Surely, no-one is concerned about the actors- just the characters.
Did the "adult" magically "know better" on his 18th birthday at midnight? His 21st? When does the omniscient wisdom of "adulthood" bestow itself, automatically, to every single person at precisely the same time in their life?
These two are so close in age that the words you're tossing around, such as "adult," and "impressionable" are meaningless.
It's great that at midnight on his next birthday, Toki will no longer be "impressionable." It's funny that you assume the teacher is NOT impressionable, for some reason. His personality is locked in stone for life, right, no more impressions to be made?
Way too many people think like you, in terms of black and white. Makes them feel safe and as though everything's tidy and easily put in nice, neat rows and boxes. They, and you, are lying to themselves.
Two of my fave themes, a young person dealing with sexual/gender identity and sports-themed, inspirational, tear-jerkers, combined with MADONNA, who was for 25 years, the love of my life as a performer.
Surely, no-one is concerned about the actors- just the characters.
"I don't have to agree with or like something to find it entertaining."
BRAVO! This is a concept that eludes a huge proportion of the MDL commentariat.
I will just have to disagree with your perspective on the teacher confessing his feelings to Toki, but not acting on them. To remain silent presumes Toki is not a young man, but a child, incapable of discernment and discretion. Toki's reaction to the teacher's confession shows him to be plenty mature enough to deal with the situation.
When I was a teenager, I disdained teachers and other authority figures who treated me and my peers as though we had no self-agency or self-control, which was far from the truth. Of course, some kids are immature. A lot of adults are immature too.
When the star whackers do a hit in america, they call it an "overdose", but when they do it in korea, they call…
Yup. Classic brain-dead Trumper.
New idea: Someone is "whacking" American celebs, then covering up these forced killings, which are actually suicides, by getting them labeled as overdoses. Got it.
"new idea" lol Here's another "new idea:" The sky is made of pink marshmallows. Does that threaten your current beliefs? Is your ego too fragile to allow you to research that?
What is a Trumper like you doing on an Asian movie/drama web site?
"Stupid" has a specific meaning, which I'm sure you don't know: "as to be in a stupor..." That's you.
I don't know any society that is free from some sort of social issues. If I stopped watching movies from countries…
You've used the word "liberal" twice now. I'm guessing you're a right-winger, perhaps a Trumper, which explains everything about the snide aggression with which you display your ignorance.
YOU calling me "hostile:" pot, kettle.
Yeah, 55 times. I do business there frequently and, you know, I do one of those really weird, liberal things like keeping records. I'll return for my 56th visit in March. Perhaps we can meet up.
I don't know any society that is free from some sort of social issues. If I stopped watching movies from countries…
I've been to NYC about 55 times. People who know what they're talking about and have something useful to share don't talk like you. Not everyone in NYC is hostile and defensive.
"repetitive, psychostyle, hyperliberal ranting..." I can see why a comment that mentions facts, statistics, and other reality-based information would leave you desperate to dismiss it as the above-quoted stupidity, but like I said, your BS cuts no ice in the real world.
You can't refute a single thing I wrote, so you resort to insults...pretty "psychostyle" and hyperstupid of you.
I don't know any society that is free from some sort of social issues. If I stopped watching movies from countries…
Gosh, you seem a bit hostile, monster. Defensive, even. I wonder why that might be?
While the commenter above has pretty much trashed the entire culture, they did specifically mention the entertainment, legal, and media cultures. Most people here have done the same.
Whether you like it or not, it is a valid viewpoint that Korean society/culture IS deeply fucked up in many ways. For the hundredth time, it has the highest suicide rate per capita of any OECD, advanced country, BY FAR. Not even close. Almost 25 suicides per 100,000 people, twice that of the U.S.
Korea is a shame-based culture in which most people would quite literally rather die than admit they are suffering from depression, anxiety or other mental health problems. That is an exceedingly "backward" attitude and it results in thousands of suicides every year.
