I Secretly Fell in Love with the Student Council President (2022)

It leaves you wanting for more

With the onslaught of multiple BL series coming out of South Korea, Japan and Thailand, I was delighted to find this gem from Taiwan. I watched this one right after finishing My School President and the plot is more or less the same with the roles a bit reversed.

In this series, we have Xu Qi Zhang, a member of a band who is supporting and caring towards Ye Guang, a studious school student. The series attempts to highlight multiple issues faced by students and youth of today. First we have the overbearing parents of Ye Guang who takes control of his life in order to see his son succeed academically. They are so focussed on their son’s success in every field that they don’t realise that he has lost all freedom and feels trapped and unloved. Then we have the story of Ray, who is ill-treated by his boyfriend. He is shown with female attire and a wig while he is with his ex-boyfriend but loses the wig when he meets Ah Jian. There is a hint that may be his ex is making him wear it but that could just be my speculation. They have also added a dead father and an abusive uncle for good measure.

There isn’t much romance as the story focuses more on the relationship between Ye Guang and his parents and how he feels more like himself when he is with Xu Qi Zhang. There are multiple plots that the series introduces and then we don’t get to see any resolution there. There is certainly an attempt to give more depth to these characters but due to limited episodes we don’t get a satisfactory ending to those plots. We get to meet Xu’s abusive uncle but then no follow-up on that story. There is also Jun Wei who dislikes Ye Guang for some reason that isn’t explained but you can hazard a guess. He wants to see Ye Guang fail and takes active steps to do so but then he is forgotten. Then we have the whole plot of a school election where Xu Qi Zhang, Ye Guang and Jun Wei apply for. There is also a stake for Xu Qi Zhang to win this election but there is no conclusion to that plotline. There is also a professor that is supporting Xu Qi Zhang but she leaves the series by ep 2. I can chalk all this down to lack to time to flesh these plots out but not much would be lost if these plots were not brought up to begin with.

In conclusion, the story is simple and the relationship between the main characters is sweet. The OST is good and wouldn’t mind listening to it over and over. The acting has been satisfactory from all the 4 main leads although I would have liked to see more of Ray as his character had a lot of potential and there is a good story there waiting to be explored.

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Short and Sweet!

This Taiwan BL I watched on GagaooLala a couple weeks ago.
Short and easy to watch. I've really love most of what has been coming from Taiwan in the past couple of years. This could have been longer with more to the story.
This drama is a romantic comedy at times. Seemed many scenes felt the same. Lacked scene creativity at times.
There were some hard things to watch between Main lead and his father. Hope this isn't too spoiling.
Loved the side couple. Wish there was more time to develop this relationship more.
I soooo loved the cameo from Wilson Liu as Sun Bo Xiang.
Theme song is addicting for sure.
All the actors were handsome and talented wish we could have had more development to see more.
Here's to hoping they give us more later on.

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If Disney made an LGBTQIA+ series

This series isn't anything groundbreaking or unheard of, it's quite cliche tbh. I consider this to be a little gift for those who are looking for a light watch, sure, it was flawed and wasn't anything awe inspiring and the whole family situation of Ye Guang was heartbreaking to see, but it was cute. It felt like a breath of fresh air considering the amount of mature/heavy series coming out recently, so to me personally it was a nice step back from all of that. The music was cute and the settings were nice, it was very aesthetically pleasing so that's a plus.

The plot is fairly simple, just three teens and a barista hanging out and falling in love with some portrayal of the issues/problems teenagers face in their lives, it isn't hard to follow and there isn't any unnecessary love triangles, there were a couple of confusing moments/pointless scenes and the scene jumping had my brain reshuffling, but overall it was entertaining.

The cast is fairly young so their portrayal of high school teenage boys was believable, the main couple's romace definitely had a bit more depth compared to the other couple, the second couple felt abrupt and underdeveloped and tbf they added close to nothing to the plot, the main couple was slightly more developed, but their romance sometimes felt off, like one moment they're two teens with a crush and the other they're bros hanging around, it didn't bother me that much tho so I just brushed it off and continued enjoying it.

