I'm not going to say anything differently that hasn't already been said about this beautiful, brilliant little masterpiece out of South Korea, but like always, I will be adding in my two cents. Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo was so much more than that of a BL genre. Instead, it taught us a valuable lesson of persevering, standing up for one's self, it's okay not to be perfect, letting go of the past, and moving on towards a better future. It taught a lot of others things as well, but I feel like that was what the majority of the series wanted us to learn.

Let's Dive In.

I have pretty good experience with Hwang Da Seul's series in the past, and which she is great at doing hurt and love and lust and any other feeling that'll make you emotional. She handled this BL with grace and care and love, and it's very noticeable throughout. The first thing that I can point out that I loved is the cinematography. The colors, the gradient, the lights and the darks. So stinking pretty, right off the bat. Then we're introducing to Dohoe, brooding and miserable, compared to the bright light and ball of energy that is Juyeong. Opposites attract trope? Yeah. I'm seated. They both had their own version of trauma, one that Juyeong was immediately trying to protect Dohoe from, with his of trauma taking the back burner. Once they grow older, it's so evident how much hurt Dohoe experienced from that place growing up. You can feel so much anger and regret when he has to go back to the house, it's insane actually.

I think one aspect that annoyed me quite a lot was the back and forth between the leads as grown ups. They broke up and got back together like two times within a span of just an episode. Also, there's some disconnect to them as adults, mostly because of Juyeong still being the same and Dohoe having this like "I'm a grown up" act. But even after all of that is resolved, I still didn't feel much for them. They remind me of the couple that will enviably break up again, but for good. I also like the subtle shift of their lives compared to when they were children. Dohoe driving expensive cars and living in an upscale apartment with a good job while Juyeong is a taekwondo instructor, living in a small apartment who has to drive around in a van. I also don't really understand why Juyeong becomes close to Dohoe's dad and even is heartbroken when he dies. I think maybe because that was still a piece of Dohoe, and by being with his dad, he felt that he could be close to Dohoe; maybe also he was a sorry old man that didn't know how to take care of himself in anyway. Either way, that kind of threw me off too.

This series had so many plot twist, and with each one, my jaw was on the floor. Dohoe lying about going to college, Juyeong finding out about it and feeling guilty, Dohoe being the one to call the police, Hyeonho knowing the truth but still keeping his secret. Crazy, crazy stuff.

Rating:

Story: 8.5/10 - very intriguing. The romance was just the cherry on top, but the story was so interesting and just got better and better.

Acting: 9/10 - so, so, so good!

Music: 7/10 - didn't pay attention to it, but I did realize that most of the songs were in english!

Recommendation Value: 8/10 - definitely recommend! It's kind of sad, so I don't think this is the series for everybody, but the romance is adorable, and also Lee Sun looks great shirtless.

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Pretty Darn Good

I don't have much to say cause this was one of those J-BLs that's pretty freaking good, but not great enough to be memorable. However, throughout my watch, I enjoyed myself fully. I'm starting to like these kinds of tropes with the leads in a BL falling for each other in real life, it might just become another one of those concepts that garner it an automatic watch.

Let's Dive In.

Yuki and Asami's dynamic was the cutest. You get a little bit of that bubbly seme/stoic uke trope, but not so cutthroat. I adored the way Asami treated Yuki and watching the younger slowly fall in love. My only real negative about them is that a very minor, very minuscule mishearing drove the entirety of the plot at the end. Yuki literally just could've asked Asami who he was talking about, and that would've killed off an irrelevant 3 episodes, and a couple of non-sensical crying scenes. Oh, and their kisses, minus a couple of them, were all pretty bad. But besides those two things, I really enjoyed them.

Speaking on the production itself, so many amazing and beautiful transitions happened in this that looked fantastic. Whoever was behind this definitely took their time to craft these very creative transitions, and I really enjoyed them .

Ratings:

Story: 8/1 0 - gets a little eh by the end, but most of it is good.

Acting: 9/10 - It's good! I liked Taisuke (Yuki)'s acting the most. I like seeing the difference between his actual character and the character he played in the series.

Music: 6/10 - didn't pay it any attention.

Recommendation Value: 7/10 - I really like it, but like I said earlier, it's not too memorable since the ending kind of dies down the hype of this. However, I think it's a beautiful story told, so I would definitely recommend giving it a watch.

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Stopped and Dropped

If I'm on the third episode of a series, and I can't find at least one thing that's keeping me going and entertained, then it's time to stop and drop. The first episode was promising with some pretty excellent sets and beautiful scenery. I also had no problem looking at the beautiful men on my screen in tight suits, but this plot is rather a bad one.

Let's Dive In.

For one, Green as Aiaoon is great to see. He does a good job at staying suave and cool, along with his assistant (brother?) Oab who's just fucking adorable. I wanted to stick around and finish the show for them, but there is no way in eternity I can finish this and not want to gauge my eyes out. I also liked Sichol. He has Disney eyes, and I think it's the best thing ever, and he's probably the best acting-wise out of all the cast.

