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Wayyyy Better Than I was Expecting it To Be

I still remember when I first heard about this series, and I thought this was going to be complete garbage. So I set my expectations VERY low. At max, I thought I would give this series a 7, and now I'm sitting here writing this review knowing that throughout my watch, I was highly entertained, highly interested, highly appreciative of the characters, and absolutely loved the story and relationship. And because of that, this series is getting a 10.

Let's Dive In.

Now, I might be reaching with a 10, cause there were some downfalls, but overall, I had so much fun watching that it overpowers any instinctive problems I have with this series.

For one, the wardrobe was fantastic. I was heavily getting 'West Side Story' (cause of the gang and the fighting) vibes and only realized that it wasn't set in the 80s or 90s until I saw a phone. The hairstyles were perfect, even the color schemes, and the retro-realistic vibes from Noey and his gang. *chef's kiss*

The cinematography was also very different than what I'm used to seeing in Thai series. We get to see the character's real skin colors -- some pretty tans and goldens and browns -- and I fell in love immediately with the grain and the color schemes. This has to be one of the most 'down-to-earth' series that really goes for showing what all different types of Thai people look like (without putting any of them in a negative light). Even going so far as to show what the rural side of Thai looks like. No fancy houses and no railing stairs, just temples, and eating on the ground and everything else that made this setting feel so natural. I loved it.

Now, onto Noey and Thi. I loved the way they dramatized their characters. Thi was somewhat of a confident coward, who was fragile and anxious, while Noey was a tough and badass student who was the leader of a gang and everyone followed what he said. It was the perfect dynamic. The age gap is pretty lengthy, but they make up for this because nothing ever goes any further than a measly kiss on the cheek. We don't even get a kiss until the last episode. So that's why I'm convinced that I loved this pairing because they were able to make me fall for them without it being physical. Now, the chemistry is only decent, it's not spectacular or anything, but it gets by with the perfect amount of looks and stares (albeit, sometimes too long). To sum up this paring, they made it durable enough to get through this series without being bored. Their dynamic is very spot-on, and the character development within both of them is some of the best I've seen this year.

Which leads me to my next point, the time jump meant everything to me. Time jumps in Thai series are usually "4 years later" without any context on what those four years actually looked like, but this series did it all to the T. We see a time-lapse of their time spent together, them talking on the phone, doing cutesy things, missing each other -- even meeting up once. So we aren't in the dark about what has happened in the last four years -- we know exactly what was going on. So the ending feels literally perfect. We see what they've been up to, we know how far they've progressed in time -- with their education and relationship, so the time jump is the cherry on top of this already spectacular series.

I would love to get a spinoff for Thiw's character. I'm in love with his voice, his acting, his stature. Ohm did a great job. Phayu is also the most attractive man I've ever seen, I will need to be seeing more of him and more of him soon.

Ratings:

Story: 9/10 - It's entertaining from start to finish. They do such a good job at telling the story and telling it well that it's so much fun to sit through and watch. It's the perfect mix of real, funny, and romantic.

Acting: 9/10 - Really good. I think there are some moments that are a bit hard to see what emotions they're trying to convey, but for the most part, it's stellar. Ohm was the stand out for me, including Tar.

Music: 7/10 - I remember that one song Noey liked playing, but other than that, I didn't pay attention to it.

Recommendation Value: 8/10 - HIGHLY recommend. I've said it multiple times already, but this series is seriously very entertaining. I think it might've been because I went into this with little to no expectations which is why it completely exceeded anything I thought it was going to be, and turned out to be an amazing little gem.

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Irritating Title

While the title is not that important (don't judge a book by its cover) I still can't get over the incorrect grammar. Even if this is a Thailand series and grammar could be entirely different, someone could have still told them to add an 'a' in there. Whatever. Moving on, this was my second favorite En of Love series, mostly due to the patience and duality of Nuea and the warmth and youthfulness of Praram.

Let's Dive In.

Although I liked this series, it could’ve been a lot better, but then again, could have every other En of Love too. Once again, it went by WAY too fast. I liked how caring Neua was, but sometimes I got aggravated by his possessiveness when he hadn’t even known Praram all that well and all that long.

I wanted to see more of the story, but instead, half of each of the episodes were Neua posting and going through comments. Besides that, I really liked their confession. I liked that Neua was patient and sweet. It worried me at first because Praram was just in high school being crushed on by a college dude, but the creators and writers did well with the script and how it played out. I wasn’t going to be happy if they had had them hook up or even have done any type of sexual entities, but instead, they kept it appropriate for a relationship between a high schooler and a college student. The cute kisses on the cheek and neck were to DIE FOR. Once again, this series does such a good job of showing healthy and consensual conversations. Nuea saying that he didn’t want to do anything more than a cheek kiss with Praram showed that he was willing to be patient and considerate. That’s what upped this show to an 8.

Overall it was a cute 3 episodes. Benz is the cutest kid ever, and I applaud the wardrobe team with his clothes cause it was very refreshing and chic. Out of all the En of Love's, I would only recommend this part. It was light, it was fluffy, it was consensual, and it was cute.

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Trash Watched .... I'm stunned...

I basically skimmed through the entirety of this when I got to episode 3 and just knew this series wasn't for me. I thought Boy next World was a lot ... my fuck, I was not prepared for all of this.

Let's Dive In.

Porn. This is porn. No, this is not "soft core porn" or otherwise it would've been soft, and it wasn't! Was it hot? Of course, porn can't be bad (mostly). But this was entirely too much. The opening scene immediately catapults you into the NC of it all, with almost every single episode containing some kind of sex scene. First off, I'm a slow-burn girlie. If we've already gotten to every single base within the first 3 episodes, then I'm bored. On top of that, the sex is gnarly (everything's gnarly..). There's a scene were Jun is sucking Sorn's dick in the bathroom, which, okay that's enough as it is, but then you hear it. You hear him sucking dick. And then he gags on it, and then he SWALLOWS!! I had to pause and just walk around my room. I mean, this is quite literally insane.

