SpikedBoba

I won't respond to everything but I guess I'm kind of confused on your major points...like how you don't think Tawi did anything? He's at the center of corruption and power abuse and as the top 1% he's untouchable, which was the whole point of them wanting to catch him drug trafficking. He was doing horrible illegal things, half of which went unnoticed because he had cops and officials in his back pocket. They're talking about a much larger picture than Tawi simply being a "villain" as you put it, It's a commentary on the problems countries worldwide are dealing with where the "justice system" only serves those in power, and those without any power are consistently oppressed and abused. And it's not always in ways that are obvious, but rather it's usually in ways that are not easily apparent and it's certainly not them doing the dirty work. The gang focusing on the drug trafficking did so because it was one way they could potentially catch Tawi and expose him. Not easy to do with his influence and money, as we saw when he had them kidnapped in an attempt to make them disappear (something that happens more frequently than people realize when people start fighting back, just look into what happened to main organizers and leaders for protests in the BLM movement in the U.S. and that's just one example). Even more important is that they showed Tawi is just one snake in an infestation. He was on the phone ensuring someone he had everything under control so things could continue as normal once people got tired of protesting. That scene was so true to life, we literally just saw it happen. I also think it's important to realize this was actually quite ballsy of the production team to do considering it's not a normal easy thing to do to speak out against corruption and the government in Thailand.

The plotline for who hurt Black wasn't laid aside? They did find out who hurt him. White thought it was Tawi which gave him more incentive to try to bring Tawi down, it wasn't until Black woke up that he realized it wasn't and when that reveal happened Black took over seeking his own revenge. Black said he tried to kill Todd but couldn't, meaning he left him alive but his intention in beating him was to kill him. He felt like his justice was served that Todd ended up where he had been even if he wasn't dead.

Black and White cut their parents out of their lives due to their decision not to speak up against injustice and to continue allowing and even encouraging abuses of power due to their privilege (literally White's dad tried to use his connections to buy White's way into a position in politics). That was actually a major part of White's development and in starting to see reality. It wouldn't have made sense for them to be in the second half of the story, they aren't a part of their lives anymore. Both White and Black made that very clear?

While I agree I wish we had more backstory for Gumpa he had a pretty large role in the group since he's the reason they were together. He trained them, protected them, watched over them, and made sure they had a safe place to land when things went sideways. They needed Gumpa to keep them together or they would have fallen apart.

Definitely, you can not like to series, that is totally fair, it's not going to be for everyone haha. But I also feel like maybe there's some lack of understanding on some of the more important thematics the show was trying to get across? Not everything was spelled out, but I think that was intentional as a way to get people to think more critically about the space they occupy, what's right and what's wrong, how insidious injustice can be, and how prevalent and corrosive privilege and power can be.

10 from me. I don't really care what anyone else has to say about it. It kept me interested, invested, riveted, and on the edge of my seat the entire ride. Such a good job from the whole team, from the writers who really did their due diligence, down to the actors who did their best to portray every complex interplay of emotion. I'm so impressed all around. I truly feel a sense of loss now that I don't have this to look forward to every Sunday haha. I also want to say hats off to Gun and Off, it's really rare to see such a realistic portrayal of a relationship in BL as unfortunate as that is. It's a testament to how close they are but there was zero hesitance, not one single moment where they didn't feel naturally entwined and in love. And I think everyone has said it by now but Gun absolutely deserves special recognition his portrayal of Black/White, he really nailed it. Ugh, I'm going to miss all of them!

I'm going to carry one of the last lines with me for a long time: "The law can be a gateway to justice, but is not justice itself." May we see a future where more people recognize that.

I'm not even sure what to say about this other than that it's a mindfuck lol. I can't say I liked it but I also can't say I didn't like it? I don't really think it's meant to be an enjoyable, easy watch let's just put it that way. It's one of those cases where you're questioning what the hell you're watching but you can't stop watching because you need to know how it plays out. To break it down from my perspective a bit further:

I feel like I was the most taken in by the Ben, Sam, George triangle. That was by far the best storyline of the bunch; the best acted, and the most cohesive even if still just as chaotic (and I mean CHAOS) as the rest of the series. The pinnacle I feel like was in ep 7, what happens to George is one of the most intense, poignant scenes I've seen in a long time. The way every actor played out that scene, you felt every emotion and wanted to stop watching but just couldn't. Oh god, the mom...I also just feel like Ben and Sam really played their roles so well throughout.

