Ikematsu Ritsuko is arrested on the charges of arson and murder of Kimitsuka Kohei. Ryosuke, partnered with Miss. Mimikawa, act as prosecutors, his role being to convict Ikematsu Ritsuko of the crimes she has been charged with.

Mukou no Hate follows the story of a woman with many sides to her. She is described, by people who have been close to her, as a liar, as slutty, brutal and gentle; but we see how everything she is or isn't is because of her experiences, and that, in the end, she is a woman who smiles like the sun. Warm and bright, the person she was meant to be if the world had been kinder to her.

Even though Ryosuke is not required to do so, he goes deeper and deeper into Ikematsu Ritsuko’s history, trying to scrape at the truth. The nature of the crime and his (and our) perception of it changes as the puzzle pieces of the backstory are put in place and we see the larger picture.

“Mukou no Hate” was all jumbled up in the genres. It was neither a romance, nor psychological nor was it completely a mystery thriller. It feels like a life story but neither can it be tagged under that genre. The tone of the drama was consistently dark.

“Tell Ritsuko, live!”

As a viewer, I was not sure about the message of the story, except that it showed us a fragmented human, a person who neither wants to backward in time nor is willing to go forward, who neither has solace in the past nor do they wish to continue to live. It was quite tragic and bleak, as wowow dramas tend to be. Supplemented with excellent cinematography and awesome acting from Matsumoto Marika as Ikematsu Ritsuko, it makes for a great watch. I would best describe it as bittersweet.

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Questions the normality that has been decided for us

Saka no Tochu no Le is a Japanese drama produced by Wowow which follows two stories, one of Yamazaki Risako, a mother with a young daughter and a small family and that of Ando Mizuho who is on trial for murdering her infant daughter by drowning her in a bathtub.

The story merges these two seemingly worlds apart incidents when Yamazaki Risako is chosen as a substitute lay judge (a lay judge is cannot participate in the actual sentencing but provide their opinions, a substitute lay judge is merely appointed in case one of the lay judges is unable to attend). But it doesn't stop there, as we see more of Yamazaki Risako's life and that of Ando Mizuho, it is shocking how similar they are. This realisation hits Yamazaki Risako, and this odd connection between herself as a murderer makes our protagonist (and hopefully our audience too), gain a new perspective.

Saka no Tochu no Le feels like a modern rendering of a Kate Chopin story, in particular, the short story “The Story of an Hour,” where Kate Chopin uses her style to narrate how society builds walls and cages and drives people into corners.

“What makes struggling mothers feel cornered is the concept of “normality.” The normality demanded by society. The normality that was decided for you. And the normality sought by the actual mothers themselves.”


Saka no Tochu no Le sheds light on parenthood and its struggles from a multitude of perspectives through the appointment of lay judges; the first of course is our protagonist who is pivotal to the story and our understanding of the murderer Ando Mizuho; a woman who cannot bear children but desperately wants to be a mother and in her own way faces stigma for it; a father whose wife cannot bear him because their marriage has forced her to live in poverty as opposed to her life with her wealthy parents and another important perspective comes from a female judge who is forced to choose between her career and her child by an unaccommodating husband.

At the core of every story is pain which is born as people drive themselves into corners as they try to meet the standards set by society and in its exposition, Saka no Tochu no Le questions this idea of "normalcy" forced upon us by society and by us ourselves. Although it does not say so explicitly, but Postpartum Depression and moral harassment are also dealt with here.

One of my favorite scenes from the story is when our protagonist and Ando Mizuho meet in a tranquil otherworld where she discusses her questions as a new struggling mother and it makes her feel more confident about herself. We do not have to drive ourselves and others into corners. Another message is perhaps that society is too judgemental; knowing the backstory of a person can change the entire perspective and one should not judge so easily.

The title translates to “A House on the Slope,” taken perhaps from how Ando Mizuho went up the sloping road to her house everyday with the afternoon sun overhead making her drenched in sweat and a tiredness and sadness takes over her and manifests in her as she is forced to make this scary journey alone.

Wowow again marvel's me with their use of camerawork. The transitions from Yamazaki Risako to Ando Mizuho were scary and brilliant. They use evocative cinematography and soundtrack to arouse the emotions it wants in its viewers.

This drama is a masterpiece in terms of its direction, production, script, story, acting and message. While I do not believe that any drama is a "must watch," I do believe that some stories are essential watches which have real lessons in them and Saka no Tochu no Le is one of them.

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Pro tip: don't look at the MDL cast section.

Welcome to the Strange Circus, where nothing is as it seems to be...

The first quarter of the film portrays the visually disturbing sexual abuse of a school principle of his wife Sayuri and eventually her daughter Mitsuko too. Everything—starting from the school halls to the manor, transforms in its appearance and becomes horrendously red and bloodied or white emptiness as we start seeing the world from Mitsuko’s perspective.

At this point, while I’m wondering how long the movie will stretch this storyline, Sono Sion makes this strange circus stranger as we now realise that this is an erotic novel written by a female author Takeo, being read out by the editors. Amongst the editors is the young assistant Yuji.

As the plot goes on, Sono Sion makes it even more bizarre and everything becomes a lie.

“Strange Circus” was all over the genres. It was at times a mere psychological thriller, then a complex mystery and later, a melodramatic revenge plot. This is perhaps testimony to the brilliant complex layers that Sono Sion has skillfully crafted. As one perplexing twist occurs one after the other, much akin to an acrobat in a circus, do we realise how truly complex this maze is.

Quite worth the watch but recommended only to those who can stomach the grotesqueness.

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I rarely do this, but I encourage you to not take the stalking at face value

Having finished Secret Crush on You (here on abbreviated as scoy) weeks ago, I decided to wait and let my thoughts stabilise but I rated it a 8.5 purely for its entertainment value (actually a 10/10).

