Well, I finished it...

Honestly, I don't understand how this show has as high of an overall rating as it does. A lot of reviews said to stick with it because it gets better and, while that is true, I can't say the last 4 or 5 episodes were enough to make this rate an average of 8+. It's an investment to stick with the show till the end and unfortunately, this one did not have a decent return after it was all said and done. It wasn't bad, per say, but it certainly wasn't good.

By the end, I just stuck with it to see how they handled the issue with Thi's parents and then it never ended up happening. They were introduced to create conflict but then it never got resolved. It's one thing if they end the show with the parent still "needing time to accept or adjust" but here, they were simply never seen or heard from again and the main couple was just like "whatever, I do what I want." Well then why not just do that from the beginning?

It wasn't just the issue with the parents either. There were multiple aspects that were introduced and never really dealt with, making a lot of the show feel disjointed.

On the bright side, it was fairly basic and didn't need a lot of focus to pay attention to. It's an okay series to take a mental break with when you need it. Not the worst I've seen but definitely not the best. Go in with little to no expectations and it's a good time-waster.

Citeste mai mult

Have tissues ready for this emotional ride.

After reading a few reviews, I almost feel like this one will be a rebuttal against the masses but I guess it's all about personal preference, experience and perception so take from this what you will..

Personally, I think this was practically perfect in every way. Even those time where I felt frustrated or upset toward a character or situation, I could tell it was pretty intentional so I guess they did their job right. And, as my headline suggests, there were plenty of sad moments that had me tearing up which is not an easy task.

At the beginning, while I felt sympathy for Day because of his situation and I understood his frustration at the sudden disability, I couldn't quite get behind how bratty he was toward everyone. His attitude toward his brother and Night's obvious guilty attitude immediately hints that he was somehow involved with how Day became blind. We are given the impression that Night was a horrible person to Day in some way, shape or form however as far as the audience has seen, it just looks like Day is lashing out at him when Night simply wants to help. (more on the Night and Day relationship later because.. hoooo boy, do I have thoughts.)

As the series went on and we see Day from Mhok's perspective, it is clear that he is struggling with wanting to be seen as normal while also learning it's okay to ask for help with the things he simply can not do by himself. I definitely feel this one as someone with a sudden disability and coming to terms with the fact I can not do everything I was once able to while learning where my own limits are and needing help to achieve certain tasks. I feel like Sea portrayed the mixture of confusion, frustration and fear very well throughout the entire series.

Sea's performance as Day was damn impressive. Before going into this series, I was thinking it would be similar to the Vietnamese series Want to See You and thought I'd be comparing the performances but, really, there is no comparison. Both were excellent and I think Sea deserves all the recognition. I haven't been this impressed by a performance since Gemini as Heart in Moonlight Chicken. There's a lot of conflicting emotions that come with disabilities and Sea conveyed all of them effectively.

With Mhok, we are given insight to his own fears and insecurities with little tidbits here and there but I do wish we got more of his story because, while it is heartbreaking, it would have explained just that much more instead of having to piece together all the sprinkled hints. Since it was hard to really know what happened until way later in the series, it didn't give Jimmy much chance to convey Mhok's thoughts through expressions very often. We saw a little here and there which I think Jimmy did pretty well, but the lack of his story was definitely not helping.

Speaking of lack of story, I really wish they gave Night more as well. As I said before, it is obvious Day dislikes his brother although we don't find out why until later on. First he says "he's responsible for me going blind" then he says "I know it was an accident and that part I could forgive but what I can't stand is him pretending to be a good son in front of mom." Oh, so he's not allowed to change for the better after the accident? He's not allowed to try to be a better person without being chastised for it?

And here's my big gripe with Day and Night's relationship: It wasn't Night's fault in the slightest. Day was the one who was driving and took his eyes off the road because he didn't want a bit of vomit in the car. Why couldn't he just pull over instead of looking for a bag while the car was in motion? Or just let Night vomit in the car and he can pay to get it cleaned afterward. There really was no excuse for taking his eyes off the road for that duration of time while the car was in full motion. I almost wanted there to be a reveal that Night suffered injuries during the accident too and he held that against Day for taking his eyes off the road. It bothered me that no one seemed to ask or care if Night was okay after being in that car too... and they kind of touch on that a little with the fact Night felt ostracized within his own family. (Night was the biggest source of my crying, by the way, so prepare the heartstrings to hurt for him.)

