Twenty forever?

Actually, I was not going to write a review for this drama but then I noticed that there weren't any so I might as well jott down a few of my impressions. I just love this kind of fantasy and this one has an novel way to work with time!

It is a story of a young woman who, on the eve of becoming twenty, categorically refuses to buy a packet of chewing gum from a bizarre looking woman. Little does she know that that woman is a witch who goes on to curse her, as a repercussion, to remain 20 forever. So on every New Year, the girl's life gets reset and everything she'd done gets deleted: her family and friends do not know her anymore. Everything starts to change when , twenty years later, she meets her first love's doppelganger, creates solid connections with old and new friends and finally finds the witch again.

As you can see, I loved the story. The writing was good and I found it rather convincing since the initial set up was very complicated (time passes for everyone except for her) . She becomes a forty year old woman inside a twenty year old body but still references things from the first time that she was 20 leaving people around her flabbergasted! The drama is funny and sweet. The actors were OK, nothing to write home about, they emoted enough but acting was obviously not their cup of tea. They were easy on the eye so the lack of acting chops are to be overseen since the story is fun to watch even without fireworks. Actually, the FL had better chemistry with the SML, as usual but the ML was cute as a brooding button! One of the most interesting characters was the witch: over the top scary make up who eventually gets sick with Alzheimer's but manages to find a few sane moments to sort the FL out.I did not like the witch very much because of the way they presented her: such a cliché when they could have done something more subtle and therefore scarier!

All in all, they managed to keep the second hand embarrassment to a strict minimum: though it was a bit difficult to believe that the FL was not at ease with all the internet speak: it sometimes seemed she was stuck in time, as if she did not follow the societal evolutions over those twenty years of being 20!

Koreans are definitely very creative when they deal with time problems: be it time slip, time travel, time curse, groundhog day! I am just so happy to have discovered K-dramas because they do not seem to be afraid of any complicated subject and time is very very complicated.

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They took the time needed!

I must confess that I have no memory of Boum and Prem from UWMA. Those I still remember, vividly, because they left an indelible impression are Kao and Earth(they DID steal the show!). So when I kept coming upon WinTeam raves I had no idea what they were about! Then the short series came out with their daily life and it was cute and funny and sweet! So I went into this series based on those short sketches not UWMA and I loved it.

It is a slow burn romance starting with a one night stand turning into friends with benefits becoming lovers. I loved the pace, the time they took to introduce properly characters, the time they took to develop properly the relationship. I loved that they both behaved and reasoned as adults asking and giving consent. This is such a huge step forward: there are more and more thai bls where even students are behaving as adults who ask for permission, for consent.
The series dealt with a numerous issues: survivors guilt, family pressure, public image and they took the necessary time to develop each issue. It was eventually perfectly clear that complicated life issues are not solved by falling in love(as is often the case in dramas!) but by talking about it, having patience and taking time!
In spite of the slow development and the time they took, it was really well done, it was the right way to do it. There are no shortcuts in life!
I liked the idea of the hemp rope which is stronger than the red string therefore people connected by this rope have a more solid relationship!
And, last but not least, they know how to swim correctly! Very often there is a character is thai bls who is supposed to be an athlete, a swimmer but when you see them paddling through the pool, it is obvious they can barely keep their heads above the water! For the first time in my thai bl watching, there are actual swimmers, it looks like these actors can swim correctly!
Cinematography was gorgeous: beautiful beaches, pool scenes, rain.... Music as well.

