Lys

It's more like a series of little snapshots than a cohesive story, though I think part of that is the translation. I always appreciate anyone taking the time to translate, so don't get me wrong, but a lot of moments require you to piece things together based on context, and that might be where it gets confusing. It sort of reminds me of a student film, just little clips of two guys being sweet with each other. Nothing too intense. It's short, and you can sort of gauge early on if you can tolerate the simplistic style. I think the rating is about right.

Right? I felt the same way, that he was the only non-offensive gay character in the show. And seriously, hearing Off say that really irked me. I'm glad that isn't a common thing in BL, but I do recall in My Dear Loser having the characters say nasty things about being gay. The standard has changed a lot in a short amount of time, though. Stuff that would fly in 2017 or so would never be made today (generally speaking), but it's definitely cringe when you run into it. And same! I didn't add you for that reason, but I thought it was cool we were from the same state. ^^

Oh dear lord, SOTUS is a perfect example of that toxic, "no homo" vibe, where the *actual* gay men are almost exclusively flamboyant and predatory, while the main pairing is not only two straight guys, but also includes a guy who spends the majority of both seasons acting like they're roommates, even when they're alone. I had started it several years ago, before I was aware of what Thai BL dramas even were, and I just recently finished it. I think the love it gets is heavily tied to nostalgia and the fact that, at the time, there weren't as many options for solid BL. No hate on those who love it, but it definitely didn't age well.

I'm with you, I like toxic when the show knows it's toxic and doesn't try to pretend it's romantic. And sometimes I can excuse things because I've been in the yaoi game for so long, haha. Like TharnType, since the creepy stuff doesn't last too long. And it's a crying shame how little eastern GL there is out there, but I do have to say that in every country I've seen it, it does seem to be healthier as a rule. They get way more happy endings in western culture, for example.

Hey, not to be creepy, but we both live in California. I hope you don't mind if I add you. You seem cool. ^^

I absolutely agree that he brought a stronger angle to the story. And yeah, talent and perspective certainly isn't limited to a specific gender or sexuality, but I've discussed this before with like-minded friends and totally feel the same way. I think, and I say this as a female (not straight, but still) author of m/m stuff, that there can be a bit of a disparity between the more tropey nature of some women's depiction of gay relationships and the healthier element that Aof, and others like him, bring to the table. The novel for Bad Buddy is absolutely toxic and full of cliches. Aof took something that isn't especially original and made it feel fresh and interesting. He removed all of the crap that so many of us, male and female alike, have been wanting to see eradicated for years. To be fair, I've seen awful depictions of gay relationships from gay male authors, but in BL specifically, it seems like more voices are coming forward to break a stale trend. This is just speculation, but part of the issue might be the narrative pushed by most media and society that being gay equals misery. It can also tie into my least favorite trope in the world, the "it's okay if it's you" theme. I hate a "no homo" love story, like how is it possible to be both pro-gay romance and homophobic at the same time?

Sorry, I'm rambling now, but my point is, I think it's a combination of his own experiences and the fact that he's just a better writer and director than a lot of the people out there. I would love to see more people like him taking over the industry. We've had the doom and despair, the tragic gays, far too long. We've had the mindless fluff and the constant misunderstandings. We've had the shallow stereotypes and formulaic conflict. Change the record already. Aof is proving that he can make a solid story without falling into tired traps. I'm so glad his career is growing this rapidly.

Yeah, he's pretty great, and you can tell his actors really respect him. I have faith in what he has his hands in.

I am! Totally ecstatic, the new line up looks really promising. I feel really spoiled as a fangirl right now, haha.

Haha, I was just thinking about that yesterday, that there are people who've never even touched one. But I'm 35, so I remember. Pepperidge Farm remembers.

Right? The industry is really expanding, and it's wonderful. Fluffy school romances and dramatic relationship dramas have their place, but I want to keep up this level of variety and complexity.

Don't worry, he's in like six things in 2022. I would like to see him continue playing gay/bi roles, but I watch anything he's in, because I love him. Might be tough for me to get through this fluffy romcom he's in, but... for him, I'll do it. Heh.

Oh, I didn't know he was dating Godji! That's really cool. It looked like he was dating a different girl from the pictures both he and she had. But dating a trans woman doesn't make a person bisexual or gay. She's a woman, not a man, meaning Mike is proven to be attracted to women. If he came out as bi, awesome, but otherwise we shouldn't assume or potentially out people. I see a LOT of rumors and speculation in the BL fandom, and it bums me out, but I'm curious to know if that really is a source of conflict between Mike and Toptap. At any rate, it's their business in the end.

