A one hour plot stretched to a four hour snooze fest.

As Thai BL goes, the production values are good. And a nice set of attractive actors.

But the BL is only skin-deep.

It suffers from unimaginative writing with a minimum of plot. There is an hour's worth of plot stretched to four hours, hardly the first time this has happened in Thai BL, but still.... As usual, the first few episodes are somewhat engaging, and then they just keep stretching and stretching until you beg for it to PLEASE BE OVER.

Second, I had trouble figuring out who the target audience would be. The portrayal of human relationships seems really limited. Idealized grandmother-ness. Jealousy. Friends are forever. Even most tweens would want more than that.

Third, as the time is stretched, I found myself paying attention to extraneous details. As an example, anyone who has ever visited a bakery or coffee shop know that they are fairly busy places. But in this world, the kitchen has a few listless pretty boys on their smart phones while one takes forever to twiddle with one cake. And then they all meet up to take a chunk out of the ONE cake they've spent hours making for tasting purposes. I totally get the need to build a fantasy world, but when hardly anything happens the ancillary things start becoming more interesting than whatever counts for plot/character development and it becomes harder to suspend disbelief to live in the fantasy world.

Finally, they've managed to take a BL and remove any sense of LGBTQ, queerness, freedom or even gender. Many fans of BL / Yaoi come because this genre offers an escape from a reality in which everyone / everything is stuck in some cultural role / expectation. This offers none of it.

I'm definitely going to watch some Japanese, Korean or Taiwanese BL next. I need something with some life to it.

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25% BL - 80% Soap Opera

This is about Fiat's character development. There is no "action" . This bothers other reviewers, but not me. The story shows Fiat gradually confronting the way he thinks and behaves and attempting to learn from it. I like the idea. Wish it had been refined a little more. The back stories are not always convincing, realistic or well thought-out, it's not clear that Fiat is learning anything, and you have to overlook the value judgements embedded in those lessons. Also, the other characters seem static.

But OMG, at 12 hours, this is way too long. The same story (with its shortcomings) could have been told in 3-6 hours and it would have been more engaging. Emotions can be conveyed in seconds; they don't require endless, long, drawn-out silences.

Production values: 9.0 (a few issues with bedroom scene lighting)
Story: 6.0 (like the concept, needs refinement)
Acting: 7.5 (hard to judge. So much of acting is based on direction, Leo seems wooden, other characters seem static. Fiat occasionally seems good. Some episodes better than others. Giving the actors benefit of the doubt)
Music: 6.0 (better than a lot of other Thai BL. A few bright spots, but a lot of tedious/repetitive bits as well)
Sound: 9.0 (cheesy effects very well done)
Pacing: 2 (much too slow)
Editing: 7 (some scenes disproportionately long )
Product Placement: 7 (some were subtle - yay!, a few were "in your face" super cheap)

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Cringefest

The concept was great. Lots of potential questions that might arise when considering a love story between an AI and a human. However, so much is cringe and so far, not much depth. Its fairly obvious that we are SUPPOSED to think this narrative is somehow significant, and it could have been. But the questions are not explored. This presentation is sort of the opposite of Japanese anime, which often explains things to the audience in detail. Here, situations are sort of thrown out there, with very little nuance, and the audience just have to explore the topic on their own. A watch party might make this more interesting. Viewers could pause and discuss what COULD have happened or the unexplored questions.

A few of my issues:

(1) If your AI character is so perfect that it is indistinguishable from a real human, then where is the story? I mean who really cares if its AI or human if there is no difference?

(2) (a) The AI is supposedly an "emotional support" AI (who demonstrates deep knowledge in many areas), but then sometimes innocent and unknowledgeable with respect to emotions. (b) The explaining comes from a previously emotionally dry character, who is incapable of demonstrating even the most basic politeness skills, who then incidentally suddenly becomes a wise master of human emotions and is the dispenser of knowledge to the AI.

(3) If this is supposed to be the future, why are we using pen and paper? Sudoku on paper? And the AI can't beat a human? Couldn't we at least use tablets? Will future episodes have public pay phones? Who was responsible for set design?

