FrothyMix

lol I'm blocking this brat anyway.

I just threw up a little in my mouth.

dramacool, kissasian

Wow. Another good one from Korea. Great chemistry, a cliche but absolutely necessary, good acting, a few knowing tropes which is fine as long as they wink at them...I like it. I have found the ultimate test for me is when I find myself smiling at the screen so forcefully that my cheeks begin to ache. lol They ached during this one.

Wow. Thanks for all that, mariska. I will allow it to digest and come back with a reply in a bit. I'm particularly interested in the idea of someone coming at this topic and absorbing the fictional content of stories from an asexual perspective. It's tempting to say "well then, if she doesn't HAVE sexual feelings/desires/urges," is there any way for her to even relate to what I'm trying to get across...? I don't know. :)

Thanks for the fascinating convo and your dispassionate approach to the exchange.

Thanks for the long comment and the thought put into it. I just very basically disagree with you on most of it, however. lol :)

To me, kissing and sex scenes are as legitimate an element of a plot-line as anything else. Sex is a HUGE part of being human and our sexual attitudes and feelings effect our behavior in areas and ways that we don't even realize. So if a kiss gets hot and heavy just for the sake of the thril for the audience there is nothing wrong with that. What you call "fetishizing" I call enjoying/celebrating sex as a part of life.

Regarding BLs especially, people go crazy for the kisses and the sex scenes (which are actually still quite rare and still quite tame for the most part) because we are starved to see them in almost all other forms of fictional media. How many Hollywood films feature a gay kiss? How many BLs feature a gay kiss or kisses that are extended or natural, just as they are in real life? Very few! So of course people get giddy and make compilations and rejoice at the sight of their two male crushes making out! I see absolutely nothing wrong with that whatsoever.

It's not as though there are now BLs that feature endless kissing episode after episode. That would be boring too. I don't want the making out to be so constant that it loses its thrill either. :D

Also, kissing and sex scenes are only as hot and affecting as the plot and story and acting that set them up. This is where "TharnType" and "Together With Me" became iconic just by including unabashedly sexual/romantic/physical scenes WITHIN the story without fading to black at the first moment the actors touch. CONVINCING sex scenes and kissing are actually not easy for the actors to pull off. There are cameras sometimes inches away, a director may be telling them what to do step-by-step, whatever. Having sex in a scene is no different from an acting or directing perspective than having a fist-fight in a scene. It's all work.

Overall, and I am not trying to be overly confrontational, but I see your attitude as sex-phobic, sex-obsessed and prudish. So there are some sex scenes in a show. So what? If there is a robbery in a show, is the audience fetishizing THAT? No. People love romance and romance includes sex and they love that too. So do I.

I over-stated. I am not actually "prejudiced against anything Chinese." How's that? But I don't need a lecture on being open to art and culture from countries ruled by dictators, thanks. I'm very open to that. I should have said "I am prejudiced against any Chinese BL, even before I see it." But the point is that I WILL see it anyway.

Wow. Clearly you can't read or comprehend English. Is it your fourth language or something? The Untamed is a silly piece of shit, how's that? You are way off the mark. ALL my favorite shows are dark/heavy/sexual/sometimes horrible but I don't care for guys in long wigs doing triple somersaults in chiffon dresses while pretending to sword fight and crap like that. ESPECIALLY when the story started out as a heavily gay and sexually-tinged epic novel that was watered down by the Chinese into a weird Disney flick.

Where did I say I don't like light humor? Where did I say I don't like dark, heavy plots? Where did I say The Untamed was light and humorous? I didn't. I just think it is stupid, like your comment , which went from nice enough to bitchy and defensive as hell.

You think "The Untamed" is a dark/heavy plot? Are you 12? To summarize: Piss off.

lol There has to be two sets of lip movements after the initial contact before it can be called "tertiary lip-locking." Remember that. :D

It's kind of sad that you equate two guys kissing with pornography. That's how censorship in countries like China works, though: the audience begins to regard what they are not allowed to see as being somehow immoral/distasteful/vulgar, never mind that it is a very normal and pleasant fact of life. Realistic, convincing kissing is as essential to a good, well-made romance as hand-holding or flirting. Do you live in china?

