Unpopularopinionbydemand

"WE'RE IN LOVE!" *high fives*

This is a very popular series, and for honestly, good reasons. I get it, Both Bright and Win are very attractive men. Their looks alone had to rack up at least half of the views they got because, in my opinion, this show doesn't scream, "best series out of all BLs" to me.

I was actually quite shocked that this was the BL that everyone kept raving about. After finishing it, I still couldn't understand what the hype was. I don't want to come off as rude or a "typical hater" because I genuinely liked 2gether. It was funny, it was lighthearted; it was an honest fun watch. This was one of those series in which you watched for pleasure and simply just that, nothing more and nothing less. The only argument I make to people is that if this was their favorite series, then they haven't seen literally anything else. I wouldn't blame someone for having this at number 4 on their top 10 list, but if it's number one, then you have NOT seen any other BL ever. While this is a fun and happy-go-lucky series, it still doesn't compare to some of the other series that deserved just as many views, and fans, and love.

Ahh yes, have the feminine gay guy go chasing after the "straight" dude on campus. The use of BLs making feminine gay guys the punch of the joke or the perverted, annoying freak is getting annoying. At least by the end, Green is given a partner, but still, it was just aggravating to watch Green act like a fool over Tine. I'm not much of a fan of fake dating, but quite honestly I liked it a lot better when Sarawat and Tine were fake dating rather than actually dating. In some parts, especially when they were dating, it felt stiff and off. I heard people call them the "straightest gay couple ever" and while I wouldn't go that far, I will say that their chemistry felt very "bros" sometimes. But, they were also some really cute moments between them that felt right. I think it took Bright and Win a minute to get close to one another, and it becomes apparent when you see the shift in confidence with the choices they make. While I don't really believe in the whole, "I loved you this entire time" bull, it was still cute, and I enjoyed watching them on screen.

By far, Man and Type were the best thing about this series. While I won't applaud the stalkerish behavior of Man, I really did love his humor and how comedic he was. The search for Type was cute (until it became a bit much), but for the most part, it was fun and a happy ending. Also, Toptap is the cutest human being ever and Mike is one of the funniest BL actors I've ever watched. I much rather preferred Frank and Drake's character's in My Tee than in here. Mii was a straight-up player and a bad guy. I just wanted Phukong to move on to someone else so many times. Also, we didn't get to see enough of them for me to even really like them. Most of what we saw of them was Mii breaking Phukong's heart. Gunsmile added a literal cherry on top. He was perfect, and I loved him so much. We got to see AJ and Khaotung again, and what looked like a hint of something going on between them. Not anything too spectacular or noticeable, but I still enjoyed them either way.

As I said, 2gether is a cute series and I would definitely recommend it to any first-time watchers. Like I've also already stated, you haven't seen any amazing BLs yet if this one is still your number one pick. I recommend I Told Sunset About You, A Tale of A Thousand Stars, or Gameboys. Those were just a few mentions, but there are plenty that were beautiful and depict real gay relationships with earnestness and love.

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OG Sequel Series

Even though I actually really enjoyed this series, I still would've rather preferred that it wasn't made. I enjoyed Sotus way more than the sequel, and that's just because some of the decided plots for this series were boring and pointless. Arthit's entire job plot was so slow and tedious. I didn't care about his coworkers, or his boss, or anyone in that facility. Wish they would've shown more KongArt and less Arthit at work.

I understand that sometimes it’s hard to be publicly out about a same-sex relationship, but I still had some problems. By this point in the story, Kong and Arthit have been together for 2-3 years, and Arthit is still not comfortable with Kong. Kong would make small gestures, and Arthit would reject it. This was solved by the end of the series, but I just think it’s ridiculous that it took him 2-3 years into the relationship to actually treat his boyfriend as his boyfriend.

I CRIED WHEN ARTHIT CONFESSED TO EVERYONE THAT HE LOVED KONG. There are only two things that I cry at: coming-out scenes and emotional confession scenes. I didn't realize the tears that were falling out of my eyes after it was over. Finally, Arthit accepted his boyfriend after so many years, but also, the music and everything was just so perfect.

I feel like there were a lot of side couples in this series, but maybe that was just me. Few and Day were cute, but we didn’t get to see enough of them. Overall, I did enjoy it.

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The OG series

I LOVED THIS. The connection between Kong and Archit was so strong. Anytime they were on screen with each other, it just felt completely natural. This was my first series where the engineering study was super plot-heavy, so I wasn't annoyed with the uni student dynamic (yet). This series is the best character development-wise. Both of them grew into being better people for each other, and I completely approve. The small meaning behind the gear necklace is what kind of made this series for me. I adore tangible objects that hold large meanings. This trope will become overplayed soon enough with every engineer BL series, but this one is where it felt really good. This was one of those shows that didn’t have to have a lot of physical moments just to tell a good love story. Off was in this and that just made it twenty times better. I genuinely enjoyed M and May’s story. I was quite shocked at how invested I was. Prem and Wad gave us nothing. Loved that.

The only thing that bothered me was how haze-heavy it was. Obviously, hazing isn't right, nor is it healthy, but there were sometimes when the hazing plot became too much and took over entire episodes. I wish Kong and Arthit got together a little sooner instead of them taking so long. As much as I love them, their first kiss was cringe like hell. I still haven't been able to go back and watch because it just looks super awkward and stiff. However, I love Kong and Arthit because the actors did amazing together, and corresponded with each other's emotions. Hopefully, we can see them in future dramas (obviously Sotus S, but something different).

