3
Solid and Well-Acted
What this series did tackle well is the incredible support that they received from their parents. I applaud the writers for taking this path as it allows people to see that not every parent is always uncomfortable with their child’s sexual preference. This is just a very charming series that pulls it off in the end. While it does not quite get to an intense level for me, I liked it a lot. It is worth watching, if nothing more than for the scenes with their individual parents. If you want, you can read my full review (free) at my blog site at ppbongo.medium.com.Was this review helpful to you?
Hands Down - THE BEST!
Magnum Opus. Masterpiece. 伟大的工作. This is a prodigious and matchless piece of artistry and cinematic enchantment as well as a screenplay paragon. Honestly, I am not sure there are adequate words to describe this series or its brilliance, nor its impact that it has on the viewer. It is that cogent. Even more astonishingly, this is not one of those long belaboring BL series. It is only 7 episodes between 13 to 22 minutes in length, easily viewed in one setting. You will be transformed and transfixed and may never be able to see BLs in the same light again as this is how they should be done. This is art but its aim is heuristic. It is sublimity. Honestly, I had to watch it twice because I was so tantalized by its message that I wanted to be sure that what I was watching was genuine and I was not merely swept up by its spellbinding and intoxicating sentiments. Indeed, it is like watching a cinematic treasureWas this review helpful to you?
Enough of the nonsense
The story was an endless loop of misunderstandings, misinterpretations, miscommunications, or deliberately no communications. For those of you who are familiar with the movie GROUNDHOG DAY, this same theme repeated itself over and over again throughout 10 episodes. Just when one thought the message between the two would become clear some trope, or cliché or misunderstanding or no communication would thwart the message, or the other person would storm off in a huff and be mad or take offense. It became so exasperating to watch episode after episode of these same behaviors occur repeatedly. And the withholding of information almost drove me to drop this series. The prequel to this was so good. This was just plain awful. They are just so scared to show real gay love.See my full review of this series at BLBliss.com.
Was this review helpful to you?
This series had no purpose except to shock
I hated this series but not because of any acting weakness or story. The acting is exceptional and the story is interesting but told so negatively that it became an ugly mess. It is exploitive, demanding, and seemingly a very ugly way to make a living. Yet we know its addictive qualities. The editing is simply awful. There are four stories but only tangentially connected to different aspects of the BL world. All of them very ugly and almost amoral. One cannot help but to feel sympathy for these characters whether they are gay or straight and contempt for their managers and production companies. while I am not sure everything is always black or white, this series certainly presents a darker side of this industry.Was this review helpful to you?
This is a phenomenal story told tenderly and enchantingly
This is a simple basic story of love. Stated with great care with a complete understanding of the characters. And proves that even in a repressed society filled with rules, protocols, and defined traditions, you can still flourish love. And define clearly what that love is and subsequently earn a place in perhaps your own peaceful, loving world. This story is a remarkable, unpretentious tale of love between two rather sequestered men who know exactly what is happening to each other and in the end, summon just enough gritty determination to overcome the societal shackles of ‘acceptable’ behavior. Just remarkable in its softness and beauty.Was this review helpful to you?
A Snooze Fest
This is yet another in a long line of Pollyanna anthology BL love stories that presents gay love relations in the fairytale world of Happy Valley with little cognitive anchor to any sense of reality except episodically. And when those were shown, it became empathetic and charged with human emotions. If only the whole anthology was made like that, this could have been a good series. Instead, it is just another very forgettable BL from Thailand. Many of these actors (but not all) are very good, but these inane and pedestrian scripts simply do not allow them to grow or mature or show their true potential in acting. I honestly wanted to drop this series but finished it anyway. I have this ‘thing’ about not dropping a series once I start one. Unfortunately, I think this series will fade from my memory very quickly.Was this review helpful to you?
Well Acted Morally Reprehensible Story; Still Wrong
The reason I watched this series is the name simply fascinated me. Its named intrigued me. After watching this series, I realized I had made a grave mistake. There are not many series that I truly disdain, but this is one I found genuinely detestable. Without exception, I found all the main characters contemptible. Admittedly, at the same time, I found one of them, perhaps because of his bad-boy imagery, erotically-enticing and could understand his attraction and hold on others. Although I cannot fully explain it, I understand the magnetism of a ‘bad-boy’ archetype. To be sure, this is a well-acted series. Overall, there is nothing wrong with its execution. But it is not just acting that makes a story. It is the content and characters of the story as well and the morality. This tale is awful and to glorify those characteristics is reprehensible, despite its good acting. How you present a story is just as important as who is presenting the story. The message in this story is morally reprehensible as well as the characters. That part needs to be seen; certainly not glorified.Was this review helpful to you?
Brilliant! Top for 2022!
Finally some production company allowed these actors to 'act' and what you end up with is a brilliant reality play. It is a necessary, essential tale apparently itching to be told, of a story that is universally understood - social justice, And it is told with romance in such an ordinary way under extraordinary circumstances. I was mesmerized by all the performances and thought the acting was brilliant and near perfection. Plus its message is a universal one. The inequities in justice and fairness and discrimination are universally felt and understood. But the fight is real and dangerous. Yet love still takes hold and manages to blossom. But the fight must go on. This is simply a brilliant, extraordinary BL series and will not doubt be on the Top Ten List for 2022.Was this review helpful to you?
