FC Soldout

a BL with a soccer backdrop

Overall: it was entertaining. I wish they had reduced the number of characters/side plots to have more time for relationship progression. 8 episodes about 25 minutes each. Aired on iQIYI (U.S. for sure, not sure which other countries) https://www.iq.com/play/sqxdf59e7s?lang=en_us&sh_pltf=4

Content Warnings: past non con picture taking/sharing, unwanted public outing

What I Liked
- visuals
- CEO was a decent antagonist (I really disliked him in episode 1)
- laughed a few times like when he hugged a standee and the difference between interview questions vs. real life
- caring moments
- really liked the captain and the idol
- nice dreams
- good kissing (ie no dead fish lip presses with blocked angles)

Room For Improvement
- the back and forth timeline in the beginning of episode 1
- one short flashback wasn't clear in episode 4
- too many couples, the third couple vanished
- introduced more antagonists, should have focused on the main characters
- nonsense: the plan/approach, how he didn't remember him from high school, did not appear to be enough players for their match

Read More

I am tired of dramas giving me plot points, rather than plotlines.

I honestly do not understand why writers, directors, producers - anyone and everyone who has any say in the final product, are so stubborn into adding so many unnecessary plot lines and characters, when the majority of the short shows would work so much better with minimal effort, serving just the good vibes.

What I enjoyed about the show: the dynamics between the leads. The tiny twist to “enemies to lovers” trope was done in a refreshing way - adding both the tension and comedy depending on the situation. I liked how consistent the characters were. Best example - the difference in their dreams, and how it then corresponds to reality. Tiny details that just made sense. I liked how they both had clear internal issues they had to work through, and how they unintentionally helped each other deal with them.

I also liked the initial disagreements in the team based on their completely different goals and motivations. Them slowly starting to work together when they understood they can both benefit from cooperation was for sure one of the highlights.

And that would be enough for an 8 episode drama to be good. Focus and develop just these two aspects of the plot. But no, you need to make it more complex than it needs to be, add more unnecessary external drama. Create a huge issue just to solve it in 5 minutes. Why? I am tired of dramas giving me plot points, rather than plotlines. Nothing is developed or truly explained, because there is not time to do that.

I love how the poster makes it seem like it will focus on football, and have a rather big cast of important characters, when in reality the football did not matter at all and half of the people we see in the poster are there to fill the space so the locker room will not look too empty. They used their phones to film content more often than they kicked ball. Where was the balance?

The performances were rather good. Nothing too amazing, but I partially blame it on choppy editing and not so smooth storytelling. For a tiny budget it apparently had, the production was good. For sure did not stand out in a negative way compared to the majority of the other k-bl from the past few years.

Overall, it was not bad, but it was not good? The type of a show you won’t regret watching, but it’s not exactly something you would recommend others to watch either.

Read More

Rough production quality but the story and actors rocks

It’s apparent that this is a low-budget show but still managed to make the most out of it. As a viewer, you’ll feel uncomfortable by its bumpy beginning but will eventually used to its pacing. The introduction of the characters seems off too but they are all likable.

Korean BLs with multiple couples are rare these days and I am so happy to see not just one but three pairing in one show. They keep getting cuter every single episode. A sports drama with charismatic leads.

The light vibes were adorable and matched the energy between Ji Woo and Deok Won’s love story. They are just a fluffy pair with adorable scenes. The second couple is also doing great as I found myself smiling during their storyline. Special mention to the Captain’s sexy body.

As you noticed, they have a problem with executing a smooth sequence of plots. This sure created a bit of an underwhelming element to the overall enjoyment of watching but at the end of the day, I was entertained and that’s the most important factor.

Read More

First BL of 2025 for me!!!!

Seriously, I was lounging around to find something to watch and came across a tiktok video of this bl. Ngl, the premises hooked me up.

A sports BL with plot largely revolving around players. It was a nice concept. But the usual tradition of 8 episodes BL with 25 min each didn't give justice to the series. There were quite a few things that left neglected , which demanded more focus.

