Otomo Kyoichi (Okura Tadayoshi- '100 Times of Crying',) works at an advertising company. He has an indecisive personality. Despite being married, he repeatedly has affairs. After seven years, he meets his college freshman classmate, Imagase Wataru (Narita Ryo- 'Katsuben!'), who reveals that he was hired by Otomo Chikako (Sakihi Miyu- 'The Man Who Can') , his wife, to investigate his infidelity, but also confesses that he is gay and has been in love with Kyouichi since the first day he met him.
Given the confusion created in Kyoichi, Imagase promises not to reveal his infidelities in exchange for a kiss. Kyouichi accepts the proposal, hoping it will save his marriage, but their secret relationship begins to escalate and eventually becomes sexual.
Isao Yukisada's 2020 live-action film 'Kyuso wa Cheese no Yume wo Miru' (窮鼠はチーズの夢を見る) is based on a Japanese manga series 'The Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese', written and illustrated by Setona Mizushiro, serialized in the josei manga magazine Judy from 2005 to 2006. The book was followed by a one-volume sequel titled 'The Carp on the Chopping Block Jumps Twice' (俎上の鯉は二度跳ねる, Sōjo no Koi wa Nido Haneru).
This is a fascinating and heartbreaking film that deserves much more than being classified as BL, as well as better attention from the public.
The two protagonists are joined by Yoshida Shiori ('Chihuahua-chan') as Okamura Tamaki, Sato Honami ('Lupin's Daughter') as Natsuo, and Ohara Noriko ('Disturbed by Gymnopedie') as Ide Ruriko, whose characters they vividly embody. and compelling the idea that no matter who you are, once you fall in love with someone, your world will be turned upside down and there is nothing you can do about it.
The acting of the actresses allows human relationships to be more interesting than in a typical romantic film.
Tadayoshi Okura as Kyoicho shows talent and instincts, while Ryo Narita brilliantly plays the role he has been waiting for for a long time. The looks, gestures, words and silences of the two actors, sometimes playful and sometimes passionate, make this work even more realistic. The performances of the protagonists are especially good and indisputably express the heartbreaking but endearing love story.
The character played by Ryo Narita portrays with grace, naturalness and a certain sexual appeal the subtle changes in his emotions, which oscillate between arrogance, vulnerability and impatience on the screen.
Imagase transmits power and shows beautiful gestures that I have never seen before, but also despair and suffering. It's painful to be with him, just as painful to be away from him. His raw emotions make the viewer feel suffocated. He achieves the audience's empathy, and at times they forget the other characters present. He is the person who leaves the audience spellbound. His charm could perfectly work in the world of Wong Kar-wai or Lou Ye.
For his part, Tadayoshi Okura, with his passivity, boredom and rootlessness, also contributes to the creation of the atmosphere that the film tries to convey. Although natural, it exudes a certain air with elegance and seductive charm.
In particular, the scene in which while Kyoichi claims to be planning to marry a woman, Imagase begs him to allow her to continue seeing him, whether once a month or every six months, just to see his face, is very heartbreaking. At that moment I thought of the main characters of the American movie "Brokeback Mountain."
In this triumph of compatibility between director Yukisada and the actors, phrases said by Imagase will resonate over time, such as "When you fall in love with someone from the bottom of your heart, that person is the only one in everything", or "You have a weakness for the people who love you, but in the end, you don't trust that love and you keep sniffing out the feelings of the people who get close to you. Because of their power, these words impact and move.
Although Isao Yukisada set the standard within the Japanese and world seventh art with films such as 'Crying Out Love, in the Center of the World' (2004) and 'Year One In The North' (2005), creating an aura of mysticism, there came a period of stagnation from which only minor works emerged. But for the good of his followers, it also meant a time of meditation and intellectual growth.
We see the result in 'Kyuso wa Cheese no Yume wo Miru', a film with which Isao Yukisada returns to the path of success and expectations surrounding his productions, bringing us solid visual expression and human representation, making his narrative heroes play ruthlessly and skillfully.
The above is demonstrated when it seemed that the film was running out of breath after the first 40 minutes of its more than two hours of duration, Yukisada's virtuosity and professionalism refloated to achieve a convincing work.
While the two main characters cannot be happy, neither can the women around them. The four women who have been interfering in Wataru and Hyoishi's romance end up acting in a resigned or useful way for the development of the plot, which is probably why the director and screenwriter criticizes their characters from a feminist perspective.
In this kind of unrequited love, the film has the fascination of surpassing the original work. When one finishes watching it, one is impressed by its beauty and the helplessness it leaves in the viewer.
I leave for last my impression of the final scene of the film. When filming began, the two characters are on the shore of a calm, serene sea, but suddenly the wind blew and became intense. Someone asked to stop filming, but Okura Tadayoshi, Narita Ryo and Isao Yukisada, some in front of the cameras and the other behind it, stood firm, giving us a pulsating scene that leaves us with a lasting impression for life.

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A torrid sex scene is not enough fuel to get a plane or a car off the ground

The University of Technology and Innovation (UIT) opens its doors to receive new entrants every year. Its strict rules establish that future graduates, all male and interested in engineering careers, have to live on campus. It is divided into six buildings, and each one represents a group, according to the intellectual and physical qualities of its occupants.
Ai (Nuttawatt Thanathaveeprasert - Bank) and Songkhram (Chitsanupong Soeksiri -Earth) are two of the first-year students who will have to participate in multiple tests in an initial day of university orientation.
The striking physical challenges and artistic and mental competitions that they will undergo during the official reception ceremony provide a score that will define which dormitory building they will live in for the next four years.
By being elected leaders of university residences that have historically been involved in a continuous dispute, exacerbated each year with the arrival of new tenants, the two protagonists, without intending it, will end up being rivals, since each one will have to defend the interests of their respective campuses. .
While Ai, the automotive engineering student and car lover, commands building number 3, where the "handsome ones" live, Songkhram, the future aerospace engineer, who dreams of being an aviation pilot, is the guide of dormitory 2, where The "strong and athletic" ones are grouped together.
Bank, who we already saw in the drama 'Friend Forever', but with Ai makes the leap to the leading role in his first BL project, is a reliable boy who is always willing to help others, and shares a room with Touch, his best friend since the day he entered university.
This last character is played by Supanut Sudjinda (Tong), who we saw in the 2022 BL 'Unforgotten Night' in a supporting role.
For his part, Earth, also in his first leading role in BL, but with demonstrated artistic qualities appreciated in the series 'That's My Candy' and 'Even Sun', both from 2022, plays an intelligent and self-confident young man, who enters into frequent pungas with Ohm, (Bhurichon Khumsiri - Neptune), one of the occupants of bedroom 4, who has a close relationship with Ai as he is her cousin and childhood friend.
This is the fertile ground for the relationship between Ai and Songkhram, two “sworn enemies”, to flourish in the last year of their studies. The bitter conflicts and friction accumulated during the race will cause these two people, so different from each other, to first begin a friendship relationship that will soon become love.
To the aid of the two young people, indirectly, will come an assignment that they must present before graduating. They will have to form a team, along with other students, to prepare a project proposal to present to a panel of investors. This task, in addition to uniting them in complicity and romance, will also serve as a pretext to try to deceive their friends.
Despite having treated each other as adversaries, both will admit their secret feelings for each other. Songkhram is the one who will little by little stop fighting with his rival, after confirming that his suspicions that Ai is interested in Meen (Nattapat Suwanich - Pre-Saint) are not true. He will lose his fear and will be forced to reveal his love, realizing that his best friend, the athletic basketball player Bright (Natthaphon Musikanan - Boss), also loves Ai and tries to win him over.
Meen, one of the characters to take into account, is Ai's friend and has problems with class attendance and academic performance, since, along with his studies, he works as an actor in a popular television drama.
Meen and Bright used to be high school friends. However, they have grown apart and barely speak to each other at university.
Pluster (Chawanakorn Donmongkol – Po Te), and Nano (Sarin Rungkiatwong – Rim), are two first-year students who will bring new conflicts and tensions when they join the cast late in the series.
When love surprises the two main boys, they will have to contrive in front of the rest of the students to try to hide the fact that they are no longer rivals, but lovers.
In a script that reflects a weak and boring love story, Songkhram and Ai cannot show off their potential as a BL couple, despite their attractive looks and charming smiles. Embodying well-developed characters, I have no doubt they can become one of the most seductive couples within the genre.
Both the romance of the main couple and that of the secondary couples simmer and take time to develop, causing misunderstandings between them, and annoyance in the public, eager for the timid sighs of adults who act like teenagers to become hoarse. grunts of sexual enjoyment.
The adaptation of the novel "ราชาวิหค" (Racha Wihok) by Chiffon Cake lacks a compelling plot and shows little imagination. The only incentive we have, as the public, is to wait for the octane rating, that scale that allows us to rate the anti-knock power of a fuel when the latter is compressed in the cylinder of an engine, to be higher, and so on, Ai and Songkhram, like combustion generated, start flirting and kissing and thinking about a life together.
While the viewer waits for the couple to begin their journey in a stagnant plot, the repeated clichés, boring scenes and the actions of the characters, a kind of meaningless childish pranks, populate the episodes of 'Destiny Seeker'.
Only after the protagonists become adorable boyfriends with cute flirtations and romantic scenes in which there is no shortage of fun teasing and erotic games, while they hide their love from their friends and other students, the hitherto hidden BL material gains intensity and explodes with the essential fuel to get both cars and airplanes off the ground.
With a narrative that finally takes shape in the bodies of the two boys, the series enters, with plenty of momentum, into the last episodes, allowing visibility to a tender romance between two attractive young people who flirt deliciously.
The climax is reached in the passionate encounter of the young people in the final episode, in an act that borders on wild eroticism, but artistically polished like an exquisite jewel.
A hot sex scene will make even the viewer most accustomed to strong erotic images blush, due to how few they are in BL genre series.

