Eliot_Rulez

Starting slow, heating up...

This was a nice surprise... what started like a boring series (story-wise), got more intense as the episodes got on. The depecition of Inspector Chas past was done very well and the spidernet of corruption layed bare. Due to the end of this series I expect we will see a second series where they root out the corruption at the police again.
They did find a nice balance between action and detective work, also one case is interwoven most of the time with the next case is a novum of such series.
The cast was great, just the stereotype bad guys where a bit much, except Lee Taeju of course, he is just a very slimey but intelligent villain.
Overall a very enjoyable series.

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The first four episodes were cute, but it falls of till episode 7

I was quite hyped for this BL, and the beginning was really great.
But episode 7 killed some of it. I would have wished they could communicate without "Keitas" help and I would have even more flashbacks to communicate that they were really, really close. While the slow pace does not kill it for me, Ryotas behaviour does to some extent. I would have wished episode 7 did not happen or that he could break out of his shell and confess then which would have been much better.

Of course typical of such JBL the kissing was lacking as well. If you long for someone, you just not touch lips and let it be. You may be shy and start slowly but I prefer kissing which conveys the feeling of the characters. It's lame and unrealistic, so why do they do it all the time?

This series was enjoyable with some length and a frustrating moments in episode 7, but overall it was good.

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Not an redemption arc

While I am happy that "Up" had a chance to play a different character (and we all did really hate him), I'm disapointed in the story. Ming understands what he did was wrong, but he did not change his character that much. I can believe that he now really tries hard to be a better partner, but we have no idea if his control and power issues has been dealt with and I doubt it.
There were scenes where he was lying on the floor not eating, just drinking and not doing much, but this did not help to change his narcisistic flaws which are still present in the finale. I guess the screenwriter are contradicting the character because they wanted an redemption arc.

I also would have wished, they used "Winner" for the first part of the show and only "Poom" for the second half. This would of course complicated filming, because both actors would have to learn the same mannerisms for their characters which would have made the story more interesting and the immersion in the story more believeable. That the same person plays both characters irked me a bit.

I'm not happy with Mings character development and the same for Joe. Joe is always Joe not standing up for himself, not understanding when to say no. I can understand you love whom you love but there should be a moment when your brain says "enough is enough!". This show had so much potential, the first four episodes had me hooked and I thought about how they will solve the redemption. And because of the lack of a real redemption arc this show fails. For me the finale was especially lackluster because everyone is now "happy", all is good and even Mike got Mings secretary as future BF (They should have expanded that arc as well), because most of the later episodes is a repeat of the first ones without the violence and lack of self-reflection on Mings part but he forces Joe once again repeating the same mistake again.

So overall the show is still above average even when the story-writing falls of a cliff. It did at least try to do something different in the sea of average shows, it did try to give us a mature story in the sea of university settings. And Up as Ming was really great!

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Something different from GMMTV...

Sometimes there is a mircale and GMMTV does take a risk and does something different. The first couple Kant & Bison did not catch most of the viewers, because it was not a romantic meeting of two persons. Kant did approach Bison for a reason, because he had a deal with the police and he wanted to clear his name. While Bison was fully in it from the beginning, Kant was just a calculating bastard :) The other couple is different. While Style did it first to get a car and help Kant, he pursued Fadel on his own after a while. Something klicked and he did forget the car and was serious for a change.

I would say Khaotung delivered a top notch performance, while First was mostly solid. Joong did the most usual as in any other show (starting off distant) and Dunk was much improved even when his over-acting sometimes was annoying and cringe. But this is only from the view of their relationsships. As hitmen they did not deliver at all.

Other than that, the story of the "Mom" was a bit shallow and not very indepth. It was over in an episode and I don't know I felt underwhelmed. The rest was ok, production quality was, as usual, excellent. Other than that I had not much connection to the whole show... something felt a bit off. I can't explain it, but I was not really in it. For me it was ok, the NC scenes were of course what the fangirls expected and they did not disappoint. Some people will of course tell you, that this is the best show ever, but of course, it's not. I guess lazy writing prevails which is typically in GMMTV tradtion. It's ok and GMMTV did take a risk, but I guess it payed off. At least for the actors it was a good development not playing the same stuff all over again, which I think is positive, but the story itself is lacking.

Edit: Also the tattoos are lacking... especially when you compare with people with real tattoos, so that was also a cost optimizing option to use foils instead painting.

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Every year a top notch production from Taiwan

Last year Taiwans BL industry had "Kiseki Dear To Me" with the highest production value and this year it must be "Unknown". They also had a troubled background story with some mafia elements and general hardships for at least one character. While the story is not perfect the series conveys all the feelings very well. Chemestry between the leads was also top notch imho and they kept the intimate scenes to the story where it mattered. Only LiLi left something to be desired, not really grown up to the end.

