This review may contain spoilers
cute and fluffy ?!
Definitely add this one to your Comfort BL list 😁. The visuals are absolutely stunning and that includes the side characters. The show was funny with the right amount of angst as well as fluff 🤗. I was so impressed with the acting despite the fact that I haven't seen any of those actors in a previous drama. And the chemistry... Girl! let me tell you .. I didn't expect to see that much passion in a KBL but I guess we're moving forward 😊...I loved the part that focused on the abuse that athletes are subjected to by their coaches. I think it's something that's not really talked about enough. Especially that they start at a very young and vulnerable age.
Was this review helpful to you?
NEVER judge a book by its cover.
I was a little undecided; I didn't know whether to watch this series because, from the outside, it seemed kind of meh. Then time passed, and I never saw it, not even the trailer or anything. Now, last night, I decided to look for something to watch because I'd felt for a while that there weren't any good series (or at least ones that interested me) around. After the first two episodes, I gave up and said, "I have to keep watching it". So I stayed up until 3 am watching it closely, and I'm so glad I did because I enjoyed it much more than I expected.The premise introduces us to a gymnast who's retired because of an injury, Jiwon. He always wears his cap to cover his face so others can't see him or his face. The cap is a metaphor representing not only that he doesn't want to be seen, but also that he doesn't want to be seen—his very being, I mean. Then we have a basketball player who, from the outside, seems like a womanizer and a bit of a typical Bad Boy, the kind you'd expect in a BL to say to the guy he's falling for, "I don't like other guys, but you... *gets turned on dramatically*" or another line like, "I'm not gay, but I love you!". Very stereotypical, but very well done. It seems they're finally managing to create clichés without being repetitive...
The rest of the story is almost nonexistent because it focuses, quite a lot, on the relationship between these two. Something I think is great. Were they both direct? Yes. Did one give the other time? Yes. Was there consent? Yes. I think this series has achieved something that many other BLs haven't: be direct without being abusive. No toxicity, no bullshit, none of the bad stuff, and all of the good stuff.
Was this review helpful to you?
Great Chemistry, Too Short
I had heard a lot of good things about this show and put off watching it simply because of my dislike for the Korean BL format (why are they always so short!), but I finally decided to give it a try and it did not disappoint! As always, things felt a little rushed, and major conflicts felt too fast and too late in the series, but I still really enjoyed watching it.Jiwon is a former Olympic gold medalist who retired from gymnastics, but is still too well known by the public for his liking. Now at university, he tries his best to hide from the spotlight, but ends up befriending Jeongwoo, the university's top basketball player. While the two of them start off as friends, it seems they both feel something more, but aren't quite willing to admit it - both because they're scared of the response, and because the relationship could ruin their reputations.
Overall, this was a fun and cute drama. I never know what to expect with KBLs in terms of chemistry (I've watched enough old kdramas with horrible kiss scenes....I don't need any more) but this one knocked it out of the park. The main actors did a fantastic job. I especially loved how both characters really had their own, conflicting inner struggles that played out over the course of the show. My biggest complaint is that the conflict in the last few episodes felt a little rushed and I wanted more time after it was resolved to see the two main characters together, but that tends to be the case with this show format. Still, it's definitely worth watching.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
a great show with not enough time
A genuine banger. It takes a bit to start up and has some flaws but if you are thinking about watching it you should like one hundred percent watch it. I gave it an 8.5 out of 10 and am currently writing my review on the train but that’s fine. Yeah so what I liked, what I didn’t like, overview, and my thoughts while watching the show, and then like final words. Spoiler time.Okay, I genuinely think this show was phenomenal (my review will state otherwise later but it's okay lmao). Starting off with the sexy basketball player. My lord, he was hot as fuck. Also one of his eyes is more open than the other and it's his sexiest feature, my lord. I thought the plot was pretty interesting and I guess something I haven’t really seen before. Like I do think the title is incredibly misleading, which I’ll get into later but it’s like low-key interesting and really good. They put so many things on the board and I am surprised because most of them did stick. I also thought their chemistry was pretty good, it did have a tad power dynamic because of the way the shorter guy acted, which I didn’t like but it ended up working out fine. Their sex scene AWESOME. I fear we ate with this one. Everyone is such eye candy in this, that's also what I liked.
