Eliot_Rulez

comedy missing the point...

While I can get Tongrak & Mahasamut story, I don't get the GL part... Is it me or don't you court someone you like with annoying requests and silly excuses? This irked me the most.

The characters in general are very one-dimensional, there isn't much of a development. Also all the drama elements felt a bit forced and cliché. Tongrak's buying sex-service is not a good point but it's life. The only thing which was clear from the beginning (for me) was that Mahasamut did not really do it for the money. He was interested in Tongrak from the get-go. But there's where the story almost ends. At least I understand why Tongrak acts as he does, shunning his feelings but be overwhelmed by them anyways. This leads also into excessive sex-scenes due to Tongraks "buying" Mahasamut. While japanese BLs show mostly too few (with some exceptions), Thai BLs choose too many and this fan-service is appreciated as I can see from most reviews and ratings here. In the end Tongraks overcomes his fear of love but it took too long of a time for me.

Tongrak's niece was the highlight of the show giving it a bit of flavour uncommon to most BLs. I don't find it surprising a 13 year old girl said that uncles new man is sexy, that should not surprise anyone, that's also normal nowadays.

I would have purged the script of all the silly comedic scenes, have either skipped the GL or altered it into something mature, to have a contrast to the dark outlook from the BL. Then this show could have been done in 6 or 8 episodes. Why did the producers choose to have a dark story for the MLs and to contrast them with mostly silly comedy for the GL? For me It breaks the flow and since episode 1 everyone should have understood there is something wrong with Tongrak. But maybe the writers wanted to be close to the source material or they thought that this is the way to go, I don't know. For me it was the wrong way.

Production quality was high with beautiful shots of the island which were too few imho. The ML did a good job overall especially Peat, the GL were good in serious scenes. Due to the handling of the story, this is a subpar show. Good chemistry does not save a bad BL, sensual sex-scenes don't either. It's sad that people don't invest time to think about the story and understand what's wrong with it.

But as the ratings show, sex sells, so it's again a sad day for Thai BLs with declining quality plots, writing and execution. This year seems to be a new low for Thai BLs with a lot of crap shows and a lot of medicore shows. As long as people like such shows, they will produce such shows and the quality will diminish further.

Read More

The weakest of all Love Classes so far....

I'm still not a fan of two people not speaking the same language, while mr. thai boy is doing at least an acceptable job in english, mr. korean boy can't even speak english. It's not like such a project materializes over night, so there should have been time enough to put him into language school, so both could talk in english with each other.

And then there is the editing and run-time. Love Class Season 1 episodes were around 20 minutes each, while Love Class Season 2 episodes were between 22 and 34 minutes. Season 3 episodes have a runtime of just 13 minutes. They could have alternated between the two couples per episode but no it's mixed, so depending it's often just 5 minutes for one couple. For me there is no natural flow, it feels choppy.

So the story is predictable, the chemistry is nothing to write home about and everything feels flat. I'm not happy with this season because even the "Love Class" in University only plays a role in the beginning and the finale. They could have removed that part completely and it would not have changed anything. And what's with the finale for the second couple? The prince in shining armor gets disgraced (but not the boss), they meet again and then no falling in each others arms, no kiss, just credits? That was one of the laziest written finale ever.

I did expect much more from this series, both previous seasons are sooooo much better. But we can't have it all. It's just a generic BL with not much depth, predictable story, forced drama with homophobic antagonists (because it's Korea). Also disappointing that there was not enough music considering it's about an idol group. There was nothing which kept me excited. It's there, you watch it and you forget it.

Read More

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. 🤣

Read More

A highly polished production with only one flaw...

This was a pleasent surprise. While most GMMTV productions are the same old, same old this is different. I'm not a fan of the thai humor and the accompanying soundeffects, but it felt not that over compared to Ossan's Love (TH). The script was mostly good but with one flaw. I think PerthSanta was a late addition and they were just there for the fans and had not that much of an impact. Remember the first episode where PerthSanta had a fight, and Santa said to Perth "We speak later, wait at the car" - and of course that scene never came. So for me it feels like this couple was squeezed into the script without having a story to tell.

You see Pond had the time of his life acting his overdriven self and Phuwin is also a stronger character compared to all the other series they did together. Only the kissing scenes were not perfect most of the time, they really need a kissing coach. The addition of William and Est as side couple (but without a kiss yet, in maybe special episode?) was of course also to gain more momentum for the show from their fandom and a calculated strategy by GMMTV to give the fans more "food" till their next series. And of course Est delivered! The addition of the two childs also helped to give this series a more serious touch.

