This show was so crazy I don’t even know where to start.

The story was very bad, and not even in a fun way. Often it feels like the writer was using the characters as puppets to rant about how the feminists are evil and that working women are ugly and being a good waifu is the best thing a woman could ever do. What is particularly frustrating is that for about the first four-ish episodes it seems like the show is doing a satirical take on the stance of "all women should be housewives" and in my opinion, those are the best episodes, though that's not saying much considering what comes after. These episodes actually have funny jokes and the best character moments in the show and until the end of the episode, you can trick yourself into thinking that the show is going to get good and have something to say. The moment the show's writing falls from mediocre to just plain unredeemable can be pinpointed at the end of episode four: After a touching scene in which Jun ( Ryusei Yokohama) confronts Tae (Mano Erina) as to why she stays with her boyfriend Shunpei (Yasushi Fuchikami) even after he repeatedly cheats on her and makes her feel like she's not good enough for him, which ultimately leads him to the conclusion that everything Shunpei does to Tae all adds up to psychological abuse (it is) and the two of them have a very sincere and touching conversation. This is the shows high point, it all feels like it's been leading up to this point where we pull away the curtain and reveal that the problem is not women who want to work or be housewives but rather men who use the system they have created to their advantage while also policing and demeaning women for even thinking of doing the same. But then it all falls apart when you get to the end of the episode and Tae out of nowhere punches Jun and essentially say "fuck everything we were talking about, I'm going to be Shunpei's housewife no matter what" as if all the emotional build-up hadn't even mattered the entire time. After this punch to the gut, the show really starts to go for it with amazing lines such as "When humans start mixing the roles together things become very strange." (a line from Shunpei, who is not transphobic but is misogynistic - yes this is a plot point in the show and I nearly lost my mind) and "There are those ugly feminists who are unable to get married and just talk crap and are jealous. They will try to brainwash the housewives." (just like this show tries to brainwash you into thinking that that's a normal way of looking at the world - remember how I mentioned rants about the feminists). I don't think it's hard to see how the story isn't good.

The issues of this show mainly fall upon the writing - the show was edited as best as it could have been and the actors are doing such an amazing job with the garbage they were given. Mano Erina as Tae, a woman obsessed with becoming a housewife, can balance cuteness and slapstick very well and is such an amazing actress, it makes me mad that they made her do this. Ryusei Yokohama as Jun, Tae's "rented boyfriend," was extremely charismatic, balancing being insightful and a total dumbass very well, and had amazing chemistry with Mano Erina. Even Yasushi Fuchikami as Tae's shitty boyfriend was great and he too deserved a better project than this. All of the actors tried to add as much nuance to their characters as possible (especially Kyoko Hasegawa, thank you for your service queen), but there was nothing of substance to hold up their characters. I can see, from the first few episodes, what drew the actors in - at first glace the show can appear to be a satirical slapstick romance that seems like it's going to say a lot about gender dynamics and Japan's falling birth rate, and that, in theory, can be amazing career-making stuff, if not an easy paycheck. However, once you see the show for what it truly is, the acting too falls flat and all of the actors' hard work is cheapened by a bad script and story.

The music in the show flopped between "okay but ultimately forgettable" and "who the fuck choose this? Who thought this was a good idea?" People often underestimate the use of music in drama's (mainly cause dramas tend to be viewed as a form of "low art" but that's a completely different conversation for another time), often just adding whatever pop or easily acquired song to the soundtrack. But music sets the tone and can easily make or break a scene the same way editing or acting can. This show has a lot of flaws, from its clumsy dialogue, awkward editing, harmful message, and so on, but what encapsulates how disappointing and depressing this show is can be found in its soundtrack. From how many of the songs sound like they belong in a Marvel soundtrack with their blandness and unimportance, to how strange and off-putting some of the songs sound - a strangeness that is only intensified by how out of place they are within the scene. The soundtrack has a few okay tracks which are ultimately buried under the blandness and badness of the rest, just how the show has some good things that are just drowned out by the overall badness of it.

The show feels like it's teetering between complete sincerity and no effort whatsoever and ultimately fails. The whole show was just anti-feminist propaganda made by men who don’t understand the reason for the birth decline in Japan and think it's due to women wanting equality and being evil cause they criticize men or whatever, rather than it being due to men (to an extent). Like I stated previously, men controlling, policing, and demeaning women, creating a system that is set to fail women no matter what (these things still happen to this day - look at how women in Japan get pushed out of the workforce once they marry or are pregnant or the medical school scandal of last year) , these are things that cause women to think twice about settling down. Not the feminist "brainwashing" them or them naturally being "corrupt" or "evil," but just the simple fact that men treat them or are willing to view them as such. Women don't need men the way they used to, to rely on income or basic necessities, and can work for themselves and live for themselves (a thing that men have historically been able to do without question) and this for some reason frightens men.

