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Everyone's a red flag and we're all colorblind

So. This is the perfect series if you want to have fun, not think too much, and just watch the trainwreck happen before your eyes. It's messy, it's toxic, everyone kisses everyone at some point, and there's some punching, pushing and yelling, too. Just great.
I have to say, this is so not my usual type of series to watch. To go from Cherry Blossoms After Winter to this was such a big jump it gave me whiplash, but I digress. What I mean is: even I, the utmost fluff enjoyer, had a good time watching this. I was invested all the way through.

I generally liked the couples. NickBoston takes the cake for me, the actors were a pairing I never saw coming but they have great chemistry nonetheless. Even with how toxic they were for each other, they had me actually rooting for them at one point. SandRay is also a great pairing. They're also toxic (I'm going to overuse this adjective, apologies in advance), but there's something so natural about the way they interact. April and Cheum were my absolute favorites - I love them. And TopMew I just didn't care for. After the cheating incident, Top just lost all my respect, and I lost interest in seeing them try to mend their relationship. Also, compared to the other two couples, the chemistry wasn't as strong (in my opinion), so that was also a factor.

I think the strong point of this series is its unpredictability. You never know which couples are safe, which ones are not - who's cheating on who with whom, who is whose ex, who has old unadressed feelings, etc etc. I had no idea where the plot was going for most of the series - and I think that's ok in this case. You just enjoy the drama as it comes. It's also as if they randomly chose two of the actors' names and had them make out for every episode, which was messy but entertaining. I swear, every possible combination was tried and tested (some of them multiple times). Even my boy Drake made an appearance (and got with two different people).

However, there are still aspects I wasn't entire sold on. As I said, neither Force nor Book's acting did it for me - they didn't look as into it as the other couples. I haven't seen their other series, so I cannot say if this is a problem they have in general or if it's just here. At the end, I've probably skipped (or skimmed over) most of their scenes. As for their characters, Top became irredeemable after cheating, and Mew lost himself (and also me) with his questionable bad-boy-act. I'm not saying I disapprove of the toxicity (there goes that word again), but rather how the series wanted me to like them, to ship them. How am I going to? There's no trust between them!
Anyway. I digress.
The intimacy scenes were okay. I also skimmed over them, but that's just because it's not usually what I like to watch. So, if you like them, go ahead, Only Friends has loads lol.

I recommend this series, definitely. Not one of my favorites, but it's enjoyable and keeps you on your toes.

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Cute, but disappointing and kind of messy

Okay. This is going to be a chaotic review - it's 2am right now and I just watched the entire series at once.
First off: this isn't a bad series. It's entertaining, it can be funny at times, and it's visually pleasing. With that, here's what I liked and what I didn't, in further detail.

Good:

- Both actors are incredibly good looking, especially the younger one. It might seem shallow, but to me it's one of the factors that can save or kill a series. Even when I felt like dropping the series, I kept watching because of them.
- They're also decent at acting. I skipped most of the emotional scenes (more on that later), but from what I saw, they did an okay job.
- Good chemistry! Even if I had my doubts about their dynamic, their interactions as friends were really cute and engaging.

Bad:

- This is a VERY korean series. What I mean is, it has aaall the cliché scenes, the slo-mo, the cheesy music, the 20-second long stares, the awkward dialogue. With other series it doesn't bother me as much, but this one really irked me sometimes.
- The plot. It's a mess. There are time jumps, serious family trauma that it's impossible to address properly within 7 episodes, an attempt at a motivational message about passion, and goals in life (key word being 'attempt'), a crazy aunt, a jealous friend, and I'm probably forgetting stuff. As I said, it's way past my bedtime lol
- No kiss. At all. Which I wouldn't mind if they hadn't teased it SO much - they were constantly referencing the fact that they hadn't kissed yet, but were quick to add that 'they would eventually'. Guess what, they didn't. And I'm sitting here wondering if I just watched three hours and a half of a bromance. Seriously, not even 2gether did this.
- The main lead was a bully at the beginning. Point blank, end of discussion. I hated him. I tolerated him later on, because it was that or resenting him for the rest of the series. You're telling me I'm supposed to like him, after he framed a complete stranger for s*xual assault and almost got him expelled? Was it that hard to make up an excuse as to why he was on top of him? (maybe just literally telling the f-ing truth?? He TRIPPED) Also, messing with his bow and arrows and keeping his keychain and not returning it?
Idk, not even the halo effect could save his character for me. As pretty as the actor is, his character is a jerk until the end of the series.

