This review may contain spoilers
This was genuinely really good. I wasn’t expecting much given this is a shorts stories, but this is truly on par with a standard full length series. There are compilations available of the episodes on the official YouTube, so the shorts format wasn’t too annoying, but this would have been so much better if it was filmed in landscape as opposed to portrait.
There were two stories shown here - one is of the two idol/actors, and one is of the two students. The student story is the film that the actors are filming in universe. The first 6 episodes are the student story, then we jump into the idol/actor story, and then the ending of the student story is shown later when the actors film it. I thought both were really compelling. I genuinely liked the student story and would have watched a full BL series dedicated to it. But the way it was shown, with the first 6 episodes of just that, you get invested in that story only to find out that’s not the real story. So it ends up being a kind of bait and switch. I think interspersing the student story in between the actor story as they filmed the scenes would have made more sense.
I really liked that both leads were complete equals. Both shared in the responsibility of caring for each other and both took the lead at different times. There was mutual and reciprocal affection.
I absolutely loved that when Bai Xing found out the truth about Hei Yan’s feelings and identity, he didn’t immediately fold and forgive him. He was angry, demanded an explanation, and went off about Hei Yan’s continued lack of communication. I so love when a character actually stands up for themselves instead of just accepting anything they’re given in the name of love.
And I loved the ending as well. We had plenty of time with the happy couple, and it was so refreshing to see an idol drama where they don’t hide from the public. They also get married in the end, which I always love. Plus the relationship wasn’t overly chaste - they sleep in the same bed, they kiss properly and frequently, and they don’t pretend to be virginal people in a long term relationship that get shy at the mention of sex.
If I had one complaint, it would be that they played into the fan service aspect of their relationship, posting fan club content and selling merch. I feel like it’s never a good thing to be monetizing your relationship.
Also, I thought it was funny that these guys were supposed to be singers, dancers, and actors in universe because they very clearly could not sing or dance. They can definitely act though, and their in universe acting scenes were just as compelling as the overall story. Out of all the shorts series I’ve seen, I think this one has the best acting.
There were several good kiss and NC scenes (waist up making out, implied sex). There are also throat grabbing (not choking) scenes from both couples (not pre-negotiated), if that’s something you want to be aware of in advance.
Boundary/consent issues: In the student story, one tries to kiss the other while he’s sleeping, but he wakes up. In the actor story, there were several sleep violations on both characters’ parts - watching sleeping, touching faces/hair, taking photos. Bai Xing also tries to lift Hei Yan’s shirt when he’s sleeping to see a scar, but Hei Yan wakes up. There were a couple scenes where one would grab the other one to prevent them from leaving as well. For the second couple, one of the characters grabs the other’s face while drunk and won’t let go when he’s trying to pry him off. He also kisses his cheek and hugs him.
There were a couple non con / dub con kisses as well. Hei Yan kisses Bai Xing when he’s sleeping, and while Bai Xing responses, it was an unconscious response, like sleep walking or sleep talking. Bai Xing kisses Hei Yan on stage without prior discussion, and Hei Yan isn’t happy about it. Bai Xing also kisses Hei Yan as a form of revenge, saying it was just performative since he thinks Hei Yan has just been immersive acting with him and playing with his feelings. During one makeout session, Bai Xing says to wait, and Hei Yan does stop, but when Bai Xing voices a concern about people being outside, Hei Yan just pushes him down and continues. It does proceed consensually from there though. And there’s one scene for each couple that involves non-pre-negotiated throat grabbing (not choking).
There were two stories shown here - one is of the two idol/actors, and one is of the two students. The student story is the film that the actors are filming in universe. The first 6 episodes are the student story, then we jump into the idol/actor story, and then the ending of the student story is shown later when the actors film it. I thought both were really compelling. I genuinely liked the student story and would have watched a full BL series dedicated to it. But the way it was shown, with the first 6 episodes of just that, you get invested in that story only to find out that’s not the real story. So it ends up being a kind of bait and switch. I think interspersing the student story in between the actor story as they filmed the scenes would have made more sense.
I really liked that both leads were complete equals. Both shared in the responsibility of caring for each other and both took the lead at different times. There was mutual and reciprocal affection.
I absolutely loved that when Bai Xing found out the truth about Hei Yan’s feelings and identity, he didn’t immediately fold and forgive him. He was angry, demanded an explanation, and went off about Hei Yan’s continued lack of communication. I so love when a character actually stands up for themselves instead of just accepting anything they’re given in the name of love.
And I loved the ending as well. We had plenty of time with the happy couple, and it was so refreshing to see an idol drama where they don’t hide from the public. They also get married in the end, which I always love. Plus the relationship wasn’t overly chaste - they sleep in the same bed, they kiss properly and frequently, and they don’t pretend to be virginal people in a long term relationship that get shy at the mention of sex.
If I had one complaint, it would be that they played into the fan service aspect of their relationship, posting fan club content and selling merch. I feel like it’s never a good thing to be monetizing your relationship.
Also, I thought it was funny that these guys were supposed to be singers, dancers, and actors in universe because they very clearly could not sing or dance. They can definitely act though, and their in universe acting scenes were just as compelling as the overall story. Out of all the shorts series I’ve seen, I think this one has the best acting.
There were several good kiss and NC scenes (waist up making out, implied sex). There are also throat grabbing (not choking) scenes from both couples (not pre-negotiated), if that’s something you want to be aware of in advance.
Boundary/consent issues: In the student story, one tries to kiss the other while he’s sleeping, but he wakes up. In the actor story, there were several sleep violations on both characters’ parts - watching sleeping, touching faces/hair, taking photos. Bai Xing also tries to lift Hei Yan’s shirt when he’s sleeping to see a scar, but Hei Yan wakes up. There were a couple scenes where one would grab the other one to prevent them from leaving as well. For the second couple, one of the characters grabs the other’s face while drunk and won’t let go when he’s trying to pry him off. He also kisses his cheek and hugs him.
There were a couple non con / dub con kisses as well. Hei Yan kisses Bai Xing when he’s sleeping, and while Bai Xing responses, it was an unconscious response, like sleep walking or sleep talking. Bai Xing kisses Hei Yan on stage without prior discussion, and Hei Yan isn’t happy about it. Bai Xing also kisses Hei Yan as a form of revenge, saying it was just performative since he thinks Hei Yan has just been immersive acting with him and playing with his feelings. During one makeout session, Bai Xing says to wait, and Hei Yan does stop, but when Bai Xing voices a concern about people being outside, Hei Yan just pushes him down and continues. It does proceed consensually from there though. And there’s one scene for each couple that involves non-pre-negotiated throat grabbing (not choking).
Was this review helpful to you?
