Highly addictive series..

I remember being enthralled with the 80’s version miniseries as a child, and I am happy to report that this one is even better.

The whole show is a piece of art- from the stunning cinematography, gorgeous costuming, haunting music, amazing cast, and the well-paced storytelling..

The story portrayed here is of Japan’s feudal history and it is fascinating: illustrating their strategy, politics, samurai, ninja assassins, Lord’s and Ladies, war games, and even everyday life of its people- it’s enough to send you into a deep dive of Japan history, or at least make you curious enough to read the book inspired by these events.

I can’t believe how fast a one hour episode seems to fly by.. really top-notch in every way.. I wouldn’t be surprised to see several, well-deserved Emmy nominations for this series..

Highly recommend!

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the editing of this show.. I have no words..

Why is it so hard to show.elimination rounds in the actual sequence in which they occurred? There are many instances where this show is just all over the place.

It is so confusing to see contestants already picked in the selection rounds, sitting next to the waiting unchosen contestants 5 minutes later.. WTH?!

I feel bad for the mentors, guest star hosts, and everyone who worked so
hard on this show alongside these contestants, whose efforts are repaid with a butchered version of what was actually filmed.

There are several contestants that get outright shafted by the editing, to the point where I have thought they must have left the show for some reason, because I haven’t seen them for so long. But no, it’s just the editor in charge, playing favorites and giving some contestants 90% of the screen time, and leaving remaining 10% to be divided amongst the rest of the contestants.

Did a high schooler get the editing job here?

I have watched a lot of idol competition shows, but none has left me scratching my head, trying to piece things together like this show does.. SMH

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A step backwards for OffGun..

I love OffGun and watch everything they are in, whether it’s together or their solo projects, but I really have a soft spot for them, as they are one of the 1st BL couples that I fell in love with, in both dramas and reality shows.

Cooking Crush is not a bad BL, it is a rom-com BL, heavy on goofiness and comedy, but very light on storyline and character development.

My beef is mostly with GMMTV, for using veteran BL couples who have proven their worth- starting their careers with several lesser roles on several so-so series, and have now worked their way up to a certain level of stardom and credibility.

I feel like their apex was definitely hit with last year’s Not Me. Not only was it worthy of OffGun, it had substance, serious subject matter, and was thoughtfully executed by these the entire amazing cast.

I thought “great! now that everyone has seen them at their best, they won’t have to do high school or college roles anymore.” SMH 🤦‍♀️

GMMTV has such a huge catalog of teen- early 20’s actors that could have easily slipped into these Cooking Crush roles.

IMHO, it’s a waste of OffGun’s talent to put them in these types of series that they have already done many times and now can do in their sleep.

Just one fan’s opinion..🤷🏻‍♀️

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Only watch this for ZekeFifth!

Zeke, Fidth and Win are the only characters who didn’t make me cringe..

This show was trying to do so many things: highlighting LGBTQ+ folks, make us laugh, make us cry, etc.. the problema is that none of them are done well.

The acting was hit & miss, either extremely uncomfortably/awkwardly bad, or very natural (ZekeFifth scenes).
The dialogue was ROUGH, and you can tell there’s a LOT of ad libbing, but not everyone can pull this off.

The storyline is a hot mess. You really have to forgive a lot to get thru this whole show, or fast forward much of it.

on the positive side-
I was happy to see ZekeFifth are getting lead roles in the next season, because they’re the only ones I’ll be watching.

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Can we please stop glorifying bullying? Such a huge turn off..

I love Perth and Chimon and the other actors here, I just wish we could move away from the bullying trope- it is so tired and there are other more interesting ways to develop an intriguing plot.

The home room teacher turning a blind eye to the bullying video and threatening to lower grades if he doesn’t delete the incriminating video is so…not believable and gross. Seriously, that would never happen in a public school.

I will keep watching to see if it gets better because I love the cast, and the show quality seems above average. I am hoping for a huge redemption arc for Perth’s character to save this show.

After seeing My School President, Semantic Error, Light on Me, Until we Meet Again, Ai Long Nhai, Love Mechanics, and many other school-themed shows not making a bullying theme the main focus of the plot, I know there are great stories to tell without using this as a crutch. And frankly, by now, we deserve better.

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Park Min Young is picking some stinkers lately… SMH. This was such a snooze.

