Reviews

Riveting story-telling and brilliant dialogues

Brilliant storytelling and the twists and turns take you by surprise - by the time half the drama rolled around I wasn't quite sure where it's heading. I do like that none of the twists was really "shocking", they're rather mundane daily life things. As a drama, it was very entertaining to watch and you're always either on the edge of your seat or LOL'ing at Kumon Ryuen's inner hikikomori speaking out.

I do wish the romance here went in a different direction, or maybe if the romance unfolds more slowly and in a different manner I would have preferred it more. Overall, it lacks those emotional punches that make it a must watch in my book, but still very worthwhile entertainment. Nojima Shinji's dialogues are brilliant and the acting is solid all around.

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Emotions and their parallel to art: shaping love and searching for a ‘forever’ through sculpture

"How does one become such a great artist?" — "How do you define great?" — "To stand the test of time." — "I wonder if forever exists."

Artistic, pensive, beautifully crafted, and unique in its cinematographic ways—‘Wakatte Ite mo: The Shapes of Love’ explores the vulnerability of struggling, waiting, hoping, and loving. It perfectly portrays the essence of human nature and captures love in its many different shapes under a refreshingly realistic light. It represents these themes through art in a mature and abstract manner, much like the concept of humanity and love itself.

In a world where "there is nothing more uncertain than a person's heart," the story follows the lives of artists who create art driven by their inspiration and their desire to create their own sense of forever. They are ready to put aside their usual composure and values in order to seek the heart of their loved one. For example, Kosaka Ren, the male lead, wants forever but acts in the opposite manner; however, his constant changes in girlfriends are his way of experiencing it and surrounding himself with the beauty of new beginnings. Another lead, Osakabe, thinks it's bad to act on lust, yet his world melts the second he sees his crush’s smile. Lastly, there is Ikushima Ruki, who wants to be with his crush but lets her be with another if it means gaining her trust and friendship first.

Ultimately, the series perfectly encapsulated the original webteeon’s overall message, reinforcing it with scenes and lines that portray its message more explicitly instead of requiring heavy analyses like it was for the webtoon’s Korean adaptation; ‘Nevertheless,’. The shortened run time allowed the leads’ journey to be explored more thoroughly without weighing down the whole series with its heaviness. Additionally, the poetic and inspirational narration made it easier to grasp its concept and allowed for a more direct interpretation of the webtoon’s work—keeping its core themes but casting aside tropes that don’t add to its main focal point.

Through Hamasaki Miu’s eyes, the female lead, Ren is the butterfly—beautiful, attractive, light, and seemingly free—giving her the illusion that he has it easy. The series adds a new meaning to the significance of butterflies: they are thought to be a symbol of freedom, but actually, they just fly the same paths over and over. Maybe the best thing they can do is just enjoy the ride. This goes for both of them because they are both like butterflies, or at least, they both try to carry the essence of butterflies by capturing their fleeting beauty through art. When Ren finds Miu, he wishes to metaphorically capture her, who is like a butterfly to him, but one who hasn't opened its wings yet.

Ren wants to approach her, mostly out of self-interest, intrigued by how she expresses her inner-feelings through art without fear, but also because of a certain fate-like pull that builds up following their many coincidental meetings. However, he is a playboy by nature—flirty and manipulative. He seems more curious about how far he himself is willing to go or devote to her rather than the other way around, not caring about her reactions and staying consistent in the attention that he devotes to her.

His push and pull plays with her emotions; his stance in his affection towards her grounded in unsteady terrain, teetering her back and forth into the territory of hopefulness and then desperation. This constant shift in Miu’s emotions highlights the overall theme of the series, which is that she can't help but hope even if she knows things will come to an end or leave a scar. Nevertheless, Ren constantly ignites these feelings of hope within her, making her want to reach out and seal the faith of their relationship—an impulsive act that mirrors his own tendency to act on impulse.

