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 Turns out he had an injury that ended his football days, and that's what pushed him into being more withdrawn, and it only got worse once his younger brother got picked...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

By Golu
As much as I loved season 1 of this series, I am so sad to say that the season 2 just did not live up to the expectations. Adam was funny and his shenanigans in the first season made me laugh and smile many times but in this season it all felt forced. The series has 7 episodes of about 20 minutes each continuing for where we left off. The first season explored Adam realizing and acting upon his sexuality and season 2 finds him navigating the challenges, and hurdles, that every gay man goes through.

Adam is now in a happy relationship with Gabe and is also working as a freelance photographer. When he finds an old picture of his ex-bf Josh he decides to have one last final meeting with him that stops up feelings for both and Josh ends up kissing Adam, which he deices to not tell Gabe. It doesn’t take long for that secret to come out a the duo decide to break up. Rather than dealing with his issues, Adam throws himself into a series of situations (and at a series of men) without really thinking through the consequences. He hooks up with an actor from a film shoot who almost falls for him but also gives him STI, Adam is attracted to his boss who ends up being straight. His actions over the course of the season show that perhaps he’s not mature enough to handle a real relationship and that he has a lot of unresolved issues to work through. In parallel, we do see Adam's brother Clayton continuing his massage services. We do gt some light relief when his client is this older lady with a kink for Clayton to be pretending to be a young boy. Adam’s embarrassing mother provides a few cringe-worthy moments while a host of new characters provide friendship and romantic complications for Adam.

Season 1 was inherently charming and binge worthy, but in this season, almost nothing was working for me. I understand that the makers wanted to show how Adam is trying to figure out what he wants from life, and who he is while dealing with temptation everywhere. But in the process the fun element totally disappeared. Despite the questionable choices of men he continues to make, non of it evoked laughter or sympathy. In contrast, I found Clayton's episode much stronger and it would have been nice to know a little bot more about what his dev rooted issues were. The season 2 just touches upon the surface. From the acting perspective Adam still continue to charm but that naivety is missing this time. To me , he felt more dismissive than charming. Sure, as young adults and gay men, everyone needs time to process things and figure themselves out, but I am quite disappointed that this season really didn't work for me; which is disappointing given how much I loved the first season. To be fair, it's still watchable, just not with the same enthusiasm that one expected prior. The story and script his time was basic at best. (5.5/10)
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