I believe it’s only not available to the US on gaga. so I watch it on IQIYI
100% agree. I finally got a working VPN and was rewatching ep 3 I think and I was blown away by how different they were. In some places a whole different meaning came across. I had to supplement what I remembered from the iQiyi ones, but there were a couple of details that I didn't get out of the iQiyi ones. I'm enjoying this show so much that I might get both platforms (for the first time at the same time) just so I can watch both versions to get the most out of it.
im dropping it at ep 12, and that I’m seeing some comments but seem like it ends poorly and that the male lead does something bad, but up until now, Kim Tae Hui was such a green flag. He might not have been in touch with his emotions the whole time, but I’ve never seen anyone who is better at validating and empathizing and being there for the other character. Thank you for creating such a beautiful character. I wasn’t going to finish anyways because I got so bored, but I hope you didn’t do him too dirty at the end.
Even though I'm depressed with this episode and wish it had ended many different ways, maybe Japan needed this episode. I found myself googling "is gay marriage legal in Japan" during the episode, and the answer is essentially no. I'd read How I Met My Husband and knew you could have a religiously recognized same sex marriage and some prefectures offer same-sex "partnership certificates," but somehow that's almost worse. In a place where same sex marriage is not legal, I would feel exactly like Jin, both needing it to feel safe in his body, and at the same time, fearing it. It hurts and it even frustrates the viewer a little bit, but I hope it makes a statement in Japan. Not nearly as loud and powerful as Not Me's literal Pride parade and catwalk of couples (this was just prior to Thailand's legalization of gay marriage), but it's still more than any other J-bl I've seen. I think honestly, because Japan is pretty much the inventor of BL and the standard to which all other BL is compared, I forget that gay marriage isn't legal there. I'm kind of mad at myself. But maybe that's also because the country I live in is seriously regressing on queer rights, much to my living, breathing terror.
I always wonder if my detest for Hasumi was just me or subtly curated throughout the drama. I know part of it was because I (and hopefully everyone) hated who Sumire was around him. But also, I was always so uncomfortable when they were together. I flinched when they kissed, I groaned whenever I saw him coming towards her, and I even had a feeling of profound relief when she ran away rather than having sex with him. I know it was because I (and hopefully everyone) hated who Sumire was around him. But also, I thought he was too pushy, too self-centered/believed in his own goodness, convinced that Sumira was who he wanted, and didn't even really look at her. And when he noticed that he was getting a fumbling iceberg, he never even got close to seeing/experiencing her genuine self (he biffed hard on that one). I always felt his kisses were forced on her, and she only melted into them because she felt she should. I felt like she gaslighted herself into loving him, convinced that he was who she wanted because she had had a crush on him before, and he met all of her "requirements." Part of me thinks that the directors did it intentionally because we could see how different she was around him than Fukushima was. Sumire never jumped into his arms when she saw him, never showed enthusiasm to be around him, and Fukushima's happiness showed just how forced Sumire's smiles were, and how hesitant and unknowingly forced her reactions were around him. Also, I liked who he was around Fukushima as well. He was less awkward and didn't make me feel as grossed out when he was around her. So I think it was intentional by the directors and Sumire really thought she liked him for way too long (not in a the-directors-should-have-changed-it kind of way, ok yeah, you dragged out the pain a little too long, I would have liked it if she had gradually started waking up a little bit earlier in the drama. Make us even more convinced of her love for Takeshi.)
Thank goodness he's not acting across from Go Min Si again. Nothing against her, just having two actors acting across each other more than once takes away from the ... originality of the show. Thai dramas do it a lot and it becomes more about the actors than the show their acting in. And while Lee Do Hyun is literally the most talented actor alive and can do any role, I want to see him at his full potential, and each acting partner brings something new out of a person.
I'm interested by all the praise. I'd say it's fine. Better than average BL, but there are so many inexplicable leaps in logic and plot. It's... like it's based on a manga and the directors couldn't fit everything in, so they cut things out and did a poor job of sewing things back together. I can't give any show full ratings if I'm being left asking "why did so and so act that way, that doesn't correspond with the current circumstances or past interactions and events" every couple of minutes.
wait can someone explain why the gf didn't wanna have sex w kazuaki ? I watched the whole thing but maybe I missed…
I'm glad they didn't give her a hard time for being ace. There is so little representation and it could have been so easy to make her the bad guy. The lack of awareness of the ace identity is to blame! (the ace said with indignance)
The clips I've seen of this show him throwing her around a lot. Like a lot a lot. It looks like no's are ignored (in non-sexual, but equally important settings). Did anyone else notice this? Did anyone feel uncomfortable? Here's an example video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9slEDew0kvI&t=14s
Does anyone know the song at the end of the fourth ep? (It might have been throughout, but that was when I really noticed it and fell in love with it.)
It hurts and it even frustrates the viewer a little bit, but I hope it makes a statement in Japan. Not nearly as loud and powerful as Not Me's literal Pride parade and catwalk of couples (this was just prior to Thailand's legalization of gay marriage), but it's still more than any other J-bl I've seen. I think honestly, because Japan is pretty much the inventor of BL and the standard to which all other BL is compared, I forget that gay marriage isn't legal there. I'm kind of mad at myself. But maybe that's also because the country I live in is seriously regressing on queer rights, much to my living, breathing terror.