I would re-watch their scenes together as friends. Not much else. I'm not fond of drama (especially not this kind of drama, where people are dying and there's a baby involved and just no), so I didn't particularly enjoy that. Other than that, though, the series is quite entertaining.

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Heart and Li Ming carried the entire show

To be honest, I would probably have dropped this series if HeartLiMing wasn't in it. I have nothing against the actors that play the main couple, but I just wasn't really interested in them (dramatic storylines aren't really my thing). They did have really good chemistry, though.
On the other hand, Heart and Li Ming quickly became my favourite pairing EVER on a BL series (and, mind you, I've watched a few already). Their relationship is so cute, warm and unproblematic, that I could rewatch their scenes over and over and never get tired of them. There's something comforting about a ship that doesn't have any drama in it - and the only drama that happens doesn't have anything to do with them, but rather with Heart's parents and how they treat their son.
You know what, I'm not even mad we got an angled kiss. GeminiFourth steal the show every time they're onscreen together, and they bring a lot of dimension to the characters they play. Gemini's acting is especially commendable, because he had to convey the emotions and thoughts of a deaf character, while not being deaf himself. His facial expressions were top-notch, his body language amplified, and his gestures a lot more animated, which made it very easy to understand Heart, even when the sign language wasn't translated.
Fourth is a great actor as well - he nailed the gentleness of Li Ming, his determination to communicate with his friend, and his joy every time the other managed to talk.
I love that this series took a different route than most Thai series and decided to go with a darker, more realistic tone for the story. I also liked that the two couples balanced each other out, the main couple's relationship being a lot more convoluted and messy, and the secondary couple's being mostly smooth, innocent and pure.

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Just...........Wayne Song. No thoughts head empty

Let me preface this by saying that I didn't finish the series. I'm someone who for some reason hates curveballs in series so I read the reviews before starting it, and all of them mentioned that the last episode was terrible. The ratings supported these claims. So, I stopped right after the second to last episode. Since I didn't watch the last, my review encompasses episodes 1-9.

I actually liked the first two episodes or so, where they're "enemies" and Hao is bullying Xi Gu. They actually went for it and the harassment was pretty egregious, which many series don't dare to do. And Hao realizing he actually liked Xi Gu and asking his gay friend for advice was so wholesome. The series overall has a very sex positive message that surprised me quite a bit, I wasn't expecting it. And the friend group was very supportive and they tried to educate themselves for the sake of their friends which was awesome.
The main selling point of the series is the chemistry between the two main characters, it's honestly great. The actors do their best and there's plenty of cute (and spicy) scenes that are pretty good, very believable. And man, Wayne Song is so handsome so that's always appreciated. Blessed my screen and all that (and that's all my cringe quota for today so let's move on). And Hao caring for Xi Gu and getting him to eat and take care of himself was also very cute.

With that out of the way, I'll just say, Idk what the budget for this was, but the production is just not good. I caught multiple continuity errors, and it was so distracting, it kept taking me out of the scene. The dialogue can get pretty weird and goofy, and some of the jokes/humor didn't really land for me, I found it a bit... childish? I don't know how to explain it. But I guess that's just a personal preference of mine.
While Hao can be an incredible partner in many ways (he's caring, protective, attentive, etc.), he gave me the ick PLENTY of times. First of all, how is it justified that he treated his girlfriends like trash?? That was not cool. Second: he was SO horny skdj like episode 8 was crazyyyyy, my man was going THROUGH it. But the problem for me was that he kept pressuring Xi Gu to sleep with him, when the other was clearly anxious and insecure about it and just needed time and patience. Like bruh he was fully dry humping him throughout the episode, that would've made me soo uncomfortable if it were me. I guess they were going for the "dubious consent/he's clearly into it" trope that Asian BLs love so much, idk. Not a fan.
Secondary couple was a no-no for me. I honestly could live without age gap ships in BLs. That man was in his 30s dating a highschooler, like get your shit together please. And the friend (his partner) was whiny and jealous and possessive and it annoyed me a bit. Also, random note: he looked like a mix of Hyunjin from SKZ and Mark Pakin from GMMTV to me lmao
I liked Hao's father as a character though. Complex, layered, realistic. Wasn't fully redeemed, wasn't fully hateful either. Just conflicted. Good work on that.

Overall: some scenes were good (mostly the ones between the MCs), the story is cute and wholesome (maybe a more mature version of Heartstopper if you will), and I skipped a LOT of stuff so... yeah. Bit of a mixed bag. Would watch an edit on YT, but I wouldn't rewatch. Sorry

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