Not a Robot

A Cute and Fluffy Series

This story hits me in my soft spots. I love romantic fluff, when a cold character learns to open up to the person they love. Both leads had to learn that they need to be honest with their partner and that they are a source of strength to get through rough times, not to be protected from all things bad.

There were many unanswered questions in the end. Will Kuea continue singing? Will the Keerati mansion be turned into a show room? Maybe we will never know the answers.

The acting was spot on. Zee was able to show vulnerability in his gestures and glances, as well as the dialogue. I grew to appreciate him as an actor, having only seen him in Why RU. NuNew is a wonderful singer an actor. His singing skills are amazing and the role of Kuea had different characteristics, depending on who he was with. I'm looking forward to seeing what else NuNew can do.

I greatly appreciated the representation of LGBT elders with the two Grandpas. Most LGBT films and series (not only BL) do not give homage to LGBT elders, who bore much of the hatred and discrimination, while still fighting for their rights. It was great that the younger generation respected the Grandpas and the patriarchs of the family, and this show did not portray the children and grandchildren whispering and bemoaning their sexuality. The photo at the end was for the people would couldn't figure it out.

I will definitely rewatch this series, and am looking forward to other Domundi productions.

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Stagey at Times, but a Wonderful Bittersweet Story

I need to get my one criticism out of the way. I felt this series was too stagey at times, including with over the top acting at times. It was distracting because in my opinion, I would have preferred a film style presentation, but I ended up being able to overcome my bias.

I had difficulty finishing this series, not because it was lame and cliche, but due to my feelings of not wanting the protagonist, Wang, to continue being in the middle of a love triangle that will never be resolved, because it cannot be resolved. Wang is one of my favorite fictional characters I've had the pleasure of meeting. Wang is such a delightful person, that it really hurt me to see the adults in the generation about him being so stuck in their own misery, mostly a misery they made and sustain. Initially, I was pretty judgmental about Wang's mother sending him to board school, but now I realize that it may have saved him from a s similar fate. Being away from his mother allowed him to not experience her over the top demands 24 hours a day.

The shallowness of Sasiwimol and In's existences are in sharp contrast to the liveliness and optimism of Wang. Even when offered a ray of light, neither of them could reach out for it. Since Siam was with Sasiwimol and In all of the time, he wasn't able to break out on his own, while Wang has the strength the adults never had. Sasiwimol won two prestigious awards and could not find one person to share her victory with, and In could not acknowledge his feelings and chooses to be alone.

I half jokingly said that Wang should take his father's ghost, and move out on his own. I stand by this. Wang will honor his father by living, while In and Sasiwimol will continue to be the walking dead.

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Heartbreakingly Honest

This contains spoilers.

I did not have high expectations going into this series, but was immediately enchanted by it. One of my favorite things about this series is, the stories of Reb and JM were presented from their eyes. Even when they did not understand each other, they talked about it and really listened to what the other had to say. What I loved even though it killed me not to know, is JM's sexuality was never discussed. JM had been deeply in love with a woman, yet started having 1 night stands with men, and live streaming them. We do not need to know all of their secrets and JM's sexuality is not really relevant to his story with Reb.

Both men acknowledge their flaws without excuses. JM is still feeling the pain of his girlfriend leaving him at the altar for another man, and Reb's view of love is rooted in fairy tale like fantasies. Both try to make their points on why their view is valid, but in the end, they develop strong feelings for one another, despite their differing views on love. They eventually decided that they needed to work on themselves for their own sakes before jumping in to a relationship. JM needs to work on trust and his walls, while Reb needs to mature. They decide to keep in contact in the end, but not as boyfriends.

This series is for a more mature audiences, so viewers who want hot chemistry and instant passion may be disappointed with the pace and that the scenes that are mainly dialogue driven.

