pure crack

Are you familiar with the term "crack fic" from fan fiction? This is like that -- as if the writer asked: what are the most common tropes for BL stories to get two guys together, and how can I put all of them in one show?

Here's some of the tropes:

forced cohabitation
only one bed
tutor -- student
a fujoshi
a love rival who makes one of them realize his feelings
caring for the ill love interest
sharing food
childhood bully to lover
gay for you

This show is silly, with intentionally exaggerated acting (bordering on slapstick) and camera work, and no plot besides the aforementioned tropes.

If you are not a fan of silliness and suggestive scenes that never actually get anywhere, then this is not for you. If, on the other hand, you are willing to laugh at your own love of BL and are also a fan of silly slapsticky situations, then what are you waiting for?


Also, it might be of interest to know that this is all about the phase BEFORE one of them finally realizes the attraction to the other, so there's no actual relationship here.


In a traditional broadcast setting, this show would fit perfectly at the end of a more serious BL drama.

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"The world is complicated and ambiguous. In this world, we mix and connect."

Have you ever looked at a Wimmelbilderbuch? These are books for children, where every page depicts a scene -- a market, a school, a street, a park -- with lots of people. You look at each person and discover a bit about them. Then you turn the page, and there's a new scene. Sometimes you'll meet some of the same people, and can continue their stories. Sometimes, there are new people. On some of these pages, the little people meet (or miss each other by seconds), which changes their course for the next pages. At the end, you close the book, but the stories about the people will never be finished.

This show is much like that. We get to see episodes of the lives of several teenagers, glimpse into the wide universe of their thoughts and emotions, turn the page -- and someting new might happen. That something new is more often than not hilariously surreal in this show, but -- like in other Japanese Dramas -- deeper than it seems at first glance.

Release all your preconceptions about how dramas are supposed to work, and look closely.

Look at another person, really look beyond what's immediately visible; listen to them, and you may find that you are Captivated, by them.

"Even so, you'd throw yourself into the world, in secret, with all your might, in an ambiguous form, in a complicated straight line."

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Making the world a better place by lovingly preparing one dish at a time.

There's not much plot, apart from the last two episodes. But that doesn't matter, it's just about people cooking, serving and eating different, mostly Japanese dishes.

Really, if you're waiting for an explanation for why there's a connection between the worlds, or how the owner can buy things in our world with currency from the other world, you'll be disappointed.
The whole thing is a thinly disguised food appreciation show, with some loveable characters who do the appreciation.
I was reminded of Wakako Zake.

Bonus points for the German, the texts that were readable had actually decent German. (If I wanted to nitpick, I'd mention that the Fraktur font needs a "long s" at the beginning and in the middle of a syllable instead of the "round s" (only used at the end of a syllable), but I won't.)

The isekai the tavern connects to has elements of different centuries -- for example: references to a northern God whose name sounds a lot like "Oden" (early middle ages, maybe around 6th cent.) or the buildings in the town (late middle ages to early renaissance, so ca. 14th to 16th cent.) or the clothing (somewhere in the 17th and 18th cent.) or the mention of Kartoffeln as main staple of food (late 18th and 19th cent.) and the Fraktur font (mainly late 19th and early 20th cent.) -- so it's not medieval, but firmly in the realm of fantasy.

If you just want to see how some Japanese-style food can make a society a bit better, and want to relax watching people enjoy this food while bickering a bit, then this might be for you.

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This series is a gentle and quiet exploration of identity and self in adolescence. I'm not sure though, which age group could be the intended audience -- teenaged people who get a mirror for their own growth or older adults who might feel a slight melancholia when watching the drama.

All in all, it did not wholly deliver on its promise.
The premise I liked, four young people who have to come to a decision and their own standing point regarding their position towards platonic and romantic relationships -- and issues of belonging to a group versus being who you are. Even the love triangle made sense within these topics.
The execution, though, is stilted and at times too slow.

These are definitely directing choices, not the problems of the actors -- as soon as they get to do something, they start to shine.
For example, I don't understand why the actors stand right in front of each other in most conversations, with their arms hanging down without movement (and the whole drama is conversation-heavy) -- alternatively, they talk while walking next to each other at a snail's pace. I suppose the director wanted to convey some kind of awkwardness -- which is a good idea, since the characters definitely don't feel comfortable for most of the time, but it just gets boring after a while.
Also, the characters (with the exception of Namgoong) all have similar mannerisms (or, if I want to be a bit mean, the same mannerisms) -- including the teacher, which I mistook for another student in several scenes.

There were also some minor issues:
* At times, the background music did not quite fit the mood -- I'm also not a fan of the "plink-plink"-kind of music.
* The scene with the adult toys in the beginning was never resolved, and did not fit in with the rest of the story.
* I could have done without the kiss at the end -- it feels as if the writers or the director said: Oh, the audience also wants a kiss, so lets add it somewhere. A hug or some light cuddling, or even sitting very close to each other would have fit the overall mood better.
* I'm also not too sure about the female character, but since she had her own story arc and character development, I'll let it slide.

