jpny01

You're not understanding my point. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it, I'm saying Eiw is an uke and Cake is a seme, and they're both archtypical. Eiw is the one that is scared, and Cake isn't, because Eiw is an uke. Cake, as the seme, is there to comfort Eiw. Cake doesn't faint, Eiw does, and Cake takes care of him. In every way, Eiw is the weak one and Cake is the strong one. It's very simple and there really isn't space for debate on whether or not it is there. It's intentionally written that way because that's a basic building block of BL, or at least BL which is not interested in leaving the "comfort zone" of the genre. Where we can disagree is whether or not we like it.

The seme-uke model is also a little boring, TBH. That's why Secret Crush On You was refreshing, or why a lot of people like 21 Days Theory - they break or bend this model. In SCOY, the uke wasn't weak, he was actually quite pushy, and the secondary uke (Jao) had total control over the pace of their relationship, and in 21 Days there is no seme and uke, just two boys who like each other.

The reason I don't like the seme-uke model is because it suggests that masculine = strong and feminine = weak, when this is not true in real life. It also constrains the characters too much, and that's why secondary couples are often so popular - they can follow more interesting paths. For example, Phu and Kao in Oxygen were much more interesting than the main couple, because Kao, in the uke role, was pursuing the seme, and he was not weak and helpless and could take care of himself.

Some people like it, in some cases because their fantasy is to have a strong man to take care of them, or maybe some people like the power imbalance.

I gave up about 2/3 through this ep. I just can't care about another series that's entirely about homosexual panic. Takara is dating Amagi. Why would he not have a physical attraction to his own boyfriend and why is this something that causes him to act like a freak? It's boring and lacking in authentic human behavior.

I guess if you've never met an actual teenage boy you might somehow think having a sexual dream is something weird, except girls have them too, so my theory must be correct that BLs are written by computers that have been fed a bunch of tropes and then spit out an incoherent mess of a story where nobody behaves like an actual human being.

When I was that age I, like more or less all teenage boys, spent 90% of my time thinking about sex, having sex (with myself only, alas), dreaming of it, etc.

Actually, Takara didn't even have a wet dream, it was just sexual - so there was even less reason to be freaked out.

It's not offensive, I just don't understand why you think that - being reserved isn't autistic an that's all I see him being.

It was OK. I wish the scenes between Akk & Ayan could be a little more realistic - sometimes it's so silly it takes me out of the story. Have you ever fallen asleep so that your whole bosy tipped and you hit your head on a table? I haven't either. And falling on someone's hand would certainly wake me if nothing else. Also, the seatbelt again? Sigh. At least this time it was deliberately aggressive instead of just somehow a normal thing to do as it usually is painted, which is stupid. Anyway, First and Khoutung are both able actors and they have good chemistry - more natural interaction would be a lot better. Like when Akk was stretching and punched Ayan playfully - that was cute.

I'm getting a little tired of the school/rules/cartoonishly evil teacher/curse thing. It's not very interesting, except that conversation last episode about uniforms.

I'm sure Earth could play a non-pouty-whiny-bratty character if they'd let him. It just appears they have no intention of letting him. I think it's the writing. If he was whining about things a teenager would actualy whine about instead of what an old woman would whine about, it might be less annoying. Also, Cake is so attentive and loving toward him that EIw's jealousy over stupid things like him playing a video game or owning a phone wouldn't make you want to choke him a little.

In 7 Project Earth had the same high-pitched whiny voice, but it wasn't annoying because it was well-written, his dialog made sense, and he behaved like a teen would under the circumstances he was in.

Sorry, I take that back. I confused Eclipse with On Cloud Nine. Hey, they're both things hat block the Sun, it can happen!

I was actually bored by both, although Earth & Santa have some cute moments.

He is passive with Cake, though, although it's often passive-aggressive. Cake has almost no agency in the story - he just sits around and things happen to him. They were very clear that he fainted because he only ate bread, and as usual, Cake had to take care of him. Notice that whenever Eiw takes care of Cake, it's as a wife - feed him, pack his bags, nag him to get ready, etc. He never interacts with him like a boy. He merely finds it cute when Eiw is mad at him (i.e. he's patronizing) and forces him to forgive him by turning on his (considerable) charm. Contrast that with 21 Day Theory - there is no uke or seme. They behave like 2 boys.

