HIStory4: Close to You (2021)

babe, wtf..

This series has to be one of the oddest ones in quite a while. After Trapped and MODC, my expectations were through the roof, but sadly, I was left heartbroken and disappointed. Close to You was full of odd subjects, distasteful relationships, and terrible concepts.

Let's Dive In.

Let's start off with the decent pairing: Teng Teng and Li cheng. I wasn't at all pleased with how they had to use an overly-obsessive bl fangirl as the benefactor in their relationship. Mei Fang and her friend(s) left me uncomfortable the entire time. Imagine you just trying to live your life, and some girl won't stop thirsting over you and your co-worker. But I wasn't very happy with Li cheng's behavior either; pretending to be gay and harassing a fellow friend is not in the slightest bit okay. Instead, he could've just tried starting off as a good friend to Mei fang and gaining her trust in the future. Teng Teng was just used as bait the entire time, and most of it was without his consent. It's also a bit weird how in a time of vulnerability, Li cheng was able to fall for Teng Teng. I just couldn't understand how he wasn't able to fall for him at any other time until then. The use of the cliche bl saying, "I don't like men, I only like him" was used again, and quite frankly, it left a sour taste in my mouth. bisexuality and pansexuality exist, do the creators and screenwriters not know this? It was agitating and disappointing. But moving forward, when they were together, they did bring about many cute moments. What I did like about them was their relationship in the beginning and towards the end, and how comfortable they were together. There were times when they each had me laughing cause their comedy was golden. I also really liked how they styled Teng Teng. He was always in something that was such a statement, and I loved it. As much as I didn't even appreciate them that much, they were at least 10 times more decent than Yong Jie and Xing Si and were the saving grace of this series. Speaking of them, let's touch on their relationship next.

Let's talk about Xing Si. He was my favorite character, and for good reasons too. He was a great friend to Teng Teng and Li Cheng, he had such a bright and bubbly personality, and was openly gay and dealing with the conflict of telling his father. He was the only character that had a very detailed personality. I thought that it was beautiful the way his character was going until they introduced us to the toxic stepbrother. Now, there have been many stepcest/incest series that I've seen, but I think this one has been the most disgusting and hardest to watch. I wasn't even mad about the whole step-brothers situation (even though it was rightfully wrong), it was just the portrayal of the step-brother that left me feeling uneasy.

Let me just say this; Yong Jie is not okay in the slightest. I don't want to self-diagnose anybody, but I am. I'm almost positive that Yong Jie suffers from a high-functioning borderline personality disorder or some type of high-functioning autism. One, he grows an unhealthy obsession with his older brother. Mostly due to the trauma he faced as a child, Xing Si showed that he cared, and because of that Yong Jie took that and clung to it. Two, he is openly honest and truthful about everything. He tells his mom about his plans without showing signs of feeling bad about it, the same goes for when he told Xing Si and his father afterward. He's open about how he feels for Xing Si and the way he feels about others. As I said, this is not me trying to label him, but Yong Jie didn't need a boyfriend, he needed some help. He is obviously not mentally stable, nor is he emotionally okay. I wish that his mental illness could've been spoken about instead of never being brought up cause it's so clear that there is some turmoil within himself. The entire plan he had undermined was absolutely sickening, and it was even worst that the mother knew and did nothing about it. His behavior is so unforgiving, but because Yong Jie is so good at manipulating people (psychopath maybe?), his brother and the ones around him forgive him. Xing Si I believe is suffering from Stockholm syndrome, cause it seemed to be that he would actually let his brother down, but instead, he feels empathetic and that takes over his feelings in which he then makes himself believe that he loves his step-brother back. The dad's reaction is so understanding, and I completely agreed with him. I actually was hoping that he wouldn't end up being okay with their relationship, but of course, this is BL, so everything has to end happily anyways.

Overall, this was a very disappointing series, especially since it was a part of the HIStory franchise. All the actors did a fantabulous job, Teng Teng and Xing Si being my favorite portrayals. The production was all decent and the music was okay too. The only thing I wished more than anything was that Yong Jie's mental illness was looked at, the BL fangirls were non-existent, and for the HIStory franchise to stop romanticizing r*pe, incest, and toxic relationships. I wouldn't recommend this series at all. I'd only say to watch it in order to continue watching the franchise cause at least they have produced other content that is WAY better (MODC and CTL (but crossing the line has an incest relationship too, so at the end of the day, everything has its problems.))

Read More

Very cute! People choose to be offended

I created an account just to review this show. Im reading the comments here and rolling my eyes so much. I have a feeling that since BL blew up a couple years ago, many "new fans" have decided to immerse themselves in it. Thats completely fine, the problem is when these "new fans" decide they want to come in and force everyone and everything to change to suit their preferences.

BL has always had problematic and toxic tropes. It makes them interesting. Yes, Yongjie did rape his step brother. Thats a fact. Irl, he would be in jail. But BL isnt real life. Yongjie also turns out to be very cute and charming, in his cold psycho way, as a character.

This show is very cute, sweet, hot, and will keep you interested. If you go into knowing you have hang ups about step brother relationships or sexual assault, dont watch it. Thats ok. You arent obligated to. But stop trying to force everything to be perfectly healthy, PC drivel.

Also, its laughable that people are acting like the History franchises is so above this. Theyve had 4 step brother couples that I can remember, theyve had a student/teacher with a huge age gap couple, SunBo and Chigang from MODC are 12 years apart, which is more than Xingsi and Yongjie, and in Obsessed they had 1 boy threaten to kill the other if he didn't return his affection. So please, History has always been "problematic" and I wouldnt change a thing.

Read More

The second couple

(This is my only review on this website and the first one I have written for a drama in many years. I couldn't stop myself from writing one for this drama.)

