Color Is Addictive

I went to college for graphic design and one of my favorite classes was color theory. There’s something fascinating about the fact that humans can see such a range of colors when so many other creatures can’t, like dogs for instance. I love how they made color, or rather the ability to see color, something that could be an addictive thing for someone who was deprived of it for so long. Korean dramas always do unique storytelling the best; I think of any dramas from all over the world.

This drama wasn’t really about the “boys love” to me, or romance. It really was a story of how we can depend on something and make it our whole life, and actually become obsessed or addicted with the need to have it in our lives. Is it healthy to pursue at all costs? Or worse to deprive yourself? This drama was really a metaphor for that more than it was about anything else. In the end were they addicted to love, or were they addicted to the new experience both of them were feeling after being deprived for so long, or were they addicted to the feeling of being needed by someone?

My biggest complaint is that the story didn’t really have a chance to get fleshed out the way it could have if it had a standard 16 to 24 episodes that you see in a typical Korean drama. Web dramas have some of the most unique storytelling, but the side effect to that is they are short. It’s almost like watching a movie. I wish they would’ve had more episodes to explain more of this world of monos and probes. Like other reviewers I have unanswered questions.

Overall I’m satisfied with how it ended. I doubt there will be a season two, as typically Korean dramas don’t do that. But even if it did somehow get to season two, I don’t know that it would be able to complete the story in the way any of us would really want. And it might actually end up being more disappointing. I’d rather wonder how long this couple will stay together, and if their love can withstand obsession. I’d like to think they will be each others anchor, meeting somewhere in the middle of the color spectrum.

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This drama stuck pretty close to the book, which I appreciated. One thing I think that came across a little better in the book was the character of Pharm. I know there have been some complaints that he cried a lot in the drama. But if you read the book you would read what he was thinking and feeling to cause so many emotions in him. He was remembering a lot of trauma from his past life, and confusing emotions that would be a lot for anyone to deal with. Especially someone who is sensitive like Pharm. As far as the actor that played Dean, he wasn’t the best of actors. But he represented the character from the book fairly well. The story is pretty tragic even though it has a good ending. I think that the drama did a good job of telling that story. I don’t agree with some people that say it was cringey. You have to remember that these characters are just out of high school and dealing with their first love. And on top of that two of the characters are dealing with their first love AND the first love from their past lives. It is going to have some awkward moments, and maybe some cute moments that cynical adults don’t always understand anymore. However, I do think there was a problem in editing. There were a lot of moments of silence or very drawn out scenes that really didn’t need to be edited that way. Plus there were some issues with the sound quality. Overall I really loved what the story represented and how lost love could get a second chance. It was a unique story line to me and I would watch it again.

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This lakorn was just “ugh”. I went in giving it the benefit of the doubt, despite bad reviews. I thought maybe it had some guilty pleasure watching to it. Instead I felt guilty giving it a chance! The acting of the main lead was weak, as was her character. The main male was a total douche bag that decided he “loved” her after raping her in episode 10. Thats after he married her under false pretenses. Did I mention he later in-prisons her as well?! Then, then!, he expects her to love him and be faithful to him. What the—?! Don't even get me started on the awful side strip club dancer characters. They were completely unnecessary to the story and just fought ALL THE TIME. Then the main males aunt and wannabe fiancé were always in cahoots. Like, he couldn't be man enough to put them in their place, but he could jump to constant wrong conclusions about his wife?? What an idiot. They were all idiots. I didn’t like the story, the characters, the acting, or the beyond horribly inappropriate song choices at the wrong times. (You'll understand when you hear 50s rock playing as he's carrying her to the bed to rape her). Just pass this Lakorn, unless you like badly done soap operas.