Sure, no society is perfect, but no one said that was the case. We are very specifically discussing the problem of celebrity suicide in Korea, not the rate of marijuana use in Norway. I live in the U.S. and we have a host of horrifying problems, such as gun violence and wealth inequality. Those topics are being openly and vehemently discussed publicly here in America. Korea does not discuss its suicide problem openly or persistently. Another celeb kills themselves, there is a big ta-doo for a few weeks, then it all dies down...until the next one.
I am pretty sure Lee Sung Kyuk did not die of wealth inequality, nor did he use a firearm to end his life. Nor did K-Pop singers Moonbin, Kim Jonghyun, Sulli, Goo-Hara, actor Cha In Ha, rapper Iron, and many other musicians, dancers and performers of lesser fame. Korea's number one actress Choi Jin Sil, killed herself by hanging, her brother did the same within a year. Park Yong Ha, popular actor and singer, hung himself, model Daul Kim did the same, on and on the list goes. You can google it as easily as I can, but you probably are in denial, as has been most of Korea for 25 years.
You may not have a problem with Korea's best, most talented artists killing themselves in droves, but I do and so do a lot of other people. Your "nobody's perfect" BS cuts no ice.
Surely, no-one is concerned about the actors- just the characters.
In what way is Toki and "adolescent?" Adolescence is not a black/white period of time. Its beginning and end varies and are specific to the individual.
The teacher IS distancing himself and went out of his way to ask Toki to "wait for me" until he gets his feelings in order. There's been no sex, no hugging, no kissing, so what are you objecting to? Do you want the teacher to pretend he doesn't feel what he feels?
Even if you do want that, so what? THIS is the story being told in this show. If you don't like it, stop watching.
Am I supposed to look up "verb1" and "verb2?" Are you not capable of articulating your own thoughts or do you normally direct people you're discussing something with to a dictionary?
What a delightful show. I am thoroughly loving it. Lots of moments when I catch my face splitting in half from the shit-eating grin the show has put on it. :)
Sakae's bestie is adorkable too.
Kan Hideyoshi seems to be particularly talented. The depth of emotion on Sakae's face when he looks upon his Salary Man crush is remarkably moving. This is not your basic, half-ass acting we get in so many BLs. Speaking of Thailand... :D
At times, Sakae feels like a dialed-back version of Toki from the currently-running "Sahara Sensei to Toki-kun." The two actors would be great cast as a pair of brothers, Hideyoshi being the senior.
Our local chef and heart throb does have the face of an idol, but there's something sweet and warm in his features too. And no plastic surgery! Yay! Also, I don't generally care for that henna rinse/reddish color a lot of Asians use, but it suits him very well.
Then there's our somewhat stiff, but very friendly salary man from Tokyo. I saw some discussion below about whether or not he's hot with or without his glasses. Thing is, to me, there's something INTERESTING about his features. The fact that he does NOT have a stereotypical idol face is a plus. He's the kind of guy I would find more and more physically attractive as I got to know him better emotionally, which is exactly what happened with the partner I was with longer than anyone else in my life. His nose is prominent, which I've always thought to be sexy, and you know what they say about guys with big noses, right...?
All the side-characters are doing a great job too. The vibe of the busy restaurant felt authentic. I like our chef's friend and side-kick a lot.
The bit with Sakae standing up naked at the baths, and marching out of the room as he proclaimed about the new salary man in town, the camera following him as a succession of carefully-placed room features blocked our view of his junk, was hilarious and effective.
That last-second, out of nowhere "thing" from Sakae to Salary Man at the restaurant caught me by surprise!
I'm here for shirtless Toki, to be honest. That caramel-lemon skin and handsome/adorable face causes me to have inappropriate thoughts. Well...inappropriate for prudish MDL, that is. This plot has become soap opera-ish, which is too bad. It's lost its zaniness to some degree. Toki's manic hilarity feels a bit forced now.
