Puts a smile on your face

This has been the best feel-good series that I have seen so far. For a short 4 episode series, they have managed to show a lot more than what a 12-16 episode series fails to achieve. They cut-out the unwanted melodrama and stuck to the relationship between the 2 leads.
From best childhood friends you see their relationship blossoming into something different in a short span but it doesn't feel rushed or that you have lost some important plot points. The story moves from one moment to another successfully capturing the characteristics of the 2 leads and the way they interact with a handful of other characters. There is no angst, no break-ups, no misunderstandings. Just 2 friends taking their relationship to the next level and just enjoying each others company. You get to see what they feel for each other and you are rooting for them.
Besides, this series has the simplest and the best confession scene that had me smiling from ear to ear.
A fabulous job by the creators keeping the story to the point and delivering the best performances out of all the actors.

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An awkward but interesting love story

Another BL story around high school students. I feel like all iterations of stories that can come out of this trope has been covered. So you will find nothing new in this series. Group of boys attending school, developing feelings for their classmates, a rival, being shamed for their feelings only to later realise to fight against this shame and get together. Add to this a wise friend who is there to look out for his peers.
There is nothing that sets this story apart from many other series made around the same topic. However with 16 episodes, they did a very decent job of fleshing out the characters and describing their motivations. You are aware of how each of the characters behave and there is an arc for each of the main and supporting characters to make for a great narration. That being said the love between the characters don't seem genuine.
Woo Tae Kyung starts liking Shin Da On because he is very kind and he feels good being around him. Not sure how this can be described as being in love. Shin Da On falls for Woo Tae Kyung because he can open himself up and talk freely to him. Something that can be a precursor to love but not the main reason. Noh Shin Woo likes Woo Tae Kyung because he is interesting and that intrigues him. This failed to convince me that the love is genuine and might even last.
Due to this rudimentary feelings that each hold for the other I found myself rather routing for the wise friend. His genuine feeling of friendship and always being on the side of his friends was believable and made me relate more to him than other characters.
In conclusion, nothing new story-wise but the performances by all the actors has been exemplary. There might be a few scenes that could have been done better but that would be nit-picking. The story keeps you hooked till the end to know who actually end up together. A sure watch for those looking for a good Korean BL with love, heart-break, a bit of angst and lot of fun.

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A simple concept concluded haphazardly

I had such high hopes with this series when I read the synopsis and saw the first few episodes. Alas! with every consecutive episodes the hopes died a slow death.
The story is about Lian and Kuea bethroted to each other at a very young age. But when they grow up Lian has no love towards Kuea. Kuea, heart-broken decides to end the engagement only for Lian to realise that he has feelings for Kuea. The concept was new to me as I have not seen a series with arranged marriages before let alone between 2 men and this got me excited. The series starts promising where we get to see the contrast between the 2 characters. Lian being a strict businessman with only limited time for his fiance and Kuea being a singer and a lover of fast cars and bikes but hides his true self from Lian. They separate from each other due to Lian's indifference towards Kuea and so starts a journey of self-realization and getting to know your true feelings.
This is where the story starts to lose me. The story of the arranged marriage was not convincing as the families just wanted Lian to take care of a very young Kuea. The mention of marriage was said in jest. Not sure why these 2 pursued that idea till their adulthood?
The sudden change in Lian's feelings towards Kuea was confusing too as there was nothing that justified either his love or his initial indifference.
There is clearly an age difference between Lian and Kuea however Lian saying that he loved Kuea from the day he was born just gave me the creeps. Not sure who thought that it sounds romantic or endearing?
The parallel story of Khondiao and Yi needed more explaining. Khondiao has lost his memory but we dont see how that has affected him in any sense. Unless Yi says it we dont even realise that Khondiao is suffering from memory loss. In fact we dont even know which memory has he lost.
In conclusion a simple concept was made confusing by inconsistent characteristics of the 2 leads, moving from bizzare or unbeliveable. The actors however did a great job with their performances and the songs are worth listening to. Its not too bad to not give it a try. Watch it for the performances and the songs.

