Details

  • Last Online: 2 days ago
  • Gender: Female
  • Location: The Netherlands
  • Contribution Points: 1 LV1
  • Roles: VIP
  • Join Date: October 3, 2023

luneify

The Netherlands

luneify

The Netherlands
Completed
I Feel You Linger in the Air: Uncut Version
6 people found this review helpful
Nov 17, 2023
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 4
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

The Ratings Speak for Itself

This series? It's my favourite BL of all time. Not just 2023, no.
It is perfect, it is flawless. I knew this when I finished the last episode, but purposefully waited for a while before writing this review, just in case my feelings on IFYLITA changed. But, it didn't.

I watched the UNCUT version, which you can find alongside the CUT version on the YYDS Entertainment YouTube channel.

Will it be perfect for everyone? Certainly not! If you don't like historical fantasy with time travel and reincarnation tropes, or if you feel that one-hour episodes are too long, then I'm sure those things may affect your enjoyment levels. But for me, it didn't. And I believed I'd never like historical fantasy before watching!

What's there to say that others haven't said yet? But to prove a point, I will shower this series with the praise it deserves nonetheless.

The main leads' chemistry and acting is *chef's kiss*. I have never cried as many times due to the sheer emotional impact during a series than IFYLITA.
The side characters are all intricately important to the plot, they have their own lives and motivations, make their own choices and deal with their own problems.
The cinematography, scene work and levels of detail in shots are a clear result of focus, love and skill.
The plot is multilayered and deals with realistic issues despite the various fantastical elements (time travel, reincarnation).
There are so many plot twists in the best of ways, mainly in how you'll dislike or hate certain characters you'll grow to like and appreciate later on (except for one character hah).

Jom and Khun Yai do not only have sweet moments, and scenes where they confide in each other and depend on each other emotionally but also have sizzling kisses and standout sexual encounters. There is no angst for the sake of the audience--everything happens for a reason, naturally, and logically. Products of the era Jom has found himself in, or products of the characters and their actions.

P.S. There's also a surprise side couple, that I won't spoil, but I promise you they're lovely.

TLDR; I would sell my soul to watch this series for the first time again.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
My School President
4 people found this review helpful
Nov 22, 2023
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 7.5
Rewatch Value 4.0

Technically? It's Good.

But personally? My School President was not for me.

See, this type of series is quite rare for me. It's not a dumpster fire, and yet I very much dislike this series.
Because I fully acknowledge and recognize that on technical aspects, this series is good. It's a typical, solid rom-com. The actors are (mostly) good, the story's pacing is (mostly) good, and the story itself is also (mostly) good. The things that weren't great really aren't big enough to mention or without spoiling stuff.

But, superfans of MSP, beware of the following section.

The episodes are an hour long, which is TOO long. There are many characters. TOO many. The side romance involving Sound and Win was boring. There are so many romcom tropes that we've seen a hundred times, including increasingly creative ways to avoid even the slightest romance between the main leads.

If you're not into music or instruments (like I'm not), this series might add another layer of disinterest and disconnect for you on that basis. Because these characters' lives revolve around their band and their club, and the plot does as well.

You know, I don't necessarily hate school settings, but I DO hate high school settings with believably high school characters. This may sound contradictory in a way--wouldn't you want characters fitting the setting--but I personally prefer more maturity. It's fiction, and you can afford some suspension of disbelief for the sake of a less annoying plot/characters. The main leads and their surrounding cast of supporting characters (except for one) were just too childish for me.

An example of a school setting I did like, was in the Eclipse. Both the way the characters act and the story itself deal with mature topics. I rated the Eclipse a 9.5, even though it takes place 80% of the time within a school.

This I'm bringing up just to show that I'm not necessarily a high school setting hater, nor am I a hater of slow burn with nothing explicit--just take a look at my top series list.

