ShanTeaTime

HIStory 6: Has Got To Be Better Than This

This 5th series of HIStory somehow was worse than the 4th...which is saying something. HIStory 4 had a weird brother-romance plotline (which continues in this series btw lol) but its main couple was still fine mostly. This series every couple was a hot mess. Let's start off with the fact that there's time travel in this, which non-realistic plots have been done in HIStory before so that's not the problem. It's that it makes for a really weird main romance. Why? Because Johnny (our time-traveler) has met with his love interest Hai Yi (strange upper class whiny boi) when Hai Yi was a small child and Johnny was already an adult. Because it was in the past! Whyyyyy did they choose to make that a plot choice? They really didn't need to!

Our second couple Vincent and Wynn were a big age gap but they seemed alright at first. Then it started to get drawn out and so lack of communication and so much fighting that I was like...dude what's the point of them? We had an age gap couple in HIStory 3: MODC which is my favorite series of the franchise! We didn't need it again but without nuance and so much confusion.

Lastly, other than the terrible plot throughout. The ending was bad too. We had this "will he or won't he?" with Johnny going back to his original time period since episode 1. What was potentially going to get him to go back was his grandmother, whose dead in the current day timeline (because duh she'd be like a fossil by then). However, the series does nothing inventive to solve this situation. There's no going back, there's just him coming to terms with it basically? I get he's found love now but honestly I thought he'd take Hai Yi back with him or visit the past at least one more time. Like tf was that cop out? Last thing, like I mentioned our problematic brother couple from like series is back in this. Why? I don't know, especially with the backlash from it! They get engaged and its just plot padding.

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I Am Not Okay That This Ended!!!

So this is one of the best Korean dramas I've ever seen. No joke. It's everything I could've ever wanted in a drama like this, in that niche of romance being mixed with other important topics. Mental health is now something to be discussed over in Korea, finally and its so wonderful! So to see an entire show dedicated to mental health discussions in various forms. Treating it with dignity and compassion, seeing these characters all heal their emotional wounds. It's very touching and heartbreaking as well as pretty thorough! We go from a son from a wealthy political candidate whom just wants to be seen, to a woman whose assumed a childlike state to cope with her past parents abuse, to an elderly man coping with severe ptsd from the war. Holy crap it was all such an amazing set of experiences to watch and see the growth of all these characters. They weren't even our main characters but it all still felt so fleshed out!

I want to touch upon the overall visuals of this series before going into the main characters/storyline. To put it upfront, they were spectacular. The animation style with the dark aesthetic, the intro sequence with the stop-motion and beautiful music. As well as Moon-Young's books style. It's all very Tim Burton esque and its soooooooo good man. Like its my favorite thing ever! There's also some use of black and white film footage that had me shook to the core as a film student!

So now we will move on to the characters. Moon-Young is my queen for real. The crushing is HARD lol. She's gorgeous, fierce with her literal throne, fashion sense and black nails. Even though I loved her, I wasn't sure if her character would be able to garner sympathy necessarily. Since she is so cold at the beginning and for a good chunk of the show. All of it makes total sense though as the story progresses and its not her fault at all. She's developed this anti-social personality to clearly cope with past trauma from her parents, whom are literal evil people. You're going to embody being a "witch" if its what people called you, including your own father! Once you understand that her character sometimes does these outlandish cruel seeming things to push people to be better in her own way, it all comes together. She's not just a piece of artwork to be groomed or long hair to be pulled! An interesting thing Moon-Young said during the series was that she hated flowers that fell apart petal by petal, she prefers ones like magnolias that fall all at once. Something interesting to think about looking back at her character development.

Now we're moving onto the brothers. Gang-Tae is also very beautiful, my bisexual a** was struggling during this series! He's kind-hearted and you feel deeply for his character from the start. He's flawed, but I thanked god for that because I didn't want a perfect character! Everyone needed to grow during this series. His brother Sang-Tae was an amazing representation of autism spectrum disorder. Their relationship as brothers was my favorite to watch throughout the show, not even the romance! It was so wholesome and I couldn't take it! When Sang hugs his brother and comforts him, that was beautiful and so hard to do with autism. He assumed his older brother role and it was just TEARS. Children do not have to be "useful" to their parents, they are their own person to love.

