I enjoyed it (a review for both seasons)

So I decided to watch this drama, even though it is an older one, because I'm a fan of Zhao Lusi and plan to watch as many of her dramas as possible. This drama was fun, it's an easy watch and the storyline is interesting enough to hold your attention if you aren't really feeling the romance. It is a comedy romance and really lives up to that, almost every scene up till the last episode will make you laugh. Or at least it did in my case. Normally I don't really like love triangles but this one was fine, I didn't mind it's existence because Mo Ran knew his limits. I'm not going to lie, I was having trouble getting into the romance for the first few episodes of the first season. They had good chemistry but having just watched Hidden Love and my favourite cdrama ever being Who Rules The World, I have seen better chemistry between Zhao Lusi and her male leads. However, as this drama progressed and especially in the second season, I got into the romance more and more. By the end, I was very emotionally attached to them. Which made the ending that much harder. I am glad he joined her world at the end but I honestly wish she'd just stayed in the Zodiac Kingdom. I do have some gripes with this show, it is certainly far from perfect in my eyes. For one, I am so tired of the constant fat shaming in this drama. It was excruciating having these men constantly calling the female leads(but mostly FeiFei) fat when she is no where even close to fat. But even if she was, so what? And also the 'not like other girls' themes in this were a little irritating, except they were the opposite of normal not like other girls rhetoric. Male characters kept saying Fei Fei and Dali weren't like other girls, Fei Fei was average looking (except they casted Zhao Lusi so who on earth is going to think she's average looking) and talentless while Dali is undesirable to anyone but Wuchen because she's too man like. I'm used to the not like other girls stuff in cdramas, especially historical/Xinxia ones, but usually it's meant to compliment the female lead. This just felt like the male characters trying to tear them down.
Speaking of side characters, I swear they were queer coding the relationship between Xie and Shang Yu. Especially at the end of the second season but maybe I was just reading too much into it. And I will say, my favourite couple was Dali and Wuchen. Though I loved the main couple and TangTang was cute with Xia Bing while it lasted, I loved the way Wuchen was totally head over heels for Dali. He seemed like the male character who loved his love interest the most. So their ending had me sobbing, severely. I hope they are ok after Fei Fei's clan healed them, that they were able to get married and *major spoiler* their baby was also saved. In terms of the main romance, Yi'er was very dumb. I get it was meant to be like that and played for laughs but sometimes it could be a little frustrating, as the viewer, when he wasn't getting Fei Fei's hints. Also what was with those kisses ? I know Lusi can do some good kiss scenes, both sweet and spicy ones, so I was so confused as to why they were doing the dead fish lip press. Especially for the final kiss scene, it's meant to be intense, romantic, and emotional but all I could think about was why they weren't for real kissing. I was stuck wishing for the kiss scenes to end soon because it was awkward to watch.
For the acting, it wasn't bad but Xiao Zhan and Zhao Lusi have both done better. I haven't seen the male lead before but he was good enough, same for all the side characters.
The soundtrack wasn't bad, the songs were all sweet and cute but not my favourite.
Overall, I recommend this drama. It's nice, it's funny, both seasons are good (but season 2 is better imo), and the romance is cute.

Read More

This drama is truly amazing

I saw clips of this drama on YouTube and it immediately caught my attention. I'm not a huge cdrama watcher and historical dramas don't usually peak my interest but this one did. And I'm so glad I watched it. This drama has everything you could ever want: Interesting plot? Yep. Great acting? Yep. A beautiful romance? Absolutely. Strong female characters? Heck yes. Male leads that are strong, respectful, and handsome? Yes, yes, yes! This drama is perfectly paced, it's not too fast or two slow. Every plot point is properly explored and everything that happens has an effect, nothing is pointless in this drama. The romance had me swooning, it's so perfect. It's healthy, it's cute, there aren't that many obstacles, it's simply wonderful. And I love love love that the character that could be considered a love rival for Bai Fengxi becomes her best friend. She doesn't try to hurt Fengxi because Lanxi likes her, instead they become close friends and support one another.
Over all this drama is a 10/10 and I highly, highly suggest you watch it

Read More

I was not expecting that

So, I went into this drama BLIND, I had seen some clips on YouTube, so I checked it out and checked the synopsis after the first episode because I was very confused. It didn't really help but I think that's the point. This drama is excellent, I really enjoyed it. The plot twists were absolutely mind-boggling to me. Did not see the first one coming and the second one, holy shiz. I had an idea in the first episode the Tiew might be special but I gave that idea up once the second episode started. After I watched that, I was waiting for Mork to get hit in the head by something so the amnesia would make sense but nope, they took it one step further. Overall, I super enjoyed it and the "god" character or whoever he's meant to be is super hot. Like sir, who gave you the right? I do, however, have some critiques but they involve heavy heavy spoilers and I'm not allowed to write those so just know, I kinda dislike Mork, also how old is Mork cause he wears a uniform and Tiew does not, and lastly timeline confusion. Other than that, I really enjoyed it so I do recommend you watch it.

