Could Have Been Something, But the Writers Killed It

Where to start with this hot mess?



Even at its best, the writing was problematical, not in the sense that it offended anybody's tender sensibilities, just that it simply didn't work. And that was before the whole thing collapsed in a pile of its own crap in Ep 10, in one of the most ludicrous, hackneyed BL tropes from the old days when the fujoshi would lap up anything, no matter how ridiculous, as long as they got to see some cute guys kissing and staring soulfully into each other's eyes.



Here's what they killed it with:



"Why, yes, I've loved this guy for 20 years, have been as close to him as a brother, know him as well as I know myself, and now that I've declared my love to him, and he has to me, I think I'll visit his father, who will spend two minutes saying something incomprehensibly stupid to me, at which point I will tell his son I made a mistake, don't really love him, and have a nice life. All this for sonny boy's own happiness, of which he had plenty until I stabbed him in the heart just because the writers were too braindead to come in with an even half-way rational plot twist."



I don't have much to say about the second couple, because they were mostly boring. As for Nikita, the less said, the better.




But the fujoshi did get their laughable reversal, which gave them a rushing through the city streets to stare into each other's eyes moment, followed by a moderately steamy snuggle session (no touching below the waist, of course) and then an added bonus of a full blown wedding in a tiny bar. Which is why they are spraying 10 ratings all over this review section like over-caffeinated puppies, I suppose.



Sure, the cinematic values were decent - some nice shots and the colors were good - but have you ever heard about putting lipstick on a pig? They were lipstick, and this was a pig.



The best thing for me was seeing my beloved boys Wayne Song and Huang Chun Chih appear at the wedding, have a love at first (or, they hint, second) sight minute, and not only speak to each other, but make a direct reference to HIStory3: Make Our Days Count, a BL at least an order of magnitude better than this steaming pile.



If +&- was good for anything, it was this direct hint that we may see the boys reunited again up on the big screen.



Fujoshi rating: 10 (of course - cf. steamy snuggles, kissies, and a wedding).



Rational people rating: 3, maybe 3.5.

Read More

Pass The Insulin

Because the amount of sugary sweetness in this BL gave me diabetes.

There are some passing attempts at giving this thing a little weight - the momentary fisticuffs between Fukuhara and the two guys trying to exploit Sato's luck (which is what Fukuhara is himself trying to do - that moment makes that clear to him) and his confessions to Sato of his own attempt to exploit that same luck, as well as a BL confession - "But I like you!"

The only attempts at any sort of sexual relationship involve some glancing cheek kisses (never those lips shall meet, oh no), and the puppy-dog scramble on the bed at the finale.

Watch this one when you don't want your brain too much involved, when all you need is a creamy, dreamy dose of absolute cuteness guaranteed to cause tooth decay and raise your blood sugar into heart attack territory.

And most of all, watch it for Fukuhara, who is so unbearably cute he seems like an anime doll from the planet BL Romance.

Fujoshi Rating: The Fujoshi give it five thumbs up.

Read More

Could Have Been Okay, But the Overwhelming Toxicity Turned Me Off

What I'm going to say may turn off a lot of people, but I'm tired of sweeping it under the BL "well, that's just the way Asian cultures are" rug.

Abuse know no special language. I know, I went through something similar for nine years of my life, and though I survived and got past it (some don't), it marked me for life. Frankly, I don't care what language you speak, to mentally, emotionally, and even physically abuse your only son for years in the name of "loving" him is just sick, and I don't care who is doing it. And any culture that normalizes it is, to mind mind, equally culpable for that sickness.

Further, I'm tired of seeing it normalized as a trope in far too many BLs. Like this one, which ended in such a way that it was never made clear that these "loving" parents had even the remotest clue of the damage they were wreaking on their only child.

As I say, it could have been an okay, cute, run of the mill BL, but the sociopathic parenting on full, horrible display throughout ruined it for me. Sorry.

Read More

Reviewers Are Missing the Gorilla In the Living Room

The single biggest gripe from most of the reviewers is the ending. But good heavens! I am a professional writer, have written for television and movies, as well as lots of books and stories. And it could not be plainer that this is the first half of a two-series story. There is a saying among writers - if you show a gun, you have to shoot it at some point.

In this case, the "gun" is the ring, which we deliberately know nothing about. And we won't find out what it really means until Season 2. Which is definitely coming. Absent issues like financing or another plague, in fact, I guarantee it.

Read More

Chaotic mess.

Honest to gosh, I had no idea what was going on in this movie. Characters were unbelievable, and did unbelievable things for unbelievable reasons. Pacing was like the director was on crack. Plot holes were enormous. I'm halfway through, and I'm wondering if I will be able to finish what appears to be a major train wreck

Okay, a couple of cute guys, and the pastries looked great, but that's not really enough to counter the rest of this disaster.

If I do finish it, I'll revisit this review. I can't imagine what will salvage it at this point, though.

UPDATE: I finished it. It became slightly more comprehensible, which only meant that I downgrade it on the believable part to ludicrous. A hot mess pretty much from start to finish.

I'm sorry I wasted my time on it. I'd downgrade the ratings ever further, but I don't care enough to bother.

Read More

It's A Bridge Show

People are missing the point here. This show was never intended to resolve anything, although I did hope for a marriage between Leo and Fiat.

It is a "bridge production " designed to prep us for DSN Season Two, and it does that very well. Leo/Fiat's story is obviously played out, unless they plan one of those contrived story lines where both become inexplicably stupid and do lots of stupid things to make a stupid story "work."

Leon and Pob will be the focus of season two, and I can't wait. Saint and Perth were the focus of LBC season one, but Plan and Mean were season two's story, and equally good.

I'm looking forward to the same from DSN Two.

Update 6/27/22: As predicted, Season 2 is rolling out, and the focus will be Leon and Pob. It's called Just Say Yes, and I can't wait. Although Don't Say No is going to be a pretty tough hill to top. And as I say, Mame *always* gets a second season.

Read More