Summer Indigo

could have been a 9 or higher

Overall: once again needed to focus on the leads and their relationship development and this time give a trash character some consequences. 60 episodes 1-2 minutes each, episodes 1-10 are free on the Shortime app and you can watch on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzMzx8JLRJA Aired on Shortime app which also has: Double Play, Please Teach Me, Falling For My Boss, Summer Indigo, The Secrets of Male Students, Accent, Influencer Love and Buddy Boy. App information is below. My invite link is https://playground.shortime.app/en/invite/NKNIWI - the code is NKNIWI (those are all capital letters, that's the capital letter i)

Content Warnings: physical abuse, bullying, near self harm, blackmail/coercion, punch, manhandling, non con recording/sharing, unwanted public outing, slap, cyberbullying

What I Liked
- dream kiss in episode 1
- sweet moments
- martial arts backdrop
- the bully did apologize

Room For Improvement
- there is a truly awful character who seems to have zero consequences, he should have gone to jail
- really stupid plans, is the team a gang, why can't people just quit?
- two noble idiot/refuse to communicate tropes
- a camera angle blocked kiss

My Watch For Free Plan (updated Feb 2025)
1 friend referral code = 20 (1 time bonus) My invite link is https://playground.shortime.app/en/invite/NKNIWI - the code is NKNIWI (those are all capital letters, that's the capital letter i)

On the Rewards (popcorn bag icon page)
- check in = 5 (increases over 7 days up to 25)
- turn on notifications = 30 (1 time bonus)
- create a login = 20? (I did create a login because otherwise you only get 1 Always Win box instead of 3 per day, I think this was 20 popcorn)
- do the 3 random popcorn from the daily Always Win box = 30 (I'd normally get 5-15, around 30 in total)
- Watch Ads, watch all 10 ads each day, have to wait 30 seconds in between ads = 110

When you run out of popcorn while watching, you can watch 5 episodes each day with ads

Note that there are other 1 time bonuses like following on social media

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Spoiler-heavy safety review from PTSD perspective

I’m reviewing this as a survivor, as a queer, and as someone who loves fluffy escapism. My first point is for survivors of violence: this drama contains triggers for bullying, domestic violence (paternal), and homophobia. It’s not suitable as a source of safe, fluffy escapism.

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The romantic leads are prone to the “bad communication”, “carrying the weight of the world”, and “noble idiot” tropes. Otherwise both are green flag characters. They, outside of the tropes mentioned, treat one another well, being affectionate, forgiving, and respectful. The chemistry is nice, and both actors are skilled. It’s beside the point, but both are absolutely gorgeous too. They get a happy ending.

The two other principal characters are the villains. They are the source of the triggers. One is the coach’s son, who is homophobic and a bully. He bullies one lead, and blackmails the other. His conduct probably stems of the violent abuse, corruption, and bullying of his father. The son partially redeems himself by confessing his own part, but the father just gets exposed before the press, so any justice for him is implied, rather than explicit. I found it satisfying that it was his son who outed his vileness though. This leads me to hope that the son alienates his father.

As someone in treatment for lifelong PTSD it took me a long time to work my way through this series, and I do not recommend it for those with unresolved or relevant trauma.

Otherwise, this is the highest quality vertical short series I’ve seen. For those without trauma sensitivity I recommend it.

Offences depicted:

Assault with a weapon.
Blackmail.
Intimidation.
Hate speech.
Shoving.
Deceit.

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This was an okay time filler. 60 episodes ranging from 1-2 minutes each. The vertical format sucks. Even if they wanted to do it as shorts, it would be a much better viewing experience in landscape. The shorts thing is just a cash grab though, because they want you to pay to unlock individual episodes or buy a monthly subscription. Also the Shortime app regularly freezes up or the quality degrades, so that doesn’t help the viewing experience.

This was really, really cheesy. The story, the script, and the acting all included. The bully character especially was so obnoxiously stereotypically evil, and the acting was really over the top exaggerated. He of course had a “he’s not that evil, he’s just abused” redemption arc.