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A story closer to real life than the usual BL and an ode to indie cinema

Hope (Night Yodsakon Khamnang) is a fried dumpling seller. Nine (Kong Chindanai Boonruang) is an actor from the Chiang Mai BL production company, who reluctantly accepts a leading role in a new boy love series. The young man is reluctant to the proposal of York (Sak Kidtisag Makongrach), the director of the company, to be part of a new couple to replace the one formed by the main cast, whose members were forced to abandon the film project after the expiration of their contracts.
The worlds of Hope and Nine intersect when the former parks his sales cart in front of the production company and in one of those turns of life the young people meet. The two begin a journey when they realize that they are united by unexpected and uncontrollable feelings.
I highly value series like 'My Star', from Wayufilm Production, for the same reason that others will surely deny it: good execution, level of acting, filming and production, despite its low budget; characters far from the clichés of attractive boys that populate BL series, many of them with nothing to contribute other than their beautiful faces and contoured bodies; simple stories that are much closer to real life, truly passionate actors and a production team in each installment, and a firm determination not to kneel before the giants of the entertainment world with their very common mediocre stories interested only in making money, and whose proposals frequently fail, among other reasons, for not taking their fans seriously.
We are faced with a Thai BL that is not cheesy and unpleasant. The couple has very good chemistry. They are actors who have starred in other projects, such as 'LGBTQ+ Dramas Season 2', 'Our First Time' or 'Midnight Love', among others, and they know each other well.
Furthermore, the editing team chose exceptional music to accompany the miniseries.
I also appreciate the tenacity of the creators to not succumb to the dictates and whims of commercial companies, eager to contribute funds to the production of many BL audiovisuals in exchange for advertising their products, something that we frequently criticize in other series of the genre, thus respecting Wayufilm Production its ethics and principle of being a production company that is committed to indie cinema.
'My Star' can be considered within the name of independent cinema because it has a low budget, is made in more precarious conditions than the so-called official cinema, deals with everyday themes and is closer to the public, lacks mass distribution and, therefore, having fewer possibilities of obtaining large income and being made by a director outside the world of large production companies.
Being able to film without falling into the rigid schemes of the studio system is one of the highest aspirations of every director.
Written and directed by Thai filmmaker Nitchapoom Chaianun, CEO of WayuFilm and founder of MongKlong Studio and GoodJob VDO, 'My Star' joins other dramatized films of his authorship that address issues related to sexuality and gender identity, such as since he debuted with his first short film 'Fresh' (เฟรชเฉิ่ม), in 2006, which was followed by 'Fresh Cool Story 2' (เรื่องเฟรชเฉิ่ม 2).
Determined to delicately portray the diversity of human relationships, dismantling the prevailing stereotypes regarding what is "normal", and contributing to the struggle of Thai LGBT people, Nicchi, as he likes to call himself, has obtained popular recognition with his films and series BL-themed feature films such as the feature film 'My Bromance' (พี่ชาย, RTGS: Phi Chai), 'My Bromance 2: 5 Year Later: The Series', 'My Bromance: Reunion', 'Key Love', 'NightTime', ' The Rain Stories', 'Yantra' (อาถรรพ์ยันต์มหาเสน่ห์), among others.

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A story of healing, love and the fusion of two opposite worlds

No one can resist the charm and cuteness of pets; Regardless of whether it is a parrot, rabbit, dog or kitten, they win your heart and little by little they end up being part of the family. Most human beings enjoy spending time with their pet, which is not surprising since while you indulge in the moment, your brain feels happy and secretes "the happiness hormone."
'Love is Like a Cat' (사랑은 고양이처럼), also known as 'Sarangeun Goyang Icheoleom', the romantic comedy from South Korean director Kwon Nam Ki ((권남기), revolves around Piuno (Mew Suppasit - 'What The Duck ', 'TharnType' and 'TharnType2: 7 Years Of Love'), a well-known Thai star who doesn't like animals, and her romance with Lee Dae Byeol (Chu Jimin, known as JM, from the South Korean idol group JUST B), the director of a pet daycare.
Every time he crosses paths with an animal, Piuno remembers a traumatic episode he experienced in his childhood that makes him not want them around. Pets do not awaken that feeling of love or tenderness in him. He suffers from zoophobia. He is aware that this phobia is considered an irrational act of human beings, but he cannot help it.
It has been suggested to him that his "illness" can be treated with professional help, since he can find the necessary support to overcome the trauma and gradually manage to coexist with the animals. But he has not paid interest to the matter, thinking that it would not be of much use to him, and he has moved on with his life.
However, when he finds himself threatened by those who wish to see him brought down, there is only one thing he can do to save his reputation and his career: work at a pet daycare in South Korea.
Putting aside his severe dislike for animals, Piuno begins working alongside Dae Byeol, who will help him find ways to overcome the trauma that first inspired his hatred of animals. This is how he will end up appearing in a reality show set in a pet cafe in Seoul.
But these will not be the only surprises that the protagonist encounters: as his heart begins to soften, unexpected feelings begin to arise for the young owner of the daycare center. What will happen between the cold and enigmatic actor who doesn't believe in love, and the outgoing and romantic pet daycare owner when their lives intersect?
Lovers of the BL genre in general, and of Mew Suppasit, in particular, will be pleased with the reappearance of the renowned Thai actor, singer and producer in a romance drama between two boys of the same sex. On the other hand, JM, his co-star, shows his youthful charms and the dreamy aura of the idol, as well as his talent as an actor, in this, his first appearance in a drama.
In addition to the aforementioned actors, on screen we will see GeonU, also a member of JUST B, also in his acting debut, playing Gi Min, one of the pet daycare workers; and Kim Kyoung Seok ('Hot And Sweet' and 'Someday Office'), as Jun Hyuk, a friend of Dae Byeol and one of his biggest followers. These secondary characters play a very important role and contribute intensity and complexity to the conflicts.
With a seductive cast, in addition to wonderful chemistry, the direction, cinematography, writing, music and staging transport the viewer to a dream and fairy tale universe in which everyone involved, including the Animals, especially dogs, contribute their own, to achieve a series capable of marking a milestone within the genre, as it escapes stereotypes, and shows human beings with their nuances and in various circumstances. The narrative maintains a good rhythm that enhances the emotional closure of each episode and the series in general.
All these details give an idea of ​​the story told to those who still do not know it, a narrative firmly based on the love stories between two young men of different personalities, countries, professions, languages ​​and cultures, but determined to sustain their idyll against all obstacles. , prejudices and cultural, linguistic or temperament divergences. One looks like a dog, while the other looks like a cat.
What an actor lacks because he is new to these issues, the other provides, due to his extensive experience. It's fascinating to watch the couple navigate their uncertain feelings. One of the main reasons audiences will admire the series is the simplicity and relatability of the story, as well as the good visuals.
Although slow, the romance gradually intensifies, allowing 'Love is Like a Cat' to show one of its greatest strengths. With the ability to create many tender moments between the two young people, I would like to see them flirt in the garden of the animal nursery and kiss in the sunny corner of the clinic room, under the knowing gaze of their friends, including those of four paws.
Every affectionate interaction, through beautifully polished images, would be appreciated by the BL fanatic public.
Dae Byeol is a well-defined protagonist. He knows his work and loves animals. He is sincere, responsible and faithful to his friends, both those who bark and the others who accompany him on this journey of taking care of pets and falling in love with a famous television star. His qualities create a memorable character with nuances. His charm emerges once the performer gains confidence in the role he plays. Just then the couple's chemistry strengthens, going from being a little embarrassing at first to building a more comfortable and deeper relationship.
In comparison, Piuno's backstory will also draw the viewer's sympathy with high marks. He likes it more and more, especially when he overcomes the somewhat mysterious, reserved, fearful attitude when encountering the animals for which he has always felt rejection, when leaving behind the weight of the circumstances that forced him to move away from his comfort zone, and when you begin to adapt to the people, the language, the customs, the culture of a foreign country.
The series explores the couple's bond physically, emotionally and spiritually. When I think about how Piuno and Lee Dae Byeol started the story of "strangers to friends and friends to lovers", both of them, side by side, went on an eventful journey. They overcame personality clashes, misunderstandings, and even cultural and language differences. Best of all, there's a lot of cute BL content.
One of the strong and striking points of the series is the fusion of two worlds. Piuno and Dae Byeol come from two different countries and cultures. Their universes will collide when their paths cross. Everything that separates them will not be an impediment for the two main characters to get closer, fall in love and begin a journey in search of happiness.
Each episode aims to ensure that the viewer is not disappointed, that they remain hooked, that they have a closure that lives up to expectations. The technical and artistic teams worked to achieve it. The arc of the characters, their development, as well as the events and conflicts, are very coherent.
The script, the depth of the themes addressed, and the aesthetics with which they are presented, the attention to detail to be as realistic as possible, the convincing performances, with a cast made up of established and young actors and actresses, determine, among others , the elements that mark the success of 'Love is Like a Cat'.
'Love is Like a Cat' is a story of healing and love. In addition to the entertainment factor and the fun and tender interactions between Piuno and Lee Dae Byeol, the series tells a story about overcoming trauma, opening your heart, and falling in love.
The inclusion of the adorable animals will provoke a positive reaction from pet lovers and the general public.
This is one of the four joint Thai-Korean BL projects from Hanyang Studio, from the same WeTV Original production, 'Peach Of Time'. The remaining dramas are 'Eccentric Romance', 'Wuju Bakery' and 'The First Love Manual', scheduled to premiere in 2024.
This collaboration between the two countries demonstrates once again that BL series defend the correct formula to sustain and consolidate the genre with the aim of satisfying an audience that craves authentic and moving love stories.
Personally, I liked the way the plot was executed, subtly exploring the characters' personal stories.
This romantic comedy is designed and taken from the script to the images with the potential audience being fans of the romantic genre in general, since love is universal and knows no genres, as well as fans of romances between boys in particular, and makes it clear that its objective is to portray love, acceptance, self-discovery, sexual diversity, the search for happiness, the influence of reality shows on viewers, the perception of the image of actors and idols by the public. , the pressures of the entertainment industry on artists, the challenges that come with being a queer person in today's world, themes explored through the dynamics of the characters.
Conceived to move people and involve audiences, through the main story and secondary plots, the series proposes to generate controversy about other dominant, current and universal elements, such as the tumultuous relationship between father and son, the love of animals and how they influence children's behavior, workplace camaraderie, sexual exploration, positivity, self-validation, and maturation issues. There are cultural debates and topics related to veterinary medicine and animal adoption, which helps make all the stories relatable.

