Wowza

UWMA serves as the 4th BL that I've ever watched and had surpassed my expectations, quickly becoming my favorite. Even now when I'm on my 69th (haha) BL, UWMA still serves as one of my favorites and has a special place on my top 25 list. Although there are plenty of reviews, I'm dropping in my two cents for anyone willing to read.

Let's dive in.

Production: NIcely done. Not too much to praise them for, seeing as though they did not do much differently than other series, but I will say that the music was beautiful, and still stuck in my head to this day. (STAY WITH ME FOREVER, JUST YOU AND ME FOREVERRRRRRR< OOO OOOOOHHHH!!!) One thing I really truly hate about BLs is the number of ads that play. Usually, every BL has the same products to advertise (those drinks guys, I know you know what I'm talking about), but this one is the first to ever advertise Lays chips, so that was fun.

Story: Although I loved the premise of this series, it fell short in some areas. This is one of those series where you really have to sit down and get focused, cause if you don't, you will be highly confused about what's going on. I can't tell you the amount of times I had to go back and watch scenes to understand who was who's uncle, and who was related to who. Some things felt cringe and a little cliche, but it's a BL and I don't expect more or less.

Acting: beautiful acting done by Fluke. He continued to surpass my expectations each episode. He drove the series to be what it was and was so good at expressing those different emotions. Everyone else did a really good job, others that did an exceptionally good job were Earth, Kao, and Sammy.

COUPLES

Dean and Pharm: 9/10

I loved seeing their dynamic grow larger and larger as each episode went on. I'll tell you that the best thing about this couple is that they weren't forced together by those weird circumstances, and actually had chemistry and loved that was reciprocated, My absolute favorite scene between them was them in the grocery store together. I can never get over that scene. They just looked so in love. And they never dropped that expression that they had around each other. It was so intoxicating to see and I couldn't get enough of them. It was such a poetic romance between the two. There really just wasn't anything I hated about this couple.

FIRST KISS RATING: 13/10 - best first kiss ever. period. There is truly nothing like Pharm and Dean's first kiss, the music, the anticipation, the love, the longevity. ABSOLUTE PERFECTION. Couldn't have asked for anything more. All romance scenes to go from there were just so good.

Win and Team: 7/10

I really did like this couple, but to be completely honest, I can't remember really any of the moments with them. It's been a while since I've seen UWMA and I never rewatch, but from what I can remember, I enjoyed them. They did the Lays chip advertisement which is what I really remember most.

FIRST KISS RATING: 7/10 - Their kiss was cute. Just a quick little peck under the mistletoe. It happened pretty fast, and if you blink you would miss it, but I still haven't seen a mistletoe kiss since then, so it serves as the best mistletoe kiss for now. I don't know how I really feel about the drunken kiss that happened between them during the trip. I didn't love it, but it was whatever I guess.

In and Korn: 9/10

Their relationship was so devastating, but it was real and Earth and Kao did an amazing job. My heart felt so full every time they popped up on the screen. Somewhere in me, I wanted way more of them than we got to see.

FIRST KISS RATING: 10/10 - Beach kisses are the best. It was a beautiful mix between the music, and their story, and their chemistry. Absolutely loved it. All other scenes after was just as magnificent.

RECOMMEND? Mmmm, I wouldn't recommend this BL to first-timers since it is VERY heavy, but if someone wanted a recommendation I would definitely recommend this one.

Leia Mais

ATOTS win best Our Skyy Episode (As I knew it would be)

Gosh, I was looking forward to Our Skyy 2 since it was announced, and boy was I surprised. Not really with my favorite OS2 episode (ATOTS) cause it will forever and always be a banger, but for the others, I was pleasantly surprised. I was worried that many of these would be full of wasted potential (ehh, not too far off), but honestly, it did a good job coming full circle with the previous story and the one we see in OS2. Our Skyy 2 takes us into a further developed story of some of our favorite GMMTV series couples. Looking at it from a broader spectrum, Our Skyy was actually pretty good. Just some storylines didn't work, and others were just flat-out given no second thought.

Let's Dive In.

I'll go from least favorite to the most favorite couple (which the favorite is no surprise for anyone).

8. Star In My Mind - Daonuea and Khabkluen

The 2 episodes we got of them in this was by far better than what we got in their original series. The only reason I place them last is because they still failed in a lot of places, like being way too simple in its storytelling when there were so many cool areas they could've touched on. Like, a story where they pretend to hate each other to prank their friends..? Okay, if that's the best you can think of I guess. But I did like some aspects like Kluen making the ring to give to Nuea, and their time together in the tent. And Joong and Dunk gave so much chemistry in this. It actually made me excited to watch Hidden Agenda, because hopefully, they give me more than what I received in SIMM. But like I said, it was just the worst out of all the couples in terms of story and plot. Also, Joong learned how to kiss a cheek instead of sniffing it, so that was nice. I'll give it a 6/10 overall.

7. Bad Buddy - Pat and Pran

Not including the crossover with ATOTS, the first few parts of their story were so boring that I literally tuned out and then a second later they were in Pha Pan Dao and I was like, "Huh?". I think the setup was just not very entertaining, not until you get into the actual crossover, and then I started liking their story more, which is the only reason BB isn't last. I really enjoyed Pat in this more than anything, I liked the time with Phu and the good connection they created. I just think Ohm is a fantastic actor, and he plays the role of Pat so well. I think there are some points where the feud or whatever happened with the actual actors in real life kind of crossed over a little, and some parts were pretty awkward. The ending, however, was probably the best that we got from them. The play, and the kiss on the couch as very authentically their characters, and it was a nice feeling. We also got a glimpse of Drake and Jimmy, and the iconic GL couple so that was also really cute, too bad Jimmy and Drake's characters actually never get together. I'll give it a 7/10 overall.

6. Never Let Me Go - Nuengdiao and Palm

For someone like me who dropped NLMG, I loved this so freaking much. This also just goes to show that GMMTV could make a banger historical-BL plot, so hopefully we'll get that in the near future. But seriously, I loved seeing historic Thailand since I've never seen a historical Thai series ever. I enjoyed the switch of Palm being rich and mighty while Nuengdiao was the poor slave who had to work for him. Them trying to figure out how to get back to the present was entertaining, I loved seeing Pawin again, was a little down that we don't see Chimon or Perth's characters since they were also another reason I tried finishing the series, but oh well. Phuwin and Pond's chemistry is pretty good in this too, they did a better job here than in the original series. Overall, I'll give it a 7.5/10.

