jpny01

Yet another cooking series and by the director of Gen Y. I think that's a no for me. Is there some annual summit meeting where they decide on the theme for the year? Although as long as they don't go back to high school love triangles with girls or engineering students, I'll be content.

They could just be psychopaths who want to enjoy power for the short remainder of their lives.

I read the first season of the webtoon and part of the second yesterday - it's really good, and I think they did a great job adapting it. A lot of people complained about Sangwoo not recognizing Jaeyoung at the restaurant, but I don't think that would have worked in live action, because you don't get the sense of time passing and it would seem weird and silly to have a fight with someone and then not remember them a minute later, especially since it depended on whether or not he was wearing glasses.

That's exactly what I'm saying - I would have been satisfied if that very final scene had continued for another 5 seconds.

I haven't read the Manhwa but it sounds like they had Jaeyoung acting like a real college guy instead of a Disney prince as is always the case in BL series. But again, what works in a cartoon might not in live action - if Taeyoung had behaved like that he'd come off as way too aggressive, and that would make the huge size difference between them scary instead of cute.

Regarding your explanation of the bullying, that's kind of my point. Ok Jin Uk is muscular, with six-pack, pecs and all that. I don't think the actor matches the character, and it doesn't ring true. Bullying is usually directed against people who are different, especially in a heavily conformist society. TBH, I tihnk Taesung comes off as nerdier with this cast.

What you said about the explanation of the bullying really needed to be in the series - it would only take a few seconds. But maybe they still will, but they implied the opposite, that he ignored it for all this time.

Anyway, this series has the handicap of airing at the same time as the much superior Semantic Error, so that underscores its faults - and I'm not saying it's a bad series, it's just generic, especially in comparison.

Yes, that is a great point - totally true. Thai BLs take a cartoonish approach which is just annoying and distances you from the character. This series made it totally realistic. The Thai think is actually offensive to nerds, as if that's dependent solely on a superficial quirk like bad hair. Nerdness is a package - social skills, interests, etc., and they can be hot and still be a nerd. The portrayal of Sang Woo was perfect.

I don't think an extended love scene is needed - I don't think anything even needs to be showed. But given Sang Woo's struggle against explicit sexual desire, it needed a little more passion than 3rd grade pecks on the lips. It's fine when Jae Young finds something Sang Woo does is cute and gives him a peck, but not for climactic scenes. But as I said the hugs were really good in this.

As for the triple shot, I think it might be Japanese in origin, because it's all over BL - all Thai BLs do it too, and many Filipino shows too. And of course Japanese. My issue with it is that it doesn't allow what's happening for sink in before it's yanked away, and the purpose of doing it to prevent intimacy for more than a second - the actors barely have to touch because the angle changes showing the same thing three times - so you may think you got a kiss, but what you really got are three incidences of fake kisses, or barely-touching lips.

The wide eyes thing is not what humans do when kissing, so it creates the uncanny valley effect. If your eyes are popped wide open you're not participating. It's fine for an instant if you're caught off guard, but BLs invariably have the wide eyes remain way too long - in this ep for almost the entire kiss.

LOL - I appreciate that. I should find my way over to Seasons 3 & 4. :)

Why do flaws in the source material have to be included in the series? Sometimes those flaws are not as egregious in manga, web toon, or written form, but are more glaring in live action. Or do you feel that the audience will reject or dislike straying from the original?

As far as bullying goes, it's irritating when there's no context. Does everyone bully him, or just the one guy. If it's just the one guy, why? And why has nobody stopped him? And even if Tae Sung is now protecting his brother, how can I have any positive feeling for him if he abandoned him for three years of hell and torture? What kind of person does that? And the reason given, that he had to ignore him because he was in love with him, is ridiculous. You don't love someone if you can stand by and watch them being physically and emotionally abused, not to mention robbed, on a daily basis.

I love that.

I liked it, but I don't think it's as perfect as everyone seems to feel. First of all, it's time for Korea to break the love scene barrier. To me, a BL doesn't always need one, and in some cases it would ruin it, like for instance Hello Stranger.

But it's not credible for this couple. Sang Woo's attraction to Jae Young had a strong sexual component, and Jae Young clearly isn't the type to hold back on getting physical.

Also, we really need to retire the triple-take shot for whenever anything important happens - it's mildly ridiculous and drains all the emotion out of the scene. We also need to retire the extremely wide-eyed reaction by whomever is being kissed. In a manga it works because it's capturing surprise. In live action, it's weird and creepy, and sometimes makes the kiss feel non-consensual (although not in this case).

But the chemistry between these two was amazing, they did hugs right - full body contact instead of maintaining a foot between them, and both actors are very capable - I think the Sang Woo role is more difficult, but Jae Young could have come off as a stalkery with a lesser actor. It doesn't hurt that he looks like that, either.

Anyway, this was one of the best Korean BLs - I don't think it hits Where Your Eyes Linger level, but its the only one in striking range, IMO.

OK, so here's my problem with this. I just can't buy someone that beautiful and athletic who is kind and plays the guitar as a bullying target. Unless the bully is sublimating his own desire for Haebom into violence, I don't think it works. That plus the total lack of anything interesting about the plot and plodding direction makes this difficult to sit through. It's just BL by th numbers, with the usual weird infantilizing head patting and hair drying. I will say I was amazed that Haebom managed to carry three logs without tripping, injuring himself, or fainting due to the exertion. He didn't even get a sliver that required seme attention (with the inevitable q-tip dabbing). That was unusual.

Also, what kind of campground has a cafe and electric power? How is what they're doing camping?

Maybe they had expected Wayu/Pha to win the vote and didn't know what to do. I don't think having a story run by vote is a very good idea. Someone else here thought it was a great idea, but I think events may have come down on my side.

She said to her father "I've found someone we can pass on our family legacy to." I don't know who she means.

That is really an excellent point.

I think you're right about that.

I don't know how the actors kept a straight face with that tombstone.

Yes, he has his fanatical fans - you never know when you'll get gang-piled. I'm still amazed that everyone voted for Wayu/Thanu. To be fair, there was no selection "Sandee/Pha, throw Wayu off a tall building." Actually, there's no need to be that extreme. You could just put him in a corner facing the wall and he wouldn't be able to find his way out and would starve to death.

I've summarized the cut scenes in the discussion section thread.

There is one very important thing that was cut. Uncle Nong tells Phob that the dead can't return on their own - only the living can bring them back. This isn't pursued at this time, but that means someone brought Phob back.

Nong also explains why Phob can touch Phat now - I know a lot of you were put off by that.

Holy f@#$. That was an intense episode. I'm going to go back and describe the cut scenes, but I have to say this is one of the few BLs that really understands the visual medium - it's all show, not tell.

The performances in this well all fantastic - I think it's a good idea to include older characters played by first-rate actors. You can tell it pulls better performances out of less experienced ones to play against veterans.

This is so well-written and thought out - they even didn't just sweep Phob being able to touch Phat under the rug - even Phob wanted to understand why.

Well, aliens could be explained by science - ghosts not so much.