solipsism5

I don’t know why I’m watching this. It’s got to be the most bland BL I’ve seen in quite a while. You think even the SJW’s would welcome that forbidden kiss at the end of episode 4 as something to relieve the endless boredom of this series. I used to make fun of my mother for watching soap operas because they were so incredibly trite, and now I’m being even worse than her. I can’t help it – I need some therapy stooping so low to watch this, lol. I actually am still enjoying myself, so I’m not picking on this the way you might think. BL’s are still more fun for me than gay Western movies and dramas. Either they are too short, too depressing, or just too familiar. So looking at little Nitiman, the series, I still enjoy myself and I’m not picking on you for enjoying it as well. I feel like Oliver Twist waiting in line for his gruel, “Can I have some more please, sir?” I was just satisfied in this episode with Jin accidentally hugging Bbomb. I can’t wait for the real hugging and kissing. Again, I think of my mom wanting this kind of romance from her soaps and I’m ashamed of myself, but I guess it’s ok because we’re all silly humans, after all.

I definitely respect other people's opinions and I'm open to them changing my mind on any issue. I expect the same for someone else, though - like a return of the favor. I don't know why we should look at a work of fiction as a way to lead our lives. The kiss here is just a way to create drama rather than something that is intended to teach a moral lesson. Bbomb is flawed and we can learn from that, if you really want to. Also Jin, as I'm sure we'll all find out, really likes Bbomb, so really no harm done. Should Bbomb have done it in an ideal world? No, he shouldn't have, but it's just not that important. I know we probably agree on this but, more importantly, the fact that we are criticizing this show for even depicting it is just something I will never agree with. Why does BL have to be scrubbed clean of anything like this? We don't expect it of any other genre, so let's just leave it alone. Let's just focus on BL's improving their artistic quality, not their moral purity. That's just my strongly held opinion. If you disagree, just let me know - no offense taken.

God, these reviews below are so childish. It's a shame that none of you even understand what you watched. Again the central part of the show is about Yong Jie and Xing Si. The other plot is full of every BL trope imaginable though it is executed very well. How can you even post something that is totally driven by your silly predilections rather than assessing the content of the show? I guess you are not professional reviewers, but I guess I'll keep posting on here as some kind of service for the rest of us that know this was one of the best BL's that was ever made.

I know a lot of you compare this with the other History shows and it compares very favorably to any of them. MODC is just full of every trope and every predictable plot element - it nowhere achieves the level of complexity of the plot of Close to You. MODC was still executed very well, though I believe the ending was an egregious departure from the rest of the series.

As I will keep repeating, Yong Jie was not just a creepy stalker. He was a person suffering from a mental illness which he handled admirably well. Many people in his circumstance would have fared much worse than him. Also, this is a work of art and you keep on judging this show based on some petty moral assumptions. You should never do that. Look at a movie like Happy Together which explores gay male prostitution among other things but which was a finalist for the Cannes Film Festival Palm D'Or. You won't recommend this show to your friends? Well maybe they are just as blind as you are, so I guess that's certainly fine. In the long run of time, the truth will out, and people will understand that this was a great work of fiction rather than the piece of prurient garbage that you imagine.

I think it is Pi's brother according to some on Youtube. One of the writers of the series posted it on twitter. In the novel I guess it is Nan's brother who has a crush on Pi. I'm just going by some second hand info here. He certainly looks like Neo to me.

I find this show to be so entertaining. I can’t say I’m a huge fan of Thai humour but I think there are so many funny moments in this series which is much more COM than rom. I like all the scenes with Meen, especially. His happy puppy routine was just done perfectly and his new sad puppy schtick is just as funny. I love the parody of the toxic female with the character that is played by Jan from Tonhon Chonlatee – that was just so over the top in a vaudeville kind of way. The little fight between the Fujoshi / Fundashi characters is also done pretty well, especially how the one tempts the other with the number of likes they would get from reposting their website. I think this might be the funniest BL I’ve ever seen, and I don’t care about its simple plot. There are only 4-5 plots used in all BL’s anyway, so we’re not losing much there.

