Plus & Minus (2022)

Nice but average BL but still I enjoyed.

I think this series is not really keeping up with top-tier Taiwanese BLS out there. I feel like it has its own thing. The two main leads portraying as Zhe Zheshou and Fu Li Gong made me enjoy the series, them alone. I think I have issues with the flashbacks. I thought it would have been good if it's mix well within the first ep. I thought that without those two handsome male leads the scene felt dry and not that exciting. The second couple, uhmmm, nah not a fan of it. They're just unnecessary and lacking. They're my least likable second BL couple ever. Okay moving on. I found it dissatisfied to see Boris Wang rarely like bitch come on he's so eye-catching to look at. I don't care if he's just a supporting character but I would rather have him partnered with other actor and replace the second couple.
The surprising cameos were nice. Not really expecting anything but I'm glad they're there. I'm conflicted with the feelings of both Zheshou and Li Gong. I thought it took years just for them to date each other. It's weird that Zeshou acted surprised when he saw the keychain in the little box hid by Li Gong. I don't think it doesn't make any sense knowing in EP 12.5 they both have it already. The blind dates are ridiculous, I don't even know why the hell they advised each other to plan double blind dates each other.
I'm okay with Nikita being like a love guru to the two main couples but when she dated Li Gong I was turned off and taken aback. It's just so downright weird . I thought that is best left as a concept rather than execution. I hate how sometimes Li Gong just broke up with Zeshou. It's so unfair for Zeshou knowing his mother just passed away and his father being indifferent about their same-sex relationship. I thought that just made it hard for me to sit through. Eversince that thing dropped one by one, I just can't help but have pity towards Zeshou. Besides the negative sides of this series I enjoy it.
I never expect anything I'm just enjoying the screen time of the two male leads. Overall this was a nearly decent but still mediocre series

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Not terrible...

but not great either.

Gong was such a monotone character. No matter what was happening, happy or sad, he acted the exact same throughout the show. We were supposed believe he'd been in love with his best friend forever basically, but it just never came across to me that he had this intense love or passion. The only time I believed anything he was conveying was the love scene in the very last episode. The music ruined most scenes as well.

The side couple had more chemistry and better acting, but unfortunately their story was just as boring as the rest of the show.

I feel if this was actually shortened by half it would be an enjoyable bite-sized BL, but 12 episodes where almost nothing happens? I don't see myself coming back. I really wanted to love this!

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A Fiery BL Romance between Lawyers

Overall, I thought this show was quite creative and I quite enjoyed it (in spite of the crappy writing near the end of the show starting from episode 8).

Positives
- The co-stars did a great job conveying the feelings of their characters.
- The first and second episodes were hilarious. I enjoyed Zheng's plan for rejecting blind dates.
- Episode 12 was well-written from the dialogue to the story to the setting, etc. It was likely the series' best episode by far (aside from Episode 13 (the special/extra)).
- Episode 13 was very enjoyable. I especially appreciated Zheng's character growth in the episode. It was funny and added a comical aspect to the show that bumped my rating from 7.0 to 7.5.
- Lots of skinship/kissing/contact. You see this a lot in Taiwanese BL but it is always more enjoyable compared to JBLs and KBLs as they tend to do away with much of the skinship.
- Great acting from the fathers of the co-stars. Especially appreciated the supportive nature of Fu's Dad.
- The story was good, made sense and was decently enjoyable.
- The music was catchy and well-suited to many scenes in the series. Opening theme was quite good too.

Areas for Improvement
- Chemistry was weak for the side couple (Kato Yuki and Jian Yingze). Did not enjoy their relationship as much as the main co-stars. Did not like that it felt like Yuki forced Jian into a relationship either; seemed forced and was too fast. Yuki was far too aggressive. This was unrealistic writing.
- As others have pointed out, the lighting in the camping episode was very off. It made it hard to watch.
- The owner of the bar was a bad character cliche. Did not enjoy her character though I thought she did a good job partly getting Zheng and Fu to realise they ought to be together.
- The sister did not have much of a role to play in anything besides the first few episodes. She deserved more as a female character in the show.
- I think the flashbacks were good for adding context to the show especially when it comes to how Fu's love for Zheng started but I think it lacked a lot of development. It was not developed well enough for us to see how Fu actually came to love him.

Suggestions?
- The side couple was unnecessary. It felt like they did it to only increase the show's screen time (same goes for the break-up).
- The break-up felt unnecessary because it was based off of a cliche and did nothing to make the show more enjoyable; another fight/argument between the two would've been better if they were looking to implement conflict.
- The support characters could've played more important roles in the story, they were largely quite 2-dimensional.
- Could have added more flashbacks that focused on Fu's growing love for Zheng; perhaps the 18th birthday was the largest contributor but it was not good enough for me.

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Where’s the Sizzle?

