4
10
1
1
slow pacing with unbelievable characters (watch suggestions)
Overall: one character was unbelievably naive and then the other was oddly cruel in episode 7. 10 episodes about 25 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/4529/takaras-treasure-2024 except Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand and PhilippinesWatch Suggestions
- watch episode 1
- watch episode 2 beginning to 2 min, 4:30-5, 15-16:35, 17:30 to the end
- watch episode 3 at 4:30-6
- start episode 4 at 8 minutes
- watch episode 5 at 17:40 to the end
- start episode 6 at 8 minutes
- watch episode 7 at 4-8:20 and 14:40-15:35
- skip episode 8
- watch episode 9
- episode 10 was oddly anticlimactic, you could just watch at 22:40 to the end
Content Warnings: see the comment under a spoiler for 2 of them, stalking
What I Liked
- that it didn't start with a flash forward or back
- meet-cute subverted trope
- I did laugh at the terrible hiding skill in episode 4
- episode 9 was good
Room For Improvement
- Taishin was unbelievably naive (he still asked that question in episode 10, what on earth) and Takara was oddly cruel for not telling Taishin the truth in episode 7
- a glacial pace with their relationship
- odd how very similar behaviors were categorized differently
- nonsense stuff: how they carried tents, sleeping bags, lanterns, food, etc in those small backpacks
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quirky series that felt like it took me 1000 years to watch
Overall: I was excited for this quirky romcom but it was extremely slow at times and had odd tonal shifts. It's from the same director/screenwriter as I Will Knock You and they had similar aesthetics. 12 episodes about 40 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala (not in Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Macau) & WeTV (vpn to Thailand).Content Warnings: attempted suicide, murders, blood, violence, self harm, stalking, trespassing
What I Liked
- cute moments
- supportive friend group and sister
- eclectic wardrobe (sweaters/shirts) and accessories (umbrellas)
- the cat
- ep 5, good he didn't kiss Yoh when sleeping
- ep 9 around 31 minutes
- Shin
- (neutral), the comedy sound effects are there but not as egregious as in other series
Room For Improvement
- very slow pacing for most of the series, I was frequently bored with the eating, dancing, talking about pork blood soup, etc
- Yoh did all that terrible stuff to Pun and even though Pun said he was fine it made me really dislike Yoh, Yoh was too dumb/mean for me to like him and Pun was also unbelievable stupid/unaware for someone who has lived for that long (Pun is explained in episode 12)
- the tonal shifts from fluffy/campy to violent/serious (such as the beginning of episode 2 which I did not find funny) did not work for me
- inconsistent/convenient world building, information in episode 8/9 did not mesh with the exposition dump in episode 2 (some of it made sense in episode 12 but that was too long)
- not sure why they tried to do the tease at the beginning as the title, summary and trailer all gave a plot point away
- there were some fast cuts in the beginning and I wasn't sure if there was a time jump or not until the scene went on
- exposition dump in most of episode 12 and revealed information much too late
- one dimensional villain character
- felt like a middle school romance
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This review may contain spoilers
I really wanted to like it
Overall: I was super excited when the series was first announced to have a lead in a m/m romance series love to wear high heels, be confident, etc; however, the mediocre writing let the actors down. This is based on a webtoon that I haven't read and I am reviewing the series on its own merits. 13 episodes about 50 minutes each. Aired on iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/i-m-the-most-beautiful-count-episode-1-1hwby7xm14c?lang=en_us and YouTube (not in North, Central or South America, the Caribbean, U.K, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia or Australia) https://youtu.be/JW3Sni7GJK0?si=Rn-vf6SAfAvJ1lReContent Warnings: slaps/hits, attempted murder, multiple murders/deaths, blood, drugging, queerphobia, violence, manipulation, past bullying
What I Liked
- that the lead wore stilettos, had long nails and was sassy
- historical setting
- styling
- talking about queerphobia, inequality
- sweet moments
Room For Improvement
- the switches between slapstick comedy and massacre of innocent people was jarring
- a common stereotype of effeminate men/trans women in media is hypersexualized/handsy and comic relief but in the 'laugh at you' and not 'laugh with you' kind of way. Unfortunately, the writers reinforced both of these with their lead character. Even more jarring is that the series is trying to call out inequality and queerphobia yet engages in writing stereotypical characters. I do not blame the actors at all.
