BL Ratings

Beautiful As A Garden Of Flowers

I am honestly so happy right now, like you don't understand I haven't rated any BL's or series this year 9 so far because they're all below 9, and this is the first one that has actually met my expectations on what I look for in a BL. Now I know a lot of people would probably disagree in a heartbeat because the ratings are so low and everyone in the reviews just seems to lowkey hate it, but this has so much I like.

Cinematography

Honestly I love JBLs because they're so good at cinematography, I love having a good warm feeling when I see the scenes and the beautiful ways they're portrayed by camera angles and beautiful scenery. Ofc not just JBL's do this, theres other countries that do this beautifully too but Japan does it very often and so well most of the times, I always feel the warmth of summer.

Characters

People were saying the characters were annoying and how the chemistry wasn't showing but I think that was the whole point, I've seen worse JBL's with cringier characters and more annoying than this getting more recognition and higher ratings, I really don't see the "annoying" side of these characters, I love the way they portrayed each person and how one was just trying to express his love but with the pressure of being the popular kid and not being outed he was misunderstood, while the other misunderstood the whole situation thinking it was a form of bullying or harassment (understandably so) when at the end of the day all Natsuo wanted to do was be with Hiro.

Plot

I honestly didn't expect to like it as much as I did, but I watched this in a blink of an eye and thats already a shocker. To start it has 8 episodes, already amazing I love when series aren't incredibly long, and also it's only 26 min long or so for each episode, again amazing! Let's stop normalizing 1 hour 12 episodes long series with mediocre plot and a lot of filler episodes, it's like watching 12 movies. I hate it here. But anyway, the chemistry wasn't 100% there I will admit but thats honestly part of the story, at first Hiro wanted revenge so yeah guys you're not gonna see Hiro being all lovely dovey at first cause thats not how he felt, but you can see him get more comfortable and sweeter throughout the series because he's slowly falling for Natsuo. I really like slow burns and this was it, we only got one little peck mid series and then we got the whole package LAST EPISODE! And I honestly fucking love that ngl, I like the way things ended off, I like when they wait until the last or last 2 but MAINLY last episode to let out all the sexual tension they've been holding. And honestly I expected a mediocre NC scene but it was pretty damn good ngl, mainly for a JBL with barely any kisses.

Music

I liked the music, I loved the intro song I even added it to my playlist. Honestly a lot go JBL's (again) have good music, very cute and aesthetic. So yes I liked the music, it's also been a while since I've liked the music in a series.

Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, this is all based on my likings and my opinion, the beauty of film and art itself is very subjective, to each their own, and to each their own opinions. I think this is a good series, I think it's beautiful, I think it meets my expectations. I don't think it deserves the ratings it has, maybe if it was horrible I would understand but it's not that bad. But it's kind of close to 8 so I'll take it man! It could be worse haha. Anyway, I do think this series is worth the watch. I like the whole flower/garden theme they had going on, and towards the end when they showed the plant they had bought together I almost wanted to cry. I don't know if this was their intention, but I saw that little flower pot as their relationship, and in-front of our eyes we saw it bloom and grow into beautiful flowers, just like how we saw their relationship bloom and grow. They had their ups and downs but they were able to overcome it together, and I think thats just beautiful. (Also love how Dai from "The Boyfriend" was there haha he's so iconic)

Rating: 9/10

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OMG! It's Bad

It was somewhat bearable at first, until episode 7 where things turned for the worst. I didn't have high expectations for this show, considering the ratings, the comments, and the actors past show histories but still gave it a try. Not worth the watch, it's very messy, and I was confused a lot, the plot wasn't super interesting, it was funny sometimes but some jokes weren't delivered, there's also a lot of SA and weird shit that shouldn't be acceptable or ok in shows to be shown just like that. And yeah overall not enjoyable. I also had to skip through the last episode which is very rare for me to do, because it was so boring. PS: I would've loved for Mick to be more than a comedic character, which is something I didn't like either, I see a pattern in chubby characters being used as creeps, stalkers, funny characters but never the main or anything of the sort but that's another story for another day. Anyway, I lowkey shipped him with Mai at the end ngl.

