Reviews

Calibrate Your Expectations

If you don't like fluffy rom-coms with mild fantasy/sci-fi elements which sometimes lean into staple rom-com (for some, cringey or cheesy) humor, and prefer dramas with super tight writing that is plot-focused rather than character-driven, then you will probably find the gushing on this thread misplaced.

Do yourself a favor and reset your expectations so you don't come out the other side thinking, "That was overrated/overhyped." A lot of people like this kind of drama, hence the gushing. You may not be one of them, but that doesn't make everyone who loves this "wrong" or "a teenage fangirl."

This drama is not an artistic "masterpiece," but it is a very fun drama with strong chemistry between the leads that leans heavily into the concept of fate and true love with a dash of that old-timey romantic Kdrama nostalgia.

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The mayhem continues.

Season 2 picks up after a 2 year gap from the good times in season 1.

In this interval Mishima has done journalistically little of note as he is keenly avoiding having anything to do with Kihara. But a new case catches his eye - of criminals-on-hire, who murder an investor, steal a chip from him and then flee to Thailand. His supportive boss sends him to Thailand to cover the case where he crosses paths with Kihara. But is that by accident or did Kihara set him up? Why are the Thai gangsters and police behind them? Why are there Japanese thugs in Thailand? Who hired the murderers?

As in season 1, the writing and plot is wobbly. The plot, silly already, only moves forward because of bad decisions made by the characters and through contrived situations.
Example - The antagonist , who is shown to be very clever and strong, just leads the good-guys to the chip and is easily knocked out.

The pacing is odd. Episodes - at 30 mins length- have frenetic action scenes, prison breakouts, international escapes, characters getting seriously injured and recovering in the space of a week or two.
Then there is an entire episode that luxuriates over the backstory of the antagonist, something which could have been wrapped up in half the time.

What works is the thrilling action scenes, a fresh location and a good-looking cast. The story is easy enough to follow along. You can actually fast forward in a few places or switch off mentally , to find that you dont really miss much of importance and can easily understand whatever is playing out onscreen.
There is no sleaze, no intimate scenes, no nudity, no romance. So you can watch with family, if they can stand the mayhem.

Nearly all the cast from season 1 returns but they have very little screen time. The new cast and their shenanigans dominate. Standouts are Ikeuchi Hiroyuki who steals every scene that he is in, even in face-offs against the lead and Ninomiya Kazunari, who looks too young to be a senior cop and is equal parts earnest and untrustworthy.

The one change is that Mishima is now a whiny, super-annoying but still useless character. Where he was a naive-but-eager journalist in season 1, here he is just irritating. It is never clear as to what purpose he serves in this case where Kihara, Hirose and probably Tobio could have resolved it themselves.
Kihara also behaves maliciously. He implicates Mishima into a Thai prison filled with hardcore criminals without giving him a clue as to how the prison stint will help in sorting out loose ends.

You also have to accept leaps of logic. The leads are wanted criminals in Thailand. They escape from Thailand by helicopter. Back in Japan, life is back to normal in a day. Clearly Japanese police don't care to cooperate with their Thai counterparts in locking up lawbreakers.
Then there are point-blank shootouts involving machine guns and automatic rifles, where every single person dies - except the leads of course. There are plenty of such wtf or what-were-they-thinking moments.

But you will still enjoy it if you liked the characters from before. It builds out the universe and there are hints at another season with further adventures of Tobio, Hirose, Nikaido, Saeki and Kim. I'd watch it in a heartbeat if they continue with the formula of eye-candy actors. And maybe get rid of Mishima.

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O melhor que já assisti até o momento!

Esse seriado é o melhor que já assisti até o momento!

Ri, chorei, fiquei indignado, perdoei, fiquei impressionado!
Se existe até o momento uma obra-prima nos Doramas BL, esse é o seriado! Simplesmente perfeito!
Assistam sem medo de ser feliz e estejam preparados para cenas muito fortes, e sensações únicas!
O amor de Kinn e Porsche é perfeito, e ver eles superando etapa por etapa, é maravilhoso!
E as cenas hotties? De tirar o folego! Tudo isso no meio de explosões e tiros para todos os lados!
Épica, assim devo resumir! Será que teremos uma 2º temporada e eu poderei ver o meu personagem favorito novamente que é o Porsche?

