This drama is like catnip to me <3 Love it !!! I'm emotional thinking back about it...

This excellent BL series really brought me a lot of feelings and emotions. The thematics approached in it resonnated so much with me...It contains tropes I love (in particular a fantastical element with the virtual reality/game aspect) and I really enjoyed so much watching this series. Because I'm greedy sometimes, I wish it would have been longer but it has a very good duration when comparing to most Korean BL I have seen.

The casting was very good. I believed in the different friendships and bounds forming. The romantic scenes were amazing and honestly I am still a bit sentimental thinking back about them just after finishing the series. The main characters had a lot of emotional bagage to carry and the actors really portrayed convincingly the broken parts of their roles. The evolution of their relationship felt very natural and organic from both sides. Both main male leads did an excellent job but I must say that Lee Tae Vin is the one who impressed me the most...He succeded in playing with many layers and I hope to see in in more dramas.

The soundtrack was really good, it had a KPOP vibe that I usually enjoy and really brought a great energy to the overall series. I enjoyed as well the filmmaking. I do think they made the most with seemingly a limited budget. There were some really strikingingly beautifully filmed moments (especially some of the most romantic scenes).

I would recommend this strongly to people looking for a Youth BL, it is very fluffy but at the same time deeper than it appears. It is an healing watch that will brought you all the feels. If you enjoyed "Our Dating Sim", I really think this one might win you heart as well. It left me with such a lasting impression on me and I will gladly rewatch it <3.

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Despite its short length, this series still felt like a loss of time...

This short length series (26 episodes for a total duration of 3h42 minutes) follows the relationship between Yan Zhen (acting as CEO of the company instead of her husband who mysteriously disappeared while trying to invesigate some corporate issue) and Chu Ze An, the twin of her lost spouse. Does it sound bonker but interesting with a lot of soap elements ? Yes. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy my time watching this series, the writer chose the safest and blankest way to develop the plot.

I wish they went crazy with it but sadly enough, it remained all along very timid and safe...In addition to that, none of the choices made by the characters made a lot of sense...All their issues could have been resolved much more efficiently, the scenario makes a point to tell us how smart they are, but honestly their actions are dumb most of the time...I must admit that the heroine is the smartest of them all, so it alleviated a bit my frustration with the scenario.

The acting was very bad. There were so many "WTF" moments where the actors almost did not react...I did not feel the chemistry between the leads and separately they were not able to carry any of the dramatic moments. I know they were not helped at all by the writing but I wish they would have at least made some minimal effort to emote any kind of believable emotions...They were really generic all along the series. The secondary roles were not portrayed in a more inspired way and the actors playing them had also what felt as limited acting chops.

The production value was average at best, which I expected given the short lenght series format. The soundtrack was pretty nice, a bit repetitive and overpowering given the length of the episodes but overall probably the best part of the series.

I would not recommend this to people as there are much better dramas out there. Even if you are looking for some soap, brainless series to just entertain yourself, there are for sure more fun and better things to watch. It felt like a loss of time, the story was really uninspired, boring and overall badly acted.

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Despite its undeniable qualities, story did not grab me mainly because of pacing and editing issues

This movie is about the encounter of two gays men: Kosuke, a fashion editor quite well-off and Ryuta, a younger guy that tries to make ends meet, doing a lot of side jobs...The movie takes its time exploring their budding relationship in the context of Japanese society where gay marriage is still forbiden and overall gay relationships remains marginalised.

The premise of the film is interesting but unfortunately it did not manage to grab my attention as I would have wished to. I felt quite detached during most part of the movie and I blame foremost pacing issues about that. Indeed, the movie felt sluggish to me and I truly think it would have benefited from a sharper editing. Despite I truly found the characters and their dynamics super interesting, I also felt that the romance was a bit lacking. The scenario took its time to catch me and it mainly brought up some reflections and feelings to me in its last third.

The acting was very good, especially from Suzuki Ryohei. He was astounishing in his role: he managed to do a lot with just his eyes, making the emotions so real and raw with what his character was going through...Each one of his micro expression as he was suffering was truly gut wrenching and believable. I also felt under the charm of Miyazawa Hio, who makes his character very appealing as well as Agawa Sawako which was pretty good in her role.