I don't hate on people that loved this just for the NC, because it's there for obvious reasons. I just need a plot on top of the NC, or I am otherwise bored. Although, my favorite scene was probably them having sex and getting interrupted in the midst. That was funny.

This is the danger of having lots of NC in a series too... no one is watching for the series. Half the people watching this (like me) are skimming through this cause the plot is *thumb's down* but the NC is so hyped that you might as well watch it.

Outside of the obviousness of this series, the plot is bad! I could tell by episode two that this was going to be absurd! My goodness! I know these two are going to do another BL, and get this... omegaverse. Dear lord, save us all.

Ratings:

Story: 2/10 - plot? what plot? I also trash watched this. I'm not even considering this a series I watched for real.

Acting: 5/10 - could really sense the chemistry as they are moaning and grunting to each other.

Music: 5/10 - To make it worse, the play the most distracting english song through all of this. oh my god.

Recommendation Value: 7/10 - Sure, watch it. Boat is gorgeous, shirt on/shirt off.

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FRANK

I would call this series more so a drama that happens to have BL leads than a BL series with drama. Just kind of how it comes off. Honestly, this was pretty tedious to get through, I did lots of skipping, and a lot of forwarding, and still I managed to understand the majority of what was happening. The Rebound offer a decent plot line, pretty good basketball, and the finest men ever on my screen.

Let's Dive In.

There's a lot to the story, but the major plot point is Zen, who use to be middle school besties/crush with Ryu. Things happen, they get to high school and split, Zen plays for the school and Ryu is this street-basketball bad boy. They eventually meet again, and right around the time that the boys' basketball team gets cut because the seniors were caught doing drugs. Ryu eventually plays with them, more shit ensues, but it ends up being happily ever after.

The only thing that was hard for me to believe is that any of these grown-ass men are high schoolers, which is honestly the reason why this gets a little tedious for me. Just cause they gave them hideous haircuts does not mean they automatically pass as 17-18 year olds (also, yes, Ryu was suppose to be a "bad boy" but he he had way too many tattoos to come off as a teenager).

I really enjoyed some of the relationships we see in this like Lin and Ton and Zen and his grandmother. I think those were probably the only relationships I cared about.

I'll be honest, I started skipping through this after Zen and Ryu's first kiss. Lot of what this is a bunch of miscommunication, misinterpretations, and blah blah blah. They give use another couple which I cared zero for, and the only ones I thought were pretty cute (Shogun and Jedi) were given nothing.

Meen and Ping are cute for this, and they execute it well. Do I necessarily care for the chemistry? Not really, in fact, I find it a little boring, but not bad enough for it to ruin the series.

Moving onto the reason this honestly didn't get dropped: Frank. Frank. Frank. Frank. Frank. I need Frank in my life if you didn't know. When did Frank get so devilishly gorgeous? And then you give me a scene where he's touching himself and basically moaning into my headphones?! I'm deceased. But outside of his incredible looks, I don't think I've seen Frank in a leading role (support but still) in a long time. I think his acting is decent, but it definitely never just clicked for me in this. Thank god he's hot.

Overall, this series just wasn't for me. I do appreciate that everyone looked like they could actually play basketball and that they at least knew what a court looked like. I appreciate the cinematography that looked different than what I'm used to in a Thai-BL, gave me Your My Sky vibes for sure. I also loved that they were all so tan and had such beautiful complexion. Yippee.

Ratings:

Story: 5/10 - not for me. Skipped through most of the drama with Ryu and his guardian (also Nannon, I forgot to mention how fucking sexy he looked too). I did enjoy the stuff with the basketball team and Lin and her father. That's kinda it.

Acting: 8/10 - Decent. Good. No one stood out over anybody, I think everyone did as good as they could. Nothing too bad, nothing too good.

Music: 7.5/10 - My sister watched this before me and loved the OST. I've heard it played in the car many of time, so it is very catchy.

Recommendation Value; 4/10 - Ehh. One star for the actual series, three stars for Frank.

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Highly Anticipated, And Not Disappointed

I've heard nothing but good news about Jazz For Two, and I usually get a bit skeptical about BLs that gain a lot of popularity in a short amount of time, cause people's opinions can be so skewed with a popular series, but honestly, for once, the majority of them got this right. Jazz for Two explores the very emotional, very toxic relationships of two pairings, while also giving us some fabulous instrumentals.

Let's Dive In.

Again, going into this, I didn't give my hopes up to see anything worth watching, but after episode 2, I was on the edge of my seat. JFT isn't anything we haven't seen before: high school students playing instruments who fall in love; but the acting in this is what makes this series stand out so much to me. They do an excellent job with emotions, even Taeyi who has one facial expression, but he has so much expression in his eyes. Hangyeom (Doyoon) absolutely stole the show for me. I was shocked to see this was his first acting gig outside of his idol stuff, because he did an absolutely fantastic job. He had the perfect mix of funny and serious and happy. Absolutely adored him, and hope to see him in so much more in the future.

Moving on to the lead pairing, Taeyi and Seheon, they had excellent chemistry. Mixed with the finery that is Hogeun, and Jinkwon's cuteness, they did an excellent job at selling their connection. I love a slow burn, it's my favorite thing in their entire world, and this couple did that to a T. They have such a strong build-up, and leave the audience yearning for more, and that's exactly what I love. Once they get into their relationship, you can see how swiftly Taeyi's persona changes, and it's just such great character development.

with Doyoon and Juha, I wondered if they really were going to work for me, and in some odd way, they really do, except I think it's a lot more toxic (which I hate) in their sense than in Taeyi's and Seheon's relationship. Juha is the bully of the series, causing chaos in Taeyi, Seheon, and Doyoon's lives. I never really got around to appreciating him because I just think he sucks as a person, even after he and Doyoon start to work out. That dude needs therapy and a lot of it. Glad he could find some solace in Doyoon, but it'll take a lot more than that to fix his broken soul. Other than that, I think these actors did a great job, and again, Doyoon's just the best character out of them all.

