Unpopularopinionbydemand

babe, wtf..

This series has to be one of the oddest ones in quite a while. After Trapped and MODC, my expectations were through the roof, but sadly, I was left heartbroken and disappointed. Close to You was full of odd subjects, distasteful relationships, and terrible concepts.

Let's Dive In.

Let's start off with the decent pairing: Teng Teng and Li cheng. I wasn't at all pleased with how they had to use an overly-obsessive bl fangirl as the benefactor in their relationship. Mei Fang and her friend(s) left me uncomfortable the entire time. Imagine you just trying to live your life, and some girl won't stop thirsting over you and your co-worker. But I wasn't very happy with Li cheng's behavior either; pretending to be gay and harassing a fellow friend is not in the slightest bit okay. Instead, he could've just tried starting off as a good friend to Mei fang and gaining her trust in the future. Teng Teng was just used as bait the entire time, and most of it was without his consent. It's also a bit weird how in a time of vulnerability, Li cheng was able to fall for Teng Teng. I just couldn't understand how he wasn't able to fall for him at any other time until then. The use of the cliche bl saying, "I don't like men, I only like him" was used again, and quite frankly, it left a sour taste in my mouth. bisexuality and pansexuality exist, do the creators and screenwriters not know this? It was agitating and disappointing. But moving forward, when they were together, they did bring about many cute moments. What I did like about them was their relationship in the beginning and towards the end, and how comfortable they were together. There were times when they each had me laughing cause their comedy was golden. I also really liked how they styled Teng Teng. He was always in something that was such a statement, and I loved it. As much as I didn't even appreciate them that much, they were at least 10 times more decent than Yong Jie and Xing Si and were the saving grace of this series. Speaking of them, let's touch on their relationship next.

Let's talk about Xing Si. He was my favorite character, and for good reasons too. He was a great friend to Teng Teng and Li Cheng, he had such a bright and bubbly personality, and was openly gay and dealing with the conflict of telling his father. He was the only character that had a very detailed personality. I thought that it was beautiful the way his character was going until they introduced us to the toxic stepbrother. Now, there have been many stepcest/incest series that I've seen, but I think this one has been the most disgusting and hardest to watch. I wasn't even mad about the whole step-brothers situation (even though it was rightfully wrong), it was just the portrayal of the step-brother that left me feeling uneasy.

Let me just say this; Yong Jie is not okay in the slightest. I don't want to self-diagnose anybody, but I am. I'm almost positive that Yong Jie suffers from a high-functioning borderline personality disorder or some type of high-functioning autism. One, he grows an unhealthy obsession with his older brother. Mostly due to the trauma he faced as a child, Xing Si showed that he cared, and because of that Yong Jie took that and clung to it. Two, he is openly honest and truthful about everything. He tells his mom about his plans without showing signs of feeling bad about it, the same goes for when he told Xing Si and his father afterward. He's open about how he feels for Xing Si and the way he feels about others. As I said, this is not me trying to label him, but Yong Jie didn't need a boyfriend, he needed some help. He is obviously not mentally stable, nor is he emotionally okay. I wish that his mental illness could've been spoken about instead of never being brought up cause it's so clear that there is some turmoil within himself. The entire plan he had undermined was absolutely sickening, and it was even worst that the mother knew and did nothing about it. His behavior is so unforgiving, but because Yong Jie is so good at manipulating people (psychopath maybe?), his brother and the ones around him forgive him. Xing Si I believe is suffering from Stockholm syndrome, cause it seemed to be that he would actually let his brother down, but instead, he feels empathetic and that takes over his feelings in which he then makes himself believe that he loves his step-brother back. The dad's reaction is so understanding, and I completely agreed with him. I actually was hoping that he wouldn't end up being okay with their relationship, but of course, this is BL, so everything has to end happily anyways.

Overall, this was a very disappointing series, especially since it was a part of the HIStory franchise. All the actors did a fantabulous job, Teng Teng and Xing Si being my favorite portrayals. The production was all decent and the music was okay too. The only thing I wished more than anything was that Yong Jie's mental illness was looked at, the BL fangirls were non-existent, and for the HIStory franchise to stop romanticizing r*pe, incest, and toxic relationships. I wouldn't recommend this series at all. I'd only say to watch it in order to continue watching the franchise cause at least they have produced other content that is WAY better (MODC and CTL (but crossing the line has an incest relationship too, so at the end of the day, everything has its problems.))