So like I said, I loved the individual patient storylines interlaced into the main story. Those were great. The main plot of the mystery surrounding our main characters pasts was fascinating too and didn't disappoint! Was it overly dramatic sometimes? Sure, but it was hella entertaining! I thought each main characters past was really well done and the mystery surrounding Moon-Young's mother was really solid too. Even the romance was pretty good! I liked seeing the love blossom from something she thought was necessary to something that was necessary for both of them to heal. The only storylines that I didn't care for was the side-couple nonsense. There was already so much good packed in that we didn't need that at all. Ju-Ri could've just been single and found her own happiness without a man. By the end though every character had developed so much and grown, ending with each of them finding their own individual happiness. It's such a good pay off and I swear I teared up every single episode. WATCH THIS SHOW! I wish I could relive it again!

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The Exact Opposite Of Season One. Uninteresting and Slow

So I noticed that by the time we were halfway through this sequel show nothing had happened yet. Just domestic stuff, work issues and Tharn wanting to get married. This is okay if the stuff they were showing was interesting but it really wasn't. I found myself hoping that more would happen in this series, but once they changed the director I had a feeling it wouldn't have the same storytelling element that the first season had. Which worked so well. Even the pacing in this was so trash. Some scenes were so long and it was really weird. The first season was fast and it worked! There was no gap space where with this it was literally an entire show of gap space.

There were a new set of characters introduced. We had Fiat who is such a shitty character. Lhong was more interesting as a antagonist, where Fiat just gets on your damn nerves (Update: He's much better in the companion series!) . Leo was confusing. I didn't really care much for him and his pushy domineering attitude (Update: Again much better in the companion series!!) . Cir and Phu are mad cute, though I question how that even happened lol they are so different. Then the doc (whose actual name I totally forget) was kind of forgettable. Was he sweet? Sure, but that's not enough to make a character interesting. Discussing the recurring characters quickly, Techno comes back with his crackhead energy. Which has been cranked up to 11 this season around. He was better presented in the first season, but he got a laugh out of me a few times in this at least. Tharn and Type are the same characters for the most part. Maybe slight changes? But nothing too distinguishable. The only thing I can say are heightened are the love scenes, go figure lol. Do I think the love scenes in this were better than the first season? Yes, yes I do. Mew and Gulf continue to be some of the best chemistry BL actors I've seen and they upped the stakes in this. Like my lord. Also Gulf needs to chill tf out with his facial expressions. He giving the camera the eyes every 5 minutes whenever Mew is in the scene with him I swear!

So...onto some plot holes. Literally we had to deal with Fiat's bs for a huge majority of this show. It was obnoxious and then we finally get to the supposed "cheating" scene. This is what was going through my mind during that episode. "But how is everyone on the roof all of a sudden at the same time!? What the actual - it doesn't make sense lmao. Is Leo just dust btw? Why is Fiat so stupid and blind. But also Leo being like "I can't lose him!" while subsequently ignoring him tf. They kidnapped HIM WHAT!?!? And Type threatening to basically bust in his kneecap. Okay this is extreme and traumatizing. Listen I know they need to get them together but seriously. " This was all an accurate depiction of my feelings during all the insanity. It was poorly done and made me almost bust a lung at how ridiculous it was when we were meant to take it seriously. At least I wasn't bored during it though. Then moving onto the ending. Type becomes a monk....what? Okay I guess he just gave up his medical profession? I enjoyed seeing the culture of Thailand's process with becoming a monk but from a storytelling standpoint it didn't really make sense. They (Tharn & Type) don't get married, you have to wait for a special episode for that and nobody really gets any consequences. The end.

I loved seeing the actors again but come on. This could've been something of worth to watch if they didn't half ass it the entire time. It really felt like that and it was so frustrating! You had a perfect set up and ruined it. Should've gotten the same director if you could. Also fix your fuc**** subtitles Line TV don't subtitle the lyrics of songs over the dialogue!!! Sorry ya'll Imma stick to the first season. Hope all the best for Mew and Gulf after this ending!

