#mediocre thai bl

[ayansukkhaphisit]

alan, you have a bad mouth. what the fuck.

[pharawee]

"If I didn't happen to be here, what would you do?"

[heretherebedork]

The show keeps talking about plagiarism again but never seems to touch on how his career was literally threatened and he might still be struggling because the person he is literally living with's agency accused him of plagiarism and that just... nothing is happening? What is this show even doing?

[gunsatthaphan]

"please make it clear."

[theheightofdishonor]

BL/QL Ask game : The Ugly, the Bad and the Worst

by @clara-maybe-ontheroad

This looked fun and it's been a second since i've talked on Tumblr about what i've been watching.

The categories are :

Worst soundtrack / weirdest song choice in a BL

Anytime they’ve made First Kanaphan sing. This includes Moonlight Chicken’s theme song, it includes Only Friends and it includes the Eclipse OS. The boy’s already talented as hell, why must he also be forced to sing?

Most cringe-inducing line (cute)

Gun’s roar in My School President. It’s adorable but it makes me cringe

Most cringe-inducing line (actually bad)

I was going to try to name scenes I hadn't done before but the bathtub scene in VV is still unmatched. For those of you who haven't watched the show, there’s this scene early on in Vice Versa where they’re sitting in a bathtub and Puen’s like “oh your heart looks like it’s been unused, let me wipe away the dust from it” and it’s so cringe, to the point that I still remember it vividly. I also think of this as the point where the show took a turn for the worse. My household refers to it daily.

Most stupid decision made by a character

When Wen Kexing decided to fake his death and expected Zhou Zishu to just shrug and move on with his life. What a fucking dumbass.

Worst plot line

In Tharntype 2 when Type made that whole plot to kidnap Fiat and make him think he’s going to be raped. It was so out-of-pocket and made Type’s character 10x worse than he’d ever been.

The most problematic show you've watched

Recently? I watched Double Mints which isn't a show but is ql. It was great, very fun.

A show people love but you find bad

2gether is bland and boring, I said what I said. But that's a basic opinion to have on tumblr so I'll admit to finding La Pluie boring. I tried to like it, I really did but it's a no. I also couldn't get into GAP the series which was devastating.

A show people find bad but you will defend

SCOY ofc is excellent. I have seen people criticize aspects of Bed Friend and I think that show was very good for the most part.

A show that is just objectively bad but you enjoyed it

The Shipper just is genuinely a bad show. I'd go as far to say that it's malicious though perhaps not intentionally so. Regardless, I did very much enjoy it. Tharntype too.

A bad show that you kept watching because you were intrigued/fascinated

Oh there's a lot I could name for this. VV obviously. 609 bedtime story wasn't necessarily bad but it was mediocre and disappointing so I suppose that counts. I liked the concept of My Sweet Dear, enemies to lovers is always my jam, especially when it's food-related but it wasn't that good.

A bad show that you kept watching because you were horny

Tharntype and WRU?. I didn't initially plan on watching either but I was so desperate after BBS to find something with good chemistry and I heard these had that so.

A bad show that you kept watching because of that one character

I watched the entirety of I Will Knock You because I was charmed by Noey.

The character that ruined a show the most

Puen in VV is still my least favourite love interest ever in a ql but Mork from FUTS also comes close.

Most awful character that you hated

The stepbrother from history 4. I like a good toxic relationship and obsessive love interests but he was too much even for me. (though as is the way of things, i think i've become slightly more fond of him over time, why am i like this).

Most awful character that you loved

Everyone in Only Friends, especially Nick. And the office worker Mitsuo from Double Mints. And Type from Tharntype. I like awful characters sometimes, alright.

A character that wasn't awful but that you just don't like

Neungdiao and Palm from Never Let Me Go both intensely irritated me for different reasons. This next one is also going to be unpopular but I couldn't stand Techno in Tharntype either.

