Enjoyable & Lots Of Wonderful Hugs

Acting 9.5, story 7, script 8, good chemistry, kisses short and simple but lots of skinship & tons of wonderful hugs, music 5 (one main song used for almost all big scenes and there were times when the music didn't match the nuances of a scene's mood and pulled me out of it a bit).

Very cute and sweet (a couple slightly cheesy moments but they didn't detract) and straight-forward.

The pacing of the main relationship and plot was great all the way through the 10 episodes. Well-crafted tension and a nice long arc of light to medium angst that was resolved satisfactorily.

The lead actors where great in their roles and gave really distinct energies to their characters.
It was also different and interesting having one of the leads being a professional potter.

I will likely rewatch at some point.

GENERAL SPOILERS:
I didn't understand the crux of the issue that continued to hold the second couple back. I did like the actors and how they portrayed their characters though.

I really appreciated how it took a while for trust to be rebuilt between the main characters (not fixed in just one episode); it felt more realistic and was ultimately more satisfying when they reconciled.

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Fun For Comedy, More Bromance Than Romance

Purposefully absurdist. It's very much like a manga with exaggerated behaviors, facial expressions, and vocal exclamations for comedic effect. It's odd, goofy, and sometimes borderline cringe from the ridiculous situations created. I was in the right mood for it, however, and found myself laughing out loud at least once every episode.

GENERAL SPOILERS BELOW.
The story did an interesting job in giving examples of different types of love. But two major things didn't work for me.
First, the main character isn't very likeable (though the actor makes him fun to watch!). He's hard working, positive, and kind with clients so you see why other people may be interested in him initially. But he's not that thoughtful with the people close to him, and he doesn't show character growth in this regard, even when it's pointed out to him (repeatedly). He's a good natured bumbling idiot who wants to keep the peace and avoid confrontations.

Second, mutual romantic love is in very short supply. It supposedly comes to fruition at the end for the lead, but his interactions with his lover don't support this. It starts like a bromance and ultimately stays feeling that way. For that reason the ending landed a bit flat for me.

I rated the acting by all highly because even though it's exaggerated, it is conciously done by the actors for comedic effect, and they succeed well in what they're aiming to achieve. The actors playing the main character and the boss were especially dynamic and enjoyable to watch.

Music didn't distract but there was nothing specifically memorable either.

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Lacks Focus & Skill

Tries to be too many things and fails at pretty much everything. This movie came off as a juvenile attempt at "indie art". It is INCREDIBLY BORING. I read that the director was inspired by Japanese pink films, as well as a few other things. This does seem like it fits that genre, it's just poorly done.

The only thing that kept me curious and watching was the character Playboy, acted by Steven Isarapong Furher (who is actually pretty good despite the crappy script). It's the first time I've seen a very masochistic character ALSO be such a dominant personality. I find that duality fascinating and wish that had been the focus of this film and explored further.

The directing, pacing, plot, script, cinematography, and music are all terrible. But I was able to finish it with some fast-forwarding and without feeling totally scarred by it so I'll rate it a 1.5.

When a character replies to another there is a pause the average of 3-5 seconds (sometimes longer!). It's ridiculously slow. Maybe the director really wanted the actors to fully feel the lines before speaking them but it completely dissipates any tension the incredibly vague and stupid plot tries to build up.

There's not a lot of background music/noise. When there is, it starts and stops abruptly and feels out of place. It always detracts instead of inhances. The simplistic drum beat during sex is awkward and distracting. The rap about rape is completely out of left field, bizarre, and disturbing. There's no cohesion.

If you want something extreme with a hopeful ending watch Dangerous Drugs of Sex instead (a 2020 Japanese film). That is very well done.

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Hollow

There wasn't enough of an emotional connection (with any character or between any of them) to make up for all the disturbing and shock-value scenes (sexually and non-sexually). Gruesome in parts. It's not philosophical or psychologically interesting either.
I wish I hadn't given it a try.

The "bond" between the student and teacher is thin and forced. Their motivations, especially regarding each other, are weak and shallow. They had very little chemistry. The "romance" is flat and actually had me rolling my eyes a couple times.

