misaxpost
This could have been so much better
I really wish this hadn't been so difficult to finish, but while the story in general was enjoyable, the incredibly bad acting made it so damn difficult for me to watch... At first I thought Ping's wooden acting was his attempt to portray a character on the spectrum, but by episode 3 I had to admit to myself that no, he is just THAT BAD at acting. And not just him, also many of the side characters' acting was really lacking. I think the only one's I enjoyed watching was Meen (playing Tew) and Tinn (playing Tul) and even they didn't per se deliver a stellar performance... .Also, as others pointed out some of the character had potential to be written in a much more fun and intriguing way. And some generic characters were written so one-dimensional (I'm looking at you, Kenji) it almost hurt. So there really were a lot missed opportunities.
But the show did also have it's enjoyable moments: So it was a pleasure to watch Tew as a mafia boss being so god damn wipped by a random boy. And the interactions between Tul and Tew were really adorable, what with Tul being so fond and supportive of him and his relationship.
All in all, I wouldn't say it was a waste of time to watch, but I'm happy it wrappped up with 8 episodes as I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been able to take more of the acting tbh.
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This review may contain spoilers
If they had just stuck closer to the original this could have been so much better...
I started watching this series as there were many positive reviews about it. Unfortunately, I found it VERY difficult to watch and really had to force myself to finish it... .After watching the first 2 episodes and just couldn't bring myself to feel any empathy or interest for any of the characters, I wondered if the original story made the two main characters look just as bad as the drama and started reading what I could find of the manga. And to my surprise: While the general setting is the same, the characters are SO much better in the source material. I don't know why the writers decided to make both the mains so damn unlovable...
Hira is way more stalkery/kimoi in the drama while in the manga he is still uncomfortably obsessed but more in a awkward and desperate way. In the drama they cranked up the creepy-factor by a hundred and somehow still expected us to feel with him, which I couldn't bring myself to.
And I felt that they especially did Kiyoi dirty: In the drama he is a complete asshole and actively bullies and assaults Hira several times, while in the manga he is mainly onlooking during the bullying and comments on Hira's creepiness here and there, but we see him often de-escalate uncomfortable/bad situations for Hira and him showing hidden affection such as buying him food, etc.
In the orginal story their characters are a lot more nuanced and hence the change of their relationship makes more sense as you can pick up on some small but meaningful actions by Kiyoi towards Hira. The way the drama portays them, however, I felt very put off by both of them and couldn't find myself to root for either of them much less for them together . And in the drama (SPOILER AHEAD) the whole 'I loved him all along, just didn't know how to express it' as well as them getting together in the end was just very unbelievable to me as you literally see NO affection - hidden or otherwise - up until they change perspectives. And even then it seemed really unblievable/nonsensical to me.
So... while I will try to finish reading the manga, I definitely will not watch the other installments of this adaptation.
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It's been a while since I have been THIS invested in a show & couple!
I started watching Kiseki without too much expectations. I'm generally a sucker for mafia-setting BLs, so I was sure I'd enjoy it enough but I was not ready for just how much I ABSOLUTELY LOVED this show!!!!And the main reason is, as I guess for many others, the incredible chemistry of the side couple! Don't get me wrong: The main couple did a great job, too, but Chen Yi and Ai Di just instantly stole my heart and I rewatched all their scenes several times already despite the show just wrapping last night.
This couple's story is heartbreaking and beautiful and both characters are intresting and lovable despite their obvious flaws. It also helps that both actors are incredibly hot and very skilled in their acting.
Especially Louis, who plays Ai Di, did just such an amazing job at portaying his character! I have never seen him play in anything before Kiseki but I am definitely going to follow up with his career from hereon out as this man has some serious skills. He is able to portray pining & vulnerability in such a raw, open and realistic/subtle way to a level I don't think I've seen in any asian drama for a loooong long time! What a talent!!
The show definitely has its FLAWS - Sometimes pacing is a bit off (things moving too slow or too fast), some of the acting here and there is a bit wonky by main as well as side characters (in a sense of overacting. But overall, acting from everyone was decent enough to not pull me out of the immersion!), sometimes getting a bit heavy on tropes (especially the 'everyone is gay. do straight people exist??'-setup ^^; ) - but THE GOOD - the well written main 4 characters, HOT actors (I can't stress this enough!!), some really likeable and well-played side characters, great opening song and a storyline sending us on wonderful emotional rollercoaster in regards to all couples involved - definitely outweighs these by far!
I also loved the intimate scenes for both couples and the decent amount we got of them. I feel it's enough for people looking for some hot kisses but also little enough to not make people uncomfortable. And it definitely sparked my as well as other fan's creativity to extend their stories in fanworks - and I can't wait for so much more fanfiction and fanworks to come out until we hopefully, hopefully get a chance for a second season or spin-off series (fingers crossed!!)
Generally, if you haven't seen Kiseki yet I definitely DEFINITELY RECOMMEND you watch it!
One of my new absolute favorites that I, for a fact, will rewatch several times for sure!
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What a treat!!!
I was very unsure about this before I started watching but OH MY did I fall in love hahaWas it perfect? No, certainly not. Was it an absolute blast anyway? Yes!
The plot certainly had it's flaws here and there, especially towards the end when it felt like they just try to push too much into too little time. But overall the drama had surprisingly good cinematography, very lovable, interesting & mostly nuanced characters, a great OST and just SO.MUCH.CHEMISTRY between the main couple!!
I binged it in 2 days and enjoyed every sinlge minute. Even rewatched some scenes just because I enjoyed it that much.
And I have to admit... I can't get over how PERFECT A HUMAN BEING Apo is!! How can someone be so gorgeous??? I absolulety drank up every scene he was in. And he gave so much playfulness & heart to his character - I absolutely loved it. And you could tell how good a relationship him and Mile have as their characters had just such intense chemistry! It's really been a while since I have seen such chemistry in a BL drama series!
Second favorite character? Tankhun!! haha I loved him so much as he was not just exquisitely eccentric but also rather clever and nuanced if you looked close enough.
You want an interesting setting and decent action scenes? This is the show to watch.
You want incredibly hot actors with awesome chemistry? This is the show to watch.
You want quirky characters that make you laugh? This is the show to watch.
You want steamy scenes between beautiful men? This is the show to watch.
You want to see one of the best BL series out there to date? THIS IS THE SHOW TO WATCH.
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