struggled with Segaski

Overall: I loved everything about this except Segaski. 8 episodes about 20 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala & Viki. 

Content Warnings: intimate partner abuse (see my explanation at the end), stalking, manhandling, non con bondage

What I Liked
- acting/chemistry
- NSFW well done
- production value

Room For Improvement
- Segaski is an abuser and a jerk (get your own soy sauce), this went beyond miscommunication
- lack of growth from Segaski, he actually got worse as the series went on, in episode 7 he apologized for believing Yoh can be an independent adult/trusting him which was definitely not the apology I was looking for, towards the end there was a hint of growth but then he backslid again
- why was Segaski so stupid, Yoh told him that he wanted someone who was nice/caring and smiled at him, but Segaski was forbidding him from seeing his friends, pulled him around and threatened to confine him to their apartment?!?
- the NSFW fizzled out, though there was a little in ep 8
- cliche getting sick after being in the rain but at least it was before and not after they had sex

I really hope people realize this is fiction and not a model for a healthy relationship because Segaski is an abuser
1. financial abuse - it is apparent that Yoh is very aware he is financially dependent on Segaski, they don't show us that he has anywhere else to go, I think it was either ep 3 or 4 Segaski reminds Yoh that he provides everything for him
2. Segaski forbids Yoh from seeing his friend in episode 4, Yoh is a grown adult and should be to go or see his friends when he wants to, Segaski in episode 7 again is angry hoping Yoh doesn't visit his friend
3. stalking - Segaski stalked Yoh, he never apologized for this but Yoh apologized for seeing his friend/coworker, those who are abused will say the problem is their fault when it was actually the abuser's action/fault (i.e. Segaski shouldn't have stalked Yoh or forbade him from seeing his friend)
4. physical abuse - pulling someone by the wrist is abusive unless there is an emergency and a person is yanking another person out of danger, in episode 7 Yoh was uncomfortable when Segaski tied his hands together and said he couldn't be trusted to be on his own although we know Yoh can be an unreliable narrator and then later it seemed like he might like it but it didn't start out as consensual bondage

Citeste mai mult

skip episodes 3 and 5

Overall: nothing really happened in this series and when something did happen it felt extremely contrived. You can skip episode 3 (a whole bunch of stupid jealousy) and 5 (a whole bunch of counseling sessions with all combos of characters). This is set in the Love Mechanics universe with mostly new actors. 6 episodes about 45 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala and YouTube.

Content Warnings: dub/non con kiss, homophobia

What I Liked
- the supportive friends (but had waaaayyyy too much screen time)
- a few cute moments
- Ana's mom and dad
- mentioned how expensive medicine is
- they do allude to them having sex but don't show anything
- that Fuse stands by Ana and they talk in the car in episode 4 about what happened and stands up for their relationship again
- neutral, there are comedy sound effects

FYI the title Future might come from the character's name, Anakhot, which means "future" in Thai.

Room For Improvement
- the plot is bogged down by not needed conversations/texts with Ana and Fuse's parents and friends, in the final episode out of 40 minutes there was a 4 minute scene towards the beginning and a 4 minute scene at the end with just the two of them (and even at the end it wasn't just the two of them exactly), so only 8 minutes of 40 minutes was spent on the protagonists with each other?!!!!! The plot in these 6 episodes could have easily been cut down to 2 episodes.
- Ana is set up to be very shy and then there is a (pointless) 1 year time jump and suddenly he is extremely forthright/flirty???
- a bunch of characters were introduced really quickly but I figured out the main couple at least
- nonsense plot and dialogue, who on earth would say 'you have to be my wife/bottom' to a near stranger, do they like each other, why??? completely ridiculous (and not in the fun way) jealousy
- the protagonists seem too immature to be in a relationship with anyone
- that bizarre conversation with that guy at the end came out of nowhere, and why does it matter if someone has had many partners or has many partners, what century are we living in
- loud and constant music
- crying without tears
- many subtitle errors that negatively affected understanding what was being said, I wish Gaga had cleaned up the subtitles I assume they were given by the production company

Citeste mai mult

lackluster vertical micro series

Overall: 40 total episodes for about 1hr 15 minutes runtime (a little under 2 minutes per episode). Episodes 1-10 are free to watch on the Alwayz Shortdrama YouTube channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNSRcn2apDarHe7Tml51AIxwuqIE1SAO7&si=RWE6BtHqjZdxkdSV - on Dec 6th I watched all 40 episodes for free with a special livestream https://www.youtube.com/live/zNQiDd3UiY0