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Beautiful... Just Beautiful

Probably one of the best special episodes I've ever seen, regardless of them being super short which I love already, they're simple and just a slice of their quality time, and some moments, either they be happy or sad, its like being there with them while they are dating. It made me feel lonely lowkey wanted a relationship like this afterwards, I saw a comment saying something about maybe 2 or one more episode being released since the last episode was labeled 12 3/4, and it might be the wedding episode so I'm excited! But anyway, this was honestly so pleasing to watch, it lowkey felt like a fever dream in a positive way, just like how I felt when I watched Call Me By Your Name for the first time, which I loved how it was mentioned so many times, I knew this short series gave me CMBYN vibes! But yeah love love love, I totally recommend watching this and the actual series.

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Could’ve Been Better With Better Subs & Fixed Plot

It’s 100% how most comments mentioned, the subtitles are extremely crucial in these kinds of movies and mainly in this one. I say “these kinds of movies” because I’ve watched a couple movies, mainly South Korean but also other countries, that have 18+ content in them and usually they’re portrayed as artistic or movies with deep/dark meanings. Even with good subtitles it is so hard to understand these movies because it’s either not portrayed properly or just too hard to understand or both. I had to use the little bit of Korean I knew to understand this movie in the slightest, because even with the subtitles I was lost, the subtitles would say random stuff that didn’t necessarily make sense in the context and instead made things more confusing. But even with my knowledge and visual clues I was still extremely lost. Then we move into the sex scene, which I need to mention looked extremely real, there’s no way that’s fake. Someone mentioned in the comments how they could probably find an uncensored or longer version in a porn site and honestly it’s probably true, cause Jesus Christ that looked so real I was questioning where I was watching this movie for a second. But anyway, there isn’t much going for this movie, the plot is weak, the subtitles are horrible, everything is extremely confusing, and half of the movie is just them fucking. As much as I like my fair share of NC scenes and chemistry, just having NC scenes and no plot doesn’t balance the movie out. I need the balance of everything, plot, chemistry, NC, cute moments etc. Yk? I wasn’t gonna sit and watch this entire movie knowing it would probably just be full of NC scenes and I was right cause I skipped through it. So yeah dropped. I also saw some comments and some review comments mentioning how this is LGBTQ+ and not BL so basically saying LGBTQ+ movies have a more broad way of it portraying different people in different sexualities and gender identities and more. Which is why I don’t always rate these kinds of movies too low for what they lack because it’s a certain genre. Though I can acknowledge the genre, I can also acknowledge what it lacks. So yeah. Overall I’m gonna rate this a solid 6/10

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Toxic, Confusing, Wasted potential, Overrated

Honestly I wasn’t planning on reviewing this show because I wanted to just binge watch this one and Stay With Me. But omg this show makes me so mad and I just have to speak about it. First of all I really despise the fact that this show is so glorified and overrated because it seriously isn’t all that it’s played out to be. I will admit the actors are good, the plot had somewhat potential but overall it’s mediocre and just a typical story. Nothing out of the ordinary. And the fact that it got banned and they had to remove scenes doesn’t help this case (though I don’t blame them for this since it’s out of their control) but still even the deleted scenes aren’t the best because almost all of them are just Gu Hai sexually harassing Bai Lou Yin and it just makes me so angry. There’s nothing cute or romantic about someone forcing themselves onto someone when they obviously don’t want anything intimate. And honestly half of the people who comment or leave reviews don’t talk about this and it’s so weird. It’s just a show, I know, but overhyping this show even though it has a mediocre plot and the only “romantic” content it shows is just pure sexual harassment is just wow. Usually I trust the shows that are rated lower on MDL than the higher rated shows because for some reason I tend to like shows that are usually rated like 7 and under rather than shows that are rated 8 and up. Idk what it is but that’s just how it works for me. I do like to give overhyped shows like these a chance to see what all the hype is about but everytime it’s always just very basic and disappointing or very boring and bad. But anyway, back on track another thing that I disliked was how Gu Hai was always treating Bai Luo Yin as property, an object or some sort of belonging. With the over jealous behavior and even getting physical with people when he felt jealous, also straight up telling Bai Luo Yin that he belongs to him and that he owns him is just huge red flag. This man is just toxic all over and it’s disguised by “romance”. But to contradict what I’ve been saying in this review I will state that I enjoyed the last episode the most out of the others and it’s maybe because the kisses and intimacy was more consented this time and more voluntary on both sides which was good, also things were starting to get interesting since Bai Luo Yin’s ex came back and you can tell if this show hadn’t been cancelled then it would’ve been really good and probably much better. But once again it wasn’t something they could’ve controlled so I don’t hold it against them. I will say that the chemistry was confusing, it felt like Bai Luo Yin didn’t really like him until episode 15 and that’s when he acted upon his feelings but I feel like at the same time he was forced to start liking Gu Hai. But at the same time he could’ve had hidden feelings for Bai Luo Yin and at towards each episode he realized that more and more but was a bit in denial or scared which is common. Regardless it was a bit confusing and that could’ve been portrayed or explained a bit better through actions or something.

