Confusing but somewhat charming

This BL had quite a strong start for me, I was intrigued with the hallucinations Jom had and was curious about the characters in the beginning. However, the drama is too long and too much of the runtime is spent on side characters. While it does make the world feel more real, it communicates to me more an atmosphere of the time rather than the strength and depth of the love between Jom and Khun Yai. The acting is quite strong, and the couple looks good together, but I think it would have been better if there was no time skip and it was set fully in the past. I always think Thai BLs spend way too much time on side characters and never make 20 minute episodes, so I usually end up fastforwarding through the later episodes. This BL does the same thing for me. While the inclusion of the lesbian couple is good and refreshing, the lack of other interesting side couples make the majority of the rest of the cast feel like padding.

Over all, there were enjoyable moments, but this BL is by no means a showstopper. Watch it if you are intrigued but maybe lower your expectations.

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Smooth, solid, emotional, this drama has everything!

With a runtime of 6 episodes of 20 minutes, this drama is on the shorter side but the story leaves no stone left unturned. Miyata and Iwanagi knew each other from high school and secretly got closer together. Thinking about how it must have been to be gay at that time in Japan makes this realistic. They were supposed to run away together, but Miyata's feeling have been toyed with, and Iwanagi leaves their home town.

Years later, the two meet under professional circumstances. With some cat-and-mouse play, they decide to seriously love each other once more. I will not spoil more of the plot but I love the full circle moment at the end. All of the actors are skilled and look great to boot. I wouldn't know how to make this drama any better!

This drama can be serious, funny, intimate, and it does not stop or get boring ever. The acting and visuals in this drama make it a Japanese BL classic for me. Great job on everyone who was involved in this series and thank you for this fantastic piece of cinema. Do not hesitate, watch this now!

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Hot actors, good moments, but mid overall

I was quite surprised by how much I liked this drama. While most of the actors are attractive, I feel the main couple doesn't quite look like they should be together. Either way, this BL is has many steamy moments, but I feel like they could have added a lot more. There were too many episodes that felt like they had little focus on the chemistry and were about the twin confusion and the big game. The excitement to watch each episode died for me and so I cannot rate this very high. The amount of funny moments weren't enough for a Thai drama, but the whole thing did feel quite bright and energetic.

Overall I would say this is an okay Thai BL. The intimate scenes are good, I just wish there was more tension between the couples and it wouldve been a highlight. Watch this if you like a sports theme and like attractive bodies and faces. Still I can't help but feel there has been some missed opportunities here. If you go for hot, go for really hot. This is an instance of a BL where I would have actually liked every member to be romantically/sexually involved with another, even though its unrealistic for a whole team of volleyball players to be gay or bi.

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Perfect!

This drama has everything, it is funny, romantic, the actors are handsome, the supporting cast is great, the length is just right and it is simply so entertaining! I thoroughly enjoyed this drama and hope to see more from the two leads. While there are only 3 episodes, the total runtime is around 2-3 hours which is similar to the usual 6 episodes of 20 minutes. I don't think they could have added more to increase the length of the drama, but I wouldn't complain if it was longer.

This drama does feel quite anime/manga-like, which makes sense since many dramas are based on mangas. There have been other BLs that were very manga-like in their vibe in a more superficial meaning, but this one is simply enjoyable. I recommend you to watch this right now! Japan's streak on making great BLs is continuing :)

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Warm and earnest, short summer BL

A story between an earnest Enoshima local and a bubbly transfer student. This BL is rather short but it achieves everything it needed to. The pacing is good and all of the screen time is focused on the couple. The setting is enoshima, which felt personally enjoyable to me since I have been there and I was able to combine this BL with my own memories.

I am giving this a high rating simply for the enjoyability of it. While there are minimal skinship scenes and the kissing scene is a bit lacking, it is commendable how well the actors and team were able to convey deep and relatable characters and the forming of the bond between the two in the short 5 episodes. I recommend this BL. It is short and sweet and I dont have any gripes about it to lower the rating, other than comparing it with all the other amazing Japanese BLs out there. Enjoy!

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Great cinematography and acting, storyline confusing and unsatisfying

This BL, much like its main characters, is very soft and quiet in its expressions of gay love. The movie is 2 hours long, and it could have made much better use of the time. A lot, and I mean a lot of scenes are way longer than they need to be, probably to give the sense of how slow time flows in the small town where the movie takes place. Even still, there is little happing during these prolonged scenes. In other BLs, the main characters would glance at each other and the time the scene takes makes you feel like something is happening. In this movie, it feels more like the movie is paused and you are waiting for the next scene to take place. Another gripe I have with the movie is that the scenes shown and the story told are confusing. What I mean is that I don't feel the depth that the director wanted the viewer to feel. The feelings of the main character and what goes on inside his head remain a mystery, and the ending is open and feels very incomplete, like there is no ending.

The acting overall is good and the characters are recognizable and deep. The lighting and the camera angles are satisfying as well. I wish that the movie was stronger. So either, have a stronger emphasis on love or a stronger emphasis on dealing with homophobia and feeling rejection from society. The general sense I got was: main character has daughter and moved to small town because he is gay and rejected by his surroundings, he has a lover and wants to be together with him but feels uncomfortable that he will be seen as gay and rejected again. I don't understand what the main character wants other than being accepted (not expressed directly) and living with his daughter. Interesting watch I suppose but not as deep and meaningful for what it's worth. Still, nice to see a more manly Korean man in a gay role like this in a Korean BL, most are or look like idols so this is nice for the larger gay population in Korea.

