BradBluddy16

Destiny Seeker

C’mon. Let’s keep it a safe space, everyone.
Truth is, Keen has been a scene eating star since as early as the Project Alpha live mall group performances; “Can I Call You Mine” is epic. Where he has arguably seen some improvement is in his detail work. Acting constantly miffed isn’t easy, and it takes a subtle amount of voice modulation (not to mention, humility) to play a Siwaj’ uke. So far, Keen is knocking it out of the park.

I half expected Ink to appear under those white pillars and call out their “lovey-dovey” behaviour. I’m still living, though.

I was a little disappointed with the change at first, but now I get that they are serving us a bit of Potae and Payos from Only Boo!. It was a wise decision to make Van likeable from the get-go; my one quibble with Only Boo! is that Potae was such a difficult character, with none of the requisite charm to make a believable Casanova. Van oozes charisma; it is easy to imagine people falling for him, against their better judgment, including Farm.

Is it only me, or is anyone else getting KeenSea vibes? When did Sea find his baby girl singing voice? Despite his stature, Sea’s glow-up is giving classic Uke; all pastel softness and 100% Keen admiration. I guess we should have read the signs; the shrimp is mounting the otter on Nong Nooong.

Five things I’m looking forward to with Head 2 Head:
1. Keen getting ahold of a Boy Sompob OST and crushing it
2. New Siwaj returning to a supernatural love story that doesn’t include vampires
3. Sea being unshackled and given a more playful character to sink his paws into (meow meow meow)
4. With New Siwaj being a master of the tasteful (but not demure) NC scene, SeaKeen will finally get to 2nd base.
5. Keen, miles from that buzzed-cut, awkwardly gyrating teenager from his Project Alpha debut, will rightfully become the new Crown Prince of BL (at least, until Fourth gets his bangs back, and Ticket to Heaven changes the universe as we know it)

Given a good script and a school setting, New Siwaj can certainly make magic happen (UWMA, P10L, My Only 12%) and SeaKeen, thus far, have achieved only straight A’s in chemistry. We love an enemies to lovers trope done right (Destiny Seeker, anyone?); Jinn flipping J the double bird augurs well. Let’s pray these elements, when forged together, create alchemy.
Sadhu.

Ooh girl, early BL was the Wild West, literally, where the sound of horses was almost as common as unwanted sexual advances. You can see how far we’ve come when a compact, layered series about competitive math nerds can create “fin” without resorting to anything base or gratuitous; and a racing horse is just a racing horse. 🐎

And, as hard as they tried to train us to recontextualize that old favourite, we still immediately jump to “endowment gag” when we hear it. Half a decade of Pavlovian BL associations are hard to unlearn.

In the spirit of Gaya Sa Pelikula, I hope this show is not tainted by the behaviour of one individual. SeaKeen are killing it in MuTeLuv, and they, and Only Boo!, should be given a chance to receive the recognition they deserve. A number of people, contributed to the greatness of this series, not to mention Sea and boy-wonder Keen, and all the supporting cast and crew (shout out Milk), as well as those who contributed to the fantastic OSTs. The shadow of GeminiFourth loomed over this series (unfair comparisons to MSP; My Love Mix Up’s loud and investor-stealing marketing ramp up; Sea’s not yet Gemini-level acting skills, at least initially). With Ticket to Heaven still a distant pipe dream, and Head 2 Head on the horizon with a renewed and prodigious New Siwaj at the helm, there is a perfect opportunity for SeaKeen to move into the spotlight. สู้ๆ

Not so surprising that you like P10L. There is definitely a red thread linking this series back to UWMA. Not only is it directed by a revamped (pun intended) New Siwaj, but the feel and characterizations echo that BL classic (UWMA), minus the supernatural elements. I would even argue that YothaGun are an update on DeanPharm, while the other two couples share echoes of WinTeam. The romances hit just as hard, despite not being bolstered by a reincarnation theme, while the surrounding universe remains light and joyful. Balancing those two elements is New Siwaj’s true gift, when he hits his sweet spot, as he does here.