The acting was okay but no one was charismatic.

Out of the many sexual scenes, the 2 that weren't disturbing weren't good either. They felt blocked-out and not natural at all. Rather awkward and perfunctory.

To me there was nothing redeeming or in any way enjoyable about this story.

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While watching my rating went from 7.5 to a 3

While watching, my thoughts on what I might rate this show went from a 4 to a 7.5 the slid down and ended at a 3.

Acting was strong by all. They really did a good job despite the drek they were given. Dialogue was very simple but at least had a flow to it. The weaknesses lay in the storytelling and reliance on ridiculous plot devices to keep it going. Also, the further the story got, the more distasteful some of the topics and relationship dynamics became. By Ep 10 I was pretty fed up with the writers, by Ep 12 wished it was over already. Only continued for King and Ram (one of the secondary couples) and THEIR story is why I'm giving the overall story rating a 3 instead of a 2. If seperated from the rest, I would rate their scenes a 9/10. One basic kiss per couple. PG for intimacy, PG-13 for themes.

King and Ram was the only healthy relationship, and had a very sweet progression. The only ones whose actions matched their words; were consistently thoughtful, sweet, and supportive of each other. Until Ep 14 when the writers suddenly wrote them out of character (I felt) to be dramatic and force romantic confession. These writers are so lazy and unimaginative.

Ep 1 & 2 were silly when setting up the story between the two leads (Bohn & Duen) & I fast-forwarded bits. But Ep 3-6 had me invested in them and the side couples, especially King and Ram, and I didn't fast-forward. There were multiple genuinely funny comedic moments that had me laughing out loud. I was feeling really positive about this show, but that started to slide in Ep 7 and things just got worse from there.

GENERAL SPOILERS BELOW:
I liked Mek but his best friend and unrequited love Boss was whiny and annoying. Wanted Mek to have a happy end but at the same time didn't care about Boss. Frong starts with completely unexplained/inexplicable deep animosity for Thara. In Ep 9 started to enjoy their interactions but their start felt like just a plot contrivance without any thought behind it.

Ep 7 started fast-forwarding small bits again. Ep 8 was ridiculous; the hot/cold dynamic between Bohn and Duen was getting really repetitive and the "plot" devices sprung up to keep that going were getting more and more stupid and annoying. Ep 9 and the relationship between the lead couple is so juvenile, immature, thoughtless, rather mean, and all for completely STUPID reasons. First it was over-reactive Jealousy, then who is the "wife" and who is the "husband" because of comments made by others. It's getting really hard to keep caring about them. I mean, they are supposedly into each other but are each offended, almost disgusted, at the thought of being "the bottom"? And all the friends feed into this and make fun of them about being the bottom? WTF???

The BL obsessed and delusional sister is so awful. It's one constant cringe whenever she's in a scene. Also every background female and their friends loudly shipping whatever guys were hanging out in front of them was rude and toxic. Normalizing that behavior, when it's none of their business and can impact people's real lives negatively, is psychologically unhealthy.

Ep 11, seriously, who is THAT scared to be kissed by their boyfriend of multiple weeks? (Bohn & Duen). The actors are doing what they can with what they are given, it's just the script making them do inane and ridiculous things.

Ep 12-14 fast-forwarded most of it. King and Ram are the only ones I kept watching.

After showing some promise of an enjoyable show at the beginning, I was really disappointed, frustrated, and annoyed with what the writers did with it. Very juvenile.

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Heartwarming, realistically grown romance.

General spoilers only. 9.8/10 so rounding up (I rate vertical dramas on their own sliding scale). A vertically filmed, 3 hour drama that focused on the romantic development and progression between the two leads (instead of relying on crazy plot devices to propell the story).
It felt more grounded and emotionally/psychologically realistic than most vertical dramas. The leads are fabulous. Great actors and amazing chemistry together. A very sweet, romantic story with a touching, healthy, and balanced relationship between the two.

