MAME's Bed Friend

Those who had seen Bed Friend, will have a terrible feeling of déjà vu while watching this one since the plot set up seems to be practically the same.: a no nonsense guy gets into a contract binding sex relationship with a fairy like writer saddled with some serious family trauma. I know that in fiction the topics (tropes: enemies to lovers "Pride & Prejudice", revenge "Monte Cristo" etc...) have been invented a long time ago and that it is just the writer's role to make it stand out with the way they deal with it. So MAME going with the plot similar to Bed Friend did not bother me very much. So much so, that this became the first Mame's drama I actually finished since Tharn Type. I really enjoyed the spin on the friends with benefits trope! Moreover, the actors reminded me very much of James and Net, same type of actor for the same type of roles!

Rak suffering from writer's block goes to an island to rest where he is taken care of by Mut, the local man of all trades. While Rak piles on injuries on Mut, he just laughs them off, playing along. Until, a few days into the stay, they find that they cannot keep their hands off each other. After the two week honeymoon period, Rak offers Mut to pay him if he accompanies him back to Bangkok.

I loved the character of Mut: he is honest to the core, does not gossip and respect other people's privacy, he has a solid moral backbone, a very unusual trait in dramas! He is of course a cliché seme: strong, masculine, often wearing dark colours and definitely a domineering presence in spite of being a younger character. He does not change much throughout the drama.
On the other hand, Rak is on the surface smooth, elegant, strong and rich man. But lightly scratch that surface and out come all the traumas and insecurities from his childhood. His character develops backwards somehow: when we first see him he is a mature, strong, smart, confident and cocky adult all dressed in black but as the drama progresses he changes for the worse becoming, insecure, weak borderline child, pouting and hiding. The ending sees him all dressed in white and talking in baby voice! How about that for development? From the onset of their relationship it was perfectly obvious that Mut is the more mature person there. The relationship dynamic is very much a classical BL trope.

I did not mind the pay to love theme of the drama because it was not the important part. Mut has seen that Ruk has many insecurities hidden and that he tries to hide behind the money so he accepts to be bought in order to try to break down Ruk's walls behind which he has been hiding. The payment he accepts is just means to an end!

I wish they had delved deeper into the trauma part, it was very superficial and the very person who could have and should have dealt with that trauma and its causes (Ruk's mother!) is nowhere to be seen. Why? She stays in the beckground and acepts not to see her children in years? There is so much story there that they should have explored more. Or really explained the reasons behind Prim's (Ruk's cousin) extreme jealousy: that whole subplot was badly developped!

The music is the usual thai bl music: funky and forgettable with the obligatory a cappella beginning of the song in emotionally charged scenes (kissing etc.). I wish they would at least try to be original and stop giving us a copy paste original soundtrack.

And yet, in spite of all these flaws, I enjoyed this drama very much: the chemistry was solid, the bickering relationship fun to watch, the best friend Vie and the part of the second couple GL was perfect (for once there was no second BL couple but only one GL) and the GL story was cute even though the actress playing Mook grimaced too much!

I liked this drama more than I thought I would!

Leia Mais

All comes to those who wait!

Decoy is a worthy heir to OCN crime dramas: tightly woven gripping plot without giving viewers pause to breathe, dark cinematography, excellent acting and music heightening the threatening mood.

But of course, it is not perfect, far from it because it is also highly predictable using the usual set up. The story follows a former lawyer who became a police detective after the murder of his sister (how novel!). He cultivates a resigned unkempt attitude which keeps his bosses content, thinking they can control him. The bosses are all of course corrupt: policemen, prosecutors and politicians are all just greedy money grabbing lot, sweeping under the rug every illegal act committed by their rich sponsors (in this case a loan shark who became a "businessman" paying the officials for protection which they willingly provide: how surprising!). The victims of this criminal dealings are, as always, poor simple and trusting people who, when they get cheated out of their hard-earned savings, are treated as losers by the above-mentioned officials who do not do anything to right the wrongs ! After the whole drama of playing cat and mouse between the good guy and the bad guys, there is the final showdown where the bad guys are finally punished.