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A feel good series with no angst and drama

For no reason that I can think of I have been ignoring this series but finally I decided to give it a watch and I am glad that I did. This series is kind of different from many other BL series that I have watched. So what makes this one different

Story: In simple terms it's about two boys that live under the same roof, stay aloof from one another but certain circumstances brings them together and love blossoms. Since it is an 8 episode series things move at a faster pace. Limitedtime is being spent to show the backstories of the 2 main characters and in more ways than one their personalities are relatable. The story could have been fleshed out but due to lack of time they decided to cut to the chase and just show the bare minimum. Like there being a bully in school tormenting one of the leads and you feel you have your antagonist but then he is no where to be found after a couple of episodes

No 3rd Act break-up: Every love story usually goes through the 3rd act break-up. Misunderstanding, family or society pressure, conflict between the leads and many other reasons are shown almost close to the ending for the 2 leads to break-up and then they get together in the final episode. There is no problem in showing that, its just that with limited episodes it always seems rushed. In this series we feel that we are nearing the third act break-up thanks to the mom but then no such thing occurs. The 2 leads always remain together. It was new and refreshing and I was happy about that but also it made me feel that the idea was to not show any drama. So I was glad but not content with this

In conclusion, the 2 actors did a fabulous job and showed great chemistry together. The story could have been managed well with certain parts fleshed out like the bully and the flower shop owner. But if you are looking for a no non-sense, less drama show that do give this one a chance. You will come out feeling good

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"Love is like choosing a pair of shoes..."

It was when these words were spoken that I realised this series won't be entertaining anymore.
This was a hotchpotch of all the different ideas or tropes that you can imagine a generic love story can have. And the same ideas were contradicted by subsequent scenes.
1. Rivals to Lovers: The series starts with showcasing how the two protagonists (Mangkorn and Yai) are womanizers and are eyeing to get the same girl. They meet and try to one-up each other leading to a drinking competition and ending with spending a passionate night together a result of spiked drinks. Strangely the glasses of both the leads were spiked which made me wonder is it still rape when both are under the influence of drugs albeit due to the clumsiness of one of the male lead's bodyguards? After coming to their senses, Mangkorn keeps annoying Yai by bringing up that night and the recording that he possesses. He practically blackmails him to be his friend and in no time they fall in love. But in the later episodes we are told that Mangkorn liked Yai for a long time. So there was no reason for antagonising Yai.
2. Female Love Interest: Mangkorn's dad wants him to get married to his friend's daughter Hong. This plot is introduced while Mangkorn is trying to win Yai over. It made for an intersting twist as we now have a potential love traingle. This plot is later destroyed when we are introduced to Hong's girlfriend. So there was never a love triangle to begin with and Yai losing his mind over this was for naught as it could have easily been explained to him.
3. Male Love Interest: Yai has a friend Nine who returns to Thailand and starts showing interest in Yai while he and Mangkorn are having a bit of a misunderstanding. They also show Mangkorn and Nine fighting over Yai's affection. But in the final episode we find Nine actively helping Mangkorn to stay with Yai. No reason for Nine to give up on this pursuit. But now he is helping Mangkorn and it appears that the love rivalry had no reason to be presented other than extending an episode. BTW the second season has been teased to run on the same plot of another male love interest of Yai. If its anything like what they had for this season then please have mercy.
4. Multiple couples: Other than the 2 main leads we are shown a relationship between Hong and a girl student. They have a few dialogues in the penultimate episode and then we dont see them again. Their relationship is mentioned in passing and looks like they were introduced just to resolve a minor misunderstanding between the 2 leads. They also tease us with a potential budding relationship between Yai's 2 bodyguards. But nothing comes of it and for a good number of episodes we dont get to see them on-screen at all. May be they will using this as fodder for season 2
The story needed a lot of working on to make it more coherent. Instead of the mandatory 3rd act break-up being about Hong, they should have rather concentrated on Mangkorn's plan to travel to New York for 2 years for his Master's degree. This would have helped in showing the budding romance between the 2 leads and a genuine concern of losing each other.
In conclusion, the acting by the 2 leads and the supporting characters was great. If you are a fan of enemies to lovers genre then you should go for this series.

