Reviews

Tears (and interest) dried up mid-way

I really wanted this drama to have a strong finish because it started out strong. Hae-in's character was well-written and they did an excellent job casting Kim Jiwon for the role; one of the few borderline psycho female leads that was actually likeable and did not start irritating me 3 episodes in (cue IONTBO, CLOY, MLFTS FLs).

KSY and KJW's acting was amazing and their chemistry was satisfying to watch, there was a good plot twist in the middle with the riches to rags thing, the drama found clever ways to play tribute to other popular K dramas and past KSY FLs, and the OST was amazing (and probably what buoyed this drama for me). But that's where the good stuff ends. It was as if the evil-doers lost their braincells after they took over the company or some disney fairy powder was sprinkled over their noses and they turned good overnight. My braincells died along with theirs and the drama became devoid of any intellectual stimulation.

Would I download the OST and hit the reply button? Yes! Would i rewatch this drama? No thank you.

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Possibly the best Taiwan BL I've come across

Having tried watching a couple of Taiwanese BL in the past based on rave reviews online (i say tried because i dropped most of them eventually), only to be terribly disappointed by the story-telling, acting, production value etc (we *cough* best *cough* love, Kiseki) i honestly hesitated starting on this one. In addition to my bad past experience with TW BL, incest just isn't my idea of a good forbidden romance... Putting aside the borderline incest plot, yes they're not blood related blah blah, this was actually a pretty darn good BL. Possibly the best I've seen from TW so far.

The story-telling had structure, decent context setting, good build-up, running themes to anchor the storyline and the dialogues were natural and not overly cheesy. The cinematography (lighting, angles) was surprisingly good for a drama series with thoughtful choice of location (the stairs and alley leading to the house, the fishing scene), although I thought they could've dialed up the "slump" aesthetics a little. But the winning ingredient for me was the acting and chemistry of the main leads. Their sound understanding of the characters was evident in their gestures, speech, right down to their breathing (there's a scene where Yuan and Qian are at the fishing spot for the first time and Yuan is lost in thought, and as the camera pans out back to reality, you can see him breath in and his eyelids quiver, desire and guilt fleets across his face).

Qian and Yuan are also interesting characters with raw survival instincts, are both strong and vulnerable for each other, and are fiercely loyal to each other and their loved ones. The main supporting characters were also well-designed, imperfect people bound together by non-traditional familial bonds. The interjection of well-timed humour also helped to lighten the story (cue San Pang and XiaoBao).

Some gripes were the casting choice for the multiple versions of younger Yuan vs fewer versions of younger Qian. Just wished they either got more similar looking child actors or stuck to just 1 or 2 for both. I also wasn't a fan of the OST and it was an odd choice of bgm at times. The gun scene w the side charac was my least favourite scene as the dialogue was a tad unpolished and it was overall a little over dramatic.

All in all, i thought this was one of the better (if not the best) BL from TW for me and the actors surprised (and impressed) we with their acting chops.

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It's great to watch if you like not much happening

I found this show to be amazingly slow. Do the games have anything to do with the mysteries? The teams switch up each episode, which I couldn't decide was a good thing or bad thing. I think the thing that bothered me the most was the constant replay of scenes so you could see each person's reaction. It really messed with the flow. Lots of running around, which used up a lot of time.

I did like how they filled the apartments with things from the time period that they were investigating...a blast from the past.

I was surprised how much I enjoyed Jennie. She was pretty charismatic and quite a good spy.

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I am now officially Lu Xiaolu's Mom.

It's a journey about pure joy of adolescent turns into a harsh reality of growing up and maturing together. As a friend, as a lover, as a brother, as a sister, as an enemy.
They're bound to be together and they will always be.
I can't put up any words to describe this one cause of the realistic plot and emotions expressed by the actors and actresses.

Youth is never about being happy and free. It's about choices and plans. Therefore we can't always get what we want but no matter what happens, my heart will stay the same.