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Short and Cute

As soon as I played episode one, I could tell that this series felt completely different than other Thai BLs, and not necessarily in a bad way, but not good either. This series was obviously not given a big budget (or even a freaking budget at that), so all of the camera work looks like it was taken off of an iPhone (which was how Gameboys was, but it was like a 13 year old filmed it and forgot to bring their selfie stick). By the end, I couldn't tell if I'd gotten used to it, or if it had gotten better, but either way, I gave this series a shot, and I actually enjoyed it. While the production value takes it down by a lot, the acting and story help to bring it back up.

Let's Dive In.

This is a friends-to-lovers trope which just automatically makes me love it even more. While there were some very apparent problems in their relationship, for the most part, I really loved it. Both actors are attractive, which helps. Tan was my favorite character by far. He was super eccentric and vivacious that carried over to Sine and helped to take him out of his introverted and shy personality. Their ending was precious and cute. I didn't pay much attention to the other characters in the show, seeing as they were pretty small.

Overall, it was a quick and fun watch, and I really enjoyed it. If you're wanted to see it, I would say to not take it too seriously, and just really watch for the benefit of watching a BL.

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Slow Burn at It's Core, Boring at It's Surface

I had anticipated Lost in The Woods since it was announced Nammon would be in it (one of my favorite Thai actors) so, when this started airing, I immediately started watching. What I got was half of what I had anticipated, and the rest was ehh, but with how short this series was, including the very few actors in this, I think it worked.

Let's Dive In.

What I had predicted before watching LITW was that it would remind me a lot of ATOTS. I know now, I have to stop expecting and comparing series, or otherwise, I'll end up disappointed. They had their similarities: city boy meets country boy, rural country side, slow burn, but it doesn't quite hit the nail on the head as ATOTS does, which is fine, and my own fault for hoping it would.

LITW is not bad by any means, but it is extremely tedious to get through. Lots of beautiful scenery/nature shots, but I kid you not when I say that that's what half of the episodes are: shots of the gorgeous setting they were in. Which isn't bad, but it gets to a point where it's entirely too repetitive.

I love slow burn, and this series gave me just that. When I say slow, I will now be referring to Fifa and Hem's relationship, cause it's exactly the kind of thing I yearn for. Which is what kept me to watch, but it's hard with a lot of the episodes dragging and giving us, at times, pointless scenes. Ton and Arm do a good job at building the tension between them. I loved the longing stares, the nights spent together, adventures taken. They did leave it very open-ended/ambiguous, which is another reason this series doesn't get much of a reaction out of me. Also, their one and only kiss is sorta non-consensual, and that really kinda sucks. I think with a better ending, and a mutual yearning kiss, this could've been everything.

Nammon's character has some kind of relation with Padme, which felt a little weird, but I can't complain too much since Hem's and Fifa's relationship had some maturity difference, but between Prod and Padme, it felt just really off.

I think what could've made this work better is a bigger cast. I would've loved maybe a few side characters, maybe another solid side couple, and a plot that differentiated from Fifa and Hem's story. Then, I feel like this wouldn't have been so draggy and felt so forceful to get trough.

Ratings:

Story: 6.5/10 - Beautiful shots of their rural country side, but it got to a point where it was too repetitive. Some really boring scenes, like anything to do with Padme or Fifa working and sitting around looking pitiful. Skipped the whole "Hem in the forest looking for bad men" part. Lots of this can be skipped so that you can reach the point faster. Loved LOVED the slow burn, which is where most of this score comes from.

Acting: 8,5/10 - Ton does a great job as the lead. Lots of character development by the end. Arm is good, but he had one facial expression, which kind of diminished his role a little bit. Everyone else did good.

Music: 7/10 - I liked the nature sounds, Not really the music, but I'll count it.

Recommendation Value: 5/10 - I don't see myself really ever recommending this to anyone. It felt like another generic BL in the sea of BLs we've gotten and will get this year. I would recommend it for a slow burn, but the tedious plot leaves me a little iffy.

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Two cuties Falling in Love and They just Might Kiss...

