I've always had kind of a love hate relationship with Chinese historical BLs. Some are genuinely excellent, but then there are others that cram in so much plot that keeping track of all the layers of betrayal and scheming gets exhausting, and I end up checking out mentally. Part of the issue is also just how much content is out there in this space, so something really has to stand out to keep me hooked. In this case, the production value is genuinely impressive, top tier stuff, but story wise, I just couldn't bring myself to actually care about these characters. There's a ton of political scheming and backstage manipulation running throughout. Somewhere in the middle of all that chaos, a hostage ends up falling for his own Prince Charming. The show runs eight episodes, each around 50 to 60 minutes long. After spending three years guarding the border, Fifth Prince Yin Qi gets called back to the capital because of a secret letter, only to end up walking straight into a deadly...
The story kicks off by introducing us to Tomayo, a student in his early 20s who is hanging out with two close friends. He meets a gay bar owner who takes an interest in him right away, which basically starts Tomayo’s journey of figuring out his own sexuality. Then we meet an 18-year-old guy who is more on the effeminate side; he’s desperate to find love and be in a relationship, but he keeps getting rejected. He ends up sleeping with one of Tomayo's close friends. After that, we meet Akiko, a 33-year-old corporate worker whose coworkers are always bugging him about why he’s still single. It turns out he actually has a long-term partner, and the two of them are hosting a house party where all these different people eventually meet up. There’s clearly some tension between Akiko and his partner—maybe they think the other is cheating—and things get even more awkward when a handsome photographer named Kenichi shows up. These seven guys spend the night drinking and laughing together, but as they get drunker and stay in that small space, things start to heat up. Everything is brand new to Tomayo, who is just starting to accept that he’s gay. When he catches Akaki and the photographer kissing, he accidentally blabs to the whole group. This starts a huge argument where everyone shares their own opinions on how to treat people, what a "boyfriend" really means versus just a relationship, and how empathy and sex fit in. It all ends with a long speech from one of the guys reminding everyone that gay people already deal with so much hate from the world, so they shouldn't be mean or arrogant to each other.
Since this is just a slice-of-life film, nothing really gets explained and there aren't any big resolutions at the end. It's just a tiny glimpse into the lives of these men, who are meant to represent different parts of gay life in Japan. You won't like this movie if you're looking for a normal story with a beginning, middle, and end, but that doesn't mean the movie is actually good. The dialogue isn't very interesting, and sometimes the tension between the characters doesn't feel like it’s earned. The acting is just okay across the board; nobody really stands out as being great. Each guy is looking for love or loyalty, and they all add to the movie’s main theme about trying to find a place to belong—whether that’s as a partner, as a person in the gay community, or in society in general. By the end, the film tries to show how being treated as an "outsider" by society makes people feel lonely and alienated.
The movie had good intentions when it came to its subject matter, but in the end, it feels like it tried to do too much in a very short amount of time without having a clear direction. (4/10)
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