This review may contain spoilers
A short and sweet BL anthology
Close to You – a short and sweet BL anthology that's all soft winter vibes, warm cups of tea, and just enough feels to linger. No drama, no toxicity (well… mostly), just eight men across four bite-sized stories that all hit differently but flow together like a cozy snowfall.1st story – The Bicycle Ride
Two just-out-of-high-school boys, a sleepover, and a peaceful morning bike ride. That’s it. That’s the magic. This one feels like a slice of life captured in soft light, no big declarations, just two adorable friends slowly leaning into something more. I loved all of the caring and sweet moments. The open ending left me smiling and kind of wanting to go bike riding myself.
2nd story – The Time Loop & the Bracelet
This was fun! Starts with a drunken on the phone confession (classic), and the next day, the regret hits hard. Cue: magical friendship bracelet and a wild loop of “what if I answer differently?” Seven tries later, honesty wins… but wait! Turns out both of them had been looping — the friend tried six times too?! That twist gave me chills in the best way. And the random laptop guy in the background, mirroring their convos like some chaos spirit? Gold. Quirky, funny, heartfelt — loved it.
3rd story – The Diary
This one hit me right in the gut. Starts like a chill forced cohabitation trope — his mom’s friend’s son is staying over — but then they bond, feelings quietly blossom… and then he’s gone. The twist? He was sick, and now he’s passed. And he gets to know it a year later.The diary entry that says he’ll come see him again? I was not okay. Beautiful, tragic, soft. I adored their dynamic. Possibly the strongest emotional pull of the four.
4th story – The Office Romance
Okay, this one was kind of messy. A senior and junior with a shared past, including a not-okay kiss that didn’t sit right with me. It leans more into tropey tension and miscommunication. That said, it was still fun in a quick-watch kind of way. Not something I’d want as a full series like the others, but the last scene — the kiss timed perfectly with the coworker walking out — was a mood.
Overall:
Short, satisfying, with one emotional punch and three shades of sweet and strange. It’s rare to find an anthology this balanced in tone, with each story holding its own voice and a wintry warmth that ties them together. Would recommend.
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This review may contain spoilers
Three stories - first story was good, the other two, about okay
This comprises of several stories, each one unlinked form the other. I liked the first story. If you are up for some quick, quirky fluff, you can watch it...won't hurt.BL-needle score- 8.5. High BL-ness (1 & 3), 6 Low BL-ness - Story 2
Story 1: The first story was quirky, and fluffy, with a tiny time loop thrown in. I was thinking, oh, yet another predictable, super-photoshopped KBL.....and then I saw that each episode is roughly no longer than 10 minutes, which made me binge-watch all 4 episodes and change my mind.....while it still is quite 'photoshppped', it's damn cute, with good production values, and has a time-loop plot to boot...I must admit I was pleasantly surprised...:D
Two uber-cute Korean boys secretly crushing over each other for a long-ass time without confessing...nothing new in that....but their moments were cute .....and then when they grow up and get into that confession time loop, it was super cute and funny....and that background guy , apparently minding his own business, but actually being the audience's voice all through the 6 time loops...lol...that was a clever and quirky insert that I really liked.
Story 2 is sad, and actually could have nice if the treated it better. It had a nice angst in it, with reasonably ok acting by the actors, but I felt that they could develop it too well, and it ended up feeling truncated, instead of giving us the jolt it was expected to, I guess
Story 3 is pretty run-of the mill, two ex-lovers getting back, did not really get the purpose of making a short like that, I mean if a short doesn't have a quirk or a twist, how does it qualify to be a short, right?
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This was an AWESOME roller coaster ride!
The MDL blurb doesn't do this collection of stories justice, and it didn't do anything to prepare me for the experience! I was squealing like a school girl at the sweet moments in the first story, laughing at the antics of the characters in the second (that tissue scene with a side character had me laughing out loud!), tearing up with the third, and cringing from second hand embarrassment with the fourth (at least in the first few minutes).
And that wide spread doesn't just apply to the tone of the stories. You'll see it in the ages of the characters, their life stages (from almost high school graduates to working professionals), and the situations that they have to deal with (from how to handle a parting of ways to how to handle coming together after being apart, from dealing with a growing attraction to dealing with a drunken confession).
I loved the variety, I loved how the characters came alive through skillful acting (no, the actors probably won't win awards for the work that they did here, but that doesn't nullify the good work that they DID deliver --- credit were credit is due), but most of all, I loved how none of the stories felt underdeveloped despite the short run time. I feel like I was given enough scenes and characters and well written dialogue for me to be able to relate to what the mains were going through (which to me is really the point of watching shows --- I don't have to know what happened / will happen like a year or a decade before or after, i just have to be able to immerse myself in the moment in time covered by the story). And it was all packaged in beautifully framed scenes that made clever use of lighting, angles, and effects.
My poor heart was pushed and pulled in different directions in the span of 1 hr. and 24 mins., but Close to You gave me more value at a tenth of the total run time of most BLs. I'd happily go through the experience again!
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8/10 Great ~20 minute stories
There are quite a lot of short series that fall short of good ratings from me, mainly because they fail at telling whole stories in a satisfying and impactful way given the small amount of time they have for each episode. This series however, was not one of them.- The first story was...admittedly boring for me, but the second and third one's were very interesting to watch.
- The second one had a unique plot twist at the end which I didn't really expect, and the third one was just HEARTBREAKING. The way it ended was just so.... I gasped, I cried, and then I moved on to the 4th story Imao. BUT IT WAS GOOD!
- The fourth one felt the most like a normal drama. It was also a nice change of pace after witnessing the 3rd story's ending, and as the finale to the series as a whole, it was quite satisfying.
- Oh, normal review stuff: the camerawork was honestly pretty top tier, the acting was phenomenal, and the concept/ storylines were also well written. Blah blah blah - But anyways, YES! I highly recommend this if you're looking for a mini series to watch. It's one of the best ones 1 personally ever viewed.
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LUXO
Estou gag com essa série (compilado).Nesses últimos dias, me dediquei a assistir séries de baixo orçamento ou com capítulos curtos, e, de todas, essa foi a que mais me chamou atenção, porque ela grita potencial. As quatro histórias foram muito boas, mas duas gritaram tanto em química que se virassem uma série inteira eu não reclamaria por um segundo.
Na primeira, temos a típica história colegial entre dois colegas que agora vão para a faculdade, e ambos estão incertos quanto ao que seria o relacionamento deles, há algum sentimento ou ele é apenas meu amigo? Um clichê clássico. Na segunda, há uma espécie de loop temporal envolvendo alguém confessando seu amor. De primeira, achei que seria a pior, já que é muito difícil algo que envolva loop temporal dar certo no mundinho BL, mas até que se saiu muito bem. Na terceira e na mais triste de todas, vemos a história daquele quase romance, que aconteceu mais para um do que para o outro e que termina com um final infeliz. Na última, temos o clichê de amigos que se reencontram depois de um tempo para resolver assuntos inacabados.
Acho que deveríamos valorizar mais produções como essa. São atores que demonstram potencial para fazer algo completo mesmo.
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