Sneha Jaiswal's Blog, page 19

Head Over Heels Episode 11 Review: Grim Reapers and Grim Missions

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

Korean series ‘Head Over Heels’ has been so entertaining so far, largely due to its charmingly cute teen shaman protagonist Seong-ah (Cho Yi-hyun), that this edition felt a bit off, because others characters get a lot more space. And also, it features some surprising twists, which take some time to make sense, including a really long time-jump!

Quick Recap of Head Over Heels Episode 10

Bong-su has fully taken over Gyeon-woo’s body, and Seong-ah can only reach out to her crush for one hour each night. The teen shaman must now find a way to exorcise the spirit and save Gyeon-woo from death. Meanwhile, Yeom-hwa (Chu Ja-hyeon) manipulates Ji-ho (Cha Kang-yoon) into giving her the ring that once belonged to Bong-su. She uses it in a dangerous ritual to summon the grim reaper and in order to send Gyeon-woo to the underworld.

Unfortunately for Yeom-hwa, her spirit-mother and senior shaman Dongcheon (Kim Mi-kyung) is determined to save her from completely turning to the dark side. So when Bong-su counter-curses Yeom-hwa, redirecting the grim reaper toward her, it’s Dongcheon who dies instead. The tragic twist unfolds because Dongcheon had secretly become a protective human talisman for Yeom-hwa, a final act of loyalty, love, and devotion to her spirit daughter, showing she would never abandon her again.

Episode 11 of ‘Head Over Heels’

The episode opens in the immediate aftermath of Dongcheon’s death. I honestly thought it might be a false alarm, and that the shamans would somehow resurrect her with their powers. But the tragedy is real. A heartbroken, grief-stricken Seong-ah vows to protect Yeom-hwa, despite all her despicable actions so far. Both the younger women are devastated by the turn of events.

Still, the central focus of this ‘Head Over Heels’ episode is the teen shaman’s unwavering resolve to save her first love, Gyeon-woo, from the clutches of malevolent forces. So she takes him on a romantic park date with a hidden agenda: to lure Bong-su out of Gyeon-woo’s body and make him follow her. Once she succeeds, Seong-ah mysteriously vanishes for months, leaving everyone wondering where she went.

There’s some romance, mystery, suspense, conflicts, and lots of emotional moments in the penultimate episode of ‘Head Over Heels’. While Yeom-hwa insists the teen has turned into an evil spirit, Gyeon-woo refuses to give up, relentlessly tracking down ghosts in hopes of finding clues to her whereabouts. Although the reversal of roles, wherein Yeom-hwa tries to play the ‘good’ shaman, while protagonist Seong-ah is labeled as the troublesome one, felt a little off.

“If you see her, you should run for your life,” Yeom-hwa warns Gyeon-woo, though he clearly doesn’t take the warning seriously. And why would he? She’s made his life miserable since he was a kid. Amid all these new developments, poor Ji-ho remains clueless. Sure, some of what’s happened is his fault, but Cha Kang-yoon portrays Ji-ho with such earnest charm that it’s easy to forgive him. And even with Seong-ah gone, he continues to support and value his friendship with his love rival, Gyeon-woo.

It takes some time to grasp where these unexpected new twists are leading the story, but the climactic moments of episode eleven deliver an exciting twist. Turns out, the Bong-su problem is far from solved, setting the stage for an entertaining finale to the teen shaman’s supernaturally romantic love story.

Watch ‘Head Over Heels’ on Prime Video.

Find the writer on Twitter and Instagram for more pop culture chatter.

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Groupies Comic Book Series #Issue 5 Review

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

Issue 5 of ‘Groupies’ marks the end of the comic book series by Helen Mullane and Tula Lotay, where the creators get meta and break the fourth wall to tell us how the ending twist is “kind of anticlimactic, right?” Heck yes. It’s the creators’ way of saying: we weren’t sure how to end this demonic tale of sex, music, and drugs without it being predictable, so we just threw in a randomly convenient twist to deliver a surprising-as-hell climax, so what if it’s anticlimactic AF?!