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New trend: forming a main couple with star actors in JDramas?

When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. And when life finally offers insecure and hesitant rookie actor Yuki Shirasaki (Taisuke Niihara) an important role in a television drama in which he must portray a homosexual character in a relationship with popular actor Asami Hayama (Komagine Kiita) as co-star , and given his inexperience in love, he decides to make the best of the situation... looking for a real experience.
This is how he goes to a gay bar with the aim of finding someone to sleep with to experience a full-fledged apprenticeship and to be able to incorporate the emotions acquired into the character to embody. There, he meets Hayama, his co-star in the television series, a superstar in the world of entertainment and modeling, who in college shared the same film study club with him.
How will Shirasaki react when Hayama offers him his body? What will happen between the kōhai and inexperienced in matters of love Shirasaki when the senpai Hayama proposes to form a "romantic relationship for the sake of character development" until filming concludes? What will happen between these two very different people when filming ends?
And, while Shirasaki gets to go through a lot of fake "official first moments" with Hayama—her first real kiss, her first real date, her first sexual encounter, her first role in a television series, her first leading role in a non-theatrical play or his "first coming out", he is surprised that among the lies, emotions flourish, feelings grow and they fall in love. In other words: what seems like a solid plan soon turns into emotional chaos that will lead them to…
The series raises questions about the nature of falling in love (is it a pure matter of instant chemistry or a difficult process of adaptation to the other?), the transition to adulthood and the acceptance of sexual identity.
Based on the manga series "25:00, in Akasaka" by Natsuno Hiroko ('25ji, Akasaka de' / 25時、赤坂で), first published on November 24, 2018 by Shodensha, the action adaptation real with the same name, is directed by Horie Takahiro ('Death Kyun Loop Wa Tomaranai!) and Kawasaki Ryo ('Minato Shouji Coin Laundry Season 2' and 'My Strawberry Film').
Based on a script written by Aso Kumiko, known for writing the script for 'Inochi Aru Kagiri Tataka e, So Shite Iki Nukunda', throughout the plot and the false courtship, the characters discover that love can arise even in the terrain of deception. The viewer might think that this is a classic tender story framed in a romantic comedy-drama, but in reality, it is full of script twists that exceed any expectations.
From the TV Tokyo channel, the series seeks to capture the audience with a formula that combines humor, drama and love through a pseudo-romantic relationship that off-screen leads to a touching and beautifully crafted love story that explores the complexities of relationships within the entertainment industry and between actors.
The cast is reinforced by renowned figures from Japanese cinema and television such as Takuma Usa, a figure known for his participation in other romantic dramas such as 'Kiss x Kiss x Kiss: Love ii Shower', 'Kiss × Kiss × Kiss: Melting Night' and 'Cool Doji Danshi'. Accompanying Usa in supporting roles is Shoma Nagumo, from 'Kiss x Kiss x Kiss: Love ii Shower' and 'Minato Shouji Coin Laundry'. The cast is completed with Atsushi Hashimoto, who began his acting career in 2004 in the film 'Water Boys 2'; Moemi Katayama, actress who in 2019 played the character of Kohiruimaki Himeko in the romantic series 'Ossan's Love: In the Sky', and Shinohara Yushin, known for his intervention in the film 'We Couldn't Become Adults', who together contribute memorable performances. It is, truly, a luxury cast.
I wonder: Will there come a time when they stop pretending that they are a couple and make it known that they ARE a couple? Will the student be a good apprentice to the sensei?
If someone asked me: What is so special about the series?, I would answer:
- Shows the non-stereotypical or stigmatized image of the homosexual man and same-sex relationships with the purpose of achieving significant changes in the conservative, patriarchal and heteronormative Japanese society.
- The right decision to make the main couple with two acting stars, since Japanese romantic dramas of the LGBT+ genre usually pair a popular, experienced actor with one less known to the public. Apparently, producers and creators of the genre are seeking to implement a new trend, if we take into account that in the recently concluded 'Sukiyanen Kedo Dou Yaro ka' (2024) they also paired two experienced actors who enjoy great popularity, such as Kan Hideyoshi and Nishiyama Jun.
- The use of monologue through which the characters define their traits and the audience can get to know their most intimate thoughts without the need for a narrator to intervene.
- The respect, passion and sincerity of the members of the artistic-technical teams to the original work.
- The forced plot does not take away from the magic of a leading couple that brims with chemistry and dialogues that manage to convey more than one substantial reflection.
- The two protagonists are very funny in this drama with characters that one represents maturity and experience and the other "first-time" naivety in all areas, both in love and sexual matters to those concerning his work as a novice actor.
- Although the script presents the same tricks as many other series of the genre, the truth is that '25ji, Akasaka de' has shares of originality in the evolution and outcome of the plot.
- The value of friendship, of the camaraderie of coworkers and students to help the two protagonists manage the complex emotions that will accompany them throughout the plot, focused on building the love relationship of Shirasaki and Hayama , their successful participation in a television series, and that both discover their authentic selves.
- Taisuke Niihara and Komagine Kiita play a seemingly impossible couple who will have to force themselves to have an initially non-existent chemistry, because they are unknown people chosen in a casting to play two protagonists of a television drama.
- The disturbing innocence of the entire approach.
- The purity of characters who grow without "corrupting", clinging to their first loves and unusual experiences on a film set.
- Its light narrative and good performances hook you from the first frame, making it a fun series.
- A series with a concept developed and outlined as a drama and not as a comedy.
- '25ji, Akasaka de' shows a series of circumstances that could hardly happen to its characters, always maintaining the premise that dramatic moments in real life are usually interspersed with humorous moments.
- The creators wanted there to be a certain honesty in the script and that the actors did not have to react intentionally to the planned moments of humor.
- With the dosage of humor and a choreography of gestures that also extends to intelligent and elegant compositions of shots, those responsible for the series achieve the very complicated task of getting each of the decisions made right.
- The music, the smoothness of the camera movements, the ease of provoking different emotions in the viewer and the palpable complicity of a well-rounded cast make the experience of the episodes something special.
- A series that from the pilot episode captivates the viewer and the illusion that the balance is not lost and those responsible are overcome in the following chapters full of disparate occurrences and interesting situations.
- The idea of ​​a closing with a delicate and tender musical sweep.
- Having two directors with extensive experience in the world of entertainment, whose experiences also as writers combined with the skill and vast writing craft of the accredited screenwriter could perfectly outline both the narrative discourse and the staging or production.

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From BL as a social and cultural phenomenon to Thai series and their hidden meaning

