Lovable in Parts, but also Highly Irritating

Alright. This series is lovable in parts, but also highly irritating in parts, with some repetitive, uncreative and extremely immature plots. This, combined with the fact that Tang Yi (the main character) is almost always frowning and angry, sometimes even while kissing his partner, and that the main job of Shao Fei (the other main character) is to take cuts and bullets for others, makes me want to give the series a 5/10 rating, but nevertheless I will give it a 6- mainly because of these good things:
1. The intense and believable interactions between the various mob guys
2. The initial light-hearted and wonderful acting of the Captain
3. The natural, believable and heartwarming interactions between the second lead couple- Jack and Zhao Li, which I found much more enjoyable and spontaneous than those of the first lead couple- Tang Yi and Shao Fei.
4. The natural and wonderful acting of Chen Wen Hao and Old Tang

Next, I will list the irritating things, so that you are well prepared in advance, and may feel a bit less frustrated, in case you decide to watch this lengthy series. Here we go:
1. During the starting episodes, Shao Fei keeps bugging Tang Yi to reveal the 'truth' based on a hunch. This approach of a police officer is unrealistic and immature, and soon becomes borderline-irritating.
2. Most of Shao Fei's initial interactions with Tang Yi are overly stupid and childish, and make him look like a mindless clown.
3. Shao Fei moving in with Tang Yi, to protect him and to keep an eye on him, was quite unrealistic in itself, but it becomes completely senseless and intolerable when he accepts to babysit Hong Ye, and takes her shopping.
4. Shao Fei's main task as a police officer is not to solve cases, it is not to catch criminals, and it is not to help or protect others with his acquired skills. Then what is it? It is to use his body as a shield for others. And it does not matter who this 'other' person is.
5. Have you realised that every person in this world has two faces? And that every person is confused and conflicted and unreliable? Well, you better believe it, because that is what the storyline tries to portray at the end. Too many persons are shown to be selfish and conflicted, and are just using the others for personal gains. This was completely unbelievable, stupid and immature. I have absolutely no idea why these kinds of plots were suddenly stuffed into the otherwise okay-ish storyline, making it completely ridiculous, so much so that I lost interest completely during the last few episodes.

Leer más

Simple, Straightforward, Honest, Sincere. Can Watch It.

The predominant feeling in the series is of uncomplicated clarity and pure honesty. Both central characters- Amane and Ryuji- are honest towards their own feelings, and also towards each other.

Amane is clear about his sexuality and does not hesitate in letting Ryuji know. Ryuji, being mature and stable, is not affected by this revelation, and this paves the way for their friendship to grow.

But Amane is attracted sexually towards Ryuji. So he tries to maintain a safe distance from Ryuji after sensing that his feelings are unrequited.

The highlight for me is the way in which Ryuji responds to Amane's confession- he states clearly and precisely what he feels, without any worry or fear of what might happen next, and thankfully gets an appropriate response from Amane. There are no unnecessary tears nor any forced turmoil. A situation that is often turned into an exaggerated and complicated drama is handled just as it ought to be handled- with grace, calmness and composure.

Thus, at its end, the series left me with an unexpected feeling of satisfaction and goodness.

This good feeling would have been more complete if I could sense Amane's love for Ryuji. But unfortunately, this never happened. His eyes and body never conveyed any feelings beyond closeness, for Ryuji.

If this last issue does not bother you too much, then you might enjoy watching this series.

However, if it does bother you, then skipping this series is probably the better option.

Leer más

Unexpectedly Wonderful!

After watching the complete HIStory Season 1, and finding it quite bad, I was reluctant to watch 'HIStory2: Right or Wrong', even though 'Crossing the Line' - the second story of HIStory2 was absolutely amazing, stunning and mesmerising. Another reason for my reluctance was the age gap between the lead characters- I thankfully have no bias against such a relationship, but the handling of the age gap theme that I had seen so far had lacked depth and conviction.

Nevertheless, I gave this one a try, and was on the verge of leaving it after watching the first two episodes (probably because of my reluctance?). But I went on to the third episode, and was surprised to see the quality of the series improve. And this improvement continued, quite amazingly, till the very end, and I ended up falling in love with the series. The story, the acting, the clarity, the honesty and the crisp handling of complex issues- all of these made the series beautiful and took my heart away. And I also felt grateful and really happy that the younger lead was not made to suffer unnecessarily in his new relationship, after having experienced shit at an early age.

So go ahead and watch this one to your heart's content, without any doubt.

After all, it is rare that you end up giving a series 9 stars, after thinking of dropping it at the beginning!

Leer más

A Very Good Series with Decent Story. Watch It!

Brief Impressions:
Beautiful, Mesmerising, Cute

Review:

When I watched the trailer of this series, I was smitten by the beauty of the lead characters and decided to watch it on priority. And I was not disappointed.

Not only are the characters beautiful, but the cinematography is stunningly beautiful as well. I can probably enjoy watching this series even without the sound and subtitles- just to allow the elegance and freshness of the scenes to sink in.

And just to clarify- even the ambient sounds are pleasing, and enhance the overall experience.

The romantic experience is also quite nice. I love the fact that you can sense how much the lead characters adore each other just through their facial and nonverbal expressions. The development and acceptance of their feelings happens gradually, as they understand and open-up to each other.

One issue that left me dissatisfied was the lack of clarity and conviction in the final confession (one of the characters is half-asleep), and also the fact that it happened after a really really long time, when there was no solid reason for this delay.

Barring this last issue, and some initial rubbish in the name of 'pranks' that made me cringe a bit, I enjoyed watching the series and recommend that you too should go ahead and watch it without any second thoughts.

Leer más

Stagnant Love-Story & Too Many Cliches

Okay. So I was in the middle of the 5th episode of the series when the "Lead1 sees Lead2 with someone else, misinterprets (because the scenario is set up like that), feels bad/hurt, and backs off without clarifying" scene was forced unnecessarily into the story (and not for the first time), and made me lose interest completely. I had already been losing interest because of various reasons:
1. The relationship between the main characters was stagnant, and not going anywhere.
2. The various attempts at humor, barring the first few, were not humorous at all.
3. The acting of the leads, though overall decent, became horrible at times. Like when Phupha's body closes down when he is facing a crowd.
4. I watched the prequel Phupha | Nanfah before watching this series, but I was disappointed to see that most plot and story related details shown in the prequel were not used here. It made me feel that I would have been better off if I had not watched the prequel.

After watching the above mentioned scene of the 5th episode, I have decided to drop the series, and give my rating and suggestion based on what I have seen so far: You can watch it if you are okay with repetitive and uncreative plots, and a stagnant main storyline. If you are not okay, then skip this one.

Leer más