Because of You (2020)

First things first. If you're looking for a drama with a deep plot that you can immerse yourself in, you're looking in the wrong place. I'd recommend HIStory3: Trapped for that.

This show is short and sweet, leaving you with a smile on your face. Because Of You almost gives me Long Time No See vibes, just because its something you can sit and watch all in one sitting and not feel tired.

The series itself seems a bit shakily produced, as if they wanted to put in a deeper plotline, but gave up halfway through. It's not exactly bad, but you can definitely tell something's missing there.

I also felt as if three couples was too much for this little series to handle. There's only about two hours of air time, if even that, and yet somehow they expected to fit in three love stories?

I'm not saying I didn't enjoy all three couples, because i did. They each had their own charms and strong points. I just wish perhaps they could've focused on one main couple instead of trying to fit in an hours worth of screentime for a couple into only a few minutes of each episode.

I do admit i favoured one of the couples over the other two (although, i think we all do haha). Jun Cheng and Lin Xun's chemistry is just out of this world, and i hope they're able to do a full-length series together in the future.

All-in-all, i thoroughly enjoyed this drama as a quick watch as i wait for the next episodes of the full-length series I'm watching.

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When I first watched this, it was as a filler while I waited for some other BL series to be released. However, I didn’t expect to enjoy this drama so much. Although it was very short (almost too short), I do wish it had been much longer, especially as the last few episodes felt a little rushed. That’s not necessarily in a bad way, but they definitely could have gone further with it which is why I was happy they decided to make a season 2.

Story: I thought the overall storyline was quite interesting and unique. I’ve never watched a drama with a plot like this, though it definitely gave me HIStory vibes. When I first read the description I worried it was going to be the half-brothers in love, so I was relieved when I realised the series was about them and their separate partners. The script was very clever in helping the 2 leads to get closer in a more realistic way than just shoving them in the same direction like I have seen happen in other series, so I was definitely happy with this. Although it’s clear who the main and side couples were, I found myself loving all 3 couples and enjoying the progression of their relationship, rushed as it may have been.

Cast: I was surprised to see that the actors were all very new, as they were really good at what they were doing. I didn’t feel any awkwardness between them, and there was a lot of chemistry between all the couples. I like how we saw the changes between the brother relationships as well, in the beginning they weren’t close at all and always fought, yet it ended with them all sat having a meal with their partners looking very happy. It was nice to watch them become closer and friendly like that. My one complaint was the languages, the main character talked in Korean yet they responded back to him in Taiwanese, it was just a little disorientating.

Music: I liked the opening OST, but other than that there was nothing incredibly memorable about it.

Rewatch value: If I’m ever bored and want to watch a quick, short BL series, this will probably be one of my first choices. I can’t see myself rewatching it unless I’m bored, but I already know I won’t watch it and leave it like I do with other series.

Overall: This definitely won’t be anyone’s favourite drama, and it won’t be winning any awards for best BL series, but I think it you give it a go and watch it with a clear mind, you may find yourself enjoying it just as much as I did.

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Many reviews I've read say that this BL lacks depth and stuff like that. In my opinion, this BL is pretty much perfect. It's short enough that you can watch it in a day or two easily. There are only a few things that I can think of that go unresolved and unless you're wracking your brain about it like I am you may not even remember what I'm talking about. There isn't any homophobic drama, which I love because that gets so tiring. There is no bitchy girlfriend to worry about and make trouble for the couples. I do admit that the one girl in this is that 'bitchy' female character that everyone complains about but her character is essential for Junping and his lover getting together. I'm sure the producers could have done it differently and not made her character like that but I really don't think it's that terrible. I've seen much worse girls in BL being absolute bitches to even their boyfriends. I know people are tired of girls being misrepresented and all of us being 'bitchy' in bl but I've also seen plenty of adorable BL-lover/Yaoi fans and super supportive sisters/mothers too.

