Gameboys

Nice Storyline

I like how the story went. It is unique and reflective during the pandemic . The character/casts are very professional, they had chemistry. Even the supporting rules are superb. I haven't watched yet the movie and it next in my watchlist. Looking forward for another great BL content from the Philippines... The music fits the scene everytime. Cinematography are awesome. For sure it's hard the director as well as the actors because they are doing it on their own. Overall I love the entire movie. No hung-ups you will laugh, cry, upset, angry and more.. a lot of emotions for sure..

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Log In And Never Let Me Go!

So let's talk about this! I really liked this concept. Showing how dating has been during the pandemic! As well as pandemic stuff that we've all been dealing with. It's a new and interesting way to showcase a BL storyline without the tropey stuff that were all used to. It also didn't get too stale with the zoom calls and other social media ways of showing progression in the story. It was paced well and ooh this series was really good!

Moving on to specifics about the story. The dad storyline had me so sad! Especially with the passing from covid and the circumstances of Cai's guilt. That was such an interesting take on the coming out story. Though tragic I loved the conversation it brought up between our two boys Cai and Gav. Feelings are valid and it wasn't his fault at all! Which btw his brother was so unwarranted in blaming his brother at all for dad getting sick. That made me so mad, but he did apologize afterwards so fine. The showing of the harsh realities though to this pandemic and live footage of workers and people coming out of the hospital got me though in the heart. I'm kinda glad I watched it now as opposed to before when it was so scary. My mental health probably couldn't have taken it. The conversation with the mom too was fantastic. She's a good actor first of all and her apologizing to her son for not gaining his trust enough to feel comfortable with coming out. Oof that one hit too!

Concerning secondary characters. Pearl was a queen, though a bit much sometimes I loved her! I'm so glad she wasn't a stereotypical "threat" to the relationship. She was actually a huge help the entire series AND an ex still! Which is great! We need more healthy relationships like that in shows. Also gotta say her telling Terrence's character not to use his mental health as an excuse for his actions was *chefs kiss amazing. Speaking of Terrence, though he was a total d*** at first I'm glad he got redemption for himself by the end. As well as Wesley's character. Noone was just a "villain" they had layers. Like onions lol. So when the intervention call happens with everyone on Zoom it was really good.

Onto the romance. Holy crap this relationship jumped off real quick! There's already jealousy and miscommunication at episode 2 lol! I wasn't expecting that but I guess I should've with an online started relationship. Other than the shocking speed, the romance was actually incredibly sweet and heartfelt. Though we get Cai being super hesitant and Gav is very persistent, it never felt out of place. The "baby"s were a lot after awhile lol but still very sweet! For a show with zero physical intimacy all throughout until literally the end, it was still believable! And it looks like the movie coming out (super excited for that) will delve into that physical stuff which is great and needed to continue the believability! The actors have chemistry but you can only do so much behind a screen in real life too until skinship is needed. How heartwarming it was though and kinda weird to see the actors in an actual room together with no masks on. Sure them meeting at the crosswalk was extremely sweet, but without the masks was special.

Other random stuff before I wrap up. This series had me DYING at times holy crap it was hilarious! The pillows...like come on and with the condom picture! Bro I can't! I will say one thing that semi-bothered me about this was Cai's computer funnily enough. Y'know for a "gamer" his desktop would have wayyyyyy more sh** on it lmao! Totally not believable how clean it was. Other than that, just little things here and there with the acting that could've been tweaked. As well as wanting more from the soundtrack overall. This series is fantastic and a breath of fresh air in the BL world! I cannot wait for the movie (which looks lit and shot really well) and the second season! It's in person now and I am stoked!

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True Piece of Art Because of Covid

This story both being about the pandemic as well as having the restrictions of the pandemic on the production, creates this special storytelling experience that never would have existed otherwise. The use of social media and perspective in video calls truly grounds the story in reality. It almost felt like you were part of the story, watching it unfold between your friends.

I could imagine the same story produced post restrictions where they could freely film multiple people with larger crews, so no one would choose to create this kind of limited production from first person cameras and phone screen closeups. It's because there were no other options that something this innovative was created.

Gameboys is an artwork born from the limitations of the time.

Floods of memories from quarantine and lockdown and pandemic restrictions came back watching this. I think I'm glad to watch it now where it's more in the past than when this was released.

The story is raw and real and definitely worth the watch.

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Gorgeous

I never thought I needed a series of this model until a series of this model was made. Philippines started with the right foot in the world of BL dramas. In addition to the series having an importance of representativeness, we have information and all the care that is given in the drama about the situation of the pandemic and surgical information. Gav is the ideal boyfriend that society needs, romantic, attentive, friend and companion, he knows how to hear and speak the right words at all times and Cai has his cute and also insecure way, but has the security of letting go with Gav to the extent who are getting to know each other.