Lu Xiaolu as the ML has taught us a lot of things. He is a stubborn, kindhearted, and hardworking person who loves his family and friend so much. I will miss him so much. Even if he's not as greenflag as other MLs, I love him from the deepest of my heart. He has my whole heart. Let me watch him grow older I will never be bored. Its such a pride to watch him from being a playful teen to a grown man with mustache on his face. Gosh I will miss him very much.

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If you haven't seen it, please do

Long Time No See is really good.
It did feel like I finished it quickly but it wasn't because of the amount of time, rather the fact I enjoyed it very much. There was chemistry and connection, love and anger, truth and betrayal, everything was well put together.
I felt pity seeing Chi Soo getting pissed on as a young boy, no nice soul deservs that.
There isn't much about Gi Tae's past but I would've liked it if there were, I wanted to know more about him.
Found it very cute that Gi Tae's sister was very supportive of the two, wished they have givin her a name though.
I just loved the sweet moments between the two main leads, I wish I'll have that one day. Minus the fact that they are working for the mafia or whatever it was.

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A little disappointed

For all of the effort and money that went into this, the results were meh. Maybe the complicated plot went over my head, but to me, you could remove Anjin from the story and it basically wouldn't change anything. He really didn't do anything. And when the main protagonist isn't really important to the storyline, it feels unsatisfying.

But the episodes moved along OK and were watchable, so I never felt tempted to drop the show. It's been a very very long time since I saw the old Richard Chamberlain version, but I remember being much more emotionally engaged in that one.

Also, even though the production went for Japanese authenticity, I thought the acting, directing, and editing had a very western feel. But the acting overall was very good, although some of the actors I felt had a strong contemporary vibe, such as Hira Takehiro, Asano, and especially Anna Sawai, who not only seemed to me like someone from today, but I thought she had a very Nikkei aura.

In contrast, I thought Hoshi Moeka did a fantastic job as Fuji, and I really believed she was a woman from that setting. In fact, she was by far my favorite thing about the whole production.

One last observation is that the opening credits sequence was clearly copying Game of Thrones, and I didn't like that.

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It was good at first, but got only worse.

This show had a potential, but the while story was a mess. I'm not gonna lie I finished the series within two days, but some,, plot twists'' were so unnecessary, that it hurt me.
First of all, thing that should have never happened, the third couple. Vegas kidnaped Pit, tortured him, r*ped him, almost killed him, but at the end they were happy together. Literally wtf? Let' s skip the fact that this thread was useless. This was wrong in so many ways. And also Pit was pretty smart the whole show, so why in the end he starts dating Vegas, the worst character in the show? I'm still trying to gaslight myself that it didn't happen.
Second of all, why did they make Kinn and Porsche cousins? To all the people who try to explain it by saying that Porsche's mother was adopted, it's still wrong. By law they are cousins even if they aren't blood related.
Third of all, the whole Kimporchay situationship. Kim was an adoult, manipulating Porchay, who was a minor, just to use him and find out more about Porchay. Yes, maybe they did love eachother or whatever, but I don't understand why people think that Kim is a green flag. I find it funny, how despite the fact that Kim was a manipulator, he still was probably the least toxic one in this show. When in the end Porchay left Kim, I felt this series got better. I was glad that they didn't made him come back to Kim in the end and forget about everything that he's done.
Fourt of all, the main couple. Kim SAed Porche, while he was drugged. Why is no one talking about it? They relationship made both of them stupid. There's this saying that the smart one's get stupid when it comes to love, and they took it literally (tbh I'm not sure if they were even smart at the beginning, but you know what I mean). So much of unnecessary 18+ scenes. If they cut them off, I think the show might have been better.
And finally, the whole story of this show. It started off intresting. I genuinely enjoyed it. After Kinn used Porche, I felt that it was getting worse and worse. I'm pretty sure that this show was supposed to be a comedy, but I couldn't help but cringe, every time they tried to be funny. Especially that mermaid scene. I was wondering how much do they pay those actors to do this shit. Also the plot twists at the end. When they started talking about Porche's parents I got so confused. In the end I didn't even now who killed them, and then they say that his mom is still alive. Again, wtf?