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MY EVERYTHING

This drama was done so beautifully and so poetically. I can't help but get so excited to write this review for TOL, since it is one of my favorite BLs of all time. My all-time favorite tropes and themes in romances are unrequited love and friends to lovers; TOL is literally a mix, and I can't help but pour all of my love into this amazing drama.

Let's dive in

Production: Production was spectacular. The lighting was my favorite part. It matched the mood of the current situation happening and added so much to the story. I think the best example is the scene when Two ask Thrid if he likes Khai, and we see the soft tones that cascade over Thrid. Urgh, I will never get over the amazing cinematography in this series. The music played a nice part in the production as well.

Story: Yes. YEs, YES!! I absolutely LOVED the story. Once again, I'm a sucker for friends to lovers and unrequited love, and this series did just such a beautiful job at balancing the two. I think I loved this story even more for not having it be a reciprocated love, and instead, we see the build-up to them understanding each other's feelings, and the whole story that takes place. Yes, it was frustrating that Khai could be a little oblivious and that Thrid was a little hard-headed, but it created real people instead of just characters. The concept of them going through different themes in movies was just literally the cherry on top. I couldn't get enough of the mix between the two, and it really drew you in, and that's what made it different from other BL uni stories. On top of that, I absolutely loved all the other side stories, especially Two and Un. As much as I loved Bone, I would say that I paid the least attention to his story since I'm not a huge fan of teacher/student romances, so it was a definite turn-off.

Acting: YES!! All acting was perfect. Off and Gun have such good partner acting that just works for the both of them. You can see when it's words from the script and when it's just them being them. This series wouldn't have worked the same had it been anyone else. Mike and Nawat added so much to the story and were magnificent supporting roles.

COUPLES

Thrid and Khai: 8.5/10

I will continue to boast about how realistic and perfect this couple was. Yes, they had their flaws (many of them), but they were just so human, and I really do appreciate that. At times, Khai being oblivious of Third's feelings was hard to continue sitting through, but Thrid was just as annoying not seeing that Khai had finally found out and couldn't connect the pieces. Plenty of people have dived deeper into the meaning of their relationship, but genuinely they had great chemistry and worked out well in the end.

FIRST KISS RATING: 2/10 - Is there much that needs to be said? There was a point for it being so weird and off, but still, I hate it and still haven't watched it since the first time. of course, the kisses since then have been spectacular and perfect.

Un and Two: 6/10

I can't say too much about this couple since we didn't see really anything much with them, at all. It felt really slow with them, but also really quick. I think we needed way more screen time with this couple to actually get a feel for them. The only scene I can really remember is the scene when they both get stuck in the auditorium. Also, I love Earth so the 6 just might be me being biased, but oh well.

RECOMMEND? YES, thousand times yes. For first-time BLers, I would most definitely recommend that they watch this one first. It's fun, wholehearted, light, and happy for the most part.

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Wish I Would've Watched This in 2024

This could've easily been my favorite BL of 2024 had I been on my zoom. Unfortunately, like most years, I am almost completely behind on BLs, and generally watch weeks, if not months after the show has aired. Monster Next Door was the complete package of everything that I ever need in a BL, plus some. Also, Big is beautiful.

Let's Dive In.

I remember watching the trailer for this months ago and thinking, "man, this looks cute." I thought nothing more of it, heard some hype about it a tinny bit during its air time, but mostly, this was under wraps. Decided to give it a go cause I remembered the synopsis and I remembered what we were going to get, so I decided that was the best option for me. Immediately, I was hooked. Most first episodes are boring and take me five-ever to get through, but this had me on the edge of my seat. I finished the first episode in one go (which you're thinking, "that's not that impressive" but I very rarely finish an episode, especially the first, in one sitting), and then I ended up finishing this all in one day. Monster Next Door was so a breath of fresh air, and even though nothing about it was entirely unique or brand new, this was everything I could've ever wanted wrapped in a bow and handed to me.

Starting with the plot, oh my gosh, it was perfect. Diew, a shy little dude who has a turtle for a best friend ends up living by an extroverted big-guy who is really loud and annoying, They never meet, just talk between the wall of the balcony, through sticky notes, through drawings on the table, and it's absolutely everything to me. I'm in love with how perfect the characters are. I love how Diew is suppose to be introverted and incredibly shy, and he actually performs that to a T. He doesn't make eye contact when talking, his voice is quiet, when God wins a competition, he just smiles and claps while everyone around him is screaming and jumping for joy, he does the perfect "I'm shy" body gestures and mannerisms. Which is completely opposite of God whose loud and knows everybody and plays basketball and the drums who draws on tables and gets drunk form time to time, who is also the most gentle giant ever. When they meet for the first time, I kid you not, I got the worst case of butterflies. I just loved how complete everything was, from them not meeting, to them meeting, to them taking things slow, to them figuring out their feelings, to them dating. And then on top of that, they also had their own personal problems they were working through, like Diew and his mother along with his ex, God and his bandmate, along with dealing with his feelings for Diew and navigating how to control them. They aren't just one dimensional, they aren't just there to get together and that's it, they have flaws that they end up working out and then develop into even better people. Gosh, I loved it.

