Lovely in every way

I loved it. This could have been my all time comfort show.

I haven't watched the all the other "minami kun no koibito" shows so I don't know how different it is from them, but this show is such an underrated gem and I wish all the romance lovers watched it.

The main couple is the definition of a healthy relationship. They share a passion for basketball, support each other no matter what, communicate, discuss about anything and nothing, understand each other perfectly... Hell, Chiyomi was even happy when they fought for the first time, if that isn't healthy then I don't know what is. I'm a sucker for healthy couples so they're definitely in my top 3 Jdrama favorite couples.
There was litterally nothing I didn't love about the story and the characters. The relationships between Chiyomi's family members were sweet, strong and deep and as someone who really believes that family is something you find not something you have from birth, their dynamics really warmed my heart.
Everything was perfect: the characterization, the problematics, the humor, the romance, the music....

Then it took a turn.
I'm not against tragic events in sweet stories, and I still think the topic was handled well all the way to the end. But I think the director tried to take two paths and all it did was leaving me with a bittersweet taste.
The thing when you start a story as sweet and funny as this one, is that if you make it end in a tragic event, the audience won't expect it at all and the shock might not be to everyone's taste. It is not to mine. I started watching it because I wanted a light and sweet drama to get things off my head, and here I am still crying as I'm writing this review lol.

Still, I cherish this story a lot and I hope to see more couples like these two for upcoming romances!

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So much peace my anxiety is cured

This was a very nice, peaceful and refreshing ride. It's very slow and there's not much happening, but it's far from boring.

Here are stuff I really enjoyed:
-On's change of character. In the manga, he is a very cheerful kid, who's excited about everything from the beginning and he's very expressive, so the exact opposite of On in the drama. I like this version better, I think they portrayed well a teenager who's lived in a big city his whole life, without making him a spoiled brat. They kept his curious and thoughtful personality but it's more subtle and realistic.
-Their relationship with their parents is so refreshing. I was expecting them to be the tipical strict parents who'd try to force their kids to live according to the plan they had for them and then realize at the end what they truly need for their happiness, but instead they were supportive from the beginning and amazingly gentle. The scene where they share a meal all together and when the mom comforts On about his choice of life almost made me cry.
-The food, obviously. it's not the first time I watch a japanese drama where food is such an important topic, but there's something about this one that not only made me hungry, but it also made me want to cook for my friends. It makes you want to take your time cooking and really enjoy the making process.
-Yui's presence is much more important in the drama than in the manga, and I think it's such a good thing. You can really see how him being there helps On throughout his journey of learning.

Room for improvement:
-The whole speaking to animals thing. I'm not sure because I watched it in raw and I'm not fluent in japanese yet so I might have missed something, but I think they said that as a tengu he could speak to animals, yet we only hear the dog speaking. I would have loved to see other animals step into the picture, even if it's just a little. Also, There were no real conversations with Mugi. Most of the time, he's just making small comments that don't have any impact on the characters or the scenario, and I think it would have been so nice for him and On or Motoi to have some real conversations. It would have deepened the meaning of being a tengu, for us as the audience and for On.
-Motoi's lack of reaction at the end. Although he is has a calm personality and tries to keep a poker face all the time, we can see clearly how On's presence's moves him emotionally. So, it would have been great at the end to see how really touched he is by On's departure. It could have been a nice final touch to the connection they built since he showed gradually more of his vulnerable side as the show went on.

Overall, it was super sweet and I can't wait for season two to air!

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Simple and Cute

I liked it. It's nothing much: not much drama, not much budget, not much rythm.... but if you take it as it is, it's actually quite cute and heart warming.

The plot itself is kind of cliché and you know right away how it's going to end. Still, their journey through married life is endearing and the mains are sweet both individually and together. If you're used to japanese cheesy acting, their awkward and quirky moments will have your heart.