Overall, would I recommend? No. It’s not horrible, trust me I’ve watched worse. But it’s an unfinished show, along with its censorship, but even with censorship poor Bai Luo Yin is just getting constantly sexually harassed, then the plot is just mediocre, the whole show is just Gu Hai chasing Bai Luo Yin and it makes me so irritated cause the feelings don’t feel mutual for like the entire show until episode 15. So yeah, don’t waste your time and watch something better. It’s really not worth it and wasted potential. And let me tell you they did not lie when they named this show Addicted because that’s just what Gu Hai is towards Bai Luo Yin. Addicted.

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Messy Love, Beautiful Chaos

Okay, this was an interesting watch. I must say, I’m so happy Chinese BL is improving and finding ways around censorship, because they often have really good plots, but the censorship ruins things a bit. Anyway, I think this series is a good one, and I’m going to be as honest and unbiased as possible—because I don’t believe it deserves a 10 or even a 9.

Before I continue, I want to say this is just my opinion and personal take on the show. Every opinion or review is valid; it all depends on your perspective. But here’s mine.

I don’t know if anyone else thought this, but this series reminded me a lot of Love in the Air—only if it had been done better. It had many similar aspects: the “two bottoms as besties,” “two tops as best friends,” one bottom with a traumatic backstory, Wu Suo Wei being “straight” at first (or so he thought), and the way the characters interacted with each other. It really gave off LITA vibes. Of course, it wasn’t exactly the same—many things were different—but honestly, it was kind of a mess at times.

I usually hate super messy or toxic plots. I just want everything to be happy and sunshine (jk), but seriously—don’t make half the series a complete train wreck while leaving plot holes unresolved. Maybe I’m alone in this, maybe not, but why did it feel like everyone in this show had insane chemistry? So many times I felt like any two characters could kiss and it would make sense. Honestly, it almost felt like everyone should’ve just entered a poly relationship: Wu Suo Wei, Chi Cheng, Guo Cheng Yu, Jiang Xiao Shuai, Wang Shuo… and even Wang Zhen. At first I didn’t want to include Wang Zhen because he’s related to Wang Shuo, which felt weird, but since they weren’t blood-related it suddenly felt very “China/Taiwan drama stepbrother trope” of them. So fine—add Wang Zhen too. A big poly relationship would’ve solved half the drama and they could’ve all just been happy together.

I’m not the type to hate on the whole “top and bottom” thing—idc about that. I just want a good story and strong chemistry. But why was this series so focused on who was a top or bottom, and on sex in general? It felt stereotypical. And then there was that comment about “once you like a dude you can’t go back.” Um, actually, Britney—you can go back. That’s literally what bisexuality is. Liking men doesn’t erase your attraction to women, and vice versa. Everyone’s journey with sexuality is different, but I hated the way the show treated it like a disease you can’t escape.

The sex part also rubbed me the wrong way (pun not intended). Wu Suo Wei, Chi Cheng, Guo Cheng Yu, and Jiang Xiao Shuai all seemed way too eager to rush into bed with their partners. Like, if the other person isn’t ready, don’t pressure them and don’t glorify manipulation as if it’s romantic. That was messed up.

Also, Chi Cheng. Biggest red flag. Later, maybe he turned into more of a yellow or beige flag, but early on? Nope.

After episode 14, the show got super messy. The conflicts kept piling on, lies stacked up, and none of it was ever fully addressed. They’d stop talking, then suddenly act like nothing had happened. The lack of real communication made it frustrating.

I know it sounds like I hated the series, but I didn’t. The first few episodes were peak. But I always have trust issues with long series—they drag things out with filler and unnecessary conflict. This one definitely fell into that trap.

One moment that truly touched me was when the mother passed away. That scene hit hard because I lost my mom to cancer a year ago. Whenever I see that storyline, I feel the pain ten times more. I was honestly a little jealous of Wu Suo Wei, because he had support and a boyfriend to help him through it—something I didn’t really have. That part of the story was very emotional and meaningful to me.