Another one of the JBLs that just does it for me. Nothing jaw-dropping, nothing fresh and new, just a quaint little love story that put me at ease and in a good mood. Even If I Try to Fall in Love With You exemplifies the true meaning of catching feelings and going for it even when it might scare you.

Let's Dive In.

Oh, such a wonder little love story. Amane, who used to hooking up with older men due to his past trauma of coming out finds himself falling for the walking green flag that is Ryuji, his school classmate who works at his late father's restaurant. And eventually, through trial and error, through some awkwardness and being truthful, they end up happily ever after. This JBL is everything that I love about Japanese series: The plot, the dialogue, the inner monologue, the way they go about confessing -- it's put into such a perfect order that it's really hard not to enjoy it, even if the series isn't long.

The chemistry was off the charts. It detailed perfectly the awkwardness of dating for the first time and going about having a crush and someone you like at such a young age. Ryuji saw through Amane's mechanism of smiling and laughing as a way to shield himself from getting hurt, along with Amane noticing the hurt and exhaustion that Ryuji was experiencing because of the loss of his dad, and keeping up with a restaurant he has no passion for. I think what makes or breaks a couple for me is when they can notice details, they're usually very subtle, yet when it's noticed/called out, I get all gooey on the inside cause -- omg you're paying attention. But most importantly, I just loved them as they were. Amane, although being afraid of his past experiences, is right off the bat open about his sexuality and not afraid to be blunt and honest about what he's feeling, only afraid of the aftermath of his truthfulness. And of course, Ryuji is just a sweetheart, letting it be known that it's okay to feel what he's feeling, there to listen and to tease, and to care. They were just such a delight to watch and such a joy seeing them start off their relationship all giddy and clumsy-like. I only wish that I could see their relationship develop even more (omg when Ryuji asked to kiss him again?? Hello that was so stinking adorable??).

With how short this series was, I'm glad we didn't have any secondary plots or otherwise, this would've been messy and felt rushed. But with saying that, I do wish this had maybe 3-4 more episodes so we could have a more fully fleshed-out series, go more in-depth into their past lives, and maybe see them build that connection even more.

Ratings:

Story: 8.5/10 - Just pure fluff filling my screen. I would've liked it to be more fleshed out, but what we did get was still really good.

Acting: 9/10 - Both leads did a job well done! I loved how expressional Takato (Amane) was with this character.

Music: 6/10 - It wasn't distracting.

Recommendation Value: 10/10 - It's just pure fluff so I don't know anyone who wouldn't want to not watch this. So good, so pure, so lovely, and I'm going to miss them.

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Suenghyun and Jongchan serve as one of 2022's most poorly executed couples of 2022. They had so much potential to work with, so many different routes and twists and turns to take, and yet, none were taken. New Employee is a mess if not a tad bit boring, but I will say that Kwon Hyuk (Jongchan) makes up for that because he's gorgeous, but it's not enough for this to be entertaining though.

Let's Dive In.

So for one, this is too damn short. So short that it's shorter than the usual KBL lengths. So of course we come to the problem of things not being sorted out like they should be, and it's a jumble of mess, miscommunication, and conflict that's not real conflict. Seunghyun upset because Jongchan dated his ex-crush years ago? Okay, And why not throw in a tornado and shark attacks while you're at it. Such a dumb conflict that at this point I was skipping.

The romance, in the beginning, was super cute, Seunghyun's admiration, and the little things that would happen between them were cute. I feel like their getting together was really quickly done (since I'm more of a slow-burner) but it was fine how it was (ig). After they get together their romance is a bit off. Some uncomfortable staring, some awkward laughs. They had potential but it's just all rushed and a little tacky.

Ratings:

Story: 5/10 - Outside of the problems I have with it, it's also just really boring. I'm not a huge fan of office romances because they come with office jargon which is tedious to sit through.

Acting: 8.5/10 - It was okay. Nothing jaw-dropping and nothing terrible, but it was okay. Both leads did a really good job.

Music: 6/10 - I wasn't paying attention.

Recommendation Value: 6/10 - Some parts good, some parts bad. Both leads are handsome so that's a bonus. Watch if you want or don't watch. It wouldn't be my first recommendation of KBLs, but it wasn't the worst thing either.