Scoy is an incredibly well-made series in the sense that it has a consistent story (chaotic but consistent in its execution of chaos), well-paced, well-written dialogues suitable for the different kinds of interactions, high production quality (no, I'm not counting Nuea’s abs though they are very valuable assets. no I am not objectifying men, pretty sure he thinks the same) and awesome acting, some director obviously worked on them a lot.

I'm not one to care about MDL Ratings but having been on here for two years now, I have a pretty good idea for what becomes popular around here. And as I watched, I wondered why-how-why this series doesn't have a rating above an 8. 7.4 is a very good rating imo but on MDL such an epic comedy series should easily get above an 8.0. I didn't have to wonder much because there it was, Toh in those nerdy glasses and gloves rummaging throough garbage with whatever that device was to get a pair of cans Nuea had thrown into them.

Wait, so he's like, 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨? We no likey. (And rummaging through garbage is gross anyway). Those were a majority of the comments on yt episode 1, and I admit it weirded me out too. I developed this @-the-screen dialogue begging, wishing, hoping that Toh would stop tf he was about to do because I knew it was going to be embarassing (a habit which did not stop till the very end of the series). I have no hesitation to drop cringe, no idea why I kept watching but I'm glad I did.

I'm accustomed to using phrases like "at times absurd" and "often hilarious, often...” while reviewing shows, but nothing less than “𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 outlandishly, absurd and mostly really silly” will suffice for scoy.

Toh, Daisy, Jao and Som are an odd motley, uni outcasts united in their mutual loneliness. Together they create nothing short of chaos. Their friendship alone is worth watching this series. Nosy parkers through and through, they catalysed each others romances, supported through heartbreak and unanimoulsly held up a code called the "secret crush code". There are many moments that were exemplary of their friendship: fixing Toh's mess, supporting Jao through internet hatred, being there for Daisy's trans identity crisis.

There is an ongoing debate that “bl” isn't truly “lgbt”. Regardless of which side you're on, we all acknowledge that there are very few shows about diverse sexual and gender identities. For a series so seemingly comedic and "immature", scoy has surprising lgbt awareness portrayed with such sensitivity that it made me wonder if actual lgbt individuals were involved in its making (for example Nuchy, the wonderful director of Not Me is a transwoman). I do not mean it's all doom and gloom with homophobia, quite the contrary, yet you'll feel the overall positive representation.

Now, let's come to the main part of this story. Nuea's abs.

Obviously.

No really, Nuea’s abs and how he was so obsessed with displaying those wonderful contours to Toh. Nuea is the school's best basketball player, a good student, a kind person yadda yadda the whole jig. We don't know much about him except he's hot and Toh has the hots for him. We don't even know if he is aware of Toh’s existence. So when Nuea invites him to shoot photos at his sister's birthday and they have these really close interactions, it sets the gears going. Does this chiseled mass of goodness 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 the nerdy guy who 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘴 him?

Can a nerdy stalker even be worthy of such love? And here is my favorite part of scoy, it's not pitching the concept many shows go for "love is deeper than appearance" etc. no, it's asking you a more fundamental question. Why should the crush of a handsome boy be more valued in comparison to the nerdy one?

What is a crush anyway? Sudden unreasonable attractions to people. And sometimes they fall in love right? But why is that crush so easy to understand when its the school's popular guy than, say, a quiet chubby guy, a weird bubbly girl, a effeminate outcast or a shy boy in large glasses?

Via an internet bullying drama blown out of proportion, mean girls who would make the Plastics proud, drama questioning self-worth and acceptance and of course the stalking, scoy examines secret crushes and how we raise them on a pedestal beyond our reach. There are good points about all of us (and very few people are so bad as to be truly unworthy of an love, and I mean criminal offenders really). I appreciate what the drama tried to do here, and it did so without being obtrusive.

Nuea and Toh were the stars of the show for me. They had their hot and sweet moments, sometimes emotional. Somebody involved in the production micromanaged Toh and Nuea’s intimacy to perfection that they felt like a real couple who were into each other. Billy (Nuea) and Seng (Toh) have an intensity to them that worked wonders. Certain lingering touches, looking into each other's eyes, real communication, treating even the friends of your crush really well ;) —details that a lot of shows miss.

The actors were amazing, I've given this a 10/10 on that front. Nothing felt lacking in terms of acting. The emotional scenes had weight, the comedy was hilarious and felt natural for the characters.

Sky and Jao were quite popular, being less "problematic" (read more on this in note 2). Daisy and Toh were robbed but it seems they didn't have much of a story in the novel and the show did a good job of the few they did. Som is our allo het relresentative. There are lesbians but they are not really there except one really pretty freenbeck shot at the end (you have to watch Gap).

Lastly, huge love for the translators. They explained everything, the film references, the Thai jokes we tend to miss out on, Daisy's switching pronouns. Everybody agrees that this had the best, most involved subbing team. 9/10

Notes irrelevant to review:
Note 1. The stalking, like everything else in the drama, is exaggerated. But if it makes you feel better, all photos Toh collected were from public events. Public university events. Yes, he stuck them on his wall, but those are photos available publicly to everyone. The items collection was real but really? If keeping a crab in a vacuumed pouch isn't a joke then idk what is.

Note 2. I found Sky’s behaviour to be pretty problematic actually. A no is a no. It is weird how he kept pursuing Jao who said no so vehemently. Consent is an issue here which it isn't in Nuea and Toh's relationship.

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Noriko’s Dinner Table follows the story of the seemingly happy Shimabara family. While the father Tetsuzo continues to play his role as a loving father; talking his family out on trips while he searches for stories to publish in his Tiny Tokai Times newspaper, news that focusses on the tranquil Tokoyama with its blue sky, oceans, harbor, farms and mountains, he fails to notice and understand his daughters. The family starts to come apart at the seams when the eldest daughter, Noriko, runs away from her family.

