Enemies to friends to lovers… nothing new to see here

Countless series have been produced on the enemies to lovers genre and this one just adds to that ever growing list. Although there have been some BL series that have broken new ground with this genre like History 3: Trapped or the sheer chemistry between the main leads have stolen the show like Bad Buddy, but this one just sticks to the cliché. The only thing going for this series is that the 2 main leads have some depth in their character more so with Tae Hyun than Da Yeol.

The series wastes no time in introducing the characters. Da Yeol is a student who is a talented archer and that has gained him a scholarship. Not a popular student from any stretch of the imagination nor good with his studies, his only passion remains with archery. During one of the practise sessions he is sent to the nurse’s office for a shoulder pain and there he encounters Tae Hyun. Tae Hyun is a happy-go-lucky student who cares little about rules. Due to some shenanigans, Tae Hyun and Da Yeol are caught in a compromising position and Tae Hyun places all the blame on Da Yeol angering him. Tae Hyun now keeps pranking Da Yeol all to his anguish. But the more time they spend with each other Da Yeol learns more about Tae Hyun and can’t help but fall in love with him.

The character of Tae Hyun is interesting as he has a tragic past and layer by layer we are shown what that is all about. This makes Tae Hyun intriguing and you tend to sympathize with him as we learn more about him. But as the series inches closer to the finale, we feel that the creators have abandoned that plot point. His reactions though justified in the beginning seems rather rushed by the end and does a complete 180 degree during the final episode.

The final episode seems rushed and makes little to no sense due to multiple time jumps. Earlier Da Yeol is shown as confident in his feelings and Tae Hyun being the one who is aloof and questioning but in the final episode, they seemed to have exchanged their characters. Its Da Yeol now who acts aloof and makes you wonder is he no longer in love with Tae Hyun? All the great character development that took place in the first 5 episodes is flushed down the drain in the last 2 episodes and this was just so disappointing

In conclusion, the series has some handsome male leads with some good acting and character development in the initial episodes but disappoints you at the very end.

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4 Couples with some sweet plots and some highly infuriating ones

I will be honest right from the start. The only reason I decided to give this one a watch was because of Earth Pirapat and Earth Katsamonnat. I have enjoyed their acting in all the series that I have seen them in so far and this was no exception. But it would be unfair to rate this series only on the performance of 2 characters. Love By Chance is a series that tells a story of 4 separate couples, so let’s judge it on the basis of these 8 characters and their stories starting with the 2 main characters.

Pete and Ae: Pete comes from a rich family where he has been protected by his mother and he is shown to be rather simple and easily over-powered. He is closeted gay and hence is blackmailed by another student for money. Ae has a humble background and one day they accidently meet each other. From that day onwards, whenever he encounters Pete, he needs saving and Ae helps him out. Ae even encourages Pete to come out to his mom which he does. It was good to see a coming out scene in a BL series and the mom accepting it for her child’s happiness. Post this encounter, a strong bond develops between Pete and Ae that takes the shape of love and they start a relationship. Their relationship is shown to be sweet and passionate. There are some ups and downs but any issues they encounter are swiftly resolved through dialogue. There is jealousy but also a strong sense of trust between the two throughout the series. It was only during the last few episodes that I feel Ae behaves rather differently where Ae and his friends plan a 3 day vacation at a beach and he refuses to take Pete along because he is afraid of some handsome friend who will make fun of him.

Tin and Can: Of all the 4 couples, these 2 had the best storyline. Tin also hails from a rich family but initially you feel something is wrong with him. He has a superiority complex and looks down upon people who are not as rich as he is. All this stemming from experiences he had as a child and multiple betrayals suffered from parents, elder brother and even his friends. He now does not trust anyone and feels money is the solution to all problems. Can is a fresher at the university and a football player. He is talkative and enjoys food especially when paid by someone else. He is a simpleton through and through and picks up a fight with Tin because he rubs him the wrong way. However, as the story progresses we find they both interact and have a positive impact on each other. Tin has a backstory that is worth expanding upon and I believe Part 2 of this series does that. There is a different dynamic at play in this relationship as Tin is straightforward and Can is naïve. Their story reaches a crescendo in the last episode and to me feels justified. Their story picks up steam by ep 10 and I was left wishing that it should have started way earlier to flesh out a lot of things.

