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Beautiful Growing Pains

More than a BL, this felt like a realistic portrayal of LGBT / queer life with all of the complexities of growing up and the challenges of loving others and also yourself.

There's so much beauty in the story telling: the longing, the desperation and oh the loneliness of finding your own way in life. And the poetic justice of things not being perfect in the end, because isn't that truly l i f e? Sometimes the happily ever after is only in the acceptance of yourself and the capacity to find your own beat in the world. There's joy in that too, joy in the discovery that mundane days with a lost lover could be what you crave most.

This story truly is perfect in all of its imperfections.

Major kudos to Nam Yoon Su for bringing a needed story to mainstream media in South Korea. I give him major applause for choosing to fiercely charge ahead with leading this project, knowing that South Korea has such a long way to go as far as LGBT acceptance. He has faced backlash and has stood his ground, and I think he is exactly who was needed to tell this beautiful story.

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For Dessert Lovers

If you were looking for a full course menu with this special episode, I have to truly wonder if we watched the same series.

The one thing that I've come to love with the My Stubborn franchise is that it truly doesn't pretend to be anything more than what it really is. Was the special ep going to be riveting plot wise? No. Was it going to solve major world issues? No. But was it going to be a fun time? Absolutely.

The script largely felt improvised... and you know what? I'm not mad at it. Both Boat and Oat have truly mastered the art of NC scenes and I think that's enough for their target audience (read: ME). They're not cringey and are packed with a lot of heat and passion.

And it's exactly what I ordered off the dessert menu: Sticky, sweet, and left me wanting another 100 special episodes.

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An underdog type of BL that holds its own amongst champions

I went into this BL when it was halfway through airing and was expecting to be not overly impressed by it. And then in a complete twist of events, I fell in love with it.

There's so much beauty in this very sad story of two lovers who have to face unimaginable pain and separation. When the costs of duty overthrow any sense of 'choice'. And even when choices are made, they only take you further away from the one you love the most. This story felt like poetry to me, surrounded by beauty and all the sharp edges that emotion can bring.

This series stands on its own brilliantly, holding its own even when surrounded by bigger budgeted projects. I hope that this series lays the groundwork for more in this lane, as it is so needed AND wanted.

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Hmm.

To be honest, I finished the finale of this series and literally said out loud to myself, "what the hell was that?" to myself.

It started off with promise, but quickly lost it's footing and I foolishly kept watching hoping it would somehow get better. But... it didn't.

Pros:
- Beautiful cast. I could write poetry about Petch.
- I loved the mixed languages of Thai and Korean.
- If you love NC scenes, this series serves them hot and heavy.

Cons:
- Storyline is... messy and failed to deliver. So many plot holes and screentime for nothing.
- I felt like SangminDinneaw (the title and main pairing) didn't get enough time to tell their story well enough. I felt like Sangmin lacked focus and good resolution. We didn't even get a proper reunion scene for them, but we got to see Dinneaw and a pillow having fun???
- The two extra friends, who I can't even remember the names of but were weirdly placed for comedy and their cringey NC scenes. In the finale, the scene with the cucumber had me scratching my head so bad. I just don't understand why that was needed. So much time wasted.
- Also the random doctor pairing? Why?

Overall:
- Wouldn't recommend watching.

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Pit Babe wins 1st Place in my heart

Pit Babe's pilot episode is one of my favorite episodes of the series, it has the magic to pull you in before you even realize it. The story is fresh and sprinkled with omegaverse elements. Pavel shines on the screen, fully embodying Pit Babe, almost like he was born for this role. Pooh follows in stride and eats up the golden retriever boyfriend vibe 100%. The entire cast is full of talent and I enjoyed seeing them all onscreen together.

This series, while far from being perfect, still had me clinging to every episode desperately. And there will be a void felt for some time now that it's done airing.

Positives:
- Complex storyline that felt new and refreshing
- Solid acting, especially from Pavel
- Amazing cast through and through (hard to not love them honestly)

Negatives:
- Omegaverse or not omegaverse? I really think they should've leaned harder into these elements or they should've removed them altogether. For the casual BL watcher, who maybe doesn't read fanfic, these dynamics are confusing and create a lot of distracting points if aren't already brushed up on what omegaverse is.
- Too many characters / storylines - too little time to make them all worth it
- I love Pooh, but there were times he did pale in comparison to Pavel. Some of this is intentional, and some of this stems from lack of experience. They needed to give him some emotional depth, but it was missing and he felt one dimensional at times.

Overall:
Pit Babe captivates from the starting line, has a few bumps in the road, but finishes solidly. Will be adding to my rewatch list and to my favorites overall. Would love a s2, special episode, or movie.

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Cute but also frustrating

The pairing for this BL is really cute and they have insane chemistry (as most Taiwanese BL partners do). The story started off really promising, but I did find myself really tired of the cat and mouse episode to episode, especially in the last few. I just wanted them to be together. I also didn't like how dumb they made Shunyu out to be, when it came to Shang Zhou's feelings (and his own). So, that kind of took a few stars away for me personally.

All in all, the actors here deserve another BL and I hope we get to see them in another series with a better story.

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Star Struck didn't leave me seeing stars

Unfortunately this show fell into the KBL cog and wheel of 8 eps with 12-18min run time and the result was less than star worthy in my opinion. The story was too overly complicated with many elements happening at once, while execution of them was less than wonderful.

Childhood friends to lovers is a great trope, but instead of feeling the pining and the slow burn, I felt a huge annoyance {almost bordering complete dislike} towards Yoojae. There were points where I honestly questioned what it was exactly that Hanjoon had fallen in love with. Because even before Hanjoon confesses, to the confession scene, and afterwards--Yoojae was a jerk to Hanjoon. And even after they were separated and finally reunited at college, when Yoojae threw away those chocolates that Hanjoon had kept all that time {right in front of him}, I wanted to kick his face in.