She runs away to Tokyo and contacts Ueno Station #54, an online friend she made on Haikyo.com, a website where she found solace as it was the only place where she could talk about the ditsy rebelious side of hers, the side which doesn't want to embrace the peacefulness of Tokoyama. She gets embroiled in an absurd business which offers services to roleplay as family members, roles that nobody else wants to play, and in the process, loses “herself” completely.

“Everyone wants to be champagne, not the glass. A flower, not the vase. But the world needs glasses and vases. These roles need to be fulfilled.”

We are all playing certain roles in our life, we are playing daughters, sisters, mothers, brothers, father; we are playing at being a family. While the first half of Noriko’s Dinner Table is mildly suspenseful and mostly just confusing, the latter half is a psychological horror which propounds the fluidity of our identies or rather, it's fragility, which can mould and morph or shatter completely. Today she might be Noriko, tomorrow she is Mitsuko, then she is somebody else and then Noriko again.

Moreover, Noriko's Dinner Table is a social commentary on suicide and the ramifications of the internet. The film is an onslaught of depression and loneliness which has no cause and does, because why should Noriko feel so unhomely is a place which is so tranquil, with a family that is so loving? Is it because her father simply refuses to cover the story of the 54 teenage girls who suicided at the station and continues to print happy stories on the Tokoyama Public Library and it's cacti gardens.

This film, like any other Sono Sion film, is like the gamma waves that are unfoundedly believed to stretch our brain. Unlike gamma waves, Noriko's Dinner Table will stretch your brain.

There are certain Sono Sion movie moments that tend to stick in your brain and I'm not talking about the blood bath or the shocking complacency with which it is shown. In Strange Circus it was the moment when the girl was sitting in the cello; Noriko's Dinner Table has such unforgettable moments, for me, it was when Tetsuzo looks at his daughters through a crack in the wardrobe, at girls who aren't his daughters and somehow still are.

The most powerful juxtaposition in the movie was perhaps that of Noriko and Kumiko, the former who was once a girl brought up with love but feels hollow and eventually becomes a spectre of herself and the latter being a girl abandoned in a locker, who is only capable of creating an illusion of happiness but bathes in her chameleon personality. Noriko who ultimately becomes Noriko, and Kumiko who is still stuck in roleplay.

“If some people are lions, others must be rabbits. Some must die for the rest to truly live.” So let's be rabbits for a while, says Yuka, as she is surrounded by her faux family. Or perhaps they are her real family. Life is a strange illusion and Sono Sion asks a lot of questions in this tragic and incendiary movie, some which go unanswered, some which don't have one and some which are indecipherable.

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Fight it out

Crows Zero is centred around the Suzuran High School and it’s internal power struggle wherein the crown is determined by teenage hand-to-hand scuffles. Genji is one such “crow,” as the notorious students of Suzuran are called. He is the son of a yakuza and it is his ambition to be at the top of Suzuran’s hierarchy. On his very first day he challenges Serizawa, the crow who is almost at the very top of Suzuran.

I went into the movie knowing that it would be chock full with action scenes and it was. The fighting scenes were quite exaggerated with characters dramatically spewing blood, spitting teeth and clashing against each other.

Such action movies have never been my thing but I wanted to try the movie which has spawned two sequels and a manga. Crows Zero had a lot of space for improvement. I for one do not want to spend 2 hours of my time watching hoardes of teenage boys fighting against each other with a mindless ambition. There was too much testosterone and too much blood and it wouldn’t be half so bad if there was a meaning to everything.

Loyalty and leadership were quite a central to the storyline but as the movie dragged on and stretched a storyline that would be more appropriate for a one hour movie into double of that, the message was lost and I was honestly just so bored.

There is a noticeable lack of female characters here and the few that you may spot are to serve as plot devices. The “damsel-in-distress softens badboy” trope was not just annoying but if felt out of place. The sub-textual love triangle between Tokio, Serizawa and Genji was a lot more entertaining to watch. ;)

Overall a watchable movie but I can’t rate it higher than a 5.5 nor am I motivated to watch the sequels.

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You never know who hates you right now

No spoilers, proceed safely.

I have been putting off watching “A Gift to the People You Hate” for the longest time. Maybe it was the poster which seemed amusing, or maybe it was the premise that wasn't intriguing at first glance. Well, I'm glad I gave this a chance and that it is available with English subs on GMMtv.

❝Yes, my shop sells gifts. But only gifts to be given to someone you hate. Do you have someone you hate? So much so that you want to give a gift?❞

The story is just that, a gift shop which delivers gifts to people hated by its customers. There are four levels of gifts, level 1 being public embarassment and level 2 being death. As we observe our characters giving in to their hatred and purchasing gifts, we see how their hatred and the consequences of their actions manifest in them and haunts them.

❝No matter what, we cannot escape. Even though we are not arrested, the crimes are haunting us from within.❞

The thing is, when your actions are driven by hatred, things go wrong. It may hurt people around you and the consequences may be severe and unplanned. The show shows how far people go when they have the means to, i.e., how far people are willing to go to hurt others when they can do it so easily and without having to face consequences. The ultimate idea is that human beings are terrible and they do terrible things.

A common fact I've noticed in the Thai dramas I've watched as of yet is that they lack polish. A Gift to the People You Hate is similarly lacking but makes up for the silly plot holes with a compelling, fast-paced and thrilling plot with a spectacular ending message.

The message is clear from Ploy's final gifts, hatred can kill you. Not physically perhaps, but it will hurt inside. And after ten episodes of turmoil and grief, right when you start thinking that the show will end on a conciliatory note, it doesn't. To the contrary it pushes the very realistic message that hatred can never truly be gone from the world. A bit bland at times, but some moments were brilliant, particularly the ending and the surprising reveal of the man behind the mask.

I give this an overall rating of 8.0/10. The acting was sufficient and the story would have been a straight 9.0/10 IF not for the rather silly plot holes (like the lack of body guards around a politician who is going to become the prime minister or how a caretaker could freely release members from an old age), minor details but difficult to ignore.

