Unpopularopinionbydemand

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

Hilarious !!

Almost as good as season one, with just a little nit-picking by me, but otherwise, I think this was just as hilarious as it was before. IBTMROABLD S2 was cute, funny, and just the break from the tragic BLs that I needed.

Let's Dive In.

The only reason this isn't getting 10/10 from me is because the plot is pretty predictable, and the season was unfortunately short. The story is not the best, but what makes it so good is the comedic effort that these actors have so effortlessly put into this.

These kisses are still as deadfish as ever, and because I love this so much, I don't mind them.

I feel like we never got a proper ending for the managers, but I'm assuming this is going for a third season maybe? I just love that Akafuji and his mamanger are pratically the same person, but one is less showy about it.

Ratings:

Story: 7.5/10 - Not the worse thing ever, just a little predictable, but this series is short, so I get it.

Acting: 9/10 - Good! I just love the way Japan does funny, I have never laughed that hard seeing Akafuji dressed in a maid's costume, and, mind you, I had no idea who that person was until they explained it. He is even beautiful as a women.

Music: 6/10 - Fine.

Recommendation Value: 7/10 - Ehh, it's okay. Watch it, don't watch it, you won't be missing much.

Read More

Bummer

Kinda of like what a lot of people have been saying, this was a bit of a bummer. It had been so anticipated by everyone everywhere, and to have been waiting so long and this be the solution just feels like we've been cheated.

Let's Dive In.

The first few episodes, probably until episode 6-7, are top-notch. At one point, I was thinking, "man, this is what everyone is hating on!?! This is great!" and then, it's just downhill from there. Of course, nothing wrong in the production of it all, if anything, that's what makes this series so hard to rate lower than an 7, unfortunately.

I hate that I didn't care for any of the romances in this until we're introduced to Calvin and Jay, and then...nothing. What a waste of an opportunity.

The only character I cared about was Chakri. Perfect, brilliant, amazing, lovely.

I skimmed through episodes starting at maybe 8-9. It was lovely to see Jimmy again after so long, but even then, I just don't care much for his story with Paytai.

Ratings:

Story: 7.5/10 - so good until we get into the latter episodes, and then everything starts to drag. Lots of potential wasted, like, a lot. Not so much into the romances, but I did get to see Zee's ass, so I'm not too mad.

Acting: 8/10 - Good. Not spectacular, unfortunately.

Music: 7.5/10 - I remember a lot of english songs (I watched this like a month ago from writing this review). Wasn't paying attention, but it didn't seem distracting.

Recommendation Value: 6/10 - Sure. By no means, is this a bad series, it's good cause it's Zee and Nunew and they have the production value to make a decent series. It just didn't hold up to the standards that I thought it would have, that's all. And Zee is naked enough to get you excited!!

Read More

Nothing Like a J-BL to Cleanse My Palate

Oh, what a lovely little J-BL this was. While being everything but normal, this still served a rather telling story about true love, infidelity, and the importance of intimacy. I can't believed I even liked this cause I hate infidelity storylines with a passion, but this was much more than that.

Let's Dive In.

Also want to phrase this in the beginning to say I do not, whatsoever, agree with cheating in any circumstance. If anything, that's the reason this series still can't be a 10 out of 10 for me, even if the premise, the storytelling, and the actors all did a job well done. It's such a weird feeling to want to root for two people are are inevitably doing harm to their "partners" but also are somewhat in the right.

Kazuaki dealt with intimacy problems with his long term girlfriend (the separate beds was crazy wtf??) and the cause of their relationship to fumble being that they had no sexual relationship. This one aggravating me a lot. Kaori, while extremely beautiful and extremely sweet, was still so aggravating as a character. The advances Kazuaki tried to make on her, the separate beds, and you're telling me she had no idea that her boyfriend of three years might've been struggling? But on that same wave-length, how could you be in such a long term relationship and not know how to communicate? Like, would it really be so hard to have a sit down conversation with your girlfriend of three years and ask why ya'll haven't been intimate? That whole thing was insane to me. Sei is a little different. He basically had a partner who pitied him, which I could tell from the get-go was the problem. But at least Sei, even if not entirely in heath ways, was able to communicate with his partner about wanting to be intimate.

But I can't lie that I love this story. You want to hate it, you want to root for the ones being cheated on, but you look at their relationships and you want it to end too. While I would've loved a story where all of this took place when they had broken up with their partners, the point of the story was that they looked for solace in someone else when they couldn't find that in the person they were suppose to love, and I (toxically) think that's beautiful.

