enjoyable content but frustrating to watch
Overall: this was a well done short series but having to install an app which is not available in all countries and watch in such short chunks was frustrating (see different watch options below). Aired 64 episodes less than 2 minutes each. I watched episodes 1-5 on the TopReels YouTube channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9f1q9tF6gKx3gxFXFjxdfmSZtHIlrWDa&si=JmwUArr3ARBWhrBh (they also have episodes 6-9) and then the rest on the TopReels app https://topreels.com/Content Warnings: non con picture taking/posting, stalking, blackmail, manipulation
What I Liked
- clear premise
- sweet moments
- mystery aspect
- production value (thought they framed things well for the vertical format)
Room For Improvement
- the addition of the (realistic) drama was good but too much time was spent on it, wanted more with the leads
- episode lengths were just too short for a drama, wish they released longer combined episodes or even a 2 hour movie version
- no or not enough consequences for two characters
- Siwoo had an odd lack of reaction to learning something about Doyun, wanted them to have even a short conversation about it
- the Top Reels app is likely not available everywhere in the world and it is kind of frustrating (see below), they should upload on their YouTube channel with geo restriction/set up a membership option for their channel so everyone can watch the series preferably with some or all episodes combined
TopReels Different Watch Options/Costs (as of April 2024), bonus check in/7 ads reset every day at noon EDT
All - watch the first 0-5 on YouTube or app which are free (can watch 6-9 on YouTube but will have to re-watch 7, 8 and 9 because you can't skip to certain episodes in the app). All paid episodes 7-64 cost 2900 coins in total.
1. $24.99USD - buy the 2500 coin and 1000 bonus, if the bonus isn't all given at time of purchase, you will need to watch a few ads or watch over 2 days
2. (1-3 days) $21.99USD - buy the 4400 weekly pass (2000 coins immediately and then 2400 with daily logins) to watch episodes 7-64, will either need to watch a few ads or watch over 3 days
3. (6 days) $7.49USD - watch episodes 7-16 for free with ads, do the bonus check in and watch the bonus ads to give you episodes 17-19 (then need 2300 coins), Day 2 do the bonus check in/ads 20-23, Day 3 same thing 24-27, Day 4 28-31, Day 5 32-35, Day 6 check in/watch 4 ads then watch episode 36, 37 then buy $7.49USD first time recharge to get 700 coins and 700 bonus to watch all the way to the end
4. (13 days) Totally free option will take you about 13 days to watch all 64 episodes, need to do the daily check in (unfortunately resets back to 10 after day 7) and the 7 daily ads every day, on the last day you need to check in and watch 2 ads in order to get enough coins to watch the final episode (assuming you've done the check in/ads every single day previously)
App Pros
- there is a totally free option, it just takes longer
- didn't need to create a login, remembered where I left off
- episodes remain unlocked once you have unlocked them so you can re-watch episodes
- episodes will auto-unlock/play once you have enough coins
App Cons
- the daily check in bonus resets after day 7, should keep it at 50 coins after day 7
- the 7 free daily ads and check in bonus were not enough, people should be able to earn at least 6 (I'd say 10) episodes each day since the episodes are so short
- you can't skip to certain episodes, must watch all episodes in order the first time
- have to wait 30 seconds in between the 7 daily ads
- it was a bit buggy, I closed the app a few times and re-opened it which seemed to fix the "ads not loaded" message
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This had no business being this good....
I went in with a chip on my shoulder, as the short vertical BL's I've watched in the past have been bland at best. It also wasn't an auspicious start, Top Reels dropped 5 for free, then the rest you needed to watch ads to get the coins, or just outright by the coins to finish. I ended up doing the ads for the free watch for about 5 days, then finally folded and paid to watch the last episodes last night.No regrets.
For anyone who watches vertical cdramas with janky subs, you will be pleasantly surprised with the coherency of the subs, as well as the production value in the series (they had multiple sets of clothing!)
This had absolutely no business being as cute as it was, and having a plot? What was that? It had a coherent narrative, was not expecting that at all. It would have been better if they hadn't telegraphed the twist so eairly, but for what it was and what it did I'm honestly impressed with the production value, and the acting.
I wish it'd had a full release on a platform, I think the format and the labour/cost of watching will deter a lot of viewers.
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BL and the vertical format: a marriage for the future already in the present
It is a pleasure to see Park Hyeong Seop, the popular YG model and actor, and Lee Sang Min, now as protagonists of 'Please Teach Me', the Korean romantic comedy from Top Reels, Korea's newest streaming platform. , after discovering the first playing Simeon (Chim On), in the drama 'Jun and Jun', and the second playing Woo Sun Woo in 'Why R U?', the Korean adaptation of the 2020 Thai series, and Ji Seung Min in 'Star Struck', all from the year 2023 and from the BL genre.Rookie actors Kwak Hee Joo, Ji Jong Ho, and Lee Young Joo also join the star cast.
Produced by Astin Camel (formerly T2N Media), the drama is a collection of Korean BL shorts with 50 episodes of approximately 1 minute in length.
Its director and screenwriter, Yoon Hye Ryeom (Holy Class, 2014), is known for writing and directing the short film 'My Daddy Is a Bellydancer' and the unitary 'tvN O'PENing: Summer, Love Machine Blues', from 2023.