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Plot...Rinse...Repeat

In this series you will see a heartbroken guy have a one night involving bondage with a stranger who is a mafia boss and later finds himself to be a target of the stranger's affection. The same old, good guy falls for a bad man. There is stalking, forceful home imprisonment, constant surveillance and much more presented as something endearing. But what do you know! It works and he falls in love with the mafia boss. It appears like the producers thought of making a BL version of 50 shades of grey and after the first few minutes of Episode 1 just gave up on that the whole BDSM idea.
Although the plot has nothing new to share, but the performances by the leads could have elevated the show. Sadly, no such luck. Kim, who plays the morally good guy just looks confused during the whole series and Kamol who plays the mafia boss wanted to go for a stoic performance but looks bored throughout. The supporting characters did a much better job at holding my attention with their performances. But the one character that takes the cake is Danil. As soon as he enters a scene he steals the show with his over the top acting and I was all the more happy for it.
I am always interested in a storyline where the 2 main leads don't immediately fall in love and it shows a gradual progress in the development of feelings. This series eats up 8 episodes before Kim even starts reciprocrating the feelings. Until then it just moves from one plot point to another. Kim complains about being stuck in the house under constant supervision. Kamol convinces him that its safer for him to stay indoors. Kim then escapes his imprisonment only to be captured by the antagonist and has to be rescued and then rinse and repeat.
There are plots here that don't help in furthering the story. The story of Itt and Day was a waste and they could have been completely removed after Ep. 1 and nothing would be lost. They tease a romantic relationship between Baiboon and Khom but there is no definitive answer. And the one scene with the bodyguards that I will not state in detail, just comes out of nowhere and had me wondering "Why" and "huh".
The story was stale, performaces not upto the mark and plot repeating itself but I still enjoyed the series for the sheer ridiculousness of it all. Though I would have been happier to see a little less of the blatant product placements in each episode. All in all an interesting watch which can be repeated when you have nothing else to go for.

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An apt end to a great series

This is a 70 min episode to tie-in the story of the main leads. This is all about misunderstandings and reconciliations.
Rain witnesses Payu talking to a girl and misunderstands the situation and Sky is bothered by one of Prapai's ex. This enrages both of them and since talking it out with your significant other is never an option in these series, they decide to go on a vacation together leaving their boyfriends behind. After much of searching (well... not that much) they find the whereabouts of Rain and Sky. Although they catch up to Rain and Sky, they realise that their boyfriends are still angry. Rain and Sky design a punishment as a form of reconciliation and finally all is forgiven at the end. Later on confessions are made and vows are shared and finally all is well between them.
The story was simple and quite endearing with some really feel-good moments between the 2 couples. A nice ending to the series which is worth a multiple watch.
I feel there is certainly enough material to make a separate series detailing the life of Sky and Prapai since their individual pasts have just been mentioned in passing and a lot can still be brought to screen. The actors playing the characters are great and have a wonderful chemistry.

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Good story with disappointment as it could have great

The story revolves around 2 guys at school that meet, fall in love, suffer minor hiccups in their relationship and stay together at the end. Takara (Sato Arata) is the silent type that really cares about his significant other and is out there to help and protect him. Amagi (Oriyama Nao) is the cute, energetic kind that has his small circle of friends and enjoys every moment. He also is in love with Takara and is not not shy about voicing his true feelings although is shy in certain other matters.
Both the male leads share a great chemistry onscreen however that develops gradually and its not rather evident in the first couple of episodes. Special mention should go to supporting cast of Katori (Suzuki Kosuke) who plays the ever-helpful friend of Amagi and Tanaka (Komiya Rio) who plays the oblivious but caring friend of Takara. Katori especially plays an important role in helping the 2 leads to reconcile their issues.

