Eun Hye played the tomboy convincingly. I have seen a few korean dramas but I'm not an expert. Compared to other dramas "Coffee Prince" seemed to me very fresh, not so much cliche. The guy was charismatic and how the love story evolved ... It was very nice. The kisses, the interaction between the characters, it all felt so natural, funny and passionate at the same time. It makes your heart beat faster. Don't miss this one. Just don't.

Leia Mais

Very crazy movie. Ji Chang Wook is a great actor. I mean ... let's be honest, this was INTENSE. I wonder why people are complaining about character development. I don't think this movie was really the type who wanted to explore different personalities. The action was great, the direction, the production - superb. The story nothing new, at least I have seen something like this before. I was constantly wondering why Ji Chang Wook was considered their "leader" when everyone else had great skills (hacking, building drones), the main lead's skill was driving a car and saving others. But well, it was a two hours action packed movie and, like I said, it was not supposed to be a character study. At least I didn't feel like something was missing. I enjoyed every second. The villain was over the top, but in a good way. It's a while since I got so shocked and excited because of a movie. Hollywood could learn something from Korea.

Leia Mais