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
- *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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want to see actors in something else (watch suggestions)

Overall: this is an old school Thai romcom/drama that should have been left in the past. 8 episodes about 45 minutes each aired in Thailand. I watched the WeTV version that had 10 episodes but most of episode 10 was the actors talking about the series. Aired on WeTV https://wetv.vip/en/play/e36k7s4okwtoesy-A%20secretly%20love%20(Uncut%20Ver.)

Watch Suggestions (this avoids a lot of a guy harassing his ex-girlfriend, hazing and second lead syndrome)
- watch episode 1 from 5-19:20 (flashback to them in high school)
- start episode 4 at 37:40
- watch episode 5
- watch episode 6 from 23 to 34:20
- watch episode 7 from the beginning to 6, then GL at 16-17, watch 23-29 or continue to the end if you want to see a lot of music practice/performance
- watch episode 8 from 4-18:40 and then 41-42 has a nice message about funding rural schools
- watch episode 9 from 18:30-23, 26-29:40 and 34-39 (or can watch to the end)
- either start episode 10 at 6 minutes or you can watch the whole first 12 minutes (the rest is behind the scene stuff)

Content Warnings: slaps, manhandling, blood, beaten up, stalking, harassing, hazing, slaps played as comedy, non con touching

What I Liked
- clear premise
- supportive friends (the twins)
- the GL after they communicated/were honest with each other
- episode 8 message of the importance of funding rural schools

Room For Improvement
- for the majority of the series viewers saw an utterly unlikable character, he's harassed his ex, was immature, acted like a jerk, there were almost no redeeming qualities so I did not want him in a romantic relationship with anyone
- cliche (more than once) saw something and didn't communicate
- comedy sound effects that didn't make it funny, nor was the toilet humor in episode 9 funny
- was not a fun way to start a series (and I hope unrealistic)
- confusing parts, based on the summary and what was shown they first met in high school when Khon was a Freshman and Pluem a Sophomore, in the present they were a Sophomore and Senior in university, Khon didn't interact with Pluem for 2 years at the same university? he's just started the hazing/initiation stuff with Pluem?
- kind of a 'gay for you' trope
- episode 5 had a flashback montage of what we just saw in the episode
- very confusing subtitles (didn't take off points although it did negatively affect the ability to understand what was happening, Necklace was the ex-girlfriend)
- the title should have been "I Secretly Love You" or "A Secret Love" (didn't take off points)

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horror series with horrible characters

Overall: though I appreciated that they tried something different, its release was clouded by lack of an official international release and delayed episodes. Airing 10 episodes about 45 minutes each on Fix Entertainment's YouTube channel (need a VPN set to Thailand). Here is the first episode part 1 link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sNsxNokJwc

Content Warnings: murders, deaths, attempted murder, rape, attempted suicide, torture, blood, gore, jump scares, mental health struggles, kidnapping, gaslighting, sexual assault, coercion, slap, homophobia, non con video recording, manhandling, manipulation

What I Liked
- unique premise
- twists and turns
- intimate scenes were fine (but they were between awful people so I didn't get into them)

Room For Improvement
- many characters were stupid ie telling a murderer that you know what they did
- trope of saw someone hug and thought they were cheating
- trope of extremely drunk and then active participant during sex
- the kid slept way too much (he's 5 so might not be in school, but I've never seen a 5 year old sleep/nap that much)
- really hope there isn't a happily ever after for a certain character because what he did was beyond awful in episode 9
- they never had an international release, made no sense why they geo restricted it to Thailand on YouTube
- that they delayed an episode by a week and then delayed the finale with no word on when it would be released

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cute but rushed

Overall: this was cute but they tried to cover too much plot and it felt jumpy/rushed. 8 episodes total, about 20 minutes per episode. Aired on GagaOOLala and Viki.

Content Warnings: none

What I Liked
- that opening scene isn't super common in fiction (but very common in real life)
- funny moments
- the characterizations/opposite personalities
- the friendships especially Han Ji Yu and Ji Hoon, that's the friend who tells you honestly that you got a bad haircut lol
- need a spin off with the friend and the new character introduced at the end

Room For Improvement
- they needed to narrow the plot because scenes would quickly jump from 1 to another and it felt rushed overall, they didn't clearly explain some parts
- I thought that scene at the end of episode 1 was a preview for next week but it was actually an extra scene in the first episode. The second episode had it as well with an extended scene before the next week's preview. This was a bit confusing.
- having a conversation while someone is on the toilet
- too many falls
- the dead fish lip presses

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had potential, but cliched/nonsense writing ruined it

Overall: the weak script hurt what could have been a unique premise. It has twenty 25 min episodes on GagaOOLala and ten 50 min episodes Viki. I'll be referring to the longer Viki episodes in my review.

