Reviews

In the end, all that matters is enjoying the experience, and I sure did

• Two Worlds might have sparked mixed reactions from many, but for me, it's one of my favourite transmigration stories and no one can change my mind (I may or may not be a bit biased)

• Let's first discuss the plot. Now, this plot isn't perfection. I could see the plot holes here and there. But they weren't much for me to stop this series entirely. I enjoyed the plot, and I noticed that like any other transmigration story I must have my focus, otherwise it's going to be messy and confusing on the surface. I must also say that I was intrigued with this story since I saw it's pilot teaser, so I may have spent lot of time into grasping each and every aspect of it. But that helped enjoy my watching experience instead of feeling like this was a waste of my time. I do think that some things that happened in the pilot could have been retained in the series, especially the scenes of the death of the first world's Phupha and the second world's Khram. Those scenes seemed as if there was no effort into doing them. Tai's large knife was not at all intimidating to me, and made me laugh instead. But I figured out that those elements didn't bother me. Never had I ever thought we would be introduced to a virus around the finale, but guess that's how the novel is. As for the ending, I believe both Tai and Khram ended up in the second world (in contrary to what I guess happened in the novel). But I was somehow satisfied, since I never thought it as an open ending.

•I personally loved MaxNat's chemistry as TaiKhram more than I should. I enjoyed it more than the love triangle and would've loved to see them from the begining itself. But I'll admit that GunNat's chemistry as PhupaKhram wasn't bad. They did great with what they were given. I was also somehow rooting for TaiPhupa, even though they barely had any semi-romantic scenes together.
•Individually, their acting is varied. Max is good as usual. Tai's definitely a more healthy tsundere and Max did justice to him. His expressions were fantastic and I loved his hairstyle in the series than in pilot. Also, that voice in which he greeted Phupa in the first episode is my golden scene, I also re-watched that episode due to Max. Tai's relationship with his father is complicated enough for Tai to take him as the only person he shall not kill. The second world Tai is far more delicate and likeable than the first, but I do feel sympathy for the latter. Nat, on the other hand, had some moments where his flared nostrils got on my nerves, but I fell in love with his boba eyes. Also, is it only me or is it noticeable that Nat's lips are of a different shape sometimes? I kind of find them undefined, could be my perception. Plus, the scene where Khram says he will save Tai is funny, considering the guy is short and fragile, who is he exactly going to fight? And again, contrary to popular belief, I could see that Khram took some time to accept his feelings for Tai and move on from Phupa. Speaking of Phupa, I really appreciate Gun's acting. He really fits his role and also did full justice to it. One thing that sometimes made me amused is how Khram always wore those rags when Phupa took him to some modern places like that art exhibition or Bangkok (except for that one banquet scene). Like, please Phupa, give that guy some decent clothes.

•Jao and Wayu's story is also enduring. I was surprised to see them having a past connection and the NC scene was killer. Their same time proposal was also cute. I kind of feel sad for Khrams's parents. In the first world, the father is the widower and in the second world, the mother is widowed and blinded. I really wished they had happiness in both worlds. I loved how understanding Duendao in the first world was towards Khram's feelings for someone else and in the second world, her supporting his blinded mother is so generous. Por is miserable and has toxic masculinity, which he expected from his son after his wife's death, but he couldn't get that. I don't feel any sort of pity for him and just feel sorry for Tai instead. His right man Piak is a shocker. I have never seen a man like him before. Chat and Satreekit being the secondary villains was unexpected. Wiroj having an unrequited crush on Phupa's namesake father was interesting given that he was actually the biological father. Phupa marrying Run and having a son in the end was endearing.

• The soundtrack, especially the instrumental is addictive to me. I also appreciate the production value and the natural scenery. Also, Khram with a bunny is cute. I was not expect to see another cgi tiger in a MaxNat series.

•Overall, this series is not for perfectionists. It's for those who understand and enjoy it regardless of anything. And I'm one of these people.