(4) How do we interpret a self-centered man who finally falls in love with someone because he is waited on hand-an-foot?
The AI cleans and cooks and takes care of every need of the man. And the man falls in love. Keeping in mind that BL is written for a female audience and that the AI is clearly the uke/female, I can't see any other way of reading this other than:

>> a woman's role is to cook and clean and take care of her master, and by doing those things will she receive love and adoration from her master. The man's role is to merely exist and dole out his wisdom to her. <<

Considering the centuries of struggle that woman have had (and still have), while many self-centered men wait for women to fall in love with them and serve their every needs, do we need something that pushes traditional couples further in that direction? Do we need to encourage men to be more incompetent at self-care? Consider also that the AI, instead of merely being a fancy housekeeping robot, could have been presented as a source of knowledge for the master. We already have good AI that can summarize knowledge in effective ways. Realistically, our first AI results are more likely to be superior to humans in the intellectual/knowledge ways, not in the housekeeping department. The challenge of AI companions will be to communicate with humans in ways that will not threaten us, while simultaneously having significantly higher levels of knowledge than humans.

There is no question that reinforcing traditional gender roles is common in BL. But in many modern productions, these are softened, broadened, or turned on their head. While presenting itself as ground breaking, this series seems to be hawking nostalgia for an imagined traditional past, disguised as a story about future AI.

Update:
Episode 5 does bring up an interesting question. If a human forms an attachment to an AI, and the AI is reset and loses all memory of the human, the human will feel loss. Shared memories will be gone, and exist only in the mind of the human. Similar to having a partner suffer from dementia or memory loss and not remember the partner. Those who have had family go through this know how painful it can be. There is something reassuring in having a shared memory; its a way of feeling connected. In some sense it is worse than death, because the body of the loved one is still around, but the shared attachment is gone.

Episode 8 indirectly asks whether an emotional support AI is even a good idea. But having a human become dependent on an AI is no different from dependency on a human. Either one can cease to exist. Additionally, while we (as humans) have invented lots of religions with an afterlife, having an AI cease to exist sort of makes us face whether the "soul" of humans is really a thing, or just something we humans have invented to ease the pain of loss and the fear of death. Episode 8 does not directly ask these questions, but there is just a vague reference to this line of thought.

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Better than expected

This series seems to have triggered a lot of reviewers. Quite a few complained about how unrealistic this is. Duh. Is anything in BL realistic? The lack of realistic adult communication is what makes it all so entertaining. Of course, real adults who had some idea of what they were feeling would communicate some of it. But the point of a lot of BL is to emphasize what happens when the miscommunication is ramped up to the max. And BL uses that to illustrate human struggles with self-confidence, fear of failure, fear of rejection, etc. In a world where LGBTQ will always be a minority, the risk levels to being honest and forthcoming are much higher. Also, there is great comic value in misunderstandings. Is this series perfect ? No. But its definitely good and an interesting variation for Korean BL. There is some unevenness in the last few episodes which could have been done better and perhaps it misses some things from the original. But it certainly deserves more love than its getting. Extra points awarded for dealing with Bi issues in a sensitive way, and for showing the damage done to others by not being honest with yourself.

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Refreshingly different.

Interesting, complicated. Great acting. LGBTQ in a natural way. Minimal BL tropes. Maybe a little slow but also fully engaging. First episode is confusing; gets easier to understand from episode 2. Tries to tell various stories in parallel at different points in the timeline. This series is high on emotional/dramatic tension. Feels a bit like a mystery. The ending sequences are too short to release the accumulated tension. A bit more casual dialog in the final rooftop scene would have helped. Left me wishing for a few more loose ends to be tied up. A very nice change of pace, just be prepared for some confusion.

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The Dilemma

In real life, decisions are often not easy. Each option has it own pluses and minuses and we can't know all the consequences until long after we've made the decision. This movie explores that sort of vagueness. Specially, it explores the inner turmoil of whether to tell a painful truth which is likely to hurt someone, or hide it, hope for the best, but suffer unpredictable repercussions. Ultimately, whichever way we pick, we may end up with the same result.

I really enjoyed the acting / directing in the expression of emotions through face and body language. The Japanese script delivers loads of familiar nostalgia. The music is a little less interesting than average and the script lacks gradual character development, and instead delivers whatever character development it carries in the last episode. Fumiya seems a little fuller character than Ritsu which I think is more of a problem with the script/story than the acting. Anyway, an engaging watch. Especially for those of us who remember the confusion and miscommunication in our first relationships.