Both actors do such a good job in their roles. Their characters have very different personalities, but mixed together, they were perfect. Great NC scene, decent kisses. I liked how the intimacy played a huge part in this, and it's obviously needed and not thrown in for the "vitality" of BL, which is how most shows tend to be nowadays.

Ratings:

Story: 8.5/10 - Beautiful story. Had me roped in till the end. I think I would've like some slight shifts in character traits and just the overall vibe of the series, but nonetheless, this was perfect.

Acting: 9/10 - Both leads do a wonderful job. I loved Kaori's character, as much as she aggravated me. Everyone else did a decent job.

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

Recommendation Value: 8/10 - this one is a little hard to sit through if you're not ready for a story full of cheating and infidelity.

Read More

Best Earth/Mix Acting, Mid Earth/Mix Show

I remember when Ossan's Love was announced, and I remember thinking "damn, am I gonna like this?" I'm here to say that I actually decently liked this. I think there were a lot of tough points to get through, I think you have to look at this through a completely different lens then what we're use to with these two, but nonetheless, they had another successful series and I can't wait to see them in the next one.

Let's Dive In.

This is coming from the perspective of someone who has not seen the original Ossan's Love (and probably won't), so I won't comment on what was changed or what difference the series' had, as I believe they were both most likely good in their own way. So, starting off, Heng is this young dude whose pretty bad at his job, but accidentally finds out his boss is in love with him. Through a couple of crazy mishaps and lucky guesses, Heng's co-worker Mo, moves in with him and then falls for him too. In the battle of "who gets Hengney?" Mo inevitably wins.

This series is incredibly silly and makes fun of itself numerous times throughout. You really have to throw away what you're use to from Earth and Mix. Usually we get dark, and brooding, and lust, and tragedy, but in this, it is the complete opposite. It was hard to make that transition within the first two episode, but once you get use to the acting (especially Earth's acting) you realize that this is some of Earth and Mix's best performances yet. Acting is hard, being funny and sad is hard, and they master that so well, especially Earth. It just goes to show how versatile these vet actors are, and they nailed this out the park. None of it was cringey, none of it seemed too much or too little, it was just perfect.

Which is why I feel bad also saying that the plot falls short in so many ways. In terms of their best series...TOTS all the way, and honestly, probably forever. But this series plays too many cat and mouse games, and honestly, it gets pretty old. Mo was very indecisive, and because of that, caused a lot of hurt for him and Heng. And some of his reasoning for why he does what he does is just really bad writing. It was like the writers couldn't come up with an authentic reason for Mo to leave or break up with Heng so they made Mo out to act out like a child would in these scenarios. But, nonetheless, Earth and Mix brought the chemistry, and I loved that Mix got to play the initiator in their relationship, the "top" if you will.

Krit, besides being the hottest man over 40, did an amazing job in his role. It was a little hard to feel sympathetic towards a man that basically coerced and used his power as a boss to enter into a relationship with one of his employees, but at times, I did feel for him. I have no idea why they didn't have him and Ten get together, but they would've made an incredible endgame.

I loved all the cameos we got, First and Khaotung, Drake, Fluke, just to name a few. Even one of the original actors from the Ossan's Love made a cameo, which was pretty cool.

Overall, I think this series did best with what it could do, with quite a lot of bumps and hurdle, but for what we got, I'm not upset.

Ratings:

Story: 7.5/10 - worked well in the beginning, not so much towards the end.

Acting: 9.5/10 - Like I said, some of Earth and Mix's best acting performances. I also really loved Meow's character and Cheraim. Krit as a vet actor also did really well.

Music: 8/10 - Okay, so I actually loved the theme song. It was so out-of-the-box to what I'm use to hearing, but I actually really enjoyed it.

Recommendation Value: 7/10 - I don't think I would recommend this series outside of an EarthMix lover. It's not something I think would garner a need to watch, but if you like comedy, and more so a few scenes with a shirtless Earth, then here you go!

Read More

DoauOffroad Gem

I hadn't heard of this series until I was introduced to the lovely Daou and Offroad and just had to watch. I'm glad to announce that I really liked it! Love in Translation brings us the lovely pairing of Daou and Offroad in this simplistic yet vibrant love story full of laughs, great characters, and handsome leads.

Let's Dive In.

I really won't be saying anything differently than what has already been said, but of course, I want to say something about this. First off, I loved that this was just 8 episodes, like the people over this knew not to try and make this longer than need be, and we got a slow-burn, nice flowing love story.

