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Story:Ok so in the beginning, the story was actually good with the two main characters developing their relationship. At the start they are strangers but soon become close and it becomes more interesting. I thought this story was going to be a light hearted soft story on the main couple but oh boy was I WRONG
They had the most healthy relationship in the drama and all bl dramas in existence. However, the second couple's story was questionable as in the beginning it was a very strange and a creepy story. One of the guys was too in love with the other guy which made him pushy and annoying. At one point I thought he was going to be a psycho because he once forced a kiss on him. But somehow they had a happy ending. I am not saying they shouldn't deserved one, but it was better if both of them had a happy ending.
So what was the most annoying part of the drama is the ending. The ending was absolutely trash. Yu Xi Gu ends up dying which makes no sense at all. He suffered the most where he struggled with money, work and studies. After all this time he worked so hard and eventually found his love of his life and a reason for him to be happy but NOOO. Instead it fasts forward into the future and the second couple are getting married but Xiang Hao Ting lives in misery.
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Cut But Kinda Cringey Then It Become Dull...
Cute, but a bit cringey in its first half. Unfortunately, I was so bored and uninterested in its second half.Xia Hao fell for Yu Xi a bit too fast in my opinion. His attraction was kinda out-of-nowhere too. One minute, he hated him. The next, he likes him, putting in so much effort to chase him. And his personality did like a complete 180, pass the point of believability. It's so awkward and cringey seeing him act all cute, love-dovey and over-the-top because he is 'in love' with Yu Xi. Sun Bo Xiang and Lu Zhi Gang's relationship was also too quick in my opinion and I didn't care for them. Both relationships quickly get dull and stale as there is no conflict or tension. Nothing to build towards.
And of course, there's the standard "I don't like guy. I just like _____" which is plentiful in BL series unfortunately.
Lu Zhi Gang has good intentions as he probably sees Yu Xi as a little brother, but what he did by telling Xia Hao off is selfish. Ultimately, it should be Yu Xi who decides whether or not he wants love in his life, not some outsider. And Yu Xi still studies hard and he will no doubt he able to continue to achieve high marks. Maybe with love in his life, he will feel even more motivated to do well in school. And he's happy. Happier than he was when he was alone. That must count for something.
It's so stupid for Xia Hao and Yu Xi to make out on the couch in the living room with the possibility of Xia's family coming in anytime. It's just so dumb and unrealistic.
I thought that being gay was legal in Taiwan. Why did Yu Xi get in trouble at school for going to a gay bar? And why didn't Xia Hao blame the person who the photo was from? Especially since that person is friends with his ex-girlfriend.
The infamous ending. I was initially expecting that Xia Hao wasn't going to get into a top 5 university to be honest, but when he did, I knew that one of the main characters probably died. To be honest, I enjoyed the ending. It was interesting and brought something new and different to the series, especially since I was quite bored during the second half. Not sure what the purpose of the inclusion of a Yu Xi doppelganger was though. And Xia Hao became straight with a possible female love interest. Ugh. And he reaffirmed that he didn't like guys, only Yu Xi. Ugh.
On a side note, Wayne Song (Xiang Hao Ting) is absolutely beautiful though! Probably the best-looking BL actor I've seen thus far! His hair! His cheekbones! His jawline! Stunning!
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SAD ENDING... WTF!!!
HIStory 3: MODC was one of the series I looked forward to watching every time it aired. Now I have to say goodbye and I feel like I am torn between being happy and sad.The storyline was I'd say was quite splendid up to the point that it was addictive to watch and see how the characters evolved, how they determined their feelings and make their own decisions whether be it against the view of society or not. Their only mission was to love and be happy because at the end of the day it is your happiness not the happiness of others that matters.
