4
10
1
2
swam in circles (watch suggestions)
Overall: yet another miscommunication/refused to communicate trope that dragged on waaaayyyyy too long. Aired on Viki https://www.viki.com/tv/40857c-somethings-not-rightContent Warnings: unwanted outing, stalking/harassment, coercion
Watch Suggestions (focus on sweet moments with the main couple)
- episode 1 watch 13:55-15:55 and 25-end
- episode 2 watch beginning to 5:10
- episode 3 watch 6:30-13:15, 20-23
- episode 4 watch beginning to 1:25
- skip episodes 5 and 6
- episode 7 watch 16:50-21:30
- episode 8 watch 15-20:55 and 28:30-end (can watch in between 20:55 and 28:30 to watch endings for the other characters)
What I Liked
- easy to understand premise
- the friend group (although they shared 1 brain cell)
- visuals
- production value
Room For Improvement
- the cliche lack of communication plot, completely spineless and gave up after he refused to clearly communicate, acted like a jerk to his friend
- one main character was unbelievably dumb/dense
- the near non con kiss (I don't think it actually happened)
- the third character got on my nerves
- multiple flashbacks
- running cliche
- nonsense writing: the reason why a person doesn't confess romantic feelings to a friend is they don't want to ruin a friendship; however, since a character in this series was totally fine blowing up their friendship, it made zero sense to me why he refused to clearly communicate
Was this review helpful to you?
had hoped for more from this premise
Overall: an interesting premise that wasn't developed enough. 10 episodes about 20 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala & Viki. Note, there are extra scenes after some of the end credits.Watch Suggestions:
- if you want to skip moping/flashbacks start episode 8 at 17:30
- unless you like (in my opinion) poorly done angst stop watching episode 9 at 5 minutes and then start episode 10 at 21:50
Content Warnings: non con picture taking, dub/non con kiss, non con touching, grief
What I Liked
- unique premise with a clear set up
- sweet/cute moments
- funny moments (the dream with the soap was a highlight)
- foreshadowing
- episode 6 Stay By My Side cameo
Room For Improvement
- slow pacing with a ton of flashback montages, also half of episode 8 was moping
- the only 2 female characters were cliches (repeatedly ignoring boundaries), too much time spent on them
- nonsense (and not talking about the obvious), do university students in Taiwan have their professor's personal cell phone numbers, his household supplies were stored in the living room on a bookcase, a supposedly intelligent and caring character is stupid and cruel
- they never really delved/explained the world building, and I realized this was a romance but there really wasn't any examination of ethics, only the human character focusing on himself and how he will be sad
- poorly done/cliche angst, there were many opportunities for drama but the writers chose the most cliche one
- that gap was waaayyyy too long and then there was about 3 minutes at the end???
- some of the camerawork felt low budget
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
strong start
Overall: the tension/chemistry led me to first rate this as a 9.5, but cliched writing and a rushed ending lowered my final rating. I gave this a slight rating bump because it's from China, had kisses, the ending could have been worse and the creators managed to get it to air 4 months after it was removed from iQIYI. 12 episodes about 30 minutes each. Aired (not in Japan or Korea) on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/4856/blue-canvas-of-youthful-days-2024-e01 ; YouTube (not in Japan or Korea) https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTB73Ibi_X3HZZP24Z0cwpC1PhZUYKI1Q and Viki https://www.viki.com/tv/40802c-blue-canvas-of-youthful-days?locale=enContent Warnings: murder?, death, past death, grief, physical child abuse (very violent and shown), beaten up, manhandling, manipulation, blackmail/coercion, non con picture taking/sharing/outing, mental health struggles, alcoholism
Watch Suggestions (to get some moping/nonsense stuff in the later episodes)
- end episode 5 at 22 min
- watch episode 6 25 min to the end
- watch episode 7 7:25-10
- watch episode 8 7-13
- watch episode 9 19:45-24:40
- watch episode 10 beginning-4, 12-12:45, 16-end
- watch episode 11 19-21:30, 24:10-end
- watch episode 12 beginning-4, 7-10 and 28:45-end
What I Liked
- characters and their dynamics
- sweet moments
- a hard of hearing character (though some things related to this didn't make sense to me)
- clear premise
- supportive grandpa
Room For Improvement
- some nonsense plot things
- not sure the ages of two characters
- a character should have first asked/talked to another character about what he wanted
- not a fan of a flash forward and then going back to the past to start a series
- too much blur effect in scenes
- in episode 6 a character veered into creepy stalker
- why didn't they make a character a boyfriend instead of a brother, that was weird
- lack of communication between the leads, lying by omission about some giant things
- angry about what they did with a character in ep 11
- 2 noble idiot cliches
- large time jump with a very non realistic reunion (watch past the initial end credits)
- rushed finale, choppy editing, gang that appeared out of nowhere practically, written out exposition dump
- lack of consequences for a trash character
Was this review helpful to you?
