mikimika101

Too Many Manhwa Concepts for a Live Action Adaptation

Cherry Blossoms After Winter is a nice BL drama, but it has too many manhwa style plot points that it's better left on paper than in live action.

That being said, while most of this review will be a little critical, the drama isn't bad, especially the ending. The drama would be a better anime, rather than a live action.


PLOT:

As an young child, Haebom was left orphaned. However, he was adopted by Taeseong's mother, who was his mom's best friend. Despite Taeseong and Haebom being friends when they were children, after the adoption they grew apart. Taeseong is handsome and very popular, while Haebom feels he is inferior.

In their senior year of high school Taeseong and Haebom are put in the same class, where Taeseong learns that Haebom is being bullied at school. Despite the fact they live together, Taeseong hasn't really communicated with Haebom since his adoption. He feels the need to protect Haebom, while Haebom rejects the offer for protection, saying he only has one more year of high school. Haebom feels very grateful to Taeseong and his family that he doesn't want to cause them any more trouble, and is thinking of moving out after senior year. Taeseong isn't exactly happy about Haebom leaving, nor is he happy that Haebom doesn't mind being bullied.

As stated earlier, this drama has a lot of plot points that are better suited for manhwa or webtoons.
- Childhood Friends to Adopted siblings
- Adopted Sibling Love (Not really incest since they are not blood related)
- Bullying
- Non-con Kisses
- Popular Boy loves Bullied Nerd
- One-sided Love for over 10 years'
- High School Lover's Storyline
- College Lover's Storyline (My favorite!!)

While the plot points above don't hinder the drama, it does feel make it feel unrealistic, especially when you look at how each of the characters are portrayed. Haebom is innocent and naïve. He takes in all of the bullying and is surprisingly positive about it. Taeseong is stoic and has all of the girls screaming at him. He also is very attractive, strong, and rich. Even his mother is kind, caring, supportive, and totally not involved with her children's lives that she doesn't know Taeseong and Haebom haven't spoken to each other in ages and don't get along very well.

However, the magic of BL is still there and this drama is a good one time... or maybe two time watch. Taeseong's love for Haebom and all of the ways Taeseong protects and stands by Haebom is really the stuff of dreams. While I wasn't a fan of the high school storyline, I really enjoyed it once they got into college. In college, Taeseong is more expressive and really becomes a prince. Even Haebom surprises everyone by standing up to Taeseong's mom, and even proposing to Taeseong. Haebom, who had been hiding under Taeseong's love all this time, decided to wear his big boy pants and express his love to Taeseong! Finally!! Haebom makes the ending so adorable and sweet. I wish we had more time to see how them as mature adults, rather than as students.


Haebom x Taeseong

Haebom and Taeseong are adorable as a couple. During the high school storyline, they are very 2D, stereotypical manhwa characters, but in the college storyline, they grow out of it and become more expressive. In high school, Taeseong wasn't really leading man material. He did have the usual high school kinkga/princely thing going for him, but the moment he non-consensually put his hand on Taeseong, that really ruined his character for me. In college, though, he did redeem himself by being completely devoted to Haeboom without being very overprotective of him, so I enjoyed his character a lot. Haebom, on the other hand, doesn't really have a big character change, so in the ending when he puts on his big boy pants and expresses his love for Taeseong is a little left field for me. It closed the drama nicely, so all's well, but if we got to see him being more expressive leading up to him standing up to Taeseong's mom would have been great. Either way, they are a cute couple.


ACTING:

The acting here isn't very terrible, but Haebom was a little too mousy to be realistic. Other than that the acting was decent. Not terrible, but not great.


MUSIC:

I hated the music choices for most of the drama. The music itself isn't bad, but it felt like the production staff hired a high schooler from the 00s to choose the music. The music choices felt very amateur compared to the rest of the production.


OVERALL:

Cherry Blossoms After Winter was a nice BL. It was fun to watch, but it definitely didn't feel realistic. I would love to see an anime version of this instead though. Taeseong was very cute and adorable once he matured, so I want to see more of him. Also that ending!! I really, really wish we could see more Taeseong and Haebom as adults. Their student lives were dramatic, but their adult lives look like it would be a dream come true. I really would like to see it. We really don't need a second season, but maybe a special episode just to see what happens after the finale episode.

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Great Adaptation of Who Can Define Popularity? with a Film School Twist

Blueming is an adaptation of the webtoon "Who Can Define Popularity?" but it strays quite far from the source material that it has become it's own story.

As a BL drama, it is an amazing example of a textbook BL drama. However, because it is too perfect and is an idealistic BL, it loses some points in the realm of realism. Still a must watch BL.


STORY:

When Si Won was a child, he has a tough childhood. He was teased for being fat and his home life wasn't stable. His father cheated on his mother and left. Since then, his mother has forced her views of being in shape and looking beautify onto her children. As an adult, Si Won is no longer fat and very self conscious. He is also quite popular due to his good looks.

During Si Won's first year of film school, he meets Da Un, who is perfect in every way. Da Un is handsome, smart, rich, and is nice to everyone. Si Won hates Da Un because he finds Da Un to be the perfect person that he strives to be, but will never achieve. Si Won tries to stay away from Da Un, but that proves impossible when they are paired to work with each other in ever class. Da Un also seems to have taken a liking to Si Won and follows him everywhere.

As I stated earlier, Blueming is a textbook BL. Every plot point, character, and scene has meaning to the drama; and there is no fillers. There is also no plot holes. Every question we have is answered. However, whether the answer the drama has given us can be up for debate. For example, when Si Won gets upset at Da Un for having his mother give him the grand prize for his script, Da Un says he's sorry, but he just wanted to be perfect. What does being perfect have to do with helping Si Won win the grand prize? If he said he just wanted to help get Si Won's name out there, or something like that I'd get it, but what does perfect have to do with it? I was so confused that I decided to read the webtoon and that's where I learned where Da Un's answer of being perfect came from. In the webtoon Da Un struggles with good child syndrome, so he struggles to be perfect. In this BL adaptation, however, Da Un's struggles with good child syndrome are not touched upon, so his answer made no sense. Other than that this drama is a must watch. It's not as overly dramatic as your typical Korean drama, but it's a nice drama nevertheless.

Si Won x Da Un

Si Won and Da Un have really good chemistry together. Si Won is very high strung and narcissist, but he knows that and isn't afraid to admit his shortcomings. In front of others he tries to maintain a good image. Da Un, on the other hand, is kind, caring, and a people-pleaser. He's understanding of Si Won's short comings, but seems to have a hard time opening up to anyone about his problems. He knows he is rich and more blessed than others around him, so he forces himself to swallow his own pain and pretend he doesn't feel it.

Si Won and Da Un are really great together. They balance each other out and talk through everything. They have the best communication skills out of any couple (BL and non-BL combined.) They help each other through their problems and support each other. They really are relationship goals.


BLUEMING vs WHO CAN DEFINE POPULARITY?

As I stated earlier, Blueming is an adaptation of the webtoon "Who Can Define Popularity?" but it strays quite far from the source material that it has become it's own story. While the drama does follow the same plot of the webtoon, the situations, motivations, and scene are completely different.

For example:

Blueming
- Characters are all in Film School
- Da Un's family are famous in the film industry, directors etc.
- Da Un's mother and father seems to ignore Da Un's existence
- Si Won's mother is self-centered and cares about her kids' superficial beauty
- Si Won's storyline is the focus
- Da Un's storyline is cut. He doesn't really open up to Si Won.
- Ba Woo & Hoon's storyline is cut. Ba Woo is just a small side character that's barely memorable. Hoon makes a small cameo in the last episode.
- Yun Jeong and Si Won's sister's storyline is significantly cut. Seems like this could is queer baiting with their love storyline. Si Won's sister has a very small role in the drama. Yun Jeong is also a side character.


Who Can Define Popularity?
- Characters are all in the Student Council in University
- Da Un's family is Chaebol and Da Un is heir to his father's business
- Da Un's family really care for him, especially his mother, who is concerned about Da Un's good child syndrome.
- Si Won's mom is supportive of her family and doesn't care much about superficial beauty.
- Si Won's storyline is expanded, especially about being bullied in elementary school and later again in college.
- Da Un has a storyline about his narcissism and his good child syndrome. He opens up to Si Won.
- Ba Woo & Hoon are the secondary couple with lots of interactions with both Da Un and Si Won.
- Yun Jeong and Si Won's sister a small storyline. Both characters play a bigger role in the webtoon.
- Yun Jeong has a big love triangle with Si Won and Da Un.

