PPBongi

It Will Hook You....But

Unquestionably this story grabs you from the beginning. Hooks you in with its intrigue. Begins to drift in the middle in a meandering tropey and cliché fashion and then by the end, pretty much loses you. Regrettably, the ending is a disappointment and is a set-up for another season. That is all well and good, if there is one. I would have liked a bit more meat on the bone for this series, however. Nonetheless, it is entertaining because of the strong presence of the main protagonists. Even though they are tropey, they kicked their acting up a notch to make their characters so enticing to watch. To be sure, this is an entertaining series throughout. I dislike the use of humor in graphic or violent series as I think it diminishes the message and cheapens the presentation. Some things just do not lend themselves to humor. On occasion perhaps but this series relied too heavy on it, which reduces the seriousness of its message. Ugly messages need to be presented – ugly. Do not try to minimize that reality with cheap humor.

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Great Story But Not So Great BL

To be honest, I was somewhat surprised by how much I really enjoyed this series. Not only was it entertaining, but it was also quite wholesome in the classic sense of that word. By the time you finish watching this series, you just feel good all over. It will bring a smile to your face. Ironically, I do not think it was a very strong BL; if I am being honest, I thought that was the weakest segment of this series. Equally, the characters who shine in this series are ALL the supporting players as they completely dominate both the acting and the story’s appeal. I found them to be so memorable. This story is all about fundamentals rather than messages. Am I worthy to carry on my mother’s legacy? How do I deal with death? Did my mother love me? Was I a product of love? How do I let go of the guilt and pain of not being there when she died? Can I ever live up to my mother’s legacy? Can I love? These are just some of the fundamentals that are gently and beautifully unfolded in this sweet story. It flows more like a shallow brook running along the rocks rather than a raging river. It is a nice, pleasant change from the usual cliché-driven tropey standard series. Likeable and agreeable and I shall remember more about the overall story than the BL portion. This is a very good series but not a great BL. It did not wow me at all but the story surrounding the cats certainly did.

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Too 2 Many Heads

This series got so close to the mountain top but then it slid down to the plain of mediocrity only to periodically rise back up and meet the sunrise to a shining light of creativity. Truthfully, I have such a love/hate relationship with this series and its protagonists. Sometimes they ascended to solid acting only to then fall into a pre-pubescent cesspool of triteness. Honestly, it is not their fault. It was a bad script and even worse directing. Parts of this series were enchanting; while others fell from grace. Although the intent of this series was entertaining and offered some novelty, I found the way the leads got there, wanton. So, what was the point of this BL? For entertainment only? Then okay, this was entertaining. If you are trying to convey a BL story among the protagonists, then you failed. Ironically, you told a great authentic story with the side couple that is way more heartfelt and real and, at least for me, more captivating.

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Game Therapy

This is an emotionally draining series that is so exacerbating in the way it was presented. It had such deeply poignant undertones to its characters – all of them. Yet, proceeded to present them so superficially and without any serious profundity to them. If you are going to present distressingly flawed individuals, you need to present them in such a way that we can feel their pain with more solemnity and intensely. Not just seeing it in snippets or revealed in discourses. That was not the only flaw in the story which began so enticingly but ended up being just another trite-filled half-empty pseudo-psychological case study filled with people who, I do not think, honestly, exist. At least not in real life. What is so bothersome about Japanese BLs as of late is that they play everything too safe. The story, the screenplay, the acting, the plot, and worst of all the lovemaking. This is a story full of intrinsic pain treated with superficiality and in glossy terms. They present individuals in highly idealized fashion that simply do not exist or as adolescent caricatures. Introducing change in an entrenched culture is difficult and the subtle hints about gay marriage in this series were not lost and are deeply appreciated. Art in all its forms, including BLs, is the perfect vehicle to introduce change to an audience that would be more receptive to it. Be bolder and take bolder steps to be more real in presenting gay life. Reflect the real world for a change.

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Joy!