5. My School President - Tinn and Gun

I was expecting to like this a lot more than I did, but I was a little disappointed at the role switch instead of building their story further. Would've much rather seen them in college thriving than see their entire story re-told with Tinn and Gun switching roles. But even with that being said, it was super cute seeing them act out the opposite role, including the side characters like Sound and Win and Tiw and Por. But we get no kiss, and some of the parts that I would've put in to be re-told weren't included, which was a bummer. But Gemini and Fourth are too cute of a pairing to put them any lower than this. They still have such good chemistry and were just perfect. I'll give it a 7.5/10 overall.

4. The Eclipse - Akk and Aye

This story is only not lower on the list because Khaotung and First's chemistry is literally so good that it needs to be studied. If ATOTS wasn't on this list, I would say Khaotung and First have the best chemistry I've seen in a GMMTV pairing ever. It's just that I think the story was a little boring. Them going on the trip was cute, but the plot revolving around them making a film was not my forte. Lots of empty space where they were talking about nonsense I could care less about. But also, I got to see the loves of my life, Kan and Thua, and they were just the cutest things ever, so nothing could make me mad. Also, there were some sound problems, like the music would be way louder than their voices during some scenes, and it threw me off a bit. But overall, I'll give them an 8/10, solely because First and Khaotung have such soul-crushing chemistry (ya'll saw that ending kiss too, right?).

3. A Boss and A Babe - Gun and Cher

So surprised, but I really liked their story. They worked on issues that weren't previously worked on in the series, so they were able to develop their characters more, and it came to a beautiful full circle. They also told it in a fun way cause it would've probably been boring any other way to tell it. I have nothing more to say than that it was cute, it was fun, it was entertaining, and seeing Cher try to be stern and stoic was adorable. Overall, I'll give it a 9/10.

2. Vice Versa - Puen and Talay

IDK what their actual names are and not their names when they were in the other universe, so I'll go with the names listed on MDL, so bear with me. But even with me not remembering their names, I absolutely LOVED this. Maybe because Jigsaw was the cutest in the history of cute, but I loved seeing how domestic they were. Even before Jigsaw came into play, I loved that they had designated days to do different things. One thing I'm a sucker for is domestic love, and they gave me just that. And when you add Jigsaw, they just look like the happiest little family on the earth, It also made me hope for a future series with dads as the main character, and I need that immediately. The only disappointing thing was that Jigsaw wasn't one of their accident babies while they were in another universe. I think that would've been fun to see play out. Also, Neo was THE STINKING CUTEST OH MY GOD. Overall I'll give it a 9.5/10.

1. A Tale of Thousand Stars - Tian and Phu

Is it a surprise to anybody that their story was the best? not even just my own opinion, but I legit think their story was the best told than any of the others. we develop the characters further, we also see their relationship develop, we see their communication develop, and their conflict be resolved perfectly. Wow, don't Earth and Mix make a perfect on-screen couple, I mean I don't know what it is about them, but they bring me to tears each and every time. Phu crying while prosing to Tian... yeah, I was a puddling mess. They were just gorgeous, inside and out. It was also so nice to see the village again and Tian teaching, and Yod. This was the perfect bow to tie up their already perfect story. My favorite part was definitely seeing Pat and Pran reenacting Tian and Phu's story, Ugh, it was just so good. And that ending scene? Yeah, it's forever branding on my brain. God, I love them. Overall, a 10/10 in all aspects. The only thing I wished they did was have some kind of crossover with Drake's character since he was in both series, but whatever.

Recommendation value: 8/10 - If you've seen all of the original series, then this is a really fun thing to watch. It's mostly just fluff and skinship, but I'd watch ATOTS episodes over and over again.

Leia Mais

Best in the Business

I can not scream enough how amazing (and that's just an understatement) that IPYTM is. Usually I don't like sequels cause they always go in and mess up a perfectly good plot, but this knocked my socks off. Dare I say, I loved it more that ITSAY.

let's Dive In.

I think one of the reason I loved it way more than ITSAY is because that part of their story was more of them trying to understand their feelings towards each other and themselves, so most of it was gloomy and sad and heartbreaking. Yes, this series had some heartbreak, but it wasn't about one's identity, which personally for me I feel is sadder than anything else. IPYTM was about change and how to deal with it. It was about the impact of choices made and their consequences, it was about learning who you wanted to be instead of who you were, and I loved it.

Production gets a 10 for itself. If I could give production a higher rating I WOULD. I forget that this is a Thai BL every time I watch it. It is so out-of-the-ordinary that it gives that statement a whole new meaning. The cinematography was perfect, and I mean that to the T. It was the symbolism behind the specific color pallet they went with, it was about the subtleness of these underlying meaning behind their clothes, setting, props, daytime, subjects, etc. Everything mixed so perfectly that it was scary. This series will always remain the best cinematography that I have ever seen in any BL. A huge round of applauds to the crew and specifically the cinematographers.. (has this show been nominated for any awards? Please let me know if so, I'm really curious about it!).

Onto the plot. Another thing done so beautifully. I see IPYTM getting a lot of hate for how the plot was handled and executed, but for me it was just so authentic and so true to life that that's what made it right on point. People grow, people change, people discover new friends, hobbies, activities, interests; the list goes on. So that disconnect that we see and feel between Teh and Oh-Aew is real, it's something that can and will happen quite often. The situation that happen between the two of them, their growing change in interests, the contrast of their lives and what they do is all apart of a realistic relationship. The plot is what drove me to the edge of my seat and had me clinging on to the edge for dear life.