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Even Love Scenes Couldn’t Save It

About the only good thing about this drama was the love scenes. It was nice that they showed real passion interaction and not anything that had overtones of rape, which you usually get an a BL. However the story was very bland and quite trope-ish. It’s basically like a heterosexual romance story you would have read in the 80s, with the whole arranged marriage and misunderstanding and stoic leading male. The acting wasn’t bad, but I have seen better and it may have helped the story if they’re acting had been a little bit better or more convincing. I would’ve given this a six if not for the production value and the love scenes. That was about the only real passion I saw in this drama. But it’s nothing that I will remember or want to watch again

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I have looked forward to this story since Eternal Love (Ten Miles of Peace Blossoms). It was everything I hoped for and better than the books! Ignore all the plot lines featuring DongHua and Fengjiu in Eternal Love. They f-ked it up. But thankfully it was redeemed in this stand alone series. Don’t get me wrong, Eternal Love is one of my favorite Chinese dramas. I have re-watched it several times. But now after watching this story, I will fast forward through all of the plot lines in Eternal Love that contain Donghua and Fengjiu and instead just rewatch this again as a companion show.

I loved that they used the same actor and actress as the previous series. They have great chemistry together and really play off each other‘s personality types. I think their acting was consistent with before and maybe better even. I liked how the writers/producers maintained the world of the gods. Even though they weren’t done by the same writing (?) team you can see how the two series still kept continuity with the world building and characters and rules.

My only complaint with the series is the time that they spent within each section of the story. At times I felt like they spent too long in some areas and two little in other areas. For instance some of the stories really dragged on but yet the last 10 episodes they really waited to make everything happen last minute. I would’ve liked the reunion to have lasted longer than five minutes in the very last episode. Imagine the hijinks and the fun that could’ve been had if they would’ve at least devoted one last episode to Donghua getting to know his son! Too much time was spent on the pointless story of Alanruo and why she died.

Plus the actress and the character she played, JiHeng, was the most off putting person and a blatant grab at attention. From what I’ve read she really wanted to playing the main female character and that was why she bought the rights to the story. But upon finding that the fans didn’t want her to play that character she still managed to find herself a role in the series. Which is fine, I can get that. But then she made her character so clingy and obnoxious. And gave herself way too much screen time. It was obvious she was trying to make up for the fact that she couldn’t be the lead. I could’ve done very well fast forwarding through all her parts, and will do so when I rewatch this again. There was nothing I liked about her fake face, bad acting, and pointless character.

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So this drama had me laughing out loud one minute and feeling the sad weight of society and family pressure the next. I could feel for the brother and sister, but for their mom too. I mean, how hard to have one gay child in a restrictive communist country, let alone two! For Chinese people family is the number one important thing, especially the family lineage and continuing the line through the grandchildren. So imagine how hard to find out that both of your children are gay and are in fake marriages! But on the other hand imagine feeling desperate enough to get married just for the sake of trying to please your family and society. I liked the movie and that it explored those things but at the same time I don’t think that they really develop the characters much beyond the fact that they were “gay “. The female characters got the most development and personality. But the gay men characters had no backstory, had no motivation. Beyond finding out that one was from South Africa, that’s about all the personal information you got on them. So from the standpoint of why their relationship was so important, I didn’t feel as much connection to them. But overall it was a good movie. Could’ve been developed more if it had been a tv series, maybe.

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MY Manner of Death? Boredom

I know the year is still young, but this is the most disappointing drama of the year for me so far. I had really anticipated this for months. I love the chemistry of Max and Tul, admittedly mainly in the “Together with Me” series. Well, they DID have some good chemistry in this drama.

At any rate I do not think that their acting was suited for this genre. Especially Tul’s. He was not believable age wise as of a medical examiner, and as far as his acting went he was not believable for playing that character. I think Max fit the characters personality fairly well. I am sure that producers thought that since they had such good chemistry in other dramas that they would really fit well in this drama together. I just don’t think it was the right story for them, or maybe the right genre.

As for the story itself, it had some good twists. I don’t want to give any spoilers, but there were a few surprising moments in the last few episodes. I think this would’ve been better as a straight up suspense mystery, without any romance added to it. Overall the acting wasn’t too bad, the music was pretty forgettable. I like the idea behind the story of the medical examiner, just wish they had different stories throughout instead of one main mystery.

