Second chances

If you get a second chance to love, should you give it a pass or jump at the opportunity and finally be happy? That is the choice Miyata has been presented with when he suddenly meets his first love. They had not seen each other in 14 years and the break up had been sudden and without explanation. Now they are in their early 30s and the feelings seem to have only been dormant not gone. Slowly, they learn to trust and love each other again.

The Japanese have done it again: the current BL masters are them! Their dramas are short, to the point with great storylines and excellent actors. Here, we have two parallel stories told at the same time: teens' and adults' love stories. The important fact is that as adults they won't let themselves be manipulated they way they were as teens. They stand up for themselves and decide that the most precious thing they have in the world is each other!

But because it is short, the issues here (homophobia, society pressure, family) are dealt with quickly and not really in depth. There was no need also, for the introduction of a manipulative brother (cousin?) in present day storyline. And even though he turns out to be on their side eventually, his sleeziness and unclear motivations (he has hots for his cousin?) created unnecessary complication and tension which was already high enough with the family history and a difficult mother.

The actors are amazing, very much at ease with each other. They managed to portray the main characters convincingly. Miyato is deceptively soft but has a strong backbone, while Iwanaga hides his weaknesses behind a cocky attitude. Their chemistry is just right and every time they were close to each other, just looking into the eyes, made me feel butterflies....

Please continue like this, Japan!

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Everything is magic?

Uhmmm, no! Not really! Not even close! Unfortunately!

I waited for this version with a bated breath. Japanese Cherry Magic was one of the first BLs I watched after discovering the fascinating world of BLs a couple of years ago. It had left me with a ridiculously happy smile and butterflies. Moreover, I've been a fan of Tay and New since Dark Blue Kiss, enjoyed immensely their non bl dramas and was thrilled to bits when I found out they were going to do a thai version of Cherry Magic.

But...there is a big BUT here! I've spent two years now, watching a lot of BLs and have honed in my likes and dislikes, realizing that loving dramas, indiscriminately and without criticism, are the thing of the past. If I were to watch the original today, I probably would not have the same impression! Now days, I like what the majority of watchers hate!

Therefore, (you see where I'm going to with this long introduction, right?) Cherry Magic, the thai way, did not manage to win me over or, better said, put me under its spell! Everything was not magic but out of synch!

Achi, a 30 yr old virgin, with low self-esteem, shy, kind and innocent, scared of other people and absolutely frightened of intimacy of any kind! So we were shown an adult man, trembling in fear, confused, completely oblivious of other people's feelings and indecisive trying to please everyone and thus being left behind. Karan is his complete opposite: successful, competent and handsome in addition to being kind and observant. He's had a crush on Achi for 7 years.
Question 1: why did it take him 7 years to try to make a move on Achi? Answer: ????????
Achi was never really aware of Karan: he admired him as a coworker but nothing more. When he gains this magic power of hearing other people's thoughts and finds out that Karan is in love with him, he becomes more attentive which manifests in him getting even more nervous and jumpy, a real scaredy-cat! Karan never really makes a move but keeps watching Achi and just staying put in his unrequited love. Why someone, so confident and successful professionally, is a total loser in his private life? It is so much out of character for Karan!
Question 2: does Achi really fall in love with Karan?
The ability to hear Karan, gives Achi the unexpected knowledge and he realizes that Karan had been particularly attentive to his needs without him ever noticing it! How dense can someone be? So, from this point on there are two schools of thought : mine and everyone else's. Everyone else thinks that Achi falls in love with Karan from that moment. I beg to differ! Achi is suddenly aware of all the attention Karan has been bestowing upon him which makes him very uncomfortable: he is jumpy, shakes a lot. He feels indebted to Karan so he convinces himself that he is in love but his attitude does not follow. We see him being evasive and shirk any form of closeness, he unwittingly retreats every time Karan comes close to him. When Karan confesses and they start dating, they seem like a couple of old friend not lovers going around. Achi is obviously grateful to Karan for his love, attention and help but in love? I don't think so! Episodes 8 & 9 are a cringefest: it took me two days to finish them by watching in 10min instalments: that is just about the maximum quantity of cringe I can bear at once! This whole love story was unconvincing and lacklustre! Yes, Achi kisses him first but even that seems like obligation, something that he needs to do, does not want to but has to do! Even on their wedding night, when Karan is being so attentive and lovey dovey, Achi is still jumpy and evasive, not knowing what to do with himself (and it is not like it is their first night together!)...Mostly, when they are together, they come across as friends not lovers.