I have not felt so good about watching a ‘BL’ in a long time. I hesitate to call it that though. It feels more like a coming-of-age tale with a hint of adolescent romance that will remain with the two of them for the rest of their lives. You never forget your first love; and nothing is ever as impactful as your first love either. It stands unique among all your loves – whether he (or she) is the only one you love for the rest of your life or just one of many you fall in ‘love’ with throughout your life. The first always stands out. The characters in this story are so refreshingly cute and relatable that the time watching this series seemed to have flashed by. This series is impossible to dislike. It hits all the right notes and emotions. It gets close to being overly sweet and Pollyanna but never crosses into being overindulgent. It was ‘puppy-love’ not meant to be taken seriously. This is one of the best coming-of-age stories to come out of Japan in a long time. While I found the actors exceptional, the screenplay top-notch, it just feels too polished to be fully believed however.

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OBSESSION

This series is a deeply pensive and reflective mind-twisting journey into OBSESSION. And not just of one individual either. It focuses on one young man’s adventure into a world of devotion, adoration, fixation, and absorption to another human being. This individual became his goal, his preoccupation, his desire, his passion in and for life. Meanwhile, the other young man starts out as being curious about the other but then slips into the abyss of falling in love without knowing why and falls prey to his own set of undefined impulses. I honestly cannot say I disliked this series. On the contrary, I thought it was well done for about three-fourths of the way. I knew then, the story was going to hurriedly end without a more reflective and challenging transition for both protagonists. It got so close. Then it fell flat. Seeing two men in a sexual gay sexual relationship in Japan has a long way to go before it reaches an affirmation. It still needs to grind through in an esoteric stage of acceptance.

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A Bunch Of Endearing Human Warmth!

It has charm, wit, sweetness in all the right spots, and a bunch of endearing human warmth. While not overly saccharine, it is also not traumatizing. Curiously pensive and reflective, it has all the elements of a most believable love story told in soft, subtle gentle tones that simply make you feel good all over. There are two love stories, actually. Both are surprisingly compelling. While the various protagonists are interconnected, their individual love stories take very different paths to fruition. Both end up being (well, more-or-less) plausible and credible sequences. Summarily, this is an excellent production, and I thoroughly enjoyed this drama. It blended a lot of great beliefs into an amazing narrative – humor, pathos, honesty, passion, joy, disappointment, redemption, covered with a heaping supply of love, and then smothered all of it even more with an undiminished commitment to one another.

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I Enjoyed This One For Its Intrinsic Value

This is yet another brilliant art film from China that is misunderstood. Because it is so cryptic, its message does not consistently flow and so therefore, it feels a bit uneven. But I loved it. It is raw, feels organic, and presents life as it truly is. For just a moment. I totally got it even though it is a short series and involves literally only 2 people. Others are there but they are, as you will see, only become secondary figures and end up for our protagonists, being a mistake that they made in their lives. All we see is a slice-of-life as it transpires. I simply enjoyed being given the experience of seeing two guys meet, find their truer selves through their cosplay. Right or wrong; good or bad. Their lives after this is a whole other story. What arises afterwards is unknown.

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Almost A Complete Disappointment Except For...

It is one of the biggest BL disappointments for this year. What literally saves this series is only the way it is displayed. It is a cinematographic triumph. The costumes, the settings, the fantasy theme all come together so breathtakingly impressively. There has not been a portraiture this flawless in a long time. But its cosmetics are simply not enough to save or salvage the story itself. Quite honestly, it did not make any sense; at all. It is convoluted. Contrived. With much of it displaying grandiosity and concentrated wealth to the privileged few, while people are protesting issues of poor working conditions and dying under those condition at the same time, there is also a deep-seated acceptance and tolerance for gender inequality. In the meantime, people are forced to bow and bend-the-knee as a form of subjugation with intense injustices going on within the various subkingdoms. All of this is in plain sight but accepted as inevitable and in fact, romanticized as ‘good’ for the people. I found no depth between these two and could not believe in any type of connection except one that was rehearsed for them. I am sorry but this is not expressions of love. Both actors showed up for work, but the commitment seemed rather scattered and at times insincere. It just did not work for me whereas others obviously poured their heart and soul into their roles.
Overall, I did not like this series. It is ‘pretty’ and presents well, but the story is unfocused, disjointed, and little depth to it. Watch this series for the supporting cast, in particular the connection between Jimmy Karn as Prince Ramil and Ohm Thanakrit as Paitai. They are the REAL stars of this series along with all the supporting characters. You can read my full review of this disappointment at BLBliss.com.