A cotton candy BL - sweet & fluffy with nothing substantial to it
Overall: if you want to see a ton of longing and jealous looks, gorgeous guys and like food, then this is the show for you. FYI the description on viki is not accurate as to how the plot plays out (you don't cook for someone that you hate). At only 8 episodes ~10 min each, it's very bingeable. I'm waffling between overall an 8 or 8.5.Content Warnings: 1 punch
What I Liked
- the visuals
- the production value was good
- there were several sweet moments
- the funny moments , my new favorite way to tell someone their cooking is awful "it tastes new" haha
- I actually don't mind the common tropes like accidental fall, hurt/comfort, apron tying, drunk scene, etc.
Room For Improvement
- this is a 'love at first sight' situation which though common, isn't my favorite
- how the two guys were fighting over the other guy like he was an object and didn't have any say in the matter
- odd how the cook left his recipes and baby photos in his old apartment
- though I think it played out pretty mildly, love triangles aren't my thing
Was this review helpful to you?
sweet MLs with nonsense plot elements
Overall: the two leads gave me fuzzy feelings, but there was a lot of nonsense plot stuff. 12 episodes about 23 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala (Americas, Europe, Middle East, Australia, New Zealand, India, Southeast Asia) https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/5191/fight-for-you-2025-e01 ; Viki https://www.viki.com/tv/41043c-fight-for-you ; iQIYI https://www.iq.com/album/fight-for-you-2025-1cgc4effwtd?lang=en_us ; Heavenly (South Korea)Content Warnings: manipulation, violence, past deaths
Watch Suggestions starting at ep 8 (to reduce angst/annoying stuff)
- episode 8 watch 3:30-6:05
- skip episode 9
- episode 10 watch 22:30-end
- episode 11 watch beginning to 5:30 and 22:15-end
- watch all of episode 12
What I Liked
- visuals/intimacy with the MLs
- cameo of Eternal Butler actors
- easy to understand premise
- caring/sweet moments
- clear communication in ep 7
- the grandma
- finale was pretty good though the sister stuff shouldn't have been resolved off screen
Room For Improvement
- starting the episodes with talking to the camera
- was initially confused because I thought they were friends in episode 1 only to learn that they just met each other
- unclear flashback in the middle of episode 1
- noble idiot trope
- the side couple had barely any screen time until the finale
- nonsense stuff like: sent the least capable person on a difficult job, a character with a major injury quickly left the hospital and was walking around at home, lying and then quickly telling the truth
Was this review helpful to you?
good ingredients with a subpar recipe
Overall: they had a lot of great elements but unfortunately messed up the writing. 6 episodes 45 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala and re-aired on YouTube and later Viki https://www.viki.com/tv/40695c-bake-me-pleaseWatch Suggestions:
- watch ep 1-3
- watch up to 28 minutes in episode 4 and then 39-42 minutes
- skip episode 5
- watch episode 6 starting at 24 minutes to the end (although 11-15 minutes was good too)
Content Warnings: manipulation, shoves
What I Liked
- supportive grandma
- Atom (also the brother's relationship)
- Peach pushed back against Shin at times
- production value (cinematography)
- (neutral) comedy sound effects, they weren't overpowering
Room For Improvement
- too many love triangles for a short run time, needed to really build up 1 main couple
- I don't like either of Peach's love interests as they are both throwing red flags right and left (no you don't get to ban your significant other from hanging out with their friend, no you don't lie about dating and use a person as if they were a trophy)
- why did no one apologize to Peach, maybe Shin did off screen but we didn't see it?!?
- too little character growth too late, there seemed to be a little bit but Shin backslide too far
- rushed pacing and then wasted screentime on a bunch of angst, some choppiness as well
- cliche plot points: got sick after getting wet trope, saw something and made an assumption, failure to communicate clearly
Was this review helpful to you?
