4
10
1
2
could have been a 10/10
Overall: although I enjoyed the beginning, things unraveled for me. 8 episodes about 1 hour each. Aired on GagaOOLala uncut: https://gagaoolala.com/en/videos/4688/4minutes-2024 (except Thailand, Japan, Korea); iQIYI uncut https://www.iq.com/album/4minutes-sultrier-version-2024-1zc6sune8fl?lang=en_us and cut version https://www.iq.com/album/4minutes-2024-1h7yndte6zx?lang=en_us (Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Spain, United Kingdom and United States); Viu with some countries having the cut version (Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Macau, Myanmar, Singapore); Rakuten TV in Japan and Heavenly in South Korea. The cut version has NSFW shortened/cut and also cuts out some plot as well.Content Warnings: most content warnings, it has some very dark/graphic parts in it
What I Liked
- mystery element
- grey characters
- use of the number 4 or things adding up to 4
- production value* (includes cinematography, use of color as symbolism, props to represent things)
Room For Improvement
- not a fan of a flash forward (or back) as a hook for a series
- there were too many characters/plot to fully develop them all, also pacing
- misleading trailer, it felt that a different character is the main lead instead of a character people were led to believe
- tricking the audience, not a fan of how that was done
- sweet moments that didn't actually happen
- cliched plot stuff
- no reason why a character had a girlfriend, I couldn't support a romance because it was built to not be a romance
- cringey guitar playing/serenading
- the intimate scenes were needed but they did not need to be that explicit/I didn't need to glimpse an actor's body part when walking around
- *many scenes were too dark to see the actors' faces or even what was happening, even for scenes at night they need to put light on their faces
- nonsense stuff: I can't comment on all of the medical things and their realism, but I highly doubt any surgeon would spin his medical implements before/during a surgery, that seemed to be a ton of papers for a small clipboard in ep 1, an investigator who didn't wear gloves at a crime scene, in ep 4 a character oddly didn't wear a mask when he should have
- Be On Cloud decided to sell it to a company where it is only airing in 8 countries (and perhaps 2 more) and then had the gall to not respond anywhere to questions about the remaining 180+ countries but instead posted about how to only watch it via official channels, I don't mind companies needing money to get things made but they should have been clear about where and the why (update: after 5 weeks they had an actual international release and the reason was likely money/maybe they couldn't say their whole release plan due to a contract but it still was bad to not have an official platform for 180+ countries for 5 weeks)
Note About an Actor's Age (I didn't take off points for this but as an fyi 1 actor was likely 17 when he filmed several very explicit scenes, age of majority in Thailand is 20)
- it's valid to feel uncomfortable with a 17 year old actor doing explicit scenes and to not watch this series
- it's valid to feel fine with a 17 year old actor who voluntarily agreed to do explicit scenes (and had his parents' permission) and watch/enjoy this series
- everyone gets to make that decision for themselves, I hold no judgement either way for this example, personally I am watching the series but I'm not re-watching that actor's NC scenes
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a coming of age ensemble series (not a BL series)
Overall: I re-watched the trailer to see if my expectations were way off but the trailer was narrated by Ryan and showed mostly Ryan/Jane moments. While I enjoyed the quirky humor, the misleading trailer and writing was disappointing. Aired on GMMTVs YouTube Channel, playlist link: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLszepnkojZI7b0q-zvdbbziNCv5VNDufI&si=t5Xhss_rfPl3ybkEContent Warning: sexual harassment
Watch Suggestions (I don't have the energy to go back thru the first 8 episodes, here are timings to focus on Jane & Ryan's romance)
- watch episode 9 part 4 7:45-end
- watch episode 10 part 1 beginning to the credits then 8-end
- watch episode 10 part 2 5:20-end
- watch episode 10 part 3 beginning to 1m 10s
- watch episode 10 part 4 8:30-end
- watch episode 11 part 2 beginning to 2:30
- watch episode 11 part 3 4:45-end
- watch episode 11 part 4 2:30-3:45 and 6:30-end
