NIke_v

Nah, that was definitely lip balm 😋

Have you seen Devil Judge? Theoretically there was FL that had feelings towards MC (ML had his own psyho-female-love-intrest that he never had any interest in) and MC was denying he was interested for the most part of the show (said he was in love in her in the end but it did not last long). Their chemistry was for me almost non-existent. MC and ML on the other hand were fire and quite suggestive (not to mention the whole family angle, basically co-parenting, meals etc.). Was MC distraught after what happened with FL? Yes. Was he inconsolable/suicidal? Only about what he thought happened to ML.
So... is it bromance or BL in your opinion (I was of the opinion that FL was there just as a smoke screen for the conservatives in Korea but it was more of a BL)?

Me neither... could have been longer, though 💦

I was in discussion with one user on Chinese BL that that person was claiming to being bromance. I saw some Chinese straight series and they are not too far off with affection as the BL - it's just country's style. But no - not a BL. I even asked what does series needs to have for that person to consider it a BL but got no clear answer and decided not to continue to convince them that they were not "cheated"/mislead 🤷‍♀️

There are some who would still relegate this to bromance (as they do with Stay With Me). I find that couples do not have to be super affectionate in public (or private) or confessing their undying love to make it clear to the audience what they feel about each other (Chinese BLs are always good example - I am on re-watch of Killer and Healer and I know I am still not prepared for the ending but cannot help myself due to all couples chemistry and storyline, a true gem!).

Was the kidnapping plot just to show us shirtless Ngern? 🤔
😉

Wasn't it because she could not commit? I think Yang mentioned that she hasn't changed, never settles, has multiple guys at the same time...

So I did the math. 25000 yen divided by 30 days, by 2 people and by 3 meals a day is less than $1/meal (drinks included)...
With 30000 yen (wasn't this the price of umbrella in New Year's special EP?) we get slightly above $1/meal.

Skirting around subject matter: it's still China (even if they don't release it in the mainland the actors might face repercussions if it's to hardcore... like hand holding 😉)
Hot-tempered, erratic and volatile (...) lacked proper communication: they are 17 years old boys. We cannot expect them to be mature. WB practically from 1 scene was shown as quite hot-headed, so it's his core characteristic.
Ending: it's just a cliffhanger. For me it was not as surprising because it was an escalation - big bro could control WB easily before but now his influence was greatly diminished, so he played the same card that worked in the past (remember that he tried separation and it did not work at all, so he needed more "permanent" solution).
For me the focus on the family was a bonus but I get that's not everyone's cup of tea.

Perhaps we are going to see ihim fight a lot in the "Red Peafowl" (it's based on novel but I haven't read it, so I have no clue about his character) - it's mafia/police themed.

I like this series as well and don't get the negative comments about their progress (granted I would prefer for Sailom to be more into that kiss but I can get that it wasn't exactly ideal circumstances for it). I was not expecting much and just recently learned about novel and hope to read it.
I also quite like Love Syndrome witch was bashed a lot (let's be happy that they based it on 3rd novel which had much less toxicity and the series made make it even less problematic - not totally but still much better).

It was long (same as mine 😉).
What I meant was: how do you see Chinese BLs? With what you wrote it would be that China makes no BL as they all fall under bromance, if I understood you correctly.
Each country has their own style of it, I think and Chinese rely more on reading between the lines now (in some "straight" dramas I saw as well).
"A shoulder to cry on" was for me not the typical Korean style of BL, so I was disappointed (even though I loved the scene with the phone call 😂). This show is in line with other Chinese BL adaptation (being a bit bolder than them). Would I want them to be more faithful to the oryginal story in some aspects (not toxicity)? Yes. Could that happen any time soon? Doubtful.
I would say that it is advertised correctly by the show itself - opening song is all about the family. It's just people who hype some aspects of it causing misunderstanding and not the show itself, I think.
Taiwanese adaptation or Thai - would they actually do it better than this? In some aspects perhaps but lacking in others. I doubt that there are many adaptations that are universaly liked / without criticism when compared with oryginal.

It wasn't produced in China but the actors are Chinese, right? So if they got more explicit it might end badly for them (weren't actors from "Addicted" banned to show on the same stage?). My another theory is that they are leaving "hardcore" stuff (like hand-holding 😉) for next season...
When I watch BL from China, I set myself on the mindset that we won't see much physical aspects of relationship (or them outright saying it) but if the feelings are there I would still enjoy it.

What makes a good Chinese BL for you (I am seriously asking and not trying to start a fight)? IMO they did a lot more than in other post "Addicted" BLs ("Untamed" had the bowing before tablets as show if their love - was it more BL for you?
In "S.C.I." they were doin the mouth-to-mouth 🤔).