I love a plot twist and I did not see the brothers happening at all. It truly is a sad tale, but it's told in such a beautiful way that I have to give props to the writers. Definitely a job well-done.

Now, the only reason this series isn't a 10/10 for me is because of how overly abusive and somewhat non-consensual these relationships are. Taeyi throws around Seheon for more than half the series, which is just so much excessive force that it completely turns me off from their romance. Same with Juha, who's only excusable for punching Doyoon when he kisses him without any prior consent. but every couple in this series kisses for the first time without consent, which is somewhat sort of forgiven in the end, but still, it's just a lot. Same with Juha, he just abuses Doyoon over and over again, even with Doyoon's very odd behavior, and even after being punched. I think a lot of that didn't have to be added, the being pushed against the wall, Seheon getting hurt in like, every episode, the cat and mouse chase from them having these fights and arguments to it being completely fine in the next scene. I know, this is how some relationships are, toxic, but my god, it's so hard to root for somebody when their behavior is like this, because if this was real life, I would've told all of them to move towns and start over, especially poor little Seheon.

Ratings:

Story: 8/10 - Superb! It's just an 8 cause the story is rather simplistic, it's the acting that sells it. Great storytelling, it stays on its feet for the entirety of the 8 episodes, and it not once bored me. The plot twist was a fun addition, so really, such a good job.

Acting; 9/10 - Hangyeom did the best out of the cast, which is crazy because it's his first acting gig, but he did literally amazing (I'm also just remembering the same guys from ASTCO cameoed, and that was nice, also they're all from the same K-pop group, so that's cool too!!) Jinkwon did really well, followed by Hogeun who had to be stoic for most of this, but shows emotion later on in the series. Everyone else did a good job too.

Music: 8/10 - beautiful instrumentals. I didn't even mind Taeyi's singing in the end.

Recommendation Value: 7.5/10 - they did a really good job and I had fun watching it. Also, Hogeun is just gorgeous, so if you want to see beauty, watch for that reason too.

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IDK

Destiny Seeker was very confusing to get into in the beginning, but closer to the end it became more interesting until it inevitably dragged on for far too long about topics that are far too boring.

Let's Dive In.

To start off, there were so many characters in this that I stopped trying to learn names by episode 4. So for the majority of this series, there are a bunch of people on my screen that I have no idea why they're there or what they're contributing to the story, so it's an immediate snooze fest. There are three couples in this, and I can only remember the names of two. On top of that, there were so many pointless scenes full of jibber-jabber that I continuously kept falling asleep and having to go back. I skipped the entirety of episode 9 and still got the jist of what was going on. This could've been cut down to maybe 8 episodes if they cut out half of the scenes that did nothing to move the plot along.

But, with that being said, I still stayed because somewhere in this jumbled mess, I did quite enjoy the leads. Mostly because of their slow-burn relationship which I'm a sucker for. They also did their intimate scenes superbly well, and I'll applaud them for that. I think their chemistry was the strongest among the three while also doing so nicely at building up that tension so that we can actually care about them getting together finally. Even with them, there was no couple that I was genuinely invested in, I think all of them had their moments, but it wasn't anything crazy or something I'll remember past this review.

While this was the basic college/uni BL, I really liked the rivalry between dorms and people getting chosen for specific places in the dorms. I even really liked the use of their little button things and Ai and Song potentially getting caught because of the "no crossing" rule.

Ratings:

Story: 7/10 - Draggy in some parts, but not entirely bad. The couples were mediocre, and I was barely invested in any of them, but the slow burn kept me on.

Acting: 8.5/10 - The leads did great and so did some of the other supporting roles, but there was a lot of mediocre acting from some of the smaller characters, it's not so bad that you can't watch, it's just noticeable that they need more practice.

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

Recommendation Value: 3/10: Eh, probably wouldn't recommend this, but some beautiful men in this that do intimacy pretty well, so it's not a never.

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Really Cute !

Out of my BL block just in time to watch this little gem of a series, Perfect Propose. While not one of my favorites, this series was seriously so authentic in its storytelling, keeping me truly entertained and intrigued throughout it all -- and it doesn't hurt either that the actors are absolutely beautiful.

Let's Dive In.

Loved the pacing of this 6 episode series. It had a perfect rhythm of timing and plot that I was never bored or ready to skip something. I get bored very quickly with office scenes if they're not significant. This series had its times, but for the most part, it never dragged on too long, and I really appreciate that. Lately, I've been loving series that are short and to-the-point rather than long and drawn out, so I loved that I sat for a couple of hours and finished this with no problems.

I'm a sucker for friends to lovers, especially a long distance friends to lovers. The only thing that took me by surprise was their age gap as kids. I think it was fine since Hiro saw it more as just a kid he wanted to talk to and Kai was the one with the genuine crush, but that morality line is a little blurry when Hiro says something along the lines of having thought that Kai was cute as a kid, and then followed by Kai kissing him afterward. Anyway, I'll focus more on them as adults, which I think was super cute. I'll be honest, I wasn't totally sold on their chemistry in the end, but I think both actors can act their asses off. I really enjoyed watching Hiro turn into this man with an endless work life who was falling victim to its harshness, then to meet his friend from long ago and start genuinely taking care of himself -- of course with the help of Kai.

I have nothing really negative to say about this series, I think it was good, just not the best I've seen come out of Japan.

Ratings:

Story: 8/10 - Good! Great flow, an amazing beginning, and a decent ending. Probably my favorite aspect of the show.

Acting: 9/10 - Shunya (Hiro) did his big one! Extremely great at emotional scenes and just an overall great actor. Kota (Kai), other than being a sight to behold, also did a great job. All the other actors played their roles well too.

Music: 7/10 - The intro song was cute!

Recommendation Value: 8/10 - It's pretty good and a quit watch, so yes, definitely go for it!

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Umpteenth Review to Say...Yes, It was Good!