In addition to highlighting Park Hyeongseop's histrionic qualities, I would like to congratulate him for his humanism and commitment in the fight for the rights of the LGBT+ community and against homophobia. Specifically, I will refer to the actor's attitude when, on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, at the press conference for the official launch of Top Reels and the presentation of the series trailer, he faced some questions that those present and followers of the KBL considered homophobic.
When asked by a reporter about the "challenges" the actor faced in filming, as the series depicted a romance between two men, Park responded: "Since our drama is the same as any romantic drama, I didn't feel any burden or difficulty during filming.
I find it interesting that it was decided to film the series in vertical format, and it is in this aspect that I will place the greatest weight of my review.
South Korea has joined the Chinese dramas, as these are the first to make the leap to be designed and recorded specifically for smartphones and their screens, therefore, exclusively vertically.
And the script, content and format of 'Please Teach Me' are specifically designed for consumption on smartphones, due to its ease of consumption.
Since 2018, Tencent introduced short series such as 'My Boyfriend-ish Sister' (Boy 的 男友 力 姐姐) and 'My Idiot Boyfriend' (我 的 二 货 男友), and iQiyi launched 'Ugh! Life!' (生活对我下手了) and 'Arg Director' (导演对我下手了), in 2019, the list of series shot vertically has been expanded.
And it will continue to expand, because among the characteristics of these dramas, comedies and other productions, it stands out that they are not limited only to adapting their content to the vertical format, but also adapt many more details.
Let's start with the length of the episodes. An episode of a vertically shot series should be between two and five minutes long, so the action happens as quickly as possible. The creators and producers of 'Please Teach Me' know that their potential audience is young people, so the episodes will be consumed over coffee in a bar, on the way to university or back home, on a break between classes or the school soccer game or even before the images of a film begin to shoot in the cinema.
Every line of dialogue, every conversation and every joke is meant to come and go, offering seamless dynamic viewing. The episodes will thus be easily consumable and will satisfy the television appetite of young people. Thus, the goal is for the viewer to consume many episodes in a row and they can be mixed with those of other series without major difficulties.
'Please Teach Me' was even designed for the audience to use their hands to watch the chapter and move to the next, which is why the content is brief. We always take the cell phone with one hand and always with the purpose of looking at something casual. Can we imagine long content that was also in vertical format? It would be unbearable to visualize it.
On the other hand, the vertical format in 'Please Teach Me' was conceived as a genre and not as a simple format, since the length of the episodes requires it to be even faster. Being a series characterized by comedy and humor, these same characteristics fit perfectly in this format, since they are ideal for a fast-paced pace. Even the television narrative itself adapts better to this context than the cinematic one.
Doesn't comedy follow the same pattern as a vertical video? The producers took this quality into account, making this format ideal for transmitting joy and fun in small, easy-to-digest bites without special emphasis on the script.
That is to say, by its very nature of generating small gratifications in the form of a joke, the vertical format is perfect for generating a more frenetic pace than that of a conventional series that we consume horizontally. 'Please Teach Me' proves it.
Furthermore, not everything fits in the vertical format. Intricate dialogues, internal dialogues, abrupt plot twists or especially complex stories have no place in this format. That is why 'Please Teach Me' presents a coherent rhythm, composition and way of teaching its content. The vertical format requires thinking about all this and although comedy is not the only one that fits into this formula, it has proven to be the most comfortable to adapt to this format.
Finally, vertical series have a fragmenting visual language, so the narrative is full of quick cuts, screens that slide or split to offer two different perspectives of a story. 'Please Teach Me' manages, in this sense, to increase the number of shots consumed by the viewer and offer more information in less time.
For this, the producers and creators took into account that although the settings and in general the context of the visual space are not well used in this format, the condensed visual information is.
We cannot ignore that these works usually have quick camera cuts, split screens to see the face or the situation in which two characters are involved, funny transitions, etc. Yes, it is true that the viewer loses in spatial content, but gains in visual information. This is how in 'Please Teach Me' the scene counts much more since it focuses much more on what is important. Therefore, the experience thus turns out to be dynamic and fluid.
While large movie screens try to put the audience into a world and an experience, vertical screens, and especially smaller ones, help the viewer to more easily believe what we see in the images.
The vertical format transports us not to a world, but to what we want to see on the screen, and giving it to us in faster doses and with more information sometimes makes it more enjoyable. The creators and producers of 'Please Teach Me' know this perfectly.
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This review may contain spoilers
Finally made it to the end
short review: much better than I expected and really liked it but I totally understand people not watching it for the platforming alonelonger review: before I hate on the platforming let's start with the actual content of the show :)
I really liked both leads, their personalities were convincing from the start and the short runtime made sure there weren't any unexplained personality changes. All the side characters did good too. I was surprised how much they plot they crammed into the runtime and I was always anticipating the next episode. The small cast did make it a bit easy to see who the culprit was going to be but I enjoyed watching the other characters figure it out.
...now, let's talk about the worst thing about this show: the platform
I had the willpower to not spend money on this but boy was it hard. 7 ads every day added up to only 4 episodes a day, so I think it took a bit over 2 weeks to watch it all, rough. I'm glad I continued watching because it's honestly worth the watch in my opinion but the platforming definitely brings it down and without it I'm certain the show could be way more popular, which is dissapointing for everyone involved.
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