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This review may contain spoilers
Moody, Sensual, Messy & Thought-Provoking
When this story starts, it presents itself as social commentary with a side of romance. 10 episodes later, and this is, in fact, romance with a side of social commentary. It is a slower type of romance as a large part of the story is spent on Jira trying to pick between the two men, Pheem and Koh.
The Characters
🎨Jira - He's indecisive in the romance department, stringing two men along for far longer than it was necessary IMO. On one hand, there's Pheem. The seemingly good guy, who, according to the synopsis, is physically Jira's type to a T. On the other hand, lies Koh. An unapologetically capitalistic arsehole, who, if you listen to Ing, is Jira's type, personality-wise.
Jira is also an artist down on his luck and broke. He wants to keep doing art in a world that is slowly being taken over by AI. And worse, he now works for a tech bro whose world is AI. He hates the tech bro for his values, which clash with his own. He's also attracted to tech bro but tries to deny it
💻Pheem - The seemingly good guy. While he may look like the better option at first, he wasn't the right choice for multiple reasons, the biggest being that he's fake AF. He only pays attention to what Jira likes because it'll increase the likelihood that Jira will sleep with him. He's also in a one-sided beef with Koh, which didn't do him any favours, if we're being honest.
💼Koh - The unapologetic asshole with debilitating social anxiety. He's unlikable, and I think that's the point. I don't quite think that we, as the audience, are meant to really like him. Only Jira is, and so we like him or give him a chance because Jira likes him. And because, as the story progresses, he changes parts of his life to make space for Jira. Does he become the perfect man? No. But parts of him are softer because of Jira.
Ing & Mawin also made rather interesting side characters and friends to both Jira and Pheem
The Relationships, Specifically the Romances
🌹🥀PheemJira - The chemistry between the characters was undeniable, but they'd have never worked for multiple reasons. Noteably,
1. As previously stated, he's fake - From changing his taste in music to getting that new tattoo on him. He never fell inlove with the things Jira liked enough to make them his own. He simply co-opted them to make himself look good in front of his conquest.
2. He's very pushy, especially in the sex department - All he knew how to do was flirt and insinuate that the two should sleep together. A note I wrote in ep 5 stated as follows 'Almost all their interactions end with him suggesting that they go home together. Jira is sometimes willing n other times doesn't seem into it. Like in ep 5, I feel like he took him home coz Pheem asked. Had he not, I don't think he'd have brought it up.'
3. He never made a good muse - Remember when Jira finally asked him to sit so he could paint him, and the man couldn't do that. He kept moving around and once again, resorted to flirting with Jira. I don't paint, but that seemed disrespectful AF to me.
I was never quite convinced that Pheem loved Jira. Even in that emotional and very well done scene in ep 7 in the rage room. Pheem only seemed to care that he won Jira and Koh lost him. Eventually, in all his scheming and jealousy, he fell in love, but it was too late.
🌹🖥️KohJira - I like to refer to love stories like theirs as 'the heart wants what it wants.' They shouldn't work. Actually, they'd probably thrive better if they went their separate ways and never crossed paths ever again. Yet, they choose to remain together. To try and forge ahead even when their circumstances and even values show that they likely will not work long-term.
Something keeps pulling them together. Such love stories always scratch a very special itch in my brain. I love them. They are human in such an interesting way. It's like they scream at you 'Hey, humans and love aren't black and white. They are very much shades of grey.'
They fall for each other partly in the bickering and partly in the silence. I think that Koh made a more interesting love interest because
1. Jira actually liked him. - I found it most interesting and hilarious how Jira was always so physically unresponsive to Pheem. However, with Koh, the man just needed to look at him, and bro would be hard. Jira would try to transfer those horny feelings to Pheem, but it never worked.
He looked like a ragdoll every time Pheem kissed him. So stiff with little emotion across his face. However, with Koh... Refer to the bedroom scene in ep 1, the painting scene in, I believe, ep 8 in Koh's house with the flowers, and the kiss scene on the rooftop.
2. Koh willingly changes to better suit Jira - Not fully, of course. But where Pheem's changes felt manipulative and held an ulterior motive, Koh felt genuine. And the changes were never extravagant.
Simple things like going to get him from his house coz he knows his commute is long, getting breakfast in the morning when Jira slept over, even if he himself said he never liked breakfast, or even braving that club environment to go get Jira.
All these were sincere, and I think they speak to romance better than a tattoo.
3. A clash in values vs attraction - Koh has the personality of a lemon. He's also a ruthless capitalist who only cares about the bottom line. Jira thinks that everything should be above board and humans should care for each other. Koh is also a pro AI fellow, and Jira is an artist at heart. Jira cares about human-made art, and his main source of income is being threatened by the very thing Koh is pushing for. Bruh, when I heard 'input Jira preset' in ep 9, I died. I simply passed away.
