Coming of age without enough time

With a cast like this, I knew I had to watch Summer Night. It was a very fun show to watch and while I enjoyed watching it weekly, I would guess it's better watched in a shorter period of time. I wouldn't call it slow, but it did feel like a lot of conflicts were drawn out a little too long, especially when it's obvious who Star will end up with.

Lune (Phuwin) has always been a loner . After getting bullied at his last school and then transferring to a new one, he's become fine with this fact - and is also fine with simply admiring his crush Star (Parn) from afar. That is, until White (Dunk) decides he'll do whatever it takes to get Lune to join his friend group. Lune starts becoming closer with White, Star, Ivy (Lookjun), and Jewel (Ryu), but when White reveals his secret crush on Star, Lune feels obligated to hide his feelings. He feels even more obligated to do so when it turns out Star might have those same feelings for him. Faced with either losing a girl or his new best friend, Lune tries to please everyone and ends up doing quite the opposite.

I really enjoyed Lune's arc in this show, even when he was a bit stupid at times. However, I felt like the relationship between Lune and Star could have been so much better! It felt like there were so few scenes with them being happy together. Plus, the overly drawn out jealousy plotline got annoying real quick. With all the characters in the show, it felt like they were trying hard to balance out screentime, and it got the best of them. Honestly, if this had been a 12 episode series instead of 10 they might have been able to do a bit more, but it just felt like some things were rushed while others were too slow. But still, the cast was great and it was definitely enjoyable.

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An emotional story disguised as a comedy

Based on the description and the clips I've seen from this show, I expected it to be very silly. And while it starts off that way, the plot quickly deviates from the description and turns into something else that is much more emotional and serious - all while trying to keep a light tone. I think I would have enjoyed this more if it either took itself more seriously and explored these more emotional aspects more, or kept it light and fun throughout. I honestly only watched this because I'm a big fan of First, and it was definitely an experience.

Pan and Soda like to write fanfiction about Way and Kim, which causes some bullies to attack Way, calling him gay. This fight gets Way threatened with expulsion, and Pan, feeling bad about this, apologizes to Kim. Luckily, Kim seems very nice and offers her a ride home, only to crash on the drive. Then, the two end up swapping bodies, but Pan's body is left in a coma. Pan, in Kim's body, searches for a way to get back to her own body, all while learning things about Kim that she couldn't imagine. Her idealized version of him from her fanfiction quickly crumbles, and even as she tries to right his wrongs, she fears what will happen when his soul returns.

Body swapping plotlines aren't typically plots I go for, and while this one had interesting dynamics with it, it still didn't quite get me invested. Of course, a major plotline is Pan trying to get her body back, but there were some dumb decisions made on her part that left me frustrated. However, I really enjoyed the ending and thought that the twists in the story were actually very interesting. As I said, I think that keeping with either the emotional or light tone throughout the series would've made this feel much more cohesive. I do wish I didn't have to ask the question, "is it technically incest if you kiss your brother, but it's someone else's soul?" but here we are.

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Watch for Daou and Offroad

I'm going to be honest, I only watched this because I liked Daou and Offroad in Century of Love. I didn't expect too much from this one, and it was exactly what I thought it would be - a sweet, cute BL with not too much going on. Based on the title, I did expect a little more.....translation? Or miscommunication because of language? But none of that happened.

Yang (Daou) is opening a business in Thailand, but because he's Chinese, he needs a business partner. He ends up in a partnership with Phumjai (Offroad), and though the two get off on the wrong foot, they end up opening a convenience store together. Phumjai just has one condition: Yang must teach him Mandarin so he can impress the popular Chinese influencer Tammy. As they work together and Phumjai tries to win over Tammy, feelings between Yang and Phumjai unexpectedly emerge.

Honestly, this show wasn't anything special. It was cute, it was fun, and hit a lot of major tropes in Thai BLs (including kidnapping.....which I still feel was unnecessary). Daou and Offroad have great chemistry, and I didn't feel like any conflict was too drawn out. If you're looking for a quick and light watch, this is a good one, but don't expect anything more than that.

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A Win for Win

I LOVED seeing Win in a role like this. This show was dark, freaky, supernatural, and INCREDIBLY well done considering it's so short. I really thought it was going to feel unfinished, but it's the perfect level of complete to be satisfying, while also gearing up for another season. The only critique I have of this one is the relationship.

