It's Only 7 Minutes Long! Just Watch It if you Love Perth and Talay. Don't read my review first!!

Although a must watch for Perth and Talay fans, it's honestly nothing too special.

The actors did well for what they got, but the plot wasn't anything worth talking about.

•❅✧❅✦ Story •❅✧❅✦

Rokko and Ratanapol were once a couple, but had to break up due to Ratanapol wanting to pursue his dream of becoming an actor. Now, six years later, Ratanapol has achieved his dream and his a best selling actor. Rokko becomes a Thai-Japanese interpreter. He ends up interpreting for Ratanapol during his Japanese press conference. Their reunion is bitter at first, but Ratanapol goes off script and surprises Rokko with a sudden confession.

Honestly, seeing Perth and Talay on screen together brought tears to my eyes, but the plot instantly dried them. It feels like a poorly written one-shot fanfiction due to how boring the script was.

While Perth and Talay are great actors and have amazing chemistry, the plot really gave them nothing to work with. There was really no reason to cheer on Rokko and Ratanapol's love because there was no backstory showing how amazing their love was beforehand. We start off the film with a breakup scene, then go straight to the time skip. We also don't get any scene with them actually showing any sort of love for each other, so... yeah... Are they really a couple?

I understand that they only had 7 minutes to work with, but I've seen shorter music videos that give me more compelling stories, and that's with the artist's random singing cut-scenes. I really don't want to bash on this too much since it's so short, but I kinda wish we got some cute scenes of them together instead of the half-hearted angst they attempted to pull off. Maybe a cute drama would have been better? I don't know.

•❅✧❅✦ Overall •❅✧❅✦

Please don't get me wrong, this is a really nice comeback for Perth and Talay fans, who have been waiting for years after My Engineer to see them finally get together. However, we've seen Perth and Talay in better dramas that this short 7 minute drama isn't really doesn't do much for us. It also doesn't help that we don't get any scenes with them visually expressing their love for each other.

Lastly, I know I bashed on it a lot in this review, but watch it first. It's honestly not that bad unless you decide to knit-pick at it like I did for the sake of this review.

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Just a Commercial for Line

You could literally go without watching this one.

If you're fans of any of the actors it's a short and fun watch, but nothing too special.
You could go without watching it.

All it is is two friends messaging each other about what happened at the reunion that one of them couldn't attend. They reminisce about their high school life and talk briefly about their current lives.

It's literally text on the screen with the background as memories that we get to see.

Maybe if we knew who the characters were it would be a fun watch, but because we don't there is nothing to love or hate about it.

It's literally just a commercial for LINE.

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Already My Favorite

Be My Favorite is definitely one of my favorites.

•❅✧❅✦ Story •❅✧❅✦

Always an introvert and outcast, Botkawi has been in love with Pearmai for over 10 years. At the age of 30, his life isn't going that great, but everyone else's lives are amazing. While weeping over his sorry life, Kawi receives an invitation to Pearmai and Pisaeng's wedding. Kawi has always had a hatred for Pisaeng for not only being hot and popular, but also stealing away Pearmai when they were in college. While on a hunt for a wedding gift, Kawi receives a special crystal ball from a strange old man which sends him 10 years back in time. Kawi takes the opportunity to fix his mistakes and get with Pearmai, but he also unknowingly forms a friendship with Pisaeng, who wants more than a friendship with Kawi.

While the time traveling is not too unique, I really love how Be My Favorite pulled it off. Time travel wasn't too much of the focus, but rather the series was character centric. It wasn't about fixing situations and scenarios to better suit Kawi, it was all about Kawi learning to be more assertive and voice his opinions and thoughts that really drove the story forward. It was really nice to see from the first episode that all Kawi had to do was be more assertive to befriend Pisaeng and to learn that he really had no bad intentions when he "ruined" Kawi's chance to give his gift to Pearmai. Kawi could literally have had a better life he wanted and would be happy if he just had confronted Pisaeng and Pearmai.

That being said, the series could have gone with 10 episodes rather than 12. The last few episodes did feel a little bit draggy.
The storylines about Pisaeng going back in time, or even the minor storylines about Max, Pisaeng's mom, and even Pearmai's family backstory could have been cut. Pearmai's storyline wasn't really necessary as she wasn't really a main character. Instead of her, I would have loved to see Pisaeng's backstory, which we got a little bit of, but not enough. Pisaeng's mom's political story was a little confusing to follow and really didn't push the story forward as there wasn't really any big drama or issues with her politics and Pisaeng and Kawi's relationship. I was kind of expecting her to be against the relationship despite advocating for LGBT rights, but that never happened. As for Max, his story kind of felt incomplete since he was advocating for LGBT rights throughout the whole series but never once was seen with boyfriend. Still a great series though.


•❅✧❅✦ Characters •❅✧❅✦

Pisaeng x Kawi

Pisaeng and Kawi are that couple that's perfect for each other, but seems to have never had a "honeymoon" period. Every time I see Pisaeng and Kawi, they remind me of an old couple that are soulmates, but constantly bickering with each other. They are definitely a new take on a romantic couple.

Pisaeng is so adorable. He's literally the perfect man. He falls for Kawi after talking to him for a few days and becomes loyal and dedicated to him soon after. Pisaeng's love is so loyal and strong despite Kawi pushing him to the side for Pearmai so many times.

Fluke, who portrays Pisaeng really stepped up his acting game and was amazing. I couldn't stop watching him. I want to see more of him.

Kawi is annoyingly adorable. When he starts being true to himself and starts being more assertive, people are naturally drawn to him. The only thing that was stopping him from being happy and successful was himself, which he soon realizes after traveling to the past.

It was nice to see Krist back in a BL, but I wasn't quite sure what to think of his acting. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't eye catching. I haven't seen any other Krist series or movies aside from SOTUS and SOTUS S, so I can't comment too much on his acting, but it didn't feel as great as he did in SOTUS. I honestly found Kawi to be annoying during the first few episodes, and as the series continued on, scenes where Kawi should have been nervous around Pisaeng came off more as Kawi being "repulsed" and "turned-off" at the thought of sleeping with Pisaeng. Maybe Krist is better at playing the more "stoic" and "masculine" characters, but Kawi was definitely not his best character. He still did a great job though.

•❅✧❅✦ Overall •❅✧❅✦

I really enjoyed Be My Favorite. It was a different take on the time travel concept and I loved what they did with the character growth. Pisaeng will definitely be on my mind for a little while now. Where can I get a person like Pisaeng?

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Prince really is the Prince of this series

While this series can draw comparisons between Tale of a Thousand Stars, honestly, leave your opinions behind because this series isn't as dramatic as TTS, but is just as romantic.

Also if you've watched Star and Sky: Star in My Mind, then definitely watch this because this series is just as romantic.
Daonuea and Khabkluen also make occasional appearances in this series.


•❅✧❅✦ Story •❅✧❅✦

A spin off from Star and Sky: Star in My Mind, Daonuea's older brother Kuafah arrives at a remote village in the mountains with his two friends after the three of them get into a drunken car accident on the way home from Kuafah's ex's wedding, as portrayed in the original series. The three are sent to the village to do community service as Kuafah is a doctor and the village is in need of a doctor. At the village they meet Prince, who is working there as a volunteer teacher. At first, Kuafah and Prince don't get along as their personalities clash. Kuafah is more impulsive and a disorganized with his life, while Prince is rational and orderly. While they hate each other at first, as they live in the same small village, they end up getting to know one another.

Honestly Prince and Kuafah have a very romantic storyline. It's very beautiful and straightforward. Their storyline isn't overly dramatic, but rather two people who spend lots of time together falling in love. I honestly found all of the shenanigans Kuafah and his friends bring to the series to be hilarious and poor Prince is always the one to walk into it.


Kuafah x Prince

Kuafah and Prince have a very healthy relationship. They fall in love naturally rather than through some very dramatic methods. They always though of each other as good looking, but annoying. However, after spending time together and seeing different sides of each other they fall in love. The way they fell in love felt very mature and realistic, unlike lots of other series out there.

The best part of the series has to be Prince. He actually is the one who seems to be carrying the series. I'm not saying that the other's are not good, but Kuafah's character is a little to stereotypical and less memorable compared to Prince. Throughout the series, I kept wondering about Prince and why he acts a certain way, or why he does certain things. Even though Kuafah is the primary protagonist, Prince had more of my interest than Kuafah. I don't want to be the one to point fingers, but I have noticed that Mek, the actor who portrays Kuafah, always tends to get outshined by his acting partners when he is the male lead. That doesn't mean he is a bad actor, as he does have lead actor qualities, However, unfortunately Mark, who plays prince, definitely carried the series. I hope to see Mark in more series, however, with a new partner who can push his acting abilities further.


•❅✧❅✦ Tale of a Thousand Stars vs Star and Sky: Sky in Your Heart •❅✧❅✦

I know there is going to be comparisons, so let's get it out of the way.

