A fun time killer
Well, way to drop out of the sky with zero notice or promo. But you know what? I loved it!Spoilers ahead!
Typical former idol x current hot idol trope & enemies to lovers.
Both MCs come out to each other as liking men, none of this "I'm only gay for you" as is the standard. They meet on a same-sex film set and go through some internal discovery before coming together at the end IRL.
My only gripe is we get real kisses while they're filming their movie, but angle shots when they kiss as themselves. But they kiss so..... I'll take it.
Also a nice dig at sasang behavior because we continue to see that on the daily and it's very real.
Nice little time killer that inconveniently dropped on a Friday (does the BL industry not check literally any other series when they pick an air date?!?!?) but I was already glued to the TV for the other 50 shows so why not add one more!
Overall very enjoyable, 9/10. Actors had chemistry and it kept me engaged throughout all 6 eps.
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Typical chinese BL production but devoid of emotions...
As typical with chinese BLs, all the voices are lip-synced which is off-putting. If you notice they did it, it takes away immersion. While both leads are nice to look at, both acctors could not deliver. I did not see any sparks and of course the kisses were also lackluster and not really happening.The topic of the show was not a bad one, but it was badly executed which jumps in the episodes because they had not enough time to tell the story properly. For a low budget production they have outdone themselves with locations and the size of the cast. Also cinematography was good, music decent but the acting did not drive the story as it should.
I have not much more to say, because it's one of the series to easily forget. It's not good and it's not bad, it's a "so, so". It would have been so much better if they had invested the time for more episodes, a more sophisticated script and especially if the actors would have really liked to play a gay man, but both didn't. I have no clue why they take on such roles when they are not into it. And I also have no clue why MDL calls it "taiwanese", when this is clearly a chinese production.
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Nice short watch
Very easy to binge only 6x25min episodes.They story was interesting given the length of time. I think if it had been longer it would have become boring to stretch out scenes anymore so it all felt the right pace overall.
Don't think I would rewatch it again unless I'm showing a friend.
The acting chemistry felt very natural and the actors are very talented to be able to go from their character to their character's character in a split second takes a lot of skills.
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Cute and funny short series
Overall I enjoyed watching it. It had nice acting, good chemistry, and actually funny jokes, which is for some reason a really rare occurrence. I can definitely recommend it as a nice short series to watch when you want something easy to relax to.Things I liked:
1. Crossover with GL series "The Way Back to You."
2. Pretty good acting.
3. Great chemistry.
4. A lot of cute and sweet moments.
5. Actually funny humor.
Things I disliked:
1. Voiceover. I am not sure why Taiwanese series needs one, but I am really not a fan.
2. Kisses. If you can even call that a kiss, I am usually not the one to complain about kisses or the absence thereof, but this is something else. I don't know what was going on there, but I know that I'd rather they didn't kiss at all or just smooched on a cheek instead. Because that was just embarrassing.
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wish it was longer/had a special episode
Overall: with only 6 25 minute episodes, they needed to take out/reduce screentime of the main conflict as there wasn't enough time to properly develop their relationship. It's still cute with a solid ending. I gave this an indie rating bump. Aired on iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/1p9j07cqimg?lang=en_us&sh_pltf=4 and seems to also be airing on YouTube https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0P6L1kgy3ITUD-fneCgsyV7-PgDeZuRO&si=vb2NTEwOIj-EXVIXContent Warnings: punch, past homophobia, cyber bullying, non con touching
What I Liked
- different personalities
- up front about who they were attracted to/sexual orientation
- noble idiot trope interrupted
- a character sided with the guy he loved and stood up to his own company
Room For Improvement
- the 2 false accusations (in reality it is extremely rare to falsely accuse someone of this)
- rushed romantic development, needed more time to focus on their relationship
- (neutral) quite a lot of far away/camera blocked shots for the kissing and also the interrupted kiss
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Watered down remake of 'Sparkle in your eyes'
First I would just like to say that I am in no way saying this is a terrible drama, infact I think it was pretty decent for a short low budget bl.What I wanted to say is that in my opinion this show is basically a watered down version of the bl Sparkle in your eyes', which is also a Chinese collaboration bl to get around the censorship, but with some obvious differences (I don't want to mention here for those that haven't seen sparkle in you eyes).
For those of you that have seen it, I'm sure you will agree this had way to many striking similarities and I'm partly convinced that the script writers used the same source material.
In my opinion, if you liked this then you should definitely watch Sparkle in your eyes. Its slightly darker in a way but the romance and passion is also way better.
This is just my own opinion and i still think this was a good show in its own right.
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Why the 18+ Rating
There was no violence or profanity. So, if you watch it, hoping there’s a reason for the 18+ rating, you will be disappointed. There was a punch thrown and some anti-fans pushing the ml, that’s it. And some kissing.But, even though I am a huge fan of the messier, more toxic, and deservedly-rated-18+ BL series, I still enjoyed this series; it had a decent story, it was a quick and easy watch, the actors were attractive and acted well. Sometimes that’s all you need or want in a series.
