A Must Watch Series

When I watch a new BL series, I always reserve myself for disappointment with regards to toxic tropes and stereotypes. Issues tackling consent and prejudice against people of the LGBTQ+ community is ongoing in society and often is reflected in the series that we watch. I cannot confidently say that those tropes will ever go away to the full extent, but it's always nice as a viewer to be pleasantly surprised when the story line of a popular series defies the odds and addresses those common themes from a behind the scenes perspective.

Lovely writer does an excellent job addressing topics revolving around the BL industry including: consent, prejudice, harassment, and other toxic tropes that we often see in these types of series. I watched through the series with minimal frustrations regarding those themes and better spent my attention on the actual story line. It was also refreshing to watch a BL that takes place outside the typical college/university setting.

In regards to the acting, I was happy to see Kao (Nubsib) back in the saddle with another main role. I thoroughly enjoyed his acting both in this series as well as the BL series Until We Meet Again. Poompat (Gene) to my knowledge is a fairly green actor in the industry however, his performance in Lovely Writer proves that he has great potential and I can't wait to see him in future shows to come. I think in general the cast was pretty solid and there weren't too many instances where I was disappointed about the acting.

Overall, Lovely Writer is a must watch series in my opinion even if you only watch it once. The story line is sweet while giving you a peek behind the curtains at the BL industry at the same time.

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The Story of Yanxi Palace is a Chinese period drama series recounting the struggles of a palace maid in the court of the Qianlong Emperor. This is a historical drama following one of the most famous monarchs, who was the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China. It has 70 episodes in total and a full cast to set the tone or what is, in my opinion, one of the best shows ever.

The main lead of this show, Wei Yingluo, is an upright, strong and cunning young woman is ahead of her time in terms of knowledge and reasoning. She uses her innate skills to rise above tangles of conventional palace rivalries to defeat her enemies. This portrayal of a character leaves the audience hanging on every action as they watch as this palace maid skillfully talks her way out of the worst of situations, toppling even the most ruthless of enemies.

The extent of wit and subterfuge that is witnessed in the show also makes for a thoroughly enjoyable watch as there is no shortage of humor or laughable scenes. The Story of Yanxi Palace provides a comical peek into the historical Chinese palace hierarchy (concubines, etc.) as well as the inner court workings and state affairs. However, this drama is less conformative in many aspects with a multitude of unique twists and turns that the audience won't see coming.

I highly recommend this show to anyone and everyone who is looking for something new to watch.

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"There isn't a clear line between right and wrong".

The Untamed was a 2019 Chinese television series adapted from the xianxia novel Mo Dao Zu Shi by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu, starring Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo. It follows the adventures of two soulmate cultivators who travel to solve a series of mysteries that link to a tragic event in the past.

I am prefacing my review by stating that I have not read the novel or viewed other adaptations of this story and am solely basing my review off the television series as a whole.

Due to censorship laws in China this drama contains hidden subtext that portrays implicit feelings and ideas of love between the two main leads. This means that the romance is implied, but not announced explicitly. For many potential viewers this can be a deal breaker when selecting a new series to watch. For me personally, the show did a phenomenal job in overcoming the censorship hurdles to give us an eloquent love story.

The Untamed explores themes of love and betrayal; good and evil, while still managing to give us a strong plot, well-rounded characters, and elaborate clothing and makeup. It's easy to become immersed in the series with its stellar cast and pleasing soundtrack (OST). I highly recommend the Untamed as a must watch series for all new viewers and I most certainly encourage rewatching it for those who have already seen it.

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SOTUS is the series that almost always comes to my mind in terms of original BL's simply because it was the first BL that I ever watched. It's a series that has stood the test of time and has remained a favorite for a large number of viewers and fans, myself included.

The story line for SOTUS was very well thought out and I found the idea surrounding the acronym to be very interesting in and of itself. Plus, the separation of the main roles by class years provided an interesting dynamic that tested the boundaries of senior/junior relationships both in terms of romantic love and the general respect one has for their elders. In any case, the plot was easy to follow along with, giving the viewers a chance to focus more on the relationship aspects of the series.

Casting for SOTUS was another aspect that brought the series together so well. The two main leads appeared as extremely versatile actors and their performance made the characters all the more relatable. I could feel the genuine sincerity of their emotions on screen and that coupled with the musical score made for a wonderful viewing experience for me as part of the audience.

SOTUS is a series that I would definitely recommend for all viewers, especially if you're just getting into BL. What the series may lack in explicit intimacy (versus other BL's) it makes up for with it's sincere moments of affection and friendship between the entire cast of characters.

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"A man's fate can be affected by any small thing."

