4
10
1
1
good development
Overall: I enjoyed the back and forth with the leads/their dynamic. 50 episodes between 1-2 minutes each aired on Vigloo app which also has (Match Play, Rule #1 No Dating Rule, Love in the Apocalypse - My Man's Man is from a female character's perspective and I wouldn't call it a BL series)Content Warnings: punch, blackmail, homophobia
What I Liked
- caring moments
- non dead fish lip press kiss
- stood up/supported partner
Room For Improvement
- background music was too loud at times
How to Watch for Free (episodes are 50 coins each, you can't skip episodes but once unlocked they stay unlocked forever, there are additional tasks to get more coins like following the company on social media)
Day 1
- watch episodes 1-7 (free on the app)
- can watch 10 episodes free with ads, I unchecked the auto unlock, clicked off of that box and another box popped up saying "view ads to watch for free 0/10" (I did that for eps 8-16)
- watch 15 ads per day for 30 coins each on the rewards page and do the daily check in (eps 17-25)
Days 2 & 3
- watch the 10 episodes, do the daily checking, watch the 15 ads per day (should take 2-3 days in total to watch for free)
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
short but packs an emotional punch (watch suggestions)
Overall: from the title alone we know this isn't going to be a typical romcom. I would have rated it higher if they had taken out the needless drama and just centered it on the two characters. 40 episodes about 2 minutes each on the Vigloo app. Episodes 1-3 are here https://www.vigloo.com/video/15000018?season=15000018&episode=1 ; 1-5 are free in the app but on August 5th 2024 Vigloo made all 40 episodes free to watch for 24 hours which is when I watched it (did not need to make an account, just downloaded the app and watched it, there weren't any ads).Watch Suggestions (if you want to remove most violence/in my opinion needless drama)
- stop watching at episode 11 1m55s
- skip episodes 12-13
- watch 14-15 if you'd like to see one protagonist fight otherwise skip
- skip episodes 26-28
- episodes 29-30 are flashbacks
- skip episode 31-32
- end episode 34 at 1m30s
- skip episode 35
- skip episode 39
- watch episode 40 at 44s to the end
Content Warnings (if you watch all episodes): attempted murder, kidnapping/held against will, violence, past trauma
What I Liked
- the mom was awesome
- their relationship development/sweet moments
Room For Improvement
- needless drama, they should have just focused it on the 2 protagonists as there was enough drama with the set up
- it pulled me out of the realism that there were almost never any other people around
- open ending
Was this review helpful to you?
a heartfelt reality dating series
Overall: my goal for reality dating series is always for them to make friends and have minimal heartbreak, any couples are icing on the cake. 10 episodes about 45 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala.Content Warnings: ep 1 briefly mentioned a partner's death
What I Liked
- the friendships
- guys were genuine
- dinner conversation starters where they all answered (such as hobbies) but they also were free to ask their own questions (such as how one guy asked how many exes everyone had although I personally think that's an irrelevant/not good question to ask in the very beginning)
- how they had a date that was both kind of their choice but kind of up to fate
- smart decision to not let them say their age or occupation right away. I think people get fixated on those things when in reality personality, values and goals are much more important compatibility-wise
- the country/mountain setting
- the episode with the guest
- episode 9 was very heartfelt
- production value
Room For Improvement
- felt very similar to His Man (with the phone calls) and I would have liked if they had forged their own path
- dragged out the whole eliminating someone for too many episodes
Comparison to other m/m dating shows
1. Boy Romance (Taiwan, currently airing)
2. His Man seasons 1 & 2 (South Korea). Excellent production value though a bit repetitive with the number of phone calls.
3. Bromance (Thailand) is also on Gagaoolala. This is the typical Bachelor/Bachelorette set up with a bunch of people competing against one another to be with the 1 bachelor. I didn't like this because they could have all been hitting on each other and we have multiple couples! I got kind of bored and skipped a bunch.
4. Love House seasons 1 & 2 (Vietnam) on YouTube (most have English subs, this is ep 1 of season 2 no subs though https://youtu.be/TKzT_nHfVTA ). I liked this set up more than Bromance because the guys could all pursue one another. I didn't like the "secret couple" aspect and dividing them up based on sexual position seemed odd (can't they discuss that in private???) Season 1 was also the most brutal "rose ceremony" I've ever seen in any dating reality show. Season 2 was better.
