Heracin

Difficult and painful process, hindered by scandals, rumors and bad editing but satisfying outcome

Given how impactful the season one of Boys Planet in 2023 was, the season 2 of Boys Planet was highly anticipated... Did it meet all the expectations from its predecessor? Not exactly. However, I am very satisfied with the outcome of this survival show.

Despite of it being dragged down by various scandals and rumors, as well as having its core principles of "2 Planets" shattered for unknown (but certainly failed business deal motivated) reasons leading to very poor editing choices...They still managed to bring to light some talented participants that I am delighted to follow.

If casting was solid overall, it felt that it lacked personnality at some point because of the way the editors had probably to scramble and redo some episodes to avoid highlighting contestants under controversy. It also felt like there was a conscious choice to show less interactions between participants than in previous season and I am left to ponder about that curious decision. Strategy to influence the votes probably but too bad it was to the detriment of showing the various relationships between the participants. Very few were shown compared to season 1. Even if I am happy with the outcome of the group, I feel that I know much less about the winners that I knew for Zerobaseone members pre-debut.

In terms of performances, there are overall less iconic than the previous season. In addition to a couple of memorable auditions, my fave performance that I will certainly rewatch is Whiplash. Other than that, I feel that for some of the original songs casting could/should have been different in order for them to be more successful. As for season 1, I find it a shame that the finale is never live-singing. It is so obvious that it is fake that I truly don't see the point.

I would recommend this to people that enjoy survival show and are really good at tolerating Mnet hijinks and manipulation. If you see through the thick ropes and can take what is shown with a grain of salt, it does make a difference in the viewing experience (even if it can be very frustrating of course). There are really amazing guys that participated in it and really I cannot wait to see their debut !!! The debut of the ones that made it through as well as of the others(*).

(*)Some who might even first go through another competition as a new survival show with Chinese contestant has been announced. It seems after the fallout of C-Planet, Mnet found an arrangement to still make a Chinese group. I will probably give it a shot to see if some of the Chinese participants I liked and were eliminated in Boys II Planet are now trying again for the spin-off. Best of luck to all of them.

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Poorly written : noble idiocy and miscommunication were on the driving wheel

A BL featuring a forbidden romance betwen two (soon-to-be) stepbrothers is usually a storyline that I enjoy, mixed with a dash of cohabitation trope and my interest is picked for sure. However, this drama contained so much pet peeves of mine with noble idiocy and miscommunication at the forefront of it that I completed it feeling very disappointed regarding the overall romance and the way the fantasy element was badly layered into the story. It was just poorly written.

Regarding the acting, I have also mixed feelings. Kou Wei Long was quite good and committed in the angsty scenes but his chemistry with Li Yi Mu (whose acting was really average) was lacking. As the central romance is supposed to be a rather taboo one, it is essential for the viewer to feel the passion and the "impossible to repress feelings, despite all of the obstacles". Here it was a miss. A cute love interest at first that remained mid and devoid of any depth despite the fiery nature of the relationship.

The overall production value was pretty average with some of the painful moments looking almost parodic in the way it was filmed. Budget was probably quite limited and it shows.

I would not recommend this as it was just too frustrating to me to see the poor writing choices made and rules of the fantasy elements making so little sense.

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Mixed feelings about it : the first half got me invested but then it was quite a let down

I really enjoyed the first half of the series but I vibed much less with the second part. At the start, the series felt very real with a deeply wounded main lead with huge mental shift and scary side. The fighting scenes were gritty and the drama took my breath away with the mental hurdle faced by the main protagonist, the way pressure was put on him by his family environment. However the series then went into more of a shonen style with characters trying to be "heroes" and fights feeling much less realistic and relatively repetitive. There were also introduction of new characters that were quite purposeless. Still, the ending hint at a sequel, which I felt could be quite interesting.

The cast was good but also definitely too old (with maybe the exception of Lee Jung Ha but even for him it was an hard sell) to play realistic high schoolers roles. The level of acting was good but the credibility really was missing. Still, I enjoyed finding back Lee Jung Ha in this drama: he is clearly breadening his range of acting, far from his sunshiny role in Moving. Production was good overall. They have not an outstanding amount of budget but the fight sequences are dynamic and well-made. I especially loved the flashback and the grey scenes making very clear the suffering of the main lead.

