All posts by PPBongi

“Awaiting Dawn” Series Review (Ep.1 to 12)

This is anthology, an omnibus of human experiences that happen to all of us at one time or another in our lives. Realities involve falling in love, losing it, or perhaps realizing we never really had it in the first place. Being ever so cautious of the next time, yet it is feeling so right. Experiences involve making mistakes in life but being able to move forward from those mistakes. It is a treatise of how we live up to family expectations yet be ourselves. Constant searching for the right answers to questions, on whether we give up love to pursue our dreams or stay behind with the one we love. With so many other daily decisions in between.

Continue reading “Awaiting Dawn” Series Review (Ep.1 to 12)

“A Man Who Defies The World of BL Final” Series Review (Ep.1 to 6)

To be sure, this story is a lot more of the same. A few more BL tropey ‘flags’ that trigger Bl developments were introduced that Mob (Inukai Atsuhiro) wiggles out from with seemingly little enthusiasm or creativity to them. Just like he did in all the other seasons. This time, honestly, I did not find any of it even funny or humorous. It felt old and came across as the usual modus operandi. Even his parents seemed relegated to a more tertiary role. And his brother was, well, just his brother. It was all more-of-the-same. Everyone looked – tired and ready to move on.

Continue reading “A Man Who Defies The World of BL Final” Series Review (Ep.1 to 6)

“A Man Who Defies The World of BL 2024” Series Review (Ep.1 to 6)

While I have a great affinity for Seasons One and Two of this series, this set left me just a tad feeling deprived. It felt ‘empty’ and a bit stale. While certainly entertaining and funny overall, it lost a bit of its magic; at least for me. However, its ending did redeem itself.

Continue reading “A Man Who Defies The World of BL 2024” Series Review (Ep.1 to 6)

“A Nice Indian Boy” Movie Review

What an enchanting and funny movie this is! In addition to being so relatable to everyone even though it is centered around an Indian family. The issues that arise may seem unique to the Indian culture but candidly, they are not. Predicaments with parents and family dynamics are universal and are culturally neutral. That is what made this movie so captivating. It can be universally understood (except by the homophobes, of course) and they gave us a splash of Bollywood at the end!

Continue reading “A Nice Indian Boy” Movie Review

“Lover Merman” Series Review (Ep.1 to 8)

Frankly, I am not sure how I sat through this miscue. It is an inferior story with pedestrian acting. There I said it and am glad I did. I just do not know when these sappy BLs will end. This is yet another in a L-O-N-G line of them. What saved this series from being on my Worst List is the cinematography. The water scenes are exceptional, but there are not nearly enough of them. If you are going to have a story about mermen, how about showing more of them and their communion? Also, I like the idea that mermen could live on land and become a part of regular human society. The notion that during the full moon, mermen HAD to go back into the ocean to cleanse themselves of their ‘toxins’ was quite intriguing, and I found that to be a nice twist to the story. Further, one figure, and a minor one at that, altogether makes this series worth watching, overall, for the depth of his characterization and his intense understanding of the persona he was portraying.

Continue reading “Lover Merman” Series Review (Ep.1 to 8)

“Takumi- Kun Series” Series Review (Ep.1 to 6)

Confusion. I just did not get this series. Perhaps had I known this was composed of snippets of movies/series, I might have appreciated it more. I assumed it was a stand-alone series. Not having seen any of the previous references, I was at a loss as to the subtle references. Frankly, trying to make an anthology out of several movies/series is a fool’s errand and those of us trying to watch this are engaging in a fool’s task. Having said that, the account as presented does have some merit, and I found several subplots it was trying to emphasize, noteworthy. The rest of it merely became fluff and was perfunctory.

Continue reading “Takumi- Kun Series” Series Review (Ep.1 to 6)

“Rearrange” Series Review (Ep.1 to 10)

There is no doubt in my mind that some may find this series entertaining and maybe even cute. Unfortunately, I am not in that category. For me, this was yet another in a long string of endless high school cliché dramas that was unoriginal and trite and filled with every conceivable trope you can think of. Admittedly, it started out interestingly enough. But here again, it moved too inextricably and set up a false premise that from a logical perspective did not make any sense that was never explained nor fully clarified.

Continue reading “Rearrange” Series Review (Ep.1 to 10)