noorelara28

There is a certain warmth in Japanese bls which wraps you around in its cozy embrace, and lets you lose yourself in the world of these beautiful characters!.
This one was a refreshing change from the usual high school romance set up. The slow and steady development from friendship to something more made even the awkward moments endearing. If you are looking for some grand revelation - this isn't a show for that. This show requires your patience, your undivided attention and your heart. And if you manage to sit with it - it will reward you, not in grand gestures - but in quiet conversations, late night walks and captured memories!

When you are doing a best friends to lovers transition where one of them had secretly liked the other and the other one had no clue whatsoever - you have to give the storyline time to breathe. It is a huge change and a lot needs to be taken into account. The friendship that could be affected for life and what it could potentially mean for both of them.
What I hated the most was the pacing of the show. How can someone go from - 'You are my brother.' to kissing the same person on the same freaking day? It needed at least a few days and they needed some scenes of awkwardness and living with the embarrassment until finally reconciling. It felt so rushed and honestly gave a lot of second hand embarrassment!

Such an insightful take on this drama and their relationship. Asami's character truly touches a nerve like no other. His quite demeanor, the way he pauses and thinks before he expresses anything - has drawn me towards him even more this season. The contrast in the journeys of their professional and personal lives is a reminder of how even two people living under the same roof can go through such different emotional journeys and somehow find a way back to each other's arms.
The details about Akasaka is new to me. I had always wondered why this show's named like that. Thank you for beautifully explaining the significance of this name and how it links to this story.
We don't know yet how this story would turn out. But stories like these don't just end with their last episodes. They linger and always come back maybe after months or even years when you go through similar experiences. That, I believe is what real stories do.

This is what a show looks like when you tell a story of real people. Every scene, every little detail in every single frame! The mess, the complicated life choices, the constant tug of war between heart and brain.
What a character Asami is! Such depth! The way he is so quietly observant of his surrounding. Everyone is talking about the book scene, and I couldn't agree more! It is just so heartbreaking. The need to choose between your passion and what you must do! I can't stop thinking about this episode.
I also can't stop analyzing the reason behind Asami's decision. He doesn't strike me as someone who would want to play it safe. Someone who would give up on his passion project to run in the rat race of career. I think a lot of his decision was influenced by his surroundings - other's expectation of him. He knew Shirasaki was giving his all to the role and would be devastated if he lost the role to him, and that could potentially ruin their otherwise perfect relationship. He also saw how his agent, the people associated with the film itself were rooting for him. And he knew he couldn't do that to them.
That is what's so tragic about his character. The dilemma is insane!
Although it would probably get even more complicated - I can't wait for the next episodes!

Same for me. It's a very common characteristic that I find in many JBL mls. Maybe that's their quirk. So, I'll bear with it. But it's true that it doesn't feel as intense as it's trying to look. The one thing I like about JBLs though is the way they tell a story. The metaphors, the visuals... Like the way they are exploring the nightlife of Tokyo and the topics of loneliness and connection. So, I'll watch it for sure. Let's hope it will offer something interesting(I haven't read the Manga, so no idea how the story progresses)

Agreed. Stay With Me was very sensible and the characters grew so much throughout the story. Still waiting for the announcement of season 2. Hopefully we'll get one🥹

Watch it! Trust me... Even though your heart will break but it would heal too. You'll understand their characters so much better and fall in love with their love all over again...
Season 1 is my comfort season too... I go back to it on days I feel the need of something sweet and fluffy... but this season has got so much more depth and makes you feel so many things!

Yeah, that's exactly how I felt after watching this. Glad, I'm not the only one.

I have a question for the people who have seen both Addicted and Stay With Me .
I have seen some scenes from the Addicted series though I haven't seen the entire show. So, I may be wrong to judge. But the things I watched were quite triggering.
But Stay With Me was sooooo different. It was so heartwarming and the connection between Wu Bi and Su Yu felt so genuine. Their love was felt rather than forced.
So, even though I don't support censorship at all, still, do you think Stay With Me was much more genuine than Addicted?
Like because the romance was never explicitly mentioned it felt more intimate and pure?
I am curious to know, since I am not willing to watch the Addicted as it's probably not my kind of show.

This was on my watchlist for so long and I knew what I was getting into but damn did that ending still hurt!
The entire show, specially some of the scenes with hidden glances and obvious sexual innuendos felt like the creators were trying to give us something without completely revealing what it is. I wouldn't say I didn't enjoy it but it still felt confusing at times. I think the last 2-3 episodes have multiple scenes where we get a clearer idea of what their relationship is really about. It is never explicitly mentioned - but it is there. My only complaint is that I wasn't really sure from which moment or which point they started having that kind of relationship. (For Example, the scene where Wu Bi's father found what I can only presume was a lube on their bed, that really shocked me lol!)

At times, the story felt a bit stretched and I wasn't really sure why certain plot points were there.
But overall, the story was quite wholesome. Specially, the chosen family dynamic and their equation with each other.
I haven't seen Addicted but am aware of the Chinese censorship so it makes sense. But I really wish there's a season 2. Their story deserves to be finished.

