Reviews

One Of The Best!

When I first started to watch this series, I frankly was perplexed by it. It certainly grabbed my attention and honestly, I did not identify the same actors playing different roles. Sincerely, I thought they were different actors as the roles, setup, and stories were so vastly distinctive. But as each of the storylines developed, I did observe that the essence was the same. It was well into the third storyline when I had my epiphany and realized the actors were the same but each of the stories was wildly different. Two young men find each other fall in love and form a nexus. However, not always with happy endings. Each character represented different personalities and certainly different outlooks on life. Yet, something always draws the two of them together. And that something of course is love. The outstanding quality of this series is that while there is no direct link between stories, it all still flows so naturally. It is an anthology that comes alive for you. There is nothing metaphysical, esoteric, or destined in the stars that fate the two protagonists to be together in each story. It all seems to flow so naturally and organically and without help from any high powers. And to be rewarded at the end with having a feeling of watching something that felt so alive happening, made it all the more special.

Read More

What exactly is this??????

The only word that comes to mind whenever I watch an episode is CRINGE...….The casting is so wrong on all LEVELS, the only cast I would keep is Arashi and maybe Fuma, as for the other two leads, the acting lives so much to be desired. All the couples don't have any chemistry and Rei needs serious kissing lessons because, WOW just WOW. I understand that its a Japanese remake and that the "sexual" scenes must be censored but at least the characters SHOULD AND MUST have some sort of chemistry. Kai tries but is just to "stiff", I understand that the Thai version of Kai was also "stiff" but at least he was lively.

They really wasted time and resources on this, sorry not sorry but I will continue to watch just to kill time I guess.

Read More

SPOILER ALERT!!!! Read it at ur own risk

Watch this for Leon Zhang & Ireine Song. Quite enjoyable until the last episode. I want hang the director!!!! ( ｡ •̀ ᴖ •́ ｡)💢. So fair warning, this review will fill with a lot of rampage!!!

But first thing first. Story...

Story about a girl name Hao Liang (HL) who has double life as a live stream singer named A Dai. HL is an ordinary girl, shy and a little coward. But when she become A Dai, she's like having different personality, A Dai is a brave girl.

One day HL met Gu Jiu Li (JL), a programmer with straight face & personality. HL fall in love at the first sight with him. JL has a little 'disease', he can't different girl when they put on make up, in the drama this disease called can't recognized different race or something along that way. Almost like blind face, but not quite the same. So yeah, JL can't recognize HL when she dress as A Dai. And that's really funny to watch.

Short story, HL got accepted into JL company as a intern. And the more they spend time together, JL feel more attractive to HL. And vice versa with HL, she also feel more and more like JL. So, yeah finally in the end they had a relationship. But still HL feel A Dai identity is a little gravel in their relationship. She's just affraid what's JL reaction when he know A Dai is HL....

That's one problem this story had. The other problem is about HL's mother. HL also hide her identity as A Dai from her mother. And that's because her mother always thought that entertainment industry is a bad world, it's the world where the 'bad woman' works. So yeah... The problem raise when HL's mother come to town close to the time when A Dai had to do performance. So... How's HL tell her mom about it, how HL can make her mom understand & accepted the world she like...?

That's pretty much the story without giving anymore spoiler. Now what I like and don't.

What I like:
+ The cute relationship between HL & JL. I really like how their relationship grow, how JL & HL accepted the shortage of the other person & how in their way their support each other.
+ The relationship between Han Yi Jie (YJ) & Chen Yi Bai (YB). I really love how YJ really show his support for YB, how he show that he really accepted all the strong and week side of YB.
+ Han Yi Jie (YJ) himself. He's sometimes is just like a young man, we thought he's quite immature. But I really impressed by how he show his maturity when he have to face YB ex-boyfriend when he offer business proposal. And how YJ show that he's really one amazing friend for JL.

