I liked it

Gaya Sa Pelikula is a good BL, I think, because it manages to show that it cares about gay people and their experiences, their stories. This isn't a series for a female, straight audience to thirst after and swoon, but rather the story of two people who could exist irl and have very real issues. It wants to send a message, and I appreciate it for that.

The acting is great. The two main actors are incredible together, they both show such vulnerabilty and emotion that I almost cried a couple of times. They make you feel for both of their characters. It also felt very natural when they were together, their interactions as a couple were relaxed and seemed improvised (idk if they were though). I'd also like to point out that the actor who plays Vlad has such beautiful, expressive eyes. That's it that's the tweet.
The secondary characters are good as well! Anna especially is my favorite, she's supportive and amazing but also has her own problems that she's dealing with. And the sister.. well she's quite messy tbh but she's funny regardless.
The music is on point. I'm adding a few of these songs to my playlist. The one for the dancing-in-the-living-room scene? Loved it
This series has an overall chill, cozy feeling about it - it's simple, it's natural, and most importantly it's real. Karl's fear is real. I liked that.

The reason why I'm giving it a 7 is one I'm happy to have seen other people bring up - the preachy-ness. This series wants to send a message, yes, but I think it's quite clumsy when doing so. There's no subliminal messaging, no subtext, no 'show-don't-tell' (not in general, at least). They don't let the audience come to those conclusions themselves - they force-feed them to you in case you didn't catch them. Vlad in particular got on my nerves at the beginning lmao, like "I don't want to be the plot device that triggers someone else's sexuality crisis" what is this?? Who talks like that?? I've said he sounds a little bit like a Twitter essayist and I stand by that.

Read More

An 8 for the sheer rewatchability of it all

This was so cute. Also, were they hinting at a sequel with the best friend and the mystery (potential?) love interest? That was random if they weren't.

I couldn't stand the music, I'm sorry, every time that lady started singing I just wanted to scream. Idk why, it's the first time I find the music so distracting and jarring. I don't think I've ever rated the music so low.

The acting was ok! I liked it. The two main leads were great onscreen together, you could feel the tension - especially at the beginning. The guy playing Dong Wook also had such expressive eyes, they were so beautiful. I think I commented on one of the episodes that he reminds me of a deer, and I stand by that. They're both so pretty.

The story was a little bit over the place. With only eight episodes, each no longer than 20 minutes, they should've stuck to a simpler storyline, without so much drama and turns (as I've said countless times: go the Our Dating Sim route!! Have barely any plot and embrace it!! It can be done well!). The start was too slow, and the ending felt too rushed, like they wanted to finish things up neatly and it just didn't work. There was also a LOT of misunderstandings and miscommunication throughout the series, and it was so frustrating to watch. And they were SO dramatic ('Get out of my house or I'll kill you'? Bro? Please chill, I beg you).

Ugh. I had such a good time watching, though. The good episodes were really good (and the bad were just... annoying I guess? Not bad enough to drag the score down too much). I'd rewatch this series, it's funny and entertaining overall. And I'll always be a sucker for short series, like 8 20 minute-long episodes? Yes please, I'll watch it all in a single evening.

Read More

Really really enjoyable - but had some 'wtf' moments

I started watching this one back in October, left it on-hold for three months, and finally finished it. Lessgo

The good

- Aoki is an adorable protagonist. He's quite quirky, and the actor who plays him can border on too over-the-top sometimes, but he's so cute and sells it amazingly well. His performance is very funny and animated, I really liked it. He's also incredibly kind, and thoughtful (almost paranoic lol), and always looks out for others over his own well-being. He treats women with RESPECT (love him for that), he's hard working, upbeat and so likeable overall. I want to be friends with him so bad
- Hashimoto is also a godsend. What a great friend oh my god, I love her, I'm obsessed - she was always encouraging Aoki, while dealing with her own feelings, and was super nice to everyone without being a pushover (honestly, those slaps had me fucking dying. She's a queen).
- In that same vein, Aoki and Hashimoto's friendship is everything I want in this life. They are so relatable, add me to their groupchat please.
- Hashimoto and Aida's relationship - I am obsessed. At one point I liked them more than the main couple, can you believe that? It's just so natural and banter-y and they tease each other so much and it's so fun to watch.
- Aoki in a dress and a wig. Need I say more? Bro was looking drop-dead gorgeous

The 'wtf'