I would recommend this to people that are looking for a highschool fight drama. It is in my opinion less good than Weak Class Hero but it is exploring relatively similar thematic, so if you enjoyed one, you might appreciate this one as well.

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High school cohabitation BL that left me unsatisfied because of its open ending and lack of focus

This BL drama which features the budding romance between two newly step-brothers as they are forced to cohabitate and go to the same school. In itself, the series contains a lot of classical romantic tropes that I like but spend too much time on elements irrelevant for the romance to really maintain the interest. There is too much plot at school and even if it is important to establish the characters and develop their relationship, it also take too much place in the storytelling. When I look back at the 12 episodes and the open ending, I can only regret the choice of the production team to spend so much time on school plot rather than on family and romance, especially with the cohabitation aspect of the series being the best part of the story.

Acting wise, the main actors Liu Dong Qin and Benjamin Tsang did both an overall good job portraying the shift in feelings of their characters as well as the emotional trauma they carry. I wish there were a bit more tension and fiery chemistry between them, but it is far from being the worst that I have seen. Especially given the fact that the material they play does not contain a lot of intense moments of passion. The remainder of the cast is doing an okay job but nothing outstanding. The lack of charism of some of the "adults" part made me not care at the side characters storyline, especially the one of the teachers. I wish they would have removed from the script all the "teachers" stories because it was just a distraction on the main plot, without any real rewarding pay-off.

I also found the editing of the scenes and the overall making quite clumsy. The way they filmed some of the interactions and moments supposed to showcase the sparkles of feelings between the main leads was sometimes awkward. My biggest regret was that the production team decided to only adapt half of the story of a novel, thinking that they could have a season 2 to finish it but without greenlighting it. It seems that this second season will never happen, leaving the viewer with a relative bittersweet feeling given to the quite open ending. While it does not end on a cliffhanger, it left me hanging enough to feel frustrated about the big picture of the story told.

With S2 seemingly not happening, I would not necessary recommend this to people. If a season 2 was planned, I would probably say it is worth a shot if you enjoy slow burn cohabitation romance and are not allergic to a lot of sides plot and slice-of-life aspects.

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Another season for DoMunDi TV production to promote his next BL pairings

A little less than 1 year after "DMD Friendship the Reality" featuring 3rd gen actors, DoMunDi TV production is coming back with a new season introducing this time its 4th gen actors.

While the novelty factor is not there anymore and this season feel much more orchestrated, scripted and in overall more produced than S1, I quite enjoyed myself. If there were (a lot) of expected results regarding the pairings (especially if you have seen most recent DoMunDi TV production or are deep into BL series' news), there were also a couple of more candid moments that I found really touching. Those very little tidbits, seemingly pure and non-scripted, really made me want to follow more of some of the talents.

As in season 1, this show is not without flaws. The budget feel once again super limited. I also wish that the various missions were more fleshed out and featuring more acting with some workshops between participants. The cast is not as balanced as it could be, with some very junior people and some much more seniors participants, making it kinda difficult to have a fair competition, without feeling there are obvious favorites. Still, I'm looking forward to the next projects of most of the "newly" formed pairings.

I would recommend this to people that have enjoyed the previous season or that are a fan of DoMunDi TV production. It is both very cute and very cringe as it features the participants trying to find their "partners" with rewards being "friendship time" very similar to a dating show.

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Steamy kisses, forbidden relationship, unrequited love, unhealthy choices: super enjoyable cocktail!

This very bingeable Japanese series features the relationship of two highschoolers that decide to satisfy their physical needs with each others while being in unrequited love that are totally forbidden. I really liked this series, it is far from perfect but really captivating to follow as the toxicity is litteraly oozing from every pore of the show. It takes the viewer on a journey, without never being boring.

The two main leads Yoshimoto Miyu and Sakurada Dori had a really good chemistry. The kisses were very good and the tension was there. Yoshimoto Miyu brought quite a bit of nuance to her role and Sakurada Dori, while a bit more limited at times, still convinced me. Aizawa Rina nailed a quite unlikeable part. Among the quatuor of actors playing central roles, it is definitely Mizuta Kouki the weakest link, probably because his character is the less developped and remains quite at surface level.