The chemistry, of course, was the best part. Also, led to a really nice in-store NC scene that I didn't know I needed in my life. The side couple was also adorable, and I liked that we had an established couple going through their own problems, but I would've liked a little more physical chemistry between them. I liked that Tammy didn't come in as some conniving ex and instead helped both of them in the end. The other side couples were also very nicely placed, and made the story stand out a little more.

My only gripe is that we go from "this is an adorable little love story" to "main character getting kidnapped and one of them turning into the capturer's slave for three months" It just felt like such a left field move, and I skipped pretty much all of that extra-ness.

Ratings:

Story: 7/10 - Entertaining. Some parts a little boring and some plot decisions made no sense, but overall it was good.

Acting: 9/10 - The acting is good! Even the side characters did really well!

Music: 8/10 - Was not ready t hear the beautiful vocals on Daou, but omg, I'm obsessed.

Recommendation Value: 8.5/10 - really nice, down-to-earth series with good NC scenes and a decent plot. Would recommend!!

Read More

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.

Read More

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!

Read More

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.

Read More

Boo

I really don't have much to say other than the fact that this bored the shit out of me. It wasn't bad, but it's definitely not memorable. I guess I would say it teeters on the line of being decent and also not good. Skimmed through the last three episodes and only kept watching cause Stan Huang looks incredibly too sexy with a goatee.

Let's Dive In.

Again, not much to say cause not much happened. It's a very simplistic story of a man who writes and a man who cooks who live in the same building and fall in love. The End. Stacks are very not stack-y, and objectives feel lost somewhere in the middle. But I don't hate this only because the leads are adorable (Stan Huang knows how to rizz) and I'm intrigued by that out of everything. The paper origami was the best little tidbit about this -- super creative and now I wanna learn.

The chemistry between the leads is good, not groundbreaking, but good enough that I didn't drop this. However, this series just drags which is kind of bad cause this is only a 10-episode series that lasts about 20 minutes. The waiter and the best friend and the ex all just feel like filler and again, nothing feels like genuine conflict cause you know that the leads will get together in the end, so who cares? I skimmed through the last three episodes and still got the jist of what happened. They do kissing great though (Only in these last few eps, the ones before were ehh).

Ratings:

Story:5/10 - boring! not bad, just draggy. Romance is decent and yes Stan Huang makes this score go from a 4/10 to a 5/10 for simply existing (that man is too fine).

Acting: 8/10 - It's okay, nothing groundbreaking, and they did good.

Music: 6/10 - Didn't pay it much attention but it wasn't distracting.

Recommendation Value: 2/10 - Watch simply because Stan Huang is the sexiest man in Tawan. Otherwise, forget this series exist (like I will).

Read More

Pavel Was in This, So I was Seated

Boy-oh-boy, what a series. There's so much to unpack that a lot of people have kind of already done, but I'm here to throw in my 2 cents like always. Pit Babe was wild, in so many aspects, but particularly this new subject that's being bought up, and that's omegaverse. While this is a slippery slope for a lot of people, specifically for me, I think this series handled it perfectly without making it too cringe (sort of) or too wolf-ish. Pit Babe had Pavel in it, nonetheless, so of course I was seated.

Let's Dive In.

This was such a huge project that I was so excited for Pavel to be the lead in. I wasn't fond of his Coffee Melody series, so I'm just so glad he was put into something with a beautiful production value, great actors, and a complex story. This series has become huge globally, and I'm so happy he's getting his recognition since the 2 moons disaster.

Okay, so getting away from my pleasantries of Pavel, let's talk more about the series. Starting off, The production value is high. The sets were so perfect, so many different locations, so many different mansions and cars and motorcycles and the whole nine yards. The story is so compacted and flows perfectly, like it's scary how perfect it kind of was. We go from point A to point B with detail and understanding and I know the character's names. I loved it. There were so many astounding plot twists in this that I never knew what was coming next, seriously. The writers did a fantastic job producing this series. They were able to make it story-heavy and BL-heavy without too much or too little of either.

