Giving it 1* because I cant give 0. Not all webtoons need to be adapted

I read the webtoon. It was okay. Not good, but not bad either..... just, okay. Then came the news of it's adaptation. Some stories translate well into live-action, some dont. This one doesn't. The basic premise of the webtoon is that an ero-mangaka (a guy who draws 18+ comics) and suffers from erectile dysfunction because of his job, starts getting hard-ons and wet dreams because of his assistant (an openly gay man who happens to be his fan).

Because this is a 15+ live-action, some things were toned down, other things were changed outright. And that didnt make sense to the story.

It also didn't help that the leads had zero chemistry and were generally uncomfortable during physical scenes, like hugging, let alone dead-fish-lip-touching, coz I can't, in all honesty, call it "kissing".

Honestly, KBL has gone the ThaiBL with quantity taking away from quality, and every tom dick and harry actor jumping onto the BL train
because it's easy to succeed, without realising that acting in BL means that they have to, at least passably, fake being in love with another man. If you are uncomfortable "acting gay", please dont accept the role.

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Boring and pointless

Sorry, but it seemed like more like a half-baked mid-sem student project than a bl from a popular production house.

The actors looked like novices, esp Yoo. chan who felt like he had taken one too many roundhouse kicks to his head during practice. I understand he is supposed to be a "puppy seme" but he was literally acting like 3yr old on a sugar high.

The other love interest, I didn't care much for. He had too much screentime and absolutely no character presence. They could have replaced him with a lamp post to the same effect. I know he was supposed to be a love rival but his chemistry with KMJ was negative and I couldn't see him as anything other than some classmate who got a lot of unncessary screentime.

Same with that weirdass professor. Why even have him in the drama or give him so many lines while the leads make awkward small talk to humour him? It felt like the drama was centered around the old guy and they just added some leftover bl plotline as an after thought. The only consolation was the kissing scenes in ep 6 (which was ruined by that weird ending).

I honestly expected more from Strongberry, but after Our Happy Ending and now this, I feel maybe I shouldn't have.

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Food and Bromance

First, the story is based on a real historical figure, Kim Yu, a Joseon-era scholar, who wrote a book called Suunbapjang, which holds a valuable place in history of Korean Gastronomy and was classified as a national treasure in 2021. The story takes place in an era where men, or atleast noblemen of high birth, didn't cook and kitchen duties were relegated to women and lowerclass men.

Kim Yu is the second son of an honourable scholar who, along with his elder son, was framed by a rival and dismissed from court and sent home in disgrace. Now, their only hope for the revival of family honour is thrice failed Kim Yu.

On route to exam centre, Kim Yu meets Gye Am, a travelling chef, who is self-proclaimed as the best chef in Joseon and after some petty squabbles, starts working as his assitant/sous chef, learning about food and gastronomy. The rest of the movie is pretty much Kim Yu's journey as he learns about food from Gye Am, while letting go of his duties and expectations as a "nobleman scholar" and following his own path.
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SPOILER:

Towards the end, Kim Yu and Gye Am enter into a contest to become palace chefs, but Gye Am's injured arm causes him to sit back and KimYu pretty much shoulders the audition, with some help from his elder brother's hat (the best scene IMHO). Unfortunately, as a person of high birth, he can't work as a palace slave, so Gye Am alone gets the honour.

Kim Yu, meanwhile, opened his own restaurant which is open for people of all classes. He started writing his cookbook, Suunbapjang, which was eventually finished by his descendents. The book was eventually classified as natural treasure in 2021.

We DON'T KNOW whether Kim Yu and Gye Am ever met again.

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Not as I bad as I was expecting

The main couple was sweet. Older childhood crush with trauma backstory - the older guy was framed by his "brother" (unrelated) who used his name for prostitution, then had sex with his professor and then faked a suicide and disappeared for 3 years, till he conveniently showed up as at the exact same moment the ML, Kim An, was getting his life back on track. MC, Lee Hyun, is my fav seme in Kbl, so far. He not only trusted the ML (this is a rare seme protag bl) to tell him, even when the creepy brother was being a creep and trying to break up by bringing up "rumours" about him being host/murderer, he was like "meh, rumours are rumours". He never gets angry/jealous and never questions his partner's secrets.

There were some comments about dead-fish kissing but honestly, I didn't feel that way. The only times we see them kiss are when ML is almost assaulted by his brother who realises ML would rather die than be with him, so he just.... leaves (after failing to create any drama, because MC is Bae...173 (sorry, couldn't resist). MC takes him home and they kiss so it makes sense that it isnt a full-on makeout kiss. The other times are in a public garden and then there's another which is more of a good morning peck than a kiss. Also ML is supposed to be shy/stoic (like MC literally comments that ML doesn't react much to kissing and he is like 'am I supposed to?') So, the heavy lip-touching wasn't as weird or out of character as I expected. They, instead, had plenty of intimate contact and were generally cute.

