Main Leads Were Good, the Story Not So Much

Repetition of coincidence is destiny.
Destiny is defined as a predetermined course of events.
The hidden power believed to control what will happen in the future.
Fate.

This appears to be the foundation upon which “Blossom Campus” bases its two leads’ romance. A sequence of meetings that reinforce the notion that two young college students were destined to meet and fall in love.

It is a promising idea that “Blossom Campus” fails to execute.

“Blossom Campus” follows the story of two college students, Kim Min Jae (Son Byeong Hoon) and Yoon Chan (Choi Dong Ho). Min Jae, a practical music major, works part-time at the library. Yoon Chan is a Taekwondo major. When Min Jae transfers to Yoon Chan’s school, he needs help to find his department’s building. Yoon Chan assists him and later helps Min Jae reach a book on a high shelf, leading to a quintessential K-drama moment. Soon after, Yoon Chan realizes he is falling for Min Jae and starts to actively pursue him.

Read the complete article here-

https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/06/06/blossom-campus-series-review-ep-1-to-6/

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Could Have Been So Much Better

Frankly, it is irrelevant how many worlds this series had; even a half a dozen more would not have helped. It is just awful. I am sorry to say that as I so wanted to like this drama. However, this is again going to be one of those series that if you are a fan of the two leads (which I really am), you will perhaps enjoy this series. I tried, but for me the whole thing fell apart at the beginning- from the banal screenplay to production issues to vapid acting. All of it was just plain mediocre to subpar.

The storyline was a good one, initially. I love transcendental legends, and this had all the earmarks of a great fantasy. The supernatural power of the Moon Shadow Waterfall is both miraculous and metaphysical. It can transport you to a parallel world where your loved one who died is not dead in that world but lives a conforming life. They are not resurrected by the same person in a parallel world. A worthy premise.

https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/06/04/two-worlds-series-review-ep-1-to-10/

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A Heartwarming Childhood Friends to Lovers Reconnect

Sometimes, the security and self-assurance we need is in a person who pushes us to feel secure and needed.

Living with Him, an adaptation of Miyata Toworu’s manga of the same name, finds security in love inside the complexities of friendship and need through the shared living arrangements of childhood friends Tanaka Kazuhito (Sato Ryuga) and Natsukawa Ryota (Sakai Sho) upon entering university. Ryota is reserved and accustomed to responsibility, whereas Kazuhito is outgoing and universally liked. Despite Kazuhito’s popularity and striking looks, his inability to sustain relationships confounds Ryota and sparks a journey of self-discovery. As Ryota probes the reasons behind Kazuhito’s fleeting relationships, he confronts his own emotions and insecurities.

Read the complete article here-

https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/06/01/living-with-him-series-review-ep-3-to-8/

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The First Thai GL Celebrated All Over the Globe

One of the first GL series from Thailand, "Gap The series" was a well-received and appreciated show, that broadened the scope of the GL industry. In an industry monopolized by the Boys’ Love genre which mostly focused on the love story between two boys, it was nice to see a lesbian love story. The show was nicely paced, being a sweet and cozy workplace romance between a boss and subordinate, with one being cold but sweet and other being a ray of sunshine.

Read the complete article here-

https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/05/27/gap-the-series-series-review-ep-1-to-12/

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A Memorable Watch Indeed

Sometimes the only way to truly find oneself is to get lost first, to become disoriented by all the things that you have trouble facing until what you really want becomes the magnetic north that sets you free.

The Korean BL Boys Be Brave adapted from Seok Young’s webtoon Can’t Confess and starring actors Kim Sung Hyun (Kim Jin Woo), Nam Shi An (Jung Ki Sub), Jung Yeo Joon (Choi Bal Geum), and Ahn Se Min (Ji In Ho) is all about being found inside a lost place.

The synopsis of Boys Be Brave is simple. Four people, all of them opposites, each of them with very different lives and ways of dealing with those lives, coming together in an insightful, romantic way that reveals who each of them truly are beneath layers of insecurity, masked smiles, and pride.

Read the complete article here-

https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/05/17/boys-be-brave-series-review-ep-3-to-8/

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A Somber Love Story Hinging on Desperation

Shelter.
A place to be.
A roof.
A resting place.
A place to–what?

