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Good Series But Poorly Titled
This story, series, and production would not have worked without the two main characters. While I truly detest the concept of ‘shipping’, these two have such remarkable chemistry together that I was mesmerized by both. They captured me from the beginning. They played right to the camera as if it was not there. They were natural, real, genuine, honest, and projected a close physical connection to one another rarely seen for me in Thai BLs of late. When they say they ‘loved’ each other, I believed it because they made me believe it. That is rare for two actors so young and frankly with not much acting experience to portray with such depthness the meaning and sincerity of the abstraction of ‘love’. The secondary couple, however, is disappointing and written with standard clichés .Was this review helpful to you?
A soulful BL and GL
The discourse about whether this series is a BL or not is asinine. Of course it is. Male-male love does not have to be consummated to be a BL; it merely has to be perceived. At its core, this series is that. Most assuredly, it is a love story of unrequited love. In addition, this series is certainly a GL. More overt but never fully realized.The story is a deeply reflective, pensive at times, coming-of-age narration of four inquisitive high schoolers. Each is hiding an inner secret not atypical of individuals of their age. But for all, it seems crushing and perhaps overwhelming. That is the burden of youth they must carry - until their next quest.
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Quirky And Very Entertaining!
I loved this series! It is funny, cute, creative, and has a warmth about it that is rare especially for a South Korean BL series. Plus, I found the acting surprisingly and sublimely effective. Perhaps because of the quirky, if not weird, ambience about this series. Somehow, it all worked! This whole series is filled with singular and peculiar individuals. Perhaps that is what absorbed me into this series. It also has an exceptional screenplay and its acting is topnotch. One of my favorites for this year.Was this review helpful to you?
An Exceptional & Phenomenal Series!
It is contradictory, oxymoronic, yet completely genuine in its absurdity. If you seek answers to questions from and about this series, you will not find them. Is this a Theater of the Absurd performance? Perhaps so. All I know is that it is brilliant, a mastery of cinematic artistry, and one of the finest acted series I have seen this year. In order to appreciate this series, you must suspend your idealized notions about BLs and all comforts about conformity or logic, and simply go with what is presented to you. This is a remarkably fervent series to watch. The acting goes deep emotionally without ever explaining why, however. Everything about this series is pure artistry. This is an exceptional BL series with no answers and no real point. It is what it is. You will get it, or you will not. One of the best series in 2024. Completely under the radar but should not be.Was this review helpful to you?
Ten Worlds Wouldn't Help Here
Frankly, it is irrelevant how many worlds this series had; even a half a dozen more would not have helped. It is just awful. I am sorry to say that as I so wanted to like this drama. However, this is again going to be one of those series that if you are a fan of the two leads (which I really am), you will perhaps enjoy this series. I tried, but for me the whole thing fell apart at the beginning – from the banal screenplay to production issues to vapid acting. All of it was just plain mediocre to subpar. The storyline was a good one, initially. I love transcendental legends, and this had all the earmarks of a great fantasy. his series was not well produced. The translations sometimes were hard to follow the actions and felt awkward. There were a lot of major glitches in the editing itself.Was this review helpful to you?
An Astonishingly Touching Series!
This is a monumentally touching series that intensely affects you in ways long after you have finished the series. When you watch it, you know you are being moved but its extent does not fully grasp your inner thoughts until you have had a chance to contemplate what the story is fully about. In essence, you keep rewinding the series over-and-over in your head until its full meaning grabs you. And then, perhaps just with me, I suddenly burst into tears over its power and significance. There is something haunting about the lives of the two men that become intertwined, partly by design and partly serendipitously. This is a great series. Although the series is short in duration, it does have some very intense momentsWas this review helpful to you?
The Story Shattered
Watching this series is like wrapping yourself up in a warm cozy blanket on a cold winter’s night as you are reading a romantic allegory. While the sensation is comforting, the fable still provides you with enough stimulation to keep you awake. But you suddenly realize that you reach a part in the story where one of two possible endings can happen. Either a fairytale one or a tragic one. While I certainly love a fairytale ending (and these two guys deserved one), I was preparing myself for a tragic one as the series did seem a bit dark overall. Unfortunately, I got neither one. And I threw off my warm blanket and started to cry with disappointment. While the story is strikingly enthralling for three-fourths of the way, it suddenly crashes literally and figuratively. It could have had either a fairytale ending or a tragic one. Instead, it went very weird in an odd way, and I felt in a cringeworthy way.Was this review helpful to you?
Good Story But Lacked Credence
There is honestly so much to unpack here in this short series that goes way beyond the plot or story. Reality and fiction merge together to make this series unique. As the abstract states, this series is based on a ‘true story’. Perhaps a more apt description might be closer to a docudrama. We just get to a minimal level of feeling something for them as a couple, and then the series is over. That is too bad. The emotional connections to their characters simply do not go deep enough to make them believable. This production company, overall, has created some solid and wholesome productions in the past. This is not a bad series, but it needed so much more effort. It just feels incomplete and awkward.Was this review helpful to you?
Apotheosis!