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Wowza

I kind of knew going into this, it was going to be way below mediocre, but Hotdog, was this a trash fire of bad acting, an even worse script, and a god-awful theme song (I mean seriously who in production allowed that??) Hit Bite Love is terrible, which is the main reason why I watched it cause sometimes I need to not think and just watch.

Let's Dive In.

There's not much to say. This series is horrible in all aspects, and if you're wanting to watch, watch it specifically because you want to watch garbage, because you want to have a good laugh, because you need background sound while doing homework, etc. Anything but actually take this series seriously.

I didn't realize how young some of the actors are. Especially with the subject of BDSM which plays a part in all relationships. Talking about BDSM, it's so laughable in this, but quite honestly, it utilizes BDSM more than I've seen other series involving BDSM do. It's cringey, it's very awkwardly quiet (even the music doesn't help), and I skipped most of it by the end.

The only couple I decently liked was King and Burger. I think they could've had a really cute series had it just been the two of them, a proper plot, and a longer runtime. They were giving me MSP vibes that I was kind of digging, but whoever was behind the script completely obliterates their cute little rom-com romance.

Ratings:

Story; 3/10 - the plot is cheap writing and even worse storytelling. Everything's a bit rushed, and there's so much happening (murder mystery..?) that it hurts my brain. I'll give the only two stars I feel like giving to King and Burger's plot. The other star is because it's so bad that it's almost entertaining.

Acting: 5/10 - The acting is bad, but it's not the worse aspect of this series, so it's not unwatchable. Jur (Burger) and Vic (Hida) actually seem to have some potential, they just need a better crew to back them up.

Music: 1/10 - Who the fuck green-lighted that theme song? They sound so excruciatingly terrible that I kind of wanted to cry for the boys that sang it. Cause now it's out for the world to hear and years later, if any of these actors are to grow in popularity, they will be made fun of for it until they die. I know they're already probably regretting it.

Recommendation Value: 1/10 - Again, watch for fun, turn your brain off, and have a good laugh. But don't watch for any reason other than that.

I think they teased a season 2??? Really??

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Not My Cup of Tea

I've never been the type to enjoy ghost love stories, but I feel like this one isn't necessarily the same thing, however, it still wasn't my cup of tea. I think the romance side of the story was way too fast-paced. The building-up was going well, and then they just went straight to it, and once you've passed the intimate stage, I usually lose interest because there's nothing else to be excited about. And that's exactly what happen and I just had no interest at all. I pretty much skipped a few episodes after episodes 4-5 and watched the last one fully. I think the ghost plot itself was nice, but as I said, it doesn't intrigue me very much. Seenam and Prim's story was very tragic, yet beautiful, but still wasn't enough to keep me interested. There were a few nice plot twists, and I think Seefoon is the cutest.

Ratings:

Story: 6.5/10 - the ghost story is nice, but the romance happened too quickly for me. Nothing was enough to keep me very inspired though.

Acting: 8/10 - Good! The cast all did a good job. A few "eh"s here and there but it was decent.

Music: 5/10 - don't remember but it wasn't distracting so that's good.

Rewatch value: 1/10 - No.

I can see why a lot of people enjoyed this. The main leads had very good chemistry, I just think it happened too quickly for me to be interested in the entire series. I wouldn't mind seeing them again. I personally don't recommend it, but if supernatural plots intrigue you, go for it.

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Better than the Original

I did like Make it Right, but there was something that shifted in Make It Right 2 that made me fall more in love with the characters than the first one ever did for me.

I want to love Book and Frame so badly, but the way they had gotten together in MIT was disgusting. Although, I liked their pairing a lot more this season since they were given an actual plot. The situation between Book and his former partner was so devastating, and Toey did an amazing job at portraying this depressed character. I broke down so hard when Frame found Book and the pills on the floor. Both actors did an incredible job and definitely deserved a pat on the back (especially for making me cry since I NEVER cry). As much as I loved them this season, I can't forget how poorly the writers treated them last season, and I still can't get behind their toxic relationship.

Mo and Yok had to be my favorite couple this season. They had such a fun comedic feel that made the series feel so much lighter. CONSENT IS SEXY. I'll never stop saying it. Yok and Mo did an incredible job at showing what actual consent before and during sex looks like. I appreciate these actors and hope to see them in future dramas.