Also Read: Groupies Comic Book Series #Issue 4 Review

I cannot begin to describe my disappointment with this issue of ‘Groupies’, because I am exhausted, brain-fried, and the last thing the comic-book reader part of me needed was this half-baked finale. Seriously, this series had been pretty intriguing, with beautiful, dreamy artwork by Tula Lotay, which by the way, didn’t even stand out as much in this chapter.

Chapter 5 focuses on a groupie called Myuuzu, another gorgeous young woman who begins to seriously worry about the deaths and disappearances of her friends. She gets the boys of ‘The Moon Show‘ to confront the reality: their meteoric rise in popularity might have something to do with devil worship and human sacrifices.

As always, I want to keep the review free from major spoilers, so I won’t reveal what really happens in the climax, except to say that it was super underwhelming. Give this comic series a chance only if you’re a fan of Tula Lotay’s artwork.

You can read Groupies on Kindle Unlimited.

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‘The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity’ Episode 3 Review

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“When did I become someone who treats others the way I hated being treated?”

It seems the more Rintaro Tsumugi (voiced by Yoshinori Nakayama) talks to Kaoruku Waguri (voiced by Honoka Inoue), the less right his assumptions about her personality turn out to be in ‘The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity’.

Also Read: ‘The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity’ Episode 2 Review

Titled “A Kind Person,” episode 3 starts off with Rintaro and his friend Shohei worrying about their upcoming exams, so the two of them head to the library to study together. There, Rintaro unexpectedly runs into Kaoruku. This episode focuses on the slowly developing friendship between its teen protagonists against the backdrop of exam stress, school rivalry, and their own complicated feelings.

One of the most entertaining, and low-key hilarious, moments in this episode of ‘The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity’ (seriously, they should’ve gone with a shorter title) is when Rintaro and Kaoruku’s friends nearly come to blows. Or at least, it looks like a comedic showdown is about to unfold after Kaoruku’s friend from Kikyo, the elite all-girls school, assumes Rintaro is heckling her, simply because he’s from Chidori, the public boys’ school that Kikyo girls seem to consider a school for losers. The timing couldn’t be worse, because just then Rintaro’s friends appear at the spot and gear up to confront the girls.

While we’ve already been introduced to several of Rintaro’s friends, a fun group of high school boys who enjoy karaoke and sports, this episode is the first time the anime properly introduces one of Kaoruku’s friends. Subaru, a new student from Kikyo with silver hair, looks like she belongs to an action-packed anime. She cuts a tall, cold, and imposing figure next to the short, cute, princess-like Kaoruku, who she is instinctively protective of.

Except for the overtly high-pitched voice acting by Honoka Inoue, I love everything about Kaoruku Waguri: she is cute, optimistic, straightforward, and, as we learn in this episode, also a hard-working student at the top of her class. And the desserts she so joyously devours at Rintaro’s family-run bakery? Kaoruku pays for them with the money from her part-time job, not pocket money handed out by her parents. Yoshinori Nakayama’s calm voice as Rintaro thankfully offers a pleasant contrast.

Given that it’s only episode 3 of ‘The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity’, the romantic moments are yet to kick in, but the awkward bond between the protagonists is very cute. Towards the climactic moments of this episode, Rintaro gets a call from Kaoruku, and the boy practically gets butterflies in his stomach. One can easily imagine a live-action adaptation of this high school series, which so far is proving to be a cozy weekend watch.

‘The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity’ is on Netflix.

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‘I Became the Lead in a BL Drama’ Season 2 Review

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

Abe Alan and Akutsu Nichika are back as the hilariously awkward protagonists Akafuji Yuichiro and Aoyanagi Hajime for season 2 of ‘I Became the Lead in a BL Drama’ (‘BL Drama no Shuen ni Narimashita’), which remains just as entertainingly un-serious as before!

Directed by Kumasaka Izuru, the new season spans six episodes and follows the comedic struggles of its lead pair who’ve entered the ‘dating phase’ of their relationship. Akafuji Yuichiro (Abe Alan) is a popular rising star in the industry, but he still behaves more like a ‘fan boy’ than lover towards boyfriend Hajime (Akutsu Nichika), leaving the latter confused, frustrated, and questioning their status. Meanwhile, the clueless Yuichiro, boils in jealousy over Hajime’s cozy rapport with new co-star Haibara Ryunosuke (Furuya Robin), a handsome senior actor.

