Ocean Like Me (2022)

i do like the ocean

okay i think im a little bit biased because i like holland and i like gichan AND i loved the setting. i also really liked the main charas' personalities and how their dynamic was.

the pacing was a little bit off sometimes, but all in all it was fine for the length

one thing that i just realized though: the whole frame of the story and especially the last two eps are very much like behind cut??? both of them had this weird timeskip after one person just up and left the other and then a way too fast reunion at the end, as if they ran out of time
WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TWICE IN A ROW

i have to say, this is probably the most solid show by emotion studio so far but,,, that isn't saying much because i think the others all weren't that great

it's fine though, really cute and now i want to go sit by the ocean and stare wistfully at it

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Give it a chance. Healing journey

Yes, it's a BL, but really the story is about healing onself after being hurt, growing up, and putting yourself first. I guess some things you can only understand when you have experienced enough things, but it's a really nice movie.
You have to guess some things, but it's all given the through the subtext. You understand why Ba Da is there, and also Tommy's choice. Sometimes we have to put ourselves first, even if in doing so we hurt other people.
I also enjoyed the Ba Da maturing and not depending on others, also being able to say no when it was needed despite being hard. He found himself.
You might say it was not necessary for Tommy to leave for a while, but some things can only be pursued alone because it's our own personal journey.

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They had done everything perfect...

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS
I liked the story: it was fresh, original, outside of school/university walls. A casual chaotic meeting that was written in the stars. Or in the ocean ;)

ENDING
Are you crazy? That was a total waste! I believe that Korea loves to separate their main lead to get them together again with a kiss by the ocean on the very last minute of the show... it's the third time I see it, and it's getting annoying. Plus, here, it felt unnecessary.

CHARACTERS
Ba Da was such a shy cutie, and Tommy was the match that woke him up. They are just a perfect couple. So Yeong was super annoying at first, but then she grew in empathy and helped Ba Da understand hia feelings for Tommy.

SCENERY
Photography is 10/10 to me. The ocean views, but also the shots of that road along the coast, everything was amazing. Also the indoors and the market scene.

OST
"You are my ocean" will be stuck for a long while in my heart. It is very beautiful and captivating, and the fact that describes Ba Da and Tommy relationship is just perfect.

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Charming and Nice

Look, this BL is not going to win any awards, but it is a nice, soft escape-filled series that is relatable to just about anyone. It is cute, charming, and I found entertaining. Rarely do I comment on individual actors, but Holland is openly gay and makes this series even more powerful to watch. You do not need something, strong, or over-the-top to get a point across. There are many millions of lives who live life quietly, just like this story is and that for me makes it so powerful. Of course, there are editing issues with this series, but its message simply presents love in a very soft, relatable fashion.

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My beautiful, messy ocean

Who needs a plot when you've got a Holland? Seriously I could watch that man in anything, he's just such a damn engaging screen presence.
But even my obvious bias aside, this show is alright! Yes, it's messy, that's undeniable, but it's damn charming.
The relationship progression and overall pacing of the show are very well executed and the leads' chemistry is fantastic.
I suppose there's just something about stories full of strange little guys (gender neutral) that really appeals to me - I absolutely adore all the characters here, odd ducks the lot of them.
The series is wonderfully calm and, inhabited exclusively by weirdos though it is, feels fairly grounded. At the same time it never strives to take itself all too seriously which strangely enough gives the emotional scenes more room to breathe and make an impact. I don't know, something about it all just worked for me.
The soundtrack is absolutely fantastic as well and perfectly underscores the story's tone.
It may not be a cinematic masterpiece, but it perfectly accomplishes what it set out to do - tell a gentle, refreshing story about a genuine queer romance.
I highly recommend you give it a go and see for yourself, you might just end up loving it.

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Someone's gonna jump out and yell PRANK'D YA, right?

SHORT LENGTH REVIEW BC I AM BEFUDDLED :)
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(Please keep in mind that I have only seen 7 of the 8 episodes as this review is being posted. I will update once I have finished watching.)


