Billy Regala

It was okay

Senpai, This Cant Be Love is a Japanese BL with 8 episodes. The story is about Yanase and Kaneda who have this mentor and mentee relationship. Yanase is an accomplished CG artist and Kaneda is this rookie who is working under him. He is his mentor and he is secretly a big fan of his to some weird extent and I am glad that they did not really went into this direction because the stalker vibe was something that would be a bit off. Also, they did not immediately have a relationship instead, things went a bit awkward with them and things got a bit off actually. I am not sure how to describe it but there are some moments at the beginning when the vibe was off but it was later explained as Kaneda being extremely shy about working with Yanase that he is completely unsure how to handle the emotions he had for him. I think it is quite understandable but I like how they are slowly being kind towards each other despite seeing semblance of a relationship starting with the two. I think it is a pretty standard story but what it lacks is something that would really pull you in to their story. There is a bit of a mixed bag here. I liked the idea of it being simple but I am a bit wishing that they added more to the story. I just really feel like the story flowed really well and I am waiting for a good climax but it did not really happen. It is not bad. It is just uneventful and I was kind of waiting for it. I think the time that they tried to separate for some time and things did not go back as planned was interesting enough to watch. The cuteness is there. Well, the chemistry is pretty good. I think that is something that I would like to commend because the chemistry is really strong. This is maybe the reason why I am really wanting to see more of their story together. The constant push and pull had its moment but it got a bit repetitive at some point which usually makes me mad but I am not hating this one. I think, at this point, you can sense my confusion but yeah, I would actually watch this show again because the chemistry is cute and it had sweet moments. I even think that the ending is pretty sweet but it just took a weird amount of time to go there without anything happening. I think that’s it. I don’t know what else to say.

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It is okay and I enjoyed it.

I just finished watching To Be Continued. This is a Thai BL series and a partnership between Channel 3 and Netflix. I think I liked this show but not as much as you’d thought to be. I know that it is interesting and it is mature as we have two different timelines that are working to show us the love story of Ji and Achi. Ji is now a doctor and Achi is now a superstar but they have not met for ten years because of things that happened in their past. I think you can say that it was something that they had to deal emotionally and there is a good chance that a lot of the conflict in this show would not have happened if they could have just talked. This is a cliché that we have seen so many times in BL series now that I am wishing that there is still something else that is happening that would be more engaging than this but I will have to give it to the execution of the show because despite falling into a familiar territory, they still did a good job with the execution of the events that led to the finale. Yes, I am disappointed with the finale but I am not disappointed with the show entirely because they were still able to do as much as they could and it resulted to something that is actually quite enjoyable to watch.
The relationship of Ji and Achi is separated into two storylines. We have the story of the past that is dealing with how it started and how it ended while the present is now dealing with a more mature Ji and Achi as they are now dealing with Achi trying to reconnect and rekindle his former relationship with Ji who is still broken by the past. I think I understand Ji in this situation the most as he is the one that Achi left heartbroken. The story of him pursuing him is actually kinda cute and I think the explanation did not seem as big or as deep as they initially have made it to be. I know that coming out is a hard story because I am gay, myself, but the way that they handled it in the finale could have been much better to make the inciting incident that broke them apart to make much sense. Luckily, we had pretty cute and fun 7 episodes prior to that reveal and I enjoyed it too. The secondary couple of Ki and Kambee felt more of a mishandled situation too. I feel like they are a cute couple but had so little scenes together that I did not even care about them. They could have had more scenes together to make it a tighter narrative. The family story of Ji and Ki is not too bad but I am not sure why the father is acting that way considering the promise he made to his wife. Anyways, the relationships in this show okay. There is nothing that is completely striking about them but I feel like there is potential here if they could have explored the storylines much better. It is a cute show though. I feel like if I want to watch something light and bubbly, I would certainly watch this.
It is a pretty good show. It is not as remarkable as I would have expected it to be but it is not bad at all. It is pretty cute.

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The Chemistry is GOOOOD.