Honestly, ‘I Became the Lead in a BL Drama’ (‘BL Drama no Shuen ni Narimashita’) isn’t even romantic-comedy, it’s just comedy, packed to the brim with silly jokes and funny moments. Interestingly, the subplot between Hajime’s manager Kijima Joji (Watanabe Shu) and Yuichiro’s manager Yukari Hiroomi (Ogoe Yuki) sees more romantic development than the leads themselves. Even their relationship leans into an idol-fan dynamic, as Hiroomi is revealed to be a closet fan of Kijima, a former star turned manager. Both couples may remind viewers of Utsukushii Kare (My Beautiful Man), which shared a similar setup, though that was a much more serious drama, and its protagonist, Hira Kazunari, belongs to a whole different league.

‘I Became the Lead in a BL Drama’ (‘BL Drama no Shuen ni Narimashita’) thrives on comedic awkwardness, insecurities, and the sheer inexperience of its leads when it comes to romance. For instance, while Yuichiro gets jealous and competitive with Haibara over his proximity to Hajime, Hajime on his part begins to doubt Yuichiro’s cozy rapport with new director Yamabuki Wakaba (Oshida Gak). One of the most hilarious sequences in season 2 was when Yuichiro and Haibara play a ‘who knows Hajime better’ quiz, complete with props and Hajime stickers.

Nearly half an episode of ‘I Became the Lead in a BL Drama’ (BL Drama no Shuen ni Narimashita) is devoted to producer Yayoi (Iriyama Noriko) and her colleague hitting up karaoke and fangirling over Hajime and Yuichiro’s characters from the BL drama they worked on. The two excitedly scheme about pushing for a second season (yes, the meta angle is genuinely funny), all while being completely unaware that the actors are dating in real life. Instead of falling back on stereotypical vampy female roles, the show offers a refreshing twist by portraying them as enthusiastic BL fans.

After two seasons of ‘I Became the Lead in a BL Drama’ (BL Drama no Shuen ni Narimashita), I’m still not sure if Abe Alan and Akutsu Nichika share any romantic spark, but they are a riot to watch (in a good way) as bumbling actors stumbling through their first attempt at love. Having previously seen Abe Alan as a creepily predatory antagonist in ‘Smells Like Green Spirit’, it’s easy to gain a newfound appreciation for his comedic turn as the harebrained, celibate Yuichiro. Meanwhile, Akutsu Nichika is especially endearing, infusing Aoyanagi Hajime with a sincere, childlike charm, blissfully unaware of his own appeal and the effect he has on Yuichiro.

The bizarre background music, which feels like an auto-tuned, goat-bleating sound, and served as a running gag in season one, returns in the new episodes and is just as hilariously absurd as ever. If you enjoyed the first season, you’ll be entertained with this follow-up too.

Rating: 7.5 on 10. The show is on GagaOoolala.

Find the writer on Twitter and Instagram for more pop culture chatter.

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‘The Summer Hikaru Died’ Episode 4 Review: Festivities and Secrets

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

‘I might not be able to replace him. But I’ll always keep you safe.’

At this point of ‘The Summer Hikaru Died’, non-manga readers still do not know much about the exact nature of the supernatural entity inhabiting Hikaru’s body. But one thing is clear beyond doubt: it has grown attached to Yoshiki.

Quick Recap of ‘The Summer Hikaru Died’ Episode 3

Yoshiki meets Rie, the perceptive woman who senses he’s nearing something dangerous and warns him to be careful. Shaken by the encounter, Yoshiki begins to distance himself from Hikaru, grappling with the unsettling truth that this isn’t his childhood best friend, but something uncanny wearing his face. Hikaru soon picks up on Yoshiki’s coldness and confronts him, triggering an intense, out-of-body exchange between the two. The episode closes with Hikaru in tears, desperately pleading for Yoshiki to stay by his side, confessing that the line between itself and the real Hikaru has blurred, and that it cannot exist without him.

