Maggi64

Yep, "red flag" is another favored phrase. And let's not forget "problematic." I was constantly reading how Hira's and Kiyoi's relationship was problematic. Frankly, I expected a lot more people to say that Masumi & Ritsu's relationship was problematic, and that Masumi was some kind of a masochist for forgiving Ritsu. I am pleasantly surprised that we did not hear that.

She either (a) hated Ritsu and found him toxic or (b) hated the open ending with the bit of magical realism implying Miracle Boy saved the planet. I'm going with (a) because I constantly see the term toxic tossed around when a man in a BL is aggressive and imperfect. Or what I like to call "interestingly imperfect." Because, let's face it, it's the imperfections that make characters interesting.

Last year, everyone was tossing around the term toxic for Kiyoi in "My Beautiful Man." Yet I loved it for the precise reason they hated it. That is, I loved how one boy was creepy and obsessive, while the other boy found it excruciatingly difficult to communicate his feelings. So much so that he'd usually resort to kicking or shoving his beloved out of frustration. Watching those two iron out the kinks in their, ahem, "toxic" relationship is precisely what made it compelling to watch.

Likewise, watching Ritsu's character arc in this show is precisely what made it compelling. He's a player, even a slut. And he was so accustomed to playing around and having sex without feelings that he did not even realize how deeply he'd fallen in love with Masumi until he'd pushed Masumi out of his life and it was too late. To wit: when he called Masumi's friend for his phone number but the friend would not give it to him. Thus, he was reduced to stalking the library at the end of the world based on some tossed off comment Masumi had made a whole decade ago about how "If it were the end of the world I'd hang out in a library reading."

Now who'd have thought Mr. Super Stud would recall such a tiny, tossed off comment by his old flame from 10 years ago? It was a surprising revelation. But what made the show work is that it was not out of character. At least not with what we eventually learned about him. I loved MBM for the same reason (ie, the revelation that Kiyoi was more vulnerable than we'd heretofore suspected surprised me, while also being presented in a way that was entirely in keeping with his character). In short, the characters of Kiyoi and Ritsu were portrayed with complexity, and many mistake complexity for toxicity.

OMG, your question was 3 mere words, yet my answer was 4 full paragraphs! Clearly, I wasn't kidding when I told that commenter that we who enjoyed the show "expound" on reasons why, LOL.

Could you expound and tell us why, exactly, it "sucked"??? I am not questioning your right to dislike the show. It's just that we who enjoyed it gave specific reasons for why we enjoyed it. Hence, I am interested in the specific reasons for why you disliked it. Thank you!

MY THEORY ABOUT WHY THE CHEF CANNOT DRINK

Like most of you, I have been trying to figure out why the chef can't drink. At first, I assumed he was a recovering alcoholic. But I had to rule that out in Ep 5 because he drank; and if a recovering alcoholic relapses and drinks, he will keep on drinking all night. But instead of drinking all night, the chef took one sip and passed out instantly. Thus, I suspect that he is allergic to alcohol. And yes, an alcohol allergy is an actual, medical condition.

I am a recovering alcoholic myself (10 years sober!) and I have heard some people in AA say they are "allergic" to alcohol. But that is a misnomer and essentially a figure of speech (even if some alcoholics do think it's true). Someone who's truly allergic to booze can never become an alcoholic because they cannot consume more than a couple of ounces without passing out first. In short, they can never get enough alcohol into their body to grow addicted to it. They instantly pass out, which is the precise same symptom exhibited by the chef in this show.

It's just a theory, but what other explanation can there be for the Chef's peculiar relationship with alcohol in this show?

Like you, I also was not drawn to Pottery Dude........ until, that is, he backed JWY up against that wall. Sizzling! It was all about his demeanor while doing so that made it so hot. Indeed, he's one of those guys whose demeanor makes him sexy more than his actual, physical features do (although they're pretty fine too!)

Of course, it's a common BL trope where one guy has a cold, surly demeanor while the other has a warm, sweet demeanor. Hell, even the side couple in this show includes a cold, surly guy hooking up with warm, sweet one. The cold-guy/warm-guy couple is a BL cliche by now, but since the actors are all doing a nice job with it, I ain't complaining. In fact, just like you, I wasn't too sure after Ep 1, but after Ep 2, I was all in.

Oh, and another reason I became more invested in the show is that a commenter below who'd read the webtoon explained the premise so that it finally makes sense. You see, at first I found it ludicrous that a guy would assume he'd get his job back simply by locating a CEO's favorite pottery maker. But the girl who'd read the webtoon explained that the reason the CEO wants to find the pottery maker is to offer him a contract for an art gallery exhibit. So it's about a business deal and, hence, makes sense.

Now, Ep 1 did have a quick line about the CEO wanting to give the pottery maker a contract, but it never said what kind of contract it was (ie, it did not say, specifically, that it was a contract for an art gallery exhibit -- that's only in the webtoon). Nor did it seem like the company was aa Talent Agency, so I don't get why the CEO is involved with artists and galleries to begin with. In short, it's still not a super firm premise. But, hey, even the smidgeon of logic afforded by this premise is still firmer than what most K-BL's use to hook up their hot boys! So I've decided to suspend disbelief, ride with it and just have fun.

