Please let me live in a BL world

This series / movie / special can be defined with one word: hilarious. This series is clearly made for fans of the BL world, there is no more, to enjoy it and appreciate it in every way you have to be a fan of red bone.

All fans of rom-com genre manga (BL or not) will know that most of them are a bit .. absurd, in the world of manga everything is strangely convenient, but it is fine because the format lends itself so that these conventions work and be fun for readers, but if it comes to taking this to the big screen with real characters, well it is obvious that many creative licenses are taken, to turn the absurd and convenient situations of the manga to more or less realistic situations of the in real life, this is not always the case of course, but if it is about taking the manga as it is to another format it does not come out exactly well and many times the only thing that comes out of that is a great cringe complication and not necessarily a good one (you I'm watching you Love Stage!!), a very good way to bring unrealistic situations to the screen and also deliver a good product is parody.

This series uses the power of parody and it comes out perfect, it is very funny, the best thing is everything that happens in the background of the stage, it genuinely feels like being in a world dominated by the BL, another feature in its favor is the duration, the fact that it is so short allows you to better enter the game and participate in the absurdity.

As I said, this series is very niche and although I do not deny that it can be enjoyed by all audiences, I think that if you are not a fan of BL, understanding some jokes or colloquial situations could be not so funny, sometimes this is what you need a production that don't take yourself too seriously, but still strive to deliver a quality product.

Another thing, do not try to run away, sooner or later the BL will catch you in its clutches, ufff... I will know.

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Spring is just the beginning

Totally, this marks the end of an era, although the story was completed with what we saw in the movie Pornographer: Playback, it seems to me that this short close perfectly with anything that could be left in the inkwell, to begin with, yes, the relationship between Kuzumi and Kijima it is still a long distance relationship but we see that their situation is much more consolidated than before and the most important thing is that for the first time, in the entire franchise, we see them openly happy in their relationship.

One of the things that I appreciate about this epilogue is that we were able to see a little more convenience with the Kijima family and I appreciate how the relationship between Rio and Haruhiko became so natural to everyone, something rarely seen in cut productions LGBT Japanese, at least in which I have seen and although it was a brief moment, it was nice.

After that we have Kuzumi once again asking Rio to live with him and once more Rio putting buts (Rio is enough, don't make me suffer the baby, he's been waiting for a life), however this moment is interrupted when Kido asks him Rio to write the prologue for a new reprint of his Sensei Kamoda's latest work, to which he accesses.

After a talk about Kamoda's latest work and a visit to his grave, by Kuzumi and Rio, Rio reflects on everything he has experienced as a writer, his stormy relationship and subsequent friendship with Kido, his feelings towards his Sensei and finally having met Kuzumi on the way.

In the end, Rio and Kuzumi go to the latter's house, where Kuzumi asks him once more to live with him and stay be together forever to which Rio finally agrees, he asks him to never leave him and the two say they love each other.

Finally giving a conclusion to this story, although I think it is something that was already made quite clear in Playback, it was still nice to see the actors embody their characters one last time to say goodbye properly, giving a definitive conclusion where we see the main characters finally stay together after all they lived through.

In the end Rio achieves a redemption with the most important aspects of his past, writing, Kido and his sensei and it is what allows him to finally free himself to start a life with Kuzumi without so many fears, something it gave a lot of peace to my heart.

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Leaves you waiting for more

This short serves as an introduction to Pornographer: Playback is located between this and Pornographer the series, it has been a few years since Kijima and Kuzumi saw for the last time and they have only been communicating through letters, now once again they meet and the sparks are still there, however we see that as before, Kijima, has doubts about their relationship, at the same time that he is irremediably attracted to Kuzumi, something that will be explored more in the next installment of the franchise.

What this short leaves us with is that the sexual-emotional attraction that Kuzumi and Kijima had is still as strong as before and I would dare to say even more despite not seeing each other for a long time.

Kijima, although reluctant, seems increasingly willing to let Kuzimi into his life to the point that it leads him to meet his family, which for our old acquaintance Kijima would have been impossible before, in addition to admitting that he is looking forward to the letters that Kuzimi sends out periodically.

As an introduction it works quite well, since in a couple of minutes it raises you the new situation in which the characters live, the problems they will face and some of their fears, such as their ambitions, as well as that even at a distance these people have I've been developing feelings for each other for a long time and it's a situation that can spiral out of control at any moment.

The acting is very good and natural, even better than in Pornographer and the change of style with more "light" greatly favored the aesthetics, the chemistry is a bomb.

The Japanese never cease to amaze me, these people are either so pure that they do not even touch each other with their eyes or flat out suck each other down to the soul, what a barbarity.

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The best thing about this series was the hilarious comments that were made week by week.

I must say that few times I have seen series that are so bad and uncomfortable and cringe in practically every second and at the same time these elements made it so captivating, I don't know if because of the discomfort or simply because I needed to know when else they could repeat the same episode and again.

The story itself is very basic, nothing we would not have seen before, two college students who are attracted to each other, but the way everything is handled is so weird that we need to talk about it, why the Editing this series is so uncomfortable? from the beginning it gives you the feeling that there are disconnected scenes in the same episode, they do not follow a clear narrative and there is no consistency between one fragment and another. Each and every one of the episodes follow the same structure: exaggeratedly uncomfortable conversations between friends that we are not plausible, soccer, bars and alcohol, Jin drunk, BBomb picking up Jin, they go to sleep in the room of the first, then they fight over something that nobody understands or because of jealousy and in the end they reconcile, end of the episode. All the episodes are the same, over and over again, nobody bothered to write a story, a script, a development, something.

Let's start with: the relationship between Jin and BBomb is a disaster, I really don't understand why they are a couple, it is true that BBomb is interested in Jin from the beginning, but the latter seems to only accept being with BBomb a victim of circumstances, since everything your environment is in charge of manipulating your relationship; there is no one who does not come between these two, and it is difficult to tell if Jin's feelings are genuine or not, we have chapters where he talks about being ashamed to be with BBomb, others where he treats him badly or ignores him, only when he leaves him or does not answer his calls, once, then if we see him upset, but I think it is worth asking if it is really love or is he just being dependent on it, I think it is clear from the beginning that Jin is someone that you need to be in a relationship to be happy and he like to have the admiration of others.

BBomb is not a better character, he behaves like a child all the time, he does not have any maturity and does not evolve in the least in the whole series, he is capricious and has a crush on Jin because of a stupidity, he really does not even know him; His jealousy is ridiculous, if someone breathes close to where Jin is, he already doubts his relationship, gets angry about everything and refuses to face the problems head-on, not even at the end when he should seek to talk to Jin and reach an agreement, instead he decides to flee and be offended without giving explanations.

Also, it seems so implausible to me that the series insists that Jin and BBomb sleep every night in the same room, but they tell us that nothing has ever happened between them, and at this point I do not say that it necessarily has to happen or that the series has to show it far from it, but we are talking that they are young, normal, healthy adults who love each other and do not even have moments where you feel that they have that attraction for each other; It is not necessary for them to kiss (because their kisses were so uncomfortable) but at least in their looks, in their gestures or expressions, it would be expected that they were there.

