The Middleman's Love (2023)

Light and fun show with a hidden message.

I have to say: I review this show having read the novel before, so I'm sorry if I compare the two things a lot. I just can't help it.
The Middleman's Love could have been either a full-comedy show or something really deep and emotional. If you read the novel, Jade is such a goofy character, but he has some insecurities that eat him alive and give deepness to his persona. The novel is basically a journey through an average person's mind, someone who couldn't just believe to have something good. It's a topic we all relate to, I guess.
What the producer did here is taking the novel and exaggerate the comedic part, trying to have a more entertaining show, with what they had. Maybe a budget matter, or maybe it's just a choice of the production team, but they went all-in toward the comedic genre.
I personally don't like this choice since I loved the book so much, but I still think this is a great show. The main flaw is visible since episode 1: Jade's behavior appears just immature for a 28-year-old man, it exceeds goofiness. Does it make The Middleman's Love a bad show? I don't think so. It's light, fun, and something you want to watch after a long and tiring day at work. The romance is there, both the main actors did a magistral job portraying their characters. Even if we can't see much of Jade's most intimate secrets, we can see how affected he is by people's thoughts and words, and how much he tries to keep himself safe from being hurt furthermore by love. As soon as you hit episode 5, you understand how that smiley mask... is just a mask. And I do admire the production team for this kind of message.

The biggest flaw is the little screen time of the side-couple. We don't even get to understand what is going on between them. It makes me mad how they left their story hanging for everyone, but those who can watch the uncut version.

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starts getting really good at ep3

I think this is one of the only series where I was disappointed after watching the first episode, because it didn’t reach my expectations. But, then as the episodes went by, it got better and better and in the end I really enjoyed the story and the actors performances. If you can get theough episode 1, and drop your negative feelings during episode 2, then from 3 and onwards it’s actually a really great story.

The story really hooked me, and struck a cord in me as I myself have been a Jade in the sense that I have been struggling with self-acceptance and self-confidence. The thourough stary telling of why Jade is who he is and how that has affected him till this day, makes him a very familiar character whom you have symphathy for. Mai is delightful and Tutor does an excellent job in making him communicative without saying much. Their chemistry was great and the acting top-notch. Their story hooked me and I became invested quite easily.

The side-couples are also great, however I would have liked more time spent on them, but I guess a show is in the works for them as well? Idk, but I’m invested in them as well.

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My Weekly Dose of Sweetness

I really loved how sweet and cute this series is! Tutor is the consummate straight man to Yim's funny man. I did not realize until this series just how angelic Tutor looks during his closeups. As Jade and Mai, they made a great acting team with great chemistry and the ability to be vulnerable when necessary. I also liked that both lead characters had warm and loving relationships with their families. I think that Asian families are often unfairly portrayed as very cold, homophobic and forcing ambition on their children. As an Asian, it's simply not true. Just as in other cultures and ethnicities, Asian families come in all varieties. It was nice to see two families where the parents and all of the siblings were close and loving.

There are so many serious topic and intense supernatural series airing at this time (winter 2023) that I needed a ray of sunshine from behind the clouds. There was only one other series (a serious one) that I looked forward to watching every week, due to the acting and storyline. Yes, the sports day episode wasn't my thing, but I've worked for places where we have sports day (without uniforms) and they are super fun. Ym and Tutor has such great chemistry, and their love scenes were both hot and loving and the same time. No, I cannot gush enough about Jade, Mai, Tutor and Tim.

The second couple, Tong and Gus were a cute couple, but they never fully explained by Tong was so rude and mean in the beginning of the series. I would love to see Leo and Tai in another series.

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Superficial but fluffy

Most hate this drama because yes Jade is exaggerative and over-the-top, but if you enjoy slapstick comedy and understand what it's like to feel overlooked or in the middle of it all, it's the show for you!