Kosaka Ren is a rather peculiar character. Since he is not good at sharing his feelings, he uses art to communicate them. Even we, as viewers, don't know him quite well and have been misguided by him many times with deceptions based on what we do see from him. For example, we don't know if whenever he picks up a call, it's his girlfriend. He never clarifies misunderstandings. In the last episode, “I couldn't succeed in becoming the most important person in her life” is a line said in his narration while the screen presents a note his mother left saying she'd be absent for lunch. This shows how he doesn't have commitment issues as is suggested throughout the whole series, but rather that he blames himself for the constant departures of the people around him in his life.

He's not the butterfly who comes and goes, but the others around him are, flocking to his beauty like butterflies do to flowers. “Gradually, I got used to giving people what they expected of me.” Ren only mirrors what those around him feel and how they act. He does this because he wants to avoid experiencing pain or loss, and whenever he declines their proposals, or finds himself wanting more, he always ends up getting hurt. And so, he chooses to follow the same paths over and over again like a butterfly with everyone around him, trying to please each one of them while looking for a piece of his own self through their eyes—which he eventually finds in Miu and soon enough, catches himself searching for her instead of his own self.

Through this endless cycle, he says he ended up losing his identity. He essentially became a canvas of however one sees him, having different versions of himself through different pairs of eyes, like a piece of art. Like someone interpreting a sculpture, Miu, as well as everyone else, can interpret him, what he says, his actions, and what is and isn’t known about him in their own way. Through Ren, who is like a sculpture, Miu hopes to find her forever. And through her, he sees yet again another chance to find his true meaning and define who he really is despite his traumas and past experiences in life. This is essentially why he leads on and makes so many people try to fall in love with him—because he wants to find the one, his true self, and his forever.

It is said by Miu’s toxic ex boyfriend that the female lead's wings are tied down, leaving only her thoughts to wander. However, there’s another interpretation suggested in the series: that her wings are rather too heavy to go forward—not tied down by external forces and submitted to others, as her ex had suggested through his sculptures of her falling to the ground and begging him to stay—but perhaps heavy because of the weight of their worth and hope, waiting for their reason to take flight in a world that keeps letting her down. The female lead, whose name means "beautiful wings," beautifully encapsulates this struggle of waiting for hope; hope that ultimately introduces itself in her life through the male lead.

From the very beginning of the series, during their first encounter, Ren recognizes this wait for hope of hers through her pleas for her boyfriend to stay. Instead of perceiving her pleas as a desperate and hopeless attempt of begging for something long gone, he sees that all she wants is to hold a promise of a future with someone, and that she has hope for something more than what she already has.

There are a lot of similarities that the female and male lead share—their fear of abandonment, their wish to freeze a loved one’s heart in time and gain a forever happy side by side with them, and their struggles in finding what they want in life. Though Ren doesn’t express his struggles and desires aloud like Miu does, he addresses them through his fiery art, which tells another story from the nonchalant version of himself that is presented through his character and the aloof image that he lets on—reserved, quiet, and who lets other people make things up and narrate his life.

Despite their seemingly stark contrast, both faces of himself that he puts out into the world stem from the thoughts and emotions. His art paints a strong image of resilience, longing desire, and determination in pursuing one’s desires—emotions that give him the impression of being lost and left with nothing but wavering emotions. In real life, these feelings of his manifest through his calm composure that radiates a sense of aloofness and indifference.

This overwhelming desire to find the key to freedom and his true self drives him to act like the playboy type, not knowing who to love or dedicate himself to. His art, on the other hand, portrays his sense of lostness as something fiery and bright and that drives him to maddening lengths, putting him in a fight against society’s typical representation of love and relationships, and forcing him to confront his true feelings.

Ren, in a way, relates to Miu and sees himself in the scene before his eyes, where he sees her for the first time. Through his eyes, witnessing her meltdown opens a window of opportunity. Ren likes to capture that happiness in the brief flutter of color in his world, like a butterfly, so he’s drawn to her strong personality and wants to capture the beauty that lies in the most beautiful and intense human emotion, which is love. From that moment on, he tries to draw that emotion out of her by making her fall for him. He does the same for other girls when he flirts, all to satisfy his somewhat selfish desires to only have a portrait of pairs of loving gazes around him so that he’s surrounded by beauty. At the same time, through this tactic of his, he gets attention from the opposite gender, mirroring his mom’s absence in his life.