Fuse and Tee were okay this season, nothing bad, but nothing amazing either. Fuse finally broke up with his girlfriend, so his relationship with Tee actually felt real. The confession at the beach was pure magic. I only cry during two occasions: one, coming-out scenes, and two, emotional confession scenes. I was entirely balling my eyes out again. It was impeccable, and Peak's did an awesome performance.

Overall the series was good. The situation between Wit and Yok's mom was not it. I skipped it all. Rodtang and Nine were finally given a story, but it still felt incomplete. Not that I cared, because I'm still not a fan of Beam's acting. It was a fun watch, and it kept me entertained, so I'm not disappointed at all.

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For the CutiePie Lovers ONLY

This was seriously for the Cutiepie die-hard fans and them only. Because there was pretty much no story, but there were plenty of people kissing and getting naked so you have that.

Let's Dive In.

I didn't start watching this with any high expectations or anything (because I wasn't very impressed with the first season either) but just the little expectation I had was let down. For one, I was hoping for more between Diao and Yi, which we get very little of. I'd say the only real couple that had okay development was Nuer and Syn (and a really patient nc scene that was top-notch content).

My feelings for Nuea and Kilen were half and half last season, and I think it's the same here, but maybe a bit more hate. Their dynamic feels like a father and son dynamic, and I absolutely hate it. Kuea gets treated like a kid who can't take care of himself and Kilen is just the rich daddy who gets him what he wants and kisses him at night. And no, this doesn't scream 'sugar daddy' it screams 'he's acting like my real daddy'.

All the NC scenes are as good as they were last season (although, I will say that Kuea and Kilen's NC scene after their wedding was kind of anticlimactic). This sequel was really just some fanservice and spa ad placement. I'm the kind of person that likes some plot even with a raunchy series and only 4 episodes. But this is good if that's all you're coming to watch for -- skinship and no plot.

Some perks I did like: we saw Perth (Jay) and I love him so freaking much. I really hope he gets his own series one of these days. Foei!! I love him, he's THE best character in this entire series. If he wasn't in this sequel, I honestly don't know what I would do (the thighs on that man?? oh my god?). Again, they had beautiful settings and locations like last season, with an incredible budget. Same with the cinematography. I love that Japanese-feel you get when watching.

Rating:

Story: 4.5/10 - pretty empty. It's a lot of wedding junk and a few sentimental conversations. I'm purposefully giving it a lower score just cause I wanted more Yi and Nuea.

Acting: 8/10 - it's good. Zee's character comes off blander in this series, but that's not him, that's the directing.

Music: 5/10 - It wasn't distracting, but I didn't pay it any attention.

Recommendation Value: 2.5/10 - Really only watch this because you LOVED cutiepie, otherwise, it's nothing special.

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Great Beginning, Terrible Ending

Writing this review is a little hard for me. I really enjoyed this show, but everything callapsed by the end. with my love for Pod, Mike, and Toptap, it's hard to even be able to comprehend that this was the content they gave us. What started off as a masterpiece became a sorrowful excuse of a BL.

Let's Dive In.

Let's start off with the pros of this series. Ai and Ni were the sunshine throughout this series. Mike and Toptap have this comedic energy that only the two of them can create when they're together. There wasn't a single part in the show that I wasn't laughing, they're what kept me watching. They both did an excellent job in this, and I hope that we can see them with their own series. The only thing I can say that bugged me a bit is that we never see them kiss? Every time they would go for a kiss, it would cut, or they would pretend to. It's a GMMTV produced show, so there was no reason to try and hide their kisses (also it's 2021). Miriam was a great addition to the show. She was supportive and caring, and she also had her comedic moments. I wished she was a little less BL-obsessed, but that's my only argument with her. For the most part, this trio was amazing, and I hope to see them again very soon. I loved the character development of Na, He was a snobby kid, but by the end, he improved and even got his own boyfriend to spoil. I'm a sucker for lifelong crush tropes. Tonhon and Chonlatee liking each other but neither knew about it was super lovely and precious. Getting to go back and see the way Ton felt during certain scenes was a really nice touch, and it made me feel differently about him. The dirty humor in this series was spot on, from them pretending to be the two dudes from The Untamed, to them just being themselves. Whoever wrote the script deserves a pat on the back (sort of). Everybody deserves a mom like Chon's mom. Her epic explosion on Ton's dad was the best thing that I have ever seen in my life.

