Reviews

"Ge, I can sum up my life with two words; Wei Qian"

"Unknown" is a Taiwanese drama series that delves into the complex and emotional journey of Wei Qian, who takes on the responsibility of caring for his family after losing his parents. The narrative beautifully unfolds as Wei Qian navigates the challenges of providing for his little sister, Wei Li Li, and his adopted brother, Wei Zhi Yuan. The series intricately weaves together themes of sacrifice, love, and self-discovery.

One of the pivotal moments in the series is when Xiao Yuan, a character who harbors romantic feelings for Wei Qian, confesses his affection through a forceful kiss. This event triggers a cascade of emotions, leading Wei Qian to send Xiao Yuan away. However, amidst the turmoil, Wei Qian realizes that their bond transcends mere brotherhood, sparking a poignant exploration of their evolving relationship.

Adapted from the novel "Dage" by Priest, "Unknown" showcases exceptional acting performances that breathe life into the characters. The cast's chemistry and portrayal of the intricate dynamics between the characters elevate the viewing experience, drawing viewers into a world where love, loyalty, and personal growth intertwine.

Furthermore, the series boasts a captivating soundtrack that enhances the emotional depth of each scene, creating a rich and immersive viewing experience. The attention to detail in production values and the overall aesthetic of the show contribute to its allure, making it a visual and auditory treat for audiences.

"Unknown" stands out as a masterpiece in the BL genre, offering a compelling narrative, stellar performances, and a heartfelt exploration of love and identity. With its engaging storyline, exceptional cast, and top-notch production quality, this series is a must-watch for fans of heartfelt dramas that resonate on a profound level.

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A Show That Gets Better With Time

Now, I'll be honest with you right off the bat. When I first dove into this drama, I was ready for some cringe, but I wasn't quite prepared for the full-on cringe fest that ensued. Seriously, I was squirming in my seat like a kid who accidentally ate the wasabi instead of the avocado.

But hey, don't go running for the hills just yet! Because despite my initial reservations, there were some seriously redeeming moments sprinkled throughout this series like little nuggets of gold in a sea of awkwardness.

Let's talk about the characters, shall we? First up, we've got our leading lady, Shion. Bless her heart, she starts off a bit like a lost puppy stumbling through a maze of bad decisions. But hey, who hasn't been there, am I right? And then there's Mitsuki, the friend we all wish we had - the kind that sticks with you through thick and thin, even when you're making a complete fool of yourself.

Now, let's talk about that time-travel twist. I mean, come on, who doesn't love a good time-travel plot? But here's the kicker - it's not all sunshine and rainbows when you start messing with the space-time continuum. Things get messy, folks, and "Seishun Cinderella" doesn't shy away from the consequences of playing with fate.

But fear not, my friends, because amidst the cringe and chaos, there's a glimmer of hope. The ending? Oh, it's good. Like, really good. It's the kind of ending that makes you want to stand up and cheer.

So, in conclusion, "Seishun Cinderella" may not have been my cup of tea from start to finish, but hey, sometimes the journey is just as important as the destination. And let me tell you, this journey? It's one heck of a ride.

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Crush in the open 2

I don't know what it says about this drama but I accidentally watched the second episode of this first and only realized it when the episode finished that I must have missed something but also that what I missed was not that important!

So Bam and Mike are dating now. One day, Bam's junior from schools shows up in the cafe and we find out he has a crush on him. He keeps coming back and confesses both to Bam and to Mike who is shaken by this. Mike sees that Bam and Pee get swimmingly along and feels not deserving. But Bam notices it and puts Pee back in his place.

Oh the usual trope of a love triangle! Quickly resolved but still... The acting is still just as lacklustre, but I must say the actor playing Pee takes the flower with his overacting and mannerisms! He does manage to make his character unlikeable so I guess that is a success!

The production seems to have had a bit more money in the budget so they managed to go and film a few scenes on the beach, which is always nice to see!

I often feel bad when I do not appreciate these small productions much: it is usually a labour of love! But unfortunately I have seen better labours of love .... Still, I would like to encourage them to continue: there are originalities in their work (breaking the 4th wall!) that make it worth watching !

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Crush in the open!

Not bad but not good either. It is obviously made on a shoestring budget so the production is lacking. Acting as well, unfortunately! The only originality this short drama has is breaking the fourth wall by the actors instead of voiceover explaining situations and revealing emotions.

The short drama takes place in an always completely empty coffee shop where Bam gets to work with his crush, Mike who is a writer. In order to break the writing block, Mike asks Bam to help him enact love scenes for his next novel. These make Bam very confused so he confesses. Now it is Mike's turn to be confused. But Bam does everything in his power to help Mike see things (his own feelings!) clearly.

There is absolutely no chemistry between the actors who definitely need a few more acting lessons to make us believe they are at ease while acting: they were rather rigid and the line delivery was monotonous!

Still, point for the effort, the writing was solid and original. The music was too loud and cheerful and just underlined the (bad) acting.

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Very good chemistry between Zhao Lusi and Yang Yang

I watched this because of Zhao Lusi, and I ended up liking the chemistry between Lusi and Yang Yang. Lusi is very good at building chemistry with whoever her partner is.