What about the other characters? The second couple are Min and Jinta (Achi's friend, a writer and another 30 yr old virgin!) who seems to have a split personality: usually he is a normal ordinary adult except when he is around Min and becomes a blubbering fool with grotesque mimicry and incoherent dialogue. Kudos to the actor for managing transitions smoothly! Another couple are Rock and Pai, Achi's office coworkers. Pai is a fujoshi (less said is the better) but is also kind, helpful and smart. And finally, there are a couple of bosses, funny, fun and surprisingly supportive. The actor playing the japanese boss, was amazing in pulling off the accent!

This was a fluffy romcom definitely too fluffy for my taste. Unfortunately, it was also too unconvincing (putting aside the fantasy element), there was no chemistry between the leads and the writing could have been better. I have not read the manga and I saw the japanese version ages ago so I am not comparing this drama with anything. Still it failed to convince me, I was mostly bored and annoyed!

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And here goes another story about a magic mirror! In spite of all its flaws, it has the merit of being short and to the point: there are no pesky side characters and time-consuming second couples.

Following an umpteenth fight with his father, Aksorn moves out into a dorm room. There is a mirror left by the previous tennant in the room. The same night there is a meteor shower together with an aurora borealis which causes electrical disturbances. And suddenly Aksorn can see someone else's room in the mirror. After the initial shock has passed the boys become friends and more. But the mirror is still between them.

This is probably the best "magic mirror" drama I have seen together with the filipino Happenstance which is on a more serious side. This one is nice and fluffy! The connections and coincidences were a bit forced but since it is a short fantasy, I was not looking for reality. Moreover, they threw in a time difference trope along the parallel universe so it added extra complications to the plot which may have been a bit too much : like helping at the birth of Aksorn. But on the up side, Kyo stayed away from Aksorn until they were supposed to meet so that was a nice touch. On the other hand, they left some things unexplained: Aksorn's mother role and what actually happened to her.

The three main actors are good. Though the casting director is, as usual in thai bls, incapable of finding two actors of different ages to look a little bit alike to play the same character. But they all had good chemistry until the last episode when that chemistry turned to be extremely awkward.

I liked the cinematography and I appreciate the effort the cameraman did in framing some shots (stairs!) and filming the night skyline. The song was also sweet and I found it slightly different and better than the usual thai soundtracks.

All in all, a nice way to spend three hours and better than the majority of thai bls that were released in the last year.

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The magic of 12

DISCLAIMER: My review is based solely on the drama: I have not read the book!

I usually run it the opposite direction every time someone mentions chinese bromance, as I am allergic to censorship. This one actually I ran towards to. The whole story of its release is fascinating, and for once I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

The series was released in February and then, two hours later, removed by the producer. Why? The theories abound: not censored enough, a mistake release, a scandal? Who knows? In any case, one kind soul managed to download it and the rest is, as they say, history. Now they are releasing it again: will it be censored and re-edited? We'll see! But before it happens, I wanted to see this version!

And, oh boy, did it deliver! Story wise, not romancewise!

Lin JiuShi is a genius programmer not really appreciated at work, so he escapes into a gaming club where he tries out bootleg demos of unreleased games. One of those is Spiritual Realm: a VR game where you need to go through 12 doors and solve a mystery in each one before moving to the next door. In the very first door he meets Ruan LanChu, who, impressed with his quick thinking, asks him to join his organization, Obsidian. LJS learns that the game had been taken away from its creator by capitalists from a "beautiful country" (USA right?) and turned into a more dangerous, killing machine. Obsidian's goal is to reach the final door and reboot the game to its original setting.

The story is extraordinary complex: each door's quest is based on a folk tale or a real horror event (sanatorium: again Bad Americans!). There are rules in each door you are not supposed to break under the penalty of death (for example, get wet in the rain!). You need to find a key (solve the mystery) in order to unlock the next door and obtain the helpful hint for it! There are a few groups going through these doors, each with a different goal: the worst being Company X (if this is not a hint at Elon Musk, I don't know what it is).

While watching, there were things bothering me. A lot! For example....Once you enter the game, you cannot leave unless you reach the final door. If you die in the game, you leave and die for real in the real world 15min later. Everyone knows it since the gamers communicate on different chats. So why would anyone start playing if the outcome is certainly death? Everyone thinks that they can beat the system, I guess! As we get to see with a few beloved characters. Once you are inside, do you need to go through the doors in order? Do you have to solve it yourself or does it count as your win if you manage to survive? How come LJS does not recognize elements of a game he wanted to create with his best friend? The role of kaleidoscopes showing up everywhere? And so on, and so forth.... my head kept coming up with questions, finding inconsistencies and plot holes. Eventually, I discovered that there were none of those: everything was explained in the final episodes 76 & 77.

