One of 2023's best cdramas.

From the very start I was very impressed with this drama. The first episode felt grounded in reality and presented all the main characters as young adults behaving like such but also with a level of maturity that felt respectful. Sometimes youth dramas don't know how to balance the growing pains, friendship and romance but You Are Desire does it perfectly.

Xia Feng Yan created a story with solid development based on actual growing from well rounded characters that act and react in ways that feel natural. I am amazed this is her first project and I will keep an eye on her because she has a bright future.

Deng Ke (My Huckelberry Friends) also started in the industry as a screenwriter before transitioning into directing, so it was a perfect fold for Xia's story. He understood the assignment and complemented the script with beautiful cinematography, camera movements and choice of cast.

This drama could have died in the hands of a lesser cast but Zhou Yiran and Zhuang Dafei carried the drama flawlessly. Most of the story centers around them and how they interact with others when loneliness has been a part of their young lives for a long time. The supporting cast were also at their best, each with their own lives and struggles which made them well rounded individuals and not an artifact to push the leads's story.

All of these elements created a beautiful group of people dealing with different experiences. A slice of life drama where we understand the world is not always fair and parents make mistakes; where people need to learn to grieve in a healthy way. That families can all look very different from each other and that's okay as long there's love. That you don't always pass the university exam and your workplace might suck. A world where you fall in love and support one another as you grow together with a clear understanding of each other. That life can be sweeter when you are surrounded of good people who truly appreciate you.

Overall, You Are Desire it's a wonderful story that enjoyed from the very first episode to the last one. Criminally underrated, for sure, as I don't understand how more people are not talking about what is probably one of 2023's best cdramas.

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When I tell you there's nothing interesting about this drama, I mean it.

I started watching The Love Equations because I remembered all the good comments about it. The first few episodes were nice and I was excited for a cute drama. Now I understand they were probably because this drama it's probably how they discovered Gong Jun.

Luckily, I have seen him in Begin Again -a drama from the same year as this one- and other more recent projects, which is why I can say he delivers a good performance, perhaps the strongest in the entire drama, but the story is no good and the chemistry is simply not there.

The story overall is filled with scenes and plotlines poorly developed, particularly when we are dealing with subjects such as mental health. I understand this is a character driven drama but when I tell you there's nothing interesting about it, I mean it.

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Don't miss out on this found family! Their affection it's the real deal.

This drama was a pleasant surprise. It's not that common to see a kdrama that has as leads a single mother and her grown daughter, mostly because of the stigma this kind of family stills carries in South Korea.

Thankfully, Not Others manages to not make it all about the stigma of teen pregnancy or single motherhood, it finds a good balance between every day life events, criminal investigation and rom-com. Particularly because Mom and Daughter are so unbothered by it that they carry on with a "it sounds like a you problem" when someone points out they are, within their society, wildly unconventional.

At the heart of it, there's a story of two women making their way in the world through hardships, love and growing pains. About how it's possible to choose your family and make that unit be whatever you want, not what it's expected.

My favourite part of this drama was the performances. Jeon Hye Jin and Soo-young shine as the outspoken Mother-Daughter duo. Their characters are kind, smart and brave about their live choices. They have great chemistry with each other and make you feel everything.

The rest of the cast delivers solid support. Kim Hye Eun plays the rich, cool aunt and she's a hoot in every scene she's in. Park Sung-hoon in a great counterpart for Soo-young and Ahn Jae Wook delivers as the lovable fool supporting whatever his ladies wish for in life.

There's also a murder mystery surrounding the central story that manages to keep it all very centered and makes all the characters interact with each other making their world better developed.

Don't miss out on this found family! Their affection it's the real deal.

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The perfect combination of sexy and cute

This was a sexy and cute love story between two office co-workers who start a BDSM relationship. I don't really know much about this subject but one of the key things that made me like this film, it's the equality between them despite being in a dom-sub relationship. Everything is a mutual agreement based on preferences and needs from both sides.

The film never centers around sex itself, but mostly on the mutual agreement based on preferences and needs of both sides. This allows for the story to explore on other aspects of the relationship through contrasting colors indicating the character's emotional state.

Leading man Jung Ji-hoon presents himself as a clean-cute, friendly and career oriented. The story goes deep into why he has a need for BDSM and particularly being a submissive person in the relationship. It has to do with unfair expectations society has on man, but I won't say much because I feel like he explains it perfectly. Lee Jun-young plays the character really well and doesn't shy away from the physical acting, which is hilarious and smut.

Jung Ji-woo is the perfect counterpart for Ji-hoo. It's clear she has been raised in an open minded household and as a result she is an independent and outspoken young woman, who is not afraid to call out her boss's sexism and misogyny. It brings her most headaches than she deserves, to be honest. This character trait is what allows her to go into a BDSM relationship filled with curiosity and excitement, as she finds the physiological release she needs. So-hyun's performance is excellent. Quiet yet strong.

The production is solid and very entertaining. And I think they did a good job presenting what is BDSM and all its nuances.

A very entertaining watch and I highly recommend it.

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Convoluted but engaging!

Since the presentation at the beginning of each episode is a short summary of the plot, I don't think it's spoiler when I say this drama involves a little bit of time travel. We have a leading lady who goes back in time, with her memory intact, for a re-do at family and court life. The drama, tho, starts the story like you are already in episode 5 and the viewer has to catch up. In my opinion this made the first third of the drama a convoluted, sometimes hard to follow but the characters were interesting enough to keep me engaged.

I appreciate leading lady it's smart and an equal talent as her male counterparts. This is important to portray because the world she involves herself in is controlled mainly by man, so in many ways she has the upper hand when they underestimate her and she can be sneaky without them realizing what hit them. Of course, except for leading man and a few of his friends. They see her for her smarts, beyond the beauty and noble title. Which is nice. That is not to say the drama has some red flag here and there but, if I am honest, I am on vacation right now and I just took this story for what it is: a fun period piece with endearing characters and some intense chemistry.

The latter two thirds of the story were far more interesting. We already know our players, where they stand and who they are trying to take down. Now it's a matter to see how this chess game will unfold, which personally I think it's the most fun for this kind of stories.

Overall, I really enjoyed this drama.

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