We got another adaptation of a Japanese BL into a Thai BL in My Love Mix-up and I will have to say this – THEY ARE DOING REALLY GOOD SO FAR. I mean, the Japanese BL are still GOATED but these stories being adapted for Thai media is giving us more stories about the characters instead. They are trying to put their own culture into it so that is really commendable and it worked. The story still follows the love story of Atom and Kongthap. Kongthap accidentally picked up the eraser that Atom borrowed from his crush but this supposed love triangle was all a misunderstanding. I think we can all agree that this all started as a misunderstanding but it soon led to a really good bond between Atom and Mudmee while Atom was also starting his relationship with Kongthap. So, yes, we have two main lovers in the story. We have the main love story and the supporting love story which is just as great as the main. I don’t say that often but I will say it here – the love story of Mudmee and Half is really good. Well, let us start with the main lovers of the story which are Kongthap and Atom played by Gemini and Fourth. The chemistry is intense with these two and I love that for them. I feel like I have grown a bit distant with Gemini with what he said but I found myself forgiving him in this one because he really played the character of Kongthap really well. He played the straight-laced serious kid really well and giving him nuance that would make you slowly fall in love with him. I think we also need to highlight that people like these do exist and they will need more time to ease with things so I am glad that Atom soon understood that, of course, with the help of Khao Pan. Speaking of Atom, the star of the entire show for me is Fourth as Atom. He is phenomenal and I can’t ask anything more from him. He is the star of this show from the very moment the start to end. I will have to say that what really made me so much in love with the show is his friendship with Mudmee. I know that he initially liked her but the friendship that they were able to build here is the best among all the BLs that I have watched so far. Fourth played the character with so much facial expressions that I am so impressed with his acting. The more emotional stuff might need a bit more polishing but he gave such a wonderful performance that I can forgive him here because it was really entertaining from start to finish. I like how aggressive he is after accepting that he is now in love with Kongthap but still playing this fragile counter to his character. I like it so much. He was so fun to watch. He was so charming that I feel like it is hard to resist a guy like him and the bond that he was able to build with Kongthap did not even feel forced at all. It is a slow burn kind of love story where they became more friends and they are so much lucky to have an older gay couple guiding them through this new relationship that they have. It is not easy to navigate such emotions but the help that they got is really important if you will ask me. I wish that this happens more in real life where we can be more out with ourselves so that we can be in relationships that are consensual and loving. There is something so good about Young Love that I really want to highlight and that is what they were able to capture here especially when they were deciding in which school to study in. There is something so simple yet honest on how this is what they think will be their biggest problem in the world. It is so pure. It is so sincere. It is so romantic. I actually enjoyed it. I think the same can be said with the supporting couple. Half is very handsome. I just want to add that and I think that his relationship with Mudmee had repetitive aspects to it but the portrayal is still very good that I can really forgive them. I mentioned young love earlier and this is just another perfect example of that where they are still trying to figure things out and they are still so unsure of so many things that are happening to them that I think it is very much understandable for them to be confused with how they will be doing things. I think the confusion that they had is still understandable and it is still very cute. The acting is also pretty good that it is working well. I think these young actors did an impressive job with their work that they were able to fully embody these characters well and gave us a feel-good show to watch. I am happy with this and I enjoyed watching it so much.