This is all summarized in the character of Shunpei, who is never wrong in the eyes of the story. He is manipulative, often neglecting Tae and then trying to make it seem like he did nothing wrong even going as far as convincing her to lie about being his girlfriend when she runs into him while he's on dates with other women. He's a liar, telling Tae that all the women he's seeing are actually his relatives - this, by the way, is predicated on the fact that to him he's doing nothing wrong, yet he feels the need to lie to Tae which shows that on some level he knows what he's doing is wrong. He's just the worst of men. As I observed Shunpei all I could think was its men like you that cause the birth decline to plummet even more. Like the creators of the show created a man who perfectly encapsulated everything that causes women to refuse marriage or having kids. Men, I can assure you it is not the feminists causing the “deterioration of the home” or whatever you think they are causing. The annoying thing is that there could have been an interesting feminist look at the birth decline and being a housewife in current Japan, but apparently men can’t not hate women for long enough to write something nuanced. I can almost imagine the feminist version of this show exploring a woman wanting to be a housewife (despite what men apparently think, feminist aren't against women who want to be housewives being housewives) in modern Japan - it could have been good and nuanced, everything this show wanted to be so desperately. This show sucked, and not even in a fun way, 0/10, would not recommend

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Do you ever want to get brain rot at a young age? Watch this drama. I originally watched this way to young, and the brain damage from this and QUE SERA, SERA is noticeable. I hate this drama, and yet it is also one of my favorite dramas ever made. (I will put content warnings for the show at the end of the review.)

Things I love:

1. The soundtrack. This show has some of my favorite OST music ever. I hear the soundtrack and I immediately feel emotions, it suits the show and sounds phenomenal, which is a tragically rare thing I can say about drama soundtracks. This doesn’t mean that a majority of soundtracks are absolute stinkers, but rather that they are, at best, a handful of memorable and suitable songs and a bunch of forgettable generic songs with a sprinkle of duds that do not fit the show in any way. This attention to detail just shows how much effort and care went into this show. Also, this show just looks like it had a sizable budget compared to other dramas at the time.

2. The editing and cinematography. I am aware that some will be put off by it but I am obsessed with it. It’s experimental in a way that is extremely rare for dramas of any level. I think it’s a shame that people (companies, directors, etc.) aren’t willing to take more risks like this, especially those with a higher budget.

3. Kim Sa-rang. I have to admit, I am the leader of the Kim Sa-rang fan club - this is the drama that woke me up to her. I am obsessed with her performance, she did the most for this drama and was paid dust in return. It is sickening that she has yet to be the lead in a character-driven, award-winning drama. She has the range. I know that she doesn’t have an agency behind her, and honestly considering the way the entertainment industry is (especially the acting industry), it’s probably for the best. She most likely was getting absolute shit roles, not getting the right pay (the classic “you owe us cause we made you”), or being exploited and harassed. Like people know that these companies often, sometimes even openly, pimp out or at least encourage their talent to “thank” certain individuals. So like Kim Sa-rang deciding to represent herself makes 100% sense and people should give her good material.

4. This is the melodrama to end all melodramas. The acting choices are always the most. Everything that can happen will happen. All is life or death. Simultaneously everything and nothing matters. If you like over the top melodramas, then this is the show for you.

5. The fashion! I know not many pay attention to the wardrobe department of a drama unless an outfit looks like an absolute joke, but whoever was in charge of this production did a very good job.

Okay, so I’m now going to complain about a lot of things. Just know that I do on some level like this show.

Things I didn’t love:

1. The writing. I know I may have implied earlier that I liked the story, and in theory, I do. But this is reality, and I want to sleep forever when I try to analyze the text. There are certain scenes, even episodes, that are phenomenal, but this was written during a time that was…not nice towards women. To quote a notable critic, me, “I literally don’t know how this is a career-high point for Rain like his image should have tanked thanks to this show. Guess the public didn’t believe women were people yet.” This is a warning for all coming fresh into this, this show treats it’s female leads (especially Shin Min-ah) awfully. Explaining how bad can be inferred by a reaction I had while rewatching the series. In one of the mid-ish episodes, Rain’s character drags Shin Min-ah to the hospital. And I mean that in the most literal, brutal sense. She is dragged for an uncomfortably long amount of time. Anyways, halfway through watching this crime unfold, I yell “Wait, is that actually Shin Min-ah!” Not a dummy, but an actual living, breathing woman. (I cannot confirm if it was Shin Min-ah or a body double, but that is still a person who was put through that.) While you can do a feminist analysis, it would be interesting but I don’t think anyone is strong enough to go through with it, it is by no means a feminist text or even woman positive.

