SpikedBoba

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.

Maybe, but I think it's pretty set that Pitch and Gun are end game. I haven't gotten the impression they're going to stray away from that.

I meant recent promotions, every series has a promotion period during and after where the actors go on an interview circuit and have meet and greets. For example, they go on talk shows to talk about the series to promote the show or have fan meetings. Usually the main couple of the series leads the promotion, though they often go with the second lead pairing or sometimes the director. In what I've seen for promotion for the show New and Double are leading it along with Nam and Heng. I haven't seen Pepo at all and I've seen Leo once with New, Double, Nam, Heng, and Boss. New and Double are always there either with Nam and Heng or alone. There was actually a really cute interview where they were paired off and played a game together with Nam and Heng, it was hilarious and the four of them have an awesome, fun dynamic together lol. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is this is very unusual for series promo for the main couple not to be there.

Ooo that would be an interesting plot twist and you couldn't tell me it wouldn't be deserved after what Susie did to cover up for Gun. Though If I'm honest I'm just rooting for Zo period at this point. Gun and Pitch just make me cringe.

Watching Gun and Pitch together is like watching paint dry at this point, they're one of the worst casting decisions for a couple I've seen in a while. Though are they even the main couple at this point? I'm starting to wonder if something happened behind the scenes because I've been noticing that neither Pepo nor Leo are in any of the promo for the show (I've only seen Leo in an interview once while New and Double sat front and center). The promo rotation seems to be led by New/Double and Nam/Heng. Did they decide to cut their losses and promote the pairings that actually sparked off in the series? I've also heard rumors that New and Double already have a new series confirmed as leads (praying this is true). It just seems bizarre to me that the main couple has essentially been side-lined and overshadowed (massively) in the show by the second leads and now they're not even promoting together. We're nearing the end of the series and they may as well be kissing cousins with how much their relationship has progressed.

Anyway, all this to say everything about this series is pretty crap aside from Pawin lol he's the most interesting character the show has and my only impetus to keep watching at this point (aside from my soft spot for Wayha and Wayu). The star potential in this show is definitely the secondary couples, I don't know what they were thinking putting Leo and Pepo together as leads considering who else they cast for the show. A much more interesting (and granted f'd up lol) storyline than the GunPitch mess would have been Gun and Zo considering what happened in the past, Imagine them getting together and then finding out the truth about Gun's history with Zo's brother, ouch but pass me the popcorn. I agree with everyone saying the first tiniest flame of something resembling chemistry with a co-star for Pepo has been with Boss.

There are a lot of things going wrong here. The writing and production being majority subpar is a huge one, but if I'm honest I've never really gotten the hype around JaFirst. I don't think they have the chemistry or acting chops for lead roles and it certainly doesn't help that they're consistently given low-caliber projects. I have a two-episode "give it a chance rule" and this is hitting all the wrong notes for me.

I just want a 'The Bachelor' style spinoff for our head kekisaur Bong, he's a hoot and a half and I need to see the chaos of a group of men vying for his attention.

His behavior the whole time has been crap. He flirted with Jaab from the very beginning and led him on while in a relationship. He kept "friend-zoning" Jaab but with side benefits for him, he emotionally manipulated their relationship, deliberately would talk about Mon in front of Jaab, but also would knowingly flirt with him...red flags. Even adding in his relationship with Mon failing or whatever there is zero excuse for not breaking up with someone before trying something on with someone else, especially if you already know your feelings have changed or are changing. If he knew he was starting to have feelings for Jaab - enough that he went in for a kiss with him first - then he should have restrained himself long enough that he could have left things clear. Jen strikes me as the type of person who wants to eat his cake and have it too. These types of characters are a miss for me. He wasn't in an impossible situation, there was an easy fix that would have meant he could pursue something with Jaab free and clear if that's what he really wanted, but he's got crocodile tears and feels so bad...yeah, bye. I can't empathize with Jen and I get where Jaab is coming from. The kiss and everything about their "relationship" started off on the wrong foot and the only one seeming to feel that sincerely is Jaab. If Jen could be that flippant about a committed relationship, what's to say he wouldn't just do the same to Jaab down the road? He used and abused his relationship with Jaab for his own convenience and that was shitty.

To be fair Jaab has displayed crap behavior too. It's shitty to flirt with someone who is taken but the person who's "taken" is playing with his head and blatantly giving him the green light. If you have any respect for relationships in general, it shouldn't matter how much someone flirts with you. It's not hard to break up if you're questioning things, if your feelings have changed, or if your relationship is having issues. Jaab actually being a stand-up guy, regrets what happened between them because even he knows it shouldn't have happened the way it did. The fact that Jen broke up with Mon doesn’t magically fix everything and absolve the situation, and I support Jaab not giving in to give him a happy ending after the way he behaved. It shows me he's the better person, as he was not enjoying being with someone who was two-timing and playing mind games. Jen was blatantly leading him on: the ambiguous remarks, the lingering looks and touches, the way he let Jaab touch him without restraint, kissing him but pulling back like it wasn't what he wanted when he was the one who initiated it. You can't tell me he didn't know damn well what he was doing, he isn't dumb. He knew Jaab was all in for him and instead of setting boundaries while he figured things out, he was wishy-washy and added fuel to the fire. He used him, made him feel like shit constantly, and manipulated their situation. It gives me the ick. I will always think that Jaab deserves a better love story, but I'm sure he's going to be left with Jen in the end which is a sad state of affairs.

It still gets me the way Jen just shamelessly came up to Jaab and was like "Hey, I broke up with my boyfriend finally so we can be together out in the open now, no biggie!" That's it? Like? 🥴 I would have said no thanks too.

They need to just not be together. Why in the world would people want them to continue their relationship or (godforbid) have them get their own series??? Jen is a walking red flag, if I were Jaab I wouldn't have wanted to continue anything with him either. Jaab deserves someone a hell of a lot better than Jen, if they end up together that's the last nail in the coffin of this series.

Hiro and Jericho are the best thing about this series. I'm honestly kind of heartbroken they're likely to be stuck in projects with shit production and writing. What they've done with the little they've been given has been pretty outstanding.