Something else I noticed: lots of kissing early on, but then suddenly nothing. Apparently, that “famous” kiss in episode 20 was their real first kiss in the show, which means the series was filmed out of order. That explained some things, but it still felt strange. Especially in the final episodes, a kiss or two would’ve made sense. But nope—nothing.

By the time I got to the last three episodes, I had to watch them at 2x speed, and even then it was unbearable. So much unnecessary conflict, dragging everything out just to hit 24 episodes. Honestly, 12 episodes would’ve been enough—maybe 16 at most. By episode 21 (around the camping scene), the show should’ve ended. Instead, it just dragged on.

And let me just say this: no person in the world is worth selling the house where you grew up, with all your childhood memories, and where your late parents lived. That decision by Wu Suo Wei was beyond stupid. Chi Cheng had every right to be angry. His parents had money—they could’ve helped. But I guess it was meant to show the depth of Wu Suo Wei’s love. Still, dumb move.

So yeah—I know most of my comments sound negative, but I’m just being honest. I don’t think this show deserves a 9 or 10, and it’s definitely not the best BL of the year. But it did have its good parts: the slow-burn romance, the chemistry, and a few emotional moments. It just went off the rails later and starved us of happy scenes.

It definitely needed fixing, but overall it was a decent watch. My rating: 8/10.

And thank you to anyone who took the time to read my little essay of a review—your time is appreciated.

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A True Love Story

Not to hate on any other love dramas because at the end of the day love is a abstract thing that can be seen, felt, shown etc. in many ways. But this drama depicts true love and forbidden love so damn well. From the actions to words everything being shown makes me feel warm inside and makes me crave this kind of love from someone, the chances of a lot of us experiencing this kind of love ever is probably rare, mainly because of todays society. But I'm going off task now, I just have so much to say about this show because when I say this I mean it, this show was an absolute masterpiece.

The Acting
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I mean what can I say, it was spot on. Every emotion and feeling is portrayed extremely well and realistic, everything is so beautifully shown, raw, and real, it makes me dive into the story even more while I'm feeling what the characters are feeling. All the actors did an amazing job and I honestly give props to that since it's hard to do so good.

Cinematography
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Spectacular, this show conveys the old/vintage aesthetic and the whole vibe so well with its cinematic scenes. I loved how aesthetically pleasing this show was to watch with its effects and beautiful cinematography, so eye catching that you would be lost in it along with the story and music.

Music
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Honestly another rare thing that shows have in general is good music, some shows even play music in scenes that don't match the vibe or just aren't ear pleasing. But omg this show had such amazing music that along with the acting, story, lines, and cinematography it dove you even deeper into the story until you felt like you were there with them.

Fav Quotes/Lines
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The actors lines, and quotes were so poetically said, mainly by Yai, he was so poetic with Jom and that also made me feel so warm inside and I felt the love that was being shared by them both. Their love is beyond and so beautiful. Some of my favorite lines/quotes are:

"Not a drop of liquor to interfere, drunk on love's celestial bliss. I've tried to resist this sweet intoxication, no matter how drunk I am, sobriety comes with the morning light. Drunk on love, my heart undone every night". -Yai Ep 4

"I've missed you. We haven't slept together for only a few days. I couldn't help but yearn for you". -Yai Ep 10

"For you, I'm addicted to you". -Yai Ep 10

“With the matter of time, I might already be your past, but for me you are my future”. -Yai Ep 12

Yai is such a poet with these lines, he shows so much love towards Jom and honestly Jom deserves every bit of it because of his past, I know if I was Jom I would feel so loved with these words and actions that Yai shows to Jom. Absolutely beautiful.

The Ending
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I didn’t necessarily get half of the ending, but upon reading some comments on here I understand it a bit more. I didn’t get how Yai was waiting for Jom and how they got to meet during the current time (2023) but apparently it was a reincarnation of Yai aka Lek’s (Yai’s little brother) grandson (Yai Kanthorn) that also remembered his past lives, therefore he knew about Jom and that’s why he was waiting for him. Now the only part of the end I don’t get is the part where Jom goes back in time again? Maybe even further back in time possibly? Not sure. What I’m wondering is why? And how? What could’ve possibly made this happen again? And what’s the reason if they apparently met again in Jom’s timeline (2023)??? There’s so many questions just from those last couple minutes and it’s a MUST to have a second season to answer these questions and make this show clearer at the end. I know there’s a special episode but I can’t see it or find it anywhere since I think it’s released in specific countries or a country (not sure) so it’s very difficult to see. This doesn’t help the ending case since idk if that episode answers any questions. Idk if we’re getting a second season but I hope so, this story was absolutely beautiful and I would love to have a second season to enjoy even more of this masterpiece.