To read a review where I'm told I'm weired because of "incest" even it isn't "incest" was even more weired for me. Does incest even count between same sex? Incest is only not allowed because of gen deficits the children will get, see Europe and Habsburger :)

While not perfect this show transports all the feelings in an expectional way, with a top notch production value and cinematography. I can overlook all the the little story problems especially at the end. I would have prefered to see the surgery and not LiLis baby. Regardsless a show to recommand.

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Not the best BL in 2023 by far...

What I like:
production quality
costumes
music
most acting

What I dislike:
The ending; yes it's fantasy and so on, but it's not believable.
Jom - he is sometimes docile, sometimes mature. Only in the finale after "returning" he is much more believable.
Stereotype evil Robert, he is too plain, just a 08/15 bad character from one of the cheap novels published every week, no depth, no other side of him, just 10 pages worth of the 60 pages.
Story-Plotholes: While Yai falling in love was shown for a long time, Jom just did it out of the blue, overcoming his trauma from ep 1 in a blink of an eye. To be gay in early 20th century was by far not as easy as it's depicted in this story. Yai confesses he loves Jom and the father was relativly mild., compared to other series where the family explodes even today. There were always exceptions to the rule but it makes this point of the story not believable.
Pacing: After Robert is removed from the series everything is dragged on an on which made me skip some scenes.
Yai with silly Mustache

Summary:
While the production quality was top notch, music was very fitting, the acting overall very good, the setting something unique, the ending unbelievable and the preview of a second season unnecessary, this show is a mixed bag. Jom should have been more struggeling and maybe slowly falling in love in episode 7 with the first spicy scene in episode 8. But of course they could have paced the show faster with some serene scenes inbetween. If there is a second season I hope they will not repeat the same mistakes they did this time where script and direction was sometimes weak.

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As usual GMMTV ruined everything...

When Boun & Prem developed their vampire story I don't think they had this result in mind. A story which is erratic and has no clear vision. The most friendly thing I can say is: I'm happy it's over. There are some episodes they are just trash and then there are episodes which gives us a bit of hope but it's a rollercoaster between awful and slightly good. But it is never anything above or consistent. Yes, you will get some fluffy scenes but how the love of Punn and Ramil really developed is still a mystery after the series ended. I would have wished there were more excursions in Punns dreamworld, because the only thing we see in the beginning is a love scene and not how it got there.

And then there is the finale which makes this series ridicilous. The actor of Jet makes this extremely cringe and unbelievable, he can't play a mad vampire. And the fighting is just comical with the strange sound effects added. I'm speechless of how bad this went. This happens when GMMTV takes over, just want to please the fangirls and loose focus to deliver a comprehensive story. And I'm sad for Boun & Prem who can act way better even when their talent shines through in some scenes, but not enough to make this series good. Also Marc tried his best and he is the most consistent characters in my view, but he can't do it alone.

Overall this was a really big disappointment, but on the other hand I have never much hope for GMMTV productions when they cast popular ships. When they don't care, they can produce something good like "Boys in Love". It's a dilettantish attempt in the vampire genre, the same as in "My Golden Blood" which was equally bad. Again a series which didn't need to exist.

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Overacting made it cringe, besides being boring

This is one of the few japanese productions I could not enjoy at the least.

Takahashi constant overacting ruined this movie for me completely. I bet it was not his fault and they director wanted it this way, but it resulted in a cringe fest for me. The story is boring as fuck as well. There is no real progress and there is no real story told. They should have confessed to each other in the beginning because they should already knew from the first movie how they feel. And then maybe we would have a chance to see them grow together and overcome all the obstacles life throws at them. And after they confessed near the end, they do not change, they do not kiss, it's just the same.

So all in all the skip button was my biggest support for this movie. I could not stand to watch some scenes several times. That's the disappointent from Japan in 2024. Why some people like a non-story movie I have no clue, because while the actors look pleasing, the acting was only cringe and there are only about 10minutes of cute in this movie. I guess female viewers will like it more but for me it was just crap and the pretty cinematography can't save it.

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While not perfect the acting was on a whole other level compared to any other 2023 Thai BL.

I have no idea why people find the story messy or hard to follow, especially if you take your time and re-watch the episode if you really can't follow.

The concept is unique and while some writing is questionable especially avoiding the death of each main character. I have no idea if it's exactly the same in the novel, but they could have taken some leeway to change the story in this aspect. The show's highlight is the acting of Tor and Teng which is completly on an other level. It's neither cringe nor creepy to love whom you love especially knowing they have met at the same age. Their chemistry and acting is nothing I have seen in this years Thai BLs which is the main reason I can overlook all the faults this series has especially in the finale. I would have ended the series when they met again at the cinema, all the continued story was completly unecessessary and irrelevant and would have resonated more positively with the audience.

This series also did a great job to convey he feelings of the young Ongsa and old Suansoon which will move emphatic people to tears (as it did with me). Because the acting was so great I rate this show as high, because you can only watch in reverence of such a performance.