If you have read till here, watch the first episode and let it draw your attention. Another great one by gmmtv.

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Fictional but scarily real.

No spoilers! Proceed safely. :)

“If you do not destroy your opponents, you will be destroyed yourself.”

With a 9.5/10 rating, Liar Game reaches the tier A of masterpieces which I believe should be watched by everyone.

The plot is simple at first glance. “Stupidly honest Nao” who can't lie to save her life gets embroiled in the titular Liar Game organised by an agency of the same name. The game is exactly what it sounds like, a game of lies and deception. And so many things could go wrong with this drama.

It could be full of plotholes and meaningless sub plots with an underwhelming ending that portrays that honesty is the best policy. But no.

Liar Game is different from anything out there and it is something I'd label truly unique in its execution. The slow build up as the rounds of the Liar Game progress from simplistic deception to organised play outs and how Nao navigates it with the help of Akiyama, a con artist who spent three years in jail, and manages to somehow remain “good” no matter how many times she is lied to.

There are many reasons why I should have docked more points from Liar Game. The garrish production, flashy editing, sudden close ups of the pixel dummy, dramatic shots of every character’s face was kind of tiring and bad acting which is actually good acting that is meant to be bad. But somehow I noticed these only when the episodes had ended. While the episode plays, the intriguing plot twists which make sense will keep your mental gears turning and twisting.

So what was the redeeming quality of the Liar Game?
The message of the story.
“I am painting something more abominable than hell. Humankind itself.”

Liar Game conveys a unique message through its pov protagonist Kanzaki Nao. Nearly all episodes begin with an intro showing the first shot of Kanzaki Nao as she passes under cherry blossoms, happy and unblemished. The sort of crystal conscience which shows on her face.

During the Liar Game, I was honestly so annoyed by Nao. She made the stupidest mistakes ever and I was tearing my hair out by the end of episode 1 but Nao is the antagonist and hero the Liar Game and that is the message of the show.

Just because most of us have become used to deceiving others, be it a smal lie to your parent or be it a lie to thousands of people to siphon their life savings off them; each and every one of us has lied at some point in their life. And lying has become a skill which we try to hone. But just because Nao has is trusting and doesn't deceive, it doesn’t make her absolutely stupid. There is strength in trusting, there is strength in not lying, the sort of strength which Nao has and it annoys people but it is a strength which most of us don’t have.

Liar Game has opened my eyes to so many things. I have always been sharply aware and wary of deception and Liar Game hasn’t convinced me nor does it try to convince its viewers to have blind faith in everyone. But through its crooked Liar Game which is so scarily similar to our lives, Liar Game sens a strong message to its viewers and I thunk it would echo differently with different viewers.

Lastly, I don’t want to be THAT person who screams for their favorite shows and tries to convince everyone to watch it, and I have never done that before, but now I would like to say that I’m not lying when I say that Liar Game is honestly such a freaking masterpiece. There are legit no plot holes, at least none that I could discover and any loop holes which were there were discussed and justified. The twists came out of nowhere but still made perfect sense.

There are also hints of romance but that’s left to the viewers interpretation.

I rated the rewatch value very high which is unlike me because I hardly ever rewatch shows. This is mostly because I would like to visit the show again with the ending in my mind.

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Dark fictional stories based on scary aspects of human personality.

I don't like writing reviews when I've missed the early window for the show but 36 reviews is too little enthusiasm for Girl from Nowhere. There are some points about this which I didn't find mentioned anywhere so all things considered I decided to review it.

The first point which stood out to me after watching four episodes of Girl from Nowhere is that the series isn't about simply punishing the wrong-doers. It's not to inflict pain on the wrong-doer. It's not to right the wrongs—the crimes shown here are too grave and far-gone to be corrected. It's about making the wrong-doer realise what they did wrong, the gravity of their actions, and that is the hardest route to 'correct' wrongs.

The series it leaves no room–absolutely none–for redemption of the villains. It starts out with really small situations—a yoga appointment, flirting boys, jealousy, rich kids being total snobs—seemingly harmless right? No. Each story has been crafted carefully with the post escalating slowly, building trepidation and curiosity.

Even though Nanno can be considered the main lead here, she is actually an instrument in the series. She is the one who ushers the plot along. Would a teacher assaulting students get imprisoned generally? No. Nanno puts the correct pieces in so that the happen on their own accord. Is Nanno making these things happen? No. These things are happening right now, at this moment at multiple places around the globe, without Nanno's help. In these series, everything happens around Nanno but it somehow doesn't. A lot of the time Nanno is hovering in the background tapping away at the right buttons, leaving the characters to dig the deepest, darkest dungeon they can for themselves.

Point is that the presentation of the story is mind-blowing and that is I think what makes Girl from Nowhere stand out for me. It's not just a simple presentation of a crime and a subsequent lecture on society and it's packings. No, this is Nanno, a girl from nowhere, leading the narrative and pushing things to happen. Things that are truly happening to other people elsewhere.

The episodes don't conclude with a concrete closure on the story—we don't see Mr. Win in prison, but we do see him as a completely shaken man, a man with a prison term and a dead daughter. We don't see the five students in a juvie, but we do see them being haunted by Nanno and by their own deeds. We don't see Mew getting revealed in front of the world but we know that she is descending deeper into the hell she made for herself. The stories don't end completely but we can feel the impending room on these people, brought about by themselves.

The stories are all about actions and consequences. Every action will have a reaction and Nanno asks, “Are you ready for it?”

Apart from the storyline which keeps viewers on their toes, there's the whole thing about how wonderful Chicha is as an actress. The laugh, the head turns, the grace in her movements; these have left me fangirling over her constantly.
Here's my first feedpost on her: https://mydramalist.com/profile/Nada_SouSou/feeds/ePnQkcy

“Nanno is Nanno.”

