YellowToiletBrush
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Possibly the best Taiwan BL I've come across
Having tried watching a couple of Taiwanese BL in the past based on rave reviews online (i say tried because i dropped most of them eventually), only to be terribly disappointed by the story-telling, acting, production value etc (we *cough* best *cough* love, Kiseki) i honestly hesitated starting on this one. In addition to my bad past experience with TW BL, incest just isn't my idea of a good forbidden romance... Putting aside the borderline incest plot, yes they're not blood related blah blah, this was actually a pretty darn good BL. Possibly the best I've seen from TW so far.The story-telling had structure, decent context setting, good build-up, running themes to anchor the storyline and the dialogues were natural and not overly cheesy. The cinematography (lighting, angles) was surprisingly good for a drama series with thoughtful choice of location (the stairs and alley leading to the house, the fishing scene), although I thought they could've dialed up the "slump" aesthetics a little. But the winning ingredient for me was the acting and chemistry of the main leads. Their sound understanding of the characters was evident in their gestures, speech, right down to their breathing (there's a scene where Yuan and Qian are at the fishing spot for the first time and Yuan is lost in thought, and as the camera pans out back to reality, you can see him breath in and his eyelids quiver, desire and guilt fleets across his face).
Qian and Yuan are also interesting characters with raw survival instincts, are both strong and vulnerable for each other, and are fiercely loyal to each other and their loved ones. The main supporting characters were also well-designed, imperfect people bound together by non-traditional familial bonds. The interjection of well-timed humour also helped to lighten the story (cue San Pang and XiaoBao).
Some gripes were the casting choice for the multiple versions of younger Yuan vs fewer versions of younger Qian. Just wished they either got more similar looking child actors or stuck to just 1 or 2 for both. I also wasn't a fan of the OST and it was an odd choice of bgm at times. The gun scene w the side charac was my least favourite scene as the dialogue was a tad unpolished and it was overall a little over dramatic.
All in all, i thought this was one of the better (if not the best) BL from TW for me and the actors surprised (and impressed) we with their acting chops.
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Moved up my list of best shows in 2023
With this line-up for a cast (I mean they had, Cha Taehyun, Ryu Seong Ryong, Han Jyo Joo, Kim Sung Kyung), a popular webtoon that already has a healthy following and Dalparan (music director/composer for the Good, the Bad, the Weird, and Secretly, Greatly, Kingdom) participating in the OST, this was firming up to be epic. The genre (supernatural, fantasy, action, romance) was also right up my alley and needless to say my expectations were pretty high; and i'm glad i wasn't disappointed. I waited for all the episodes to be out before binge watching and did not regret this decision; can only imagine the painful wait I would have had to endure for some episodes with the type of cliff-hangers they were dishing out.This has easily become one of my favorite dramas of 2023. There's so much to like! The innocent, sweet blossoming romance between the 2 young leads (i struggle with identifying the MC because each character could well be a MC of their own), the heart tugging back stories of their parents and the villains which helped us understand why they did what they did, the amazing action scenes (ok there were some rather questionable CGI scenes, like when the characters had to be made to look younger, but it's a TV production so i'll give it a discount), the fantastic acting (MCs and supporting cast included), the comic book style inspired cinematography, and the satisfying OST. Happy to report that there weren't any overly cringey dialogues, which tend to happen in webtoon, manga or anime adaptations.
Rated the rewatch value lower only because I don't usually rewatch shows and I fear that a rewatch would just make the experience less satisfying given how good it was the first time around.
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the Green Flag series in a sea of Reds
If you're looking for a love story about a healthy relationship with deep connection, this is the one for you. I enjoyed how the characters healed each other and became better versions of themselves. Mok is such a likeable character and Day was a good balance of angst and hope.There were some magical moments that were iconic like the "one palm distance close up", the "last twilight" scene at the top of the mountain, the moment when Mok's inner fears manifested as a result of their deepening relationship and he made the choice that he knew would hurt Day deeply, and when Night broke down during the family dinner over stew. These moments were magical because of the build up, the symbolism, the contexts that many can relate to, the raw emotions delivered by the actors, and they gave the characters depth and brought them to life.
While there were some stand-out moments in terms of cinematography and script (e.g. the last twilight scene) the musicality was odd in certain places and over dramatic in some.
The actors have a very natural chemistry and are able to portray a love that's mature and grounded in trust and respect.
Overall it was an enjoyable watch and I would have given it a higher rating if it had an alternative ending. I'm on team "should've been status quo" for this one...
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