There was an indie feeling to this movie with a lot of what felt as experimentative camera movements and angles, it made some shots very engaging but clearly, I wish the filmmaking would have helped the rythm of the plot. The camera work seemed sometimes to slow down a lot on details and I think it is too the detriment of the pace of the story.

I would recommend this movie to people looking for a realistic life BL. It dives into deep topics (much deeper than what the poster would have left presupposed) and it will for sure not leave the viewer indifferent. Despite its qualities, I cannot omit the fact that the watching experience for me was not the best, as I felt bored at various points and the movie catched my interest concretely almost at the end....Still, I think it is worth to give it a try.

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Dark mature BL with strong psychological elements, wish it was longer to even better explore those

This movie depicts certainly not a standard BL story. It is dark and gritty with some strong psychological elements. After watching it, I discovered that it is an adaptation of a manga of Setona Mizushiro that I loved to read. It does not fully adapt the whole story but it does a great job taking some of the most interesting elements and putting them together to form a cohesive and captivating story. I think the storytelling would have benefited of a bit more time for some of the developments but overall I was quite satisfied by what the movie achieved, especially in terms of character growth.

I think the chemistry was pretty good between the two main actors. You can feel the intense obsession of one for the other as well as the indecisiveness of the other regarding his feeling for the former. There are numerous sex scenes which all have a purpose in terms of characterization and development of the relationship. Nothing feels gratuitous but it is instead meaningful in regards to the evolution of the protagonists. The actors really went for it and worked very well together, making those scenes raw and really believable.

The production value was good with a lot of little details in the filmmaking allowing the viewer to understand the evolution and change in the relationship, not only because of the script but also even visually through the sets and accessories and how they evolved within them. There was some moments were I felt the editing a bit abrupt, especially jumping between some scenes toward the end, but nothing too distracting for the understanding of the plot. The soundtrack was fitting the dark theme of the film without really being memorable.

I would recommend this to people looking for a mature BL story. It is a dark story involving a lot of heavy topics, toxic elements and it can be triggering in the way the relationship forms itself. If you enjoyed this movie, I would strongly advise to give a chance to the manga from which this movie is an adaptation.

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Despite frustrating ending + writing flaws, worth it for the butterflies that the romance provides!

I have watched the previous chinese adaptation "Addicted" of the novel and was curious to see the newest adaptation and how the director and screenwriter will be able to build up this BL relationship while meeting the censorship criteria. Fortunately enough, I think they did a very good job regarding the development of the relationship.

They choose to develop the story in a less toxic way. I liked how toxic it was in the previous adaptation, but here they made it something else and it is as interesting and much more wholesome and candid. They managed to handle the censorship very well: the relationship between the two guys is clearly romantic and with a lot of chemistry despite not being able to show much. Everything is in the subtext, which I really enjoyed.

The downside of the story resides in the last third of the series with a not very inspired resolution to some of the familial conflicts as well as an abrupt ending that felt very much open and which was to me super frustrating. It seems that once again an adaptation of the novel is stopped in the middle of a narrative arc. A season 2 would be more than welcome to conclude better the series but sadly enough, I don't think anything is planned in that respect.

The two actors casted as main leads were really good. They had a great chemistry together and I totally believed in their characters' strong feelings for each other. They managed to convey so much with just their eyes, the looks they were throwing to each other as well as each of their very innocent touching. That's impressive to express so much with so little skinship: every little hints they gave regarding their affections and even more felt like a precious gift to the viewer. The secondary cast was more of a mixed bag in terms of performances.

I enjoyed the production value of this drama. There were a lot of very pretty and memorables scenes between the leads showcasing very well sweet moments between them. I also enjoyed the soundtrack: I liked less the opening song but the other three songs were very solid and such a vibe fitting the romance very well.

I would recommend this to people looking for a Youth BL that really put the focus on developping in a wholesome and believable way the relationship between its main leads. The scenario might be a bit wonky at time as well as the actions of some of the side characters but the main relationships (as well as the two actors acting as leads) is really worth the time invested. Be aware that the ending might be frustrating, but the journey of the romance really offset this point to my eyes.

