HIStory2: Boundary Crossing (2018)

Feel unfinished

After the complete feeling from HIStory2: Right or Wrong, this part again left me feeling like unfinished story. You can say they have the complete story, beginning - middle - ending. But when they close the curtain, for me, the leave with the feeling of something to be finished...

If only they have a little bit closure, like HIStory2: Right or Wrong, when they give us a little preview about their life after relationship. It's gonna make the drama a lot better. Like if they end it in the graduation scene for examples... Oh that's gonna be a lot better.

But the story itself you can't said bad or toxic. This simply story about teenagers that fall in love & learn about their feeling to each other, apart from gender & any issues regarding it...

Overall i can't say this the best version of HIStory2 series, but also not the worst of them...

Leer más

A very nice surprise

The first History season I watched was Trapped, which has many more episodes. So I was a bit worried how well 4 episodes of 45 minutes could deliver a well rounded story.

The show manages to develop, rather slowly, two couple with completely different stories. In one hand we have Wang Zhen Wen and Wang Zhen Wu, who’ve known each other all their lives and been inseparable since 7th grade. I personally get the feeling that they both kinda liked each other all along, and not a single sided love from Zhen Wen. I like their status in the end as “living our best life”. It’s obvious that they’re happy.

On the other hand, Zi Xuan and You Hao have to go through a lot of steps rather quickly, but it still doesn’t feel rushed in my opinion. They go from don’t particularly liking each, to being friendly, to spending a lot of time together to actually being together, by the end. I’m happy that this show doesn’t even come close to the “but he’s a guy!” territory with any of the characters. Zach and Fandy probably have one of the best chemistry level’s in my opinion, considering how short this show is.

From being on social media and youtube I had actually seen two scenes from the show (the net kiss and the “confession”). I didn’t realize until it happened that the confession scene, with the sister, was from this series. It’s probably my favorite part.

Leer más

KILIG OVERLOAD!

TRUTHFULLY, this was my very first time to feel a 100% "kilig" towards the chemistry of the main leads. Kilig? That's a Filipino word but I can't hardly say how it exactly means. But one thing for sure, you felt it too when your crush/love unexpectedly did something unusual. This is the romantic thrill that moved you to heaven. I'm really lost for words. This is all because of Zach Lu (as Zi Xuan). All of Yu Hao's action portrays my imaginary actions towards Zi Xuan's cute charms. I, myself, would easily fall to Zi Xuan's charm like Yu Hao.

......

Back to the storyline *hehehe*, one factor that lost its points to make this a 9.5 or higher, the ending isn't enough! Can there be a Season 2? Please? I was elated by the volleyball scenes. Even if there are no romantic scenes, volleyball match scenes are enough to make this series a standout. But then, we only saw one match in the entire series. Still good though.

Nevermind the acting. They did all splendidly. My review will all point back to Zach Lu's irresistible appeals.

Leer más

Not a very typical school-based BL love story

A BL love story in a school setting like a lot of other BLs but not very typical as this series emphasized on a school co-curricular activity (sports) instead.

A troublemaker student falling in love with a strict senior and changed his ways to be a better student both academically and in the sport they are playing. The senior obviously also developed feelings for his junior but is in denial; moreover his sister has a crush on the junior, making things more complicated. Eventually love overcomes everything and they manage to reveal their true feelings for each other.

2 problems with this series:
1. The junior's dream about the steamy kiss felt out of place. Feels like it's forced into the show for the sake of it.
2. While I understand it's a character that the senior is playing, some lines appear to be cringy and not very natural.

Side couple got an unclear story too but also displays uncertainties in BL romance.

Overall, it's a good series that describes the insecurities and uncertainties when two boys have feeling for each other, a very common theme but also truly reflects the real-world scenario.

Leer más

Easy to follow but I WISH THEY HAD MORE TIME TOGETHER

Easy to follow but I WISH THEY HAD MORE TIME TOGETHER.

First off, I watched HIStory1: My Hero, HIStory1: Stay Away From Me, HIStory1: Obsessed, HIStory2: Right or Wrong, all before I watched HIStory2: Crossing The Line. I gave My Hero a 6.5/10. Stay Away From Me a 8/10. Obsessed a 9/10. Right or Wrong a 9.5/10. And I am giving Crossing The Line an 8/10, although I don't think Stay Away Frome Me and Crossing The Line are comparable.

The editing in this is solid. I know I know, I am late to the trend of watching this series...by like 5 years. But even compared to many BLs in 2023 the editing on this is very good. And it was good compared to HIStory1: My Hero. Like the music really felt put in at the right times and not at all overused.

