A successful artwork

This short film is very interesting: three couples of actors were given the same script and setting. According to a member of the production team, there were also three different directors. I recommend watching the complete version of this short film as I believe leaves a bigger impression overall.

The message "love and attraction can happen and exist between two people regardless of their gender" was portrayed very well, probably in the best way I've seen in any film or show. All the characters also had the exact same gender-neutral names in each version.
The actions of their characters, their attitudes and their interactions with their partner also change in each version, and I really appreciated that as opposed to them being exactly the same. After all, people are never the exact same as someone else: our gender identity, our life and our feelings have an impact on our personalities and even our identities, so it made sense for each couple to live the same event slightly differently. I believe this expresses even better how feelings might differ depending on the person, but that doesn't make them any less real for the people who experience them.

I don't want to talk more in detail about this short film simply because I believe it deserves to be watched at least once. It's less than 20 minutes long overall, so I highly recommend giving it a try!

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Lacks substance

At first I dropped this series after watching the first half of the first episode, because it didn't grab my attention at all. Later on I chose to pick it back up to see if I could give it another chance.
Here is what I believe saves the series:
- The characters are cute enough. Not only Dee and Knight, I'm talking about the secondary characters as well. The atmosphere of chaos that lives in the office starts to feel like home in a short while and while there's lack of depth for everyone, they're all somewhat endearing.
- There's some solid LGBTQ+ representation, with a trans woman who isn't used as a comic relief (and even gets her own romance) and characters who actually identify as gay rather than going for the "I only like you" route.
- The story seems to carry a message overall, which would be to respect other people and their wishes, and not try to get in their way, even when you believe you have good intentions.
- Gameplay and Folk are cute enough to deserve the attention of anyone who wants to watch a BL even just for the mlm ship.

This being said, this series suffers from pretty big flaws that might make many viewers give up: the terrible plot, terrible characterization/introspection, and awful pacing.
The plot is... there, I believe, but it's pretty confusing. Some problems that are introduced in the beginning don't seem to be a big deal in the long run; on the other hand there are other problems that are only introduced toward the end and then quickly resolved. The whole time I had no idea what did I have to worry about.
The characters are all flat, main characters included. There is some personality sprinkled here and there, but the final result looks more like a bunch of caricatures than actual characters with a decent depth. For the same reason I wasn't able to enjoy the romance as much as I wished to: the feelings of their characters, their thoughts and their background are all too foggy or shown too little for me to actually get into it.
Finally, the pacing: it was unbearably slow most of the time and I had trouble keeping up with what was happening because I got distracted multiple times. Some endless scenes could have taken much less screentime and still work, some others would have used more time to be properly shown.

Can't bring myself to recommend this series unless you have nothing better to do.

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The romance saved the series for me

I finished the series in the span of 3 days. While the plot was very disappointing, the romance was what kept me watching until the very end. The love story between the two main characters also takes up the majority of the series, way more than the plot, so I believe it's enough to make the rating higher overall.

Starting from the plot: it's definitely the weakest part of the series. It's supposed to be about the son of a mafia boss, but to be honest I kept forgetting about it - the characters only seemed a bunch of rich people who use guns from time to time. It's never clear what are Nuengdiao or Palm's feelings about this "business" either, whether they don't believe it's a big deal or they're just convinced that they're "the good mafia". Another reason why it was hard to keep in mind the "mafia" aspect of the story was the complete lack of organization and proper use of resources in the group: where are the bodyguards? Where are the security systems? This sloppy depiction and lack of care for the theme forced me to suspend my disbelief in front of several situations.
The plot itself suffers from a similar problem: it was neglected to the point that it looks more like a draft. There were many situations that could have been easily solved or avoided based on the premises, but they just happen anyway, which made the story frustrating to keep up with. There are even instances where the characters seem to actively avoid solving the problems just to let the story last longer. The events were extremely predictable, so the lack of proper action and the plot holes did nothing but annoy me even more.