I love Park Min Young and have enjoyed several of her dramas, but lately, she is really picking some stinkers. It started with Forecasting Love & Weather, and continues here.

The ML is such a snore, and I was not feeling the chemistry between the 2 leads. The second ML was better, but of course, she doesn’t choose him because he actually seems to have a pulse.

The story was a little rough, the “professional bride for hire” angle had potential, but the execution fell a little short. The family dynamics were a train wreck leaving carnage all over this show. The ML judge character’s office life was so cringy at times I had secondhand embarrassment.

Honestly, the best parts about this show are the gay roommate and the second male lead. I can’t count the number of times I fell asleep while watching this show, and in the end, I had to fast forward through 80% of the last 5 eps just to finish it.

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Easily the best BL of 2024..

I wasn’t expecting much when I started EY, EM because I was basically checking in on Mick after seeing him in La Cuisine and My Universe and finding him utterly adorable..

It is not overstating to say that EY, EM blew me away in several aspects..

I already knew Top & Mick had amazing chemistry after watching them on My Universe, but this was a whole other level.

The unique approach of EY, EM, having the couple in several storylines, but portraying different characters, really highlighted Mick & Top’s adaptability and range and really sets this BL apart from the usual BL storyline tropes we see 90% of the time.

I also saw something I have NEVER seen in BL before: the same actors getting their time portraying both the “top” and “bottom” roles within the series. Can we talk about giving the screenwriter a big fat raise?! This move was pure genius. Lesser actors would not have been able to pull off both roles so believably and effortlessly as Top & Mick. Each episode seemed to get better and better.

This series had a great combination of humor (no eye-rolling humor & cartoon sound effects), romance, tear-jerking scenes (wow, just wow), and spicy moments, keeping the pacing on track and never dragging.

The production level was really good, the OST was beautiful and never distracting or repetitive, the supporting cast was great, and the dialogue was not inane, recycled BL speak.

Never did a scene with Top & Mick feel like they were acting: no awkwardness, no fake kissing with paralyzed lips.. Everything felt so natural, that when they cried, I cried.. when they laughed, I laughed.. When it was over (with an amazing ending, thank God) I really wished there was more episodes..

I highly recommend this series if you like a more mature, real-life type of BL, without goofy sound effects and 30 yr olds portraying HS and college kids..
I think you’ll be as happily surprised as I was!

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A joy to watch- you get ALL the feels!

I really enjoyed this show, for many reasons:

1) the concept of this show is fresh (I’ve watched many reality music shows) and it was interesting to see the interaction between the singer/songwriters and the established singers.

2) getting to see the stars/famous singers/actors in unscripted situations, playing games with each other, having natural interactions with their peers and the writers, fighting for a song and general goofing off.. it’s so priceless, and unexpectedness hilarious at times.. I almost peed my pants several times watching Charlie teasing his cohorts and other antics throughout the show.

3) a unique platform given to (in some cases) really struggling artists, to showcase their work and make their songs available for immediate consumption by viewers.. what an amazing opportunity for them to boost their visibility in the music industry..

4) many high and low moments taking us on a roller coaster of emotions..
you really get a sense of the writer’s perspective during their songwriting process, their muses and life experiences that have shaped and sparked their creativity, and their love of music and what drives them to continue down an unknown and sometimes unsuccessful career path..

I gave this show 9/10..

The only thing I would say needs improvement may actually be an IQIYI issue, not a Melody Journey issue:

The episodes are really hard to follow in the correct order, based on how they are listed on IQIYI’s platform. There are supposed to be 11 episodes, but there are over 40 listed on IQIYI and in random (not chronological) order which had me re-watching episodes several times before I noticed I’d already watched it and it must be a duplicate or in the wrong order.

All in all, I am still eager for the season 2 they’ve already promised us!

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The FL is dodging kisses like ML is a slobbery St. Bernard!

This show had promise-
there wasn’t as much cringe as a lot of Thai dramas, and the production, music, dialogue, acting, wardrobe, hair & makeup, screenwriting, etc..were all not that bad, either..

The age gap didn’t bother me either, as they are both adults (it’s not like he’s waiting for an 18 yr old to graduate high school so he can pounce, or something similar. They are both mature, intelligent adults with careers).

What killed any believability factor for me was that for the entire drama they had one partially shown drunken kiss, and that’s it.. Oh, a few hugs were thrown in, too.

