short and cute tourism promo with BL actors

Overall: 12 BL actors showcased parts of Thailand thru 6 short episodes. Each episode was about 8 minutes. Aired 2 per week on YouTube https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6jUaCqlEcp3ROAMOSYvXJ2ij5mxjCkzy&si=zEc7KOdeB5fTzvI4 Note: several of the episodes were not clearly BL but open to interpretation

What I Liked
- it was a cute short story/tourism commercial
- favorite story was probably ep 2 with Mai & Win
- so happy to see Frank without a wig
- happy they aired 2 per week and it was free to watch on YouTube

Room For Improvement
- they needed to subtitle the locations that the characters were at, although the information does appear in the video description
- each episode was very short and several were open endings

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fans of the series will enjoy these follow ups

Overall: I think that fans will enjoy this anthology series which showcases 8 couples from 8 recent GMMTV series. Airing on GMMTVs YouTube Channel, here is the playlist https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLszepnkojZI4h6zMFEdD2alNmOI4c9TBN

Content Warnings: violence, homophobia (Never Let Me Go)

My Favorites
- Bad Buddy and 1000 Stars, especially that ending part of 1000 Stars was extremely touching/beautiful

Biggest Miss
- I wanted to see further development with My School President not a re-hash with the actors playing the opposite character

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a well done m/m reality dating show (ep 7 was the best)

Overall: I believe this was the Philippines first m/m reality dating show and I think they did a good job with it. 8 episodes at about 30 minutes each. Aired on Black Sheep YouTube Channel.

Reality Series Note: with any "reality" series I keep in mind that what the audience sees doesn't necessarily reflect what actually happened. There can be guidelines the audience doesn't know about, parts are edited out or ordered in different ways to show a certain narrative. I read in the YouTube comments that the director said it wasn't scripted, but I always take that with a grain of salt. My goal for reality dating series is for people to have a good time and maybe make a new friend. Any actual pairings at the end of the show are icing on the cake.

Content Warnings: discussion of mental health struggles, suicidal thoughts, homophobia

What I Liked
- the intros of the 10 guys to the audience and that they had name tags on most of the series (as someone who has trouble with remembering names, this is very useful and I'm guessing was useful for the participants as well), although it could have been something like a necklace with their name
- that they started with a game and there were two 1 on 1 dates (not really a fan of the twist though but it was okay)
- diverse personalities in the group
- the emcee was great, she was caring and empathetic
- defined pansexuality and emcee said she loved how they were being sex positive
- episode 7 at the pool party was my favorite episode
- excellent that they included a mental health hotline at the end of episode 7

Room For Improvement
- group games: the oil was unnecessary, the guys just met each other and they could have played the game without the oil part, should have had less physical games and maybe some where they pair up, go on a scavenger hunt or something? or maybe group get to know you games like "never have I ever"
- too much group sharing times, it bogged things down, although I think 1 group share is a good idea, I personally don't think it's great to discuss past exes, leave the past in the past
- would only have 1 secret spark exchange or have it more like a phone call or letter where they could write their name, but it's painful to see some guys not receive a spark multiple times
- background noise during the pool party

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an enjoyable KBL with excellent acting/chemistry

Overall: a well done office romance. 7 episodes 20 minutes each. Aired on Viki.

Content Warnings: bullying, dub con kisses*, semi outing

What I Liked
- the opening sequence with its manga like animation/editing and the animation other points
- cute, sweet and funny moments
- acting/chemistry
- ongoing affection (could have used a little bit more in the final episode though)
- how the characters don't have identity crises about their sexual orientation
- how the boss Jong Chan is very supportive
- friendship between Seung Hyun and Ji Yeon

Room For Improvement
- in the first episode, it was odd that there was no one in the office when a whole big thing was made about how on time was late, it would have made more sense if everyone else was already there and working when he started
- *I do think Jong Chan knew that Seung Hyun liked him but would have preferred that Seung Hyun initiate at least the first kiss
- needed more runtime, things jumped a bit, also wanted more of a resolution with Yoo Seong
- some night scenes were too dim and needed more lighting
- another stupid "plan" by a villain
- kind of wanted the interns to have more of a plan when they made that video
- Seung Hyun promised not to do something and then he did it in the last episode though he apologized
- an hr nightmare with Seung Hyun talking to his coworkers about his personal relationship and even had some of it recorded

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that was a slog

Overall: it's slow paced and not funny. Aired on YouTube and WeTV (need vpn to Thailand).