I feel like the second romance that was the best portrayed was Mark and Kaloy's but that is where the story starts to deteriorate to me. I'm not sure if I just missed something but it felt like Mark, Kaloy, and Rener's relationship together was just too undefined. I couldn't quite piece together much of anything to do with who they were (other than Rener's caretakers), why they were together, what exactly happened to Rener...it just felt underdeveloped and disappointingly vague.

Tony and Ian I just wish had more meat. The both of them felt too over the top for one. There wasn't a lot of nuance between them (a lot of screaming though) and their chemistry felt stilted. Overall their whole relationship, Tony's presence in the Philippines, most of the ways they interacted all just felt odd and like an unnecessary addition. Especially because they were the only couple that didn't seem to have much of a physical relationship. And when you compare that to everyone else, it felt like one or both of the actors didn't want to play out a romantic connection, which kind of ruined their vibe because it felt glaringly disconnected from the rest of the series.

Renzo and Chris were probably the duo I liked the least (or equally least to Ian and Tony). Another couple with very little nuance and not a lot of development. It's even sadder that you don't end up knowing more about them and who they were once you realize the plot twist at the end.

Overall, some great acting, a lot of shock value, and experimental storytelling. Definitely not a cohesive story but I will say that I went back to re-watch, mainly to understand Ben, Sam, and George's story better and a lot of things were clearer watching a second time due to their use of flashbacks, hallucinations, fantasy sequences, and non-linear storytelling (no joke). It's A LOT but not unworthy of a watch if you are into darker more avant-garde film. Definitely not in the realm of "BL" as it might be traditionally defined on here so don't go in expecting anything close to a typical BL.

Exactly! I mean there was any number of ways they could have spiced things up. In the beginning, I totally thought Phupha and Natee would have an enemies to lovers arc only to have them completely waste that by giving Natee as equally a bland pairing as Theo and Akk. And I've seen Aun act and have some stellar chemistry with acting partners before so seeing him and his character have zero chemistry with Natee seems again the fault of poor writing and direction.

There was some interesting material to work with so it's unfortunate that the end result felt like a watered-down romance. Honestly, I would have taken Theo falling for any one of the pretend Enchante's over his relationship to Akk or better yet Akk falling for one of the Enchante's in his bid to protect his friend. Akk and Theo just felt like brothers to me, and not in the good friends forever kind of way, but in the yikes, relatives kind of way.

Thank you for saying this! I felt like I was in the twilight zone. Since when can people not openly express their opinion on a platform literally made for that? I get if you liked it and can't handle anyone being critical of something you enjoyed but that's a YOU problem. These people could idk just as easily not read the comment section if they're going to get so upset and worked up over people having different opinions from theirs. Maybe there's just a bunch of kids here with very little understanding of how the world works, but let's grow up a little and realize that not everybody is going to agree with us on everything and that's ok.

You could also just not read or respond to my comment too if you don't like it (shrugs) see how that works? Are people not allowed to share their opinion and criticism on an open platform for doing just that?

2Moons came first but it was like Star Hunter's way of introducing/promoting the boys for the group if that makes sense? All of SBFive participated in the first 2Moons and they were all under Star Hunter at the time (and still are). 2Moons released in (I think) July of 2017 and SBFive debuted in December.

Fun fact if you've watched Gen Y and Gen Y 2 they feature not only SBFive members but all the members of another group from the company too lol.

My biggest issue with the series is just that it's boring. I love a fluff piece as much as the next person but this being a light romance is not what the problem with this series is. The story is crap, I'm sorry but it is. I also understand that this was an acting debut for both the leads so I think being fair in expectations of their acting is warranted, however, I just don't think they have much chemistry. My main issue being with Book who just felt...flat the entire series. To be fair I don't really like Theo's character so it was hard to care about a whole story that revolved entirely around him, but it might have helped if the person playing him felt slightly more dynamic and less one-dimensional. Force being the second male lead was a lucky break as he was actually emotive and completely carried his scenes and the scenes they had together. If Force hadn't been the second male lead this would have been a disaster.