Episode 4 of ‘The Summer Hikaru Died’

Titled “Summer Festival,” episode 4 opens with a comical scene of Hikaru luring a cat with some treats so that he can pet it, while Yoshiki looks on. The episode focuses on Hikaru attending a village festival with Yoshiki and his younger sister, emphasizing their reconciliation. Meanwhile the elders of the community worry about the supernatural events plaguing their lives, including a recent death. They villagers turn to consult Tanaka, the guy from ‘the company’ to investigate the eerie happenings.

The conversation between Tanaka and the locals sheds more light on the Indo family’s tradition of going to the cursed mountains to perform a mysterious ritual. There’s a cult-like sense of kinship, secrecy, and shared understanding among the locals, who clearly know more about the strange happenings in the region than they’re willing to admit. The slow-burn suspense of ‘The Summer Hikaru Died’ is going to be a challenge for impatient viewers, but I am thoroughly enjoying the pace and intrigue.

The bits that feature Yoshiki and Hikaru in this episode are largely light-hearted and comical, filled with warm scenes of festivities and the teenage friends trying out local food. But toward the end, Yoshiki reveals a major secret that forces both Hikaru and viewers to see his grief and denial in a new light.

Be sure to stick around after the end credits for a haunting flashback of Hikaru’s final moments in the mountains. While the animation feels a bit off in a few scenes, the anime continues to be thoroughly engaging.

Watch ‘The Summer Hikaru Died’ on Netflix.

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Materialists Review: Dakota Gets 2 Shades of Charm in Pedro and Chris

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

A fun ‘love triangle’ is when you clearly root for one candidate over the other, but a great ‘love triangle’ is when you’re okay with the protagonist choosing either options, or even with no one at all. At least that’s how I felt with ‘Materialists’: Dakota Johnson could’ve walked into the sunset with Pedro Pascal, or Chris Evans, or just with her heels and bag, and any ending would’ve been satisfying in its own way.

Written and directed by Celine Song, ‘Materialists’ stars Dakota Johnson as Lucy, a successful match-maker with a firm called ‘Adore’. Lucy meets the handsome, charming, millionaire Harry (Pedro Pascal) at a client’s wedding, where she also runs into her attractive ex-boyfriend John (Chris Evans), the latter happens to be a server at the venue with a struggling acting career on the sides. Lucy wants Harry as her client, Harry wants to take her on dates, and John seems to still have feelings for Lucy, but knows the ‘math’ is not in his favor. The conundrum is familiar, just like love around the world is.

The film explores modern dating through the lens of both Lucy and her clients, and what makes ‘Materialists‘ really tick is the easy, comfortable chemistry Dakota Johnson has with both Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans. There’s no awkwardness between either pair, not even when Harry meets Lucy for the first time, he comes across as effortlessly suave right from the start. In another universe, Dakota Johnson and Pedro Pascal could’ve made a near-perfect Pepper Potts and Tony Stark. I say “another universe” because after the ‘Madame Web‘ fiasco, it’s unlikely we’ll see Dakota in a superhero film anytime soon. With Chris’ character, Dakota slips into a Notebook-style setup, he polished woman drawn to the reckless, rugged heartthrob.

Oddly, or perhaps as a deliberate artistic choice, a lot of ‘Materialists’ feels like a stage play. There’s something rehearsed in the way the characters speak, with the bulk of the dialogue sounding inorganic. Yet, this slightly artificial tint to the tale didn’t bother me in the way some other films have in the past. Maybe it’s because of a certain early 2000s charm to the story, although, be warned, this isn’t a romantic-comedy and dives into the perils of modern dating in the second-half.

‘Materialists’ is peppered with Lucy’s meetings with her matchmaking clients, both men and women with largely absurd or unrealistically specific requirements, which provide both comic relief and reflective moments in the film. To one client who hands over an intimidatingly large list of things she’s looking for in a man, Lucy exasperatedly responds, saying: “If the service I was providing you was building you a man, then of course I can build you a man with everything on this list. But I can’t, because this is not a car or a house.”

Oh well, that’s ultimately the familiar, age-old message of Materialists: we may have detailed checklists for our ideal partner, but more often than not, the people who seem to tick every box don’t quite match the version we imagined. The ending is sweet and emotional, and ironically goes against the very idea suggested by the film’s title, which is clearly a deliberate subversion of expectations.

