Offensive in some areas, good in others but pretty enjoyable for me

Backstreet Rookie is a tough one because it created so many controversies that I can't even count them lol. lSome were unfounded like the ones against the protagonist couple. Problematic scenes? where? They barely had any romance scenes at all so ??? Ok to some the first kiss may have been offensive to some but there's much worse in other Korean Dramas it felt like some of the audience was way too harsh on this one. The one controversy I did agree with was the Daeksil one. His character was offensive for many reasons and I admit his scenes were pretty hard to get thru esp in the beginning. I learned to ffwed thru him and enjoy the show without him in it.

Now that I've gotten that out of the way I think it's easier to rate this show better on the acting, the plot and the story and the parts that I enjoyed,

The emotional parts in the drama were surprising. They were exceptionally done when they wanted to go deep into it like the differences of class in Korea(Rich vs. Poor) the bullying, the emotional strains some situations can cause on people and when people feel inferior to others. For this show being rather silly I liked how that was shown those moments touched me.

The character arcs were good too especially Saetbyul's I think her character growth was the best on this show. KYJ did a good job wiht this character too. JCW was soo good too. Loved how he portrayed that innocence, romance and sweetness of his character. Choi DaeHyun showed that he can do more than the strong, action heroes all the time. I know some of his fans didn't like this role for him but I did. Just like I liked SB for KJY. I see why they chose to do this show and IA with their choice.

The romance was pretty enjoyable, it was a slooowburn without any physical affection and although I was disappointed at first, I was satisfied with it at the end. Like I mentioned somewhere else what mattered to me in the end was if I believed the love between the characters and I did.

The OST was okay I only liked the main love song which was Something. Not much of the OST was memorable.

My Overall Rating( 9.0). I'm just gonna go with my gut, the reason I'm giving it a high rating while others may not is because I liked it. Despite it's flaws and the controversies I enjoyed watching it every weekend. I looked forward to it & it's one of my favorites of the years. I'm gonna miss it but I can always go rewatch when I feel like it XD.

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Honestly this was one of the better dramas this year. The story was refreshing and sorta original: strong female joins politics for selfish reasons at first but then decides to take a stand and make a change, no matter how many times she falls she never gives up and stands up again. Many Kdramas right now are full of cliches,m and repeating story lines but this one wasn't.

Another thing that was refreshing was that SeRa and Go Myung, stay together since they get together. They work as a powerful team to bring down the corruption in their city and in the end they manage to beat it no matter how many hardships they face. Also the actors were so natural and comfortable together those kisses: wow!

Plus the takedown of the villain at the end is one of the best, I kinda even felt a little bad for him, just a tad lol.



YET

Aside from those positives I just listed, I really struggled with this drama. I had huge problems with the lead characters while yes the characters go on their journey of development I couldn't connect with them in the end. it was just they were so exaggerated in one end of the spectrum at first then boom change that I really didn't feel SR & MY growth.

I also felt like the story was too boring at times. It was a drag to watch the last few episodes. I noticed that I just finished it out of obligation not really because I wanted to.

It's not a bad drama, as many enjoyed it, it just wasn't for me . Like I said I guess I couldn't get past those negatives at the beginning to really enjoy it.

The soundtrack wasn't memorable imo, and neither was the supporting characters. Aside from SeRa's friends and family I found all of the other supporting characters annoying.

One thing I did enjoy though, was how the writing showed the struggle many women go thru when entering into politics not just in Korea but all over the world imo. For that reason it was important for Into the Ring to be made.

Overall I give this a 7.0 for the reasons I mentioned. I probably won't be rewatching this but for those who enjoyed it by all means do. Maybe some can see more of the positives rather than the negatives.

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2020's best Korean drama & masterpiece bar none.

What can I say about this masterpiece that hasn't been said by many already? I'll do my best but I don't think I can fully give this drama the justice it deserves with my tiny review lol but I'll try, so here goes.