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Disappointing, tries to do too much in too little time / do not convey a convincing BL story

This BL drama is centred around the encounter of Toki, delinquent highschooler and Sahara, his homeroom teacher for which he develops a one-sided love...The premise of the series was super interesting and there were quite a few good ideas in terms of characters background and even regarding a storyline for secondary characters that was super promising (another rather taboo romance that went regrettably nowwhere).

Unfortunately, the overall scenario is a deception at several levels. First, they really embraced a comedical tone for the first part of the drama instead of really deep-diving into the more taboo aspects of the various relationships...The writing and directing wanted to keep things light and relatively surface level which is clearly not the direction I wanted the show to take. Secondly, the series tried to do too much in too little time. We get a lot of background story on some side characters or on the past but in fact it is to the detriment of the build up of the relationship of the main couple.

I was utterly unconvinced by the relationship between both main male leads. They had no romantic chemistry. Separately they were a bit better (especially Hachimura Rintaro who managed to make his character rather endearing when he could have been very annoying) but sadly it was very difficult to feel engaged into their relationship...The others actors playing secondary roles were quite okay overall, nothing really remarkable but nothing bad neither.

The production value was rather poor, you can feel the limits in the budget with the repetition of the sets and decors, as well as the limits in the directing (fight scenes were just cringe). The music was forgettable but I enjoyed listening to the opening and ending generic.

I would not recommend this to people as there are better school BL out there. This series had some really nice tropes but completly failed to exploit them. I wish they would take the two same storylines (teacher/ student as well as the other side romance) and make it very gritty and dark...I wish they focus solely on those two relationships and give them enough room to develop and be believable. Anyway, too many wishes...It could have been really special but was rather plain instead.

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BL Movie with an interesting intention but too short to really captivate me

This very short film (only 28 minutes) is mostly a slice-of-life within a Taiwanese family with siblings who reunites for their mother's birthday. The story is centred around one main question: will the gay son comes clean to his mom ? Given the short duration, there is not a lot of content but the film does a good job setting up the stakes for the various characters.

In terms of casting, I feel that the actress playing the mother did the best job in interpreting with nuances her role. You feel her stress and care for her family. I was slightly less convinced by the actor playing her son, I felt the chemistry was a bit lacking in his couple. Still, he manages to be very real in displaying the emotions and hesitations of his character.

The film felt very indie: there are clearly on a budget but the decors and filmmaking was totally suitable for a proper storytelling. The ending song was nice but not memorable.

I would recommend this to people looking for a short BL indie movie. The question approached by the story feel very real and the way it is discussed makes sense. I did not find it very captivating as it was too short to feel connected with the characters. It is of course a very personnal opinion as I think it could really touch the heart of some other viewer. As it is very short, give it a shot ! I enjoyed learning about what Komorebi means.

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Cute matchmaking show for DoMunDi TV production to find its next HIT BL pairing *_____*

This entertaining and cute tv show is a matchmaking competition between DoMunDi TV's 3rd generation actors in order to find their next HIT BL couple pairing. The winners will get the chance to play the main couple in an upcoming DoMunDi TV production BL series.

It was a super charming watch: I was surprised by the many romantic and fluff moments, it felt even more "real" than the last dating show I saw (aka. Single's Inferno S3). There are of course some cringe factor and awkwardness linked to the very matchmaking point of the show in the context of work. As the actors are pairing together trying to find their "ideal" partner / the best fit for working as colleagues, it is somewhat bound to be awkward but in the most sweet way.

I quickly got much more invested in the show than what I was expecting. I was rooting for some pairings and very excited to see the finale decision from the judge pannel. The conclusion was super satisfying to me and I will be watching the winners' next series for sure. If the objective of the producers was to make these new faces lovable for the viewer and to create a curiosity toward their new series: objective is accomplished !!!

This show is not without flaws. The production value is pretty average, you can feel the budget limitation (the finale gave very refreshing schoolplay vibes for example, in a nice way but no "finale" budget clearly). Not all the cast members are at the same level and there are clearly some obvious favorites (at least to me, which I totally was onboard on anyway). I certainly wish that some of the missions would have been more fleshed out and to have seen more acting work. They could have done more to make it interesting on that aspect and to develop also the talents of the participants. I wish to have seen more of the interactions of everyone but given the limited number of episodes they still managed to make us know all of them.