Tum and Tar: This is a complicated one as Tum and Tar are introduced as siblings where Tum has serious feelings for Tar and this just made me uncomfortable. Its later revealed that they are step-brothers but not sure if it really helped at the end. Tar is a victim of rape and hence suffers from a trauma leading him to be afraid of love and intimacy. Tum is caring towards Tar but has no idea about Tar being a victim and misunderstands the whole situation. There is a deep emotional moment in the last episode between these 2 characters which pulls at your heart strings but with a lot of things left unanswered or being spoken in passing you fail to connect with these 2 characters and hence aren’t involved in their stories.

Techno and Kengkla: Finally talking about the most problematic couple. Kengkla loves Techno and would do anything to be with him. He straightaway bribes Techno’s brother to keep an eye on him and constantly call him to know his whereabouts. You don’t understand Kengkla’s infatuation with Techno because that is not explained. In fact they hardly share any scenes together and have no dialogues between them. Kengkla at the end devices the most ridiculous and in my opinion an illegal plan to get Techno. Techno once comes home drunk and Kengkla takes advantage of this situation and rapes Techno (Techno is too drunk to consent and this cant be described as anything other than rape). To make matters worse, the next day when Techno wakes up sober, he finds himself in the same bed as Kengkla, naked with no memory of the previous night. Kengkla guilts Techno in to believing that he took advantage of Kengkla last night and should now take responsibility by being his boyfriend. This storyline started ridiculous and ended up infuriating me especially when you already have another character who is a victim of rape. What were the writers and director thinking?

In conclusion, this series is a watch only for Pete and Ae, and Tin and Can. Their stories are sweet and has a lot of depth and there is certainly character development. Can’t say the same about the other 2 couples. Feel free to fast forward their parts for better entertainment value.

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It leaves you wanting for more

With the onslaught of multiple BL series coming out of South Korea, Japan and Thailand, I was delighted to find this gem from Taiwan. I watched this one right after finishing My School President and the plot is more or less the same with the roles a bit reversed.

In this series, we have Xu Qi Zhang, a member of a band who is supporting and caring towards Ye Guang, a studious school student. The series attempts to highlight multiple issues faced by students and youth of today. First we have the overbearing parents of Ye Guang who takes control of his life in order to see his son succeed academically. They are so focussed on their son’s success in every field that they don’t realise that he has lost all freedom and feels trapped and unloved. Then we have the story of Ray, who is ill-treated by his boyfriend. He is shown with female attire and a wig while he is with his ex-boyfriend but loses the wig when he meets Ah Jian. There is a hint that may be his ex is making him wear it but that could just be my speculation. They have also added a dead father and an abusive uncle for good measure.

There isn’t much romance as the story focuses more on the relationship between Ye Guang and his parents and how he feels more like himself when he is with Xu Qi Zhang. There are multiple plots that the series introduces and then we don’t get to see any resolution there. There is certainly an attempt to give more depth to these characters but due to limited episodes we don’t get a satisfactory ending to those plots. We get to meet Xu’s abusive uncle but then no follow-up on that story. There is also Jun Wei who dislikes Ye Guang for some reason that isn’t explained but you can hazard a guess. He wants to see Ye Guang fail and takes active steps to do so but then he is forgotten. Then we have the whole plot of a school election where Xu Qi Zhang, Ye Guang and Jun Wei apply for. There is also a stake for Xu Qi Zhang to win this election but there is no conclusion to that plotline. There is also a professor that is supporting Xu Qi Zhang but she leaves the series by ep 2. I can chalk all this down to lack to time to flesh these plots out but not much would be lost if these plots were not brought up to begin with.

In conclusion, the story is simple and the relationship between the main characters is sweet. The OST is good and wouldn’t mind listening to it over and over. The acting has been satisfactory from all the 4 main leads although I would have liked to see more of Ray as his character had a lot of potential and there is a good story there waiting to be explored.