The ending gave us a reality check, that not every time we have a happy ending and most of the time we are met with tragedy and sorrow. The episode gave us an example of how a tragedy can impact everyone around and especially those who love you. It gave us a view of how people cope and pass through those tragedies and sorrows, to continue living and to be the person that we oath to be. To be honest, I wanted a Happy Ending where Yu Shi Gu did not die but only suffered amnesia and reverted to his younger years, the years he did not experience therefore creating a new persona. A playful and energetic kid that unconsciously going close to A-Hao. And as A-Hao finally accepts the reality that Yu Shi Gu has lost all his memories, gives him one last kiss triggering him to remember all of his memories. The end! But I guess It will just be in my fantasy.
A Storyline for P-II
Yu Shi Gu seems to have not died but only lost his memories and was hidden by his aunt. At the start of part 2, we see that Yu Shi Gu continued his studies after recovering and finally graduates while A-Hao is in the US. A few years after, Yu Shi Gu begins to create a name for himself without remembering A-Hao and without A-Hao knowing. He now goes by a different name. He is then invited to Stanford to exhort for a seminar or something. A-Hao sees him and thinks that he is only hallucinating. He asked around who that was and found out more about him. After the seminar, Yu Shi Gu then travels back to Taiwan. A-Hao then follows back and a new discovery of their love occurs... The story continues!
But that is just me.
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If I need to compliment something, it'll be the cast. They did their best with the material they were given, and Wayne pulled out everything he had for that final episode. Though realistically, Wayne was the only one that had a character with any sort of depth. Xi Gu does little beyond be bullied/harassed by Hao Ting, eventually fall in love with Hao Ting after his persistent nagging and attention, and then die when the writer tries to push a last minute lesson. The second pairing, Bo Xiang and Zhi Gang, essentially serve as sexy fan service. Zhi Gang is given a few notable conflicts and plot threads which could've been interesting to follow, but they're all lazily concluded off-screen in the finale so they're not worth mentioning in any detail or really being paid any attention to. They exist to showcase one or two hot sex scenes. The supporting cast are there to be pretty, and they do that well.The first 9 episodes present a fluffy romance with bits of sexual tension and few notable or gripping conflicts. Ignoring that the beginnings of the main relationship don't really make any sense, the couple itself is pretty cute to watch. They've got chemistry, and Wayne manages to be charming and endearing despite his character being childish and pushy. Most of these 9 episodes, after the initial bullying stunt, are spent watching Hao Ting go through a series of cliché issues. He fusses over Xi Gu until they're in a relationship, then he fusses with his parents until they accept that he's romantically involved with a boy. Following that, the finale tries to push a "tragic" ending after psyching the viewer out for half an episode with a doppelganger. Given the title, "Make Our Days Count", I'd assume the goal here is to present the importance of living your life to the fullest. But where was this the last 9 episodes? Why do I even have to assume what the writer is going for? Xi Gu's entire character setup, as a poor student that lost his family and spent every day studying, could've been a perfect lead in to this kind moral. Had the drama actually spent time enforcing the theme of living life while you have it, the ending could've been logical and impactful. But the drama spends more time focusing on irrelevant and easily-passed conflicts and the standard BL drama fare than it does actually pushing that narrative, which makes the ending feel entirely out of place and absurd. There is no foreshadowing or introspection that would logically lead to the conclusion. You can write towards an ending like this one while still keeping it a surprise if you're adamant on needing shock factor. And worse, the ending itself was poorly executed. I found myself laughing at the revelation of Xi Gu's death rather than at all emotionally affected by it because it was ridiculously masked and hidden for 20 or 30 minutes.
All in all, this really isn't worth a watch. Was the main couple cute together? Sure. But lots of BL couples are cute together while having more compelling stories, and there's no pay off at the end here to make the "journey" (if I can even call it that) worth the time spent. But again, kudos to Wayne for throwing his heart into all of his scenes. I could've written in depth about this drama's countless other issues, like Hao Ting revolving his life around his boyfriend which was never addressed, but I don't feel it deserves even half the time I already spent writing this.
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The production value was pretty good and seemed to be on par with Trapped. There were some awkward scenes nonetheless and I really disliked how they would sometimes zoom in on Xigu's face to show Haoting's perspective. It was awkward, unrealistic and cringe-worthy as hell.