I would recommend this to people that are looking for an angsty and steamy series, featuring torturous relationships and a few psychological elements. The show features age gap and really twisted love (or rather lust), so if it is not your thing, you might want to avoid it. Having said that, the ending wrap the series in a rather healthy way, not justifying or romantising red flags. I would have been onboard with an alternative ending, but I found the life lesson really adequate to conclude the story, making it more memorable.

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Could make an interesting series

This very short movie of only 9 minutes features what I feel could be a very interesting starting point for a good romantic series. I liked a lot the dynamic between the couple and the idea of the game they play together as well as its consequences.

Production felt very indie in a great way, with some beautiful shots of the city. The acting was quite good even if it is a bit short to judge the full range of skills of the limited cast. Music plays a relatively important role in this short film, it was pretty effective at complementing the vibe of the movie.

I would recommend this to people that enjoy short film. It has a pretty interesting plot in a short span of 9 minutes.

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Average but entertaining, I was there for the hot moments between the leads but not much else

While entertaining for sure, this drama had also a very nonsensical scenario that made me roll my eyes more than once. The numerous hot moments between the leads were satisfaying but not much else. I wish the world building, magical elements and all the scheming would have made a bit more sense. Here, the writer drop a lot of diseases, poisons, healing sessions a bit like it arranges the plot to foster tension between the characters and to amp the stakes. It is often done without logic and feel very deus ex machina.

Overall, acting was alright. The main villains were too caricatural to my taste (in the writing as well as the acting) but given the lack of nuance of the script, I don't see how it could have been done otherwise. I quite enjoyed the chemistry between the two main leads. Richard Li looks towards the heroine were really hot and He Xuan Lin was very good as his counterpart. Overall, the couple was quite smart in their actions (even if helped a lot by the writing) and it helped rooting for them.

I felt the editing was a bit all over the place, the succession of sequences felt abrupt, not letting a lot of time for characters development and growth. A bit more room to breath bewteen heavy moment would have helped the series to feel less absurd and to be more connected to the fate of the characters. Similarly, ending felt too rushed. The soundtrack was okay: nothing remarkable and quite repetitive, but not bad.

I would not necessarily recommend this to people as I feel there are too many issues to really warrant a watch. There are some exciting and hot moments between the leads but it cannot save the drama from its writing and editing issues. I feel that the format of 20 minutes episodes was not exploited properly, the numerous events faced by the characters in quick succession made it both entertaining but also completly nonsensical. To be noted: a couple of points of some of the storylines can be triggering so be mindful of the tags if you have any triggers.

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Vanilla despite what the script tried to convey...I got bored halfway through it

I quite enjoyed the drama in its first third, but then the series quickly lost me, especially from its second half. I felt that they dragged some aspects of the main relationship, giving the viewer constant fluff but also very one note plot as they maintained the status quo on the fake boyfriends aspect for much too long to make any sense.

I was very surprised and entertained at first by the fun take the production team decided to follow regarding the story. It worked on some level but as the story progressed the vibes of the series made it impossible for me to get invested into the seemingly more traumatic storylines...I did not feel the tension or angst at any point because of the way the filmmaking made it is so over-the-top cute and vanilla. Despite the fact that there were definitely some steamy scenes featuring the actors, it was definitely more a vanilla angle than a gripping / passionate take on the friends with benefits relationship. I'm left to wonder what an another production company and director would have been able to make with the same plot. A darker and more mature take on it would certainly be interesting.

The casting was doing an okay job but nothing exceptional. Great was my favorite, not sure if it is because of his acting or simply because he was the best part of the show. Inn was alright as his counterpart, maybe a bit too rigid. As his role was supposed to be withholding and not going all in the relationship, it might be a voluntary directing choice though. The side characters were really bland. I did not feel any of the secondary relationships and I really did not appreciate how the second male lead got seemingly redeemed.

I would not recommend this to people as there are better BL out there. The beginning was very entertaining but it got very boring. I can't help to hope that the production made other directing choices and that the writing would have been better. I think that a darker and mature version of the story where a doctor falls in love with a boxer would have been more exciting.

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Truly entertaining : a combo of a bit crazy plot, outlandish humor and feelings that worked for me.