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HIStory 3 Made Me Stare At Tang AND Jack For Hours

I binged this entire series in 1 day with my best friend and I have no regrets. I liked the actors chemistry for both couples and the overall story was super interesting as well. I wish we would've gotten more "relationship" time shown on screen but what we did get was wholesome. It was a tie between Tang Yi and Jack was as my favorite character. Both actors are so fineeee. Holy crap I couldn't stop staring at them. Also (more importantly) their character portrayals were quite different from each other but both very well done! Andy's portrayal of Jack was really sweet, even if he was wearing leather gloves the entire time realistically he is such a soft boi. He also had this air of mystery to him that makes me want to see a spinoff of his past. Chris as Tang I think actually had some of the best acted scenes in the entire show. The character has to go from emotionally unavailable, cold and calculated to likable in a fairly short amount of time. The more you learn about Tang, the more you fall in love with him. He's actually just a very damaged, hurt person from his past and he needs love danggit! Which makes his relationship with Meng so much more believable and stronger because it's literally what he needs to be better. They're so different and it's hilarious seeing them interact off of eachother, like I was cracking up!

I should also mention that the writing in this show is actually really REALLY good. It could pass as a non-BL mystery cop drama easily. Everything flowed together story-wise, the entire mystery side of it was actually gripping and surprising where it went. I was devastated for Tang having to learn about his birth parents, to then lose Chen in the last episode. The man's been through enough already geez! So well done though. I can see why some viewers might dislike the ending but I thought it was pretty realistic. It probably would've been better if we saw a flash forward of him and Meng reuniting after release, but the implication is there so oh well! Definitely one to watch if you haven't, be ready for a well done story with some romance sprinkled in there for good measure.

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Love Really Is In The Air

One of the best BL's I've seen periodt. Imma have to add this to my list of favorites! Both couples are amazing and unique in their own ways. Payu and Rain are a lot more lighthearted and freaky in their storyline, which was a great start. Prapai and Sky were a lot more intense and I will give a trigger warning because there is talks/showing of assault and trauma from Sky's character. Their storyline made me want to cry and I also loved it. Both couples chemistry was spot on and the intimate scenes were...definitely a lot more than what we usually get in BL's. I will say some of the writing was not great towards the end of Payu and Rain's story, like the kidnapping was random as hell lol. It didn't ruin the story though at all! Pai and Sky's actually felt pretty seamless all throughout.

I want a season 2 but I'm not sure if that will happen. We can only hope! Watch this series its very worth it.

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Moral of the show, Love is not science and Covid sucks

So I decided not to judge this series more harshly based on the fact that Covid kind of ruined it alittle. In Taiwan (where it was created) their covid numbers went up and it stalled production for awhile. Like TOO long, so most forgot about it. I didn't because I was invested, but I could see how people would. This also meant that storylines had to be changed and shortened due to lack of time, so the show lost its way completely by the end. Which totally sucks because it was solid. Moving on.

The show has an interesting prospect of a divorced woman working in relationship work. Meaning she owns a company that helps aid people who want to find their "perfect match". So she's clearly still mourning her past relationship not working. Which I get until I found out not only does she continue to cling to said dead relationship and the ring. But its been 9 YEARS after the fact. He did basically leave her in the dust, with no real way to support herself (what a di**) and left the divorce papers on the table. But then there's this love triangle going on that doesn't make sense to me with the boy-next-door and ex husband. He's an ex for a reason, there problem solved lol I don't believe in getting back together especially if divorce is involved. Let alone all the other awful things that happened like mentioned.The main guy (Hsuan Yu) is also very cute and calming the watch. Dude also cuts homeless people's hair so he's a literal angel. She just had to get past the "but I grew up with him and he's like my brother!" thing. Something I did not like though was the fact that Hsuan Yu was dating someone while literally thirsting after our main girly! His girlfriend was also hella unlikable, who dumps someone literally in the airport after flights have been purchased and plans have been made?! Trash. Anyways, Yan Fei and Hsuan Yu's ending was sweet and I liked seeing him get his salon.