God, what a thin-skinned schmuck the president (dictator) must be. He could have scored big points by good-naturedly playing along with the whole thing. Thanks for the answer.

I thought for a first kiss it was well done. The camera gave us a full side-view after the initial contact and there was some secondary and tertiary lip-locking. It was definitely not Thailand's BL original-style kiss which is what I call "Mannequin Kissing." Lean two mannequins against each other at the mouth, keep the camera moving and call it a day.

Wow, this is really quite good. I had low expectations as in general, reincarnation and nine-tailed fox and realms and kingdom stuff doesn't really work for me. I still don't get why anyone likes "The Untamed." lol It helps a lot that that element was presented with straight-forward humor, keeping it light instead of attempting to be dead-serious-real about it. Also helps that I like the character and actress playing the "nine-tailed fox." :) She's not only strikingly beautiful but love her attitude and flair too. Perfect.

Jin Gun, who looks familiar too, is excellent. I started out watching the first three eps at once so have had a bit of a chance to absorb the story's flow to some extent. I completely bought his reaction in the restaurant when he discovered the big reveal to be a fact. It wasn't over or under-played and that's important. He's good in his other scenes as well. I wish this show had longer episodes and more of them because there is a LOT of territory that could be covered if there was time. As it is, his transition from one hundred percent straight guy to someone who is considering an intimate relationship with a man seems quite rushed, though he is doing the best an actor can do, I think.

What I'm not loving is the now-he's-a-waiter-now-he's-an-aggressive-editor-who-just-happened-to-have-somehow-gotten-a-job-at-his-idol's-publishing-house-and-oh-by-the-way, his-sister-is-the -world-s-first-19-year-old-CEO-of-a-media-corporation-that-wants-to-turn-his-idol/destined lover's-book-into-a-film, and-even-though-they-both-have-careers-they-share-an-apartment plot situation, as it's a lot more than a bit to swallow as even remotely plausible. Even if you're working with a reincarnation/fantasy plot, the more the rest of the story is easy to believe the better the story will feel authentic.

But this is a fun show, good acting, just wish it wasn't so short. South Korea has become my favorite Asian gay-themed and general-audience feature film source and now it's becoming my preferred BL choice, along with Japan. Thailand's stuff is utterly predictable, bland and amateur-ish, with the HUGE exceptions of ITSAY, IPYTM, and Gray Rainbow., the first two being my second and third favorite BLs of all time.

lol No, but I keep thinking he looks almost exactly like Lee Sae On who played the lead character Woo Tae Kyung in "Light On Me!" In fact, I had decided that's who it was in this show before I looked at the cast photos and checked bios. I was convinced he just looked a bit different since he has matured.

Interesting. I totally disagree with you and find both of them convincing as high school age kids. Some students mature more rapidly than others. I was one of them.

I did not know that, and I am happy for it. BUT especially in China and Japan there are LOTS of cutesie-pie cultural icons that are popular in general. Just cuteness everywhere.

I feel you. This is called REALLY BAD DIRECTION and it is a common feature of Chinese BLs. The poor actors don't know what to do and the director is no help so they just stared at each other.

Well, yes and no. They showed their lips touching, but there was absolutely NO movement, no lip-rubbing, tongue-sucking hotness, that is for sure. I call this "mannequin kissing." Think two male mannequins leaned against each other just touching at the mouth. That's the vibe.

