adhoc

Sorry if I mixed up the reply there. Yep, there are so many M/G followers, and they all have opinions and interpretations on M/G and what may have happened over the last weeks of the year. I've never seen such a monster Reddit thread. Obviously a lot of viewers of TTTS are really passionate about the topic!

Well, you said "I keep hearing about MewGulf drama but I haven't seen any evidence of it?" This whole thread is people discussing and analyzing the MewGulf "drama" that occurred in recent weeks. You may disagree that any drama happened and that people should be discussing what may have happened and why. That's fine.

Obviously everyone makes up their own mind. But here you go: https://www.reddit.com/r/boyslove/comments/klskzk/mewgulf_the_seriesthe_plot_thickens/?sort=new

Yes. Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, of course. But I believe that if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, well, it's a duck. Or an abrupt unexpected hostile rift.

Honestly, when I said "the current circumstances", I was not referring to the show itself.

Under the current circumstances, a part of me thinks that would be a fitting way to end the series.

I totally did not notice that! Thank you for mentioning it. Also, wasn't the light, sort of 1950s piano and harp background music in this scene perfect?

I'm still confused--what is the plan that Tharn and Doc came up with to discredit Type's boss? I don't understand--were documents switched, or what? I went back and watched that scene again with Type, Doc, the boss, and the director, and I still don't understand what they did with the documents?

And were Type's documents really faulty? And did the boss already know that, but he did not care, he only cared thatType was forced to write them?

This is a sweet story. It was funny--how could it not be, with Tsuge as one of the mains--but it also dealt in a sweet way with the topic of resentment in a relationship, when your partner seems to be doing better than you. Tsuge gives Minato a new perspective on his dancing. This vignette is a perfect combination of humor, seriousness, and sweetness.

The two vignettes that make up this episode were simply ... charming. I was charmed. And also, Machida Keita's facial expressions--his range, from 100 varieties of "subtle" to expressions that are not so subtle--amazes me. He doesn't even need to talk for us to understand what he is thinking or feeling. The Tsuge/Minato story is also quite sweet.

Thank you for clarifying this for me, RondomUsagi. I will have to watch Ossans Love.

I think what you are indirectly saying is that from a Japanese culture perspective, what we saw makes sense.

I appreciate that Japanese culture is different from western culture. CM is not aimed at westerners. It does not have to satisfy western ideas of romance. I totally understand.

At the same time, I have to agree with what Synchonicity pointed out, because I felt the same way. Synchonicity did a good job of explaining.

The thing I'm still not clear about is whether a male/male (M/M) romance on TV will have *more* restrictions on what can be shown than a M/F romance. In other words, if this were a M/F romance, would we have probably seen a small kiss, an arm around the shoulders, maybe the actors standing closer together? But for a M/M romance, that would be considered too much?

Thanks for posting this, Synchonicity,

"made it so painfully obvious that "oh... these are actors, this isn't real.""

I think you hit the nail on the head. No kissing, plus a lot of physical space between the two actors. You'd think that when Kurosawa shows up at the top of the Anton building that Adachi would be overjoyed and hug him back enthusiastically. But nope.

Stuff like that took me out of the story because some of it seemed--to me--unnatural. I kept thinking, "Right, it's just two actors acting." And there were obvious lines that would not be crossed. Maybe I should be grateful CM actually showed the two men holding hands.

I liked CM as a series, but this ending definitely let me down a bit.

Thank you so much for explaining, I appreciate it!

Funny thing, not all Westerners like seeing people being "passionate" in public either. For example, I'm fine with other people kissing a little, hugging a little, walking arm in arm, or with arms around each other's waists. But when young people do a lot more, I find it distasteful. Gross, really.

On the other hand, if a TV series has done a great job making me believe that 2 characters really love and care about each other, then I like seeing a lot of kissing and physical closeness. It's just *real life* public snogging that I have a bit of an issue with.

Out of curiosity, is it considered pretty modern and cutting edge, by Japanese standards, that we actually see Adachi and Kurosawa holding hands at various times during the series?

I enjoyed this series a lot. It was well made and well acted.

As for the ending: As a heterosexual Westerner, unfamiliar with Japanese culture, I'll say that it's not so much the missing kiss (though that would be nice) that disappointed me, it's the 1.5ish (60 cm) of space almost constantly between the two lovebirds that I found unsatisfying and, well, strange.

Like, when they were gazing at the fireworks, why couldn't Kirosawa be standing behind Adachi, one hand casually draped around his shoulders? Is that really so offensive, by Japanese standards? And would it be equally offensive if it was a man and a woman?

Also, when Kurosawa hugged Adachi on the rooftop, when Adachi said he wanted to be with him, Adachi did not hug back. Wait--rejects Kurosawa, then realizes he made a mistake, and by a miracle, Kurosawa is actually there, on the rooftop, and he still wants Adachi. Adachi should be thrilled! Instead, he's standing there mostly unmoving, while K hugs him. This did not work for me at all. In fact, it took me out of the story because it looked very unnatural.

But again, maybe this is Japanese culture, and touching outside of the bedroom (even when no one is watching) is more limited, even when two people are in love?

Or is it just Japanese *TV series* convention that prohibits kissing, mutual hugging, etc.? Like, in real life, do Japanese couples kiss or hug a little more in public, but on a TV show, there are limits to what you can show? And does the fact that its M/M make a difference?

Meh. I haven't watched a lot of Japanese gay movies (Pornographer, Mood Indigo, maybe a couple of others), and this was quite forgettable. I think the movie probably would have worked better for me if I understood Japanese and could therefore understand the language nuances. Also, if I understood Japanese culture (I'm American) and Japanese movie conventions.

As it is, I did not understand--was Togawa bisexual? Also, it seems they were barely together very long, didn't even seem that emotionally invested, and then bam! suddenly they're in love. It was like the "Cliff Notes" version of a movie.

Where did you hear it was filmed in a day or two? If filming was just a few days (and I assume that includes blocking, etc.), that would explain a lot.

Your comment pretty much says it all, Tsuliwaensis!
I will add that I wonder which parts of these 3 episodes were actually intended to be in the series and how much was just "padding" to give a framework or context to those parts. Like, the scenes where Zon learns the novel was never deleted, and the scene in the rain, etc.--those look like they were intended for the series. But some other scenes--including a lot of Episode 3, IMHO--just seem to be there to provide a framework to the scenes intended for the series. Or I could be wrong.
**Now I need a couple of Fighter/Tutor post-beach scenes. Fair's fair. **
**MVP of this episode: Zol's hair band at the beginning. So cute!**

Zee Pruk is an excellent actor, glad he's getting a main role here. However, I would like to see him in a serious role in 2021. Any genre is fine.

The teaser has subtitles now.