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Simply Amazing

Ideafirst Company has a gem amidst this pandemic. A job well done to the actors, director and the production crew. Amazing story and incredible acting. Can't wait for more episodes to come. The chemistry of the two actors is beyond real it's almost magical. The acting is way too convincing and you just get invested and attached to their characters. This show is a must watch if you're a BL fan. I cannot believe that they were able to tell an amazing story during a pandemic and I cannot believe that they were only using their mobile phones and they were filming all these at their houses. The fact that the way they tell their story is all through social media is a testament to how good the actors are at their craft. 10/10

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Beautifully written/ acted/ produced

This is so freaking good! No boring episodes. Superb acting. Had to create an account just so I can make a review. This deserves to be praised more. Elijah and Kokoy are very effective, along with other actors. Very very excellent. I started it just out of curiosity, but it ended up to be a wonderful experience. Nothing to say bad about this. This series is just a masterpiece. I am so excited every friday. This quarantine has drain the heck out of me but every friday is like a reboot button. I watch it. I rewatch it. Find reaction videos to watch then watch it again. I am so addicted.

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Read

I just want to commend this for being such a fantastic series. I admit that I wasn't really fond of BL before, and my being a fan of BL just started this quarantine period. The first BL series that I've watched was 2gether. After that, I completely binge the other BL series that the online community suggested or recommended to watch.

So, back to the series. I just want to say that this series really captured my heart. From the storyline, actor, the production, I just so love it. Aside from this, the series also remains relevant to what is happening right now and is family oriented. Surely, you'll learn a lot in this series as this series is full of substance. No wonder why many Filipinos—even other nationalities love this series so much.

All in all, I just really want to show my full support in this series. This deserves recognition. Also, I'm so happy because a lot of BL series are airing right now. This is maybe the start of BL domination in the country. And I hope to seeing more substantial and top tier BL series just like Gameboys.

P.S. I just want to commend also the production team. The director and etc. Job well done guys! Solid 'to!

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Great Show, Enterntaining, Timely, Relevant, Roller Coster of Emotions

I believe this is the most relevant and timely show I have ever watched during this pandemic, and I can't believe I am saying that to a BL series. The quality of the show: direction, screenplay, story and of course, the acting, is really high quality.

The show started with a very simple plot with two individuals meeting through online gaming. Episode 1, introduced us to very interesting characters with Gavreel and Cairo, the former has a very strong character and knows what he wants, while the other one is very guarded and all he wants is a rematch. The narrative is very interesting and the chemistry between the two is very strong.

Episode 2 gave us a little backstory of the two characters and saw how their relationship develops. it really gave us the feels of young love.

Episode 3 was very sweet, it gave us an idea on how serious Gavreel is in pursuing Cairo. We were also introduced to a very interesting character of Pearl. I like that their relationship is heading to more than just flirting and that Gavreel really becomes someone Cairo can lean on.

Episode 4 gave us the dynamic of the trio, and showed how Pearl easily matches the chemistry of the two leads. Fluffy and enterntaining, it really conditioned us to another unexpected cliffhanger.

Episode 5 is really heartbreaking. The way the story progress is very realistic and relatable, wherein trust issues are really a concern on virtual relationships. The acting of Kokoy (Gavreel) is really awesome at the last scene, and Elijah (Cairo) has proven to be a good partner in Kokoy's moment.

Episode 6 is very entertaining and I love how they showed that Gavreel and Cairo really value each other, and how great a friend Pearl is. The scene with the four characters was really amazing and the chemistry again even including Terrence is very strong.

Episode 7 started with the continuation of the intense cliffhanger from Ep. 6 but it quickly followed by sweet moments that will warm your heart. But the sudden build up of the last few scenes gave us a very heartbreaking moment. Elijah was a phenomenal in the last scene and I like that this time Kokoy was really a great support.

Episode 8 is also very sad but relieving at the same time. I appreciate that the relationship of Cairo and Gavreel were a little bit out into the side to give Cairo space to resolve his personal issues and grief. But it also showed how a relationship which started off as just flirting online transformed into very serious one by being with each other during the darkest moment of one's life. Tackling with acceptance by the family is also a very powerful message.

Episode 9 was a good filler episode in preparation to the supposed finale episode. They gave us a cute dynamic on the new relationship of Cairo and Gavreel, with Cairo not still getting use to it and Gavreel being a little more aggressive about it but in the cutest way. The new plot twist is also very interesting since there was supposed to be only one episode left.

