This review may contain spoilers
STILL A HUGE NOPE
OK so I had huge expectations for this BL series.
Because I was in love with Saints acting in Love by chance and this is the second drama where he is featured.
Before I write more about this, even thought the series is now done, I am still on episode 9 as I could not find the motivation to watch on. SO i guess that only means I won't be able to spoiler the ending. However I do plan on finishing the series when I can bring myself to, so I do say that i could make chances to my review then.
OK I forced myself and finished it, but this review still stands and there is just nothing positive to add.
If one doesn't wanna read all my rambling, here is my recommendation :
Dont watch this. Honestly just watch a compilation on youtube and be done with it.
And I did write some of this review after I had only watched like 5/6 episodes.
Let me start with the positives :
1. That one side couple with the cats is super adorable and so well acted. Their chemistry is really natural and I wish they would have more scenes.
2. The kisses. The kisses so far have all been super well acted ( expect for like the accidental one at the beginning but I don't think one can act that well, its just always a bit awkward)
OK now to the negatives and given my rating right now, its obvious there will be a few more.
1. character development. This is just my standpoint but who even are those people I am watching. I felt like Tutors and Fighters supposed introductions to their backgrounds was just missed. The introduction to ZON was super weird. It gave so many unnecessary and annoying details about him but they are never mentioned again. Like him wanting to be a serious writer and having problems at school. Till now I have not seen that impact his behavior or the story at all! And they wasted an entire episode on that! And now the parenst just seem to completely changed their minds ….
And who is Saifa (probably spelled that super wrong) Like we only see him in scenes with ZON. Who is he? What does he want? or Think? He seemed cheeky at first but now behaves like a lost puppy.
Ok but back to Tutor. Like I watched the series I didnt skip or anything. But like WHAT ? He has the most complicated backstory and even had his sister visit who mentioned his mother. But I was like. Wait he has a sister? Why wasn't he going to her for help in the first place? What is going on with the mother? Is she sick? Why was this not the first episode?
Ok here after I finished it and I wanna say what even is Tutors character. He has like 20 character changes from sassy to super soft to outright dumb to outright mean and unnecessary. I mean parading a new guy in front of his ex !! For no real reason ...? Just so he'd really get the message? But also not being courageous enough to stand up to the dad or tell the bf the truth ?
And Hand in hand with that goes the father character. The entire series he was shown to be hard headed and only focused on what was in his best interest. I mean he made his own son date the daughter of his gf/ business partner ? That is pretty messed up and then he also made his son and bf break up.
But one confrontation with the son and yep he has completely changed his ways. Do we see a reason for that or even get to see how it happens ? OHHHH NOOOO. We just get to hear about on a FaceTime call !?
Also Zon just has a character change ok ? From totally not into S to totally into him. Way too fast.
Ok also another point about the characters. there are a lot! But so many aren't introduced properly! I am still learning names and I was on ep 7. But I am still like : Right who was that guy again ? ( Yeah these characters never really come back but I don't blame them for it. )
2. The editing! Omg who is in charge there. they need to go. Most scenes go on wayyyyy too long and get draggy or annoying. Some shots are also really unnecessary. It overall drags the quality of the drama down. Its only little things but with almost every scene I am yelling cut at my screen for about 20 seconds before the scene ends.
OK I am just gonna edit this until I can actually post it. So new episode was the one with Fighter and Tutor at the beach and the editing in the first two seconds just killed me again. Because there was a random black screen? WHY?
3. the acting. OK this might be one of my biggest disappointments. Like what is going on? Did they sometimes only have time for one take? And even if it was terrible they were like: Ah we will take it!? I don't totally blame the actors for this and as the series goes on I am seeing an improvement in the quality of acting. But there was this one scene, where S. didn't want Zon to leave and he said with the most monotone voice : Don't leave or wait.. and then got up, turned around, sat down, put his guitar away ..... looked AT the camera and the looked at Zon. It just looked more like what you would see in a student theater then in a series which wants to be taking seriously. Also Saints acting especially in the crying scene didn't really touch me at all. I mean like one tear ... fair enough. But the reason for that could also be that I didn't understand where the character was coming from.
