Just nah...
The story made no sense.The love story was whack. Zero chemistry between the two actors. Not because of their acting, just because of the story itself. Suddenly they were a couple or smth and idk how that happend? There was just nothing that deserves to be called a love story. It's so confusing.
Also the end was pretty questionable. Everything about it tbh.
I definetly won't watch this again, I'm sorry. It could have been a great BL drama, but there was just a lot of story missing for it to be called good in my opinion.
Was this review helpful to you?
I fcking loved this <3
Oh gosh how much can human love a series? I don't know about others but I love it, it is all perfect for me.Story (9.5/10):
Story is good, kinda simple but good. What most of the people are complaining about this is storyline but I don't really see the reason. Maybe it's different what people have been used to, maybe everything isn't explained perfectly, maybe there is some parts that the watchers needs to come with oneself. But guess what, that's art. And if it isn't enough to make you pleased, I can also say this (and no one can disagree); many things don't make sense in real life. We can do things for no reason and we can do things without knowing the reason, yes. So I think that everyone should watch this and make the decision if the storyline is good or not. But personally I think it is brilliant <3
Acting/Cast (10/10):
I really like the cast and like the acting. That's nothing surprising in Korean BL. I think their chemistry clicks kinda well and the third lead is - a vot. Good looking cast with acting skills, I don't need anything more <3
Music (10/10):
There's nothing to complain. Music is in the right place and the voice of the singer of the OST is lovely and beautifully high <3
Rewatch Value (9.5/10):
I'm kinda sure that I will rewatch <33
Overall (10/10):
It is realistic, it is pretty, it is sweet. It's not topping UWMA and TharnType, no, but there aren't many series better than this. I love it <33 I recommend!
(I love how the rankings in here and Rakuten Viki are so different :'))
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Doesn't Make the Cut
I expected more from this drama than what I got. The premise sounded interesting and I was especially intrigued by the fashion aspect. However, the synopsis was misleading and this turned out to be a terribly paced, terribly told story that was just disappointing. The worst part is that it had potential, it just completely failed to live up to it.The story suffered from a serious lack of information and direction. I'm fine with minimal background information as long as it's done well and it explains enough to give meaning to the character's actions and motives. And parts of it did work. We didn't need a drawn out backstory for Ki Jin and Yi Bin's relationship. Likewise we didn't need to delve deep in Yeong Woo's history. In each case, just enough information was given to provide meaning to the story without any excess. However, the relationship between Yeong Woo and Yi Bin was never explained or explored which begs the question of what happened there? Were they former lovers? Friends? What? More information was needed than a handful of flashbacks that basically did nothing but lead to more questions. Also, the fact that they're suddenly friends at the end when the last time we saw them together there was definitely some animosity since they both liked Ki Jin made it seem like something was missed.
And then there was the complete lack of direction for the story. I have no idea what story was even trying to be told here. My initial impression was that it was going to be about Ki Jin striving to become a noted fashion designer and he ended up finding love along the way and that's kind of how it started, but partway through, it just completely lost its way and we're left with a lot of unanswered questions. What was with him suddenly turning all moody and morose? Yes, Yi Bin gave him his break, but did he really think he was chosen solely for that? What exactly happened during his last meeting with the chairwoman? Why did he apparently ghost Yeong Woo? The impression I got is that his show was cancelled in order for him to go to New York, but judging by the crumpled ticket in the trash that Yi Bin saw, that didn't happen either. So where was he for that year? Did he open his own studio? That's what it seemed like at least. And why did Yeong Woo forgive him so easily? They were both way too calm about that impromptu reunion. The farther I got into the drama, the more questions I had and almost none were ever answered. It was a very unsatisfactory ending to be left with so much unexplained information.
The acting was okay, nothing spectacular. Bum Jun and Choo Suk Young definitely stood out as the amateurs. They weren't bad per say, just definitely lack in experience. I think both have potential given more time. Eom Se Ung was the best of the three and gave the most solid performance. He was expressive without being over the top which I liked.
