ThatWheatFlour

100% Rewatch Material!

The heading's pretty on-the-nose, but you'll most likely find yourself doing just that, even if you're not the type of person to rewatch anything like me.
First off, I believe the production team wouldn't have been able to manifest their vision if it weren't for the cast of completely cohesive actors. Jung Jin Young and Park Sung Woong in particular carried the entirety of the movie, which isn't surprising considering the plot mostly revolves around their characters. Both honoured their body-swapped roles extremely well- high praise to Jin Young, who managed to impressively pull off the mannerisms and idiolects of a wealthy, middle-aged criminal corporate without making it awkward or cringey.
This may sound slightly comical, but I personally love how they chose to focus more on Pan Soo's love story (in Dong Hyun's body) for quite a large portion of the movie. Somehow, it reinforced his sincerity considering he was limited to confessing in a high-schooler's body, not caring about the heavy scrutiny by disturbed strangers who have no clue about his situation. And hey, it enabled a lotta funny scenes too, which is always a plus.
I loved Man Chul and Mi Sun; both took their roles above and beyond, with the former providing much of the comic relief of the movie and the latter perfectly demonstrating the sentimentalities of a single mother struggling to move on from her first-love.
The order of this review is completely freaked up but I really appreciated the use of Pan Soo to physically destroy Dong Hyun and Hyun Jung's bullies, shedding light on the common crisis of school bullying. It would've been better if Jin Young lost the fatsuit, however, rather than vanquishing the bullies and undergoing a 'massive' change in his appearance to earn further, romantic attention from classmates who otherwise wouldn't have batted an eye. I mean, considering the other two victims of bullying weren't exactly bullied for their appearance, Dong Hyun didn't have to be any different, especially 'cause he's the protagonist of the movie.
All in all, I rate the movie a solid 9.5- here's to a hilarious, oddly-touching and wildly entertaining body-swapping flick!

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Commendable Attempt By Friends

To say that this drama was better than many produced by major agencies such as GMMTV is an understatement. The closest BLs we got from them under this theme were Kidnap and The Heart Killers, and neither were as memorable or well presented as Jack & Joker, which is insane when you think about it.
Although I'm not sure how much of the actual contribution can be accredited to the actors whose initials are comprised within YWPB, I do still think that their first attempt at a drama under their own management was more than praiseworthy- be it through the visuals (something War actively contributed towards with the Jack & Joker heading), casting, cinematography, editing and acting, I was floored by the sheer amount of effort that went into presenting the best possible version of their first project.
The story was what most would term cliché, what with the whole debtor and thief trope- a trope that has been utilised in various fanfiction, novels and (potentially) webcomics- hence the 7. It is by no means original, however, it has been rendered in a somewhat authentic manner- and for that, I appreciate the entire crew behind the directing and producing of this drama.
Considering many Thai BLs do not pay enough attention towards the acting ability of their artists, I do think that the acting in this drama was better than the usual subpar that has consistently characterised recent dramas- although there were scenes involving certain characters such as Boss, Rosé, Hope and Save that I felt could've been better developed behind-the-scenes. War and Yin not only demonstrated this seamless acting capability that inexplicably trumped their acting in En Of Love, but also portrayed their intimacy in such a flawless, persuasive manner. Intimacy coordination is important, yes, but making sure that an actor's ability is honed in on is undeniably the main thing most viewers want when they're watching something- and it is a real let-down that production companies like GMMTV aren't pandering towards that vital skill.
The opening 'theme' was banging, for sure- I was surprised by how memorable it was considering most opening songs are either accompanied by vocalists rather than mere instrumentals. War and Yin's OSTs in between were nice, of course- although I personally didn't view them as any different than most others.
As appreciative as I was of the 1-hour long episodes, I think that very factor diminishes this drama's rewatch quality (for me)- I remember thinking that some episodes dragged on rather than getting straight to the point. Building suspense is important for audience engagement, of course, but not when it's predictable. One of the things I hated was Boss' villain speeches- like most villain speeches, it was an unnecessary thing to include and removed any potential realism from certain scenes.
Overall, I gave this a 7.5 (and not the suggested 6.5) because it was truly way better than I'd expected it to be- not to mention, better than most recent Thai BLs. Yet again, it's an example of how being a major production company doesn't assert your artists' talent- Studio Wabi Sabi, Billkin and PP and now YWPB have shown that effort matters more than desperately trying to meet this growing demand for dramas dedicated towards every CP.

