Reviews

Please let me live in a BL world

This series / movie / special can be defined with one word: hilarious. This series is clearly made for fans of the BL world, there is no more, to enjoy it and appreciate it in every way you have to be a fan of red bone.

All fans of rom-com genre manga (BL or not) will know that most of them are a bit .. absurd, in the world of manga everything is strangely convenient, but it is fine because the format lends itself so that these conventions work and be fun for readers, but if it comes to taking this to the big screen with real characters, well it is obvious that many creative licenses are taken, to turn the absurd and convenient situations of the manga to more or less realistic situations of the in real life, this is not always the case of course, but if it is about taking the manga as it is to another format it does not come out exactly well and many times the only thing that comes out of that is a great cringe complication and not necessarily a good one (you I'm watching you Love Stage!!), a very good way to bring unrealistic situations to the screen and also deliver a good product is parody.

This series uses the power of parody and it comes out perfect, it is very funny, the best thing is everything that happens in the background of the stage, it genuinely feels like being in a world dominated by the BL, another feature in its favor is the duration, the fact that it is so short allows you to better enter the game and participate in the absurdity.

As I said, this series is very niche and although I do not deny that it can be enjoyed by all audiences, I think that if you are not a fan of BL, understanding some jokes or colloquial situations could be not so funny, sometimes this is what you need a production that don't take yourself too seriously, but still strive to deliver a quality product.

Another thing, do not try to run away, sooner or later the BL will catch you in its clutches, ufff... I will know.

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Based on the manga of the same name, A World That Definitely Becomes BL VS A Man Who Definitely Doesn't Want to Be in BL is about exactly what it says on the tin. A meta commentary on Boys' Love works, wherein every character is somehow gay and gorgeous, Mob exists as a character who is always in the background and has no intention of getting in on the action. Even someone who may not be 100% familiar with the tropes that are highlighted in this short run series is bound to enjoy the comedy of watching Mob carefully rearrange his life so that he can avoid being alone with cute boys, or helping cute boys up from the sidewalk drunk, or helping someone to fall in love with him. In his attempts to avoid all of the BL tropes Mob forgets that he is, in fact, a BL trope.

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Remake does the orignal justice

Although this was a remake of la casa de papel (money heist) it certainly does do the series justice in my opinion. I've watched and i am half spanish so when i heard there was gonna be a remake i thought ehhhhh i don't know if this is the right move by netflix because i thought the Spanish version was always gonna be the best however after watching the remake i think that the korean version of this show is as good as the original spanish version of the show. Certainly worth the watch even if u have already seen the original, there are some key differences in this remake to the original which makes the series a lot more exciting than you'd expect. I've noticed from the negative reviews that most people dropped the show within the first or second episode, all i can say to that is that if u give the show the chance and watch it fully it will grow on you and the unique storylines will certainly catch your attention here.

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this drama has everything a kdrama should have...definitely my favorite out there. Its like they took every great thing about kdramas and put it all in a neat package for us.

non-boring story line? check

great OST? check (one of the best)

chemistry between actors? check (sizzling in some cases)

hilarious and embarrassing events? check

a beautiful love formation? check

actors acting their butts off? check (especially Shin Dong Wook's butt...um I mean acting butt...um I mean acting chops)

angst but not jump-off-the-cliff angst? check

a totally different way to tell a story (editing etc)? check (I haven't seen a drama do what it does to the story and not make it confusing but actually add to the awesome-ness)



man I love this drama!! definitely a must watch!!

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Don't expect heart-racing thrills

I would expect a heist show to be fast-paced, high-tension, and high-energy. But this was strangely flat, slow and pretty dull. Heist movies and shows need one of two things to succeed: a tight, well-structured plot, or complex and rich characters. This tried to have both but ultimately had neither. There were interesting moments here and there, particularly towards the end. But the characters were too thin and the plot was too loose to make this an engaging watch. But since it's only 6 episodes, it's a pretty quick binge (supposedly there is going to be a part 2 with 6 more episodes, but I'm not sure if/when that will come out).

