Eliot_Rulez

A rabbid who is happy with a poly relatiosship...

It's unusual that a series/movie explore a poly relationsship. The only question I always agreed with is: Why is marriage only for two people? This is something I still don't understand, because if you are three or four people so many things in life, especially the painful stuff would be so much easier to deal with. As that may be, it was refreshing to see that in a series. While it was interesting to watch, I feel the story is in part superficial, especially the sexual aspect. While the older of the two man give me much more "gay" vibes he is the one first opposed, That did not really match for me. Also I wished there would have been more intimate moments where the three explore each other, because if that part does not work, the relationsship part would not work either imho.

I also understand why this is a comedy setting, but I would have prefered if this would have been filmed in a much more serious way, But I also understand why they did this, because things beside the social norm in Japan are hard to do and I assume they wanted the viewers at home not to feel offended.

Even with the negatives, I had a lot of fun watching this and the ending is hinting a season 2 which would be so much more interesting... As usual japanese productions bring something unusal on the screen and for that I appreciate it a lot. If you prefer it light-hearted and not so heavy, you should watch it. Thanks to my friend Daniel who showed me this show, otherwise I would not have noticed it :)

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More disappointing as expected and as overrated as expected

Cherry Magic (Thai) was bad enough, but it can get worse with this remake.
I don't get the forced comedy with it's stupid soundeffects and the over-acting. This series has the charm of a bulldozer. The most annoying thing was the overall childish acting in most scenes. There are only some scenes where you can think, this could have been a good show, but sadly it wasn't.

I don't need to compare to the japanese "original" verison, because on it's own merrit this show is not good, but fangirls are fangirls and they overrate as hell because of two actors they like. I also bet my review will be downrated, as it happened with Cherry Magic (Thai), but I could not care less.

Objectively this show is not good, the characters are mostly one-dimensional and childish. The actors had no script to work with which couldn't challenge them in their acting. Besides that, also the chemistry between the MLs was nothing to write home about. "My School President" had a good story, good acting, good chemistry and an grandious OST and all the other things a good BL should have. This series had only lot's of advertisments up your face (again). I don't get it, why they need to do that. Are the actors that expensive or are japanese rights much more expensive compared to thai novels? Even compared to Cherry Magic (Thai) the production quality was not top notch, so I guess it's just maximizing profits.

Other reviews will depict the show in more detail but I'm too lazy for that. It was a grand disappointment and I would wish the fangirls would objectively rate such shows, because as long it is upvoted that high, such crap will be produced again which is sad to the whole industry and unnecessarily lowers the quality of such shows. You should skip it and watch "Only Boo" instead which is not brilliant on the acting but makes up with cuteness and also a very good OST.

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GMMTV/Raiser Music outed themselves or so it seemed...

Wow, what a show, I thought in the beginning of this series... but as always with GMMTV the show gets gruadually worse... The positive of course is the chemistry between William & Est and also Nut surprised with good acting. The other memebers of the boyband are not at that level yet. A second positive we got was a very nice OST interpreted by the band. And the most positive: It was not an university setting again... boah is that overused nowadays.

The bad: GMMTV shows us how the entertainment industry work - and indirect how they work - the finale was especially lackluster with the "happy end". Of course this is a BL and the business woman is not that business after all which felt so insincere and unbelievable. We all know that idols and ships have slave-like contracts and such a series will of course change nothing. The break-up part (Pepper/Gam) was one plot to drive home that this industry is unforgiving and they will do everything to get their investment in their artists back.
After reading an other review, now I know in Thailand things are different especially with idols dating... so they just copied K-Pop style which is bad.

Overall for me: Strong beginning and weak ending. I give them cudos doing something different, but of course this is top notch marketing to present one of their boybands to the international fans and broaden their appeal and success which of course means more money for GMMTV. Because this is a BL, it's a fantasy and the finale would never play out this way in reality. If someone gets fired from one company it would be hard to get a contract with another company, because the companies talk to each other and there enough back-channels that they all know what had happened. So this leaves a bitter taste...

And because this review section is swamped with 10 reviews, I guess, I will get a lot of hate because I disagree. It could have been so much more but I have little faith in the big thai companies to deliver a good show from start to end, as usual I got disappointed. Believe what you want, but this show is very far from a 10 and my 7 (edit 6.5) is very generous because I admit that William & Est have a special charm.

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Ended in a cliffhanger...

The elefant in the room with this series is the lip-syncing of the whole audio. For me it always felt out of place. They could not transfer all the emotions of a scene in a believable manner. Unexpectable the kissing was not good either.