The leads felt like 3-dimensional characters. The FL is gentle and earnest but with a backbone. The ML is calm and competent but with vulnerabilities. They respect and support each other.

It had a slow burn feel but with many butterfly-inducing moments, and was extremely satisfying as a a romance. The two actors have been in multiple short dramas together and are very comfortable with each other. There are a couple kisses and intimate moments that are gentle and realistic. Their scenes together often had me smiling uncontrollably, yet it never became overly saccharine-sweet.

There is a 3rd wheel for the FL (the SML is her ex boyfriend), but the FL never waivers once she dumps him for cheating.

The two things that didn't quite hit the mark for me: 1) The ending felt rushed and some secondary/tertiary characters had a change of heart without the story showing much of their process. 2) Right near the end there was a little bit of the crazy plot clichés that are typical in most vertical dramas and it felt unnecessary.

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Awkward Script And Tedious Overall.

Review for both Part 1 (19min) and Part 2 (17min). Found on YouTube (Nov 2023 in the USA).

Very poor writing and mediocre acting. Both parts felt tedious even though they were so short.

The interactions between the two leads are written very simply and are kind of cute but mostly boring. The 2nd lead is pretty wooden and I didn't feel much chemistry or magnetism between them.

The girl character is more a creepy fujoshi than a friend. The second season has a contrived love triangle. The way the new rival interacts with the the guy who can't figure out his feelings is so bizarre and laughably unrealistic.

The music (especially in part 1) and audio quality were good for a low-budget production. Cinematography was basic.

Felt like a waste of time to me.

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Gentle, sweet, and fluffy romance.

A vertically filmed micro drama (I rate these on their own sliding scale). The story focuses on the interactions between the main leads and how their relationship grows. There are no major interferences or crazy plot shenanigans. It's a gentle love story.

General Spoilers below. Expansion of synopsis that sets up the story at the bottom.

I would not consider this a steamy drama, though there are a couple moments of medium-high sexual tension, and a couple brief kisses with small to medium movements (where the lips touching are actually shown, unlike some of the other productions these two have done together that had none or were head-blocked). It is satisfying how the two characters look at each other, especially later on as the FL falls in love. Her smiles of joy and eyes filled with adoration were lovely and very believable. It was also fun to watch when she decided to woo her husband in return, and try to figure out how to entice him to take further steps with intimacy. The way she got a little embarrassed though nervously excited was adorable and also very realistic.

The ML is quietly steady and a little too perfect, lol, but the FL deserves it. He pampers the FL every single day, often with lots of gifts. He trusts, supports, and encourages the FL.

The actor of the SML deserves a special mention; he gives a fantastic performance! His character is not evil or sadistic, but he's not really likeable. He is a self-absorbed man and has been taking the attention of the FL for granted. While his temperament is not likeable and he is not good husband material, the acting and writing still manage to make him pitiable. It would be really easy to turn this character into a cartoonish caricature, but the actor is nuanced and believable in his delivery, and makes him feel like a real person.

A little more on the set-up synopsis (within the first 7 minutes):
The FL has been chasing the SML since highschool (10 years) and now works as one of his secretaries. They have an ambiguous relationship and one day the FL overhears him say, essentially, that he won't consider her for marriage because she's an adoptive daughter and not on the same level as his family. It's not shown how they meet, but the FL then drunkenly sleeps with the ML, who is another highschool classmate from a wealthy family that is now a CEO. Afterwards, the ML essentially asks her to "take responsibility" for him and marry to keep things above board in the public eye. He persuades her saying she can keep half his property after they divorce. A short while later, when explaining their quick marriage to another, the ML reveals that he has secretly loved the FL since highschool. The FL, however, believes he his just acting for show. Thus begins the story of the ML wooing his wife by showing his sincerity through actions.

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An okay watch for a Suzuki Jin or Noona-romance fan.

Suzuki Jin is what got me through this. He is a good actor and charasmatic enough to keep me watching and to make me want a good ending for his character even if the screenplay is written simplistically.

