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Epic Friendship More Than Romance
Overall I enjoyed it and I would recommend it, just know you'll be watching for an epic friendship more than a romance. As a story it's an 8, as a romance it's a 6. A good ensemble show.The sci-fi element was really well thought through and there were no plot holes or threads left hanging. Everything stayed true to the "rules" that were set for this world. There were quite a few moments I laughed outloud and only a couple of spots I fast-forwarded (either because it felt slow or because the messages were repetitive to what I've seen in other shows).
All of the characters were written and acted like real people (no 2-dimensional caricatures), except for maybe the main character Kawai who was borderline a little shallow as a character. Kawi did have some character development but he was often annoying and rarely acted his age (both in how he was written and acted).
Krist and Fluke (Gawin) have best friend vibes but not romantic chemistry. Fluke was believable as a gay character who is somwhat attracted to Kawi and wishes for more, but it never feels truly reciprocated. Krist has difficulty acting attracted, and the writers and director didn't help by making his character freak out and avoid physical affection apart from a few kisses.
Even after they've been together for many years Kawi seems put-off by touching, teasing, and sweet words. This trend in BLs is so unrealistic, annoying, and frustrating to me. It's like disguised homophobia that is supposed to be viewed as "cute". It's not, and it negatively affects my satisfaction with the series.
There are a couple of catchy songs, one of which I added to my playlist.
Great for one watch but I probably won't see it again.
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The Right Man - Because I Love You
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Cette critique peut contenir des spoilers
Touching, Mother & Son Navigating Coming Out.
I was surprised at how emotional it made me when it's only 16 min long (got a little choked up)! The focus is really on the relationship between the son and mother and the story is relatable from both character's perspective. The story overall is sweet.On the Blued YouTube channel (in the USA).
The review by Giuca is also good and summarizes the details well.
GENERAL SPOILER
My rating is reduced due to the scene that starts with the schoolmate forcing himself on the lead boy, which is brief and not at all graphic but trivialized with a light-hearted attitude. The lead boy has invited an anonymous boy from online to try things out with but changes his mind when he sees it's the school bully. The bully turns out to be very sweet to the boy but the way they start is problematic and didn't need to be written that way.
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Kimi ni wa Todokanai
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Cute & Sweet With Earnest & Thoughtful Characters.
Edit Jan 2024: increased my ratings after re-watching with proper subtitles after the international release. These two boys do actually put effort into communicating with each other, and keep trying even though they are interrupted at almost every turn. I think the only thing that didn't interrupt them was an animal, lol.A simple but very well done childhood friends to lovers story with good acting, soft cinematography, and no unlikable characters. Lots of mutual uncertainty and sweetness. All angst is resolved by the end.
An easy watch with eight 20min episodes. Also known as "I Cannot Reach You".
In the USA, I first watched it in Nov 2023 with fan subtitles, which were obviously awkward but better than nothing. In Dec 2023 it was released internationally and became available on Neflix and I re-watched it. The proper subtitles made a big difference! It noticeably increased my enjoyment and satisfaction with the characters, their bond, and their efforts at navigating their complex feelings with each other. Though I tried to give the dialogue a pass in my initial review because of the circumstances, I have now raised my rating a full star (to 9/10). I will watch again.
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Customized Companion
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Great Sci-Fi Idea But No Character Growth.
GENERAL SPOILERS below.What the hell was the point of what they went through? The relationship arc could have been the exact same even if there had been no cyber lover. You could just jump from 7min into the movie to the last scene because the characters are pretty much emotionally and psychologically at the same point regardless of the stuff in-between. "Happy ending" my foot. *They didn't re-learn to love each other, didn't even put any effort into doing so*, but somehow they're back together at the end anyway. Mutually grieving the loss of their happy early days does not equal a good reason to stay together.
I wasn't able to root for any of the characters because they were unlikable without enough reasons/examples to make it understandable why they were that way. I did end up feeling the most pity for Wen, but that didn't translate into liking, and I really couldn't understand the last couple of choices he made for his own sake at the end.
The ideas in the movie are definitely new and intriguing. That's what kept me watching all the way through. Unfortunately, the exploration of themes felt shallow to me. The main characters started, stayed, and ended sadly reminiscing about the beginning of their relationship. They were stuck regretting that their relationship was no longer like that *without actually doing anything or taking any steps to make it better going forward*. Even at the end! Lots of regret but very little shown of their growth (individually or as a couple). That's what frustrated me the most about this story.