I have no problem with Mork showing some flaws. He doesn’t have to be the textbook prince charming. I like him better this way. It adds a lot of dimension to his character while humanizing him. Aren’t most people irrationale like this? All of Mork’s actions could have been avoided if Pi would take some time to understand himself better and accept that Mork was the right one for him, or meet some way in the middle, where he tells him he will try a date or two. Is Mork being impatient? Aren’t we all. He’s not a monster like some are beginning to think of him. In real life you would pursue your love interest, especially if you know that that person is actually interested in you and has to just get over some hang-ups. Again, please don’t take your moral lessons from tv shows. Bad behavior is highlighted because it is much more interesting to watch.

This is simply a magnificent drama. It’s certainly at the pinnacle of all BL’s. If you have even a hint of interest in BL’s you should watch this. I won’t compare it with ITSAY because the two are set in two totally different environment’s and two completely different milieus. I would rather think of them as separate series, without denying the direct connection.

If you are watching this you really should consider paying for it at Vimeo, because this is really the epitome of what you can expect in a BL so why not pay for it for once to express your appreciation? [I have no connection with any involved here]. The cinematography alone is absolutely the best of any BL, and approaches the level of any Hollywood production. The screenplay is so natural and fluent, you never experience any of the hiccup’s of your normal BL’s which have innumerable clumsy faux pas’s and clunky illiterate moments. Here, we have a seamless dialogue that I feel is comparable to some show striving to get an Oscar or Palm d’Or.

I feel almost like I can’t write a review of this show yet, because it feels just like a long movie and I feel like I’m writing my impressions of Citizen Kane after the first 20 minutes. Nonetheless, it’s already so good, and the scene with the mom and older brother with Bilikin was just so touching that I cried because it was just such a perfect moment encapsulating all the best of BL, and touching upon on LGBTQ issues. I’ll tell you that, personally, I wish I had such a mother, and I was moved deeply. I know there have been many other accepting mom’s in other BL shows but compared to this scene they felt like cardboard cutouts. It might be the excellent cinematography, the excellent acting, the natural wording of the screenplay or a combination of all three but this stood out so much to me. I felt like it was the most real moment of parental acceptance of a son’s gay identity that I have ever seen in a BL.

All of the relationship between Oh-Aew and Teh is so touching and tense, and there is a natural drama that is from a slice of life screenplay rather than from dramatic narrative. I feel so tense wondering if Oh-Aew and Teh are going to get tempted with some other relationship. PP also brings out Oh-Aew’s homesickness so well and that also adds a lot of drama at this point. Who can not love the delicate, fragile Oh-Aew who cries after relating how his name describes a Thai dessert - he's just such an angelic character whom you feel compelled to sympathize with.

There were so many beautifully shot scenes like the one at the aquarium [also seen in My Tee, if anyone noticed], and the beach scene in Phuket. The naïve joie-de-vivre scenes are contrasted with others to present an ominous foreboding quality. You have to sense this bubble world will have to have some future turmoil.

This is simply the best level of BL you will see, so just don’t miss it. Even if the symbolism and the dramatic narrative aren’t as strong yet as other dramas, this series is very, very compelling. You might find yourself just appreciating it for things you never even thought you wanted, like brilliant natural directing, or some of the best shots of Bangok you’ve ever seen. I personally have seen many videos of this city but none are shot this beautifully – so if you loved the shots from Phuket, expect some amazing shots of this really scenic city. Overall, this is just a dazzling BL, and certainly worth your time.

There have been plenty of SJW's on this board that have voiced just rabid and silly complaints. Apparently you are just ignoring that. Secondly, I agree that most of the complaints are not by SJW's but I call them the SJW associates, friends, helpers, or sympathizers. If you are one of those you are part of the problem, so, yes, there is a reason to decry those people. I mostly think the latter group has refused to watch this series objectively and has taken the leadership of the SJW's on various points, such as the idea that Yong Jie is a rapist and a morally reprehensible figure.

Most of the issue has been a simple lack of understanding of basic facts, like the fact that there was no rape committed in this series [at least not proveable]. One of the characters is assumed to be a creepy diabolical figure (Yong Jie), but he is actually a person suffering from a mental illness who, despite that, has shown nothing but sympathy and love for his brother and has mostly acted in the best interests of everyone he knows.

