Simple, Lovely, Golden Retriever

Monster Next Door is probably one of the sweetest thing that I have watched. I know and you can clock me on this one but I am a sucker with a good love story that does not overly dramaticize or sensationalize stuff but instead they are trying to just be as normal as they can. This is why I really loved it. Basically, the story of the show follows Diew who is the stereotypical example of Introvert and God who is a stereotypical example of an extrovert. They fell in love with each other with the efforts of God to really push himself to be loved by Diew. I think we can say that it is a love at first sight and the romance is more or less what we can consider to be easy because they are already felt something towards each other but the main hindrance to their relationship is their difference in personality. We have a character who is more comfortable with speaking and I really understand this character so much but I think what I love with the character is that even though they marketed him as a stereotypical introvert, we also got to see a different side to the character as he is trying his best to really relate to the people around him. I think this is a big plus because we need this kind of representation that they may prefer to be alone but there are also those who seeks comfort in the people that they are close with. This is why I love that he is given a friend with Game who is also an introvert but is more flexible. I applaud that they did not just make him a stereotype and made him into a more realized character. He is played by Park Anantadej Sodsee or Park. I was actually trying to figure out his character as well but we got to really see him shine in the moments that are more quiet. I have to give it to him because he was able to show range with his facial expressions with a character that is usually not speaking. Then, there is Big Thanakorn Kuljarassombat or Big who plays God. First and foremost, I already have a huge crush of this guy even before I watched this series so I am so happy that I get to see him as a lead character. He really deserved it and I was so proud for some weird reason because he was good. He is a golden retriever in this show and I love that he really tried to understand Diew and he is not just forcing him to follow his values or his ways. I respect that. Seriously, I think I have watched stories where the introvert had to adjust to the extrovert but they really decided to slowly let each other into their lives without changing who they are. This is the main thing that the show is doing and I love that they did not try to overly complicate such thing and instead just focused on the romance that we are supposed to watch and it worked. I loved their interactions as they try to understand each other better. They are respecting their boundaries and even though they had a big fight in the show, I will have to say that I am glad that the directors and the writers did not make it into something so much bigger that they cannot resolve in one episode or just by talking, they had to separate for awhile but they are trying their best to respect each other’s boundaries and to not let their emotions get the best of them so when they talked, they felt more honest and mature with each other. I LOVE THAT. Also, I love Big so much as God. I mean, the guy is the most attractive human being with that fucking smile that will just make me swoon. The body, PERFECTION. He is so perfect for the role and it worked so well. The secondary characters are okay. I think this is where the miss is a bit. They really focused on the main characters and the secondary characters are not given stronger narratives except for the secondary couple. Wan and Beer are okay but I was happier to see Game and Win so much. Win is just so cute and I would not mind if they will have their own BL series. I will watch it in a heartbeat. I really enjoyed watching this BL because the pacing is good and the story is easy to watch. I like that we got really good sweet moments in between that really accentuate the love they have for each other. I love that there is good character development for the main characters not just as a couple but also as individuals as they are trying to also fully accept who they are and what they are for each other. There is a certain love that makes you feel comfortable and that is what I felt watching this show.

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It was okay.

