This review may contain spoilers
No bullshit BL but wholesome...
While I did not expect much from this series, it was very refreshing. It's many stories about many bizarre people which will grow on you the further you watch this series. They all have their quirks but most of them are just good people regardless.The center pieces are a soon to be gay couple and a girl which is neglected by her parents for different reasons. The stories tell about the life of the people, all the struggles they face and how they grow together. The gay romance is not the focus of the stories, it just happens naturally without much fanfare and I would have wished for a bit more focus there and some intimacy.
But overall that was fun to watch, educational to watch and a series needed for Japans society. This is of course on my "must watch" list, even when the beginning seems to be very comedic, the stories have depth and meaning and will warm your heart. This is a series for the whole family.
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Chosen Family (need a season 2)
Overall: "Our efforts were not wasted, right?" "Yes, it was worth it". The writing in this series is impeccable. Themes and characters I thought were random were later seamlessly integrated. Shifts between comedy and seriousness were impeccably executed. 10 episodes about 45 minutes each. Aired on Netflix https://www.netflix.com/title/82153387Content Warnings: slap, internal and external homophobia, sexism discussed
What I Liked
- addressed marriage equality in a realistic way
- that I didn't know what the next episode will have in store
- discussion of sexism (one of the few romance series I have seen that passed the Bechdel test multiple times)
- how characters had their quirks, but still feel like people I could meet in the real world
- intentional characters, they might have seemed insignificant, but they came back later
- no cartoonish antagonists
- avoided evil ex cliche
Room For Improvement
- I couldn't really sympathize with the mom
- at times the pacing was a bit slow for me
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The best thing about it, is that it didn't only show gay people's problem, but also tackles other issues like families, dreams and accepting your own self.
At the end of it I wanted them all to live together in one place with each of them being in his own flat but all come together during evening and have meals together, maybe talk together about their days and what happens in their lives.
And I mean anyone, except maybe for the father, he is terrible and I hated his character.
I wanted the show to keep going, I didn't want it to end which is a first, probably the only show this year that I watched without skipping a scene and wanting to see even more of it.
The cast carried their characters well, heavily focused on gay issues so if it's not your cup of tea don't watch it, this isn't really a BL, it's about gay people yes, but you won't find any romance or lovey dovey moments, however I had a good laugh in some scenes, not because they were funny but because they were very awkward or odd.
The characters are unique and very very weird, all of them are like that, you won't find one normal character here and that is what makes the show more interesting ~
Highly recommended if you like slice of life dramas about belonging and family and friends bonds~~
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Sweet and innocent (ish)
This is a lovely drama about family, love, animals and society.WhatI loved abaout this s the found family teen friends all went to different schools and had a hard time at home but could find a connection and friendship in each other. Viewd by many as delinquents but actually just a bunch of decent kids. Tehy reminded me a lot of the found family friend I had in my teens so I could relate.
It also showed how finding just one grown up who cares can make an impact in a lonely teens life, done pretty okay.
While there are a lot of wonderful friendships and characters in this, I still find it kind of lacking a spark,Some parts of this drama felt kind of refreshing and it does really own up to the name found family but it was also kind of draggy at times, some of the acting felt a bit off. So I guess Im trying to say that though it has so much good in it there is still something missing. Keeping me from rating this higher
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Wholesome
This drama was so beautiful. It's all about the life yourney's and struggles of several completely different people.The series is very down to earth, very natural, and that makes it very appealing.
I love how the leads balanced each other out, the over exited and meddlesome Hatano Genichi and Sakuta Saku that keeps him in check.
Visuals and music were beautiful, and the acting was very good.
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This review may contain spoilers
This is plain beautiful.....hilarious, and heart tugging, slice of life drama
This will make you laugh, cry, and end up feeling like 'pickled-in bliss' 💖BL-needle score: This does not feel like a BL really, though the main male leads are gay
I started this with zero expectation, mainly because I was intrigued by the synopsis and the fact that this is a drama from Japan which has episodes that are 45 minutes long...I thought, what's the deal here...and boy, am I glad that I started it!!! This low-key reminded me of Forest Gump, the same dumb hope, goodness of heart, and those 'you-want-to-believe-utopia' feels
Clumsy, a tad naive, kind, and an old gay man -that is one of our leads...the other, in his 30s, is more practical, if not cynical, mostly open gay man...and the other key character is a girl, sharp, a tad eccentric, and seemingly bordering on rebellious, high school student, who feels abandoned by her parents and doesn't want anyone to know anything about her family.....these odd trio comes together by fate's stroke and share an icecream tub...which promises to change their lives...🥰
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It’s a beautifully written, brilliantly directed slice-of-life story that stands out for its gentle, honest conversations and everyday gestures that carry symbolic weight, showing that home is built through small choices and for the courage to portray mature characters in a BL romance, something you rarely see in the genre.
