This is probably what being high feels like...

I wouldn't know but I really felt like I was either high on drugs or in those rom-com comas where the female lead dreams of falling in love with a hot guy. Except what I got was two hours of lucid nightmare full of violence, angst, and naked butts. There are at least 3 separate stories going on all at the same time that has somewhat of a connection but the writers have done a terrible job of making cohesive. I have a lot to say about this movie hence why I decided to write my first ever review for it.

If you expect a sweet, forbidden romance from the name and summary, you're in for a shock as I did. Do yourself a favor and look at the tag which I failed to do. Despite everything I said up to this point, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. Not because it had spectacular acting, storyline, or cinematography. In fact, it is utter nonsense and very dramatic at certain points. But they were done right in a way that sticks with your mind. I give it a 8 out of 10 just for how entertaining it was and that is what a movie should do right? I guess the appropriate term would be so bad that it's good. The fact this was my first exposure to the BL genre... and I still want to watch "Forbidden Love" (which I guess is in the same series) says a lot about me as a person.

Trying to make sense of the characters and why they do what they do is like solving a puzzle and while it does gradually gets solved, I don't know what to feel about the end result. Usually, experiences like this really make me dislike a show or a movie bc I feel as if my time was wasted. The opposite was true with this. I felt accomplished and weirdly satisfied. Every once in a while I like to look at the comment section and the other members of this secret, a mess of a fan club because that's what it exactly feels like having watched this movie.

I don't really remember much about the music tbh, which probably means they weren't that great but they weren't that bad either. I'm guessing they fit well into the scenes somehow. The quotes in between were really nice though and helped somewhat explain the story. Rewatch value is pretty low just because the beauty of it lies in the shock factor so knowing what is going to happen beforehand kind of ruins the surprise. It would be fun to watch it with someone whose never seen it before and see their reaction.

The only complaint I have is there were not enough romantic moments between the two leads, whose forbidden relationship as student and teacher was the only reason I even checked this movie out. Most of the screen time is taken up by the annoying and delusional Ichiyo who I could careless about. He's not someone to be pitied. Because of his actions, a lot of people got hurt and no excuses should be made for him just because of what happened to him.

Most Japanese movies/dramas, in general, are a trip but they really do a good job of getting you to feel for the characters amidst the over-the-top plot. Overall, Boys Love was a rollercoaster, a very confusing and bumpy one. But like rollercoasters, you won't forget the trill you just experienced. Once in a while, it just randomly creeps into my mind. I will probably remember it for the rest of my days and for that I appreciate it. It shouldn't work but somehow it does: a true enigma.

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A hot mess.

I'm all for having preferences and respecting other's opinions but the fact this has a 7.9 just baffles me. And the fans are STILL insisting it deserves a higher rating and the only reason why some people rated it low is bc their endgame didn't happen smh.

Regardless of whom ended up with whom, it was a mess. I remember watching it when it was airing on cable but decided to rewatch it after seeing the high rating. . Trust me, the writing was so bad that by episode 12, I could care less about any one of them and this had my boy Park Haejin in it. So it isn't about rating it low bc my endgame didn't happen like some people are saying.

It is genuinely a hot mess of a story that never decided what it wanted to be. An action-thriller? A serious medical drama? A melodrama? A romcom? I rooted for Kang Sora's heiress and Park Haejin's shady genius to be together anyway so I'm pretty unbiased when it comes to the "who is the female lead?" debacle. I could care less about that.

Logic and reason do not apply to Doctor Stranger which works in some romcoms but again, this was trying so hard to be a serious action/medical drama that the inconsistencies eventually tore away at anything good it had going on. It honestly deserves a lower rating but some people enjoyed the eye candy, I guess.

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