Cuteness incarnate

Recently, thai bls are ferociously betting on cuteness and it pays off: just see the success of My School President! Well, Our Winter is somewhere along the same lines.
Story is very simple: two Thai boys meet in Korea in wintertime and they spend some time together and fall in love. THE END
These are 14 short vignettes giving us every step of falling in love: from meet cute by accident to happily ever after. And all along flogging drinks and brand winter clothing! Product placement and the whole shabang!
Korea is stunningly beautiful under the snow. The actors are cute and oozing chemistry. And the way their relationship deveop is cute!
So this is basically a cute 14 minutes to enjoy and that will make you smile!
What more can you ask from such a microseries?

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Accidental kissing masterclass

I've wanted to watch this for so long because I liked the title! But I waited for it to finish airing in order to do so. In the meantime I halfheartedly kept up with the comments and realized that it was almost universally hated! And still, something kept drawing me to it. I don't know why I found the title so appealing. Maybe because a tuxedo is a symbol of wealth and utmost elegance? So when i saw this reedited version, I finally decided to give it a go. The worst that can happen, I said to myself, is for me not to like it and drop it halfway through the first episode (as I have already done so many times before: the quickest drop being My Only12% which I dropped after 5min as the cringe factor was to the maximum!)!
And I liked it a lot! It definitely had its flaws but still it was a good watch!

It is a story about two lonely man hurt by the same person finding comfort in each other!
The first is Nawee, a bastard son of an extremely wealthy father. He was bullied as a child and overprotected by his mother. Ever since she died he does not dare to go outside and suffers from agoraphobia. His greatest wish is to be accepted and cherished by his own father. Unfortunately the opposite happens.
Nawee needs a well tailored suit, the tuxedo from the title, to impress his father so he wants Aiaoon, a well known local tailor to make it for him. After the initial refusal (because Nawee's father ruined his own father's tailor business!), Aiaoon makes the suit, the two man get to know each other and fall for each other.

What I liked about the drama was first and foremost, the production and cinematography. Everything was filmed it muted colors giving it a feel of a drama taking place 50 years ago! Moreover since one of the characters seemed to be stuck in the eighties seeing how he looked (Aiaoon's brother!) Even the smartphones though present were not integral part of characters' hands as they usually seem to be!
Another good point this drama has is the skinship! The actors are obviously at ease with each other and it shows!The funniest scenes were those accidental kisses: bathtub version covered in rose petals and the more ordinary one on a sofa! Corny but cute! Once they realise their feelings, they start kissing for real and those are definitely NOT dead fish kisses we are so used to!

The main problem this drama has is the writing! In itself, the story is promising and has great potential. Unfortunately since the series is so short I guess, everything was just touched upon and not properly dealt with.
Nawee's agoraphobia disappears as soon as he falls in love and is happy! How likely is that in real life? I am not a psychiatrist but it does not seem realistic. Nawee's secretary hits him over the head unconscious in order to get him out of the house. I would have called the police and had him arrested for assault. No consequences for the secretary! Nawee copletely confused falls into a croweded pool: Aiaoon is the only one to come to help him! Aiaoon is a coward, he is dating a girl who has been pressuring him to het engaged. He just does not have enough courage to tell the truth so he keeps stalling until she figures out everything and tells him that the breakup had been acted! And so on and so on...the examples are many!


The main actors are just amazing: cute and handsome and hot and having great sizzling chemistry I have not seen the kind of in a long time! Chap sings the main theme of the drama which can be heard very often throughout the series but it fits it perfectly so the repetition is not annoying!

Frankly speaking, even though this drama had some major flaws, the good outweighs the bad! This is a short and steamy watch!

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BL Hometown Cha Cha Cha

It is one of the two things: either the recent months' BLs are average at the best or I have reached my point of BL saturation because I found this one, again, cute and excessively boring!

The story is chock full of clichés and I finished it only because it was short and pretty otherwise it would have quickly landed onto the ever growing not interested pile. It reminded me very much of Hometown Cha Cha Cha! A world weary big city man comes to a cute village filled with quirky but nice and of course naive characters! Opposites attract and the ending is very much predictable. There is of course an ex who comes to stir the trouble, the wise town head offering sage advice (on the form of westerner: I could not find the name of the actor!). And last but not least, there is a usual bunch of rude and spoilt kids creating problems(running away!) with adults apologizing for being a bit strict and demanding that the kids have at least the basic manners. By the way, this is my latest pet peeve: kids in K-dramas: awful rude little monsters considered by everyone as cute! Not where I come from (Europe!).