Kudos to the writers for coming up with such a solid screenplay. Which had no need for romance whatsoever. This is based on a BL web novel, and they censored the romance, turning it into a friendship: which was perfectly OK with me. The plot was gripping enough, and it really did not need the romance. To keep fans happy, there were many "double entendre" lines of dialogue and sizzling looks, but that's it. And that was more than enough. I personally hate it when they mix genres too much: and horror and romance do not mix well! More often than not, romance is superfluous!

The storyline revolves around number 12: twelve doors corresponding to twelve months, twelve zodiac signs, twelve hours, twelve sufferings and negative emotions shown through the quest inside doors (birth, old age, illness, death, love parting, resentment, fear, sorrow, sadness, anger...) The whole game is an allegory for the character growth, for dealing with emotions and that is what we eventually understand that the plot is about!

There was not one single annoying character. On the other hand, there was a long arc in the middle of the drama involving an actress playing the game which put the main characters' storyline a bit on the back burner. Nevertheless, there was not one boring second in this drama. They manage to strike the perfect balance between scary, calm and funny. It was a real pleasure to watch.

Dubbing was rather atrocious, though. I did not notice it in the beginning but as the drama progressed, RLZ whispering voice was getting too much just like the sound effects (breathing, lips smacking etc. awful!). Sometimes those voices were so distracting that I'd forget to focus on the plot! LOL

Production value is very high, the special effects were excellent and the scare factor was not very high: the scariest thing happened oof screen or as shadows: so that was just perfect for a horror hater like me (I cannot watch horror or gore). I loved the background music: it was perfect! The dramatic music was appropriately dramatic, the sad one just tugging at the heartstrings making tears come to your eyes but never over the top or too much. Every main support character's death was accompanied by the same song, just maudlin!

SPOILERS AHEAD

Now, the reason I do not rate it as much as I wanted to is the last episode: the completely unnecessary 10 min featuring a 50yr time jump. The story ends up as being a coma dream LJS had after a car accident. The people in the game are the people he meets in the area he lives in. RLZ is actually a NPC character from the VR game LJS wanted to make with his friend in the university. Not being able to forget dream game's RLZ, LJS spends 50 years creating the game Spiritual Realm in order to meet RLZ again and live with him and the members of Obsidian together forever in the VR world.

This ending is the bitterest, saddest, the most tragic end you can imagine! There is nothing bittersweet or happy about spending 50 years of your life to create a fictional character! So he'll download his conscience in the VR database and live happily ever after?!?!? I just wanted to cry for the wasted life because of a coma dream! He had not learned anything after all!

Just don't watch the last episode: the drama ends on episode 77 and it is 10/10!!! That ending is perfect!

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Are we really friends?

This little korean web drama is by far the best drama I've seen in a long time from Korea: this is how you make a correct friends to lovers drama!

Minhwa's girlfriend is suspicious of his closeness with his best friend of ten years. On the other hand, he is completely oblivious of her closeness with her long-time best friend. Well, they are all fake friends and real lovers.

The drama focuses more on the BL and the GL is just a kind of side story. But the BL is just perfect! When they go on a trip alone, they are suddenly uncomfortable in each other's company, the tension rises and eventually breaks through the friendship barrier. These scenes are sweet and funny: the stretching before a jog is hilarious. Or when the straight couple tries to come clean to each other and are constantly interrupted and don't know how to say what needs to be said!

The actors have just the right amount of chemistry together. In the first episodes, they are dressed the same and they actually look very much alike, seated beside each other in the café.

Fake Buddies is a low budget (they seem to be all alone in the world!) web drama which again proves that talent and creativity are what is important not the money. I wanted to continue watching them: they are so cute and sweet together. I would like to know more about the girls and how they got together as well: that is the episode this drama is missing and therefore I took 0.5 off my rating!

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No regrets

I Fell In Love With Someone Of The Same Sex is a japanese short film. It is a classic story of friends to lovers with the usual tropes: secret crush, jealous girlfriend, love triangle, mean ex girlfriend.

Naoki has been in love with his best friend Tomoya for the whole three years of the high school. At the moment of Tomoya's departure to the university, Naoki confesses not expecting anything in return believing his friend straight but not wanting to have any regrets. Tomoya is shaken by this confession and cannot keep the relationship with his new girlfriend going for a long time so he goes back after six months. Naoki has tried to move on and has a girlfriend but Tomoya's return will shake his newfound stability.

The production looks rather low budget, the editing is choppy, the sound is bad but the acting is nice: the actors have great chemistry and emote well. It is nothing new, the story told and seen so many times before and yet still fresh and sweet.... The film is actually really nice and I wish it were longer. Not a single moment was wasted: the whole story is told through short but very eloquent and important scenes from the boys' lives! For example: sharing an ice cream shows how close they are, mean girl pushing in between them or "naively" outing Naoki to his new girlfriend as a bitter revenge.