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Great Start, Disappointing last 2 eps
This bl series looked really promising. The first 4 episodes were well done, and I genuinely enjoyed them. But then the last two episodes disappointed me. I kept wondering, why did the story take that direction?*Spoiler alert*
First, I didn't expect the kiss scenes to be hidden etc . Why? Were the actors uncomfortable with filming proper kiss scenes? It was so obvious that it ended up drawing even more attention to it. It felt awkward and took me out of the story.
The plot also started to feel strange after the sexual harassment accusation was introduced (that was so unnecessary). From that point on, I didn't like how the story was handled. The relationship between the two male leads felt rushed, and some scenes were just cringe like them running hand in hand while fans chased after them. The fairytale ending felt forced
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy happy endings and that what i would like to see, the issue is how it was done. So I have mixed feelings about the series.
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A BL Seriously Short on Queer Credibility
This should have been a bromance, or have cast different leads. Nobody who can’t convincingly portray queerness should be cast over gay actors. Marginalised groups, even one of the more privileged of the queer demographics, should only be played by non-queer actors if they bring something really special to the role. Both of these gorgeous actors played male friendship well, but the straightness was so pungent, it obliterated the attempts to inject gay romance into the story. This would have been a perfectly nice story about two actors who had one another’s backs, with this cast. As it is it smacks of cashing in on queerness.Both the leads are gorgeous, and for the most part the dub is great. The male manager was often cartoonishly voice acted, but everyone else was mostly good. I liked how much they did with an obviously low budget, and I there were some really pretty locations. It’s an easy watch, and worth watching. Just don’t expect any kissing worth seeing, or sexual tension. both are entirely absent.
It’s just so damned straight!
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Bad voice overs
This was a good drama to watch. The story was good, the visuals very beautiful and the music was good too.Unfortunatly the voice overs weren't very in sync.
Most actors did a good job, the ones who did a bad job were mostly the fans..
The mains did a good job and they had great chemistry. Unfortunatly the kisses were just lip touches and the rest of the kiss was hidden by hands or filmed from far away.
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Cliche? Yes. But the kind of cliche I enjoy
It was obviously a low-budget series, yet despite its limitations, the chemistry was above average. The enemies-to-lovers trope is right up my alley, and I’m almost always sold on that premise, especially when the lead pair has great chemistry. Thankfully, the actors managed to deliver exactly that here.Although one glaring flaw kept bothering me: the fake kisses! Every single time. Couldn’t they have made them look more realistic? I adored both characters, but watching them kiss without their lips actually touching was distracting and frustrating. Fortunately, the excitement of seeing what would happen next in their relationship was enough to keep me invested.
As for the actors’ characters themselves, the revelation that they were both gay even before accepting the BL-themed project felt like a plot twist on top of another plot twist. Something I absolutely lived for while watching this drama. The reel-to-real couple aspect made the experience even more enjoyable.
Overall, it was a good watch. The actors can definitely act, but they still need more experience to fully develop their potential. Enjoyable despite its flaws, carried by strong chemistry and a trope that never fails to entertain me.
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Two stars complete opposite to each other became one
Dual stars came out of nowhere. It's kind of drama one can watch if you are looking something to pass time.Plot:- Story wise it's not groundbreaking. But storytelling was good. Except for few places where I feel like if they have focused on how they fall in love more it would be better. Because sometimes it was hard to understand suddenly how their relationship is progressing so fast. They did highlight the scandal part and the complexities it comes with it. But at the end both ml were positive about the situation that it will work out well when clearly the situation in which they were in was not in support of them. Maybe it's because it's a short drama so they can't deal with things in depth or show rationalism. That made me feel appreciative towards the director and actors of "secret happens in litchi island" or any jbl or kbl where they follow the same structure of short ep of 20-30 min and 6-8 ep but the depth they give is beyond compare. One thing i appreciate about this drama is that maybe it's because of plot that I didn't feel detached from the characters of jiang mo and xu xinlang. U can tell who they are and what their personalities are like which sadly I find it hard to ans in full length drama lot of time.
Acting- Acting wise it's pretty average. Specially i was confused with xu xinlang because most of the time his words and expressions are just not coherent wrt the impact of depth it should have left. Maybe it's because of the fact that xu xinlang was not a good actor in series and the same was reflected when he was shooting drama in the series so that was felt. That kinda explains how xu xinlang look at jiang mo later in the series where they were shooting confession scene. Sometimes the actor playing jiang mo, his face looks completely flat in the sense devoid of any emotion. I get it he was supposed to be introverted but still...
Chemistry- Apart from kissing scenes which looked weird chemistry between leads are ok. Look it's ok that they don't want to shoot kissing scenes but what's with the angle? Atleast make it look like genuine. Or altogether skip that and just show simple hug or forehead kiss as long as it looks truly genuine or add depth to the scene.
Side characters- The directors, producers, and toxic managers did their part very well. None of the side character was simply made just to be there. They actually add value or help in progressing or changing direction and mood of the story which is good. Because sometimes it is side character like xu xinlang manager who give viewers the idea that they have started feeling something towards each other otherwise it was truly hard to understand the relationship how? What? Why? When?
Overall- 7.5 drama as it did made me complete the series till the end given the fact that I am not a fan of short dramas despite its flaws.
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