The romance, on the other hand, was very fun and sweet. I liked how Nuengdiao and Palm started off with a rather cold relationship forced by their circumstances, but then gradually warmed up to each other. The main conflict for them was about their feelings getting in the way of their duty and vice-versa, and seeing this theme being used so thoroughly was a joy for me! I really like the bodyguard trope and I was hoping for something like this. Both Palm and Nuengdiao are far from being perfect: they make mistakes and hurt each other, but it's all backed up by their inner conflicts, fears, and desires, so nothing ever felt out of place for either of them.
The relationships between characters overall were well detailed too. Ben and Chopper in particular have their own inner conflicts and desires and they're all portrayed properly on the screen, but Nueng and Palm's parents were also great characters in their own right. The acting was pretty good, but I especially enjoyed the performances from Phuwin and Perth.

In conclusion, I believe that one might like or dislike this series based on what do they look for in a BL. If you're looking for an interesting and well-written plot, then this is absolutely not for you. If you're looking for a romantic love story with some action sprinkled in, then this might be just right!

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One of the best sequels, possibly...?

Most sequels usually have a main flaw. They either try to replicate the exact same elements as their prequel (and they end up becoming a worse version of the exact same story), or they let go of the elements in the prequel too much, to the point that both the setting and the characters are completely unrecognizable.
I believe that Utsukushii Kare/My Beautiful Man found the perfect middle ground: it didn't forget about its origins, but at the same time it's able to bring the story forward naturally. I know that this sounds like the bare minimum, but it's so unusual I couldn't help being amazed by it.
Kiyoi and Hira's story continues from where it was left and we're allowed to see them adjusting to their life together, among many doubts, attempts and even failures, all while they explore their individual ambitions and dreams. I loved the fact that while this is a sequel where the two are finally a couple, it doesn't mean that their relationship has magically become perfect, but at the same time the change between this show and its prequel is visible.
The acting was as great as before, if not even better, and both the music and the silence were used well. I also liked how the story alternated different sides of the life of the two protagonists.

A must-watch for anyone who loved the original "My Beautiful Man" series. I recommend watching that first if you haven't yet!

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A victory is a victory

I watched this movie for the first time a couple years ago. I remember liking it a lot, but I wasn't sure if it was just because it's one of the first BLs I watched, or because it was actually good.
Now that I watched it again I can confirm that, yes, I loved it.

- First of all, the story mainly revolves around marathons and I appreciated the fact that they didn't just use it as an aesthetic. It might sound obvious, but I've seen way too many movies and dramas where they start with a theme, only to put it aside and turn the story into something entirely different. Here the characters run all the time, make plans about marathons, worry about training and taking proper care of their bodies, all without neglecting the romance.
- Secondly, the main characters were great. Both the actors did a very good job portraying them - Han Se Jin in particular shines at all times, he did amazing and he made me want to watch other productions where he's part of the cast. Since Sang Ha and Jin Won are so different I was worried that the romance between the two would feel forced in some way, but instead I believe it was paced pretty well. Seeing Jin Won slowly but steadily warming up to Sang Ha and then caring for him and wanting him by his side was very satisfying. The problems they had were not the usual annoying couple misunderstandings or lack of communication either.
- There was no time wasted, at ANY time. Every single scene felt important for the sake of the plot or the character introspection. One could argue that the ending could use some more screen time, but to be honest I'm satisfied.

This one will stay in my heart and I'll probably end up considering it a classic as time goes by.

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Cute and uneventful

The main charm of this BL was the fact that the relationship between the two main characters develops in a very organic way, which is something that can't be found easily in this genre.
The story is about a young man who becomes a new intern in a company and slowly gets to know his team manager. There's no pre-existing hate or love between the two, no incredible connection or inconvenient situation that forces the two of them together other than them being in the same workplace. It's common, I could even say it's realistic, and I loved it. I also greatly appreciated the fact that they're both interested in men from the get-go and there's no trace of the annoying "I don't like men, I only like you" trope that can be easily found in many BLs. Seung Hyun and Jong Chan get close to each other slowly but steadily, make clumsy mistakes and learn to communicate their feelings, but most importantly they aren't just satisfied with being together: they actually put some effort in getting to know each other and letting themselves be known.

