The main couple should have been Korn and Ton Kla

4 Minutes is okay but it got me so confused of what is really happening that I don’t think that the show really worked. The story is about this rich kid and a doctor that got entangled in this crazy family drama but it is also about a character named Great, rich kid, who got the ability to see 4 minutes to the future. Now, I will have to say that the premise is good and that the premise is strong. We have a good set of characters here and they are put in the story so well that I think they were able to serve their purpose. The love story of Great and Tyme felt more secondary to the story which I won’t mind but their love story is not even as interesting as the love story of the secondary couple of the show – Korn and Ton Kla. The time travel aspect of the show is where things got a bit trippy and I feel like the execution I confusing. The story on its own is pretty good already. The story is interesting because we have a strong family drama with the story of Ton Kla and Korn. Bas as Korn is just really good. The character had a good character development and we got to see him try both options that he was put in and it is actually sad to see how his character ended because we got such a good portrayal and a good contrast to what is happening to him mentally. It must have been hard for him to be in such position where he cannot do so much but had to so many things. His relationship with Ton Kla took a very tragic turn considering that they are both cheating on each other for different reasons but they died together. They are in a very sexual relationship and we got to see the naked body of Bas in this show and I will never complain. I feel like the love story of Korn and Ton Kla had so many good scenes and the story is just more interesting. There was a point in the show that I was wishing that they could have been the leads and the show will focus more on their perspective. Compared to them, the love story of Great and Tyme fails to deliver that and the time changes were just pretty much confusing that everything that happened in the first five episodes were erased in the sixth episode as they go back to the timeline. Basically, what they did is to show how things will actually happen if the four minutes thing will not occur and the way it changed the story is not even that drastic. Therefore, the entire phenomena felt very much unnecessary as the events will all still be the same. This is what is disappointing because this just says that everything that we watched so far were erased and that we just wasted our time. It is just bad storytelling and writing in the main storyline and I feel like I invested in the wrong story considering how slow things were in the first few episodes and how quick it is for the sixth episode to catch us all up to what happened. This is all a miss and I am a bit disappointed. I also would have wanted to see more of them together because the interest with their love story never really picked up. They have few good scene here and there but they have spent most of their times apart and the romantic relationship was never really or strongly established. This is where my dismay is and I feel like the concept that we got introduced to at the beginning really meant nothing to the main story line since we just got to hear it again in the last episodes in a few seconds before the end but, other than that, there is nothing there. The story is basically just 3 episodes long and that is it. It could have been so much shorter but this could still be so much better considering that Bible and Jes have good chemistry when they are together but they failed to use this in the show to its full potential. They are also very hot individuals and we got to see it. I am thankful for that. For the story, it could have been handled and executed for so much better.

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SEASON 2 is a MUST.