So, there are well over enough reviews on this to where I don't really need to write one but like for every series, I still will. Overall, I really liked this. Jimmy and Sea definitely showed how well they can act and act with one another. The plot is so authentic and new that it's hard not to enjoy where all these different paths will lead, with Day's sight, with Mhok's bad boy exterior, with Porjai's pregnancy, with Night's guilt, with August's angst, with Ramon's overprotectiveness, and just so much more. Even with my fondness, of course I still see a few faults in this series, but again, this was top-tier on GMMTV's BL list.

Let's Dive In.

Again, I'll reiterate how I'm much pickier with GMMTV BL since they have the funds, actors, crew, and sources to do so, so yes, this series sadly doesn't sit at a 10 with me, but it's very close. Judging solely on episodes 1-6, this series deserves well over a 10. The setup, them meeting, the continued build-up of Day trusting Mhok, them slowly realizing their feelings for one another, their moments together, the subtle why Mhok showed he was listening and he cared (pretending to be blind, wearing the bright pink shirt because that was a color that stood out to Day, buying him slippers so he wouldn't keep hitting his feet, etc.), Day slowly realizing he needed Mhok a lot more than he realized, them slowly falling until it's recognized in a passionate rooftop kiss (of course it had to be on a rooftop, Aof's signature touch), and so many more that I could list out, but you get the point. Those episodes were so freaking good, it kept me on the edge of my seat, I couldn't stop watching, I couldn't stop falling more and more for this couple. 7-9 are good too, settling their relationship and easing into being affectionate and learning more and more of each other. 10-12 is where it falls flat for me.

I pretty much watched with it sped once we got to episode 10 and just kept that pace onward until the end of the series. There's a lot of scenes that don't drive the plot along, lots of just skinship and being cute and blah blah blah, and as much as I like that, it got to be a bit draggy. Along with that, Aof follows a strategic structure when it comes to how he constructs his plots. All of his shows follow the exact same formula, and now it's getting to be way too noticeable and way too repetitive, especially the time jumps (he loves a good time jump). So while watching, I'm catching onto what feels familiar which is causing me to predict what's going to happen next (and it does), so this series is something fresh, yet something so tediously recurring that it almost bores you to death knowing what's always coming next.

Moving onto the chemistry between Jimmy and Sea... *mwah* perfection. I'll admit, I was a little worried about how their connection would play out this time around since I wasn't very pleased with it in Vice Versa, but here, wow, I can see how much their acting and comfortability with one another has grown. Especially for Jimmy, who unfortunately still starts off kissing with his mouth open, but that's nit-picky, so let's look past that. But really, I love it, such an excellent job, fell immediately in love with their connection, specifically after the fish bowl scene. They have so many great moments together, but my favorite is them on top of the rock looking out at the last twilight, and Day saying he wanted Mhok to be the last image he sees before he goes blind instead of the one thing he's been fighting to see since going blind. Urgh, heart-tugging ain't it? Kisses were great, NC scene was beautiful, and overall, I'm happy with what we got.

Their breakup felt forced though, I won't lie. Day broke up with him because he said no to going abroad because he felt that he needed to be there for Day, which made Day feel like he'd had nothing but pity for him this entire time. Understandable, and instead of a breakup and just a, "let's not see each other for at least a year", they could've talked it out and it would've been resolved with decent communicating, but okay. The time jump was aggravating, cause that leads to so much room for the characters to change and become better, except they feel the exact same as they always did. They eventually get back together, through way too much trial and error and Day not taking any of the fault, but this is BL, so whatever.

I actually loved August's character, I could also in some way, relate to him, feeling so much pity or so much urge to make someone feel better that you'll do anything you need to, even if it means not being authentic to yourself. of course, what he did was slimy and terrible, but in the end, he did it because he cared so much for Day. Great addition to the series, along with Night and Porjai, great moments between the two of them too.

Now, where I get to be nit-picky. And before I say this, I'll just say that overall, Sea did an excellent job portraying a blind character, and I mean above any of my expectations. It's probably severely hard to act blind and be seeing, trying not to react to certain things with your eyes, not moving them too much, etc. Even with that though, my two main problems were that one, why the hell didn't anyone get this man a walking stick, and two, perception is still something a blind person who hasn't been blind all their life understands. One, a walking stick, how come he wasn't given one? Did I miss a part where Day maybe didn't want one cause he wanted to be independent, or something? Either way, he could've saved himself and Mhok so much trouble had he had one, it's idiotic that he didn't. Two, Day has been seeing for all his life, so he understands perception. In some scenes when people were talking, or he was eating, or doing something with his hands, it bothers me that he wouldn't look to that exact spot, instead he would stare off at the sky or wall or nothing. Now, obviously, he's blind, but he could still see shapes and shadows and colors, especially in the earlier episodes, so why not take the time to look down at your plate of food to try and use your best knowledge of perception to eat without getting messy? Again, it's nit-picky, and definitely not really a problem, but it's just something I happened to notice.

Ratings:

Story: 8.5/10: so, so, so good! it's such a fresh story that was given so many beautiful details and obviously given lots of insight from the blind community in terms of dealing with that aspect. It falls a little flat for me starting at episode 10, but I'm glad nonetheless with the way this series turned out, story-wise.

Acting: 9/10: Sea did incredible! Jimmy falling second behind in showing such good character development. All in all, the entire cast did a job well done, I have nothing in this aspect that needed fixing.

Music: 7.5/10 - You know what, I actually liked their singing, which in most cases I skip it.

Recommendation value: 8/10: I think this was such a beautiful production and some really good storytelling. I'd recommend this for anyone wanting something new and fresh to BL, and something that'll keep you on your toes cause this really did it for me.

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Excellent Execution of a K-BL

Gosh, so many Korean BLs are surprising me this year with their quality, their production value, their longevity, and their importance. I won't say all of them have, but the majority of them that I've enjoyed have, and this one is not shy of it. The Eighth Sense is gorgeous, it's truly a beautiful piece of art from the bucket of K-BLs we've gotten this year, and I'm proud of the story it committed to telling and the clear and concise ending to a perfect drama.