Content Warnings: bullying, fight, attempted murder, fight, death, grief, dub/non con kiss

What I Liked
- the intro/music
- clear about when this takes place at the start and after the jump
- that magic dude (who vanished for a large chunk of time)
- the friendships between characters
- sweet/caring moments
- the final episode was better than several episodes previous to it and the NSFW scenes were done fairly well

Room For Improvement
- my main complaint is the weak script, characters are doing things "because the writer said so" not because they would actually do them in real life, I don't want to list all of the nonsense things out but there are a bunch like what kind of warehouse has a kitchen (and a bathroom?!?)
- several characters are too unlikable/hot and cold
- cliches abound including the flamboyant guy as a villain and the evil ex girlfriend cliche
- the boss/employee dynamic had a bit of a grooming aspect to it and it was difficult for me to see past it, wish they hadn't been boss/employee
- the total nonsense with the freezer and lack of consequences
- awful communication
- I like cameos but was not into the stepbrother cameo
- a lot of filler/slow pacing

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slow moving countryside Thai BL (minor spoilers)

Overall: this is a spin off to Star In My Mind and you don't need to watch Star In My Mind first. I enjoyed the countryside setting but it moved too slowly and the 7th episode nonsense/non logical writing and then more cliches in the finale bumped it down to a 7. Watched on YouTube.

Content Warnings: manipulation, stalking, animal blood/death off screen

What I Liked
- I laughed a few times
- cute moments including some oldie but goody tropes like 'there's something in your hair' and 'protect mode.'
- countryside setting
- episode 6 poor communication was cleared up right away
- Prince's mom
- neutral (it has comedy sound effects)

Room For Improvement
- I wish they had had the flashback/explanation in part 3 of episode 1 at the very start. It was odd when last week was a cliffhanger and then they are just in a small village...
- sloooowwww pacing
- not into the reluctant pursuee trope
- nonsense/non logical things (especially in ep 7, only 2 cars? all of Fah's 3 cell phones suddenly don't work? not how you diagnose that, etc)
- more cliche stuff in the finale, making decisions about someone else instead of talking to them and asking what they want, lack of apology, no communication about something that could actually cause friction in their relationship
- annoying that Fah was dictating his younger brother's relationship regarding physical affection, speaking of,
- the G rated Kluen/Daonuea scenes added nothing, they felt more middle school couple than university couple
- side characters didn't really do much
- useless love triangles
- not a fan of the intro drawing style

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turning unhappiness into happiness

Overall: the focus was on two characters who weren't happy with their current situation in life and how they figured out how to change things. I haven't read the source material and am basing my review on the live action series only. 6 episodes about 25 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/4033/perfect-propose-2024-e01 ; re-released on Viki https://www.viki.com/tv/40542c-perfect-propose

Content Warnings: non con touching/hand job maybe turned consensual?, workplace harassment/bullying

What I Liked
- a forthright character
- sweet moments
- supportive colleagues
- realistic how it is difficult to get away from a toxic work environment, even when a person knows it's unhealthy
- production value

Room For Improvement
- the dub/non con was not needed and could have been handled differently
- had the aggressive pursuer/reluctant pursuee (and by reluctant I mean unwilling, he verbally stated his boundaries only to have them steamrolled over)
- too much time spent in the office setting/that jerk boss
- the intro vibe was super fluffy but that was not the overall tone of the series, we also never see any of those fluffy scenes which was a bit disappointing

Age Info (I didn't put an age gap content warning because I don't think it's needed, but here's the age info thanks to a commentator :)
- in the past, their ages were around 11 and 17
- in the present, their ages are 21 and 27

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a unique premise with a slow burn

Overall: I was torn between a 7.5 and 8 for this series - one aspect in the finale made me rate it 7.5. I have not read the book this is based on and I reviewed the series on its own merits. 12 episodes about 45 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala (except: Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Vietnam, Philippines) https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/4579/i-saw-you-in-my-dream-2024-e01 and WeTV https://wetv.vip/en/play/w52tycxawaajel4-I%20Saw%20You%20In%20My%20Dream/w4100e6rju9-EP0A%3A%20I%20Saw%20You%20In%20My%20Dream

