4
10
1
1
worth a watch
Overall: an overall decent KBL. 8 episodes around 16 minutes each. Aired on iQIYI.What I Liked
- sweet/cute moments
- that it centered on the two leads without a whole bunch of other characters
- supportive friends
- we got more than 1 kiss and they were a little better than dead fish lip presses
- production value
Room For Improvement
- I wish they had been more clear about what the issue was in the past/shown it earlier and that the issue didn't hinge on poor communication that a 5 minute conversation would clear up
- could have had stronger world building
- the last episode felt more like vignettes instead of an overarching ending episode and if they are planning a spin off/season 2 then that possible couple should have been shown at the very end or even post credits
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amazing chemistry/dynamic (need Tod & Boy as main leads again!) but with lackluster writing
Overall: Pluem and Kevin have some of the best chemistry/physical affection of any m/m couple that I've ever seen. Unfortunately the writing was not great otherwise this could have been a 10/10. Also don't be nervous about the title of the series (see my comment spoiler). Aired on GagaOOLala and YouTube. Later re-aired on Viki https://www.viki.com/tv/40690c-ghost-host-ghost-houseContent Warnings: kind of something off screen, keeping this spoiler free, you can look in my comments
What I Liked
- Kevin and Pluem have some of the best physical affection that I have ever seen (hand holding/rubbing, side hugs, sniff kisses, etc)
- consent examples
- that Kevin is actually interested in ghosts/wants to see them
- mystery element/premise
- funny moments
- sweet fluffy moments
- production value
Room For Improvement
- the writing was the main weakness: confusing world building, plot threads that weren't fully explained, plot holes, too many characters (a random character kind of thrown in), a character did something super cliche (and out of character) in ep 7 and beginning of 8, I'd suggest just skipping to 14 minutes in ep 8
- the commercial breaks were kept in GagaOOLala (but I didn't deduct for this)
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This review may contain spoilers
Fell apart at the end
Overall: a slow burn sports themed BL with 3 m/m couples. Watched on Viki. (minor spoilers)Content Warnings: colorism*, dub con (Saen/Aii - Aii says to stop and Saen continues)
What I Liked
- Torn was smart and solved problems (until he didn't, more on that later)
- humorous parts
- basketball scenes (I'm generally bored to tears by sports scenes but these were done well and some were super funny)
- production value including the color grading
- cinematography
- the consent with Saen/Aii (but not the morning after scene)
Room For Improvement
- it started cringey and ended cringey
- it felt like we missed a whole episode after the episode 8 basketball game. They should have shown things instead of just saying them in episode 9 (i.e. added an episode), then ended at the beach in episode 9 (which would have been episode 10).
- things really fell apart towards the end with time jumps, flash forwards/backs, bizarre character decisions, cliched plot lines
- *the main evil character has the darkest skin of everyone, wish he either had the same skin tone as everyone else or even better we had a protagonist with darker skin color (apparently he had a redemption arc but it was never explained or shown, Torn just randomly trusted him)
- Torn/Fah - I adored Torn's character until he had a supervillain origin story in episode 11, it made no sense to me. Torn was such a great problem solver and then he wasn't. Fah was a bit too stoic but they do explain that's how he is and he was burned/reluctant to trust again so I get it.
- Saen bordered on harassment instead of flirting. I wish Aii would have shown more interest to Saen especially earlier on, Aii could have still been nervous. Didn't like Aii's lack of communication with important decisions.
- Dome/Vee - this couple isn't controversial to me, life can be messy. I'm just sad the way that went/ended - felt very incomplete to me.
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Plotless Society
Overall: It started off with a bang but quickly deteriorated. I yelled "noooooo" several times while watching in disgust at the poor writing. This is deja vu of The Cupid Coach. It says the story will continue but I sincerely hope not.Content Warnings: non con/dub con turned consensual?
