KAVO

Unloveable main character undermines this drama

Kuzumi (Izuka Kenta) is a university student who accidentally runs down Kijima (Takezai Terunosuke) with his bicycle, causing an injury to his writing arm. Kijima is a novelist who appears to be in his mid-30s, but he lives in the analogue world of someone twice his age. He listens to vinyl records, has no computer and writes his books out on paper. Kuzumi has no liability insurance and is a poor college student so Kijima allows him to work off the debt of medical bills by writing for him and doing light housework. At first Kuzumi is shocked to learn the books Kijima writes are graphic adult fiction, but quickly adapts. The two are attracted to each other but inexplicably act as if they have something to hide when there is really no one else in their lives. Only when Kimjima gets drunk one night does he have the nerve to ask Kuzumi to sleep in his bed. Nothing more happens than a kiss, though. Kijima is bitter about having to write low-brow porn novels for a living and he's had writer's block for the past year. So to make an excuse to have Kuzumi around, he recites passages from his old novels for the boy to transcribe. So far, this all makes sense. But then Kijima pushes Kuzumi away. Perhaps he sees too much difference in their age or feels he's all washed up while Kuzumi has his whole life ahead of him? Well, I guess that's a selfless gesture, but Kuzumi has really fallen in love with him. They have one climatic gay sex fling and Kuzumi asks him to write a story for him. Sometime later the story arrives and I think we're to believe it helped him overcome his writer's block. Meanwhile, Kuzumi has graduated from university and has a job at a big company, but we get no closure on his romantic life. The plot has all of the excitement and interest of a jet roaring down the runway, waiting to take off but it never really leaves the ground. It seems to just slow down and park at the terminal again. Izuka Kenta, who is 34 in real life, is completely convincing as 22-year-old Kuzumi. He really grounds the film in reality. Takezai Terunosuke's gives an uneven performance as Kijima. His character seems so unloveable that we begin to wonder what the heck Kuzumi sees in him. He's a compulsive liar and bit of a sadist. In the end, they seem to just be two lonely guys who find some temporary solace in their odd companionship, but it would be a stretch to say they are friends. I give this 3 stars overall because Izuka is so delightful to watch, but Takezai's Kimja must have been written by a committee who couldn't agree on his motivation.

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Two co-workers pass like ships in the night

I really wanted to like this drama. It looked promising in the previews. On the plus side, it gets right to the action without unnecessary side characters. This is primarily a two-character study. Jung Jae Bin as Mr. Han is unlikeable from the start. He's the cliche dirty old man stereotype. The twist here is Yun Su, played by Jeon Hu Bin, is the handsome office assistant instead of the cliche woman-as-sex-object character. There's never sufficient motivation for YunSu to be attracted to Han and, true to the way Han's character is drawn, YunSu is mostly repelled by his leering advances as bad habits like smoking and drinking to excess. Things get more interesting in Episode 5 when Mr. Park appears, but he comes too late to save this story. Also the female interest, the character Choi, is wasted. She could have been a confidant and advisor to Yun Su. In fact, it's never clear what their relationship is. The mysterious recruiter Hwang provides the comic relief, always appearing at embarssing moments. Given that Yun Su was never really interested in Mr. Han, I speculated that he'd end up with recruiter Hwang in a surprise twist. No such luck. The photography and settings are stunning, but the music is a bit elementary. They would have been better off with stock music. I look forward to seeing Jeon Yu Bin in a BL story with a stronger script. The kissing scenes were unusually bold here. Some reviewers have complained these BL dramas aren't "gay" enough but frankly any story where two guys are actually friendly to each other is unusual enough without getting bogged down in romantic love cliches. We've seen all of those tropes a million times in straight dramas.

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Great Cast in a Paint-by-the-numbers Gay Cliche

What a waste of a great cast. I had high hopes for this, given the previews and other reviews. This has all of the classic gay tropes like self-denial of one's sexuality, all of the characters have to die a violent death in the end (only the straight one lives), dysfunctional broken homes, tragic upbringing. OMG. These pilot lines were tired back in the 1990s. Was this an old script that finally got produced after 30 years? The only thing original about 2 Cool 2 Be 4gotten is only the straight character has a nude scene. There was so much that could have been done here but we've seen it all before -- especially the suicide ending. I hate to be so harsh but it's time to leave bury the gay romance stereotypes one and for all. Here's a tip for aspiring screen writers of gay-themed dramas: If you've seen it before, leave it out of your script. Also the audience should never be screaming at the screen: "Why is he doing that?"