Moving onto their romance, what can I say? It was flawless. I'm a sucker for slow-burn, and they gave me exactly that. We don't even see them kiss until (I think?) episode 7, and it's the must butterfly-inducing moment ever. Big and Park work very well together. I loved their chemistry, I could tell the characters actually liked each other, and they did being physical very very well. One of my favorite scenes is when Diew stays the night after finding a spider in his room, and they're just yapping and smiling and cuddling, and it's the best thing ever. I can't wait to see these two again on my screen, they were meant to partner up, for sure. Also, the height difference meant so much to me, you don't understand.

Moving onto the side couple, usually I'm more obsessed with side couples than I am main, but this wasn't the case with Beer and Wan. Still, I really liked their story, and I do love a friends to lovers trope, so of course, I was seated. They did a really good job, other than the fact that Wan was incredibly weird about being together, which I understood, but still, it caused unnecessary tiffs for no reason. I think they were cute, I liked their banter and how organic their conversations were, and they worked well with the rest of the story.

A couple more things I loved about this series: The graphics were some of the best I've seen in BL. Their devil/angel characters, God's face on Diew's puzzle, the words on the screen and how they fit the environment around them. Really great job. One thing that I think was hilarious was Diew's turtle, who in every scene looked like he was miserable and wanted to escape (why didn't they give him a bigger terrarium?? like seriously??). I liked that Diew's ex boyfriend didn't get a redemption arc, and he does actually just suck and Diew doesn't forgive him for it. I liked that Diew eventually stood his ground with that one girl after her prodding behavior. God's friend group was amazing, everything just clicked, their banter, their laughter, their mannerisms. They looked like actual friends, and I loved it.

A few things I didn't like: There's this scene were this little girl comes up to them to ask if they've slept together (as in sleep) and God says yes, but then she starts teasing them about not just sleeping, and it was so... weird? Like, that's a child, and I'm not sure why that's a conversation she needed to be a part of. Theirs a pretty giant miscommunication on Diew's part that cause some unnecessary tiffs between the characters closer to the end. It feels like they added it so that there could stretch this into 12 episodes, but it's entirely uncalled for. The singing in this was so bad. It was completely off-tune and just not good. Not sure how that Win guy got to be the main vocalist of that group, but God (the actual God, like up-above) so help them.

Ratings:

Story: 8/10 - Loved, loved loved!! The romance romanced like it should, the plot flowed really nicely, and I was able to watch all of this in one go (very rare for me). I only give it an 8 for some uncalled for conflict, and a couple of odd moments within the series, but other than those, the story was (almost) spotless.

Acting: 8.5/10 - Big did rather well in this. I remember him in Gen Y with his 2.5 second cameo, and that's it. When I saw he had a main role in this, I was nervous, but he delivered perfectly, Park did amazing with being shy and introverted. He struggled with some of the scenes where he was obviously suppose to cry, but it gets better in the end. The rest of the cast did a good job as well.

Music: 5/10 - didn't really pay much attention to it at all, but the singing in this was god awful.

Recommendation Value: 9.5/10 - Hell yeah, watch this, and watch it right now. The plot is damn near perfect, the character's have flaws, but are still so relatable and fun to watch. If that doesn't do it for you, Big look incredible shirtless, and Park looks like a little cinnamon roll beside him.

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I Wanna Put Taishin in My Back-Pocket

How can one be so perfectly handsome and incredibly endearing simultaneously? I'll tell you who, Eito, the mastermind behind the character Taishin who's an all-around cutey that I want to put in my back pocket. But besides how adorable he is, I thoroughly enjoyed this JBL. It balanced out the actual story plus romance very well, and I watched this without being bored or skipping through or wanting to scream at my laptop.

Let's Dive In.

Now, going into this, I think the first thing I want to point out is a major flaw within a smaller subplot of this series. Taishin ends up being too nice to this older gentleman to the point where this man does everything to "accidentally" bump into Taishin, even going so far as to stay by Taishin's door until nighttime waiting for him to answer. Now, this is, without a doubt, creepy as hell, However, considering the fact that Taishin went so far as to follow Takara to Tokyo to go to his exact university just to be with him isn't much of a difference. This is why I see it as a flaw considering that Taishin himself, although not stated ever in the series, also was pretty much "stalking" Takara. He even buys him his favorite marbles, says really -out-of-pocket things in the beginning, and even states that he moved just to be closer to Takara. Weird? 100%. Again, the show never combats his actions, but it's very clear that in any real-world situation, what Taishin did would not be okay. Even with this, it didn't deter my overall score because everything else was just too good.

Taishin and Takara's relationship is my cup of tea. The stoic seme and the bubbly uke, urgh, they were perfect. I do wish that we could've seen a much more vulnerable side to Takara, like a crying scene, or one where he's emotionally distraught and just letting it all out. There is one scene where he gets vulnerable, but it's not as heavy-hitting as I'd like it to be. I liked the comparison of his liking marbles to then Taishin being his life-size marble and comparing his "shining eyes" to the glass marbles. While it seems incredibly niche to me to like something like looking at regular-degular glass marbles, I think it was a neat add-on for Takara's personality in terms of his upbringing and in the present with Taishin. Taishin is just a ball of sunshine and can do no wrong, which is also the ultimate flaw of his character. It's not so bad to the point where he's unwatchable, but at times, it's hard to tell what the writers were trying to play at with his character. Their relationship is incredibly endearing, and while I won't go so far as to say they had the best chemistry in JBL, I will just say that I enjoyed it enough that it catches me in my feels at certain points, plus there's a delightful height difference that steals my attention immediately. They had some pretty dead fish kiss, not so "dead" per se, but they definitely could've done better.