The end title teases that there may be a season 2. If there is, I hope that it continues the pace and balance of season 1. There were no external antagonists, the conflict was created by the two main characters. We do not need the former fiancée to show up to confuse JM. It would be nice to see them courting and dating to see if they have what it takes to make it long term.

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Why did they Change the Novel?

I think this would have been a much better series if they stuck to the novel. The author allowed 10 chapters to be translated and Tonhon was not as homophobic and even knew that Ai and Nai were a couple, Chonlatee was more girly, but did try to hide it, Miriam was not in the novel, so she wasn't even in the equation.

Why did I enjoy it? I took it for the farce it was, and I enjoyed the interactions between the male leads and the second MxM couple. I think they just went wrong by changing the essence of the novel by filling it with gags and characters that did not add relevance to the story. I can't blame the actors since they had to work with what they were given. This series is also an example of how production companies shouldn't make such drastic and unnecessary changes.

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An Unneeded Adaptation

Had this not been marketed as an adaptation of Why R U? I would have been less disappointed in this series. They made it into another cookie cutter KBL. It's a shame because the acting, and the chemistry were better than most KBL, and the intimate scenes were at least not dead fish kissing. The storytelling was weak. I recommend this for people who do not like Thai BL, and those who hated the original. I am usually a generous rater, but I had to lower the values because they had good source material, and made it a mediocre story. I understand localization, but going with only 8 short episodes, and spending so much screen time on drinking parties damaged the story. The only thing that I liked better than the original is, the brother -sister relationship, and I felt the sister in the Korean version was much more likable.

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Love & Forgiveness

How do you overcome infidelity when you are a selfish dreamer and your partner does almost everything right to prevent it? This story is about how people with a great partner can still fall and maybe if they work on themselves, for their own sake, and are sincere, there may be room for forgiveness and a second chance. Maybe not for all couples, but for Teh and Oh-Aew.

Story - Each episode is a 1 year time skip. Teh x Oh-Aew's are now university students in Bangkok. Oh makes major decisions, one of which is to switch majors and that makes Teh spin and feel his love for Oh is changing. Teh makes of series of really bad mistakes, including allowing himself to get sucked into a fantasy of believing that he may have met his perfect match in his senior student Jai. This leads Teh to lie to Oh and get caught up in a kiss with Jai during a rehearsal of a play that doesn't have a kiss in it. Oh witnesses this and directly confronts Teh, giving him the opportunity to confess his feelings and come clean, but Teh choses not to. Oh even directly confronts Jai, who informs him that the kiss was his directly style, nothing more.
During the after party of Jai's play, Teh confesses his feelings to Jai, but is rejected when Jai tells him that he did that on purpose for the sake of the play. While this conversation is talking place Oh is inside the restaurant. After the confession/rejections, Oh and Teh start singing a duet and Oh notices that Teh is looking at Jai while singing the song. Oh leaves and Teh chases after him. They have a confrontation and Oh leaves. In a very telling scene, Jai steps out, looks at a devastated Teh, doesn't say a word and goes back inside. Of course, Teh realizes that he made a mistake. At the height of selfishness, he even tells Oh that fhe never intended to break-up with him or leave him, however, he doesn't say what he would have done if Jai reciprocated his feelings.

This story shows that even though Teh has a partner who wants to communicate truthfully and honestly, Teh is still struggling with some of the same issues that he had during Season 1. During their break-up, Teh dates a female actor who has the same dreams and goals as he does, but he still feels empty and ends that relationship. Teh and Oh meet by chance at Oh's company and have a talk. During this talk, the viewer sees that Teh has thought about his mistakes and has made changes prior to knowing if he would see Oh again. After Oh walks out of the play Teh wrote about their relationship and they have a confrontation in a parking garage, the viewer is left wonder if Teh and Oh will reconcile. After the wedding of Teh's brother, they have their reconciliation at the beach in Phuket and Teh goes public with their relationship by posting their photo on Instagram.