What I don't like.:
- The stupid fast forward relationship between Zhu Yi & Yang Pan Pan. I know I know their relationship is only like decoration on a cake, not important. So why the heck u even make this relationship be fruitful... Go watch it urself, I'm lazy to write in here because how not important this is.

Overall another drama that's pissed me off for the ending. Without the ending I'll gonna rate it between 7-8 actually. Such unfortunate...

Below I'll write the rampage and that's also mean SPOILER ALERT!!! Read it with ur own risk.












==================================================
SPOILER ALERT!!!
==================================================

What the heck with the ending!!! I need 1 more episodes to make this become satisfactory drama.

Why end it just until HL's mother accepted A Dai. I need this drama to close with A Dai performance on the stage. Or if you don't want to make the stage and all the performances, u can make it like they already finished it & HL send her mother to airport or station for her to go home.

Oh My GOD I'm so pissed!!!!

Read More

Recycled and used

Okay hear me out. I have a good eye for dramas and this one just wasn't it.

Have we ever seen Gu won like ACTUALLY working?
Gu won does absolutely nothing about real work and is extremely one sided with his ways of pursuing a girl.

Even Park soejun was rich and kinda the nepo kid in what's wrong with secretary Kim. (Which is supposed to be the worst character traits out there. In kdramas especially). But did he have a life outside his love life? Yes. Did he build his empire? Yes. Did he also have trauma ? Yes.

The elder sister decides to be a real bitch in her mind 40s? Are you kidding me? Tho it had me in the first 2 episodes. But Ms Noona kept getting repetitive. The entire "The hotel is mine and you have no right to it" was getting boring and annoying. She had good potential but alas.

All the characters were cardboard cut out. None of them had a proper story. Cliche and recycled cheese. Nothing I haven't seen. Nothing original. Would have been gold in 2013 tho. Will give them that.

If you want eye candies, sure go ahead. Give this drama a try. Both of them are idols and know how to look good on camera, no complaints there.
But disappointing plot for all the right reasons.

If you have got nothing new to show, get lost because there are more of those good kdramas out there that need attention.

When you have watched enough dramas, you just know these things. Any seasoned watcher will have similar opinions.

Read More

A SLICE OF LIFE WRITTEN FOR ADULTS WITH REDIATING CHEMISTRY

Just finished re-watching this master piece and the special episodes,I had to find the writer and give her a bow.
What an excellent writting.This is my second time and it felt like it was the first time i was watching it and the
smile that stuck on my face from episode 1 to the last bonus episode will be hard to erase it.
I hope she keeps putting out script for adults and real slices of life.

Elvis Han who plays Xu Zi Quan brought his natural talent to this drama and watching him leaves you in awe of
how much flow of words,actions and mannerfisms he brings to the table.He was paired by another veteran of the
industry Elvira Cai who portrays Tang Ying character and their on and off chemistry was worth of an oscar.
It was my first time watching her but just from this drama I knw she knew what she was doing.These two really
need to be cast in another project..It was like watching two friends going head to head non stop,even after they got
together,the banter didnt stop.They portrayed complex characters that can be easlily misjudged but the way they
navigated the growth from "play boy" to responsible monogamous fiance on his side and from a woman obssessed
with work to her realisation that its not about working hard to reach the top but enjoying the moment.

This is the realest drama I have ever watched and trust me I have watched quite few in the 3 digts and I can tell
you for free that this was a portray of everyday's challenges,negative and positive.The stories were real,the victories
and failures we also real.This was really a slice of life.

I dont know who came up with the OST but wow..Again never in my history of watching dramas have I ever downloaded
a full album of the music accompanying the drama.90% of the songs were in english,From all gengre including country music.

Planning to rewatch a gain in a year or so,this is not something you want to forget.