Read More

Ok, here's the thing

Ahhh, I am conflicted. I liked the show but at the same time, I disliked it. I didn't like Paper from the start, with that opening scene(I'll get back to that) making me angry on TongFah's behalf. After that, I couldn't really like him. Then his overly harsh rejection of TongFah just added more salt to the wound. So I was kind of hoping TongFah would get with someone else. Then there is Clear and that cafe guy. How old is that guy? Clear is still in high school and he is never refered to as being over the age of 18. Idk about Thai laws but to me, a boss and his high-school aged employee just didn't sit right. But the show is saved by Chris and Jeno. When Jeno rejected Chris, my heart broke and I was so sad. Chris is so fun and great but I understand why Jeno would reject him at first. He was scared of going through what he went through with Arthur all over again. (screw Arthur btw, he should be in jail). When they got together in the end, I was super happy.
Now, another gripe I have is where the fudge is that pool scene? I watched the official english subbed version but I didn't see it so did they cut it out? Also, what happened to TongFah? Why was he in the hospital? What happened to him that put him in that multiple days long coma?
Overall, watch this if you want but I don't think it is a must watch. There are better ones that you could occupy your time with.

Read More

I love this show so much

The headline says it but I will say it again, I love this show. The couples were cute and the side characters were funny. (this has been edited)
Story:
Any Bl watcher, avid or casual, is familiar with the engineer trope. It is so common that it's kind of suffocating. However, I can look past it because the couples are great. Speaking of the couples, the main one was my least favourite. The amount of jealousy and communication issues in this relationship is a big red flag and also, trigger warning, they had one of the guys be assaulted but didn't call it that instead they called it cheating and used it as the ep 11/12 conflict. It was not ok. It's brief and only a kiss but it was still SA. Do better next season please. Onto to the normal, non problematic couples. My second least favourite couple was MekBoss. That isn't an insult to them, I love them a lot but I have a soft spot for TharaFrong so MekBoss is below them. I enjoyed their story and I think the actors were good but omg the Thai dub for Mek was terrible. I know why they hired a Chinese actor but couldn't they have found one who could speak Thai? Or was willing to learn? Idk but it bugged me a lot. Next is TharaFrong. I think their story is really cute and I was sad when Frong was brozoned. Like, come on Thara. I'm sad MD won't be back for season 2 but I hope they find someone good to replace him. Now for my, and almost every person I've heard talk about this show, favourite ship. RamKing is the shining star of this series and if season 2 was just them and TharaFrong, I'd be happy. Talay and Perth had good chemistry and they were so cute together. They were perfect. Sorry that was so long.
Acting:
The acting was good. Nothing majorly outstanding but I got into the story and it was believable so that's all that matters to me.
Music:
Kinda lack luster. I don't speak Thai so I don't know what the main song means but it didn't make enough of an impression on me for me to really care.
Rewatch value:
I'd watch it again but only for TharaFrong and RamKing. Seeing the other two couples once was enough to satisfy me until Season 2.
Overall:
I highly recommend this if you enjoy bl's and I am eagerly awaiting the announcement of the release of season 2 episode 1, whenever that may be. Please go watch it if you haven't and let's hope season 2 comes soon??

Read More

Ok, here's the tea

This show is cute. I like it more than the first season for a multitude of reasons but I still have somethings I don't like.

Story:
It's the same story as the first season but expanded upon a bit. By that I mean they spent more time on the other couples. We've seen it before, one guy secretly likes the other but the guy they like is mean to them at first so they pretend to dislike them. Then it turns out that the mean one also secretly liked the other. You know, that plot. What I like about it is that they are cute once they are finally together. I couldn't really care for the main couple otherwise. Where this show struck gold was with MingKit and ForthBeam. I especially liked Ming and Kit because I love that kind of hate to love on one side and pining on the other side. Very cute.

