There is never any mention of struggle of sexuality which I find totally awesome, specially because it's a South Korean drama. And they treat the relationship between the main couple as they should. Just like any ordinary couple.
The Bad: I was sometimes wondering what was happening is some scenes, because the sequences were too fast. Maybe it's just me or because of the subtitles. Anyhow, it distracted me a little from the story, but I still enjoyed it and watched those scenes again just to make sure I was understanding what was happening. :)
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One of the best movies I've ever watched
"Long Time No See" is one of my favourite movies of all time (including non-asian ones).Though the beginning of the felt a little rushed, I enjoyed this short series from beginning to end. It's a very interesting story that captures. The plot twist is no joke. There's no idolization of the underground which I find pretty important. The leads were well chosen, and I came to love Gitae's older sister. I totally forgot that she's such a good, accepting and supporting character. The chemistry between Gitae and Chisoo felt almost like you could touch it. Their complete incapability of taking their clothes cracked me up so much that I started sending lines of the dialogue to a friend.
The music mostly fits well. At times the combination of the visual imagery and the music almost sent me down from my chair because I laughed so much (at 4 am - everyone would have hated me for that). Honestly, I'm still laughing about that one bed scene.
Since I was re-watching this, I think I can answer this honestly. It's still great. I have watched "Long Time No See" two times about a year or two apart, and I remember having enjoyed watching back then just as much as now. I rarely skipped, which is a feat in itself, seeing as I start skipping a few seconds whenever I start feeling bored.
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Even though it was short (I'm really into short dramas!), the plot really got my attention from the start to end, all the actors are amazing on scene and the action make-up was on point. It made me so happy to see real kisses and real domestic scenes, I know this was a huge step on LGBT dramas and movies and I'm extremely proud of everyone who's involved on this.
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This review may contain spoilers
Gay assassins in love. And, gosh, there’s actually a drama about gay assassins in love that does NOT end tragically! Sight unseen, really!Yes, the production is cheap but the story is good, the knife fights are fantastic - and the love scenes both tender and hot. And there’s also some nice whump in this which is just this sweet cherry on top of this lovely sundae.
So, if you have approximately 90 minutes to spare and you want to watch a gay drama that has it all, go and watch this one. I can highly recommend it!
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If you're hesitant to watch this, then just watch it
I was really hesitant to watch this at first not gonna lie, I was afraid the plot would be boring or that the quality would be low and would ruin the whole thingBUT people in the comments kept saying this was a nice series so I did watch it and I do not regret it at all!
Very nice chemistry between the 2 leads
I was a bit confused at some parts that maybe needed a bit more development or explanations but that didn't throw me off that much
The action scenes were pretty cool for such a short drama and they were well balanced, not too many, not too little
I do think some scenes deserved more background music though, every kdrama fan knows music is such an important element to convey emotions.. but maybe that was just not the "style" they wanted to use here, maybe they wanted the scenes to be more "raw" ?
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The story is like if you put ten different fanfiction tropes together and mashed them but it somehow works? It's fun to watch and it's still unpredictable at times. The acting... the main actors are good, the smaller ones not so much. But if you focus on Gitaek and Chisoo only + Gitaek's noona - it's well done. Music doesn't really stand out. I will definitely rewatch this with my friends because it's so good. I really recommend it and furthermore:
it has a happy ending! So don't worry about not watching if you don't like sad stories.
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If you're like me and don't read descriptions and watch trailers or intros the shows; then biiiiiiittttccccchhhh, things took a turn FAST. I went from like "okay this is cute or whatever" to "I'm choking on my beverage because what just happened" ya know? If this series was longer I feel like there could be a more in-depth view into the characters and their backgrounds. The story moves really fast so you have to keep up and understand what's happing.
There is a lot of story missing, but you're not missing the concept, you know what I mean? Like there's a lot of things you could see to either confirm or backup or support what is happening, but you're not missing a thing. It's a great story, lovely cast, a lovely script. I really enjoyed this
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This review may contain spoilers
Short but Compelling
StoryI wasn't expecting much out of this one, mainly due to the short run time. But I have to say, in the end I actually appreciated the brevity. With the exception of a few parts, I think it was about as long as it needed to be. There was no padding or filler—just a compelling plot that moved right along. My biggest issue with BLs is that they usually aren't about anything, aside from relationships, which I often don't find enough to really propel the plot. Therefore, I get quite bored. Not at all with this one. Here there was enough setup, with the mob backgrounds, to actually give the story some direction. It did focus on the relationship, but not at the sake of the story. BL may not even be the correct category for this. It was definitively about two men, not boys.