What I liked about this series is the whole message that the family are the people we decide to be with. They don't have to share blood with us to make us feel true familiar love and warmth. What the children need is their parents attention and support - throwing at them money won't solve the issues (like seriously the didn't know his son transferred schools for months?!).
In BLs usually conflict within the family comes from person's sexual orientation (much less now) and only sometimes they show issues like too much pressure/high expectations. Here the conflict starts with lack of communication, father grieving and just simply letting things be. It's good to see that the dad had some growth in the series.
BLs usually don't show interactions in the families much - they mainly focus on the couple (+friends), so I liked this kind of "slice of life" theme.

I am hoping that they do season 2 next year and we finally get the closure (and "hardcore" stuff 😏).

They even mentioned/"flashbacked" Love Class (actual class, mind you) while office worker was trying to figure out how he knew the chief 🤭
I was I like: am I watching wrong show? Have they done Love Class 3 in a few weeks? 😆

I think only "Stay with Me" had mostly massively positive comments (and there were a lot of them)... that it will the ending of the season.
I like to sometimes read those negative comments... when they have substance (like other perspective/interpretation, bad changes in script vs. oryginal etc.).

Tinn had to support his whole family. Diao doesn't have to pay for anything (he is living at Yi's condo free of charge), so he can keep the money all for himself. Additionally Tinn was teaching in poorer neighborhood - Diao's pupils seem to come from wealthy families (as per book at least one dad was quite loaded).
I agree with you on the money in Switzerland - I think that his bestie was founding him partially (at least flight and starting accomodation) but he had some kind of scholarship + was planing to work there. My biggest question is: does be know the language (I mean one of the languages)? I am not sure if he can get by with just English.

Yes, the ex was such a wacko 😂 but such a great character (I must say, I was expecting him to be using that childish behaviour as a smoke screen and in the end stab somebody in the back - but nope, he was just himself the whole time 😆). I too was hoping for more screen time for him but perhaps that was just the right amount as some characters are like salt - they add a lot of flavour but in excess can overpower.

From Korea we should not forget "To My Star" and "The Eighth Sense". "Long Time no See" hast it's own unique charm. "Color Rush" (sans dead fish kiss), "Blueming", "Our Dating Sim", "You make me dance" or "Roommates of Poongduck 304" (same actors as in "Kissable Lips" - ML looks so like vampire 😳) were also good.
If one wants to see "gay of demonic charm", then "Antique (Bakery)" is a way to go (I mostly watched it because said charakter was played by the same actor as priest in "Hand - the Guest" and he is eye candy 😏 - luckily in that horror there was no romance, so I could feast my eyes on the priest 🤫).

Of course! Who else they could be?
Especially in "Stay with me", where they were sharing bed (they had 2 separate bedrooms but probably to lazy to make their bed in the morning 😉) and that tube was definitely a lip balm and not lube... 🤭
In "Untamed" they bowed in front of parents/ancestors tablets (~graves) in such a way that according to custom would make them married...
In "Killer and Healer" FL2 gave ML1 a scarf and he in front of her regifted it to MC1 in quite flirty way (let's not forget how the story ended for ML1 and MC1's little sister). ML2 and MC2 were not much better - weren't they singing love parts from opera (the beads in ML2's hands at the end made me tear up)?
"S.C.I." had to have this mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. It was necessary!
"Word of Honor" - MC hat to literally beat ML with a stick because he was so clingy and flirty.

They are just friends (™ by China)!!! 😆

I would add to that some other Chinese "BLs" (it's censored BL but still quite good, if not excellent in some cases):
"Untamed" - it's wuxia but it's a "classic" and based on "Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation" (there is official translation).
"World of Honour" - also wuxia and I don't know how it passed censorship with that flirty ML 😉 (also based on novel, "Faraway Wanderers").
"Killer and Healer" (set in the 1920, I think) - want to cry? That's one for you! In BL they usually make women unlikable/one dimensional - here they are complex characters and FL1 (in love in MC1 but he treats her like a friend) is liked a lot by fans. Warning!!! 🚨 it has SE for basically everyone (there is alternative HE for main couple but it's clear it was done from scraps). It's a hidden gem, though. Screenwriter wrote novel (same title) after it was released and there is fan translation of some of it (novel is still in progress, I think)
"S.C.I" - crime procedural based on novels; there are 3 BL couples in the novels but they changed gender of ML2 to female in this adaptation 🥲 (my favourite is 3rd couple: timid but with amazing memory policeman and genius magician who is quite similar to his uncle, a famous criminal - they actually met as children and magician played a trick on policeman [due to jealousy] that made him stutter).
"Justice in the Dark" / "Abyss" - they released 8 EPs (out of 30, I think) and censorship stoped it, so if you want to suffer because it might never come out you can watch it (or read novels, translated by fans, called "Silent Reading").

There is also option of time skip (for example in last EP). Like he decides to go get the treatment and they do flashes of it (or none and just time skip) and they get HE...
I read that 4 of 6 are based on actual people and their story (not Ray/Sand, though), so perhaps we get either BE or open ending for all... (this is GMM so BE is almost impossible)