Now on to what was wrong.
Not much but still important: lack of chemistry across the board, everything looked fake, well I was not convinced. The words were there, they were uttered correctly, the gestures were there and still...something felt off. I don't know exactly what, but I call it lack of chemistry. Or maybe the actors were just bored and doing the necessary minimum.
For a story about friends with benefits who could not keep the hands off of each other when they met, the story turned very tame: they'd have sex in strange places but they'd literally just sleep in their own bed! It looked loving and sweet but this constant change of pace was disturbing. On the other hand it does describe their relationship rather well.
Next item: too many relationships: is it really important to pair up everyone? The pairing that needed more time is Manow & Pruek. Waan & Tul's story was original.
Acting was iffy: Win is a pretty doll, Team is often speaking in a whiney nasal tone of a spoiled brat (that was really disconcerting: one minute he would talk like a little child and Win would pat him on a head and then the next he would reason like a grown up he actually is!), Dean is an expressionless robot, Pharm a happy face emoji and Prince a amorphous blob of amoeba.... The comic relief trio (A, Bee, Sea)save the day as does Manow with her quirky larger than life attitude!
The make up department was on strike during filming? Continuity staff as well? Just two items in this section: the abominable make up of Prince and Win's hair colour (which I ended not noticing eventually what I cannot say about Prince's makeup! I still shudder at the thought!)
Sound recording/editing was also bad! There were a lot of scenec wg=here the characters talked while hugging each other and the conversations were practically inaudible!

And still,in spite of all these , I loved the drama and was not bored for one minute! I'd probably rewatch it, sooner rather than later but skipping every scene Prince is in!

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Love confession

A girl asks her friend to set her up with his tutor. He prefers keeping him to himself!

A cute short movie (4min) telling the story of a developing relationship between a student and his tutor!

The whole movie takes place at a school desk while two boys silently communicate through written messages and smiles. It is cute, simple, straightforward story. The guys have really good chemistry and it would be nice to see a longer version of . this short movie.
It is a single set, interiour, filming being focused of writing messages and though sound editing might be a bit off, it is perfect for what it is and what it tries to convey!

Even as it is, describing a moment ending with a kiss, is spot on expressing tension, apprehension, fear : every emotion a teenage boy might feel as he discovers the rollecoaster ride that is the first love and the confession!

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BL & Makjang

As I was skipping through the last episode, (actually FFW a drama for the very first time EVER!) while trying to avoid the ultimate cringe that episode is, I was just trying to comfort myself justifying watching this by its relative shortness. There were some good things about this drama and then there was the plot.

Good things: actors, cinematography.

The plot: BAD! Nonsensical and cringy. The story follows some mobsters who are ALL gay of course: from the Boss in a a happy 30 years old relationship with his secretary down to the minor players. What kind of mob is that? The criminals themselves were extremely unconvincing, unnatural! They just looked like a bunch of PC schoolkids putting on a show in which they imagine what real criminals might look like,behave and dress! Ridiculous!
The characters are not really explained: we do get to hear a kind of a back story but it does not explain their situation at the beginning of the series! Why does he have to work three jobs in order to put himself through high school? Why is the other guy a member of the mob? They all talk about killing people but look like they'd apologize and start crying if they accidentally crush an ant? Apart from the four main characters, everyone else either cannot act or they got unclear direction?
The second half plunges deep into a makjang with rich families, paying off the unsuitable lover, amnesia...classic!

It is still watchable under one serious condition: turn your brain off. Then you can enjoy the two love stories with decent skinship and a lot of cringe. Especially in the last episode. A lot!!!!!
All in all, this was bad. Barely watchable short drama: its saving grace being the short duration. LOL To watch only when there's nothing else!

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Heartstopper gone wrong!

The Day I Loved You is what you get when you mix the fluffiness of Heartstopper with the pathos of Philadelphia: a terrible mistake!

The first half was a fluff fest:another MSP is just what the doctor ordered. I was loving the chemistry, the banter, the comedy. The three main boys were a delight to watch and I was regretting that this has only 10 short episodes! I was getting ready to start a riot and ask for more. Nikko is a delightful character to watch: sweet, smart with a repartee, looking like a "nerdy wimp" but actually exceptionally strong! Eli is a fake rebel, an unhappy boy looking for attention who falls hook, line and sinker for Nikko. It was so beautiful to watch as Eli fall more and more in love with Nikko. They had lovely chemistry as well. And then there is Justin, Nikko's best friend secretly in love with him suddenly realizing he had missed his chance. Eli and Justin vying for Nikko's attention is so funny.

I loved the direction, the animated images and icons, I loved the school principal, I even loved fake mean girl Ashley. This first half was filled with all the usual romcom tropes and it was so much fun to watch.

