SpikedBoba

As much as people are grumbling about the casting, I honestly don't get it. I think this is the best casting we've had for a live adaptation of Love Stage so far. I think people have pre-conditioned ideas of what "femininity" is and should look like. Yes, Turbo doesn't have what people would typically describe as cute, soft girl features but he absolutely has the features to pull off more of a girl crush type of femininity. He has absolutely beautiful features (especially his eyes), that I think will fit well as an interpretation of Izumi that will be really interesting (and actually fit the interpretation I've had of Izumi when I read the manga). People forget that Izumi, while yes being cute (which Turbo is) has strikingly beautiful features. He's also meant to be more stand-offish which does fit Turbo as well. I think it's kind of weird that people are ascribing who Turbo is in his real life, and who he's played in the past, to this role. I don't necessarily think that should have any determination on whether or not he's a good fit for this role, but hey, maybe I'm wrong. Personally, I'm more excited about this iteration than I've been about any previous. Though I will say, any live-action is going to have some trouble living up to the manga because it is pretty outlandish.

I honestly had forgotten about her until part 4 of the last episode and then I was like, "oh yeah, what ever happened to her?" haha I'm glad they left that off and she wasn't a very big part of the storyline. I feel like it would have been an unnecessary addition with all the rest of the crazy plot happening. Plus Punn's story was quite full as it was (same with Weir, Krating, and Pooh's). As open as the ending was it still felt surprisingly neatly closed.

I don't know what it is but I feel like this is the first BL series from South Korea that I'm not really vibing. Maybe because the story hasn't picked up very much yet? I don't know. I guess I'll just have to see where it goes.

I actually surprisingly really enjoyed this! Was it over the top and completely ridiculous? Yes. But it also had some very sweet, human moments that were totally worth the watch. The friendship turned family bond between the four "baker boys" especially. I definitely felt like the later episodes were the best, probably starting from when Krating feels like they want to get rid of him and we really start getting into Punn and Weir's backstories. I actually appreciated that they never really veered into romantic love very hard, they focused on love but all the different types of love you can have outside of romantic love which was really nice to see. I also appreciated how open-ended they left things. And of course, even though they weren't "end-game" in the typical sense Punn/Weir still end-game lmao.

Ugh! Finally! Someone else who not only gets it but also is informed!!! Thank you too haha it honestly drives me nuts when people just make shit up because it suits their narrative or just take information willy-nilly without actually making sure it's factual and then proceed to continue spreading it. There's so much misinformation going around about this series it's kind of wild.

And 100% yes on the Phai/Thanu thing, I mean I knew that Dun and Bas were ending up paired in this no matter what clear from when promos first started for the series lol (I mean it was pretty obvious and Bas' fans were going hard for their pairing). But never understood why people were so married to Phai and him being together. They never even spoke the whole series, missed each other the whole thing, but yet they were supposed to be together by the end? When Thanu and Wayu were falling in love with each other throughout the whole series? Yeah, that made no sense whatsoever. I also think people misunderstood Pha's role in all this quite a bit from season 1. Mainly because they were still connecting this to 2Moons. Pha even in the books for this is a minor role, there was no reason to believe he and Wayu were ever getting back together.

I can't believe it's over! I'm honest to god sad! I feel like I watched with my breath held the entire time. Riveting, lovely, heartwrenching, gutting, uncomfortable....this series was all the things and more. I'm in love with the characters and their development, serious kudos to the writer who really fleshed them out in a human way. It's hard to do grey characters accurately and they really did a great job at giving them such depth and complexity. The acting was phenomenal and I really hope we get to continue to see these young actors in more roles that suit their talents. Those final scenes were so beautifully acted, I was right there with them feeling all the emotions. There was so much about Kiyoi that people just completely missed that it's sad. He was a hurt little boy who carried that hurt and turned it into a prickly exterior, he was so vulnerable on the inside. As much as I loved Hira, Kiyoi's character is going to stick with me for a long time. There's a lot of very real emotions and patterns of behavior that I can relate to more than I think I'm comfortable admitting to myself. This is a complete side-note but Yagi Yusei's smile is everything, how is he so adorable??? Fully satisfied and I'm kind of hoping we get a season 2. Off to re-watch because it was seriously that good.

