HIStory4: Close to You (2021)

Nightmare drama brought to you straight (pun intended) from the ninth circle of hell

If you're currently writing a BL story and you need guidance on what not to do, look no further than this trainwreck.

Normalising straight women fetishizing gay men? Check!
R*pe being justified and romanticised? Check!
Mind you, this drama also has an attempted r*pe scene that's treated as disgusting and enraging, but i guess it doesn't count if they're brothers, which brings me to...
Weird and unnecessary incest plotline? Check!
Like, they could have written about ANYTHING, just anything, and they went with a bizarre and uncomfortable "love" story between two unrelated brothers who grew up together, one of whom is legit written like a sociopath? Why. Can someone PLEASE for the love of gay gods explain to me, WHY?!

Also, it's got consent issues all over. The way LC confessed his love for example. And I'm sorry but him getting horny from the way MR reacted to BEING DRUGGED after he was literally SEXUALLY ASSAULTED AND ALMOST RAPED?! just makes me want to slap the life out of whoever wrote thus. He literally brings it up when explaining why he's suddenly interested in MR and I'm like "that was a traumatizing experience for him after which you literally avoided him and you're trying to make it into something sexy?"

It's such a shame because I think the dynamic between a deadpan guy and the soft and caring type (the two "brothers") could have been interesting, if not for the incest implications and the fact that the younger one is literally acting like a sexually abusive stalker.

In conclusion: I'm tired.

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It could have been so good

First, the acting is great. I feel bad for all these actors for being dragged into this project.
The storylines were both bad, but I couldn't even focus on the problematic things in the second couple because of how horribly offensive (to me) the story of the step-brothers was. It's like the writer was stuck in 1995 and wanted to include all of the worst yaoi tropes possible.
I'm sad this is a part of the HIStory series. Although the earlier ones had their issues, the most recent ones were so good (Crossing The Lines, Trapped, Make Our Days Count up until the last episode) I genuinely thought we were past all these antiquated ideas and could let love be love be love. Too much to ask?
Judging by the comments section BL dramas should be judged by other standards than other LGBTQ+ media, and I agree to a point, as long as it doesn't promote and romanticize toxic behavior. Because of their popularity, BL series will likely be watched mostly by teenage girls, who might genuinely believe this is acceptable and even desirable in real life.
Overall, please give these actors a good project together, cause this one was not it.

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Very cute, but STOMP the brakes on the secondary couple

Prefacing this by saying I liked the show more than I expected to- but only because of Li Cheng and Muren.

I resisted watching this until it finished airing and I'm glad I did, because the storyline between Ye Xingsi and Fu Yongjie was so incredibly uncomfortable and unsettling to watch I know I would have just dropped the whole show if I wasn't able to skip ahead. I did watch the key points though. The reality is that Fu Yongjie is a violent stalker who raped Ye Xingsi. I'm not saying that dark elements don't have a place in stories, but I do have a problem with how the narrative framed it, as if Xingsi had no other chance of a happy romantic life unless he chose to be with Yongjie and that this was inevitable. I've known people like Yongjie and their desire for control is not attractive nor does it stop with just possessing the object of their obsession once. The writers really dropped the ball with this one.

All of the positive feelings I have for this show come from the main storyline. I think it was an adorable comedy of errors type romance, and I love that Meifang was sincere in wanting to help Li Cheng realize his love. I'm a sucker for m/f friendships. The dynamic between Li Cheng, Muren and Xiao Ye was adorable and I love how the actors played off each other. I do have to give the people behind the scenes props for that.

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There's lots to love here, some parts are just wrong but there's love too

I am really conflicted about how to rate this show. History4: Close to you delivers perfectly on sound, aesthetics, acting, pacing and script but it is riddled with flaws for the secondary storyline. This review is filled with spoilers because reviews are were I unload all my thoughts so be forewarned.

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[8/10]
❛HIStory4: Close to You❜ is focussed on two couples, Teng Muren and Xiao Licheng; Ye Xingsi and Fu Yongjie.

To win the love of his childhood crush, Xiao Licheng, now 30, tries all he can to get close to Muifang but to no avail. When he learns that she is a bl fan, he tries to join the bl fanclub which now comprises of Muifang, her friend and Licheng. To win her affection, Xiao Licheng pretends to be in a relationship with Teng Muren.

Xiao Licheng, Teng Muren and Ye Xingsi are in the 'iron triangle's. They are best friends. While Ye Xingsi is a director at Muse Weddings, Xiao Licheng and Teng Muren are heads of the sales department 1 and 2 respectively. They are constantly at heads with each other to reach the monthly target and make more sales than the other.

Honestly when I first read the plot my immediate thought was that 'pretend relationship' and 'fujoshi' isn't a good combination (as was taught to me by Oxygen). I thought it was going to be toxic as hell but nope. Muifang is actually a really sweet girl, she is a fujoshi but she isn't one of those ignorant asshole people commonly represented in dramas who go around taking pictures of two men and posting on social media.

