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On The Sea (UK)

By Golu
This one's a beautiful, tender, quiet romantic drama with a moody atmosphere, set in a tight knit Welsh fishing community. It's a touching story about a man waking up sexually in the middle of his life, and how he, his family, and everyone around him deal with it, which makes it emotional and sentimental without ever getting over the top. The slow burn plays out against a landscape that's as bleak as it is gorgeous, where quiet, closed off men are stuck inside rigid ideas of what masculinity should be. Some people might be reminded of "God's Own Country," but I think both films are lovely in their own way. Jack is a middle aged guy who co-owns a mussel farm with his rough around the edges brother Dyfan, and the tension between the two of them is simmering under the surface right from the start. Dyfan's three sons all help out with the work, while Jack's sulky teenage son Tom keeps skipping out. Jack's been with his wife since they were both 16, and...
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A Man Who Defies the World of BL (Japanese Series)

By Golu
A Man Who Defies the World of BL is a very peculiar drama with an unusual sense of humour, something silly, campy. It slips my mind but I have seen at least one more Japanese film/series with odd style of humor where the main protagonist also breaks the fourth wall. Told in an anthology format, each mini episode has a self-contained story that gently makes fun of the BL phenomenon. There are 4 episodes with 8 disconnected stories lasting about 2 hours.

Our lead Mobu realizes that he lives in a BL world with unusually good looking guys around him and most couples. He likes girls so he keeps avoiding to meet gaze with boys to avoid someone hitting on him. He is also trying to protect his younger brother in this situation. There is no main story as such but we see series of funny hilarious scenes and situations where our lead Mobu is trying to avoid any awkward situation. We see stereotypes like 2 guys bumping into each other and falling in love, two guys hooking up after a bad group date, a boy saving another from tripping in school canteen. Mobu likes to believe he is just an "extra" in this world and is trying to make sure he doesn't become the main cast. Although Mob claims to have an aversion to the Boys Love genre, he is also seemingly obsessed with it. He even reads tons of BL manga as part of his “research”. Each day, Mob devises outlandish strategies that will minimize his chances of encountering BL tropes in life. And as you would expect, by the end Mobu can't help but be approached by an equally simple yet charming guy who eventually makes Mobu falling love for him.

The series is unabashedly cliched, but you are guaranteed to laugh at the ways in which some of these tropes play out. I want to believe a lot of this maybe something more believable to folks who are regular manga readers. The opening song which is there in every episode is an experience in itself. The musical of this gloriously over-the-top, 70s style disco number is so catchy. You will love it. This is not anti gay at all. It's just a satirical take on BL genre, just celebrating BL. With his exaggerated reactions, he maximizes the comedic value out of each outrageous scenario. This actor does an excellent job at maintaining his high, nearly frantic energy from start to finish. Sadly, there is no other actor that gets any prominence of any sort so its hard to comment on any of that. Also, at some point the series does loose steam. What started off really well ends up being a series of random events without making it a coherent story. Some jokes fall flat but most land fine. But, for a silly, no brainer show which can bring smile on your face is not the worse thing to watch in today's times. (6.5/10)
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Sailor Maan said…
It was so funny how it uses the BL and even more yaoi manga tropes in a satirical way. When the flowers apear behind the beautiful character, it's so "like in the mangas", I couldn't stop laughing. Too bad the whole thing is not coherent and some jokes are just not funny. The intro is something on its own haha.
If you want another crazy japanese style hilarious BL, can I absolutely recommend Ossan's Love. The first season is sooo good (even my husband liked it, and that's a lot to say!)
June 2, 2021 at 1:49 AM
Golu said…
I should definitely add that immediately on my list then. Given that I have so many shows to watch, a recommendation on what next definitely helps.

And again, about the intro of this series. It was soooooooo wet done. Funny yet very addictive
June 2, 2021 at 8:15 AM
Sailor Maan said…
On the same idea of using the BL cliches to create funny situations, I've just watched the korean mini series "the boy next door". Nearly every 5min episode had me laugh a lot and if you want sormething light and funny I definitely recommend this one!
June 18, 2021 at 8:12 AM
Golu said…
Adding it right now. We all can use a good laugh here and there in today's time
June 20, 2021 at 7:15 AM
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