But MSP was boring. It was long and drawn out. And even though I liked the main leads, they just couldn't keep my attention and carry the story to the very end. I forced myself to sit through the last few episodes simply because I wanted to finish it, and because I had hoped that maybe the ending would change my feelings.

I'm glad that MSP has found its audience, but if you're not a rom-com enthusiast, you may be very disappointed because I promise you, it's not going to change its formula. You'll know exactly what's going to happen and how it's going to end.

TLDR; MSP was a slowburn torture for me from the midpoint onwards, but I still implore you to give it a chance and see if you can handle the pace. Because it IS good. Just not good for me.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
I Told Sunset about You
5 people found this review helpful
Nov 28, 2023
5 of 5 episodes seen
Completed 5
Overall 7.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 2.0
This review may contain spoilers

Left Me Feeling Bitter

I am genuinely a little apprehensive about writing this review because it seems like you can't dislike a character anymore without being labelled as unsympathetic at best, or a cishet who's ignorant to LGBTQ struggles at worst.
There are quite a few super fans of this series, let's just keep it at that.

But for the sake of transparency, I'll be honest about this seemingly beloved series.

I have very mixed feelings about ITSAY. On one hand, it dives deep into complex issues like internalized homophobia and has genuinely amazing scenes, both heartwarming and heartbreaking, but on the other hand, I was left feeling somewhat underwhelmed and maybe even a little bitter at the end.

I, like I'm sure many, had a hard time with one of the main leads, Teh. He got off to a bad start early on--which is fine, people are flawed and make mistakes and are petty all the time, but as a viewer, it's something that I remembered about him throughout the series. I very much understood his struggles and how he tried his best, that he made choices he believed were right, but whenever I then saw Oh-aew, the difference in feelings I had between the two of them became obvious.

I love Oh-aew. Sometimes he made similar choices to Teh, again, not all good. But I just cannot shake a feeling of him deserving better. This series is one of the few times I would've liked a sad ending romance-wise. I believe it would've worked better if Oh-aew and Teh didn't end up together--it would've been truly a masterpiece to me.

The acting was really good overall, both main leads and side characters. The story and plot were realistic and dealt with the problems and issues it wanted to portray in-depth. Characters that were important were three-dimensional.

A lot of this show was done so well. I just personally didn't like how the romance ended up, but you might feel very differently from me. After episode three, I never rooted for the main leads to end up together again. As of now, I haven't seen the sequel season, and I honestly doubt I will.
It was a fine experience watching ITSAY, but I won't rewatch it in a very, very long time, if ever. I'm sure that almost sounds contradictory to some haha, but sometimes that's just how it is.

It's hard to rate this series, 'cause I recognize its production value.
But if anything, I encourage you to watch the first episode. It looks like I'm an outlier with my feelings towards ITSAY, but if any of what I said here ends up validating your experience, then this review will have done its job!
Nothing is for everyone, after all.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Laws of Attraction
4 people found this review helpful
Oct 4, 2023
8 of 8 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 7.5
Rewatch Value 7.0
This review may contain spoilers

Main Leads' Chemistry is Great, Romance Itself is Lacking

Right off the bat, Tinn is one of my personal favorite main leads of the series I've watched so far--he didn't frustrate me, which is one of my pet peeves due to the copious amount of angst in BL that could be solved if only they talked. I understood his reluctance teaming up with Charn and was fully on board with how it took a while for him to trust Charn.

One of the things I was most worried about after the first two episodes with how seriously I could take Charn's viewpoints and the actions he takes because of them, but I was pleasantly surprised. I loved seeing a character such as him--selfish, greedy, with a hint of psychopathy and no shame. Now obviously Charn changes throughout the story, which is another point that I really appreciated; it was clear that he changed and adapted because of Tinn.
But can we say the same vice versa? Tinn remained quite static from how he was originally portrayed. He didn't have much of a character arc--which, don't get me wrong, I didn't actually mind in this particular case, but it still stands out.