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Best Kiss + Finding your voice.

Some of us have grown up in the shadow of dominating people. When, in our heads, we ask ourselves what we should do, we only hear the voices of our parents, teachers or friends. We can't seem to find our own voice. This drama is for you. Queer and LGBT audiences will generally like this as well.

If you always knew what you wanted to do, have no patience with those who don't know, and just love a good action movie, go somewhere else.

This drama is full of tenderness with good acting by the leads, good scripts, good directing and professional production values. The music is fun and the sound track is fairly good. Musicianship of the characters within this drama is better than the average BL. The best reason to watch this is the completely realistic scene at the end of the last episode (19:43-21:29). So many BLs are ruined by terrible kissing scenes, unwilling lip mashing, or porn kissing. This was the best kiss scene (as in most realistic) that I've ever seen. It catches the excitement, nervousness, delight, enthusiasm, joy and pleasure of the moment. Especially amazing considering this is the first movie for Shen Jyun and Li Zhen Hao.

Story telling is a bit uneven and editing is a bit choppy. There are bits of a plot here and there, but despite this appearing to be a story about Xu Qi Zhang and his pursuit of Ye Guang, it is really about the personal growth of Ye Guang. Anything that happens serves to move Ye Guang through his development. While the drama around Ye Guang's parents is heavy handed, bordering on the unbelievable and could have been done with more finesse, the point of the parents within the narrative is to drive Ye Guang to his final awakening in the last episode (starts at 6:10-8:12 and 17:00-17:43).

Ray's gender fluidity is a nice touch, especially the scene in the cafe/tea house. Ray's fem presentation allows a broader audience to see themselves within the story. As its presented in a single night, it sort of begs the question if Ray's fem presentation was not a choice, but rather a necessity in order to be accepted by the older ("bad") boyfriend. In the real world trans people are sometimes fetishized / dehumanized. While I appreciated seeing more of my world, it made me wonder what the point of that scene was. A subsequent repeat of Ray's fem presentation would have been more affirming.

Overall maybe an 8, but with that fantastically well done ending, I'm calling this a 9.5. It makes up for all the terrible kissing scenes I've had to sit through in piles of other BL dramas.

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Starts out strong. Loses momentum at the end

Other reviews have captured the important points which, summarizing, are that this is a great slow burn story but marred by an unsatisfying ending. However, in addition to all the points other reviewers have made, I'd like to add two. First, there is an unusually high level of sophistication in emotional expression and carefully paced story telling in the first 7-8 episodes. Excellent attention to detail regarding lighting, interiors, props, costuming, etc. Liu Dong Qin / Eric Zay as Sheng Wang did a great job with eye/facial expressions; I could read every thought without a single word/inner monologue. Second, while the first 7-8 episodes are really fantastic, episodes 9-11 have a variety of confusing / clumsy edits that make you wonder if the editor/director/show runner were out sick, and the B team stepped in. Episode 12 seems to return to the same consistent pace/tone, but delivering an unsatisfying ending. This could have been the best BL ever. A real pity that so much excellent work gets thrown away in the last few episodes. A sequel to wrap up the storylines would help.

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Fun Kansai cultural references

I loved the representation of working class Kansai. The dialect was fun. The costuming for the restaurant patrons was absolutely accurate. Many of the criticisms made in other reviews are fair. Minimal and unfocused plot, differs substantially from the manga. Feelings between the couple are uneven and seem forced or maybe just uninspired. Episode 8 is definitely a low point.

But I still enjoyed it because it had a realness to some of the situations that resonated with my own experience living in Japan. Many Japanese BL series have a dreamy quality, which is nice, but seems like a world that doesn't exist. This series feels somewhat realistic. The somewhat chaotic plot, non sequiturs, people unsure of what they want was definitely something I experienced there.

The English title is wrong. It should be "I don't like it, but what do we do?"

I did not regret watching it. But not something I'd recommend either.

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Well done. Confusing message.

This is a powerful movie, but could be triggering for those who have experienced intense trauma.

The acting is generally great, good cinematography, pacing is generally perfect. The story is a bit problematic.

Major spoilers below. If you haven't seen the movie, STOP READING THIS NOW! Come back and re-read afterwards if you are confused or want to get a different opinion.