- watch episode 12 part 2
- watch episode 12 part 4 1min to 2:55 and 15:30-the end
What I Liked
- relatable main character (not knowing what he wanted to do in life)
- editing style, not sure how describe it, really vibrant colors
- laughed a few times
- informational bonus scenes at the end
- good that they touched on sexual harassment and I think this series passed the Bechdel test
- characters apologized
Room For Improvement
- misleading trailer
- pacing could have been tighter
- disappointed with a character/pair arc
- not all of the humor worked for me
- a character said "never ask me anything" and later said "if you don't know something ask me"
- Ryan was too incompetent such as not knowing how to silence or turn off his cell phone
- underwhelming/camera blocked kisses
- in episode 12 the time jump was totally not needed, technology exists, they didn't need to write a pair's relationship in that way
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need a season 2
Overall: they had a unique and fascinating dynamic. Aired on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/8142/the-servant-prince-2026-e01 (not available in Japan)Content Warnings: dub con kissing, past death, past child emotional abuse
What I Liked
- easy to understand premise
- unique dynamic
- even though a character had difficulties with the other character's changes, he didn't manipulate him or stop him
- caring moments
- supportive coworkers
Room For Improvement
- voice over exposition dumps
- cliche of fever after sex
- too many flashbacks
- hideous hair/wig
Raving about Takaaki
Takaaki is my favorite obsessed (near unhinged) character in a m/m romance. He compared himself to Naoya's dad how when they don't get what they want they get anxious (in the dad's case replace anxious with abusive). Naoya correctly pointed out that Takaaki was nothing like his father. The main differences were that Takaaki was very self-aware of his obsession and second that he wanted Naoya to be happy. Takaaki didn't manipulate other people, the situation or Naoya to get what he wanted although it felt like the urge was definitely there.
Additionally, I find how their relationship changes from Naoya relying completely on Takaaki to him wanting to rely on himself to wanting the freedom to do what he wants including supporting Takaaki. It was fascinating to watch how Takaaki dealt with these changes and wrestled with parts of himself. His brain almost short circuits multiple times, yet he kept up with the changes.
Naoya on his part, saw when Takaaki felt insecure in their relationship and quickly reassures him verbally and/or physically. Naoya went going on a journey and fully intended for Takaaki to be with him by his side. Takaaki was not going to clip Naoya's wings because he wanted him to soar. A relationship that I thought from the title and beginning would have a major power imbalance turned into a very healthy, balanced relationship. This series is a rare example of showing how characters can change, their relationship can change, yet still be a relationship that I root for and think will last a lifetime with both characters compatible and happy.
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This review may contain spoilers
controlling writer and his doe eyed prey
Overall: I did not enjoy the dynamic with the leads and they once again inserted a useless love triangle. Aired on Sukfilm's YouTube channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYfaogVGCvwTLtMP5RnShUW6BHVbJmk9R&si=ydgeYlQSObe6tvN4Content Warning: non/dub con kissing turned consensual
What I Liked
- visuals
- production value was good for an indie series (though the music should be quieter when they were talking)
Room For Improvement
- how the writer was controlling (told him to come home earlier) and made the other guy feel bad for the sticky note, he apologized and said he wouldn't do it again but was again controlling (gave him a curfew)
- love triangle with a much better candidate for a boyfriend
- the naive guy voiced his inner thoughts
- the drunk kissing trope
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This review may contain spoilers
back to square one (uncut version)