Was this review helpful to you?
another solid entry in the What Did You Eat Yesterday franchise
Overall: Shiro and Kenji returned with a familiar cast of supporting characters. 12 episodes 30 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala. The suggested watch order for the franchise (all on GagaOOLala now) is: What Did You Eat Yesterday season 1, What Did You Eat Yesterday New Year's special, What Did You Eat Yesterday movie and What Did You Eat Yesterday season 2.Content Warnings: mention of past death
What I Liked
- very similar vibe to the past installments, talked about finances, shopping and cooking food, life issues that they work through
- enjoyed Gilbert's character again (several characters from past installments in the franchise), episode 6 was one of my favorites
- funny parts (like when they first learned about Gilbert's age lmao)
- Kenji's supportive mom and sisters
- that the other parents came around, would have been nice to see a final scene with all 4 of them though
- talked about the partnership system, and difficulty of getting the same rights as other couples
Room For Improvement
- that younger guy at the hair salon irritated me and the owner guy (didn't feel empathy for him)
- wanted to see a tad more explicit physical affection (even a quick kiss on the cheek would have been awesome)
- unrealistic that Shiro's grocery store friend wouldn't have met Kenji in 5 years
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
evenly matched MLs
Overall: I really enjoyed the mutual attraction and evenly matched MLs (it wasn't one was constantly abused and the other the abuser or one was super innocent and the other wasn't). Seems to be patterned off the Chinese BL vertical "Caged Bird". 55 short episodes (vertical). Aired on iQIYI app or Shortime app (can eventually watch for free by watching ads, My referral link is https://playground.shortime.en/invite/NKNIWI (all letters) and it should get you a bonus. You can view the first few episodes for free on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0vtefTLhn0Content Warnings: past murders, attempted murder, attempted rape, torture, violence (including choking, slaps, hits), manipulation, drugging, kidnapping/held against will, non con recording
What I Liked
- the characterization of the 2 MLs, I didn't feel that one was a horrid bully and the other a victim
- intimacy, pretty spicy for a vertical (and included mutual want)
- cliche evil woman who wanted to be his wife (but I did not see how that would end so bonus for doing something different)
- the reason for the past split made sense and their actions based on the information they had in the present
Room For Improvement
- nonsense plot stuff, but that's kind of baked in to this style of vertical so I didn't really take off points for it
Was this review helpful to you?
gentle slice of life
Overall: felt like a slice of life or even a vlog. Episode 1 & 2 seemed to happen before the events in Close to You. 6 episodes about 10 minutes each. Aired on GND Studio channel https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-UjFgW8TJEd-7ha5jR1N0Rne1Lz66mZp&si=MnR1TAAupvzfnxEVWhat I Liked
- visuals
- their friend was awesome, I need a spin-off with him as the lead
Room For Improvement
- voice over at the end of episode 1
- not a fan of the silent pining and then a love rival appears to start things
Was this review helpful to you?
a golden retriever and a black cat
Overall: though some things were a bit choppy/unanswered, I liked the leads' dynamic and the support characters. 9 episodes about 15 minutes each. Aired on Viki https://www.viki.com/videos/1176697v-to-my-star-episode-1 ; WeTV https://wetv.vip/en/play/zimmvbpia14gqrp-To-My-Star/l00358wgxfm-EP1-To-My-Star ; iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/to-my-star-episode-1-1154cnpl6qc?lang=en_us ; Viu https://www.viu.com/ott/th/en-us/vod/329301/To-My-StarContent Warnings: stalking, non con picture taking, blackmail
What I Liked
- different personalities
- caring moments
- the manager, the assistant and the journalist
- that a character admitted his feelings as soon as realized he had them
- production value (music)
Room For Improvement
- didn't explain the reaction to glass breaking
- the scandal/his plan with it could have been more clear
- noble idiot trope/refused to communicate (to avoid angst, stop at 14min in episode 7 and pick it back up at 11 minutes in episode 8)
- one villain had too few consequences
- the random English speaking journalist, how did she know where he lived?