There are specific moments that I particularly enjoyed, such as, for example, the whole 'being intimate without love' thing. It was unexpected from this kind of dramas that usually either never mention s*x or on the opposite make a giant deal out of it as if the characters were teenagers.
Also, I liked the dynamic between the two. I'm so sick of dramas where the man (or the more masculine figure in case of BL/GL) is always in control of his feelings and whatever evolvs around them, especially when he's a CEO or something similar. They always act like nothing can surprise them and always stay put while the feminine figure panics on their own. Here, Donose actually panics a lot and Miyagi is as much in control as he is.
Their acting, especially in the few crisis scenes, was awesome. (SPOILER) The scene in Ep 8 where Miyabi comes back after running away, when Donose tries to talk to her and then kiss her when she tries to leave again was phenomenal.

Now, I do think that it was long and a bit boring sometimes too. More than anything, I rolled my eyes around the last episodes each time they listed to themselves all the reasons they liked each other, because they kept bringing up the same 2-3 things each time as if they had shared nothing else during the 6 months (like Miyabi saying that Donose let her be herself and always refer to that one and only time where he said she should get the dress she wants) I don't know if this is a poor decision from the director or if they didn't have enough budget to shoot other scenes but yeah, that made the romance a bit more superficial.
The end was also too abrupt for me. Once again, maybe it's because of budget but they should have shorten all the flashbacks and "lost in thoughts" moments to leave space for a longer ending with a more impactful redemption process and maybe more of their happy married life at the end.

To conclude, it was a nice watch, perfect if you're not looking for something too deep. People are being harsh on this one and I think those who like simple and sweet romances should give it a try.

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Pretty nice to kill the time

I'll start first by saying that I watched this after Love in the air, which I hated, and that I'm pretty new to thai BLs.
I liked it overall and was surprised in a good way by many aspects, first because I've disliked almost all the thai BLs i've watched so far and second because it was written by Mame which, even if I'm still new, I have already identified as being a red flag itself. There is a looot to say so I guess I'm just going to list all the things I liked and disliked.

What I liked:
-Mahasamut. He was sweet, determined, a bit naive but not stupid, sensitive and overall his characterization made sense. I liked how he gave his all for Tongrak while staying human and getting actually hurt and angry with him. So many dramas (not just thai but japanese and Korean too) have completely unrealistic love interests who stay put whatever happens to them, but Mahasamut actually breaks down when he gets rejected and resents Tongrak. The scene where he cries in front of Meena and her mom is my favorite.
-The side characters. Almost none of them were ignored or felt out of place. Meena was very well written and the actress did an amazing job, Vie was a great best friend and her storyline was also interesting, Tongrak's father was a very good villain because he used manipulation rather than actual violence which is pretty realistic when it comes to family relationships, his mom, although never seen on screen, was always omnipresent which kept her mysterious while very important and I enjoyed this choice of the director. Also a big plus which you might undersand if you watch a lot of Thai BL: WOMEN. I haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate how most of the Bls i've watched act as if women don't exist. I don't need them to be the center of attention, they're not the reason I watch BLs, but still I find it so ridiculous how writers go out of their way to have close to 0 female character appear on screen. Here, there's not only a lesbian couple, but all the women have a significant role.
-The scenario ovreall was pretty nice. It wasn't revolutionary, it lacked a few things that I'm gonna develop more below, but most of it had an easy and enjoyable flow that kept me hooked all the way to the end.
-I feel like the main couple had more chemistry than in LITA. The se*ual tension between the two was on point, and there were many moments where I found their proximity endearing, such as when Tongrak hugs Mut after he got beaten up, or the few times they cuddle in bed.
-No communication problem. Loved it. I hate when miscommunication is the center of the issue.

