Reviews

Alliances made

Muyu arrives in time to interrupt Changhe and healer battle. He does not want host informed of Changhe’s breach inside nest. Muyu learns that his vetted team are completely loyal to him, but not necessarily to the Patriarch. He did not anticipate this and spared the guard that allowed Changhe’s entrance. Changhe made no further efforts to battle here but pointed out that those loyal to him may or may not be as loyal to patriarch. While noting this Muyu promises healer to keep her safe. The host wasn’t pleased Muyu spared the guard. Muyu is being reminded that he won’t be able to protect everyone. There is a flashback to the event where only one was to return. Changhe repeatedly told Muyu to kill him but he refused. He even accepted a blow from the patriarch. His courage and loyalty was rewarded as a singular rule breaking event and they were allowed to choose which family clan they wanted. This is how they became part of Su clan and family. Lianyue is taking rabbit to a room to finish healing. He is mocked for his interest and Lianyue tries to pass her care to Changhe. Changhe promises to kill her if that is his decision and his blade is interrupted by Lianyue’s weapon. Changhe claims he was testing to see whose blade is faster. The spared guard finds himself in a trap by Xie clan. He recieves a fatal sword blow but is told the Mu clan had already poisoned him. She is unhappy he was killed before getting more intel. The Xie’s and Mu’s agree to ally themselves against the patriarch. Changhe and uncle realize the Su clan is alone, but they also see that while currently allied, the Mu and Xie clan will turn on each other to provide a Dormant Dragon sword candidate. The Su’s can watch this unfold and strike at a more opportune time. The guard’s body is discovered and they know both clans attacked and that the sword strike gave him the kinder death. The patriarch and healer are getting ready for soul swap as the clans close in to finish off the patriarch. Muyu is left to consider how to prioritize his protection list because he is going to be tested on all fronts without his best friend backing him this time. Here I wonder if the healer will get any thoughts from patriarch about who his successor should be while their souls are interchanged. And what happens to her if something fatal happens to him while they are swapped? Should they be this confident to continue when it’s already been shown the nest is breached and loyalty is for Muyu more than patriarch?

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Detecting Domestic Delights

THIS IS WHAT I NEED!!!🩷This is my first time watching a Japanese BL (and a Japanese drama) and I am loving what they are delivering. Established relationships is my favorite trope and mystery is one of my favorite genres, so the combination of both is amazing.Starting off with plot, I like that they split the plot into two storylines: the divorce cases plotline and the main couple plotline. With the story of the divorce cases, it is a stand-alone plot, meaning a viewer do not have to watch all of the previous or future episodes of a series to understand the episode they are currently watching. With this show, a person only needs to watch this episode and the next one to understand the full storyline of the divorce case. This is helpful for the general public to easily get in & get out for a show. The main couple's story is the one where a person needs to watch all of the episodes in order to understand fully, but it is pretty simple to catch on.For this episode, it slowly introduces us to the main characters' lives and shows us what their relationship's dynamic & routine is typically like, what a typical divorce case looks like, and what lengths do they typically go through for their clients. They set up a strong foundation, so I am excited to see them play with what they set up in future episodes. As for the characters, it is giving black cat x golden retriever vibes and I love it! Hajime (Goki) has a cold, strict demeanor at work (most likely to mask his shyness & awkwardness), but he is so soft & lazy (in a good way) when with his boyfriend. It is cute that everyone in his life has a very bright personality. Kai (Rintaro) is very energetic & youthful, yet he knows when to be calm when he needs to be. They are complete opposites, yet they work really well together as they share the same determination in helping people. Seeing their domestic, healthy relationship is such a contrast to seeing the the toxicity of the couples in the divorce cases' storyline. I wonder if we will get to know their backstory later on and why Hajime hates being called "sensei" & his thing with stones. If not, I am taking Love Is A Poison (another Japanese BL) as their origin story in my head canon since their plots line up lol.Moving on to technical things, the screenwriting & the directing are great. Even though each episode is only around 20 minutes long, it is very well-paced and they made such efficient use of the short time duration. The editing & camerawork were also good. I love the difference in video quality between this show and the talk show the characters were watching. It makes the viewing experience more immersive. I also really like the music's timing & usage as it does not overpower scenes and was used to highlight scenes. Two tiny complaints that I have (which I am not going to reflect in my score since they are so minor) are the flashbacks & the abrupt editing. When they do flashbacks or visual recalls of previous scenes, I wish they have a sound effect or a visual filter that quickly indicates that this is the past. As for the abrupt editing, I felt that the way they edit few scenes is sudden by the way they quickly move onto the next scenes like the scene of Mao (Masumi) walking past the office's sign. They could make the scene more extended to give a more mysterious impact of who is this person because due to that shot being so short, I thought the person walking was Azusa (Anna) since they are both wearing blue and she was previously walking in the shot before. Another abrupt ending of a scene was the one with Kai & Hajime cuddling in bed since it would be better if they moved onto the next scene when they stopped moving rather than moving on when the characters are still in motion. Other than that, everything else was great.When I do ratings, I do not let the acting influence my score for the first 3 to 4 episodes since I need to get used to how the characters normally express their feelings. I also decided to not review Anna's (Azusa) acting since I am not used to the overexaggerated acting that is typically seen in Japanese dramas (I do not know if that is good overexaggerated acting or bad overexaggerated acting), so it would not be fair of me to rate this acting style that is very common in Japan. However, I will still comment on everyone else's acting. I have nothing bad to say about the acting quality. Everyone (including Azusa) seemed very natural. The dynamics between the characters are great & sweet. Goki & Rintaro (Hajime & Kai) gives off such great chemistry. I particularly love the scariness of Masahiro (Shohei) with the kitchen scene, the desperation of Mao (Masumi) with her talk to Hajime at the end, and the determination of Hajime (Goki) with his speech. I really love that speech as it gives off such anime vibes, but it does not look cringy at all seeing that type of scene in live-action. Also, when Mao thanked him, Hajime going back to reality and immediately becoming shy was so cute.Favorite Scene: Hajime & Kai's nighttime routine scene (so domestic!!!) and Hajime's speech to Mao (great delivery)Favorite Character: Hajime & Kai (of course lol) (I will only include the favorite character segment in my reviews in the first & last episode or whenever I decided to add or remove a character)As for the next episode, I do hope that they get more evidence as I did not expect Masahiro to be so good at knowing whenever someone is onto him. I noticed that each divorce case takes up two episodes, so here are my little predictions for what the future episodes are going to be about:Episodes 1 & 2: Typical divorce case with more intensityEpisodes 3 & 4: Seems like a typical divorce case, but with a twist to itEpisodes 5 & 6: Case that is very similar to Hajime & Kai's story like they will be reminded of their personal lives (it will probably happen in these two episodes or episodes 7 & 8)Episodes 7 & 8: Case that is very sad & might have a similar mood/emotion to Hajime & Kai's story like the main conflict will probably happen here (it will probably happen in these two episodes or episodes 5 & 6)Episodes 9 & 10: Hajime & Kai's story (not saying they are going to break up, but these two episodes will most likely focus on them or their families)I have seen dramas with these types of structure before, so my predictions are based on that knowledge.I gave this episode a 10 because I only have very minor things to complain about and everything was great & what I wanted.See you in the next episode!P.S. The ending song ("MXMM" by aoen) is so good. I was listening to it all day yesterday. It gives us a cute & refreshing sound, yet with some powerful parts. The lyrics are also sweet as it talks about having a crush on someone and you think it is a one-sided thing. Despite all of that, the love for this person is at a maximum.P.S.S. I saw some people debating whether this is a BL or not. I guess it really depends on each person' definition since some define a show as a BL if the main couple is a BL couple and others define a show as a BL if the main storyline is a BL storyline. To me, I would call it a BL since I have a feeling that the plotline with Hajime & Kai will become more significant as more episodes get released.