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
Was this review helpful to you?
better than the series
Overall: this is a re-edit of Burger/King's scenes from Burger's perspective (it has basically the exact same plot as a Japanese BL). First released as 11 short episodes and then in a movie format https://youtu.be/M-13TVFe9g8?si=GvAElSlfmAtFen4j It solved a lot of the problems that I had with Hit Bite Love, though I think they could have improved even more with the footage they had. My review of Hit Bite Love https://mydramalist.com/profile/blcompilations/reviews/254503/ Aired on Jinloe's YouTube channel.Content Warnings: hit, kick, coercion, manipulation, non con touching
What I Liked
- sweet/cute moments
- a few funny parts
- how King was up front about what he wanted
Room For Improvement
- a voice over/exposition dump to start it but I didn't take off points
- the stereotype of a yelling trans woman
- in episodes 8 and 9 there were brief flashbacks to scenes that they didn't include in this version, I think they could have edited a bit better
- Burger is too reluctant for too long and King is a bit too aggressive, they could have also edited this to tone it down a bit
- Burger used that resume against King though it was toned down
- we needed 1 additional scene for the ending because it felt incomplete, even if they had shown us texts they had written to one another where Burger asks King to go on a romantic date
Was this review helpful to you?
worth a watch
Overall: an overall decent KBL. 8 episodes around 16 minutes each. Aired on iQIYI.What I Liked
- sweet/cute moments
- that it centered on the two leads without a whole bunch of other characters
- supportive friends
- we got more than 1 kiss and they were a little better than dead fish lip presses
- production value
Room For Improvement
- I wish they had been more clear about what the issue was in the past/shown it earlier and that the issue didn't hinge on poor communication that a 5 minute conversation would clear up
- could have had stronger world building
- the last episode felt more like vignettes instead of an overarching ending episode and if they are planning a spin off/season 2 then that possible couple should have been shown at the very end or even post credits
Was this review helpful to you?
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). Re-aired on Viki https://www.viki.com/tv/40495c-i-cannot-reach-youContent 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
Was this review helpful to you?
amazing chemistry/dynamic (need Tod & Boy as main leads again!) but with lackluster writing
Overall: Pluem and Kevin have some of the best chemistry/physical affection of any m/m couple that I've ever seen. Unfortunately the writing was not great otherwise this could have been a 10/10. Also don't be nervous about the title of the series (see my comment spoiler). Aired on GagaOOLala and YouTube. Later re-aired on Viki https://www.viki.com/tv/40690c-ghost-host-ghost-houseContent Warnings: kind of something off screen, keeping this spoiler free, you can look in my comments
What I Liked
- Kevin and Pluem have some of the best physical affection that I have ever seen (hand holding/rubbing, side hugs, sniff kisses, etc)
- consent examples
- that Kevin is actually interested in ghosts/wants to see them
- mystery element/premise
- funny moments
- sweet fluffy moments
- production value
Room For Improvement
- the writing was the main weakness: confusing world building, plot threads that weren't fully explained, plot holes, too many characters (a random character kind of thrown in), a character did something super cliche (and out of character) in ep 7 and beginning of 8, I'd suggest just skipping to 14 minutes in ep 8
- the commercial breaks were kept in GagaOOLala (but I didn't deduct for this)
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Fell apart at the end
Overall: a slow burn sports themed BL with 3 m/m couples. Watched on Viki. (minor spoilers)Content Warnings: colorism*, dub con (Saen/Aii - Aii says to stop and Saen continues)
What I Liked
- Torn was smart and solved problems (until he didn't, more on that later)
- humorous parts
- basketball scenes (I'm generally bored to tears by sports scenes but these were done well and some were super funny)
- production value including the color grading
- cinematography
- the consent with Saen/Aii (but not the morning after scene)
Room For Improvement
- it started cringey and ended cringey
- it felt like we missed a whole episode after the episode 8 basketball game. They should have shown things instead of just saying them in episode 9 (i.e. added an episode), then ended at the beach in episode 9 (which would have been episode 10).
- things really fell apart towards the end with time jumps, flash forwards/backs, bizarre character decisions, cliched plot lines
- *the main evil character has the darkest skin of everyone, wish he either had the same skin tone as everyone else or even better we had a protagonist with darker skin color (apparently he had a redemption arc but it was never explained or shown, Torn just randomly trusted him)
- Torn/Fah - I adored Torn's character until he had a supervillain origin story in episode 11, it made no sense to me. Torn was such a great problem solver and then he wasn't. Fah was a bit too stoic but they do explain that's how he is and he was burned/reluctant to trust again so I get it.
- Saen bordered on harassment instead of flirting. I wish Aii would have shown more interest to Saen especially earlier on, Aii could have still been nervous. Didn't like Aii's lack of communication with important decisions.
- Dome/Vee - this couple isn't controversial to me, life can be messy. I'm just sad the way that went/ended - felt very incomplete to me.
Was this review helpful to you?