Now onto what I didn't like:
-Tongrak. Basically Sky 2.0, I know everyone is saying this but it's true. Except that Sky had that sassy attitude which I liked a lot. Rak is just a spoiled brat. Also, his characterization was all over the place. From the beginning, even on the Island, he keeps contradicting himself. He is introduced as this bratty rich guy who wants to hate Mut just because, but the second Mut gets close to him he flirts back, then he has this lovey dovey moment where he wants to stay with Mut but when they go to Bangkok he's back to pretending he doesn't care about him, etc.... He had a few badass moments (with Prin in the vip room for example) which were nice, but otherwise he's just a big baby and even if his trauma made sense, it felt too close to Sky's so nothing too exciting. Also a small detail that doesn't even matter but still: They keep saying how he has so much booze and keeps drinking. Never saw him drunk or even just drink once. Rookie writer mistake of telling but not showing.
-Mahasamut being pictured as the ultimate island lover, then going to Bangkok and never mention it again, not even showing once a bit of homesickness, then go back and all the sudden he cannot live without his island.
-Vie and Mook's relationship getting mostly skipped over. At some point Mook is desperate and completly avoiding Vie, then next thing you know they're dating. And that was in the special episode, in the official ending we never hear from their relationship again. I would have loved to see how they got close again, to see Mook finally accept that Vie is not just playing with her, to have Vie appologize and explain that she treated Mook badly just cuz she thought it was the only way to keep her close. And they were pictured as the second couple, not just some random side characters, so that was pretty disappointing.
-I swear to god all these guys had to do was call the police on the father, it was so frustrating to see everything go down without them even mentionning it once (actually they did mention it once, but it was after everything was over already)

As a last point, because we cannot escape it when talking about Mame's stories, let's talk about the toxicity.
Some people seem to think that it was super toxic. I don't share this opinion, and I'm not saying that just because there were no sexual assault like in other dramas, but because everyone stays in control all the time. Yes, paying for someone's company and treating them like a toy is pretty toxic. But Mahasamut is not in a weak position, he is never cornered, he knows exactly what he wants and has willingly signed the contract. Same for Tongrak, he can back up from the contract whenever he wants, and even if Mahasamut is very assertive most of the time, the few times where he actually is serious about needing space, Mut respects it.
What I find the most toxic in a lot of dramas is how one of the main (usually the Top/ more masculine figure) is always in control of everything. It'd be too long to explain but I'm sure some people know what I'm talking about. Here, it's not the case. Mahasamut is just some simple guy who goes along with the situation, and Tongrak tries to be in control but in the end they're always on the same level. So for me, it was not toxic, and that's very refreshing. Still, I found it weird how everyone (Rak, his mother, Connor, Prin) had a relationship with someone they initially paid for. Not sure that paying for love is such a common thing in Thailand, yet they treated it as if it was super normal.

I'll finish by saying that I was surprised that most people didn't like this drama, cuz out of all the thai dramas I've watched this is the only one I would recommend to someone even if it was not perfect. I'll keep watching new ones in hope to find gold.

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The celebration of life's inevitable mess

Truly a masterpiece.

I was hesitant to watch it because I know some dramas treat cheating in many diffrent ways that I usually don't agree of, especially when a gay relationship is involved, but I loved the way they managed it in this one.

The story really goes accross every possible subject: from cheating's consequences, emotionally and socially, to relationships between younger and older, family values, self confidence, and many other things. It showed us realistically messy events without over dramatizing everything, and even if there's a lot going on the rythm was perfect and I didn't feel lost at any point. Also, it was not a comedy per say but the acting was so on point that it made me laugh out loud quite a few times as much as it made me angry or sad.

The characters we also super complex and I loved it. I think I had mixed feelings with all of them at some point, hating or loving, except for the sister whom I obviously hated but I think her being a b**ch was perfect, because I believe the audience needs more simple characters to focus and enjoy the complex ones.

Here are some stuff I didn't like (!spoilers!):
-Yuya and Yuria's relationship went a bit too back and forth, so much that I was not really moved by the break up scene (like, we've seen it all already)
-There were so many cheating events aside from the main one, like I think all of the characters had a cheating experience. So, it's hard to believe in a long lasting love between the two main couples when cheating is so normalized
-Riku. At first I loved him, I thought his attitude was wholesome and his bitter moments were relatable, but it started to get weird when he blamed Yuria for seeing someone else. It got a little bit better after wards, but then came the aggression scene. I didn't understand this scene at all. Like, I get it you're upset. I get it you can blow out. But I really don't understand what was his goal by tying up Goro and making Yuria strip?? and with a knife?? And then suddenly he says some deep stuff about Yuria fighting for her life and they forgive him like it's nothing?? So yeah, I found it difficult to sympathize with him afterwards.

Overall, I loved this show and I recommend it strongly to anyone who, like me, believes that family is something you find rather than being a simple blood related thing. Also, if you're here for the BL content, then I don't think it's what you're looking for, but if you enjoy the complexity of love and different relationships, then once again you should absolutely go for it!