A hero that should have been a villain

I'm still annoyed that Kinn turned into a classic bl protagonist midway through instead of staying terrible. Also Mork is a villain and should be treated as such.

A morally bad character you're into

Charn from Laws of Attraction is so my type that my wife laughed and called me predictable.

A morally bad character you're not into and you wish people would stop being into

I honestly don't care what other people are into but I find Vegas from KP overrated.

The show that disappointed you the most

Recently, Step By Step. I had very high hopes for that show. I've also given up on Dangerous Romance and have very little hopes that it can redeem itself.

The Worst Show of Them All Because of Your Own Reasons

The Bad Buddy Our Skyy eps. It's the one show that I 100% wish I had never saw. Did irreparable damage.

Well on that note, this was super fun to fill out. I'd tag people but I don't think i'm familiar enough with the ql community here on tumblr to do so.

[iguessitsjustme]

Letting people choose the next video edit I make

I thought it would be fun to let people choose what kind of video edit I make next. This will be a series of polls and each will be one day long. Whatever option gets the most votes will be the winner. Some polls (like this one) will start general and become more specific. When I get to the more specific polls and you want to make an option to be included (pairing, song, etc) let me know and I’ll do my best to include it in the poll. This is basically a collaborative video edit. There is one other poll currently open for this: Country

[yourmortalenemy]

An analysis of location in Never Let Me Go

Or, more specifically, Nuengdiao’s house

So I’m a bit of a nerd when it comes to different styles/eras of architecture, and this house was really interesting to me

Disclaimer: I’ve never studied this topic formally, I’m also from Europe, so whatever knowledge I have is based off observations I’ve made here, not in Thailand. I might be a little off in my estimations because of this, but I don’t think that would affect my overall point.

There’s a few features of this house that give me a very good idea of when it was built. Firstly, that specific shade of brown (while I’m aware it’s generally more popular in this region of Asia) was all the rage in the 70s. 

Combine that with the black pillars and what looks to be square glass on the upstairs there (I don’t know what it’s called, please tell me if you know because I can’t just keep calling it ‘square glass’) and this house is looking like it was built in the mid to late 70′s to me. 

There is, however, one feature that suggests it might be a bit later than that and that’s this black framed, tinted/reflective glass in this photo below:

But that would only push my estimate a couple years forward, it’s late 70s to early 80s at the latest. 

Of course it’s a nice house and undoubtedly very expensive, but if they were trying to convey that Neung’s family is rich, there’s lots of other more modern houses they could have chosen that would convey that idea just as well (if not better, considering the average age of the audience and what is most likely to resonate with them.) 

Even the inside of the house has an almost vintage feel. Again, I’m aware that certain styles and colour palettes are more common in Asia than Europe but I’m fairly sure this kitchen is old-timey the whole world over.

But this house conveys an idea that a more modern setting couldn’t. If my estimates are correct, this house is around the same age as Neung’s parents. There’s no way that’s a coincidence. 

Neung lives inside a house built by the generation before him. This house serves as a constant reminder that Neung lives within the confines of the space that was made for him by those who came before. There’s a successful business, a fancy house and considerable wealth, but none of it is really his. It was provided to him by the previous generation, with the expectation that he would take their place. 

That’s why a house of this age makes complete sense to use. It’s a perfect reflection of Neung’s inner feelings. He’s at least a generation removed from his family’s success, it belongs to another time and as a result, he is disillusioned with it. 

In short, he has had no part in creating life they have pre-determined for him, so it just doesn’t feel relevant to him.   