I genuinely enjoyed this drama unlike most because it was sweet, funny, and relatable in a lot of aspects. As someone who's been in the middle of all of my friends marriages (I'm almost the last single standing at this point) and in the middle of cousins and siblings, it's very easy to feel overlooked. You know you're family and friends love you, but to believe someone else (who in this story is extremely attractive ans friendly to everyone in the job) would actually like you over any of your friends kind of seems unbelievable in the moment. Jade is extremely oblivious and has some experience in the past that make things a little frustrating for most watchers when it's VERY obvious Mai likes him. But the main point of this story is of learning to accept yourself and accept love in your life even when it's hard.

The story is VERY superficial and definitely obvious for the very beginning. There are no crazy twists or surprises as it's very predictable. So if you're looking for a fluffy BL to pass time amd not looking for anything tok deep, I'd suggest trying it! TutorYim are adorable and I'd rewatch between other series!

Note: I do understand why people would get frustrated or bored, but this I definitely feel is better than all of the toxic BL's that I've seen this year even with its snail pace

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Do not misjudge this show too soon.

I dont understand how this show only has a 6 star rating. Im assuming that they were premature ratings since the last episode just came out and the payoff is huge! Yes it starts out over the top but anyone who watches japanese bls wont be bothered by it. It also calms down after a couple episodes. I understand how having a slow build can make peope lose interest but dont get hasty with this one. The cuteness is unbearable. Not to mention its worth the wait. Trust me. I wasnt ready for that last episode. It gets crazy steamy. You wont expect it at all but that is what put this on my favorites list. I originally thought it was just really wholesome and kind of cheesy but hot damn. And how it goes back and forth between the two kn the last episode was playing with my emotions big time. Honestly i really loved the characters and i think everyone did an amazing job. Give it a chance. Seriously.

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cute but cringe at the same time

I was really looking forward for this because I really liked TutorYim in Cutie Pie and this is their first Main Role but sadly the series disappointed in many aspects: Jade is way more over the top as he was in Bedfriend. most of the time I have 2nd Hand embarrassment because of him and the soundeffects are making this worse. I totally adore Mai and he ist really sweet with Jade but we never really got to know why he liked him so much from the get go. I liked the second lead couple and their story wichkept me watching every week. And of course I wanted to see more of King and Uea but sadly there reduced to just comedic moments and maybe one or to more romantic ones.
It wasn't as bad as some series and I still wanted to know, how their story would end but it sadly didn't meet my expectations.

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If only they could cut down on the exaggeration...

There are two perspectives to this series
• A cute, comedy, fluffy and comfortable show
•A cringey, horrendous show

Well, in my opinion this show was a pain to watch. Though im a fan of comedy and cute shows this was a nah for me, its mentally draining with the exaggeration.

This series might go well with the previous casting Tommy and Jimmy. As I watched them in "Why R U" with similar acting style (and dont kill me, I happen to like it somehow, yes its campy) My opinion is that Tommy and Jimmy might have carried the characters well.

As of why I put myself to watch this whole series though its painful was just coz of TutorYim. I missed them, and wanted to watch a series of them so bad that I had to put myself through this pain over and over every week. Yim and Tutor fr deserve a better storyline and show, please give them oneT-T I'm pretty damn sure they'd do an amazing job. Them getting a decent show in 2024 would be my only new year wish.

And the credit of keeping me alive though episodes (regarding storyline) would be Tong and Gus. Though I was here to watch just coz of TutorYim, these two characters kept me going on. Their storyline was decent compared to Mai and Jade, and its fluffy too.

Well, well, I didn't forget about NetJames, KingUea. They did King dirty there ngl, it's King who is a cat here, don't kill me. But I'm not complaining tho. As characters they grew a lot more mature, their relationship has become gentle, and those silly fights out of jealousy, are a complete married couple package.

I wouldn’t say this show is a total disaster, it has many good moments as well, honestly last two eps were soo good. TutorYim really did a good job with their acting, and I'm strong with my opinion that they are an amazing actors. I'm hoping that DMD would give them chances to prove their acting without letting their talent go astray.