The romance was okay. The run time is short, so it wasn’t well developed. They were probably only together for a few weeks, plus there’s a one month time skip epilogue at the end. It didn’t feel like they were in a committed long-lasting relationship by the end. It just felt like they were beginning a relationship that they were both excited about, but may or may not work out long term. Also there were exclusively dead fish lip presses in this series, so that kind of killed the romance. And for some reason, Seon U is still calling Tae Hyeong “sunbae” by the end of the series. There was mutual care and protection in both directions though, which I give props for.

The good thing is that everything between the leads was consensual and there was no stalking / harassing involved. But Tae Hyeong does yell at Seon U a couple times, and also once drags him by the hand (and Seon U protests about this hurting), because he was “concerned”. I take issue with BLs that romanticize the idea of showcasing your worry, concern, or care in those types of ways. Also, the communication was non-existent. Even at the end, when Tae Hyeong wasn’t been coerced into silence, he doesn’t confide in Seon U about the coach’s abuse or the video threat or the fact that the coach and the bully are trying to make him fix or drop out of the match, and instead just breaks up with him, deeming it too dangerous.

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The stigmas that exist for the LGBT+ community in sports and schools

'Summer Indigo' doesn't simply aim to tell a love story or delicately portray the subtle emotional changes and growth of the male protagonists.
Its main objective, in presenting two gay teenagers belonging to a judo team, facing the stigmas that exist for the LGBT+ community in sports, is much more ambitious: to talk about how sexual orientation is treated in sports, how this taboo subject in this world directly affects the daily lives of athletes, the transformative power of sports, and the importance of creating truly inclusive spaces within the sports community.
In a world where homosexuality has closed many doors and denied opportunities for this reason alone, the South Korean vertical series directed by Kim Won-sik and Lee Doo-young follows in the footsteps of films such as the New Zealander 'Punch' (Welby Ings, 2022), 'Handsome Devil' (John Butler, 2017), or series such as the American 'Love, Victor' (Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger, 2020-2022), the British 'Heartstopper' (Alice Oseman, 2022-2024) or the South Korean 'Blue of Winter' (2022) and 'Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo' (Hwang Da Seul, 2024), among others, to introduce the viewer to LGBT+ sports characters fighting against bullying and discrimination, while telling a romance between two teenagers that does not end in tragedy, but revitalizes first love as a pure and innocent feeling that can overcome the obstacles that may arise.
However, the main difference between the Playlist series and the aforementioned series and films lies in the laws protecting and recognizing LGBT+ people, or the lack thereof, and the social environment: while in those societies there is greater recognition and freedom for homosexual people, with some gay athletes even coming out without fear of losing their status as athletes, members of this community in South Korea face prejudice, discrimination, and other barriers to social inclusion that their non-gay counterparts do not experience.

PLOT

This romantic youth sports drama follows Seon Woo, the youngest member of the school judo club who trains under the supervision of the troubled coach Lee Tae-Kuy. But when the freshman announces he has decided to leave the club due to an underlying concern and because he cannot bear the bullying from his captain, Lee Chang-seok, he is required to follow tradition: defeat an upperclassman. However, Seon Woo becomes frustrated when, by chance, the judoka he is to defeat is the national judo star, Gong Taehyung.
As they get to know each other, Taehyung, who is only interested in judo, becomes increasingly attracted to Seon Woo, and, under the username "Oscar", confides his worries to an anonymous friend named "Summer", whom he meets every night via chat.
However, the young judoka, who was once Chang-seok's best friend until he felt his efforts had been trampled on by Taehyung when he let him win a match a year earlier, soon discovers that "Summer" is actually Seon Woo. Upon learning that Seon Woo intends to leave the club, Taehyung will do everything possible to prevent him from leaving.
And of course, despite the magnitude of their feelings, they must hide their attraction, as the revelation could destroy them, drive them away from the sport, and cause them to drop out of the club and school. This, in turn, is a reflection of the complexities that exist in sports, especially in contact sports, in addition to the sexist comments about the discomfort of having a homosexual in the locker room an idea that is erroneous and a result of the brands imposed on the gay community.
While Park Seon Woo's story isn't entirely about coming out —he acknowledged being gay from the opening scenes—it is a coming-of-age series. The teenager's journey will be one of accepting love and, more importantly, of himself as a person capable of loving and being loved by the very boy he's fallen in love with.

