This review may contain spoilers
While I understand the disappointment from BL fans who expected more from this series, I think many people misunderstood what the story was trying to be. I do not think Soulmates is perfect, and I will talk about the issues I had with it later, but I also think it has many positives that are often overlooked.I do not think the director or writer were scared of making this a BL. Instead, I think the fact that the relationship was never made explicitly romantic was intentional and part of what made their connection unique. The series presents Ryo and Johan’s relationship as something that exists between friendship and romance rather than fully fitting into either category.
One of the reasons I believe this is the storyline between Ryo and his friend. The series did not avoid topics like LGBTQ identity or homophobia, which it easily could have done if the creators were truly afraid of making it queer. To me, that subplot shows that the writers were aware of the audience’s expectations and intentionally chose to keep Ryo and Johan’s relationship undefined.
Their bond was not written as a typical friendship or a conventional romance, but as something more personal and difficult to label. That is why I think the idea of them being soulmates fits the story better than forcing their relationship into a specific category.
I will continue this review in the future (my issues are with the mix in the mood and how the storyline felt at times incomplete and messy)(i loved the creative view, the relationship and the acting)
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