Another nit-picky thing, but there's this characteristic about Taishin that I'm not sure if it should be read further into or that's just how his character is, but there's a part where he's trying to figure out his feelings for Takara and they play into him not realizing that "gay" was a thing, or that his feelings for Takara were the same as loving an idol. Either he's been super shelter all his life, which could be the case since he's from rural parts of Japan, (even though his mom and entire family seem very open and accepting of Takara, yes only knowing that he's a friend, but still), or he was showing sure signs of being on the spectrum, like wondering what his feelings were, being so blunt about trying to figure it out, being confused with his emotions, growing such an oddly close relationship with his bird that he still talk to him even though he's died. Okay, I'm probably thinking about it way too much, but that's just my look into Taishin's character further.

The special episode is cute, however, it's annoying that they turned their one girl friend into a manic BL-lover who follows Taishi and Takara around and writes them. Other than that though, the special episode is pretty cute.

Ratings:

Story: 8/10 - Rather nice. Flowed well, had some bumps, but it was mostly all smooth sailing. Their romance is also pretty slow-burn which can be a nuance to some, but it was my favorite part.

Acting: 9/10 - Eito is the prettiest, cutest, most handsome man I've seen in BL in a while, and he can also act! Great expressions cried when needed to, and acted so well with his eyes. Same with Yoji (Takara) on the beautiful scale, but I think the writers gave him a pretty one-dimensional character that most actors could've played, just not as devilishly adorable as Yoji. Everyone else did a good job as well.

Music: 6/10 - didn't pay it much attention.

Recommendation Value: 9/10 - it's s cutesy while still holding together a nice and complex plot, the actors are all beautiful, and I definitely think this should be your next watch if you haven't seen it already.

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Best in the Business

I can not scream enough how amazing (and that's just an understatement) that IPYTM is. Usually I don't like sequels cause they always go in and mess up a perfectly good plot, but this knocked my socks off. Dare I say, I loved it more that ITSAY.

let's Dive In.

I think one of the reason I loved it way more than ITSAY is because that part of their story was more of them trying to understand their feelings towards each other and themselves, so most of it was gloomy and sad and heartbreaking. Yes, this series had some heartbreak, but it wasn't about one's identity, which personally for me I feel is sadder than anything else. IPYTM was about change and how to deal with it. It was about the impact of choices made and their consequences, it was about learning who you wanted to be instead of who you were, and I loved it.

Production gets a 10 for itself. If I could give production a higher rating I WOULD. I forget that this is a Thai BL every time I watch it. It is so out-of-the-ordinary that it gives that statement a whole new meaning. The cinematography was perfect, and I mean that to the T. It was the symbolism behind the specific color pallet they went with, it was about the subtleness of these underlying meaning behind their clothes, setting, props, daytime, subjects, etc. Everything mixed so perfectly that it was scary. This series will always remain the best cinematography that I have ever seen in any BL. A huge round of applauds to the crew and specifically the cinematographers.. (has this show been nominated for any awards? Please let me know if so, I'm really curious about it!).

Onto the plot. Another thing done so beautifully. I see IPYTM getting a lot of hate for how the plot was handled and executed, but for me it was just so authentic and so true to life that that's what made it right on point. People grow, people change, people discover new friends, hobbies, activities, interests; the list goes on. So that disconnect that we see and feel between Teh and Oh-Aew is real, it's something that can and will happen quite often. The situation that happen between the two of them, their growing change in interests, the contrast of their lives and what they do is all apart of a realistic relationship. The plot is what drove me to the edge of my seat and had me clinging on to the edge for dear life.

Onto the characters. There's no need to even comment on our main actors' performances, cause they were top-notch, enough said. I felt for Oh-Aew, especially in the first two episodes. I was more mad at Teh than anything, not taking his time to spend with Oh, not understanding his new desire in doing advertising, just so many different aspects that Teh pissed me off about. But then you start to feel for him when you see that he didn't want to be pursuing his dream alone, or that he didn't like the change, or that he was played by Jai. Let's talk about that for a second. Jai used Teh's emotions so that he could get what he wanted out of his final project. It hurt so bad to hear him even speaking to Teh like that, and the hurt and realization in his eyes BROKE me. You want to console him, but you also what to hit him upside the head and tell him, "well, this wouldn't have happened had you just not cheated." It was a very conflicted feeling that actually aggravated me quite a bit. Another thing that went so nicely with their story were the time jumps. Without them, I don't think this story would've been made justice. It would've seemed too rushed and jumbled for just a short few months or year, but instead it spans from 4-5 years, and it makes you feel for them even more. The ending was BEAUTIFUL. I have never wanted to have created a dialogue so bad in my life like I did this one. Their conversation is beautiful. The way Oh-Aew talks about how he wants their future relationship to be, how he wants for their to be a change, but a good one. It brought me to tears, it was so magical.

I was so happy to see Bas again! I wasn't always sold on Teh and Oh-Aew's relationship, especially in the first part, and I wanted Bas to be an actual option and of course he wasn't, but in IPYTM I see Teh and Oh-Aew's relationship better. I loved their individual friend groups, Oh-Aew's specifically. I feel for Q, cause you can tell that he was developing feelings for Oh, so seeing his post with Teh was rough. They were a nice touch, they added comfort and stability for Oh and it made me happy to see him happy without Teh for once. The wedding was handled nicely, the ending shots with everyone seeing Teh's post was beautifully directed, and the very end when they walked away was brilliant.

