Froehlein

I also think everyone is very clever this year. It's really a pleasure to watch... For me, Justin and Sohee have emerged as my favorites over the episodes. Justin reminds me of a cat, smart, nonchalant, lurking and a team player who can change his strategy very quickly if necessary. So far I see Sohee as very intelligent, but at the same time a total team player and altruistic and she plays absolutely fair. Hopefully her altruistic nature won't be her downfall.
In general, they have cast the participants with very likeable characters who make a really good mix. I actually have to say that I like season 2 even better than season 1 so far.

I know the first few minutes might be different and some parts special. I still would have advised you to watch both episodes before dropping it. I thought it got better as it progressed. But who am I anyway? 😅 Oh well, it was worth a try....

I've given up asking myself that 😅 Unfortunately, you can't really take the rating seriously here.

I could give you examples from my personal environment alone where this has happened directly after the break up.

By the way, the initial rating on IMDB after the 2 episodes is 8.8.

I have to say, so far I like the group as a whole a little bit more than last season. There I had more individual favorites, here I would like to see them together for longer without anyone having to leave the game. I've only seen the first two episodes, but so far I like the dynamic within the group.

My guess: Lee Jun Young.
When the season started and he came in, from the walk, the stature (e.g. also the shape of the shoulders) and the movements. Even when he's sitting and talking. And when I compare it with his dance videos and pictures, it could fit pretty well.

I've gotten into the habit of ignoring the ratings of the first 3 episodes because the ratings are usually pointless. They are usually overrated for very well-known ships and often underrated for unknown actors. I prefer to read the comments at the beginning to see what their impression is and what criticism there is.
And I really enjoy watching series with MDL ratings of 7.x, as there are often good and more interesting stories hidden underneath.

I can also imagine that the series might not be to the taste of the average BLs watcher. It's relentless so far, very raw, feels more authentic and doesn't have the usual fluff that often surrounds BLs despite the serious themes they want to portray. Then they take their time to build up the characters, which means the MLs haven't met each other yet. I think people who want to see a romantic love story could be disappointed by this.

In my opinion, the story is in the foreground here and the love is part of it and not, as usual, that the couple is directly in the center and the story is built around it. I really like the story structure here, the authentic fight scenes and the suitably dark atmosphere.

If the series manages to continue on this path, I think it will have better ratings from the halfway point, because then the first people will give tendencies that not only evaluate the first impression, but also the storytelling, realization, quality.

"Who on earth has sex after a break up?" - Well, probably more people than you can imagine 🫢

IMDB's algorithm has almost certainly worked. Only 2 1* ratings have been added between 9.3 and 9.1 and I've seen the 0.2 drop very often.

That's what I meant by, IMDB adjusts the rating at some point.

The 0.2 jump also occurred with Jack and Joker and The On1y One after a similar release span.

Let's cry together 😭 I would never have thought that there would be such a twist.

I think so. In my opinion, they are now covering the anime in the first season ( I can tell you after the last episode, but so far it fits). Season 2 could be the Spain arc, that's a movie. So you can ignore that and season 3 might be the latest manga chapters. I haven't read the manga, but it seems to be ongoing. There is no anime adaptation of it (yet).

Have you seen Futtara Doshaburi? I find it exciting how it gives a perspective on how cheating can happen...
Not that you think I approve of cheating, but it's always said that the cheater doesn't care about the relationship and here you can see the desperation that leads to cheating. The series shows all those affected what circumstances lead to cheating and how important it is to talk honestly about needs in the relationship and to find a way of dealing with these needs. I find it exciting to reflect on this and found the series very painful for all the characters.

I feel like you do. I mean, the world has become a fever dream lately and the greatest absurdities are becoming real. But these accusations are of a caliber that will leave you speechless if they turn out to be true. So I think the only thing that can help here is to wait and see on all sides. KSR's side has now filed a criminal complaint and time will tell whether it is true that the FBI is involved and to what extent the allegations are confirmed. The recording will certainly also be examined for authenticity.
What I ask myself: Why would KSH take such a risk when he has such support from his fans? And why would the family take the risk of falsely accusing him in this way? (Unless they have fallen into a trap.) Neither makes sense to me. In this case, there are just social abysses opening up everywhere...

I knew you'd like Johnny! I agree with you about the scene with the drunk Akin, I also thought it was a bit too overdone

Maybe you can take a look here, this is the pure scene.:
https://www.tumblr.com/little-one-eyed-monsters/781625253314134016/black-honey-cut-for-everyone-to-enjoy-they-went

Edit, I just realized I misunderstood a bit. I thought you watched the reaction with the Black Honey Scene. Shouldn't have skimmed the whole thing.

I think it was said before episode 4 that there was an extended Honey Scene that would be released when a certain position or views or something like that was reached on X and that was after episode 6. Hence the release at that point.

How many really watch the series.

Don't you think BL viewers are more inclined to happy endings? Or do I have a distorted perception?

In my opinion, it would be exciting if the market tapped into new audiences who are not typical BL viewers.
I think the target audience is important. And somewhere I picked up that Thai people prefer school and university BLs, that's why so many are produced. Please correct me if I'm saying something wrong.

That's why I find it exciting that Top Form's target group is called “East Asia”. In my opinion, this opens up a new market and who knows, maybe exciting content will develop that differs from what we know now.

Mmh, I can understand your criticism and I also think it doesn't always have to end in fluff, only here it really is the manga story. And it's from 2013+, so in my opinion a lot of clichés are being served. From what I've read, there were several stages in the scriptwriting process. The production team worked out the points they thought were important for the stroy, then they discussed everything with the author of the manga and then discussed it again with a professor so that everything essential was included in the story. Since the aim of the production is not just the series, but to create a synergy between the series, anime and manga, they will not deviate so drastically from the original work. That wouldn't make sense from their point of view.
However, I would like to see plotlines in newer works that are only now being written, for example, that don't always end positively. On the other hand, this is of course also a certain risk for the production, as I assume the ratings wouldn't be as high...

It's quite normal for IMDB to fluctuate. There are always people who rate the series with 1* and the more popular a series becomes, the more you find it... The IMDB algorithm also adjusts the rating from time to time, usually downwards. Then at some point there is a surge of positive ratings and it goes up. This process runs for quite a while until the rating levels out. For another BL, which had a 9.1 peak rating when it aired, it finally settled at 8.7. That means I could imagine that Top Form will level off around 9.1 (+-1).

I always find different perspectives on series good and enriching. We all perceive series differently and value different details/have different expectations. I really like the series and as someone who has seen the anime several times, I think the execution is great. Nevertheless, I also see room for improvement in the execution. For example, I always pay attention to the background sound and I often find it too much and sometimes incongruous. I think some scenes would work better if they were designed differently or freed from the sound. Others certainly need the background sound and it would perhaps disturb them if they had to endure silence. I am also sometimes irritated by the hard cuts of the scenes, like after the intense heartbreak NC scene, where I would have liked a little more lingering. On the other hand, I find it very similar to the anime style.
When you get into an exchange and deal with different opinions, it can be really good in a constructive way, even with different opinions.