solipsism5

Another great episode. I think it’s safe to say that this is going to be a great series at this point. I like how the writing captures the complex relationship of Akk and Ayan. Ayan has to be a good person – I wondered what his motivations were from the beginning and whether he was more motivated by revenge than by a need to set things right in Akk’s school. In this episode he’s trying to win Akk over from his dark philosophy, and he does it with great intensity [captured so well by Khoatung’s acting]. Akk has to choose between the two poles of philosophy – between Chadok and Ayan, and he’s caught between them in every episode. First captures this quandary so well. Akk can’t let go of his previous life which was dominated by being a pawn of Chadok, but he can see what Ayan is talking about when he points out how Akk could seriously have hurt someone following Chadok’s stupid beliefs. Ayan has those eyes that can just turn people into someone else, they are really intense and magnetic. He combines that with a very strong intellect and commanding speaking style that could sway virtually anyone. The love the two have for each other is always in the background and at various points both are willing to sacrifice their love to achieve their ends, but, at the same time, they really hate to hurt each other. It’s just that they have strong beliefs and they have both decided that they won’t let anyone interfere with their final objectives, but they hadn’t counted on falling in love so it makes their initial impulses to sacrifice anyone that gets in their way much more difficult. The kissing scene after Ayan has his dream is just beautiful because it captures him in a moment of weakness where he can finally give in to his desire for Akk, and it brings out Akk’s natural tenderness which is always near the surface beneath his tough exterior. This relationship is just so convoluted, mysterious, sexy, and passionate – you just have to love it. Great directing, script writing, and acting this episode.

This carries over to the second couple as well. Neo and Louis are really doing just as good a job in this really very sweet relationship, and it could be the focus of a really good BL on its own. The tension between the stepfather and Louis’ character is done wonderfully. I also like how Neo's character is struggling coming out, and he is really capturing that struggle as well as anyone I’ve seen in BL’s or gay dramas.

This is just so messy it’s gotta be real. I love this show for its unvarnished look not just at the BL world, but the movie industry in general. What a whirlwind of evil Gus had to endure, and it was so sudden. The ending was preceded by a crescendo of petty bickering and backstabbing, till the band-aid was ripped off completely. This had more conflict than 10 BL’s put together with their limp use of cliché jealousy tropes, and it is not even close to being done as far as we can tell by the previews. Bew should just run for the hills and go back to being a farm boy, or whatever he did before. I’ll be amazed how they pull him back in into the biz. At this point he either has to take in the evil and become one of them to some degree, or he has to go into a totally delusional state. I hope he just runs away. The BL industry is probably not this bad, but there are some instances where it is, as can be seen by the scandals we know about. There are some very, very aggressive managers like the ones from the Saint/Perth scandal, and these two play the conniving, unscrupulous ones to the hilt. Their love of manipulating people and demeaning them to get what they want was portrayed so vividly here – it’s like looking into an abyss reminiscent of watching fights between guards in a concentration camp.

Gus is also pretty far gone. Who could be part of such a scheme? To fake a relationship, and with an innocent person who doesn’t understand such vile manipulations, has to be nearly impossible to forgive. I would have to see him do some heartfelt penance for several years before I would ever forgive him, myself, but I would find it nearly impossible to ever trust him and how can you have a relationship with no trust? In reality, anyone capable of doing what Gus did to Bew would need years of counseling to overcome his sociopathic behavior.

The other problem is that even among messy relationships, there are hardly any with two monstrous manipulators watching every move you make as a couple, and who would be hell bent on breaking you up if it suited their business plans. I don’t see any hope for this couple and I hope Bew can just get the hell away from this mess. I like the realism of this series but it would be fantasy to have this couple have a happy ending at this point.

I think if they had just dropped 3 episodes a week this series would have been much more appreciated. The filler would have just felt like the bridge between scenes rather than being anything relevant that we had to pay attention to. For those starting this without having to wait 12 weeks I think you'll enjoy this a lot more than most of us. It's strong points really shine through if you don't waste too much time waiting for it.

