warrenaa

No, it's not HIGH CAMP. Camp is rooted in a specifically queer sensibility and has a heightened level of artifice, affectation and exaggeration, especially when there is also a playful or ironic element, whereas high camp is more sophisticated. This show, a serious crime drama with a fantasy element (i.e. the 4 Minutes of the title and its significance) in which characters are frequently shot or die is anything but high camp.

You never know - there might be an extra long last episode like there was for Sunset x Vibes.

When Kohei hugged Taichi he told him his heart was beating wildly and Taichi immediately backed away. That, and what he said immediately afterwards, indicates he is afraid of his own feelings towards Kohei and doesn't want to admit to himself those feelings may be love. This is nothing new. Taichi has had these feelings for a long time and chooses to brush them aside. Kohei on the other hand is in love with Taichi and at the end after saying goodbye and walking their separate ways, Taichi stops, turns around and looks up to find Kohei has also stopped to look down on him from the bridge and then signs to him, "I love you." Taichi didn't indicate he understood that and in next week's final episode we're told they won't meet each other again for quite a while. I think it's too much to hope that when they finally do meet up again, there will be a sudden burst of mutual romantic feelings.

Thank you. It takes a great mind to understand the complexities of this rather bizarre and gruesome drama with so many similar-looking characters, which is, quite frankly, beyond me.

Yes, I remember the killing - with a stone, brutal and blood spattered. The face of the killer was shown but there are so many characters I can't give a name to him.

Interminable is the only way to describe this awfully long and not terribly interesting first episode populated by too many vacuous characters. I had trouble staying awake while watching it. Giving it a 7/10 is being generous.

I think masterpiece is too strong a word for this rather hard to follow drama.

Thanks. Will amend. But Great didn't kill Dome (I think), so who did and why?

Thanks. Will amend.

I don't see how this can possibly have a happy ending with Great being shot in the elevator... by Tonkla to avenge the death of his younger brother Dome [thanks ST], and someone suggested Tyme will be shot in the next episode. It's all a bit much. So many dead bodies mostly resulting from brutal murders. It seems the sex is incidental to the main plot, whatever that is.

August's acting as Hero is outstanding and I'm even seeing a slight improvement in Mac as Pop. It's fascinating to see how they've adapted the outlines of the story as we know it in the original version to this one (in Ep. 4, the way Hero got Aunt Jeab into a shop and Pop's father into a government position). The abduction of Pop at the end is new, the kidnappers thinking of course they've got Hero but I'm glad Pop's father talked some sense into him, even if it led this unfortunate incident.

Boys Love Factory

Boys Love Factory

Isumi with his dishevelled bleach blond hair and Amasawa with his disarming smile and baby-face cuteness is almost too much to handle. The signals from Amasawa are too strong to ignore and give Isumi heart palpitations as he tries to control his feelings. Amasawa is keen to move things along as he's smitten with Isumi and his cooking - a winning combination. I love the way this is developing.

This sensitively drawn story of two 'lost' (in the broadest sense) boys who find each other and gradually fall in love until they feel they can't part from one another is one of the best BL series of the year and in a way I can't describe, they became more beautiful as the show progressed - the cuteness of Taishin, the radiant smile of Takara - they are indelible images that will always stay with me. The conclusion was just as it should be - loving but restrained. We will even be blessed with a spinoff, more frequently known as a special episode. Simply wonderful.

The Takumi-kun movies were the first Japanese BL videos I ever saw, way back in 2019 and I was entranced by the mood and setting which created a certain ambience that suited the story. It was told in a way that made sense. There was an organic growth in how the story developed along with the relationship of Takumi and Gii. This remake, on the other hand, was mostly boring, it lacked charm and the school itself, rather than looking like it was built and furnished in the 1930s, is now a more nondescript building from the 70s. Instead of Takumi being a new boy whose phobia was eventually revealed, and introduced Gii as a sort of godlike figure in the school who takes a shine to Takumi and falls in love with him, hereTakumi's phobia is known by everyone while Gii is a lesser figure who appears on the fringes of Takumi's existence until he faints in the hallway and later find themselves locked up in the abandoned Music Room where Gii confesses he likes Takumi and kisses him. At Gii's suggestion, he asks Takumi to play the piano and it is the sound of a Chopin waltz that alerts a friend to their whereabouts and releases them. It ends with Gii almost forcing a confession from Takumi back in their room to confirm that he likes him followed by a kiss that doesn't get there as it's cut short by the end credits. I think it was a mistake to remake this but it appears we may be in for more of them. A score of 6.5 from me.

Boys Love Factory.

That's all true but it doesn't disguise the fact that their relationship still hasn't moved past the friendship stage. I think it would just take Kohei to pursue Taichi as his boyfriend if he had the courage to do that but so far he hasn't and is settling for unrequited love. Having kissed him once with no bad consequences, he should do so again when the opportunity arises and then say, "I like you. I really like you. Will you be my boyfriend?"

Overall, I quite enjoyed this series. It was different though at times the supernatural parts jarred a little especially Lin's scene with the Lord at the lake which seemed too contrived but I'm still giving it an 8.5.

I can't stop thinking about this series and the unrequited love Kohei feels for Taichi to whom he much earlier confessed his feelings and then kissed but Taichi's response was underwhelming, to say the least, a boy who values his friendship with Kohei (and especially the delicious food for his transcribing services), however, he is I think emotionally shallow, unprepared to enter into a love match with Kohei (or anyone else for that matter). As much as I want Taichi to be more like the way Taishin feels for Takara, I don't really see that happening before the series ends next week. What would be marvellous is having a scene where having decided to be boyfriends, they appear hand in hand in front of Maya who subsequently seethes with jealousy and it would serve her right for being such a bitch. The comments section would explode with delight and the rating would increase. One can only hope.