A Fun Bromance

Overall: although it would have been better as an actual BL, this was enjoyable overall

Content Warnings: side character death, fight scenes, near death

What I Liked
- the chemistry and dynamic between the 2 male leads was great (hence why I think it would have been better as a BL)
- the intro animation sequence was good
- the funny moments
- the merman as an adorable thug (did not think I'd put those two words together, but just look at his dimples!)
- a montage scene that I actually liked

Room For Improvement
- I know it had source material but I think they should have made this actual m/m romance because the two male leads had such great chemistry. Many things have been straightwashed so I think they should have gaywashed this one.
- lack of consequences for both that high school guy and the 2 adults and that things were just totally good between the son and his dad
- there was a continuity error in the first episode
- cliche family stuff at the beginning

Leia Mais

Fell apart at the end

Overall: a slow burn sports themed BL with 3 m/m couples. Watched on Viki. (minor spoilers)

Content Warnings: colorism*, dub con (Saen/Aii - Aii says to stop and Saen continues)

What I Liked
- Torn was smart and solved problems (until he didn't, more on that later)
- humorous parts
- basketball scenes (I'm generally bored to tears by sports scenes but these were done well and some were super funny)
- production value including the color grading
- cinematography
- the consent with Saen/Aii (but not the morning after scene)

Room For Improvement
- it started cringey and ended cringey
- it felt like we missed a whole episode after the episode 8 basketball game. They should have shown things instead of just saying them in episode 9 (i.e. added an episode), then ended at the beach in episode 9 (which would have been episode 10).
- things really fell apart towards the end with time jumps, flash forwards/backs, bizarre character decisions, cliched plot lines
- *the main evil character has the darkest skin of everyone, wish he either had the same skin tone as everyone else or even better we had a protagonist with darker skin color (apparently he had a redemption arc but it was never explained or shown, Torn just randomly trusted him)
- Torn/Fah - I adored Torn's character until he had a supervillain origin story in episode 11, it made no sense to me. Torn was such a great problem solver and then he wasn't. Fah was a bit too stoic but they do explain that's how he is and he was burned/reluctant to trust again so I get it.
- Saen bordered on harassment instead of flirting. I wish Aii would have shown more interest to Saen especially earlier on, Aii could have still been nervous. Didn't like Aii's lack of communication with important decisions.
- Dome/Vee - this couple isn't controversial to me, life can be messy. I'm just sad the way that went/ended - felt very incomplete to me.

Leia Mais

A brother's visit disrupts an established couple's life

Overall: It's so refreshing to see an established couple instead of the pursuit part of a relationship. I wish this was a whole series (but that they don't pretend to be roommates for too long). The couple can become more spontaneous/carefree and the brother can learn to be more responsible/pick up after himself.

Content Warnings: none?*

What I Liked
- an established couple
- the sound effects and music enhanced the story
- I laughed at several parts like the suitcase falling down the stairs, the brother listening in at the door, etc.
- always happy to see supplies for safe sex :)

Room For Improvement/Questions
- disliked when the brother *slapped his brother, it's fine to be angry but don't punch/slap people and he didn't even apologize
- I wish the phone conversation at the end was a bit more clear, I think "couple" was supposed to be translated to "partner" or "boyfriend" (the later would have made things very clear)
- is a 1 bedroom apartment in Seoul only $420 USD per month? Or maybe Taeho is paying less than half? Or is it a subtitle error?
- did I miss the reference to another Strongberry film? I noticed that "Sweet Curse" has a reference to "Some More" which has a reference to "Long Time No See" which has a reference to the Strongberry website... It's always fun to spot the references.

Leia Mais

more melodramatic series that didn't stick the landing

Overall: this first episode really hooked me, but similar to most of GMMTV's series, the existing plot would have paced better at fewer episodes and I was especially disappointed at the last 2 episodes. 12 episodes about 45 minutes each. Aired on GMMTV's YouTube channel.

Content Warnings: violence/beaten up, see my spoiler comment for another one, fights/punches

What I Liked
- how the intro notice was blurry to make the viewers feel how Day felt
- the premise was explained/shown well
- sweet moments
- laughed a few times
- enjoyed several of the supportive side characters

Room For Improvement
- pacing was too slow for me, I watched most at 2x speed
- I couldn't get into some of the conflicts because I saw easy(ish) work arounds for most of them
- ep 11 curse/cliche plot point, time jump and a rushed ending
- it felt like Mhok was doing more of the heavy lifting in their relationship and Day's fast change of mind felt unrealistic

Leia Mais

cliched plot with cute moments

Overall: this series has a few cliches which I really struggle with hence my rating. 8 episodes about 25 minutes each. Aired on iQIYI.