Oh ok... didn't know about that. I guess that makes sense since Arisu and Usagi's story got some sort of closure. But there are still some questions lingering regarding the borderland.
Also, I completely agree... If they make the USA version the show would definitely loose its charm.

I think they will renew it, at least that's what the end scene indicates. But whether they decide to extend Arisu and Usagi's storyline or not is not clear. I haven't read the Manga so I don't how that goes. But yeah, I hope they do. We didn't get to spend enough time in borderland for this season.

I also have this question and I am not sure. Also, all the survivors including Arisu and Usagi had forgotten about their experiences in the borderland but only Ann remembered. She recognized Arisu straight away. I feel like her showing up at Arisu's clinic and telling him about the drug that could take them back to the borderland was not a coincidence. There must be more to it.

I think them showing those people their futures was basically trying to give them an illusion of the future they might want.... it was done in order to manipulate their judgements so they would get carried away by emotions and loose their ability to think rationally. That is what happened to the brother-sister duo. They got carried away by the illusion of the future that they were shown. In Ryuji's case also, it was an illusion, where it didn't really matter whether Usagi was single or not as long as there was a hope of something that could happen between them. To be more precise, it wasn't his actual future that was being shown, but the illusion of a future that he strongly desired...

The best thing about season 1 was its morally grey characters... They were unpredictable and contradictory which made them feel more real. Specially with a character like Beom Souk, the line between 'villain' and 'victim' was blurred.
That's why season 2 felt so flat. IT became a typical fight of good over evil. The 'villains', who are supposed to be 17-18 year old kids(barely looks like that), felt like they were straight out of a mafia movie. Si-eun's character also felt short. The sharp edge he had in season 1 where he was just doing everything in his power to desperately survive and protect his friends - was gone. It felt more like he was trying to be a 'hero' which is so opposite to his character. The friendships even felt forced. As if it had to happen for the storyline. At certain points I even questioned why these four are always hanging out together. It didn't feel as natural as the trio we had in season 1.
The charm of the friendships in season 1 was that, it was built on shared struggles and their need to be with each other to fight the bullies. Each of them had something to offer to the story. The love they had for each other was not as loud but somehow they knew they could depend on each other.
And God the last fight scene! I understand that Si-eun has never fought fair. But somehow in a situation like that, the fight felt like even a bigger betrayal. The way all the others just stood like fucking mannequnis and let Baku and Si-eun do that to Na Baek-jin. I am sorry but even for survival, that felt extremely wrong.
Overall, this season was a overly dramatisized version which somehow lost the charm and tuning of its prequel. I understand the need and pressure to up the game with every new season, but I wish it had still kept the tune of the show the same. It felt like I picked a book as I thought it was a certain genre, only to be disappointed by the drastic change in its taste.

Saw it many years ago... It was quite good!

Is it just me or the ending was kind of dull?
The show started out soooo good. It had a gripping story, a great cast, with twists and turns and suspense in every episode. The characters were also brilliantly fleshed out. I was hooked till episode 12.

However, the last two episodes were just not up to the level of expectations it had set for itself.

Firstly, what happened to the protest? I understand that they wanted to keep it real and the reality is that fight against oppression and discrimination never ends. The corruption never really vanishes, but the power is only transferred from one evil person to another. I get that. But still somehow, it felt like there was no closure.

The second thing that I hated was how White just became such a weak character after Black's return. After Black returns and takes his identity back from White, it feels like he doesn't have any personality left of himself at all. He is just a love sick puppy who has eyes for nothing else but Sean. Why? Where is that fire that we saw in him before when he was pretending to be Black? He was not just a kind person but also very clever and smart in his own way. It was very refreshing to watch him adapt to a life which was polar opposite to what he had been living.
The arc of Black and White's ideologies crashing would have been really interesting to watch. They had the same intention but different approaches. It's like trying to get to the same finish line, but taking two completely different paths.

Over all, the story had so much more potential. So much more could have been explored. I would have loved to see more of Black and know what he really went through to become the rebel that he was. But there was none of that. It felt as if after the big revelation (Black has a twin brother who had been disguising himself as Black), the story just didn't know where to go. There were some really iconic moments for sure, but I think they could have really done better with the ending.

This comment is the reason I am adding this bl to my watchlist now. Since I recently watched Bad Buddy after avoiding it for a really long time(I am a little skeptical when it comes to Thai Bls)... and boy was it the best decision I made!

Saw it in March, 2023... I am still haunted by this. Still don't know how to process this story!

She wasn't jealous of either of them, nor did she have any crush on Makki.
Mieko had a disturbed childhood and teenage years. Her father had left her and her mother when she was a kid, and she was abused by her boyfriend as a teenager.

In my understanding, she had a pattern where every time she got closer to a male figure in her life - whether a boyfriend or a friend - she tended to get very emotionally dependent on them. When Makki came into her life, that's exactly what happened. Their relationship was platonic, but she got very emotionally attached to him. And when Eiji entered their lives and fell in love with Makki and they became a couple, she got attached to both of them and their relationship. She craved for a family and that's what she saw herself having through these two guys.

So, when she realized that Eiji's father's objection could potentially ruin this family she was a part of, she felt the desperate need to protect them. And that led to a decision that all three of them probably regret making in their lives.