Addicted Heroin is the Thai adaptation of the most controversial BL story in the history and it is from China so that says a lot already. I have so many emotions about them adapting this story but what I want to highlight here is that we are going to at least get a closure to one of the best love stories that never happened. I love Addicted and even though I came in late to the Addicted train, I feel like I still have so much love for the show and it did give me so much love when I was watching it. I feel like the show deserve so much more and it did not but I am excited to see what they will be doing here. The story is still very much the same as they are still step siblings who, unknowingly, got closer when they did not know that they are actually step siblings. They are those souls who found solace in each other that led to them really falling deeply in love and dependent on each other but things were not easy for them because they have ex—girlfriends and family to deal with. Now, I was really not expecting much from the series. I will be honest and I know that there is not much that they could do here that would make me fall in love with them as much as I loved the series. This is what I was initially thinking but I was so damn wrong. I mean, I don’t think that they were able to fully get the pull and the chemistry that the original series had but what they did is to create their own identity instead and to make the lead characters have so much chemistry that it fucking worked. It did and I was so impressed with the way that they did it. The lead characters here are named Hero and Poppy played by August and Mac respectively. Now, the chemistry of these two just really grew on me and I was not even expecting that much from them. Initially, the acting was okay but it did not really stand out but the very moment that series played longer, I feel like we got to really got a more rounded group of characters here that are worth watching. I was soon enjoying what I was watching and the characters had so much growth that I am not comparing them to the original anymore. This is like a totally different show now with teenage kids so, in a way, I understand where they are coming from. Well, I would not agree with how Hero handles thing all the time especially when he kidnaps Poppy. I am strongly against that. This is why him slowly learning to be more mindful of other people and the constant jealousy from his side was played out really well. I don’t think that they do have a mature relationship yet but what they do have is a lasting one where they are learning together what they are wanting in life. Hero is a character that one can consider to be impulsive but he is also very direct with his emotions. He can be a bit selfish considering that he knows what he wants and that is Poppy. Poppy on the other hand is more mature with knowing what his role in the bigger world is. I think this difference in personality is what made them a solid couple because there is so much room for growth in both of the characters but by being together, we can see them slowly embrace improvements into who they are. I love the relationship where they are learning and are improving. We have seen this happen so many times in the show and I like how it was not villainized nor romanticize. Instead, it just felt a normal thing that they could overcome. It was initially a very silly show for me but it slowly got more serious with the story of their families and I do agree with Poppy that his mother really was disappointing for thinking Hero and his father in that way and I agree with Hero for thinking that his father is abusive because he is. We got growth these characters in the end but the ending is a bit vague still with what their stance are. I hope we will get more from the story though. I think that the weakest part of the story is not actually the main couple but the secondary couple. Hear me out and you can disagree with me on this but the secondary couple of the show with Tiger and Only is just too forced to be interesting. The very moment that they did a redo of the introduction of Only is the very moment that I know that they will be a hindrance in this show to go so fucking smoothly. Again, it is shitty to say the least and I am being kind with my words right now. I feel like we have a main couple that surprised me and was actually good but the secondary couple was just forced right there. I feel like they really forced Only to be a handsome guy he is not that very good-looking nor interesting at all. It is such a fucking failed attempt and the scenes they shared can all be removed from the story and it will actually be so much better than it is. I heard that there might be a second season and that might help them give us a more solid ending for the family storylines but Poppy’s father is such a good man. He is so awesome. At the same time, I like that the show really had opposing views from the parents which is always understandable. I do believe that it is not always rainbows and butterflies so seeing that be portrayed on screen is as important but the show is a relatively good show. I mean, it is not the most fascinating show out there and I don’t think that they were able to bring the kind of heart we expected from the original series but what we got is pretty interesting as is. I don’t think that it is a bad issues and I do think that it had good moments. It can be improved so much better but we got a decent adaptation.

