nice small town vibe but with cliched plot

Overall: a slice of life with cliched writing. 28 MDP Studio also produced Hard Love Mission and The Love of Winter. 4 episodes about 20 minutes each. Aired on WeTV, need a vpn to Thailand and eps 2-4 require a VIP membership, here is the free episode 1 link https://wetv.vip/en/play/b6596rikhukzfxi (if nothing shows up, first use a vpn set to Thailand and then try the link)

Content Warning: non con kiss, manipulation

What I Liked
- small town setting
- a smaller cast of characters
- the violin playing seemed to match the music (the piano not as much though)
- sweet moments
- intro/closing song

Room For Improvement
- totally not needed for what happened at the end of episode 3 and then the cliched plot points afterwards
- the 2 random side characters were maybe supposed to add humor but didn't find them funny
- unrealistic that he wasn't shown as drunk but somehow ended up like that at the beginning of episode 2
- voice overs telling instead of showing
- the ending

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want the actors in something else (skip ep 5)

Overall: there was potential with an angstier story but the writing got progressively worse as the series continued. Skip episode 5 and start episode 6 at 43 minutes. 6 episodes about 30 minutes each. Aired on Youku's YouTube channel, first episode link https://youtu.be/B36ryCeKxUw Rookie Thailand has also produced: 21 Days Theory, Future and The Best Story

Content Warnings: past death, grief, homophobia, bullying, punches, parental verbal abuse

What I Liked
- some sweet moments
- they explained what happened 5 years ago so the time gap made some sense (but 5 years was too long)
- funny with the friends hiding behind plants
- glad she finally stood up for herself though she should have told Night he needed to figure his stuff out asap before someone else started dating Dream
- Dream seeking communication at the beginning of episode 5
- Namwan in the second half of the series (though I didn't hate her in the first half)
- production value was good for what I assume is a low budget series (except for the too loud background music at times)

Room For Improvement
- time skip needed to be 2 years instead of 5 to feel more realistic
- cliched writing, unnecessary love triangles, drunk kissing, etc
- not clear when flashbacks started/ended/were flashbacks
- the multitude of flashbacks made the episodes feel choppy, would rather they had shown everything in the past and done 1 time skip to the present (similar to ITSAY), there were even flashbacks to scenes we had just watched like with the professor (also what on earth is you fail a university class if you can't write an amazing novel? does that really happen???)
- nonsense stuff (who doesn't know their best friend has a sibling, they've never met in person or seen a picture? they could have made this a step sibling during the time gap to make sense)
- failed redemption arcs for the dad and brother
- unclear of how much time passed in the last episode
- hardcoded English subtitles were a little difficult to read (didn't take off points for this)

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beautiful and heartbreaking

Overall: this is not your typical BL romcom, it's beautifully done but heartbreaking. I wasn't sure about the dynamic with the cold/low affect guy and the happy go lucky guy but we get important background information and their dynamic grew on me. Airing on GagaOOLala and Viki (depends on your country).

Content Warnings: death, grief, threatened suicide

What I Liked
- cute moments like the studying
- the younger siblings were adorable
- consent scene
- the perspective flip in the final episode
- production value

Room For Improvement
- not a fan of flash forwards/flashbacks right away as it makes it more confusing, but I followed this one pretty easily
- the part at the end of episode 1 is not realistic for how he looked based on what happened
- some unrealistic parts/confusing world building
- should have made the previous summer flashback more clear
- I wasn't happy with the end but not for the same reason as maybe other people, I liked what they were talking about with the teacher and wanted them to go that route
- the happy intro and outro was a stark contrast to the story
- there were several large plot points that were revealed right at the end of the series and would have liked more time to develop these

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The Love of the Countryside

Overall: a gentle miniseries (two 20 minute episodes). Watched on YouTube. I'm assuming it's lower budget so I'm grading it on a bit of a curve.

Content Warnings: mild stalking* (his two female friends)

What I Liked
- the countryside setting
- Kinn had some nice flirting moments
- that North's friends were supportive, *they went a bit overboard though
- there was a nice consent hug

Room For Improvement
- wish Kinn didn't take North's picture/post it without consent
- the subs aren't correct which generally is fine but in the first part they talk about significant others and it's translated as Kinn broke up with his girlfriend but it should be Kinn broke up with his boyfriend. Also, the note wasn't translated at the end but in the youtube comments someone nicely posted the translation.
- bad lip press kiss
- I don't like the bowl or mullet haircuts, but I didn't deduct points for that

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Plotless Society

Overall: It started off with a bang but quickly deteriorated. I yelled "noooooo" several times while watching in disgust at the poor writing. This is deja vu of The Cupid Coach. It says the story will continue but I sincerely hope not.