Friends, they are probably the worst group of friends I have ever seen, their intentions are not good or honest, they are not doing their best for their friends, they are only getting involved in their lives because they have nothing better to do and they do it from the worst possible way, behind his back; also individually they do not contribute anything, they have no personality, their stories do not matter and the only thing the series does is give us an aspect of them and exploit it throughout the series: the friend who is a stalker, the one who fights with the girlfriend, the one who is sad knows why, the one who is angry, those of music that only serve for that; they are the flattest characters and without jokes that I have seen in a series and I do not know why they tried to emphasize their love relationships so as not to get anywhere at all with that and for that I am only going to take Keam as an example, he is a character unintelligible, at first it seems that he has feelings for Jin, an issue that remains nowhere, then he seems to have feelings for Ball, an issue that remains nowhere, there are a lot of chapters where we see him to drink and suffer like a condemned man and nobody knows why he is after that and his friends do not care exactly the same, I do not understand that you need to have a lot of characters, if they can not even write one that is decent.

Alcohol in this series is a serious issue, it seems that the characters have a serious problem with it, grated in addiction, it cannot be that each chapter we have them drunk and filling up bars and not because it is condemned that this happens, but because it makes no sense within the "universe" where the characters are supposed to exist, they are college students and can go to bars and parties every night and it has no consequence or impact on their lives, literally the characters spend more time drunk than sober in the series; this applies to everything else we see them do, everything except being students, they have time for everything, soccer, shitty plays (I'm not saying that when you're in college you don't have time for these things, of course you do), I saw a comment that said that they represented well what it was to be a young university student and the reality is that no, the series does not raise one of the conflicts that involve living that stage of life and having to balance their personal and love relationships.

There are very few series where I dare to say that the performances are bad, almost always chose to believe that when the performances are uncomfortable it is due to bad direction, but in this series I cannot justify what happened, the performances are horrible, they feel so uncomfortable and unnatural at all times, that it is painful to see, especially of the main actors on whom the whole weight of the series falls and from whom a quality of work is expected at least within the average; both Jom and Noh are rookie actors and I understand that the series had a limited budget and script, I hope that in the future if they follow the path of acting they can deliver better roles, Natty is probably the only one who will save a little from this trial is within what is much more effective in her role, she feels more realistic and her dramatic scene convinces. What happened with Kao and Turbo seems to me a topic that we should touch on, honestly they are only here because they have some fame for their supposed relationship, which I do not know if it is true or not, but it does not matter, it does not matter if in life they are actually a couple or not, the important thing when creating a series is that the characters you have fulfill a function within your story and not only serve to create hype, it seems to me a very cheap trick on the part of the production.

As for the rest of the elements of the series, it is noticeable that the budget was not exactly large, the series is made in few locations and the assembly elements do not stand out in any respect, but when you have these limitations your efforts should go to build a good narrative and a credible script things that failed here spectacularly.

I think it is clear after all this criticism that Nitiman is a series that I do not enjoy and it is the truth, I understand that there are people who like it and found it compelling, but I cannot put aside everything in which I think it fails, especially in the edition, I think that the series must at least have a certain quality to be able to be transmitted and this one does not get it, even so I finished watching it because I wanted to see how they were going to handle the series without evolution or plot and enjoy the process of discuss and complain about this with my friends every week, there is nothing wrong with you liking this series, tastes are subjective, but we must recognize and demand that we deserve better quality series.

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Problematic writing and second seasons

Before starting this criticism/ review, the first thing I want to say is that I personally like the series, I am going to mention some points that seem problematic in its development, but on a subjective level I am a fan, in addition to that I deeply love Sam Lin (and his character), but I still want to be critical and honest about what the second season of WBL looked like to me.

The first thing I would like to mention is that as in the first season, the chemistry of the actors is excellent, it is so good, that it even feels a little strange the moments where you are fighting or where they supposedly hate each other, as if the actors themselves do not they would like to shout at each other, the main performances are very good and the musicalization also seems to me to be one of those highlights, it is very well achieved and the main theme is very good.

The setting is also good, let's see, the series itself shows that it has a rather regular budget and also has a short extension, so almost the entire series occurs in no more than 3 or 4 different scenarios, but even so these they feel organic and if the series in its production values ​​does not disappoint.

Leaving aside what I liked about the series, let's talk about ... the writing of this series is by anyone, it is messy and frantic and the rhythm is strange, there are plots that you advance and resolve too quickly and others that the series drags all the seasons that seem more like filler and others that do not even develop, what happened here? The writing is far inferior to its predecessor and it shows too much.

To start the separation arguments, ok I understand they had to separate their characters in one way or another so that this series had a reason to exist, but the argument is weak, it does not hold, their separation does not make sense, that's why i don't mean that they shouldn't have separated them, it's fine if that's what they wanted, but the reasons they gave for their separation are very silly, the only moment where it seemed to me that the intention was good is when ShiDe opens up with ShuYi about the insecurity that his relationship caused him and that is why I accept his father's treatment, but everything that happens when he is in the USA seems to me simply lazy writing, as I said, the point is not that they should not separate them, but that they did it a very unbelievable and uncreative way.

Another thing is that the revelation of all these events in the series have a very strange rhythm, the first episode is intense "the meeting after so many years" and it is well achieved, everything begins with a very good rhythm, then the second episode is frantic we have a peak of rhythms, it happens too much and the emotions are on the surface, but then in the following episodes the rhythm falls precipitously, it is as if after their reconciliation there was nothing more to say, which raises many doubts. What do they reconcile so quickly? Likewise, rapid reconciliation is not a problem, the problem is the way and the tone with which this is achieved. It's as if the series yelled at you: once they get back together there is nothing more to say they are "perfect for each other."

From this moment on, the episodes are rather filling to reach the final stretch, only that there is no longer a final stretch, there is no longer a purpose, a mind to reach, and it is not that the other couples are not good ones or anything like that, but we know so little about them and their development is so poor that they do not generate the same degree of empathy, the situation with a short series is that you have to think very well in a fast and effective way for the audience to connect with your characters; to pose them as beings of flesh and blood, with their own problems, dreams and hopes is complicated in itself, it is a series with a standard extension, even more so if they are secondary characters and in this case it is not achieved.

One thing that I would like to address is not exclusive to this series, the issue of stating that the main characters suffer the same for their separation, let me delve into this a bit, in the series ShiDe and ShuYi are separated for 5 years and the series It implies that: "well in the end both suffered because of the separation, therefore, reconcile yourselves" and no, I do not deny that both suffered, but the same suffering? I am not going to judge here who suffered more and who suffered less, but I think that the situation of both is completely different; ShuYi lived for five years practically hating the person I love so much, who left out of nowhere and never came back and who also believes that I cheated on him (because of the girl and his baby) and when ShiDe returns to his life, he finds out that the people around him who supposedly love him the most (his father and his boyfriend) made decisions that affect his life without even considering what he wanted or felt. On the other hand, ShiDe has in theory his motives and reasons to get away from ShuYi, he works very hard and although the separation hurts for him it is just a kind of test to become worthy of ShuYi's love in the future, his love for him is like an emotional trigger, it gives him the motivation to continue, because in the end he believes that the separation is finite that one day he will have the opportunity to be with the person he loves again.

And that's my point, the feelings of the person who was left in the end is never explored, I think the things they go through are more complex and deserve a better treatment than they imply, and as I said before, my problem with this particular situation not exclusive to this series, but I would have liked them to explore it in another way.

Finally, as I said, this series is not bad and I personally like it, but I do believe that it should be consumed with a little discretion, critically and that if it is very inferior compared to its predecessor, I think it is important as a creator to know when let your work die.

But Sam Lin is still one of the best events to ever happen to this world!

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It's not the half you think, but maybe it's the one you need

I must say that this is one of the best short films I have seen and that in a few minutes I manage to transmit much more than other series and longer films.

To begin with, for me where the greatness lies is in the chemistry, there is no doubt that Earth and Mix have a quasi-magnetic chemistry, spiced up by their very good interpretations, which makes you not only connect emotionally with the characters in few minutes if not what, you understand them and you care about their history and where is going.