The finale was a bit of a bummer. We get a cliffhanger for a 2nd season and I always hate it, when they do that. Chances are good with all the support this series gained it will happen. But to wait for a year for the continuation of this story suxx.

Besides the couples and the girl, I also think the acting was lacking. They choose to implement silly moments in such a dark story and I'm not a fan of it. Production quality was top notch, besides the lip-syncing.

We get a story between a "soft" gangster boss and a "innocent" student who is the pride not only of his family but of the whole neighbourhood. It's quite clear from the beginning that the student is drawn to the gangster and it's typical BL cliché that the gangster boss has to struggle to accept his own feelings. So nothing new there and nothing which does justify all the hype about this series..

Overall it was good entertainment but for me it was not stellar. And to have to wait for another year for the conclusion (or again 9 episodes with a cliffhanger) pisses me off.

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Not as cute as Only Boo and a red-flag character...

As always when "New" Sijaw is directing, most series glide into childishness and cringe. In this case it was more subdued then in most other series (Fourever You Part 1, Perfect 10 Liners) but it's still there especially in the first two episodes. There are times when childish beheaviour is appropiate but in most cases it's not.

The script is a mixed bag. The solution of the time-travel was a bit weak and Mr. Redflag (Van) side-couple felt a bit unrealistic. How he handles the situation is dispicable but also the script was quite lazy depicting it. Also there was not the budget to "age" the actors to make them distinguishable from now and the future selfs. So the production is ok, but it looks constraint by the few locations they had. Of course there are a lot of stupid things in it and the direction is bad.

So overall it's on the "good" side of BLs we had last year. At least Sea "Junior" did improve a lot with his acting which is also a plus for me. Keen has the talent, it looks like it's easy for him. I will not criticize too much in this case, it's pleasant enough to watch and many will have fun with it.

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Stunning pictures, not thought out story...

"The Secret of Us" is a japanese youtube channel, but only doing chinese BL content. That is one their several short series but a very weak one. While the landscapes are really stunning, the story left so much to be desired. It begins fine - a hurt stranger is found by an to be aspiring veterian - but how they fell in love is not really explained. There is a red flag scene in a tent and then it's like they are together.

In the following episodes it's revealed the stranger had his goal to reach the veterian because his dog saved him from a wolf pack. But when you listen to the story, it does not make much sense, because he mentioned there were other people saving him, so they would have rendered first aid, right? And just because he did not tell him first, they break up and the stranger returns home.

The finale is the most confusing. First it's a time jump and second he wants to search for the stranger but gets a call that mr. stranger should have an operation otherwise his life is in danger and then he appears on a horse. WTF?

This is one of the weakest series from them and I have no clue why they thought the story made any sense. They had six episodes to tell a story, but most of it was filler and not needed and it ends. While it's nice he's back, will he die now? Or what was the reason for him coming back? I can't figure it out and I don't care. The actors tried their best, they delivered a decent performance but I did not feel their attraction to each other. The only good thing about this series are the stunning landscapes which is special because most dramas play out in a big city most of the time. Also the rest of the production quality was top notch wasted on such a script. Handsome actors don't make a story. So my quite high rating is only because of the production quality, because the script is really bad.

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style, elegance, tension, passion, love...

First, I have to say, I can't imagine how much training the actors had to do to get to this level of dancing. Watching them dance is mesmerizing. Two humans meet through passion. Two humans contrary to each other share a bond which grows over time.

"Dance is neither about technique nor stamina. Love is what makes it whole" - "So close and yet so far" are the two sentences describing the story in a heartbeat.

This being a Netflix production, I don't have to tell you that the cinematography, lighting, music, atmosphere are top notch. Both MLs are just incredible. Even in the slow scenes there is not a moment I was bored... The story has a rhythm just as dancing does. And for most things you see, I can't express how it moved me. Suffice to say, it's something different, something not seen yet, something incredible and something we should be happy to experience. This movie is a "must watch" in my book!

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Slow as a snail, but the tiny daily life moments makes it special

We all know some JBLs are extremely slow, but this is slow to a standstill. On one hand we have Wataru who is aware of his feelings but to frightened to give into them and on the other hand there is Minato a steady, courages character who has his goal in mind all of the time and that is to be with Wataru.

What is especially mind boggeling is that the director of this show also did "My Personal Weatherman" and both shows could not be farther apart as they are. Weatherman is about miscommunication but both characters show a special desire to have sex with each other - not just for the sex because they do love each other. This time the countdown starts at 3698 days more than 10 years and it's a very slow process.