Só assistam, é MUITO bom!

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what is the point

Cut vs. Uncut? What’s the difference, and what’s the point? There is literally nothing happening in the uncut version, and there is practically no difference. The cut version is over-edited, making it less coherent.

They teased the kissing WAY too much—it literally became boring to watch. The overly silly characters were frustrating, and why is it always the female characters that are portrayed like that?

The editing was a mess, and who hires an underage actor so that we don’t even get a single kiss scene? This completely ruined the chemistry between the characters and many key moments. But kidnapping, violence and drugging someone is ok?

Overall, this was disappointing and does not stay true to its genre.

The Thai remake of Addicted: Heroin fails to capture the raw emotion of the 2016 Chinese original. While visually polished, it lacks the intense chemistry and depth that made the original a cult favorite. The storytelling feels restrained, making it less impactful. New viewers may enjoy it, but longtime fans might be disappointed.

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O amor que nasceu do caos!

Prós:

- Personagens principais tem excelente atuação e ótima química.
- História com temas bem sérios, mesmo com temática de colégio/faculdade.
- Roteiro bem executado.
- Fotografia e músicas muito boas.
- Elenco secundário muito competente.
- Não deixe de ler todos os diálogos entre Thar e Type, você vai rir e se emocionar muito!

Contras:

- Em algumas passagens eventuais, o seriado dá uma desacelerada, ficando um pouco parado.
- Não curto cross caharacters em series. Em TharnType aparecem alguns personagens de outras séries que nunca vi, que caíram de paraquedas ali. Não acho legal, em especial para quem nao acompanhou o seriado de onde vieram esses personagens.

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Visuellement magnifique.....dommage que le reste ne suive pas.

Tout est dans le titre.
Ce drama est graphiquement incroyable. Sincèrement, j'ai été bluffé par les couleurs et la réalisation du drama. c'est sublime, la mise en scène est fluide et dynamique. C'était du grand art. Les petites touches de couleur sur ce fond sombre apportaient une touche de grandeur et de poésie rafraîchissante. Et que dire des scènes d'action? J'ai vraiment apprécié cette partie. Je trouve en effet que les dramas chinois sont un peu radins en ce qui concernent l'action et, je dois avouer qu'un peu de baston bien faite, je ne dis pas non. Je trouve donc peu à redire dessus. Fan de RPG depuis toute petite, j'ai été plus que satisfaite ici de l'intrigue démons/humais. j'ai adoré les pouvoirs des démons, les CG étaient superbement réalisés et bluffants. j'ai surtout adoré les pouvoirs du great demon! Sa puissance, du moins durant la première partie, était jouissive et impressionnante. les confrontations Zhu Yan/Li Lun étaient sublimes et magnifiques. Si je devais être honnête, j'ai de loin préféré la relation entre ces deux adversaires que Zhu Yan et Yi Chen ( plus ennuyante selon moi). Et si je devais être encore plus honnête, j'ai eu un coup de coeur pour Li Lun. Oui, oui c'est le méchant de l'histoire, mais son histoire a trouvé un écho en moi, et puis il faut avouer que le personnage est superbe :) et le choix de couleur, bleu nuit et doré, lui va à merveille...