I will recommend this to people that are looking for a different kind of TV show. It is low budget but very charming. If you like BLs series, it is interesting to witness the creation of new couple pairings.

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Worth it for amazing Didi Yuan Zhi and high production value, not for the central romance

The series resolves around the encounter of nobleman Gong Zi Yu and spy Yun Wei Shan who is in an infiltration mission within the very powerful Gong family. The central romance felt very boring to me: the growth of the main male lead was not believable and not paced well enough, the main female lead felt too emotioneless (almost like a blank canvas) for me to want to root for her. Fortunately the stories from several other characters (cunning Shangguan Qian, Dark Gege Gong Shang Jue and feisty Didi Gong Yuan Zhi) kept me interested.

The acting was pretty good overall with some really striking performances (namely the ones of Ryan Cheng, Lu Yu Xiao and Tian Jia Rui) compensating for more middle-of-the road / average performances. Zhang Ling He and Yu Shu Xin (aka Esther Yu) pairing did not work at all for me...I did not feel the chemistry between them, their acting felt very blank. They were not helped by the script but still, it was pretty plain and unconvincing. Ryan Cheng and Lu Yu Xiao had amazing chemistry together which made the main romance feal even weaker just by comparison.

Tian Jia Rui, the actor playing Didi Gong Yuan Zhi made the show for me. Each of his scenes was a delight to watch and truly impressive (especially knowing that this is his first acting job in a drama). He is credited as a support role but he had much more screen time than some of the main roles, which was the right directing choice because his performance shines through even in the background. He was from far my favorite part of the series and I will be looking forward his next drama (hopefully casted as main lead).

The filmmaking and production are really awesome. The accessories, the sets and decors, everything looks so pretty and rich...I liked it a lot. It is so so pretty, I took so many screenshots while watching the series to immortalize some of the scenes. The OST was nice as well, not too overly present but delicate and melodic.

I would recommend this to people looking for a martial arts historical drama with some fantasy elements, high production value and featuring an interesting family conflict mixed with internal politics. The central romance is not the best aspect of the show but there are some storylines around more "secondary" relationships that are really well done and keep the viewer invested. This series allowed me to discover newcomer Tian Jia Rui who amazed me with his strong screen presence in the role of Didi Gong Yuan Zhi. Just for him, I think it is a really worthwhile watch despite some flaws in the pacing and in the writing, as well as an ending that felt too rushed.

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BL addressing captivingly a difficult topic, very memorable moments but wish for different ending

This drama revolves around the relationship of Day who faces partial blindness and Mhok who is hired as his caregiver. This BL has a very interesting plotline which addresses in a gripping way the topic of disabilities. The subject is discussed in the series through several angles: the perspective of the person having the disability, the perspective of his entourage, the way the world see him and how he perceives the world...I liked a lot some of the parallelisms done in the story, in particular thanks to a very special book featured in the drama.

The story is not without flaws but those are minors comparing to the overall quality and excitment the show provides. The pacing could have been a bit better as well as the treatment of some of the secondary characters. There was also a certain predictability to the overall scenario. I was expecting some scenes, it lacked a bit of surprises but was still very well done. I regret a bit a specific scenaristic choice made for the ending. I was expecting the series to take that road but still hoped the series would have gone into another direction as I think it could have been even more meaningful in that way.

The casting was generally good. Mark Pakin has a support role and is excellent (as usual) in it. I personally think that the overall series would have been less good without him to carry a storyline that could have felt flat and one note with a less talented actor. It is my first time watching the Jimmy X Sea pairing and they were very good together...Their chemistry was very convincing, it is not about lust but rather about love and care in each other...It was truly pure and enjoyable.

The OST was quite standard with one nice romantic song but I was bothered by some of the background music, the melodramatic music was sometimes overused and overwhelming..It was supposed to amps up the drama but it lacked subtlety and was a bit too much for my taste. In terms of production, there are some really memorable scenes with some good filmmaking and directing choice. The production value is quite in line with most of similar production but it is the way some scenes were filmed and some of the direction choices regarding for example the disability of the main character that are making the difference and elavating the series.