Most of the crime dramas follow this basic plot of murder and corruption. The thing that makes this one stand out is the writing, the characters and the acting.
The lawyer detective hides behind his slovenly attitude, sharp brain and solid moral core, knowing full well the distinction between the good and the evil and through smart remarks, making his corrupt superior find his own as well.
The one who steals the show is the big baddy who unapologetically organizes Ponzi schemes which talk to human basic greed, making people fall for the scam and lose everything. He never accepts the responsibility, and to the end considers he had never done anything wrong: people who he scammed are to blame for believing and trusting him.
The resolution of the murder investigation is disappointingly anticlimactic: there is no police storming in and arresting them: they are just simply murdered by the big baddy. The final chase across the snow covered mountain was breathtaking: the scenery was beautiful but even that was another letdown in spite of spectacular surroundings and the well deserved punishment, I was left unsatisfied. Again, it was anticlimactic!

These kinds of dramas make me wonder if Korea is really such a corrupt country: if you are rich you can get away with anything because the only thing people respect seems to be the MONEY. If you have it, then you can buy anyone and everyone, people holding official positions are will to bend over backwards to keep the rich happy no matter what they do. The law mosly punished those who are poor because it is easy, they are not respected as humans should be, it makes headlines and nobody dares say anything. If you are rich and/or pretty, you can do anything you like. Though, as these dramas show, there is a limit to it: the rich should not be too greedy because sometimes it is impossible to cover up.

What I particularly do not like is the way they release these dramas in two parts but I think it has to do with the platforms. Plotwise, there is no reason for such a release schedule: there is no particular cliffhanger or even two separate plots warranting it! All this to say that MDL should just keep one single page for this drama!

Leia Mais

Three little pigs

Pigs are a running motif in this drama: from cute pigs keychains, to three-legged friendship pigs to nobuta in the title which means a pig and the animated closing credits.

It is a story about three high school kids who are completely different and therefore eventually complementary. Two boys, Shuji and Akira decide to take under their wing Nobuko, extremely shy transfer student who is being bullied, and help her become popular. What they actually gave her is self confidence.

I thought this was going to be another Cinderella makeover story but it is everything but that. The only makeover they do is cut her hair. While trying to figure out ways to make her popular, they become close friends.

This drama relies heavily on character development and as such stands out of the myriad high school dramas. Shuji is on the surface a top popular boy in school but he actually has no friends. Everyone knows his kindness and takes advantage of it but nobody knows him deep down. Except for Akira, a "devil may care" rich boy who does not take no for an answer and insists on being Shuji's friend. And then there is the girl who for the most of the drama looks and behaves like she came out of a low budget horror movie: with hair covering her face, never looking up, stilted speech and robotic movements. The boys do change her but the change is internal not superficial: slowly in their contact she emerges from her protective shell. And even though this behaviour and this attitude started to be annoying towards the end, it was a novel approach to the Cinderella story.

The background stories of these three characters are very sketchy, not to say inadequate. We know something about them and what made them how they are but it is not enough: the depth was sorely lacking here. But their friendship, how they met and created strong connections were well written: nothing was rushed.

The support characters were a mixed lot: the usual mean girls, silly boys, crazy family and weird teachers. They mostly brought humour to relieve the tension of dealing with the main subject: bullying.

This drama has aged well. It looks like it may have been made a few months ago with a couple of differences: the total absence of mobile phones glued to teens' hands and the VHS tapes. The bullying and the teens' behaviour never changes!

What I did not like here is the added fantasy, magic element: "ghosts" at school fair, magical pigs and the mysterious monk/bookshop owner/writer uttering strange/weird words of wisdom.