[yohankang]

okay so gap isn’t good in a sense it’s well-directed/written etc. but it’s good in a sense that it’s just what i needed

[respectthepetty]

10 Anticipated BLs for 2024

Since I'm excited for ALL the GLs (Pluto, 23.5, Sunshine in the Wind, Chaser Game, Be Mine, y todo!), I'm making my list of the 10 BLs I'm excited for this year with brief reasons why I'm looking forward to them. In my normal fashion, I cheat my way into having more. All except one is Thai because Thailand loves to tease series three years in advance, then never make them, but I strongly believe these are coming:

The Next Prince

Zee continues to never play a poor person, and a trailer is supposed to drop in the first quarter of this year. I never knew there was so many fencers on BL Tumblr, so I'm looking forward to everyone's commentary on how well the characters poke with their sticks or whatever fencers do.

Jack & Joker: U Steal My Heart

It's a heist BL. It has YinWar. It has Prom x Mark. It has Bonz. It's Dee Hup House (we got beef). It's Director Tee and probably Cinematographer Jim. It might have color coding. There is not one thing I can find wrong with this series. It's perfect on paper, and I'm praying that translates well to the screen.

Spare Me Your Mercy

Like that lady in Titanic, I've been waiting 80 years for this series (give me a minute to cry about MaxTul), and it's finally near! I'm getting JJ & Tor in a Dr. Sammon piece, who I feel writes "Be Gay, Do Crime" very well, so I'll be forgiving any of these two gays' wrongs including murder, attempted murder, contemplating murder, and murdering each other in the bedroom (ahhhh!).

Wandee Goodday

Golf from The Eclipse is directing. It's about Muay Thai. It has an older doctor and a younger boxer who start off as bed friends (and I think one is actually a virgin). It has color coding. It has me already seated and waiting with popcorn, and I think it might be the first offering that will be delivered from GMMTV's 2024 lineup.

Sequels: Choco Milk Shake 2, Unintentional Love Story 2, My Doctor

Is Choco Milk Shake 2 gonna finally give me poly? Probably not, but I hope My Doctor brings the same heat the side couple did in Be Mine, Superstar, and the side couple getting the spotlight in Unintentional Love Story 2 will also make my side-couple-supremacy heart very happy this year.

Live in Love

It looks color coded. That's it. That's the reason. Keeping my expectations low because it might not get made since this is Thailand's favorite game.

Red Peafowl

The character reveals were absolute chaos, so I'm hoping that chaos transfers over to the actual series because it can either be a mess or a masterpiece, but it cannot be mediocre with Max, Cooheart, Boun, Mek, and Yacht as supports. Plus, it has color coding and a bird that is quickly becoming a Tumblr god.

Love Upon a Time

Even though it is a historical queer series, which means it could be sad, I think Domundi will keep the sass, so James' character won't be crying in the 1600s club but instead eating fruit seductively to encourage Net's character to put his homosexual skills into practice instead of simply theorizing about them, which is something I need more of. Plus, it has color coding.

Love Puzzle

This is one that might not get made because . . . Thailand. It's connected to Chains of Heart, but I don't care because the cast looks good and Poppy is gonna finally get to kiss a homie. If this doesn't get made, I will cry thug tears. It's 2024. Poppy deserves to kiss a man already.

My Stand-In

I don't understand the plot, but it doesn't matter because Pepzi and Khom are directing, and in case that means nothing, those were KinnPorsche's directors! Then, it has Up and Poom as the leads, plus a stacked supporting cast. I'm here. I'm queer. And I'm ready to be served.

Honorable Mention: Peaceful Property

It's about los espookys and features Tay and New. Will it be a QL? The streets are saying no, but all the characters are color coded, and all's I'm saying is what would be the point of color coding them if I ain't getting a BL main couple and a GL side couple? It's already canon to me.

Bonus: MosBank & JoongDunk

MosBank had like eighty projects announced for 2023, and I got NONE! Big Dragon 2, Big Dragon: The Movie, SunsetxVibes, where you at?! Y Journey: Stay Like a Local and Club Friday do not count. I don't want to watch their horror movie, but gosh darnit, if that comes out before everything else, I just might.

And I am a JoongDunk fan first, and a human second. Give my boys a gym BL already, GMMTV!