OK now with a few more episodes under my belt, it seems the acting is just gonna stay meh the whole time.
Btw I do think the kissing scenes are relatively well acted for both couples. However having watched many Bl and also gay storylines from all over the world, I feel like even the kissing scenes aren't world class.
4. The cliches. OK I get it you wanna parody other BLs but in my opinion it would have been better to parody with an original story and not with one of the most basic storylines out there. The cliches don't seem out of place and funny, they just remind me how much better that scene fitted that other series. And I don't think thats what they wanted to achieve.
I think they are starting to completely give up on that so ….
5. The directing/ scriptwriting As I said before scenes go on for too long. But also the dialogue is just weird and so choppy sometimes. It feels like they only focused on the end goal and didnt care to make the conversation natural or anything. However i can't completely judge as the subtitles have been off a lot. But this is also a negative point. Giving correct subtitles is hard (tell me about it, I am writing this in my second language) but that isn't really an excuse to put out wrong and off subtitles. It would have been better if they took their time with subs and had them released when reviewed instead of releasing subs that sometimes sounded like it was just put in google translate.
This is also getting better and I don't think there was an issue in the last episode I watched. So it is getting better on that front. Yep got a lot better. Seems like the sub issue is solved. So definitive positive there. I do respect that they fixed it and it appears there was no more issue until the end.
6. Also the errors. I usually don't mind them. Like first cut papers on the table, second close shot no papers anymore. But i have sometimes seen like 5 small errors in one episode and they should really try to pay better attention to those details as it takes on out of the series.
Ok I will say the animation is really creative. Not really necessary but fair enough.
7. Another thing I dislike at this point is the time management. Like I have sometimes no clue what time it is or why a character is where they are right now. This became really difficult for me to bear. Like ZON was at uni having a talk and suddenly he is on the street in a different outfit and hangs out with S. Like why are they there? Cute scenes but didnt you guys like not get along 5 min ago? Why the sudden montage? Is this also a joke/parody?
It kind of feels this series is sacrificing good dialogue, story and character development for comedy/parody. The issue is that in the end its not that funny and one is left very confused.
8. Ok now the overly gay sidecharcters. Anyone who has watched Bl knows about them. And i usually really dont mind them. I would like it if they weren't just used at comical relief and instead could get some more character depth but you know...... I will take what I can get. But in this series they aren't funny because there is too much. There are the four friends who scream all the time. Then there is Tutors first boss and Tutors second boss. Almost everybody they meet is overacting all the time! It gets so annoying that it really frustrates me sometimes.
9. I will add another point of dislike and that is how the screentime and the episodes are divived. The first episode was all about ZON and kind of gave the feeling that he is the only main character. Then we had two / three episodes with so many characters and couples that it was impossible to keep up and now the episodes just focus on either one of the main couples. Even though I do prefer the style they are going with now (focusing one couple for development) it just kind of feels like it was 5 directors working on this thing and for each episode someone else got to call the shots. It just doesn’t feel like one piece. Also I have forgotten most of the side couples and I am wondering why they were introduced in the first place if they aren’t gonna be at all developed.
Well this didnt really get better, but I do get that some scenes weren't shot in time and with the pandemic going on that completely understandable. Please reader do keep in mind that I wrote this on episodes even before the corona issue turned up, that is why I am leaving it in.
10. The plot. What is the plot? I am just lost on this front and I also don't quite get where the series wants to go with the characters and the whole: he believes he is in a gay fan fiction. Btw i would have liked it if he didnt just meet random gay couples in only the first two episodes. It would have been great if that feeling would have pulled through.
OK now I am still not sure what the series is trying to get across. It again feels like they either had no message or just too many to really get anything across. Probably have to finish the series to really make this point, so take it with a grain of salt.
