SpikedBoba

There have actually been rumors that New and Double have been cast in a series together as leads, which I'd take over anything connected to this tbh in terms of writing and production lol

I don't think it's you, I think the eye candy over substance model just works well in the BL industry as unfortunate as that is. If standards were higher we would all benefit.

EDIT: to add that I'm not saying DMD don't have some talent, but they definitely don't know how or don't care to maximize their potential which is a shame.

Yim has consistently pulled the short stick and it's sad. To think I was really anticipating Tutor and Yim's first series as leads. But I knew what was coming as soon as the project was announced and I saw the synopsis.

If I'm honest I feel it's very unfortunate that this is the script Tutor and Yim got for their first series as leads. They deserved better. I especially feel for Yim, like damn, what the hell was that? Then again outside of maybe (and this is a stretch) Bed Friend, the writing for projects coming from DMD...isn't great. I know they produce their content but do they also write it and not hire professional writers?? I don't know what the situation is with that, but they're doing a potentially talented roster a huge disservice by making them more eye-candy with a bit of slap-stick comedian thrown in over giving them something serious they can sink their teeth into as actors. I genuinely feel like they could do better. I mean I suppose on a scale of stellar to crap this is pretty middling but that isn't saying much.

While the series was pretty mid, I enjoyed Guide and Poom in this a lot, I hope they get more opportunities to stretch their acting potential as leads.

Just watched the teaser and such a surge of nostalgia came over me it made me kind of emo. I'm genuinely looking forward to watching this, and it's making me want to re-watch Love Sick season 1 all over again (for like the third time lol). I think people really place the OG Love Sick into the context of BL today and forget that it was one of the pioneer BL series of its time and was one of the cornerstone series that launched what Thai BL has grown into today. It was HUGE in its day and unexpectedly so. The original production had to fight hard for the little funding it did have only for it to become a massive hit. It also brought a giant wave of international interest and was many people's (myself included) first entry into Thai BL. Love By Chance (and SOTUS in some respects) gets a similar treatment with people watching it years later and not really understanding how foundational it was for the continued production and growth of the genre. Anyway lol all this is to say that I can imagine there was huge pressure on this production and I hope it's done well and is much better than the OG. That's like bare minimum haha. For all its low-budget production the OG did have something quite special in season 1, I only wish they hadn't completely ruined it in season 2, but we all know a lot of it was due to the backlash that came from the way the original director chose to depict Noh and Pun's relationship, which should tell you how much they were pushing the envelope even then when it's practically tepid water in comparison to what comes out in BL these days. The difference between season 1 and season 2 even in just sentimentality, let alone romantic development between Noh and Pun is drastic.

While I did enjoy watching season 1 this season was so much better, and not only because we got such a lovely couple out of it either. I felt like I was on the edge of my seat watching on cheering for J and S, I think we were all just waiting for S to realize the right man was waiting patiently by his side the whole time. I feel like I laughed and cried with them the whole series, they were a joy to watch and I wish them full happiness. Watching what they share of their lives together now I am hopeful they're in it for the long run.

If I'm honest the best thing about this series was the last episode, I wish the series had focused less on contrived drama and more on actually fleshing out their relationship and feelings for each other.

If you're curious about the "epic love story" between Fifth and Zeke that is falsely advertised for this series, I'd watch My Story and pretend they didn't release anything after that. If I'm honest all of three of the series aren't great, they have horrible writing, plot lines, and direction but the Fifth Zeke story (and actors) hard carried last season.

That's good to know! I'll have to put it on my reading list.

I don't think I've ever seen a company set fire to their biggest on-screen draw and pairing like this. Ever. Was this a deliberate sabotage? For real. How do you take a pairing like Hiro and Jericho, with so much chemistry and potential they shone in a two-bit series, and give them this as their next project?? Not only is it a dumpster fire of epic proportions, you're going to make one of the leads such a trash character the audience can't stand him or the idea of him getting back together with the person he's apparently supposed to end up with? If Fifth ends up with Zeke at the end this series needs to be billed as a tragedy.

Never thought I would say that I miss the ChukChuk drama from seasons past but my god give me asinine, ridiculous ChukChuk drama if this is what we're getting instead.

I loved that the characters were complex but they kept the story of Ryuji and Amane falling for each other sweet and uncomplicated, especially knowing how jaded Amane was before meeting Ryuji. Sometimes love is like that, especially when you're young, and sometimes it's a good reminder to see that and absorb all the feels. I would love a season 2 but I would almost be scared of the wrenches they could throw into the equation hah.