But, let me get back to this Love Tractor drama everyone considers wholesome and cute! Well it probably is and that is probably why I found it so very boring. I really do not like this particular trope of country folk who heal the depressed city dweller by being naive and pushy and without respect for personal boundaries.

While Yechan is a 10yr old in a body of a 20yr old, Yul is a normal 27yr old adult. Why was he attracted to Yechan? Mystery!
They had zero chemistry and that childish behaviour together with that grating accent and loud voice made him very annoying by the end of the drama. As someone in comments pointed out: love works in mysterious ways, we do not choose who we fall in love with. I guess this can serve as an explanation as well as any other!

Fortunately, it was short! It was watchable, not memorable in any way and form. I would not recommend it or rewatch it!

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Blueming Rebooted

Interoception is the sensory system that helps us assess internal feelings. And increasingly, it's being recognized as the 8th sense along with sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, balance and movement in space (vestibular sense) and body position and sensations in the muscles and joints (proprioceptive sense) .

Word to the wise: do not watch the super hyped show just after they'd finished airing! All those rave reviews will have you expect an extraordinary watch and you risk to be disappointed because while looking for the brilliance, all you'll notice will be the flaws!

And this drama has a loadfull of flaws. Unfortunately!

I started watching it yesterday but before that, I checked the reviews without reading them : I only looked at the rates and it was scary! Out of 71 reviews that had been published until yesterday, only two had rates below 9.5 (8 & 8.5 to be exact!). So of course I expected to have my mind blown away. Well did but not the way I expected !

The plot is standard trope filled university bl romance: two guys meet, click, get together, split up because of a misunderstanding, there is the obligatory mean ex, suffer for an episode then get together and we have an episode full of fluff! THE END I have to give it to them though, they went a bit deeper with mental health issues and the consequences thereof but still...

While I was watching the first few episodes, there was a nagging feeling in the back of my head of déjà vu but I only realized why towards the ending: everything about the aesthetics here screams of Bleuming: same dulled colours (everything is in shades of blue and grey), silhouettes, shadows and a lot of night shots! The only colour you see is in the opening credits which I found rather original (though again, the first design image which is supposed to be a wave looks more like a snake!EDIT It is actually a sign for infinity...). Coupled with some iffy editing, and I had to check if I was not watching the wrong drama! It was pretty but depressing....

The music did not help the mood: it was totally discordant (wrong notes played apparently) and uncomfortable. They were probably going for such impression on viewers so that was a success. The music got better and smoother as the drama progresses, ending the episode 9 with a great song by Conan Grey "The Story". The ending of that episode was perfect so imagine my surprise and confusion when I discovered there was another episode, which turned to be completely useless and totally unrealistic fluff! They pulled the same stunt in Bed Friend ruining a perfectly good angst filled story.

Another thing that was wrong with this drama is that it reminded of of a lot of korean webcomics. I do not think it was based on one though, but all the characters come straight out of a shounen ai manhwa! Starting with the main couple (both actors are excellent) but their pairing and chemistry did not convince me: one is rich manly "top" and the other one is poor slightly build "bottom" eventually putting his head on the other one's shoulder and practically purring and all I could see are so many comics with such a scene. I actually did not like them dumbing down Ji Hyun after they finally started dating but, on the other hand, doesn't that usually happens to FL as soon as they fall in love they become incompetent to string two words together? Both actors were relatively at ease with each other but they sorely lacked chemistry. There were some interesting dreamy sequences of the main couple just walking side by side....Beautiful! The whole escapade to the seaside, playing in the sea was breathtaking as well. On the other hand both characters were good guy to a fault, never a wrong or mean word to anyone: always kind and polite. At one point Jae Won's "best friend" eaten by jealousy and envy, does everything in his power to ruin his life over a stupid incident! Guess what: he is forgiven, no hard feelings! Those two are just too good to be true! I guess I am just an incurable cynic, I do not believe in the fundamental goodness in everyone! I know I am not so...

What puts this BL a cut above the other korean ones, is the natural skinship between the leads. Just like in Blueming! But very seldom seen in KBLs...

