jpny01

For the first time I watched the interview everyone is talking about, and I don't get the outrage. He was clearly joking. Is it really that bad? He obviously doesn't have a problem with BL if he's starred in several and is directing one. People are really turning on him for that one comment? That seems a but extreme.

As for the actual series, I like it. It's a little dull, but it mostly avoids tropes and it doesn't have that shiny everyone-is-rich thing going - I'd forgotten there even were trains in Thailand. It's competently directed and shot, but it does lack energy. The acting so far is pretty good, especially Nut (who has to be one of the most huggable actors I've seen).

One thing I've been noticing in Thai BL is the fairly intense red-shift of the color editing. I didn't even realize until recently that high school uniform shirts are light blue instead of pink. I guess they're going for a warmer look, but it it detracts from the beautiful golden tones of Asian complexions. Look at the sky when they're walking home on the tracks - it's pink (and overcast, a rarity in BL, although not rare in real life).

I'm a little surprised at the lukewarm reception to this - is it because this is more realistic and doesn't have that fantasy element that most BL has? Or are people really that upset with Mean? I don't understand, but I'd like to hear everyone's thoughts - this seems much better than series that get way more excited reactions.

Is anyone at all annoyed with him?

This ep wasn't as annoying as I expected, although the mutual frosting-wipe scene made me want to murder something. I think there must be at least one Asian, somewhere, who can eat a piece of cake without smearing a large glob of it on his lip, which he somehow can't detect, as if the lips weren't the most sensitive part of our bodies. And a normal human being would recoil and say "what are you doing?!?" if someone reached for their lips with their fingers like that.

Then Tae tripped in the most ridiculous and unrealistic way possible, and I thought I would have to murder something X2, but then something wonderful happened. Instead of staring at each other for several minutes, Shin Woo dropped him. I also liked how the "I love you" game didn't have the obvious predictable outcome - that was a good scene.

This series has been slowly growing on me, but it still suffers from having a cartoon as the main character. He's just not a real human being, and it makes the story inaccessible to me because I like Shin Woo and I don't him to waste his time on that creepy little robot boy. If they had written Tae as autistic or with Asberger's, I would love this show, but instead he's, well, a creepy little robot boy. I'm getting a little tired of uke's being useless parasitic infestations that can't even carry a picture without needing to be rescued. That couldn't weigh more than half a kilo.

Anyway, I do really like all the other characters. Shin Woo is so f@#ing cute when he smiles. And I want the teacher to have his way with me.

I'm a bit at a loss myself. I actually like most of the characters, but if WTK were to be crushed by a fallling piano, it would make me feel happy.

What FreshKicks said. Although cats suddenly act weird before they go off and die. My mother's awful dog has been having seizures lately, which is different. I keep telling it to walk into the light, but I don't think it speaks English.

Do you mean your blood pressure is high?

AAAUUGGHHH!!! I wrote this too soon - now they've both done it!

Wiped... frosting ... off... lip.... soo.... angry....! Can anyone ever eat anything without leaving gunk on their lip that for some reason they're unaware of even though they're grown men? And no man has ever wiped something off another man's lip with his fingers in the entire history of the human race unless they're actually having sex. AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!! Even my mother would have used a tissue.... until I was 8, and then she would just tell me to wipe my mouth.

I'm not sure who you're addressing - it looks like everyone is enjoying this. I wish it were more campy, because the serious scenes fall flat, but it's definitely better than What the Duck.

Well, even thought the entire male population of the school appears to be gay, there must a few straight guys around for the girls. But I like this new idea I'm hearing.

I interpreted it as peer pressure - so that if Sun refuses, then he's ruining it for two people instead of one. But your theory works, especially given the bathroom - I thought that was supposed to be funny, because she ain't gettin' none of those boys, but it actually makes more sense your way.

I'm afraid to watch it now, lol. It's next on my list - but I need a break after the frustration of Be Loved In House: I Don't.

Isn't it implausible to the point of ridiculousness that Zhao Gang said absolutely nothing to Shi Lei after the confrontation in the cafe? If they were both deaf mutes, they still would have talked about that. I'm sorry, but that's bad writing. I don't care if there are unrealistic plot elements, but people still have to act like people.

AND WHAT IS WITH ALL THE FOREHEAD KISSING. Really, really slow forehead kissing, I would be like "you messed up my hair for THAT?" More infantilization. Nobody does that but your mother. BL kisses take forever. If they're not in slomo, they do that silly triple-take. I'd like there to be a little passion between them - they almost interact like they're in a parent-child relationship, not a romantic one.

And what the f@#$ is Yu Zhen wearing to bed? Is this Taiwan or Siberia?

I like this show, but this is Ep 10. I'm starting to gfet frustrated. If the ending of this was a fake-out, I will scream.

I understand the point, but the reason why we're leaving it out is that it was well-written and acted, and depended on those qualities rather than being a checklist of tropes. It still had high school students and blue shirts, a "straight" guy with a girlfriend, enemies to lovers, and most of the other basic elements of a BL. Are we excluding it because it's not a BL, or is it because it makes it difficult to argue in favor of tropes? It's not that hard to make an ITSAY - just get a good script and actors. I think Golden Blood works because of Boat. Without him this is a nonsensical plot with mediocre acting, although to be fair, Gun is good at comedy.