I just cannot help but laugh at the name of the production company: CUL Drama (https://www.youtube.com/@culdrama) with "cul" being a slang word in French for porn(I'm French!)! Rest assured, this film is not porn: there is one kiss on the cheek and that's it!

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Misunderstandings and missed chances

This drama had two halves for me: a rant inducing first half and the butterflies inducing second. It is a story of teens, full of insecurities, behaving like teens i.e. immaturely and without the courage to ask for what they really want! Fast-forward 10 years later, those teens are adults now and are well aware of the chances they are given so they take them albeit reluctantly but they still do!

What I liked:
- two stories told in parallel: past and present. In the past we see how they go from best friends to lovers to enemies and in the present from enemies to lovers. The pacing was excellent!
- Ji's character in the present and Achi's in the past timeline
- Ji's parents, especially father in the end
- Junior's singing voice (if that's him singing!)
- Achi's manager and Ji's friend
- absolutely zero PPLs (incredible but true)
- good chemistry and excellent NC scenes

What I did not like:
- unnecessary second couple (Ki and the farmer)
- Achi's behaviour in the first half
- too much lipstick on Achi
- sound effects (even a little bit of those is too much!)
- lack of communication causing a 10 year rift between them
- lack of communication
- lack of communication

The rest is here:

PERSONAL RANT: pay no attention to my lucubrations! Thank you!
1. I have started this only 10 min ago and want to drop it already. Why? Those awful unnecessary sound effects! Really? Still doing those? Please producers, give some credit to your public that they will know when a scene is supposed to be funny! And, OMG! the lipstick on that dude!😱 But Fluke is so pretty without looking weak. Makes me think of James of Bed Friend fame!...Fortunately, no shiny lipstick on him! He's making it worth the watch! 🥰
2. So, I haven't dropped it yet but again was very close to it in ep 2. That actor is annoying, apparently has never heard the word NO, has no boundaries and he thinks himself cute. So not cute and even less romantic! This is turning into a hate watch accompanied by rants. It sounds fun! Go Ji, stay strong!
3. I was hoping that the sound effects have just been an accident at the beginning of the first episode. No way! They are back with vengeance at the beginning of the third!😭😭This drama has all the tropes from three years ago. I had thought they had moved on. No such luck! Moreover, the actor is being creepy, using a kid and not cute at all! And now he wants to be friends! I think I have definitely seen too many bls!🤣🤣Pushy ml, disregarding other people is definitely to my liking. What is the most infuriating is that the doctor is going to let him do everything he wants and since he's had a crush on him for ten years it is not going to take long. I noticed one item of progress in this dramas: everyone is wearing a helmet nowdays when they are riding a motorcycle: it was not the case a couple of years ago so the new law must have been implemented in Thailand? I love that "doctors saving lives" mission dramatic music, slow motion walking through a long corridor with hands in the air: I could not stop laughing: they look like kids playing doctors! The flashbacks a spaced nicely and giving just bits and pieces of the backstory which correspond to present events. Nicely done! But why does Ji carry a tote bag? This is just another infuriating bl trope: ukes carry totes and semes backpacks, even though they gave him a backpack in the present too but it is colour coordinated with his t-shirt!🤣 Fluke looks so much like a typical bl actor from three years ago (he's the spitting image of the guy from UWMA!) That bridge in Chiang Mai is always empty when they are crossing it together: but you can see in the background that the production stopped the traffic at the entrance to it!
One HUGE positive point so far: not one single PPL! Amazing! Incredible for a thai bl! At least two points gained on my final rate for sure! If they manage it until the end!
4. So I went and got myself a pot of ice cream (B&J Cookie Dough) convinced that it would calm my ranting mood down. I am sorry to say, it did not! I am getting angry with Ji now: I thought he was strong but he is buckling so fast under pressure from the Achi that it is quite disturbing and disappointing. Achi is a charming and selfish man who thinks his pushy behaviour is cute but I thought Ji was better....I guess when you've been in unrequited love for ten years, you admit defeat quickly. And then, they threw us a curveball: Achi has had feelings for Ji forever, he never wanted to be his friend! The whole story gets turned upside down! What happened between them 10 years earlier? Why did Ji pretend to be interested in Pear, a girl from Achi's school? The plot thickens!!!
5. Achi telling a bedtime story with puppets was the cutest ever, in the flashback. Poor guy, he keeps confessing to apparently completely clueless Ji. This is getting better! Yey! So much cuteness in this episode. They have both calmed down and are going slowly...Nice! Nothing to rant about!
6. Some very long scenes with a patient in hospital: his cancer made Ji think about his own mother and yada yada yada....They wasted over half an episode on it. But then they went to flashbacks and to ten years earlier: cute and fluffy! More please, I want more! And I was given more! Junior, the actor playing Achi, sings a song: he has such a lovely warm unusual voice....Fingers crossed they finally start talking to each other and not skirting around the most important questions in their minds!
7. I wonder which gay arthouse film did they watch that made them all hot and bothered like this? The lovemaking scene was beautiful and the aftermath of teens not talking probably typical, separating because of a misunderstanding.... While trying to save some face, they ruin everything! Actually, now I am getting angry with the young Ji. I know, teens explore, do not understand and all that but it's been months that Achi has been giving him hints and signs that Ji keeps ignoring. He is a smart kid so...Why? Poor Achi....Poor me! My rant has made a 180° turn and now I am not happy with Ji, the one in the past not in the present!🤣🤣🤣Yes, finally they talked! It only took them ten years. Better late than never!
8. Well, nothing runs smoothly in heaven, apparently. They are together, but things are not all cleared up and Ji is hesitating. Again. So his best friend tells him the simple truth: "Stop playing games and just be together!" It falls on deaf ears? I hope not! One thing has been bothering me since the start: why does Ji constantly wear his doctor's coat outside hospital? He doesn't have time to change before going home? Ever? I am not a medical professional but isn't reattaching a finger a more sensitive operation than placing a hip screw? I'd say yes! So he was an expert surgeon in the first episodes (and that was already hard to believe) but now in the last episode he needs to be supervised? [Microsurgery: Reattaching a finger and restoring blood flow is delicate work, since each digital artery is a millimeter in diameter, decreasing in size (as it moves from the top of the finger to the bottom) to fractions of a millimeter before branching into capillaries. ] Of course they had to ruin the last minutes with Achi's concert and his awful hair and too much lipstick. Who finds that quantity of lipstick on a man attractive?