She has been firm about her stance regarding her feelings for Xiao Licheng and she genuinely wants to help him win Teng Muren's love. When Xiao Licheng confesses that he had been pretending to be gay but is now actually in love with Teng Muren, she acts like a true friend and helps him.

Xiao Licheng was a character I've often met in real life. He's gay/bi/pan, closeted to himself and if he goes to a gay bar it's just to party and not because he's actually gay ;) it might sound like a trope but I've actually met people like him who're always so touchy with that one friend they have feelings for. I pretty much loved how he just went: hey, wait a second, I'm having wet dreams for my friend and hey, I have feelings for him. He's not bothered that his friend is gay and he doesn't have internal homophobia. I love his character.

But I was really hoping that we were over this 'im not gay I like you' thing. Didnywe have out and proud freewheeling bisexual Tang Yi in History 3: Trapped :[ why can't we have that again. Why is it so hard to wrap our minds around the fact that bisexuality and pansexuality exists?

Also, I'm getting a tad bit tired about Thai body type classifications. It seems all the lean and thin guys have to be bottoms, while the seemingly 'manly' men are tops. The History series is particularly leaning into this. Can we not have this trope anymore?



Now coming to the problematic couple. I don't want to elaborate much on Yongjie and Xingsi. Xingsi is an adorable guy and the only one in the trio who has a functional brain (Muren has one braincell and a half and Licheng has none whatsoever). He's really mature about everything and insecure about coming out to his father.

I really didn't understand why Yongjie had to go to all those lengths just to 'get him'. I didn't find it romantic at all. Of course I can understand that people have different benchmarks for what classidlfies as romantic but I found his approach really problematic: he gets his brother drunk, the brother whomm he loves, and proceeds to kiss him and have sex with him with the sole purpose that Xingsi will become his boyfriend.

The most ironical part about this story is that the vice president of Muse Weddings did the exact same thing to Teng Muren (he drugged Muren and tried to assault him) which was considered rape but somehow Yongjie doing it to Xingsi was supposed to be romantic?

Also, Yongjie says that if we're truly in love then we're okay with just being together without dating. So why does he keep forcing himself on Xingsi? He says he'll kiss Xingsi when Xingsi is awake. So why does he practically rape him when he was unconscious? Also, his mother–i wasn't sure whether I was supposed to be laughing or crying–his mother is convinced that her son is a complete asshole and she knew he was going to take advantage of Xingsi. When Yongjie comes back from the beach trip (after the assault), she asks him whether he got to spend time with Xingsi and says that he shouldn't have done such a mean thing to Xingsi. Mean thing? Lady we're talking lifetime jail for rape, not school kids stealing pencils.

Xingsi's reaction was so beautifully shown that I thought they were taking some right directions here but nope. There was no way to justify Yongjie's behavior (also, punching Muren–really?) This isn't love, this is obsession. All obsessions are unhealthy bit while being obsessed with cephalopods is an interesting hobby, being obsessed with a person to the point that you rape them is–JAIL. And he's supposed to be Xingsi's best choice because why–he helped him come out in front of his father?

That's not the message we need. Get a job, confess to your parents, of they don't accept you then throw money in their face and leave. Be happy with your partner. Live. You don't need to live up to someone else's expectations.



To end on a positive note, watch this show for Licheng and Muren. The way they're cheesy, romantic and just together makes my heart mushy. They're cute in a mature way. Licheng saying "You're mine" and Muren just gives that classic smirk and goes "I'm yours" is just wholesome (and the nickname is TengTeng? Like cute is this cute or what?)

Sometimes I really wondered whether the drama had two separate directors and scriptwriters...

Story rating:
10 for Licheng and Muren
2 for Yongjie
8 for Xingsi for being a wonderful person and for being brave
Overall (for plot)= 6.5 (extra .5 for Muifang bc I have a crush on her).

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[9/10]
Splendidly acted. Lin Chiawei as Yongjie and An Jungpeng as Xingsi saved the graces of the secondary couple by their acting (I can't decide whether Lin Chiawei was supposed to act like that but he's actually killing it ;)

Charles Tu brings Licheng to life. I found his acting to be the best in the show–he can go from flirtatious playboy to having that hurt kicked-in-the-gut look in just a second and bounce back to his signature high-spirited and careless demeanor just as soon. He also manages the lovestruck puppy look well.

Anson Chen has wonderful control over his nasal musculature–like with a simple twitch of his eyebrows or his nose he can convey absolute disdain or amused or the occasionally happy emotions.

I'd watch the show for the acting alone.


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[10/10]
❛Close to You❜ is so aesthetically pleasing. I can't pinpoint exactly what it is about this show but the camerawork and everything is splendid. A lot of thought seems to have been put into the costumes and fashion of their characters. The style is distinct for each of them.

Also, I cannot get over the OST and even while bingeing on one episode after another I repeated the OST twice for each episode (that's like 40 times plus all the times I simply listened to the OST for the fun of it). It sounds really mature and suits the show.


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[9/10]
❛Close to You❜ is a show I can easily see myself rewatching, once I get around to rewatching it, I can bump the rewatch value to a 10/10.