Even if Ren’s actions can be perceived as stemming out of selfishness, his supposed attraction to her is also beneficial to Miu because he wants to awaken this strong, powerful, and beautiful feeling of love within her. He wants to make her wings flutter and for her beauty to be set free by expressing her emotions instead of restraining them and staying tied to the past that she’s stuck in. This is vividly illustrated when he guides her to smash the sculpture where she’s begging for her ex to stay. But her perspective of it contradicts his own: he sees her beauty through that sculpture; nothing bad and submissive about it, but instead, brave for not being scared to reach out and try to grasp what she truly wanted—something he doesn’t know how to dedicate himself to doing.

Similarly, just like how Miu struggled to be freed from her painful last moments with her toxic ex that had been frozen in time both metaphorically and literally, Ren also wishes to be freed from his own struggles. For him, the butterfly doesn't represent something light and nonchalant and non-troubled as Miu had suggested, but is rather representative of a small precious thing that tries to navigate through the harsh and turbulent-winded world with its colorful yet light-weighed wings. His desire for freedom and his little efforts to cast a ray of colour in the world manifests itself through his obsession with butterflies. These insects are a recurring motif throughout the series, not only symbolizing change and growth but of which are also a statement of the short-lived but beautiful flutters that can be seen when one pushes through hardships and keeps on flying.

Furthermore, butterflies aren’t the only metaphorical symbol that has been included to better convey the story’s message to viewers. One of Ren’s characterics is the way rainstorms always follow him. These scenes in the rain with Miu hold a greater meaning than just being a rainy day. Despite his messiness, he serves as something stable in Miu’s life, like an anchor among the countless possibilities she has to navigate and the decisions she has to make as she enters adulthood. Since she feels like she doesn't really know herself and has trouble finding the answer to anything when it comes to being subjective, this inevitable journey she’ll have to face stresses her out. Ren’s strong attraction for her never ceases in its intensity, and in this, she finds a harbor in her life.

By diving into the complexities of human emotions, relationships, and the unpredictability of attraction, the series conveys the message that some things just can't be helped. The leads’ imperfect relationship is threaded with flaws and raw with hidden insecurities. The magic in their chemistry lies in the delicate yet profound interactions they share, and the space between them constantly grows wider and smaller, full of hidden meaning and unspoken words. ‘Wakatte Ite mo: The Shapes of Love’ portrays romance as something realistically hurtful and messy, and exemplifies how love is not something that is bound to be constrained to limits. It is everything but simple or straight out of a fairytale. Instead, it is a love story using its own words—not sticking to convenience for the sake of its principal aspect of romance despite the numerous physically intimate scenes.

The show’s beauty lies in its unique perspective and outlook on life that it sheds through this window of two young adults trying their best to navigate their lives. Even though we may lie to ourselves or convince ourselves otherwise, nevertheless is a word that defines us all. Our overbearing desire to act freely against others’ rules and against our own will is the human nature of our essence here on earth. "If you just label yourself as something, it'll just restrict you." is a line pulled from the series that encapsulates its essence, defining how there is beauty to be found in the unknown. As the title suggests, the shape of love looks different for everyone, just like one emotion can be represented through many different sculptures and hold different interpretations through each individual's eyes.

The series is tied up beautifully, its last scene especially goosebump-inducing—Ren knows that forever doesn't exist, and Miu knows that she shouldn't hold out for hope, but nevertheless, they come together and discover that the shape of forever is simply holding on to hope.

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A Hilarious, Emotional Rollercoaster of Love, Friendship, and Social Stigma

Diary of Tootsies is a Thai dark comedy series that masterfully intertwines hilarity and heartbreak in a way that feels refreshingly authentic. Following the lives of a group of queer friends navigating love, friendship, and societal expectations, the series balances its over-the-top humor with poignant moments of emotional depth. What makes Diary of Tootsies truly stand out is its ability to tackle heavy themes—such as rejection, identity, and societal stigma—without ever losing its comedic edge. The result is a raw yet entertaining exploration of what it means to be unapologetically yourself in a world that often expects conformity.