In general, the story is simple, two boys find themselves at school in "not very optimal" circumstances. From that moment on, their paths mix and they become very good friends. You start to follow a common path, however as the friendship progresses, the feelings become more complex and the expectations higher, until the mutual attraction becomes undeniable, obviously the moment of the confession of these emotions, although mutual, it causes a fracture in the relationship and the characters separate.

In the midst of that separation, Talay realizes his true feelings and decides to wait for the return of his beloved Whale, while he nostalgically remembers the moments that were gone.

The message is really very nice, on the one hand Whale who always felt that he did not have a place in this world whose best option was to go out and go through it to find a place to hold on, when his path crosses with Talay, the only person who has made him feel at home and belonging and feeling the relationship broken is scared and runs away; and on the other, Talay who is initially scared of how deep and confused his feelings are becoming, but the moment Whale leaves he realizes that he really loves him and is willing to wait for his return, at last and at the end each one got half.

We must not forget that this short is connected to a music video and I would like to talk a little about the relationship with it, in the end they tell us the same story, “I try to keep everything that reminds me of you very deep and can continue with life, but deep down I am still waiting for the moment when you return”. Facing our feelings can be scary, sadly sometimes they only have one chance and sometimes they are not ready, in the end, Talay and Whale can finally meet again and now they can walk together wherever life takes them.

Like I said before, the performances are beautiful Earth and Mix are great actors and it is clear that they put everything into the roles that they have, they have both matured as actors and I am very excited to see their future work. The short at the production level is beautiful, the photography, the direction, even the script with very little dialogue works quite well and I really liked the song.

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A cute short, but nothing innovative.

It's a simple but cute short where we see the attraction between two schoolmates who are about to graduate and can't control their emotions anymore so they end up confessing what they feel.

As I said, the short is simple, in terms of acting it is fine, but we don't have much time to explore his work, although the dialogues are well constructed and the characters feel natural, like true teenagers who are living a first love, if you have read manhwa BL the spirit of confession is very the style.

The production is also well done, the photography and the direction are good and although it is not a production or a story that blows your head or anything like that, it is still beautiful.

I also want to mention, but without any intention of offending anyone, that it was a pleasant surprise to see the inclusion of an actor other than the typical Korean boy that we are used to seeing in entertainment productions, and do not get me wrong, I find it very cute , but it is not the usual beauty canon and I would like to see more and more productions that do this.

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Who needs character depth when we have… announcements?

Probably my opinion regarding Lovely Writer is going to be a bit unpopular, because what I have seen in other reviews and in comments is that the vast majority liked the series, I in particular did not like it that much, but let's explore a little that it was this series for me.

As for the plot, it seems to me that it is fine, prior to the series I already knew its development, so more or less I knew what to expect, even so the series has many holes in the plot that I think are the element that does not It allowed me to never enter into the dynamics of the series and therefore I could not enjoy it as I suppose if it happen to other people.

In the first place, I have many doubts, I understand that the whole issue of their shared childhood (which is not very innovative) is something very important for both characters, but I think that with Gene I did not feel that impact, the series tells us this story and In the character of Sib we can see it since it is the root of his love/obsession but in Gene there are no signs that this has been so significant in his life until he finds out who Sib really, we see no signs that this friendship child influence something in his life, at least not clearly.

The humor of the series did not please me in many points, I think the relationship between Gene and Sib was tried to take more seriously and focused all the moments of "humor" in the secondary characters especially with Tum, but they were rare and eschatological at times and did not make sense within the tone of the rest of the series or the rest of the characters.

My biggest conflict with the series and what I feel I need the most to elaborate on is with Aey, as an individual, it seems to me like a disaster on all levels, in the plot of the character or his personality or the things he does does not make sense, but let me delve deeper a little in this, to begin with they put him as a main character as he is basically the antagonist of the series, but we do not know anything about him in the least, he is in a fight with his family we do not know why, he has a problematic relationship with Mork we do not know because (and don't even make me talk about this character because that guy was less than filler, I don't know what they wanted him for in the series if they weren't going to give him any dialogue), he's in love with Gene we don't know why, and a host of other things that we do not know and that are not clear.

Having a character whose life itself is a mystery to the viewer can be very good when it is well managed, but in this case it is not like that, the background is important because the series itself never treats him as an antagonist totally, there are moments that the intention is that we be empathetic with him and what he feels, but it is impossible to feel real empathy for a flat character and without background, they tried to make it very relevant and tragic but they did not show me any of that, at least if it had been a manipulator that enjoy doing it would make a bit of sense, but no, everything in the video where he exposed Gene and Sib's relationship does not make sense, he does it and then he spends his time suffering and also took the decision to do it for nothing, what was his damn objective? And the worst of all is that even at the end of the series the character does not evolve even a little bit, he has no development at all and the flat character that we see in the first episode is exactly the same that we see in the last.

There are other areas or characters where the series had a very poor development; Sib, let's talk about Sib, we don't know anything about him other than that he loves Gene, we don't know his interests or passions or anything, basically everything that isn't Gene is not relevant, are we okay? It is no longer time for us to think that people who live and breathe for others is romantic, in addition the character does not change anything, does not evolve, does not develop, nothing, first episode: cool boy, trusting, in love with Gene; last episode: cool guy, confident, Gene's boyfriend, they don't give him any depth anywhere and it only serves as a catalyst for Gene to “move forward” in his story, at least romantically.

Now, Gene, as a character it seems to me that he is the most interesting of all, we are getting to know his past little by little and he is the one who the series pays the most attention to, so that we understand how he feels, how he relates to other people, his fears and his goals itself, is the deepest character in the series and also the one who has evolved the most, although beating the other characters is not much to say either, because even if he evolves in more romantic matters or in the acceptance of his sexuality, there is still habits in which the series does not let him advance; for example: his evolution as a writer since chapter one is suggests that Gene wants to write other genres to explore new horizons but this ambition is something that the series always leaves aside (be careful, I am not saying that writing romance novels of the BL subgenre is a bad thing , far from it, I'm a fan, only that as a writer, Gene has the desire and the right to explore other genres), another thing is that from beginning to end Gene is a coward, even in the end if it weren't for Sib looking for him again, perhaps he would never have had the courage to go after him.

Let's talk about the performances, Up does it quite well, yes, the series revolves around this character but even in moments where he is not the main focus of the series he continues to take all the spotlights, his tone is well achieved, when he is sad, happy, shy, you feel his emotions genuinely and his chemistry with Kao is good, as for Kao although I don't think his acting is bad, if I think he is more limited in certain scenes, I don't know if it's because of the direction or just the script or the shallow depth of the character will prevent it from being more convincing at certain key moments. With the rest of the cast at least the secondary ones, a similar thing happens to me, I do not think they are bad actors but I do not think that their performance is very immersive, of the rest of the characters nor let's talk they present so little and have so little relevance and dialogues that it is impossible to say anything about his performance.

As for the music, it is fine, it does not seem anything outstanding, the main song is not exactly the OST that I like the most of a romance series, but it is not hateful or something like that, the production is also well achieved is the standard that they give us in general the Thai series so on that side well, what if I would like to comment is that it has the most cynical advertising and commercials that I have seen in a long time, it is how to hide it a little.

Anyway, for me this series is not outstanding in many aspects, but it seemed entertaining at times, but it does not go beyond that, if the series enchanted you or is your favorite, it is very good I do not intend to offend anyone, It's just what the series left me, even so I hope later to be able to see other works by the actors, especially Up because I think that with other deeper characters, perhaps another direction could give us something very good.