I think this is one series that could have seriously benefited from more prominent second couples or SOMETHING because the main plot and love story is too weak to hold an entire series on its own. This could have been cut by half, and you wouldn't have missed a single thing of importance. Did we really need 50 million stares that lead to almost kisses and then end in awkward fidgeting? At what point does it just get ridiculous? I get sprinkling in a few for tension, but having one every scene is just dumb and lazy. Especially when "supposedly" the characters aren't sure the other person is into them....what could possibly be a bigger indication that someone likes you than someone trying to kiss you 100 times?

That's not true, Enchante is the same in the series as it is in the novel, but you learn about it through an alternate ending. In the original ending to the novel the author left Enchante an open ending, where readers never found out who Enchante was but Theo and Akk still got together. Because readers were so upset the author changed the ending to an actual reveal of who Enchante was which received a bad reception from readers who felt it was a cop-out. So people tend to not like the decision the author made either way and I can understand why.

Yeah, I mentioned in my comment on my thoughts for the series overall that I just don't think Love Stage can ever be translated into a live action, specifically for the points you're making (and others). The manga is just too out there and honestly doesn't translate well. And in my personal opinion, some things just shouldn't be made into reality. There's a lot that's troublesome about the manga that in that context can kind of skirt the line of appropriate, but in a live action is harder to pull off. That's why I give the production and writing team a tiny bit of lee way as I think the manga is much more complicated to pull off in LA than people realize.

While I get the criticism for Anda for sure, I will just point out that's kind of how he's written lol if you haven't read the manga you're definitely missing a lot of context (which as I mentioned above is a total failure on the part of the producers/writers but I'll give them a bit of leeway in recognizing it is more complex than I think people with no understanding of the manga probably realize hah). Izumi is really tiny, he's short and skinny with soft features and looks pretty pre-pubescent. He's often mistaken as a kid or a teen in the manga, especially because of how he dresses and his obsession with, of all things, manga. He's very introverted, and has been incredibly sheltered and spoiled his whole life which makes him also come across as childish in his behavior, demeanor, and actions. So while yes, Anda does look 12 and has a primary school relationship with Ryo, he's actually pretty accurate to the character of Izumi. And I think that says a lot for Turbo as an actor as he's nothing like what he portrays here at all, completely opposite actually lol. There's a lot of suspension of disbelief that needs to happen to make the manga a reality because both Izumi and Ryo have never been in relationships or explored their sexuality (according to the source material). Being "virginal" their relationship is a lot sweeter and more exploratory than Rei and Shogo's (Jet and Tee) who have been together for a really long time.

And I will say I was pleasantly surprised because usual representations of "virginal" in BL are chaste presses of lips and the love interests acting like they don't even like each other let alone are sexually attracted to each other. I appreciated a more accurate portrayal, in that just because there is innocence and uncertainty it doesn't mean there isn't an attraction and curiosity that leads to physical manifestations of those urges and needs.

I came into it with trash expectations because I've seen the Japanese live-action, which was a complete butchering in my opinion, and have been pleasantly surprised. I left a longer comment on my thoughts above, but there are successes and failures in this as someone who's coming into it very familiar with and having loved the manga in my teens. Overall, it's the best live-action for sure, and I think some of the main things they've done right have overshadowed some of the things they've done wrong imo. Kaownah and Turbo as Ryo and Izumi are adorable and the best representative pairing we've had of them IRL. And the actors for Jet/Shogo (literal heartthrob no joke) and Tee/Rei are great too. It starts off slow but I think picks up more in later episodes, mainly once Ryo comes to terms with his feelings for Anda/Izumi. I have to mention that Anda/Izumi and Ryo's first date scene with Jet/Shogo and his bandmates trying to ruin it was hilarious and a highlight for me. The way Ryo cares for and takes care of Anda as the series progresses is pretty accurate too and there's a lot of tender feeling there, and of course, their most recent love scenes have been really well portrayed and acted. I'd say go in with zero expectations and you may end up surprised!

