Unpopularopinionbydemand
watching BL in the corner of my room
This review may contain spoilers
Easily One of the Best Asian LGBTQ+ Series of 2022
This one knocked my socks off for sure cause I expected nothing and came out so overwhelmed that I sat in silence for a good half hour mesmerized by what I just watched. I decided to go into this one straight out the gate, no reviews, no comments, I read a snippet of the synopsis but went in with a clear mind so that I can enjoy this series for what it would bring. And damn, did it come through. DNA Says Love You is not just a gem, it's a treasure chest full of them. It was everything I needed and more.
Let's Dive In.
I call DNA Say Love You an Asian LGBTQ+ series instead of a BL (Which it still is but on a way more important scale) because instead of being entirely about two guys following in love, it covers topics that most series have zero guts to do. Being the only country with legalized same-sex marriage, maybe they're the only one with the courage to pursue such a story. Le and Yu He work at a local cafe where they've grown up their entire lives. Every day they are waiting on their childhood best friend, Wen-Wen to come back from studying abroad. However, a mysterious guy named Amber shows up and dives into their lives while also exploring the long-term gay relationship of Li and Gwan.
One thing that makes this series so mesmerizing and perfect, yet such a shocker when you come to the realization of it, is that Amber use to be Wen-Wen. I was not expecting it at all, but then when episode 4 came around, it hit me like a truck and I stayed up another 2-3 hours to finish the rest, I couldn't stop watching. It was so thrilling and interesting, and they handled it with the utmost delicate and tactical care. They were able to tell the story of a gay intersex/trans-male like nothing else I've ever seen. His story was so heartbreaking that it was hard not to want to reach through the screen and give him a hug. But he's strong enough to be his true self and go back to the place that made him feel that way. But what I appreciate the most is that Le's crush on Wen-Wen was different from his crush on Amber. We see him fall for Amber in every interaction between the two of them, and he even explains in the end he didn't fall in love with Wen-Wen, he fell in love with Amber. And I was a wreck after that. Their chemistry was off the fucking charts. I was getting butterflies by episode two. They were able to keep such endearing contact with one another, physically and emotionally, that it tears you apart inside. By the end, you're screaming with joy because they're happy and in love, and it's the sweetest thing you'll ever see.
I really enjoyed Li and Gwan's story. The only thing that's not believable is how fast Li gives up on their 4-year long relationship after a simple misunderstanding. He didn't give Gwan time to respond and instead runs away and gets everybody involved in finding him. Of course, a beautiful moment on the rocks at night, but with anything being a misunderstanding or miscommunication, it becomes annoying. However, they do touch on the topic of being open and communicative and most series tend to skip over it, so I will give them that. But overall, I enjoyed watching them. They were sweet and fun and domestic. Lin Wei Jie also is just a fascinating actor and I hope to see him again.
Yu He is a darling character. I loved her to death. I also love the fact that she didn't let her ignored feelings from Le overtake what she knew him and Amber had. Instead, she becomes a supportive best friend of both of them and I adore her for that. The only thing I would've liked to be a bit more clear was that Le and Yu He weren't siblings. It might've just been me, or maybe I wasn't paying great attention to that part, but I believed up until the last few episodes that they were brother and sister. She gave looks every now and then, but I thought she might've been curious about Amber. Also, it might be an honorific thing I didn't quite understand because she called his mom mom too. Either way, it wasn't too much of a bothersome, just a better clarification.
Everyone deserves a mom like Le's mom. He was so worried about disappointing her, but she came out supportive and bright and I was a mess for that one too.
Rating:
Story: 9.5 - I loved it so much. It was perfect to the T and kept me engaged the entire time. It never once fell off track or became filler, everything that we see was important to the plot and to the characters. it all moved steadily and I like that we see a lot of Amber and Le together and that they handled such an important topic with grace.
Acting; 9 - Everyone did a fantastic job. Erek (Amber) stood out the most, with Li's actor right behind. But everyone did amazing, even the kids.
Music - 8 - Went well with the scenes. I mostly noticed it during Li and Gwan's story, and it was good.