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didn't even dream that Keisuke & Hikaru…

didn't even dream that Keisuke & Hikaru would turn into best buds. but i am glad Hikaru realized that he was just being petty & Keisuke didn't deserve to get treated in that b*tchy way. cause Keisuke's behavior has been on the up & up - the main plus being, he is very considerate & mature in his approach to Haruka infatuation. he didn't need to be that candid, but cause he is a serious individual, he didn't want to start something if there was gonna be a repeat of his past gf's. personally i appreciate how thoughtful he is - pity he is gonna develop feelings & then not get the girl - or that's the usually the trope.... of course i would love if i am wrong & he doesn't fall for Haruka, then no harm no foul. ******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************Hikaru falling for Haruka's not shocking as i am sure he like her has always felt like the odd one out & never really fit in with the people around. feeling even more isolated cause of the cross dressing, as he not gay & usually women wouldn't know how to deal with a bf that is into that. so Haruka's automatic acceptance, her affection & warmth touched his heart. so not shocking that he has developed feelings for her.

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really wish Haruka would stop with the over…

really wish Haruka would stop with the over reaction & the shouting, especially in public setting it's freakin embarrassing. but i get this is how the FL needs to be portrayed in the J-drama 'scene' - hard to sit through personally. ******************************& not trying to talk sh*t, but with all the hoopla about make-up & being a plain Jane. the make-up is so natural i don't even notice a difference between when Haruka has got make-up on & when she hasn't. the fact her hair not in the usual ponytail also isn't that much of an improvement IMO, cause her hair is kinda flat. & get her styling is also what Japanese women wear, but it's kinda frumpy to me. i prefer her when she is her normal self. she looks like a collage student too busy to care about what she is wearing & if her hair is done, cause she is busy either studying or working at her part time job - u know like a normal, average students the world around.

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this was cute on a whole, but also a bit cliché…

this was cute on a whole, but also a bit cliché in parts & the part where Haruka goes to remind Keisuke he made a date with her on her B-day for drinks, was so cringe - it pained me physically watching that whole scene OMG - the 2nd hand embarrassment was too much for me, i had to distance myself from the screen. i just wanted her to stop OMO. ***************************************************************************************************************************************************************************but on a whole i really like Haruka's visuals (& personality) she is pretty bare faced without make-up all she needs to do is smile & she lights up, plus she is really sweet with a sunny personality. so i don't get the need to be ultra girly. not all women r into make-up, dresses & high-heels, yet they don't lack a romantic life let alone other female friends. cause ur personality is what counts, at the end of the day. but then i guess Haruka wouldn't seek-out Hikaru & then no drama. so it is what it is.

