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Soul Mate (Japanese Series)

By Golu
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...
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Stupid Genius (Vietnamese Series)

By Golu
I am not sure if I would call this show strictly as a BL, but it's somewhere in there. But primarily, this is the story of a misfit class of high schoolers- the worst students in the class. The main character and his friends consistently get the worst test scores in their class. Despite their notorious reputation, a new teacher wants to inspire them to take school more seriously. Some gifted classmates become mentors and give tutoring lessons. As they study together, the protagonists develop an attraction to each other. The show is just 6 episodes averaging at 15 minutes each.

We are introduced to mainly 4 and more school students who are considered part of the worst class and will likely fail. A new teacher takes upon himself to change this , but for this he needs to motivate them. Khoa is a talented badminton player who aspires to be selected for Vietnam's national team, but the teacher tells him that he will need to improve his grades as well if he really aspires to make it to the team. Khoa enlists the help of Vinh, an academically gifted classmate. Despite his outstanding grades, he is in the same class as the other failing students. After a few misunderstandings and planned coincidental meetings, Vinh agrees to help him with studies. Over the period of time they both develop feelings for each other. In parallel we also see some other stories about other classmates, but Ince they do not directly involve BL love, I am not gonna stress more on that.

This series has no real ‘ending’ which I was pleasantly surprised by. It does not conclude. We honestly do not know whether they passed their final exams or not, except that we do find out that they have been manipulated into studying in a most thought provoking, imaginative and creative way. The BL in the series is cute, awkward, and so clumsy.  But I guess, these are supposed to be high school students, so somehow it works in the grand scheme of things. Having said that the BL focus in the show is less than 20% of the overall series. The couple's kissing was kinda awkward, and not just once but twice. Their flirting feels juvenile and doesn't convey the feeling of two teens infatuated with each other. It felt quite shallow. To be honest. The show was made with a. Simple intention to probably entertain. Each episode contains many cheeky jokes, snappy one-liners, and silly shenanigans. Stupid Genius is hilariously goofy and may succeed in putting a smile on your face. But then you need to be in that mindset. Personally, I went in to see a BL series and I just got a glimpse and not more. This show is clearly directed towards teenage audience. There are too many dumb jokes and not enough intelligent ideas and my recommendation would be to just ignore this one for now. (2.5/10)
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