On the subject of Night, I was so impressed with Mark's performance. I mean, it shouldn't surprise me because he is always phenomenal. But when he's sitting at the kitchen table and has a completely coherent inner monologue using just facial expressions, I just wanted to reach into the screen and give him a hug and tell him "it's okay, let it out." I'm glad they finally acknowledged that he was being neglected though I wish Day had taken more responsibility for what happened.

Here's where I disagree with the masses... a lot of people say that after episode 9 it was all unnecessary but here's why I think it is very important: Day and Mhok went through a "normal" couple's issue of lying and miscommunication. For all of Day's insisting he wanted to be seen as normal and Mhok insisting that Day was normal, this was the most realistic hurdle they came across that any couple could find themselves against. Mhok lied about being accepted for the Hawaii job and Day found out he lied. Simple as that. The fact he is blind has little to do with this fight besides the fact that Day accuses Mhok of taking advantage of his blindness to hide the truth. But, honestly, the truth would come out sooner or later one way or another so the blindness is barely even a factor. And it is in this fight that we see just how much Mhok needs Day and how petrified he is to lose him like he lost his sister. Up until this point, the sister storyline had only gotten a few mentions without really seeing the full toll it took on Mhok... now we see it when he completely breaks down.

Mhok needed to lose Day in order to see he needed to work on himself in order to not rely on someone else so much for his own self worth.. which makes the "thank you for breaking up with me" so poignant and important. Sure, the self discovery might not be the reason Day broke it off but the side effect of the separation made Mhok a better and self reliant individual. That being said, I don't think they needed the 3 years apart to get the point but oh well.. time skips mainly just show that nothing has changed and that the status quo is too boring to showcase, I guess.

Last but not least, the big upset for most people was the very end when Day gets his sight back. Really? We knew this was going to happen from the very beginning. In the first couple of episodes, it's pretty obvious that they were setting up for him to get his sight back at some point. From the very first episode, they mention there is a way to fix it with a transplant so they've already put the idea out there that it is "curable." They wouldn't do that if it wasn't an inevitability. I personally like to see his attitude and behavior afterwards. While we don't see much of the time with his sight back, what we do see is that Day is paying it forward. He had a reputation of being a self absorbed jerk before the accident and he became more compassionate while he lived without sight. Now that he has it back, he doesn't revert back to being a jerk, he instead becomes an advocate for the blind. More than the "happy ending" aspect, I see it as a huge part of his character growth, even if it would have been more meaningful if he never got his sight back at all.

As for the prominent side characters, I absolutely loved Phojai and I thought her friendship with Mhok was very wholesome. I loved that her and Night were together because they both deserved to have someone good next to them. I didn't really see the point of adding in the romantic aspect with August AT ALL. They were partners and there was absolutely no mention of it until a fleeting "oh, by the way, I had a crush on him. Surprise!" And then it's over just as quickly as it started. Everything with August happened in one episode.. that's it. Pretty pointless in my opinion. Gee was a good crossover from his former life to his new life and was very good in terms of showing Day that he could still have his friends from before if he just gave them a chance and was honest with them. She bridged the gap of time quite effectively.

Honestly, this may be one of my favorite series to date. It's nice to see more serious storylines that still balance the romance and feel-good moments effectively. I also like how there was really no "bad guy" or villain in the story and it was just the characters having to work on themselves. I would love more of these where the main setting is not in a school and the characters are more mature even if they are not much older than student age. More of this, please!

Citeste mai mult

Honestly, there's nothing I can say about this series that hasn't already been gushed about but it is one of those rare gems that I just can't let it pass by without singing its praises.

The stars really aligned for this production with a solid story, great cast and terrific editing/pacing that didn't make it feel disjointed or confusing at any point.

Story-wise, it had a strong and interesting plot that caught the viewers attention almost from the get-go which makes the viewer not only invested but also really caring about these characters early on. Even though Charn is not a good guy, we still want him to succeed and be happy. Tinn is the poster child for naivety and right or wrong which makes him clash in an epic way against Charn's corrupted mind. And yet their attraction and chemistry is undeniable and so fun to watch that the viewer can not help but stare and watch the train wreck unfold.

In that regard, the actors did a phenomenal job at portraying the very different, opposing sides while their flirting was so clever and cheeky. I was actually surprised at how funny the series was, considering the very sad and serious nature of the overall plot. Part of it was the one-liners of the mains bickering and a huge part was due to the actors' delivery that just made it overly amusing. Especially Film's portrayal of Charn was mind-blowingly good with just how crazy of a character Charn is. Film absolutely nailed the persona with his mannerisms and quirks throughout the whole series.