The characters are layered and well-developed. Each one adds a thread to weave a beautiful, rich, intricate tapestry, with their stories intertwining in a way that powerfully explores the idea of family, not just the one you’re born into, but the one you build day by day, through conscious choices to stay together, through bonds of care, trust, and affinity.
The series also dives into themes like growing up, finding where you belong, late-in-life love, generational differences, challenging social conventions, and representation. The whole cast delivers genuine, charismatic performances, but special mention goes to Shiratori Tamaki as Kusunoki Hotaru and Hiiragi Hinata as Kishibe Kazuki, the grandson of the guitar factory owner. Kazuki gave me the most bittersweet moment of the series and honestly, if there were a spin-off about his story, I’d watch it in a heartbeat.
Through love and revolution, Hatano and Sakuta manage to find their own version of happiness, not the one society dictates. Hotaru realizes she can be whoever she wants to be and starts carving out her own path.
Chosen Home is a heartfelt, moving, inspiring, and fun story that’s going to stay with me for a long time. Highly recommended.
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Chosen Masterpiece!
The best way to describe this series is that it is off-beat and quirky. It is also warm, gentle, loving, peaceful, reflective, tender, devoted, relaxed, reverent, nurturing, and supportive. Have I left anything out? Oh yes, it is joyful! And underlying it all, is a powerful message for change. A change that will come. I could have quickly finished this series, but I deliberately did not want to. I wanted the warm snuggly feeling that came over me while I watched each episode to not leave me; so, I spaced out the timing to watch this series as long as I could to feel that pleasure.This is a story about a ‘family’ that serendipitously forms almost by fate. It looks like all the members are lonely but in reality, they are not. They are unique individualists who have carved out singular spaces in society for themselves. But there does come a time when companionship becomes a necessity; this is their journey to amity. While the story may seem simple, it is uncommonly intense. It covers so many planes of human connections that it almost becomes overwhelming in scope.
This is one of the best gay stories I’ve seen, blending gentle storytelling with thoughtful commentary on outdated social norms. The narrative was presented in soft, off-beat tones not meant to offend anyone. It powerfully suggests that gay people and other marginalized silent classes deserve full inclusion in the culture and perhaps it is time for them to be seen as part, and whole, of the society to which they belong.
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.
A really cozy and fun series about being an adult and a young person today.It shows that family doesn’t always have to be about blood, and that sometimes you can choose your own family if you need to.
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Slice of life, heartwarming drama
This queer drama is so sweet and heartwarming, i enjoyed it more than i thought, for some ot might be boring bcz its not typical love stories or series, but i found it very lovely, all characters are weird in a way, flawed but i ended up having empathy anf understanding each one of them, even if i dont agree with some of their action.The drama talked about serious topics like
patriarchy in work places, the pressure from society expectations, irresponsibility of parents, parents lost dream and prejudges against gay people in japen.
Genichi, saku , hotaru, landord lady are my favorite, ill miss them
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This review may contain spoilers
The Perfect Home
I placed spoilers at the end of this review.This was an incredibly cute and funny series. It had a very well planned out script with a lot of heartwarming sections. I love scripts that successfully connect multiple storylines and characters together. This was also very endearing and addressed many important issues with grace. I do have one criticism, but it’s very minor which did not distract me from enjoying this. I usually don’t like series with a lot of side characters because it often weighs down the script. Thankfully, it worked in this series because the script gave just the right amount of side storyline information for each character. It did not get bogged down with the details. The entire cast was great and did an outstanding job portraying their character.
******Potential Spoiler Alert******
My only minor criticism it the relationship development between Hatano and Sakuta. It started off with a good pacing, but went a little too fast at times. Again, this was only a minor problem for me.
Am I the only one that was hoping for Yoshida Ryota to end up with Hatano Genichi’s male co-worker???
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WHAT A WHOLESOME AND HEARTWARMING SERIE !
MY HEART, OH MY HEARTI am so inspired by the caracters, they are so so well writen, I cherish them all,
They all had a different story to tell and they were all struggling to find a dream and a purpose, following them through all of it moved me.
''Love and revolution'' for a gay couple that wants to find a ''clamp'' for their partnership and wished to be recognized.
''A chosen family '' for a child that was abondonned by two parents who ran away from the burden of parenthood to pursue their own dreams.
''Positively giving up on an ideal'' to find what matters the most.
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