HIStory5: Love in the Future

history series are starting to lose their spark?

i mean this serie is not too much bad, its a watchable serie, not boring, but... the plot is really meh, i dont feel attached to the characters, and i have to say i liked the second couple more than the main one
dont get me wrong , my favorite character is Hai Yi and my second favorite is Vincent.. now while i love Hai Yi but his partner's attitude Johnny is kinda frustrating, stop treating your man badly? while there is times where i understand where he is coming from but other times he is just frustrating, i get it he was mad that his partner was hiding his identity, but there is time and place for everything? the timing? his partner lost his dad, the first thing you should say when you see him is "im sorry for your loss" ,not just starting a fight there and not caring that he lost his dad, where is his sympathy for his lover who is suffering at that time?
there is other moments when Hai Yi went to bar with him to celebrate but Johnny is complaining about how expensive the wine is but later on he leave him alone in the bar and he go to his bestie to whine and say that he love him, then why you left his ass alone in the bar when its supposed to be a special and romantic moment? because the wine is expensive, really?? its just a onetime thing, like chill maybe?

the nc scenes of the second couple looked fine to me, but even the nc scenes of the main couples felt a bit off, i dk Johnny sometimes make those expressions like he is in pain ,or like he is forced to kiss , maybe its only me who felt that way in few scenes, but i think even the chemistry of the second couples felt better than the main one, it just felt that Hai Yi and Johnny dont look compatible together maybe
then there is those silly moments where Johnny keep pushing him into blind dates but in the same time getting jealous and spying on him, the plot is really full of clichey scenes....
later on they showed the second couple of history 4 Xing Si/Yong Jie, i guess it has been a year since i watched them so i calmed down lol they look cute when i pretend i dk their past storyline, but Yong Jie had to remind me when he introduced him as "he is my lover and my brother" not that line again? lol can he stop? i get it they are not real brothers but his choice of words tho >_< anyway,their chemistry is better than both couples of this serie? :o i do really like how in the history series they do show past couples and all, i find it cute and entertaining
but i really hope they work on their storylines tho, h3 was good, but i think both h4 and h5 are really lacking, this season even more than h4, because at least in h4 we got amazing chemistry btw both couples, while h5 idk i can only say i liked the second couple

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Why is this rated so low?

I swear, the day I figure out how to decipher what viewers want and where they get their ratings from will never come. Was this a 10 out of 10? No. But it was certainly better than a lot of the shows I've watched that are rated 8 or higher. You'd think I'd know by now not to let myself be influenced by reviews but I am just as guilty today as I was a year (and 70 series) ago.

So far, I have seen a handful of the HIStory series though admittedly not all of them. This one reminded me a lot of the last one, HIStory 4, at least with the main couple. They have a similar storyline where one guy enlists the help of the other to seemingly get with a girl but that is just what it looks like on the surface. In this series, there is so much more going on but unfortunately, the viewer doesn't realize it until the last 2 or 3 episodes. This, in my opinion, is both a good and bad storyline choice which I will try to explain without too many spoilers.

On the one hand, without knowing the full depth of the situation, the story seems shallow for a good portion of the series and, especially for people watching week to week, it can seem boring. Binge watching this is the best way to go to keep engaged and, I promise, it will make sense later on. I guess in that respect, it's a good way to ensure that the show gets a re-watch from the same viewers because now knowing what happens in the end, I want to watch from the beginning while keeping it in mind and seeing everyone's actions under a different lens.

I don't want to pick at other people's reviews, but part of me feels like I need to defend this series because it really was a lot better than many people are painting to be. One complaint I noticed quite often was saying Johnny came off as childish. I didn't see him as such, at least not childish in a negative sense but more in the way that he is an innocent, carefree and overall positive person. But he also has moments of showing an opportunistic and cunning side. Not only is he completely out of his element (and time) but he is used to being a loner save for his grandmother. So of course he's going to be awkward and hesitant when interacting with others, especially when it's more intimate and serious.