- the writers were maybe trying to portray Kosol as stoic but he came across as abusive and violent especially in the first few episodes
- it was supposed to be a comedy but I rarely laughed, it has many comedy sound effects that didn't enhance the humor
- love triangles/love rivals/jealousy (the main one took 10 of 13 episodes to resolve)
- I liked the side couple a bit but not how the one with more power commanded the other guy to do things on several occasions
- no one told 1 character a plan in episode 11
- the fake out in episode 13
- note: at 7m 30s in episode 6 when the character said 'kathoey' it was translated as trans woman. They should have left it as 'kathoey' or maybe used 'ladyboys or him say "I am a queen" because trans woman was not an accurate translation.
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too many side characters/plot
Overall: this fell into the trap of several KBLs before it, too many characters/plot in a very short runtime. Aired two 14 minute episodes per week on GagaOOLala and Viki.Content Warnings: anxiety struggles/mental health struggles, manipulation, grooming?, under 18/age gap relationship?, stalking, punch
What I Liked
- the wedding venue was gorgeous
- showing anxiety medication being used
- a few cute parts
- there was a little mouth movement in the kisses, liked that they held hands
- that roommate/friend was sweet
Room For Improvement
- the tried to do too much and it came across as confusing, jumpy/choppy, in episode 4 there is a random scene in the daytime and then suddenly the next scene with two different characters is at night with no transition scene, I'm not 100% sure what happened in the past/what their relationship was, I was not invested in the main characters' relationship
- ignoring boundaries repeatedly is not attractive to me
- cliche ghosting/poor communication combined with a time jump
- ep 1 why was the pianist not dressed up, I know it said he was a substitute but it looked like he had time to practice/could have grabbed a suit/dress shoes (he was wearing white sneakers), or they should have added a scene where the wedding coordinator said he had to play in 30 minutes, he said he just had what he was wearing and she said that's fine
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This review may contain spoilers
something different that partially worked (spoilers in the content warnings)
Overall: I absolutely loved Jiu/Tian in To Sir With Love, but Charn/Tinn's dynamic didn't really work for me in Laws of Attraction. Aired 8 episodes on One31's YouTube channel (not in the U.S.) and on iQIYI subbed in some countries including the U.S.Note: this is a lakorn style (soap opera) so things are meant to be over the top (like that jump flying kick in ep 1)
Content Warnings (pretty much all of them and there are some really disturbing ones): murders, attempted murder, fights/beaten up/violence, blood, manipulation, blackmail, corruption, non con touching, parental abuse, torture, bullying, animal death, arson
What I Liked
- the secondary m/m couple, wish they had more scenes and showed things instead of alluding to them (I heard One31 is a more conservative channel so that could be why we don't see steamy scenes)
- mystery elements with what has happened in the past, what exactly happened in episode 1, characters' motivations
- flirty Charn
- absolutely loved the ex and his shirt allergy
- soap opera vibe, loved that flying kick
- sweet family moments, that grandma was awesome
- marriage equality advocacy
Room For Improvement
- Charn/Tinn's romantic dynamic didn't work for me because
1. it seemed to be a few days or couple of weeks after something that is sooooo awful and we have Charn hitting on Tinn, I couldn't enjoy their romance with that plot point in the background
2. why/when did Tinn trust Charn?
3. Charn is a flawed character which is fine but what he did to innocent people in the past is beyond redemption, I'd be okay if he was with another deeply flawed character but they put him with a squeaky clean character and it didn't work for me
- plot holes/contradictions/because the writer said so stuff (how on earth would that law office do that, we see a character injured in the back but then bleeding from their head, etc)
- needed more screentime to flesh out the plot and characters, felt rushed
- the final episode was very jarring, we'd see something extremely violent and then instant cut to pure fluff
- dead fish lip presses between two adult characters (somehow murder/blood is fine but the company couldn't do more than the presses?)