Overall: I enjoyed how Pit Babe was different from most BL, but I wish there had been less nonsense writing and noble idiot tropes. Here is my review of season 1 https://mydramalist.com/profile/blcompilations/review/31727913 episodes about 45 minutes each. Uncut version aired on iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/qlw2ei88cg?lang=en_us&sh_pltf=4 ; cut version aired on YouTube (I'm guessing NSFW is cut shorter, not available in North America, Central America, South America, UK, Australia, Southeast Asia, Korea or Japan) https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc3B9DM2kKP7vC_8E0mCBU7G27St3LqM5&si=wrOib7pJ5705qgdH Later aired on Netflix https://www.netflix.com/watch/82761765
Content Warnings: murders, kidnapping, blood, violence, torture, sexual assault, non con touching, punch, dub/non con kissing turned consensual
Watch Suggestions (focuses more on steamy/sweet and removes most violent stuff/love rival)
- watch episode 1
- episode 2 skip 14:10-22:45
- episode 3 skip 23:10-25:45
- episode 4 skip 14:15-19:10, 37:10-37:55 and 41:35-end
- episode 5 skip 15:55-17:45, 42:40-end
- episode 6 watch 27-29 and 43:30-end
- episode 7 watch 15:40, 29-20:10, 35:30-39:15 and 43:45-45:40
- episode 8 watch 21:30-23:55, 25:15-29, 29-31:10
- episode 9 watch 32:35-33:35
- episode 10 watch 12:40-14:25, 16:30-25
- episode 11 watch 8:25-27 and 31-43:45
- episode 12 watch 20:30-21:50
- episode 13 watch 13:40-14:50, 27:10-30:50, 33:55-34:20 and 39-end
What I Liked
- fun racing sequences
- visuals
- chemistry/intimacy (ready for and interested in more)
- sweet moments
- mystery element
- production value
Room For Improvement
- established couples had terrible communication, noble idiot tropes
- idiotic plans
- too much time spent mourning a character who did some really terrible things, I think they should have stuck with showing short grief scenes with a couple characters instead of that scene with everyone in episode 1
- once again we had a ton of characters (and new ones were added), there wasn't really a re-cap from season 1 and I was struggling to remember who some of the characters were/their relationship to other characters
- too much time spent on nonsense plot stuff instead of relationship development
- amnesia trope
- nonsense plot stuff (police aren't aware or involved at all???, believing people because they say so, not having security, etc)
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aimless guys looking for something to hold onto
Overall: it was decent for a vertical series, but I've seen better. 44 episodes less than 2 minutes each Aired on Swipedrama app (also has Can a Freeloader Make it as a Secretary). It took me 5 days to watch the series for free which is pretty good (the worst took 13 days for Please Teach Me on TopReel). Note - episode 1 starts out as a preview and then goes into the episode. App information below.Content Warnings: manipulation, suicidal thoughts, child abuse, slap, non con kiss
What I Liked
- realistic characters trying to figure things out
- sweet/caring moments
- non cliche female character
- intimacy
Room For Improvement
- started with a flash forward and then returned to a month before
- O Christmas Tree music
- although a character apologized I think he should have had more consequences for his actions
- noble idiot trope
How to Watch For Free
Day 1: check in, ad after check in = 7 coins, 3 ads = 9 coins, watched episodes 1-14 (free to watch), 15-17 used coins, 18 & 19 (when I ran out of coins I touched outside of the coin packages and then I could watch an ad to watch 2 more episodes 20 & 21). I then got the 6 coins for watching 5, 10 and 15 minutes and watched ep 22. There are other ways to get coins (ie sign in, social media, get notifications) so you could watch more. Leftover coins day 1: 2
Day 2: check in, ad after check in, 3 ads (17 coins plus 2 from day 1) - watched episodes 23-25, then watched 26 & 27 daily ad, checked in 5, 10 & 15 min and watched 28 & 29
Day 3, 4, 5 (same as above, about 7 episodes watched per day)
App Notes: unused bonus coins might last for a year (so this is a good app to do daily check ins to accumulate coins), episodes don't re-lock, you can't skip to different episodes (must watch them in order), no wait time between watching ads is nice
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decent pink film
Overall: this is a 70 minute pink film (has several pretty explicit scenes). Aired on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/4764/heavens-candy-2023 There is an extra scene after the end credits.Content Warnings: peeping, past grooming, past pedophilia/non con
What I Liked
- dynamic with the leads
- the age gap relationship with the dad and the other guy was interesting.