- Ida's character is kind of... all over the place. He's not connected to his emotions at all, which is *fine* (he could be ace, for all we know), but the way he leads Aoki on at the beginning is not nice. If you're not sure about how you feel about a person, don't date them to see if you find out - that's so cruel, even if you don't intend it to be. I think him and Aoki needed to communicate more, they are very different and that causes multiple misunderstandings throughout the series (the hand-touching, for example).
- Them breaking up in the last episode was just not it. Or, at least, if you want me to ship them and want them together. From what I saw, Aoki was way too paranoid in their relationship and Ida was too nonchalant, there was a gap there and they weren't seeing each other's perspectives. I agree with Aoki that they weren't even dating, he was right to be upset about that - as I've mentioned, you do not date people just because you 'might' like them.
- They forgave the homophobic teacher way too fast. I'm not a violent person, so the way his drunk ass would have gone flying into the river or the nearest dumpster if I were there is kind of out of character for me. But oh well. Have fun drowning I guess

There's some amazing episodes in this series. The first two were incredible, so so funny, definitely a must watch. The rest are kind of a gamble. Who would've thought that the relationship would be my least favorite aspect of the series?

Read More

Lighthearted and funny

Not much else to say. I'd already watched this one, but idk why I didn't post a review back then - so here it is.

I love the acting in this. It looks so natural. The chemistry is great (always important) and I was smiling ear to ear whenever the main characters interacted (even the two friends, they were so cutee). They all look like they're having a blast when they're together.
It's also quite funny - I found myself actually laughing at some scenes (which doesn't really happen), which earned this series brownie points. Gao Shi De's mom was hilarious, I love herr, how she was teasing Zhou Shu Yi for being overly formal with her.

The story is basic, though. If you really think about it, there's not much going on outside their romance. The doctor-cousin was a weird character in general, he made me uncomfortable with how touchy-feely he was with his PATIENTS (who, mind you, are significantly younger than him). He was also quite aggressive for a doctor, like he was very careless when handling injured students.
Also, I think Shu Yi went from 'I cannot fall for a man' to screaming 'I like Gao Shi De' at the top of his lungs in the span of... what? A week? Idk, it felt a little bit too fast for me. We didn't even see him feel conflicted or anything.
And finally, we should address the MC's tendency to try to drown himself - can someone ban him from going anywhere near a swimming pool?? Istg in one single episode he jumped into the pool TWICE, fully clothed, and Gao Shi De had to pull him out.

I know it looks like I didn't enjoy this much lol - but I did. It's mostly vibes, no thoughts, head empty. Just go with the flow when watching this.

Read More

It's fine

I didn't know that this was an ad going into it, so imagine my surprise when the detergent appeared lmao
As others have said, it's fine, it's cute, and GeminiFourth's chemistry is as good as ever. However, the plot is basic (because it's an ad, duh), and the reticence to kiss is as frustrating for me as it was while watching MSP. Don't get me wrong, I'll take what I can get, and that half-kiss we got was fine, but I would've liked to see more.
The dancing I had to skip because it made me cringe so hard (I'm sorry, I really tried), and it was basically half the 'episode', so.. yeah.
Overall, it was cute, but not subtle at all with the advertising of the product. Still gonna watch everything GeminiFourth appear in to support them, though.

Read More

Love it

I stumbled across this series by accident, because it was recommended to me on YouTube. I decided to watch the first episode after seeing how short it was, and after that I watched the second one, too.
I loved it.
This series has a quality that I greatly appreciate, and that is its naturality. It's grounded, realistic and very normal, which is not something a lot of series dare to be. It portrays two characters that could be someone you know - they have a history together, they have an existing dynamic, and exist in a preestablished setting (that we, as viewers, are not familiar with). They mention their families, but not in an info-dump-y sort of way, but rather in a way two best friends would - they already know their families, so why would they have to explain further? The viewer is not given that information, and it's okay, because it's not the focal point of the story. We simply have happened to meet them at this point in their life, and that's the extent of the 'lore'.
The acting and how it's filmed is refreshingly natural (as I've already stated), sometimes so much so that I would feel awkward because it felt like I was intruding in two real people's intimate moments. The dialogue flows easily, and it doesn't feel scripted - it's random, it's comfortable, and it feels realistic.
There are no crazy plot points, no mafia bosses or CEO-employee shenanigans, no past trauma, nothing. This is a story about two people that are completely average, do average things (like go to the military, or receive pre-made food from their mom) and just like each other. This is it.
The shots are slightly shaky, lingering and unpretentious - they make you feel as if you're watching the scene in real time in the same room as the characters. The music is noticeable, but discreet, and fits the vibe of each scene.
This series overall reminds me of SKAM Norway - the dialogue that feels like improv, the slow and drawn-out scenes, the focus on the character's emotions rather than the plot itself -, which is a compliment, by the way.