Shelter. What exactly is it? And why is it so hard to hold onto? Why is it so hard to define? Why is it so hard to understand?

Starring Lee Jae Bin as Lee Yoon Dae and Jang Woo Young as Cha Soo Hyuk, the Korean BL Gray Shelter is all about finding a haven amidst life’s storm, amidst domestic violence and emotional abuse. Yoon Dae is a domestic abuse victim who learned to avoid anger by becoming angry at himself and others, all while fearing being alone. Soo Hyuk is trying desperately to survive while supporting a family whose income is being sucked dry by his gambling-addict father.

And both are looking for the one thing neither has ever truly known.

Read the complete article here-

https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/04/26/gray-shelter-series-review-ep-3-to-5/

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Could Have Been Better

This is the real thing. Acting that does not look like acting.” – Quote from The Star

There is honestly so much to unpack here in this short series that goes way beyond the plot or story. Reality and fiction merge together to make this series unique. As the abstract states, this series is based on a ‘true story’. Perhaps a more apt description might be closer to a docudrama.

It begins with a hapless and sad young man, ironically named Hope (Night Yodsakon), who sets up his vendor cart selling fried meatballs in front of a BL production company. He looks and acts defeated and forlorn. Yet maintains a sense of optimism outwardly; merely for show. Inwardly, he seems to have given up ‘hope’.

One day he is approached by the owner of the BL production company who asks if he would like to star in a BL series. Indeed, there is something enticing about Hope that draws you to him. His face tells it all and there is something about his demeanor that is raw and organic. If he could learn to act, channel his difficult life experiences into real meaningful and believable enactments, he could evoke a freshness about a series. Hope knows nothing about acting or even what a BL is but is willing to try.

Read the complete article here-

https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/04/25/the-star-series-review-ep-1-2/

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A Reflection of Queer Relationships

I could not sleep early on a Saturday morning, and this movie’s review came up on YouTube feed out of nowhere. So, on a whim, I decided to watch it. Before you know it, I had finished it and had become so engrossed in its plot and story, I found myself caring about these characters with a certain sense of affection. I found myself teary eyed and gently weeping for them. It is an intensely gut-wrenching film that is deeper than it is given credit for.

I was shocked and dismayed at how poor the reviews were for this movie. I do not understand. I loved it. To be sure, it does not move mountains, but it is not meant to do so. It is a story about two misfit loners who happen to find each other at exactly the right moment in their lives in exactly the right space that connected them to a feeling of fruition. They found each other’s treasured one.

Read the complete article here-

https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/04/19/does-the-flower-bloom-movie-review/

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A Mature Depiction of Lesbian Relationships

Love, Friendship and Delicious Meals

Adapted from the manga of the same name, this drama is very down to earth, close to the real life journey of two women experiencing love, friendship and growth together while cooking delicious meals. Similar to Season One, this season also focuses on relationship between Nomoto (Higa Manami) and Kasuga (Nishino Emi), how they have this really heartwarming relationship that started on basis of sharing delicious meals. In the sequel, new secondary characters were introduced that made the season more interesting, not adding anything negative or cliche but making the show more realistic and endearing.

Read the complete article here-

https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/04/18/she-loves-to-cook-and-she-loves-to-eat-season-2-series-review-ep-5-to-20/

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The Most Entertaining Sequel in a Long Time

Constancy, consistency, and comedic. The three best words to describe this triumvirate of OSSAN’S LOVE, which is one of the best, if not the best BL series and franchises out there. It classically defines and shapes what this genre is all about. Perhaps not to a core of current fans who are zealots of the plethora of BLs with gorgeous young men in stories, that, for the most part, are forgettable and whose ‘love for one another’ is defined by the amount of ‘shipping performances’ they do together. This season and the ones before it are the true pioneers of what BL storytelling is all about and how to carry on with a narrative that remains as fresh and original as the first one. And as poignant.

This saga harkens back to its original roots of the love story between Haruta Sochi (Tanaka Kei) and Maki Ryota (Hayashi Kento). They are now fully entrenched in their relationship. So much so that they want to and plan for their ‘wedding’, which of course is merely ceremonial. Not unexpectedly, the full cast of characters return to reprise their roles, including Kurosawa Musashi (Yoshida Kotaro) as Chief. Only this time he is the head of a housekeeping service and manages to manipulate his way into the lives of Maki and Haruta with all the usual hilarity and goofy misunderstandings that this franchise is so good at portraying. You will be entertained from the beginning to the end with all of them.