At a competitive all girls high school, the top students start dying mysterious deaths, starting from the top ranked and moving down the list. Fa (Prim), ranked 3rd, starts to think that these "accidents" are anything but, and can't help but to notice they line up with the arrival of the new teacher, Mr. Ajin (Win). Thinking he has something to do with it, Fa starts investigating, and gets herself wrapped up in a world she wasn't ready to uncover.

In only 4 episodes, they managed to provide the perfect amount of background information and build the story at the perfect pace. You learn alongside Fa what is happening and how everything is connected, which was super fun to watch. My only complaint is a big one though - why WHY do we need any romance between Fa and Ajin?? I don't care about technicalities of how old they are or whatever, they meet as a HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT and a TEACHER. Luckily, any romantic feelings Fa has toward Ajin don't matter nearly as much as the horrible occurrences at this school. The horror elements are done way better than I had expected, and it had me captivated the whole time. I can't WAIT to see what season 2 has to offer!!

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It takes a century to learn to live in the present

I had been meaning to watch this one ever since it started airing, and I'm almost upset I waited so long to watch it. This drama is beautifully done, the acting is excellent, and the chemistry even better. While there may be a few plot holes and some annoyance at characters not being able to figure things out, it was overall a wonderful drama that is definitely worth watching.

After losing the love of his life in the 1920s, San (Daou) uses a magical stone blessed by a goddess to live in his current form for 100 years to find his true love's reincarnation. With only a few months left, San is getting desperate - he needs to find her in order to break his century-long curse. Luckily, the keeper of the shrine has determined where this reincarnation will be, and San is ecstatic; that is, until he finds out this reincarnation is a man named Vee (Offroad). Thoroughly convinced this was a mistake, San is determined to find his real true love, all while slowly falling in love with Vee instead. San is left to wonder if Vee is truly his soulmate and able to break the curse, or if these 100 years of suffering will end with his death instead.

I really enjoyed watching this. The special effects weren't very good and there were some aspects of the plot that didn't really work for me, but for the most part I thought the storyline was excellent and the characters were developed really well. There's a lot of repetitive drama when it comes to the relationship, but it is still meaningful and executed well. In terms of the background lore of the goddess, I thought it was explained well enough to get the point across without unnecessary exposition, which was great. I do think fleshing out some of the side characters a bit more would've helped round out this drama, but overall it was beautiful and worth the watch.

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GreatInn sold me on this one

Whoever decided that Great and Inn should act together was incredibly correct. They are such a good pairing, and it was refreshing to see GMM put adult actors as adult characters with real jobs and not just students. They hit on some cliches that definitely aren't my favorite (starting a relationship with a hookup, fuck buddies to "what are we", etc.) but overall the plot was super fun.

Dr. Wandee (Inn) finally works up the courage to tell his coworker that he has feelings for him, only to get rejected. In his despair, he ends up hooking up with boxer Yoryak (Great), who also happens to be his patient. The two of them start hooking up more regularly, in a strictly friends with benefits situation. Then, when Wandee's confession to his coworker spreads as juicy gossip throughout the hospital, he needs to convince everyone he's over this guy - and does so by convincing Yoryak to be his fake boyfriend. However, when you're hooking up with someone, hanging out outside of hookups, and pretending to be boyfriends by having romantic moments, how far off are you from actually dating? And of course, these "fake" feelings become all too real.

I love a fake dating plot, but I do feel like this one missed the mark on the whole "fake" part. Typically, I'd expect fake dating to not involve hooking up with said fake boyfriend. Wandee and Yoryak were dating in every aspect except the boyfriend label for SO LONG before they finally made it official, and at that point I didn't even realize they weren't officially boyfriends yet because it was so obvious they were. I feel like instead of dragging out the label, it would have been more interesting to either play out the friends with benefits to boyfriends or actual fake boyfriends (as in, no hooking up with each other and only acting romantic when around others) . Regardless, this show was super fun and I really enjoyed seeing Great and Inn act together. The plots outside of the relationship were really well done, and props to the show for including an asexual character that is still in romantic relationships and taking the time to explain. Overall, the show was light and fun without too much heartache involved, and the actors had enough chemistry to make up for anything the show lacked.

