Plus & Minus (2022)

A Fiery BL Romance between Lawyers

Overall, I thought this show was quite creative and I quite enjoyed it (in spite of the crappy writing near the end of the show starting from episode 8).

Positives
- The co-stars did a great job conveying the feelings of their characters.
- The first and second episodes were hilarious. I enjoyed Zheng's plan for rejecting blind dates.
- Episode 12 was well-written from the dialogue to the story to the setting, etc. It was likely the series' best episode by far (aside from Episode 13 (the special/extra)).
- Episode 13 was very enjoyable. I especially appreciated Zheng's character growth in the episode. It was funny and added a comical aspect to the show that bumped my rating from 7.0 to 7.5.
- Lots of skinship/kissing/contact. You see this a lot in Taiwanese BL but it is always more enjoyable compared to JBLs and KBLs as they tend to do away with much of the skinship.
- Great acting from the fathers of the co-stars. Especially appreciated the supportive nature of Fu's Dad.
- The story was good, made sense and was decently enjoyable.
- The music was catchy and well-suited to many scenes in the series. Opening theme was quite good too.

Areas for Improvement
- Chemistry was weak for the side couple (Kato Yuki and Jian Yingze). Did not enjoy their relationship as much as the main co-stars. Did not like that it felt like Yuki forced Jian into a relationship either; seemed forced and was too fast. Yuki was far too aggressive. This was unrealistic writing.
- As others have pointed out, the lighting in the camping episode was very off. It made it hard to watch.
- The owner of the bar was a bad character cliche. Did not enjoy her character though I thought she did a good job partly getting Zheng and Fu to realise they ought to be together.
- The sister did not have much of a role to play in anything besides the first few episodes. She deserved more as a female character in the show.
- I think the flashbacks were good for adding context to the show especially when it comes to how Fu's love for Zheng started but I think it lacked a lot of development. It was not developed well enough for us to see how Fu actually came to love him.

Suggestions?
- The side couple was unnecessary. It felt like they did it to only increase the show's screen time (same goes for the break-up).
- The break-up felt unnecessary because it was based off of a cliche and did nothing to make the show more enjoyable; another fight/argument between the two would've been better if they were looking to implement conflict.
- The support characters could've played more important roles in the story, they were largely quite 2-dimensional.
- Could have added more flashbacks that focused on Fu's growing love for Zheng; perhaps the 18th birthday was the largest contributor but it was not good enough for me.

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Where’s the Sizzle?

Just my opinion, there’s no chemistry unlike Beloved in House I Do.. They tried to correct the formula with the main pair falling in love early on. But the problem is the main pair’s chemistry is just not there….
The most interesting among the main actors for me is Yuki. With his long luxurious locks and sweet smile, He has this quiet lovable charm like that of Shi Lei. But where is his Yu Zhen? Or the confident mature shop owner, Yan Zhao? I’m sad to say that his Jian Ying Ze has little redeeming value except for his daughter. I wanted to ship Yuki to Fuli Gong.

With the soundtrack similar to Beloved, I kept missing Shi Lei and Yu Zhen. And this is not good for a series if I am thinking of another one

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Positive multiplied by Negative is equal to Negative

Each show has its own pros and cons, some overcome it but some don't. Just like how Plus & Minus started up in a good run but began to stumble in the middle and failed to re-sprint in a recovery state.

A BL roaming around the field of law is quite fresh yet the storyline ruins the chance of it to be unique and memorable. The vibe has a lot of similarities to the previous BLs I’ve watched such as Beloved in House: I Do and HIStory 4: Close to you, that loses the spark of the show to cater its own impact. Nevertheless, one thing I’m grateful for this show is by reuniting some of the prominent characters from the other famous Taiwan BLs. Seeing them made me reminisce about their own story from their respective shows.

Connecting the title to the two couples, I must say that Plus goes to the main one and the Minus goes to the second pair. The lack of chemistry between the side couple and the nuisance acting along with the baby girl is a cringe. I skipped their scenes since it mostly distributes an uninteresting flow of story.

Fortunately, the main couple saves it but it isn't enough to save the whole show. That accidental kiss on the sofa was the only romantic scene I adore from them and the rest are pure plainness. The downfall of the show starts on EP07, all episodes prior to this one are good ones. Then I began to get really bored of the later episodes. Nevertheless, the finale was fine. Helding a wedding ceremony is a good execution not only for romance but also for showcasing the legalization of same sex marriage to their country, Taiwan.

Ending this with a positive statement that the Plus and Minus pendant is so cute!

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Cheesy, Slow & Stupid

The biggest problem with this series is that nothing ever happened! The few times an attempt was made at some type of drama it simply fell flat.
The actors may have been good, I can't really say, because they were not given much to work with. I didn't feel any real chemistry between them and the love making scene was slow and awkward - with the worst ever music, I think they tried to use the music to make it more passionate, but it really made the scene worse.
There was no note worthy music throughout, the child actress was not really cute and appealing... but...
The worst was simply a poorly written, overused ideas script.
I also personally did not really care for one of the main leads, personal preference, you know.
The secondary couple was also very weak, with nothing really happening, and drama was over some old clothes that got donated... really?
No rewatch value for me, I barely made it through the first time.

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