Anyway, back to my main point this BL is nice and short. It has just enough drama that you don't get tired of it. It's really cute, there isn't any graphic violence. All the couples wrap up together perfectly. I love this BL so much and all the comments about it lacking kinda hurt my fangirl heart. If you're reading reviews and wondering if you should still watch it if it lacks as much as people say, trust me it's good. Please watch it.

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10 15-minute episodes

3 half-brothers, The Yuan brothers (played by Lee Si Kang, Will Chang and Jerom Huang Alouf) are brought together by their father, when their father's long lost love dies and her son contacts him. Thinking her son is his illegitimate son, he sends his sons on a quest to find their long lost half-brother. The oldest brother, Juncheng (Lee Si Kang), who is half-Korean and recently returned from Korea to claim what used to be his mother's property, is saved by a poor man, Lin Xun (Mi Ji Hsu) when he is roughed up by his uncle's thugs. The second brother, Jundao (Wil Chang) lives with his (canonically bisexual) best friend Yang Xiang (Guo Yu Cheng) who is more like an indentured servant and as Jundao once possessively claims "my family owns you". The youngest brother, Junping (Jerom Huang Alouf) is always accompanied by his academically brilliant best friend, Yan Yue (Wells Su) - who is also his partner in crime.

The story had a lot of potential. And I think if it had time to grow and develop it could have been a really great one. Even in 150 minutes, it could have been a really wholesome movie, but it lacked depth and character development. If they were going to make it this short, they should have maybe stuck to one couple rather than trying to cram three love stories into one. But even if it was 3, they should have maybe added some character depth. The characters and storylines fell flat.

I think the actors did a great job with the material they had. The only problem was the sister. She was just such a pain in the butt. I wish writers created more wholesome and respectable female characters. They don't have to be created to add conflict or be used as the "bitch" tool.

I mean its cool 3 gay/bi/bicurious brothers with male partners in 2020. No "I'm gay!!!????" freak-outs. No "I'm coming out" drama. No "My son will not be gay" drama. Great.

A light-hearted, fun, cute drama. cool.

But there was such a lack of character development. They tried with Juncheng and Jundao, but the journey wasn't there, the whole series just lacked substance. It was disappointing. But give it a watch anyways.

The couple whose storyline I was most invested in was probably Jundao/Xiang's because how does one go from "You're my bestfriend" to "My family owns you" to lovers in ten episodes? But apparently we're gonna just overlook all that hot mess and go with "I wanna see if you're gonna stay with me".

The couple whose storyline I was least invested in was Junping/Yue because it's the classic coming of age, gay storyline about two school boys who fall in love. Watched it a million times.

The couple whose storyline felt the cheapest after the series ended - all of the ones I was interested in. One pays the other partner like they're a hooker - hourly may I add.... *FACEPALMING SO HARD RIGHT NOW*.... One strips the guy his "family own" to see if he'll stay with him, and then kisses him.... *sigh* So much wasted potential.

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It's bad.

Realism and Representation: This is a feel-good drama and doesn't do realism but Cheng and Lin did check with each other if they both like guys. All the brothers are either gay or bi. I didn't see any stereotypes, caricatures and heteronormativity.

There really isn't much to say but that the story, dialogue and directing is really crap. Cheng is way over the top because of his Korean Tough Rich Guy persona. He KIDNAPPED Lin, among other bullshit. The dialogue is crap because the director couldn't "show not tell" so the characters had to narrate the scene. They could've used voice-overs to convey their thoughts but the director somehow preferred that they talk to themselves? All the relationships are cringe-worthy, with the Cheng-Lin one slightly less so.

The only good things are that they actually got a Korean actor to portray a Korean character. The main couple (Cheng and Lin) are the most natural and I think they'd give much better performances if the script and directing were good. The third brother's love interest (Yan Yue)'s sister, is literally a sexual predator. It's not funny.