Content Warnings: non con/dub con turned consensual?

What I Liked:
- well the beginning was definitely an attention grabber and rarely seen in BL, but this ended up feeling like click bait
- I liked that they gave the episode an English title (Ambiguous) because I've rarely seen that in Thai BL
- acting was ok, the female friend was my favorite

Room For Improvement:
- it was both slow and very choppy, scenes sometimes jumped ahead time wise to another scene, they didn't feel well connected to one another. That ending was awful, it just skipped/jumped with zero context.
- nonsense plot, how Guy treated/behaved towards Nut made absolutely no sense especially at the end
- Nut's friend should not have kissed him in Nut's vulnerable/distraught state
- I did not feel chemistry between actors
- the camera work is lower budget/amateur
- though I liked the style of the subtitles, they do have a few errors (pretty sure that his boss isn't his mom and that was supposed to be ma'am)
- the sound was pretty quiet, I had to turn my computer volume all the way up

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close but not quite

Overall: there were parts that I really enjoyed but other areas were lacking, it's between 7.5 and 8. It had 10 episodes about 30 minutes each. Aired on iQIYI in U.S., Thailand and Indonesia.

Content Warnings: hit, harassment, non con kiss, manipulation, past physical abuse

What I Liked
- funny moments
- cute/caring moments
- the small town vibe where everyone knows everyone
- the cafe owner Kim Dong Hee and Go Ho Tae*
- that Ji Won Young stood up for himself with the ex and at the end that manager
- production value

Room For Improvement
- dead fish lip presses/fake shadow kiss
- *the side couple had way too little screen time, their story wasn't explained well enough, the hits were not needed and then it wasn't resolved well
- felt the drama towards the end dragged on too long but then the very ending felt rushed
- bad "plans" and poor communication
- continuity errors (ep 1 bird poop, left his credit card behind and it wasn't addressed, character punched but next day does not have any injuries)
- non realistic things (says he's super sick/was told to rest and then he's cleaning floors)
- felt more like a 'gay for you' trope rather than a gay awakening

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pretty well done complex series

Overall: they handled a taboo topic fairly well, though the flashback to when Yuan was a child during a certain scene in episode 11 was cringey. This was a Taiwanese adaptation of a Chinese danmei (Da Ge by Priest). I have not read the novel and reviewed the series on its own merits. 12 episodes about 30 minutes each. Aired on Youku's app, Youku's YouTube channel and Viki.

Content Warnings: non con kiss, punch, blood, past parental abuse, violence/beaten up, kidnapping, coercion, unwanted outing, homophobia, manhandling, vomiting, (some people may include another one, I didn't based on how everything played out)

What I Liked
- a few central characters, got to know their personalities
- how characters cared about each other
- a grittier/more realistic tone
- sweet moments
- a few funny moments
- We Best Love actor cameo as the doctor starting in ep 3
- a well done antagonist, I could see his reasoning but he meddled and was hypocritical though he did redeem himself at the end
- a non cliche female character in ep 6
- one of the few times I was happy for a years-long time jump (end of ep 7)
- sassier/more confident Yuan starting end of ep 7
- intimacy/tension
- production value

Room For Improvement
- (neutral) I generally don't like series that start with flash forwards but I understood why they did this
- confused in the beginning as to who was biological siblings, adopted siblings and friends (Iikely compounded by the use of brother as a term of endearment/closeness and not reserved for biological siblings)
- the timeline/character ages took some effort to piece together
- Li Li was supposed to be in high school before the time jump in episode 7 but she acted like a middle schooler (went into a random guy's car as an example, also she outed another character), even at the end when she was 23 she felt like a high schooler
- should not have done the flashback montage in a scene in episode 11
- cringey the coworkers talked about their sexual positions at work
- introduced a very serious plot point only to never resolve it, also didn't feel that the gang issue was clearly resolved either