Overall such an amazing show and would recommend to anyone, it’s a love story, a cinematic masterpiece and just a beautiful show overall with so much representation for multiple communities and even history itself. Worth the watch even for the 1hr+ long episodes, and I hate watching long episodes but this made it worth it.

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Nothing Awful, Just Nothing New

This was an interesting watch...not bad, not good, but definitely leaning more toward the “not great” side. I’ll give credit where it’s due though: making a solid vampire story is tricky. Fantasy creatures like vampires are hard to pull off without a strong budget or solid effects, and this series struggled a bit there. The yellow eyes and vampire teeth didn’t really work for me. The eyes especially, they just looked fake, and honestly, they weren’t even necessary when the fangs were already doing the job. To be fair, the teeth themselves were surprisingly decent. They actually matched the actors’ real teeth, which is rare since fake ones usually look way too white. But they did have this habit of constantly showing them off mid-scene, like, yes, I know you’re a vampire, you don’t have to prove it every five seconds. The flying scenes were also pretty rough, and that ending, with the trip to the Eiffel Tower and the park, looked painfully green-screened. It’s a shame, because it feels like the show had enough budget to polish those little details, but they just didn’t. That said, I really liked the music. The opening song was amazing, and the sets had a nice vintage, vampire aesthetic that gave things a bit of magic. Plot-wise, it wasn’t the strongest. It was predictable, I mean, of course Tong was going to become a vampire. That’s basically the blueprint for human x vampire stories. But I’ll give them this: the main twist actually caught me off guard, and I didn’t see it coming (maybe that’s on me, but still). Some of the deaths felt unnecessary though, like they were just added for shock value. The pacing could’ve been better too, it wasn't super rushed, but fast enough that it lost some emotional weight. The chemistry between the leads was hit or miss. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t, and I think a lot of that came down to Joss. His emotional delivery just didn’t always land; it felt like the feelings were there but never fully connected. Like when you’ve been charging your phone for an hour and realize the charger wasn’t plugged in, that’s kind of how the chemistry felt. Overall, My Golden Blood was fine. Mediocre, sure, but not unbearable. I wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend it, but I’m still curious to see what other upcoming vampire BLs will do with the concept, hopefully with a bit more bite.

Rating: 7.5/10

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Mediocre

Didn’t expect much from this drama since the reviews weren’t the best and the ratings aren’t high. But overall this show is mediocre, the story is mediocre, the acting is mediocre, the chemistry is mediocre, everything is just mediocre. I wasn’t very entertained and lowkey forced myself to finish this series because I had like 2-3 episodes left but I considered dropping, there’s nothing special about this show and it’s even cringe and embarrassing at times. This is common in shows/BL’s, mainly Japanese ones but like this show doesn’t do a good job at compensating us for the cringe/embarrassing moments so it just adds to how bad it is. It felt like I was watching 2 teens try to have a adult/mature relationship but failing miserably, I can’t believe these are adults who are prob in their late 20s/ early 30s. Soga was so unbelievably annoying, his cringe personality and annoying way of speaking, the stops he would take in every micro phrase he would say drove me nuts, and the shy behavior was so annoying too omg. Sakae was more bearable, he had his cringe moments but he had a better personality than Soga. Overall this show is just something you would watch if you had nothing else to do/watch, you won’t gain anything from watching and it’s overall basic and just your “typical” love story.

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Very Bland, What Was The Point?

Overall, this show is just mediocre, there isn’t much going on with half of the show, it’s very simple and doesn’t have anything accelerating the mood. I guess you can call it somewhat of a slow burn, I also didn’t like how fast they got together and how God liked Diew without even meeting him face to face, and it's not even about God liking Diew for his personality either since they hadn’t even talked that much too so idk it just didn’t spark for me. As for Diew being an introvert it was somewhat relatable to me, I am introverted and I also have social anxiety, but even so, the things he would do are things I don’t 100% relate to, kind of feels stereotypical, but I guess it’s different for everyone since it's like a spectrum so I won’t judge. Anyway, here are some things I noticed while watching the show that I wrote down.