Content Warnings: non con kiss and touching, homophobia, manhandling, hits/slaps

What I Liked:
- few cute moments
- OST
- the het couple (guy with the glasses) was cute
- a few conversations with supportive friends
- the production value is decent

Room For Improvement
- pacing was way too slow (I even watched it on 3x speed). If they had cut this from 45 minutes to 20-30 minutes, then I would have enjoyed it more. Everything is too draggy and boring.
- that ex is a piece of youknowwhat, the non con was not romantic
- choppy/unknown time jumps, did those two scenes happen at the same birthday party?
- I didn't find it funny (like the maid outfit, employee is wearing a crown, toilet humor), the comedy sound effects don't make something funny they can only enhance something that is funny
- stereotype of the effeminate guy not doing work and focusing on his live
- multiple time jumps
- the homophobic grandfathers random and sudden change of heart
- why did the m/m wedding have 6 people and the m/f wedding was a bunch of people?

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3 separate stories: f/f, m/f, m/m

Overall: you don't have to guess who funded this mini-series but I'm okay with it because finally we have a 2nd season/follow up with a cute story line (episode 1). There are 3 episodes and each episode has a different couple: f/f, m/f and m/m. Watched on YouTube.

Content Warnings: 1 non con picture taken, several self-disparaging comments about weight, body policing/shaming, shoves

Episode 1: 9/10
What I Liked
- plot was creative and sweet (a plot continuation without a love triangle or cheating is almost unheard of, I wish writers would come up with some more ideas like this one)
- good crying, it made me tear up which rarely happens

Room For Improvement
- I get they are a sponsor but I did not like the comments about weight/appearance
- non realistic things done because they needed to happen (i.e. that would have probably bruised not bled, that ladder just happened to be there)
- that was pretty PG skinship-wise with an established couple, just a couple of cheek or lip pecks would have been nice
- I know it was related to the product but 'zero' does not have a positive connotation and 'zero photography' does not sound pleasant for a title

Episode 2: 8/10
I apparently didn't take any notes on this one. I thought it was fine. Yes, it had unbelievable elements (and no not the obvious one) but I enjoyed it.

Episode 3: 7/10
It's really disappointing that an established couple has shown no character growth, they were exactly where we left them even though it's 2 years later. Also, who doesn't spend an hour cleaning, I would have turned around and left. I did like the few cute moments and I want to see Earth and Mix in more series, either together or separately.

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Swing and a Miss

Overall: there was a good idea a the core, how a boy might struggle at school with two gay dads, but it had a poor execution

Content Warnings: held against will, looked up skirt - pulled down pants, pervy guy

What I Liked
- the trumpet playing
- the boy said that they should apologize to the girl

Room For Improvement
- the trumpet player was more immature than the child! Who just leaves their child at a dock? Pulling down his pants was terrible. The dad felt stereotypical and I wish they would haven't gone that direction. He could have worn lipstick/nails and been an awesome parent of a child who is struggling at school due to bullying. Instead they made him look immature and silly.
- the first sexual assault to that girl was bad but then they threw in another attempted one??? To show that the boy was now a hero? It was an odd way to show character development.

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a lesser known Pinoy BL that is worth a watch

Overall: This series deserves more views and recognition. If you like enemies to lovers and/or something that deals with real world issues, then check this one out. 