Everything about the drama was perfect, the acting, the story line, the setting, the characters, and especially the life lessons it taught us and the emotions it made us feel. I feel like we learned so much thru the 3 main characters:

Kangtae- It's okay to hide emotions when it's necessary to protect & look after someone who is loved. But never to the point that your own identity is lost & you don't know who you are anymore. Where being a robot, becomes your daily routine especially when there's feelings of obligation and guilt in your need to look after someone. It's better to be true to yourself, be honest with your feelings and those you love and never, never lose yourself because the most important thing is loving yourself and being happy.

Munyeong- It's okay to be a little psycho because it's your way of dealing with a traumatizing experience & protecting yourself. But, never let the pain of the past eat you up to the point of becoming too secluded or evil. It's always better to. turn the pain in to something productive to keep that light inside of you going abd be true to yourself. Be helping others find themselves, you can find yourself too + happiness.

Sangtae-It's okay to be different and want everyone's attention . But even if your different never give up on becoming stronger, better and learn how to look after yourself. It's never okay to demand way too much of someone because that can eat away at someone else's happiness. Strive to learn how to do things by yourself if it can be done to make yourself happy and those around you too. + family is not just blood but people who are loved by you. Ps. I think his growth was one of the best of the series, him letting his little brother go at the end????? *tears.

I felt so much thru the characters everything they experienced I did too.

All of the cast shone, I love how Seo Ye-Ji was able to turn her emotions of and on on a whim. She was so good as MY that I sometimes forgot I was watching a fictional character rather than an actual person. This was Kim Soo-Hyun's strongest role yet IMO. His crying scenes broke my heart so many times. And Oh Jung Se stole the show with his incredible acting, I forgot that he isn't actually autistic in real life. That's how good he was. He definitely deserves all the awards for this role.

The story could be quite dark at times esp with the murder of the Moon brother's mother and Munyeoung's emotional/physical abuse by her parents. BUT it also had this warmth to it, watching these characters stand up again and achieve their own much needed emotional growth and happiness was breathtaking. They all saved each other and helped one another heal. If it hadn't been for MunYeong the Moon Brother's wouldn't have healed from their past feelings of hatred, guilt, anger and obligation. If it hadn't been for the Moon Brothers MY wouldn't have known that she was worth being in a family and being happy. Because of each other past pain was forgotten and healing began.

Aside from the love story I think the other biggest, strongest point in the series was the love and bond between Sangtae and Kangtae. it was as equally important and we saw all their ups and downs. How they became healthy in the end to become stronger in the end and learn to live life separately in the end. The writers did an excellent job in telling these stories never missing a beat and making us feel everything.

The chemistry between the 3 main actors was amazing, I'd love to see them working together again. If it happens and it's soon then even better. The supporting cast was also amazing. I loved all the supporting characters they all had their merits and were equally important to the story and the main characters personal growth.

The soundtrack was amazing! Every song was picked perfectly and fir the tone of the scenes were it was used very well. I don't think there's a song I disliked in the OST.

Overall 10/10 I'd give this higher if I could because it deserves it. Will I be rewatching this??? You bet! One of my top favorite dramas for sure!

Phew this was long lmao. I guess I had a lot to say. But yeah, if you haven't seen this yet do yourself a favor and do. It's worth it.

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Cliche but strong characters and a satisfying conclusion

TBH I almost dropped this in the middle because it was full of pure cliches & the ML was a complete jerk. But, I'm glad I stuck with it because the last 7 episodes or so make up for the fails in this drama.

One thing that did bother me a lot was the constant use of the background music in every scene, most of the time it was way too loud and contrasted with the tone of the scenes. it's like the sound editors said "hey! lets put in this funny music in this scene. I bet it will make the audience laugh out loud LOL" Uh Nope! It was annoying and frustrating when it was hard to hear what the actors were saying RME. It's obvious that the music was added way after the drama was filmed. Another thing that was annoying was how many times the sound went in an episode, I think i counted 5 times in one. Can't believe a production company would sent out a finished project that way but oh well.

Aside from that I think the number of times the ML lost his memory was stupid. The reason given at first to why he loses his memory is kinda dumb but when the writers go into the gist of his trauma, it makes sense. Wish his Mental Trauma would have been explained in earlier episodes because it would have saved me the feeling of wanting to throw things at my computer screen.