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Simple Love Story

Cosmetic Playlover is a love story about a beauty advisor and a makeup artist. Yes, this is a BL and I have to say this that I really enjoyed the fact that what we have two boys doing stereotypically feminine work. On top of that, they are feminine themselves. I feel like we don’t always see this kind of representation on screen because being in the make up industry usually means that a guy must be someone who is effeminate and that is not the case here. They are just acting as is and as normal as they can be. They are not forcing themselves to play caricatures of gay characters but instead the portrayal of the characters, even though they are gay, is not stereotypical and I think we need more representations like that because men can be in the beauty industry too and it is nice that they are showing us that without mocking the characters as well. In fact, they are both successful in their jobs that Mamiya started as a beauty advisor but became the chief of the branch and Sahashi started as a beauty advisor but soon became a makeup artist. The beginning of the show is good and I like the character of Mamiya because he knew what he wanted and really worked his way to be the kind of person that he wants to. At the same time, he is supportive of other people and this is how he was able to make Sahashi notice him. Well, he did not really try because Sahashi is a former model who is easy to the eyes and people gravitate towards him. They are both good with their jobs but the main concern here is that Mamiya is not a very confident man and had some insecurities within himself. I think that is understandable and I feel like I can truly relate to him in a sense that being in a female-dominated world can be hard at times so getting the support that he needed and finding someone who finally saw him as he is truly made him happy. He was in love with another person when the show started and I think I love that Sahashi is constantly giving him the confidence that he needed and that they are slowly being more and more honest and open with each other. This is a really good start to the relationship and we got to see Mamiya have more selfish requests that really highlighted what he wanted. I love it when he is telling him what he really wants and make him really work hard for him. I don’t think that he was difficult but he can be challenging at times. I really relate to the character of Mamiya so much and I think he had such a good character development that I want that for myself as well. The relationship went really cute. I will be honest and say that I was a bit hesitant at the beginning but they slowly grew on me. It turned out that I actually enjoy watching both of them get a happy ending and that fact that it is together is just what makes it even better.

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TOO Short

What If is a short BL series from Thailand. It follows two friends who grew up together. They shared the fact that they both have few close friends with them and decided to really stick together. The transition to them growing up is cute but the main issue here is Peach is now moving to College but Smart shortly follows. Actually, if you will think about it, there is not much of a problem with these two. I feel like they are just really living their lives as is. You can clearly see that there is affection for each other especially when they got jealous but this is something that was out of the story immediately. I feel like we got a good story here but my main concern here is that it is too short. Seriously, I really wanted to see more of what is about to happen and what the story will be for these two but it is so fucking short. The show is to show to even have a solid storyline but I like the concept that there is no problem that is coming there way and that the actors are actually quite good. It is one of those BLs where you can clearly see that they have chemistry but the opportunity to really work on it was not there because they have to finish it as soon as possible. I usually don’t want much in BL stories from Thailand because they are usually so fucking long but this one is different. The editing decisions are good and I was really hoping that they did something with it.

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Gay Business

Bump Up Business is a South Korean BL series. It is about two K-Pop idols who debuted in a duo and the marketing strategy that they were put in was more into being a gay duo or at least suggestive of that scenario. I have some concerns about this concept but I have to admit that a part of me is quite proud that an actual K-Pop group – OnlyOneOf – is the lead of the series. Basically, the series is led by members of the K-Pop group. I am really surprised at that considering how homophobic South Korean actually is. Anyways, I actually think that they did a good job with this one. I mean, for a South Korean BL, this is not bad. The story is quite simple and, even though they had so many weird complications, they were able to handle the lives of the characters well. The acting is okay. I mean, these are rookie actors who are doing BL so they are still starting and I don’t think that they did a bad job at all. It could still be so much better but it is okay. I think what is icky about this story for me is the business model that they are acting like a gay couple so that they could get more fans. This is the business model that they have and I was initially uncomfortable with it but then I realized that this is how BL actors are doing it. I mean, I know that they are not real couples and these are all fan service. I think it was when that I had this realization that I became more open to the concept. They also did it well by not being too exploitative about it and you can clearly see that the characters are slowly having interest with each other. Again, the acting is not the best and can still be improve but it is not too bad. At the same time, I feel like they benefitted from the fact that it is a relatively short series that there is nothing much here that would make you tick anymore because the events are unfolding as fast as they can. There are some parts of the story that they could have removed like the girl in the story was serving no other purpose so that it could be more of a cohesive but we got what we got and I am not really that mad about it. I think there is not much special in here. It is just okay. At the end of the day, OnlyOneOf is just doing what they did in the series - just gay business.

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Too Short to be Good.

