Episode 5:Good heavens, this just keeps getting better and better...one of the best BLs I've seen and perhaps…
The same thought crossed my mind about the, uh… blocking… as well, but I was surprised enough by what action they *did* show (especially with a young idol involved), that my, um, focus quickly moved on to other things.
And I would include an addendum to your note for the director: if *any* two humans are having butt sex face-to-face, there are legs in the air. Ya know, if they ever happen to be directing a non-BL and want to kick it up a notch 😉
Other questions crossed my mind about the mechanics of the act, but I just created a semi-plausible explanation in my head and went with it. It’s fiction, so does it really matter? Nah, but it made me feel better.
And I’m with you about Ito’s chest. Holy crap, man, way to hide the goods!
I agree that Fujisawa has issues. He is definately emotionally manipulating Sei, saying that he cares for him…
Yes, thank you. The prevalence in these comments of the black-and-white attitude that all cheating = bad is a bit surprising to me, although I suppose it shouldn’t be. Damn, humans and human relationships are so complex, that narrowing any human action down to black and white boggles my mind. Plus, putting so much focus on the “cheating” misses *so much* of what this story is about.
*For what this drama is trying to communicate* it is doing such a superb job of it that it’s too bad that some people are rating this lower based primarily on their feelings about cheating (and fictional cheating at that). I don’t condone many things irl that are portrayed in shows, but it doesn’t mean that shows shouldn’t represent multiple facets of the human condition. And I appreciate any show that can share compelling stories about those facets, including the light and the dark and the grey (and let’s be real… SO much about human-ness falls in the grey more than the other two). I think part of what makes some viewers uncomfortable is that characters which otherwise most viewers would agree are lovely, decent people are the ones showing their “grey side.” It’s so much easier to accept dark and grey in characters if they are already the “bad guy.”
I get it if people want to watch shows to escape greyness and darkness — I certainly do that as well — but I’m disappointed to see a show that tackles human complexity so well and so poetically get some of its low ratings because it doesn’t present the world as black and white, which it never set out to do in the first place.
I'm really enjoying it too. I said this to Maggi on a different thread:"I don’t know whether I like it because…
THK is definitely a fresh take for a Thai BL (not an uni engineering student in site!) and this is definitely a production they put more effort into. As a result it would likely feel less “mass-produced” to you, but it’s still very much a Thai BL! 😆 Just so you go in with the applicable level of expectations, if you do watch it.
If you just want to skip to the scene in question — for comparison purposes of course — you’ll want to pop over to Ep 2 at the 56:45 mark. If you do watch the scene out of context, it helps to know that the character is definitely repressed for several reasons, is very curt and belligerently closed off, and he would like to think he is not as flustered and turned on by another character as he actually is.
The older American man plays a very small, “guest-level” role.
I'm really enjoying it too. I said this to Maggi on a different thread:"I don’t know whether I like it because…
“…this is the first BL where they showed the guy doing it in action.” Someone has probably already mentioned this to you by now, but if not… have you seen the masturbation scene in The Heart Killers? Even though Joong is pretty shameless in general, I have no idea how he filmed that scene. The scenes in this show (while appreciated for their realism) do not hold a candle to the one in THK. THK is not going to be to everyone’s taste for sure, but that scene? Just, wow.
I'm really enjoying it too. I said this to Maggi on a different thread:"I don’t know whether I like it because…
Your opinions might be unpopular to someone, but it’s not me ;-)
I never even watched Cherry Magic Japan because I had read there was no kiss at the end. I appreciate that some people can enjoy a drama with sexual tension that never culminates in (at least) a kiss, but that’s not for me. The kiss is my money shot.
Despite the accolades, I also have no interest in watching Spare Me Your Mercy, for example, after reading about all the sexual chemistry between two ultimately “platonic” characters. I am thrilled there are dramas that show loving and caring friendships between men, but if sexual tension is knowingly added to the mix, then I’m going to be expecting more than a hug by the end.
Yes, the blanket-covered sex in HOTE was weird and a cop out, and I too chalked it up to there being an idol-actor involved. But then again I feel that *anyone* willing to simulate sex in front of a camera is already miles ahead of my comfort level, plus there were so many other intense scenes already, that I guess I ultimately gave them a pass on their questionable execution of the sex scenes.
