Bon Appetit (2023)

Sweet cute and I appreciate the continued efforts!!!

Hello! I rarely review but need to remind the viewers to think like a business. We are getting a lot more lgbt content in recent years. The veteran actors, writers, directors and producers spent decades to get us to this point. This point? YES we get films, big production series, dating shows, gay couples on major Korean magazine covers AND we get multiple small studios crowd sourced for cute stories to film in a week and bring it to us. Please do not forget! I am grateful and appreciative.

Please appreciate the small stuff too.

We would read this manga and be super happy. Someone spent the money to give us some visual with cute story.

I appreciate them. I appreciate how hard it was to get to this point. I look forward to the future.

The boys did a good job. They were pleasant to watch.
For me the actor playing the chef is damn gorgeous! Phew

Sure if you peel back his actions it may seem stalkerish lol but because it goes so fast he is honest immediately and it's all good. Real life gay is hard anywhere and this showed four different types of men (in one episode) and how they handle things. Was cool.

What I loved is this series is set in a gay friendly world. There was no mention or hesitation of being gay. No fear. Thai BL started doing that too and I am happy with this turn.

Anyway it is very fast, it's cute and worth our stream on legal iQIYI site.

Enjoy and if you can leave a comment for each actor. The actors (mainly Koreans) come to mdl and read our stuff!

Thanks!

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Innocent, sweet, light, heart fluttering romance.

Really enjoyed this short drama. The romance was very sweet and made my heart flutter.

I love how fast paced the drama was but at the same time, it didn't feel rushed. We got to see Do Hoon come to have feelings for Yoon Soo each episode and it was really cute to witness. Yoon Soo was also a fun character to watch; he was a master flirt and I loved how he'd always tease DH by getting all up in his personal space and making DH flustered. This drama will definitely have you giggling and holding your breath to see what happens next.

Aside from the romance, I also enjoyed seeing DH and YS in their respective workplaces. I liked all the interactions with the side characters too, even the intern who was crushing on DH.

The only thing I didn't like much was the misunderstandings between DH and YS because of YS's past relationship. I didn't like how both characters handled their feelings about it, but it's a short drama and I understand that a drama needs, well, drama...so I'm not too mad about it. Also, I sorta felt like YS was a bit too nice(?) with the way he handled his ex. Like, idk, I'd have preferred if he was more harsh to him especially considering the lengths the ex took to try to get back with him...but they'd been together for three years so maybe there was still some leftover affection there....(I don't think the drama intended for this to be the takeaway, but that was just the undertone I got from the whole ex-plotline which left a bad taste in my mouth and made me low-key side more with DH's feelings).

The acting was okay. I liked DH's actor the most. The character and actor himself reminded me of Ji Hyun from the Eight Sense; they both have that adorable and aloof vibe to them so it made watching him really fun. I mainly just had a problem with YS's actor and the intern. The intern's actor just came across as unnatural, but more like in a novice actor kind of way, which is understandable. Whereas my problem with YS's actor was the character always had this perpetual smile on his face. Idk if it was how the character was written or if thats just the direction the actor took. The smile was just so constant it made me uncomfortable in the beginning lmao. YS just always had a specific smile on his face regardless of whether the scene called for that kind of expression, so it really just pulled me out of the scene at times.

Overall, however, it's a really sweet, and light drama. For a short drama, it actually has some depth to it too which was nice.

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Lovely And Layered With Sincerity

General spoilers only at bottom of review.
A gentle slice-of-life that feels recognizable in many aspects and is ultimately heartening. I ended the series with a long-lasting smile on my face, and sparks of warmth in my chest. The romance is sweet and endearing with physical attraction and gentle yet realistic kisses.

While the plot and character dynamics are not new, I thought they were handled very well. There's some drama yet things aren't forcefully over-dramatized. I've seen other people, or been myself, in situations or relationships like those here. At work, at home, with old crushes, new crushes, exes, co-workers, friends, etc. There are tie-ins to memories and regrets. There's living worn down and finding/making priorities. Characters work to untangle their own emotions and navigate awkward situations others put them in.

And the acting supports that feeling of familiar realism. The two leads are especially good and there is a gentle but persistently strong magnetism between them. I would readily watch them act together again. As actors, there is sincerity in their lines and behind their eyes. The rest of the actors were good with their roles too. No weak link stood out.

The balance of emotional moments was very well done. There was a little bit of everything, which is part of why it felt realistic. But there was an overall trend of increasing warmth and positivity that led to a very satisfied feeling by the end.

The dialogue flows and there are some poetically-worded lines. There were also a couple moments/lines of humor that had me chuckling.

I expect I will rewatch this multiple times, alone and with others.

GENERAL SPOILERS below.
I really appreciated how a few things were written a bit differently than often seen.

