spooky/campy/romantic

Overall: the dynamic was good but I'm neutral on the ending. 7 episodes about 15 minutes each. Aired on Regal Entertainment YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7SneaZWMW0pKKXwXHp9rjxF-KSh9m5Cp

Content Warnings: death, grief, manipulation

What I Liked
- dynamic between the leads
- caring/sweet moments
- chuckled a few times
- good dream
- non cliche female character (the ghost)
- blooper reel at the end of ep 7

Room For Improvement
- the pace could have been tightened at some places, for example I'd suggest starting episode 1 at 3:15
- an abrupt transition from night partying scene to both of them shirtless
- that peck needed to be a little longer
- not a fan of the ending though it's about what I expected

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decent follow up to the series

Overall: this was not the follow up plot that I wanted but I think they executed it fairly well. I originally bought/watched on Amazon Prime Video in 2021, re-watched on GagaOOLala in 2024 https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/4290/hello-stranger-the-movie-2021

Content Warning: homophobia, vomiting, punch, manhandling

What I Liked
- supportive friend group
- maybe I read too much into it, but I liked how Mico took the top bunk and said he was used to being on top and Xavier said that was okay and he'd adjust
- non cliche female love rival
- character mentioned having 2 moms
- Mico had self respect

Room For Improvement
- very confusing start based on where the season left off, and the timeline took some time to figure out
- we didn't get nearly enough time with them as a happy couple for me to want to really root for their relationship to succeed
- wanted Xavier to do a bit more groveling for what he put Mico through
- the guy love rival was unnecessary and I kind of wanted them to be end game
- cliche thing that happened to Mico

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pandemic era enemies to lovers BL

Overall: I enjoyed it when it first aired on YouTube in 2020 https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL87uyU6xM7Lfd2QD0K93fthRzAkA51x2B&si=ititymR4vVArHhXN and I enjoyed it 4 years later when I re-watched it on GagaOOLala
https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/4270/hello-stranger-2020-e01

What I Liked
- dynamic
- music
- sweet moments
- non cliche female characters
- the friend group (they were maybe a bit harsh at 1 point but I understood their frustration)
- that there were some in person scenes, it wasn't 100% video/phone call/text interactions

Room For Improvement
- comedy sound effects in episode 1 (either went away or I didn't notice them in later episodes)
- that there were 2 female antagonists/the rushed side couple that developed
- (neutral) although Xavier bothered me at times, I thought his reactions were realistic

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an okay follow up to My Biker

Overall: I was a bit disappointed with the plot in the sequel, though I did like the more realistic vibe. About 35 minutes long. Aired on Wayufilm's YouTube channel https://youtu.be/-JNhFEbulXc?si=MfBagI18jMzGWIdb

Content Warning: homophobia

What I Liked
- sniff kiss attack
- production value for an indie production company

Room For Improvement
- pacing too slow/dragged at times
- though I appreciated looking at internalized homophobia, I didn't have any confidence that there was enough character growth to lead to a happily ever after

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disappointing special, mostly recap

Overall: I was hoping to see some progression of the relationships, sweetness and spice, but it was mostly recap and insurance product placements (only 17% or 8 minutes was new footage not related to product placements). Aired on iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/deep-night-2399g3ygk5o?lang=en_us

"Special" Breakdown (47 minutes total)
first 2 minutes was the same scene as the ending scene of episode 8
1.5 minutes of intro credits
1 minute of new footage which looked like it was from the real world/was not scripted
30 seconds of new footage
22 minute recap with Wela doing a voice over (happy Wela clarified something, but didn't like that he basically did a relationship game)
2 minutes of mostly new/extended footage with 1 relationship (this was cute)
6 minutes of insurance ad product placement (new footage, this was okay but wish they hadn't done the product placements back to back)
4 minutes of new footage starting with the mom and then Wela and Khem, some kisses and beginning of something with a very abrupt end to the scene
2 minutes of ending credits
4 minutes of the same aerial silk performance in episode 8 but slightly longer and without cuts to other characters (they could have released this as a special clip separately)
1 minute of more credits
(adds up to 46 minutes but close enough)

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great visuals with an annoying plot

Overall: I love to see established couples and hate this plot which we've already seen many times before. Aired on GagaOOLala and later released on YouTube. Special was 35 minutes long.

Content Warnings: manipulation

What I Liked
- visuals
- the scene at the end (but it needed another minute or two)
- although they shared 1 brain cell, the friends were supportive
- message on the cake

Room For Improvement
- everyone is just back to being friends with everyone else
- we've seen similar plots with established couples before
- comedy sound effects

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separate short stories with sci fi elements

Episode 1
Overall: although I enjoyed the premise, it could have used a few changes in its execution. Watched on Imagine Thailand's YouTube channel https://youtu.be/EJR6eFGFOpc?si=Kavwt6G82dBMeO7_ They also made Romantic Station which I enjoyed.