Now for the diversity, YAYYYY! We got not only a gay couple in this, but a lesbian as well! Whom technically doesn't end up with someone by the end. But it's okay, she's worker on herself! We'll of course talk mostly about Ou Wen and Mark, but that does not mean I don't appreciate our gay queen! So I started pushing for Ou Wen and Mark almost immediately. I wish it wasn't until episode 6 we had to wait to see stuff develop. Especially since their relationship was rushed due to the pandemic the most I think. Either way, I loved them. The chemistry (so cute and then so steamy!), the contrasting personalities that worked so well, the fashion choices! So good! Many people only watched for them, I get it I liked them too but the rest of the story was solid too. Some things that I did not like about their plot points were A) bi-erasure of Marks character, we will never stan that. As an openly pan/bi girl, that shi** toxic. B) Mark's homophobic parents, we didn't need it and it was rushed HEAVILY. I get Ou-Wen trying to diffuse the situation, but it semi came off as were supposed to sympathize that his father hit him and neither of his parents accepting him. No. C) A pregnancy plotline shoved in there for good measure that was handled poorly. Like let the lady choose what to do with her own body! As well as just let the gay couple be a gay couple yknow? Stop handfisting in ways to make them more "relatable" to the straights lol. Or at least that's what it felt like.

Lastly, I quite liked Nai Hui and her boo! Though her intent was whack, wanting to find a hubby before her ex got married? Like my lord girl sit down. They ended up being very sweet, albeit super toned down. Also sidenote, I like that the cast is older. Everyone's either late 20's, 30s or past that. Felt more real. Overall, damn you covid. You literally ruin EVERYTHING! Watch this still, but expect the decline towards the end. Also....likeeee why is Wayne a cameo in EVERYTHING!!! XD Love him but dude keeps jumpscaring me

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A Beautiful Transition To The Second Season

When I heard that there was a movie coming out for Gameboys before the second season, I was shocked! It seems like this content is just flying out so fast, season 1 seems like it came out just yesterday! Regardless, I was very excited. I loved Gameboys the first season, it was a breath of fresh air and I fell in love with Gav and Cai's love story. I had no clue what this movie was going to even cover because it was so up in the air...and then the clip was released. Bruh XD the creators of this know their audience!

Let's move onto the plot. It wasn't what I expected. I did expect an exploration of physical intimacy (we'll get into that more later lol) but that was about it. Then we throw in our side characters becoming a couple (Terrence and Wesley), Achilles dealing with the fact that he gave up on Terrence and now he's found someone else. Pearl being a queen as usual and a homophobic aunt that made me want to punch a hole in my computer screen. There was both a lot going on and also not a lot going on. It was done very well! Part of me wishes though that we had explored more outside of the house and the beach, but I get it was still quarantine and there's only so much they could do.

On to the acting. The actor who plays Gav (Kokoy), phenomenal in this. Literally heartbreaking. He's such a happy, borderline carefree and comedic presence in Gameboys season 1 that this switch up hurt even more because of that! Like dang his acting chops came out in this and I was so impressed. He portrayed grieving and panic attacks so well, where in the series we got bits of it but not nearly as clearly as in this. We also really got his love for Cai in this too. Dude's been acting since 2013 I guess and it shows!
Cai's actor (Elijah) was really good too! He continued with his characters hesitation in this, but opened up soooo much throughout the film and especially at the end. It was really beautiful to watch! Him standing up for not only Gav, but himself and his friends for being lgbtq had me shouting with him! So solid and the line "please don't use god's name to perpetuate your hate" was perfection.

