PPBongi
California, USA
Roller Coaster of a Series
It starts out beautifully filmed with quite nice settings and realistic environments, for the most part. It begins as a ‘comedy’ and some parts are funny, but I just was not sure where it was going to go. The story starts out familiar and predicable and if it were not for curiosity and my addiction to BL, I am not sure I would have finished it. The biggest issue is, without doubt, the many unnecessary overly gay characters are in this who are characterized way over the top. This series gets SO much better towards the end. It loses the silliness and gets into some real heart wrenching situations that will leave you emotionally drained and feeling what they feel. I could not believe how deeply moved I was by those last 3 or 4 episodes. They are worth the wait and go beyond being effective.Was this review helpful to you?
Be Prepared
Wow! It is NOT what I expected. I expected this series to be light fluff with a comedic twist. But it has amazing twists and turns that will blow you mind. It is NOT what you think it will be. The screenplay is excellent and should be commended. Some of the dialogue is top notch and incredibly moving. The acting, without doubt, is first rate. With the story twists, this could have ended up more cartoonish, but it never goes there. That in no small part is due to the acting and directing. Kudos!Was this review helpful to you?
This Series is Real, Raw, & Revealing! Brilliant!
Don't let the negative comments about this series through you off. It is deeper than what it is given credit for.This series is an erotic roller-coaster ride through the world of gay love. If non-gay people want to know what it is like to be gay, then this is the series to watch. Not the idealized versions of BLs. This is what the world of gayness is, whether you want to believe it or not, accept it or not. It is what it is. Sure, it is the darker side, but it is no less real than the ornament sanitized version of what GAY love is via BL. In other words, this is its antithesis. This expresses the real world. It is a potpourri story that is at times impossible to follow and logically makes absolutely no sense; it has a ‘soap-opera aspect to it. And I loved every minute of it. Why? Because it presents the darker side of ‘BL’. And if you think for one second that this world either does not exist or is not real, then you are misinformed and mistaken. As it does. What this story does is capture all the issues facing gay men today in a raw, gritty, realistic fashion. Sometimes a bit over-the-top dramatically but never ever unrealistically. To be sure, the problems are overblown, but never its lasciviousness. These actors had the guts to portray the characters in all their rawness and ugliness, and yet give them believability and made them oh so human. Kudos! And well done!
I for one loved this series. This will end up on my Ten Best List for 2024. You can read my complete review of this amazing series at BLBliss.com.
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Cute but Toxic and Abusive!
Honestly, you have to suspend this series’ entertainment value from any sort of connection to reality because if you do not, your mind would be twisted into a pretzel of contradictions. It is a cute, entertaining BL at face value but if you dig deeper, it is a series that has so many incongruities in it and abuses, that it is hard to ignore those aspects of it. I know this is a BL and that portion was done in an entertaining way. While they made a cute couple, I never bought they were a couple, which of course did not happen until the last episode and then the screen was filled with moonbeams and hosannas. It was just a bit too Pollyanna and rushed.Was this review helpful to you?
A Sad Story
While the story itself is as old as time, the way it is presented is different. This is an exceptionally well-acted series that pretended to go deep but for me did not. What you have are essentially three flawed people who by circumstance become intertwined with each seeking something that ironically, they cannot give themselves. They each want to think ‘outside the box’ in terms of what is a ‘normal’ behavioral pattern for a relationship, but struggle to define for themselves what is normal. I found this series empty, soul-destroying, and profoundly sad. Confused by its message yet compelled to watch it in a very voyeuristic fashion. This is one series that I quite literally want to forget.Was this review helpful to you?
A Brilliant Series with repulsive scenes
Perhaps I am the only one who saw this BL as an allegory and a beautiful story. Of course it has some repugnant scenes in it but if you look at it as an allegory, perhaps it makes a bit more sense. This is painful no question but should not be dismissed because of the prism in which we view this series. We are NOT these guys. What happened between the two of them can not be undone but in this case ONLY they can decide and call it what they want. Does that make it right? NO! But it explains a lot. They have little time to explore their feelings and no avenues to do so. Can you imagine leaving your soulmate without ever knowing his touch, his warmth, his intensity. I can not judge their actions but only accept it. Life does not always follow the yellow brick road to happiness.Was this review helpful to you?
Felt Manipulated and Empty
I am perhaps in a minority here. While I liked the series, I do not think it is great nor a masterpiece of any sorts. Sure, it is well-acted but the story itself was so convoluted and contrived. This series simply tried too hard to get us to like it. It certainly tugged at our heartstrings. It had all the right elements - children, poverty, bad-guys, redemption, guilt, and a stab at romance. And many, many people certainly liked this series. But it all felt so empty to me, and I felt manipulated. I know that is what stories are supposed to do but I wanted and needed to feel something - a strong connection, something relatable, an emotional link. I simply just did not get it. What bothered me the most was yet again a BL story refusing to consummate its relationship with any kind of romantic gesture (i.e. kiss). Dear God, when is this going to stop. If you love one (or even like someone a lot), a simple kiss on the lips is not a commitment to enteral love or even marriage, Kissing one's forehead is an insult to everyone who is in a real relationship.Was this review helpful to you?