The ending was there. Shuji moves followed by Akira. At first I thought him selfish but it was actually the girl who asked him to follow Shuji realizing that he may be weaker than he appears to be and that he would need a friend more than she does. So they jump into the january sea in order to celebrate being together. So how come we never got a BL sequel to this? Even Nabuta saw how close they were....

Thank you @kura2ninja for this recommendation. I loved it....

Leia Mais

Matchmaker & Breakup Master

This short web series which came as a recommendation on a streaming site, turned out to be such a lovely surprise. I had not heard of it before and barely anyone has seen it here: such a waste! If you need something light and fun, not too long but cute and sweet, this is perfect.

Joyce is the owner of a small local café. She has a membership scheme where she matches random people when they come due to the small amount of tables. Her customers hit it off, so much so that she starts to be considered as a matchmaker which was never her intention. One of her customers is Marco who created a start up offering mediation for break ups and who works out of her café.

There are several love stories: a noona romance, a lgbt couple, a couple of unlikely pairings and of course Joyce and Marco. All these stories were sweet and cute with a load full of chemistry. Joyce is somewhat a busybody which was a bit cringy but the actress comes with a sunny smile so even those uncomfortable scenes become palatable. Her romance was the slowest one and therefore the most detailed. When Marco's ex who does not want to break up challenges Joyce, there is a hilarious baking contest.

The writing and acting were just right. The music added to the overall feel of wellbeing. Just one thing bothered me a bit: why is everywhere so empty especially around her café? It looks like an abandoned city....rather spooky or like COVID era!

The drama was sponsored by Singleton whisky so every episode ends with a recipe for a whisky based drink.

Leia Mais

Big Bunny, Teeny Tiger & oodles of cute and fluffy goodness....

This is how you make a perfect romcom! Respect your audience, make characters adults, behaving like reasonable adults and not losing every braincell when in love and try to turn some tropes upside down. Add some excellent acting and extraordinary chemistry, mix it all,and serve! If we do not expect anything else but a fairy tale, we are going to be over the moon!

The plot is fairly simple: a doctor and a boxer meet. They hit it off immediately but do not realize how much in love they really are as fast as they should!

What I liked:
- reverse romance: they start as FWB living together in domestic bliss, then start dating and then ask each other out! I liked the slow pace too: they both had issues to deal with and it was given the time necessary!
- chemistry is off the charts!
- acting is excellent
- second couple is cute
- consent etc. very consensual (wedding in the final episode!)
- Sarin's dimples (I want more of this actor: he is phenomenally talented!)
- skinship beautifully filmed
- costume designer: some disguise costumes were just perfect (like the clowns! Sooooo cute!)
- Grandma with a guitar, for a change, and not them!

What I disliked:
- title and poster: looks cheap and sounds incomprehensible
- bad doctor's speedy redemption (why does everyone need to be paired off at the end?)
- ending: they just got together but are already going their separate ways because of their careers? Long distance relationship for a few YEARS?!?!? I want to see how that works!
- cringy last episode: the award ceremony and the wedding....
- a gala reception and a conference held in, what looked like a closet with a matching attendance (maximum 10 people! very empty looking!)
- I know that choreographed dancing worked well in MSP, but do you need to put it now in every bl?
- costume designer: some wardrobe choices were simply bad: gala suits and Cher's wedding... shorts?!?! What is he? 12?

This bl was far from perfect but I loved how it entertained me, how it gave me butterflies and how it kept a silly smile on my face non stop while watching it. It is arguably one of the best bl out there, carried by the greenest flag kind of characters. A perfect summer watch! I want more!

Leia Mais

Solid time travel makjang

Well, this was great! Same concept as Marry My Husband but so much better written and acted: can you imagine an actress who can actually move her face? Sorry, but MMH was ruined by the lack of expression on Park Min Young's artificial face!

The story follows YiJoo as she comes to finally accept that her family never loved her. She gets into an accident and is offered a redo: she's sent one year back and as she struggles with the realization, she also decides not to be a doormat anymore and kicks the festering wasp nest that is her family, with all her might. Secrets and lies keep coming out as she shakes everyone up.

