Reviews

Anti-Reset || I'd rather be destroyed than to serve others that's not you.

It's been months since I've finished this and the special episode.

I know some people are still skeptical about the human-x-robot trope, but this one is different.

It's not just about the love, it's the process of healing.

Yi Ping used to be very introverted, he didn't head out and was cold to others around him (including his own uncle) until his uncle sent Ever-9 to take care of him.

Ever-9, as an artificial intelligence humanoid, was all about the rules at first until he discovered that he was feeling things, he felt something that wasn't built in him.

With Ever-9 around him, Yi Ping felt the warmth that he lacked ever since the passing of his beloved pet dog. And when he's around Yi Ping, Ever-9 feels that he's more than a humanoid.

Their love surpassed through all, even 7 years of waiting couldn't let Yi Ping wash away all the love he had for Ever-9. His longing and love deepen.

I thank the writer for making this show happen, something that touched me till this day, all of the rewatch never stopped me from crying even though I know the ending is a happy one.

Kudos to Li Feng and Ping Chen for acting in the roles of Ever-9 and Yi Ping.

Their story has ended but their love will continue in their universe.

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my thoughts about the hate towards sungmin

just a disclaimer this is my personal opinion!

I know that a lot of people are disappointed that sungmin is placed 4th in the rankings, and I get it but you guys also hate at the same time saying awful things to him or about him and that isn’t really right and nice cause if it was you how would you feel about it and the truth also is that he can’t do anything about it do you think he wants to Ben in that place while he is getting hate and I think the reason he is stiff is because he lost his confidence because of the hate he gets so please stop hating him and be nice and respectful.

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Revenge drama at its finest.

Among Thai revenge dramas I’ve watched so far, Thicha is one of very few with solid and neat execution. From the storylines, props and set details, and suspense elements, everything is great. Thicha’s revenge plot isn’t about killing those who have hurt her, but delves deeper into the complexities of exposing wrongdoings, seeking justice and wanting to stop the vicious cycle of abuse and violence those people have caused to her and other people. But just like any other revenge dramas, it’s important to understand that in the end, no one will be left unhurt.

Other than well-crafted storyline, the essence of this series lies in the compelling character development and stellar performances from each member of the cast. From the main to the supporting character, they successfully bring their character to life with such nuance and depth. Bussara and the rest of the antagonists deserve praise for making you despise them to the core. Just when you think those devils can't get more shitty than they already have been, they prove you wrong. Among all the cast, I’m really impressed by Xiang Pornsroung’s diverse acting as Phu.

The most acclaim goes to Baifern for her excellent performance as Thicha. It is fascinating how she carries the series on her shoulder with such perfection and portrays Thicha without making her a stereotypically strong female character. She’s an empowering character, as strong as her motivation. Her strength lies in her complexity. And despite her resilience and strong will to uncover the truth, she’s still a woman with flaws and weaknesses.

This series has excellent suspense and tension build up. The pacing is just right, with each episode leaving viewers eager to know what will happen next. The clever use of cliffhangers ensures that there is never a dull moment. But above all, the message conveyed behind the revenge is particularly noteworthy.

Overall, it's a good example of a revenge drama done right. If you’re looking for a drama that will keep you on the edge of your seat and leave you wanting more, look no further.

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Wasted potential

I am up to episode 20 right now and I think it is enough to get some thoughts in before this drama wraps up for the New Year. This drama started off pretty well, setting up Carlos Chan as a Criminal Psychologist who had grown up with the extraordinary power of seeing briefly into the future to see when bad things happen. I thought it was going to be a drama where he gets mental flashes of danger like in the series Angel where Doyle/Cordelia gets these head splitting flashes of people who needed help. But nope, it is a very tame TVB affair.

I really like Carlos’ acting here because he really feels genuinely nice and easygoing. I think it is how he naturally is, so he melded into this role very well. I remember watching him act like a crazed terrorist in the film Detective VS. Sleuths and it didn’t suit him. It felt too forced. He definitely suits the handsome nice guy role, and I lapped it up.

