any_anka

I have a question to those who maybe read the webtoon or watched very attentively (details in the spoiler post).

I myself gave it a 9/10. I think it's a fantastic show that struck just the right chord with me. However a rating of 8.9/10 is an extremely high rating on any platform with serious attitude to ratings (I mean, I don't include ratings on Viki or iQiYi etc. where every other show has a rating close to 10).
If we assume that for a lot of people 10/10 equals an absolute, flawless masterpiece, then a rating of almost 9 will obviously spark some objections, regardless of how good a show in question is.
Having said that, this is one of the best BLs I've watched, and if we just compare it to other positions of this genre, there aren't many shows with better storytelling and cinematography.

Originally, after finishing the first 10 eps, I felt like the show dropped important themes, mostly around societal pressure on Minase, his family's expectations etc. It just dissolved, they walked happily holding hands... The drama felt unfinished.

However, episode 11 clearly showed that these issues did not disappear and will most likely always be a part of lives of Haruki and Minase. And as much as I was wishing for Minase to just come out, this bittersweet ending felt adequate, more realistic to everything we've learnt about his life beforehand. Him feeling insecurity abt Haruki possibly leaving him because of that, and Haruki's beautiful love confession on the beach and his reassurance were very well-thought out.

Special episodes for a lot of series are just fan service, but this one here really served as a great closure to this lovely show.

What a lovely series! Strong 8.5/10 (10 episodes) and a 9/10, if I take into account the special 11th episode.

This meme is the peak example of iykyk situation.
Also... the creativity! 😂

"one of the most naturally developed romances in media" that description is so accurate!

Plus I echo the entire sentiment of this comment 😭

Viki

Oh, the poem abt the moon over the pavilion - yes, most definitely a confession! :) And what a romantic one! But you know, one can always claim that it was just deep friendship, that the poem was abt yearning for stability and regret of having to leave and whatnot blablabla ;)

Which is why I put emphasis on "direct", but aside from actually spelling out their feelings and an actual kiss, nothing else was missing. Frankly, what we had was more than enough for me to regard it as a romance, and not with a "b" at the beginning ;)

So far I plan to check the novel under the link you gave me, but thank you. I might take you upon that fanfic offer some time in the future ;)

I just watched this drama last month, but Yu Zhi and Yue Lou secured their spot among my favourite ships already.

Thank you so much! It'll take all the willpower in me not to jump right to the chapter 16 ;)

I don't know how far you are into the story, but the gist of it goes as follows:

The protagonists, Sheng Wang and Jiang Tian, gradually become closer in what I consider one of the most realistic and convincing ways for people's relationship to develop I've seen on a drama. They both obviously rely on each other and really care for one another.

Then Sheng Wang realizes his feelings for Jiang Tian are more than just friendship/brotherly love and he freaks out (mostly bcs their parents are supposed to get married, so they're "destined" to be brothers). He tries to control his new-found feelings, but ends up thirsting over his "bro" all day long. Then he has an idea that by underperforming on an important test, he can lower his overall score which would cause him to have to transfer to another class.

Jiang Tian realizes there's sth fishy abt him flunking the exam, but Sheng Wang lies to him, which creates a distance between them, which they spent a lot of time and emotional moments to minimize. The ending is simply Sheng Wang transferring to another class, which on its own might not look like a big deal, but there's also the entire underlying thing of him lying to JT, JT being aware SW is lying to him etc. It's both pretty angsty and sad, with both of them either crying or nearly crying.
Oh, also before that happens, Sheng Wang almost kisses Jiang Tian when they're sharing a bed, stopping himself the last moment. SW thought JT was sleeping back then, be he actually wasn't and knew what was happening.

Keep in mind though that this is just the end of the first season. We MIGHT get a second one. It's not officially confirmed yet, but both the Sheng Wang's actor as well as the director were teasing it and giving some hints, so there is a chance...

Yesss. Even without the deleted scenes, it still remains really romantic. And I'm actually not someone who would attribute every close male interaction to some homoerotic undertone (at least I don't think I am😋 ). I can even understand ppl considering The Untamed a bromance, but this one - there's just no way ;)
It's such a blatant love story. It's only missing a direct confession and maybe a kiss, but the chemistry and the entire relationship has super strong romantic vibes.

You promote it like that, it really makes me wanna read it... :) Do you know if there is any English translation and if so, where could I find it?

I'm always watching with earphones/headphones so I had no problem with voices being too quiet, but I did see some other people complain abt not hearing then over the music at times.
Aside from that, the dubbing was distracting for me as well, but as it happened only to one character I could bear with it.
I didn't experience voices being only on the left though (?)

Aaaand I didn't know that either. Do you know maybe if the novel was just the record of the drama plot or did it explore the romantic relationship between main characters?

Rewatch s1 endlessly? 😋

I guess if that's the case, K&H stood no chance with the lack of promotions and everything that I'm reading abt now here...
Plus, correct me if I'm wrong, but a lot of ppl went to WOH after loving The Untamed, because at least visually these two felt similar.

Really? I had no idea watching it three years after its initial release.
Well, if lack of promotions secured those deleted scenes for us... I guess I can live with that ;)

After finishing it a couple of days ago, let me just tell you that ship-wise, this is some absolute top-notch most romantic stuff I've watched. And calling it "bromance" won't change it ;)

If you asked abt Benny and Zhao Xi, they're already a couple from the beginning of the novel.
If you meant Jiang Tian and Sheng Wang, then as OnlyoneTW said already, they end up together :) (yuppie)

Well, I can attest to it getting better gradually. I nearly dropped it at some point, but decided on continuing, mostly in a guilty-pleasure sort of way. But I ended up being really surprised at times by the acting from Kim Yun (heartbreaking). Plus, in the most recent ep the chemistry was really something and the depiction of how a person behaves arnd their crush during the initial phases of dating, with shyness and awkwardness and all that - so on point!