Sooooo...the moment we've all been waiting for. Gav and Cai's chemistry is through the roof. It really felt like I was just watching lovers in action throughout the entire film who have been separated for so long and are making up for lost time! I'm not sure how close Kokoy and Elijah are IRL but I could at least feel love through the screen so job well done. The kissing was no hold back, and okay realism when it comes to a love scene! What in the hell, I thought I was hallucinating. VERSE KINGS lmao, never something I've seen in really any queer content, let alone a BL! So beautiful, to the point where I teared up over a love scene because it was so intimate and sensual. Just the looks on their faces will get you I swear, let alone the body language and pacing of the scene. Raised the bar for sure!

Pay the $8 internationally if you can! It was definitely worth it and let's look forward to season 2! Keep up the stellar work everyone whose working on this.

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Engrave Your Way Into My Heart

I had to watch this film. I just had to, even though I knew it would break my heart watching it. Which I was correct, but it's still worth watching!

So the film takes place once martial law has officially ended in Taiwan. However, that doesn't mean that there weren't lasting impacts from the martial law. As well as some people wanting to maintain that way of living. That was interesting to see. We get our main character Jia-Han and Birdy, whom are both equally enjoyable to watch. Those characters are really well represented in their youth and I gotta give props to the actors!

We get to see an lgbtq persons first sexual experiences and first time falling in love. There's a scene early on where Jia-Han mentions when him and Birdy are cracking food that it sounds like heartbeats. Right there I was like, oh boy he got it BAD! The chemistry between these two actors was so freaking solid. They made me laugh and smile seeing their interactions. Theres a scene in the film where they go in a screening room and that whole interaction was so wholesome and lovely. Perfectly shows youth and wanting to just maintain innocence in such a rough time.

There's a brief showing of a man advocating for equal rights and gay marriage. Stating "homosexuality is not a sickness" that broke my heart. He gets taken away and Birdy actually tries sticking up for him, which isn't the first time he's seen standing up for an lgbtq person. That didn't necessarily mean he was gay himself, however those moments had me start to think he was. Birdy says "fools rush in where angels fear to tread" clearly referencing himself and Jia-Han.

So where this film shines the most is actually in the scenes between Jia-Han and the father. Those scenes had me tearing up all throughout. Jia-Han is trying so desperately to explain that he has love in his heart for Birdy, not just lust. Asing "is your love bigger than the one I give?" and what the difference is. Even saying maybe he'll be more understood in hell. Those are where the film feels the realest in a sense. Once him and Birdy do end up having some type of physical intimacy, its done so in a way of validation. Jia-Han wasn't forcing his affections onto Birdy, they were already there as shown when Birdy kisses him and then cries. Love is shown in many ways, not just the physical. Even when Jia-Han tries to take the blame for Birdy's "love affair" on campus. That's love. Or admits in front of his parents that he's gay and "what's wrong with being queer?" Powerful stuff dude.

Random side note. I saw Chris Wu in this for literally a second and KNEW it was him lol. I would know the side of his face anywhere!!! Moving on, let's get into the non-plot stuff. The use of red and green in this film was really nice, very striking in some scenes. The scene with the openly gay student talking to Jia-Han was really well shot, especially with the stained glass dove mural behind them. Dove's are used quite a bit in this film, probably as both a symbolic symbol but also for peace. It also just so happens that Birdy jumps from the balcony right after that scene. Like a dove. There's great use of rack focus in many scenes that I loved. The orchestral music with the brass instruments pulls at the heartstrings. Also later on when Jia-Han runs away to the beach, he screams into the void and then ends up swimming naked in the ocean with Birdy. This was great because it doesn't end up in anything sexual. It's just pure and free, they kiss and that's it. Still maintaining the theme of love and lust are seperate, and sometimes go hand-in-hand.

So...the ending. I'm conflicted. The scene with Jia-Han and Birdy on the phone was fantastic. Really well done. However, any scene with the older actors got iffy for me. The acting wasn't as good overall at the end. It felt too displaced from the rest of the film. I appreciate having it show how far the world has come in current day, but it didn't need to be that long. Jia-Han and Birdy are kinda implied to be given a second chance, which is nice but its up to interpretation. I'd like to think they remain friends, because the romance has died off. Also having the father ending up being gay himself felt kinda stretching it. It was the whole cliche of "not wanting the same for another person what he went through" thought process. I believe this movie is the directors real life story, so I can't really say it was unbelievable if that's the case. However, film-wise it would've been better to just have him become accepting overall towards Jia-Han. Because all he really needed was acceptance.