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Y'all know when your pen is close to running out of ink? You're still holding on to it in hopes that it'll magically have a longer lifespan?

That's how I felt watching this.

There was potential to produce a well developed story where the main leads have a strong build up in their relationship. However, we received... a drama in 1.25 x speed.

I couldn't be bothered about the side couples. It was just so tasteless. If they had a plot in mind and characters that actually had personalities, maybe they should've taken a careful approach and made the episodes longer. With a drama like this, they should've made it into a movie instead.

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This is a very short Taiwanese series - short as in 10 eps, 13 min. each - and it tells the story of 3 brothers, same father, different mothers, who bicker as if their lives depended on it but they do love each other, though they would never say it out loud, they would rather die. And these brothers, they all fall for the various men in their lives: the younger two for their best friends, the eldest for the guy who their father thought might be his fourth son - spoiler: he isn’t.

It’s pretty funny and I especially like the pairing above, the eldest son, Yuan Jun Cheng, and their wannabe brother, Lin Xun. Because Yuan Jun Cheng? He has the behavior of a mob boss and Lin Xun is not impressed. And when Jun Cheng decides he wants Lin Xun as his lover, he steamrolls everything in his way while Lin Xun is still not impressed. There might even be some eye-rolling there. And yet somehow, Lin Xun still ends up in a relationship with Jung Cheng. I bet that till this day, Lin Xun doesn’t understand how this odd thing actually happened.

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Nonsense plot and egregious script

The primary flaw was the script. Not a single interaction flowed smoothly, nor were any of them convincing. It's hard to explain how bad the script was because it was all so illogical.
Ok.
Imagine you were daydreaming and you were in a huge rush to get to the part where your daydream characters kissed, so you threw together not-quite-plausible, vague plot points like "char A tied char B up bc that serves my kinks but uhh the story justifies it because uhhh... char A's... trying to ...prove char B is ...his brother?? Yeah ok I'll come back to this later. Wait. Is that incest?? Nevermind char B ISN'T the brother he's just... ah whatever skip to them kissing". You might think, 'oh Rent343 what a ludicrous daydream, that makes no sense!', and you know what? I'd agree with you! Unfortunately, the SCRIPT WRITERS FAILED TO DO THAT REALISM CHECK AND JUST FKN PUT IT ON THE SCREEN. WHAT?!?! I cannot imagine how the actors felt receiving their scripts each day. Probably some mixture of despair and resigned gallow's humor. Like a prisoner receiving rations a corrupt guard spit on. Maybe they also felt some developing resolve to immediately fire their agents for letting/making them take the project on.
I cannot imagine how investors felt seeing how the showrunner just defecated all over their money. I really hope they found out who was at fault for writing that abject pile of steaming nonsense and told their entire network to blacklist the culprit.
I can't comment on the acting or the directing or the editing or the plot because the script was so overwhelmingly, mind-consumingly horrible.
Oh wait! I can comment on the plot: it rehashes the toxic, misogynistic tropes of ignored consent, abusive behavior and forgiving/accepting it uncritically, BREAKING AND ENTERING???, and women included in the story only to be evil man-stealing witches (luckily all of it was done in such a clumsy way that it produces zero emotional impact for the viewer).

As I write, it occurs to me that maybe it was meant to be a vicious satire on BL dramas in general. In that case I'd have to give it one extra star (for a shining total of 3 stars). Not because it was thoughtful, polished, or intelligent as a satire, but because it did make me hate BL as a genre for a solid hour (then I rewatched Where Your Eyes Linger and recovered :) ).

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Super Duper Short

Finally, as series about brothers, but PLOT TWIST, they're not in love?? I was full heartily going into this, thinking these brothers were going to fall for each other. Why? Because incest is so prevalent in the BL community, so what was stopping my thoughts from going to *that* place? anyways, I really enjoyed this watch, except, it is stupidly short, and ridiculously rushed.

Let's Dive In.

