Adorable!

This was such a good series! It was adorable. There were no cringey scenes. (There's one scene that could have been cringey but wasn't, so bravo!) There were multiple issues touched on but the main story stayed on course. My ONLY complaint is that it was too short. I would have liked to have seen so much more of every part of this sweet little story, including the side characters.

(And now to cheat the system for the required 500 characters.....)

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It was cute, it was sweet, it was fluffy, and I loved it.

I usually read reviews after I've watched (binged) a series, and I wonder how people forget that this is a Rom-Com....emphasis on the comedy part. It has it's silly moments, like over-the-top acting and crying and such. Lots of reviewers have developed a standard that simply can't or won't be met in all BL's for various reasons. This was not meant to be a serious drama. It does have plenty of serious moments though, and I found that the actors were really good.

Things I did not like:
-It's rarely necessary to have the actors pause for 5 seconds with every 4-ish words of script. Sometimes I forget the start of the sentence by the time they get to the end of it.
-It bothered me that Kim brought up that his parents had run away together, when Kim's father had passed away prior. Did they leave the small kids with someone? Or did they gloss over the fact that this is his mother's second marriage? (granted, they did not say it was a second marriage, so that is an assumption on my part.)
-I still don't understand sniff-kisses, but I've come to accept them.
-If I see another pinched cheek, I'm going to scream! Sheesh!

Things I did like:
-The actors were adorable
-My favorite characters were Park and Lee....I couldn't get enough of them and their entire storyline.
-The kissing/intimate scenes were MUCH better than most BL's.
-The amount of screentime that each couple had was great. We got to know the side characters/couples as well as the mains.
-There wasn't an extreme amount of couples staring into each others eyes, at least not to a ridiculous amount, except for the "catch-fall-kiss" trope (and honestly that wasn't too bad), but that was forgiven when the chancellor exclaimed "cliché." LOL
-I loved how the friends supported each other and their relationships, which is actually common in BL's, but still....
-The sisters!!!!!

I definitely recommend this if you are looking for a good, fairly lighthearted series. And Jeff Satur singing the OST???? Yes please!

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Such a sweet story

This was just what my heart needed. Is it perfect? Absolutely not. Do I care? Also no. This drama told a story. It was an enjoyable story with some pretty good acting. I actually found that the younger crowd was much more realistic in their acting than the seasoned actors. I enjoyed seeing a story where people cared about each other. I hate the "separate (for whatever reason) and see if our love lasts" scenario, but it is what it is, and at least there was a happy ending.

I love that Sky was crying before he even looked up in final lake scene. I loved the heartbreak Sun exhibited every time Sky cried/yelled/stormed off. I love that Sky berated his father for treating Sun like a pet. I love that there weren't a bunch of unnecessary scenes, or extended "looking off into the distance" contemplation scenes. I was invested throughout the entire series.

I kinda think that the second leads got shafted out of their love scenes....they had problems, questions, then suddenly they didn't. And those tests the father had Sun go through? That was just *&% (insert your favorite expletive.)

Regardless, I'm not sure why so many people gave bad ratings, but to each their own. I loved this. Now I'm going to watch the movie, because why not?

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Adorable!

That was adorable!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTa92oDTLqA
for anyone looking for it.

And why do I need 500 characters when I just want to say that it was adorable???

Anyhow....I loved it. It was such a cute "short." My numbers do not average a 10, but I gave it a 10 anyway, because "music" is not really much needed in something this short, and it doesn't really have much "rewatch" value, but it was worth it. And, who knows, I might actually rewatch this for the feel-good value. I loved that the actors portrayed their characters so well that there was no cringe, at least for me.

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Too hyped

As a newcomer to the BL genre, I have binged probably 30 or more dramas recently. As the BL fandom in general seems to think so highly of SOTUS, I decided to give it a try. I was sad to see that it was about as good as I expected. I'd hoped that it would blow me away, but it barely kept me interested. I failed to see any chemistry between the actors, onscreen or off. The character development felt like a car with a bad clutch. It just dropped scenes in your lap and failed to flesh those scenes out satisfactorily. I mean, what was the point of the haircut scene?? Why was Arthit crying behind the stadium? For that matter, why did the seniors decide that the juniors had won the flag??

I have tried to start watching SOTUS S, the second season.....it's 2 years later, why is Kong still chasing his boyfriend for attention? I may force myself to get through episode 1, but I'm not promising anything.

I think that the actors in SOTUS did what they could, especially with some of them being new to the drama world. I do not think the main actors and most of the side characters are shippable though. Prem and Wad are the exception. There was chemistry and potential there. Sadly, nowhere else that I saw. And I am happy to watch even the worst storyline for some good chemistry.

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Worth it!

First of all, I am 100% in love with Folk's character (First.)

