Jun and Jun (2023)

Serie semplice ma coinvolgente...Farà da apripista per drama futuri?

Serie decisamente piacevole. Vorrei dire "sorprendentemente" piacevole, ma la verità è che per qualche strano motivo - oltre alle valutazioni positive - mi aspettavo l'avrei apprezzata. E così è stato. Per assurdo, non è una serie priva di difetti. Ne ha, e molti. Ma è uno di quei rari casi in cui una serie mi prende così tanto da perdonarle praticamente tutto.
Le pecche le ho notate, tutte quante. Dal solito problema - tipico della maggior parte delle BL - di una breve durata (la metà rispetto alla media dei 16 episodi delle serie con coppia principale etero, e per di più il singolo episodio che dura un terzo rispetto all'altro...fatti due conti, il tempo è davvero ridotto), a una storia che - diciamocelo - proprio così articolata non è: non c'è stato un grande sforzo nella trama, peraltro infarcita da molti dei soliti cliché. Anche sull'attenzione per i dettagli qualche scivolone c'è stato e, per quanto graziosi, i piccoli Jun e Jun dei flashback si confondono abbastanza - difficile capire chi è uno e chi rappresenta l'altro - oltre ad alcuni passaggi successivi non poi così chiari o logici: Jun-direttore sembra aver seguito da lontano la vita di Jun-stagista, in un'attesa eterna senza aver pianificato alcuna mossa, tant'è che l'incontro è puramente casuale, in pieno stile "coincidenza delle coincidenze!". Anche banalmente il nome del prodotto ideato, June Jun, che si rifà in maniera più che palese al loro nome - come del resto il nome della serie stessa - non viene nemmeno fatto oggetto di alcuna ovvia riflessione da parte di nessuno. Tutte queste critiche però impallidiscono di fronte alla capacità di trasmettere e coinvolgere di questi giovani e promettenti attori. Attori che, per l'appunto, hanno esordito come protagonisti proprio in questa serie. Ottima la chimica tra i due, il loro modo di interagire è al contempo divertente, tenero, affascinante e intrigante. Valore aggiunto credo sia stato l'aver finalmente rotto il ghiaccio, per una serie coreana, rispetto ad alcuni tabù che tendono a soffocare anche le coppie più affiatate. Ben lungi dall'essere una NC18, poiché senza scene particolarmente esplicite o volgari - e va bene così - riesce comunque a mettere quel pizzico in più che fa la differenza in alcune scene (le considerazioni di Jun-stagista quando si ritrova seduto in braccio a Jun-Direttore, piuttosto che il bacio che si scambiano seduti accanto alla finta fidanzata di Jun-direttore, e l'apertura del regalo della suddetta ragazza nella scena finale). Nel 2023 intravediamo forse una serie che farà da trampolino di lancio, unendo i pregi delle serie coreane ma superando i limiti del ridicolo in cui a volte sconfina l'eccessivo pudore. Spero di rivedere questi attori cimentarsi con altri drama, spero di vedere di nuovo un copione che osa qualcosa di più e, se come mi auguro sarà la prima a mostrare un nuovo taglio nei Kdrama, non mi spiacerebbe in futuro poter contare su episodi di maggiore durata e trame più sostanziose. Ma, per il momento, va bene così. E' un punto di partenza. Bella, migliorabile, ma avviata verso la direzione giusta.

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Credo che sia il primo BL coreano che vedo e l'esperienza è stata decisamente delle più felici.
Se dal punto di vista della trama, della logicità e dello sviluppo dei personaggi non si può dire ci sia stato nulla di epocale, anzi, si sia trattato più che altro di una lunga sfilza di cliché ambientati in ufficio, la carineria dei protagonisti e la freschezza della loro interpretazione ha fatto sì che questo drama potesse consegnarci qualche ora di divertimento.
Entrambi gli attori principali sono più o meno completamente alle prime armi, ciò nonostante, hanno saputo interpretare al meglio questa commediola romantica breve, ma che non manca di nulla. Esiste uno svolgimento, per quanto forse non completamente plausibile, esistono i doverosi elementi di disturbo alla coppia principale, esistono degli obiettivi da raggiungere, che vengono raggiunti, e c'è pure il lieto fine d'obbligo.
Ok, nulla di nuovo sotto il sole e la luna, ma raccontato veramente con tanto gusto e tanto garbo. Forse non ci saranno dialoghi impegnati sul fronte della sociologia e della uguaglianza dei diritti, come accade molto spesso nei BL tailandesi ma, se il compito di questo lavoro era intrattenerci, il suo scopo è stato abbondantemente raggiunto. Promosso.
E, detto fra noi, mi piacerebbe tanto vedere mr "Vengo dall'America e sono tanto figo" in altre produzioni. Penso che ne verrebbe la pena.