Content Warnings: cyberbullying

What I Liked
- discussing real world problems such as: cancel (or as I call it consequence) culture*, plight of farmers, and sexual position shaming
- the production value was pretty good for what I'm assuming was a smaller budget production
- the visuals and I thought their acting was decent for (again I'm assuming) new actors
- showing a f/f relationship which is pretty rare
- the very supportive parental response from Ram's parents

Room For Improvement
- The incredibly stupid plot point regarding Cholo's plan. I doubt any human on the planet would have come up with that plan. Like, Migo is your friend and he has a pride flag hanging at his place, pretty sure he's open to talking about his sexual orientation if asked and won't ban you as a friend or anything when he finds out Cholo's sexual orientation
- three couples with three love triangles (I really dislike love triangles and there are 3 of them!!!)
- because there were so many romantic relationships in only 8 episodes, we didn't get to delve deeply into any of them
- Why doesn't Ram just talk to Migo about Cholo's plan and then explain what happened? What person just lets the other person walk away crying?
- *Though I appreciated the discussion of cancel (consequence) culture, it is much more nuanced than it being totally bad. It has to do with trying to hold people accountable for their bad actions/decisions because the law is unable to do so. Consequence culture definitely has major problems though. 
- Migo's anger/acting was actually too much at the beginning, it would have been better if he had toned it down
- they only have English, Spanish & Indonesian subs. If they had put out a call for people to translate/sub (like I think Gameboys did), I bet they would have had many more languages
- the special episode does not have any subs
- the first episode "comedic" sound effects were waaaaayyyy too much, but they did tone it down

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covid/unversity setting romance, watch the cut version (watch suggestions)

Overall: I was going to rate the series higher, but the finale was awful. The uncut version gets 3.5, the cut version gets 5 and since it doens't have an MDL entry I gave it a 4 for this review. 5 episodes. Uncut is about an hour to 1hr 30min each; cut is 47min. Airing uncut on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/4689/live-in-love-2024-e01 ; uncut on WeTV https://wetv.vip/en/play/0i9b5l3c9l95149-Live%20In%20Love%20the%20series%20(Uncut%20Ver.) ; cut on WeTV https://wetv.vip/en/play/i947av13118qaoy-Live%20In%20Love%20the%20series ; cut on YouTube https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0tRjHmbcbQLx8pLeSxkmMqrOsXiVyWX7&si=VJeqs7s6Y4MgU-Fc

Content Warning: manhandling, held against will, stalking, drugging, planned gang rape

Watch Suggestions (read the plot synopsis)
- watch the very end of episode 1 (1hr 3min for uncut and 7m 45s in part 4 cut) to the end
- in episode 2 uncut watch 9-14, 17:45-19:20, 34:50-35:30, 40:40-42:20, 48-51:20, 53:25 (shirtless push-ups), 1hr 24 -1hr 25m17s (kissing) ; I'm not re-watching all of episode 2 cut version but beginning of part 3 and then part 4 7min to 8m 12s (the uncut of this scene is better)
- youtube cut version watch episode 3 part 1 beginning to 3 and 11-end; part 2 watch 8:45-end, part 3 watch 4:25-5:45, part 4 watch 3-3:45 and 4:30-6:15 and if you wanted you could watch the uncut version of episode 3 58:40 to 1hr0m30s and 1hr36m30s to 1hr38m30s for a longer kissing scene than the cut version
- YouTube cut version watch episode 4 part 1 4-6 and 9:20-10:50; part 2 watch 6-9:40 (35 min in uncut the kiss is longer), part 3 beginning to 3:15, part 4 5:23-6:15
- uncut version (I might update when the cut version airs), watch episode 5 1hr 8min-1hr 14m 30s and 1hr 27min 50sec-end (so basically 10 minutes of an hour and a half episode)

What I Liked
- supportive friends/family
- production value was fine other than jumpy flashbacks/to present, good transition images
- good consent in episode 3