What I Liked:
- well the beginning was definitely an attention grabber and rarely seen in BL, but this ended up feeling like click bait
- I liked that they gave the episode an English title (Ambiguous) because I've rarely seen that in Thai BL
- acting was ok, the female friend was my favorite
Room For Improvement:
- it was both slow and very choppy, scenes sometimes jumped ahead time wise to another scene, they didn't feel well connected to one another. That ending was awful, it just skipped/jumped with zero context.
- nonsense plot, how Guy treated/behaved towards Nut made absolutely no sense especially at the end
- Nut's friend should not have kissed him in Nut's vulnerable/distraught state
- I did not feel chemistry between actors
- the camera work is lower budget/amateur
- though I liked the style of the subtitles, they do have a few errors (pretty sure that his boss isn't his mom and that was supposed to be ma'am)
- the sound was pretty quiet, I had to turn my computer volume all the way up
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watch at least thru episode 3 (watch suggestions)
Overall: I was not impressed with the plot or characters in episode 1, but I enjoyed seeing their different perspectives and them struggling with what was holding them back. Unfortunately, the ending felt rushed. The special episode didn't change my thoughts on this series in either direction. This is based on "Eul's Love" which I haven't read and I reviewed this series on its own merits. 6 episodes about 25 minutes each. Note there are sometimes important extra scenes after the initial end credits. Aired on Viki https://www.viki.com/tv/41031c-business-as-usual ; GagaOOLala (not in the Americas, Europe, Oceania, Japan or South Korea) https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/5233/business-as-usual-2025-e01 ; iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/tt9j6o0418 ; Line TV in Taiwan ; Rakuten TV in Japan ; Heavenly in South KoreaWatch Suggestions (to skip a lot of poor communication, have it be in chronological order and focus more on the leads' sweet moments)
- episode 2 watch 6:30-20:30 (past)
- episode 3 watch 4:15-16:25 (past)
- episode 1 watch beginning-4:45 (past)
- episode 3 watch 22-2nd (present)
- episode 4 watch 3:30-4:10 and 11-end (present)
- episode 5 watch 9:40-13:35 and 15-22:40 (present)
- episode 6 watch 21-end (present)
What I Liked
- intimacy in episodes 1 and 5
- sweet moments/their relationship development in the past
- how they each saw the same situations very differently, I don't think that a character saying he couldn't remember a phone call was gaslighting, sometimes we don't remember things the same or remember them at all compared to another person, this isn't always intentionally malicious/gaslighting
- appreciated the realistic bed head in episode 5
- production value
Room For Improvement
- disliked plot drama where a 5 minute conversation would have cleared everything up, very cliche plot point in episode 1
- what happened around 11-12 min in episode 1 was too long (keeping this spoiler free for now), should have been 1/4th of that
- episode 6 was extremely rushed, wish they actually hadn't shown the final scene because going into my next point...
- I am not convinced that they will be in a long term happy relationship, though Kim Min Jun recognized his insecurity, he basically admitted that it would cause problems in their relationship in the future. I think his insecurity will destroy their relationship at some point.
