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Another classic case of "don't listen to reviews and form your own opinion."
I came across this series a while ago when YT suggested it. After reading a lot of the reviews here, I put it off and put it off though still kept it in my "to watch" list because it was short and I figured if there was a night where I wanted a quick, low mental investment series, then I could pull this one out.Well, last night was that night, and I have to say, I should have watched this sooner. The reviews for this series are unnecessarily brutal and, while it certainly isn't the best series I've ever seen, it sure as heck isn't the worst.
Was the acting great? Not exactly. Was the story original? Not in the slightest. Were there any groundbreaking moments that stood out at all? Honestly.. not even close.
But was it an enjoyable watch that met my incredibly low expectations of being entertained for 5 hours? Yes. Yes it was.
I also personally liked how the ending was left somewhat open: you don't know where Play and First will end up in either their relationship or their careers. But it does hint that they get their priorities on the same page of wanting to put their relationship first.
Even if the acting left something to be desired, the MC chemistry was actually really good and palpable. Some of the side characters were a bit annoying to me but I guess it was the series attempt at comedy to balance out the more emotional side. Plus I think some things got lost in translation because the subtitles didn't always make sense but you can get the gist.
Honestly, if you're looking for something cute and not too deep or intense, I'd suggest giving this series a try. Again, it's all about expectations and not holding the series responsible for what someone thought it should be.
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A Cute Little Series
This is a cute little series, only 5 episodes apx. 45 minutes eachThis is a feel-good series about two boys who have to act together, but because one boy constantly teases the more sensitive boy, their acting is not working out. This story is about them falling in love.
The acting is very good, the two boys are cute, the scenes are as realistic as they can be in a short series, there are some good kissing scenes, the only distraction is one of the female actresses is annoying, but they don't show her much.
One of the things I found interesting in this show was how the story they were acting out had a message that then applied to their situation. I am sure I will watch this series again in the future.
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BL with a concept that has potential but ultimately falls flat
Cute actors, a nice song and relatively high production value do little to salvage a weak story that is conceptually quite fun.There is some tension between two actors, Play and First, who are supposed to act as lovers in a series. They don't seem to get along very well but at the same time, they seem to be attracted to each other. This could have been a story about how Play and First develop feelings for each other while acting as lovers, with some sensitively depicted feelings of confusion on their part. However, it turns out to be a mess with scenes of squabbling without strong indications of their romantic feelings or other emotions.
There are also clichés and stereotypes. To make matters worse, the side characters' dialogues are often pointless or at least lost in translation. Although there are only 5 episodes in the whole series, a lot of time is used for unnecessary scenes.
The main characters are not properly developed and they appear temperamental and inconsistent. One minute First is laying his head on Play's lap and the next minute they are squabbling. The story pretty much begin in the middle of nowhere, and it is not clear how the two male leads meet, why they don't seem to get along and how they starting having feelings for each other.
Then a love triangle is thrown into the story as another guy, Pluto, is in love with Play. The love triangle isn't altogether pointless. Ironically, the Pluto/Play part of the story is told in a much better way than the Play/First part of the story. At least we know how they meet each other and Pluto's affections are unambiguous.
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Big Oof
This gets a 6 just because of GameDay, Folk, and Best. They did their best with what they were given...Story: Good idea. Bad execution. There was SO much dead silence throughout this show, where nothing was happening at all. No one was talking or doing anything important. It was terrible and boring to watch.
Acting/Casting: As I stated before, the main actors were good. All side characters were so obnoxious and irrelevant. They were worse than the silence that sucked up half of the script.
Music wasn't terrible. I wouldn't rewatch this.
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A Good Watch for When You're Bored
The story was short and the plot was simple. I thought the two main characters had chemistry, and their acting was fine. It was a cute story. However, like others have pointed out, Pluto's character's motivation was so random. He met this guy once and he fell in love with him, but it was unrequited. Perhaps at least have more episodes to develop the tension. Since this show was quite short we didn't really see big character development.I think as a quick distraction, it's easy to watch and get through. Play is really cute. The end. Lmao.