At a glance the scenarios are similar, two guys are stuck in the mountains. One guys is more adapted to the mountains, while another is a city boy. One is a volunteer teacher. They have different personalities that clash. They fall in love.

Yes, at a glance the storyline is similar. However, if you take a step back and watch this series without comparing it, you'll find that it's a very different story. Think of it as high school/college based romances. How many high school/ college based romance series involve the popular kid and the nerd? Do you compare all of them together? Probably not.

TTS is more dramatic and very unrealistic. It's everyone's soulmate fantasy. On the other hand, Sky in Your Heart is a little more realistic, and is very light-hearted. Both series are amazing in their own right and shouldn't be compared with each other. Of course TTS is going to have more of an impact as it came first and is more dramatic. But Sky in Your Heart is just as romantic, just with a little less drama... and less episodes.

Please watch both series as they both are great!


•❅✧❅✦ Overall •❅✧❅✦

This series is beautiful and romantic. It's something to watch then you don't want to watch series that are dramatic and complicated. The straight forward and lighthearted romance is beautiful. And Prince is also a feast for your eyes.

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A Romantic Story with Couple Goals!!

If you're looking for a series that has lots of romance with less dramatic moments, this is the series for you.
It's really a feel good drama that leaves you feeling all warm and fuzzy inside after finishing the series.
I think we all need a lover like Khabkluen or Daonuea after watching this series.


•❅✧❅✦ Story •❅✧❅✦

Daonuea has been crushing on Khabkluen since freshman year in highschool. However, it's a one-sided love on his end as Khabkluen has a girlfriend he is very committed to. After leaving to study abroad for his senior year of highscool, he returns to Thailand to start college. On the first day of the Star and Moon Competition Practice, Doanuea is reunited with Khabkluen. Daonuea hasn't really gotten over his crush, but has to room with Khabkluen during the duration of the competition. As they room together, Daonuea and Khabkluen start to getting closer together. Khabkluen is and has always been the epitome of kindness, that Daonuea can't stop his feelings even though he knows Khabkluen has a girlfriend... Or does he?

One of the best things about this series is the "Will they? Won't they?" tug of war that Daonuea and Khabkluen have throughout the series. It's not so dramatic and unrealistic that sometimes you end up shouting "Just kiss already!" at the screen. It's a light-hearted and romantic series, so there isn't any frustration while watching. Just pure romance.


•❅✧❅✦ Characters •❅✧❅✦

Daonuea x Khabkluen

Daonuea is you typical normal guy. He's adorable and funny. There isn't anything really special about him aside from his undying loyalty to Khabkluen, so there isn't much to comment on him aside from gushing over his cuteness.

However, Khabkluen, on the otherhand, is a little more stereotypical with the hot and kind popular kid troupe going for him. He also falls into the anti-social, can't really saying my feelings well, troupe that the male leads tend to have. However, something that makes Khabkluen different from the others is his his undying loyalty to Daonuea before and after their love confession. Also, his personality isn't as masculine as you would expect those types of leads to be. You can really see Khabkluen's real self after he starts dating Daonuea and I love the 180 shift in how he acts around Daonuea and other people.

On a side note, the actors who protray Daonuea and Khabkluen have so much chemistry. If someone told me they were a real couple, I wouldn't be surprised. Nothing looked fake or awkward. These two need to have more acting work, be it together or separate, because they are really great actors. I honestly would like to see them do something more dramatic just because I really think they are amazing and really need the opportunity to prove themselves as great actors.


•❅✧❅✦ Overall •❅✧❅✦

The series was amazing. I feel in love with Daonuea and Khabkluen from episode one and I never got bored as the series progressed. If you are looking for a drama-filled series, this probably isn't for you. But if you are looking for a feel-good romantic series then this is a must watch!

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This is Why Touken Ranbu Should Stay In Historical Japan and Out of Modern Japan

I just finished watching it in theaters for a second time! Okay, I honestly went more for the clear file than the movie, but it was still a good movie.

The directors of Touken Ranbu 2 took an leap of faith and dived into the lore of Touken Ranbu, so for die hard fans of Touken Ranbu this is a must watch! However, it honestly becomes a love it or hate it type of movie due to how they utilized Kotone, the female lead.

•❅✧❅✦ Story •❅✧❅✦

Mikazuki Munechika and his team are deployed to feudal Japan, year 995, to protect history once again. This time they are there to ensure that Minamoto Yorimitsu finishes his "Oni Hunt" on the Oe Mountains and kill the "oni" Shutendoji and his "oni" people. As usual the Touken Danshi encounter the Historical Revisionists (歴史修正主義者), but this time they latch on to a dying Shutendoji. Yamambagiri Kunihiro runs into Shutendoji. Moments later Mikazuki runs into the room only to find Shutendoji and Yamambagiri disappearing. He tries to save Yamambagiri, but is unable to move.

Alone, Mikazuki follows traces of Yamambagiri to the year 2012, however, having no master in the current year, he finds it hard to stay in his Touken Danshi form. High Schooler Kotone, who has the special ability to hear the voices of historical objects, accidentally stumbles upon Mikazuki fighting the Historical Revisionists. Mikazuki takes Kotone as his temporary master so he can maintain his Touken Danshi form. Meanwhile Ibuki, the reincarnation of Shutendoji, is working with the Historical Revisionists to steal people's memories.

So. . . That's all I'm going to say so I don't spoil the whole film. Just know that most of the film takes place in the year 2012.

•❅✧❅✦ Touken Danshi Lore •❅✧❅✦

Touken Danshi 2 really focuses on the lore of Touken Ranbu. The movie explains why most of the missions in Touken Ranbu take place in feudal Japan and not in modern Japan. As someone who's always wondered why the missions were only in feudal Japan, this movie answered my question on that.

•❅✧❅✦ Kotone •❅✧❅✦

Kotone is a love her or hate her type of character. However, it's not because of her personality. It's mostly because of how the directors chose to utilize her character. Some might see no problem with her, but I see many problems with her character. If she were just a saniwa stand-in and Mikazuki and the other Touken Danshi were the the ones to solve the problems and uncover secrets during the mission, then I would have no complaints about her. However, it felt like the directors were trying to give her a god complex. She was made out to be the the most important character and that the Touken Danshi would not have been able to complete the mission without her. As someone who enjoys watching the Touken Danshi solve and complete their own missions, it was frustrating to watch this random human girl solve it for them. It felt like I was watching a movie with Kotone as the main character, not Mikazuki or the other Touken Danshi. But if you don't care about the Touken Danshi actually being the main characters in their own movie, then I guess her character isn't that bad.

•❅✧❅✦ Touken Danshi •❅✧❅✦

There were a lot of Touken Danshi in his film. The climax does not disappoint. It was amazing.

Mikazuki Munechika, Heshikiri Hasebe, Yamambagiri Chougi, Higekiri, Hizamaru and Yamambagiri Kunihiro take up most of the screen time, but Kogarasumaru, Ichigo Hitofuri, Honebami Toushiro and Horikawa Kunihiro are there to protect the Honmaru. As for the other Touken Danshi, a lot of the actors from the stage play and previous movie make a cameo.

My favorite part was that they got both actors who played Tsurumaru Kuninaga to cameo, which works out since Heshikiri Hasebe, Yamambagiri Chougi, Higekiri and Hizamaru are all from different Honmarus. Another one of my favorite parts is when Mikazuki compares his Honmaru's Hasebe to the Hasebe he meets on the mission.

•❅✧❅✦ Overall •❅✧❅✦

While I'd like to give a higher score, I don't think I can. The movie was great, but as someone who enjoys the Touken Danshi solving their own missions I didn't enjoy it as much as I could have. Kotone really put a block on me enjoying more of the movie. Again, she's not a bad character, but she gave me a god complex vibe so I didn't enjoy her much. To me, the movie felt more like Kotone meets the Touken Danshi rather than Touken Ranbu, but that's just me. However, I did enjoy the movie other than her, and I loved the lore behind the movie. This is still a great movie to watch. I did watch it in theaters twice, so it's a good movie. Please watch it.

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Hyped by the Novel, Disappointed by the Film

I just watched this in Japanese Theaters (Opening Night!!!), we have to wait a little longer until it comes out on DVD.

I'm not gonna lie, it felt like the producers were riding on the hype of the drama, that they forgot how to make a compelling story. The Drama was great, the Novel was amazing, but this movie. . . had too much kiss scenes and way too many plot lines and plot holes that it felt rushed and empty. The feelings of happiness, jealousy, and envy that we had of Hira and Kiyoi's love were replaced with just feelings of "What did I just watch?"

Having read the novel and listened to the drama CD, it felt like the producers were trying to backtrack on the changes they made in the drama, so they can just continue with the plot of the novel. However, after backtracking, there was no time to fill the audience in on the important character and their thoughts, so the producers just hoped that the audience had read the novel and threw in the scenes that we wanted to see and prayed we didn't notice the characters were just empty shells of the characters they were in the novel. Finally they hoped that all the beautiful cinematography and kiss scenes would make the audience forget that the plot wasn't very good.