Just my opinion, there’s no chemistry unlike Beloved in House I Do.. They tried to correct the formula with the main pair falling in love early on. But the problem is the main pair’s chemistry is just not there….
The most interesting among the main actors for me is Yuki. With his long luxurious locks and sweet smile, He has this quiet lovable charm like that of Shi Lei. But where is his Yu Zhen? Or the confident mature shop owner, Yan Zhao? I’m sad to say that his Jian Ying Ze has little redeeming value except for his daughter. I wanted to ship Yuki to Fuli Gong.

With the soundtrack similar to Beloved, I kept missing Shi Lei and Yu Zhen. And this is not good for a series if I am thinking of another one

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Positive multiplied by Negative is equal to Negative

Each show has its own pros and cons, some overcome it but some don't. Just like how Plus & Minus started up in a good run but began to stumble in the middle and failed to re-sprint in a recovery state.

A BL roaming around the field of law is quite fresh yet the storyline ruins the chance of it to be unique and memorable. The vibe has a lot of similarities to the previous BLs I’ve watched such as Beloved in House: I Do and HIStory 4: Close to you, that loses the spark of the show to cater its own impact. Nevertheless, one thing I’m grateful for this show is by reuniting some of the prominent characters from the other famous Taiwan BLs. Seeing them made me reminisce about their own story from their respective shows.

Connecting the title to the two couples, I must say that Plus goes to the main one and the Minus goes to the second pair. The lack of chemistry between the side couple and the nuisance acting along with the baby girl is a cringe. I skipped their scenes since it mostly distributes an uninteresting flow of story.

Fortunately, the main couple saves it but it isn't enough to save the whole show. That accidental kiss on the sofa was the only romantic scene I adore from them and the rest are pure plainness. The downfall of the show starts on EP07, all episodes prior to this one are good ones. Then I began to get really bored of the later episodes. Nevertheless, the finale was fine. Helding a wedding ceremony is a good execution not only for romance but also for showcasing the legalization of same sex marriage to their country, Taiwan.

Ending this with a positive statement that the Plus and Minus pendant is so cute!

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Mostly Minuses, But Not The Worst

Another story ruined by the irritating "I spoke to your family and now we cant be together" plot. "Its for your own good" plotlines rarely come across as anything but supremely irritating and this was no exception. I was okay with this show up until that point, then I began aggresively skipping and turned it up to 2x speed. I didn't even finish the episode before I had to accept that I really was too disenchanted to be bothered with the rest of the show. So, let's talk:

This show is slow. The plot is thin-- not spider silk thin, but it's not going to make you feel much. There is a gargantuan amount of fluff but with no plot to support it, it feels.....it's just missing something. I was suspicious of Yuki for almost seven episodes just because he decided he was in love out of nowhere. I was constantly looking for the additional plot in every situation only to find that it is always a matter of what you see is what you get. It is as deep as a tablespoon.

The main couple was cute up until the bullshit. The tension of "will they, wont they," was resolved in less than an episode, but the amount of emotion they resolved it with made it seem like theyd been apart for at least three (and they really should have been), so it felt a bit bizzare. I liked the side couple a decent amount despite the utter lack of....anything behind their relationship, but then they also got hit with the trope-mobile and had a misunderstanding three minutes of conversation and a five minute walk could fix. I'm being harsh, but these characters are all, presumably, close to or over 30. This shit would barely strike me as acceptable with college kids, I dont really have the tolerance for it at their ages.

The best part of this series was the cameo from Be Loved In House, and I dropped that series too, so make of that what you will. I am surprisingly disappointed with this series, most likely because the reviews implied it was much more put together. Which is why I normally ignore the reviews, but I suppose I hadn't been burned by them in awhile and forgot. There is a correct way to do slice of life and this was not it. The pacing is eclectic-- relationship things are rushed, but the surrounding plot (or lack thereof) is glacial. Characters lose or gain traits to better accommodate random conflict.

I had some good things to say about this, so I'll get to that and then wash my hands of this mess. I am always a staunch advocate for relationship building. Plus & Minus does a good job of showing the platonic bond between the main couple. They use key moments and habitual behaviors to show the weight of the years between them instead of a quick montage and, as a proud hater of montages, I really liked that.

The sets were always appealing to the eye, which matters very, very little to me, but I did notice it. I enjoyed the little things the main couple did for each other. A lot of BL make it seems like getting together is the happy ever after, or just have no idea what to do with a couple once they are together. This is not necessarily an exception, but they did cute little things for each other, and that, specifically, was nice to see.

Outside of that, nothing else stood out particularly much, definitely not enough to be worth mentioning so I guess thats it, bye.

