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Confused and Not Having Fun
I told myself this year that I would stop forcing myself to continue shows that don’t resonate with me in the slightest, and Melody of Secrets is exactly that kind of series. It’s confusing, perplexing, and having to constantly rewatch scenes just to figure out what on earth is happening is not fun. A solid -1/10 experience for me.Let’s Dive In.
I wanted to like this because I genuinely enjoy ForceBook as a duo, but this was exhausting. If you love theorizing, interpreting, and piecing together a puzzle where nothing is immediately clear, this might be your show. For me, though, I need a plot that makes sense, preferably sooner rather than later. Surrealism and mystery are fine, but they still need internal logic, and this series simply doesn’t have it.
The editing is especially rough. One moment we’re in one location, the next we’ve jumped somewhere else entirely. Characters change clothes and then revert back in the very next scene. It’s disorienting in a way that feels careless rather than intentional, and I don’t have the patience to keep rewinding just to understand basic continuity.
ForceBook also feel oddly forced here. The chemistry isn’t landing, everything feels a bit awkward, and Force is once again stuck in the “stoic man with one facial expression” role. I found myself watching just for the sake of finishing, and I’ve decided I’m not doing another year of regret-watching.
Ratings:
Story: 3/10 - Far too disorienting, and I don’t enjoy being confused for confusion’s sake. Also, why didn’t they cast actual teenagers for the younger versions? I’m sorry, but you cannot convince me that Force, Book, or Junior pass as teens.
Acting: 7/10 - Not terrible, but not impressive either. No one truly stood out.
Music: 5/10 - Honestly? I don’t remember it.
Recommendation Value: 2/10 - Maybe if your love for ForceBook is unshakable, or if you’re craving unnecessary complications in your life. For me, I do not (and yes, thank you Force for taking your shirt off several times, but that alone cannot keep me here).
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Flawed, but I Oddly Enjoy...?
Maybe I'm the anomaly here (to my surprise) to see this series was not taken well by the vast majority of watchers. Surprisingly, I think I liked it? Now, did I like it in the sense that it's going to make top 10 of 2026? Highly unlikely. But I enjoyed it in a "this is sloppy and stupid, omg, I love it" kind of way. Now, it wasn't nearly as brazen and racy as the first season was, in which case diminishes the brand of Only Friends being the daring, everybody-kisses-everybody series, but in some peculiar turn of events, this worked for me.Let's Dive In.
I liked that each of our leading couples had their own dynamic. I enjoyed Arnold and Tua's story the most, but that's because I'm a friends-to-lovers buff, otherwise that crown would've gone to the brilliant AouBoom. Truly so nice seeing them like this. We go a slight taste of this darker, more erotic theme of them in Perfect10Liners, and here, we get to see a much more complex attitude from them. Executed very nicely by the way. Joss and Gawin, for the love of straight, it's hard for me to play into their roles, only completely shadowed by my love of their trope. It also feel like they were playing racier versions of their own selves, at least for Joss that's the vibes I got. But I won't complain too hard, I got too see shirtless Joss, so *shrugs*.
And I can't forget the lovely Mix and Earth, of course. Not my favorite roles I've seen them in, but they do chemistry well. I'm not a fan of exes-to-lovers as much as I'd like to be, also way too much cat and mouse chasing for my own liking, but I still appreciated seeing them on my screen again doing something much somber and risqué. Mix being slightly evil in the beginning was also nice to see.
I think where this series slightly suffers is it's cowardice way of almost-kisses or totally eradicating the reason why people loved the first season: everybody was kissing everybody! It makes no sense that Jack and Raffy don't kiss, it makes no sense that Dean and Pod's character don't kiss, it don't make sense that Tua and Boston don't kiss, and don't even get me started on Pete and Rome. Urgh. If this was the real season one flare, Pete would've been riding the fuck out of Rome's dick with a dejected Raffy looking from a distance.
I also think it got slightly boring. Also those random confessional scene were... a choice!
Ratings:
Story: 8/10 - mostly entertaining. They should've really gone for it, but oh well.
Acting: 9/10 - good! I think Boom and Mix are the stand outs for me.
Music: 4/10 - I've been noticing more English music in GMMTV productions, and I don't know it's starting to pinch a nerve.
Recommendation Value: 6.5/10 - Maybe? There a story here, and it's fun for the most part. Don't knock it till you try it kind of ordeal.
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Dropped...Sorta
So I made it to episode 7 of this throwback series, reminding me of all of what we had in 2016, mixed with a little HIStory 2: CTL. And to be completely honest, I don't hate this, not like the usual BLs that I drop specifically because I hate them, with this one, it's just very very -- boring. With so many characters, side couples, and plots, it's hard to keep up. And then on top of that, this is languid pace, not only the romances but just the plot in general. How much longer am I to wait for Sprite to tell them he's not Zee? How much longer until the inevitable with First hating SPrite because he didn't tell him? Or let me guess, Zee comes back First is weirded out by him not being in love with him all of a sudden? Classic. Classic and overdone.Let's Dive In.
