This review may contain spoilers
A slam dunk of a BL!
As someone who used to avidly watch Korean BLs for a while before not keeping up with them, I started getting back into BLs with Ball Boy Tactics, and let me just say it is such an amazing and cozy drama. My last Korean BL I watched before taking a hiatus was The Eighth Sense, and my favorite all-time BL is Semantic Error. When I say Ball Boy Tactics made me reminisce and reminded me so much of the dynamic and feel-good nature of Semantic Error, and that is such an amazing quality of a drama in my opinion.
‣Let's start with the acting
Incredible acting by both Choi Jae Hyeok (Jeong U) and Yeom Min Hyeok (Ji Won), they had sooooo much chemistry together that it made my heart skip a beat everytime they were allowed to be a couple, there were just a few awkward moments that was mainly due to the direction of the scene was playing but it added to the charm that they're just high schoolers in deep love that it was very endearing to watch them just be so cute towards each other. I hope we get another drama with them in the future (although a recent live did reveal that something might be in the works) because their chemistry is so natural and the way they show affection on screen is so realistic and doesn't seem forced or performative, it feels and looks natural as if we are peering into their love life and it feels more like just a vlog of their life rather than two actors just kissing. Choi Rak Yeong (Seung Jin) and Kwak Geon Hee (Eun O) were great side characters and their subtle side plot was just so cute (hopefully we get a spin off please) and they were such strong supporters to the main cast of characters, I love the dynamic and how they added to the plot and weren't just throwaway characters.
‣The Technical
When I first started watching Korean BLs in 2020-2021, the standard kind of look and feel for Korean BLs was low budget, low sound mixing and design, poor camera stage direction, and shorter length episodes, so coming into 2025, I expected better quality sound, better camera work, and longer episodes and Ballboy Tactics delivered on all counts. I have no notes other than it was very pleasing to watch, the color grading was amazing, the mic quality was also amazing, there were only a few instances I could pick up on dubbing because the on-site mic was probably picking up too much background noise, or maybe some other technical issues that arise. There was also only one or two moments where the music was a little bit too loud to hear what the actors were saying fully. Also, there was just this one scene in episode 5, I believe, where the audio got desync'd for about 20 seconds, which threw me off a little bit, but other than that, everything was perfect.
‣The Story
I'm the type of person who loves a good burn, AND I also love it when we can just get straight into the meat of the story, and Ball Boy Tactics leaned more into "let's get them together relatively fast, and we can spend the rest of the series seeing their relationship bloom". Now that's not to say there were elements of slow burn since they only get together at around episode 3-4, that's when we see them truly lean into their feelings for each other, but the rest of the drama is such a delight. I loved seeing them finally get together and just be in love with each other. It does feel rushed in some parts, and one scene in particular doesn't make too much sense such as I assume Ji Won's dream sequence in episode 3 felt a bit out of place all of a sudden, and it was never explained; he didn't jump awake or anything to indicate it was a dream. But other than a few minor nitpicks, it was still a very cohesive story and a very good watch.
‣Closing Thoughts
Overall, this is probably one of my top 3 favorite Korean BLs so far. It was cozy, cute, and so soft; the main leads weren't raging red flags, and they were so in tune together. Their chemistry helped carry a lot of the slow points in the drama. I've had the pleasure of watching, and I'm excited to dip my toes back into the swing of things. Their chemistry was amazing, and I hope to see them again in another BL soon
‣Let's start with the acting
Incredible acting by both Choi Jae Hyeok (Jeong U) and Yeom Min Hyeok (Ji Won), they had sooooo much chemistry together that it made my heart skip a beat everytime they were allowed to be a couple, there were just a few awkward moments that was mainly due to the direction of the scene was playing but it added to the charm that they're just high schoolers in deep love that it was very endearing to watch them just be so cute towards each other. I hope we get another drama with them in the future (although a recent live did reveal that something might be in the works) because their chemistry is so natural and the way they show affection on screen is so realistic and doesn't seem forced or performative, it feels and looks natural as if we are peering into their love life and it feels more like just a vlog of their life rather than two actors just kissing. Choi Rak Yeong (Seung Jin) and Kwak Geon Hee (Eun O) were great side characters and their subtle side plot was just so cute (hopefully we get a spin off please) and they were such strong supporters to the main cast of characters, I love the dynamic and how they added to the plot and weren't just throwaway characters.
‣The Technical
When I first started watching Korean BLs in 2020-2021, the standard kind of look and feel for Korean BLs was low budget, low sound mixing and design, poor camera stage direction, and shorter length episodes, so coming into 2025, I expected better quality sound, better camera work, and longer episodes and Ballboy Tactics delivered on all counts. I have no notes other than it was very pleasing to watch, the color grading was amazing, the mic quality was also amazing, there were only a few instances I could pick up on dubbing because the on-site mic was probably picking up too much background noise, or maybe some other technical issues that arise. There was also only one or two moments where the music was a little bit too loud to hear what the actors were saying fully. Also, there was just this one scene in episode 5, I believe, where the audio got desync'd for about 20 seconds, which threw me off a little bit, but other than that, everything was perfect.
‣The Story
I'm the type of person who loves a good burn, AND I also love it when we can just get straight into the meat of the story, and Ball Boy Tactics leaned more into "let's get them together relatively fast, and we can spend the rest of the series seeing their relationship bloom". Now that's not to say there were elements of slow burn since they only get together at around episode 3-4, that's when we see them truly lean into their feelings for each other, but the rest of the drama is such a delight. I loved seeing them finally get together and just be in love with each other. It does feel rushed in some parts, and one scene in particular doesn't make too much sense such as I assume Ji Won's dream sequence in episode 3 felt a bit out of place all of a sudden, and it was never explained; he didn't jump awake or anything to indicate it was a dream. But other than a few minor nitpicks, it was still a very cohesive story and a very good watch.
‣Closing Thoughts
Overall, this is probably one of my top 3 favorite Korean BLs so far. It was cozy, cute, and so soft; the main leads weren't raging red flags, and they were so in tune together. Their chemistry helped carry a lot of the slow points in the drama. I've had the pleasure of watching, and I'm excited to dip my toes back into the swing of things. Their chemistry was amazing, and I hope to see them again in another BL soon
Was this review helpful to you?