2. The writing (the remix). Yeah, I’ma complain about the writing twice, but I swear it’s for a different reason. It’s for the pacing and relationship building of this show. It’s not the best. Especially in regards to Rain and Shin Min-ah’s relationship, it feels rushed. Like, when you get to the point where he loves her I’m like does he really though? Considering all of the insane shit he puts her through? And why does she love him? I just wish there was a natural progression from hating her to guiltily loving her and failing to repress it. Most of the issues I have with this stem from weird or right out bad writing choices.

3. The acting choices. I love most of them, but some…let’s just say I have to question some acting coaches real quick. While some of it is due to the material given to them, the stars all do phenomenal performances (let’s give it up for Ms. Kim Sa-rang). But there is one that just gets me every time, that has me questioning everything I know about acting: Kim Young Jae. Everything this man does is a Choice. He is on a whole other level of melodrama, he is at 100 constantly. I love and hate it in equal parts.

Overall, this drama comes with some warnings for quite a few yikes moments - they are supposed to add to the melodrama but the framing of these events leaves much in the air. I’d say A LOVE TO KILL is a solid 5 on the yikes scale. This is, however, not as bad as QUE SERA, SERA which is the most melodrama of all and has approximately one million warnings before you go in. (Apparently there is going to be a remake? Pour one out for the sucker who’s going to have to adapt that mess and all the crimes it commits against women for a 2020 audience. I think a QSS remake should have been killed in its inception, unless they get the original writer for it there is no way it’s going to be palatable. And from what I’ve seen already, it looks like they already don’t understand what made the original good.)

CW: violence, violence against women, attempted rape, sexual assault, just treating women poorly, coerced relationships, poor handling of disability, poor handling of trauma, poor handling of mental illness, on-screen death, not enough Kim Sa-Rang.

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I'll try to keep the spoilers to a minimum in my review.

A detour before the actual review cause this has been stuck in my head for a while: As a whole, FLOWER BOY NEXT DOOR is phenomenal. It truly is of its time, I don't think it could have been made at any other point, from the aesthetics to the casting and tone. The early 10s (really any time before 2015) was a weird time for Korean dramas, at least stylistically. From the early to late aughts (07/08) melodramas were all the rage, so many dramas during this time were melodramas or melodrama-lite. This is not to say that there weren't any silly or cutesy dramas, they just tended to be less popular or not as critically successful; they tended to be backed less and associated with pre-teen/teenaged girls, who, as an audience, weren't taken that seriously. The dramas that did get made tended to bet on I'm-in-a-boy-band actors, who may be chosen for their looks or potential monetary popularity over their ability to act or suitability and chemistry in their role (this isn't just for dramas directed for teens during this time, but I don't want to do more research and work so let's move on), and who, most likely, didn't hold any prestige (this doesn't mean that they can't be successes, but the companies didn't necessarily care about the quality of the content so larger budgets tended to be allocated elsewhere). (Think of dramas like YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL or GOONG, things primarily targeted at a younger audience that have an extremely different aesthetic from something like A LOVE TO KILL or QUE SERA SERA.) This was the model until a little drama called BOYS OVER FLOWERS came out. I cannot stress enough how much of a surprise knockout hit BOF was, and then everything attempted to be BOF 2.0. It, for better or worse (I personally think worse), changed the way, for a period of time, dramas were made, from the tone to the overall aesthetic and editing of dramas, it even changed what were popular forms of acting styles. Corny dramas have always existed but BOYS OVER FLOWERS is in a category all of its own. Its influence can be seen in an earlier Flower Boy installment, FLOWER BOY RAMEN SHOP (can we all think about how insane this drama was for a moment). By the time FLOWER BOY NEXT DOOR came out (2013) the style popularized by BOF was starting to die down, though you still remnants in various facets of FBND, especially through the occasionally weird tone shift of straight melodrama that was slowly coming back (though in a different form) and the extremely goofy comedy popularized by BOF. So what I'm saying is that this drama is BOYS OVER FLOWERS impact.