Overall, such an important movie. It's the first lgbtq film to be screened in Taiwanese theatres. Gained so much money and acclaim. Things keep changing for the better and I as a queer person always appreciate and feel strongly about films released like this. They hit me deeply and I will always support them. Watch this film and spread the word! Love isn't just one type of way

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Reality Competition TV Without The Excruciating Audition Process

Really solid reality competition show. Compared to one like ILAND which had many flaws, this was entertaining as hell. I'd never watched Queendom before this, so didn't really know how the competition worked beforehand. I do know that eliminations weren't really a thing in Queendom so that's interesting.

I think the eliminations in this made the competition more gripping. Even though I know learning more from the experience would've probably been nice to those groups who had to leave. Since yes they are established, but not as much as they could be. Like I went in knowing Pentagon the most and came out being OBSESSED with The Boyz. Whom did an incredible job every. single. round dude. Their choreo is some of the best I've ever seen in kpop!

All the groups had strengths though of course. So its fun to watch all of them even if you aren't necessarily attached to any of them. I also heavily enjoyed seeing behind the scenes stuff with producing the remixes of songs and rehearsal. I wish there could've been more time to interview some of the contestants from each group, but there's only so much time! Can't wait for "Kingdom" because that's when the big players come out and match up!

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Birth Of One Of My Favorite TV Characters, But Confused Face O_O

Okay so "Tale of the Nine-Tailed" was actually a really fun show to watch with others. My dad really got into it and I enjoyed watching it with him over quarantine. I think the series came out at the perfect time because more people streamed it due to being home. However, that also means that more people were invested and therefore pissed at the ending choices like I was. I'll dive into those at the end.

The actors all did a really good job. Each character was distinct, likeable in their own ways (even the Imugi) and layered af. I liked all of the characters, however I had my favorites. Lee Tae Ri as the Imugi was really good, super solid villain and even though he was hella evil I was kinda sad to see him be defeated. Hwang Hee as Shin Joo (Yeon's bff) was so wholesome and hilarious. I'm not gonna lie, I shipped him and Yeon a lot more than Yeon and Ji Ah half the time lol. Their relationship was so sweet! Yeon I actually liked better at the beginning of the series when there was an air of mystery to him. He became too good by the end because of "love" and whatever. So he went down on my list, but still very good character portrayal. But...now we get to THE BEST CHARACTER!!! Lee Rang played by the beautiful Kim Bum. My god this man was perfection. I love these types of characters. Sarcastic, whitty, gorgeous and edgy. I also love the brother arch in series, so seeing him and Yeon interact were honestly the best scenes. Both in acting and story telling. I want an entire series just about Rang because he deserves it! He became one of my favorite characters of television officially.

So the entire plot of TOTNT is wayyyy too convoluted for me to go over. It's got to many twists and turns that honestly it gets confusing sometimes to keep up. Especially once Ji Ah's parents are safe and the Imugi becomes a human form. It's a show you can't multi task during or you'll get lost. I enjoyed the effects in it and the filming quality. But that's Seoul for you, its a beautiful place. There's not much I can say about each plot point because again there are SO MANY, but I would say the whole reincarnation aspect didn't make much sense. It felt just random, like some people come back as exactly the same and others children again? (cough cough the Rang BS at the end). There should've been more variation I think. Also I didn't care as much about finding Ji Ah's parents, so once that ended I was way more invested because we had a solid villain to work off of. However, now we get into the ending. Ooh boy...