Timeline Notes (the series wasn't clear where we were in the timeline/ages, feel free to correct me)
2008 (eps 1/2 flashbacks) - they first met in 2008 because that was the first date on the wall with the heights, Yuan age 7, Qian age 14, Li Li age 8
2016 (eps 1/2 present) Qian graduated university at the end of ep 2, Yuan age 15, Qian age 22, Li Li age 16
2018 (ep 3) Yuan is age 17 & Qian is 24, note that Yuan skipped a year or two so he's in university already at age 17, Li Li age 18
2019 (eps 4-7) Yuan turned 18 in episode 4, Yuan age 18, Qian age 25, Li Li age 19
the series eventually mentions that the gap was 4 years as I guessed
2023 (end of ep 7 up to the end of ep 12) Yuan age 22, Qian age 29, Li Li age 23
2024? (end of ep 12) Yuan age 23, Qian age 30, Li Li age 24

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enjoyable KBL

Overall: this is a nice KBL, though I would have rated it significantly higher if they had done 1 plot tweak in episode 5. 8 episodes about 25 minutes each. Aired on iQIYI.

Content Warnings: manhandling, blackmail, harassment

What I Liked
- cute and sweet moments
- I enjoyed a rarely seen plot thread of dealing with/getting over a certain something
- ongoing physical affection
- production value

Room For Improvement
- how I wish in episode 5 Ba Ram had only talked about his feelings regarding the teacher, because the lack of a certain response (I'm keeping this spoiler free) made zero sense to me and created cliche drama for the next episode+
- related to the previous point, in episode 7 Han Tae is unrealistically dense, he doesn't know why Ba Ram took back something he said...it's extremely obvious
- dead fish lip press (the dream one was much better but it was a dream)
- cliche near kiss in episode 8 when he was sober enough to carry him mere seconds before
- lack of plot resolution, the anti fans went where??? is there going to be a season 2?

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could have been amazing

Overall: this had a slice of life vibe with two realistically flawed life long friends. Unfortunately, it fell into the trap of many KBLs before it, too broad of a plot and not enough runtime. 8 episodes about 20 minutes each, aired on iQIYI and GagaOOLala (depending on your country).

Content Warnings: hit/slap

What I Liked
- acting/chemistry
- sweet moments
- few funny moments like arguing over who pays
- realistic home lives and stress
- showed students studying for entrance exams
- avoided a cliche plot point towards the end but it was weird they didn't show the confrontation at all

Room For Improvement
- this is one of the few romances where I did not want the leads to end up together, did he kiss him only because he wanted to keep him in his life? Did he actually romantically love him at all? I wish they had had a conversation about this. Instead they are suddenly dating for 62 then 100 days. And that ending reminded me of 2gether...
- like many KBL, this suffered from a lack of runtime, scenes jumped from one to another and the flashbacks didn't help, some scenes were too short and were not well connected
- that awful camera blocked kiss
- needed to differentiate flashbacks more, they really should have gotten rid of them and just told the story in a linear fashion
- the cliche wannabe girlfriend but also that he gave her very mixed signals though he even says he rejected her (he didn't really...), later on he says that's how he is (so kind of a jerk), which is fine but now I'm nervous he'll be a jerk to his boyfriend in the future because they didn't show any character growth
- wanted the star struck to be explained sooner than episode 4

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Overall: Despite it's flaws like plot holes, I thoroughly enjoyed this series and its emphasis on social justice. I could see a season 2 or movie to explain several unanswered questions. Watched on YouTube.

Content Warnings: violence, fight scenes, restraint and kidnapping, past trauma, dub con kiss (drunk, sleeping), non con touch (sleeping)

What I Liked:
- the consent in episode 9 part 1 was amazing, I loved the check ins; related is the realistic way that there wasn't just 1 kiss with a certain couple but continued displays of physical affection (hugs, cheek kisses, sniff kisses, etc)
- addressing several social justice issues that are issues everywhere in the world
- the realistic visuals (i.e. no excessive make up, filters, blurring)
- a trans character is not portrayed as an overly comedic character
- the beautiful music
- the acting and chemistry
- the action/mystery plot
- there was some funny moments including Sean being sassy
- good production value and character styling

Room For Improvement:
- non logical/odd things, plot holes, loose ends, stupid decisions, I'm not going to get into all of them but it reminds me of Manner of Death
- the pacing felt too slow at the beginning and then very rushed at the end
- lack of smart plot twists, the ones presented I guessed a mile away (except for the G)
- they should have reduced characters (side eye to Sean's female "friend) and then fleshed out other characters like Gumpa and another couple that has a criminally low amount of screen time especially in the beginning
- the punch at the end was unnecessary in my opinion
- the lighting in some scenes was too dark and it was difficult to see what was happening and the camerawork was too shaky at times

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could have been so much better

Overall: the cringey/cliched plot and those non funny managers ruined the series. 12 episodes 45 minutes each, aired on Viki (in U.S.) and iQIYI.