Read the complete article here-

https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/04/16/ossans-love-returns-season-3-2024-japan-9-episodes-2-special-episodes/

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A Journey of Reconciliation for Long Lost Lovers

“I love you” aren’t easy words to say. For many, expressing emotion through actions is much easier than putting emotion into words, especially when misunderstandings and miscommunication have colored how you feel about relationships.

In the Japanese BL Love is Better the Second Time Around, adapted from the manga series Koi wo Surunara Nidome ga Joto by Kinoshita Keiko, Hasegawa Makoto and Furuya Robin takes center stage as Miyata Akihiro and Iwanaga Takashi, two men on the verge of starting over after being torn apart in their youth over a misunderstanding.

Short and full of desire, Love is Better the Second Time Around finds editor Miyata Akihiro being forced to confront his first love when he is assigned to university professor Iwanaga Takashi, a confident, suave man he’d once loved enough to elope with. A man who Miyata believed played with his feelings.

Read the complete article here-

https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/04/12/love-is-better-the-second-time-around-series-review-ep-3-to-6/

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A Teenage Romance full of Angst & Yearning

The world is a diverse place full of myriad emotions, and nowhere is this more evident than in the Japanese drama Strawberry Film.

Old film footage, nostalgic glimpses into the past, and growing friendships full of hidden desires lay the framework for a beautiful coming-of-age story that explores love in all its forms while accepting that love isn’t bound by societal rules. Instead, it belongs solely to the heart, to the person who holds it—to the joy love brings them and to the pain love causes.

From the opening scenes, Strawberry Film captivates with its evocative cinematography, transporting viewers into a world where individual emotions take center stage. Led by a talented cast including Fukada Ryusei (Ryo), Yabana Rei (Hikaru), Yoshida Mizuki (Chika), and Tanabe Ririka (Minami), the series seamlessly weaves together past and present, inviting audiences on a journey of self-discovery and personal growth.

Read the complete article here-

https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/04/10/my-strawberry-film-series-review-ep-3-to-8/

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A Mother's Struggle For Her Son

“Monster” is an intriguing movie, told from the perspectives of 3 individuals, a single mother who is overprotective of her son and wants justice for him, a well-meaning teacher who finds himself in the middle of an almost impossible situation in which he is falsely accused of hitting a child, and a young boy who is coming to terms with himself and his feelings for a friend. Although not quite the psychological thriller one would expect, “Monster” does a great job in shifting our perspective, in as much as we are constantly being asked “who is the monster?”, while viewing the movie. We are not looking for a monster, but rather seeing victims of circumstances that we empathize with throughout the film and the question of who the monster is becomes the furthest from the audience’s concerns.

Read the complete article here-

https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/04/03/monster-movie-review/

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An Enjoyable Ride As Always

The natural tendency is to want to compare this to the first season of “Ossan’s Love” or the movie. I know the mind naturally gravitates towards the comparison. But once you get into this second season, within about 5 minutes, your mind will readjust itself and begin to process that you are watching something very distinct, very different, and very original. For those of you who have not seen season one, you do not need to watch that to appreciate this series. It is nothing like the first season, yet it does feel recognizable. Some faces are indeed familiar. Tanaka Kei reprises his role as the bumbling Haruta Soichi while Yoshida Kotaro also remains as Kurosawa Musashi. However, the setting is very different. Kurosawa Musashi is a Captain for the Kenku Peach Airlines and by sheer luck and a little bit of personal tenacity, Haruta becomes a CA (cabin assistant). Typical of Haruta, he is ‘late’ on his first day on the job. Yet his lateness is for a reason that envelops Haruta like an aura – his compassion. His overriding need, almost compulsion to help people above anything else. And his unwillingness to explain/defend himself as he knows it is futile. He is unequivocally late.

Read the complete article here-

https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/03/27/ossans-love-season-2-love-in-the-sky-2019-japan-8-episodes-2-special-episodes/

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