Onto the characters. There's no need to even comment on our main actors' performances, cause they were top-notch, enough said. I felt for Oh-Aew, especially in the first two episodes. I was more mad at Teh than anything, not taking his time to spend with Oh, not understanding his new desire in doing advertising, just so many different aspects that Teh pissed me off about. But then you start to feel for him when you see that he didn't want to be pursuing his dream alone, or that he didn't like the change, or that he was played by Jai. Let's talk about that for a second. Jai used Teh's emotions so that he could get what he wanted out of his final project. It hurt so bad to hear him even speaking to Teh like that, and the hurt and realization in his eyes BROKE me. You want to console him, but you also what to hit him upside the head and tell him, "well, this wouldn't have happened had you just not cheated." It was a very conflicted feeling that actually aggravated me quite a bit. Another thing that went so nicely with their story were the time jumps. Without them, I don't think this story would've been made justice. It would've seemed too rushed and jumbled for just a short few months or year, but instead it spans from 4-5 years, and it makes you feel for them even more. The ending was BEAUTIFUL. I have never wanted to have created a dialogue so bad in my life like I did this one. Their conversation is beautiful. The way Oh-Aew talks about how he wants their future relationship to be, how he wants for their to be a change, but a good one. It brought me to tears, it was so magical.

I was so happy to see Bas again! I wasn't always sold on Teh and Oh-Aew's relationship, especially in the first part, and I wanted Bas to be an actual option and of course he wasn't, but in IPYTM I see Teh and Oh-Aew's relationship better. I loved their individual friend groups, Oh-Aew's specifically. I feel for Q, cause you can tell that he was developing feelings for Oh, so seeing his post with Teh was rough. They were a nice touch, they added comfort and stability for Oh and it made me happy to see him happy without Teh for once. The wedding was handled nicely, the ending shots with everyone seeing Teh's post was beautifully directed, and the very end when they walked away was brilliant.

Overall, This series was a masterpiece. I'm not sure if they're going to have a season 3 or not, but in my honest opinion, I say they don't do one. Another one might add too much conflict onto their relationship that will make it feel repetitive and irrelevant. Let this be their ending! I'm crossing my fingers! I'll continue to say this and continue to be mad about it, but this series does not have enough recognition AT ALL. Yes, it has a platform, yes, it has gained popularity, but not enough. If this series could switch with 2gether, I think I would cry. Just look at how much popularity that cheesy and simplistic story got, how come this one can't? Not to bring another series down or anything, but that's just my personal thoughts. Anyways, A highly recommended series!!!!!

Leia Mais

J-BL Gem of 2023

Oh yeah, this was the shit. This was everything and more to me. This is the kind of story I crave more in BL -- simplistic first love stories that can tug at every heartstring until you're desperately crying out for more once it ends. I Can't Reach You was a spectacular J-BL that I'm so glad I found cause this was exactly what my little soul needed.

Let's Dive In.

Friends to lovers will always be my cup of tea, but add on childhood friends to lovers and you've basically sold me. And then on top of that, it's a first love story where we get to go through them experiencing their firsts with each other. And then on top of THAT, you throw in a plot without evil scheming characters or a third wheel -- just pure fluff, and feelings. I loved this, but I think that's obvious at this point.

Oh gosh, how I loved Yamato and Kakeru. They were flawed individuals with traits and odd perspectives like that of any hormonal teenager. Seeing Yamato so head over heels was nice, but getting to go through the story and finding these little moments when you can tell Kakeru is starting to feel something too -- the longing stares, keeping little memorabilia, laying his head on his shoulder, holding hands, the sparkling eyes while he smiles -- urgh, fuck, I love that shit so much.

Everything was so perfect, it was the right mix of awkward first encounters with figuring out feelings and how to go about them. The leads had great chemistry and great connection. Off-topic, but Kentaro (Yamato) is the prettiest J-actor I've ever seen and I could write an entire essay on his essence and soft masculine power. And yes I mean the prettiest (aka hottest) sorry I don't make the rule.

I just loved the plot too. I spoke a little bit about this, but there's nobody getting in the way of the main characters but themselves. No conniving jealous person, no evil parents or siblings, no troubling third wheel. Truly just feelings and a bit of miscommunication (which they fix by the end! Gosh, I love them). And yes, there were the girls practically throwing themselves at Yamato, but they were there as a jealousy mechanism for Kakeru and vice-versa, not an actual third wheel that you would have to worry about.

I love the other characters. I loved Yamato's sister, I loved the blonde-haired dude who was pretty much their love advisor and helped move their relationship. I loved that we didn't spend any time on them coming out or Kakeru having some deep contemplation on the fact that he liked a guy or the fact that others didn't react to it either. It was just a regular-smegular love story between friends and it's perfect. This was just such a gem of a series, seriously, it was so great.

My only little negative thing to say was that I hated when the sparkles would pass by their faces, it looked like some really cheap editing, but that might just be me. Also, the subtitles weren't it for a couple of the episodes, but again, just slight nit-picking.

Ratings:

Story: 9/10 - So so good! The pacing was perfect the storytelling was perfect and we went straight into the plot as soon as the series started.

Acting: 9/10 - great! They all did really good! I won't say their acting was the best I've seen, but still did really well! I liked Haru (Kakeru)'s acting the most!

Music: 7/10 - I didn't pay much attention to it, but it wasn't distracting.

Recommendation value: 10/10 - I rarely give something a 10 out of 10, but gosh lee, this really was so good and I highly recommend it. It's good for wanting something simple and fluffy and happy. I know I'm happy!

Leia Mais

One of the Better Korean Drama of This Year

Even with this series' very short time lived, it has been able to do what some K-BLs this year haven't -- actually be memorable. And whether that's because of the story or the fact that their animals -- welp, I'll never know. Choco Milk Shake is an endearing mini-series with an irritating filter, but some much-appreciated good-looking men.

Let's Dive In.

I've said this before with Meow Ears Up, and while animal metamorphosis isn't really my thing, I'm able to look past it if the story itself is at least decent. This series teeters on that line, but I think it was good for what the length was. it suffers from its in's plot a little, but it's obviously because of the time frame they had.

Most scenes were entertaining, except when they were at the cafe doing presumably nothing but wiping tables that nobody sat at and talking. I don't know if anyone else had this problem, but there was this very irritating filter that made everybody as smooth as possible and pale as shit. Other than that, I have no other problems with the production. Obviously, this was a low budget since we only had maybe 2-3 different settings, but it's good where it is.