If I were to sum it up into one sentence it would be: Too Many Ideas, Too Many Unnecessary Kiss Scenes, Wasted Potential!

Just listen to the Drama CD. It takes the novel and actually gives us what we want to see from Hira and Kiyoi. It's so much better than the movie.

I'm not saying the movie was bad, as someone who's read and listened to a better version of this plot, I'm not very satisfied with this film.


•❅✧❅✦ Story •❅✧❅✦

Taking place after Season 2, Hira is notified by his cousin, Naho-chan, that she is divorcing her husband and that Hira needs to move out of the house because she is moving back in. Devastated, Hira informs Kiyoi they need to move. The couple begins house hunting together. Meanwhile both Kiyoi and Hira are progressing in their careers. Hira is about to graduate college and is slowly getting better at his photography job. Kiyoi is getting more popular thanks to his work with his co-star Anna.

At work, Hira sees his photographer boss take beautiful pictures of Anna. He gets jealous that we won't be able to take beautiful pictures of Kiyoi and turns down an opportunity to help his boss take Kiyoi's pictures. Kiyoi is devastated to find out that Hira turned down an opportunity to help shoot his pictures, but is also devastated to find out that Hira said he doesn't have anything he wants to shoot.

One day Anna is caught by the paparazzi with her idol boyfriend. It becomes a huge scandal and they are forced to break up and Anna's work is halted resulting in all of Kiyoi's jobs being halted as well. When Kiyoi visits Anna to try and cheer her up, he is caught leaving her place by the paparazzi and is also thrown into the scandal. Anna's fans begin to attack Kiyoi on twitter and even his fans start gossiping about him. One of Anna's deranged fans, Shitara, takes things too far and kidnaps Kiyoi.

So just reading the synopsis there is a lot to unpack. All of that plus more was in the novel and portrayed well in the drama CDs. However, the film failed spectacularly. There was only 2 hours to fit all of that into the movie and not a lot of time was spent building up the characters. Major characters like Anna and Shitara did not have any character development that no one cared if Anna got into a scandal. Shitara's character was also highly neglected, so when he plays the victim card and goes on a rant about how Hira should understand how he feels as a fan after kidnapping Kiyoi, it just gets lost and feels really out of place. The whole kidnapping arch with Shitara feels very rushed and left field that it needs its own movie or another hour.


Personally, I felt that the director spent too much time on the kiss scenes and couple scenes that he neglects the whole plot. There were way too many kiss scenes. A lot of the kiss scenes that should have been in Season 1 (Novel 1) were brought into this movie. Kiyoi looking in the mirror as they make out is a reference to events in Novel 1, but was unneeded in this film as he's already pretty comfortable with himself being with Hira and calling Hira his boyfriend. Also that whole mesh veil that Kiyoi and Hira keep kissing under is visually appealing, maybe symbolic, but has no place in this film. It just looks like a random cloth that I would take off when making out with my man. That mesh looked good in Season 1 and felt natural because it fell onto them after Kiyoi kicked the boxes. In his film, nothing falls on them, so that mesh looks so out of place. Lastly, the whole montage where Kiyoi and Hira are running through their high school as adults and we see flashes of them back in high school was very beautiful, but unnecessary. I would have liked a lot of the time spent on the kiss scenes to be spent on building up the characters.


•❅✧❅✦ What Should Have Happened (Novel vs Film) •❅✧❅✦

The film itself isn't bad, but because they followed the plot of the novel without giving lots of characters any backstories, the film felt a little empty.

The film still follows the plot of the novel, but mostly from Hira's point of view. If felt like Kiyoi wasn't important in this film. A lot of the film focused on Hira and Anna's issues that they forgot to deal with Kiyoi's issues.

Kiyoi's issues are supposed to be that he's not getting his own acting jobs. All of his jobs are gained with Anna's help and he feels like he's riding on her coattails and he doesn't like it. He wants to make a name for himself without Anna. Anna actually tells him that Kiyoi's not a great actor because he puts on a strong front and his not vulnerable enough to be a victim, so he can't get sensitive roles. During the kidnapping arch with Shitara, Kiyoi is supposed to feel like Hira doesn't love him. Kiyoi heard from Kira's photography boss that Hira no longer has anything he wants to shoot. Heartbroken, Kiyoi feels like he's in love with Hira on his own and that Hira has moved on. He doesn't know what to do since Hira is his everything. After being kidnapped, Anna and Hira are supposed to come and save him. Kira is supposed to go insane with worry and cry inconsolably leading to Anna changing her mind about Kiyoi as a person and as an actor. The film however, did not include any of that. They axed all of that to look at it from Hira's point of view. Because of this, the scene where Kiyoi cries inconsolably is cut very short and feels a little strange. A really big missed opportunity.

Similarly Shitara's connection with Hira isn't included, so he is a big "Who are you?" in the film. Hira is supposed to feel a connection with Shitara and how he loves Anna. However, Shitara is supposed to be an extreme version of Hira's stalker tendences. Hira is made out to be the "better fan" because he loves Kiyoi as a person, regardless of who Kiyoi is dating, even if it's not him. It's a weird thing to explain, but it makes sense in Hira's weird worldly view.

Also, Anna and her boyfriend also play a bigger role in the novel, but are relegated to just being around to push the story forward. They aren't too important, but because Anna and Hira become friends Anna's storyline is more interesting. She isn't just some random character that randomly had issues that we don't care about unlike this film.

•❅✧❅✦ Overall •❅✧❅✦

Having read the novel and listened to the drama CD, maybe I had too high expectations for what I saw in theaters. I know the actors of Hira and Kiyoi can play out the drama perfectly but because of the lackluster script, I just can't help but feel disappointed. Scenes that I was looking forward to seeing weren't there. Everything felt rushed and like no one put any heart and soul into the story. The actor's were great as always, but I'm sad I couldn't see them shine at their fullest. I really wanted to see Yagi Yusei crying and being Kiyoi from the novel, that when it was glossed over I wanted to cry. If Yagi Yusei were given the opportunity to be Kiyoi from the novel, he probably would get more acting jobs after this film.

Either way, it was a nice film, but maybe I had too high expectations.

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Very Loose Adaptation of the Manga.

While watching this in theaters I had two thoughts... "this is different from the manga," and "Itagaki Rhihito should have played Chigira-kun instead of Takahashi Kyohei."

•❅✧❅✦ Story ✦❅✧❅•

The film plays out exactly like the synopsis describes. Maaya and Chigira play the unrequited love game. It pretty much follows most of the flow of the manga, although the film does change quite a few things. The changes are big, but doesn't change much of the story or end goal. However, if I have to nit-pit, it would be that there is nothing that makes this film stand out in any way. Yes, it's beautifully done and it's romantic, but it's really just your average Japanese shojo manga adapted into a film. No drama, no amazing acting, no thing.

There is also quite a few plot holes and cliff hangers. The film brings up Chigira's past, but really does nothing with it. We know it's traumatizing for him, but because there is no dialogue during these flashbacks we don't know what is going on aside from his parents yelling at each other. We see Tezuka (Chigura's former, now rival) have a rivalry with Chigura, but we don't see them getting on good terms with each other. We only see Maaya tell him he doesn't actually hate Chigura, but he likes him. . . then the next scene they are now buddies. No closure. Lastly, the ending. We ended on a confession and kiss. . . but what about the whole school knowing about Maaya and Chigura? The whole school was messaging her and cursing her out, but she goes to Chigura's race anyways. They cuss her out then suddenly starting cheering Chigura on with her. Is her schoolmates over her dating Chigura because she was cheering her on? What happened here? I wanna have some closure, not just end on a kiss!

Anyways, the film wasn't bad, but when you think about it from a storytelling aspect, there are a lot of loose ends.

•❅✧❅✦ Manga vs Film ✦❅✧❅•

Sooooo. . . The film took their liberties and changed quite a few things. Some of them include. . .

• Yamada-kun being her classmate instead of being someone from her cram school. They also made him very very nerdy and unattractive.
• They didn't emphasis Maaya's thing for black haired guys with glasses, so Chigura randomly wears glasses at home.
• Maaya and Chigura don't ever do a "pretend dating game." Chigura just invites her on a date to the temple instead of the aquarium during their "unrequited love game."
• Tezuka is already Maaya's friend from the beginning and it's very clear he likes her.
• Maaya's friend doesn't seem to have a crush on Chigura in the film, unlike her having a crush on him in the manga.
• Maaya doesn't interrupt Chigura's fangirl's confession. She let's him go to her.
• The two keychains they have don't represent each other unlike the manga. Chigura buys it because Maaya thought it was cute.

And this list goes on.

I think it was a very loose adaptation where they changed lots of scenarios, but we still got the same end result.
I personally still like the manga better, but I enjoy how they changed Tezuka from being a random student Maaya meets to already someone who is her close friend with a crush on her from the beginning.