I was originally really excited about this, one, because the men in this series are drop-dead gorgeous, and two, I like Twins Switch story tropes. It reminded me a lot of my love for Not Me when it came out, and even though this plot looked a lot more frivolous than NM, it still brought on a little nostalgia, so why not? Episodes 1-3 were probably the best episodes. It sets up the plot nicely without dragging on the start of the conflict, and we see Sprite navigating the ins and
outs of volleyball and his team. It's good. But by then, it was just so draggy. The hospital scenes, the scene of his taekwondo, the useless dialogue, all over it went on for wayyyy too long. Even by episode 7, when we finally get a kiss, I just decide to drop because I see the future, and I don't like it. The reason I say I kind of dropped is because I still skimmed through some of the episodes and watched the very last one, but I say dropped because I might've skimmed too much (lol).
Overall, falls short of delivering a compelling narrative or meaningful character development. Everyone felt one-dimensional, while the plots were cliche and lacking. It's way too predictable, following tired tropes without offering any fresh new perspectives (besides the twin switch). In addition to all of this, the pacing is uneven and way too freaking tedious, leading to massive amounts of boredom and being disengaged from the story. So, yeah, I guess I kind of hated it.
ratings:
Story: 5/10 - was such a good build-up to the conflict, and even had some special gems, but overall, it's just too boring.
Acting: 7.5/10 - Everyone was pretty new, but from what I could see, most of it was decent. There were a couple of characters whose acting was mediocre at best, but it wasn't unwatchable. Frame was definitely the best actor.
Music: 6/10 - wasn't distracting.
Recommendation Value: 3/10 - Honestly, it's not a one just cause I would definitely recommend looking at these beautiful creatures, because goddamn. Otherwise, save your time.
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BL Block Perhaps..?
I think I might be slipping back into my unfortunate BL Block, because I have found zero interest in this BL, which is very rare for me when it comes to a Japanese BL, but good Lord, I don't think I can do it anymore.Let's Dive In.
I want to also start this off by saying: I genuinely see nothing wrong with anything that this show has to offer. I think the first two-three episodes were my favorite, and then after that, it just bored the fuck out of me. I'm not sure when it went all wrong, but it took me less than two hours to watch the first four episodes, then took me two days to watch the fifth, then a week to watch the sixth until I was forcing myself to sit and watch the rest. I can't do that anymore.
I will say, this series was hyped a lot, honestly a lot more hype than I'm used to hearing when it comes to JBLs, so I had high hopes for this, but inevitably, this is where I'm at with this series.
Ratings:
Story: 6/10 - good until it wasn't. Started boring me to no end. Main characters were cute though,
Acting: 8/10 - really good, great job for Kenshin (Haruki) for real.
Music: 5/10 - didn't pay attention to it.
Recommendation Value: 4/10 - I can understand why people liked this, loved it even, but for some reason, the plot, the mess with the character's dad, the overall ominous feeling just did not do it for me.
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Kinda What Everyone Else is Saying ... Boring
I really so badly wanted to like this series. Was one of the only reasons because Pavel was in this? Yes, but so what? But after multiple attempts all ending in failure, I'm going to have to finally call this series quits. I tried so many times to really get myself into this series, but it's just so hard. On top of this being molasses-slow, there are just so many sub-plots besides the already boring main one that is so uninteresting, I'd rather watch paint dry. Coffee Melody was sadly a miss, and for anyone who was able to make it through, I give you my undying love.Let's Dive In.
I think the first few episodes are promising. It does a lot of character build-up which I don't mind, and we get some pretty decent moments between couples and friends. But by episode 5, I feel like I'm just treading my way through the mud. Our main couple was already going through relationship problems that just wasn't working for me, and every other chracter that wasn't them was excruciatingly tiresome. There was nothing drawing me to continue this series. I thought the other side BL couple was kind of cute, but they just weren't enough. Don't get me started on whatever Yi's sister or aunt or friend or whatever had with that one guy and that ridiculously odd trying-to-be couple in the band.
I also just don't think Pavel and Benz work for me. I think it was their fast-paced relationship. I'm more for slow-burns, but I don't mind fast relationship builds, it's just that it does nothing for these two. There's no connection, no chemistry, no yearning, no nothing. The only thing I could come to appreciate was the fact that Pavel can kiss anybody and make it look 5-star, that's it. Other than that, no. It went too quickly with no real commitment between the characters.
Ratings:
Story: 4 - very little story and even the one we got was boring. There was just so much random shit that was so unnecessary for the story. The meetings about Yi's music, the band, the het couple -- I could go on. Instead of focusing on so many other aspects, they should've focused on telling a better story for the main couple and leaving it at that. I'll give a 2 to the side BL couple that I kind of enjoyed, and another 2 only because Pavel was in it and anything less than a 4 is undeserving of him.
Acting: 7 - Not terrible. cutting it close to below mediocre, but the acting was not their biggest issue. Pavel and Benz did decent, I think Jean and the red-haired dude might have outdone everyone else, but they weren't even like show-stopping amazing, they just had an ounce of better chemistry. Janjao was good too. Everyone else was forgettable, and Beam who played Sekram was so god awful I'm almost postive they grabbed him off the corner of the bus stop.
Music: 5 - Didn't pay any attention to it. Wasn't distracting, so there's a point.
Rewatch Value: 1 - Fuck no.