That being said though, I thought both the ML & the FL were pretty strong characters they're not stupid and hold their own with the people who try to manipulate them. That made me like them although I was pulling my hair out with the ML in the middle phase XD.

Like I mentioned, the last 7 episodes are strong and are worth sticking with the drama all the way thru. The leads stick together and don't let anything come between them anymore. That was refreshing. I also liked that this is one o the only dramas that goes deep into their relationship with lots of affection and even gives us a glimpse into their happy married life in the finale. I also enjoyed that the supprting couples got their HEA too and we also got to see a glimpse into their lives too.

All of the cast was good, and the protagonists had good chemistry together. As for the soundtrack it's 50-50 I did enjoy some of the songs although the background instrumentals were mostly annoying af.

As for rewatch value I think I'll mostly rewatch the cuteness of the last two episodes and maybe go back to the previous 5 eps too.

Overall I give this an 8.0. It is enjoyable if some of the major faults can be overlooked.

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There's just something special about LBC. I love the characters, the story, the acting, the chemistry between the two leads ans of course the OST! IMO all the songs fit the story perfectly. My Favorite has to be It's Maybe Love by Stamp- whoever picked that song for Ae & Pete's sl was spot on.
Ok on to the story, I know some will probably find Ae and Pete's sl boring since they don't go thru much angst or except for 2 episodes, no real break ups since they become an item. I find it so refreshing that we have a couple on a BL series that actually communicate to one another, they listen and the fights they do have they fix them by actually talking to one another. Ae & Pete have to be one of the healthiest relationships on a BL series ever and for that reason I love them and Love by Chance so much. It's hard to believe these were Saint and Perth's first BL roles, imo they seem really comfortable with each other. I mean some of their S*x scenes are bordering on a bit explicit but I never doubted these two characters both loved each other and were hot for one another either lol. They had a lot of chemistry.
Also the writers did an excellent job in portraying a teen love story between two 18 year olds. Their dialogues sound exactly like what a teen their age would say when experiencing that first love. Kudos to the writers for that. I've seen other series where the dialogue makes me cringe sometimes but not here.
Ae's character is special to me, Not to take anything away from Pete's adorableness and cuteness, sweetness etc but Ae is a breath of fresh air. I like how he deals with coming to terms with his sexuality, he never once hurts anyone with his confusion and once he realizes what he wants he's confident enough to go after it without any shame or struggle to me that was something different that I quite enjoyed watching on LBC
Adding all this to the side characters like Pond, Tin, Can, Ping and Bow it makes this series one of the best I've watched when it comes to Thai BL series.
10/10 from me.
P.s I wasn't much of a Tin/Can fan but I see why people like them & I'm glad they were included they did make Love by Chance more interesting.

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Well written , thought provoking drama that explained parallel worlds and how everything is connected pretty well.
The cast was amazing too especially the male lead, he was convincing in his dual role. Yet however good I thought this drama was it failed to entrap me. I don't know but for me it was missing something. Sometimes I zoned out in the middle of the episodes and felt like the sl each episode dragged too much. Maybe it was because I'm not into crime/mystery dramas so much, could be why this one sorta went over my head. I don't know. Overall I give this a 7.5.

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I tried, I really tried because I don't like dropping dramas and I love the soulmate concept BUT

The plot is boring, slow & cliched with no substance. Sure they are soulmates who share past lives but what else do they have in common other than that? Show me their bond not just tell me that they are meant to be because of their past lives. I think I maybe would have accepted this story more if the writers would have made e feel why they are falling for each other. Watching the ML & FL's scenes just left me feeling empty, their love story is empty.

Plus the ML is as bland as watching paint dry and the leads have no chemistry whatsoever. I gave it 14 episodes to change my mind and it just couldn't cut it. The only good thing is the cast and Park Do Gyum's character other than that- unless you're a big fan of the cast don't waste your time on this.

Honestly when something makes you angry when you watch an episode then it's time to say goodbye.

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Fun, charming, great characters, beautiful love story and awesome character development.

