Semantic Error (2022)

Work of ART!

First of all...i want to take a moment of silence for the people that didn't discover this gem yet! ?
I keep coming back to it for the Nth time, and each time i discover new things I haven't seen before and enjoy it even more than the last time. i have no idea how it is possible. Seriously, this one is THE Korean BL genre work of art. I mean, "To my star" will always have a special place in my heart, ngl... But this one is right there, a small step higher on the ladder. And i wish so badly for a second season, but I swear "To my star" makes me fear it though :)) Everyone in this drama created such a great environment, everyone had their place and purpose, no one gave the filler feeling or anything like that. The chemistry of the characters was beautiful... Not only the MLs but everyone. So yeah... I doubt there's gonna be other drama to surpass this one. Chef's kiss??

Read More

僕らはきっと
そこらにある物じゃ
足りなかった

僕らはずっと
近くの愛をそっと
拾いあってた

凛として何もないアルバムを覗いた
笑ったふりして

帰ろうか
思い出も全部ここに置いて
ここで泣けるシーンが来た数だけ
ほら
忘れ物してんだって

僕らはきっと
涙をそっと拾う、余暇はなかった

だから

僕らはずっと
互いの幸福を、睨みあっている

Es mi primer bl coreano or at least el primero despues de ver un monton de tailandeses y me shockeo todo un poco las dinamicas. Y kinda llegue a conclusiones como que los coreanos son todos re molestos y se hablan con desprecio, sea entre amigos o un superior se tratan mal porque si y un poco me rompe las pelotas aunque es algo comun en todo lo coreano. Y me hizo pensar que los tailandeses son lo mas latino dentro de asia porque por lo menos en los bls nignuno es vergonzoso se tratan todos como familia y son mas mandados, literalmente todo lo contrario a corea que me aburren y molestan en partes igual.
Bueno igual me parecio cute la serie en cuanto a que fue igual que un straight kdrama pero gay,,, o sea no es que crearon todo un estilo nuevo de dramas coreanos sino que es la misma formula solo que con una pareja de chicos pero a la vez eso tambien me molesto kjjj porque I dont even enjoy kdramas that much.... La forma en que el tipo trataba re mal al otro gay nivel acoso HASTA QUE se dio cuenta de que le gustaba y ahi si fue un antes y un despues lo cual esta re mal aidjsakl como vas a torturar a alguien a ese nivel y solo dejar de hacerlo porque lo queres ??
Algo que me gusto creo es que el tipo parecia un actor de straight kdrama no se me hizo acordar al de strong woman do bong soon ?
No tengo muchos comentarios aber me gustaron los dos chicos aunque bueno el otro tipo era un acosador un poco pude ignorar ese hecho para disfrutar de la pareja,,,,, yehhh no se literal escribiendo esto me doy cuenta de que no hay mucho para decir pero tambien puede ser porque son 8 caps de 20 min lo cual tambien es re distinto a los bl tailandeses que duran 5 veces mas, aca ni pudieron profundizar en la pareja ni hubo un conflicto real ni tampoco vemos mucho del post ponerse de novios
En conclusion: HAGAN MEJORES BLS COREA QUE TE CUESTA ACASO SOS HOMOFOBICO (SI)

Read More

The most beautiful error.

I haven't rewatched a series this many times.

For a start, I hated the synopsis and I almost didn't watch this series because it was boring and sounded just like any other BL, but once I started I couldn't stop. It was the cinematography, the build up of emotions, pretty ambient lightings and 100% the actors' chemistry and sync with the characters. (Also the ADLIBS OMG)

After finishing the series, I loved it so much I read the manhwa and I preferred the drama for many reasons, one of them being Jaeyoung in the series was portrayed to be much softer, it's like the personality of Park Seo Ham seeped through.

I also loved the balanced relationship the male leads hold, Sang woo wasn't a lad in distress, he didn't need Jaeyoung to always make the first move. Characters showed personality and growth development, Flow and pace of each scene and episode was just right. Every detail in the series made sense and the adaptation is well thought out.

Read More

(Mostly) Accurate Adaptation with Satisfying Characters:

Watching Semantic Error After Reading It.

This is my 2nd BL Drama, and 1st Korean Drama, but I’ve been reading BL for 8 years now. I don’t know if my perception of the show is heavily influenced by the fact that I read the source material first, but I feel like I managed to keep an unbiased perspective.

1 TECHIE NITPICK:
The one non story related element that bugged me was the high frame-rate of a lot of the shots. That’s what causes movement to look weird and sharp, like cheaply produced daytime soap operas. If every shot was like that I might not have been able to watch, but it was only obvious in outdoor shots, super wide shots, and tracking shots on a dolly or jib. Sometimes I swear the frame rate was lower in shots because they felt more cinematic, but it might have just been there was little movement or low lighting. The fact that it wasn’t constant was a relief, but it took me out of the show every time I noticed it. Perhaps this is simply the style in all K Dramas that I'll have to get used to.

