Maggi64

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A MATURE THEME ABOUT REGRET

I love how Togawa essentially stated the show's theme to Nozue in episode 1 when he'd said, "Regret can lead to happiness and fuel your life." The implicit coda to that phrase is, "But only if you act on the regret and make a change." Later in that same episode, Nozue recollects the 1st time he'd met Togawa and how he had said that same phrase himself. Now that the men have switched roles and it's Togawa who's saying it to Nozue, the question is whether or not Nozue will make that change.

Well, with Togawa crushing on him so badly, he has no choice but to make a change. Heck, Togawa's already got Nozue eating dessert at girly cafes and drinking smoothies for the first time. The theme is being conveyed in a cute manner with these dessert dates. But make no mistake, it's a complex theme nonetheless. Indeed, the show's entire sensibility has struck a note between cute and complex that is extremely difficult to hit. Bravo!

Holy shit, did you catch that stare that Togawa gave Nozue? He cannot possibly remain oblivious after getting both his ass patted and then stared at like that. I am soooo jonesing for the kiss! I mean, you just know that the kiss is coming in that scene.

Did it say what episode that massage scene was in? We're getting episodes 3 and 4 next Sunday on Viki, and while I know episode 3 is too early for the big kiss, I really hope it's comes in episode 4. It came midway in Blueming, but that was a 2 and 1/2 hour show. Cupcake is the same length as My Beautiful Man, and the kiss came in the final 5 minutes of that show. But I cannot wait until the final episode for Cupcake! That's 2 entire weeks away!

Yep. I not only love that they expertly conveyed their characters so quickly, but I love the theme to. Togawa essentially stated the theme to Nozue in episode one when he'd said, "Regret can lead to happiness and fuel your life." The implicit coda to that phrase is, "But only if you act on the regret and make a change."

Did you notice later on that when Nozue recollects the 1st time he'd met Togawa he had said that same phrase himself? Now that the men have switched roles and it's Togawa who's saying it to Nozue, the question is whether or not Nozue will make that change. Well, this being a BL, we know that he will. With Togawa crushing on him so badly, he has no choice! Heck, Togawa's already got Nozue eating dessert at girly cafes and drinking smoothies for the first time. Love, love, love it!

They were crazy Tankhun's pet fish. He went nuts in episode 2 because they died in the pond after Porsche had pissed in it. LOL

Thank you so much. I am going to go back and rewatch. I was not sure what had happened between them physically because that scene with the girl was unclear to me. I was not sure if it were truly a girl, and he was fantasizing she changed into his friend. Or truly his friend, and he fantasized it was a girl. I suspect it was the former, based on his having bolted early.

I must say, this film did a lot in a very short time. I am always impressed by the economic sparsity of short film. Well, when done right anyway. This shorthanded the feelings and worked cuz the performances were ace. Also, it had set out with a simple goal: to convey the short one's attraction to his best friend, and the best friend's increasing awareness of and response to that attraction. The success of a work of art is not the goal itself, but how well it met that goal. This one met its goal admirably.

Thanks for this recommendation Tim!

But I have one question. At the end the one says, "I just want to be friends for now." The other is pissed off by that and replies., "Then what did all those times we've had mean?"

Does he mean "those times we've had fooling around"? Or does he mean, "the time we spent together," and it's just a bad translation? Because, until the very end, I had assumed the gay one did not realize that his friend knew he was in love with him. But he did realize it. Turned out the both knew exactly what was up with their respective feelings. I just cannot decipher how far they went in physically acting on those feelings.

At any rate, those boys are both beauties. I love how they dress. I have a thing for motorcycle riders wearing jeans and worn out tees. And you're right about the low rating being messed up. I just gave it a 10 to boost it.

Man, I would soooo love it if she were a lesbian! I did not get Sapphic vibes but, instead, a dead strong implication that she was Ji Woo's ex. I need to watch again for the Sapphic vibe, cuz that would be compelling.