Rating: 8 on 10.

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The Ex-Morning Review: GMMTV Simply Cashes On Familiar ‘Ship’

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

Peak exaggerations were achieved in the very first episode of ‘The Ex-Morning’, because in this imaginary world of GMMTV series, Weather News Anchors are like Thai-pop idols, with women flocking newsroom building with placards screaming their names, while they smile, pose, and drive away in a fancy sports car to a luxury condominium, both premium buys bought in less than five years of entering the world of Journalism. What even?!

Directed by Lit Phadung Samajarn (Dangerous Romance, Love in Translation), this 12-episode romantic drama heavily banks on the popularity of its lead actors, Krist Perawat Sangpotirat and Singto Prachaya Ruangroj, who shot to fame starring together as the lead couple in the 2016 college romance SOTUS and its sequel. In ‘The Ex-Morning,’ Krist plays the wildly popular weather anchor Phi, known as the “Weather Prince,” who loses his show after being caught throwing coffee at a colleague during a live broadcast. Demoted and publicly shamed for his bad attitude, Phi is tasked with pitching a new show, and is forcibly made to team up with a new producer who turns out to be his ex-boyfriend, Tam (Singto). Can the former lovers make things work professionally?

At its heart, ‘The Ex-Morning’ is all about second chances, both in the professional and private lives of its lead characters. Phi falls from being a star anchor to facing nationwide condemnation for his tantrums and is in desperate need of revamping his public image. Meanwhile, it’s clear his ex-boyfriend Tam broke his heart, but the producer wants to give their partnership another shot. Their core personalities are quite different, and while Phi wants to do splashy commercial stuff, Tam wants them to work on a show that would cover serious issues. College flashbacks show how Phi and Tam grew close while doing student reporting together. Back then too, while Phi wanted to cover haunted houses, Tam wanted to interview farmers. So both their working styles and romantic troubles serve as primary conflicts in the tale.

Despite the promise of a fresh newsroom-themed plot, ‘The Ex-Morning’ treats the media setting as a joke, but without being funny. And Krist’s Phi is almost always dressed like a Thai pop star, in leather jackets, flashy shirts, and loud sunglasses, instead of looking like a media professional. Even his singer character in ‘Be My Favorite’ (a much more entertaining show, BTW) wasn’t dressed so flamboyantly. The Japanese series ‘My Personal Weatherman’ offered a better representation of what a popular weather anchor might actually dress like. And then there’s the usual cliche of Phi playing songs on the guitar, because obviously it’s mandatory for a romantic lead to know how to do that.

Krist Perawat Sangpotirat definitely exudes the sassy, egoistic charm of a popular, snobby TV news anchor, and his onscreen chemistry with Singto Prachaya Ruangroj is cute in the romantic scenes of ‘The Ex-Morning’. Although Singto’s performance is hot and cold, great in some scenes but awkward in others. Singto seems more at ease in the college flashbacks and doesn’t carry Tam’s personality with the kind of confidence the older, working professional version demands. So, it’s Krist who does most of the heavy lifting in ‘The Ex-Morning’, while the supporting characters barely leave an impression. For instance, Aou Thanaboon Kiatniran, an actor who is usually pretty impressive in his supporting roles, was reduced to a boring villainous caricature in this series as a scheming rival anchor called Te.

Instead of stretching it to 10 episodes, the creators could’ve trimmed the side stories and delivered a tighter 8-episode show. Surprisingly, even the soundtrack fails to leave a lasting impression, with editors relying on familiar stock sound effects for comedic scenes, a letdown, especially considering GMMTV has its own record label. Ironically, the one time the music did stand out in ‘The Ex-Morning’, it was a borrowed track from the ‘Ossan’s Love Thailand‘ OST.

With several Easter eggs referencing SOTUS, including a direct nod in the final episode where Phi mentions it was the first show he and Tam watched together, it’s clear the creators were banking more on the nostalgic appeal and popularity of Krist and Singto as an on-screen couple than on delivering a strong script. In-fact, I am pretty sure a lot of their fans would be happy with ‘The Ex-Morning’ as it is. However, I had higher expectations from the series. To the creators’ credit, the series does have a super fun climactic episode, which gives its lead a dreamy, celebratory ‘happy ending’.

