Liquor (2023)

All in all it is a good and solid series.

It left me sitting here with a soft and happy feeling.
I had no expectations of this one when I started, but now I'm glad I saw it.
It's short, the actors do a great job of bringing the character to life, and the soundtrack fits. There is no drama and the love story between the leads unfolds at a steady and healthy pace.
Perhaps one shouldn't follow the example of how much alcohol is drunk in the series, but I can very well empathize with the enthusiasm and passion that Han Ji Yu has for food.

Director Kim Jin Yeol made his debut this year (2023) with 'Individual Circumstances' ( a BL, go watch it if u liked "All the liqours").
"All the Liquors" is his second work and I personally find it entertaining as well.
If you compare the two series, you realize that they have similar imagery and they also feel similar when while watching. Whether that's good or bad is in the eye of the beholder.

Back to "All the Liquors": All in all it is a good and solid series to watch in between or just don't know what to watch next. I had fun watching it and I will definitely recommend it to other people.

Leggi di Più

Great short show! Good for beginner BL watchers!

"All the Liquors" stands out as a captivating Korean BL series that intricately weaves a budding romance with the world of alcoholic beverages. Following Ha-Joon's dream of becoming a bartender and Jun-MO's responsibility as the heir to a prestigious liquor business, the series navigates their personal aspirations amidst societal pressures.

The undeniable highlight of the show is the genuine and heartfelt connection between Ha-Joon and Jun-mo. Their chemistry is palpable, drawing viewers into their evolving relationship. The incorporation of the liquor industry serves as a fascinating backdrop, adding depth and uniqueness to their journey.

Character development shines through the main leads, offering nuanced portrayals of their struggles and aspirations. However, the supporting characters could benefit from more depth and meaningful contributions to the storyline.

While exploring societal expectations and family dynamics within the liquor industry, the series manages to maintain a consistent pacing and delivers emotional depth, albeit occasionally missing opportunities for a more profound exploration of these themes.

The production quality is generally commendable, maintaining a visually appealing standard throughout the series.

Overall, "All the Liquors" earns an 8 out of 10 for its engaging central romance, genuine chemistry between the leads, and the incorporation of the liquor world into the narrative. It's an enjoyable watch within the BL genre, offering a balance of emotional depth and a unique setting, although with some room for improvement in supporting character development and deeper exploration of its thematic elements.

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The characters balance each other nicely

I like how realistic the series felt at times and the fact that it lacked unnecessary drama and jealousy fits. The two main characters are adults and their interactions and lives fit their roles. The locations for the series were really beautiful and aesthetically pleasing, the spaces of each character really seemed to fit them well.

Park Ki Hoon & Han Ji Yu: I found the two adorable! Han Ji Yu seems to be quite wild, easy going yet a bit awkward at times. Park Ki Hoon is an introvert who doesn’t do well in social situations, and that shows. I really liked how they kept their personalities throughout the series, there were no drastic changes. Sure, cold male lead became softer and more caring, but he still kept some of his traits. I do like how drama free the series was. It was a bit of a slow burn, but it felt realistic. The two are adults who didn’t rush into things. Even with having a crush on one another. They balance each other out really nicely. Han Ji Yu being a foodie and how he enjoyed pretty much everything he was eating was such a mood.

I am not really a fan of the fact that Han Ji Yu was shown as pretty much alcoholic. And the whole reason why Park Ki Hoon hates alcohol was delivered in a very cold, stoic manner. It was quite anticlimactic. Including how he was then suddenly cool with not only people drinking around him and in his restaurant but with him drinking as well.

I loved the friendships shown in the series. Park Ji Ha is an absolute cutie, the typical always single, in and out of relationships, kind of friend. His friendship with Han Ji Yu is amazing, they are the kind of friends that tell you just how things are. I also really liked the friendship between Park Ki Hoon and his friend / employee Choi Wan. It felt more formal, but the two had a close relationship and Choi Wan was doing his best to get his friend to open up a bit more. Kim Yuh Ah was a great addition to the group.