The one serious issue they tried depicting are the long term effects of PTSD Jae Won suffers from. It was interesting to see his sessions with his psychiatrist, though the first time we see her in ep1: I found her rather weird. But then, a few episodes later she was talking about not knowing whether to go to her suicidal patients funerals or not. That's when my alarm bells rang! Is that really important? How about asking yourself why you did not manage to stop your patients from committing suicide? The general advice is: if you are feeling down(sad, depressed, suicidal!), talk to a professional. And I know even a professional cannot save everyone, it is sad but true. But shouldn't that incite them to question their methods and try to learn from that case in order to know better the next time they come upon a similar case? The way Jae Won deals with his feeling and his trauma is THE eighth sense!

The cast of secondary characters were a mixed lot, mostly awful people starting with the two MC's best friends who have no filter or boundaries and NEVER accept no for an answer. And of course there was the usual bitchy and mean ex who, of course again, tried her damnedest to ruin her ex's new relationship. Fortunately, Ji Hyun would not take any of her nonsense seriously which is never the case in dramas so it was refreshing to see it here! These three useless and awful characters got too much screen time (well they needed to fill up 10x40min episodes!!!). The whole drama and this group of students looked very much as if it came out of one of Playlist Global's web drama: the acting was on the same unconvincing level!

And of course the ending is pure cringeworthy fluff where everyone is forgiven and they all ride into the sunset and live happily ever after! Bah hambug!? written by Mr Scrooge

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Three minutes of bliss

Why are these three + minutes better than the whole series? There is everything here the drama lacked: loads of chemistry,believable romance and no cringe!
This is the epilogue to the series showing us the domestic bliss that Nozue and Togawa are enjoying. They are at ease with each other, exchanging banalities about the everyday life. And then the fireworks begin! Togawa is leaning on the wall, light and shadow playing all over him and he is just listening to Nozue! You can see everything he feels, those bedroom eyes are on fire, he wants to eat him up and then it changes just slightly into the warmest of emotions, pure love! Amazing!
Why is this so short? Frankly speaking, I forgot the series as soon as I finished it, since it left me feeling indifferent, I neither liked it nor hated it, it was just OK.
This short epilogue tells more about love and romance that many series never do in 20 episodes.
The actors are excellent, especially the one playing Togawa: the microexpressions on his face are extraordinary, he knows how to convey feelings to a perfection.
Apple Pie is the perfect ending to an interesting series. I wish it were a bit longer so we get the answer and see them eat the desert but, still, it is fine as it is!

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Cute but not the best BL of the year!

While watching this, I realized I cannot stomach this kind of insipid fluff any more! I am not the target audience i.e. I am not a 16 year old girl to swoon over two slightly cute boys in a trope filled diabetes inducing romance.

BaRam meets HanTae on the day he thought was going to be the best but turned out to be the worst day of his life. Seeing BaRam crying in the park, HanTae cannot do anything else but offer a friendly hand. A couple of years later, we find them out of high school and sharing an apartment: HT manager to BR's promising singer/songwriter. When BR's former guitar teacher turns out to have stolen one of his songs, BR comes out to HT catching him by surprise.

The boys' relationship goes from friendship to love but I must say I do not like this "gay for you" trope they used here. When BaRam confesses to him, Han Tea recoils unpleasantly surprised. Their relationship was never more than friends and HanTea always treated more like a younger brother who needs to be taken care of then a friend, let alone more. Even though they are the same age, BaRam always looks much younger in the way he dresses, speaks and behaves. We have here a classic example of seme and uke characters from mangas. Yes, I know the drama is based on a manhwa but is there a law prohibiting mangakas from trying to be original in their storytelling and do things differently? At one moment uke even explains to seme how to do laundry properly. Really, guys?!? Give me a break! It is not domestic bliss but gendered roles (male/female partners in a relationship).
Anyway I was not really convinced by their romance. They lacked that romantic chemistry, they were good friends but nothing really showed they had any romantic inkling. Bo Ram knew that and never really considered HT's expressions of love for more than they were which is literally brotherly affection. I actually liked the character of BaRam very much because behind his apparently fragile exterior, he is really a strong and determined young man who knows who he is, where he's going, what he wants and how to get it. He never made a pass on HT since BR knew that he was just like a younger brother to him.
And while Han Tae showed a certain growth as a character (except for being in love!) by becoming an adult, BaRam seemed to get infantilized as time went on. They rode on a bike together often and in the very last scene of the series which is on a bike, they looked (clothes & styling) more like a father and a son then lovers!