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ran on vibes (though there were some sexy vibes)

Overall: my advice is to watch ep 1-3, 7 and 8. This series could have been a 9.5 but the paper thin/cliched plot and too many side characters lowered my rating. 8 episodes about 20 minutes each aired on Viki (U.S), GagaOOLala & WeTV depending on your country.

What I Liked
- the child actors were adorable and did a great job (though I was confused about who was who)
- heart fluttering moments, boss Jun had some excellent flirting/innuendo laced conversations
- really good kissing/intimacy in the last episode
- that gift they received was awesome and how boss Jun had it in his hand at the end (this is a first I think for kbl)
- Mr. Heart actor cameos in ep 5 (did not enjoy the rest of ep 5 though)
- good communication in episode 7 (finally)
- production value (except poor editing with confusing flashbacks tossed in)

Room For Improvement
- paper thin plot, too much business meetings that I cared zero about, not enough time spent on the leads and explaining their motivations/reactions, why did the other interns bring up this HR nightmare but then it's never a problem? cliche poor communication skills (a 1 sentence text would clear up the misunderstanding in ep 5)
- what on earth is boss Jun's "plan?" Why did he wait until now? Why does he act like that with her and not clarify things? How stupid is he? Even his unworldly hotness couldn't save his nonsense actions, the writers never even bothered explaining why the two boys couldn't/didn't keep in touch
- too many characters that were not well developed, why was everyone so in love with intern Jun, he's nice but ????
- confusing flashbacks that weren't immediately apparent were flashbacks and didn't contribute much to the paper thin plot
- translation error in ep 1? confused who is who in the childhood flashbacks

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Maybe Needs Improvement?????

First of all, Ah....The Visuals...I'm Screaming!!!

I binge watched the entire series. So I would like to disagree with the people who said in the comments that stated there is no development in the relationship between the leads. According to me, the relationship already started developing when "Jun & Jun"(how funny) first met. Maybe they watched it episode by episode which felt like eternity to few people but to me the relationship development went exactly how it is supposed to be.

And again the story is nothing new, just childhood sweethearts becoming a couple but what made it unique is the cameos (Mr. Heart couple and Yim and Tutor), idol to company worker plot and three people aiming(liking) at Lee Jun LOL. Coming to the acting Choi Jun(the actor) definitely delivered what needs to be and also he is sooo handsome, and Lee Jun(the actor) tried his best to act cute when required but fierce character(towards Choi jun) is what made his acting stand out. And the supporting actors also did a good(may be not great) job. Kudos to them. Also, the leads have great chemistry, although it is only shown at the last episodes - definitely worth waiting.....hehehehe :)

But the reason I gave it an 8 instead of 9 or 9.5 is that the story can be a lot more improvised. Also, I felt like few scenes were forcefully made short or few scenes were rather incomplete. Also, the ending scene did not feel like an ending scene at all. But the climax scene is one the greatest climax scenes I've ever watched.

So, watch it for the visuals, watch it for the cameos, watch it for the effort the team has put into, watch it for the great chemistry b/w the leads. Whatever the reason is...Go Watch it!!...A definite one time watch.

P.S. - Not time consuming, Short and sweet, yeah few flaws, but worth the time!!!

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Not a show you regret watching, but…

You can also just watch a compilation of the best scenes on youtube and get a similar experience. Honestly speaking, I watched it for the enjoyment of flirting between Juns, and not the actual plot.

That’s honestly what the show has to offer - really enjoyable moments with great chemistry. It’s such an unrealistic fanfic scenario with unrealistic casting, but you can still enjoy it, because Choi Jun just delivers with each and every pick up line and obvious flirting.

