luneify
The Netherlands
Never Eclipsed My Heart
The Eclipse does not feature your standard school setting. No, instead, the school has a cult-like rule system the consequences of which dip into internalized homophobia and general dislike for people that are perceived as different. It is a social commentary twisting societal issues into a school setting with various gays we love--most prominently Akk and Ayan, with a side of Kan and Thua.
It's not that much of a light-hearted story--though it does have plenty of light-hearted and cute moments--but that's exactly why I loved The Eclipse so much.
Akk and Ayan are just perfect. Not that they don't have flaws--they do. I found Akk to be very intricately written with believable flaws and reasonings, despite how much I loved Ayan too. The writers weren't afraid to write actually opposite belief systems in characters that end up falling for each other, which I find doesn't happen often in BL or if it does, it is shallow.
I did wish Ayan had more involvement with the rebelling "The World Remembers", but it didn't otherwise detract too much from the story and romance.
On the topic of romance. I mean, with FirstKhao, chemistry is guaranteed, but watching these characters challenge each other and (unknowingly) grow closer was a real treat. They ended up so sweet and had plenty of kisses AND tension to share, as they evolved from outright hostility to playful bickering.
The side characters were also layered, though I cannot say that Kan/Thua really interested me in any way. FirstKhao definitely shone in the spotlight as they deserved, which meant that side characters, though important to the plot, simply couldn't reach AkkAyan's levels of interesting.
Rarely anyone ever mentions this in reviews as far as I've seen, so maybe I'm just an outlier, but the scenes where the school reinforces their rules--the cult-like scenes--made me so uncomfortable, all the while I pitied the students involved. Uncomfortable in the sense that it was creepy to witness! Brainwashing is scary! Every time I wished I could usher Akk away and lead him to a safe space instead.
But why the -0.5 star? Mainly because of Thua. He has a scene in one of the later episodes where he does something I despise and for which he doesn't deal with consequences I deem proper. I would've exiled him from my friends list for what he did. I won't go much into it for spoiler reasons, but yeah.
Another thing is also a spoiler-heavy plot twist/revelation regarding the villain character that I felt came out of nowhere and, though it did tie the mystery and plot together, felt a little underbuilt in the plot and lead-up.
Outside of the romance, FirstKhao are outstanding actors who can portray pain and hurt and tears and being conflicted believably. You'll at least understand their struggles and reasoning no matter what your instinctual gut reaction may be to some revelations.
If you're not into a slowly unravelling story that deals with various social issues in a cultish school, mainly internalized homophobia and restricting freedom of expression, then The Eclipse may be a sludge to get through. I personally loved the story and the characters and--well, almost everything--but I concur it's not for everyone.
It's not that much of a light-hearted story--though it does have plenty of light-hearted and cute moments--but that's exactly why I loved The Eclipse so much.
Akk and Ayan are just perfect. Not that they don't have flaws--they do. I found Akk to be very intricately written with believable flaws and reasonings, despite how much I loved Ayan too. The writers weren't afraid to write actually opposite belief systems in characters that end up falling for each other, which I find doesn't happen often in BL or if it does, it is shallow.
I did wish Ayan had more involvement with the rebelling "The World Remembers", but it didn't otherwise detract too much from the story and romance.
On the topic of romance. I mean, with FirstKhao, chemistry is guaranteed, but watching these characters challenge each other and (unknowingly) grow closer was a real treat. They ended up so sweet and had plenty of kisses AND tension to share, as they evolved from outright hostility to playful bickering.
The side characters were also layered, though I cannot say that Kan/Thua really interested me in any way. FirstKhao definitely shone in the spotlight as they deserved, which meant that side characters, though important to the plot, simply couldn't reach AkkAyan's levels of interesting.
Rarely anyone ever mentions this in reviews as far as I've seen, so maybe I'm just an outlier, but the scenes where the school reinforces their rules--the cult-like scenes--made me so uncomfortable, all the while I pitied the students involved. Uncomfortable in the sense that it was creepy to witness! Brainwashing is scary! Every time I wished I could usher Akk away and lead him to a safe space instead.
But why the -0.5 star? Mainly because of Thua. He has a scene in one of the later episodes where he does something I despise and for which he doesn't deal with consequences I deem proper. I would've exiled him from my friends list for what he did. I won't go much into it for spoiler reasons, but yeah.
Another thing is also a spoiler-heavy plot twist/revelation regarding the villain character that I felt came out of nowhere and, though it did tie the mystery and plot together, felt a little underbuilt in the plot and lead-up.
Outside of the romance, FirstKhao are outstanding actors who can portray pain and hurt and tears and being conflicted believably. You'll at least understand their struggles and reasoning no matter what your instinctual gut reaction may be to some revelations.
If you're not into a slowly unravelling story that deals with various social issues in a cultish school, mainly internalized homophobia and restricting freedom of expression, then The Eclipse may be a sludge to get through. I personally loved the story and the characters and--well, almost everything--but I concur it's not for everyone.
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