Lia

I honestly think the majority of us have held on for this long because we invested too much of our time to drop it. If you don't feel that attached to the characters or the drama itself, go ahead and drop it without any worries. If you just want to watch it for the shenanigans, that's fine too !

I understand that the drama might not be your cup of tea, everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I completely respect that. I do believe, however, that restricting BLs and LGBTQ+ stories to an overused narrative / 'stick to the basics' actually does more harm than good. Partly because it restricts LGBTQ+ characters to these specific stories, and prevents them from being portrayed in more 'mainstream' stories.
But aside from that, sometimes people simply want to escape their own reality and immerse themselves in a fictional story, where they can still identify with the main character. Of course having dramas and movies about coming out and homophobia is important, but restricting BLs to that narrative is also tiring for some people, me included. Sometimes we just want an entertaining story that has nothing to do with the hardships we could face in real life, something uncomplicated with a main character we can still somewhat relate to. And in this case, a drama focused on a social commentary / societal problem outside of general LGBTQ+ matters is actually very refreshing. It points out real societal issues that need to be addressed, and has queer mains instead of straight ones. To me that's honestly a perfect combination.
I personally don't see the harm in a thriller/action BL drama, I'd actually be thrilled to have more LGBTQ+ characters outside of the usual genres.
Also, to touch on one of your responses, you more or less said the actor doesn't 'look' or 'feel' straight, I'd be curious to know what your perception of straight is. I'm trying not to get annoyed here, but last time I checked a person's sexual orientation isn't written on their face. Being feminine doesn't equal being queer either. That's not a very healthy way of interpreting things, if you meant it I suggest you to get a little bit more information on that topic.

Thank you for your input. I haven't had the time to go very far into the drama yet, but I'm already enticed ^^

I absolutely love the concept of this article, thank you for sharing it with us ! I might start the drama I got when I have the time. And I'll make sure to come back to your article when I want to watch something new ^^

Damn, I do NOT miss some of these tropes
But thank you for this article, really enjoyable read as always ^^ And actually astonishingly informative, I had never heard of some of these before haha

literally had the same reaction 😅 I was planning to stay up late to watch it right when it was released, oh well...

For those waiting for the series to be released (like I did), I think the official release time is :

Pacific Time: 12 AM
Central Time: 2 AM
Eastern Time: 3 AM
British Time: 8 AM
European Time: 9 AM
India Time: 1:30 PM
Philippine Time: 4 PM
Korea Time: 5 PM
Australia Central Time: 6:30 PM

Double checked on multiple websites, and they all had the same data

damn I feel like this is a much much needed article on this platform. It's more than understandable that people shut off their brains and choose to avoid thinking about the abusive parts too much, but there is actually a whole side of MDL romanticizing extreme behaviors and it honestly makes me a little scared. I'm not saying the majority of the community sees this as a relationship goal, obviously. But there might be users here whose first idea / notion of a relationship was formed around what they've seen in dramas. So hopefully it also reaches the younger users of MDL, helps them remember that all the normalized behavior in dramas isn't necessarily enviable in a functional relationship.

I find it really hard to find a drama with no normalized toxic or sexist behavior (not exclusively c-dramas), it's getting really frustrating to see. There is the argument that it's part of the story and it's meant to be portrayed that way, but everything you see on TV can influence your behavior and your perception of the world. If it's continuously presented as harmless, or actually needed in a functional relationship, then a part of the viewers will also start to see it as normal.

On another note, I watched addicted heroin a while back, and I remember being sooo conflicted about rating it. The 'normalization' of toxic behaviors bothered me SO MUCH in this one, but from what a lot of people were saying, it stayed very loyal to the book, so for once it actually made sense. Still conflicted to be honest ^^"

Anyway, I'll stop rambling now. I'm glad you took the time to write this article, and I'll be waiting for the other ones to come out !

Edit : you know what, I'm starting to think your profile picture is relationship goals lmao, the creativity is unmatched

Thank you for this article, I'll gladly check some of these out ! Right now I'm set on Komi-san wa, Komyushou Desu. It feels like an uncomplicated, light slice of life, perfect for the mood I'm in right now.

I find it's not restricted to slap and kiss dramas. I am aware this is a subgenre, that's why I've been avoiding it. My intention wasn't to generalize, but I respect your opinion on the matter. We might just have different definitions of abusive behaviors, that's all.

Damn that's a refreshing article, thank you for sharing this interview !

Thank you for your article ! Original topic too, it was quite an enjoyable read ^^

Damn, your timing is impeccable. I'll make a mental note of all these suggestions, thank you for this article :)

Thank you for this article, I've been meaning to get back into japanese dramas and this sounds like a perfect start :)

Thank you for sharing your thoughts ! I personally think there was a lot of faulty mechanics in this drama, but I still enjoyed it for the most part. Your writing is very enjoyable, hope to see more of it in the future ^^

10 minutes in and it feels like foreshadowing

Congratulations for publishing the article !
It was really fun to take part in your project, so thank you ^^

Thank you !

I want to see this movie so bad but it's nowhere to be found ㅜㅜ

Forest was literal torture to watch. Not just for me, but for a lot of people who started the drama when it was airing. I found most of the characters despicable and the story was just all over the place.
One thing that actually works in this drama for the viewers is the aesthetics. The shots are just gorgeous. Aside from that I would absolutely not recommend.