[thebvbbletea]

Okay, let's talk about The Secret of Us. I've been watching most of Thai GLs (because I do love lesbian), and let's be real, just like most of Thai BLs, some of their acting skill are mediocre. BUT- TSOU truly change the game. The acting skill of not only Lingling & Orm, but also other characters are amazing. The chemistry between Lingling & Orm also really great, I feel like their chemistry is one of the best I've ever seen in GL series.

And even though we only got 8 episode and the storyline is only centered around Fahlada's mom acceptance of her relationship with Earn, but I didn't feel like the story is short and shallow, also the ending didn't feel rushed out at all. And it's all thanks to good writing from TSOU team. I really love LingOrm and I do hope they will got another GL gigs, because damn! Their chemistry is all I need.

[scarefox]

Seeing the paying problems rise in the thai BL (film) industry. I would rather have less BL/QL/GL but with quality and paid, well treated actors than one production after another with mediocre quality and unhappy actors waiting for their money :/

Why is this happening so often lately??

Quality over quantity please....

[chaos0pikachu]

I am here actually to appreciate your post. I saw a blogger’s post saying The sign would have been ‘successful’ had it got filled with fantasy and romance and limit action to 10%. I wondered why that person, who says BL is all about romance, watched a show whose genre is action. Then I saw your post about people watching many shows to stay in fandom and I agree. Also you are right about dramas with a complex story receiving heavy criticism. Everything (even lack of proper plot or conflict) is exempted in a romance drama. No wonder most BLs are confined to ‘2 boys and their jealous & crying moments, routine conflicts enhanced by Escola or leads explaining how important Nikon printer is for their relationship’

Well damn hit me in the feels with this appreciation I'ma get all shy and shit.

I always wonder if by "successful" people mean in terms of critical acclaim, story telling, or monetarily. When it comes to Thai shows - and some please correct me if I'm wrong - it's difficult to tell how "successful" they are terms of audience reach/monetarily because there's no easily verifiable information. Like, there's Youtube numbers sure, but The Sign as an example, aired on Channel 3 what were it's ratings total on that channel? Idk, does anyone know that? Sincerely asking lol

Personally the way I like to judge a piece of media is what I call the Roger Ebert method; he often judged films based not solely on whether they were "good" or "bad but by how successfully they accomplished their goals.

If you read his review of Space Jam while it's clear Ebert doesn't think the movie is high art, "You can watch the movie on the sports and cartoon levels, and also appreciate the corporate strategy that's involved. [...] It is difficult for an actor to work in movies that combine live action with animation, because much of the time he cannot see the other characters in a scene with him. But Jordan has a natural ease and humor, an unforced charisma, that makes a good fit with the cartoon universe."

Ebert praises that the film, while filled with obvious product placement and banking on both nostalgia for the toons & star power of Jordan, accomplishes it's goal of being a family for that can be enjoyed by adults and children, and also the ability to blend techniques of live action, animation and 3D rendering.

I bring this up specifically b/c when I see "reviews" of shows in BL - the most common form of meta I see in BL fandom as a whole and that's not a knock just an observation - it's usually always about the narrative. Nothing about the filmmaking. And if there is discussion about he filmmaking it's usually misinformed or worse misinforming - no that's not what aperture means, yaoi framing isn't really a thing in film, the t-shirt is really just a t-shirt, etc, etc.

And like I get why. Fandom is more about story, what the words on a page or what the characters on screen are doing and saying. It's easier to talk about the amazing communication two characters have b/c you don't really need a film knowledge to discuss that. Which is a factor in why I think shows with lower stakes, more streamlined and straightforward plots get praised at a higher, less diligent and harsh level, than shows that are a bit more daring. They're less challenging in structure, they take less risks, so there's less to critique, and there's less room for a show to disappoint.

There comfort food, rather than trying something new at the restaurant. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, again, this is just a general observation.