That's actually not true. There was never a clear ending between Wayu/Thanu/Phai because the second novel hadn't been written prior to season 1 releasing when the producers bought the rights to the story. The story was always about the interplay between realistic love vs destined love, the author never said prior to the rights being bought who they intended to be together. The vote was marketed clear from the beginning of season 1 (I literally followed the whole thing) but because international fans don't typically follow news outside the show they didn't realize that at the end of the season there was going to be a vote for Wayu's ending/story. Even in the initial announcements of the couples of season 1 on social media they asked "who will Wayu end up with?" and gave the couple which were Thanu and Pha, and showed him also alone (Pon who plays Phai wasn't even included at all it was all always about Wayu/Bas). Also, I'll point out that Pon's role wasn't a "main" character role but "supporting", which Dun's and Bas' were main characters.

As an additional side note, it was pretty clear from StarHunter's marketing that they were pushing for DunBas so there was no "scrambling" lol they went to all promotional events together and spent practically 24/7 around each other before and during the show. Pon never even went to any promo for the show. StarHunter were wanting them to be their new star couple, which is what they got. Yes, because DunBas are very popular in their home country it was pretty much a given that they were going to end up being the couple chosen by fans but that was always the plan from the very beginning. Why do you think there was fanservice between Dun and Bas from the beginning? Dun was specifically chosen to be paired with Bas. StarHunter produced the show and all of the boys are under their company, they also were the ones who bought the rights to the story. It's a long drama but there's history to why they specifically chose this story and set things up the way they did that goes way back to when Bas, Kimmon and Cop were in the OG 2Moons and everything Bas has been through since.

? He didn't cry this episode though...

The actor who played Padbok isn't under StarHunter anymore and wasn't a part of the marketing for this. Though from season 1 they announced there will be three seasons so maybe Sab's story will come in season 3 if they still do one?

Wayu is the main character of the novels, so really they're highlighting side-couple stories which is why it feels off kilter when they focus on other couples. This season the main couple is Wayu/Thanu so it's a good guess they're going to show even less of the other couples than they did last season, just as a heads up.

Yea, it was part of the marketing clear from season 1. Since it's not marketed towards international fans, if you didn't follow news about the series outside of watching the show it was missed information. It was meant for the fans to do a sort of "choose your own ending" for Wayu's love (or non-love as that was also an option) interest. Honestly, Wayu (i.e. Bas haha) is the main character in all this.

It was pretty entertaining seeing people go so hard for Thanu/Phai last season as someone who follows what happens in series outside of the show. There was no way they were ending up together lol DunBas are really popular in their home country, Plus if you looked at the marketing from the beginning Dun and Bas were pretty pushed by StarHunter, they're their new star couple.

Yeah haha he pushed Phai into them.

I'm going to be in the minority (at least on MDL, since elsewhere it's different) and say that I'm all for the messy Wayu/Thanu/Pha/Phai storyline. And I'm definitely 100% all for Wayu/Thanu endgame. I still find it kind of hilarious that people are behind the cliche fairytale "destiny" crap that is Phai and Thanu's ONLY connection. The two spent all last season completely missing each other and had like five minutes of dialogue when they finally met and Thanu decided "yeah, this isn't for me". Them being together is completely unrealistic. I kind of love that the show is pushing against the destined lovers' trope. Love at first sight through supposed visions of the future isn't real, what is real is falling in love with someone after spending time together which is what happened naturally with Wayu and Thanu. I never felt comfortable with Phai and Thanu having this "preordained" love. It's so silly, and I was glad they deviated from that pretty quickly. Love isn't destiny; it's work, time spent together, up/downs, all those things put together. I'm glad that Thanu ended up saying fuck "destiny" I believe in what I feel and trust in that. We'll see how the story progresses, especially now with the whole new Pha angle.

I was happy to see Wayu standing up for himself, his character got a lot of shit last season when I felt it was pretty fair for him to be upset, hurt, and confused. He'd just been left without explanation by someone who supposedly loved him, so navigating that wasn't going to be easy. I feel like people just have this really shitty outlook on more sensitive men who cry and give in to their emotions, like it's weak and pathetic when it's just...normal? I also think it's so odd that people are railing "Wayu should be single! He needs to figure himself out first!" when..that's literally exactly what he's been doing? He's been single this whole time and hasn't said yes to dating anyone because he's trying to figure himself and what he wants out first. I super applaud him for wanting to find out what's happening with Wayu and Phai first too before allowing anything to move forward. Boy knows, burned once shame on you, burned twice shame on me lol.