Content Warnings: past suicide, grief, mental health struggles, suicidal thoughts, near suicide

What I Liked
- caring moments such as first aid, piggyback ride
- good kissing
- that 1-10 are free on their YouTube channel and they did give a short window to watch all episodes for free instead of needing to download their app

Room For Improvement
- love triangle
- slow pacing
- didn't feel connected to any characters or their relationships with each other
- too many flashbacks
- night scenes needed more light on the actors' faces
- the band aids were much more distracting than whatever they were covering (scars, freckles, tattoos)
- the pool was so shallow that characters could all stand in it and yet a character said "how did you get to me, oh you swam"
- ending left something to be desired, after being so determined to do something a character seemed to make a strong 180 turn

Citeste mai mult

short but packs an emotional punch (watch suggestions)

Overall: from the title alone we know this isn't going to be a typical romcom. I would have rated it higher if they had taken out the needless drama and just centered it on the two characters. 40 episodes about 2 minutes each on the Vigloo app. Episodes 1-3 are here https://www.vigloo.com/video/15000018?season=15000018&episode=1 ; 1-5 are free in the app but on August 5th 2024 Vigloo made all 40 episodes free to watch for 24 hours which is when I watched it (did not need to make an account, just downloaded the app and watched it, there weren't any ads).

Watch Suggestions (if you want to remove most violence/in my opinion needless drama)
- stop watching at episode 11 1m55s
- skip episodes 12-13
- watch 14-15 if you'd like to see one protagonist fight otherwise skip
- skip episodes 26-28
- episodes 29-30 are flashbacks
- skip episode 31-32
- end episode 34 at 1m30s
- skip episode 35
- skip episode 39
- watch episode 40 at 44s to the end

Content Warnings (if you watch all episodes): attempted murder, kidnapping/held against will, violence, past trauma

What I Liked
- the mom was awesome
- their relationship development/sweet moments

Room For Improvement
- needless drama, they should have just focused it on the 2 protagonists as there was enough drama with the set up
- it pulled me out of the realism that there were almost never any other people around
- open ending

Citeste mai mult

happy for now? (watch suggestions)

Overall: the first episode and a half were so amazing in the first 4 episodes. But annoying plot points and the cliffhanger/terrible ending ruined the series for me. I was happy when I heard there would be 4 more episodes but they again did annoying plot points. I feel that this couple will break up after a few weeks or months which greatly impacted my enjoyment of the series. Aired on SUKFILM's YouTube channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYfaogVGCvwTczUW4K1YELu_cWQfUQ21a&si=Ae7a-g86tOGEtGNN I'm watching the cut/non-member version which has less kissing (and I heard an epilogue at the end of episode 8). Here is my review of the first 4 episodes https://mydramalist.com/profile/blcompilations/reviews/354841

Watch Suggestions
- start episode 5 at 7 minutes
- stop episode 6 at 3:20 (unless you want another overused plot point)
- skip episode 7
- watch episode 8 at 13:30 to the end

What I Liked
- the main leads when they were cute together
- acting
- kissing
- music

Room For Improvement
- due to a lack of trust and communication skills, I predict the characters break up in a few weeks or months which is not what I'm looking for in romance series
- did not need over half of episode 5 to be filled with a cliche female character
- did not want to see the character they introduced in episode 6, should have focused the time on developing the leads' relationship
- why was everyone extremely into 1 character? it felt unrealistic
- there was no reason to do what they did in episode 7 and apparently the ending scene was a dream which was not clear at all, but even him dreaming left a sour taste in my mouth

Citeste mai mult

came for the m/m romance, stayed for the rest (need a spin off/season 2)

Overall: I heard about the m/m romance (I was worried at the beginning but then really enjoyed), but overall liked this series that looked at love, sex and our complicated relationships with other people. 8 episodes. Aired on Netflix.