Rating: 5.5 on 10. You can watch ‘The Ex-Morning’ on YouTube.

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Dan Da Dan Season 2 Episode 4 Review: Momo vs. Magma!

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

“Thanks for sealing the half-naked jackass!”

There’s a lot of weird shit and even weirder twists in ‘Dan Da Dan’ Season 2 Episode 4, and Momo hauling around the corpse of a dead Mongolian worm around town is the least surprising of them. So many things just didn’t make any sense, but all of it was entertaining as hell!

Quick Recap of Dan Da Dan Season 2 Episode 3

Okarun manages to help Momo escape the Mongolian Death Worm’s lair and reach the surface so that she can find a way to get Okarun and Jiji out. Unfortunately, Jiji is still in the grips of the ‘evil eye’ yokai, so he is intent on murdering his friends. While Okarun gets busy defeating the evil, muscular version of Jiji, Momo figures out a way to lure the creepy worm outside into the sunlight, which causes its death. The episode ends with the worm throwing up the members of the Kito family in its dying moments, you know, the creepy family that tried to sacrifice Momo, Okarun, and Jiji to their ‘snake’ deity, but ended up becoming its food. The cultist family had been performing human sacrifices for generations due to a mythical belief that it will keep their town is safe from a volcanic eruption. But the episode ends with the volcano erupting!

Dan Da Dan Season 2 Episode 4

Titled “That’s Like, Way, Deadly,” episode 4 of the anime focuses on Momo’s efforts to stop the volcano’s magma from destroying the entire town. However, the creepy Kito family, regurgitated from the worm’s body, try to stop her, convinced that sacrificing Momo will save their hometown. Yes, everybody is insane, but this is Dan Da Dan, where teens can stop volcanic magma if they really put their mind to it.

Listen, this episode was downright bizarre, hilarious, and wildly entertaining, packed with surprise appearances that’ll make any fan’s day. Even the “boo-tuber” priest from the town temple joins the chaos. And somehow, that’s one the more sensible parts of the volcanic-level mayhem erupting in this chapter of ‘Dan Da Dan‘. Actually strike that. Expect some ‘out of the world’ level zaniness from this chapter!

I almost died laughing when the old lady of the Kita family exclaimed ‘Jennifer Lopez! Anaconda!’ while going into attack mode. Seems like that’s her catchphrase, because she says it in the first episode of Season 2 too, which was funny AF. So while the creepy weirdos chase Momo, she is joined by unexpected allies to control the massive mess they’re all in.

Saying anything more would dive straight into spoiler territory, so just go watch it for the crazy moments, killer background music, and over-the-top fights.

Stream Dan Da Dan on Netflix or Crunchyroll.

Find the writer on Twitter and Instagram for more pop culture chatter.

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Wall to Wall (84 Jegopmiteo) Explained: Noise, Conspiracy & That Final Twist

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

Directed by Kim Tae-joon and Sharon S. Park, ‘Wall to Wall‘ (84 Jegopmiteo) introduces office worker Woo-seong (Kang Ha-neul) finally achieving what seems like the Korean dream: buying his own flat in Seoul. He exhausts all his savings into the purchase, only to discover that his monthly loan repayments become a lot more than he can spare post pay-day. Juggling two jobs to make ends meet, Woo-seong finds no peace even at home. Thin walls allow every creak, footstep, and cough to travel, making sleep impossible. But things take a sinister turn when the noise complaints start piling up, except this time, it’s the neighbors accusing him of being the noisy one.

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The joy of being a homeowner fades fast, and Woo-seong becomes what his colleagues call “house poor.” Desperate to get out of debt, he’s lured by a coworker into the wild world of crypto trading, with promises of 800% returns through so-called “insider tips.” Since he’s strapped for cash, he rushes to sell his flat, collects a down payment, and uses it to invest in crypto. His plan? To back out of the sale once his crypto skyrockets, repay the down payment with interest, and become debt-free without giving up the apartment.