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Yes you earn some stars

In appearance To My Star is exactly the same as the other 6 or 7 BL Korean dramas in this “miniseries” format, but in reality it is much more, I am not saying that those other series are bad or not very entertaining or anything like that is simply that they have repeated the formula ad nauseam and it seems that they do not create these types of stories because they have something to contribute and it is simply because they are popular and point to a booming market at this time. Despite all this, if it is a miniseries/film which limits some aspects by having a short duration, I think it is superior to its peers.

The story, Seo Joon and Ji Woo have very different lives seen from one angle and very similar seen from the other, one is a celebrity who is struggling with defamation and harassment, the other is a not very successful chef; both men live lonely lives, have small social groups and have a hard time trusting people, but once their paths cross, things will never be the same for either of them.

One of the cliches of these Korean BL series is that the characters always end up living together for one reason or another, and this is no exception, Seo Joon and Ji Woo are forced to live together and in the first instance receive a kind of lesson humility on the part of the other, even though Ji-woo's personality is not very pleasant initially, Seo-joon is intrigued by him and does what he can to get along especially when he realizes that he is a trustworthy person and out of the facade Ji-woo is a good boy so he doesn't make things too difficult either.

Having established this point, the characters actually coexist a lot not only due to the fact that they live in the same house but also because they start working in the same restaurant since Seo-joon is looking to learn new skills while solving his problems with the press, gradually learning from each other and they feel hopelessly attracted.

One of the successes of the series is the rhythm, unlike others the revelation of feelings does not happen in the last chapter more or less a two thirds of the narration the characters begin to develop feelings directly, which makes the plot more interesting.

After going through their respective dose of drama, the characters can finally be together and in fact lead a peaceful and beautiful life, as the two complement each other in many ways.

The acting is good, the chemistry is one of the best I've seen in the Korean BL, the personalities of the characters feel natural, at no point are they over-acting and you manage to connect with them, plus their dramatic moments if it feels genuine. And despite its short duration, they still include important topics such as the fragility of fame, the harassment of famous people, loneliness, extortion and how easy it is to lose or win the love of the public by mere rumors. Even so, the character of Ji-woo deserves more development. There are a couple of things that are not clear about his life at the end of the series.

The production quality is also good, although this is a section in which it is difficult to find a Korean series on any subject that fails, in that sense they are very neat, at least for productions that go out to the international market, the photography, the assembly and the ost comply, they make the story more enjoyable and the dialogues are very good, they are not uncomfortable or anything like that.

In general, I like this story a lot, although it is nothing to write home about or something that has never been seen, it is well told and well acted, I managed to connect with the story and the characters.

And bravo for a kiss well given, generally I do not care if the series has kisses or not, but if it is going to include them, do it well, make it look natural and credible.

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Inspirational, Emotional and Hopeful

There are certain movies, series, books, etc. that come into your life at the right time, this series was like that for me, probably at any other time anyway it would have seemed beautiful and emotional, but in the present circumstances of my life and I imagine that in those of many (in partly because of the situation of global chaos that we live today) each of the messages of the series reached me deeply. The series has a very clear and strong message: "It is never too late to start living your dreams", which is presented in a very beautiful way.

The great virtue of the series are its characters, they all have something to say, a story to tell, here we do not have villains, or heroes incapable of making mistakes, each one, whether main, secondary or supporting, feels like real people, with problems, guilt and dreams, in each of them you can see your friends, family and yourself reflected.

The series does not throw blame towards anyone, and makes it clear that despite the circumstances in which you exist, at some point you must take responsibility for your own life and decide from there if you are satisfied or not with it and if you should go ahead or give it a spin.

It is so emotional because it touches very sensitive fibers for everyone, in modern life we ​​have less and less time to ask ourselves how “happy” we are with our own life, things move so fast and all the time we have these non-existent voices that demand every more and more of yourself; "You have to study, get the perfect grades, go to college, get the best job, buy more and more and more things to be successful," and in this roller coaster of responsibilities and obligations there is very little room to question whether everything really this makes you feel at peace with yourself, probably not, and you probably only realize it in a strong moment of crisis. Precisely this series, presents this to us, "what if you stop for a moment, just a second, look around and question your own life."

Shim Deok Hwan is one of the best characters I have seen in my life, he is a catalyst character, because rather than developing as such (which if he does) he drives all the characters around him to question everything; Deokhwan lived a life where he could not carry out his great dream but despite that he did not live a bad life, he loved and was loved, he built something good and above all he reached a point where he could leave behind grudges and pain, forgive and understood the decisions of the people around him, but now at this point in his life, in his 70 years, when his obligations and responsibilities to others have been covered, he decides that it is time to move on with his dreams, regardless of what he the rest of the world creates; this is how he embarks on this hopeful journey.

Chae-rok is a beautifully constructed character, initially plunged into a depression, acts rude and cynical but as he begins to spend more time with Deokhwan his barriers are gradually being destroyed, Chae-rok knows what he wants and also knows that he is good at it, but he is alone, his loneliness eats away at him, and also lives with guilt that is not his; in Mr. Shim he finds a family, people who support him and love him unconditionally and little by little he opens up to these people that he loves him, and learns to forgive those who hurt him by discovering how deeply human they are, which eventually gives the strength to fly, to achieve your dreams and push higher and higher. As a symbol, it seems to me, it is much more, it breaks in many ways the stereotypes of "masculinity" of the protagonist to which we are accustomed, he suffers, cries and cries seriously, in an emotional way, in front of other people, he is affectionate and fragile in sometimes, it's refreshing to have characters they exist so naturally in his world.

When you find what makes you happy, what you feel you were born to, it does not mean that the rest will be simple, even if you love it, you will have to work hard every day, to become better little by little, every day will continue to be a struggle, but at least it will feel like it is a fight on the right path and Navillera also presents that, for nobody is easy; Chae-rok is talented, yes, but even so he trains hard and many things are still a challenge for him, the rest of the characters experience a similar struggle.

Eunho and Seong San are two other very interesting characters due to their similarities, despite the age difference neither of them has found what makes them happy, and they live in the "right" way just because they think that's what they should do, their ideal of success is a good education and a good job, It doesn't matter in view of whom should bend the knee, but in the end they discover that it is not what want, that life is more than that, and that maybe it is time to stop a bit, to relax and experience success on your own terms. That's why that last scene of the two of them chatting at last, after spending the whole series without knowing how to communicate is so powerful, now they have each other to support each other in the difficulties they will have along the way.

Seong Gwan is also a character with many nuances, for years he has lived with a very great guilt for not being able to save the life of one of his patients, which prevents him from moving forward, he intends to record a documentary about life of that person to somehow make it important, but throughout history and as he lives more and more with his father, he realizes that instead of just thinking about the life he could not save, he can help others to having more time, he faces himself and his guilt and returns to the job that caused him so much fear, but now from a different perspective to help others.

One last character that I would like to address is Chae-rok's rival: Ho-beom, a young man full of anger, who abandoned his dreams and fills his existence with hedonism and resentment, little by little he comes to understand that everyone continued ahead in his own ways and he is the only one who is being left behind locked in his self-pity and that perhaps it is time to let go, so that he can start living again. As I mentioned, this series does not have villains, they are flesh and blood humans, and as humans we must recognize our ability to do evil, but also our ability to compensate or at least try to do it, we can change and we can be better, forgive ourselves to oneself is sometimes more difficult than to forgive others.

Seung Joo (Ballet teacher), Hae-nam, Seong Suk (Deokhwan's daughter) and Moo Young (Chae-rok's father) are also deep and interesting characters, who face their own challenges and dreams and further enrich the Navillera's world (but if i spoke of everyone, I'll be here for four years).