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Someone needs to go back in time and improve this script

This is a series that is trying to manage a lot of social and psychological issues at the same time but the execution has been anything but exemplary. Showcasing Time travel in a show is difficult as there are many moving parts that you have to be careful about so as not to lose the continuity. This show more or less manages to stay within that line.

As a child Shin Jae Woo is traumatised as he witnesses the death of Kang Ji Hoon who saves him from a serial killer. Shin Jae Woo carries this guilt all through his life and returns to his home town and the dormitory where Kang Ji Hoon used to reside. He goes in to the room that belonged to Kang Ji Hoon and while using the intercom and hears Ji Hoon’s voice. As he tries to run out he finds Ji Hoon alive and realises he has travelled back in time. Shin Jae Woo is determined to save Ji Hoon’s life this time around so save him from living in guilt.

The premise is very promising. There are multiple inter-connected things at stake. Jae Woo’s success would result in Ji Hoon’s survival and possibly his own guiltless existence. But this is where Jae Woo’s plan starts to lose me. There is more than one way to resolve this issue but Jae Woo’s decisions have always been contrary to an easy and sure-fire way to achieving this goal and you start doubting his sanity.

Jae Woo has a special connection with Ji Hoon even as a child, hence when we meets him again there is a burst of emotions and of course the feeling of love but when and why did Ji Hoon fall in love with Jae Woo? Jae Woo has always been acting creepy around him but instead of keeping his distance he indulges with Jae Woo. I found that quite bizarre. May be if the series had more episodes, they could have fleshed this out further and given us a slow development of feelings.

Moon Ji Young and Lee Hyun Jun did a great job playing Jae Woo and Ji Hoon respectively. Kudos to Ji Young as he had a more complex character and he did justice to it. If only there was a better script for these two actors or may be more episodes, they could have been able to showcase much more of their talent.

In conclusion, this series plays around with some great concept of childhood trauma, time travel and missions with lives at stake. Where it lacks is in execution. S. Korea should look at making series with either more episodes or longer run time. It would do justice to the amazing stories that they want to showcase. I would still recommend this just for the marvellous acting by the 2 leads and wonderful background score.

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Don't expect romance as the series mostly delves on engineering students

If you are looking for a series showcasing romance between the 2 main leads then give this one a miss as the focus point of this show is not that. I have no particular gripe with the story but this should not be tagged under romance as there is hardly any of it. Although there is a lot of unrequited love for most of the episodes

As usual with many Thai BLs, this one takes place in an Engineering college where Kong and his group of friends enter as first year students. The college has the tradition of SOTUS where the first-year students have to perform gruelling tasks forced on by their seniors under the guise of teaching them respect and unity. The leader of these “hazers” is Arthit who appears to be cruel to the young students but has a heart of gold (at least that is what the series wants you to think). Kong stands up to Arthit multiple times and suffers punishment. In the course of the hazing, he starts having feelings for Arthit.

More than half of the series is around SOTUS and how Kong keeps on getting in to trouble by winding up Arthit. Can’t fault the series for it as its in its name “SOTUS”. However, what we don’t see is any character development or the story moving ahead. Each day, the first-year students gather to be yelled at and humiliated by the seniors. Kong’s hero complex takes over causing Arthit to lose his mind and punish him. Rinse and Repeat. We are made to feel that during the course of this Kong is starting to have feelings for Arthit but why? Because he is kind sometimes or may be because he likes pink milk (that is a different story on its own).

In fact, the story introduces two very interesting characters, Prem and Wad. Prem is a senior who is obsessed with getting respect from the juniors to the point of even being violent with them. Wad is a first-year student who despises authority and is vehemently against their treatment by the seniors. Prem and Wad bump heads against each other due to this but all is well when Prem helps Wad while he is attacked by a group of students. Seemed like the series might have another budding romance or even a good friendship but to my dismay Wad simply disappears from the series only to be shown briefly in the last episode as one of the hazers. That to me seemed weird as it would go against his morals of being anti-authority.