With dozens of productions each year, Asian BL dramas have skyrocketed international audiences, winning the hearts of global audiences.
From the bustling streets of Taipei to the no less noisy universities of Bangkok, passing through El Nido beach, on the Philippine island of Palawan; bordering the Han River, on foot or by bicycle, before flowing into the Yellow Sea, or exploring the luminous avenues of Shanghai or Hanoi, the series from that distant continent transport us to a world full of drama, romance and intense emotions.
But what is it that makes these television productions have captured the attention and obsession of people from all over the world?
Convincing performances that touch the heart, acting talent as a strong attraction, ingenious scripts that combine romance with other genres, actors and actresses recognized for their convincing and emotional performances that manage to connect deeply with the public; The use of popular idols, the skills to transmit emotions, whether love, hate, rage, joy or sadness, make viewers feel part of the story and become emotionally involved in each chapter.
High quality works that rival the best produced in other latitudes, Asian BLs have raised quality standards in the television industry. With high budgets in most cases, and a passionate dedication to excellence, these productions manage to compete with European, Australian, Latin American, North American and Canadian homosexual-themed series.
From the stunning cinematography to the detailed sets and impeccable production techniques, each episode can be a visually stunning experience. On the other hand, they also stand out for their focus on cultural diversity and the representation of different ethnic groups and religions.
The visual aesthetics and attention to detail in each scene transport the viewer to a fascinating world, presenting characters and plots that reflect the rich diversity of Asian societies, connecting with audiences from different backgrounds.
For many, perhaps, it may seem like something totally new and strange, but it is not for millions of young consumers of these series around the world. With production companies in charge of creating and adapting literature in live action, BL series emphasize the not-too-distant cliché scenes of love between heterosexuals seen in novels and television series from any country.
The contrast arises when on this occasion the story is transferred to a different social context. One, due to its geographical and cultural position distant from many of the spectators. And two, because it deals with romantic relationships between young men (particularly high school or college students).
The representation of lesbian love is practically non-existent on the television screens of BL-producing countries. There has not been the same interest and dedication on the part of manga and anime authors, as well as television screenwriters and directors, to reflect these stories, as there has been with the romance between boys.
However, GL series (i.e. Girls Love), which feature romance between women, have slowly made their way in recent times. To do this, first a couple of loving girls were inserted as friends or study partners of the male protagonists, within a BL series. We can now count on dramatizations where they are the true protagonists.
The interesting thing about these works is that they address a theme as universal as love, which resonates with a global audience. Very everyday themes that show youth, disappointments in love, fictitious loves, the bad boy, the family, interest in sports or the arts, studies in secondary schools or universities, entry into the world of work after graduation, office work or love, friendship, cooking and typical dishes, fantasy, the supernatural, the dynamics of youth, first loves, the discovery of sexuality, power, political and administrative corruption, and fight for justice are just some of the recurring themes that run through these productions.
With their universal stories, people from different cultures and nationalities make us identify with the characters and immerse ourselves in the complexities of their lives, no matter how foreign they may seem to us at first glance.
There is no doubt that the Asian BL drama fever is a social and cultural phenomenon that was born at the beginning of this century.
The BL inside
At the beginning of the 1970s, BL content could only be found in Japanese anime, manga, or novels. At an accelerated pace, this genre spread to other Asian countries, mainly South Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, China and Taiwan, and has led to new formats and fashions.
Its objective is to represent the romantic relationship between two male characters. Generally, the profiles of the main character are that of the high school student, university student, or young heterosexual professional who meets love for the first time in a boy of the same sex. On many occasions, they exhibit social differences.
With the premiere of a weekly episode, lasting approximately half an hour to an hour, Japanese, Thai and Taiwanese television has broadcast popular BL dramas. Other countries spread the word through online platforms, as this phenomenon also comes to life on social networks, when millions of followers from all over the world share their opinion on X, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook, adding new followers as these discover the works.
Most BL are written from a female perspective. They reflect everyday problems, such as the stereotypes that exist in society about homosexuals, the complexities of gay men when coming out of the closet, the fear of rejection from family and society, the representation of women (familiar or close to the protagonist). in the sad role of decorative object in the home, in the role of being a mother or dedicated to domestic tasks.
Due to the conservative social atmosphere, the discrimination that still exists towards the LGBT+ community, the series rarely mention the problems and conflicts of its members and the struggles for their rights. However, the popularity of these dramas has promoted society's openness to BL culture and understanding of the situation of the LGBT+ community.
Despite BL being mostly known for content created in Japan, it is in Thailand that it has had the greatest boom. While in many nations it remains taboo, in the Thai kingdom it is quite normalized and consumed. This is mainly due to the fact that a very significant sector of the LGBTI+ community resides or is passing through this nation.
The reality is that, despite homosexuality appearing to be such a normalized issue in audiovisual media and in everyday life, legally it is not. Issues such as same-sex marriage or adoption between people of the same gender are not legalized in Thailand. On the other hand, these programs serve to promote sales of items from companies, such as those dedicated to the cosmetics and beverage business, responsible for providing money for serial productions, thus imposing their interests, as well as promoting the country as a destination. paradise tourist.
Its plots do not escape a certain homophobia or misogyny. The above is confirmed when one of the protagonists believes he is heterosexual until he meets the other and realizes that only with that male character does he feel happy and fulfilled. It is also very common to find characters who justify their sexual orientation based on their dislike of women after having been deceived by them.
On the other hand, it is extremely common to encounter clichés that also occur in series and movies whose main characters are a heterosexual couple, only, for some reason, this predictable plot is mostly accepted by the public when the genre is BL. For example, the romanticization of violence between partners.

Cooking Crush
Unlike audiovisuals from other latitudes in which the acting couple rarely meets again in another program in the same role, Thai BL series usually pair the actors, especially when there is chemistry and they are popular with the public.
This is the case of Jumpol Adulkittiporn (Off) and Atthaphan Poonsawas (Gun). With the formation of OffGun, both have participated in numerous projects, from the first of them in 'Senior Secret Love: Puppy Honey' (2016) and 'Senior Secret Love: Puppy Honey 2' (2017), 'Theory of love' ( 2019) and the critically and fan-acclaimed 'Not Me' (2021), and in the special anthology of couples boys love titled 'Our Skyy', from 2018.
With the drama 'Cooking Crush', of the romantic comedy, food and BL genre, released in November 2023 on the GMM25 network, the two reappear. Like good wine, both actors, now 33 and 30 years old, respectively, underpin their artistic talent and consolidate themselves as ships within the BL universe.
The series reminds me of one of the most famous romantic comedies in history, 'Pretty Woman', from 1990 and directed by the American Garry Marshall. In it, the protagonist (Richard Gere) hires a prostitute (Julia Roberts) to accompany him for a few days, and they end up loving each other.
In 'Cooking Crush' the characters also come from two different social strata: Ten (Off), a rich medical student, hires Prem (Gun), a humble cooking student, to teach him how to prepare exquisite food dishes.
Prem dreams of becoming a chef who revolutionizes the culinary art. Determined to compete in a reality show that will choose the best chef in the nation, he must improve his culinary skills. That is the reason why he accepts Ten's proposal. Prem uses this as an opportunity to make money. The clash between both worlds will end up causing both of them to end up deeply in love.
A skilful script written by Pong Pattarawalai Wongsinwises, Noolek Sureechay Kaewses, M Rittikrai Kanjanawiphu and an effective staging, in addition to the good work of the two protagonists, allows us to find ourselves before a sentimental and romantic comedy with a lot of fairy tale and little of everyday reality.
The main characters add depth and emotion to the plot. The series promises a mix of touching moments and immersive drama, as both boys navigate between Ten's causes of stress and Prem's desire to overcome challenges.
The Thai setting adds a unique cultural backdrop to the seductive love story between medical consultation rooms and kitchens, offering viewers a captivating journey through the complexities of discovering sexuality and romance. While the information provided provides insight into the series, watching it will certainly offer a more complete and immersive experience.
'Cooking Crush' stands out with its tone of sentimental and romantic comedy and a talented cast, also composed of Pakin Kunaanuwit (Mark) as Dynamite, and Jaruwat Cheawaram (Dome) as Samsi. These two, along with Prem, will make a trio of friends. It also features Trai Nimtawat (Neo) as Fire and Warawut Poyim (Tum) as Metha, who make up the other friendly shortlist.
The members of these groups, who are not united by anything at the beginning, will not only find love in each other's members, but also strong ties of friendship and companionship. Together they will contribute humor to the program.
Rounding out the cast are Chatchawit Techarukpong (Victor) as Changma, Bhasidi Petchsutee (Lookjun) as Jane, Sukhapat Lohwacharin (Suam) as Bun, Pimwalee Phunsawat (Pim) as Paeng, and Lapisara Intarasut (Apple).
The trust in the ability of each of the members of the main couple in the other, and the way in which they promote each other, is striking. An example of this can be seen in the fact that Ten does not believe he has what it takes to succeed as a doctor and Prem encourages him. Prem, for his part, operates in a very competitive world such as culinary art, and if he has any doubt or circumstance, Ten supports him. Ten's love for Prem's cooking is what finally convinces him to sign up for Super Monster Chef.
Without being the best in the filmography of this acting duo, 'Cooking Crush' is a visual delight and fulfills its purpose as a romantic comedy, showing Off and Gun's undeniable chemistry while Ten and Prem flirt adorably in every interaction. . Theirs is a charming, beautiful, fun, natural and wonderful couple.
Although dynamite is so stable that generally new dynamite cartridges in good condition do not explode even if exposed to fire, Dynamite will not need a detonator and detonator to explode as soon as he meets Fire and encourages a fun game of cat between the two. and the mouse with a slight and subtle harassment on the part of the former at the beginning of the plot.
Without a doubt, 'Cooking Crush' is guaranteed to be popular for various reasons. The breadth of social media, such as YouTube and others, allows more people to connect with this and other BL series. The Western mentality is today much more open to viewing (without prejudice or hatred) content that is part of the LGTBIQ+ community. And finally, a growing need for the viewer to have the possibility that all sexual diversities can be expressed through the artistic formats within their reach.
Just as 'Cooking Crush' is another successful Thai BL by being a media product with an undeniable communication effect, we, as viewers, must be able to appreciate the content without ignoring its hidden meaning.
However, I must add the following criticism: throughout the history of film and television, homosexuals have been portrayed in a stereotypical way or in roles of ruthless killers, disturbed suicides, caricatures of human beings. On many occasions their effeminacy was exaggerated so that an audience could distinguish the gay characters without words. In this way, the audience could easily identify them as homosexuals because they reflected the clichés that still existed in society towards them. These consisted of portraying them as extremely mannered, prim characters, with thin mustaches and often grotesquely made up. In addition to repudiating this “perverted behavior,” filmmakers and television channels or film companies seek to provoke laughter in the viewer, since in comparison to them, men could feel more masculine and women more feminine.
This has been the case since the short film 'Lot in Sodom', by James Sibley Watson and Melville Webber, produced in 1933, which treated homosexuals as depraved sex-hungry satyrs. A film like 'Brokeback Mountain', by Ang Lee, from 2005, had to arrive, already in the 21st century, to present homosexuals to the general public as "common" men, with traditionally masculine appearance and without any type of pathology. that justified the presence of the character himself in the film.
This situation has been gradually transforming to the present day in which the major film and television production companies, especially European ones, pioneers in this subject, make films and series aimed almost exclusively at the LGBTIQ+ audience, showing more realistic characters and settings, films that are shown in commercial theaters or in the numerous film festivals on this theme that are held on all continents, or series broadcast on television channels in much of the world.
Although these current audiovisuals show how difficult it is to “come out of the closet” and project to the viewer the reality in which homosexuals find themselves, series like 'Cooking Crush' do not escape from reveling in stereotyping queer characters. Thus we see how Prem's three fellow students and also participants in the culinary contest, only with competitive, malicious objectives, are able to constantly harass and mock another member of that human collective.

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Pheem, the Penelope of Thai BL?