Moving onto the couples, of course, to no one's surprise. Jeff and Alan stole the show. Their build-up, their chemistry, their dynamic, it was like a present being left at my doorstep. Their kind of trope is my favorite; the uke whose stoic and quiet, and the seme whose outgoing and bubbly and kind. They were what kept me watching when Charlie and Babe's relationship got a little complicated, so I appreciated seeing them on my screen. Their NC Scenes were so good, so perfectly sculpted to be individually theirs and so precious how it was handled. Both actors did an amazing job. Moving onto Charlie and Babe, I think it went a little fast for my taste. I'm a slow-burn lover till the day I die, and obviously, this couple is the complete opposite of that. Their dynamic could be fun, until it just wasn't, until it got complex and all over the place. Do I think Charlie and Babe stay together forever? Maybe, but probably not. Their dynamics were a lot for one another, with Charlie being so quick to try and make Babe feel better without thinking of his own feelings, and Babe being needy for something that he can't quite find in Charlie unless he's in his pants. Either way, I liked them in the beginning, I think their story made it hard for me to see them together with all the secrets and lies and such, but it is what it is. Also, their NC scenes were heated for sure, I'm glad they know how to do physical well.

The omega verse shenanigans was kept pretty down-low and wasn't overly thrown into your face (other than a couple of times). I think the mention of male pregnancy was a bit of a nuance if it's not something they were going to parallel in the future. It confuses the watcher (me) and makes them go on a 2-hour spiral on what the hell that even is. But I think everything else was pretty watered down and could be a normal conversation between mlm relationships (yes, even the mama and papa, I've seen it before).

The side characters did really well. I wish North and Sonic's relationship would've been explored further, seeing as they would flirt and mention their overly friendly relationship, but whatever. I think Way and Pete would've been really cute too, and I just really wanted Kenta to end up with someone but oh well.

My real only problem: This series kind of feels a little draggy. There are a few episodes I sped through or kind of skimmed and still got the point of what was going on. I think this could've been 10 episodes max if they took out some unnecessary NC and commentary scenes.

Ratings:

Story: 8.5/10 - Well done! Flowed at a perfect level, had so many different aspects to be excited about, including the relationships.

Acting: 9/10 - Oh Pavel, the man you are. He did an excellent job as Pit, he cried so many times, I know he was exhausted. I think Pooh's acting still has loads of work to go through, but I think he did decent nonetheless. Nut did really well too, and everyone else played a great role.

Music: 6.5/10 - I remember the theme song being kind of annoying. It felt like I was watching the intro to a Power Rangers series.

Recommendation Value: 8/10 - It's a well-put-together series, so I highly recommend watching it. The men in this are insanely hot if that helps too. You'll be a bit spooked by the mention of Alpha and all that, but after the second episode, you get over it.

Read More

Little GMMTV Gem

Can't say that this series disappointed, and like others, I'm pleasantly surprised by my enjoyment of the story, the romance, and the overall production of this series. Be My Favorite, while still having trouble finding the meaning behind the title, I found the meaning of the series which is that of, "past or present, love always wins".

Let's Dive In.

This series did amazing with the portrayal of time traveling and trying to change the future. My biggest worry was that this was going to be pretty cliche, and while it was (in the BL aspect of the story), it still threw in some plot twist that I wasn't expecting. For one, I was for sure that Kawi was going to be able to prevent his dad from passing, but in each timeline, he does. It goes to show that -- even though there's no way for us to physically change the past -- what happens in our lives is unavoidable, no matter how many ropes we climb or battles we face; the past is the past. There were just other things in this that I really loved, including Kawi's different futures and the becomings of them.

Onto the romance, I really enjoyed it! Going into this, Krist and Gawin were the most random pairing that they paired, but in the end, it worked well. Mostly because both actors can act and Gawin is amazing at pretending to be in love (which is why GMMTV keeps giving him every partner in the company), so the chemistry obviously works. Now from time to time, I was hooked on the romance, and other times not so much, but for the most part, it worked and it worked great. I also really like that Gmmtv is allowing Gawin multiple screen partners so that they can enhance his acting ability and on-screen chemistry. It's great! His acting has also been so fucking good since Not Me aired, I'm so proud of him.

Also, this series is VERY LGBTQ+ represented and it shows tremendously. From Pisaeng accepting himself for being gay, visiting a gay bar, conversations with Max, confessions to his mom -- to having an entire speech and rally included in an episode fighting for lgbtq+ rights and that of sex workers and women. Great, great great! Also, I love Max and his little emo pink highlights lol.

I loved how they also dedicated most of the 10th episode to Kawi being nervous about sex to even having discussions about it with Max to showing a very organic, very sensual NC scene. Very well done, and very well executed.

Now some nit-picky things: Honestly, this series is only getting an 8/10 because I genuinely believe there only needed to be maybe 8-10 episodes. A lot of what we watched felt dragged out. Very nicely done, but I can't deny that I was finding myself to be a bit bored at times. Also not the biggest fan of Pisaeng having to go back to the past to help save Kawi, just felt like they were reaching for something else to put on screen when they realized it was pretty much happily ever after after episode 10.