Content Warnings: non con/dub con, non con kiss, stalking, harassment, manipulation, blackmail, non con picture taking, violence/injury

What I Liked
- how Ja and First played different characters than they have in the past, I like to see actors not getting typecasted
- what was shown in the flashback to give a little bit of a reason for Punn's thoughts/actions
- the side couple's nsfw scene and the morning after (second scene was also well done but hated the circumstances)
- kissing/nsfw (but I was also horrified by the guys doing it in the onsen, other people bathe there!)
- Punn & Ashi sweet interactions
- Punn's realistic first day working
- I was really hating the brother but he did come thru in episode 5 and siblings can be pretty awful at times so that is realistic
- the soap opera scenes were fun*
- supportive family, mom had good advice about communicating clearly and making opportunities
- those huge, fluffy dogs
- actual consequences for characters who did bad things

Room For Improvement
- Punn feels too childlike/immature (stalking, that bizarre confession) to be in a romantic relationship
- the lightning speed relationship pacing in episode 7
- dialogue was unrealistic/contrived, the episode 11 drama was also contrived, Punn's anger would have made so much more sense if the writing happened before they got together instead of after
- *scenes could have been cut shorter for better pacing, as an example that very first scene should have been shorter and it would have been punchier, this did not need to be 12 episodes
- zero interest in the managers fighting and disappointed to see another stereotypical trans woman character
- the side couple's second steamy scene was overshadowed by the circumstances of it, disappointed to still see this in 2023 (and not a fan of the harassment vs reluctant pursuee dynamic), the writers should have cut the managers/love triangle and given the side couple actual dialogue
- not well integrated product placement
- unrealistic stuff, why would a superfan be late to a fan event? why would a non out movie star be dancing in public? who would confess in front of two other people like that in ep 5???
- so much of the final episode was spent on dragging out the drama with the lead couple, and focusing on the other characters

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goodish for what it was

Overall: this had only 14 minutes of total run time with a fairly confusing plot. However, I gave it a rating boost as they were open to feedback and it looked like a very indie production (plus they might have to deal with censorship rules). PPeach YouTube playlist https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8QwMuXkPNuYrJwq3_Gh6rw4HxMkGaIZy&si=OQx5ByyeKA5DG8D9 (episodes 4-9 need channel Membership for $2.99USD (yellow peach or higher))

Content Warnings: kidnapping/held against will, violence, manipulation

What I Liked
- clear premise at the beginning
- tension
- production value for what I assume was a very indie production
- listened to feedback such as adding subtitles in more languages, re-dubbed some episodes

Room For Improvement
- the episodes are extremely short, would have preferred a 15 minute short movie
- continuity error at the beginning of episode 2 with wearing a different outfit
- perhaps a translation error but he isn't a bodyguard he's a housekeeper
- confused about what the reveal in episode 4 meant, were they related? why were the guys trying to hurt him or where there 2 different set of guys wearing black?
- amnesia trope
- their relationship progression seemed very sudden, particularly with that ending, needed more build up to that and showing why they liked each other

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unnecessarily slow/too many flashbacks

Overall: all of these stories could have been told in half (or less) of their time and they needed to air two episodes per week instead of spreading the series out over 6 months. Some episodes had way too many flashbacks as well. Aired on iQIYI and re-aired on YouTube.

You Are My Soul Mate eps 7 & 8, 8
A standard Thai BL. Had some stupid poor communication but decent kissing.