However, despite all this, they continue to be attracted to each other. Jira fell 1st, although he tried to deny it, but Koh fell harder. But Koh doesn't seem quite interested in changing. How the hell does such a relationship survive? I like that their relationship ended on a 'happy for now' note, because honestly, I wonder how they'd survive long-term.
🎭🧑🏻🎨The Social Commentary⚙️👨🏻💻
The story posed an interesting question in the AI vs Human debate. I think once on Twitter, I saw Nunchy say that they weren't really looking to answer if AI was good or not. Whether it should be shunned or remain. Rather, they were asking the audience to ask themselves if and how these two things can co-exist side by side. The story doesn't give us a conclusive answer. If you think about Koh as the 'AI' and Jira as the 'Human', you see them work together, clash, diverge, then come together once more.
They end on an uncertain future at the end of the plot. Can the two truly walk and work side-by-side?
I think this is an interesting and real position that reflects where society and technology are today. You cannot escape AI, no matter how much you want to. While people online are loud and angry about AI, the tech bros are still making strides to incorporate it in everything. Job postings are demanding that applicants have the knowledge and willingness to use AI. Many people are also losing jobs to automation. It's maddening, and a lot of fields feel uncertain, especially the creative ones.
Just like Koh and Jira don't know if they can truly work, neither do we, the general population, know what the future holds
💭Random Thoughts💭
a. Some BL ships work incredibly well in darker, moodier stories, and OffFun are squarely on that list. FirstKhao are another. Both excel in grittier plots that make you think, confront feelings and emotions you'd rather not face, and push the envelope in what human relationships are.
b. I find their (OffGun's) fade-to-black NC scenes rather interesting in the BL landscape. I've watched this ship in 4 stories: Not Me, The Trainee & Burnout Syndrome (I dropped Cooking Crush, so we're not counting that). They always have such good chemistry, and their kissing is so good, but their NC scenes are always so short.
I don't quite follow ships outside of TV shows, so I often wonder if this is something they've chosen for themselves. To always go with fade-to-black scenes. I'm not saying they should adopt the scenes in shows like 'Don't Say No', 'My Stubborn', or the currently airing 'Peach Lover', but I'd like more. Unless they don't want to do it, in which case, I'll respect it
c. I'm glad the show introduced me to Dew both as an artist and an actor. I added 'Mr. Kill' to my 'plan to watchlist' because of him. A show I'd originally ignored since bromance is not my jam
The Characters
🎨Jira - He's indecisive in the romance department, stringing two men along for far longer than it was necessary IMO. On one hand, there's Pheem. The seemingly good guy, who, according to the synopsis, is physically Jira's type to a T. On the other hand, lies Koh. An unapologetically capitalistic arsehole, who, if you listen to Ing, is Jira's type, personality-wise.
Jira is also an artist down on his luck and broke. He wants to keep doing art in a world that is slowly being taken over by AI. And worse, he now works for a tech bro whose world is AI. He hates the tech bro for his values, which clash with his own. He's also attracted to tech bro but tries to deny it
💻Pheem - The seemingly good guy. While he may look like the better option at first, he wasn't the right choice for multiple reasons, the biggest being that he's fake AF. He only pays attention to what Jira likes because it'll increase the likelihood that Jira will sleep with him. He's also in a one-sided beef with Koh, which didn't do him any favours, if we're being honest.
💼Koh - The unapologetic asshole with debilitating social anxiety. He's unlikable, and I think that's the point. I don't quite think that we, as the audience, are meant to really like him. Only Jira is, and so we like him or give him a chance because Jira likes him. And because, as the story progresses, he changes parts of his life to make space for Jira. Does he become the perfect man? No. But parts of him are softer because of Jira.
Ing & Mawin also made rather interesting side characters and friends to both Jira and Pheem
The Relationships, Specifically the Romances
🌹🥀PheemJira - The chemistry between the characters was undeniable, but they'd have never worked for multiple reasons. Noteably,
1. As previously stated, he's fake - From changing his taste in music to getting that new tattoo on him. He never fell inlove with the things Jira liked enough to make them his own. He simply co-opted them to make himself look good in front of his conquest.
2. He's very pushy, especially in the sex department - All he knew how to do was flirt and insinuate that the two should sleep together. A note I wrote in ep 5 stated as follows 'Almost all their interactions end with him suggesting that they go home together. Jira is sometimes willing n other times doesn't seem into it. Like in ep 5, I feel like he took him home coz Pheem asked. Had he not, I don't think he'd have brought it up.'
3. He never made a good muse - Remember when Jira finally asked him to sit so he could paint him, and the man couldn't do that. He kept moving around and once again, resorted to flirting with Jira. I don't paint, but that seemed disrespectful AF to me.