Nope finished it and I am sitting here, thinking what a waste of time ! I mean what was the message ?! Also the whole break up thing was terrible and we had to have it. A small sexual assault !!!! I mean come on, it was the only thing i could still give the series credit for, but they went and did it anyway !
9. Now the thing I HATE about this series which actually made me write this. THE SOUNDEFFECTS. NO! There are too much, they are super annoying and its gotten that bad that i sometimes mute the series as I just can't with whatever the sound team is doing. The effects are placed randomly and without thought or sense. Like we would have this serious moment interrupted by a squeak! And some other random noises! I could pretty much bear with all the other flaws of this series but this is the main reason for it to consider one of the worst bls i have ever watched. Ok add on for episode 9, please for the love of god. The first 5 minutes and anytime someone moves their head its accompanied by a squeak! It does get a bit better but not that much. It really feels like the sound team was hired for a childrens cartoon and the just got the wrong series. OK and I think it was in episode 8 there is a random fart noise.. no context! My friend and I replayed that so many times and it is getting to a point where this drama is its own parody.
This is my most important point. Its just makes it so hard to sit through the episodes and it even makes me sad at this point as it kind of ruins any positive emotions i could develop in a scene.
The terrible sound effects in this series have even had an effect on me watching bl. As I said i haven't completely finished it, because I took a break from the whole genre as I could not take this series anymore.
I finished it and this is my most important point and the reason I wouldn't want anyone to watch this series. It can ruin your enjoyment of the BL world. BL series do like to overuse music or sound effects but this actually got me so mad.
OK If you made it this far, congrats....
Again I would like to say, this is my opinion ´.
I have seen a lot of people praise this drama to the moon and back. So i just wanted to give my two cents. And before anyone comes at me, like : you don’t have to watch it.. Yeah I know but I live to critique <3
The drama isn't finished for me so some things might change and some things might be wrong ( or I have misunderstood)
This is not intended to hate and its completely ok if this is your fav series for them same things that I don't like but this is my personal review.
Because I was in love with Saints acting in Love by chance and this is the second drama where he is featured.
Before I write more about this, even thought the series is now done, I am still on episode 9 as I could not find the motivation to watch on. SO i guess that only means I won't be able to spoiler the ending. However I do plan on finishing the series when I can bring myself to, so I do say that i could make chances to my review then.
OK I forced myself and finished it, but this review still stands and there is just nothing positive to add.
If one doesn't wanna read all my rambling, here is my recommendation :
Dont watch this. Honestly just watch a compilation on youtube and be done with it.
And I did write some of this review after I had only watched like 5/6 episodes.
Let me start with the positives :
1. That one side couple with the cats is super adorable and so well acted. Their chemistry is really natural and I wish they would have more scenes.
2. The kisses. The kisses so far have all been super well acted ( expect for like the accidental one at the beginning but I don't think one can act that well, its just always a bit awkward)
OK now to the negatives and given my rating right now, its obvious there will be a few more.
1. character development. This is just my standpoint but who even are those people I am watching. I felt like Tutors and Fighters supposed introductions to their backgrounds was just missed. The introduction to ZON was super weird. It gave so many unnecessary and annoying details about him but they are never mentioned again. Like him wanting to be a serious writer and having problems at school. Till now I have not seen that impact his behavior or the story at all! And they wasted an entire episode on that! And now the parenst just seem to completely changed their minds ….
And who is Saifa (probably spelled that super wrong) Like we only see him in scenes with ZON. Who is he? What does he want? or Think? He seemed cheeky at first but now behaves like a lost puppy.
Ok but back to Tutor. Like I watched the series I didnt skip or anything. But like WHAT ? He has the most complicated backstory and even had his sister visit who mentioned his mother. But I was like. Wait he has a sister? Why wasn't he going to her for help in the first place? What is going on with the mother? Is she sick? Why was this not the first episode?