The love interest is Hera Chan who plays a cop. I actually quite like her here as she is passionate about her job and getting real justice for victims. She is surrounded by red tape and people who ignore her insights because of how young she is. It is quite annoying watching experience cops pin blame on someone based on nothing but “intuition” or “instinct” when clearly there was not enough evidence and Hera pointing this out often.

And we get the big bad of the drama played by Nicholas Yuen. He works at a mortuary as a coroner and has a really sad back story. He is the most complex character in the series and I feel that Nick really delivered here in the role as someone who does questionable things and yet you sympathise with the guy. That is something really rare to see on TVB.

So the story is that Carlos grew up with this power to see briefly into the future and see bad things happen. He dad wanted him to become a lawyer but he refused and became a Criminal Psychologist. We later see him meet with Hera and Nick, and there is a rocky start and but suddenly they are best buds hanging around with each other. We even get scenes where Carlos’ mom thinks Nick and Carlos were a gay couple, it was quite funny. But these funny scenes are very few and far between the other stuff that happens in the drama.

We slowly find out how unhinged Nick is as he suffers from severe bipolar disorder and has some huge mental issues. This was because his father, who was a married man, slept with a prostitute and that prostitute gave birth to Nick. His father’s wife found out, so the wife paid a gigolo to seduce Nick’s mom so she would leave Nick’s father alone. This led to Nick getting disowned by the mom and ending up at an orphanage, and later a mental hospital because - understandably - this trauma as a kid really messed him up. So, in the modern day whenever he encounters people he deems as terrible mothers or bad husbands, he would end up killing them and then secretly sneering. Holy crap! We also find Nick is a compulsive liar, telling the truth and twisting some facts so that it seemed he was not at fault.

The drama also tried to have things extra spicy by making Nick’s father as the same man as Hera’s, so Nick and Hera are half-siblings. Hera accepted he was her older brother but things get crazy when her mother and father find out who he is.

Meanwhile, Carlos keeps getting future messages, phone calls and video calls from the future on his phone from a woman called Mary, who - coincidentally - looks exactly like Hera. She keeps telling him a crazy serial killer is out there and the cops are after her and also he shouldn’t start a relationship with her because he goes missing. And that’s it. Huh?

Man, Carlos’ future vision powers are so wasted in this drama. They introduce it right at the beginning when he was a small kid, but it only happens like 3 times in the entire drama and Carlos is unable to do anything about the visions. I mean if he recognises the place he would rush there, but so far 100% of the time he has seen something, 100% of the time it will happen and he is unable to stop it. Why even give him these powers when he cannot do anything about it? This is like giving a candy bar to a severely diabetic person, what were the producers thinking?

And the Mary - future Hera - thing has not been explained yet. We get flashes to the future of Hera being hunted by the cops while trying to find out where the missing Carlos is and where the serial murderer was, but it was poorly written into the drama. We only know it is a flash forward future scene when the screen makes it look like you are high off drugs and you see Hera wearing a black hat. All the future scenes go nowhere, we just see Hera getting chased by cops and people shouting at her but we ultimately go nowhere. Why introduce this? You could have left out the stupid unexplained future contact with Carlos and just made those future scenes as the final few episodes of the drama where Hera solves everything. We already know Carlos future vision changes nothing, this would have made it more streamlined and not all convoluted.

John Chan plays Hera and Nick’s father and boy his acting was something else. It was as expected as in other dramas, but the scenes when he is in despair and showing his regret over being a terrible father to Nick were so over-acted. He just hammed it up to 11, crying out like a sad old martial artist in a Jin Yong Chinese martial arts drama. The only thing missing was him screaming 天啊 and teaching Nick 獨孤九劍. What I fund weird was how such a weak-will guy ended up having a child with another woman especially since he is so afraid of his wife. Man, he is so under her thumb that the thumbprint is visible from space.

Mimi Kung plays the mother to Hera and man, her character in this drama I am not sure how to feel about. This is because I understand her feelings as a woman who has a husband who had cheated on her and had a child with another woman, but at the same time the decision to hire a gigolo to seduce the other woman and then dump her was simply disgusting. This led to Nick’s awful experience where he was abandoned by both parents and becoming mentally deranged. And yet despite finding out about all this, she felt no guilt and doubles down. We’ll see if she redeems herself later, but so far I really am not sure what to think.

