Kdrama Feminist
England
This review is for all the non-BL fans out there! Or people who tend not to click this genre (like me).
I've talked before about how I don't really like BLs because they fetishize and make gay romances really fanservicey. (this isn't a bad thing alone but when it's the ONLY/MAJORITY rep lgbt romances get then it's an uncomfortable problem that sadly I don't see changing anytime soon bc these shows are damn popular).
Well, this cute little web series is a breath of fresh air! I gave it a chance mostly because it was so short so I knew my time wouldn't be wasted and partly because of that one adorable picture I saw on twt of the leads holding pinkies which was all sorts of uwu.
The drama basically has every kdrama trope: ridiculous plot set up (in this case we have chaebol teen and his same-aged bodyguard who live together bc of... reasons?), lingering looks, stupid amounts of pining, third wheel who obviously has no chance, meddling parents. Even the finale is textbook Korean romance trope.
Which is why I adored it. Cliches are only like that when we've seen them done a million times in the exact same way over & over. But in the same way for example, it's a lot less cliche when we watch a romcom here in the west like Crazy Rich Asians after being bombarded with basically 99% white people romcoms, the set-up feels fresh despite the story following all the same beats.
Basically this is my roundabout way of saying that I liked this drama *because* it had the same format as a classic kdrama romance. Because of that, it felt like a normal kdrama that happened to star gay leads instead of a BL set out to fetishize their gay leads. The boys were adorable together and I'll mostly forgive the ridiculousness of the plot because it's such a short web-drama there's no time for me to think about it.
BL fans will love this for sure. But so will fans of kdramas who fell into them because when it comes to heart fluttering romance, Korea really is unmatched. Now imagine they make a mainstream show like this. Imagine an office romcom with gay or lesbian leads.
I've talked before about how I don't really like BLs because they fetishize and make gay romances really fanservicey. (this isn't a bad thing alone but when it's the ONLY/MAJORITY rep lgbt romances get then it's an uncomfortable problem that sadly I don't see changing anytime soon bc these shows are damn popular).
Well, this cute little web series is a breath of fresh air! I gave it a chance mostly because it was so short so I knew my time wouldn't be wasted and partly because of that one adorable picture I saw on twt of the leads holding pinkies which was all sorts of uwu.
The drama basically has every kdrama trope: ridiculous plot set up (in this case we have chaebol teen and his same-aged bodyguard who live together bc of... reasons?), lingering looks, stupid amounts of pining, third wheel who obviously has no chance, meddling parents. Even the finale is textbook Korean romance trope.
Which is why I adored it. Cliches are only like that when we've seen them done a million times in the exact same way over & over. But in the same way for example, it's a lot less cliche when we watch a romcom here in the west like Crazy Rich Asians after being bombarded with basically 99% white people romcoms, the set-up feels fresh despite the story following all the same beats.
Basically this is my roundabout way of saying that I liked this drama *because* it had the same format as a classic kdrama romance. Because of that, it felt like a normal kdrama that happened to star gay leads instead of a BL set out to fetishize their gay leads. The boys were adorable together and I'll mostly forgive the ridiculousness of the plot because it's such a short web-drama there's no time for me to think about it.
BL fans will love this for sure. But so will fans of kdramas who fell into them because when it comes to heart fluttering romance, Korea really is unmatched. Now imagine they make a mainstream show like this. Imagine an office romcom with gay or lesbian leads.
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