There was some humor to the series too. Which I liked. I really loved the opening scene, actually I really liked the whole first episode. I was hooked! Sadly, I feel like things got very rushed after the 2nd or 3rd episode, instead of focusing on the whole persuasion to work together part which was promised in the series description.

Leggi di Più

not bad but also not great

honestly its not bad , i did enjoy watching the first until middle eps etc, it was the last eps that i started to feel really bored and was forcing myself to complete it, the thing is yeah i dont drink but that was not the issue, its that when the main character is always looking drunk like an alchoolic person i was questioning if the serie will be only about them getting drunk all the time, i mean yeah the name of this serie is All the Liquors but they could have added scenes that can make people excited to watch? no? .
also whats wrong if some people dont like to drink? or some restaurants dont sell alchool, why in the end he had to "sell alchool and like it" like it should be like that? its fine if he likes it, it should also be fine if he doesnt like it. those society standards are not cool by the way
what i liked the most is them showing different dishes and the show will make you feel hungry, but yeah at some point it felt that the scenes are so repetitive, getting drunk and eating ( x 1000 times) i think thats why people are saying that its boring, because there is nothing more than that they didnt show different scenes to make the show exciting.
i also want to say both actors are really good looking but the acting is also not that great, Han Ji Yu is already cute he doesnt need to force it by expression exagerations etc and i appreciate we got 2-3 kiss scenes in the end but it was awkward asf
i gave this serie 8 stars because i enjoyed first and middle eps

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Shall we eat some ramyon...later?

When I started watching Kdramas a few years ago (thank you covid!), I was struck by the place eating and drinking take in these series: the characters eat huge amounts of food and drink until they fall into a drunken stupor! And when they emerge from it, they continue eating and drinking late at night! What was even more surprising was that no one had anything to say about the unseemly behaviour of those drunk people: often they are considered cute and people promptly fall in love with such drunks!

All The Liquors is just the same but a BL, apparently. A cold and serious chef keeps bumping into the drunken JiYu and falls for his dubious charms. THE END

JiYu is a drunk, almost an alcoholic, barely functioning during the day because he spends nights drinking himself into oblivion in order to forget that he had been dumped by his boyfriend on Christmas. Ten months on, he is still drinking heavily every day, and drunk and hungry one afternoon he stumbles into the chef's restaurant where he loses consciousness. The chef, who is very rigid and prohibits alcohol in his restaurant, in contact with JiYu changes the tune and starts admitting alcoholic beverages in his restaurant and drinking quite a bit himself.

There is nothing I liked about this drama.
I do not like the message that is behind it: if you want to enjoy your life, you need to eat and drink heavily preferably with like minded friends. Otherwise you are a weirdo!
I do not like the lack of chemistry between the leads nor the character of JiYu who is a slovenly drunk; Though there is a bit of development where he is concerned: he drinks a little bit less towards the end! With a couple of dead fish kisses and talk about rameyon!
I do not like the music: it is boring and mostly played when not needed and vice versa. And the sound recording was atrocious: you could hear the empty space of a hangar they filmed in since the echo was really bad!
I do not like the clothes they wear: all those large high rise baggy trousers and oversize shirts are not nice!

The only thing I liked about this drama is its length and that's why I finished it!

Leggi di Più

Light but for the alcohol

Light is the operative word to describe “All The Liquors”, a low budget Korean BL about a young marketing lad falling in love with the small restaurant-owning chef he persaudes to front one of his company’s alcohol product launches. Key to the series is the 20 year old Kim Jun Hyung, who combines light comic elements with his inherent cuteness to maintain interest in this love versus work plot line. His partner in love is played by debuting model/actor Won Do Hyun, whose wooden acting ironically turns out to be perfect for the hesitant lover.

The cast is small, as in similar low-budget Korean shoots, like last year’s “Individual Circumstances” and the locations are limited. “All The Liquors” has the benefit of a city locale which adds some interest, although the poor audio quality inside the undampened box-like location of the chef’s restaurant represents an unusual drop in film production standards from a Korean production team.

