Such a refreshing story

I loved it!

I loved the trope already with BL drama no Shuen ni narimashita, but I was left disapointed from the lack of proximity between the mains.
This drama goes exactly like I would have imagined the trope to carry on, but still in some surprising ways that got me hooked each episode. The slow burn was on point, the ending was so satisfying and their proximity at the end was awesome.

Here are a few things I specifically liked:
-The romance (obviously lol): I often find JBLs annoying for dragging us through never ending conversations rather than actual actions, and a lot of time they promise each other the moon before even having their first kiss which feels very childish. Here, the romance feels much more real. They cannot tell each other feeling's but they constantly make moves on each other, and they just go with the flow rather than making long confessions with tones of promises.
-Hayama. Although I would have liked to see the more sensible or goofy side of him, I found his quietness endearing. I wouldn't be able to tell why him specifically, when I usually dislike characters that act like Christian Gray (like takashi in Love is better the second time around), but there is something in his character that just makes me want to hug him.
-The music was super nice and recognisable, which is not very common in JBLs.

Here are some stuff I didn't like:
-Shirazaki: Nothing wrong with his character, although he was pretty cliché, but something about his posture and expressions bothered me and made some scenes awkward.
-Sakuma was a pretty nice character and I wish we'd see more of him. Maybe in season 2? if there will be any.
-Sooo many clichés and other stuff we've seen a hundred times in Japanese romance. The main's insecurity, the lack of communication, the hug before the kiss, the top being in love first, the super stiff first kiss, etc... But I guess it's ok because contributes to making it a comfort show.

Overall, I loved this show and I'm sure a lot of people will enjoy it too!

Leia Mais

Disapointed

It was my first thai drama. I watched it because I've loved asian romance dramas for a long time and I've heard a lot about it. I thought it was going to be that sexy, steamy dark romance and I think that's really what they tried to do with this drama, but it was so poorly done.

Let's talk about the things I liked first:
- Porsche. His actor was awesome, I liked his character and the fact that he was not just super cool but also kinda stupid and careless.
-The fight/action scenes were really well done and choreographed, and I particularly loved the last two episodes, they were super intense.
-Vegas and Pete. Their relationship was messed up, dark, touching, intense, and they were both awesome as individual characters. I saw a review that said that this couple made them want to skip Kinn/porsche's scenes and I agree. If they hadn't been there, I would have dropped the serie probably.

Now onto everything I hated
First of all, Kinn is such a poorly written character. They say he is super cruel but then he's always super nice with Porsche from the beginning, and he is stupid as hell, always making the bad decisions. I also could not connect with his actor at all. The relationship between Kinn/porsche seemed forced, I truly did not find any chemistry in there and I think it's mainly because of Kinn. And they act all lovey dovey super quick, and then it doesn't go deeper from there. Also, most of their shared intimacy happened when Porsche was drunk or drugged, and it takes a super long time before they actually do anything when he is sober.
Also, I liked the comedy and laughed quite a few times, but the balance between the comedy and the drama was not handled well. Like, no, I don't want to see Porsche farting on Kinn under the cover in between two scenes of Pete getting molested.
I said I liked porsche, but it's so annoying how he did almost nothing right. He just got fooled and manipulated throughout the whole drama.
One thing that is very personal, but there were litterally no women in that drama. Yok and Porsche's mother were there I guess but it was so quick and they had no impact on the plot. I'm sure I could time how many minutes we see a woman on screen and it'd be not more than 10 minutes out of 14 hours. I know it's a BL so it's normal for women to have less importance but at that point it was just ridiculous.
And to finish, the f is that ending?? Do they expect us to be happy for them, when Kohn manipulated them all the way, and yet they still believed him in the end and accepted the offer to become head of the minor family?? When they showed us porsche's memory of his parent's death, it showed that Kohn was standing and Gun was sitting, which fits gun's version of the story. So in the end, gun was right? So Porsche has been manipulated all the way till the end, although he said his dream would be to have a bar at the beach and we've seen him trying to get away from the family across the whole drama, and yet they expect us to consider this a happy ending? I know we could say it's not a happy ending, but they handled it as if it was.

To conclude, I don't think I wasted my time cuz it was overall pretty fun to watch but still I was left bored and frustrated most of the time.

Leia Mais

Well that was... something?