Onto to the characters. Milk was probably the only one with some depth to his character. Everyone else was a bit one-dimensional, but again, it's not a bad thing considering everything else about the series. I didn't see Milk and the cafe owner thing happening, but I'm not disappointed. They are more so just really good actors, but I wouldn't say their chemistry was jaw-dropping or anything of the sort (although, they know how to kiss, geez-la-wheeze). Jung Woo and Choco I would say are in the same category, but maybe just an ounce of better chemistry, or at least that's what my heart thought when I couldn't stop smiling at Choco's laugh when Jung Woo was tickling him. Also, the height difference is amazing, along with Jung Woo's smile.

Overall, it was a good watch. Somewhere halfway through I forgot about them being animals, but nevertheless, they'll eventually leave again to -- animal heaven...? I like to forget this aspect of the show, ngl.

Ratings:

Story: 6.5/10 - Animals thing is weird but it works. The story is simple but it works for this series. it's memorable because of its plot, and it's endearing because of the characters.

Acting: 8.5/10 - I really liked it. Few hiccups here and there, but it's good. Milk really stands out the most.

Music: 5/10 - too enthusiastic for my taste.

Recommendation Value: (I don't rewatch so I change it to recommendation value): 7.5/10 - It's good, One of the better watches from Korea this year.

Leia Mais

Idk what I just Watched..

I think a lot of people might've liked this cause of the Japanese version, or maybe they're big fans of the Love Stage Manga. Maybe it's because the show stayed pretty authentic to the book, or maybe because they are deeply connected down to the roots of these characters after following them for so long. But for me, someone who hasn't done any of the former, this was chaos thrown into a blender to create a cohesive series, but they left out the most important part of the drink, and now we're left with a terrible aftertaste that we can't get rid of.

Let's Dive In.

This was...something. I went into this pretty exciting cause I had seen some pretty good reviews and comments, again, could be that those were the ones that just love Love Stage for what it is, but anyway, I went into this with some pretty high expectations. All of them besides a few were let down. Love Stage is the story of Anda who was forced to play a girl at a young age for a commercial and meets Ryou, his castmate. Years passed, and for whatever reason, Ryou just can't get that "girl" out of his head. Until he finds out that little girl was actually a dude, and goes through a mid-life crisis. Some shit happens and then it's happily ever, bonus is the brother and his secret love with their family manager.

Now we'll skip the authenticity sake of this series cause I've never read the mangas and I have no plans to. This was just a wild manga to adapt into a series if they were staying true to the original story. It could've one-hundred percent worked for the book, but here, it's just insane. The fact that Ryou, a now-grown adult who has been through the hoops of fame and fortune, is still hung up on a one-time encounter when he was a child is ridiculous. I can't even name to you the kids in my elementary school, much less the people I had crushes on at that age (and I'm only 19). The entire main plot is foolish, and once I was able to look past that, I shrugged and moved on. Then some more idiotic things occur, some of them cute, and others just plain boring, and I pretty much just wanted to skip to see the brother and the manager, the saving grace of this series.

Anda and Ryou felt stupidly rushed. one minute Ryou hates that Anda's a man and hates the fact that he has feelings for him, and then with the flick of the wrist, he's flirting and pretending like he didn't just assault Anda in a bathroom that left his tooth chipped and manhood exposed (that scene...?? was incomprehensible..?? Definitely had to be from the manga cause there's no way they put that into the series and thought, "Oh yeah, this is it!"). Then they had no time to really develop (the one thing that was getting me through the series. I love watching the build-up to the relationship), but then they go and rush for them to be in a relationship, and after their sufficient in that, they just become insufferable and the plot becomes too predictable, and I mean tooooo predictable. To the point that I skipped episode 9 and just went straight to the ending, and look at that! Exactly what I thought would happen happened!

The acting is just not all that great besides Turbo and the brother, everyone else could use some work. Kaownah was okay at times, and then it just wasn't clicking anymore. The friends were straight trash and the fake laugh that Bank give somewhere in the first episodes completely turned me off, and I actually wanted to like him. The manager was okay too, nothing great, but at least he was more appealing to look at. The parents were fine, Lala was bearable, and I skipped that lady manager cause she was perverted and screeched each second she had the time to.

I absolutely loved the brother's and the manager's story. I think the way they implemented it to where the viewer starved for more, and for just a second when we thought we weren't going to get a canon, boom, they reveal their secret relationship. I love a good secret, especially when it comes in six-packs and tattoos. I loved Thee's charismatic side and the way he played the protective older brother. While trying to secure his brother's happiness, he also had to go looking for his own, which he found in his manager. Man, I really liked this duo, they fell flat a few times, but their trip on the beach was the best part.

Great bed scenes, great kisses, something I will always applaud to. But even that got a little stale after a while, and Anda having the body of a 12-year-old didn't help much either. I'm tired of touching on non-con in BL, so it is what it is, and I'm moving on for the sake of my own sanity.

Ratings:

Story: 6.5: The beginning was a bit fun, I could play into the laughable plot for a bit, and then I wasn't really feeling it. Once they get together (which is heavily rushed) things get boring and predictable, and then I doze off and forget I'm even watching. I skipped an entire episode cause I could care less about the main couple and it just got so boring that I thought I would drop this at one point. The brother's story was cute. Anda makes for a beautiful bride, and evil Bank honestly counts as a highlight.

Acting: 7: Ehh, Turbo was their best bet, everyone else needed more workshops. The parents were okay I guess, and the brother and manager had a cute enough story that I wasn't all that much bothered with their acting, although the brother was actually good. Anda's friends were talking robots the entire time, and tried too hard to be funny, it came off forced and unwatchable.

Music: 7.5 - there was one song that played during their sequence at the beach that I absolutely loved. I watched this on YT where for some reason, during a few episodes, the music is cut out, so after that, I didn't bother remembering to listen. It was decent I guess, the brother couldn't sing to save his life, but whatever.

Rewatch value: 1 - highly unlikely unless I want to watch Thee pop out of the pool in slow motion again on a loop.

Watch this if you want, I wouldn't recommend it, but at least if you watch, the actors weren't afraid to touch one another and weren't afraid to get down and dirty. The story is a mess and not one that I'm particularly a fan of. Another BL that will be long forgetful in like 6 months.