The On1y One is a BL series from Taiwan and they really make good ones. I will be honest and be straight that this is such a good series and my only ick is that ending. I know that they are trying to set up a second season for this show but I am not sure if there will be one so I am a bit scared that this might be where things will be going. Anyways, before we start with the talks of the second season, let us first talk about the first one. The story is about Sheng Wang and Jiang Tian who are now forced to be siblings because Sheng Wang’s father and Jiang Tian’s mother are now a couple and they are now starting to live together. We have seen this kind of siblings to lover’s storyline but what makes this so good are the characters. I want to highlight that the relationship may have started as this cliché storyline that we have seen where they are fighting but end up together. I think you can say that it is in a way like that but what makes this so good is that the characters are amazing not just the lead characters but everyone in the story. It is important in making a good show and they were able to cast amazing actors here. On top of that, we also have an amazing writer and director that did not really let the story stale. It is flowing seamlessly and they really focused on letting the relationship between the lead characters grew so naturally that it convinces me why they are so close together. Sheng Wang is played by Liu Dong Qin who resembles New so much from Thailand and is the other half of my favorite love team in Thailand so I am immediately drawn to him. He is so cute and I think what really made this character so attractive is that he is smart and acts so cute. I will have to say that I even fell in love with how the character is portrayed. He is also very nuanced as we got a side story of a kid who really loves his mother who died so the fact that a new woman is taking in that position from her deceased mother is a bit hard for him and that is understandable but they did not play on the character recklessly. Instead, he is a very kind person who accepted her as part of his family but not a replacement of his mother but an addition to his family and that really is such a mature thing to do. I feel like we do not always get that kind of representation onscreen so that is much appreciated. We also have Jiang Tian who is played by Benjamin Tsang. The character is more reserved and is the top student. He is very stereotypical smart kid but what him so interesting to watch is how his character evolved from being someone who easily moves from one place to another to someone who have found his own place. I feel like he had to play a much darker character with all the trauma that he had to go through when he was younger. I think it was believed that his father is abusive but little did we know is that there is so much to the story. This is a miss for the show and I hope something that they will tackle more about because this is a good storyline and to leave it like that is just bad. Jiang Tian had more of the opening up to do here because he is the more reserve character but we also got amazing Jiang Tian moments at the end where he is showing so much concern for him and I love those moments regardless of how small they may all have been. It is such a sweet story to see Jiang Tian and Sheng Wang really have this connection that is just getting stronger as the story progress. Actually, the small details that they were able to put in is really highlighting how this relationship went pass being brothers and into lovers already because they are so romantic to each other already. They had so many good scenes together where they are so sweet but I would understand if they will take their time thinking about it considering how Jiang Tian first saw something like it and how they are still very young kids. I mean, just look at Xi and Linzi who are adults already and are still confused with it. I think I will forgive them if they are just letting the characters have some time to figure things out. I think that is okay and they are still young. I just want to make sure that we will have a second season and get a happy ending because the ending we got here is not really sad but they are apart. I think it will be not the best way to end such story considering how they are really pushing for it. Anyways, I just want to give a special shoutout to their friend group. I think they were really able to establish a good set of characters to be their friends here. They are so fun but Andy Chen as Gao Tian Yang is just criminally hot. He is the hottest and funniest boy in their class and I just instantly fell in love with this guy. He is so cute and the muscles are insane. INSANE. He is so hot. I wish we got to see his shirt off but we did not. He is so nice to everyone to and he had this storyline of him being into Little Pepper but she is interested in Sheng Wang. Now, this is another storyline that I wish they are trying to explore in the second season. We really need a second season for this show because there are so many loose ends in the story and I wish they release it now. I love and enjoyed this show so much that I am wishing to see more of it as soon as possible.

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Sometimes, what we need is to repeat things before we fully understand them

Now, this is how you do a decent love story. The Blue Skies at Your Feet is not the best love story out there but it is a really good watch. One of the things that I look for in a love story is a good chemistry and that is what they have here. I really did enjoy the story of Miyu and Shuya. Well, it is basically a romance version of Groundhog day where we kept on repeating the same day that Shuya died but what made the movie so good are the characters. Why? Because they are so good. The romance aspect of the movie is just the same as any new love stories out there. It is about a young love face adversity but what it did so well is to make us slowly invested with the relationship by putting them in a fictional setup where they had to repeat things and the same results kept on happening. These moments established not just the story or the climax of the film but it brought the audience to fully invest with the relationship. We are invested in the relationship that we are not a part of becauae we are slowly falling for the characters. We are slowly seeing who these characters are within this relationship and outside the relationship.
My favorite scene, and not surprisingly, is the final loop that she was in. The reason why I thought of that loop as the strongest is because we finally get to see Miyu fully commit to how she feels. This is a more mature version of the character. This is, in a sense, when she learned that what she really needed to do is to fully be honest with herself and be vocal about it. She also trusted him more in that scene and we even got a really romantic moment. I live for these moments and to see it there is just everything that one could hope for. This may not be breaking barriers or anything but I like the idea and the concept. Plus the execution is pretty good. This would surely be targeting the right audience and the performances by its cast is really good. I just really want to commend that too because they really nailed it with the sweetness and the more dramatic scenes. I really enjoyed watching this movie and I don't mind watching it again.

