Trouble-chan

As per my other reply - please forgive the delay. Many personal things happened. I hope you and your boyfriend are both well though and RL isn't being too harsh on you. :)

Oh Gii made me fuming in that movie - I could understand (kind of) him wanting to protect Takumi but, as Arata said, it was too obvious and therefore pointless.

However, what was harder for me is Gii being cold and distant even behind closed doors. THAT I did NOT understand at all.... sure in front of people, if he really had to play the 'hero' then fine. But behind closed doors, TELL Takumi what you're doing and why and be nice and loving to him THEN. Instead of protecting him, his ridiculous 'protection' actually made things a hell of a lot worse. I found his reasoning flawed and cruel. I think he had quite obvious double standards, because I really believe there's no way he would've allowed Takumi to blank HIM like that as a protection.

I was a victim of rape so struggled to feel sorry for his brother to begin with - but when it became clear he died trying to find his brother and say sorry, that he had serious mental health issues I did start to change my view quite a lot. I did wonder at the end of the last movie where they showed him and Gii walking away from the gravesite hand in hand and Gii saying he'd come with him every year even if Takumi was with his parents....I'm not sure I could be so forgiving to the parents; I can't imagine being blamed if I was the victim of a family member's abuse. Whilst I changed my view of Takumi's brother, I didn't of his parents - if anything it worsened.

I agree about age - my daughter is 20 and yet has the maturity of someone twice her age (sometimes she's more mature than even me. Shh! Don't tell her I said that! lol!) So I wouldn't be too surprised with her ending up with a partner partner older than her - I did, my husband is 5 years older than me and my aunt was 16 years younger than my uncle when they married. I think it's down to the couple themselves and so long as LOVE is involved and not lust (like the guys you're talking about who're chasing 19 year olds even though they're in their 30s) I think it's up to the individuals.

I want to go to Japan and she wants to go to South Korea - if it's a few years from now then I'd be happy to bring her partner too if she's met someone then. She came out as pan at 18. Me and her dad told her that it was fine as it gave her more opportunities to meet her soulmate - so long as whoever is her One loves her as much as I love her dad and she loves them as much as he loves me, me and him will literally happy dance round our kitchen. lol!

I like straight romance dramas a lot, but my favourites are BL because for the most part the stories can be deeper and much more fulfilling - for me anyway, the struggles are much more real and the happiness at the couple overcoming obstacles (that also feel more believable) usually reduces me to tears that I rarely get with straight romances.

Your man sounds like a real keeper, I wish you so both so much love and happiness. :)

Sorry for not replying, RL is super mental right now - unexpectedly, but there you go. I agree with all you've said. Being humans is the one thing we share and we should remember. We are on a path and are at crossroads - one path leads to more hate and the other leads to more unity. I know which one I hope we take.

With people like the brave BL artists, directors and producers who are making a small stand it shows we may already be choosing the better path. :)

Luvely22 - I'd never heard of it and to go look it up.....the Korean remake was a TON better and so it makes me even more nervous for the US remake now.

As I explained either here or on another Chinese BL MDL page - this is China's behaviour towards LGBT. I speak to quite a few Chinese LGBT and they tell me and others how horrible it is in China for them - many are trying to leave. China's discrimination and bigotry to the LGBT community is seen clearly by the world through their portrayal of the LGBT in entertainment and daily life. We ALL know how the stars of Addicted were treated when the webdrama was BANNED; we also are fully aware of other BL dramas that were BANNED by the censors for no other reason than the romance was GAY. So before you hurl abuse at me for stating FACT, I suggest you take issue with your bigoted government.

People stand me very well thanks - I have friends, wonderful husband who I love more than my own life, a much beloved lesbian cousin and a very loved and doted on Pan daughter' the rest of my unconventional family are all doing well.