The Noise Complaints

Meanwhile, his downstairs neighbor keeps plastering his door with passive-aggressive yellow sticky notes, blaming him for disturbing their kids. Woo-seong, already worn thin by overwork and insomnia, starts to snap. He blames the noise on the upstairs unit, but when he confronts them, they say the noise is coming from above them. And so begins a frustrating chain of finger-pointing, each neighbor blaming the one above, with no end in sight.

Eventually, Woo-seong escalates the issue to Eun-hwa (Yeom Hye-ran), the building representative who lives in the posh penthouse. She casually brushes off the noise problem, blaming poor construction. Then she offers Woo-seong hush money to stop making a fuss. He takes the cash, seeing it as a temporary fix, but the nightmare continues.

A Deliberate Conspiracy?

The noises only get weirder in ‘Wall to Wall’. Now it feels like someone’s messing with him, more and more neighbors show up at his door, claiming he’s the one making racket. But the second anyone steps into his apartment, the sounds vanish. In one chaotic scene, a crowd barges in and discovers a phone hidden in his flat, wired to loudspeakers, playing loops of disruptive sounds. Woo-seong insists the phone isn’t his, but he’s dragged to the police station anyway. During his detainment, his golden crypto opportunity slips away. By the time he’s cleared and released, he’s lost all the money, the deposit, the investment, everything.

Penniless, emotionally drained, and facing eviction, Woo-seong writes a suicide note to his mother. But just as he’s about to take his life, an aggressive neighbor shows up yelling about the noise. A physical brawl follows, but midway through the fight, the neighbor realizes Woo-seong may not be the source of the problem and more alarmingly, that he was on the verge of suicide.

The neighbor, Yeong Jin-ho (Seo Hyeon-woo), turns out to be an independent journalist. He tells Woo-seong that he believes Eun-hwa is behind the noise conspiracy. According to Jin-ho, she’s secretly buying up flats in the building through her family and plans to cash in once a new commuter rail line gets built nearby. The constant harassment, Jin-ho claims, is her way of driving residents out cheaply. Even the offer Woo-seong received to sell his flat? Traced back to her.

The Climactic Twists of ‘Wall to Wall’

But then comes a twist: Woo-seong notices that the suspicious phone left in his apartment is trying to auto-connect to a Wi-Fi signal. Thinking this might be a lead, he takes the phone to Jin-ho’s flat and notices the signal strength goes up when he’s near his door. He casually asks for Wi-Fi access, but Jin-ho lies and says he doesn’t have any. This sets off alarm bells. Woo-seong runs around with the phone, testing its signal strength near other units, but it only hits full bars at Jin-ho’s place.

Convinced Jin-ho framed him, Woo-seong sneaks into his flat when he’s out and finds shocking evidence: not only is Jin-ho trying to expose Eun-hwa’s shady real estate dealings, but he has the entire building under CCTV surveillance (yeah, a bit far-fetched, but okay!). He’s been orchestrating the sounds and manipulating Woo-seong all along. Even worse, he’s labeled Woo-seong as his scapegoat in a twisted plan to take down Eun-hwa.

Why target Woo-seong? Because he’s isolated, financially desperate, and vulnerable, the perfect fall guy. Also, since he lives alone, it’s easier to target him and rig his flat when he isn’t around. Jin-ho timed his harassment so Woo-seong would be too distracted to sell his crypto investment in time. His endgame? To push Woo-seong over the edge and frame him for Eun-hwa’s eventual murder.

Turns out, Jin-ho’s vendetta runs deep. Years ago, Eun-hwa used her connections to kill a story he was working on about the poor construction quality of apartment buildings like theirs. Her real estate investments and future plans depend on the illusion of quality, and any such exposé would ruin her.

In the final act of ‘Wall to Wall’, things explode, both literally and figuratively. A violent showdown between Woo-seong, Eun-hwa, and Jin-ho ends in bloodshed, with both Jin-ho and Eun-hwa dead. Woo-seong retrieves the paperwork related to his flat from Eun-hwa’s possession, documents that could legally show he’d already received a deposit to sell his apartment, and shoves them in a microwave to destroy the evidence. The microwave stunt causes an explosion, and though a brief sequence shows the whole building going up in flames (seen from Jin-ho’s dying perspective), it turns out only the penthouse was destroyed.