To me, The Sign is miles better than Cooking Crush on a simple technical level. I only watched one episode of Cooking Crush and I found it pretty mediocre at best from all technical points: acting, editing, cinematography, directing, storytelling.

This isn't to say Cooking Crush is "bad" or that even if Cooking Crush was "bad" people shouldn't like it. I don't give a fuck if people like it, good for you chase the things that spark joy! I like lots of "bad" media, have y'all ever watched Jason Takes Manhattan?

For me, The Sign, like Space Jam, accomplishes it's goals and those were ambitious goals. An action fantasy BL that actually lives up to that premise and looks good?? The fight choreography looks great considering the obviously budget??

Like one of my issues with Laws of Attraction - aside from how painfully disinterested those kisses looked - was the fight choreography was bad.

The characters very rarely land hits in a way that looks real, or even marginally real. I can only speculate they didn't hire a stunt coordinator and/or couldn't hire stunt doubles so there was a worry of injury on set (for both reasons).

This isn't a disparagement on the actor(s) either, like stunt work is difficult and it's important to have professionals on set who can walk an actor through the steps so both them and others don't get hurt. Jackie Chan is probably one of the best known actors alive for stunt work, but watch how many times he fumbles and potentially hurts himself to the point where other actors are actively worried for him:

So yeah I'm going to give The Sign it's fucking gold star stickers b/c aside from some missteps in the gun handling - to many one handed gun fights but even then it wasn't all the time and bullets ran out of ammo! Y'all don't know how exciting for me that was to see - the fight scenes look damn good.

I understand the work that went into them, I understand the pre-production time that it took for the crew and cast to learn that and filming them well is another beast too.

There's a couple scenes with shaky cam that I dislike, but god do I love that first long take in The Sign. I love how good the CGI looks overall again, considering what is probably less budget than Black Christmas (2019).

I'm admittedly, fucking picky about what I watch b/c I'm really lazy and prefer watching films in general. I don't really like TV all that much, but if I am watching a tv show I wanna be impressed with more than just the characters talking to each other. Especially if said show is 12 hours or more.

When I'm looking at a piece of media - a comic, a novel, a film, a tv show - I'm thinking about stuff like "what were it's goals, and did it accomplish them? How was the filmmaking? How was the narrative structure? What is the time/place/culture this was made in?"

I'm not sure if people are arguing if The Sign was "successful" in terms of narratively, monetarily, or critically.

In reality we can only really speculate on how successful a Thai BL is based on data that's not not entirely accurate - social media, youtube stats, awards, etc - and even then most of that is based off international audience.

I can glean that 2gether was successful for gmmtv b/c it got a second season and a film, pretty much skyrocketed Bright and Win's individual careers but again, and created a cross country alliance for activism. But even all that is still speculation not facts (except the alliance that's a real thing that happened lol).

[This is all regardless of my own feelings regarding the show which is not kind. But feelings have nothing to do with individual discussion about how monetarily successful or accomplished a show is or isn't.]

Like it might be valid speculation on both shows but it should always come with a disclaimer of - these are not facts. Also, what is "popular" or "successful" can and will be dependent on individual countries too.

Take Cutie Pie for example, I would argue that it wasn't super "successful" here with American fans, but given how overwhelmingly popular Zee and NuNew are in both Thailand and Korea, I would then argue that the show was a success in Thailand and Korea. So was Cutie Pie "successful" or not? I would say yes!

Because "success" isn't and shouldn't be measured only by how western fans receive a piece of media.

In regards to The Sign, I'd argue it appears to be very successful with only the partial data I have at hand - social media which includes places like twitter, facebook, tumblr, the success of their sold out showing for the finale, a special episode, etc. If people argue it was unsuccessful in terms of narrative, well that's debatable and I have no interest in debating why the show is good except in terms of technical filmmaking and storytelling.

And even then it's a pointless debate like or dislike whatever just don't lie or mislead people regarding film terminology and techniques or harass people because they did like A Thing or clog up the tags with annoying posts about how you didn't like said Thing.