Another complaint which I can kind of agree with is the whole "is the time travel element really necessary?" At times, I'd say it added to the show as time travel gives both the "fish out of water" vibe as well as the uncertainty of how long Johnny will be in 2022. He doesn't know what brought him there so at any point, he could vanish just as easily. Not only does it add tension but it creates the underlying idea of cherishing every moment and appreciating the small things. Nothing should be taken for granted, no matter how small, especially time. But the story had so much other stuff going on that I feel like it could have been left out. The whole thing with the department store and espionage was interesting enough that I don't feel like they needed to add time travel to the mix.

To go along with those lines, the time travel part is never really explained either. Why did he time travel in the first place? What was Fude actually trying to do that had him accidentally bring Johnny to 2022? Was he just trying to save him from flat out dying in an accident? Fude in general is never really explained or makes much sense however I do have to say the many faces of Fude are absolutely hilarious.

I do feel like I enjoyed the secondary couple's storyline more than I did the secondary couple in HIStory 4. Both couples in this series worked well and I liked how they were intertwined. While one of the main "plot twists" was pretty predictable, I was pleasantly surprised that a more minor plot twist completely took me by surprise and I have to give credit where credit is due. (Looking at you, Sam.)

Overall, I really think this was a good series. It's a shame that anything under the HIStory umbrella is destined to be compared to each other. Because as its own story, this was great. I would definitely watch it again and I'd probably come back to edit this afterwards with some additional thoughts.

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This drama is an absolute must!

This drama is an absolute must. But, you have to see it right.

This is a BL drama, not an expensive Korean production. We are very spoiled now and that's a good thing.
We expect clichés in BL dramas. But they are not the old ones anymore (gay man walks around like a woman and works either as a hairdresser, in a fashion boutique or in a TravestyShow. I, being gay myself, can live well with the new stereotypes.

So if you know that the budgets of BL dramas are so low, then you shouldn't compare them to a cinema blockbuster either.
Unfortunately, some do. That's their right. But I try to understand the whole.

It is a production from Taiwan. A different language, a different culture. The story is really good. And it was also well executed. I did wish for a different ending, but that doesn't change my belief that this drama is fantastic. It's touching. It has a deeper meaning and it fulfills all the important stages of a BL series.

Since I don't do spoilers in my reviews, I won't go into the individual characters. I may change that one day.
Watch this series and feel the fever with the characters. Have fun!

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It's a good series...go for it!

I literally just finished watching it a minute ago.

Honestly...I...LIKE...IT! I do not know why there were so many negatives comments on HIStory 5. The story is not perfect but it is good. Tell me, which movie, drama or film has a perfect storyline? I thought Obsessed was the worst in the HIStory series.

HIStory 5 made me laugh and cried which speaks volume of the drama. Yes, it was slow moving at times but the flow was smooth and the momentum was right. I kind of preferred the second couple, Vincent and Wynn than Hai Yi and Johnny. Vincent and Wynn seemed to be more natural and comfortable with each other. There are numerous adorable scenes which will melt your heart, especially Vincent's expressions in Episode 2 (in the car), Episode 3 (in the office) and Episode 9 (in the shower). I will definitely rewatch this, mostly for Vincent and Wynn. Let me give you a tip...you wouldn't want to miss Episode 19...wink!

I thought having Xing Si and Yong Jie at the end was a nice touch. I like the way it included Xing Si and Yong Jie sharing the challenges faced by them, how it made their relationship stronger, encouraging and supporting Vincent and Wynn to work out the misunderstanding between them. I was more into them in HIStory 4 than the main couple. I really really don't understand why some viewers kept insinuating it was incest between them. They became step-brothers through their parents' marriage to each other. They do not share the same father or mother. Xing Si's father married Yong Jie's mother! It is NOT incest...period!

For those of you who have hesitated to watch HIStory 5 because of all the negatives and discouraging comments, don't be swayed by them. Remember...one man's meat is another man's poison. Watch and judge it for yourself. I am glad I did!

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Nice effort, but disappointing

I honestly don’t know where to start. There were so many possibilities and they just fell flat or were completely ignored. Maybe I should talk pros and cons? Pros: Ummmm … the actors were good looking. The second couple had awesome chemistry. The music wasn’t bad. Cons: Storylines that were opened and not developed and conflicts that were ignored rather than dealt with. Overall disappointing and would not watch again.