Room For Improvement
- main character was infantilized (wore a teddy bear sweater, other people made decisions for him and he oddly didn't seem to care, reminded me of La Cuisine)
- spent way too much time in the finale retelling past actions
- a ton of characters were introduced in episode 1 and there was no reason why I should have cared about them or want them in a relationship with each other
- the main couple did not have a scene together until 1hr 3 minutes of episode 1 which was much too late
- love rivals  
- confusing time jumps/timeline in episode 1
- episode 2 uncut was very repetitive
- cliched female characters
- the covid setting/format was odd/unappealing, characters repeatedly talked on the phone or texted in episode 2 which was boring/did not produce good chemistry and then suddenly covid stuff disappears
- where did the side couple go in episode 3?
- the reason for the interruption at the end of episode 3 was stupid
- cartoonish antagonist and multiple terribly done redemption arcs
- the awful "we won't contact police for the very illegal/terrible things this character has done, they'll learn their lesson"
- nonsense, someone fell into the water but then magically was really far away from where they fell in (episode 4)
- "comedy" sound effects
- talking about extending the room rental in episode 5 was distasteful, unrealistic and not funny
- the very end scene in episode 5 was anticlimactic, I think they could have paced it better or had it actually end with them kissing or the crew break the 4th wall and say thanks but as it was a strange way to end a series with the way they did that scene

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Close Friend season 2 was okay

Overall: we have a continuation of my least favorite plot combined with my most favorite plot from season 1. I thought the first episode was a solid start, but it fell into some cliched writing/characters.

Content Warnings: something related to the 1st season with Jedi and Ray, non con (photos/posting, live streaming), dub con kissing turned consensual

What I Liked
- nice recaps of the stories from season 1
- integrated the two stories well
- was happy to see 2 established couples
- the cute moments
- the funny moments like when Ray was describing the real Jedi
- happy we saw a morning kiss between Ray & Jedi
- the friendship between Ray & Typhoon
- that Jedi fought for his relationship
- good production value
- enjoyed the behind the scenes clips

Room For Improvement
- Ray really needed a hobby or a job, he felt like a very immature character and it was difficult for me to root for their relationship
- Typhoon's lack of agency was disappointing when he didn't want to go home, also thought the plotline with the parents could have been done better
- not into the Jedi/Ray revelation about season 1
- that vanishing effect in episode 5 felt like they were ghosts
- odd scene with Typhoon and Pierce working out but sounding like something else, the mom opens the door and then is shocked that they are...actually working out???

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Swing and a miss, best episode is #6

Overall, this series was a major miss. Storylines were cliched and the 4 Queer ones were serious/depressing. I really disliked how characters crossed over into different episodes but the timeline wasn't correct, it made it even more disjointed. It would have been better if no characters were in the other episodes and then they could put the episodes in whatever order they wanted. I averaged the scores and it ended up at 7/10, but this might be generous. 

Episode 1 - "Would You Be My Love" (re-named to "Bullying & More Bullying") 8/10
Well this was a rough way to start the series. Personally I would have started with a fluffier episode but...yeah. I really hope this kind of bullying doesn't exist but I'm sure it does. Ozone could have fired a couple of comebacks at least about how close the 2 goons were... The actor is 17 and I would have preferred he was 18, but the physical affection was 1 kissing scene so it doesn't bother me that much. Both main actors did a good job (as usual Earth is a pro at crying). I dislike ghosting/refusing to communicate with someone and it felt a bit slow. Content warning: bullying

Episode 2  - "Rhythm's Heart" 8.5/10
This was a nice m/f romance plot. It was great to see Yacht play a non-comedic role. Pimdao's dad was amazing. Didn't like Wawa ignoring Pimdao's no answer.