Your last sentence makes no sense, by the way. Logically if I am calling someone an SJW it is not a dog whistle but a clear statement that someone is an SJW. A dog whistle would be more like I called someone "A person with Victorian moral sensibilities". Calling someone an SJW is actually very direct [no coded message here] and as you can see from my post below from the Washington Post is considered by everyone nowadays to be a derogatory term.

You can also look up the term in various dictionaries like Oxford's and you will see that it is used as a derogatory term, but the Post article gives a nice historical analysis as to when it changed into a pejorative phrase.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2015/10/07/why-social-justice-warrior-a-gamergate-insult-is-now-a-dictionary-entry/

The only crime in art is bad art. You can have serial murder, rape, incest, cannibalism and whatever your most deranged concepts of evil enacted on the screen, but it might still be great art. Most people on this forum don’t understand this simple fact. Look at a movie like Silence of the Lambs, or Satyricon, or Andrei Rublev, which all have unbelievable graphic violence or unwholesome sexual depictions, but there is no one that doesn’t consider them masterpieces. You might think you are making some point about saying this is a trashy series but you just expose your own delusions about what art is. There is no moral playbook.

In this case, we didn’t even go very dark but so many people are just so squeamish and uncomfortable. They rate this show based on how uncomfortable they feel, and how it goes against some preconceived notions of moral rectitude. Art is not based on that. What the hell is your problem? Just grow up. BL is no different from any other genre. This was a well done, well executed drama and all you can say is that I feel uncomfortable. It’s definitely in the top tier, but so many of you are telling your friends and associates to not even watch it because you think something happened that wasn’t morally correct. How is any other movie in any other genre judged this way? Some of you even skip over the most complex and vital part, and, again, this is just vapid and shameful. The part with the brothers is the central part of this series. You can’t skip over it. Does anyone ever skip over any good drama? This is just a ridiculous idea. I even see people recommending that on here like it’s some sage advice. You should be ashamed of yourselves for even suggesting that to someone. If you feel uncomfortable don’t put that on someone else.

As I’ve said in another post Yong Jie is someone that suffers from some issue like Major Depressive Disorder – you would realize that if you even attempted to watch the whole series. You assholes are attacking someone with a mental illness and calling that person a creepy stalker. You just are so reprehensible for not taking the time to understand this basic fact. There is no reason to not watch the brothers' arc because it is a lovely story of a person with a mental illness being offered some salvation. You go on and on about a rape which never happened, but even if it did, this story was still done with great skill which you completely failed to notice. Just please stop your preachy, nonsensical attacks on this drama which you don’t even understand, or make some attempt to watch it from beginning to end without your blinders on.

Hmmmm... They were lacking a little in the drama department, but they didn't need to go there in the finale. I would rather this have remained a slice of life series that explores the everyday experiences of gay people. It seems like they wanted to suddenly interject some Hollywood drama into this. If they really insisted on drama there were many other plots that could have worked without making us question the wholesomeness of the whole series. I think it was a mistake, but most of this show was very enjoyable.

I hope they make more shows like this and solve their pirating issue [which is really a bogus issue as all streaming platforms have to deal with this]. There is a huge gay audience in Asia and a nice crossover population in the rest of the world to support gay Asian dramas. I hope GagaOOlala is listening here. They can do well if they get their marketing right. Happenstance, Call It What You Want, and Papa and Daddy are all great series and they are really doing a great job at this company. I just hope they don’t give up.

I really am so impressed with this series. It is a synthesis of a series of Thai BL tropes with something avante garde. It seems almost impressionistic. The scenes don’t mean anything in themselves but they are fused together like a patchwork to make an artistic dream landscape. I feel especially that the beginning sequence and the end which are bookmarks to the whole series serves as an explanation for the whole idea of an impressionistic dream landscape. I find the almost somnolescent vibes of the music and the slow languorous pacing are part of the tools by which this effect is achieved. Really this series is brilliant in a totally unexpected way. If you miss it, it is because it might not have even been intended by the creators of this series – it almost feels like they stumbled into something really artistically magnificent. But I don’t think it all happened by chance. Someone did pick the music score, and the wonderful posters of great indie gay movies, and someone designed that beginning and end sequence with intent. It seemed like some real intelligence at work. I’m really amazed at this gem in the rough. Who knows where it came from or why among all the dozens of tropey, repetitive Thai BL’s this one became a true mini-masterpiece. I’m just glad it was made and that we can always have it as some place we can take a rest from the emptiness of the other BL’s and their 1000 cliché’s. It’s also a place where the best parts of the BL’s we love are given a true expression in their best form.