Ratings:

Story: 8.5/10 - The Time-travel storyline was so good. it flowed nicely, it made sense, and it was enjoyable. There were some other things that were a bit tedious, but it doesn't take over the pleasure of watching this series. The romance is nice, all the side characters have their own stories which are also planned out accordingly, and in the end, it was great.

Acting: 9/10 - Oh gosh, Gawin did great since having seen him Dark Blue Kiss. He just gets better and better by the year. But honestly, for me, Aye (Pearmai) stole the show. Loved her acting, loved how versatile she was, and thank the heavens the writers made her bearable and friendly, and accepting. Everyone else did a great job, with Krist also shining through.

Music: 6/10 - Didn't pay attention to it, so it wasn't distracting.

Recommendation Value: 9/10 - this series has surprisingly low views on YouTube, and I'm going to guess that has something to do with the odd pairing, or maybe Krist who not everybody is very fond of. Either way, please help support the wonderful talent that created this little gem of a series, it truly is amazing with lots of LGBTQ+ representation and lots and lots of fluffiness that just makes a BL series what it is.

Read More

I Liked It!

Okay, so from first glance, this was not much of a fan favorite, but honestly, and to my surprise I liked this, Now, of course, this was far from perfect, especially in the acting department (I shall touch on this a little later) but I mean, come on -- a tall yummy boss has a slow burn with the cutesy idiot employee -- I can't pass that up. Step by Step is so legit in its title as this is the slowest of slow burns I've witnessed this year, and I loved it with all my heart.

Let's Dive In.

The plot is as basic as it gets -- the meanie boss stumbles upon the clumsy and emotional employee whom he immediately starts to admire. The end. It really is a simplistic plot with some more details on the side like a complicated side couple, a pregnant lady, and a confident fem-gay guy. Now the story flows pretty well until the end when it gets a little draggy. For one, they could've easily ended the series at episode 10 and saved us the sappy saga that was so not necessary. 11 and 12 are easily skippable, stop at episode 10 for your own good.

Now, was one of the reasons why I loved this series so much because of Man (Jeng) and his surreal looks including the body of a fucking god? Yes. It was. And I'll be shallow and say it was my favorite part of the series. but no seriously, I don't know where they found that beautiful man from, but I need more Man and any more that look like him. The way I just grunted so loud when we saw him shirtless for the first time, my goodness. Anyways, onto Jeng and Pat's romance -- I liked it. Was it because it was a slow burn? Of course, I'm a sucker for people slowly realizing they like each other, the little stares, smiles, gestures, silly flirting -- I loved it all. Though, Pat being overwhelmed by finding out Jeng was also gay was so dramatic, the writers must've been desperate for conflict. Imagine finding out that a fucking god-like creature also happens to like the same sex as you do and all you can do is wither and be sad -- tf..? I would've pounced, but maybe that's just me. They're cute -- nothing out of this world or top tier, but I did really enjoy watching their romance.

I don't love the ending of Jen and Jaab, but what we did get was everything to me. That kiss?? Top tier. show-stopping. Immaculate. Talentful. Perfection. For real, that might be the best kiss I've seen from a side couple. the emotion, the silence, the build-up, the slow to desperate -- so good. Of course, it's not good to cheat, but I can't deny a good couple when I see one. But they kind of leave off a little weird. I fast forward through the last episode so maybe Jen and Jaab get back together, but from what I see, it's left pretty open-ended. oh well.

I really loved all the side characters, specifically Bruce's character who stole the show for me. I also just love Bruce and his acting, and he did phenomenal. And Zorzo!! I love her, she did a fantastic job! And Poppy!! God, I love him too (and his body). Ying was kind of the only character that I could've done without in the series, but oh well.

Ratings:

Story: 7.5/10 - Good! Very unnecessary last two episodes, and also just a lot of office jargon that got to be a bit boring. But I loved the slow burn, I loved the side couples, and overall, I enjoyed the plot.

Acting: 7/10 - Okay so, Man is also beautiful and can act! He did a great job playing this boss role. Now for Ben -- eh. He wasn't terrible, him acting happy and goofy and playful was good, but being sad or crying was not his strong suit. The secondhand embarrassment I got from him crying so hard and yet not a tear escaped hurt. They could've at least given the dude some eye drops to sell it more, but there he was boohooing and not a tear in sight.

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

Recommendation value: 7/10 - I liked it, I would recommend it for many reasons, with one obviously being for Jeng's sake. I mean who would want to watch him on their scene being sexy and amazing and wonderful?

Read More