PPBongi

More a Lakorn than a BL

This is not so much a BL as it is a Lakorn and honestly, an exceptionally good one at that. I found myself completely engaged in these characters and what was happening. Truthfully, it has been a long time since I felt ‘good’ about watching a Thai series, but this one was exceptional and almost made it to my top 10 list. Almost. Some aspects of this series just could not be overlooked as it deflated what was otherwise an exceptional mythos for a change. Indeed, it sure is a soap opera-ish saga but the story line captures you from the beginning. Although the plot is your standard rather cliché-driven formatted subject matter, because of the enveloping acting, it excites your attention. It presented several unique factors that made watching hypnotic. While the premise is ubiquitous, it presented the evolvement with vicissitude to make the story compelling.

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Cinematically Wonderful But .....

Pretty quickly, however, we realize that this story is stilted and becomes astonishingly boring. I mean REALLY boring. Frankly, it is bland and exceedingly predicable; one could easily write the next dialogue long before it was going to happen. That is how predictable and trite this narrative unfolded. Nothing and I mean nothing surprised me. I almost fell asleep watching this series. With few exceptions, almost everyone is wooden, ostensibly and unfortunately, also cliché. This is a cinematic triumph. The cinematography transports you back to the early 20th century indeed. The costumes were some of the finest I have ever seen and are presented in exceptional detail. The sets were wonderfully detailed, and we were transported to a different era. It is so unfortunate that the action in the story did not match everything else. I kept waiting for something to happen and nothing ever did. Even the kissing scenes and love scenes were muted and sanitized and almost presented like two schoolboys on a camping trip. Certain aspects were not serious in nature. It was indeed so soft that if forgot to do something to my heart. Watching paint dry would have been more emotionally satisfying. Even the secondary couple, while better in terms of emotional fulfilment, was only slightly more engaging in relatability and depth. Neither couple honestly made my heart pitter-patter in any way, shape, or form. This series was flatly dull from an emotional fulfillment.

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A Winnie The Pooh Story

Watching this series will no doubt put you into a diabetic coma from sugar shock. It is so overly sweet that it becomes a travesty. Enough with the prepubescent silliness of what an ideal image of young gay relationships are. These are NOT them. I am not trying to convince anyone that my assessment is correct, but it is time now for some serious reflections on how and what is presented as young gay men in love that is actually authentic. And this ain’t it! And you are doing a gross injustice to young gay, lesbian, trans, and questioning individuals by constantly portraying this nonsense where relationships between adolescent gay boys are so easy to develop, maintain, and be accepted and worst of all so nauseatingly sweet and sanitized. They are not. And every one of their problems and issues has easy solutions; they do not.
Summarily, this series is passe, outdated, disparaging, and most of all does not have a modicum of connection to reality or candor. This is a Pollyanna world; not Earth 1.

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Closed The Closet Door Again!

While I have not read the manhwa this is based off, this series failed to deliver as a BL. It did not tell a story; only presented circumstances. Ironically, we got the full picture of the straight couple(s), including a superfluous musical interlude and a tennis match. This is a straight story with two gay guys thrown in to try and make it be a BL. However, there was no intrinsic development of a gay relationship or even a foundation of a strong connection between them until the absolute end. What little we did see about their evevolment, was shown to be dark leading to uncertainty with misunderstanding assumptions and presented mostly despondently. Frankly, this series was a bitter disappointment . Oh, it is well acted, and the cinematography is breathtaking and perhaps that is what hides its flaws so masterfully. But its poor content is couched and guised in pretty words at times and nice surroundings. Take that away, and what you are exposed to is anxiety, fear, guilt, and the shame of queerness that is so prevalent in Korean culture and thinking. This series merely highlights their disquietudes about someone being gay in the worst possible way, I might add. Gayness became shameful, something that you could not share even with friends or family and would in essence be deadly if anyone found out about it. Only talked about it in the dead of night and in whispers. They did everything to put gay people back into the closet except not put a lock on the closet door. This did NOTHING to enhance, enlighten, or encourage acceptance of individuals who are gay. If anything, it merely showed how sad, pathetic, weak, unaccepting, shameful, scared, frightened, intimidating, and unaccepting it all is. Know your place. How much agony it will cause you. Meanwhile, the straight couple gets to foster a warm cozy relationship with everyone accepting of that as being normal. And they get to have a happy ending or live out a dream

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A Phenomenal Journey of Self-Discovery

This story has a feel about it that screams that the people involved were simply meant to be. But apparently, I did not see the same story that others saw. There are some rather harsh reviews of this series that frankly I simply do not understand – at all. Overall, this is a brilliant and beautiful story about 4 young men who find themselves interconnected at just the right time. Each traversed a journey of self-discovery that is succinctly told and brilliantly acted. Sure, it could have used more episodes to flesh out and enhance its characters more, but overall, this saga had a clear beginning, an understanding middle, and a rather satisfying ending. Plus, I liked it – a lot! Overall, I think this is a very impactful and powerful BL that has been sliced up into mini-moral pieces based upon a lack of understanding life. If you have lived as long as I have, sometimes you can step back from the noise and righteous indignation and see it from its full perspective. Not everything or everyone is perfect. But this BL frankly turned out right. Don't listen to the naysayers. This is a good series! You can read my full review of this great series at BLBliss.com.