Leia Mais

Cute Korean BL

Out of the recent Korean BL's I've tried to sit through (Peach of Time, My Sweet Dear), which caused me extreme boredom, and slight chronic insomnia, you couldn't imagine my reaction when this series popped up next on my watch list. it's the mix of Korean BL's being hysterically short, and disrespectfully rushed that draws me out of their stories, but finally, a BL that I can give at least some type of credit to. Not for being anything different than a regular K-BL, but at least for keeping me entertained. The Tasty Florida was a simplistic plot with beautiful-looking characters and chemistry that I can support.

Let's Dive In.

The Tasty Florida was another extremely short Korean BL, that follows a similar path of My Sweet Dear, but less dull, and characters that I can actually enjoy. It starts off with the new dude falling in the arms of another dude, giving us the perfect love at first sight trope, and from there were introduced to new people, a very weak love triangle, and a rushed ending. However, this series was super laid-back and beautiful -- starting from the restaurant, to the actors themselves. But again, this series suffers from the same matters that other Korean BLs do -- which is sad to say, cause this one had such great potential to be one of the best K-BLs, but instead it falls right under being just good enough.

The things I enjoyed about TTF: Let's give credit where credit is due -- all of the actors are gorgeous. Yoohwan and Kanghyuk have sharp features and blinding smiles, not to mention their incredible build. Seungjun has such an entertaining hairstyle, that fits perfectly with his lean stature, and mesmerizing facial structure. Woomin is adorable, with a childlike aspect in his face, and windswept hair, but Zeze hits different. he's like a God. He looks so ethereal and majestic that he can't be true. so unbelievable that I had to pause the screen for a moment and just gawk at his beauty. And to add on, they all put on a really nice performance. I liked Yoohwan's the most, with Kanghyuk playing a close second. But either way, they all did a really good job. I'd say the lowest acting-wise was Zeze, but even then, he's done better than others I've watched.

I also really did enjoy the chemistry between Seo Hae Won and Baek Eun Kyu. I'm a sucker for the "realizing-I'm-falling-in-love" trope, and just watching two people gain connection and build up chemistry until it reaches its peak and it has to climax. and these two are great examples of that. I wish that it could've been developed a little longer, but then again, that would mean we'd need a longer series, but for what we got, I was satisfied. I think these two did an amazing job at showing their chemistry through eye contact and simple gestures. I absolutely loved them.

I'd have to add on that the production was really nice. I loved the scenery of the restaurant. The colorful vibes and the cool warm pastels accentuated the mood of the series. I liked the overall cinematography of it all.

Some things that needed improving: Cha Ji Soo was treated horribly. I was actually very much interested in this character and very much so rooting for him and Seo Hae Won for half a second. But sadly, the love triangle this show tries to have is so weak that it's barely even there. Of course, we already know who the lead will end up with in the beginning, but if they're going to go for a love triangle then I think they should've gone full force. Have Seo Hae Won also develop feelings for Ji Soo. Have them maybe end up kissing, or have a conversation about it. Love triangles are because the lead is in love with both choices, not just one. Also, how Ji Soo decided that he would be okay with watching the guy he likes and his best friend dating every single day at work is beyond me.

The dojo thing was very pointless. It didn't drive any plot, it didn't raise any conflicts -- it was just there. Sure, the scene with them rustling and rolling around on the mat was cute, but what other justice did it serve? Nothing! That time could've been used to add more plot, to build more connections. I would rather see more Zeze being godly than a dojo.

The ending was rushed, and the year time jump through me completely off guard. Not to mention, that there wasn't any type of character change in regards to features or just relationships over a period of time. I hate time jumps when they don't show a change of growth in characters. Them crying in each other's arms was cute, but I think just 5 or 6 months with him away would've been fine.

Ratings:

Story: 9 - From what we got in this short series, the story was good. I'll take off a star for the weird time jump, and the rushed ending.

Acting: 8.5 - Everyone did a really good job. There were some hiccups here and there, and some acting choices should've been different, but overall, it was good.

OST: 5 - I don't remember it which means it wasn't a distraction but was also not anything to recollect.

Rewatch Value: 1 - I might actually go back to watch certain parts of this series, like Sao Hae Won cuddling a drunk Eun Kyu.

I recommend this series for anyone wanting a quick and pretty lighthearted watch.

Leia Mais

Non Deserved Better

I had barely even heard of this series, but once I tuned in, I was hooked. Presumably so, I thought a completely different story was going to happen. I fall in love with one couple, only to be forced to move on? Love Area Part 1 was a great mini-series that kept me on my toes. While I continued to enjoy my watch, I grew angrier and angrier with each passing episode.

Let's Dive In.

Production was decent. Not much else to say on that. I don't remember there being that many ads if any at all. I thought the wardrobes were pretty nice (you know, when they weren't wearing uni clothes), and the makeup was done really well. Nothing to complain about. All in all. it was pretty good.

Onto the plot. I think it was pretty basic, except, I sometimes like basic, and in this context, I actually quite enjoyed myself. Can't go wrong with a cute restaurant love.

Onto the pairings. The one thing this show does is give us two pretty compelling characters to match with the main lead (Although, one is to for sure happen over the other). I was here for Non and Kaitoon before anything. Non is just the perfect guy. We see no problems in his character (which could drive him to be pretty one dimensional, but oh well), he genuinely feels for Kaitoon and goes out of his way to involve himself in Kaitoon's life by helping him mend his wounds, giving him good advice, and just being there. They did him so dirty closer to the end. Non did not serve to be stood up, especially not twice. They treated him with the utmost disrespect and he better be given a heartfelt apology (and hopefully another character introduced for him). Moving onto Valen and Kaitoon. I didn't like them at the beginning, and I mean who would? Valen ends up trying to rob Kaitoon which in turn gets Kaitoon punched and actually robbed. I don't know how anyone could fall for their robber, but this is BL, and anything can happen. I didn't really start feeling for them until about episode 5, but then Kaitoon kept forgetting about Non, and it just hurt even worse in the finale. King and Peat's story felt like a completely different series. I think their pairing is a bit irrelevant since neither of them really play an important role in the plot. However, I did feel for King. Nobody should be abandoned, especially without an explanation. King started gaining my respect until Ice came into the story. Ice looks like a fetus, so if they're trying to maybe make them a thing (possibly not since Peat moved back in with King) then please don't. Even King making him go shirtless was a bit uncomfortable for me. Overall, all the couples in this series were okay.

