Multilicus
Poland
This review may contain spoilers
Like or dislike it, but it's something new. At last something new!
The story of the two mains is barely there in episode 1; highlights for episode 2 reveal a little and it seems that in this BL events move faster that it is usual. Whether it’ll develop into something really good – remains to be seen, but that’s not why I’m writing a review after watching just the first episode.
It’s the setting of the series that’s really interesting. You’re making a BL series? Let’s set it on … the set of a BL series! You know those “behind the scenes” specials that supposedly reveal how a series is produced? Forget about them; we’ll show you the real “behind the scenes”. In episode 1 it worked great – and it doesn’t matter if you take this part seriously or as parody. The whole casting part, with YouTubers showing up, with Kaownah and Turbo as a famous shipped couple forced to do fan service (and clearly tired of it), the comedic casting scene, the later meeting and discussing who’s really gay and what the producers of a TV series can support and what goes too far – all of that was well done, interesting and new. Even the first encounter of Gene and Nubsib was used to mock BL productions – when lights went out, spotlight hit the two mains and Nubsib began his over-the-top performance, Gene was almost shocked by the surrealism of this scene. BTW: all of that showed that the series has a lot of distance to itself and to the genre as such – which is a good thing. But where episode 1 shined for me was Aey’s bathroom scene. Unlike all the other scenes, which are comedic, the bathroom scene is played not for laughs, but completely straight. The cheerful music ends and the tone shifts to sober. Lack of dialogue and focus on Aey’s face only add to that. The hesitation, the frustration, the struggle to keep smiling even when he’s alone: thanks to that you can see cracks in a sycophantic, phony façade he forces himself to put on. Aey just might be truly relatable (unlike other characters): a lonely person trying to stay strong in a world were likes and comments on social media are how success is measured. The tonal contrast between this scene and the rest of the episode makes it stand out; I watched it 3 times before continuing with the rest of the episode. A little gem.
I cannot decide whether “Lovely Writer” is meant as a parody (as some have assumed), fiction, social commentary, criticism of BL’s or a blatant attempt to exploit BL fans by supposed criticism of what they love and uncovering fake secrets of the industry. I cannot decide and I’m fine with that – I’m writing this after watching episode 1 and it would be weird for me to know the above. Maybe later episodes will explain that – I don’t know. What I do know is that it was much more entertaining and interesting than any episode 1 of any BL series I’ve seen.
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"Awful prediction" after watching episode 2: Nubsib was coaxed into "becoming sexual" with Gene (possibly a package deal: Nubsib gets to star in the series based on Gene's first novel but has to get involved with him) by Gene's publisher to make Gene's next novel hot & steamy. Eventually Nubsib will fall for Gene, but the truth will get revealed - much to Gene's horror, creating the necessary BL drama. I'm rather dumb, slow and drawing conclusions isn't my forte, but I came up with that "awful prediction" after the last moments of episode 2 - I think it was Nubsib's voice saying he didn't want to open his eyes while kissing Gene, as he was afraid of breaking character. That was my clue and I concluded that Nubsib is playing a role, pretending to be interested in Gene.
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After watching episode 5: Aey has several times more backstory and stuff to work with than Gene. Aey's character might actually have some depth. The way the story of Gene and Nubsib is told, seems conventional (with something weird about Nubsib and things he's hiding), while the story of Aey is told in a different manner (and there's much more of a story to tell). Him and Mork? I'd vote for that!
It’s the setting of the series that’s really interesting. You’re making a BL series? Let’s set it on … the set of a BL series! You know those “behind the scenes” specials that supposedly reveal how a series is produced? Forget about them; we’ll show you the real “behind the scenes”. In episode 1 it worked great – and it doesn’t matter if you take this part seriously or as parody. The whole casting part, with YouTubers showing up, with Kaownah and Turbo as a famous shipped couple forced to do fan service (and clearly tired of it), the comedic casting scene, the later meeting and discussing who’s really gay and what the producers of a TV series can support and what goes too far – all of that was well done, interesting and new. Even the first encounter of Gene and Nubsib was used to mock BL productions – when lights went out, spotlight hit the two mains and Nubsib began his over-the-top performance, Gene was almost shocked by the surrealism of this scene. BTW: all of that showed that the series has a lot of distance to itself and to the genre as such – which is a good thing. But where episode 1 shined for me was Aey’s bathroom scene. Unlike all the other scenes, which are comedic, the bathroom scene is played not for laughs, but completely straight. The cheerful music ends and the tone shifts to sober. Lack of dialogue and focus on Aey’s face only add to that. The hesitation, the frustration, the struggle to keep smiling even when he’s alone: thanks to that you can see cracks in a sycophantic, phony façade he forces himself to put on. Aey just might be truly relatable (unlike other characters): a lonely person trying to stay strong in a world were likes and comments on social media are how success is measured. The tonal contrast between this scene and the rest of the episode makes it stand out; I watched it 3 times before continuing with the rest of the episode. A little gem.
I cannot decide whether “Lovely Writer” is meant as a parody (as some have assumed), fiction, social commentary, criticism of BL’s or a blatant attempt to exploit BL fans by supposed criticism of what they love and uncovering fake secrets of the industry. I cannot decide and I’m fine with that – I’m writing this after watching episode 1 and it would be weird for me to know the above. Maybe later episodes will explain that – I don’t know. What I do know is that it was much more entertaining and interesting than any episode 1 of any BL series I’ve seen.
===================
"Awful prediction" after watching episode 2: Nubsib was coaxed into "becoming sexual" with Gene (possibly a package deal: Nubsib gets to star in the series based on Gene's first novel but has to get involved with him) by Gene's publisher to make Gene's next novel hot & steamy. Eventually Nubsib will fall for Gene, but the truth will get revealed - much to Gene's horror, creating the necessary BL drama. I'm rather dumb, slow and drawing conclusions isn't my forte, but I came up with that "awful prediction" after the last moments of episode 2 - I think it was Nubsib's voice saying he didn't want to open his eyes while kissing Gene, as he was afraid of breaking character. That was my clue and I concluded that Nubsib is playing a role, pretending to be interested in Gene.
===================
After watching episode 5: Aey has several times more backstory and stuff to work with than Gene. Aey's character might actually have some depth. The way the story of Gene and Nubsib is told, seems conventional (with something weird about Nubsib and things he's hiding), while the story of Aey is told in a different manner (and there's much more of a story to tell). Him and Mork? I'd vote for that!
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