THE SHOW:
Honestly, story-wise and acting-wise, the first 7 episodes were true quality. I’d even say almost perfect in execution as far as the building tension between our lead characters. Both actors' attitudes felt like the characters had walked out of the pages of the webtoon. The OST also really leant itself to Jaeyoung’s characterization which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Obviously an 8 episode story can’t exactly follow its source material when it’s already 50+ chapters long without an ending in sight. But it picked and chose combinations of elements that made the show feel natural on its own without losing the essence of everything from the original. It felt like an honest adaptation, in the first 7 episodes.

I thought I might only take issue with episode 8 because of its divergence from the original, but that’s not the real problem. The problem is the source of conflict episode 8 relied on. After 7 episodes of character driven conflict, the final episode relied on plot driven conflict which felt out of place, like an interruption to the series.

***
VAGUE SLIGHT FINALE SPOILERS:
All the conflict in the original Semantic Error relies on character driven elements that come from within our protagonists, and that remains true in episodes 1 through 7. But in episode 8, the invitation and the conflict it caused is the opposite of character driven. The fact that they used plot to control the characters’ decisions for the first time is what felt off and foreign to me. It didn’t flow with the story or the characters.

It’s a shame that the writers could not craft a finale that suited the rest of the series, but considering the webtoon Semantic Error is one of the best ongoing BL out there, that’s a tall order. The ending fell flat but everything until then was extremely good.

Read More

Compared with the original, it's not as good

On it's own, it's a 10/10. But compared with the original it's too different. Jaeyoung and Sangwoo are a lot more realistic and less extreme. While I liked that Jaeyoung isn't as jealous (which was the only thing I don't like in the original), Sangwoo was too emotional (especially the last episode, that all was an very not-Sangwoo thing to do), instead of "cold and logical" he is more "cute". I really missed the original Sangwoo and I find that the chemistry between the characters is very different. I mean the chemistry is amazing here, but it was more exciting in the original(because the original characters aren't so soft and "cute"). In the original the genre of enemies-to-lovers was more apparent and Jaeyoung pranked him wayyy longer. And I really wish that they would have had some inner monologues because their thought are the most interesting part! Especially Sangwoos. And obviously this the "family friendly" version, so the vibe is different, but that's fine if this will attract more new viewers to the BL genre this way. But anyway, I would recommend watching this first and then the original, so you would be able to enjoy this more as I did. And watching this or reading the novel/manhwa is an absolute must!

Read More

Lots of potential.

This is a nicely shot, stylish short drama set in a college, where an OCD-ish loner student programmer developing a game needs a good designer, and finds one in the shape of a fashionable, popular, annoying boy who has beef with him for some reason that wasn't quite clear to me. The designer decides to piss the programmer off for payback/amusement by stalking him and being really irritating. Both of them: AAA YOU ARE ANNOYING AF! But also strangely attractive! Especially in a terrible wig.
And so... love story.

Overall, it's a fun watch and a good story, but imo the pacing could have been improved on. Stalking isn't my fav trope, and it's a pretty big feature for the first half of this - too much for my liking. Luckily, the eps are short, so the cute kicks in and beats out the annoyance fairly quickly. The kissing is good when we get to it, and I very much approved that there was no hesitation about it for either of them: no power imbalance here, they're equally into it, and that got me invested. Sadly we only got a little slice of time with them as a proper couple and working partners, and I would have liked to have seen more of that, as it felt like there was good potential here for interesting character development together, and that, with a gay couple, would have been really great. Some bonus episodes in Paris would have been great too (ha, not me who spent a chunk of the last ep yelling RUN OFF WITH HIM LETTUCE! PACK YOUR SUITCASE! SPEAK YOUR FRENCH!) Hope to see more like it, with bigger budgets.

Read More

Adorable and Sweet

**Brief Synopsis**
B (Student): Sang Woo
T (Student): Jae Young

- Beginning: B and T are students at the same school but in different programs. B is extremely cold to everyone and serious about doing the right thing; T is the exact opposite. That is why in a project for a common class they had together, T didn’t do anything because he didn’t think it was important so B decides to remove his name from the project, damaging his prospect of going abroad. They start the show off as sort of enemies because T put B’s caricature all over school because he wants to find him and convince him to talk to the teacher on his behalf. B doesn’t like T because he thinks B is a good for nothing freeloader and T doesn’t like B because he thinks B is reason for he didn’t graduate. Their story starts when B contacts the designer of a design he likes which turns out to be T. Even if he didn’t want to work with him, T is insistent because he wants to get revenge of B.