Alors, avec tout cela, pourquoi juste 6,5.
Parce que....
- La relation entre les protagonistes, bien que sympathique n'a pas pu m'émouvoir. Je n'ai vraiment pas réussi à m'investir dans leur histoire, les relations sont banals et ne laisse aucune place à l'imprévu.
- La romance....si elle commence plutôt bien, avec toute cette pointe d'humour et de sarcasme, elle tombe à plat à la 2eme partie...
- si j'ai adoré Zhu Yan et son ironie mordante, je l'ai détesté durant la 2eme partie, cette ironie qui nous faisait rire n'était plus, cette puissance qui m'en bouchait un coin n'était plus, cette superbe arrogante n'était plus...Bref, une redondance de plus, ce qui a le don de m'énerver, un personnage qui devient une barbe à papa dégoulinante de bon sentiment au contact de son meilleur pote ou de la nana de ses rêves...Un classique. Si c'est bien fait, j'applaudis. Ce qui ne fut pas le cas.....
- Les personnages principaux, mis à part Li Lun, ne sont pas extraordinaires. Ils ne sont pas mauvais mais pas assez bons pour rendre ce drama incontournables.
- Wen Xiao...premier épisode, on la voit se battre avec un petit démon avec agilité et assurance...et par la suite, elle devient d'une faiblesse physique terrible, limite, elle ne sait absolument rien faire....What the heck???
- Les personnages qui meurent (il en faut bien, hein?) on ne les pleure pas, cela veut tout dire.
- le vilain de l'histoire, on en parle? il est ridicule et est juste méchant. Alors oui, sa femme est morte et son bébé aussi, mais il reste méchant. Il n'y a aucune profondeur chez lui...(Je ne parle pas de Li Lun)

Surtout :
- Ca pleure TOUT LE TEMPS!!!!!! Oh my Gosh! je n'ai jamais JAMAIS vu un drama où TOUS les protagonistes passent leur temps à pleurer. Il n'y a pas un seul épisode où il n'y a pas de larmes qui coulent furtivement!!!! Le réalisateur doit adorer faire pleurer ses acteurs. Cela en devenait ridicule.
- je n'ai rien contre les dialogues profonds et philosophiques....mais pas quand c'est 80% du drama..... Ohlalala, vous avez le temps d'aller faire pipi, de répondre au téléphone, d'aller ouvrir la porte au livreur amazone, en revenant vous retrouverez les protagonistes, les mêmes, dans la même position, discuter ENCORE et ENCORE de la même chose depuis au moins 5 épisodes (avec les larmes aux bords des yeux of course). C'en était à s'en arracher les cheveux..
- le combat de fin...digne des CDZ ou DBZ (pour les vieux de ma générations, vous comprendrez de quel dessin animé je parle). Un combat sans fin qui dure sur 3 épisodes avec le méchant qui revient à la vie et qu'on a un mal fou à tuer, des ralentis pénible sur le sacrifice de l'un, une timeline étrange avec plusieurs combats dans des endroits différents, des flashbacks pour étirer un les épisodes, une chanson redondante ( que j'aimais bien au départ) pour intensifier le sacrifice et la difficulté du combat..Oui, je n'en suis pas fan, je ne vais pas m'en cacher...


C'est donc pour ma part, un beau gâchis. Un potentiel qui a été au final mal réalisé ce qui est un comble pour un drama aussi joli visuellement. Je me suis endormie sur les deux derniers épisodes. Je n'ai même pas envie de regarder l'extra, n'hésitez pas à me le raconter si le coeur vous en dit.

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Esse BL é simplesmente perfeito. Fiquei fascinada pelo drama emocional desde o primeiro episódio. Com uma visão realista e profunda sobre o amor, a série aborda as complexidades dos relacionamentos e como eles funcionam, sejam eles amorosos ou não. E esse é o ponto forte da série. Amor e romance são apenas uma pequena parte da nossa vida e, embora as vezes as coisas não aconteçam da maneira que esperamos, são experiências enriquecedoras que nos ensinam como o amor pode ser. Relacionamentos não são feitos para roubar a individualidade de ninguém, pelo contrário, devem apoiar a singularidade que torna cada pessoa única. É e isso que Cheng Ze Shou e Fu Li Gong aprendem como advogados de divórcio. Os dois protagonistas são extremamente charmosos e trabalharam muito bem juntos. Eles estão muito à vontade juntos. A atração entre eles é palpável e inegável. Eles são muito persuasivos em suas demonstrações de afeto.