Acting:
They were all good but none of them really stood out. I think they will be good in any other projects they do.

Music:
I didn't really care for it but I can see if others like it.

Overall:
It's cute, I like it more than the first season and I recommend watching it but I would recommend watching for the side couples and not the main one.

Read More

Cute and wholesome

I don't have anything really to say about this bl, which is strange. It lies in the category of good but not extraordinary so there is nothing to rave about but it's not bad so I can't rant about it. The couples are cute, Phumjai and Yang are so sweet together. So supportive and adorable. PhoJai and Tag are also cute, I wish we'd seen more of them. The acting isn't the best but I didn't mind, not being good at emotional scenes saves me tears so I won't complain haha. It does have a factor to it that I think is very rewatchable. It seems like one that I could watch again if I were introducing a friend to bl or something. I would recommend this bl to everyone but I don't think it's going to be a new favourite of mine. Solid 8.5/10

Read More

Oh my god, this was so good

What can I say, this drama was extremely good. The plot was really intriguing and the characters were super well crafted. This show gave us one scary villain, I mean that dude made me anxious anytime he was on screen. I hated him but he was also super cute so I couldn't help but ogle at him. He didn't beat Vincenzo though, that dude is hot as heck. Especially in turtlenecks might I add. Anyway, let me get on to the actual review.
Story, 10/10:
I really enjoyed the plot of this show, I found it really unique and unlike anything I'd seen before. It was quite violent so those with faint hearts shouldn't watch but I didn't mind too much. I skipped the scenes I thought would be too graphic but for the most part, it was fine. The gold plotline was really fun to watch unfold and the main plot was really gripping so I was never not hooked. My favorite character was definitely Cha-Young but I liked Vincenzo almost the same amount so I'd call it a tie. I do have one gripe with this and that is the decision to kill Vincenzo's mother. Surely Han-Seok was smart enough to know not to mess with the family of a person in the mafia but he did and then seemed surprised when Vincenzo got upset and the whole incident happened. It seemed too dumb of a decision for a man of his intelligence to make but who knows.
Acting, 10/10:
I think the acting in this is fantastic. The most impressive acting in my eyes came from the guy who played Jang Han-Seok. He portrayed this monster of a man so believably I felt genuinely frightened of him. I would've been more frightened if he wasn't so darn attractive but that isn't the point. The actors who played Cha-Young and Vincenzo also gave very excellent performances.
The soundtrack, 9/10:
I think the music in this was pretty good but it wasn't the best I've heard. However, it fit the show so well that I could excuse that.
Rewatchiblity,3/10:
I enjoyed this show a lot but it isn't one I think can be rewatched. It has too many twists and turns that I think rewatching it wouldn't be as fun. But that is only my opinion.
Overall,10/10:
I think this show is amazing and I highly recommend you watch it. It is quite violent so I think it's not for everyone but if you can handle that stuff then you should watch this.

Read More

I adore this and I promise you will too

So this drama was on my watch list while it was still airing but I was watching another airing show at the time so I didn't get around to watching it until it was all out. But the wait was oh so worth it. This drama is so funny and adorable and I love it so much. Both couples are amazing and deserve the hype they are getting. I laughed and swooned, the relationships are super healthy and the friendships are truly beautiful. Both friendships are full of love and respect for one another and I love to see it. This doesn't include the university friends though, they all suck.
For me, both couples are equally amazing but I do like the side couple just a tad bit more. The one sided pining troupe + good chemistry and a healthy relationship = me being very happy. Please watch this drama so more people can ask for a wedding special episode. Hehe. But really, I promise you will like it.

Read More

Wow.