I've started taking notes on these BLs since I am extremely busy and can't always remember so my first note was "who is this unhinged mf saying "flower" "flower" and touching these guys while there are pissing. Like calm down." Okay, after some very thoughtful watching that was He Cheng En. HE WAS ACTUALLY SO UNHINGED AND ONE OF THE BEST SUPPORT ROLES I'VE SEEN. He was so funny and a little weird, but sill he was one of my favorite characters.

I really liked the bond/friendship between Wang Zhen Wen, Zhang Li Qin, and Hsia Yu Hao. That was literally trio goals. They were all three just there for one another like Yu Hao got expelled and his besties came with him (more like Li Qin followed him and Zhen Wen followed Li Qin because they are brothers). The trio is just amazing

I wrote in my notes "okay so him being a good person is mad cute" I dont really know who I am talking about..Okay im talking of He Cheng En. When he wasnt bullying the youths on the volleyball team, he was so sweet.

I am taking off 2 starts because of the fact that 2/3 of the trio (Wang Zhen Wen, Zhang Li Qin, and Hsia Yu Hao) ARE LITTERALLY BROTHERS. LIKE WHAT IS WITH THE HISTORY SERIES AND MAKING STEP BROTHERS FALL IN LOVE? LIKE ANY OTHER TROUPE WOULD BE BETTER BUT NO MAKE THE FUCKING BROTHERS FALL IN LOVE. I ACTUALLY DONT UNDERSTAND.

Finally why do they have noen green shoe laces? like thats just ugly.

Final verdict is 8/10. Pretty solid wish Qiu Zi and Yu Hao had more time together. And i wish the brothers didnt fall in love.

Sorry if my grammar is bad. English is my first language, i just suck at it.

Leer más

I hated this show because of how short it was and left me yearning for more.
For Heaven's sake, the acting was perfect, the concept was perfect and the cast were well, perfect.
Why did it have to be so short?
I'm currently re-watching and I'm still upset because of how soon it'll end.
I mean other shows ending is still upsetting but Crossing The Line is just too short that I don't have enough time to savor its perfection before it is slipped away from me for the 100th time.
I particularly admire Xia Yu Hoa's unexpected boyishness which manages to strike an overwhelming unexpected balance with his roughishness and cockiness.

Leer más

First things first: This is currently my best BL series I have watched. First because I also love volleyball, second because it's BL, and lastly, the characters chemistry.

Despite the fact of being an 8-episode series, everything was rushed but its still ok(and I still give it a 10 coz I understood the flow of the story and I am not a strict reviewer xD) . BUT.. BUT.. BUT.. We really hoped for more for character development and more problems and how they solve it (just for reference in the future) xDD

Who wouldn't love the brothers? So much more for Zach(Zi Xuan) and Fan(Yu Hao)? With the bromance of Team Capt and Zi Xuan? The existence of a fujoshi in the series? Perfect, the characters were essential for the story, and even the actors' potrayal were too real. And those kissing scenes. You will definitely say "WTF, are they couple? ". That's how professionally the kisses were made. The smiles and glances after kisses before kissing again is what I always do and seeing it here without awkwardness makes me miss the feeling xD

Will definitely watch this over and over again.

Leer más

This season of HIStory is just amazing. I thought nothing could beat Obsessed and then Right or Wrong and Boundary Crossing came out and my mind was blown. All of the actors are adorable and amazingly portray their characters. I laughed, I cried, I had to turn my laptop off at times because It was just too cute. It was a whole trip.

I thought the actor who played Yu Hao was really good and Yu Hao has become one of my all time favorite BL characters. The actor who played the younger of the two brothers was also very good, and was probably the best actor out of the whole cast. The cast itself had great chemistry, which I think that's one of HIStory's trademarks. All of the actors look like they genuinely like each other and acting, and it shows. The story itself (I'll try not to regurgitate the whole synopsis) was something I think the BL world really needed. It showed, more or less, real life problems of those with sports injuries, those struggling to figure out how to deal with a crush, and those who just have a lot of confusing feelings. It didn't have the overused, cliche 'but what about my parents' argument when one character finally came out (which was a very nice change in what usual BL dramas deal with). It was super sweet at times and really funny at others, which I also appreciated. This is all pretty much the same with Right or Wrong (which is also amazing, you should go watch that a couple hundred times if you haven't already) but there was just something different about Boundary Crossing.