We do not know very much about them: there are no parents or siblings. Yes HT's mother makes a fleeting appearance when he goes home and she insists on feeding him. She has no influence on the plot whatsoever.

Then there is the guitar teacher and a wannabe idol. We meet him in the first minutes of the drama and he is creepy,touching BaRam all the time, being unnecessarily very touchy feely with him. So much so that BR thought he was in love with him. What the teacher wanted was to steal BaRam's music which provided a minor drama somewhere midway this fluff. What is it about BaRam that makes men around him want to touch him all the time? Both the teacher and HanTae were very hands on BaRam: touching him, hugging him, caressing him as if he were a cute little pet. Well, to be honest sometimes he looked like a lazy cat unwilling to move or talk....

This is a Korean web drama and it has the feel of a Korean WEB drama as it looks a cold and distant. There were some nice shots of autumn trees. The costume designer made an effort to choose clothes that match the colours of the nature. I spotted a few continuity errors: unimportant but still...
Music was boring. What kind of singer/songwriter writes only one song in a couple of years.Apparently BaRam can compose only when he's in love! So he's been in love twice and wrote two boring songs. The rest was just the most forgettable lift music.
The actors were cute and obviously worked hard, so their acting skills were adequate.

Well, apparently I shall never learn or follow my own advice, for that matter. I was again swayed into watching a recently released and universally loved drama just to be disappointed. I wanted something light and fluffy to watch and I got it in a shape of an almost sugar overdose.

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Addicted

And so with this movie, the story of Hira and Kiyoi comes to the end. What a journey it has been. Probably the best BL series I have ever seen.

The story of two flawed men who early on realized that their missing parts are in each other, the true soulmates, complete only when they are together. On the surface it is an odd pairing. Hira is ugly, submissive, apparently weak and probably slightly Asperger's while Kiyoi is beautiful, popular and a leader. And here is what makes this story so amazing: when you lightly scratch the surface you find a different kind of people here. Hira is a talented photographer and actually a very strong person both physically and emotionally and he shows that side of him only when he's around Kiyoi. Behind his beauty and talent, Kioyi is very much insecure and uncertain of his abilities. The blind trust and admiration that Hira expresses, let Kiyoi lower his guard and be his real self.

In this movie they finally find answers to all questions that had been bothering them but mainly: how to stay together? While Hira is happy just to exist on the same planet as Kiyoi, who is the King, like a star to him; Kiyoi depends on Hira to give him strength, who accepts him no matter what. The story follows them after they graduated from the college. They both are working hard now and are facing their own lacking skills which reflects in their relationship.

The story of Hira and Kiyoi is a tale of the ultimate toxic relationship which works because they are both aware of it, accept it and are on the same footing and equal in spite of appearing to be otherwise.

This movie is literally beautiful: the cinematography is extraordinary- soft colours, dreamy exposure. Sets correspond characters : Hira's messy house, the photographer's white geometrical and empty house. Clothes too!

When the first season came out, I remember liking it enormously but then thinking I must have misunderstood it after reading what others were saying about it. Kieta Hatsukoi came out at the same time and everyone prefered it to this one. They are on a different level and cannot be compared: KH is rather straightforward and ordinary. My Beautiful Man has the depth no other series managed to touch. It is not an easy drama to watch, one needs to actually SEE what they are trying to show without it being in your face. And therein lies the beauty of this series.

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Guilty pleasure

And another short c drama under my belt. They are something else, these short c dramas! As someone who resolutely refused to watch c dramas (length, language, dubbing, censorship) I am feeling my resolve weakening. These short dramas are to blame. I think they found a perfect format for today's drama viewing audience fed up with endless drama filled with unnecessary side characters and with a lot of time to fill so they end up losing the plot. With these short dramas, they are forced to give us a solid, logical plot without fillers and straight forward.

Circle of Love had all of this and every single revenge melodrama trope was in evidence. Soulmate lovers torn apart by a revenge meet again but then there are a lot of mind games and amnesias (3 I think: every time she hits her head she gets amnesia and the plot restarts! Brilliant!) involved, crazy ex and her even crazier brother pulling the strings from behind until the final showdown where the main triangle kill each other. And then they meet each other two years later: I guess they had been reincarnated, or their souls like ghosts possessing other people looking like their twins. Completely illogical and incomprehensible but we do kind of get a happy ending or a promise of one!