Kenshin’s kissing in Our Youth didn’t bother me, so I can’t speak to that specifically. But in other BL shows when I feel the kissing is sub par, I try to remember that while it may be true that the actor is not cool with kissing boys (in which case they shouldn’t have taken the job), it is possible there could be other reasons at play. Maybe they are just fine kissing boys but feel uncomfortable kissing on camera (in which case they should reconsider their career choice). Maybe they are just fine kissing boys and on camera, but they are just… bad kissers. Especially for actors who just haven’t had a lot of practice kissing.
At one point I read a comment from someone in the industry who observed that actors who had been in personal relationships were generally better at kissing on-screen than those who hadn’t. And given how young some of the BL actors are and especially the idol ones who may have been more sheltered during training, it wouldn’t surprise me at all that just overall lack of experience can be a factor for some of them.
I have seen the Pornographer series and DDOS, and I guess I don’t really try to compare those to the execution of Japanese serialized dramas (which doesn’t mean the serialized shows can’t do better sometimes). I don’t know if you’ve seen the Korean movie One Summer Night, but some would be hard pressed to believe that came from the same culture where lovers in serialized dramas go to bed in and wake up in what are basically street clothes, while somehow the audience is supposed to believe that somewhere between those two points in time the couple had passionate sex.
But I digress…
As I stated at the beginning of this post, I’m not a keen fan of shows that build sexual tension and then don’t give us the non-porn equivalent of the money shot. And this show… wow… it’s not even about the usual horny lust. This is about the primal longing — the primal *need* — for intimate, sexual connection. About the utter deprivation of this connection. About being repeatedly, painfully denied emotional and physical intimacy by our closest loved one and what that does to the human spirit. If the script or the director isn’t going to let the audience witness in real time the moment these characters find that connection with each other, then someone please DM me and tell me now.
And IF the reason we are denied that cathartic moment in real time is solely because one of the protagonists is played by an idol, then please also remind me to avoid anything by this producer who would allow that casting.
I'm really enjoying it too. I said this to Maggi on a different thread:"I don’t know whether I like it because…
Hmmm, do you think no on-screen kiss is really a strong possibility, given that Kenshin and Rei from ONE N’ ONLY have each been in recent (very well-received) BLs where on-screen kissing and sex were definitely served? No on-screen kisses are definitely a let down in shows intended to create sexual tension, but in a show that is singularly focused on sexual longing, not only would no on-screen kisses (at a minimum) be a let down, it would also, as @JollyGolly writes, be ruinous to the so-far incredible script. *And* I would question the producer’s choice to cast someone for this story who is not comfortable representing physical intimacy on-screen. There are people still salty about the end of Cherry Magic Japan!
okay guys round table discussion but ep 9's nc scene was so worth the wait bc first of all teerak was the one…
I know, right?? Those glasses. I loathe — looooooathe — when a character wears glasses while making out, but I would not have had a problem if he had had those on 👓
ForceBook might surprise you in this one. I know we weren't fond of them in OF, but hear me out, Book is hilarious…
I didn’t realize until recently that the couples’ episodes are basically separate, so I’m thankful I can watch just PerthSanta’s and skip the rest (not interested in the third couple either).
Ugh, this is the second place I’ve read that this story has a time skip. I really, really dislike (actually hate might not be too strong a word) time skips. But I also love a good JBL. Aghhh, I just don’t know.
Imagine you're taking a music class and the first day in walks your teacher and he's some ultra-hot actual rock…
I don’t mind a slow burn romance, but a Chinese-length series slow burn… nah, that’s too slow! Someone posted their mutual attraction starts to show around ep 25, so honestly that’s where I started the series. I cared little for the political aspect, so that helped, but it wasn’t really that hard to pick up on the gist of the back story. A “12 ep” Chinese series was perfect for me 😆
the overall story was really good but the last two episodes were just beyond anything. when they finally got together,…
If you can find the remixed version of Ep 11 (sometimes numbered 11.5), that scene was edited soooooooo much better. Fortunately they realized they did a crappy job on the editing the first time around. It’s a bummer that the remixed version can’t just automatically replace the original version everywhere.
And I would include an addendum to your note for the director: if *any* two humans are having butt sex face-to-face, there are legs in the air. Ya know, if they ever happen to be directing a non-BL and want to kick it up a notch 😉
Other questions crossed my mind about the mechanics of the act, but I just created a semi-plausible explanation in my head and went with it. It’s fiction, so does it really matter? Nah, but it made me feel better.