And then the second half happened and we were thrown into misery and suffering: both the characters on screen and us, the viewers, who were forced suddenly to change the genre from light comedy to heavy drama. And everything became so cringe worthy, full of right things to say and lacking sincerity of the first part which was replaced by politically correct pathos!
Nobody can convince me that people are all so open minded, helpful, sincere, caring. They were tugging at our heart strings with a bulldozer and there was nothing subtle about it.

The ending was horrible: I am still shuddering and my skin is crawling with horror: the uplifting and optimistic speech by Eli was the cringiest thing I have ever heard!

This series went from 10/10 for the first half to 4/10 for the second. I do not like when they mix genres like this: it wwas not subtle or slow it was like a white truck of doom coming out of nowhere on an empty street and I was there frozen not knowing how to react!

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Korean parents or How To Ruin Your Kids' Lives!

If we are to draw conclusions about the korean society from their dramas, I'd say it is the parents who are destroying it by controlling kids under the guise of "it's for YOUR own good (and for MY reputation in the neighbourhood)!" Korea has a very big problem with birth rate which is amongst ,if not THE lowest in the world! Why? Just look how Korean parents suffocate and try to control their children making them utterly miserable and unwilling to procreate by trying hard not to merry or/and have children.

This drama is one glaring testimony of it. The kids are miserable and are forced to suffer and pay for their parents' sins. And why is that? Because the society won't let them do otherwise: everyone is busibody, making judgements on other people's lives and being afraid to be free and live their life the way they want it in order to be happy. In all these dramas, kids are forced to live up to demands and ambitions of the parents. Resulting in a lot of unhappiness and misery. But the appearances are saved and that is what seems to be the most important to parents. The appearances and not their own children's happiness. So sad!

Call It Love talks about three such families.
One is destroyed by a father abandoning them following an affair. The three children were left to fend for themselves and protect their mother. The person really left in charge was the middle child when she was 17, ruining her life, sports career and any feelings of happiness.
The second one is the pharmacist under constant scrutiny from his parents who are demanding of him to get married which he finds more and more difficult to avoid.
The third is a CEO of fair organizers' company whose mother's philandering ways have made him miserable, taciturn and withdrawn.
Their interactions make for the most of this wonderful and beautiful drama.

This is my favourite kind of drama, slow burn, slice of life. While I was watching it, I was constantly reminded of My Mister not because of the plot but because of the overall feeling and the pace of both dramas which are identical. Here the misery overflows. Both main characters are poster children for unhappy, miserable, unsmiling people. Being with each other, gives them an inkling of what happiness might look like. If only, as one of them says so at one point, they were all alone in the world!

But there were not only parents working hard in ruining the kids' lives. There was also an older sister who did her best to ruin further her younger sister's already miserable existence with her jealousy and envy. That one drove me mad: she took out her own insecurities and pounced on her sister when she was the most vulnerable instead of supporting her, she decided, all of a sudden, to act as adult she never was before! And of course she failed miserably but she achieved her goal of making her sister even more unhappy. She tried to make amends later but it was too little to late!

The pace is extremely slow but not for a minute, I found it boring! It flowed, slowly but it moved on forward. This slow pace, made me take notice and really admire cinematography. It was stunning. The colours were all dull, subdued, just like the feeling of the drama. The amazing part was framing of scenes both in technical aspect and literal one. There were some very interesting camera angles: from above and as well cutting the actors practicall off, making them very small and low on the screen and therefore making them almost disappear in the surroundings. There were many travelling shots: camera moving at a constant speed straight left to right to left or zooming in and out. And mostly there were real frames around actors in scenes: windows, walls etc. creating a photo frame !

I know absolutely nothing about cinematography and camera work but I notice things. And this drama is worth watching for this!

The actors were perfect. The music sad as prescribed! It was a perfect slow burn melodrama /slice of life. I was debating with myself whether to give it 9.5 or 10 which almost never happens with me! Since I consider that nothing is ever perfect though this was approaching it!