Content Warnings: non con kiss, non con touching, stalking, vomiting, past death, grief

What I Liked
- cooking
- cute moments
- remembering the same event differently in ep 2
- being upfront in the past to that woman who liked him
- Yoon Seo Bin's cameo in ep 5 & 8
- (neutral) comedy sound effects

Room For Improvement
- the non con
- many cliches/nonsense things such as: the "plan"/approach, poor communication, that conflict in ep 7/8, a restaurant owner with a lot of free time, the "I can explain" but refusing an explanation
- the work scenes dragged

Leia Mais

slow frequency

Overall: a promising start was bogged down by slow pacing, nonsense plot things and a lack of chemistry. 8 episodes about 40 minutes each. Aired on iQIYI. Re-aired on Kantana Kol YouTube channel.

Content Warnings: murder, attempted murder, violence, coercion, manipulation, vomiting, drug dealing, non con picture taking

What I Liked
- Thames' manager and Mon's friend?/sister? was a good wingwoman
- Thames bought lube at that convenience store
- good reveal in ep 7
- ep 8 glad they didn't go a cliche plot route at the beginning
- negative consequences for the evil doer
- production value, natural light towards the end of ep 4

Room For Improvement
- the series moved really slowly at times
- because they didn't show right away why Thames liked Mon I couldn't enjoy their sweet moments (and even then that's a pretty weak reason to like someone that much)
- the first scene was horror/serious which then didn't fit with the fluffy intro, eventually we do learn what happened in the past
- not much world building/convenient world building (can't taste food, then randomly can taste food)
- nonsense plot things (terrible unbodyguards, why did the other ghosts look like zombies?, why is a stroke victim getting an mri and then appears to be totally fine a couple days later? why are they at docks but there is zero boats/water?)
- flashback transitions needed to be more clear
- very choppy, they'd be somewhere and then suddenly somewhere else
- dead fish lip presses

Leia Mais

slice of life with pacing issue

Overall: I enjoyed the slice of life feel but the beginning dragged and then the ending felt rushed. Aired on iQIYI and on YouTube (varies by country)

Content Warnings: a slap/punch not between the 2 leads, manhandling, vomiting, and something else at the end that is a major spoiler

What I Liked
- opposite personalities, a slacker/carefree extrovert and a studious introvert
- shows the power of representation, how Eiw thought he couldn't be happy because of the movie he saw whereas Cake had seen guys happy and figured he could have that too
- cool that they released it on August 12th and that was the day circled on the calendar in the intro animation and the 12 is in the title
- cute and funny moments
- the friend relationships, sibling relationships
- avoiding a certain cliche trope in the 2nd the last episode
- displays of consent
- color grading

Room For Improvement
- it was too slow and felt repetitive but then at the end felt really rushed
- Cake's extreme possessiveness and jealousy wasn't cute, telling Eiw he had to change clothes and couldn't talk to Cake's friends was not fun to watch
- Cake not checking/discussing with Eiw about some really important things that involved them both
- Kung, time and place dude, time and place
- the PSA in the last two episodes was heavy handed (and also you can't say that with total certainty)
- everyone pressuring Eiw in the final episode, let him be

Leia Mais

Oh! That Was a Thing...

Overall: This is based on the manhwa so I started to read it and they changed the main characters for the worse in the live action adaption. Watched on Viki.

Content Warnings: attempted violence, non con touch (sleeping)

What I Liked
- an interesting premise
- I laughed a few times
- the burglar (except for who he chose to go after first, come on!), I actually wish the burglar had been a housemate the whole time
- good production value*

Room For Improvement
- odd things, why was the main character kneeling when calling his mom because his video wasn't turned on? But then at the end of the call the video was on; who goes to their room instead of the kitchen to bake and who goes into someone else's room and eats their cake? who lets a super drunk best friend go home by themselves?
- the main character is creepy/desperate and ignoring boundaries at the beginning, it's odd
- the other main character was a big jerk to a woman in episode 4, I don't like either main character, I don't understand his sudden shift either
- the kissing was not good
- pointless love triangle (this was in the source material)
- wasn't into the m/f couple (this was in the source material)
- the actions of the characters doesn't feel realistic
- there is no intro
- *some shaky camerawork

Leia Mais

nice small town vibe but with cliched plot

Overall: a slice of life with cliched writing. 28 MDP Studio also produced Hard Love Mission and The Love of Winter. 4 episodes about 20 minutes each. Aired on WeTV, need a vpn to Thailand and eps 2-4 require a VIP membership, here is the free episode 1 link https://wetv.vip/en/play/b6596rikhukzfxi (if nothing shows up, first use a vpn set to Thailand and then try the link)