The sci-fi stuff does require a lot of suspension of disbelief but they do an okay job world-building their own rules with what's possible.
The timeline is so unrealistic. It took 2 days to "love" a cyber "person" with no real personality of their own; he was like a 1-dimensional puppy. The story jumps around abruptly and simultaneously doesn't give enough build-up to either the past human relationship or the current cyber one.
There are some hot intimate moments and there is kissing and making out. Unfortunately, the intimacy lacked emotional depth, so it felt flat and unsatisfying to me.
The audio track was really low quality. Most of the time it sounds like listening through a phone call or under water, especially whenever Wen played music. It's bearable, but definitely noticeable. It's so bad I'm wondering if it was an issue with where I streamed it from or if it is indeed the original sound? (Found on GagaOOlala Nov 2023).
Other than the idea of the plot and the decent acting, this felt like a waste of time.
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HIStory2: Boundary Crossing
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Cute & Character-Focused.
Four 45min Episodes. Acting 8.5, Story 6, Script 8, Chemistry 8, Music and Cinematography 8, Recommendation Value 7, Rewatchability 7.So cute and sweet (and some hot moments too). Characters actually feel like high-schoolers for the most part. The focus is on the relationship between characters. While there is vollyball training, it is not a typical sports story (they only play one warm-up match).
All actors seem very comfortable with each other and there are a couple of sweet yet impassioned kisses. Even though there's not much plot the series was engaging (I did not fast-forward through anything). Both the main couple and secondary couple (step brothers) had me invested in them. There's light angst but medium tugging of the heart-strings and it's happily resolved.
I will likely re-watch at some point.
Same screenwriter as We Best Love, My Tooth Your Love, HIStory2 Right Or Wrong, and HIStory1 Obsessed.
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HIStory2: Right or Wrong
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Slice-Of-Life About Parenthood And Love.
The story was more slice-of-life and NOT about a college student/professor taboo. Their dynamic was really that of equals (there was a good balance mentally and emotionally between them). Overall it was heart-warming and I found myself smiling frequently. I highly recommend for one watch, though I won't re-watch often.A sweet story about parenthood, love, family, self-acceptance, courage, and determining priorities.
The 7 yr old girl is actually written like a 7 yr old! No contrived lines that sound like an adult. And the actress is great and sincere in her role. Her interaction with the two leads is lovely, natural, and endearing to watch. There were no cringy, forced saccharine-sweet moments in the story, which I greatly appreciated.
The two leads were good and well-matched. A small caveat is that although they did feel drawn to each other, the sexual chemistry between them was a bit flat. That didn't detract too much though as the romance of partnership was more central to this story than sexual attraction. There are a couple of ok kisses and a decent intimate scene.
The friend of Fei Sheng Zhi deserves a mention too, she was great, both in how she was written and acted. I enjoyed watching her facial expressions whenever she was in a scene.
Nothing really memorable about the cinematography or music.
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Toxic But Engaging As A Fantasy.
General spoilers only. Extreme obsession. In reality, hugely toxic relationship dynamics. As a fantasy, it was engaging and surprisingly emotional. This was very much a story of "the mind says no but the heart and body say yes". The fact that the obsession was kind of mutual, the character that I liked (Shao Yi Chen) got what he wanted, and the ending was sweet, helped mollify my unease with the way this fantasy was told.This was superior in every aspect of production to the first two parts of History1. The screenwriter (and director) is different for this one and it shows.
The acting was great and tugged at my heartstrings a lot more than I expected. The story grabbed my attention and held it, and the acting of the lead quickly got me invested in him. The music fit perfectly and enhanced emotions and tension. I did not fast-forward through anything.
The two leads were very comfortable with each other and their physical and intimate interactions were very intense. If you like the fantasy of forced-seduction, their scenes deliver spectacularly!
I'll likely watch again at some point, but it will probably be a while.
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Beautifully Produced, Medium-Heavy Psychological Exploration.