Do you have a source for that? People like to say things like this without ever verifying it, and I feel like if Mike were openly bisexual, I would have seen that everywhere. I'd love for it to be true, at any rate. That being said, I want to give Krist the benefit of the doubt. That was years ago, and I believe people can grow and change. It isn't fair to hold the past against someone who may have just needed to be educated and given a chance to mature.

Haha, they must be, because there are like 10 new ones coming out in 2022. If you add in bakery/cafe specific food shows, it's even more.

There are quite a few with shows coming up, like EarthMix, OhmFluke, BounPrem, SantaEarth, and all the ones the other people mentioned (with the exception of MikeToptap because I guess they had a falling out, sadly). There are way more, though, both current and past.

Thanks!

Lol, what?

I feel like I have to watch this because, you know, Gun. But I don't wanna. D: Actually, the brother dynamic will be nice to see. I don't know, it might not be that bad. Luke's love interest seems kind of amusing. I feel like the chemistry with Gun and his love interest is gonna be the het equivalent of the romantic high five.

My main issue with it was that he was full on ready to be with a different person and leave Oh behind, but that person didn't want him in return. They didn't set that up well, because it sounds like he's just trying to get back his plan B. Plus, the character is always chasing after things, and it feels like he'll just get bored again one day. He never does anything to prove that he won't. He even just got out of another relationship where he wasn't willing to work on it. And he can say that it's love, but there's no way to prove that. He swore he loved him before, too.

I don't know, it isn't the cheating and the mistake and what not. It's how the show presented it. He does something awful after treating his loving boyfriend like a back up, then cries when his silver medal doesn't continue to tolerate him. Then he barely makes any effort and gets the guy back because he felt guilty. The bar is mighty low if that's enough to convince Oh.

I'm not trying to crap on your feelings and opinions. Sorry if it seems that way. Your response to the show is valid, I think I'm just frustrated by how it all went down. I wish they'd put more thought into the reconciliation. Oh's willingness to forgive so easily is actually part of what pains me so much. How much will Teh get away with this time around?

I don't know, I want to believe it'll truly be a happy ending, but it requires suspending my disbelief. Teh didn't earn a second chance. Being sad and feeling guilty are the bare minimum for what he did. He didn't have to give anything up to pull Oh back to him. It just felt so unsatisfying, and it made me really sad. But I don't know, maybe if I sit on it for a while, I'll start to feel differently. I want to be able to like this season, but it just made me feel bad for Oh.

That's really good to know, thank you! It probably sounds weird that I'm so worked up about this, but this has been the worst year of my life, and I get all of my happiness from BL right now, haha. So I'm just super invested and concerned. But I'm trying to be hopeful. Crossing my fingers that the things they didn't include from the first trailer are still in the show, and I'm really glad they've added so much more to it to make it exciting.

Thank you for all of the info! I appreciate having more of an understanding of the source material. And I'm thrilled that people are loving the new trailer, because the better this does, the more likely we are to get more content like it in the future. Slice of life dramas are fine now and then, but we need more of these action thrillers!

Off said it would be 14 or 16, so I can't imagine they'd just cut it down that much after making that estimate. I wish I could remember where I saw the verification that it was 16. I feel like someone is just arbitrarily updating the episode number on here, because no one can give me a source.

Thank you for all the information! That helps me to better understand it to a degree, even though it seems they've changed so much. I really, really hope there's still a happy ending. That's the biggest thing. I saw a spoiler about why Black hates Sean, but it didn't make sense to me, so I don't know if it was accurate. If the reason is a MAJOR spoiler, though, it can't be what that person said, since that just seemed like general paranoia on Black's part.

I hope they changed things for the better, like with Bad Buddy. The novel version of Bad Buddy sounds super toxic and cringey, but the show has been emotional and amazing. I actually wonder how the suspension thing even works given the fact that Black and Sean are still supposedly friends at the beginning, aren't they? But yeah, I'll try to just calm down and wait to see how they handle things. I wanna have faith in the director, but I'm so nervous. We never get such amazing BL stories, like all that action and intrigue? I feel like I need it to be as amazing as it looks, or I might die. XD Thanks for clarifying things!