Overall, I don't give "reviews" on things I watch either positive or negative cause, well, I'm lazy lol, I don't believe putting how much I hate a show in it's tags and a thorough rating system would be to much work. I actually like how My Drama List rating system works, I just find most reviews on it to be Annoying lmao. Like giving Kinnporsche a 5 or below is absolutely bonkers to me but whatever es lo que es. But I also don't think my thoughts and opinions on shows are that valuable in terms of discussion.

These are mostly my general thoughts on fandom at large and it's not directly at any particular people its just observations at large across various social media platforms.

I think if you like more squeecore shows that's totally gucci, I just wish didn't proposite that 1) those are the only valid shows in terms of BL/queer media and 2) didn't overhype them to such sky high levels

[mikuni14]

My Love Mix-Up! - Ep 1

TBH - I was very optimistic about this adaptation for one main reason: because I was very wrong with Cherry Magic Th 😌 I thought to myself that since I was wrong to expect failure then and Thailand had successfully adapted my beloved Japanese version in its own way, employing my favorite actors, it should be the same in the case of Kieta Hatsukoi (new version, not copying the Japanese style, two of my favorite actors ), right? Right?

Unfortunately, I regret to say that I rate the first episode as "mediocre with a minus":

despite all my love for Gemini and Fourth, they simply don't fit these roles

the characters are "drawn with thick lines", stereotypical, without nuances (of course this can change)

the comedic effect is non-existent. I have recently watched series as a comparison, such as We Are or I Became a Main Role… (which was hilarious), not to mention the original version by Kieta Hatsukoi. The difference in fun is very clear

I'm not a big fan of cats in TV series, they usually look scared, what is wrong with dogs (ahhh, cat food commercials 😑)

the second couple, highly likeable in the Japanese version, did not make the same impression on me here. Half is actually not very nice, what about those weird comments about his own friends and classmates? Aida wasn't mean, he was silly and clueless which makes a HUGE difference

the episode was simply dragging, I found myself drifting off at several moments, the series simply couldn't hold my attention at times

Of course, I will give this series a chance, because it was only the first episode and the series can still gain colour (literally, because the series seems to be "pale and dusty"), and the plot can gain vigor and pace. But I'm really afraid that this series will not repeat the success of Cherry Magic. In general, I have the impression that this is not a series, but a marketing project created for a very popular couple, which can be seen by the number of advertisements and commercials. And this is not an isolated case. Is this where the Thai BL industry is heading? That the series will be created for advertisers, relying on powerful branded pairs? Am I reading too much into this? 😂

Because I don't think a lot of work went into this show (like Cherry Magic did). I have the impression that the Japanese version of Kieta Hatsukoi is quite faithfully copied and the Thai version loses because of this. I have the impression that it was assumed that all they had to do was take the plot of a very popular original series, hire Gemini and Fourth and they alone would make the series popular.

I like the Japanese version, which, if it weren't for the werid breakup scene at the end, would be one of my favorite JBL series. It's not a perfect version, but Japan did a great job of developing real, interesting characters who are generally nice, and the story, the comedic effect are very entertaining. The story and plot are fast, "dense" and something is happening all the time. Unfortunately, the Thai version compares unfavorably... 🥺

[gunsatthaphan]

“of course I’m going with you.”

[gillianthecat]

I have Not been doing what I should have been doing this week, which is Not Great. BUT. I have been feeling the urge to watch BL again, so I been flittering around streaming services and binging some and dropping others. Here's the list of the 18, in the order I watched them, with brief thoughts on each. My rating (out of 10) are in [blue]. Feel free to ask me to say more about any of them!