This turned out to be a great watch after an iffy start.

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Thai GL version of Dynasty

GLs are few and far between, they should not be judged harshly and given the space to grow. The first thai gl, GAP, I dropped after one episode. This one I finished but only because it was short not because I liked it. I did not. Actually it was bad and boring.

The story of a 20yr old high school student hitting on a 36yr old artist is new and original. And that is all. Everything else is just bad starting with the main characters. They all sound like they came out of a soap opera. So the 20yr old's mother was the artist's best friend in school. She even had a crush on her but when the artist rejected her confession, she slept with a boy who got her pregnant. Later that boy was getting married to the artist but she left him at the altar. They all come from wealthy families.

I would not have minded this soapy plot if the chemistry were good. It was not! The 20yr old girl behaves as if she is 12: baby voice, cutesy expression, pouty, pushy and manipulative. The 36 yr old artist is a virgin, never been in love, usually lost in front of the pushy girl with rare bouts of adult reasoning which is always welcome.

They are making a second season? Please don't! This was bad enough! The woes of rich people are not as interesting as they used to be! On the other hand we may find out answers to some of the questions that have been left open.... but I will have forgotten about those by tomorrow anyway!

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Hero worshipping to love?

And again, the hype got to me and I watched this drama. And, again, because of the hype, I was more attentive to details. And because I paid attention to details, I did not like this very much. And what I did not like the most is the character of Wei Zhi Yuen: what a manipulative little cocky jerk of a person!

Here starts the rant:

Wei Qian, a lonely orphaned boy, taking care of his sister while working for the local mob, takes in a stray boy he keeps seeing sleeping in the street. He adopts him and gives him a name. Few years later, that boy, now adult, first comes out to WQ (so he is gay but the only man he was ever attracted to is WQ?!?!) and then professes his love to WQ (apparently he has been in love with him ever since he met him as a child?!?!?OK...), who shocked, sends him to school abroad. WZY comes back four years later, changed, matured but still in love with WQ and keeps attacking him until WQ surrenders.

WZY has basically two personalities: before and after going abroad. Before, he is hero worshipping WQ who saved him, gave him home and future. He imagines himself being in love. He is stubborn, has one track mind and does not take NO for an answer. When he comes back, older and wiser he manages to get what he wants by smartly manipulating WQ.

WQ has always been more of a father than a brother to his younger sister Lili and to WZY. He has a physical aversion towards women due to his mother's abuse: he gets literally sick when a women reminds him of her. So he has never been in a relationship: between trying to survive, working hard and looking after his siblings, being in a relationship was the last of his worries. He has never had any romantic feelings or even an idea of love (except as a family member) towards WZY. So when WZY comes back, WQis happy to have his brother back, he is family and he loves his family but he caves under WZY relentless bullying. Is he really in love with WZY? Allow me to doubt! They do end up happily ever after but..... During the first half of the series, WQ is the man in the house. But when WZY comes back, suddenly WQ loses all strength and every brain cell and turns from the ML into the FL while WZY takes the initiative....The change of relationship pace comes with WZY's maturity which catches an exhausted WQ off guard. WQ eventually just gives in and 5min later they are heavily breathing on the bed!