Recommendation value 8-9 if you're in the mood for something uniquely interesting, thought provoking, and beautifully done. *It feels more like a psychological thriller than a romance BL!* It's not perfect, but it's different, hooked me quickly, I enjoyed the whole thing, and I will definitely rewatch. General spoilers only at bottom of review.Story/Script 8, Acting 9 (Yoo Jun was a 10 & story is from his POV, Hur Hyun Jun was a 7), Cinematography/Lighting 8.5, Editing 10, Music 9.5, Audio 10, Chemistry 5 (leads fairly comfortable with each other but attraction feels more like best friends than love interests), for intimacy there was a lot of close physical proximity, some skinship, and flat kisses, Angst level (mostly resolved) 9, Rewatchability 7.
It's a fast watch with eight 15 to 16 minute episodes. Given the time constraints, I think the story did a decent job building the connection between the leads. It definitely could have benefited from more time, to give more weight to their deepening bond, but there was enough there to elicit an emotional response from me as the series went on. Yoo Jun as Yeon Woo is the main reason for this- he got me invested in his character very quickly with his captivating performance!
I was especially impressed with the visual and audio editing. It was seemless, perfectly enhanced scenes/emotions, and created a cohesive feel. Certain parts of the audio track (music, silence, or ambient sounds) would subtly crescendo and decrescendo within scenes to emphasize certain lines of dialogue, create/build tension, or underscore emotions. Sometimes the part of the audio that swelled was brief and sometimes sustained, and it all seemed purposeful. I thought it was really masterfully done.
GENERAL SPOILERS
Trigger warning for suicidal thoughts and attempt.
It is a hopeful ending for the leads.
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College Slice Of Life About Insecurities & Opening Up To Others.
Recommendation Value 9.5, Acting 10 (everyone was good, especially the leads), Angst Level 8 (resolved), chemistry 9 (Actors were comfortable with each other. Some skinship, a few amazing/emotional kisses, and a brief but lovely lead up to a love scene shot in silhouette), Cinematography/Lighting 9, Music/Audio 5, Rewatchability 5 (for personal reasons), No suspension of disbelief needed, character emotions & psychology made sense.Another reviewer said it well: an "empathetic and observant slice of life story." How insecurities accumulated growing up can impact the psyche and in different ways for different people. Beautiful emotionally and acted very well but it resonates a little too much with my history so I don’t see rewatching this often. That's why I'm ranking it a little lower in my personal list even though I would easily, and highly, recommend it.
The interactions between characters is the focus more than the plot is. The dialogue is written well and has a realistic flow to it. Pretty cinematography and lighting. Music was okay; not memorable but nothing distracting.
GENERAL SPOILERS
The last scene between the main character and his mom is especially powerful. Also loved his interactions with his sister throughout; very realistic. Made me cry a bit in happy relief the last episode. Feel good ending though I wanted it to last longer and show more of their lives.
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Sweet. Don't Take Too Seriously And Enjoy.
Simple, sweet, light. It made me smile a lot and I ended with a big smile and lingering warm feelings.A lot of suspension of disbelief required, especially around the stalker and the avoidance of going to the police. That was ridiculous, but the show never felt too serious so I was able to shrug off the awkward things and enjoy the series.
Though I would have enjoyed more time for the story to unfold a little more organically, for six 20min episodes, it surprisingly didn't feel unsatisfactory. It was a little awkward in spots jumping time to progress with the story but that was easily shrugged off.
The acting was good but the show also didn't require huge depths of emotions. Han Hyun Jun as Ji Woo easily kept my attention even though I personally wasn't visually attracted to him. He did a great job with some subtle yet deeper layers of feeling in the last episode that produced a little emotional angst (that gets resolved). Kim Tae Hwan as Ro A was a good match with him though I was wishing for a little more intensity in emotional expression the last episode. That didn't diminish the feel-good ending though.
There's some skinship and physical closeness throughout. The kiss at the end is not very animated (a step above a dead-fish-kiss) but it lingers and the body language of the leads gives it emotional intensity.
The secondary characters were good in their roles
The music was fine and didn't distract. Nothing special about cinematography, lightning, or dialogue, but nothing cringy either.
There were two bits that made me laugh a lot. The best was in Ep 1 with the tongue-in-cheek use of opera music while sharing a drink; clever and hilarious.
I could see rewatching this at some point.
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The Circumstances of Pungdeok Villa Room 304
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Hated Ji Ho Joon Then Fell For Him!