While I try to respect everyone's opinion, I wholeheartedly--from the very depths of my aortic valve--disagree with the reviews/ratings above 7/10. This drama is bad, and I don't particularly trust y'all who enjoyed it. Did you really? Did someone pay y'all? WHAT am I missing?

SPOILERS FOR THE REST OF THIS REVIEW!!!

Story? 6/10.
I have never witnessed a script go absolutely everywhere and nowhere at the same time... until this show.

Han Ba Da (Han Gi Chan) is a chef who wishes to open his own restaurant one day, so when the opportunity is presented to him, he jumps on it, but finds it difficult to attract customers; he is only but a chef, not a people-person. However, the abrupt arrival of Tommy (Holland) opens the door--literally--to customers anew and a twinkle of romance.

Sounds fun, yeah? That's what I thought. But we're all wrong sometimes.

This story starts where it's meant to: Han Ba Da opens a restaurant (with an extremely greedy woman, might I add), but is unable to produce revenue in order to maintain the rent. Thus, we're introduced to Tommy, his savior. However, this introduction includes accidental vehicular assault and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. I hated it, but whatever. Now we've got our two main protagonists working together, and they actually make a great pair. Tommy is super extraverted and seems genuine in his aide to Ba Da, which we see quickly develop into something more than a business relationship. But, unfortunately, this is where it all goes downhill.

Got an ex you want to throw into the mix to wreak havoc that'll never make another appearance? Go ahead. Some spilled soy sauce we want to get angry about? Sure. A bunch of customers constantly being left at the door that says Open one second and Closed the next because Ba Da and Tommy are extremely unprofessional? Why not.

(That's not even the full list of what all happens during the 8 fifteen-minute episodes, but now I'm sure you can imagine the train wreck I have sat through.)

Acting/Cast? 6/10.
This is actually the part I was hoping to score higher on, but, unfortunately, the children in this show acted better than our two main protagonists. Which is extremely disappointing, considering I really enjoyed Han Gi Chan (Han Ba Da) in Where Your Eyes Linger.

Music? 6/10.
Honestly, not much to talk about. I don't remember any of the songs except for the title track, and even that was lackluster.

Rewatch Value? 1/10.
I genuinely hope to never even hear anyone talking about this drama, or else I might spontaneously combust. Even writing this review was difficult

Overall? 6/10.
MyDramaList suggested I rate it a 5/10, but I thought that would be too harsh on top of everything I've written in this review. Overall, as Simon Cowell would say, it's a no for me.

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História não (ou mal) contada

Ocean Likes Me conta a história de um chef e um músico que se encontram em uma pequena cidade litorânea em busca de recomeço. Doramas curtos muitas vezes sofrem pela superficialidade com que as tramas são apresentadas devido ao tempo reduzido. Porém, o problema aqui não é nem a superficialidade mas a completa ausência de explicação de certas partes do enredo! Decisões importantes dos personagens são mostradas sem quaisquer explicações e o espectador fica os últimos episódios tentando entender as razões por trás de tais decisões... Quando iniciamos o último episódio do dorama temos a esperança de que Han Ba Da e Tommy irão conversar sobre tudo o que ocorreu, que Tommy irá desculpar-se, oferecer explicações e que nós, finalmente, entenderíamos então o que motivou as decisões dos personagens, principalmente de Tommy e o que aconteceu durante todo o tempo transcorrido em que nada nos foi mostrado. Porém, somos mais uma vez frustrados pois, na resolução dos conflitos não há nenhum tipo de conversa entre o casal, não há explicações, pedidos de desculpas. Num minuto tudo está errado e, no minuto seguinte tudo resolvido, como num passe de mágica... A impressão que fica é "nossa, eu devo ter pulado alguns episódios e perdido partes da história", mas não! Você assiste todos os episódios mas o roteiro simplesmente não se importa em mostrar a história pra você.

Em prós podemos listar: a leveza do dorama (você não terminará em depressão depois de vê-lo); a luz/mar/ritmo (o dorama traz uma sensação de conforto com uma luz leve,algumas cenas gostosas no mar e um ritmo de história lento); atuação bastante boa e uma trilha sonora boa (inclusive com a musica Ocean Like Me, que é o ponto alto). Mas sinceramente? Não vale ver mais de uma vez (e talvez não valha nem a primeira)...

