This review may contain spoilers
For those who did not like the Thai original!
Before anything else, there are two things I need to make clear.
One, I hated the original version with every fibre of my body! It had everything I dislike: it was over the top, with overwhelming second hand embarrassment cringe and it did not know which genre it is so it went from horrible slapstick comedy, to romance, to musical to soft porn and back. I finished watching it because I was still going through my "Never Drop Anything" phase which probably ended with this series.
Two - recent koreans bls have been a string of disappointments coupled with universally bad korean web drama production values: lack of warmth (probably due to bad cameras) and bad sound (obligatory echo when filmed indoors). So I keep watching K- bls hoping for another miracle like Hwang Da Seul (director of To My Star and Blueming) but I have not seen any.
I decided to watch this when my favourite reviewer said it was better than the thai version. And it was so so so much better.
The series follows four film school students who found themselves main character of a bl webnovel (no transmigration just the writer inspiration!). Like a self fulfilling prophecy, two couples are formed. Are they real couples or have they been created because of the popularity of the book? Or is it only a coincidence? Or did the author realize before those four guys what was happening between them? Or is everything just the plot of a movie those students are filming? Theories floating around are many!
The hows and the whys are many but are ultimately not important!
The first couple were enemies to lovers: the initial antagonists became friends and then more. The second couple was unrequited love: when SunWoo's unusual appearance unwittingly piques his crush's interest, things evolve quickly. Each character had its flaws. LeeWon, the actor, looks like an immature talentless slacker but is actually a principled, fair and sincere person. JiOh is a tall, stern and cold looking director student clashing with LeeWon: pushing his buttons to get a reaction from LeeWon, he changes completely when he falls in love. Sun Woo is a hardworking poor student with a chip on his shoulder, willing to help everyone but accepting no one's help. He's had a crush on YooKyeom, his school senior, rich and generous who hides many insecurities behind a warm smile and is very lonely.
The screenplay and the execution were excellent: funny without cringe (which could have happened with the sister-writer's fertile imagination, seeing things that were never there!), good butterflies inducing chemistry especially with the second couple (I definitely want to see more of them), zero annoying characters, a best helpful female friend. Main characters all change and develop during the drama, love correcting their minor flaws. Unlike the thai original, this drama is much shorter therefore there are fewer characters and the plot is tighter, there are no wasted moments.
The cast was perfect with one notable exception (see below!). They are handsome, have great chemistry and are not afraid of skinship which is rare in a korean bl! The casting of Lee Sang Min was interesting (zero issues with his acting!) because he reminded me so much of the actor who played Zon in the original (drama twins, I swear!).
I have two issues with this series.
One - casting of Lee Jung Min in a role of handsome, pretty actor. Unfortunately he is none of those so it was a bit hard to believe him to be a main lead character. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder: so let's not argue about this. It is very subjective and it sometimes influences my viewing pleasure. It did a little bit here. Fortunately the rest of the cast were perfect!
Two - very poor production values: non existent cinematography (everything is cold and ugly), empty sets (why does an university looks like a ghost town!),bad sound recording, sloppy and boring editing.
And in spite of these two major flaws, I loved it and I will be rewatching it sooner rather than later: it has everything I need for it to become another comfort blanket drama for when I'm feeling down!
One, I hated the original version with every fibre of my body! It had everything I dislike: it was over the top, with overwhelming second hand embarrassment cringe and it did not know which genre it is so it went from horrible slapstick comedy, to romance, to musical to soft porn and back. I finished watching it because I was still going through my "Never Drop Anything" phase which probably ended with this series.
Two - recent koreans bls have been a string of disappointments coupled with universally bad korean web drama production values: lack of warmth (probably due to bad cameras) and bad sound (obligatory echo when filmed indoors). So I keep watching K- bls hoping for another miracle like Hwang Da Seul (director of To My Star and Blueming) but I have not seen any.
I decided to watch this when my favourite reviewer said it was better than the thai version. And it was so so so much better.
The series follows four film school students who found themselves main character of a bl webnovel (no transmigration just the writer inspiration!). Like a self fulfilling prophecy, two couples are formed. Are they real couples or have they been created because of the popularity of the book? Or is it only a coincidence? Or did the author realize before those four guys what was happening between them? Or is everything just the plot of a movie those students are filming? Theories floating around are many!
The hows and the whys are many but are ultimately not important!
The first couple were enemies to lovers: the initial antagonists became friends and then more. The second couple was unrequited love: when SunWoo's unusual appearance unwittingly piques his crush's interest, things evolve quickly. Each character had its flaws. LeeWon, the actor, looks like an immature talentless slacker but is actually a principled, fair and sincere person. JiOh is a tall, stern and cold looking director student clashing with LeeWon: pushing his buttons to get a reaction from LeeWon, he changes completely when he falls in love. Sun Woo is a hardworking poor student with a chip on his shoulder, willing to help everyone but accepting no one's help. He's had a crush on YooKyeom, his school senior, rich and generous who hides many insecurities behind a warm smile and is very lonely.
The screenplay and the execution were excellent: funny without cringe (which could have happened with the sister-writer's fertile imagination, seeing things that were never there!), good butterflies inducing chemistry especially with the second couple (I definitely want to see more of them), zero annoying characters, a best helpful female friend. Main characters all change and develop during the drama, love correcting their minor flaws. Unlike the thai original, this drama is much shorter therefore there are fewer characters and the plot is tighter, there are no wasted moments.
The cast was perfect with one notable exception (see below!). They are handsome, have great chemistry and are not afraid of skinship which is rare in a korean bl! The casting of Lee Sang Min was interesting (zero issues with his acting!) because he reminded me so much of the actor who played Zon in the original (drama twins, I swear!).
I have two issues with this series.
One - casting of Lee Jung Min in a role of handsome, pretty actor. Unfortunately he is none of those so it was a bit hard to believe him to be a main lead character. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder: so let's not argue about this. It is very subjective and it sometimes influences my viewing pleasure. It did a little bit here. Fortunately the rest of the cast were perfect!
Two - very poor production values: non existent cinematography (everything is cold and ugly), empty sets (why does an university looks like a ghost town!),bad sound recording, sloppy and boring editing.
And in spite of these two major flaws, I loved it and I will be rewatching it sooner rather than later: it has everything I need for it to become another comfort blanket drama for when I'm feeling down!
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