The only thing I could point out that I didn't like as much as the rest would be the conversation that they have in E2. I feel like they could have cut it and we would have been fine. I liked the first episode because it didn't explain much of their background, or their relationship, and that's what made it so realistic (people don't walk around telling their backstories to each other, especially when they're close friends, just because the viewer isn't aware of them). However, E2 felt the need to fill in some blanks, and had Jae Sung explain a bunch of anecdotes to his partner, whom was probably already familiar with them and didn't need to be reminded. It also doesn't seem right that they didn't talk about them in those two months before Jae Sung went to military camp - they had so much time, what happened there?

Despite that, I still love this series. I wish they would give the characters the chance to evolve and interact a little bit more in a new season, or episode, or whatever. I'm amazed that they could captivate me with less than 20 minutes of runtime.

Read More

Charming and light, but realistic enough to stay grounded

Words cannot express how much I love this series, but I will try to explain nonetheless.

What I liked:

- The ACTING. I was miserable after watching Bad Buddy, because I couldn't find a series that could compare or even come close to it, and MSP came to save the day. GeminiFourth (TinnGun) are great actors, and more importantly, they have amazing chemistry - as a result, even the scenes that I would normally find cringe come off as endearing and fun. I mostly appreciate the heavier scenes, where their acting abilities truly come to light. If you want to see more of that, I would recommend Moonlight Chicken, as their story is more dark and grounded than the one in MSP.
- Dedicating a second bullet point to their chemistry because I just can't talk about it enough. Their banter is my favorite part of their dynamic, especially when they have already confessed and enjoy provoking one another. I also like that their love language seems to be physical touch (more specifically chin grabbing lol) and acts of service.
- The music! If you check my Bad Buddy review, I stated that musical scenes usually make me cringe so bad I tend to skip them altogether. However, MSP was a happy surprise - not only were the scenes great, but the soundtrack was catchy as well. Like, I could get through all the songs and didn't really mind listening to them over and over (and, believe me, this series LOVES to rehash its best songs lol).
- Tinn's best friend was amazing and supportive, I really liked him. I've also warmed up to the actor since I've seen him in like ten different BLs, so maybe I'm biased, but I digress.
- Secondary and (potential?) third couple? Idk, I loved seeing everyone fall for each other and related to that one friend that just got no b*tches at all lmao
- Everyone had their interests! Tinn wanted to be a doctor to help people, and he liked music, and Gun liked singing but he also wanted to be able to provide for his mum. They gave depth to their characters and it made the story so much better imo

What I would change/improve:

- I understand that the actors are very young (they're my age, but compared to other BLs, where everyone is in their 20s, they are remarkably young), and that they're not going to be filming KinnPorsche 2.0 any time soon, but the lack of kissing really started to piss me off by the end. Like, they've confessed their feelings, they act flirty and go on dates, but can't kiss? The final kiss was nice, it felt natural and it was cute, but it almost didn't make up for all the slowburn and half-kisses we'd got up to that point. I was almost buzzing in my seat watching them do random stuff and thinking we would get no kiss at all. We did, but was it worth it?
- Tinn was a little bit too over-the-top for my taste sometimes, especially in the beginning. I think he improved loads throughout the series, though.

Read More

Pretty average

I can't speak for the entirety of the series since I've dropped it at the 3rd episode, but from what I've seen it's pretty mediocre. Yes, it's cute, but it's that type of cute where you can tell they're trying reallyyy hard to come across that way.
The actors are both around 25 years old, and their characters must be around 22 and 19 respectively. How come the younger character acts like an 8 year old? Yes, he's a freshman, and therefore younger than his partner, but so am I, and I have never seen anyone my age act that way. I have no problem with some cute moments, but when the entirety of the character's personality is based on being cute, quirky, and pouty like a child it really does bother me.
The length of the episodes irked me, and I don't know why, because I've watched series much shorter than that (First Love story only has 2 episodes of around 9 mins each) and loved them - but in this one it just feels like nothing is happening at all. And considering how this series only has 9 episodes, I'm just wondering, where is the story going?
I would recommend watching 'Cherry Blossoms After Winter' instead of this one, or even better, 'Our Dating Sim'. The latter is an example of how to write cute characters without infantilizing them.