Overall, I think I'm just more upset at how this series has done nothing for Pavel. With all he went through, I was hoping this was really going to shine through and we'd get to see him being amazing and beautiful, but instead, he was just beautiful. I don't think I liked this role for him, not saying that he can only play a bad boy, but this role was just weird. He just smiled and talked. That's really the only way I can describe his character. We all know Pavel can do better, but this role and this production have kind of stumped his abilities. Hopefully, we'll see him in another series where he can really showcase his skills. I skipped to the last episode only to watch the side BL couple kiss (meh) and then I ended it there. Kind of disappointed this series didn't become what I wanted it to.
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In Love is an Understatement
Even if for whatever reason I wanted to hate this season, I can't. With everything in me, and just like the first season, I absolutely loved it. In all of it's terrible miscommunication, cat and mouse chasing, adult-baby glory. Minato Shoji Coin Laundry Season 2 proves once again to be just the bitch.Let's Dive In.
Now nowhere is it as perfect and seamless as the first season, with Shin and Minato getting used to each other's company, more so Minato with dating someone so young, and Shin just being -- well Shin. But this season, we get those repetitive tropes for what seems to go on the entire season. Akira is still not okay with being open and honest to Shin about his feelings, can barely look him in the eyes, and doesn't think for a second he's okay with the most minimal amount of touching. It's very annoying, it gets to be draggy, and maybe they could've stopped that by like episode 5. But sadly this drags on until the end of the series with Akira just having this weird thing about intimacy, but like in the most immature way possible. But again, because I love these characters so much I really don't mind that cat-and-mouse chase (to some extent) and Akira being a silly little goofy ball of idiocy.
No onto the amnesia storyline..really? Was it needed? No, not at all. But did I love it? Did I absolutely love seeing Akira fall apart and come to the realization that he should've had a long time ago? Did I get teary-eyed at Akira's note to Shin and then the way he paralleled back to all their moments? Did I kick my little feeties when they met again at the beach to parallel their first season ended by playing in the water? -- yes, yes I did. Nowhere was that something we needed and yes to some degree it was frustrating, but oh my god, I love them, so it was so good.
Moving onto the side couple, Asuka and Shu, I think they were cute. I wasn't head over heels for them, but I think they had their moments and then some. I especially liked the way Shu came around to his feelings for Asuka, without the weird chasing and more just a realization and acting on it. We loved to see it.
So yeah, it wasn't perfect, and to any regular fan that's not literally smitten with these characters and the plot and the overall series, then this was probably rather the most annoying and unnecessary second season to a series ever. However, because I'm NOT a regular fan, I loved this season, I loved seeing my boys again, and I'm content with what I received.
Ratings:
Story: 7.5/10: Akira's little voiceover at the end coming to the emotions of the episode to the forthcoming news of the laundromat is kind of everything to me. Anyways, the story itself (me trying to be as unbiased as possible) was eh. It was just pretty much a glorified season 1 but they were dating -- kind of. The side couple was a nice addition, and I think they matched perfectly with the tone and flow of the series.
Acting: 9/10: Urgh, I love Akira's acting. It's so irritating and so full of emotions. Gosh, Takuya is too good. Same with Tomoya (Asuka) who did an excellent job too. Of course, the same goes with Shin and Shu's actors too.
Music: 5.5/10: I don't pay much attention to it, but I know the intro is a little much for me.
Recommendation Value: 9/10: Honestly, no one really needs to watch it because it's pretty much that unnecessary and very repetitive, but because I loved this, it's getting a high score.
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Still Better Than SIMM
Won't lie, this was a bit of a letdown, and even possibly a bit of a disappointment, but still, it's better than whatever the hell SIMM was. I think this series focused too much on the wrong things, formulating a tedious and sometimes irrelevant story. We also focused in some parts on characters that were the very least of my worries instead of characters I'd like to hear more from. Everyone is comparing this to 1000 Stars (which lies untouched and is still credited as the best GMMTV BL in my book), and of course, it follows a similar format with the countryside and a rich guy navigating his way through rural Thailand, but I think this will be the new norm of BL -- countryside love stories.Let's Dive In.
SIYH is about Fah, a busy doctor who gets himself in trouble, and to correct his mistake, he's led to the countryside of Thailand with his other two friends to take care of the village. There, he meets Prince, a secret Prince who works as the local teacher. There, they meet, they get closer with a few other complications, and the end. We also get other storylines that were so irrelevant to the plot and move nothing further along, which is why this series is kind of at a standstill for me.
For one, we're introduced to Yaya, the village chief's daughter, who grows a very quick crush on Fah and is all-around boy-crazy. We get an entire episode dedicated to her and being put in an arranged marriage. Bad? Yes. But do I care? No. And that's mostly due to the screenwriters making her so irritating and obnoxious that you can't care. Instead, they could've given us more Mesa, more JJ, or Prince and Fah. The same can be said for Toptap's character. Although I love him to death, he just wasn't needed. He was the very low-key jealousy that happened between Prince and Fah for just a little bit until one episode, it just felt like he disappeared, and considering that he didn't even show up until a few episodes after the first is a bit sad on TopTap's part. Same with Aun's character who was just vicious but with little story to back it up. These were the irrelevant parts I was talking about. Did it help to get our mains closer? Maybe, but there were other ways they could've done it that didn't make me want to ff.