Acting-wise, Kim Yunjin is definitely the standout. The rest were pretty average. Park Haesoo's Berlin is probably the most interesting of the heist crew, but it feels like they could have gone in harder on his (and everyone else's character).

The setting (reunified Korea) is probably meant to give the show a different spin. But I feel like they didn't make full enough use of it. They could definitely have exploited the tensions between a newly reunified North and South Korea a lot more. Even things like tensions within the negotiating team could have been used to create a lot more tension.

There was also not much soundtrack or BGM in this. Music is usually quite an important part of this type of movie, as it can really heighten the mood. But it was basically non-existent here. It's almost like they forgot.

This wasn't a bad show. It's an okay watch if you have some time and don't want to get too attached to a drama. But given the nature of the source material and the strong cast of actors, it was quite disappointing.

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The biggest plot twist ever in history...continue reading to find out!!!!!!

Story: (SPOILER)
It starts out with the physician and his assistant visiting the King's chamber. The next day, news broke out that the King is gravely ill, upon hearing the news CP Lee Chang decides to visit to see his father. Upon getting there, the Queen forbids him from seeing him and tells him that if he catches the flu who would be the nation's next King. He later sneaks into the chamber and discovered something gruesome; a shadow-like a beast follows by a foul stench and the smell of blood that could not be described. The thin paper bamboo door suddenly slides open with the guards outside questioning him why he is there. He follows with that there is a beast in the chamber and proceeds to persuade everyone. The head guard tells him there is no such thing and that it must be the tiredness. CP heads on to see his father, but again failed to meet as he was stopped by an official. CP tells about the sighting of the beast and to his amused the official replied back with saying he's seen it too, a son who pretends to be concern about his father but really he wants to see his father dead so he can guarantee his safety to the throne was the monster he has seen (referring to the prince). CP is escorted back and finds out that the last physician to see his father lives in Dongnae and so the journey to see the physician embarks. The next morning, all the official gets together to plot a scheme to kill the CP, and so he was going to be arrested for treason. Meanwhile at Jiyulheon, as the physician returns with the dead body of his assistant, those who was close to the boy was confused and lost about how he had died. Seo Bi, a woman who's also a physician returns from her daily findings of herbs to see all the sick patients happily eating. Confused as there is shortage on food and nothing to eat she rushes to the kitchen and sees this guy (honestly I can't remember his name or did he even have a name, can someone confirm with me cause I really can't remember/ gonna call him GUY1) Seo Bi asked him where he got the food from and he tells her that he hunted a deer. Pleased that everyone gets to eat meat, she was asked to refill another bowl of delicious meat soup and so she proceeds to do so to find out it wasn't a deer. The soup was made from a dead body. Shooketh, not shocked but shooketh, because I was shooketh too, she confronts GUY1 about it, meanwhile, the start of the epidemic starts to happen. CP and his trusted body guard arrives to see the place locked up from the inside and looking like a mess. They get inside and discover the bodies of the dead and sends them to the magistrate. When all hope was lost guys, GUY1 & Seo Bi did not die, yes they did not die and is friggen alive. CP and body guard finds Seo Bi in the mountain looking for a herb that can cure the dead, she finds out that the body has been moved to the magistrate and tells them that the bodies are not dead. They were literally like girl what you on about, but she keeps insisting them that the body will start to rise at night. CP slowing believing her asked her if the creature has a foul stench and blood smells and she said yes, and with this, it proves the theory CP has. CP sends his bodyguard and seo bi to the magistrate to check out what's happening. Seo Bi and GUY1 starts explaining about what the bodies do but no one believed them and they both end up in the jail. As night fall, the bodies starts to become alive and the village becomes the walking dead. The epidemic starts to spread and at this point in time, everyone finds out about the CP. This is basically the story, the CP ends up helping the people and everyone ends up at this city call Sangju, there with the help of his former teacher and his people, they start to build forts and trenches and traps to kill the zombies. As this was unfolding Seo Bi discovers the herb that can cure the epidemic. Back to the traps, they waited all night and nothing showed up, relieved they killed off the fire and everyone was ready to go and rest...and then...as the CP looked into the distance, a disturbance in the wood had set off the bird and the ground was trembling and trees was literally shaking!!!!! Seo Bi hears something and turns around to see that there are the zombies standing behind them,- you can see it in the reflection of the water...BIGGEST FRIGGEN PLOT TWIST she realises that they do not rise during the night but to the temperature, yes temperature. THE END. Another plot twist, the Queen is not pregnant, repeat she is not pregnant. & now the wait for season 2. I literally watched this when I found out it was on netflix via IG and I literally stopped watching my current drama because I was that excited to see it. I can't even explain it lmao, but like each episodes had it's own feels like my siblings and I we were so into it that like we commentate the whole series cause we didn't want bad things to happen t the good people and we were rooting for the bads to get eaten by the zombies. haha. But check it out.