The stories, directors, writers–everything in the series keeps changing in every episode–everyone except Nanno (and therefore Chicha). But don't make the mistake of thinking that the show revolves solely around her. The side characters are equally well done. The acting doesn't leave room for improvement, it really doesn't. They all delivered on everything—the deeply emotional sobs, the evil laugh, the happiness before the storm—Nanno in particular has this psychotic glint to all her actions.

Even though there was a separate crew working on each of the episodes, they meld together perfectly as an anthology. This show has been the perfect mixture of mystery and macabre.

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There's lots to love here, some parts are just wrong but there's love too

I am really conflicted about how to rate this show. History4: Close to you delivers perfectly on sound, aesthetics, acting, pacing and script but it is riddled with flaws for the secondary storyline. This review is filled with spoilers because reviews are were I unload all my thoughts so be forewarned.

═══◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤ ◢◤ ◢◤═ᴘʟᴏᴛʟɪɴᴇ✏
[8/10]
❛HIStory4: Close to You❜ is focussed on two couples, Teng Muren and Xiao Licheng; Ye Xingsi and Fu Yongjie.

To win the love of his childhood crush, Xiao Licheng, now 30, tries all he can to get close to Muifang but to no avail. When he learns that she is a bl fan, he tries to join the bl fanclub which now comprises of Muifang, her friend and Licheng. To win her affection, Xiao Licheng pretends to be in a relationship with Teng Muren.

Xiao Licheng, Teng Muren and Ye Xingsi are in the 'iron triangle's. They are best friends. While Ye Xingsi is a director at Muse Weddings, Xiao Licheng and Teng Muren are heads of the sales department 1 and 2 respectively. They are constantly at heads with each other to reach the monthly target and make more sales than the other.

Honestly when I first read the plot my immediate thought was that 'pretend relationship' and 'fujoshi' isn't a good combination (as was taught to me by Oxygen). I thought it was going to be toxic as hell but nope. Muifang is actually a really sweet girl, she is a fujoshi but she isn't one of those ignorant asshole people commonly represented in dramas who go around taking pictures of two men and posting on social media.

She has been firm about her stance regarding her feelings for Xiao Licheng and she genuinely wants to help him win Teng Muren's love. When Xiao Licheng confesses that he had been pretending to be gay but is now actually in love with Teng Muren, she acts like a true friend and helps him.

Xiao Licheng was a character I've often met in real life. He's gay/bi/pan, closeted to himself and if he goes to a gay bar it's just to party and not because he's actually gay ;) it might sound like a trope but I've actually met people like him who're always so touchy with that one friend they have feelings for. I pretty much loved how he just went: hey, wait a second, I'm having wet dreams for my friend and hey, I have feelings for him. He's not bothered that his friend is gay and he doesn't have internal homophobia. I love his character.

But I was really hoping that we were over this 'im not gay I like you' thing. Didnywe have out and proud freewheeling bisexual Tang Yi in History 3: Trapped :[ why can't we have that again. Why is it so hard to wrap our minds around the fact that bisexuality and pansexuality exists?

Also, I'm getting a tad bit tired about Thai body type classifications. It seems all the lean and thin guys have to be bottoms, while the seemingly 'manly' men are tops. The History series is particularly leaning into this. Can we not have this trope anymore?



Now coming to the problematic couple. I don't want to elaborate much on Yongjie and Xingsi. Xingsi is an adorable guy and the only one in the trio who has a functional brain (Muren has one braincell and a half and Licheng has none whatsoever). He's really mature about everything and insecure about coming out to his father.

I really didn't understand why Yongjie had to go to all those lengths just to 'get him'. I didn't find it romantic at all. Of course I can understand that people have different benchmarks for what classidlfies as romantic but I found his approach really problematic: he gets his brother drunk, the brother whomm he loves, and proceeds to kiss him and have sex with him with the sole purpose that Xingsi will become his boyfriend.

The most ironical part about this story is that the vice president of Muse Weddings did the exact same thing to Teng Muren (he drugged Muren and tried to assault him) which was considered rape but somehow Yongjie doing it to Xingsi was supposed to be romantic?

Also, Yongjie says that if we're truly in love then we're okay with just being together without dating. So why does he keep forcing himself on Xingsi? He says he'll kiss Xingsi when Xingsi is awake. So why does he practically rape him when he was unconscious? Also, his mother–i wasn't sure whether I was supposed to be laughing or crying–his mother is convinced that her son is a complete asshole and she knew he was going to take advantage of Xingsi. When Yongjie comes back from the beach trip (after the assault), she asks him whether he got to spend time with Xingsi and says that he shouldn't have done such a mean thing to Xingsi. Mean thing? Lady we're talking lifetime jail for rape, not school kids stealing pencils.

Xingsi's reaction was so beautifully shown that I thought they were taking some right directions here but nope. There was no way to justify Yongjie's behavior (also, punching Muren–really?) This isn't love, this is obsession. All obsessions are unhealthy bit while being obsessed with cephalopods is an interesting hobby, being obsessed with a person to the point that you rape them is–JAIL. And he's supposed to be Xingsi's best choice because why–he helped him come out in front of his father?

That's not the message we need. Get a job, confess to your parents, of they don't accept you then throw money in their face and leave. Be happy with your partner. Live. You don't need to live up to someone else's expectations.



To end on a positive note, watch this show for Licheng and Muren. The way they're cheesy, romantic and just together makes my heart mushy. They're cute in a mature way. Licheng saying "You're mine" and Muren just gives that classic smirk and goes "I'm yours" is just wholesome (and the nickname is TengTeng? Like cute is this cute or what?)

Sometimes I really wondered whether the drama had two separate directors and scriptwriters...

Story rating:
10 for Licheng and Muren
2 for Yongjie
8 for Xingsi for being a wonderful person and for being brave
Overall (for plot)= 6.5 (extra .5 for Muifang bc I have a crush on her).

