Eliot_Rulez

cute but a dull main character...

What could have been a very interesting story, turned out to be in the wrong setting all together. The most thing that irked me was that the main character is a grown up man (27), still acting like a child in his puberty. Had this been a school/university setting it would have made much more sense. I understand that some people are a bit slow, but he was slow for a decade which is bit unbelievable for me. Also the barista is more of a side character not a lead, because we have no clue how he fell into love with mr. dull guy. Yes, the guy was always there getting his coffee but there were no memorable interactions between them.

While the last two episodes were the best of the series, it's a bit sad that Mr. team leader had no positive ending. I would not have been against the team leader get together with the barista, but the barista will end up with his trainer and Mr. team leader will be alone :( Maybe because he was the most mature of them all. But the shyness in the end scene is also a bit akward... if you are together for three years you won't get flustered just because you see a bare body... that's too cliché for my taste.

So, this series has a bit a split personality. The lead character was a bit dull and slow, the triple fighting for him were the more interesting people but the setting was also not ideal for this kind of a story. The acting of the three was very good, but I would see them more in an university setting. It's still easy on the eyes and it's cute to a certain point but it is missing something. Production wise I can't fault the series, it is high quality but the script is lacking. Overall a nice watch, but nothing special which is a bit disappointing.

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One of the Taiwanese shows which disappoints...

This show started with one of the worst openings in BL history...
Force one of the boys to do things he doesn't want... It's just rape but mentally. Even when a show gets better after this, it can never ever be a good show. It was simply disgusting, regardless if it's a "fantasy" or not. It should not have a place in any drama imho.

As always the side couple is the more interesting one but their inability to communicate was a bit annoying. The rest of the plot was more on the boring side. The actors did the best with the script but Mr. Chang was not really believable,. The cinematography was the best of this show.

While I thought this will be a nice show, it's not. It's just banal and boring and you could have done something more interesting than watching this.

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condensed story meets bland and chemistry free MLs

This is one of the disappointing JBLs in 2024.

What was the most lacking is the chemistry between the couples and that for me "Kai" does not work as a freshman. "Kai" looks much too old for his role. Besides that, they only had the "bad stuff" culminating at the same time compared to original and they do bike races instead of cars. Other than that, they cut out a lot of fluff and some persons like the silblings of "Fuma".

The chemistry is so lacking they can't convince anybody about their feelings. "Fuma" beating up the "bad guys" alone was also unbelievable, they cut the friendship part between Arashi and Fuma in such an important scene. Also in the original series the organizers had a much bigger role which made the setting much more believable. So they cut too much and they did not invest in any fluff between the couples. Cutting out the scene where "Fuma" calls his mom to ask about how to take care of a sick person is also crucial to the story.

Overall the worst JBLs in 2024, with no creativity or spin on the original story, lacking chemistry , no fluff at all and feeling very sterile. So if you haven't seen it, forgo it and watch the "original" which has more punch to the story, is believable and doesn't miss the fluff of a BL which you would expect in such story.

Update: Ep 9 and 10 are "special" episodes. If you think it will get better, you are wrong, it went worse. Don't waste your time with it.

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not enough romance, too many characters and Keen saves the world...

I wish I could like this show more, but I can't. The romance part was over after 4 episodes without romance in the remaining episodes, besides few of the side couples. But this is the point of a BL imho. There are too many "baddies" in one show, even the men who should be good are bad. And the best acting was done by the bad overlord and the trainers son which is also a big minus in my book. While the MLs are pleasent to look at, their acting is medicore at best.

It started strong but the more episodes the more it disolved in a hot mess. But Keen has the answers for everything and he saves the world or so this series made you believe. So you can say it's more Anime style than based on reality. The only plus were the fighting scenes, so the actors really did train for that.