Story: As I explained before, due to the tone shifts in FLOWER BOY NEXT DOOR from extreme comedy to intense drama, at times to the detriment to the show as a whole, lead to some of the less good parts of FBND. While I agree that some of the plotlines are 100% unnecessary, a number of the plotlines, even the ones I particularly hate involving the worst character on the show, add to the story the show is telling. This is the story of an extremely damaged woman, Go Dok Mi, who pushes the world away as a means of protecting herself and her learning how to heal and exist in a world that will inevitably hurt you through the help of her manic pixie dream boy neighbor and immediate best friend, Enrique. The drama adds to the tension and creates a contrast to the ridiculous comedy, going from the almost naive beliefs of not just Enrique but also Go Dok Mi herself, and even some of the other side characters, to the stark reality of their lives. This story is one of my favorites of all the dramas made during this post-BOF craze, and I personally think that it did the bubbly, eccentric aesthetic that was popular post-BOF the best.

Acting/Casting: FBND’s casting is phenomenal, it must be said. There is not an off choice in the main cast, even the side characters are well cast. I’ll go through the important cast members and work up to the main leads: First up, Park Soo Jin as Cha Do Hwi, the female lead’s ex-best friend and bully. Park Soo Jin was perfect for this role; not only did she portray this character as a genuinely not nice person but also as a complex person who has many, many flaws. You never necessarily feel like she’s a decent person but you do feel pity for her and how she became who she is in the show, trading her best friend for hollow happiness that did not last, desperately clinging onto the popularity she had in high school, It’s a shame that Park Soo Jin retired after 2013, I truly think she is an amazing actress and would have been the perfect villain-heroine lead. Go Kyung Po as Oh Dong Hoon is phenomenal in comedy and subtlety, which would eventually lead to him getting a slew of leading roles from 2015-2017. While he is great, let’s talk about the second half of his comedic duo on this show. Kim Seul Gi as the deputy manager. Can we talk? In one word: iconic. In many words: one of the best comedic performances of 2013. She steals the show; it is absolutely disgusting that she has not been offered the leading role in a rom-com yet. Kim Ji Hoon portrays Oh Jin Rak, the worst character on the show (like as a character, intentionally, not acting-wise). Even when I first watched FBND back when it originally aired his character did not appeal to me, the way his character acts and thinks, especially in comparison to the male lead, is repulsive. In part, this is intentional within the story, comparing him to Enrique, Oh Jin Rak is obsessive and possessive of Gok Dok Mi, not seeing her as a complex person but rather as a blank canvas to paint all of his fantasies onto. Let’s move on to the main leads - first up, Yoon Shi Yoon as Enrique Geum, the charismatic, silly game developer. This is a career highlight for Yoon Shi Yoon, he is so amazing in this drama, it shows how talented an actor he is. Listen, most actors would have not been able to pull off this level of comedy and still make it seem like you want them to be your boyfriend, but Yoon Shi Yoon was able to pull it off. Finally, Park Shin Hye as Go Dok Mi. There was no way this role would have been a bad career choice for her, it is meaty and makes her seem relatable. The year this came out, 2013, was also a career highpoint for her, as this is the year she also starred as a lead in HEIRS. I personally think it is a travesty that her work in this is overlooked for HEIRS, she plays a traumatized, anxious, bitter woman with such skill and it makes sense why she continually gets lead roles in dramas when you see her in this.

Music: This drama is an example of how music and sound design/editing can enhance the quality and experience of a drama. I wish I had a rant for this section, but when it’s good, it’s good.

Rewatch Value: Yes! 100% percent. Every time I rewatch it, I come away with something new; it is always engaging for me. (Keep in mind I'm biased, but this drama is genuinely fun so give it a try.)

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Sometimes...the remake....is worse

Woof. This was rough. Like I almost dropped it rough. This wasn’t a bad drama per se, I’ve seen far worse, but rough is the aptest word I have for it. I’ve seen quite a few reviews give it very positive feedback and while I think some of it is warranted, I think it overlooks some of the glaring issues this show has that may make someone want to not watch the show.

Okay, so I need to address something first because most of the issues in the show stem from this, it’s kinda like the original sin. This drama is based on the sleeper hit Thai film CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE, and it explains so much of the weird stuff that happens in the second half of the show. Like after I finished the drama and had taken a few days to really take it in, I watched the original movie, and everything that had confused me suddenly made sense.