2nd, we have the best couple of the show. Minwoo and Maru. Hell, Maru was the best thing about the show, period. It's your typical friends to lovers trope - Maru is an extrovert playboy and Minwoo is an introvert with a crush on his best friend. I am not going to wax poetics about uri Maru because we will be here all day, but just trust me when I say I really hope someone makes a special Maru cut of the drama. He is also the reason for the rewatch rating.

My biggest problem with the show was the 3rd couple (ONS to lovers in summary). One guy works in the administration office and other is a returnee student (came back to college after Military Service) in a completely different dept (Art major). Their story starts when office guy, who is a complete pushover, is mistaken as a nude model while delivering something to the Art's Dept Professor. The ML manages to find the right guy in nick of time, but not before catching an eyeful of the office guy in his ugly underwear and of course falling for him. What follows is him stalking and harassing the guy by sending him underwear presents IN OFFICE and repeatedly harassing him for a date, completely disregarding his discomfort because, god forbid, anyone make an ensemble bl without at least one stalker-to-lover plot. It culminates into a one night stand and eventually a relationship (which I was shamelessly skipping, so I dont really have an opinion about them).

Lastly, the last episode. There are plenty of complaints about it both in other reviews or comments. But as seasoned BL watcher, it was just a KBL equivalent of Phuket or Chiang Mai tourism episodes in Thai Bls, which was essentially promoting some game and a glamping campsite. And, honestly, if this sponsorship gave us last 15 mins of ep.9, I ain't complaining.

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K.I.S.S - keep it short and simple. And we got two of them

Best BL of '23, probably the best bl I have seen so far. The chemistry between the leads is INSANE - the touches, the kisses, the little flirty eye contacts and smiles (⁠づ⁠｡⁠◕⁠‿⁠‿⁠◕⁠｡⁠)⁠づ

Lee Wan/Ian is an introvert high school kid who, on the day of graduation, 5 mins before leaving the town forever (in fact, his family is literally waiting in the truck with their belongings packed) he confesses to his best friend, the outgoing/popular Ki Tae (Eddy), kisses him and runs off before the guy even has time to process wtf just happened. To get over his "failed first love" he copes by writing romance webtoons on his blog. Over the years, he is supported by his biggest fan/regular reader, "Gameboy".

7yrs after the "failed confession", he runs into Eddy during a job interview for a gaming company who want to hire him as illustrator for their new Otome/Dating game. Eddy is the programmer/ team lead in charge of game and he doesn't recognise Lee Wan AT ALL.

What follows is probably the sweetest, softest as Eddy chase tries to catch a very willing tsundere Ian who wants to be treated like an object of someone's unrequited love and basically, "courted".

The biggest criteria for rating a story is how good the characters at communicating. The characters here get 10/10. Though Ian spent all this time in "unrequited love" it was never really unrequited. If he had spent like 30s to let the kiss sink in, maybe they would have been a couple from the start. But his actions are understandable - he is a teen boy in a conservative country, and the object of his crush is his "straight" friend. But Eddy also doesn't take it to heart... He is his own way has always been watching over his little patootie, supporting him from afar when though they cant be together in person.

On a separate note, I feel bad for Tae-Oh and Ahn PD. Tae-Oh is the CEO but his programmers Eddy and Sunny are scary and treat him like a lackey with a corporate card. And poor Ahn PD whose writers keep running away - either to find themselves or BECAUSE they found themselves.

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Bandaid babies CAN NOT fix a broken relationship

First, I would like to say of the current GMMTV lineup, JimmySea is my ult. I was looking forward to this OS2 segment since moment the finale of Vice Versa ended. So basically, I had a lot of expectations about it. And tbf, it come out right on 99% of them.

PuenTalay are one of 3 adult/working couples this phase, so it was refreshing that we got to see the progression of their relationship and them having very adult problems like just not having enough time for their spouse, because work takes a priority over personal life. Their calender dates were cute and refreshing, them joining forces to raise a baby that suddenly dropped on their doorstep and who calls them "papa" was also refreshing. That said, it's the identity of the kid that takes away EVERY goodwill the segment spent building in the past 1.5 episodes.

First, the kid is NOT their child (or Pakorn or Tess's) as we are led to believe. I kinda suspected Tup was sorta involved coz the kid seemed to gravitate towards him, but the idea that he sent his nephew that was entrusted to him to random strangers house (best friends, yea, but still strangers) and bribed him to call them "papa" because he thought having a child will magically solve their relationship problems, which doesn't sit right with me. That's NOT how it works in real life.

Also, what kind of irresponsible parents does this kid have - if I entrust my cat to a sitter, I will call 3 times a day to make sure she is fine, and this is a damn child. Where are his actual parents when he is being raised for who knows how long by some random people.