Onto the cons. Tonhon really annoyed me. He was openly homophobic for quite some time (seemingly weird since he had a crush on Chon for quite a while). He was so homophobic that his own roommates didn't even want to admit that they were seeing each other. As I said, it's 2021, there was no need for him to be so homophobic, he could've easily just been a cool dude completely fine with his roommates dating. There was no need for Amp, and definitely no need for Nueng. We are over the petty ex-girlfriend plot, please GMMTV, bring something different to the table. Along with Neung, the bathroom scene with him and Chon was ineffectual. There was no meaning behind it other than Nueng thinking Chon was cute, which he could've just said instead of sexually assaulting while Chon was intoxicated. As much as I love Gunsmile, his character was a nuisance to the show, along with the gay guy that messes with Chon at the restaurant. It puts a bad look on gay people, more especially feminine gay people. The "getting Chon a prostitute" part was so uncomfortable for me. Ton is just straight up not a good person at all. Some part of me thought that Na should've ended up with Chon. At least he tried to do everything for Chon while Ton gave him nothing. Talking about Chon, there was no point in having him kiss Ton without his consent. Of course, Ton was going to freak out that he wakes up and you're making out with him, I would be too. Another case of BL romanticizing these types of things when none of it is romantic, I would've much rather seen a consensual first kiss, even if we had to wait till the very last episode. Speaking of the last episode, what the actual fuck was that? I have never felt so grippingly mad at a plot in my life. This show would've been a solid ten had that ending not happen the way it did. Ton's dad becomes fine with him dating Chon as long as he still has a kid, in which Miriam decided to be their surrogate. What the actual fuck? Number one, that baby was not made out of love, they were made out of greed and power. Two, that dad should be ashamed of himself if that's what it takes for him to accept his gay son. The plot ruined the entire show for me, by the last few minutes of the episode, I was ready to never watch this series again, and I still haven't.

Overall, this was sadly a miss. I would recommend the first 7 episodes which were humorous, fun, and entertaining. By episode 8, everything just goes downhill. All the acting is great, by far my favorite being Mike and Toptap, but Khaotung did an excellent job as well. If we are to get a second season (I honestly think it was fine where it left off), I hope we can clean up that ending, and throw away the father.

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Lovely Story

My guy Go Young could never catch a break, my god. I didn't realize how much I was going to absolutely love this series, and like the majority of what I've watched this year, wish that I would've watched it back when it aired. This is much more than just a BL series, is it a groundbreaking, heartbreaking, soul-chattering series about the reality of a gay man's life in Seoul. What a series. I'm so glad this got the recognition it deserved from around the world, and especially in Korea.

Let's Dive In.

I won't make this long, since there are plenty of reviews here, but I do want to add in my few cents. What a lovely series, seriously. Finally, we get a series with an amazing budget and a perfect run-time, enough to make the story complex and intriguing and totally real. I think that was my favorite part, just being able to watch how much effort and money they put in, the settings, locations, the cinematography, the literal everything.

Yoonsu, the man you are. What a brilliant actor. He took this story and ran with it. I couldn't have though of a better actor to play such a character, a character that was trying to find himself while navigating his sorrowful love life.

I don't have much to say because this series was just perfect. I hate that Go Young couldn't catch a break or that with every episode came these big, life-altering or earth shattering reveals: his mom having cancer, his first boyfriend dying, his second boyfriend using him, his third running away to a different country, the discovery that he had HIV, His mom trying to forcing him to a conservation camp. My goodness, and there's more too! The characters, down to even the ones we don't see that often, all played such an important role of carrying this series. The friend group. Go Young's friend group. Man, each time they got together, for whatever reason, I got so emotional. It's just so nice to see that he has people rallying for him and will be with him no matter what.

This is probably the only series that I'd advocate for a second season. I don't usually care for those, but they left the ending open-ended enough for a possible second season, so let's cross our fingers and hope.

