Dark Blue Kiss (2019)

The family and friends relationships we all want

Let me preface this by saying I haven’t watched Kiss Me Again. I watched the GMMTV compilation of Pete and Kao scenes from it, but that was it. So, I have absolutely no clue what happened in that series nor how certain things differ from it. I am treating this as a separate story.

I absolutely love the series. I like the fact that we it started with an already established couple, even if they were hiding it, which is quite different from all other series I have watched.

Pete & Kao: Tay and New were amazing! The chemistry between them is great and I absolutely loved seeing them interact on screen. The two of them are quite different – Pete is one that is not really afraid of anything, mostly because he comes from a more privileged position and knows his father fully supports him; while Kao is a lot more guarded and is not ready to let the world know as he fears how that might affect his family. Pete’s possessiveness is something that would usually bother me, but it was done incredibly well and consistently, it really fit who he is. The biggest conflict between the two arose from Kao not communicating properly. But I can also understand why he didn’t tell Pete the truth, I have a feeling that he wouldn’t really understand him anyways. I do love the whiny voice Kao often uses to call Pete. And how spite seems to be something that motivates Pete more than anything is something I live for.

Sun & Mork: it’s enemies to lovers, of course the two got my heart. I love the dynamics between the two, including the way they treat Rain. Sun is a very typical older sibling, he nags and worries, but he means well and only does so because he cares. Mork has a bit of a short temper. I am not really sure why, I wish they would tell us more about his past. I love how slow they took things, the confusion and hesitation and denial after their first kiss were done very realistically. Especially by Mork who, up till then, didn’t necessarily considered the option that he likes men.

While on topic of liking men, I am glad they didn’t go for the “I’m not gay, but I like you” line that so many BL series go for. I do admit I noticed that most series done by P’Aof usually avoid all of those cliché lines. And that is something I truly appreciate.

Rain & Manow: I found the two adorable! While they didn’t get together until pretty much the end of the series, I found their interactions incredibly sweet. And heartbreaking from Rain’s perspective.

Nom: he doesn’t have it easy with his father, but that does not excuse his behavior. He might be young, but he is also not that young. The things he did can and do ruin lives and cause trauma. The moment he knew that Kao was taken, he should have backed off. But being the spoiled rich brat that he is, that was not an option for him. I wish we had gotten a more concrete conclusion on what has happened to him. But I do hope there were serious consequences for what he did.

Pete’s father is an absolute star! He has been supportive of Pete and Kao since the start. And while many people might take his advice to keep quiet about the relationship as something negative, I think it was solid advice. People always have things to say, and if you want to make a relationship work, you need to be confident in it. And the fact that he talked about sex and safety with Pete was great to see. Sex education is important, but sadly not many parents are willing to talk about it.

Kao’s mom was amazing too. She knew there was something between Pete and Kao, it was in the way she looked at the two from the start of the series. But she never said anything, wanting to give her son the chance to talk to her when he is ready.

And if we are talking family, I can’t get over the Sun, Mork and Rain relationship. Poor Rain, being stuck between his brother and his best friend pretty much all the time. You can really see how much the three of them care about each other. I also like how Mork made it clear to Rain that he himself is the only person who can decide when and to whom he is going to come out.

The series took an incredible realistic approach to gay relationships in the modern world. Before you can ask for acceptance from others, you need to be able to accept yourself. I think that is a struggle that we really see from both Kao and Mork.

Pete’s and Kao’s friend group is amazing. They are all incredibly supportive of their relationship, even before the two go public. Like they said, they are not stupid, they just chose not to comment on it. I really like their dynamics. They all seem so different from one another, yet they get along so well. I also really liked the friendship between Kitty and Sun. It was something I didn’t know I needed.

I think that the cinematography is done beautifully as well. There are certain scenes that are so heartbreaking to watch. The parallels and the juxtapositions of certain events were breathtaking, they had me on the edge of the seat. The intro probably deserves its own fandom. It might seem kind of simple, but there is so much packed into it.