I was never quite convinced that Pheem loved Jira. Even in that emotional and very well done scene in ep 7 in the rage room. Pheem only seemed to care that he won Jira and Koh lost him. Eventually, in all his scheming and jealousy, he fell in love, but it was too late.
🌹🖥️KohJira - I like to refer to love stories like theirs as 'the heart wants what it wants.' They shouldn't work. Actually, they'd probably thrive better if they went their separate ways and never crossed paths ever again. Yet, they choose to remain together. To try and forge ahead even when their circumstances and even values show that they likely will not work long-term.
Something keeps pulling them together. Such love stories always scratch a very special itch in my brain. I love them. They are human in such an interesting way. It's like they scream at you 'Hey, humans and love aren't black and white. They are very much shades of grey.'
They fall for each other partly in the bickering and partly in the silence. I think that Koh made a more interesting love interest because
1. Jira actually liked him. - I found it most interesting and hilarious how Jira was always so physically unresponsive to Pheem. However, with Koh, the man just needed to look at him, and bro would be hard. Jira would try to transfer those horny feelings to Pheem, but it never worked.
He looked like a ragdoll every time Pheem kissed him. So stiff with little emotion across his face. However, with Koh... Refer to the bedroom scene in ep 1, the painting scene in, I believe, ep 8 in Koh's house with the flowers, and the kiss scene on the rooftop.
2. Koh willingly changes to better suit Jira - Not fully, of course. But where Pheem's changes felt manipulative and held an ulterior motive, Koh felt genuine. And the changes were never extravagant.
Simple things like going to get him from his house coz he knows his commute is long, getting breakfast in the morning when Jira slept over, even if he himself said he never liked breakfast, or even braving that club environment to go get Jira.
All these were sincere, and I think they speak to romance better than a tattoo.
3. A clash in values vs attraction - Koh has the personality of a lemon. He's also a ruthless capitalist who only cares about the bottom line. Jira thinks that everything should be above board and humans should care for each other. Koh is also a pro AI fellow, and Jira is an artist at heart. Jira cares about human-made art, and his main source of income is being threatened by the very thing Koh is pushing for. Bruh, when I heard 'input Jira preset' in ep 9, I died. I simply passed away.
However, despite all this, they continue to be attracted to each other. Jira fell 1st, although he tried to deny it, but Koh fell harder. But Koh doesn't seem quite interested in changing. How the hell does such a relationship survive? I like that their relationship ended on a 'happy for now' note, because honestly, I wonder how they'd survive long-term.
🎭🧑🏻🎨The Social Commentary⚙️👨🏻💻
The story posed an interesting question in the AI vs Human debate. I think once on Twitter, I saw Nunchy say that they weren't really looking to answer if AI was good or not. Whether it should be shunned or remain. Rather, they were asking the audience to ask themselves if and how these two things can co-exist side by side. The story doesn't give us a conclusive answer. If you think about Koh as the 'AI' and Jira as the 'Human', you see them work together, clash, diverge, then come together once more.
They end on an uncertain future at the end of the plot. Can the two truly walk and work side-by-side?
I think this is an interesting and real position that reflects where society and technology are today. You cannot escape AI, no matter how much you want to. While people online are loud and angry about AI, the tech bros are still making strides to incorporate it in everything. Job postings are demanding that applicants have the knowledge and willingness to use AI. Many people are also losing jobs to automation. It's maddening, and a lot of fields feel uncertain, especially the creative ones.
Just like Koh and Jira don't know if they can truly work, neither do we, the general population, know what the future holds
💭Random Thoughts💭
a. Some BL ships work incredibly well in darker, moodier stories, and OffFun are squarely on that list. FirstKhao are another. Both excel in grittier plots that make you think, confront feelings and emotions you'd rather not face, and push the envelope in what human relationships are.
b. I find their (OffGun's) fade-to-black NC scenes rather interesting in the BL landscape. I've watched this ship in 4 stories: Not Me, The Trainee & Burnout Syndrome (I dropped Cooking Crush, so we're not counting that). They always have such good chemistry, and their kissing is so good, but their NC scenes are always so short.
I don't quite follow ships outside of TV shows, so I often wonder if this is something they've chosen for themselves. To always go with fade-to-black scenes. I'm not saying they should adopt the scenes in shows like 'Don't Say No', 'My Stubborn', or the currently airing 'Peach Lover', but I'd like more. Unless they don't want to do it, in which case, I'll respect it
c. I'm glad the show introduced me to Dew both as an artist and an actor. I added 'Mr. Kill' to my 'plan to watchlist' because of him. A show I'd originally ignored since bromance is not my jam
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