Overall, This series was a masterpiece. I'm not sure if they're going to have a season 3 or not, but in my honest opinion, I say they don't do one. Another one might add too much conflict onto their relationship that will make it feel repetitive and irrelevant. Let this be their ending! I'm crossing my fingers! I'll continue to say this and continue to be mad about it, but this series does not have enough recognition AT ALL. Yes, it has a platform, yes, it has gained popularity, but not enough. If this series could switch with 2gether, I think I would cry. Just look at how much popularity that cheesy and simplistic story got, how come this one can't? Not to bring another series down or anything, but that's just my personal thoughts. Anyways, A highly recommended series!!!!!

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How Can You Not Love This?

Oh, this was like the bread and butter on BL. I can't imagine someone watching this and not falling in love with this adorable makeshift family. I don't know why I haven't watched this before now, but oh boy, am I glad I came around to this wonderfully happy little BL.

Let's Dive In.

Wow, so this was the cutest little J-BL I've seen in a while. The stacks are pretty low, but the feels are incredibly high. Yutaka who has always eaten by himself due to past trauma finds a little dude and his incredibly hot brother to spend his long-awaited time with. It's so nice just to see people connect over food and feel warm and loved. I can't even say anything different than what others have said because it's all true: this was a really special BL.

Ratings:

Story: 9/10 - Such a lovely story. We see so much domesticness go on between the three of them and it's the best thing ever. I also liked how we see Yutaka at work but it's not overbearing or with tedious office jargon. Their relationship is so precious while not having to be too physical, and it's perfect.

Acting: 9.5/10 - That kid stole the show. The way he was able to keep up with these adult actors was insane. I don't think I've seen a kid act that good in a while, and he's so incredibly young to be acting so good!! The leads did great as well.

Music: 6/10: It wasn't directing but not very memorable.

Recommendation Value: 8/10: this was just so precious, I highly recommend it if you're wanting a heartfelt watch. it does have some tough stuff about grief and death which could be a doozy, but for real, please watch this!

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What a Gem of a Show

With only 3 episodes, each about 45 minutes long, IBTLIABLD hits hard in all aspects, specifically making me laugh my ass off, but also hitting you in the heart where it hurts. Both funny and a little tragic, this series has hit the nail on what's to come this year from Japan, and I'm so freaking excited!

Let's Dive In.

Right off the bat, I knew something was up with Yuichiro when we're first introduced to his character. Very charming yet something slightly off, avoiding even looking at Hajime, the adorable other lead cast in his childhood shadow as always been known as the Orange Juice Boy. we find out later on that Yuichiro was actually a giant stan of his, having memorabilia on top of memorabilia, and leading to some fantastically hilarious moments between the two of them. Overall, their story was beautiful. You can see so easily how fond Yuichiro is of Hajime, and exactly when that switches to liking him. It took a lot longer for Hajime to realize it, but once he does, it's just a guessing game on when they'll eventually announce (not in secrecy) to each other on their feelings. This dynamic is so heartwarming to me. The perfect height difference, the perfect balance of cheeky and cute, portraying moments that made me pause so I could laugh, or moments when I had to pause so that I could regain my composure and not cry. A truly lovely pairing, played by some really fantastic actors.

The side romance was a surprise to me, but not a bad one. Both managers of the boys end up together, trying to be secretive about it until it's noticeable, and then on top of that, trying to keep their talents at bay with their antics and worries. All other side characters did a job well done too, being the driving force of our leads to get together while not having much of a story of their own, but I'm really not too mad at it.

A couple of negatives I had about this series: I absolutely hate that they threw in a misunderstanding in the very last episode, considering that we only had 3. And then Yuichiro not explaining that it was a misunderstanding to Hajime was even more aggravating. It's cheap writing for a moment that was resolved in like the next 5 minutes. Another would be that we don't get to see them kiss outside of their "characters". A lot of people complained that the kiss was super bland, and while it was, if you're considering that they were practicing for their roles, I doubt they would've gone all in, especially if it was their first kiss. I would've rather seen them kiss again once they were together; in fact, on the bridge would've been a perfect moment for it to happen. And then we get a cut-off kiss in the very last scene which is urgh, but overall, even with my negatives, this series really did it for me, and I loved it.

Ratings:

Story: 9/10 - super funny, super relatable, super good. Flowed well for the 3 episodes it got, and honestly, I don't really think it needed more time. If you know how to structure a plot perfectly, then you have a good story to tell, regardless of the time.

Acting: 9.5/10 - Fantastic! these actors really know how to play their characters. Alan (Yuirchiro) played his character to a T, with some fantastic moments portraying the usual over-the-top Japanese intricacy that I've come to love. Also, is it just me or does he look a lot like Johnny from NCT?!

Music: 6/10 - I don't remember any of the music, but it wasn't distracting so there's that.

Recommendation Value: 10/10 - very rare I give 10s out, but this was seriously so good. It's pretty short so it doesn't take forever to watch, and it keeps you entertained through it all. The romance is great, the characters are adoring, and you should definitely give this gem of a series a watch!

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Brillant Story

Triage wins the "best Plot" award of 2022, and I'm already writing that down for when I do my "Best and Worst of 2022" list later this year. Wow, what a freaking ride. From beginning to end, the audience is thrown into the life and loops of Dr. Tin, who fights to save the life of a man he deems irresponsible when they first meet. Triage is a deep and tear-jerking drama that deals with a complicated plot in the best way I think I've ever seen done in a BL series.