Too many tropes/cliches too: Poor student works two jobs to pay hospital bills. (Japan has had mandatory, universal healthcare as a human right and governmental responsibility written into its constitution SINCE 1961. The healthcare bills of a student and parent in this character's situation and income would be one hundred percent covered by the government, with NO restrictions to care. In other words, all the Japanese film/drama plots involving desperate people borrowing from the Yakuza to pay hospital bills are complete bullshit. Having such plots show up over and over in shows is insulting and stupid. There are a lot of other possible plots that could explain why a high school student needs to work two part-time jobs. Korean films/dramas also utilize this trope to a ridiculous degree, but the cliche is based on absolutely nothing. Korea has universal health care, ranked first among OECD nations for patient satisfaction, and second for efficiency. Honestly, I have no idea why Japanese and Korean screenwriters continue to use this absurdly inaccurate trope. Destitute people paying hospital bills out of pocket is NOT a thing in either country.) Former flame shows up out of nowhere just as leads begin to connect. Character overhears something distressing and immediately becomes "sick" to the point of fainting. (BTW, he's a new teacher but never does any work that I can see.)
On and on...oh, and can we talk about the hottie in glasses going to the NBA? lol Seriously? He dribbles and shoots well for a BL character, but he's not Michael Jordan material.
Overall, this feels stiff to me now, whereas early on it felt wild and hilarious.
Also don't buy for a second that Toki the wildly impulsive, full-of-human-energy young buck, would be a coy, flustered, chaste, blushing virgin when shirtless in front of the man he loves.
Also don't buy those two characters would so easily, and without sexual frustration, enter into an "I will wait for you, bro" relationship, sealed with a fist-bump rather than a passionate kiss. This is a problem with many "fluffy" BLs that seek to minimize or even erase the passionate sexual urges of teenage boys.
Guys that age have semen leaking out of their eyeballs and ear canals, all they think about most of the time is sex, they get boners for absolutely no reason. I know this because I was a guy that age. "Fluffers," such as what this show has sadly become, pretend that is not the case and brush it aside. and in doing so deflate a ton of possible dramatic tension, while pushing the tale into the realm of cotton candy cloud BLs, which are annoying af.
Before all the prudes here jump me, I'll say it for you: "IF YOU WANT TO WATCH PORN, GO TO PORNHUB!!!! No, I'm not looking for graphic sexual content including genitalia and spewing body fluids, I'm looking for some reality, which would intensify the story.
If Toki is going to agree to wait for the teacher, why not show that it is a struggle for both of them, physically and emotionally, at least? Dealing with those sexual frustrations in such a situation would be great fodder for comedy AND drama both. In this case, the arrangement was agreed upon so dispassionately that it seems the attraction between them is lukewarm and thus easy to brush aside.
I'll keep watching, because all the characters are cute/hot, and there are moments of humor and pathos among the fluff, but this is not nearly as good as it could have been.
1 
1 
These two are so close in age that the words you're tossing around, such as "adult," and "impressionable" are meaningless.
It's great that at midnight on his next birthday, Toki will no longer be "impressionable." It's funny that you assume the teacher is NOT impressionable, for some reason. His personality is locked in stone for life, right, no more impressions to be made?
Way too many people think like you, in terms of black and white. Makes them feel safe and as though everything's tidy and easily put in nice, neat rows and boxes. They, and you, are lying to themselves.
Two of my fave themes, a young person dealing with sexual/gender identity and sports-themed, inspirational, tear-jerkers, combined with MADONNA, who was for 25 years, the love of my life as a performer.
There is nothing here not to love.
10/10
BRAVO! This is a concept that eludes a huge proportion of the MDL commentariat.
I will just have to disagree with your perspective on the teacher confessing his feelings to Toki, but not acting on them. To remain silent presumes Toki is not a young man, but a child, incapable of discernment and discretion. Toki's reaction to the teacher's confession shows him to be plenty mature enough to deal with the situation.
When I was a teenager, I disdained teachers and other authority figures who treated me and my peers as though we had no self-agency or self-control, which was far from the truth. Of course, some kids are immature. A lot of adults are immature too.
Yeah, I'm just a meanie, and you're a gentle, kind sweetheart sort of...thing.