This whole love story failed to convince me.

The story about WQ's struggles to take care of his family while being a child himself was inspiring. The child actors were extraordinary. The whole cast was at the top of their game especially the main pair. The problem is the writing and messy storytelling and the editing with too many flashbacks. But this is a BL so what do we expect.? It is a romance which wants to look like real world but we all know it does not! Maudlin music, nice sets and average cinematography completes the unremarkable production values. One more thing I noticed: why did the costume designer make WQ wear those granpa jumpers in the second half: to make him look older, more experienced, wiser?

There are two exactly the same love stories developed here though the other one should have been fleshed out more. It is a parallel story between Lily, WQ's little sister and San Pang his best friend. The older boys knew them (Lili & WZY) when they were kids, so they treated them as siblings. Now adults, those siblings do not want to be considered siblings any more but lovers. The major difference between these stories is that SP did not save Lili's life, he was just a helpful big brother's friend.

There is even a mafia story somewhere in there (blink and you miss it!) and the inkling of a possible love story between the doctor and the mob boss. Now, that is the drama I would like to see: those two characters practically stole the show and they were in this 10min max!

Some people said there is incest and grooming. No not really! They are not blood relatives so no incest and when they eventually get together they are full grown independent adults. Grooming? Absolutely not! The older brother was never attracted to the younger one. it is the younger brother who relentlessly pursues the older one.

The drama is relationship trope filled: from sponge baths, feeding porridge, fastening seatbelt....think of it, it's in there! The music is all the time on: the songs end up being extremely annoying since they translated the lyrics. Every song explains the emotions felt by the main characters: loneliness ("I am lonely...."says the song), missing someone ("I miss you, I want to see you..."says the song ), flashbacks ("We met in the past, you helped me..."says the song), kissing ("I love you, I want to be with you forever..." says the song)). They are probably not exact lyrics but thereabouts, as if we could not understand what the characters are feeling. Better safe than sorry, the producers must have said. Last but not least, there seemed to be an issue with editing in episode 11: I actually quite liked it. It gave us the flashbacks of their every important moment edited with their lovemaking!

I liked these quotes at the end of every episode which correspond to events taking place:
The first-ever family that will never abandon you.
The second kind of family always leaves the light on for you
The third kind of family is the kind that always makes you want to stay
The fourth type of family member is someone who is always there for you
The fifth kind of family is too good to let go
The sixth kind of family pretends to be strong and doesn't say goodbye
The seventh kind of family is always waiting in the distance
The eighth kind of family shows care in his own way
The ninth kind of family is always there to protect you when the end comes
The tenth kind of family loves you so much that they want to leave you.
The eleventh kind of family indulges you unconditionally because they love you so much.
The twelfth kind of family stays together for life.

In conclusion, I am probably not the target audience since these kinds of dramas, half serious half fluff and nothing whole, are really tiring me.

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Magic mirror...what magic?!?

I was actually really afraid of watching this last instalment of My Universe anthology because of the director who made three of the arguably worst parts, where story amounted to 15 min of footage filmed and the rest are those 15 min shown as flashbacks repeatedly. I did not think I could live through another flashback hell.
Well, lo and behold, a miracle happened: not one single flashback in these two episodes. But now I've seen this, I actually wish there were more flashback and less of the story which was messy, incomprehensible and just plain boring and extremely cringy(the proposal in the pizza place had me running for the door screaming!)!.

The synopsis made me expect a fantasy story which would have made a lovely ending of the series. Yeah, well fantasy...I don't think they understand the genre!

Pond is a narcissist, always looking at himself in the many mirrors he owns. One day he breaks one by accident. With a friend's help, he finds another one dumped behind the building. He brings it home but the mirror turns out to be weird since Pond keeps hearing noises and seeing shadows in it. Until one day he recognizes the person in the mirror: a student he used to tutor long time ago and with whom he lost touch. He goes to see him and discovers that Marvin is dying so he takes it upon himself to make Marvin's last days memorable. They kiss. The end!

The first problem is the casting of a 44yr old actor to play a 29yr old Pond: him acting cute and cheerful was not convincing: he just looked like an immature kid - ridiculous! The second problem is the storyline. With the magic mirror involved, I was expecting a major twist in the story, using this mirror. Nothing happened: the mirror was just the device to get them to contact each other again. And that's it! Wasted potential! But maybe it is only my mind refusing to admit the existence of sad stories. Somehow this kind of a story does not fit into this bl genre, this is just a tragedy without happy ending but with Pond finally figuring out what he wants to do in his life. So this is actually the story of Pond and his search for a meaningful employment.