Although the series begins on a somewhat dramatic note, with two university students involved in a fight that leads to the inevitable hospital medical attention of one of them after receiving a blow, the story, in a fast, colorful and fun way, shows us, in tone of a youthful romantic comedy, one of the love plots between boys, set in a university, like the ones we are used to in BL series.
After the painting that is ready to be sent to an exhibition after sleepless nights becomes useless when it is hit by a soccer ball, Pheem will confront Phum, the extroverted and popular, but arrogant university soccer player, guilty of the mess, and in a burst of anger hits him.
Phum then demands compensation from him. But since the mischievous and playful second-year Fine Arts student, who dreams of one day having an art gallery in which to exhibit his own works, cannot pay the medical bills, they will ask him to be at their service and attend to all their needs. whims. Or will it be an excuse to get closer to Pheem?
But there will be a "gentleman's" style agreement: "No one will ever know that one is a slave and the other is a master."
Do you remember the first time you fell in love? Was it not a crush, nor a crush, but a love with capital letters, pulsating, with all the nerves in the body tingling? Whether you've forgotten that feeling, are feeling it now, or even if you've never felt it before, you'll feel that raw emotion in almost every frame of 'We Are' (คือ เรารักกัน'), an adaptation of Parawi's novel of the same name (ภารวี).
When the future civil engineer, embarrassed by having been beaten in front of others, begins a plan of revenge against Pheem, at the same time as his demands as a master increase, his feelings begin to slowly grow.
But Pheem will also demand that the "punishment" not last two months, but until he finishes repainting the damaged painting.
For some strange reason, while I was surprised by Phum accepting the proposal, I remembered Penelope, the Homeric character from "The Odyssey", but with some variations: she is not a woman, but a boy; It was not to avoid her suitors after the absence of her husband that she devised the plan of weaving a tapestry by day to undo it at night, confident that Ulysses was alive and would soon return, and thus prolong having to accept a new spouse. , otherwise he would delay finishing redoing the painting to continue close to Phum. Nor would it be four years until the return of the absent person to complete the two decades, but perhaps the same number of weeks until hearing the confession of love from the young man with whom he has fallen in love at that time.
The world is small and a university is even smaller. Being students at the same university, faced every day in their status as master-slave, leads the two young people to clash with each other again and again until Phum declares his love for Pheem and begins to court him. Or maybe Pheem has a confession to make too?
Phum's affectionate and tender behavior, the constant emission of "doubtful" vibrations, the sexual tensions created around the two, have not gone unnoticed by Pheem, who feels attracted to his "master" from the moment he meets him. known.
In that daily struggle of who dominates who, underneath it all, the two have begun, perhaps without realizing it, as an involuntary act, to take care of each other.
Through the eyes of Pheem, the main narrator, the viewer will be able to enjoy the birth and evolution of the romance between two a priori incompatible people who, however, enter into a love relationship that, like all relationships, has a lot of imperfections, but this It will not discourage them in their efforts to find happiness side by side.
The main arc of the series begins in the usual youth romantic comedy style, with the boys' characteristic pranks; studies, which we are sometimes terrible at; falling in love, which in many cases is the first in life; coming of age, the transition from adolescence to early youth, the joys and difficulties that young people had to face, friends who ignore us or, on the contrary, annoy us to no end, but are always present with his wise advice; the song that seems to save us time and time again from "sinking", the parents who do not understand us, the work that will come (or not) in the future, the differences in social classes... all these themes used mainly in function to provoke laughter, but also to make you reflect.
With a very basic and unoriginal plot having been seen many times, predictable twists, uninspiring characters and trite situations, among other characteristics, the series works for the viewer, if they are one of those looking for an easy romantic comedy.
Starring PondPhuwin, a ship formed by actors Naravit Lertratkosum, who plays Phum, and Phuwin Tangsakyuen, in the role of Pheem, whom we have already seen together in 'Fish Upon The Sky', 'Never Let Me Go' and more recently In 'Our Skyy 2', the drama brings us characters with the classic cliché of "strangers to friends and friends to lovers." Phum and Pheem are two beings who are finding themselves and discovering their most intimate desires.
But theirs will not be the only romance. In addition to Phum and Pheem, as a bonus, we have the expected secondary romance between SatangWimmy, a couple made up of Kittipop Sereevichayasawat (Satang), as Toey, the apprentice, and Thanawin Pholcharoenrat (Winny), as Q, the mentor, who in 'My School President' left us wanting more.
Q, Pheem's best friend and who likes to sing in a night bar, has been Toey's inspiration to decide to study Fine Arts. Secretly, he has been in love with the final year student of that major for some time. Admiring his talent and personality has led him to love him, but Q is unable to see the signs that are constantly coming to him. Will Toey have the chance to confess his love? Has Q really been so blind? These two will also have an agreement: Q will demand from Toey: "Don't tell anyone that you are my apprentice."
And also a third BL romance, that of AouBoom, a duo made up of Thanaboon Kiatniran (Aou), as Tan, the cheerful Engineering student, and Tharatorn Jantharaworakarn (Boom), as Khaofang, a sensitive and shy young man from the Faculty of architecture. In this relationship, Tan will ask Phum to help him flirt with his brother in exchange for the location where he can find Pheem. And Phum, despite initially telling him that he is not the ideal boyfriend for his brother, will give in to his friend's proposal in order to take revenge for the humiliation received.
And…did someone say a fourth romance? Someone…? Yes, a fourth too: that of MarcPoon, the duo made up of Natarit Worakornlertsith (Marc), as Shane, and Poon Mitpakdee, as Pun. This relationship begins when the two friends get closer and get to know each other even more while trying to find another person to flirt with Toey and thus get him to forget Q. Although these three couples are secondary, they manage to win the hearts of the viewers.
In a tone of light-hearted, biting and agile comedy, the series tells the adventures of this group of university friends who, as the official synopsis highlights, "navigate through the complexities of life, love and personal relationships, while balancing their academic responsibilities. , giving rise to chaotic and unpredictable situations.
The series highlights the different side of each of the four couples, their journey of discovery and acceptance. The eight young people will not fail to make you fall in love. As you get to know the four couples and see how the relationship between them evolves, you will be able to decide which one has stolen your heart the most and why.
With a vast body of work within the genre, with titles such as 'Absolute Zero', 'Love by Chance', 'Love by Chance 2', 'Until We Meet Again The Series', 'Make It Right: The Series 2 and 'Make It Right: The Series', among many others, the director, screenwriter and actor Siwaj Sawatmaneekul (New), gives us one of those romantic series that have the stigma that, despite their multiple flaws, they are products that are devoured easily and that seduce all audiences, due to their light, insubstantial and addictive packaging.
Modern, real, entertaining and, above all, addictive, this series joins others with themes of first youth and first love, with the university as its setting, which has always had a negative connotation, since many ( (not to say all of us) it is difficult for us to admit that we have become hooked on some of these dramas, due to their ability to entertain the viewer from beginning to end.
And it turns out that it couldn't be any other way. All human beings have lived, are living or will soon live that stage of our lives that is youth. And to this is added the university experience that not only refers to the academic part, but also a large percentage of it includes personal search, character development, discovering what you are suited for professionally and the diversification of social circles.
It is at university age, whether or not you enter the classrooms of one of these houses of higher education, that a person defines his character more accurately and, in the process, that is where relationships are created that last longer into the future - it is said that the friendships that are forged in college are those that last a lifetime. And love does not escape this axiom.
The series also manages to deny the rumor that 'Never Let Me Go' had been a failure and that GMMTV intended to undo this ship. Although it is very likely that this will be the last series that both film together as the main couple, since in 'Summer Night', to be released sometime in 2024, Phuwin will move away from his usual characters, while Pond does not have any performance planned in the immediate horizon.

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Yawn generator, its main feature