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beachy romance with some darker moments
Overall: the dynamic worked better for me as it went on, but I was not a fan of several cliched plot elements. 10 episodes about 45 minutes each. Aired on GMMTV's YouTube channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLszepnkojZI6tVlhqWH7KNPYxmkei5tB1&si=RCeoqPM6SsvzpeEEContent Warnings: sexual harassment, punches/fight, vomiting, attempted murder, manipulation, past fight, past murder, violence, fight, blood, homophobia
What I Liked
- beach setting
- easy to understand premise
- sweet/caring moments
- that a character stood up for himself, sought communication and made it know what he needed
- supportive characters
Room For Improvement
- the silly music over what should have been a tense scene and other examples where the music didn't fit
- tropey falls and catch, several cliched plot points
- multiple near kisses in episode 1
- some scenes at night needed more light on actors' faces
- comedy sound effects didn't make things funny
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swam in circles (watch suggestions)
Overall: yet another miscommunication/refused to communicate trope that dragged on waaaayyyyy too long. Aired on Viki https://www.viki.com/tv/40857c-somethings-not-rightContent Warnings: unwanted outing, stalking/harassment, coercion
Watch Suggestions (focus on sweet moments with the main couple)
- episode 1 watch 13:55-15:55 and 25-end
- episode 2 watch beginning to 5:10
- episode 3 watch 6:30-13:15, 20-23
- episode 4 watch beginning to 1:25
- skip episodes 5 and 6
- episode 7 watch 16:50-21:30
- episode 8 watch 15-20:55 and 28:30-end (can watch in between 20:55 and 28:30 to watch endings for the other characters)
What I Liked
- easy to understand premise
- the friend group (although they shared 1 brain cell)
- visuals
- production value
Room For Improvement
- the cliche lack of communication plot, completely spineless and gave up after he refused to clearly communicate, acted like a jerk to his friend
- one main character was unbelievably dumb/dense
- the near non con kiss (I don't think it actually happened)
- the third character got on my nerves
- multiple flashbacks
- running cliche
- nonsense writing: the reason why a person doesn't confess romantic feelings to a friend is they don't want to ruin a friendship; however, since a character in this series was totally fine blowing up their friendship, it made zero sense to me why he refused to clearly communicate
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absolutely needed better writing (watch suggestions)
Overall: I enjoy a series with a different premise, but unfortunately the writing/world building/pacing did not work for me. 12 episodes about 50 minutes each. Aired on iQIYI. Re-aired on Studio Wabi Sabi YouTube channel.Content Warnings: past death/grief, dub/non con touching, 10 year age gap with a highschooler*, manipulation
Watch suggestions: unless you enjoy very slow pacing, characters doing nonsense things, a bunch of crying and untold flashbacks here is my suggestion
1. Watch episode 1, at the end tell yourself that Ongsa died
2. pretend that Suansoon goes back in time and tries different things like having Ongsa avoid that location/day/time but none of them work, so then he tells Ongsa to not meet him at the movie theater
3. Ongsa ignores him, watch episode 7 (basically a retelling of episode 1 from Ongsa's perspective)
4. watch episode 8 where Ongsa learns the only thing to do is for them never to meet when in high school
5. Ongsa time jumps to the present, start watching episode 11 at 19 minutes (although there is a cute high school moment at the very beginning of episode 11)
6. Watch episode 12
What I Liked
- mysterious vibe/present
- how what happened in the first episode related to later episodes
- sweet moments
- Karn (Dear Doctor I'm Coming For Soul) in ep 12
Room For Improvement
- character actions didn't make sense, if Ongsa had actually died and then Suansoon went back and told Ongsa not to drive that day and he didn't but still died and we see Ongsa repeatedly going back trying to change things that would be interesting (like The Butterfly Effect) however Ongsa wasn't even dead and instead of being by his partner's side Suansoon started a romantic relationship with high school Ongsa in the past...