Too polished & Not Logical
Although this series seemed to capture the hearts and minds of many, I found it lacking in story in terms of empathy and logic. Not acting, however. It is exceptionally well acted. And yet, that is also what bothered me. It seemed too polished, slick, and flawless. I honestly do not look to review the actors or actresses who are performing in series. I take everything at ‘face value’. This series, with acting not the problem, still lacked a Gestalt for me to connect to, in what seemed like a flawless acting exercise. I simply could not warm up to either of the protagonists at all. Something felt absent. Even though it had all the right elements and great screen chemistry, it felt too polished to be believable. It looks and feels off. The angst, rawness, realness, silliness, immaturity, and pain of teenagers was missing. It got too wrapped up in telling a cute story.Was this review helpful to you?
One of the Worst for 2023!
he series begins interestingly enough. Even with a worn-out theme of a withdrawn boy who has an unrequired love for his best friend, it was charming for a while. However, this series very quickly falls apart when it tries to get into the nitty-gritty of an actual story. The supposed Thai Mafia underworld was filled with laughable caricatures of epic comic proportions. They looked silly, acted silly, and frankly were silly. Sometimes over-the-top trying to look bad (while always coiffed impeccably) but never really able to shake the sanitized version of a what has to be seen as nothing more than an after school special. I continue to state, there must be at least a minimal standard for acceptable acting and for me that is the ability to cry when necessary. So, if you cannot cry you cannot act and all you are doing is performing. This is such an underwhelming series that I am astonished at how bad it really is. But it presents well. Its theatrics are perhaps intoxicating but this time, I am not buying into it. The screenplay is so second-rate. The acting is at best mediocre. The story itself is so lame that it looked like it picked ideas from other BLs and stuck them in and hoped it all worked.Was this review helpful to you?
So Much Fun!
This is a lakorn of Biblical proportions but honestly so much fun to watch. It has such family drama that soap operas fans will cherish and others will admire. Its love story is gentle but is the driving force for this entire series. It also has a deep, strong, and abiding connection between two brothers than can also not be broken. It is just fun to watch and before you know it, you are invested into what happens. And its message is clear and precise. Respect. Acceptance. And love.See my full review of this awesome series at BLBliss.com.
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There Is Really Nothing to Say About This Series
Even if I wanted to summarize this series, I could not as it is incomprehensible and ridiculous. It drifts some some sort of a BL to ending up being a series of jumbled random thoughts of someone's bad dream. This could never be labeled as a Spoiler as there simply no coherent story here at all. If you are looking for a romantic BL, move on. This ain't it. If you are seeking a story of one-dimensional, wooden, characters, then this is your story. There is no plat, no coherent story, and worse than all of that, no romance. Frankly I do not know what this series is. One this is for sure. You will need physical therapy after watching this because your mind and undoubtedly your body will be twisted in unnatural positions trying to figure out what their message and story is.Was this review helpful to you?
Soft but very endearing
There is something so endearing about this series. It is short, sweet, and entertaining. I think others are turned off by its non-dynamic story of love. It is simply not an in your face saga but one with a slow burn and a flash of inevitability about it. I like it a lot and lets face it, it has some of the most beautiful ensemble of men starring in it on the planet. That is really not the story but it certainly enhances it. The message at the end is composed of true friendship over a possible momentary lustful encounter.You can read my full review of this quiet soft-spoken BL series at BLBliss.com.
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Too Formulaic
It had such potential but ended up being so formulaic and boring. There are some good parts to it but it drags on endlessly, I do not think this is a spoiler but they tried to make out one of the main characters as an 'ugly duckling', Oh please! He could not be ugly even if you wrapped him in a burlap sack and rolled him in mud! Why do they have to take up endless episodes to develop relationships? There are so much more to stories. These actors are good; they just do not have the material to work with. If you want to read my complete review, go to BLBliss.com.Was this review helpful to you?
Painful to Watch
This is a story of opposites falling in love. It is an uncomfortable series as it does involve a relationship between step-brothers. For some strange reason, there seems to be a lot of stories evolving around step-brothers that baffle me. It isn't prudishness; just not understandable. Anyway, it is a good solid story that is extremely well acted by the main actors who are adorable and play their roles with complete conviction. But I hated this story. Not the acting nor the actors. Just the story. It contains a Fujoshi (a woman who is a fan of gay relationships) of the worst kind. She does something that is so astonishingly despicable . I absolutely hated this story because of disgusting manipulation of someone trying to force something that was not quite ready to fully develop yet. I detest people who think they know more than they do or think that gay relationship are cute, romantic, or a fantasy of some sort. Perhaps from an outsider looking it, that might be but for the individuals who are experiencing them, it can be givers of pain and delight. And these are the individuals who must work through all of that; not the fantasizers.Was this review helpful to you?
A Masterpiece
Soulful, emotional, and brilliant. This is absolutely one of the best BL series I have seen. It is an epic love story more than a BL series. The acting is perfection and captured the essence of each of their characters flawlessly. For me, this is a masterpiece and is a cinematic gem. The screenplay of this series is nothing short of brilliant. This series left me emotionally drained and in a real sense feeling heartbroken. This series presented characters that are flawed, victims of others AND themselves, but also willing to sacrifice. Getting to love and giving love is not always straightforward or a series of rom-com events. The way this series presented love was imaginative, real, and profoundly moving. If you want to read my full review of this brilliant series, please go to my free blog site at ppbongi.medium.com.Was this review helpful to you?