I had actually watched this right after seeing To Sir, With Love which has 4 or 5 of the same cast but each of them played a VERY different role here which was nice to see. It was almost to the extent that I could forget they were the same people. Especially Film and Jam seemed to do a kind of role swap between the innocent and the not-so-innocent type characters. In To Sir, With Love, Film had a lot of sad, crying moments where this, he was downright insane, bordering on The Joker level. I'm happy to see that they aren't being type-cast which I've already noticed a lot of in BLs whether it's a main lead or a supporting character.

If I had anything remotely negative to say about the series is that there really wasn't any need for the second couple to be, well, a couple. It felt a little forced, to be honest. I mean, they were cute together and all, but in their case, the situation was way too serious and dire to throw romance into the mix, at least at the time that they did. Like, guys, wait till you actually get away from Thatthep completely before you get into a relationship. And, of course, I am not a fan of the dead fish kisses which is unfortunately mostly what we got here. I would rather not have it at all than have the dead lips.. especially when the main couple's flirting was so strong and filled with innuendo. If they are going to build it up like that, you'd think the characters would be ready to explode by the time they finally give in and allow themselves the pleasure. We as the viewers also feel that tension and need a release in some way, shape or form to feel complete. If they aren't going to give it, then maybe lighten up on the tension and build-up.

BUT! Really, as I said, this series was strong enough that they didn't need to add that anyway. Oh, and when Nawin shows up?? OMG, and I thought Charn was unhinged... but damn, Nawin was hilarious and very well played by Nat. Honestly, I think he stole more than a few scenes singlehandedly. Even with the smallest gestures (like tossing the brass knuckles away through his legs) was brilliant and had me laughing so much, probably more than it should. In a way, he reminded me of Tankhun from KinnPorsche where he was over the top but in a fun way that never became annoying or out of place. You just come to expect that they are brilliantly insane and adorably dangerous.

I think this show will become a favorite amongst many people.. it's already top 5 status in my book. And the short-ish nature of it makes for easy rewatch, which I'm sure I will again and again.

Citeste mai mult

Very good series

I really enjoyed this series. The story was different enough to keep me interested and I felt like any of the issues that came up were justified instead of ridiculous. The pacing made sense and there weren't silly misunderstandings or miscommunications to the extent there usually is in BL dramas. Maybe because they were all adults and more mature than high school or university students but either way, it made for a great watch.

There were a lot of cute moments between the main couple though if you aren't a fan of lack-luster dead-fish kisses, be prepared that's all you get from them.

The secondary couple was interesting and cute together with better chemistry, in my opinion. But they didn't get much of a resolution and everything between them felt a little disjointed to me. I'd love to see a series that focused more on them to be able to understand better what was going on and to see them really come together.

This was one series where the music really helped along the feel of the scenes and I found myself actually paying attention to, unlike the BLs that play the same two songs every episode.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this series to anyone who likes decent storytelling and cuteness between the leads.

Citeste mai mult

This was such a refreshing change of pace from the bulk of BL dramas out there. It was a nice twist on the childhood friends - to - lovers trope that felt new yet comforting in its familiarity at the same time. It was also a great dynamic having the third friend in the mix to show the evolution of feelings and how the friendships differ from each other (platonic love to romantic love to unrequited love) and how they compared to the past verses the present.

The flow of the story was a little weird although I can't say it was bad.. just a little confusing. From the very start, we see a potential car accident so right off the bat, it is hinting at a tragic conclusion. We are made to believe it will become even more tragic over the course of the series as we see Amber's clear affection for Le but his reluctance to say anything out of fear. This would be a quintessential "secret crush" story if it weren't for the added depth of Amber actually being Wen Wen whom Le has always been in love with and had been waiting for to return. We see this through a series of flashbacks though the truth of Amber's identity is not actually revealed until pretty late into the series so unless someone read a detailed synopsis or spoilers, it may not make much sense. Maybe they did this to encourage multiple viewings so that we see it in a different light, who knows? But again, I didn't find it to be bad, just strange. It was as if they wanted people to already know the big plot twist before it actually happened.

