I hope they don't keep the explanation for Minato's fear of love and sex as "WELL, HE IS A TSUNDRE CHARACTER,…
Among the many things I've learned since becoming a BL/Asian Cinema freak, is that Mangas are FREQUENTLY changed in translation to live-action. I know you disagree about this but I see it often enough to have hope. If the purpose of you live-action adaptation is to senselessly repeat what was already boring in the Manga, then why do it?
Since this thing got an S2 I guess we can suppose someone made money somehow off the dreadful S1, so who knows? But god, it drives me crazy when commenters write "I've read the Manga/Manwha/Whatever, so here is what will definitely happen." Why watch then? ugh.
Remember the Little Girls on the KinnPorsche page constantly yapping about what they were just sure was going to happen next, and they were very often WRONG. I especially enjoyed watching them never get there wish for KP to become the Vegas/Pete show. lol
I can only hope that the story arc is about Minato's fear of intimacy and, thus, that it's eventually explained…
MAAAAAAAAAAAAAYBE...Minato's creepy, unattractive teacher/crush sexually assaulted/molested him as a student but Minato has blocked it from his mind. It is this repressed memory that is causing his terror of intimacy! Once it comes to light, the teacher is exposed, and Minato is relieved of his trauma, Shin and Minato will go at it like bunnies.
But what I think will happen before that is Shin will tire of being treated like shit and give up on Minato, which will of course cause Minato to experience the absence of all that Shin brings to his life and go crawling to Shin, who I hope will inform him that he and Asuka are now an item and are banging each other twice a day.
Why so threatened by non-gushing opinions? And I disagree...the purpose of the show, at bottom, is to make money,…
My use of the word "threatened" refers to YOU. What about the negative criticisms threatens your enjoyment of the show.? Just watch it and enjoy it. To me, this first ep shows promise, and I'm one that had to force myself to finish S1 just because Minato is cute and Shin is charming.
I would agree with your remark about the BL industry not caring about culture and content, but I would limit that broad a statement to the THAI BL industry, where they don't even TRY anymore, they just pump them out. I continue to see shows out of Korea, Japan and Taiwan that are well-made and thoughtful. If you want a list, let me know. That said, it seems I'm seeing more junk out of those countries of late. I hope they all don't go the way of Thailand.
As my friend Maggi64 and I often discuss, there is a dominant cohort of 13 year-old, SJW, prudish, fluff-lovers among the BL viewership on MDL. And when a show that hits their sweet spot, or their sour spot, they are quick to pounce. These are the morons who think an 11 year age-difference matters between consenting adults, especially when the younger one is the aggressor. Age differences like that are common among straight married people, but the 13 year-olds think it's a new thing, and..."creepy." lol
IGNORE THEM
Actually, I believe the Japanese are still FAR too stingy with kisses and sexual activity, but I don't want to see what I call "mannequin kisses" or "dead fish kisses" or actual sexual activity shoved into a story for its own sake either. I want to see those things flow naturally from a romantic story, which is what a BL is. And I'd like to see them acted naturally and properly when they occur, as in movement of the lips and even tongue. THIS IS WHAT HUMANS DO. It doesn't have to be gross, just sweet or passionate, given the context. If BLs included kissing as it is normally incorporated into straight romances, the 13 year-olds wouldn't be on pins and needles, screaming for one to happen. And by the way, it's a joke how often "NC scenes" are referred to among the BL viewer/commentariat here. The only show I've ever seen a legit "NC" scene in is KinnPorsche, and that was a half-second butt shot. A scene that includes actors "acting" as though they are having sex, or as is much more common, acting as though they are GOING to have sex, is NOT an "NC" scene. There is nothing graphic or explicit about it. Children know sex happens. So do adults. What's with treating it like a big deal in 2023?
Finally, I disagree that we can definitely deduce from S1 what we're going to see in S2, or at least I hope not. I loved the first three eps of S1 and then it went to shit. But in this first episode I see possibilities for growth and some meaty story telling. Meanwhile, I find things like Minato's OTT, slapstick reactions to affection from Shin to be laugh-out-loud funny. Maybe I'm a freak and the only one but for now I love it. He is hilarious.
