Terrible Ending In My Room

Overall: I watched the first 3 and half episodes and the last episode (cut version). Very disappointed at the ending.

Content Warnings: kind of attempted self harm/suicide - it's complicated, character death, horror, watching someone without their permission

What I Liked
- there was some stunning cinematography for example in the beginning with the light behind the characters, nice color scheming, music contributes to the mood
- the intro drawing/animation sequence
- the kiss in the final episode was well done

Room For Improvement
- in the cut version, there is zero explanation why Phob didn't turn into an evil ghost?!?
- Phob was too gutless to say goodbye to Phat (but then they did say goodbye, I have no idea why/how that came about)
- time skip and 50ish year old Phat says he married a woman but it didn't work out, he's dying of cancer and his mom died...then Phat and Phob reunite after Phat's death
- free version cuts out parts and it felt choppy in many places

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First Impression: See Your Love

Overall: I'm excited to see where this romcom goes. 13 episodes about 25 minutes each. Airing on GagaOOLala (not Taiwan, Korea or Japan) https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/4835/see-you-love-2024-e01 ; Viki https://www.viki.com/tv/40788c-see-your-love ; iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/see-your-love-episode-1-dznrqstnns?lang=en_us ; WeTV https://wetv.vip/en/play/rigkbvj5a6vdcj1

Content Warnings: discrimination, fight

What I Liked
- the lead characters and their dynamic
- supportive family & friend
- representation (I'm not an expert, however it felt realistic)
- comedy moments (subverted tropes, the parents and what they did in their home, though not sure the purpose unless it was just a prank)

Room For Improvement
- the end of episode 1 was confusing as it was a preview for episode 2 but didn't seem to be a preview
- comedy sound effects
- needlessly dramatic ending of episode 2, perhaps it was trying to be funny but then it didn't go far enough for me

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3rd Time Is Not The Charm

Overall: I debated even starting this because of the production company (google Motive Village controversy and you can learn about it). But I wanted to support the actors.

Content Warnings: flashback to non/dub con sex (drunk)

What I Liked
- the Forth/Beam kiss was decent
- (neutral) animations

Room For Improvement
- the reboot (season 2 aka season 1 plus extra plot line) ended on a major cliffhanger so I expected this to pick up where it left off but instead we have 2 new characters as the leads with a totally different plot
- the 6 of them sitting around and re-creating their stories was an exposition dump
- there are 3 established couples that didn't really do anything and don't have chemistry/they don't feel like established couples, i.e. an established couple who had a dead fish lip press kiss
- two seemingly straight guys starting as rivals who will eventually fall into the 'gay for you' trope
- production value (odd camerawork, goofy background music that didn't fit)
- effeminate guys stereotyped as boy obsessed/shrill
- boring, they even put a flashback in 27 min to earlier in that same episode
- a stupid competition
- what a weird thing for a person in an established relationship to do when someone asks for his phone number
- no official international release

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started strong (watch suggestions)

Overall: I was pleasantly surprised with the first few episodes and the tension/yearning; however, the relationship progression stalled and the 24 support characters including several love triangles had me confused/not interested in the side relationships. I have watched the original series adaption; I have not read the book. I'm trying to write this review based on the current series' merits. Airing uncut (~1 hour) on iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/love-sick-2024-episode-1-1mki2ks9q5g?lang=en_us and cut (~45 min) on Tia51's YouTube channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLR99-9wCOObG0rFQTm5mqfiLeR0eyARyx&si=dU0m-CXh1LffpvC8

Content Warnings: bullying, joking about attempting suicide, homophobia, fight, non con picture/video taking/sharing

Watch Suggestions (to center on the 2 leads/get rid of love rivals)
- watch all of episode 1
- episode 2 watch the beginning to 53:35
- episode 3 watch the beginning to 11:15, 28-50 and 54-end
- episode 4 watch 8-9 cameo, 25:30-27:30 and 38-45:45
- episode 5 watch 11:45-13:50, 26:15-28:35, 53-54 and 58:15-end
- episode 6 watch 17-19 and 37:50-42:30
- episode 7 watch 14:40-15:40, 39-40:30 and 56:30-58:10

What I Liked
- how the first episodes are focused on the 2 leads
- sweet/caring moments
- staring/tension/chemistry
- that Noh didn't do something in episode 3
- cameo in episode 4
- trans character isn't a comedic character
- production value

Room For Improvement
- the intro was beautiful but a bit confused about the context for it (they do explain it in later episodes, not a favorite way to start a series), then the 2 year time jump
- a ton of characters (says 24 support roles in addition to the 2 main characters) were introduced and I was fairly lost with everyone except the leads, just when I'd get into a side couple romance it would jump to other characters
- tension was great at the beginning but seemed to stall, there wasn't a good enough reason for me as to why the characters couldn't get together for so long
- a few fast cuts/scene jumps even in the uncut version
- (neutral) comedy sound effects