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Transphobia disguised as a gender bender

Guy doesn't act like an actual guy post-"transformation", more like a typical quirky "one of the guys" girl, just like from the "Sam" gender swap movie among others. Maybe that was intentional in order to play into the reveal, but it seems to be a common trope in these movies. Almost immediately after the "transformation" he starts getting flustered in cliche slo-mo eye gazing scenes with his friend/later love interest, but I suppose a magical change in sexual orientation could be explained the same way a physical transformation could, even though no physical transformation (actually) took place. They introduce a short-lived love triangle with another male character before defaulting to the archetypal "mr and mrs perfect childhood best friends", when the rival clearly had more personality, depth and potential for a relationship, showing more complexity and heart by miles, only to have his character make multiple fumbles. Of course he wasn't great either, being in on this scheme to manipulate mc's feelings to accept the identity of a woman, which then she displayed flawlessly by choosing the wrong guy in the end, who also went the extra mile to manipulate her identity and gain her affection.
Now about the transphobic undertones in the plot twist. Surprise! She was a "woman" all along (even while confidently identifying as a man and perceiving himself as such), so everyone basically came together to "fix" him by creating this "experimental therapy" to reinforce a delusion where he was able to see himself as visually male, before choosing a time to rip the bandaid off and "see" the "transformation" so that MC would then see it. A collective effort to alter his sense of identity through psychological manipulation in multiple ways, rather than helping him see the truth from the beginning so that he could navigate his gender identity authentically through mutual understanding and trust. Of course in the end he accepted the new identity, and now she, decided to live forward as a straight woman, but if only it were that simple. In reality, gender dysphoria and sexual orientation are not things you can just socially condition into people by manipulating their their self perception, and to romanticize this idea wrapped in a clique "best friends turned dream couple" story, I just found to be incredibly tone deaf to the transgender experience and disrespectful to the transgender identity.

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THE BEST NON-BL BUT ACTUALLY A BL DRAMA OF 2024

BEST COUPLE OF THE YEAR 2024 and ahead is SKYNANI...one of the best acting ever in both of their career. They did their best and their chemistry was out of the world. I'm looking forward to their upcoming drama in 2025 called WU. I manifest it to be a BL series as this series was bromance, but it still broke our low expectations for a bromance and satisfied us to the peak.TBH it was a ROMANCE drama of two boys without a kiss. I loved it. As a pro-BL watcher, I can tell that some of the BL actors do not have any chemistry that these two bromance couples have. Their chemistry is at its peak. Must match drama.
IMINA SKYNANI

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Just Amazing.!!! Go and watch it...!

The storyline, the acting, the characters, the visuals, the ost, everything is amazing. The chemistry between the two mcs Saint and Shin is literal perfection. Two ex bestfriends turned enemies and the tension between them is just🤌. I guess they wanted us to ship these two from the beginning and my God did they succeed..I loved whatever was going on between them and the ending made it clear that they are soulmates. Even side characters played their roles well. Never thought I would like a gmmtv series but here we are. Also this might be the only series that I am definitely going to rewatch because I miss them already.


They are both very down bad for each other but one is like a Yandere and the other one a Tsundere lol.

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I like reborn for revenge stories so I gave this a try.

the casts were all good looking and pretty and all had decent acting.
the leads had good chemistry. (they had some good kisses!!)
the editing felt choppy at times and some episodes starts in a new plot point without any build up but this is common in short cdramas with 5minutes long episodes.

overall it wasn't bad but could've been a lot better!
38 episodes were too much. they could wrap up with 25 or so episodes.
the last 10 episodes were just stretching the story for nothing.'
I don't mind cliche tropes but they tried to insert too many cliche into the drama that it felt writers had a checklist, I'll list a few none-spoiler ones bellow:
-drugged fl
-orphan fl
-love at first sight
-rich ceo ml, poor fl
-protective ml... with a hint of red flag.
-bully coworkers (it was very very short)
-cheater ex
-annoying 2fl
-fl cries a lot
-love triangle (the guy was good actually)
there were few more but I don't want to spoil the drama much so I'll leave them for those interested to see for themselves.
thank god they left out the kidnapping trope!

from the start of the drama it felt like fl would take matters to her own hands and deal with those who wronged her but to be honest fl couldn't do much by herself and most of the time ml was letting her use him to deceive others.
Also I don't call fl dumb but I don't categorize her as smart either.
so don't expect a smart, calculative and independent fl.

I didn't notice the ost much while watching.

