Kate

maybe MAYBE (trying to be positive here), when Zon finds out his sister did not change the novel he will break it off with Saifah, coz he will think his feelings are like that just coz of the novel, but then he will actually miss Saifah and figure out that nah, it's his true feelings, he is happy with Saifah and wants to be with him and we get that happy ending?

I hope so. There is truly no reason for this drama to have such a low rating. It already went up a little bit, but the fact it's not in the usual 8.2-8.8 that BL dramas get as their air is weird. Dark Blue Kiss was quite a slow and not in your face drama, especially in terms of romance (no usual BL make out sessions etc, that fans like) and it had higher rating as it aired.
Anyway, it's a nice show so I just found the rating surprising, that's it :)

oh, that's what I always do, Finish writing mine before reading others :)
But yes, I agree with you. It was just 100% not my type of directing, but many people loved it so that's what really matters :D

Thanks for the in depth review :) Was awesome to read it. We actually agree on many aspects, just put a different value on them :D
Anyway, I'm happy you enjoyed this drama so much :)

I'm quite confused by the dislikes for this show. It's nothing revolutionary that people can get angry about, they don't talk about any problematic or sensitive topics. They are no more nor less stereotypical compared to other BL. Like... they follow the well known formula without really trying anything new, so why this show is disliked by so many people is truly confusing. Like, all the BL dramas have some people who dislike them, but usually there is a more specific reason for it in their eyes: really bad characters, questionable plot lines, messy directing or pacing. But here... it's just your normal BL drama... so why the dissatisfaction so strong here?
I never saw such a low rating for a BL drama when it barely started airing. Usually it's extremely high at the start.

YES! I feel like with Tutor, the pauses are more intentional for the character, it;s his time to "decide", think about the consequences of "what if you push forward a bit more" and with Fighter is not intentional, it;s him not being able to get back to realisty basically, it;s him not being aware whatever happened or was about to happened ended. Technically both are "just" pauses and in good majority of bl's it would be impossible to distinguish between them, there isn't enough thought put into the process of acting and filming them. Here tho, it's so clear and amazing. What I appreciate is that they take their time, and that's why these pauses can happen. The couch scene was a long scene. They didn't just push forward with make out session, they wanted to tell viewers more and these strategically placed stops and pauses were awesome.
Anyway, the moment with Fighter that I rewatched like 20 times (literally only these 2 seconds) is after the hand kiss when Tutor almost kisses him but at the last moment he backs off, but Fighter is still waiting. That was awesome.

I know I'm all over the comment section already guy, I'm sorry lol But I think I know what I truly like about Zee's performance and Fighters character a lot: how he lingers in the moment right after Tutor backs off. It's these one or two seconds when he is still in the moment when the world started to move forward that get me every time.

Sure there is. Me saying their comment was not unreasonable was simply a precaution, since we did comment under theirs. It would not be strange for others to assume the "unreasonable" was meant for the op's comment :) Better safe than sorry.
Tried to find some of your comments under 2gether (since I myself kind of like it) but then the whole discussion on women in BL happened and I saw "internalised misogyny" mentions and ran as fas as possible.

I've been through a comment war with my unpopular opinion in Tharntyope review. I survived that and gain new level of patient to people hahahaha
Also, just so we are clear: I don't think Pincolino's comment was unreasonable. I simply shared my point of view on the topic they introduced :D

Well, yes. I find writing reviews entertaining when I have something to say, not only when it's bad, but when it's good too. Thinking about how I want to phrase my opinion, how to write all my thoughts in a way that other people will understand. I enjoyed the proces of thinking about what I liked and disliked about this drama, not the process of dragging all the bad things. My review is not only: it was bad. I do mention things I really liked too.

And it's not unique for me to be all over the comment section here. I'm overall all over mdl, on the drama pages of dramas I like too. Like Why R U, I'm literally replying to almost all comments. I simply like interacting with people. And since I wasn't in love with this drama, I much rather reply to people who were not fond of it saying I agree, than comment under post of people loving it, explaining how it was not as good for me. I'd say that's rather logical and fair.

You can disagree with people who didn't like it. You can think their opinion is wrong. But to simply label people as haters is wrong. How would you feel seeing others saying the people who liked it are simply teenage girls fetishizing hot teenage gay boys. Invalidating someone's opinion by not addressing it but simply labeling them as a group of people to be easily dismissed is not a way to go.

I literally did not see one person simply trashing the show, but many people giving constructive criticism. No one is saying "it's a shitty show" and that's it. But many say they did not enjoy it as much as they could and in most cases it is followed by some legit reasons for their opinion. I literally did not see one hater here so I can only assume you are talking about everyone who voiced their less than approving stand on the show.
People were saying literally the same about Tharntype, how amazing and groundbreaking it was when in fact it was poorly written problematic show. Just as for many UWMA is a show with amazing premise and mediocre execution.