Content Warnings: attempted murder, violence, blood, past death/grief, vomiting, groping/non con touching/sexual assault, stalking, non con picture taking, trespassing

Watch Suggestions (to skip some of the love rival stuff and slow pacing)
- watch episodes 1-5
- watch episode 6 14:30-14:45, then 22:45-40min
- watch episode 7 13:30-end
- watch episodes 8-10
- watch episode 11 beginning to 15 or could even skip and watch 44-47
- watch episode 12

What I Liked
- good that a character apologized and promised to tone it down
- supportive friends
- supportive family
- sweet/caring moments
- intimacy/kissing done well
- consent
- showed how abusers can and do play the victim
- actual consequences instead of the "oh he learned his lesson" bs we normally see

Room For Improvement
- the character exposition dump to start the series
- comedy sound effects that detracted from the comedy
- Yu continued to prank Ai after what happened and Ai not telling Yu why he was really afraid of the dark for years, Yu didn't clarify his relationship in episode 10 which caused unneeded distress and then Yu still tried to prank Ai at the end of the series, Yu overall feels a bit too immature which is why I knocked it down to 7.5
- cringey guitar playing, time jump in the finale
- love rival aspect went on too long/the pacing was too slow
- too much blur filter
- nonsense stuff: a character didn't like the dark but then was cooking in a very dark kitchen, a character should have told another character about their experience at age 20, I don't think there would have been that many/severe injuries from that in ep 12
- episode 11 was so slow that it blunted the suspense aspect
- should have put the beginning of ep 12 in chronological order in ep 11
- the worldbuilding/supernatural aspect was kind of meh, could have been done better

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promising premise and beginning, disappointed with the execution

Overall: I enjoyed the unique premise but had major issues with the plot. Aired on GagaOOLala & Viki.

Content Warnings: violence/blood (in the first scene), murder, trauma, grief, attempted kidnapping, non con kiss (sleeping)

What I Liked
- the premise was unique and rarely seen in BL
- production value
- retelling of the first episode from a different perspective

Room For Improvement
- I wish that Jae Woo and Ji Woon's parents were friends and Jae Woo had just moved into the same city, because... it felt odd befriending a kid like that/having a 10 year old sleep over in a dorm room, it was a bit squicky to me and speaking of...
- Jae Woo was very childlike and stupid for a 25 year old, it made the relationship dynamic even more strange
- their total lack of communication about something suuuppppppeeeerrrr important, like come on
- nonsense things besides the initial premise, a 10 year old regularly walks around at night alone when there is violence in the area? money? ID? same outfit every day?
- why do they like each other, love at first sight? but it was initially an uncle/nephew like relationship, when/why did it change?
- the non con kiss and also this line "I'm going to do something I know you don't like" (and he kisses him, wth?)
- what in the sisyphean hell was that ending?

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angsty BL with excellent lead actors/chemistry

Overall: Although I struggled with the angst/flawed characters and especially how the series started, I think it was well done. Make sure to watch past the first credits of the final episode, more like that please! Note: this is a remake/extended version of En of Love: Love Mechanics which aired in 2020 and was about 2 hours runtime, you don't need to watch the shorter version first. Watched on WeTV.

Content Warnings: dub/non con kiss, non con sex (very drunk), briefly held against will, past suicide attempt?, manhandling, homophobia, vomiting, violence/beaten up, punch/slap, domestic violence, victim self blaming

What I Liked
- acting of Yin & War and their chemistry
- cute moments
- funny moments
- for once I didn't hate an ex (Mark's)
- they address wealth differences and homophobia
- production value

Room For Improvement
- very disappointed in the sex scene. In many places being mentally incapacitated means you cannot give consent and clearly Mark was mentally incapacitated as he thought Vee was a different person. Although we see 3 beer bottles in the garbage, Vee does not appear to be at an equal level of drunkenness. I don't care at all that Mark was the initial aggressor, Vee should not have had sex with Mark. I would say this was non con no matter what sexual position Mark was. If they wanted to go the drunk sex route then Vee should have also been totally wasted and saying that Mark was his girlfriend and both been freaked out in the morning. (this would also make me hate Vee less as he just casually cheated on his girlfriend)
- hearing vomiting sounds is not my ideal way to start a series
- Vee said something in episode 6 to Mark that I think would end many relationships, sometimes apologies are not enough
- cliche plot point in episode 7
- Vee has some bad friends, they should have at least talked to him to hear his side
- poor communication
- side couples starting out in the final episode
- lack of intro credits/OST and basic closing credits