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Kim Hyun-soo

One Ordinary Day. I think it is time to finally talk about this masterpiece and I think more people should be talking about it. Seriously, this is a bleak topic and I am even surprised that a big mainstream name such as Kim Soo Hyun will take on such role is just interesting for me but to say that I was blown away of his performance is an understatement but what is this show about. I think the way that we can describe this show is a thriller and a really good one at that. Kim Hyun-soo (I have to admit that I was a bit confused with the name of the character of Kim Soo Hyun here because it is just basically his name where the first and second were just interchanged. This is surprisingly my biggest issue with the show. I feel like they did not really do much here) is a student in his twenties. He is the usual kid who is studying while trying to enjoy his life but one night, he decided to be more of a rebel and take his father’s taxi without permission ad he also met this woman that he later hooked up with. It is a pretty normal night but things went awry when he woke up and she is dead beside him. They had sex and the girl had some weird shit that she did but things went south and he was caught. This is where a series of unfortunate events happened to the character and the story is basically a huge jab and blow to the justice system that they have. Let’s be honest as I am in that point of my life where there is nothing that the government can do to make me trust them as much as I distrust them now and this is applicable to any countries out there. This is why seeing how flawed the justice system works not just in my country but also in other countries does not fully surprise me but it also still infuriates me. I am not sure if this is making sense and I do get why he is the main suspect as there were so many evidences that are pointed towards the character but the blatant refusal of the head detective to not accept any other possibility to what happened to this girl bothers the hell out of me. I am seriously fucking gagged and gooped with how many details he did not take into consideration because he thinks that he killed her. I mean, I would also think of him as a prime suspect but the possibilities are right there up there noses and the evidence that really proved his innocence was already in there possession if they just really looked at the photo. The evidence to the crime committed was literally right there. We have a photo of who did it and that is just so heartbreaking to know and learn that these things do happen more often than not to people who cannot afford to properly defend themselves. Let’s be real here and that attorneys like Shin Joong-han are as uncommon as they will come in reality. He is a character that is extremely flawed but he is a character that is standing up for the good. You can see how hard he fought for this man to be freed from the shackles that he was forced to be in. It is nice to see Cha Seung-won portraying the role because he was able to play the character’s nuances and to give him the humanity that he needed to be interesting and relatable. The scene he had when he finally delivered the good news to Kim Hyun-soo at the end was just a beautiful moment but he had so many good scenes in this show as he acted as someone who really invested his time to help the guy. He is someone that we need more of. I just want to give a special shoutout to Kim Young Ah because I know that she only had few scenes and was a supporting character but she delivered one of the strongest scenes when she testified in court. She is such a marvelous actress. Another thing that we got to explore here is the inequal treatment of inmates in the prison system. This is a problem that we have heard of but since it is not affecting us directly, we have kept on looking away from it. The immersion of Hyun-soo in that place is where the important transformation in his life happened with the help of Do Ji-tae played by Kim Sung-kyu. He was like the person who helped him get his way there. He is certainly not perfect as he is running the prison cell but I love the depth that Kim Sung-kyu was able to put in this character. I kinda fell in love with him too but that is not the point here. He is someone who was wrongly accused and saw that in Hyun-soo too. I actually get why Hyun-soo started to get as confused with what is happening to him because it is hard to be in that position. His life is ruined and I have to give it to Kim Soo-hyun. I binged watch the entire show and what really struck me with his performance is the transformation of his character from a young boy to a more matured man. The crying scene in the first few episodes and to see them slowly be fading as he is turning into something different and more cynic about life is just sad to watch. I was struck with how this event have redirected his entire life. This is not something that he envisioned himself to be in and no one did but he had to forcibly redirect his life and turn himself into something that he never wanted to be just to be able to survive and I wish that to happen to no one in this life because you can see how this drastically changes everything in that person. You can see that young boy be gone in just a matter of months. At the same time, we are also shown how this drastically changes the lives of the family of the person. I do get and understand why Hyun-soo had to change but this affects so many other people too. It just hurts to know at the end of the day that he is not the one who killed her because I feel like his life was stolen from him and he will have a hard time to get it back. The scene at the end of him standing on the rooftop of the building does not fully say what he will do but one can just hope that he will try to reclaim his life. It is heartbreaking to know that these types of stories are not as uncommon today than it was. I really do hope that the justice system would be so much better that instead proving yourself to be right, we will do what is right. I think that the murder of Hong Guk Hwa was not even resolved immediately because of this. I feel like they have focused more on pinning Hyun-soo down that they have forgotten the true victim of the crime which is Guk Hwa. The injustice that she had to still go through even after her death felt like the true crime in all of this. There is a really thin line here and they all have crossed it. One Ordinary Day is just any other shows out there as it shines light on something that we prefer not to talk about. It shines light on something that we should be talking about. It shines light on these very dark cells and see how we sometimes create the monsters that we fear most of. The story of Do Ji-tae is a prime example of that and, even though Hyun-soo was able to get his freedom back, the real question still remains – Is he REALLY free?