This is quite bad: I liked Fake Love more which was so badly filmed (endless silent shots, flashbacks of flashbacks of flashbacks... Watch this video, it is hilarious: https://youtu.be/i60dsk4m_vc) and written but the story made sense somehow. This is just a mess trying to be meaningful but completely loosing the plot! This director just does not have luck with scripts! Don't give up! This one should have been good

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Optimistic, uplifting, amazing!

It has been a long time since a drama made me feel so many butterflies and actually moved me almost to (happy) tears. I never cry: happy or sad! Never! But this was perfect as perfect can get in this imperfect world made by us, imperfect humans. Maybe this was just exactly what I needed at this moment in my life.

This is the story of Sayako, who, 30 years old, faced with a wall in her life and challenged by a young man met by accident, decides to try to realize her dreams of becoming an architect. After finally entering college, she finds a room in a house shared with 5 other architecture students. Initially she is scared of age difference, but her bubbly optimistic disposition wins everyone and she finds great friends and love amongst them.

Sayako is an amazing character, brave, persistent, refusing to have regrets later in life and therefore doing everything in her power to succeed. She gives us all a great lesson in life: it is never too late to realize your dreams!
The whole cast of characters is amazing: her roommates, her landlord who is interested in her but has trouble showing it, her parents who support her in her endeavour. And of course Tako, the ML whose remarks have shaken her life far beyond the imagined. Just like in many j dramas, there is not one single mean character. Everyone is sweet, helpful, understanding and it is not annoying or boring.

There must have been flaws in this drama: unwillingness to communicate about the crucial decision in life, could be one rare one...but I cannot think of anything major and frankly, I am feeling so good at the moment that I do not want to think about it!

This drama should be prescribed by doctors because it makes you feel good, leaves you with a silly smile plastered on your face and the need to gush to everyone about its effect.

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Blue pool of destiny

I loved it! And even though its flaws are many, I have enjoyed this immensely! Now I am more than certain: I love thai BLs rated below 7.5. Those above I find unwatchable!

The plot is rather original: involving a blue magic waterfall pool at a full moon which connects two parallel universes and a man accidentally crossing the boundary, deciding to help his boyfriend's counterpart and ends up falling for a bad boy with a heart of gold! I am a sucker for such characters: apparently ambiguous and grey but deep down kind and righteous!

BTW, this year's thai bls seem to swing between parallel universe and vampires! Full marks for originality, sincerely! I cannot watch another school BL....

Unfortunately, in spite of its original premise, this drama does not manage to avoid many heteronormative tropes. The main character is uke, Kram who seems to be smart and unexpectedly strong even though he is slight in built. But after a couple of episodes he becomes the stereotypical damsel in distress with a baby voice! That was a disappointment. Tai, on the other hand is a typical seme, macho, strong and silent type, gang boss' son but actually nice. And, oh boy, does he take care of his Kram!

The acting was top notch from the entire cast particularly the actors playing parents who were here less two dimensional, clichés. I don't particularly like the height difference but the actors had decent chemistry and were very much at ease with each other so I managed to bear with it! The cinematography is beautiful as well: the drama takes place in the jungle so the feeling we got from the screen were dreamy, subdued, fuzzy and sparkling. Amazing! The music was probably the best I've ever heard in a thai bl, completely different from the usual fare and more reminiscent of c drama music with a lot of flutes and some romantic piano music, it actually gave me butterflies. The poster for this drama is just awful: dark and scary and it does not present it in a correct light because there is a lot of comedy carried on expertly by the second couple!

The packaging of this drama was perfect. What was missing was the content: after the initial promise, the package was actually empty. There were gangsters, murders, kidnappings, painting, running around and plot holes...I am still trying to figure out why would Tai's father kill himself after killing his own boss and coming out on top of the mob world? Completely illogical in my book!...There were many make out scenes, beautifully filmed and choreographed (the second couple go full monty on us, from the back though...) but too many and too long! There was a mysterious illness and a lot of blood spitting, again reminiscent of c dramas...

I still don't know how I feel about the ending. It was a happy ending and the main couple get their happily ever after but it had left me with a bitter after taste since the other version of a MC gets his redemption but does not get to enjoy it. I guess they needed to make space for the original version of the MC but it does not sit well with me.

Nevertheless, I loved this drama but you need to go in it well aware of its flaws, that it is fantasy and that the phones are nowhere to find! Almost! That was refreshing!

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A boxer and a nun...

Finally! I finally managed to finish it! And it only took me three weeks! Truth be told, if it had not been for the Back To The Past Challenge, I would have dropped it ages ago! Not even Kazu's charm could save this for me! Actually, his over the top acting and the zero character development were the main problems I had with this drama. But not only....