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totally wrecked Zeke/Fifth (watch ep 1, 2 and 13)

Overall: I liked Zeke and Fifth in My Story because they were flirty and sweet. In this season the writer totally ruined their characters and relationship. I was actively rooting for them to NOT end up together. Our Story is the third in the trilogy (season 1 is My Day which is not needed to watch to understand Our Story, season 2 is My Story which shows the beginning of Zeke/Fifth as a couple and is helpful to watch but not totally necessary) 13 episodes about 37 minutes each (taking out the built in commercials at the end). Aired on Oxin Films YouTube channel.

Notes: I watched most episodes but skipped a few because I wanted to poke my eyeballs out, I kept up with comments/what happened overall though. I suggest watching episode 1, 2, episode 9 part 3 at 7 minutes (nsfw scene), episode 10 part 3 at 10 minutes (nsfw scene) and episode 13

Content Warnings: attempted suicide, past suicide, parental abuse, intimate partner abuse, homophobia, non con picture taking/sharing, alcoholism, depression, sexism, gaslighting, manhandling

What I Liked
- Zeke and Fifth were cute/sweet/flirty (ep 1 and 2)
- GL rep (though the pacing was odd/not enough screentime)
- it was too frequent but the innuendo jokes were fun
- Xion Lim (director) played an assistant as Easy Ferrer (writer) as the other assistant
- Zeke's supportive mom (though she was a bit too involved at times)
- opening song and ending credit song

Room For Improvement
- the writing destroyed Zeke & Fifth both as individual characters and as a couple, Zeke said how he was hurt that he was called toxic while he screamed at his boyfriend was terrible writing, Fifth's actions make zero sense to me, so many characters did total nonsense things
- abuse was handled really poorly, Fifth said "he {dad] beat us" and the response was "that means you still matter to him", like WTF?!? and then later Jelai says his ex-boyfriend who was abusing him is awesome and Jelai apologizes to his abuser?!? what year are we in?!? akldfjkslajkdljaidla!!!!!!!
- way too many couples (6 couples/love triangles) and I somehow didn't like any of them
- exposition dump/voice over to start the series
- so many nonsense/unrealistic plot things (I'm not even going to try to write them all out) example 1: that a significant other didn't know of a life threatening food allergy until 6 months of dating, example 2: that a hospital didn't have any A+ (30% of the population has this blood type) or O negative (universal donor) blood?!? they should have had Zeke have AB negative blood because a 5 second internet search showed that number of people with: O positive: 35%, O negative (universal donor): 13%, A positive: 30%, A negative: 8%, B positive: 8%, B negative: 2%, AB positive (universal recipient): 2%, AB negative: 1%
- the comedy sound effects
- toilet humor
- super dramatic thing happened at the end of episode 11 and then the majority of episode 12 we have no idea what is going on, just random side character plots happening?!?
- in the final episode, did Zeke ever apologize for all the awful things he did?!? why was just Fifth apologizing?!?!!!!!!

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realistic and well done

Overall: if the premise/summary isn't your thing, I encourage you to watch at least thru episode 4 because this story is like an onion with layers. 8 episodes total about 45 minutes each, 2 aired per week on GMMTV's YouTube Channel (also Disney+Hotstar in some countries).

Content Warnings: manhandling, homophobia, death, grief

What I Liked
- Li Ming and Heart were the cutest cinnamon rolls
- Wen was direct and communicated what he wants
- felt realistic which matches the setting/story (i.e. the actors faces have visible sweat and aren't airbrushed/filtered to oblivion)
- touched on power/class differences, poverty, marriage inequality/legal inequality
- step parent shown to be caring and supportive
- Gaipa's mom
- hints about future plot elements
- realistic response with Li Ming and his mom
- avoided a cliche plot point towards the end, characters had good communication
- production value* (music, cinematography - that long take/no cut shot at the beginning of episode 1 part 1 was cool)

Room For Improvement
- several scenes were a little too dim* and the camera is too shaky sometimes
- not a fan of some of the music choices, at one point there was an accordion
- how Uncle Jim himself and other characters talk about him being old when the actor Earth is 28 (and most definitely does not look old)
- each episode appears to skip a month however because we don't see montages or dates it doesn't always feel like that much time has passed
- wish it had been Gaipa that initiated things after the time jump
- I understand them not subtitling what Heart was saying in the beginning to show how Li Ming didn't understand but it was frustrating when they continued to not subtitle everything he was saying later on
- it was not Jim's place to tell the mom about Li Ming, it should have been Li Ming's choice
- I don't agree that "deaf people are the loneliest people" which is a line a character said
- good that actual consequences were shown for drunk driving
- the series title "Moonlight Chicken"

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Cute Moments Between Team & Win 

Overall: Cute, short episodes (between 4-6 minutes) with two or three skits per episode.

