Decent

Decent story, decent acting, really sweet characters. Unfortunately, I wasn't fully sold on the romantic chemistry b/w the two leads. Still rly cute. I love the whole sports anime feel. I can see this being a stellar drama with some extra budgeting and time to develop the story a bit more, but I think they did their best with what they had.

Side couple seemed pointless. I think I personally dislike step bro storylines too (like of all the possibilities why that) but in general it just felt like time was wasted on them. As always, I assume it exists due to fanservice and pandering. Sigh. At least everything was kept consensual unlike a lot of BL dramas.

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Absolute favourite

I think this is the benchmark I will hold all BLs against
1. Great production
2. Incredible acting
3. Believable chemistry
4. No non-con
5. No toxicity (or at least resolved by the end)
6. Good story
This drama imo fulfils all these requirements. Every time I thought something inappropriate and typically r*pey BL style was gonna happen, Kurosawa turns out to be a sweetheart. I also love the depiction of older/real/ordinary people. Also lots of eye candy wow. One more thing, I usually hate the side couple in most BLs: bc it feels unnecessary and only for fanservice, but I realllyy loved the side couple here (even perhaps more than the main).

I think people didn't like that we didn't get an onscreen kiss, but it was fine for me bc I still believed the two were in love so ya. Also nice bits of humour sprinkled in with occasional angst. Cannot recommend this drama enough.

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As close to perfect as it gets

I loved this drama so much!!! First off the story is very good, we have something from the start of the episode that we don't know and are eager to find out and that adds another exciting dimension to an already nice romance. The romance is done well, even with the time constraints it didn't feel rushed and it felt really natural. The acting was so good I didn't cringe or feel awkward at anything (except the english scene at the end lmfaoo). There were so many moments when I laughed out loud or squealed inside with how cute some of the scenes were (rly mr chef ur reflex is to suck on mr actors cut asap??? sfjljlsf) and it was so nice to see how the clash of 2 personalities changed over time. And there were no romanticised dub con or non con scenes and even if some tropes were cliche they were done so well. The only thing I wished for is more time to really develop the plot and romance but for this limit it was amazing.

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Lots of potential, decent progress but didn't quite make it

Tons of potential that was not fully met. Had lots of things that I expect, but never see in most bl dramas for eg std testing scene or like realistic depictions of college kids. Story had so much potential but really fell off halfway. Don't like the borderline non con bits. I like how the relationship became less toxic as time went by (only to become bad again in S2 lol). Chemistry b/w actors is great, most bls feels like 2 str8 guys trying to be gay for me haha but this was believable. I also really like Type's character (love the mean ones). Overall I think, story had tonnes of potential to explore themes of homosexuality, r*pe and trauma but fell into pandering to fanservice type of things before fully exploring those themes. But still felt like a more realistic depiction of gay relationships than most bls. (I rly hate the lhong's story or wtv though)

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One of the best out there

If you're thinking whether to watch it: watch it. I think its really one of the better BL dramas to be released. The quality and production beats almost all BLs.

Gonna rate this high bc this is an incredible quality of bl drama. I loved the acting and most of the story and they achieved a lot within the few episodes. But I didn't like the lowkey stalkerishness fo Gao Shide (the whole haunted house scene) but still okay I think, sort of toes the line b/w normal and creepy. Also disliked the side couple: seemed forced and unnecessary (common problem among BLs)

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Great but still lacking

First off, rated high bc of incredible acting from both of them. Production value is great too, I felt no awkwardness from crying scenes or most scenes that would make me skip if I was watching another BL drama. The story though, not the best. Overused trope that I really hoped would be different this time around. 5 years relationship gap and for such a stupid reason?! no no. At least a 1-2 year gap would make sense. And the side stories were honestly not great. School doctor and high school student? I really wish the conclusion is that they both move on bc it makes 0 sense for them to be together. Anyway the 2 main leads acted incredibly well. Wish this had a great story as well. I'll still rate it high cause it was worth watching the 2 of them.

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