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Wholesome, Lovely, and YECHAN

Love Tractor is a Korean BL that is so famous before that I have really been wanting to watch it but I was not because of reasons that I will never understand why. I have seen the trailer and how hot the characters are and I, immediately, wanted to watch it but it took me some time to actually do so. The story is about this law student who is giving away his opportunity to study abroad despite being the smartest guy in the room because he is going back to the province where his grandfather lives. His grandfather is now staying in Seoul for health reasons and he decided to be the one to stay there instead and this is where he met THE RAY OF SUNSHINE named YECHAN. This is where their relationship started and it is a slow development. Well, I think we can all say that YECHAN fell in love with Seon Yul in the few moments that he shared with him and that love is what interested me because Yechan is an interesting character. He is giving off that Golden Retriever vibes and he is such a warm person to be around. He is honest with his feelings that even though his feelings were not immediately reciprocated, he really pushed for doing his best to really woo him and it worked out. I am in love with characters that are just pure and full of positivity that they are trying to give their best despite the world really not giving them a chance to do so. Yechan makes use of what he has and uses them to his advantage. I think we can say that he is a simple man and that is the best thing about him. He met Seon Yul during his Yul’s time where he is having difficulty with himself and is not very happy with where he is as he is torn with what he really wanted to do. Then, there is this guy who is completely opposite of him who is unafraid to love him and support him no matter what. I mean, this guy is just a dream to begin with. Personally, I would easily fall in love with this guy. I know some would say that he can be annoying at times but he still listens to him. You can see him respect his decisions and his wants. He is supporting him of his dreams and respectful of his actions too. There is something so sincere with their dynamics that I was instantly a fan of their relationship as they are providing something that the other is needing. At the same time, they really gave us so many cute and lovely scenes. I am a sucker for good romantic comedies and Yechan really delivered in the romance and the comedy aspect. The scene where he went for a check up when his heart beats fast for Seon Yul is really funny. The facial expression of Yoon Do Jin who played Yechan is incredible and he really is the star of the show. It also helps that he is good-looking. I easily fell in love with Yoon Do Jin’s face and skin plus the shirtless moment that just proved how gorgeous this man is. He is manly man and I love that but he is also a very soft man to say the least. He is so gorgeous. I love him so much. Do Won who played Seon Yul also did a good job. I love his change in demeanor as the story went on. I love that. It is really entertaining to see him become this nicer and sweeter person. The bickering of these two characters is good and the relationship started with so much love in it that my heart will just burst with happiness. I love a good love story.

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Keep an open mind because TOKI will surely win you over.

Sahara Sensei to Toki-kun is a BL story about a third-year student in High School falling in love with the new teacher who have been helping him with his stuff. I don’t think I was able to fully showcased what this story is about and I do think that they are treading on a very steep hill on this one. Why? I want to talk about the obvious first. This is a love story between a teacher and a student so there is already a power dynamic that is a bit imbalance and this is always a tricky situation. Sahara is the teacher and Toki is the student. I will say so many good things about Toki later but I want to address the biggest red flag in the story which is the age gap and the imbalance in the power dynamic. The way that they handled the story is Toki is the one who fell in love with Sahara first and he is very much honest about it. He is the kind of person who is very in tune with his emotions and you can easily see that he is the one who initiated this relationship but you can clearly see how the writers set the boundaries here by making sure that the relationship is not sexualized. Yes, they have the more romantic scenes but they are not overly sexualized or is not suggestive of any kind. Sahara is very careful too and waited for Toki. He fell in love with him but I think it is safe to say that there is not forceful thing that happen. I don’t think that he actively pursued him or did things that would lead to him misunderstanding things. I am not trying to justify anything here but I just want to say that I don’t think that there is anything predatory about the relationship. At the same time, I don’t want this part of the story to overshadow the fact that TOKI IS ONE OF THE BEST CHARACTERS THAT I HAVE SEEN because he is that kind of person who is like the perfect definition of kindness and I seriously think that we need more people like him who is loyal to his friends because if you will try to fully understand what this show did is that it is really Toki’s story as he experiences falling in love for the very first time. There is ana immediate attraction for him and he really wanted to pursue the person who only saw him as a student. I don’t think that is a predatory factor to it and I am welcome to more discussion about it because there might be things that I am not seeing here. Toki is such a good person and I personally wanted to have someone like him in my life as he oozes with so much confidence but he is not tacky, he is honest but not hurtful, he is vulnerable but not weak, and he may not be the smartest but he is surely one of the kindest. I seriously think that if we get to see more people like him in this, the world will seriously be a good world to live in. He is not perfect but he is pure. I love that about him. He has this emotional connection with Sahara and I do like how it started all from his perspective because he can easily be misunderstood but he is super kind. He is also a very loyal friend. I love that he was able to start amazing friendships with Rise, Shinji, and Takuya. Their friendship is also highlighted in the story without even forcing the story. They are there but they have their own storylines that are actually very good too. I love the writing in this show and how they are giving all the characters a chance to shine without moving away from the main storyline. It is so cool and so smart. It is really commendable. I do like to see more of the relationship of Sahara and Toki. I think they can still explore the age gap storyline better. I think there is still more to explore there that they were not able to touch upon before or better explored. There is so much more room for this show to explore and I really do hope that this is just not one season show because I would love to see more of Toki. He is the highlight of this show and he really owned it. Also, shoutout to Hachimura Rintaro who played Toki because he was amazing in this show. He really pulled it all together. The aesthetic is also good. I love how vivid the colors are and how they used to put more light in the sweet moments. It is a good highlight to what is happening. I am not mad at this show but I want more.