While the PerthSanta story arc was weak, the rest was well written and well executed. To have the GMMTV president appear in the finale was a bit too cheesy for me. Besides that, production quality was top notch and you see they had a big budget to promote their most profitable ships in the menagerie of ships.

The humor is mostly not my cup of tea, but this fairy tale was what "The Next Prince" should have been. A fairy tale which is interesting to watch, which is a bit bizarre and a bit over the top, a touch of seriousness and lots of fun!

Read More

A disappointment for a chinese BL

This series is like a lacorn series, too much forced drama and very black/white characters. There is also a "DEMO" version out which is double the length and while I have not seen it yet, I bet it is much needed because this version leaves a lot to be desired of.

It's also one of the few recent chinese BLs where they apply dead fish kisses, which is an automatic deduction in my book, because it kills the vibe. If you don't want to kiss, don't take the role. The acting is decent overall, Kais acting is the most convining. Production quality was also good, but the script is nothing to write home. At least it is not cringe.

Overall this is an average series, where the good parts balance out the bad parts but it's not a series I will watch again.

Read More

That was cute and quite real...

MDL does not aknowledge that this series has 11 episodes and I would think it would be a bit silly to put an extra page for the "so called" special episode - which in reality is the "happy end" episode everyone watching this, does deserve.

They tell the story of a student who falls in love with a teacher - as it happens so many times. But while the teacher knows the feeling of the girl, she is painstakingly aware not to cross a border she should not cross and she doesn't. First we see the perspective of the student and in later episodes we see the perspective of the teacher which is a unique way of story telling.

Of course we don't get the kind of intimacy we expect in a thai show, but it was also not necessary. The "special episode" does give us a view of them together and that's enough as it is. For such a short drama (11 episodes around 4 minutes per episode) they did deliver the story straightforward without being cringe or childish. Everything was very sensible done.

Production quality also felt very high end, which did surprise me a bit. So, if you have the time, this show does not disappoint and is far better than most other long-form series I have seen.

Read More

Everyone needs an Indigo Summer

So many vertical series and I was late to this... because I would not watch a 90 second clip every day for 60 days :) But thankfully this show is also available as a "movie" with around 90 minutes runtime. So this is more manageable for me,

Compared to the trash thai and even the US produces, this was quite nice. While it also contains classical clichés it's better made, better edited and better acted. Production quality was very high for a vertical production.

I won't spoil the contents of this series, but sufice to say, it was not bad. It was a honest effort, not great - but which vertical series could ever be great - but nice to watch. There are rough egdes in the script but overall it's very decent. So if you are deillusioned by trashy 16:9 series, this is a nice counterbalance.

Read More

Nice premise lacks on execution with a forced "happy end"

I do like low budget productions in general, but in this case, they skimped on the runtime which makes the series feel rushed in the end. If it were me, I would have omitted the "happy end". It makes no sense to meet a guy who looks exactly the same and for all intents "feels" like the ghost which would have been impossible.

Acting was ok, giving us a bit of fluff and good vibes with a dark undertone. Of course the actors are also handsome, that may be a bonus point for some viewers. I have not much else to say besides, it's an ok show for what it is, even when I think the ending is "lame". So binge-watch it, if you are interested, but I would stop when the ghost is disappearing because that should be the real end.

Read More

Some 30 minutes shows are better than most...

The same production company who brought us "Infidelity, It's a Disease" brought us this little story. While I was not that happy with the first series, this one had much more impact. I felt the story made more sense, the acting was better. The only gripe I have is the lack of proper kissing, which of course is a downgrade of my rating.

Of course they also used clichés but it did not feel forced. There is a flow to the story and the visuals are very good indeed even with such a low budget. The first episode is a bit disgusting to watch (you will know when you see it), but overall it was enjoyable.

So when you came from "Flirt Milk" or "Eye Contact" this ~30 Minutes (4 episodes around 8 minutes) feels like a boon and I'm sure most of you will enjoy it. Should you also be a member of the youtube channel you will get an extended version with around 36 minutes.

