John Master

Also true. And acquiring those rights may also have been more expensive than usual.

GMMTV recycles directors the same way they do actors, so I tend to regard this overlap as more coincidence than "sponsorships as signature directorial style." I do suspect the presence of TayNew is not a coincidence. They likely get paid more (higher budget cost) but also their popularity probably ensures higher appeal to potential sponsors (so TayNew pay for themselves, too).

I also noticed the high number of sponsors, but I theorize that's merely a reflection of a production with a high budget, necessitating more sponsors to foot the bill. I doubt "number of sponsors" has anything to do with the director. Signing sponsors would happen in the business department at GMMTV, not the creative side. It wouldn't be the director's responsibility to acquire the sponsors, even if the director must figure out how to shoehorn the product placements into the storyline. In this case, I think the proven marketing ability of TayNew drew the sponsors. Possibly (and I conjecture) Cherry Magic had a higher budget than the typical GMMTV production. First, TayNew likely command higher salaries than most of the younger BL actors. Second, the shooting location (a modern office building) may cost more than (for example) a university campus exterior. Third populating the office building probably led to higher costs for extras. Fourth, all those extras need business attire (nice suits!) so that wardrobe costs probably are above average for GMMTV.

Whatever the reason, there were a lot of sponsors!

I've written a bunch of reviews. This is the only series that inspired me to comment on wardrobe ("colors") and hairstyles ("50s aesthetics").

Speaking of Time Lords, isn't the Doctor back this week, too?

This comment is exceptionally well written. It raises valid questions and lays out relevant issues in a cogent way.

I also appreciate that just because you are enjoying the series (as evidenced by the first paragraph and your subsequent replies) it doesn’t mean you switch your brain off and ignore aspects that trouble you. Sometimes folks lose track that one can enjoy an entertainment yet still engage the material critically.

Thank you for the kind words. Glad you feel inspired to explore new content!

I have no issue with a story about a misogynistic stalker/kidnapper. Such a fare has the makings of high drama. I just did not think the stalker story blended well with the overall tone of the story. The series was light comedy, screwball comedy. The stalker belonged in a serious exploration of the topic. By contrast, the caricature gay character actually fits the tone of the series. My objections tonthat had nothing ro do with a mismatch between the vibe of tue series . He is funny, its just that he is funny for reasons i find offensive. If the kidnapper had been bad at his job, kind of buffoonish, that would be a better fit for tis series. This stalker was relentlessly violent, and inthink he belonged in a darker, more dramatic series.

This list is "body swap" and not "gender swap" precisely because Vice Versa needed to fit the list! If it doesnt always feel like a body swap it is because 90% of the time we should see Ohm and Nanon but instead see the two actors whose characters jumped into those bodies.

Also, Kamisama heads the list because it is superior to the others. That one went for deep philosophical reflection whereas the items below 3 are more romps. Which can be fun. Each series has delightful bits. But don't expect to be as impressed as by Kamisama. Ryu was the first K-BL that failed to connect with audiences. More misfires followed, but my summary here (and on the List "BL SERIES WITH HISTORICAL SETTINGS") lays out its conceptual shortcomings as both body swap and historical genres.

Youre just on a Reaper/death high at the moment!

Dont forget to see my additional comments on this series at the List "Body Swap Series With a BL Flavor."

Thank you, Lynn.

Id like to be selective about the list to keep it lean, but if you think of hybrid series inhave missed, let me know!

Thats why I write these things. Lay out strengths and weaknesses of a series, amd let people draw their own conclusions about whether to watch.

Did you get the recipe? If so, how did it turn out?

I really appreciate the sharpness in your reviews. The humorous YouTube videos led me to suspect you might like everything, in the sense that your evident fondness for the genre would lead you to hold your punches when you write a review. But the ones I've sampled have been fair: praise where it's deserved, harsh when that is deserved. Most MDL "reviews" boil down to uncritical gushing about why the reviewer thinks Series X is "the best" they've ever seen. It's refreshing to see some actual thought put into why a series works well or doesn't.

It was a good review. This series requires the reviewer to choose between holding back necessary details or revealing too much. Not much middle ground. You walked the line well.

"Meen feels like he's overacting..., but it's deliberate. When he's being sincere...." i read your meanings here like this, but correct any misconception: What at first seems to be Meen overacting, is later recognized as a deliberate choice to express Tiew's character. Later, when Tiew is sincere with Mork, it is easy to see subtley and power in Meen's acting.

In other words, when you wrote "he's being sincere" its not clear whether the sincerity is Tiew's or Meen's. Put another way, the original sentence starts out and concludes discussing Meen as an actor but seemingly analyzes Tiew in the middle. Or i am wrong and younmeant something else.

Thanks. I think that was meant to reference Ossan's Love, but I just deleted the reference. I never did like howit disrupted the flow of that sentence. Lol. Thanks for the fact check.

Any chance you could copy this comment and paste it as a "new" comment to my review of the series? I like the way it spins what I wrote but isn't coming from me....