Again hugging a tree that draws attention because "my mom said." Again talking about photography. Again, agreeing on whether to let the two strange boys into the house when they are left without a hotel reservation. Once again imposing rules of coexistence. Again speaking badly about a person without realizing that they are listening to us. Once again the overwhelming fatigue of everyday life. Again the same formulas seen in… so many other times. But we have already seen this, in other scenarios and with other actors. Where did the magic and surprise travel? Where did they hide? Or are they scarce and exhausted goods?
I am not given to expressing opinions, much less in the form of a review, when it comes to a series, film or short film that does not catch my attention, but with 'Kiseki Chapter 2', the BL drama from 9NAA, a romantic comedy between four handsome men set in Tokyo, the Japanese capital, made me break with self-imposed things.
With this premise, to which is added the fact that it is a series with the protagonist of P Ekkapop Tata (P), Nanthakorn Sringenthap (Beboy), Jirachot Chotticomporn (Pan) and Chattrin Chotticomporn (Plai), the last three protagonists of 'Beyond the Star', I was curious.
I like the idea of ​​a romantic story (I prefer this term to the usual gay love or homosexual love or simply BL) that takes place "far from home" for the protagonists. But I immediately objected to being from the same company that produced 'Check Out' and 'My Blessing', so I was suspicious from the first moment.
And since I learned about the synopsis about a romance between Thai boys visiting Japan, it reminded me of that classic film that is 'Present Perfect (แค่นี้ก็ดีแล้ว / Khae ni k dilaew), from 2012 and its sequel , 'Present Still Perfect' (แค่นี้ก็ดีแล้ว Part 2 / Khae ni k dilaew Part 2), 2020.
As in the aforementioned films, the boys meet, accidentally, during a trip to Japan. And they will only have the few days (in this case 6) that their stay in the Land of the Rising Sun lasts for P and Beboy to meet and fall in love with the twins Pan and Plai, in that same order.
As they get closer and learn a lot about the meaning of life, their time in the country they visit runs out. Furthermore, one of them, P, has lived there for some years. What will happen then when they have to separate? Will they stay together? Will their feelings survive or will they only be content to store beautiful memories in their hearts?
I said to myself: "If it can be 1 percent as good as the films of Thai director Aaam Soisa-ngim, the series is worth watching. If the four protagonists can be 1 percent as good in their roles as they were Kritsana Maroukasonti as Oat and Tonawanik Adisorn as Toey in the aforementioned films, it would be worth seeing."
But soon my cry of euphoria was drowned in discouragement and dissatisfaction. Yes, we are faced with a BL audiovisual that escapes from those stories focused on teenage or school romance, which is not bad at all, but they can get tiring.
So far, and I doubt it will happen, there is no emotional and visual pleasure. I also don't think I managed to awaken other kinds of deeper feelings and emotions in the audience, despite being able to touch on topics such as self-acceptance, discovery, liberation and the way of seeing life. I don't think I'll find these and other themes mixed with deep messages in the plot.
Contrary to 'Present Perfect' and its sequel, it will not touch the human sensibilities of the spectators, nor will it transport us to a confusing journey full of questions about the essence of oneself, despite having, I do not doubt it either. , a very sweet ending. How I would like to be wrong!
Of course, 'Kiseki Chapter 2' will amaze us with the choice of landscapes, especially monuments, temples and sculptures in parks and streets, that we can enjoy in each scene. Hopefully these will contribute scenarios to the story in accordance with the moment of the series, the message or the emotions transmitted by its characters.
One more story of "strangers to friends" and... yes, I would like romance to break out between the characters, but with a solid script and good performances.
Neither the story nor the characters capture me. Between a lot of boredom and little fun, both in the characters and visually, I would like it, why not? May the instant friendship of the four boys become ever deeper into love.
Something positive is that so far nothing indicates to us that the boys are homosexual. So, it could be a good time for them to discover each other and get to know their sexualities. This could be a strong point of the series. Also, being able to enjoy the atmosphere of Tokyo, especially in the fall season.
The series is a slow story and on many occasions very boring. Everything is told without any emotion. The dialogues sometimes turn out to be absurd and unreal conversations where the thread of who is saying what is often lost. The four characters become unbearable and you cannot empathize with any of them.
No, on this occasion it is not boredom and daily problems that are the worst enemies for the couple's subsistence, as in other dramatized ones, but rather it is the couple's own subsistence, actually two, that promotes boredom without reaching solve everyday problems.
Giving a good rating to 'Kiseki Chapter 2' seems to me to be underestimating many very superior romantic dramas that have been ignored for years.

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The loss of innocence

In a confusing way, 'My Dream' explores the loss of innocence, as it follows the lives and relationships of five young people who are united by friendship, love and blood: Runway (Best, Cholsawas Tiewwanichkul), the main narrator; his friends Guide (Fame, Chawinroj Likitchareonsakul) and Yim (Ellfa, Chollatee Bampen), Doctor Good (Boom, Jiratpisit Jaravijit), Guide's brother, and Tanai (Taro, Shatree Suwanvalaikor), Runway's athletic, slightly older neighbor than him, who is in love with the young protagonist.
Directed by Job Piyawat Chaithiangthum, at the time of its premiere in 2018, the series 'My Dream' meant a pleasant change within the BL universe with the mixture of youth themes, romance, fantasy and supernatural.
Runway is a brilliant high school student marked by nightmares since the death of his father. Thanks to her father's old dream catcher placed near her bed, Runway manages to fall asleep, in which a mysterious man named Dream (Fluke, Pongsapat Kankam) appears to her.
However, Runway, who lives alone with his mother, has not created an imaginary friend in his mind, but rather an imaginary lover who makes the teenager not only fantasize and invent various conversations and situations, but also leads him to confuse fantasy and reality.
Instead of helping Runway find an escape from the situation, Dream, who has been present in Runway's dreams since he was a baby, will help immerse him further and further into an imaginary world that will be difficult, if not impossible to escape.
Dream won't stop the teen from interacting with other humans, but he will be upset when Runway comes into contact with Tanai, the boy who has a crush on him. This is how Runway will ignore Tanai's declarations of love and her constant worries about him.
I don't like Tanai that she loves Runaway because "she sees him as a girl."
Runway's personality is wonderful, being the good son and good friend of his friends, always attentive to the feelings of others.
At the end of the series we will see a meeting between Runway and Dream in the real world, and thus we will have new elements about the relationship that exists between Dream and Elle and the bond between both of them with the dreamcatcher, since Elle will be Dream's companion on that occasion.
Another of the main characters is Guide. This intelligent high school student tries to help Runwai deal with both the imaginary relationship and the real world, but everything changes when he suspects that his girlfriend Yaimai (Noon, Pitchatorn Santinatornkul), has been unfaithful, and decides to separate from her afterward of three years of courtship.
At the same time, Guide begins to feel attracted to Tanai.
Regarding the character played by Noon, I don't like that she doesn't mind sharing Guide with as many men as he wants to be with, as long as she allows her to be the only girl. I don't understand these types of female characters obsessed with boys who have lost interest in girls, among other reasons because they are homosexual. Instead of accepting to be her friend, Yaimai will try again and again to get Guide to return to her side, causing tensions between the two and their family and friends.
For his part, Yim, who has lived his adolescence without complications, will suffer a sexual violation and will find supportive arms in Runway and Tanai, to whom he confesses what happened.
I don't like how Yim's rape story is handled.
Not even Tanai, because he is of legal age, suggests that he seek justice and report the sexual assault, after Yim demonstrates that he feels affected by the events. On the contrary, we see the boy being driven home by the rapist in the same car with which he was previously taken to the place of the rape, which would mean greater stress and suffering for a person after suffering a tragedy like this.
Other scenes, such as the "farewell" kiss when the rapist finally recognizes his mistake and asks for forgiveness, also make it seem like Yim suffers from Stockholm Syndrome.
It is true that Tanai hits the aggressor, but this seems insufficient punishment to me, since the possibility of the rapist acting in the same way in the future remains latent.
These events contribute to the loss of innocence of adolescents.
At the same time, the young doctor Good will be trapped in a strange supernatural relationship with a mysterious girl who turns out to have the appearance of Kafe (Anna Glucks), his old girlfriend who died in an accident five years ago, but in truth is a strange being who He changes gender depending on whether he comes into contact with the water, because when he is dry he transforms his appearance and becomes a boy named Elle (Choot, Cherdchanin Vitapinan), who is somehow connected to the dreamcatcher and the tragic outcome that cost him life to the woman that Good still has not been able to forget.
The three teenagers will lose their innocence when each one knows pain, evil, and deception. As the series progresses, Runwai, Guide and Yim will realize that things in real life are different from how they saw them.
The series also tells us about coming of age and that, coupled with the loss of trust in the world, human beings can activate their capacity for resilience based on affectivity. The more love and understanding the characters receive, the greater their ability to overcome obstacles.
After the dreamcatcher is burned, Runway wakes up from a coma and asks for Tanai. He is worried about him, but not only in the sense of knowing his state of health after the accident.
Upon arriving home and left alone with Tanai, Runway laughs at Tanai's jokes for the first time. He has lost his innocence. And Tanai asks him again the question of whether he can take care of him, in the sense of whether he can be his partner. And if until that moment he had rejected it, Runway asks him for time to think about it, a response that makes Tanai happy.
In the next dream, for the first time Runway finds Dream and her father in the same vision. Call the father. But when you look at the place where Dream was, it is no longer there. It seems that Dream has recognized that Runway has chosen to be with her father.
However, instead of moving forward, the series goes backwards, keeping Runway lost between fantasy and reality. Apparently, the creators thought to resolve this situation in a second season that never arrived, leaving all the stories unfinished.
Some viewers will point out that the series is slow in the sense of the action of the actors' and actresses' movements being slow, but I consider that the long shots and wide spaces for reflection do not make 'My Dream' boring. On the contrary, the slow rhythm has been used with precision in the Thai series, and the music and other arts related to television easily adapt to the feeling that the musical themes and the story have wanted to express.
Likewise, the static camera and silences contribute to telling the story and recreating the general feeling of the series. What is interesting is how 'My Dream' takes its time to build the stories and characters step by step.
What I enjoy most about the series is the slow and wonderful relationship that Guide and Tanais have been weaving. Fame achieves a good performance by showing how his cute character falls in love with Tanai, who in turn has been in love with Runway, but he remains obsessed with Dream.
The moments of interaction between Guide and Tanai are wonderful. Among these, the kiss on the beach or the one that the two enjoy in front of the door of Guide's house when Tanai takes him on his motorcycle and says goodbye to him at night before Yaimai's prying eyes. Or when Tanai places food on his plate while the three teenagers and Tanai's friends celebrate the latter's birthday.
It is extraordinary how the characters show the relationship that they have been developing in silence, even with their backs turned to themselves, and how they transmit anxiety, restlessness, nervousness... all those common symptoms that can surprise people in love.
I must also highlight how striking it is that the characters do not react with surprise to the supernatural phenomena they are forced to face. Accepting the supernatural without drama contributes to the development of the story, since it is evident that all the mysterious supernatural events and characters have the dreamcatcher in common.
We will be looking forward to seeing Yim and Asawin (Beer Rapeewish Sangiamwong) interact, since we only got to see it for a few minutes in the final episode. The chemistry between the two characters is undeniable. In case of a second season, I would be interested in seeing the evolution of this couple and that of Tanai and Guide.