- upbeat music when a character was talking about something extremely serious in episode 2
- the special effects were low budget but I didn't take off points for that
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This review may contain spoilers
your emotions will be served
Overall: grab a tissue box because this was a roller coaster for me. Note the content warnings and the series itself may be very triggering. 10 episodes about 20 minutes each. No official international release (which is a huge shame and I hope it gets one eventually). Spoiler for the ending in the comments.Content Warnings: intimate partner abuse/violence, past rape/sexual assault, manipulation, homophobia, death, grief, past abuse
What I Liked
- an established couple who wasn't dealing with a love rival or terrible communication (the lack of physical affection shown didn't bother me as they were together a long time and not everyone is super physically affectionate, it was obvious that they loved each other)
- opposite personalities that compliment each other
- discussed the unfairness of current laws
- that they touched on Japan's single custody law where one parent gets full custody and can deny the other parent from ever seeing their child again leading to 70% of children in sole custody having no visitation with the other parent (there is a new 2026 law that might change this), which is likely why a character didn't seek divorce earlier (because they might lose custody)
- avoided a cartoonish antagonist
Room For Improvement
- a character was allegedly extremely intelligent, but didn't seem to mind putting is job in jeopardy
- some of the side stories weren't as gripping, I think they should have pared them down and focused on the main plot
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This review may contain spoilers
a comedy with great chemistry
Overall: I enjoyed the chemistry with both couples. 10 episodes about 45 minutes each. There was a bonus scene at the end of episode 1 and also 10. Aired on WeTV https://wetv.vip/en/play/ev770x3txo1kfou/l41011jleaz-EP01%3A_Me_and_WhoContent Warnings: attempted murder, death off screen, manipulation
What I Liked
- chemistry
- sweet/caring moments
- cameo of the Khemjira leads Keng and Namping
- Knock Knock Boys on the tv
- they avoided a cliche in episode 9
- redemption arc for two characters
Room For Improvement
- not good world building: there was a large assumption made by a character in episode 1 and there were inconsistencies in the rules that they set
- nonsense stuff like going to bed with sleep masks but leaving a bright light on, leaving the curtain to the bedroom open when they don't want the butler to know what is happening, perfect hair when they woke up in the morning, one dead peacock that seemed to travel to every room the characters were in (update, I must have missed it on my first watch but it's Apo's "sleeping buddy" and they show him moving with it, I didn't take off any points in my review for this part lol)
- I did not laugh at most of the comedy (including toilet humor) as it went on
- the 'let me explain' and doesn't explain/the other person leaves without an explanation
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golden retriever and black cat by the seaside (watch suggestions)
Overall: I wasn't totally hooked at the beginning but it grew on me. Based on the book "Love Sea" by MAME. There is also a Thai live action adaptation. I reviewed this series based on its own merits. 12 episodes about 30 minutes each. Note there is a bonus scene after the initial end credits. Aired on GagaOOLala (not in Japan) https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/5665/love-sea-the-home-for-lovers-2025-e01Content Warnings: past intimate partner abuse, violence & child abuse, trauma, manhandling, attempted murder, blood, beaten up/punches
Watch Suggestions (take out some of the content warnings and focus more on the m/m couple)
- watch episodes 1 & 2
- episode 3 skip 9:45-11:45 and 21:35-end
- episode 4 start at 6 min
- episode 5 start at 9 min
- stop episode 6 at 25:05
- episode 7 watch 17-19:20, 20:10-23:45 and 26:30-27:55
- episode 8 watch 4:30-6:50
- episode 9 watch 10-12:45
- episode 10 watch 27-end
- watch the 2 specials (eps 11 & 12)
What I Liked
- visuals
- ongoing intimacy and showed the use of a condom
- seaside/small town location for part of the series
- a character was blunt like in response to the thin walls he said he wanted them to hear
Room For Improvement
- I liked the opposites attract dynamic, but not when one was hot and cold, this improved
- there seemed to be some mind games with the women and they felt separate from the rest of the story especially in the first half, also some lackluster kissing
- production issues like odd shots, night scenes were too dark, a character bought a bunch of clothes, but then wore the same outfit for multiple days
