oceanstate

Mafia Boss x Y/N that completely understands how to use this trope - its so funny omg

I went into this show with very mild expectations, I was a fan of 'We Are' (with some small critiques) but overall really loved PondPhuwin's performances in that show - however i am so sick of and really lowkey a massive hater of Mafia tropes, I feel like they are so overdone, cringey, cliche and boring and I hate the power dynamics that the Mafia Boss x Y/N trope plays on. Hence my hesitations to watch this show in particular. Luckily PondPhuwin and WilliamEst pulled through though because I genuienly think this is one of the top 3 best BL's that GMMTV has ever produced.

The director and writers completely understood how seriously to take the mafia boss trope, creating a show that consistently pokes fun at the typical unlikeable male mafia boss character, keeping many of the same character traits - such as extremely rich and powerful, banned from dating, orders all his staff to do everything for the Y/N character, etc, etc, - and flips these on their heads. This creates a very loveable character who grows and changes, and is honestly extremely refreshing, it feels so original and creative, even though the ideas stemmed from extremely overused and unlikable tropes. It's hilarious and holds so much nuance that gives this show a lot of heart and deeper meaning than its silly, fun and loving surface.

I feel like the show wasn't made with the intention of hitting a 100% on rotten tomatoes and a 10/10 on letterboxd, that is to say that this show wasn't made to cater to technical and harsh film and tv criticisers, it was made with passion and a genuine love and excitment for the show that was made. It's so different and wonderful to finally find a show like this that is just comforting and fun to watch, whilst also being high quality, and that has 'life lessons' and deeper meanings that just happen to be there (obviously they are intentional, the subtlety is a huge credit to the writers) in comparision to the sea of tv shows lately that force serious takes down your throat and try everything they can to come off as edgy and this warped idea of mature. Its like i can finally listen to a lullaby sung by someone I love rather than a song with impossible notes sung by the most technically perfect singer of all time. Both are great but I barely get to listen to the lullaby - and thats what this show is.

I honestly feel like its a shame that this is a thai BL - produced by a company that doesn't have a high held respect in online spaces and doesn't always do everything right in my eyes, because I feel like so many people would love this show and appreciate the humour who will never give it a chance.

Kinda majorly glazed the show there, but i guess i'm just passing on some of the passion from the showmakers, and a fun show makes writing a review fun!! I don't think this show is perfect, and I could of pointed things out that weren't at a super high standard, but none of that really matters to me if i enjoy the show - and i definitely did. HIGHLY reccomend if you're a fan of silly shows.

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This is my favourite TV show ever - i gave 10/10's for a reason xoxo (very vaugue spoilers included)

Headline says it all, maybe i'll give a more nuanced take another time but i feel like all i need to say is this show was not made to be perfect, rather, it was made from the hearts of the creators - and it shows (╥ヮ╥).

All of the characters are extremely likeable and endearing and the humour makes this show so so so enjoyable. Biggest comfort show, where i was also intensely invested in the plot, whilst also ADORING the special Japanese charm that the show has. It leans into its manga roots in all the right ways and i will never find another show that does it better.

I want to also give a special mention for Nakatsu who is such a wonderfully written queer character who represents a super under-represented perspective on sexuality and romantic feelings that apply not only to the LBGTQIA+ community but also demonstrate the label free perspective for EVERYONE that I have held with for a very long time. I feel like they made some ... interesting choices with the only character who was explicitly named as a gay character, but did a very nuanced and careful job creating Nakatsu's character, and kept some fun and enjoyment that all the other side character boys in the school had with their other LBGTQ+ boy.

Overall, OBSESSED and i am the actual number 1 hater of love triangles - so yk its good.

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Okay but felt like work to watch eventually

I went into this drama with no expectations, knowing nothing about the show or the cast - and i began watching it a little after it finished airing. I actually quite liked the plot, contrary to what quite a few of these reviews are saying, I felt (generally speaking) it was a fresh and interesting plot with themes largely unexplored in the K-Dramas I have watched so far. Although the tradgedy set up is typically for a K-drama, the plot they went with here was quite unexpected - taking a pre-established romance, with all their initial butterflies already gone, and placing us in the middle of a marriage that is falling apart. I felt like themes around family, divorce, money and love in a long term 'adult' relationship were really unique to this drama, even if they were left a touch underdeveloped, i still felt like this drama gave something new and fresh for me as a viewer to enjoy, even if it was riddled with many k-drama cliches throughout. AT THE START.

Cause omg after the first 5 episodes or so i found this drama to be highkey so annoying and unwatchable and could not finish it. I am the biggest hater in the world of love triangles, but since they appear in literally every k-drama ever i have had to try and get over it but this was probably one of the most frustrating love triangles i've ever seen fr. The second male lead was giving no reason at all for any single person in the drama to like him (except for the mum ig cause after reading other peoples reviews turns out hes her son or smth??) yet every single person was acting like he was such a baddie and he fit so perfect into their family? It also made actually 0 sense for the female lead to like him at all even if they had a past and i found every scene with hi so frustrating and unwatchable. I understand he's meant to be the villain but a good piece of media makes the villain intruiging and at very least cool.

This was around the point where the cliches that were settled throughout began to really annoy me, it felt really messy and because it was all something i'd seen before, as the unique main plotlines began to fade away, i felt like i was almost forcing myself to watch a show that i didn't want to watch anymore. The final straw for me was that when i was at my most frustrated with the show, the allegations about Kim Soo Hyun came out and i rlly hate him now, aside from all the things he did, he also showed a very pathetic side of himself whilst trying to make himself look better - so i found his character (who i already didnt really like) unwatchable and easily turned off the drama for good.

I did really enjoy Kim Jiwon's performance though, i felt like her acting was the saviour of the show and added lots of nuance and intriugue to a character who I otherwise likely would've found highly unlikable.

I can definitely see why people would like this drama and if you are someone who likes typical K-Drama cliches i think this will be solid watch for you, it just wasn't for me!

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