And then we have Zoie Tam as Hera’s superior. She plays a tough and strict cop who butts head with Hera often at the beginning, but later they come to an understanding and mellow out. I actually quite like her character as it was acted out very well, adding complexity as we see her tough side and her vulnerable side when we find out how bad her relationship with her husband was, and later how she blamed herself for how bad things got after he was murdered. She was very convincing in her role, but there is one problem, though. Have you seen her in other dramas like The Learning Curve of a Warlord or The Exorcist’s Meter 2? She was pretty in those dramas, but here oh my goodness… who was the make up artist because they did her dirty. They made her look like Michael Jackson. It doesn’t matter if you’re black or white, just make sure it’a not white like Michael Jackson!

For now this drama is just average because so many flaws hold it back. The final few episodes might turn this all around so who knows, but let’s wait and see.

Up to episode 23: okay what just happened? Man, it turned out I was wrong and Nicholas Yuen (Duncan) was not the big bad but an obvious red herring planted by TVB to misdirect us. The big bad was actually the Director of the mental hospital. I really did not see that coming, but it explains a lot. The victims of the deaths were all connected as they were or knew someone who was a patient at the mental hospital. Since Carlos was getting too close to working out who it was, the Director purposely moved all suspicion to Nicholas. Nobody would believe Nick was innocent, it even had me convinced it was him, until Nick concocted a plan to expose the real culprit. It was quite clever and it ended in a final confrontation against them at a BBQ place in the middle of the night. In a smart move, Nick put up a small hidden camera to record the whole thing as the Director busted into his monologue of why and how he killed his victims.

In their struggle, Nick was stabbed multiple times and was heavily bleeding out, leaving the Director to pour gasoline everywhere to burn everything down and pretend that Nick had committed suicide out of guilt. Unfortunately for the Director, he slipped on some gasoline on the floor and fell over, hitting his head and passing out. Nick grabbed the hidden camera and crawled out of the BBQ building, just as Carlos and Hera conveniently arrived to call him an ambulance. The Director “seemingly” died in the fire, with a charred corpse found later in the building.

Sadly, Nicholas doesn’t make it and died in hospital, but was at least able to clear his name and prove his innocence. Damn, the acting here was phenomenal and I felt so bad for Nicholas when this all came to light. Nicholas actually said in his next life he would want to be the son of his father again, but I say no way dude. Your dad was a nice guy but he was also the worst father in the world.

One thing did ruin the aftermath of his death for me. In one scene near the end of episode 22, there was a flashback to when Carlos was giving a lecture on how to control your emotional state by cupping a fist inside the other hand and breathing slowly for a few minutes to get the emotion pass. Nicholas was in this lecture and used it to control his outbursts when he could, but projected onto the wall was a slide with the title “Emotininol Control”. That clearly meant to saying “Emotional” as in “Emotional Damage”. How quick would it have been to edit that and fix the typo? The moment I saw it, it ruined the scene for me, kinda like getting ready to make love but the other person had really smelly feet. It kinda ruins the mood.

After some sad scenes, I realised that there were still 3 episodes left and that the future Hera/Mary storyline was not explained. So what did we just sit through then? And the moment I thought that, a new killer was introduced who liked to pick up girls in a taxi and then kill them with hammers. Suddenly, at the end of episode 23, there is a sudden weather change with rain and lightning so Carlos and Hera take shelter at a bus shelter, and suddenly he receives a video call and he can see future Hera/Mary getting attacked by this new killer. I have a sneaking suspicion the new killer is really the Director who managed to escape and replace his body with someone else's. This is the TVB thing to do. I don’t know how they are going to top the tragic death of “Duncan” but I have a feeling the drama already peaked.

Completed watching: what the heck. This drama really peaked with Nicholas. After he died the rest of the drama turned into a huge wtf fest.