While the screenplay does bring up various concerns one might have with an age gap romance, and social and familial navigation, it doesn't explore them well or deeply. It's not very insightful or thoughtful. A couple things come up repeatedly though they feel only partially discussed (like they're being used as a writing crutch), while others are resolved with unrealistic ease. There's way too much going on with the plot and side people so there's no time to explore things with more meaning. Character psychology and development stays simplistic as a result.

The set up is insanely fast. There wasn't adequate time for me to get invested in the characters before they started doing things that strained their likability. The first Ep of 20 min has Mayuki confess to Shino and them starting a relationship of sorts and growing some feelings, then it's all angsty struggles from then on. Shino's character was bland and I couldn't get invested in her.

There is a good amount of sweetness, skinship, and hugs, and a couple of kisses. The hottest scene is in the first episode (shows a bit of the lead up to the two main characters sleeping together).

Some suspension of disbelief is required for various things throughout the story.
General Spoiler below.
(Ex: who would start living with the person they are in love with and *immediately* leave their home in that state of disarray every day? Especially when it's a usually thoughtful character who is still trying to secure the other person's affection! That really came across as a forced plot point because the writer needed it to happen early on to prompt the "kid" arguments.)

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Start At Ep 7 For A Better Continuation From Season 1!

Ep 1 had so much emotional abuse by a ridiculously devolved Minato to Shin that I couldn't enjoy it. I skipped to Ep 7 per another reviewer's suggestion and was so glad I did! The emotional abuse starts to fade out then and it felt like a better, much more sensical continuation of Shin and Minato's relationship from Season 1. I highly suggest starting at Ep 7 if you want to be able to like Minato and be happy with the ending.

Minato continues his extremely slow character development, but it does happen. The acting is, again, supurb by all (especially Sho as Shin), and the secondary couple's progression is sweet and fun to watch too.

I rated Season 1 an 8/10 and I would rate Season 2 *Ep 7-12* at an 8/10 as a satisfying conclusion to the character and relationship arcs. I'm removing 1 star for Ep 1-6 because of the regressively poor characterizations and the unwatchable toxicity that was unnecessary and detrimental to the story's development.

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Best Friends And No Stong Emotions.

Endearing and brought a smile to my face, but it was also... full of nothing. The characters didn't portray or evoke any deep emotions. I often like the Japanese slice-of-life approach to storytelling but it felt especially empty in this one. And it's only four 20min episodes. The kids are written like actual highschoolers and fill their days with semi nonsensical talking tangents and not doing much.

The message that is spelled out for the viewer, mainly in a voice-over at the end, is cherish what you love in the present even if you're afraid it may go away someday.

The thing is, it feels like best friends cherishing each other and not more, despite the little kisses. I think it would have been more satisfying if left at close friendship but because the screenplay tries to *say* they love each other as more, *without showing* that in their interactions, there's obviously something missing.

The characters themselves say that nothing at all has changed since they both confirmed their feelings for each other. I think it's because they have a best-friend-soulmate connection instead of a romantic one; that's how it comes across anyway. And that is also a very special connection and worth cherishing. I wish the screenplay had focused on that message instead of forcing it to be a "romance", which negatively impacted my satisfaction and rating.

General Spoilers below.

There's barely any plot but the couple of threads there are, are left hanging at the end (does Sakura actually play in the school show? how does he sort out his next steps with or without music? who is the creepy kid knocking into people and does it keep happening?).

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Beautiful, Real, Powerful, Hopeful.

General spoiler only at bottom of review.
The way the story was written and told resonated deeply with real life. I had long lingering feels after the series ended. It made me nostalgic of the ups and downs of college, first love, and the hope of youth. Cried hard twice (one sad one positive). Some heavy themes (and a character actually getting help from regular therapy, which I so appreciated). Loved the main characters and their (true) friends.

Positive messages. Deeply touching. Riveted the entire time, didn't fast-forward through anything. Pacing and tension consistently well-crafted.

Chemistry between the leads was like magnets. Skinship and kisses were natural and full of feelings. Beautiful intimacy.

Beautiful cinematography and use of light. Artistically captured the feel of the ocean (didn't just look pretty).

