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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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Sweet Tooth, Good Dentist (Thai Series)

By Golu
Yet another of those overtly sweet college level drama with a hint of humor. It was a good change from the recent heavy dramas I have seen but having said that, the story here is barely there. It is filled with every regular BL trope imaginable. The series has 11 episodes each of about 40-45 minutes. The main story is between Sant and Jay, and of course there comes a third wheel and other situations.

Sant is a college student who was raised by his grandparents. With his best friend, he runs a food channel. He has a sweet tooth and his tooth had been hurting a lot. So he goes to meet dentist Jay, but he has some kind of phobia (we later learn that his parents abandoned him at the dentist office). Jay takes a liking for Sant and starts to encourage him and get him out of his fear to finally take care of his teeth. But in the process Jay also falls for Sant and starts to pursue him. Enter Jimmy, an old friend of Jay, who now runs a cafe, where Sant joins as a part-timer, and sparks fly between the two over their shared love for food and desserts. But Jay is relentless and there is almost a war between who gets Sant. Eventually Sant also realizes that Jay holds a more prominent position in his life and thankfully Jimmy backs off. We have some story of Sant's friend having a crush on this girl dentist (Jay's colleague) but it is sadly not fully developed.

The drama is light and fluffy, but it leans so far into cliche and surface-level storytelling that it forgets to offer anything remotely substantial. It started out promisingly with fun banter and a playful tone but quickly spiraled into repetitive campy comedy that we have already seen so many times. The last 4-5 episodes are just terrible and were not needed at all. The pacing dips, the jokes feel repetitive, and the charm wears thin. And as I mentioned above, all BL tropes were added - romance, jealousy, a sudden third, buffoon friend, family drama etc. Actually there isa lotto background family drama, but to be honest at some point, I had lost complete interest in it. They should have just kept his show as light hearted comedy with less number of episodes and it would have done much better. On the bright side Jay and Sant had this good chemistry and given a better script, I think they would do nice. Anyway, if you don’t mind recycled plots and just want to watch cute leads navigate predictable conflicts, this might just be your comfort snack of a series. (4/10)
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