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Cheesy, Slow & Stupid

The biggest problem with this series is that nothing ever happened! The few times an attempt was made at some type of drama it simply fell flat.
The actors may have been good, I can't really say, because they were not given much to work with. I didn't feel any real chemistry between them and the love making scene was slow and awkward - with the worst ever music, I think they tried to use the music to make it more passionate, but it really made the scene worse.
There was no note worthy music throughout, the child actress was not really cute and appealing... but...
The worst was simply a poorly written, overused ideas script.
I also personally did not really care for one of the main leads, personal preference, you know.
The secondary couple was also very weak, with nothing really happening, and drama was over some old clothes that got donated... really?
No rewatch value for me, I barely made it through the first time.

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Les histoires d'amour simples ont tout autant de mérite à être racontées

Plus & Minus connaît pas mal de défauts et de critiques négatives. Pourtant, c'est une jolie façon de rappeler qu'il existe de simples histoires d'amour et qu'elles ont tout autant de mérite à être racontées.

Je ne comprends pas pourquoi les gens ont trouvé ce drama si horrible. C'est comme s'il prenait pour tous les autres alors qu'il n'est pas aussi mauvais qu'on le dit (7/10 est une bonne note pour moi).
D'accord, on compte un peu trop d'épisodes ce qui rallonge l'intrigue inutilement et rajoute du drame dans l'unique but de faire du drame, justement. La musique est au bout d'un moment gênante et trop forte par rapport à certains dialogues. De plus, l'intrigue n'est pas nouvelle et n'est pas surprenante sur son déroulement. Et malgré ce sac de défauts, ça reste un drama plutôt mignon.

Le couple principal est adorable. Tous deux avocats spécialisés dans les affaires conjugales, on aperçoit subtilement leur travail. Le plupart des affaires traitées et légèrement creusées ont pour le levier la prise de conscience de la part des personnages sur plusieurs aspects de leurs vies et relations.
Je reconnais que le passage de amis à amants est un peu neutre sur le moment, mais ok. D'un point de vue personnel, je trouve ça souvent plus sensé que la relation ne change pas trop au début, plutôt que roucouler du jour au lendemain. Sur cet aspect, ils prennent leur temps et j'ai aimé ce point-là. Après tout, ce n'est pas comme s'il fallait sortir des banderoles à chaque fois. Certaines personnes aiment être discrètes et c'est l'image du couple. D'ailleurs, c'est plus au moins (héhé) l'image de ce drama. Pas de grands artifices, pas de grandes révélations ou de retournement sortie de nulle part. Juste de la simplicité.

Concernant le couple secondaire, la magie n'a pas opéré. C'était sympa, mais leur dynamique m'a moins emballé, c'est tout.
Quant à la BO, elle m'a un peu rendu folle. Je ne veux plus l'entendre avant longtemps ahah.

Globalement, même s'il possède un scénario classique et un peu trop de longueurs inutiles, Plus & Minus rappelle que toutes les histoires, même les plus simples, méritent d'être racontées.

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la maldicion del capítulo 11

Iba re bien. A mi no me suele llamar mucho el childhood friends to lovers (o el friends to lovers en general) pero me parecio re chu esto. Como siempre, en el capítulo 11 hay un confilcto completamente forzado y absurdo que me caga todo.

"Wow conozco a este chabón por 20 años que me lleva gustando hace una decada, finalmente me confesé y empezamos a salir. Voy a terminar con el abruptamente pq quiero que el sea feliz!!!" HAY ALGUIEN CON SENTIDO COMÚN ACÁ POR DIOSS

Aparte, yo JURABA q Nikita era lesbiana, la mas lesbiana de todas y iba a terminar con la otra bartender esta. DE LA NADA, DE LA ABSOLUTA NADA ME DICEN Q GUSTABA DEL BOLUDO ESE???

Dejando lo malo, la pareja secundaria me encantó. Siento q avanzó MUY rapido pero eran re chus. Un señor divorciado con una hija y el bartender q trabaja en el bar q está al lado de la lavanderia del otro. Que más puede uno pedir? Despues de eso, no es muy buena. Pero es corta asi que tampoco creo que sea una perdida de tiempo total verla.

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Harmonie der Charaktere

Die Sotryline an sich ist gut, aber man hätte sie mehr ausbauen können. Der Plott war für mich so,class ich schon vorhersehen konnte was genau passieren wird. Und an manchen Stellen hat man sich gesehen, dass die Schauspieler nicht genau wussten was ihre Aufgabe ist.
Die Charaktere harmonieren gut miteinander, wobei ich sagen muss, manches ging mir etwas zu schnell da hat mir etwas an Plott gefehlt.
Ich würde sie jetzt nicht nochmal schauen wollen, dafür hat sie mich zu wenig in ihren Bann gezogen.
All in all würde ich diese Serie dennoch empfehlen, weil sie eine unschuldige Liebe zeigt, und Verbundenheit zwischen den Protagonisten.

Was ich allgemein sehr gut finde, dass mittlerweile taiwanesische BL Serien Gefühlvolle Szenen, sowie intime Szenen haben (nicht auf das sexuelle bezogen).

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