In more detail (warning, spoilers ahead): The first couple (Johnny and Hai Yi). They did not have much chemistry and the acting was off. As far as the plot with this couple — it had a lot of potential but failed to go anywhere. Johnny came from the past and fast forwarded to the future to meet Hai Yi. Exciting possibilities here that were completely undeveloped. The only thing it was used for later was a plot device that might keep the couple apart. Because obviously Johnny wants to go back to his time to take care of his grandma. But she died and Hai Yi knew it and kept this from Johnny for no reason until Johnny attempted to go back to the past and Hai Yi told him. Why conceal this fact except to have a reason for Hai Yi to stop Johnny? Why not tell him as soon as you found out so your boyfriend could properly mourn her? Anyway, there’s no point to the time travel part of the story and it doesn’t appear to affect any other part of the story. So it’s pointless.

For the second couple we at least have some solid chemistry but I had a problem with a couple of major things. First, Vincent and Wynn are just starting their relationship when Vincent appears to be doing something morally ambiguous at best and downright sneaky and wrong at worst. Wynn calls him out on this behavior and plainly says they can’t be together if Vincent is the bad guy. Makes sense. Vincent is not actually the bad guy and is just pretending in order to help Hai Yi. Now, that isn’t bad by itself but the way they handled and then ignored these issues is weird and angsty for no reason. When Wynn questioned his lover about his behavior, rather than taking him into his confidence, Vincent ignored his concerns. When he saw his boyfriend was conflicted, rather than trying to show he wasn’t morally bankrupt, Vincent asked his new assistant to pretend they were now dating in order to make Wynn hate him. And while all of this was going on, other sources are telling Wynn that he needs to trust his lover. Why? Did they have a long standing relationship based on trust and mutual understanding? No, in fact their relationship was very new. So they in no way had enough relationship development to justify Wynn trusting Vincent implicitly. Nor did Vincent give him any reason to do so, he actually did the opposite by giving Wynn multiple reasons not to trust him. I can only assume that this was supposed to make it seem like these two really suffered in order to be together and to give them a conflict. But it felt manufactured and when Wynn finds out the truth, he doesn’t get angry and tell Vincent that he should have just told him the truth. Instead he begs forgiveness for not believing in him and they immediately jump into bed together. So there was a conflict but rather than deal with it appropriately they decided to just ignore the real issue and have a sexy scene and oh “I love you” how cute. Sorry, that annoys me. Why ignore the conflict you created?

Lastly, there is a real disparity in both relationships and it is discussed, and again, ignored. Wynn and Johnny are friends and while Wynn is bemoaning the fact that his boyfriend purposefully mislead him, he notes that it sucks to be dating your boss because they are the boss at work and the boss in the relationship. Rather than dealing with this in a reasonable mature way (like having a conversation with your lover and telling him that he cannot be the boss in the relationship that it has to be a full partnership), Wynn is advised by Johnny to just live with it because there is nothing they can do. Well for one, that mature conversation could take place where rules are set or, if that doesn’t work, you could break up because you don’t need to have a boss at home … anyway — just saying, brought up a conflict and ignored it. Twice. No further discussion needed apparently.

I would also like to discuss the obvious grooming going on the second relationship. Vincent is older than Wynn by I’m guessing at least 10 years based on the information in the story. Vincent is the boss, knows Wynn in a slightly stalker way, and then hires him as his assistant. Then he begins grooming his victim. Vincent (the boss) brings Wynn into his office and gives him lunch, eats with him, makes special time for him, treats him well, etc. So basically the guy in a position of authority going out of his way to approach his subordinate and in no time at all, he and the subordinate are dating. Not saying it was purposeful grooming, but since the characters themselves bring up the fact that Vincent is the boss at work and still the boss in their relationship, I think the comparison to grooming is valid.

While I can’t say the story was completely pointless, There was nothing about this series that stood out and nothing about the relationships that made the characters or romance feel special or worthy of a series devoted to them. I was disappointed overall. Would not watch again.

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Skip this History Series

I really didn't like this season of History. The second couple were really all that held it together for me, but compared to previous seasons, neither of the couples had as much chemistry. I also didn't enjoy the plot. It was so convoluted and ended up not making sense. A lot of the conflicts between the main couple were really petty and stupid, and I found myself skipping through their scenes. The pacing was another issue. It felt like the main couple's storyline went way too slow and then the resolution was crammed into the last two episodes. Overall, this was a miss for me.