This series is far from being the best that's ever been written, so if you're expecting a masterpiece you're going to be disappointed. It's messy af but actually full of pretty unexpected drama which IMO is highly entertaining lol it's kind of like watching a novela or a daytime soap...pretty trashy but definitely addicting and a good time. I honestly super love and am completely endeared by a majority of the characters! I will say I don't quite understand the people who have subjected themselves to season 1, hated it, and are back to watch season 2 expecting different outcomes. What did Einstein say is the definition of insanity?

Sandee pushed Phai on purpose though lol

True, but I'm just saying, if people were upset about the amount of Mark Kit we got in a season where they were the main couple, I'd imagine they're going to get less focus in a season where they aren't so I would go in expecting less rather than more but that's just me *shrugs*

Just as an fyi this season is supposed to be Thanu/Wayu's season so they're actually the main couple.

I seriously want to facepalm at some of the comments here lol how are we still having conversations about this being 2Moons2 (spoiler alert: it's not) and Thanu/Phai and Wayu/Pha still being a thing (spoiler alert: they're not). I just don't get it, does nobody actually follow the news and content about series' prior to them airing or what...? People just go in blind? I don't get it.

I'm just getting it out there now. If you're watching and thinking it's going to be a continuation of 2Moons (any of the seasons) in any way, you're going to be disappointed. If you're watching because you're still holding a flicker of hope that Wayu and Thanu are going to end up with anyone but each other...you're going to be disappointed. I'd honestly just quit before it starts and save everyone the headache of the weekly complaints.

Thank you so much!

From someone like you who has read the novel I'm glad my perception of things was correct! Thank you for the kind compliment! I guess I just really feel for Kiyoi just as much as Hira tugs at my heart strings lol, they've both just been really irrevocably hurt. I think he's a deeper character than people realize and misunderstood. He's surrounded by people but he's lonely and alone. He can't trust anyone to be honest or real with him, or to really like him for who he is but yet he craves love and attention because he didn't get that as a child. It's quite sad if you start breaking it down. Is he a perfect, hero character? Far from it, but I also don't quite think he's the heartless bully people paint him as. Though I do understand the reservations, it's a thin line between explaining away bullying behavior and adding context to it. I think people should probably understand that most people aren't saying his (or Hira's) behavior is correct, they're just saying there's complexities that explain why he acts the way he does, which is a big difference. And I also think Hira and Koyama equally aren't black and white characters which have made this such an interesting watch for me. I hope like you mentioned, we get the translated novel soon as I'm sure I'm missing a lot of nuance from the author. I would just read the Spanish transcription of the CD but I'm not sure where I'd find that haha.

I'm thinking about this series way too much lol but I guess it goes to show you that they've really caught and kept my attention. I wanted to break down something I don't think people have touched on all that much and that's Kiyoi's position in all this. I don't think people consider that Kiyoi doesn't trust anyone. He accurately sees all the "love" and attention that is given to him for what it is, superficial and fleeting. People fawn him and want to be around him because of his looks, because he's popular, etc and he knows people use him and don't actually care about him. And that starts from his non-relationship with his parents. He doesn't have real friendships or relationships, he's completely disengaged, cold.

Enter Hira, someone newly infatuated with him like everyone else. In the beginning, in Kiyoi's eyes, he's just another simpering fan-boy...or so he thinks. Something feels different with Hira, so he starts to test him. Fucked up? Yes, but now all of their interactions have such a deeper context to me, especially when it comes to Kiyoi. Nobody is real so Hira's feelings for him also can't be true, right? You can see things really start to shift for Kiyoi when he realizes he can trust Hira. One major point in that direction was Hira not telling anyone about his idol training when anyone else would have gossiped about it. The real tipping point was when Hira defends and sticks by him after he's lost his status and everyone predictably abandons him. So he decides to open up more, his defenses come down further and he kisses him. What follows that? Hira disappears, again triggering his abandonment issues. He closes himself off and it's like a vicious cycle, but now you start to see a new Kiyoi who has attached feelings to Hira. He's opened himself up to being vulnerable which he hates, and like with his parents he feels insecure. He's now doubting himself and Hira's feelings because abandonment issues do trigger issues of self-worth. The subtle character development and build-up to their attachment to each other are quite worth picking apart the layers honestly. I'm really feeling like I need to rewatch from the beginning. Maybe I'm just projecting because I can relate to Kiyoi's methodology of testing people and disengaging as a mode of protection and deep-seated lack of trust, but his character has been the most interesting to me this whole series.