In fact, after the SOTUS activity comes to an end what we get is different characters just eyeing their love interests and when one confesses to the other there is nothing but heartbreak. Even if I consider Kong falling for Arthit, there is no reason for Arthit to reciprocate those feelings. In fact, he is still harbouring feelings for his friend. Kong has no qualities for Arthit to be interested in. Its only in the penultimate episode that Arthit decides to accept Kong and then immediately with in a few days keeps him at arm’s length in order to make Kong go after another girl. Such absurd thoughts can be expected from Arthit since during one episode when he realises Kong’s true feelings, he tells himself to act normal around him. But what he does next is contrary to that. He starts ignoring Kong in college, stops answering his calls and texts and even speaks rudely to him. How was that “acting normal”?

In conclusion, the series spends too much time on hazing instead of showing the romance between the characters and abandoning a great plot between Prem and Wad that could have elevated the series. The actors in turn did a great job although this was their first series. Can’t speak about their chemistry together as there is hardly any “togetherness” to start with.

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A cute and simple office romance story

Recently we have a lot of BL series focused on office romance and it’s a good switch from the usual high school or university romance. That being said, do we get to see anything different in this series that has not been done before? Sadly, No!

The series is about Ji Ho Jun, a philanderer son of a successful businessman who gets an ultimatum from his father to straighten up and work in a low paying job at his company and turn a marketing team profitable in 2 years. To this end, he loses all privileges like expensive cars and a villa. During his search for a residence, he meets Seo Jae Yoon, a landlord and also an employee in his company. They start on a wrong foot, always bickering to working closely on a project, silently acknowledging each other’s talent and falling in love.

What we have here are 2 tropes intertwined for comedic effect. We have the enemy to lovers and boss and employee relationship. I enjoyed the switch in roles between the 2 characters while at work and while at home. They tend to boss each other around but are passionate about their work and achieving the goal as a team. You also see the slow development of feelings between the 2 characters. Although I didn’t much enjoy the plot of Ho Jun trying to hide his identity and that being the point of contention. Their break up seemed unwarranted and could not have come up if Jae Yoon would have acted more maturely and spoken to Ho Jun. But this plot had to happen in order to show some drama because 2 people can’t just be happy in a relationship without there being a cause for a rift.

This is the second BL in a row I watched where the confessions are a result of a night out drinking only to be forgotten the next day. Are the writers bored or out of ideas for a long passionate confession. Hell, I would give them points if they blurt out their true feelings in the midst of a verbal fight. Don’t give me a confession made while drunk only to then have the character slump and lose consciousness. There are no possibilities of showing emotion between the 2 characters anymore as we have one unconscious person and the other just holding him and putting him to bed and next day, pfft! No recollection of the night before and now they start with the whole process once again.

The couple in this series starred previously in Kissable Lips and they had no chemistry there and could hardly act. I was glad to see that change in this series. The acting was at par and we could see a hint of chemistry between the 2 characters. Hence this wasn’t a complete disaster.

In conclusion, the story could have been better without the unnecessary breakup or could have found a different reason like Jae Yoon thinking that he was used by Ho Jun to get everything back from his father and everything was a lie including this relationship just so that he had a comfortable life while proving his worth.

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A mystery reveal so nonsensical it ruined the series for me

This series began at such a good note that it had me hooked and then there was the final unravelling of the mystery and you realise this is such a mish-mash of all the cliches that a good series was completely ruined.

Let me start the rant by first summarizing the story. After a long stay in France, Theo returns to Thailand and meets with his childhood friend Akk. Theo decides to resume his studies and enrols in the university where is father is the dean. Out of boredom on his first day at the university, Theo writes about it in a book and puts it back in the library. On the next day, to his surprise someone has responded on his note and signed as “Enchanté”. Theo now desperately is searching for “Enchanté” with the help of Akk only to find 4 potential candidates.

This is a great story as it holds mystery about the true identity of “Enchanté” and Theo’s desperation to know who the writer is. Also, there is the friendship between Theo and Akk that is trying to develop into something more. The story has a right formula of being something memorable. We have mystery, angst, friendship to romance, multiple guys fighting over the main character with their own subplots.

