Eliot_Rulez

Would it be too much to ask for age appropriate actors?

In the month of crap Thai BLs, we got this. This is a mixture of a lot of crap and some good to make it just an average show, because the crap is overwhelming. First the actors are 26 and 30 and play 18 year olds... They don't look old but they also don't look super young. Which is a shame. Grandpa was never shaved correctly, with some exceptions, having hanging out a white hair from his face most of the time which was annoying... did nobody see that?

Then we have the classic cliché a so called "hetero" is confessed by a gay guy. Of course the hetero rejects him. That is before grandpa is forced to write a BL to bail himself out... And then "of course" he tries ... and falls in love - crap.

On the other hand we have a lot of cute kids in the orphanage which are the cause of grandpas debt. Running a orphanage without goverment support is a chore and expensive. So grandpa the seasoned writer is forced to adopt to times, because "normal" literatur is hard to sell. At least he is learning and opening his mind while writing a BL novel. There is of course also a medical condition because grandpa has troubles with his eyesight and only an operation can save it and when you don't have public heathcare, it costs money...

Between all this crap there also tidbits of wisdom. Production quality was good. The show does not prioritize the BL couple, they have a little kiss but no nc-scenes. Overall it's ok to watch, but nothing I will revisit again.

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fun to watch, but a lot of cliché

The weakest point of this series is the storyline. The pacing is off most of the time. Either it's too slow or it's too rushed, espeically in the finale. Also the stereotypes are not my cup of tea. We have a "model" who does not like anything besides eating and earning money with least effort as possible. The chef who looks stern and unapproachable but can cook exceptional well. There is an ultra-capitalist who thinks everything can be bought with money and a physio-therapist who thinks helping others is his call even when he is annoyed with his lazy friend.

These characters are ingredients for a show full of cliché and little character growth. What is nice about this show, it's not overly silly or over-acting comedy. But there are scenes where you ask yourself "WTF?", like kicking a competitor out because the kitchen is not clean enough but five minutes later fucking in the same kitchen (Did anyone clean afterwards?).

While it would have been nice if we could see characters with more nuances and more depth, it was overall fun to watch. First eat before watching, otherwise you will get hungry for sure, because all the dishes they serve look really amazing. Then turn your brain off and just enjoy the ride and the drama. At least the characters all had a variety of emotions and could act on them. Also the chemestry of all couples was top notch, even when sniffing your partner may be a bit cringe, but who am I to judge? 🤣 One bonus point goes to the OST, because I think they did better than most shows and not used "canned" music for the background and the songs were nice as well (6->7). Overall, better than I would have expected, but not good enough for a really good show, but it was entertaining at least.

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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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What Campus...

While I don't mind low-budget productions, an empty campus without any other students is just ruining the premise of the title. And what's with the over the top lipstick in the opening scene (and other), but forgetting to face-powder the one actor in the next? I don't really feel a professor who gives "love" advice. And finally why end a series with a cliffhanger? Sometimes I was reminded of Thai shows with the silly sound effects which are still annoying as hell.

This was an easy story but I guess the third person could have been spared and they should have more concentrated on character building. So few cast was a downer for me, but at least we get sensible kissing scenes which don't look forced at all.
So, this is an ok show with some length in the story telling and for me some unneeded scenes and a cliffhanger. I suppose an ex will come up in Season 2, if there is a Season 2.

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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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Why is it sooo bad?

Oh my god, that script.
I can't help it but thinking this is script has nothing to do with real gay life.

A man confessed to a boy (just visually, not implying the boy is not a man) and the man get a confession from a girl and then decided to date her even when he is loving that boy. Where does that happen? In a heterosexual woman writers fantasy? Then all the drama with the ex who is just an asshole happens and it felt sooooooo forced. And then they cut kissing scenes especially in the finale where the kiss is part of the story. While I have no problem with cutting fan-service, it's a no go if it is relevant to the story.