Who I can't stand is Nawee and I forbid myself from watching that sick, pathetic means of a man fall in love and we're supposed to just be okay with that. I don't mind when leads have flaws, because we all do, but Nawee was written to have no regard for anyone, and I can't see how he's going to be able to redeem himself by the end of this short BL, and quite honestly I don't care. He pushes around his assistants, He thinks that Aiaoon is his masseuse, and because of that he's forceful and then they end up accidentally kissing in the bath tub...? Like, literally what the fuck. And then he hits Sichol with class, and that's when I knew I was really done. Overall, he's highly irritable and just downright mean, and I don't want to waste my time on someone I know I'll never come around to liking. Also, Chap's acting is almost so bad it's like he's doing it on purpose.

Sichol was my motivation to finish cause I seriously loved him, but then even he started doing the most left-field shit. Also, him just turning down to work with Aiaoon who offer to pay him more and help him out of his "debt" and he declined? To continue working for a lunatic? I can sit through some things, but stupidity is not one of them.

So this has been dropped. I'll just watch a youtube compilation of all their "top-tier" kisses that I've read about because I simply do not have the means to continue watching this. There are too many BLs being produced nowadays to have to sit through shit like this.

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Not for Me

I watched three agonizing episodes, and I can no longer do it. Mind you, it took me four tries to get through episode 3 cause each time I kept falling asleep. Something about this felt completely off, and after skimming through a couple of reviews and comments, I've come to the conclusion that this isn't really a BL, and that was honestly all I needed to know.

Let's Dive In.

Can't believe that I'm even dropping an OffGun series, cause I will quite literally (or use to think at least) that I would watch any BL series with them in it, but I don't think I can do this. Already starting off in episode one, it was extremely slow-paced and just down-right boring. The build up of the characters felt entirely too dragged out, and I kept feeling like something was off, but I couldn't quite put it. Then I watched two more episodes and it was agonizing. I couldn't even try to continue watching this even if I didn't come to realize it's not (really) BL, cause the sneak peek of episode 4 looked extremely dull. I'm glad I'm going to end this here, because there's nothing pulling me to continue watching, and I mean nothing.

I've said in the past that I don't like side-BLs cause if they're not the majority of the storyline then I'm usually bored, and that's exactly what this is. The GL seemed promising, but not enough to keep watching. I liked Poon and Sea in this, and then of course there were my babies OffGun. But this is where my journey ends with them. Oh well, until Burnout Syndrome I guess.

Ratings:

Story: 4.5/10: I liked all the little definitions of film lingo at the bottom of the screen. The story was extremely tedious and agitating to get through. OffGun couldn't even save this for me.

Acting: 8/10 - Fine. Nothing bad, nothing overly amazing.

Music: 5/10 - didn't pay it any attention.

Recommendation Value: 2/10: Not (really) BL, but OffGun, so watch for them if you really want to.

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Appealing to Say The Least

There's no doubt that this series belongs in the, "what the f**k is this" concept and the "why is it so zany and surreal?" category. I haven't seen Peak in another series since Make It Right 1 and 2, so when I heard he was in another "BL" series, I had to watch. But sadly, after figuring out that this wasn't BL, and instead it was "bromance". I decided to put it on hold for the time being. I got to episode four before realizing that nothing was going to go the way that I had wanted. Even though that was the case, I still really enjoyed it.

Let's dive in.

Whoever the wardrobe team was for this production, I want to fall in love with them and marry them. This series, by far, had the BEST costumes that I've ever seen in any "BL" series. Maybe it was due to the fact that they weren't all dressed in the normal Thai bl wardrobe that consists of school clothes, or the usual button-down and slacks, but I fell in love with every single outfit each actor had on. My favorite had to be Diew. The yellow concept was beautiful, and it helped with creating his bubbly and happy personality. The same goes with Mix, the soft blues wrapped his characteristics in a nice little bow. Those two were the ones that stood out to me the most, but another mention is Mueng, absolutely in love with his set as well, especially his little hat. This was the best thing about this series, seriously.

I have to applaud the acting in this, but more importantly, the casting director. This series has an incredible list of names that most definitely drew people in. Peak, Zee, Jimmy, Tommy, Boun, Prem, Boom, and so many others! There was no doubt that I wasn't going to tune in, And of course, the acting was amazing. Even though the acting was overdramatized (of course to keep up with the comedic feel of the show), I was still delighted by each actor, more specifically Peak and Zee. I know they're the main characters, so obviously, but they both did a fantastic job. Jimmy and Tommy's little cameo was hilarious (IDK how I feel about Jimmy having braids in his hair, but cultural appropriation is not the same in every country (although it should be), so maybe that's just something they're not aware of, so whatever, it is what it is), It was something so random and strange, but it was funny, so I had no problem.