Read More

While a nice genre, I could not enjoy it due to the bad writing

For me the story felt crude. The final fight was also a bit strange, if you have the upper hand, there is no reason for a one on one. The "General" felt like a bad guy from a dime novel.
In the beginning there was a bit of mistery around "Patrick" but that was the only highlight story-wise. To have several couples in a show with only 8 episodes is not enough time to develop a real story and formost no time to develop the characters and their feelings. The main couple did transport some glimpes of affection, but everything felt shallow. The side story around an engaged couple with the body swap felt unrealistic and much much too fast to be believable.

While it was not totally bad, I consider the storyline really bad and unrefined. The actors could only do the best with the material they got but there was no way they could shine or had a challenging role. I had much more expectations from the genre type but was disappointed. It is not even a medicore BL show, it was boring as hell, the funny scenes were not funny (for me) and as usual with most shows it starts stronger than it ends. So, all in all, you should pass it, when you have not watched it yet.

Read More

When you do not expect anything it's better than you could imagine...

The first thing I need to write is, they brought up a many sensitive topics including "aphenphosmphobia" in a sensible way. Even the doctor did the right thing, because he was interested in the patient, so he delegated the therapy to another doctor - as it should be. On the other hand, this show tried too much. There are too many stories in a very short series so the depth of them is very limited. In this case more episodes would have been better.

The actors did all a good job, especially the Doctor and "his" patient. For me they are the ML of the series. All other couples are only 2nd fiddle to them. While having a heavy topic for all couples, there's also some comedy done to let you breath a bit easier. And of course Mom is the best :)

So, while I did not expect anything out of this series, it was much better compared what Domundi and GMMTV produced and I bet with less than half the budget. I would suggest you should watch this first before turning to the bemeoths of BLs.

Read More

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 :)

Read More

"Toxic" is too mild...

First of all I will not dive too much into this series.
You have lot's of reviewers who will explain any detail for you, but I can't be bothered.

While the acting was amazing all characters in this show do need psycho-therapy. All of them. While "psycho professor" & "angry director" do need it most, the other two need it too.

To have a BL where love is regarded as "business" leaves a bitter taste on my tongue. Also the co-worker who at least does not care about Daons background has also a problem with accepting a) rejection and b) listening. I find it quite annoying when characters refuse to listen.

And then there is the lackluster finale... Because it's a BL we get a happy end. Oh would it be so much better if Co-Worker just died and that would be the end for all. But no, he must get his Daon so all the fangirls are happy. Also the final kiss was not that good compared to the scene in his apparment when he was drunk...

Cinematography was top notch, all the details were amazing... but imho it was quite wasted on such a story imho. I liked the beginning but it then spiraled out of control especially with the "angry director" and the "psycho professor". Also who would go for a presentation when the co-worker got stabbed? Would you not inform the attendence and scrap it? Or is it a work-related thing in Korea, that business must go on regardless of what happend? That did not make much sense to me. And then Mr. Director appologizing? Nah, unbelievable, you can't reflect in such a short time on the 11 years you did all the crap.

So overall I'm a bit split about this series, even when I don't mind toxic storylines. It's an above average show, but the story will not be to everyones taste which is a plus in my book but the finale was disappointing for me.

Read More

Nothing exciting...

Unenthusiatically I brought this show to an end. Of course when it's GMMTV and "P'New" directing I expect nothing special, but that script pissed me off since the beginning. They made it so that "Yu" was planning on everything and it's so very unbelievable. They could have cut that out. The main point was that "North" offered money for a marriage on his whim and that would have been good enough. As it's typical with GMMTV and P'New one must play as "childish" as possible. If someone behaves like that I would say, he is not mature enough even to consider marrying anyone.

Tim & Pai had a better start, but even from episode 1 it was very obvious, that Tim already fell for Pai. So as usual the script was very superficial, the characters were not really thought out and of course we have a very strict grandpa. Then comes the marriage of Tim & Pai in the mall and of course all the woman Tim scammed are there - because no, it could have not been a closed event and everyone can come in. Cutting his grandchilds off the family fortune was predictable as it was not really interesting. Instead of letting them figure something out for themselves they had to go back to grandpa and dance to his fiddle.

Just because I'm not disappointed from a show I never expected anything from does not mean it was any good. I can't fault the actors, they did all their best, but the script really did put them into a straitjacket and there is not much wiggle room to let the actors shine. At least we see Ohm in a role were smiling is an option :) Production quality was very high and there is nothing to complain about that.

For me it was quite boring, especially the finale was nothing to write home about and generally this is not a show you need to see. It's not even entertaining most of the time.

Read More