The plot itself, with its theme of exploration and the awkwardness of navigating relationships in adolescenece, is fine, and surely of interest to many. It's just that the way the series is brought to the screen cannot convey all the depth and the emotion it wanted.
Maybe if the creators had been clearer of the intended audience and made some bolder choices for directing according to that, it would have been more on point.

Overall, I found it okay to watch, but not worth a second time.

[This is an edited version of the review I posted on Viki.]

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The story, just like Death itself, is quite simple and could be told in a few sentences.

What makes this movie amazing is how script, settings, nature, music and acting make a whole that is more than the sum of it parts.
The script itself - a journey to self-discovery, a story about leaving and letting go --has some rearkable lines that could sound cheesy but the way they are spoken, feel like profound truths of life. The acting makes as much use of silence as of speaking. The ritual of nokan has few words spoken, but the body language of the nokanshi and the bereaved speak volumes.

The music with it's leitmotif of "the Traveller" bridges the gap between what we see and what we feel.
And nature itself follows the flow of the story. The ending of the dream happens in late autumn, the winter storms accompany the lowest point of Daigo's lfe. Spring brings new hope and new life.
Similarly, the houses tell the stories of their owners: The bath house is run-down but lovingly maintained, Daigo's house where his mother lived is full of her own life and the memories of Daigo's father, and last but not least, the Nokanshi's living space is full of green and flourishing plants.

All of this is done with lovingly attention to detail: The ritual itself, of course. But have you seen that when Daigo washes the bath house owner's body -- the bowl Daigo uses is one of the bath house's?

When so much of the movie relies on silences, on the music and on the settings themselves -- what use is a review that uses the written word? Go, watch for yourself and feel what you see and hear.

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What is a family?

Six aspects I loved most:
* No romance! Yes, it feels like a BL at points, but it's not. This is about people who have found a place and people they belong to. If you consider all the families that are shown -- the four Rokuhoudou men, the chef, his daughter and the young man from the Italian lunch place, the brother and his patissier, and all these people who only appeared in one episode but found each other in the café -- none of these are what you think of when you first hear the word "family".
* The locations, the food, and the way both were filmed.
* Although this is a manga / anime adaptation, the producers made things look realistic -- no strange wigs, coloured contact lenses. The acting definitely shows the heritage, but it's not too over-the-top, and doesn't distract from the message at all.
* The intimacy between the four men in the café -- I loved that they don't shy away from expressing their feelings by touches, hugs, etc.
* As a bonus, they managed to include the Covid-pandemic as a plot point to underline the message on how integral their little family is to the Rokuhoudou guys.
* Nothing ever felt rushed in the story telling, it was slow where it should be without letting things drag. After all, this café is all about finding a place to enjoy good food, good drink and good company.

Overall, a lovely story about family, and where to find it, with a lot of tasty food.

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Third time's the charm? Not here.

They say "third time's the charm" in English, so I watched it up to the third episode. I won't watch any more.
This is now almost to the one-third mark, and I still have made no emotional connection to any of the characters whatsoever (maybe the hat guy, but that's just because I like hats).

The script is formulaic -- there's the secret crush from highschool, the womanizing tsundere alpha-male-type "top", the spurned ex-girlfriend, the comedic sidekicks, the engineering setting, the sick family member and subsequent money troubles etc.
The acting is bland and uneven -- it's probably mainly the script, but also I think directing choices.
The sets show the low budget, especially in the university spaces.

The GL couple also feels as if someone said: "Oh, GL is all the rage now, let's put that in." and nobody gave even the smallest thought on how a girls couple could work. All their interactions are so ... bizarre.

The roles for the main actors feels like they tried to squeeze into ill-fitting jackets -- especially for Konprot, who they tried to make into a typical "bottom"-type of character with his gentle demeanor, soft voice and the haircut. Thing is, he shouldn't have to: "Manly" men can also have secret crushes, and just because one is the "alpha-male" type, doesn't mean the other cannot be. (That's not to say that bulky and tall men can't be soft-spoken or gentle or shy or whatever, it's just so obvious that the people responsible here thought there should be a stereotypical "bottom").
I wonder what happened here. Did they not find other actors for the script? Did they not find another script for the actors? Or was it initially planned as a parody, and that information got lost somewhere?

Because this series could have been a great parody of the Thai college BLs of past years. Everything is already so over-the-top stereotypical. Then you get a cast that is actually not at all suited for the roles -- which could be played as a strength in a parody. If the director and the actors would have been just a bit more daring to really get into the absurd side of things, I would have had a great time.

As it is, this series is one I won't finish.

Edit: Please note how I did not say a word about subtitles -- even if those were better, the drama's problems would stay the same.

Edit 2: I watched episode 8 with half an ear. "I like women. I like Konprot now." The writer *actually* did a Gay For You and wasn't even ashamed to let Pluem say it out loud?! Unbelievable...

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