Sorry for the short headline, I didn't know what to put so I chose that. Anyway, I enjoyed this series. A lot, actually. At first I was nervous because I'd read some reviews that left me concerned but I watched it and was surprised at how good it was. This being a non engineering focused college series was really refreshing. Seriously. I know their are a few non engineer based college thai bl's but they are few and far between. There need to be more. That aside, I really liked this show. I have not(and probably never will) watched Tharntype s1 or 2 so I wasn't familiar with any of the characters in this but that didn't matter really. I enjoyed it just fine with the basic knowledge of Fiat being the villain in Tharntype s2. Speaking of villains, King is a piece of human garbage and should be in jail for the things he did to Fiat. I hate him so much. The girl counterpart sucked too but I forgot her name and she wasn't quite as bad as King. She was garbage but not on his level. As for the couples, I love Leo and Fiat a lot. They were so sweet and supportive, I loved it. I didn't like the fight/breakup because it made no sense with their characters but I can ignore it. I saw someone critique First's acting and I don't get it. I thought he was pretty good. But main couple aside, Leon and Pob were great. I love how respectful and kind Leon is to Pob. He waits for Pob to be ready and even then, he isn't a lustful or pushy guy after the fact. Their ending made me so sad and I wish I could watch the special episode. Side note, Pob's cat dying made me tear up.
Overall, I recommend you watch it but if you are not a fan of s*x scenes, this has quite a few so beware. They aren't gratuitous or anything but they are pretty spicy. Anyway, please watch this show. It is really good.

Read More

I liked it but it had some serious flaws

I will start with what I liked about this drama and then talk about my problems with it. Lin Tuo, as a character, was deeply relatable to me. I myself have severe physical disabilities and his mental struggles were very understandable to me. I really enjoyed his relationship with Xiao Que, especially at the start. Their first meeting, at the interview, was so cute and I loved how natural they felt together. I really liked the side couple, they were actually my favorite. The acting in this drama was really good, they all did phenomenal. The friendships in this drama were really great and I really liked how supportive they were of each other.
Now to the things I didn’t like. The relationship conflict was too drawn out. They made it last longer than it should have and Xiao Tuo was getting somewhat annoying towards the end of the arc. Like I get it but at the same time, it was too much. When I said I understood and related to him, that had its limits. That limit being ruining his relationship and lying to all his loved ones… but my biggest problems were with the subtle ableism and the way they depicted caregiving. I know it sounds weird, a show about a disabled person being ableist shouldn’t be a thing. And I genuinely don’t think that the creators were trying to be ableist or anything but when you write a character who has internalized ableism and don’t do anything to fix his view point, it only projects the idea that the view point is right. That view point being that disabled people are useless and burdensome. Which is obviously not true but this show did not do anything to try and disprove the point. Lin Tuo said that he was useless many times and the entire break up arc was because he didn’t want to be a burden to her. I am fine with a character having insecurities but this show needed to make it clear that this was only that. An insecurity, rather than the universal truth they made it out to be. This ties in with the way they handled caregiving. They made it seem like it was the worst thing ever, that it was better to be out of the relationship than have to take care of your disabled partner. I literally got so pissed when they tried to make the guy who left his fiancé pitiable. Like caregiving is hard but he LEFT her! He did not try to get assistance or do anything to try and make things easier for himself, he just left. It annoyed me so much that they kept trying to make it seem like that wasn’t a bad thing. Caregiving is hard and nobody is perfect but leaving your partner without first trying to get help just makes you shitty. Maybe I’m too biased but I hated it.

Overall, I did enjoy the show and I think it’s really great that we are getting more disability representation in cdramas but there were some serious issues I had with this one so it’s getting an 8.5/10

Read More

Disappointingly Average

This drama's problems begin in the marketing itself. I will be candid, I'm not really a fan of the story within a story format. Especially for romances, because that always feels so unfulfilling at the end. But nowhere in the description of the drama on MDL or IQIYI did it announce it was that, so I went in thinking it was a regular historical thriller. Despite tending to dislike that plot, I decided to watch on because I love tension and everything I'd seen had promised me that in spades. However, I think this drama only partially delivered. The past life scenes between Ning and Xie Wei were so tense and just what I was looking for however it wasn't the same with the current timeline. Obviously, they did have chemistry and tension but for me, it just wasn't doing it. Like when you compare the two timelines, past her is not nearly as frightened of him so they have this intensity that just doesn't happen in the current timeline. It is basically a one-sided obsession for the majority of the current timeline, and I don't even understand how she fell for him. Another thing, what was with the mental health rep? I don't understand why they included the mental illness at all, he could have hated the snow and been cruel without bringing in a disorder that is already stigmatized to use as an excuse for his violence.
I do want to say I did enjoy this drama, it was beautifully shot, the soundtrack was epic, and the acting was great. This was my first Bai Lu drama, but I've been in the cdrama sphere for about a year so I'm familiar with her name, and I was really impressed. I will definitely check out another one when I have the opportunity. The male lead did great as well, as did all the supporting actors.
Overall, I would recommend this drama, 8.5/10