- [ ] Intro song is bad, when I first heard it, it wasn’t ear pleasing it literally sounds like Bright singing, but after them playing that song a thousand billion times it sounded a bit better. But seriously did the group not have any other songs to play?

- [ ] That poor turtle has been abused the entire show, smaller container each time, even its home is small asf, notice how it’s trying to climb out of its container in every shot there is of the turtle, like seriously this isn’t even criticizing the show its just about that poor turtle I hope it was treated properly during shooting and I hope it has a bigger home because thats like a food container size.

- [ ] Acting is kinda awkward most of the time in general, honestly this is mainly towards both ml, like half the show they were all happy and stuff so the acting was very awkward for some reason and it felt so scripted, but towards the end it did improve way more, you can see more emotions because things started taking turns, and more conflicts were being introduced, but it took a while for us to get that, like having to wait till episode 10-11 is insane for us to have some action and some decent acting.

- [ ] 2nd couple carried, wish they had more screen time, loved their chemistry and just everything, I don’t have much to say for them cause again barely any screen time but they did good with what they had.

- [ ] Ending was mid, I’ve never waited for a BL episode EVER cause I usually make sure that the show is completely finished but I wasn’t aware that I had to wait for this one, let’s just say it wasn’t worth the wait.

In conclusion, this show is literally the definition of mediocre, nothing much, nothing less, honestly nothing really made up for the lack of story there is, everything just revolves around Diew being an introvert and that’s it. I think this could’ve had better potential if more things were taken into count. And I still can’t get over how awkward and low-key bad the acting was at times. I just checked and Park (Diew) has been in like 3 shows so I guess it explains, he still needs more practice. But yeah, it’s a very bland story, personally wouldn’t recommend. It really sucks that I’m mainly writing bad about this show, because even if a show is bad I usually find a way to see good things in it, and I have things to compliment, but this show was just so bland that it’s hard to do that. I want to be honest with this review and this is all I have to say.

Overall 7/10

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Wholesome Story!

I really liked this JBL, honestly JBL's do it very well when it comes to making a good series that is perfectly balance and most of the times it has a lot of chemistry and slow burn which I love overall! This one had it as well, its a very cute slow burn, to the point they don't kiss until the last episode, and that's one of my favorite things a show can do, only reason why I didn't rate it higher was because regardless of me loving the slow burn and all, I wish I had seen a bit more to them and them being a couple, and also slightly more chemistry, like it was there it was just lacking a bit and it was a bit of a noticeable thing. At least for me, regardless it's a solid BL and it's super wholesome and cute! I really love seeing coming of age series, those are so pure. And I'm glad I got to see more of them with the 2 special episode or after story. We got to get a glimpse of them in a relationship, though I wish it was a bit longer, I was still satisfied with everything overall! Decent watch!

Overall 7.5/10

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Shiny on the Outside, Empty on the Inside

Alright, I have a lot to unpack here so bear with me. I really wanted to express how I feel about this series because sadly, it’s not the hype people make it out to be, and I’m kind of tired of people doing this with the majority of CBLs. I think it’s unfair to glaze Chinese BLs just because they managed to run away from censorship. Yes, that part is awesome, but at the end of the day we still have to view them as a series and criticize them honestly. I’m not saying people didn’t genuinely enjoy this, I’m sure many did, but I feel like a lot of viewers are just blindly calling this and many others the best thing ever when it truly isn’t. So if you want to know what I actually think about The Sparkle in Your Eye, keep reading.
SPOILERS AHEAD, READ WITH CAUTION

I want to start from the beginning all the way to the end, and I’ll be honest, this series did not hook me, not even with the first episode. It felt very bland, I didn’t feel any connection or spark, and I was confused about almost every character’s background. Even for a first episode, you usually get a solid idea of who’s who and how everyone is connected, but here I was confused as hell and had to slowly unpack everything myself throughout the series through hints and passing dialogue. Maybe I’m the dumbest person alive, but for half the show I was confused and bored because the story didn’t give me anything to latch onto. Somehow it managed to feel like it was moving too fast and too slow at the same time, which is honestly impressive in the worst way. Some things did become clearer later on, but I still don’t know if the confusion was intentional or just a flaw.