I was very happy to see that they could create a drama without needing a "villain" or someone coming in to try and mess with the MC. There was a little bit of a hint of that with Yu He but I thought her journey was very realistic and very well executed that you couldn't help but feel bad for her. She never once tried to get in their way but she was honest about how her feelings were torn between being happy to find out Wen Wen was back yet knowing it all but demolished any chance she may have had with Le. Oh, and her brother is ultimate BF material... she's sitting there crying and alone and he just puts on music and gives her cake while he listens to her pour her heart out. Sometimes, that's all we need.. an ear to listen to us while we eat cake.

I honestly didn't understand the purpose of the car accident.. I mean, there was barely a scratch on Amber so why make us think it's going to be much worse than it is if it was barely a blip on the radar when it actually happened?

But that's probably my biggest gripe with the series. I knew going into it that it would be a slow burn which I generally do not prefer. But it definitely worked here and made sense. Also, honestly, that was probably the most satisfying kiss I'd ever seen.. not so much the kiss itself but just the fact that it FINALLY happened. 12 episodes of tension and buildup ultimately get released and it's like letting out a breath that's been held in for way too long. Then from that point on, it was seriously adorable.. I liked how they showed them as normal friends at the end with the flirty undertone. They were just so comfortable with each other after all that uncertainty throughout.

Honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect with the synopsis I'd read somewhere else but I'm so glad I watched this series and would certainly recommend it to anyone. Truly beautiful and enjoyable watch.

Citeste mai mult

Well, they almost made it..

The main thing that I loved about the Ai Long Nhai series was the communication between the main characters.

...and then this happened.

Overall, it was a cute little side story. BUT. A misunderstanding that led to the dreaded "I don't love you anymore" declaration in the heat of the moment is like a complete series killer for me. And unfortunately, they used it here. Honestly, I don't know why writers use this so much because if this happened in real life, there's no coming back from a claim like that, as far as I'm concerned. It doesn't matter the reason for saying it... once it's said, that relationship is doomed. If the couple managed to get through it and end up together, the likelihood of them walking on eggshells for the rest of their lives for fear that claim might come out again would make for a horrible relationship.

But I digress.

If you liked the series, sure, go ahead and watch this. It's cute, has some good skinship and hotness along with the sweet ending. It's basically a 13th episode.

Citeste mai mult

All the feels

Honestly, I don't know why this isn't rated higher. This was such a great series. Really, there's no downside to this except that I wish it were longer. If they had a little more time to work with, they could have explained a bit more on the "deal" Choco and Milk got in order to come back as humans. That part is still a little foggy to me except that they had to risk their lives to do it.
And if they continue to do so, do they get to keep coming back for stretches of time?

But regardless, I thought the concept was pretty unique and well executed, especially in the personalities of Choco and Milk.
You can really tell one has the excited nature of a dog while the other is the overlord cat. I enjoyed the little nuances like how Milk shies away from Uncle when he sits down and only tentatively eats the whipped cream until Uncle leaves the table. I was waiting for Milk to bat at a glass on a table and was so ridiculously happy when he finally did. The actors did such a great job and had me grinning and laughing the whole way through.

Except for those serious moments that really pulled at the heart and caused a few tears to fall. The story really had lot of heart and especially episode 3 broke me.. and surely will anyone who has ever lost a pet. Absolutely heartbreaking in a beautiful way.

I would watch this again and again, just to see the acting from Choco and Milk. Definitely recommend!

Citeste mai mult

Awesome 12 ep musical

This show was a lot of fun with little angst but a whole lot of feels. It was a basic, unoriginal plot but it was made extraordinary by the cast. They really sold it for me, in every emotion they conveyed. I felt like more was being said through their expressions rather than their words, which is impressive for such a young and relatively new cast.

Right off the bat, it needs to be said that Tiwson is the perfect wingman and everyone needs a friend like him. It was a little sad that a lot of his lines were brushed off as jokes or nonsense because he had a lot of deep lines. "If high school love is like a lit candle in the rain, I will hold an umbrella for you." They basically have the crickets singing after he says that as if he's just being weird but this line alone made me fall in love with him.

This is probably the first show I'm tempted to get the full soundtrack to instead of just one or two songs. There was a different song every episode instead of the typical same two or three songs being used throughout the entire series. The group number in episode 5 that was started by Gun's mother was beautifully shot as you see all of the characters chiming in over the course of it even though they were all involved in their own situations. It was well executed and very effective. I got excited when I started recognizing songs that were covered in other shows (ie: Just Being Friendly used in Cutie Pie) but it was great seeing the different versions.