Let's Dive In.

Now, because I saw that this series had so much hype and popularity around it, including that it's much more dense and intricate than others, I will be very nit-picky, just an FYI. But I'll start with what I really liked.

The setup of everything was just absolute perfection. What I love most is such a natural introduction of the characters in their natural habitat that doesn't feel awkward or forced. And the chemistry, urgh, the chemistry is breathtaking. I love slow burn, I love tension, I love strangers to friends to lovers. Now this was probably the fastest slow burn I've seen (and a complicated one), but nonetheless, I yearned for them to be together and I got that and that's all I wanted.

I can say without a doubt that all the side characters played an important role in this series and weren't just added-in characters to take up screen time. They helped move the story along, get our leads together, and did so also having their own personal character growth. Aeri, Joonpyo, Yoonwon, and even smaller characters like Bitna were so involved with the overall objective of the show that it all flowed smoothly.

Urgh, again, just so much good chemistry, so much good physical contact, so many beautiful moments. The writers did an incredible job showing the details of their relationship, but did an even better job at diving below surface levels to give our mains actual motives and objectives and obstacles and development. My favorite of them obviously being Jaewon who's so friendly yet facading all of it with hidden trauma that we see him actively working through with the therapist. I immediately loved his portrayal of being the shoulder his friends can lean on and that the surf club can trust, to seeing him in therapy and his eyes weaken and even his posture exhausted. Jihyun is the only one who's able to see through it when they get closer, and you can see Jaewon change and grow with the way he smiles as they interact or make eye contact. And I loved all of it. Down to the very end, actually, especially the end because I definitely needed power bottom Jiyun's energy and he gave just that. (the writers are HELL for giving us that "let's-put-on-our-surfing-suits" scene! the sensuality of it all, like I was literally biting my nails it was so fucking good)

Conan gray music?????? 1000000/10 already. And even besides that, I love the soundtrack in TES. It was hippy and happy-go-lucky and feel-good music, not the typical ballads I'm used to hearing in K-BLs and I loved it.

Okay, so moving on to what I'm choosing to be nit-picky about. Eunji. I get it. She was here to play the evil ex-girlfriend who wants her boyfriend back and will do anything to get him back no matter who she hurts. Okay cool. Except, I didn't hate her, I only felt sorry for her. But my problem with this character is not her actions, but that none of her actions had a genuine motive other than the repetitive ones I'm used to seeing. This K-BL is deep, it's complex, is complicated, and yet they only scrape the surface of her character and I hate it. Really? The only reason she's bitchy is because she wants Jaewon back? It's just too simple for me. I almost wish that Jaewon maybe did something to her, or maybe we see her backstory as to why she tried so hard to get him back, family matters maybe, or something deeper than that. It just looks lazy and tacky to me for her not to have some more complexity to her overall objective. And then try to throw a redemption arc on us? No, thank you.

While I love Jihyun and Jaewon, there is so much from their relationship that showcases it won't last very long and I mean communication. It all starts at the beginning when Jaewon kisses Jihyun on the beach, and then from there on we don't get an explanation as to why or Jihyun never asks, and it's aggravating. They move past it and go through a little conflict, then almost kiss, go through some more complicated feelings, then get intimate on a beach, some more deeper conflict, and boom , it's fixed with a kiss. I wish we heard more from Jaewon, cause we see so much of Jihyun trying, but for Jaweon it is up to him and it's his decision on whether or not to avoid Jihyun or just one day decide he wants Jihyun and runs to him. To me, that's not fair to Jihyun that communication is only gifted through Jaewon's decision. Then they get together and all of the conversations they desperately needed to have were pushed aside for lovey-dovey dialogue. Jihyun doesn't know that Jaewon suffers from depression, which I'm sure he gathered, but I would've loved a conversation with Jaewon explaining it to him. Just the little things that you can detect in a relationship and know that it'll potentially be the couple's downfall.

Something really nit-picky, but in episode 2 or 3, Jaewon and Yoonwon go to a bar and there's a non-Korean bartender who asks Yoonwon her order in English and she answers in Korean, and he looks confused and says, "Sorry?" in which Jaewon had to order for them in English (great English btw). But my problem is that if you're going to work in Korea, especially in a bar/restaurant, then knowing enough to get by seems important. I just hate how confused he looked at someone speaking Korean to him when he works in a Korean bar in Korea.

Ratings:

Story: 8/10 - Amazing. Truly. I was entertained episode by episode, and didn't want to miss a single line of dialogue. some nit-picky things that don't give the overall score of the series higher than an 8 for me, but nonetheless, really really good.

Acting: 9/10 - Really great acting. Some great character depth from Jisub (Jaewon). Jihyun was a tad lackluster going against Jaweon, but still really good.

Music: 10/10 - Conan freaking Gray!! nothing else to say!

Recommendation Value: 7.5/10 - the only reason the score is not high is that this series does have a sense of sadness to it even though it's not a tragedy, so I personally wouldn't recommend it to everybody unless they want something deep and complex and kind of sad. but it's highly recommended for anyone wanting something intricate as it is!

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Cute Wittle K-BL

I enjoyed that this series brought me one of two things: easy binge and Omega-X. I've become a fan of them in recent months (After hearing their music all over Korea during my time there) and I ended up becoming a wee bit of a fan. However, I never watched any of their band content or bothered to learn any of the members' names specifically because I remembered that two of them would be premiering in this series, and I live for a surprise. All in all though, I enjoyed this little series, it had a perfect duration time, a great cast, and a pretty decent plot.

Let's Dive In.

Now the leads aren't perfect, but for what it's worth, they did a really fantastic job. I was actually close to dropping this series during the first two episodes because it was giving "My Beautiful Man" and if anyone knows me, they know I loath that series. I'm already not a huge fan of enemies to lovers, but I'm okay with rivalries and competitors and opposing teams, but an actual bully (someone who makes a person's life miserable and quite literally is a genuine bully) to lover concept is hard for me, seeing as I can never understand how someone could fall in love with the person that gives them living hell. But by episode three, it picks up a bit more, it becomes lighthearted teasing, and eventually they become best friends before the lovers part. Actually, I thought episode three was one of the best episodes, and it only picks up from there.

