Not many Korean web series are able to properly manage the short time they have. Tinted With You (물들여) manages to be one of the few series that does. A great cast brings to life endearing characters in a simple, though engaging story of love, friendship and the power of art across time.
The title A Breeze of Love (일기예보적연애) couldn’t be any more perfect for this series. This Korean BL drama is indeed a breezy, wistful and warm series about a love, friendship and self-discovery. A charming cast, relatable story and welcome sincerity make for a very worthy watch and ultimately satisfying experience.
Bon Appetit (본아페티) is a perfect example of both what makes Korean BL web series so engaging and so frustrating. First, it’s frustrating because these is a very thin line on which web series must balance their stories due to the format and time they are given to tell those stories. Plenty of great ideas suffer under those limitations. But these series also offer up some refreshing and truly engaging stories that you won’t see anywhere else. And sometimes, other aspects and details of the series are just so good that even those hurdles and missteps are able to be made up for. Bon Appetit manages to find that balance.
Kamen Rider The Winter Movie: Gotchard & Geats Strongest Chemy★Great Gotcha Operation is an interesting movie. While its main conflict is okay, the way it treats the characters from each season leaves such an odd taste in my mouth. At some parts I cringed. At other parts I rolled my eyes. And that is unfortunately too big of a negative for me to enjoy this particular Movie War.
GMA Network’s Pulang Araw premiered its first episode on Netflix yesterday and within the first couple of minutes, you will find yourself stunned by some breathtaking and heartbreaking visuals and emotional moments before sort of reverting back to familiar teleserye dynamics. That will be the biggest challenge for this ambitious series, as it is for any Filipino teleserye. How to have the writing and story maintain the momentum from its strong start and be able to match the obviously meticulous production.
Season 3’s first two episodes certainly give me great hope that the positive trend for His Man will continue. These were a strong two episodes, reminding me of what I enjoyed about the first two seasons and seeing nice possibilities to keep the format fresh.
It is absolutely wonderful when you come across a Korean drama that just brings you so much joy and laughter and tears (in a good way!). That is exactly what Lovely Runner (선재 업고 튀어 /Run Away with Sun Jae on Piggyback) is. This romantic comedy drama fantasy time travel adventure is a rare breed in Korean drama. Indeed, the blending of a wide array of genres is unique in and of itself. But an excellent cast, captivating story, emotional sincerity and plenty of fun make Lovely Runner a truly memorable and feel-good experience.
Hierarchy is just a contrived mess that tries too hard to be something it can never be.
Jun & Jun (준과 준) is a refreshing entry in the Korean BL genre. With an appealing balance between fluffy and mature, the romantic drama draws upon a tried and true formula while touching upon realistic and relatable situations that other series normally will not go near. A strong cast elevates a relatively simple and straightforward story. And while it is another case of a web series deserving much more time to flesh out all the great potential it presents, Jun & Jun is nonetheless a sweet (sometimes sexy!) and enjoyable time.
Goodbye Earth (종말의 바보 /The Fool at the End of the World) is definitely not the kind of series I expected coming into it. And I don’t mean that in a good way. This big budget, star-studded Netflix series falls far short of its ambitious target. And for a big chunk of the series, you end up wishing the asteroid would mercifully make its target as fast as possible.