The story mainly revolves around their job and little more than that, so I wouldn't call this a slice-of-life exactly, although the overall vibe definitely fits that label. It's also mostly uneventful, so whoever is looking for an intense and dramatic love story might want to watch something else.
It's a short series (each episode is about 15 minutes long if we don't count the opening and the ending themes, so you can easily finish watching in a couple of hours) and it might be a good choice if you're in the mood for binge-watch something cute and light.

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Beautiful love

I finished watching this drama yesterday and I'm still so full of emotions for it. This review will most probably be biased, but I'll do my best to express myself clearly.

First of all, the story is pretty good. The main elements of the plot are nothing that hasn't been seen or told before, but I believe that whoever wrote the episodes did a wonderful job in arranging all of it in a beautiful way. The pacing is great for the majority of the series, there are no moments that felt empty or unnecessary for the sake of the story. I'm giving it a lower score because of some elements that I didn't find very satisfying, mainly the way some things seemed way too convenient (like some characters arriving to the scene conveniently early or conveniently late without proper reasons behind it) and some facets of the story that I believe deserved to be explored better, or at the very least explained further.

The actors all did an amazing job in what they did. No character felt out of place or stiff, and all of them were relevant in their own way, which is always satisfying to see. Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing were absolutely amazing and I loved any of their moments on the screen, both individually and together. Their relationship with each other blooms beautifully and I was in awe most of the time. As someone who watched multiple BL before, I feel confident enough to say that this could easily be classified as BL rather than a bromance: even without kisses or confessions, these two seemed so blatantly and hopelessly in love with each other that calling it a bromance would be an understatement.

I have not watched many dramas of this genre before, and most of the time I tend to drop them for one reason or another, but this time around I was invested all the way through and I ended up watching multiple episodes in a row. Word of Honor captured my heart, broke it in half and healed it back multiple times, but it was an adventure I really enjoyed. It became one of my favorite series and I recommend giving it a try!

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The ending made me raise the rating

While I felt like the series could have used more time to better show its multiple elements (everyone's characterization, the romance between Yudam and Dongbaek, Denis' overall situation and feelings, the details about the curse, etc.), I also feel that the time this series actually had wasn't used properly.
Every episode lasts about 15 minutes, yet 5 minutes are always spent for the opening sequence, a very thorough summary of the previous episode and the next one. When I say "thorough" I really mean it: I feel like one could easily just watch half the episodes (the even numbered ones) and not miss anything about the plot. The remaining 10 minutes of each episode are used showing the actual story, but the pacing is way too slow for the time an episode has: I often felt like I was watching multiple snippets of a much longer drama. I believe that they could have done a better job picking what was worth showing and what wasn't.

The only redeeming quality of this drama is the fact that Min Yudam and Seol Dongbaek make a very cute couple, one that made me sob out loud as I watched the last episode. That's the only reason why I would recommend this drama: if you're looking for a solid plotline that is properly shown, this is not for you.

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Why am I feeling so tired...?

I started watching for two reasons: the presence of Choi Siwon as one of the protagonists (I never saw him in a drama before) and a short clip of John Jang and Park Ji Wan (Park Yeon Woo and Son Hwa Ryung) from the show. I also liked the premise enough, but unfortunately things didn't go as smoothly as I hoped.

This show has two main weaknesses: it tried to use certain tropes and elements of the story way too much, to the point that it got very boring, and at the same time it introduced multiple interesting themes that could have been explored more but ended up being set aside.
The love story between Yeo Reum and Jae Hoon could have ended in the span of the first few episodes (after a few fixes here and there), but instead the writers tried to drag it for longer, which made the series oddly tiring for me to watch. Any kind of obstacle that comes between the two main characters doesn't feel threatening to their love in the slightest (not Han Ji Yeon, not Kang Chae Ri, nothing at all), so it ended up feeling as entertaining as watching paint dry. I was half-hoping that this long wait could be useful for the two of them to actually mature, but that wasn't the case either.
The show actually introduces multiple themes that could have been explored better: not only the environment behind the production of a reality TV show, but also eating disorders, mental illnesses, past traumas, relationships with family and colleagues, and so on. All of these themes ended up being neglected in favor of the boring main plotline, so I couldn't help feeling robbed in the end.