Rewatch value: 5 - as much as I loved this, with everything in me, I could probably never gain the nerves to watch it again. I was a mess, and a mess for a while while the sun started coming up.
I highly recommend this series. It has now become my favorite BL from Taiwan and I'm still debating if this is my number one of all BLs or if ATOTS still holds that position. if anything, this one will be on my top list for sure.
Let's Dive In.
I call DNA Say Love You an Asian LGBTQ+ series instead of a BL (Which it still is but on a way more important scale) because instead of being entirely about two guys following in love, it covers topics that most series have zero guts to do. Being the only country with legalized same-sex marriage, maybe they're the only one with the courage to pursue such a story. Le and Yu He work at a local cafe where they've grown up their entire lives. Every day they are waiting on their childhood best friend, Wen-Wen to come back from studying abroad. However, a mysterious guy named Amber shows up and dives into their lives while also exploring the long-term gay relationship of Li and Gwan.
One thing that makes this series so mesmerizing and perfect, yet such a shocker when you come to the realization of it, is that Amber use to be Wen-Wen. I was not expecting it at all, but then when episode 4 came around, it hit me like a truck and I stayed up another 2-3 hours to finish the rest, I couldn't stop watching. It was so thrilling and interesting, and they handled it with the utmost delicate and tactical care. They were able to tell the story of a gay intersex/trans-male like nothing else I've ever seen. His story was so heartbreaking that it was hard not to want to reach through the screen and give him a hug. But he's strong enough to be his true self and go back to the place that made him feel that way. But what I appreciate the most is that Le's crush on Wen-Wen was different from his crush on Amber. We see him fall for Amber in every interaction between the two of them, and he even explains in the end he didn't fall in love with Wen-Wen, he fell in love with Amber. And I was a wreck after that. Their chemistry was off the fucking charts. I was getting butterflies by episode two. They were able to keep such endearing contact with one another, physically and emotionally, that it tears you apart inside. By the end, you're screaming with joy because they're happy and in love, and it's the sweetest thing you'll ever see.
I really enjoyed Li and Gwan's story. The only thing that's not believable is how fast Li gives up on their 4-year long relationship after a simple misunderstanding. He didn't give Gwan time to respond and instead runs away and gets everybody involved in finding him. Of course, a beautiful moment on the rocks at night, but with anything being a misunderstanding or miscommunication, it becomes annoying. However, they do touch on the topic of being open and communicative and most series tend to skip over it, so I will give them that. But overall, I enjoyed watching them. They were sweet and fun and domestic. Lin Wei Jie also is just a fascinating actor and I hope to see him again.
Yu He is a darling character. I loved her to death. I also love the fact that she didn't let her ignored feelings from Le overtake what she knew him and Amber had. Instead, she becomes a supportive best friend of both of them and I adore her for that. The only thing I would've liked to be a bit more clear was that Le and Yu He weren't siblings. It might've just been me, or maybe I wasn't paying great attention to that part, but I believed up until the last few episodes that they were brother and sister. She gave looks every now and then, but I thought she might've been curious about Amber. Also, it might be an honorific thing I didn't quite understand because she called his mom mom too. Either way, it wasn't too much of a bothersome, just a better clarification.
Everyone deserves a mom like Le's mom. He was so worried about disappointing her, but she came out supportive and bright and I was a mess for that one too.
Rating:
Story: 9.5 - I loved it so much. It was perfect to the T and kept me engaged the entire time. It never once fell off track or became filler, everything that we see was important to the plot and to the characters. it all moved steadily and I like that we see a lot of Amber and Le together and that they handled such an important topic with grace.
Acting; 9 - Everyone did a fantastic job. Erek (Amber) stood out the most, with Li's actor right behind. But everyone did amazing, even the kids.
Music - 8 - Went well with the scenes. I mostly noticed it during Li and Gwan's story, and it was good.
Rewatch value: 5 - as much as I loved this, with everything in me, I could probably never gain the nerves to watch it again. I was a mess, and a mess for a while while the sun started coming up.
I highly recommend this series. It has now become my favorite BL from Taiwan and I'm still debating if this is my number one of all BLs or if ATOTS still holds that position. if anything, this one will be on my top list for sure.
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