This review may contain spoilers
Where is the plot?
There is such a thin plotline in this series that I struggled to get through it, and I'm being generous when I say that it had a plot whatsoever. I don't know how this show is rated significantly higher than (for instance) Love in the Air, which was a hundred times more entertaining in all ways. Every event that does happen in the show is predictable.Strangely, we are given hints at things going on with side characters, but nothing more (Jade's off-screen love interest that he occasionally texts while smoking, Johnny/Naru obvious chemistry that never becomes anything, the sasaeng whose meeting with Akin seemed to have had a profound effect on him but then we never see nor hear of her again, Mildy's comedic role that we get for like two scenes even though he was supposed to be very close to Jin who is a main character...) They threw in many threads, and left them all untied. Were they afraid to let things happen? As far as I'm concerned, the more than is going on, the better. I had to multitask hard to alleviate boredom while watching Top Form.
The lead actors were not believable to me in any way until their characters started dating, from which point they did have some believable chemistry and emotional moments, especially Boom. One of the only things I liked about the show was how much Akin changed when he decided to open up to Jin, and he suddenly seemed vulnerable and eager for love rather than cold. The extent to which he opened up was unexpected and probably the only interesting thing about this show. As a character, Jin was basically flat, just pleasant and nice the whole time.
I admit that I'm one of those people who can enjoy a show with no plot if it's full of spicy scenes (e.g. My Stubborn). However, in my view (because this is a highly subjective aspect), the NC scenes of Top Form are not that special either. Yes, they are tastefully done, but they're mostly just artistic close-ups that let you imagine what is going on rather than showing all that much, so it's nothing that makes me stop in my tracks. Still, I liked the sudden passion that turned into the honey scene, and I would say the scene is well worth watching if you like NC scenes. I also couldn't stop thinking that that honey is NEVER going to come out of that carpet.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Passsion... for photography, not much else!
I don't understand why some Japanese boys' love series have the main characters dealing with big adult topics like starting a serious relationship with someone and moving in together, but still has those characters unable to adequately manage even the most basic physical displays of affection. It might be cute in high school, it's not cute after that. I know that touching people isn't done as casually in Japanese culture as it is in many others, but this situation is absurd: Two adult men have been best friends for 10 years, have already confessed that they like each other as more than friends, and yet they can't kiss each other properly or even go in for a hug without it being awkward.Yes, Wataru in the final episode struggles with being too shy to hug Minato, his best friend of a decade (and now his life partner that he's planning to move in with). Yet, given their history, their age, their mutual affection and how they are both very gentle people, Minato and Wataru should be exceptionally comfortable with each other. Indeed, the show goes to great lengths to show us how very comfortable they are with each other if they're eating, hanging out, laughing, or taking photographs... but then it falls apart in every moment that could be considered romantic. Where exactly are those feelings? The problem seems to be that Wataru is afraid to lose their friendship, but then it seems that the friendship must be more important to him than the romance. and thus it no longer feels like they should be boyfrends.
So, this is a romance story between the two most reserved people I've ever seen in a show (yes, even for a Japanese show). In a new romantic relationship, people are usually eager to show affection. That is why the first stages of a relationship are known to be the most passionate. In a situation where two friends have secretly wanted each other for years, I would think that they would already be comfortable enough with each other to simply find joy in their mutual affection. Maybe Wataru needs therapy for his inhibitive fear and anxiety?
Or maybe Minato needs treatment for his narcolepsy: He asked Wataru if they could finally kiss (something like "can we do what we couldn't do before?" as though he had been craving it for years), and then they pressed their lips together for the least passionate first kiss I've ever seen in my whole life - like, less of a kiss than I give to my cats every morning - and then he simply rolled over and fell asleep. I was in disbelief. How does a scene like that show us the longing of forbidden desire, of so many years of repressed love? Seriously? That was their moment to come together? Well, it was definitely the moment I knew this show would ultimately fail to deliver. Given the scenario of best friends becoming lovers, I expected there to be longing. There is none of that, only stalling.