•❅✧❅✦ Acting ✦❅✧❅•

I feel bad saying this, but Takahashi Kyohei is not a great actor, not is he a great Chigura-kun. I had pictured Chigura-kun to be stoic only until Maaya says or does something that pulls on his heart-strings. However, Takahashi is stoic the whole time. He doesn't seem to be in love with Maaya. Furthermore, his acting is very stiff so his kissing, running, and lines are delivered a little to stiff to my liking.

Takahashi's performance wasn't terrible, but it was stiff to the point where half-way through the film I started thinking "why doesn't Maaya get together with Tezuka? Tezuka is so much better!" Itagaki Rhihito's performance was so natural and good, that I was looking forward to him appearing on screen more than Takahashi. I also started to think that with Itagaki's acting talents, he might make a better Chigura than Takahashi. Everything that Tezuka thinks is etched onto his face, so if Itagaki had portrayed Chigura maybe we would get the Chigura that is stoic until Maaya pulls on his heart-strings just like the manga. In the manga it's implied that maybe Chigura likes Maaya from the start since he blushes and gets upset based on her actions. Because of Takahashi's constantly stoic version of Chigura we can't really tell of Chigura likes Maaya until he takes her on a date and confesses to her.

•❅✧❅✦ Overall ✦❅✧❅•

This film wasn't terrible as a Japanese shojo movie, but it didn't really live up the the manga. There were a lot of plot holes and questions that weren't answered, as well as a stiff male lead. I just felt the magic that was in the manga was missing in the film simply because of his stiffness. Maybe if it were there I would like the film just as much as I do the film.

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Too Short!

So this drama is a fictional reality show that is part of Bakayarou no Kiss... And I wish it were longer.

•❅✧❅✦ Story •❅✧❅✦

A fictional reality TV show were 6 contestants try to redo their first kiss with Sonomiya Ren, a celebrity.

Honestly, the synopsis sounded fun and when I did watch it I wanted more. Unlike a real reality show where they show you all of everything, this drama only shows the important scenes that are relevant to Bakayarou no Kiss. The days in the fictional show will skip from Day 2 to Day 10 to Day 20 in a span of a few minutes, so it is a little nauseating. However, because they only choose the juicy parts of the reality show to show us I got really invested. I kind of wish we got the full version of the show.

•❅✧❅✦ Overall •❅✧❅✦

I haven't seen Bakayarou no Kiss, so I can't really say how great of a tie-in this is to the drama, but I like the concept of being able to see the fictional reality show that the characters are watching/participating in. As a stand alone drama it is kind of fast paced since there is a lot of time skipping, but it's not bad. You do get invested in the characters and you are on the edge of your toes trying to guess who will redo their first kiss with Ren. There are a few characters and plots that I wish we could have seen in full, but even without it it's not too bad. However, I feel you do have to watch this with Bakayarou no Kiss in mind otherwise the time skips will drive you insane.

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The Jokes are Funny, but Not the Best Story

As someone who understands Japanese, I was able to watch this without subtitles. The storyline itself is quite boring and feels like a fanfiction, but comedy is hilarious. That being said, I realized that a lot of the comedy wouldn't be funny to someone who doesn't watch Japanese TV or owarai gags. If you watch it with subs, some of the jokes might not translate well, especially the owarai gags and the special guest comedians. Anyways on to the review.

•❅✧❅✦ STORY •❅✧❅✦

I'll just spoil it because it seems like no one will be subtitling the drama anytime soon.

One day 8 mannequins at Shibuya's PARCO department store are magically brought to life by Maneki Towa. She reveals that she is half-mannequin, half-human. She tells the 8 mannequins that she has brought them back to life to allow one of them to become a human forever, however there is a catch. Only one of them will become human and the others will stay as mannequins forever. There also needs to be a trade off where a human will permanently become a mannequin in their place.

Maneki gives each of the mannequins a name based on their "personalities."
Chui - He's always giving warnings (chui) to others.
Matome - He is constantly trying to round up (matome) the others and situation.
Mukuchi - Not his personality, but Maneki thought he'd be cool if he didn't speak much (mukuchi).
Pocket - He always has his hands in his pockets.
Mysterious - Not his personality, but Maneki thought that he'd be cool if he were mysterious.
Lady - He is the most flamboyant and feminine of all the mannequins.
Necho - Not his personality, but Maneki thought it would be cool if he was macho. However since he's not macho he should be a negative macho (necho).
Tekito - He is not serious and half assed (tekito) with everything.

After giving each of the mannequins a name, Maneki begins to teach them how to become human. She teaches them about various emotions, sometimes inviting guest mannequins over to help in her teaching. While learning how to become human it is revealed that one of the mannequins had been a human in the past. Necho begins to suspect that Matome is the former human because in one of their lessons Matome had given a very realistic example of how a human would react in a certain situation. Matome denies it's saying he made it up based on watching how humans interact at the store. Necho is not convinced. He adds that Matome can play the harmonica, something only human's can do. This leads to Matome bringing up that Maneki told everyone that they all have a human talent. That even Takito can play the guitar. Surprised and wanting to find their own talent, the mannequins try to find their Talent. Chui can do magic, Mysterious can make cocktails, Lady is flexible, Pocket can change his eyelids from a monolid to a double lid, and Pocket can fart. When it's time to find Necho's talent, he can't seem to find it and leaves depressed.

While depressed, Necho is forced to continue to learn to be human with the other mannequins. Maneki invites an old mannequin who is said to bring bad luck to all the stores he's been at to talk to everyone about misfortune and sadness. The old mannequin is bare and naked because whatever clothes is put on the mannequin, the clothes do not sell and the store becomes bankrupt. Necho, Mysterious and the others cheer the old mannequin up and put clothes on him. After he leaves, Mysterious suddenly turns back into a mannequin as a result of the old mannequin's bad luck. They all try to help him turn back into his human form, but they cannot. Maneki explains that even if he is a mannequin, the lessons must go on, so they continue with their lessons. In the lesson, Necho is told to get upset at mannequins, using Mysterious's mannequin as a stand in. Necho yells at Mysterious his dislikes about being a mannequin. After Necho yells, they all can suddenly hear Mysterious's voice. They continue on with the lesson and Necho ends up bringing Mysterious back to life with his passion, which Maneki reveals is his special talent. They all celebrate Mysterious's return until Maneki reveals that tomorrow will be the last day of their lessons. That tomorrow one of them will be a human and the others will be mannequins forever.

Following Maneki's departure, the 8 mannequins reflect on their last day together. Necho wants to be human, but he doesn't want to leave his friendship with the others behind, becoming a human by himself. The others agree until Lady suddenly comes forwards saying he doesn't want to lie. He actually was human in the past and had met Maneki who turned him into a mannequin. Lady revealed that from a young age he knew that he wasn't like other boys; that his romantic feelings were not with woman, but with men. When he tried to act on his true nature, he was met with harsh criticism and hated life, it was at this time that he met Maneki and he willfully became a mannequin.

Necho is shocked until one by one the others became to reveal that they too were human.

Chui was working as a business man. His co-workers were jealous of his success and complained to his boss. After that everything that he did was criticized. He realized it was stupid to try and work hard because only the person who used dirty methods would achieve greatness in life. It was during this time he chose to become a mannequin.

Matome always dreamed of becoming a soccer player. He was so good that all of his schools and town was looking forward to him becoming a professional. During this most important match in the country, he missed the PK shot. After that everyone turned their back on him and hated on him. Giving up on his dreams, he got a normal job. At the job, his brought up his painful past and mocked him for it. He hated that all his years of hard work turned him into a laughing stock, so he chose to become a mannequin.

Pocket was a delinquent all his student years. After graduation he became a construction worker. There he met a nice senpai who told him it was okay to dream about having his own car company. Pocket began to save his money for his dream until his senpai asked for help with some money issues. Pocket loaned him some money and even became a guarantor for a loan. The senpai eventually ran away with the money. Pocket gave up on life and became a manequin.

Mukuchi was never talkative and aways shy. While working as a real-estate agent he couldn't get the results he wanted. His co-workers told him he needed to change his personality if he wants to succeed in life. He couldn't understand why his personality was wrong, so he became a mannequin.

Mysterious was a bartender who was looking to marry his girlfriend. She told him that his love was too heavy for her and she left him. He couldn't move on because he couldn't understand how his love was too heavy, so he chose to become a mannequin.

Tekito's parents placed lots of expectations on him, that he needed to go to an ivy league school to be perfect. When he failed to get into an ivy league university his parents lost interest in him. He didn't know how to live his own life since his parents had always told him how to live life, so he chose to become a mannequin.

After learning the truth, that Necho was the only one born a mannequin, he felt betrayed. He felt hurt and lied to. The others however, are adamant they didn't mean to hurt his feelings. That they only pretended they wanted to return to being human because Necho was very enthusiastic about becoming a human. That while they don't want to be humans again, they want Necho to be happy and live as a human if that's his desire.