Ratings:

Story: 9/10 - Fantastic. I was entertained throughout. I had no problems watching this without needing to fast-forward or skip. This story flowed nicely and I loved it. There were occasional editing or continuity errors, but other than that, I loved it.

Acting: 10/10 - First time I've ever rated the acting 10 out of 10, but it was just that good. I feel like I've seen good acting, but then I see Yoonsu act, and I think that maybe I haven't lol. He was jaw-dropping in this role, just did such a good job. And then on top of that, the supporting characters did a good job too, all of them.

Music: 6/10 - I didn't pay attention to it. Other than the song they danced to in the club lol.

Recommendation Value: 8.5/10 - I wouldn't recommend this right off the bat, just cause it is pretty sad and it is pretty triggering. The two first episodes had me in shambles, and I almost had to put it on hold. But I fought through and finished it and I'm so glad I did. But again, this isn't something I'd recommend everyone to watch, but if you want a real, heart-wrenching, perfect story, then this is the one for you.

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Japan Does it Best

Japan puts their spin to a Thai BL classic, Love in The Air, and with no surprise, do it much, much better.

Let's Dive in.

When I first heard of this, I was worried. How were they going to be able to intricately make such an already-odd series and put their own taste to it? Well, they did it, and they did it pretty decently.

This series basically took everything I hated about the original and completely squashed it. They were about to tell the same story with the same characters and conflicts, without the need to add in unnecessary characters, or random scenes, or a bunch of tropey stuff. They told the exact same story, concisely and beautifully in just 10 episodes, and I loved it.

Now, with that, I did somewhat-sort of trash watched this with a friend, so I wasn't as observant as I usually am with series, but that's okay. I still think it was great, the character's had more depth, Rei and Kai felt more like friends than Payu and Sky, and the NC scene were hitting in all the right spots.

Overall, I think this was better than the original, but still not the best J-BL. It's okay for what it is, and I appreciate that it was given us.

Ratings:

Story: 7.5/10 - Still the same old plot, still not my favorite, but Japan told the story way better. I loved the chemistry between the leads, and they did a job well done.

Acting: 8.5/10 - LOVE Reo (Kai) he did SUCH a good job. Everyone else did good too, and fortunately, Shoma is just so hot that he get an extra point out of me.

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

Recommendation Value: 7/10 - Ehh. Shoma looks good with his shirt off though.

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First half: :) Second Half: :(

Kidnap was the series that I was the most excited about; overall for GMMTV of 2024, but also just BL in general. I love Ohm, most of his work I'm a big fan of, and I thought nothing less of this one. Which is why I hate that I'm so not impressed with what this series brought.

Let's Dive In.

I really enjoyed the first half of this series, and I'm not really sure when I started not enjoying it, but I could tell quickly that this series was headed down hill for me. I had already made two attempts to start Kidnap, which after getting past the first episode, I ended up really enjoying. I think it was between the time of their first kiss that they just started falling off.

Mostly what I was enjoying was the kidnapping aspect of this. I think its gritty, I think the content can get forbidden and sickly, and that's the kind of stuff I can (sometimes, to an extent) really enjoy. I knew even before watching that Min didn't necessarily kidnap Q and more so saved him from dying, but even still, this was not anything like I was expecting it to be. Still, I was rather pleased with what we were getting. Then, their relationship starts to develop rather fast for my taste. Also, of course Q happened to do music *eye rolls* which will just always take me out of a series, especially a GMMTV series.

The plot lost me almost immediately. I was able to understand the situation with the man that wanted Q dead and Q's dad, but the lady? Papang's character? the night club? It might've been a me thing more than a series thing, but I was definitely confused more than I would've liked to be.

I really liked Ohm and Leng, I really do, but they don't click for me like I really wanted them to. Not saying that they weren't cute, not saying that I didn't enjoy their on-screen chemistry, but I wasn't as obsessed with them as I could've been. I think that was another part of the disconnect with this series, when I wasn't really feeling anything for anyone. I think they do good kissing, I think they do good physically, but the emotional aspect is missing for me, not sure why though.

Ratings:

Story: 6/10 - Really good in the first half, boring and draggy in the second. That the romance was okay, along with the storyline.

Acting: 8.5/10 - Ohm did good, of course, but I'm not really sold on Leng's acting just yet. There were lots of times he was suppose to cry and not even a tear would slip out (not all the time though, there were def scene he was crying in). Everyone did good too.

