Japanese manga codes live

One thing is certain, I do not like this japanese concept of kawai. In my book, it is just the utmost cringy second hand embarrassment!

Takara and Amagi is only that: a cool as cucumber taciturn Takara, always walking around with his hands in his pockets falls for "kawai" Amagi in his oversized clothes and brimming with childlike enthusiasm both hiding mountain size of insecurities. They are both high school students and while Amagi is worried that Takumi will loose friends because of him, Takumi does not want anyone to know they are dating because Amagi is just too cute.

Even though the drama talks about some serious issues, I almost did not finish it because of the superficial esthetics which does not sit well with me. The first is the kawai behaviour: when an 18yr old goes skipping around and flailing his arms and being a 5yr old girl. The other stems from that one: the height and build difference. And that is so much japanese yaoi mangas concept: seme and uke, a man and a woman. Here it is sometimes hinted to be even worse: a man and a child: I chose to consider it as a father-son relationship. There was even a scene where Amaki transformed into a child! Disturbing, to say the least!

We do not get to know much about the boys outside the school, especially Takara. Amagi is explained a bit more since it was obvious that he is hiding something behind his cheerful disposition: his thirst for love and acceptance. And even though Takara repeatedly tells him he likes him, Amagi has trouble believing him. Amagi started dating Takara because he asked him and not because he liked him more than anyone else. His concept of dating was that of a 10 year old girl (i.e. holding hands and eating ice cream in the park!) so when Takara tried to kiss him, he was very surprised and even more uncomfortable with it. He eventually did fall for him really but his insecurities kicked in every time Takara did or said something. Takara was like a rock, solid and just as expressive, speaking in short sentences and always calm.

While the main pair was rather bland and annoying, I finished watching this because of their best friends: actually I want a series only featuring them! They were fun, deadpan and realistic while Takara and Amagi were in the realm of a fairy tale.

The production is the usual japanese fare: muted colours in the shades of blue, a bit fuzzy and very soft cinematography. Music, nothing special.

Watch this if you run out of BLs to watch, just like I did! lol

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I wish it were a BL....

Well, this was underwhelming! Another retelling of Sherlock stories and I mostly dozed off while watching it! There was nothing spectacularly new and intriguing in these stories.

Except for the hot chemistry between Shishio and Wakamiya. WOW!!! They should have made this a bl and that would have shaken things up and kept me awake!

Everything is as it has always been: a charismatic and charming Sherlock and sweet and a bit dumb sidekick Watson. The modern setting has been done to perfection by BBC and since you cannot improve upon perfection I found the japanese drama boring mostly. The cases, the deduction process, the police....everything has been seen so many times over the decades of Sherlock Holmes imaginings. But eventually Shishio's pushy ways got to be really annoying for me though it had the opposite effect on Wakamiya who had become his friend and keeper of the altar dedicated to SH (his violin!).

This version had the feel of a series made in the 80s: muted colors, closed empty suffocating sets, timeless fashion and loud music. I find it is often the case with japanese dramas. I liked the music but there was too much of it and it drowned the conversation and took attention from crucial scenes. I found myself rewinding because I realized I had not heard anything so overpowering the music was. On the other hand, the scene with Shishio playing the same violin piece over and over again, which helps him focus and think, well those scenes were amazingly filmed and played. I kept wondering if the actor actually played the violin for real.

If you play close attention, there are little things(signs, numbers) throughout the series pointing to the original works of AC Doyle. That was slick and smart!

All in all, it is just another classical version though in modern setting of Sherlock Holmes. The only redeeming quality is the hotness of Watson: it is probably the most handsome Watson in history!

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Fast paced messy fun

Fortunately or unfortunately this is a short watch. The jury is still out on that! On one hand, we just wasted 90min or so of our time which is not important, and on the other it is a good story which needed a more streamlined plot and a little more time.

This is the usual story of palace conspiracy and fight for the throne between two brothers one of who is in league with his servant. The prince and his servant are both looking for revenge.

The beginning is messy. The story meanders, the writers did not really know which path they wanted to take: so we start with a time travelling girl who disappears after a few episodes. Then, a few episodes later, we are in the middle of a full blown GL and I was looking forward to it (because it was so obvious to all the characters what was going on between the girls) but then I remembered that this was a CHINESE drama, and of course, that was dropped though not forgotten since it became girls' chinese style bromance. Eventually, they decided to stick to a more conventional plot and so the two main characters got half of their revenge and remained together in order to complete it sometimes in near future.

Production value is high, the special effects are seamless, the fighting scenes fast and well choreographed, the costumes silky and the wind machine in working order. The acting was ok. They do like whispering when they talk. The problem here are the writing and the messy editing in the first half: it is too fast and difficult to understand the main plot!

If you are not too demanding, it is an fun short watch.

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Where Your Eyes Linger

Before watching this, you need to put your brain in off mode and suspend belief because the story is ridiculous and fraught with holes and inconsistencies. If you do this, you are going to have a blast! If you don't , you will be bored out of your mind.
Another piece of advice, if you really want to enjoy this series, DO NOT read any reviews: I was binge watching it and then when I reached episode 6, the suspense was terrible and I read a review which pointed out everything that was wrong with this and of course, it completely ruined my fun!!!!