The acting was alright. I think that the script wasn't all too strong so the actors didn't have much to work with. The strongest actor was probably Got (Tang), even though he had a small role, he still knew how to deal with the cards he was dealt. I think all of the main roles could use a bit of work, but Pak (Kaitoon) was definitely the best out of all of them.

Ratings:

Story: 7.5 - Nothing special or noticeably different from the others. I think they did an alright job at building up the chemistry between the main leads, so I will give that to them (Also, I'm a sucker for slow-burns, so I'm excited to see what happens with them in season 2). For that, I'll give it an extra 1.5 stars on top of the 6 I was originally going to give it. (But that better do my son Non better!).

Acting: 7 - Again, it was decent, nothing special, nothing better than the rest. Got and Pak give this score an extra two stars. I hope to see some stronger acting choices in season two (and maybe a stronger script as well).

OST: 5.5 - Didn't really pay attention to it. Since it wasn't noticeable for being annoying then it was decent for me. (also, no one was singing, so that's an extra star!)

Rewatch value: 1 - Again, I have to move on to other things I have to watch, but I probably won't come back to this series. Especially since season two drops in just a couple of days.

Overall, this series was a decent one. I'd recommend this for sure. especially someone new to BL. It's pretty fluffy and heartfelt for the most part. I think something should've been different (like them not treating Non like he's a piece of trash).

Leia Mais

Underwhelming

I could tell by the first episode that this was going to be cringe-filled. I'm more disappointed that I went into this with the intention that because Gameplay was in this, it would be good. That's not it at all. Love With Benefits is full of weird editing, mediocre supporting characters, and a plot that could've gone right had they actually put in some effort.

Let's Dive In.

Firstly, let's discuss this production. While seemingly low-budget, this series did a horrible job at editing. There were some scenes that just has these very inconsistent cuts that were strewn together that someone thought were okay to air. I sat there embarrassed for the actors for how terrible the editing team did them. Ad placements literally everywhere, those were probably the only moments that were decently scripted and put together well (got to make sure to get that coin!). The production team did a very sorrowful job, this series could've been better with a more decent crew.

I wasn't very fond of any of the supporting characters. The feminine gays were played up to be creepy, and annoying, and thirsty, so I skipped most of their scenes (when can we get an effeminized gay that's not supposed to be the touchy creep of a series???) The acting coach was decent I guess, but he was just kind of there. I did like Pluto though (and would've rather him and Play end up together).

The only thing that Play and First had was great heat scenes. The chemistry was weird, I don't like how they made Play out to be childish. It was aggravating. The relationship was ridiculously rushed since they "fell in love" within the span of about 10 days. The series was an obvious cash-grab than it was at trying to build an actual decent relationship.

I love Gameplay so freakin much, so I was left feeling a bit heartbroken that this was the series he was in. I don't want to sound insulting about the other actors, but Gameplay is better than this series. He deserves a main role that compliments his acting, and in this, it diminishes it. Give Gameplay a three-dimensional character with actual traits and a personality, and I swear he can do it. I was so looking forward to seeing him in Kinnporsche, and was absolutely devastated when he dropped out. He just deserves the attention and the role that I see others getting.

The acting was decent. This seems to be Folk's first acting gig, so I won't be too harsh, but I didn't like his performance at all. I would've rather them had switched his role with Best and then maybe this series could've been a bit better.

Overall, this was underwhelming. If you're looking for a few good heat scenes, then you got it, but if you're looking for an actual BL with meaningful moments and a storyline, than this is not the series for you.

Leia Mais

Better than the Original

I did like Make it Right, but there was something that shifted in Make It Right 2 that made me fall more in love with the characters than the first one ever did for me.

I want to love Book and Frame so badly, but the way they had gotten together in MIT was disgusting. Although, I liked their pairing a lot more this season since they were given an actual plot. The situation between Book and his former partner was so devastating, and Toey did an amazing job at portraying this depressed character. I broke down so hard when Frame found Book and the pills on the floor. Both actors did an incredible job and definitely deserved a pat on the back (especially for making me cry since I NEVER cry). As much as I loved them this season, I can't forget how poorly the writers treated them last season, and I still can't get behind their toxic relationship.

Mo and Yok had to be my favorite couple this season. They had such a fun comedic feel that made the series feel so much lighter. CONSENT IS SEXY. I'll never stop saying it. Yok and Mo did an incredible job at showing what actual consent before and during sex looks like. I appreciate these actors and hope to see them in future dramas.

Fuse and Tee were okay this season, nothing bad, but nothing amazing either. Fuse finally broke up with his girlfriend, so his relationship with Tee actually felt real. The confession at the beach was pure magic. I only cry during two occasions: one, coming-out scenes, and two, emotional confession scenes. I was entirely balling my eyes out again. It was impeccable, and Peak's did an awesome performance.

Overall the series was good. The situation between Wit and Yok's mom was not it. I skipped it all. Rodtang and Nine were finally given a story, but it still felt incomplete. Not that I cared, because I'm still not a fan of Beam's acting. It was a fun watch, and it kept me entertained, so I'm not disappointed at all.

Leia Mais

Can't Get Into It

It's been about a month since the series ended and I still can't get myself to watch the last two episodes, and I think I'm done trying. I really sat my ass through this series because I really do hate dropping, but also forcing myself to watch something I don't like rather than to sit and watch something I do like is torture to myself. Never Let Me Go fails in a lot of spots for me, except for how gorgeous these actors are.

Let's Dive In.

One reason that the series was so hard for me to get into was that the initial plot just doesn't make sense. Why hire a fisherman who's amateur at being a bodyguard to protect a highly important person? Especially after the fisherman's father failed to protect the important boy's dad? Just why? I think this would've worked out better had Palm just been on a scholarship to attend the same school as Nuengdiao and they became friends to then become lovers. Maybe then I could've finished this. But I can't because nothing about this situation adds up. Either that or Palm should've been an older gentleman who was a bodyguard in his past coming back into the job to help out his dad.