It is messy, hot, convoluted, ridiculous, a lot of fun to watch and full of toxicity. But that is what makes it a great watch when you do not want to be aware or correct or care but are just looking for some mindless fun.

The drama is a well made product: writing, cinematography, music, acting- everything is top notch. It is not realistic or woke but it is a drama full of drama made for our viewing pleasure. And on that account it delivers as promised.

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Why do you like someone like me?

TRIGGER WARNING: Unpopular opinion

The title is a legitimate question considering the utter unlikability of the character of Kawi! I was genuinely puzzled throughout the series, trying to figure out the reasons for Piseang to like Kawi. I could not find any! And when questioned, Pisaeng would reply: "Because you're cute!". No, not possible because Kawi is anything but cute! But, more about that later: first things first!

Having run out of interesting bls to watch, I pulled this highly recommended thai series off of my not interested list. Mistake! Huge mistake! This is the second time in as many months I find myself watching a bl drama where one of the leads, here Gawin, carries the total weight of the show on his shoulders. If it were not for him, this would have gone back to my not interested list. (The other drama is Step By Step.)

This is is story of Kawi, a loser toiling through life and wishing what if.... Until one day a stranger offers to fix his music box crystal ball. When repaired that music box turns to be magical taking Kawi back to the past in order to fix his mistakes. He fails miserably, over and over again until he realizes that his soulmate is not Pear, a kind girl from the university but Pisaeng a cheeky and gruff fellow student with a longterm crush on Kawi. Once he realizes that, everything kind of falls into place and Kawi is happy and satisfied with his life. Episode 11 is mostly pure fluff! Until it isn't anymore!

Time travel and groundhog day tropes are one of my favourites so I stuck with this series. And those tropes were well executed, there were no plot holes and everything went smoothly there. All the support characters were excellent. Behind the time travel there is a romance : who do you love, how do you recognize your soulmate, how to gain acceptance. The series is lightly sprinkled throughout with rainbows and american progressive ideas (pride, islamophobia) I guess speaking to millennials. I am not one of them nor I am the target audience for this series so I found those scenes grating! I do not like ideology shoved into my face: I bit of delicacy please! (Why do you think I do not watch c dramas? Reset was more than enough!). Sorry I am drifting away from the subject in question!

The biggest problem here is Krist who was so tragically miscast as Kawi. I ilke Krist a lot but here... He is too old, his acting is wooden and he is not cute. I did not find him convincing but rather oddly repulsive as a 19yr old student: he was grimacing all the time, because Kawi felt ill at ease, but those facial expression belong mostly in a japanese manga and not here. He did better playing a 30 yr old even though he often fell into the "kawai" trap and spoke with a childish voice. Awful!

Gawin, on the other hand was perfection: he was at ease in his role, everything felt natural and normal around him. Only one thing was missing: the chemistry between them was touch and go! No matter how much Gawin emoted, having Pisaeng express his love in many ways, nothing seemed to bounce off of Kawi or Krist as Kawi. Fortunately, Mike did not take this role otherwise this would have turned into a disaster show; Gawin saved this single handedly!

There were a few scenes that have become obligatory in thai bls: rooftop/terrace night confession, which made me think of Bad Buddy, and a beach at sunset with couples being all lovey dovey! Find other sets, directors, please! I loved the final sunset scene: it lasted a long time but the sun did not moved an inch. How did you manage to film it, I wonder?

DISCLAIMER Even though I am convinced that I am free to give my opinion of a drama, to say what I did or did not like, I know that my opinion will not please some so I would like to say it loud and clear: This is my opinion of the drama I watched. No emotional harm intended to anyone!

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Degrees of love

This could be an educational movie about MILK: where it comes from and what becomes of it! The story of milk is told through 4 separate GL romances (???) of different degrees following the maturation and transformation of milk into a cheesecake! Very symbolic!

The first story, The Dairy Farm, talks about two childhood friends who are trying to get the cows to give more milk. They are extremely close friends but are they more? Open to interpretation! Playing the piano in the field for the cows was really cute and the chemistry between the girls was natural.