In the aftermath, Woo-seong’s mother arrives from the countryside and tells him to leave Seoul behind, to rest, recover, and live a simpler, quieter life surrounded by nature. But Woo-seong, despite everything, can’t let go of his Seoul dreams. In the final scene of ‘Wall to Wall’, he returns to his apartment, picks up his ownership papers, and starts laughing uncontrollably when he hears noises echo through the walls again.

‘Wall to Wall’ (84 Jegopmiteo) ends with a bleak message: for some people, even hell feels better than letting go of the dream. Woo-seong’s story isn’t just about housing, noise complaints, or real estate scams, it’s about how the system grinds people down, and how chasing “success” can drive you to the edge… and still pull you back in.

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‘My Girlfriend Is the Man!’ Episodes 1-2 Review: Gender-Bender Chaos Begins

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Imagine a dude coming up to you out of the blue, claiming he is your girlfriend? What would you do? Well, in Park Yun Jae’s case, he gives the ‘dude’ a punch. And that’s how Korean romantic-comedy ‘My Girlfriend is the Man’ takes off!

Directed by Yoo Kwan Mo, the 2025 romantic comedy ‘My Girlfriend Is The Man‘ (Korean title: 내 여자친구는 상남자) is based on the webtoon ‘My Girlfriend Is a Real Man‘ by Massstar. Singer-actor Yoon San-Ha plays the primary protagonist Park Yun Jae, a university student happily dating his first love, Kim Ji-Eun (Arin). However, things take a crazy turn for the couple when the pretty Ji-Eun wakes up one day as a handsome man (played by actor Yoo Jung-hoo), with no idea how to become a woman again!

The first episode of ‘My Girlfriend is the Man’ dives straight into the fantastical twist, with Ji-Eun showing up as a man to deliver the shocking news to boyfriend Yun Jae. Flashbacks to the past few days capture Arin and San-Ha sharing romantic moments and sweet kisses as a cozy, cute college couple. Yeah, imagine a K-drama serving kisses in the very first episode, and not ‘dead fish’ ones! The chemistry between the couples may not sizzle, but the cast’s good looks definitely make the series visually appealing.

Unlike the webtoon, where Ji-Eun lives alone and has three older brothers, the series portrays her living with her older sister, Kim Ji-hye (Choi Yoon Ra). So, she doesn’t have to face the comedic nightmare of turning into a man completely alone. Despite being in a loving relationship with Yun Jae, he initially refuses to believe the bizarre transformation, then panics and struggles not to break up with her, even after he’s convinced that the male Ji-Eun is, in fact, his girlfriend.

The first two episodes of ‘My Girlfriend Is the Man‘ have plenty of hilarious moments, even though the creators don’t fully capitalize on the physical comedy potential of the plot. Yoo Jung-hoo is adorable as the male Ji-eun, who quickly adopts the name Ji-hoon to avoid confusing others, but internally struggles with the possibility of losing Ji-Eun. Almost everyone else in the series swoons over his handsome face and fit physique, including Ji-eun’s sister and best friend, Choi Yu-ri (Park Joo Won).

But the biggest comedic trouble in ‘My Girlfriend Is the Man’ comes when Yun-jae’s younger sister Yun-a (Lee So Won) falls for Ji-hoon and hounds her brother to help her. Even his friend Min Hyeok (Hur Hyun Jun) is charmed by Ji-hoon, immediately asking him to go on a group date with some girls. So while he struggles to come to terms with the new reality of his girlfriend turning into a man, the bigger problem is: she/he is now taller, stronger, and a total chick-magnet. LOL.

My Girlfriend Is The Man promises to be an entertaining comedic ride, and the first two episodes are pretty fast-paced, packing in a lot of story, including an explainer about a family curse, which appears much later in the webtoon version. I’m honestly a little worried about how the creators will keep things funny for the next 10 episodes, because just these two already cover over 20 chapters’ worth of plot. But then again, we know there’s a new love triangle coming up, and the live-action deviates quite a bit from its source material. So, perhaps viewers can expect more funny twists in the upcoming chapters.

Watch ‘My Girlfriend Is The Man’ on Viki.

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