Blueming still follows the main storyline of Si Won, but just changes a few things around. While a great adaptation, Who Can Define Popularity? is still the superior story as the audience is able to gain a better understanding behind the motivations of all the characters. Maybe if Blueming's episodes were longer than 14 minutes, the drama could have expanded the storylines and become the perfect BL that it was striving to be. I really wanted to see Da Un's struggle with good child syndrome on screen, but it was not covered at all. I hope to see it one day.

OVERALL:

Blueming is a must watch BL, but I still recommend watching Who Can Define Popularity? before or after. I think that Blueming is a great adaptation that can also be considered a stand alone BL.

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It's an Advertisement for MacDonalds

It's an ad for MacDonalds disguised as a BL short film.
It's hilarious!! Go watch it now!!

On a serious note, they need to start making more ads like this in general.
I seriously want some fries now... And a man like Ah Kueng, who can order me fries any time, anywhere. LOL

STORY:

Ah Kueng is the new " office hunk" that recently started at the office. Tin Tin is instantly attracted to him much to his boyfriend Ah Son's annoyance. Ah Kueng instantly takes an interest in Tin Tin, but sees he has a man... But that doesn't stop Ah Kueng from making advances towards him. He notices that Tin Tin is always waiting for Ah Son, he also sees that Tin Tin is started to get annoyed and fed up with waiting, so Ah Kueng starts to make his move.

One day Tin Tin is so hungry he breaks. All he wants is MacDonalds, but Ah Son makes him wait. Suddenly Ah Kueng swoops in with a Big Mac and Tin Tin is in heaven.

OVERALL:
Great ad. Lot's of comedy and I can't stop watching... or laughing.

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Skip the Last Minute or so and It's a Great Short Film

Short, but captivating!


STORY:

Kit is a tea leaf fortune teller who is waiting at a cafe for his friend August. When August arrives, he asks for his romantic fortune to be read. This sparks a heart-to-heart conversation between the two.

The story isn't too complex. It's just two friends sitting in a cafe talking about one friend's love life. We're not given any back story on the character, but it's through their dialogue that we learn their relationship with each other. Even then, the dialogue doesn't give us the full story. We can only make assumptions based on what they say. It's as if we, the audience, is sitting down at the same cafe listening in on their conversation. It's through their conversation that we learn they are friends. That August has a lot of admirers. And that Kit and August have shared a drunken kiss and it's eating Kit up inside. We learn all of this as they literally sit at a table and talk.

Trying not to spoil the film, I will say that the film is amazing for being able to pack as much drama as they did without getting preachy in their dialogue. Most films will have monologues that explain everything, but here, all the audience can do is guess about everything. The film does great in bringing out the personalities of each character as they sit and chat. August, being more expressive, moves around a lot in his seat as he cracks jokes. Kit, on the other hand, doesn't move much, preferring to just stare and react to August. We get to see the dynamic of the two through all of this subtle movements.

With only 30 minutes, there is a lot that we learn about Kit and August, but it's the last few minutes of the film that throws the audience for a ride. I would have given this film a 10 out of 10, if it wasn't for the ending. While the ending isn't terrible, it is a cliff hanger. Until the film makers give us a sequel the lower rating still stands.


PRODUCTION/ACTING:
(Since I went to film school, I might talk about some things that you might not have noticed, but I definitely did!)

The actors give amazing performances, but it is stunted by the highly stylized cinematography. I've read more than a few reviews saying the cinematography was amazing, but I beg to differ. The cinematography is highly stylized and beautiful, but it took away from the acting. The background lighting was a little over-exposed creating a beautiful effect, but we couldn't see half of the actor's face. In this type of film where there are no big movements or action, the audience can only rely on the dialogue and the actor's gestures and facial expressions. With the lighting they had, while beautiful to look at, we couldn't see half of the actor's face therefore it was difficult to pick up on some of the actor's expressions. I personally had a hard time seeing most of Kit's expressions since his character is more stoic than August.

Also, the mostly static, single camera was horrific. Again, the audience needs to see the actor's expressions. We also need to be visually stimulated in order to not get bored of the one setting story. The film makers tried to make the film visually stimulating with the lighting and the camera occasionally zooming into the actors. The result was the audience not being able to see more than half of the actor's facial expressions. Most of the film was a medium shot of both actors. We could occasionally see a slightly closer shot of the two, but it's clear that the camera was static and just zoomed in on the two. Towards the climax of the film, the camera starts doing this "V" like style of zooming where the single camera zooms into one actor's face, pans out to a medium shot of the two actors, then zooms into the second actor. It was difficult to watch. We barely got to see any actor's face in full. It was always cut off by the lighting and the camera angle made it difficult to see the actor's full face.

Lastly, the jump cuts! There were so many jump cuts! With the static, single camera style of cinematography the film makers were doing, the best would have been the entire film being shot in one take. However, 30 minute long one takes are very difficult to do. The film makers were able to hide the jump cuts by showing us the "close ups" of the actors, but occasionally there would be a jump cut with the same shot. It's only a split second, so many people may not have noticed, but it was very obvious if you paid attention. Also the random jump cuts into the tea pot was annoying and unnecessary.


OVERALL:

Love Advisor is a beautiful short film if you're okay with a single setting and lots of dialogue. The story was beautiful and the cinematography is highly stylized and beautiful (if you didn't go to film school.)

I hope the film makers will give us a sequel, or I will forever skip the last minute of the film.

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Best Chemistry between the Leads a.k.a Terrible Plot, Fantastic Acting!!!

The storyline of TharnType is a hit or miss for many people, but the actors of Tharn and Type, Mew and Gulf respectively, have hands down the best chemistry in Thai BL!!!

Also, the plot had major issues, but the acting is Oscar worthy!!


STORY:

A spin-off of Love By Chance, if LBC was the light-hearted series, TharnType brought the drama. Unlike LBC's theme of first love, TharnType was very mature and dealt with adult themes of homophobia, rape, and sexual assault. If you can handle the darker themes then I'm sure you'll love TharnType.

That being said, honestly, if it weren't for the chemistry between the two leads, TharnType wouldn't be one of the most popular BLs out there. Tharn and Type's chemistry really carried the series because the storyline was very problematic. After talking about each couple, I'll explain why the story is so problematic. However, I will say that while the storyline isn't the best, the acting is amazing. Even if you're not a big fan of the storyline, you should watch the series to see some amazing acting talent.

Tharn & Type

The chemistry between Tharn and Type is amazing. They suck you right into the story, and get you so invested in their lives, you'll forget you're just watching a TV series. I think that Tharn and Type are really the best BL couple in terms of chemistry, and Tharn's actor is possibly the best actor in BL. He will make you cry hard with him. Also, for the actor of Type, this is his first acting gig. Can you believe it?!

Tar & Tum

It's not explained well in the series, but they are step-brothers. I kind of found Tum to be too possessive of Tar. He is supposed to be in love with Tar, but that doesn't get across to the audience at all. He just seems like a very possessive and worried brother who cares too deeply for this younger brother. I really think Tar and Tum need to get their storyline expanded on. Everything is from Tharn's point of view, not Tar or Tum's, so while they are supposed to be a second couple in the series, they just feel like supporting characters. If they are treated like supporting character, then they don't need as much screen time or drama.

Kengkla & Techno

They are a barely mentioned couple in TharnType, but they are a secondary couple in Love By Chance. However, Techno plays a bigger role in TharnType and gets significantly more screen time in this series than in LBC. In TharnType, we get a better understanding of who Techno is, his personality, and his loyal friendship with Type. While he's just a supporting character here, if you want to see his love story go watch LBC and more specifically LBC season 2.


ISSUES IN THARNTYPE

While lots of fans love the series and the charaters, but we all stand in agreement that sexual assault and rape is wrong. Many fans criticize P'Mame for fetishizing rape and sexual assault. They also say that because of the sexual assault in the series they cannot like TharnType the series or the couple. Personally, I consider TharnType the series to be one of my favorite BLs, and Tharn and Type are one of my favorite BL couples. Does that mean I fetishize the sexual assault or rape? No, I don't. I like the series because of the chemistry between the leads more than the storyline. The story of TharnType is very problematic, so let's talk about it.