Besides that, if you are not into the complexities of football that much, this BL would just come out as a wholesome watch. It has everything from 'a fan meeting his idol' trope, love interest become each other's fan (lmao), comedy, sweet bickering and the feeling of having a first love.

Though the last point was not that detailed but it didn't leave any loopholes too. The pace is quite good as the story progressed.

Apart from it, I'm really impressed by the actor who played the role of Do Jiwoo (one of the protagonist) in the series. His acting is very commendable and despite being his first work, he really hooked the spectators.

Now as the last episode left, I am so excited for the main leads to be together and if possible, any sweet, little moments between them.

I believe if you want a cute, simple and silly watch for your leisure time, you can, without a doubt, click on to it.

Read More

Not much to say except typical Ao3 y/n plot.

Another K-bl and I keep on complaining on the same things. Korean bl clearly doesn't understand how to make their stories realistic and I do not like it. Basically the whole club being sold to a big ent company is a fun idea and very creative how they thought of an 'idol ish' football club. But this is just giving the typical 2010's harry style fanfic. Do Ji being a fan and everything and then randomly his 'idol' shows up...

I fucking love sport bl's, especially when they use a sport that isn't overused like basketball. I used to play basketball but I'm tired of the amount of times they use basketball as sport. But, soccer however, is never used. It's very original for a bl to use soccer as a sport. I really love this.

I love how Yoo Gang was an idol just like some other members because they just added some scene's I found funny/recognisable. Like how Yoo Gang Jae does the complete opposite of what he says in interviews. And I'm giving an extra point because EXO FIRST SNOW DANCE. And why can these actors dance this good?

I'm gonna be honest, with so many players everything started to get really confusing. They kinda all exist and it's hard to remember their story lines because they're being thrown at us. Also, it wasn't clear to me which role who had, especially on the field. Like who does defence and who is where?

A very slight thing that I won't count for my review this time, maybe I'm not right but the music in this sounds VERY ai generated. The English sounds so weird and the beats make no sense. It could just be lowbuggeted music but there's something off from it. Another thing, which I also won't change my final rating is the English translation. It was irritating cuz it covered my whole screen whenever they pulled out their phones. It's okay because this was the translation company fucking it up but it was really annoying how I had to pause it to be able to read what was going on.

What confused me the most is no training and no practice match? This is just really weird to me. I get that they had limited budget because this is a low budgeted series but like the only practise I've really seen is tricks? Like cool but when are you actually gonna practice? Especially for the 'idols'. Yes, they had like 1 match in the beginning. The whole plot was all over the place like what was going on bro? The time skips were so fucking unnecessary and just typically Korean... Not only that, the romance was lacking, barely any chemistry and it took fucking 8 episodes for a little romance? I liked Do Ji U and Yoo gang together but the side characters? Don't even understand what happened there.

It's low budgeted, which I genuinely don't care about but it's still mid. Low budget doesn't mean it's mid and could be really well if they just thought about shit. Like location and timeline.

Read More

Had promise, but turned out to be striclty timepass fluff

This had an unique setting with soccer players and actors coming together....I was intrigued...but it ends there...if you want to watch just for the fluff and good looking actors, you can.

BL-needle score: 7.5. Reasonably high BL-ness

This one had a lot of promise with an unique setting and premise- hot soccer players meet charming actors and icons...trying to jack up the fortunes of a fallen soccer team/club....but 2-3 episodes in, I realised that they had absolutely no plans to have any story whatsoever.... I did complete this, but with loooong gaps and a lot of skipping-through, and almost because I had already invested too much time into it...lol...the only thing I liked somewhat was the OST

Not recommended. But if you like looking at cute faces doing cute nothings, this could end up entertaining you.

