The Eighth Sense (2023)

~ Sometimes you find a gem like this ~

With difficulties finding a good drama these days, it was a surprise with this production. The story was well written and had depth. What I loved most about the drama was its well rounded characters. I can't applaud more for how they showed the day to day life of the leads without making it boring and draggy.

The two leads character was well written and executed. The chemistry between them made sense and I could really feel their emotions. Ji Hyun was a simple down to earth boy who knew when to stand up for himself and was adventurous. I liked the people around him and their conversations. The scenes with his bff, Ae ri, restaurant ahjumma and even small moments like him sending pics to his mom about his day to day life felt wholesome.
Jae Won was the life of the party and people loved around being him. He was attractive to the core. And just like not everything that shines is gold, he did carry a lot of emotional baggage from the past. There were so much to peel from his character. Especially the talk around maintaining one's image was fascinating. How often the pressure of having to maintain an image can get to you. I understood him with my whole heart. His equation with Yoon Won was so adorable and I am so happy they explored their friendship with them drinking & chatting stuff.

Mental health issues were dealt in a decent way though I was not really fond of the scenes with the doctor. I haven't experience counselling irl but it felt depressing to hear the doctor talk. SPOILER ALERT*** For example talking about how sad it is when her patients chose to end their life was not something to be discussed to a patient who almost lost his lover's life *** SPOILER ENDS

The chemistry was uff AMAZING. I feel so giddy watching the romance and I don't feel like this in other dramas.

With all praises there were few nitpicks from my end, one being the camera angle. In most of the heavy scenes, the camera was literally closed up on the face of the actors, blocking out other people talking or any background due to which it felt claustrophobic. Editing could have been better but it wasn't bad to spoil the drama for me. It was a pleasurable watch and totally recommended !

P.S. Im Ji Sub playing Jae Won reminded me of Lee Joon Ki and Lee Do Hyun so much. In so many scenes i felt i was watching them.!!

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definitely a must watch

**contains mild spoilers, read at ur own risk!**
note: this is a very messy, definitely biased, unedited review. i am by no means a professional writer or even a good writer at that, so forgive me for my messy train of thought and poor wording.

honestly, i don't think words will ever be able to express how i feel about this show. if i could give it more than ten stars based solely on my enjoyment and the impact it had on me, then i 100% would.
the cinematography resembles that of a film that exists solely for aesthetics, and i mean that in the best way possible. visually, it was such a nice contrast compared to other bl's, which are often bright and bold, as opposed to dark and pretty, like this one is. on top of the visuals, the story is incredibly heartbreaking. it touches on subjects such as depression, grief, trauma, suicide, and *slight* survivors guilt. each subject evokes an emotion in me that i can only describe as suffering. maybe it's because i can relate to it, or maybe it's because these topics were so well done that i couldn't help but feel what the characters were feeling. this drama reaches directly into the heart and pulls on it's strings.
despite all of this, it still manages to make a painfully sweet love story, that has a perfect balance of fluff and angst, making it feel much more real than any other drama i've watched. this drama truly goes above and beyond: no stereotypes, no cliché, just two people falling in love and saving each other. it's just real.

i really appreciate the use of music in this show. in contrast to many other kdramas, theres not much background music. in high tension, important scenes, theres almost always no added background sound. thinking about it now, i don't think there was music playing during ANY scene with dialogue, which personally, i like way better than too much background music. it makes it feel much more authentic, more vulnerable. additionally, having the turning point fold over because of a conan gray song is literally so real and the song choice was perfect for jihyun and jaewon's story. i also especially liked the song that played during the montage of their trip together, i can't lose it all by ben goldstein.

as for the story line, the reason of the -0.5 rating is because of the odd jumps and unresolved sections. most of these things are small, but i found it odd how they never talked about their very first kiss together, even if jaewon didn't remember it. it just seems like something that should've been mentioned. on top of that, they didn't talk about jaewon ghosting jihyun either. this could be blamed on the fact that jihyun understood why jaewon did that, but i feel that for complete viewership understanding, this should've been talked about or at least mentioned. because this review is based solely on my enjoyment throughout the show, i'm only removing 0.5 from the story because it didn't really affect my enjoyment of the show, just made me tilt my head a little!

i'm not going to write much about the acting, as i feel it was very well done and i was never cringing at how bad it was. i just wanted to add that i'm so impressed with oh juntaek! he absolutely killed this role and the fact that it's his very first acting gig is so impressive!

overall, i'd recommend this show to anybody and everybody. it's absolutely incredible. definitely going high on my list of favorite dramas.

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changed my life

This show was so amazing. It really stands out from other shows I've watched within this drama and I loved how different it felt. Not only was the show angsty and painful, it held the most heartwarming, wholesome ending as well. The cinematography was also a wonderful bonus. I loved the way the entire show was set up, who the characters were and how they changed throughout the show. I truly appreciated the beauty behind the film, the actors, all of the characters personalities and the scrip. The entire show as a whole just felt so raw and beautiful. The actors didn't feel like actors, and it displayed the hardships the characters would face and there wasn't any fan service- type feel to it either. They were simply two guys in college. I truly recommend this show.