I am prejudiced against Chinese anything because of the ban and that annoying dictator's iron fist controlling all aspects of life there, but I think I know what you're feeling from China that doesn't come from other places...though it is hard to put in words. My #1 favorite BL is the quirky and wonderful "Like Love" and its sequel, made before the ban. "Addicted," is of course a good one, but there is "Counter-Attack," which is hysterical and full of cute oddness; "My Cat," cute and full of little quirks; "Capture Lover," low-budget in the extreme but full of weird and funny one-liners and behaviors; "Uncontrolled Love," which had the look of an 80s night-time soap but the emotional intensity of something much better; and "Mr. X and I."

All of these except "Uncontrolled Love" feature a quirky, sweet, funny vibe that is what I find difficult to put in words. They're like really well-done "Saturday Night Live" skits maybe. In every case I felt a sense of protectiveness regarding the main characters, so maybe a very human vulnerability is at play here. I don't know.

I'm curious as to why Winnie the Pooh was banned. I know...Google is my friend.

I finished episode 6. To me, this show is an excellent example of what good actors (note that I don't say good ACTING), and great natural chemistry can overcome a host of other severe shortcomings to make a show worth watching. MC has excellent chemistry and each is handsome in his own way without being a cookie cut-out runway model. The two sidekicks are revealing their chemistry two, as their story develops. But it seems like it's always the same sort of issues that drive me crazy about this kind of show.

A list:
Terrible writing, except for a number of funny one-liners and insults, that makes actors struggle to make something of the dialogue when they shouldn't have to.
Bad direction, that leaves actors floundering and puts them in awkward scenarios that are artificial and cliche. Like when they first kissed...there was no discernible reaction from either one, they just kind of stared blankly at each other. Because it's Chinese, I knew the kisses, if any, would be what I call "mannequin kisses" but it still looks stupid as hell when they do it. I laugh.
Awful set design and decoration. None of the guys' living spaces look like ANYONE lives there, let alone the characters. Looks like they're filming in a furniture store and set things up as they went. There are no personal items, nothing out of place, no books, no pens, no desks, paper, laundry basket, you name it, anything to make a set look like an actual lived-in space.
Terrible lighting design. Most scenes are lit like the blazing sun, even when they are indoors and even when they are in bed, for god's sake. Who sleeps with all the ceiling lights on?
Costume design. Apparently this production has a promotional contract with a sweater, scarf and overcoat manufacturer. Everyone's very nice parkas and jackets look right off the rack at Macy's, I mean like ten minutes ago. Nothing they wear looks like they've owned and worn it more than half an hour. There are no wrinkles, scuffs, nothing that makes anything look like an actual human has owned and worn it. They are the clothing version of the sets.
For me, all these things pile up and pull me out of the story because I'm always noticing this stuff and wondering why it wasn't taken care of. These are the details-and they aren't even difficult ones to spot-that I learned to watch for in grade-school, high-school, college and semi-pro theatre productions, so why isn't anyone looking for them on the set of a professional TV production? I know it's low budget, but a lot of these flaws would cost next to nothing to fix.

OK, I just don't get it, but done bitching.

Things I liked:
The charisma and acting talent of the four leads. The little guy is adorable. Oh, but what the hell was he trying to express with those weird physical reactions and facial expressions he had when the tall guy called him to apologize?
The MC's chemistry and handsomeness. The lighter-haired one is so handsome. Those lips.
Oh god, I had to laugh when the dude picked up yarn and needles from auntie, taught himself to knit and had a nice-looking scarf made by the end of the first evening he ever touched yarn. lol
The speech from the girl the dark-haired guy was pretending to be interested in was touching, if a little preachy and too on-point, but it came out of nowhere and abruptly and soon in the story.
Again, had to laugh when the super-handsome one went down on the basketball court. I just assumed he would have a spinal cord injury, as easily as BL characters are severely injured. But no, he simply diagnosed himself, without even standing up, as having a useless leg and pulled himself out of the game. hahaha
Wow, I was impressed that all the BB players actually looked like they could play basketball, especially the dark-haired half of the MC. He was dribblling between the legs and shit without looking down. That is not easy.
So...overall vibe is nice and cute, but nothing to take seriously.