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Audition Reel?

This seems like an audition reel for new actor screen tests. I was actually drawn to this series to see Santa and Earth's episode (#1) after enjoying their performances in "My Only 12%." The episode looks a bit like a screen test for Santa, since Earth is clearly an experienced and confident actor. Santa did a good job here, although his performance greatly improved for the later film. This isn't meant to be a criticism of his acting skill because the script is rather weak and riddled with cliches. The bullying scenes are difficult to watch and the audience really wants karma to kick the baddies in the butt at the end. The final scene leaves the conclusion to the audience -- or perhaps another film, but I'm not holding my breath because the writing is so weak here. I think the audience is beyond ready to accept same gender romance (or even just bromance) without the homophobia cliches and find more interesting plots for same sex couples. Let me end with a question to anyone familiar with Thai culture: surely high school guys don't bathe in their underwear or with a towel wrapped around them? I get this was staged this way to avoid nudity for family-friendly show, but I assume Thai culture has it's own version of a Korean Jjimjilbang or Japanese Onsen?

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One of the Best BLs I've Seen

I'm completely re-writing this review after seeing this a third time. I've seen maybe 30 BL dramas now and this is among the best. The story about two guys who grow up near each other and fall in love rings true. There's a profound message under the surface when straight Cake declares he'll "be gay" just for Seeiw. Who cares who you love? Who says it has to be someone of the opposite gender? And when Seeiw apologizes for being gay, Cake asks him why he thinks he's gay. I think the point of Cake's question is, "who cares?" Why all these labels? Overall, this drama hits all the right notes. The score is beautiful, highlighted by Boy Sompob's OST, which brought the series to my attention in the first place. I had given "My 12 Percent" 10 across the board but in this revision I'm downgrading it to 9 on Seeiw's character. All of his crying wears thin pretty quickly and, toward the end, becomes almost comical. It's one-dimensional and really needed a stronger arc to have some kind of crisis for Cake where Seeiw could have stepped up to help him. On the other hand, I loved Santa's enthusiastic performance of Cake. BL dramas tend to be pretty timid when it comes to romantic scenes and Cake's unbridled kissing really sells his relationship with Seewin. It's even more remarkable when you consider Santa is only 19 and has much less acting experience than Earth. The great kissing scenes aside, this drama is surprisingly timid when it comes down to romantic scenes where Thai BL films like "WhyRU" and "A Chance for Love" have already set a high bar. This isn't to say that a bed scene is required, but please note there are endless references to Cake and Seeiw taking a shower -- separately. So there was a missed opportunity to show a change in the intimacy of their relationship to shower together. The supportive secondary characters are welcome departure from the homophobic cliches that seem to infect so many LGBT-themed dramas. In sum, a few minor complaints aside, highly enjoyable with a top re-watch score. I look forward to seeing this edited down to a two-hour movie.

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A Happy Surprise

I'm really puzzled by all the negative reviews. Korea has always lagged behind other Asian countries in the BL Genre and "Oh! My Assistant" stays faithful to being pretty conservative, but this drama proves they're catching up. As expected, the production values are first rate and the quirky direction is absolutely wonderful. It was also refreshing to get a departure from the "two guys in Engineering school" cliche. The camera loves Song Sung Hyun as Soon Ho. His charisma just lights up every scene. Mu Yeong's character was a bit subdued for my taste, but I suppose it's fairly realistic for a shy guy. I wasn't expecting much from the third character in the love triangle, Joon Seok, played by Lee Do Ha, but this turned out to be a wonderful, three dimensional character with, perhaps, the most moving performance in the piece. I should also point out that even at 8 episodes, this drama never felt padded to fill time. I'm curious to see the movie edit. I'd love to see this director travel to Thailand to shoot one of their less timid BL dramas with the high level of Korean production sensibilities.