Episode 10 is really good. I appreciate that the story stivk to the quarantine and showed that they can still give us all the romantic feels even though there is social distancing. It is really relevant in a way that IRL we really are forced to be creative to be connected to each other. the acting skills of the two actors even when they are wearing a mask are so great. You could feel the emotions and the strength of their chemistry.

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The best thing that happened this pandemic

Everything about this is excellent. The actors are award winning. The production from producer to the one that made the final edits are great. The music is heart-warming. The story is relevant and realistic. The flow is just right and cliffhangers are on point. The community on YT, the reactors, the twitter army, the third wheels and other forms of support shows how great this show is. I won't compare to any other series I watched (that's a lot). This one is relatable for me and also I'm falling in love as they develop the characters in this universe.

Kudos to all.

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It's good, but...

This was something special at first - Gavreel actually acted like a hot young gay man, instead of a like a 12-year old virgin like all the characters in Thai BL dramas (not complaining, I love Thai BLs). I was really excited after the first episode. Unfortuantely, it didn't live up to that promise.

On the one hand, it's interesting to see COVID brought into the drama, but I didn't care for the manipulative way it was used - it's a bit distasteful. COVID is overwhelmingly caused by lots of people being in a closed space with poor air circulation, and then bringning it home to your household, not going outside to look for someone.

The issue for me with this show is that it's all fluff and fanservice, or as much as it can be when the two leads have no physical interaction - although they finally meet almost at the end of the series, but I couldn't get past wondering why the authorities let Gav put that [you know what I'm talking about] there or how the wind didn't blow it to China.

None of the drama is organic to the two main characters - it's all manufactured external factors - ex-girlfriend, ex-boyfriend, COVID, car breaking down, fujoshi inexplicably not pointing out communication failures to her friends, fujoshi deliberately causing communication failures between her friends (more than once), and failures of communication that are so contrived and unbelievable that I lose sympathy for the characters. There is no organic progress in the relationship - Gavreel acts cute and pouty, which loses its appeal eventually and Cairo acts irritated and disgusted with it. Suddenly out of nowhere he says he's Gavreel's "baby", which is so out of character and unmotivated that it feels like the producers realized they were running out of time and had to "level up". I think it was perhaps a mistake was to extend the series too much past the planned run, because it made the show repetitive and character development oddly halting and slow. If it had been 8 episodes, I suspect it would have been much stronger and a lot of the repetitiveness avoided.

The show isn't bad, but I honestly don't see why everyone loves it so much - I guess if you need a happy diversion and want tons of cuteness, this will be for you - but to me something isn't cute when it's too self-consciously cute like Gav's pouty mugging and calling Cairo bayBEEE every 10 seconds. When I compare it to the far-more complex and multi-layered Hello Stranger, I can't believe almost everyone prefers this series - but then HS is a bit heavy and I'm not sure it's really a BL. The COVID-mandated social media structure of Gameboys is interesting, timely, and well-executed, but there are lots of series doing this, albeit not quite as well.

The acting is fine. I thought Cairo was awful at first, but when called upon to act, he can seriously act, so I guess the problem is the writing. Gav is sexy, but not entirely convincing. The fujoshi is irrelevant to the plot and just takes up time.

I did appreciate the social consciousness of the show - and I suspect this is an important element in the high ratings this series is getting. I also appreciated avoidance of the disturbing obsession in most of BL with Top and Bottom and forcing them into heteronormative gender roles.

I Initially gave up on this, but everyone pressured me into continuing - and if anything I like it less than before, although I upped a couple of the scores I gave, like for the acting. Ep 10 felt like a conclusion, so that's where I'm stopping. Eventually I will come back to this show and watch it all the way through - maybe my reaction to it will be different.

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OMG I am really loving this drama and I am only 3 episodes !!!!
the concept for this one is freaking awesome - online gaming - online chat - pandemic - and 2 people finding each other. it is cute, funny , some sad parts, people you love and people you like not much. it is all about Cairo and Gav - both really cute and sweet, playing and online game Cairo ( live stream ) - and Angel2000 -winning against him and then Angel2000 connects to Cairo and they start talking and Gav is very upfront with his feelings - Cairo however is kind of not ... ep 1 is sweet and the meeting - ep. 2 has the BEST phrase --yes choke me daddy !!! Pearl ( Gav's Ex girlfriend ) looks like she is trouble -- but you find out she is on their side and OMG when Cairo finds out Gav is on his way to meet him ... It is soooo cute and funny - I so cannot wait for EP 4
Also they use Philippino language and English intermixed and it is so awesome . I was a HUGE fan after Ep. one !!! this is a MUST see !!!! You will not be disappointed

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