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The "BL" is Great; The Story Is Lousy

This series can best be described by a quote from Charles Dickens, “A Tale of Two Cities” – “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” It had an exceptional storyline only to slip into banality and nonsensical story arcs. Here is yet again another Thai series that simply had no idea what a great diegesis it actually had. If only they had followed through with their main title.

It is first and foremost a love story dawning in a rural backdrop in Thailand which in and of itself made it unique and refreshingly different. That alone was enticing. The basic, simple life of rural Thailand seems almost idyllic to those of us who do not have to live in it. It felt sublime. I know, of course, it is not. And sadly, that reality is bore out in all too graphic ways in the end.

The love story is between two childhood neighbors who over the years of being companions developed an intense devotedness and bond to one another that is discernible. Closer than brothers. Cherished friends who know each other better than they know themselves. But as they grow closer to the age when expectations are that each must seek a mate for marriage, as is customary, it finally spills over into a physical relationship. One that at first feels awkward but at the same time is unambiguously inevitable. Both knew or at the very least sensed that someday it would lead to this moment. Both and each knew they were in love with each other. Not just ostensively or only merely in a physical sense. They were meant to be – had to be – together. Each thus pledged their undying love for one another both in words, actions, and emotions.

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Cute Tale But Not Memorable

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

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Surprisingly Effective

Honestly, I was not expecting this short web series to be so effective and poignant. But it truly is! And I was surprised by its effectiveness. Where it fell flat was its lack of fully committing itself to the romance. This is a decidedly short series, and a lot is crammed into this time. The whole drama is just about an hour or so. Yet, the production value of this series is surprisingly good. The screenplay is witty and sharp and at times rather poignant. I wish I could say that there is a strong screen chemistry between the two main leads, but I cannot. While they are stunningly handsome, both project a sense of uncomfortableness that becomes obvious with their closeness to each other, although they did try to hide that. There is little romance in this series. If you have a spare hour and want to be thoroughly engaged, this is a very good series to watch. It is entertaining and cute. Although the protagonists are attractive, they are not very enchanting as a couple. They just did not know how to be, or maybe did not want to be although they exude desire like crazy.

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A Hidden Gem

This series not only started emotionally deep, it also ended up being deeply substantial. I honestly felt like we really got to know these two unlikeliest of inamoratos. Do not misinterpret what I just stated, however. Although this is not an intensely romantic story, it is nonetheless a profoundly solemn love story. This is one of the most distinguishable love stories I have ever seen and certainly one of the more insightful Japanese ones. While Japanese BLs sometimes go deep, dark, and pensive and paint life generally in broad strokes as somber, this series projects intimacy between two guys in a non-intimate way but still affirms a sense of profound communion. Overall, however, this is an exceptional and deeply introspective BL from Japan that concentrates on the two protagonists that makes you feel as if you are watching the cultivation of a relationship that is a world onto their own.

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Very Avant-Garde and Misunderstood

To be sure it is a stream of consciousness movie of a troubled young gay boy. An allegory. If you observe it as a parable of his journey to discovery, albeit, dark and problematic, it will make a little more sense. If it does not, then simply drink in its utterly fascinating and captivating tale of the imagination and madness of a teenage boy. Admittedly, this movie is confusing and will require your complete attention or perhaps a second go-around. It is that complex. It is that deep and full of hidden meanings. To understand this movie, you need to understand its title. The blue hour is the time between sunrise or after sunset when the sun is low on the horizon and the sky takes on a soft blue color. It deserves to be reviewed more positively than it has.
See my full review at BLBliss.com.

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Tried Too Hard

Sometimes the characters went deep while at other times, they were clones of other BL stories. While the overall story is a rather interesting one, its execution was just plain awful in places. The story creates too many side issues to prove that these two young men are worthy of our attention. Yes, they are, on the whole, good guys, and one does not need to constantly and continuously provide evidence that they are. They are morally decent guys who occasionally have fallen down, pick themselves up, brush themselves off, and move on. This series is a good series. It is just not great.

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