Kiseki: Dear to Me (2023)

Near and Dear

Kiseki: Dear to Me is a lovely little drama that I found thoroughly enjoyable. While not without its faults, it largely makes up for them with an eclectic group of characters, a decently told story, good music, and some excellent acting. It does get a little bit busy and would have benefitted from a more streamlined and cohesive plot, but it's not to the point of being unwatchable. It thoroughly drew me in and I have zero regrets after watching it.

In it's simplest form, this is an enemies to lovers story but the premise is unique enough that it doesn't feel totally cliche. Bai Zong Yi is a studious, rather grumpy student whose life is upended when the charismatic and mischievous gangster Fan Ze Rui blackmails him into taking him in and treating his wounds. There's no sense that one has more power than the other and that contributes to the interest and entertainment as the two learn to live together and eventually fall in love. I appreciated that the time frame was made clear. There's no question of whether a scene is past, present, or future. It begins in the present with a short little scene and then jumps to four years previously in 2019 and carries on from there. However, there's a lot going on and while the developing romance between Zong Yi and Ze Rui takes the front, there's also the ongoing fighting with a rival gang and trying to sniff out drug dealers at the local school. It's a lot to pack in and the story suffers for it. A decent amount could have been condensed or cut completely to allow more time for character development, providing more detailed information and world building, or giving more time to the episodes set in the present. For example, it would have been nice to have a more clear understanding of the gangs and how they worked. Things jump forward four years after Episode 8 and while I don't generally like time jumps, I understand the necessity of this one. Now set in the present day, the story becomes more, not less convoluted. There's not much time to get everything wrapped up and some things are left hanging. The memory aspect was a big one for me. Both Zong Yi and Ze Rui suffer brain injuries, but with Ze Rui it's unclear if he truly lost his memory for a period of time or if he was just faking it the entire time. With Zong Yi, he suffered short term memory impairment which was not explored or well explained. He uses a notebook to jot down important events, but it doesn't seem to effect his life too much and is largely forgettable. There are also some irritating moments where dramatic or misleading things happen but turn out to be nothing. Two primary examples would be when Chen Yi got shot and that served as a cliffhanger but was ultimately nothing and the last episode where an attempt is made to trick the audience into thinking Ze Rui has died. Both instances were cheap and unnecessary. The pacing was all over the place, but generally felt rushed. Again, just trying to fit in way too much. Particularly towards the end, there were a lot of moving parts and scenes that should have held significance weren't given the time they deserved. There needed to be a better balance between episodes focused on the past and then the present and that just wasn't there.

I am generally not a fan of romances between adults and minors. There's too much room for the adult to take advantage of the minor and manipulate them. However, I was less bothered here because there was an element that it was necessary to the story. Also Zong Yi was seventeen and while he did have some young, impulsive moments, his feelings for Ze Rui did not feel impulsive and their love did feel genuine. And Ze Rui did have clear moments of conflict and he did try to create distance. All of that combined evened things out for me. I know the teacher/student aspect bothered a number of people, but personally, due to the nature of the circumstances surrounding it, I didn't have an issue with it.