So I was right, the Director didn’t die. Instead the body that died was his future self. Pardon? Apparently in the future he was chased by cops and he jumped off a patio where he used to live and fell, but instead of dying he travelled back in time!! What the actual f? How? Why? In any case the Director meets his past self and tells him about the future and how to commit murders while he took on a fake identity. That evening when Nicholas confronted him, the future Director went to visit and they got into an argument. Yes, the Director argued with himself, and so present Director decided to murder future Director and use future Director’s body to pretend he had died. Meanwhile, the Director’s father, who coincidentally was the Midnight Murderer, also fell down the same patio in 2005 and ended up 20 years in the future where our present is. From here it goes crazy and the Director’s father wants to kill Hera, but instead gets killed by his present day son. Carlos gets a sudden flash of the future so knew where to find Hera so tries to save her but gets stabbed to death by the Director. Hera managed to finish off the Director with a broken bottle that Carlos conveniently broke and placed on the floor for her. At the end of the drama, her desperation in seeing Carlos again made her jump off that patio and travel to the past to meet younger Carlos and give him a hug.

The time travel nonsense made no gosh darn sense. Apparently all you had to do was go to this old apartment and then jump off a patio and then as you hit the ground you would somehow be safe and would end up somewhere else in time. Why? Never explained. It was such a lazy and stupid plot device because it made no sense! And Carlos’ future vision powers are also never explained. Not only were they never explained, but they were never useful until right at the end, and even then they could not save Carlos. It was as useful as the power to breathe underwater but being afraid of water.

And man, the Director’s father is only seen in the last episode and he instantly - despite being from 2005 - was able to use Hera’s smartphone to access the internet and find out about the future within a few hours. So you’re telling me he managed to unlock Hera’s smartphone and then know how to browse the internet on the phone when he was only familiar with 2005 tech? Man, back then we barely had 2G on our candybar phones back then! Such nonsense!

And Hera, my goodness she was so stupid like doing all the wrong things. Her stupidity led to all the crap happening at the end of the drama, like absconding after being arrested and getting Carlos killed because she was captured. And her plan at the end to jump off the patio to travel back in time was so premature! She should have gotten the Mark-6 lottery numbers and took them with her as she went back so she can rebuild her relationship with Carlos again AND be rich. What a wasted opportunity! And the time travel into the past was not guaranteed! The Director’s father travelled to the future, so the time travel rules are not explained and were unclear. Why did he travel to the future but the Director travel to the past? Why?

This drama was so dumb. TVB cannot do sci-fi to save its life. Look, TVB, my dude, stop with the sci-fi nonsense until you get a good writer to pen a good script for you. Stick to mystical until then. This is why The Exorcist’s Meter and it’s sequel were awesome.

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I enjoyed the drama; it was good and the cast was great. It has that laughs, random cuteness and eye candy kind of drama, it is not too serious and more lovey dovey I guess. The atmosphere was nice, and I liked the setting most of the dramas out there is set in Seoul, but this one is out on Jeju Island. The characters were good, but I didn’t like Mok Ji Won (Seo Yi Ahn), she was so annoying but also that typical villain that no one likes, and she was just there as a block to annoy Jung Joo. I liked the main leads together, they had a good chemistry and it was fun how Geon Woo thought Jung Joo was a cancer patient and treated her all well in the beginning, and then it was all a misunderstanding, and Jung Joo is actually completely fine.

That was one thing that was a bit annoying, it took so long time for them to propose their feelings to each other, in one second they loved each other and in the next they didn’t, and Geon Woo was debating whether he would leave Warm and Cozy (the restaurant’s name) or not, but then he did left but he came back to Jung Joo because he loved her and couldn’t be without her, even if he promised to not be in touch with her. It was a lot of misunderstandings and bickering, and the mayor and Ji Won that were basically the conflicts in this drama. Overall, I did enjoy it, it was nice, but the strongest points in this drama was the cast, the atmosphere and the soundtrack

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I thought this show was going to be boring and a bit cheesy, and since it is 20 episodes I thought that some episodes would be lengthy and no progress, but I was wrong. Every episode got me hooked and all the secrets, twist, unexpected events was the thing that I liked with this drama, also the anticipation of what was going to happen next. I like dramas where the characters are developing, like in the first episode Ji Hyun is naïve, nice and innocent, living in a bubble where everything is perfect, but then when her body is in coma and she has to borrow Yi Kyung’s body she understands and learns more about life and the people who loves her, and she becomes more mature and confident. It’s also nice that nothing was rushed and that all secrets and twist were round up neatly.