Not everyone is going to be happy with the ending. After 9 episodes of Teh putting Oh through hell, some viewers will prefer that Oh be with Bas or Q. However, as in real life, Teh and Oh have a deep connection, and decide to reunite, and spell out their terms before deciding to get back together. They move forward as adults, with Teh declaring that the Instagram photo will be their first problem to work through together.

The writing was outstanding. I went into Episode 5 being okay with a breakup and ended up cheering them on.

Acting/Cast - Acting was superb.

Rewatch Value - Probably only episode 5. I'm not into angst. I liked Episode 5 the most out of all 10 episodes. The acting, the themes of family, friendships, work, love and forgiveness were all beautifully woven in this episode.

Edited to add that the story was not 10 stars to me because this story could have told without the cheating.

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Gritty, Grimy & Unglamorous Tokyo

Ogeretsu Tanaka is one of the most unique mangaka in the genre. Her beautiful artwork and storytelling just forces the reader to deeply empathize with her characters.

The actors were A+++ in this series. I don't know if it is from smoking and drinking, but unlike Japanese women, younger Japanese men often look older than their age. Both Sawamura and Beppu look older than men in their 20's. The cinematography allows their skin texture and fine lines to show, and I love that. Maybe that was to show how tough their lives have been. Both men are very handsome, but I'm just used to viewing actors filmed through filters, showing flawless skin.

What is beautiful about this series is, the ugliness that we see on the screen and the two men who fall in love in the middle of the chaos. We get to see what Japan tries to hide as a country, child abuse, sex work, CSA, child sex work, insanity and suicidal ideation. I'm not saying the country is 90% horrible, but visitors like the shounen anime, manga, Tokyo Disneyland Japan with a few temples and shrines thrown in. While people are feeding their consumerism, there is a parallel world going on.

Critique: What I did not really like was the heavy focus on child and adult abuse, replaying those scenes over and over at the expense of some very tender and thought provoking conversations between the two leads in the manga. I'm not going to spoil the manga, but the fried chicken scene in the manga had more humor and was very cute. The series did not really mention the type of work performed by Haoran. One of my biggest pet peeves was, that Haoran did not have a buzz cut when released from prison. Japanese inmates have short hair. This is also a bothers me with military movies as well, so it will not detract from the series for people who do not care about that.

Overall, this was a great series. It is not that rewatchable for me, mainly because of the amount of child abuse and CSA scenes, some of which are replayed. Highly recommend to watch it at least once.

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When the Older is More Afraid than the Younger

This was one of my favorite series of 2022. Slice of life, older partner being more afraid than the younger, the younger guy being more bold, all of these appeal to me. Akira Minato took over the laundromat in town from his grandfather. After a disastrous one-sided love affair, Akira decides to move to Tokyo to live the dream. After working for a black company (this is a Japanese term, look it up) he decides to return to his hometown, to run the coin laundry.

Shintaro is a high school senior, tall, handsome, smart and his goals are to win Akira's heart and go to medical school. In this series, it seems to be easier to get into medical school. Akira is doubtful of this relationship because there are two major problems. The first is, the age difference between himself and Shintaro, the second, he kissed his (male) teacher on his graduation day and has unresolved feelings about it. Akira's internal struggles are the main focus of this series. Shin already knows what he wants, it's Akira who has to figure things out.

Set in a beautiful rural town, Minato Shouji Coin Laundry may be too slow for some viewers, but is perfect for me. This series has a great supporting cast, and though rural, town members support the characters, or do not outwardly object. Kisses and intimacy in Japanese BL are not up to par, and that is the case with this series too. I was able to overcome that, knowing that in the future, Japanese shows will improve in this area.

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Nozue and Togawa - My Favorite Treats

I loved, loved this series. The premise of acting like a young woman was a little odd to me at first, but as I kept reading the manga, I went with the real premise, that in Japan, there are certain venues that target younger women. I felt that this series conveyed this cultural slice of life very well. Seeing these two men, seating amongst all these younger women, shows that neither age nor gender should be so strictly stratified when it comes to enjoying a place to eat with your loved one.