I would recommend this to people looking for a BL story quite deep and which is very healing while approaching a difficult topic. Its treatment of disability feels relatable and real. The acting was solid and despite some minor flaws in the writing and questionable scenaristic choice in the ending, it is very worth the time as it will leave on the viewer a lasting and resounding impression.

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Eye candy with some splendid visuals but some flaws in writing and pacing (especially in 2nd half)

This drama is about the encounter between strong heroine/chaebol Do Do Hee (who runs her own company among some family dissession regarding the group succession) and very charming, powerful Demon Jung Gu Won who makes dangerous but very tempting deals with humans.

I truly enjoyed the first half of the show but it unfortunately lost a bit of steam in its second half. The writing is full of great ideas, there is a mix of genre which is really well done and the set up and characterization is quite strong for a lot of the protagonists. Unfortunely, the pacing is not good and the series can feel sluggish at time with the central plot not moving very fast and a lot of gimmick being repeated to seemingly "fill" time. Instead of some fillers scenes, I would have preferred some fat to be trimmed from the story: the same story could have been done in less episodes (or shorter episodes) in a more dynamic way. I also regret a bit that the ending did not adress enough certain questions important for the future of some of the characters, after a very strong start and entertaining first half, the latter part of the drama felt a bit weak.

Fortunately, despite some of the flaws in the writing/pacing, there are a lot of very entertaining elements that makes this series an entertaining watch. I love both the female lead and the male lead: their pairing worked very well, they were beautiful together and a lot of their scenes felt very dreamy (and almost like an ad for perfect couple). Song Kang (playing the Demon) is really the king of visual in this !!! Let's be honest, he is a real pleasure to watch, his acting was good and he really elevated by just his presence the eye candy factor !!! Kim Yoo Jung's acting as Do Do Hee was very good and I cannot wait to see her in other works.

The production value was amazing: the clothing, the decors, the style and directing were all top-notch. There was a lot of details that made the fantasy elements feel very real (the office of the demon, the book, the clocks,...so many details helping in the world building). The fight and action scenes were convincing and there was some pretty iconic moment in terms of filmmaking. The OST is pretty great as well with the intro song really beautifully opening each episode.

I would recommend this to people looking for a high production value rom-com with some fantasy elements. Despite some flaws in the writing and pacing (especially in the second half), the casting, directing and filmmaking make it worth it. I was mesmerized by the decors, the clothing and the visuals of both male lead and female lead, they really brought a dreamlike quality to their relationship. If you enjoyed drama as "My Love From The Star", you will likely enjoy this.

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Movie missed the mark on many aspects, wish it would have taken a much darker road!

The premise of the story is relatively bonker but is very interesting as well. The way the two main leads are bounded together as well as the mystery could have made an amazing story. Unfortunately, it failed on a lot of aspects making it very difficult for me to connect and be invested in what was happening to the characters.

Acting-wise, I like a lot Zee and Nunew pairing. They are quite good in the more classical romantic moments and their chemistry is still very strong and believable. Sadly enough, I don't think they have the acting chops for some of the more "thrilling" scenes: they lacked quite a bit and it felt blank when it should have been super emotional or frightning. To be fair, they were really not helped by the scenario and the dialogs.

I enjoyed the soundtrack, there are really not a lot of songs but Nunew singing is always really beautiful and once again I truly enjoyed his voice in the movie. Regarding the filmmaking, it could have been much better. The horror factor is too limited, the overall vibe is not scary enough. The mansion is too luxurious and nice, it sets an atmosphere propice for the romance but it diminishes the fright the viewer might feel as the mystery unfolds. I wish they would have taken a very dark road rather than going for what felt as some very safe and run-of-the-mill filmmaking choices.

I would recommend this to people that are looking for a BL with some horrific elements. It could have been much scarier but it is at least different from usual BL stories. Scenario could as well have been better, the idea and concept is interesting (while a bit crazy in its starting point) but the way it develops and the ending felt flat. There are better BL movies out there but if you like Zee and Nunew, it might be worth your time to see them in a very different setting than their previous drama.

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Entertaining but the romantic aspects were weaker, I was rooting for some people to NOT be together

I enjoyed less this third season than the previous ones. I appreciate the effort made by production in switching up and spicing up the concept which aimed for people to be less stucked on one person and to have more options. But on the other hand, I felt that the relationships were much less compelling...I was really not invested in most of the relationships (except maybe one) and I found the romance aspect relatively weaker.