1. Rape

With TharnType the issue of rape is a central part of Tar's storyline and even Type is raped before the series begins. The series highlights the negative effects of rape with both Tar and Type struggling to get over it. I wish they could have shown more of the negative effects and how it really impacts their lives, but the issue is swept under the rug. Tar and Type are not seen getting any type of help or therapy, especially Tar since his rape is so recent! Furthermore, as soon as Lhong confesses he was the mastermind behind everything and drops out of the picture, suddenly Tar is happy again! He's back to "normal" and can happily live with Tum! Rubbish! You don't get over rape so quickly.

Don't use rape in a storyline unless you actually show the reality of rape!
Rape is not a tool to push the plot along. Rape is a crime with lifelong mental repercussions!

2. Sexual Assault

In the beginning, Tharn knows that Type is homophobic, so he retaliates against Type's homophobic actions towards him in a very sexualized manner. In Tharn's eyes, he's retaliating fire with fire. For example, if someone doesn't like spiders, in retaliation, someone might put pictures of spiders up on the wall, put fake spiders on the wall, or bring in a real spider. However, for Tharn, since Type is attacking his sexuality, he is simply attacking back with it. Is it sexual assault? Yes it is. Does it mean it's okay? Not really. There might be a few people who see is as fighting fire with fire, or see Tharn touching Type when he doesn't want to be touched as a small joke of retaliation. If it's between two friends, maybe it could be a joke, but Tharn and Type are not friends. Also this "joke" is sexual in nature, so yes it's sexual assault, especially if Type doesn't like it.

There is also a big taboo scene which some people might not have noticed was sexual assault since it looked consensual. That is the scene in the shower where Type loses his underwear and Tharn returns it. Tharn pushes himself into the bathroom and goes in for a kiss, then eventually it gets a little steamy. This scene is actually sexual assault, but it is one of those in the gray zone since Type consented in the end. Because Type only fought back in the beginning and eventually gave in and enjoyed it, if brought to a court, the judge will say it's consensual. Due to this scene being in the gray zone, and Type not being too angry about it some people might agree with the judge and say it's not sexual assault, but I'd like to remind everyone that it is in fact, sexual assault. It's not a steamy or raunchy scene at all, at the core it really is assault. If Type hadn't given in, the courts would rule it as assault.

Similarly, he small kisses Tharn gives Type at night. Yes, it's sexual assault. No matter how sweet and romantic the gesture seems, it is sexual assault since Type and Tharn are not dating yet. There is no consent from Type. Tharn is just stealing kisses at night and it's not romantic at all. Of course, once Tharn and Type become an item it is consensual, so it becomes a sweet gesture, but until then it's not. He's literally kissing Type against his will, there is no consent when he's awake, therefore no consent when he's sleeping.

In TharnType there are a lot of scenes depicting Tharn sexually assaulting Type, however all the sexual assaults are made to look like it's a joke, or a form of attraction. It's not romantic, nor is it acceptable. It's wrong! Many fans saw through this fetishization and were rightfully angry.

Tharn's saving grace is that once he saw that his "jokes" had gone too far and that Type was actually hurt by it, (his nightmares about his rape) he actually stopped. He even started caring for Type, which led to the small kisses at night, which would be romantic if they were consensual. However, at the core, none of this is acceptable. Even if Tharn is a fictional character, P'Mame, should understand that romanticizing these acts are inappropriate. Sexual assault is not romantic, it's disgusting!

3. Crimes with no punishment

Towards the end of the series we find out that Lhong was the mastermind behind Tar's rape as well as a whole bunch of other things. In the series, he cries, apologizes, and runs back to his family to give us a sob story about how no one care about him. While it's sad his family doesn't love him, the audience shouldn't be sympathizing with a psychopath who thinks paying people to rape someone is okay. He even got away with his crimes because the police wasn't called. Lhong literally just dropped out of school and disappeared from their lives. Out of sight, out of mind, right? No! He needs to pay for his crimes. He is worse than Tharn, yet he gets away with it. He ruined Tar's life and gets no penalties for it. On top of that, there is the whole issue of trying to justify his actions with his sob story to get sympathy. Criminals get no sympathy, no matter how shitty their lives are.


OVERALL:

The storyline of TharnType was a mess, but the actors carried the whole show, that's why it's popular. I know there are tons of people who hate the series and the character of Tharn due to the whole issue of sexual assault, but I feel that yes they are right to hate the show and the characters. However, many of the actors gave their best performances, up until the writing of this review, in this show. We really shouldn't give up on the show based on the plot and forget about the actor's fantastic acting. I know it's hard since the plot is so terrible, but I feel we have to give credit where credit is due. Yes, the plot was bad, but the acting was amazing!

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Must Watch for ALL BL FANS!!!

This is the BL that set the bar high for all other BLs after it!!

I'll be including a section of things you need to know before watching Love By Chance Season 2, and things you need to know about the world of Love By Chance/P'Mame before watching this series at the bottom of this review.

STORY:

Love By Chance is a light-hearted BL that does use a lot of popular BL troupes, yet it doesn't overwhelm the audience by making everything too obvious. All the couples fit into a troupe, and even the characters fit into a stereotype. That being said, the story is still lovely and all the actors are amazing, especially the leads.

Going back to the troupes, Love By Chance does touch on almost every troupe out there. E.g. coming out to parents, figuring out of your sexuality, sweet couple, lovers to enemies, poor boy and rich boy, terrible exs, rape, etc. When looking at the troupes, there is an underlying darkness that looms the troupes with most series getting very dark with it. For example, coming out or figuring out your sexuality is something that some series spend the whole series on and the plot can also get very heavy. Love By Chance, however, glazes over it very quickly. The series takes a very sweet and innocent approach to all of it that really gives off the vibe that this is a boy's first love. All the lead characters are experiencing their first love and their approach to it is very innocent and cute. They don't over think their issues and just real with it as it comes which makes all the relationships very cute and enjoyable.

However, there is one issue we must address.... Techno and Kengkla's relationship. We can even add Technic in here too!

Everyone who watches Love By Chance have lots of critiques and opinions about this couple. I'm not going to say too much about it until the second season. In this first season, we see a lot of Technic and Kengkla manipulating Techno until the last episode when Kengkla goes overboard and rapes Techno. We really don't see much of the aftermath and Techno's reaction to this, so I'm not going to say too much about it here, other than rape is wrong. I'll write more about their relationship and my thoughts on it in the second season's review.

Ae & Pete

Pete and Ae have the cutest relationship ever! How they get together and navigate their relationship is a definition of ideal first love. They could even be considered couple goals in this season. They had an attraction with each other from the start and they naturally got together. Nothing about this couple felt forced.

At first I was thrown off by how many times Pete had to be saved by Ae since he was literally a damsel in distress and needed to be saved way too many times. I felt like Pete should grow a pair and punch Trump at least once to make it seem realistic, but when we learn that Pete knows more about sex than Ae I gave it a pass. I felt that a typical guy would at least stand up for himself instead of crying all the time, but since Pete seems to be more knowledgeable about sex like a typical man, maybe he's just not confrontational. I also was worried about if they would give Ae a hero complex since he's always saving Pete. I was relieved then they made Ae pure in adult and relationship matters.

Pete and Ae really compliment each other in many ways, so really enjoyed them together. They really are the embodiment of a beautiful first love, so I can not wait to see what will happen to them in the next season.... Is what I want to say, but I've seen the second season, so all I'll say is that I need to read the book so I can understand what is happening between Pete and Ae for the second season. If you haven't seen the second season yet... How do I say this... If you're there to watch Pete and Ae's relationship go read the book first. If you don't you'll be very confused.

Tin & Can

Tin and Can are hilarious. They really have a cat and mouse relationship and they don't know why. Can is just picking a fight with Tin because he simply finds Tin annoying, but he doesn't know why Tin is annoying. Tin on the other hand, is irritated with Can constantly picking a fight with him for no reason, so he just fights back. They don't realize they are getting to know each other better as they fight. They're in each other's throats so often that they can't breathe without each other!

I found Can to be very annoying. He's not naive, he's literally stupid! He has a great heart and is very trusting, but he's stupid. Tin's very smart and he's around people that are trying to deceive him all the time, so I see why he finds Can fascinating. Can is just too stupid to lie and Tin can be himself around Can without being worried about being manipulated. However, I feel like Tin was manipulating Can. He would reveal his life history then claim it's fake to make Can interested in him, but he never really came clean to Can about anything.