Each and every one of the characters, you are facing your own losses and broken dreams, but somehow you are all trying to build something else; at the end of the series, all the characters have grown up, but this is not a "they lived happily ever after", no, in the end everyone will have good and bad moments again, face other broken dreams and create new ones, the characters have matured.

Another point that I would like to touch on is the issue of Alzheimer's and old age, in my personal experience, especially with the second point, they are not topics that are very much covered in the Asian series, at least as far as the mainstream is concerned, especially for the importance given to aesthetics and beauty; aging is not a very pleasant process in most cultures and around this a phobia about aging and the people who live it has almost been created; in the series this topic is treated with great dignity, and yes, it is true that as you grow, your body and mind do not have the same capacities as in youth, but this does not mean that you become a useless person, nor does it take away the right to want to achieve your goals, there are venerable people from all ages we should pay attention to; with Alzheimer's a similar situation happens, there are many products that address this issue, some in a good way, others not, some from the perspective of the person and others from that of their close ones, the way in which Navillera does it is a perspective very early in the disease, where we are given glimpses, but in itself we do not see the hardest part of it, but in the same way this is treated with great respect and dignity and where the reactions of the people around the affected person they are very honest.

Finally, the performances, the truth is that everyone does a wonderful job, but for me all the palms go to Park In-hwa and Song Kang; every time Deokhwan went into a crisis, you could feel in his eyes the despair and fear of not knowing who you are, or where you are or who those around you are, I don't think it is an easy job to have convey those emotions to the public. I also think that physically it must have been a demanding role and the performance that he gave us was incredible; speaking of physically demanding, Song Kang… wow, not only in the ballet parts, that despite having a body double for some scenes, he does it wonderfully, but everything else, his acting is impeccable, you feel each of the emotions of his character, you see through his eyes the struggle and pain and passion with which life is faced, and the chemistry between the two actors is so tender that you really feel this kinship between them. I would also like to give a big applause to the montage, for obvious reasons, as neither of the two actors are professional Ballet dancers, the dances themselves are not presented one hundred percent, but because of the way in which the scenes are mounted make you feel the beauty and elegance of the Ballet.

Navillera is a very beautiful series, of course it is optimistic and sweet, but sometimes you need to see things like that, it is a series made with a lot of love, which talks about the deep experience of being human, I hope that people who see it can feel a little of what I felt and how much it inspired me to just keep going, but above all I hope that everyone has the opportunity to find what makes them feel proud of being human and that everyone can fly, even just one once in your life, i hope.

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Great development and a lot, a lot of drama

1000 Stars is one of the best series that GMM has produced and one of my personal favorites of all time, I think that what makes this series more special for me is the development of the main character, despite the fact that in one way or another one of the main threads of the series is romance, the series is much more than that.

Let's talk about Tian, ​​at the beginning of the series he is a spoiled child who does not see beyond his interests and personal satisfaction, but on the other hand Tian knows that he is sick that the time he has is short and in addition to that, the time he has It is to live a life that tastes unsatisfactory and transcendental so that he completely embraces his impulses, when an opportunity to live is given to him thanks to Torfun, he begins to live in a way in which he feels that he must pay her what what he did for him, but along the way he discovers who he is as a person and where he wants to take his life, and it is only until the end of the series when he finally begins to live for himself, now he has time to plan a life and do it on your own terms.

I must say that Tian is one of the best protagonists I have seen, from the beginning it is clear to you that he is a good boy who is more and more willing to get involved in community life and help other people, little by little We witness how he builds his own path and the relationship he has mainly with the children of the community seems to me simply magical, the development is so well thought out and achieved that you really connect with him, you care what happens to him and you feel his emotions with him, joy, sadness, pain... etc.

Let's talk now about the drama of the series, this series has a lot, a lot, too much DRAMA! Are you going to have that much drama? Almost every chapter from the middle of the series drops a bomb on you and don't get me wrong as I said that this series is one of my personal favorites, but seriously there came a time where I said ¡ Enough !, I think they overstepped a bit, the reality is that Tian's illness, Torfun's death and their relationship with the community was enough to create the atmosphere of guilt and pain and hope they were looking for, but not satisfied with that we had the “participation of Tian in the death of Torfun” well in some way that helped to reinforce the guilt that Tian felt and what prevented him from starting to live his own life, understandable; then “Phu gets a bullet”, and it was really not going to let him breathe easy or an episode ?; and finally "Tian discovers that Phu was taking care of him so much for his father" and there they did blow the wall for me.

As I said, none of these moments made me enjoy the series less, but it did seem to me that they pulled many strings at the end that were no longer so necessary, because with what they had raised at the beginning of the series it was enough to understand and develop the journey of Tian, ​​but hey, it's going to be, writers like to see their characters suffer.

One of the things that I appreciate the most about the series, is all the treatment that the whole subject of Tian's heart transplant received, this topic is not new and many other entertainment media have addressed it and I must say that this series does it splendidly, when I started to watch the series I was worried that the engine of union between Tian and Phu was the heart of Torfun (at that time I believed that Phu had probably loved her), but no, the series does refer to some similarities between Tian and Torfun but we are never told verbatim that this is because they share a heart, remember that at the end of the day Tian has Torfun's diary and knows her through that, Phu falls in love with Tian for being Tian and Tian falls in love with Phu for the same reason, their love is born from coexistence, from the journey of maturity and acceptance that in the end they both have. Tian wants to pay Torfun for his new life, not because he feels like "her" or something like that, it is simply because he does not feel worthy of living and his guilt eats away at him, until he learns to accept himself and finds value in living for him.

Finally let's talk about the relationship between Phu and Tian, ​​as I said before, it does not seem to me that it is the most important thing that the series presents and that is why I love it, the development is natural and very beautiful, although when they meet a clear attraction is felt between them, I think this was rather done with the purpose of everything about the "heart of Torfun", the truth is that the development of their relationship is slow and we do not have textual evidence until almost the last chapters (we know that they like each other from chapters previous but it is until the end when they are both clearer with their intentions), I really like how Phu's friends notice and make fun of him when you are alone, is do everything very organic, in general Phu seems like a person to me very charming, it is true that she is not a very explored character and therefore does not have a great evolution within the plot, but her role in the series is to accompany Tian is his development and in that sense it seems to me that he does it very well, if I have or something to criticize about this relationship is what happens after Tian finds out that Phu and his father have something like a deal, the reason is that Phu's attitude changes very suddenly, I understand that it is because he wants him to return to his privileged life or whatever, but even so it seems strange to me, also in the scene when Tian goes to look for him in his depression (when they have a beard and surely he has not bathed in 3 days) he has Tian broken there practically telling him "just I need a word from you and I'll stay with you forever ”and he decides to reject it (wtf) and change his mind in the last episodes (Phu lost points with me there, but I still love you), but hey, let's continue, first his change of attitude, then He rejects him, he does not even say goodbye to him, he does not answer his letters, he does not speak to him at the wedding and only at the end, in the end when Tian is about to leave he decides to change his mind and even when the other returns from his studies he does not is convinced that life in the co munity is the best for him, only until Tian makes him understand that being there with everyone and especially with him is what makes him happy, only at that point Phu also begins to live without fear and prejudice and loves Tian freely, precious.

And that that final, almost "post-credits" was just what my heart needed, after so much damn drama, they being happy, having fun, without ties, finally they are just Phu and Tian.