But the series does nothing with these plot threads. Instead, it takes the route of being the same old. 2 boys who were separated at such a young age instantly have feelings for each other after their first reunion as adults. The teasing and staring in to each other’s eyes at every moment of them getting close to each other only to retract later and make light of the situation. Emotions soaring after a couple of drinks. Breaking up almost immediately after being in a relationship because hell with trying to talk to each other. Getting back together quickly without resolving the underlying issues. And an unnecessary misunderstanding of having a rival.

I won’t speak about what the reveal was lest I spoil this for others who genuinely want to give it a watch but I was frustrated when they revealed who “Enchanté” really was because in light of his identity a lot of the scenes prior do not make any sense.

Also, although the actors did a good job in the series, I felt they lacked chemistry.

In conclusion, a potentially great story with a nice mystery and motivations of all the characters involved was ruined in the last 2 episodes in order to settle for same old plots making this one a mediocre series.

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One of the best series with a time jump plot

Time jumps are difficult to handle in a story line as there are multiple pieces that you have to be careful about so as to not ruin continuity and keep the essence of the story going. Triage although not perfect really did a great job at keeping itself on the right path any time there is a time jump to the point that it even ties one scene that happens in the beginning to something occurring way later in the series.

Tin is a doctor at an ER in a hospital where Tol is brought in critical condition after a car accident. He tries to saves his life but is unsuccessful. However, to his utter shock he finds himself back in time reliving the moment where he loses Tol on the emergency room bed. He is tasked to save his life to break this loop. This task isn’t that simple as any changes to the past causes a ripple effect in the future where Tin not just loses Tol but other people around him are affected as well. Tin has to find a way of saving Tol’s life while not harming his friends

As Tin tries harder and harder every time to save Tol’s life, he inches closer and closer to multiple truths and now the mission is not just to save Tol’s life but to uncover way more. The stakes are now way higher. In the process to managing multiple inter-locked events he keeps jumping farther and farther in the past, meeting Tol, falling in love and finally seeing his lover die in front of him.

In the penultimate episode, the story takes a different turn altogether which in my opinion changes a lot about the characters that we know, that it seems like a different series altogether and it just becomes too messy. And then the haphazard attempt to make this a Disneyesque happy ending took the potential of being one of the best BL series away from it.

I was however, pleasantly surprised that this series shows the butterfly effect where in a small action leads to massive consequences. So in order to change the future, you need to change the past but to what extent can you alter the past so as to reach the desirable result in the future. Bearing this in mind, the series does show changes in the future timeline whenever Tin decides to take some action in the past to save Tol’s life.

Tee did a fabulous job playing the character of Tol. The character had depth, a proper story arc with a redemption plot and he handled it superbly. Tae playing Dr. Tin was convincing as well. You can feel the pain in his eyes whenever he had to see Tol die after making multiple attempts to save his life. Although in some scenes I feel that Tin reacts as if he is in visible pain just to talk to certain characters and that gave me a chuckle. I ain’t saying it was intentional; it’s how it appeared to me

In conclusion, this is one of the best series with a time loop plot with great actors and an interesting story that will keep you hooked.

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A story that loses midway just to pick up steam later and lose again at the end

This is a short little story of 2 guys with a different outlook towards their work who are teamed together on assignments only for their relationship developing from rivals to lovers.

Onoe Satoshi is a reporter for a magazine who is great at uncovering frauds. He has strong morals and feels like he has the power to make a difference in the society through his exposés. Kaburagi Motoharu is a talented photographer who prides himself in getting the latest scoops on celebrities. He doesn’t shy away from using any means to get the photographs that he desires. Being such opposites in their approach to work, they clash most of the times until Onoe realises that Kaburagi is indeed a soft and caring person. He starts developing feelings for him all the while Kaburagi being affected by Onoe’s strong morals is attracted towards him. While being a successful duo at the workplace, a particular assignment wedges a gap between the two forcing them to fall apart.

This is a short series with 8 episodes of 25 min each. That is not enough time to flesh out characters and this series seriously suffers from that. The basic plot, although fresh falls into the same category of bland and fails to really pick up by the end. Kaburagi is introduced as an interesting character with an interesting back story that is hinted at but never showed. So, we don’t ever get to know the reason for his cold exterior. We don’t get to know anything about Onoe though. His past is never shown and we don’t understand his motivations and his sense of morality. This series would have gained from having more episodes or longer runtime.

