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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...

Danny Will Die Alone: Season 1 (Web Series)

This Dekkoo series of 9 episodes and 10 minutes each, recounts the title character’s misadventures dating in New York City. Danny is a 40-ish gay man who has a series of horrifically amusing bad dates that make him wonder if he will be single forever.  Addressing the viewers directly by breaking the fourth wall, Danny recounts his experiences as they happen, endearing himself as a gay everyman who seeks sex if not love. 

Danny makes no bones about being an irritated, promiscuous bottom who has seemingly insatiable sexual needs. He is an "elder millennial," which, he contends, is the reason for his frequent erotic trysts. "I need a steady stream of sexual attention in order to feel any amount of self-esteem," he says in one episode. Every date has some sort of problem with the other person, whether it be clinginess, fetishes, or political stances. Over the course of 9 episodes we see how Danny meets a different man and is in a different situation and how nothing seems to be working with these dates after one session of insatiable sex. The likes of episodes includes a guy with a huge dick, a guy with a mustache who comes to see Danny perform but ends up with another guy, guy who believes in astrology, a doctor role/play, he meets a weird sex guru or the guy who likes Danny to be dirty and unshowered. There is also an episode dedicated to how Danny sometimes feels like being a top and how bottoms entrap a top (hilarious) and finally when nothing works, how he goes to a dating service to help him find a match, which again as you would expect doesn't work out.

The show does a deep dive into Danny's journey through the modern gay dating pool. The archetypes that Danny uses, believe it ot not, really exist. In fact, I was able to relate to almost every scenario that was presented. With its clever writing and punches and good comic timing, the humor lands and it really works. Every date has some sort of problem with the other person be it clinginess, political stance or any fetishes. He performs really well by constantly being in character, breaking to a fourth wall and then back into character. Sadly, the dates he meets were not as good actors but I can see why they were expected to be a little over the top. The actor playing Danny is Jack Tracy who is also the creator of the show and according to him ,mostly scenarios are lifted from his real life dating experiences. The show is not perfect. It takes a couple of episodes for you to get into the humor style. The tone is mean-spirited, but thanks to Jack Tracy's talents it manages to survive under its own weight. You will most likely chuckle a few times at the people who live in Danny's world and the way he shames them. Or, like me, you don't laugh with him as much as at him, because, through it all, Danny is clueless that he is as cliched as the rest of them.  The 10 minute short episodes work in its favor given the attention span of audiences these days. It's hard to pick a favorite epidote but I quite enjoyed the one where he talks about how he gets this "top" phase and shows us bottom entrapment. I laughed my ass off in that one. The season 2 is apparently already out and I just need to get my hands on it. For a change, I actually enjoyed a show released by Dekkoo and it is a good sign I suppose. (7.5/10)

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