This is the second vertical AI BL drama I've sat through, and honestly I went in knowing better. I had it on while I was doing cardio at the gym, and what struck me was just how much the plot echoed the last one I watched. Same step brother romance angle, same mystery girlfriend showing up near the end, same extra guy pining after one of the leads. Genuinely the only thing going for it was the runtime, the whole thing wrapped up in forty five minutes flat. The setup kicks off with Finn moving schools because his mom just married into money. He finds out his new step brother Aiden goes to the same place, and he's warned to keep his distance from him. Their first run in at school is rocky, just like you'd expect, but there's this odd pull between them neither can shake off. Finn keeps telling himself not to read into it because Aiden's straight and openly homophobic. Things shift when some kids start bullying Finn and the student council president, Ryan, steps in to ...
The series is based in a world where few people suffer from color luminance. Monos, as they are called, see only shades of gray, black, and white. The only way Monos can see color is if they come into contact with their Probe. Probes are soulmates who bring color into their Monos’ lives, often sparking a dangerous behavior or obsession. Yeon-woo is a Mono, whose mother was the same and is missing for a few years. He now lives with his aunt. When he joins his new school, his meeting with Yoo-han changes things. Yeon-woo is overwhelmed by the unexpected rush of emotions he feels every time Yoo-han is near. Since Yoo-han always wears a mask, the first time when his face is revealed, a sudden rush of colors washes over Yeon-woo therebyrevealzng that Yoo-han is his Probe. The next few episodes go back and forth on Yeon-woo trying to be close to yy to see colors but also being careful to not get obsessed by him. We are later revealed that Yoo-han also suffers from face blindness where he cannot clearly see anyone's face, except for Yeon-woo since he has met him. Are the two boys meant to be together?
I have a lot of issues with this series, like the constant mood change and where is the show trying to go. Sometimes it get very melodramatic and suddenly gags are. Thrown in by a few of their classmates. It becomes soppy when Yeon-woo thinks of his mother and suddenly becomes investigative when his aunt is trying to find out what happened to his mother. And none of these is actually taken to a completion. Yeon-woo wants to be close to Yoo-han but is afraid of historically what have monos done to probes. Attempting suicide to avoid that ones out of nowhere. And then suddenly Yoo-han show sup in hospital and takes him away. IT makes absolutely no sense. This entire plotline is unbelievably problematic, both minimizing mental health issues, and glorifying obsession as a form of love. Some 3-4 episodes are wasted in just Yeon-woo seeing different colors. The chemistry between the leads is strictly ok. Their bright red lipstick is very distracting. I am almost certain that was not natural. This story could easily have been a story friendship but culminates as BL love when the two boys feel they are meant to be together to overcomes each other's challenged and seal it with a kiss.
The show has good production value, average acting and disastrous narrative execution makes this series a very frustrating watch that I just wanted to finish asap. (4/10)
Comments
Can I strongly recommend you watch Kinou Nani Tabeta (what did you eat yesterday ?). Very good, more real, I found it had a very interesting look on homosexuality in Japan.