Necho is chosen to become human and Maneki chooses to sacrifice her human status to become a mannequin in his place. After becoming a human, Necho choses to work as a security guard at Shibuya PARCO, watching over his mannequin friends.

•❅✧❅✦ ACTING •❅✧❅✦

Honestly it wasn't too bad. The members of Exile Tribe's FANTASTICS are all singers and dancers before they are actors, however, some members have done some acting work while for others it is their first time acting. Usually when the whole idol group makes a movie or drama, usually the acting is terrible, but for FANTASTICS it's not that bad. Not all members are the best at acting, but more screen time is given to the members who can act so it's not that bad at all. The actors of Necho, Tekito, Matome, and Chui are pretty decent.

•❅✧❅✦ COMEDY •❅✧❅✦

The jokes are hilarious, and I heard some of them were improvised on the spot. That being said, if you're not a fan of Japanese comedy and owarai, then some of the gags might not translate well. As a Japanese speaker, the jokes are funny though. Also, this isn't slapstick, so I'm not sure how well the jokes will translate to someone who isn't Japanese.

•❅✧❅✦ OVERALL •❅✧❅✦

It's not a bad watch. If you like the members of FANTASTICS and are looking for something to watch, then I'd watch Mannequin Night Fever. It's a situational comedy with fanfic like plot, so if you're looking for a great drama this isn't it. However, if you like FANTASTICS are looking for something funny to watch with jokes that actually hit the spot, then this is for you.

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It's a Filler Drama, so Don't Watch with Any Expectations

All I can say about this drama is to watch it without any expectations. It's not too bad if you watch it without any.
However, if you are going to watch this after watching other Japanese dramas like Utsukushii Kare or Cherry Magic, you're going to be very disappointed. It's a decent watch, but it's not anything spectacular.

Similarly, if you are coming to watch this because you've already read the manga, then you will also be disappointed. I think you need to watch this as a standalone drama without comparing it to the manga. Don't worry, I'll explain below.

That being said it's not a terrible drama. However, it is mediocre and definitely a filler drama. Don't bother to watch this if you want a good quality drama. Do watch this if you need a filler drama with good looking men falling in love.

•❅✧❅✦ STORY •❅✧❅✦

Onoe gets transferred to the stake-out team of the weekly gossip magazine he works for. His new partner is Kaburagi, who is the magazine's best cameraman. While Onoe is very serious and well mannered, Kaburagi is notorious for being a lady's man and Onoe finds him to be very rude. At first they don't get along, but the more cases they take on together, the more closer they become. Onoe learns there's more to Kaburagi then meets the eye.

Honestly the story is not too bad. It is based on an older manga so it is a little bit cliché, but it's not terrible. I personally found myself interested in the antics that the two were getting into. The only part of the drama that was strange was the bed scene that the screenwriter's crammed in at the end. Honestly, we could have gone without that.

While not the best drama, the biggest issue with this drama isn't really the story, but rather the acting. Honestly the acting wasn't great, but at the same time I preferred how they portrayed Onoe and Kaburagi in this drama rather than the manga.

ONOE X KABURAGI

Onoe is a very serious writer for the weekly magazine. He is more of a bookworm that's not really good at lying. He also doesn't seem to have much luck with the ladies. In contrast, Kaburagi seems to have a double personality. Usually he's stoic and doesn't seem to care about others, but other times he suddenly becomes a lady's man. He also is very good at lying and manipulating people. At first, Onoe hated Kaburagi because of his seemingly twisted personality and his lack of care when lying and manipulating people. However, once Onoe learns that Kaburagi actually hates lying and is actually more sensitive than he lets on, his whole perspective of Kaburagi changes. He also ends up falling in love with the sensitive side of Kaburagi.

•❅✧❅✦ ACTING •❅✧❅✦

Even though it's not that bad, the worst part of this drama is the acting. Every actor, from the main to the side characters, is on a different wave length and it's just a mess.

Kimura Keito, who plays Onoe, unfortunately is very stiff when acting. While not terrible, it is obvious that he's acting and it doesn't look natural when compared to Yamanaka. It looks like his acting is forced and that he's putting on a show. Again, it's not bad, but it is obvious that he needs more practice. (On a small note, Kimura is part of Exile's FANTASTICS with Yagi Yusei, who plays Kiyoi in Utsukushii Kare. It makes me wonder if Kimura's management is trying to ride the BL wave that boosted Yagi's popularity. Also, I can't help but compare the two. I haven't seen Kimura's other works, but I wonder if Kimura actually wanted to do this BL or if it was the management's choice.)

Yamanaka Jyutaro plays Kaburagi. Now, some people might not like his acting and say he's non-expressive, but I beg to differ. There are times where his acting is a little stiff, but for the most part I thought it was okay. As a character, Kaburagi is stoic and non-expressive, so I liked how Yamanaka played him. His acting felt more natural as I have met guys like Kaburagi in Tokyo and they do act like how Yamanaka plays Kaburagi, so I had no problem with his acting. Again it's not perfect, but it is hard to play a stoic and non-expressive character so I will give him some credit.

Lastly, the side characters. All of the side characters were on different wave lengths as well. I found that the older cast were better at acting than the younger ones. All of them are not on screen for very long so it's not too noticeable, but they are stiff. The actor who plays Masayan was probably the worst offender out of all of the actors. While his acting wasn't terrible, it was very exaggerated. His acting might be more suited for comedies, but I just couldn't watch any scene he was in because it was overly exaggerated.

•❅✧❅✦ DRAMA vs MANGA •❅✧❅✦

Something to note is that I had read Ameiro Paradox as a manga a few years before this drama came out. I didn't fully remember what the story was about, but I had a basic knowledge about the plot before watching. After watching the drama I went back and I reread the manga. This is how I am analyzing the drama, so I might be a little less biased toward the manga than others who read the manga first and went into the drama with the manga in mind.

As a drama, Ameiro Paradox is completely different from the manga. While the drama adapted most of the storylines and changed some aspects of the plot to fit the drama, the biggest change made was the relationship and personalities of the Onoe and Kaburagi. This change made the drama completely different from the manga as the manga fans might not like the new version of Onoe and Kaburagi, and their relationship.

The manga has more of a cat-dog relationship between the Onoe and Kaburagi, while the drama is more romantic. In the manga, Onoe is more feisty and stubborn, while in the drama he seems to be more innocent and just putting on a strong front.
As a character, Kaburagi also is different. In the manga he is stoic and non-expressive throughout their whole relationship. Even after they begin dating, Kaburagi doesn't really show many facial expressions aside from getting angry. On the other hand, in the drama Kaburagi is stoic and non-expressive only until they begin dating. Once he is in a relationship with Onoe, Kaburagi begins to show more emotions. Even then Kaburagi gives off a more softer, sensitive, and sympathetic vibe compared to the manga where he is never sensitive, always horny, and acts like an old man trapped in a 21 year old's body.

All of these changes made to the characters' personalities change the dynamics of Onoe and Kaburagi's relationship, which in turn might throw off fans of the manga. The manga is all about the fighting and weird antics that the cat and dog relationship brings to this couple. The drama however, is all about Onoe learning about Kaburagi's sensitive nature and how love with make a stoic man more loving and emotional.

Now, I personally like the drama version of Ameiro Paradox more than the manga as I do like my men to be a little more sensitive and mature. To me, Kaburagi in the manga is just an old man in a young man's body and he doesn't really express his love to Onoe. I don't understand how Onoe can love someone that doesn't really act like he loves him back, but again the manga is all about the antics that they get into. I prefer storylines where the characters grow to love each other based on what they learn about each other and their personalities rather than storylines where it's all situational, which the manga is situational.

•❅✧❅✦ OVERALL •❅✧❅✦

I didn't really hate Ameiro Paradox. It's not bad, but there are better drama's out there. It's definitely a filler drama and a one time watch.

Also, if you liked his drama don't bother reading manga since the characters' personalities are different and the relationship between Kaburagi and Onoe are completely different as well.

Similarly, don't bother watching this drama if you are a fan of the manga and want to see the weird antics that Onoe and Kaburagi get into in the manga. This drama is all about their relationship, so if can't watch this drama with an open mind, then you should probably skip this manga.

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Skip the Series and Just Watch the Special Edit Version!!!

•❅✧❅✦ What's the Difference?!!! •❅✧❅✦

It's hard to point out all of them since I just watched it in theaters today in Japan, but I will write a few off the top of my head.

1. Hira/Kiyoi's narration - A lot of the narration is cut or altered because the film is now in a movie format and there's no need to fill in the audience with what happened in the past. Also, some of the narrations are placed on different scenes or have different timing from the series.

2. The music/bgm - A lot of the bgm that was playing behind a lot of the scenes were cut and replaced with ambient sound. Also because the film isn't episodic the scenes that were affected by the opening/closing themes had more ambience or a different bgm giving more impact to the scenes.

