Would it have been better for XF’s personal development if he were to be free of the Beis and specifically LBQ?…
Interesting observation, @aplrbn. I hadn’t noticed that since I’d already read the novel. The adaptation shifted the perspective, changing how viewers perceive the reason behind the character’s reaction. Disclaimer: I am very curious about the creative processes of how the screenwriter adapted the novel to resonate with the series’ audience. The novel and the series are going in different directions so far.
@swagata Thank you for sharing your interesting interpretation. The series seem to focus too much on LXF, so viewers…
@swagata As a former consumer researcher, I am pleasantly surprised and grateful to have read your "essay". My reaction won't likely be like yours as we have different demographic and psychographic attributes. We aren't robots molded and programmed from the same factory. ;D
@Lorien_cm interesting case. Share what you think would have happened if that were the case. If LXF character…
@Lorien_cm So, you think that if he were injured in a work-related accident, his perspective might change? I wonder if most BL fans on the official platforms hosting this series would feel the same way. I wonder if you use the characters BLQ & LXF to create a case study, the East Asian gay community would have a different opinion on their relationship. But here, we're dealing with a BL series. What I am curious about, though, are what tropes make genre fans happy to consume the media. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
I'm the only one picturing an accident in the construction site?? Xiaofan getting smash with a beam or something…
@Lorien_cm interesting case. Share what you think would have happened if that were the case. If LXF character exits the storyline in episode 8, the remaining audience for this series will likely change. Only sociologists and anthropologists, including me, will flock to see the remaining episodes eagerly.
Same. I dropped it after a few episodes. It also relies on a lot of clichés and the intimate scenes are too excessive…
@ADark "the director kinda recreated popular scenes from her previous work" Why, assuming you’re a BL fan, don’t you like scenes that imitate her supposedly successful styles from past works?
Honestly, I think this series is overhyped. Everything is extremely rushed, the effects are bad, and the plot…
@KSM4 I appreciate the feedback. As I read the comments, I find myself questioning what the “magical” elements in a BL series are that are attracting its target audience from a film production perspective. (I am obviously not the audience for this, but I am extremely interested as one who worked in the film industry). This was actually executed by a female director who has previous "success" in this genre. Personally, most BL tropes and visuals fail to engage my sensory perception; in fact, many evoke aversion and apprehension.
@Truth Hurts I am also thinking of that, too. It looks like the adaptation is going that direction.
Producing a synopsis is tedious and unnecessary because we don’t know to what extent the adaptation deviates to appeal to non–East Asian viewers who are BL fans. The series obviously follows a different objective than that of the novel. It's perhaps similar to the series 'Feel what you feel,' which was radically adapted from the web novel. Those of us who had read and reread the novel saw that the series did not present it in its entirety.
This was such a good story! My only issue is that Mike knows how to speak fluent Japanese, yet all the notes he…
@joopis, I was startled too to see Romaji. I took Japanese for over 2 years progressing from Hirakana to Katakana, and then some Kanji. The Kanji part was where I stopped because I begged my father to let my siblings and me study Japanese because its scripts looked simpler than Mandarin!
Watching this in 2025, it’s really nice, they did better than most BL dramas we’ve been getting lately! It’s…
It was Hong Kong Cantonese-dialect gay movie directed by an openly gay director and was released in 1998. A death occur because of deeply ingrained homophobia of the character. Other gay characters in the creative work did live on. 'Happy Together' was another Cantonese-dialect gay movie released a year earlier; here, no one dies; naturally, the ending did not fit the expected BL trope. Most gay viewers, I think, are satisfied with the ending considering the situation.
This is an old trope in BLs too. I remember watching BLs like this in 2015. That nostalgia is the reason I'm watching…
@stolenart Thanks for the info. Really appeared in BL before? And I thought this medium template was stolen from Thai evening melodramas, many of which according to media planners, are deployed to get particular viewers to their screen devices. It makes sense though since I discover the premises of BL for its particular audience.
Actually it’s because of Oshin, an internationally popular Japanese drama in the 80s. Everyone worldwide has…
@hansel714 Thank you for sharing that interesting fact! Although I had frequently visited Bangkok and L.A.'s Yaohan, I wasn't aware of the fictional drama associated with it.
it's actually a very old trope in many entertainment media, from telenovelas to early yaois. don't forget the…
@Jackie_the_ripper. I appreciate the humor! I am fascinated by how the BL creative team has transformed visual segments, bits, or parts of a BL novel into a profitable product. Although I personally respond negatively to BL elements, I am very curious about the crafting process that leads to a successful and marketable item.
it's actually a very old trope in many entertainment media, from telenovelas to early yaois. don't forget the…
@Jackie_the_ripper Thanks for the response. I didn’t realize it was also used in other cultures. I just remember this theme from evening Thai TV dramas during my high school days, even though I never actually watched the genre. In my work with a few media planners for the Thai audience, I recall several referring to this type of entertainment content with these characteristics. The curious question is whether the new generation of viewers now dislikes this drama template, or if it’s just a few people here on this platform.