At the heart of the series are four protagonists: Gus, Golf, Kim, and Natty. Each character brings their own unique charm and chaos to the story, creating a vibrant and dysfunctional family dynamic that feels relatable and endearing. Gus, the self-proclaimed “mama” of the group, is a walking contradiction of fierce loyalty and chaotic decision-making. Golf, the most flamboyant and outspoken of the bunch, delivers laugh-out-loud moments with his outrageous antics but also harbors insecurities that occasionally surface in heart-wrenching ways. Kim, the quieter and more reserved member, provides a grounded counterbalance to the group’s wild energy, while Natty, the sole straight woman among the queer trio, acts as both an ally and occasional instigator in their misadventures.

The series thrives on its comedic timing, outrageous scenarios, and bold willingness to push boundaries. From awkward Tinder dates gone wrong to drunken confessions that spiral into chaos, Diary of Tootsies doesn’t hold back in portraying the messiness of life. Yet, beneath the slapstick humor lies a deeper narrative about the struggles faced by LGBTQ+ individuals in a society that often marginalizes them. The series cleverly uses humor as a shield, allowing it to address sensitive topics like unrequited love, infidelity, and societal prejudice in a way that feels both impactful and accessible.

The humor in Diary of Tootsies is unapologetically graphic, sometimes veering into the absurd, but it never feels out of place. Instead, these moments amplify the emotional weight of the story, creating a unique blend of comedy and tragedy that keeps viewers hooked. For instance, a seemingly lighthearted scene about a disastrous blind date might transition seamlessly into a heartfelt conversation about self-worth and acceptance, leaving audiences laughing through their tears.

What sets Diary of Tootsies apart from other LGBTQ+ narratives is its unflinching honesty. The series doesn’t attempt to sanitize or simplify the lives of its characters; instead, it embraces their flaws, mistakes, and complexities. This authenticity makes the characters feel like real people rather than stereotypes, and it’s impossible not to root for them as they stumble through life’s ups and downs.

Ultimately, Diary of Tootsies is more than just a comedy—it’s a celebration of resilience, chosen family, and the messy beauty of being human. The series shines a light on the queer experience with humor and heart, proving that even in the face of societal stigma, there’s always room for love, laughter, and a little bit of chaos. Whether you’re part of the LGBTQ+ community or an ally, this series is a must-watch for anyone who appreciates dark comedy with a soul.

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A delicious, addictive time-travel drama marred by a third lackluster villain

At first glance, Marry My Husband might just be a new addition to the ever growing list of time travel k-drama released this year. However, powerful and electrifying performances from Park Min Young and Song Ha Yoon will keep you running back for more.

The story revolves around Kang Ji Won (Park Min Young) getting killed by her husband Park Min Hwan (Lee Yi Kyung) after she learns he's having an affair with her best friend Jung Soo Min (Song Ha Yoon).

As if by miracle, Ji Won wakes up 10 years earlier and she is now determined to change her life and get back to those who have wronged her. She also gains an unexpected ally Yoo Ji Hyuk, played by Na In Woo and together they execute her revenge plan and transfer her fate to Soo Min.

The blood-boiling villains is one of the highlights of this k-drama. Min Hwan and Soo Min has constantly kept me at the edge of my seat and made me want to choke them through the screen. Every move they make, every word they speak will leave you seething with rage and will keep you rooting for Ji Won. This villanious duo never runs out of tricks up their sleeves.

The first act is over the top and melodramatic with its twists and turns. However, it failed to deliver interesting plots on the last four episodes. The story could have explored more variables regarding the rules of time travel and transferring of destinies to other people instead of adding another one-dimensional antagonist. We did not even get answers as to why Ji Won can easily pass her fate to someone else without any repercussions. It felt like Ji Won and Ji Hyuk can change anything to their heart's desires.

Once Ji Hyuk's fiancée O Yu Ra (played by BoA) took center stage, my curiosity to the show has diminished. She is nowhere near Soo Min's two-faced character whose actions are unpredictable and can seamlessly act kind or wicked as the situation calls for. Yu Ra is just a chaebol who kills people just for fun and to kill time. Her character is not even properly set up and she just came out of the blue.