Takeda did a great of job of showing Nozue's insecurities about growing older, after living a life of playing it safe. Although he has the aptitude for a higher managerial role, he choses to stay where he is comfortable. Through his relationship with Togawa, he is able to break out of his comfort zone, and take a risk in more ways than one.

Kimura is very easy on the eyes and the way plays Togawa is a combination of very masculine, and very caring. Togawa courts Nozue with patience, and admiration, which was very cute. It's obvious to everyone, except Nozue, that Togawa has feelings for him, I cried along with Togawa during his confession scene, and also with Nozue when he finally accepts and reciprocates.

It was so heartwarming to see Togawa and Nozue continue to patronize the types of places they went during their courtship. I would definitely go with them and be the 3rd wheel. They make such a lovely pair that I would watch a show about them when they are in their 80's.

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Wonderful Enemies to Friends to Boyfriends

This enemies to boyfriends loves story set in beautiful Northern Thailand. From the opening scene of the leads fist fighting over a girl, who rejects them both, and the final scene, was an emotional journey. These are just regular young adults. There are no supercars, no mansions, but there is a lot of love, family, and friendships. Kung Ten's mom is mostly in a wheelchair, but yet runs a restaurant, and is the strong matriarch. I especially love that her hair roots are showing because she hasn't colored her hair, because I know real women like this. My favorite part is when Kung Ten tells his mother about his relationship. It's just is just priceless.

Highly recommend this series. In two short episodes, it has more storytelling than some 12 episode series.

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Not My Flavor of Tea, but a Likable Cast

We all have our baggage, and mine is betrayal. I expect family to be 100%, which means no back stabbing when it counts. I really struggled with the parent-child dynamic in this series. The fact that the son Greg, ended up fooling around with his father's housekeeper boyfriend really bothered me. I've watched Jerry Springer and Jeremy Kyle so I know this happens in rea l life, but it was hard for me to empathize with Greg and Tupe. Had they not had sex, sat down and talked to Rich, then I could feel more for them, but anyways. This series wasn't offensive, that arc just was not my favorite.

The pink robe was my nemesis during this series. It was never laundered, and I could see the fold lines throughout the series. It bothered me because I thought that Tupe was hired to care for the home, yet that robe never got washed.

The acting was very good and the cast seemed to really care about the project. Tragically, the director passed away while the series was airing, but I think the cast and crew did him proud with this project. I can appreciate the artistry and hard work of the team, even if the plot isn't 100% enjoyable to me. I don't know if there will be a Season 2 after the passing of Director Shandii. I hope so because we need more shows that think out of the box.

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Simple but Beautiful Love Story

Usually when I see a "2" in relation to a series or movie, I immediately think of how disappointed I will be. Not with Country Boy 2! Part 2 is set in the Chiang Mai rather than the homestay. Business has picked up at the homestay, so Keptawan goes to the city to train at his uncle's coffee shop. I'll get this out of the way, but Keptawan's uncle is a rude, belittling, jerk, but Keptawan keeps smiling through the training. Keptawan gets in touch with Nabdao, but because of his exam schedule, and needing to study to keep his grades up for is scholarship, he isn't able to meet with Keptawan right away. In fact, they do not meet until the day before Keptawan goes home.

This is how to tell this film is outstanding, the time Keptaway and Nabdao have together is short, but their date is one of the most beautiful stories I've seen in a long time. They hang out, and just spend the day together, going shopping and sitting and talking. They talk about their plans for the future and both are remain positive about their plans. I don't want to go into detail because I don't want to spoil it. Normally, I don't care about spoilers in a review, but this project is so special that I don't want to spoil the plot.

They kept the music the same as Country Boy. The theme song is sung by Mon, and it is perfect for these films.