Characte-wise, both of them (Hei Fengxi/Feng Lanxi & Bai Fengxi/Feng Xiyun) are great characters. They are smart, ambitious, good at playing tricks, and their martial arts are also at a high level. The supporting cast also has their own good characters and suits their respective roles. Their acting is also amazing, especially the senior actor who plays the role of King Yongzhou.

Yang Yang's role as Feng Lanxi made a deep impression on me. I really liked him as the Prince. He truly is an example of the ideal Prince apart from his handsome face.

Production-wise, I actually don't have many problems with their production. The only thing that bothered me was during the action scenes, Yang Yang and Lusi's faces are rarely seen clearly on camera, but I can understand, maybe because in some scenes they use stuntmen.

Then if you ask my opinion about the last episode, I can only answer honestly that I wasn't satisfied. You can watch it yourself, and judge for yourself whether the ending of their story can be called a happy ending or not.

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Promising story but writer tries too hard to give satisfying ending

The plot is that of a murder in a yakuza-related activity, and pressure from both the police and yakuza boss on two young men to clear their names. One is a low-level yakuza while the other a poor, aspiring author with the ability delve into the thinking and feelings of a writer when he imitates the writing. The two men from very different backgrounds have forged a deep-rooted relationship of brotherhood and trust since their high-school days.

Their characters and backgrounds were nicely fleshed out in a series of flashbacks sprinkled throughout the episodes. However, similar flashbacks on the antagonists in the last 2 episodes detracted the drama from a better ending as these flashbacks only serve to dilute the build-up to the climax, in my opinion.

I would hv given a higher rating if the writer does not try so hard to give satisfying endings to the antagonists as well. Instead, the unrelistic decisions in the end made me go “What the hell... that's totally unrealistic!”

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A heroine in her own right

Once you’ve watched many dramas like this, it is hard to be surprised by the storyline as most of them follow the same pattern (unexpected meeting, grow to fall in love, have to part, death which leads the other one to forget their principles, back to life, overcome evil) but this drama added it’s own spin on this pattern with an interesting though hard-to- believe* opening where the FL injures herself while fleeing an arranged marriage.

Thankfully, this drama is on the new trend to give us happy endings which are not short and even used the last episode to play out a little side story which was enjoyable and let me have my feel good vibes for a whole episode as I loved seeing them live their happy life for a full episode!

The ML carried himself well as the last ancient god but I was struggling to see him he as a sickly mortal. Interesting to see how the drama chose to have a role reversal where the ML is the one who pines after the FL. It was fun to watch the FL being more matter-of-fact and let’s move on after having sex but it was a bit of out character for the ML to suddenly be so clingy & willing to throw caution to the wind when he was shown to be such a strong selfless character who put the 3 realms above his own interests during the first have of the drama.

As long as I turned off all these questions that kept popping up in my head, I was entertained with the above average CGI and sweet love story between the FL’s parents (I saw that coming a mile away so was just waiting to see how that part of the story would unfold and this drama delivered nicely)

* hard to believe on so many levels as the FL is shown to be the best fighter so how can she be so badly injured that she loses her human form. Also, she has a good relationship with her master so why were they not able to discuss the marriage alliance the same way they talked about other important issues? Didn’t really make much sense to send all the generals & soldiers to hunt her down and bring her back for the marriage as she can easily just not go through with the wedding by saying no in person during the wedding. Unfortunately, most dramas have this problem where logic is usually the first to go as long as it moves the story along in a nice way.

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Cute but that's all there is

The key to watching this drama is to not have an expectation. This is a cute (seemingly) one sided love of college students and everytime they do something stupid, I think of myself at 18 which makes it tolerable really.

Most people have issues with Kluen (Joong) being the literal worse at communication but honestly I have found so many men older than him who's the same or even worse. Like his case is way more tolerable because he's inexperienced really, and this is his first time experiencing romantic love.

I also found Dao extremely endearing - he's still in his people pleaser era and is still learning how to be kind and not just "nice", which he admitted! Gotta appreciate him for self reflecting.

So I like this drama better than some of the MDL reviews here, but I just don't think the storyline is memorable in any way at all. Like the whole plot is just about a long winded high schooler/college love story which I have experienced firsthand within my friend group previously which is a bad indication cause I'm a wholly boring person.

Anyways it's still worth a watch if you don't have anything else to do. Not for the plot but more for the cast.

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It's just too long

There are a few scenes that take place between the end of their high school days and the start of their college days that are complete gold, and that's the only reason I'm giving this a 6.5
The first half was fine, the 3 episodes referenced above were FANTASTIC, and then it was pretty bad starting episode 12 forward. That's a lot of bad episodes.
The ML and FL did a great job, and I honestly would've dropped it if it hadn't been for the actors. But the rest of the cast was not great. Another super irritating thing about this drama was how the friends were so stupid. I mean, everyone but the mains were morons and didn't know how to listen, especially the lazy guy friend from high school and the FL's best friend. Ugh. They were SO ANNOYING! I skipped so much of episodes 20-28 because of these two characters.

Chemistry between the leads was great, romance was good, support cast and story were extremely *meh* 6.5 is generous.

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