For me I treat everyone with kindness, I believe the old adage - treat others as you'd want them to treat you...but when I see discrimination, bigotry and hate being pedalled as 'normal' and acceptable and seeing a section of society almost criminalised for doing nothing more than LOVING someone then I WILL stand AGAINST it. Like I said - your country needs to look to itself as to why it's not liked; the only countries who treat their LGBT community worse than China is Russia and North Korea. Not really something to be proud of for China is it?

When it comes to Chinese BL then yes I do have 'low, low standards' - they usually have sad/tragic endings; it's not offensive when it's true. I do have pretty low standards when it comes to China's track record with LGBT and I talk to LGBT Chinese so I know what goes on - why would they lie?

Whilst other countries have sad endings, etc they don't do it for ALL their LGBT, etc like China does. Thank God Taiwan is far more forward thinking and accepting than China - they allow gay marriage AND their LGBT dramas usually have happy ending. In fact, the only country with ALMOST as bad a reputation towards their LGBT community is South Korea. The only ones WORSE are Russia and North Korea.

So sorry you're offended because that wasn't my intention - but you need to take issue with your government and your censors who make the stupid rules...... not people who dislike their discrimination and bigotry and call your country out on it.

Let's not forget we were all privy to what went on with Addicted (aka Heroin) and the cast and how appallingly they were treated when the drama was BANNED and banned only for being a gay drama. Actually, it was like so many other Chinese BL dramas that end up banned.

So are you....the Dread Pirate ROBERT? ;)

THANK YOU - I am now off to try and find it on my favourite anime site. :)

This looks good but, being Chinese and a historical drama at that, it's bound to have a sad ending.....they usually do. So not sure if i'll bother, I'm just so done getting into really good Chinese dramas just for them to have pointless sad and/or open endings...... *sigh*

I watched the first one because...Joo Ji Hoon....but I'll watch this one because of him AND that the last one was SO good.

I wasn't sure about this - but then I read your comment and I ADORED both those dramas; they were so good. So I think I will definitely give this a watch and a chance. So thanks for the info! :D

Yup and do, it's not a bad watch - not wonderful like, say, Kiss Me; but still okay. :D Although people say it's NOT to do with InK - it so totally is! XD XD

well, in your defence a lot of people here seem to miss that and think she was still alive - plus there could be a ghost....so you know.....alien or ghost girl.....????????

It really was good - but yeah, it was so based on InK it was obvious. Another one that shows a lot of InK influence is Attention, Love! Good but even has the rainy scene in it! lol!

Yes, it does. :)

As soon as I can find it subbed somewhere I will be all over it like a cheap suit. :D

I think most of these are the ones that drive me mad because, as you say, they're in nearly every drama now. I get that tropes get reused, but not every time in every drama.

Oh the kissing is ALWAYS going to be my number one - we need to start a revolt, a revolution to bring back REAL kissing! LOL!

Alien because the girl who's body the alien took over is dead. She dies at the very beginning.

I LOVE the HiGH&LOW series of movies; the Red Rain was my favourite though mainly because Saito Takumi is my bias, but also because the of the story itself it was an intriguing film. But I'm intending to watch (and collect) them all.

The motorbikes in Red Rain, S.W.O.R.D. and Mugen also make me salivate - NO cafe racers and plastic bikes here, these are all proper motorbikes that are genuinely as mean, loud and fast as they look.

Thank for this article - nice to know I'm not alone in my love for all things HiGH&LOW. :)

What about the spinning camera? Used a lot in Chinese dramas, but now creeping into Kdramas too - I literally got motion sickness watching Pretty Li Hui Zhen.....i mean why? WHY make the viewers feel like they've got off a really fast merry go round and are about to hurl up their lunch? Because I can assure people that is NOT what kissing your SO feels like.......

The extras - I love it when they have to go round again.....it's so funny as they're clearly rattled at that point. I've yet to see a group go round a third time, but I'm hopeful. It always makes me laugh.

What's even better is when they're filming outside amongst the public and people stop to stare at 'fight'/'love/kiss scene' or the cameras! Then they start filming it on their phones.