There were a few plot points that were either not explained well or just flat out forgotten about that was basically the only reason I didn't rate it higher. Like, when Sound is introduced, he and Tinn had a fierce rivalry and they do say as such, but they never really explain when or where or in what. And then, it's just forgotten about as if it never happened. They don't talk it out, they are just simply suddenly okay with each other with no reason why. And the thing with the teacher felt so forced, like they needed someone to be a villain but only thought about it in the final episode so they threw that conflict in just for the hell of it and then bam, sort of resolved 2 seconds later.

I thought this was a great showcase of friendships and family relationships while having just enough romance to be cute and drive the story forward. There were so many unexpected heart-pulling moments where I'd suggest you have some tissues ready in advance. Next time I watch this, (because I definitely will) I'll be better prepared instead of bawling into the throw pillow.

Citeste mai mult

Short and very sweet

This was a cute little series. It had a simple but nice story and it was good to see more mature characters rather than ones centered around high school or university age.

I really enjoyed it up until episode 10 (probably why it has the lowest rating in the whole series). The main couple had spent up until then being all "we'll always be together" and "no matter what, we will face it together." Then, all of a sudden, Li Kung is all "we have to break up" without explaining the reason why. Instead, he does the trope I probably hate the most where he makes the decision for both of them and says "I don't love you anymore." Like, seriously, why is that such a popular cop-out trope? How is anyone supposed to come back from that and say "just kidding!" like everything is all fine and dandy afterward? The only saving grace was that it gets resolved the very next episode instead of being dragged out for too long. But still, I absolutely loathe that trend and it unfortunately was the main cause this didn't get a higher rating from me.

Even so, this was still an enjoyable watch overall. Another good one to cleanse the palate with in between heavier dramas.

Citeste mai mult

Cute short series

This was a cute and fun series to kill an afternoon with. Each episode is about 20min long so it's really easy to binge watch the entire thing in one sitting. It was a nice change of pace for when I'm in between a couple of longer, heavier dramas.

What I liked about this was how adult it was and I don't mean in terms of "content rating." There was none of the silly misunderstandings or normal cliches that occur in BL. Every conflict that came up was valid and dealt with instead of drawn out, although that could very well be due to the short duration of the series as a whole. I particularly liked that the show still kept focus on their job and their relationship in a healthy balance of work and personal life. Oftentimes in BL, once the main characters meet, everything else gets put on the back burner and the show makes you think they now spend every waking moment together, which is unnecessary. However, here, the entire premise is about Woo Seung becoming a new employee and the show kept its focus on that. There was no "I'm going to call in sick today because I'm feeling heartbroken" nonsense.

I'd read the comic and I thought they did a decent job at keeping to the same storyline. The actors fit the roles nicely and I feel like the main leads had good chemistry. Although I'd read the 18+ version of the comic, I don't necessarily feel the loss of the NC stuff because the story and romance that we did get was worth it.

Citeste mai mult

Much improvement from Max and Nat

While I don't dislike the pairing of Max and Nat, their acting always felt "off" for me.. it's hard to explain exactly. Sometimes I felt like the chemistry wasn't really there or they just needed some polishing up. Since they'd been around for a while, I would expect "more" from them. But they weren't ever terrible and still very enjoyable to watch overall.

They definitely showed improvement here, in all aspects. Their individual acting as well as acting together was very good. There were only a couple of instances where I thought "Oop, there's the Max and Nat I remember" but I would say 90% of the time, it was much more refined and "grown up," if that makes sense. I don't mean grown up as in NC content, just in the way they have matured in their own acting and being comfortable in their own skin and opposite other actors.

Going into this series, I was really exited to see Gun again because I loved him in Unforgotten Night but thought his character there had a weak story arc and he, as an actor, got short changed to be able to showcase his actual talent. He certainly had the deserved screen time and storyline here in Two Worlds. He may have been in this weird main/side character role creating a love triangle that wasn't actually a love triangle, but it all worked and he pulled off the struggle and two world personalities well. (Although his was one character that wasn't much different in either world, it was more the situations that were changed because of how Max's character was different in each world.)

Speaking of the storyline.. it was really well thought out and executed in a way that made sense, even with its complexity. I was afraid that when there are alternate universes and different versions of the same people, it might get confusing but everything was very clear throughout the entire series.