Overall, I'm disappointed but at least it's not a really bad show which coming from WeTV can also happen. So for the fangirls there are lots of NC scenes which are quite tasteful staged but the writing is quite weak.So, if you like you can watch it and if not, that's ok too :)

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A bit childish, a bit cringe, a bit forced, a bit fluffy and a bit mature

Not sure what to write, my headline says it all. There was lazy writing, there was not so good execution and there were lots of flash-forward on the start of each episode which did nothing for the flow. It maybe an art style but it confused more than it helped.

The problems of the chars are a bit forced, a bit over the top and unresolved for too many episodes, especially regarding the "older" couple. And then it's easily resolved and everyone is happy which feels forced too.

Again lazy writing and not so much character development as needed. Also I think you could tell this story in just eight episodes, especially if they would have cut the unnecessary drama. The premise was interesting but they did too less with it, they could have shown how the couples and all of them grow together in a more meaningful way.

A nice touch was the inclusision of the follow on show MLs in the finale.

It's not a bad show, it's not a good show, it's a bit cringe, a bit fluffy, a bit silly, a bit childish, a bit mature and a bit fun. You could have watched worse.

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One of the few JBLs which is guilty of lazy writing...

The start of this series was not bad at all, they are building even a dark past for both characters. But the solution for both of the traumas for each character is a) unbelievable and b) just vanishes in a puff of smoke. Especially Kos'ke is traumatized since childhood because of his Mom, but the writers did not find the time to have a serious conclusion and waste lot of time with long-winded static scenes which do not progress the story.

The chemistry between the two leads was just ok, but there was not really the feeling of longing for each other conveyed. Besides that the dead fish kiss at the "wedding" ruined most this. It's ok, if they don't want to do a NC scene, but in 2025 you should kiss otherwise don't act in a BL, period.

So production quality was very good, but the story wasn't. Just "cute" does not cut it nowadays. While not as bad as some Thai shows, it's only medicore with a weak story compensated a little bit by acting and cuteness, but overall a big disappointment for me. It's one of the shows I have no interest in watching again, but your opinion may be different.

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Short, to the point, dark but without unnecessary drama

This is an example of what japanese productions do better than most. They do take a medicore, sexualized manga and make it into one of the best BLs we can wish for. The story is straightforward, there is no fluff in the beginning but the actors understand to portrait their characters to perfection with nuances in their facial expressions and glances.

What this production also did right is, we get real kisses and real NC-scenes which is not as common for JBLs as we could wish for. Cinematography is on point and production quality is high (besides the walk to the grave where a continues error appears). There is nothing to complain about. Of course this BL is not for everyone because it starts very dark. Yakuza are not the nicest people on this planet. And because it's dark, it's not fluffy at all even when Kataoka always tries to lighten the mood. He knows exactly what Odajima is up to, but he takes it as a given and does not care. But Odajima grows and realizes that all his hate was a misunderstanding and he finally finds peace with his past.

So overall, this is a perfect BL to binge-watch and just enjoy it.

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Low production, cute/handsome actors

Sukfilm is known for their short series with few actors. While I feel some tensions between the actors, it's not the best chemistry. The series is partly steril. That's the fault of the settings. Even the bar feels lifeless. The locations besides the appartment are not choosen well and as always they can't fill the void with extras.

The story is cliché as usual. Childhood friends reunite and at least one of them is (still?) in love after 15 years! It's a bit much imho. I can't say it's bad, but it's also not good from a story telling view. It also makes the story not believable when you have no background at all. The clumsiness of the "writer" is partly cute but partly annoying. So I'm divided on this series. At least it felt not cringe or childish. You have to deceide yourself if you like this series or not, at least it felt not a waste of time.

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to be connected to be alone....

I'm late to the "review-party" because I had to binge-watch the series again to make sense of it.

The style of cinematography with it's wide angle shots was often used to tell us, all the characters are connected but not really that close to one another. Also the communicated more via videos/chats then in real life. That felt very dystopian and scary in a way.