Let's Dive In.

Triage was directed and screen written by the same amazing man that make "Manner of Death" in 2020, with us even getting a few cameos with the leads from MOD's themselves (which at the end, it may imply a season 2 or a spinoff of both series combined). He did the same thing he did over there, which is to focus more on the storytelling and the overall appeal of the storyline than the actual BL of it all. And I think it works pretty well in this, except for the fact that Tin and Tol's romance isn't as strong as it could be. But no wonder why Triage is as heart-wrenching and as thrill-packed as was in MOD.

There is just no plot like this one. Tin has to continue going through loops until he can save Tol's life, on top of trying to see if he can save the other's lives around him. It's magnificent. At first, I was scared that with so many different conflicts going on in the series, it would leave plot holes or forget key details, but it never wavers. We get the complete story of Rit, Mai's mom, Dr. Sak, Dr. Doi, Fang, etc. And nothing felt rushed or last-minute, it was all told with very keen detail and in a timely manner. I think the best part is when you, as the audience, finally got enough detail to put two and two together and you can figure it out as Dr. Tin does. I also like that they switched things up and made Tol fight to save Tin's life. Everything was crisp and clean, fun and entertaining, and as perfect as it could be.

The character development in this is so good. Literally the best part. Tin is this very stoic man who hates drunk drivers after his accident with his sister, and he doesn't appreciate his life as he use to until he's put into this predicament where he has to learn the value of living and surviving and we see such growth in him that it's very obvious by the end. Tol is almost the same way, with him being very brooding and harsh, but through all of this he learns to be kinder. Growth is evident in each character, Mai, Heart, Rit, Gap, Sing, Fang, literally everyone. And even some not-so-good growth that we see with Dr. Doi when he goes crazy.

Moving on to the romances in the series, let's start with Tin and Tol. Now Tin has to continuously see Tol die in every loop that he goes through, and the only way to get Tol to not drive or "drink" is to get closer to him, and even come up with the conclusion that Tol needed to fall for Tin so that Tin could get him to not drive, or not do too much to his heart. It's the perfect setup for a deep romance - imagine falling for someone and having to have them fall in love with you all over again and again -- seems pretty harsh, but the premise of it all is genius. But I think it was probably the weakest in terms of plot. Their first kiss seemed a bit off-putting since we only see Tin trying to stop the incident from happening and not so much trying to get Tol to fall for him. I feel like there was only one real moment in which I could really feel the connection and the yearning to be with one another, other than that, it kind of fell flat for me. The ending is satisfying though, and I loved seeing Tae and Tee as a paring again.

Moving onto our other side couple, Gap and Sing. Due to the loops, Gap and Sing end up together during the last loop, so we get to see them being pretty cute and domestic. Before then, Gap just had a very minor crush on the doctor, and Sing was pretty much just a straight-up asshole who didn't know how to go about his feeling for Gap. In fact, I think it was a bit too harsh for me to wish for them to be together. If anything, I was rooting for Gap and Rit for a while since it seemed that Gap brought down his stern walls to really open himself up to Rit. But in the last loop, they were pretty cute, so I'll give them that.

All the supporting characters did so well, even down to the ones with very few lines. I loved Toi and his supportive and energetic aura, Jinta was by far one of my favorite characters, and he pulled the cynical, yet helpful angel role off perfectly. Dr. Doi is so evil that I practically loved him. He falls so much into his schemes with Dr. Sak that he goes insane. Perfect. Art was the cutest, and I really wish that they would girl Mild another leading role. For the characters that I didn't really care for, would maybe have to be Heart and Mai, or really Mai's story in general. Of course, without her, there wouldn't be any plot, but I couldn't understand why Tin was interested in saving her mother when it wasn't necessarily his responsibility. Save Tol and move on. I could say the same for Win and Lookprae.

Ratings:

Story: 9 - Very crisp and very detailed. Nothing was left out, everything was covered, and it moved in perfectly formatted waves. I think the romance of Tin and Tol (even Gap and Sing) could've been better, so I'll take a star off.

Acting - 8.5 - Everyone did great, but Morris (Jinta) and Tae (Tin) stood out the most. I think Gap's actor was a little weak at times, and so was Mai's. But overall, acting was one of the better parts of Triage.

Music: 7 - I didn't really pay attention to it, so it was there.

Rewatch Value: 3 - definitely something I could rewatch if a season 2 is to happen.

Overall, a very entertaining watch, and I look forward to a hopeful season 2. I definitely recommend this to anyone wanting a complex plot or something action-packed.

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Tedious

I could barely get through this (and I barely did). When it came down to the last few episodes, I skipped bits and pieces and just watched what I wanted to. This series isn't "bad" per se, just hella boring. Unless basketball games heightened your excitement, then Our Days might not be the series for you.

Let's Dive In.

The concept of this series was something we've seen before, it gave me a lot of "You're My Sky" vibes, with the basketball and the beautiful cinematography. Mon goes to school in the city and meets So who ends up kissing him on a drunken night and stirs feelings between the both of them for the rest of the series. Some more basketball bs and an old friend and then it's happily ever after (kind of?).

For me, this was just really boring. Most parts dragged on for too long, discussing things I was just highly not interested in. This series was able to grab my attention for like two seconds and then it disappeared. This is a sports BL, which I don't usually mind, but this was entirely too much basketball. Basketball this, basketball that, and I skipped pretty much every single game/practice sequence. Mon comes off to me as a sore loser who got his feelings hurt because he sits on the bench, sad sure, but not sad enough for them to play somber ballads in the back and for me to be sympathetic to.

