kimco
This review may contain spoilers
Give it a chance!
I'm not sure why the reviews and comments section for this are so harsh tbh as I actually thought there was a lot to like about this series and I quite enjoyed it.
Pros:
-The Story starts out strong (see cons for where it goes awry lol): I'm not sure why so many people are saying there's no story. Imo there's more story than a LOT of the more generic BLs. Basic plot summary is the classic tale of two leads from different backgrounds, one poor one rich. Both have a common connection of feeling alone and yearning for somewhere to belong. They come from different perspectives on life but come to understand and appreciate each other.
I was worried that when Bryce invited Bart to Manila, that Bart was going to live with him and create an unequal power dynamic where Bart was dependent on him. But to my delight that didn't happen at all, Bart gets his own place and works hard to become a successful model. They get to know each other as friends first of all and slowly grow their feelings for each other. Their relationship wasn't built on lust but genuine connection (IE they don't just bump into each other and fall in love instantly).
-The OST is great. I loved it. So many good songs are used that really match the tone of each scene. There are none of the stock standard, often cringey comical sound effects that are found in so many BLs.
-Production quality and cinematography is great. The shots of the scenery in Bart's province are beautiful.
-All the main four cast of guys are reallllly attractive. They're all models irl so I'm not surprised but dayummm. They're styled well and aren't bad actors at all imo, especially given this seems to be all of their first acting roles. Kurt Mendoza is especially adorable- and I love how idealistic and genuinely kind his character is despite his harsh upbringing. I wish there was more of more scenes of Edward (Eurwin Canzana) though as he was also adorable! (Here's hoping for season 2).
-Minimal wasted screentime. If you've watched a lot of BLs, you know how common it is for there to be so many wasted fillers scenes on the MLs friend's pointless crap, jealous GFs/Ex GFs, moping alone scenes staring into space endlessly etc. But there was a distinct lack of this crap in this series, which I really appreciated especially given there's only 8 eps. Bestie is the obligatory female friend of the male lead, but I didn't find most of her scenes too long or egregious for example. She even had some good lines and some depth to her character. I also loved her friendship with Bart so much.
-There are some nice quotes in there at the end of eps, my fave being "There are things not meant for you but it doesn't mean that you're not worthy".
Cons:
-The first ep is a little boring as it's mostly voiceover exposition telling a bit of backstory for the main three male leads and what point of view they're coming from. I always prefer to be shown rather than told things in series/movies (IE not a big fan of character inner monologues in series in general)- but once you get past this first ep it's not so bad.
-There's not as much "connective tissue" as I'd prefer- IE those scenes where you get to know the characters more or see their development/relationship building over time. But I don't consider this as big of an issue considering the short number of episodes and the fact I've seen so many other BLs do sooo much less than this with double if not triple the runtime.
-The story ends weakly. The last two eps are disappointing and feel pretty rushed, especially ep.7 randomly dropping down to 14 mins total including the intro and previous ep segment. I hated how Bryce randomly decides to leave all of a sudden with no real explanation (he always missed his parents so why did he have to leave "right now"?). I get that the end was purposely ambiguous to tease for a 2nd season- but I wasn't a fan of it at all.
-Barely any skinship and no kissing. The most you get is a few cute hair touching moments.
Overall I enjoyed this and don't see why people have been so harsh on it. I'll be coming back eagerly for a season 2 if they make one!
Pros:
-The Story starts out strong (see cons for where it goes awry lol): I'm not sure why so many people are saying there's no story. Imo there's more story than a LOT of the more generic BLs. Basic plot summary is the classic tale of two leads from different backgrounds, one poor one rich. Both have a common connection of feeling alone and yearning for somewhere to belong. They come from different perspectives on life but come to understand and appreciate each other.
I was worried that when Bryce invited Bart to Manila, that Bart was going to live with him and create an unequal power dynamic where Bart was dependent on him. But to my delight that didn't happen at all, Bart gets his own place and works hard to become a successful model. They get to know each other as friends first of all and slowly grow their feelings for each other. Their relationship wasn't built on lust but genuine connection (IE they don't just bump into each other and fall in love instantly).
-The OST is great. I loved it. So many good songs are used that really match the tone of each scene. There are none of the stock standard, often cringey comical sound effects that are found in so many BLs.
-Production quality and cinematography is great. The shots of the scenery in Bart's province are beautiful.
-All the main four cast of guys are reallllly attractive. They're all models irl so I'm not surprised but dayummm. They're styled well and aren't bad actors at all imo, especially given this seems to be all of their first acting roles. Kurt Mendoza is especially adorable- and I love how idealistic and genuinely kind his character is despite his harsh upbringing. I wish there was more of more scenes of Edward (Eurwin Canzana) though as he was also adorable! (Here's hoping for season 2).
-Minimal wasted screentime. If you've watched a lot of BLs, you know how common it is for there to be so many wasted fillers scenes on the MLs friend's pointless crap, jealous GFs/Ex GFs, moping alone scenes staring into space endlessly etc. But there was a distinct lack of this crap in this series, which I really appreciated especially given there's only 8 eps. Bestie is the obligatory female friend of the male lead, but I didn't find most of her scenes too long or egregious for example. She even had some good lines and some depth to her character. I also loved her friendship with Bart so much.
-There are some nice quotes in there at the end of eps, my fave being "There are things not meant for you but it doesn't mean that you're not worthy".
Cons:
-The first ep is a little boring as it's mostly voiceover exposition telling a bit of backstory for the main three male leads and what point of view they're coming from. I always prefer to be shown rather than told things in series/movies (IE not a big fan of character inner monologues in series in general)- but once you get past this first ep it's not so bad.
-There's not as much "connective tissue" as I'd prefer- IE those scenes where you get to know the characters more or see their development/relationship building over time. But I don't consider this as big of an issue considering the short number of episodes and the fact I've seen so many other BLs do sooo much less than this with double if not triple the runtime.
-The story ends weakly. The last two eps are disappointing and feel pretty rushed, especially ep.7 randomly dropping down to 14 mins total including the intro and previous ep segment. I hated how Bryce randomly decides to leave all of a sudden with no real explanation (he always missed his parents so why did he have to leave "right now"?). I get that the end was purposely ambiguous to tease for a 2nd season- but I wasn't a fan of it at all.
-Barely any skinship and no kissing. The most you get is a few cute hair touching moments.
Overall I enjoyed this and don't see why people have been so harsh on it. I'll be coming back eagerly for a season 2 if they make one!
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