The character development was pretty decent and was certainly present. Not as much with the main leads as I would have thought though, at least not positively. I did find the second couple of Ai Di and Chen Yi to be more interesting and satisfying to watch. The largest issue with the characters was an overabundance of them. There were too many side characters and relatively insignificant characters to try to keep track of.
-Zong Yi starts out grouchy and closed off, but once he falls in love with Ze Rui, it's like he has a personality transplant and is suddenly largely kind and gentle. While he has a few grumpy moments, they seem largely for show. I would have preferred a more gradual change to his character and I would have liked to see him retain some of his original characteristics rather than becoming a whole new person. He's also a little too perfect. Aside from the last episode when he's pissed that Ze Rui didn't think of him when he was stabbed, he doesn't express any anger or resentment towards him for what happened in the past. That felt unrealistic. He should have felt something other than regret that he couldn't protect them both.
-Ze Rui remained largely the same throughout. While he expresses guilt and regret for what happened in the past with Zong Yi, he doesn't appear to really change. He's still a manipulative person but he has a good heart. Frankly, I thought he got off way too easy. Zong Yi suffered a lot because of him, from serving jail time to having permanent brain damage that dashed his dreams of becoming a doctor. Ze Rui didn't apparently suffer any permanent damage from his head injury and aside from being stabbed by Zhang Teng's sister which doesn't seem to actually be that serious, there are no consequences.
- Ai Di in particular was a delight and hands down my favorite character. He was small but mighty and I loved his attitude. He was fiercely loyal to his friends and to Chen Yi, who he'd been in love with for years. Forced to play second fiddle, he nonetheless stays by Chen Yi's side to help him even sacrificing himself to protect him and do what's necessary after Zong Yi is injured in prison. What's so great about him is that he does grow and develop, yet he remains true to himself. There's never any doubt that he is Ai Di.
-Chen Yi starts out in love with one of the gang's bosses and only becomes aware of Ai Di's feelings when he and Ai Di sleep together after he's been drinking. He also discovers the birthday presents Ai Di had gotten for him over the years and eventually comes to realize both Ai Di's and his own feelings. His attempts in the present to win over Ai Di are both humorous and adorable. Once they get together, it's like nothing's changed and yet everything has changed. Their dynamic is the same, but they're obviously in love. They balance each other out very nicely.
-The other characters were largely unimpressive. Although I did love Zong Yi's father and sister and how loving and supportive they were. Their interactions were so wholesome. The boss and his man were an interesting addition. We don't generally see older BL couples, so I appreciated that they were included from that perspective, however, they were not well utilized and they had so little screen time that they felt superfluous. Zhang Teng was a pretty boring villain. I didn't really find the lollipop to be off-putting, I just found him to be over the top and non-threatening. There needed to be more to him to make him feel like a viable threat. Even his history with Ze Rui felt incomplete and rushed. Suh Ning as his sister out for revenge was not a well developed plot point. It was obvious she was up to something, but there needed to be a greater buildup.

The acting was well done, but the undisputed star of the show was Louis as Ai Di. He was so committed to the role and he was a stand out in every way. He had great chemistry with Nat whose acting was more understated, but still good. Hsu and Taro were both pretty strong, though it was obvious at times that this was Taro's first role and he's still young and green. They both did a fair amount of acting with just their eyes and I was impressed with their chemistry, especially considering their 10 year age gap. I did enjoy the cameo of the actors from Be Loved In House. I keep hoping they'll get another series. And it was nice to see An Jun of HIStory 4 again. He had more than a cameo role and he did a good job. There was also a cameo from two of the actors of Plus & Minus, though I wasn't a fan of that drama so I had to go look them up to figure out why they looked familiar.

The production quality was a mixed bag for me. There were some really great transitions and cuts and then there were some pretty subpar ones. The lighting was sometimes too bring and other times bordering on too dark. There was just a general lack of consistency. I did like the costuming, particularly for Ai Di. The man was a style icon. I loved his unique look and how well it fit his character. The music was also good and worked well where used.

It's not perfect, but it's fun. It's not a drama you can look at too closely because once you do, things start to unravel. But if you just go with it, it's a great ride. This is definitely one I would recommend and one I will be rewatching in the future.

Leia Mais

Another epic Taiwanese BL show to put at your re-watch list

This show really amazed me. FINALLY !! we got to see something fresh in a BL series. The story is unique and keet us entertained in every episode. I really like the diversity of the story between both the couples and other characters and how they are put together in the same story.
The storytelling was good, the script was great and really hatts off to the casting. Every actor in this series gave their best.
Starting with the leads Both the couple's had great sizzling chemistry. They made me feel every emotion of their character with their acting .

My personal favourite is the story of the second couple. I was literally obsessed with them. I mean , I can guarantee for those who have watched this series and have not felt pain in the prison scene with the cake. Also, for the scene of their first time doing it. They just delivered us pure raw emotions that stabbed our hearts along with some other beautiful scene. Every episode felt too short and me wanting to see more of their story. I really want to see more of them, like how they grew up together and how they missed each other during prison time.

