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Contrast (Japanese Series)

By Golu
This is basically a high school BL where two guys who have nothing going on in common somehow end up getting really close to each other, and that's kind of the whole point of the title too. There's barely any drama or fluff packed in here, it stays pretty straightforward the whole way through. A little bit of friction pops up here and there, but it's nothing compared to what you'd normally get in this kind of show. Runtime wise you're looking at 8 episodes, each one sitting around 25-30 minutes. The two guys carrying the story are Akira and Kanata, and funny enough they knew each other's faces way before they ever knew each other's names. Kanata's the type everyone likes, always got people around him, popular guy, but there's this distance to him that people can't quite place. Turns out he had an injury that ended his football days, and that's what pushed him into being more withdrawn, and it only got worse once his younger brother got picked...
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La Edad De La Ira (Spanish) [The Age Of Anger]

By Golu
Adolescents are much more complex than what we usually think. We have seen many shows dealing with the, primarily Skam comes to mind. This Spanish series portrays their fears, insecurities, doubts, anger, illusions, dreams, passions, tastes and sexual awakening. A 4 part mini series is also a sort of murder drama, but primary focus still on teenager issues. Told through the perspective of 4 different characters, the four-part series divides the drama into acts so that viewers can slowly unfold what's happening.

The show starts with young Marcos being taken by police for murdering his own father. Through flashbacks, we meet Sandra, a carefree and rebellious girl with a string mind who is in love with Marcos. Their young love meets uncertainty with arrival of a young student Raul. The trio form an unlikeliest of friendship. Marcos and Sandra try to have sex but somehow Marcos can't concentrate. Despite Sandra confronting him about sexuality, he denies it. But we do see throwing glances at Raul. Somewhere the trip understand the dynamics among each other. Sandra likes Marcos, who soon starts liking Raul and Raul does like Sandra. The only way they can be together is forming a group and creating a short film for school project. Marcos has troubled home where his father is abusive and beats him, but loves the brother Ignacio, since he is most brilliant school student. Marcos gets very bitter after his mother's sudden death and him blaming his father. Things get uglier when the father realizes that the on might be gay and a huge altercation happens, which leads to eventual killing of the father. We see layer by layers, one by one, through the perspective of Sandra, Ignacio, Raul and Marcos about what eventually did meet. How did Marcos and everyone's life go through such a Roller coaster. Through out we also have the openly gay school teacher who becomes the support system for Marcos and a guide to help navigate through him accepting his sexuality and also be comfortable with it.

The lead actor Marcos is already an established name thanks to Elite and even in this series, he does a fantastic job. But Raul is the character that I enjoyed the most. There was something very interesting yet secretive about his personality. Although, I should say that the entire casting of the show was spot on. Every actor did a fantastic job and the way the show was presented to us, with the same story of few weeks but from four different perspectives, makes us force to think how every side has two coins. This leads us to a very interesting build up to the final episode, where you expect Marcos to act in a way that's different from who really is. And that leaves the viewer thinking about how reality really is subjective and depends on who's describing it. Marcos' coming out and his self-acceptance goes through a journey and we go along with I'm. I questioned that it is 2022 and I would think that teenagers like Marcos would be more comfortable being who they are, but the teacher rightly outs the class at hand when he reminds them that its not just ok to hang rainbow flags, they also have to recognize other people's sexuality and not make fun of it, just because they are different. The pace of the show is spot on, and it kept me quite entertained and glued. The series is not specifically a gay show but Marcos' coming out and his sexuality forms a very important part and reason for everything that happens.

The story of the series deals with universal themes such as love, friendship or adolescence and it is easy to connect with. No matter how old you are, it’s easy to understand the characters in the series. The show was a refreshing change for me. (7/10)
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