The main genre in this drama is supernatural, fantasy and also a bit romance, but not silly, cheesy romance more mature. You could see the love that Kang had for Ji Hyun when he realized that she was in Yi Kyung’s body and how Song Yi Soo came back to Yi Kyung just to clear up the misunderstandings that they had before he died. The acting was really good and I loved to see how different the characters was and how they were portraying.

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Relevant and important BL

I love when BLs dive into deeper issues and I feel like the philosophical and societal undertones of this story are way too important to simply categorize this show as a romance or a niche product. I’m unaware of how well this did with the GP in Thailand, but it was truly outstanding to have felt the love the people behind this project have for their home country.

On a microscopic level, sure, I have issues with some aspects of the show: the acting wasn’t bad in the slightest but could have been way better in most instances (though call me impressed at Gun for portraying the twins) and there were some usual BL elements in Thai productions that I’m not a huge fan of (the romantic slow-mo shot, the tackiness of some dialogue, the annoying misunderstandings) BUT…

On a macroscopic level, the value here is immense. Not only did I enjoy the romantic side of things in the end, like I do believe the painting scene with Yok and Dan to be one of the most beautiful and meaningful imagery I’ve seen in any BL ever), but moreso where the story shines is with its politics exploration of power and violence. On one hand, it shows how problematic capitalistic societies are when they are based on principles of hierarchy, which usually lead to nepotism, individualism and ultimately to the corruptible illusion that money is power, and power is what you need to survive in this world. But then, power you’re either born with (= you’re born in the upper class) or, since power is not for the masses but for the few, it must be obtained by the rules of competition. But then again, fair play is only for the sports, so the way it usually goes is for people to reach a position of power either by deception, manipulation or exploitation and violence. Power DOES get you corrupt in the end. You WILL be forced to succumb to malice when you’re thrown in with the wolves that are the higher ups, who are all struggling to hold onto the privileges that they have, ‘cause why on Earth would the working class WANT to go up the social ladder if they were content where they are? They aren’t, and the powerful are obviously afraid of stepping down. It’s a whole inescapable cycle and, unfortunately, these are usually the people that rule our countries. No matter what good of a constitution you have and no matter how good your laws, there’s ALWAYS a way to bend the rules… for those in positions of power, of course. Power, hower, does not only deceive the rich, and is a danger to all, and we see that with our cast of people when they burn that house down: if you’re using violence to gain something, you’ll end up losing something. It could have been Dan, but it most certainly was Yok’s mom in that situation. So, not only the people are put in outright bad positions, but if they try to act against injustice, often that will backfire on themselves. Then there were talks about gun violence and human rights and how difficult it is for outcasts, for the disabled, and how a bunch of youngesters can’t even enjoy their education and youth ‘cause the world’s such a fucked up place and the older generations are all just either completely disenchanted, afraid or utterly enamored with corrupt ideals. And THAT’s what I love about this: the fact that they managed to stir an uprising with peaceful acts and protests. They painted a whole new form of power, that of democracy, which we seriously take for granted in most parts of the world. Even when people have it, they still don’t practice it their rights enough to have a voice and have it heard. I know I may seem naive, but we the younger generation should AT LEAST acknowledge that this is an ideal we should uphold and act by. Protests, activisism, the courage to go up against the currents. I truly felt uplifted by this show and I’m so grateful to have watched and have it inspire me to look forward and fight for the kind of society we want to live in.

9.5/10 AND IT COULD HAVE BEEN A TEN IF THEY DIDN’T BULLSHIT US WITH THAT GRAM/EUGENE PAIRING WHEN I KNOW!!! I KNOW!!! I JUST FOUND OUT!!!! That Gram was originally supposed to have it HARD for Black. Shame on y’all!!!!!!!

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Underrated Thriller, Must Watch!

