Eliot_Rulez

Deeper than expected and not all is fluff and sometimes 2nd chances work out...

This was a surprising series. While the premise was nothing we hadn't seen yet, it was done in a good way. Some things can't be changed even when you try and some things change without you doing anything. While they could us not spare all of the clichés, most of the time they approached all the problems and conflicts in a mature way which is rare in thai BLs.

We get a new cast which was not experienced but did a good job with the help of veteran actors in the form of their pas and mas. Flute playing "Win" is the only young actor with experience but he was also the executive producer and he founded his own company to bring this show to life which is quite impressive. And he did something right. It's not just fluff, it's also serious, it's not childish but the emotional stress of all the characters was played out very nicely. Of course they have room for improvement but for a first installment it was good. While chemistry was good, they struggeled a bit with intimate scenes. Of course the show did benefit that they could play the instruments and they can sing. The only thing not resolved in a satisfactory way imho was Nuts conflict with his father (and his dislike for music). It's quite open-ended but I won't nitpick too much on that.

Overall this was an enjoyable series with dark undertones, good OST and a nice vibe. If you have passed up this show so far, you should give it a chance.

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unique story, great acting, best thai show 2024 (so far)

First I was intrigued to get a different story every episode or so I assumed. But after two stories, the stories get expanded. And when you watch ep 6 you know there is something different going on. That's a novel concept to watch many BLs in one BL :)

Both MLs are very good at their jobs conveying different characters with different mindsets and with many emotions.
Both are standing out from most other thai BL actors playing the same character over and over again. So this show stands out in creativity and execution. While not perfect it's exceptional in the year 2024, where we got so much trash. Without a doubt, it's the best thai BL series in 2024 so far. Update: Spare me Your Mercy was a notch better in my book, but still this was great.

I don't want to spoil the fun for you, but you should watch this. Yes you will cry, but you will also feel happy.

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Different, interesting but lackluster finale & kissing....

This series plays out in two worlds, one the reality and one the perfect version of the same reality. But as it is with perfect versions, it may seem perfect at first, but life is not interesting when all is perfect.

The main character realizes this when thrown in the perfect world, everything is too easy, there are no challenges and there is no room to grow. So he reflects on himself, breaks out of his box of thinking and recognizes his own faults and misinterpretations. Storywise the series is perfect. But the finale lacks in the intimate scenes considerable. There is no real kissing and also the longing of Kano is not delivered in the way I wish they had.

Both actors did a great job to play out the characters but failed when intimacy was required. The production quality is also top notch with very nice cinematography and variety in the vibes of the show through the lighting. Still a very good show even when it's sometimes a slow burn, but with a downer in the end. Because the story is unique it is still on my recommanded list. Too bad such a good story could not have been executed perfectly.

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A demonstration how a series demolishes itself.

Too bad I woke up with a bad headache today and I could not watch anything. 12 hours later I'm fine enough to watch the conclusion of this pile of crap. This series is completely unbelievable. First of all the main couple was quite boring, their brake-up was extremely stupid and the series did nothing which was in the least interesting for them. And then they had a second couple - the only thing interesting in this show - and they killed it off. This was the ONLY thing keeping me on this show. I gave a rat's ass about the so called main couple - you can play it at 2x speed an you won't miss a thing. The second couple was the star of the show, the believable one, the guys who can act well. And then Mr. "President" died and they introduced a new "boss" but he had no impact at all. There was speculation it was all a fake death to reveal a conspiracy of the new boss but no - the scriptwriters had no imagination at all.

And the main couple - they got on my nerves so much especially when they talk about the past. Mr. good guy was "Oh, it was a misunderstanding? I'm glad we could clear that up." - WTF man? 10 years wasted because your lover did not trust you? I would have exploded, cursed him out for at least an hour - but I would never have chased him in the first place.

So my verdict is, this show is a waste of time. The second couple should have the show for themselves and the main couple should have gone in the trashcan where the script for them belongs too. I have no clue what you need to smoke or take to come up with such an outrageous storyline. And as I can see in some reviews, people are digging this bullshit. I can't understand that. If your lover does not trust you and does not talk to you, he is a waste of your time and not worth your effort. The quite high rating is only because of the second couple, even when the two children did lighten the mood a bit.

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A real korean gay movie...

Sometimes even the sad movies are great... In a country where homophobia was rampant, when Hong Seok-Cheon outed himself in the year before in an interview and lost his career, and where even teachers spread misinformation because of it. The homophobia is still a problem. Korea also has the highest suicide rates of western countries and especially the highest rates considering gay people.