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Cherry Blossoms After Winter is the story of Kang Hui's Jo Tae Sung and Ok Jin Uk’s Seo Haebom. The story is simple. We have a guy who have fallen in love with the person that he grew up. They are not the best of friends but what happened next are just scenes after scenes of really sweet moments that will surely make you fall in love with these two. There are so many things to be thankful and their chemistry is one of them. It is insane to the point that I am just smiling weirdly at my screen because that feeling of being in love with someone is just what you would feel with these two. The performances are pretty strong as well. They both had good connection to their characters that one can just really fall for their characters. They are so good together. I actually like when they are being excessively sweet to each other when they are at home. I feel that they are just being natural. I like the moments when they were at home because these are moments that seemed most natural to their characters as they are familiar to staying at home. Then, we got that super cute scene in the bed which is probably the best bed scene that I got to watch. They are so cute seeing in different sleeping position and how Tae Sung is just wanting to hug him constantly. It is so cute that my heart is just in its happiest state. I love it so much. I think the best thing about Korean BL is that they will surprise you with how mindful they are of the details. This may not be the best in terms of production and cinematography but they surely stepped up their game with the story. They avoided a lot of cliches by attacking the situation in a more realistic viewpoint which is important. The characters really moved with the story and we got to see them in different times of their lives. This is why the ending is so rewarding. It feels like a reward to everyone who supported and have watched them. It is a beautiful testament to true love and the lines that were thrown were as sweet as the cakes that they were eating. The supporting characters at pretty interesting but the focused are always on the main characters. This is a decent show with a decent storyline and a decent cast. It had sweet moments and the actors did an amazing job in breathing life to their characters. As an audience member, it is important for me to fall in love with who these characters are because I want to be invested with them and if I will not know who they are, it will be hard for me. Luckily, this is something that they were able to do really well from the very beginning until the very end. It may not be the best out there but it is worth watching and worth the wait. It knew where to put the characters and they were such big parts of the story. We also got the chance to meet them well. It is a job well done. I want more.

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Must Watch

Triage is a BL that I did not really watch a trailer for but the first episode of the show is an amazing introduction to what the show is about. Triage is like a BL version of Happy Death Day and the Groundhog Day. The first episode is where we got to see what will happen but there is whole mystery as to what is really happening and what he needs to do. He just knows that he needs to be able to save Tol but he is unsure what it is that he needs to do. Now, I did not expect this and I was just expecting a show where Doctors will be lovey-dovey so seeing that we are going to see more of a serious storyline balanced with a really cute love story is more than satisfying for me. Basically, the story is about a doctor who is put into this time loop after a patient of his died. He, initially, did not want to save him because he smelled alcohol in him and we are introduced to what happened to him in the past where his sister was in an accident with another driver who is under the influence of alcohol. He, then, got into a loop that soon led to him trying to understand the person more. As mentioned earlier, I know nothing about this show when I decided to watch it but what really surprised me most about it is how well-made this is. It is literally one of the best BLs I got to watch mainly because of the concept and how they were able to weave all of the stories of the characters and build on them to create this surprisingly enjoyable piece of work. This is hard to do considering that they are following this loop. There is no tomorrow but what they did is to give the characters interesting storylines still that they were able to close flawlessly at the end. Usually, I tend to hate BL endings with how they are forcing emotional connection but this one is different. It is logical despite having a fantasy theme to it. I really commend the writers of this show. It is not an easy thing to do but they were able to successfully do it. I think it is important to really highlight this aspect of the show because this is not an easy thing to do. Tae and Tee plays Tin and Tol, respectively, and they brought these characters to life in the best possible ways. I am not forced to like them because they are already likable and their performances are more than enough to make me fall harder with them. Tae had to manage most of the episodes since he is the focal character who is working in the loop. He is the one with the memories of all of Tol’s death and he is the one to fall in love first with Tol. This is why I was a bit hesitant with Tee’s Tol but the last few episodes came in and we shifted perspective from Tin to Tol and Tee ate it up. He was a really good actor and I am super surprised with how well he was performing in this series because he manages to handle different emotions of the character while leading him to grow to be a much better character that is multi-faceted and well-rounded. I liked his portrayal so much because they are both eating it up and giving us what is needed from them. I would love to watch more shows from them but I would not want a second season for this show. They were able to wrap it all up with a beautiful bow at the end that really works well with all the active characters that we have. Sing and Gap are also a really good secondary couple. We had hints of them at the beginning and they were just suddenly together in the last loop but I am not even disappointed because they had so much good chemistry that it felt fine and natural. The story also talked about illegal harvesting of organs that is and should be illegal. It tackles a really dark story that they may not have fully handled well but given what they did, I think it is still good. I think what I love about this show that I am raving about it so much is that they are so damn respectful of the storyline and the characters as if they are actual people that I would love to meet. There is character development. There are cliches but this is not even as important as the main story. The moments that Tol and Tin are trying to make each other remember that they are actually in love are the best scenes of the series because the chemistry works so damn well. I think this is may be because they work together a lot and that these characters are simple enough to understand but complex enough to build an entertaining and serious story. It works also because the actors are really good. They have started showing us different storylines but they made sure that everything still made sense. I think that the writer and the director had a really tough job but they created a masterpiece here. Lastly, let us not forget that Manner of Death cameo of Tan and Bun. I mean, I will watch anything with Max and Tul.