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Pete and Kao deserved better, but what a sh*tshow of a series they got instead.

From the very first episode they were nothing but a ticking time bomb that we had to agonizingly and slowly, oh so very slowly, watch ignite. It took nine episodes, NINE, for the lies and deceit to be found out. And then the final three episodes were nothing but the aftermath of miscommunication and bad decisions, which left very little to make be want to spare a single f*ck for them. Any happiness they had was shrouded in lies, and I personally think Pete could have done better than Kao. Which isn’t at all how I wanted this ship to sail! Pete & Kao had a brilliance in “Kiss Me Again” that was drowned in a series that gave them only conditional love that neither of them could navigate. They were set up for failure in the beginning and had no other option but to capsize. I don’t like it, I don’t want it, they deserved a better story ffs!

Sun and Mork were what kept me watching. And even their storyline became this reflection of how whether you tell a lie or keep a promise, it doesn’t matter, even the people who supposedly love you will still leave you without explanation, choosing instead to believe their own prejudiced opinions until it’s almost and basically too late.

I just know that my tone has got to be coming off as angry, but I’m not. I’m just disappointed. I’m upset that angst was chosen time again over actual character development. Instead of showing young adults learning how to be in a relationship, it felt like a bunch of kids in a sandbox fighting over their toys. You just wanted to yell at them to knock it off and grow the hell up.

We were robbed and so were the characters! We got good actors, but they had to play the facade of a character that could have been lovable instead of stuck in a rut of mundane and cliched tropes that were meant only to stretch out a story that was mediocre at best. The whole Pete, Kao, Non storyline should’ve been cleared up in a matter of a couple of episodes instead of being the focus of the whole series. I mean, come on!! That’s what Pete and Kao get?! A turd of a teenager affecting their relationship from beginning to end? Non should have been flushed so much sooner, but instead he just kept floating around and stinking up the show.

When all is said and done, I did get hooked and wanted to see how everything would eventually unfold. I just wish the story had been done better and wasn’t so focused on Pete and Kao’s relationship never feeling comfortable or stable until the very end. What a waste of potential this wound up being.

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Watched for Sun and Mork

Let me tell you about "Dark Blue Kiss," the captivating sequel to "Kiss Me Again." When I first watched this series, it was Gawin's impressive acting in "Not Me" that drew me in. While many fans adore Pete and Kao, I found myself more intrigued by the Sun and Mork storyline. Perhaps it's because I wasn't a fan of Pete in the prequel, and school BLs aren't really my thing.

The series continues the stories of Kao, Pete, Sun, and Mork. In "Dark Blue Kiss," Kao and Pete's relationship grows stronger, but they still keep it hidden. Pete's jealousy is ignited when Non shows interest in Kao, putting strain on their bond. Meanwhile, Sun begins to move on from his unrequited love for Kao and starts getting closer to Mork. Despite their clashes, Sun's seriousness helps Mork find stability, leading to unexpected feelings between them. The series explores Sun and Mork's evolving relationship, adding depth and heartwarming moments to the story.

For me, the Sun and Mork storyline with the enemy-to-lovers trope was the highlight. The character development of both Sun and Mork throughout the series was fantastic. They each had their misconceptions of one another, but as their relationship evolved, they came to understand and appreciate each other more deeply. Gawin's acting in "Not Me" made me a fan, but "Dark Blue Kiss" solidified my admiration for him.

This series stands out as a gay drama disguised as a BL, where all the main and side characters are gay. I appreciated that Sun and Mork's relationship wasn't rushed or unrealistic. Their story arc was compelling and brought depth to their relationship, making it more relatable and engaging.

"Dark Blue Kiss" is a captivating and well-crafted series that explores the complexities of love, jealousy, and self-discovery. If you enjoy meaningful character development and realistic portrayals of relationships, this series is worth a watch.