That ending was trash, I think we can all agree on that. I saw the twitter discussions and people were pretty unhappy as was I. One of the things I said to my dad while watching was "if they kill off Rang I stop watching" and I meant it. They set him up to be the best character, with the best storyline and a redemption arch. Which was all great, until the did the ever so stereotypical thing of "self-sacrificing himself" for his brother. NO, absolutely not! Listen I get the character loves Yeon more than anything but honestly 100% I would've rather Yeon stayed dead. Have him be the hero like they were setting him up to be anyway. That entire Ji Ah writing out Yeons story and Rang finally having a family was pretty good! I didn't hate it, so why kill off my favorite characters and many others favorite with zero need for it?! I hate the whole "self-sacrificial" storyline placed onto characters who have a redemption arch. It makes the point of all that character development useless. So when that happened I literally stopped watching and just read what happens after that because I didn't care I was so pissed. Then there's of course a wedding (big shock) between Yeon and Ji Ah, little baby boy Blacky is sad because his adopted dad died (f*** you show) and Yeon may still be a fox (HUH?). It was just poorly done and a sad attempt for the ending of a show that was trying to be different. But then they ended it with a predictable trash ending. I would say watch the show until Imugi and Yeon go down, then turn it off and pretend their aren't episodes left.

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Production Value On Point As Well As Everything Else

I don't want to go too much into this series, because honestly knowing as little as possible is the optimal way to watch it. Just go in expecting some fantastic cinematography and set designing, that clearly had some production budget to back it up even if the show only really shows few filming locations. As well as really well done musical score, thought provoking dialogue and scenes acted out by stellar actors in the series (our main 2, so freaking good). The series felt like a more indie-ish project done by an up and coming talented artsy film student, it's probably not the case but that's the vibes it gave me which I love. Like I could see "The Novelist" getting awards in festivals if people actually took the time to sit down and watch it for what it is. Which is basically a layered character study. Rather than classify it as "BL" which it definitely isn't ya'll, trust me. Just because a series has a "gay couple/romance arch" in it doesn't mean it's immediately "BL" material (like for example, "Call Me By Your Name" is not a BL film). That's more its own genre (which is totally valid in its own right of course) and that's why I would just say LGBTQ related content instead for this.

It's funny because as much as I really really enjoyed this series, I don't think I'll be watching it again any time soon (though I have seen it twice already haha). Strictly because it is so emotionally draining (even if the ending is emotionally fulfilling) in some ways because of Kijima's character and how he functions, as well as having to follow around and see how badly Kuzumi has it for him. Let's just say its highly ironic how the two's relationship could very well be something written about in one of Kijima's novels to an extent. However, it's not lighthearted, it's actually quite sad all the way around. Yet also very erotic. There's a lot of very graphic sexual wordplay discussed within this (obviously since Kijima writes pornographic novels) and pretty graphic scenes as well. Nothing too crazy, but done in ways where it can be alarming so I need to prepare myself for them lol. I do really suggest watching this series though, at least once since it is incredibly well done! Though watching it for a second time, you will see some clever hints and clues to the plot and characters that you wouldn't see the first time around.

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SOTUS S Is Superior Fight Me

Yep as predicted, I liked this season much more than the first! First off, our main actors look a lot better in this season. I don't know if it was the hairstyling and makeup done in the first season, but this one was vastly better especially for Arthit. They looked great! Anyways, right off the bat Kongpob and Arthit are way more coupley than the first season ever showed. Which says a lot because there still isn't a whole lot of that until the latter half of the show.

It's 3 years in and Arthit is still struggling with affection. I understand that PDA can be difficult though, so both sides are valid. Kongpob does have the patience of a saint though I swear, he is best boy and I love him so much. He's also a much better orientation leader than Arthit ever was, a lot kinder in nature. We see a lot of that world again, but unlike the first season this goes back and forth between hazing and Art's new job. So it's A LOT more balanced and interesting to watch! Amongst that we get Arthit missing college while getting into the workforce, which is very relatable. That was a nice touch.

Random question. Was Off in the first season of SOTUS? Lol because I cannot remember him being in that season for the life of me. I know my mans Green (Gun) wasn't as Cherry, whom btw was my favorite character besides Kongpob and I'm totally not biased. He was so funny and I wanted more and more of him! Now amongst the cute scenes we get (like the beach kiss, skipping studying to "chill" in rooms, etc) I got kind of frustrated with Arthit. It felt very blamey to me how he treated Kongpob throughout the show by getting mad even though most of the time it wasn't his fault at all what was going on. I personally would put up with none of that nonsense, but he does have massive change at the end with his big confession scene so I give it a pass. Also his mannerisms throughout the show were hella cute, so I couldn't stay mad at him for too long.

