messy characters (watch suggestions for BL)

Overall: although I think they did a good job telling the story they wanted to tell, that story was not interesting to me with the amount of cheating and terrible decision-making. Note that every 4 episodes the story re-sets from other characters' perspectives (the middle 4 were my favorite episodes and I did like some plot lines in the ending 4). 12 episodes about 40 minutes each. Aired on Viu.

Content Warnings: near rape, sexual assault, minor?/non-minor, pregnancy loss, blood, manipulation, blackmail, addiction, vomiting, gaslighting

Watch Suggestions for BL Scenes
- episode 5, 24:40-25:40 & 32-33:40
- episode 6, 22:15-22:30 & 38:55-41
- episode 7, 28:10-33:05

What I Liked
- a trans character that felt like a real person instead of a stereotype
- diversity in sexual orientation
- I hated the beginning of episode 8 but I did like that they showed a 'freeze' response because most people just think of 'fight' or 'flight'
- showcased complicated emotions around pregnancy and pregnancy loss
- touched on struggles of being trans and also being in a relationship with a trans person
- production value (music, start was in gray scale, ending credits changed)

Room For Improvement
- there were 22 characters and it was impossible to remember who was married to who, exes with who, cheating with who, related to who, etc.
- I had no interest in a whole bunch of characters/their plots

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the one that started it all

Overall: there are parts that I liked more and parts that I liked less from the Ossan's Love 2018 series. 47 minute special/pilot. Watched on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/3892/ossans-love-2016

Content Warning: non con touching

What I Liked
- his female friend was more supportive and less of a love rival in the pilot
- that a character was already divorced
- some funny parts like outside the shower scene

Room For Improvement
- the fight scene wasn't as epic/hilarious as some of the other ones
- that confession left a lot to be desired
- the almost non con kiss and the non con touching
- missed Maki's sass

Ossan's Love Franchise
Ossan's Love special/pilot, Japan, 2016 - don't really need to watch as the 2018 series is the same story
Ossan's Love, Japan, 2018 - full series
Ossan's Love, Hong Kong, 2021 - a remake of the 2018 series
Ossan's Love: In The Sky, Japan, 2019 - this has some of the same characters and kind of a similar overall plot, an alternate setting
Ossan's Love: In The Sky special, Japan, 2019 - goes along with In The Sky series
Ossan's Love: Love or Dead movie, Japan, 2019 - follows the 2018 Japanese series
Ossan's Love Return's, Japan, 2024 - follows the movie
Ossan's Love Returns Telasa Spin Off: Forbidden Gout/Temps Nouveau, Japan, 2024 - these are additional scenes that go along with the 2024 series
Ossan's Love Returns Spin-off Drama: Haruta to Maki no Shinkon Shoya, Japan, 2024 - this is a scene that goes along with the 2024 series
Ossan's Love, Thailand, 2024 - a remake of the 2018 series

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delightful characters but not delightful plot

Overall: we've seen this plot device in numerous specials but I enjoyed seeing the characters again. Aired on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/3342/our-dining-table-spin-off-2023 My review of the series https://mydramalist.com/profile/blcompilations/reviews/268835

What I Liked
- the supportive dad and that he gave them space in the hot spring
- Tane
- a couple sweet moments

Room For Improvement
- the premise/poor communication is a tired cliche in special episodes, wanted to see them growing more as a couple and a bunch of fluff

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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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an enjoyable special

Overall: if you liked the series, then you'll enjoy this 40 minute special episode as well. Aired on iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/city-of-stars-dehsu9gh8g?lang=en_us Here is my review of the series https://mydramalist.com/profile/blcompilations/reviews/336795/

What I Liked
- ongoing physical affection
- cute/sweet moments
- supportive friends
- laughed a couple of times (like when a character hid behind another character/pillar)

Room For Improvement
- again with the excessive comedy sound effects that often made things less funny for me
- voice over
- a main plot point is one we've seen countless times in specials and it annoys me every time, wish they had done something different
- (neutral), I enjoy GL rep but the way they explained it wasn't great

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two short special episodes

Overall: the first word in the title is English, the final 3 are French so it reads as Forbidden New Time Taste (if someone is fluent in French please correct me). Aired on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/4079/ossans-love-returns-telasa-spin-off-2024-e01

Episode 1: 20 minutes, seems to take place in the middle of the season, characters meet at work to fix a mistake and reminisce about dates/romantic partners.