So I was quite surprised it ended not like that. It ended in a confession which was not dicovered at that time and resulted in an 404 web error, you can say it was a bittersweet ending. This movie depicts exactly how the zeitgeist was in 2001 and why the MLs did not find together. It's done without creating unnecessary drama, it feels very realistic. It also shows internalized homophobia, which means gay people hate themselves and hate to be gay for all the wrong reasons. Social pressure in South Korea is no joke.

The movie is done very well, the production quality is not as polished as it could be but to get a gay movie financed in South Korea is more difficult than anything. While this is again a movie does not have a happy end for the MLs, it still features a happy end. It just shows how it was and how it partly still is and that is the real sad thing.

I don't want to spoil more, you really should watch this. If your sensible be warned that bullying is one of the themes too. It's not a movie where you eat snacks, it's a movie where the tissue box should be near you.

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A nice fairy tale with a silly end...

With KBLs we never know if it will be any good, it's mostly a flip of a coin. This series managed to say on the "good" side. While the premise is not unheard of, they did it in a mostly funny way. The most impressive are the MLs switching between their personalities and doing so believable.

The only questionable thing was the romantic part... it was not that convincing and of course the silly end which may disappoint some of you. Also there is the open end of the mother/son relationsship. Production quality was good considering this is a low budget effort, but we also get to enjoy the scenery.

I have not much more to say, I did enjoy this little series, with every episode running between 9 and 12 minutes the commitment is also not very time-consuming. If you need a palete cleanser or variety from all the toxic stuff now airing, this series will do it.

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That's how an manga adaption should always be...

Once bitten, twice shy - I thought "please let it be at least decent", but compared to GMMTV this show blowed any other thai manga adaptation out of the water. Of course this show is also not perfect with some characters less developed then they should be, but: SmartBoom saved the day. There acting is far ahead of what we often get served nowadays, because the script was good. Their chemistry is excellent and once I wish they end up together 🤣. One show which does not play at an university, one show which is not absurdly cringe or stupid or childish and one show that tells a meaningful story. I have not read the manga, because I don't like spoilers at all, but everything in the story makes sense for me, so I have no need to do so now.

If your are sensitive like me, you need a tissue-box for sure, it's an emotional rollercoaster between dreadful sad to happy to enthusiastically overjoyed. And don't forget the honey NC scene, which got even artsy. So even the fangirls get served (I mean the fangirls not caring about a story of course).

Production quality, cinematography was perfect as well. All the other reviews will depict the story for sure, but the only thing which is important is, I hope we get season 2 and season 3 asap. This is also a novum at least in the thai industry, to plan a series for 3 seasons and not compromise on the story-telling.

Overall, this thai series is highly recommanded!

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A coming of age story for grown ups.

This season is the most unusual continuation of a series I have seen for a long time. One of the first scenes describes the series perfectly when the director of "Daydream" said: "A love story that continues after two people get together is, in my opinion, quite difficult to portray. Because the most exciting part of the drama is the moment they fall for each other. However, real love doesn't end the moment when they get together. After that, both of them will have many more important moments to come. [... this is] something I hope to portray with care and nuance." - And that's exactly what the series is about and what they did.

I know this is not the kind of series that will get most acclaim, because it's so outside of "normal" BL series. Yes they have their tropes, Shirasaki-kuns inferior complex and Asami-sans unpleasant past, but the care they put into the characters is not seen very often. This is not entertainment you watch just to escape your troubles, this is a story which confronts you with new troubles and which can't be watched alongside doing something else. I'm late with my review, because I binge-watched the entire series again, because to have the most impact, to wait for a week does this series not justice.

In the context of japanese culture, children are thougth to not show emotions and even surpress them for the sake of your career and/or family or to just "save face". This series does the opposite by showing the process of getting actors into a mindset of the character they are playing, where they have to show emotions. And both of them apply the learnings in doing so for their own persons, to reflect on themselves and to battle their inner "demons". And so they both grow as persons and they grow as a couple. And they feel and know when their partner is struggeling and they talk about it. And that just got me. That portrayal was so nuanced and so great to watch, if left me stunned for some time processing all the emotions they got into me.

While I understand that such a series will not click with many, for me it's a masterpiece. A series really focused on the characters and still having also the little things in it, the affection for each other and the longing for each other. Of course I have to recommand this series, but you need a clear head and you should not take a break watching it. I can't express how much I like this series, because it's so different and so mature and so well made.

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The most disgusting and despicable main lead in the history of BL...

This is hard to rate and I'm sure I will not find the right words (even in my native language).

What begins as cat and mouse game between the leads spirals out of control quite fast and is very hard to watch. It's hard because "the president" is really an awful human being for several reasons, but he does care for his love in a very twisted way also. His trauma to be left alone made him do unspeakable things in the name of love, so that his partner can't ever escape him.