Final thoughts include, poor Bonus needed a better life man than that tiny freaking tank he was stuck in. Also I saw a comment somewhere saying that Singto and Krist are the "forefathers of BL" and this made me bust a lung. The end.

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Should've Been Called Bronze Blood

So with this series, at first it felt like there was no wasted time which I liked! When you have an 8 episode series, you kind of have to rush things a little bit. We had moments at the beginning that really felt like they would pay off. But alas, they really didn't. This series became very stale very fast, and without our side couple Pitch & Bank I would've probably stopped watching.

Positives first. Gun is wayyyy better in this than in LBC. This character suits him (for the most part)! The chemistry is sweet and some the moments are well done . Mostly between Pitch and Bank though. Which I was not expecting at all! They felt so out of nowhere but then I ended up really liking them. They stole the show basically! Both girls in this irritated me, but they really weren't given much to work with to be likable. The storyline with the dad I could care less about. The Reveal about the gold blood was kind of cool, I didn't know that that existed. But it is very rare!I liked that Sky is taking an actual initiative now because he doesn't want Sun getting continuously hurt. That's some character growth! I also really liked Boat's song in this. He has such a nice voice! Gun's was good too, but I kinda wish they hadn't overplayed the crap out of both of them.

Now onto the negatives. Again, our main couple fell flat by the end. Especially when we find out that the dad doesn't approve. And then they have to wait six years to be together basically. Wtf even was that!? I hate that in storylines, ain't nobody got time to wait around like that! Like c'mon dude lets be at least a little realistic. The chemistry between Sky and Sun dwindled out to basically nothing by the end. Which is a shame, especially since none of their "cute moments" felt cute lol. Like the kissing was so bad! Again Pitch and Bank were superior in every regard. I'm sure most will forget about this series in about a month, probably less. Watch for the Pitch Bank stuff if anything, but its not a lot lol.

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For A Series Called "Oxygen" It Didn't Take Away My Breath Once

Don't get me wrong this is a cute series starting off, but even right of the bat it's kind of slow. Then it got even slower and holy crap it was dragginggggg at parts. It put me in this dream-like state whenever I watched it, which sometimes was nice because it's a pretty chill show but other times I almost fell asleep. Solo and Gui were really all I cared about in this, their relationship and their storylines respectively. The actors didn't give me many major chemistry vibes, but they were okay. Solo (played by Nut) was actually the most interesting character throughout. If he wasn't in this I would've dropped the series pretty quickly, he also was the best actor when it came to emotional scenes. Though he was stiff during most of the rest. Kao and Phu were...huh? I honestly don't understand what the point was with them. Just to fill up space I guess? But literally nothing ever happens and it was super cringe. I'm sure some fans will love the cutesy (kinda aegyo) stuff for them, but it's not my style. I need more than fluff to like characters and couples.

Khim and the doctor I absolutely hated. That storyline was so stupid with her kinda trying to force a sexuality on him and then him falling for her? Wtf was that about? Then everyone was falling for him and he kept lying to get her. Dumb, really dumb. I literally ended up skipping all of their scenes I couldn't stand it. So like I said before, it didn't feel like much was ever happening in the show so I didn't understand it. Then all of a sudden why is Solo's dad literally the godfather? What the hell is going on with locking your child away with no food. Literally go to jail. By the end the dad didn't even get in trouble for doing any of that. He literally was gifted a new adopted child? Who the hell would give this man another kid to terrorize and psychologically damage!? What even did this show want to be?

So basically for me the only saving graces of this show were; Solo's storyline, a few scenes between him and Gui that were cute, the big Mama stuff was pretty interesting with the kids and the theme song of the show. That's about it. I would skip this one, or skip around it HEAVILY to certain scenes worth watching.

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