etoks21

I agree with almost all of this except that I don't feel their relationship was fully developed/explained before BOOM it was no more. As a commenter above observed: it still felt transactional. And I'm annoyed at the lazy tropes used as major plot points here. I left you a long message about this flick where I expand on that.

Totally agree about the sex scenes. To me they were hot, stylish but also very realistic. Ditto that they were versatile with each other. You know I'm not a condom-Nazi, but it seemed odd that Ryuto apparently didn't bother using them with Kosuke given what his other job was.

Also, why did Ryuto stop being a personal trainer? We saw no other scene of him training any other "client," so the training didn't seem connected to his other line of work. Training would certainly beat washing dishes as a part-time job.

There's a lot to like here, but for me a lot to be disappointed in as well.

Glad I'm not the only one who was like wtf? about Ryota's demise. But good god, I've hit my head a lot harder than that numerous times and I'm still here. Even after your explanation, his death still feels like a lazy, Thailand-style, BL-trope more than it does something that feels authentic. I hear the writing team in a meeting: "OK, we need to kill off Ryota somehow...oh! I've got it, a head-bump early-on leads to an adored character dropping dead out-of-nowhere...hematoma, people!"

It brings to mind the absurd scene near the end of an otherwise very good BL, "Grey Rainbow," wherein half of the adorable MC drops dead after their wedding ceremony when they, their families and friends are all at peak levels of joy.

BL/Gay Flick cheap-shot city.

Could you please, briefly give me an idea of how you see Egoist and Dear Tenant as being of the "same genre?" I'm not saying they're not. It's that I also liked DT but it did not come to mind while watching Egoist. Plus, I recall some plot problems, in my view, with DT that put me off a little. Actually, same here, though for different reasons. THREE plot points were unimaginative tropes.

Ryohei actually convinced me that his affectations were in fact an authentic expression of who he is. I've known a lot of wealthy gay men in the arts who are far more performatively effeminate than Ryohei's character here.

I do agree the love story wasn't fleshed out before BOOM, it was over.

OK, HOW is it weird for 14 year-olds to kiss? In what way? Please be specific. This is the first time I think I've heard someone assert that adolescent or post-adolescent teens kissing each other is "weird" or wrong somehow, so I would like to understand your thinking on this.

This is not a 14 year-old kissing a 34 year-old. It's two teens consenting to kiss, which is as normal as it gets. Heck sometimes five year-olds get crushes and kiss. It's adorable, not weird.

I'm thinking you're Hi Def on good days. Your comments seem to come from a healthy perspective on your depression.

Another depression sufferer here, pretty much my entire life. From the content of your "poor me" comments here, seems it would be a good idea to talk to your shrink about trying some new meds. Or get a new shrink. Or both. Having depression is not your license to run around looking for things to pretend to be offended/hurt/triggered by, or maybe you want to be a professional depressed person and that's your thing. lol

Also, until you can handle it, stay off the Internet and in your basement where you can avoid, you know...LIFE.

KIDDING! I'm kidding! :D

Hi Geegee. Here we are again, almost alone on the page of a really fucked-up movie. Thing is, this time around I can honestly say I enjoyed the watch and have a lot of appreciation for the writer/director as well as all the actors. My tastes have definitely...changed in the two years since I tried to watch this first, and in the nearly three years since I discovered Asian cinema. And I have no desire to go back. lol

I agree about the older brother/actor. That guy had the toughest role in the movie. CONSTANTLY moving, jerking, vocalizing; and his portrayal felt completely authentic to me. I like that I never felt the characterization was demeaning or insulting to mentally disabled people. I actually felt his core sweetness/goodness and he did a lot of things that demonstrated his love for his brothers. So many little bits he did made me LOL.

I developed great empathy for all three brothers, despite some despicable actions by the two "normal" ones, especially regarding the retarded woman. Takes "caring for your brother" to a whole new level. I also found all three of them to be attractive, even the disabled guy. He had a devilishly handsome smile the few times we saw it.

So glad to see what became of that monstrous father. I would like to have learned what the disabled bro did with the dad's annoying little boyfriend. Any ideas?

This writer/director is some kind of genius. I'm going to try "Mother Is a Whore" next, which I tried to watch a couple years back but was so revolted by I dropped it about 25% of the way in. Who knows? I may love it now. :D

https://www.effedupmovies.com/father-is-a-dog-2010/

I guess I'm a sick fuck now. I really like this movie. You can watch at the link below this comment.

wtf? I am finding this show utterly charming.

To say the least, I am a fluff-hater. But if ever a fluffy show, as this appears to be to a large extent, is going to win my heart it just might be this one.

As always, if your leads have great chemistry and interesting, quirky, specific characterizations, a show can get away with a lot more than would otherwise be the case. Thing is, this seems to be, after two episodes at least, fluff WITH EDGES. Crispy fluff, perhaps, and that's why it's working.

Bu Xia is adorable, with those big puppy eyes and bumpy nose. He has charisma coming out his ears and an endearing likeability that makes me want to take care of him. Meanwhile Jiang Chi is pure, walking sex-on-a-stick with a hint of sneering arrogance that seems to be a facade concealing a soft-hearted sweetie, perhaps carrying some past baggage around.

So many little things that made me laugh out loud. BX's kiss to win the arm wrestling match. His eating broken chips off JC's chest and stomach as JC looks down with horror (and a hint of arousal? I half-expected the text book on his lap to be standing at full mast after the chip incident.

What's so great is BX does these things with apparent pure innocence. Neither the kiss nor the chips-eating seemed to be done in a deliberately sensual way, and yet those things WERE sensual...and JC feels that. This is some great, very fresh-feeling stuff. I find them delightful. I am even down with the ghost stuff, which would usually make my eyes roll out of their sockets. But the ghost thing is presented light-heartedly but is clearly going to be important. I don't know...it's a contrivance but I don't mind it.

