aoki and ida BEST BOYS

This was one of those dramas that you simply want to enjoy watching for the acting and cuteness and the feeling of happiness that the plot changes bring about. I absolutely enjoyed watching this and fell in love with the entire cast. every character was so precious and the cast was exactly what this drama needed. Michieda was PHENOMENAL and arguably the life of this show. Meguro Ren gave exactly what was required of him and made all his scenes with aoki look so swoon-worthy! along with stunning visuals from both the main leads, aoki's hilarious and on-point facial expressions, and the comedic timing of literally every character, this was THE perfect drama I needed to binge-watch. sometimes you just want pure fluff and humor like this and kieta hatsukoi gave EXACTLY that. my favorite character has got to be aoki, the precious precious little silly bean.

some of the things i loved about this show aside from the main leads whom i ADORE:
- HASHIMOTO!! she was an amazing friend to aoki and a cute character who was sometimes silly and all the time adorable. loved the scene where she slapped aida because he was badmouthing aoki. WE LOVE A TRUE FRIEND! Her story arc with aida was cute too.
- Ida's friend circle! That scene in episode 10 where they were celebrating ida's and aoki's relationship? wholesome. also the way ida's friend advised him? when will i get a friend a like that damn.
- the tackling of some irl situations done in the later episodes. very sensibly and smartly done. especially liked the way the different preferences of ramen were used to talk about how every preference when it comes to love is valid. very well explained.

all in all, this is def one of those dramas i will rewatch whenever i miss these characters. It's so easy to fall in love with them and their relationships with each other!

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cannot simply be put into the "BL" box

This series is so much more than that.

I didn't start watching it right from the day it started airing. Heck, I knew nothing about it and even ignored my mutual's tweets when they were talking about this series + all those edits being churned out on the tl. I was pretty slow in realizing the craze and the masterpiece that this show is. I started it when episode 8 had aired already. After seeing countless people praising it and having nothing new to watch, I HAD TO. So I turned on the first episode and..... BOY, WAS I MINDBLOWN

I went into it with the mindset of how I start other bl series, but it turned out to give me SO MUCH MORE than just that. Also, must mention here that I am pretty new to the world of bls, so offgun weren't a pairing familiar to me. I didn't know anything about them so gun's acting had me by the neck. I WAS SO IMPRESSED?? I was HOOKED and still am. Both of these people, gun and off, are phenomenal actors, especially in this series. The amount of effort everyone has put into this shows in the quality of the content we see.

I was also informed that the budget wasn't exactly the best and the promotion was even worse. Even after all the obstacles, this series turned out to be GORGEOUS. I can't wait to rewatch this in one sitting just to feel something. But nothing would compare to how I watched the last six episodes realtime with so many people who were equally mindblown by the concept and the story. I don't even have to talk much about the story because we all know how powerful the messages were. I am incredibly impressed by all the people involved in this, from the music team to the actors to the director to even the extras who played small roles. That guy leading the protest was POWERFUL, those protestors waving the pride flag were POWERFUL and impactful. I am glad to have come across and watched a series like this. I am grateful that offgun were the ones playing these roles because they did justice to their characters.

Rooting for a season 2 or a movie cause the loose ends weren't tied. When it comes to characters, although seanwhite were my fav in the beginning, Black turned out to be the most intriguing one. I really want more of him. Gun is impeccable in this role. Seriously, I am obsessed with offgun now and will probably check out more of them cause boy do I have a feast waiting for me with all that 6 years of content to catch up on.

(Have the biggest crush on Black though THAT'S MY HONEY IM GLAD HE'S ALIVE)

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wholesome friendships and bittersweet partings

I started watching this drama solely for the main cp, happened to come across it as a random rec and decided to give it a chance. From the very beginning, the story had me hooked, the characters had me invested and the sense of humor and marvelous acting had me smiling like a fool at my screen. I love most of this drama EXCEPT a few ending episodes. a look @ the review section will really point out the fact as to why I feel this way. This drama would be a 10/10 from me was it not for the rushed and albeit happy but (as someone who was really invested in the main cp) unsatisfying ending. Add to the fact that the ending episodes have a lot of unexplained occurrences that make you feel frustrated and lost. The dissatisfaction comes solely from the fact that the misunderstandings weren't cleared and the five-year separation period just seemed TOO long to be realistic... (5 years? No communication? Oh man...)

