Swing and a miss, best episode is #6

Overall, this series was a major miss. Storylines were cliched and the 4 Queer ones were serious/depressing. I really disliked how characters crossed over into different episodes but the timeline wasn't correct, it made it even more disjointed. It would have been better if no characters were in the other episodes and then they could put the episodes in whatever order they wanted. I averaged the scores and it ended up at 7/10, but this might be generous. 

Episode 1 - "Would You Be My Love" (re-named to "Bullying & More Bullying") 8/10
Well this was a rough way to start the series. Personally I would have started with a fluffier episode but...yeah. I really hope this kind of bullying doesn't exist but I'm sure it does. Ozone could have fired a couple of comebacks at least about how close the 2 goons were... The actor is 17 and I would have preferred he was 18, but the physical affection was 1 kissing scene so it doesn't bother me that much. Both main actors did a good job (as usual Earth is a pro at crying). I dislike ghosting/refusing to communicate with someone and it felt a bit slow. Content warning: bullying

Episode 2  - "Rhythm's Heart" 8.5/10
This was a nice m/f romance plot. It was great to see Yacht play a non-comedic role. Pimdao's dad was amazing. Didn't like Wawa ignoring Pimdao's no answer.

(content warning - I'm going to use a word related to non-con)
Episode 3  "Remember" (re-named to "Hot Mess") 4/10 (all 4 points are for Samantha's acting, lol, the mom was great too)
What a hot mess. I'm not even really sure what actually happened. Sounds like Jaidee purposefully got Tac drunk to sleep with him (so that's rape), then took a picture and texts it to Tac to break them up (he mentions blackmail too). Tac for some reason can't say in 5 seconds "she got me super drunk, raped me and blackmailed me" or text that and instead says "let me explain" and "I'm sorry" a bunch of times. I think he even initially denied it was him...Then 1 year later (so strange, it should have been a few months, why would Jaidee wait that long to flirt with Proud...) Jaidee & Proud become friends then more, but then everything hits the fan and Proud refuses to let anyone actually explain what is going on. Add in a slap, grabs, shoves and vandalism (was that Tac and the flat tire???), and a cliffhanger/unresolved ending, uggggghhh. It was also inconsistent characterization because both Jaidee & his friend Rhythm talked about Tac being a player, but yet he claims that Proud is the love of his life, wth? Also Tac thought there was a relationship between Proud & Jaidee and didn't want to interfere and let Proud be happy.... be happy with the person who raped and blackmailed him???!!!! Proud shouldn't be with either of them. In my alternate version of this episode, Proud's scummy boyfriend did cheat on her (not drunkenly, not with Jaidee), they break up, then later Proud and Jaidee fall in love and live happily ever after.

Episode 4: "Once Upon A Time" (re-named to "Awfully Angsty") 6.5/10
Ugggghhhhhhh. For me to be happy with the ending (post credits) they needed to do two things which they didn't do 1. They needed to set up/flesh out Balloon/Mek's relationship, shown the good parts of it so that I wanted to root for them to make it work despite their flaws and 2. They needed to show character growth/change so their relationship would work, i.e. a very public kiss at the airport initiated by Balloon and Mek communicating better. Neither was done so I was not satisfied post credits. The female character part should have totally been cut and then they could have done the above two things. Here's more of what I didn't like:
- overused plot point that both sons are attracted to men
- overused plot point of a homophobic father yelling at his son
- Balloon just letting his dad tear into his brother Ozone and secretly listening in, Balloon's a senior in college not a middle schooler, seriously grow a pair and help out your younger brother
- Balloon cry shaming Ozone "you're a grownup now, why are you still crying like a baby" He's crying because his/your dad is a homophobic jerk and you didn't help him out!
- Balloon saying that orphan Mek will never understand. That was such a low blow. There are things you say to a partner that even saying sorry is not enough, it destroys the relationship and that is either one of those things or very close.
- Balloon having a heart to heart with Ozone but still starting off as "a friend of mine..."
- Ozone incorrectly apologizes for their dad being a homophobic jerk (Ozone says he's sorry for putting Balloon in this position)
- both Mek & Balloon say that they are always honest with one another when it is shown that neither of them is ever honest with the other person...
- non-logic, why does no-one ask Balloon why he's wearing a ring on a necklace? If my friend or sibling was wearing one, I'd be like - what's up with the ring, who are you dating? Also, there is no flashback scene when they exchange rings which would have been nice to include.
- that was 53 seconds before the credits of 2 people standing very close, staring at each other and not saying a word... almost a whole minute of...nothing...