The dorm room a mess and covered in Talismans, BX's shapely stick-legs in basketball tights, the wild variety of shameless goofy expressions he makes with his face, it all works for me. BX is the slapstick goofball but for some reason he's the one who turns me on, lol. Those tongue tricks of his could be put to good use.

This show leans heavily on the talents and quirks of its two leads for its heart, and that's a great thing. So many BLs, especially out of Thailand, feature cookie-cutter "types" instead of individual characters.

Very happy to have another seemingly good BL to watch along with Tokyo In April.

Bravo!

Oh, sorry. That comment was to a different member so I was a tad confused. I was certainly not avoiding a reply.

The commenter of whom I asked that question has repeatedly stated that Akira is THIS way and THAT way and THIS and THAT are what are going to happen in the series because THIS and THAT, ETC., are the ways everything happens in the Manga.

My question is not difficult to explain: If you go into a show believing you are going to see and hear EXACTLY what you read and heard while reading the Manga or the Manhwa or whatever, seriously, why bother? But the truth is , there is no way to put ANY written/drawn source material on the screen in EXACTLY the way it appears in the original. If nothing else, the change of media will of itself bring great changes to the story in many detailed ways. And as a viewer I don't necessarily WANT writers and directors mindlessly photo-copying written stories onto the screen. Just the act of doing that alters the story from the way you heard/read/saw it in your mind.

Now those images and voices and feelings the source material created in your MIND are going to be images, voices and feelings as interpreted by writers and directors. There is no way it's going to be precisely as you imagined it. So what you are really watching the adaptation for is to see/hear/perceive SOMEONE ELSE'S vision of the original, which is going to be different than yours, if only in details. But that's what makes it interesting whether you admit it or not.

And the dude above who kept insisting Akira is a Tsundere and will not change at all throughout the adaptation because that is what is in the Manga, then turned around and stated all the ways in which Akira WILL be changing. So which is it?

Also, his idea of a Tsundere's characteristics is inaccurate to begin with: A Tsundere by definition appears as cold and aloof and unemotional--which has never been true of Akira anyway, it's always been clear he was FIGHTING to suppress the feelings he clearly has for Shin--but then changes as the story progresses and exposes a softer side as walls come down.

So I think your fantasy of Mangas reproduced precisely as they are on paper is absurd and you think my thoughts that an adaptation by its nature changes loads of aspects of the story is absurd. Got it? Got it.

eeeewwwwwwwwwwwwww...

Yes, and MANY changes to the stories were made in the Harry Potter movies, for a thousand different reasons, as well as in the Marvel movies. To say what you see on screen is EXACTLY what is in the source material is absurd.

This show has become a favorite.

Love the vibe that has developed between them as Kazuma continues to be persistent but patient and Ren gradually lets down his walls.

The opening love scene in episode four is splendid. Delicate, sexy, romantic, and again, Kazuma being tender, understanding and patient. The perfect approach to take with someone like Ren.

I like that the snake-like Senior at work is becoming a problem.

The idea that one sex session with Ren put Kazuma into a near-death coma is the one, huge, stupid, and glaring plot device that undermines what is otherwise pretty well-written. They should have SHOWN us what it was that was so mind-alteringly pleasurable it nearly killed Kazuma. The doctor asking intimate questions pertaining to a patient in front of the subject's parent's and the other boy's mom was ridiculous as was her hysterical reaction. An unfortunate moment of BL trope slipping in again.

As others have said, it's nice to see horny young men acting like horny young men.

Kazuma and Ren are beautifully cast. Both wide-shouldered but with different builds and skin/hair tones. Together they make a magical tableau.

All actors need work on their crying scenes. Terrible/cringy. I'll blame the director.

It's fiction but the more plausible the story is the easier it is to suspend disbelief and lose yourself in what's happening instead of thinking "oh god, another stupid BL trope coincidence." I am continually amazed at how BL viewers lower their standards. That's why Thailand continues to produce dreck; a lot of viewers will watch ANYTHING, no matter how lame.

It's fiction but the more plausible the story is the easier it is to suspend disbelief and lose yourself in what's happening instead of thinking "oh god, another stupid BL trope coincidence." I am continually amazed at how BL viewers lower their standards. That's why Thailand continues to produce dreck; a lot of viewers will watch ANYTHING, no matter how lame.

Kazuma didn't just bump into Ren at work. He hunted him down all over the world to find him.

Huh.

Above, you stated emphatically that Akira, as a Tsundere, cannot and will not change because that's what happens in the Manga. Period. Now you are saying something else. I quote you from above:

///

Akira has trouble with intimacy, but doesn't have trouble with friendships. Akira has it in him to work on it. He quit his job in Tokyo to return home to run the laundromat. that takes guts. He also came out to his ex-girlfriend. It may take him a while, but I think he will get there.

///

Hmmm...that sounds like...character development and change. Almost as if anything could happen. Call me crazy.

Of course. That is not the issue. The issue is does that mean the material being brought to life has to follow the source in every detail without fail? I understand that is generally true for Manga-to-live-action adaptations but it is not 100% true across the board. Even in a slavish adaptation there are going to be minor changes simply because you can't do everything onscreen you can do in writing. And what you do in writing/drawing may be dull repeated over and over onscreen.

Kids always know a lot more than adults think they do.
The boy had at some point found out about grandpa and was simply being kind and brave. Which is the opposite of what the messed-up dad was doing. When the dad confronted the boy was heartbreaking. What a good little actor.