Ai di is my favourite character in the whole show. According to me he literally was one of the character who stood out the most in the show. !!!!

I literally was excited for the show to see Wayne and Chun Chih back together, after the trauma I was left after History 3: MODC and wanting them to finally see happy together, but eventually it didn't happen again ?.
Apart from that, thanks to the team for giving us the cameos in the drama that we all wanted to see. I really enjoyed this series.

However, i was a bit disappointed with the ending (final episode). The stabbing felt a bit unnecessary and since this plot was introduced the ending felt a bit rushed. I hope we get a special episode for the series.

Leia Mais

Romance? Passion? Chemistry? Pacing? What more could we possibly ask for?

What a great series!!! Everything we could possible want, we got in spades!

I loved the story of Bai Zong Yi and Fan Ze Rui. How these two lonely people whose paths unexpectedly cross steadily form a relationship from being enemies to unwilling caretaker/pestering patient, to friends, and then lovers. The buildup of tension between the two as their feelings for each other started to develop was immaculate ????. Between when they finally become lovers, are separated and reunited, the love, lust and longing they had for each other was so palpable it was almost too much to watch. Episodes 7 and 11 still have me in a chokehold. My favorite thing about BZY was his honesty and straightforward personality. He wore his heart on his sleeve and was direct with his feelings for FZR. My fave thing about FZR was his eyes. His eyes told so much and always looked at BZY so lovingly. When watching two people GAZE at each other makes you shy, you know you've found a gem.

Where BZY and FZR were intimate and loving, Ai Di and Chen Yi were explosive and intense. Both pairings were so passionate but it was expressed in completely different ways which was great to see. AD and CY's romance story was also beautiful to watch; finally seeing, AD who had been waiting over 4 years for CY to reciprocate his love, find his own happiness was for sure worthwile. For all of AD's aggressiveness, he is such a softie on the inside, especially to those he loves, a classic tsundere so his character was very fun to watch and I loved his dynamic with CY.

Overall, in terms of romance, Kiseki: Dear to Me 100% delivered. The driving gang plot itself too was also good and brought lots of angst that allowed our couples to develop their feelings even quicker. I appreciated how the story didn’t drag at all throughout the series. (Though, I did wait for the series to end before binging so the pacing seemed great to me, all the cliffhangers would have had me STRESSED had I watched this live xD). Everything was paced well and I didn't feel any relevant plotline was particularly underdeveloped. Although, I wouldn't be opposed to getting bonus episodes of BZY and CY's married life, too much to ask? ???????. Acting was also superb from the main cast. I did not feel one bit of discomfort/awkwardness in intimate scenes between any of the pairings. They all had great chemistry. The only poor acting was honestly mainly from Wayne's character lmao, and other small side characters.

Anyway, so happy with this series and I wish the best to all the actors. I had a great time watching it and I'm sure if you decide to pick this up, you will too!

Leia Mais

Unexpectedly amazing! A must watch!!

Synopsis

The series revolves the main couple, Bai Zong-Yi and Fan Ze-Rui. Zing-Yi first meets injured Ze-Rui when coming home from his high school. While providing a safe haven and medical care to Ze-Rui, Zong-Yi develops feelings. Their relationship faces many obstacles and dangers, due to Ze-Rui’s job as a gangster. Zong-Yi who’s ultimately made to give up on his dream to become an accomplished doctor, constantly fights for their love. On the other hand, Ai-Di (while helping his friends, Ze-Rui and Zong-Yi amidst all the chaos), is longing for the time Chen-Yi would come to him.


Overall - 8.5/10

The series was entertaining and wholesome. I did catch myself shedding a few tears for Zong-Yi and Ai-Di. It would be great to see this remade again with more and longer episodes. At first it didn’t seem as though i would come to love it as much as i did. But the story was truly wonderful. The series was cute, wholesome, and emotional. I definitely think this is an absolute must watch for BL fans.