3. Lack of flashbacks - This really helped the story because when I rewatched the series after viewing the film, I got really annoyed with the flashbacks. The lack of flashbacks made the audience was more invested in the scenes.

4. Cut Scenes - They also cut a few scenes out (like the cell phone in the water scene) which really helped the film flow more smoothly. Nothing too noticeable though.

5. Extended/New scenes - While this film advertises "brand new scenes" it actually means extended scenes. Some of the scenes are extended to make easier transitions, while there are a few that are extended to help the story flow better. The extended scenes also hint that Kiyoi was into Hira from way before the kiss scene. The extended scenes (and narrations) also present Koyama as a better option for Hira rather than Kiyoi.

Some of the extended scenes are:
• Hira and Kiyoi walking to the shrine after Hira discovers Kiyoi's dance lessons.
• Kiyoi turning around to look at the person following him after he loses the competition.
• The time skip to Hira being in college and Koyama's introduction.
• Hira calling Kiyoi to tell him that it might not be a good idea to come to practice at his place after Koyama gets sick, but Kiyoi doesn't answer.


Honestly, the biggest difference is the narration and music/bgm. I think this is what makes the film flow more smoothly than the series. A lot of the bgm was replaced by ambient sounds and it felt more real. Also all of the scenes that had the ending theme playing over it felt like they had more impact due to the lack of music during the scenes. For example, when I watched Koyama's confession to Hira in the series, the ending theme was playing and I felt like I want to skip to the next episode to find out what happens next for Hira. But when he confessed in the special edit, I felt so bad for him. He was presented as a better option for Hira (even Hira himself admitted it), but Hira still chose Kiyoi.


•❅✧❅✦ My Thoughts on the Special Edit Version •❅✧❅✦

Overall, this special edit version was so much better than the series. Maybe because the series itself is short, the movie format fit the story much better. There wasn't any dramatic cliff hangers and because of that the story seemed to flow more smoothly. The emotions the characters were feeling felt more real since we the ending theme wasn't interrupting any crucial moments.

I really recommend watching this special edit version if you can because it made me love the series even more than before.

Also if you haven't watched the series yet, don't worry about watching it and just watch this special edit version. You're not missing anything and you're getting more.



•❅──────✧❅✦ Utsukushii Kare Review & Book Comparision ✦❅✧──────❅•

Utsukushii Kare is the best Japanese BL of 2021!
It constantly pulls at your heartstrings and keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time.
A rare gem in the Japanese BL.

•❅✧❅✦ STORY •❅✧❅✦

Hira suffers from severe stuttering when he is nervous. This has caused him to be ostracized from his classmates throughout his entire school career. During his final year of high school he meets Kiyoi, the resident "king" of the school, who saves him from class introductions by walking into class late. Hira is instantly smitten by Kiyoi. Even though Hira tries to keep his distance, the foul mouthed Kiyoi always seems to pull him back into his world. When Hira accidentally reveals his love for Kiyoi, and despite being quite open about his love and admiration for him thereafter, Kiyoi calls Hira disgusting, but doesn't outright ignore him after. The two unknowingly form a bond that's not quite friendship, but become closer than friends.

After a very eventful graduation, Hira and Kiyoi lose contact with each other until they are accidentally reunited in college. Hira finally has a friend, while Kiyoi is trying to make it big in the entertainment world. Hira still idolizes and loves Kiyoi, but Kiyoi is confused and can't express himself well.

Honestly, the plot and story isn't very original, however, what makes Utsukushii Kare different from the others is the characters. The characters are all very vulnerable and have their flaws. Hira is quite obviously the sympathetic lead, but King Kiyoi also has his doubts and is very relatable. He's not the invincible princely with a foul mouth that the usual troupes would have. Also, because we get two sides of the story, Hira and Kiyoi's, we sympathize with both Hira and Kiyoi. We also get annoyed with both Hira and Kiyoi too. Kiyoi is too tsundere for Hira, and Hira is as dense as a rock.

Aside from the characters, the plot, despite it's unoriginality, Ustukushii Kare didn't try to cover too many storylines. The entire series was focused on how Hira and Kiyoi got together. There was no extra storylines for side characters, no extra stories from after they got together. Most importantly, there was no obnoxiously long backstory for an character, nor was there any attempt to gain sympathy from the backstory either. The entire series was focused on how they got together and what they were feeling as they got together. Due to the focus on the characters and their feelings, everything felt real, raw, and amazing.

With the character driven storyline, Utsukushii Kare had it's work cut out, but I'm glad they found outstanding actors to fill in the roles. If the actors had performed poorly, I doubt Utsukushii Kare would have been a great series. Hira's actor was very good at playing that naive, yet dense character, while Kiyoi's actor was perfect with his tough, yet vulnerable, tsundere character. At first I hated Kiyoi for being so hot and cold to Hira, but as the story shifted from Hira's point of view to Kiyoi's, I fell in love with Kiyoi. His actor's performance when he had to portray Kiyoi's vulnerable side made me cry so hard. I've never seen an actor switch between hot and cold as great as Kiyoi's.

Kiyoi & Hira

At a glance, Kiyoi is a terrible person to befriend. He's mean to Hira and calls him names. You could even say he takes advantage of Hira, but it's not until the later half of the series, when you hear Kiyoi's side of the story, that you finally understand Kiyoi. Kiyoi's clumsy with his feelings and can't express himself well. He's also trying to navigate his feelings for Hira, who isn't exactly normal. Meanwhile, Hira's obsessed with Kiyoi to the point it's a bit stalkerish. The audience is made to sympathize with Hira, but Kiyoi does have a point, Hira's behavior is stalkerish.

That being said, Hirai and Kiyoi balance each other out perfectly. Around Kiyoi, Hira is able to express his emotions openly, while Kiyoi isn't very comfortable with expressing himself. Hira's not bothered by Kiyoi's insults because he knows Kiyoi is a tsundere, who doesn't mean what he says.

My personal favorite thing about his couple is that the seme and uke are not who you would expect them to be. I was presently surprised when we got a glimpse of it.

•❅✧❅✦ Book/Drama CD/Manga vs This Series •❅✧❅✦

If you haven't read the book or manga, or even listened to the drama CD you need to do so now! You'll get a different experience of the same story each time. . . and it's amazing! Each version of Utsukushii Kare is just different enough to keep you interested in each version.

Book - The book is the original and it is amazing.

Drama CD - The drama CD is my favorite because of how amazing Kiyoi's voice actor is. I really love this version of Kiyoi. Vulnerable Kiyoi is my favorite. Anyways, some of the scenes are changed to make it easier to listen to, but nothing too major. However, it's their voice acting that will give you the chills. Hira's V.A. sounds a little too deep to be a high schooler, but if you can get past that this drama CD is amazing. You'll really see a different side of Kiyoi that no other version can replicate.

Manga - Volume 2 was just released in Japan, so I haven't been able to read it yet, but Vol 1 was nice. So far it's not as memorable as the Drama CD, but it still allows us to visually see everything that we couldn't in the book. Because of the visuals, I found myself more drawn to the manga than the book, but it's still not complete so I won't say more.

Live Action Series - The producers were probably not expecting to be such a hit because they made a lot changes to the story. In the series we don't see Kiyoi and Hira hang out together as "friends" as much as they do in the other version. In the other versions we already get hint that Kiyoi might be interested in Hira from before Kiyoi's competition, but in this series it's a little vague until after the competition. Also, because the series chose not to have Hira move houses from his parent's place to his cousin's place, Hira offering and looking for a place for Kiyoi to practice his acting loses it's meaning in this adaptation. It's very important in the other versions, and it shows not only Hira's dedication to Kiyoi, but also shows how much Kiyoi loves Hira. Not having Kiyoi practically living with Hira and acting as his "boyfriend" during their fight in which Kiyoi "confesses" his love to Hira really had the live action series lose out on how much Kiyoi actually loves Hira.

The series is still amazing, but it's definitely a watered down version of Kiyoi. Does that mean it's bad? No. Kiyoi is still amazing and his actor did an amazing job with such a complex character, but it's still a shame that we can't see just how obsessed Kiyoi is about Hira. He's honestly just as obsessed with Hira as Hira is of him. Not as psychotic as Hira, but he's still thinking of Hira 24/7 in the other version. Here Kiyoi's just an average ikemen in love with his weirdo.

Anyways, there's nothing really bad to say about any of the variations of the story, so I definitely recommend checking out all version of Utsukushii Kare. It will fill in all of the details and background that each version misses out on. It will also make you more obsessed with the series.


•❅✧❅✦ OVERALL •❅✧❅✦

I really enjoyed Utsukushii Kare. It's a great series that's so unpredictable that you are at the edge of your seat trying to figure out what happens next. The actors were also amazing to the point I actually cried when Kiyoi got emotional.

Words can't describe how amazing this series is, so don't sleep on it and watch it now!