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Unexpectedly good

First things first - so... I hate Non. No surprise there. But what I hate more than the fact that I hated Non, is that Non was created for the sole purpose of being hated. That makes him 2D, and I like my characters, especially antagonists, to have three dimensions, thankyouverymuch. The only attempt at adding depth to him is making his father an asshole, and even that felt less like actual depth and more like a cheap excuse for his assery. It might be a personal hang-up, but I can't stand villains that were created for nothing other than villainy. Stories are that much more entertaining for me when the bad guy is not that easy to hate, so the fact that Non was such a 2D bad guy spoilt things for me a little bit.

I still liked the quite mature development in the PeteKao relationship enough to thoroughly enjoy everything else, but, again, no surprise that my favorite part of the show was SunMork. Holy crap, those two stole the show completely.

Also, ifl Sandee. Honestly, that entire group of friends is just adorable, but Sandee was so amazing in the way she dealt with their issues with maturity and behaved as the voice of reason. I love all the scenes with her just being totally badass in general, but the fact that she was an atypical non-bitchy female character in BL made her all the more lovable. Seriously, all the girls in this BL were just so amazing and supportive, so unlike the usual crappy ones, that it made me very happy. (I guess Non took the bitch role to a whole new level so that the girls could remain the awesome queens they are.)

I didn't watch Kiss or Kiss Me Again before this, so I didn't have much of an issue with the plot holes/continuity issues that I saw in other reviews, so this review and rating is purely for DBK as a standalone.

PS - the opening was just Chef's Kiss. I'm obsessed.

PPS - Rain is such a cutie.

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First one to make me cry!

BL's make me happy, embarrassed, excited, but they have never made me cry, until this one!

This had all the good stuff, a main couple with great chemistry and realistic issues, a cute side couple. Great group of friends. A good sprinkle of villain/drama and all the feels!

One event in here truly destroyed me. I could feel that heartache through the screen. Watching them go through the motions of heartbreak had me in tears! It felt to real. It felt like it would never get better, that this was going to be it and we'd have to feel this pain for the rest of our lives. This was more upsetting then my own break up in real life! I never want this to happen in another BL again! I'm not crying, YOU ARE, okay we're both crying now WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH.

I felt so bad for Koa though, his little sad puppy face, trying to tell everyone he didn't do anything wrong while not being listened to at all.

The only thing that this was lacking was spice. The kisses were locked lipped, there was only one bed scene and nobody really talked about the deed besides a few teasing bits. I like my BL to be a little less PG.

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Awalnya sembet bete, tapi ?! loh kok?!

Ini adalah series POLCA pertamaku, dibintangi oleh Tawan dan New ; series ini sempat aku hold bahkan drop karena episode satunya yang agak membosankan, di awal episode saya tidak begitu faham atau bagaimana mereka berdua (si tokoh utama) bisa sedekat itu, dan saya baru sadar ini merupakan series yang merupakan lanjutan dari series kiss me. Namun setelah saya menonton series ini terus menerus saya baru faham dan sadar betapa menarik dan bagusnya series ini, bahkan ; anda tidak perlu menonton series kiss me sebelum menonton series ini, series ini tetap punya cerita sendiri yang independen dan bisa di tonton langsung. Selain Tawan dan New, saya sangat menyukai bahkan lebih menyukai pasangan main couple ke dua yaitu Gawin dan Pod ; Gawin adalah mahasiswa sedangkan Pod adalah seorang barista yang keduanya punya gap perbedaan umur yang cukup jauh dan ini punya chemistry yang lebih bagus menurutku, dibanding mainrole utama Tawan dan Mew yang punya latar belakang dengan perbedaan umur yang tidak terlalu signifikan , karena keduanya masih berkuliah. Dari segi dialog, mudah difahami ya, walaupun di episode awal agak berbelit-belit dan membosankan, dari segi scene sangat memancing emosi ya, saya tidak akan memberitahukan penyebabnya namun anda perlu tau bahwa series yang satu ini pasti akan membuat anda gemes dalam bentuk greget karena emosi dan kesal haha. Beberapa tokoh terlihat menyebalkan. Dari segi konflik menurut saya biasa aja ya, dan tidak terlalu out of the box, resolusinya juga sederhana, series ini menurutku sangat bagus untuk mengisi waktu luang dan enjoyable to watch "aja" - seingetku, tidak ada life meaning yang spesial dari series yang satu ini. rekomended? menurutku sangat ya terutama untuk fans bL veteran.

