EVERYONE

Looks like my key complaint is different from what most people have against this series. The key concept of a lad learning in his 20s that he has desire for males is absolutely ABSURD (it can only ever happen no later than puberty comes). This nonsense pulls viewers out of the submersion into the story told.

This series is one of the most polarising ever. Both the best and nearly the worst, judging by reviews. I love the actors, and I do not want to dislike a series where they play, but this is totally possible in this case.

I will have to watch myself.

EDIT: a year later, in 2020, they have released a special episode “Stand By Me”. The writing there is superb. People tore it into quotes.

This was an actual art-house exercise.

This short film is an actual art, actually.

All the crazy neon colours and gradients, lenses, camera angles used, the sound are not similar to a typical series production at all.

STYLING for Fluke’s character is weird. In cafes and other hospitality business staff does not wear plumber/mechanic tablecloth shorts because those are meant to dm hide dirt those workers get during the day. On the contrary, cafe staff wears light-coloured shirts with no big dark patterns to signify the cleanliness of the workplace. Also, the agency did not care about the actor well enough because he got overweight. This is a disservice both to him and his CP counterpart, Pod, who is chiseled.

NOT BUYING the relationship between the main couple.Within the first couple of episodes they do things to each other that are absolutely inexcusable in any genuine relationships, especially that have lasted for a while. The writing is so POOR that the scenarist make one of the main characters be blatantly stupid to make the story go. We are told to hate an outsider for this. The narrative is a failure if you even spend a second to think about how the main pair is actually behaving to each other.

Thanks for the information, though details are important. For example, people criticising the calls to enforce the mutilation of children, who cannot even consent, during early transition surgeries, transphobic. And there is a real transphobia. Which type of a video he has liked? Andre Tate thing is too general because some things he says make sense, and some not. To avoid controversies and misunderstandings, the lad should not have indicated his interests like that. The minor kissing also depends on where the kiss was, who was the person he has kissed.

Is he a real life Goku? Never seen a real life person looking more than him like the famous manga character

The only thing you are missing is that this was a historical breakthrough for the BL drama genre in Thailand. This is why so many people are crazy about this series. And they also see many of their favourite actors here at the beginning of their careers.

Yes, very little chemistry is in the main CP, especially on Kristo part. He is not into the whole BL thing in principle. Had to do it as per the agency’s decision.

And yes, the glorification of hazing is repulsive. Had some of that in my real life. Never, under no excuse I can accept that and empathise either with the bully or with the reinforcingly accepting victim.

So the main CP was a miss for me in every way except for their visuals that are good.

THE PROBLEM with the whole agency system is that once you sign up you become a property.

Krist did not have a real choice to accept the role or not.

Besides, we have to admit the shocker: a major (or a majority) share of all BL actors are not even remotely gay. And the agency does not care because all that is require is for them to look good and being able to act at least passably well. Wether the actors are gay or not is their provate matter.

Furthermore, then those actors have to maintain their CPs regardless of how they feel for years and years.

If you want anything genuine in the BL drama industry, it is not there. Once in a blue moon you can get something real.

I hate the “I am not gay but” cliche, but it is the rule of the BL genre, which is a fantasy where either everybody is all of a sudddn gay or can be turned gay for someone specifically, which is anti-scientific nonsense.

For less of that, the gay film genre works better. But it also too often a doom and gloom stuff, unlike the BL genre.

Also yes, hazing is repulsive and it has made impossible for me to empathise either with the bully or his reinforcingly accepting victim. So the main CP does not work for me at all, I am not into BDSM.

VERY confusing name and nickname changes that make it hard to search for his songs, performances, events, appearances.

Why all of the changes?

That is noble cause to support the series.

Especially since most BL CPs fans are shipping and dreaming of them being real outside of films can not be real even theoretically becaue either one or both of them are straight. They only do the fanservice because it is in their contracts and also because it helps them financially otherwise.

Calling it a bromance might be a stretch.

The authors were so afraid of the BL censorship that they have made the two main leads all but killing each other in a huge chunk of the series, which is far removed from friendship, let alone bromance.

Even towards the end they have only upgraded their relationship to a normal friendship. Still not a bromance, really.

But the series is really good, so it is worth watching anyway, unless the story being at least a true bromance is an obligatory condition for the viewer.

He is really GOOD.

I wish he would take part in some BL series for the sake of versatility, though I doubt it will ever happen as he is already too big for this.

The eyes make me crazy. Maybe the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.

From what I hear specifically mainland China productions love to use dubbing with voice actors, and the aloof top guy was the case. The actor’s actual voice sounds more youthful, not deep enough as per the director’s vision.

There is maybe also an accent issue, but I can not hear it by ear as I do not know Mandarin to pick it up, if it is the case.

In fact, the production team has replaced voices of the most of main actors (not Zi Yu though as he was only ever taught the standard Beijing accent, despite living near to Wuxi).

I mostly AGREE with your critiques, though some of those might come from treating the BL genre as if it is a gay film genre, so they might be unfair.

The whole BL (a translation from Japanese shonen-ai) thing is a fantasy genre where everybody is all of a sudden gay or can be turned gay. And yes, it is a straight female fantasy for straight female audience from the very beginning.

So those cliche are simply to be accepted if you watch the genre. Similar to how sound in space is real in sci-fi films, however absurd it is.

The rules of the genre are so pervasive that I can hardly easily remember a realistic BL series where both main couples actually know they are gay or bi since at least their early teens, as it happens in reality, rather than depicting men being completely clueless about their desires and attractive men around in the beginning.

Most even depict men going out like for months without having fun with each other, which is absolutely ridiculous if you think of male physiology and needs for a second.

From the very first moment men see each other they know if they want to engage or not, and they want to engage immediately, they do not “discover” their desire some time later. There is nothing romantic about this physiological process. The romance comes later, not vice versa.

If you have stumbled upon BL dramas that not this nonsensical, I would be glad to see recommendations.

I agree that the cliches in the story are really bad (and I especially hate the endless tobacco smoking and alcohol abuse), but not sure what you mean by “bad” acting. To me, it looked good except for the doctor guy from the second couple. He was given a task to play a role of a traumatised person, but it has turned out to be so stiff that it looked cartoonish. But Tian and Zi Yu have played believably within their tasks, however cliche they are: a cool aloof top and a cute curveball.

And there is nothing healthy about living off toasts and bread crumbs, contrary to what the show claims via the smaller guy.