I must say that the performances are very good, Earth is not the first time I see it, but I do think it is the first time that they let them loosen up a little more and it was very good, the children of the community are very good when they are Sad ones convey that feeling perfectly and as I said, the bond with Tian is very nice, and Mix ..., Mix was a true revelation, his sadness, happiness, even his infatuation are so well achieved that it is difficult to believe that this is his first role protagonist, I'm a fan of this guy not to mention that he's gorgeous (and that he looks like Jin from BTS <3).

The setting is also one of those things to highlight, since a series that did not use the university in the background was necessary and this allowed them to explore the beautiful Thai landscapes and their culture, which was in itself a success, the main song is very beautiful and its different versions are ideal for the various situations where it is used, ufff ... and the entire beginning of the final chapter, what a beautiful thing.

Anyway, a very good and beautiful series, which I highly recommend and which definitely left a hole in my life, now that it is finished.

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I can hardly believe it all started with a bike bump.

A story that began a few years ago in 2018 when Japan gave the world: Pornographer, looking back at the truth is I did not expect that in what at that time was just a small story about a lonely erotic writer, he would become something so great and it was something that would continue for so long, but here I am 3 years later.

Pornographer: Playback continues with the foundations laid by its predecessors (especially Pornographer: the series and Pornographer: spring life) a couple of years have passed since the last meeting between Kijima and Kuzumi, until now they have only maintained contact through letters and once again they meet again, now the conditions have changed; Kijima is still a writer, but he is not as lonely as before, now he lives with his family outside of Tokyo and on the other hand Kuzumi has grown up, now he is no longer a student, he is a worker who seeks to have a more stable relationship with Kijima.

From the beginning we have something very clear, Kijima wants to be with Kuzumi but his fears, insecurities and prejudices still do not let him trust the child at all, although Kuzumi makes clear the efforts he makes to maintain their relationship, but still so seems that Kijima is just waiting for the moment when the other leaves him, despite these situations they seem to have a certain "stability" until one day they have a misunderstanding that quickly escalates into a fight, where Kijima refuses to listen to Kuzumi and the two are injured.

Kijima, as we know from other installments of the franchise, is a broken person, he costs him too much work to trust others and is an expert in sabotaging his own happiness before someone else does do it, for this reason after going through the fight with Kuzumi and for an argument with his sister, he has no choice but to flee.

Due to life circumstances, he ends up at Haruko and Shizuo's house, where he cuts off all communication with his family and of course with Kuzumi, but the latter does not remain calm with the apparent disappearance of Kijima and with all the difficulties that it generates in his daily life goes to look for him, only to find him being helped by another young man to write his books, as he did in the past, I consider that this is one of the ugliest things that Kijima does to Kuzumi because supposed to be something special among them and much of why they had fallen in love.

With the help of Haruko, Kijima reflects on his true feelings and goes in search of Kuzumi, where finally after years and a back-and-forth relationship he confesses that he loves him and that he is afraid of losing him, he asks him not to leave and we see that in the end Kuzumi is the one who gives him the courage to fix many of the disasters in his life, it is true we all suffer and feel alone at times, but it does not have to be like that always and we cannot close ourselves to all love just for the possibility of not being loved one day.

In the end, Kijima and Kuzumi return to the house of the first, where their family welcomes them with open arms and although apparently they continue to maintain a long-distance relationship, it is implied that this will not be for long since, just as Kijima was ready to face his feelings, he will soon be to go fully after Kuzumi and finally live together.

The plot is very good, and manages to perfectly fit all the plots and conflicts seen in previous installments, the new characters are pleasant and you manage to connect with them in a short time and it leaves a bit of the "murky" of Mood Indigo that at the less for me it was a success, we saw even Kijima much more cheerful and relaxed at times and thank you very much for that after seeing him 3 years tormented it was what I needed.

The performances are very good, both Takezai Terunosuke and Izuka Kenta do a great job, especially the first one, well is their story and each and every one of the installments of the franchise has been stolen by him, their chemistry is explosive and here they had a chance to have more scenes together, from very hot to tender or dramatic; the other actors also do a very good job, my only complaint is that Kuzumi's family is somewhat wasted, I would have liked to see more of their coexistence.

I know that maybe many Pornographer fans would like to see another type of story (something more between Kido and Kijima) but sorry I can't be on that team, it always seemed to me that the connection they created between Kijima and Kuzumi was healthier and more redemptive for Kijima, while it is true that Mood Indigo gave us much more context between Kido and Kijima for me it always felt like a story that came from the past and that somehow had destroyed them both, so in the end Pornographer: Playback seems like a very fair ending for his main character, Kijima, after all he deserves a happy and peaceful life and I think that was just what he found.

I don't know how many times to write Kijima in this review, outrageous.

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Disaster looms on the horizon

I'm not sure where to start talking about this series, because it is a disaster on practically every level. The script to begin with does not follow a logical structure and the rhythm is so uneven that it seems that it was written in the middle of a roller coaster ride.

The story itself, is like many others already seen in the world of BL, two friends who at a certain point in their friendship discover that their feelings go beyond camaraderie and embark on a new journey of love and sexual questioning, there is nothing wrong with exploring a previously seen plot again, the problem is when you have nothing new and innovative to contribute and, on the contrary, your product tells the same story as always in a rather mediocre way.

Before continuing to speak about the series that we are dealing with today, it seems important to me to do an exploration of its antecedents, in order to find the reasons why I believe that this series fails; HIStory as a franchise, began by giving us rather regular series, in favor of a nascent market for BL consumption, in those yesterdays, with titles such as Obsesses, My Hero or Stay Away From Me, it is easy to discern that many of problems came from the low budget, the short duration and therefore a reduced or rushed character development and the exploration of a new market for the target audience, as the generations of HIStory progressed their history also deepened and the development both creative, as on a script, acting and even budget level they were notorious, thus gaining a solid fan base across the globe.

Now, the highest point, we saw it without fear of being wrong in HIStory 3, both Trapped and Make our days count, were great series that touched our hearts on more than one occasion and that at production and acting levels were more than good received, at this point Make our days count was a watershed for what would come later and although the series was objectively a success, for the franchise itself, we can perhaps argue that it was a failure, for those who have seen the series, they will know that the Its conclusion was at least controversial, I am not here to say if it seems a good or bad conclusion to me, the important point is that it raised a stir, there were hundreds of thousands of opinions about it, the production received thousands of hundreds of criticisms and a a lot of fans ended up with a broken heart.

In the midst of this situation, in addition to other major problems to consider, such as the difficulties that the pandemic brought to the production of any series at an international level, or the lack of budget for the continuation of the franchise, Close to you was born; one of the big problems with generating successful products is that over time you have to make a decision between following your instinct as a creator or pleasing your audience, with Make our days count the former was, with Close to you the latter, I think it was very, very clear that Close to you I try to be as accommodating with the public as possible, the problem is that by doing this there are many issues that are left untreated and they subtract depth and relevance to the story that is being counted.

Close to you is a boring story, not because the plot is repetitive, or the characters are uninteresting, but because it lacks depth, the story is flat, without substance, it appeals to cheap resources to excite the public such as sexual innuendo or provocative kisses, and have I am not against this, I am not saying that if a series uses these elements it is not good, not at all, the point is that if that is the only thing you have in your favor it is an easy resource, a good story must be based on its script and production not the kisses and bed scenes, because they know well when the two elements come together good scenes a little more explicit and a good story, there they do leave you a good taste in your mouth.

The music of the series is an element that seems to be good to me, the main song is good and some used at certain high points in history also seem to me to be well selected, in general I do not have a strong comment on this topic.