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Tokyo in April Is.. Beautiful

Tokyo in April is.. is a Japanese BL series that is about Kazuma and Ren who have been friends for a very long time now but they have been separated when they had sex for the very first time with each other. I am not sure if I was able to relay that information correctly but they had sex but things turned awry so Ren developed fear of hurting Kazuma so much but little did he know is that even though he thought that Kazuma is not in love with him, Kazuma looked at him and wanted to really be with him. This is why when they met again, Kazuma easily agreed to be friends with benefits with Ren even though he just really wanted to be with him forever. This is an intense BL story and I think that they did not get enough credit with this one because it tackled very dark themes that needs to be talked about more often than not. The relationship of Ren and Kazuma is complicated and it is a bit darker than usual because there are themes like suicide, sexual assault, and more involved but what I love about this is that they handled it in a different way. They did not make light of it or disregard it immediately but what they is to show how important it is to have someone that you can rely on in moments that you need them. Their relationship is mostly shown in amazing montage of them staying at home being so sweet to each other. The chemistry of these two is pretty good. I love the scenes where they were just being sweet with each other. These scenes are the best parts of the show because it is giving the characters a good time to breath and be sweet with each other but, at the same time, it is giving the audience a chance to have moments with them and just invest with the relationship that we are seeing. This made us root for them so much more which I love so much. I love Ren and Kazuma and I seriously wanted them to be end game because of this. This is why when the story started to tackle the themes that we have, I was already invested with the relationship and wanted them to be together. I really do. The scene where Kazuma learned what really happened to Ren and the way that he responded to it somehow gave me so much hope that Ren will now have someone who will be there for him and will love him no matter what. It is just a beautiful moment. I am not sure why but it felt so romantic to see Kazuma finally fight for Ren after everything that Ren had to go through, he now has someone who he can rely on and loves him no matter what. This is why I fell in love with what ending. It is such a strong ending to a simply beautiful story.