I would've rated it 7 or 7.5 if the last 10 episodes didn't drag as much as they did. also ending was a bit rushed as well.
All that said, I don't regret watching this drama. it was an okay watch to pass time but I won't re-watch it in future.

In conclusion:
*if you are not used to the short cdrama format, the editing and jumps between plots might bother you a bit.
*It's a cliche fest so don't expect something ground breaking.
*there were few scenes of SA e.g. ep12 & 13 (so proceed with caution if that bothers you)

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Iffy beginning & happy ending

A super fluffy (& at times cringey) story of a man { Bi Wen Jun } who’s considered “perfect” & a woman { Wu Xuan Yi } who’s… well, not.

The big tropes are all here:
1) Opposites attract - the highly successful, confident, “cold” ML & the friendly FL who’s more timid which hinders her success.

2) the Misunderstanding - she witnesses an incident involving him & judges him unfairly.

3) Controlling parent - despite being an adult, FL’s mom still forces her to the dentist to fix her “flaws”.

4) Love triangle - FL had a one-sided crush on SML for years. SML & ML are friends. ML likes FL, but now SML is back & realizing he does too.

5) the Separation - a plan was set before they got together & now they must be apart. A fight happens, they make up, he goes & she waits for his return.

Honestly, I didn’t really like the FL at first. Her initial treatment of ML didn’t make a good first impression & she was a bit too TSTL at times, imho. 🤷🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️ Once she matured some & accurately cluing into the world around her, my opinion started to change. By the time the Leads got together, I liked her for him. And I always liked him for her.

He’s my kind of person. Not open with everyone, he prefers just a few close people which causes others to think he’s aloof. But he treats other all with kindness & patience, even the FL when she’s a brat to him. Not quite sure why he fell for her, but since he helped change her into someone I could stand, I’m thankful he did . 😉

They’re a very solid couple. They don’t let things fester nor get into petty fights. They’re very affectionate with great chemistry & swoon worthy kisses! 🔥🫠 So while the beginning made me really frustrated, I enjoyed it after they finally became a couple.


_________\\__________//________


-⬇️ S P O I L E R S 🚫 B E L O W ⬇️-


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The things I always want to know 😏😉…
- F(r)K : 15💋
- 2G : 17 👩🏻‍❤️‍👨🏻
- BU : Nope 💍

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amazing

The series is fantastic. It kept me on edge until the very end. I really liked the roles of Jack and Joker and grew even fonder of them through this series. The two first met at a bar early in the series, and it was clear from the start that Jack had a certain fondness for Joker. Joker, on the other hand, was disappointed in himself for lying and falsifying his exam results. He desperately wanted to prove himself to his parents, but they failed to appreciate his efforts. Joker engaged in theft primarily to get their attention, but also because he believed it was the only thing he was good at.

Unfortunately, at the very beginning of the series, Joker let Jack down by giving him false hope that he had been approved for a loan. In reality, Joker had stolen from the bank, which initially led to Jack being blamed. Eventually, Joker couldn’t handle the pressure and confessed to his parents about his mistakes and how he truly felt, but it was too late—by the end, the police arrested him.

Five years later, we saw the main characters again—Joker was out of prison, reformed, and eager to make amends. Jack was working for "The Boss," who collected people’s debts, including Jack's. Gradually, Joker became part of Jack’s small circle and tried to make amends between them, helping him break free from working for The Boss, whose reputation was dangerous.

The story also introduced Rose, who had taken a liking to Jack from the very first day they met—the same night Jack first met Joker at the bar. Alongside Rose, some of Jack and Joker's friends joined forces with one shared goal: to help them fight against The Boss, who sought to become even more powerful. Just when Jack thought he was finally free from debt and could live peacefully, his grandmother fell ill, requiring money for her treatment.

Meanwhile, Joker tried to mend his relationship with his father, who was a doctor. His goal was to convince his father to help Jack’s grandmother, but his father initially refused to communicate with him, claiming he had no son. Jack was forced to return to working for The Boss, who was even more ruthless this time and manipulated Jack into marrying Rose to gain her entire fortune.