- Middle: Because of T’s insistence, they start meeting up at often. And the more time they spend together, the more they learn about each other and T finds himself starting to develop an attraction for B even if at that time he still won’t admit it. B’s impression of T starts to change when T starts taking the project more seriously, is genuinely nicer to him and actually saved him once. He also starts to learn that T can be serious and not the freeloader he thought he was.

- End: Finally the attraction got to a point they can’t ignore and B kisses T while he was asleep, not knowing T was actually awake. T confesses to B after that and B takes some time to think about it. The series ends with him finally agreeing to the confession and they start dating. T gives up a position at a big company in order to finish working on the game with B. The ending is similar to the novel ending where T gives up his opportunity abroad so he wait for B to finish school so they can leave together. He even proposes to B, which is a shame we didn’t get to see.

**My Opinion**

WHAT I LIKED ABOUT IT:
- I like how T starts to change because of B, even if he doesn’t notice it.
- I really like the enemies to lovers trope even if the enemy part is no longer obvious after 2 episodes when T starts to act nicer towards B. I just like how T keeps thinking about B and not understanding why he is doing so. I also like how B starts going along with T’s ideas and no longer finds him annoying all the time.
- I like how they use anger to show they have gotten closer. Before, B and T doesn’t even bother to get angry because they don’t care at all about each other. They say hate but it’s said in a rather emotionless way. Now that they start caring about each other (and not realizing it), when they fight, they are both actually angry and bothered about the fight, even if they don’t know why.
- I really like how B changes because of T. He’s no longer emotionless and can smile. He actually starts making an effort to apologize after a fight. He starts wanting T to call him and lets him touch him more than other people. I love how he starts getting affected by T’s touch.
- B is adorable when he tries to show affection, like patting the other on the head as a way to say good job. He’s trying to become more human and it’s such a joy to see.
- I really like T competing with a girl who was also interested in B. It’s really funny how much they can’t stand each other.
- I really like the progression of their relationship, from enemies to friends, to someone they want to be with romantically. Although the pace is really fast, it doesn’t feel rushed. Each step is well depicted and each time they go forward one step, it feels like a victory. The couple is just adorable together, making me want to root for them.
- The acting is really nice. B and T have great chemistry together and they fit together quite well visually. T looks really handsome once he stopped looking like a hooligan. The actors do a great job at portraying their respective characters.
- The stolen kiss scene is adorable.
- There aren’t much angst in this show because they only get together at the end. The only angst is B taking some time to think over things and was ready to refuse T after he had confessed. But at the end, he went to find him and they kiss.
- I really like the ending. It’s adorable and sweet.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE ABOUT IT:
- The constant talking to one’s own self thing is just weird and the actors don’t do it well enough to make it seem unnatural. I know it’s necessary because we need to know what the characters are thinking, but doing it as an internal monologue is a lot better.
- I really didn’t like T at the beginning. He just look like a big bully and blaming someone else for not putting his name on something he didn’t do the work for is just stupid. I really hate freeloaders, especially those who don’t respect others like him. He’s childish and will continue to bother you and pester you until he gets his way. But luckily B’s personality is good at dealing with people like him. He is emotionless most of the time and in regards to people he doesn’t like, he really isn’t afraid to tell them off.

**Conclusion**
This is a very sweet and simple rom com type of story. Although it’s not deep, it warms your heart nonetheless.

Read More

Great acting, good storyline, good pace...PARK SEO HAM!

This was one of the first BL series I have seen and I have really set myself up! Since finishing Semantic Error, the other BL series I have watched (approx 5) have not compared. I know there are plenty of good ones out there, but this set a high bar. I enjoyed the storyline, the pacing was good, and there was enough comedy to not make the series so heavy. Park Seo Ham, other than being gorgeous in damn near anything, is great. His acting was so believable and just worked with Park Jae Chan. I don’t always hope for a second season, but I do for this series. Well done gentlemen!

Read More

Unique BL.

I read the manhwa before this so I had really high expectations, and lets just say they beat them, and more.

I really like the introvert and extrovert trope, I think that they are usually always really nice and wholsome, despite them most being slow burners. I really like how they included most things in the manhwa, which is what I always like to see with
manhwa ->series.

I think that both main protagonists had great chemistry and that they were really nice and funny together, Sangwoo always acting like he really didn't like Jaeyoung at first, being really cold, then despite still being cold at the end, opened up his heart to Jaeyoung. The side characters were really nice and added a lot to the show, personally.

Read More

one of the best kbls out there

I miss the drama so bad and I really hope they will make a second season!! the chemistry between the characters was soooo good. the drama was addicting. literally. I rewatched it like 3 times and I’m gonna rewatch now again because I made myself want to with this review ? it brings back memories. anyways, I really like the story. how we can see sangwoo going through development and how supportive jaeyoung is :( I wish I had a relationship like theirs. they make me jealous. the cast is sooooo good all the guest and supporting characters! they also really added to the show :) I really really wish there is going to be season two, this drama deserves one

Read More