(content warning - I'm going to use a word related to non-con)
Episode 3  "Remember" (re-named to "Hot Mess") 4/10 (all 4 points are for Samantha's acting, lol, the mom was great too)
What a hot mess. I'm not even really sure what actually happened. Sounds like Jaidee purposefully got Tac drunk to sleep with him (so that's rape), then took a picture and texts it to Tac to break them up (he mentions blackmail too). Tac for some reason can't say in 5 seconds "she got me super drunk, raped me and blackmailed me" or text that and instead says "let me explain" and "I'm sorry" a bunch of times. I think he even initially denied it was him...Then 1 year later (so strange, it should have been a few months, why would Jaidee wait that long to flirt with Proud...) Jaidee & Proud become friends then more, but then everything hits the fan and Proud refuses to let anyone actually explain what is going on. Add in a slap, grabs, shoves and vandalism (was that Tac and the flat tire???), and a cliffhanger/unresolved ending, uggggghhh. It was also inconsistent characterization because both Jaidee & his friend Rhythm talked about Tac being a player, but yet he claims that Proud is the love of his life, wth? Also Tac thought there was a relationship between Proud & Jaidee and didn't want to interfere and let Proud be happy.... be happy with the person who raped and blackmailed him???!!!! Proud shouldn't be with either of them. In my alternate version of this episode, Proud's scummy boyfriend did cheat on her (not drunkenly, not with Jaidee), they break up, then later Proud and Jaidee fall in love and live happily ever after.

Episode 4: "Once Upon A Time" (re-named to "Awfully Angsty") 6.5/10
Ugggghhhhhhh. For me to be happy with the ending (post credits) they needed to do two things which they didn't do 1. They needed to set up/flesh out Balloon/Mek's relationship, shown the good parts of it so that I wanted to root for them to make it work despite their flaws and 2. They needed to show character growth/change so their relationship would work, i.e. a very public kiss at the airport initiated by Balloon and Mek communicating better. Neither was done so I was not satisfied post credits. The female character part should have totally been cut and then they could have done the above two things. Here's more of what I didn't like:
- overused plot point that both sons are attracted to men
- overused plot point of a homophobic father yelling at his son
- Balloon just letting his dad tear into his brother Ozone and secretly listening in, Balloon's a senior in college not a middle schooler, seriously grow a pair and help out your younger brother
- Balloon cry shaming Ozone "you're a grownup now, why are you still crying like a baby" He's crying because his/your dad is a homophobic jerk and you didn't help him out!
- Balloon saying that orphan Mek will never understand. That was such a low blow. There are things you say to a partner that even saying sorry is not enough, it destroys the relationship and that is either one of those things or very close.
- Balloon having a heart to heart with Ozone but still starting off as "a friend of mine..."
- Ozone incorrectly apologizes for their dad being a homophobic jerk (Ozone says he's sorry for putting Balloon in this position)
- both Mek & Balloon say that they are always honest with one another when it is shown that neither of them is ever honest with the other person...
- non-logic, why does no-one ask Balloon why he's wearing a ring on a necklace? If my friend or sibling was wearing one, I'd be like - what's up with the ring, who are you dating? Also, there is no flashback scene when they exchange rings which would have been nice to include.
- that was 53 seconds before the credits of 2 people standing very close, staring at each other and not saying a word... almost a whole minute of...nothing...

Episode 5:  "Breakup Zone" (re-named to "Will You Be My Love") 8/10
Well that kiss was terrible, but I like friends to lovers stories.

Episode 6: "VS Love" (re-named to "Justice For All") 9/10
Overall this is my favorite episode with a focus on justice and also a protagonist who isn't stupid (yes, cell phones can take pictures and record audio/video!). I would say this is very light BL in that the romance is not very obvious but towards the end you can tell that they are more than platonic friends. Content warning for a couple of fight scenes/intimidation.