I was truly surprised to find that these characters had depth. I am kind of upset that this drama isn't getting better reviews. I think that if it had been longer and more able to flesh out the characters, the story would have required less interpretation on the part of the viewer. I suppose that for those who haven't experienced real life situations in which there were few words but lots of chemistry/emotion, these characters might be hard to understand, but in my opinion, the actors did a fabulous job in portraying the love/hate/attraction/disgust/confusion/guilt that can occur all at once. I saw one review that said they went from 0 to 100, then back to 0, but I disagree. If this were a novel with inner monologue, it would be much more understandable for those with no experience in this type of relationship, or those who have to have everything spelled out for them.

I am very upset that the characters of Namfah and (especially) Praew weren't better acted. I felt like I was watching a high school play when those characters were on screen.

Gameplay's and Folk's chemistry was everything. I'm going to go back and rewatch it now.....

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Amazing friendship

Some dramas are meant to be binged. This isn't one of those. This is something that is meant for you to look forward to. Rarely do I regret binging a show, but I wished I'd have saved some of these episodes for future days. There is a level of energy and excitement throughout the show, and I am sad to say that I used it up all in one go.

I loved the feel of this show. The friendship, the camaraderie, the support of the 4 friends (plus their families and coworkers) made it all worthwhile for me. Having known friendship like this in my own life, I find that it gives me happiness to see such things onscreen. For people to be there with you through thick and thin, you have to have gone through a lot together. Although the storyline wasn't realistic, it was fun and interesting to me. It did have it's sad moments, but then again....don't we all?

I enjoyed all the acting in this drama, and I think everyone did a great job portraying their characters. There was a good mix of character types, but none were inherently evil. Everyone had their own redeeming qualities, even though all of the characters were flawed in their own way....some more than others, but this isn't their story. The OTT characters kept the storyline light and funny. (The music set the tone for many scenes, and was interesting enough for me to look up several of the songs.) I found the friendship of the 4 totally believable, and they had great chemistry together.

Unfortunately, I did not see the chemistry between Ji Eun and Woo Min as a couple, but I think that their acting was on point. That didn't make it any less believable to me, because irl some couples just don't exude chemistry. That doesn't make them any less of a couple though. Although I didn't feel passion between them, I did feel friendship and support and happiness. Sometimes that's enough.

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Thoughts

--People get really offended at a show that is for entertainment only. And if you're not going to watch at least the majority of the program, how can you give a legitimate rating??
--I rarely rewatch anything, so disregard that rating.
--Hwang In Youp is an amazing actor in my opinion
--I hate how K-dramas dumb down children
--I'm going to have to watch more of Bae In Hyuk! As Choi Yoon Sang, he kinda stole my heart!...
--...as did the character Na Se Ryun (Son Ji Hyun.)
--Ji Seung Hyun's character Choi Joo Wan was played much better than I realized....he was one of the most memorable for me, which surprises me. However, thinking about it, this character did lose his wife, daughter, father, job, and obviously his freedom all within a short period of time, so it should have been memorable I guess.
--I loved the camaraderie of the law students (group 8), the 2 that ran the cafe, and the assistant lawyer
--I am sorry that Gong Chan didn't have more screen time. I don't feel that this character was written as fully fleshed out as he should have been. I think Hwang In Youp did an amazing job considering. There was a lot of long dramatic scenes looking out of the window or over the ocean or whatever.....this time could have been better filled with a little more of the romance. It seemed more "hero-worship" than anything.
--Choi Yoon Sang's crush on Noona should have been more evident as well, but it was sweet, nonetheless.
--I loved the 3 sons friendship, even if they were stupid and controlled by their fathers. They were the actual 3 Musketeers in the show, unlike what the CEO said.
--The entirety of South Korea needs anger management. (Don't get me wrong, I love South Korea, but sheesh! the amount of slapping the kids around...and yes, it's a drama, but there's too much of it IRL.)
--Choi Joo Wan jumping over the couch to get to his father was so good, and Gong Chan revealing himself to his step-mother was heartbreaking.
--I kind of wanted it revealed in the disciplinary hearing that Gong Chan and Su Jae were actually working together to find the killer....I wanted a big dramatic scene, and it just didn't happen.

End of thoughts for now. :)

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Poor Win!

I feel sorry for Win.

This drama is totally based on Cha being younger than Irin. It pained me every time the characters called Cha a child, when Cha was fully an adult and knew his own mind. As a citizen of the US, it is my opinion that some of the cultural standards in other countries are outdated, but at the same time, these dramas are based on their culture, not mine. So honestly, if I'm going to watch these dramas, I should keep that in mind. However, I don't understand why there has to be so much unhappiness, so little acceptance.

And OMG, just whose side was Jin on, anyway??? So wishy-washy! There were times when he wasn't even on his own side!

There were so many plot holes and things that didn't make sense. Who was running the companies when Namcha and Irin were off doing their own thing?? Why was Jin's office inside the publishing company? Why didn't they make Inn take another pregnancy test prior to the wedding?? Why was there a 7 year age gap, but also 7 years of non-contact between Namcha and Irin? Did they just date for a few months then never see each other for 7 years? If so, why was Cha still so head-over-heels for Irin? (Didn't Cha say he was abroad for only a couple of years?)