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my first ever review
i don’t get why people are giving this a low rating when overall it was pretty good. it was slow but it did lead up to play and first having that chemistry everyone was talking about. i think it was a good story but wish first and play had more screen time instead of penelope ranting (though she was funny). it didn’t have any cringey moments other than when they were acting out acting then it was.gameplay did a fantastic job at his character when the situation was uncomfortable you could see it in his expressions when he wasn’t talking. and same goes with fluke when it came to the third main lead coming in and trying to take his spot.
i don’t know why this show isn’t rated on here but if it was i would rate it PG13 because they literally (not actually literally) have intercourse. i was brought by surprise when that scene came up because i didn’t think the directors would go that far. but i’m not complaining because it just made them closer for the series they were going to star in.
another thing is i wish they cut off scenes at a certain point because sometimes they just stood or sat there in silence when they could have easily went to another scene and put more important things into the show.
the plot is something that i’ve never seen done before done in the bl series i have watched throughout these past few months. i have heard this is what they do, keep both actors together to know what they like and dislike so that they get along better on stage. not saying what happened in this show happens in real life but i think they were trying to portray what it’s like to work in the bl industry.
would i rewatch this? not entirely maybe if i have nothing else to watch i’ll start it up again like i have before with other shows.
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Just Did Not Work
This was a genuine miss. On a whole host of levels. While the main actors were there, the minor roles were miss caste. The story could have been a good one but there was not character development. I knew from the moment the series started what the problem was. Rather than deal with that as a story line, they decide to try and 'ship' them. My major issue however is the awful use of what I call dress-up characters. That whole concept is demeaning, degrading, and a direct slap in the face to the transgender community. Stop doing that! These are not comic figures! In addition to the over sexual harassments by several of the minor characters I guess because someone thought that is a funny premise? It is not and that just has to go away. It is not appropriate in the straight world and it is not appropriate in the gay world.Was this review helpful to you?
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It was disappointed. i would have hoped for more from the maincouple.:-/
2/10Negative:
1. It's a pity that play and First didn't undress where they kissed.
2. Penelope
3. I wish they had kissed passionately more often because they fit so well together.
4. I wish they would have slept together.
5. Too bad they both didn't get the job for whatever reason.......
6. Sadly that they didn't kiss in the last episode at the very end.
7. Too bad they didn't kiss in the 4th episode because of pluto. so annoying :-/// whenever it gets exciting, someone interrupts...so stupid!!!
Positive:
1. Maincouple
2. Music
3. Acting of the Maincouple
4. Story
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Really couldn't get into it
It's really unfornate that I couldn't get into it like i wanted because I love Gameplay and honestly Best gave me second lead syndrome hardcore from the trailer. I don't know whether It's the directing or Folk's acting or I just find First too insufferable but I just couldn't get into his acting with Gameplay. I know they have another coming up so i'll have to see if the chemistry clicks then but in here, it just wasnt. I wish for Best and Gameplay to one day have a series also, till then I'll continue to rewatch Ingredients and look forward to Checkout with Best. One positive tho besides Gameplay and Best is that I love the Ost. always love listening to Gameplay sing.Was this review helpful to you?
Foundational Romance Tropes: love triangle, cohabitation, grumpy/tsundere\sunshine
A Thai Bl quarantine project, short run series, that was a little like Call it What You Want meet My Mate Match. The support cast in this show was painfully bad (characters, story, and acting) although the 3 leads were fine. Interesting to see Gameplay play a full on tsundere uke, he was cute if a little too obstreperous. The actor playing First was fine, but then Best waltzed in portraying the second lead, Pluto. He pretty much blew everyone else on screen out of the water and gave me a terrible case of second lead syndrome. I look forward to seeing his full show, Check Out, next year. It got unexpectedly higher heat than I thought it would, which was well done, but I was left bereft and unsatisfied. This is why I loathe love triangles.RECOMMENDED ONLY IF YOU HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO
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Even though it was made in 2021, it was my favorite of 2023
This one is so good, I went into it blind and I can say that's the first time I was pleasantly happy not knowing what was going on when I started.Gameplay & Folk have amazing chemistry together and it shows, I really want to see them in more series together. There spicy scene was my absolute favorite for no reason, I just loved it. I'm a sucker for an enemies to lovers with a happy ending.
Play "playing" and talking to his rabbit was the cutest thing I have ever seen.
Max played the role of Chai perfectly.
The ending was perfection, I defiantly would've been even more happy with 5 more episodes but I loved it nevertheless.
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Every scene is at a snail’s pace
The way the series was shot and edited makes every single thing that happens feel like it takes so long. Just a character sitting down to do something or getting up. They’re single shots and there’s no edits or cuts. You’re literally just watching the actors move in real time. Watching feels like you’re constantly waiting for something to happen, anything, but nothing does.it is so agonizingly slow that even watching it 15% sped up still feels slow.
The actors also speak so slow that even when sped up, their speaking still sounds normal.
I watched the whole 1st episode and if you removed all of the walking, entering and exiting rooms, and adjusting themselves to sit down or stand up, the episode would be 10 or 15 minutes long. But it’s 40 minutes long.
Watching the first episode gave me bad college film flashbacks.
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