Constancy, consistency, and comedic. The three best words to describe this triumvirate of OSSAN’S LOVE, which is one of the best, if not the best BL series and franchises out there. It classically defines and shapes what this genre is all about. Perhaps not to a core of current fans who are zealots of the plethora of BLs with gorgeous young men in stories, that, for the most part, are forgettable and whose ‘love for one another’ is defined by the amount of ‘shipping performances’ they do together. This season and the ones before it are the true pioneers of what BL storytelling is all about and how to carry on with a narrative that remains as fresh and original as the first one. And as poignant.I laughed and I cried. A lot in this season. But most of the time I simply sat there and watched as if I was reading a good book. It gives you that kind of a feeling.
I shall be devastated if this is the last season. I want and need more. They are family. Their last words were, “We are family.” Nothing can be more earnest as this defines and expresses and shows every form of a family imaginable. This franchise is exemplary and, dare I say, an apotheosis in every sense of that word. You will find no better defining example of what a BL is or ought to be than in any of these series and especially in this latest season. Humor, poignancy, charm, affinity, love, and most of all human warmth. What a ride it has been. Please tell me it is not over yet!
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Distastefully Cringy and Creepy
There is something distastefully creepy and cringy about this series and I frankly did not find it even a bit romantic in any way. In fact, I found it rather sad and pathetic. This series says more about a disconnect from reality than about the advancement of AI. The acting in this series is flat and stilted and monotone, not just by the robot but by the human. At times, it was hard to tell who really was the robot. In a real sense, I wish I had not watched this series. It made me feel uncomfortable and apprehensive about the future.You can read my full review of this series at BLBliss.com
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Magnificent! A real gem
Magnificent! This was the first word that came into my mind after watching this short charming and beautifully done BL. It is obviously patterned off the South Korean model and it works! I simply do not understand the negative criticisms of this series. It is well acted, storytelling is engaging, and it is such a delicate love story that I think people mistook that delicacy for lameness. To be brutally honest, the only people who see it that way are not gay or those who have forgotten what it was like to struggle with acceptance. The intensity of its credence for each of us who had to face that is wildly different individually. Each persons’ journey is unique and soulful. This is a classic BL with such soft, gentle whispers that it almost glides under the radar unnoticed. But this is a beautifully done and very touching series that because of its delicacy, is mischaracterized. There is some fine acting here capturing all the various emotions of coming out, of being jilted, and suffering from an unrequited love. You can read my full review of this wonderful series at BLBliss.com.Was this review helpful to you?
Awesome Love Story But......
This is a stunningly beautiful production with a love story that is so entrancingly told that I honestly did not see two men in love but simply two individuals in love. It really was a love story that transcends genders and epochs. This is a romance that begins between two mythical Hindu/Buddhist deities named Garuda and Naga long ago. Throughout the ages, each continue to be drawn to each other in a way we would call destiny. Had the saga simply stayed with the journey of Phaya and Tharn, this would have been an apotheosis. But unfortunately, it became unwieldy and got so lost in the development of subplots, specifically involving a troupe of them becoming police officers, and solving a crime, that the love story almost took a back seat. And frankly all of that was so superficial and unnecessary to really what was in essence an alluring love rhapsody. The story of who they were is so much more important than what they were but unfortunately the production got so bogged down in the storytelling that the love came in sporadic waves, thus in a sense diminishing the emotional impact of their bond considerably.Was this review helpful to you?
What a Ride!
I must admit that this series is an astonishingly sophisticated and complex story to navigate. This story may also be the beginning for the creation of fictionalized BL worlds blending video gaming with reality, an interesting new format to say the least. Since I do not play ‘video games’ and had no idea of the lingo or the rules for computer gaming, this was a challenge for me to traverse. I had to stop and find definitions to terms I am unfamiliar with, admittedly. Additionally, this series uses a combination of allegory, fantasy, and twists to realities in an almost Avante-Garde fashion. And the story itself is oblique and sometimes enigmatic. This is not your standard BL series by any means.Was this review helpful to you?
Great Synergy but Weak Individually
Perplexing. I really do not know how else to describe this series. It is indecisive yet oddly compelling to watch. The two main leads are strangely engaging together, yet individually, blend into the woodwork as part of the background furniture. This is completely a story of synergy. Honestly, this is a rather low-key drama that is underplayed and relies more on the screenplay than acting. It is surprisingly well written, which is expected as it is a story about a novelist. This is an entertaining story to be sure. Nothing deep but well written. Ironically the side couple provided way more interesting dynamics. This is easy watching.Was this review helpful to you?
I want Them, All of Them As Friends
I watched these stories in totem and would recommend you do so as well, if possible. One can then grasp the full understanding of what transpires. It is not possible to summarize these stories simply; all one can do is give an impression of its impact on you, the watcher. I now feel lost and a bit melancholic; like I have lost a circle of friends. I have gotten to know these characters and feel sad now that they will not be a part of my watching milieu anymore. This is one of the few series that has a real longitudinal character development. A study not just for the main personalities but for all the supporting characters as well. It truly is a beautifully crafted and filmed anthology. I hesitate to call it a ‘BL’ but it really is; it is of a much older couple and obviously not meant for the mass audience in the BL world. Too bad. They would learn a thing or two about living and about love if they watched this as it ponders and deals with the topic we never want to hear in BL and that is – aging. And how it affects and changes and defines and, in this case, strengthens love.Was this review helpful to you?