Story: The story...bad. I love the first half, the part set in high school, it was the best part of this story and character-wise. It was fun and cute, a perfectly fine teen drama, a good adaption of the original text. But when it gets to the college stuff, it gets real weird. Some of the story plots make zero sense cause they are in college, they don’t fit into the setting nor do they do anything for character or relationship growth. Characters and character arcs get destroyed. Product placement galore (this one is bad morally, considering who their target audience is, what they are saying through framing and story, and what exactly they are selling - but as an adult who can do critical thinking I found it funny, do a drinking game to it, take a shot every time Angel Zhao is forced to be like “wow these products are making me prettier and now hot boys like me” while she’s slowly allowed to take off what they used to “uglify” her). Bad writing period. Angel Zhao had the weirdest makeover/character story ever. It was all so goddamn weird to me that a story could fail so spectacularly after a very solid start, especially in terms of messaging. And then I watched the original movie. And then it all made sense. All of it, why Angel Zhao had face paint, fake teeth, and a bad wig the whole time (I don’t even want to touch on the colorism). Why they had Zhao twirl a baton for an overly extended period of time even though, I repeat, she’s in college and a fashion major. This explained why the fashion department was in charge of the school play, I mean theatre production. Why Zhao had to fall into a pool when her feelings get hurt, presumably multiple times cause tv. Why her character has a Cinderella transformation and most of the typical beats of a Cinderella story but falls flat in practically all aspects especially the messaging. It’s all cause it was originally in CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE. If you want to know the major sins of adaption sickness that this suffered, I’ll put it at the end since it really is spoiler heavy. Anyways, the story was bad. Moving on.

Acting/Casting: I actually really liked this cast, they just got a subpar script, especially the secondary female lead. Like her character changed completely during the second half of the show and it was an insult to her acting abilities. I think all of the cast can act, maybe not all of them have a range but none of them were miscast. But this show was not what it wanted to be. And poor Angel Zhao had to show up early to set nearly every day to put her ugly suit on and do what she had to do. Pour one out for her.

Music: It was okay, it’s fine. The thing that really got to me was some of the sound editing choices, Most of them were fine, but some of them really were baffling. If this drama had a better, more cohesive story, the sound design/editing would have been the weakest part.

Rewatch Value: I wouldn’t. It’s not particularly spectacular or life changing, it’s not even the best of its genre. It is at times cute and entertaining but that’s about it. If you watch it once honestly that’s enough. I would recommend watching the original movie instead.

1. The first issue with this show is that it tries, to its detriment, to be like the movie. Now, this wouldn’t be bad per se, but the way in which they employ this it’s quite obvious that it was a part of adaptation sickness where they weren’t able to pinpoint what made the original good so they took the most memorable scenes of the show without consideration of the new thing they have created and also they were trying to pad this out. Like honestly this show would have been better as a 16 to 24 episode show. Also, this show does not consider the setting of the original movie in contrast to what it becomes. The original movie is set in middle school. I think it’s quite obvious why this would make for a rocky transition. That said, this leads to the high school half being the strongest part in terms of story and character. High school isn’t that far off from middle school so moving the setting to there doesn’t make me pause and ask "what was that" and "why is this happening". But when placed in a college, it just comes off weird. Like, the reason why she is in the play even though she’s a fashion major is that her movie counterpart was coerced into the school play cause she’s a middle schooler in the drama club. Angel Zhao falls into a pool since it happens in the original when she gets rejected cause angst. This is why her character has a Cinderella transformation, it happened in the original movie because its main target was preteen/teenage girls who know what this means and may love the fantasy. This is the reason for that stupid extended baton twirling subplot and it makes me so unreasonably mad.

2. The next issue may be baffling considering what I previously wrote but these mad lads tried to do it: the show tries to separate itself from and critique the movie. And it is not done well. [play clown music] Like, the movie is flawed - it exits in a weird logic realm and perpetuates harmful messaging at a group primed to take it in uncritically and internalize it in the worst possible ways in the way only 2000s teen girl media could - but at least it’s coherent. I’m not going to go into detail cause the headache is so not worth it, but a good example is the messaging that you should not change yourself for another person. This is laughable for the next reason that this show bites, and yes this did exist in the movie but more in an “I became pretty cause I wanted to attract a guy but I ended up becoming a fashion designer because of it and maybe love allows us to change in good ways”. The point is that the show tries to pointedly go against this, which is comical considering the framing around Angel Zhao’s transformation as being a good thing and “don’t you want to stop being an uggo and be pretty like Angel Zhao? Buy these products and you too can have hot boys want to be with you.” Maybe they should have just let that one go.

3. Product placement! That’s one of the reasons the transformation takes place and they are by no means subtle about this (it wasn’t as bad as ANGEL BESIDE ME but if you’re like me you too will find it comical), they really want their audience of teenagers to buy these products, some which can potentially be dangerous. It’s crazy that they kind of spit on the source material but then go against everything they are saying. And, like, I wouldn’t have an issue with this if one of the products was not basically skin bleach so you can stop “being ugly” cause you have melanin. Which is an insanely dangerous thing to promote to teenagers, a group that is already insecure about their looks and doesn’t think about the long-lasting effects something like that could have on them.

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