Acting/Cast:
It was soooooo good, like props to everyone who has to run like that like yalls MVP of the year already.

Rewatch:
I would definitely rewatch this and rewatch it when season 2 comes out.

Overall:
Everyone has to watch it like its sooo good, like I could not find any fault with it. Like its amazing. Shoutout to NETFLIX for being MVP and subbing this.

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As you can probably see, this drama is one of my favorites, if not number one. I've seen this drama three times, and I enjoy it every time. I could probably watch it again, today, if I had nothing better to do. Sometimes, I watch the first few episodes just for the fun of it. When I feeling down, or when I'm feeling alone.

This drama is the perfect representation of what true love is, and how it should be portrayed. Yes, romcoms and comedies are good, and fun and exciting during that moment, but this type of love... it may be acted, but it still is a goal of mine to have love like that, because even I know love like that does exist, even if that one is not real.

This drama really hit everything for me. I'll try to keep the fangirl inside of me down, and be logical and realistic without giving away spoilers or anything, but it really got everything. There were so many plot twists in this story, and a lot of them weren't very original, and yet... they worked. I mean, come on, popular boy rich boy and poor girl, cancer, memory loss, pregnancy... that's just the beginning. It's like, everything you've ever seen in a drama was thrown into this one, and it WORKED. I know, I can't believe it.
I cry so many times when I watch this drama, it's definitely a tear-jerker. It's a beautiful story, one that will pull at your heart and you won't be able to stop thinking about it.

The acting was phenomenal, I think it is very underrated. Vaness Wu gets a lot of harsh criticism for his 'over acting' but I don't think there was a lot of it. I really liked his 'over acting'. When he cried... oh. my. god. I really believed it. He actually looked like he was crying, and it actually looked painful. I don't know how to put it... he looked like how a guy WOULD cry. And Addy An, she get's a lot of harsh criticism for her under-acting. I agree that sometimes she looks expressionless, but I think it had more to do with the script. Not only that, but I wouldn't say she under acted. I could see it in her eyes, in her reactions, in everything she said. Her mannerisms and subtle expressions, that's what made her character. You need to pay attention to those, it isn't in her character to look so blatantly affected all the time. Mu Cheng gets all of my respect, even if shes fictional. To me, the acting was superb, and lets not forget little Xiao Le. God is that kid going to grow up to be a super star. His acting was absolutely perfect, especially for a child. He really pulled the story together throughout the last half. Some go as far as to say the story was only held together by him toward the end, but I wouldn't go that far. With or without him, I would have kept watching, but he is such a cute little guy. Someday he'd get so tired during shooting that his dad would have to be on site. Such a strong little boy.

The romance and chemistry between the Mu Cheng and Guan Xi is tangible. I can literally almost taste it, I can feel it. It's so beautiful, it touches my heart. I know this sounds cheesy and cliche, but really, you won't find more pure love in a drama than in this. If I didn't know any better, I would assume Vaness Wu and Addy An are in love. The chemistry was just out of this world. Love really does win out in the end, that's what this drama taught me. I have to say I learned a lot from it.