Music, natural sounds, and silence were well utilized and timed. Really enhanced scenes. Some of the songs chosen were memorable and the orchestral piece at the end with the credits was perfect.

Note to self: Because this touched me deeply and resonated with some difficult personal past experiences, I may find it too emotional to rewatch frequently.

GENERAL SPOILER ON THE ENDING:
It is a happy and hopeful ending.

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Feels faked. Like writer&director looked up kinks on Wikipedia & actors are poorly playing pretend.

Dropped after Ep7. I can't force myself to keep watching, not even for the sake of keeping my review current. General spoilers only.

Not mentally or emotionally engaging or satisfying as either porn-with-plot OR porn-without-plot. It's mostly quick cuts to and away from 10-60 sec vignettes of "action" with not much to string them together. Akin to scrolling through porn search results; it's mini previews of scenes I might be interested in watching more of without actually getting to see them. Many of the snippets are at the point of highest shock value and then they are over or the story jumps away. There's rarely any build of anticipation or sexual tension and the BDSM scenes get more campy as the series goes on, especially when gear is involved.

The story also has a tendency to cut away right after the pinnacle of non-sexual, emotional confrontations, which comes across as lazy writing not putting in the effort to comple scenes. It's also frusterating because it keeps the audience at a distance from character's experiences leaving huge gaps between scenes/events, which makes it hard to connect with and invest in the characters emotionally.

I was looking forward to a grittier BL story with intrigue that explored sex and kinks more freely but this is so far disappointing. The characters are written 2-dimensionally (simple & shallow) and acted flatly, and the sex/kinks often feel forced/fake. Like the series is trying to sell a showy shell of a vaneer without a fundamental understanding of the dynamics that would drive the more extreme types of desires and scenes in real life. Like BOTH the writer and director looked up kinks on Wikipedia and the actors are poorly playing dress-up; interactions are poorly faked simulations that no one seems to enjoy convincingly.

I can't believe it's the Only Friends screenwriter (which had it's weaknesses but was overall enjoyably chaotic while the characters were understandable and many were easy to empathize with and root for). The quality of storytelling in this is so disjointed and weak. There are too many characters that don't get introduced or followed properly and the mess of thin plotlines are shallow and often confusing.

I continued to watch in the hopes that it would get better, since I thought the screenwriter was capable of it. Ep 4 actually made me laugh out loud twice at how bad it was with poor and overly dramatic writing, acting, and music.

Ep 7/14 update: This episode showed a couple improvements after the holiday hiatus but it had a different feel to it, which I think would be even more noticeable if someone was binge-watching. It was weird how 'in love' many of the characters became suddenly.

There was still confusion about what exactly was going on in some scenes, the way multiple relationships are progressing don't quite make sense, multiple character choices are illogical, and Zouey still feels like a different character than how he was presented at the start of the series. He seems to have somehow moved past the physical/sexual/psychological eccentricities that originally made him so different and interesting.

What I thought was improved: Power dynamics were the focus in the various types of relationships. The themes of the episode and their execution were more clear. There was a better rhythm to scenes because the editing didn't interrupt and bounce back and forth in the middle of scenes as much. The editing between scenes was less choppy, the interactions between characters were more focused, and the music was well suited to each scene. This allowed some tension to build over the course of the episode leading to a more intense cliffhanger.

I watched the Uncut version on GagaOOlala in the USA.

General Spoilers for Ep 1-3 below.

There's some tension/anticipation built with Zouey and Teena but then Ep3 breaks it. Zouey uncharacteristically feels "in the mood" (to go all the way no less) and they start a slow exploration then SNAP, the camera briefly switches to the middle of a sex scene with a different pair! and SNAP, we're back to Zouey and Teena and they are about to try 'the main event'. And it quickly doesn't go well.

Wait. First, you deliberately don't show us the interesting part of seducing a body with pleasure (especially Zouey because we're not even clear in what way he does/doesn't experience pleasure or arousal) then second, tell us a sex worker doesn't know how to adequately prepare someone for bottoming?!?!? Really?