In the second story, The Cheesemaker, an overstressed and very unhappy city office girl, goes on an impromptu vacation to a countryside cheese maker's farmstead and B&B. There she bonds with the owner's daughter over making cheese with the milk from the previous story's dairy farm...a relationship in the making? Probably but nothing is ever said openly, everything is just implied.

The third story, Deliver Me, follows the earlier mentioned farm's cheese delivery girl who meets her high school best friend/girlfriend after a long time. They really talk for the first time ever. Probably my favourite story! I liked the delivery girl a lot, carrying her heart on her sleeve but lacking the courage to ask what she really wants to know with her ex pretending to be oblivious! The love they felt for each other was not mature enough to bloom properly.

In the last story, Baker, the delivery girl delivers cheese to a cafe where the owner makes delicious cheesecakes. She is being hit upon by her extremely annoying neighbour but is completely unaware of it while at the same time falling for her! This is a full fledged GL but fraught with misunderstandings and lack of communication (if they talked to each other from the beginning the movie would have been much much shorter).

The Cheese Sisters is a cute movie, the actresses have great chemistry and the countryside is really pretty especially in the first story. Each story is about 30min long. There is not much conflict and no toxicity whatsoever. I liked how the movie was constructed with every degree of love from friendship to committed relationship. Even the titles of stories can be understood as descriptions of these relationships. You will spend a nice moment watching this and then you'll forget about it!

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If I hear Groundhog Day in the same sentence as a film or a drama, I am certain I am going to watch it. And so when I saw a review for this movie, I had to watch it. Yesterday With You is a good film: it ticked all the necessary boxes for it to be a convincing time travel story!

It was a story about childhood friends who meet as adults reconnect and fall in love. But life keeps throwing them lemons until an accident happens. With the help of magic birthday candles they try to fix what went wrong!

The first 10 min is a whole romcom movie: how they meet and fall in love and fight and make up and just love each other. The montage of significant scenes from a relationship is expertly done and we do not need more in order to know what is important here.

Then the tragedy strikes in the form of a white truck of doom (what else?). I was impressed by the creative use of the said truck: he actually pulled a scaffolding down on the victim. After this accident, the time travel groundhog day style starts using some candles. The cinematography changes a bit and from warm brownish tones we get a lot of greys and cold colours as the main characters rush around trying to change the future. There was an impressive scene with a car driving through a forest of huge grey pillars (must be a highway exchange) but it conveyed well the feelings of being lost and distraught.

The film was full of usual drama tropes: the already mentioned truck, stopping in the middle of the road to think, disapproving and abusive parents, quirky best friends. The actors, completely unknown to me, were really good and had decent chemistry.
This was actually a perfect format for this story avoiding thus all the downsides of a drama like length, filler stories and chinese propaganda (see Reset).

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Doubting Thomas

Original Sin tells a story of a moment in life of a young man who comes to realisation that the church's teachings are not necessarily true but they are too deep seeded inside him that it is difficult though not impossible to break free from them. And once you do, in spite of all the praying in order not to succumb to "sin", you realize that the world keeps on turning and that you are still there, alive and well and praying! But now it is all for show! He still believes but takes the lessons with a grain of salt!

Yohan is a devout christian, spending a lot of time in church and in prayer groups. He is also aware of his own shortcomings, as he is convinced the church considers as such, and tries to make them go away with fervent prayer. One day he meets a new member of the church and is fascinated by him. JooWon notices it and takes advantage of it by making Yohan's deepest desires come to the surface.

Even though this is a short movie, just two scenes were enough to paint the portrait of each of the two characters: one is closed off and fervently praying while the other one is a charming predator! Actors did their job brilliantly! Cinematography is dark and cold, underlying the rigidity of the church!

What I saw in this movie is a slight critique of the church indoctrination and unwillingness to open one's mind to the world. Joo Won points that out, using Bible quotes, during the prayer meeting and the other members are totally confused. Yohan wants to believe but comes to terms with his sin and decides to pray the sin away! Probably until the next time!

Some people here said that the movie supports the church. I do not agree. It is more like "Don't ask, don't tell!" conclusion!
An interesting watch!

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Cuteness overload and nothing more!

I was bored, so bored while watching this! These two being cute and adorable, zero toxicity and no conflict (well a tiny one, blink-and-you-miss-it kind) , was OK for a few episodes and then it went flat going round and round in cute and adorable little circles! And I was bored out of my mind!