I don’t really have much to say about the plot, because it does not really exist. Rookie interns doing their rookie work unrealistically well, while one of them gets into a situationship with the team leader. Nothing makes sense, but no one watches it with their brain sharp and focused.

The acting was decent. During the romance scenes the cast did great, some more daily life moments felt awkward.

Overall, I really liked the first two episodes, but later I just needed more than just great chemistry during some scenes to truly keep my interest.

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A disjointed mess with a few good scenes

This was a very strange series. The scenes of the main couple were pretty good, but there weren't a lot of them and the rest of the series was boring and made very little sense.

Lee Jun's past as an idol was so irrelevant to the plot that he could just have been a regular new office worker and it wouldn't have changed anything. He could have simply been friends with Hyun Jae and Simeon for different reasons and the plot would have been the same. I'm honestly not sure why Hyun Jae and Simeon are even considered part of the main cast when they really didn't do much. I guess they were there to serve as rivals for Choi Jun, but it didn't really work. Simeon was way too straightforward and Hyun Jae just never confessed. It was also obvious from the beginning that Lee Jun wasn't interested anyway.

There were just too many characters for no reason and as a result, they all feel really shallow. Even the two main characters don't get enough development. Why make Lee Jun an idol if you're not going to show and/or utilise any aspect of him being one? Also, we don't know anything about Choi Jun at all other than the fact that his father is the company's president (which is completely glossed over) and that his mother made him move to the US against his will. And he has a fiancée, just because? Why not, at this point.

Jun and Jun also never have a proper conversation about their past or how they feel. The bulk of their interactions comes in the shape of disjointed statements scattered over the course of 8 episodes. I feel like they REALLY needed to have a conversation after the scene at the end of episode 3/beginning of episode 4, but they just proceeded to ignore each other and focus on work until the end of episode 6. Then the last two episodes were pretty good but it took way too long for them to get to that point. Also, it might just be me, but I feel like their kid versions would have worked better if they were swapped. I actually went back to check if I mixed them up because Choi Jun comments about how Lee Jun was always cute, but in the flashbacks, it seemed like Choi Jun was the cute/passive one who got picked on. There was a bit of a disconnect there.

What I did like, however, were the cute/funny/steamy scenes between Jun and Jun. The humour was also a lot dirtier than I expected from a KBL, which was a pleasant surprise. The second half of episode 3 was particularly good, and everything after the kiss at the end of episode 6 was decent, but the series as a whole had way too much boring office filler and not enough interaction between the leads. A lot of the dialogue made very little sense and the editing was all over the place. If I were to rewatch, I'd skip everything except the Jun and Jun scenes.

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Cute, but dull and with serious problems regarding pacing and the story

To say that this series was a disappointment would be a huge understatement. I had high expectations for it after watching the first episode, and I legitimately thought it would be up there with Our Dating Sim and Semantic Error. It looked fun! Daring! Spicy! (considering it’s a korean series).
The three first episodes were great. The pacing could’ve been better, but we still had a lot of episodes to go, and there was plenty of time to pick up some speed.
However, the following three episodes were a mess. Just. A complete disaster. I don’t know what happened, or why, but they decided to fill 80% of each episode with pointless scenes and dialogue, unnecessary misunderstandings, a love square that didn’t really go anywhere and only took up excessive screen-time, and a whole lot of office meetings that I didn’t (or didn’t care to) understand.
The final episode saved it a little for me. I know many have found it rushed and sloppy, but I think it's cute and engaging in a way that episodes 4-7 weren't. It still doesn't bump it up to an 8, though.

The strong points:

- The visuals. Let’s be honest, the actor playing Choi Jun is a godsend - the man is truly beautiful. That helped me get through most of the episodes. As an artist, I just wanted to draw him.
- (Some of) the dialogue. It can be pretty funny at times. The ‘American style’, the ‘Why is it getting bigger??’, their banter at the restaurant table, etc etc. It’s kind of sad, because it shows that the series had the potential to be hilarious and entertaining all the way through.
- (Some of) the scenes the main leads have together, both when they're flirting and after they have started dating. It takes a while to get there, but once you do, it's kind of fun and daring for a k-drama. It's because of these that the rewatch value is higher.