Love Between Fairy and Devil is a 2022 Chinese television series based on the novel of the same name written by Jiu Lu Fei Xiang. It depicts the story of a low-ranking fairy who accidentally resurrects a powerful demon, causing their fates to become cosmically entangled as the world is thrown into turmoil.

This series is one of the best xianxia dramas that I have encountered and I highly recommend it. The chemistry between characters is duly felt, making the storyline feel all the more real and the visual effects are spot on. At 36 episodes, the plot for Love Between Fairy and Devil is well spaced, giving the audience a solid development of characters and their roles in this series. And the OST brings the whole thing together in a tremendous showing of fantasy romance.

Please give this series a watch the next time you're searching for a new xianxia to binge watch.

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Based on the folk legend of the same name, I was expecting a little more flair from this fantasy series. The romance between Xu Xian, a physician based in Lin’an, and Bai Suzhen, a 1000-year-old white snake spirit left a lot to be desired.

The storyline was original, but had a lot of potential given the well designed graphics. Unfortunately, with a staggering length of 36 episodes and a lack of well choreographed chemistry between characters, it was difficult to watch all the way through. At certain points, I even lost track of the storyline as there were lots of underdeveloped plotlines and an exorbitant amount of needless scenarios.

I still think this series is worth giving it a watch if you're curious, but it just wasn't the right fit for me.

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Love to Hate You takes romantic comedy to a new level in this 2023 South Korean television series.

While there is no shortage of heroic male leads in our favorite dramas, Love to Hate You gives the audience a refresher with Yeo Mi-ran, a young lawyer who hates losing to men. Her strong disposition and comical relationship with A-list actor, Nam Kang-ho, makes for an entertaining series viewers will be sure to enjoy.

This drama is slightly shorter with only 10 episodes to carry the storyline, but for the number given, the show does an excellent job defining its characters and their stories. The pacing of the series felt good and it was easy to keep up with the events as they unfolded.

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Having seen the original 2 Moons series back when it came out, I went into 2 Moons 2 with certain degree of expectations and I was not disappointed. To provide some context, 2 Moons 2 is a reboot to the original series and not a continuation of the story line. As a viewer I was expecting a lot of overlap between the two, but was genuinely happy when only the first couple of episodes recapped the original plot line. This gave the writers the ability to add new material to the show, which provided better character development and more clearly defined ships.

I was surprised when the series announced a whole new cast for the reboot however, I personally wasn't as upset about the recasting as I know many other viewers were. In all actuality, I found the new actors contributed a great deal of freshness to the characters that I already loved. That being said, I was delighted to see more of Forth and Beam in this second installation since there wasn't a great deal of this ship in the first.

I would have liked it if the soundtrack for the series had been more broad as it felt slightly lacking despite the number of episodes we were given. For me personally, music plays a vital role in conveying the emotional climate of different scenes and it simply felt like there wasn't enough of that to help the audience along.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed 2 Moons 2 and have watched it more than once since it's release back in 2019. If you're considering giving the series a go then I highly encourage you to give it a try!

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The Road to Love is Paved with Good Intentions

I'm a little late to the party, but after finishing the series for the first time I wanted to express my thoughts on the content.

With a total of 12 episodes airing in the Gen Y series, viewers were given a handful of lovable characters, some less than desirable characters, and a basic plot line to guide them through the show. Season 1 focused on the relationship between Mark and Kit, two very different characters that were destined to become our favorite ship.

Mark and Kit are one of those couples who are constantly drawing you in with their soft bickering and comedic interactions. The two characters are literal polar opposites when it comes to their personality quirks and yet, they still manage to be a compatible pair. I found their story to be funny and refreshing contrary to some of the other more heartbreaking stories in the series. The only downside to this ship is that it felt like towards the end, once they got their "happy ending", they got downgraded to secondary characters.

Speaking of secondary characters, there were quite a few of them and I as a viewer inevitably became overwhelmed with the crossover in stories and suggested love triangles.

Wayu's story was particularly difficult to watch because of the ambiguous breakup and misdirection that we had to watch the character go through. I had hoped that the introduction of Thanu would be a stepping stone to another solid relationship in the series, but the addition of a third party (Phai) made it hard to connect to one ship or the other. For a while it was uncertain who Thanu would inevitably choose and once he made a decision, all of the build up leading up to the finale came crashing down with Pha's return. That specific story line was too inconclusive for my liking and I could've done without it and all the tears.

Overall, the story of Mark and Kit, which was sweet and funny, made the series worth watching to me as a viewer. I was slightly disinterested in the secondary plot lines simply because they felt underdeveloped or confusing and took away from the main plot. The acting was on par and the reprisal of some of our favorite characters from 2 Moons was a pleasant surprise to me.

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