Anyway, I appreciated the acting. Win is getting better. Overall, there weren't too many scenes where they were awkwardly standing there waiting for the next line. And the translator guy? BEST character!!!! Grandpa made me hate him, just like he should have. And I thought Tan and Paeng were great!

Overall, if they wanted to showcase Win in a drama, it should have been a better one. And not one where he's, ironically, a vet, as he is not an animal person. He did a great job at hiding that.

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Second watch

I just got through my second watch of this, and after watching probably 300 C-/K-/J-/T-dramas, I have to say that the acting in this show is some of the best, in my opinion. Not everyone was perfect in every scene, but I didn't question the actors' reactions any more than I would have questioned the reactions of people in real life. And although there are a few plot holes, I personally have enough imagination to fill in the blanks.

The kids totally stole my heart in every scene they were in, and made the entire drama worth watching. While their delivery sometimes lacked emotion, anyone who's been around young kids knows that's often the way kids speak, so it was believable. And their crying scenes were on point, especially when the boy was chasing after the taxi. I hope he got an award for that scene alone.

My original rating was an 8.5, but I bumped it to a 9.5 this time around. Of all the shows that I've watched, it's rare that I WANT to watch a drama more than once, and even rarer that I actually DO it. But this show is definitely worth it.

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Just some thoughts...

There are already plenty of reviews for this drama, so instead of an actual review, I'll just write some thoughts that may or may not ever be read. Just because. LOL

--Is it really really good acting, or do I actually, truly, hate the mom??? Also, I hate that she never understood that she was the cause of her son's moral deficiencies.

--The plot twist. I wasn't expecting a plot twist. How was I not expecting a plot twist?? I was truly surprised. And honestly, it was informational only....they would have been fine without it. But it did give some justification to the motive.

--I never did understand the relationship between Yu Ji Hyuk (ML) and Lee Suk Joon (Lawyer/HR). I got a sense that there was a familial relationship, but I was never sure.

--Yu Hee Yeon was adorable! It's nice to have a genuinely good character occasionally. Not to mention, intelligent and helpful, with no ulterior motives.

--Poor Baek Eun Ho. He was so clueless throughout the entire thing. I felt so sorry for him.

--Yu Ra's bodyguard/driver/secretary.....he looked so betrayed in the last episode. Not to mention his reluctance to murder people. His role was pivotal in saving some lives. I thought he deserved a better ending than to be left standing in the parking lot.

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Great story!

This is a short drama, but it somehow relayed more story than the 35min x 8eps allowed, with still enough time for flashbacks and bloopers at the end of the last episode. I enjoyed it thoroughly, with my only complaints being that 1) the school bully is 38yrs old irl, and looks it, 2) the adult versions of the ML's look too dissimilar to their high school selves, and 3) the psychiatrist should have had a brighter personality. I had to suspend belief on those matters. Other than that, everything was "gucci" in my opinion. Even the pseudo-supernatural parts have a basis in reality, whether it be actual physical reactions that science has yet to explain, or simply psychological results from changes in the body. (Here I refer to menstrual theft as well as cellular memory. Because hormones make us do crazy things, and genetic/ancestral memory is a thing, so why not cellular memory?)

Despite these things, the drama itself was an immersive, emotional, and overall feel-good story. I didn't even hate the bully as much as I should have, as it seemed to me that he had a depth that was left unexplored. But nothing is perfect, in dramas or in real life, and things aren't always what they seem or what we think they should be. I think that the actors played their characters well, and I liked that the drama didn't have abusive parents or teachers, and the friendships/relationships between the characters were real. Especially the grandma. They boys' love for her made me smile.

I loved this drama and I highly recommend it!

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A love that never falters

This drama was about a love that never falters. Throughout the entire show, the main characters are confident in themselves and their love. Once they actually get together, they do not doubt each other. They believe in themselves, each other, and their abilities. They believe in each other's strength and fight together to ensure that they will be together in the end. The drama they face together, with the support of their friends, results in a happy ending. The writers even gave all the characters redeemable qualities which may be unrealistic, but made the drama easy to watch. The visuals were stunning, especially the ML's bedroom eyes. (Sorry, I'm shallow like that sometimes. LOL) I enjoyed the difference in this drama, in that it started from the end and told their backstory. So while you know how it's going to end, you have to watch to see how it got there.

Personally, I could have used another 8 or so episodes focused on the side characters as well. I would like to have seen more of their journey.

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A trip through Hell

I'll keep this short and sweet.
Spoilers ahead:
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Question: How do you make an entire movie, quite literally, around the twitch of a hand?

Answer: You throw in some dinosaurs, a pack of hungry wolves, some battle scenes, a game of chess, a clay pot, a trip through hell, some fabulous CGI, and an amazing cast of actors!

I personally thought part 1 (Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds) was a better movie overall, but there are many who disagree. Regardless, both movies were very well done and deserve to be seen by those who occasionally enjoy a bit of the fantasy genre. I'd hope they would continue with the plans to make a part 3 and 4, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen, sadly.

Are you still reading? Why?? Go watch!!!

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