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Wasted Potential! Would Have Been a Great BL if it Wasn't a UWMA Spin Off!!

Between Us would have a higher score if it wasn't a UWMA spinoff. As an individual drama, Between Us is better than most of the BLs out there, however, since it's a spinoff, we can't help but make comparisons to UWMA. When compared to UWMA, Between Us fails to meet our expectations.

•❅──────✧❅✦ Between Us as a Standalone Drama ✦❅✧──────❅•

As a standalone drama, Between Us is superior to most of the BLs being made today.

The storyline is not cliché and the main characters, as well as most of the supporting characters, are not your stereotypical BL characters. Between Us has a dark storyline about mental health and childhood trauma and chooses to explore it in a very realistic and mature way. If this were a typical BL, the childhood trauma arch would be finished in an episode or two, in a love conquers all kind of way, and would focus more on how Team and Win fall in love, rather than focusing on how Win helps Team through his trauma. That is by no means saying that Between Us is the next Until We Meet Again, but the way that the drama is presented and the characters deal with their issues is what makes Between Us stand alongside some of the better underrated BL dramas like Not Me.

If you take away any relation to UWMA, Between Us is a must watch drama. How Win and Team deal with their issues, especially Team's mental health, is phenomenal. Their love isn't connected by a red thread like most BL couples out there. There wasn't instant attraction and sweet love from the beginning. Win and Team started off with a toxic relationship and they built their relationship into one that can be accepted by others. Regarding mental health, Win doesn't just magically erase Team's trauma. He tries, but Win doesn’t erase it. So again, love doesn't conquer all in this drama, so it’s interesting to watch.


•❅──────✧❅✦ Between Us as a Spinoff to Until We Meet Again ✦❅✧──────❅•

As great as I think this drama is, Between Us is a spinoff of UWMA, and it fails to meet our expectations as a spinoff. UWMA is a phenomenal drama, and any follow up would obviously be compared to it. The expectations were high, and Between Us failed to deliver. Why? Because there was a genre switch, and the side couples did not meet our expectation.

First, let’s talk about the genre switch. UWMA is every romantic's dream come true. Dean and Pharm are reincarnated lovers, bound by fate. They are soulmates. Dean and Pharm's love is very unrealistic, but we all want that kind of love. Between Us, on the other hand, is very dark and realistic. No one wants to deal with a love that isn't fated, let alone complicated. Win and Team's love is so dark, realistic, and depressing it doesn't bring us to the happy place that UWMA did. Win and Team are not soulmates connected by a red thread. There isn't any proof of it, so when we see them we don't cry or sympathize with them. We don’t want their love like we wanted Dean and Pharm’s.

Lastly and probably most frustratingly, the side couples were not up to par with UWMA. In UWMA, Dean and Pharm were the main couple, but we got Korn and Intouch as a beautiful side couple with an interesting storyline. Even Win and Team, and Mannow and Pruek were appealing side couples. Win and Team’s storyline about the swim team's resident bad boy falling for the innocent and naïve freshman was the stuff of dreams. Mannow also had a storyline about always being a supporting character and finding love. When the spinoff was announced, we looked forward to the relationship Win and Team. Maybe even get to see Mannow and Pruek's love blossom! However, in Between Us everything changed. The swim team's bad boy and naïve freshman storyline was thrown out to accommodate a darker story about mental illness. Which is okay, it has potential to be another amazing story, which it was. However, the side couples in Between Us, did not meet our expectations. Mannow's storyline, which many fans were looking forward to, wasn't in the spotlight. Dean and Pharm? They were barely in the series. All of the UWMA characters that we grew to love were replaced by a brand-new set of side characters and couples. Which would have been okay, if they felt like they were part of the UWMA universe. Bee and Prince's story felt like it was coming from Love By Chance. Even Waan and Tul's story felt like it came from another drama despite Waan being Win's older brother and Tul being a very, very minor character in UWMA.

It's a shame that Between Us has wasted its potential this way. Even if Between Us switched genres from fantasy to realistic, maybe if Between Us kept the original cast from Until We Meet Again and just expanded on their storylines instead of giving us a brand new set of side characters and couples, the spinoff would have been just as great if not better than the original.


•❅──────✧❅✦ CHARACTERS ✦❅✧──────❅•

~~~ Win x Team ~~~

Win is the boyfriend we all wish we had! Sure, he has commitment issues and is afraid of love, but he takes care of Team without any expectations of a return. Due to his issues, he doesn't really communicate his feelings well verbally to Team, but his facial expression usually gives away his thoughts and Team is able to pick up on it, even if it does confuse him sometimes.

Team, on the other hand, is a ball of confusion. He is too naïve for the world and the life he was given. His childhood trauma makes him unable to mature into the person he has the potential to become. It seems like while he's grown up and can handle himself, he also can't handle conflict because he couldn't forgive himself after his childhood accident. He could never get past that accident, and it affects him to this day.

As a couple, Win and Team are not soulmates. While the drama tries to make us believe that they are soulmates, they are not. Win is clearly in love with Team and has been from episode 1, however, it seems like Team is clinging to whoever was the first to help him through his trauma. Yes, Team loves Win, but there is no proof to show that it's not because Win was there to help him sleep through his nightmares. Team depends on Win a lot, but in the drama, Team is never given a chance to be there for Win. Win's commitment issues are swept under the rug for Team's childhood trauma, that unless someone tells you it's because he's the middle child and had to sacrifice so much in his life, you would never know just from watching the drama. However, they are cute together.

~~~ Bee x Prince (and the ABC trio) ~~~

Bee or Bumblebee is Team's clubmate and part of the comedic ABC trio. He falls in love with his classmate Prince, who is a famous actor. They end up having a secret romance because as a famous actor, Prince can't disappoint his fans by having a lover, let alone a male lover.

While I like Bee as a character, and am curious about his love for Prince, these two and their relationship have no business being in this drama. They give off Love By Chance vibes that as soon as I saw Prince, I thought he was Pete (Saint) 2.0.

Bee and Prince do have an interesting storyline, but it has no business being in this drama and should be a new drama all together. The screen time given to Bee and Prince's storyline should have been given to Mannow or Waan's storyline.

~~~ Waan x Tul ~~~

Waan is Win's older brother, while Tul is Win's clubmate. Waan meets T-Rex, Tul's username, while gaming online. T-Rex accidentally overhears Waan's father scolding him while gaming which leads to Waan unloading his issues to T-Rex. T-Rex becomes Waan's safe space, but he never wants to meet T-Rex in person.

Waan and Tul have an interesting storyline and it's nice to see their romance on screen... However, as a spinoff to UWMA, myself and most of the audience wanted to see more of Mannow's relationship with Pruek, so their relationship came out of left field. I still want to see more of Waan and Tul though, since their storyline is very interesting.

~~~ Mannow x Pruek ~~~

If you've watched UWMA, you know Mannow ends of dating Pruek. Between Us just fills in some of the gaps of how they got together... However, maybe because this is a BL and Mannow and Pruek are a straight couple, the screenwriters chose to focus on the other gay relationships. Once again, Mannow and Pruek get very little screentime and are pushed off to the side. We do get a little more detail into how they got together. But unless you watched UWMA, you could care less about this couple. Their storyline is given in bits and pieces that you need to watch UWMA and Between Us to get their whole storyline. If you don't and are watching Between Us as a standalone drama, you won't understand why Mannow is so important and why she is in the drama.

~~~ Dean x Pharm ~~~

Same with Mannow, Dean and Pharm are there to remind us that this is a UWMA spinoff. They mostly just are a cameo and are just odd reminders that this is a spinoff.


•❅──────✧❅✦ OVERALL ✦❅✧──────❅•

While Between Us wasn't the best as spinoff to Until We Meet Again. It is a good drama. I recommend when watching this drama, that you think of it as a standalone drama rather than a spinoff. If you leave the UWMA aspects out, Between Us is a good drama, so I enjoyed it. Boun and Prem gave amazing performances and I will probably rewatch it a couple times since I really enjoyed Boun's acting here.

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Interesting Commentary on Social Media from an Actor's POV

~~~~~ Synopsis ~~~~~

Two Japanese actors, Shison Jun and Kamiki Ryunosuke have a casual talk about SNS (social media). They discuss how people use SNS and how it affects other people. During their discussion, Ryunosuke reveals himself to be a wizard and does a body swap with Jun.

~~~~~ Plot ~~~~~

This mini drama isn't winning any awards, but it does make an interesting point about social media. The drama is a commentary on social media and how people use it. The actors talk about how people use SNS to attack people while hiding behind their computer screens. They also talk about how despite hiding behind a screen, that SNS might be filled with people's true thoughts that they can't say out loud be it for good or bad. They also compare SNS users to actors because on SNS you can be whoever you want to be.

The mini drama also dives into the topic of "triple personalities" in SNS during the second half of the drama, which is represented by the body swap. I think it's supposed to be about how you are "you", but you also have your idealistic "you" and the "you" you portray yourself to be. This part was a little confusing because it is an abstract concept and unless you fully understand what they are saying and the analogies they are using, it makes it difficult to completely understand the context of their conversation. They also used body swap to visualize it which is also a little confusing.

