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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...

Papa, What Is Love? (Filipino Mini-Series)

Some of these so called BL series are trying to experiment with "different" stories, which is good, but sadly, not all different stories are good. This 6 part Filipino series (each episode of 12-20 minutes), has a unique premise, but the execution is quite dull, devoid f emotions, even though there is a lot of crying in such a short span of time. Also, I am not sure why the title of the show?

Rich, is a middle aged guy who has recently lost his wife. He is closet gay and eventually comes out to his son also, who happens to be pansexual. The son is concerned about loneliness of his father and arranges for. Housekeeper interview and the father finally hires a young boy Tupe. With is good looks and boyish charm and a sad sob past, before you know the old man falls in love with this much younger boy. After a long time, Rich feels happy and alive. One day suddenly his son Greg shows up an dis initially outraged but Rich makes him see sense and asks him to Gove Tupe a chance. Rich then has to leave for a business trip , and yes, you guessed it right, before you know it, the song Greg is having an affair with Lupe and is in fact starting to fall in love with him. A guilt ridden Type doesn't know what to do because he feels he is betraying Rich, but truth is that he is also fallen for Greg. When Rich comes back hoe and finds out the truth, he is heart broken, but eventually for the love of his son, gives them his blessings.

For a lot of scenes I couldn't believe what was happening. The way Rich and Tupe would flirt in the initial episodes, it almost felt like an employer musing his position of power. There are a lot of sensual and flirtatious activities and he felt more of a 'houseboy' situation rather than a caretaker. There is a lot of skin show, which is good, but the show lacks emotional depth. I failed to connect with any character. Rich keeps crying at the drop of a hat and so does Tupe. Tupe, despite having a poor background and a sob story, is someone you never connect with. I seriously feel the characterization was off here. In contrast, you do feel Rich's pain, but after a point it starts to feel superficial. I did like the scenes where Rich tries to hold on to his youthfulness. Once Greg arrives on the scene, you know exactly what I about to happen. Two young bi/pan sexual boys wit hot bodies and full of hormones. You can see it coming, but as I said, you just fail to connect with the emotions of it all and hence, overall the show comes off as boring and superficial, despite the fact that the premise holds promise and if done right, could have been a winner. But as it stands now, it failed to impress at all. Some sexual scenes and almost real kissing is what makes the show at least worth some time. (3.5/10)

Comments

Sailor Maan said…
This one was sooo bad. Sure it wanted to say something different but the execution was done so poorly. Tupe and Greg couldn't even wait one day, seriously... All the remorse they are supposed to be feeling after (and all the rest actually) feels so fake then.
All that crying finished me off.
It's been a while but I still have horrible memories about this one. Except for those nice bodies maybe :p
Golu said…
They do have nice tight bodies for sure. lol

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