So overall I feel sad for the actors who did their best, even if they are inexperienced and felt a bit stiff at times. We can only hope the next series will be more realistic and not just fantasy. It's not the worst show this year but still bad alone from the storytelling. If you have not seen it, you can safely skip it.

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Cringe and cliché and highly overrated!

OMG, what a crap story. 🤣 Yes, yes, many will disagree with me but I'm sick of the "but I'm a man" lines and the 180° turnaround two episodes later...

The story was weak, the over-acting cringe. Why did it have to been Ms. Wad and not Mr. Wad? To be gay is not a new thing.
Happily I could got through with it with lots of skipping the BS.

The only highlight was Vee's grandma. Also the martial arts scenes started strong, but in the end even their quality declined. The "bad guys/gal" were one-dimensional and from a pennybook without any depth. But all characters were a lot like that, one-dimensional. There is some growth for both Vee and San but only on a minuscule scale from a bad outset imho.

I personally prefer "Lost in Translation" as the much more enjoyable show, even when this show was not perfect either. If I were you, I would skip this show and watch the former outing or when you like fancy costumes and an historical/fantasy vibe I would recommand "Meet You at the Blossom" as a much better experience.

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Just a cheesy moneygrab...

If you ask yourself, where goes all the budget of GMMTV, you found part of the answer. This is a highly polished money intensive production because GMMTV is all for milking the cows as long as they have still milk. I thought we would also get a conclusion of our forgotten side-couple from the first series, but they had exactly as much screentime as before - I guess 15 minutes of 4 hours is enough.

While I don't expect much of a story in a "special" episode, I would have expected some story in a four-parter. But there was nothing of relevance in it. There was not much in it except tons of cheesy lines, ridicilous fighting choreography and even the kisses where not that long or that good. And yes, P'Klien can create star constilations, that was cringe ³. Even the kids where strange, like puppets with wing nuts which can be restarted by a view turns. Whenever the president of GMMTV is involved in a production, you can bet it will be successful but will lack a story.

Overall we got a mediocre four-parter with nothing of substance just some entertainment. You could use your time with better series but of course you could also turn off your brain, watch it and rate it a 10. Sadly I can't turn off my brain and I can't rate this a 10 either. At least no story means, they could not ruin a story and that's some improvement.

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What an action firework...

While this series has sci-fi elements, it's more a spy thriller with suspense, Who betrays who is the question. James Bond would search for a superweapon, they search for a supermutagen which turns a human into an nearly invincible superhuman,

The story is interesting, the plot-twists not always expected and good acting. This series has outstanding cinematogrpahy, VFX and action/fighting sequences. I have not seen such good VFX and fighting scenes in a series, but I guess it was expensive as hell, so we get only four episodes. That's the reason this got a 10 from me.

If you dig action but expect an interesting story as well, this is for you!

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Nice blend of comedy, fluff and drama.

I have not much to say, just I was very entertained with this series.

The story is of course not the best, but the acting is top notch. The only downfall is the kissing of MLs which, in typical traditional japanse style, is a dead fish kiss. When you can overlook this point, you get a nice blend of comedy and serious elements, solid story telling and some fluffy scenes. Production quality was top notch, intro & outro song fitted also very well and overall it's really entertaining.

So, if you have not watched it and you need something more on the light side, this is for you!

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Still wholesome...

Many reviews complain, that season 2 is really close to season 1. Because there is not a timeskip you should not expect that Minato will change so soon. He is still childish, overthinking, overreacting, anxious, frightened, timid and overly shy. Yes, for western cultures this is annoying, but you should see the context and that japanse culture is different. At least I think in the finale he realizes that he can't be all that anymore and has to make a step forward.

To have the "side couple" play a more active role is also a positive for me and and at least here the adult steps out of his confort zone and he's trying.

So for me, this was really a very good BL and I hope they will continue with another season where we would see a more grown up "Minato-san" and how his life changes with Shin.

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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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