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Don't Listen To Naysayers! It is GOOD!

Occasionally, when you are watching something, you just get a sense that you are going to be affected by it. And in this rather short series (just about 2 hours total), you get a feeling you are going to smile and be delighted when it concludes. And that is exactly what this beautiful mini-BL series does to you. It is so entertaining and so well crafted, you might feel that if you had not watched this, you would have sensed something was missing from your life. It is that good. The whole story unfolds so beautifully with the perfect cast that you begin to feel immersed in the presentation itself. This short and sweet BL is not going to win any awards except perhaps only my acolytes and my respect. It is a cute, solid story with such stellar acting. While many BLs take so long to say so little, this says so much straight away. It gets to the point. I loved this series. It feels good. It looks good. Its message is loud and clear. I wish a lot more BLs were to the point and as genteel as this one. You can read my full review of this cute series at BLBliss.com.

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Epic

Epic. Clear and simple, this is in a class all by itself. Granted, it might not be for everyone, and I certainly had a hard time following the complexities of the story itself. Being a lover of period pieces, I was enthralled with this fantasy series. Is it a BL? Nope. Is it romantic. Yes, and no. Certainly, it has impassionate connections between characters but to say they were romantic is a matter of interpretation. As a Westerner, I know next to nothing about Chinese culture, customs, religious practices, or history. So, I became intrigued by this story. It is difficult for me to separate fact from fiction here in a sense that these characters seem so relatable with human strengths and foibles, yet their circumstances were beyond my reference points of understanding. In addition, I find the Chinese language almost hypnotic and sounding like imagery poetry. I adored this series and felt a deeper connection to these characters, ironically. This is a long, long series and you invest a significant amount of time watching and therefore you become weirdly attached to them. Perhaps some more than others but all in general. Why? Because they all remind us of ourselves – be they mortals or demons. Watching this series becomes an experience. To some degree, it is representative of our own world.

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Worth Watching for the Kissing!

This is best described as an anecdote BL. For me it was a bit cryptic and hard to follow. The screenplay might have made sense in Korean. Maybe it was due to translation issues or merely not understanding Korean culture very well, but I did not understand the nuances of the plot. The overall story, however, is a familiar, tried and true, standard one. Tropey. Cliché. Stereotypical. Parts of it did intrigue me and I kind of liked it, despite not fully grasping where it wanted to go. The connection between the two protagonists is surprisingly strong, more so in the beginning. I give them props also for not making this series too polished. It does show the grittier side of Korean society and the not-so-easy aspect of living the life of an aspiring idol trainee. What was really done exceptionally well in this part of the series was the kissing. There was a warmth and a sincerity to those scenes that felt organic and unpretentious and very, very genuine. It was quite refreshing to see kissing, especially in Korean Bls (honestly in all BLs as of late), to be so authentic and straightforward. No silhouettes, stuffed animals, or pillows to hide behind and the shots were clear and close-up. It felt real and surprisingly unrehearsed.

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Pain! Pain! Pain!

This is a story of pain. Sometime unimaginable and incalculable pain. Pain that for both these protagonists centered and defined their lives. Additionally, it presents, whether we like it or not, the ugly side of culture. The side of culture we accept as parenting, even though it is abusive, reprehensible, and evil. No one starts out to be such but acceptance of the nonsensical notion of making your children fit to some type of conformity is so strong that reasoning and common sense and standards of decency are thrown out the window. All to make your kid stronger; only in the end to make them weaker internally and vulnerable to doubt as to who they are. This is a story of lost souls. Astonishingly sad and told in muted tones filmed in dark hues as if to signify the total depression of the two of them. There are magical scenes in this series that will make you weep. Not from sadness but from remembrance. Remembrances of the happier times they had together.

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Grab You Then Loses You

This series was astonishingly hooking at the beginning. I was completely mesmerized by its fascinating story and intriguing premise. And I love period pieces and stories that reflect the culture, customs, and religions of other societies. To want to live so for someday he could reunite with his reincarnated love was just magical and so romantic. And I believed it. I wanted this story to be true. Perhaps that is the sentimentalist in me. I became starry-eyed and wanted to see true love be never ending. While this series is entertaining, it lost its magic when it got so deep into its own story. The convoluted twists and turns were simply too much and throughout it became harder and harder to find the characters likeable. Overall, this series is mildly entertaining. It certainly started out strong but then as it progressed, it seemed to flounder in what exactly it wanted to say and how to say it. I never quite bought the love story.

