mmm explotation with a side of stalking

Listen - I wanted to give this one a try. I struggled a lot with the premise, in another genre of fiction accepting the 'deal' would be the start of your own personal nightmare, not your own personal weatherman. I can see why people might enjoy this, it's got "subtle" (or maybe not so subtle) undertones of BDSM, but I think that even the most adept practitioners of this would say that consent is a big part, and this relationship is purely based on this guy exploiting an uneven power dynamic. It doesn't really get better, in the later episodes the guy puts a tracking device on his phone (but it's just because he loves him so much, REALLY). There's a lot of boring plot about the miscommunication that the relationship is built on (one party thinks that it's just a transactional relationship while the other party seems to be struggling to put into words how he's feeling - not surprising since he couldn't just ask the guy out, he had to come up with an elaborate scheme to have utter control over him). There's a lot of weird, controlling behavior on his part. In some of these BLs I'm willing to let it go, but this poor guy can't even see his friends without his stalker boyfriend showing up and dragging his ass home. I don't know, it's fine, I guess. I realize a lot of these things are a tenet of the genre, but it's getting kind of tiresome. It's not one of those that's really gonna make you feel ~refreshed~ after watching. It's probably just going to remind you of your college ex-boyfriend. In another universe, it's just 'Killing Stalking' with fluff.

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venus in my eye

This probably should have stayed as a 20-minute long "pilot" on youtube. They had a general idea and they then tried to stretch the concept into...ten episodes? 12? That, and the episodes are an hour long each, so this is a lot to slog through. The acting is pretty flat, it was jarring to see his brother and his boyfriend slappin' hams in the first episode, and a lot of the 'comedy' just isn't funny. I don't understand, really, what the crux of their whole relationship is, Venus said he liked Sky, Sky said he wanted to stay friends. Why, all of a sudden, is Sky super obsessed with Venus? Why did it take them almost halfway through the series to even come to a mutual understanding? Venus is REALLY hard on Sky, which is weird because one would assume that Sky was just being honest about wanting to remain friends. It doesn't even seem like he was bread-crumbing Venus, so I don't know if that's a plot point that will come up later, but that would require an actual plot. So far, much of the plot of this show is hanging out in the 7-11 and going out to eat (Sky has a weird obsession with taking Venus out to eat). I don't know, it's really flat, really boring, there isn't a lot of chemistry and it just seems like a vehicle to get these dudes half-naked and rolling around in bed. I guess that's fine, but at least TRY to make it interesting.

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Oof, it's painful

I'm struggling to make it through this one. I can commend them for trying to make a "grittier" BL, but if I have to see much more of Boston's face I'm going to lose it. Also, no one is likable. Even Sand and Ray (who I'm still watching it for), are messy as hell. I guess if you can let go of the mess and just embrace the melodrama, it's fun. The acting isn't terrible and the music is good.
However, it's hard watching these characters come up against the same "stuff" that's been holding them back, over and over again, not face any real consequences of their actions, and then do the same thing all over again the next day.

Just don't show me Boston anymore.

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Age gap romance

When I started watching this I didn't realize that initially this kid is 17 (obviously the actor is probably in his 20s) but I found it super strange that the older of the pair actively kisses (and gropes?) this kid and then all of the sudden he has a problem with their age gap (writers trying to make it seem like they're paying attention to the potential criticism they might receive because of said age gap?). The kisses are fine, I guess, but I don't really feel much of the tension because the actor who plays the younger of the pair just doesn't have a whole lot of range when it comes to expressions. He looks like he's acting while he's half asleep. I think that they're in a rush to get through so much plot that the initial build up of the romance goes by very fast, and it just doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I don't mind age-gap romance, but I do mind it when one of the people in the relationship isn't even 18 yet. And this guy knows that he's about to get this kid into trouble. The second couple is a little more interesting, but not by much. I think a lot of the problem with this drama is framing, is it a rom-com, or is it a gritty gangster story? Who knows.

I'll probably finish it out of boredom, but it isn't for me.

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It’s compelling but

It is a compelling watch, mostly because of Joe’s actor - he does a good job of emoting and making you feel along with him. The plot is fine, too, I can give credit where credit is due for the attempts to branch out from university student story lines and storylines that are built entirely on miscommunication but…

I hate Ming.

No shade to his actor, because he does a good job at playing him, but there’s really only one villain in the series and it is definitely Ming.

What keeps me coming back is the fact that it’s interesting to watch the dynamic between the two, but it is most certainly an imbalanced power dynamic that Ming regularly and remorselessly exploits. He treats people like they are objects to be bought and sold, and then he absolutely refuses to take accountability for any of his behavior. I’ve heard a lot that in the novel he has a redemption arc, but we’re nearly through the series now and I have not seen much remorse or accountability from him. To be fair, the plot hasn’t really exposed what his motives are, but there isn’t a whole lot the story line could do at this point to make me feel like he’s really “earned” that happy ending. And maybe it won’t end happily, I dunno, I just know that this I wouldn’t call this story romantic.

It’s interesting, sure, and I’ll probably finish it, but Ming makes it hard to have sympathy for the devil.

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Hesitant at first but

I have to say I wasn’t super thrilled about them remaking Cherry Magic because I liked the Japanese version so much, but I was pleasantly surprised by this one. The adaption is thoughtful and it does a good job of respecting the source material but also making the adaption its own thing. I thought all of the actors were pretty charming, the cast had good chemistry, and even though Karan and Achi were different from Kurosawa and Adachi, I still liked both of the characters in the adaption. Also, we got to spend a little more time with the characters (since the Japanese version is notoriously short), which I enjoyed. It’s different, but still the same, and you will probably find yourself smiling towards the end of it, just like with the original.

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It’s got a plot

Honestly, it’s enjoyable. It doesn’t revolve completely around two characters forking, there’s a pretty solid plot that makes sense, and the leads have a lot of chemistry.

No doubt, a lot of people find Pit Babe to be more interesting, but in a way this one feels more adult to me. Sure, there’s a reincarnation storyline that they managed to also wrap into a “they knew each other as children” plot line, but I didn’t find myself skipping a lot and with a lot of these Thai dramas a ton of it fills like filler just so you can see the two main characters bone.

I don’t know, it’s nice to see something that doesn’t hinge entirely on the sexual relationship between two men, and it actually throws danger at them.

What more can you ask for?

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