Especially for western viewers to watch this snail pace is a bit hard and frustrating, because it's not in our culture. While life is very fast paced in Japan, in Europe we have something called "life-work balance". Our goal is not life for work, but just work for life and enjoy life as much as possible and this contradiction also shows in this show. Minato got a job and left for three years not because he wanted to, because he needed to. This was also the point in the story where Wataru realized that he is really in love. But when Minato returns after three years he still denies his feelings and hurt Minato as well.

Of course, because of the title, we all know they will end up together, but it was a really slow process. I personally would have wished they would have packed all the eleven episodes in just eight with less flashbacks, which would have led to a better pacing. But even while it was slow they created a special atmosphere. There is no drama per se, there are many small moments which drive the characters, the glances, the intimacy in just doing little things. Also of note is the positive messaging even with grandpa who said "I don't understand it, but as long as you are happy, I'm happy" which pulls this show closer to reality.

Production quality was very good, except the "night scenes". I can see clearly that many where not filmed at night but done with not so good CGI especially the star night. And of course I wished they had the kiss-scenes like in "My Personal Weatherman". But besides that, there is nothing to complain about. In the times we live in this show gives us a little bubble to be happy and to slow down ourselves. I can only say, I liked it regardless of it's flaws.

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A bit cringe, a bit drama and much fluff...

The most amazing thing about this series is, that it's a japanese/thai co-production, even when filmed in Thailand, everyone except "Junji" is thai.

The start is rough with the subtitles, but it got better with ep 5... The first episodes are easy to follow even when you don't know exactly what they say, but everyone should get the gist of it. This story is similar to "Our Dating Sim" but with major differences. First the company is much bigger, second the couple did not meet in school, but through a game, even when that is not obvious for some time.

While a japanese production it follows the thai forumla, which means a bit of cringe and funny scenes which are not that funny in my eyes. But overall they did have a good story (not a stellar one), good character progression and even the "side couple" had ample of screentime and did not feel like an afterthought. The only sad point was, that Fluke resembled his acting in UWMA but his character was much stronger and focused. He did a good job and of course he did not need to cry every episode.

Interesting the main couple did not have any BL experience before this series and for their first outing they did exceptionally well. Hill (March Chutavuth Pattarakhumphol) is an inspired game designer who finally lands his dream job and Junji (Mukai Koji) is the CEO of the thai branch of a japanese gaming company and the only japanese working there. The writing of their characters was well done and they gradually show other sides of themselves and reveal that they are not as stereotypical as I have expected them to be from the first two episodes. They grow together in a mature slow way and both overcome their past trauma through trust.

The side couple has the veterans Judo (as Bay) & Fluke (as Phat) and both seem to have fun with their roles. While Bay is a game designer with a big ego and portraited as womanizer, Phat is reserved but a focused chef. Both couples find together due to the research there are doing for their new game which is a dating game but the main characters of said game are only boys. While Junji & Phat are obvioously gay, the other two characters seemed not to be, but this is not the typical hetero to gay trope. Bay sees/feels something in Phat he never felt before and Hill recognizes whom he loved all along (I will not spoil that to you). The only negative is the forced drama in the end, which is imho too much thai influence. They could have solved that in a better way in a less dramatic way.

We will see the side-couple hopefully again, because they announced a second season of "Make a Wish". Koji (Junji) will be back in a BL movie "Love Song" (https://kisskh.at/782204-love-song) this year which is also a japanese/thai co-production playing in Thailand and Japan but sadly with another actor but who look very similar to March (Hill) imho.

The production was good, the actors were good and the vibe was good. I don't know why, but I felt happy watching this. So I see no reason why you should not to watch this series imho.

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vertical series are a pain to watch...

Besides vertical, the story is also not thought trough. The question my mind asked from the beginning is, why does Nam know that Han is a killer... And why is the title "next door" when they live together. There is no explaination or background.

Acting was decent, the "BL" parts are ok, but besides that, is quite stereotypical. There is not much to say, besides that the episodes are too short, the shortest just 45 seconds, that you NEED to binge-watch all of them otherwise it makes no sense and the better option would have been to make them at least 8 minutes long.

This is a series nobody needs to watch, if you do, you might like it and it's for sure not terrible. But I would have prefered much more episodes to explain the background and of course a better storyline. For a Korean productions this was weak.

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this was boring as fuck...

There is no real story... it's just inconsequential and irrelevant. Nothing happend for 1h 15mins. The BL and the GL go together on the island. The BL returning home and the GL for a vaction. They chat about nothing, have some dinner, some walking and some kissing and that's it. I was bored out of my mind. The best of this episode are the shoots of the nature... Then there is the obligatory kiss under water (which was filmed in a tank and not the ocean, because in an ocean that's nearly impossible to do).