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My heart is just blown. Finished watching this excellent drama through tears and laughter, pain and happiness. I have watched quite a few Thai dramas and BL shows. This stands out as one of the best I’ve seen. What a nice surprise that was! The acting was far superior of any other acting I’ve seen in a BL drama so far. Mature, believable, touching. The chemistry and friendship between the two male leads felt genuine and believable. I have to say that Singto and Ohm’s acting was just beyond improved. It was actually so much more than I expected. I felt for these characters and lost myself in their story. Ohm has such a charm and a smile that is infectious. I really hope he continues to be successful and get more great roles after this. He could really be a big thing. Singto also delivered well and made me forget all about “SOTUS” who? I really recommend lovers of the supernatural and young love give this one a try!

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Total Eclipse off the Heart

I found this drama surpassed my expectations. I will say that the whole premise of the eclipse, even making the title of the drama “the eclipse”, was a bit misleading. It really had nothing to do with the drama or the story line whatsoever. Frankly I think it was a gimmick for marketing. But that aside, the story of a school demanding perfection and rules that many considered to be outdated in a modern society, coupled with a exploration of sexuality and the taboo of how it has been viewed in the past vs now, was really the heart of the story. The acting of the two main leads has really improved, and I liked how they played against their typical typecasts. I thought that they really had a lot to learn from each other. The whole story is really be more of a coming of age genre than it is anything supernatural. It’s about the expectations that pressure us as we go from high school into “adulthood “. And then you add in things like the death of a loved one, first love, conflict, and trying to figure out your place in society. At times they simplified these issues a bit. But overall I think that some of the criticism has been quite harsh against the drama. I will agree that the title and set up is a bit misleading. But I was riveted to find out the answer to the “mystery “of the uncles death. It wasn’t quite what I thought it would be, which was a nice surprise. It was very emotional and I actually cried. It may not be the best example of the genre; for that check out “He’s Coming to Me”, which did the mystery and supernatural storyline a lot better. However, this is still definitely a BL worth watching.

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Beautiful Truths In a BL

I love this as a stand alone in the series. If you can, watch the short prelude to this (its about 10 minutes) as its gives a little more of Haruhiko’s point of view. I wasn’t a fan of the other movies in the series. I like the characters in this part of the narrative better. I think they fit at a better part in Rio’s life. He even says that when his old lover (from Mood Indigo) briefly reenters and basically asks why they can’t work instead. Because they are too much alike. That simple. Their time has passed.

There were some really deep thoughts in this movie that went beyond a typical BL. It really made me think. Why we are drawn to people we love, for instance. Its a thinking persons BL and just a really well written movie no matter what genre it calls itself. Its also sexy, romantic, and introspective. Well worth it if you can find a subbed version out there!

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Snackable BL

I really loved the main couple in the show. I felt like their enemies to lovers story line was a bit fast paced, but the chemistry between the two actors really carried over to their characters and it hooked me in. It’s a short, snackable BL at only six episodes, a small bonus episode making 6 1/2. I thought the acting was great, considering what this genre usually serves up. The couples were attractive, which no doubt helped with their chemistry. The storyline wasn’t a hundred percent unique for sure. But as you’ll see in season two I think they improved a lot on the unique storyline. I would’ve been mad if season one ended the way it did but they redeem themselves with continuing the story in a season two, which is usually unheard of in a BL. Definitely be ready to watch season one and two back to back for complete satisfaction. I will definitely rewatch this again. Hoping there is a season three to flesh out all the couples and their stories.

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first of all, can Ray Chang get his own drama?? what a sexy man he is! his characters story was More interesting to me then the main leads character. I found that the main female was very cold and unreasonable in many instances. I couldn’t really fully get into the relationship between her and Mike He’s character. I kept thinking that their divorce was a good thing, she didn’t deserve him. like other reviewer‘s have mentioned, the story doesn’t really fut in the traits of each animal to the character like the credits and the original premise imply. Pretty much the animals in the story are only at the beginning as a back ground device really. But I did not find this too distracting to the story, I actually ended up not even thinking about it once I got a few episodes in.

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Now I feel Full...

I just finished watching season one and two back to back. And I have to say, I disagree with a lot of the reviews. I think season two was just as good as season one, if not better. And it fleshed out all of the couples more. Especially the cousin (the former Doctor) and the CTO. Their stories really intrigued me. How one has Aspbergers and his little oddities, and the other has what looks to me to be some kind of personality disorder (maybe mild sociopathy?).

