Was it good? Sort of...

It was fun to see Ink/Pa (from Bad Buddy) and Korn/Win (from Cupid's Last Wish) again. Here are my pros and cons:

PROS

GL. So refreshing to see Girls Love getting some air time. And they are cute together.

EARTH/MIX. They turned me into a fan after 1000 Stars (which is now one of my favorite BLs ever). They work so well together and I would marry either one of them... or maybe both, I would be up for a poly relationship. Guys, call me.

CUTE EPISODES. Each episode had an oh-so-sweet quality that, at least for me, was just a little bit more cute than cringe. (But just on the border of crossing over.) Let's just call it light and fluffy.

CONS

EPISODE 1. I didn't really get the time travel thing. Nor the "no pictures" thing.

EPISODE 2. I'll admit to not knowing these actors before this. They were okay, I didn't really feel much chemistry. But I wasn't buying the whole "triggered by anything round" spiel. I mean, if Maki freaked out just looking at someone's glasses, why didn't she freak out when eating out of a round bowl or off of a round plate? And then she turned into crazy alien Catwoman after looking at the moon. Huh?

EPISODE 3. What was with all the fat inferences toward Mix (Win)? I haven't noticed a weight gain. And it really didn't need the body swapping (yet again). To make matters worse, it was confusing to know who was who half the time. Oh, this is Korn as Win now... or wait, it's Korn as Korn. No wait, it's Win as Korn. I didn't always get it... and I didn't even want to get it. My brain is tired. Two Tylenol, please. Oh screw it, just give me a bottle of whiskey.

The actors did their best with what they were given. I doubt I will rewatch, but it was a no-stress way to pass the time. It's a 6.5 from me.

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Surprisingly adorable!

I say "surprisingly" because, at least at first, it looked to be another same old typical and forgettable BL from South Korea. (I have really enjoyed some SK BLs but, it seems to me that, a number of them have been just kind of okay.) After a few episodes, I was hooked and did a binge watch! Here are my pros and cons:

PROS

CHEMISTRY. As the series progressed, so did the chemistry between the main couple: they were damn hot together. While I sometimes get a little turned off by too much sex as opposed to a decent story, this was one case where I would have appreciated a good sexy bed scene!

LENGTH. I really liked that they told this story in just 8 episodes, 23 minutes each. It was engaging, succinct and no dragging on of unnecessary scenes and episodes. Kudos to the writers.

CONS

DEX. Okay, I admit I'd never heard of it, but it looks to really exist as a Scientific & Technical Consulting service in France. But it was just casually mentioned near the end. As a viewer, I had no idea what it was and why it was supposed to be important. Nor did I have any sense that it was some big dream of Jae's to go there and be part of it. Was it?

THE "GIRLFRIEND." She ended up being cool at the end but -- honey -- if there was ever a case of "he's just not that into you," this was it.

But I'm picking. Overall, this had an engaging, feel-good vibe to it.

8.5 from me.

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Worth the watch

As I have enjoyed and supported Wayufilm Productions in the past, I looked forward to this one, featuring Klong in a lead role. Here are my pros and cons:

PROS

KLONG. What a fine actor. He has quite the range.

ATYPICAL BL. Not even a BL and, despite the story being about a male hustler, there are no sex scenes. But the story got its message across without them. I liked it.

THE HOSTESS AT THE BAR. She was an interesting character, I liked her. Her take on how she felt she provided security and stability to sex workers seemed somehow... genuine.

MAX AND PRINCE. Their relationship was heartbreaking but, at the same time, we could understand where both of them were coming from.

CONS

MISCAST. As much as I liked Klong here, it was a little hard for me to believe that he would have that many people (of both sexes) salivating after him for hours every day and night, to the point of offering him more money than most people make. While I appreciate "different strokes for different folks," I didn't buy Klong as being that level of a high class rentboy. (Mon, another Wayufilm actor, might have pulled it off.) And even the horniest of hot, beefy porn stars can't go for hours on end.

HOW MANY DRINKS? So according to Max, he would sometimes consume 50 to 60 drinks a night. Umm... no. He would have ended up dead (or at least in the hospital) long before 50.

ENDING. A bit abrupt. Did they really have to kill him off? I mean sure, it could happen. But it struck me more as a way to get to the end of the story and portray Prince, ironically, as following in his brother's footsteps.

Overall, I liked it. 8.0 from me.

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An okay way to pass the time, I guess

With the exception of Light On Me, I haven't seen a BL (or, in this case, a partial BL) series that I've really loved this year since A Tale of a Thousand Stars. But 7 Project was not the worst. Here are my pros and cons:

PROS

LIGHT HEARTED. For the most part, this was a light hearted series, somewhat fluffy. Ep. 1 was probably the most serious, dealing with bullying. But, overall, this was a pleasant enough way to pass the time.

SAMMY. So happy that Wabi Sabi gave Samantha a lead role, rather than the supporting/bit comedic parts she usually gets. We got to see that she has some serious acting chops! (And she looks fabulous.)

BL EPISODES. No, it's not because I'm gay. I honestly liked the BL episodes better than the others. Especially liked Boom/Peak. My favorites - in this order - were Ep. 6, Ep. 1, and Ep. 4. Honorable mention for Ep. 7 (Perth/Fairy).