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Shadows on the Eve of Love

On the eve of vows and promises, Pin’s world crumbled. She caught sight of her fiancé entwined with her cousin, the two hearts she cherished most now betraying her in a single, piercing moment. Sorrow and anger twisted within her, pulling her into a storm of despair, while the uncle’s dark scheme silently took shape, ready to unleash damning secrets during the ceremony. Amid the shadows, Sasin’s courage shone, a daring plan to use the wedding as a veil for Saenkaew’s escape, a fragile hope flickering against looming tragedy. Yet fate struck mercilessly. Saenkaew’s father, cruel and unfeeling, barreled into their path, sending Sasin and his only son tumbling toward the brink of death. I can no longer defend Pin; she is destroying everyone around her, poor Sasin and Saenkaew caught in the chaos. That night, love, betrayal, and courage collided, leaving hearts shattered and destinies hanging by a fragile thread, setting the stage for another unforgettable episode filled with suspense and heartbreak.

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Til death do us part

Rabbit and Tang Lianyue’s battle takes a more humorous turn as she requests to be killed in a way that will let her beauty remain intact. Just when he is showing a rose that will steal all her blood, Muyu interrupts the fight and escapes with her. Even with no rest travel, Lianyue sticks with them so the battle continues. She tells Muyu to continue to the city and she will finish the fight. When Muyu suggests a mole in their midst, she leaves him to ponder if she is the one. She seems to have the same view as Changhe on being a blade for Blood River and wanting other options. The scene goes to Soul Reaper Hall where Muyu has refused a contract because the person they want killed is an upright man who looks out for the people. After his refusal, Changhe shows up and says he will take on all contracts refused by Muyu. It is the only way to keep his friend alive. They are almost to the Spider shadow nest when Xie and Mu clans again strike. They want their own candidate for the Dormant Dragon sword and when the Patriarch refuses another battle takes place. The healer watches him use his own strength to dispel a soul claiming incense that was left in the carriage. During their travels, she requested his name, and surprisingly he told her, Mu Mingci. Once made Patriarch, whoever bears the sword no longer belongs to their clan and is above all three families until their death and next Patriarch rules. His sword is the key to the entrance and there is an elaborate set of traps to gain entrance. She comments to the hunchback that accompanies them that he was poisoned rather than born with that condition. She told him the time for antidote and treatments long passed but for the small nominal fee of the entire building she could cure him. She is as shameful with her mercenary ways as rabbit is with her vanity and wanting men to acknowledge how captivating she is. 😂 These two are quite the pair.🤣 Lianyue is not a murderer and chooses to help her rather than finish the job. His only interest is the Patriarch that killed his elder. In the spider shadow nest the patriarch wants to go ahead with the soul swap and the healer says he needs time to gather his strength back before they make the attempt. While he is resting, she ventures outside the villa to note she has unwanted company. Her attacker is surprised at her skills and right when she has him trapped someone breaks her web and reveals her attacker. Changhe is there to complete his mission of taking care of the healer. This episode had interesting battles and effects to draw you into their fantastical world. I am enjoying how well choreographed they are and the accompanying music. The characters are interesting and they are taking the time to introduce you to their various personalities and relationships to weave you into their story.

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I LITERALLY THOUGHT CARDENA LOOKED LIKE REINA & GUESS WHO PLAYS HER

kishida tatsuya maybe top five sexiest sentais of all time. i think this was a cute episode. melto fulfills his niche of being the smart one here ,they all generally have something going on. banba has the most attachment to the guests of the episode which in turn gets towa involved because of their strong bond. asuna ends up having the shortest end of the sticks which sucks but i also think there isn't really much for her to do here. it also has to do with how her character+type is a bit hard to work around. she is the brauns while melto is the brains but this is a sentai show with them all being trained fighters so like none of them exactly struggle in combat unless they all struggle to show how strong the enemy is but she isn't forgotten this episode. i honestly really like her calling out that there are children in the blast zone. melto is the smart one when it comes to solving & stuff but asuna can see the big picture that people populate. it goes to how i see her having big muscles & a bigger heart ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆　　 ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ this is a rather interesing episode for ryusoulger bwcause i think this is the first time where he focus on a person that isn't turned itno a minusaur but a victim of them ,so the villain kind've takes a back+seat. they kind've compensate for this by showing how the minusaur manipulates children into weaponized human shields ,which is actually a very cool way to go about it because it again centers the victims of the minusaurs literally so it is less about the evil of the being & more the evil of the actions & effects. the princessas are okay but this is reveleaed to be a multi+p[art episode so the restraint in learning much about them works well. but with that being said it makes this episode ,just okay. on its own it is alirhgt ,nothing more.

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