Where it all comes crashing down:

- The acting. It’s not really that good. For Choi Jun, they relied too heavily on the actor being ‘sexy’ or whatever, and for Lee Jun, on him being cute. There are very few moments where the characters feel three-dimensional or natural, and they mostly feel very stiff and, well, acted. It doesn’t help that both actors have quite a blank expression, and don’t really emote with their face.
- The story!! Wtf was that? Why was Lee and Choi’s relationship explored so little? IT’S THE MAIN POINT OF THE SERIES?? Yet they barely talk about it, they barely interact outside the office. They are meant to be childhood friends who reconnected, yet feel like strangers that just dig each other. The fact that we barely see them together until the last episode is frustrating to me.
- Also, like I said, the love square was really unnecessary. Not only did it take away from the main couple, but it also made me root for the other two more than Choi Jun in their ‘quest’ to get with Lee Jun! I don’t think that’s what’s supposed to happen! And then they get an open ending, when they had me hoping they would get together for real.
- The pacing. The office setting was, in this case, a setback for the enjoyability of the series. They shot super long scenes where they are discussing perfume and brand deals with influencers, and it doesn’t really add to the plot. The same idea could be conveyed with much less screentime. I skipped multiple scenes because of this.

Overall, I would not recommend this series. Or, at least, I would recommend the first three eps and the last, but not the rest. The story is nothing new, and they didn’t do anything interesting with it, like I originally thought they would. This is the type of series where you can just watch an edit on YouTube or a TikTok and you'll be fine.

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Set your expectation on Low

This series was cute, but somewhat lackluster. Although the office romance storyline is nothing new, this had a lot of potential with the added idol element. It's just unfortunate that it was lost in a poorly developed script. They should have focused more on this instead of adding layers of pointless story elements. This included an exhausting misunderstanding story element that went on too long for no reason. Another problem was poor character introduction and development. The actors were good considering what was given to them.

Random Notes:

It seems 2023 is not the year for good BL office romances.

The Mr. Heart lead actors’ cameo was cute and made sense. However, the cameo with Tutor and Yim was random and added nothing to the series.

This is one of those series you can wait to watch until you have some time to kill and have nothing better on your must watch list.

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People are thinking to deep but I'm just vibing

I went into this show blind and honestly stayed for the vibes. Sure, the story isn't complex, but not all stories need to be that way, and some shows are just meant to vibe and feel good. People's expectations these days are high, but not as high as their attention spans. Mmm, that's sad. Either way, I really enjoyed watching this show and hope in the future BL shows could be 12 episodes or more so things could be more fleshed out and not crammed.

The stories basically about 2 guys who share the same name and lost contact at a young age but met again in their adult years. things are awkward at first but slowly they began speaking to each other and there is this inviable tension and angst and romantic chemistry between the 2 male leads and along side that, their is 2 other male characters who are also attracted to one of the main male lead.

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Mediocre plot + Meh acting + Low Budget = Another overrated flop

From nothing happening to crumbs of moments between the two main leads... this drama is flat...as flat as the characters depicted who are walking clichés...
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Although, I could understand the slow pace of Takara-kun to Amagi-kun... here the pacing isn't just slow, it's completely off. It should be noted that throwing in rivals to advance the plot only serves one thing... it makes this drama even more boring than it already is... and no the lack of budget doesn't excuse any of this.
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I don't see any character development happening in the two episodes we have left and I have no hope that this will get any better.
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Now how is this drama rated as high as Hidden Agenda, My Personal Weatherman or Love Class S2 is beyond me 🙄 I guess this will be another of those mediocre BLs that somehow ends up being "liked"
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Grooming 101