I do wish we had some more explicitly romantic scenes because I felt like they could match very nicely with the mature atmosphere and older characters. I think they could've made on-screen sex scenes very impactful and beautiful, but sadly, it was only very obviously implied. Which is fine, I just. . . think that it could've sold the romance much better due to the focus on solving the mystery and action. The chemistry was there, but the romance itself lacked. In fact, I truly felt like the series may as well not have included the main leads' romance and nothing much would've been impacted. You know, if they'd ended up being besties, it'd work fine.

Now the side characters. Absolutely adored them all. All the actors in this drama are good, not just the main leads. I didn't expect to end up liking Thaenthai as much as I did, nor the romance between him and Thee ("romance", as I said before, this BL isn't that romantic).

There are a few painfully bad CGI/special effects moments. Let's not even talk about that horrible fire effect. Some fight scenes are a bit overdramatic and simply not very well-acted--the main leads clearly shine in scenes that require emotions and focus on character, not so much action or high-stakes moving about.

The story fell a little flat in the end. I might've missed why Charn couldn't tell Tinn his plan--it felt to me like Charn still didn't actually trust Tinn that much--but him leaving the way he did with Nawin felt dramatic for the sake of being dramatic and angsty. The plot twist also wasn't that surprising, however, the murder-mystery vibes did keep me hooked until the very end. It's pretty good for a BL.

CONCLUSION/TL;DR: The main leads had good chemistry, the side characters were great, the acting was mostly on point, lack of satisfying romance/sex scenes, a surprisingly cute secondary couple, quite horrible CGI/special effects, emotional scenes were very good and realistic, mystery vibes are solid enough, OST didn't stand out.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Between Us
2 people found this review helpful
Nov 4, 2023
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.5
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 1.0

Did I Love WinTeam's story? Yes.

Did I skip every scene involving the many side characters and their romances? Also yes.

(One thing to point out beforehand is that I have not watched UWMA before Between Us. So my experience may be very different from someone who has. I have not read the novel.)

But as you can tell, this makes rating this show a daunting task. While I thoroughly enjoyed WinTeam and thought they were absolutely lovely in every way--from the romance itself to the characters involved--I did NOT enjoy the countless side characters that either the original author or the production team for some reason thought should have their own romances.
I skipped Every Single Scene that followed one of the side couples. And despite this, by the end, I still got the gist of their plot arcs. Funny how that works.

Boun and Prem I adore as actors. Besides good chemistry and the sweetest of scenes given to them, their emotions felt real. I truly have a soft spot for actors who can cry believably, haha.

In the end, I wish they made a version of this show with only WinTeam's story, cause then I'd rate it much higher and would actually want to rewatch it. But the pain of manually skipping through the scenes with characters I frankly didn't give a fuck about lays in the way of rewatch enjoyment.

TLDR; If based only on what I enjoyed, ie WinTeam's plot and characters, I would've given this show a 9 or perhaps even higher. But it wastes so much time on side characters that I never managed to care about that I just simply cannot put it amongst my favorite BLs.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Don't Say No
1 people found this review helpful
Nov 17, 2023
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 7.5

Don't Say... I Didn't Warn You

Oh boy. This series has some of my favourite kissing and NC scenes, I'm not even going to lie.
But before I get into all that, a few disclaimers; I dropped TharnType after its first two episodes, and I have not read any of the original source material.

I'm going to start with my grievances regarding this series, and the primary reasons for my 7.5 rating.

The first episode had me almost dropping it because I did not connect with the characters. Now, I'm not necessarily blaming it for this because I feel that it was safe to assume on their end that most people watching DSN would be fans of TharnType, which I am decidedly not. Because they would already be familiar with Leo and Fiat.
But, I stuck with it, and I can at least promise you that by the end of the series, I had long connected to the characters, understood them (more or less) and loved them. It's just a bit of an awkward, confusing start for those outside the TharnType atmosphere.