Overall, the script could've been much cleaner and more precise. They choose a beautiful setting to shoot in and I feel like they didn't utilize it quite enough. They also had so much story to work with and they just chose all the wrong choices. The story grows boring somewhere in the middle, making it quite hard to want to watch. We get a lot of nonsense with Pince who falls randomly ill like 3-4 times and only because there was nothing else the writers could come up with. This is where I can draw similarities to 1000 Stars, but it's still its own series. I think we'll be seeing a lot more countryside-type BLs, but that doesn't mean we keep claiming them as rip-offs of 1000 Stars. It's like me calling every engineering BL a rip-off of SOTUS, but we don't do that simply because engineering BLs have become the norm, or in some way or another, the story switches it up to make it as unique as they can get it. That's what I get from SIYH, switching up a story that's probably going to continue to be overused and oversaturated give or take a few years.
Onto the romance, I was really intrigued with them in the first few episodes. Like, close to obsessed. I love the flirty/stubborn dynamic and this couple had it. Prince had very mini gay panic attacks anytime Fah did something flirtatious, but still he'd push those feelings aside to shoo the doctor away. And of course, he didn't stop trying. I talked a little about how their first kiss was very hesitant and gentle, kind of like a trial kiss, and that the others would be a lot more complex and deep, which I was right about. Now, their kiss scenes could've been better, but I've seen worse, so I'll let it pass. I think their chemistry really helped this series from being dropped, not only by me but by many. There were times when it could've been better, but for the most part, it was executed pretty well. Anytime they were on the mountain moon bathing their rocks or even when Fah visited Prince's hometown was when I knew this series was still worth watching. I think it would've even been better had they cut out most of the conflict and made this just a cute everything-is-perfect-and-nothing-can-go-wrong type plot.
But one romance I didn't feel the need to see was Duao and Kluen. They felt unnecessary to see each episode, (Fah calling Duao was fine, but it was the dialogue between him and Kluen that was just wasting time), especially with no progression in their love lives and seeing Duao decline Kluen's offers to kiss or do more with him even though they've been dating for a while now and it's just not ordinary for a couple like them to never progress. And if I had to hear Joong sniff Dunk's cheek one more time instead of just actually kissing it, then I don't think I could make it.
I wished we would've gotten more Mesa and JJ because they did so excellent in this. MIke never fails when it comes to being comedic, even when he's not even trying. Which is why I'm curious what his series with Krist will look like since it looks to be a bit serious. This is my first time seeing Arm in a GMMTV series (He was in Waterboyy and Our Skyy but I don't remember him at all) and he did so well. I was thinking the writers were trying to pair him and JJ up, but nothing. We couldn't get them and we couldn't get Mike and TopTap either. What a shame. The rest of the supporting characters did well. The kids were really precious in this too.
Ratings:
Story: 7 - still better the very mediocre plot that was SIMM. It had a bit more action and overall, Fah and Prince were enjoyable to watch together. I think other plots were pretty irrelevant and could've been unadded so we could get more time with the characters that mattered. I'll take 2 stars off for that and one for it sometimes going flat with no actual plot going on.
Acting - 8.5 - I think everyone did really well, especially Fah. Mark still wasn't 100% there for me. There were parts where he did excellent and other parts he lacked a lot in. Arm and Mike did really well too. Everyone else played their part well.
Music: 5 - Pretty basic and nothing extraordinary.
Rewatch Value: 3 - I could go back to watch complications of them, but not much else than that.
Excited to see this special episode next week. Hopefully, we get some loose ends tied tightly and see good progress with these characters. SIYH was a nice watch, could sometimes get a bit boring, but nonetheless, I enjoyed watching these two. I enjoyed them so much that I wouldn't mind seeing them in another BL paired together.
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ATOTS win best Our Skyy Episode (As I knew it would be)
Gosh, I was looking forward to Our Skyy 2 since it was announced, and boy was I surprised. Not really with my favorite OS2 episode (ATOTS) cause it will forever and always be a banger, but for the others, I was pleasantly surprised. I was worried that many of these would be full of wasted potential (ehh, not too far off), but honestly, it did a good job coming full circle with the previous story and the one we see in OS2. Our Skyy 2 takes us into a further developed story of some of our favorite GMMTV series couples. Looking at it from a broader spectrum, Our Skyy was actually pretty good. Just some storylines didn't work, and others were just flat-out given no second thought.Let's Dive In.
I'll go from least favorite to the most favorite couple (which the favorite is no surprise for anyone).
8. Star In My Mind - Daonuea and Khabkluen
The 2 episodes we got of them in this was by far better than what we got in their original series. The only reason I place them last is because they still failed in a lot of places, like being way too simple in its storytelling when there were so many cool areas they could've touched on. Like, a story where they pretend to hate each other to prank their friends..? Okay, if that's the best you can think of I guess. But I did like some aspects like Kluen making the ring to give to Nuea, and their time together in the tent. And Joong and Dunk gave so much chemistry in this. It actually made me excited to watch Hidden Agenda, because hopefully, they give me more than what I received in SIMM. But like I said, it was just the worst out of all the couples in terms of story and plot. Also, Joong learned how to kiss a cheek instead of sniffing it, so that was nice. I'll give it a 6/10 overall.