Content Warnings: body shaming, kicking a person off of a bed

What I Liked:
- the "warning" is really funny at the beginning of each episode
- many of the skits are cute
- the product placements were pretty well done (that baby powder one lol)
- the second skit of the 5th episode was awesome

Room For Improvement: (minor spoilers)
- even those these aren't meant to have a continuous plot, if they had put the last skit in the first episode as the first one, it would have made more sense
- I really disliked the 1st skit in the 3rd episode, Win continues to poke at Team's belly after Team asks him to stop multiple times. This skit was major cringe in a bad way, leave Team and his belly alone!
- disliked Win kicking Team off of the bed
- the comedic song for the final skit in the fourth episode didn't fit the vibe of that skit
- I wish Team was more into things, didn't like him wiping off the kiss in ep 5
- it is definitely lower budget camera/camerawork, I'm sure it was done with a very small crew

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set up to be spicy but then not spicy (watch suggestions)

Overall: something didn't quite work for me, but I'd love to see the actors in a new series. This is based on a manga which I read though I tried to review it on its own merits (the manga has a lot of NSFW scenes). 8 episodes about 24 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/4647/cosmetic-playlover-2024

Content Warnings: (there were a few, check this review's comments for them)

Watch Suggestions (removes work drama, love triangles)
- watch episode 1
- watch episode 2 beginning to 8 minutes and then 21:30-the end
- skip episode 3
- watch all of episode 4 or 4-5:10, 7:40-10:40, 15:20-the end
- watch episode 5 beginning to 4:17 and then 17:20-the end
- stop episode 6 at 20:45
- watch episode 7 11:50-13:25, 20:15 to the end
- watch episode 8 beginning to 5 minutes and then 18:15 to the end

What I Liked
- a character was honest in episode 1
- clear premise
- several characters introduced but I wasn't confused
- sweet moments
- supportive family & coworker
- had some good communication

Room For Improvement
- a tsundere character tells the other guy to "prepare himself" and then basically does nothing, they eat spaghetti, there's a hug, the intensity is missing in their relationship and then we have a blushing virgin trope
- work drama was uninteresting
- why did multiple characters find another character so irresistible?
- episode 5 was too late to give the other character's perspective/explain his motivation
- the voice overs
- that Natsume trusted a total stranger over his boyfriend and repeatedly ignored boundaries
- that stupid contest in episode 8 with a no physical affection clause
- I ended up being worried about Natsume's low self esteem and didn't have faith that they would stay together

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challenging the idea of normal and does it matter

Overall: This series has realistically flawed characters who are trying to figure out how to make each other and themselves happy. They are challenging the idea of normal and does normal even matter to them and their happiness. If you're looking for a steamy poly relationship or a fluffy romcom, then look elsewhere. 10 episodes, 24 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala.

Content Warnings: non con photo taking, harassment, homophobia, sexism, non con kissing/touching maybe turned consensual, teacher/former student, and there is something and I've put it on a comment

What I Liked
- challenging norms/ideas such as monogamy, how putting others' happiness before your own can actually be a burden to that person, addressing that just because someone wants to be in a poly relationship (and also that they are bi/pan) does not mean that they are attracted to every person
- diversity (polyamory, gay, bi/pan, lesbian)
- Misaki and Yuuki standing up for one another and against the father
- Misaki was smart and figured out who was taking the pictures
- Misaki seeking communication and carefully thinking/changing
- sweet moments
- production value

Room For Improvement
- sub par kissing, 1 kissing partner did not move his lips and it looked strange
- some plot conveniences/wish they had more time to delve into some parts more deeply
- Yuuki's "plan" was terrible in episode 8
- reinforced negative stereotypes about poly relationships (we see so few representations in media, so I was hoping this would play out a bit differently)
- the open ending, it really could go in a number of different directions

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