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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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Eccentric Romance (Korean Series)

By Golu
I would not call this series a true BL. It is more of a murder mystery by taking in a hot Korean and a Thai guy combo, and sprinkle in some dose of one way liking and. Couple of kisses here and there. It is a weird dish mash of college comedy, but the end results is just bizarre. The lead actors look good, maybe even have decent chemistry, but it doesn’t matter, because the story is too silly, and makes no sense. The series is 12 episodes, each of about 16 minutes.

Jay is a Thai international student who is close friends with Sung Hoon. Sung Hoon and Jay are excited to enroll in an elective course together. This health and fitness class is famous for being easy to complete. They both join gym, to work on body and get easy marks. The gym trainer is good looking and popular and Jay wonders of he can train him. As the two work out together, it causes jealousy in Sung Hoon who starts to realize he has feelings for Jay. In the class they befriend two other guys and the four make a quartet. One of them is a YouTuber and the other is a fat guy. Recently the entrepreneur school was shocked by a murder in a volunteer camp run by gym trainer. Since he was the last person to meet him, he is everyone's suspect. Seeing trainer's closeness with Jay, Sun Hoon is worried about Jay's safety and confesses hi slove. They sort of become on-again off-again platonic pair. Eventually the mystery of the killer is solved (which I have to agree that I did not see that coming). And the two boys become lovers eventually.

Despite its promising setup, the series quickly loses focus. It struggles to balance its sweet friends-to-lovers romance with the darker intrigue of a murder mystery. In the process it doesn't do justice to either genre. The romance never fully blossoms into something memorable, and the thriller elements, while initially engaging, ultimately feel underwhelming. Instead of expanding on the mystery, it constantly depicts the trainer as sketchy, hinting that he hides an evil secret behind his persona. Whether he's the real culprit or a red herring, these scenes lose their impact as the investigation drags on. It tests your patience. And same for romance. Whenever the couple celebrate a milestone, like a kiss or a confession, the story creates an excuse to stall their relationship development. Having said that, some of their moments of teasing banters are fun, but just a few. The actor playing Sung Hoon is hot with a perfect body and so is the guy playing the YouTuber. While the series does deliver a satisfying plot twist near the end, the show falters under the weight of its dual ambitions. Its pacing and lack of focus make it difficult to fully invest in either the romance or the mystery. It's dull overall and doesn't leave you with any memories whatsoever. (3.5/10)
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