This is not a fluffy story at all. I think we got some cute moments in the first two episodes, and after that it was just constant conflict and drama until the very last minute of the final episode. That brings me to another issue, why was this series so conflict focused? We barely got any genuinely sweet moments between Pei Jia and Su Yi. It felt like a chaotic and sad love story overall, which is fine and even realistic, but there was nothing solid to cling to emotionally. We got tiny bits of romance and even those didn’t feel rewarding.

Now let’s talk about the kisses, because they were not it. The first kiss made me think maybe it was awkward because Su Yi is a rookie actor, which would’ve been understandable. Then the so called good kiss happened and I remember thinking, wait… is this it? I genuinely hoped the awkwardness was intentional because they were still acting and still figuring each other out, but nope. Even after they officially got together, the kisses were still just lip touching and head moving, no mouth movement, no passion, nothing. Maybe they were still playing it safe because of censorship, but this was filmed in Singapore so I really don’t know what the excuse is. Either they’re bad kissers, afraid to kiss each other for real, or just didn’t give it their all. Whatever the reason, it completely disconnected me from their relationship. Like Su Bai says in the series when Fang Run Zhi wanted to remove the kiss scenes, being in a relationship needs passion. You can’t show passion only through staring and hugging. Yes, silent yearning is an art form, but in real life and in most series and movies, physical expression matters. We didn’t get that here. The kisses were so bland that I genuinely would’ve preferred no kisses at all and just tension and yearning instead.

Speaking of Su Bai, that leads me to my next point, and probably my second biggest issue. I hated, hated, HATED the second couple. There was no chemistry, they weren’t interesting, and I absolutely hated Yi Wei. Yi Wei is self focused, self oriented, individualistic, and just straight up selfish. He’s not the worst person in the series, we’ll get to that, but his behavior is constantly brushed off. He neglected his relationship by putting his career, success, money, and Fang Run Zhi’s approval above everything else. He was also disrespectful and insensitive toward Su Yi, especially during the dubbing scene where he completely crashed out on him and called him useless and a nobody. This is wild considering he’s dating Su Yi’s brother and knows better than anyone how hard Su Yi works and how passionate he is about acting. I’m sorry, but if my partner had a sibling, I would never say something like that about their dreams. I didn’t like Yi Wei at all. Yes, he helps expose Fang Run Zhi toward the end, but that doesn’t erase how awful he was for most of the series.

And let’s not forget how he refused to move on from Su Bai. He kept pushing to get back together, and yes diva Su Bai said no repeatedly, except for the times he let him kiss him, and then suddenly in the last episode they’re holding hands? What is happening? This has the same energy as Pei Jia not liking Su Yi for the first two episodes, then one game of questions later Su Yi says he’d take Pei Jia to dinner and BOOM, feelings unlocked. Both situations make no sense, have no buildup, no proper context, and just magically appear.

Now onto Fang Run Zhi. I genuinely wish someone had magic powers in this series just to make him disappear. He was ruining everything, constantly. He’s annoying, manipulative, and should be in jail, like actually. I hated that we didn’t get proper justice or consequences for him. He caused Su Yi nothing but pain and misery, and the ending just felt unfinished. Yes, he was exposed, but then what? That’s it? This story honestly feels like it needs a second season, even though I doubt we’ll get one.

That said, I weirdly have a love hate relationship with the ending. I usually hate when shows resolve the conflict early and then turn the last episode into a random music video and filler content. So ending it where they did was bold, annoying, but also oddly satisfying.

Now onto the positives, because there are some. The acting was genuinely good. I was unsure at first, but the hospital scene where Pei Jia breaks down blaming himself for everything that happened to Su Yi really hit me. That crying felt raw and real. Pei Jia and Su Yi were both portrayed well, and you can tell the actors did the best they could with the script they were given. Su Yi especially did an amazing job showing the slow loss of hope and light, you can literally see the sparkle in his eyes disappear as the story progresses. That part was done very well.

One major issue though is the lack of background for almost every character. We never meet parents, we barely get personal histories, and everything feels emotionally shallow because of it. Su Yi hiding his health issues was frustrating, and the consequences were devastating, ending with him permanently blind, which just added to how heavy this series was overall.

To wrap it up, I’m not a huge fan of BLs centered around actors, it’s not really my thing, but I always give them a chance. Sometimes you find a gem, but just because something is shiny doesn’t mean it’s a diamond. This one felt more like a piece of glass. Acting within acting is hard, and I do respect how challenging it is to pull off acting times two. In that sense, the performances were impressive, even if the story itself wasn’t.