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Love for Love’s Sake is about a man who was put into this virtual world where he had some task to do for this young man but what it is really is about is for him to finally found happiness that he had been long clamoring for. This is why South Korean BLs are so fucking good. They have the amazing characters and I tell that with every Korean BLs that I watch but this is true. The main character here is a guy named Tae Myung-ha played by Lee Taevin. I was seriously surprised with this casting because Lee Taevin is someone that we have watched in a big South Korean show. He had a good part in it so seeing him do a BL that is usually not been done is pretty exciting for me. I watched some of his work and he is good. This is why I seriously think that they have chosen him for the lead part in this show. I am glad that they did because most of the characters struggles are all internal and another thing that I love about this character is that his journey towards happiness is not through other people but it is from him letting himself open himself up to other people. This is such a huge part of the story because he had been separated with his mother and she did not own up to him when he tried meeting with her. She rejected her and that broke him to pieces. It is such a sad part of the story but the execution is pretty good. It highlighted why this character is the way that he is. He started playing this game like an actual game that he is someone who is playing him so he needs to make him happy and be close with for love’s sake and I think that is where the title came from but he slowly opened himself up to being fully immerse with his character and his relationship with Cha Yeon-woo that I was personally inspired to see their relationship really flourish under the circumstance that they are in. He is finally letting himself be happy and that is what mattered the most. I love the scene that he had with the grown version of himself. He found his true happiness in this virtual world that completely felt so real. This may sound a bit problematic but I think it is more metaphorical than that. I am seriously in love with the idea that they went here because it really felt like a character-driven story. This is just Myung-ha. We also have his main lover in the story. He is Cha Yeo Woon. He is a character that runs and is very popular. He is the character that Myung-ha is supposed to take care of and make him happy. He is a school athlete who is realtively popular because he is good at he does and he looks good doing it. He is handsome and he is athletic. He is also hot but Cha Joo Wan who played him is actually a good actor too. He is not as good as Lee Taevin here but with more experience he will be a really good lead. He had a more dramatic role and had a very good character development. He got more and more mature as the story continued and that is always a good thing especially in cases like this. He also gives the most romantic scenes here. He is this golden retriever who just wants to make Myung-ha happy and he is trying his best to please him and I love that about the story. It raises the bar so high especially with how their relationship bloom into something more meaningful than I initially expected. I really like that. The best thing about their relationship is the chemistry of the two actors. We also have an amazing second lead with Chun Sang won. He is played by Oh Min Su. He may not be the best actor in the cast but he looks the hottest of everyone. I am seriously in love with Oh Min Su while watching the show. He is such a fine human being and he really showed genuine emotions toward Myung-ha that I started to adore. He is so honest with him and the friendly rivalry between him and Yeo Woon makes me want to be Myung-ha immediately. This is a really good show with a lot of it is thanks to the amazing writing and the incredible lead performance by Lee Taevin.

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When I watched the movie, I seriously told myself that I wanted a TV series or anymore projects with Adrian Lindayag and Keann Johnson to be together so seeing this show for the longest of time just made me the happiest kid. I just want to say that, this may not be in a more mainstream platform and is in an online content, I am very happy to see a major network in the Philippines showing a BL series to the masses. I think we need more of these. I know that there are several of these projects already but they are still very few so I am so excited to see this and I hope that there are more kids out there that are going to watch this and will feel that their love is valid and it is okay to fall in love with the person that you want to share your life with. Okay, I am getting a bit too emotional here but HEY! Love makes me emotional especially when it is done well and respectfully. The story of Dominic and Lucas continues as they embark into a world where being in love as both men is still frowned upon. Yes, Philippines is a country that still judges people who are different. We say that we accept them but, as a gay man in this country, I feel tolerated and not accepted. They are still both students in a Catholic school. FUCK YEAH! I am from a Catholic school as well so I know how difficult it is still to be in a relationship. They are okay with you being gay as long as you are not in love with someone else. It is horrendous. I know that there are more people and schools trying to be inclusive but I like that this show is tackling these issues while giving us something that we can really consider as romantic. This kind of writing is exponentially so much better and deserves so much more respect of. I am serious when I say that this show is moving mountains with the way it is handling inclusivity, homophobia, coming out, religion, and tolerance. The friends of Lucas are indifferent now to him because he is seeing a guy and Lucas was kept on being labeled in different ways. The sad thing about this is that Lucas is still trying to understand who he is as a person and he is in his first same-sex relationship. This is so much hard for him but he is lucky to have that support from his mother. You can say whatever you want to say but he is so lucky to have that kind of respect and love from her. I seriously mean that not a lot of people actually experience that. We have seen this in the story of Dominic. He may seem to be the more feminine one but that is only okay as long as he is smart and is not acting upon it. We have seen how her mother treated her after that beautiful kiss in the prom. Yes, they have shown two gay characters attending prom together. Well, two pair of same-sex couples. Yes, for inclusivity and equality. Unfortunately, this turned out to be the final problem that they will have to face because they are experiencing backlash from the people around them. This is just representative of the world that we are living in. I am such a cynic but the reality of these moments ring so close to home for me. I think what this show provides is something that is way more important than what we see nowadays. It is giving the old generation hope that they were not afforded and is giving the younger generation a chance to live their lives the way that they are supposed to. The ending was a bit different but it did not feel tragic. I like that the ending highlighted their love for each other without forcing them to be separated. This is the kind of representation that we need more of and is something that we should celebrate more often. It is such a beautiful story and it is working really well. The chemistry between the two leads and the way that it explored more themes than the first movie makes this series so much better. Also, I want to highlight how amazing of an actor Iyah Mina is. She is marvelous and she may only have a supporting role here but the sincerity is remarkable. All in all, Love Beneath The Stars provide us a love story that is meant to shared to everyone so that it could be a reminder that true love exists in all genders.