Out of desperation, Joker broke his promise and decided to act alone. Meeting with The Boss, he was tasked with stealing a ring from Rose’s family—a ring that would give The Boss ultimate power. Once again, Joker was forced to steal in order to grant Jack his freedom. He teamed up with the rest of their group, and together they managed to execute the plan, but things spiraled out of control. Innocent people were harmed, and Jack discovered Joker’s betrayal. He didn’t even give him a chance to explain, telling him outright that he didn’t want to see him again.

The last two episodes were very intense. In the end, good triumphed, and The Boss got what he deserved. I’m grateful the series ended well because I had a bad feeling about it.

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Nakayama Miho

Update: I watched and wrote my comment a few days before the news broke out. I'm in utter disbelief upon hearing the news of Nakayama Miho passing away at the young age of 54. During the past couple of weeks I went into a binge-watch of all her projects from the 80s and 90s, she was a truly striking, talented and fun actress that gave a unique signature to all the projects she's been in. It's unfortunate what has happened and she will be missed dearly. Rest in peace, mama idol!

The drama mirrored the reality of its time with idols culture, ironically, nothing changed since the 80s. Given the setup, the formula was pretty clear with how things were going to be laid out. Each episode gave a focus to one of the characters while cycling through some jokes. Most of these episodes were alright in general but some of the running jokes lasted a bit too long. Take for example the constant interruption of the married leads' 'first night alone' which lasted for several episodes. In fact, they never showed that the leads were actually just sleeping together even after marriage, aside from being together in a bedroom. The female lead's age probably had something to do with that. Instead of wasting time on that and other similar things, they could've gave a reasonable showcase to how they met, fell in love and decided to marry. Anyway, the drama had good dynamics between the characters, nostalgia inducing OST and 80s vibes so it was decent enough.

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Mama wa Idol Reboot

Update: I watched and wrote my comment a few days before the news broke out. I'm in utter disbelief upon hearing the news of Nakayama Miho passing away at the young age of 54. During the past couple of weeks I went into a binge-watch of all her projects from the 80s and 90s, she was a truly striking, talented and fun actress that gave a unique signature to all the projects she's been in. It's unfortunate what has happened and she will be missed dearly. Rest in peace, mama idol!

Following the success or appeal (?) of Mama wa Idol (1987) the leads returned for another run, they even brought some of the side cast like the neighbor who still have her eyes on the male lead. In fact, the entire thing felt like a carbon copy of its predecessor, from the cast to the setup, story, dynamics, characters, jaded jokes, setting and production. They were seriously trying too hard to make it as similar as possible without offering anything new. Nakayama Miho is still trying to be a mother of children not of her own while suffering from the same interrupted intimacy trope in every episode. I couldn't find a single thing that might nudge this over Mama wa Idol, they should've aimed to improve over or at least not repeat the same mistakes.

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SUIKA!

This slice-of-life drama was a quirky concoction of midlife crises, emotional constipation, and nostalgia. It’s not going to set your pulse racing or redefine the genre, but it got enough charm to keep you interested, for the most parts. The story follows Motoko, a 34-year-old woman whose life got a kick in the pants when her friend absconded with 300 million yen. Then, there was a sexually frustrated manga artist, a melancholic professor, and an emotionally stunted young landlord. It was basically the setup for a comedic entanglement, but instead, you get slow-burning introspection with the occasional dash of the familiar Japanese absurdity. There’s something hypnotic about watching these women fumble their way to self-discovery, finding happiness in their mundane fractured lives. It had this warm nostalgic glow all over it but that couldn't save it from some inconsistencies and shortcomings. Particularly with its 2nd half where the drama already exhausted most of the personal stories around the housemates and what left was a lot of emptiness. There was an opportunity to dedicate an episode for the young landlord since she was the fourth wheel in the dynamic. Suika was the kind of drama that doesn’t try too hard to impress, and somehow that was its biggest charm. It wasn't revolutionary, but if you’re in the mood for a contemplative drama with a few laughs and a lot of heart, this one might be worth it.