- *age gaps generally don't bother me but the adult Suansoon actor is 36 and he looked like it, past Ongsa is in high school (actor is 25 but looks much younger), it was very uncomfortable to see the adult Suansoon in a romantic relationship with a teenaged Ongsa (who didn't even know that they end up together for quite some time), and Suansoon touching Ongsa when he was sleeping was not romantic but came across as creepy, in general they should have shortened this time and focused more on young Ongsa/Suansoon and older Ongsa/Suansoon
- nonsense stuff, how did no one say anything about a highschooler romancing an almost 30 year old??? why wouldn't in the present Suansoon call Onga's parents/go to their house/look on social media/talk to mutual friends/do an internet search/hire a private investigator/hang up fliers/go to their old hangouts....he just cried
- slow pacing, there was a lot of hanging out in a coffee shop and crying
- a bunch of flashbacks
- really poor world building and a ton of "because the writer said so"
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started strong and shirtless (watch suggestions)
Overall: the amount of nonsense in this plot was very high and the visuals only got me so far. 12 episodes about 45 minutes each. Aired 2 episodes per week on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/4473/the-rebound-2024-e01 and Viu.Content Warnings: murders/deaths, past death, grief, trauma, blood, punches/fight/beaten up, bullying, alcoholism, kidnapping, non con kiss, dub con kisses (likely consensual but wish they had made it more clear)
Watch Suggestions (the first 7 episodes were fine though I watched most at a faster speed, starting at episode 8 I found myself not enjoying large chunks of needless drama, love triangles, etc)
- episode 8, 10:50-11:50 dub con kisses but pretty sure they were consensual then watch up to 14:30 self pleasure, watch 45 to the end for first aid/kissing
- episode 9, watch 9-10:40 for earbud sharing, 20-22:30 for a side couple first aid, 30-32:30 shirtlessness and hug, 36-37:30 kisses/tickle fight, 45 to the end for a shower scene
- episode 10, watch 45 to the end or could skip the episode
- episode 11, watch 15:30-16:55 for a side couple moment, 19-22:30 for Ryu & Zen, and watch 50-53
- episode 12, watch 18:25-20 and 29 to the end
What I Liked
- the Cafe For All cafe
- how several characters were realistically connected
- good tension/chemistry
- visuals, realistic amounts of skin showing (i.e. not having underwear on coming out of a bath)
- a character actually asked to post a picture on social media and tag another character
- the title as a metaphor for trying again
- supportive grandmother
- hot self pleasure scene in episode 8
- the easter egg that the high school was named after the director
- good that Ryu was proud of their relationship and didn't want to hide it
- good analogy of what a rebound was
- wasn't a fan of Zen evading Ryu's kisses but the last scene was great
- production value (cinematography, editing, ost)
Room For Improvement
- the intro was attention grabbing but generally not a fan of a flash forward/back to start a series
- a character was supposed to be sweet but came across as stalkery and I was super mad at the non con kiss in episode 11
- the teammates bullying their other teammate, there was 1 verbal apology but it still didn't sit right with me
- a character was infantilized, would have been cool if he had had his own romance
- love triangles (there were multiple which was extra annoying)
- nonsense plot stuff: the flashbacks were from 9th grade and they were currently in 10th/11th grade (so they were supposed to be 15/16), not calling the police in episode 4 and later, too tropey (multiple accidental falls in an episode, a lot of near kisses), wearing school uniforms during illegal activities, calling the police when that would get teammates in trouble, a mom's nonsense actions and then nonsense redemption arc, getting super upset when 1 character could easily fly to the other
- telling a significant other they couldn't smile at anyone else wasn't romantic
- the cafe owner and coworker betting on the love triangle/gossiping about it
- too many plot threads not well fleshed out
- comedy sound effects
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This review may contain spoilers
didn't feel the chemistry
Overall: although I like each lead character individually, the high school student/teacher dynamic was squicky and I thought Nekoto and Sahara worked better together. I haven't read the source material and am reviewing it on its own merits. 8 episodes about 25 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala and iQIYI.Content Warnings: fights, high school teacher/student relationship
What I Liked
- we rarely see a "delinquent" character, he was adorable
- crack comedy (it had the overacting vibe but it worked for me because it didn't have constant comedy sound effects)
- that chase scene in ep 1 was fun
- how a nerd character was good at sports
- styling (except 2 characters were styled younger in the present and older in the past which was strange)
- production value
Room For Improvement
- the writers really got me rooting for Nekoto, they seemed much better matched especially with how everyone (including Toki) continually emphasized that Toki was not an adult, there was a lot of screen time with Nekoto even in the final episode
- high school student/teacher dynamic (the accidental kiss, no shirt/head in Toki's lap, confession) all while Sahara was still Toki's teacher (which has an inherent power imbalance with grades, it is immoral/unethical and in most places illegal as it should be) and then the kiss at the end on what appears to be the day Toki graduated high school with the teacher wearing his teaching outfit was squicky, I think they could have mitigated this by having it take place in university (and Sahara not be Toki's teacher, or only for a semester and then they start their relationship later)
- Toki smacked Sahara on the back even though he knew he had a back injury (also reinforced Toki's immaturity)
- the side couple basically vanished
Age Notes: it was difficult to figure out the ages of the characters but in the final episode Toki mentioned that he was in his second year when most of the series took place and by looking at Japan's high school structure (3 years 15-18), Toki would have been 16/17 and then 17/18 at the end when they kissed (still at the high school). In the flashback, it said Toki was in 4th grade. Calculating backwards, he would have been 9 or 10 and Sahara mentioned the incident when he was in high school, let's say he was 16/17 so they'd have about a 7 year age gap. For most of the series in the present, they were 16/17 and 23/24 and then at the very end 17/18 and 24/25.
