Marshmallow-Chocoholic

1) Japan ( for me, best chemistry/ cast and characters)
2) Taiwan( old but gold and best changes to plot for culture)
3) China ( takes too much from the other versions for my liking, but really good cast)
4) Korea ( okay cultural changes but the only member of the cast for the Korean version I actually like was Kim Bum, LMH and KHS never felt right for the parts and ending was too much of a drag for me)

I agree with you - it’s too cliche and focused on trying to add spice to the relationships rather than actually portray the characters as individuals. As a fan of the webtoon, it’s sort of hard to watch some of the “ safer” changes they’ve made already and parts of the story - might give this one a couple more eps, then drop it because honestly there are better dramas to watch/ coming out at the minute than this one for me.

Thank God that I’m not the only one who wasn’t a fan of Extraordinary You. It seems everyone rants and raves about it but after the halfway mark , the show just became too cliche for me and I dropped it. I’m giving True Beauty the benefit of the doubt ( as I sort of liked the webtoon), but the cliches are really getting on my nerves. Might give this one a couple more eps to see if the pace changes, but not sure if this one lives up to my expectations.

Is anyone else a little bit annoyed with this show compared to the webtoon? I know that dramas like to shake things up a bit, but the cliches and glossing over some of the webtoon elements to be more “ universal” is irritating me a lot. I don’t know about anyone else, but I might just try one more ep and give this one up ( it should be good for me, but it’s just too cliche).

I know where you are coming from. I have also read the webtoon version long before the show, but there are just too many changes which I don't agree with ( the father appearing in the family's lives , the cliches and the lack of emphasis upon Su Ho's ancestry so far in order to be '' politically correct'' for Koreans). Ga Young is fairly comical but her portrayal plays too much upon the '' cutesy and cliche '' than a realistic individual ( don't get me started on her crush). Personally, I have always found Eun Woo's acting hit or miss, but he isn't actually bad in this show from what we've seen so far. My problem is that Eun Woo did not really live up to the image that I hoped for Suho, however, this also as much a consequence of bad script writing making him seem ''stiff'' . Hwang In Yeop (for me), was fairly well-cast physically to play Seo Jun. However, the show is already going down that route rather than introducing him in a more distant manner and developing him into the storyline, as the " zealous male lead". I might give it one more episode and return to it just to find out how it ends a bit later, but this show just isn't doing it for me...

CoNeTrIC - Maybe my slight argument would be that Wataya Minato’s friend did jump to his defence when he assumed Masato was a homophobic and for a long time in the show, Adachi was often a little uncomfortable by Yucichi’s thoughts of being together . Apart from that, I can see where you’re coming from with glossing over some issues of homophobia and not including a wider range of problems for the LGBT community. I’m not sure whether you’ve watched it or not, but for all of its cliches and problems , Love With Flaws actually did this pretty well with the issues of homophobia for one of the side couples’ relationship and insecurities as two gay men. Additionally, I do agree with you to some extent about the drama being targeted for female audiences through “cutesy “relationships rather than realism, however, it is some progress for Japan not to be going down the other negative route of oversexualisation as well ( e.g. for yaoi fanatics).

I should probably apply this more to Japan respectfully . In Japanese culture, LGBT rights have always had an awkward relationship with mainstream views . Historically , Japan has always been mildly accepting of homosexuality , however, various governments tried to limit or restrict it. Because of repression and a negative view arising by lack of knowledge of homosexuality in the mainstream , a negative stigma arose by the growing BL genre amongst mangas during the 80s . Yaoi” ( effectively very promiscuous gay porn) has arisen to some stereotypes in Japan of homosexuality leading to men becoming more sexualised. (Whilst slightly off topic, Thailand is another interesting case. Thailand has always been pretty forwards for positive portrayals of same sex couples,but, in the past for westerners , Thailand was notorious for male gay sex workers which in the west , has again created some bad stereotypes). Whilst it’s wrong to claim that all Japanese think this way , we should not ignore this problem . It’s just positive that gay rights are becoming more normalised in Japan.

Maybe I should’ve been clearer; often in fiction same-sex couples often take on certain “ male and female” cliches in dramas or movies ( I.e being effeminate or the “ overdramatic gay”). Whilst in Asia, Thailand ( and increasingly Taiwan) are increasingly becoming advocates for gay rights, there’s always been a more mainstream cliche or negative stigma against homosexuality in some Asian countries in popular culture. It’s just refreshing that some of the more recent Asian dramas we are watching are more positive towards gay rights including this one.

Fingers crossed it will be as good as the webtoon ?!

I’ve been really surprised with just how heartwarming this drama has been. Normally, BL Dramas aren’t my cup of tea because of misrepresentations in Asian Dramas of same-sex couples being “ different” or overly promiscuous, however, a friend’s raving review of the first episode lead me to start watching this a couple of weeks ago. The male coupled have refreshing chemistry without falling into the overemphasised “ gay” cliches and their flaws add a touch of realism to their relationships. Easily one of the best romance dramas of 2020 .

I am in two minds about this drama version. Having read the webtoon for a long time, it’s hard to not try being critical about minor things which are different such as the female lead’s crush in the beginning in the show , the emphasis upon cliches and the greater role of the father ( as he hasn’t been seen in the webtoon much). On the other hand, one thing which I am impressed by was the careful foreshadowing placed in episode one of the suicide of Suho and Seojun’s friend which dragged on for a long time in the webtoon. Moon Ga Young plays the female lead in slightly dorky , comical and sweet manner and fingers crossed the show will tackle Suho and Seojun’s characterisation with writing them off as plot devices.

So far this year, 2020 has brought some either real gems or stinkers. Uncanny Counter, is a nice diamond in the rough; a break from sugary sweet romances and returning back to the old supernatural themes with lots of actions on the side and interesting characters ( not least a wide range of ages). As usual, OCN has more than defied my expectations !