The production value was not great overall. The quality just seems pretty average, there were some sound issues, and the editing was obviously not great. Flashbacks were used far too frequently. The time spent showing the same scenes over and over again would have been better spent on fleshing out the story and answering some of the questions left unanswered. On the other hand, some parts of the cinematography were good. I particularly liked the ending shot with them on opposite sides of the street. The OST, while a bit repetitive, was still good and I did enjoy it.
One of the things I liked and I felt was a subtle nod to the fashion premise of the drama was the evolution of Yeong Woo's style. He starts out dressing, not sloppily, but very casually. Baggier clothes, oversized overshirts and the like. The actor's a good looking guy so none of it looks bad on him, but it's definitely not refined. By the end though, while he's wearing similar styles of clothing, there is a sense of refinement there. The clothing fits better and looks better, but it's still very much his style. I liked that it showed he had changed and yet, at the same time, he was still himself.
This is really not a drama I can recommend unfortunately. The lack of a concrete story and the need to try to piece all the parts together yourself just makes it a waste of time, in my opinion. There is no reason to ever rewatch it and this is one that I would just avoid.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Shows early promise and it's good, I just wish it were more
Better than average chemistry (for Korea) and a unique setting almost pulled this show into the realm of something outstanding. Unfortunately, it never quite managed to get away from the pacing and story structure issues endemic to KBL’s limited time frame and scope.Behind Cut stars hugely charismatic Bum Jun (model & drummer in Kpop band 2Z) and Eom Se Ung (formerly of Kpop group The Man BLK) and is set in the fashion industry. Gi Jin is a designer chasing his dreams who lives with top model Lee Bin. They’re good friends, although Lee Bin would like more. Then Young Woo, a cheerful delivery boy who is a little lost in life, stumbles into their lives.
It’s sweet this idea that a dream can be a person. And Gi Jin is one of those talented sunshine characters hiding pain, so we can see why he inspires devotion in others. The vibe between him and Young Woo is very good and the actors brought a lot more physical affection to the table than is normal from Korea. With a better story and pace this show could have worked itself up to being something special, like To My Star, but a weak love triangle and the old “break ‘em up for a year in the final episode for no good reason” trope (a K-drama specialty) fubbed the landing.
It’s good BL, serviceable, I’m not going to punish it for failing to live up to its own early promise when “slightly too short and faintly unsatisfying” is basically Korea’s BL wheelhouse. If KBL is your thing, this show will work for you. Just don’t expect it to be anything more than that.
Was this review helpful to you?
Understanding the characters is crucial to understanding the ending
I get the disappointment; honestly, I do. It was an ambitious short series. Its primary focus was definitely on character development and interactions, rather than the plot's events. But doing such a thing can be quite tricky, especially in shorter series. It was a task that required more screentime, fewer flashback montages, a little less character background for our MC, and/or adding flashbacks into certain events in which decisions were made. If this had the chance to be a full series, it could have been a masterpiece.There were several elements that kept reoccurring, thus implying significance - but were never explained, elaborated on, or answered. I believe this was mainly because they tried to develop Yeong Woo's background too much for what the screentime allowed.
But an explanation for the events leading up to the end are actually present in the story (spoiler potential explanations can be seen in one of my comment responses below) - they just require reading between the lines. Conversations, especially reoccurring ones, are CRUCIAL to understanding what happened (because the characters do not outright announce their decisions, nor do we see the moments in which those decisions are made - you need to know what they were thinking leading up to the decisions). For viewers who want to give this series a try, but to whom reading between the lines does not come naturally, a binge watch or re-watch may be beneficial.
But for anyone who doesn't mind a little more analysis when watching - I highly recommend this series. The actors do a great job showing the various nuances to their characters. And I believe the overarching message of dreams, hard work, and confidence is really relevant to viewers. Furthermore, ending analysis aside, its a light, short, and easy watch in which the main plot conflict doesn't feel as heavy as most series (something that I know personally can wear me out). Plus, such heavily character-driven stories, especially ones that ask you, as an audience, to understand the character in order to understand the plot, are not common to come by. It was refreshing.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Fantastic cast! Great music. Wonderful story. Terrible editing.