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It's a must watch!

I'm not the type to write reviews but this is soo good I feel like I need to give it a lot of support as a thanks for something this beautiful!

The chemistry is amazing, it's giving me butterflies, the ost are amazing, thanks to this drama for introducing me to wetter!

The cinematography gives a unique calming vibe to it, it feels like the nightlife to me cause nights always makes me feel calm yet alive, and this gives me just that!

It feels raw, and it feels like you're watching a real human, with real emotions like everything feels so real, and it'll makes you wants to fall in love again, it's a must watch masterpiece!

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A MASTERPIECE!

This show gathered so many 10 stars only after 2 episodes that its almost impossible to believe, but it's with very good reason trust me! After these so amazing 4 episodes it just can't go wrong anymore, hence the reason I jumped here so early, when I am one to wait until it ends to write(or not) a review.
This is a MASTERPIECE! It's so beautifully done, flows so natural and with no forced clichés. The tension between ML is so raw and palpable that makes you hold your breath each time the get close and the side characters each has a defined place in the story. Cinematically, it's a work of art. each movement of the camera is intentional and creates the momentum, showing exactly what needs to be shown without any clumsiness. The OST is another masterfully done thing in this series and suits so well the drama you can't help but feel entranced!
There are some hiccups here and there, because nothing is perfect... but it gets shadowed by all the amazing characteristics.
I am so addicted to it and I am in so deep at this point I am basically drowning!
South Korea, you did it again! Applause!

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Non migliore di molti altra drama

Di solito non scrivo recensioni di drama che non mi colpiscono particolarmente nel bene o nel male, come in questo caso, ma viste le lodi sperticate che leggo in giro riguardo a questo titolo mi sembrava giusto cercare di presentare un'opinione leggermente più obbiettiva spero. E visto che tanto scrivo in italiano, la leggeranno in pochi e nessuno mi lincerà per questo. Questo drama a mio avviso non è niente di straordinario, meglio di altri BL, ma peggiore di altri Bl per certi aspetti, o in media con altri drama dello stesso tipo. La trama non è nulla di nuovo sotto il sole, anzi la trama di Blueming mi aveva dato qualcosa di più in termini di coerenza e novità con l'insrimento dell'argomento cinematografia. In fondo eighth sense a livello di storia si può riassumere in tre parole: un ragazzo di campagna che arriva in città per frequentare il primo anno di università maturerà grazie all'incontro con un ragazzo dell'ultimo anno con un sacco di problemi di cui si innamorerà. Tutto qui. I personaggi principali sono abbastanza approfonditi e interessanti in particolare Seo jae won, e hanno abbastanza chimica. e tratti distintivi ma già il passato di Kim Ji non è che venga approfondito... ed entrambi i protagonisti sono vittima della malattia del protagonista riscontrabile in migliaia di altri drama: tutti li vogliono. Tutti vogliono essere loro amici o morosi. Ae rin che viene tanto lodata come amica del ragzzo di campagna e che praticamente gli impone la sua amicizia, si capisce perchè vuole a tutti i costi essere sua amica? No. O perchè l'ex del senior vuole tornare con lui anche se sembra che non lo ami poi molto e nemmmeno le piaccia? Per orgoglio? Perchè lui è ricco? Non viene adtto. Tutti li vogliono e basta. E vogliamo parlare delle infinite puntate dove il senior non è mai sobrio per più di 5 minuti? O del montaggio veramente scadente? Certe scene seguenti non hanno legami tra di loro oppure sono girate in modo strano. Ora io non sono un regista nè un critico cinematografico ma se un personaggio sta parlando in quel momento o gli sta succedendo qualcosa di rilevante direi che sarebbe il caso di inquadrarlo no? Invece più e più volte questo non succede e tu non capisci neanche la scena dopo perchè non hai visto cos'è successo prima. Tipo nelle prime lezioni di surf di Seo a Kim, Kim non viene inquadrato mente parlano, solo Seo, e vediamo sempre solo Seo anche quando Kim va sott'acqua e dopo Seo che sembra allarmato, ma non vediamo la scena di Kim che quasi annega benchè il trauma con l'acqua ce l'abbia lui non Seo! E anche le lodi che altri spettaori scrivono al drama per la presenza della psicologa e per il fatto che finalmente un drama fa vedere un personaggio in terapia....per carità bella cosa (che poteva essere fatta meglio visivamente parlando, inserendo le scene con la psicologa in modo più logico, ma tralasciamo) , ma altri drama l'hanno già fatto e anni orsono, tipo Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo ancora nel 2016. Quindi per favore non urliamo al miracolo. The eight sense è un drama carino, ma non straordinario, piuttosto prolisso e lento, in media con altri prodotti dello stesso tipo e migliore di alcuni di loro per contenuti, non dico di no, ma anche con velleità artistiche che non si può permettere secondo me. Buona la chimica tra i protagonisti che innalza il livello del drama a cui altrimenti avrei dato forse l'insufficienza per quanto mi riguarda.