Story - 8/10

The second couple, Ai-Di and Chen-Yi get an almost equal amount of screen time making them seem more of a main couple than a second. Ai-Di’s and Chen-Yi’s relationship have a very different dynamic compared to the main couple, probably influenced by both of their involvement in gang leadership. Ai-Di had significant screen time, which especially made him seem more that an a support role.

The second leads’ personalities are very different to the main couple’s. Chen-Yi, is quite stoic and serious. Ai-Di, is playful and brutal . Zong-yi, is gentle and straightforward. Ze-Rui is romantic and sentimental. These differences made watching the series all the more interesting.

The third couple in series would probably be the relationship between the two bosses Dong-Yang and Ming-Lei. Their love story felt quite sorrowful and tragic. I felt that their love story had a lot of potential. It would be quite interesting to see their story developed as a series of their own.

To me, the main couple’s romance felt too sudden and random at the beginning, although their relationship developed to be my favourite later on.

Seeing, “history 3: make our days count” couple on screen brought back nostalgic memories. However, it does seem that they (more specifically Wayne Song) can’t escape their misfortune, as lovers in H3:MODC and as antagonists in this series.


Acting/ Cast - 9/10

Taro Lin (Bai Zong-Yi) was the most impressive to me. I felt that Taro was quite good at expressing the subtle emotions and nuances of his character. He did a good job in balancing his character’s gentleness and his contrasting boldness with his love interest. Taro and Hsu Kai (Fan Ze-Rui) had a lot of chemistry, which made their character’s relationship all the more realistic and enjoyable. I did feel like that Nat Chen (Chen-Yi) and Louis Chiang (Ai-Di), had more room for improvement compared to the leads. Personally, Nat’s and Louis’ chemistry felt a bit dry at times.

Louis was a personal favourite. His parts which focused on him leading his gang was the most interesting to me. I had hoped for more scenes where Louis would have been able to showcase more of that playful and dangerous brutal sides of his character.


Music & Sounds - 8.5/10

There’s wasn’t anything too special about the music. It didn’t draw my attention or getting me thinking it was amazing. But it did it’s job in emphasising the emotions of certain scenes. The Music or Sound, didn’t have any notable impact on my overall rating of the series.


Rewatch Value - 7/10

I wouldn’t say it’s always good to have a high rewatch value. A higher rewatch value could mean that the film had less of an impact, was less memorable or was quite generic. This series did have its memorable points, but it did fell generic. It’s something I would watch again to pass time, or when I feel like indulging myself on Chen-Yi’s and Ai-Di’s angst, or Zongyi’s and Ze-Rui’s wholesomeness.


Thank you for reading so far!! <3

Leia Mais

Well made romance thriller.

What I liked:
-The acting.
(Especially Ai Di's actor. They way he was able to portray this undercurrent of sadness and vulnerability in this street kid gang member was truly impressive.)
-The production.
(Some of the shots in the shows were really beautiful. And i was never taken out of the story by weird editing or audio problems.)
-The story.
(It was really nice to have a romance that had plot going on, independent of the romance.)

What I struggled with:
- The relationships between the groups.
(I had a really hard time understanding why the different factions were against each other.)

Leia Mais

Where there is love, there are miracles.

I absolutely loved the first episodes. There are some things that I didnt like, but this series was so good and interesting and the actors were so hot.
I didnt expect such a chemistry between the main characters. To be honest, I liked Chen Yi and Ai Di more. Thanks God that they became a couple after all. Of course, I also liked Ze Rui and Bai Zong Yi. It was obvious that Ze Rui felt in love first, but Bai Zong Yi didnt want to express his feelings from the start. It was awful when he took the blame and saved Ze Rui. He wasted four years of his life, failed at school and lost his short memory in prison. Ai Di also made the wrong desicion, but after all everything had a happy end.
For a taiwanesse series, this was so good. Surely I will rewatch it.

Leia Mais

The plot sank like the Titanic, but the Chen Yi x Ai Di ship sailed like the Flying Dutchman

The title of this review pretty much sums up my thoughts about this series. I binged it around the time when the last episode came out, and all I can tell you is that I cannot tell you what this story is about. The only thing I remember is that the plot makes about as much sense as a fever dream. It does not matter, though -- I skipped half of it to get to Chen Yi and Ai Di's scenes faster. The main couple, while played by attractive and competent actors, failed to engage me in their story and was forgettable to the point that I now have difficulty remembering the two characters' names.