And then they went on and ruined a perfect slow burn drama with a trope filled last episode. The writers decided to go down the well trodden path of break up and time skip which were both completely unnecessary with the awful sister adding another layer of contempt for her sister by trying to make amends a year too late! Thank god for the youngest brother who seemed to be less affected by grown ups' (i.e. parents'!) problems and decided to act as Cupid.

Misery loves company! And this drama kept me company!

One more word of wisdom from the main character: When I feel down, I look up other people's lives on line and realize I am not that bad off, that there are people much more unhappy than myself.

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Love & Ghost

Contrary to the majority of watchers, I am enjoying a lot My Universe. The stories are short, to the point, fast paced, original and fun to watch. This one was no different.

Talay and Camp have been friends since highschool but have lost touch. They meet by accident at a camp site and secrets start being revealed. At the same time, the campsite seems to be haunted.

The story started as an enemies to lovers one but very quickly became a ghost story. The transition from a simple romcom to horror was natural and believable. But very soon I started thinking that thee was more than meets the eye here. And while expecting one twist (kind of , one of them is a ghost as well thing!) I got a completely different one. I am very happy about it because it allowed us to get a happy ending. But I was also a bit disappointed because the story suddenly was not as straight forward as promised and some of the backstory was missing. I wish they had just mentioned, in passing the origin of the tale.
The actors are cute and have good chemistry, the cinematography is correct, though often cold even in the nature (digital camera?)

There is just one huge problem with this series(My Universe) which is the music: the same song being played again and again and again....I cannot stand it anymore! Good thing I am not binging this otherwise I'd go nuts because of the annoying song.

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An Actor & His Fan

The bl drama about a couple of actors filming a bl drama could have been a hit or a miss. Either you take it the slapstick comedy cringe way, or you make it into a sweet romcom! Fortunately, they chose the right way, the romcom way!

Frankly, it is a perfect ,light watch for the first day of the year. The story of two actors: one , a former child star, trying to have a grown up's career and the other one a huge star and secretly, the other actor's huge fan. The first one has a big self-confidence issue while the other is so impressed to bi in his presence which of, course, leads to many misunderstandings. Since the drama has only three episodes, all misunderstandings were sorted out relatively quickly, the plot progressed at a steady pace and there was no time wasted. And still it did not seem rushed!

The actors were excellent. The support couple (the actors' managers) were deadpan and interesting, sneakily observing the main couple and scheming to get them together. Deliciously twisted and cute!

Of course, it is full of tropes but here they have taken advantage of them and I really did not mind it (fujoshi producer!). They managed to find the right balance between the comedy and the romance: trying to get together but being afraid to speak up, so they decided to pretend to practice being in character which led to a number of funny (interrupted kisses were many!) and sweet moments (date). We are also privy to their inside monologues which contradict so funnily with their actions: they are cool on the outside but falling to pieces inside! They also toned down the often exaggerated comedy they use when adapting mangas!

Cinematography is great, misty and dreamy. This is going straight on to my feel good list! Just the first best romcom of the year! Last year has really been the japanese bl year! They outdid themselves with a string of amazing and different bls! Hope they continue into this new year!

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Short and funny

These two episodes are a pilot released to see if the audience is interested in concept. Apparently they were since two seasons were made.

The story follows three best friends, students at the university, meeting regularly in a restaurant called Just One Bite to eat deliciously spicy food and talk about their love lives. This pilot focuses only on one girl and her dating adventure.

The drama is full of clichés about young women: excessive drinking, blackouts, misunderstandings, bitchy rival. Again, and I find this a repeat offence in K dramas: drunk women are considered cute and amusing. I really do not understand that. I wish somebody would explain to me what is cute about someone staggering around, talking nonsense and stinking of alcohol? Her friend, eats too much as well as drinking and her boyfriend also finds it cute. Any kind of overindulgence is just too much for me.

Fortunately(for her!), her boyfriend is the epitome of understanding, respect, honesty, fidelity....as well as being really smart and handsome! And of course, there is the rival: his friend who wanted to be more but did not succeed.

The production is on the normal webdrama level: cold, underfunded (awful make up) but not too terrible. The music is nice. It is just a typical Playlist Global web drama. From the bottom half of their list unfortunately! I should watch the full drama to see if any improvements were made, but this is actually quite good for a pilot!