The acting was pretty good. Honestly impressed considering the cast contained quite a lot of newbies (Juan Zhi, Xia De, Xia En, Wilson, Cheng Hao, etc.) Wayne's acting was incredible, especially during Episode 19 & 20. He expressed Haoting's emotions so well.
However, the main flaw of this entire series was the goddamn plot. For the most part, it was cute and I enjoyed it. But it was too simple. There was so little development despite the show having 20 episodes. There wasn't enough expansion. Even Crossing The Line & Right or Wrong had more substance and they only had 8 episodes. Felt as though they had too little ideas and that they could've done a lot more.
Another issue I had with this show (as well as Trapped) was that they lack detail as to how the main couple starts developing feelings for one another. It was too sudden. Developing feelings for a person just through observation (in the case of Haoting and Boxiang), is just unrealistic and immature. The way Haoting randomly decided to start courting Xigu was too quick and it felt like there was nothing to justify why he decided to do it.
I did not like the ending as well. If you're gonna give us a tragic ending, at least make it interesting and worth watching. Episode 19 & 20 honestly ruined the whole series for me because while I was an emotional wreck, I was also skipping through so many boring scenes.
To conclude, this show is worth watching, especially if you're a BL fan running out of shows to watch. Not the best, but enjoyable to say the least. Would I watch this all over again? Yes. But only from Episode 1 to 18.
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BEST BL EVER!!!!
Make Our Days Count has definitely become one of my fave BLs of all time, I love me some angsty scenes and cute fluffy love stories.The chemistry between the actors was brilliant, I could feel how comfortable they were acting together. Both couples felt real to me and didn't felt rushed whatsoever. There's usually something lacking in bl shows whether the actors acting, the plot line or the production quality, but with this one, everything was so good. The plot and characters development were really well made, plus the actors being really talented, every emotion felt real.
The only complain I would have is that the ending broke my heart into lil pieces but other than that, this is really worth giving a try!
Kudos to the actors, the director and writer of this show!
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I just started watching the HIStory series the last year or so and, phew, how far it's come. From a sucky first season to a second season with a very flawed beginning and an amazing second half, the third season is the series at its best. Of course, coming off the positive reception and hype from Trapped, Make Our Days Count had a lot to live up to unfortunately. I will say that Make Our Days Count is still one of the best of the HIStory series but it isn't able to hold a torch to Crossing The Line or Trapped. However, there is potential here but it's muddled by jarring flaws, overused tropes and a polarizing ending. The main relationship is absolutely wonderful and the way it progresses is very well done and one of the best aspects of the show. However, I do agree and understand with some that found Hsiao Hao-Ting's sudden attraction to Yu Xi Gu to be out of left field. Also, his toxic traits are glossed over, especially in respect to how he treats his girlfriend (I'm so sorry, I cant remember her name!) in the beginning. One can see how Hao-Ting's entrance into Xi Gu's life causes Xi Gu to reroute his whole plan to fix Hao-Ting's. Despite this, I found the chemistry between the actors to be electrifying. The actors did a very GREAT job at conveying several emotions. And Xi Gu is absolutely adorable!
As for the second couple, I was immediately put off by how it started and even at the end, I felt indifferent. I'm happy for the characters being happy in the ending but their relationship was built on toxicity. Sun Bo is whiny and doesn't know how to take no for an answer and does not know the meaning of consent. While it is brought up soon after, the issues are quickly glossed over for gratuitous sex scenes. I dont know, I just felt that Chih-gang felt obligated to start a relationship with Sun Bo if not it was not going to end well.