Now on to the actual romance -- I think it dragged in a lot of places, but it was believable enough, so I'm not mad. No kiss which is a tad bit aggravating, but I've been told that there is also no kiss in the Manwha, so I'll leave my feelings out of it. I absolutely loved the last episode, I liked that it was fun and cute and adorable and domestic. It felt very organic and natural and I loved it.

The time jump wasn't very fun, and realistically thinking about it, no one would still be hung up on a crush two years later. but this is fictional, so I'll fuck with it.

Rating:

Story: 8/10 - Followed a steady path from point A to point B. I was actually really intrigued with the whole archery thing, including his rivalry with the other guy. Really nice back-flash storytelling, probably one of my favorite parts. Others were meh, and the friend group was meh, but I think Yeboem (Hogyun) is the cutest thing in the world.

Acting: 9/10 - Really good. Some meh parts, but it was pretty good!

Music: 8.5/10 - I liked it! Obviously, because Omega X was singing their OSTs lol.

Recommendation Value: 7.5/10 - It's really freaking cute, and I think anyone can easily enjoy this. It's not perfect, but it's an easy binge and you get to see some pretty adorable guys act in love.

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Another Filler Thai BL Series

I think I've found a title for Thai BL Series that follows a very plain and ordinary plot with mediocre/bad acting and an appealing, yet idiotic romance: Filler Bls. Yep. It's yet another one to add to the collection of the "Did we really need this?" pile. But truthfully, what was this show's purpose in existence? Why did someone fill the need to tell this story? But I won't nag too much, because if it was so awful, then why not just drop it? And yet, I still can't find the answer, because, indeed, this is a filler BL, but indeed, I will still tune in to watch the clownery unfold. La Cuisine was a thriller ride that started off as, "I think I'm enjoying this" to wondering if I should've started it in the first place.

Let's Dive In.

La Cuisine is another food BL that stars Lukchub as this very shy and giddy chef who meets the rich and popular college student Ram. Basically, nothing happens in-between them getting together, and then all chaos ensues with a girl that brings about so much drama for absolutely zero reasons.

I won't lie, during the beginning of LC, I was intrigued. for a moment, I really did like LukChub's shyness and how Ram had to do the bare minimum to make him blush. I thought their build-up was okay, The date episode was where I think I finally caved in and thought they were pretty sweet. However, I couldn't really understand why or how Ram came about liking LukChub (outside of his food) because his personality is very unappealing. He hides his face anytime he can, he looks to the floor when speaking to him, was way too damn naive, and sometimes he has to have his friends talk for him to Ram. Maybe Ram is into submissive men? It was cute for a minute, and then after a while, it was disturbing that a grown man can't talk to his crush accordingly or without looking like he's going to crap himself. And it only gets worse when they get together. For one, they get no canon kiss outside of the last few minutes of the last episode that was more so a daydream-type scene. Yes, because two grown men who have been dating have zero desire to kiss..? I'm usually fine without kiss scenes, in most series I can understand the reason why not, but there was no reason here, and we got something or other in the end, so why not just put it in the series where a kiss would make sense? Like them becoming boyfriends? Or when they're out on the date? Anyways, the chemistry was very faint, half the time we got some awkward staring and uncomfortable silence. The height difference was pretty cute, the only thread holding me onto this series.

Now, onto the plot. We get some very annoying not-even-an-ex-girlfriend who tries to sabotage the main leads' relationship for, again, no real reason. She think Ram is cute? Cool, so does the entire school. They try to give us her sob story and even after seeing this, again, there are still zero reasons for her psychopathic actions. Even for Ram to keep up with her after all she did to him and LukChub is such a red flag in my eyes, as well as Lukchub just being extremely gullible and naive with not wanting to press charges or anything. I skipped most of her scene during the last few episodes, because who cares? In fact, after episode 8, I put this entire series into fast-forward mode because none of it was necessary. But what really took the cake was the damn fan page for Ram. Who walks around day and night trying to continuously let others know about his life? And how come Ram hasn't tried getting a restraining order or suing them? Thai series have got to drop this trope of having fan pages and crazy fan girls/boys. And while there at it, stop trying to put in a random jealous female character to add on conflict just because they're isn't any without her. It's so redundant and annoying.

The side characters were okay, but I more so liked Pang and Kitty. All the other characters were unnecessary or just there to be there. Paitong was a mess, either admit you like Luckchub or move on. Super was nuisance, and so were Ram's friends. They get everyone together in the last episode, which I could get around to if they gave these side characters the time of day. And the fact that Paitong and Sky made out before Ram and Lukchub? How does that make logical sense?

Rating:

Story: 6.5 - The beginning of the series was more enjoyable than the last, where they throw in some very out-of-the-blue drama. the crazy jealous girl plot is so fucking irritating, the romance of the main leads is just not there, and the plot is pretty much nonexistent without Namning.

Acting: 7.5 - Decent, and mediocre at best. Namning (although I hated her), Kitty, and Pang were the better ones. Someone should've rewritten the script so they could accommodate the fact that Mick can't cry, and it's embarrassing when it's implied he was supposed to be. Pop is more such just a cute face, but his acting is dead, and so was Boom's. The rest of them were just okay.

Music: 6 - Catchy. The only thing that wasn't off about this series.

Rewatch value: 1 - no

This series seriously had potential, especially in the beginning. But the acting, or more so the script, is really what puts this series off. I don't recommend it unless anyone is looking for something pretty light to watch (in some aspects). This will for sure be forgotten about soon.

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Decent!

I loved it and I hated it, there is simply no in-between. I'm never one to be drawn in by only the first episode, but I genuinely enjoyed this one, with the simplistic set-up and the flow of the story moving steadily. That's how most of the series felt for me, with some things lacking, but overall, a steady plot flow. Love Class is a very short K-BL that stands out due to the cast's beauty and reused trope, except, for this series, it works out perfectly.