I've said this in FUTS, and I'm saying it here too: something about Pond's acting never settles right with me. I will say he was at least slightly better here than in FUTS, but I can never believe his acting. It sounds like he's reading the lines off the paper instead of acting them. Someone on Reddit said his acting reminds them of a last-minute put-together high school play and I couldn't have said it better myself. And I'll probably get crap for this too, but for some reason, I can't play into Pond's chemistry with Phuwin. It's just not there, at all. They do being physical very well, but besides that, I don't feel the chemistry between them in their acting. Pond gives off "I'm straight" vibes like crazy, and while I'm not trying to assume his sexuality or anything, that's just how it comes off.

I would've stayed for Chimon and Perth, cause I was decently enjoying their side story, but it's still not enough. I'll just wait to see them in their series once it airs. The fighting sequences made me squeal with laughter, because what in the everloving fuck was that. The make-up department at least did the bruising and cuts well.

Ratings;

Story: 5/10 - Chimon and Perth's story is entertaining. Some parts of Neungdiao's story is intriguing (like his uncle trying to kill him), but I can't get over that his mother thought it was a good idea to hire a fisherman with no bodyguard experience to protect her highly targeted child, which is why this series will never do it for me. I think they even teased it in one episode, which I'm glad they acknowledged that it was dumb, but still.

Acting: 7.5/10 - I'm mostly giving this score to Perth, Chimon, and Phuwin. I think there are some parts Phuwin lacked a bit for me, but it still wasn't bad. Pond's acting is once again, mediocre if not worse than that.

Music: 5/10 - Didn't pay attention to it. So it wasn't distracting. Good.

Recommendation value: 4/10 - As I said, it might've just been me that felt this way, but there are much better stories out there to watch than this one.

Just a little bit of a rant, but I don't think Pond and Phuwin were the right pair for this series in general. I think having switched up some important plot points would've made it better, but in order to have made this series as good as it could've been with just the original story, they should've found a pairing that was older, or at least a person a lot older to play Palm's role. Someone like Joss or Earth or White or Pod or Gawin or Tul (even though he's not with GMMTV, just trying to throw out some actors that would've done this role well), anyone who seems a lot more mature than Pond was able to portray. Phuwin is fine in Nuengdiao's role, but I'm thinking Khaotung or Pawin, someone who might've been able to handle a more dramatic role.

Leia Mais

Good? no. Consensual? YES!

Please don't get me wrong, this series SERIOUSLY had its faults, but it had something that I'm not used to seeing in BL, and that's consent! Everything else? Yeah, she needed some work.

Let's Dive In.

The acting was probably the worst part about this BL. The main characters did really bad, but Win's (Gun) acting was definitely the worst. It got a bit better by the end, but most of the time it felt robotic and stiff, and like he had a hard time expressing different emotions. While I do NOT believe in bashing the looks of Win (like some of you harshly do, as if ya'll look any better), I will say that he was an average looking dude, and them trying to play him off as the hottest guy on campus felt forced. The weirdest part is that they didn't need to play this trope at all, it wasn't like him being the hottest on campus drove the plot or anything, so it's pretty irrelevant. Most of the time I hate this trope because the cast in BL series are equally attractive, and none are overly-cuter or hotter than the rest. Just like Pha in 2moons2 and Sarawat in 2gether, they are played as the hottest on campus, but all cast members are attractive, so it makes no difference.

The one reason this couple is rated higher than the other En of Loves is because of one reason: CONSENT. I loved that even though Bar didn’t like Gun at first, Gun wasn’t forcing himself onto Bar and instead was just being there when he could. We have to speak about their first time because it was everything. We need more of this in BL!!! Bar made it clear that Gun needed his consent, and when it was given, Gun still was being patient and cautious. Even when they were kissing and Bar told him to wait, he immediately stopped and made sure he was okay and still comfortable. I LOVED IT. That scene is what really sold it for me. Had consent not been so broad in this series, then it would definitely be rated at a 5. But, because we weirdly don't see much consent in BL, this gave me a burst of hope that others will fall behind.

Besides that WONDERFUL moment, this series was stupidly rushed. Like, ridiculously rushed. Bar fell for Gun too quickly after saying he didn't like him. I get it, we only have 4 episodes, but it was way too rushed. Don't get me started on the whole "Moon" competition. Cringiest thing in humanity, I skipped all of it. I can't with literally any part of it.

A cringe series that was honestly one of those shows that you love because it's not good. I would recommend it for anyone wanting to see something with clear consent, but this would definitely be the last thing I'd recommend someone starting out in BL.

Leia Mais

Lost

I must've been half asleep for this episode because I'm having a hard time remembering anything good I liked from this episode besides them being attractive.

Let's Dive In,

The guy was in love with his famous step-brother. Yay, we are once again romanticizing incest. God, I love BL.

Don’t ask me what happened in this episode cause I have zero knowledge. Meng Meng was a BL fan and was trying to deliberately get her best friend and his step-brother together. With her whole chest, she thought there was nothing wrong with shipping a brother and his step sibling. I just gave it a four cause I don’t know where my head was at during this episode, and I would go back to re-watch it, but I’m really not interested.

Leia Mais

Irritating Title

While the title is not that important (don't judge a book by its cover) I still can't get over the incorrect grammar. Even if this is a Thailand series and grammar could be entirely different, someone could have still told them to add an 'a' in there. Whatever. Moving on, this was my second favorite En of Love series, mostly due to the patience and duality of Nuea and the warmth and youthfulness of Praram.

Let's Dive In.

Although I liked this series, it could’ve been a lot better, but then again, could have every other En of Love too. Once again, it went by WAY too fast. I liked how caring Neua was, but sometimes I got aggravated by his possessiveness when he hadn’t even known Praram all that well and all that long.

I wanted to see more of the story, but instead, half of each of the episodes were Neua posting and going through comments. Besides that, I really liked their confession. I liked that Neua was patient and sweet. It worried me at first because Praram was just in high school being crushed on by a college dude, but the creators and writers did well with the script and how it played out. I wasn’t going to be happy if they had had them hook up or even have done any type of sexual entities, but instead, they kept it appropriate for a relationship between a high schooler and a college student. The cute kisses on the cheek and neck were to DIE FOR. Once again, this series does such a good job of showing healthy and consensual conversations. Nuea saying that he didn’t want to do anything more than a cheek kiss with Praram showed that he was willing to be patient and considerate. That’s what upped this show to an 8.