Ignore the comments of those you think are stupid or thoughtless and scroll past, or like me, take the opportunity to leave smart-ass replies that highlight the stupidity. 😁😁😁
To the fainting couch pearl-clutchers saying a relationship between a 29 year-old and an 18 year-old is inherently creepy: Grow up. Shin is far more emotional developed and mature than Minato. Age is just a random number that can indicate very general aspects of what to expect from an individual, but variations are normal and common. The fact that the 18 year-old here is far more grown-up than the 29 year-old is a key part of the plot in case you hadn't noticed.
Yeah....I just don't know if I can stand another season of Minato's over exaggerated reactions to anything Katsuki…
I think his reactions are hysterically funny. I appreciate them as slapstick comedy. Which doesn't stop me from believing we might get into some dark shit about WHY Minato is so freaked by physical and verbal expressions of love. I think he's going to have to LOSE Shin to make him confront what it is that holds him back from appreciating the affection of such a beautiful young man.
The show's director seems to want Minato's fear of intimacy to appear cute. However, a fear of intimacy this extreme…
Read my comments above, Maggi. Your proposed explanation for Minato's behavior is where I think, or hope, this is headed. And there were a couple of moments in which it seemed that what is holding him back is pretty traumatic.
Everyone! Let people enjoy things. Y'all be ruining every favourite show. I'd enjoy stuff then come here with…
Seriously, how does other people not spewing their bodily fluids all over a show you like ruin your enjoyment of it? How does that threaten you? Do you secretly know the show has problems but don't want to hear it? Then skip comments, block people, whatever. These comment sections are not K-Pop fan sites.
If it’s not too late I suggest that Shin and Asuka, both of whom have continued to grow into really spunky young…
Holy shit, I agree with every word. lol I think, clearly, it's going to take LOSING Shin's affection and attention is going to be the only thing that will possibly snap him into appreciating what he's being given and treasure it. I think Minato has been deeply traumatized; perhaps I'm expecting too much here, but I felt hints of some dark shit behind his fear of physical and verbal expressions of love. Sexual abuse comes to mind first. Something he experienced but never processed and overcame is still haunting him. Am I nuts?
come on guys, chill out and just take it easy! We are not going to sit in the position of a film and literary…
Why so threatened by non-gushing opinions? And I disagree...the purpose of the show, at bottom, is to make money, not just BE a piece of fluff for no reason.
How do they know to drop it unless they at least watch Ep 1? This is Ep 1 and people watched it like normal viewers.…
Maggi, it seems I liked this first episode a lot more than you, but don't waste your time on commenters like the above. They expect nothing but gently-falling pink snowflakes in comment sections of shows they're getting moist over. Anything less than that apparently dries them up.
I love how people are complaining that some are "ruining it for them" because we've voiced criticisms, as if this…
Maggi, this is something I have seen here on MDL 154 times, at least. My take: Many of these viewers are about 11 years old, or think at that level, and they think they have a right to gush and coo and ooh and aah endlessly, and if anyone expresses something less than pink fluff and rainbows it is a personal affront to their enjoyment of the show.
When I like a series or enjoy a movie I don't give a rat's ass if someone else dislikes it, and often those criticisms reveal facts of the show I hadn't noticed yet and deepen my understanding of what's going on.
Think of BL-MDL as a K-Pop Girl/Boy Fan site and it explains everything.
Akira is a tsundere character. This is a Japanese manga adaptation where Akira is tsundere and Shintaro is a "puppy"-like…
I hope they don't keep the explanation for Minato's fear of love and sex as "WELL, HE IS A TSUNDRE CHARACTER, AND THAT'S WHAT THEY DO," which is totally lame and uncreative. I want to know WHY he acts that way, and I think we've had some hints in this first episode that there are pretty heavy reasons why Minato is so freaked-out by physical expressions of affection and desire. To have the reason be "THAT'S THE WAY HE IS 'CAUSE THIS IS BASED ON A MANGA" is beyond lame and into the realm of useless and absurd.