In conclusion, the series does not captivate me in any way, I understand that there are people who do, and it seems super respectable, we all have different tastes, but I do believe that the series has to balance many problems at a technical level that other series do not they have, I think that if they had risked a little more with the story, things would be very different, I think it is more or less clear that I am a fan of the franchise itself, at least I reviewed all its deliveries and although this one did not particularly leave me excited about the future of it, in the same way I will continue to support the creation of new works and deeply hoping that they will bring us better and better stories.

And by way of relief I just want to add two things, the first is that the final scene is tremendously anticlimactic, I think it is not well achieved at all and that Anson Chen seems to me a beautiful person, at the beginning of the series he could not say that it was love at first glance, but over the course of the same, his face and expressions seemed more and more fascinating to me (like a bit of an unattainable prince actually) and I didn't just want to mention it.

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They promised me the moon, but they gave me much more.

By the time "I Promised you the Moon" came into my life, the number of "BL" series that I have seen without exaggeration amounts to hundreds and I had never come across a series that made me feel so many things, I have to make it clear that this is the best series I have seen, for many reasons, but we will get to that.
The first thing is that IPYTM seems to me that it is much more than a love story, if the love between Oh and Teh is the backdrop to the story, but in the background the story is about growing up, in the first episode we have Teh and Oh entering university life for the first time, everything they have within their reach is new, fascinating and at the same time terrifying, in that sense, the characters are parallels of how life turns out in the end; on the one hand we have Teh that his whole life seems to have been built for that moment, everything that surrounds him excites him, the new people he meets provoke him a deep admiration and he is ready to take over the world now; on the other hand we have Oh, to whom adaptation cost much more work, this new world seems alien to him, he cannot help but feel longing for the old one, for his family and friends and he has to deal with the strange feeling that others they move on without him, little by little he realizes that the profession he chose is not a consolation for all that he left behind.
This is the first great shock that their relationship experiences, and the truth is that it is not the fault of either of them, what they feel is rather a mix between who they are, what they have lived and what they expect, despite that, they make an effort to be there for the other, however, it is not easy, everyone has their own responsibilities and occupations and also everyone needs their space, so inevitably a small gap opens between them.
The great conflict of the series and the one that triggers many of the problems that Teh and Oh are going to experience is: when Oh realizes that he no longer wants to become an actor, I'm going to pause here, because I want to explore a little more this point and what it means to both of you. If we remember, from the beginning the fact that both want to become actors causes many situations between them, on the one hand it is the reason why they fight when they are children and on the other it is one of the reasons why they get together when they are looking to enter the University; it becomes something so big for them, to the point that Teh considers it their common “dream”, he tells him that one day they will be in a movie and they will achieve success TOGETHER; for Teh to some extent it is one of the reasons why he loves Oh.
I want to talk about a theory that I kept throughout the series and it is: Teh doesn't really love Oh, and up to there it sounds very problematic, but let me explain this point a little more, from ITSAY it is clear to us that Teh's personality leans towards people who have a perspective of the world similar to his, somehow people who seem to follow the same path, when you can overcome misunderstandings with Oh, that's what they have left, they both seek the same, they both worked hard to achieve it, Oh understands his dream since he was a child and much of his infatuation arises from here, at the moment in which Oh goes a little out of the way that he plans for both of them, his feelings for him begin to change, he no longer feels that he has things in common and stops making the effort to connect with him, instead he begins to be interested in other people in his environment who do comply with what he expects from "his ideal person", because not only does it happen with Jai if not also with the actress from the last episode, finally these links are also put aside, at the end of the day the great maturation process that Teh does in the series is to realize that people are not made for you, other people are themselves and they will not coincide with you and your view of the world all the time; that's when he can finally see that among everything, Oh is the only person who despite not being "his ideal" is the only person with whom he is willing to build something and I think that at that moment when he genuinely loves him; to say that before I did not do it may sound dangerous, I know, more because they were together a long time, but during all that time, Teh's expectations were always elsewhere, now I do not deny at any time he really had felt lot affection for Oh all that time, not only because of that, but because Oh was his refuge, his home and his friend during all that trip, but love, genuine love I think I can only feel it when he saw Oh for what he was and not because of what he expected it to be.
Returning to the plot, once Oh declares that he does not want to follow the path of acting, initially Teh shows an understanding attitude, but we quickly see that it is not like that, he publicly judges him and gradually separates him from his life; it is as if leaving the performance implies, for Teh, that is also leaving him; Oh for his part he finds comfort in a new group of friends where we see that he has the freedom to experience who he really is as a person, this is something quite common when you start to grow little by little you will discover that there are many things that you had not experienced not because you didn't want to but because you existed in an environment that contained you to venturing to try certain things and certainly this new path of self-discovery can take you away of which you were close, the thing is that life is like that, many special people in your life, it is special because they belong to a time and place that are no longer there, no one will ever take that away from you, but not all ties can continue forever, it may sound scary but it is part of growing up, everyone does it on their own path and its own time and rhythm.
Teh's perspective, we can see it not only in his behavior with Oh, but also with Kim, whom he initially admires for hers dedication and from whom he is brutally disappointed when finds out that Kim has decided to put acting aside a bit as hers main job he is unable to understand Kim giving up and does not listen to what she has to say; unfortunately adult life is more complicated than we expect, not all dreams come true and sometimes for more effort and dedication that we put into something, things simply do not happen, despite this Kim give one of the phrases that I think is more valuable of the series: "that's not my only dream", and that's the way it is, even though you can't achieve everything, you can always go back and dream new things, the thing is that you have to play in reality; Kim needs money, she needs to help support his family and she still does not deny that he will keep trying if it is within his means, Teh's inability to understand and empathize with her speaks of how immature he is still at that point.
From here we find a paradigm shift, as the gap between Teh and Oh becomes bigger, each one finds his way in other areas, Teh begins to work on the production of Jai's thesis: " I promised you the moon” and Oh finds his true passion in advertising which together with his group of friends allow him to maintain a stable life more and more; Teh and Jai start to spend more and more time together and Jai's whole personality is just what he is looking for, he is passionate, loves theater more than anything and is willing to do anything to deliver a good production, as Teh he goes deeper into his character more evident his distance with Oh becomes for everyone, to the point that he does not remember key moments in their relationship and admits for the first time his feelings for him have changed, Jai realizes all that and explodes those emotions in order to make his acting better but in between it causes confusion in Teh's emotions.
Teh is quite attracted to Jai that is no secret, and I know that this is a controversial point, but I do not think there is anything wrong at the end of the day these things happen, you may have loved someone a lot, but if you end up walking away of that person and you find someone else, it is normal to feel attracted (obviously I am not justifying deceiving anyone, I think these things should they be talk and finished if it is the best for the parties involved), what if it seems very ugly is what happens next because although clearly the person that he feels emotionally and sexually attracted to at that moment Teh, is Jai, he still goes with Oh to satisfy these needs, giving Oh the idea that everything between them is fine, this is one of the scenes that made me feel bad the most, because it is a moment that does not mean the same for both of us and that far from romance I find it very selfish.
Even with all this, I can understand that Teh was confused about his feelings, but after the kiss, not, especially after Oh confronts him directly and he has the opportunity to cut for the sake or fix his problems with him with a honest talk, but no, he decides to keep running away from what he feels and then if I can't justify it, when everything explodes in his face, I think it's the moment when Teh wakes up a little and realizes the damage he's doing to Oh, firstly because Jai tells him that everything he did was solely for his work and secondly because Oh gets fed up with the situation and leaves him, now before talking about the ending there are some points that I would like to touch upon.
Jai, there are many opinions about this character, one thing I appreciate is that the series does not have heroes or villains, they all act like people who to a greater or lesser extent have moments of selfishness and Jai has a very big one with his work, when he tells him Teh the background of the story of his work gives depth to the character and as the plot goes by we can see how he experiences some guilt, however I do not justify his actions, although probably at first he wanted not "harm" anyone, when Oh faced him no I try to clarify things with Teh, which is doubtful, however, the series never clarifies whether or not Jai had feelings for Teh, I do not rule out that in fact it could be so, what I find most interesting to analyze, however, is his work; it is very curious that the work is called exactly like the series, I think we all thought that this referred in a certain way to Teh and Oh but in reality it was not the case, it was a reference to what would finally end up separating them, in the end I think Jai It is a good parallel for Teh, their personalities are very similar, we can see it when Jai finishes his work and it was a success but he is not really happy and on the contrary he feels longing because the person that he once loved is not with him and he didn't have the courage to make the effort to stay, which is just what Teh will experience later on.
Now yes, let's talk about Oh, my favorite character from the whole series, the reason why I like Oh so much is because we see him change and mature a lot throughout the series, he experiences strong things, beyond Teh, like feeling lonely when entering university, we can see him genuinely sad or when what he thought he wanted to do all his life did not full him in the way he expected or that the people around him did not accept that he was changing and despite everything, he was strong, he remained firm in his decisions and juggled to achieve stability between his school and sentimental life even in moments when he was going through a crisis; when Oh discovers that things with Teh are not right, he confronts him, tells him honestly what he feels and asks for an explanation and when he sees that that does not get him anywhere, despite all the pain he feels and how much he loves Teh leaves him and continues with his life; I am very grateful that the series has given him the friends it gave him, because despite the difficult moments and the pain and all that he had to fight he was never alone, the people around him truly love him and are willing to be his support, few groups of friends so good I have seen before, my favorite scene will forever be the group hug from episode 4 if I can keep something, let it be that moment, please; and besides, if it wasn't enough we have that in the end he does not even feel a grudge or something like that towards Teh and on the contrary he is happy for his success and he is proud of everything he has achieved.
Teh achieved what he always dreamed of now he is an actor on the way to fame, but we see that he has a somewhat lonely and stressful life and Oh is working for a major advertising agency still surrounded by his friends and at peace with himself, it is in this environment in which they meet again, I really liked the way this moment was handled because first of all we must remember that these people were friends since they were children and spent years together, so when they see their interactions again It feels natural and somehow we are given to understand that the two have managed to reconcile with their common past; at the end they say goodbye again and it seems like their story is completely closed. However, from this meeting Teh reflects on their relationship and the mistakes of the past, which he decides to capture in the work exhibited for his thesis to which he invites Oh, In it you can see a recapitulation of the bond they have had since children and how everything changes when Oh leaves the acting, where Teh, motivated by his selfishness, gradually lets his love die until he realizes that it was always Oh. Despite this, Oh puts a stop to him, he wishes him success, but he clarifies that he does not want to trust him again; later after some reflection he decides to give it one more chance.
I know a lot of people didn't like that he came back, or at least not the way they did, but I don't know to me it seems to me that it is very consistent with everything that the story and the characters pose, when Oh talks to Bass he tells him: “there are people for whom it works to go back and things are better, there are others for whom it does not.” At the end of the day, going back implies having to trust again that they can do things well and when the two of them speak at the end everything which Oh says is the perfect conclusion to his maturation cycle, "you don't need to promise that you will love me forever or that nothing will change, let's just be together as much as we can, let's try to solve problems together and don't give up so easily"; Oh I always love Teh, whether we like it or not that is the reality and if he is willing to put his faith in his love once again, I too, trust how much he has grown.
This series completely stole my heart and the main reason for it is that it is realistic, life is not easy, it is not a walk in the park where things will always turn out well for you, many moments of my life I have been Teh and many others Oh; it is easy, much easier than it seems to hurt the people around you even if that is not your intention and sometimes it is easy and other impossible to solve it and it is something you have to learn to live with, trying to be a little better, each day, another thing is that no matter how much effort you make in life, not everything will turn out as you want, no matter how good or competent you are, sometimes the fortune factor is not with you and the series is honest about it, it's not that magical ending where Kim finally gets the role of her life, no, but as you grow you discover that it is not the end of the world either and what gives you the energy to live is more than just one thing; another point I saw is that some people were offended because everything went well for Teh, but at this point the series also seems realistic to me, they have nothing to do with whether or not he did things well with Oh the reality is that work hard to become actor and from ITSAY we are told that he is someone with talent, he cannot magically be successful, we saw his journey and the truth is that you don't have to be a wonderful human being to be successful. That is precisely why I like it so much, there are too many series that are complacent as viewer, they give you exactly what you want to see, few series dare to tell what they want from such a personal vision, at the end of the day I didn't want the series to go one way or another, I wanted to see what they had created.
It is not usual to see a series where you feel that each moment is thought-out as part of a movie, but here we have that, each shot is so careful that you can stop at any chapter at any time and have a new wallpaper, all the resources that the cinema makes available to tell a story here they are used in a masterly way, to start the color palette the whole series is used to make you feel this constant feeling of longing, very similar to watching a story from past, which It only drives more and more the emotions of the characters, no moment in this series is a coincidence, everything was planned with great care to convey a certain type of emotion and message, the direction is impeccable.
Regarding the performances, there is not a single main character, secondary or extra, who does not do an incredible job, no matter how large or small their participation was, it was clear how committed they were all to the project and how well chosen they had been to play their roles, obviously Billkin and PP steal the whole show, each of their moments feels so genuine and when they suffer you suffer, if they are happy you are happy, the characters manage to connect with you in a very powerful way.