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It was okay

Senpai, This Cant Be Love is a Japanese BL with 8 episodes. The story is about Yanase and Kaneda who have this mentor and mentee relationship. Yanase is an accomplished CG artist and Kaneda is this rookie who is working under him. He is his mentor and he is secretly a big fan of his to some weird extent and I am glad that they did not really went into this direction because the stalker vibe was something that would be a bit off. Also, they did not immediately have a relationship instead, things went a bit awkward with them and things got a bit off actually. I am not sure how to describe it but there are some moments at the beginning when the vibe was off but it was later explained as Kaneda being extremely shy about working with Yanase that he is completely unsure how to handle the emotions he had for him. I think it is quite understandable but I like how they are slowly being kind towards each other despite seeing semblance of a relationship starting with the two. I think it is a pretty standard story but what it lacks is something that would really pull you in to their story. There is a bit of a mixed bag here. I liked the idea of it being simple but I am a bit wishing that they added more to the story. I just really feel like the story flowed really well and I am waiting for a good climax but it did not really happen. It is not bad. It is just uneventful and I was kind of waiting for it. I think the time that they tried to separate for some time and things did not go back as planned was interesting enough to watch. The cuteness is there. Well, the chemistry is pretty good. I think that is something that I would like to commend because the chemistry is really strong. This is maybe the reason why I am really wanting to see more of their story together. The constant push and pull had its moment but it got a bit repetitive at some point which usually makes me mad but I am not hating this one. I think, at this point, you can sense my confusion but yeah, I would actually watch this show again because the chemistry is cute and it had sweet moments. I even think that the ending is pretty sweet but it just took a weird amount of time to go there without anything happening. I think that’s it. I don’t know what else to say.

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It is okay and I enjoyed it.