I think everyone gets tired of the same thing over and over - and seeing it in person is quite different from on the screen, isn't it? I doubt even the most tolerant BL watcher can't help roll their eyes when a preview shows engineering students. It's not just the laziness of the writing - it's a reasonably accurate indicator that a series is just a passionless, cynical cash-grab. I think a lot of people are programmed to imagine chemistry when it's really just a trope. Is there chemistry between Boat & Gun? I would argue no. It's all one way. If Gun were replaced by a mannequin it would be the same. If Boat were replaced by someone with the level of looks and acting ability of Gun, I doubt it would work.

Boat & Gun have good comedic chemistry, but romantic? We'll see. Same with FUTS - comedic chemistry was there, but was the romantic chemistry two-way, or was it all Pond? If you think about ITSAY, why did it work? How did it manage without tropes or perfect abs? Writing and acting - and doing something different for once. Writing and acting are inexpensive - that's why it's hard for me to excuse the stupendous laziness, and why I'm so much more forgiving of technical faults, because all that is expensive in equipment and manpower.

The face-to-face too close & long stare bothers me when it's the reason why the boys become attracted to each other (usuall having been previously straight). That's not romantic, it's lazy. If it just happens for no apparent reason, I just sigh and roll my eyes but it doesn't bother me too much - it's a BL thing. If it's made fun of like they did here, that's the best.

I am also very bothered by "nobody can use a knife", closely related to "nobody can use a safety razor" and "nobody can play any sport whatsoever without injury" (and its recent offspring "drown within 15 seconds in 3 feet of water" - although both still makes me laugh and haven't gotten to the point where I want to throw my laptop against a wall yet) and the subset, "no uke can manage a staircase". Or sunlight touching them. Or rain.

The knife thing is the worst because it's stressful as well as tiresome.

Hmm. This was technically much better than most DYI series (although way too dark - it looks like they filmed it to actual candlelight), but I'm not sure what it is. A cooking show? Does the guy sweeping have cancer or some serious debilitating disease, or is his bf just really patronizing? Do you see the muscles on this guy? Do you think sweeping is going to exhaust him? Do you only love him for his "milky white skin"? I think starving to death is a more serious problem than getting a tan, but I guess we all have our priorities.

The tone is tragic, with COVID lurking in the usual slot of the evil landlord demanding the money they owe him, and the ominous discussion of getting a construction job, which I'm guessing will have a predicatable outcome.

The dialogue is strange, with one guy lamenting that he can't provide the life he promised the other, and not wanting him to work despite the only plot element being that they're running out of money for food. Unless this is the 19 c and the sweeping guy is a 12-year old girl, that just doesn't ring true. It's not romantic, it's domineering, and the reason "master" gave is racist.

There is a tendency in many of these Pinoy BLs to be very dialogue-heavy - I wonder if most creators are coming from a theatrical background and not understanding the potential - and requirements - of this genre. I'll watch the next episode if I can remember it exists - but that seems unlikely.

I guess that's fair. After ITSAY "good by BL standards" rose many, many notches. But you're right, this is better than most, if for no reason than Boat. And no engineers.

For a bodyguard series, Where Your Eyes Linger. It's hard to top. It's essentially a film, not a series, cut into several parts. There's a cop vs. crimelord series History3: Trapped which you might like.

I liked this ep. I think they should avoid being too serious because that's too much for Gun - there were a few cringe moments.

I don't like tropes - I think they're lazy writing, and beyond tiresome. I groaned when Sky and Sun fell so that their faces were close together - but then they made fun of the trope by making the staring at each other OTT long with gold lights flashing. I really laughed hard at that.

OK, so Boat with stubble. And a smile. Yikes.

Oh, I definitely like his facial stubble. I wrote this before I saw ep 4 - they didn't plaster over the stubble with makeup this ep and it did things to me. I also like his face and his eyes. Also his voice, the way he walks, all of his body language and facial expressions, and his parents. I'm not sure how great an actor he is, but he's at 100% for this role, and he's communicating a lot of emotion while being stoic.

I really appreciate your compliments - I think my sense of humor is dry and people sometimes take it too seriously. I can also be melodramatic and exaggerate.

In general, a zero-budget indie series has to be very offensive (like terrible rep of trans characters) or be so technically incompetent that a 5-year old with an iPhone could do better for me to criticize more than details. But I'm harsher on the larger productions because they're making money and if they're doing it off of bad rep of LGBTQ+ or misgyny, I think they deserve no mercy.

I do make fun of tropes because it's lazy writing. But this ep they made fun of fall/catch/stare by making it outrageously long with gold lights flashing, and I appreciated that.

Just because people make fun of something and recognize it's terrible doesn't mean they're not enjoying watching it. For example, So Much In Love may possibly be the worst BL ever made, but I watched every minute of it.

I'm not watching BL for the high art it represents, I'm watching it for light romance and cute boys as an escape from the cruelty and tedium of daily existence. Golden Blood is not good. The plot makes no sense, the pacing is strange, and the acting overall is mediocre to bad. But it's fun and sometimes Boat takes his shirt off, so I'm going to watch every minute of it. In fact, I'm going to watch Boat's shirtless scenes multiple times, and I'm not ashamed to say it.

That's why the only response to a statement like "If you don't like it then down watch it" is "F@$% off."