Talking about Mon, I wasn't really feeling it with his relationship with So. To me, they look like two completely straight actors trying to play gay characters and it doesn't work at all. That's what most BLs are, but these two had no chemistry and looked like they'd rather be anywhere else than be stuck together and have to act in love. Most of the time I got "bro" vibes. Towards the end when they're banging on the kitchen counter, it's so sloppy and messy that it also doesn't work for me. These are rookie actors, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, but I would've liked to see something better.

I was really intrigued with Mickey and Q but we don't go very far with them, which I can appreciate to some extent. Mickey is Mon's little brother and Q meets him through Mon. They end up becoming really close and hanging out. Mickey runs away and goes to Q where we get an awful kiss, and then something able "not having responsibilities" and then nothing else. I think I'm okay with that just because Mickey is young, so sure, he's still learning, but I would've liked a conversation to at least happen between the two of them (and not about the running away).

Pond was by far the best character and Poon was the best actor, I sure hope we see him again. Saint felt like a nuisance. He was weird to So in the beginning and because of that, I could never come around to liking him. I didn't care for his flashback story with Mon and I didn't care that he had feelings for him either.

The cinematography and the sets were beautiful; it's what really had me holding on (and Pond cause I loved him). I was so close to dropping this, but I held on. And again it wasn't bad, like plot or acting-wise, just boring.

Ratings:

Story: 6.5 - Didn't really intrigue me. It might be for someone else, but I was more bored than anything. The romance also didn't do it for me. I'll give three stars to Pond and 3 and a half stars to Mickey and Q.

Acting: 8.5 - Good enough. The main leads weren't the best, but it wasn't so bad either. Poon was the best out of everyone, I hope to see him again.

Music: 5.5 - Decent,

Rewatch value: 1 - No. Just no. I couldn't sit myself through this again,

This will be very forgotten about soon. I don't recommend it unless it's something that catches your eye. I tried watching this a few months back and put it on hold because it was so tedious, but I picked it back up and just pushed myself through it. I probably skipped over some important parts, but I simply just don't care. Watch if you want or don't.

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Non Deserved Better

I had barely even heard of this series, but once I tuned in, I was hooked. Presumably so, I thought a completely different story was going to happen. I fall in love with one couple, only to be forced to move on? Love Area Part 1 was a great mini-series that kept me on my toes. While I continued to enjoy my watch, I grew angrier and angrier with each passing episode.

Let's Dive In.

Production was decent. Not much else to say on that. I don't remember there being that many ads if any at all. I thought the wardrobes were pretty nice (you know, when they weren't wearing uni clothes), and the makeup was done really well. Nothing to complain about. All in all. it was pretty good.

Onto the plot. I think it was pretty basic, except, I sometimes like basic, and in this context, I actually quite enjoyed myself. Can't go wrong with a cute restaurant love.

Onto the pairings. The one thing this show does is give us two pretty compelling characters to match with the main lead (Although, one is to for sure happen over the other). I was here for Non and Kaitoon before anything. Non is just the perfect guy. We see no problems in his character (which could drive him to be pretty one dimensional, but oh well), he genuinely feels for Kaitoon and goes out of his way to involve himself in Kaitoon's life by helping him mend his wounds, giving him good advice, and just being there. They did him so dirty closer to the end. Non did not serve to be stood up, especially not twice. They treated him with the utmost disrespect and he better be given a heartfelt apology (and hopefully another character introduced for him). Moving onto Valen and Kaitoon. I didn't like them at the beginning, and I mean who would? Valen ends up trying to rob Kaitoon which in turn gets Kaitoon punched and actually robbed. I don't know how anyone could fall for their robber, but this is BL, and anything can happen. I didn't really start feeling for them until about episode 5, but then Kaitoon kept forgetting about Non, and it just hurt even worse in the finale. King and Peat's story felt like a completely different series. I think their pairing is a bit irrelevant since neither of them really play an important role in the plot. However, I did feel for King. Nobody should be abandoned, especially without an explanation. King started gaining my respect until Ice came into the story. Ice looks like a fetus, so if they're trying to maybe make them a thing (possibly not since Peat moved back in with King) then please don't. Even King making him go shirtless was a bit uncomfortable for me. Overall, all the couples in this series were okay.

The acting was alright. I think that the script wasn't all too strong so the actors didn't have much to work with. The strongest actor was probably Got (Tang), even though he had a small role, he still knew how to deal with the cards he was dealt. I think all of the main roles could use a bit of work, but Pak (Kaitoon) was definitely the best out of all of them.

Ratings:

Story: 7.5 - Nothing special or noticeably different from the others. I think they did an alright job at building up the chemistry between the main leads, so I will give that to them (Also, I'm a sucker for slow-burns, so I'm excited to see what happens with them in season 2). For that, I'll give it an extra 1.5 stars on top of the 6 I was originally going to give it. (But that better do my son Non better!).

Acting: 7 - Again, it was decent, nothing special, nothing better than the rest. Got and Pak give this score an extra two stars. I hope to see some stronger acting choices in season two (and maybe a stronger script as well).

OST: 5.5 - Didn't really pay attention to it. Since it wasn't noticeable for being annoying then it was decent for me. (also, no one was singing, so that's an extra star!)

Rewatch value: 1 - Again, I have to move on to other things I have to watch, but I probably won't come back to this series. Especially since season two drops in just a couple of days.