Besides the character disconnect, what genuinely irritated and annoyed me were the incessant sound effects. A product of its time, but Lord help me I almost threw my ChromeBook out the window when yet another "funny" sound was played for the umpteenth time. I'm pretty sure I got desensitized to it, as I can't remember much of those effects later on in the series. Or maybe it's just heavy at the start.

I seem to be an outlier regarding the midpoint of the series, though. I didn't mind any of the angst and plots, nor did I mind the imbalance between how much of the plot revolves around Fiat instead of Leo. There is an imbalance for sure; if you don't end up liking Fiat early on, I'm afraid you won't enjoy the plot as much.
I also want to add that this is not a show that starts like most BLs--where characters are either strangers or enemies or friendzoned friends. It starts when the main leads have officially entered into a relationship, so if the romantic build-up is the primary reason for your BL enjoyment, this once again may be a big obstacle to you. That's not to say there's no romance--there's plenty, a lot of scenes and moments, but none of the "uncertainty fluff" before a relationship.

There is a case of the Episode 11 Curse, and I frankly hated that specific angsty misunderstanding so much that I skipped it entirely once I figured out they were about to curse me again, and I never felt like I missed anything by the end. It's just filler angst for the sake of it.

There is ALSO a case of the plot and characters not addressing sexual assault/rape properly. I decided to mention it in my review because it can be triggering to some. Also, the character it had happened to blames themselves for it, and while this could've been interesting, this series simply didn't give this point the nuance and care it needed.

Now, onto the things I did enjoy.
To get the shallow side of me out of the way immediately, LeoFiat's kisses and NC scenes are very, very hot and sweet. And there's plenty of love these characters show on screen. JaFirst natural chemistry also shines through, and though their acting here compared to Be Mine Superstar is a little more amateurish at times (which is a given), it didn't bother me much.

I liked the side characters. Both the positively supporting characters, like Fiat and Leo's friend group, but also those acting out more villainous support. Some character motivations and decisions were a bit nonsensical, but mostly in good fun. I liked Anda the most, she's a badass queen.

This I mention under things I did enjoy but I'm truly mostly neutral on it. Leon and Pob. They're a side romance. While I didn't skip their scenes, I also can't say I cared much for them. I just don't like the character archetype Leon was when pursuing Pob, but I did like him outside of those scenes. The ending to their romance did surprise me, though. It was certainly unexpected.

Most of my enjoyment did, in the end, come from Leo and Fiat together. I liked them both a lot, which seems to be somewhat of an unpopular opinion regarding Fiat--I think he was an interesting character and found him adorable. But! I definitely understand not liking him.

TLDR; If you don't like Fiat by episode 3, this series may be a lost cause for you. Go into this series not expecting a masterpiece, but more so plots and characters that are there to create a fun experience (not every plot point necessarily is *fun*, though, but it's hard to explain). It resembles a lot more of the earlier-time BLs than the high-expectation-deep-and-nuanced series that I prefer and hope for nowadays.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Kiseki: Dear to Me
1 people found this review helpful
Nov 17, 2023
13 of 13 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 9.5

Kiseki: Dear To My Heart

I've rarely grown as attached to characters as I have to not only Zong Yi and Ze Rui but also Chen Yi and Ai Di.
Why? Many reasons;
1. These characters are alive and unique. They are not shallow, they struggle, they have convictions and beliefs and they change.
2. The love and adoration Zong Yi and Ai Di hold for their partners is... something to die for, if you will.
3. The side characters not only also bring life to the story and the world, but assist in layering the main leads they surround deeper as well.

I've always had a soft spot for gangster/mafia/yakuza stories. I love high stakes. And by the end of Kiseki, you'll realise how high the stakes truly were! Because the romances are so, so believable and lovely!
But there are plenty of interesting, angsty plot points and scenes--a given, since, well... gangsters. In a world with high stakes, we need actors who can portray emotions, and damn it, Hsu Kai, Taro Lin, Nat Chen and Louis Chiang are all PHENOMENAL, not to mention the side characters are very much on par acting-wise as well!