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I enjoyed History 5 a lot!

I have to say I was happily surprised at History 5 it was a great joy to watch. The actors are good and they all have good chemistry. The good parts are that I liked the storyline, it was a good story showing both couples had a long time history together without knowing it. I like how they brought the couples together with a surprising twist. I do wish they had touched on more of the storyline with the time travel as to the reason why Dai was the one time traveling and explain that part more. I did not understand it. I wish the father had more screen time too so it would help with the son and father's storyline before killing him off so fast. I really wished and hoped there was a lot more spice skin time with the intimacy scenes, sadly there was barely any. The intimate bedroom scene was all very short-lived. I am very happy that it had a happy ending. It was great to see grandma and dad at the end as well living in peace. The whole cast did a great job and it was nice to see the relationship and friends between each of the groups and show the history they all had. I have to say my favorite two are Wen and Hai Yi. I do wish that Dai was not so childish, and he lacked showing passion when it came to kissing which made it look weird, he did not look like he was really caring to be intimate or even kiss.

The only part I really wish did not happen was the end with the guest stars of Fu Yong and Ye Xing, as I never liked their story from History 4, their story was a horrible one and they do not have any chemistry it was a toxic relationship. I feel like if anyone was going to marry it should be the two main couples as both couples have a very long childhood history together that would have been the better ending double wedding. I was also sad that both Wen and Lin left the company when the four of them would have been great to lead the company into the future. I hope Hostory 6 brings out more passion and spicy scenes in the future with the characters.

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No Future Here

This was the third installment of the HIStory series that I've watched (I've also watched Trapped and Close to You) and I have to say that this one did not do it for me. I would sincerely love to know how the script ever passed muster with everything that was left unanswered. It truly boggles my mind. It was filled with plot holes, uninspiring characters, general absurdity, a confusing plot, overused cliches and in the end, it failed to draw me in or really make me care about any of the main characters. This isn't one that I can even say had a promising premise that just went awry. So much about it was lackluster and devoid of inspiration and originality which is a pity.

The plot is unnecessarily complicated to say the least. Ho Bo Wei lives in the year 2000, but somehow on New Years Eve, he rides his bike a different route and suddenly ends up in the year 2023 as Tai Che Ni. It's a weird and confusing premise that is never fully explained. I have to admit that I tapped out for a good bit after that first episode before forcing myself to continue so I may be forgetting things, but I don't recall an explanation ever being given for why he was brought into the future, nor is the soul swap ever in any way explained. So exactly what happened to Ho Bo Wei's body and the original Tai Che Ni is left completely up in the air. He ends up meeting Hai Yi and they eventually fall in love. On the side, you have Lin Huai En who starts a new job at the company that sponsored the orphanage where he was raised and runs into Liang Wen Hsen, the Managing Director. Sparks fly between the two and they fall in love as well at lightspeed. That is the bare bones of the story. It is far more complicated than that, but frankly I don't even know where to start because it's absolutely ridiculous how convoluted they decided to make everything.

Everything has to have a reason and connection. No, Hai Yi is not the lazy bones son of the department store owner, it was all part of a master plan to unveil the misdeeds of his father's former second in command. He and Wen Hsen were never actually at odds, they were always working together, in fact, Wen Hsen in the mysterious Sam that Hai Yi kept contacting throughout the series. And Wen Hsen didn't just happen to fall in love with Huai En, he's been keeping an eye on him since he was at the orphanage which definitely added a creepy undertone to their story once that was revealed. Ho Bo Wei rescued Hai Yi when he got separated from his father as a child and gave him his lucky bracelet. Of course, since then, Hai Yi repeatedly wished on the bracelet to be reunited with the big brother who helped him out and then voila, it happens. So much of it just doesn't flow or make sense, especially the whole master plan with Wen Hsen pretending to be corrupt and vying for the chairman position. That was a giant misfire.