Some people compare this to KinnPorsche but this is not a mafia story. It is more of a conflict between two ways to run a business: clean and not. This is another bodyguard bl and now I hope that Thai producers have realized now that these series are just unbelievably silly and unconvincing and maybe they'll stop making them! Koreans did the first and the best one! Let's leave it at that!

The main character Neung is an 18yr old heir to his assassinated father's business empire. His uncle wants to take the business over and since he cannot, he tries to kill everyone blocking his path. So Neung goes on the run with his teen bodyguard (well, I told you to suspend belief!). ,

Let me list some of them:
- a teen bodyguard, former full time fisherman and high school student
- an heir under a threat going to school where everyone can get him
- they run away with a couple of empty backpacks
- after initial honeymoon on the beach, they decide to withdraw some money and are promptly found
- Palm's mother abandoned him because living with his father was suffocating (what a loving mother!)
- she is a tattoo artist but has no visible tattoos
- ridiculous baddie, the uncle
- Neung's mother telling Palm to leave her son alone only to tell her son, three months later to go and look for his lover
- a teen donning on a power suit and taking the business over (I guess the knowledge comes with an expensive suit!)....

And so on, and so forth....

They should have given this series another title which is a constant reaction by every character: Noble Idiocy - at one point every one had to do a self sacrificing gesture toward a loved person (mother, father, lover...you name it, it is here!) and the first prize goes to the main couple! They keep professing undying love for each other, they will face everything together and five minutes later, one or the other just disappears!

On the upside, the production is visibly excellent, scenes are pretty and there are some beautiful beach shot as well as the city at night. The music is amazing. Apart from the two songs sung by the main actors, there is a string of english language songs which raise this production above the usual thai bl. Though at one point, as Neung is leaving there is a christmas carol( The first Noel, I think) playing, which is completely out of context: nobody once mentions Christmas! That was just so ridiculous (though maybe the music editor is not familiar with western christmas music and he just liked this piano piece? Go figure!)!

And then, there were those "lovely" inspirational quotes at the end of every episode! That felt so vacuous!

The actors did their best but I could feel no chemistry between them and the actor playing Palm oftentimes looked as if he wanted to be somewhere else! And of course, Perth was just perfect!

This is a love story, a story of a first crush, of a real love, of an unrequited love. This is a story of a fine line that needs to be trod between affection and duty. This is a story of a family, the love between its members and the hatred the envie provokes. This is a story of good and evil, right and wrong and how to stay on the right path when faced with challenges.

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Another micro drama to pass your time

Well, you must have already heard that this is a chinese historical version of Mr&Mrs. Smith. Literally! It seems to me they transposed the script from modern into historical setting and that's it!
So the story is identical: two assassins get married not knowing each other's real employment. When they find out first they try to kill each other then they talk and then their employers try to kill them. They manage to escape and live happily ever after! THE END
It was mercifully short. The acting was ok. There was a number of very uncomfortable looking kissing scenes. I had to suspend my belief when they could not recognize each other: she wearing a transparent veil covering half her face and him a mask! And don't start me on visually impaired sister who can make sophisticated weapons and ointments, but gets lost and scared on the street: she is confident at home but not outside of it?!?
Unfortunately, I could not understand much about the politics or the two factions fighting for power due to incomprehensible subs! Someone at MangoTV used and abused Google Translate (or the chinese equivalent!). The ending was messy and undercooked and I did not quite understand whether or why their respective employers decided to leave them alone...it was really unclear! And speaking of youtube, the sound was coming and going throughout: regularly, like every 10min there would be a minute or two of complete lack of sound even though the characters were obviously speaking to each other.
On the up side, it was fun and funny (they managed to keep the original's humour but without the scorching chemistry. I loved the songs, the music in general. The stunts were smooth and the fighting scenes precise and well coordinated. Cinematography was pretty.
I did not like this one as much as the first micro sized episodes webseries I'd seen. I was so happy when I found this format, but if the subs are all just as bad, I am going to drop them. This was such a nuisance to watch but I finished it because it was short and I was promised fun & games.

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Educational

First and foremost this is an educational movie. The characters spend valuable time explaining the meaning of polyamory, ACE , libido and the doubts stemming from them!
A gay couple is in love with MinHo, who is ACE in spite of a sex drive because he has phobia of all body fluids. As I understood it here, one is ACE because of a psychological problem? SeongJin, though considered dumb, asks valid questions everyone wonders about! Some time is spent on a girl, who found a way to deal with her ACE issues. MinHo is afraid, has doubts and every time he is with the men he loves, he puts a physical barrier between himself and them be it a pillow or a photo camera!
Cinematography in this movie is stunning and the overall vibe is giving me a 70s' movie feeling:peace and love and freedom (in a nutshell!). The movie is too short for us to know more about the characters apart from their sexuality!
This should be a really watched for its educational value! And can and should be watched and rewatched....

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