Everything seems to be going well with both couples until the last episode... where you learn about what happens to Xi Gu. At first, I was just in total shock. The feeling then transitioned into just pure upset and confusion over the decision to kill Xi Gu off. I do agree with many that say that they dont mind a sad ending if it's done well but this one is so random and appalling that it's actually an insult to not only the viewers but the characters as well, especially Xi Gu. Xi Gu did not deserve the ending he got. He suffered so much and ended finally achieving some type of happiness for THAT to happen. Also so much time was set up in the last episode to holding off on the shock of Xi Gu's death that we never really got to see how the other characters that were important to Xi Gu reacted in the aftermath. I was so mad that there was so showing of any type of emotion with Chih-gang. Chih-gang cared for Xi Gu so much and was practically like a surrogate brother to him. He was always looking out for him and was even against Hao-Ting being with Xi Gu in the beginning because he didn't want Xi Gu to get hurt and believed Hao-Ting's intentions to be hostile and for good reason. For there to be no representation of emotion from him is insulting to Xi Gu's character and what he signified to the show and these characters. And also what about the twin that liked Xi Gu? Another loose thread. There are showings of his crush on Xi Gu throughout the course of the show that never really go anywhere (not even a confession). He also cared deeply for Xi Gu and protected him from Hao-Ting and the rest of them in the beginning (I was shipping him at this moment with Xi Gu, they would've been so cute). You mean to tell me that he had no type of reaction to Xi Gu's death in any way? What was the writer thinking?
The ending is certainly going to leave many disgruntled but some will also come to understand it. While I do understand why they did it for the sake of the title, there was SO MANY OTHER WAYS that this could have been handled without death. The story could've ended with them bot being together at the end because they realized their forever really didn't mean forever. They just grew apart and learned they weren't meant to be but that they are grateful for their relationship for making every day they had together count. No matter if the love doesn't last forever, at least it mattered at the moment where they were in love. THIS could've been done. I don't know.
Overall, the show is saved by great acting and great music and a few surprises that turn the BL genre on its head (such as the girlfriend not being a villain THANK GOD). This show is still miles and miles better than what HIStory was in the beginning but it truly was potential wasted. Maybe after time I'll learn to love it a little more, not like I dont like it now but for now, I'm just that the show ended the way it did that left its audience with more question than answers and a lack of closure.
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Too bland for a History
Y'know when you kind of put a surten drama to the side for whatever reason for so long you start to have a surten picture of it? Or a expectation how it sets the mood?
I didn't watch anything about this before I started. Not the trailer no fmv no nothing. Kind if unusual for me, I know but I started out at a clean slate.
Because it's rated R I was like: oooohhhh it's probably gonna be real heavy melo and deep.
Not really? I skipped the ending like all my MDL friends suggested but maybe I should have really watched it? I was kind of glad it was over ngl tho.
Im gonna say something controversial:
YOU CANNOT SUPPLEMENT A BLAND STORYLINE WITH ALOT OF SPICY.
Nah ma dudes nah.
I liked like really liked 3 of the previous histories and I even rated them really high atleast in my case.
Is it because I just binged it?
Sometimes I didn't even read the dialogues and skipped scenes wich... Not good not good when I do that.
The story just slid out of my hands (or brain) and sometimes I had moments were I was like: Wait what happened before that?
Some things didn't make sense to me. Especially how the 2 couples got together. It was really sudden how like the 1ML started to suddenly liked the other guy even though he disliked him. Suddenly from guilt to love?
I was like wah? When he discussed his feels with bo. Like since when?
For bo and the soy bean guy it was atleast for me pretty evident that soya dude didn't like Bo crossing the line and man I would be too he had such a attitude.
And then suddenly bam now they are a couple?
O...okay?
I don't know if it's the setting (I don't really like the school settings most of the time) or just the lack of seasoning...
I don't have a problem with character driven stories. But like there's gotta be some highlights, some depth I can grab onto for my mind to keep interest. That's what I mean with seasoning/flavor. If you strip the plot down only to the bare writing then it's super average. Almost slice of life. And slice of life is a hard genre to master because you have to make the average daily life interesting and entertaining.
Also the development wasn't really relevant to me. It had time skips in some weird places like suddenly it's Christmas and again I was like... O okay?
The chemistry is popping. Like I said spicy as hecc. I do feel like the spice was almost overdone though, like it had to supplement the story like I already mentioned.
For acting.. yeah? It was fine? It didn't blow my mind but neither did the story OR the character building. No layers, no Interesting layering.They felt almost flat and I feel like they made the smart guy too pitiful? My empathy wasn't really there tbh. I didn't really feel with him.