Now its time to discuss the things that I didn't enjoy and the list might be long. Warning: Spoilers ahead
Ep. 1 begins with a conversation between a sorrowful Takara and a crying Amagi wherein it appears that there might have been an event due to which they are no longer in a relationship or on the verge of breaking up. This hooked me immediately as now I am intrigued to know what caused this . The scene moves to the past where we are introduced to these 2 characters and how they decide to start "dating". Now I assumed I will be taken through a journey detailing their days together and how their relationship develops further but to my utter surprise ,in a rush the issue from the beginning is revelead to just be a simple misunderstanding and they get back together. So all that crying and weeping for nothing. That could have easily been resolved by having a conversation.
And this is where the series lacks behind many other BL series with similar themes and storylines. These 2 ML do not seem to have a natural conversation. They just happen to meet daily at school, they greet each other and go into mundane topics that dont further the narrative but is just a filler to move to the next scene. Every episode is - Amagi has a simple conversation with his friends about something random, Takara and his friends talk about something generic. Amagi and Takara look at each other. Then they meet and have another conversation about something random.
So what pushes the narrative ahead if its not the dialogue between the 2 ML? Its voice-over narrations. Takara will look at Amagi and will go into a long winded voice-over narration about how he feels about Amagi or Amagi will look at Takara will have his own voice-over narration talking about the past. This is how the series progresses from one plot to the other. Its not a smart dialogue but these 2 reminiscing about something from their past.
In one of the episodes they show Amagi's past when he was a kid, ignored by his parents and that revelation and his understanding that he is always ignored and abondoned by people could have been used as a plot showing his constant need for validation from Takara about their relationship. They teased that possibility by showing Amagi speaking to Tanaka that he is the only one who is in love but nothing came out of it at the end.
On one hand we get to know about Amagi's childhood, but on the other hand we get no information about Takara. Many such opportunities of improving the story was available but it was not grabbed.I understand that this series is adapted from a manga and I have not read it so not sure if anything like this was mentioned in there. Purely judging the story presented in this series, I can state that it could have been done differently with a lot of new concepts introduced but sadly we didn't get that.
I would recommend it as a 1 time watch and should be seen especially for the supporting cast.

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Bitter Sweet

The story starts rather promisingly where to oust a stubborn head chef, the owner of a restaurant hires an unknown but talented chef and at the end of the year one of them will lose their job. What starts as a rivalry slowly turns to love as they work with each other and get to know one another.

Here is where there is some food for thought. Although we get episodes after episodes of the 2 leads frolicking around the beach, amusement park and fish market, we see them getting to know each other slowly. But then we realise the 2nd chef (Choi Jung Woo) is not what he claims to be and we never get to see the real him. Is he a culinary genius that can replicate any dish that he eats or is he just a fraud? I was left scratching my head about it and I am not one to speculate what that would be. Don't make me define the character without giving me even a hint of who is truly is.

The actor playing Choi Jung Woo did a great job playing a goofy, cocky yet talented chef but I cant say the same about the actor playing Yoon Do Gun. I ain't saying he is a bad actor but somewhere he wasn't interested anymore. He seemed to have much more character during the outtakes.

Although the story was strong, the execution left something to be desired. The fault can't be placed on the fact that its a mini series. I feel a lot of scenes about them just looking at each other with no dialogue could have been cut and that time utilized in showing a bit of their back story to make the characters well rounded.

Give it a try if this story is something that you feel you are interested it. Since its a miniseries, you hardly lose a lot of time. Its a score of 8 for story as I feel there was potential but 7.5 for the series overall

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