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Soul Mate (Japanese Series)

Is this technically a gay show? Even after getting through the whole thing, that's still kind of tricky to answer. There's never any physical intimacy shown between the two leads, not even a single kiss. What it gives you instead is something that goes way deeper than that. It traces an emotional bond that spans a full decade between two guys who are both dealing with their own baggage, and what they share basically amounts to being soulmates. The story moves across Japan, South Korea, and Berlin. Honestly, whether people want to call what they have a romantic relationship or not doesn't really matter to me. A relationship doesn't need a label like boyfriends attached to it to actually mean something. And closeness doesn't need to be physical to feel genuine. What this show captures is something quieter but way more powerful, a bond rooted in understanding, respect, and just showing up for each other. Across eight episodes, each running 35 to 45 minutes, this is one...

Evening Cafe (Thai Mini-Series)

This mini series of 4 episodes of about 10-12 minuted each is a series that should never have been made. Done to the death story, bad acting and direction and totally senseless logic, makes even this short series a very tedious watch.

Tham, the handsome young barista works at a cafe. He has a simple, ordinary and uneventful life. Except a female customer who comes everyday to flirt with him hoping to take him out. Tham complains of to much work and he asks his boss to hire. Anew person. In comes Sakay. Tham doesn't have a good start with him and gives him a very hard time, but eventually when he gets to know of struggles that Sakay has been facing, he is ready to help him out. Clearly Sakay is trying to get close to Tham but Tham shows no feelings except friendship. One day when the duo are hanging out, the jealous girl takes their photo and posts only as a gay couple. Initially Tham is shocked, but then randomly Sakay says, now you can be my boyfriend, and Tham agrees! WTF!! The girl eventually apologizes.

The shows tries to hit many BL tropes, but without any substance or character development, none of them had any kind of significance or impact. Its amateurish at every level as I have mentioned above. There is no reason for Tham to behave so brashly with Sakay just because of a small incident. He comes out as a complete asshole with no charisma. No explanation for why Sakay has been following him since before job (just because of his looks) and the random twist at end to suddenly become boyfriends was total nonsense. There is absolutely no sort of character detailing. The boss is a big yawn and every level of annoyance. Seeing the coffee shop log like 5 times in every episode doesn't help either. I wonder if anyone actually watched the show as a final product from the production team!! As someone else said somewhere online about this show "I saw friends making tik toks with a more convincing acting and plot, and that itself should warn you." My feelings can also be summarized in the same vein. (1.5/10)

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