Ants Without Umbrella is a short Japanese series where a writer is experiencing a writer’s block when he was told by his publisher to write a love story instead of his usual sci-fi. While having problems with his writing, he was visited surprisingly by a friend that he had not seen for a very long time. The story is conveyed in four different stories as the first two episodes were Jun’s attempt to create a love story but I feel like the last two is a love story that he had when he was younger. To be honest, I was able to finish the show and I am not completely sure if he did fell in love with his friend or not but I feel like he did especially when he said that he is not sad because his friend fell in love with another man but not him. I feel like their friendship is so much more than what we expected and this is the usual story of how these two grew apart without resolving the issues that they have with each other leading to them not talking about it at all so when the final twist is revealed and that Keisuke is already dead and that he saw just a ghost of his friend, there is something so sad about it especially with how he treated him quite badly. It is such a sad story and I was not expecting this kind of love story about friendship that really is not talked about a lot. I am torn with what I feel about the story because the LGBT aspect is the most interesting part of the story and I will have to give it to Jun for trying to understand his friend but I am a bit disappointed with how it is ultimately handled by him. I know he is young and he did not have guidance at all but he really went away from his friend and really did not do anything at all for him. I mean, he already knew all this when they met again but he still was a shitty friend to him. I would not say that this is a really strong story but it could have been so longer and they would have more time by then to explore more themes that they opened to further explore them in a much better way. It is not bad but it could have been so much better.

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MAN TRISANU SURANON deserved so much better.

Step By Step is a BL series from Thailand and it is about an everyday worker named Pat. He is just starting work but he feels that he is at a company where his talents are not being utilized but when the manager changed, everything changed for him as well. I think that this is the best way that I will describe the story of this show because I will be serious and I feel like there is not much to say about this show except for the fact that we have wasted Man Trisanu Soranun in this show. Yes, I will have to say that he is super fucking hot. He had shirtless scenes and his abs are the most insane abs that I have seen right now. He is super fucking fine but he was surprisingly the best in acting in all of the show. My main problem with him and this show is the acting. I know and I am very sorry to say this as early as now but the acting is just bad. I know that they are trying their hardest and all but I hope that they can try so much better because I feel like what we got is boring especially in the emotional scenes. I was really wanting to feel something for these characters but the crying sounds that they make with no tears at all or the lack luster performances is just hard to watch. Man Trisanu Soranun is a bit forgivable because he had a decent performance but the lead performance that required most of the acting is of Ben who is playing Pat. Pat is the lead character and we have seen everything from his perspective but what I just noticed is that he did not even grow as a character. He is the most irritating character in the show. He literally is. I was waiting for his character development and it never came. It was so disappointing. This is on top of the bad acting too. Now, this is just really a tragic thing to watch. The performance is pretty hard to watch and I was really disappointed. They added many characters as well and I feel like the stories have potential but the bad acting is not really working to their advantage. The chemistry is not even there. On top of this, the story moved from a pretty glacial pace and it took me so much effort to finish it. I feel like they just decided to make a show and the story just became whatever they thought of on the spot and that is it. I am not even sure what they are trying to accomplish here but I feel like it is none. The love story of Pat and Jeng had solid moments especially when they are together but this happened around episode 10 and they are not anymore at episode 11. I feel like the story was forced to move so slow at the beginning and so fast nearing the end as they are trying to put as many things as they can in this show to make it work but it did not. It is a bit on the bad side because the potential is there for the story to be good especially it is an office romance but the writing and the acting just threw it all away. The ending had so much unnecessary problems that I think the chemistry of the actors was not establish properly. Seriously, they had few scenes together and most of them are work-related stuff that I was even unsure what I was watching because there is so much work happening in this show. They were meeting all the time. The ending was just forced and it took such a long time to get there.

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Simple, Cute, Enjoyable.