Read More

A sequel that completely stands on its own

I will be honest, I have not watched the first love class. I never saw anything about it that drew me in so going into this, I was prepared to be a little confused plot wise. Luckily, that wasn't really the case and I was able to enjoy the episodes completely. In order of couples, I was really having trouble picking a favorite. I loved all of them. I geuss I'll put Sungmin and Joohyuk at the bottom because their story is my least favourite. The synopsis of their story is completely wrong, which is why I must have been so let down at the start. I am not really into the drunk hookup trope but I thought it would be kinda fun for them. They had chemistry, that NC scene had me in shock, so I felt like it could have worked for them. But instead, they made Joohyuk an ass and had him threaten Sungmin in order to get a date so they could then drunk hookup. Post hookup though, I really liked them. I wish it'd started different but I really liked where it went. My second favourite was Maru and Minwoo, I'm a big sucker for unrequited love. My main, and only, issue with them is Minwoo slut shaming Maru. I get he was upset and Maru had deserved to be lectured but calling him a slut was WAY too far. I wish he'd gotten a little more lecturing but he did apologise and seemed to know that what he'd said was wrong. That aside though, I adore them. I love jealousy (done correctly) and I was living for Maru when Minwoo and Sa Ra were pretending to date. His reactions were everything, I loved it. And now, my favourite couple, Kim An and Lee Hyun. I loved them so much, they had a good plot line and their chemistry was good. My only qualm is the kisses were not good. Especially when you compare to the other two couples, who were doing very well with their kisses. I don't really have any excuses for lip presses anymore, don't join a drama that has kiss scenes if you can't commit to kissing.
Overall, this drama is good and it's worth the watch. You don't have to watch the first season, I didn't, so if the couples interest you than please give this a watch

Read More

Mediocrity at its finest

I have many issues with this drama, which I'll go into later, but I think my biggest problem is that this drama COULD'VE been a 10 star for me. They kept dropping interesting storyline after interesting storyline and if this drama had properly explored even one of them, it could've been great. But they didn't. Anyway, here is my review of Tin Tem Jai.
Story:
So this drama follows Tin, a university student who lives with his long time crush Park. I actually really liked Tin as a main character. He was funny, caring, sassy, and just overall fun to watch. His storyline with his mom was also extremely interesting and I wish we'd gotten more from it. Seen his relationship with her before she left him with Park and his mother, actually gotten some exploration into Tins abandonment issues and his feelings on his mothers new family. We got crumbs but I wanted more. My problem was with Park. How do I say this? Park was boring. He had barely any personality, he had no hobbies, he had 3 facial expressions the entire drama, and he had the charisma of a twig. Together, these two characters had no chemistry. Enter the second lead, Ploen. He's got good chemistry with Tin, they share an interest, he's open with how he feels about Tin, and he's handsome. Literally they made the perfect love interest the second lead? I was so upset that Tin didn't pick him, I knew he wouldn't but I was grinning and kicking my feet for them only for Tin to reject him. As for the second couple, I feel robbed. We get build up, a hot sex scene, and then we never saw them alone together again until the special episodes. We see them together in group scenes and they both get a few solo scenes but I wanted more. I wanted what was in the special episodes to be in the main ones. Just them being a cute couple and that chaotic boyfriend calm boyfriend dynamic they had. They had the chance to make them stronger as a couple when Pao ods. It is said that Kana previously did drugs so if they'd given glimpses of him helping Pao through the rehab process (not that he actually went because tv doctors are stupid but hypothetically) would give them a chance to connect more. Another unexplored storyline dropped in for conflict. Speaking of unexplored, I want to know more about Bai. Her transition, how she built herself from a run away to a successful hair salon owner, and the tense relationship she has with her family. Because having family be unaccepting of your identity is a reality for many lgbtq+ people and it clearly had not resolved. Though her brother and her friends show her unconditional support, her parents do not.
Acting:
The acting in this show is fine. Not horrible but not going to win any awards either.
Soundtrack:
Fine, except during the sex scenes. Specifically for the main couple. The main couple has one sex scene in the 10 episodes and 2 in the special episodes. All have terrible music. Due to the actors lack of chemistry, the sex is kind of boring and awkward so the terrible music just makes it worse.
Rewatch value:
Haha, no. I will not watch this again, ever.
Overall:
I did not hate this drama but I was severely disappointed and underwhelmed. Personally wouldn't recommend

Read More