I really liked it. Even near the end you are never sure if Shin and Minato will get together, and everything is so tantalizing. I feel the final kiss was worth it, and the build up was so sweet. It's not exactly what everyone was predicting with Shin forcing Minato to chase after him. It was Akusa and Sakurako tricking Minato into going after his love - the ending really redeemed a lot of the predictability of the plot. I can't say much for the Asuka and Shuu-kun pairing at the end. It feels like a case of necrophilia, or one of opposites attract [the living and the undead], but I'll just forget about this little sideshow. Isn't Sakurako even a little jealous that she didn't get her hands on that zombie - I guess she's very magnanimous.

Overall this show was fantastic and really was worth the wait. There was a lot of filler but I'm willing to look at it as nice scenery behind the main love story. The wonderful acting, and the burning passion of Shin make this a remarkable show. That kiss at the end was definitely more fiery than your average Japanese BL - I'm very appreciative that they broke out of the mold there. And even if Minato repressed it, the seething passion for Shin was always there and finally bursts out at the end, and I think the incredible intensity of this relationship was one of the best I've ever experienced in a BL.

I think it's only ten. I'll only accept twelve if it just involves Thitnuea and Jean in the last few.

They can ship him anywhere they want. It's a case where getting rid of the main character improves the drama. Of course, they won't let anyone communicate with him either because of an edict from His Majesty forbidding texting and calling in BL's when couples are separated, so we won't have to be bothered with him for a while. We get to enjoy Thitnuea & Jean without interruption, yay!

This is kind of slow. I think the slow drip coffee is a metaphor for this show, and you might find the most entertainment in Coffee Melody by watching the coffee brewing in a zen-like meditative state. If this is not your cup of tea [or coffee], you could at least watch the secondary couple by fast forwarding through 90 percent of this. There is the zombie main couple, and the sassy, fun secondary couple – you choose which one you want to watch. I was hoping the guy who played Arthur in Second Chance would have a bigger role in this, but he doesn’t do much other than let zombie twinkie cry on his shoulder. He doesn’t look as sexy here, somehow – is it the haircut? Good luck with this one, and if you have trouble sleeping, you might want to give this one a chance.

What are you smoking? That was some entertaining conjecturing - very creative and maybe some part of this is connected to reality although I'm struggling to see which part, tbh. I'm not sure the holiday special of YYY included ghost Pan - that's a stretch among several other items you've mentioned here.

Everything is so well done in this series. Bew's sensitive portrayal is really touching. He has to be the first character in this series you can fully sympathize with. He's gentle and naive, and you want to protect him. I think his betrayal by Gus is coming up and I think it will be tragic because Bew is so angelic. Gus comes across as a totally superficial user that most people would run from. He won't even let go of Bew after he's sort of been found out, and I think it's because he has some serious psychological problems, like being an inveterate leech. I might be wrong about this and he actually has some feeling for Bew but, at the minimum, he has manipulated Bew and that can't be good. Bew isn't stupid - he can understand even complex media maneuvers like the acting about acting as they play a fake real couple - he just is probably too good to understand people like Gus. The writing here is just so subtle and captures a lot of psychological complexity.

I agree completely. I think he portrayed this dynamic tension of severe anxiety and rage and moral indignation so wonderfully. I think he’s an amazing actor.

I really couldn’t disagree with the person above more - but still respectfully disagreeing. This is really done very well and I’m rather picky - at least in pointing out the better BL’s. The acting is great by all the side cast members, and I think Seng’s performance is fantastic. I really don’t know what’s restrained about his performance especially when he has these massive emotional outbursts. They do delve deeply enough into the issues in the BL industry while developing the love story. It’s definitely possible to do in 5 hrs. And they did it. Just consider movies are far shorter than this and many have even more complex stories conveyed in less than two hours.