BULLYING

The main focus of the series is to break down the stigma surrounding mental health, especially among adolescents and in schools, where bullying is becoming increasingly prevalent, especially given the lack of awareness campaigns on the subject in South Korea.
The terrible experience of being bullied by the homophobic Lee Chang-seok makes Seon Woo question Oscar's identity and Taehyung's intentions, as well as his own.
The judo team captain manages to confuse Seon Woo when, after discovering the story behind the online chats, he steals Oscar's identity to impersonate him and deceive Summer. To achieve this, he resorts to threatening the award-winning athlete: "If you tell Seon Woo that you are Oscar, I will reveal to the students at school that you are both gay". However, after achieving his goal of leaving the club after defeating Taehyung, Seon Woo returns to protect him from Chang-seok.
The main character has now lost his fear of the club captain: "Once you've seen the worst in someone... there's nothing left to fear".
The relationship that builds between the two protagonists makes the viewer believe in true love.
As the youngest member of a judo club, Seon Woo faces several challenges in accepting his gender identity: the expectations of a judoka, the expectations of the coach, the expectations of his teammates, and the expectations of Taehyung.
For his part, Taehyung will have a coming-out story. As he continues training for future competitions, he finds himself increasingly interested in spending time with Seon Woo, to the point that for him the happiest moment of the day is when he starts chatting every night at 11:21 PM with his teammate under the name Summer.
The journey of discovering his sexuality goes hand in hand with the genuine emotional connection he gradually builds with Seon Woo through shared moments, deep conversations, and challenges they overcome together.
While he seeks to strengthen his relationship with Seon Woo, he takes his time to understand how he truly feels about himself and others. Taehyung doesn't hide his feelings, but he fears that revealing to others that he has developed feelings for his teammate would hurt him, as well as Seon Woo, who has confessed to Oscar that if someone found out his secret, he would drop out of school. "Who do you think you are to care so much about me? Just say it, I like you", Seon Woo will ask Taehyung.
To which he will reply "What if I tell the truth? You, a judo athlete who can't even land properly, who breaks his leg like a damn bird, who just admitted to liking a boy... if I say I like you, then what will happen to us?".
The bullying then not only affects Seon Woo as the club captain's favorite victim, but Taehyung will have to hide his crush to avoid becoming a future victim.
When the protagonists are filmed affectionately embracing in a video by Chang-seok, who seeks to blackmail Taehyung into dropping out of competitions so he can have a chance at the awards podium, the two are forced to navigate isolation and homophobia.
The coach, the only adult in the story, has a secondary role, but a fundamental one, especially towards the end of the series. The downside to this character is that, in addition to representing an obstacle to teenage love, he is a corrupt coach who asks the club captain to steal Taehyung's judo notebook. When his son fails to do so, he demands that he try to make him proud as a father by winning a gold medal, even if he doesn't play "fair game" in doing so.
In turn, he will demand that Taehyung manipulate the upcoming match, losing to Lee Chang-seok, even though a defeat could mean his continued presence on the national judo team. Unable to achieve his goals this way, he will try to do so by exposing the relationship between the two protagonists. This means that Seon Woo and Taehyung will also suffer harassment and discrimination from the coach.