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Story Affected by the Pandemic

I give this all10s because the Zon x Saifa story was impacted by the pandemic, and I think the cast and crew did their best to finish their story. There are flashbacks, and new content. They filmed this when the pandemic first started, everyone was confused and in lockdown. Yes, I would have preferred to have watched Zon and Saifa's arc during the airing of WhyRU, but I believe everyone tried their best. The actors have such charisma together, and the characters seem to really care about one another. I appreciated the cast and crew not giving up, and trying to resolve this story for the viewers, who were really mad at the time, that Zon and Saifa's story was not prominent in WhyRU.

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Ended up Being Pretty Ordinary

The series started out with potential as the first BL shown on prime time television in the Philippines. The characters did not look like movie stars, there weren't any gratuitous shots of shirtless men with ripped muscles. One of the characters comes from poverty, so many potential positive messages were discarded by employing the bury your gays trope in order to redeem heterosexual transgressions and to finger wag about homophobia being a killer. This series possibly sends a message that gay people should stay in the closet because it is much too dangerous to live their authentic lives. Your parents will be against you, your best friend will betray you and you will lose your life.

Ken and Shake meet in school and develop a relationship. They are comfortable enough where Ken practically sits on Shake's lap, and they hold hands during the play Ken wrote. Even though this doesn't take place in 1920, Ken's friend Sandee, doesn't realize that gay men are not attracted to women, so she outs Ken and Shake's relationship to Ken's mother, who immediately flips out and starts yelling and screaming at Ken about rutting in the grass (they were sitting on a blanket in a selfie) and to get home first thing in the morning. This leads to a car accident where both Shake and Ken were killed. Some people complained about lack of relationship development. This is because we got treated to 3 episodes (out of 8, almost half) where Sandee and Mom are redeemed and everything is okay because the dead guys are now frolicking in heaven.

In reality, it would have been better to show that in spite of Mom's homophobia, that Ken and Shake built a life together. Ken's mom would see him happy with Shake, and making a decision to love her son and support him. That would show that homophobia doesn't always win.

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Some of the Most Unlikeable Lead Characters in BL

This was one of the worst series I've ever watched. Large budget, great cast, all wasted on characters who were largely unlikable. Daonuea dumps his boyfriend Tee for cheating on him, meets Nine of vacation and becomes hopelessly in love with him. Nine makes Tee look a saint. Nine ghosted Daonuea to go back to his girlfriend, and when he see's Daonuea's photo on a webpage, he goes to work at that company and totally disrupts Daonuea's life. Nine forces kisses on Daonuea but refuses to leave his girlfriend due to her mental health, allegedly. Nine manipulates and lies to Daonuea many times, but Daonuea cannot let go of his feelings. They tried to make it seem like Daonuea and Nine were destined if not for that diabolical Tee stepping in to steal Daonuea back in college. Daonuea and Tee ended up liking each other and Nine didn't actively pursue Daonuea, so what's the problem. Boat and Candy were 2-faced co-conspirators have the time. Except for Ice, not one character was innocent of screwing people over, or so I thought.

I fast forwarded through much of the final episode because I just did not care about the characters. My disappointment in this series continued to the end, when Ice wrote Tee the Dr. John letter. They missed an opportunity for Tee and Ice to talk about it and come to a mutual understanding, yet we end the series just as it began, this time, It's Tee and Ice instead of Daonuea and Nine. The only character who was actually not a total waste was Nine's ex-girlfriend Praew. Even though they tried to make her a problem, she did not know about Daonuea and Nine's male booty calls (yes, Nine had male side action while dating Praew) when she and Nine resumed their relationship. Yes, she had mental health problems, but that isn't a character issue. In fact, she left the relationship gracefully when Nine told her he loved Daonuea.

I recommend this show only to people who like a complete hot mess, unlikeable lead characters, and hypocrites who dump one guy over a cheating incident and then lets another guy burn him multiple times, but always forgives him. I stuck with it to support Best, and I hope he gets a better series in the future.

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