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Food & Travel

Drama titles and posters. It just sometimes drives me mad that the producers of dramas do not put in a better effort into naming and illustrating their creation. I do not know haw many times I was so pleasantly surprised at a drama with an ugly poster(Tsuiraku JK) or un incomprehensible title (Hot Stove League). This one is another example. It should have been called Our Food Journey To Love or something like that

This drama should not have been named Naked Dining because it evoked in viewers concepts and ideas that were nowhere to be found here! The ratings are low here because the majority of watchers were expecting a lot of naked frollicking but there is not even a kiss in this romcom! Naked dining is just a quirky habit the ML has to release the stress: it has no incidence on the plot other than that it is the source behind the first misunderstanding which starts the ball rolling. Immediately afterwards, cooking takes the stage and stays in the center!

ML, Sota, is an intelligent, competent, overworked civil servant who likes eating ramen et midnight, after work, naked. One day he receives a letter from his recently deceased grandmother and goes finally to visit her house. There he meets the local fruit&veg store owner, Mahiro who was close to his grandmother. Sota found the grandmother's notebook with recipes from all over the world (she could not travel due to illness and decided to travel through cooking) and decides to try them all out as a tribute to her. Mahiro helps him cook and they fall in love.

The drama deals with a lot of themes: workplace induced stress, family relationships and the lack thereof, and finally sexual orientation. Sota works too much and the weekend trips to his grandmother's house for cooking lessons are making him realize that there is more to life than just work. He has always worked too much, so much so he had never been in love so when he starts developing feelings for Mahiro, he does not understand them. On the other hand, Mahiro has had a crush on Sota since high school but thinks that Sota is straight so does nothing which confuses poor Sota even more. There are a lot of misunderstandings but when you look at the path that both characters needed to go over it is understandable that they are afraid to say anything in order not to lose the fragile friendly relationship they developed! Slowly, with the accidental help from friends and coworkers, they eventually really talk to each other are meet in the middle of the path.

There are some great support characters in this drama: coworkers and villagers and as per usual in a japanese drama, not an evil character in sight! Even those who might have been turn out to be nice and misunderstood!

The actors were fine and had a correct chemistry. Even though I am not a fan of height difference, it was not too bad since there was no skinship at all involved so it was not too blatant! The cinematography was classical and since it was filmed in autumn or winter, everything was gray and rather depressing: the colour was definitely missing. Hair styling leaves a lot to be desired: practically the complete cast has bad hair!

The drama reminded me a lot of the korean BL Love Tractor but as a much more interesting version especially since the adults were behaving as adults here and not like immature kids in adult bodies as in korean bl! Actually, this is what the korean bl should have been like and it was not!

I enjoyed very much this drama about self discovery and realisation of one's dreams! A lovely drama featuring some mouthwatering dishes!

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Love and ugly blouses

Is it possible for a couple of actors in a romcom to completely lose chemistry they had by the end of the drama? Well, yes and this is the drama!

When she gets dumped by her boyfriend a few days short of her 29th birthday Yoshiko is devastated: her life plan is ruined. She accidentally meets Yuki, her 23yr old co-worker who consoles her by offering to marry her in a year. Unbeknown to her, he has been in love with her ever since he saw her for the first time. His promise o of marriage makes her really notice him for the first time and within days she falls for him. Misunderstandings make the most of the rest of the drama (7 episodes out of 8).