New idea: Someone is "whacking" American celebs, then covering up these forced killings, which are actually suicides, by getting them labeled as overdoses. Got it.
"new idea" lol
Here's another "new idea:" The sky is made of pink marshmallows.
Does that threaten your current beliefs?
Is your ego too fragile to allow you to research that?
What is a Trumper like you doing on an Asian movie/drama web site?
"Stupid" has a specific meaning, which I'm sure you don't know: "as to be in a stupor..." That's you.
YOU calling me "hostile:" pot, kettle.
Yeah, 55 times. I do business there frequently and, you know, I do one of those really weird, liberal things like keeping records. I'll return for my 56th visit in March. Perhaps we can meet up.
"repetitive, psychostyle, hyperliberal ranting..." I can see why a comment that mentions facts, statistics, and other reality-based information would leave you desperate to dismiss it as the above-quoted stupidity, but like I said, your BS cuts no ice in the real world.
You can't refute a single thing I wrote, so you resort to insults...pretty "psychostyle" and hyperstupid of you.
While the commenter above has pretty much trashed the entire culture, they did specifically mention the entertainment, legal, and media cultures. Most people here have done the same.
Whether you like it or not, it is a valid viewpoint that Korean society/culture IS deeply fucked up in many ways. For the hundredth time, it has the highest suicide rate per capita of any OECD, advanced country, BY FAR. Not even close. Almost 25 suicides per 100,000 people, twice that of the U.S.
Korea is a shame-based culture in which most people would quite literally rather die than admit they are suffering from depression, anxiety or other mental health problems. That is an exceedingly "backward" attitude and it results in thousands of suicides every year.
Sure, no society is perfect, but no one said that was the case. We are very specifically discussing the problem of celebrity suicide in Korea, not the rate of marijuana use in Norway. I live in the U.S. and we have a host of horrifying problems, such as gun violence and wealth inequality. Those topics are being openly and vehemently discussed publicly here in America. Korea does not discuss its suicide problem openly or persistently. Another celeb kills themselves, there is a big ta-doo for a few weeks, then it all dies down...until the next one.
I am pretty sure Lee Sung Kyuk did not die of wealth inequality, nor did he use a firearm to end his life. Nor did K-Pop singers Moonbin, Kim Jonghyun, Sulli, Goo-Hara, actor Cha In Ha, rapper Iron, and many other musicians, dancers and performers of lesser fame. Korea's number one actress Choi Jin Sil, killed herself by hanging, her brother did the same within a year. Park Yong Ha, popular actor and singer, hung himself, model Daul Kim did the same, on and on the list goes. You can google it as easily as I can, but you probably are in denial, as has been most of Korea for 25 years.
You may not have a problem with Korea's best, most talented artists killing themselves in droves, but I do and so do a lot of other people. Your "nobody's perfect" BS cuts no ice.
The teacher IS distancing himself and went out of his way to ask Toki to "wait for me" until he gets his feelings in order. There's been no sex, no hugging, no kissing, so what are you objecting to? Do you want the teacher to pretend he doesn't feel what he feels?
Even if you do want that, so what? THIS is the story being told in this show. If you don't like it, stop watching.
Am I supposed to look up "verb1" and "verb2?" Are you not capable of articulating your own thoughts or do you normally direct people you're discussing something with to a dictionary?
What a delightful show. I am thoroughly loving it. Lots of moments when I catch my face splitting in half from the shit-eating grin the show has put on it. :)
Sakae's bestie is adorkable too.
Kan Hideyoshi seems to be particularly talented. The depth of emotion on Sakae's face when he looks upon his Salary Man crush is remarkably moving. This is not your basic, half-ass acting we get in so many BLs. Speaking of Thailand... :D
At times, Sakae feels like a dialed-back version of Toki from the currently-running "Sahara Sensei to Toki-kun." The two actors would be great cast as a pair of brothers, Hideyoshi being the senior.
Show has an overall, nice, believable vibe.
Our local chef and heart throb does have the face of an idol, but there's something sweet and warm in his features too. And no plastic surgery! Yay! Also, I don't generally care for that henna rinse/reddish color a lot of Asians use, but it suits him very well.