I honestly don't have much to say about this other than that it's a nice piece to kill some time, like you could watch it on the way to work or while waiting for your favorite series to begin, so if you're bored and don't really want anything that could potentially have your brain working, I recommend checking it out.

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Cute show when having nothing to watch

I was really looking forward to this series since its trailers came out a while ago, and honestly it didn't really disappoint, though I do feel its lacking in certains aspects thanks to how short it is. It was an overall fun watch to kill time and very cute and nice vibes.
The characters are all really likeable (ofc except the parents of Ye Guang but that's what the writers intended). I was really looking forward to seeing how the main and secondary couples developed, which on one side was a bit let down because of how lacking of depth the second couple was, I did felt like it was missing a bit more to get to know their relationship but it's nothing really serious. The chemistry of both of the couples was really great and I was really anticipating the kiss from the main couple, which was really cute as well.
It handles topics that can be heavy to an extent but its nothing too drastic, the characters act with a good level of matureness which doesn't make their conflicts last for long.
It's soundtrack goes hard especially in the intro, and it's rewatch value is great as it's easily digestible and entertaining overall. It's a nice series though I do feel like it was way too short for the story overall, I do recommend though!

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Bromance toute mignonne

Cette série est courte, n'offre rien d'extraordinaire, mais on évite tout les pièges habituels des BL.
One est dans une bromance agréable à suivre, pour ceux qui veulent juste passer un bon moment devant une série sans prise de tête.

La musique est d'ailleurs, très chouette. La chanson principale, même si elle n'est pas incroyable, à rejoint ma playlist car elle est douce et très agréable à écouter.

Mon seul bémol sera pour le personnage de Ray qui m'a exaspéré dans sa manière de réagir face aux relations amoureuses.

Bon visionnage si vous vous laissez tenter.

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Gostei, mas foi tão rápido que não deu tempo de me apegar direito à história

Esse foi o primeiro BL de Taiwan que assisti. A história é bem simples, mas eu gostei. É bem leve de assistir na verdade.

Porém, foi tão tão rápido que eu senti que não consegui me conectar tanto com a história. No início eu tava bem empolgada, mas com o passar dos episódios perdi o ritmo de acompanhar.

Acho que se eu tivesse maratonado (pois fui acompanhando em andamento) teria tido uma experiência melhor.

Mas no geral é uma história legal de assistir. Os casais são muito bonitinhos (eu adorei o casal secundário). Gostei das músicas também, principalmente a de encerramento.

Enfim, eu recomendo, é bom para maratonar e ficar com o coração quentinho.

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A Cute BL with a couple of plot holes left unanswered that thankfully don't ruin the experience

Now, don't get me wrong, I really do like this series and it definitely has a lot going for it, though sometimes certain points we were left guessing at what happened and it was never fully explored.

The plot occasionally jumped to some strange locations or jumped to another couple in a completely unrelated scene, though in saying that it was fairly straight forwards and didn’t deviate too much from the usual BL storylines and certain plot points were abandoned as the series went along, as well as a few of the characters that you felt would be major sticking points, but in the end were inconsequential, popping up just for a moment, such as the Head Boy line.

The controlling nature of Ye Guang’s family was something that I’ve seen a lot in dramas, but they were even harsher than most, and the sudden reversal of opinion they had seemed a little too dramatic. I felt like if there were more episodes, we'd be able to see a more gradual understanding of Ye Guang's feelings and have a more natural shifting of how his parents would react to situations. You can't unlearn controlling behaviour just on a whim.

The acting I felt was nice and sincere, even if occasionally their reactions felt a little out of place. But I feel like the actors for the two major couples did a great job, I also had no problem with how the music was incorporated into the series, even if sometimes i could be a little bit of a distraction to the scene, but it didn't harm my viewing experience at all.

Overall, I think this is a cute BL, but it could have done with a couple more episodes to allow time to explore some of the dropped plot points, but the acting help cover up some of these problems. Hopefully there could be another season or maybe a couple of extra episodes that go into these plots, such as if Xi Qizhang makes it to be head boy and onto Berkeley and if their relationship could survive such an adventure.