This is like 50 million x better than the J live-action (certainly the best I've seen) but is any live-action version ever going to be able to accurately represent the manga? I feel like no. The manga is just too out there both in the comedy and the story itself for it to work in a live-action I think. And truly there are just some aspects that shouldn't be brought to life to be fair haha. I've liked the creative license they've taken even if the pacing is slow and the scriptwriting for this is not great (though I'm sure the lack of official subtitles makes it difficult to know what the reality of that is).

I will say that I do love the difference in the direction they've taken with what really shouldn't fit into any version, and that's with the consent issues the manga has. I think Anda and Ryo (and Kaownah and Turbo who play them) have a very sweet and budding love in contrast to the much more developed relationship Jet has with Tee, they're just in very different places. I personally think they both have great chemistry. Ryo and Anda are not only young, neither one of them has been in a relationship before let alone explored their sexuality so it's nice to see them do that in a very open and communicative way. And Ryo is just very sweet with Anda who, like in the manga, has been incredibly sheltered and spoiled his whole life so definitely skews younger in his actions and demeanor. I think it would be hard to watch this and really understand the personality quirks and reasons behind certain actions without having read the manga honestly. Which is definitely a failure on behalf of the writing/production team because context is important, but I do see how it might be difficult because like I said, the manga is kind of out there haha. Anyway, the fact that they showed Anda say, literally right in the middle of a heated hook-up, that he wasn't ready and Ryo stopped: A+++. I wish more shows showed that no matter how far along you've gotten into an intimate moment it's never too late to say you're not ready and your partner needs to respect that with zero recriminations.

Overall this isn't anything groundbreaking, I'm definitely biased due to my nostalgia for the manga (childhood faux pas I guess), but it's not terrible or offensive. I think the most offensive part to me was Ryo's behavior in the beginning tbh. The rest just sort of flows like a soft fluffy romance, not to everyone's taste for sure and I can only handle so much of that myself but it's a good one to try for those who prefer those types of series. And if it wasn't clear I LOVE Kaownah and Turbo as Ryo and Izumi, absolutely hands-down the best pairing they've had for them.

I actually laughed out loud at the trailer which is a good sign for me. Hopefully, this is well done because my interest is definitely pricked. This new angle of the content creation addiction and the conflict of real life vs internet fakery has me really intrigued, they could really do something with this ESPECIALLY considering the aspects of how shipping translates into online circles. Also, I mean you can't deny, super cuties in the cast haha.

EDIT: is it just me or does the description above not match at all with what we saw in the new trailer? From comments below it seems the story completely changed from what was originally planned, so I'm assuming the description we have isn't accurate anymore?

Episode 6 is just a horrific worsening I'm sorry to say. Yeah, I actually appreciate U's character a lot, even if I wish he would put a more definitive end to the toxic games Chin wants to play. He was upfront and honest about his feelings and told Chin right away that while he respected that Chin just wanted them to remain "friends" (total gross cop-out by Chin btw) he wasn't interested in the "friendship" they had and didn't want that if Chin didn't like him or was going to pursue Tisa and wanted them to have a normal friendship. Chin has completely ignored what this person he supposedly cares about has asked and instead prefers to keep hurting him because having U on the side is what HE wants and HE'S getting pleasure out of it. He has zero care for what U wants or thinks. We've had a few over the years but it's been a while since we've had a character this selfish and self-centered. What he does in episode 6 is just asshole to the extreme to me and then he has the audacity to get mad at Pat for standing up for U and being there for him?....the amount of dislike I have for Chin at this point is wild.

I have also appreciated BB's "take no more bs" attitude haha though I feel like the whole Zol and Zeemai thing is so far another overused trope of having to change yourself to get your love interest to notice you. I wish he'd just done it for himself, not for some guy that's leading him around by the nose. Zol has kind of annoying hot and cold tendencies that bother me too, like are you interested or not? If you're not stop leading this person on, if you are stop treating them like you couldn't care less about their feelings. Jed and Unwa are sweet but because the rest of the series is so chaotic feel like they kind of get lost in the mix.