LOL -- and that's not merely an acronym, because I truly did laugh out loud at your line, "Even the babies drink it from their bottles. Instead of breast milk, women produce coffee. Coffee flows from gasoline pumps."

You know, what's interesting is that up until WWII Asians only drank tea. Coffee is pretty much a cultural import from the Americans, French and Italians. And while, yes, this would have occurred after WWII, I am quite certain that coffee's real popularity exploded when Starbucks took over the world in the 1990's.

Thank you so much. I'm going to go back and check that. But I couldn't tell what kind of company it was. Do you know if it is a Talent Agency that represents artists? Because then it would make even more sense that the CEO wants to sign a contract with the pottery maker.

I am with you. What made this show work for me was more about how it achieved the even bigger miracle of making Ritsu redeem himself. I did not think that was possible after his bullshit at the end of ep 2. But the dialogue and action in the last couple of eps made his apology to Masumi believable. Well done.

I know, I know. But the thing is, I truly AM on antidepressants in my real life. I made a joke about being a depressive, but it also happens to be the truth. And it's clearly something that shades my way of thinking in gray ways. At any rate, if I had not read comments here I would have 100% interpreted that ending as the meteor coming. So I am glad I read the comments. Thanks.

I know, and even with all that, I STILL thought the end of the world was coming. I'm not kidding when I say this was a Rorschach test and I am a depressive, lol.

BTW, I caught the bottle in mid air, and that was the one true miracle in the show. Otherwise, it was not really a "miracle" that it rained or that he survived the pills, as many people survive an overdose and hey, it can be a coincidence it rained. So I thought the bottle mid-air was a small miracle, and some sort of symbol to give us hope, but that the end of the world might still come. As I'd said above, I tend to take the darker view of things.

The Open Ending as a Rorschach test

It's occurred to me that an open ending is like a Rorschach Test, insofar as what one sees is more about their own personality than the facts of the ending itself. If so, well, it's proof that I'm a major depressive, because I interpreted that ending to mean the meteor was 100% on its way. Then I came to the comments and found that you are all optimists, because the unanimous opinion here is that Miracle Boy saved the world. Damn, I think I need to increase my antidepressants so I can see happy endings with the rest of you! lol.

No, you're right and it was an oversight because the show did not depict Fumiya resetting Ritsu's phone. It's odd that they went out of their way to include a scene of him hiding photos, but not a scene of him resetting Ritsu's cell phone. I can't believe I never caught this until your comment! But it's a testament to how well acted and emotionally gripping the show is that we are all willing to let such things slide, right?

Wow, I did not even think of the phone! But you are sooo right!

Yep. And now I just wonder how the heck they are going to wind this all up in a mere 20 minutes next week!

Agreed. In fact, I think it would have been too much to unload because it would have mean Ritsu would've had to have moved and that would mean too much change after his accident. Frankly, from a medical standpoint, I even wonder if it is sometimes better to let amnesiacs remember on their own pace without telling them things. I never researched it, but it seems a decent theory. At any rate, I don't think Fumiya did anything terrible in this situation.

THANK YOU!!! I wish they had said this in one of the first eps because that makes sense. I really appreciate your comment because this makes the premise more logical and, thus, it helps me to like the show better.

In fact, why on earth didn't the writers say this in episodes one or two?

Exactly. I think Ritsu was willfully blinding himself and just not wanting to see signs such as the one bed situation. Sometimes people don't see what they don't want to see. It also fits his character to not see what he doesn't want to see because in this episode we discovered that Fumiya was fed up with Ritsu being inconsiderate and sort of blowing things off and not remembering that they already had plans, etc. That was why he wanted to break up. It's also why I am cutting Fumiya some slack on keeping this all a secret even though it wasn't exactly cool.

Won Young would need to be more than merely gullible; he would actually need to be a tad slow witted to think a CEO would give him his job back based on the location of some pottery maker. This is why it's impossible to accept the show's premise. It's odd because the actors are pretty good and the chemistry is also good. So why didn't anyone on the show's team bother to come up with a better premise than this? I am baffled. Unless a better explanation for this premise turns up in a later episode.

I keep waiting to see if maybe the company he used to work for was a Talent Agency that represented artists. Because at least then it would make sense for the CEO to want to find the location of a talented artist like the pottery maker. But it never says what the heck the company did. I'm going to hang in there, because I figure there must be a reason the show got a budget for 10 episodes of 30 minutes each when most K-BLs are only 8 eps of 15 minutes.

I really want to like this show, but the entire premise is absurd. Can someone help me out because maybe I'm missing something. But why would the CEO of a corporation give somebody his job back just because he knows where the CEO's favorite pottery maker now resides? It's like calling up your former boss to say "Give me back my job because I know your favorite artist secretly lives in Brooklyn. Or your favorite chef lives in LA." This is not a reason to give a guy his job back.