I know there's people saying that 8 episodes was too short (I'd usually agree) but I think it fit the series really well. It said everything it needed to say and I think if it was drawn out any longer, it could've become boring or overdone. The HIStory series is short and sweet and it all works.

Now-- in my mind, rewatch value is one of the most important aspects of a drama. If I never want to watch it again, then it probably wasn't good. However, I have already seen Boundary Crossing four times and am restraining myself from watching it again so I can be as affected and as surprised as possible when I watch it for the fifth time in a couple weeks. It was just that well done.

Overall, this drama is insanely good and deserves lots of love.

Godspeed and may we all survive the last installment of HIStory 2.

Leer más

Como uma fã de BLs que já possui um número considerável de dramas/filmes assistidos em menos de um ano, eu digo com propriedade que esse foi um dos meus assistidos preferidos. Confesso que minha avaliações acerca de trabalhos BLs são, normalmente, menos exigentes, isso porque a Ásia (infelizmente) ainda é um continente com muitos preconceitos e a maior parte dos BLs são produzidos por empresas pequenas ou de forma autônoma e, em sua maioria, por atores amadores; sendo assim, acho que eu acabo sendo um pouco menos crítica ao assistir.
Sendo assim, essa série foi extremamente surpreendente, ainda mais tratando-se de um trabalho Taiwanês (que possui ainda mais restrições se comparado com produções Tailandesas, por exemplo). Quando eu vi que era uma mini-série com apenas oito episódios de vinte minutos, eu estava me preparando para uma cronologia extremamente apressada, com uma história simples de ser desenvolvida e, no mínimo, um desenrolar “esquisito” do casal principal. Ou seja, minhas expectativas eram quase nulas kkk
No fim, o desenrolar do relacionamento do casal principal foi incrível e natural, diferente de muitas séries longas que vemos por aí. Em nenhum momento você acha que as coisas estão se apressando, ocorre tudo no momento certo, e para a minha maior surpresa, ainda conseguiram desenvolver bem um relacionamento secundário de forma que a segunda temporada (ansiosamente esperada) não vai ser apenas pra suprir a vontade do casal principal e, sim, dos meus queridinhos secundários também.
Digo com confiança que apesar das poucas cenas de beijo, foram os beijos melhores encenados que eu já vi entre personagens homossexuais. Sem contar na fofura e na elaboração linda das cenas! A cada beijo eu surtava um pouco, porque eram realmente bons! Fora isso, a atuação dos personagens foi incrível! É difícil ver uma atuação boa ser feita sem palavras, mas até nisso o dorama foi bom! Os olhares apaixonadinhos no processo de eles começarem a gostar um do outro (sem saber que estavam gostando) é perceptível e gostoso de assistir.
Eu amei demais! Assisti tudo em uma rodada e me veio aquela bendita sensação de vazio e “o que eu faço agora?” e eu me peguei odiando um dorama tão bom ter sido limitado em episódios tão curtos e limitados ):
Mal posso esperar para a segunda temporada! Quero logo e quero episódios infinitos com esses atores incríveis e essa produção admirável.

Leer más

Short and sweet

April 16, 2021

History2: Crossing the Line is sweet and fluffy. Both couples are good. This one is really a breeze to watch. Definitely recommended for someone who wants a short fluff with no heavy dramas. I also like how this one does not have that crazy gf trope, I really hate those types of shows. Sorry, not sorry.

Though what pissed me off about the plot is that it's too short. I know they tried to wrap everything up at the end so the viewers feel satisfied. But I don't think I was satisfied at all. Please I know it's been a few years and they prolly won't have a sequel for their storyline. But I hope they did more. It's really a pity that it's short but then again that's the reason why I recommend it for someone who wants one day binge type of a show.

Anyway, make sure to watch it!!

Leer más

I really liked all the couples and all the relationships in this one, the friendships were so precious, especially that between Qiu Zi Xuan and the volleyball team captain.

The whole story didn’t go as I thought it would, I thought that Hsia Yu Hao would be this bad boy with attitude but he turned out to be so soft and sweet and kind and good. And I felt so sorry for him because of the way that Zi Xuan treated him after Yu Hao confessed to liking him. Yu Hao really didn’t deserved that.

The secondary couple turned out really well, too, the step-brothers. In their case, I actually understood their reluctance to even talk about their feelings in the light of their situation, and they ended up so sweet…

Though I didn’t like this series as much as HIStory 3: Trapped, it made me a big fan of Fandy Fan who played Hsia Yu Hao. What a fantastic actor! I look forward to both the movie sequel to this series and to his new drama!

Leer más