Also, the people you hate in this show you'll grow to love. Along with character development in the main characters, the side characters really developed too. The side-plots in this show were interesting, too, and I found myself just as engaged in them as I was the main couple/family.

The ending of this drama is my favorite. Not just the ending with MC and GX but with everyone. The ending of this drama is also one of the reasons this drama is #1 for me. There is closure, on everything. No loose plot ends, all side plots are tied up, no questions are left, not for me at least. Everything is happy, I'm actually content at the end. No worries, no complaints, just sadness that it's over. Very bitter-sweet.

I won't lie and say that this is an easy drama to watch. There's going to be a lot of painful moments and heart-wrenching scenes, but the good in the drama sky rockets it to the top. Even when you hate someone you didn't think you were going to hate, you understand what's happening, and why their doing what their doing. The love never dies, and even in the toughest moments in the drama, they give you little moments to nibble on while you're waiting. It's a brilliant story, and I will forever enjoy it and remember it. The music alone is beautiful, I have a few songs saved and listen to them frequently, even now. In fact, this is random but I have my itunes on shuffle and ironically 'Next Stop, Happiness' just came on. How funny, must be a sign. (;

If you're looking for a refreshing, pure love story with superb acting, tangible chemistry, and every plot twist you can imagine, this is for you! I will recommend this to any person interested in dramas for the rest of my life, hah! Hope this helped people, sorry if I wasn't as rational and logical as I planned. As you can tell, I'm a fan. I have never watched a drama more than I have this. Three times through the whole thing, not counting the many times I've just watched an episode here and there that I liked. Please watch!

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Autumn Concerto is... a classic.
Not in the negative sense of the word, just the opposite. Watching it feels like reading a novel from centuries past, with all the tragic, the heart-wrench, the twist, the suspense and the sweetness of the most classic romantic literature. A friend compared it to a novel by Judith McNaught, and I tend to agree with her.

One of the things I appreciated the most about this drama is the speed with which the plot is set in motion and the pace established. By the end of episode 1, I was fatally hooked. This is not a show which promises the viewer something, only to drag unnecessary by the middle or loosing consistency and cohesion at some point. If you like the dishes you are presented with at first sight, you will love the whole meal to the end. And a truly romantic meal at that, full of passion and not the usual luke-warm, lovey-dovey chirping.

The acting performances are outstanding as a whole. I have read many complaining about Vanness Wu's broken accent, but since I don't speak Mandarin I didn't notice anything amiss. On the contrary, I felt with his character a lot more than any other in the show, possibly because he has to outshine the delivering with intense facial expressions. Ady An's character can stretch one's patience at times, but this only adds to the actress's skill to make it so. And the chemistry is palpable.
The child is a wonder, no addition needed.

My only complain lies in the editing. This is a general problem I have with Taiwanese dramas: too frequent commercial cuts, filled with those brief reprises in which flashes of scenes to come are shown over and over. Once the viewer is forewarned, I guess it can be overlooked, although I personally find it terribly annoying. The music falls under the same curse: it's very good, but played too often and at times it overpowers the dialogues. If I hadn't liked this story so much, I would have gone insane.

Overall, this is a drama I'm ready to recommend to everyone in search of true romance. It's a timeless story, which does not rely on trend, or shiny, perfectly made-up actors and glamorous outfits. Does it have cliches? Yes it has, quite a few even, but they are well blended into a solid script and a plot which will never get truly old.

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Not the best, but not the worst

Honestly, there is just so many bad reviews out there for this drama. "My Strange Friend" did not make it to my list of favourite C-Dramas, that's true, but it's far from the worst.

I can understand that the bar is higher for a series with the ML of Yibo's caliber, but one must admit that good plot is not among the strongest points of most C-Dramas. Given the budget, I think the production already did the best they could with what they had, and I was quite surprise that they managed to pull off this much out of the limited resources that they had.