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[9/10]
Splendidly acted. Lin Chiawei as Yongjie and An Jungpeng as Xingsi saved the graces of the secondary couple by their acting (I can't decide whether Lin Chiawei was supposed to act like that but he's actually killing it ;)

Charles Tu brings Licheng to life. I found his acting to be the best in the show–he can go from flirtatious playboy to having that hurt kicked-in-the-gut look in just a second and bounce back to his signature high-spirited and careless demeanor just as soon. He also manages the lovestruck puppy look well.

Anson Chen has wonderful control over his nasal musculature–like with a simple twitch of his eyebrows or his nose he can convey absolute disdain or amused or the occasionally happy emotions.

I'd watch the show for the acting alone.


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[10/10]
❛Close to You❜ is so aesthetically pleasing. I can't pinpoint exactly what it is about this show but the camerawork and everything is splendid. A lot of thought seems to have been put into the costumes and fashion of their characters. The style is distinct for each of them.

Also, I cannot get over the OST and even while bingeing on one episode after another I repeated the OST twice for each episode (that's like 40 times plus all the times I simply listened to the OST for the fun of it). It sounds really mature and suits the show.


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[9/10]
❛Close to You❜ is a show I can easily see myself rewatching, once I get around to rewatching it, I can bump the rewatch value to a 10/10.

Should you watch the show?
For me, ❛Close to You❜ is hit or miss. The secondary couple seems to have completely ruined the entire show for many people and at some points I was tempted to just look for a cut of Xiao Licheng and Teng Muren but I really loved Ye Xingsi and I skipped through most of their parts post episode 10.

Taiwan has been truly delivering on bl shows with quality content and distinctive storylines (albeit with a liberal side service of tropes) so I'd you're looking for something different from the general university themed stories then CTY could be the one for you.

Overall rating is 5.0/10

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The problem wasn't in the stories or with the actors, the problem was the time constraint. Each of these actors delivered the best they could depending on the materials they were provided. Preference of episodes is 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 (the reversal of airing order ;) the best ones were put at the very end)

═ ∘♡༉∘ ═══════ Ep. 1
Pretend to love
• Fluke as Typhoon
• Ohm as Pierce, a music artist
SONG: To act like we are in love
RATING: 6.5/10
ALSO SEE THEM IN: Until we meet again
UPCOMING SERIES: Rumored upcoming series (I saw new pictures released about them so.. ;)

This story was pretty much surviving on OhmFluke. Both these actors have awesome chemistry and are wonderful in their roles and I suppose they were given a horrible story because they are the only ones who could act it and still get a mediocre score (instead of an abominably low one). The plot was practically non existent (basically Typhoon being jealous of how much time Pierce and Marc were spending together), the ending was abysmal with Typhoon asking Pierce to pretend to be in love with him and the characters were 2 dimensional. Sad endings aren't the problem here, the lack of development is.

═ ∘♡༉∘ ═══════Ep. 2
Just friend
• First as Mojoom, a cat
• Ja as Xin, the cat owner
SONG: Just be friend
RATING: 7.5/10
ALSO SEE THEM IN: Tharntype (sequel)
UPCOMING SERIES: Don't say no

There are two ways I look at this.
One way is that Moojoom was shown in a human form to portray the emotions of the cat. If so, First pretty much nailed the cute role.
Another is that the cat was actually a boy who was stuck in his feline form. Of so, the story's ending was unsatisfactory as there was no concrete evidence to support this idea.
Either way I was surprised how people were labelling this as bestiality because let's face it, Thai media regardless of how open it may or may not be l, is never going to tread into those murky waters. I thought this was a sweet story about a cat owner and his cat. The story could've been done way better though.

═ ∘♡༉∘ ═══════Ep. 3
Willing or not
• Nat as Mini, a freshman student
• Max as Titan, a senior student who is also a Judo champion
SONG: Accidental or intentional
RATING: 7.5/10
ALSO SEE THEM IN: Why RU? the series, Y-destiny (episodes 3,4)
UPCOMING SERIES: Cutie Pie the series

I've never liked Max and Nat as a pairing as much as others seemed to love them. I found it really awkward how Titan kept coercing Mini to participate in the competition but the story ended on a positive note with a signature post-injury piggyback ride.

═ ∘♡༉∘ ═══════Ep. 4
Just one life
• Lay as Xiaoping
• Yoon as Peam
SONG: Enough for one lifetime
RATING: 9.5/10
ALSO SEE THEM IN: YYY the series, YYY special, Y-destiny (probably episode 11, 12)
UPCOMING SERIES: –
If you've seen YYY and remember the 'English breakfast' scene then you'll get a pretty good idea about this story. Their shirts were the cutest thing ever, chemistry was on point, Lay was rocking his hair style as usual and Yoon was nailing his role as the clueless love interest.

═ ∘♡༉∘ ═══════Ep. 5
Dear my star
• Tommy as Mekhin/Mek, a student from rural Chiang Mai
• Jimmy as Night, a student from Bangkok
SONG: Your problem, my solution
RATING: 9.5/10
ALSO SEE THEM IN: Why RU? the series, Saifahzon story
UPCOMING SERIES: Middleman's love/Middle love, Peach of time

I may be biased but this story was the second best. The retro 90's theme with the cassettes, letter, payphones; the pen pals plot (a tale as old as time ٩(◕‿◕｡)۶), and the chemistry between the actors–a wholesome and light story.