This show was an unexpected surprise I never thought I'd like it as much as I did when I first saw the trailer. Though something drew me to it. I'm glad I watched it though I now wish I had watched it later lmao. It's hard to say goodbye to it tbh.

Some people may not want to give this show a chance because of it's big focus on business or the age gap between the protagonists but I'm here to tell you, please do. You won't regret it! Every little story arc is important to the plot and the characters development.

I think this is one of the only recent dramas I've watched where I haven't been annoyed by either the FL or the ML. They're both lovable characters and adorable too. I can't count the times I laughed watching their interactions. Their banter is the best part in the beginning. Watching that turn into a powerful love later is even better!

I love how their love story was handled. it grew from dislike to a strong love where both made sacrifices in order to protect each other. They also grew into better people because they fell in love. Seriously the character development in this drama is awesome. The ML goes from being an immature brat who barely has responsibility for anything to a strong, confident, savvy and hardworking business man. From the little we saw of the future time he makes his father's company a success. The FL goes from a cold, kinda rude, workaholic into a happier, full of life and in love, strong woman. We also see this thru her younger self in 2010. She keeps her independence throughout the drama which is good. Seriously it was a pleasure watching these characters go thru the journey they do.

If I only have one complaint it's the villain. He's definitely a mustache twirling, over the top, cartoon villain. The writers tried to make him more realistic but I think they failed.

The cast was really good and the chemistry between the FL & ML was on point! I also enjoyed that the age gap between them isn't an issue. I think it's only mentioned once and that's it. It's really other factors that pull them apart but even then those problems are resolved quickly. A plus for that.

The OST was definitely addicting I have all the songs stuck in my head, even their little love theme lol.

One of my faves of the year and I'll definitely be rewatching this one again. I already miss it, so rewatch coming soon haha.

Overall 10/10 from me.

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Much more than a simple rom-com romance

The Romance of Tiger and Rose certainty fools you into believing its a run of the mill, cliche, simple romcom, love story but it's not. Behind there's so many life lessons shown thru the comedy: feminism, equality, gender roles, choice, evilness, unfairness but I think the most important moral of the story is love. Love is what moves all these characters to make the choices they make during the drama. Some are moved by hatred but because they feel like they weren't loved enough and someone else was always preferred over them. Others learn what the meaning of falling in love really is, it's not the typical cliche read about in books but it's something that moves you, and gives your life meaning, and when you truly experience it then you can fully understand and write about it. And finally others learn that love can make someone human not just a person who lives life for one goal: to conquer, but learns to be alive thru love.

I love how Chen Qian Qian wasn't the typical naive, pushover protagonist, no! she was spunky, she was strong, smart, clever and had a troublesome personality lol. She made me laugh so many times. Also love her strength when standing up to her bullies and fighting for her beliefs. She changed the lives of everyone around her, especially Han Shou's who experiences one of the most in depth character developments in the story. Also huge plus that the characters weren't all one note villains, or one note heroes, they all had complexity and the audience was able to see why they made the choices they did in the end.

Ryan Ding and Zhou Lusi had excellent chemistry together! One of my favorite onscreen couples for sure. I'd love to see them together again, and if it's in S2 even better. I feel like there's still so much left to tell after the ending but maybe it's just me because I'm left wanting more lol.

Overall Rating: 10/10 and since this is one of my faves, I'm definitely re-watching it again. It's really that special.

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Nice little drama that teaches us that real beauty doesn't come from makeup, surgeries, or facial reconstruction.

I liked how the writers showed the struggle women go thru to be beautiful in society's standards. The torture many of us go thru just to fit into these standards. But, in the end is the sacrifice truly worth it? I related to Wei Lei and Meng Hui so much because I feel like what they went thru many women do just to be liked and seen as beautiful. Xu was also a representation to of this too but her journey ended up in a bad place because she let all of the bad qualities in life and around her consume her.

Meng Hui's struggle showed us that true beauty comes between all of us. She could have been a very bitter individual because of the scar on her face but she didn't let it ruin her life. She developed PSTD to cope but in the end it was her strength and love that made her overcome the pain of the past. it was fun watchng her in her bolder personality though lol.