Content Warning: non con kiss, manipulation

What I Liked
- small town setting
- a smaller cast of characters
- the violin playing seemed to match the music (the piano not as much though)
- sweet moments
- intro/closing song

Room For Improvement
- totally not needed for what happened at the end of episode 3 and then the cliched plot points afterwards
- the 2 random side characters were maybe supposed to add humor but didn't find them funny
- unrealistic that he wasn't shown as drunk but somehow ended up like that at the beginning of episode 2
- voice overs telling instead of showing
- the ending

Leia Mais

want the actors in something else (skip ep 5)

Overall: there was potential with an angstier story but the writing got progressively worse as the series continued. Skip episode 5 and start episode 6 at 43 minutes. 6 episodes about 30 minutes each. Aired on Youku's YouTube channel, first episode link https://youtu.be/B36ryCeKxUw Rookie Thailand has also produced: 21 Days Theory, Future and The Best Story

Content Warnings: past death, grief, homophobia, bullying, punches, parental verbal abuse

What I Liked
- some sweet moments
- they explained what happened 5 years ago so the time gap made some sense (but 5 years was too long)
- funny with the friends hiding behind plants
- glad she finally stood up for herself though she should have told Night he needed to figure his stuff out asap before someone else started dating Dream
- Dream seeking communication at the beginning of episode 5
- Namwan in the second half of the series (though I didn't hate her in the first half)
- production value was good for what I assume is a low budget series (except for the too loud background music at times)

Room For Improvement
- time skip needed to be 2 years instead of 5 to feel more realistic
- cliched writing, unnecessary love triangles, drunk kissing, etc
- not clear when flashbacks started/ended/were flashbacks
- the multitude of flashbacks made the episodes feel choppy, would rather they had shown everything in the past and done 1 time skip to the present (similar to ITSAY), there were even flashbacks to scenes we had just watched like with the professor (also what on earth is you fail a university class if you can't write an amazing novel? does that really happen???)
- nonsense stuff (who doesn't know their best friend has a sibling, they've never met in person or seen a picture? they could have made this a step sibling during the time gap to make sense)
- failed redemption arcs for the dad and brother
- unclear of how much time passed in the last episode
- hardcoded English subtitles were a little difficult to read (didn't take off points for this)

Leia Mais

beautiful and heartbreaking

Overall: this is not your typical BL romcom, it's beautifully done but heartbreaking. I wasn't sure about the dynamic with the cold/low affect guy and the happy go lucky guy but we get important background information and their dynamic grew on me. Airing on GagaOOLala and Viki (depends on your country).

Content Warnings: death, grief, threatened suicide

What I Liked
- cute moments like the studying
- the younger siblings were adorable
- consent scene
- the perspective flip in the final episode
- production value

Room For Improvement
- not a fan of flash forwards/flashbacks right away as it makes it more confusing, but I followed this one pretty easily
- the part at the end of episode 1 is not realistic for how he looked based on what happened
- some unrealistic parts/confusing world building
- should have made the previous summer flashback more clear
- I wasn't happy with the end but not for the same reason as maybe other people, I liked what they were talking about with the teacher and wanted them to go that route
- the happy intro and outro was a stark contrast to the story
- there were several large plot points that were revealed right at the end of the series and would have liked more time to develop these

Leia Mais

Plotless Society

Overall: It started off with a bang but quickly deteriorated. I yelled "noooooo" several times while watching in disgust at the poor writing. This is deja vu of The Cupid Coach. It says the story will continue but I sincerely hope not.

Content Warnings: non con/dub con turned consensual?

What I Liked:
- well the beginning was definitely an attention grabber and rarely seen in BL, but this ended up feeling like click bait
- I liked that they gave the episode an English title (Ambiguous) because I've rarely seen that in Thai BL
- acting was ok, the female friend was my favorite

Room For Improvement:
- it was both slow and very choppy, scenes sometimes jumped ahead time wise to another scene, they didn't feel well connected to one another. That ending was awful, it just skipped/jumped with zero context.
- nonsense plot, how Guy treated/behaved towards Nut made absolutely no sense especially at the end
- Nut's friend should not have kissed him in Nut's vulnerable/distraught state
- I did not feel chemistry between actors
- the camera work is lower budget/amateur
- though I liked the style of the subtitles, they do have a few errors (pretty sure that his boss isn't his mom and that was supposed to be ma'am)
- the sound was pretty quiet, I had to turn my computer volume all the way up

Leia Mais

Love With... painfully slow pacing

Overall: If you are into love triangles and a really slow moving plot, then you might like this. I would have dropped it if it was longer than 5 episodes. Watched on YouTube.