I just don’t see a committed relationship where 2 people are supposedly newly “in love” but only share 1 kiss neither remember because both were drunk.

That smacks of no mutual attraction in real life, and this is supposed to be a drama, where we should be treated to a dreamlike, fantasy of wooing with all the feels..

But I wasn’t feeling much of anything..

FlukeMilk gave the most romance in this show in their one episode of holding hands..SMH

Too bad, because it came so close, but failed in this simple requirement for a romantic dramedy.

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This show gutted me..

I find myself still thinking about this show weeks after binging it in one day..

Although this 20+ years long storyline could sound like a trope, it was beautifully executed in so many ways, that it avoided becoming a cliche..

The entire cast’s performances and chemistry of the leads were spot on, the cinematography of various parts of Japan and Iceland was breathtaking, the story was beautifully interwoven with realistic, and sometimes painful highs and lows, and the OST was a dream.

I wouldn’t change a thing.. this show will stay with you long after you watch it..
2 thumbs way, way up!

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lgbtqia2s+ education? consensual behavior? sex positivity? YES, SIR!

I went into this blind, not expecting much. I am so glad I gave this series a chance..

I was happily surprised to see sex education, sexual behaviors, kinks and different sexual orientations discussed in an adult manner. I see a lot of childish, jokey/humorous, and downright cringy BLs that may entertain, but do not explore and educate like KKB does.

The writers really took time to research and give factual, easy to understand info in a way that promotes positivity, safe sex and inclusivity, without treating sex/sexual behavior as something to be embarrassed about.

The cast is amazing, and the chemistry between Almond and Latte was such a joy to watch. I hope I see them in main roles again in the future. Also, I believe these roles and their individual performances by Best and Seng were their best to date..

Overall, the storyline was one I’ve never encountered before, even though I’ve watched a lot of Uni campus BLs, so if you’re thinking of giving it a pass because you’re tired of the same college trope BL, I think you should give it a shot..

🏳️‍🌈🇹🇭😘🥳

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The world needs more DaouOffroad in it!

There are few BLs airing now that get as much right as this one does.

Was it perfect? No..

But I think what is also important is the feeling we get from watching a good BL, and if we have good memories of it afterward that stick in our head.

Daou and Offroad have great chemistry built from years of friendship as band mates, and in LIT, it can make up for the little flaws in storyline, and other minor technical issues that this show has.

The entire cast put in some great performances, regardless of the sometimes over the top, goofy plot. The production value, cinematography, and OST were also pretty commendable.

I’m sure others can/will poke holes in the quality of this BL for this and that, if they try hard enough, but it really is subjective. As someone who has watched close to 200 BLs over the years, I will still put this in my top 20.

And lastly, I really hope Daou and Offroad have more projects together in the future!

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Easily the best BL of 2024..

I wasn’t expecting much when I started EY, EM because I was basically checking in on Mick after seeing him in La Cuisine and My Universe and finding him utterly adorable..

It is not overstating to say that EY, EM blew me away in several aspects..

I already knew Top & Mick had amazing chemistry after watching them on My Universe, but this was a whole other level.

The unique approach of EY, EM, having the couple in several storylines, but portraying different characters, really highlighted Mick & Top’s adaptability and range and really sets this BL apart from the usual BL storyline tropes we see 90% of the time.

I also saw something I have NEVER seen in BL before: the same actors getting their time portraying both the “top” and “bottom” roles within the series. Can we talk about giving the screenwriter a big fat raise?! This move was pure genius. Lesser actors would not have been able to pull off both roles so believably and effortlessly as Top & Mick. Each episode seemed to get better and better.

This series had a great combination of humor (no eye-rolling humor & cartoon sound effects), romance, tear-jerking scenes (wow, just wow), and spicy moments, keeping the pacing on track and never dragging.

The production level was really good, the OST was beautiful and never distracting or repetitive, the supporting cast was great, and the dialogue was not inane, recycled BL speak.

Never did a scene with Top & Mick feel like they were acting: no awkwardness, no fake kissing with paralyzed lips.. Everything felt so natural, that when they cried, I cried.. when they laughed, I laughed.. When it was over (with an amazing ending, thank God) I really wished there was more episodes..

I highly recommend this series if you like a more mature, real-life type of BL, without goofy sound effects and 30 yr olds portraying HS and college kids..
I think you’ll be as happily surprised as I was!

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