Overall, this was very entertaining albeit only for its first act. The story is not trying to break new grounds but still strives on being a guilty pleasure watch. However, one thing is for certain—Soo Min will go down as one of the best villains in the k-drama world at par with The Penthouse's Cheon Seo Jin.

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don't go into this drama expecting something extraordinary

despite good acting, portrayal of characters is heavily biased. all the morally grey or outright negative characters are non-communists, while communists are uniformly depicted as virtuous and compassionate (usual propaganda). this lack of nuance detracts from the realism of the story, as no group is entirely free of flaws. another thing that really bothered me was the handling of a romantic relationships. if screenwriter intends to tease romantic subplots, it would be better not to do that. these tiny moments make watching experience more frustrating. despite WWs being overused theme in cdramas, this drama is able to stand on its own

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Dramatic and Historical

I have seen a lot of negative comments about the focus of the silk and brocade business aspect of this drama, and it saddens me a little.

What people fail to understand is that this drama *is* historical, and is relaying to the audience the great efforts it took by the Chinese to establish what is known as “The Silk Road”. It was then, a trade route that stretched from China to the Mediterranean region spanning over 4,000 miles or 6,400 kilometers. That it itself was astounding.

The Silk Road not only opened up that then monstrous trade route, but it also gave opportunity for cultural as well as goods exchanges through foot traffic. Many of those who traveled the Silk Road after it was established were Chinese merchants and Buddhist monks. It brought trades of silk, spices, metals and a myriad other items to areas that had not been exposed to them previously. Currently, since it has been rediscovered, the Silk Road has been reopened and the United Nations sponsored a trans-Asian motor highway and railroad project, and China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) aims to revive and expand the ancient routes through modern infrastructure development.

The history is diverse and rich. If you are only interested in romance then this drama is not for you.

If you drop your expectations and truly watch this drama for what it is, a look back at the establishment of a massive trade route, the often overwhelming and demoralizing structure of family clans, the unjust and often brutal treatment of women and servants with a love story mixed in, then watch and enjoy.

First - just a big shout out to Mr. Beauty ( the nickname for Zheng Yecheng from Love 020). His martial arts are made incredibly beautiful due to his background in theatrical arts and majoring in opera. He is perfect for roles like this. I cannot say enough about his wire stunts or his acting as they are stellar.

Tan Songyun is as usual, fabulous. Fiesty, protective

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I love this remake

I watched the original series in 2023, Seasons 1 & 2 plus the short Series ReminderS. I also re-watched a cut version where most of Jeed's and Tangmo's stories were deleted; I preferred the cut version because the focus was on the main leads.

In this remake, it's definitely focused on Noh and Phun. There are sub-plots but they don't take too much time away from our leads; Hard to believe but there are actually fewer characters in the remake than the original. They consolidated certain characters and attributed certain roles to the more prominent characters, and these were well executed.

Noh and Phun have amazing chemistry and their longing for each other is so evident in every scene. I admired Noh's patience waiting for Phun to figure out what he needed to and just stayed by his side the whole time, but also gave him space if that's what he needed.

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Pure and mature love

I just so in love with this drama!!
I love Zhousheng Chen and Shi Yi relationship. Thier love is very pure, kind, healthy and mature❤️ No selfish, no childish. Watching this drama makes my face can't stop smiling! Their interaction is really cute and sweet. I love Shi Yi, she is mature, brave, kind, humble and always support Zhousheng Chen. While Zhousheng Chen is really cute, brave, and always put Shi Yi first. They always learn to know and accept each other. I think everyone need a man like Zhousheng Chen. And I hope someday I can meet my Zhousheng Chen💗

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First Time Finishing a Thai GL Series

I've watched little GLs in the past but this series is the only one I've finished until the end. These are my honest likes and dislikes on Idol Factory's 2nd GL.