The 3rd act breakup comes out of no where and you feel as if the characters are over-reacting and this issue can easily be resolved if they just have a long conversation. But that happens only during the final episode and is not convincing at all.

For me the only character that had an impact was Masayan, Onoe’s childhood friend. He is Onoe’s support system as we find him spending most of the time in his restaurant drinking beer and whining about something or the other (mostly about Kaburagi). He is the kind of friend everyone should have in their life.

In conclusion, this one is a slow burn as the series although short takes sometime to start going and be interesting. If you are able to make it past the few initial episodes you will find some interest in the next episodes. Not sure whether those final episodes are worth the wait for this slow-moving series.

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One of those rare Thai BL dramas with an actual character arc

An engaging story in my opinion requires one or more characters that develops as the story progresses. We are introduced to the strengths and weaknesses of the characters, their motivations, morals, convictions and faults. No one is perfect and that is what we want to see in a character. And as the story progresses, we see the characters going through an inner conflict, an introspection of sorts that challenge their way of thinking and they come out as a changed individual at the end of the series. This in my belief makes a character strong, relatable and worth investing time on.

Now coming to this drama. We are introduced to See-Eiw. A simpleton, pure of heart individual who is an introvert to the point of having social-anxiety. He interacts with a selective few people like his family, neighbours and 2 friends in his high-school. Apart from these he keeps his distance from the rest of the world. His immediate neighbour is Cake, a miscreant and outgoing individual who is surrounded by people always. These two can’t be any more opposites of each other but are the best of friends right from childhood who care deeply for one another.

As we move from one episode to another, we get the whole picture of how Eiw has created a small world around himself and is scared to venture out. There is an unhealthy amount of dependency that he has on Cake. Although in school he keeps his distance out of fear of being ridiculed but when they are together, he just sticks to him, both figuratively and literally. When Cake finds a girlfriend, he spends most of the time with her after school or talking to her on the phone or chatting online. At this development, we find Eiw not just being jealous but having his whole world come crumbling down. His time that is not spent at school is spent with Cake and when Cake is not available, he finds himself lost and helpless. Due to a certain turn of events, Cake has to move away from Eiw for a few years and we see Eiw going through the motions. He spends as much time as he can with Cake before his departure all the while hiding the fact that he has fallen in love with him.

Eiw in Cake’s absence goes through a metamorphosis. No longer is he a timid fellow who hides in his shell. He is now a popular member of the drama club and is well-known in the university. Meanwhile Cake goes through a little change himself. He realizes his true feelings for Eiw but is not comfortable with this new Eiw as it makes him feel left-out.

During the first 12 episodes, we go through a journey of understanding the characters and how they change while navigating through the multiple events in their life. This character arc is rather refreshing to look at and has been handled exceptionally well. Although the last 3 episodes is a saga of Eiw weeping and crying most of the time, the first 12 episodes are worth watching.

The actors did a fabulous job playing these complicated characters especially the emotions portrayed by Earth and Santa. The story mostly revolves around them and they have performed outstandingly.

In conclusion, this series is truly a gem to watch except the last couple of episodes. The story is laser focussed on our two main characters and their journey of identifying their feelings for each other. And we are all the more better with no multiple couples with unnecessary side stories of secondary characters.

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The last Korean BL movie that I saw left me so disappointed because of the way they handled a good storyline and turned in to an incoherent mess that I decided to lay off Korean BLs for some time. When I finally decided to give it one more go, I am glad to have found this movie. It has almost every thing that I am looking for in a BL movie.

Great Storyline: The movie is Kang In Soo a talented singer who is struggling to make a name for himself in the music industry. He wants to become a successful singer and with the help of his friend posts videos on YouTube and even performs on the streets. Yoon Sang Yi, a keyboardist and a part timer at a music company meets Kang In Soo on the street and is captivated by him. The music company scouts Kang In Soo and signs him up to record a label and Yoon Sang Yi moves in with him to help him as an assistant to the producer. In the course of them working together, they start sharing a special bond and a new relationship takes root.