This was a solid little makjang, excellent writing without obvious plotholes. I liked the FL because she was strong and smart and never really wavered. Her husband was there to help her but she was leading the game. The evil characters were the usual makjang baddies: awful stepmother, greedy resentful brother....They keep trying to kill the FL but, of course, the more they try the more they fail and end up in prison. What else?!?

The FL is supposed to be an artist, a painter. But she apparently paints in two different styles: extremely ugly hyperrealism and the beautiful symbolism (I guess...).

The PPLs were in your face (made me think of The King:Eternal Monarch) and too many too cringy for anyone's liking!!! A bit of subtlety would have been nice!

Leia Mais

Excellent but too short!

And even though the beginning of the first episode can serve as the epilogue and a happy ending, we need another episode to make it evident. I really don't know why the producers dropped this drama: they ran out of money? Still they should have made it available to international audiences because the story is interesting, gripping and the series is too bloody short! And I want to know why they seem to want to forget about it! I just hope that it did not ruin the actors' careers.

Recently I read a book called If This Gets Out about a boy band members who fell in love and that's why I wanted to watch this. This drama can serve as a prequel telling the story of an idol gruelling training camp. The story follows a number of trainees and the way they deal with the pressure and ambition and how far they are willing to go in order to succeed. They are all shepherded by Serena who is on the surface cruel, strict and unforgiving but has a right moral core and knows what is actually needed to be an idol and survive in this cut-throat world! So over a year she train 20 young men. By the end only 10 remain.

I have no idea how this world works but I think they managed to explain it to me how hard it is to become an idol and what an extraordinary amount of work is needed in order to make it. But it is not only difficult for idols, the executives are also a bad lot and they may stab each other in the back like Serena's ex did to her.

Beside training and practising, there are a couple of love stories in the background and they were both sweet. One is Ken who spends a year pining after their singing coach, just making up reasons to talk to her. The other one is of course the bl one, we are all watching this for! Top and Juju are young men from different walks of life brought together by the same love of singing and dancing. Top is a bit older and is more mature and Juju grows in his presence. Their relationship is slow, sweet and normal. They clicked together from the first time they met and Top's cool head helped Juju calm down and see a bigger picture.

The drama takes place over a period of one year and therefore there have been some time jumps completely out of the blue. The first 5 episodes are during the first 3 months of training and then the final episode skips to the last week of it. Nevertheless they managed to say a lot in these six short episodes, there was never a dull moment, not a second was wasted.

The actors are all excellent and I hope to see them in other works. Soon please! I would like to single out the actor who played Juju: pretending not to know how to do something when you do, is extremely difficult! The rest of the cast deserve just as much praise but of course Zubom and Jaymin have stolen my heart!

The boys' final audition was amazing and made me think of Glee by the skilful way it was choreographed and presented (black & white costumes ...wink, wink!). The production was quite good: filming and acting top notch. So why did they have to go and have a screeching trans character (or are they really present all over thai entertainment industry?) and the pesky sound effects. What I liked on the other hand, were silly visual effects: elephants running over the screen and dashes encircling certain items on the screen.

I want more!

Finally, I would like to thank the fansubbers below for subbing this series in italian.
https://pinkmilkmonster.blogfree.net/?t=6440036

Leia Mais

Him & Her & Him....teens going overboard!

Unexpectedly good! I kept reading how the series is bad, limit child abuse so I never watched it but this film came highly recommended.

And they were right! It is a fluffy little school romcom where the plot thrives on misunderstandings and the qui-pro-quo's! Basically it is a love triangle: Boy 1 likes a Girl but he thinks she likes Boy 2 who thinks Boy 1 likes him because he spends a lot of time trying to get to know him. In the process Boy 1 really falls for Boy 2 in a surprising ending!