Mas o que realmente me conquistou foi a história do casal secundário Yuki e Ying Ze. Yuki é um personagem muito sensível e perceptivo, conseguindo entender rapidamente as emoções e os sentimentos das pessoas ao seu redor. Amei como ele percebe os sentimentos de Cheng Ze Shou e Fu Li Gong antes mesmos que eles percebam. Amei a maneira sutil como ele conquistou Ying Ze, um pai solteiro reservado que leva uma vida comum cuidando do seu negócio e dividindo a custódia de sua filha. Novamente temos dois atores que estão muito à vontade juntos e dão vida a dois personagens muito sensíveis.

Amei como os relacionamentos homoafetivos são aceitos com naturalidade, sem nenhum drama pesado, sem nenhum estereotipo, exatamente como deveria ser.

PS: A beleza de Zheng Qi Lei já havia me conquistado em Kiseki: Dear to Me. Foi ótimo vê-lo como ator principal da série! 😍😍😍

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Drama of the year, indeed!

It is so me to find the best dramas of 2024 only retrospectively in 2025! This show was so good and I knew it would be but I didn't expect it to be this perfect and I had to postpone watching it for a while but I finally got around to it and I loved it!
The most amazing part of this show is the main character. The lead actor is so perfect? I knew of him only through the infamy of his viral "oppaaaa" gif but that was enough to know he is a good actor. He was amazing though! I'm discovering (all these already super-discovered, well-known, applauded by literally everyone) older k-actors and I don't know, I may go back and watch all their old dramas!
This show is a murder mystery with a pressure point that is about to explode like a ticking bomb. The main character's personal investment and involvement in the situation, adds a necessary urgency to the plot that will keep viewers on the edge of their seats until all is revealed. I have to say, this was very well-planned. The plot moved so smoothly...that said, there were some parts of the final reveals that I did not love. But overall, everything connects, just as the name of the show promises, like fates connected with a red string of fate. I also loved the characterizations. From the main protagonists to the main villains, to the minor characters, everyone seemed well-thought out with motives that moved the plot forward and helped unravel the mystery.
The story is also strewn with melancholic nostalgia. As the plot progresses and secrets are revealed, old connections are dug up and people are forced to face each other after years of estrangement, you feel sorry for what could have been and what was lost along the way.
In addition to the interesting characterization and sufficient plotting, the show had perfect production. You know how I know it was perfect? It was basically invisible! You don't even notice it! Everything went so smoothly that it never stood out like a sore thumb.
I wouldn't rewatch this probably but it was still such a great drama.
Overall: If you like mysteries, action that isn't just mindless violence, tense plots and interesting characterization, look no further! Watch it! This was the best 2024 show I have watched so far!

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More style over substance

One of the first fantasy cdramas I have managed to actually complete in a while that is a decent watch with nice costuming, good acting, and enjoyable comedic moments mixed with mostly likeable characters. This drama has elements that I truly enjoyed like the complex demon Zhu Yan that gets more interesting the more you learn about him as well as Zhuo Yichen and his stoic but righteous heart. These two characters definitely carried the show for me as well as the curiosity to uncover exactly why the antagonists made the choices they did. But there are some things that kept this from being a great drama.

First let me ask why in the world these characters cry so much? Every single episode had multiple characters with tears in their eyes. There are so many ways to express empathy, sympathy, and sadness without needing to cry but because they were directed to have tears at every occasion it cheapened and lessened the emotional impact the truly big moments could have had on the viewer. It was so frequent that I began to wonder how many bottles of artificial tears this production went through by its completion because none of the scenes felt genuine. Seriously, how could you make these strong and incredible fighters that fight and kill demons regularly and have experienced intense and heartbreaking backstories cry at the drop of a hat?!

This production had a habit of dragging out these boring and insignificant moments but then glossing completely over seemingly important developments. For example we got several instances of these drawn out slow motion, multiple camera angles backing away at the end of winded monologues where they try to extent emotional responses to sad revelations but then major fight scenes would skip over any action and just show the end with bodies strewn about and the winner standing tall. They even condensed what seemed to be important moments that would have added gravitas but instead ended up making things feel too easy. Like when Wen Xiao spent 300 years alone growing a branch of a divine tree that they needed but she was in and out within two minutes of screen time. More expansion on this would have truly added weight to the idea that these ingredients they needed to save everyone were nearly impossible to get and were hard fought and won by our protagonists. Instead you are left feeling like it was so trivial. And many more instances like that happened where things were talked up to be so difficult but played out and appeared so easy lessening any impact those moments could have truly had.