Only two characters had a romantic interest, while the other two compensated to fill a need they didn't know they had. Especially Bua was very manipulative to even offering sex to get the closeness he seeks but not understanding that his behaviour hurts anyone around him. F4M was also an ass as soon he saw Chian he completely ignored Baabin and while Baabin is sensitive to the feelings of people around him, he's too scared to confess to the person he loves. He was also the truest character of all, always advising in a soft or harsh words depending on the situation and never hiding his feelings except hiding his love for F4M.

This love-quadruple can drive some viewers on the brink of insanity. As everything unfolds Baabin says something racist to Bua to protect F4M feelings even when he already had feelings for Bua. So overall all characters are shitty in their own way but they do it not knowingly or in Baabins case out of an misunderstood feeling to protect someone.

There is also bad in the show. The story spans two years, but the time-jumps are often not obvious enough and the choppy subtitles (out of sync, missing sentences) do not help. If each episode would start with a time-jump it would have been easy, but there are many time-jumps in one episode.

The acting was very good, but for me F4M & Chian could not represent a teenager (16-18). They looked too old, so this aspect irked me a lot regardless of their performance. The first two episodes are also a bit too boring, it's really a slow burn and not much is happening. So they could even made that six episodes and cut a bit more, but maybe that should highlight the dystopian feeling for the viewers. But also showing an other side of Bangkok was refreshing.

Overall a very unusual show and something we should see more often, even when the romantic aspect is not really a focus of the series. Fluff is very rare, the story is an angsty teenager coming of age story where teenagers seek attention on social media instead in real life. Their friendships are more superficial then in depth but in the end they learn and overcome the struggles albeit with hurting a lot. If you think, I did not like the show you are wrong. It's a very good show especially considering it's from Thailand, breaking the normal school/university tropes, showing the characters in a raw unfiltered way.

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A drama wrapped as BL

This was a very unusual series. The "BL" aspect of this drama was NOT the focus of the series. So we were "robbed" of the romance aspect of this series. Maybe an episode more would have helped, maybe it's not as detailed in the novel too and it's close to it, I have no clue. What we got was a drama about euthanasia which is one of social questions the world has to solve. Only in a few countries this is legal, in most countries it's not and I feel in Asia it's a taboo.

The production value was outstanding, camera work, lighting and of course the music was top notch. Also the acting was strong. I liked the feeling that Mr. Policeman never trusted Dr. completly. The part with Mr. Pharmacy was a bit odd and did not really fit this series. I thought without him, the series would have been as good as it was. Of course it was shocking to see his relationsship revealed but I'm not sold on him murdering his love-interest. And to not have a happy end, was the right choice.

All the not so good story-aspects can be overlocked, but so it's not a 10 for me. It lacked in the romance aspect, some things didn't make much sense, but to have this social question asked in a drama is very important. To bring awareness to the public is important. For this reason alone, I recommand anyone to binch-watch this series.

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slow burn with emotial conflict and a cliffhanger

Why I do love slow burns, I am not a fan of mutliple couples, especially of the grown up sort on the side.
Two teachers are in the same boat as our MLs, but they know each other for more than 10 years and have not found the time to confess their feelings much much much earlier. This is a big downer of the whole show.
First I (and many others) assumend that both teachers where together, but much later on, we learn, that's not the case. That's also the reason why the female teacher has so much screen time.

Tians conflict is not really revealed. If you don't know the book, you don't know that he is a homophobe. The flashback in episode 11 shoulkd teach us that, but (!) it does not... yes he is disturbed what he has seen, but I would never have the conclusion that it makes him a homophobe. He also does not react as such in the two kissing scenes. So something is either lost from the book or lost in the script.

Other than that both characters are what you expect in a BL. One introvert, the other one an extrovert. Both with emotional damage. The character building was nicely done, You see that they are caring for each other and they are growing togehter. But they don't make the step to confess even when both feel the same. So the cliffhanger for Season 1 was done in the nicest way possible for the MLs, but the teachers were a disappointment.

So I personally have to disagree with "best BL 2024", I think that "Unknown" was better. It's a good show, with good acting, very good cinematography but the story is nothing we did not see already. It also has "Addicted Heroin" vibes but they resolve such a story in an other way. We get an unsatisfying ending because it looks like it was designed to have two seasons. Now we have to wait and see if we really get a second season, which is not a given.