The actors are so cute and considering their young age, they act rather well, with an excelling comic timing solid chemistry. Which is, of course accompanied by usual, annoying sound effects and a cliché screeching trans teacher. When are they going to portray trans characters as ordinary people and not as drama queens in these series?

There are many hilarious scenes (going to emergency room after swallowing a piece of paper) but the best is the Boy 2's mother who speaks and moves slowly as if she had just smokes some illicit stuff and therefore has a very fertile imagination!

The drama seems to be a rip-off of Kieta Hatsukoi (which I never really liked!) rife with similar kid of misunderstandings and a drama club antics which are funny but surprisingly not over the top like in the japanese drama!

If you a looking for a light and fluffy short BL that is easy on the brain and very easy on eyes, this is a nice choice! It is well produced and filmed, the narration is quirky and it puts the watchers in the right mood!

Leia Mais

Only if you have nothing else to watch...

Well, this year's japanese bls have been more of a miss than a hit! And this one unfortunately is on the miss side!

It is a cute slice of life, childhood friends to lovers, unrequited long-time crush, an endless string of clichés and repetitive tropes filled drama. Mind you, it was not bad but it was completely forgettable and something we have already seen so many times.

The actors had zero chemistry and the kisses were not even pecks, so why bother? The characters were also clichés: a former baseball player Kazuhito, cold and taciturn apparently emotionless but actually hiding his feelings really well. The other one was the opposite: jumpy, confused and indiscreet. It was so painful to watch when he was prodding the baseball guy about his love life, asking increasingly rude questions and even offering to sort it out for him and get him a girlfriend. Ryota is indeed a very unlikeable character. He seems young and cheerful but is actually immature and impolite and completely unaware of his surroundings: "Read the room, Ryo and shut the fuck up!"

The most interesting character was Haruna, baseball guy's best friend who cunningly pushes the two towards each other, inciting them to finally talk. I want to see a drama where he's a main character.

The baseball guy was too cute (I want to see more of that actor!) the other one was too creapy. Towards the ending, I kept thinking of Cherry Magic, thai version, where Achi accepts Karan's feelings out of gratitude but still very uncomfortable together. I had the same feeling here, less pronounced but still present: Ryo still seemed very uncomfortable...He was also worried for a long time about the acceptability of their relationship and even though Haruna explained some basic truths about Kazuhito, he semed more interested in keeping a roommate than getting a boyfriend. Very ambiguous!

Forgettable plot but well produced without major problems unless you count boredom.

Leia Mais

Magical cocktail therapy...

Taste of Cat has a great concept, incredible cats and my favourite genre: fantasy. So why only four short episodes?

The cats take over their owner's bar late at night and help out strangers who stumble upon it. The drama covers two cases: a girl who finds out her ex is badmouthing her and a man who bumps unexpectedly on his ex and is ridden with regrets. The cats through drinks and more (fantasy element: body swap and time travel!) help them see more clear and sort it out!

Does anyone know what happened to these three actors? They are by far the most convincing. (and the cutest) cats I have ever seen! I could watch them play with a ball of yarn and throwing steamy glances to each other for hours: plot is not needed! So why did they sink into oblivion, doing bit parts, if any? What a waste! I looked them up while watching this short drama and the fact that their careers never took off as they rightfully deserved, made me incredibly sad .

The production is the usual for a korean web drama: some bad acting, some empty sets, some bad cinematography, though not all (the date was filmed soft like a dream...), I loved the original idea of the plot: the bartender listens to the customer's story in exchange for a shiny toy (bracelet, tie) and offers a corresponding magical cocktail!

Cute but too short! I know there is a sequel....still this concept deserves a better production and a longer drama!

review 100

Leia Mais

Peer pressure

Thank God for small mercies: halfway through this film I was certain that one character was going to off himself, everything was pointing in that direction. Korean shorts usually have a tragic ending. Well, this one was not tragic just unhappy. And very much expected considering the topic: high school boys and the power of appearances.