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It is a great series. I love the story, the characters, the theme songs and the actors are very talented. The male leads and side characters are all so good looking, ang popogi nila makalaglag panty. It is a must watch series. I just wished it was longer, more episodes, go for season two. the series is so romantic and their acting/feelings they are all natural, grabe yung emotions feel na feel mo.
🥰😍😘💞🤩💕😻❤️‍🔥It is a great series. I love the story, the characters, the theme songs and the actors are very talented. The male leads and side characters are all so good looking, ang popogi nila makalaglag panty. It is a must watch series. I just wished it was longer, more episodes, go for season two. the series is so romantic and their acting/feelings they are all natural.

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Should’ve watched it sooner.

When I first heard about Dark Blue Kiss, I saw many mixed reviews. I saw more negative than positive so I put it off. Boy what a mistake that was. TayNew really has been that pairing since the beginning. The natural chemistry and comfortability. It’s genuinely something you cannot fake.
The story- gworl I laughed, cried, threw my self against the wall (mentally) and left at the end with a fulfillment that I should’ve experienced sooner.
It would be crazy if I didn’t mention Pond and Gawin. They’re acting when it comes to their characters as Sun and Mork *insert giggling emoji*. The flirtatious eyes were all I needed.
Anyways it was good and should’ve watched it sooner.

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This thing got me emotional. Twice.

I had to rewatch this series again, because the first time I definitely overscored this for sentimental reasons (I cried) and it didn't seem fair.

It's nice, the third act is definitely stronger than the first two, as in story and acting - especially by New, whose sad little face always makes me want to pat-pat his back and tell him that everything is going to be okay.

Contrarily to most of the comments I've read about this series, I'm not a big fan of SunMork, because unfortunately I don't like Sun's character very much, but I like that they had their happy ending as well! (Mork does deserve to catch more Pokémon on Pokémon Go, though. I hope he completes the Pokédex, I'd love that for him)

Pete and Kao keep being dysfunctional but apparently they're happy that way and it's fine. Sure, if this was a real life relationship, the red flags would be infinite, but it's not, and they're really cute when they don't start a jealousy scene or lie to the other for nothing.

The theme song is still very lovely, and I certainly will keep it in my playlist, while the opening score is ICONIC. I love it. If others opening sequences are good, this is their queen. The drama of it. The strings. The post-it notes with LOVE and LIE written on it. Amazing. I would love it as soundtrack during specific moments in my life just for making me feel like a badass.

The cast is obviously great. Love the original Cool Gang, and all the other secondary characters too, but the four main characters are all perfect. TayNew especially delivered great performances, reprising their roles from some of their earliest acting roles. They have grown a lot since this series too and I'm curious to see them work together as other characters as well: I'm sure their chemistry and skill will make anything they do worth watching.

As for the parenthesis in the first sentence of this review, it's true. I did cry watching this the first time. I don't know what it was, I've watched series like this before, but I guess something in this one got me. Could have been the sad music during the whole breakup period. Could have been New's little sad pout. Could have been the fact that Kao found himself alone in what looked like the worst time of his career and had no one to vent to. Could have been the fact that he came out to his mom not in the way he wanted, but she accepted him anyway, and gave him no pressure to do so, even if she suspected it. Maybe because when Pete and Kao find each other near the school office and they decide to talk , it's clear that they miss each other and the love is still there, even though they won't admit it. Or maybe because when Pete defends Kao during his live, he says they're friends, and their friendship has been very important to the both of them throughout their relationship, since the beginning, and, reader I'm sorry, but I'm a sucker for this whole trope.

All this to say that, sure, Dark Blue Kiss isn't a 10/10 even if it might make me cry, but it isn't that bad either.

