Not a Robot

I think so too. Also, the sensuality of rubbing his face with the paper with the coconut ink and the coconut he was eating was off the charts. I like that they didn't shy away from the budding sexuality that teens experience. Same with Teh and the bra.

The opening song, but 100% the coconut smell. That was the point of no return.

The books are/were online. The characters people are complaining the most about the most (Dr. Petch & Kim) were inserted by GMM. The 2 books are, Oxygen (Solo x Gui) and Nitrogen (Phu x Kao), and the translator has permission from the author to translate it. They are slow burns. Solo is the way he is due to parental emotional neglect (he feels abandoned). The actors are acting like they are written in the books. Phu is a huge tsundere. See the difference in Supanut singing the OST, not in character. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dklu-OQ7gts

I understand now and I agree with you that people enjoyed all of the emotions, music, acting, not just emotional angst. I wasn't clear in acknowledging that. I also hope that Season 2 doesn't get ordinary too because I love hidden messages and this drama has so many of them. When I'm on vacation, I'm going to rewatch ITSAY to look for the hidden gems and since I know what's coming, I shouldn't cry as much.

Thanks. I will check some of those out. I know that Parasite won an Academy Award for Best Picture.

I don't have a bad opinion of other viewers, and I really liked this series, but this board is literally filled with the words, "masterpiece" and "the best BL ever" so that's where I base my opinion that some people enjoy emotional angst more than I do. I cry easily when I watch a movie or series, so I am very sensitive to sad, traumatic or touching scenes. If I'm constantly crying, I can't catch the small nuances that this series is full of. I agree with you about the emotions, but in my opinion, the one emotion that I did not feel in this series was happiness. When there was a moment of happiness, it was always countered by something very sad, for example, the underwater scene, or Bas blessing Oh. I hope that Season 2 has more happy moments since they fought so hard to be where they're at. If not, I'll still watch Season 2. Maybe you can recommend some movies to watch.

Thanks and I hope that Season 2 has more that two minutes of happiness, because they deserve it. I think that's why I liked Gaya sa Pelikula, even though the acting and sets were not as good, and was low budget. I will to rewatch ISTAY just to see what I missed after my eyes are no longer sore from watching Episode 5. I'm looking forward to Season 2.

This show had so much potential with these talented actors, but didn't deliver. The mainstream audience just got confirmation that being gay is such a struggle and may cost you everything, including your life. I don't want to see season 2 where Sandee uses her "gift" to channel Ken and Shake to help the brothers out. I'm not trying to be sarcastic, but it's difficult.

Yes, instead we get a fantasy version that even though they are in side by side urns, they are in the clouds together. I wish that LGBT+ filmmakers would show that the community has made so many positive things happen in the face of homophobia such as the HIV drug cocktails (gay activist groups were very active in demanding therapeutics) that are keeping people alive today and marriage equality in some countries. I believe that Ken's mom would have come around eventually and that would be something to show those parents who regret alienating their child.

I'm going to be unpopular and say while I really enjoyed the series, I thought it was too angsty for me and reminded me of older Japanese BL manga. I will have to rewatch to catch the details because I was too busy crying to catch nuances. I'm looking forward to season 2, where I hope they can be happy together for more than 2 minutes per episode. I understand that a lot of people like angst, but I can't fully enjoy something if I'm continuously crying.

I feel like this is the homophobia version of the "the is your brain on drugs" egg in the skillet PSA. I think it would have been better to show that in spite of Mom's homophobia, that Ken and Shake built a life together. They could have shown the mom agonizing over not being able to see her son, but also seeing him happy with this partner. "Normalization" (I believe the relationship is normal already) of Ken and Shake's relationship would have been a tool against homophobia as well.

Had the discussions in Episode 8 have taken place in Episode 7, we may have had a different ending. Karl needs more than a month and Vlad needs to not compromise. Neither are wrong. I would love to see a season 2 since the ending leaves it open to a reconciliation, based on what I saw.

The epitome of Japanese culture, tell each other that they love them, but still on a last name basis.

I would like to see Ken have a story. Let's see what's behind the curtain.

I think they may be throwing some shade at the author and "management" of 2M2 for the way the original actors were dumped from the project. Allegedly, the author didn't like the 2Moons casting and the minions mostly went after Bas. That's why it's funny, not cringe to me.

No, because I'm enjoying the shade too much.

I'm afraid to watch because of the synopsis above, "BenXJim follows the story of two people who turn from strangers, to friends, to lovers and back to strangers with memories. " Back to strangers means they don't make it. I like this couple and hope they are able to stay together.

You can purchase it on Amazon.

The calm before the storm.

Hello Strangers or Gameboys.