I don't like the uke-seme concept at all, but that I don't think that changes that Eiw is written as the uke-est uke that ever uke'd. You're absolutely correct, it is putting a fetishized label on Eiw, but I didn't do it, the writer did.

I understand there will be a time shift - and most likely Eiw will have more agency then, but it will still be Cake being dominant and pursuing and patronizing Eiw.

I agree with your general point, but Blueming to me failed because the original was a comedy and really funny, and they stripped it of what made it interesting, which is that Hyeong Da Un was even more narcissistic than Cha Si Won and really WAS trying to steal his spotlight.

I think maybe the adaptation of Semantic Error is a better support for your point.

I agree - Old Fashion was so much better than this - but I think BL audiences don't like older characters.

I wouldn't freak out. There are a lot of really attractive 17 year olds. Once puberty hits, people can be attractive. The point is that as an adult you don't act on it.

Yes, I think you put your finger on it - shallow, and it's also leaning heavily on implausible interruptions to forestall any communication. Which is the mechanism by which it's kept shallow. If you want a lack of communication, then it needs to be organic to the characters. For example, maybe Sakuma knows what Minato wants to talk to him about and deliberately brushes him off. But collapsing due to over-hydration? It's possible for that to happen, I suppose, but we needed to see him carrying a bucket around. I get it, i'ts funny. Ha ha. But not when the plot is that static.

Unfortunately you could say that about the previous 3 episodes too. I loved this when it started out, but it's just wandering around in a mud puddle.

I think you have the right strategy. This started out so well, but it's become a soggy repetitive mess, depending on endless interruptions to prevent any of the communication needed to push the plot forward, so that they don't have to show any gay stuff, until the last 5 seconds when they get together and possibly hold hands.

Or passive-aggression.

I agree - it's really quite good - I think it's an 8.3 or 8.4. I've given it an 8.5 and I might raise it if it has a good last ep.

I love it when there are feminine characters - Secret Crush On You was one of my favorites this year, especially Jao. But Eiw is just annoying and whiny. His effeminacy is irrelevant. His shrewish hen-pecking would just just as irritating if he were a lumberjack.

And as you pointed out, he's written so incredibly weak that his character is a joke. What grown man needs to be escorted to the bathroom or faints after attempting to jog three steps because he only had a moderate lunch? Toh in SCOY was an effeminite uke, but he had agency and didn't let anyone push him around. If anyone pushed Eiw, he'd probably die.

I'm one of those "straight-acting" types, and I never seem to be in charge. One of my long-term exes was flaming and worked in fashion, and also played hockey and could kick my ass.

I completely understand people's fruastration with Eiw and I share it. But it has nothing to do with Earth's effeminacy except insofar as the writer seems to think feminine = weak.

Earth & Santa have cute moments together, but they're overshadowed by the extremely repetitive one-way fights. I think we get it. Eiw is a stunted little creature who gets jealous of a phone, a casual friend over to play videogames, and of the oxygen molecules that get to touch the inside of Cake's lungs. Sigh. Being jealous of a girl is fine - that hurts. But when you don't want a friend to have anything or anyone in his life that isn't you, there's something really wrong.

I'm watching this for Santa (who's obviously been working out - yikes!), and Peak is so handsome now - actually he carries himself too much like a man to pass as a high schooler. But Eiw is supernaurally annoying, and his self-absorbed whiny shrewishness is not made OK by sad cello music - that isn't going to make me feel sorry for him, especially because it's not a real cello.

I hope this gets moving - I ended up hitting +10 seconds and putting it on 1.5x a lot. 2x actually made Eiw more annoying, not less.

Note: I find Eiw annoying because he's written annoying, not because there's anything wrong with Earth, who deserves better.

Really? OMG, I had totally the opposite reaction - The Eclipse is a work of art and this is about a tiresome selfish whiny nag.

I didn't feel for him at all. He's a self-absorbed little brat. Cake shows him so much loving attention and yet Eiw gets jealous when he spends time with any of his friends. I get being jealous over the girl, but getting that upset because he's playing a video game is OTT. And what a whiny nagging shrew!