I just finished watching To Be Continued. This is a Thai BL series and a partnership between Channel 3 and Netflix. I think I liked this show but not as much as you’d thought to be. I know that it is interesting and it is mature as we have two different timelines that are working to show us the love story of Ji and Achi. Ji is now a doctor and Achi is now a superstar but they have not met for ten years because of things that happened in their past. I think you can say that it was something that they had to deal emotionally and there is a good chance that a lot of the conflict in this show would not have happened if they could have just talked. This is a cliché that we have seen so many times in BL series now that I am wishing that there is still something else that is happening that would be more engaging than this but I will have to give it to the execution of the show because despite falling into a familiar territory, they still did a good job with the execution of the events that led to the finale. Yes, I am disappointed with the finale but I am not disappointed with the show entirely because they were still able to do as much as they could and it resulted to something that is actually quite enjoyable to watch.
The relationship of Ji and Achi is separated into two storylines. We have the story of the past that is dealing with how it started and how it ended while the present is now dealing with a more mature Ji and Achi as they are now dealing with Achi trying to reconnect and rekindle his former relationship with Ji who is still broken by the past. I think I understand Ji in this situation the most as he is the one that Achi left heartbroken. The story of him pursuing him is actually kinda cute and I think the explanation did not seem as big or as deep as they initially have made it to be. I know that coming out is a hard story because I am gay, myself, but the way that they handled it in the finale could have been much better to make the inciting incident that broke them apart to make much sense. Luckily, we had pretty cute and fun 7 episodes prior to that reveal and I enjoyed it too. The secondary couple of Ki and Kambee felt more of a mishandled situation too. I feel like they are a cute couple but had so little scenes together that I did not even care about them. They could have had more scenes together to make it a tighter narrative. The family story of Ji and Ki is not too bad but I am not sure why the father is acting that way considering the promise he made to his wife. Anyways, the relationships in this show okay. There is nothing that is completely striking about them but I feel like there is potential here if they could have explored the storylines much better. It is a cute show though. I feel like if I want to watch something light and bubbly, I would certainly watch this.
It is a pretty good show. It is not as remarkable as I would have expected it to be but it is not bad at all. It is pretty cute.

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The Chemistry is GOOOOD.

We got another adaptation of a Japanese BL into a Thai BL in My Love Mix-up and I will have to say this – THEY ARE DOING REALLY GOOD SO FAR. I mean, the Japanese BL are still GOATED but these stories being adapted for Thai media is giving us more stories about the characters instead. They are trying to put their own culture into it so that is really commendable and it worked. The story still follows the love story of Atom and Kongthap. Kongthap accidentally picked up the eraser that Atom borrowed from his crush but this supposed love triangle was all a misunderstanding. I think we can all agree that this all started as a misunderstanding but it soon led to a really good bond between Atom and Mudmee while Atom was also starting his relationship with Kongthap. So, yes, we have two main lovers in the story. We have the main love story and the supporting love story which is just as great as the main. I don’t say that often but I will say it here – the love story of Mudmee and Half is really good. Well, let us start with the main lovers of the story which are Kongthap and Atom played by Gemini and Fourth. The chemistry is intense with these two and I love that for them. I feel like I have grown a bit distant with Gemini with what he said but I found myself forgiving him in this one because he really played the character of Kongthap really well. He played the straight-laced serious kid really well and giving him nuance that would make you slowly fall in love with him. I think we also need to highlight that people like these do exist and they will need more time to ease with things so I am glad that Atom soon understood that, of course, with the help of Khao Pan. Speaking of Atom, the star of the entire show for me is Fourth as Atom. He is phenomenal and I can’t ask anything more from him. He is the star of this show from the very moment the start to end. I will have to say that what really made me so much in love with the show is his friendship with Mudmee. I know that he initially liked her but the friendship that they were able to build here is the best among all the BLs that I have watched so far. Fourth played the character with so much facial expressions that I am so impressed with his acting. The more emotional stuff might need a bit more polishing but he gave such a wonderful performance that I can forgive him here because it was really entertaining from start to finish. I like how aggressive he is after accepting that he is now in love with Kongthap but still playing this fragile counter to his character. I like it so much. He was so fun to watch. He was so charming that I feel like it is hard to resist a guy like him and the bond that he was able to build with Kongthap did not even feel forced at all. It is a slow burn kind of love story where they became more friends and they are so much lucky to have an older gay couple guiding them through this new relationship that they have. It is not easy to navigate such emotions but the help that they got is really important if you will ask me. I wish that this happens more in real life where we can be more out with ourselves so that we can be in relationships that are consensual and loving. There is something so good about Young Love that I really want to highlight and that is what they were able to capture here especially when they were deciding in which school to study in. There is something so simple yet honest on how this is what they think will be their biggest problem in the world. It is so pure. It is so sincere. It is so romantic. I actually enjoyed it. I think the same can be said with the supporting couple. Half is very handsome. I just want to add that and I think that his relationship with Mudmee had repetitive aspects to it but the portrayal is still very good that I can really forgive them. I mentioned young love earlier and this is just another perfect example of that where they are still trying to figure things out and they are still so unsure of so many things that are happening to them that I think it is very much understandable for them to be confused with how they will be doing things. I think the confusion that they had is still understandable and it is still very cute. The acting is also pretty good that it is working well. I think these young actors did an impressive job with their work that they were able to fully embody these characters well and gave us a feel-good show to watch. I am happy with this and I enjoyed watching it so much.