I never felt genuine love or care come from Yoojae towards Hanjoon. He felt self absorbed, selfish, and at times cruel. These feelings couldn't be resolved by the last two episodes and those were the absolute worst ones out of the 8. They were a mess: spending too much time on family drama that isn't resolved for more than HALF of the episodes and leaving a small window of time for us to see Yoojae and Hanjoon together.

I'll never understand why Hanjoon was desperately looking for his mother, only to see her in the hospital and then leave two seconds later because he was late for his anniversary with Yoojae. And not only that, but afterwards, the boys never talk about what had happened and Hanjoon never discloses that he was late and lost his phone because he was seeing his mom in the hospital? Of course I would expect Yoojae {laughs} to understand, but instead it's pinned that Hanjoon has to apologize for disappearing and he promises to never do that again.

This was literally a mess and there's nothing really salvageable about it.

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Found Family

This is a great JBL from start to finish. The pacing, the story, the end game... everything felt right from beginning to end. The overall touching point being gathered around the dining table was very unique and really drove home the overall feeling of all of us wanting to belong somewhere. The navigation through both of their stories, of love, loss, and a sense of not belonging are very human concepts and are touched on beautifully. To love is special, a miracle in itself, and it does not come without risks. But to love, is to also risk the most of ourselves, and I loved how this was explored also.

I couldn't complete this review without mentioning that Tane was a highlight throughout, the actor did so well and the series wouldn't be half of what it is without him. He definitely has a bright future if he chooses to continue acting.

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Don't judge a book by its cover.

This show completely surprised me. Not only in the acting department, but in the NC department as well. I think this story was well crafted and executed and it makes you go through a journey of emotions. The way Ritsu is painted during he first part of the series is terrible, and I found myself really hoping Masumi never got back together with him {even if the world was ending}. But as we go along for their journey towards the end, things come to light and we have to rethink the past. Also, I really enjoyed the unexpected {at least to me} supernatural-ish touch we got in this series. Overall, this was an enjoyable watch and I would recommend.

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Seeing Double (in anger)

Twins, on paper, sounds very interesting. Twins, on the screen, failed to deliver big time. The story is so convoluted, wasting large amounts of time for no reason, with little to NO resolve by the end.

Biggest Plus - Great acting. Esp for the Zee / Sprite actor. He pulled off the different personalities very well. I loved Sprite and wanted to shove Zee's head into the toilet a majority of the time. I commend him for sinking his acting chops into this worthless piece of script writing and giving it his full effort.

Biggest Negative - We call it Twins, give them this weird storyline and a not so clear wrench between them. We spend 11 episodes absolutely hating Zee and by ep 12, he smiles a little and all is forgiven? Same thing for First, he's lied to by Sprite for 11 episodes and get a half assed explanation in ep 12. It was just too much of all the wrong things for me.

Takeaways - Get these boys in another series because they're great and definitely deserve a lot better.

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I meannnn

I'm not really sure where I sit with this one as a whole, but it was cute. I just felt like it needed something and I'm not exactly 100% on what that missing thing was for me. Additionally, emotionally, this felt very flat at times and I wish it hit a little more in the soft spots. There's supposed to be a lot of heart in this story, but it doesn't really come through.

Personally, I've been more invested in the actors outside of the series than I was with their characters. It's evident that they are really close and I'm happy they were able to find each other through this project.

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Not perfect, but good enough.

I didn't plan to watch this, but it came up in my viki recommended and I decided to check out the first ep. A lot of things don't really catch my interest, but this seemed to do it and kept me interested to the end.

The only real criticism I have is for the second pairing and the holy moly rollercoaster they made us ride throughout the show. JJ seemed largely one dimensional throughout this series, where he's on edge and annoyed/angry at every bend of the story. At some point it does get really annoying and for half of the series I was just thinking that this guy really needs to get his **** ****ed and chill out. But then he tries to save Inhyung and gets hit by the truck and honestly it made me laugh (I know it sounds terrible), but finally he was silent and somewhat enjoyable to watch on the screen. Also the fact that they wrote Inhyung denying a record deal to take care of JJ was infuriating. Inhyung deserved so much more at the end of the series.

Despite this, overall the series did make me laugh and had me pulling for the two leads. Geunyoung's dad had me rolling a few times. No matter what, the good does outweigh the bad and is worth the watch.

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Could've been great, but ended up being mediocre

The bones of the story here had a lot of potential to be a great story that could leave a lasting impression, but sadly this series did not deliver. The writing of this series is questionable and it produced characters that you know you should feel something for but which you just don't. I think the CEO and the DR had wayyyy too much relevance in this series and instead of being bad guys, they just became annoying at some point. I feel like everything else was just dusted over. And the finale was esp underwhelming and just furthered the disconnect of the story. I feel like giving this a 7 is being kind really, but that's what I'm giving it anyways.

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This felt like lukewarm leftovers...

I've spent a lot of time trying to comprehend just how season 1 could've gone so well and how season 2 could have gone so terribly? The magic of season 1 is completely lost in season 2. The grit and fun of season 1 is missing in all aspects; maybe Way took those with him into the afterlife?

I truly only kept watching this season for one reason only, for Kim / Kenta and wowwww what a mistake that was. I could've just powered up ao3 and found a fix it fic to fill the VOID in my heart.

I feel bad for the cast and crew who spent so much time on this, because I'm sorry it was literally bordering the utter garbage category in my honest opinion. It was like eating lukewarm leftovers, it looked and tasted nothing like it did the first time.

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