I had trouble figuring out what the purpose of this movie was. The plot is clear, the problem is the message. There are small messages along the way that are true enough:

People still treat each other badly
People assume the worst about others motivations and actions
Some people are nicer than others
Misunderstandings are a big source of psychological pain
People suffer due to their inability to communicate

But the overall point seems to say that union with your soulmate is more important than life itself. To achieve this they create a sort of "forbidden love" situation. While there is some implication the couple will reincarnated together in a future life, giving into desire/longing is not something Buddhism encourages. A couple committing suicide are not necessarily going to be reincarnated as a couple, or even in the same realm.

It just seems like a couple of foolish lovers running away together to commit suicide because of societal judgement: "Forbidden but noble love". Some problems
(1) The "forbidden love" theme seems to be pedophilia. Setting up a parallel between gay sex and pedophilia is completely wrong. Because both behaviors are shunned by society doesn't mean they are equivalent. The issue with sex between adults and minors is an issue of consent and understanding. Sexual behavior between adults is an entirely different situation. And, BTW, Liu is actually 15 or 16. It is still too young to understand and make an informed decision, but not technically pedophilia.
(2) The couple could simply wait 2-3 years. Pob could have gotten a divorce in the meantime. In relationship timelines, this is nothing.
(3) If Liu is truly Dew, why end it at all? Because Dew is now a female? Because of the age difference (25? years).
The two could go on existing together in the current life. So maybe if they die together, they'll get reborn as a gay couple and solve the age difference at the same time?

For me, the "forbidden but noble love" theme doesn't work at all.

I'd like to see the same first arc, but a totally different second arc where Pob is processing his grief and sense of loss, especially together with Orn. Loss is a universal human experience and life is often complicated.

Finally, if you have any personal experience with suicide, you'll know nothing about it is romantic, heroic or noble.

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Even better than the first season

Absolutely a 10. Excellent writing, directing, editing, casting and acting. Good sound track. A carefully crafted story with nuanced depictions of characters and their emotions. Lots of details for side characters resulting in a richer, more realistic/life-like experience. Does a good job of portraying aspects of the media business without intruding into the story. The first season is light and fluffy by comparison.

Pay close attention in the first few episodes to place the flash backs/flash forwards to different time periods in the correct order. Narrative voice-over by different characters gives it a literary feel, and the juxtaposition of different voices emphasizes the different ways characters are experiencing the same situation. Don't be afraid to back it up if its a little confusing.

Some reviewers have made negative comments regarding the credibility and emotional inconsistency of the Ji Woo character . Is Ji Woo actually credible as a character that would exist in the real world? Since when do we require our fiction to be 100% realistic? Ji Woo epitomizes the emotionally stunted, those who are unable to understand and communicate their own feelings and emotional pain. To some extent all of us can be that person. This movie is about how we struggle with facing bad feelings. The emotional discontinuities in Ji Woo that some complain about, I interpret as merely shorthand. This is not a "how to" to resolve communication problems; it isn't showing us how they resolved them. It is pointing out the high cost of these communication problems. I can attest from personal experience the high cost of failing to communicate and the extended amount of time it takes to get to a position of acceptable communication. So maybe I rate this season so highly because it most closely matches my own experiences.

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Slow, humorless, soap-opera version of a great Japanese manga.

This is the fourth take on the Fumi Yoshinaga's "Antique Bakery", and the least enjoyable. It is written to pander to a traditional "soap opera" audience, so BL fans, LGBTQ audiences and others are likely to be disappointed. Its one bright spot (in addition to the cute and handsome cast) is that there is occasional emphasis on cooking details. They even show Weir lowering the temperature partway through baking the cannele! However, this endearing sensitivity to food is then wasted with brute force product placement. The worst was Carnation Condensed Milk in a tube being put on a mango/rosemary topping. Yuck. The original "Antique Bakery" manga itself is not strictly BL, and "Baker Boys" even less so. This version lost the playful absurdity that the manga , Korean and anime versions maintain. I'd say it's mostly humorless, except for random humor thrown in to "lighten the mood". The producers seem more interested in tackling serious topics, but then seemed to show minimal understanding of abduction, child abuse or any of the many dysfunctional family dynamics it attempts to deal with. Many of the scenes are too long; we found ourselves multitasking on our smart phones waiting for the next scene. If you do watch it, don't be afraid to watch it at 1.25 or 1.5 speeds. I didn't start doing this until episode 10. Surprisingly, the music sounded better at 1.25 than at normal speed. This series could be edited down to a single 90-120 movie that might have re-watch value. The music was sometimes heavy handed, too much drama for the scene, or the wrong mood for the scene.