The pacing: It is slow and often repetitive, with many contrived and overly sweet scenarios that are so often predictable, like in the final episode where Wataru's mother tells Minato about the "truth hotline" to get Wataru to speak more openly, and we can predict instantly that Minato will then use it to get Wataru to open up (and it's weird that it still works on him becuase he isn't a kid anymore). Or the scene where Minato and Wataru are about to text each other photos of the same thing, but then both change their minds and delete the photos, and it turns out they're walking past each other, and then they text each other the exact same message at the exact same second. Always cute to the point of being corny.
It's clear that Minato and Wataru love photography. The intention was to show us that Minato's love for photography was an extension of his love for Wataru (as we saw in not one but two rather cloying scenes showing the "taking photos of the one I love every day for the rest of my life" scenario with Minato's grandparents). However, neither Minato nor Wataru ever seemed to show nearly as much passion for each other as they did for their chosen art form. It felt like a wasted effort.
Still, there was nothing egregiously bad about this show. What it got right: It was pretty. Staging and cinematography and style were good. The music was not bad. Also, I think the actors were capable, even if their characters were so limited. I almost regret giving it a rating of 6, but it failed to deliver the substance of a good romance. I do not understand how the writers and directors thought it was a good idea to make a romance that's as tepid as possible.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Totally overrated. I am shocked at the glowing reviews.
ABO Desire is one of the weakest BLs I've ever seen (out of many more than 100 titles so far). Those who gave it 10 stars: Were we watching the same show?Although I don't like mpreg content whatsoever, in judging this series, I put aside all my reservations and feelings about it in order to give it a fair review. I am not familiar with the omegaverse, but I think it's an intriguing concept when it comes to having an alternate universe in which people are so strongly driven by their animalistic sexuality (pheromones, mating rituals, sexual selection and compatibility) to the degree where they have "rutting periods" and can't stop themselves from forcing themselves on others. It's interesting, but it gives me one overwhelming expectation: That the series will be very horny. Given the premise, I expect a lot of sex. The series doesn't deliver it at all. Nothing sexual is shown, even the kisses are really boring. How do you have a show about hypersexualized people, and even the kissing is passionless? I understand that there may be censorship issues, but then maybe China isn't the place to realize a series like this, or maybe they needed to find a better way to get around it. It just doesn't work. I've seen shows with steamier scenes that are basically Hallmark romance plots.
The irredeemable script: ABO Desire felt like it must have been created from some very weak source material. I have not read the source material, I'm just assuming it's bad because this entire series was like watching a terrrible fanfic. Most egregiously, the plot exposition was often handled by unrelated people simply telling us what is going on. The worst were the moments when totally random bystanders would give us the plot points: "Can you believe so and so did such and such? I heard that..." This is not how you write a story. You show it, you don't tell it. Less offensive, but still so disappointing were moments like Hua Yong explaining Shen Wen Lang's entire backstory like a footnote (and the backstory didn't even give us an easily understandable reason for why he hates omegas that much). Finally, we had this random narrator suddenly pop up out of nowhere in a late episode when (I guess) they really couldn't find another way to explain certain events. What? You can't just introduce a narrator randomly. You need to start and finish with one, or have one throughout or intermittently.
Unexplained inconsistencies: Let's think about the episode where Shen Wen Lang forces himself on Gao Tu, and neither of them recognize each other. Okay, maybe it's supposed to be pitch black in the room, and we have to just imagine that we can't see anything even though we can see everything. But these two have been close for what, like 10 years? They don't recognize each other's voices or anything, while being as intimate as possible? Shen Wen Lang doesn't recognize that same omega scent that he keeps telling Gao Tu to wash off? It's so incredible. Meanwhile, Sheng Shao You doesn't recognize Hua Yong in bed either, who is... his actual lover, with whom he lives.