Overall it was a cute 3 episodes. Benz is the cutest kid ever, and I applaud the wardrobe team with his clothes cause it was very refreshing and chic. Out of all the En of Love's, I would only recommend this part. It was light, it was fluffy, it was consensual, and it was cute.

Leia Mais

It Wasn't Entirebly Terrible..?

I've already written this entire thing, but my laptop decided it had other ideas, so now I don't feel like repeating what I've said (and I also don't remember all of it), so I'll just reiterate some of the things I wrote. For one, I definitely remember saying that I wished I would've watched this series while it aired since it just felt so hard to keep up with in the beginning. This series had beautiful actors, half-a-million-dollar sets, and some perfectly sculpted heat scenes, but it still wasn't enough for me to leave feeling satisfied.

Let's Dive In,

Cutie Pie is a nontraditional Thai style setup (at least that's how it felt to me) about Kuea, an undercover rebel who acts as an angel around his arranged finance since childhood, Hia Lian. Hia Lian is a workaholic whose primary focus in life is his business and keeping the promise he made to Kuea's Grandfather. Through some misunderstands, poor communication, and a couple of heated kisses, it's happily ever after, with two other couples following the same problems. My initial feelings on why I think it would've been better to watch while it aired is so that I could have time to really understand what was going on. Instead, I just went on to the next episode, hella confused and just going with the flow.

In some cases, it felt like things were happening too late, like how I went through half of the series thinking that Hia Yi and Diao were also in an arranged marriage. Instead, Hi Yi just wanted to take care of him after some childhood accident made him forget his memory (even though Hia Yi bosses Diao around. shouldn't it be vice-versa?). Same with Nuea who has an apparent crush or maybe is weirdly overprotective of Kuea at the beginning, but then it's never explained why. He's then in la-la land with Syn and you just, again, have to go with the flow.

Now let's talk about Hia Lian and Kuea who I still don't know if I loved or hated. For one, I think the actors did a phenomenal job or at least did as well as they could with the material they were given. I also liked that Kuea needed to learn how to be his whole self around Hia Lian, and that Hia Lian needed to learn how to show his emotions and love and embrace his feelings for Kuea. But what I didn't like was the constant back and forth, Lian would have to reassure Kuea every other episode that he did love him, but by the time we get to the end and Lian proposes and Kuea shuts him down, it's frustrating, especially since his reason is the same shit that Lian had reassured him about on multiple occasions. And it's yell-worthy just for them to go back to the house and everything be okay. By this point, 2x speed was used. That also goes for the misunderstanding (or bad communication) with Lian's plan to help Kuea's family, something that was added at the last minute, and left me annoyed. And sure, their heated scenes were done very nicely, and the consent was perfectly sculpted, but it's still not enough for me. They tried to explain the whole marriage thing since it's pointless to be engaged in a country that doesn't support same-sex marriage, but it's so filler that I just roll my eyes. I think this show started to rely on the heated scenes and just gave up on telling a comprehensible story. I'm still indecisive about these two, but I think I've come to the conclusion that I'm satisfied enough, but if the showrunners had focused more on their story then they really could've been the 'IT' couple. Instead, they told Zee and New to do some kissy kissy time to get away with their poor writing.

I'm also indecisive about Hia Yi and Diao who I loved, but their story is rather a dumb one. The lost childhood memory is fine, but what specifically did he forget? and did I miss it? How come Hia Yi is bossy and mean and then all of the sudden he's just super nice? I won't even get into the whole fiasco of the weird dog-eating storyline. Anyways, the same goes for them, they had great heated scenes, but something crucial is missing. I can't pinpoint it with my finger, but it's something big, and it aggravates me to the fullest. It was probably the lack of character development out of Diao who is seemingly the same person he was at the beginning to the end, or how he's just written to be pretty much perfect with none of his own problems other than getting caught in lies and not keeping things to himself. Hia Yi has a crack of character development, maybe being a bit more lenient and not so harsh to Diao, but it's nothing much, or rather to-your-face-noticeable. My critique stays the same for these two, a better story, a better build-up to their relationship, and they could've also done well with some more screentime.

Syn and Nuea are cute, but nothing more. They had great build-up, but I didn't really feel the chemistry between the actors. Again, nothing wrong in the kissing department, but it comes out of the blue that it feels more comical than realistic. Also, Nuea is not my favorite character, just because the writers didn't give him much of a story, if one at all, and we know next to nothing about him. They barely have any screentime after the public display of affection in which they start to fall off the wagon for me. I think this could've been a fun couple, but with little screentime and poor development, it just feels like they were thrown in at the last minute, and instead of telling their story, the writers could've focused more on the other two that could've used more work.

I'll leave this off on a good note and talk about some things I did really enjoy: I loved Foei, and he might've been my favorite character. I'm kind of upset the writers didn't utilize him more, and I would've rather seen his story than the third couple. Jay was also a good supporting role, but more so just because I love Perth and there's no way I couldn't love any character Perth plays.

The friendship between Diao and Kuea is nicely done, with them being there for one another no matter what, and it's good to show a healthy male-male friendship like this that is still intimate and meaningful without crossing into romantic.

I want to see this company's receipts because the houses they used are MASSIVE. And yes, BLs tend to use huge houses, but Yi's house? with the multiple expensive cars in the back? They did not disappoint in this department, and I am pleasantly surprised.

Ratings:

Story: 7.5 - There's a story, but it feels rather vague, and with the hype around this show only being because of the love scenes, it's hard to focus on this aspect when nobody else is. However, I won't knock it all down, there were a few things that I liked and it was enough to keep me watching so, I guess it wasn't all that bad.

Acting: 8.5 - I think most of the actors were good, but Nat was probably not the strongest performer, and you're only as strong as your weakest link. I've never been a huge fan of Nat's acting, but he did rather well in Y-Destiny, but here, I just feel that disconnect again. He's kind of awkward (in a good way) and it shows in his acting.

Music: 6.5 - Fine I guess, didn't really pay all that much attention.

Rewatch Value: 1.5: eh, very less likely.

I don't think this series is bad, but I do grade more harshly on things that are widely popular or hyped because I feel the need to see what others see, and 6 times out of 10, I don't. But if you are looking for some decent NC scenes, then you've got it here. If that's not really you're mojo, then this can be a series you watch later or as slow as you want. No need to rush.

Leia Mais