Content Warnings: death, grief, past parental abuse, homophobia, beaten up/fight, sexual harassment, non con video recording/sharing, cyberbullying, drugging, body shaming, alcoholism

What I Liked
- mix of comedy with poignant parts, there are some truly breathtaking moments when nothing is said but everything is felt, not even sure how to describe this
- realistic problems (though it's definitely fictional since a family wouldn't have all those issues at the same time)
- some mystery/characters thinking they know everything, but not having the whole perspective/information
- production value (music was excellent, interesting camera shots)

Room For Improvement
- I found myself bored by some of the plots, in particular the younger sister
- the fact that everyone was pretty awful at communication, wanted at least 1 or 2 characters who said what they wanted

Citeste mai mult

excellent follow up to season 1

Overall: because there is more comedy I actually enjoyed this a bit more than season 1. The special is 1 hour and 15 minutes. GagaOOLala picked this up in September 2023 which is when I watched it (GagaOOLala picked up the whole franchise and the order to watch is: season 1, special, movie, season 2 which is airing October 2023).

What I Liked
- comedy, I burst out laughing several times
- cute moments
- communication progress
- Wataru, yes he's immature but he's honest and his partner enjoys their dynamic so I won't judge them
- tighter pacing than the series

Room For Improvement
- the fake out (I'd rather they show nothing at all than the 'stop right before it happens')

Citeste mai mult

wanted more Ocean's 11 vibe, (has a side m/m couple)

Overall: I came for the side m/m couple (Captain/Fei) but I enjoyed the other aspects of the series at the beginning. However, things dragged on and I'd say it was okay overall. Watched on WeTV vpn set to Thailand (it has English subtitles).

Content Warnings: attempted murder, manipulation, stalking, blackmail, non con kissing, slap, punch, almost attempted suicide

What I Liked
- good plot set up
- when they worked with one another/implementing their plan
- the mystery aspect
- it has Inspector Yummy (aka Inspector M from Manner of Death) as a lead
- there were a couple of parts where I laughed like the bodyguards checking for temperatures instead of weapons
- overall production value
- the ending song which you can find here https://youtu.be/5OmquP_orZw

Room For Improvement
- it got slow and I wanted more Ocean's 11 with some twists
- didn't feel chemistry with the lead m/f couple
- I didn't feel the chemistry/reasons why the m/m couple loved one another, they needed more screen time
- watching multiple women get lied to over and over and over again
- though I liked how the side m/f relationship ended it seemed kind of odd in the series
- that they tried for comedy with the facial hair of that older guy during a really serious moment in episode 1
- the humor in the final episode hospital scene was not good

Citeste mai mult

Love Triangle Area, part 1

(mild spoilers)
Overall: it made me laugh a few times despite the dreaded love triangles. It felt incomplete but the second part didn't help. Aired on GagaOOLala. Re-aired in 2024 on Love Area The Series YouTube channel.

Content Warnings: 1 fight scene not between the m/m, mild abduction

What I Liked
- overall production value was good, a few errors with the English subs but not bad
- acting/chemistry was goodish
- the enjoyable OST is by Jeff Satur who also has a small role
- I am a sucker for a bad boy who is trying to be better
- there were a few times that I actually laughed out loud although some may have been unintentionally funny...

Room For Improvement
- ugh, love triangles (there are 2). I really want 1 of the third wheels to give up and find happiness elsewhere (unfortunately I have a nagging feeling this will be drawn out until the end of part 2)
- once again a dumb time gap but this had at least a more realistic reason, still a totally stupid plan though (not a fan of time gaps where 1 person in a serious romantic relationship ghosts/lies to their partner supposedly for their partner's good and then comes back years later and they live happily ever after)
- didn't like the way King (the painter) pressured/guilted Ice (the model) to take his shirt off for the painting
- the actor playing Ice (Freshmen college student) is 14, which is odd and he'd better not be a love interest or someone think he's a love interest
- Kaitoon has the memory of a goldfish or is just really rude for standing up Nont two different times and not answering his phone. I wish he had remembered but his phone had died, didn't have cell reception or notified Nont at least 1 of the times.
- Kaitoon doesn't appear to reciprocate feelings until the very end and I like both characters to at least show interest a bit earlier than that
- wanted the guy pursuing Panggo to stop/ease up (again not a fan of someone repeatedly pursuing another person when the person has expressed disinterest or no interest because that's stalker behavior). I realize this was done for laughs, I thought it was stupid.
- pacing could have moved more quickly
- I really enjoy the OST but it is replayed with various versions (vocals and just instrumental) a little too much.