There is actually some science that backs this up. I'm just citing one article here, but you can find many others:

Same sex orientation is more common in brothers of male homosexuals than in the general population, indicating that selection is not truly random but that genetic or epigenetic factors are involved in a switching process. Studies have shown that when one twin is homosexual, same sex orientation is then more common in monozygous twins (52%) than in dizygotic twins (22%) and in non-twin siblings (11%),(15) compared to a self-reported incidence of 2.8% in the general population.(16)

http://www.butterfliesandwheels.org/2011/homosexuality-%E2%80%93-a-survival-advantage-for-early-man/
16. Kendler KS, Thornton LM, Gilman SE, Kessler RC. Sexual orientation in a U.S. national sample of twin and nontwin sibling pairs. Am J Psychiatry. 2000 Nov;157(11):1843-6.

All those series set up some tension from the beginning. Like in Tharntype you have Type's blatant homophobia, or the hazing in SOTUS. This doesn't seem to have any plot device that helps add drama. It's just like boys hitting on boys, but even that is done in a boring way. Honestly, though I didn't really like it, the only interesting thing that happened in this series so far is Bbomb following Jin into the bathroom at the bar. BTW I don't even think that scene made any sense because Bbomb is probably not a crazy stalker, or someone that violates sexual boundaries. So far, we got nothing except a very obnoxious screeching ladyboy who's providing all the "excitement" for this show.

I also don't dislike this series. It's still a nice light entertainment at the end of my workweek. I'm not expecting too much from this series and am also happy to see Kaownah and Turbo get some air time. Too bad those guys aren't the leads.

I was struck by how Yong Jie says, in the final episode, that his real personality disappeared a long time ago. It was just a very sad statement and I wondered if he might have some mental health issue like major depressive disorder. He does seem to have a very flat affect and that could be the cause of it.
He is definitely not the creepy person people like to call him on here. If his diagnosis was more clear like, for example, the person with Asperger’s syndrome in Fighting Mr. Second we would never have had the crazy hatred for this character on this forum. I must admit that I had said he was just a normal guy with a few personal quirks. I’ve met many men that are very reticent and impersonal that have no mental health issues, but from what Yong Jie said at the end about losing his personality, I feel he’s different from those people.

In the scene when Yong Jie is standing on the ledge I think he is describing his mental illness because that is how it would feel, this overwhelming oppressive feeling.

It’s sad that most of the hatred in this forum is directed at a person who has a mental health issue. I’m not sure exactly what his diagnosis is, but it’s clear he has something serious, in my opinion. So many people are focused on him being a “stalker”, and a manipulator, that they don’t notice that he never really hurts anyone, and his diaries express such a concern and love for his brother. Even some people who have gotten to the end of this series still insist he is a terrible person – they missed all the evidence that said otherwise. They insist this is a terrible series that gives license to evil people like Yong Jie. The gross stupidity of this characterization is just mind boggling. I hope people would just stop making stupid snap judgements based on appearances, or being sheep and following the current popular opinion of their friends and associates.

I also wanted to say that I cried during that scene when Yong Jie told Xing si about what was happening with him. That was such a tragic and heartfelt part that I was really thinking about it for days. It’s Yong Jie trapped in a void where there is only this flickering light that provides him any relief to which he clings obsessively. It is so wonderful to see a person in such pitiful circumstances have a happy ending. For me it is far more beautiful and fulfilling than when I see it happening with normal people.

Hopefully they do get a season 2 [see Wangpupsuckle post below, the instagram post he is quoting doesn't have a solid confirmation, though]. This is really one of the most innovative BL's ever, and it really needed some more time to tie up a lot of the loose threads. Where is the mother, for one? This is a case where season 1's reviews might all have to be revisited for those who felt this drama was too rushed and was left incomplete.

I love the kid in this episode. I like how he slides into the room at the end while all the grown-ups are crying. His acting is just so natural, like when he's upset about having to put the puzzle away, or asks why he's the only one with two dads.