Two boys are friends and more (couple of chaste kisses prove that!) but a third boy is jealous, bigot, suspicious, discriminating and he manages to influence one of the boys to stop seeing his friend/boyfriend. That boy is very susceptible to other people's opinions and caves in easily in spite of having deep feelings for the other boy, who is used to be talked about in derogatory terms.

The film manages to say a lot in the space of 20min. The usual topics arise: high school, coming out, discovering one's sexuality, experimenting, peer pressure, gossip, self-confidence and the lack thereof. The cinematography is cold and dark and the direction rather straightforward.

Nice short film probably describing first experiences of many young men: it feels very raw and real.

Leia Mais

Be careful what you wish for!

The original plot, no unnecessary time consuming side pots, cute actors (except for one), lovely music and a short duration was what kept me hooked on this drama when I have been dropping recent thai bls like they were hot potatoes!

The main problem this drama has is the casting and it is twofold! Firstly: Why would anyone give Gun a main role is beyond comprehension: he cannot act and even though he managed to tone down his ugly grimacing, it is still there and going crescendo as we approach the last episode! Secondly: Is it really so difficult to find actors who look alike for the characters' young and old versions! Just watch japanese dramas: it is uncanny! Their ability to find similar looking actors is amazing!

Gun with his overacting has ruined the enjoyment of this drama. But not so much as to drop it as I have been doing a lot recently with thai bls! This drama has an original plot idea which was unfortunately undercooked!

It is a story of a magical cafe that appears before you when you are the most desperate and offers to fulfil a wish. There are three at first unconnected, stories being told here. The first one is a woman abandoned by her boyfriend when he discovered she was pregnant. The second one is about Reaow and Mai, a new student in his high school. The third follows a longtime couple whose relationship is starting to fall apart because of work and lack of communication.

The pacing of the drama is a bit off: draggy for the most of it, it feels rushed in the last episodes with all the revelations coming out at a breakneck speed. But they managed to explain the majority of questions we were asking as we watched. I wished that the fantasy element had been more present in the first episodes which looked mostly like a mash up of two dramas: a school BL and an adult bl with a weird cafe owner(she was extremely weird, cackling and laughing like a maniac!) thrown randomly in between.
The two love stories were interesting though nothing new. The final episode twist, which I frankly did not see coming (bad casting!!!!) put a damper on the teen romance and it changed my appreciation of the characters (Reauw unexpectedly turned actually to be an ambiguous and grey character). The teen romance was well presented and Mai's questioning of his own sexuality in spite of his macho upbringing (there is apparently a wrong translation in the crucial scene: he does not say "I am straight!" but he says "I'm a man. Men don't cry!") was very convincing. Are you strong enough to go against your parents when you are 17?
The adult romance was ruined by bad acting and the lack of chemistry though the premise was interesting. Thana has been with his high achieving doctor boyfriend for ten years and the cracks are starting to show in that relationship because he does not seem to be able to keep up the pace with the successful doctor and they do not seem to talk anymore. He meets a young man in the neighbourhood and they hit it off famously: they seem to be on the same level, they seem to understand each other and they definitely have better chemistry.

I really liked the drama a lot and I am a bit disappointed because it could have been something exceptional with this original plot, better writing, pacing and not casting Gun: the rest of the actors were excellent! The cinematography is rich, soft and sparkling. The background music and the final song about forgetting were very nice and fit the drama perfectly.

There are plotholes (how does the café really work?), there are inconsistencies but they just made me go huh! And they were not bad enough for me to drop this which is a good sign! The ending is open and not what I hoped for: I did not want for Thana and his doctor to stay together. In spite of all the attraction they felt for each other, the whole relationship was built on a lie (a wish!) and should have crumbled when the truth came out.

I liked this drama a lot: it is different from the unwatchable fluff and soft porn thai producers seem to be churning out at a scary speed and that I keep dropping even faster! It has an interesting plot premise and I wish they put a little bit more effort into writing and casting which would have made it perfect!