Cut Version Differences (it seems that the cut version removes some of the scenes with the female characters which I liked but it unfortunately removes some of the scenes between the male leads which I didn't like, likely will watch uncut moving forward)
- in episode 1 it doesn't have that first scene from 2 years ago which I liked because I found they looked older 2 years ago, in part 2 they cut out Noh trying to get thru the gate, in part 3 they cut out the sister entering the room and them jumping on the bed/fighting over the sheets, cut out a group scene with the girlfriends, end of part 3 they cut out a scene with Noh's family, towards end of part 4 they cut short phone call with friends and with some other guys moving chairs
- in episode 2 they cut a scene that interrupted their cuddle, but then they cut the head on the shoulder in the taxi, in part 2 they cut out a girlfriend scene and some of the evil mom stuff

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a decent vertical series so far

Overall: though I'm not a fan of how one ML acts publicly vs privately, the production value is good and I understand the story thus far. 81 episodes about 1.5 minutes each. You can watch episodes 1-12 on their YouTube channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLO-UMZQa-AK62FVuT4bTbaGya2tKvk9k-&si=URrj_dF5OPwK6hFH I initially watched on their website https://portal.qustory.online/ - looks like the rest will be behind a paywall. QuStory also has an Android app https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bean.qunovel and seems to have mainly books.

Content Warnings: blood, non con kiss, past death

What I Liked
- story premise was understandable
- accidental fall and catch
- visuals
- production value

Room For Improvement
- a character being Mr. Hyde outwardly but Dr. Jekyll internally
- wasn't understanding if the mom had a plan or what that whole thing was with the room
- what happened in episode 12

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First Impression: Your Sky

Overall: it has a traditional Thai BL cute romcom feel. 12 episodes about 45 minutes each. Uncut on iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/your-sky-episode-1-1mjy70t567o?lang=en_us ; cut on YouTube (not available in Japan or South Korea) https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcTibKbv20S4ZNMvGUzUFQZrJenvr4xCa&si=Z1iDluCF_Hhpy73L I added up the timings and the uncut was about 1 minute longer. From watching episode 1, I didn't see any difference between the cut and uncut versions.

Question - I'm wondering if the nickname "Saggy Cheeks" would better be translated to "Squishy Cheeks" - if anyone who speaks Thai can talk about the translation please let me/us know. "Saggy Cheeks" has a negative connotation to me but I had the impression that it was a silly nickname, not a negative nickname.

Content Warnings: manipulation, non con touching/manhandling, punch, non con picture taking/sharing

What I Liked
- showed a main character as kind through his actions at the beginning
- supportive friend group
- loving family
- protect mode

Room For Improvement
- character exposition dump montage with voice over for the other main character
- the stereotypical trans woman character
- nonsense stuff: so drunk he couldn't recognize someone but still able to stand/walk and talk; who on earth was that close/took that picture without them noticing it
- nervous about pacing with 11 episodes remaining
- (neutral) comedy sound effects

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First Impression: Perfect 10 Liners

Overall: appears to be a light romcom watch. 24 episodes about 45 minutes each. Airing on GMMTV's YouTube channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLszepnkojZI7tY-4JZhpydsT6fIpemt3l&si=f7ir8p1MqNiXYXtL

Content Warnings: non con touching, non con picture taking/sharing

What I Liked
- I did laugh a few times
- subverted tropes
- easy to understand premise
- nice to see a lot of GMMTV actors

Room For Improvement
- started with the present, then flashback
- (neutral) the comedy sound effects didn't make me laugh
- should have aired 2 episodes per week as this will last 6 months

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a soap opera (side BL couple)

Overall: I saw this on a BL list and decided to watch it although it doesn't have English subtitles. I watched the first 2 episodes and the last episode. Unfortunately the sweet established m/m couple breaks up in the final episode (at least they both seem to move on/be happy) but that made me not want to go back and watch all of the episodes especially because I didn't understand most of what they were saying. Watched (not subtitled) on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh45VQur4AvofKLgui5nvD9m96BiIlu8V

Content Warnings: murder/death, held against will, attempted kidnapping, intimate partner abuse, violence, blood (likely more)

M/M couple scenes (from episodes that I watched)
- episode 1 part 5 4:15-end
- episode 2 beginning-2 min
- (they broke up at the beginning of episode 32)

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First Impression: The Heart Killers

Overall: I was entertained and appreciated the different premise so I'm starting with 9. 12 episodes about 1 hour each (uncut). Airing uncut on iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/2elmpcfm17c?lang=en_us&sh_pltf=4 ; airing uncut? on GagaOOLala in Germany, UK & Australia - US starting Dec 21st https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/4985/the-heart-killers-2024 ; airing uncut? on GMMTV's YouTube channel not in the US, Canada or Japan https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLszepnkojZI6Bo6a1yZ8iqQTM_A7AiYxQ&si=R4ODeKuWn7AV-SQh (I will use a VPN to check if Gaga and YT are the cut or uncut version, episode 1 on iQIYI was 1hr4m27s)

Content Warnings: murder, blood, manipulation, non con picture taking, blackmail/coercion

What I Liked
- an engaging start
- unique premise (non school setting and actors get to play characters closer to their real age)
- flirting/physical intimacy
- styling

Room For Improvement
- I've never seen a mechanic with that much grease on their face/body before, felt like a fictional way to say "this person is an auto mechanic"
- some of the sound effects/background music
- a couple of odd mouth/face close up shots
- to be determined if they can balance the humor and serious parts well
- (neutral) there's some nonsense stuff but it doesn't bother me right now

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