═ ∘♡༉∘ ═══════Ep. 6
Imagine you
• Copter as Ray, a barista who is Jedi's top fan
• Kimmon as Jedi, a famous idol
SONG: To think– Not to think
RATING: 10/10
ALSO SEE THEM IN: (1) Kit and Ming in 2moons, (2) Kit and Mark in Gen Y, (3) TV shows based on SBFIVE, (4) Hotel stars
UPCOMING SERIES: That's my candy, Gen Y2

This story is getting a full 10 from me. This plotline is something that I love reading about in science fiction books and I was so surprised by the uniqueness of it. The story had me all in my feels. To summarize, Ray wins a virtual reality headset as a prize for a trivia competition. The headset let's him interact with a programmed counterpart of his favourite actor. When he wishes that his idol could become real, the sentient program emerges from the headset. Just to be clear, it doesn't emerge from the headset but it's just a projection who feels real to Ray (I got confused about the touching parts but I attribute that to his lovestruck state).

Ray works as a cafe in a small obscure cafe, and one fine day Jedi visits the shop! He begins to frequent the shop because he loves Ray's coffee and feelings start to grow. The show ends on a positive note with them touching and Jedi says: “This is better than the headset isn't it?"

Like I need a full series out of this. It would be mind-blowing and awesome. Keeping my fingers crossed! The only recommendation I could come up with was “Love from outta space”, because both these stories have science fiction elements in them but the stories aren't similar at all.

═ ∘♡༉∘ ═══════

This felt like a combination of fanservice, advertisement of upcoming series and bringing recognition to the Boxx music artists. I did the math, and the overall rating comes to 8.5.

Should you watch the series? I'd say episodes 5 and 6 were really unique so at least give those a try (I am rewatching them too!). Yoonlay have undeniable chemistry so episode 4 was enjoyable. Episode 3 was okay. I personally thought episode 2 was cute but if you don't think so then just skip it. If you want to watch episode 1 because of ohmfluke then don't–they weren't treated with justice.

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I had my inhibitions against this from the very beginning: a body swap story with a title as cringey as that? But this “Cupid's Last Wish” managed to surprise me quite a bit!

It's exactly what it says on the tin: siblings, Win and Lin get into an accident and they come out with more than just a few bruises–their souls get exchanged! Win wakes up only to find himself in his sister’s body, who herself is still comatose. As advised by the Venerable Uncle, he goes on a journey to collect holy water and is unwillingly paired up with Korn, his childhood friend. Why unwillingly? Because Win’s father somehow left as many shares as he did for his own son, for Korn too. Seem suspicious? It is.

And there's a deadline! Racing against time, Win and Korn run all over Thailand. They encounter many problems: the obnoxious uncle and aunt, headless ghosts, their cow Katin getting a bloated stomach, ghost lights, Lin getting her period (and Win just can't deal lol), floating ghosts, weed-induced hallucinations... but nothing as difficult as them having to tolerate each other.

Viewers are divided into two clear factions with Win’s behaviour-while some call him out for his childishness, others find it adorable. I simply found it understandable. Ever since his father died, Win has been the banyan of the Warodom farm and his family. He is just as hardy as any of the workers on the farm and doesn't mind getting his hands dirty. He's even capable of stabbing a cow's bloated rumen! But when he's with Korn it's like this whole other side of Win come out, a side which want to be cared for.

These ten episodes haven't been a "growth of their relationship." It was more about Win and Korn grappling with these feelings they've had for each other for so fucking long. Every time Korn hugs Win’s sister, and when he misleads Win regarding his true feelings, it worsens Win’s uncertainty. His father leaving the shares to Korn are the last straw as Win is left to wonder whether just as his romantic feelings are (seemingly) unrequited, has their friendship been false too all this time?

But true love always perseveres (no matter how ridiculously stupid your mother might behave!) and they do get their well-deserved happy ending. “Cupid's Last Wish” is what I call a feel-good watch. There are no real issues here, no real problems to deal with. It's pretty much like atots, a sense of community and well-being and overall warmth but it's all very superficial. I never managed to fully get into any of these shows.

The few "plot twists" here were quite overdone and out of place. Turns out there's a reason why Korn got those shares and it's so damn weirdly done.

The only thing quite clever about this drama is the body swap. With creative use of camera angles, this drama makes good use of the trope. I liked how there was this consciousness in the characters that they had to be responsible for their actions even in the body of others. While this did admittedly lead to a fresh bout of confusions and the expected drama in the penultimate episode, it was necessary to address it.

My primary issue with this is the very end. Didn't really get the feeling that they were beyond the we’re friends thing. The final scene in the car was so awkward with the head kisses.

Earth’s acting was a little less awkward than usual but Mix was a little more awkward than usual? The best however was Janhae as WinLin. As Lin, Janhae played Lin, a really cutesy character which is set as a far contrast to that of Win. As Win she throws her limbs about and perfectly captures the rowdy lanky charm of Mix.

Overally it was an enjoyable watch for anyone looking for an easy watch. 7.5/10

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Where sunshine and rain meet to bring a rainbow

No spoilers, proceed safely. :)

“I am alive. Uh...I am here right now. I am alive. That's it. That’s all I'm doing.”

Hikikomori Sensei follows the story of Uwashima Yohei, who is a “hikikomori survivor”. Eleven years ago, he was betrayed by his friend who put him in debt and thus began his life as a “hikikomori.” Uwashima Yohei became intensely distrustful of society and started withdrawing from it.

When he finally steps out of his room, he opens a yakitori shop with "No Service" posters on it and forbids customers from talking to him. He is then approached by the principal of the school he had once attended and thus begins his journey as a “Sensei,” as a teacher of the truant students who refuse to attend school, students who are also in a sense, hikikomori.

“When you are in... in pain you don’t have to come to school.”

Hikikomori Sensei is not a story of a man who wins over the hearts of students and blah blah blah. No. Hikikomori Sensei felt very real. It shows how truancy amongst students takes root; students who are on the verge of breakdown. But you know what's the worst part? They have to show up to school with a bold and merry face, a front that they are not in pain. The only thing worse than being in pain is to show that you are not in pain. It shows how an ambitious school principal wants to maintain a zero truancy, zero bullying model in his school but instead of solving the problems he tries to suppress them.

And then comes our Hikikomori Sensei.

