I like that neither actor looks like they've had several face surgeries and love the quirky female characters.…
Your mention of natural faces here is something I actually often find is most charming about Taiwanese dramas in particular, although to some extent it applies to Japanese ans Thai dramas too. Of all the regions on this site, Taiwan is the one where, BL or otherwise, I have seen the widest variety of leading actors with varied natural facial features that don’t exactly all seem to revolve around a uniform beauty standard.
There is in some ways nothing I love more than seeing people with their natural ‘imperfections’, although that word doesn’t do them justice. It can in a strange way make a drama feel more alive, rather than looking at a cast of doll-like faces who share certain similarities. Don’t get me wrong, I can also enjoy eye-candy, but I like that Taiwan is unafraid of variety and more natural (normal?) faces.
Not to be dramatic but the end of drama void hasn’t hit this hard in YEARS. What is life after Revenged Love? Do I re-read the novel? Do I go back into nostalgia and reread a different novel (A Round Trip To Love springing to mind)? Do I stare into the void and feel the loss of my weekly dose of Wu Suo Wei. Xiao Shuai, Chi Cheng and Guo Cheng Yu? I can’t possibly follow this up with a regular romance drama.
I can only say that this drama was phenomenal. Soundtrack, visuals, acting, commitment to having a plot, dedication from the team that created it. I have no critiques. None at all.
Romanticization of problematic behaviour in media is more of a rule than an exception. It is perfectly reasonable…
I’d say that most people here are likely not using their critical thinking - and given the comedic and light tone the show is attempting, I see no issue with that. I see the glaring issues, sure, but this is at best a 6/10 filler show with mild comedy for me.
I’m not defending romanticisation, it’s pretty typical in media and in romance is usually either grating to watch or boring to watch. I much prefer psychological and/or thriller for tackling problematic people and relationships. I’d guess romanticisation is common as a means to appeal to an audience - the mafia is often glamourised to make them palatable for instance. Much as I will enjoy a well done noir, the audience is far more limited than the potential audience for even a mediocre rom-com.
Just a question, since your writing made me curious - what would your thoughts be on a neutral lens to problematic behaviour in dramas? As in, the problematic behaviour is neither condoned nor demonised, but exists within a grey world (which usually leads to all characters having varying extents of problematic behaviour or circumstance).
I’d also love to know how you’d feel about deliberate romanticisation in the context of dark comedy or satire.
Reading the comments about episode 4, I honestly feel like I'm watching completely different show.Tuo’s behavior…
While I haven’t looked at the comments (I don’t like to look too far these days) - what Tuo did this episode made sense, so as to make it clear he wasn’t crossing the boundary. While you could argue manipulation with him becoming cold, it could also easily be dismissed as a way of him not accidentally breaking the agreement.
Personally, I cannot see the point in looking at these particular characters and their behaviour under a microscope. It’s a silly show - yes, you could argue that there was undue pressure that invalidates consent (the prior agreement) - BUT if you are taking a show with a main character who makes IMPORTANT DECISIONS using rock, paper, scissors (which he usually loses, no less) that seriously, it leaves me with questions.
I did not have a Yongjie (Lin Chia Wei) cameo on my 2025 bingo card. Looking now he has a supporting role - guess I’ll have to get used to that. I was shocked to see that familiar face here.
Junxi playing rock paper scissors like his life counts on it regardless of the moment is utterly diabolical but I love it. Also kinda hoping for a little something from the girls now…pleaaaaase!
This drama even after almost 6 years is still not available to stream legally anywhere in the US region.
Really!? I’m somewhat shocked because in the UK, which has been far slower at adopting dramas and k-pop than the US, it was available on Viki, and I don’t know if it still is, but it was certainly available there for a long time.
...sometimes we get BL fatigue and best idea to try something else for a while. I say this because I'm also struggling…
Glad to hear I’m not the only one. Wishing both of us luck going to other genres for a bit! I’ll probably go back to the space with psychological, thriller, and crime going on, since that’s usually a good palate cleanser for me
I’m 50/50 on watching this. I mean no disrespect when I say it’s dumb (I don’t dislike it, it’s just what it is). Maybe time for me to hop away from romance for a bit because I’ve seen too much lately.
question, is this completed? the end feels like a bit of a cliffhanger
It is completed, it’s just typical of older low-budget Chinese BL of the time. It’s from before Addicted, which marked the ban, so it’s just what they were able to do at the time. If it were more popular and the ban hadn’t happen they may have done a second season, but that’s just speculation on my part. A lot of shows and films at the time did that.
A Round Trip To Love - 2 parts (meant to be 3, but then the ban happened) Irresistible Love - 2 parts Approach to Love - 2 parts
There were some web dramas like this too although I don’t remember off the top of my head.