Now lets talk about the action, when there is any, where the characters primarily stand and pose while the camera moves and pans in slow motion to get close ups of everyones faces. We get the occasional great movement shots where they are twisting and turning their bodies especially Pei when she fights but they primarily relied on CGI for fight scenes and they often did not last long with main characters very easily knocked down pretty quickly so we just get to watch their faces as they lay or crawl and watch the rest of the fight unfold. In truth this style of editing can be useful and pretty but it also was very repetitive and ultimately made me feel nothing. It did not help that the plot movement began to feel less and less logical as the story progressed. The first half of the drama was interesting and even pretty funny in places but then by episode 20 you see a decline in the story telling where the reasoning and choices began to not logically make sense and instead things were just happening to make the plot convenient and move the story forward. There were many instances where I often felt like I just skipped a scene because something was missing or instead of showing things in real time they chose to only give information in flashbacks or to try and confuse the viewer they would try to make some scenes misleading but that just ended up confusing the narrative.

This may sound like I did not enjoy the drama when in truth I did like it much more than most other CDrama's I have seen as of late but it still falls far below some other dramas that are very similar but have better pacing and more coherent plot movement.

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a must watch <3

this is such a great cdrama.. i had watched some scenes online but i didnt think it would be this good. i loved the couple, they had great chemistry <3 the ml and fl were ofc amazing individually as well. they had clear values and characteristics :) usually, i don't really understand why fls choose these type of guys (cold, bad communication, ect) but his character is very well-written, it really made me understand. the part i loved the most has to be whenever they are together :p i was always rooting for them to get together and when they did they were so sweet, i was a little jealous tho bc i want to have that too !!! anyway I think it's also quite realistic and has a message to get across, for me that always makes a show/movie memorable. don't hesitate and give it a try :) for me it will definitely be a show i'll rewatch a lot !!!!!

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Unlucky till the end

Unnecessary drama from the main male lead, but it is to be expected because of his childhood trauma and fear of abandonment so he leaves people first. Calling himself a drifter he just lives life without attachment, but in his final moments he realises that truly the things that make life worth living are the people he surrounds himself with, presented in the mother figure that adopted him, his business partner and his ex-girlfriend, who, is also a person without parents. Broken people attract each other. Even with an unlucky life, in the end the clover he found represented that his end was a lucky one to be with the one he loved.

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KINDOF A REACH?! IDK? BUT POSSIBLY ONE OF THE BEST STORYTELLING BL OF ALL TIME"

We’re only six episodes into ThamePo the Series, but I already know this show is something special. Every detail, from the breathtaking cinematography to the way the story unfolds, feels intentional and heartfelt. It’s a slow burn, but never once does it feel boring. Instead, it invites you to savor every moment, making each scene more impactful than the last.

I love how the show delves into the other side of an idol’s life—the sacrifices, the struggles, and the parts of their world we don’t often see. It adds so much depth to the narrative and makes the story feel grounded and real.

And can we talk about Po’s character? Finally, a gay character who isn’t boxed into a stereotype! He’s not clueless about his surroundings or feelings—he’s sharp, self-aware, and fully realized. And the dynamic between Thame and Po? It’s exactly what I’ve been waiting for. They break away from the tired trope that one person in a queer couple has to be “the feminine one” and the other “the masculine one.” Instead, they beautifully embody both femininity and masculinity, creating a relationship that feels real, balanced, and inspiring.

Of course, the side characters deserve their flowers, too. They add so much richness to the story, complementing Thame and Po’s journey without overshadowing it. And the OST? Perfection. The music amplifies every emotion, and it’s stuck with me since the first episode.

Now, let’s get shady for a second because FINALLY—a BL actor who can actually sing! (You know who you are.) William and Est aren’t just amazing actors; they’re multi-talented, and their performances as Thame and Po are pure magic. Their chemistry is electric, and you can feel how much heart they pour into every scene.

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