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A Solid 10

It's been quite a while since I saw the series and I honestly can't recall what score I gave it, but having watched the Director's Cut with only a partial recall of the plot I found it highly enjoyable. Like most BL dramas this remains primarily a bromance relationship, but I'm fine with that. I find graphic, simulated sex scenes (same or opposite sex) are unnecessary and often cringeworthy. There is a brief and romantic bed scene at the end, which I think is new. It's tastefully done and appropriate for the story. What earns a Solid 10 is the unusual ending. We have a brief montage of Akira and Yuuki's happy bromance from 39 to 40, then we fast forward to age 82 where a patient named Yuuki Itou is in the hospital. He has 2 rings, so we know one partner has already passed, but the inference is it wasn't so long ago that the survivor moved on and forgot about him. I say this is unusual because same-sex relationships tend to be portrayed as something that won't last. And this ties up the metaphor of connecting the dots (Akira and Yuuki) and following life's path to the end of the line. It's not clear from the patient name which one survived to the end, but apparently it's Yuuki who took Akira's Surname. Maybe someone else can clarify. That being the case, it's not in keeping with the promise Akira made not to leave Yuuki ever again (also Akira is the main character), so maybe I got it backwards. But that's just a minor complaint. I hope this is released on BluRay because it's a keeper for repeat viewings. Well done!

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Loved it.

This was an enjoyable afternoon binge watch. I was quickly invested in the two leads. I particularly appreciated this drama didn’t get watered down with multiple side stories. (Spoilers ahead). I gave it a 10 but there it could have been an 11. Some of the tired BL cliches are here like gay panic and male insecurity about showing emotion. There are the cliche bullies that the stronger hero must vanquish and the parent who is worried about family appearances with the older generation. And then there’s the standard BL formula of the two heroes who hate each other in the beginning then fall in love. All of these tropes could have been reversed to give the plot unexpected reversals. When I first reviewed this some 3 years ago I rated the music as the highlight. I’m not sure I agree now. The music is rather bland and gets in the way of the drama. Aside from these problems the actors have surprisingly good chemistry and the mom rises to her part. Highly recommended for a upbeat bromance movie.

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Engaging story smolders but never bursts into flame

This is a beautiful story and the production values are top notch. The characters and actors are appealing and the 16 episodes never felt padded just to fill time, yet "Light on Me" sort of smolders but never bursts into flame as a bromance. This may be a cultural thing, because this seems to be common to the Korean BL dramas when compared to the gold standard of Thailand. The plot is your basic love triangle. Woo Tae Kyung, who has always been a loner, makes his first friend in Shin Da On, which evolves into a romantic interest. Meanwhile, Noh Shin Woo has fallen in love with Woo Tae Kyung at first sight, but he is sort of invisible to our hero for the first half of the drama. In fact, they are enemies for the first half due to the fact that Noh Shin Woo is forcing himself not to get attached to Tae. The series peaks at mid-point when Tae and Shin Woo have a sleepover, but Tae falls asleep on Shin Woo's shoulder -- that's as bromantic as it gets. Shin Da On rejects Tae for reasons that are not exactly clear -- it's suggested he's from a prominent family where a same sex relationship would impair his career or disappoint his parents. There's a scandal at school about a rather innocuous picture of two guys with hands outstretched, as if shaking hands. Certainly a photo that tame could be written off as hand shaking -- the boys were 3 feet apart. The central plot of Tae realizing that Noh Shin Woo has been there all the time, sort of in the background, never quite delivers the impact it should after 16 episodes. We finally get a kiss at the end, but even that is far too subtle -- and, frankly, too late in the drama. That should have occurred about episode 13 with more romantic scenes taking us to the conclusion. Meanwhile, the storyline for Shin Da On feels unresolved.. So, as much as I loved this drama, I'm left feeling a bit underwhelmed. The real oddity here is why was the first episode incorporates graphic gay sexual references (apparently visual aids for a high school sex education class) but the rest of the drama is strictly a G-rated, almost asexual story about ordinary friendship.

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Loved it!

Honestly, the first episode was a bit dull. The whole sports theme we've seen so many times before, as with Water Boyy, but the three main stories are interesting enough to overcome the familiar miniseries wrapper. Thailand continues to set the gold standard for boy love dramas with gorgeous photography, first rate acting and realistic storylines. The main story concerns two childhood friends who grow up to play basketball together at university. This plot line gets the most screen time but it the least interesting of the three stories; nevertheless the leads are appealing and there's an interesting revelation about how long the Torn character has been in love with Fah. The love triangle with the two male characters, Dome and Vee that involves Vee's sister (and Dome's girlfriend) is the next most interesting, but this romance doesn't get very far by the end of the series. Too bad because the two actors were quite good. The most interesting plot concerns the characters Sean, a track athlete, and Aii, who serves as a staffer for the track team. These guys have by far the best romance scene in Episode 6. Jump's shy Aii is a perfect paring with Boom's sexy Saen. "You're My Sky" doesn't rise to the steamy sexiness of other Thai BL dramas like "WhyRU?' but at least these (most likely) straight male actors can pull off intimate guy-guy scenes without making them cringeworthy. I'd love to see Jump and Boom paired again in another drama.