Episode 5:  "Breakup Zone" (re-named to "Will You Be My Love") 8/10
Well that kiss was terrible, but I like friends to lovers stories.

Episode 6: "VS Love" (re-named to "Justice For All") 9/10
Overall this is my favorite episode with a focus on justice and also a protagonist who isn't stupid (yes, cell phones can take pictures and record audio/video!). I would say this is very light BL in that the romance is not very obvious but towards the end you can tell that they are more than platonic friends. Content warning for a couple of fight scenes/intimidation.

Episode 7: "50% My Puppy Love" (re-named to "Stalker Love") 6/10
So we have the typical and annoying love at first sight without talking to the person/getting to know them at all. Almost all of the score is because of Perth.
What I didn't like:
- I'm hoping it was the subtitles but his friend said "she's cute, she's interesting and she belongs in my collection" which yuck. People are not objects that you collect.
- The stalker behavior (that takes place over a semester/year): drawing her picture, stalking her on social media, pinning a photo of her up on the wall, getting her snacks for a prolonged time without writing his name...
- the fact that he only got mad that his friend was a player when it involved a girl he liked, he didn't care before that
- the absolutely cliched lack of communication, jumping to stupid conclusions and ghosting friendsIn the end she was also a stalker without a single spine bone, so I guess it's a match made in heaven.

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very cute spin off (want that historical series asap)

Overall: this 4 episode spin off (eps 9-12 in the YouTube playlist, about 44 minutes in total) was cute. I'm happy that SUKFILM made a series without love triangles/cheating/cliche evil women which are prevalent in their other series. This is my review of eps 1-8 https://mydramalist.com/profile/blcompilations/review/385435 Aired on SUKFILM's YouTube channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYfaogVGCvwQ_32A8H9oWjdEtXVTWcrja&si=sMchCmQ6G6zL8HKY (I watched as a non-member, normally the membership includes videos with longer kissing scenes).

What I Liked
- sweet/caring moments
- different stories/characters (that historical one definitely needs to be a full series)
- this kissing/intimacy/chemistry, good consent

Room For Improvement
- the constant background music with vocals which were also too loud

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aimless guys looking for something to hold onto

Overall: it was decent for a vertical series, but I've seen better. 40 episodes less than 2 minutes each Aired on Swipedrama app (also has Can a Freeloader Make it as a Secretary). It took me 5 days to watch the series for free which is pretty good (the worst took 13 days for Please Teach Me on Topreel). Note - episode 1 starts out as a preview and then goes into the episode. App information below.

Content Warnings: manipulation, suicidal thoughts, child abuse, slap, non con kiss

What I Liked
- realistic characters trying to figure things out
- sweet/caring moments
- non cliche female character
- intimacy

Room For Improvement
- started with a flash forward and then returned to a month before
- O Christmas Tree music
- although a character apologized I think he should have had more consequences for his actions
- noble idiot trope


How to Watch For Free
Day 1: check in, ad after check in = 7 coins, 3 ads = 9 coins, watched episodes 1-14 (free to watch), 15-17 used coins, 18 & 19 (when I ran out of coins I touched outside of the coin packages and then I could watch an ad to watch 2 more episodes 20 & 21). I then got the 6 coins for watching 5, 10 and 15 minutes and watched ep 22. There are other ways to get coins (ie sign in, social media, get notifications) so you could watch more. Leftover coins day 1: 2

Day 2: check in, ad after check in, 3 ads (17 coins plus 2 from day 1) - watched episodes 23-25, then watched 26 & 27 daily ad, checked in 5, 10 & 15 min and watched 28 & 29

Day 3, 4, 5 (same as above, about 7 episodes watched per day)

App Notes: unused bonus coins might last for a year (so this is a good app to do daily check ins to accumulate coins), episodes don't re-lock, you can't skip to different episodes (must watch them in order), no wait time between watching ads is nice

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a quirky dystopian series (side BL couple)

Overall: bright colors, comedy and a dating game somehow blend well with a dystopian world and sinister underpinnings. 6 episodes about 1 hour each. Aired on Netflix https://www.netflix.com/title/81517158

Content Warnings: death off screen, held against will, manipulation, likely more I'm forgetting

BL Scenes
episode 2: 52-54 (set up)
episode 4: 14:15-19:25, 34:15-34:45, 37:45-40, 49-55:30
episode 5: beginning-1
episode 6: 57-1hr2, 1hr9:15-1hr10:45