This movie features a totally bonkers story: the encounter of a yakuza and a middle school choir boy through karaoke lessons. Does it seem a bit crazy ? For sure, but it was so right. I went through a lot of feelings following their journey: laugh and emotions. It is very simple tale with some very outlandish humor that worked very well for me. Maybe the background of the characters could have been more developed to reach a higher level of emotional investment from my side, but I was for sure truly entertained.

Ayano Go who plays the yakuza was top notch. Saito Jun was a suitable younger acting counterpart, maybe a bit green on some points but he succeeded at the most touching scenes. The relationship between them felt right : mentor-mentee vibe (in both way). While I think it could have looked strange or creepy, it never did and I think it is a testimony of their good performances that they were able to avoid what could be a serious pitfall to the scenario.

The OST was good, full of karaoke songs sang with more or less talent which was really the fun aspect of it. The filmmaking was colorful presenting the yakuza life in a vibrant way. It felt disconnected from the reality but that was the point of that crazy but touching story.

I would recommend this to people that enjoy music and/or coming-of-age movie. If you are an aficionado of karaoke, it will for sure bring you up some memories. In overall, it is a good comedy around an atypical mentor-mentee relationship.

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How to escape toxicity and self-loathing in the midst of (b)romance

This very short BL series brought me a lot of conflicting feelings. I really enjoyed the ending of the story as it showcased the growth of both main characters. Some steps were taken towards less toxicity and self-loathing overall and that's clearly a win in my book as I was really afraid of a conclusion lacking nuance and realism.

On another side, I kind of wish the series would have been longer because even if the point of the scenario is very clear, the fundamentals of the relationship are a bit brushed off. There are a lot of elements that felt rushed and the storytelling definitely was more about a bromance than a romance to me. I indeed think that to go into a more romantic territory, the chemistry would have needed to be bigger and the scenario did not really provide a lot of opportunities for the actors to get there.

I love the opening generic of the series: the drawing effect in addition to the song was a winning combination. Overall, the production value was okay. The budget was not there but it had a strong indie feeling perfectly fitting for the drama.

I would recommend this to people looking for a more serious BL story. Rather than being about a romance, it is more a bromance to me and what makes it really worth it is its realistic and nuanced ending. I wish there had been more time to develop the romance but I appreciated the overall take of the scenario regarding the evolution of the characters.

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A beautiful journey to heal yourself thanks to music, brotherhood and 1990's vibe

This youth drama with a fantasy twist and set mainly in 1995 provides a great nostalgia throwback feeling as you follow a group of high schoolers starting a band together. The drama approaches in a wholesome way profound topics about friendship, family, as well as differences and disabilities that overall resonated well with me as the characters grow and learn. Though both romances were pretty cute, it is the brotherhood within the band and especially the father-son relationship that really got me invested.

In terms of storytelling, I truly enjoyed the set up and introduction. However, I cannot help to think that the conclusion would have deserved more time to reap properly all the rewards of the set-up done in the show. I was expecting the way it ended, there was a lot of satisfying emotional payoff but it could have gone deeper on the aftermath for all the characters following one of the major event happening in the last episode as well as regarding the evolution of the main protagonists and their relationships (especially regarding the female leads where it felt a bit short).

Overall, the quatuor of main characters work very well together, and I am pretty satisfied by the performances of the ensemble cast (especially for some of the more secondary characters). Choi Hyun Wook delivers a consistent and reliable performance in the role of the frontman of the band. I loved him in Weak Hero Class 1 and I love him as well here. The only little flaw I see is that his character tends to be very shouty. I think it is both bound to the role as well as to some of the directing. It is not at all detrimental to the story but it prevents some range in the acting as the character is always at 100%. Despite this, he (and his character) was clearly my favorite part of the show.

The filmmaking is pretty great with a colourful and boyish atmosphere perfectly fitting for the scenario. I love the soundtrack with its "older indie rock" feels. Every song done by the band is super catchy and the musical scenes each time delighted me.

I would recommend this to people looking for a very solid youth drama set in the 1990's. If you enjoyed movies like "Back to the Future" and dramas such as the "Reply" series, you will for sure immensely enjoy it! If you are a fan of musical genre shows, this one is also clearly made for you. I personnally really loved it despite some issues with the pacing of the script and the way I would have liked a bit more development on some elements, especially towards the ending.

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An exciting game show that will put your brain on fire in a very entertaining way !!!