I thought the explanations for what happened at the end of season one made sense, at least in drama world. The thing is, truth is stranger than fiction. Some weird dramatic things can happen in relationships, especially when you have family interfering. So I think it’s plausible for the separation to have been the way it was and for the reasons it was explained in the story. Miscommunication is often the downfall of many relationships.

As far as some complaints about there being non-con in the relationship… I did not see it that way… I think they have a complex relationship with a lot of history and push-pull. And frankly, Su Li held the upper hand in the relationship pretty much ALL the time. He may be the “bottom”, but he has Gu under his thumb. I did not feel like their relationship was a matter of dominance. I think that Gu was drunk and his emotions were coming out finally that he had held in for so long. And the fact that they were implied to have had sex, I feel like it was consensual from the way Su was acting before the cut scene.

I hope that if they have a season three they will delve more into the relationship with Yi and Xuan. I feel like these two could really save each other, and maybe understand each other better than anyone else can understand them. They are two oddballs meeting in the night. But I am intrigued to where they could take their story. If they end their story with season two though, I will still be happy. I could leave the series at two seasons and feel complete. I will definitely rewatch it again!

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Sign me Up for the Mafia!

So far the very few action BL‘s that I have watched have been pretty tragic or even boring, just overall unsatisfying even if the acting was good, and far from riveting. So I went in with expectations hopeful, but overall realistic. The two leads are to plainly put it… Hot. The sexiness is probably the most charismatic, full of chemistry couple I have ever seen in BL since Tharntype. But they have officially beat that couple. If I were to compare this couple as far as being Starcrossed lovers, or a duo whose names will be synonymous with one another, would be my favorite book BL couple from “Addicted Heroin”.

You just know that after that first episode their chemistry is just gonna continue to be off this charts. They’re acting as well as physical chemistry just really gelled for me. I have unfortunately seen a lot of subpar acting in BL‘s. But this one was worth the wait. I’m not sure if it’s because they had longer to rehearse and spend time together, or if they would be good actors in any other series. But they really impressed me on this one. Even the side actors were pretty good.

I would say that youngest brother Kim was probably the weakest actor out of the brothers. You can tell that he was just there for eye candy. Also I thought that his plot really ended up not going anywhere. Throughout the whole series he seems to be trying to find dirt on his family, or the minor family, possibly even Porsche’s family. But the story ends up not going anywhere and leaves you wondering what the point of it was. I guess to give him air time? To make him relevant as a romantic side couple? Even younger brother Porchay had more relevance!

I also thought in the last two episodes I was all of a sudden in a Lakorn! It got a bit melodramatic and didn’t really seem to fit the whole rest of the action love story theme. Without giving any surprises away (though it wasn’t that much of a surprise), it seemed more like a “gotcha” moment that they wanted to try to surprise people with. I also felt like there was something not quite right with how they tried to end the surprise. It didn’t really seem to make sense and I still doubted what the characters were telling was the truth. I don’t know if that was to try to set up for a second season or not? But I feel like the season ended well and really a follow up would be pointless.

A minor sidenote is the music. I normally hate Thai music. And I’m sorry to offend anyone out there who is Thai, or who loves that music, but out of all the Lakorns I’ve watched and BL‘s I’ve lot watched I have never been a fan of the music. I think most of it ends up sounding the same and sounds pretty corny, to tell the truth. And I love pop music, especially K-pop! But there’s just something about Thai pop music, and in these dramas the music they use, that I just can’t stand. However, I really did like the intro and Outro song of the series. It was very different from what I’m used to hearing. It was actually quite catchy and I liked the rock element of it. Even the slower song that they ended up singing I thought it was very well done.

Overall I would have to say that this BL is in my top five, no I would say even top three, BL‘s ever. As far as including books and TV series I would say it’s in my top five for favorite couples. You’re not going to get much in the way of social issues or heavy emotional plot, but you’re going to get tons of chemistry and love which I think a lot of us are in it for.

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