It Is Really A Beautiful Story

It is told very well with both storylines and great acting. I was impressed with how engrossed I became in their quest and in the lives of the two main characters. This series had all the earmarks of being just another Thai BL series but this one took itself more seriously and worked very hard to project a moral arc to it with an outcome that was painful, real, and incredibly honest. This is also one of the few Thai BLs of late that had serious conversations about relationships and how impactful they are to one another and what the consequences of falling in love can be.

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Too Pedestrian

This was a slightly entertaining BL series with nothing specular about it EXCEPT it did have a bit of a creative ending to it that was fun to watch and added something different to this rather mundane series. The ending give it a bit more creativity and I was pleasantly surprised by it and it was not expected. It is not that they all are not deliciously handsome; they are, It just that this was not enough to make it that entertaining. It is good; just not great for me. However, the scene between the mother and son is worth noting and is superbly done. Sorry, I found it rather ordinary in story with an occasional twist and turn.

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One of the Best HIStory Series

This is by far, the best of the HIStory series. It is a stunningly superb series told in soft, even tones and with such great care and compassion that I did not want it to end. While, this is a complex story, it is told more intellectual reasoning to stabilize emotional misgivings. A rather brilliant way to storytelling. It is so extremely well-acted with such a great story line that moves along with such energy but never seems forced. It is just there and grows slowly before our eyes. You can see the intensity of feelings develop and, changes the other persons involved. There is also such great chemistry between the actors with the kissing and love making neither feeling constrained nor rehearsed. They seem natural and were displayed with tenderness and in a real sense, a feeling of love.

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Romantic and Sensuous

One other thing this series has going for it is its ROMANCE. They were NOT afraid to show it and it is quite beautiful, honestly. It is hot and steamy. The screen play and directing for the most part is well done. The story flowed well. (With some of the BL series filmed during the pandemic, this is not always the case). There is no question that this quiet series is one of the finest out there not only for its great romantic story and intense love scenes but for its superb acting. And this is the irony. I am so sorry, but I did not ‘feel’ the connection between Tutor and Fighter. They beautifully showed the emotions, but I never quite felt the connection between them. If you would like to read my full review of this series, please go to ppbongi.medium.com. It is free and you can leave comments.

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A Rather Deep Series

This series is exceptional, surprisingly. I was not expecting it to affect me as deeply as it did, but one had to frankly get through a lot of cacophony to get to the story. But once you did, and evaluated that, it was much deeper than most viewers, I think, realized. It honestly left me emotionally drained. This series, I felt. What brought this series down and unfortunately way down was the awful peripheral (I guess) GL portion. I am not sure the reason to throw that into the mix as it added nothing to the story. If I were doing this story, I would have begun with the last episode as the first and then told the story of how they got there. Only them, with then the essential figures influencing the story. We could undoubtedly have understood what made both ‘tick’. These two are fascinating individuals and I wanted to know who they were. All we saw were glimpses and shadows of who they were. I did not want to find that out only in the end. The two of them fascinated me as a couple.
You can read my full review of this rather well done series (minus the GL portion) at BLBliss.com

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Twisted logic in the story but fun!

If you spend more than a nanosecond of time analyzing this series, you will find it so logically implausible and with the story so full of holes that literally make no sense, it will make your head spin. But if you watch it merely for its pure entertainment and put yourself on the couch with ‘Grandma’ and watch it as a Soap Opera, you will love it. I loved it, so I guess I sat next to Grandma. (You will get the reference if you watch the series. I do wish she had a bigger role. She was so entertaining). In general, there are two main characters, two more or less minor characters, and a slew of supporting characters, one of whom really steals the series, while others should have been written out of the series or actually never written in.
You can read the rest of my review at BLBliss.com.

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An Agatha Christie sense about it

Perhaps because I am older, I love the sense of an Agatha Christie novel coming to life. And I for one thoroughly enjoyed this series and am willing to gloss over its many faults to give it a good rating. And it has a lot of faults to be sure. This series starts out so beautifully with an ensemble cast to ogle and fantasize about. Beautiful boys, and girls. Stunning clothes. A luxurious mansion to live in and a story told I am sure is not too far from the kernels of reality. It presents the world of movie/TV making under what I am assuming is similar to the old contract system in Hollywood. A house filled with prima donnas and/or wanabe actors/actress under the management and direction of a company. Be warned that there are a lot of characters in this series with a lot of unequal time among them and frankly disproportionate importance. Initially, somewhat confusing, they later simply blurred into one unit.
I thoroughly enjoyed this series and felt that I was watching an Agatha Christie novel if she had written one about the BL world.

Pure escapism.

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Fell Apart At The End

Undoubtedly no one is going to like my review. I LOVED 95% of this series. It was charming, witty, and magical. But then they ended it on such a ridiculous note to simply please the audience. As a gay man, I found the ending insulting, degrading, and yet again forces gay relationships to fit into the mold of straight relationships. All I can say, since I do NOT want to reveal any of the story lines, is I quite literally cried. Here was what could have been a BL fantasy masterpiece that simply became a logical farce. It forced the story into societal norms rather than personal norms. If you want to see why this series so upset me, you can read my entire review of this what-could-have-been masterpiece at ppbongi.medium.com. I am sure that there will not be a lot of people who will necessarily agree with me and perhaps I analyzed it to its extreme, but this series just missed it for me. I was deeply saddened.

