Some series are bad because of a weak story. Some are bad because they try to tell the story of multiple couples, shifting uncomfortably from one couple to another. Some are bad because of haphazard editing despite a story that is ok. Some are bad because they are exploitative. Some are bad because of an uneven tone. Some are bad because they pretend to deal with interesting themes only to disappoint. Rarely do we get a series that is bad in all these ways. But Hit Bite Love is one of those rare gems that is bad in all these ways and probably more.

There are three sets of main characters, and although the characters are all schoolmates, the drift from one set of characters to another is tiring. There are some hints every now and then at a major event that happens later in the story, but they are barely enough to sustain interest. In fact, viewers might even wonder if they are random scenes (the characters being interviewed by police officers) that represent their state of mind.

Perhaps one could give the series credit for daring to cover themes like BDSM and teenage sex, but there is a difference between sensitively dealing with such themes and using them as excuses to sexualize teenagers. The actors are very young (some below eighteen) and the characters are even younger. Yet, the seems to be no hesitation in bringing in gratuitous scenes of sex and bare skin. Even the most innocent and youngest couple, Burger and King, was given a bed scene with some suggestion of penetrative sex--while the characters do not have sex, someone seems to have found it appropriate to let King's mother be mistaken and show what is going on in her imagination.

The series could have dealt seriously with some themes, but it did not. There could have been a sensitive portrayal of Ken's predicament when he has to decide between coming out of the closet because of his boyfriend, Shogun, and remaining in the closet because of homophobia in the society. Unfortunately, the characterization is all over the place. He is selfish and sometimes seems to only want sex from Shogun. And for someone who is afraid that people will find out that he is gay (or is he??), he seems to be uncannily daring in trying to make out with Shogun in places when his schoolmates can suddenly appear. What's even worse is that at first he seems to be dating a girl to cover up his homosexuality, but later it is shown that he has not only have had sex with that girl but another girl as well. So perhaps he is bisexual or whatever--I don't think it really matters. Everything is just not very coherent, and it is thus too difficult to sympathize with this character or to see any important point being made about the difficulty of coming out in a homophobic society.

Then someone also decided that it was appropriate to throw in some BDSM into the story. It would still be fine if the point were simply that BDSM is just a sort of fetish that some adults engage in consensually. It's not something that everyone is into, but I am fine if some people enjoy it. However, the story goes out of its way to emphasize that the characters involved are considered too young for it and yet ALSO present them engaging in BDSM in scenes that can be considered sexploitation. And did I mention that Shogun is basically pressured by Matteo into engaging in BDSM in exchange for securing budget for the music club? I can't be convinced that Matteo really loves Shogun after this, but that's what the series tries to persuade us of anyway.

The only saving grace in the series is Burger and King, but guess what? There is an uncanny similarity between Burger and King's story and the Japanese BL series, My Love Mix-Up. And even then, the copying isn't that well done.