Like many others both in the comments and in other reviews, the only reason why I didn't regret watching this drama and why I'm giving it such a high score is the unexpected couple of John Jang and Park Ji Wan. John Jang went through a beautiful character development, and Ji Wan's character also got to show multiple sides of her character. That, combined with the lovely plot they got, turned them into the most interesting part of the entire drama. I wouldn't mind watching the series one more time just for their moments.

Overall, I have mixed feelings about this drama. It was entertaining and I was able to finish it, but I didn't enjoy myself all that much. I only recommend watching in case you don't have anything else to watch at the moment.

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A lovely quarantine-themed series

I don't have much to say about this series, other than the fact that it was absolutely lovely in all its aspects.
The story is very simple, but it's also shown in about one hour in total (every episode is 5-10 minutes long and there's 10 episodes) and no time was wasted at any moment. The characters were defined very clearly and got very good characterization, all through the dialogues they have with each other through video-calls, with very few exceptions.
The actors all did an amazing job as well. I've heard that this series was filmed with phones, which makes it even more impressive. Everyone seemed natural and I got really invested in the main characters and the development of their romance. I was afraid that the two protagonists would not fit with each other as a couple, but in the end they seemed to have great chemistry and I loved to see their moments together. I also really liked the mix of Japanese and Chinese.
It's easy for very short series like this one to feel rushed or like something is missing somewhere, but there was no issue like that in here. It surely won't keep you on the edge with loads of angst and drama, but I believe that this is also its main charm: since there isn't any dramatic event in the entire series, it's very good for whoever has an hour to spare and wants to watch something cute and relaxing.
I strongly recommend watching it!

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Cute overall

First of all: if you watched the first episode and you're considering dropping the series altogether because of how the main characters seem to be like, please consider watching a couple more episodes. At the beginning I was actually considering dropping this series because of how Bai Lang seemed too spoiled and childish, while Xun An seemed too grumpy and cold - a combination I saw too many times in romantic series, I'm afraid. The story and the introspection of the characters do a marvelous job at portraying both of them much better in the following episodes.

This series was pretty cute, and I mostly appreciated the original take on both the plot and the character introspection. The main characters have both their own emotional problems and ghosts of the past, but at the same time this isn't one of the usual "who needs therapy when you have a boyfriend?" kind of situation. The slow but steady development of the relationship between Bai Lang and Xun An was beautiful and I enjoyed it very much. Also, although this is more of a personal preference, I really appreciated how the problems between the two weren't the usual misunderstandings and "let's just disappear and have a very long time skip" sort of problems that BLs use way too often, but rather problems that might occur to a real couple.

Unfortunately I can't say the same for the secondary characters. I feel like the writers tried to include too many stories in the same series, which only resulted in frustrating, barely-there side plotlines. There was a lot more to show and tell about Qing Tian and Alex and their story just left me wanting more; as for Da/Xiao A and the hockey player, I'm still wondering who thought it was necessary to include their romance in the first place.
I also didn't really like how Qi Ran's character was introduced in the story. I feel like the production team worked hard to show us his character and his past with Xun An at the best of their possibilities, but I was completely unable to enjoy it - if anything, I felt bored.

In conclusion, I'd say that it was a very cute watch, and the actors played their roles very well. Although it's far from being one of my favorite BL series, I'd recommend watching it once if you're looking for something romantic and with the right amount of drama.