The writers also put in the effects of bullying and what it can do to a person. I liked the ending message that children are not evil, they just need to be taught respect, empathy, strenght when dealing with a bully.

Mental health was portrayed here too and even if it wasn't handled completely well I thought it was written well. Shen Yi was an example of how guilt, stress and pain can make a person become closed off to the world but like MH he was able to overcome it.

One of the most important characters was Sui An he was the bully who changed because of what he did and just wanted to atone for his past misdeeds. Again showing how children are not evil if they are bullies and can learn from their past misdeeds. His journey was well executed.

The cast was all good esp the supporting characters like Wei Lei. There were many moments I loved her more than the main cast. The protagonists had good chemistry together and was a pleasure watching them act together.

The music was ok. Turn it around was my favorite part of the OST.

Overall I gave this a 8.5. The drama did have some cliches and some characters annoyed me at times. And I did feel like MG dragged a little when a certain character was introduced but overall I enjoyed it.

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Frustrating FL but for the most part pretty enjoyable series.

I think what I enjoyed the most from this series was both the acting skills of Xing Zhao Lin and Liang Jie and their awesome chemistry. They're definitely one of my favorite onscreen couples on Asian Dramas. They gave me butterflies in both romantic and sexy scenes, made me laugh in their comedic moments and ripped my heart out in their angsty moments. I think both JL & XZL showed their acting skills in this drama. Not only them but Anna's actress, Xiyi's grandmother's actess who was incredibly lovable in this role, and Dylan all were pretty awesome. Another good quality was the supporting cast. They saved the series in certain areas at times.

As for the story, I ad my problems with it: sometimes it had incredibly big plots holes and IMO dragged way too much in the last 4-3 episodes but I loved the romance part of You Are My Destiny. iMO it was handled well and that beginning and middle part of the story will always be my favorite.

Now where I think YAMD lacked big time was in the main characters particularly Chen Jiaxin man was she was frustrating there were times where I really wanted her to grow up and grow a brain but she didn't. Instead, she got worse. Characters are meant to develop not regress. I really disliked her in the last 4 episodes and was finding it really hard to root for her anymore. There was a point where I didn't want her with Wang Xiyi anymore. Jiang Lie did the best she could= her acting was 10 but the writing really failed her :(. And Xiyi was equally frustrating but at least he grew up in the end, while she didn't not really.

I digress:.....

Would I watch this again? Yes. Mostly because of XZL & JL and the rest of the cast. I still like this drama no matter how frustrated I got.

Overall Rating is a 9.0. Despite it's flaws it still one of my faves and I find it enjoyable. It took me on an emotional journey, and for that it's one of my tops of 2020

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I'm gonna give it a try though:
WOW
That's all I can really say.....
when I heard of this show a year ago I didn't think I was gonna love it as much as I did. BL is one of my favorite genres to watch and when I heard about the censorship in China I was doubtful that the script writers could pull off the love story between Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji but boy did they ever! I knew of the novel before hand, I haven't read it yet but I knew enough to know and be worried as to how much would be edited out. While yeah a lot of their romance was cut due to the producers/writers probably being worried about getting banned I still felt how much the characters loved each other thru some of the writing's sneakiness lol. There were certain scenes that felt like they were really pushing against the restrictions the censorship to show the bond between WWX and LWJ. But that wasn't all: which brings me to the acting. I'm gonna say that it feels like Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo were born to play these roles. They certainty brought their characters to life. Not only them but the rest of the cast was magnificent too. I appreciate the time that was given into casting these actors because I was not be disappointed with any of them. XZ and WYB were amazing like I said(can't praise them enough lol) with how much(or how little) they were allowed to show in respect to their romance they did an excellent job. I was completely sold on how much Wuxian and Wangji loved each other throughout the show despite it being shown thru subtext and chemistry. Truly it was all about their chemistry they knew how to sell that love even with them being restricted. I can't picture any other actors in these roles tbh. Even my brother who knew nothing of the romance between Wangji & Wuxian asked me if they were in love? lol. He feels it.
But that wasn't the only reason I loved The Untamed so much. This was my first foray into Wuxia/fantasy and I got to say i was completely emerged in the story, setting, plot, characters, costumes, world building from the get go! There was no episode where I wasn't entertained completely. Though the some of the effects could use more work I can't complain too much everything on this show is worth it. I'm so glad I decided to watch this because It's now my favorite Chinese drama. Just reviewing it makes me want to watch it again, and I probably will. This was definitely a treasure which I'll always rate 10/10! From the costumes to the music, acting etc theres nothing I hate. Even some of the vile villains I can't 100% hate. So if anyone still hasn't watched the Untamed what are you waiting for?