Ok here after I finished it and I wanna say what even is Tutors character. He has like 20 character changes from sassy to super soft to outright dumb to outright mean and unnecessary. I mean parading a new guy in front of his ex !! For no real reason ...? Just so he'd really get the message? But also not being courageous enough to stand up to the dad or tell the bf the truth ?
And Hand in hand with that goes the father character. The entire series he was shown to be hard headed and only focused on what was in his best interest. I mean he made his own son date the daughter of his gf/ business partner ? That is pretty messed up and then he also made his son and bf break up.
But one confrontation with the son and yep he has completely changed his ways. Do we see a reason for that or even get to see how it happens ? OHHHH NOOOO. We just get to hear about on a FaceTime call !?
Also Zon just has a character change ok ? From totally not into S to totally into him. Way too fast.
Ok also another point about the characters. there are a lot! But so many aren't introduced properly! I am still learning names and I was on ep 7. But I am still like : Right who was that guy again ? ( Yeah these characters never really come back but I don't blame them for it. )
2. The editing! Omg who is in charge there. they need to go. Most scenes go on wayyyyy too long and get draggy or annoying. Some shots are also really unnecessary. It overall drags the quality of the drama down. Its only little things but with almost every scene I am yelling cut at my screen for about 20 seconds before the scene ends.
OK I am just gonna edit this until I can actually post it. So new episode was the one with Fighter and Tutor at the beach and the editing in the first two seconds just killed me again. Because there was a random black screen? WHY?
3. the acting. OK this might be one of my biggest disappointments. Like what is going on? Did they sometimes only have time for one take? And even if it was terrible they were like: Ah we will take it!? I don't totally blame the actors for this and as the series goes on I am seeing an improvement in the quality of acting. But there was this one scene, where S. didn't want Zon to leave and he said with the most monotone voice : Don't leave or wait.. and then got up, turned around, sat down, put his guitar away ..... looked AT the camera and the looked at Zon. It just looked more like what you would see in a student theater then in a series which wants to be taking seriously. Also Saints acting especially in the crying scene didn't really touch me at all. I mean like one tear ... fair enough. But the reason for that could also be that I didn't understand where the character was coming from.
OK now with a few more episodes under my belt, it seems the acting is just gonna stay meh the whole time.
Btw I do think the kissing scenes are relatively well acted for both couples. However having watched many Bl and also gay storylines from all over the world, I feel like even the kissing scenes aren't world class.
4. The cliches. OK I get it you wanna parody other BLs but in my opinion it would have been better to parody with an original story and not with one of the most basic storylines out there. The cliches don't seem out of place and funny, they just remind me how much better that scene fitted that other series. And I don't think thats what they wanted to achieve.
I think they are starting to completely give up on that so ….
5. The directing/ scriptwriting As I said before scenes go on for too long. But also the dialogue is just weird and so choppy sometimes. It feels like they only focused on the end goal and didnt care to make the conversation natural or anything. However i can't completely judge as the subtitles have been off a lot. But this is also a negative point. Giving correct subtitles is hard (tell me about it, I am writing this in my second language) but that isn't really an excuse to put out wrong and off subtitles. It would have been better if they took their time with subs and had them released when reviewed instead of releasing subs that sometimes sounded like it was just put in google translate.
This is also getting better and I don't think there was an issue in the last episode I watched. So it is getting better on that front. Yep got a lot better. Seems like the sub issue is solved. So definitive positive there. I do respect that they fixed it and it appears there was no more issue until the end.
6. Also the errors. I usually don't mind them. Like first cut papers on the table, second close shot no papers anymore. But i have sometimes seen like 5 small errors in one episode and they should really try to pay better attention to those details as it takes on out of the series.
Ok I will say the animation is really creative. Not really necessary but fair enough.
7. Another thing I dislike at this point is the time management. Like I have sometimes no clue what time it is or why a character is where they are right now. This became really difficult for me to bear. Like ZON was at uni having a talk and suddenly he is on the street in a different outfit and hangs out with S. Like why are they there? Cute scenes but didnt you guys like not get along 5 min ago? Why the sudden montage? Is this also a joke/parody?