Lucky Love eps 9 & 10, 7.5
Standard enemies to lovers. Wanted the new partner to be less aggressive with someone who just got out of an abusive relationship. Content warnings: intimate partner violence, sexual assault, punches/fight, vomiting

Fake Love eps 15 & 16, 7.5
Start at 38:30 in episode 15 and then watch all of episode 16. Standard aggressive pursuer/reluctant pursuee with some nonsense plot things. Content warnings: blackmail, stalking, vomiting, manhandling, non con touching, fight off screen, blood

Marry Go Round eps 3 & 4, 7.5
Nice to have an established couple but we needed more of them and less of the invasive fujoshi character. This is a crack comedy that didn't make me laugh. Note there is an ending scene after the initial credits. Content warnings: homophobia

The Camp Fire eps 11 & 12, 7.5
Slow pacing with some jump scares throughout (you could start at 30 minutes in episode 11 and miss basically nothing). I'm not sure how to feel about the end. Same actors as Love Stage (Thai version). Content warnings: brief scary images/jump scares, death off screen/death/blood (it's complicated)

Right Time, Right Love eps 5 & 6, 7
Bad that his friend asked him to talk it out with his abuser. They really needed a time skip to give some healing time between starting a new relationship. Content warnings: past intimate partner violence, manhandling, mental health struggles

Pisces of Me eps 17 & 18, 7
The incorrect subtitles made this more confusing than it needed to be (ie should have been "our mom" instead of "my mom"). The two guys are fraternal twins, I didn't get incest from the plot. Start ep 17 at 47 minutes and then start ep 18 at 35 minutes. Content warnings: non con kissing, blackmail, fight, a little blood/small injury

1626 eps 19 & 20, 6.5
Way too many flashbacks/forwards. Not a BL unless they were saying "I love you" in morse code.

I Wish You Love eps 23 & 24, 6.5
A guy gets a magical mirror and tracks down the guy who he sees in it, start ep 23 at 25 minutes. No idea why 2 people can't contact each other for years (social media, common friends, going to old addresses, etc) but I set that aside. Confusing way to start the second part. Wish they had made the ending more clear but I can guess what happened. Content warnings: illness, death (implied)

Refund Love eps 21 & 22, 6.5
Flashbacks made up 75% of the plot. Skip all of ep 21 and just watch ep 22. Did like that there was some GL but needed to have more sweet moments/relationship development and less constant flashbacks.

Casanova Begins eps 1 & 2, 6.5
Very confused with who was who and their relationships. Good attempt to try something different but the exposition dump and some nonsense things didn't hook me. Content warnings: death, attempted suicide, manhandling

Friends Forever eps 13 & 14, 6
This is not a romance story but a morality tale. I would have rated this higher if they had tightened the story up and removed the never-ending flashbacks. For the good, a character got actual consequences for his terrible actions. Content warnings: murder, intimate partner violence, coach/university student, drugging, manhandling

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nice slice of life series

Overall: I enjoyed two high school friends and their changing relationship dynamics. Aired 8 episodes about 20 minutes each on Netflix Asia (and then more widely released on Neflix once it was finished airing).

Content Warnings: manhandling, dub/non con touching, punch

What I Liked
- cute and sweet moments
- few funny moments like Yamato's blocks with other people
- that Yamato did try to communicate and was clear with that teen who expressed interest in him
- supportive classmates
- supportive non cliche female characters
- character growth with not being a go between for the present
- production value

Room For Improvement
- the multitude of interruptions
- Yamato was a bit aggressive though he did apologize once
- very tropey (multiple kabedons and running scenes as examples), getting sick from the rain
- the initial reluctance in nurse's office/dead fish lip presses

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Poly & Ace Representation!

Overall: Though there are areas they could improve on, I'm giving this a 9 because it has poly and ace representation which is rare. I really wish this was a whole series and we were able to see how their relationship started and what happens after this short film because 18 minutes was definitely not long enough. Also, the filmmaker received $638 USD to make this film as part of a Matchbox competition and I'm extra impressed with that budget. Purchased for $3.88 USD and watched on Vimeo.

Content Warnings: none

What I Liked:
- they did give some information about asexuality, especially Minho's conversation with his friend (though the acting seemed a bit wooden there)
- I liked the times that they had good communication*
- the reference to Long Time No See (it was the movie that they were watching, I've watched it so many times I recognized it just by the sound lol)
- production value is good considering they had almost no budget

Room For Improvement:
- I didn't really like that quote at the beginning which makes it seem that polyamory is almost here. It's here and it's been here since the dawn of time.
- it was an odd way to start. I don't like when people take pictures of sleeping people and I wasn't sure how the two knew each other. 
- *on the couch at the beginning, do the other two not know what Minho likes/dislikes/boundaries??? Why haven't they had conversations about this? Also, that conversation in the bar seemed odd. Wouldn't the two of them discussed it beforehand? (though I did like the follow up conversation they had later).

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