Let's Dive In.

Love Class uses an ordinary plot with an interesting touch on a literal love class; learning about relationships and connection while simultaneously pairing up with someone in the class to learn more closely about it. When there are no girls left for Jiwoo (who so badly wanted to pair with his in-class crush Yoona), he's stuck with the tall and brooding Ro-A. They interact more closely as a fake couple until throughout, they realize their feelings for one another. Oh, and also a weirdly thrown-in professor/student relationship. the end.

No, but seriously, the professor and student relationship doesn't work for me only because it's so dramatically irrelevant to the plot that it's comical. Yes, both actors are beautiful, but it was highly unnecessary.

The connection between Jiwoo and Ro-A lacked a lot in the beginning. It was more so me trying to figure out why Ro-A had an established crush on Jiwoo for no apparent reason. Only one measly conversation (one not even in their right mind) isn't enough for seomting like feelings to spark. At least in my opinion. So Ro-A flirts with Jiwoo, calling him adorable and cute and giving him longing stares. While it's never stated that Ro-A has a crush, it's evident through the actor's acting. Then the build-up starts to appear mid-series after a disturbing stalker plot and Ro-A fractures his arm. Then I feel their chemistry and their connection. However, with a short timeframe and only 6 episodes, it's inevitably rushed. Then Jiwoo loses feelings for the beautiful Yoona and even turns her down for Ro-A who then turns him down for the most inexplicable reason known to man. It was dumb and added in unnecessary conflict to a plot that didn't need it. However, they do meet again with a very chaste kiss and then the end. Their story needed more time to build stronger tension between them and also unadd some very underwhelming scenes. But we do get the best hug of 2022 cause Ro-A is 7 feet tall and Jiwoo is a small baby who cuddles perfectly into the body of him, and I rewatched that scene an unhealthy amount of times. If the romance didn't do it for me, then the height difference did.

Yoona's plot was a heavy one, and one I didn't see coming, She has a very hard time trusting men, which is never explained why, and yes, the stalker can be a reason, but she had the problem before then. It was quite disturbing to see someone so invasive of someone's privacy like that, but it happens, and it's very awful. Good thing she gets out of it, and at one point, I think I developed a liking for the thought of Yoona and Jiwoo since they built a closer connection than the leads had at some point.

Overall, a decently enjoyable series, though, it will be very easily forgotten as I move on to the next.

Ratings:

Story: 8.5 - steady and rhythmic. No repeated tropes or conflicts (although, some were irrelevant and unnecessary). Most characters are likable (oh yeah! I forgot about Ro-A's friend Namjun who had an unhealthy obsession with Ro-A and was abusive to Jiwoo for no reason! I don't feel bad for him in the slightest (although, the back rubs are very sensual and highly enjoyable to watch)). Some plots lacked coherence and others felt not needed.

Acting: 9 - Good, not too many problems. Hyunjin (Jiwoo) did as perfectly as he could, Taewhan (Ro-A) was a bit stale at times but decent. The others were okay, not anything bad, but nothing standout-ish other.

Music: 6 - decent.

Rewatch value: 3 - I will rewatch Ro-A hug Jiwoo to my heart's content. Other than that, probably not.

A doable cast and a decent plot. I'd recommend for anyone wanting another K-BL to add on their list. Wouldn't mind seeing these two paired again but in a stronger story (with a decent run time).

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Predictable, but Super Cute

What can I say, this series was honestly just full of BL cliches and cuteness, but that's okay, because I loved it. Does it surpass Mr. Heart? Mmmmmmmm, no, not really. Both fall in the same category of being full of fluffiness and a sprinkle of sadness, but I think Mr. Heart still has a special place in MY heart. Anyways, Light On Me was an overall successful Korean BL that brought on the feels, the fluff, the tears, and the cringe.

Let's Dive In.

Production was nice. I can't remember if there were a bunch of ad placements, but from what I can remember, there were none that were just screaming at you, so a bonus point for me. Production was overall the usual way Korean shows are produced, so nothing special, but I thought the OST was really good.

Onto the plot. While predictable to the T, it was still the type of predictable that you don't mind. Did I know that Shin Woo would be the one Tae would pick? Yes, I saw it as soon as the dildo fell on the floor. (also, why weren't we given a good explanation as to way Shin Woo was caring around a bunch of weiners???? I'm thinking it might have been for health class or something, but an explanation still would've been very nice). Even with the very obvious plot, it was still nice to see a love triangle (which I'm a sucker for). But I actually want to see one where the main character tries out their options with both parties. (actually dating both parties (separately), kissing both of them, stuff like that). Yes this one was a love triangle, but it didn't feel like it, especially after Da on and Tae were exposed. After that, the Da on slope just went down and up went Shin Woo. But there was a hot second in which I thought that could've possibly end up together, but it was shot down quickly.

If you can't tell, I was on the Da On boat until we sank lower than the titanic. I think I started to appreciate Shin Woo at about the last couple of episodes, but before then, I was hoping their was going to be some kind of plot twist, but nope. While Shin Woo is super sweet and he went through his own trauma with trying to be open, there was no reason for him to act they way he did towards Tae at the beginning. Telling Tae he hated him, not wanting him in the student council for no good reason, like it was so unnecessary. He could've been just some quiet shy guy and that would've sufficed. I get it, he was secretly in love with Tae at first sight, and you're mean to the ones you like (a thing I never will ever understand), but Shin Woo did too damn much. Da On had his struggles too, with being too nice and letting people walk all over him. Even though him and Tae don't get together, I am glad that he learned to say no. Both actors did a really good job, this is the first I'm seeing of them, so hopefully we'll see them in future projects.