I love that there is so much disagreement on whether YothaGun or FaifaWine had the best arc. The truth is that everyone wins, as there were at least 2 top tier BLs back loaded into one series.
There does seem to be a consensus that the ArcArm arc came in at third place. Force and Book do their best to animate their one-dimensional characters, and they get thrown a lovable assortment of friends, but one can’t help but wonder if their OF/Peaceful-Property-displayed skills would be better utilized elsewhere. At least, once the other arcs roll around, they get to relax, and their characters’ one-dimensional-ness becomes their charm.

Some people were put off by Yotha’s cold exterior and seeming lack of empathy, but Perth’s brilliant micro expressions were telegraphing the compassion charging Yotha’s inner conflicts. Santa was his equal, subtly belying the pathos behind Gun’s “sunshine of this world” persona with grace. An acting masterclass, with director New stepping back up with his UWM”A” game.

Gun reading through the relationship test questions with Yotha; the gay panic was gay panicking.

Gelboys does do a great job capturing coming of age in latch-key, cosmopolitan, inner city Bangkok. The same care is given to the navigation of Heesu’s socially conservative, suburban setting; worlds removed from the hopeful liberation being offered up in Hongdae or Itaewon.
Both series ring true for their milieu; so much so that the fantasy BL elements are mostly implicit.
Both are valid. And even if they appear to sit at opposite ends of the queer actualization spectrum, they both stand firmly on the zeitgeist and carry a similar political charge.
Maybe there is no way for the creators of “Heesu in Class 2” to shed their Judas-like betrayal of the beloved webtoon. Maybe the MDL rating will never rise above 7.4, and the betrayed will prevail. But somewhere, a suffocating, suburban queer kid is one step closer to self acceptance after seeing themselves reflected in this series. Both the 10/10 ratings and the 7.4 average are political; hopefully, this Pride season we can all meet somewhere in the middle. 🌈

Not ideal, but methinks that the Yotha detractors doth protest too much. Anyone who’s been in a relationship with a traumatized person knows that their healing and emotional integrity do not come in a straight line (despite what the clearly rushed episode 15 and 16 breakthroughs would have you believe).
FaifaWine would rarely, if ever, happen in the real world; no doubt, part of their appeal. But Yotha and Gun are both doing a lot of heavy lifting; maybe not the safest route for escapist fiction, but certainly relatable and, ultimately, winning.

By range, I meant that AouBoom had to play (initially) unlikable characters. Quite a stretch for one of the fandom’s favourite comfort couples. It should serve them well in the ethically ambiguous Only Friends universe.

Wu Bi be giving palpable horn dog energy and Su Yu be eating it up…
Ok, you have me intrigued. I definitely hope to see this beloved Manhwa faithfully remade. And… I would still highly recommend this Korean adaptation to anybody unfamiliar with the original “Heesu” or unbothered by a sharp pivot from the source material.

I think I blushed more watching “Stay With Me” than during many a spicy BL NC scene!
But, truth be told, “Heesu in Class 2” hews much closer to my own high school experience. Including the Manwha’s flashpoint second gay couple would have taken me right out, as, like Heesu, I was convinced I was alone in my queerness. I also slow-walked an unrequited crush on my tennis-player-best-friend; thus the visceral anti-raquet-sport sentiment in the fandom is lost on me. And Ji Yu, despite her straight-privileged flaws, was arguably my favourite character. I resonate with the hurt behind all the political machinations, but I get the sense that any “straightwashing” was likely based on someone’s personal experience, and added a layer of realism to the mix.

Trigger Warning: I thought this was a fantastic series…
Without the weight of familiarity with the original/adapted source material, I can say this is one of the best Korean BLs I have seen. I am often amazed at how creatives are able to adapt their material to the constraints of their conservative societies (shout out “Stay With Me”), and through their ingenuity and yes, “conservatism”, the minds behind “Heesu in Class 2” have managed to resource enough top tier talent to create an instant classic. The heated political debates that the adaptation has engendered are understandable, and do reflect the depths of pain, in the queer experience, upon which “Heesu” is touching, but do not diminish the brilliance and resonance of the story being told. Balancing deftly on the K-Zeitgeist and gently pointing the way forward to a better future, “Heesu in Class 2” has threaded the needle …. with class, too. 10/10