Citeste mai mult

interesting premise, confusing execution

Overall: I enjoyed that this had a unique premise but there were just too many plot elements thrown in and they were not able to explain or wrap everything up well. Watched on YouTube.

Content Warnings: there is one (which we actually never see and I wish we had) but I'm going to keep this spoiler free

What I Liked
- gorgeous country/mountainside setting
- a bit of mystery/more of a unique premise
- cinematography and music
- the actors did a good job

Room For Improvement
- there was just not enough screen time to fully develop the multitude of plot points and it ended up being too confusing i.e. the two "games", jumping back and forth in the timeline, the scene on the bridge - what was he apologizing for???, the repeated bridge scene, the twist (I would have cut that whole element/character out), how was it so coincidental with the timing with them ending in the place from the first episode, what exactly happened with their relationship?
- I would have preferred that the first episode content was cut down into 5-10 minutes and then they moved into how they met/their relationship, shown (not told) what exactly happened to land them there so close in timing and then have the final episode in the place we saw in the first episode
- it's fine to have plot twists and mystery elements, but in the end, the audience should go 'ah haaa' like in The Sixth Sense and I was left with 'uh whaaat?'

Citeste mai mult

darker vertical mini series

Overall: this is a darker series with an unsatisfying ending. Watched for free on Shortime app, 46 episodes about 1.5 minutes each (episode 1-5 were free, I watched 6-10 with ads that showed under buying the passes, 11-15 with watching 10 ads on rewards page, daily random box and check in, fortune read and made it up to 18, it took 4 days to watch for free which wasn't bad) Shortime also has Falling For My Boss and The Secrets of Male Students both of which I liked better than Buddy Boy.

Content Warnings: attempted suicide, teacher/student relationship and grooming, child abuse, past death, non con kiss, non con picture taking, blackmail, manhandling, homophobia, slap, fight, beaten up, unwanted public outing

What I Liked
- how a characters age was given thru conversation
- bonding moments

Room For Improvement
- that teacher needed some major consequences
- cliche female character
- the ending was not satisfying (he tried to drown himself, other guy saves him and then that's the end)

Citeste mai mult

short & sweet

Overall: this was really well done for an indie production, hope we see more series from them. 3 episodes about 15 minutes each. Aired on 1Camera Studio YoutTube channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF0HYZ-k2RyDMdysEo5OhQNMn9BaPl-B6&si=N372KF0mLKkUpE6M

What I Liked
- centered on the 2 male leads
- supportive female friend (non cliched character) and male friend
- illustrations for the intro
- funny how the friend instantly shifted his attention in episode 1
- good communication in the final episode
- nice way to end the series

Room For Improvement
- voice over exposition dump
- not clearly explained in the flashback why he didn't see him
- I didn't really take off points because this was their first series attempt and I'm sure had little to no budget but somethings they could improve on production wise would be microphones rubbing against clothes, needed more light on their faces in the last scene (even night scenes need light on the actors' faces)

Citeste mai mult

not the action I was hoping for

Overall: this 1 hour and 25 minutes follow up was fine, but it was very detective/action heavy and less character focused. Now available to watch on Idol Factory's YouTube channel. The first part of five is here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfuX7Ln_m9U&ab_channel=IDOLFACTORYOFFICIAL (currently they don't have a YouTube Playlist)

Content Warnings: deaths, grief, violence/fights, blood, kidnapping

What I Liked
- 1 steamy scene was pretty well done though it could have been a bit longer
- element of fantasy though it felt underdeveloped
- they did explain 1 nonsense plot element that happened in the series which I appreciated
- addressed workplace gender discrimination

Room For Improvement
- main characters did not have any character growth, one was still lying and the other was being overly possessive
- many nonsense law enforcement things that took me out of the story
- odd goofy humor/comedy sound effects combined with a very serious plot
- presence of the little girl was not for me
- production needed to shorten up the time that they released it in Thailand/not international friendly streaming option (May 26th) to when they released it on YouTube (June 27th). At least it was only a day or two after it was for paid channel members that they released it for free on YouTube. The too long of a gap happened with the final episode as well, it would be okay if they just shortened the time between releases i.e. live in person event/thaiticketmajor online streaming May 26th, 1 week later YouTube channel members, 4 days after that free on YouTube

Citeste mai mult