Personally, I don't like cute fluff, another common trapping of BL. Long Time No See was not cute, in the least. It has a sweet, tender moment or two, but it was actually pretty gritty, and a bit dark. That being said, I was so relieved at the ending. It could have been a tragedy, with the mob plot being what it was, but thankfully they decided to give this one a happy ending. I guess my only story complaint was that they could have fleshed out the mob and the rivalry going on there a bit more. It was very clear, but it could have had a touch more depth.
Acting
The acting is probably what stood out the most, overall, for me. The cast was very small. In as far as named characters go, I wasn't complaining. Another sticking point for me with BLs is when they jam-pack the cast and end up not giving enough screen time to anyone. That certainly wasn't the case here—no pointless secondary or tertiary couples. The mob, again, could have done with a few more members or goons, or whatnot. It came across a bit empty, and might have been more threatening had they showed more of the operation or manpower. The two mob bosses (if that's what they technically were) that they did show, were well acted.
The fight & reveal scene was really well done. It could have been over the top with weeping and shouting, but both of the actor's opting for subtlety instead was what made the scene hit really hard.
Intimacy/Heat level
This might not be on everyone's review list, but when intimacy isn't done well, it takes me right out of the story. The couple had really great chemistry, and I was really surprised by the level of physical intimacy they displayed. No fake kisses, and seemingly no discomfort with any of the scenes. In the world of BL, that's really refreshing. The only other Korean BLs I've seen have been very poor in the intimacy department—scant scenes, fake/close mouthed kisses. This couple managed to be sexy and sweet at the same time, while looking real. And this is probably the first BL I've seen with partial nudity. It wasn't done in any kind of gratuitous manner. It complimented the scene in which it appeared.
Their intimate scenes also weren't overly staged. Sometimes it's clear that the actors have perfected the timing and rhythm of their love scenes, and that's not necessarily a bad thing, but it can come across as very rehearsed. Here, especially the first intimate scene, they just seemed natural.
Characterization
I separate this one from acting, as it has more to do with how the characters were written. I found both leads to be engaging characters with fairly believable motivations, although, this is one of the areas where it would have been nice to have just a bit more. I would have liked to know a little more about them. I liked the twist of Gi Tae knowing Chi Soo is his target, but not knowing (at first) that he's also a writer of on-line serials that he really likes. As far as a reason not to kill Chi Soo right away, I thought that was actually really clever and worked. From there it's clear they fall for each other, and that's why Gi Tae stays his hand further. Small detail, but I liked it.
Another thing I really appreciated is that the characters were "on equal footing," so to speak. There was no dominant partner, and they stayed away from the whole husband/wife, top/bottom stuff that I loath. Physically, they were a really good match for one another as well. Yeon Seung Ho may have a baby face, but he is actually really tall, but he was never seen as cute or childish, even before we knew who or what he really was. They made Gi Tae's character just as strong and resilient as Chi Soo's (also making him a hitman certainly helped in this category). Whenever the two male leads are on equal footing, I really, really appreciate that.
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Not bad at all
Okay imma say this here. It was not bad. I enjoyed the story. And you know what I wasn’t expecting this much of intimate scene in a korean bl.I mean korean series don't really do much on that side and I was not expecting either but boy did they had chemistry.
I loved the main leads. Both of them were really good at acting and expressing their emotions. I loved the actor who played Wild Dog a bit more. He's smile is precious.
Other actors were great and the sister had my heart. She's a mood definitely. Wish it had some more episodes.
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Lovely, a simple but nice story
This was pretty good :D, it wasn't a very complicated plot and I like how both sides were portrayed. I also like how there was so much acceptance from the sister(?).It was nice to see a movie with a gay couple that wasn't only focused on the romance(as much as i love those stories) but also had other sides to it.
They also didn't try to make the characters fit into the stereotypes of gay couples that BL's often have. It was cute to see how they communicated and were playful with each other.
I enjoyed the actors too and the focus on small details occasionally, and I also liked how they didn't glorify what it's like to be part of LGBT as a teenager(the flashbacks).
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This review may contain spoilers
Great story, good fight scenes
Long Time No See is the type of project that you can pile with History 3: Trapped and Killer and Healer. It involves crime and passion, not necessarily in that order of priority. The story in itself is good, although there are a bit of questions you’d ask yourself along the way — some potholes in the storyline. I like the way the character of Gitae developed into a surprise. Tak Woo Suk was great as Chisoo or the Black Rose henchman. He can easily transform from a ruthless killer to a passionate love struck puppy. Yeon Seung Ho was cute in his role as Gitae. But I felt he wasn’t as believable as his counterpart. Still, the two look good togethe in their intimate moments. I would have liked to extend the “deception” a bit more — that would’ve made a lot of drama in the end. The fight scenes are great and the two main leads are really up to it. Would’ve been great if this story was made into a series.Was this review helpful to you?
