MikeO

I’m so with you. Though less morbid, it has an Eternal Yesterday feel. sign me up for dark and brooding JBLs that offer a ray of light. I need a break from the Thai BL formula, and so many JBLs scratch the itch. it’s amazing what good writing does for simple stories. I give the actors a hall pass for the Fish Kiss. After watching Hidden Moon dead fish kiss palooza and piss poor writing ruining what could have been an epic story, it’s nice to see this one tell an honest simple one. These young actors say a lot with their facial expressions and it doesn’t feel like I’m watching a high school play compared to most of what’s out now.

yeah. that was epic dead fish

I love this. Escape the GMMTV fast food plot window to brooding JBL. Between this and C/TBl Blue Canvas, my withdrawals from Love in the Big City have been stopped. misery loves company!

I’m sticking with it but I agree with your comments. the twist still not revealed as ep 8 has been telegraphed with a sledgehammer. but the intimacy scenes are really off. more workshops or something. so much potential. bet the novel was great. this is a rough draft that needs lots of polish.

LOL

ha ha. was too scared to write that but the twist that’s still not revealed as of ep 8 is pretty obvious. I’ll say no more

it’s interesting that’s the case, and would explain why some of intimacy scene seem so off or staged. through episode 8 there’s just something “off” about the kissing that reminds me or workarounds when K-POP idols do BL. let me know if you agree.

this is a better binge watch than it would be to watch week to week, since there are pacing issues. The actors need more workshops to get more comfortable with m4m intimacy. Ormaybe is this a show that’s on a main stream channel in Thailand and so the physical aspects are a little dialed down this story doesn’t need any NC scenes but it’s a little fish kissy for my taste. it’s almost as if the there is some rule they are all working around. the central mystery is really compelling though I think we can all see the twist coming. I appreciate the BL as an element to the overall story rather than being the sole focus. I appreciate the effort to some things differently, though not on the level of Be On Cloud has pulled off.

And yet, time jump from beating and abuse to a close surrogate father son relationship. I don't care if they clean that up with a flashback montage explaining it, but that was sloppy story telling and a moment NOT earned in the writing and/or editing.

where I think the time jump hurts the show is the complete head shaking close relationship between student and grand master. I don't know how they're going to clean that up now that's he's dead, but cut from from beating and abuse to a surrogate father son relationship wasn't earned in the story.

It may be too much story packed into too few episodes and hence the need to pace the plot to fit the episode run time, series length, and budget. We're only half way through, so I'm going to let it play out, but I think your criticism may be warranted. It almost feels as if the production was forced to compromise after the fact, like in the editing room. I agree, this would be a better eight episode series if given the run time that "Love in the Big City" got, because it was enough time for that plot to play out. This one is so well cast and had such a good story, despite some jarring plot decisions, I wish it was given the time it deserved.

Moonlight Chicken is more slow burn in that it is real, honest but actually shorter than most Thai BL's and quite a departure from the typical GMMTV BL formula. For my money, it's one of the best they've produced. BL for those looking for a better written story.

I'd wait week so you aren't left hanging at a pivotal plot point, which is where we're at through four episodes

I have not watched the Netflix version, but I'm 26 episodes through the Chinese version, and it's a worthy watch. It plays like novel, with sweeping backstories and a slow burn. This would be what I'd call "hard sci fi" but they do manage to make equations and calculation "exciting" with editing techniques. I am enjoying it, though there are a couple of plot holes. I haven't read the novel, so I can't compare it.

My feeling exactly. How can we ever go back after an 8 episode tour through the heartbreakingly real BL world, where I’ve lived every one of those relationships and friendships.

totally agree

In the bar scene toward the end of the series, it was implied his love interest would return from China. Later a phone call came in, but the main lead his book on the phone and painfully resisted answering. Was this him? I thought possibly, but there was no translation in the version I saw. I was rooting for that couple, but this was clearly a story that was not going to have that kind of tidy ending. this is one of my favorite series of the year from Korea. well, not a BL per se it certainly is the most realistic true and hard having serious about gay relationships I’ve ever seen

could not agree more. needed a break after the first six episodes, only to get broken by the final two. mi nus the health twist, it was my 20’s on display

I related to every word of your review. I lived this in my 20’s growing up in the US. it was a painful watch, but art is supposed to be cathartic. This is the real Bl world.

Six of of eight episodes through and my heart hurts. I’ve been watching BL and while I wouldn’t put it in the BL category, I lived this life in the real BL world. so for me, best BL ever. Wow. I guess in any culture this is how it goes.