Great Murder Mystery But Dumb Love Story
Visually, this series certainly has its selling points. And it sure starts out with a fascinating and dynamic introduction. Certainly, one cannot argue with the dynamics of the storyline; they are intriguing and entertaining. Oh, by the way, there is also a love story, actually two, thrown in as a ruse to throw you off guard from the gruesomeness. I simply do not consider the focus primarily a BL, however. This is a very involved murder-mystery involving occult, supernatural spiritualism, ancient sorcery and utterly inept police work in order to stretch the story out to 13 episodes. So much of this story was so contrived that after a while, I was getting rather bored with the incompetence of the police and the dumbness of the leadership from the police echelon. In today’s world, it would be understandably hard to accept the abilities and trust the reliance of spiritualists who claim to see ‘ghosts’ as the basis for solving crimes. While I am not questioning such practices or beliefs, this story frankly carried it to an extreme, bordering on all kinds of creatures, both human and spirits, acting completely irrational. That I had a hard time wrapping my head around as a person who tries to see the world through some sort of logical lens in a world right now that is not showing much signs of being very logical. I wish these series would start to grow-up and present straightforward relationship developments without all the fluff and side-shows for a change. I do not want to have to dig to find the BL.Was this review helpful to you?
Trite, Tropey, Cliché-ridden
What can you say about another trite, tropey, cliché-ridden Thai series centering around a cooking theme that has not already been said? The story could have been an interesting one as it certainly did start out on an entertaining note. This series was disappointing. It could have been good but instead went down the usual path without any risk to storytelling to play it safe. I suppose many will find this enjoyable; I did not. The story moves too rapidly and unnecessarily bitterly to make any real sense; hardly any believable romance; a tease to a relationship that I would love to have seen extensively developed; and only spurious time for a character that deserved his own story as his conflict with himself as to what he wanted to do with his life and how to extradite himself from his controlling mother is worthy of a story. He was relatable at least.Was this review helpful to you?
Disappointingly bad
To be truthful, it is one of the worst BL series I have ever seen. Disastrous screenplay that made no sense. Bad acting. No chemistry. Disjointed story. In other words, just plain awful. It went around using the same trope, cliché-filled lines, and themes that I literally got bored out of my mind. This series was disappointingly bad, incoherent, insulting to its audience, loveless, and one of the least romantic BLs in a long time. Yet it also had a figure who was genuinely repentive of what he did, constantly tried to make up for his errors and mistakes, yet, still seemed to be projected as a villain. You have a rich rather indecisive individual who is gay and will never meet his father’s expectations yet still too timid to stand up to him (or his family) with any kind of real fortitude and a partner who quick-tempered, impulsive, and righteous and rather judgmental before knowing all the facts, and, in my opinion, might be prone to having a drinking problem. A cautious tale indeed.Was this review helpful to you?
Mesmerizing
Honestly, I was mesmerized by this short series. It captivated me from the beginning. Perhaps it was the way it was portrayed. In a real sense, there is a very sad augury about these characters that hangs over them like a shroud. Yet, an opening for a hopeful ending is bestowed if the task can be completed.If you take it simply as a cute fairytale of love, it really does work. What one must keep in mind is that this series is never meant to be in-depth.
If you want to read my full review of this interesting BL, please do so by going to BLBliss.com.
Was this review helpful to you?
A Good Ending
This series in my opinion has been mischaracterized. It is no more than what you see. It is contrived in parts and perhaps the story is a bit implausible, but it has character and a rather profound message. What appears to be a one night stand is not. Sure, the characters are flawed and the outcome is no shock. But to pretend that it is a one night stand is simply wrong. I know the ending got a lot of criticism but not from me. I thought the ending was creative and somehow fit the character of this short series. I liked the ending a lot and for me it seemed, well , a natural outcome.To read my full review, please go to BLBliss.com. Thanks.
Was this review helpful to you?
Magically Beautiful!
I surprised myself on how much I loved this story. (This series is also known as COME TO ME). It is way more complex than it first appears. It starts out as perhaps just another ‘ghost’ story, but it twists and turns into this beautiful and magical tale of friendship, love, trust but ultimate corruption and death. There are so many twists and turns to this series that I simply did not know how it was going to end. It is a story of friendships, of beautiful commitments to each other, to the realization of love, and to growing up and facing death. While this is a BL series (and it is), it is so much more than that. It is a beautiful tale of friendships, companionships, unrequited love, and real love. There is not a lot of overt romance but the subtleties of it are throughout this series. My full review of this beautifully acted and beautifully revealed series can be read at ppbongi.medium.com. Enjoy this series!Was this review helpful to you?
Think Back to When You Were Young.....
I am reticent to call them BL but they do involve the blossoming of very young feelings of romance between juvenile boys. I am not sure what the reason for their production except for simply giving these young actors an opportunity to hone in on their acting talents. They are simple stories of bromances, or maybe simple connections of friendship between boys, or even ‘puppy love’. There is nothing elaborate here nor is there is there any deep hidden meanings. It is just what happens sometimes with young boys when they realize that they may be ‘different’ or they now think differently about some of their friends or guys in their age group.Sure, these small vignettes are not very long and are not particularly well acted (they tended to be very wooden) and do look more like a training rehearsal for more roles for them, but that is not what made these stories very entertaining and effective. While they are raw, there are some spurts of genuine emotions able to break through and shine in each of them. They are soooooo young and I can imagine that roles like this would make them perhaps uncomfortable. However, they did a pretty good job of showing that in subtle ways they are attracted to another guy. We know it is ‘puppy love’. The production value of these tiny snippets is surprisingly good and so is the camera work. If you like, you can read my full review of this charming series at ppbongi.medium.com.
Was this review helpful to you?