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This review may contain spoilers
theatrical series that needed tighter pacing especially in the beginning-middle
Overall: although I liked the unique premise, it felt like the director or writer was also the editor and couldn't bear to remove/edit down any of the scenes that they filmed. 12 episodes about 45 minutes each. Aired on WeTV.Content Warnings: deaths off screen, suicide, self-harm, manipulation, mental health struggles, grief
What I Liked
- unique premise
- production value (lighting, felt very theatrical)
- styling choices (especially that first scene)
- incorporating symbolism/metaphors
- discussion social justice issues such as same sex marriage
- in episode 4 they argued realistically by talking over one another
- bathtub scenes
- they ended the series 7 days before Valentine's Day
Room For Improvement
- a ton narration i.e. telling vs showing, the pacing felt very slow even watching at a faster speed, this story would have done much better as 6-8 episodes, this slow pacing (and it airing over 12 weeks) actually made my point below worse
- Sunshine started as unlikable which is okay, but the audience needed to see character growth before the last minute, finally in episode 8 he seemed to have a little character growth but then his wish undid it, then we saw a little more but by then it felt too little too late
- the mystery/world building wasn't engaging, it was confusing (I think there was a lot of symbolism/metaphors that I didn't grasp), they needed to explain things just a little bit more/more clearly
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Content Warnings: violence, fight scenes, restraint and kidnapping, past trauma, dub con kiss (drunk, sleeping), non con touch (sleeping)
What I Liked:
- the consent in episode 9 part 1 was amazing, I loved the check ins; related is the realistic way that there wasn't just 1 kiss with a certain couple but continued displays of physical affection (hugs, cheek kisses, sniff kisses, etc)
- addressing several social justice issues that are issues everywhere in the world
- the realistic visuals (i.e. no excessive make up, filters, blurring)
- a trans character is not portrayed as an overly comedic character
- the beautiful music
- the acting and chemistry
- the action/mystery plot
- there was some funny moments including Sean being sassy
- good production value and character styling
Room For Improvement:
- non logical/odd things, plot holes, loose ends, stupid decisions, I'm not going to get into all of them but it reminds me of Manner of Death
- the pacing felt too slow at the beginning and then very rushed at the end
- lack of smart plot twists, the ones presented I guessed a mile away (except for the G)
- they should have reduced characters (side eye to Sean's female "friend) and then fleshed out other characters like Gumpa and another couple that has a criminally low amount of screen time especially in the beginning
- the punch at the end was unnecessary in my opinion
- the lighting in some scenes was too dark and it was difficult to see what was happening and the camerawork was too shaky at times
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could have been so much better
Overall: the cringey/cliched plot and those non funny managers ruined the series. 12 episodes 45 minutes each, aired on Viki (in U.S.) and iQIYI.Content Warnings: non con/dub con, non con kiss, stalking, harassment, manipulation, blackmail, non con picture taking, violence/injury
What I Liked
- how Ja and First played different characters than they have in the past, I like to see actors not getting typecasted
- what was shown in the flashback to give a little bit of a reason for Punn's thoughts/actions
- the side couple's nsfw scene and the morning after (second scene was also well done but hated the circumstances)
- kissing/nsfw (but I was also horrified by the guys doing it in the onsen, other people bathe there!)