CAST AND PERFORMANCES

The series features a compelling performance by Choi Ri Ho as the coach and father of the club captain, who turns his scenes into truly emotional sequences. His ambitious, homophobic, and hurtful character complements the depth built by the performance of talented actor Lee Ui-seop, and the equally capable newcomers Kim Ji-yool and Yoo Seong-yoon, who play Gong Taehyung, Park Seong Woo, and Lee Chang-seok, in that order.
This isn't the first time Lee Ui-seop (who played Kim Geon Ju in 'Business as Usual') has appeared in a BL series to denounce the bullying suffered by South Korean LGBT+ teenagers. In 'Taming the Bad Boy' (2024), the series that marked his acting debut, he plays a student who, after falling in love with a classmate, suffers discrimination and hatred from many of those around him. Here we find another compelling homophobic character, played by actor Byeon Jeong Hyeon.
While both leads are convincing with their performances, the prize goes to Yoo Seong-yoon as the villain who manages to redeem himself through his guilty conscience. His performance as the homophobic club captain is invaluable because it sheds light on the centuries-old culturally rooted homophobia, a chronic condition that affects us all to a greater or lesser degree.
It draws the attention of viewers to much that is expressed on social media expressing that homophobic characters should not have a place in LGBT+ productions. What a huge mistake! Homophobes exist. They are everywhere. Harassment and discrimination are real. We must make the stigmas visible. To raise awareness, we must capture homophobia in audiovisual media, often engendered by repressed gay people who are unable to accept themselves.
Contrary to what many believe, well-written and well-acted homophobic characters can raise awareness about the problems facing the LGBT+ community and bring about inclusive change in society in general and sports in particular, in order to overcome discrimination.

IN CONCLUSION

The series serves as a coming-of-age story and a sports history, as well as a mirror that highlights what it can mean for queer youth in sports when small minds prevail. It will tug at your heartstrings, and it's a series you won't want to miss.
And as for the vertical format, accept it, reader. It's here to stay.

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Pas parfait mais ...

Je trouve que la review plus haut a été très sévère et que cette personne devrait avoir une relecture car tout n'est pas exacte ni aussi simpliste qu'elle le dit..
Pour ma part, j'ai passé un bon moment. Quand j'ai vu plus 1h30, je me suis demandée si la découverte des identités allait être longue, frustrante et ennuyeuse. Il s'est avéré que non.
Je ne suis pas fan du format vertical en partie à cause de ma vision j'ai donc eu du mal a visionner et j'ai souvent regardé de nouveau quelques scènes.
Les acteurs jouent bien et sont assez charismatiques.
L'alchimie est bonne entre les leads... et on se demande même si une certaine personne va elle aussi succomber...
Les baisers sont beaux... mais assez soft.

Pour moi donc c'est une série réussie malgré ses défauts.

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Me surpreendi MUITO com esse drama, hoje eu resolvi filtrar os dramas BLs coreanos aqui no MDL e estou assistindo os que eu não conhecia e possuem tradução para PT no Telegram e ao terminar o Ippon: Hold Me Tight, que já foi um drama que eu gostei bastante pela temática de judô, o próximo era este, Summer Indigo, e meu Deusssss!

Eu fiquei muito envolvida na história, eu só ia para os próximos compilados o mais rápido possível, super vidrada e angustiada. Os atores mandaram muito bem! O roteiro também ajudou, e não eu não acho que faltou focar no casal, acho que nesse drama em questão fez total sentido a maneira que foi abordado, seria bom ter mais momentos fofos deles juntos? Seria sim, mas há dramas e dramas e aqui o foco não é esse e eu acho que isso fica claro desde o início.

Acredito que todos os personagens foram bem construídos, me fez pensar muito sobre a confusão que era o Lee Chang Seok, porque era nítido que ele era opressor por ser oprimido, e sim, a gente sabe que não é assim que tem que ser, mas estamos falando de jovens e quem nunca replicou comportamentos porque vivíamos neste caos? A competitividade e abuso do pai foi o catalizador.

O ator Lee Ui Seop estava lindo loiro aqui, gostei do seu personagem Tae Hyeong, apesar do medo inicial o paralisar. Já o Park Seon U, eu gostei da maneira que ele foi se fortalecendo e também desejando proteger o Tae, mas acho que os dois precisavam melhorar um pouco a comunicação.

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