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Simple Love Story

Cosmetic Playlover is a love story about a beauty advisor and a makeup artist. Yes, this is a BL and I have to say this that I really enjoyed the fact that what we have two boys doing stereotypically feminine work. On top of that, they are feminine themselves. I feel like we don’t always see this kind of representation on screen because being in the make up industry usually means that a guy must be someone who is effeminate and that is not the case here. They are just acting as is and as normal as they can be. They are not forcing themselves to play caricatures of gay characters but instead the portrayal of the characters, even though they are gay, is not stereotypical and I think we need more representations like that because men can be in the beauty industry too and it is nice that they are showing us that without mocking the characters as well. In fact, they are both successful in their jobs that Mamiya started as a beauty advisor but became the chief of the branch and Sahashi started as a beauty advisor but soon became a makeup artist. The beginning of the show is good and I like the character of Mamiya because he knew what he wanted and really worked his way to be the kind of person that he wants to. At the same time, he is supportive of other people and this is how he was able to make Sahashi notice him. Well, he did not really try because Sahashi is a former model who is easy to the eyes and people gravitate towards him. They are both good with their jobs but the main concern here is that Mamiya is not a very confident man and had some insecurities within himself. I think that is understandable and I feel like I can truly relate to him in a sense that being in a female-dominated world can be hard at times so getting the support that he needed and finding someone who finally saw him as he is truly made him happy. He was in love with another person when the show started and I think I love that Sahashi is constantly giving him the confidence that he needed and that they are slowly being more and more honest and open with each other. This is a really good start to the relationship and we got to see Mamiya have more selfish requests that really highlighted what he wanted. I love it when he is telling him what he really wants and make him really work hard for him. I don’t think that he was difficult but he can be challenging at times. I really relate to the character of Mamiya so much and I think he had such a good character development that I want that for myself as well. The relationship went really cute. I will be honest and say that I was a bit hesitant at the beginning but they slowly grew on me. It turned out that I actually enjoy watching both of them get a happy ending and that fact that it is together is just what makes it even better.

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Simple Romcom done right.

I Saw You In My Dream is a Thai BL story about Ai who just learned that he can dream of what will happen in the future when he turned 20 but his dreams only have Yu in it who is his neighbor he grew up with when Yu and Yo’s parents died when they were younger. This led to him really worrying about him constantly and learning that he is actually interested in him and that it led to them having their own love affair. The story is pretty decent and I think that I really enjoyed the story of this one. It is simple and I know that there is this weird part of the story that is about him seeing some parts of the future in his dreams and I think that is a big part of the story but the presentation is pretty simple and I like that they did not overcomplicate the main story and focused on the relationship of the couple instead which is surprisingly cute. I was a bit hesitant before on how they will be attacking the story because they sometimes go to the extremes but this one did not and it was actually used in the subtlest way possible which is quite fine. I was thinking about the concept and they were able to incorporate it well to the story without putting so many details that can be irritating at times. I was not irritated in this one. In fact, I was more invested with the relationships of the couple that we have. Yu and Ai had a good start and a really good foundation for their relationship since they are a couple who have been together. The show did not have to really push the relationship anymore because it is already there and I think that is a smart decision. They just have to focus on two things and it worked. They also did not try to make so many things happen at once and instead focused on one event at a time which was surprisingly helpful to the story. It did not take away from the story at all and we got to really see the relationship blossom well. I really loved these two and another thing that I loved is the secondary couple in Yo and Ing who are both good with their roles. Actually, the entire cast did a good acting job here. It required something simple and they were able to give just that without making the characters feel like a stereotype or a caricature of some sort. Yo is the one I feel is the most good-looking of all the cast and the relationship he had with Ing had some intensities and I love that about it. It is floating on the simple idea trope but this is what happens when you have something simple and you will be able to handle the story well and just do a good job with it. We have a strong main couple and a good secondary couple. Even the supporting cast is legitimately good and they had their own moments to shine and to really play with the characters they have and it really worked out well. I was not mad about it. Actually, I will say it again that I really enjoyed the show from start to finish because they had one goal in mind and they really decided to go for it and focus on what they really wanted. This is a light show to watch and I am always a sucker for a simple, easy to watch, and enjoyable love stories. I really enjoy watching them and this is just one of them.