7. Bad Buddy - Pat and Pran
Not including the crossover with ATOTS, the first few parts of their story were so boring that I literally tuned out and then a second later they were in Pha Pan Dao and I was like, "Huh?". I think the setup was just not very entertaining, not until you get into the actual crossover, and then I started liking their story more, which is the only reason BB isn't last. I really enjoyed Pat in this more than anything, I liked the time with Phu and the good connection they created. I just think Ohm is a fantastic actor, and he plays the role of Pat so well. I think there are some points where the feud or whatever happened with the actual actors in real life kind of crossed over a little, and some parts were pretty awkward. The ending, however, was probably the best that we got from them. The play, and the kiss on the couch as very authentically their characters, and it was a nice feeling. We also got a glimpse of Drake and Jimmy, and the iconic GL couple so that was also really cute, too bad Jimmy and Drake's characters actually never get together. I'll give it a 7/10 overall.
6. Never Let Me Go - Nuengdiao and Palm
For someone like me who dropped NLMG, I loved this so freaking much. This also just goes to show that GMMTV could make a banger historical-BL plot, so hopefully we'll get that in the near future. But seriously, I loved seeing historic Thailand since I've never seen a historical Thai series ever. I enjoyed the switch of Palm being rich and mighty while Nuengdiao was the poor slave who had to work for him. Them trying to figure out how to get back to the present was entertaining, I loved seeing Pawin again, was a little down that we don't see Chimon or Perth's characters since they were also another reason I tried finishing the series, but oh well. Phuwin and Pond's chemistry is pretty good in this too, they did a better job here than in the original series. Overall, I'll give it a 7.5/10.
5. My School President - Tinn and Gun
I was expecting to like this a lot more than I did, but I was a little disappointed at the role switch instead of building their story further. Would've much rather seen them in college thriving than see their entire story re-told with Tinn and Gun switching roles. But even with that being said, it was super cute seeing them act out the opposite role, including the side characters like Sound and Win and Tiw and Por. But we get no kiss, and some of the parts that I would've put in to be re-told weren't included, which was a bummer. But Gemini and Fourth are too cute of a pairing to put them any lower than this. They still have such good chemistry and were just perfect. I'll give it a 7.5/10 overall.
4. The Eclipse - Akk and Aye
This story is only not lower on the list because Khaotung and First's chemistry is literally so good that it needs to be studied. If ATOTS wasn't on this list, I would say Khaotung and First have the best chemistry I've seen in a GMMTV pairing ever. It's just that I think the story was a little boring. Them going on the trip was cute, but the plot revolving around them making a film was not my forte. Lots of empty space where they were talking about nonsense I could care less about. But also, I got to see the loves of my life, Kan and Thua, and they were just the cutest things ever, so nothing could make me mad. Also, there were some sound problems, like the music would be way louder than their voices during some scenes, and it threw me off a bit. But overall, I'll give them an 8/10, solely because First and Khaotung have such soul-crushing chemistry (ya'll saw that ending kiss too, right?).
3. A Boss and A Babe - Gun and Cher
So surprised, but I really liked their story. They worked on issues that weren't previously worked on in the series, so they were able to develop their characters more, and it came to a beautiful full circle. They also told it in a fun way cause it would've probably been boring any other way to tell it. I have nothing more to say than that it was cute, it was fun, it was entertaining, and seeing Cher try to be stern and stoic was adorable. Overall, I'll give it a 9/10.
2. Vice Versa - Puen and Talay
IDK what their actual names are and not their names when they were in the other universe, so I'll go with the names listed on MDL, so bear with me. But even with me not remembering their names, I absolutely LOVED this. Maybe because Jigsaw was the cutest in the history of cute, but I loved seeing how domestic they were. Even before Jigsaw came into play, I loved that they had designated days to do different things. One thing I'm a sucker for is domestic love, and they gave me just that. And when you add Jigsaw, they just look like the happiest little family on the earth, It also made me hope for a future series with dads as the main character, and I need that immediately. The only disappointing thing was that Jigsaw wasn't one of their accident babies while they were in another universe. I think that would've been fun to see play out. Also, Neo was THE STINKING CUTEST OH MY GOD. Overall I'll give it a 9.5/10.
1. A Tale of Thousand Stars - Tian and Phu
Is it a surprise to anybody that their story was the best? not even just my own opinion, but I legit think their story was the best told than any of the others. we develop the characters further, we also see their relationship develop, we see their communication develop, and their conflict be resolved perfectly. Wow, don't Earth and Mix make a perfect on-screen couple, I mean I don't know what it is about them, but they bring me to tears each and every time. Phu crying while prosing to Tian... yeah, I was a puddling mess. They were just gorgeous, inside and out. It was also so nice to see the village again and Tian teaching, and Yod. This was the perfect bow to tie up their already perfect story. My favorite part was definitely seeing Pat and Pran reenacting Tian and Phu's story, Ugh, it was just so good. And that ending scene? Yeah, it's forever branding on my brain. God, I love them. Overall, a 10/10 in all aspects. The only thing I wished they did was have some kind of crossover with Drake's character since he was in both series, but whatever.