And honestly, the fact Puen was also sort of involved, it wasn't his plan but he knew about it since the beginning. Dude, you are almost 30. You were on a right track with communicating with your partner about work-life balance and you were FIXING IT, so why did u have to agree to some brainless idiot's plan to a child involved. Talay was at the beginning of his career when he transmigrated and unlike Pakorn who kept Puen's life straight, Tess practically destroyed his life and credibility. The dude is trying to build his career from scratch and what he needs right now is an understanding and supportive partner, not an attention seeking man-child.

I know this is supposed to be an epilogue ans a happy ending, but if MY partner pulled "prank" like this, I would be rethinking my relationship, no matter how much I like the guy.

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A WHOLESOME SLICE OF LIFE DRAMA - ignore the title and trailer

Ignore the title and trailer. It's a solid 10 Slice of Life drama with bomb chemistry, and a healthy relationship where mains communicate their issues openly and maturely, a character's trauma-related PTSD are actually part of the plot and not taken lightly (there is no magic cure, he is still in therapy until very end). The fight and sex scenes are actually decent and "believable" because the MC/Min is a supposed to be stuntman/bouncer who is trained to fight, and not some college boy who is suddenly an expert in martial arts when surrounded by thugs. I know everyone says ML (Q) is basically a damsel in distress, but he is a civilian who is caught in the crossfire between his "Righteous Hero-Cop" dad and the criminals he is pursuing. The guy isn't trained to fight, he has severe PTSD from watching his mom get killed in front of him and he keeps getting kidnapped and hurt by his dad's enemies. U can't really blame the guy for not really being excited about it.

Also, most viewers here underestimate how much your "fight and flight" reflex can be conditioned in case of frequent threats. For eg, if you are "fight" person, your first instinct will always be run towards the threat instead of away, because your mind honestly believes that u can fight it, whether u have the body to back it up or not. So, Q finding himself in situations where he gets in trouble because doesn't have the physic to back up his "fight" instinct (i.e confronting criminals, or running towards the gunfire, even if he gets panic attacks at the sound) didn't seem as weird or strange to me.

That said, all the introduced plot-arcs actually do get completed (some take until the end of show, and there is a time-skip in between); no character, INCLUDING minor characters, is wasted; no unnecessary drama between main leads, or with the dad. ALL communications happen openly and on-screen. The dialogue is at times cringe-worthy, but u can always stare at Ohm (whoever was in charge of his styling deserves an Oscar and a Nobel prize, because MY GAWD!!) and ofcourse, the OST. I'm sure even the people who hated the drama love the OST, so I won't waste my breath on it.

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A table full of wholesomeness

Full disclosure, I am hardcore fan of the manga. It is one of my go-to feel good reads, so when the drama adaptation was announced I was both nervous and excited, bécause in my experience the adaptations are generally a miss rather than a hit. I am familiar with Inukai but Hiroki is "that guy" for me. I keep confusing him with Shiono Akihisa (I had to look it up) aka Odajima in High&Low franchisee and Inukai's costar in Zettai BL. So, I waited till the the show was 9/10ths over to binge it, so I could directly watch the finale.

First things first. With the runtime longer than the actual source it was obvious they would need to add some filler to make up the time. And I am NOT a fan of the changes. Yutaka's whole backstory/phobia about sharing the dining table aka THE MAIN CONFLICT of the drama, rests on the emotional trauma he suffered growing up in a kind-hearted but emotionally cold family and a verbally abusive elder brother. Yutaka was orphaned at a young age, then lived with his grandparents for while before they too passed away, after which he was adopted by a rich/kind-hearted but emotionally distant family. The family already had 2 biological children and another which was born right after Yutaka was adopted. In a large family, Yutaka, a twice displaced outsider, felt like had no "position" of his own, not helped by the fact the elder siblings, especially the brother, absolutely refused to share the dinner table with him.

By changing adopted family into a nuclear family and Yutaka's emotional trauma into "oh, you just misunderstood us and distanced yourself on your own" arc, it felt like the drama was making a light of childhood emotional abuse as well as victim blaming Yutaka for his "imagined" trauma. "If only YOU had done more to adjust in the family", like he wasn't a 6 year old kid who had lost his ENTIRE family and was now dependent on complete and unwelcoming strangers for his physical and emotional well-being. Him reconciling with that family also took away from core message of the manga that "family" is something you CHOOSE, not something you are born or adopted into.

That said, now let's talk about Yutaka's REAL family. First, Tane. Absolute perfection, little pig belly aside. Tane is Yutaka's true love (vice versa) and the biggest connection he has with the Ueda family. I like the end scene where Tane calls "Yukata" his family and Minoru is like "he is not!" I like that Yutaka ignored him and talked to Tane's friend himself. Like bitch, he is *Tane's* family, you are just the guy who carries the bags.