STORY (6.5/10)
Likes
The idea behind it is creative, Wan and Kim's relationship IRL is sucky so Wan lets her real feelings out to her in her dreams. This is the main idea at the beginning of the show. A growing actress whose stylist is her childhood friend, but Kim was blackmailed by another growing actress, forcing her to work under her (Jessie) instead as she's a talented stylist. WanKim has always had a not-so-platonic relationship ever since high school but they've always kept it a secret as they don't know how the other one feels. After their dads decided to run away together, it made them have something to relate to and connect with on a deeper level. But I love how it made the viewers feel confused about who to even support anymore when it started becoming more complicated with Kim's mom's illness, her 'dying' wish to see Kim getting taken care of by marrying Marwin, and seeing WanKim having a moment 30 minutes from her wedding with him. I also like how it made the viewers 'try' to understand their dads, by placing WanKim in a very similar situation. A lot of WanKim moments weren't 'reality' up until episode 9. It's either in their dreams, one of them's asleep, or drunk. This makes the viewers feel as confused as Wan, that none of those are 'real', but Wan experienced it, so we kind of get her behavior. A lot of the characters here except for the comedic duo (Mon, Mali, Pat) aren't 2D, it makes us think. Anyway, the overall concept of the show caught my interest at the beginning, and it became even more interesting around episode 9.

Dislikes
Wan is very toxic, I started becoming annoyed at her somewhere around the middle. When she went to Marwin to tell him not to accept Kim as his employee, that was it. Very possessive, and selfish, but it made us feel like we're supposed to somewhat...support her behavior because she's the main character? Honestly, she doesn't deserve Kim ever at all, I don't know how Kim still likes her. Wan wanted to be with her because it made her happy, but was Kim happy? Still hanging out with her even though it'd result in a loss for Kim too, being rude to Jessie knowing she can release that clip of both of them, being rude to Pam (Dokrak's GF) even though it's wasting Kim's effort to allow Pam to let Dokrak be Wan's stylist, and her ridiculously childish behavior with Kim's employer. Man, honestly Marwin is a good guy, just blind in love to insist on marrying someone he met recently, plus some unintentional pressure he made. I can see that they tried to make us dislike him by making him ruin Kim's business and making him less polite. But it doesn't work like that, I genuinely would be happy for Kim if she honestly liked Marwin. Also, let's not view kissing someone while sleeping in a positive manner, it's one of my biggest no-nos. Wan is a bad friend, how are Mali and Mon still keeping up with her annoying behavior?! It's a good thing at least that after Wan got what she wanted, she isn't insufferable anymore. But I've gotta give credit because this made me feel interested to want to know what will happen

DIRECTING
I think this director, A, is great at the comedic scenes. My favorite comedic scene was in episode 6, when Pat was trying to ask Wan out using the papers, but he showed her the wrong side so it's just a blank paper AHAHAHH that one was directed pretty funnily to me, my type. Not only the comedic scenes but the beautiful scenes too outdoors with the view. A good example would be right at the end of episode 9 when Kim told Wan she's getting married while they're outdoors, I like the pacing. If I were to express my dislikes, I'm not a huge fan of the concept of Wan's dreams sometimes from the camera concepts. At some moments, the vibe of the song doesn't match too much with the scene which bugged me a bit.

ACTING (6.5/10)
Most of them are up to the surface level, some notable good ones are May, Heng, and Looknam though which increased my rating by 0.5
Fay
Not great especially at the start of the show. For a character who's supposed to be b*tchy, she doesn't have that gaze in her eyes or the corners of her lips. A good example would be Frung (Jessie), but more toned down since Wan is more cold. I could see a clear imbalance when her face was near May, especially in emotional scenes. But I have to say, the end of episode 9 with her emotional facial expression made the whole show more engaging. It was when she shed tears I noticed for the first time in episode 10(?), she's improving while shooting the show it seems. Can't forget about my favorite scene in episode 11, I didn't think she'd cry like that 30 minutes before Kim's wedding. Her lips shaking, her voice too, it made the scene even better. I'm glad her acting got better as the series went on, looking forward to FayMay's new series in 2024 Somewhere Somehow. But a bit salty that she hasn't done it since episode 1, could've made everything better as the main character.

May
I absolutely have no complaints about her. Every time there's a crying scene, it just feels so real, she makes every sad scene even better. She also portrays her slightly tired/annoyed expression when with Wan well. There wasn't a single time I thought 'hmm this was a bit awkward' with her acting. awesome since the start. Of course, FayMay has decent chemistry with each other here, especially in the cute scenes.