The ending between Tin and Can is sad, yet completely understandable. Tin already knew his feelings and wanted to be in a relationship, but Can was still confused about his sexuality and feelings for Tin. Can was dragging Tin along, so I do get why Tin completely cut him off as a friend, but at the same time Tin should have gave Can some time to think about it. He knows Can is not the sharpest tool in the shed, so instead of playing mind games with Can, he should have been upfront about his feelings from the beginning and given Can some time to think. While I do feel a bit sad that Tin got rejected, and it's heart breaking to watch him scream in the shower, I feel no remorse because he played mind games with the person he shouldn't have played mind games with from the beginning.

Tum & Tar (& Type)

I absolutely hate this couple! They drive me insane!! So much pushing and pulling, and to top it off we're never given the complete story on their relationship and Tar's backstory with Tharn. If you want to understand this couple do watch TharnType the Series then come back to watch this. You'll get a better understanding of Tar's history with everyone. However, since I'm only reviewing this series I won't talk too much about TharnType.

Tum and Tar do a lot of pushing and pulling, and the worst part is we don't really know why. Their relationship is slowly explained to us throughout the season, but we're just left hanging for the most part. It sucks because the whole step-sibling relationship is a big taboo subject for many people since many people see it as incest despite not being related by blood. I feel like because of the incest issue and the fact that being gang-raped is a very dark subject, they just glossed over it. I think it also doesn't help that they don't introduce Tharn at all. They just use Type to talk about their backstory and it's not good enough. We never hear about Tar's issues from Tarn or Tar directly, so we spend the whole series wondering what is going on between them.

I also kind of wish they would have shown more interaction between Tum and Tar because Tum spent more time on screen with Type than he did with Tar... And Tum is supposed to be in love with Tar! I didn't see much love between them. All the time they spend on screen is spent with Type trying to not be their middle man. It doesn't even seem like Tar was in love with Tum too. In general I think Tum and Tar need their own series rather than being a side couple in TharnType and Love By Chance. Tum and Tar's backstory is too interesting and complex to be a side couple in the first place.

Kengka & Techno (& Technic)

Oh, boy! I think I already said most of my piece above, but I'll say it again, Kengka and Technic are manipulating jerks! Technic is the worst brother ever! He sells his brother out to Kengkla for no good reason at all. Kengkla on the other hand isn't too annoying if you look at the fact that he's just in love with Techno and is trying to be noticed by him. If they wanted to make Kengkla come off as the guy for Techno, I think they should have shown how kengkla fell in love with Techno first, instead of showing him being a straight up stalker. His first scene is asking for Techno's picture in exchange for a car. I don't see any good points to Kengkla to make it seem like he's the one for Techno. It's ridiculous. And then you have him teaming up with Technic to manipulate Techno? I can't see jealous Kengkla, only obsessed Kengkla. It's sad because I think that's not how his character is supposed to come off as.

Techno is one of my favorite characters, however his character is inconsistent in this series. At first he seems like a smart and normal guy, but when as the series goes on he gets more air-headed. In the morning after being raped by Kengkla, he acts very out of character. Instead of thinking smartly as he is seen doing when he's with Can, Ae, Type, and Champ, he suddenly makes goofy faces and goes dumb. It's really strange. I can imagine the Techno in TharnType being a better fit for this storyline. In fact, while I love Love By Chance's version of Techno, I think the Techno in TharnType is more of a better fit for this Kengkla we see in this series. I think TharnType's Techno would be more oblivious to Kengkla's feelings, and play along more perfectly to Kengkla and Technic's shenanigans, while the Love By Chance Techno would honestly just go out with Kengkla if Kengkla mustered up the courage to ask him and constantly pestered him about it. What do you think?

Pond & Chaam

Pond and Chaam are really an underrated couple. The only heterosexual couple in this series, they barely get screentime, but they are amazing nevertheless. I love how Pond is initially seen as Ae's horny and annoying friend, but through Chaam we see that he's actually a great guy. I also enjoy how through Pond and Chaam's character we learn not to judge people by their cover. It's a cute mini-storyline and I'm glad the main lead's best friend got a girlfriend because it usually doesn't happen in BLs.


OVERALL:

Love By Chance is a great series! It's really cute and fun to watch. I wish they didn't mess it up in Season 2...
Yeah... Don't watch Season 2 unless you are a TinCan fan.....


~~~~~~~~~~ Things to Know Before Watching Love By Chance Season 2 ~~~~~~~~~~


Love By Chance Season 2 is very different from Season 1. Many people skip the second season due to the reasons listed below.

While I think Love By Chance 2 isn't terrible, it is definitely not as good. I would recommend watching it at least once with the following in your mind before watching Season 2. If you go in without knowing the information below, you will be confused.


1. Pete & Ae's Storyline (Time skip and what happens between S1 and S2)

Before watching Season 2, you have to know a few things. First, Perth and Saint, who play Ae and Pete respectively, had a falling out due to Perth's manager. I'm not going to write the whole drama here, so look it up if you want to. It's very sad. Anyways, the long story short is Saint will not be returning to play Pete, so because of that there is a time skip between the first season and second season. Unfortunately things aren't explained well to the audience.

I'll try to summarize what happens during the time skip, but please know that I haven't read the novel too. I'm only writing what other people have said about what happened during the time skip.

After Ae and Pete get together in Love By Chance things are blissful for a while, but unfortunate there are lots of people that want Ae and Pete to break up including Pete's father. He disapproves of their relationship, believing Ae is unsuitable for his son. He wants Pete to come live abroad with him and his new family abroad. Pete’s father starts making life difficult for Pete and his mother until he has no other option but to go with his father. Pete's mom tries to protect Pete and keep him in Thailand, but Pete's father is merciless. Without a choice, Pete signs a contract with his father saying that he will attend university aboard and break up with Ae. It further states that until he graduates from university he will have no contact with Ae. Still in love with Pete, Ae takes care of Pete's mother for 3 years while he's aboard and misses him like crazy. This is where Season 2 picks up.

Also, please note that while Season 2 continues the story of Ae and Pete from that point, it's mostly just Ae's side of the story. There is barely any continuation of their relationship because Saint understandably doesn't want to appear with Perth, so if you want to see how they end, just read the novel... That being said Perth does great acting miserable without Pete, so if you're a Perth fan and want to see his growth as an actor, watch the second season. He's completely different from the happy Ae when Pete's not around.


2. Tin & Can's Storyline (Reset)

Season 1 ends with Tin's confession getting rejected by Can, but in Season 2 they do a restart. Season 2 starts off with Tin and Can not knowing each other despite Ae and Pete already being so far ahead on their relationship. If this sounds confusing... it is.

Basically when you watch Season 2, you need to forget that Tin and Can were in Season 1 and treat them as brand new characters.

Also, they are the only couple to do a reset on their relationship, so all other couples are running on the same timeline as Season 1, but Tin and Can jump back and restart their relationship.


3. Tum & Tar

To fully understand Tum and Tar's storyline you need to watch in this order:
TharnType Season 1 → Love By Chance Season 1 → LBC Season 2

Unfortunately since Tum and Tar don't have their own novel, we don't get to see how Tum fell in love with Tar, or the exact events that happened while Tar was dating Tharn. However, in TharnType, Tar tells us exactly what happened and why things happened. We also get to see the relationship between Tum and Tharn, and why Tum chooses to talk to Type instead of Tharn in Love By Chance.


4. TharnType the Series & Love By Chance the Series

TharnType and Love By Chance are in the same universe. They share the same characters, but most of the characters are played by different actors. Only Kengkla, Pete, and Tin are played by the same actors, but they only make cameos in TharnType. Also because they are played by different actors and since TharnType is a little darker than Love By Chance some character do change personalities based on the series you watch.

Lastly, it doesn't mater which series you watch first, but here is the continuity timeline.

1. TharnType – Tharn, Type, Techno and Tum are all freshmen in university.
2. Love By Chance – Set 3 years after TharnType. Ae, Pete, Tin and Can are freshmen, while Tharn, Type, Techno, and Tum are seniors.
3. Love By Chance 2 – Season 2 is set only a few months after LBC, they are all the same age as before.
4. TharnType 2 – It takes place 7 years after the events of TharnType, so 4 years after the events of LBC. Everyone has graduated university and are all working adults.

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You're Gonna Either Love It or Hate It

It's a slow burn romance that'll either have you enter a love-hate relationship with.


STORY:

While in college Yu Zhen had is first and only lover suddenly leave him. Now, 7 years later he is still hurt and traumatized by the incident. Yu Zhen eventually takes over Jingcherng Metalwork and Desgin after it nearly goes bankrupt. He doesn't make much changes, only implementing one rule prohibiting any employees from being in relationships or being married. This rule doesn't sit well with all the employees including Shin Lei. Shin Lei and Yu Zhen constantly butt heads over this rule at the studio and also butt heads over new rules Yu Zhen had put in the employee share house. Fed up with Yu Zhen's domineering attitude Shin Lei and the other employees come up with the idea for Shin Lei to snoop around Yu Zhen to figure out his weakness.

This story will drive you insane! It is a slow burn romance, so there is a lot of will they, won't they in the series. Not only that, but Yu Zhen is a totally different person at home and in the studio that you'll wonder if he's really the same person. There were times I hated Yu Zhen, especially in the beginning since he came off as so arrogant, but like Shin Lei, we slowly get to learn that Yu Zhen isn't an ass like he makes himself out to be. However the pacing is insanely slow. Fortunately I watched it all in one go, but if I had to wait week by week to watch this, I would be burnt out and probably have dropped the series. It's literally a slow burn.

The ending was also strange, it wasn't terrible, but it was awkward. They set up an interesting plot by bringing in Yu Zhen's Ex, but his Ex brings nothing to the story. He literally makes the ending awkward. His Ex is only there for the last 3 episodes or so, but the last 3 episodes were the weakest. Instead of trying to set him up as some competition for Shin Lei, then make him start hitting on Shin Lei to make competition for Yu Zhen, only for them to say "Surprise! It was all a prank to see if you loved Shin Lei!" They should have either literally kept him as trying to win Yu Zhen's heart back or just not included him completely. I'm pretty sure most of us would have been satisfied with Shin Lei confessing his feelings for Yu Zhen, then watching Yu Zhen figuring out if he wanted to date Shin Lei or not. Yes it would have been less episodes, but we wouldn't mind. Bringing in the Ex made it messy and confusing. Other than that it was good.

Yu Zhen & Shin Lei

They were a nice couple and had really good chemistry together. It wasn't mind-blowing chemistry like Gao Shi De and Zhou Shu Yi from We Best Love, but Yu Zhen and Shin Lei had something. Their scenes looked very realistic. You could see them slowly learning to understand and care for each other. As each episode passed there was less fighting and more compassion. By the time we get towards the end of the series we're practically begging for them to get together. I really liked how Shin Lei was able to break down all the wall that Yu Zhen built without overstepping his boundaries. There was a lot of mutual respect between them. I hope they will last for eternity.

Yu Zhen & Shin Lei & Shin Lei's Mom

Shin Lei's mom is such a treasure. I wish all parents were like her. Not only did she accept Shin Lei coming out of the closet, she took care of Yu Zhen as her own son. She also has a fantastic relationship with Shin Lei, where they have their disagreements, but they can sweep it under the rug and laugh about it after. He can talk to her about anything and not feel judged for it. I think all mom's should be like Shin Lei's mom. Bonus points since she's also hilarious on top of being caring.

Yu Zhen & His Ex

I already wrote a lot about his Ex, but I want to add a little more. I hate how they tried to make his Ex a good guy although they set him up as a bad guy in the beginning. They should have just stuck with him being the antagonist. I also was really uncomfortable with all the scenes showing him being all touchy-feely with Yu Zhen and Shin Lei. I guess I can give a pass to the Shin Lei scenes since it makes Yu Zhen uncomfortable, but I hated when they showed flashbacks from the past or those dreams with Shin Lei and Yu Zhen making out with his Ex. I understand that Yu Zhen has a past with this guy, but I really don't need to see it. It just made me uncomfortable. I swear Yu Zhen had more kiss and make out scenes with his Ex than with Shin Lei when the series is supposed to be about Yu Zhen and Shin Lei, not his Ex.

Zhao Gang & Si Qi

They were a breath of fresh air since it was good to see them get together so quickly while Yu Zhen and Shin Lei took ages to get together. That being said, I did feel like their storyline was a bit out of place. Being a foil to Yu Zhen and Shin Lei is fine, there is no complaints, bur I did find that Gang having commitment issues was out of character since he was supposed to be the big brother that you can talk to that knows all the answers. It was strange to see that he was giving advice on relationships, but wasn't able to execute them. One top of that not only did it get solved way too quickly, the answer to commitment issues was for Si Qi to propose and Gang to accept the proposal signifying he's over his commitment issues. I just don't believe that, nor do I see it being the answer. They were also dating for less than a year, maybe even less than six months at that point, so their ending was strange too. Cute couple otherwise.

Xiao Qian & Wang Jing

They were a strange pair. I couldn't tell if they were dating before Wang Jing proposed or what their exact relationship was even throughout the series. Even their ending is strange since we don't know if they got married or if they didn't. There was no conclusion to their storyline. Other than that I found them to be funny. They weren't overbearing or annoying, they were just funny. I like this couple. Yes, they are an odd couple, but they work for the story.


OVERALL:

This is a nice story to watch. Yes it's a slow burn, but it was good. The last 3 episodes were messy compared to the others, but it was good to watch. I highly recommend it if you like slow burn romances.

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Best BL of the Year! Don't read the spoilers or reviews and just go watch it!

This is the perfect BL. It encompasses everything that is BL. Season 1 has the whole student/university innocent love story while Season 2 has the adult angsty drama. It's the whole package.

(Some notes about the Special Edition Ver. for Season 1 at the bottom.)
Anyways, I'll focus on Season 1 now.


Story:

Gao Shi De has always been a thorn in Zhou Shu Yi's side. He's always excelled in everything and should have been number 1 in everything, if it wasn't for Gao Shi De. When Zhou Shu Yi got into college, he thought that was in end of it. Gao Shi De went to a different university so everything should have been good, but now Gao Shi De has transferred to his university. His life is a mess again. His female friend that Zhou Shu Yi has been crushing on is in love with his best friend and now he has to deal with Gao Shi De. It doesn't help that Gao Shi De saw through his pathetic crush and is trying to help him get over it. Zhou Shu Yi's supposed to hate Gao Shi De right?

This is an amazing story. Enemies to Lovers is not anything new in BL or in Romance, but what is new is that Zhou Shu Yi is half-Japanese and it incorporated it into the story. Zhou Shu Yi often uses Japanese phrases to express himself when he's talking to himself or doesn't want to be understood. His friends also accept that and use Japanese phrases too. It's really realistic to someone who is mutli-ethnic. (I'm half-Japanese, and I also use Japanese phrases when talking to myself or when I don't want to be understood. Sometimes there are words in Japanese that express things better than in English too.) I love how Gao Shi De nor any of this friends address the fact that he's half-Japanese and just accept it. In a usual story the fact that Zhou Shu Yi's half-Japanese would be high-lighted and constantly brought up. There is none of that in this story.

Another thing that's different from the norm is that Gao Shi De isn't seeking to be Zhou Shu Yi's boyfriend. He literally just wants to be friends. Yes, he's in love with Zhou Shu Yi, but he spent so long being hated by him that he just wants to be friends and be able to talk to Zhou Shu Yi normally. It was so heartbreaking when Zhou Shu Yi found out about his crush, yet instead of saying "Yes, I'm in love with you. Please date me." He literally told Zhou Shu Yi, "It's none of your business." He was pushing his feelings to the side because he thought Zhou Shu Yi wouldn't accept his love and he didn't want to break their friendship. Such a selfless love!


Acting:

The chemistry between Gao Shi De and Zhou Shu Yi is amazing. Gao Shi De doesn't even have to speak and we can already see what he's thinking and feeling. Gao Shi De might be stoic, but just look into his eyes and you feel every emotion. Such talent! Zhou Shu Yi has significantly a lot more lines than Gao Shi De, but that doesn't mean he can't express himself either. Zhou Shu Yi is more in touch with his emotions and let's them out. He physically shows all of his emotions be it happiness, anger, or pain. Zhou Shu Yi also has the best teary-eye/emotional scenes in the whole BL industry. I can barely name any actors that can compare with him when is comes to scenes that are so emotional they make you tear up. Anyone can cry when they're sad, but to be so emotional that you have tears forming in your eyes, and you don't know why you're crying? Zhou Shu Yi's actor is amazing.

This BL is so amazing that there really isn't much to criticize. If there is any criticism it would be Zhou Shu Yi's Chinese language skills. I don't speak Chinese, so I can't say too much. That being said, since he is acting right next to other Chinese speaking actors, even I can hear it sometimes. Again, I don't speak Chinese, so it doesn't bother me, but I can understand why it would bother some people. However, I can chalk it up to Zhou Shu Yi being half-Chinese, half-Japanese. Realistically though, if Zhou Shu Yi was born and raised in Taiwan his Chinese would be better than Japanese. But seeing as in Season 2 his dad speaks better Japanese than Chinese, I guess the apple didn't fall too far from the tree. Everything can be explained nicely though the storyline, so it works out for me. I do feel bad that the fans are knit-picking at Zhou Shu Yi's actor's Chinese skills (even to the actor's himself) when he was born and raised in Japan, so obviously his Japanese is better than Chinese. If you want to start knit-picking at language, aside from Zhou Shu Yi's actor, when the Chinese actors speak Japanese they have terrible pronunciation. It doesn't bother me though, since they are Chinese and not fluent in Japanese. You can't have everything perfect in life you know. Can all of you criticizing him even speak two languages fluently with perfect pronunciation for both languages? I think most of you can't, so I think it's time we all just sweep this topic under the rug.


Overall:

We Best Love is amazing. One of the best BLs out there. If you haven't watched it, you should.