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Titanically fun series to watch

I love history-period pieces, especially Asian ones since I know so little about Asian cultures and customs in general. For me, I romanticize the story even more and thus, it becomes pure escapism. I confess that I got completely lost in the complexities of the story and with the names and who is kindred to whom. I had a hard time following the lineage of who is related to whom and therefore the story for me got a shade complicated. However, I got the gist of the story and all I was interested in really were the main characters. They were not just entertaining. They were tantalizing. For some reason, decidedly handsome men in exotic period costumes add a greater dimension to the level of the portrayals of their characters they are playing. While at first the story seemed a bit juvenile, once it starts to evolve, it becomes an epic love saga, albeit a painful one. While this series has a swashbuckling feel about it, it is deeper than what it is given credit for. To be sure, there are some inane moments, and superficial scenes, but it never loses its mythos about the power of love.

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Brilliantly Redefines the Meaning of Love

Overall, this is a raw, gritty series that presents itself more like a documentary movie than a BL series. It is dark, brooding, and exceedingly realistic. The characters are real people with real problems in real life actualities. I felt drained after watching this series. And categorically it is one of the most intelligently thought-out and refined BLs I have ever seen. It started out dark and remained dark even though its essence is not dark. The presentation of this series is very dark and certainly contemplative. It feels perilous and is filmed in a rather hazy dim fashion. Perhaps reflective of life for many people whose lives are more represented by this series. Pedestrian. Overlooked. Where life is difficult. Full of struggles. Lots of pain. Many unfulfilled dreams and desires. Yet, the foundation for continuing is still family, love, and commitment.

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Cinematic Magic!

In a sense, this story is deeper than in season one. While still about Haruta, the story circumvents him to encompass more individuals around him and does so in a deeply, introspective, and immensely emotional fashion. To be sure, the keystone remains parallel to season one. The Captain, an older distinguished-looking man, falls in love with Haruta, a much younger and energetic man. Yet, in the end there is such a surprising twist that it caught me off guard. I honestly did not know what to make of it. Was it real or a profound cry out of a desperately lonely man? I cried at either prospect as Haruta, for the first time, truly seemed adrift. This is effulgent and, along with the previous “Ossan’s Love” productions, are worthy of our reverence. This is a jewel of virtuosity and therefore I would consider it a ‘Masterpiece’. They may be archival but should not be forgotten. Treat yourself to pure joy!

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A Masterpiece and One Of The Best! Magnum Opus!

Undoubtedly, this is one of those series that will either be loved or panned, mainly because of the esoteric and metaphysical nature of its theme and its presentation as a Greek tragedy. It is allegorical with metaphorical representations of life presented in temperaments of profound introspection surrounded by an almost overwhelming sense of loss, guilt, and shame. It tackles all the hidden and unexplored and often times buried emotions of humans we do not want to face or find impossible to bear. It strips away for us to see and quite literally experience and feel. We see it through the eyes of a protagonist and an antagonist at the same time; with each character being both. This series is a thought-provoking, intellectually stimulating elegy that uses the language of words to embody love. If you want to see lust, or romps in a bed, or contrived love scenes, or soft rituals of love, this is not for you. If you want to see a deep, meditative, and, at times, profoundly poignant perspective of human nature augmented by the process of finding what the meaning of love is all about, then this is for you. There is nothing ‘cute’ about this transmigration at all. It is deeply solipsistic, pensive, and intensely mystifying. There is also nothing ‘clear’ about this series. It is symbolic with symbolisms of all kinds bombarding you. At times they overwhelm you. Everything has meaning. Even the smallest of details. Blink and you might miss it. You have to decipher their meanings. Much happens mostly through words but also through deep reflections in expressions of the faces, manners, and body language of the main two characters, as well as all the other characters in this series.
The rest of my review of this phenomenal series is posted at BLBliss.com.

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Gore, Guts, Gays!

Wow! What a ride this movie is! You must be warned, however. This movie is a ‘hack-and-slash’ gory romp of blood and guts. So, if this is not your thing, I suggest you do not watch it. I loved it even though I generally dislike these types of movies. Despite what you might imagine, it is a gay-themed movie but certainly not BL by any stretch of the imagination. However, there is no romance here; it is just eroticism. This movie is based on a real lifestyle of gruesome theater that was popular in France in the late 19th Century and early 20th Century. While it was characterized by the ‘grotesque” drama, it stresses horror and sensationalism and explored the darker aspects of human attributes. This movie takes that to a whole new level.

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