And then there were the cliches and general ridiculousness. Of course we have to have the villainous ex-girlfriend cliché. She actually gets multiple uses as she tries to sink her claws into Wen Hsen as well and fails. That was kind of a great scene when he calls Huai En to join them and basically show that he's already taken. Sorry, sweetie. You also have the Hai Yi's father's second in command who practically screams villain. He just needed a villain laugh to complete the image. Adding to the cliches is Wen Hsen's whole sacrificial thing with pretending to be close to Tony because it would be easier if Huai En hated him. Insert eye roll. Tony and the other office workers lock Huai En in cold storage, essentially attempting murder, and absolutely nothing happens to any of them. Wen Hsen yells at Tony a bit, warns him not to bully anyone again and that's that. You can try to kill someone and there will be no consequences in this company apparently. Also the fact that Huae En is left in there for so long that he falls unconscious, but Wen Hsen evidently doesn't take him to the hospital. He's so concerned, but not enough to make sure he received medical attention. Apparently his love is enough to save him.

The characters, oh my goodness, well, they're not boring, I guess. I'm not sure if that's a good thing though?
-Tai Che Ni was such a study in opposites. On the one hand, he could be responsible and mature. On the other hand, he could be so over the top/obnoxious there were times I wanted to suffocate him with a pillow. He's kind of cute but that only gives you so much leeway and as the series progressed, he became less endearing and more annoying. I also struggled with him because of his naivety and the level of self-sabotage with him was so high. He had moments where his instincts were good, but he listened to that twit Se Mo instead and it just made things worse. And then Huai En who actually had a level head on his shoulders would give him advice and he would question him. As for the self-sabotage, I get so sick of characters in BLs just not communicating and this was no exception. Instead of talking to Hai Yi about what was going on, he decided his best options were to create distance between them and then just leave with no warning. I am fairly certain that Hai Yi would get that he was concerned about his grandmother, but his methods were stupid and just caused unnecessary conflict. And I have trouble forgiving him for the fact that not once did he offer any kind of comfort to Hai Yi regarding his father's death. He was so self-absorbed with his antics that he completely failed to be there for him when he needed him most.
-Hai Yi was significantly less obnoxious than Che Ni, but he was also a bit boring. Nice to look at, but not much there. He's basically a big kid in some ways. His father was never there for him, always focused on the company he was building, so he suffers from abandonment issues, something that comes up in his relationship with Che Ni as he's terrified of him leaving and being alone again. I did feel for him though because I felt like he was truly trying in his relationship with Che Ni and I could understand his frustration with Che Ni trying to put distance between them. Hai Yi actually tried to communicate and figure out what was wrong. I liked that he wasn't playing games like waiting till the 20th ring or some other stupid crap. He may not have been the most interesting character, but he was relatively straightforward and I appreciated that.
-Wen Hsen took a bit of a hit for me once they revealed exactly how long he'd been aware of Huai En. The fact that he'd been watching him and sponsoring him for so long, that he'd kind of paved the path for him to be hired and everything, it started to read as a bit creepy to me. I don't think he had any bad intentions, he doesn't use the fact that he has helped Huai En out in any way to curry favor with him, but there's almost an element of grooming there. I think I'm reaching, but their relationship just made me slightly uncomfortable which was disappointing because I found it kind of sweet initially. Some drama was added to him when he was thrown into the race for chairman. Though how anyone could seriously believe he was actually evil, I don't know. His character did become a bit more interesting when it was revealed that he was the Sam that Hai Yi had been communicating with and asking to look into people.
-Huai En is a bit of a bland character. He's sweet, he's one of the smarter characters, if only Che Ni would have listened to him sometimes, but he's just not that interesting. We do get to see some character growth with him, in the office at least. He learns to stand up for himself and not let his coworkers walk all over him. I do like his friendship with Che Ni, their characters actually seem to work together well. His relationship with Wen Hsen develops far too fast to seem remotely natural and I've already mentioned my reservations regarding it, but there is also a certain sweetness to it.
-Se Mo was just annoying. I didn't like her character and I didn't feel that she added anything beneficial. She tried to come across as some kind of love guru but she caused far more problems than she solved. She had a few moments where she was genuinely sweet and helpful but for the most part, I just found her frustrating.
-Fu De was interesting in his many roles. I still don't fully understand what the point of him was, but I did like his character for the most part. If nothing else, he did provide some comic relief.