~~~~~ Overall ~~~~~

The mini drama is an interesting one time watch for Kamiki Ryunosuke and Shison Jun fans, but it can be skipped.
They don't do any big time acting in this mini drama and there really isn't a plot. The ending is also vague.
The most this mini drama does is open a conversation on the use of social media, but the commentary isn't something new or special. It also doesn't dive into the real pros and cons of social medias and just touches on the subject.
Overall, there is nothing to really hate or love about this mini drama. It's quite forgettable.

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Better than the Novel! It's 100% Chemistry between the Actors!!

Love in the Air is a must watch, but only because of the chemistry between the actors!
The story itself is cliché and has been told numerous times, but the reason I have this series on repeat is simply because of Phayu and Prapai breaking toxic BL standards of consent and because of the chemistry between all of the couples. I want the love that Phayu and Prapai give to their lovers! I'm so jealous!

~~ STORY ~~

Phayu and Prapai are best friends who enjoy underground racing. Phayu works as an architect while also running his own luxury auto repair shop. He is also mafia-boss Pakin's most trusted car mechanic. Prapai is not only runs his own company, but is Pakin's most fasted racer. They meet college freshmen Rain and Sky after a series of unfortunate events for Rain, including his car breaking down in the middle of the road. Phayu is love-struck by Rain's naivety and innocence, while Prapai can't get enough of the duality between Sky's hot and cold persona. Both couples end up in a game of cat and mouse which leads to lots of love in the air.

Love is the Air is based off of two novels written by Mame; Love Storm (Phayu/Rain) and Love Sky (Prapai/Sky).
The series doesn't really take much liberty in changing much from the novels. What you read in the novels is exactly what you get in the series. The story itself isn't the best or the most unique, but it is different compared to other BLs currently being produced into TV series... Meaning it isn't another high school or college themed drama.

While Love in the Air features college students, most of the setting takes place outside of the college, making it different from most Thai BLs being produced. Phayu and Prapai are men who have already graduated college and are already quite advanced in their careers, while Rain and Sky are freshmen in college. Due to Phayu and Prapai being working members of society, the way they act and treasure their lovers is very mature leading to both couples having the most healthiest relationship out of all BL couples. Phayu and Prapai had multiple occasions where they could have taken advantage of their lovers, but always told them "I'll wait for when you're ready." Phayu and Prapai also encouraged their lovers to take responsibility for their actions and correct any errors their lovers made even if it put them in an unfavorable position.

PHAYU & RAIN

Phayu is your stereotypical rich bad boy that everyone wants to date. Meanwhile Rain is your typical naïve to the point of stupidity freshman. Phayu is lovestruck from the moment he met Rain, but instead of approaching Rain like the usual suitor, Phayu choses to tease Rain and bring him into a game of cat and mouse with a surprise twist.... Phayu is the mouse.

I personally like how Phayu treats Rain. I'm not a big fan of the game Phayu sets up for Rain, but Phayu has never been malicious or mean to Rain, so it's tolerable. Phayu really treats Rain like royalty and his entire life revolves around Rain, so I think Rain is the luckiest guy on the planet. I really like how Phayu respects Rain and his boundaries, only pushing the boundary as far as Rain will let him, without ever crossing the line. He never really touched Rain unless Rain was the one to initiate it, which was a pleasant surprise from our bad boy. I hope to find myself a man like Phayu one day.

Rain... He's not the post memorable character out there, but Phayu loves him. Throughout the story everyone calls him Phayu's boy and that's honestly how I remember him. Sorry Rain!

PRAPAI & SKY

Prapai is another stereotypical rich bad boy, while Sky is a quiet nerd that actually has a dark past. Prapai saves Sky from a situation that Rain gets them in, and gets hooked on Sky after they have a one night stand. At first Prapai chases after Sky for the sex, but before he knew it, it was less about sex and more about wanting to be with Sky. On the other hand, Sky hated Prapai from the moment he met because Prapai reminded him about his ex. However, after getting to know Prapai he learns to love and respect himself, as well as learn that Prapai and the love he has is better than his ex in every way, shape and form.

While a bit extreme in his methods, Prapai gives out all his love in ways that everyone should aspire to give out and receive. Prapai never really had a hidden agenda and was open with Sky about his love from day one. The loving looks and helping hands he gave Sky regardless of whether it was reciprocated or not, was beautiful to watch. It made me want a man like Prapai.

Sky... He joins the ranks of characters that have a dark past that he overcomes with the help of love. His dark past was rushed through and used as the climax of their storyline, but it wasn't really memorable. It's his past that defines his current actions, so more emphasis should have been placed on it if they wanted to make that the climax, but instead they focused on Prapai's love. Focusing on Prapai's love for him, made the climax lose it's meaning since his past wasn't explained well and rushed through in less than one episode. I guess want to see Prapai and Sky is their own series, so they can focus on Sky's past and not rush though it.

~~ ACTING ~~

This drama is 100% chemistry between the actors and honestly, it's really the actors that are keeping this show alive. Boss and Fort, who play Phayu and Prapai respectively, really know how to act with body language. They don't need to speak any lines to know what their characters are thinking. Noeul and Peat, playing Rain and Sky respectively, are also able to keep up with Boss and Fort.

I don't know what else to say but watch it.

~~ BOOK vs DRAMA ~~

So I watched the series and read both books. What you saw in the series is almost exactly what you get in the novel, however, there are some small differences. Also, t's not really worth it to read the novels, so I'll talk about it below.

Love Storm:
The main storyline is almost exactly the same in both the series (ep 1-7) and the novel. There are some small differences here and there, but the plot is basically the same. Though, if you are interested in listening to Phayu and Rain's thoughts, the novel does go into more detail.

The biggest change the series made was replacing Oat with Prapai. In Love Storm, Prapai makes a few appearances as Phayu's friend and does ask for Sky's number, but it's unknown if he is a racer. The best racer in the novel is Oat, who is also the protagonist of another of Mame's novels OatShin's Diary. Oat is the one who races Stop. Other than that everything else is almost exactly as you see on screen.

Love Sky:
The second half of the series (ep 8-13) is based on Love Sky. This is where most of the changes occur between the novel and series. Love Sky deals with darker subjects like sleeping around, trust, abuse, rape, and trauma, so the series did make a few changes.

Some of the major changes include, but are not limited to:
1. Sig in the series Sig is Rain and Sky's friend, who isn't that handsome and is there for comedic purposes. In the novel, Sig is just Rain and Sky's handsome classmate who houses Sky after he breaks up with Prapai.
2. Prapai's mom, brother and sister meet Sky as soon as they become official. Sky also visits Prapai's house and becomes close with the family.
3. Prapai's actor uncle makes more physical appearances in the novel.
4. Sky's past with his ex is explained in more detail and is a lot more graphic and traumatic.
5. The scene where Prapai confronts Sky's ex is slightly different and more graphic. The aftercare scene is also extended.
6. P'Chai makes an appearance during the confrontation scene as well.
7. Phayu is barely in the novel, appearing only a few times, while he is mentioned a lot in dialogue.
8. Rain a better friend in the novel than in the series.

Overall, while there are some changes between the novel and series. I think that once you've watched the series, there is no need to read the novel. I thought the series improved most of the flaws of both novels. While in the novels you can read and understand the character's thoughts, I found that their thoughts were a lot more immature and made their actions less wholesome. As mentioned earlier, in the series Phayu and Prapai are portrayed as mature adults, but when reading their thoughts in the novels, their thoughts contradicted the way mature adults think and ruined what could have been amazing mature characters. Even Sky was written as more selfish and less sympathetic in the novel. The only character who was written slightly better than their series counterpart was Rain, but only in Love Sky. During the series which covers Love Sky, Rain is portrayed more as stupid rather than naïve. In Love Sky, Rain is naïve, but takes better care of Sky than in the series. When Sky is sick, he doesn't just throw Prapai the keys to Sky's house. He actually didn't want to even call Prapai.

The series greatly improved the novel. However, as mentioned earlier, the climax for Prapai and Sky's love story was rushed in the series and its also very different. If you're curious or want more details about what happened between Sky and his ex, as well as how Prapai actually deals with it in the novel, I would read Love Sky... At least the last few chapters because the ending is a little different as well. However, if you are planning to read the novels, be warned that you may not like how the characters are portrayed in the novel.

~~ OVERALL ~~

Love in the Air is a series that I have on repeat. While the storyline isn't unique, the way Prapai and Phayu show their love for Sky and Rain is really something to watch. Also their chemistry is amazing. Don't worry too much about the storyline and just watch for their chemistry. I swear you won't be disappointed. Also don't worry about reading the novels. It's not worth it.

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