I caught a case of Second Couple Syndrome at the start, but I ended up growing just as attached to the main leads, if not more. This is not to put down Ai Di and Chen Yi, absolutely not--Ai Di has been my favourite from the beginning. But, both romances are different and take distinct paths.

I was pleasantly surprised that this series starts quite slow given the gangster setting. It takes its time to develop Zong Yi and Ze Rui's relationship, as well as build up Ai Di and his troubles. It needs this patient start to lay the foundation for Zong Yi's strong convictions later on in the story. In the later episodes, the plot takes a more drastic turn and raises the stakes.
Also, the levels of lovely details that are born in the first half that return in the second half add an extra layer of sweetness and consistency to the characters and story; pretty amazing stuff from the production team.

Are the episodes too short? No. I mean, of course, I'd love more content about these lovable characters, but on the other hand, these episodes are concise and focused and don't dawdle on unnecessary plot points. They leave you wanting a little more, for sure, but I promise you, it was worse for those of us who watched this series as it aired!

TLDR; Where can I find myself a man like Bai Zong Yi?

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
The Eclipse
1 people found this review helpful
Nov 16, 2023
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 10

Never Eclipsed My Heart

The Eclipse does not feature your standard school setting. No, instead, the school has a cult-like rule system the consequences of which dip into internalized homophobia and general dislike for people that are perceived as different. It is a social commentary twisting societal issues into a school setting with various gays we love--most prominently Akk and Ayan, with a side of Kan and Thua.
It's not that much of a light-hearted story--though it does have plenty of light-hearted and cute moments--but that's exactly why I loved The Eclipse so much.

Akk and Ayan are just perfect. Not that they don't have flaws--they do. I found Akk to be very intricately written with believable flaws and reasonings, despite how much I loved Ayan too. The writers weren't afraid to write actually opposite belief systems in characters that end up falling for each other, which I find doesn't happen often in BL or if it does, it is shallow.
I did wish Ayan had more involvement with the rebelling "The World Remembers", but it didn't otherwise detract too much from the story and romance.

On the topic of romance. I mean, with FirstKhao, chemistry is guaranteed, but watching these characters challenge each other and (unknowingly) grow closer was a real treat. They ended up so sweet and had plenty of kisses AND tension to share, as they evolved from outright hostility to playful bickering.

The side characters were also layered, though I cannot say that Kan/Thua really interested me in any way. FirstKhao definitely shone in the spotlight as they deserved, which meant that side characters, though important to the plot, simply couldn't reach AkkAyan's levels of interesting.

Rarely anyone ever mentions this in reviews as far as I've seen, so maybe I'm just an outlier, but the scenes where the school reinforces their rules--the cult-like scenes--made me so uncomfortable, all the while I pitied the students involved. Uncomfortable in the sense that it was creepy to witness! Brainwashing is scary! Every time I wished I could usher Akk away and lead him to a safe space instead.

But why the -0.5 star? Mainly because of Thua. He has a scene in one of the later episodes where he does something I despise and for which he doesn't deal with consequences I deem proper. I would've exiled him from my friends list for what he did. I won't go much into it for spoiler reasons, but yeah.
Another thing is also a spoiler-heavy plot twist/revelation regarding the villain character that I felt came out of nowhere and, though it did tie the mystery and plot together, felt a little underbuilt in the plot and lead-up.

Outside of the romance, FirstKhao are outstanding actors who can portray pain and hurt and tears and being conflicted believably. You'll at least understand their struggles and reasoning no matter what your instinctual gut reaction may be to some revelations.

If you're not into a slowly unravelling story that deals with various social issues in a cultish school, mainly internalized homophobia and restricting freedom of expression, then The Eclipse may be a sludge to get through. I personally loved the story and the characters and--well, almost everything--but I concur it's not for everyone.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Never Let Me Go
1 people found this review helpful
Nov 6, 2023
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 9.0

I'm Ride or Die for PalmNueng

The pre-existing bad reviews delayed my watching of this series, and given my rating, I'm so sad I didn't watch NLMG earlier. Anyway, I digress. I hope my review can convince someone to watch this gem of a series.