All in all for a history this was dissapointing ...
YES
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Sad Boi Hours
This was so emotionally torturing. I haven't felt so defeated by a BL EVER. Not even UWMA could break me down, but damn, this series was IT. It drew you in, it made you fall in love with these characters, it made you care for them with every ounce of your being, and then they go and crush your soul.Let's Dive In.
I haven't seen any type of chemistry before Xiang Hao Ting and Yu Xi Gu. The way we felt about these characters, in the beginning, is so different from what we feel for them in the end. I hated Xiang Hao Ting. He had a player-type personality and treated Yu Xi Gu terribly. But, these characters grow with one another and throughout the story that it's so hard to continue to have that same hatred by the end. The way these dudes completely body slammed these roles is far beyond my imagination. They had the best acting I have ever seen, period. I would wonder at times if whether they were acting, or if they were for real having a breaking moment. It was so raw, it was so real, and I loved it with all my heart. While I wasn't too keen on Xiang touching Yu Xi Gu inappropriately (who cares if he was sick or out of it, it was wrong), I do like how they both took their time in deciding when the right time to have sex was. I feel like a lot of BLS skip this big moment and just kind of ignore the curiosity and the worry that surrounds sex, and just hops right into it. I loved that this series does that. A beautiful love story that leads to a sort of tragic ending.
The side couple wasn't my entire favorite, but I did enjoy them. Sun Bo Xiang was sometimes too overzealous, and a bit too prideful, but he did add that very much needed comedic relief to the series. Lu Zhi Gang is my favorite character. I loved his sternness and the way he carried himself. I think they're a perfect example of opposites do attract, and I really liked the way they built each other upon their weaknesses. Sun Bo Xiang lost my interest after he tried to force himself onto Lu Zhi Gang. It was inappropriate, and so not needed. Their sex scene is the most explicit thing that I have EVER seen in a BL ever before. I watched on Viki, so I had the pleasured opportunity to see other people's comments, and it had me laughing my ass off.
The ending, while it was tragic, was also left very ambiguous. So Yu Xi Gu died in a car accident, but then who was Xiang Hao Ting hanging with the entire time afterward??? Was that a guy that looked like him? Was that him imagining that he was still there?? Did the dude not actually die, and instead just lost all of his memories?? There are so many unanswered questions that lead the audience to not knowing, and I loved that. You can interpret how you want, and no answer is wrong.
Overall, this was an impressive series. Because of the really tragic ending, it's not my favorite HIStory, but it's definitely up there in my top 25. I heard they are coming out with a HIStory 4 that will have the same cast. I don't know if it's a continuation or a different story, but I'm excited to see them on screen again.
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Unnecessary Death
With the exception of the completely unnecessary final 2 episodes, a great series overall. Pretty good acting, especially Shiang. Honestly, the main couple is conventionally unattractive. But they're supposed to be the most handsome guys at school? However, I really like both of their characterizations. Yu is a broke, malnourished nerd who broods all day, is extremely stubborn and self-reliant. Honestly his guardian (aunt) should be in jail for neglecting him. He doesn't even eat 3 meals a day. He's under 18! The actor is actually pretty well cast if we ignore how he's supposed to be good looking because the actor is short and extremely thin. He looks fine in the title photo because his face is overexposed, which gave the illusion that he's not malnourished. Shiang is a spoiled brat, brash and uncontrollable but has a heart of gold (unless he thought he had a reason to take revenge). Sun and his bf are gay but Shiang is probably pansexual because he was never interested in guys before. They have great crying scenes. All the young guys are great at crying, much better than Trapped.This show ends at episode 18. The last 2 I will pretend never existed. Fucking hell. What the fuck does Yu's death bring to the table?! This is the end of a series: there's no extra plot, no loose ends to tie, no character development, no destinies to fulfill. All we see is a forever-changed, forever-depressed Shiang. But props to the actor who played Shiang. His crying scenes are phenomenal. The ending is simply pure bullshit.
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