Actually everything felt off about this drama. First, the narrative process: the main two characters often stop, turn around and talk into the camera which in itself is an interesting way to tell the story. Here, it is used so much that often we do not see the line between the real and imaginary things they say in their minds so it is very disconcerting and confusing.
Secondly, what possessed the costume / hair designer to make the FL look ugly and old? The hair is a disaster: the basic bob was ruined by unnecessary hair/head ornaments. The clothes she was made to wear...I cannot believe someone actually makes those. They made her look like an overweight 40yr old victorian spinster. It has been a long time since I'd seen such ugly clothes. And finally, her behaviour was inconsistent! She's just wallowing in misunderstandings, drawing wrong conclusions, blowing hot and cold (I like you, kiss me, let's sleep together, why do you want to sleep together again, let's give us some space, why don't you want to sleep with me again, are we dating, why are you kissing me, why don't want to kiss me again....and on and on and on like this!) and behaving kawai like a good japanese FL. The ML was a bit better: at least he was rather nice and consistent, kind and full of understanding. But why did he constantly speak in that breathless voice. It made me think of all those chinese dubbed dramas! The chemistry was going from bad to worse in spite of the main actor giving it all but her character was ultimately so unlikable (not even annoying) that their being in love was not credible.

The story is fluffy enough, rather basic as we do not see any member of their respective families (except for her mother, blink and you miss it appearance). They are adults so the parents have no say in their lives. Rather refreshing. There is a group of friends at work who are a varied and a very fun lot to watch. As usual with these romcoms there is not one single "evil" character, no jealous exes or worried parents who know the best...

The best part of this drama are the opening credits in which two of them run around the beach.

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Season 5/5: The End?

The story continues from the previous season. After leaving the publishing company because her skills were not recognized, YiYi and the emperor start their own platform and begin publishing her novel. But her old company's owner won't let her be and keeps creating problems for her. YiYi also finally admits to be in love and they have some lovely lovey dovey moments. But his time is coming to the end and he accepts to leave since that is going to save her life.

The story is definitely not as interesting or as funny as it was in the first three seasons: they are basically repeating the same plot in the modern setting. There are same characters in two worlds behaving exactly the same so the novelty of modern setting quickly wore off. The emperor get used to modern world fast and became a high performing businessmen. I was a bit upset with the rapidity of this plot point but then I reminded myself that this is a fantasy based drama not a reality based one.

The couple had their happy ending in the last minute of the drama though it was not explained how or why: he was not supposed to remember anything once he went back into the book but I guess love conquers all. And I think that the Book Scholar must have helped them a bit when he saw how much they love each other and to what lengths they are ready to go in order for the loved person to stay alive. The Book Scholar was punished so....

Same problems as in season 4 regarding cinematography are present her. I think that they filmed both seasons in one go. It is ugly to look at. And what's with the ML's haircut: he just came out of the army or what?

All things considered, this is a fun watch, the actors have correct chemistry, it is very funny at the beginning but later on it becomes more and more serious with just little drops of humour here and there (YiYi's brother is comedy gold!).

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Someone said obsession?...Ready to watch!

Recently I keep coming upon series where the main theme is obsessive love. Well, this one is in a class of its own!

Double Mints is a story of two men with a same name who cannot live apart no matter how bad they are to each other. We know nothing about the two characters: what is known is their relationship: toxic, codependent, raw, addicted, obsessive, damaged.

They met in high school where one becomes the owner of the other one calling him "the dog". Every time "the dog" tries to break free, he is pulled back into the weird relationship. So much so that "the dog", even adult, has no will of his own before his master. But when he realizes that his master is someone else's dog (in this case, he has become an errand boy for the local yakuzas), he starts to change. They are still addicted to each other but the erstwhile dog decides to become equal. And they understand that they are the two halves of the same . Soulmates sounds too fluffy for this damaged relationship. But that is what they ultimately turn out to be! Unhealthy it may be but they need to stay together.

What is it about these toxic , obsessive relationships that is so fascinating?

The movie is dark. The cinematography is appropriately black and bleak. The acting is perfect: the actors managed to portray complex feelings through posture, voice and facial micro expressions. The cello music is ominous and rather scary not allowing for a glimmer of hope in this world filled with cruelty. The editing is a bit messy: the timeline seems stunted and it is difficult to understand how much time has passed between the scenes.

It is a hard watch, long and draggy at moments with minimal dialogue. They did not need to say anything, everything was crystal clear from the way they walked and behaved.

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I Am What I Want To Be

It is a sign on the wall of the tea shop owned by Peung. It is a story of getting a second chance in life and how to use it to realise one's dreams.