Stay By My Side is a Taiwanese Supernatural BL and I will have to say that it is surprisingly enjoyable and sweet to watch. For starters, the story follows Bu Xia who is a college student who plays basketball and can hear ghosts when his sister in the temple accidentally burned a part of his talisman but the way that he is living his life changed when he met this new independent but has a rich background, ace student named Jiang Chi. They became roommates and they initially had a love hate relationship but things slowly turned for the better when they become close and you can see that Jiang Chi fell in love with him immediately and Bu Xia was just using him for protection but he fell harder in the future. This is just a surprisingly cute story and I know that there are supernatural elements to it and I actually did not care about it as much. I feel like the show had a good momentum and they just really worked on it by using it to push for the story. There were moments in the story that they fight but it still remained very cute to watch and enjoyable. I think what I enjoyed most is the chemistry of the lead actors and how playful the characters are to each other. I feel like this could easily go the wrong way but they were able to handle the storyline so much better by not overcomplicating things especially the ghost stuff. I love that they were able to simplify that and just make it to a good part of the story. The simplicity of the love story is what really drew me in and I enjoyed it so much. It is a good watch.

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Slow, Quiet, Simple

My Strawberry Film is a Japanese series about a group of friends. The story follows them as they are trying to investigate who is the mysterious girl that they found in the film as they are also trying to navigate the heartbreaks of falling in love and getting rejected by your first love. I actually watched this show because it was recommended to me as a BL but it was clearly from the very beginning that it was not and that it really is about that feeling that you get from falling in love and getting rejected. The friendship of Ryo and Hikaru are the main thing here and little did Hikaru know is that Ryo is actually in love with him while they also met two girls who were added to their friend group that are important members of this now. Chika likes Ryo but Ryo likes Hikaru likes the new girl who looks like the girl in the video named Minami. This dynamics will lead them into awkward moments while trying to understand what it means to fall in love and get rejected. The story highlighted the importance of friendship as it trumps any other emotion that they have for each other. I actually liked the show. I know that the story may not be as strong as one would hope for it to be but I like the message that they are telling and how they handled such sensitive topic without over analyzing or complicating things. At the end of the day, the characters felt like individuals who are in a bind and they have been more honest with how they truly feel with each other. I love the moment that Ryo and Hikaru spent at the end where they held hands and that even though Ryo said that it will be the last selfish thing that he will ask for, Hikaru still held his hands. This was such a sweet moment that really resonated with me. I just wish that every rejection can be as sensitive and mature and lovely and considerate and as beautiful as that moment that they shared together. Well, they are really good friends so there is that and I think another thing that I enjoyed here is how human the show felt. It is a very simple show and we only have a few characters here but there is so much care in the writing that you can really see them handling the vulnerability of the characters so well that it is just interesting and fun to watch. It is a good show with the ending highlighting who these four characters are and what this moment felt for each and everyone of them.

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A Goodday is a Good Show.

Wandee Goodday. I think it is time to talk about Wandee Goodday and I will have to admit that this show does have a special role in my heart now because it felt so pure and nice to watch. I know I used the word pure to describe this show but I am not referring to how steamy some scenes are. I think I am mostly referring to the love that they have for each other. The story is a bit simple. It is a story about two people who met on a random one-night stand. Wandee provided medical care to Yoryak earlier but they do not really know each other but Wandee was really drunk and got rejected by the man that he is pining for eight years so he is devastated by this. This resulted to them being friends with benefits but the relationship moved from that to being fake boyfriends until they finally have a real relationship instead. This is the trajectory of the relationship and I will say that this is a mature outing from GMMTV considering that this is like my first time seeing so many sex scenes in their shows. Yes, it is not as intense as the other channels but it is there and I just want to really highlight that. Yoryak is played by Great Sapol and Wandee is played by Inn Sarin. This is a pair of extremely good-looking guys and they are sexy. They are sexy………. I mean, we have so many shirtless scenes of them and I have never thanked GMMTV for this. They are so sexy and the necklace kiss was so hot but, at the same time, I feel like the relationship of Wandee and Yoryak really started as a good relationship since they started with being friends. They are so supportive of each other and they are really doing things for their dreams. I feel like the show had a romance at the center but the goals of the characters is what really pushed the story forward. Wandee really wanted to get the scholarship abroad and he is competing with Dr. Ter whom he had a longtime crush. It started out as a revenge plan but he took it more seriously as the story went on. By the way, Dr. Ter is played by Pod who is the one big sexy who starred in a really bad BL before so it is nice to see him again in the genre. He had one shirtless scene when we can benefit with so much more but I like how he is gradually becoming a good character at the end. I knew he was a good boy but had some bad decisions along the way but I can understand him. He mentored Wandee but he still got the scholarship. I like that they went through an interesting phase in this story but still ended up being friends. Wandee’s storyline is about opening himself up to the idea of love once again after getting his heart broken. It might seem like a simple thing to do but I have to give it to them for really trying their best to make it work while Yoryak wants to be a world champion while overcoming the guilt of missing his mother’s last few days. His storyline had a good heart in it and the presentation of this story worked well in the story because we got to see him really fight for it and the relationship. I feel like Wandee fell in love first but Yoryak fell harder for him as the story went on. It is a good way to really set things up for the characters because they had a good start. It was rocky but they were still able to handle the storyline and the characters well that it did not feel mushy or stupid at all. I am quite impressed with how they also used the supporting characters. We have Dr. Kao who is asexual and opened up about this. We have the storyline of Yei and Cher which involved a wedding and it expanded on the family storyline of Yoryak. I love the relationship of Yoryak and Yei as siblings. It felt so loving and honest. We also got good information about HPV vaccination and I like that the show highlighted that. I feel like they also have a good message that they are trying to share to people and used their platform well for it. I really do think that this is an amazing show and I might add that the episode titles were presented really. I feel like they are a bit disregarded but we really had good visuals and stories from the show. I would love another show from Great and Inn because they really have a good chemistry. It is undeniable.