Frung
Ever since the start, I knew what her character was supposed to be like from her intonation and gaze. Even though she doesn't have sharp and angular facial features like a lot of villains do, her acting itself can get the job done well.

PearPloy
Not sure if it's because they were introduced as an established couple already or what, but I didn't see much chemistry in them that it felt a bit awkward when they called each other 'my love'. Pam (Pear) is always annoyed at something, and Dokrak (Ploy) is just happy to be there. GrumpyXsunshine dynamic, but nothing else. Except for when their kiss was shown at Mon's club. Their characters didn't give them a chance to showcase much, their characters were pretty simple.

Songjet
As the comedic character, her intonation, exaggerated expressions, and body movements were natural. It didn't seem awkward or anything. Since her character is mostly whining about something, it didn't give much of a chance to showcase her acting either. But she can play a funny overreacting character for sure, a little bit bland though.

Looknam
As a comedic character, she did amazing. Her playful expressions, annoyance, etc etc no complaints. great great actress who is able to switch up in an instant.

Heng
No matter if he's playing a good or evil character while standing still without any expressions, we'll know right away what he's trying to show. Before the wedding incident happened, his expression looked very kind. Then when WanKim talked with his character, you could see he had bitterness in his eyes very clearly that you feel scared if he'll do something. Excited to see him in PoomSaint's show in 2025 'My Sweetheart Jom '

Poom
Playing a comedic 2D character, we didn't see him doing much other than smiling and looking like a lost kid, except when he had a workshop with Wan and Jessie in a serious scene. His expressions didn't seem 'deep' enough, mostly his gaze.

Tack
Even though he just appeared as a guest, I already know he's great at comedic scenes, I actually paid attention to the thing he was sponsoring LOLL

MUSIC (9.5/10)
My favorite thing about this show is easily the amazing music, both BGM and OST. The vibe of the BGMs is very soothing when they need to be. The theme song is also cute, got me singing along. Let's not forget about one of the OSTs sung by boy sombop, the king of BL songs with the title 'Awake'. whenever that song plays, my focus instantly increases.

Rewatch Value (8/10)
Well, the reason why it's high is because of how frustratingly interesting the show is with Wan's behavior. Will probably rewatch for memories in the future

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Starts off really promising and then farts at the end

I watched this back when it was first on TVB but I didn't write anything about it as I was not on MyDramaList at the time. But recently a suggested YouTube video played the intro music to this drama and it brought back so many memories, so I thought why not talk about it.

This drama started off really well and it felt special, like a break from the typical TVB nonsense as it was full of cool CGI and style. The Chinese title of the drama was very simple. just one word and it was designed in a very clever way along with some really cool style choices. And there were cool scene transition b-roll where it is a close up of Kevin Cheng and it panned a little around him, just like on the title screen with Raiden in Metal Gear Revengeance. I was excited to find out more about what was going on with the drama as the story initially felt really compelling and the whole thing was dripping with style, but holy crap, it fell hard on its face as the drama continued.

So the show is about vampires. Yes, vampires. Nothing wrong with that as long as they do it properly. And at first it felt like it was all mystical and cool, but we eventually discover that everything - and I mean everything - is purely scientific. That destroyed all the mystical aspects of the drama and immediately made it crap. Imagine if Journey to the West had Sun Wukong doing magical stuff because he was a deity, and then halfway through we discovered he was actually an android. How many WTFs would you throw at the drama? For a more real-world example, do you remember the awesome movie Highlander? There can only be one! It was all magical and mystical and it never deviated from that fact in the storytelling. And then, Highlander 2 came out and it goes "oh you thought it was mystical? No! All science and different planet stuff." That p***ed off a lot of people, and this was what happened to this drama for me.

So, to explain my disappointment I'll explain the story how I remember it. In the future, humanity is all messed up and near extinction because of a vampire virus. Yes, a vampire virus, so it was taking a page right out of the Underworld IP. Two uninfected humans from the future - yes I said the future - played by Joel Chan and Kay Tse decided to take a sample of the virus and travel back in time to retrieve an extinct holy water that could cure the virus. How do they know this could cure the virus? Dunno, it was simply brought up without much explanation from a terribly voiced computer AI. While they were flying to the past in their time machine, they encountered problems that led to crashing, leaking of virus, Joel Chan and Kay Tse getting infected, and then the both of them emerging 500 years in ancient China where they went crazy and started biting everyone.