This was another series where I wish the side couple had more screen time and overall effort put into their development. They had a friends to enemies to lovers arc that was interesting but never truly explored properly. All of their scenes together felt like an afterthought as if the editor was like "Oh yeah, we should probably move this couple along" after one or both of them were on screen with the main couple or other characters. I don't know if there are plans for a spin off for them but they certainly had potential that unfortunately wasn't utilized. Even so, when they finally got together, it was so satisfying. But once they did, we literally never see them again. I don't even know if they can be considered a side couple or if they were just there for fan service, at this point.

One of the most interesting aspects of this show was the fact that the entire chain of events in both universe timelines were all dependent on whether Thai decided to follow in his father's footsteps or if he followed his heart and more true nature. It was interesting to see that idea of how one person's choice could effect so many other lives.

I was very impressed with this series and am surprised I don't hear more people talking about it. I thought it was very good all around and I would definitely watch it again or recommend it to others.

Citeste mai mult

Very well done all around.

I thoroughly enjoyed this series and everything about it: the story, the acting, the pacing, the directing. It all came together really well to create another great series to add to the growing Korean BL lineup.

The series begins with an insight to where the story is headed then we go back in time to tell the story of how we ended up there. By the time we catch up, there's still more story to come (including one of the best plot twists I've seen).

This series could have really benefitted from a couple more episodes, just because the story was that good and it deserved more ironing out. That's my main issue with KBL series; they are always so short. Sometimes it's good when the story is less involved and doesn't need all the extra filler. But when they are working with a more complex theme or multiple storylines intertwined, they really deserve a bit more time to have it come together better.

I think this series did a decent job with tying together all the loose ends though just a tiny more explanation or conclusion in some areas could have made this series perfect.

This could have been a 10 from me if they didn't use my most HATED trope ever.. The "I don't love you" excuse for breaking up instead of being honest about what was going on in their heads. I can't remember which series I wrote it in but one of the reviews I did for a series that used that, I said that there's no coming back from a claim like that and it's just as true here. Thank goodness the very next scene is someone stepping in and the couple clears the air and reconciles not even two minutes later so the unnecessary angst didn't linger.

The only other complaints I have for this series is that I wish the "side couple" (if you could call them that) didn't really end up together although they were back to being friends. But the senior kind of allowed his internal homophobia to win which is really unfortunate. It would be great to see a side story or even spin off series that explores their relationship more as I still think they had (have?) a lot of potential.

I wish there was a little more resolution with the father though I get that there were time constraints to fit in the main storyline. They needed to have a serious conversation. The dad get's told off once and he's suddenly a changed man? I highly doubt it. But I just took it to mean it would be a work in progress and that they would eventually come to an understanding, even if we don't see it.

Speaking of things we don't see... I love when a plot twist comes completely out of left field and I don't see it coming while it still fits in seamlessly with the story. I could see people saying there were too many coincidences but I think it was pretty poetic when the truths came to light. (I'm trying really hard not to give it away so I'll stop talking about it now.)

But yeah, I definitely recommend this series. It was full of heart, great storytelling and had a mixture of funny and serious moments that blended well together. The music was a nice change of pace too, giving a fresh spin on a classic formula.

Citeste mai mult

Desperately needed more time on the editing floor..

This one is hard to rate because there were things I loved about it and there were things I really didn't like. Most of this review may just end up being my thought process just trying to work it all out in my head so I apologize in advance if it's just as scattered as this series was.

If we go with the bad first, as the headline suggests, this series really could have used some better editing. There were many things that didn't make sense at the time or seemed to come out of nowhere, leaving me wondering if I missed a scene or a full episode entirely. (I guess I should also mention that there wasn't a great option for English subs... I tried multiple sources and the subs on all of them were rough. But you can still get the gist if you don't read word for word or know your thesaurus.) Sometimes something will happen in an early episode and then about 4 or 5 episodes later, they will throw in a flashback kind of thing that explains it... but at that point, it's almost forgotten about since so much has happened in between. And then there's the other side of the spectrum where suddenly Ai is telling Songkhram to go away and leave him alone out of the blue when just before that everything was honky dory... then we find out he was having an inner battle of feelings but there was no show of that.. so it made him look like he was either being unreasonable or someone was forcing him to break things off with Songkhram otherwise they'd do something bad. So it really didn't make sense at all.

I was glad for the reviews I read that said the beginning was rough but that it gets better because it was very true and, in the end, I really ended up enjoying the series.