This show should be a hit! I don't understand why it doesn't have so much exposure. The thriller is thrilling with so many plot twists. The story is really good. It doesn't even have a filler episode. The show pictures an agency office with such "problematic" environment. It seems to have messy conflicts, but there is the starting point where we will begin the enjoyable journey. It is boring up until Episode 4. But if you're being patient, you will get paid off!

Soul-swapping is not an easy thing, but both main leads deliver it excellently! Kim Ji-Eun and Lomon have to dealt playing as both characters, and it goes really well. During the soul-swap, I feel like they are actually switching—they become totally different person. I even think Lomon really can imitate Ji-Eun's gesture when he plays as Na-Eon.

The only thing that disturb me is the writer decided to give the main leads frustrating personalities. Na-Eon is a b*tch and ruthless person at the beginning of the show and she hardly have a character development, even after going through some big moments. Also being a thoughtful and ambitious person as Na-Eon, isn't it more reasonable for her to try protecting her body from the killer during the soul-swap, rather than throwing Eun-Ho in her body to some dangerous scenes? Eun-Ho personality at the beginning is the worst. He looks like an eight year boy trapped in a man's body, who reacts excessively at everything. Ji-Eun plays this well as Eun-Ho, but to think that she is "actually a man in a woman's body", it doesn't seem correct.

The intention to use this show as a media for Seongsu-dong tourism promotion goes in the right direction. I love the scenery of the Seongsu-dong view, and it really promotes Seongsu-dong as "Pop-Up Store District". I will really recommend this show!

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Thoroughly enjoyable and funny

I was looking for something light hearted and came across this. It is absolutely lovely and I enjoyed every minute of it. It's very funny and I laughed a lot. It also brought back memories of the carefree years of teens and universities . Both FL and ML did really well and the scriptwriter is very funny. The directorship is top notched

I wasn't a fan of Wen Jun Hui but since watching this,I have started checking him and his group Seventeen. I think he's absolutely talented

I hope to see more dramas from these two actors
I highly recommend this drama if you are looking for a light hearted ROM com but there's quite a lot of social values and education too

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Close to reality but it will question your thoughts

Gangnam B-side is a captivating drama that offers a refreshing glimpse into the cutthroat world of the K-Pop industry. It goes beyond the glitz and glamour, delving into the struggles, sacrifices, and raw emotions that lie beneath the polished surface with how people greed can distroy human life.

The series masterfully portrays the intense competition, the pressure to succeed, and the mental and physical toll it takes on aspiring idols. It highlights the importance of mental health, the dangers of idol culture, and the importance of finding one's own voice and path.

Ji chang wook as actor make the drama 50% more watchable with his performance a great actor who's screen presence is enough to make viewer's stick through the screen, 10/10

Gangnam B-side is a must-watch for fans of K-Dramas and K-Pop alike. It's a captivating and insightful drama that will stay with you long after the final credits roll. Ji Chang Wook's exceptional performance, coupled with the compelling storyline and strong supporting cast, makes this series a true gem.

I highly recommend Gangnam B-side to anyone seeking a thought-provoking and emotionally resonant drama. It's a powerful testament to the human spirit, the pursuit of dreams, and the importance of finding your own voice.

I will say first 4 ep 10/10
Next 2 ep 8/10
Last 2 ep 9/10

Overall 8.5 to 9 /10

Overall a good watch for short time with great cimatography from a female director in dark genre it's very rare we see a women director in Dark genre and she did phenomenal job with all the great performance from all the actors.

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MY FAVE KDRAMA FOR THIS YEAR 2024

This drama is absolutely captivating! I haven't been this invested in a K-drama in ages. Each episode was so good, keeping me on the edge of my seat. Surprisingly, not a single episode feels dull. Just when you think the previous one was the best, the next surpasses expectations, delivering peak after peak!

The OSTs also are all so good. Non stop with the "Numb". AND The casting of Yoo Yoon Seok and Chae Soo Bin is pure genius! THE CHIMESTRY! OML. it's electrifying! That scene on the latest episode (episode 7) has me blushed profusely. The drama's pacing, paired with exceptional acting, makes for an unforgettable viewing experience. Bravo to the entire production team!

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