I wanted to see this actually because of Mew: I wondered if he could make me forget TharnType! Well, he did here and with brio! But more about that later!

Peung is 50 years old. One night after drinking too much she sleeps with a much younger music industry manager Pop who disappears in the morning. Pop has a lot of problems at work and when he finally goes back to see Peung, she'd gone away. Pop goes back to work putting together another girl idol group and one of the candidates who show up at the audition is Bee. Pop falls under her charm unaware that Bee is Peung but only 20 years old!

This is a short comedy series, quite silly with the usual comedy silly sound effects, silly story touching onto a serious issue (ageism!) and a group of colorful sweet and charming characters. They actually made the drama worth the watch. The plot is boring, the writing rather lazy and the issues they wanted to discuss are treated in a totally wrong way!

Love Me Again is actually a noona romance and I would have preferred the solution to this problem (older woman's insecurities and doubts) were dealt using fantasy more than the totally unrealistic plastic surgery answer to ageing. No matter how good the doctor is, you cannot look 20 after medical procedures: one can tell that the scalpel/botox were used! And that is what this comedy drama desperately needed for it to be perfect: a little bit of magic (talismans, wished, time lapse whatever!) but not surgery! I was enjoying this drama immensely until the explication came and then I was: "What a shame!".... My rating went down because of it but also because it reminded me of Birth of a Beauty a terrible and awful drama with a similar solution to age and obesity! We are made to believe that the only way to be loved is to be thin and young! I thought we had gone beyond these notions!

The characters were those I liked the most. Mew as Pop was charming and cute and just perfect as a kind idol group manager. He would be serious trying to sort a problem out and then he would smile and he'd be so cute and sweet and just scrumptious! I liked Mild as Peung/Bee as well: when she played a 20 yr old she looked like a 50 yr old in 20 yr old's clothes. I did not like her character very much until I read what I just wrote and realized she was an extraordinary actress: that it WAS her role to play and she played it to a perfection. The chemistry with Mew was rather low key unfortunately!
Then there was a ragtag group of girls as Bee's team members: all different and funny and kind. And of course, the obligatory screaming trans character, as a rivel manager.

But the one who completely stole the show was Jimmy (Played by Max...), daddy's son and a famous rock star with a crush on Bee. He was the funniest of the lot: talking about himself in third person (Johnny wants this, Johnny wants that!), using basic english phrases to be cool and listening to his daddy. He was sweet, kind, naive and so lovable and Max played him so well!

I have a very sophisticated cringe detection radar in my head so at the slightest notion of a second hand embarrassing moment, the alarm goes of and it is Bye, bye, drama! I was so pleasantly surprised as they managed to strike the right tone in comedy: making it silly but never crossing the line into the cringe territory!

Fluffy and funny though a bit problematic drama but with an amazing cast of characters so if you have little time try this, you may like it!

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First love, regrets and flowers

Beautiful. Poetic. Sweet. Magical.

There exist a flower shop which you can enter only if invited. Mizushima Toru gets one invitation and curious, goes there. The owner, Mochizuki Hayato asks him to choose one flower out of three and then gives him one petal. Toru suddenly finds himself 10 years earlier on his high school graduation day when he spoke for the last time to his first love Shindo Kasumi. Can the past be changed or will only regrets remain? Using remaining petals, Toru goes back again and again trying to gather courage and confess his love. Will he be successful?

This amazing web drama needs sequel. Like yesterday!

It is beautifully filmed, the actors are perfect: the cool florist, the flustered Toru and the kind Kasumi. Music is rather generic

The main theme is the first love and how it is never realized and how it remains in memory shrouded in regrets and how we can never go back and fix it, and how we need to have more courage and be brave and take risks. The story is perfect from the first to the last minute (35min in all) and the final surprise.

Cinematography is excellent: the 4:3 screen ratio is surprising since nobody uses it anymore. Unless it is destined to be shown on IG or similarly square formated site , it is wrong format for a vertical tiktok drama. Nevertheless, it harks back to the old 20th century television! The colours are bold, joyful in the present and dull yellowish brown for the memories.

They managed to say so much in this short series. Go watch it!

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