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Bryan and Alex experience a strong emotional connection in the short time they have shared during their stay on the beach, as part of a group that organizes group tours that includes dogs with their owners. However, what could have been the beginning of a beautiful romance will be broken by a tragic accident.
The viewer will be able to enjoy the intimacy that arises between the two young people in a visually beautiful way, despite both deciding to take the nascent relationship calmly.
I find the format of the show interesting, in which Miss Becky (Ameer Sanchez) presents real-life stories from members of the LGBTQ+ community each week.
I also feel that it has been beneficial to start the program with a story in which we have Hiro Shimoji as the protagonist, due to the connection that this young Filipino actor has achieved with the audience in the series 'Our Story' and 'My Story', both from 2023.
The first episode of 'Dear Miss Becky', a web series produced and directed by Xion Lim, explores the idea that true intimacy can be found in the simplicity of sleeping next to someone, transcending the physical act of sex, while alerting us about the fragility of human life.
Likewise, it gives us a message that love is more than a physical attraction and lovers must give value to the time they shared with the loved one, allowing them to keep alive the connection they were building before the occurrence of an event beyond their control will that separated them.
The episode focuses on the characters of Bryan and Alex, played by Hiro Shimoji and Thirdy Galvin, respectively. The chemistry between the actors is palpable, allowing the viewer to appreciate how the relationship deepens on screen. As the story unfolds, their interactions are conveyed through silence, abstract soundscapes, and textured cuts, creating a captivating visual experience that immerses the audience in an emotional journey.
In the same way that the character of Miss Becky fails to convince me, Xion Lim as a producer and director still fails to capture me with any of his stories. I still remember how it ruined the relationship between Zeke and Fifth, preventing this ship from being one of the most popular within the LGBT+ genre, not just in the Philippines.
If, on the one hand, the weak script fails to develop the characters, their conflicts and events well, the possibility of improvising allows genuine and authentic moments to emerge, especially in Hiro's performance.
With impressive daytime and nighttime images of the Philippine beaches, I think it is positive that Hiro has a new partner, since this actor can perform well in roles as a young homosexual in LGBT+ themed series, while Jericho Del Rosario, his co-star in 'Our Story' and 'My Story', he never seems to have been comfortable with his partner or the fanservice, which is very regrettable due to the visual attraction that the couple did not know or could not exploit.

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Two young heterosexuals, a kiss that has the power to change lives and a rooftop

When we try to answer the question "what is the reason to love?", we will always be surprised to realize that there really is no reason at all. Through images, music, words and silences, 'Heart... Not a Reason', the 2020 Thai short film, describes this situation, while immersing us in the passionate and secret love relationship between two young heterosexuals, who fall in love after kissing as part of a card game in which they participate.
Toey and Puth, which is the name of our narrative heroes, are two strangers who meet for the first time after their respective girlfriends, May and Ploy, meet again after some time, and decide to introduce their current partners and go on dates double.
During the course of the evening, between plates of food and drinks of alcohol, the four young people agree to participate in a card game, in which the losers must comply with the punishment imposed by the winner.
With the chemical universe behind a kiss, Toey, played by Scott Pannachai Keatkaew, an actor we know for his role as Pent in the LGBT+ themed romantic series 'What the Duck' and 'What the Duck Season 2: Final Call ', and Puth, played by Book Sikaphat, an actor and singer known for appearing in the drama 'Risk Lust Love', also experienced a very deep exchange of sensations and emotions that gave way to love. In other words: knowing each other allowed them to know themselves.
The character played by Scott conveys the image of a person with a confused heart and no confidence. In truth, Toey searches for true love, and what he has searched for so long he finally finds in Puth. He likes how Puth cares about him, pays attention to him, with specific actions such as preparing dinner for him or surprising him on his birthday with a cake. And all this causes Toey to fall in love with him even more.
For his part, Puth is one of the people who gives himself over to love completely. He can't help but fall in love with Toey. While your brain asks you to get away from him, your heart takes you once again to meet him. Puth doesn't want to hurt Ploy, and that's why he hesitates whether or not to continue his secret relationship with Toey, but he can't resist the feeling that has arisen in the center of his chest. It will be very difficult for you to end the relationship with the person you love. While your mouth says one thing, your feelings say the opposite.
However, Puth's girlfriend has also fallen in love with her friend's boyfriend.
Both actors well convey anxiety, restlessness, nervousness, euphoria... all those common and frequent symptoms in people who feel in love. While I see the characters looking at their cell phones, confident that the message is from the other, or how, shyly, they avoid each other's gaze when they meet in public at the shopping center or at the door of one of their houses, I seem to see fluttering the famous butterflies in the stomach, feeling the sweat soak their hands or listening to the beating of their hearts.
The rooftop scene is memorable, as both characters are able to express their feelings and show the incredible chemistry between the two.
The viewer will be able to see how the power of an unexpected and involuntary kiss provokes in the two young people not only that desire to kiss that has a scientific name: filemamania.
The story will surprise us by discovering that nothing is what it seems: while one thinks that they have just started a flirtation, that they feel nervous being close to each other, suddenly we will understand that between the two there is already a deep loving relationship and both they have reached the point where they debate whether it would be right to continue the romance or break up.
The good production, beautiful images, delicate editing, structured script, and a credible well-told story would only be missing a tender and melancholic song. And we have that too, because the short film, in addition to provoking reflection on how no one should be blamed when you fall in love, since no one can control your feelings and your heart, seeks to convey the real story that happened and allowed Book Sikaphat to compose the song "Hua Jai", from the Sikpat Book, which tells the story of two friends who fall in love and how the feeling that arises between them causes the change of their friendly relationship into a romantic one.

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The classic relationship: one of the members of the couple dominates and the other is dominated

Produced by Lu Po Wen and Li Yun Ming, the director and producer of the three parts of 'Ghost Boyfriend', 'River Knows Fish Heart' revolves around the romance of two high school students Situ Xiao Yu (Chinese name that translates such as "Little Fish"), a rich young man who runs away from home and pursues his dream of being a musician, and An He (literally "River"), a musical genius who is experiencing composer's block.
Written and directed by Lv Bowen, the romantic, musical and youth drama with an LGBT+ theme addresses topics such as campus life, coexistence, coming of age, obsession and the power difference in a relationship in which one of one member of the couple dominates and the other is dominated.
The two enthusiastic music lovers with parental problems, played by Zhen Jia Jian and Meng Yue Chen, respectively, decide to live together after meeting at the school to which Xiao Yu has transferred after leaving his parents' home.
As they organize their lives to participate in the musical competition, a subtle and elusive feeling arises between the two of them. However, the day before the event, Xiao Yu disappears, leaving An He in an embarrassing situation, not knowing how to deal with this situation.
Despite their different personalities, between the athletic Xiao Yu with a cold smile, mysterious eyes and bad boy vibe, and the bright student with a tender, innocent and childish look An He, love arises. When Xiao Yu sees their relationship threatened, he explains his actions as follows: "I'm just a little fish in the river. It's just my human nature to protect my habitat from being invaded."
Needing to move after disagreements with his father, Xiao Yi enters the house and, above all, An He's life. Soon the visitor will leave the living room couch and take up space on the shy teenager's bed, despite the fact that he repeatedly rejects his seductive but dominant roommate.
Using old school kinky and problematic tropes such as dominant boy and dominated boy, 'River Knows Fish Heart' touches on themes of communication, consent and self-acceptance.
The film enters 'Addicted' territory, only this time with the muscular, seme athlete who falls madly in love with the tender, nerdy uke and decides to take charge of his life and protect him even from his mother, who has never heard his son sing or play. the piano or the guitar.
The character of Zheng Jia Jian is not innocent at all: with his 185 centimeters of height, an athletic and slightly bossy body, on the other hand he has plenty of inspiring vibes that find resonance in a contemporary youth who feels identified by making them dream. Furthermore, his dominant traits and the way he penetrates An He's life until he breaks him really makes the viewer want to be in the position of the dominated boy.
Lovers of the genre will enjoy the most daring scene in 'River Knows Fish Heart', in which we can see how Xiao Yu forces his roommate to kiss him in the bathroom, erotically whispering: "I want to possess every inch of your skin." Even more sensual is that the film offers us scenes of hot kisses and tender and very well-done sexual interactions.
An He's cold, reserved, and even hostile demeanor soon transforms into that of someone warm, sensitive, and friendly. He is a tsundere in all the rules. For his part, the seme Xiao Yu is very aggressive; so the dynamic between the two directly enters another territory, dubcon or "dubious consent", since consent on An He's part is not completely absent, but the situation has certain elements that in real life could be interpreted as a rape.
The relationship between An He and Xiao Yu is the classic blouse and pants combination. Or put another way, it exposes the nature of 'yin and yang' style. When the two energies complement and balance each other is when they achieve a harmonious and happy relationship.
In order to bring to life this cliché story of a bad boy who overpowers the innocent high school student, the director summons two idols admired by the younger generation in China: Meng Yue Chen and Zhen Jia Jian.
Both actors were born to play this type of cute young men who make up the ideal couple for fans who enjoy gay romance.
The first is a musician, Dai dance dancer and actor who in the world of acting became known precisely with this film, but has subsequently participated in the dramas 'Capture Love', 'In Your Heart', the documentary ' Capture Love Special', always playing queer characters, and the film 'Yin Yuan', among other works.
'River Knows Fish Heart' is a film in which Men Yue Chen can, in addition to demonstrating his histrionic qualities, expose his skills as a singer and musician: he plays the acoustic guitar and lets us hear his beautiful and well-pitched voice.
After the premiere of 'River Knows Fish Heart', Meng Yue Chen becomes an Internet phenomenon and is considered by the public to be China's new (gay) girlfriend for his tender look, his fair skin and his beautiful features.
The passionate and moving acting skills of Zhen Jia Jian, who among the youth audience of his country has earned the title of being the personification of attractive and sexy, allows us to remember him for playing Cheng Yue in 'Love Is Not Easy to Have' or Xiao Jie in the drama 'French Love', both with LGBT+ themes.
Audiences will find it difficult to forget two other lines said by his character: "I feel like my dream is not important because I found someone more important than my dream," referring to having left behind his passion for music after finding the love of his life in Little An He, or "This river doesn't need that fish, but without it there isn't much fun."
At the same time, the film also marks the debut of Han Jing Cheng in the role of Wang Zheng. The viewer will remember him for being the protagonist of the films 'Ghost Boyfriend 2' and 'Love Is Not Easy to Have', and the drama series 'Capture Lover', all with LGBT+ themes.
Due to the success of the film, after playing Xiao Yi, Zheng Jia Jian then manages to play another homosexual character in 'Love is not Easy to Have', another famous Chinese film, in which these last two actors will join. Along with Han Jing Cheng, Zheng Jia Jian plays another gay couple with a lot of chemistry and visual beauty that steals sighs from Chinese and international audiences.
According to the director, to represent this story much more clearly, he tried to demonstrate the connection between love and dreams by making the protagonists experience the contradictory mentality of their characters, expecting them to carry out the shyness of teenage romance.