This drama isn't really worth a review so I will be quick.
The story seems to have been based on a, "How to groom a child" manual, they just made the child into an adult but left him acting like a preteen boy.
We have 3 adult men in power, all chasing after the immature intern who doesn't understand normal behaviour between grown men. They are all constantly touching him, leaning against him, wiping his mouth, cleaning his hands or have him sit in their lap while getting an erection. When they are not groping him then it's sexual innuendos and obvious flirting, nothing seems to bother our little boytoy intern who doesn't understand boundaries.
We have his top Boss who was his childhood friend, it is meant to mean something but I don't know what. They haven't seen each other for 15 years and never once went out for drinks and talk about old times. The childlike intern does hold a grudge against his Boss though, he left him all those years ago without saying goodbye. I can understand a 10 year old boy being upset that his friend left him, but 15 years later he should have realized it wasn't his choice and he isn't to blame.
His other Boss is his friend who as fancied him for years and never told him, he just buys him chocolate milk, rubs his head and treats him like a child that he wants to date.
The third man is an Idol/model, he also wants the intern, but he is more direct and keeps asking him to date him. The intern never answer with a yes/ no, it is like he is a child and doesn't understand the question.
There are many more things I could say about this terrible drama but I am bored now and really can't be bothered.

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Ju(no)

I had relatively high expectations for Jun & Jun because I'd heard a fair amount of chatter regarding it and most people seemed to really like it. While I can't say that I disliked it, it also didn't come even remotely close to meeting my expectations. It had potential, but the lack of plot and the bloated cast brought it down. The leads did have great chemistry though and there were some cute/romantic moments that were enjoyable. I don't regret watching, I just wish there was more to it.

The plot was so thin as to be almost nonexistent. A former idol starts his first office job and coincidentally reunites with his childhood best friend who just so happens to be the director of the company he's working at and naturally they fall in love. Aside from that we have the interns doing a lot of gossiping, Lee Jun dealing with the affections of three men (why is this such a thing), and a lot of office meetings. What's disappointing is that if a lot of that had been limited or cut entirely, the story could have been vastly improved. We know that Lee Jun and Choi Jun were childhood friends, but at some point were separated when Choi Jun was sent to the US. At what age this happened, why they didn't or weren't able to stay in contact, none of that is addressed or answered so the viewer is left guessing. The build up of their relationship is inconsistent. They're hot then cold and then suddenly make some huge leaps, physically at least. It felt disjointed and rushed, like several steps were missed, whereas previously things were progressing steadily if a bit slowly. Lack of communication serves as the main conflict between the leads which isn't anything new, but Choi Jun's reactions, the fact that he didn't seem to understand why Lee Jun reacted the way he did when he found out he was engaged, didn't make sense. He's supposed to be incredibly smart, but, my lord, was he dense in this situation. Most decent people are not looking to enter relationships with those who are engaged, certainly not without a very good reason or explanation which we eventually got, but, again, it shouldn't have taken as long as it did to come out.

The cast was way too big for the very limited amount of time there was. Too much time was focused on the other interns and office workers who really didn't contribute much in the way of moving the story along. Most of them could have and should have been cut to allow more time for the lead's relationship to develop. Furthermore we have the absurdity of three guys pursuing Lee Jun. Is he cute, yes, but aside from that, I didn't necessarily get why each of the guys wanted him, particularly Simeon. Choi Jun and Hyun Jae at least had history with him that was shown more and built up slightly, but we didn't see much of his relationship with Simeon in the past. Their liking of him just felt quite shallow. Despite the lack of communication and his lapse of judgment in explaining things to Lee Jun, I liked Choi Jun. I appreciated his straightforwardness when it came to Lee Jun, the ways that he helped and supported him, and his flirting was bar none. The innuendo laced conversations he had with Lee Jun were generally pretty entertaining and were more explicit than I was used to in a KBL. Lee Jun was generally pretty likeable, although I did question at times why he didn't just ask for help when he didn't understand things. He also wasn't the most effective communicator and would listen to what others said and believe them rather than communicating with Choi Jun and getting the information from him directly. The other characters didn't leave much of an impression on me. The hints that Hyun Jae and Simeon might become a couple were cute, but also felt rushed and unnecessary.

The acting was decent. Hyun Woo and Jun Mo had great chemistry, particularly during their romantic scenes. Some of their other scenes though fell flat or felt awkward. Maybe those were some earlier scenes that were shot, their interactions just didn't feel as natural. The cameo of the two Mr. Heart actors and Tutor and Yim was fun and a nice little treat.

I know I've probably made it sound like I hated this drama, but I really didn't. It just could have been so much better and stronger and that's where the disappointment lies. The first couple and last couple of episodes are the best, the middle episodes could honestly almost be skipped. It's mostly enjoyable and an easy binge, just don't have too high of expectations for it.

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