Recommendation value: 8/10 - If you've seen all of the original series, then this is a really fun thing to watch. It's mostly just fluff and skinship, but I'd watch ATOTS episodes over and over again.
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...And That's Enough For Me!!
Wow, I feel like I've been dropping series like flies, but this is completely out of my realm of entertainment, and it's simply because this isn't a good story.Let's Dive In.
Actually, there’s not much to dive into. The writing is rough, and while the story feels like it has potential, there’s nothing really driving it forward. It is like there’s enough fuel, but no engine to make it go anywhere. The acting is honestly the only thing that has kept me watching. It is not award-winning, but it is decent enough that you find yourself wanting to stick around, if only to support the cast.
Toh is far too much of a love-struck puppy who keeps throwing himself into traffic and acts surprised every time he gets hit. Toh knows what Jimmy's doing, and just, doesn't give a fuck, I guess. The romances move way too fast, and I am a yearner at heart. I need tension, build-up, and emotional payoff. This just is not delivering any of that.
I stuck around for five episodes hoping something would finally surface and give me even an ounce of what I was looking for, but, to no avail. I do believe there are people like Toh out there, people who forgive and forget, or simply ignore the hurt they receive. That kind of dynamic can be real. I just do not have the desire to keep watching it play out, or see how they'll enviably try to redeem Jimmy. But not everything is on Jimmy either. The brother is kind of awful too, in his own "I'm trying to protect my brother," way.
Ratings:
Story: 4/10 - Boring.
Acting: 8/10 - Decent Enough.
Music: 6/10 - Not distracting.
Recommendation Value: 1/10 - Move on!
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Pretty Darn Good
I don't have much to say cause this was one of those J-BLs that's pretty freaking good, but not great enough to be memorable. However, throughout my watch, I enjoyed myself fully. I'm starting to like these kinds of tropes with the leads in a BL falling for each other in real life, it might just become another one of those concepts that garner it an automatic watch.Let's Dive In.
Yuki and Asami's dynamic was the cutest. You get a little bit of that bubbly seme/stoic uke trope, but not so cutthroat. I adored the way Asami treated Yuki and watching the younger slowly fall in love. My only real negative about them is that a very minor, very minuscule mishearing drove the entirety of the plot at the end. Yuki literally just could've asked Asami who he was talking about, and that would've killed off an irrelevant 3 episodes, and a couple of non-sensical crying scenes. Oh, and their kisses, minus a couple of them, were all pretty bad. But besides those two things, I really enjoyed them.
Speaking on the production itself, so many amazing and beautiful transitions happened in this that looked fantastic. Whoever was behind this definitely took their time to craft these very creative transitions, and I really enjoyed them .
Ratings:
Story: 8/1 0 - gets a little eh by the end, but most of it is good.
Acting: 9/10 - It's good! I liked Taisuke (Yuki)'s acting the most. I like seeing the difference between his actual character and the character he played in the series.
Music: 6/10 - didn't pay it any attention.
Recommendation Value: 7/10 - I really like it, but like I said earlier, it's not too memorable since the ending kind of dies down the hype of this. However, I think it's a beautiful story told, so I would definitely recommend giving it a watch.
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I Can't Do it ?
I tried, I really did, and I'm at least happy that I tried. But, I had a feeling this just wasn't going to be my cup of tea, and that never changed.Let's Dive In.
My Golden Blood has a unique (I think? I don't watch supernatural shows like that, lol) spin on a vampire love story. Gawin's character has golden blood that most vampires want, and Joss' character is the one that protects him from those getting to it. I knew this wasn't going to be for me when, in the very first episode, they explain how Mark has been looking after Tong since he was born. Uh-Oh. No. So you've watched him grow up (as a grown up) and still chose to fall for him...? Okay...
Honestly, people had warn me that the CGI would be the part o the series I didn't like, but honestly, it wasn't that bad. Not as bad as people had made it out to be. It was fine, nothing special, but exactly what I aspected from a GMMTV series.
The only thing keeping me was Gawin. I absolutely love him so much, and his acting in this is spectacular. Not his best work, but definitely in the top three, and I didn't even finish this. Some stuff about Joss had come out whilst this was airing. He was basically following a bunch of right-wing politicians, which felt incredibly weird for the role in which he plays in the BL world. I think he has since unfollowed most of them, but it definitely stained his image for me. Not enough to not watch his work, but enough to never (probably never) praise anything he's in.
Anyway, outside of that, I just can't. There's nothing in this that is keeping me here. I don't care for the plot, I don't care about the outcome, and they've kissed enough, so I get the memo.
Ratings:
Story: 4/10 - Just not my cup of tea. I think the first episode does have great set up, but there was nothing keeping me engaged.
Acting: 8/10 - Gawin was doing incredible! I'm sure he keep doing better throughout. Also, MOND.
Music: 5/10 - I didn't pay it any attention.
Recommendation Value: 2/10 - If you like corny vampire stories, sure. Also, there is one scene where Joss is shirtless coming out of the water if that helps.
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Sad. Real Sad.