Read More

How have I not watched this sooner??

So. I might be in love.
This is my first time watching a reality TV series from Korea, and while it's vastly different from the ones I'm used to (mainly Drag Race, Big Brother and Love Island), my God is it entertaining to watch.

Above all, I think the cast is absolutely perfect. They are so loveable and genuine and they look like they enjoy spending time together. They're also so different and unique and bring different talents to the table, which I enjoyed when watching them perform. They're sincere in their emotions, care for each other, and earnestly try to do better not only as individuals, but as a group - I really appreciated that.
The music is GREAT. Man, I've never been a kpop stan, but I'll be adding a lot of these songs to my playlist lol. And the choreos are super intense and engaging, and the camera work during the performances really adds to the dynamism that they exude.
Lastly, I had so. Much. Fun. I've laughed a lot watching this series, and that NEVER happens. Shows like Drag Race never hit the spot for me, that type of humor is not my style at all - but it wasn't the case here. The reactions were great. Maybe they were a little bit over the top at times, but hey, that's reality TV for ya. I'll be quoting 'You're a BIRD' and 'Take me home tonight- gimme gimme' for the rest of my life, thanks.

I've seen other reviewers mention the production company, the voting system and the editing. Being relatively new to this genre of reality TV, I honestly cannot speak on this because I didn't even know Mnet existed until like a week ago. The voting system didn't really bother me, to be honest. At first I thought it was going to be excessively unfair to the G team, but it ended up being quite balanced in the end. I have to admit, though, that some trainees were eliminated when they shouldn't have been (I'll never get over Jay nor Haruto I'm sorry), and others stayed around for an astonishingly long time (Takuto was super cute, but let's be honest, what did he even excel at?? How the hell did he get through the first round?).
The editing I did notice. The repetition and constant replays were a little bit annoying at times, and I get that they were trying to get everyone's reactions, but maybe it's not needed to hear the same fucking audio bit back to back like five times?? And I also didn't like how they left out a LOT of performances. One of the trainees called them out on this in one of the songs and honestly, I felt so bad for him (and others). Imagine working so hard and then finding out that you're not even onscreen for three fourths of the episode. I think this could be solved by either 1) reducing the number of trainees at the beginning, so that everyone can be onscreen, or 2) having longer episodes / more episodes.

But yeah. This was a great watch. I'll be watching 103227 edits of the series for the next three months, if anyone's looking for me. I'm hoping for a season 2 but idk if it's ever gonna happen.

Read More

Everyone's a red flag and we're all colorblind

So. This is the perfect series if you want to have fun, not think too much, and just watch the trainwreck happen before your eyes. It's messy, it's toxic, everyone kisses everyone at some point, and there's some punching, pushing and yelling, too. Just great.
I have to say, this is so not my usual type of series to watch. To go from Cherry Blossoms After Winter to this was such a big jump it gave me whiplash, but I digress. What I mean is: even I, the utmost fluff enjoyer, had a good time watching this. I was invested all the way through.

I generally liked the couples. NickBoston takes the cake for me, the actors were a pairing I never saw coming but they have great chemistry nonetheless. Even with how toxic they were for each other, they had me actually rooting for them at one point. SandRay is also a great pairing. They're also toxic (I'm going to overuse this adjective, apologies in advance), but there's something so natural about the way they interact. April and Cheum were my absolute favorites - I love them. And TopMew I just didn't care for. After the cheating incident, Top just lost all my respect, and I lost interest in seeing them try to mend their relationship. Also, compared to the other two couples, the chemistry wasn't as strong (in my opinion), so that was also a factor.

I think the strong point of this series is its unpredictability. You never know which couples are safe, which ones are not - who's cheating on who with whom, who is whose ex, who has old unadressed feelings, etc etc. I had no idea where the plot was going for most of the series - and I think that's ok in this case. You just enjoy the drama as it comes. It's also as if they randomly chose two of the actors' names and had them make out for every episode, which was messy but entertaining. I swear, every possible combination was tried and tested (some of them multiple times). Even my boy Drake made an appearance (and got with two different people).