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Surprisingly Good

At the surface, the drama explored the abuse cases as expected from reading the synopsis, however, the rabbit hole was much deeper than initially thought. Each episode peeled one layer after another with more haunting revelations up until the last episode. I was worried we would be presented with a superficial showcase of some traumas but the drama actually took its time with each of leads' struggles and constructed a solid story. Although it went off the rails a little bit at the end but nothing too outrageous. I would've hoped if the ending was more grounded but one can look at it serving a theatrical over-exaggeration for the final act. Moreover, the constant jumping back and forth between different periods could've been done better. The side abuse cases didn't hold up compared to what the leads were going through nor did they blend well with the story. Aside from the intense cruelty, that one menacing soundtrack caught my attention. It's the same soundtrack that was used in Silent Hill 2 (White Noiz) which is strange because it's not the same composer. It definitely gave the drama a unique signature that was absolutely chilling whenever it played, though they almost didn't use it in the last couple of episodes.

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Inconsistencies Hell

Amazing first episode that was masterfully crafted to kick start the story and prepare it to venture in all kinds of directions. There was a slight decline in the writing moving forward but it kept holding its own weight for awhile. That prison warden was quite the character. The OST was pretty decent. There was also some glaring inconsistencies like the alcoholic father suddenly becoming sober just to get to the next point in the story. However, the drama hit a major unsalvageable road block. Specifically at the beginning of the last 1/3 of the drama. It turned the drama into cheap vapid melodrama diminishing any merits it previously established for the past 8 episodes. The ending was questionable at best, it didn't really allow for real conversations to be had. It's really unfortunate after it had a very solid run before flipping the switch.

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Fed up with long lasting dramas ? Try this one.

I really didn’t expect enjoying watching this drama. First of all, because most of the actors were unknown to me and I also considered the story development to be superficial : each of the twenty episodes last less than 15 minutes.
On first day I watched the 11 first episodes. On day 2, I got frustrated : is the drama already over ? Just like that ? Oh my God, I am already missing the ML.
Of course, it is fast to watch but everything you expect from a good drama is in here : love, hate, jealousy, revenge, twist plots.
Now, FL and ML have not that much chemistry but ML‘s acting is enough to make you dive into the story and make you watch the drama till the end with great pleasure. I'm sure, whether you are a girl or a boy you will fall in love with Li Jiu Lin before the end of episode 10. Wanna bet ?
I really loved ML and FL relationship, you can « feel » their love, or at least you can believe in it. Not just because of the acting but also the filming. Some scenes are sensual but nothing as erotic as what you can see in western films. ML is really good at playing emotionally.
For this kind of production, with clearly no ambition to deliver a piece of art, everything is perfect : settings, costumes, scenes, dialogues, actors and soundtracks. Unexpected twist on episode 12… Almost shocked…. Noooo !
The storyline may be a bit stereotypal, progressing really fast (maybe too fast, with real shortcuts) but who cares when it comes to thrilling entertainment ?
You may not rewatch this drama, but you’ll eventually go and look for shows in which Li Jiu Lin plays.
Not that bad I guess.

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Fake Messiness

The drama started with enough intrigue to keep me curious for where it was heading. However, it quickly became apparent what type of drama this was going to be. Things were messy and over bloated with way too many plotlines that were forcefully connected to the mother's pregnancy to give the illusion of a grand story. Most of these plotlines didn't get the treatment they deserve and were brushed off hastily, take for example the younger daughter at school. On the other hand, the older brother story with the gang business and whatnot was just seriously stupid writing that didn't mix well with the overall story at all. The drama was also painfully filled with extreme cliches at every turn, scene and dialogue, which the Japanese consider mandatory for every 'family' drama. If we were to focus on the mother (and maybe eldest daughter?) then the drama is decent enough.

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Delusional Love

Surprisingly atrocious! To start, reading the synopsis would give you all the spoilers you need as it will play out exactly as suggested. Given the supposed 'moral' dilemma, the drama resulted to shifting genres at around episode 9 to diverge the attention from the characters' relationships when it reached a pivotal moment, which is why we ended up with a corporate corruption plot. This was the main reason why the plot crumbled under its own weight, because the writers couldn't follow through with what they created. Well, it was problematic from the beginning, there was simply little to no room to navigate such a set up for a story where the FL fell in love with her brother-in-law immediately after her sister's death. The plot wasn't particularly unique but other ones at least had a reasonable justification by utilizing a time-skip or concealed identity. All of that doesn't come close to the tone deaf ending where the entire cast were casually hanging out at the bar as the credit rolled.

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