Onto Tae. I don't love how they played out his character, to be this stoic loner, but oh well. I don't like to diagnose anyone cause who the freak am I, but I'm pretty sure Tae had some kind of high-functioning autism. He was always very truthful, he didn't want to have friends at first, and he's just pretty social awkward and different. He struggle with communicating with people and has this very neutral face that might've been his actor's choice, but it was noticeable. It would've been nice had they dwelled a little into his home life and his mentality. The actor did an okay job, some times he was good, other times he was to stale and stiff with his words. Onto Nam Goong who gets all my love. Hands down the best performance out of all of them. He was charismatic, he was funny, he was talented, he was a perfect gift wrapped in a little bow. This series would've been nothing without him. They were trying to set him up with So Hee, but after she sent out the photo to everyone, she was irredeemable for me. I don't care that she apologized and tried to make things right, I started skipping over her parts cause she was just making me mad. She was manipulative, she was clingy, she was a pick-me girl -- ugh, it just really upsets me.

Some other nit-picky things. That one scene when So Hee is with her friends and they see Tae and Da On was the stupidest shit ever. "What are two guys doing hanging out on the weekend? that's not normal." Babe what, that was the sloppiest writing ever, we could've done something better, I know we could've. Again, the writing kind of threw me off. I'm glad Tae realized his feelings for Shin Woo, but you can't be over Da On that fast, especially since he spent all his time with Shin Woo mostly just whining and crying over Da On. There needed to be a better transition for that moment.

Overall, this was a nice watch, It took me only a day to finish since it's just 16 20-30 minute long episodes. I literally stayed up till 6 in the morning watching, but it was worth it. Yes, I bicker about this series a lot in this review, but it was a really nice watch that left me laughing, and feeling bad, and feeling good, and everything in between. This is a highly recommended series, Korea once again delivered a beautiful BL love story, and this one gained a lot of praise, so hopefully this is the series that leads to there being multiple in the future. We kind of had a bit of a cliffhanger, some guy came to see the very handsome teacher, but we don't see his face, so that might've been teasing a 2nd season. Let's hope!

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Unfinished Plots

One thing I hate about any show/series I'm watching is if there are plot holes or unfinished endings to ongoing scenarios, and oh boy did this show have them aplenty. While I'm in love with the concept of Color Rush and the world-building that went into it, it still felt undone and rushed by the end.

Let's Dive In.

The way this show starts off with world-building is EXCELLENT. I loved everything about the introduction of Monos and their Probes. They set up this amazing story on how Monos finding their probes makes them go crazy, and other interesting plots that caught my attention almost immediately. We figure out that Choi Yeon Woo's mother was a Mono who had to find her probe, but she mysteriously vanishes and it's his aunt's lifetime goal to find her. For some reason, this plot lasts all about three episodes (three SHORT episodes mind you) until the disappearance of his mother is pushed to the side and never talked about again. What the fuck? The best parts about the series was her disappearance and I wish we could've seen so much more.

I LOVED Go Yoo Han. I loved their introduction to one another, and I even more appreciated how he wanted to get closer to Choi. While I found him wearing that mask to be a ridiculous aspect of the story, I will say that it's pretty humorous in the fact that we all now have to wear masks. Go Yoo teaching him the colors and goes to a color exhibit that was beautiful. My heart was fluttering so much when Choi was seeing in color and we can see how happy Go Yoo was for him. That excitement alone left me wanting them to get together so badly.

I didn't care for Go Yoo's friends. While they served somewhat a purpose for the storyline for Go Yoo and Choi, they also felt like a nuisance with these weird abilities. Jung Joo had more so a disfunction per se, in which he couldn't see people's faces. It felt so odd to the plot, even with it already be pretty much unrealistic, just how can you not see people's faces? it would've been more believable if he couldn't physically touch people, or maybe even better if he could automatically tell who can see color and who can't. The same goes for Kim Min Jae who was barely in the series in the first place. He had the ability to (I'm guessing here) see dead people? Or communicate with the dead? I don't know, but it wasn't needed if it wasn't going to be addressed or explained. Same goes for Choi's mom who we never find or heard about again.

Overall, I'm being tougher on this series because I can feel the potential that it has. It has the potential to be one of the best Korean BLs or even one of the best BLs period. However, there are some areas that it falls too short in, or too weak on. If we are to get a season two, I want to see more of the mom's plot, and more seriousness going into the Monos and Probes situation. Still, I would recommend this series because what we do see is beautiful and sentimental.

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Stereotypical BL Series

While I did give this series a good rating, I won't lie that it's pretty generic, and a stereotypical BL. It wasn't bad or anything, I did enjoy myself, but noting stood out either. I had to rewatch a few episodes just to remember what had happened.

Let's Dive In.

Solo and Gui were a pretty forgettable couple. Nothing to major stood out with them that made me want more of them. Their pairing was okay, I did really like how tall Nut is and how he just towered of Petch, although, Nut's acting was questionable. He held this gaze that was super annoying and I just wanted him to change expressions at least once. Gui was fine I guess, he wasn't bad but he didn't stand out either. Like I said, I can barely even remember what went on with this couple.

The reason I gave this drama the rating it got was because of Phu and Kao. Absolutely adored them. Characters that come to meet that have completely opposite personalities is the best to me. Kao helped Phu get out of his comfort zone, and helped him to be more spontanteus. I wished we could've gotten to see them get together, so if there is a season 2, then I hope most of the focus is on them.

The third couple is confusing. Khem and Dr. Perth feel too odd for me to count them as a couple. I didn't ship them not one bit, and wish that Dr. Petch would've been the one to reciprocate perth's feelings. This leads me into Khim. Her character was annoying, dreadful, a stalker, and we could've done without her in the series. For the majority of the series she is trying to convince Dr. Petch that he's gay and in love with Dr. Perth. It wasn't entertaining at all, and made me highly uncomfortable. Also, her following Solo and Gui around like they were her property or something. Nothing good came form her. With her character being apart of the show, you can kind of tell this was made for female fans before it was made for males. Upsetting, but the simple truth with most Thai BLs.

Some other problematic stuff happened in this series that I can't really remember, but all I know is that this isn't the worse series ever, did have its cute moments. Wouldn't be the first series I recommend, but it wouldn't be the last either, so that a good sign.

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