Gendli

Short funny and sweet

You can watch it on GagaOOLala: https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/3919/i-became-the-main-role-of-a-bl-drama-2023-s01e01

I rewatched it to refresh my memory before watching season 2 and wanted to say my opinion on it. It is not a bad series, but it isn't anything crazy. Just a funny short series to watch when you want something easy and good but nothing special.

Things I liked:
1. Humor. That is the biggest thing this series relies on, and honestly it is not bad and pretty enjoyable.
2. Soundtrack. I personally really liked it.
3. Side couple. While we haven't seen that much of them, I really liked them together.

Things I disliked:
There isn't necessarily anything that stood out to me.

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Underrated gem of a movie

You can watch it on GagaOOLala: https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/5641/aichaku-2024

I personally really liked it. It's a good movie, and while relying heavily on humor for the most part, it also has serious, heartfelt moments, which I can greatly appreciate.

As a person who experienced a lot of the same or highly similar situations as our main character before, I can say that this movie is a pretty nice and accurate representation of what it feels to live in a foreign country so different from your home country. While a lot of situations here are shown in more of a joking manner, they are still good enough to show the sort of things people have to go through.

I appreciate the maturity from Kumi, Ken's girlfriend. Once she realized that she and Ken have different goals for the future, Kumi chose to leave the relationship like a sane and mature adult without making a scene or accusing Ken of anything, which is always good to see.
Her brother on the other hand, though, is incredibly childish, hostile, and just weird most of the time.
Attacking and screaming at Ken after Kumi broke the things off.

Ken being the only person who actually stood up for Lucas is quite sad but also so nice of him. I really loved Ken as a character, and his growth was incredibly nice to see.
I was so happy to see so many people try to help and stand up for Lucas later on in the movie.

Overall, as I said, I really enjoyed this movie. I think it is great. It has a lot of funny and cute moments, as well as more serious and mature parts that are crucial for a movie like that. It had good representation, and I think this movie definitely deserves more recognition.

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A good slice-of-life movie done right

This movie is incredible, and I feel like a fool for not watching it earlier.
I love everything about it, and it definitely deserves much more recognition.
I love that instead of demonizing a female character that has a crush on the main lead, they actually wrote her to be a nice and understanding person.
She is supportive and takes a step back when necessary.
I feel sad that she had to step away from them, but it was her choice after all, and if the crush is still there, it is for the best.
Talking of that, I loved the plot twist and the fact that Miyako knew all along but never said anything.
I respect him for keeping it to himself, it might not be that big of a deal, but it is a nice detail.

My biggest "problem" with this movie is just the length of it.
As well as the fact that for me it was almost impossible to find anywhere to watch this movie.
Other than that, though, I loved it 100%

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Goofy and serious at the same time

Viki: https://www.viki.com/tv/40439c-boys-be-brave

What started as a goofy little quick BL to watch for fun became something so much more.
At the start I thought I wouldn't like it too much, it was silly and whatever but nothing special, but the more I watched, the better it became. Especially the side couple, who genuinely made me tear up for them.
Overall I think this is definitely a good series, but there are a few things that could've greatly improved it.

Things I liked:
1. Side couple. Insanely good, the biggest reason for my love for this series. While we didn't see them that much, I really enjoyed whatever we got with them and honestly think they deserve their own spin-off series, but of course one can only hope.
2. Fun and silly. At first it was a bit too goofy for me even though I started watching it just as a quick, relaxing kind of series. But with all of the maturity later on, it really became a good contrast and was nice to see from time to time.
3. Jung Gi Seop. It took him a while to figure out himself and what he actually wants, but when he did, his growth made him an even better person.
4. Main character's growth. He had a lot of growth as well, which was nice to see.

Things I disliked:
1. Misunderstandings on misunderstandings.
2. I really wanted more for the side couple. With both the time and the way things ended. I'm still happy with whatever scraps we got, since I was getting really suspicious of them not seeing each other again after everything. So I'm happy they got at least somewhat of the happy ending, but I really wanted so much more for them.
3. Short. I think if it had at least two more episodes it would really improve a lot of things.

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Beautiful

GagaOOLala: https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/1655/private-lessons-2019

I'm not the biggest fan of teachers/professors and students dating. Not because of the age gap, but rather because of the kind of dynamic it all creates.
Still, I didn't mind it here, mostly due to it not even being that big here, they rarely ever show them interacting the way a professor and student usually do. Main leads have a rather relaxed and casual dynamic more than anything. Which was nice to see in a way.
Overall this movie is pretty good and cute, and with how short it is, it's definitely worth the watch.