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
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
watch at least thru episode 3 (watch suggestions)
Overall: I was not impressed with the plot or characters in episode 1, but I enjoyed seeing their different perspectives and them struggling with what was holding them back. Unfortunately, the ending felt rushed. The special episode didn't change my thoughts on this series in either direction. This is based on "Eul's Love" which I haven't read and I reviewed this series on its own merits. 6 episodes about 25 minutes each. Note there are sometimes important extra scenes after the initial end credits. Aired on Viki https://www.viki.com/tv/41031c-business-as-usual ; GagaOOLala (not in the Americas, Europe, Oceania, Japan or South Korea) https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/5233/business-as-usual-2025-e01 ; iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/tt9j6o0418 ; Line TV in Taiwan ; Rakuten TV in Japan ; Heavenly in South KoreaWatch Suggestions (to skip a lot of poor communication, have it be in chronological order and focus more on the leads' sweet moments)
- episode 2 watch 6:30-20:30 (past)
- episode 3 watch 4:15-16:25 (past)
- episode 1 watch beginning-4:45 (past)
- episode 3 watch 22-2nd (present)
- episode 4 watch 3:30-4:10 and 11-end (present)
- episode 5 watch 9:40-13:35 and 15-22:40 (present)
- episode 6 watch 21-end (present)
What I Liked
- intimacy in episodes 1 and 5
- sweet moments/their relationship development in the past
- how they each saw the same situations very differently, I don't think that a character saying he couldn't remember a phone call was gaslighting, sometimes we don't remember things the same or remember them at all compared to another person, this isn't always intentionally malicious/gaslighting
- appreciated the realistic bed head in episode 5
- production value
Room For Improvement
- disliked plot drama where a 5 minute conversation would have cleared everything up, very cliche plot point in episode 1
- what happened around 11-12 min in episode 1 was too long (keeping this spoiler free for now), should have been 1/4th of that
- episode 6 was extremely rushed, wish they actually hadn't shown the final scene because going into my next point...
- I am not convinced that they will be in a long term happy relationship, though Kim Min Jun recognized his insecurity, he basically admitted that it would cause problems in their relationship in the future. I think his insecurity will destroy their relationship at some point.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
mostly a good mess
Overall: the trailer promised a bunch of flawed guys in messy relationships and it mostly delivered but some things didn't work for me. Aired 12 episodes about 45 minutes each on GMMTVs YouTube ChannelContent Warnings: manhandling, vomiting, manipulation, non con touching, non con recording/sharing, voyeurism, past attempted suicide, alcoholism, punches, drug usage, queerphobia
What I Liked
- they introduced the characters well, I could tell who they were and their relationships to one another
- some good showing not telling, just the way a character looks at another character tells me a lot about their feelings
- the different characters/relationship dynamics
- realistically flawed characters
- NSFW was well done
- GL established pair (however they had very little screen time and it felt like token representation instead of fleshed out characters/interesting plot)
- sweet moments
- how the ending credits change
- a character has two moms
- bixsexual representation
- ep 9 Sand and Nick were adorable
- showing a character going to therapy
- Yo & Plug's relationship and talking about the importance of trust
- production value
Room For Improvement
- Chueam just saying it was no big deal when Atom could have ruined a person's life and put him in jail was terrible character/plot writing (and unrealistic, I think most people would be super pissed at their sibling for that), and then there was a weak apology in the final episode
- Atom lying about non con also fuels the idea of survivors lying when in reality lying about this is very rare
- the flawed characters didn't bother me, but there wasn't enough growth for them to be in relationships, they all need therapy and to be solo for awhile
- Top, his redemption arc was not good, he ignored Mew's boundaries, was pretty manipulative and selfish, and the non con touching was awful
- Mew, seeing an optimistic character become jaded is something I don't enjoy watching, and I don't enjoy people who play games
- Ray, the writers needed to have him have a bit more character growth sooner and also not just say the right things but do the right things, he'd take a step forward and then a step back again, it's realistic to have setbacks but trying to cram everything in at the very end wasn't good
- Boeing, his character was not needed (although he was super hot), they should have spent more time on the other characters learning/growing (or not and then realistically ruining their relationships)
- the endings were really predictable and wish GMMTV had been a bit more risky
- showed monogamy as good and polyamory as bad
- there were a few jumpy parts, for example characters were cuddling at night and the next scene was during the day in a bookstore
- not a fan of the outfit/styling choices for many characters
- sometimes music didn't fit the mood like a serious part would have this upbeat music
(info) in ep 1 I was a bit confused by the colored wristbands to denote relationship status, apparently this is a real thing (which I think is an awesome idea)
Was this review helpful to you?