Sorry if this came off super negative. I just don’t think this series deserves to be overly glazed. The same thing happened with Revenged Love and others, they’re just not that good. It’s all subjective of course, but from a general perspective, a lot was lacking. MDL reviewers really need to be more honest.

My rating is 7/10. Before judging, I have my own rating system which you can check on my profile. I rarely go below a 7 unless something is truly horrendous. There’s more to a series than just script and acting. The music was good, the cinematography was good, and there were some strong moments. Because of that, I don’t think it deserves higher than a 7, and lower is debatable depending on personal taste.

Thank you to anyone who took the time to read this review.

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Grief Disguised As Love

The Heart of Tsukuyomi is not a comforting watch, even if you go in expecting something sad. The final episode hits much harder than anticipated, leaving a heavy emotional impact that lingers. This is not a fluffy or romantic BL, it’s a story centered on grief, emotional neglect, and the damage caused by indecision. Gushan is often portrayed as weak, but his vulnerability comes from a lifetime of loss. He is adopted, emotionally deprived, and later loses the one person who truly loved him: his father. His attachment to his brother feels tragic rather than shocking, especially when you consider how starved he was for affection. When someone finally shows him care, it makes sense that he would cling to it. The brother’s inability to make a clear choice is what ultimately breaks everything. By continuing his relationship with his wife while emotionally stringing Gushan along, he creates confusion, false hope, and deep emotional pain. Gushan’s realization that he had already been abandoned, despite promises otherwise, is one of the most painful moments in the series. While the ending is devastating, the show excels in its acting, chemistry, and quiet tension. The yearning feels real, the emotions are raw, and the story never tries to soften its message. It’s a difficult watch, but a memorable one, especially if you appreciate BL's that aren’t afraid to sit with grief rather than resolve it.

Overall 8/10

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I'm At Lost For Words

This is such an amazing movie, I felt so much during these 2 hours, and at first I thought I wouldn't like it too much because a lot of things in this plot weren't my cup of tea, but it all balanced itself out and it became a perfect mix of a rollercoaster of emotions, even though this doesn't have a happy ending like how I usually like or wish it had, it was still very well done, and it had its good moments and good chemistry, this is a devastating story but its beautiful regardless, it just shows so much emotion and so much realistic views on real life problems, marriage inequality, and economic issues. It depicts greed and the yearning of money so much, the actors do an amazing job expressing each character individually and being able to show across a screen how these characters were feeling. I am at loss for words so theres nothing else I can say, but in very short, I loved this movie, its been a while since I've watched something this good, I honestly recommend it with every part of me, but be warned about the rollercoaster of emotions and sadness you will experience. It's a tragic story, to say the least.

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Cringe & All Over The Place

I watched the Korean remake first and wasn’t planning on watching this one since I heard it wasn’t good but I liked the Korean remake so I wanted to watch more. Therefore I gave this one a try, at first it was okay, I was able to watch it pretty decently, sometimes it was hard to continue because of how cringe the characters were (mainly Zon) and just how boring the whole storyline was in general. The only reason I kept going was because of the relationship between Tutor and Fighter but after they went on their beach vacation that was enough for me to fully get bored, because there was nothing for me to be excited for anymore and since I’ve watched many BL’s I can guess what’s gonna happen in the last 3 episodes I skipped and decided to drop. Therefore I didn’t even finish the show because I won’t sit for 1 hour and 5 min to just watch some cringe content and arguments form. I don’t want to compare this one to the Korean one because at the end of the day this is the OG, but I think the main reason why I liked the Korean one better was because it was short and simple. The story was told fast and with the perfect amount of information we needed for context and that’s it. I really hate long shows and BL’s but some are worth watching every minute of it. This one on the other hand. Wasn’t the best. Was it the worst? No. But could’ve been better. Also I watched “Peach Of Time” before this show and seeing Zafiah and Zon together as a couple just seems wrong to me since I saw them having more of a friendship/brotherly bond rather than a relationship bond. But they’re actors so ofc they’re gonna have different roles and I’m sure they’ve acted in multiple shows together. But I just wasn’t used to it. Anyway, if you like lengthy quirky shows with some cringe in it, then this is for you, if not then I wouldn’t reccomend.

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