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:)

i don’t even know where to start with this series.
before i’ve watched this, my all time favorite korean bl was to my star 1&2. but once the trailer dropped for this series, something clicked in my brain. i knew this series was going to be the best kbl i’ve ever seen. and i was right.
theres many good things i can say about this show. for one, the directing was amazing. and the cinematography was amazing as well. just based on the teaser, the eighth sense was giving me some sort of “indie-college-film-project” vibe, and i was 100% there for it.
i absolutely loved the plot. it was executed perfectly too. nothing was going too fast or two slow— the pacing was perfect. to me, this series had more of a slowburn feel, which i loved. it was filled with much angst, and i love angsty shows, so that’s another reason why i loved this so much.
the acting was incredible. jisub and juntaek had immaculate chemistry.
i really really loved jaewon. i tend to drift more towards characters that have a troubling past/present. mental health being portrayed in media, especially korean, is really important to many people who struggle as well. and i think this show executed it very well. it didn’t villanize him, but it also didn’t make it to be jaewon’s entire personality. it was vague, but enough to understand what he was going through. plus, on the extra scenes on youtube, you can see his mental illness more in depth.
this was such a beautiful series. with the pining, the angst, the cinematography, the music, everything was perfect. but to me, this series was painful to watch. but i love painful and angsty series.
i rated the rewatch value lower than 10, just because i know it would kill me if i did. rewatch it. i totally would though, if i wanted to be in pain again.
there’s so many more things i could say about this series, but my mind is drawing blank and it’s been a while since i’ve watched it, since i was watching it while it was airing.
i have no complaints at all. so amazing and beautiful.

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I think I've officially found my favorite bl

I loved loved loved this drama, mainly because of its level of authenticity. And realism. There are ten episodes that focus on the story of two characters, who fall in love little by little, but it also focuses on their individual stories, especially Seo Jaewon.
What I found most special about it was the way their romance was portrayed.

Watching it, you could feel the tension and the characters really falling in love, which I really appreciate in romances. I've always followed Thai bls and they lack that, most of them at least. The lack of authenticity, the exaggerated, funny and cute way of expressing the characters' love. There's nothing wrong with that, of course, but I personally like this kind of romance better. It was something simple that we could tell even by the way they looked at each other. That's why the actors did an excellent job too. Their chemistry was amazing.

The editing choices were often not the best, although I realize that most of them were for cinematographic and artistic purposes. However, some of them didn't make sense, which I wouldn't exactly point it out as a serious issue.

Otherwise, I think this drama should have had either full hour episodes like regular dramas, or more episodes. Otherwise, it would have been good to have a second season that further developed Seo Jaewon's story, his depression, his relationship with his parents, etc. It was more of a secondary plot, although fundamental to the story, but it would have been interesting.

Regardless, I RECOMMEND IT. Please watch.

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IT'S THE BEST K-BL EVER

I am in love with this k-bl ♡.♡
I already watched this 5 times and I still love it.
It literally gave me butterflies.
Only the music could be better, but it's still 10 stars for me.
EVERYONE should watch this, it's the best k-bl I've watched in my whole life and I've watched ALL k-bl's in the whole world.♡
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Rewatch worthy!

If you haven't seen this yet, watch it now! Im obsessed! It is so incredibly well done. Every single episode ends beautifully and the actual ending is perfect. I wouldnt change a thing. Its romantic, heart-warming, emotional, and has some of my favorite intimate scenes out of any BL. It also has really great conflict and even better resolve. It definitely gives off a more indie vibe which I love. Its a BL you will keep coming back to for sure.

To get more in depth, here are some spoilers......

One of the main reasons im obsesssd with this series is due to the Actors ability to create such chemistry and emotion while doing seemigly mundane things. For example : Kim Ji Hyun bringing Seo Jae Won two cigerettes instead of just one or him handing him a ligther as he starts to walk away. Something so simple held so much emotion that it pulls you in. This happens many times throughout the series and you just can't stop watching it.
My obsession may also be due to the characters and the way the writers help you get to know them. There are no unnecessary fillers or introductions that take up whole episodes.They dive right into the story and you learn exactly what you need to in the perfect way. It's hard to explain but you'll see what I mean when you watch it.

Both the main characters have their own charms that will make you fall in love with them. Their Chemistry is also so pure that you can't help but root for them.

Their is multiple points of conflict but the resolve is sooooo worth it. The scene where they come back together after being apart is seriously my favorite.

just go watch it. seriously

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