The story follows a promising boxer who loves eating and falls in love with a nun. Put like this, it sounds promising and fun. And that it was, for about 3 episodes and then it became boring and repetitive!

Boxer is a young man of uncertain origin: we don't get to know his (or anyone else's ,for that matter!) backstory. He lives in a boxing gym with other boxers and is training to become champion. But he has to keep his weight down so he eats in secret and puts on 10kg overnight which he looses in 3 days. I was really bothered by this weight gain/loss issue: it seemed extreme. But since I know absolutely nothing about boxing, who am I to criticize. It just sound illogical and unrealistic. A very big part of the first half is spent on the boxer eating and then training to lose the surplus kilos. Those kilos were never obvious: the actor himself is very thin!
One day while jogging he bumps into a nun and falls hook, line and sinker for her. She's an orphan, brought up in the convent, kind and pretty. He follows her around, declaring his love, asking her out...ignorant of convent life. He keeps barging in, jumping around, screeching, in short he behaves like a 5 yr old child. From the beginning to the end of the drama. With a 5min break in the last episode when he grows up. But only for 5min!

The side characters are a mixed lot: the gym owner who is oblivious of everything else but her gym so she never notices her own son being bullied in school or the huge crush her chief trainer has on her. The other boxers in the gym are there only to be a bouncing board for the main boxer's musings and problems. We don't know much about them, except for one when he receives a visit from his father and the whole gym starts lying to cover his failure.
The adversaries in the main boxer's matches are all basically the same: scary on the surface but deep down poor boys just trying to survive (family abroad, make son proud or pay debt!). And of course our dieting boxer beats them easily!

They should have made this into a film because here we just have about 6 filler episodes, case of the week type while the main plot remains still, unmoving. Boring and annoying!

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Cute and superficial

I am a bit torn: this drama is very short and therefore they do not go for in depth character development so I wish they had made it a bit longer. On the other hand, the topic is not interesting and the plot is just a string of predictable moves.

It is a story of two make up influencer who used to be friends but are now mortal enemies. They are forced to work together, so they never stop bickering and throwing snide remarks around. There are two men interested in the younger influencer. Who is she going to choose?

I am not spending my time on different social media, so the very main topic was extremely boring to me. I stayed for the romance but because of the short duration, it was rushed and it sorely lacked chemistry.

This is a web drama so I should not expect much but it definitely looks like an average quality endeavour. Everything is average here: the actors seem to be clones of big stars, the screenplay is undercooked and superficial (even though they put the stress on social media speed and influence but they do not elaborate on it: it is just there, it exists and that's it!), the cinematography is correct though they made an effort to put the FL in spotlight with slight special effects: she sparkles a little bit! The song is annoying!

It is a romcom and nothing more.

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Dorian Gray in Grand Amsterdam Hotel

If you are looking for horror, you are in the wrong place in spite of the genre mentioned on this drama's page. It is a murder mystery, comedy and fantasy but not horror: horror is scary, gives you nightmares. Here, except for a very sexy serial killer, there is nothing to be jumpy about. Unless the sexy serial killers give you nightmares.

The plot in this drama is reminiscent of those many c dramas where the FL falls into a novel and has to find a way out. The FL here is an editor in an online publishing company. When her boss, on whom she has a crush, disappears, she goes looking for him and discover the existence of magic laptops: when you write a person's name on it, that person disappears into the novel the laptop writes all by itself. So the FL writes herself into the novel and while trying to save her boss's life, she discovers the truth behind the writer and the laptop.

How far are you willing to go in order to succeed as a writer? Sell your soul to the devil? There are parts of Dr Faustus and Dorian Gray in this drama. There is also a slight criticism of the writers' system ruling the korean entertainment world: when one writer rebelled against the constant harassment by her writer boss, she was immediately blacklisted in the whole community. When you touch the bottom, you either sell your soul or sink deeper but they never realize that by selling their soul they would inevitably sink deeper! The choice is only superficial!

The hotel setting of the novel reminded me very much of Wes Andersons' film Grand Amsterdam Hotel with the exterior aesthetics and with its quirky staff (well here we only get to see the receptionist but he is bizarre enough!).

I found the FL very annoying in the first couple of episodes, with her swooning over her boss who does not notice her, batting eyelashes at him and speaking like a little girl. But she is actually very smart and, with the help from a couple of coworkers, she eventually figures out how to get everyone out of the novel.

This is a well written drama with the plot which survives scrutiny: no major plotholes noticed: every question gets an answer in the last episode. The acting is correct, the music is there. Except for the jazzy bar singer: she was good and the songs steamy!

An exceptionally good short drama, definitely worth your time!

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