Jack Frost (2023)

Kept frozen for too long but takes too quick to defrost

Japanese BLs always deliver more mature and depth storytelling to the audience, which is always been a hit. However, I felt like this show is just an average one; not too bad but not too good. At first, I thought that Ritsu was faking his amnesia since the only sequence of events he can’t remember are those he shares with Fumiya.

The ending was too rushed. Everything happened in just one episode; the reconciliation, gaining back his memories, and the conclusion. Yet, I somehow feel great that they finally decided to be back together.

For me, the best element of the show is how they showcase such alluring and hot intimate scenes. The birthday surprises prior to their breaking up scenes are just wholesome. That licking of whipped cream from Ritsu’s mouth is captivating in the sexiest way. Their voices speaking in a low tone while doing their bed scenes are perfect. I love to hear it every day. EP05 is the best among the six episodes that this show has. A BL that is short yet good enough for a quick watch.

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Can we truly start anew when our love is deep rooted in our memories?

The drama centres around love ,memory and the complexities of relationships. The story revolves around the bond between Ritsu and Fumiya which is hindered by an accident that leaves Ritsu with temporary amnesia.

Both the characters felt less developed and confused more often than not. Fumiya's decision to hide their past in hopes of rekindling their romance and still keep and create boundaries constantly while living with Ritsu made it hard to side with him. Didn't he want to start over?
Ritsu character, on the other hand, was very hazy and nebulous. His whole journey of rediscovering himself was hard to empathise with because we only know him from the few fragments of the past presented.

Though the characters were flawed, it was still a visually stunning journey. I liked how dedicated Ritsu was to his profession and how Fumiya supported him. The cinematography was good capturing the push and pull of longing and nostalgia. The acting was believable throughout.

Overall, it was a heartfelt exploration of how fragile love can be and how honesty is important in any relationship. While the character's motivation was questionable, it is still a touching story (undercooked but touching)

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Down the memory lane

Recently, my rule of thumb when rating series was whether I play mobile games while watching the series on my laptop or not and, if yes, how much do I play! Some people fast forward, I multitask! With this series I managed to avoid games until episode 4, I played for 10min and then rewatched the episode and dropped the games till it was over! I do not remember the last time I did this! This drama is a short and easy watch so dropping games must be easy, some would say! No, no,no!!! I managed to play the games through a number of Thai short movies. So....

As the series was airing, I kept reading the comments and feeds which all generally started with a highly positive notes to end up disappointed with the last episode! I do not get it! Why didn't you like this? There is a couple with amazing chemistry, some serious skinship and a compelling adult(not school!) story! So why?

Jack O'Frost tells a story of a relationship going bust and how an accident provokes a reset for it. Lack of communication, the last drop, forgotten good times...accident makes them realize what is really important and how to deal with problems; talk, talk, talk!!!

This is a beautifully filmed series: all in beige sandy colours both interiors and exteriors. The writing is superb: the story is told in flashbacks, short and to the point. Music is really nice as well though not enough to put it on my playlist. It did fit the drama but it was forgettable!

I did not quite understand the reference to Jack O'Frost a cheeky winter elf playing pranks. The story does take place in the winter and when I saw Ritsu drawing it again in the same place like in the past, I thought that they were doing "he's only pretending to have amnesia". That was just a red herring, leading the viewers down the wrong path. The story is much simpler and so much better for it!

Anyway, this slice of life romance is definitely worth your time so give it a chance!

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Not Cute Enough to Hide the Flaws

The story idea is good, but several flaws drag it down.

I get that Fumiya is trying to save his relationship with Ritsu by pretending they weren't dating... but why does he never try to start a new relationship? He keeps insisting they're just friends even when it's clear Ritsu likes him. Ritsu, on the other hand, never just guesses they were together even though it should be obvious. They live together and yet there's only one bedroom? Fumiya sleeps on the couch every day. All their clothing is in the same room, to the point that Ritsu grabs Fumiya's sweater thinking it's his own. And you expect me to believe Ritsu never got curious about that?

Their reason for breaking up is a good one if you put thought into it, but it's not executed well so it felt a little pointless. However, if the relationship was truly that strained, Fumiya wouldn't have been so unerringly in love with Ritsu anymore. Basically the two plot points don't match well for me.