Then there's our somewhat stiff, but very friendly salary man from Tokyo. I saw some discussion below about whether or not he's hot with or without his glasses. Thing is, to me, there's something INTERESTING about his features. The fact that he does NOT have a stereotypical idol face is a plus. He's the kind of guy I would find more and more physically attractive as I got to know him better emotionally, which is exactly what happened with the partner I was with longer than anyone else in my life. His nose is prominent, which I've always thought to be sexy, and you know what they say about guys with big noses, right...?
All the side-characters are doing a great job too. The vibe of the busy restaurant felt authentic. I like our chef's friend and side-kick a lot.
The bit with Sakae standing up naked at the baths, and marching out of the room as he proclaimed about the new salary man in town, the camera following him as a succession of carefully-placed room features blocked our view of his junk, was hilarious and effective.
That last-second, out of nowhere "thing" from Sakae to Salary Man at the restaurant caught me by surprise!
This plot has become soap opera-ish, which is too bad. It's lost its zaniness to some degree. Toki's manic hilarity feels a bit forced now.
Too many tropes/cliches too:
Poor student works two jobs to pay hospital bills. (Japan has had mandatory, universal healthcare as a human right and governmental responsibility written into its constitution SINCE 1961. The healthcare bills of a student and parent in this character's situation and income would be one hundred percent covered by the government, with NO restrictions to care. In other words, all the Japanese film/drama plots involving desperate people borrowing from the Yakuza to pay hospital bills are complete bullshit. Having such plots show up over and over in shows is insulting and stupid. There are a lot of other possible plots that could explain why a high school student needs to work two part-time jobs. Korean films/dramas also utilize this trope to a ridiculous degree, but the cliche is based on absolutely nothing. Korea has universal health care, ranked first among OECD nations for patient satisfaction, and second for efficiency. Honestly, I have no idea why Japanese and Korean screenwriters continue to use this absurdly inaccurate trope. Destitute people paying hospital bills out of pocket is NOT a thing in either country.)
Former flame shows up out of nowhere just as leads begin to connect.
Character overhears something distressing and immediately becomes "sick" to the point of fainting. (BTW, he's a new teacher but never does any work that I can see.)
On and on...oh, and can we talk about the hottie in glasses going to the NBA? lol Seriously? He dribbles and shoots well for a BL character, but he's not Michael Jordan material.
Overall, this feels stiff to me now, whereas early on it felt wild and hilarious.
Also don't buy for a second that Toki the wildly impulsive, full-of-human-energy young buck, would be a coy, flustered, chaste, blushing virgin when shirtless in front of the man he loves.
Also don't buy those two characters would so easily, and without sexual frustration, enter into an "I will wait for you, bro" relationship, sealed with a fist-bump rather than a passionate kiss. This is a problem with many "fluffy" BLs that seek to minimize or even erase the passionate sexual urges of teenage boys.
Guys that age have semen leaking out of their eyeballs and ear canals, all they think about most of the time is sex, they get boners for absolutely no reason. I know this because I was a guy that age. "Fluffers," such as what this show has sadly become, pretend that is not the case and brush it aside. and in doing so deflate a ton of possible dramatic tension, while pushing the tale into the realm of cotton candy cloud BLs, which are annoying af.
Before all the prudes here jump me, I'll say it for you: "IF YOU WANT TO WATCH PORN, GO TO PORNHUB!!!! No, I'm not looking for graphic sexual content including genitalia and spewing body fluids, I'm looking for some reality, which would intensify the story.
If Toki is going to agree to wait for the teacher, why not show that it is a struggle for both of them, physically and emotionally, at least? Dealing with those sexual frustrations in such a situation would be great fodder for comedy AND drama both. In this case, the arrangement was agreed upon so dispassionately that it seems the attraction between them is lukewarm and thus easy to brush aside.
I'll keep watching, because all the characters are cute/hot, and there are moments of humor and pathos among the fluff, but this is not nearly as good as it could have been.