Special note : I'd give it to Mandee for their production quality, they never fail in that. Im anticipated for Love upon time, The next prince and Zomvivor from this channel, their storylines are intresting and I have a ray of hope that they wouldn’t dissapoint. It's time for Mandee comback.

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I cried when I watched the series

As a fan of both actors, I was excited to see the series. However, once the trailer was released, I questioned this excitement. The truth is, I wasn't a big fan of Bedfriends (its predecessor) for two main reasons: the acting and the editing. Today, it is these very aspects that bother me.

I believe the director of this series has significant issues in directing the performances of his main actors. I realized this after analyzing that the character Jade in Bedfriends—despite being peculiar—had a much more focused, stable, and profound personality, which is not present in this continuation.

In Middleman’s Love, we see how the Jade we knew disappeared (not to mention the one from the novel). I know that Yim can act because the Jade he portrayed in Bedfriends was a good character (and the same with Syn in CutiePie). Jade (Bedfriends), Jade (Middleman’s Love), and Syn (Cutie Pie) share the commonality of being strange, awkward, and even a bit weird characters. However, Jade in Middleman’s Love is the only one who doesn't achieve those characteristics because he ends up being absurd, foolish, and almost like a five-year-old child.

On the other hand, Tutor had the easiest job since his character hardly speaks in the series (he does, but every time he does, they overlay him with unbearable music). This is a point I want to make clear. Whoever edits at Domundi (excluding Cutie Pie) doesn't know how to do it. Anyone who knows a bit about shots understands that for a fast-forward or flashback, you shouldn't use the same shots in a row, or the effect won't work (and if you're going to do it, you must know how to do it, or it ends up being a failure). They abuse this in the first episode.

In addition to that, there is a problem with the editing. The music is excessive on many occasions (not to say all), they cling to this resource and don't let go because there is not a single second where you can hear the characters simply talking. The music is always there. This is compounded by the maximalist style of editing, leaving the audience exhausted after a few seconds.

I could go on because they clearly lowered the quality from Bedfriends (the only good point in that series), but honestly, it gives me enormous sorrow to see what Domundi turned the series, its plot, and characters into. The favoritism towards certain actors is evident, and it's clear that their directors have no idea how to make a series work. Outside of shows where their favorites appear, they don't make even the slightest effort.

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Cute and Adorkable.

I'll be honest, after the first episode of this show I was giving it 4/10, and I thought that was generous. I found it awkward, weird and very cringey. I don't think I laughed once during the first episode.
I also felt a lot of whiplash knowing this was set in the same world, with many of the same characters, as Bed Friend. Because the tone of this show almost couldn't be more different than that show.

But I wanted to give the show a couple of episodes in case it got better. Episode 2 was a 6/10.
And when I reached episode 3 it was a 9/10. And I found myself laughing and smiling through the whole thing. Where I at first found Jade's character annoying and cringey, I now found him dorky and utterly adorable. At first I thought that maybe the show had just improved over the three episodes. So I went back and watched episode 1 again, and I kind of loved it!

Honestly I have no idea what happened. I feel like I might have slightly lost my mind. But regardless, right now I am counting down the days to the next episodes.

In conclusion. I suspect that this show will be somewhat polarizing. And that everybody won't gel with it like I ended up doing. But I hope you do. Because I'm loving it!

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Farce

If you are here because of the Bed Friend then,

Uea, the kitten -----> Uea, the lion
King, the Wolf -----> King, the puppy
Lmao, King lost his groovy, and now he looks like a lost puppy.
They tried to create vice versa of the Bed Friend and make the feeling the same people but a different story. And that they added too many satirical scenes and lines. Some scenes don't make any sense, sometimes you may feel like whether you should laugh or not, and some scenes give you an inner dilemma like 'what just happened?'. Still 7 eps to leftefe. Hope for the best.

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