But as also as in real life, most lies will come out and crash down on "the president". When he nearly lost everything including his love "the director" he aknowledges his faults, his errors and tries to redeem himself. Mr. director has his own baggage, an orphan who was taken in, an orphan who made himself as small as possible to not stand out because his early life served as lesson to survive. But his outward very calm demure is just a fassade and it breaks due to the actions of "the president".

In the end, they can't escape each other regardless of all the pain they endured, regardless of all the hurting things they did to each other.

Production quality is top notch, only the lip syncing could have been better, but besides that, there is nothing to complain about it. Both actors did an incredible job with such heavy roles. I can't recommand this series to anyone with mental heath issues at all, it's taxing to watch. They made it feel so real that it really hurts. This series is not fluffy to begin with and it's outside of the "norm" of most other BLs. It's not really toxic in the normal way, it's not cringe, it just feels awful most of the time. I would have liked if the finale episode would be 10 minutes or so longer to have some real nice moments, but we need to wait for the special episode. Overall a series which breaks the "law" of normal BL series, but still with a happy end.

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Did not get the attention as Double Helix and Sammy's Children Day

While we were in a slump with most thai BLs, China got us three good shows. Sadly for this show, it was overshadowed by Double Helix and Sammy's Children Day even when in parts it was much better than the other ones. First of course there is the historical settings, gorgeous costumes and a budget which got strained, so we only have two nice fighting scenes.

While the script was not as polished as it could be, the actors compensated for most of it. Especially the scheming crown price was a delight to watch. Of course it was a bit too gay. 🤣 We not also got a BL we also get a GL but in subdued undertones but very obvious. Combine this with great cinematography and you get a good show.

You get the scheming, the fighting, the fluffyness, tasteful nc-scenes and a bit of sillyness (6th princess). Of course, they could not go with a sad end, because it's a BL after all. You get everything you can wish for in a setting which is interesting with a story-arc which made sense and compared to most other chinese BLs a story without toxicit., Just a fairy tale where the good gals/guys win. For me it was very entertaining, everything is like a small river flowing evenly and then comes the thunderstorm and water is cascading down the hills and flooded everything in it's way. And after the flood comes the time to rebuilding, in this case the search for a cure for Yanzhi with an happy end. So, this is definitively worth a watch!

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Not from the novel, rushed ending

If you thought it is an continuation of "Addicted" and have read the novels you will get disappointed. This version has nothing to do with the novels at all. It's a story of what might have happened. The story is a bit confusing and till the end there is no resolution especially with the woman who "drove Yoki to the ground".

Instead of wasting 6 minutes with a long intro and credits they should have invested more time in the actual story telling. Because they did, especially the last two episodes felt rushed, even when the finale got 11 extra minutes or so. I still have no idea what the contract was with the village chief because the translation was not clear enough. Also the subtitles had timing issues, so sometimes they subs where only shown for a second or two which is annoying because you have to stop the playback and go back and stop at the right moment.

The most positive about the show are the actors which did a really good job and the music. The negative is, that the show in a show did not feel like it... Normally you have tons of crew. multiple cameras, boom microphones and lights and nothing was present. I guess they had budget constraints, but they could have build in their own crew/stuff into the scenes to make it believable. Overall, this is an ok show, but nothing special.

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No bullshit BL but wholesome...

While I did not expect much from this series, it was very refreshing. It's many stories about many bizarre people which will grow on you the further you watch this series. They all have their quirks but most of them are just good people regardless.

The center pieces are a soon to be gay couple and a girl which is neglected by her parents for different reasons. The stories tell about the life of the people, all the struggles they face and how they grow together. The gay romance is not the focus of the stories, it just happens naturally without much fanfare and I would have wished for a bit more focus there and some intimacy.

But overall that was fun to watch, educational to watch and a series needed for Japans society. This is of course on my "must watch" list, even when the beginning seems to be very comedic, the stories have depth and meaning and will warm your heart. This is a series for the whole family.

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A generic BL with a weak story and no highlights.

To say this is a short series is an exaggeration because every episode is around 50 minutes and drags on like a chewing gum. There is not much of a story and the acting is medicore, so it feels more like an ad with some BL mixed into it. While they did try to make it a cute story, I did not feel any spark. The characters are trivial, they are very 2D and it feels just boring.

So maybe this was an outing for new actors but with a weak script there is nothing they could do. There is no drama, there are only some clichés. When I see some people rating this show as high as "The Proper Way to Write Love" I don't get it. It's a far cry from the other series and offers nothing of value. So, watching this, is a waste of time.

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