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A lot of sex and not a lot of plot

iQIYI: https://www.iq.com/album/suntiny-2025-1fxheaek5it?lang=en_us

I know there are millions of people who live for NC scenes. Unfortunately, I'm not one of them. And while I can appreciate the chemistry and closeness of the main leads, I generally don't see NC scenes specifically being necessary.
And here the NC scenes take up a pretty big part of the series. I know that the whole plot is practically made around the sex. Still, though, I think they could've done with less of it.
Overall the idea for this series was not bad, and the message behind it all was nice and clear, but unfortunately it just wasn't made well enough.
The first two episodes and the final few were both quite good, but the ones in the middle were just pointless.

Things I liked:
1. The whole premise for the series. And a good message behind it.
2. Nat's hair color. I generally really like when characters have some fun hair colors, and this is definitely one of the cases. Nat looks great with red hair.
3. Styling.
4. Cooheart.
5. Toy.

Things I disliked:
1. Acting. It really feels like they are doing a bad job at it on purpose.
2. "Punishing" your partner for something he cannot control instead of trying to help him and figure out why the things are the way they are is just insane.
3. Temp. I didn't hate him, but i didn't like him either.
Saying stuff like "With someone like this I've got zero competition" about a person you supposedly have feelings for is insane and quite disgusting, to put it bluntly.
4. Too many flashbacks.

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Your typical school romance

Overall it's a pretty cute series, with good acting, nice visuals, and scenery, but definitely nothing special. Just your classic Japanese school BL series.

Things I liked:
1. Hosaka Yui. He is a great friend. Mature and smart. Definitely my favorite character in this series.
2. Akane. She is a nice and supportive girl.
3. Yamato's sister. Yet again, another great and supportive character.
4. Everyone is so supportive of their feelings. It's truly so nice and refreshing to see people take them seriously and genuinely try to help them resolve their problems.

Things I disliked:
1. Slow start. Things definitely get more interesting after the first few episodes.

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Definitely a BL

Nice, cute, and funny series, it is not necessarily your typical BL series but BL nonetheless.
Overall I can recommend it as more of a relaxing kind of series to watch without thinking much. I personally enjoyed it even more than I thought I would. It is not perfect but still a great BL that in my opinion deserves a second season, but one can only hope.

Things I liked:
1. Toru-kun. I think he grew a lot as a person throughout the series.
2. Cute moments. Seeing Toru turn into a puppy every time Kishi is near him is so funny yet so cute.
3. Kishi wearing the earring Toru gave to him. Hello? The fact that there is people saying that this is not a BL series is just crazy to me. You don't need to be a genius to see everything that is happening.
4. Special episode. It definitely cleared some stuff up, and it was really nice to see them happy together again.

Things I disliked:
1. Cringy and overly exaggerated expressions. Which is not new in Japanese series but not really my cup of tea.

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First impression

I really like it. Cute and funny school BL, nothing innovative but good. I like the acting and the plot, it really reminded me of Bad Buddy.

You can watch it on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLANeHjG60fRg

Things I liked:
1. SingChimon. They are great together.
2. Awesome chemistry.
3. Good acting.
4. Sweet and caring moments.
5. Boat. Love a supporting brother.

Things I disliked:
1. Both fathers are absolutely insane with their mindless and useless brawls, but I especially dislike Bee. Not only is he just weird and annoying, but he is also a terrible husband. Doing everything behind his wife's back, never asking her opinion on anything.
2. I really want to see more of Boat and Kong. I feel like we barely get any crumbs of their interactions.

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Insanely good

You can watch it on Viki: https://www.viki.com/tv/41508c-the-lie-we-lived-in#episodes

Let me start by saying this—some people are not made to be cops. Right? And one of these people is Tae Jeong. He is just not made for this, as much as I love this guy, I can go on a rant for an hour naming all of the reasons why he is not made to be a cop. But I'll stop with just that.

The first few episodes got me so hooked I had to binge the whole series in one sitting. I can't imagine how people watched while it was coming out two episodes a week, because I genuinely was stressing so hard each episode that I thought my heart would stop. Not every series can make you feel this way, so I'm happy I got to experience it with this one.

While there were things that I disliked, I did not dock any points from the rating because of them. Because in my opinion it's just that good, I loved it, I was entertained, and I thoroughly enjoyed every second of this series despite all of the things I disliked. And I will definitely be rewatching it again.