The cast was pretty diverse and with interesting personnalities but it felt really like the focus was on one of the guy becoming really the "main" character of the show. He brought a lot of drama with him and honestly carried the various storylines but I did not find his behavior appealing at all...Therefore making it very difficult for me to root for his relationship(s) within the show...The endgame left a bit a bitter aftertase for me on numerous pairings except maybe one...I do not remember rooting as much in the previous seasons for people to NOT be together...

Regarding production choices, there were some great ones: I really enjoyed the decors on the island, the protagonists had really nice and very picture-perfect spots to hold conversations. However, I'm a bit disappointed by the hotels selection for Paradise, it seemed less "dreamy" than in the past seasons...More city-like, something was clearly missing in terms of atmosphere.

I would still recommend this TV show to people that are looking for a good dating show. If you have liked the previous seasons, this one takes a different turn that might feel more enjoyable (or less if like me you are more interested in romance, angst and pining than in strategy and exploring options).

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Societal critic supported by a strong cast and impressive storytelling: very deep and impactful!

A beautiful movie very impactful and that made a deep impression on me upon watching. The scenario is one of the strong point of the movie: it almost felt like a theatre play in several acts. Every question find an answer, every element showcased at one point of the script has an importance for the rest of the story... The film approaches some very important societal topics and provide a sound critic of Japanese society without being preachy and with a lot of subtlety.

The cast is really great: the characters are multi-faceted and the actors and actresses manage to provide plenty of nuances to their roles. There are a lot of angsty and emotional moments that are played with expertise for the adults parts and candor for the children parts.

The production value is good, I loved some of the decors as well as the editing which really enhanced the various storylines intertwined with each other. The soundtrack was not overly present but there are some critical scenes involving music with a very interesting set up.

I would strongly recommend this movie to people looking for a film providing a critic of Japanese society, discussing important topics and very well acted. The ending made a very strong impression on me...I will not spoil it but the message behind it really moved me deeply. There are some triggering aspects to the movie but it is not too graphic, a lot happens in subtext and is understood as the story unfolds itself. If you are looking for some fluff or slice-of-life movie, it is not the film for you. But if you are ready for some great and poignant storytelling, give it a shot!

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Interesting and fun concept but very repetitive story with too little character growth

I have seen quite a lot of Japanese school drama featuring fights between "bad"/"misbehaving" students and therefore I might just feel a certain weariness towards the genre and be more critical of it compared to when I discovered it. The story is quite classic but I enjoyed the location and time period (Chiba in the 80's) and also the fact that there is no "hero" teacher fighting like it is often the case in that kind of drama. Here, the leads are the students and everything needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. There is no moralizing teaching moments, just very shonen-like confrontations between rivals.

The acting is over-the-top which makes sense given the fact that it is a manga adaptation clearly more oriented towards heavy gags and comedy rather than emotional moments. It is quite fun and the performance of Kaku Kento is really the highlight of the series. In my opinion, it is thanks to his huge physical comedic abilities that the drama jokes are landing properly. The other actors are suitable but less good, they fit the over-exaggerated tone of the show but have much less variety and range in their acting. I enjoyed the bromance between the two main characters but I wish it would have been more developped.

The drama is funny but it has quite a lot of flaws as well. The main ones are that the story gets very quickly super repetitive and also that the characters have almost no room for growth. There is not really any evolution between the first episode and the last episode of the series which is a bit of a shame.

In addition to that, the production value is very low. The fight scenes are laughable at best: the fake blood and the theatrics of it all are fun but they could have been much better filmed and conceived. On another hand, I liked a lot the intro song with its 80's japanese rock band vibe and with the yanki theme, it was totally fitting given the concept of the drama and the generic scene was unskippable.

I would recommend this to people looking for a mindless but funny Japanese high school drama. It is quite classic for the genre but set in the 80's which bring up a bit of a different flavor. I think that I have seen similar series that are better but it is still an entertaining watch for either the real afficionado (or in contrary people that have not seen a lot of dramas in this genre and will have therefore less fatigue regarding the repetitive side of some scenes).

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