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Chained To My Bully Stepbrother (AI Vertical BL Drama)

By Golu
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 ...
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If It's With You (Japanese Series)

By Golu
This Japanese series charts the beginning of Amane and Ryuuji’s friendship and eventual love story in a short and sweet format of 5 episodes of about 22 minutes each, making it w a very enjoyable and easy watch. This heartwarming BL series captures the intimate journey of falling in love. The best part if that it is non-pretentious, very down to earth and something that you can imagine happening in real life to someone. Surely, teenage romances can be a hit or a miss, but thankfully this one just flows like a river, nice and swift; thanks to the pure souls of our two individuals and their honest portrayal.

A young student Amane is closet gay. Having ben debuted before by one of his classmates for being gay, he now acts as being cool and funny. He moves to a small town to live with his grandma, where he accidentally meets Ryuji while chasing a cat. As an apology Ryuji invites Amane at his restaurant for a meal, which he loves. Amane, who has a bubbly personality, praises the cooking effusively. As they chat, Ryuji reveals he has been helping his parents at the restaurant since childhood. Next day, to his surprise, Amane finds that Ryuji is his classmate. Subsequently, the two begin hanging out more often. The more time they spend together, the closer their friendship becomes. As they spend more time, Amane's feelings for Ryuji keep getting stronger and one day, after having a meal with Ryuji's family, he confesses his love for him. A surprised Ryuji ask shim for sometime to respond. The summer holidays arrive just in time to give Ryuji time to think. Over a period of time, Ryuji also realizes that he also loves Amane and in a very warm and genuine finale, he kisses Amane and also confesses his feelings to him.

While Amane is bright and bubbly,  Ryuji is more meticulous and careful. Having shouldered his family’s responsibility at a young age, he is quiet and keeps to himself mostly. Upon Amane’s confession, Ryuji does not leave him hanging for a reply. Ryuji is himself confused about his emotions and whether what he feels for Amane is more than friendship. The drama charts a natural progression of friendship between them. This emotionally sensitive series explores the protagonists' delicate feelings. It examines their complex personalities intimately, with each episode reveals new information, adding layered dimensions to the backstories or characterizations. The early episodes highlight the friendly interactions between the protagonists, which are realistic, relatable, and remarkably down-to-earth. These charming scenes will make viewers invested in the budding relationship. The couple's attraction sprouts like a tiny seed, growing stronger as the series nurtures the close connection. The two actors playing the leads are easy on the eyes, act really well and have a genuine warm personality and are just good together. Also, Its nice toes a change of scenery of a small seaside town that enhances to the overall feeling of love. One of my fav scenes is when Amane visits Ryuji at his home for dinner and the way his family welcomes him and the enthusiasm that Amane shows for food. So real and best. Overall, this tiny little series is a genuine , heart felt love story. I do question the authenticity of Ryuji's love for Amane, but I honestly don't want to slice and dice that too much. I enjoyed the show and I just Anna leave it at that. (7.5/10)
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Comments

Sailor Maan said…
Loved this one! So simple and sweet, it just gradually flows to your heart as the relationship grows between the characters.
I liked how Amane deosn't shy away from having sexual thoughts when he first meets Ryuji, then innocently falls in love. For once, it's nice to see a not pure and innocent main character, and still see him all smitten by first love. Very un-BL like.
What is very BL like though, is Ryuji having to think about the love declaration. As much as "love is love, you don't care about the gender" is cool, I always think it's a bit too idealistic. You should know if you like guys or not (even if in denial). Here it really seems like he never really thought about it, it's a total surprise but as he is a very open minded person he finally accepts. Always feels a little strange to me. But the message is beautiful so I won't really complain.

If you want other cute little Japanese and Korean BL, "I can't reach you" and "A breeze of love" are nice ones :)
December 8, 2023 at 11:11 AM
Golu said…
Thank you for the two recommendations.
And yes, it was def interesting to see that lust taking over love for a change (or at least to begin with)
December 11, 2023 at 1:58 PM
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