I loved the concept of this TV show: teams of students from different universities face each other around games requiring a lot of brain power. Some games are more exciting than others, but the showrunner managed to have a nice variety and rythm all throughout the lenght of the show.

I enjoyed the casting: there were clearly some players that had a bit more screen time but overall it was quite well-shared between the universities and the various students. My favorite team wins which I highly appreciated. I was expecting it given the editing which made it relatively obvious, but in any case it was in overall very satisfying to watch and super exciting to follow as the competition unfolded.

Production was adequate in conveying the essence of the games, with the rules being very well explained and allowing the viewer to even participate and try to find the solutions as well. The soundtrack was not very noticeable (neither in a bad or good way). The budget felt a bit limited at some point as I think the producers could have let students use more hi-tech and technological means to take notes and define strategies in order to make it even more visually appealing for the viewers.

I would recommend this to people looking for an entertaining competition show with a lot of mind games and exciting intellectual battles. This show is really all about participating with your skills foremost and your brain power. There is some strategies but no tricks nor manipulation nor hidden alliances...The objective is clearly to prove yourself with your intelligence alone and that's really refreshing overall.

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Lack a point of view, too middle-of-the-road screenwriting making it rather bland despite the topic

This movie is kind of an adaptation of Cinderella fairy's tale but involving Little Riding Hood and centred around the resolution of a crime mystery...I unfortunately did not enjoy this film but it might be just a case of "it's me...not you".

In terms of fairy tales adapations, I think it is lacking a strong point of view. It is sweet but not much else. I wish they went darker but the scenario went for a middle-of-the-road tone that I found a bit boring. There are too much comedy / overacting to take anything seriously, so the ending with the "life lesson" felt totally flat to me. At the same time, they are adding grim touches with the crime itself and some of the elements relating to the characters, but it is done superficially and it never get even midly frightening...

I was not impressed by the acting but the production value was alright. Special effects were overall well executed and costumes were really pretty. The music was not memorable at all but fitted well with the movie.

I would not recommend this movie if you are looking for a darker take on fairy tales. It is really a matter of taste and expectations. Personally, I enjoy a lot Kaori Yuki mangas where she often revisit in a very dark and grim way various fairy tales...I would have wished the movie to take a similar approach. Here, it is more a family movie with a mystery for which I found the resolution pretty clumsy as well.

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Despite frustrating ending + writing flaws, worth it for the butterflies that the romance provides!

I have watched the previous chinese adaptation "Addicted" of the novel and was curious to see the newest adaptation and how the director and screenwriter will be able to build up this BL relationship while meeting the censorship criteria. Fortunately enough, I think they did a very good job regarding the development of the relationship.

They choose to develop the story in a less toxic way. I liked how toxic it was in the previous adaptation, but here they made it something else and it is as interesting and much more wholesome and candid. They managed to handle the censorship very well: the relationship between the two guys is clearly romantic and with a lot of chemistry despite not being able to show much. Everything is in the subtext, which I really enjoyed.

The downside of the story resides in the last third of the series with a not very inspired resolution to some of the familial conflicts as well as an abrupt ending that felt very much open and which was to me super frustrating. It seems that once again an adaptation of the novel is stopped in the middle of a narrative arc. A season 2 would be more than welcome to conclude better the series but sadly enough, I don't think anything is planned in that respect.

The two actors casted as main leads were really good. They had a great chemistry together and I totally believed in their characters' strong feelings for each other. They managed to convey so much with just their eyes, the looks they were throwing to each other as well as each of their very innocent touching. That's impressive to express so much with so little skinship: every little hints they gave regarding their affections and even more felt like a precious gift to the viewer. The secondary cast was more of a mixed bag in terms of performances.

I enjoyed the production value of this drama. There were a lot of very pretty and memorables scenes between the leads showcasing very well sweet moments between them. I also enjoyed the soundtrack: I liked less the opening song but the other three songs were very solid and such a vibe fitting the romance very well.

I would recommend this to people looking for a Youth BL that really put the focus on developping in a wholesome and believable way the relationship between its main leads. The scenario might be a bit wonky at time as well as the actions of some of the side characters but the main relationships (as well as the two actors acting as leads) is really worth the time invested. Be aware that the ending might be frustrating, but the journey of the romance really offset this point to my eyes.

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