While the acting wasn't the best, it's clear the actors worked on their on-screen chemistry because pretty much all of the couples (3 main ones) had good scenes together. As individual relationships, there was progression and storyline (mainly for the couples of Songkhram/Ai and Bright/Meen... unfortunately I feel like the 3rd couple's story suffered from the aforementioned editing issue.) There was a decent amount of spice too which I somehow didn't expect with the way the series started out. Most of it didn't happen until the latter half of the series but I thought it was well done. Especially Songkhram and Ai's first time.. it was practically perfect in the buildup from the way their eyes just locked from across the room, being drawn together and then they started slow kissing, making out, allowing the tension to grow and finally coming together to complete the cycle. SO many series forget about foreplay and build-up which is, in my opinion, more important than the act of sex itself.

I liked the different take on the university rivals trope.. even though they were all engineers, they were divided by other aspects completely unrelated to school, just so they could start out their university life surrounded by people who had similar interests. It was like they took the hierarchy of the SOTUS program but made it into something meant to benefit the freshmen. There were no bully subplots though there was plenty of good-natured hazing amongst the core group of friends. That scene at the amusement park where the friends were "bumping into" either Ai or Songkhram was hilarious and I loved it. It was another different take on "outing the secret couple" trope that wasn't obnoxious or overly invading.

I guess that's where my biggest confusion comes from.. like.. there were so many good ideas thrown into this series to make it different enough and they had actors that worked well against each other.. but it just got lost when trying to follow some of the plot. They needed to work on the transitional parts that explained how they got from point A to point B. Even the flashbacks they threw in here and there seemed like an afterthought.

Either way, I would recommend this series as one that doesn't need too much brain power (except for further translating the subs). It was a fun, easy watch and I'll definitely watch it again. I'll give it some time to get some better subs, hopefully. I'll keep my fingers crossed..

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Underrated

I had never heard of this series before and just happened to have a clip of it recommended to me from youTube.. and I'm so glad it did. This was a fun show that, going from the premise, I didn't think I would like as much as I did. Seeing as it's about the craziness of fans and shipping culture, I thought I would hate it because shipping actors in real life is not my thing.. I thought it would be full of annoying girls and the antics they get up to in order to get close to their idols.

While there was some of that, the show had a lot more going on with it, including a struggling band, the relationships and friendships between the members as well as their families and the underlying idea that fans should be respectful and shipping is supposed to be a fun, harmless thing. I actually learned a few things... like that whole sasaeng thing was pretty cool how even within the fandom, they blacklist anyone who is not being respectful to the artists or are invading their privacy.

A lot of the series was still pretty juvenile and the acting was a little rough in spots but it was somehow still very entertaining and really funny. The humor was done well without being obnoxious and the chemistry between the characters was fairly decent. I enjoyed their playful banter the most, especially within the bandmates. The romance was nice but nothing to write home about. The emotionally charged moments were more enjoyable than the actual kissing or any physical moments.

Being only 10 episodes long, this was a pretty quick watch, especially with the engaging storyline and progressive pacing. I didn't feel like there was a lot of unnecessary filler and that everything happened for a reason. There weren't any aspects left unexplained or dropped which is also a big plus in my book. I would certainly recommend this as a light and fluffy watch.. maybe as a palate cleanser after a more dramatic series.

Citeste mai mult

Much better than I expected

Honestly, I was fully prepared to not enjoy this as much as I did simply for the fact it was centered around basketball. Or, so I thought. (Nothing against the sport, I just don't watch it.)

But this series was about so much more than that. Even the basketball parts, I found myself interested and invested in because the storyline was that good. It wasn't your typical school rivalry sports drama but more about the personal journey of the individual characters and the way their attitude affects their game and their team.

Also, usually when there are multiple love stories going on, it's easy to pick favorites or be more invested in one over the others. But here, I was equally interested in all three of the couples because they each had a different dynamic going on. All while there were solid friendships and platonic relationships that were so fun and wholesome.

The communication, while missing in some areas to create drama, was very much on point and the characters were all honest with each other and themselves most of the time. It's so refreshing to come across a drama that doesn't rely on misunderstandings as their main source of conflict. There was also no real "villain" either which is a testament to how good the story was without that riffraff.

My main complaint with this series is that the couple with the best tension had an open ending and we never got a release out of all that build-up. I would almost prefer they don't do all that if they are not going to resolve it but it still made for some cute moments.

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