Maybe I've just watched way too many series (totally valid lol) but at this point, the same old storylines and character flaws are tired and old. They're especially hard to watch when there has been a lot of improvement in the quality and depth of storytelling, character development, and relationship building that have been showcased in more recent BL. The series that aren't keeping up with the times just become glaringly atrocious in comparison when maybe five or ten years ago they might have gotten away with it (unfortunately). Like if you're going to make Chin an asshole, ok cool, but actually go there and give his character depth and meaning, and have him actually experience realistic consequences. This surface-level bs has got to go.

He's was certainly flirtatious and touchy in front of their friend's group prior to Tisa being a factor. Once he established a relationship with her he became even more grubby by only trying to catch U out when they were alone. Not to mention that, from my perspective, behaving territorial in public does denote that there is a romantic interest there. He's never seemed particularly concerned with what Pat thinks of his jealousy issues, which doesn't really scream "insecure, hiding in the closet" to me. He's also been quite confident of his seduction of U, and almost angry when U displays he can think for himself and isn't actually tethered to him. What normal friends situation would call for someone to behave in any way how Chin behaves? None that I've ever heard of unless it's a friends' with benefits situation which U did not willingly enter into. U was led to believe Chin had legitimate feelings for him, was told otherwise and prepared to move, and Chin is doing his damndest to make sure he doesn't even though he's already in a relationship. He's definitely on my shit-list of horrible male leads who deserve the complete opposite of a happy ending that's all I know hah.

Ugh. I can't watch this. Not only is the pacing criminally slow, I dislike So too much to see this to its inevitable conclusion. Sidenote but I don't think I've ever dropped this many series in such a short amount of time. I guess that goes to show that more to choose from means more selectivity. I'm honestly curious how and why the initial novels behind some of these even got picked up. Do the teams behind them just do such a piss-poor job I can't fathom why anyone would be interested in the subject matter? This is probably the third or fourth series where it's been so painful to watch each episode you'd rather go watch paint dry than force yourself to stick with it. Unfortunate considering the time, effort, and money that go into them.

Um...are we supposed to like Chin and want him and U to get together? Because...nah. It's one thing to be insecure in your sexuality. It's entirely another to be complicit in deliberately hurting and manipulating someone due to your own selfish nature. Let's be real, Chin doesn't care about U. At all. He's the classic 'eat my cake and have it to' narcissist who wants U to continue to be at his disposal while he romances his girlfriend. He's not insecure with dating a guy, that much was clear with how publicly and heavily he flirted with U in the beginning until he had him right where he wanted him. The scene where he humiliates U and says he actually likes Tisa, like that's the most obvious conclusion anyone would come to after someone kissed them multiple times and acted for all intents and purposes like they were together, was like a slap in the face. As a viewer I was thrown for a loop and not in a good way, I sincerely thought he was joking. Yeah, not joking. He's just a gross user. This last episode solidified how awful he is and I really wish U would leave. He's tried very hard to set boundaries that Chin doesn't respect at all (again, read selfish asshole) and once again he's dupped into believing Chin might actually care and is left alone and hurting. It's hard to watch. I'm so glad Pat stepped in and was there for U when he really needed someone. I know Pat and U won't end up together but they should. I'm so done with this overused trope of the ass who treats his love interest like dirt getting what he wants in the end. It's such a horrible message to send. Wait it out no matter how much you get hurt in the process and your love interest will magically change into prince charming because they're just clueless and really do love you. Ugh. I wish they would show that actually your behavior has consequences and continuously hurting people means you lose them. If Pat and U actually do end up together it will mark a much-needed shift in the way these relationships are portrayed.

Overall the series itself is pretty meh. Typical fluff piece with poor writing and direction, though I will say I can completely appreciate how much they've highlighted and given shine to the gay femme male characters in this show. Usually, they're used as the butt of jokes in BL or they don't ever get love interests and in this case, every single one is not only the main character of their love story, they're in demand rockstars haha. The humor is really off the cuff and fun too, more dry, dirty, and ironic than I was expecting which is refreshing. I just wish everything else had been elevated and this could have been a pretty stellar series.

I'm just sad it's over T_T definitely on my list of all-time favorites. The casting, the writing, the production...everything was top-notch.

It was pretty vague but he's apparently continuing his flirtation with Ice with Pete's random blessing and moving on.