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Finally, Love in The Big City is already out and I have been waiting for this show for such a long time now because a KDrama that is led with a gay character and I have been hearing the outrage that the show is getting just makes me want to watch it even more. I have not read the book or watched the film. I am planning to do all that after watching this series because this is the easiest to access but I am actually quite excited with this show. As I mentioned, I have been waiting ever since the conception of its idea an it was revealed online. I mean, a series in South Korea, an extremely conservative and outdated country, is showing a series led with a gay character. On top of that, the lead character is played by Nam Yoon-su who is a relatively famous actor and is someone that I have seen many works of. He is a really good actor and he is such a brave guy for doing this. I know that he is not gay in real life but he is a really good actor and he portrayed the character really well. I will not be considering this a BL because I feel like there is so much more to the story of the show and it is heavily focused on just one character. Basically, it is an exploration of how a gay man lived in South Korea. The story is set in modern times and what I like about it is that it is not just focused on showing one side of the society as it will be exploring a side of South Korea that we have never really seen before. The show is episodes and they are separated into 4 parts tackling different points in Go Young’s life. The first is the beginning of the story and it is focused on how he was able to build a lasting and friendly relationship with Mi Ae who is regarded as an outsider in their school as well. I love this storyline because it really showed us how good life can be if you have someone who you can truly trust and be friends with. It is such a sweet beginning to their friendship but you can also see the characters continuously grow as well as individuals. They are both labeled to be outsiders but they were able to find their footing in life and were both able to find solace in finding another person who can still be their soulmate even though it is not a romantic one. We also have the first boyfriend of Go Young that is presented in the story. It is a photographer named Kim Nam-gyu. He is a guy that seems more mature. To be honest, this is the kind of my guy that is usually my type but I can see why they were not perfect for each other since they are looking for different kinds of relationship at the time. Nam-gyu feels like someone who really is looking for his forever love and he is a splendid guy but he tends to move a bit too fast while Go Young is still trying to enjoy his young life as much as possible. I was a bit heartbroken with how Go Young broke up with him and how he just moved to someone who cannot love him as much. On top of that, he died and Go Young kind of realized that the kind of love that he offered him is what he might soon be looking for. I would want to have that kind of love actually. This is also a really good start for the kind of story that we are going to witness. It is immediately established that our main character will not be a clear cut of a good person but it also showed us his humanity. The second storyline focused on his mother and the man named Noh Young-soo that he met in a philosophy class or group. Shit is getting serious in this one and I was not expecting it. They are really going for the jugular in this one but let us start with the relationship that he had with Noh Young-soo. He is played by Na Hyun-woo and he seems to be the most good-looking out of all of them. The body is insane. The abs in fucking hot. I mean, I can understand why Go Young really fell in love with him. I feel like Go Young is more ready for a relationship now and he really fell in love with Young-soo but he seems to be someone who grew up differently from him. He tends to be more lowkey and I think that his story is focused more on internalized homophobia that some gay people have. Personally, I do have this as well when I was younger but Young-soo never really grew out of it as he is still someone who is not out to the people around him. You can sense how hostile things can be if the topic is being opened up and he changes. He is like two different individuals when he is outside the house and when he is in and the way that he handled it is just heartbreaking. The dinner scene was just sad to watch as Young-soo really loved him despite seeing the extremely homophobic paper that he is writing. I hated that scene so much and I have so many emotions that went in when I watched it. I am not sure if I hate Young-soo but I pity him so much. This is also happening when we got to finally meet the mother of Go Young, Eun-sook. It was already revealed that they do not have a good relationship but it was revealed here that she actually put him in a conversion camp or something related to it when he was younger after seeing him kiss another boy. This must have been heartbreaking for him and I disliked the religious mother in that scene. I think the best thing that came out of this portion is that he was able to have a more loving relationship with his mother which is something that he never had because of what happened. It is sad to see that things like this still happen to people out there and I can