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A film that tells us about unrequited love

Jhih Wei and Yi De are two best friends who dream of always being close to each other. While the first studies at the university, the second plans to follow in his footsteps and enter the same house of higher education the following year to become his junior.
One weekend night, Jhih Wei sleeps in Yi De's bed. The next morning, as Yi De prepares to go out to meet his girlfriend, Jhih Wei thinks that he would really like not to go home yet. .
And everything could be as young people dream, but a secret comes between the two: Jhih Wei is in love with his friend who is not only heterosexual, but also has a girlfriend named Yu Wen (Andrey Fong) whom he loves madly. , causing him to choose to hide his feelings.
Starring Mike Lee as Jhih Wei and Li-Hsin Chien as Yi De, 'Not Going Home Yet' (晚歸), also known as 'WAn Gui, Wan Kuei' (晚归), is a drama romantic Taiwanese LGBT+ theme that tells us about unrequited love.
Here the trick is played by our heads... In love, Jhih Wei's brain instinctively looks for any sign of reciprocity in the other person to keep the flame alive... and he is able to see authentic declarations of love where there is only companionship, kindness and politeness, such as giving you a body massage, asking you to give you the towel you forgot to take with you to the bathroom, or inviting you to spend a night out in your company.
Produced, edited, written and directed by Alan Chen, the film, which is only 15 minutes long, exposes Jhih Wei's suffering over his unrequited crush. Sharing time and doing things with Yi De is making Jhih Wei suffer. Have you finally accepted the situation that your friend is straight and he is gay and nothing will ever happen between the two? Have you understood that it makes no sense to continue feeding and fantasizing about that impossible love?
Alan Chen also manages with his work as a set designer to convey to the viewer the sadness and pessimism that surrounds the main protagonist towards the end of the short film. After Jhih Wei accepts his friend's invitation to go to dinner at a restaurant after meeting his girlfriend, Jhih Wei will reject the dinner when he finds out that Yu Wen will join them, and alone, on his scooter, he will travel the streets. streets of Taipei on the way home. Belle Cheng, the director of photography, delivers beautiful interior and exterior images, both day and night.
The film does not reveal to us if Jhih Wei wants to maintain the friendship or, as happens with breakups, he needs some time to manage to be able to see Yi De as a friend again.

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An exploration of the growing drag culture within Taiwan's queer landscape

The 2021 short film 'Best Sisters Forever' revolves around the elegant Xue Rong / "Snow" (Heng-Chi Kuo) and the fun and frivolous A Du / "Cavon" (Soda Voyu), two gay "sisters" best friends, who after having a heated discussion about issues of promiscuity, end up distancing themselves from each other.
A tragic event allows the reunion of the two "sisters" a decade later. Knowing that their days together are numbered, the couple embarks on an adventure in hopes of recapturing lost opportunities and creating happy memories. Along the way, they make important discoveries about life, love, friendship, and family. Promises are kept and a long lost dream comes true.
The year after releasing 'Your Name Engraved Herein', a film shortlisted for four awards at the 57th Golden Horse Awards 2020, Liu Kuang Hui (Patrick Liu) offers in 'Best Sisters Forever' an authentic vision of the drag sisterhood in that Asian island.
Associated with GagaOOLala, the Taiwanese director explores the growing drag culture within Taiwan's queer landscape, and reflects on questions of identity, empowerment, bonds and brotherhood within the flamboyant Taiwanese community.
To this end, the film features original performances by some of Taiwan's most famous drag queens at Taipei's most iconic LGBT venue, the historic Red House in Ximending District.
"What has always fascinated me is this special sense of bond or brotherhood that exists between members of the gay community but is rarely talked about or discussed in the mainstream. "So, this is where I wanted to play with this idea of ​​'sisterhood' and create a story around it specifically in the context of drag," Liu says when premiering the work.
With the intention of visualizing 'drag' and brotherhood within the community, Liu calls on two of the most important actors in the Taiwanese entertainment industry: Heng-Chi Kuo and Soda Voyu.
The first is a singer, director and composer who makes his official screen debut as an actor in this film. In addition to acting, Heng-Chi Kuo performs the main theme of the film: "Don't Rub Salt on the Wound", a song composed in 1999 for A-Mei, the singer considered a gay icon and defender of Taiwanese indigenous and LGBT+ rights throughout the Mandarin-speaking world.
For his part, Soda Voyu is an outstanding actor, winner of the Golden Bell Award, with an extensive filmography, which includes the film 'Tale of the Lost Boys', from 2017, the drama 'Magic Showdown', from that same year, 'iHero 2' and 'Your Name Engraved Herein'.
Thanks to 'Best Friends Forever', both actors play drag characters in a film for the first time, an experience that both together describe as "very entertaining but challenging, a special project that was worth pursuing, especially for its deep cause and the "so necessary drag defense."
Best Sisters Forever is the third installment of GagaOOLala's 2021 anthology 'Queer Up The Volume', a collection of original queer stories, each with their own title track and music video, aiming to portray the different facets of the community. contemporary queer.
The Queer Up The Volume project also includes other titles, such as the second season of GagaOOLala's successful Thai-Taiwanese BL co-production series, 'Call It What You Want 2', by Anusorn Soisa-ngim (Aam); 'Light', from director Adiamond Lee and starring Jed Chung, Max Liu and Ding Ning; the Taiwanese BL drama 'Dark Blue and Moonlight', and 'Fragrance of the First Flower', the lesbian miniseries by director Angel Teng (Bao Bao), winner of the first prize of the GagaOOLala Pitching Sessions 2020.

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The transformative power of cinema to improve society

Taiwanese screenwriter, director and producer Angel I-Han Teng believes in the transformative power of cinema to improve society. In this way, he writes the script for 'Bao Bao' (親愛的卵男日記), an LGBT+ themed drama co-produced between Taiwan and the United Kingdom, which focuses on the struggles of same-sex couples to form families in that Asian island.
Presented at Outfest, the Asia-Pacific Film Festival, in Los Angeles, United States, in 2018, and released in theaters in Taiwan and Japan that same year, the film, directed by Shie Guang Cheng, revolves around two homosexual couples: Joanne and Cindy, and Charles and Tim. The four young people live in London and plan to have children, but then they have to return to Taiwan, where challenges await them.
'Bao Bao' was written and made while Teng was residing in the United States, but it tells an exclusively Taiwanese story, but universal due to the impossibility of homosexual couples to adopt children and marry in countries where people of the same sex do not have the possibility of getting married.
For the filmmaker, the best result is to be able to make Taiwanese stories with Taiwanese actors and then let an international audience see and appreciate them.
Her training in Psychology allows the writer to develop complex characters in her work faced with complex dilemmas, such as homosexuality and the adoption of newborn children.
In her marriage to Joanne/Xu Jie An (Christine Ke), Cindy/Fang Rong Xin (Ries Emmie), is a young woman who is expecting two babies, but loses one. Having also lost trust in her partner, Cindy doesn't know where to go, who to believe, or whether it's her baby or not. So, he decides to return to Taiwan from London, where he has lived for some time. In her hometown, she will find care in Yang Tai / Ah Tai, (Yankee Yang), her childhood best friend, who promises to raise the baby with her.
Confused about what a family should be like, Cindy finally works up the courage to confront Joanne and the gay couple of Charles Watanabe/Du Bian Zhi Jiu (Yukihiko Kageyama) and Tim/Li Hao Ting (Daniel Tsai). At the time the film was filmed, equal marriage or homosexual marriage was not yet legalized in Taiwan. Even today, after this right has been legal since 2019, the existence of same-sex parents is still not acceptable for that society. And our protagonist trusts that that day will come.
With this, her first narrative feature film as a writer, the also sound specialist and with extensive experience working as a recording engineer and sound mixer, begins a filmography in which she addresses issues related to identity, gender, feminism and rights. humans with a subtle sensitivity, as can be seen in 'Rose Skirt' (玫瑰色的裙), 'The Fragrance of the First Flower', winner of the Gold Award for an investment fund at the GagaOOLala Pitching Sessions, or 'A Balloon's Landing'(我在這裡等你), 2024.
'Bao Bao', a film that allowed Angel I-Han Teng to obtain the Excellent Screenplay Award from the Taiwanese government, is also an example of his interest in the musicality of cinematographic components that go beyond the conventional limits between sound and music in cinema.
Teng's fascination with highlighting gender issues begins in his Family Psychology classes at the University: "Not only was I not familiar with same-sex parent households, but I noticed that all the examples the professor gave were from abroad. Those from Taiwan either didn't stand out or weren't seen. A creative light bulb went off in my head," he says. He adds: "I appreciate the beauty of individual differences although we share many similarities. The complexities of the human mind open my imagination to create works of art. I wrote many scripts and entered competitions, some of which completely changed the course of my career my life…".

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