Content Warnings: punches played as comedy/it's complicated

What I Liked
- premise
- production value for an indie production

Room For Improvement
- the comedy sound effects
- camera cut away right at the end


Episode 2 Swop
I liked the sci-fi element, wish they had taken out the non con kisses and replaced it with actually spending time together instead of doing a flashback montage. Glad a character thought about the ethics of it, not sure that I'm totally sold on the ending. Content Warnings: past death, non con kisses, non con touching

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an okay follow up to Ossan's Love: In The Sky

Overall: though there were some fun parts I felt this 2 part special lacked in some areas. This should be watched after Ossan's Love: In The Sky. 2 episodes about 20 minutes each and you need to watch both. Aired on GagaOOLala.

Content Warnings: manhandling

What I Liked
- funny parts (i.e. the pillow fight and the beginning of episode 2)
- hair drying was nice
- some good advice

Room For Improvement
- wanted them to split out the two couples, so 1 couple in ep 1 and the second in ep 2
- still seemed to lack resolution
- characters were antagonistic for too long

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loved the destination but not the route to get there

Overall: I loved the ending to their story but wish the writers had done something else plotwise. This is one hour, aired on iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/ainhai-episode-1-26ex87suy4w?lang=en_us

Watch Suggestion: watch the funny dream sequences at 5 minutes and 21:30 then skip to 29 minutes and watch thru to the end (and watch after the initial credits)

Content Warnings: manipulation

What I Liked
- the two dream sequences were funny
- caring/sweet moments
- good kissing/intimacy
- the supportive dads

Room For Improvement
- such a terrible "plan" from Ai who is supposed to be the one with more brain cells, Ai could have just said, "I have a surprise for you, meet me at this location on this date and time" instead of the first half that we got
- several errors in the subtitles but I didn't deduct points for that

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would like to see more episodes

Overall: this is an indie project and I hope they can continue the story. 3 episodes about 5 minutes each, aired on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@g3210/videos

Content Warnings: attempted sexual assault, non con kissing, non/dub con touching, vomiting

What I Liked
- the animations
- intro song
- different takes on tropes
- a few funny parts

Room For Improvement
- it was unclear who was doing the dreaming in the first episode
- established 1 character as straight and the other had a girlfriend
- the random assault while Dick was passed out
- needed more lighting
- subtitles were too small/hard coded

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decent continuation

Overall: though I really dislike this type of plot for a season 2, I think they did well with what they had. I'd love to see the actors in something else, especially the guy that played Pee. Aired on YouTube season 1 part 1 is here https://youtu.be/ZV00vfaAFZc?si=nE63OYDGG4vy1TYA and is about 12 minutes, part 2 is about 15 minutes.

What I Liked
- the theme song is really cute
- breaking the 4th wall (where characters talk directly to the audience) is unique
- a few cute parts
- Pee was forthright
- Bam called Mike out

Room For Improvement
- the love rival plot for a season 2
- that Pee said even if Bam liked Mike that he wouldn't give up
- too much time spent at the beach, we needed more of Bam & Mike
- something that almost happened at the end but didn't

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some truly amazing parts, worth a watch

Overall: though it followed some sequel plot cliches, there were some amazing parts in this series. This is a sequel to The Boy Foretold By The Stars which can be rented/purchased on Amazon or watched on YouTube with Dekko trial/subscription. 6 episodes about 25 minutes each originally aired on iWantTFC subscription, in 2023 put free to watch on iWantTFCs YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwPOcpjobYWXtv_qxOPMjz8rqD-CZJiaA

Content Warnings: homophobia and two more that I'll put in a spoiler comment

What I Liked
- sweet moments
- Luke's mom and Dominic's dad
- the scene in episode 6 part 3 between Dominic and his dad is a masterpiece
- awesome truths like "it's better to lose people than lose yourself"
- Dominic's friends and Luke not willing to put up with his crappy friend
- at least the love rival/ex weren't cliche
- music

Room For Improvement
- had several often used second season drama plot points and I wish they had been a bit more out of the box
- seemed unrealistic at the end of episode 4 that they showed so many people doing that, one or two would have been more realistic
- the fortune teller character
- it was totally inappropriate for the coach to ask Luke that question in episode 3 but the coach does redeem himself somewhat later on

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so happy that I re-watched this slice of life series

Overall: when I first watched this series, I was irritated by the lack of verbal and physical affection. However, upon re-watching it, my view changed a bit. Something to note is that just because we don't see much physical romance doesn't mean that it didn't happen with this couple. Both actors are A-list actors and this is one of the first series to feature m/m romance in Japan (Ossan's Love was the first the year prior in 2018). Watched officially on GagaOOLala (which also has the 2020 New Year's special and hopefully the 2023 season 2).

Content Warnings: homophobia (mainly internal)

What I Liked
- a realistic portrayal of flawed characters who learn and grow
- support characters, they weren't tossed in and had reasons for being part of the story
- some really funny parts like the shaking in ep 3
- amazing acting especially the emotional scene in ep 11
- that Kenji had effeminate mannerisms but they weren't mocked in the series

Room For Improvement
- the cooking bogged down the pacing a bit for me, though the food looked delicious
- I was so angry at Shiro at times, especially in episode 8, however it is made clear that he has deep internal homophobia and we did see him working on this towards the end of the series
- their lack of communication really frustrated me when I first watched it, but I've heard that not having deep conversations could be realistic even for a couple of 3 years in Japan (added with the fact that they are a gay couple and one is mostly closeted/has internalized homophobia)

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