Was this review helpful to you?
well done coming of age/romance vertical series, needs an international release
Overall: I really enjoyed their different personalities and how they changed to be more compatible with each other. Official platform is the app Shortcha which is only available in South Korea. 50 episodes 1-2 minutes each. I saw it with parts unsubbed or rough translations so my rating might change in either direction with an official translation.Content Warnings: punch, non con kiss, manipulation, non con picture taking/sharing, unwanted outing, slap, homophobia
What I Liked
- chemistry
- their dynamic
- how they had different personalities/goals but then they each changed because they wanted to and became more compatible with each other/their goals aligned
- caring moments
- the antagonists had their reasons, they weren't the typical cartoonish villains with nonsense reasons/actions
- it didn't seem as if everything was patched up with the mom which I liked and it felt realistic
Room For Improvement
- I was confused at the beginning with the punch, that was a flash forward that took place about halfway thru the story
- I wasn't sure about the sister/her reasoning and then change, perhaps better subtitles would help with that part
Was this review helpful to you?
similar tone to the series
Overall: I think fans of the series would enjoy these 3 episodes which were about 38 minutes each (there were iQIYI promos and then behind the scenes at the end of episodes, episode 3 had a musical number after the initial end credits). Aired on iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/your-sky-of-us-episode-1-tfd7uw8or4?lang=en_usWatch Suggestions (to get rid of 2 annoying characters in episode 2)
- watch episode 1
- episode 2 watch 16:25-18:20, 20:05-35:30, 41:40-end
- watch episode 3
What I Liked
- in episode 1 I think it was the first time I've seen that plan where it didn't emotionally hurt the main lead
- kept a similar tone to the series (romcom)
- established couples
- sweet moments
- funny moments (the slide part made me chuckle)
Room For Improvement
- it was very tame and with so many established couples I expected a bit more spice
- didn't get into the side couples relationships as much as I would have liked
- the friend trying to ruin a surprise was supposed to be funny but she was being pretty selfish
- episode 2 with the nonsense of love rivals but at least it was resolved quickly
- (neutral) comedy sound effects
Was this review helpful to you?
needed to center on the leads (watch suggestions)
Overall: needed more focus on the leads' relationship development and for both of them to not be so wishy-washy. 8 episodes about 20 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala (not in US, Canada, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Columbia, Argentina, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, UK, Spain, Portugal, Japan or South Korea) https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/5085/heart-stain-2025-e01 ; iQIYI (guessing most of the countries not covered by Gaga) https://www.iq.com/play/ouzi1rg5sc and Heavenly (South Korea).Content Warning: bullying, homophobia
Watch Suggestions
- watch episodes 1 & 2
- episode 3 watch 1:30-4, 14:30-15:50 and 18:15-23
- episode 4 watch 10:50-12:40
- episode 5 watch 20:45-end
- episode 6 watch beginning-13 and 19:15-20:10
- can skip episode 7 or watch 3-4:40
- episode 8 watch 10:30-15:40 and 20-23:55 (can watch until the end but I think their plan is stupid/sad)
What I Liked
- clear premise
- supportive friend
- fast pacing
- sweet moments
- he knew it wasn't good/would cause problems
- no dead fish lip press
Room For Improvement
- not a fan of the intro for episode 1
- exposition dumps
- spent way too much time on the teacher and so bizarre the teacher didn't respond clearly right away, he gave creepy vibes but I don't think he was supposed to
- throwing in the bully character instead of focusing more on the main leads, also didn't understand why the bully waited to say something for so long
- a trope in episode 6
- one character came across as desperate and the other came across as cruel/insincere, he was even hot/cold in episode 7 where one scene he says he doesn't know if he likes him and the next scene he says he really likes him
- refusal to answer calls/texts/communicate
- the time jump and their "plan" at the very end of episode 8
Was this review helpful to you?
crack comedy that didn't work for me
Overall: had the crack comedy/overacting feel but I did not laugh as much as I had hoped. I have watched all of the previous Ossan's Love live action series/movies but tried to review this series on its own merits. 12 episodes about 50 minutes each. Aired on GMMTV's YouTube channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLszepnkojZI63DZX1W9UTHeCiGDumJxch&si=gtEBAtl0tBrY42OU ; re-aired in April 2025 on Viki https://www.viki.com/tv/40922c-ossans-love-thailandContent Warnings: non con kiss, non con picture taking, harassment, past death, threatened violence, fight, blood
Watch Suggestions (if the comedy isn't working for you and to center on the m/m sweet moments)
- episodes 1-3 (likely won't be re-watching to suggest timings)
- episode 4 watch part 1: 5:30-7 and part 4 1:30-5 and 12:55
- episode 5 watch part 2 1:40-end and part 4 12-end
- episode 6 watch part 2 6:30-11:20 and part 4 8:40-end
- watch episode 7
- episode 8 part 1 watch beginning-8 and 9:45-16 and watch part 4 7:40-end
- episode 9 part 1 start at 2 minutes, part 2 beginning-3 and 5:35-7, part 4 8:15-11:25
- episode 10 part 3 watch 9-end, part 4 2-9:30
- episode 11 part 4 watch beginning-13:40
- episode 12 part 3 watch 18:30-end, watch all of part 4
What I Liked
- seeing Earth & Mix again and that they switched character types that they normally play
- chuckled a couple times like the monk scene in EP 1
- Moonlight Chicken character cameos and other references in ep 2
- sweet/caring moments
- cameo from original series
- musical number at the end of episode 12
Room For Improvement
- didn't laugh at most jokes
- love triangle with too much focus on the boss
- Mo had zero spine so it was difficult to root for him/their relationship
- in episode 4 the daughter was too old to be acting like that so it came across as cringey/annoying instead of funny
- lip presses
- the time skip
- trope at the end of episode 11
Was this review helpful to you?