~~~~~~~~~~ We Best Love: No 1 Special Edition ~~~~~~~~~~

What's the difference?

Bing Wei and Zhe Yu's confrontation scene in the locker room is extended. This is probably the most important scene since they are a featured side couple in the 2nd season. Other than that not much. Just a few scenes other extended, but not important. For example, instead of a short hug or kiss, they just show a few extra seconds of it. I'm not going to name all of them since it does nothing for the story. Season 2 is where the Special Edition is important.


Should you watch the Special Edition first or watch it on the re-watch?

I would just watch the Special Editions. But if you want to watch the normal version and Special Editions then... How do I put this... Watch both normal versions of Season 1 and Season 2 then watch the Special Editions on the rewatch.

YES - Special Edition S1 → Special Edition S2 (Skipping the Normal version is okay)
YES - Normal Ver. S1 → Normal Ver. S2 → Special Edition S1 → Special Edition S2

NO - Normal Ver. S1 → Special Edition S1 → Normal Ver. S2 → Special Edition S2
(You won't understand why they extended some scenes)
NO - Special Edition S1 → Special Edition S2 → Normal Ver. S1 → Normal Ver. S2
(The rewatch will be boring. Especially Season 2's rewatch. You'll probably claim that you wasted your time watching the normal version since you watched it the Special Editions first.)

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Don't Remember Much of Math Class? Then Just Skip This

While the whole mathematics idea is unique and cool in theory it isolates the audience. If you love math you might enjoy the mathematical references, but if you don't you just sit there confused. The math references are literally half of the dialogue and all of the characters have math or scientific names.

STORY:

Tan and Sine have been friends since middle school, but lately they are starting to have feelings for each other. Instead of following their hearts, they follow their logistical heads which leads to them over analyzing their love for each other.

If it wasn't for the math references (more than half of which blew over my head because I haven't been to school since I graduated and on top of that I avoided math class the like plague,) this story would have nothing to stand on. The storyline is absolutely boring, and more than half of the issues literally could have been avoided if Tan just put on his big boy pants and told Sine he's in love with him. All of the characters over analyze love and keep making more problems than solutions. It's quite annoying. The only interesting part of the story is literally the math references... And I didn't even understand half of it!

Also the story would have been so much better without the Lin storyline. She just made everything so much more confusing. She says she likes that Tan and Sine are more than friends, but literally puts herself between them. Tan also has a thing with her even though he claims he's in love with Sine. Sine, on the other hand, is jealous of her, and tells Tan he should date her, but is constantly seeing her around and giving her advice(?) on Tan, yet also getting advice from her to get Tan.... I'm so confused. Let's literally take her out of the equation and the story would flow better.

Lastly, none of the actors were good. Tan's actor was decent, but he's literally the only one. Even so, he kept fidgeting and sometimes his acting wasn't so good either. Everyone else was clearly trying to act, but overall it looked like everyone was doing a scene in a high school drama class. There was no chemistry between the leads and it was hard to believe that they were in love with each other for so long. I honestly think that Atom and Leo had more chemistry than Tan and Sine.

OVERALL:

Don't waste your time with this series. If you like math, than maybe you can watch it for the mathematical references and math jokes, but if you don't like math than just skip it. You'll just sit there confused and annoyed at the characters if you don't get the references. The story is subpar and the acting is mediocre anyways. Not worth your time.

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Watch First Then Read the Reviews!! Great Acting, Lackluster Script

Tonhon Chonlatee has a great cast, but suffers from a terrible script. It's like whoever wrote the script had way too many ideas and threw them all together without thinking it through.

If you watch the series, I think you will enjoy it. You'll laugh and find a lot of it comedic. It's actually not that terrible to watch. The actors are good at acting, so they make up for the terrible plot. That being said if you just read the reviews without watching the series you'll misunderstand the series. It's not the greatest if you compare it to other BLs, but it's honestly not the worst series out there. I would watch this if you are bored or are waiting for your next BL series. I wouldn't expect it to be the next SOTUS or Love By Chance, but it's still a decent watch. It's really the actors that make the series a fun watch. Ignore the storyline and just enjoy their acting.

STORY:

Chonlatee has been crushing on his neighbor Tonhon since he was a kid. His mother and friends know of his gay crush and don't judge him on his sexuality. When he reunites with Tonhon he finds that Tonhon is homophobic and it stems from his father's parenting. Tonhon and Chonlatee end up rekindling their friendship, but after some questionable incidents at their university involving "misunderstandings" that Chonlatee is gay, Tonhon sets out to prove that Chonlatee is straight. While trying to prove Chonlatee's straightness, Tonhon is starting to get a little to overprotective of Chonlatee.

So.... I don't know where to begin. If you write down the main point of the plot you get what seems to be a decent storyline. However, when you start actually breaking down the story it starts to crumble. It's really like the writer tried to cram so much into this plot. There is so many things going on a once. It might just be easier to list out how many strange things going on.

1. Tonhon is supposed to be the mature, hotshot of the campus, but he acts like a kid under his parents thumb as the episodes past. What happened to the mature Tonhon from ep 1. By ep 10 he's so gullible, naive, and easily manipulated. It's quite annoying as he's a grown adult, not some kid in elementary school.

2. Ai and Ni go from gays who were clearly able to hide their gayness from Tonhon for 3 years, to being so obvious in their relationship that it's a wonder how Tonhon thought they were straight.

3. Ai and Ni's bromance? It's obvious they are a couple and that they are dating. The character themselves say so. That being said, it's a BL series. It's not a Chinese bromance. Why are all of their kisses sensored and cut out. The character were reacting to the kisses, but we never get to see even one kiss when Ai and Ni are obviously kissing in the scenes. Why? It's annoying not because we want to see the kiss, but because it's so out of place not to see the kiss when everyone is reacting to it. If no kissing is in the actor's contracts then shoot one actor from behind and make it look like they are kissing. It's not that hard to create the illusion of a kiss.

4. Mirium's entire existence in the series. While her character adds to the comedy and I enjoyed her in the show, her background and her being a gold-digger made everything kind of weird when you think about her friendship with the group.

5. We really didn't need the side plot of Tonhon's sister and her husband. That was a waste of time to watch and it wasn't even properly explained, so they created a plot hole. We also barely got any screentime with them, so no one cared if she was neglected or if he was gay or not. The ending with the cat and cosplay also threw me off. What did I just watch?

6. Tonhon's dad's homophobia isn't homophobia... If you watch the show you'll know what I mean.

7. Tonhon and Chonlatee actually getting together. First of all, they fight with each other more than they are together that it's a wonder why Tonhon fell for Chonlatee. Secondly, Tonhon's sudden confession about being in love with Chonlatee since they were kids was out of nowhere. If he loved Chonlatee from the start, he definitely didn't show it. Who takes their crush to a party and tries to set their crush up with a call-girl?

8. The ending!!!!!!!!! There is so much wrong with it. A, everything is so rushed that we don't even get to see Chonlatee and Tonhon actually make up and get together to solidify they are a couple. B, Tonhon's family, particularly his dad is strange. C, Mirium being pregnant? Show us the wedding first. I saw the wedding bands on their fingers, but it wasn't blatantly clear. I only saw it when Chonlatee was laughing. There was no ring only shot. D, the way they wrapped it up was cheap and rushed. All just sitting on the couch talking about what happened in the 3 years that passed. No thank you.