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Good Story. Good Acting.

Century of Love is a love story between a man who lived almost for 100 years just to find the reincarnation of his lover who died in his arms but things turned complicated when she turned out to be reincarnated as a man. Now, I am excited for this return of Daou and Offroad together because they are a really good couple and we have seen them really spark so much chemistry together from their first show and they were able to show us a much better range in this one. I am surprised with the acting that they were able to show here because I feel like this is a more mature storyline from what they had before and the writing is also much better than the previous one. This had a more serious tone to it but they were still able to put a lot of cute moments in between especially when the characters are enjoying. Daou’s character is San who lived a long life so he is a more traditional character. This is why him being hesitant to believe that his lover turned into a man is understandable. I don’t think that the character is being prejudice since he never said anything that is against being gay but his character is more concerned that things are more complicated than expected or what he is expecting is not what he received. I understand his hesitation with this and they were really able to handle that well. I like it when things like this make sense and that they are not forcing the chemistry of the characters. The way that this relationship progress is somehow instantaneous but there is a pretty much good reason to it as they were lovers and Offroad’s character who is Wee is dating both men and women. His character’s highlight is not even the relationship with San but his best moments are shared with the grandmother of his in the show. I love the moment when his grandmother is like saying his goodbyes to him and he is just there sobbing. It is such an emotional moment from the show and I feel like it is such an underrated moment as well. The story of this show is more of like weird is some places but it is also talking about their culture which I actually love since we are learning more about them. This is something that we do not get often but we should get more off because they were able to relate the BL storyline so well while comparing modern and traditional values without alienating one from the other. I like this concept that they did because it worked and the characters are all really fun to watch. They had sincerely funny moments and scenes that are just crazy how it happened but let’s be honest and admit that we have seen way worse than this and accepted it so I don’t really mind. I think they were able to use all of the elements well while highlighting so many good things about the story. The actors did an incredible job with their roles and I was not expecting them to be this good actors now. They did not force a long triangle here. It was actually funny and logical how they did it. At the end, I was a fan of Doctor Third and how nice he actually is that I want him to end up with someone. Seriously, this is a good show and they were able to handle the story really well without making it a bit too much. They just added the layers that it needed and nothing was unnecessary. I like it when they do this and it resulted to a really good show to watch.

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Good. Sweet.