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TOO Short

What If is a short BL series from Thailand. It follows two friends who grew up together. They shared the fact that they both have few close friends with them and decided to really stick together. The transition to them growing up is cute but the main issue here is Peach is now moving to College but Smart shortly follows. Actually, if you will think about it, there is not much of a problem with these two. I feel like they are just really living their lives as is. You can clearly see that there is affection for each other especially when they got jealous but this is something that was out of the story immediately. I feel like we got a good story here but my main concern here is that it is too short. Seriously, I really wanted to see more of what is about to happen and what the story will be for these two but it is so fucking short. The show is to show to even have a solid storyline but I like the concept that there is no problem that is coming there way and that the actors are actually quite good. It is one of those BLs where you can clearly see that they have chemistry but the opportunity to really work on it was not there because they have to finish it as soon as possible. I usually don’t want much in BL stories from Thailand because they are usually so fucking long but this one is different. The editing decisions are good and I was really hoping that they did something with it.

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Gay Business

Bump Up Business is a South Korean BL series. It is about two K-Pop idols who debuted in a duo and the marketing strategy that they were put in was more into being a gay duo or at least suggestive of that scenario. I have some concerns about this concept but I have to admit that a part of me is quite proud that an actual K-Pop group – OnlyOneOf – is the lead of the series. Basically, the series is led by members of the K-Pop group. I am really surprised at that considering how homophobic South Korean actually is. Anyways, I actually think that they did a good job with this one. I mean, for a South Korean BL, this is not bad. The story is quite simple and, even though they had so many weird complications, they were able to handle the lives of the characters well. The acting is okay. I mean, these are rookie actors who are doing BL so they are still starting and I don’t think that they did a bad job at all. It could still be so much better but it is okay. I think what is icky about this story for me is the business model that they are acting like a gay couple so that they could get more fans. This is the business model that they have and I was initially uncomfortable with it but then I realized that this is how BL actors are doing it. I mean, I know that they are not real couples and these are all fan service. I think it was when that I had this realization that I became more open to the concept. They also did it well by not being too exploitative about it and you can clearly see that the characters are slowly having interest with each other. Again, the acting is not the best and can still be improve but it is not too bad. At the same time, I feel like they benefitted from the fact that it is a relatively short series that there is nothing much here that would make you tick anymore because the events are unfolding as fast as they can. There are some parts of the story that they could have removed like the girl in the story was serving no other purpose so that it could be more of a cohesive but we got what we got and I am not really that mad about it. I think there is not much special in here. It is just okay. At the end of the day, OnlyOneOf is just doing what they did in the series - just gay business.

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Too Short to be Good.

Ants Without Umbrella is a short Japanese series where a writer is experiencing a writer’s block when he was told by his publisher to write a love story instead of his usual sci-fi. While having problems with his writing, he was visited surprisingly by a friend that he had not seen for a very long time. The story is conveyed in four different stories as the first two episodes were Jun’s attempt to create a love story but I feel like the last two is a love story that he had when he was younger. To be honest, I was able to finish the show and I am not completely sure if he did fell in love with his friend or not but I feel like he did especially when he said that he is not sad because his friend fell in love with another man but not him. I feel like their friendship is so much more than what we expected and this is the usual story of how these two grew apart without resolving the issues that they have with each other leading to them not talking about it at all so when the final twist is revealed and that Keisuke is already dead and that he saw just a ghost of his friend, there is something so sad about it especially with how he treated him quite badly. It is such a sad story and I was not expecting this kind of love story about friendship that really is not talked about a lot. I am torn with what I feel about the story because the LGBT aspect is the most interesting part of the story and I will have to give it to Jun for trying to understand his friend but I am a bit disappointed with how it is ultimately handled by him. I know he is young and he did not have guidance at all but he really went away from his friend and really did not do anything at all for him. I mean, he already knew all this when they met again but he still was a shitty friend to him. I would not say that this is a really strong story but it could have been so longer and they would have more time by then to explore more themes that they opened to further explore them in a much better way. It is not bad but it could have been so much better.