How in the world did they even get that far- what was Zouey's reaction to anything leading up to that point? That's what made that scene/relationship interesting and they didn't bother to write it in. *Facepalm. And where was the Japanese overvoice that was present before? (And why weren't subtitles included for that by the way?) It feels like Zouey and Teena were written out of character just so their plotline dilemma could line up with one of Zouey's friends for this episode.

I somewhat appreciated that safe words were a topic in Ep 3, but it was very rudimentary in its explanations and kind of put blame on Zouey for not remembering to use a safe word instead of "wait/no" for his first time. The discussion by the group of friends compells me to add:
FYI you can incorporate "What's your color?" or "Say your color" to check in with your partner using the traffic light system (green = go, yellow = slow down or reduce, red = stop). Prompting a response in this way is especially helpful when trying something new or with those that have a hard time thinking and/or verbalizing while exploring (like those in subspace).

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Watch Once For Ja, First, & Bosston.

Once again, the enjoyment of watching Ja & First act, especially with each other, is the main reason to watch their show. A 9/10 for their acting. The script for their two characters (but not the rest!!!) is more naturalistic than Don't Say No, but there are weaknesses in the plot/writing that they, again, do an admirable job of compensating for through their acting.

It was fun, impressive, and satisfying to see Ja (Punn) & First (Ashi) play such different characters than they have before. And their nc-17 scenes have gotten even steamier while still retaining an incredible amount of sweetness. A special blend! And those two do both sweetness/happiness and angst/sadness so well. Even when the writers forcibly contrive/prolong angst for the characters, Ja's and First's acting tugs hard at my heartstrings. Really hard. But because it gets resolved, it hurts just right ;)

Bosston as the secondary character Mueang was awesome too! Totally fell in love with the way he portrayed his character. Otherwise, the writers really did his character a disservice. His "love story" got almost no dialogue; it was mostly an excuse for nc-17 scenes. It felt so weird. Everytime the scene jumped to a "love" scene between Mueang & his Doctor, it felt like a separate movie had been randomly spliced in for a minute before jumping back to the main story. The actor who plays the doctor is greatly lacking in his ability to express emotions, let alone nuances, so he couldn't pull off making his character likeable, especially with the small amount of screen time and dialogue given to his character.

All the other secondary and tertiary characters (except Pun's mother), were written really poorly; over-the-top and/or shallow and/or annoying. I found myself rolling my eyes and fast-forwarding A LOT.

So if you like the actors Ja, First, and Bosston it may be worth one watch and just fast-forward through other scenes that you find dragging :)

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For fans of the lead couple.

A vertically filmed micro drama (I rate these on their own sliding scale). Okay for one watch for fans of the lead actors, otherwise skipable. I love when these actors are paired together, but the screenplay certainly lets them down. The chemistry and push-pull interaction of the leads was the only thing that kept me going.

Neither lead character is very likeable.

At first it seemed that the FL would have an enjoyable strong personality as she states, "I'll take care of my own revenge. That's the fun part." However, everything is so stupidly easy for the FL (awesome at everything and physically invincible) that it's very boring. She also doesn't have much personality unless she's interacting directly with the ML. The character's go-to demeanor is 'resting b*tch face'. She's completely rude to strangers (for no reason) and gets violent quickly.

The ML is very controlling and a little oppressive; some of the things he says rub me the wrong way. Ex: When FL is protesting to intimacy ML says "Don't talk. Be good." Also contemplates not letting the FL see her best female friend so often as he thinks she's a bad influence. But it's slightly balanced out later on as the FL starts saying the ML "had better behave".

Pros:
The romance is hot, the actors are very comfortable and natural with each other, there are multiple suggestive lines, and kisses are very realistic with small to large movements. Definitely more steamy than some of their past collaborations. FL's outfits also show a lot of skin. I'd call it cute-hot-superhero-punk style!

Other cons:
The plot has a lot of arguing with ridiculous people.
The ending is very short.
The use of duck-quack sound effects are copious and annoying, especially since things aren't that funny.

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