I enjoyed it overall. Japanese horror is always a bit unhinged and morally disturbing, so I was not too taken aback but yeah, it was a shitshow hahahah. It kind of reminded me of Grand Guignol.
I haven't read the manga and I felt a bit confused at some point, but it was nothing to bothersome. Stuff like the reason for Zera's goal and crazyness, for exemple.
I loved the acting, the cast did a really great job, especially Tamiya, and the characters were all great (I mean, as characters, not as people obviously). One thing tho, at the beginning they introduce the characters with one clear stereotypical role/personality each: like there's the nerd, the emo, the stupid, etc... so I thought they were going to be caricatures, but then they dropped it and those roles were no longer portrayed at all throughout the movie. Which I think is great, I would have hated caricatures, but then why introduce them like that in the first place?
I was also confused with how they handled Daff. The whole Tamiya, Daff, Kaneda thing was super wholesome, and I was expecting them to die and feel sad about it. And you can see it's what the director tried to do: make you sad about the original hikari club getting crushed. But then why have Daff do such a shameful thing? I mean, just touching a woman and wanking to it already made me lose all sympathy I had for him, but they made it even worse by showing everything, in the most humiliating/shameful way. So in the end I was like "Poor Kaneda and Tamiya for losing what they loved the most, but Daff you can die idc." Which isn't what the director was aiming for I would guess.
The colorimetry was awesome, it was really beautiful to watch. And I'm not a fan of gore but it was ok I guess, and although it wasn't very realistic it was not too ridiculous either. Except for the guy who got thrown against the wall, I laughed so hard at that one.
Anyway, don't watch it if you don't like being morally challenged and if you don't like gore, otherwise, go for it!

Leia Mais

So much peace my anxiety is cured

This was a very nice, peaceful and refreshing ride. It's very slow and there's not much happening, but it's far from boring.

Here are stuff I really enjoyed:
-On's change of character. In the manga, he is a very cheerful kid, who's excited about everything from the beginning and he's very expressive, so the exact opposite of On in the drama. I like this version better, I think they portrayed well a teenager who's lived in a big city his whole life, without making him a spoiled brat. They kept his curious and thoughtful personality but it's more subtle and realistic.
-Their relationship with their parents is so refreshing. I was expecting them to be the tipical strict parents who'd try to force their kids to live according to the plan they had for them and then realize at the end what they truly need for their happiness, but instead they were supportive from the beginning and amazingly gentle. The scene where they share a meal all together and when the mom comforts On about his choice of life almost made me cry.
-The food, obviously. it's not the first time I watch a japanese drama where food is such an important topic, but there's something about this one that not only made me hungry, but it also made me want to cook for my friends. It makes you want to take your time cooking and really enjoy the making process.
-Yui's presence is much more important in the drama than in the manga, and I think it's such a good thing. You can really see how him being there helps On throughout his journey of learning.

Room for improvement:
-The whole speaking to animals thing. I'm not sure because I watched it in raw and I'm not fluent in japanese yet so I might have missed something, but I think they said that as a tengu he could speak to animals, yet we only hear the dog speaking. I would have loved to see other animals step into the picture, even if it's just a little. Also, There were no real conversations with Mugi. Most of the time, he's just making small comments that don't have any impact on the characters or the scenario, and I think it would have been so nice for him and On or Motoi to have some real conversations. It would have deepened the meaning of being a tengu, for us as the audience and for On.
-Motoi's lack of reaction at the end. Although he is has a calm personality and tries to keep a poker face all the time, we can see clearly how On's presence's moves him emotionally. So, it would have been great at the end to see how really touched he is by On's departure. It could have been a nice final touch to the connection they built since he showed gradually more of his vulnerable side as the show went on.

Overall, it was super sweet and I can't wait for season two to air!

Leia Mais

The celebration of life's inevitable mess

Truly a masterpiece.

I was hesitant to watch it because I know some dramas treat cheating in many diffrent ways that I usually don't agree of, especially when a gay relationship is involved, but I loved the way they managed it in this one.

The story really goes accross every possible subject: from cheating's consequences, emotionally and socially, to relationships between younger and older, family values, self confidence, and many other things. It showed us realistically messy events without over dramatizing everything, and even if there's a lot going on the rythm was perfect and I didn't feel lost at any point. Also, it was not a comedy per say but the acting was so on point that it made me laugh out loud quite a few times as much as it made me angry or sad.

The characters we also super complex and I loved it. I think I had mixed feelings with all of them at some point, hating or loving, except for the sister whom I obviously hated but I think her being a b**ch was perfect, because I believe the audience needs more simple characters to focus and enjoy the complex ones.

Here are some stuff I didn't like (!spoilers!):
-Yuya and Yuria's relationship went a bit too back and forth, so much that I was not really moved by the break up scene (like, we've seen it all already)
-There were so many cheating events aside from the main one, like I think all of the characters had a cheating experience. So, it's hard to believe in a long lasting love between the two main couples when cheating is so normalized
-Riku. At first I loved him, I thought his attitude was wholesome and his bitter moments were relatable, but it started to get weird when he blamed Yuria for seeing someone else. It got a little bit better after wards, but then came the aggression scene. I didn't understand this scene at all. Like, I get it you're upset. I get it you can blow out. But I really don't understand what was his goal by tying up Goro and making Yuria strip?? and with a knife?? And then suddenly he says some deep stuff about Yuria fighting for her life and they forgive him like it's nothing?? So yeah, I found it difficult to sympathize with him afterwards.

Overall, I loved this show and I recommend it strongly to anyone who, like me, believes that family is something you find rather than being a simple blood related thing. Also, if you're here for the BL content, then I don't think it's what you're looking for, but if you enjoy the complexity of love and different relationships, then once again you should absolutely go for it!

Leia Mais