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Cute, but nothing more

I hadn't watched anything else from JoongDunk, so I wasn't sure how the pairing would be. I found the couple to be very fun and cute, and while the storyline lacked some substance, it was a very cute romance that was a fun watch. I will admit, as many of the reviews here point out, there was no "hidden agenda". There was a slight misunderstanding and that's about it.

Zo (Dunk) has a crush on Nita, a girl in the debate club with him. Nita recently got out of a relationship with Joke (Joong), but the two seem to still be hanging out a lot. Zo decides to approach Joke and ask him if they're dating - and if not, ask for advice on what Nita likes so he can ask her out. Joke decides to coach Zo on how to win over Nita by going on fake dates with him; however, it's clear from the beginning that Joke's real motive is to win Zo over for himself.

Based on the summary and the title, I expected a lot more time in the show before Zo and Joke ended up dating. The relationship pacing felt a little off considering the premise, but I really wasn't opposed to it. I thought the romance between teh characters was really nice and it was a light and fun story. I did that that towards the end, they tried to bring in too many family conflicts which took away from the relationship. I assumed the issues would revolve around them coming out to friends and family and maybe some other relationship troubles, but instead their issues were totally unrelated to the romance, and still for some reason affected their relationship. These conflicts should have either been brought up earlier, or framed in a way that directly impacted the relationship of the main characters. Overall I enjoyed watching it and thought it was a cute romance that could have benefitted from a bit more plot outside of the relationship.

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Delivered complex characters and a lovely romance

Typically I don't expect too much out of Korean BLs. Since they're so short, they often can't go into enough depth. However, Jazz for Two managed to balance their short time and the right amount of character depth perfectly, leaving you with complex characters without overwhelming you with backstory.

Yoon Seheon just transferred to a performing arts high school after being homeschooled for years. His classically trained pianist father has only ever allowed him to focus on classical music on the piano, and Seheon is constantly compared to his perfect older brother. However, Seheon really just wants to play jazz, and is hoping this new school will let him break free of his father. However, when practicing in an abandoned piano room at the school, Han Taeyi hears the song and is angered by it - not because it's bad, but because it reminds him too much of his late older brother's playing. Han Taeyi struggles to deal with the grief of losing his older brother, and takes it out on Seheon, only for Seheon to keep pushing Taeyi to become closer with him.

This show delivered on both the slowburn romance front and the entertaining characters. While the side characters didn't get much screentime, the two main characters each had distinct backstories and personalities, which complemented each other well. They start as polar opposites and appear to be enemies, but naturally over the course of the show we get to watch Taeyi deal with his grief and Seheon open up to Taeyi.

My biggest complaints about this show would all be resolved if the show was longer. First, the show tried to touch on homophobia, including internalized homophobia, but simply didn't see it through. It was brought up as a problem but then just disappeared? I also think that we missed out on seeing the early stages of Seheon and Taeyi together, because it seemed like they were fighting and then all of a sudden they were together? We never got to see the conversations or dates between them, and I think it would have helped to flesh out their relationship more. Frankly, we didn't get much time with them in a relationship because it takes so long for them to get together. I love a slowburn too, but I would have liked more happy moments with them as a couple. Also, some of the issues in their backstories (Seheon's dad, Taeyi's brother, etc.) could have used more screen time to really explore more. For the time it had, this show was wonderful. I'd say it's one of the more engaging and deep Korean BLs I've seen. However, the time constraints always seem to be my worst enemy for Korean BLs.

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Beautifully done slice-of-life BL

I had heard good things about Blueming for so long, but put off watching it because of the format. I find that many Korean BLs with 15-min episodes fall victim to the same pitfall - there's simply not enough time to get things done. This one, however, surprised me by how much they were able to do with their short time frame.

Siwon has always been taught that the most important thing is how other people view you, which has made him overly insecure about how is perceived - his looks, his interests, etc. Most of the time, he comes off as charming and interesting, but a lot of what he says is actually just a facade so he retains this image of himself. However, Dawoon sees right through him. This makes Siwon anxious, and he really dislikes Dawoon for it. Once the two of them start to understand each other more, feelings between Dawoon and Siwon start to emerge.