What I didn’t like. Was he a ball boy even once? The show is literally called Ballboy Tactics and I don’t think he was ever a ball boy in the show. Also back to the fact that they tried to do so many things in eight episodes and it’s just like didn’t work like a lot of things did work but a lot of shit didn’t and I was like wait why did we choose to do that with that? THE START. It was so fucking slow and I hate slow shit and if it’s eight episodes, you can’t just have nothing happen in the first episode. It also felt like a lot of filler throughout fucking thing and I wish they did more to fill that. Yeah, the setup made me so confused and very bored. We needed more romance work in this too.
Slow ass start. Yeah, and a whole bunch of confusion. The crazy ass dream. Very aware characters lmao. “The two friends are literally so gay I love it.” “I think that they should’ve dragged this episode into two episodes and add a little bit more and then it would be perfect but then again it’s eight episodes and they’re all 30 minutes so I don’t have time for that.” “We are just kind of in one place the whole time.” “I’m pretty OK with their ending, but I would also like that to be like more dove than too. But like it’s whatever there’s not gonna be no season two or a special episode but a girl can dream I had a lot of fun. This is low-key a good show with a good plot. They had good chemistry. It was low-key a really quiet show though, and that low-key freaked me out some parts.”
I think this is a cute show but it also has major flaws, but watch it and see for yourself. Okay bye!
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Sometimes Love Finds You… But Only If You Step Outside
From the very beginning, Han Ji-won gave off shy, introverted loner vibes — the kind of person who hides a lot but still carries warmth. It’s funny how he just flagged down a random driver to take him homr — it shows how free-spirited and impulsive he is when it comes to small things, even though emotionally, he’s guarded.I feel like his character silently carries past trauma or fears, and doesn’t want people to know he’s struggling. But still, this drama teaches us something simple and real:
> Sometimes, you have to step out of your comfort zone and go outside to meet people. The world won't always come to you — you have to go to it.
And thank God he did. Because that’s how he met Kwon Jung-woo.
---
💕 Kwon Jung-woo & Fast Love
Honestly? It was crazy how fast Jung-woo fell for Ji-won — but that’s also the beauty of the drama. Sometimes, love doesn’t take long. Sometimes it just happens, fast and unexpected. His character reminded me how quickly we can fall — especially when someone respects you, sees you, and makes you feel safe.
---
🎾 Themes I Loved
The sports element made it refreshing and lighthearted at times.
The drama also touched on how society pressures people to hide, especially when it comes to love and identity.
It showed that even when it’s hard, when you push through, honesty and love can win.
And when they finally told their friends about dating? That part melted my heart 💗 It was so soft and pure.
---
💬 Final Thoughts
This isn’t just a BL about tennis or flirting — it’s about stepping out, healing, trusting, and finding someone who brings you peace. It’s a feel-good drama that still hits emotionally.
I really, really loved it. And I’m happy I watched it.
Was this review helpful to you?
Jiwon is my favourite character, someone who struggle to express himself at times also someone who cares about other's opinion due to him being famous gymnast but truly cared for Junwoo in his own ways. He made me cry when he cried.
Jungwoo might seem scary to others but he is a total softie around the ones who truly know him. The one who isn't scared to say what he wants.
I actually liked the pacing of it.
Was this review helpful to you?
to the catcher that never caught...
it is i, the niel.high school musical if there was no singing and no one could communicate. at the start, i was rooting for jiwon. by the end, i was over it. we got nothing about the background or development of these characters, only brief mentions or cuts to scenes that we never saw. how are you going to allude to events happening and then never explain them? thanks. it made it incredibly difficult to understand why jiwon was acting the way he was, which consistently made me feel irritated with him.
the final episode was nonsense, and the two previous episodes felt rushed and underdeveloped. don't dedicate a third of the final episodes to physical romance scenes when you could've been using that time for character development. there was barely any conflict throughout the entire show, and when it got brought up, it was either resolved immediately, or we got jiwon pouting for way too long. what was the deal with the side characters? it felt like the creators wanted a second season, but viewers should not have to rely on a second season to get development that should've happened sooner.
there were elements of the show that were silly, goofy, and overall pleasant to get through. it's a quick, easy watch. the underdeveloped characters and abrupt, almost non-ending ruined the vibes. whatever, i should've read the novel. we're all in this together!
best,
the niel.