Episode 2: 16 minutes, takes place after the wedding ceremony, Maki & Haruta host a party and characters talk about what they were going to say/do at the wedding/the story behind "noisy lips"

I really enjoyed both episodes but I took off a half point for cutting away from the kiss.

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better than the series (start at 17 min)

Overall: maybe because for once Dino wasn't a walking red flag and it was only 36 minutes (the rest is behind the scenes/talking with the cast) I found this easier to watch than the series. Aired on iQIYI (have to pay an additional amount, about $2.80 USD), heard it's also on Vimeo to buy but can't find it in the U.S.

What I Liked
- a few cute moments like the shopping trip

Room For Improvement
- the comedy sound effects didn't make anything funny
- almost nothing happened, watched it at 3x speed, they repeated almost the same conversation multiple times in a row

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better than the series...

Overall: these are slightly better than the series but maybe because it's just 2 episodes instead of 8. Each episode is about 45 minutes. Aired on iQIYI.

Watch Advice: final story 1, skip to 10 minutes and then 21 minutes; final story 2, skip to 8 minutes and then 39 minutes

Content Warnings: stalking, punch, non con video recording

What I Liked
- at least there is lip movement in the kisses
- a few sweet moments

Room For Improvement
- the first final story starts with Dino being manipulative and insecure and then later there is a random/not needed stalker plot, the second final story has a large chunk of the side characters talking about their own love stories and we never see their faces
- constant comedy sound effects

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feels dated (and not a BL)

Overall: this is a sitcom about two guys who pretend to be a couple for views/money. I did not interpret this as a BL or censored BL. There are maybe hints with one guy towards the other but it did not feel mutual. 12 episodes about 10 minutes each, on GagaOOLala.

Content Warnings: attempted self harm played as comedy, mentions of stalking, harassment, fight

What I Liked
- laughed 3 times
- abs
- the innuendo in the title (and at one point they cooked eggplant so maybe that was on purpose)
- translator notes

Room For Improvement
- did not see mutual attraction/love, definitely didn't see the same kind of hints/chemistry like in other censored things from China
- the laugh track, didn't find majority of their jokes funny
- making fun of masculine woman and effeminate men
- making fun of abusive contracts
- bad sound quality in episode 3

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sweet and fluffy moments from two couples of Coffee Melody

Overall: this is a follow up 1 year later of two couples from Coffee Melody the series. I rate the 1st episode 7 and 2nd 8 for an average of 7.5. Each episode is about 30 minutes long. Aired on YouTube.

Content Warnings: none

What I Liked
- the fluffy, domestic bliss and sweet moments (and there were quite a few)
- the teaching moments in episode 2
- same sex marriage advocacy in both episodes

Room For Improvement
- in both of these it felt like their dialogue and physical affection is what we'd see at the start of dating, not after 1 year, episode 1 had more physical affection but they felt unnaturally shy about it
- particularly in episode 1, scenes jumped around and lacked a coherent story line, episode 2 was less jumpy
- the road noise was a bit loud over some of the talking scenes outside
- the intro has a bunch of characters that aren't in either episode which seems strange (they were characters from the full series)
- a bit too slow paced for me which is reminiscent of the series

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a crack comedy

Overall: although this has some of the same characters and the overarching plot is similar, it's best to think of this as totally separate from Ossan's Love 2018 series. I laughed soooo hard at the ping pong and sumo scenes and appreciated the lack of the ex-wife character. There are several love triangles, rectangles? but it's really difficult to predict the ending. Watched on Viki.

Note with franchise:
Ossan's Love special 50 minutes long Japan 2016 (I haven't watched this but it's like a shorter movie)
Ossan's Love series Japan 2018 (expanded from the special), on Viki
Ossan's Love: Love or Dead movie 2019 (a continuation of the series and best to watch after the series)
Ossan's Love in the Sky series Japan 2019 (this is basically an alternate universe with differences in plot and characters), on Viki
Ossan's Love series Hong Kong 2021 (a retelling of Ossan's Love), on Viu in some countries

Content Warnings: manhandling, non con touching and kiss

What I Liked
- there were some real crack comedy moments
- also heartfelt moments
- I appreciated that characters communicated with each other (with some missteps lol)
- episode titles were cleverly integrated

Room For Improvement
- the intro and some of the editing was too frantic
- Haruta's character has a type of over acting, it's not really my thing but I have become used to it
- love triangles/rectangles are not something that I enjoy
- it did feel rushed especially towards the end, I think this was originally supposed to be a longer series

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