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Great Acting, Confusing Motives

I loved the first few episodes and really enjoyed where the story was going. It is shown that one of the main characters goes to a therapist / psychologist and gets some sort of medical treatment, also his behavior shows that of someone who is mentally struggling. The confusing part is that when the 2 main people meet, it is fine, then it gets deeper and the guy shuts down. He feels guilty about some story stuff and in the end, obviously, they get together, but the guy doesn't seem to be specifically unwell anymore? What I mean is, I do not understand at all why and at what point he decided to open up to the freshman sweetboy and stop closing off and being careful etc. The switching point made little sense to me. I feel like the younger guy got mistreated way too often and while I enjoy the two, I feel like they have a lot to work on as a couple. They didn;t even state that they can always show their worries with them, which is important as half the drama is about mental health struggling mainboy.

Either way, the characters were good and entertaining. sweetboy had good friends who took care of him, listened to him and guided him. richboy kinda has friends he doesn't share his problems with, a friend thats super jealous who he cannot seem to cut off, and thats about it. The sufing club theme and the theme with the barbecue drinking place was fun, I enjoyed watching the scenes with the lady who owns the bar sweetboy works at. I enjoyed every episode, I was just mad at several of them in the middle for the motives, mostly richboy and female ex-love interest making things unnecesarily confusing.

What I will say is that the entire thing is probably the most realistic depiction of a BL I have seen. I don't know about the friends accepting them as gay (or just liking guys, its not defined) because there is a large conservative sentiment but maybe some are cool with it? If you think of the drama more realistically it is more appreciable. Both actors are handsome and they did a good job with this one. I also enjoyed the length as Korean BLs can be super short.

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Confusing, unsettling, not romantic... meh

I had little expectations, to begin with but when I watched the first few episodes I was actually pleasantly surprised... and then it went nowhere. The acting is pretty good overall, each character seems central and feels pretty realistic. Phat is the cutest character and so is Luck, they should've made them a pairing instead. Phob is okay, he is funny but really unstable which is understandable because his intense emotions before death are being uncovered slowly. Dream is by far the most interesting character. A good friend that you can rely on with the most interesting family history. Phat's mother is okay, she is a little inconsiderate towards her son but she is not aware of the supernatural happenings so it is understandable. The landlord lady Nuan is the weirdest most unsettling character I have seen probably in any BL. Her acting deserves praise but since I am not a fan of thrillers I did not enjoy her character lol.

The problem I have with this drama is that it is a thriller and it is full of suspense, but it doesn't really go anywhere. Take for example Manner of Death or Not Me. These are also BL with a story that keeps you guessing, but it actually feels like there is progress in the story and the ending feels clear and well realized. In this one, not only is the BL aspect kept to a minimum, It also feels more superficial and like the couple has a weak bond. This is one of the worst things a BL can do in my opinion. I can excuse shitty scenarios if the main couple has chemistry and you can feel the love. For me, this was just a half-baked supernatural story with a BL couple added into it. I wouldn't recommend this BL to many people. Only if you love suspense and supernatural things I would recommend it. The drama is too long and is not a BL in my opinion. If the supernatural theme felt better executed I would rate it higher but as it stands, it's a no for me.

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Cute, fluffy, perfect :)

The super unlucky Fukuhara Kouta and the super lucky Shinomiya Naoya, an undeniably powerful and interesting match. They cross paths extremely quickly in the series, something you don't see often in BLs. Usually, the couple gets together only at the end but here they get together at the end of the first episode because of Kouta's desperation of Naoya's luck. The two grow closer and closer after dating, and it is fun to watch every single episode. Nothing feels like filler, as it all helps the characters grow. I enjoyed the two individually and together. I also enjoyed the side characters, they were all likable and when they were not, it was for understandable reasons.

I thoroughly enjoyed the interactions of the two. I would have liked more physical affection from Kouta to Naoya, as we can tell he does like him, but his shyness is endearing nonetheless. Naoya is always straightforward with his love for Kouta, putting himself out there for his boyfriend. I loved his caring and sweet nature and watching Kouta melt for him too is super satisfying. I would highly recommend anyone to watch this. The pacing is great, the acting is entertaining and the chemistry is there. Japan is doing a great job with their BLs and I am happy :)

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Great skinship, but felt more lusty than affectionate

This BL is a great showcase of intimate scenes as right from the start we see the pair having intimacy. The main characters felt real enough even though the story is somewhat manga-like. While the all the skinship is great to see, the story is somewhat confusing and uninteresting to me compared to some other Japanese BLs we have had. Mizuki, a secretive outwardly friendly guy meets Yoh, who he can be himself around and be intimate with. The two make a pact where Yoh can live together with Mizuki if he listens to whatever he says. Yoh ends up feeling taken advantage of even though he is physically attracted to Mizuki.

Basically, the story is about the tension between them and lack of communication that makes both parties feel frustrated, as Yoh feels Mizuki is not affectionate to him and thinks he is just a sxx slave, while Mizuki feels like Yoh is not interested in him anymore and is being avoidant. My complaint here is that there is not much of a storyline. This is obviously not the actors' fault. The only goal of the story is for the two to be more affectionate and an official couple, but I feel like it is still quite lusty rather than affectionate.

All of this is not to say the drama is bad, just that I was wondering why this BL didn't quite live up to my expectations. Still, I think every fan of BL should watch this as the intimate scenes are abundant and good.

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