Even though this is basically the length of a movie, they managed to convey so much in so little time. The conflicts surrounding both characters' personal lives, as well as their issues within film school, are very realistic without being overly complex, which makes them ideal for this show. I do think that the relationship aspect of the show would have benefitted greatly from more time, but overall the show was a really great short watch with a lovely romance between the main character. I ended up much more invested in them than I thought I would, and the ups and downs made this a fantastic watch.

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Should have kept it simple

I wasn't quite sure what to expect going in to DFF, but it really got me hooked in the first episode. Though there were some frankly unnecessarily explicit sex scenes for a thriller, the setup to the plot was done really well.

Eight college friends take a trip to one friend's house in the woods, where there's no internet or cell service, to get away from the stress of school and have a big party before one of them goes off to study abroad. Our main(ish) character Phee (Ta) finds an old recording of a short film that 5 of the friends had made back in high school - but there's a 6th friend in the video that Phee doesn't recognize. That 6th person is Non (Barcode), who went missing after filming. The vibe turns eerie as they attempt to remake this short film, only to feel as though they're being watching. Suddenly, bad things start happening, and with no way to contact others, the 8 friends are left stranded, scared for their lives.

I assumed this show would take the typical cabin-in-the-woods horror movie idea and turn it into a TV show. However, the plotline started to become overly complex as it delved into the backstory of the original short film. Breaking up the tension at the cabin really did a disservice to this show, as it felt like it had to do a lot of explaining over the course of multiple episodes just to get the audience to understand what was happening. I felt like I was waiting to get out of the flashbacks and back to the cabin to figure out what was happening. I think they attempted to make this show overly complex, which ended up not working in their favor. There were too many characters and too much messy backstory for what could have been a really great thriller. Not to mention, the show gets really gore-heavy towards the end. However, as I expected from beoncloud, the budget was clearly pretty high for this one and the effects and production were great, as was the acting. I think they lost themselves in the story a little, but it was still very enjoyable to watch.

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A good crime drama that had something missing

Any time there's a new crime kdrama, I'm likely to watch it. It's one of my favorite genres. So when I saw A Killer Paradox on Netflix, I knew it would be worth a shot. While it's definitely not my favorite show, it was a fun and short watch. I do think Netflix has been doing itself a disservice with these shorter shows, as there always seems to be something lacking from them.

Lee Tang is our main character and at first, he seems incredibly normal. He doesn't get good grades and seems to be a bit lost on what he wants to do with his life. While working at his part-time job at the convenience store, some particularly annoying customers come in. Lee Tang doesn't seem to be one to lose his temper, and mostly ignores them. However, as he's leaving, one of them attacks him - and Lee Tang fights back and kills the guy. However, when the murder case is "solved", Lee Tang is not charged, or really even suspected. Plus, it turns out the dead guy wasn't just some annoying customer, but a horrible person himself. It seems Lee Tang got lucky - and it seems this luck continues to follow him with every murder he commits. As he starts to be consumed by guilt, will Lee Tang's luck run out? Will the cops finally catch on to what he's doing? Or can Lee Tang manage to keep scraping by?

This drama was nearly comical even though it has a serious tone. A murder unknowingly kills horrible people, and always seems to get away with it in a superhero (or villain) style. Lee Tang is an interesting main character because he's so....normal. I think the one thing I really would have liked to see in this show is more tension between Lee Tang and the detective that's pursuing him. It seems like it would've really helped to round out the story, which I believe could have been done if they had had a bit more time. As much as I love shorter series, I think it's hard to do a complete crime show in just 8 episodes. That being said, I really enjoyed this one and thought it ended very well.

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Watch for OffGun

Cooking Crush was about what I expected it to be: a silly goofy gay romance. Don't go in expecting anything other than that, and it's a great watch. There might not be much in the way of drama, but boy is it cute and fun!

Prem (Gun) is a culinary student, who doesn't really stick out with his abilities, but does an okay job. When his sister loses her tuition money, Prem needs a way to get it back fast. Ten (Off) is a med student who decides he wants to learn to cook - but really, he just wants to be around Prem. Prem charges him an outrageous fee for cooking lessons, but Ten doesn't mind since his dad is wealthy. The two get closer during their cooking lessons, and feelings start to emerge between them, but it seems there will be some obstacles before they can be together.