You can't even get your point across in good faith. There are limitless possibilities out there for what you can portray in media between two consenting adults (or non-adults for that matter), but somehow consumable media for adults would cease to be exciting with the exclusion of media that romanticizes predatory behavior toward children? Watching a grown adult romance and be sexually attracted to a kid fits into the "deliciously wrong" category? Forgive me for having the ethical processing of a 10-year-old when I say that's sick. Can you genuinely answer for me why the f*ck any self-respecting adult would want or need to perpetuate the "fantasy" of having a romantic/sexual relationship with a teenager?

I agree with you, but you can't reason with people who aren't willing to see past their own self-gratification. They'll always seek to validate even the most disturbed viewpoint, to the point of justifying predatory impulses as "normal". Never mind that any well-adjusted adult wouldn't need or want to fantasize about having a relationship with a teenager. Stories like these definitely serve a purpose no matter who the audience is that is consuming them, whether younger audiences - as a perfectly acceptable form of grooming - or older audiences who seek "outlets" instead of introspectively trying to understand why they have these "fantasies" to begin with and how wrong they are. I work with sexual abuse victims and a good percentage are those still dealing with trauma from manipulative and abusive relationships they entered into with much older individuals in their teen years, and (surprise surprise) many of the perpetrators had a history of consuming what this person deems as harmless content. What people fail to understand about content like this is that it isn't just about "fantasy", it often can and does supplant urges that easily translate to real-world harm if given enough room to manifest and grow, particularly if the behavior is normalized to the extent that content like age-gap, non-con, and violence toward the most marginalized individuals (including women, people of color, and lgbtqia+ individuals) is. Does it happen with every adult? No, obviously not, but does that mean we need to encourage it and paint predatory behavior as normal and romantic? Hell no. It's one thing to portray these topics and give them the nuance, complexity, and realism they deserve, it's another to fluff them up and pass them off as acceptable avenues to healthy romantic relationships. Anyway, all this to say, I agree with you wholeheartedly haha and I hope you weren't discouraged in voicing your perfectly logical critique of media like this.

I didn't think a series could get much worse for this pairing than Love Syndrome...I was so wrong. They're really scraping the bottom of the barrel now. Seriously no words for how bad this is.

I didn't want it to end. It was everything I was hoping it would be and more. I had a ridiculous smile through the majority of the movie, cried, laughed, and rewound every two seconds. Kiyoi and Hira are one of the greats. Riku and Yusei are top-notch. What a great final chapter.

Glad it helped!

I agree, except I haven't personally enjoyed them in any of their series overly much. They've had some ok moments, but nothing outstanding to me. I said this above so I won't repeat it unnecessarily but I think because First's role in TT2 was so over the top it covered for his tendency to over-act (which drives me nuts I'll be honest), while Ja's acting has always felt stilted to me and lacking in depth. I think it would be interesting to see them with different partners, sometimes a different co-star and environment make all the difference. I've seen some actors really flourish and come into their own with those simple differences.

No, it's ok, you didn't I was just making it clear that it's just what I think but I'm just one opinion haha. People perceive things differently. Like the person below said, maybe them being apart will help them both grow in new directions. I just don't think they do each other any favors when it comes to their acting together, I think if they were paired with stronger or more experienced actors it might actually help the areas they're not so strong in. As far as First, it's not necessarily him being over the top (I've watched him in every series he's been in so far though I've only been able to finish DSN and that was because of the second leads, Remember Me was a miss for me) I think he overcompensates when it comes to how he emotes, which makes whatever he's trying to sell with his character less believable to me. I agree that his best characterization was his role in TT2. Which I think is probably why I've progressively enjoyed his acting less since then, that role was so over the top it made it less obvious that he has a habit of over-acting. You know the phrase "laying it on too thick" that's what I think when I watch him. And I forgave the feeling that he was trying too hard in that role because he was new, now that he's had more roles under his belt I feel like instead of improving he's plateaued and I still have the same issues with his acting I've had from the first time I ever watched him. Anyway, hopefully better future roles and support will come both their way and they can continue to grow in future.

I personally just think they're not that good. First always overacts every role he's given (I've cringed through every crying/kiss scene of his I've seen) and Ja flatlines, the portrayal of his characters is always one-note and not very nuanced and he's so stiff to me. I think they have potential, I just don't think it's been nurtured very well. And to be fair, opinions on this are entirely subjective so you could really enjoy them and that's ok. In my opinion, I've never felt they had the capability of being a lead couple, I keep trying to give them chances because they're a popular pairing and they don't work for me, I just don't see it. And maybe it's just them working together, I don't know, but their dynamic is really off for me.