This show is done really well, but I agree with everyone else about the Mom. The screenwriter had to choose to make her stay homophobic, or have some sort of time span, in between, to let her process what she found out about her son. Just letting her transform like that is sloppy writing.

The sets are great, and most of the drama is really fun to watch. Overall it's a really good series.

Hopefully GoogOOlala does a whole bunch more of these gay dramas. We just don't have enough of this kind of content and considering the vast gay population in Asia, there would definitely be a market for it.

I think the wedding scene was done beautifully. This is one of the best cases of a BL reaching out to the LGBTQ community in a very affirming way.

I think this was one of the best BL’s I’ve ever watched. The screenplay was just fantastic. It made you think about so many different issues, and tested boundaries all over the place while keeping you entertained the whole time. The acting was top notch by all the leads, and the parents of Xing Si and Yong Jie were spectacular [especially the father]. Everything was pretty consistent and there was just a minor flaw, sometimes, with the cinematography.

I don’t know what all the fuss about Yong Jie was all this time. The SJW crowd (and associates) has a penchant for making foredrawn conclusions on all sorts of issues based on little or no evidence. Whatever Yonj Jie did was at most a venal sin. His motives as contrasted with the VP in the series were very good, and he always had Xing Si’s best interests at heart. He could have waited for several years, of course, but it isn’t a crime to start your relationship earlier when it is possible to do so. If this was the real world who would blame him for starting sooner even if it was messy? If this was the real world who would that have hurt? I’ve looked up a few studies and they do show that there might be some consequences to starting the relationship on the wrong foot, but those studies are mostly about creating a bad first impression on people you have never met. Yong Jie and Xing Si’s case has to be taken in context and there was no long term consequence to what Yong Jie did. I am certainly not advocating that you emulate him, but his actions are, morally speaking, very inconsequential and many people are certainly making a mountain out of a molehill here.

Concerning the “incest”, which by definition was not incest, I shudder to think what some of these Puritans on here do with people they disagree with. If you met a couple like YJ-XS in the real world you would have to be a total asshole to try to attack them. It’s none of your business. Just stop being such useless busybodies. Worrying about it in a piece of fiction is even more idiotic.

There was a certain level of artistry in this series that I seldom see in BL. We didn’t even go very dark here. There was just such a light touch of darkness, and that was all that was needed by these very adroit screenplay writers to make you question things and to add just a little drama. Really not much happened in this whole series, but it was very fulfilling because the interactions between the leads was so heartfelt and moving, not like in a cheesy soap opera, but like the well crafted drama by an Uzo, Kurosawa, Jane Austen, or Goethe. There is almost an emotional fugue in the interactions between XS-YJ and the parents with all the pain and suffering mixed with all the joy and love. The love story of Muren and Licheng was also done well and one can not discount it even if it is commonplace in the BL world because it was executed so gracefully. Overall, a fantastic BL that should not be discounted because of personal aesthetic preferences.

I highlighted the dogpiling too because it's what I see on here as their favorite strategy. When you can't win an argument have your warped friend back you up so you don't seem crazy.

I highlighted the dogpiling too because it's what I see on here as their favorite strategy. When you can't win an argument have your warped friend back you up so you don't seem crazy.

Does this sound like anyone on here:

SJW

"A pejorative term for an individual who repeatedly and vehemently engages in arguments on social justice on the Internet, often in a shallow or not well-thought-out way, for the purpose of raising their own personal reputation. A social justice warrior, or SJW, does not necessarily strongly believe all that they say, OR EVEN CARE ABOUT THE GROUPS THEY ARE FIGHTING ON BEHALF OF. They typically repeat points from whoever is the most popular blogger or commenter of the moment, hoping that they will “get SJ points” and become popular in return. They are very sure to adopt stances that are “correct” in their social circle.
THE SJW’S FAVORITE ACTIVITY OF ALL IS TO DOGPILE. Their favorite websites to frequent are Livejournal and Tumblr. They do not have relevant favorite real-world places, because SJWs are primarily civil rights activists only online."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2015/10/07/why-social-justice-warrior-a-gamergate-insult-is-now-a-dictionary-entry/


methinks it does