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Disapointed

It was my first thai drama. I watched it because I've loved asian romance dramas for a long time and I've heard a lot about it. I thought it was going to be that sexy, steamy dark romance and I think that's really what they tried to do with this drama, but it was so poorly done.

Let's talk about the things I liked first:
- Porsche. His actor was awesome, I liked his character and the fact that he was not just super cool but also kinda stupid and careless.
-The fight/action scenes were really well done and choreographed, and I particularly loved the last two episodes, they were super intense.
-Vegas and Pete. Their relationship was messed up, dark, touching, intense, and they were both awesome as individual characters. I saw a review that said that this couple made them want to skip Kinn/porsche's scenes and I agree. If they hadn't been there, I would have dropped the serie probably.

Now onto everything I hated
First of all, Kinn is such a poorly written character. They say he is super cruel but then he's always super nice with Porsche from the beginning, and he is stupid as hell, always making the bad decisions. I also could not connect with his actor at all. The relationship between Kinn/porsche seemed forced, I truly did not find any chemistry in there and I think it's mainly because of Kinn. And they act all lovey dovey super quick, and then it doesn't go deeper from there. Also, most of their shared intimacy happened when Porsche was drunk or drugged, and it takes a super long time before they actually do anything when he is sober.
Also, I liked the comedy and laughed quite a few times, but the balance between the comedy and the drama was not handled well. Like, no, I don't want to see Porsche farting on Kinn under the cover in between two scenes of Pete getting molested.
I said I liked porsche, but it's so annoying how he did almost nothing right. He just got fooled and manipulated throughout the whole drama.
One thing that is very personal, but there were litterally no women in that drama. Yok and Porsche's mother were there I guess but it was so quick and they had no impact on the plot. I'm sure I could time how many minutes we see a woman on screen and it'd be not more than 10 minutes out of 14 hours. I know it's a BL so it's normal for women to have less importance but at that point it was just ridiculous.
And to finish, the f is that ending?? Do they expect us to be happy for them, when Kohn manipulated them all the way, and yet they still believed him in the end and accepted the offer to become head of the minor family?? When they showed us porsche's memory of his parent's death, it showed that Kohn was standing and Gun was sitting, which fits gun's version of the story. So in the end, gun was right? So Porsche has been manipulated all the way till the end, although he said his dream would be to have a bar at the beach and we've seen him trying to get away from the family across the whole drama, and yet they expect us to consider this a happy ending? I know we could say it's not a happy ending, but they handled it as if it was.

To conclude, I don't think I wasted my time cuz it was overall pretty fun to watch but still I was left bored and frustrated most of the time.

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Good story, mid romance

After reading some of the comments here, i was expecting something super cliché and boring, but I was surprised in a good way. I liked it overall, I think the rythm was good and the topic was interesting.

Now, I think the main reason I liked it is, being queer myself, I rarely see realistic queer representation in BLs or GLs. Which is fair, since the target is straight women who'd like to enjoy a nice romance, not really actual queer people. The lgbtq+ matters in these romances are often ignored: no homophobia, no identity questionning, no other representation than the main couple... I'm not blaming them, I actually enjoy these romances too.
But after watching athlete I realized how much I actually missed a more realistic perspective on those matters. Not only did the movie talk about Homophobia, it also portrayed accurately the struggle of coming out, of facing your family who has always known you under a certain light and you're not sure they'd understand, of actually understanding the problematics and not just fall in love, and on top of everything, being part of a community.
Although some of the BL/GLs I've seen before do go over the main problematics of being queer, I've rarely (maybe never) seen one that actually depicts the lgbtq+ community. This movie did, and I loved it. The final scene when they talk about priscilla was super touching, and I loved that Kouhei actually gets to learn about the people in that bar and grows close to them rather than just fall in love with a guy and try to understand only him.