I guess I'm the only one, but I found this first episode delightful and promising. Here's why:
OF COURSE Minato is STILL acting all stand-offish and remote, that's who he is. But I got the definite feeling from this episode that there are some dark reasons WHY he finds it so appalling to hear or speak words of affection, let alone (HORROR) make physical contact. At first I thought how stupid it would be to suggest two gay guys haven't done the deed after three months of dating. But the way this is playing out, and the fact that it was openly acknowledged that this lack of boinking is a fact, it actually seems plausible, even probable given who Minato is. This lack of reciprocity in expressing affection and sexual desire between Minato and Shin is going to come to a head and we'll find out what the problem is. And I bet it will be something pretty traumatic from the past.
Minato's OTT reactions to Shin's advances, and Shin or anybody else mentioning love or sex or whatever between them are absolutely gut-crunchingly hilarious to me. He is so genuine in acting aghast and appalled that people are thinking such things, and his physical responses to that are slapstick comedy at its best.
Love that Shin first gave Minato a nice, new broom as a birthday present and that Minato would have been fine with that. They are both, at heart, sweet kind young men. Physically, it's a little hard to accept Minato as 29 years old, but somehow through his characterization I think he gets that across. And I LOVE the 11-year age difference, but that the younger one is the aggressor in love and (hopefully someday) sex, as it's usually the other way around.
So...this first episode gives me great hope for this season. However, I recall feeling exactly this way after the first couple episodes of S1 and then it petered out and I had to force myself to finish it. Frankly, I was amazed it got a second season at all.
Finally, Kusakawa Takuya is a beautiful man.
Oh, but Minato's creepy Undertaker ex-boyfriend's continued presence in this season is a downer for me. I see NO reason why Minato would EVER have been attracted to him, let alone that he still is, which is what the show wants us to believe. Shun is also an Undertaker-type. It would have been more realistic to have the two of them running a funeral home in this little seaside town. Then, during the season it gradually comes to light they are blood-sucking vampires. Perhaps Minato is still under the Undertaker-Vampire's spell and that's why he acts so weird.
First and foremost, we need to get air-conditioning installed in Minato's Laundromat.
Secondly, both Minato and Shin got hotter in the past year, and that's not an easy thing to accomplish, seeing as how handsome they both already were. But Minato seems to have put on a tiny bit of weight, especially in the face which makes him look more manly and less emaciated. Shin is his adorable, tall, sexy self with a year added on.
Asuka...I love him. His shameless flirting with that stiff board of a boyfriend he's got is hilarious and endearing. If Shun continues to rebuff him, Asuka can certainly come by my place and I will welcome him with open arms.
Bummer. I am beyond disappointed. I was looking forward to this film and especially to seeing Miyazawa Hio in another role. "HIS: What Is Love?" is one of my favorite films.
It's the camera-work, the cinematography. That constantly moving, zooming-in, then out, then swirling camera view almost makes me motion-sick at times. The problem is the camera work constantly calls attention to itself because it is constantly moving, focusing in with tight close-ups that show only part of what is going on.
When it focused in and STAYED focused in on the back of a student's neck while dialogue among other actors was taking place I was like "wtf? What is it about the back of this guy's neck that's part of the story?" The answer is that there is nothing important about the neck, the camera person just wants to make themselves known, letting us know the story is just an excuse to show off silly, annoying camera techniques. It feels affected and artsy-fartsy to me. That constantly swirling camera proclaiming its presence in every scene, is making it impossible for me to engage in the STORY, which this is supposed to be all about, right? Instead, it is about how innovative and artsy the director's vision is. ugh.
Hard to believe no one else in comments here has even mentioned the camera work. Did no one else notice, even if you liked it? lol
Anyway, I'm putting this one aside for now. I would guess I will finish it someday but for now it's not for me.
This has to go down as one of the most badly written and directed BL dramas spewed out of Thailand in their latest…
Thanks for your brief but thorough review, JG. I almost always agree with your comments so I'm going to do myself a favor and not even start this one. Isn't it stunning how much $$$ is wasted putting together these horrible Thai productions with staples, a glue gun and duct tape? The vibe I get is that no one involved is even trying, beginning with the writers.