Unfortunately, after some tedious debating for weeks inside my head, I've decided to not continue on with Peach of Time. It's with a heavy heart that I say this, please believe me, but I can't continue on with this molasses-slow and uneventful BL. While I was first intrigued with this, mainly because of the very appealing synopsis, (and Jimmy of course) the further I got into it, the more tiresome I got. Peach of Time was full of potential but was sadly a letdown, one with beautiful cinematography and gorgeous actors, but sadly, that wasn't enough.Let's Dive In.
Like I've already stated, production was probably the best thing to come out of POT. I loved the lighting, the fluttery feelings it gave me, the way it was so aesthetically pleasing that it left me with a calming bliss -- one of the many reasons why I tried my best to continue. Another great aspect was the wardrobes. While nothing jaw-dropping, I think they matched perfectly with the personalities of the characters (It was comforting to see Jimmy in a scarf, for sure). I give the production a huge pat on the back, I loved almost everything about it.
Where this series fell for me were on multiple occasions. Let's talk about the first one, the language barrier. I guess not necessarily a barrier since both of them were able to still understand each other, but the use of Jimmy and Tommy speaking Thai while the rest of them spoke Korean was aggravating. I feel like the creator had good intentions with this choice, but it comes off pretty irritating. If Peach understood Korean, then why didn't he just speak Korean? If Yoon Oh understood Thai, then why didn't he just speak Thai? It was something I raveled over as scenes went on rather than paying attention to the series itself. It would've been more beneficial had they all just spoken one central language (Korean would've made more sense, since it takes place in Korea, and every now in then Jimmy could speak Thai to himself or to Tommy's character).
Another aspect that was pretty dull was the chemistry between our two main leads. I wanted to bask in their romance so bad, but it just wasn't there -- and it never was. Jimmy played a very child-like cutie with aspirations to help Yoon Oh with his familial matters, but he felt so one-dimensional. While I love Jimmy, I don't think this was the best role for him. Some of the heartfelt moments were hard to contrive when Jimmy just has this silly aspect about himself that is hard to pass on as anger or sadness. I think Jaehyun was really good, I felt that he played his character with great strength, but again, he needed a counterpart that worked for him, and as much as I love Jimmy, like literally to death, I just don't think this character was the one he was destined to play. If anything, they should've just had this been entirely a Korean Series, or just an entirely Thai series. I see what they were trying to do, but it was poorly executed.
The last aspect might be my own doing, but I don't like (SPOLIER!) sad endings. While I never made it there, I was spoiled plenty of times. Even with that, I tried to get through it, but it's just too sorrowful. My heart was heavy for the mom, her grief for her son, and the way she wished she would've loved him more. My heart broke when Yoon Oh just sat and listen -- sometimes listening to his mom spew on why she didn't like him (very odd, but very sad). The accident, Peach's hurt, everyone just being somber and moppy -- it was too much for my kindle spirit to handle. I think this was also POT's stronger features, just unfortunately not one that I cared to watch.
Ratings:
Story: 5 - Again, I think the concept of this series was neat. However, there had to be something more intriguing that the creator could've done to make this watch more enjoyable. I'll give 3 stars for the storytelling of Yoon Oh's death and the mom's grief. The other two stars go towards my sympathy for the series cause I would feel bad if it was lower than a five.
Acting: 7.5 - I think Jaehyun did a fantastic job, but most of this score goes for the mom. Some amazing acting, some that I haven't seen in a while from a parental character. I'll take two and a half stars off cause I don't think Jimmy was the right fit for this role, but I'll add another star cause I thought Tommy was pretty funny. So 7.5.
Music: 5 - I don't remember an ounce of the music, so in my book that's a good thing. It means it wasn't too much or not enough. Good for them.
Rewatch Value: 1 - I always give rewatch values a one, so this one is no different, but I seriously don't think I would ever pick up this series again unless someone convinced me that it was going to get better.
I really tried hard on finishing this. Literally forcing myself to watch, one cause I love Jimmy, and two, because I actually liked the concept, but I realized that I might as well drop this if I was already on episode 6 and forcing myself to watch. I don't recommend this to anyone unless they like sappy and somber. Then maybe I would push them to watch this series for me and tell me what they think.
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Not My Forte
I can't seem to really get into this series. I told myself I would give it at least three episodes to draw me in, but I've felt nothing at all. I think the plot is superlatively corny and idiotic. Immediately we are pushed into an SA situation made lighthearted and fun. I try not to be the Debby downer and be so serious with stuff obviously formed to be carefree, but still, especially in their given situation, it was a bit much for me. Which immediately turned me off from having any likes for the main couple. I would've stayed had Park and Phong been a secondary couple, but I was informed that they go nowhere, so this is a drop for me.Ratings:
Story: 3.5/10 - it literally starts off when them hating each other because they liked the same girl, and what's the best solution? a simultaneous rape. I can't. I'm going to only give it 3.5 stars because I loved Park and Phong.
Acting: 6/10 - I'm being basis and saying I loved Fong and JJ's acting. Mos was very stale and Isbanky looked like he was just here to catch a bag for his music career and dip. His acting wasn't bad, but not good either.