Now digging into the main relationship. The open ending didn't bother me. The relationship was pretty unstable from the start, so I wasn't even expecting a happy ending. However, I understand the people saying that it was too much of a mess. The couple raises a lot of topics and problematics: Being a prostitute, cheating, jealousy, being ashamed of their relationship, etc... but even if they reconsciliate at the end, they never actually solve the problems. They never communicate about their feelings, they just blame the other for doing something wrong and that's it. Maybe that's why I don't mind the open ending, because I could see this story expand and have a sequel where Kouhei finds another boyfriend with whom he actually has a healthy relationship, and Yuta would be an important part of his journey but not the finality.
I'm a big fan of "show don't tell", so I also didn't mind them not saying "I love you"s and stuff, but still I was annoyed how they didn't kiss once without having sex right after. Knowing that this story really wasn't about lust, I think that was a pretty weird choice. Also, the first two times were fine but the love making on the beach was just straight up ridiculous. The movement were so weird, the choreography was really bad.
The acting otherwise was ok I guess but I did laugh out loud when that kid started crying in Kouhei's arms at the pool. The acting really ruined the scene there.

To conclude, I think it was a pretty bad BL but it was an good queer story and I'd definitely recommend it to people who look for something a bit more twisted than simple romance.

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Well that was... something?

I enjoyed it overall. Japanese horror is always a bit unhinged and morally disturbing, so I was not too taken aback but yeah, it was a shitshow hahahah. It kind of reminded me of Grand Guignol.
I haven't read the manga and I felt a bit confused at some point, but it was nothing to bothersome. Stuff like the reason for Zera's goal and crazyness, for exemple.
I loved the acting, the cast did a really great job, especially Tamiya, and the characters were all great (I mean, as characters, not as people obviously). One thing tho, at the beginning they introduce the characters with one clear stereotypical role/personality each: like there's the nerd, the emo, the stupid, etc... so I thought they were going to be caricatures, but then they dropped it and those roles were no longer portrayed at all throughout the movie. Which I think is great, I would have hated caricatures, but then why introduce them like that in the first place?
I was also confused with how they handled Daff. The whole Tamiya, Daff, Kaneda thing was super wholesome, and I was expecting them to die and feel sad about it. And you can see it's what the director tried to do: make you sad about the original hikari club getting crushed. But then why have Daff do such a shameful thing? I mean, just touching a woman and wanking to it already made me lose all sympathy I had for him, but they made it even worse by showing everything, in the most humiliating/shameful way. So in the end I was like "Poor Kaneda and Tamiya for losing what they loved the most, but Daff you can die idc." Which isn't what the director was aiming for I would guess.
The colorimetry was awesome, it was really beautiful to watch. And I'm not a fan of gore but it was ok I guess, and although it wasn't very realistic it was not too ridiculous either. Except for the guy who got thrown against the wall, I laughed so hard at that one.
Anyway, don't watch it if you don't like being morally challenged and if you don't like gore, otherwise, go for it!

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Such a refreshing story

I loved it!

I loved the trope already with BL drama no Shuen ni narimashita, but I was left disapointed from the lack of proximity between the mains.
This drama goes exactly like I would have imagined the trope to carry on, but still in some surprising ways that got me hooked each episode. The slow burn was on point, the ending was so satisfying and their proximity at the end was awesome.

Here are a few things I specifically liked:
-The romance (obviously lol): I often find JBLs annoying for dragging us through never ending conversations rather than actual actions, and a lot of time they promise each other the moon before even having their first kiss which feels very childish. Here, the romance feels much more real. They cannot tell each other feeling's but they constantly make moves on each other, and they just go with the flow rather than making long confessions with tones of promises.
-Hayama. Although I would have liked to see the more sensible or goofy side of him, I found his quietness endearing. I wouldn't be able to tell why him specifically, when I usually dislike characters that act like Christian Gray (like takashi in Love is better the second time around), but there is something in his character that just makes me want to hug him.
-The music was super nice and recognisable, which is not very common in JBLs.

Here are some stuff I didn't like:
-Shirazaki: Nothing wrong with his character, although he was pretty cliché, but something about his posture and expressions bothered me and made some scenes awkward.
-Sakuma was a pretty nice character and I wish we'd see more of him. Maybe in season 2? if there will be any.
-Sooo many clichés and other stuff we've seen a hundred times in Japanese romance. The main's insecurity, the lack of communication, the hug before the kiss, the top being in love first, the super stiff first kiss, etc... But I guess it's ok because contributes to making it a comfort show.