Other reviews have said the chemistry is good, and yeah the two guys get along well and they didn't have a problem being in each other's space, but I'm not sure I'd say their romantic chemistry was good. Their kisses felt like a caricature of real kisses - the barest press of faces in a lip-oriented location. Their first time having sex had an awkwardly blocked hand on what I assume was meant to be Ritsu's crotch, but the lack of reaction or motion made it obviously unrealistic.

Overall, the show had some good moments and a good premise, but the execution wasn't always well done, the acting was passable, and the scenes don't entice me to want to rewatch the show.

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Well worth watching and a cut above most BL offerings.

I was totally pulled in to this depiction of mature age BL story of love and breakup.
The acting was wonderful and all the small nuanced gestures kept the feeling real. This couple have reached a rocky point in their relationship and the more conservative Fumiya calls it quits. This breakup on, Ritsu's birthday, is incredibly real and raw.

Then we are taken on their journey as Fumiya learns that Ritsu rushing out that night has been involved in an accident. Fumiya realises Ritsu has lost all memories of him and any associated with their life together. He resolves to assist Ritsu and makes the fateful decision to label himself as his roommate.

This decision seems counter-intuitive here. Fumiya has the perfect opportunity to 'reset' their relationship and regain the love. I can only surmise, as he avoids all of the 'signals' from Ritsu to form a love relationship, that he is worried that Ritsu, upon regaining his memories, will recall the ugly break-up.

Their relationship is shown in a series of flashbacks as places they have previously been to are revisited. The love and care is beautifully shown and I was very invested in their getting back together.

The writers do a wonderful job of slowly revealing the arc of their story and there is a very satisfactory and believable ending.

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Watch it DUH

I was in fact completely consumed by this show. The scenery, the acting, the storyline is just giving. I remember the agony of waiting for the next episode and when there was the last episode left and how I felt unhinged. I feel like this series probably should have been at least a 7 or 8 episode series to fully flesh out their problems but nevertheless I wasn’t disappointed. You know though what they say “ all good things must come to an end.” What heartlessness person ever came up with that? Nah I say we continue until we can’t no more. Anyways I love a good ole quiet BL. I still can’t get over how good looking Suzuki Kosuke has gotten since Takara-kun to Amagi-Kun

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A Melodramatic BL Drama

I quite enjoyed the 'Jack o' Frost' drama. I thought the drama was wonderful. I also thought the drama was melodramatic. The story was intriguing and engaging. The cinematography was melancholic. The music was lighthearted and a little moody.
All the actors acting were natural, especially the main actors. The main actors' Honda Kyoya and Suzuki Kosuke acting were natural and realistic.
There were heartwarming, emotional, and bittersweet moments from the first episode to the last episode.
In some scenes, the camera was shaky. I don't know if the shaky camera was intentional or not. If the shaky camera was intentional. Then I think I know why. I'm going to assume the reason why the camera was shaky at times was cause of their rocky relationship. In simpler terms, the shaky camera represented their rocky relationship. And with all that said, the drama ended on a good note.

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It’s been a year I haven’t heard japanese speech and in the beginning It was kinda..perplexing? But after 10 minutes I got used to it. It is my first japanese BL drama, that’s why I decided to write a review about it.
6 episodes, 23 minutes each. How could they put so much passion and meaning in just 6 episodes, while the other dramas consisting of 12 or more episodes still leave me doubting the execution and having some unanswered questions concerning the plot.This was a magnificent drama with ravishing cinematography and actors with insane chemistry.
It’s about soulmates. They had encountered even before their first meeting, which was just a miraculous reunion. This is so heartwarming! The fact that Ritsu fell for Fumiya after amnesia is significant!
Everything was so…japanese? Japanese movies are peculiar for me with their unique colour scheme, which create the atmospere and the overall mood. They used shades of blue, brown, yellow and grey and created a sense of tension and harmony at the same time. Absolutely loved it!
If you have already watched all the essentials of Thai dramas and everything you come across is just shitty leftovers, I advice you to pull the plug on hesitating and jump straight into watching this. It is easy to binge-watch but feel satisfaction and ease after.