CONS

MESSAGE? I've written a question mark here, because I'm basing this reaction on my own assumption (which could be wrong). I've read for a while now, that some well-known BL actors have made it clear that they no longer want gay roles... and I'm okay with that. Among these are Perth and Plan, both featured in this series playing straight roles. I felt that this series was to reintroduce these two young men as "the true straight guys that they are." It just seemed a bit contrived, in my opinion. And Plan looked even more awkward kissing a girl than he did when he kissed Mean (I'm thinking Plan is just a lousy kisser).

UNRESOLVED EPISODES. Many of the episodes were left open ended, and not in a good way. Are we really supposed to leave everything up to our imaginations? Sorry, the episodes weren't compelling enough to inspire me to work that hard.

GL EPISODE. Kudos for putting out a GL episode. Too bad it fell flat.

YACHT. Loved him as Pond, and pretty much everything I've seen him do. And he's VERY attractive. Finally he gets a lead role... and all I could think was that he could possibly benefit from some strong antidepressants.

My ratings, from best to worst: 6>1>4>7>3>5>2

Overall, 6.0 from me.

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Inconsistent but at times effective

It looks like no one has written a review, so I'll put in my two cents. Here are my pros and cons:

PROS:

TRANS CHARACTERS. It was nice to see three trans characters as the leads here, and not relinquished to comedy relief.

ACTING. The acting was pretty good for a low-budget series, definitely better than average.

THE LITTLE KIDS. The little kid version of PaLoMa at the beginning of Ep. 1 was adorable.

ENDING. It was powerful, really well done.

CONS:

STORY. It wasn't a bad story, but it rambled and there many unanswered questions, for instance... what happened to Tonyo and his gang? Were there any consequences?

FAILED ATTEMPT AT COMEDY. For me, the episode where they're all in the gym and fighting for Tonyo's attention was exceptionally cringeworthy.

All in all, an interesting enough diversion. It's 6/10 for me.

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I was a Tin/Can shipper from Season 1 and, as such, I was royally pissed at the way Season 1 ended. Overall, I was okay with how the Tin/Can story was handled here. Here are my pros and cons:

PROS:

TIN & CAN CHARACTERS. I just love them. Mean plays Tin so sensitively, and Plan brings out the over-the-top craziness of Can to a T.

MUSIC. That was one of the things I really liked about Season 1, so it was nice to have so much of the same soundtrack used here in Season 2.

TUL/HIN KISSING SCENES. Hawt. Nothing more to say.

SUPPORTING CHARACTERS. Nice to see Pond and Bow back. Would have liked to see more of Bow. Mai and Job were welcome additions.

FOOD SCENES. Seriously! When Tul made the spaghetti with bacon and chili sauce for Can, it looked so good that I learned to make that dish myself. (And yes, it was delicious!)

CONS:

TOO MUCH DEVOTED TO TIN/CAN BACKSTORY. I suppose if one never watched Season 1, this wouldn't have mattered. But SIX episodes devoted to backstory? Okay, we got some insight that we didn't get in Season 1, but it was just too much.

OTHER COUPLES. Kla/No would have been fine and cute, if it weren't for the fact that Kla RAPED No, and it was swept under the rug. Tum/Tar were non-existent and had no more than three minutes of screen time for the entire series (and they had only about 15 minutes of screen time in Season 1). Was there a point to them? Tum got together with Keen, so I guess it's all good... whatever.

TUL/HIN STORYLINE. Weird as hell. So, it seems, Tul served as a sadistic master to Hin for years. Then, when Hin comes back, it's as if they're the sweetest couple in the world, as they become Phupha's two dads. And speaking of Phupha...

PHUPHA. Most annoying little kid I've observed in quite a while. Couldn't stand that twerp.

THE FATHER. Wth was that all about? I couldn't follow his story at all... especially when it came to Hin. Did the father send Hin as a sex slave to Tul? And dad just sits in a home office all day and lets his two sons fester in their emotional problems? What a weirdo.

LAY. She started out kind of cute, but then became super creepy and unlikeable. Yecch.

AE. Perth is a fine actor, but his self-destruction seemed over-the-top. And please, PLEASE... don't let him sing in another series. Ever. And I've always been upset with Ae, for treating his good friend Pond like a total pile of shit (in both this season and last).

I'm rating this on the high side -- 8.0 -- which is strictly because of Tin/Can.

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Well... this was different! (I put some of these comments down as a post, but seems appropriate for a review.)

On the plus side, I like Saint sooooo much better in this (I wasn't a big fan of his one-dimensional Pete character in LBC). Glad to see TinCan back together (ok, MeanPlan). Perth is always great. It's nice to see some favorite actors again. The story was just kind of okay. At least there were conclusive (and happy) endings.

On the flip side, Plan became kind of a dick, and I wasn't totally sold on wimpy, all smiles Mean. The writers/director pretty much went for the TeeMork storyline of Our Skyy... not too original there (and not nearly as good). Saint really can't sing. And, while it's not LBC, did they have to use all of the background music and the same songs? It's all just kind of... bizarre.

But it was an okay diversion.

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