Don't misunderstand me, it was really well done, well written and a novel concept, cinematography top notch, and still I was bored! I do not fast forward while watching but I play games on my mobile and I played a lot while this was playing in the background!

What I liked:
- cute and adorable leads
- comic relief provided by band members and not the usual trans/effeminate gay characters
- no toxic mad females
- ballroom dance and ep 5 musical kind of music number
- the first love

What I did not like:
- repetitive plot: teased kisses
- lack of female characters
- most of the music
- the "no relationship while in band" plot device

The first few episodes were the best and though I almost dropped it while watching the first one, I was on board when the final twist came! Gun is a singer in a high school band and the school president, Tinn, has had a crush on him for two years. It is the final year of high school so Tinn decides to do everything in his power to help Gun with his band in order to get to know him and maybe more! The complications arise when Tinn finds out there is a rule of the music club: the members are not allowed to be in a relationship until the singing competition is over. Well this provides plot for about 10 episodes! After 5 episodes they realize they are attracted to each other but because of the rule they restrain themselves for the next five episodes. This is the occasion to place a good number of attempted and avoided kisses! They kisses bottles, notebook, medal but not each other!

While we are on that subject, I wonder if there had been some new guidelines within Thai BL industry because this is the second series in a row I see where the high school kids refrain from kissing until after graduation. Just like in I Will Knock You, they kiss, in spite of numerous attempted and averted kisses, only after graduation!

To make things perfectly clear, you can tell a love story without physical expression of it, but you need to tell it well! I do not look for kissing scenes in the dramas I watch: I look for a tightly woven story that keeps me glued to the screen! Not the case here! I was not glued, if anything, I was really annoyed with the endless repetition of tease kisses!

And of course they ticked off everything that is on the romcom required scenes list: riding a bike together, putting the helmet on a crush, sharing an umbrella, turn your head for an accidental almost kiss, back hugs, piggyback rides, treating a wound etc. etc. It was oh so formulaic but everything was done with those huge, adorable, cute and dreamy smiles! So I guess it is OK?

There was no notable conflict to speak of: bad guys were bad for about 10 seconds, Mom was sick for three minutes and the world was gay unfriendly for about 5 minutes. Parents were proud of their gay kids and worried about their futures for about 1 min. The rest was pure, unadulterated cuteness, adorable fluff, diabetes inducing and boring! So, so boring!

And then of course there were long minutes devoted to the product placement: printer, Nivea, drinks and chicken. HELP! I wanted to scream...

The actors were all really good, cute as hell and adorable like puppies. They have a promising future in acting, adorable and the way they are! And they are all quite good musicians and singers. For young men of that age, they are very, very talented! So I hope to see them in other series and not only BL.

The concept of the series wandered about a bit: is it a BL about and featuring music or a bl musical! Not the same thing! Most of the songs were preformed when plot demanded it: on stage with instruments. Some numbers were illustrated with an imaginary story(club, dance) and one was right out of american musical: people just bursting out in song in weirdest places! I did not like any of the songs: they were so alike I had trouble telling them apart and there were some songs repeating over and over again! But I like the idea of a BL musical so I hope to see one sometimes in the future!

This was a single watch, never to be repeated for me! Cuteness and adorableness are enough for one time watch: I need more conflict and angst, I need more drama in dramas I watch! This one was just cute and boring! Definitely not my cup of tea! Not bad but not for me either!

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Love, escort & revenge

I keep seeing a pattern in these japanese romance dramas: a woman down on her luck, loses job, gets dumped, falls and hurts herself and of course it rains, so she meets someone by accident who changes her life and she finds true love. This is mainly what happens here.

Sumire, the FL, has always been a doormat. One evening, looking like a drowned cat, completely drenched, she meets Yuri, the owner of a lingerie store whose words inspire her to change. The next day, after being rejected at a job interview, she meets Soichi in the rain. Sumire who finally gets a job with Yuri, starts dating Soichi without realizing that he is Yuri's live in escort. All hell breaks loose when a journalist humiliates Yuri during her fashion presentation.

The main characters are all greyish, unpredictable but ultimately they admit to their faults. And all is forgiven.

The drama deals with infidelity which is a topic highly hated on MDL. Even the fansubber hates this drama because of it! Go figure! People are human, we are not perfect or infallible, we make mistakes, we hurt others, we are sometimes unfaithful. I really do not like this puritan mindset: chaste and virtuous but really, are you all such saints? I am digressing! But I agree, adultery is wrong. Still it does not mean we cannot use this plot device in a drama.