Overall, this series was a decent one. I'd recommend this for sure. especially someone new to BL. It's pretty fluffy and heartfelt for the most part. I think something should've been different (like them not treating Non like he's a piece of trash).

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Underwhelming

I could tell by the first episode that this was going to be cringe-filled. I'm more disappointed that I went into this with the intention that because Gameplay was in this, it would be good. That's not it at all. Love With Benefits is full of weird editing, mediocre supporting characters, and a plot that could've gone right had they actually put in some effort.

Let's Dive In.

Firstly, let's discuss this production. While seemingly low-budget, this series did a horrible job at editing. There were some scenes that just has these very inconsistent cuts that were strewn together that someone thought were okay to air. I sat there embarrassed for the actors for how terrible the editing team did them. Ad placements literally everywhere, those were probably the only moments that were decently scripted and put together well (got to make sure to get that coin!). The production team did a very sorrowful job, this series could've been better with a more decent crew.

I wasn't very fond of any of the supporting characters. The feminine gays were played up to be creepy, and annoying, and thirsty, so I skipped most of their scenes (when can we get an effeminized gay that's not supposed to be the touchy creep of a series???) The acting coach was decent I guess, but he was just kind of there. I did like Pluto though (and would've rather him and Play end up together).

The only thing that Play and First had was great heat scenes. The chemistry was weird, I don't like how they made Play out to be childish. It was aggravating. The relationship was ridiculously rushed since they "fell in love" within the span of about 10 days. The series was an obvious cash-grab than it was at trying to build an actual decent relationship.

I love Gameplay so freakin much, so I was left feeling a bit heartbroken that this was the series he was in. I don't want to sound insulting about the other actors, but Gameplay is better than this series. He deserves a main role that compliments his acting, and in this, it diminishes it. Give Gameplay a three-dimensional character with actual traits and a personality, and I swear he can do it. I was so looking forward to seeing him in Kinnporsche, and was absolutely devastated when he dropped out. He just deserves the attention and the role that I see others getting.

The acting was decent. This seems to be Folk's first acting gig, so I won't be too harsh, but I didn't like his performance at all. I would've rather them had switched his role with Best and then maybe this series could've been a bit better.

Overall, this was underwhelming. If you're looking for a few good heat scenes, then you got it, but if you're looking for an actual BL with meaningful moments and a storyline, than this is not the series for you.

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Best HIStory By Far

My favorite HIStory so far. By the time I got to this series, I was thinking to myself, "is continuing the HIStory series really that important to me?" By this time I had already seen the first HIStories and Right or Wrong, all of which I gave less than 6 stars to. They weren't keeping my attention very well, I wasn't having much luck with liking the couple or the content, so should I really keep going? But, I'm so grateful that I did.

Let's Dive In.

Some soft high school students falling in love?? yeah I’ll take it. Once again, enemies to lovers are not my forte, but I loved this with my entire heart. The first thing that drew me in was Zach Lu's beauty. There is no denying that his presence was one of the best things about this film. He portrayed his character so perfectly, and in such a way that an actual teenager would act, and I'm in awe. Qui Zi Xuan was my favorite character. He had a meaningful story and a sad past that made me feel for him. Even with the enemies to lover trope, it was still a slow-burn. You could see Xia Yu Hao steadily falling more in love with him, which led to one of the best kisses in BL history. Literally a kiss between the net?? Pure magic.

I really liked the shower scene. It was hilarious! I haven’t really cried laugh like that while watching a series in a while. I wasn't sold on the side couple at all. Even looking past them being step-brothers (ewe, why?), they had no chemistry and barely any screen time. Had they not been stepbrothers, I might've actually tried harder at paying any attention to their plot.

I loved this series, point, blank perod. It has to be one of the best ones best that depict a real relationship and how harsh the beginning of feelings and attraction can be. I would completely recommend this to anyone willing to watch.

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Here for PeteKao, stayed for SunMork

Kiss Me Again was a doozy to get through, but fortunately, I enjoyed everything about this series except Pete. He was a condescending, self-absorbed brat that was too wrapped up in his own reality to understand that his boyfriend is a human being and not his toy. Pete telling Kao not to tutor (the job he needed to help out his mom and sister) just because he was jealous of a CHILD is ridiculous. I don't care how stupidly hot Pete is, his actions were so unattractive.
I don't like how they went about developing Non. I really enjoyed him in the beginning; I actually shipped Non and Kao a lot more than I did Pete and Kao. Obviously, they weren't ever going to get together in any universal setting (cause everyone loves taynew), but still, I loved him until they turned Non into this overly-obsessed, vengeful-for-no-reason little brat. #justiceforNon2k21.
I'm not the type to cry at any series (no tears for UWMA or History: MODC. I'm weird.), but when it's a coming-out scene I will ALWAYS cry. Kao coming out to his mom was so breathtaking and so perfect and beautiful that I get teary-eyed just thinking about it. New and whoever played his mom did an amazing job.
Sun and Mork saved this series. Why do you think my overall score is so high? I don't know if it's because Pod is so shippable, or if it's because I'm in love with Gawin (most likely all of the above), but Sun and Mork are the best side BL couple EVER. It was fluffy, it was cute, it was captivating and I miss them. #bringbackgawinwherethefuckdidhego2k21.
The OST was a FUCKING BOP. I usually always skip the intro videos, but there was something so unskippable about this one. Loved it.

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