Music: 5/10 - I speak on his music but still have zero memory of it.
Rewatch Value: 1/10 - *cricket sounds*
I can't believe this series is getting a second season. good luck to all the BD lovers out there. There must have been something here that I didn't see. Oh well.
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Stopped and Dropped
If I'm on the third episode of a series, and I can't find at least one thing that's keeping me going and entertained, then it's time to stop and drop. The first episode was promising with some pretty excellent sets and beautiful scenery. I also had no problem looking at the beautiful men on my screen in tight suits, but this plot is rather a bad one.Let's Dive In.
For one, Green as Aiaoon is great to see. He does a good job at staying suave and cool, along with his assistant (brother?) Oab who's just fucking adorable. I wanted to stick around and finish the show for them, but there is no way in eternity I can finish this and not want to gauge my eyes out. I also liked Sichol. He has Disney eyes, and I think it's the best thing ever, and he's probably the best acting-wise out of all the cast.
Who I can't stand is Nawee and I forbid myself from watching that sick, pathetic means of a man fall in love and we're supposed to just be okay with that. I don't mind when leads have flaws, because we all do, but Nawee was written to have no regard for anyone, and I can't see how he's going to be able to redeem himself by the end of this short BL, and quite honestly I don't care. He pushes around his assistants, He thinks that Aiaoon is his masseuse, and because of that he's forceful and then they end up accidentally kissing in the bath tub...? Like, literally what the fuck. And then he hits Sichol with class, and that's when I knew I was really done. Overall, he's highly irritable and just downright mean, and I don't want to waste my time on someone I know I'll never come around to liking. Also, Chap's acting is almost so bad it's like he's doing it on purpose.
Sichol was my motivation to finish cause I seriously loved him, but then even he started doing the most left-field shit. Also, him just turning down to work with Aiaoon who offer to pay him more and help him out of his "debt" and he declined? To continue working for a lunatic? I can sit through some things, but stupidity is not one of them.
So this has been dropped. I'll just watch a youtube compilation of all their "top-tier" kisses that I've read about because I simply do not have the means to continue watching this. There are too many BLs being produced nowadays to have to sit through shit like this.
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Can't Do it....
Okay, before I even get into the actual review, let me just say this real quick: Peter Tuinstra, the man you fucking are. If there was one reason to continue to watch this series, it'd be so that I can watch this beautiful specimen walk across my screen and bless the rest of my week. Quite literally, and I mean this so literally; that is the finest man over 50 I've ever seen, ever. Like ever. Okay, anyways, back to the actual review.So in conclusion, I can not finish this. I got to episode 8, and I think that's where it'll end for me. I told myself not to try and finish anything that I'm feeling myself force my way through, and THK happens to be one of them.
Let's Dive In.
Throughout the entire series, there has been a very large disconnect for me. I don't know if it's the writing, the directing, the acting, I don't know what it is, but there is just a certain something that is so totally off with this series that makes it hard to genuinely enjoy. For instance: in some lines of dialogue, there are these weird pauses. It's like a character will say something and then the reaction or the delivery of dialogue from the other person is delayed. And it happens a lot, and once I noticed it, I couldn't un-notice it, and it bothered me a lot. Eventually, I got use to it, and it got a little better.
The begin is a little tedious to get through up until maybe episode 3-4. I start to really enjoy it, mostly Fadel and Style's relationship, but they get together, and it goes downhill from there. Bison and Kant's story never really piqued my interest. To be honest, from both couples, I had no idea how or why they were falling for one another. It was also extremely obvious Kant and Style were spies. One day, you just happen to see the dude you've hooked up with once everywhere, and then his friend happens to go and fall for your brother and follow him everywhere? Obviously, some logistic just aren't suppose to make sense. But it's aggravatingly annoying how then Fadel's sent a text saying, "yeah they're the spies", Well, no fucking shit. On the plus side, the NC scene and kiss scenes are so nicely done, that I can get why someone would just watch just for that.
Moving on to the nit-pick, right off the bait, episode one, they shoot somebody and it looks like red water is pouring out extremely slowly from a man just shot twice in the chest. Same with all the wounds and blood throughout the series, just so so bad. And this is GMMTV, they can do better, I promise you they can.
But here's my biggest problem of them all: The audio. The audio. The audio. The audio. In episode one alone, the audio was so outrageously bad that I notice it instantly. And of course, when I notice, I can't un-notice. This bad audio is throughout the series. Mumbled, overexposed, too much outside noises, etc. If there's anything I'm more disappointed in, it's the audio. Nothing out of GMMTV should be this bad, good lord.
Ratings:
Story: 7/10 - parts of the story are what keep you engaged, but the problem is the story is just not working for me, at all. But I Peter gets 5 out of the seven stars.
Acting: 8/10 - good. Actually, I'm not even that big of a fan of Dunk and Joong, mostly as a pairing, but I think I enjoyed them the most in this. Of course, Khaotung and First are just brilliant actor and took a tired script and made it work.
Music: 7/10 - Mostly music/songs sung in english. Distracting once I noticed, but didn't hate it.
Recommendation value: 5/10 - Peter. Watch for peter. There's a scene where he is nearly naked sweating in a sauna. Please. Please watch for that.
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