Really enjoyed this. Like someone else said earlier, it's a welcome throwback to the innocent age of BL (even with Boy Sompob providing the music), and after being disappointed by so many series lately, this one, along with the new Love Sick, give me hope that we might be entering a new era.
Of course, I have a few random observations.
- Pond is back on the BL scene after his stunning performance in "180 Degree Latitute", and here it's such a different role that at first I didn't recognize him. There's no missing that incredible screen presence, though. He is truly "leading man" material. Pairing him with Earth is an interesting choice. I'm not yet 100% convinced but I'm excited to see how that develops.
- Earth is actually two years older than Pond. He does need to branch out to more grown up roles but he might as well leverage his youthful looks while he can. He looks great for 27, but there were a couple of times I expected him to start calling for "Cake! Cake!"
- OMG, I finally get to see Bas in a role where he can show some energy.
- It's great to see Ngern. I hope he gets more to do here than he did in Love In Translation.
- The entire cast is a delight, a veritable BL "Who's Who". There's a sense of fun that makes me think this was thoroughly workshopped, but then again a lot of these guys have worked together before and are probably friends in real life.
though it was nice to see Only’s little crush on Poppy, however with only 1 more ep left it was too late for…
Yeah they really botched Tiger-Only. At least we got a kiss, but unfortunately it seemed out of place, with no romantic buildup. Without romance it felt random and unearned.
So, in this version, instead of a murderous cousin (who tries to kill the wrong person by mistake) we get a murderous father who kills on purpose.
However, based on the opening scene of Ep01 of the uncut version, which is set in the present, we know Hero is alive and well, and that Poppy had disappeared from his life and apparently joined the army.
I guess what they'll do from here is say that Poppy went away either thinking Hero is dead or that he needed to stay away from Hero. And, it's possible that the final scene of the series will bring us back to the present and set up a Season 2, which I hear will probably not be coming.
I found the new episode very boring. And I don't understand these cuts when they're going to kiss.
The camera tricks for the kiss scenes are because the actor for "Poppy" is still a minor. As if there were no alternatives from all the guys who must have auditioned....
It's a cursed novel. no adaptation comes close to the 1st one that got axed by Chinese censorship.Nothing in this…
Right! Even with no overt affection in "Stay With Me", that version has more passion than this one. I actually think Poppy's acting is very good, but nobody can convince me that none of the auditioners who were of legal age were good enough to cast. (Or that someone younger and more rough around the edges could have been cast for Hero...)
What happened at the end of the episode with subtitles? Why it wasn't translated? :/
Yes, the subs suddenly stopped. Another way in which this version of the story just doesn't quite cut it. Fortunately, the scenes without subs were ones where it was pretty easy to guess what was going on.
In Smells Like Green Spirit, the first episode sets up a deeply personal conflict through Mishima’s long hair,…
I think when Kirino stepped forward to finish the job of cutting Mishima's hair, he did it to make it pretty -- his henchman had hacked it up so badly. And based on the result it looks like Kirino has quite a gift for hairdressing... 😆
I just wish that for a series so concerned with long hair they had invested in better wigs. Especially at the beginning, it looks like Mishima is wearing something he bought at a Halloween store.
5 
6 
2 
Of course, I have a few random observations.
- Pond is back on the BL scene after his stunning performance in "180 Degree Latitute", and here it's such a different role that at first I didn't recognize him. There's no missing that incredible screen presence, though. He is truly "leading man" material. Pairing him with Earth is an interesting choice. I'm not yet 100% convinced but I'm excited to see how that develops.
- Earth is actually two years older than Pond. He does need to branch out to more grown up roles but he might as well leverage his youthful looks while he can. He looks great for 27, but there were a couple of times I expected him to start calling for "Cake! Cake!"
- OMG, I finally get to see Bas in a role where he can show some energy.
- It's great to see Ngern. I hope he gets more to do here than he did in Love In Translation.
- The entire cast is a delight, a veritable BL "Who's Who". There's a sense of fun that makes me think this was thoroughly workshopped, but then again a lot of these guys have worked together before and are probably friends in real life.
However, based on the opening scene of Ep01 of the uncut version, which is set in the present, we know Hero is alive and well, and that Poppy had disappeared from his life and apparently joined the army.
I guess what they'll do from here is say that Poppy went away either thinking Hero is dead or that he needed to stay away from Hero. And, it's possible that the final scene of the series will bring us back to the present and set up a Season 2, which I hear will probably not be coming.
Noh and Phun's near-kiss is the very definition of magical!
I just wish that for a series so concerned with long hair they had invested in better wigs. Especially at the beginning, it looks like Mishima is wearing something he bought at a Halloween store.