Finding Jade a little rough to start with...

There's a pretty significant tonal shift from Bed Friend, from high heat romance and exploration of serious issues to a workplace farce led by Jade. I suspect that will be rough for a few viewers. I did find Jade pretty wacky in Bed Friend, but with moments of seriousness that showed someone who was an excellent friend to King and especially Uea. That's definitely carried over here, but given that Jade is now telling his own story we're getting the full unfiltered experience and it's A LOT. He's very loud in a way I found bordered on grating at times, and determined to place himself as a helpful NPC in a story where he's actually the main character. I'm extending some grace to him on the grounds that he doesn't know what story he's in and I expect the genre dissonance to come for him eventually. But I hope we get some more of the kind, empathetic Jade from Bed Friend soon. Mai is lovely and I wish to keep him, preferably in my pocket. The intern side couple is cute so far. Uea and King are perfect, 10/10 no notes.

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From Grace To Grass....

1/8 EpsI just finished the first episode and I have to say, I'm conflicted. I couldn't decide between laughing off the absurdity or being offended that this production was allowed to happen. I had expectation - as one would expect considering the impressive prequel; so, needless to say, I can't understand the thought process behind this - nobody looking objectively at Bed Friend and Middleman's love would draw the conclusion that both these dramas are related!! First things first - Domundi has a habit of over exaggerating "comedy". They don't do it with style, or talent and oftentimes, they fall short. That is why when I hear comedy from them, I instantly flinch - yes, that bad. It is actually significantly precedent in their biggest works - Cutie Pie and Naughty Babe - and I could excuse their shared absurdity only because they are prequels/sequels of one another and I expected it to have some form of continuity. Now despite their overwhelmingly appalling "comedy" collection, there was a diamond in the rough - a series that managed to actually evoke a feeling other that disappointment out of me: Bed Friend.Bed Friend was a great watch. and I was excited to see a legacy like that passed onto a sequel. So imagine my surprise watching this episode and the only coherent thought I could form was, "What the actual F*ck is happening?" Bed Friend was a somewhat heavy series, and I can understand wanting to lighten up that premise to an extent but THIS!!! This is an embarrassment to say the least.Tell me why the main character was acting stoned all through the episode. Tell me why the main character does not have the competence/professionalism to carry out a job interview. Tell me why he's dancing brainlessly in the middle of the office. Tell me why there's a child cosplaying as a grown up - cause there's no way in hell Jade has the level of maturity required to qualify as a teenager let alone an actual adult.I finished the episode and I couldn't fathom how so many people - from a pretty distinguished bl company might I add - worked on this mess, and decided it was good enough to show the world.The worst part is, this had sooo much potential in the right hands. The premise of not being good enough, playing second fiddle to everyone and feeling subpar could have been explored with the same seriousness and depth that was shown in Bed Friends. This is honestly such a shame. It is a problem that so many people struggle with and seeing it reduced to this pathetic caricature is honestly quite heartbreaking. I'm not sure if they thought this series didn't deserve the same amount of thought and effort or they simply thought they could ride the hype from NetJames and TutorYim and get away with subpar production; but, it's no excuse for putting this mess out into the world.I want to give it the benefit of the doubt sooo bad since this is just episode 1. So I'll watch episode 2 because I waited so long for this series and I feel like giving it a second chance. But I'm just sad at what this turned out to be in the end - what a disappointment!

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