Also, most Chinese BL had horrible endings back then. Although it was before the big ban came in, I seem to recall that explicitly gay stories had to end in tragedy, “recovery from being gay”, or breakup, in order to get released. Has to do with rules over there about public morals, and being gay is still considered a ‘disease’ or ‘mental illness’ by official literature over there.
As much as it meant many shows robbed us of happy endings, until around 2020, BL in general were not that common anywhere (certainly not airing every week of the year, unlike now). Before 2018, finding happy endings in BL that weren’t Japanese, Taiwanese, or Thai was uncommon. So people who watched BL before 2020 mostly all watched everything, which made it easy to make friends and discuss what was airing. The community is so big now, so even the old friends now watch mostly different shows and only talk about the occasional overlap.
Nostalgic. Watched this as a high schooler in 2019, and read the novel afterwards. Naturally, I am now watching Revenged Love too. Classic old pre-ban BL.
lmao omg i just translated it and no way the manga title is "It can't just end with an orgasm!" ??
I’ve seen a fair few out there titles but THAT, right there, might just take the cake. Sure, there are some equally explicit titles, but the ‘!’ at the end really making it sound hilarious instead of the usual edgy explicit titles.
Edit: can confirm because I didn’t realise it was Japanese and I can read that title LOL. It doesn’t translate super well (slang) but that’s the jist of it.
Wow they really did throw all of that into the first two episodes.
From the trailer, I wonder if what’s actually been going on is Tuo’s so-called ‘popularity’ is people approaching him and interested in Junxi. Either that or that play somehow made him wildly popular overnight?
Please tell me about these "recent comments", asking for a friend
Ah, so apparently he has been a fan of Ziyu since his idol days, and he has apparently offered him a trip together free of charge (how netizens know that I have no idea), but the other comment was that he’s love to be a lead in a BL with Ziyu someday.
I must say that I haven’t personally seen where he apparently said all this, but the second half I definitely believe he’d have said publicly.
There is in some ways nothing I love more than seeing people with their natural ‘imperfections’, although that word doesn’t do them justice. It can in a strange way make a drama feel more alive, rather than looking at a cast of doll-like faces who share certain similarities. Don’t get me wrong, I can also enjoy eye-candy, but I like that Taiwan is unafraid of variety and more natural (normal?) faces.
I can only say that this drama was phenomenal. Soundtrack, visuals, acting, commitment to having a plot, dedication from the team that created it. I have no critiques. None at all.
I’m not defending romanticisation, it’s pretty typical in media and in romance is usually either grating to watch or boring to watch. I much prefer psychological and/or thriller for tackling problematic people and relationships. I’d guess romanticisation is common as a means to appeal to an audience - the mafia is often glamourised to make them palatable for instance. Much as I will enjoy a well done noir, the audience is far more limited than the potential audience for even a mediocre rom-com.
Just a question, since your writing made me curious - what would your thoughts be on a neutral lens to problematic behaviour in dramas? As in, the problematic behaviour is neither condoned nor demonised, but exists within a grey world (which usually leads to all characters having varying extents of problematic behaviour or circumstance).
I’d also love to know how you’d feel about deliberate romanticisation in the context of dark comedy or satire.
Personally, I cannot see the point in looking at these particular characters and their behaviour under a microscope. It’s a silly show - yes, you could argue that there was undue pressure that invalidates consent (the prior agreement) - BUT if you are taking a show with a main character who makes IMPORTANT DECISIONS using rock, paper, scissors (which he usually loses, no less) that seriously, it leaves me with questions.
Junxi playing rock paper scissors like his life counts on it regardless of the moment is utterly diabolical but I love it. Also kinda hoping for a little something from the girls now…pleaaaaase!
A Round Trip To Love - 2 parts (meant to be 3, but then the ban happened)
Irresistible Love - 2 parts
Approach to Love - 2 parts
There were some web dramas like this too although I don’t remember off the top of my head.
Also, most Chinese BL had horrible endings back then. Although it was before the big ban came in, I seem to recall that explicitly gay stories had to end in tragedy, “recovery from being gay”, or breakup, in order to get released. Has to do with rules over there about public morals, and being gay is still considered a ‘disease’ or ‘mental illness’ by official literature over there.
As much as it meant many shows robbed us of happy endings, until around 2020, BL in general were not that common anywhere (certainly not airing every week of the year, unlike now). Before 2018, finding happy endings in BL that weren’t Japanese, Taiwanese, or Thai was uncommon. So people who watched BL before 2020 mostly all watched everything, which made it easy to make friends and discuss what was airing. The community is so big now, so even the old friends now watch mostly different shows and only talk about the occasional overlap.
Edit: can confirm because I didn’t realise it was Japanese and I can read that title LOL. It doesn’t translate super well (slang) but that’s the jist of it.
I must say that I haven’t personally seen where he apparently said all this, but the second half I definitely believe he’d have said publicly.