The story itself definitely gave me the YYY feels, which is so coincidental since that series is also on hold (haha). I'm not in love with the whole comedic theme of it all, but it makes up for the soft moments, the impeccable wardrobe, Peak's beauty, and the good acting. I will say that the first episode was the toughest to get through. For someone that likes the overdramatic situations and the zany characters, then it would be no problem, but for me, I found it to be way out of my comfort zone. By episode three, I was okay, but a lot of the things that happened were confusing. I understood that Diew couldn't eat alone and needed to find friends to eat with, but what was the purpose of the cartoons? What was the purpose of these moments in which time would freeze, or he ends up in these surreal moments? Even though I loved Jimmy and Tommy's cameo, what was the point of them robbing Diew's neighbor? Lot's of unanswered questions which I'm sure would've been answered had I gotten past episode 4, but when I do eventually finish this show (which will be a PHAT minute) then I can change my review.

This series in the end should've just been a BL. Diew finds people to eat with, but they either make fun of him for not wanting to eat alone, or can't eat with him every day, and then he finally finds someone that also doesn't like to eat alone? The smiles, the looks, the music? I mean, it should've just happened, and I'm not sure why it didn't. The director was the same one from Why R U, and MIR, AND YYY, so what was the problem? Either way, I would've been more attached had Diew and Mix been able to get together. But, then again, I didn't finish it, so maybe they do?

Overall, even though I put this show on hold, I liked the acting, I liked the actors, and I loved the wardrobe. The comedic feel of it all took me out of the story, but I think the concept of him not wanting to eat alone was cute. I wouldn't recommend this show, just because there are better series out there, but I would if someone were wanting to see more of Zee or Peak.

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Too Bad

Too bad this series didn't do it for me, even though I really wanted it to. Earth was a big main reason why I was really rooting for this series, but this isn't the 2016 BL era anymore, and this series screams it.

Let's dive In.

Not only was some of the acting off, the script and the plot itself is so boring and irritating that it's hard to want to even watch. a fake BL couple and the person pushing it is their university president (or whoever she was) who had no business falling into the drama of her students but did anyway. Any plot that runs on the back of screaming BL fan girls/boys is not a plot I want to watch (and their sisters..??)

I also didn't care much for Kim and the guy-with-man-bun-whos-name-I-forgot. I'm not a fan of enemies to lovers, but usually, with some exceptions, I can appreciate it, but here, it's such a burden and tiresome. I shipped Kim more with his crush on Bear than I did anything.

The side couples kind of looked promising, but the series felt like a drag, so much so that my anticipation for how they would play out didn't matter, and it for sure did not encourage me to keep watching.

The only thing I could come to like was Kenji and Bear. Both are beautiful creatures.

This was not the comeback that Earth deserved. He moved on from 2 Moons 2 just to be stuck in some alternate universe of the same crappy storytelling. Sigh.

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Simply Just Not For Me

I told myself at the beginning of this year that I wouldn't force myself to watch anything that doesn't immediately catch my attention or interest. Unfortunately, First Note of Love did just that.

Let's Dive In.

I think this is just one of those series that just isn't for me. I cannot handle the long drawn-out singing scenes, or the fact that none of them look like they can actually play an instrument. I feel like in my watch of just 3 episodes, I did more skipping than watching, and that says a lot.

There are also some characters that appear on screen way too much for me, like Neil's managers or workers or whatever the hell they are. They have their own scenes, but they feel so irrelevant and added just for timing purposes. I can't sit through series anymore where the main focal point of the series is taken away just for the added functions of nuanced characters.

I feel nothing for Neil and Sea, just purely nothing. I think Sea does shyness pretty darn good, and Neil is good at acting like he doesn't give a fuck, but together, I'm just not feeling it. Which is sad, cause I love age gaps, but they didn't spark anything out of me. The ending scene in episode 3 though was actually pretty cute, just not enough for me to keep watching.

I feel like this series in itself isn't bad, it's just simply not for me. I felt like I even forced myself to watch the first three episodes, and I don't want to do that for the remainder of the series.

Ratings:

Story: 6/10 - honestly, a decent plot about a band that falls apart after the death of one of the brothers. The story seemed like it could've really gone somewhere with the growth of Neil as he processes all of it, but it's not enough to keep me watching, Too many irrelevant characters get too much screen time, which is a no-no for me. The romance, from what I've seen in three episodes, does absolutely nothing for me.

Acting: 8.5/10 - Great, no one looked like they couldn't act. If anything, it's this series' strong suit. But they should've done some rehearsing on how to fake-play instruments.

Music: 5/10 - Skipped through it all. A personal problem of mine, not the series.

Recommendation Value: 5/10 - If you like singing, this series might work out for you. Otherwise, no.

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