Just finished episode 5. Just phenomenal ending to the first part. Well done to all involved! Every part of this drama was executed amazingly well. I'm glad that section had a happy ending especially since Pan went through total hell. Koon's outfit was pretty striking, and those glasses have to be iconic. I love her expression when Pan rejects her.

This show is phenomenal. I don’t know what it is - something like a mockumentary, lackorn-style gay drama - but it’s incredible. I know it’s a little over the top, but it’s ok because I think they justified everything that’s happened so far, and it’s a really incisive expose. I’ve seen a little bit of this in Lovely Writer but that was childish drek compared to this. Call It What You Want was another show that explored the dark underbelly of the BL industry, but it was really low budget. This feels much more like a real effort, like they went undercover to expose everything, no-holes barred.

Seng Wichai has to be one of the few handful of great BL actors. He’s conveying everything here with a character that is so complex that I was totally unaware of who he was at times. He’s a small town boy with an obsessive desire to become a movie star who is willing to sell his soul for his dreams, but who fights, with some vestige of scruples, to maintain his dignity. The arc of his story is really amazing because he’s someone you hate at the beginning and you slowly learn to sympathize with him, and it seems that every failure humanizes him more and more. Pan just dominates every scene and I felt gripped by every misstep. I’m like watching a scene and he’s about to destroy his career over and over again and I’m thinking ‘Oh no Pan, don’t do that, don’t scream at the director, oh f*ck, you went there anyway. Oh no Pan, don’t say that to your boyfriend, he’s all you got, oh f*ck you just told him you were just using him, and never loved him. Why, Pan, why??” But every time he shatters some dishes on the ground, things become more and more intense. And something that really adds even more intensity to every scene are his interactions with his manager. I really, really think the actress here just nailed this character. I said characters in other BL’s dramas had gravitas, but I didn’t really mean it before, but now I mean it, lol. She is totally penetrating in this role – believe me, you’ve been penetrated. I feel like she should be playing the dowager Empress in some film about a Chinese empire. She just conveys this feeling of total ruthlessness. I just stopped the series just to look at that profile – just the look of a killer, functioning at the upper reaches of society, treating people like useful pieces of meat to be positioned in advantageous locations. Her fights with Pan feel like WW2 and neither is ceding an inch. You couldn’t have made for two better antagonists, especially in the BL World.

All the scenes with Pan’s boyfriend are also super hot and dramatic. I think I’ve only seen this level of steaminess in KinnPorsche, but it feels more real here. Billy is doing everything right to add that mix of sexiness and romantic passion to make this one of the most intense physical relationships I’ve ever seen in BL’s, if not the most. I think Billy’s crying scenes are some of the best as well – I can really feel his pain completely. At the level his character is written, he really is matching Seng’s phenomenal performance.

All the side characters feel very real, and are played perfectly. I thought it was funny they brought in the director of that vomit-flavored bromance You Never Eat Alone as a serious director, but forgetting about that reference, he really did justice to the no nonsense money-machine upper level recruiter – it’s painful seeing Pan make a fool of himself in front of him. I liked the other director who’s filming Mafia Baby. He seems very laid back. He was also very giving and compassionate. You feel even worse when Pan blows it in front of him and is kicked off the set. Even all the other minor characters are played so well, the bumbling second couple in Mafia baby, the First Gen couple, the femmy make-up artist, the other managers, the seedy businessmen – just about everyone. I think this show is really next level, and should only be compared to the very best that’s ever been done in this genre, although it’s not really a BL – let’s say in the orbit of planet BL. Who would have ever thought that Copy A Bangkok had this level of talent? I can’t believe there are still 16 episodes to go [still 2 episodes behind]. I already feel worn out, but in a good way.

There is so much to cut here. It's hard to understand why they added so much filler. Every minute of production time costs a fortune, and Asuka is totally wasted on this ridiculous character Shuu-kun. That whole segment with the girlfriend could have been totally omitted - it didn't advance the story one milimeter.