Read More

Not Bad, But It's The Same Thing Every Time

I've noticed a pattern between all SUKFILM BL's, like Blue Boys, Bad Guy and now Seoul Blues, they all have a very similar plot and it doesn't help that the actors are always the same, now no hate towards the fact that the actors are always the same like I have watched many BL's with the same actors as other BL's but the problem I have with this is how similar the plot is and how nothing seems to change, it's always the same with the girl liking the main couple and getting hurt and then is never seen again for the rest of the show, or the ex coming back to stir some drama into the newly happy relationship, and they are always in the same places too, the cafes, the apartments, I guess with budget things are limited but once again no hate towards things that can't be preventable, I just need more creativity towards the story and characters personalities. I will admit this one was slightly better than Blue Boys and Bad Guy for some reason, I didn't get as bored or annoyed as the other 2 but I will still not rate this any higher than I rated the other 2 because it still lacks, and regardless of being able to see the effort they put in a lot of things and seeing the quality it has in the sense of cinematography, I will still have to give this a 7/10 for the listed things they lack. Regardless I'm hoping for improvement from them, and I hope the upcoming projects are better.

Read More

Captivating show ! I am watching it on loop ?

I must say this show has exceeded my all the expectations. From the very first episode, I got butterflies and this feeling is still there.
The drama is so good. As everyone is saying even first episode is addictive. The director and screen writer have done great work i think. They have worked hard on this, and it can be shown right away. To talk about expressions and acting of actors, they should receive awards. Yoo yeon seok must be really good actor. I appreciate his skills and talent, as well as chae soobin. Both actors have worked hard on it. The show is going to hit and everyone's hard work is going pay off. God bless.

Read More

Suffers by comparison

This is my personal opinion. If you are wondering if you should watch Family by Choice, I would say yes, because I realize I'm in the minority here.

Yes, I watched Go Ahead first. No, I didn't love it. I felt it was entirely too long. However, Family by Choice, left out most of the episodes that had heart and, for me, wasn't able to recreate the bond of the found family.

What I liked:
-The acting was good.
-They didn't have both male leads fall in love with the FL.
-Ju Won's friend Dal. Loved her storyline with Hae Jun.
-Ju Won's dad.

Not so much:
-A lot of bad kisses. Not feeling the chemistry. Actually, I didn't believe the romance. It could have been left out.
-The actors looked exactly the same from high school to 10 years later.
-San Ha's dad. He was just there for the food and alcohol.
-I wasn't really able to feel the strong bond between the siblings, because we didn't have enough of what they went through as children to stand together against the rest of the world.
-Ju Won's dad was a lovely character for the most part; however, he seemed to love the boys more than her!
-an ode to terrible mothers. Every mother in this show was a nightmare.
-bad mother shout out - Hae Jun's mom. So, you leave and don't come back for 20 years. The reasoning was extremely weak, and she was being such a martyr. Then, moving close so she can see him from afar. Then, they have one conversation and all is forgiven.
-storyline for Ju Won's dad and Hae Jun's mom - came out of nowhere and ran at lightning speed.

My biggest complaint:
-San Ha's storyline. I had so many problems with it.
-First, both parents were gone when his sister died. Did Child Protective Services not get involved?
-San Ha saying he wants his mother to keep thinking his sister's death was his fault. Why?
-This storyline overshadowed every other. It was extremely toxic. The actress did an excellent job, I hated her so much.
-Why would he go and take care of her? It might have made sense if he was underage and had no choice, but he was an adult. Respect for an adult/parent is one thing, but to suffer abuse from your mom for over 10 years? Plus, he was in med school - even a bystander could see that she needed psychiatric help. She should have been committed.
-I completely lost respect for him when he went to see her and got on his knees at her bedroom door. What the heck!?!?!?
-This storyline, for me, seemed to overshadow all the others, which really drove my enjoyment down.