Content Warnings: non con kiss and touching (character was asleep)

What I Liked:
- I think the three protagonists and the acting coach did well with the script that they had (I quite liked Gameplay portraying a moody/prickly character)
- the production value was decent for what I'm assuming was a smaller budget

Room For Improvement:
- the main problem was the pacing was too bit slow. If they had cut this from 45 minutes to 20-30 minutes, then I would have enjoyed it more. Everything was just too draggy and boring.
- also I didn't really see the motivation for changing feelings, it felt like the viewer was supposed to connect too many missing dots
- another stupid love triangle
- the acting coach being harassed, that whole bubble tea scene was not funny. I'm done with the stereotypical trans woman as comedy thing.

Leia Mais

close but not quite

Overall: there were parts that I really enjoyed but other areas were lacking, it's between 7.5 and 8. It had 10 episodes about 30 minutes each. Aired on iQIYI in U.S., Thailand and Indonesia.

Content Warnings: hit, harassment, non con kiss, manipulation, past physical abuse

What I Liked
- funny moments
- cute/caring moments
- the small town vibe where everyone knows everyone
- the cafe owner Kim Dong Hee and Go Ho Tae*
- that Ji Won Young stood up for himself with the ex and at the end that manager
- production value

Room For Improvement
- dead fish lip presses/fake shadow kiss
- *the side couple had way too little screen time, their story wasn't explained well enough, the hits were not needed and then it wasn't resolved well
- felt the drama towards the end dragged on too long but then the very ending felt rushed
- bad "plans" and poor communication
- continuity errors (ep 1 bird poop, left his credit card behind and it wasn't addressed, character punched but next day does not have any injuries)
- non realistic things (says he's super sick/was told to rest and then he's cleaning floors)
- felt more like a 'gay for you' trope rather than a gay awakening

Leia Mais

conflicted on this series

Overall: I'm fairly conflicted on the series as there are parts I really liked and parts I really did not like. Just know going in that this isn't a light and fluffy series (although it does have some of those moments) I'll bump it up to 7.5 if it gets an official international release.

Content Warnings: physical and emotional abuse, punches, manhandling, homophobia, attempted murder, murder, trauma, grief, mental illness, past character deaths, manipulation, body shaming, bullying, stalking, drugging, violence, voyeurism

What I Liked
- addressing serious issues like homophobia, there are some truly excellent conversations that occur
- I think the series is almost a cautionary tale of what happens when you don't accept your children for who they are, Nut was such a sweetie but then continued the cycle of abuse that he endured
- I was into the soap opera feel, I actually wanted more twists (Nueng isn't actually dead dun dun dun, Sib and his brother switched spots dun dun dun)
- I think the actors did a good job
- the cute/fluffy moments
- Gen's parents were great
- although the furniture animation was creepy, the talking furniture grew on me (and finally we found the Mrs. Left Slipper!!!)
- Song's dad character growth/apology
- the GL at the very end, though I wish it would have started sooner

Room For Improvement
- no amount of past trauma excuses Nut's behavior and few apologies don't make everything alright. Nut does the following: screams at his mom and Tofu several times, runs Tofu down, punches Tofu on more than 1 occasion, pulls both his mom and Tofu by the arm, kicks Tofu, kicks Tofu out of the house, treats Tofu like a servant, embarrasses Tofu in front of Nut's friend and friend's parents, drives like a maniac and makes Tofu throw up, uses Tofu to get back at his mom. Nut needs to go to therapy and anger management classes asap and not be in any romantic relationship. Oh, and Nut also sabotages his friend Gen's kind of relationship - because Nut wasn't a big enough a**hole already. In the final episode it says he is seeing a doctor for "emotional fatigue" is that a code word for "anger management problems", he was still yelling to the end and I didn't see character growth from him in this area.
- the side couple also annoyed me. It took Gen waaaayyyy too long to open up to Song.
- I was confused when they switched to the other plot line with Tarn in the beginning, I thought it was the script that Nut had written
- multiple cliche evil women who refuse to leave men alone who clearly don't love them
- several characters making truly dumb decisions
- it was odd that Nut and Tofu didn't actually have much physical affection shown once they were together, there were countless near kisses, I'd have been fine with occasional pecks on the cheek
- sudden/odd teacher redemption arc (did her son come out as gay and she changed her opinion from a few weeks/months ago?? ) This was too sudden/unexplained for me
- the mom made it sound like she caused her own mental illness and was blaming herself
- lack of consequences for several characters who did terrible things
- I don't know that I liked Nut's mom telling him everything, it felt like she was doing it to ease her guilty conscious instead of being helpful for Nut
- the whole ending with Tofu feels icky, I wasn't blindsided like another well known series, but he can see/hear everything and Nut doesn't know that...
- I was bored sometimes and mostly watched it at a faster speed

Leia Mais