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Welcome to shock value festival

If I had to describe this movie with a single serious word: muddy, it is a clear indiscriminate use of shock value in excess and without meaning.

There are many stories with strong scenes and it is understood because they contribute something to the plot, that is, they play a role within the story that you are telling and establish a part of the universe that you are creating, this film is a huge nonsense, the plot lacks of meaning and it's just a collection of tacky soft porn.

I understand, that they try to represent the world of prostitution, with decadence and violence, but the point is that no scene is there to encourage us to understand the characters, we do not know anything about them and beyond what they do with their bodies do not are relevant, I'm not the type of person to condemn any kind of movie, but I can hardly see that this is a movie since it lacks the most essential of one: plot and development.

And I'm not saying that they can't make a production that includes these types of themes or scenes if you want, that's fine, but at least, make it matter, a 6min scene of sex with a character whose name we don't even know, which is just an extra, which will never matter again and from which the protagonist does not learn or get anything at all.

Nor do I have anything against representing couples with toxic or illegal or immoral (as a teacher-student) behaviors in the entertainment media that's fine, the cinema lends itself to telling any story as long as nobody's rights are violated, but we have the same, this relationship does not contribute anything, there is no criticism or a message or something that can be taken from any of the relationships in this series.

And well, what happens at the end, as I said is nothing more than an endless shock value festival, it was never intended to tell a story and with all the resources that the cinema makes available to create, it makes me sad that there are productions like this, I hope they would worry about creating less morb and more stories that are worthwhile, because that way they could see that one thing does not contradict the other, the difference is that morbid by itself is not a story.

I don't have much to say about the performances, the truth is that it seems that the director was directing some kind of porn, and I don't want to underestimate the work of the actors, maybe they are very good at acting, unfortunately here they didn't have something with it to work.

I don't even want to remember that I saw this and if you want to see it ahead I am nobody to say whether you should do it or not, but I do recommend that you take it easy yes it contains sensitive images and is clearly not appropriate for all ages.

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