Spoiler only at bottom of review.Ep 1-2 were written overly dramatic and a bit goofy. Ep 3 I starting liking the characters. Ep 4-6 were a 10/10! Ep 8 felt rushed and hastily wrapped up so it didn't end quite as strongly as I'd hoped. Still very satisfying overall and I will rewatch.
The confession scene actually had me tearing up and crying (rare). It was so sincere and poignant. No big scene or flowery speeches made, just taught with all the emotions that would be present in real life, followed by the relief and gentle awe/joy of reciprocation. It was beautiful.
I loved how the two lead character's competitiveness continued to be a part of their interactions even as they went from enemies to friends to more. Instead of just being used as a plot contrivance at the beginning, it transitioned from hostile to playful and continued as part of their dynamic. It felt realistic that way.
Chemistry was great and skinship and kisses felt natural. Kim Ji Woong was especially good at creating tension with physical proximity. And his eyes became more and more expressive as his character's feelings grew.
I liked how the story balanced the power a bit from the team-leader/intern dynamic with a building-owner/tenant situation. And once they had called a truce, Ji Ho Joon and Seo Jae Yoon worked very well together. I liked how the series showed their respect growing as they watched and interacted with the each other on their projects.
The soundtrack was pretty and fitting when I noticed it.
VERY GENERAL SPOILER of the ending:
The total lack of communication from one side in Ep 8 was was a little frustrating and kind of felt like lazy writing for plot contrivance.
The end solution for the familial/social/work concerns made some sense, but because it was laid out and glossed over so quickly in Ep 8, it didn't feel like a realistic resolution, which slightly reduced the satisfaction of the ending for me. I didn't get the time to feel fully re-grounded in their happiness before the credits rolled. But the last scene was funny, cute, hot, and sweet so I just replayed that a couple of times, lol.
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Hot But Little Substance
The interactions between Mos and Bank make this enjoyable when in the right mood for it. Their chemistry is fantastic. The plot is shallow and all over the place but not the worst I've seen. The cinematography and visual designs are great. The sets, lighting, and costumes really set moods well. The music was good I think; I don’t remember specifics.Definitely visually pleasing but emotionally rather mindless.
I might rewatch it at some point but I expect I would fast-forward through a lot of it.
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Well Done, Simple Sweetness
Great. Sweet and cute. Well written, acted, and directed. Definitely worth a watch. Story is simple but still holds up to an occasional re-watch. Quite satisfying and left me with a smile.Watch past the last title page in each episode for another short scene.
The actors were comfortable with each other and had great chemistry. Their characters are believable as two young men in love. The uncertainty, flirting, skinship, and kisses are all very natural. The kisses are realistic and look like the characters are actually feeling through them.
Lee Seong Gyu was very charismatic. He also did a fabulous job realistically portraying the anxiety and a panic attack associated with the fear of his love interest once again disappearing on him. He successfully tugged at my heartstrings.
A little angst, that was mostly light, and everything was resolved well. The length of the story felt just right (eight 30min episodes)
Music wasn't memorable but wasn't distracting either.
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Very sweet, slow-burn (even though only 5 episodes)
Almost perfect!The acting was awesome, very natural. Both actors were nuanced in facial expressions, tone of voice, and body posture. It was a joy watching them interact as their characters.
The show had a positive message and multiple thoughtful and memorable quotes.
There were a few comedic moments that made me legitimately laugh out loud.
Music was unremarkable, but didn't distract either.
The story felt a lot more rushed in the last episode than it had in the previous four episodes. For this reason, I wish they had made it six episodes. The ending wasn't completely satisfying because of this, in my opinion, and brought my rating down. I think it still has high rewatch value though.
SPOILER ABOUT ENDING:
... ... ...
After all the tension and build-up, having their first *mutual* kiss at the end interrupted left me feeling frustrated and disappointed, lol. I wanted that sweet resolution to go with the relief and happiness.
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Watch Once for Billy & Seng's Chemistry!
The story isn't written particularly well, and is pretty goofy, but the two leads have The Most Amazing Chemistry! Billy is especially charismatic; his energy radiates, and his face and eyes are so expressive. He and Seng were awesome in War Of Y, and I got through this series mostly because of them (I did a lot of fast forwarding through stuff that didn't interest me). Their intimate scenes are a 10/10! The story starts slow with a lot of second-hand embarrassment, but it does get sweeter, and there are a few interesting plot developments here and there.Cet avis était-il utile?