What I Liked
- het, GL & BL representation
- it made me laugh a few times
- tension/chemistry
- family relationships
- commentary on freedom/rights

Room For Improvement
- the ending was good but it teased a 2nd season which hasn't been announced

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story about acceptance

Overall: this is a short movie (35 minutes plus behind the scenes) about self acceptance. I gave it an indie rating bump as it hovered between 7.5 and 8 for me. Aired on Wayufilm's YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kO_pyd0B19Q&ab_channel=WayufilmProduction

Content Warnings: one that's a spoiler (see my spoiler comment), homophobia, bullying, non con picture/video taking and sharing

What I Liked
- the theme of where acceptance should come from
- clever names with Mek and Up (sounds like Makeup)
- Mek was supportive

Room For Improvement
- unrealistic with total strangers walking up and taking selfies (let me know if this happens in Thailand in real life and I'll delete this)
- needed a little more relationship development, what made them love each other
- the off screen panting went on too long, perhaps there is a missing NSFW scene for channel members

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hope to see the actors again

Overall: this was a disappointing special. I do hope to see all of the main actors in another series soon as I think they did a good job with the plot they were given. The special episode was about 53 minutes. Aired on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/4591/i-saw-you-in-my-dream-2024-e13 and WeTV https://wetv.vip/en/play/w52tycxawaajel4-I%20Saw%20You%20In%20My%20Dream/u41005rux5c-EP13%3A%20You%20%26%20I%20in%20Our%20Dream

What I Liked
- sweet moments
- good f/f established relationship
- production value

Room For Improvement
- there was zero character growth, 4 years later and they still had poor communication and one character was extremely immature, he intentionally caused the love of his life to be distressed, it wasn't cute or funny
- very odd that the main couple had zero kisses in the special and the side couple had a few quick pecks/some dodging that happened
- nonsense world building, something could suddenly happen that had never happened before, the flashback was a non-explanation
- comedy sound effects didn't make things funny

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meh enemies to lovers micro series

Overall: Aired on Jinloe's YouTube channel first for members and then later went free for everyone (except episodes 9 & 10 and some episodes were missing subtitles) https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIFuZIdAgzTjbXN2ypTCNBGNY0PQQTgxG&si=TmjC1-YF7k_mWZTd Also all episodes are on Jinloe's TikTok with hardcoded subtitles https://www.tiktok.com/@jinloeofficial/playlist/SomeSecretInHighSchool-7424306755129051921

Watch Suggestions
- skip ep 5
- start ep 7 at 1:25

What I Liked
- easy to understand premise
- a couple nice moments

Room For Improvement
- "comedy" sound effects
- cliche female character took up too much screentime
- missing subtitles in some episodes on YouTube
- stupid plan
- episode 8 of 10 was too late to start falling in love
- kind of an odd stopping point for the series

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very NSFW with a messier plot

Overall: the title on GagaOOLala is "Sex Drifter" which is pretty appropriate. This is more of a messy plot and less idealized romance. It is a Japanese pink film which is about an hour long and very heavy on the explicit NSFW scenes. I wish they would have not opened with alternating NSFW scenes because I wasn't sure what the relationships were between the characters. I also wanted more pleasure instead of pained expressions and I will ignore the lube that magically fell from the ceiling. The messier/realistic plot didn't bother me in particular and I was fine with the way it ended. I watched it here https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/4465/sex-drifter-2024

Content Warnings: coercion, beginning assault

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too much of an unlikable character

Overall: I'm generally more lenient on indie productions; however, Wayufilm has been making short movies for several years and they have had some that I enjoyed so I know what they are capable of. However, in this "The Star" they spent the first 20 minutes with a character who was such a jerk to another character that was a complete doormat. Then in the second part, there was a very fast mostly off screen redemption arc. We didn't get to really see their relationship develop/sweet moments. I did appreciate their frank conversation and the condom in the second part. And I understand why the NSFW scenes needed to be cut on YouTube though it made the second part feel choppy.