I really love the chemistry of the leads and their acting is just still the best among any BL. I agree with most everyone else that there was just so much unnecessary filler, like the unnecessary scenes with the former girlfriend. I know a lot of people are also disappointed that there is not enough physical intimacy, but there will never be any in Japanese BL's - there isn't any in their hetero dramas either. The Japanese just don't engage in much PDA [in real life]. I keep seeing people come to these BL's expecting that but it's probably not going to happen, and you should probably not watch Japanese BL's if that's your expectation. Now, if it's a Japanese movie, that's very, very different and you can have something totally sexy, and very dark as well.

One thing I won't buy in this series, though, is Shuu-Kun falling for Asuka. That would be like a zombie falling in love- we are already on episode 11 and Shuu-kun has not shown one human emotion. It is just too late to salvage this couple. I still can't see how Asuka could ever have fallen for this guy. Isn't it ironic that the most alive character, full of an irresistible joie de vivre, fell for the most lifeless, corpse-like character? There has never been one attempt to make this relationship believable. I just hope they don't go there in episode 12.

Well said! This is really a hopeless situation. I have no idea why the ratings for this is so high. It honestly is a mystery. I know what makes a series popular but in this case, I am honestly baffled. This is terrible science fiction and it is bad BL. What the hell do people like about this show? Someone please tell me. I would love to know what you appreciate about something I consider to be a disaster.

I want to be clear about something - it's very difficult to make any movie or series. What goes on behind the scenes is unknown to us, and you have to applaud any effort to make any series at all because it involves a ton of work. But we still have to draw a line at anything that is just seriously substandard.

I’m sure some of you like this, and those of us who don’t, have stopped watching because we have no interest in continuing to watch something we feel has little merit. Ok, they put a lot of money into this series. You can tell just by the cinematography, and the huge cast they’ve assembled. It’s just bad, and nothing can salvage it. I like Jimmy is making an effort to be an actor but this is not the profession for him. He is just not up to the level of a normal actor and shouldn’t have been cast in this. The story is just full of a thousand plot-holes and people who just rave about this show are diminishing the efforts of other shows that have put in the effort to work on the script and who have made an attempt to get some proper casting.

If you admit this and still love this show, I have no problem with that. You can like whatever you want, and I’ve liked really bad shows for weird reasons. Just admit you like this show for personal reasons to yourself, at least. I want better BL’s and we’ll never get there if we just praise anything, even if it isn’t close to being good. I keep seeing that and not just in this show. It’s just a trend that will drag everything down and if you want to see the BL industry succeed you shouldn’t just praise everything equally – that’s just going to have negative consequences.

I hate to be bothersome but your profile pic is just very difficult to view. I had to just get out of this screen to write a review, to be honest, because your pic is just so difficult to get past. I'm sure other people are being bothered by it as well.

Thanks! I hate it when someone becomes so preachy to me, especially when I admitted I might have made a mistake. I might have judged Chang Min too harshly, but I can't understand having such good fortune as having such a lovely person being your potential partner, and just letting that go, and so quickly at that. I can't wrap my head around it, to be sure. I would give my right arm to have been so lucky, and I can't understand why no one saw my side of this till you came along.

I am also intuitive and feel you would be an exceptional novelist. I am sorry for the delays in responding. I'm sure you are as busy as I am, and will understand the length of time I take in responding. I wish you luck in publishing your novel - I'm not sure you've considered self-publishing on Amazon? It's probably what I will do. I just have to find an illustrator. It's just very fun writing, and I don't really care about an audience myself. Fortunately I have another source of income so I don't have to worry about it. It's seems, in time, if your work is good it will always be discovered. I like the story of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos which were used as wrapping paper in a butcher's shop. The margrave of Brandenburg sold the work for $24 (in current US dollars), but what an amazing, timeless work, and I'm sure Bach would just be happy it survives to provide endless inspiration to all of us.