A lot of potential not fully used
While I agree with most of the criticism mentioned in more sceptical reviews, I was still able to enjoy watching this drama, mainly because I didn't expect much. So here's a heads-up on what to expect before you get disappointed:- E-sports will play a big role and the tournament games will create a lot of the excitement other drama series create differently. I am not knowledgeable enough to determine how realistic everything shown is. To me as an uninformed viewer, it did not feel false, unrealistic or exaggerated.
- There's only little explanation on terminology, so for anyone who doesn't know anything about e-sports, this might not be something you watch easily in-between because following might need focus. I recommend especially looking out for the scenes where they show who plays which character in order to be able to follow the animated scenes.
- From what I've read, it will be different than the novel it's adapting.
Due to the focus on e-sports, I, like many others apparently, felt the emotional side of the story to fall a bit flat. I liked that emotions didn't bubble up constantly, creating a lot of tension and drama and hasty decisions (which I usually find unrealistic and over the top anyways). On the other hand, that also made character and relationship development as well as reactions a bit hard to follow since as a viewer, we do not get a lot of insight into the character's way of thinking and feeling (not saying there is none, it's simply not the focus of the story).
Furthermore, I loved the fact that even the side characters fit well into the story and actually had various and complex relationships with one another instead of fulfilling one designated purpose . The team's dynamics for all the e-sports teams were so nice to see as they each differed and had their own "personality". Each team's dynamics was great and heart-warming to watch.
Speaking of chemistry, the comedic chemistry between all the characters felt great. Xu Kai did a great job of making his character seem interesting and complex despite not showing a lot of emotions openly. The character's dynamics allowed for a lot of comic scenes. The romantic chemistry, on the other hand, could not develop fully as the viewer didn't get enough insight into the characters. It was the romantic relationship issues that I disliked the most as they felt so constructed and weren't resolved well.
What is also playing a role for the story is the public opinion/ fan's influences, which some mentioned to feel exaggerated. I did not feel as it was too much, but rather realistic, especially in regard to the different reactions each character had. (And I say that as a person who doesn't use social media outside of their work because I don't like them and think they are playing a way too important role in our daily life.) I didn't like how certain characters dealt (or didn't deal) with this, though. Here, too, I agree with some of the negative reviews.
Towards the end, and that's where I deducted most points, we did get more of the typical drama moments that felt unneccessary to me as with the fan's and family's reactions, the e-sports games, the (side) characters' stories and the development of the romantic relationships the series had more than enough to create suspension with, which would've been a lot more inventive than the classic tropes it relied on.
Overall, we have a lot to enjoy on the plus side. It is up to you whether you feel like this series wasted its potential, as it didn't execute its positive aspects to the end, or if you are simply glad this series even has those points where other series fall flat immediately. I, personally, think the series would have had to be longer to be able to really follow through with all the different aspects it tried to show, while furthermore not accentuating the focus to where viewers would have preferred to have it. Rationally speaking after having given it some thought, I would rate this series 8/10, but from how much I felt entertained personally while watching, I'll give it a 9/10.
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Perfect to wind down | My biggest tip: Watch it in fast-forward
A lot of the important things have been said already and I can agree with a lot of the positiv as well as the negative feedback here or at least where it's coming from.The general discussion on what beauty truly means is displayed really well. There's a lot of character development even for the side characters and the drama isn't as exaggerated as in many other series. Overall, it seemed quite close to real life which made the story and characters highly relateable.
But the pacing is slow. So slow that I watched the series in 1.25-1.5x speed to keep me on track (which was perfectly doable, music and speech didn't sound sped up - I highly recommend doing this!). Facial expressions are also very held back, especially with both leads. Some people consider this bad acting, I thought it was simply a nice contrast to the highly emotional dramas I had watched before.
If you are looking for a more laid-back, less highly emotional yet touching drama, you might really like this. If you prefer strong emotions, intense drama and a faster pace, this drama might not be for you. If the pacing had been a tad faster, I would've given it a higher rating, but even for a K-Drama this was...slow.
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A worthwhile watch to pass some time
I am glad I took my time to watch this series , hence it already accomplished what it was meant for. Considering it was their debut I think the actors did a decent job. The chemistry betweem them both was definitely there and it was addictingly satisfying to watch their relationship grow in the course of this series.The end did seem rushed, but, honestly, even series of 20 or more episodes manage to rush their end similarly, so I will give them the benefit of the doubt and blame it on the limited time they had to deal with. I really think the plot would have benefited from more episodes.
Lack of time also muddled up a lot of the story. The characters had depth to them due to their background stories being shown, the development was there, but there was just no time to mend all the lose ends, display the characters motives, thoughts, emotions and growth.
Contrary to other reviews, I did not mind the characters not being more physical with each other - I actually appreciated that. But even with the actors not feeling comfortable with physical intimacy on screen, there could have been solutions other than hinting at doing it without ever following through. For them to grow so close with nothing actually happening, it would have needed to further get into why they decided to keep it low like that.
As for my recommendations: If you hate the "developing a liking for your bully" trope, you might want to reconsider whether you really want to watch. I dislike it a lot, but can deal with it if the turning point is made well and the bullying stops as soon as there is a first hint of sympathy. I percieved that to be the case, so I was able to overlook it.
If you consider watching, adjust your expectations to the limited time available to tell a rather complex story and you'll probably be satisfied. If you expect a drama where every detail fits, the setting would have to be entirely different to enable that with so few episodes.