“If you can't tell the truth, your heart... your heart, uh... becomes painful.”

Concentrating on school bullying caste systems, parental negligence, and a system which turns a blind eye to students, Hikikomori Sensei is an authentic representation of issues which plague the students. The drama also uses a beautiful combination of warm aesthetic cinematography, a bit different for each of the three students the show mainly concentrated on. Like most Japanese dramas, there are great side-characters too who contribute to the complexity and reveal the various sides of human society.

“Can we...stop giving up now? Principal. I learned from the kids, I learned from the kids...at this school that it's okay to think "I can do it.”

A heartwarming watch and a healing story in the truest sense of it, Hikikomori is what I would call an essential informative watch recommended for people of all ages. 8.0/10.

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An easy, fast paced watch with mediocre twists but quite realistic in its execution of the story.

There are no spoilers here :)
Ishi No Mayu, also known as Stone’s cocoon is the first installment in a series of three thrillers produced by Wowow.

Kisuragi Isou, the female detective protagonist, is a second generation police officer who is a rookie in the 1st Division. With her mentor and a team of officers, she explores a series of murders by a killer who has a unique method of murder. Affected by past trauma and influence by the deaths at Pompeii, where the populace was buried in deep cocoons of ash and turned to stone, the killer meticulously plans his murders and is brazen enough to contact the police with details of his crimes.

The story of Ishi no Mayu has two levels to it. The first is of course the rather simplistic murder plot. The plot twists are pretty average and some rather predictable. If I was to rate this show purely on the basis of its storyline then I would give it a 5.5/10.

The second level can be perceived if the viewer delves a bit deeper. There is an uncanny resemblance between the murderer and Kisuragi, so much so that at some point I was led to believe that Kisuragi’s conversations with her father were that of the killer. Taking the script into account, Ishi no Mayu is actually pretty brilliant.

The exposition of the killer didn’t have the mysterious aura that is generally used to create suspense, and I'm glad they didn’t. It helped me see the killer in not a more humane light but as a human. The plot wasn’t about the identity of the criminal but the story behind how the criminal came to be.

The acting was pretty natural. The female lead convinced me of her role as a rookie police officer who gained more confidence over time.

In just five episodes, Ishi no Mayu covered a lot of ground. There are two faces to everything. Police incompetency is not just that but it is the decision of the moment which has a butterfly effect where neither side is to blame but nor are they right. 7.0/10 for this drama. Ishi no Mayu is a great drama with a great message, mediocre twists but a bit lacklustre regarding the thrilling aspects of the crime.

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If there is one less wolf out there, does it really matter?

I am fully aware that i am a very cynical person, but my cynicism is not unwarranted in this regard as the world is an unkind place to the mute, the wordless. I started this with a wariness in my mind that this could turn out to be yet another insincere effort of a human glorifying their own deeds.

And I was very, very wrong. Every moment of this, from when Li Weiyi searches for and encounters the pup till the credits roll in, each moment is a testimony to a beautiful bond between them.

Save him first, Li Weiyi says to us. She does not have reasons to offer to support her decision for bringing a wild wolf into the city. All she knew was that she had to save this little life who lost every happiness because of humans. For a while things do go well as Green, the wolf, grows into a strong boy. But it is soon understood that his place is not in the city.

So where can he go? What place promises a safe sanctuary for a wolf in today's world, wonders Li Weiyi as she looks through the glass at a large alpha, the kids beside her banging their hands at the wall to provoke the captive wolf.

This is not so much a story of a wolf returning to the wild. It is about finding a safe abode for the wolf, for it is not the wild that Li Weiyi is afraid of.

In his short story No Room for a Leopard, Ruskin Bond asks, “But did the leopard, trusting one man, make the mistake of trusting others?"

Li Weiyi is afraid of the humans who encroach upon the wild with sinister intentions. As she runs her hands through a cloak made of wolf fur, she can only see the eyes of her own son. The wolf who having been brought up by humans, has forgotten the fear of humans that has been ingrained so deep in others of his species that even the pups stay away.

Return to the Wolves is a call for the establishment of China's first wolf sanctuary. It offers a tender look into the wildlife of the vast Zoige prairie, and the diverse beauty that co-exists there. When I look at places like this, i just hope that no human can ever find their way there. I loved how they showed Green in his wolfish wild nature; Li Weiyi tells us too look at the him and says we humans are more cruel than the wolf who hunts an animal in the wild.

This "review" hasn't been much of a review (in my opinion) as a statement of how touched I have been by this documentary. In terms of production values, it is a linear straightforward narration with the occassional voiceover to supplement the story at times. Li Weiyi and Yi Feng have an eye for scenic beauty, and they incorporated beautiful shots of the prairie and the mountains that was supposed to be the new home of their beloved child.

-

I wish to narrate a rather personal experience of mine. It was in the monsoon. the flood season was almost upon us and with that, it was the season of dog mating. Pups were being born, each with a predetermined ill fate: they would either be washed away or they would get crushed by a car, and if they made it so far, they would die of hunger or live to suffer their whole life.

Six such pups, a litter, was born behind our house.

The rains came and my mother and I set up a small bamboo shelter for them. But as the rained poured harder, we knew they would die. Ours is a small household, we were two kids and our father was away. We already housed many cats. Despite this, my mother brought these pups into our basement. I tried to be a voice of reason, who would keep them in their adulthood? My mother calmly said, let them live first.

So when Li Weiyi says "it doesn't matter whether it's right or wrong if you save him. don't let him die." It reminds me of this moment. How many humans would rather turn a blind eye? And does it really matter if there is one less wolf out there?

If there is a god, they are there in humans like Li Weiyi, in people who through seemingly small and large acts of kindness and love, multiply the beauty in this world several folds. Maybe people don't care, and most people don't, but what is the meaning of humanity if we kill innocent lives for self-serving reasons or if we have never gone out of our way to be kind even once.

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