Read More

Please sell me my time back

God... where do I even start....
The script wasn't great. The conversations felt very "high school student who's writing a conversation for the first time".
The so called banter didn’t make sense a lot of the time. He's supposed to be a fan, yet it constantly shows him being distasteful towards his idol. It would make sense if they tried to make it so that he's trying to hide that he's a fan but that never seemed to be the case. He also kept getting disappointed that Gang Jae wasn't the person he showed himself to be, which could have been a good plot line of Ji U shifting to see him from an idol to an actual person but no. If literally was there for no reason. Because no matter how many times he seemed almost disgusted with Gang Jae, they would randomly show him back at being his 100% fan online.
I should have know the show was bad on the first episode, when the main couple meet, and the show tells us three freaking times in the next 5 minutes about "the tension" they had. The tension in question was them shaking hands and telling each other they're fans of one another, which somehow no one including them heard saying???
The plot, none sensical from the beginning. A professional soccer team with half players that can't play. They don't even train them, apart from training the relationship between in each other😭
Even if you ignore the premise of the show, the plot does not get better. They put in random storylines that never really lead anywhere. It almost seems like they cut scenes in between as well. Like the dream thing. We suddenly see a flashback of a dream Gang Jae had. Except, there was never a scene where he had that dream before??
And oh😩 The acting. Especially the one playing Gang Jae. It's literally high school amateur level. I will give him the benefit of the doubt that maybe he was trying to overreact and have cliché, non-realistic expressions for, I don't even know, comedy reasons?? And not to sh*t on him, he's not ugly in any way, but he does look his age. And that age does not look the same as the others so making him and Ji U the same age was just an added inconsistency to the mix.

Read More

A Fun Kickoff That Loses Its Game Plan

"FC Soldout" had such a fun and unique premise—imagine a struggling soccer team bought by an entertainment agency, replacing its skilled but "unmarketable" players with actors. It set the stage for an entertaining mix of sports, comedy, and romance, and for the first half, it delivered. But as the drama progressed, it lost focus, sidetracking into less engaging storylines instead of fully developing the relationships that made the show interesting in the first place.

Do Ji U & Yoo Gang Jae – The dynamic between a professional soccer player and his celebrity crush turned teammate was fun. Ji U secretly admiring Gang Jae while Gang Jae himself harbored a crush on him? Great setup! Their dynamic was enjoyable to watch. Especially when they were trying to hide the fact they were each other's secret fan!

Sun Bin & Taeyoung – Easily the best part of the drama! A former idol and a football captain? Perfect combination. Their chemistry was strong, their flirting was on point, and they definitely deserved more screen time. It genuinely felt like some of their scenes were cut, which is disappointing because they had so much potential. If anyone needs a spin-off, it's them!

The Third Couple – Were they even in the drama? They had a promising start but then completely disappeared. Instead of wasting time on unnecessary drama, the show should have developed their storyline. It feels like a wasted opportunity.

The Football Aspect
This is where things got messy. You don’t need to be a soccer expert to know that a proper match with only 7 players is unrealistic. The sports scenes felt cringeworthy, and it was clear that the focus wasn’t really on making the soccer aspect feel authentic. It was more of a background setting than a real part of the story.

The cast was undeniably handsome, but the acting? A bit stiff at times. Some emotional moments didn’t land as well as they should have, and while the chemistry was there for some couples, it wasn’t always convincing across the board.

Final Thoughts
FC Soldout was an entertaining watch with a fun concept, good romance, and great chemistry between some of the leads. However, it lost steam in the second half, and the lack of focus on certain couples was disappointing. The football scenes were also a bit ridiculous, and the acting could have been better. Still, if you’re looking for lighthearted fun with attractive leads, it’s worth a watch.

Read More

Cute Tale But Not Memorable

To be honest, I know absolutely nothing about soccer (football) and the content and meaning of this story went right over my head. Being an American, I have never learned to appreciate this sport, nor its components, and am bewildered with its fascination. The zealousness of the phenomenon completely escapes me. Fortunately, the story is really about the interactions of its players rather than the sport itself. Looking back on this series, none of it should have worked. It is filled with so many unlikely individuals thrown in together that on the surface, should have made for a disaster. Yet, I found myself being mildly entertained by what was happening underneath the surface. So many gay men harbor unrequited loves that they simply cannot, or perhaps will not, bring to the surface. In this story, we manage to see that happen, gingerly. Sometimes, comically but steadily, nonetheless. If viewed in terms of developmental stages of love growth, it becomes slightly more engaging.

Read More