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Preciso confessar que minha motivação pra ver essa série foi o fato de um dos protagonistas ser o Holland, pois eu não perco a chance de apoiar a comunidade LGBTQIAP+, e ver a comunidade, principalmente aqueles que militam pela causa, em papéis de destaque, me enche de orgulho. Representatividade importa!
Em relação ao roteiro, uma história leve, sem muitas nuances (até pq 8 eps de 20 minutos +- não permitiram). Han Ba Da já é um chefe de renome, que por motivos desconhecidos deseja viver praticamente no anonimato, vendendo "udon" em uma praia, lá conhece a jovem representante do sindicato e seu grande amor, Tommy. Juntando a habilidade de Han Ba Da na cozinha e a facilidade de relacionamento interpessoal de Tommy, logo o restaurante virou um sucesso, e posteriormente Tommy também realiza seu grande sonho de ser um cantor. Existem pequenas falhas no roteiro que me incomodaram, nós só sabemos que Han Ba Da já era renomado por causa da aparição de seu ex, mas a história deles ficou no ar, as origens do cozinheiro, como ele decidiu viver na praia, são tópicos que não foram apresentados. O mesmo acontece com Tommy, de onde ele veio, pra onde ele pretendia ir e o que fazia na beira da praia? A série só mostra ele num piano, deixando parecer que ele era rico, mas nada disso se confirma.
Sobre a atuação, eu não acho que foi ótima, mas foi perceptível como o ator Han Gi Chan melhorou sua performance ao comparar com sua atuação em "Where your eyes linger" (2020). Quanto à Holland, para seu primeiro papel, não posso dizer que sua atuação foi ruim, sem falar na ost perfeita cantada por ele. Eu acredito que essa série não teve muito investimento, praticamente 5 atores atuando, alguns figurantes e duas crianças. As locações são poucas, e nesse ponto, é preciso dizer que a fotografia da série fez um ótimo trabalho com as cenas em frente ao mar.
No geral, a série é boa e eu indico. Excelente para maratonar num dia de folga, já que os eps são curtinhos.

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Good chemistry … bad script

It is clear that Corea is still way behind Thailand when making BL series … however that’s certainly not the fault of the actors.

Han Gi Chan and Holland portray an honest view of their relationship with real chemistry between the two of them.

For me Han Gi Chan can become the rising star of Corean BL series/films as he is very sincere in his acting (see also “Where your eyes linger”) provided he gets better scripts … scripts where real kisses and hugs and love scenes are not avoided.

For Holland : RESPECT!! This young man has gone through hardship and bad times but never gave up. I hope that the K-Pop industry starts to understand that the world is changing. I hope to see and hear more of him

Leggi di Più

Unique series...good...very good

I'm doing a review because I liked it. I've seen a lot of bad comments here. So, I gave this a 9. It's a BL that didn't have anything to do with school, university, or engineering students. TG. I thought the story and the setting was unique and it had its merit. So, I am HOH for Han. (Head over heels (in love)) Tommy was a bit different and I had to and did warm up to him in the later episodes. I have to mention Go So whom also I warmed up to her too. This is a short series. As with many shorts I felt like this could have been a full-length series, but as I am quickly reminded that sometimes less is more. With that said I enjoyed this series. I was engaged and I learned a few things.
PS I have mention that I did not know Holland from the dark side of the moon, but as I understand he has done some brave and pioneering for that he should be applauded and all whom placed him in this role.

PS2, I thought the music was excellent. I even noticed background music as being enjoyable.

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Wasted potential

I like the gist of the story but screenplay is so bad .

It tried to tell something but it lacks conviction. Why i said wasted potential was because scenery is so refreshing, cinematography and music are good, but the screenplay made it so bad.

I've seen the actors in other kbls, and they've done great, but in here, they are too stiff.

There were times i watched it in 8x mode just to finish this. I don't know if the story is too slow or too fast. Lol.

This is something not worth to rewatch but something that is tolerable to watch.

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