“All The Liquors” had the potential it seemed at first to tackle a much more serious issue of over-consumption of alcohol in Korean society but managed to drop the ball on this opportunity and to reaffirm instead the dubious notion that too much Sujo is a good thing where it assists romance to flow.

Leggi di Più

Nada explica nada

Não desgostei da série, mas das coreanas, com certeza ela é uma das que menos gostei. Um plot meio sem sentido, o casal desenvolvido às pressas pq a série tinha pouco tempo, uma série vazia de conteúdo. Não consegui entender o pq o chef não gosta de álcool a ponto de se indispor com os clientes, imaginei que ele fosse dependente, e não pudesse ter álcool por perto, sei lá... Ele tomou um copo de licor e desmaiou, eu fiquei: ??????? E depois, do nada ele aceitou Ji You, a quem ele conheceu bêbado, enfiado no restaurante sem ser convidado, e do nada quebrou sua própria regra de não vender álcool, sem maiores explicações também, isso me pareceu ilógico. Aparentemente o chef é muito bom em superar traumas de forma rápida.
Agora isso, a série passa uma impressão realmente negativa sobre a bebida. Como se passa em uma cultura diferente da minha, não posso deixar de me perguntar se lá as pessoas bebem de forma descontrolada mesmo, pq tinham cenas de alcoolismo puro, em situações que não faziam sentido.

Eu realmente não veria de novo. Não me cativou. Todos os aspectos técnicos estão excelentes, mas esse roteiro é uma desordem.

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Realistic drama.. an expected Korean BL

To begin with , I called it realistic because the awkward stares and the interactions felt real as if it was not a filming scene but a moment straight out of a daily life of a person.

Other BLs show this dreamy world where leads are so much in love or are ardent enemy turning into lovers, but here everything goes smoothly.

Little more screen space was required to show how and why the chef falls for and is tender towards the soju guy at the beginning, given there was no previous interactions between them

But anyway, the story is average, a bit dragged but the cute moments and expressions makes up for it.
The kisses were just touch of lips as expected from Korean BL but not complaining since they look natural and awkward at the same time.

Watch it without expectations and move on to next one because it won't linger in your thoughts after it gets over.

Leggi di Più

It's Like Eating a Nothing Burger

One can call this BL series cute, soft, and slightly entertaining. A nice entertainment escape story. Not deep of course, and not very memorable but nice for the moment. Its story is simple, basic, and frankly, boring. A couple of distractions made this series less impactful for me. Frankly I did not understand the point of this series. It is barely romantic. The kissing scenes were insulting, and obviously badly rehearsed. What distracted me from this series are two things. This series has no depth to its story or its characters. Secondly, we have yet another example of a BL series unwilling to commit itself to showing ‘love’.

Leggi di Più

Quiet, sweet, but nothing special

I actually really like this show. I'm not going to claim it's a particularly *good* show by any means, but it is very pleasant to watch.
It's got a very calm, gentle atmosphere about it, a sort of warm mellow quality that I really enjoyed.
The plot is paper-thin, but the characters are charming and believable to the point where the actual story almost doesn't matter - you just want to keep watching these people living their lives.
The story could have explored alcoholism and Korean drinking culture and it is indeed disappointing that it fails to live up to that potential (oh the things that could have been).
Personally though, once I lowered my expectations a bit, found a lot to like about the series just as it is. The friendships depicted are wonderful, the humour is often understated but works very well with the story, and the pacing and relationship progression are absolutely perfect.
There is no huge drama, no pre-finale curse, there's honestly barely any conflict at all. I can understand why a lot of people lost interest in the show because of this, but I find it a refreshingly realistic take on a budding relationship that makes for a good palate cleanser from more intense dramas.
If you're interested in a low-angst, slice-of-life type drama about people appreciating good food and good company, which features a very wholesome, gentle slow-burn romance, then I'd recommend giving this series a shot.