short & sweet
Overall: this was really well done for an indie production, hope we see more series from them. 3 episodes about 15 minutes each. Aired on 1Camera Studio YoutTube channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF0HYZ-k2RyDMdysEo5OhQNMn9BaPl-B6&si=N372KF0mLKkUpE6MWhat I Liked
- centered on the 2 male leads
- supportive female friend (non cliched character) and male friend
- illustrations for the intro
- funny how the friend instantly shifted his attention in episode 1
- good communication in the final episode
- nice way to end the series
Room For Improvement
- voice over exposition dump
- not clearly explained in the flashback why he didn't see him
- I didn't really take off points because this was their first series attempt and I'm sure had little to no budget but somethings they could improve on production wise would be microphones rubbing against clothes, needed more light on their faces in the last scene (even night scenes need light on the actors' faces)
Was this review helpful to you?
could have been amazing
Overall: after almost 6 months and no official international release, I was beyond excited to finally be able to watch this (see the MDL comments). Unfortunately, the characters changed and the plot let me down. About 1 hour long. 2 years later, WeTV released it officially https://wetv.vip/en/play/7kf6k2sjtuvcekk-I_Feel_You_Linger_In_The_Air_(Special_Episode%3A_Scent_of_Memory)What I Liked
- some sweet moments
- flashbacks to the series (except for the rap because that was still extremely cringey)
Room For Improvement
- if you had a few minutes or a few hours with the love of your life for perhaps one final time, what would you do? Play a virtual reality game? Check your phone and ignore them over lunch? Do a dance and post it to social media? I was extremely disappointed in the plot of this special. In the first few minutes we should have gotten how much they loved/missed each other and a minimum of a passionate kiss.
- cliche interrupted kiss
- dead fish lip press
- nonsense stuff, ie. why would Jom try to wake himself up from something so amazing, why would he turn something on he should know would scare Yai, where was Yai (also by himself) while Jom was preparing that surprise
- the tonal shift around 40 minutes didn't make sense when Jom seemed so glib up to that point
Was this review helpful to you?
came for the m/m romance, stayed for the rest (need a spin off/season 2)
Overall: I heard about the m/m romance (I was worried at the beginning but then really enjoyed), but overall liked this series that looked at love, sex and our complicated relationships with other people. 8 episodes. Aired on Netflix.Content Warnings: death, grief, past parental abuse, homophobia, beaten up/fight, sexual harassment, non con video recording/sharing, cyberbullying, drugging, body shaming, alcoholism
What I Liked
- mix of comedy with poignant parts, there are some truly breathtaking moments when nothing is said but everything is felt, not even sure how to describe this
- realistic problems (though it's definitely fictional since a family wouldn't have all those issues at the same time)
- some mystery/characters thinking they know everything, but not having the whole perspective/information
- production value (music was excellent, interesting camera shots)
Room For Improvement
- I found myself bored by some of the plots, in particular the younger sister
- the fact that everyone was pretty awful at communication, wanted at least 1 or 2 characters who said what they wanted
Was this review helpful to you?
seaside romcom
Overall: there were some nice parts in this short seaside romcom which has exaggerated humor from the side characters. Aired on WeTV in 2 parts with 55 minutes of total runtime.What I Liked
- cute moments
- beach/seaside setting
- kind of made sense why they had to room together
Room For Improvement
- they needed to cut out 2 of the 3 supporting characters and use that time more on the leads getting to know each other
- over the top humor and the comedy sound effects weren't funny
- needed just a little bit more at the end
Was this review helpful to you?