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Engaging story, great acting

I'm not a big fan of supernatural themes but at least this one sets some ground rules and sticks to them. The main storyline is very engaging, I was totally hooked and couldn't wait for the next episode. I'd give this a 10 if it were edited down to a 2-hour movie but at 16 episodes there's plenty of padding and way too many comic relief characters. The tone is a bit uneven, shifting abruptly from serious melodrama to satire. The main character, Professor Cha Young Min, spends most of the drama in a "ghost coma" and, given all the padding, it would have been more interesting to resolve his coma a few episodes earlier, expanding the secondary story of Intern Seung Tak to see him evolve as a surgeon in his own right. I think other viewers would agree that we were rooting for him to succeed but the conclusion of this storyline doesn't quite deliver. And given all the padding I think the audience would have enjoyed seeing the bad guys face the jury and hear the prison door slam behind them as they were being placed in their cells. After 16 hours all we got was a routine arrest. We don't even know if they got their "just desserts." Overall, highly enjoyable with. a great cast and high production values. The special effects were nicely done.

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Cute and Engaging

In this refreshingly altered state of reality, boys are nice to each other and can even cry over a broken bromance. Ok, there is a bully in their midst but even he sheds tears at the end and is comforted by his bros. There are girls here, but they seem to be sort of asexual cheerleaders to the boys in love. The basic plot elements we've seen before, but they seem fresh here. Mawin Tanawin Duangnate is the standout as Chris. His character seems to be the glue that holds all of these bromances together -- and he has the acting chops to pull it off too. If I were just rating him, I'd give him an 11. But the other actors are giving it their all too. "Second Chance" doesn't get too distracted with the cultural taboos of same sex romance, but we still get a bit of the male gender role discomfort of displaying any kind of affection. "Second Chance" also spares us from the girly-man stereotypes -- all of these guys are handsome, masculine and even play sports! Wow! Thailand continues to set the gold standard for BL dramas. "Second Chance" is beautifully photographed and the direction is right on point. I regret I can't give it a full 10 score because we never get past kissing with these couples, but that seems to be as far as audiences (and the straight boys who play these roles) are willing to go. But, we're making progress.

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Almost Perfect!

In re-assessing my review on this one, I'm reducing the story score a bit. While I was wildly enthusiastic after finishing the last episode, it has since occurred to me that we never really get a payoff for this drama. Among the major BL drama producers, Thailand, Philippines, China, Korea and Japan, the Japanese shows seem to be the most timid about showing same gender intimacy and, indeed, the final scene has the elevator doors closing just before our two heroes kiss. Nevertheless, this was a highly enjoyable show and I loved the chemistry between the two leads. I hope to someday see the movie edit where they may show a little more realistic relationship. The story is also a bit old fashioned compared to, say, the Thai BL dramas that have mostly moved away from well-worn gay relationship cliches.

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Overcomes the formula plot with great cast and beautiful dancing

The heart of “You Make Me Dance” is a beautiful love story about an debt collector who falls in love with a young dancer that owes his agency money. The fatal flaw of the plot is presenting the debt collector as someone who’s just out to manipulate the dancer into repaying his debt. The better subplot has to do with a rival dancer who is out to undermine our hero’s attempts to win the lead role in an upcoming production. It would have been better to forget all the cartoonish business about the collection agency and use the rivalry for the dramatic tension. The whole script feels like a first draft that was rushed into production without some much needed rewrites and polishing. But the show is saved by a great cast and some beautiful dancing scenes. The production values of Korean BL dramas are always top notch but the romantic moments are pretty tame by Thai and Filipino standards. It’s definitely worth watching with a few fast forwards through the unnecessary debt collection agency scenes.

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Childhood Friends Reunite During 2020 Pandemic

Childhood friends Ben (23) and Jim (25) are reunited during the 2020 pandemic. It seems a stretch to think these guys were close friends and Jim was never aware Ben was attracted to boys, but I suppose people see what they want to see. This little bromance drama moved along pretty quickly without a lot of padding. Both leads, Teejay Marquez as Ben and Jerome Ponce as Jim, have a number of strong monologues throughout the series. Both actors have a long list of acting credits and this experience shows on the screen. I really enjoyed the story and my only complaint is I really wanted to see more of the main characters interaction. We sit though 7 episodes and only get to a kiss, so it's kind of underwhelming. At least it wasn't 27 episodes to get his far.

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