This show had such a great cast. Ki Jin, fashion design student, is played by 2Z's Bum Jun. He had great visuals and also portrayed the creative designer well. Delivery driver, Yeong Woo, played by Eom Se Ung was also good at this role. When he smiled he looked like an adorable shy angel. They had good chemistry together and made the story believable. Professional model, Lee Bin, played by Choo Suk Young, gave a very convincing performance of loving Ki Jin and wanting him to go with him to New York. Unfortunately for him, Ki Jin had already fallen for Yeong Woo. The delivery driver's father, played by Kim Won Shik, was perfect as Yeong Woo's loving dad.The music in this drama is wonderful, the story great and the acting fantastic. Why then did I only rate it 8.0 overall?
This next part contains spoilers. Please don't read beyond this if that is a problem for you. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This seemed like a great drama that should have been a 10 but seemed to be hacked up (edited) to make it shorter. Unfortunately, that left me scratching my head trying to figure out what happened to our trio in the last three episodes. I watched the episodes again thinking I had missed something. I didn't. The answers to my questions must be lying on the editing room floor.
Why did the fashion designer ghost the delivery driver for a year when it was clear they both loved each other? I understand the designer didn't want to go to New York with the professional model. I also understand that he wanted Yeong Woo to model his clothes. We see the delivery driver showing up for the model photo shoot but he is told that the fashion designer has dropped out of the contest and won't be there which breaks Yeong Woo's heart. But why? Because it appears the fashion designer didn't go to New York at all (assumed by the crushed up air plane ticket in the waste basket) and then it shows him a year later set up in his own shop. Then out of the blue the fashion designer orders a bun for delivery and the driver turns out to be Yeong Woo. After an apology without any explanation why he ghosted him, they appear to make up. The last scene is a photo shoot showing all three guys there, seemingly all content. We still don't know what kind of relationship the professional model and the delivery man had back in high school. If it was that unimportant why even throw that in? Why is the professional model back in Korea when he had left for New York a year before? The fashion designer had been adamant that the professional model was too lux to model his casual clothing line so why is he and the delivery man both modeling the clothes in the final photo shoot at the end of the series? Arggggh! And that is how it ended.
If I were the actors I would be totally mad that all their hard work was ruined by the editing. The director should have really fixed this before releasing it to the public.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Die hard BL fans: this is not for you.
After many months of diving deep into the BL genre of films and shows, I think I can safely say I have a pretty fair idea of what the crowd pleasers are, so I'm gonna straight up call this a no for you BL die hards.For starters, this show is interesting and creatively presented. The story lives within the inner workings of the fashion industry and they didn't just put up some mannequins for the illusion or pretence - it feels like the film team did actually do some research about fashion design and modelling. The plot is not spelt out for you. Rather, it is presented to us through a series of encounters and conversations and allows the audience to glean subtle details. The acting was just wonderful - the three leads (yes, I'm gonna say three, because it was a love triangle and I feel like they all got equal screen time) were convincing, compelling and natural. The chemistry between all three of them was also superb, and I'm such a sucker for good on-screen chemistry, hence my high rating. There are no awkward moments here between amateur teenage-y actors who haven't actually done any acting classes and have just been thrown in front of a camera to pucker up their lips. There are no "accidental" slip-and-almost-fall-but-he-caught-me swoony woo moments. There are no shower scenes, no wiping food off lips, head pats, teeny tiny scratches on knees that supposedly need a first aid kit and band aid, no shippers, no crazy ex-girlfriends who are trying to ruin their lives, nope nada none of that stuff. Thank the TV Gods for that!
Instead, we have a complex love triangle, and these people talk to each other about it like grown ups. There is no self-discovery angst because everyone involved is gay and the people around them either know it and support it or it's not a thing. We discover a story about dreams and love and how to chase both so damn hard without any favours, thank you very much. I didn't have a problem with the editing at all - come on, peeps, do we really need everything spelt out for us and in a clear, obvious and predictable (read: BORING) way every single time? Sure, this show was clearly low budget, and maybe they could have better cinematography, smoother transitions and better sound treatment. Did it detract from the show? Nope. Not for me. My one complaint is that there were still quite a lot of flashbacks, and with 8 x bite size 15 minute episodes, we really didn't need reminding. But hey, that's part of the K-drama style so I get it and accept it.