Leia Mais

Defying time

Brilliant idea but lacklustre execution, unfortunately! I was hooked after two episodes, so much so, I subscribed to Gagaoolala in order to finish it. It did not keep its promise, sadly!

There are two different time periods that suddenly due to supermoon, get in touch and two sad men start talking to each other across time! Something happens between them but of course, there are so many obstacles in their way that nothing can come out of their love story. Just more regret and sadness.
The characters are very real and I loved the Wade's mother: open, helpful, optimistic, friendly an ideal mother in short!

The cinematography is stunning. It gives the whole series an out of the world, hazy and dreamy feeling, as befitting a fantasy! Beside interesting camera angles, the two time periods are filmed differently. Wade in 2020, pandemic and isolation, is all white, overexposed and too bright. Jose Manuel in 1974 is just like the Marcos dictatorship historical period: hopeless, dark and sad. The only bright points are JM's T-shirts. Wade's T-shirts also carry a message connected to the story
.
The music is moody and ominous announcing from the first seconds that this is not going to be a happy story! The huge problem is the sound recording: very bad!

The writing is original though a bit draggy and it is not very clear at which speed the time moves. They start communicating through letters: I love that concept. Their ability to communicate is due to the full moon. But that full moon usually lasts no more than three night every four weeks. Here it seems that they talk to each other every day and that there is the full moon in the clear sky every day as well (the shots of the moon are too frequent to correspond to reality!). They talk through the mirrors but sometimes they seem to see each other and sometimes they seem to be talking to themselves in the mirror: so it is not really clear how the whole communication thing works. They can talk to each other every day but they can see each other only when it is the full moon. Maybe I missed something? Another issue I found strange is that Wade thinks of finding the contemporary JM only after he definitely looses contact with him. While they were talking to each other Wade was never curious to find him in 2020?
The writers used the legend of Sidapa and Libulan which is tale of a controversial love affaire of two male deities in precolonial Filipino myth showing how impossible can become possible if you don't give up.

But the most interesting part were the episodes' titles which are the most romantic untranslatable words from a variety of languages:

1. YUAN FEN: (mandarin) fate or chance that brings people together predestined affinity or relationship (Budd.) destiny. Being able to provide explanations in a positive way, Yuanfen has always functioned as an attribution, the psychological process of seeking reasons for particular events.
2. FORELSKET is a Danish word that means in love, enamoured, or in love with. Forelsket is also a Norwegian word for the magical state of falling in love: it is exhilarating partially because it’s so impossible to control. It’s that fluttery, heart-pounding, palms-sweating, complete bliss that you feel when you’re first falling in love.
3. SAUDADE is a Portugese word for the emotional state of melancholic or profoundly nostalgic longing for a beloved yet absent something or someone. It derives from the Latin word for solitude. It is often associated with a repressed understanding that one might never encounter the object of longing ever again. It is a recollection of feelings, experiences, places, or events, often elusive, that cause a sense of separation from the exciting, pleasant, or joyous sensations they once caused.
4. VIRAAG is a hindi word meaning the anguish you experience when you’re physically separated from the person you love. This could mean a wide range of things. Perhaps your crush is in a relationship with someone else, so you’re forced to love them from afar. Perhaps you and your partner are in a long-distance relationship counting down the days until you’re reunited. Or maybe (unfortunately) you’re enduring a breakup and struggling to cope with the idea of losing someone forever. That pain you feel? It’s viraag.
5. MAMIHLAPINATAPEI: derived from the Yaghan language of Tierra del Fuego, listed in The Guinness Book of World Records as the "most succinct word", and is considered one of the hardest words to translate.This word is all too familiar for those out there who are a bit on the shy side. You like someone, and you think (maybe!) (hopefully!) that they like you too. You’re sitting across from each other, hands almost touching, but not quite. Your breath catches in your throat and you’re sure they can hear your heartbeat slamming in your ears. You look shyly at them. They look shyly back. But neither of you makes the first move. This moment--one of joy and anguish, fear and excitement--is summed up by the word “mamihlapinatapei.”
6. ONSRA comes from Boro language of India and means loving for the last time; that bittersweet feeling you get when you know a love won’t last.
7. KARA SEVDE They talk about kara sevda, an untranslatable Turkish concept that literally means “black love” or blind love and alludes to how uncontrollable desire and unrequited love can render someone hopeless and broken. It also means tragic love. It used for a strong, unrelenting and unhealthy crush in tragedies and folk stories.
8. ICHIGO ICHIE "one time, one meeting" is a Japanese idiom that describes a cultural concept of treasuring the unrepeatable nature of a moment, the practice of making the most of every encounter and understanding how important the “now” is.
9. HAPPENSTANCE means something happened because of certain circumstances, although it was not planned by anyone.