- NSFW scenes were pretty well done
Room For Improvement
- voice over with a flash forward to start the movie
- wish they had taken out 1 character to really focus more on the leads and their relationship
- rushed ending
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glad we got our follow up
Overall: Stay By My Side ended on a cliffhanger so I'm glad we had this special but I did want a few changes. Aired on Viki & GagaOOLala.What I Liked
- chemistry/kisses
- sweet moments
- gave us a conclusion we needed
- callbacks to the series
Room For Improvement
- disappointed that they used the same plot device as the series instead of direct communication shortly after the thing that happened at the end of the series
- some wonky camerawork
- added in additional characters and tried to do too much, would have liked to see them narrow the focus more
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a sweet commercial
Overall: this is basically a 7 minute commercial, but it's cute and a nice way to spend 7 minutes. Aired on Thai Mini Series YouTube Channel and their Tik Tok channel.Content Warning: non con picture taking
What I Liked
- sweet/flirty moments
- that there was a decent "plan"
Room For Improvement
- wish they had released this as one 7 minute video on YouTube
- episode 6 had a Korean subtitle instead of English, apparently it was "hope we're on the same page"
- the ending felt incomplete
- wish they added all episodes to their YouTube playlist and/or added cards for the next episode (after it was available) to make it easier to watch them all (or combined them into 1 video as I mentioned)
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cute micro series, just too short
Overall: this is a micro micro series at 1-3 minutes per episode. Recommend watching on the GagaOOLala YouTube channel as a few episodes on Artop Media Hit Drama channel were missing subtitles.Content Warnings: non con photo taking, not sure if I would label that as non con at the end of the 1st episode as there was no indication of interest prior to it
What I Liked
- the general premise as shown after the 1st episode
- cute moments
- a f/f couple
Room For Improvement
- the run time was just too short with 3 separate couples, they should have just had the focus be 1 couple
- choppy, we'd end up somewhere and start somewhere totally different in the next episode
- that the f/f couple didn't get a kiss
- several of the kisses were camera blocked
- music was too loud over dialogue at times
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This review may contain spoilers
confusing with cliche plot points
Overall: this is a lower budget production that once again would have benefited from a narrower plot (i.e. no love triangle) due to its short runtime. Watched on YouTube.Content Warnings: smack on the head, blackmail
What I Liked
- the intro animation sequence that went into the live action
- I like the original focus on Judo (but that vanished unfortunately)
Room For Improvement
- confusing/choppy, especially in the first episode scenes just cut to something else and I was confused who the characters were
- too broad of a plot, they should have just focused on two judo players
- cliche things that I hate: love triangle, miscommunication/lack of communication, long time gap (6 years!), open ending, gay for you trope
- camera trick to not show the kiss well
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This review may contain spoilers
Make this a whole series, pretty please?
Overall: In about 15 minutes, Strongberry again delivers a well written & acted story (you can watch it on YouTube)Content Warnings: none
What I Liked
- the actors, they did a great job and have good chemistry (except the first kiss* in part 2, I give them a pass on the kiss in part 1 because it might have been the characters' first kiss)
- the background music was nice
- a short and sweet story
- I liked how the camerawork moved a bit more when they were walking but it wasn't too shaky
Room For Improvement/Questions
- the scene towards the end of part 2 was a too dimly lit for me
- I don't like how he called his boyfriend a pervert, I realize that he is joking, but it feels like an undercurrent of homophobia or looking down on when someone wants to be physical in a relationship...and I didn't like the cheater line either - maybe this is a translation thing
- doesn't the other guy have to serve in the military as well? Why wouldn't they have joined at the same time, now they'll have 4 years apart right? Or does he have a medical exemption? I'm confused by this.
