Eliot_Rulez

Slowly paced, cute and different

As usual, japanese BL offer something different.
Boy's (Taishin) bird died and because he had him since school, he is endlessly sad and cries in the woods. There a tourist (Takara) comes by and conforts sad boy. Sometimes later Taishin comes to the same university where Takara studies...
In the next seven episodes we see Taishin coming to grips with his feeling, each episode is a step forward for him. Because (?) Taishin is from a rual area he is incredible naive and innocent and does not know much about life. On the other hand Takara is the opposite, he is disenchanted and does not expect much from life. But Taishin opens his heart nearly instantly and while a "selfish bastard" (his words in the finale), he really does care about him and wants to protect Taishin, because he also can't believe how naive Taishin is...

The mellow pace and the story focus just for one couple was a nice difference after many shows with two or more couples and rapidly switching from one couple to the next. Both actors did a really good job of portraying their characters and the vibe of the series was mostly relaxed with some dark spots espiecally for Takara. While the pace was slow I felt never bored with any episode. The only letdown (as of many JBLs) are the lack of real kissing. But maybe we get more with the "spin off". Artstyle, camera, scenery, lighting was top notch.

Overall I can recommand this show especially if you have a stressful life, because it will calm you down. Besides that you get a sweet, sometimes fluffy story which was sensible crafted.

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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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And the Oscar goes to....

Many say Season 2 is better than Season 1... But I disagree. It was different, less toxic but more bitchy.

We have a couple Jack & Dean which overshadowed anyone and we have one actor who did overshadow all of others: Mix. This was a role written for him and it pays off. He is the overwhelming star of this show and everyone else looks pale compared to him. We have Rome & Raffy and they are decent but nothing which made me gasp. And finally we have a couple with Arnold and Tua and they are misplaced. The do not fit in this series, they look out of place and I could not give a rat's ass about them.

Then we got Boston back for about three episodes, herding a couple together which is so against his nature when you have seen Season 1. We also got Nick aka Mark back to reconcile with Boston, so there are no bad feelings anymore. Mark did that beautifully, as expected. Of course TopMew are back for a bit and SandRay to give fans a sense of continuity. Nothing this series really needed but I consider it a fanservice.

Of course we have two "villains", first Raffy chasing Jack and not be very successful with it and Pete who wants to get Rome but Rome has already decided that Raffy is the man for him. Pete gets even worse when he took money from the theater production and caused harm to JackDean & ArnoldTua by releasing a bit of a video which gives viewers a wrong impression. While Raffy confronts Pete in the episode before the final, as in usual GMMTV tradition we don't know what happened to him and this scene was also not emotional enough. I would have thought he would be gone after he took the money, but no all the others are too forgiving and kept him in the theater production.

Also in typical GMMTV tradition everything must be a happy end. Jack & Dean seperating would have been the perfect ending for this season. They could have done a special to get them together again, but no, it had to be done in the final epsiode. As usual the script is lacking and the direction is "wobbly".

Regardless this series was for the most parts entertaining, but my quite high rating is only because of Mix. This is quite the same as with the first season where Mark left a lasting impression. Those two can act in a big variety and there are only a few other actors who can reach them. So for a GMMTV production this was good. For a thai BLs it was better than most. But the script quality was all over the place ranging from stupid to very good in the whole series.

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A realistic depiction of gay life end of the 1980ies...

While nowadays so much BL crap is produced, this is a very serious story about how life was for teens at the end of the 80ies. It's especially important because this movie begins when the martial law ended in Taiwan. They discover themselves, they discover how cruel the world is, discover that the end of martial law does not change people over night and also what role the church played against homosexuals.

It's one of the masterpieces Taiwan always produced in the BL-World where the story matters, where the characters matter, where the acting matters and where the production quality, direction and execution matters. All is done so well and all makes sense.

This movie does not have a happy end, so I advise caution before you watch it because it could make you feel terrible, sad or even depressed. Still, it's a masterpiece and leaves a strong impression.

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Whats with the cliché storyline?

While the first part of the series did have a female antagonist which felt forced, I have no idea how they could insert such a story plot in episode 7. I can't understand as well why there is still miscommunication and trust issues when they seemingly resolved their problems in ep 5 & 6. I don't really get it.
I thought they would tell a story where both of them would grow but not to insert a third wheel which will shaken one of them. The ending feels like they are in a fragile relationship and even if the ending seems to resolve all problems I don't feel it will.

So overall a medicore storyline with cliché plotpoints. I can't fault the acting and the kissing scenes felt natural for me. Maybe the epilogue in the "payed" version would have brought more clarity but to pay for some minutes more content is not worth it for me.

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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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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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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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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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