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mature story, bad audio-editing

The most positive of this show is that it's not childish at the least, as most of the thai shows aired 2024.. The young actors did their best to transport the story which plays out in an unusual setting: A thai prison. Of course this is not a polished high budget production, but the lack of polish was compensated with more workshops and pre-production run at least a year to improve the acting skills of the cast. In contrast GMMTV does the reverse, high polished production but the acting skills of most of it's actors are either lacking or the script is so bad, their skills don't matter.

The most negative of the show is the drowning of the actors voices whenever background music overlaps. This is really annoying. They also used some lip-sync which were not top-notch. Also the ending is not a real ending, it's a cliffhanger for the special episode which is seperated from this short series. That we had to wait for the last four episodes for nearly a month made the show not better.

It'a mostly a story of power dyanamics in a prison with a flair of a partly fluffy BL. It's also a story of a gay youth doing something stupid and going to prison for it twice, finding someone he falls in love with but his partner while showing some feelings does not commit. I liked this story much more compared to most other shows... It's not great, but it's good for what it is. The end is a bit abrupt and not happy at all, but I suppose the special episode will resolve that. For a low budget production it's well done. If you watch on youtube, be aware there are only auto-generated subtitles on the last four episodes which makes some dialoges hard to understand. Maybe in the future they remedy that problem.

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heartwarming and beautiful...

Japan does it again with an unconvential story. While the age gap may some people turn away, it shows love can happen regardless of age too. They come closer over food while the younger character is an energized editor, the older character is an experienced but disenchanted chef. Ishida has abundance of energy, he sometimes feels like a child experiencing new things in life. Chef Mitsuya has closed himself off from the world and positive feelings. Ishida slowly but surely changes Mitsuyas views comulating in heartwarming vocal expression in the finale.

Both actors did an amazing job to portrait their characters. There is even fluff even albeit in other ways you would normally expect. Of course it's a classic JBL so they didn't even try kissing, but it does not matter for this story.

I can wholeheartly recommand this show.

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What this show lacks on drama and acting it compensates with cuteness

The first thing to say is, this show is the cutes BL I have ever seen.
While fresh actors are always a risk, Keen did a superb job, Sea was a bit stiff in some scenes but he hold up well. The side couple was not as interesting and cute, but it worked ok for me.

This show was made for teens I suppose, but while the story is not really dramatic, it was fun to watch, was executed in a great and cute way. Production value was high, the OST much better than most GMMTV shows and the commercials inbetween were kept to a minimum.

There is not much else to say, if you like cute, this show is for you!

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One of the best BL series ever!

After two years I watched this series again and it was as good as I remembered.
This series was amazing in beautifully crafting an enemy to lover trope in an unconventional way and with a heartbreaking ending.

While the second couple had a slow start, it was also a realistic way of showing how lovers could come together with one enthusiastic teenager and an older, hurt adult. I have no clue why there is so much complaining about an age gap. It was not that big and it happens in real life too. You can never decide to love, it just happens!

Also some complain about the ending, but that can happen and I personally think it's great to depicture something like that too. It transforms this series from the typical highschool romance to a mature slice of life.
Everything was thoughtfully executed, the nuances in the acting were amazing. and it will be one of the best BLs of all time imho.

If you can stomach a really heartbreaking ending you should watch for sure!

PS.: In this year (2024) should be a second season, I only hope it can be as amazing.

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This is a mixed bag...

First the bad things: The problems of prostitutuion is only superficial mentioned, the acrobatics are only shown prominently in the first and last episode, even when some actors had to do a lot of work to make it believable. The ending is strange as well, especially with the love-triangle... while I don't see it problematic when three people love each other, it was not really explored through the story, it was there in the final episode and I didn't really expect it.

The good things about this series is that the production quality overall was high, and there was a lot of fan-service, which was overdone in my opinion. The chemistry between the leads was also good and they did a good job.

So overall not a bad show, but not a very good one either due to the lack of a more indepth story about hosts in general and not exploring the love-triangle from the beginning. At least you will have lot's of eye-candy.

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simply mostly cute.

I don't understand all the low ratings this show received.
While it's not perfect, it's watchable, with some laughs and some tears.
It's by far not as bad as "The Middleman" or the absolut horrid "Crazy Handsome Rich".

This show has its cute moments, also it's serious moments.
While some of the effects looked cheap, you have to consider that this was not a high-budget series, so you should not take that so much serious. The effects in "Law of Atttraction" were much worse, but I didn't see 1.0 ratings.

For me this show was enjoyable even with some overacting on the comedy parts and with the stupid noises, but the gist of the story and what the director wanted to transport was positive and the acting ranged from cute to good. I don't understand why people have expectations regardsless of who is acting or writing or directing. Regardless, reviews with 1.0-3.0 ratings are unfair compared to many other worse shows.

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