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This show couldn't match the japanese charm and acting

Again a dispointing GMM-TV commercial with some BL show inbetween.
No elegance in the characters, all is very smooth and plain.
Reading some of the reviews, it looks like people do like shallow shows with outstanding production value.

Why we did need a third couple, I have no idea, but when u write superficial scripts, you need to fill the time with something. I also don't like BL actors playing hetero in a BL even when he and his "girl" were the best characters of all, which is sad for a BL, "Jinta" was stupidly over-acted because it's a thai "comedy" and the rest of them did not leave a mark.

Some fluffy scenes don't make a good BL, This show is highly overrated, but you could have watched a worse show. Still, I would recommand to watch the japanese version and you won't miss anything if you skipped the thai version.

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OMG! For gods sake TALK to each other!

This is one of the series which infuriates me and I want to jump up and shout "SAY IT!"

It's especially hard to watch because Ba Woo always wants to misunderstand and be in his own little bubble where everything is negative. Hoon is not much better, but even in the first episode I thought - WTF - why do they act like they act, when they already confessed to each other but forcefully misunderstood each other regardless... Was it peer pressure or just stupididy?

Regardless, we now see a cat & mouse game for eight episodes which is really frustrating to watch. It would been so much nicer if they could act as adults and talk everything out, but Ba Woo is as stubborn as a nail in the wall not moving at all and only seeing everything only from his point of view. Then there is a side GL couple as well which does not take that much time and they are stalled even on the end. Our main couple at least get their happy end.

Acting was excellent, Cinematography was great, production quality was top notch. But the story let this series down and frustrated me episode by episode. Because the rest of the series is so good, I can't downrate this show any lower, because compared of most thai shows we get, this is still worlds better. So watch on your own peril, be content with the frustrating aspects but otherwise this show was not bad.

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OMG, why are most JBLs/JGLs/JQLs sooo fn dark?

Most shows in the queer spectrum from Japan have a dark undertone and this one is much darker then most.
How to articulate all the feelings I have in a not rambling way?

After watching this I'm still a bit overwhelmed. What starts as a coincidal meeting of two young women, where one of them takes the other home, gets weird after just 8 minutes into the show. I won't spoil anything to you here, because the show will only work, if you don't get spoiled imho.

Kotoha has a dark secret and bets that Megumi can't guess her real name. Because her name is curse or fate or both. This is a novel concept and makes life for Megumi difficult. She has to explore here true feelings and she needs to confront Kotoha.

The only little downer I had in the finale episode, it was a bit dull in the end and I expected more. But overall the arc was interesting, the acting was very good and the cinematography more artsy as in many other shows and it captures the angst, the love and all feelings inbetween perfectly.

I did not expect much from the show and I stumbled over it by chance, but alone the title intrigued me.
So, if you have no fear to go to dark places this show is for you. But don't expect fluffy scenerios but there is some light in the dark places. And this show is truly outstanding.

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Lovely setting, Nut going overboard...

While that's not my cup of tea normally, I found this series better than I would have expected. Nut had the role of his life but for my taste it was overbording most of the time. It's a mixture of comedy and drama with a touch of time-travel with too much focus on the comedy part. I would have wished they would have tuned it down, then I could have enjoyed it even more.

The side-couple was underutilized, they did not even resolve their story in the end and left them open-ended. We can assume they are also together but they had no romantic moment in the finale which was disappointing for being the more interesting couple in my eyes. I'm a bit split if they had to change history and make the country a democracy at that time. That seems a bit silly, but I approve that "Prince" went not back when he had the choice and stayed because of love. I also wish they would have condensed the story a bit more, so around 10 episodes would have been enough.

Overall, production quality was very good, the setting was something different than usual and it may entertain you. The first half of the series was imho better than the later half which is also a downer. But it's not a series that I would watch again.

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