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It touched my heart

When a drama touches my heart and makes it flutter for its protagonists this much, I'm not able to stay too objective about it. This time in particular, I had very low expectations and was ready to feel bored while watching, yet my opinion was turned upside-down by the end of the first episode.
The relationship between Amagi and Takara is sweet and quiet, and the drama focuses on how the feelings they have for each other slowly change and adapt to their day-to-day life as boyfriends. At the beginning of the story they just like each other from a distance, and they even seem okay with just watching each other from afar and not getting involved with each other more than the bare minimum - even the confession and their decision to start dating seem to happen because of a lucky slip of the tongue. They're not used to express their feelings or even communicate properly with a romantic partner, and they're not even used to being loved like that either. Include the fact that they're both teenagers and you're bound to obtain a story with multiple trial and errors, misunderstandings, and clumsiness when it comes to a romantic relationship. The personalities of both characters were portrayed clearly and I believe that the acting was quite good as well; even though I usually hate misunderstandings and miscommunication in any kind of story, this time it didn't feel annoying at all, because it had a point.
I also really like how Japanese dramas in particular tend to leave a lot of room for introspection and inner thoughts. There's a lot of that in T&A and I loved it.
There is a couple of secondary characters that stood out more than the others, but there was no room for them other than to function as support for relationship advice or devices to stir up things, so I don't have much to say about them.

If you don't like slow dramas and you're looking for an exciting story, this is probably not for you. Other than that, all I can say is that this became one of my favorite BLs.

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Not enough going on for my taste

Story-wise, this series has good potential to be interesting: rivals-to-lovers tropes tend to be very exciting since they usually start with mutual respect (even when it's reluctant!) and it leaves room for character development and introspection.
In this case, the writers decided to neglect that potential entirely. I was hoping that the series would get better despite that, but instead it felt like the story never developed a distinct flavor. Most events happened without me having much of a reaction, simply because they felt like they were meant to fill up space and nothing else.
The actors were decent, I'd say, but the characters weren't explored and their relationships were barely portrayed. Shu Yi is supposed to be a very close childhood friend of Zheng Wen and Yu Xin, but judging on their scenes together I'd barely consider them acquaintances; there are a couple moments of them teasing each other that are probably meant to show that they're close, but these elements are way too inconsistent to amount to something.
Unfortunately, the relationship between Shu Yi and Shi De is also damaged by this. I don't want to give further details and risk spoiling anything, so I'll just say that the chemistry was nowhere to be found.
The finale was also extremely unsatisfying. It didn't feel like an ending at all, and what's worse is that, since I've seen the teaser to the second season, it made me lose all the interest I had in this series.

I might be biased because of the high rating, but to be honest I expected much better. I'm glad to see that this series reached its ideal audience, I guess, but to me it felt flavorless, which is quite bad when compared to the multiple amazing Taiwanese BLs out there.

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Much better than the series

After watching the series and feeling awfully disappointed, this special episode was a breath of fresh air. Time-travel to the past version of oneself isn't a trope I like at all, I usually avoid it, but they managed to use it in a cute way that somewhat gave me relief from the bitterness I felt over the main series.
The plot itself isn't anything special, but it works for a single episode like this one. The characterization, the chemistry AND the acting felt way better in every aspect, so much that I wondered if the production team is the same or if they changed it for this one special episode. The music is the same as the rest of the series, so while it's not great, it feels like an actual sequel and not like its own thing.
It almost made me wish that the main series was about Li Gong and Ze Shou in high school.

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Unfortunately, nothing stood out

I was able to finish the series and I found some parts of it cute, but other than this, I found too many flaws for it to be worth recommending.

- The premise of the show is cute, but is drowned by other plotlines very quickly, and by the end I wondered why did they bother with the couple assignment trope to begin with.
- Speaking of plotlines: there's so many, way too many for a six-episodes drama. There could have been hope if they gave up on one or two of them, or if they had more episodes to better tackle them, but unfortunately this is how it is. As a result, the different plotlines are introduced but never properly explored, so it really felt disappointing overall.
- As I said, some parts were cute. Unfortunately though, the chemistry never seemed to bloom at any time in the story (mostly because the excessive plotlines I mentioned above DIDN'T LET IT), and even the feelings between the two protagonists seem to develop in a weird way. I'm not saying that they should be all about their romance at all times, but I felt like there wasn't enough of them, which is a huge flaw for what is meant to be a romantic drama.

I really can't recommend this drama because it feels like a draft, rather than a finished project. Nothing stood out enough to me to make it memorable, except the fact that it was so messy and unsatisfying.

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