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MAN TRISANU SURANON deserved so much better.

Step By Step is a BL series from Thailand and it is about an everyday worker named Pat. He is just starting work but he feels that he is at a company where his talents are not being utilized but when the manager changed, everything changed for him as well. I think that this is the best way that I will describe the story of this show because I will be serious and I feel like there is not much to say about this show except for the fact that we have wasted Man Trisanu Soranun in this show. Yes, I will have to say that he is super fucking hot. He had shirtless scenes and his abs are the most insane abs that I have seen right now. He is super fucking fine but he was surprisingly the best in acting in all of the show. My main problem with him and this show is the acting. I know and I am very sorry to say this as early as now but the acting is just bad. I know that they are trying their hardest and all but I hope that they can try so much better because I feel like what we got is boring especially in the emotional scenes. I was really wanting to feel something for these characters but the crying sounds that they make with no tears at all or the lack luster performances is just hard to watch. Man Trisanu Soranun is a bit forgivable because he had a decent performance but the lead performance that required most of the acting is of Ben who is playing Pat. Pat is the lead character and we have seen everything from his perspective but what I just noticed is that he did not even grow as a character. He is the most irritating character in the show. He literally is. I was waiting for his character development and it never came. It was so disappointing. This is on top of the bad acting too. Now, this is just really a tragic thing to watch. The performance is pretty hard to watch and I was really disappointed. They added many characters as well and I feel like the stories have potential but the bad acting is not really working to their advantage. The chemistry is not even there. On top of this, the story moved from a pretty glacial pace and it took me so much effort to finish it. I feel like they just decided to make a show and the story just became whatever they thought of on the spot and that is it. I am not even sure what they are trying to accomplish here but I feel like it is none. The love story of Pat and Jeng had solid moments especially when they are together but this happened around episode 10 and they are not anymore at episode 11. I feel like the story was forced to move so slow at the beginning and so fast nearing the end as they are trying to put as many things as they can in this show to make it work but it did not. It is a bit on the bad side because the potential is there for the story to be good especially it is an office romance but the writing and the acting just threw it all away. The ending had so much unnecessary problems that I think the chemistry of the actors was not establish properly. Seriously, they had few scenes together and most of them are work-related stuff that I was even unsure what I was watching because there is so much work happening in this show. They were meeting all the time. The ending was just forced and it took such a long time to get there.

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Simple, Cute, Enjoyable.

Stay By My Side is a Taiwanese Supernatural BL and I will have to say that it is surprisingly enjoyable and sweet to watch. For starters, the story follows Bu Xia who is a college student who plays basketball and can hear ghosts when his sister in the temple accidentally burned a part of his talisman but the way that he is living his life changed when he met this new independent but has a rich background, ace student named Jiang Chi. They became roommates and they initially had a love hate relationship but things slowly turned for the better when they become close and you can see that Jiang Chi fell in love with him immediately and Bu Xia was just using him for protection but he fell harder in the future. This is just a surprisingly cute story and I know that there are supernatural elements to it and I actually did not care about it as much. I feel like the show had a good momentum and they just really worked on it by using it to push for the story. There were moments in the story that they fight but it still remained very cute to watch and enjoyable. I think what I enjoyed most is the chemistry of the lead actors and how playful the characters are to each other. I feel like this could easily go the wrong way but they were able to handle the storyline so much better by not overcomplicating things especially the ghost stuff. I love that they were able to simplify that and just make it to a good part of the story. The simplicity of the love story is what really drew me in and I enjoyed it so much. It is a good watch.

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