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Boys In Fluffy Love
Overall: watching this fluffy romcom gave me a warm fuzzy feeling. It was my favorite GMMTV series so far. 12 episodes about 45 minutes each. Aired on iQIYI (U.S., Canada and Thailand) https://www.iq.com/play/boys-in-love-episode-1-1p80isfbzyg?lang=en_us and GMMTV's YouTube channel for likely everywhere else https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUGbwUQ5jeQContent Warning: unwanted outing
What I Liked
- vibrant/youthful (but not childish) feel
- opposites attract dynamics
- supportive friends (though they seem to share a brain cell)
- flirty moments
- sweet/caring moments
- the apology in episode 2
- lack of communication didn't drag on forever, felt realistic to try to figure things out
- bisexual representation
- worked through challenges together
Room For Improvement
- voice over to set the story/exposition dumps (but I appreciated not starting with a flash forward or flashback)
- nonsense, 'no uniforms' does not mean complete chaos with fake weapons and Halloween-like costumes and perhaps it's different in Thailand but where I live teachers would never invite students to a housewarming party
- one guy in a side couple totally ignored the other's boundaries in episode 4
- a teacher asked a very personal/inappropriate question and at times he felt too immature to be in a romantic relationship
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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
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entertaining historical romance with thriller elements
Overall: I thought it was a good blend of a historical setting, romance and scary parts, though it definitely could have used a little bit more runtime (1hr 40 minutes before the credits) to flesh the story and characters out more. If you aren't a thriller/horror person, it's not that bad, just watch it at a faster speed and turn down the sound. Originally aired in theaters in Thailand. Aired on Netflix Thailand (need a Netflix subscription and a vpn to Thailand).Content Warnings: past death, attempted murder, violence, blood, jump scares, manhandling
What I Liked
- historical setting, I was so immersed I didn't realize it was a historical setting for awhile (thought he just liked vintage cars lol)
- integrating thriller/horror with romance
- sweet moments
- good kissing/both into it
Room For Improvement
- needed more runtime to better show/explain things like instead of the monk saying a character lost something we could have had a short scene of him looking for it/that other guy getting rid of it, why was he not in the hospital towards the end did he imagine that part? who exactly was that one dude at the beginning, was the before aged 25 made up by him, why? instead of a 'getting to know you' montage we could have had more scenes actually shown, they didn't have time to really develop those two male side characters
- choppy parts, were inside during the day then she says to get food then suddenly they are together and it's nighttime
- a few 'because the writer said so' like a character taking something off before he sleeps even though he knows he shouldn't
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A short & sweet slice of life story
Overall: this is a 28 minute slice of life/coming out story with an established m/m couple. Watched on Gagaoolala.Content Warnings: none
What I Liked
- a sweet established couple
- the mom was observant
- the sibling communication
- the (short) m/m couple communication
Room For Improvement
- the dodge at the end/not very clear, but I think this is also realistic in some instances
- they could have cut the scene/other character with the writing and spent that time somewhere else
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This review may contain spoilers
struggled with Segaski
Overall: I loved everything about this except Segaski. 8 episodes about 20 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala & Viki.Content Warnings: intimate partner abuse (see my explanation at the end), stalking, manhandling, non con bondage
What I Liked
- acting/chemistry
- NSFW well done
- production value
Room For Improvement
- Segaski is an abuser and a jerk (get your own soy sauce), this went beyond miscommunication
- lack of growth from Segaski, he actually got worse as the series went on, in episode 7 he apologized for believing Yoh can be an independent adult/trusting him which was definitely not the apology I was looking for, towards the end there was a hint of growth but then he backslid again
- why was Segaski so stupid, Yoh told him that he wanted someone who was nice/caring and smiled at him, but Segaski was forbidding him from seeing his friends, pulled him around and threatened to confine him to their apartment?!?