BTW, you write vividly and with a sense of humor I enjoy. Thanks for sharing your comments.
From reading a good number of comments, I'm going to assume this is just one more assembly line s**t-show from the Thailand BL factory and not even start it. Thank you to those below whose comments warned me off. I haven't enjoyed a Thai BL in many months. Badly written, acted and directed. It so often feels as though no one involved with the show is really trying to make something original and professional. Sad, seeing as Thailand started live-action BL as we no know it.
1 
1 
Since this thing got an S2 I guess we can suppose someone made money somehow off the dreadful S1, so who knows? But god, it drives me crazy when commenters write "I've read the Manga/Manwha/Whatever, so here is what will definitely happen." Why watch then? ugh.
Remember the Little Girls on the KinnPorsche page constantly yapping about what they were just sure was going to happen next, and they were very often WRONG. I especially enjoyed watching them never get there wish for KP to become the Vegas/Pete show. lol
But what I think will happen before that is Shin will tire of being treated like shit and give up on Minato, which will of course cause Minato to experience the absence of all that Shin brings to his life and go crawling to Shin, who I hope will inform him that he and Asuka are now an item and are banging each other twice a day.
I would agree with your remark about the BL industry not caring about culture and content, but I would limit that broad a statement to the THAI BL industry, where they don't even TRY anymore, they just pump them out. I continue to see shows out of Korea, Japan and Taiwan that are well-made and thoughtful. If you want a list, let me know. That said, it seems I'm seeing more junk out of those countries of late. I hope they all don't go the way of Thailand.
As my friend Maggi64 and I often discuss, there is a dominant cohort of 13 year-old, SJW, prudish, fluff-lovers among the BL viewership on MDL. And when a show that hits their sweet spot, or their sour spot, they are quick to pounce. These are the morons who think an 11 year age-difference matters between consenting adults, especially when the younger one is the aggressor. Age differences like that are common among straight married people, but the 13 year-olds think it's a new thing, and..."creepy." lol
IGNORE THEM
Actually, I believe the Japanese are still FAR too stingy with kisses and sexual activity, but I don't want to see what I call "mannequin kisses" or "dead fish kisses" or actual sexual activity shoved into a story for its own sake either. I want to see those things flow naturally from a romantic story, which is what a BL is. And I'd like to see them acted naturally and properly when they occur, as in movement of the lips and even tongue. THIS IS WHAT HUMANS DO. It doesn't have to be gross, just sweet or passionate, given the context. If BLs included kissing as it is normally incorporated into straight romances, the 13 year-olds wouldn't be on pins and needles, screaming for one to happen. And by the way, it's a joke how often "NC scenes" are referred to among the BL viewer/commentariat here. The only show I've ever seen a legit "NC" scene in is KinnPorsche, and that was a half-second butt shot. A scene that includes actors "acting" as though they are having sex, or as is much more common, acting as though they are GOING to have sex, is NOT an "NC" scene. There is nothing graphic or explicit about it. Children know sex happens. So do adults. What's with treating it like a big deal in 2023?
Finally, I disagree that we can definitely deduce from S1 what we're going to see in S2, or at least I hope not. I loved the first three eps of S1 and then it went to shit. But in this first episode I see possibilities for growth and some meaty story telling. Meanwhile, I find things like Minato's OTT, slapstick reactions to affection from Shin to be laugh-out-loud funny. Maybe I'm a freak and the only one but for now I love it. He is hilarious.
Ignore the comments of those you think are stupid or thoughtless and scroll past, or like me, take the opportunity to leave smart-ass replies that highlight the stupidity. 😁😁😁
When I like a series or enjoy a movie I don't give a rat's ass if someone else dislikes it, and often those criticisms reveal facts of the show I hadn't noticed yet and deepen my understanding of what's going on.
Think of BL-MDL as a K-Pop Girl/Boy Fan site and it explains everything.