1) The past connection and the way it was remembered differently by Yoon Soon and Doo Hoon reminded me of the way stories were told at my college reunion. It felt plausible and very believable.

2) The way the coworkers reacted to finding out that Yoon Soo was Do Hoon's neighbor and romantic interest. It was refreshing, and how some people I know would likely react (and how I wish others would).

3) Yoon Soon's flight plans don't lead to the typical "airport scene". Booking plane tickets may seem like a big action, but it’s the equivalent of going on a road trip to Jeju Island for a breather before the real opening of his restaurant. There were multiple issues with his soft opening and things he needs to plan yet, so he needs to think through those. And things between him and Doo Hoon are at an awkward point, so wanting some physical space to "cool his head" makes sense because they are such close neighbors (they share a wall).

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cliched plot with cute moments

Overall: this series has a few cliches which I really struggle with hence my rating. 8 episodes about 25 minutes each. Aired on iQIYI.

Content Warnings: non con kiss, non con touching, stalking, vomiting, past death, grief

What I Liked
- cooking
- cute moments
- remembering the same event differently in ep 2
- being upfront in the past to that woman who liked him
- Yoon Seo Bin's cameo in ep 5 & 8
- (neutral) comedy sound effects

Room For Improvement
- the non con
- many cliches/nonsense things such as: the "plan"/approach, poor communication, that conflict in ep 7/8, a restaurant owner with a lot of free time, the "I can explain" but refusing an explanation
- the work scenes dragged

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Decent Enough

There's nothing wrong with this really down-to-earth, happy-go-lucky series about love life and laughter. I think in general it did its job, kept me entertained and for the most part not bored, but it also had a lot of just nothing to it.

Let's Dive In.

Bon Appetit is the romance story of the overworked office employee and his old college mate who happens to move into the apartment beside his -- and cooks. I thought it to be pretty weird that he moved into the room beside his old crush purposefully, but for fictional purposes, I'll look over this. Anyway, most of the story takes place with Doyoon and his very annoying co-workers so I skipped all the scenes with them in it after like episode 1. And since they take up most of the screen time, I will say that I can't give this the most proper score, but also know that it was just a bunch of office jargon and going back and forth about nothing that was going to move the plot along.

Onto the romance: I thought it was pretty cute. I like that we didn't dwell much on the fact that Yoonsoo was gay or that Doyoon suddenly just started liking guys. It just happened and there wasn't any sad backstory or dark plot to pair with it. They were just gay and in love. Perfect. I honestly could've done without Sangwoo's character cause it just felt like a large waste of time.

Loved Seobin's guest role! It was so nice to see him again!

Ratings:

Story: 6/10 - the office jargon was so fucking boring that I skipped literally all of it. And since more than half of the story takes place at the office, this is the best score I can give. Other than that, I liked the romance and Seobin's role.

Acting: 8/10 - Good! Pretty mediocre, but nothing bad about that, it just doesn't really stand out like the acting in other series.

Music: 6/10 - Wasn't distracting.

Recommendation value: 7/10 - Sure, if you want another k-BL to watch, and both actors do get shirtless eventually and that's nice too. Otherwise, this might be okay to skip seeing as I'll probably forget I watched it in like a week.

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Very sweet and I loved it

This was quite a surprise. I finished this entire series in an afternoon. I loved the story about how you can convey your emotions and sentiments through food. Also, that it will taste different based on how you are feeling.

DoWoon and Yoonsoo make such a sweet couple. The acting was great. You could really tell how much Yoonsoo cared for Dohoon and that he was doing everything he could to show him that. It was fate that brought them back together after so many years.

Dohoon was definitely popular. I loved how Sangwoo had a crush on him but backed away when he found out he liked someone else. He even helped him. The little shoulder rub when Yoonsoo was watching just to make him jealous. Hilarious!

But wondering why this was rated NC-17. Nothing really happened.

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Simple and Predictable

**Brief Synopsis**
B (Employee): Do Hoon
T (Cook): Yoon Soo

B and T are neighbours. Once upon a time, they used to be university classmates and somewhat friends but T developed a crush on B and because he was unable to bear one side crush, he dropped out of university. Later on, they reunite and it takes B some time to remember T. By now, T has become an awsome cook and is more confident in pursuing B romantically. At first, he attracts B's attention with food and slowly, B starts to enjoy his company and intimate touches. Soon B falls for him. He confesses and after dealing with T's clingy ex boyfriend, they end up together.