There were lots of plot holes and the series was dubbed over in the original Chinese version to make up for the inconsistency, but some part of the story and dialogue were still very interesting. I especially liked the first few episodes, the following not so much, but still passable. My favourite character in the entire series was Afu. I think he got the best story line, and the actor really nailed it portraying his character.

To summarize, do not expect another "Untamed", but "My Strange Friend" is not so bad as a story.

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Funny story, amazing chemistry

Just finished Jueshi Qianjin, and I rewatched it already. The leading couple is that good. This series is amazing just to look at, even without the subs. It seems to be based on a game, so perhaps that’s why the story is so-so, but it didn’t bother me in the least.

Love is a Game
It’s relaxing to watch that on-going, tiresome search for a partner in life turned into a Love Game. Imagine a modern day girl getting the chance to choose from all kinds of yummy men. Although I can’t understand why it always has to be the bullying boy, apart from the fact that the love-hate theme is still going strong in romcom series, I can easily get why people are falling for the male lead.

Actors
Whether Simon Gong plays the BL interest in Advance Bravely or Prince Charming for this time traveling girl, he’s the same heartthrob…easy on the eye…not bothered by method acting whatsoever. I’m curious if he becomes a natural after he transfers to grown-up characters.
I don’t know much about Greenly Zheng. She has a lovely voice, unlike the shrill actresses I have to endure sometimes . I was pleasantly surprised by Yú Tiān Yì playing the rich boy Jiang Xuan Yu, I hope to see more of him in future series. The supporting cast did a good job as well.

The Story
I’ve watched Jueshi Qianjin until episode 24, which is, hopefully, an open ending. So I’m eagerly waiting for a sequel, let’s say in modern times.

(Rap) Music and Dancing
The look and feel of this series wasn’t that bad either. The soundtrack has some catchy tunes, but I’ve never watched such bad acts from an actress in dancing and rap music like in this series, making her indeed A Unique Lady.

Verdict
What can I say? I just love razzie award winning productions. Give this series a try, you won’t regret it.

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WOW!!!!!! JUST WOWW! I can't even describe how amazing this drama is!!! Ughh can't believe it lasted on "my plan to watch" list a century...

Everything in it, was a masterpiece, shining gold, with almost no flaws in it! it keeps you attached to it, wanting to know more, wanting to know what will happen, will they break up? Will she stay? you don't know, you have to watch it, and most of the times it will keep your jaw dropped, every time, my jaw would drop for a whole minute, functioning what had just happened, there were many situations, their endings, never even crossed my mind!

God what an amazing cast, and what made the drama even more and more amazing, was the story, how did they came up with this story? Wish there were even more points than a 10 here. The music, like a melody with each situation, fitted very very veeeerrry well! their acting was greaaaattttttttt and Xiao Le I am officially obsessed with him, how he smiles, the way he says Mu Cheng, ahhhhh I just wanna hug him =""""""""( also, his acting was astonishing comparing to his age, he's also sooo cute, and added to the drama a very large quantity of cuteness.

It's rewatching value is a definite 10, no matter how many time I'll watch it in the future, I don't think I'll ever be bored =D

Just a little advice, be sure to watch this drama when you have several days of freedom, cause believe me you'll be stuck with your laptop in these days till you watch the last minute of this drama, it just take you out of reality a bit, and enters you a world of drama, so much DRAMA by the way, and romance =""")))) Ahh they're so cute together

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Butterfly Effect

Talk about the butterfly effect.
I know everyone has written a review on how good the drama is and how the actors have embodied the roles. However, can we talk about just episode one.
Everything in Yi Jae life would have turned out much better in a sense if he hadn't witnessed that man's death. That one thing was what literally spiraled everything out of place. Because he became traumatised he messed up in the interview.
It was almost like a bad omen. Everything after that kept going wrong. And we can literally see that DEATH was gripping unto Yi Jae since that scene. The dying man's grip on his blazer was soooo strong and felt very ominous to me at least.
So yea, everything after that one encounter with death set up the events that occurred after.
Which had me thinking what if? What if he hadn't encountered death that day? What would've happened? So that was just something I found very very intriguing.

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