The acting: With the exception of Li Pei En as Gao Tu, I didn't find any of these characters believable or relatable. All the other main characters seemed constantly bored. When something upsetting happened, no one looked upset. Their facial expressions never changed throughout the episodes, no matter what was going on. It was totally jarring. The worst offender was probably Qiu Ding Jie (Sheng Shao Yu), who may as well have been a mannequin. He had one crying scene which was his only actual acting moment in the whole show, that I can recall. If your loved one is injured, you should show grief. If someone has wronged you, you should show anger. If you're kissing someone you want, you should show desire! These characters mostly show nothing, and because I'm watching other shows at the same time where the actors actually do act, I could not stomach all the blank expressions throughout this series.
The main romance: While Hua Yong's scheming was kind of interesting, the love story fell flat. One moment they liked each other, the next they were together, somehow skipping the most exciting part of a romance (when two people who like each other finally get together) and then we just had to watch all their petty disagreements and reconciliations for the rest of the show (and a lot of cooking and eating, for some reason).
The side romance: From reading other reviews, I know that I'm definitely not the only person who was bored by the monotonous main romance and much more invested in the side romance. Gao Tu and Shen Wen Lang did not get enough screen time, and their story was nothing but an endless conflict. Why? It was repetitive; as soon as a possible solution arose, so did a new problem (such as Gao Tu's father's scheming at the very end of the series, something that probably should have been introduced earlier). I don't know why it needs to be explained, but a plot should introduce conflicts with the goal of having the satisfaction of conflict resolution. Gao Tu and Shen Wen Lang were never able to work through their issues, things that could have been quite easily settled if they'd just tried to talk about them. All we got for conflict resolution with these two was, at the very end, a mere suggestion that things could possibly be fixed in the future. Not to mention, we now know that they'd already lost years together and that Gao Tu had to endure the presumably torturous pregnancy that Shen Wen Lang could have helped him with, as first years of child rearing without his partner (and that Shen Wen Lang is a stranger to his own child). We never had the satisfaction of seeing them reconcile or understand each other. You don't build up all these obstacles over the course of 16 whole episodes just to have them still remaining by the end.
In summary, I found ABO Desire to be a frustrating watch whenever it wasn't completely boring.
Was this review helpful to you?
No... Just no... TutorYim deserve so much better
I watched this after Bed Friend, which comes before it, and which was a lot better.Story? There wasn't really one. The main character is so insufferable that I found myself hoping the main love interest would just decide to move on. This was the weakest aspect of this series. Why did they change Jade so much from the first show? (Disclaimer: I haven't read any of the source material.)
The comedic moments are not funny. The actors were fine, but they weren't given much worthwhile to do. I watched most of this on double speed, and I never felt like I was missing anything. What was even happening? Two people like each other, and eventually get together, with no real conflict or any interesting aspect other than one of them being shy and insecure, but not in an endearing way, it's just irritating. It doesn't seem like Mai should be into Jade, and we don't see Jade fall for Mai either, we just assume it's mutual since Mai is absolutely perfect. Jade is absorbed in his hobbies and seems to develop feelings for Mai out of convenience, since the guy just shows up and wants to date him, which is not interesting. Scenes are slow and don't move the plot along (because there isn't one). The second couple is nothing special, but they're almost preferable to the main one just because of this horrible character Jade.
The main couple from Bed Friend could have been given something worthwhile to do, but instead they just acted as passive advisors on love and had some minor spats. Very boring. Everyone's families are there just to be generally supportive of everything going on. Very boring. The NC scenes were decent, but so few that they felt out of place. They could have at least given one to NetJames, so that at least some more interesting things would be going on.
Rewatch value: I will rewatch certain parts for Tutor's body, face, and especially tongue... it's doing a lot of heavy lifting for overall worth of this show. He's so fine, seriously.
I thought "Battle of the Writers" wasn't good, but it was something close to a masterpiece in comparison to this trash. If you like TutorYim, that's a much better watch.
Was this review helpful to you?