**My Opinion**

WHAT I LIKED ABOUT IT
- Very likable characters even though we don't know much about them other then a few facts. They have their own faults sure but they do their best with each other and themselves.
- The acting is pretty nice. The actors do a good job in convincing the audience of the affection that exists between the characters. The sexual tension is pretty obvious from the start.
- The show gives off a rather warm feeling. It's not dramatic by any means and it is not deep; it's just two guys falling in love and dealing with their feelings.
- Limited angst. Because the show is so short, they don't drag the angst on forever. There are attempts at communication but it is limited.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE ABOUT IT
- Cliche and predictable plot with no memorable moments.
- Using misunderstandings as way to introduce angst. It's extremely lazy writing. B sees a bracelet T has on a photo and thinks T is playing with him. He runs away and doesn't let T explain.
- The pacing is really fast and the build up for the relationship really limited. At the end of the show, they say I love you to each other but from what I can see, it's just not convincing.
- In scenes that don't involve romance, the acting can get a little unnatural but that doesn't ruin the show.
- Very limited plot and character development because the series is just too short.

**Conclusion**
Simple typical BL that you could take a look if you do not have other shows to watch.

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Weak story impedes displaying actors' strengths

There were weaknesses in the plot and the characters' motivation that I initially attributed to a long manhwa being condensed to a short eight episodes. However, after much searching, I found the source manga (Meshiagare Ai wo/Meshi Agare Ai o), and it too is pretty short—only one volume. The plot is pretty thin in the manga and was heavily adapted for the K-drama. (So no help in understanding that confusing bathroom scene.)

Reading the manga helped me see how much the two actors worked to bring to life Doo Hoon's social awkwardness and Yoon Soon's quick, cheery disposition. The difference between Lee Ki Taek playing Yoon Soon and K in Devil Judge is impressive.

It also showed efforts to retain parts of the original story's work environments and character reactions that didn't really match up well when translated to the new story. For example, the drudgery and type of exhaustion from overwork matches better with that of a government employee in the Japanese original than of Doo Hoon's more creative job and closer work teams. So, his colleagues actions and reactions to Doo Hoon are a bit confusing rather than reinforcing the perception that he's an unsocial, distant workaholic.

Additionally, Yoon Soon's easy familiarity and Doo Hoon's reactions to him make more sense in the timeline that plays out in the Japanese story, which has the two living in the same apartment building (thought the MC is oblivious to this fact) with the restaurant on the street level of the building, where the MC eats frequently. The manga begins with the two waking up in bed together after MC gets drunk in the ML's restaurant.

The addition of the description of making the food to the K-drama (which wasn't in the manga), is a lovely touch, and it was done very well.

Manga info: https://www.mangaupdates.com/series/44vmh3j/meshi-agare-ai-o

Note: The manga in English is "Bon Appetit, It's Love," not to be confused with "Bon Appetit, My Love" (also BL manga) or "Bon Appetit" (also a manga from the same general time of publication) or "Bon Appetit!" (a recently completed fantasy manhwa).

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Non-descript BL series

This is a pretty standard BL that is fluffy, cutely predictable, only so-so entertaining, and fast becoming too common. What made it thus is that there is really no drama here to bring you down (or up) and the characters are endlessly consistent. They are, how to put this, rather ordinary. It is not that the leads are not cute; they are. But the characters are so mundane, leading ordinary lives and facing the same issues the rest of us do. Overworked, with little time to eat or sleep, no social life. This series has no depth to it. The characters are there. The plot is boring, characters are mundane, any reference to love is barely visible, and the acting is modicum.

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Cute and Fluffy moments with a dose of Realism - An average Korean BL

Subjective Gut Rating: 7.75

“Bon Appetit” is a simple drama that gives us some cute moments and fluffiness but also a small dose of realism. This is an easy watch and can be completed in less than 4 hours. It’s not the best/worst Korean BL out there but it’s very bingeable.

A few quick notes about the drama:

1. I appreciate BLs that are about more mature individuals and not students.
2. Main lead, Jung Do Hoon, looks the youngest out of the characters, yet he’s supposed to be older than Lee Yoon Soo and Park Sang Woo.
3. Acting is decent. I’ve seen worse in low-budget web dramas.
4. The advertiser part is a little over-the-top.
5. I enjoy the integration of cooking and food, but at times the explanation seems out of place.
6. I love and found it hilarious to give a raw chicken as a gift to someone who you are not close enough to have beer and fried chicken with, but not quite a stranger.
7. Does every K-drama college want to take the “Marriage and Love” class? Is it even a real class in Korea?
8. People really need to learn to ignore phone calls when they are in the middle of something ‘important’.
9. I was wondering why YoonSoo cooks with such a small burner for a chef in the earlier episodes. Then I found out why.
10. The ex is annoying and such a douche.
11. Did DoHoon pick up all the kimbap on the floor and eat them? Ewww..
12. I’m glad DooHoon eventually learned to appreciate YoonSoo. I was getting frustrated for YoonSoo for all the thoughts and love he put into liking him.
13. I actually quite like SangWoo and don’t mind him ending up with DoHoon. I think he’s handsome 🙂


Completed: 10/7/2023 - Review #364

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