I can't even say it's bad. To be bad there must be story, but there was nothing. If you are bored you can watch it for some eyecandy and some nice landscape shots, but you can leave the volume off, because nothing they say is in any way interesting.

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Impressive political drama with some romance

First of all this review is for the uncut version, where every episode has a runtime of about one hour. On youtube you see a very cut version which runs only about 45 minutes per episode. Also this series is not a BL. It's just a drama where the main protagonists happen to be gay, one open and the second one not so open. There is a romance part in it but not in the typical fluffy BL style. We see that Vee does admire Nong from the start and he warm ups to him very early. Nong is a grumpy type and very stubborn and it takes time to "warm up" to Vee.

The star of this show of course is the story and the superb acting. Every character has his flaws, some have more, some have less, but nobody is perfect. They depict the backstabbing and horse-trading in any politics, but they focused on actual events in Thailand which is a novum. While the series is more a slowburn, there are so many characters to keep track of that I'm happy we had the time to do so.

And the final episode was also atypical to any BL. This season ends on negative and positive notes but they clearly aimed to have a second season because the story is not finished with only eight episodes. So there is hope, we get another eight episodes to get a real happy end.

Because this is not GMMTV, we get a realistic story, with a great cast, good production design and overall an amazing series. If you are only in the fluffy stuff, this series is not for you. If you liked "Shine" you will like this series also.

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A special which was not special at all...

Oh, MDL woke up and put this page on... But when you have already seen all the episodes, this episode does nothing except killing Ken off... Of course he must be killed off, because the thai police is so incompetent they can't catch him... And they are good in delivering cheesy lines. And having a ten minute discussion if the toilets should be painted green or not. Of course there must be a NC scene in said toilets, because a special without fanservice is not a special.

The only thing I can say is, watching this is a waste of time, it feels not special, it does nothing special, it's just watchable and boring and that's it. In this case I have not more to say because I already forgot everything else besides what I have already mentioned :)))

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Cuteness overload...

How to begin this review? I'm a bit overwhelmed with positives and negatives of this show. First of all, The workshop/rehearsals they all did payed off very well. But I still don't like the representation of Japans society. The first irk was the question of the girl on the end of episode 2 "By the way, why are you so protective of Hioki?" - no-one in Japan would ask the question, if they are not really, really close or family. This does not happen. And then we have Morisaki brother. First the prank in the car was really of very bad taste and would have earned him a beating in my book. But then pushing Watarai would also never ever happen. The four friends only spoke for about four months at that time, which means Watarai may have seen Morisakis brother but does not have any connection to him whatsoever. This is the typical fantasy land most BLs are in and we could have done without that.

One the other hand, this couple is one of the cutest we ever have to get to know. Hiokis actor protrayed his character to perfection. I only wish his scream was much much much longer. 🤣Yes he is shy, but on the other hand he is direct, asks what's on his mind and is not wishywashy at all which was very refreshing. Watarai's actor plays the cool one, but he is shy himself but covers it up most of the time. Both characters grow with each other and in the finale Hioki is the leading man. Perfect!

Production quality was also top notch! Cinematography, costumes, editing and the audio were all perfect as well. So this was very enjoyable and cute and of course I have to recommand that show. Also we get the treat of two special episodes airing consecutively next week and the week after. And both of them on a spring break trip is something I look forward. 🤣

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This becomes a BL when you watch the special episodes...

First of all, this kind of humor is not everyones cup of tea. And there is no international distribution which is quite sad. GagaOOLala takes every crap show, but did not take this one.

Of course when you see the "normal" episodes you may question if this is a BL, but I would argue for it, because Toru's feelings go beyond admiration imho. When you have a chance to see the two special episodes it makes everything clear and without them the series is not complete. So my rating reflects all twelve episodes (it*s two half episodes, so if you see a special with around 26 minutes you're fine).

If you have a chance to see it with proper subtitles (not the AI slob), the show makes sense, the character development makes sense and I felt Kishi Knight had an interest in Toru from the get go. Near the end we also get why he got an interest in him with a flashback before he became Torus tutor. And thanks to a friend who provided me the proper subs and the special episodes I could get a proper experience 💖

I can't explain it, but I like this over-the-top humor more than the comedy of most thai shows. They also did a good job to give the characters quiet moments with serious talk without any comedy at all. So this show grew on me, it was fun and while not perfect, it was very entertaining.

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