There is an unsuspected depth in this story which is unfortunately bogged down with sadness and hopelessness.

Leia Mais

It took me forever to finally watch this drama and the reason is that I can still vividly remember the webtoon I read a couple of years ago. And I can still remember disliking the main couple. And also wanting to see so much more of the second couple.

And lo and behold, this adaptation is very much faithful to the webtoon and therefore, I disliked the main couple and wanted to see more of the second couple (fortunately there are some nice webtoon side stories about them).

WJ has problems at work so he has been suspended. he goes to a tiny seaside town and meets by accident a well known pottery artist who has been hiding for the past two years. The artist is WJ's boss's favourite one so WJ sees this encounter like a possibility to earn some points and get reinstated. WJ, with his cheerful nature breaks slowly the walls around the artist. Until they actually fall in love and WJ's scheming comes to light. Now ensue a string of misunderstandings and lies which are mercifully quickly resolved! The second couple has a more interesting story: I cannot really remember whether they were real cousins or just friends but the drama lightly touches upon (mentions once!) the family homophobia: blink and you miss it!

The story is messy with a lot of inconsistencies and illogicalities. There is this particular feeling about K-BLs, and this one is no exception: they are cold and empty in spite of warm cinematography, the acting is stilted and unnatural, the kind of music featured has been heard already so many times and is extremely boring, the writing is rather superficial. The actors were mostly cute but the main couple had zero chemistry: more often than not even when they were together, they looked like they were on different planets. The webtoon characters had more sparks flying between them than these two real people. And don't start me on those fish & passionless kisses: not even kisses, more like tiny pecks on lips! Fortunately, there is character development, a slight one but a growth nevertheless: one matures and grows a backbone while the other rediscovers joys of life. While I was watching the office worker played by Gongchan, I kept thinking of Suits, the US show: he reminded me so much of young Patrick J. Adams. And once I thought of that, I could not unthink it, unfortunately! The other couple's thuggish guy reminded me of the farmer boy, loud and direct, from Love Tractor.

This is a most unremarkable drama, correctly produced but lacking soul, a spark or something which would bring it to the top.

Leia Mais

Mistaken identity?

What to say about this little film that has not been said many times already? It is a cute high school romcom.

Every few years these movies are made for new generations of public: a story about a mousy girl who falls for the most popular guy in school (here it is through letters in a notebook). This one has an added twist since it is obviously an adaptation of the classic Cyrano. The girl thinks that the boy had fallen for her much smarter and prettier friend but since she is not interested in him, the girl decides to continue corresponding with him while pretending to be her friend.

I liked that even though this is a film made recently, there is practically not a single phone in sight: the mobile phone interactions have been brought down to a strict minimum for a change. The communication is often verbal, written and even through songs (I loved the song they used to apologize!). In today's world, where young people seem to have their fingers glued to phone screens, this film is a refreshing change, a throwback to romcoms of about 20 years ago 'complete with an accidental school radio live confession!)

This is nothing earth shatteringly new or particularly original but it is well produced and filmed. The actors are cute and portrayed their characters well, having decent chemistry. Nice watch for a Sunday evening.

Leia Mais