Right in the first episode, it sets the tone for the latter half of the show, and I don't understand those who feel that the gradual shift into more serious, deadly situations was sudden and random and didn't match the first half of the series. That sentiment is absolutely bonkers to me. The vibe and atmosphere from the start hinted at the future to come. The first few episodes show the calm before the storm, so to say, before the plot throws more drastic obstacles in the way of Nueng and Palm.

Saying NLMG is a "gangster" show is mischaracterizing and grossly misunderstanding the subgenre. Are there guns, shootings, and corrupt people playing dangerous games with the lives of the characters we care about? Yes.
Is NLMG in any way comparable to KinnPorsche except for the presence of those elements? NO.

Let's talk about Nueng and Palm. This series was my first encounter with both Pond and Phuwin, and they quickly took a spot high on my list of favorite BL actors. Their chemistry is amazing, and their romance is not just cute, but it has its hot moments as well. The build-up of their relationship over time is believable, and interesting, with both characters flawed and with their own prejudices, yet it becomes very clear how much they adore each other in the end.

I will acknowledge that some plot things that I clearly didn't mind might still bother some. There's some suspension of disbelief needed regarding the justice system and some things the characters don't do which you might have in their shoes. I was a little frustrated when a specific way of miscommunication between Nueng and Palm was used twice but with a different coat of paint, and yet, I still understood why it happened again. These things are worth the -0.5 off my rating.

I also want to quickly mention Ben and Chopper (Chimon and Perth) -- also my first encounter with these actors. While they are side characters, they are integral to both the plot and the main leads, and I absolutely adored their roles in the story. They are also flawed and make mistakes, just like Nueng and Palm, but they're understandable in every way and just made me love them more.

Side note; Another semi-important side character is Maggie. I heavily dislike her because I am an introvert, and she's undoubtedly very extroverted. She as a character with the personality she has might not bother you as much as she bothered me. I do think she handled dealing with Palm and Nueng pretty well, and she's a nice person too. Just not for me, hahaha.

Regardless, this show is very rewatchable to me and earned a spot among my favorite BLs without a doubt. Hope you'll give it a chance <3

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Moonlight Chicken
1 people found this review helpful
Oct 27, 2023
8 of 8 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 2.0

Came for FirstKhao & GemFourth...

... Stayed for FirstKhao & GemFourth.

Right from the get-go, I didn't like the main-est lead, Jim, as a character. I can't tell you exactly what it is about him, but throughout the series, I grew to dislike him more. This series has been my first encounter with both Earth and Mix, and I can't say Earth left a good impression on me. Mix's character, Wen, wasn't as instinctively dislikeable to me, but the show never hooked me on their romance--"romance", I say, in quotation marks.

Meanwhile, GemFourth were just the loveliest. Heart and Li Ming were absolutely adorable, and Second Couple Syndrome struck me hard. Every time they, Gaipa, and/or Alan appeared on screen, I was wholly invested and glued to the screen. These four are all that keep me from rating MC 5 stars. Especially after the 4th episode, whenever Jim appeared on screen I wished they'd hurry up and move back to Li Ming and Heart.

If the series had been about them with FirstKhao as a secondary couple, I would've undoubtedly given this series 10 stars, because the production value is there. Disclaimer, though; FirstKhao has only some vague implications in the last episode, so don't interpret my selfish wish of FirstKhao being anything substantial in MC as them having anything romantic going on in the series. They didn't, to my utter disappointment. Just a heads-up.