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Don't recommend

Happy ending but it wasn't worth sitting through, it was pure torture I don't remember the character's name, but the show had unnecessary drama for the leads and supporting characters. The drama literally was dragged until the very end, it has an obsessed high schooler who became infatuated with one of the male lead's boyfriends. I can't remember if it started off to be petty and annoy the one he was rivals with and later turned into obsession love but my god the male lead one who wants to be a celebrity didn't trust his bf who was a tutor it was part of his job to tutor students who hired him. I can't remember why he still continued to tutor his stalker but the two male leads get into constant fights cuz the wannabe celebrity let his jealousy take over destroying his relationship with his bf knowing full well his bf wouldn't cheat on him but he let his stupidity take over. The supporting cast I don't remember much just one has anger issues and the other didn't want to date someone younger and i think he still had trust issues and didn't want to let someone in cuz of his past. I don't recommend at all unless you like sitting through intense drama.

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Aquele Chernobyl que a gente ama

Bora lá, vou ser um pouco advogada do diabo aqui... existem muitas críticas negativas contra essa série, eu assisti toda a franquia, desde Kiss e confesso que os dois casais são o mais puro suco de Chernobyl, não dá pra desmentir isso. Mas apesar de não gostar dessa dinâmica de relacionamento, eu gostei da série, com algumas ressalvas.

Já comecei me apaixonando pela abertura, bem estilo novela mexicana, e além da estética, não traz aquele monte de spoiler que normalmente as aberturas trazem.

Os personagens tem uma química incrível, gosto da atuação deles. A amizade realmente se fortaleceu, as personagens femininas não tem defeito, um grande salve pra rainha Sandee, linda e sensata sempre. As famílias são tudo que há de bom, e lembrem-se que é uma série de 2018, onde muitaaaaa coisa não era minimamente normalizada. O pai do Pete é maravilhoso, rachei de rir quando ele foi falar das camisinhas. O casal secundário, apesar de muito aclamado, não me emocionou tanto... achei que Mork demorou uma eternidade pra se situar no relacionamento, até pra aceitar o namoro fez cu doce até a última cena, enquanto o Sun estava lá todo emocionado. E além de tudo, tinha a coisa de não querer dormir junto, isso me passa uma vibe muito homofóbica, pelo menos da forma que foi posto na série.

Como já disse, acho os casais bem tóxicos. O Pete é ciumento, controlador, possessivo, chato pra crl. Senti coisas positivas sobre ele, ele via a família sendo super bem sucedida e queria crescer por seu próprio mérito. O Pete de Kiss das séries anteriores, que não suportava a ideia de namorar um cara, agora é a cadelinha do Kao, que infelizmente não sabe usar isso a seu favor pq é um grande paspalho. A questão de não assumir, eu posso até entender, mas meu Deus, ele achava que ia esconder até quando??? O ideal é que ele tentasse conversar com a mãe, inclusive a mãe era super gente boa, não consegui entender a relutância dele. O Pete, diante do conflito, apesar do Kao ter mentido, foi super incompreensivo, típico garoto rico e mimado, amei quando a Sandee jogou a real na cara dele.

E o capítulo à parte é o Non, meu Deus que ódio desse moleque do inferno. Depois até entendi, ele buscava desesperadamente o amor e atenção do pai, e definitivamente ser gay não o ajudaria, mas isso não justifica a atitude criminosa dele, sem falar que ele tramou o tempo todo pra ficar com Kao. Uma das coisas que me deixou bem chateada, foi ele não ter sido punido legalmente.

Sobre os aspectos técnicos, o que me incomodou foi a continuidade de algumas cenas, como se pulasse de uma cena para outra sem ligação nenhuma, dando a impressão que uma parte tinha sido cortada. Além disso, nada a reclamar.

Apesar dos defeitos, amo essa série e com certeza recomendo a todos.

Ps: pra quem amou o casal como eu, no mesmo ano (2018) a série "Our skyy" em sua primeira temporada, levou ao ar um episódio especial de Dark blue Kiss.

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