- Punn & Ashi sweet interactions
- Punn's realistic first day working
- I was really hating the brother but he did come thru in episode 5 and siblings can be pretty awful at times so that is realistic
- the soap opera scenes were fun*
- supportive family, mom had good advice about communicating clearly and making opportunities
- those huge, fluffy dogs
- actual consequences for characters who did bad things
Room For Improvement
- Punn feels too childlike/immature (stalking, that bizarre confession) to be in a romantic relationship
- the lightning speed relationship pacing in episode 7
- dialogue was unrealistic/contrived, the episode 11 drama was also contrived, Punn's anger would have made so much more sense if the writing happened before they got together instead of after
- *scenes could have been cut shorter for better pacing, as an example that very first scene should have been shorter and it would have been punchier, this did not need to be 12 episodes
- zero interest in the managers fighting and disappointed to see another stereotypical trans woman character
- the side couple's second steamy scene was overshadowed by the circumstances of it, disappointed to still see this in 2023 (and not a fan of the harassment vs reluctant pursuee dynamic), the writers should have cut the managers/love triangle and given the side couple actual dialogue
- not well integrated product placement
- unrealistic stuff, why would a superfan be late to a fan event? why would a non out movie star be dancing in public? who would confess in front of two other people like that in ep 5???
- so much of the final episode was spent on dragging out the drama with the lead couple, and focusing on the other characters
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So Bad It's Good!!!
Overall: I don't even know how to rate this series. If you watch it at double speed and think of it as a cheesy soap opera, it is wildly entertaining. However, it is not a serious or realistic bdsm or mafia romance. Aired on Gagaoolala & YouTube (YouTube has some of the (few) steamy scenes shortened/cut))Content Warnings: murders, gore/blood, kidnapping, slaps/beaten up/violence, manipulation, dub con bdsm (in the first instance), non con touching (sleeping), manhandling, maybe under 18 (in the book Baiboon is 15 but they don't say his age in the series)/age gap side relationship
What I Liked
- this has so much nonsense (pirouette lap sits, shots of running water, zero research into bdsm, Kim making the stupidest decisions). I put this stuff as Room For Improvement as well because it's either awesome or terrible depending on how you watch this series. I laughed so hard every episode.
- appreciated the multiple consent check ins in the initial "bdsm" scene
- the bodyguard shower scene was totally random but hot
Room For Improvement
- random long shots of faucets running, shoes on the bed, awful tattoo
- nonsensical actions and dialogue, Kamol couldn't find another partner in a large city??? Why is Kim so appealing? Why refuse to do something and then instantly gives in? A sample line, Kamol says to Kim "don't worry I'm not involved in drugs or human trafficking"
- the other side couples were not well developed
- awful kissing (but apparently that first scene had zero workshops and the two leads had never worked with each other so that's the production's fault)
- not just 1 but three annoying wannabe girlfriend/boyfriend characters
- zero research into bdsm, also wounds that don't match and look like they were drawn on with lipstick
- slow pacing (watched most on double speed)
- didn't like the overhead camera shots in the beginning and there were some really odd transition shots (like the faucet running water)
- English subs on top of the Thai subs when they were speaking Korean was difficult to read
- they should have cut out the bobblehead commercial breaks
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a season 2 gem
Overall: this is what I wish season 2s would be - the characters and their relationship grew. 10 episodes about 25 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/5837/at-2500-in-akasaka-2024-s02e01 (not available in Japan or Korea).What I Liked
- established relationship
- intimacy/communication
- sweet/caring moments
- avoids the nonsense season 2 plots (i.e. love rivals/terrible communication/re-starting the relationship)
- supportive friends
Room For Improvement
- the night scenes were too dark and more light was needed on their faces
- how a character took method acting home
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