In conclusion, this show could be good. If they just sat down and read the script out loud, maybe they would realised that they wrote shit, and rewrite it, or pay someone to do it instead.

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I am envy to their love story .

I thoroughly enjoyed this sweet drama centered around a boy and a girl who hide their feelings from each other. The girl falls in love with her brother's friend, who has always cared for her like a big brother. Despite seeing him as more than just a brother since childhood, she never confesses her love, fearing she might lose him. This often places her in awkward situations.

The reactions from her brother and family are portrayed as justified. Her brother's perspective is understandable: if his friend had fallen for any other girl, especially one younger than him, it would be acceptable, but falling for his sister is a difficult pill to swallow. The family's concern for her is also depicted in a relatable manner.

I particularly liked the proposal scene; it was the highlight of the drama. The main male lead was, as always, amazing, and the brother was also very impressive. The female lead, their friend circle, and her parents, who are the coolest couple in the drama, all added depth to the story. The supporting characters further enriched the narrative.

Overall, a big thumbs up for this drama!

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The worst show I've ever watched.

Never watched more toxic show expect from Kinnporsche. Payu literally almost r*ped Rain at the beginning of the show, but everyone seems to forget about it. Their relationship was mainly based on s*x but the scriptwriter/s wanted to make it seem like they were in a perfect relationship. Prapai was a stalker, but no one cares because the actor apparently is hot (he's not even that hot). The last episodes showed that Sky had a trauma after getting r*ped by his ex boyfriend, and I'm kinda glad they mentioned such a serious topic, but I think that's a little bit hypocritical to write something like that and than romanticise it when Payu almost did it to Rain.
There were way to many 18+ scenes. I swear every episode involved at least 2 or more of those scenes. At some point I felt like watching p*rn. The special episode was even worse then the whole series. The only purpose of this episode was to satisfy weird fetishists.

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A brand new genre

This bl has become one of my top 3 with triage and manner of death, it had everything from storyline to amazing acting which you dont see often in thai bl, no cringing ass sh**t, the mystery and the comedy blend well. However i think the cases were that intriguing for me i gad no interest in them except the first case, i was more invested in our main couple and i think we didn't get enough interaction from them, they were always getting interuppted, i hated the editing it wasnt that bad but my god! they would cut off at the most crucial and emotional part and the audience were left hanging. Other than that billybabe killed it, cant wait to see them in another genre, this time lets focus in one genre and let the editing be good.

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Not For Everyone

This isn't a series for those looking for a thriller or fictional suspense story. It's a series that is a laying out of reality with no twists and turns meant to entertain the audience. It follows the simple format of a broken legal system and a judge who does her best to both implement the law while getting to the bottom of the truth with each case. It personally resonates for me and may not for everyone.

For some reviewers who question the "dramatization" of the cases, I can only assume they've grown up in relatively safe and comfortable homes with others to rely on (who they usually take for granted). Because those who get it, get it. And those who don't, usually never will. After all, being spoiled has nothing to do with finances but rather those in their lives who've emotionally spoiled them. The actuality is that these cases are still pretty watered down in comparison to real life situations, but still vivid enough to make its point.

What I additionally appreciate about the series is the emphasis on how even those with the best of intentions, end up being hypocrites when it comes to something hitting their own "home". And while those sitting comfortable behind their computers with little or no responsibilities will shout their criticisms, it's a very real and human dilemma that occurs in everyone's day-to-days. It's easier to judge others' choices when it makes no impact to their own personal lives, and easier to self-justify when it comes to their crossroads of sacrifices.

There's no glaring negative other than the pacing of stories and its developments (certain scenes that weren't as believable when it came to how the judge found evidence). There were also some moments that felt a little too prolonged and other moments that felt too abbreviated. But overall, if what I've discussed above also resonates with you and you're fine with a somber environment, you'll enjoy this series.

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