- *that first kiss in part 2...I don't think anyone kisses a significant other like this, at least both people would pucker their lips a bit. Since they are in public, it could have been a cheek kiss instead.
I really hope Strongberry continues to make more and longer things. I bet if they did a Kickstarter for this to be a whole series or a sequel for Long Time No See, people would contribute. Right now they have YouTube channel membership. Wishing them all the best!!!
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This review may contain spoilers
Screams of agony could be heard down the street
Content warning: you'll want to claw your eyes out after watching...What I Liked-
it had an interesting premise, a god of love tries to help a human
- the actors were cute
- the first few episodes were okay
- I liked that the female character wasn't some crazy ex-girlfriend or a stalker fangirl
Why I Got So Angry
- the terrible 2 kisses - Nite is the god of love so he has to know how to give/receive a kiss right?? right??? (me screaming into a void)
- the entire episode where Tae just moped around and there were flashbacks, so boring
- almost all of the cast vanishes in the last few episodes
- an unknown time later Tae is at a beach and meets a doppelganger of Nite (let's call him Nite 2). There is no explanation but we all assume that Nite 2 is Nite in a different body based on the ridiculous number of similarities (I was thinking an Ariel type thing). This drags out until....
- What on god's green earth was that ending???? Nite 2 specifically says that he is NOT Nite, whaaaaaaaaa?????!!!!!!!!! What on earth happened to Nite? Where did this Nite 2 come from? Who wrote this????!!!!!!!! I almost threw my computer across the room and I screamed in agony at that ending.
Perhaps they had to do 12 episodes and had problems with the pandemic. They should have paused filming OR just added 1 scene between Nite & that other god to explain that Nite needed to get a human to give him a 'true love's kiss' in a new body without revealing he is Nite. Then Nite could remain human and be with his true love (i.e. Ariel situation). Explain to me why this scene could not have been filmed and I'll up my review.
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10 Things I Want to Do before I Turn 40
13 people found this review helpful
This review may contain spoilers
sweet first 7 episodes (watch suggestions)
Overall: the first 7 episodes were sweet and then it all went downhill. 12 episodes about 22 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala (not in Thailand, Taiwan, Korea or Japan) https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/5485/ten-things-i-want-to-do-before-i-turn-forty-2025-e01What I Liked
- their different personalities
- showed how a character is friendly and sweet but also did not act like a child at work
- that they clear up misunderstandings fairly quickly
- supportive sisters
- production value
Watch Suggestions (to focus on the leads being sweet)
- watch episodes 1-7
- skip episode 8 or watch 21 min-end
- episode 9 watch 7:30-15:10
- skip episodes 10 and 11
- start episode 12 at 15 minutes
Room For Improvement
- how Tojo was kind of pressured into it
- episode 8 made no sense that they only had 1 minute of screentime at the end and episode 9 ruined things before they even
- basically became an anthology series where other characters were the focus and they were sidelined
- a pet peeve is a character who supposedly loves another character causing that character immense pain and not listening to what they want, the angst dragged on for too long
- introduced a possible love rival in episode 11 (and I started to want them to be together instead)
- cliche running in the finale
- too many flashback montages in the finale
- (neutral) voicing internal thoughts
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dark and messy soap opera style series with cute side m/m couple
Overall: this isn't the type of plot (dark/murder mystery) that I enjoy, but I think they did a good job with it. Wish the side m/m couple would have had more screen time. Watched on YouTube.Content Warnings: pretty much every single one, this could be really triggering for people so please take care if you watch the whole thing
Timings for the side m/m couple (in case you'd like to just see their scenes, I think I got most of them). The best are episode 5 part 4 and episode 6 part 1.
ep 2 4/4, 3m30s
ep 3 2/4, 1:30
ep 5 3/4, 4
ep 5 4/4, beginning
ep 6 1/4, 9
ep 8 3/4, beginning
ep 14 2/4, 4
ep 16 3/4, 13 and 16
ep 17 2/4, 1m10s
ep 18 4/4 4m30s
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