Should you watch the show?
For me, ❛Close to You❜ is hit or miss. The secondary couple seems to have completely ruined the entire show for many people and at some points I was tempted to just look for a cut of Xiao Licheng and Teng Muren but I really loved Ye Xingsi and I skipped through most of their parts post episode 10.

Taiwan has been truly delivering on bl shows with quality content and distinctive storylines (albeit with a liberal side service of tropes) so I'd you're looking for something different from the general university themed stories then CTY could be the one for you.

Overall rating is 5.0/10

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Hmm

Okay. The 7.5 is mostly because of the chemistry between Mu Ren and Li Chen. If those two hadn't been included I doubt i would have finished the series. I didnt care for Li Chen pushiness at times. I have no complaints really about Mu Ren. Ultimately, i found their realtionship to be cute for the most part and the chemistry was great.
However, the Xing Si and Yong Jie storyline was hard to watch. Yong Jie raped Xing Si. Period. I found it disturbing seeing them together afterwards and it was like Xing Si felt like the guilty one. The handling of sexual assaults in the series was horrific.

Finally, the women shipping them in the office was pretty cringey. Its quite common in the genre, but its still very cringey to me.

Overall, I would possibly watch again, but to be honest I'd only watch the Mu Ren and Li Chen story.

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Wow. What a mess. Thank goodness for the one main storyline - Fast forward through the rest...

I stuck with this one only because I wanted to see how the main true relationship developed over all the episodes. And, honestly - because of an eleven minute snippet someone posted on YouTube. It worked. I loved #1-#3. Tolerated the time travel #5 because the leads did a great job of what they were given but, didn't even realize I never got to see #4. That snippet brought me back to watch the whole series.

Update: I am watching this again - for the main storyline and again - my thoughts have not changed or, softened toward the mental instability of the stepbrother Fu Yong Jie. Obsessive, manipulative, unstable, violent, etc. Why wasn't he shown getting help from a doctor? The "Oh well, I will just sleep with him and make it work response is just wrong on so many levels." Yes, I get and understand the whole drunk thing happening but, again - manipulation and obsessive planning on the part of someone who clearly needs medical attention.

Honestly, the step brother storyline could have been okay if it not for the mental health issues the one brother has. If you are going to throw yourself off a building just because someone won't return your phone call - then - unless this series focuses on that person getting professional help as part of the process - it never should have been sold to us - the audience. The understanding mother was creepy as can be - allowing it to progress. The only two sane people in that whole family was the Dad and the real/older son - he deserved a normal happy ending that had the blessed couple visiting the brother in a facility where he was getting the help he needed.

As usual - the women were window dressing - only there to push the stories forward and be annoying as possible. Honestly, like most Chinese and Thai dramas - because this was a BL - we had to endure one of the lead males being outrageously dumb and incompetent until he had his transformation - surprisingly, being an alpha male.

Harder to do the fast forward since I am watching this via my laptop...this series may have me getting a wireless keyboard so, I can stay in the chair and fast forward through the garbage story line and focus on the good stuff. And - don't get me wrong - #4 has plenty of good scenes, great acting and occasional good writing. Keep the remote handy - don't be afraid to skip whole scenes and enjoy what is good about this one. Can't wait for number #6. Though, I did see the announcement that this one may get a second season - that is a scary thought.

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They could of done so much better but they flopped

If you took out the stupid stepbrother plot it was a decent show. These people really need to stop romanticizing rape. I skipped their story entirely 🤮 I only continue to watch it for the main couple other than that the story was something we have seen millions of times, the male lead wants his crush to like him back so he pretends to have the same interest to get close to her gets caught with multiple lies, asks his friend to help him with the lie and both men fall for each other nothing new. If you don't like rape being used as a plot I'd say skip this one cuz even with watching the main couple only you have a better chance of being entertained watching a different bl. If you are bored and need something to watch while looking for a bl I guess you can watch this but it's not that great. Everyone does have a happy ending even tho the side couple should not be with how things played out at the start.

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1 Problematic Couple & 1 Wholesome Couple

Li Cheng & Teng Teng is the wholesome couple. Their friends to lovers story is good. Writers still felt a desperate need to throw in a date rape scene but it is "less problematic" than the other couple's version, since it was for the purpose of having Li Cheng rescue Teng... but still there really is no reason for any date rape scenes... Li Cheng could have rescued Teng from a million less creepy tropes. But the ultimate takeaway is that their chemistry was great, their relationship progression was healthy- right down to Li Cheng taking a step back and not pressuring Teng when Teng said he wasn't ready.

Xing Si & Yong Jie is all the problematic everything- and super annoying they are the main couple. I had a really hard time reconciling the stalking, the date rape, and recording the date rape to blackmail the parents into approving their relationship. The characters (i.e. writers) hardly deal with the date rape, make Xing Si take the blame for the incident, and have Xing Si forgive and still fall in love with Yong Jie. All the no with an extra helping of heck no.

The writers of this show really love throwing date rape around like confetti.

As for rewatching... Li Cheng & Teng Teng are the only watchable pair; so just look for the youtube fan videos of them.

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