I think Cutie Pie is a formulaic, repetitive, poorly written mess. You're My Sky is so far superior in every way…
Hold up, are we watching the same show? Agree to disagree, I didn't think it was formulaic and repetitive - the couplings were defined right at the start of the show, and they immediately take away the overused tropes of acceptance and coming out (for instance, the main 2 leads have both families pushing for an engagement right at the start) The acting and comedic timing that the show executed are way more dynamic than you're my sky. Storyboarding was fresh and paceful and every episode, you know they are laying subtle developments for progression, and you end up with more questions you know that they will address later.
And like what I mentioned earlier, the technical part of the production was quite well done - they use maybe 4-5 different angles and shots for any given scene (Midshot, wideshot, over the shoulder, closeups, pan-shots etc) which to me shows that the production team and post-production director is putting in more effort in the shoot and edits, as compared to the more typical ones where all you see are splices of maybe 2 different takes in the same scene.
When I looked at Cutie Pie, I didn't get any "repetitive" vibes = what I thought was damn, this wasn't something I watched before (which I haven't gotten since the last one, a tale of thousand stars), whereas from first episode of You're my sky, it was clear that the show wanted to emulate the success of ITSAY in terms of shoot style. Like they want you to feel the same things as that. Now don't get me wrong, I don't think it's a horrible show, but it's not a great show either. It isn't repetitive, it has its moments so far, but it's too inconsistent for me, and the slow pacing and bad acting really takes away from the potential it has.
I've commented once when I watched till episode 8. Now I'm at episode 11 and my view of the show has not changed. The acting is still stiff and terrible, the pacing is ridiculously slow (a whole episode to think about whether or not one should go back to train, or how one should feel when your partner is going overseas - mood killer). This show reminds me of the first season of 2 moons - except better cinematography. I can't decide if the story is good or bad at this point. The device for timejumping is slightly overused, and you can see that the production team is getting lazier with their shots near the end.
For those who are raving about the show, you really need to put down your rose-tinted glasses - I recommend watching cutie-pie which is currently still airing. They don't have great cinematography, but the acting is better there. They have much more shots in any one scene as well (take a 10s scene apart, and look at how many angles they did for that 10s), and while the OST weaves itself in through storytelling, it is not terrible at all, unlike some shows where the production team makes the actor sings when its not their forte.
I will agree with you that Tae who plays Fah needs more work polishing his acting skills. He can come off wooden…
Don't misunderstand, I don't think the faults of the bad acting lies with the actors. I still find the show watchable, but it's kind of frustrating because the show could've been another masterpiece. I've found this to be a recurring problem actually within the industry, from my observations coming from a production background. Generally I can understand why this happens - the broader audience has a hunger for this genre, and with that demand, the networks will commission as many shows as they can every year in order to ride the wave for profits, even though they might not necessarily be prepared enough or understand how to emulate a really good show. Just look at the past 2-3 years alone, there have been very few hits yet many misses. The shows all follow a same pattern, full of cliches and tropes.
On the contrary, while I may be biased towards ITSAY seeing this is the third time I brought them up, the sheer amount of effort they put in with the entire conceptualisation and execution, from pre-production to post-production, is something really very commendable. I don't think the success was anything less deserving of the amount of work and effort they actually put in, 'cos it shows. And I think every production house or network should look at that show as a standard of how well their show could potentially be.
If not it's just a never ending cycle of shows just to feed the audience, shows which are unoriginal, and soon we as the audience will just reach this fatigue which won't bode well for the genre.
So this show tries to replicate and emulate the style and success of ITSAY; it's fairly evident when you compare both shows and notice the similar cinematography, colourgrading, music etc. Plot devices used are fairly fresh and while it's only 8 episodes in, there are standout scenes like the flashback kids of the two mains and the scene at the stairwell, where you see just the hands of the two track leads trying to explore their feelings towards each other. Some of the settings have been unique as well, like the basketball court beside the pier, and I'm glad they didn't overuse the hostel/university trope like for so many others.