For one, Because of You should've just been a movie, I finished the entire series in one sitting, and in less than two hours. Because of this, there was not enough time for each brother to get a decent amount of screen time. Instead, it was mostly focused on the main brother, while the others had just enough time to only flesh out the main points of their story, and no details. My favorite couple would definitely go to Yuan Jun Cheng and Lin Xun, but the only reason being that we saw them the most. Even with them being my favorite, they still were really rushed. hey were dropping L-bombs and moving in so quickly. I needed that moment when it felt they had dated for a while, we needed to have seen that time pass by, but we never do. As for the other brothers, I just needed more. Nothing felt realistic, and nothing felt connected. I think out of all the brothers, I would've like to see Dao more. I felt like I had been asleep those entire two hours when he and Yang Xiang got together. It literally came out of nowhere. Besides the rush plot, I still enjoyed the concept of the series. It was something that we hadn't seen before, and it was refreshing, to say the least.

Overall, this is a quick and fun watch. I could've easily been a 10 had they been able to make it longer than 10 minutes each episode. Would love to see these pairings in other BLs, and would enjoy seeing them reprise these roles if a sequel is to happen (hopefully longer than this one).

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Improbable, Feel-Good Fairy Tale

How likely is it that three half brothers, sharing the same father, turn out to be gay? How likely is it they all confess to their love interest on the same day? "Because of You" plays like an easy-breezy fairy tale with too many contrived coincidences. Lin Xun (Mu Ji Hsu) is the most grounded and believable character as the maybe, long lost fourth sibling. He turns out not to be blood-related so his love interest, Yuan Jung Cheng (Lee Shi Kang), is free to romance him. Early on, both men say they're open to dating a guy but have never done so. But when they end up in bed together, after a drunken night out, Yuan Jung Chen goes into an inexplicable, almost effeminate gay panic. That's inconsistent with his character on several levels. Then he spends time finding out how you can tell if you've had gay sex. Why would this even be an issue, given he's been established as gay man and that he likes Lin Xun? The other brothers are more or less sub-plots. They already have "maybe boyfriends" at the onset of the drama that they finally confess to in the final episode. It's all a bit too paint-by-the-numbers. The early kidnapping scene really undermines the credibility of the relationship between the two leads because it paints Yuan Jun Cheng as a violent predator, unworthy of anyone's love, never mind a trophy boyfriend like Lin Xun. On the plus side, we're spared the usual gay stereotypes. These are everyday guys who love other guys. For that, and Mu Ji Hsu's wonderful performance, I can recommend it.

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Like:
+ Lee Shi Kangs & Hsu Mu Jis acting. Jun Cheng's dominance and confidence is really hot. T_T I had to pause multiple times to process how handsome and attractive Lee Shi Kang is. U_U
+ The OST
+ Visuals. Eye candy is always appreciated.
+ A short but entertaining drama. The plot is interesting. The acting is balanced. Some actors are better, some are worse. For such a drama it's totally okay. No one was really bad.
+ The language switch. I actually liked that they talked in Korean and Chinese. At some point I really was impressed by the acting because you don't see that they don't actually understand each other. Or maybe they do..I don't know how much of the languages the actors speak. :D but you don't really see by the acting that they speak different languages.
+ I loooove the inner monologues. There aren't many, but I think they are hilarious. The humour is really placed well and made me laugh multiple times.
+ Jun Cheng and Lin Xun are definitely my favorite couple.

I didn't dislike anything major about it. ^^' some scenes were a bit too overdramatic and the acting was a little awkward and towards the end it gets a bit less exciting, but besides that it was a quick watch, it was funny, entertaining and the chemistry was also nice. The show left me longing for more.

Unfortunately the subtitles on Viki are a bit off. It's nothing major and I think you can still understand the meaning, but it's a bit annoying if you understand the language a bit and know, that the dude is not screaming "Auntie" but "Mother". :')

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