Look, when it comes to BL, I am as die-hard a fan as the next person, but like any genre of film/TV, they all get predictable and cookie-cutter after awhile. Why can't there be room for more kinds of storytelling? More, I say, please!
Small spoiler alert, just because the other reviews on this page annoyed me: Gi Jin did NOT go to New York, you numbnuts, listen (or read the subtitles) PROPERLY to the conversations. #facepalm
Was this review helpful to you?
I don't understand shit.
I seriously don't know what story they want to deliver?? Everything just happened so fast? I don't actually compensate about the 'duration' as an excuse cause where your eyes linger has the same duration even lessthan this series and they still can deliver the story perfectly.
The acting is so so? Not that good but they kinda nailed it on eps 7 ngl. The chemistry also so so, they don't seem that close but not that awkward either.
And the kiss scene? Well glad they aren't that type of korean bl who play with camera angle? and i think the only korean bl with a kiss on ep 4?? Cause mostly would had it on ep 8.
The cinematography of this series actually quite good
Was this review helpful to you?
Don't waste your time on this
I really wanted to believe that this drama was actually worth watching, but it was just another rushed bl drama, each episode 15min short, and having nothing of value to say. Truly, the only thing i liked about this drama was the music, otherwise, its a complete trainwreck. if i had paid to see this, i'd want my money back. complete waste of time. there's no story development, no character development, and this drama keeps introducing characters with no backstory. This drama left me with more questions then answers. this drama is trash, pls don't waste ur time. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go to my backyard and set this trash on fire...Was this review helpful to you?
Good start and... no, that's it.
It honestly could have been really nice if it wasn't for the fact that it makes no sense... The acting's good and the actors have great chemistry but those two alone can't make up for having everything else missing.The beginning's nice. I enjoyed the premise and Ki Jin and Yeong Woo are both interesting characters. But the more it goes on the more it feels like entire scenes are missing. The last two episodes, especially. There's at least 4 scenes missing to make sense of whatever the hell is meant to have happened. Episode 7, I thought okay... let's see if episode 8 can make sense of what happened here only for episode 8 to leave me with even more questions... It's frustrating to get attached to characters (even just a little bit) and not understand why they're crying, why they're mad, why they're not mad, why they're making up, who's to blame, who left or didn't leave, how much time has passed, these are genuinely all questions I have since finishing this series. That's too many questions.
Was this review helpful to you?
The idea is better than the execution
A talented fashion designer in search for the perfect model, one whom his clothes were made for, finds who he has been looking for. And ends up finding love too.This sounds wonderfully romantic, but the idea is better than the execution when it comes to Behind Cut.
Behind Cut starts to lose its way somewhere in the middle, with poorly-done scene transitions that really started to affect the flow of the story. Also, too many ideas were crammed into an 8-episode miniseries as it ends up not really spending enough time on most.
What saved Behind Cut was the above average chemistry between Kijin and Yeongwoo, with their heart-to-heart talks over udon or beer about their hopes and dreams for the future. I really liked the final kiss scene but it was, unfortunately, still not enough to salvage the entire series.
Read my full review here (mild spoilers): https://asianblreviews.wordpress.com/2022/02/02/behind-cut-review-2021/
Was this review helpful to you?
Plot holes... plot holes everywhere.
Many reviews have already said this but... so much happened and at the same time nothing did. I feel like the idea behind this story was great, and it could have benefitted a lot from more screentime and money.There was no understanding of the timeline whatsoever. At one point someone asked one of the main leads "how long?" (had he liked the other main lead) and I too, wanted the answer to that question. How long has it been since they met? One week? One month? Several months? It was very confusing.
The plot... I think the conception and idea of it was good. I really wish it could've been executed properly. Either they didn't film enough or how it was edited was bad but it was very confusing. I wish there had been more time to flesh out the characters and backstory. I did hear the movie version will have extra scenes so maybe that will help?
The acting wasn't bad! It wasn't great, but I think with a little more experience they'd do well.
The ending, like the entire show, was very abrupt. I should have been used to it, but when it ended I definitely was like, "That's it?!"
I'd watch this if you have nothing else to watch. It's cute, albeit very confounding.
Was this review helpful to you?