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Completed: 10/10/2022

I slept on it before writing this review, as I think I might be very critical if I write this right after I finish watching. “About Youth” is quite highly rated and has received a lot of positive reviews. However, I just find it “OK”. It’s not bad, but it’s not excellent either.

The drama focuses on two things: romance and familial relationships. We follow the development of the sweet and innocent romance of our two male leads, Xu Qi Zhang and Ye Guang. I enjoy the innocence and shyness of this couple. I feel their chemistry and I am also a sucker for longing and shy gazes at each other. On the other hand, we also witness the more complicated romance between Ray and Ah Jian. This romance provides a good contrast to the main romance. However, due to the limited episodes, this relationship is not developed or explored enough. It could be even more interesting than the main romance, but it just feels a little disjointed to me.

The drama also continues to explore the pressure Asian parents have on their children to have good grades in school. Ye Guang battles (internally and externally) with his parents throughout the whole drama. However, the resolution is underwhelming, considering so much time is spent on the conflict. On the other hand of the spectrum, we have Xu Qi Zhang and his very supportive mother. Their relationship is so much healthier. His uncle’s scenes only provided the vehicle to create Xu Qi Zhang and Ye Guang’s first fateful encounter, and nothing more.

This seems to be the first acting roles for all four main cast members, and it shows. I would say out of the four, Shen Jyun/Xu Qi Zhang might be the best. Li Zhen Hao/Ye Guang got better towards the last couple episodes, but the first few ones were rough (except for acting cool and cute). The acting does affect my viewing pleasure a little. I like the title theme song, but it’s quite overplayed, especially for such a short drama.

Overall, the romance is light and sweet, and the more serious parts revolve around Ye Guang’s parents. It’s not a bad watch if you’re looking for a sweet and short romance and don’t mind the school/grades parts.

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Amazing for such a short drama

Just going to leave my notes here so you know how much I struggled because of Jian and Ray:

AHAHA Wilson Liu never fails on give me butterflies ahahah
I'm already loving Jian, he's so nice and he doesn't even know Ray
Okay hang on... I think Jian and Ray are going a little to fast but when Ray kissed Jian he was all on it too, so I didn't understand that rushed reaction Jian had
I'm seeing myself on Ray's characters I think that's why I like him so much and I understand what he feels
I don't have nothing to say about the main couple so far so good, they're good for each other...
Now about Jian and Ray I have a lot of things to say, they kissed, Jian asked for space Ray gave him that, Jian waits for Ray and apolagies but then again asks him to go have dinner??? Jian, babe Ray is giving you what you want, but with his conditions, you can't ask him for space but at the same time want him close to you, especially when he likes you so much. (I'm kinda pissed with Jian but he's so hot and cute at the same time I can't)
AHAHAHAHAHH JIAN SLEEPING IN HIS CAR BECAUSE OF RAY IS THE CUTTEST THING I'VE EVER SEEN
FINALLY JIAN AND RAY MADE OUT YHASSSS I LIKE THEM SO MUCH AHHAH plus I want a Jian for myself
I need to focus on the main characters now ahahah so Xu Qi Zhang likes Ye Guang so much that is embarassing ahaha
AIHHH MY HEART CAN´T TAKE IT, THE PIANO SCENE, THE NOSE KISS AHAHAHA I CAN'T

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BAGUS BANGE! Wajib masuk list.

Lagu dari awal opening sampe endingnya bagusss. Aktingnya juga oke banget. Everything is perfect except the eps. Cuma 8 episode. Whyyy?? Wajib ada season 2 si.
Taiwan kalo masalah bl emang tidak perlu diragukan lagi hihihi suka banget banget banget pokoknya.
Tiap nonton bikin senyum2 sendiri kayak orang gila.
Ye Guang disini cocok bgt meranin jadi anak orang kaya. Gemesin bgt apalgi pas nangis2 depan Xu Qizhang omgggg. Katanya pas awal 10 episode dan sekarang berubah jadi 8 :(
Kapan lg ada bl sebagus ini, yg sebelah terlalu fokus sama adegan dewasa nya jadi boring.

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