If you like OffGun, you should watch this. It's really goofy, and no problems seem to be drawn out too long. Overall a good show and an easy watch.

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One of the better K-BLs I've seen

Love for Love's Sake surprised me a little! I had gotten a few clips of it on social media, specifically the fight scenes, and assumed it would be a high school romance with the classic K-drama-style bullying in it. When I started the show, I realized it was much more than that.

Our main character Myung-ha gets transported into what seems to be a video game, and sent back 10 years to when he was 19. The game gives him a mission: make Yeo-woon happy within 300 days, or receive a penalty of death. Myung-ha is able to see how much Yeo-woon likes him, which should be helpful, except for the fact that this score starts at -20. Myung-ha has to attempt to make Yeo-woon happy, but tragedy seems to strike at unexpected times. Myung-ha is simultaneously dealing with his own feelings towards Yeo-woon, as well as school-related issues now that he's in high school once again.

This show was much more emotional than I expected it to be, and it worked in its favor. I did find the ending to be not quite what I expected and not in the best way, but overall it was a super solid show that was very enjoyable to watch. The actors did a great job portraying these characters, and I feel like their growth worked really well even in this shorter series. My biggest complaint about the show was the Myung-ha got a bit frustrating to watch as the main character, as it seemed like he was always unwilling to deal with his own feelings, even if it would be to the benefit of everyone involved, including himself. It sometimes seemed like he didn't really like Yeo-woon all that much, even though the viewer can see he clearly does. Besides this, the show was a great watch and visually very pleasing. I thought the different aspect ratios used throughout the show helped to capture the emotions and the difference between the previous and current life that Myung-ha is living. As far as Korean BLs go, this is definitely one of the better ones!

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Another victim of the K-BL format

Nearly every Korean BL I watch has the exact same issue: not enough time. And this one is no exception. I was excited to watch this one as a fan of SF9, and was slightly disappointed to see such potential in a show that could never live up to it, due to the time limits that K BLs seem to always have.

Hanjoon has secretly been in love with his childhood best friend Yoojae for a long time now, but only truly realized it when he starts to get jealous that Yoojae is pursuing a girl. This brings out a lot of tension in their relationship, as both of them are quick to anger when it comes to issues with each other. It takes a long time for them both to realize that the reason they're always on edge with each other is because both of them are harboring more feelings than they thought, and neither of them know how to process it.

Each of these 15-20 minute episodes could have and should have been 45 min. There's a quick conflict in every episode, where the causes, conflict, and aftermath are never fully fleshed out. Plus, they attempted to give both characters complex family situations without having the time to do so properly. They either should have cut out some unnecessary conflicts to flesh out the characters, or lengthen the episodes to flesh out the conflicts. As is typical, there is truly no way to have multiple complex characters with multiple complex conflicts in a series with a total run time less than a movie. Frankly, a movie would have been better because at least it would have been one continuous storyline instead of 8 separate conflicts that they resolve in under 5 minutes. I was, however, pleasantly surprised by the acting of the main two. The tension and fights felt like real issues that 18-year-olds would have, and nothing about this show felt cheesy. A fun watch that I wouldn't recommend too highly.

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Perfect balance of fantasy and romance

My Demon surprised me with how well they managed to do a romance drama while still keeping the fantasy elements all the way through, and keeping an entertaining storyline. I will say that most of the twists were fairly predictable, but even still the story itself was very enjoyable to watch.

Jung Gu-won (Song Kang) plays a demon who makes deals with people in exchange for their soul. Additionally, he has powers that essentially make him invincible. Do Do-hee (Kim Yoo-jung) is the CEO's favorite potential successor of Mirae group, though she's the only non-blood related candidate. This naturally creates tension within the family of this corporation, and the lengths to which the other family members are willing to go to in order to destroy Do-hee become clear as the story progresses. When a twist of fate bring Gu-won and Do-hee together, they both reluctantly become reliant on each other, which leads to unexpected romance between them.

Overall, a great fantasy romance. They somehow managed to hit every romance trope and still pull off each one. The actors have great chemistry together, and the development of the relationship is well-paced and fun to watch.

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