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Monumental in Paving the Modern BL Wave

I watched this a while ago, but the entirety of Ossan's Love still remains in my mind and makes me laugh out of nowhere without warning. Despite BL being a relatively well-established premise in Japan, this short film offered an alternative to its predecessors in a 40-minute capsule comprising almost every reccuring theme in Japanese dramas- from the comic relief to the love triangle to the spur-of-the-moment 'confession- at the very end, it manages to claim a spot amongst a myriad of other dramas as an instant classic.

By appointing a goofy, somewhat-relatable clerk like Haruta as the main character of the story, we are readily welcomed to laugh at him and his sentiments regarding his sudden popularity amongst male employees at the company when he's only ever directed that sort of gaze towards women previously. Hase is his sweet, neat-freak roomie who is close enough with his senpai that the latter enjoys talking to him about virtually anything. Kurosawa is the reliable boss who always pushes others to keep going even when they fail, the anchor that reigns everyone to their responsibilities and does so in a way that benefits them. There is no denying that everyone executed their roles perfectly, too- I don't know anyone else who would've portrayed a Haruta as loveable as Tanaka Kei, or a trustworthy, cute colleague who we find most of our sympathies lying with- not to overlook his near-kiss of Haruta whilst he was sleeping, which was wrong without a doubt- and the kooky, rather assertive and presumptuous Chief- his segments made me the most uncomfortable, to tell the truth (what with the following around, taking photos and not letting Haruta give a concrete answer first before making assumptions).

I think one of the most important things to consider is that OL has achieved all this without any unfavourable tropes or glossing over of insensitive, inappropriate topics related to BL, being queer and the queer community- although Haruta's journey from being homophobic to accepting and even admitting towards his feelings for Hase is mostly left to interpretation (probably because the directors had to squeeze everything into those 40 minutes). Its reach wasn't prejudiced in that those associated with the BL 'sub-culture' or 'fujoshis'/'fudanshis' weren't the only ones indulging in this silly, hilarious story- everyone was.

All in all, Ossan's Love provides an intriguing, memorable and absolutely lovable alternative to the usual 'Masc' Top x 'Femme'/Gay Bottom trope seen in BL, with an additional unexpected, but completely welcome change in that the premise is set in a workplace between employees aged late-20s-50(?)s. There's a reason why it's remembered by everyone of various interests and backgrounds- thus ascertaining its notoriety. Kamisama, thanks for this BL!

NB: This will go down one of two ways, but...Hase was the better Maki 😂

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Blue-Skied, Sentimental Prowess.

Man...words fail me whenever I seek to convey what I felt watching this. From the stellar casting to the absolute BANGER of an opening- one I can't skip no matter how hard I try under an urgent time limit- Miseinen remains an authentic Japanese drama till the end. Regardless of whether they remained unfaithful to the original WEBTOON, Miseinen stands out in itself as a reliable coming-of-age that touches upon multiple facets of growing teens' lives- from verbal and physical abuse to alcoholism and its consequences to that rebellious teen phase of smoking to undesirable high-school hierarchies. Such facets are both under-represented and overly-exaggerated in media, but it felt natural and almost expected of Haruki to descend into that spiral of self-loathing and play up to the role he was designated by peers. The duality between his and Minase's characters isn't unnatural and doesn't feel forced- from that first, awkward encounter to their final, joyful reunion at the very end of the drama.

In summary, Miseinen is an emotion that perfectly represents the tendency to make last-minute, spontaneous decisions without a second thought- the type of show I would've liked to watch growing up, when being queer and the queer community wasn't highly represented or at the forefront of mainstream media. The simplistic cinematography, colour schemes and sets also help make Miseinen memorable amongst other gems like Cherry Magic and Happy of the End, living on in our minds to the extent that the sight of a beach, or a letter, or a blue ice lolley unknowingly pull us right back to where we left off. Here's to J-BL- which makes me think- feel like no other.

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