Strong Characters: The movie is about 2 characters, Kang In Soo a singer who wants to make big in the music industry to prove a point to someone. That strong conviction is backed by talent. He is a great singer who we see smile against all the trouble he faces in making his dreams come true. He is a fighter and won’t compromise when it comes to his love for music. He also is aware about his limitations and doesn’t shy away from asking help from friends to make himself better. The second character is Yoon Sang Yi. He is a keyboardist who is part of a small band that performs on streets. He also has a part time job in a music company that hunts for new talents. He appreciates genuine talent like when he encounters Kang In Soo and works hard with him to help him realise his dream. He is caring and shy and we notice this through the multiple interactions that he has with other characters in the movie.

Reasonable Obstacles: Many a movie and series feel that a misunderstanding is what is required to create a drama in a budding relationship. Not this one though. There is no 3rd act breakup. Instead, we see genuine issues that you would face in the course of realising your dream and how it can hinder your progress and make you re-evaluate your life goals. Kang In Soo feels defeated at a certain point due to constant hurdles and takes a break from everything leaving Yoon Sang Yi feeling abandoned.

In conclusion, after previous disappointing Korean series this was a breath of fresh air. We had great characters, amazing actors who performed exceptionally well and a great storyline that was handled well.

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A good start only to devolve in to complete mediocrity

Misunderstandings between characters is generally used for either comedic purposes or a tool to show stress in a relationship leading ultimately to breakup. But this show uses misunderstanding even before the relationship has a chance to develop. Why would you assume someone’s relationship status the first day you met them.

The story is about an adult webtoon artists who hires a talented assistant who has a secret crush on him only to later start having feelings for his assistant. Sounds promising oh! how they have butchered the plot after the initial few episodes. Their relationship not only feels rushed but you wonder why have they even fallen for each other.

Seon Ho first encounters Gu Mu Yeong during his interview and is immediately smitten by his looks. Is there anything else that we know that attracts a seemingly straight guy to fall for another guy? Nope. Just good looks. There are no moments shared between the 2 leads to show them getting closer and trying to know each other. Seon Ho appears to be too shallow and just goes for Mu Yeong because of his beauty.

Gu Mu Yeong on the other hand has been shown to be falling for straight guys over and over just to be heart-broken. He falls for Seon Ho for his artistic talent. Never has he spoken to him before out of fear that he will be left heart-broken again because Seon Ho is straight. But when he gets an opportunity to work with Seon Ho, he is nothing but excited but also acts aloof and non-caring. Now, what else about Seon Ho does Mu Yeong like. No idea! This can certainly be attributed to short run times with limited episodes. Due to this you too feel that there is something missing and find no sound reasoning why you should root for this couple.

There is also Han Joon Seok, Mu Yeong’s only friend who abandons all priorities just to help Mu Yeong. After being with Mu Yeong for so long he realises he has feelings for him too. I did not like this twist as it comes out of nowhere. Joon Seok should have remained as a friend who cares deeply about Mu Yeong.

Also, I thought we have reached that era where a series if it so choses can show two same sex couples kissing. But the kissing scenes in this series appears so awkward as if the actors are being forced to touch lips together. Even them hugging each other is frustrating to watch as you feel visible distance between the two. There are ways to show that the leads are falling in love with each other without showing them kissing and hugging. Please don’t make half-hearted attempts just because it’s needed as it convinces audiences that they aren’t truly in love

In conclusion, the series is short and you can binge watch it when you have nothing else in your watch list

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A short clip that I waited so long for

I loved the series Old Fashion Cup Cake thanks to its adult theme by which I mean that the story is based on 2 main leads working in office with a significant age gap between them. The story was simple and the actors had the most amazing chemistry. So when I was made known of the fact that there is a short clip that came with the DVD I waited patiently for the dubbed version and now that wait finally came to an end and I am happy.

The story is rather short, about one morning where Nozue is cooking Apple Pie for Togawa and Togawa can't help but tease Nozue about the night before. The scene ends with Togawa making a request to Nozue.