Aired in 2 parts for a total of about 45 minutes on Wayufilm's YouTube channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOA6_oQmuXGBm-k0qjRmKX3mZLev2M7do&si=ldSLP6IMp8PTcYJf

Content Warnings: bullying, manhandling, threats

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shorter movie that focuses on bullying and discrimnation

Overall: although it's very low budget, I gave them points for trying to address serious real world problems in about 43 minutes. Aired on YouTube https://youtu.be/p3vl7la7-oA?si=OVtJfstzAUw1aF55

Content Warnings: near suicide, sexual assault, bullying including physical bullying, cyberbullying, non con picture taking/sharing, unwanted public outing, held against will, manipulation, violence/punch, homophobia

What I Liked
- the scene of them eating ice cream
- addressing issues like homophobia, marriage inequality, bullying
- friend called out the teacher and the bullies
- supportive parents

Room For Improvement
- they shouldn't have had the friend do that if they wanted the viewer to want two characters together
- bleeping the Thai swear words was distracting, they likely would have been fine with not bleeping them on YouTube
- not translating text messages
- subtitles, though I didn't really take off points for this because at least they added something
- an open ending with the m/m romance aspect

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better as it went on (watch suggestions)

Overall: unless you enjoy over the top humor with a ton of comedy sound effects follow my watch suggestions. I wanted to rate the uncut version higher since it had more intimate scenes and included Gus/Tong scenes, but the story dragged even more in the uncut version. 8 episodes about 1 hour each. Aired on Mandee Channel's YouTube (cut), GagaOOLala (cut), iQIYI (uncut) and Viki (I assume cut). Mandee Channel/Domundi also produced Naughty Babe, Bed Friend, Cutie Pie and Why R U.

Watch Suggestion (watch the cut version & play at a faster speed unless noted)
- skip episodes 1, 2 & 3 (though shirtless Mai in ep 3 is nice)
- watch ep 4
- watch ep 5 to 48min/standing on the podium
- watch the uncut version of ep 6 15-18 minutes which includes a brief kiss with the side couple (this scene was totally removed from the cut versions for some bizarre reason)
- watch the uncut version of ep 7, can start at 27 minutes with Gus/Tong or to skip over something sad that happened in the past and start at 37 minutes and end at 43 minutes, then you can watch thru to the end with Mai/Jade or skip to 1hr 4min to see their final scene
- watch the uncut version of ep 8 which has a lot of sweet moments and NSFW scenes with Mai & Jade

Content Warnings: hits played as comedy, vomiting (in uncut ep 2), molestation off screen, past death/grief

What I Liked
- enjoyed some of Uea/King's moments (like in episode 5)
- Mai's flirting (wished they had shown why he liked Jade earlier than ep 5)
- Jade's and Mai's supportive family
- cute moments
- how Jade did have agency in episode 8 and initiated things
- good consent/communication in episode 8
- that it has a wide release on 4 different platforms

Room For Improvement
- the three minutes of cringey animation didn't hook me
- Jade's exaggerated/yelling was irritating especially in the beginning episodes
- cringey editing, voice overs and comedy sound effects that didn't make anything funny
- the side couple was oddly hot and cold (note, apparently the cut version removed several of their scenes which is contributing to their confusing interactions with each other)
- not happy with the Uea/King reluctant/violent dynamic, how King was jealous/retaliatory at Uea in ep 6 for just talking to another guy
- slow pacing/repetitive, in episode 6 as an example Mai had almost a duplicate conversation with his mom
- bad decisions with what they cut, I was happy they cut the vomiting scene in episode 2 but why on earth cut an entire scene including a kiss with the side couple in episode 6??? I normally would expect a cut version to reduce a NSFW scene but there wasn't anything to cut up to episode 7 (and then they did cut the NSFW scenes in ep 7 and 8)
- the NSFW scenes were kind of choppy, one of them oddly stopped and then re-started

Citeste mai mult

another crack comedy in the Ossan's Love franchise

Overall: there is a lot of ridiculousness with the plot and characters but it's obviously intentional and I did laugh several times during the movie which is about 2 hours long (make sure to watch the very cute post credits scene at the end). Aired officially internationally on GagaOOLala in December 2023 when the platform picked up almost the entire Ossan's Love franchise https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/2118/ossans-love-the-movie Note: the movie should be watched directly after the 2018 series, the Love in the Sky takes place in an alternate universe/totally different plot and is not a continuation of the 2018 series

Content Warnings: past death, threatened violence, kidnapping/held against will

What I Liked
- how the movie started with that chase/action scene and then another action scene towards the end
- fun comedy moments
- the actors made me cry towards the end with talking about marriage equality, the challenge of having a family and their love for each other

Room For Improvement
- how Maki wouldn't let him explain
- could have used a few more sweet moments before the conflict started
- how a character asked a certain person for permission to marry before asking her

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