Episode 7: "50% My Puppy Love" (re-named to "Stalker Love") 6/10
So we have the typical and annoying love at first sight without talking to the person/getting to know them at all. Almost all of the score is because of Perth.
What I didn't like:
- I'm hoping it was the subtitles but his friend said "she's cute, she's interesting and she belongs in my collection" which yuck. People are not objects that you collect.
- The stalker behavior (that takes place over a semester/year): drawing her picture, stalking her on social media, pinning a photo of her up on the wall, getting her snacks for a prolonged time without writing his name...
- the fact that he only got mad that his friend was a player when it involved a girl he liked, he didn't care before that
- the absolutely cliched lack of communication, jumping to stupid conclusions and ghosting friendsIn the end she was also a stalker without a single spine bone, so I guess it's a match made in heaven.

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darker vertical mini series

Overall: this is a darker series with an unsatisfying ending. Watched for free on Shortime app, 46 episodes about 1.5 minutes each (episode 1-5 were free, I watched 6-10 with ads that showed under buying the passes, 11-15 with watching 10 ads on rewards page, daily random box and check in, fortune read and made it up to 18, it took 4 days to watch for free which wasn't bad) Shortime also has Falling For My Boss and The Secrets of Male Students both of which I liked better than Buddy Boy.

Content Warnings: attempted suicide, teacher/student relationship and grooming, child abuse, past death, non con kiss, non con picture taking, blackmail, manhandling, homophobia, slap, fight, beaten up, unwanted public outing

What I Liked
- how a characters age was given thru conversation
- bonding moments

Room For Improvement
- that teacher needed some major consequences
- cliche female character
- the ending was not satisfying (he tried to drown himself, other guy saves him and then that's the end)

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story about acceptance

Overall: this is a short movie (35 minutes plus behind the scenes) about self acceptance. I gave it an indie rating bump as it hovered between 7.5 and 8 for me. Aired on Wayufilm's YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kO_pyd0B19Q&ab_channel=WayufilmProduction

Content Warnings: one that's a spoiler (see my spoiler comment), homophobia, bullying, non con picture/video taking and sharing

What I Liked
- the theme of where acceptance should come from
- clever names with Mek and Up (sounds like Makeup)
- Mek was supportive

Room For Improvement
- unrealistic with total strangers walking up and taking selfies (let me know if this happens in Thailand in real life and I'll delete this)
- needed a little more relationship development, what made them love each other
- the off screen panting went on too long, perhaps there is a missing NSFW scene for channel members

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hope to see the actors again

Overall: this was a disappointing special. I do hope to see all of the main actors in another series soon as I think they did a good job with the plot they were given. The special episode was about 53 minutes. Aired on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/4591/i-saw-you-in-my-dream-2024-e13 and WeTV https://wetv.vip/en/play/w52tycxawaajel4-I%20Saw%20You%20In%20My%20Dream/u41005rux5c-EP13%3A%20You%20%26%20I%20in%20Our%20Dream

What I Liked
- sweet moments
- good f/f established relationship
- production value

Room For Improvement
- there was zero character growth, 4 years later and they still had poor communication and one character was extremely immature, he intentionally caused the love of his life to be distressed, it wasn't cute or funny
- very odd that the main couple had zero kisses in the special and the side couple had a few quick pecks/some dodging that happened
- nonsense world building, something could suddenly happen that had never happened before, the flashback was a non-explanation
- comedy sound effects didn't make things funny

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meh enemies to lovers micro series

Overall: Aired on Jinloe's YouTube channel first for members and then later went free for everyone (except episodes 9 & 10 and some episodes were missing subtitles) https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIFuZIdAgzTjbXN2ypTCNBGNY0PQQTgxG&si=TmjC1-YF7k_mWZTd Also all episodes are on Jinloe's TikTok with hardcoded subtitles https://www.tiktok.com/@jinloeofficial/playlist/SomeSecretInHighSchool-7424306755129051921

Watch Suggestions
- skip ep 5
- start ep 7 at 1:25

What I Liked
- easy to understand premise
- a couple nice moments

Room For Improvement
- "comedy" sound effects
- cliche female character took up too much screentime
- missing subtitles in some episodes on YouTube
- stupid plan
- episode 8 of 10 was too late to start falling in love
- kind of an odd stopping point for the series

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