Music: 6/10 - Not distracting.

Recommendation Value: 4/10 - No recommendation of this series from me, other than if you want to see Ohm acting again.

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Starts Well, Ends Anticlimatic

The start of Cosmetic Playlover have me immediately seated and excited to watch. Except, it starts dipping a little starting in the middle and just completely fumbles the ball at the end. I think I would've liked this a lot more with a little more emphasis on the romance and a lot less, "let's add every single disruptive character ever to get in between the leads."

Let's Dive In.

The beginning of this series was excellent, I loved Natsume, mostly cause he gave off shy vibes, and a tad bit of jealously over Toma, his rival, who looks distressingly gorgeous. Their romance starts off almost immediately, but I didn't mind it too much, cause I think the overall vibe of the series is that its going to be fast-pace, also the series is incredibly short, so there's that too. Like I said, the story starts off pretty well, the setup is good, and I like the dynamic between the leads.

The only reason the score is relatively low is because they had about every single problem come about in almost every single episode. We even have somebody come in in the last two episodes to disrupt the leads, and it's so annoying. I think one to two problems was enough, but they dragged the story just to fill time.

Onto the romance, I think they were great. Not anything I'll remember in due time, but I liked them for the majority of this watch. Also, all these kisses were GOOD. This is me being me, but I needed more Taichi in my life, the towering giant cinnamon roll who was blessed with the best genes ever.

Ratings:

Story: 7.5/10 - Intriguing up until the end. Romance is good, characters are interesting. Liked that it was about men in the makeup industry.

Acting: 8/10 - So (Natsume) did a great job! I think Yudai (Toma)'s character was pretty stoic, so not as good, but good enough. Tomoki is beautiful, which isn't about his acting, but I don't care.

Music: 5/10: didn't pay attention to it, but the theme song was kind of annoying.

Recommendation Value: 7.5/10 - sure, if you're in the mood to watch a Japanese BL. Also the kissing is actually really good in this, surprisingly, so if you're shallow like that, then go for it!

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Geez...

This is obviously a small production with an even smaller budget, but I was appalled at the actuality of the K-BL. On top of a whole mess of things (production, acting, plot) this series just made... no sense? I feel like I watched everything and nothing at all. Everything that happened felt too coincidental, and I really don't even know where to begin.

Let's Dive In.

So let's start off with this plot that's already extremely wonky. Minjae is a new transfer student who keeps coincidentally bumping into the bubbly Yoonchan, who happens to have no friends and immediately falls for Minjae for no apparent reason. Then they add the most irrelevant thrid-wheeler into this that has zero correlations to the characters and immediately shows signs of having feelings for Minjae, again, for no apparent reason. The ending doesn't even serve this series justice cause they end on a cliffhanger as if I'd be back to watch another season (no!!).

This is obviously a small-budgeted series, but it felt more like a student-made series than an entire company behind it. It's hard not to realize that there is literally nobody besides these few actors on screen. Nobody at the cafe, nobody in the library, no one around the school, and no one also taking taekwondo classes. Some of the conversations ran on for far too long, like any conversation with the singular professor who works at the school, or the only senior that Yoonchan had. This series is already rather short, but then they had these long-drawn-out conversations that I definitely zoned out on more than once.

To make matters worse, there's a scene where Yoonchan is confronted by his senior about his relationship with Minjae, which Minjae overhears, in which he tells him that they're "just friends" because, get this, they are just friends! But Minjae gets butt-hurt about it, mind you, the senior came off as extremely homophobic and they quite literally were only friends. So there's a whole episode where they go around mopping and it's hilarious because it's so bad.

Moving onto the relationship...eh. Honestly, I didn't hate it, and they did extremely well during the kissing scenes, however, I will say that they needed to cut the kissing scenes in half because they went on for far too long. Other than that, I think they were okay, but nothing special.

Ratings:

Story: 4/10 - Just not good at all.

Acting: 8/10 - not bad, a little mediocre, but it's okay.

Music: 5/10 - I don't remember.

Recommendation Value: 1/10 - Not a lot of K-BLs came out this year, so I'm sad to say that you can go ahead and skip this one.

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