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Quirky, Odd, But Viscerally Intriguing

This series left me in a complete conundrum. I honestly do not know what to think or make of this series. It left me exceedingly flummoxed. To be sure, it is a series about vampires but not in any traditional sense of how I understood vampires. This particular vampire was likeable; good even. In addition, to being heavenly handsome. He tells everyone he is a vampire but literally begs them for secrecy. It is one of the many ironies in this series. In fact, everything about this series is quirky. All I know is that I viscerally enjoyed the quiet fortitude that this series gave me. I am sure it is just me.

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An Astonishingly Touching Series!

This is a monumentally touching series that intensely affects you in ways long after you have finished the series. When you watch it, you know you are being moved but its extent does not fully grasp your inner thoughts until you have had a chance to contemplate what the story is fully about. In essence, you keep rewinding the series over-and-over in your head until its full meaning grabs you. And then, perhaps just with me, I suddenly burst into tears over its power and significance. There is something haunting about the lives of the two men that become intertwined, partly by design and partly serendipitously. This is a great series. Although the series is short in duration, it does have some very intense moments

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The Story Shattered

Watching this series is like wrapping yourself up in a warm cozy blanket on a cold winter’s night as you are reading a romantic allegory. While the sensation is comforting, the fable still provides you with enough stimulation to keep you awake. But you suddenly realize that you reach a part in the story where one of two possible endings can happen. Either a fairytale one or a tragic one. While I certainly love a fairytale ending (and these two guys deserved one), I was preparing myself for a tragic one as the series did seem a bit dark overall. Unfortunately, I got neither one. And I threw off my warm blanket and started to cry with disappointment. While the story is strikingly enthralling for three-fourths of the way, it suddenly crashes literally and figuratively. It could have had either a fairytale ending or a tragic one. Instead, it went very weird in an odd way, and I felt in a cringeworthy way.

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Apotheosis!

Constancy, consistency, and comedic. The three best words to describe this triumvirate of OSSAN’S LOVE, which is one of the best, if not the best BL series and franchises out there. It classically defines and shapes what this genre is all about. Perhaps not to a core of current fans who are zealots of the plethora of BLs with gorgeous young men in stories, that, for the most part, are forgettable and whose ‘love for one another’ is defined by the amount of ‘shipping performances’ they do together. This season and the ones before it are the true pioneers of what BL storytelling is all about and how to carry on with a narrative that remains as fresh and original as the first one. And as poignant.
I laughed and I cried. A lot in this season. But most of the time I simply sat there and watched as if I was reading a good book. It gives you that kind of a feeling.

I shall be devastated if this is the last season. I want and need more. They are family. Their last words were, “We are family.” Nothing can be more earnest as this defines and expresses and shows every form of a family imaginable. This franchise is exemplary and, dare I say, an apotheosis in every sense of that word. You will find no better defining example of what a BL is or ought to be than in any of these series and especially in this latest season. Humor, poignancy, charm, affinity, love, and most of all human warmth. What a ride it has been. Please tell me it is not over yet!

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Cinematic Magic!

In a sense, this story is deeper than in season one. While still about Haruta, the story circumvents him to encompass more individuals around him and does so in a deeply, introspective, and immensely emotional fashion. To be sure, the keystone remains parallel to season one. The Captain, an older distinguished-looking man, falls in love with Haruta, a much younger and energetic man. Yet, in the end there is such a surprising twist that it caught me off guard. I honestly did not know what to make of it. Was it real or a profound cry out of a desperately lonely man? I cried at either prospect as Haruta, for the first time, truly seemed adrift. This is effulgent and, along with the previous “Ossan’s Love” productions, are worthy of our reverence. This is a jewel of virtuosity and therefore I would consider it a ‘Masterpiece’. They may be archival but should not be forgotten. Treat yourself to pure joy!

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Distastefully Cringy and Creepy

There is something distastefully creepy and cringy about this series and I frankly did not find it even a bit romantic in any way. In fact, I found it rather sad and pathetic. This series says more about a disconnect from reality than about the advancement of AI. The acting in this series is flat and stilted and monotone, not just by the robot but by the human. At times, it was hard to tell who really was the robot. In a real sense, I wish I had not watched this series. It made me feel uncomfortable and apprehensive about the future.
You can read my full review of this series at BLBliss.com

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Awesome Love Story But......

This is a stunningly beautiful production with a love story that is so entrancingly told that I honestly did not see two men in love but simply two individuals in love. It really was a love story that transcends genders and epochs. This is a romance that begins between two mythical Hindu/Buddhist deities named Garuda and Naga long ago. Throughout the ages, each continue to be drawn to each other in a way we would call destiny. Had the saga simply stayed with the journey of Phaya and Tharn, this would have been an apotheosis. But unfortunately, it became unwieldy and got so lost in the development of subplots, specifically involving a troupe of them becoming police officers, and solving a crime, that the love story almost took a back seat. And frankly all of that was so superficial and unnecessary to really what was in essence an alluring love rhapsody. The story of who they were is so much more important than what they were but unfortunately the production got so bogged down in the storytelling that the love came in sporadic waves, thus in a sense diminishing the emotional impact of their bond considerably.

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