Was this review helpful to you?
A refreshing view of athletic love
What I love about this show is the lack of unnecessary distractions or twists or surprises. I mean it’s predictable that’s true but how the story was told was truly refreshing and clean. Demonstrating the agony of how athletes or even famous people struggles with dealing with taboo love even in the modern world we live in. The acting was simple and real as if they were just ordinary folks like us dealing with our problems. You want to root for them as we watch their love grows. Their love making scene was so beautiful focusing on the kiss and allowing their sensations to magnify. It’s definitely a feel good series and kudos to the Koreans for gradually opening up more to same sex relationships. Should we get a part two, personally I don’t need the drama that follows and leave things as they are.Was this review helpful to you?
Ballboy Tactics: For Those Who Love Quiet Love
I really enjoyed Ballboy Tactics. It’s not a high-drama series, but that’s exactly what made it special for me. The story is calm and slow, like real life, and the emotions felt genuine.The actors did a great job showing feelings through small gestures and eye contact, without overacting. It felt natural like two university boys figuring out their emotions quietly.
The cinematography was also really pretty and artistic, with soft lighting and peaceful vibes. If you like soft BLs with realistic settings and slow burn romance, this one is worth watching.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
The potential was there
I really want to like this show more than I do.The characters were both very interesting, but the editing, pacing and the script really hampered the potential they had. In the big moments I found myself confused, going wait, why are they saying these things? What do they want? Which obviously lessened the impact those scenes had.
The actors I though did all a great job, no complaints there!
As characters, Jiwon ended up coming across as more frustrating, than anything else, but I do understand the intent behind what the writers wanted for him. For me his actions just didn't translate properly. For example, when they were taking a break, Jeongu seemed to be keeping in touch, texting him, but somehow Jiwon still thought they were breaking up? Didn't answer even once? Like the ball was in his court, and idk, it was frustrating to be so confused about the internal monologue.
As for Jeongu, I actually really liked his character! When he realised he had a crush on Jiwon, it was the cutest thing, and the show portrayed his confused and besotted feelings very cutely, it was very entertaining.
The kissing, touching and physicality of the two was actually excellent, felt very natural, no foot of air between their bodies when they were kissing lol. Their first time was very well done too, both little shy, both little nervous and very careful with each other, it felt very realistinc!
The side characters were both great, and I wish them all the happiness in the future lol - "half of the group is gay" *awkward side-eye* made me giggle, they had great chemistry too.
Overall, some really high highlights, muddled in the middle. Won't be watching this again, but don't regret finishing it!
Was this review helpful to you?
BL? This is hard-core Romance
This was damn good. Initially I found myself getting bored because this felt like another young, shy, puppy type guy falling for a tall, cold, athletic hunky. But then, we see the athletic hunk making all the moves towards the introverted shy guy and his resistance, boy was that resistance so sexy, heated and intense. Which shows. In those kisses. Nothing more electrifying than those passionate kisses, THAI BLs please take notes, you don't need to see the couple having sex, just something simple like a kiss is magical if the chemistry is chemistrifying.Simple plot, doesn't meander, excellent chemistry, KBL magic. Hoped for a longer series because the side couple was interesting as well but their story wasn't fleshed out. Alas, perhaps a spin-off is in works??
Was this review helpful to you?
Cute, Curious and Common!
This series was actually cute - just cute. The cast were cute and their characters were curious - typical story. There no catch just cute little story.I didn't expect much that's why I am not that disappointed. Though the story was okay but there were lapses like how they combine the story is a little bit rush and focused much on how thu develop the story.
The conflicts are there but not highlighted much. There's potential on those conflicts - the issue and the sleep talking. They can elaborate that to strengthen their relationship hut the story decided to keep it cute, fun and loving story.
In reality, not everyone can experience that kind of love story. I hope they were able to highlight those conflicts and build the story more. That's why its more on cute, curious and common for me.
Was this review helpful to you?