Overall, I loved this show and I'm sure a lot of people will enjoy it too!

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Stands out amongst the normies

So, I've seen almost every JBL there is to see. Here are the two things I hate the most about these stories: problems mainly based on miscommunication, and main characters who have a broom up their a** (french expression to say they are super stiff, don't know how to act or to speak out their mind). These two things were very present in "Our Dining Table" (which I hated, partly for these reasons), so I honestly didn't expect much from this drama. And given how it started, I thought I was going to hate it, but it won me over episode after episode.

Let's start with what people have criticized the most: Taishin.
I see where everyone's coming from. This guy has an annoying voice, cries all the time, acts like a child when he's a whole 19 yo, and, on top of all, changes school to stalk a complete stranger he met once and makes his whole life about that guy.
I agree with a lot of people that it is weird/toxic. It's also pretty ironic after how well they handled the old stalker guy chapter: They gave us the awesome message that even if someone only wants the best for you, it doesn't make it ok for them to follow you around. And then there is a whole Taishin doing the exact same thing and the only times it's adressed are when Takara calls him weird (like twice and they never mention it again).
Now, I would have been pissed by it too but here is the thing: Taishin is clueless to everything. The writers have decided to make him an actual adult child who doesn't even know that homosexuality exists before Takara mentions it. He thinks that life is simple, everyone is nice, and everything is fun to discover, etc... like an actual child. The director decided to make him more of a caricature, so people either hate or love it, but I think it works well because they left no gray area around his characterization.
Also, although he has all these personnality traits that can be annoying, he also has a few nice traits that got me to like him. Like how he speaks his mind all the time (no communication problem, yay!) and how he has hobbys and friends!!! The insane amount of Japanese romances where the main character doesn't have any hobby, interest, or any intention of interracting with other people than the love interest really itches me each time. Taishin likes his bird, hiking, is close to his family, cares about making friends and actually interacts with his friend group. I know it sounds like my standard are very low but it really changes the dynamics a lot. At last, yeah he cries a lot, but he is also super smily and that's just so adorable.

Now onto Takara.
He is your regular, handsome and mysterious love interest that is too cool to talk to mc at first but will fall in love while staying cool and oh god never show too much of his feelings.
Yeah, I'm not fond of this kind of characterization. I didn't really mind it because it's so common I'm used to it by now, but also because he had a great developpment. I like how he actually let himself be seduced little by little by Taishin although he didn't fall in love with him at first sight like in 90% of jbls where the more masculine figure falls in love first. At first he is weirded out and then he finds himself attracted to the small things Taishin does, never anything crazy, so it makes their love very sweet, simple and pure.
1 thing that bothere me about him though: He said twice that he was afraid he'd do something Taishin doesn't like because, just like his mother, when he wants something he doesn't let go. But not a single time did he hurt Taishin because of this. Like, yeah he was nonchalant, yeah he ignored Taishin at first because that's what he does with most people, but none of this has to do with the fact that he doesn't let go of what he wants. And he is actually super nice with Taishin throughout the whole show in his own way. The only moment we see a glimpse of him reaching for what he wants is that scene when he says it for the first time and almost kisses Taishin (very hot btw, mind you) and when he collects marbles, which is totally harmless. There's this thing in screenwriting called "show, don't tell" and I think they messed it up with Takara's characterization because he keeps saying he's a bad guy but never acts like it even once.

But in the end I think I actually got to like him because of their dynamic as a couple. I'm so happy we got to see them grow and spend time together as a couple where in most shows we have to wait until the last episode for them to get together and then we never know how they actually work. And although they are a bit distant at the beginning, they are far from having brooms up their a** (love that expression) as they actually act like a couple and don't hesitate to make move on each other.

That spin off wrapped it up perfectly, giving us the satisfaction of knowing that they won't let go of each other but still leaving space for a second season (I'll be praying lol). I just didn't get the point of the girl who wrote about them. I wish they had split it in two episode so that we'd actually know more about her and get to follow her a bit longer along her info-fishing adventure. It overall felt rushed and unecessary with how little she appeared.

So, overall, I don't think this JBL is revolutionary, I'm probably not going to rewatch it but it was a nice and sweet journey that made me look forward to mondays for a few weeks!

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