now understand the character of Go Young even better. Nam Yoon-su was able to really play this character well so far that he was giving us the range that is needed. He is such a good actor. I am so impressed with what he is putting into this role. The scene with him and his mother may seem like a very simple scene at the end but it was such a warm ending to a heartbreaking story. It is that mother’s love that he truly deserved so much. The next storyline involves the aftermath of his mother’s death and as he tries to start again by finding a job but it is really about him finding a more stable relationship with Gyu-ho who is a bartender in the bar that he and his friends go to. This is a different pace from all the relationships that he had so far as this feels more like a two-sided relationship as they have fallen deeply in love with each other but we also got introduce to another girl in his life named Kylie. I was so surprised to learn that Kylie is the name he gave his HIV when he was detected and how he admitted this to Gyu-ho is such an important part of his story. This show is tackling so many things at once but his relationship with Gyu-ho is representing gay people in a mutually loving relationship and how it sometimes grows stale as the time pass by. They ended up breaking up at the end and that hurt me so much because they really wanted to be together but they are kept on being pushed outwards each other with the decisions that they are making. Gyu-ho is like the one that got away and the man that he is destined to be with but it never worked because the timing is not just right and I really wished that they ended up together because they are so good. It is not a perfect relationship but I know that they could still fight for their relationship but they are doing unnecessary sacrifices so that they could save each other that it ended tearing them apart. This is where Go Young’s past experiences are haunting the hell out of him and being a relationship that is as comfortable as the one, he had with Gyu-ho scared him. Gyu-ho deserved so much more love. I think this story also highlights the fear of those living with HIV and how it affects so many things in their lives. It is such a sad story and there are more people who have this mindset. Unfortunately for Go Young, he never really got the support that he needed because he was so scared of the taboo from the society that it hindered him from having open conversations and to ask for help about it. It is just so sad. I was so heartbroken with the scene at the airport when they finally said goodbye to each other. There is something so raw about that scene and Nam Yoon Su and Jin Ho-eun gave exceptional performances. It is just beautifully heartbreaking. There is so much love between the two of them and they had a hard time to navigate alongside each other and I feel like I have seen so many relationships fall in that pit may it be a homosexual one or a heterosexual one. We got to watch the aftermath of this story in the last part of the show where Go young is now more successful with his writing that he got to resign from his work but he still remembers and misses Gyu-ho. We got to see him start a new relationship with Habibi but I don’t think they were able to do something here but what is interesting is that he is still in the process of moving on from the relationship with Gyu-ho so Habibi is more of a side character in this sense. I think at the end of it all, a part of me is wishing that he was able to find someone to love and I hope that he will be able to rekindle his relationship with Gyu-ho whom he really made a wonderful connection. On the other hand, I am happy that he is becoming more mature especially with how his story really went. I think it is easy to say that Go Young is a character that is not easily as likable as you want him to be. He tends to do things that are not what we would consider to be good or right but he is at an age where he is a bit more impulsive and we got to really see him improve and find his very own path in this crazy world as we explore loving someone in this big city called world. Nam Yoon Su is such a trooper for all the things that he did in this show. I feel like he gave a much believable performance from start to finish showing the character growth and development that his character needed. It is a good exploration of what love really means and how we sometimes tend to ruin it for ourselves. It is such a good story with a sad, perfect, individualistic, and I have so many more adjectives for this show. I think, at the end of the day, Love In The Big City is as what the title suggest, it is an exploration on love what is and what it can be. It might not always be what we are expecting or we might not be seeing it when it is there because we are all living in a world so big that it is easy to miss. It can be maternal love that learns to accept you for who you are. It can be a platonic love between friends that are meant to be together forever. It can be about the love you receive or the love that you take. It can be a love restrained for a certain amount of time. Love is just whatever you expect and don’t expect it to be. It can be anything. It can be found anywhere. It can be with anyone. You just have to learn to open yourself up to receive it and learn to give it as well to those who matter to you.

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