Unfortunately that's about it. I'm going to be objective and say that the acting is really subpar, especially for Tupfah and Dome's characters - their range of emotives have been rather limited and atypical of what you see in common GMM BL, which is telling of that how handsome you are doesn't mean you can act well. The sheer amount of product placements really spoiled the experience as well - do sportsmen really eat pizza all the time?
The worst of it all is how slow every single person speaks. I get that slow pacing works in some shows, but not when everyone speaks like the sloths in Zootopia. Pairing this with the typical emotionless style of subpar acting, it really gives the viewer blue balls in a not good way. I think in trying to find the balance, the show loses its quality in this aspect. They can afford to lose some material or scripted better dialogue, and the actors could've used more acting workshops, like how they did for ITSAY.
Overall, however, the show is still worth watching, just don't get your hopes too high up. It's not bad, just feel half-assed when I see what they are trying to do versus the final product of what could've been a standout series.
And like what I mentioned earlier, the technical part of the production was quite well done - they use maybe 4-5 different angles and shots for any given scene (Midshot, wideshot, over the shoulder, closeups, pan-shots etc) which to me shows that the production team and post-production director is putting in more effort in the shoot and edits, as compared to the more typical ones where all you see are splices of maybe 2 different takes in the same scene.
When I looked at Cutie Pie, I didn't get any "repetitive" vibes = what I thought was damn, this wasn't something I watched before (which I haven't gotten since the last one, a tale of thousand stars), whereas from first episode of You're my sky, it was clear that the show wanted to emulate the success of ITSAY in terms of shoot style. Like they want you to feel the same things as that. Now don't get me wrong, I don't think it's a horrible show, but it's not a great show either. It isn't repetitive, it has its moments so far, but it's too inconsistent for me, and the slow pacing and bad acting really takes away from the potential it has.
https://kisskh.at/68975-you-re-my-sky#comment-8923621
For those who are raving about the show, you really need to put down your rose-tinted glasses - I recommend watching cutie-pie which is currently still airing. They don't have great cinematography, but the acting is better there. They have much more shots in any one scene as well (take a 10s scene apart, and look at how many angles they did for that 10s), and while the OST weaves itself in through storytelling, it is not terrible at all, unlike some shows where the production team makes the actor sings when its not their forte.
I still find the show watchable, but it's kind of frustrating because the show could've been another masterpiece. I've found this to be a recurring problem actually within the industry, from my observations coming from a production background. Generally I can understand why this happens - the broader audience has a hunger for this genre, and with that demand, the networks will commission as many shows as they can every year in order to ride the wave for profits, even though they might not necessarily be prepared enough or understand how to emulate a really good show. Just look at the past 2-3 years alone, there have been very few hits yet many misses. The shows all follow a same pattern, full of cliches and tropes.
On the contrary, while I may be biased towards ITSAY seeing this is the third time I brought them up, the sheer amount of effort they put in with the entire conceptualisation and execution, from pre-production to post-production, is something really very commendable. I don't think the success was anything less deserving of the amount of work and effort they actually put in, 'cos it shows. And I think every production house or network should look at that show as a standard of how well their show could potentially be.
If not it's just a never ending cycle of shows just to feed the audience, shows which are unoriginal, and soon we as the audience will just reach this fatigue which won't bode well for the genre.
Unfortunately that's about it. I'm going to be objective and say that the acting is really subpar, especially for Tupfah and Dome's characters - their range of emotives have been rather limited and atypical of what you see in common GMM BL, which is telling of that how handsome you are doesn't mean you can act well. The sheer amount of product placements really spoiled the experience as well - do sportsmen really eat pizza all the time?
The worst of it all is how slow every single person speaks. I get that slow pacing works in some shows, but not when everyone speaks like the sloths in Zootopia. Pairing this with the typical emotionless style of subpar acting, it really gives the viewer blue balls in a not good way. I think in trying to find the balance, the show loses its quality in this aspect. They can afford to lose some material or scripted better dialogue, and the actors could've used more acting workshops, like how they did for ITSAY.
Overall, however, the show is still worth watching, just don't get your hopes too high up. It's not bad, just feel half-assed when I see what they are trying to do versus the final product of what could've been a standout series.
My rating: 6.5/10