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I've never been so ambivalent about a series
I didn't know anything about this series when I started watching it years ago. And to me, personally, it was hard to get into every single time I picked it up again. But after the first half episode, I watched several episodes in a row, because something about it had me hooked. Just to then forget about the series again for a while.So, will I watch the second season? Honestly, I don't know, but since it's only 8 episodes, I might, simply because I like the initial concept.
Most important to say is this: this is not about revenge. Or justice. It's just like real life - outsiders and innocents get their share of consequences, too. . But that is also where the series failed to catch me.
In general, I liked the idea behind it. It was to show that anyone can be manipulated into doing horrible things, it was about group dynamics, social pressure and the lenghts some people would go to to preserve what's important to them - as well as digging into people's fake facades and their reasoning behind it. But even though the message mostly was very clear and hence delivered well - it wasn't convincing.
With messages like that, they can only leave a long-lasting impact if people identify with the situations. If they feel like "oh, that could have been me" or "I probably would have acted the same", but I never thought that with any episode I watched.
1) Nanno was the catalyst of all the scenarios, which I would have been fine with, but
2) At times, the outcomes were so unrealistic, they had to give her mysterious magic powers to explain the escalation of a situation
3) These mysterious magic powers in itself were weirdly inconsistent between and in episodes so everything could go as the writers wanted it to
4) Which added a ton of smaller and bigger plotholes and incomplete settings, making the whole scenario pitted like swiss cheese
5) Yet the writers often shunned away from happy ends just as much as sad endings - and while sometimes this lead to a great open ending to make up your own mind, some endings felt very people-pleasing (like "choose whatever ending you'd prefer")
The quality of the episodes differs vastly and so does the acting. While "Nanno" is doing a great job throughout, many of the side characters don't. The horror elements and special effects often were terrible, even for me, and I hate violence and gore anyways and prefer my series to go light with these if needed for the story.
As I had a four year gap between watching the first and the last episode, I realised that I barely remembered any of the episodes I watched four years ago, which is highly untypical for me. There couldn't be better proof on how few impact it was able to create on me.
Do I recommend watching it? If you like the concept in general and don't mind a... questionable execution, absolutely. If you are looking for a high-quality production in terms of consistency, I'd say you could only enjoy watching if you are able to ignore a ton of plotholes and incomplete settings.
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Exactly what I needed
As I was looking for a light-hearted, diverting yet not overly cliché ridden BL-drama to watch, I stumbled upon "See your Love" quite early, and am so glad I found it. I don't have much experience with LA BL-dramas yet, but feel like this was definitely on the better side of things - if a light-hearted drama where you can leave your brain at home yet feel with the characters is what you're looking for.Most important to keep in mind is that, despite having around 13 Episodes, each only lasts 20-25 minutes, so there isn't much screentime to work with. That considered, I loved the depth the characters, especially the main characters, got, as well as their character development. I was not prepared for that.
Then again, I was prepared for the "plot" and all the side characters to be lacking screen time and hence "proper" development. While I understand the attempt to further elaborate certain sides of the character's personalities, I am sure that could've been achieved differently - especially towards the end, where a couple things did feel a bit rushed and over the top.
The music did not feel too fitting and especially in a series with one character being deaf would have better been left out at times. It wasn't particularily bad, just not used skillfully.
The disability is displayed comparably well, considerate and empathetic, but most certainly not entirely realistic (the amount of lip-reading superpowers involved alone was questionable...). I advise to appreciate the effort put into a realistic demonstration of being deaf, while not taking it as real-life advice in that regard.
The comic elements might as well be seen as over the top, but it was exactly what made it hilarious and easy to watch amidst big emotions. The chemistry between the characters was great and didn't suffer from the comedy at all. I would have prefered more screen time for the plot and characters instead of fanservice and showing skin, but as these scences were done well too and the chemistry didn't get lost, I didn't mind it either. Instead, I got exactly what I needed. Something to laugh about loudly, something to smile, something to emphasize and something I could quickly watch in between or binge for an evening to relieve some stress.
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Clichés used well for light-hearted distraction
This drama was a great light-hearted show to watch as a short distraction from daily life and in that regard fulfilled its purpose very well. If that's what you're looking for, I can highly recommend watching.However, that also means there was barely any depth to it, so to enjoy it, one has to throw logic out the window. Don't expect any of the characters to actually work or know what they're talking about.
Furthermore, the drama is packed with classical tropes and clichés that I was fine with until the last couple episodes. Those last episodes felt a bit rushed and I didn't enjoy the sheer amount of additional clichés the series certainly could've done without. I really would've wished for the characters to start sticking to their decisions at least after half of the story. You could play "Asian Drama Cliché Bingo" with this series and definitely win a prize.
The comedic chemistry between the main leads was great. I usually skip those scenes in comedy dramas because the jokes rely too much on other character's discomfort for my taste, but this series actually made me laugh. The romantic chemistry on the other hand didn't come across to me and, again, the romantic relationship felt a bit rushed. Each of the main characters is adorable in their own way, but together... I just didn't feel it.
The child in the series is cute and made watching the show even more enjoyable, but is shown less and less as the story proceeds and focuses on the other characters. I wish they would've focused on all characters evenly instead of shifting the focus as the story progresses.
I've hence deducted points for the altogether immense amount of clichés used and the back and forth the characters create with their decisions for an otherwise well-made Romcom.
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