OF COURSE Minato is STILL acting all stand-offish and remote, that's who he is. But I got the definite feeling from this episode that there are some dark reasons WHY he finds it so appalling to hear or speak words of affection, let alone (HORROR) make physical contact. At first I thought how stupid it would be to suggest two gay guys haven't done the deed after three months of dating. But the way this is playing out, and the fact that it was openly acknowledged that this lack of boinking is a fact, it actually seems plausible, even probable given who Minato is. This lack of reciprocity in expressing affection and sexual desire between Minato and Shin is going to come to a head and we'll find out what the problem is. And I bet it will be something pretty traumatic from the past.
Minato's OTT reactions to Shin's advances, and Shin or anybody else mentioning love or sex or whatever between them are absolutely gut-crunchingly hilarious to me. He is so genuine in acting aghast and appalled that people are thinking such things, and his physical responses to that are slapstick comedy at its best.
Love that Shin first gave Minato a nice, new broom as a birthday present and that Minato would have been fine with that. They are both, at heart, sweet kind young men. Physically, it's a little hard to accept Minato as 29 years old, but somehow through his characterization I think he gets that across. And I LOVE the 11-year age difference, but that the younger one is the aggressor in love and (hopefully someday) sex, as it's usually the other way around.
So...this first episode gives me great hope for this season. However, I recall feeling exactly this way after the first couple episodes of S1 and then it petered out and I had to force myself to finish it. Frankly, I was amazed it got a second season at all.
Finally, Kusakawa Takuya is a beautiful man.
Oh, but Minato's creepy Undertaker ex-boyfriend's continued presence in this season is a downer for me. I see NO reason why Minato would EVER have been attracted to him, let alone that he still is, which is what the show wants us to believe. Shun is also an Undertaker-type. It would have been more realistic to have the two of them running a funeral home in this little seaside town. Then, during the season it gradually comes to light they are blood-sucking vampires. Perhaps Minato is still under the Undertaker-Vampire's spell and that's why he acts so weird.
First and foremost, we need to get air-conditioning installed in Minato's Laundromat.
Secondly, both Minato and Shin got hotter in the past year, and that's not an easy thing to accomplish, seeing as how handsome they both already were. But Minato seems to have put on a tiny bit of weight, especially in the face which makes him look more manly and less emaciated. Shin is his adorable, tall, sexy self with a year added on.
Asuka...I love him. His shameless flirting with that stiff board of a boyfriend he's got is hilarious and endearing. If Shun continues to rebuff him, Asuka can certainly come by my place and I will welcome him with open arms.
I am beyond disappointed. I was looking forward to this film and especially to seeing Miyazawa Hio in another role. "HIS: What Is Love?" is one of my favorite films.
It's the camera-work, the cinematography. That constantly moving, zooming-in, then out, then swirling camera view almost makes me motion-sick at times. The problem is the camera work constantly calls attention to itself because it is constantly moving, focusing in with tight close-ups that show only part of what is going on.
When it focused in and STAYED focused in on the back of a student's neck while dialogue among other actors was taking place I was like "wtf? What is it about the back of this guy's neck that's part of the story?" The answer is that there is nothing important about the neck, the camera person just wants to make themselves known, letting us know the story is just an excuse to show off silly, annoying camera techniques. It feels affected and artsy-fartsy to me. That constantly swirling camera proclaiming its presence in every scene, is making it impossible for me to engage in the STORY, which this is supposed to be all about, right? Instead, it is about how innovative and artsy the director's vision is. ugh.
Hard to believe no one else in comments here has even mentioned the camera work. Did no one else notice, even if you liked it? lol
Anyway, I'm putting this one aside for now. I would guess I will finish it someday but for now it's not for me.
BTW, you write vividly and with a sense of humor I enjoy. Thanks for sharing your comments.
Thank you to those below whose comments warned me off.
I haven't enjoyed a Thai BL in many months. Badly written, acted and directed. It so often feels as though no one involved with the show is really trying to make something original and professional.
Sad, seeing as Thailand started live-action BL as we no know it.
This is the one of the dumbest plot concepts to ever exist.
Dropping after seven minutes.
Can't believe people watch this stuff.
This is the one of the dumbest plot concepts to ever exist.
Dropping after seven minutes.
Can't believe people watch this stuff.