Leggi di Più

É sempre um como vazio.

Sinceramente poderiam ter trabalhado melhor o dorama. O enredo é de uma história superficial, não existe algo a mais nem algo a menos. Realmente fica uma sensação "de uma história comum para ver se não tem mais o que fazer". Eu não achei chato ou monótono, mas realmente recomendo esta série para pessoas que procuram um bl e que não têm mais coisas para ver.

O enredo cai, quando a maioria das cenas, vemos o Ji Yu bêbado. Realmente eu me questionava se ele não tinha limite. Mas ele não foi o único, já que o seu melhor amigo nos últimos dois capítulos sempre aparecia bêbado. É normal beber álcool nas refeições, mas penso que será demais apresentar uma personagem bêbada só porque bebeu enquanto comia uma barriga de porco, por exemplo.

Uma coisa que ficou em dúvida foi sobre o chefe, como é que ele conseguiu quebrar facilmente a regra de não vender álcool no seu restaurante? Em momento algum eu vi um momento plausível. Além disso ele também aceitou facilmente o Ji Yu no seu restaurante, as primeiras impressões foram más e davam a entender que ele é um alcóolico. Bem ele não parece ser muito diferente disso. Outra situação é o Chefe ter medo do palco, ele superou isso muito rápido. Acho que essas foram as razões que me deixaram de pé atrás ao classificar esse bl.

O romance entre os dois, não é lá a melhor coisa, já que no último episódio é onde existem interações mais íntimas. Eu não achei mau de todo, porque sempre tem um certo equilíbrio e não estraga a progressão da história.

Mas sinceramente esta não é uma das melhores histórias para se ver. Parece que ela não acrescentou em nada, nem mesmo os momentos fofos ganharam assim tanto reconhecimento. A história também não deu uma moral, a não ser a parte de que, não devemos beber álcool sem um limite ou então, que todos os coreanos que gostam de bebidas alcoólicas são uns bêbados.

Infelizmente não posso dar uma nota muito positiva.

Leggi di Più

Shocked at low rating

Honestly, I never write reviews on this website because the ratings on these shows always seem to be absolutely BRUTAL, but the rating being a 7.1 (and ranked below "The New Employee") really compelled me to.

This is a care-free, light-hearted show about a marketing employee searching for a chef to promote a liquor company, and he ends up in a dilemma where he has to work with a chef who is known to have a strong aversion to alcohol. The plot is fairly unique in terms of food-centered kbl series - it doesn't focus on the food necessarily, but rather how their opposing views on alcohol bring them together.

The series is only 8, 20~ minute episodes, so it moves fairly quickly as expected. Some other people mentioned in their reviews the ML suddenly decided he would work with the alcohol product out of no-where and that he had a change of heart seemingly "because of love". It makes me wonder if they even paid attention to the show??? The chef was in a very specific circumstance where he needed help and money, and when Ji Yoo offered him both things, he accepted (after 2 weeks of him refusing) as a way to return the favor. When he drank alcohol, it was because he came to be comfortable around Ji Yoo and wanted to make him happy, but also because it was his job???? He had to make a menu surrounding the alcohol, it makes sense for him to try it at some point in order to make a menu that reflected and enhanced the flavor of said alcohol.

Another complaint I saw was that there was no character development and fights were resolved quickly. I'm not sure what people are expecting out of a web series; I thought it moved at a great pace and was reasonable for the plot line. The arc where they have to create a menu seems to take place over the course of a month, and I assume we are supposed to infer that both the leads grew close over this time period. I don't think it's necessary to think too deeply about it.

The production is good. For these shows you never know it will be seemingly "indie" or high quality, but it falls perfectly in-between. As a film student, I thought the framing and coloring were better than average for a web-series, and the sets were wonderful.

Both leads were charming and had great chemistry from the beginning, and the side characters weren't annoying. If you enjoy food dramas, or series based around a restaurant environment (The Tasty Florida, To My Star, My Sweet Dear, etc.) , I highly recommend this series.

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