Listen. I am good at over analyzing shit hahahaha I just cannot turn my brain off for one second, so I just try to puzzle everything and think about the meaning of every little detail lol That's why even if I'm wrong, I might sound like I'm correct. Coz who knows, maybe it is true that Tutor is the one being in denial, you know hahaha I just have this whole long ass list of reason I believe it's Fighter simply because that's how I interpreted their actions from the start hahaha
Also, being at the end of my studying as a psychology major helps a bit with thinking about characters motivations and reasons for their actions lol
That said I truly enjoyed your point of view and when I read it the first time In was blown away by how you saw it all from a different angle that never even crossed my mind as a possibility :)

Oh humans emotions are extremely complex. It's not that weird to me that Fighter is the one "going after" Tutor and not really doing that at the same time. He wants to be with Tutor but see how everything he does (even the serious stuff) is quickly excused by him as a teasing or a joke. Coz he is not willing to truly commit. He can enjoy all the interactions without confronting his feelings and admitting what exactly is going on. How many times Tutor called him out on how what he does to him is not normal teasing, that no one does that to each other, how Fighter does it only to him. But Fighter just cannot stop, coz he is really attracted to Tutor. But the teasing is the only excuse he can come up with, even tho it is ridiculous, and he is being called out on it. He just ignores all the logic.

As for Tutor never initiating anything earlier: Fighter was with Hwahwa, his best friend. Him pursuing Fighter in this situation would go against everything his character is.

I think the whole set up for their relationship is: both of them like each other since orientation days, with Fighter being far more attracted to Tutor at first. So he did what he knew best: teased him and did these stupid games when no one was looking. Tutor started to like him more too but none of them was truly ready to say anything. And then Fighter misunderstood Tutor and Hwahwa relationship. He was sure Tutor likes her. So when his father "forced" him to date her, it was also a way of making sure a guy he likes will not date someone else (oh so selfish lol). He always misunderstood Tutor's weird behavior around them as him being jealous of Hwahwa, when in fact he was jealous of Fighter + confused coz he thought they were going somewhere with their "relationship" but out of blue Fighter says he is dating Hwahwa. So after that he just does not trust Fighter's actions. But at some point, with all the teasing and kissing, he starts to see that Fighter is just in this huge amazing denial. How Fighter does things with him he never did with Hwahwa. So he tries to call him out on all this. He does not want to start anything with Fighter until he admits he is gay. He does not want to get hurt. That's why he keeps questioning him but does not take the lead at first. Because for him what they have is more important and way deeper than what Fighter is claiming. He does not want to get involved in the "we are only teasing each other" make out sessions. He wants a relationship, and Fighter does not know what he wants, or rather does not want to truly admit what he wants.

wait lol i LIKE IT. I mean I wrote a whole long ass essay like analysis of the last scene in ep 6 from the different perspective of Fighter being in denial and Tutor knowing what he wants BUT I like your twist to it too!
Like the "ask yourself if you like me" Fighter said, I "explained" as a shift of responsibility to Tutor's side. and the "Who said I wanted to kiss you" was just Tutor's frustration and anger at himself for playing this game with Fighter and letting his feelings be exploit like that. Coz if he did not like Fighter he would never allow the "teasing" to happen. Anyway, if you are interested in how I saw it all you can just scroll down a bit and there is my long as comment under spoiler hahaha
But for sure I like your idea too. Whenever it's Tutor or Fighter denying, it's still interesting to watch.

just looking at the reviews we can see that many people agrees.
For me it wasn't even lazy script, but the fact director wanted it to look more artsy and focused so much of the visual aspect of the show, he forgot to make sure the plot is well established and presented.

Zon and Saigah set up is quite new and entertaining, sadly they don't have enough screen time to show it properly, 100% director's fault.
As fot Tutor and Fighter, the story is there. It's quite cliche and stereotypical. We saw this "I'm not gay, I'm denying my feelings" many times. But I do enjoy it quite a lot, coz for once it's actually written, acted and overall executed well. It has few tweaks here and there to make it a little bit more fresh. Like Tutor is not one dimensional shy boy who lets himself be used all the time. He has a backbone and in the romantic aspect he is the more daring and straightforward. Fighter internal struggle and denial is so amazingly portray, just for his acting I am never bored watching his scenes.
I guess for me, I rather have simple plot but well executed, than a "complex" story that the writers and director had no idea how to handle (looking at tharntype lol).

there are quite a few reviews actually giving some proper constructive criticism and I appreciate that :)

I love how you dropped it, disliked it, and yet you going around reading reviews. I relate to it hahahaha

not a problem :) The premise of the show was nice, but the execution was closer to being mediocre. With this type of plot they could have done so much more...

yeah people who weren't crazy about it have empathy and feelings... also brain to analyze critically what they watch