However, there are still aspects I wasn't entire sold on. As I said, neither Force nor Book's acting did it for me - they didn't look as into it as the other couples. I haven't seen their other series, so I cannot say if this is a problem they have in general or if it's just here. At the end, I've probably skipped (or skimmed over) most of their scenes. As for their characters, Top became irredeemable after cheating, and Mew lost himself (and also me) with his questionable bad-boy-act. I'm not saying I disapprove of the toxicity (there goes that word again), but rather how the series wanted me to like them, to ship them. How am I going to? There's no trust between them!
Anyway. I digress.
The intimacy scenes were okay. I also skimmed over them, but that's just because it's not usually what I like to watch. So, if you like them, go ahead, Only Friends has loads lol.

I recommend this series, definitely. Not one of my favorites, but it's enjoyable and keeps you on your toes.

Read More

Cute, but disappointing and kind of messy

Okay. This is going to be a chaotic review - it's 2am right now and I just watched the entire series at once.
First off: this isn't a bad series. It's entertaining, it can be funny at times, and it's visually pleasing. With that, here's what I liked and what I didn't, in further detail.

Good:

- Both actors are incredibly good looking, especially the younger one. It might seem shallow, but to me it's one of the factors that can save or kill a series. Even when I felt like dropping the series, I kept watching because of them.
- They're also decent at acting. I skipped most of the emotional scenes (more on that later), but from what I saw, they did an okay job.
- Good chemistry! Even if I had my doubts about their dynamic, their interactions as friends were really cute and engaging.

Bad:

- This is a VERY korean series. What I mean is, it has aaall the cliché scenes, the slo-mo, the cheesy music, the 20-second long stares, the awkward dialogue. With other series it doesn't bother me as much, but this one really irked me sometimes.
- The plot. It's a mess. There are time jumps, serious family trauma that it's impossible to address properly within 7 episodes, an attempt at a motivational message about passion, and goals in life (key word being 'attempt'), a crazy aunt, a jealous friend, and I'm probably forgetting stuff. As I said, it's way past my bedtime lol
- No kiss. At all. Which I wouldn't mind if they hadn't teased it SO much - they were constantly referencing the fact that they hadn't kissed yet, but were quick to add that 'they would eventually'. Guess what, they didn't. And I'm sitting here wondering if I just watched three hours and a half of a bromance. Seriously, not even 2gether did this.
- The main lead was a bully at the beginning. Point blank, end of discussion. I hated him. I tolerated him later on, because it was that or resenting him for the rest of the series. You're telling me I'm supposed to like him, after he framed a complete stranger for s*xual assault and almost got him expelled? Was it that hard to make up an excuse as to why he was on top of him? (maybe just literally telling the f-ing truth?? He TRIPPED) Also, messing with his bow and arrows and keeping his keychain and not returning it?
Idk, not even the halo effect could save his character for me. As pretty as the actor is, his character is a jerk until the end of the series.

I would re-watch their scenes together as friends. Not much else. I'm not fond of drama (especially not this kind of drama, where people are dying and there's a baby involved and just no), so I didn't particularly enjoy that. Other than that, though, the series is quite entertaining.

Read More

Heart and Li Ming carried the entire show

To be honest, I would probably have dropped this series if HeartLiMing wasn't in it. I have nothing against the actors that play the main couple, but I just wasn't really interested in them (dramatic storylines aren't really my thing). They did have really good chemistry, though.
On the other hand, Heart and Li Ming quickly became my favourite pairing EVER on a BL series (and, mind you, I've watched a few already). Their relationship is so cute, warm and unproblematic, that I could rewatch their scenes over and over and never get tired of them. There's something comforting about a ship that doesn't have any drama in it - and the only drama that happens doesn't have anything to do with them, but rather with Heart's parents and how they treat their son.
You know what, I'm not even mad we got an angled kiss. GeminiFourth steal the show every time they're onscreen together, and they bring a lot of dimension to the characters they play. Gemini's acting is especially commendable, because he had to convey the emotions and thoughts of a deaf character, while not being deaf himself. His facial expressions were top-notch, his body language amplified, and his gestures a lot more animated, which made it very easy to understand Heart, even when the sign language wasn't translated.
Fourth is a great actor as well - he nailed the gentleness of Li Ming, his determination to communicate with his friend, and his joy every time the other managed to talk.
I love that this series took a different route than most Thai series and decided to go with a darker, more realistic tone for the story. I also liked that the two couples balanced each other out, the main couple's relationship being a lot more convoluted and messy, and the secondary couple's being mostly smooth, innocent and pure.

Read More