Tonhon & Chonlatee

I enjoyed watching them together. I won't lie though, it was frustrating watching Tonhon trying to prove Chonlatee is straight. Tonhon clearly had feelings for Chonlatee since the beginning, but was in denial since he was homophobic. Seeing Tonhon be so homophobic was really annoying. I don't know how Chonlatee, Ai and Ni could stand being around him.

Chonlatee was quite honest and loyal with his love for Tonhon, and was open about being gay to his family, but instead of the gay vibes, he gave me more of a "I'm gay for Tonhon" vibes. When other gays hit on him, he let Tonhon be very homophobic and I felt that was quite rude. Since the LGBTQ+ community is very small, one would assume he would at least stop Tonhon from being rude even if he wasn't outing himself.

The biggest issue I had with this couple was that I felt they didn't have chemistry. The plot was rushed, so when Tonhon said he loved Chonlatee I couldn't see it. Even the ending was rushed that I couldn't see them as a couple that dated for 3 years and was now expecting. I just can't see them as an endgame couple because they had very few scenes together where they were loving and caring to each other.

Ai & Ni (& Miriam)

I enjoyed this couple more than Tonhon and Chonlatee. They were more interesting than Tonhon or Chonlatee. I actually found myself excited for to see them. I know they didn't have a couple storyline and were literally just there to push Tonhon and Chonlatee together, but they were the best thing about this show. Even Miriam was a warm welcome. This was the golden trio and whenever they were on screen, you knew some shenanigans was going to happen.

Na (& Chonlatee)

I really wished Chonlatee ended up with Na. At first I thought Na was annoying, but every time he appeared on screen you could see he really was in love with Chonlatee. He was so selfless in his love for Chonlatee that I was kind of upset Chonlatee chose Tonhon. Na is really the perfect boyfriend and perfect friend. When he helped make Tonhon jealous and even talked to him to get Tonhon to show his feelings for Chonlatee, I was impressed. He pushed his love for Chonlatee to the side for Tonhon and even helped him open his heart. So selfless! Even though I'm disappointed Na couldn't date Chonlatee, I think it was for the best that Na moved on and got a new boyfriend. Na needs some TLC in his life and Chonlatee is obviously not good enough for Na anyways.


ACTING:

Tonhon Chonlatee has a decent cast who are all experienced in the BL Industry. All of the main cast have been in a series or two, so they all give nice performances. Even though they script was terrible, the cast did their best with that they got. It wasn't Oscar worthy, but their acting was literally the best thing about this series.

Ai, Ni, Na, Mirium, Amp, and Neung were great! Tonhon and Chonlatee were good, but they obviously are not ready to be leads yet. They lacked the chemistry, where as Ai and Ni had lots of chemistry and out shined them.

OVERALL:

Tonhon Chonlatee is a BL to watch when you're out of other BLs to watch. It's not great, but it's not the worst. I'd just watch it for the actors, not the storyline.

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It's Only 7 Minutes Long! Just Watch It if you Love Perth and Talay. Don't read my review first!!

Although a must watch for Perth and Talay fans, it's honestly nothing too special.

The actors did well for what they got, but the plot wasn't anything worth talking about.

•❅✧❅✦ Story •❅✧❅✦

Rokko and Ratanapol were once a couple, but had to break up due to Ratanapol wanting to pursue his dream of becoming an actor. Now, six years later, Ratanapol has achieved his dream and his a best selling actor. Rokko becomes a Thai-Japanese interpreter. He ends up interpreting for Ratanapol during his Japanese press conference. Their reunion is bitter at first, but Ratanapol goes off script and surprises Rokko with a sudden confession.

Honestly, seeing Perth and Talay on screen together brought tears to my eyes, but the plot instantly dried them. It feels like a poorly written one-shot fanfiction due to how boring the script was.

While Perth and Talay are great actors and have amazing chemistry, the plot really gave them nothing to work with. There was really no reason to cheer on Rokko and Ratanapol's love because there was no backstory showing how amazing their love was beforehand. We start off the film with a breakup scene, then go straight to the time skip. We also don't get any scene with them actually showing any sort of love for each other, so... yeah... Are they really a couple?

I understand that they only had 7 minutes to work with, but I've seen shorter music videos that give me more compelling stories, and that's with the artist's random singing cut-scenes. I really don't want to bash on this too much since it's so short, but I kinda wish we got some cute scenes of them together instead of the half-hearted angst they attempted to pull off. Maybe a cute drama would have been better? I don't know.

•❅✧❅✦ Overall •❅✧❅✦

Please don't get me wrong, this is a really nice comeback for Perth and Talay fans, who have been waiting for years after My Engineer to see them finally get together. However, we've seen Perth and Talay in better dramas that this short 7 minute drama isn't really doesn't do much for us. It also doesn't help that we don't get any scenes with them visually expressing their love for each other.

Lastly, I know I bashed on it a lot in this review, but watch it first. It's honestly not that bad unless you decide to knit-pick at it like I did for the sake of this review.

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A Hilarious Must Watch!

Skip the review and just watch it!!! Seriously!

•❅✧❅✦ Review ✦❅✧❅•

BL Drama no Shuen is an amazing RomCom. While the premise isn’t exactly the most original out there, the chemistry of the actors, as well as their comedic timing is nice. Abe Alan, who plays Akafuji, is really an amazing RomCom actor. He can be serious and romantic, yet hilarious and aloof all at the same time, without going too overboard with the comedy. While many actors may have gone too far with the body humor, turning it into slapstick, Abe stops just short of that, so Akafuji feels so relatable and human.

Also, Akutsu, who plays Aoyanagi is also an amazing actor. He plays Aoyanagi, so that he is not too depressing to watch, yet is interesting enough to be curious about.

Lastly, as a RomCom there isn’t many smoky scenes, but the two managers really brough that to us. Dropping hints about their relationship, without revealing anything at all is cruel! All we know in that last scene they were both shirtless in bed and Yukari was definitely on top of Kijima. OMG!!! Reveal their relationship please!!!

•❅✧❅✦ Overall ✦❅✧❅•

BL Drama no Shuen ni Narimashita: Crank Up Hen was very fun to watch. The plot was nice and both leads were very entertaining. I may have a bias towards Akafuji since he was the source of the comedy, but overall it was still a nice drama. Nothing too dramatic and serious, all just light-hearted love. Can’t wait for a spin off with the managers though.

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An Apocalyptic Fanfiction Come to Life!

Love in the Apocalypse is a fun one time watch. You might love it or hate it, but it's still an interesting one time watch.

•❅✧❅✦ Story ✦❅✧❅•

Love in the Apocalypse is a love it or hate it type of drama. It’s very fast paced with lots of wishful thinking storylines. For example, Ujin quickly becomes attached to Heesu, gets kidnapped, Ujin saves him, Ujin confesses his love to Heesu, Heesu’s ex comes back, the ex kidnaps Heesu, Heesu escapes, Heesu and Ujin start dating, the ex comes back again with a knife trying to kill Ujin, the meteor starts to descend towards them, they kiss, the end. It’s very fast.

Also, there are a few plot points that are a little unreal, such as both of Heesu’s kidnappings. The biggest unrealistic plot point, is Ujin not having experienced family, friends, or happiness. I have yet to meet someone living a robotic lifestyle in this day and age.

Despite everything, it was an interesting watch. It’s not something I’ll remember or rewatch, but it was an interesting filler drama. The plot was all over the place with its gay apocalyptic fantasies, but the acting was nice, and the two leads had decent chemistry.

•❅✧❅✦ Acting ✦❅✧❅•

The two male leads have lots of chemistry. Both actors are great at making their characters believable. Even though the storyline isn't great, the two actors are very good at acting! I'd love to watch more of their dramas.

•❅✧❅✦ Overall ✦❅✧❅•

Love in the Apocalypse was an interesting watch. I’m not sure whether I liked it or not, but I think it’s a nice filler drama. There’s nothing too bad about it to hate, but there is nothing good about it either.
I guess it’s a good drama to watch if you’re bored, but that’s about it.

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An Amazing Drama about Overcoming Disabilities with a Hint of Romance

Hidamari ga Kikoeru is a drama about overcoming disabilities with a hint of romance. The drama tackles Kohei’s hearing-impairment and how Taichi gives him the strength to overcome his disabilities. Kohei falling for Taichi is just a lucky bonus.