As a slow soap-opera, it does very well. As an entertaining and lively version of a classic Japanese manga, not so much.

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Groundbreaking

This is a sensitive exploration of DOM/SUB relationships with some hints of BD. It focuses on the core motivations of participants without resorting to the more sensationalist aspects. The couple are starting their first relationship seemingly unaware of their own interests, and discovering these aspects of their own identity as the series unfolds. As the series wraps up, you can see the beginnings of self-awareness in both of them. (Awareness of what each one actually wants from the other).

If we are generally observant, during our first relationships we become more self aware, more aware of what we like and don't like, of our weaknesses and strengths and what we find interesting, stimulating and erotic.
While most of us would not want a relationship like the one shown, it reminds us that each of us are unique and should develop a solid understand of our needs and our partners.

The BL genre relies on some combination of lack of communication and miscommunication. And, there is rarely anything "realistic" about BL. Some will hate this series because they won't be able to see themselves in it. Maybe watching will cause us to ponder what specific psychological needs we have in our relationships that maybe aren't exactly "normal"? Given the number of categories / tags for porn and various highly specific dating groups on Facebook, I don't think it is reasonable to dismiss the series because of a "toxic" relationship and toss it in the rubbish heap.

I thought it was brilliant, though occasionally difficult to watch. [Much easier for me to watch than the violence-oriented BLs such as KinnPorsche]

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Not your average Japanese BL

What would you do if you met a previous love interest after 14 years, when the original affair had ended abruptly in confusion?

The storytelling in this drama alternates between current time (main characters in their 30s) and when they were high school students . Thankfully, they used two different sets of actors for the two time periods which works really well. The current time and flashbacks are meant to gradually explain the history to the viewer and clear up misunderstandings for the characters themselves.

Like many Japanese dramas, the focus is on personal growth / new understanding, not on visible action. While there are distracting side plots that seem to hint at "action", these are only there to challenge Miyata's perceptions/thinking. Miyata seems mired in a mental fog of the past, gradually gaining some mental clarity.

If Miyata's growth happened gradually through the 6-episode series, I might have rated this a 10. While BL in general, trades on extended misunderstandings, and Japanese BL in particular excels at presenting the impacts of the lack of clear communication, the resolution of the misunderstandings in this drama seem uneven and mostly occur quickly in the last episode. However, this unevenness is offset by the subtle comparison between inner and outer strengths/weaknesses of both Miyata and Takashi that adds another dimension to the drama.

Also note worthy is a certain bluntness in the dialog in situations where it wouldn't normally be expected. The spoken Japanese in this drama is mostly normal polite Japanese, yet there are a few times where characters say completely unexpected (and rude) things. Miyata sometimes uses more formal business Japanese as way of distancing, sometimes excessively (sarcasm) which signals his brokenness (and is hurtful to Takashi). While Japanese dramas can have insulating or rude language, it is usually direct, not using bitter sarcasm.

Also note worthy is while showing more "intimacy" than most, the physical intimacy exists to focus on what is happening internally/emotionally for Miyata and Takashi and does not read as fan service.

I don't think this is the masterpiece that "The Novelist" (Pornographer manga) is, but it does seem to carve out a unique place among Japanese BL.

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Disappointing but the music is nice and the actors are beautiful

The good.

Loved the lyrics and the singing. The actors are a pleasure to look at, especially Byun Sung Tae. I could gaze at that dreamy face all day long!

The confusing.

There are at least three characters introduced with some depth and we (the audience) start caring about them. But then there isn't any more. The viewer is just left wondering. As an example, Lim Ho Yeon (surfing instructor) cares about the main character (Lee Seung Jun). He appears in quite a few scenes, and we see what he is feeling. He seems like more than a side character, yet we never get anything satisfying. Same goes for certain behaviors we see. As a viewer I want to know the "why" behind these behaviors. But we never get the why. So it ends with the audience unsatisfied.

The bad.

There are portions in the last half that are just meandering.

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