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Beautifully filmed adult and bittersweet BL story but not exempt of flaws in the writing and ending

I liked a lot the premise of the story, with the amnesia trope at the centre of the show. It is interesting to see the couple at various stage of their relationship, as well as their behaviours before and after the amnesia plot device. The main default for me is the ending which felt a bit too easy given the context. I had some trouble to believe that they were able to move through some of their past and present issues as at the end it does not seem that the characters have evolved that much. I was clearly team Ritsu and maybe that is why I am a bit frustrated by the conflict resolution and the discussion leading to it.

The two main male leads interactions felt comfortable overall: they did not shy away from physical touches as it is often the case in the Japanese BL productions where even a simple kiss seem to be an unattainable target. It is not the best performances I have seen but they do a more than honourable job together. The secondary characters are totally transparent which make sense given their little screen time in this short length drama.

I found the soundtrack quite lovely with the heartfelt opening & ending songs and matching the overall nostalgia and wintery vibes of the series. The production value was great with some beautifully filmed landscapes scenes. I highly appreciated the artsy atmosphere with the sketches and drawings scattered all across the story.

I would recommend this to people looking for a BL story a bit different, with some real adult and bittersweet vibe but not too explicit. It is a short watch despite some flaws in the writing and its ending, so it is worth giving it a shot.

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A Simple Second Chance Love Story

Jack O'Frost is yet another Japanese series that shows you can deliver an in-depth, engaging, well written, concise story without having the largest budget or a complex plot line.

Honestly, there is really not much to the story. The drama synopsis literally tells you everything you need to know. It's a simple second chance love story between a couple that obviously still love each other and just need to learn to communicate their feelings in order to keep their relationship going strong.

We are introduced to Ritsu and Fumiya, an established couple, who appear to be in the middle of a breakup when a sudden accident happens. The way the drama starts up, it feels like we are brought in to play detective to figure out what happened that led up to the current state of their relationship, judge who was at fault for the breakup and accident, and cast our votes on whether or not we agree with how things eventually unfold. However, by the end of this I left the series understanding that both Ritsu and Fumiya are just regular flawed human beings like the rest of us. Even if you might not agree with the character decisions, you see their perpectives and understand why they make those decisions and you just root for them to work things out.

It's a simple story that is told very well. The pacing was great and chemistry between the leads was good as well. I had one small nitpick that I thought was a plothole - I find it hard to believe that Ritsu wouldn't have found out much earlier about him and Fumiya given he must have had pictures of them on his phone or idk have electronic drawings of Fumiya on his personal drawing tablet and other devices? Anyway, just a small plothole I noted. The rest of the story, dialogue and acting was really well done. I think because of how simple the story is, you get to really focus on and pay notice to the acting, line delivery and expressions from the characters. They did a terrific job which made it easier to really sink into the story.

Overall, it's a short, well written, very low-steam second chance love story that I enjoyed.

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The wanting to start from the scratch

In a relationship that both parties know will soon end/gradually drifting away from each other, making the wrong decisions. they would do everything to save it and think about how nice it would be to just restart and this series made it happen. It's a cool idea came to life for people who has the same experience or just curiosity, this is perfect reflection of it. I personally don't have any experience on relationships(TT) but this made me understand that through a happy ending comes another story and obstacles that a relationship has to go through to last and survive. It's somehow relatable(?) cause I have experience on at least witnessing relationships breaking apart.

This is a series for people who can withstand heart wrenching moments, the watcher is like in Fumiya's position, we know everything that's going on while Ritsu doesn't and it just makes me feel things that Fumiya feels such as guilt and regret cause of turning a blind eye and erasing the visual presentation of their past love while inside, you still keeps those memories with you.

One thing that I don't like is how in the end where Ritsu regained his memories and they reconcile, they straight up just end it right there. Like after all that I went through! The heartbreaks, longing and sadness I felt and I didn't get to see at least one episode of them being together TT but just a split seconds or a minute.

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I can't remember - did I leave a review already?

With the amnesia/lying being the main plot, I thought the flashbacks were used well to show how their past relationship was and what Fumiya was hoping to return to.
I did feel they packed a good amount of emotions and depth into the first 5 episodes. I think ep 6 could have been 10 minutes longer to make the resolution more satisfying for me but I still saw what they were going for and I think they achieved what they wanted to with the memories come back scene and then confession.
Not a perfect series but I think it's pretty high up there for how the series kept the emotional stakes high even with relatively not a big action oriented plot. A birthday party goes awry and then it's a weird slice of life second chance romance.

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