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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 Turns out he had an injury that ended his football days, and that's what pushed him into being more withdrawn, and it only got worse once his younger brother got picked...
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Quaranthings: Season 2 (Filipino Series)

By Golu
Pandemic did give an opportunity to a lot of makers to come up with innovative stories. Some of them succeeded giving us sequels. The first season IMO was quite alright. It wasn't bad but it also wasn't as polished as we would expect it to be, but given people were all craving fo content, the show did well for itself thanks to the two leading men. The story of Judah and Rocky continue in this season with 8 episodes and lets see where this one goes.

Judah and Rocky are moving back to the original apartment they met in after a turbulent stay with Judah's grandmother. The duo haven't had sex it seems and Rocky is still not comfortable with openly being gay. The duo share some cute moments together. But Judah soon realizes that the house has two other members: Rocky's ex-girlfriend Che and their former roommate Kulah. Not only does Judah have to struggle with Rocky not being out, he is also worries with his ex girlfriend being in such close proximity to him. A good part of the story then goes into Rocky's struggle to accept who he is and coming out to his friends openly about his sexuality and his relationship with Judah. Che takes it more sportingly than his friend Kulah and they eventually talk it out. Another important character here is of Judah's best friend Beshie, who is always there for Judah. The show also ends up showing Kulah, Che and Beshie in a throttle sort of situation. The ending is not very positive, which makes me believe that they do wanna come up with a follow up season, since despite facing all odds with their love, Judah ends up going to Canada to be with him mom after his granny passes away.

Somehow this season abandons the little bit of charm that the original show had. Judah's has grown up emotionally more than he was in first season given how he is patient with Rocky not being out, but he never gives up and passively keeps asking Rocky to be true to himself. I have always firmly believed that no one should ever force anyone to come out. Every individual has their own journeyed they know what's best for them. The show thankfully manages to keep bits and pieces of charm in tact. Character of Beshe was a bit annoying in the beginning but eventually started to grow up on me. In its own small way, the show also manages to address issues of bisexuality, throuple, gay bashing, family importance, feminine gays etc in a very subtle way and in my opinion, that was the biggest win of the show. It never makes any of these issues preachy, but it makes sure to make a comment on each of these aspects. But other than that, there was no new graph to the story of Juhad-Rocky and felt like a silly rehash of the first season. I have mixed feelings about the trip of Kulah, Beshie and Che. The circumstances in which they come together and the whole dynamics between them was a little too much for me, but. Thats my personal opinion.

Overall, this sequel to an already average show has nothing much to talk about. I would recommend you to watch this only if you enjoyed the original version. Thankfully the 8 episodes are relatively short of about 25 minutes each and pass by quickly. (5/10)
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Comments

Sailor Maan said…
I really liked it until episode 6 or so. The way they dealt with Rocky's coming out, and some gay cliche (when Judah put Rocky in his place explaining that bottoming doesn't make him less masculine). That was nicely done. Educate don't hate haha! (yes, even annoying Beshie grew on me too)
Then came the last 2 episodes with the overdrama where I wanted to slap Judah just like in 1st season, and the out of nowhere trouple. It unfortunately killed it for me. Oh and they stopped showing Rocky shirtless in the last episodes too, unacceptable :p
May 10, 2022 at 4:08 AM
Golu said…
Rocky shirtless is unacceptable Period !! lol
May 10, 2022 at 12:02 PM
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