•❅✧❅✦ Story ✦❅✧❅•

The drama tackles the heavy topic of deafness and how it’s a spectrum. It discusses how those who are hearing-impaired and considered deaf, but not deaf enough to actually be deaf, struggle to fit into not only the deaf society, but also the able-bodied society. The drama looks into how difficult and lonely being hearing-impaired can be and how there is not enough support for those that are hearing-impaired in comparison with those that don’t have any hearing at all. The best part of the drama is that it doesn’t get too preachy about it. Taichi is used as a tool to prevent the preachiness. He is just straight forward and not interested in learning about the deaf community. His only motivation is to help Kohei, so he doesn’t bother learning about the deaf community, only learning what Kohei teaches him, and only getting involved to help Kohei.

•❅✧❅✦ Manga vs Drama ✦❅✧❅•

While the manga is still ongoing as of writing, it’s so much better than the drama. The drama only covers until the beginning of Taichi’s employment at sign, so right when Kohei and Taichi begin dating. It’s after this where we start learning more about Kohei’s disability and how dark his future is because of how so society is made for those that are only 100% deaf. Taichi starts to play a bigger role in opening up Kohei’s future by learning more about the deaf community. Their relationship also endures some challenges due to Kohei’s deafness, but they also grow stronger as a couple together.
I could talk about the manga forever because it’s so good! Even though it’s not completed yet, it’s so good!

Unfortunately, the manga is still way better than the drama. The drama does a good job in getting most of the plot points, but there are a few plot points that are missing. For example, Maya was brought in as a foil to Kohei. However, the drama didn’t really incorporate her relationship with Yoko. In the manga, Yoko becomes interested in Maya, so he talks to her a lot. She pretends to hear him, but she actually doesn’t. Taichi scolds her saying that she shouldn’t be rude by pretending to hear him because he’s talking to her because he has something to say to her. This scene left an impact on me while reading the manga. It’s sad that the scene and her relationship with Yoko was left out in favor of making it seem like she wants to date Kohei.

Another scene that was skipped was Kohei getting lost while trying to find Taichi’s house and meeting Taichi’s grandpa. It really showed how far Kohei was willing to go for Taichi and showed more of Taichi’s relationship with his grandpa.

•❅✧❅✦ Drama vs Movie ✦❅✧❅•

In terms of plot and romance the drama was better. The movie only had a little over an hour to fit everything from Kohei’s disability to their romance. The drama had 12 episodes to explore all of their issues. However, when it comes to the characters and their chemistry together, the movie was so much better.

The characters in the movie seem to embody more of Kohei and Taichi than the drama. Taichi is more loud and annoying, and literally looks dense, but he shows more expressions of concern for Kohei. Similarly, while movie Kohei is less expressive, he seems to genuinely be in love with Taichi and just wants Taichi to be by his side with no strings attached. It’s because of this genuine side to their characters they have better chemistry.

Overall, while I like how the drama expanded on the story, I personally think the movie was far more superior despite its flaws with the plot. Personally, I think Movie Taichi would fit better with Drama Kohei. While watching this drama I kept wishing Movie Taichi would appear. I didn't think too much about Movie Kohei though... So maybe Drama Kohei is better? What do you think?

•❅✧❅✦ Acting ✦❅✧❅•

While I'll sing praises to the story and plot, and even Kohei's actor, I'll have to pull a couple of points due to Taichi's acting.

Taichi’s character is really this drama’s downfall. The drama’s plot is amazing, and Kohei’s actor is also great. However, Taichi and his actor doesn’t really fit the role he is supposed to play. Taichi is supposed to be loud, annoying, and dense. This Taichi, however, isn’t loud or annoying. He does talk with a loud voice occasionally and the way he talks isn’t really annoying, but the biggest issue is that he tends to speak with a normal voice. His voice isn’t different from those around him, so it’s hard to imagine how Kohei can only hear Taichi’s voice. Also, Taichi’s actor doesn’t really come off as dense, so scenes where Taichi can’t pick up Kohei’s cues tend to come off as “doing it for the plot.” Lastly, he seems to have a hard time playing off Kohei's actor, so they lacked chemistry. The whole time I watched the drama I wished Movie Taichi was on screen, which I shouldn't be doing. Kohei's actor was great though!

•❅✧❅✦ Overall ✦❅✧❅•

Hidamari ga Kikoeru is a nice drama. It has an interesting storyline and amazing characters. It is a little slow-paced, but if you can get past that, it’s a nice drama.
From Kohei’s struggles and Taichi’s straightforwardness and willingness to help adapt to Kohei, it’s something everyone needs to see. It’s really great to see a romance drama on overcoming disabilities without getting too preachy, or too “He can overcome this because of this person.”

As a fan of the manga, I think the manga is far more superior than the drama or movie, but if I had to recommend an adaptation to watch, I would recommend the drama. However, if you’ve already read the manga, I definitely recommend watching the movie and drama. I’d love to discuss plot points and characters with you… Especially which Taichi or which Kohei you prefer!

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Realistic Portrayal of the Darkness Lurking in Kabukicho

Happy of the End is a dark romance that deals with the dark side of Kabukicho. Haoran and Chihiro's relationship can be seen as toxic, but it's actually a very beautiful romance. Haoran, who's never been allowed to show his true self or show his pain, learns to open up and be himself around Chihiro. Yes the relationship starts off toxic, but it does turn into true love by the end.

•❅✧❅✦ Story ✦❅✧❅•

Both Haoran and Chihiro have turbulent backstories, with Haoran having the most traumatic. However, while they started off as toxic to each other, they both end up healing each other and making each other better people by the end of the series.

Unfortunately, physical and sexual abuse are realities in this day and age, and with this drama wanting to portray the realities of someone living in Kabukichou, this drama does a great job in portraying the real day-to-day lives of those in Kabukichou and those who are dealt the shitty hand in life. This drama doesn’t pretend that once you manage to escape it, it’s all sunshine and rainbows. Haoran is constantly haunted by his past, physically and mentally. Even Chihiro can’t escape being lonely and looking for an escape from the real world. They find solace in each other, but nothing magically goes away, they are still stuck, trying to escape their reality.

Happy of the End is a very dark drama. It deals with child abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, prostitution, animal abuse, and homophobia; and none of the themes are sugar coated or watered down. Yes, there is romance, but it’s not the fairy tale dream we’d all like. It’s a very dark and toxic romance.

•❅✧❅✦ Manga vs Film ✦❅✧❅•

The manga and drama follow the same storyline, however, the manga does expand on their relationship a little more. The manga also goes into more details about Haoran’s thoughts on Chihiro. For example, while Chihiro is in the hospital, he and Kaji talk about how Haoran was holding up and he was not doing well. Similarly, after Haoran is released from jail, more time is spent on him fighting his inner turmoil about wanting to see Chihiro when he knows he shouldn’t.

There are a few changes in the drama. One is after Haoran and Chihiro’s first fight as a couple. In the drama, Haoran chases after him, but in the manga after Chihiro leaves, slamming the door in Haoran’s face, Haoran stays frozen by the door until Chihiro returns a few hours later. Another is the reveal of Haoran’s scars. In the drama, he reveals his scars after meeting Maya and explaining about his past. In the manga, he reveals his scars to Chihiro just because Chihiro wanted to have sex with him shirtless.

The manga is good, but I like the drama better. While I think Haoran’s actor should have been more androgynous and beautiful like in the manga, his looks doesn’t impact the series because the drama focused and made changes to the storyline that improved the story. For example, more time is spent on Haoran’s past. His abuse is shown in more detail, so we can understand his trauma. Also, the drama made the reveal of Haoran’s scars more significant. The drama made it seem like Haoran was ashamed or scared of his scars. He didn’t want to reveal it to Chihiro until he had to. These changes really made Haoran more human and less robotic.

If there is one thing I would like added to the drama, it’s the ending showing Haoran fighting against wanting to see Chihiro, and the epilogue of them actually becoming a normal couple after they reunite.

•❅✧❅✦ Acting ✦❅✧❅•

The acting was amazing for two actors who are will getting their foot in the industry. Both actors have very good chemistry and everything feels natural. All the actors really had me glued to the screen, especially Haoran's actor. I would love to see him in more dramas after this.

•❅✧❅✦ Overall ✦❅✧❅•

Happy of the End is a very good dark romance drama. If you’re not a fan of dark romance, I wouldn’t recommend it, but if you are, you will love it. The relationship between Haoran and Chihiro is that of mutual understanding and respect. It may seem toxic at times, but it’s actually quite the opposite if you start looking and reading into each character.
Overall, I highly recommend this drama. There is so many layers to this story that you will need to watch it more than once to completely understand it. And you will love it more each time you watch it. Best drama of the year!

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