Read More

Interesting Journey

At first I have read so many good reviews about this series so I started to watch. But at the end I almost regretted it.
Not many actions, beautiful costumes and good casting. I like these.
I like fact that they put more energy in family conflicts and relationships than romance. It wa sa very good choice and it was very interesting to see how they act and interact as a family.
There was one plot twist that surprised me and i love that. But there was another (it includes Shanguan Qian - in the last episode what she said to Shangjue) which was silly and i started to laugh. Did they really use this? Oh my god! Such a silly trick from writers and hope it is just a lie.
It was so hard for me to like any characters in this whole story. It is not a bad thing but it can be easier to understand their character and motivation if you can connect to the characters.
It is a very slow story but good acting and conversation. I almost stopped watching but at the end when told everything about those plans and plot twist started to come I was so happy. I was like "finally it became badass" but then it hit me in the back and after the last scene with Gong Ziyu sitting at the gate (hope it is not counted as spoiler) I wanted to see who will come in when the door opened. But they just finished it this way. Oh come on! Please continue. I just want to see who is coming 🤣
And I hope Gong Shangjue gets his brain back and realise what he needs to.

Read More

Spicy transactional relationship that tranformed to love

I saw this video on Youtube and was drawn to the title '[MULTI SUB] Not Over Yet【Full】You started it, I won't let you call it off | Drama Zone'. I didn't read the comments nor search for synopsis before clicking 'Play'. Oh boy, I was shocked!

What I liked:
1) Spice - Wow, the director knew how to create steamy scenes within the limits of time and censorship. There were many kissing scenes so that helped in creating tension and letting viewers' imagination run wild. ML's appetite for FL was insatiable.
2) Main characters' growth - For a micro drama, there was some character growth. There were times FL was a damsel in distress and was saved by ML. However I liked that she recognised that trait of hers and apologised for relying / burdening ML. ML character growth was slower but more apparent towards the end.
3) Du Ya Fei - This is my first time watching his acting and I think he understood his assignment. He used different voice tone when he talked to FL. It seemed that he and Yang Shu Yu had developed rapport because their intimate scenes would be awkward without tacit understanding between them.
4) Love rival - It's good that ML's love rival was respectful towards FL. FL already going through a lot of hardships so I don't want her to go through another one at work.
5) Ending - I like it because the story has come full circle.

What I disliked:
1) Coercion - I felt like FL was coerced into having sex in the earlier parts of the relationship.
2) FL's family - One of the worse villains in C dramas because the villains are FL's own biological mother and brother.
3) Relationship - As seen in the inner monologue, FL & ML had doubts which affected their relationship. I wish they confided in each other because this could be an emotional scene that clarifies assumptions and misunderstanding.

Favourite scene
When ML rescued FL at her family home

Read More

A Perfect Blend of Chemistry and Charm

As a fan of Shen Yue, it’s impossible not to admire her endearing portrayal of GU YI in Smile Code. Shen Yue once again shines with her natural charisma and effortless beauty and ability to connect with her co-stars, making her character relatable and unforgettable.

The dynamic between Shen Yue and the Lin Yi is what makes the series adorable. Their on-screen chemistry feels genuine, with moments of lighthearted banter balanced perfectly with deeper, heartfelt scenes. It’s the kind of pairing that draws viewers in, leaving us rooting for their relationship to overcome every obstacle. This also leaves the audience rooting for them as real life couple, despite the height gap, they perfectly looked so matched.

Meanwhile, Shen Yue’s interactions with all casts are equally compelling, showcasing her versatility in portraying emotions ranging from tension to playful camaraderie. This story is crafted with sensitivity, leaving audiences deeply invested. Indeed, there’s always a Shen Yue effect to every episode.

I watched the series 3 times to be honest in full and the last 4 episodes many times. This is now my comfort series and I am one of the eager fans for a Smile Code Season 2. Shen Yue’s stellar performance, paired with the outstanding synergy with all the stars , makes the series a must-watch and fuels the demand for its continuation.

CONGRATULATIONS for delivering an excellent piece, SMILE CODE!

Read More