In this drama a women had an relationship with a man without realizing he had a family. Why is she getting all the hate and the man (you need two people to tango!) nothing? Was she supposed to hire a detective to investigate the man who says nothing about himself in order to find out if he was married? The FL is also a victim of infidelity: her father abandoned her for another family which caused her a lifelong trauma!
Another character, a childhood friend who's had a crush on the FL for 20 years finally makes a move on her when she's on her lowest. The character was fun and funny but as far as his love life is concerned, I have zero respect for someone who is not brave enough and confess his feelings. For 20 years! I really hoped they would not end up together.
Soichi is the grayest of them all: a charming, handsome pianist, a kept man toying with the women's feelings until he finds the truth out. It is never too late to make amends!

The music is really good and the opening credits with the four main characters lost in a cobweb of relationships is quite eye catching. What is not eye catching is the main actress playing Sumire. She's a good actress and excels in this role of a mouse but because she's a mouse I cannot comprehend the escort's feelings for her. On the other hand, the actress playing Yuri impressed me with her voice: the way she speaks is alluring!

This is not a perfect drama: the episodes are short and the depth and the development of characters are somehow lacking. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it more than I expected and I guess the low ratings are the result of the unpopular MDL topic. But if you are openminded and like dramas who have drama, go for it!

NB This is my 200th review! Pat on my back!!!LOL

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Healing long vacation

For me, a relative newbie drama watcher, this drama is ancient history relic. And if it had not been for the Drama Discovery Challenge (perfect title!) I would have never had the idea to consider watching this let alone watch it. And I would have missed a real gem of a drama.

The plot is fairly basic: two lonely people get to share an apartment. This forced cohabitation makes them grow and change as individuals and discover real love and affection. Nothing new under the drama sun but this one was excellently written and produced, the cast is perfect and the plot moves forward smoothly without a hitch!

The characters are all too human. Minami, the FL hides behind her cheerfulness the frustration and unhappiness as life seems to pass her by. At the beginning her forcefulness and brazen behaviour are very annoying but in contact with Sena she mellows down a little bit, just enough to become likable and still remain a strong woman and a force of nature. Sena is a pianist, looks like a lost puppy, who wants to become a professional player but has hit the wall which inhibits him from expressing emotion through music that would give him that special something to lift him above the rest. Seta, in contact with a talented but robotic and emotionless student realizes the flaws in his piano playing but still does not know how to remedy it. Minami finds cracks in that wall and breaks it without him ever being aware of it!

The support characters are equally interesting. Minami's brother, a happy-go-lucky Shouji falls for Sena's fellow straight laced pianist. Their relationship is on the lines of extremes opposites attract but can they stay together or will they just bounce off of each other. And then there is this minor character, Sena's piano teacher who has a way with words and uses them to poetically describe piano playing. Beautifully written!

The relationship between Sena and Minami goes through all phases: from acquaintances to reluctant friends to lovers . Since Minami is older, she never really considers Sena a boyfriend material until it is too late and they are deeply in love. They try dating other people only to realize that it is too late for that! They had found the missing part of themselves in each other.
The writers managed to avoid those pesky drama tropes that last for too long: misunderstandings, break ups etc. They are there, otherwise there would be no drama, but they do not take up too much time.

This drama is 27 years old and it shows on a technical plane: the format, the cinematography, the fashion (poor guy and his oversized suits! Awful!), the habits (everyone's smoking everywhere!) and no mobile phones (trying to reach someone on the phone was not easy!). I watched it in poor quality but it was worth it!

The problem that I have with j-dramas in general is the music: too loud, too much of it, sudden changes of tune, wrong music which does not correspond the mood of the scene. I found all of it here. There were some nice original piano pieces as background music. And then there was this tune (which turned out to be a song in the last episode) which played repeatedly in the background with different arrangements (harp, piano, violin, flute). The thing with that tune is that it sounds like a mash up of Tears In Heaven by Eric Clapton and Blowing In The Wind by Bob Dylan. The resemblance to these songs made it very distracting and I found myself listening to the music instead of following the story.

Anyway, this has been a great watch and a beautiful story of facing challenges, deciding what you really want to do with your life and going for it!

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