- the NSFW fizzled out, though there was a little in ep 8
- cliche getting sick after being in the rain but at least it was before and not after they had sex
I really hope people realize this is fiction and not a model for a healthy relationship because Segaski is an abuser
1. financial abuse - it is apparent that Yoh is very aware he is financially dependent on Segaski, they don't show us that he has anywhere else to go, I think it was either ep 3 or 4 Segaski reminds Yoh that he provides everything for him
2. Segaski forbids Yoh from seeing his friend in episode 4, Yoh is a grown adult and should be to go or see his friends when he wants to, Segaski in episode 7 again is angry hoping Yoh doesn't visit his friend
3. stalking - Segaski stalked Yoh, he never apologized for this but Yoh apologized for seeing his friend/coworker, those who are abused will say the problem is their fault when it was actually the abuser's action/fault (i.e. Segaski shouldn't have stalked Yoh or forbade him from seeing his friend)
4. physical abuse - pulling someone by the wrist is abusive unless there is an emergency and a person is yanking another person out of danger, in episode 7 Yoh was uncomfortable when Segaski tied his hands together and said he couldn't be trusted to be on his own although we know Yoh can be an unreliable narrator and then later it seemed like he might like it but it didn't start out as consensual bondage
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skip episodes 3 and 5
Overall: nothing really happened in this series and when something did happen it felt extremely contrived. You can skip episode 3 (a whole bunch of stupid jealousy) and 5 (a whole bunch of counseling sessions with all combos of characters). This is set in the Love Mechanics universe with mostly new actors. 6 episodes about 45 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala and YouTube.Content Warnings: dub/non con kiss, homophobia
What I Liked
- the supportive friends (but had waaaayyyy too much screen time)
- a few cute moments
- Ana's mom and dad
- mentioned how expensive medicine is
- they do allude to them having sex but don't show anything
- that Fuse stands by Ana and they talk in the car in episode 4 about what happened and stands up for their relationship again
- neutral, there are comedy sound effects
FYI the title Future might come from the character's name, Anakhot, which means "future" in Thai.
Room For Improvement
- the plot is bogged down by not needed conversations/texts with Ana and Fuse's parents and friends, in the final episode out of 40 minutes there was a 4 minute scene towards the beginning and a 4 minute scene at the end with just the two of them (and even at the end it wasn't just the two of them exactly), so only 8 minutes of 40 minutes was spent on the protagonists with each other?!!!!! The plot in these 6 episodes could have easily been cut down to 2 episodes.
- Ana is set up to be very shy and then there is a (pointless) 1 year time jump and suddenly he is extremely forthright/flirty???
- a bunch of characters were introduced really quickly but I figured out the main couple at least
- nonsense plot and dialogue, who on earth would say 'you have to be my wife/bottom' to a near stranger, do they like each other, why??? completely ridiculous (and not in the fun way) jealousy
- the protagonists seem too immature to be in a relationship with anyone
- that bizarre conversation with that guy at the end came out of nowhere, and why does it matter if someone has had many partners or has many partners, what century are we living in
- loud and constant music
- crying without tears
- many subtitle errors that negatively affected understanding what was being said, I wish Gaga had cleaned up the subtitles I assume they were given by the production company
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a mixed bag
Overall: the first story was adorable, though that vibe didn't last. Not sure why so many characters ignored boundaries, but it was not romantic. 8 different stories, each in 2 parts about 15 minutes total per storyline. Airing on Strongberry YouTube Channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNd7BhdAz80ptzaxeYXbVCLVXH7JXtely&si=_AO3vgmNtpY2d-vI - later aired on Shortime, my invite link is https://playground.shortime.app/en/invite/NKNIWI - the code is NKNIWI (those are all capital letters, that's the capital letter i) and it should get you a bonus. Note each episode is 120 popcorn which is pretty expensive/will take a while to watch for free on Shortime.Story 1: Want To Grow It? rating 9 (strangers)
Super adorable, focuses on 2 characters with an easy to understand story. Good production value.
Story 2: Folding You, rating 8 (university students, 1 is quirky)
This was quirky, didn't feel the chemistry as much.
Story 3: Sweet Mischief, rating 7 (servant contract/blackmail)
The blackmail wasn't cute nor was seeing several uncomfortable kisses.
Story 4: Sleep Around Still Mine, rating 8.5 (friends with benefits)
Overall well done, though they could have cut the ghosting.
Story 5: Craving You, rating 8 (actor/manager)
Not a fan of the non/dub con kiss in the first part and the change seemed sudden.
Story 6: Not a BL, rating 7.5 (coworkers)
Bad that he didn't explain what the job would be. Not sure if the owner was helping?
Story 7: Sweet Mischief, rating 7 (trying to get into university)
Not a fan of repeatedly ignoring boundaries and the non con kiss.
Story 8: A Killer Recipe, rating 8.5 (former boyfriends)
I was a bit confused and needed a little more explanation. Note, likely murder off screen and blood shown.
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