I am sure that I am not the first person to write this in their review, but I would have dropped this series if not for Chen Yi and Ai Di, who carried it on their backs from start to finish. If you read 100 reviews fangirling over this ship, I will be the 101st. It is one of those rare cases when all elements needed for a great BL couple -- story, acting, chemistry, looks -- come together to make a ship that tugs at all the right heartstrings. Louis Chiang delivers a brilliant performance, turning the already likeable Ai Di into the best character in the show. Nat Chen charms and disarms as the quiet, manly, and possessive Chen Yi. The chemistry is off the charts. Furthermore, their story is the only meaningful and engaging part of the plot -- if they were the main couple, Kiseki would be a good show.

Is this series worth watching? Chen Yi and Ai Di's scenes are. I watched and re-watched them many times. They kept me up at night. I am not so sure about the rest of the show, though. You can give it a try, but you will probably stop caring about what is going on as soon as you get to Chen Yi and Ai Di.

Leia Mais

Cute and fun, not until something bad happened

It had an intriguing yet refreshing start as a BL watcher for years. The story is not different from the rest of the BLs but there’s something unique about this show -and that is maybe the way that the visually stunning cast executed their roles perfectly despite being rookies in the industry.

I love the intimacy of the two couples; it devours their feelings into each other and lets them grow into themselves. The first-morning bed kiss with Fan Ze Rui saying “Good morning baby” was still one of my favorite kissing scenes. Then, they gave us the first bed scene on EP 07 which was unexpectedly followed by a set of devastating episodes. From EP 08 onwards, I was attacked by a series of needle pins into my heart. Why does Bai Zong Yi have to take the blame, be put into jail, and risk his life during the 4-year time skip? I hate it!

He has a bright future awaiting him, with the dream of becoming a doctor to help his family financially. At that moment, I just wished that he hadn’t met Fan Ze Rui. People inside a gang have a hard time falling in love with someone outside their circle. The violence and angst from these episodes are too much for me to handle.

For having the main couple lay low, we got the character development and bloom of romance from the second couple which was lovely. They did pretty well on serving another chemistry with their sassy and unaffectionate romantic feelings to becoming clingy and affectionate towards the end.

The essence of the drama mainly focuses on the love story of the main couple which I was hoping to see more kind of replenishment and rehealing process from all the things that happened between them and their family. Yet, I am also convinced that the production already did their very best to offer a good enough ending for the stories of the characters. I am also happy to see various stars from the previous BL romance that are having their cameo role in this drama. To be honest, I was expecting that the main cast from HIStory 4: Trapped may also have their appearance as they almost got the same kind of genre, but it didn’t happen. All of the actors in this project raised the quality and entertainment factor of the drama which brings a huge impact to the overall savority of the viewers.

Leia Mais

Definitely Worth Watching, Bingeworthy!

This is my first year delving into Asian dramas in a big way so I'm likely not as jaded as most viewers by common drama tropes. If you like bad boys who are actually sweet at heart, this story will definitely appeal.

Unlike many viewers, I am not familiar with the author this drama story was based on but feel that it's well written and the character arc development interesting. I'm not a fan of time skip in a story. To show past and present in a readily understandable fashion plus bypass uneventful story points quickly, perhaps it's necessary.

Halfway through watching the series I realized that the main character Bai ZongYi, played by Taro Lino was also listed as director, which definitely impressed me. ZongYi as a character most appealed to me with his mix of geeky intelligence and awkwardness. Ai Di, played by Louis Chiang, a support character almost steals the show!! Like a ray of sunshine...so feisty, adorable and mature!!?

Good chemistry and deep loyalty between the main couple. Extra spicy deep affection between the support couple. Support couple had several artfully posed ending shots when they were together.

Worth watching and due to the short episode length, extremely bingeable! Please give it a chance.

Leia Mais