And I’m with you about Ito’s chest. Holy crap, man, way to hide the goods!
*For what this drama is trying to communicate* it is doing such a superb job of it that it’s too bad that some people are rating this lower based primarily on their feelings about cheating (and fictional cheating at that). I don’t condone many things irl that are portrayed in shows, but it doesn’t mean that shows shouldn’t represent multiple facets of the human condition. And I appreciate any show that can share compelling stories about those facets, including the light and the dark and the grey (and let’s be real… SO much about human-ness falls in the grey more than the other two). I think part of what makes some viewers uncomfortable is that characters which otherwise most viewers would agree are lovely, decent people are the ones showing their “grey side.” It’s so much easier to accept dark and grey in characters if they are already the “bad guy.”
I get it if people want to watch shows to escape greyness and darkness — I certainly do that as well — but I’m disappointed to see a show that tackles human complexity so well and so poetically get some of its low ratings because it doesn’t present the world as black and white, which it never set out to do in the first place.
If you just want to skip to the scene in question — for comparison purposes of course — you’ll want to pop over to Ep 2 at the 56:45 mark. If you do watch the scene out of context, it helps to know that the character is definitely repressed for several reasons, is very curt and belligerently closed off, and he would like to think he is not as flustered and turned on by another character as he actually is.
The older American man plays a very small, “guest-level” role.
I never even watched Cherry Magic Japan because I had read there was no kiss at the end. I appreciate that some people can enjoy a drama with sexual tension that never culminates in (at least) a kiss, but that’s not for me. The kiss is my money shot.
Despite the accolades, I also have no interest in watching Spare Me Your Mercy, for example, after reading about all the sexual chemistry between two ultimately “platonic” characters. I am thrilled there are dramas that show loving and caring friendships between men, but if sexual tension is knowingly added to the mix, then I’m going to be expecting more than a hug by the end.
Yes, the blanket-covered sex in HOTE was weird and a cop out, and I too chalked it up to there being an idol-actor involved. But then again I feel that *anyone* willing to simulate sex in front of a camera is already miles ahead of my comfort level, plus there were so many other intense scenes already, that I guess I ultimately gave them a pass on their questionable execution of the sex scenes.
Kenshin’s kissing in Our Youth didn’t bother me, so I can’t speak to that specifically. But in other BL shows when I feel the kissing is sub par, I try to remember that while it may be true that the actor is not cool with kissing boys (in which case they shouldn’t have taken the job), it is possible there could be other reasons at play. Maybe they are just fine kissing boys but feel uncomfortable kissing on camera (in which case they should reconsider their career choice). Maybe they are just fine kissing boys and on camera, but they are just… bad kissers. Especially for actors who just haven’t had a lot of practice kissing.
At one point I read a comment from someone in the industry who observed that actors who had been in personal relationships were generally better at kissing on-screen than those who hadn’t. And given how young some of the BL actors are and especially the idol ones who may have been more sheltered during training, it wouldn’t surprise me at all that just overall lack of experience can be a factor for some of them.
I have seen the Pornographer series and DDOS, and I guess I don’t really try to compare those to the execution of Japanese serialized dramas (which doesn’t mean the serialized shows can’t do better sometimes). I don’t know if you’ve seen the Korean movie One Summer Night, but some would be hard pressed to believe that came from the same culture where lovers in serialized dramas go to bed in and wake up in what are basically street clothes, while somehow the audience is supposed to believe that somewhere between those two points in time the couple had passionate sex.
But I digress…
As I stated at the beginning of this post, I’m not a keen fan of shows that build sexual tension and then don’t give us the non-porn equivalent of the money shot. And this show… wow… it’s not even about the usual horny lust. This is about the primal longing — the primal *need* — for intimate, sexual connection. About the utter deprivation of this connection. About being repeatedly, painfully denied emotional and physical intimacy by our closest loved one and what that does to the human spirit. If the script or the director isn’t going to let the audience witness in real time the moment these characters find that connection with each other, then someone please DM me and tell me now.
And IF the reason we are denied that cathartic moment in real time is solely because one of the protagonists is played by an idol, then please also remind me to avoid anything by this producer who would allow that casting.
https://youtu.be/q9GQI1md_EI?si=EJsi-DDXv4mzc3sB