Pit Babe (2 eps) [7]

Fun, enjoyed the tropiness of it, intrigued by Jeff/Alan, whatever secrets Charlie and Jeff are keeping, and that drifting competition which was hella sexy. I like my omegaverse fics "non traditional" so i appreciated that the first BL out there was alpha/alpha. I wasn't engaged enough to keep going, but would like eventually to pick it up again. One of the few shows I'm not filtering the tag for, so I'm enjoying other people's reactions and gifs.

My Personal Weatherman (finished) [8]

I wanted to love it more than I did, many aspects were wonderful, but the leads never felt like real characters to me, just seme/uke tropes fulfilling their roles. Actors very pretty though. I have a bunch of notes I may finish and post eventually.

Laws of Attraction (finished) [9]

10% of it was terrible, 10% was completely nonsensical (instagram live-ing your date while on the lam? really??), 10% was mediocre, 50% was good, and 20% was sublime. Film was phenomenal as the complicated lawyer with his thousands of smiles, and I now have a crush on him. I started watching a het lakorn for him afterwards (Lucky Star, free on Viki, very soap opera, he and his costar are great). I loved grandma and the batshit ex. I've already forgotten parts of the plot. Wish it could have been higher heat, the restrictions kinda fucked with Charn and Tinn's chemistry in the second half, after they got together, but Film made it work with his coy blushing maiden routine. And their chemistry pre-dating was fire. Second leads were cute and I do love me a pining bodyguard, but sadly the actors were kinda eh.

I Became the Main Role of a BL (1 ep) [9]

I am very excited about this, doing so many things well, balancing slapstick and humanity, all the little details are great. I like how the "real world" is still tropey and absurd but also noticibku more grounded than the "drama" world. I'm invested in the managers' stories. I have hopes for its sexiness, given how Aoyagi was touching Akufuji's arm in their rehearsal. Love love love Akufuji stanning.

Double Mints (finished) [5]

um. I didn't hate it. I didn't like it exactly, but there were some poignant moments. My first actually dark BL (I know Pornographer is classified as dark, but it didn't feel that way to me). Possibly there's some profundity in it, but it didn't grab me enough that I want to spend the time thinking about it. Also many plot things that didn't make sense to me. Perhaps just translation issues? Unlike the next on my list, this wasn't porn, it was a violent yakuza story. Not actually very explicit given that it's supposed to be high heat, with the significant exception of a rape scene.

The Shortest Distance is Round (Noir) (finished) [5]

I mean this is literally softcore porn with a weird dark plot around it. I think most of the actors are actual porn actors; I know the lead is. I could have thoughts on the story, but I feel like I'd need to know more about Japanese cinema to say anything meaningful. Just saying, the sexual harassment at the beginning is the tamest bit. Also a hilarious misdirect with the dead fish sleep kiss (at least for me who was going in blind). Some of the sex was hilarious (goat boy!) some of it was creepy and rapey, and some was genuinely hot.

Mr. Unlucky Has No Choice But to Kiss (3.5 eps) [7.5]

Fun and fluffy, like the premise, the seme character has charm, but soon lost interest in that level of slapstick and tropiness. May eventually finish.

Love Stage Japan 2018 (half an ep or so) [6]

Liked it more than the Thai version, which I saw a few episodes of. The set up makes more sense. Soon lost interest in that slapstick style. Wouldn't avoid it, but no current urge to return.

Utsukushii Kare 2 (My Beautiful Man 2) (finished) [9]

I love them so much! As the middle section, it didn't work as well on its own as season one (a hothouse masterpiece) or the movie (their blossoming), but it was an important bridge in their journey.

Utsukushii Kare Eternal (My Beautiful Man Eternal) (finished) [10]

So amazing. I wasn't sure that they could make a good ending of this story but they knocked it out of the park. Managed the tricky balancing act of having Hira and Koyoi grow up and learn to have a healthy relationship while still remaining their kinky weird selves. Echoed season one in so many beautiful and meaningful ways. I may eventually write more about it.