It kind of feels this series is sacrificing good dialogue, story and character development for comedy/parody. The issue is that in the end its not that funny and one is left very confused.
8. Ok now the overly gay sidecharcters. Anyone who has watched Bl knows about them. And i usually really dont mind them. I would like it if they weren't just used at comical relief and instead could get some more character depth but you know...... I will take what I can get. But in this series they aren't funny because there is too much. There are the four friends who scream all the time. Then there is Tutors first boss and Tutors second boss. Almost everybody they meet is overacting all the time! It gets so annoying that it really frustrates me sometimes.
9. I will add another point of dislike and that is how the screentime and the episodes are divived. The first episode was all about ZON and kind of gave the feeling that he is the only main character. Then we had two / three episodes with so many characters and couples that it was impossible to keep up and now the episodes just focus on either one of the main couples. Even though I do prefer the style they are going with now (focusing one couple for development) it just kind of feels like it was 5 directors working on this thing and for each episode someone else got to call the shots. It just doesn’t feel like one piece. Also I have forgotten most of the side couples and I am wondering why they were introduced in the first place if they aren’t gonna be at all developed.
Well this didnt really get better, but I do get that some scenes weren't shot in time and with the pandemic going on that completely understandable. Please reader do keep in mind that I wrote this on episodes even before the corona issue turned up, that is why I am leaving it in.
10. The plot. What is the plot? I am just lost on this front and I also don't quite get where the series wants to go with the characters and the whole: he believes he is in a gay fan fiction. Btw i would have liked it if he didnt just meet random gay couples in only the first two episodes. It would have been great if that feeling would have pulled through.
OK now I am still not sure what the series is trying to get across. It again feels like they either had no message or just too many to really get anything across. Probably have to finish the series to really make this point, so take it with a grain of salt.
Nope finished it and I am sitting here, thinking what a waste of time ! I mean what was the message ?! Also the whole break up thing was terrible and we had to have it. A small sexual assault !!!! I mean come on, it was the only thing i could still give the series credit for, but they went and did it anyway !
9. Now the thing I HATE about this series which actually made me write this. THE SOUNDEFFECTS. NO! There are too much, they are super annoying and its gotten that bad that i sometimes mute the series as I just can't with whatever the sound team is doing. The effects are placed randomly and without thought or sense. Like we would have this serious moment interrupted by a squeak! And some other random noises! I could pretty much bear with all the other flaws of this series but this is the main reason for it to consider one of the worst bls i have ever watched. Ok add on for episode 9, please for the love of god. The first 5 minutes and anytime someone moves their head its accompanied by a squeak! It does get a bit better but not that much. It really feels like the sound team was hired for a childrens cartoon and the just got the wrong series. OK and I think it was in episode 8 there is a random fart noise.. no context! My friend and I replayed that so many times and it is getting to a point where this drama is its own parody.
This is my most important point. Its just makes it so hard to sit through the episodes and it even makes me sad at this point as it kind of ruins any positive emotions i could develop in a scene.
The terrible sound effects in this series have even had an effect on me watching bl. As I said i haven't completely finished it, because I took a break from the whole genre as I could not take this series anymore.
I finished it and this is my most important point and the reason I wouldn't want anyone to watch this series. It can ruin your enjoyment of the BL world. BL series do like to overuse music or sound effects but this actually got me so mad.
OK If you made it this far, congrats....
Again I would like to say, this is my opinion ´.
I have seen a lot of people praise this drama to the moon and back. So i just wanted to give my two cents. And before anyone comes at me, like : you don’t have to watch it.. Yeah I know but I live to critique <3
The drama isn't finished for me so some things might change and some things might be wrong ( or I have misunderstood)
This is not intended to hate and its completely ok if this is your fav series for them same things that I don't like but this is my personal review.
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