While these new vampires were going nuts and biting everybody and making new vampires, Kevin Cheng and his band of Imperial Guards from ancient China - yes Imperial Guards who were supposed to be guarding the Forbidden City but were now outside - were on a mission to defeat the vampires who were terrorising the town. They obviously lose because they were only human, but then suddenly all the guards - including Eddie Kwan - get struck by lightning and become immortals with superpowers. Yes, immortal just like immortals in Highlander so they can only die by being beheaded. Now we have human immortals and vampire immortals, both with super powers running around unchecked. The immortals continue their mission to hunt down vampires to the modern day with the belief that they would become human again when all vampires are destroyed.

Since this was a TVB production, you bet your ass that the characters all decide to set up base in Hong Kong because you know... Hong Kong is a great place to be when you are immortal and stuff. I didn't really mind this too much. There were some great effects and fight scenes, some great - if predictable - conflicting drama when Eddie Kwan, as an immortal, decided to make his son into a vampire so that he wouldn't die, but it is all overshadowed by the darn annoying reveal that vampirism was a virus and there was time travel involved. They didn't just jump the shark, they skipped over the blue whale as well.

Besides my main complaint, there were other issues. The main cast loved going to Amsterdam for some reason, and the story makes everything - and I mean everything - happen in Amsterdam. Where was that super magic holy cure water? Yes, it is in Amsterdam. This was purely because TVB had a tight budget so they had to choose one country and then write the entire story based in that country to save money. This meant that vampires also came from there, which made me laugh because weren't vampires historically from Transylvania, Romania? Not here, everything is in Amsterdam, yo. Every time there was a scene where they had to return to Amsterdam I shook my head like why Amsterdam? I bet they only went there for the redlight district and to smoke weed at the cafes while they tried to write themselves out of the plotholes.

Speaking of plotholes, the biggest one was how the immortals came to be after getting struck by lightning. I thought maybe some higher being gifted them that power to fight the vampires, but the drama never gives us a true explanation. We are given a half-assed explanation that some things cannot be explained by science. Wtf, the drama used science to explain vampirism but the immortals we have nothing?

The vampire acting in this drama was also so over-the-top it was hilariously bad. When Joel Chan and Kay Tse use their vampire modes they get this really stupid growling voice and they do the old-school Hong Kong movie ghost claw hand pose that kept making me laugh when I saw it. It was so bad, man, you have no idea. Joel Chan being the big bad was not a problem for me because he had the acting chops to pull it off, but damn the effects and poses they decided to use here were so bad that it removed everything intimidating about the vampire forms. Even the vampires in Buffy the Vampire Slayer are scarier, and that's not saying much.

And man, I found Grace Chan so annoying as well. She spends the entire drama just hopelessly in love with Kevin but Kevin turns her down because he is an immortal. When she discovered this, she chose to become a vampire so that he didn't have to worry about her dying, completely ignoring the fact he wasn't into her to begin with. The best part about this is that in real-life she succeeds in getting with Kevin and they got married and had kids, so she sorta succeeded I guess?

Finally we have Kay Tse as the female lead and boy she sucked. She has no, and I mean NO charisma at all. I had more fun watching Anjaylia Chan being an awesome martial artist learning under Kevin but hiding her skills, but later she becomes a vampire. Kay Tse's acting is so wooden and I really did not like watching her, and she has no chemistry with Kevin at all. I have seen more chemistry between Kevin and Chun Wong (the fat guy in the drama) than between her and Kevin.

On the bright side, it does have a great intro song.

Ultimately, a real letdown of a drama. Kevin Cheng did have a topless scene showing off how buff he was despite his age of 47 at the time, but that doesn't make up for all the awfulness of this drama. This was just disappointing and it was made worse by having a great start and then doing a stupid science twist later that just ruined the entire mystical mood it started off with.

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