A Story of Perseverance Despite Setbacks

The Days is an 8 Episode drama series based on true events on the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Disaster in March 2011. If you’re interested in disaster dramas, then this drama is for you.

The drama follows Yoshida, the station manager, during his struggle with trying to keep the station stable. He has to balance out the lives of his colleagues and subordinates, and also his commands from senior TOEPCO management and the Japanese government. He has many ethical dilemmas that we as a viewer, feel the struggles of making these difficult decisions. The time following Yoshida, is also interspersed with time following various teams working on the effort to restore the station to safety.

It has many incredibly tense and emotional moments - that really put yourself in the situation. Especially if you watch the episodes back to back, it makes you feel the stress the teams must have felt during the days after the tsunami.

By the end of the last episode, the drama places most of the blame between the Japanese government and TOEPCO - which after researching the incident in more detail, I would very much agree.

There were some points where there is some technical jargon which is not necessarily explained, so you may feel slightly confused, but often the jargon that isn’t explained isn’t necessary for the story. However, one thing that can be slightly confusing is when they discuss the pressures for the various units, and as we move from one unit to another it can be confusing onto what the status of the various units and which one is in danger for example.

If you like apocalyptic or disaster dramas, then do watch this show! I was gripped each episode, and wanted to know how things evolve. And even if you know the ending with the real life situation, it is still incredibly gripping and is a must watch.

Read More

Slow but Wholesome BL! Wash your heart!

I was initially quite hesitant to watch Minato Shouji Coin Laundry. Much like a lot of people, I think the thought of a 10-year age gap with the younger being still in high school worried me. But I have to say that after watching the series, although there were times I was questioning Minato’s inability to outright refuse advances from a 17 year old, Shin’s persistence and the fact that it’s generally a wholesome show in general made me feel much more at ease. I think it also helps that the actors themselves are not necessarily far in age with Kusakawa-san being in his late twenties but Nishigaki-san being in his early 20s in real-life.

If you enjoy really slow romance BLs then this show is for you! With 12 episodes, it’s a lot longer in episode count than the majority of other Japanese BLs I’ve watched in the past, and the episodes are of decent length too! (I’m looking at you Korean BLs)

There were some things that did slightly confuse me however. For example, the episode where Minato’s Ex, Saki, comes to visit the laundromat. It was a slightly odd episode since we don’t really get to know what Minato was like before he took over the laundromat, and so the sudden introduction of an Ex-Girlfriend who promptly leaves by the end of the episode felt a little strange to me. Especially since there was still an overarching narrative with Sakuma-Sensei that was unresolved. To me it felt more like a filler episode more than anything.

Also, although I do enjoy slow BLs, I would have loved to have the last few episodes brought forward and have a final episode (or scene at least) seeing what they are like after Minato confesses his love to Shin.

It’s almost certainly one of my favourite BLs so far, and I would recommend watching it before Season 2 comes out in July this year!!!

Read More

A Personal Favourite

Honestly, this series might rank as my top BL from any country, even though it completely broke me and my emotions. If you’re looking for an angsty BL — this BL is for you.

The story is almost a complete genre shift compared to Season 1 — which I pegged as more of a comedy with some drama. On the other hand, this season really brought the tragic emotions of the characters to the forefront, and really found the characters having to face their burdens head on. So if you’re expecting a funny story between a ‘top star’ and ‘top chef’, this season is not it.

I think the genre shift suited the story particularly well, and really fleshed out the characters quite a bit. Season 1 felt quite superficial in its narrative, but I’m glad we really got to understand the characters a lot more.

For most of the season, we don’t know why Ji Woo truly ended the relationship — initially giving superficial reasons about Seo Joon’s habits, but hinted that it was because Ji Woo felt lonely during the relationship. Seo Joon continuously tries to coax the real reason for why Ji Woo left him, but it left with very little answers.

I must admit, being on either side of this conflict would be awful — but I do understand both of their perspectives. Ji Woo felt like he was nothing without the relationship with Seo Joon, he would always be home waiting for him, and had no support structure in Seoul. So he ran away, to try and prove to himself that he can be happy by himself. Seo Joon from the shock of suddenly finding a note to tell him that the relationship is over, continuously tries to find and then persuade Ji Woo to come back, whilst also finding out what the real reason was for breaking up with him.