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& 15 years later after I first saw this drama & it still remains my favorite K-drama. STH Made me feel so much from happiness, to frustration, to joy to sadness & finally absolute heartbreak. The ending is one of the saddest I've ever witnessed and even though I wish Song-Joo and Jung-Suh would/should have gotten a happy ending after all the pain they went thru, it just wasn't meant to be.
He waited 5yrs for her and she lost herself for that many years. Just when they think they can finally be happy together BOOM! tragedy is just around the corner: sigh.
I love star-crossed lovers/best friends who fall in love sl's even if they break my heart and this one is one of the best imo. The cast was perfectly cast here. Years later Cha Song-Joo still remains my favorite of all of Kwon Sang-Woo's roles. He did an excellent job esp since this was his first melodromatic, protagonist role and boy did he pull it off. He stole the show imo. Choi Ji-Woo was also amazing as the tragic and innocent Han Jung-Suh. Yeah she was a damsel but I love the spark and strength she added to her character despite being the typical protagonist.
Not to mention the amazing chemistry between KSW & CJW til this day I don't think they've had better acting partners than each other. I never get tired of watching them together. The kids(teens) who portrayed young Jung-Suh and Song-Joo were excellent too, it was up to them to sell the love story between CSJ & HJS and they did it. Plus it was awesome to see Park Shinye rise to fame after her work on Stairway to Heaven.
No matter how many times I rewatch this drama I never get tired of it and would highly recommend it to anyone who still hasn't seen it.
Oh forgot to mention the OST is a Masterpiece too. Everytime I listen to Bo Go Shipda or Ave Maria I can picture the scenes. 10/10 overall in everything from me.

Leggi di Più

Sigh. So I just finished this drama tonight. And I have a lot of thoughts. So here we go:
I'll agree with most of the consensus on here that Eps 1-11 are the better ones though there's plot holes and the editing left a lot to be desired. Those many camera shots/zooms in certain scenes gave me whiplash and in some moments the episodes felt like they had been butchered tremendously. I mean characters went from A to Z without any real development at times. I understand the plot needed that at times like the reveal of Sarawat's pov in episode 11 yet I felt lost in certain areas at times while watching in other episodes. It just felt like major scenes had been cut because some stuff didn't make sense. I was left asking myself wait was something major cut here? darn... I'm lost lol. The 180 change in Sarawat starting with ep 12 came out of nowhere too I was left going: HUH?
Like many I thought the chemistry between Bright and Win was amazing those first few episodes then it just....... I don't know. It fizzled the last two episodes along with the story line. I've seen people say that Bright checked out in the end, I agree but so did Win. Both were so eh in eps 12-13 I felt nothing in their scenes together or alone. I wonder if it was due to them having issues with m/m intimacy or was it something else? did they both hate where the script was going with the inclusion of Pam? Maybe. Who knows what really happened.
Now, it sounds like I'm complaining way too much and that I hated 2gether lol. No. I didn't episodes 1-11 have to be some of my favorites in a BL series and had it ended in episode 11 I think I would have rated this series higher but alas.....
If I do a rewatch anytime soon I'll ignore those two last episodes and stop at 11. Better for my enjoyment of this story. That's what I recommend others to do too if a rewatch is wanted Overall I'm giving this a 7.5/10 because of the last two episodes and some of the plot holes. I thought the acting was good enough up to episode 12 then it just went downhill with the rest of the show smh.

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