Simple, Cute, Adorable!

Stop reading this review and go watch it! Its cute, REALLY cute!
That's it, that's the review.

If you made it here, might as well read on.

Kieta Hatsukoi is your run-of-the-mill cute, fluffy, ball of sunshine type BL where its the high school first love trope. What set sets it apart from its contemporaries is that it knows exactly what it is, and doesn't stray from its lane. It doesn't try to be a multifaceted, edgy, layered, and overly complicated story that a lot of BLs seem to be trying to be lately. Kieta Hatsukoi knows that its cavity-inducing sweetness and plays that to-a-tee! And the the fact that the premise of it, and the whole story ACTUALLY is a layered story with a lot of moving pats and elements yet it surprisingly kept itself simple is amazing to me.

Also, I can easily say that for all the BLs I've watched (and there's been quite a few) this has the best laid out pilot episode.


In the first episode it showed me the setting and the theme. I was introduced to the major characters and it showed me who's point of view I'll be following. and by the end of the first episode it showed me the major conflict of the entire show without totally ruining it for me! It was such a well put together episode and incredibly satisfying to watch.

And for 10 episodes, (under 30 minutes each) the show kept me engaged as it shaped the characters so well and so simply that by the 0 finale, I can easily track where the key points in the story is while at the same time knowing these fairly well-fleshed out characters and their own journeys.

When it comes to the acting was also on point. The protagonists had enough experience behind them that they pulled this one off very well. There were scenes where the acting was a tad exaggerated or were too big but for me it fits the overall narrative and vibe of the show.

Also, there really is something to be said about Japanese BLs and their use of lighting to lend emotion to a scene. They play with shadows and colors really well and just adds so much more to a scene.

On sound what I often note with Thai, Filipino, and sometimes even Taiwanese BLs is that sound sometimes is really off-putting. It can either be due to the equipment(lapels being covered by wardrobe or boom mics capturing way too much ambient noise) the sound being overall muffled, some sort of post-production / editing issue (often it would be the editors trying to cancel background noise so much that it ruins the whole thing), etc. But with Japanese BLs I don't have any of those issues, especially not with Kieta Hatsukoi. It feels like there's a level of meticulousness that I've so far only seen in Japanese BLs that really stands out to me.

Speaking of sounds, the fact that both leads are members of boy groups and sang songs for the OST is just *papa kiss*. I mean even their OSTs just know what they want to be! And that's fluffy, cute, and just heart-squishing adorable! I've been listening to their OST while I'm writing this review!

To be honest all I have are praises for this show. Bonus points for the fact that it also tried its hand on talking about prejudice is really good. It didn't deviate too much from its cutie-base but also branched out enough to talk about it is something I really apricated.

All in all, #KietaHatsukoi is a feel good, simple show you can really enjoy.

Its an easy 9.5 out of 10, and that .5 is so negligible since the show is THAT good!

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Soft, cheesy, adorable but packs a surprising and interesting punch. Need I say more?

I first came across this gem-of-a-show during those really dark and uncertain days of 2020 when things were still very much fresh about the Pandemic. I caught wind of it through the promotional materials @Ticket2MeNet (Production Company) was posting with the introductory vlogs and the getting-to-know Ali and Alec. Which I would say were great ways of introducing the two actors playing the roles.

This was at a time where almost every conceivable production house was churning out boys-love content here in the Philippines and new ones were coming out of the woodwork on a near daily basis. Major props on the production company and the team on the masterful way they promoted the show. So by the day they dropped the first episode, I was there waiting.

So what's the show about? Basically it's a teen romance written between a bag of medicine, a dash of fluff, some quirky characters, and a whole lot of happenstance. Oh! And some facemasks with tiny dicks on them.

When I first watched it I applauded it for being a simple, cookie-cutter cutsie show that is very enjoyable. But now in 2022, after re watching it, I found it to be something much more.

It's a show with a lot to say and knows exactly how to say it.

Set in the early and uncertain days of the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdowns in the Philippines. There's a lot of hints on social and political commentary, and a keen eye can see the little socially relevant advocacies it's bringing to the surface.

There are the likes of the Wi-Fi connection names at the dorm's lobby referencing hot button issues of the time. Then there's lines from Ate Libby's amazing dinner scene where she says "I feel so abandoned. It's now up to us to fend for ourselves. Where are the people who are supposed to lead us? They should know better! They should fix this!" - a reflection of the sentiment of a lot of Filipinos at the time, and even to some extent, now still feel, nearly three years into the pandemic.

With the way the show says its piece is also very interesting. It is also a very introspective show - we explore the two main characters; Chen and Key through their thoughts and inner monolog which makes it feel like a very personal story to be experiencing. We are shown and told what they are feeling, how they feel it, what goes on inside their heads and it lends such a connection to the protagonists.

Now speaking of the characters. For such a short runtime and few episodes they managed to build a holistic picture of the main characters and even the supporting ones. We have Key who is the 'key' driver of the story and from which we view most things. Then there's the absolutely lovable BGC type, dude-tol-pare-chong-bro coñyo kid that is Chen. Both of which play off of each other very well and were very well written and acted. Even the auxiliary characters of Martin, Dicky, Whilce and Dev were very well sewn in.

Plus the cameo of social media personalities like Macoy Dubs was also a very nice touch.

But honestly I have to go back to Teetin Villanueva's absolutely dynamite portrayal of Libby Chavez. She has such a great presence that I cannot shut-up about how good she was at every scene she was in. Major, MAJOR props to her.

Another thing to appreciate about this show, the production values. They're spot on!

When it comes to the visuals, the pastel overtones we see lends a lot of freshness, innosense, and life to the show. Even the color grading of that browner hue lends a lot and enhances the experience.

Sound-wise, it's also very good. I don't recall an instance where I got irritated by muffled sounding dialogue (considering they wore masks a lot - but that's probably since I'm guessing a lot of dialogue was done in ADR).

The sets and locations were very simple and straightforward as well. I count roughly around 7 locations and each were dressed just enough to cater to what each scene needed.

Overall the show is very good. It felt very young. A very optimistic, yet realistic story with the raw romantic feelings of a budding relationship, but with the weighted restrictions and limitations of a global pandemic. It channeled a lot of the uncertainty, frustration, the stresses and anxieties such a time had.

There is also something to be said about the way the story learned a lot on the use of social media which again, is very reflective of the time period and how people were actually doing a lot of the interactions.

The only true qualm I had with the show was that there were a lot of takes and cuts used during those video-call / video-conference sequences. It's something that one can ignore but for me it can sometimes throw me off just a little bit.

Just before I finish, I’d really like to point out how good the title sequence is. I really appreciate a show that doesn't spill the story during the title sequence, but still shows a good chunk of how the show would feel like.

All in all, #BoysLockdown is a very good, very entertaining, and re-watchable show that you definitely shouldn't miss. A solid 9.8 out of 10.

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