I can now only hope for a Season 2 for this great series where we get to see more of their relationship developing as at the end of season 1 they just got together

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4 rushed love stories mashed in to 1 series

This series does not have a coherent story at all and there is nothing anyone can say to convince me otherwise. Thank goodness I went into this with such low expectations that I was safe from disappointment. Why Oh Why would you try to cram 4 different love stories in to any series when you are well aware you wont be able to do justice to any one of them

Lets begin with the our main couple – Bohn and Duen
Bohn is a Senior Engineering student who is known to be ruthless towards his juniors. He meets Duen, a junior Medical student and due to an incident punishes Duen by asking him to buy a flower daily for 30 days. In the course of these 30 days Bohn and Duen fall in love with each other. I say “fall in love with each other” but what you see is far from it. Bohn has such an insecurity complex that if he even sees Duen talking to another guy, he rages and drags Duen out of there just to later end up apologising for his behaviour. In one scene after raging, he asks Duen to come home with him and I feared that he will tie him up in his house so that he doesn’t talk to anyone else. Duen on the other hand always acts as if Bohn is a friend. Doesn’t confess his love and always tries to push Bohn away whenever he tries to get close to him. This isn’t a love story. It’s a story about an insecure guy who keeps teasing his friend. On a side note, I have seen drunk people act, I have seen people acting drunk but what Duen did in episode 2 after a few drinks was nothing close to anything I have ever seen.

Mek and Boss
Boss teasingly always addresses Mek as his husband and himself as Mek’s wife. Unbeknownst to him though Mek has secretly been in love with him the whole time. Boss rather hits on every girl he lays his eyes on and finally finds a girlfriend thanks to Mek’s help. However, when he is forced to keep his distance from his budding idol girlfriend, he realises his feelings for Mek and they start a relationship. The only complaint I have with this love story is that it wasn’t explained well at all. There was a time where Boss tells Mek that he always interested in him. All this while actively pursuing relationship with other girls. It feels like he settled for Mek instead of being in love

Ram and King
This is the only love story that was managed well. Ram is a junior engineering student who keeps to himself and doesn’t talk to people who aren’t his family or friends. King, a senior engineering student finds Ram intriguing and tries to get close to him so that they can talk. Ram starts caring for King and this makes him fall in love with Ram. Ram on the other hand also starts developing feelings for King. I liked the character of Ram, someone who is stoic and not friendly but also a deeply caring individual. Good care is taken to show their love growing organically throughout the series reaching a significant point in the last episode.

Frong and Dr. Thara
There isn’t much of a love story here as till the final episode we just see Frong starting to develop feelings for Dr. Thara but there certainly is potential in this storyline as Dr. Thara is shown as someone who is innocent and simple whereas Frong is passionate showcased when he falls for Duen but warns Bohn to treat him well.

Although Season 2 was announced, it has been sometime and I don’t believe it will be picked up and that is just fine. The series ends on a god note where all the relations are highlighted and rest can be left to our imagination.

Give this one a try only for the characters of Ram and King and may be Frong and Dr. Thara. Rest all are just meh!

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A slow burn with loads of emotions

Japanese BLs have always astounded me with their unique plotline and in most of the cases I have found that the stories have been handled masterfully by the director and the actors have done a great job at bringing those characters to life. I am so happy to state that this one certainly is an addition to this list.

The story is divided into 2 parts. The first part is about Shino Yuzuru, a beautiful and talented archer who is down on his luck when it comes to holding a relationship because he is misunderstood since he speaks his mind without a thought. Shino hears about Seiryo Touji who is well-known in his school as a guy who would go out with the first person who asks him at the start of the week but will end the relationship in 7 days. Shino upon meeting Seiryo on a Monday outside school casually asks him out. What we see next is the unravelling of the true nature of both these characters from Monday to Thursday.

The movie is slow and many scenes have dialogues sprinkled between silence and just the 2 characters reacting to situations. You might feel that something like this would take you out of the movie experience but on the contrary you get to enjoy the brilliance of acting where much is conveyed just by the reactions of the 2 actors. The actors playing the 2 characters have done a fabulous job emoting the scenes. You can see these flawed characters growing and realising their feelings for each other slowly and you are rooting for them till the end

If you like slow burners that is full of character development do give this one a watch

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