But my god, I was so bored with Jim/Wen! I don't think they're very interesting characters. Jim especially felt like a lifeless character, and maybe some of it was meant to be given his backstory, but they went overboard--or underboard, I suppose, given that he has almost no personality, and was rarely likable to me, if ever. The thing is though, the plot itself is mostly pretty good, and I loved the vibes and atmosphere of the setting, but Jim/Wen felt unnecessary and a waste of time. And sadly, they take up most screen time.

As the headline says, I was interested in watching MC because I adore FirstKhao, and both them and GemFourth were subsequently what pulled me through to the end. Would I recommend anyone watch Moonlight Chicken? Only if you're an EarthMix stan who'll enjoy them being on screen together no matter what. I wasn't, I came in wholly blind to them and their acting skills and was thoroughly disappointed.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Love Class Season 2
0 people found this review helpful
Dec 29, 2023
10 of 10 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.5
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 7.0

i love Ma Ru

As always, I wish I could rate it higher but, let me tell you why I can't!

The first episode was pretty disorienting, as they switch scenes rapidly and all characters are introduced.
However, I found by the end of the second episode, I had a good grip on who's who and the format of the story.
It's interesting though because I believe the story could've ended with episode 9, and episode 10 is 90% filler--cute, but technically unnecessary. I still liked it though.

I have to admit, I only managed to be interested in two storylines/couples: Ma Ru/Min Su's and Lee Hyun/Kim An's.
I skipped most of Ju Hyuk/Sung Min. Something about the actors and their storyline and interactions didn't click with me, but that doesn't mean the actors themselves were bad. It's just a personal thing.

But the real showstopper was Ma Ru! He was super funny, and I preferred his and Min Su's storyline the most. It's a pretty typical romance, nothing really special, but I liked the characters a lot so it didn't matter.
I resonated a lot with Min Su's character, so Ma Ru had me constantly wishing I had someone like him in my own life haha... ha.
Sigh.

They also had the best kisses out of the two plots I followed.
That is to say, Lee Hyun/Kim An's kisses are bare close-mouthed kisses without much feeling, as if the actors didn't actually want to kiss each other at all lol.
Don't know much about Ju Hyuk/Sung Min's, but their storyline is the most NC out of them all.

While the romantic chemistry seemed pretty solid to me, the two plots I've followed both had issues. Questions that are integral to the plot and characters are left unanswered in both storylines, one of those instances being truly baffling to me as to why it was never addressed or explained.

Editing was pretty messy, which I've gathered is likely due to budget/time constraints, with various boom mics in wide shots and, once again, every couple has screen time in every episode which means that sometimes scenes are cut relatively fast.

TLDR; I kept watching because of Ma Ru/Min Su. I truly like them a lot.
There are worse shows, there are better shows--it's honestly just fine if you can turn your brain off.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Sing My Crush
0 people found this review helpful
Nov 25, 2023
8 of 8 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.0

An Adorable Sleeper Hit

I didn't go into watching this one with high expectations, but I ended up adoring this show.
This review won't be very long just because it's a solid, fluffy romance, and given my rating, I don't have much to critique! Take this as a sign to watch Sing My Crush!

The two main leads are so fucking cute, on their own but also when they're together. They've made me laugh and smile like an actual doofus. The side characters are just as lovable (except one)!

I also got Coming of Age vibes from this series. We watch them stumble and deal with what life throws at them, even though the story only spans a few years of their lives. They learn to depend on each other through adolescent hardships and injustice, and eventually develop feelings for each other. But even apart from the romance, the main leads' friendship is just as wholesome and sweet.

I didn't at all feel like the story or episodes were drawn out. I get maybe it feels a little slow at times, but it fits the story's build-up and frankly, I liked the characters so much, I didn't mind watching them spend more time together.

There were two instances of drama I felt were a little manufactured/already overdone in the BL industry, but it didn't bother me as much, because I had faith in these characters. It's the typical "angsty" misunderstanding stuff you can expect from these slice-of-life vibe fluffy romances.

TLDR; Im Han Tae/Son Hyun Woo's smile is so bright and cute and adorable that it expelled all my demons.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?