Love In Translation is the first BL show of Daou and Offroad together and I really wanted to watch this show because I know that they are famous in Thailand and I saw them there when I first went there and did not know who they were but I will have to say that this is a really good start and I enjoyed this show so much. Okay, the story is about this Chinese guy who just moved to Thailand because of something mysterious but he is wanting to do business in Thailand so he needed someone Thai to help him with it and found one. They did not start okay with each other but the story progress until they become the lovers that they are now with the intense kissing scenes. Now, Love In Translation is a BL series that is trying to launch a BL couple which they did successfully and I will have to admit that the chemistry of Daou and Offroad is just really good. I am enjoying the moments that they have together because they really seem to be enjoying. Daou’s character is a bit more serious so the scenes where he smiles is what makes him so cute and lovable. I slowly fell in love with his character and I will have to admit that the reveal of what he is really doing there and how they were able to resolve it may seem to be a bit sketchy. I think that there is such a much better way to handle the storyline. I think that they really rushed the ending of that story but I can somehow forgive them because the flow of the story is quite good and it is really wanting to focus on them. Phunjai which I the character of Offroad had a stronger narrative with his huge crush on Tammy which pushed so much of the story to move and Offroad is really cute. I mean, the guy really looks like he is the kindest person on Earth. We also have a strong secondary couple in Phojai and Tag. They are really cute together and I wish that their storyline is somehow given more time to really grow but I am glad with what they did here. I will say that this show had ups and downs but a good mix of that really made this enjoyable to watch especially with the chemistry of the lead characters. I like how good the rapport felt and how they are just so sweet together by the end of it. There are some questionable plot storylines but we also had a good one here.

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It was okay and then it was not.

VIP Only is a BL love story about a writer who is struggling to find his inspiration for his next book and a restaurant owner having problems with his own mother. I think this is a decent enough love story but it is not perfect. I will have to say that the partnership of Stan Huang and Chen Xuan Yu as the lead characters Gu Jing and Liu Li is actually quite interesting since we have a mature love story and the characters are playing their parts well. I mean, they are interesting in a sense that they are characters who have other priorities aside from finding love and that is a good thing here because it helped the story move forward but the story is slowly shrinking in a sense that there is not much happening that is not new or interesting to their stories until we got buried in the cliches of the genre and they were never to pull away from it which is a bit of a sad thing because the show started as something that is more into itself. It is as unique as they can be while properly managing the expectations of the viewers. It is not bad at all. I actually can say that the first few scenes had the grip on the audience but the story started to go out of control after the middle portion because it became repetitive so they are trying their luck with whatever they can but this led to aggressively quick storylines especially the one with Boss Gu’s mom. I feel like that is a storyline that they just wanted to getaway from and they did. It is a bit bad writing for me or they are at least finding it hard how to continue a story that already seemed finish in the first five episodes.

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Could have been so much better but it is not.

Naughty Babe is where the side couple from Cutie Pie is taking a center stage and the main couple is taking more of a back seat. The story follows Khon Diao and Yi as they are navigating their relationship which they had for a very long time now. They are a seasoned couple and the main problem here is that they have been together for quite a long time that Khon Diao feels and suspects that Yi is already cheating on him while it is also projecting itself to be a family drama where the family of Diao is really getting money from the family of Yi. Now, this is a story that we have seen more than a couple of times but I do not hate the show because I feel like the execution is not bad at all. You can easily see that this show has budget because it is a well-made show but I am hoping that they were able to put some of that in the writing of the series because they really pushed for this one and added as many things as they can like an amnesia arc, a family fight, and a fighting couple. There are so many things that are happening that they pushed it all in one episode which I feel like did not led to good pace for the story. The stories especially the family that had some issues against each other was more hinted rather than anything else that would merit something enjoyable to watch. The family drama is there but they were able to handle it so quick that I am wondering how it took so long for them to really handle it and the supposed villains of the story just were suddenly gone in the story. The chemistry of the main couple is there and it is undeniable but the story is not there supporting what they could have done with it. Instead, it felt a mediocre job for a story just to gain money from the love team. It did not feel like a commercial but more of an audition for another series which is okay if they made it shorter or if they could have put it in a more concise packaging. There is potential with the stories if they were just able to handle all of them slowly or if they decided not to put all possible hindrances and do nothing about them. Again, it is not a bad show because the chemistry is good and Max is hot but the story and the show is, unfortunately, bad and lackluster.

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