The acting was a bit stale. Sean Chang plays as a straight guy trying really hard to be gay and it just does not work. There is no chemistry between him and Linus Wang and I lay most of the blame on him. I just could not take him seriously. For this being Linus Wang's first role, I thought he did a serviceable job. He seemed like he was really trying and while he definitely needs some polishing, I think he has potential and I hope to see him again in the future. Anson Chen and Jason Tauh are both good looking men, but I was not feeling the chemistry between them either. They had a few scenes where it felt like maybe there were some sparks, but it just never really took off. They also didn't really seem to connect with their characters. Jason was almost boring as Huai En at times and Anson was very one note with the same expression used repeatedly.

I was not thrilled that the stepbrothers from HIStory 4 were brought back. I generally liked HIStory 4 aside from them but I hated their storyline. The rape and the fact that they were stepbrothers really didn't work for me, and to have them be the ones they brought back instead of Li Cheng and Mu Ren did not sit well with me. It was just very disappointing and kind of killed the ending for me, personally.

This latest release in the HIStory series is the weakest of the ones I've seen. It lacks in so many ways and has so few redeeming qualities that I really don't think it's worth the time or effort to watch it. You're not going to miss anything skipping this one.

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I was so stressed out

Okay, so going into this I was a bit skeptical because I am NOT a fan of time-travel plots. I still watched it though because it's a HIStory and I am bound by law to watch every HIStory movie at least 10 times. I will say that there was a lot of potential here, but things got so weird so fast. It seems like they tried to cover everything up in the end QUICKLY.

The main couple is... alright... I guess. They have some scenes that are really cute, but for the most part their chemistry is lackluster and I can't pinpoint why they are even together. Their arguments are also kind of weird and one of them always ends up running off crying, which is SO ANNOYING. The second couple is so adorable—the only highlight—but the misunderstandings made me start to hate their relationship around the midway point. CAN'T PEOPLE JUST COMMUNICATE? IT'S NOT THAT DIFFICULT TO TALK! THINGS! THROUGH! Ugh, there is just so much happening midway through this drama that I felt very very stressed and couldn't wait for it to be over. At one point, it felt like some of the subplots were so useless/carelessly thrown in, I just start skipping through scenes.

There's a cameo from a previous HIStory drama in here; that definitely made me smile. But, at the same time, the whole drama has wayyy too much going on. The supernatural element is also kind of dumb (funny at times, but still dumb).

I know this review is a rant, but I'll probably end up eating my words when I rewatch this in a year or so (only for the second couple though lowkey).

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Struggled to finish it

This is a classic example of what happens when a story has good elements and potential, but ends up being ruined by awful plot devices and bad pacing.
The beginning was actually pretty interesting. I was really enjoying the series for the first 4 or 5 episodes: stories with a time-traveling trope usually have the main character going back to the past rather than to the future, and I thought it would be interesting to see how would the writer develop a plot like that. I also really liked the dynamics of both couples: the main one is very energetic and funny, the secondary one is more calm and sweet overall. The actors are good enough, although they are not mind-blowing in their performances, and very cute in their respective couples.
...and then the plot just went in unexpected directions. I don't mean it in a good way: I felt like the plot just decided to change topics and overall atmosphere all of a sudden. Huge problems seemed to appear out of nowhere and for no good reason. Last but not least, this drama seems to be affected by some of the worst miscommunication issues I've ever seen in any romantic series or film. There are multiple instances where the characters could just talk to each other sincerely, explain themselves and their thoughts or feelings, but they just don't (they will literally stay quiet or even leave the room in front of a question). Some of the episodes are just full of unasked questions and lack of explanations, which made the series feel frustrating, long and tiring to watch.
The last episode was the most annoying one, because it's the one that should connect dots and give proper closure to everything, but it only made me feel like it could all be done a lot sooner and spare me a couple headaches.
It might sound weird, but the actual highlight of this series was the appearance of the couple from HIStory 4 (the step-brothers), which I guess says a lot.

In conclusion, while I can still say that I've seen a lot worse in the past, I can't say that this was good enough. In some ways it was even worse than HIStory 4 (didn't think it could be possible), although at least it didn't include some of the worse tropes available. It can still be a cute watch if you're exclusively interested in cute guys kissing, but if you're looking for a proper plot then this is not for you.

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