Good point, people seek each other out based on habits and mutual interests. However, I think she's talking more about shows like KinnPorsche, which I like, but is silly insofar as all 3 brothers (Kinn, Kim and Tankhun) are gay in one family. Their 2 cousins, the brothers Vegas and Macau, are gay in the other family. Then the 2 brothers Porsche and Porschay are gay in that family. And let's not forget Pete and Big, who are, yep, gay. The only hetero couple on that show is Elizabeth and Sebastian.

Yep, Taiwan is very progressive on gay rights in general. They are the only country in Asia with gay marriage. But Japan is pushing for it strongly and I am convinced they'll come next.

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ACE ACTING

These 2 guys are putting in excellent performances. Within the first 15 minutes I understood Nozue to be a man with a warm disposition, and a relaxed resignation toward life. And why this made him both appealing, and kind of sad. Likewise, I knew that Togawa was a tenacious man with piercing insight into other people, as well as a willingness to openly voice those insights -- and in that clipped tone, no less!

When you say ojisan , do you mean older guys? As in, not high school or college kids like all the Thai BLs?

And I 100% agree that it's better than when everyone and their dog is gay, LOL.

Read my reply to the other woman above, because I said pretty much what you just said when I wrote:
"In the writer's defense, this is a K-BL, and homophobia is still pretty harsh in Korea so it makes sense to avoid flat-out gay characters. The Japanese and Taiwanese are far more progressive about sexual orientation and, accordingly, Japanese and Taiwanese BL's are more likely to feature openly gay characters."

Nope, I rewatched Season One this week. It does not say anywhere that either one is gay. The screenwriter tacitly avoided this by saying, "I don't think you have ever been in a relationship." and "Ok, you really have been in a relationship." It never said whether it was a gay or straight relationship.

As for bisexuality, yea, it exists. But, again, not to the absurd degree that we see in BLs. In BL's, bisexuality exceeds portrayals of homosexuality 10 to 1.

In the writer's defense, this is a K-BL, and homophobia is still pretty harsh in Korea so it makes sense to avoid flat-out gay characters. The Japanese and Taiwanese are far more progressive about sexual orientation and, accordingly, Japanese and Taiwanese BL's are more likely to feature openly gay characters.

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Here We Go Again: "I'm Really Straight, Just Gay for You."


I'm tired of BL's that insist on giving the men ex-girlfriends because it creates the same old trope of, "I am really straight, just gay for you." If we're to judge by BL's, then 97% of the world's men who are in male-on-male relationships are in only one male-on-male relationship their whole lives. Thank god for "Kinn/Porsche," "We Best Love" and seasons 1, 2 and3 of "HIStory," which dared to make at least one of the guys in the male-on-male relationship openly, proudly gay. Yep, I said the evil g-word. GAY! Can men in these freaking BL's please just be gay? At least more than 3% of the time?

Exactly. This is unoriginal and playing on fans' who like a show to be nostalgic of the first one. Also, like season one, it relies on big coincidences to propel plot. In season 2, they both the know the commercial's director. In season 1, Seo Joon uses the bathroom at a restaurant of a man he just happens to meet again that night, in house that happens to belong to his manager, while he's hiding from a reporter who just happens to live on the manager's street, and the reporter just happens to frequent Ji Woo's restaurant. It's lazy writing to just toss in coincidences instead of having things happen organically, and arising from characters' behaviors and personalities.

LOL. I know. But straight fish exist!

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QUESTION:

Are Elizabeth & Sebastian the only hetero couple on this show?
Cuz I just discovered that Big is gay too, making all the following guys gay:

Kinn
Tankhun
Kim
Porsche
Porschay
Vegas
Macau
Pete
Big

Wow, I hadn't realized this. Thx for the explanation. Now I want to inherit a house more than ever! LOL.

Good point. If he inherited his parent's house that would explain a lot. Of course, there are still utilities and taxes to pay for a house, even if you inherit it. And he's still got the overhead for the restaurant to pay. Moreover, since the Village Chief said the restaurant is always empty, he's got no income to pay utilities for either his house or his restaurant. But like I said in my original post , it's ok if it is not entirely realistic, because I am enjoying the show anyway. In fact, the only reason I even commented on the economics of the restaurant industry is that I used to manage a restaurant. Otherwise, it's a minor detail and doesn't matter.

Thank you for your reply! :)