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Stop! That! Train!

Coming out of the same studio that gave us RuPaul's Drag Race, and stacked with a whole crew of former contestants, Stop! That! Train! plays like RuPaul basically taking a bow for the entire franchise she's built. It's not really a gay film in the traditional sense, but with so many drag stars from Ru's shows popping up alongside a few cameos from well known out gay actors, I figured it earns a spot on this blog anyway. The whole thing is completely over the top, packed with GenZ slang, loud flashy visuals, and humor that's constantly winking at you knowing how ridiculous it is. Going in you'd assume it's meant to be a laugh riot, and a lot of critics online seem to be eating it up, but I just couldn't get into it at all. I've never really been someone who vibes with campy silly stuff like this, so honestly my reaction doesn't surprise me one bit. The setup follows Tess and DeeDee, two low level stewardesses who sneak onto the fancy Glamazonian E...

Two Office Workers Who Are Too Poisonous For One's Eyes (Japanese Series)

This is a Japanese comedy series primarily focusing on a fujoshi, who is totally shipping two of her office male colleagues and imagines them in all kinds of torrid situations. Oh man!1 I laughed so hard in almost every single episode. The female lead is brilliant, and her boundless enthusiasm propels the funny antics. I wouldn't call this strictly a BL because we are never really told about the real relationship, but honestly I don't care. Breezy 25 episodes of each just 5 minutes were so much fun to watch, that I will be going around recommending this show. 

Oto is a female accountant in a sales office. She often sees Daichi (one of the youngest sales employee who has a very outgoing and perky personality) and Hong (a 32 year old more mature man and also boss of Daichi) working together a lot and helping each other. She lets her imaginations run wild and totally dreams about them being in love and doing things together. The two men are close friends with chummy interactions, which Oto interprets as romantic encounters. She reacts delightfully whenever Daichi and Hongou seem intimate around the office. Even if their exchanges are innocuous, Oto likes shipping them as an imaginary couple. Another female co-worker Shizuoka is another secret shipper of these two and when the two females know about each other, every episode focuses on these two women exchanging funny commentary and eccentric observations about their favorite couples. Shizuku reveals that she knows Daichi and Hongou are neighbors. This knowledge adds a new dimension to Oto's imagination as she fantasizes about her coworkers in domestic bliss. Meanwhile these two men have no idea about what these 2 girls keep talking about. Each episode just follows this pattern with some attention on some other employees as well, primarily being a new male colleague who eventually falls for Shizuku. The 25th episode ends on a cliffhanger, because we still don't know what the real relationship between two men is and I really can't wait for the sequel to come soon.

The two male actors have a good chemistry, they look good and the events that happen between them, makes it easier for the audience to sympathize with Oto and understand her fujoshi thoughts. Like a few other Japanese shows that I have seen in the past, this show is funny primarily because of the ridiculous over-the-top reactions by Oto and Shizuku. The way they communicate telepathically without actually speaking a word in open is brilliant. Actress playing Oto gives exaggerated expressions, unleashes overjoyed responses, and exclaims outrageous remarks.  She is brilliant and reminded me of the actor from Ossan's Love and his exaggerated reactions. This drama takes delusional shipping to the next level!. You would think that after few episodes the jokes and fun would start to feel repetitive, but it never did for me. I had a ball. The show always remains cheerful without diminishing its charm. Although at various places I wondered if Hongou actually had a thing for Oto, but we will never know till a sequel comes around. As I said before this is not a BL drama, but Oto imagining the two male leads in all kinds of homoerotic settings will make it a fun watch for all BL lovers. It teases provocative encounters and faint sexual tension without committing to any explicit content. I do wish that we did get o see some real action between the two guys though. They made for a fantastic couple. I would highly highly recommend to watch this show just to forget tension and watch it for the zany humor. We need more simple and delightful comedy shows like this one. (8/10)

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