Things I liked:
1. They did the best they could with the budget they had. Throughout the series, it's easy to tell that it's a low-budget series. Still, I think they did a great job at using what they had.
2. Good acting.
3. The chemistry. That was on another level, which only shows how good the acting was.
4. An actually new and exciting premise. Each episode had me in a chokehold, and I was actually invested and entertained the whole time.

Things I disliked:
1. AI intro. Can we stop with AI slop? I know it's cheaper and easier, but that's genuinely disgusting.
2. I find it insane how Tae Jeong didn't consider thinking even for a second why his friend had a secret basement in his house with a giant cage and a lot of guns. You see all that, and instead of asking questions, you let him out, and then you dare to say, "I didn't know he would go that far" you can't be a cop.
3. Rushed ending. While I'm happy they got to have their happy ending, it was so obviously rushed and, of course, made into the classic KBL ending with main leads meeting at the beach.

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Beautiful

You can watch it on GagaOOLala: https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/5800/the-journey-to-killing-you-2025-e01

That was a great short series, I thoroughly enjoyed watching it, and I will definitely be rewatching it in the future.

Things I liked:
1. Music. I really loved the OST to this series.
2. The ending. Super satisfying, couldn't be done better. Everyone got what they deserved.
3. Sweet and caring moments.
4. Kataoka. Yes, he is not perfect, but I genuinely think he is a great character.
5. Odajima. Incredibly complicated and layered character.
6. Overall plot. An interesting, exciting, and dark story that kept me invested the whole watch.
7. Great acting.
8. Beautiful scenery.
9. Awesome cinematography.

Things I disliked:
1. Didn't affect my rating because I just enjoyed this series way too much, but there are some inconsistencies throughout.

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Strongberry outdid themselves with this one

It was surprisingly good. I don't know if it's due to it being from 2017 or why, but I didn't have that high of expectations. Yet I'm so happy that I gave it a chance. Because whatever expectations I did have were definitely exceeded.

Things I liked:
1. Really good acting.
2. The ending. That was incredibly satisfying.
3. Entertaining plot. It definitely had me hooked and invested throughout the whole movie.
4. Fighting. I'm not a professional, nor do I watch much action movies/series, so I'm not the one to judge, but from what I've seen, I want to say that the fighting scenes looked pretty good and realistic(?).

Things I disliked:
1. The length. I genuinely wish it would've been a bit longer. They really deserved more screen time.

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Cuteness continues

You can watch it on GagaOOLala: https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/5924/school-trip-joined-a-group-im-not-close-to-2025

A sweet and funny continuation of an already great series.
Watching it made me super excited for the second season. At the same time I'm not so sure what the second season could be about since I think the story is pretty much completed.
My hope is that season two will be as good as the first season and not just a money grab since the first season did so well.
Back to the special episodes, though, It was good to see Watarai and Hioki spend time together at home during the typhoon.
Since in the series itself we only saw them at the school settings, it was a nice change.

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Cute

You can watch it on GagaOOLala: https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/5924/school-trip-joined-a-group-im-not-close-to-2025

Unfortunately for me, school JBLs are my biggest guilty pleasure. They keep making them, and I keep watching them.
I know some people are tired of the school BLs, but I feel like Japan is just way too good at making these, so I'd rather they keep doing what they're doing best.
Now that I'm done with the rant, I can definitely say I enjoyed this series a lot.
It's a pretty easy watch, I personally binge-watched it in one sitting. It is a great school, BL, with a lot of cute and funny moments, good friends, and first love. Definitely a comfort series.

Things I liked:
1. Humor.
2. Friends. It is always nice to see when the friends are so nice and supportive.
3. Cinematography.
4. All of the cute and caring moments.
5. Good communication.

Things I disliked:
1. Some inconsistencies. Like getting drunk from one sip of alchohol, being dry after running through the rain, etc.

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2 in 1

Chiaki really got two boyfriends for the price of one.
I really enjoyed this series, it is so beautiful. I can't believe I've been putting it away for so long.
It has some moments that will make you laugh, some that'll make you cry, and some will put the biggest smile on your face.
Overall I really loved this series, and it definitely deserves much more recognition than it already has.

Things I liked:
1. Music. Definitely one of the highlights in this series in my opinion.
2. Outfits. I really loved all of the outfits in this series. From main characters to side characters, everybody looked amazing.
3. Style. The whole style of this series is just exceptional.
4. Incredible acting.
5. Character growth.

Things I disliked:
1. I'm not too fond of Ai lying to Chiaki for so long. In the end of the day, though, the whole plot is just spinning around it, so it's hard to complain about that too much.

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