Minoru. Like I said Hiroki is "that guy" for me. But he blew me away. Minoru is one of rare semes who is sweet and understanding of Yutaka's trauma and he helps Yutaka overcome his fear of sharing a dining table without being either judgemental or pedantic. He gives Yutaka the family he desperately needs, and turns his trauma into a warm and comfortable hug.

Yutaka, I have no words. Drama Yutaka is Manga Yutaka, warts and all. Inukai portrays Yutaka's trauma, loneliness, sadness, happiness, love, care everything. Yutaka is a complicated guy with lots of depth that a lesser actor would have easily folded under the pressure, but Inukai exceeded my expectations as always.

Tldr; while the drama is sweet and wholesome, by changing Yutaka's backstory and reconciling with his family, I feel like the core message of the manga was completely overlook ed. That said, the actors and wholesomeness of the drama kinda makes up for it, not enough to give it a perfect 10.

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One-shot BL (without kissing)

Full disclosure, I am not a Treasure fan. This is web drama production that was released on their youtube channel as a part of their regular/internal activities.

First things first, as a dedicated BL watcher, I officially categorize this drama as a one-shot BL. The story is simple enough - Junkyu and Doyoung are twins who transfer to Treasure High, a school with 5 richest/hottest guys known as Treasure that rule the school and the hearts of all the students in it (a play on F4).

Of these Jeowoong and Jaehyuk are the main couple, and not even in a subtext way. Jeowoong gets jealous of Jaehyuk's growing friendship with Doyoung the new guy, throws a tantrum (and banana milk). Meanwhile, Jaehyuk is planning their Valentine's Day together. There is no kissing but there is a small staircase scene around 13:30 mark, where any seasoned fujoshi will easily notice the beginning of a backhug which was edited out (presumably to keep the drama PG). [P.S. I was right! U can see it on the bloopers video - ep. 37 @ 12:14 mark]

Meanwhile, the other twin, Junkyu, is caught in triangle between Asahi, the heir of Hiltom Hotels, and the son of Asahi's dad's secretary, Junghwan. They didn't really have a lot of screentime or character development but the final couple was equally obvious. And of course, if u stay till the end of the video, there are 2 more implied couples. Of these, I was kinda hoping to see more of the piano couple, but alas.

Overall, for an idol bromance, it has better production value than most actual idol dramas and even better than many idol bls of today. The main lead had amazing chemistry, and I really hope they a get proper drama (hopefully another bl drama) to showcase their talents.

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Justice for 2ML

It's not a bad bl, I'll give it that. It is pretty okay for 2021 idol drama when the bar was too low and the bl industry in korea was in it's infancy. Watching it in late 2023 is, well, boring.

The story is simple enough - a new guy moves into a full house and 2 friends fall for him but he likes only one of them. The love triangle was handled really well. At one point I was straight up hoping for a 3P..... I mean, if the contemporary Tinted With You could do it (Still waiting for S2 where they make it official). But I guess, I am not heartbroken over the main cp.

And that's it. While I didn't hate anything, there's also nothing much to write home about. The acting was bad, but it didn't affect me much. I guess was expecting something from 2 waiters but there was nothing. 2ML has his own love interest in the webtoon but that, thankfully, didn't happen here. We didn't really have time to explore a whole new CP in 15x8 format

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Two catty managers bitching each other, ft. Fanboy cringefest

Okay, so usually I dont like to write reviews until the whole series is done, but I figured that as I am already dropping it, I might as well say I what I think.

First, the managers need to go. I am sure their rivalry/plot-arc is gonna be the reason the drama eventually happens in the series but for now they are just eating too much screentime. I also have a feeling that this big rivalry is just a pointless case of miscommunication and it will be resolved in like 5 mins at the end of ep 10.

Moving on, as a fangirl, I can understand Ja/Punn to an extent but that overly stupid puppy shtick doesn't make for a good show. The cringe factor and secondhand embarrassment is just too much, but I am not gonna say anything because I too was in his shoes (or maybe even worse, coz I have thrown a massive tantrums and gotten physically violent when my sister touched my stuff. Of course, we would work it out later, but that's a different story). Putting that aside, it's not funny either.

I am not a fan of DSN but I liked the chemistry between Ja and First. But in this show, I felt...nothing. In fact, for the whole 3 episodes, apart from that one night stand between Mung and the doctor, for the whole 3 episodes my expression was the exact same as the female lead (Vorra) when the managers started fighting in ep 1, which is basically "just finish already so I can go back to scrolling youtube shorts". Watching paint dry is more exciting.

I do hope the story picks up now that the leads have finally met. I might give it another try after a few more weeks, but for now this it.

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