Long Time No See (movie) (finished) [7]

I didn't recognize the title so o started it without knowing anything about genre or plot. I wanted to like this much more than I did. Theoretically I am into all the elements. But somehow it didn't work for me. It felt hollow, or rather like the outline of a movie rather than the movie itself. Nothing really felt real to me. Perhaps just my mood, perhaps because I didn't recognize the name and so went in to it completely lost and confused. And the sex scenes all felt a little off, a little fake to me. Like the actors were kinda uncomfortable with it. It was very low budget for its concept, and I think needed to either be full kdrama length (maybe 8 full episodes) of get somehow even artier about it to be an atmospheric film. Which it should have been, and all indicators pointed to it, but somehow wasn't. I think I needed to know the characters better to care about. Which may or may not have required learning more about them; there are characters I've felt deeply that I knew very little about, but somehow not with these two. Also I couldn't get the sister's deal. It felt like she was hinting she knew the assassin secrets? But also not. Anyways, the leads were very pretty. And the shot of them stumbling out of the final fight was moving. I may write more later.

Dom (a Strongberry short) (dnf) [4]

Only 13 minutes long and I couldn't finish it, even with 1.5x speed in parts. Experimental little short about anthropomorphized condom boxes, and there's some sort of human plot about a virgin and his cheating boyfriend that I lost track of. It's not bad, just not what I was in the mood for.

Bake Me Please (like 10 minutes of ep 1) [5.5]

When I was talking about not being into cooking themed shows this is the kind of show I mean. It already had a bunch of tropes that are not for me, particularly random normal people treated like celebrities, and people on tumblr seem frustrated with it so it didn't feel worth pursuing.

Ossan's Love (2018 Japan) (2 of 7 eps) [8]

Seems very well constructed to be exactly what they wanted it to be. My enjoyment of that sort of slapstick and yelling style show depend on my mood, and I lost interest, but want to return eventually because it's a foundational show.

Love Mate (less than 1 ep) [7]

Some appealing elements, but got annoyed at the employee's negging and pushiness. I guess I'm too particular about realism, but in what company would it be acceptable to turn a meeting about their product into a psychoanalytical critique of why your boss can't love. Also I es confused by the bosses dating strategy. He just regularly meets up with men 1 time for awkward meals that he seems to hate and then doesn't even have sex with them? Or were we supposed to infer the sex was just censored out? Not the biggest deals but both together indicated that this show was going to play loose with logic in a way that would irritate me. And the seme was being a pushy ass.

Naked Dining (Zenra Meshi) (finished) [8.5]

Loved it overall, though had flaws. Loveblogged it so many thoughts in the tags.

My Ride (4 out of 10 eps) [7]

See today's liveblogging for my thoughts. I like many aspects, but lost interest after four eps. Didn't catch me up enough to want to binge it. I think I'm in an actor centric mode, and unfortunately none of the actors are that good in it.

Every Moment That I Think of You (finished) [8.5]

Randomly found on Gaga, 2 very short episodes from China 2021. Very appealing leads, censored, high school romance/intense friendship, partially through the pandemic. Fit a year's worth of story into 28 minutes. Surprisingly solid, though made me want to see the full length uncensored version of their love story, same actors. Ending confused me. Subtitles of voiceover implied that was their last night together but didn't say what happened, but nothing and was shown. Perhaps just a bad translation? Very low budget (sound mixing was amateur) but did a lot with what they had. Chaotic adolescent boy camera work and editing style, always moving, which fit story very well. Recommend if ok with censored stories.

[iguessitsjustme]

Letting people choose the next video edit I make

I thought it would be fun to let people choose what kind of video edit I make next. This will be a series of polls and each will be one day long. Whatever option gets the most votes will be the winner. Some polls (like this one) will start general and become more specific. When I get to the more specific polls and you want to make an option to be included (pairing, song, etc) let me know and I’ll do my best to include it in the poll. This is basically a collaborative video edit. There is one other poll currently open for this: Music Genre