What I mean is, the 5 years /would/ be justifiable if a little more effort was put into portraying the romantic aspect of the main cp (which I understand the drama might not be going for but STILL? There are many ways to tie the story together and still successfully time jump!) If I could just get a pov of Shiyi's life abroad maybe? If I could know what the whole thing with Shen Duo was? Heck if Xiaoju and Shiyi even had a ONE MINUTE talk about it when they met? Just one mature conversation put in between whatever that banter at the beach was about, and it would have been enough for a 10/10 because I love the beginning and the middle parts so much. I cherish the friendship aspect of this drama and even if there aren’t many moments that can be dubbed as “romantic” for the main cp, they still have a lot of sweet and heartwarming moments together and their chemistry is truly remarkable. I know expecting something to be perfect is just not sensible but this drama had so much potential to be a way bigger hit was it not for the ending.

However, the way these characters have made an impression on me in the most positive way possible in the journey of life they went through, I am still standing by the fact that it is an amazing drama... and just for the sake of the way their friendships and hardships and happy moments are portrayed, this deserves a watch and maybe a rewatch. What I would like to suggest is to dive into this without expecting too much from the ending... I did that too. We get a happy ending... that's nice, but a satisfactory one? In my honest opinion I doubt it.

CHARACTERS

All of them have their strengths and weaknesses. Nobody is perfect and I love the drama for this. We see all of them struggling and fighting their way through it, we see all of them achieving things and being proud of what they have become. They are very relatable and the actors are to be appreciated for their performance on cam. Ruichang as Shiyi leaves a strong impression. He is one of my favorite leads so far and is one of those characters who truly make you love the drama. Another one of such actors is Yixuan as Xiaoju. Both of them have their own strengths and weaknesses and accept themselves for who they are. Shiyi doesn't change his attitude to make himself Xiaoju’s “type”. Xiaoju ends up falling for him nevertheless. Xiaoju, despite being uncomfortable when the idea of having a romantic relationship with Shiyi is first introduced to her, still manages to preserve the “friendship’ aspect of their relationship and tries her best to sort out her feelings lest she should end up giving Shiyi false hope.

I know a lot of people dislike Xiaoju for not “realizing” her feelings earlier. But imho it is understandable. There is a particular scene when, after they ended up arriving late at night by bicycle, Xiaoju is lying in her bed thinking of what Shiyi told her (the “what if I like you?" part) She then suddenly remembers all the occurrences when Shiyi told her he didn’t like her (DESPITE the fact that he did like her. That is one of the flaws on Shiyi’s part) If a male friend tells you he doesn't like you, you wouldn't like to entertain the idea of liking him any further, let's be honest. Despite this, Xiaoju /is/ dense. But aren't we all? Shiyi is also impulsive in the end, but isn’t it understandable that he was frustrated after trying for so long and getting nowhere (still, makes me a little sad that he knew Xiaoju was falling for him (the bench scene) but still let his anger get the best of him. But that too is a normal human reaction.)

Despite their flaws, I love these characters and it is solely the fault of the writers as to why there are a few questionable and nonsensical decisions made by them that are done mainly to propel the story further instead of propelling THEIR relationship further. The actors though, Ruichang and Yixuan are PHENOMENAL and have found a permanent fan in me. I just wish their chemistry could be utilized in some other drama where they play a romantic cp (but that’s on me and my obsession with this ship)

I just wanted to talk about the main leads, other characters too had their moments and I'm sure they were as essential a part of it as the leads. (Shen Duo still makes me mad though, and ever since I saw the forced kiss she gave to Shiyi, I’m madder but HEY)

ps: the five-year separation, the lack of communication, and the fact that Shiyi did not contact her and left her hanging helped me sympathize with Xiaoju's character more. In the beginning, I was annoyed by her obliviousness but by the end, I felt like she too suffered and was wronged. If you put yourself in Xiaoju's shoes, you realize her character is very real (and well performed!) ALSO if we could get a few more scenes between them after the proposal my bittersweet heart for Shiyi could be satiated a little but oh well. Gotta accept it for what it is. At least the extra clip of them as parents is still there.

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