I think the fact the BL felt so real, made me actually feel frustrated with Ji Woo. Other BLs I watch, I can quite easily distance myself from the characters because of the unrealistic nature of quite a few series. But for this one, I felt upset and angry (as Seo Joon did) and it broke me. I have to commend the whole cast and crew for making such a beautiful story to watch.

The cinematography was interesting and unique — compared to other shows, it used a slightly different aspect ratio — as if you were almost looking through a camera. And considering that it was almost as if we were looking back on these moments, or as if they were being told as if they were in the past, made this aspect ratio really amazing and integrated well with the story.

I also loved the interspersed flashbacks — it feels rather disorientating initially to try and grasp what is a flashback and what was the ‘present’ moment for the characters, but I think this worked in its favour as almost capturing what Seo Joon was feeling about his life.

In terms of what I disliked — there isn’t too much to dislike in my opinion. I think it is too angsty for me to watch again completely, and obviously would have loved more of an episode 10 where we can see more of them as a loving couple. But as art, to me it was almost a masterpiece. It really changed my perspective on BL and also in my own life, and I really hope we get a similar standard of BLs in the future (like in the Eighth Sense as well). As much as I love this on-screen couple and the terrific work they both showed, I kinda wish we can end with Season 2 (but if there is a Season 3, I would like only happy things please!!!)

100% Recommend!!!

Read More

A New Standard for BLs!

The Eighth Sense just came out with their final episodes on Viki and I have to say that I really really enjoyed it. The story was incredibly interesting, with good understanding and portrayal of mental health issues, I was definitely captivated from the first few episodes.

Much like other Korean BLs the episodes are fairly long (around 30-40 mins each) which gave enough time for the story to progress without seeming like things were filler.

The performances of Im Ji Sub as Jae Won and Oh Jun Taek as Ji Hyun really stood out, with fantastic portrayal of mental health struggles by Ji Sub, I think this topic not covered enough, and this was handled well in the show. I really enjoyed the slow development of their relationship, from quite awkward but interested, to openly loving each other in public. I also enjoyed the transition that Ji Hyun had after the accident, as previously he was scared and timid, but afterwards he understood what he wanted and went for it.

The supporting cast were also fantastic — Lee Mi Ra as Yoon Won really gave off that big sister energy, and really cared for both Jae Won and Ji Hyun. Joon Pyo Gave off that main side-kick energy, and although I initially didn’t like his friendship with Ji Hyun, it came to be shown how much he cared for his childhood best friend.

The cinematography was also fantastic, making the scenes really beautiful and captures the feelings of the characters. There were one or two points were the cinematography was slightly weird in my opinion. One where the lighting seemed almost ‘dream-like’ in episode 7, when Ji Hyun and Jae Won stop at a rest station, even though this wasn‘t really a dream sequence — I assume this was just because it was overly bright on the day of filming. The second quirk was when Yoon Won was crying in Episode 9, which gave quite a long and intense close-up. Personally, I think this was a slightly odd choice since this close-up shot was not really used in the rest of the series (and might have been useful in some other scenes) and was used for a supporting character rather than a main character. For me, it felt a little out of place, but I understand why it was used. I would have preferred a slightly wider shot (with Jae Won cropped out), to show her loneliness. But again, this is more of a nitpick more than anything.

Lastly, I really really loved Episode 10. So many BLs that I’ve previously watched and enjoyed, made me feel like I just broke up with someone because a lot of these series just ends so abruptly. The main couple usually just kisses we assume they live a happy life, and then end of story. But I’m really glad we got to see the ‘aftermath’ of Ji Hyun and Jae Won reuniting again — it made for an incredibly satisfying close to the series. For that reason, I’m quite satisfied if this series doesn’t get a Season 2 as I think this was a neat closure. But it would be interesting to find out how Jae Won would navigate his mental health problems with Ji Hyun by his side and also his relationship with his parents. Although Jae Won did say he would never make Ji Hyun sad ever again…

Regardless, I really enjoyed the series, and would lone to have Ji Sub and Jun Taek back for future BLs (hopefully together again as an on-screen couple!) but I do wish them and the rest of the cast and crew, an amazing career! I will be watching both closely in the future!!

Read More