It's been mentioned here many times, but I feel that it can never be mentioned enough. To this day, I still wonder how on earth someone wrote the storyline for the second couple, someone approved this story, and someone agreed to produce it.

I liked the main couple until I saw their reactions to what happened to their friend and how they behaved later on around the second couple.

I rarely get carried away with fictional drama characters. Still, the whole thing was so nonsensical and utterly stupid that I couldn't help but feel dumbfounded and ridiculed by the writers.

There is no saving grace with this drama. Please don't watch it or if you do, voice your disgust, so maybe writers and producers will think twice before using cheap and dirty antics as a plot device.

Read More

Controversies creates cash!

So History 4 has two totally different couples and storylines to offer and also a lot of controversial discussion, which i can totally understand

The first Story deals with the typicall“Best friends to lovers“ and the „gay for you“-Trope, which is nothing new and actually I don't like that Trope.
But fortunelay it’s getting better in the later epsiodes, cause besides the typicall tropes it also follows a fresh gay couple in a realistic way.
There are questions that any non straight person can understand, like how to act in public as a same-sex couple
And moreover, the question of the sexual role is also addressed and finally a series makes it in a more realistic way (Keyword:Communication!).
As a further bonus, a cameo of a well-known couple can be seen, which makes me curious about the future (you know what I mean).
So all in all a cute little show with a good mix from old familliar Tropes and new vibes

But the other Story is totally different. It’s kind of dark and disturbing and trys to break some taboos.
It’s entertaining cause it’s totally unrealistic and the toxicity is so over the top, that no one can say that this could be a healthy relationship!
The Younger brother reminds me of an maipulative comic villian and is creepy as f....
But i like it more than the subversive toxicity of some major BLs, which is praised as healthy. (Relationships are based on respect and communication at eye level, anything else is simply harmful)
Unfortunately the story leaves the psychic/stalker storyline and turns to a (very!) weird familiy drama.

So both storylines have their own charme, but they just do not fit together and I don't know who thought that was a good idea to put them in one series. Cause both appeal to a totally different audience and it would be better if they had mad two seperate Stories instead.

Read More

Welp...

In the words of Dr. Ravi Chakrabarti: "I'm neither overwhelmed, nor underwhelmed. I'm just... whelmed."

This was... Definitely something. I'm not so sure I'm ever going to rewatch that trainwreck, even despite its moments (and God knows there were some great moments). The premice was excellent, the commentary on fujoshi culture would have been great had it been addressed instead of taken seriously, the acting was... what it was, and the music lacked some of the flavor that made History 3 a great installment (and the apex of the series's quality to date). To worsen the plot, I found that the filming was often odd and I am sorry for saying it but it felt like watching bad 90's erotica.

There were some good use of tropes, and thank God no one died fetching salt this time (you can say I'm... salty about something here - pun intended) ALTHOUGH people mentioning salt here and there, now and again in the drama triggered some pretty hefty PTSD (still not over MODC). SPEAKING OF! I gotta say what saved the second part of the drama was Sun Bo's return! The return of the king! And yeah, his wedding was as cringe as can be, but what a breath of fresh air and OMG that Haoting mention in the last episode (and he better be in Alaska, snuggling next to Xigu!)!!! But here's the thing here: I'm trying not to think about the implications of Liu Meifang existing both in MODC and CTY confirmed by the existence of Sun Bo and his boyfriend in CTY and the fact that MODC is a canon drama in this universe and the possible existence of a warp in the timeline or in the layers of realities and the existence of a possible second dimension as it pertains to the History series wherein Yu Xigu is alive and well and what it means for the future of the series... Because this is TOO MUCH! WHICH ONE IS THE RIGHT TIMELINE??? SENJOU NO BOKURA'S??? MODC??? OR DOES CTY EXIST IN ITS OWN PLANE OF EXISTENCE???? WHAT IS HAPPENING??? I NEED ANSWERS!

But I digress: Overall, I don't think this installment matched the flavor History 3 had and it might have done quite a little damage to the franchise as a whole. I don't know how the crew, screenwriters, and staff can possibly salvage what's left of this mess that is History 4, what with Lin Pei Yu's talent being now used by Tencent and pledged to WBL. It will take some serious work (or a second season to MODC in which Xigu DOES NOT DIE) to get the quality back. I am extremely frustrated with this drama seeing that many things should have been handled better (such as the fujoshi/bl meta that I think Lovely Writer aced in comparison, the step-bother/rape/assault storyline, the fake dating thing, the "I saw you masturbate therefore I'm in love with you - wait no maybe that makes sense, idk but it was handled quite superficially - and the chief Gao ploy) but what frustrates me more are MUREN'S FUCKING DECONSTRUCTED SWEATERS!!! Homeboy looked better in a ROBE than those abominations! Burn the sweaters! Burn them! Them and Lichen's plushies! ENOUGH WITH THE PLUSHIES! DO YOU HAVE A PARTNERSHIP WITH PLUSHIES COMPANIES HISTORY FRANCHISE??? OR TOY COMPANIES??? BECAUSE IT SURE AS HELL LOOKS LIKE IT WHAT WITH THE AMOUNT OF SCREENTIME THOSE THINGS GET! OR IS THIS A LIU MEIFANGVERSE THING??? HOW IS IT THAT MODC AND CTY HAVE THE HIGHEST PLUSHIES RATE??? (God! I miss Trapped)

Anyway, I have question and this drama's better for the memes than the actual plot. Rant over, I guess... What the fuck was this drama?

Read More

The most problematic HIStory, and I LOVED IT!

I have to be honest. This is the only BL by far FOR ME that is so bad it's good. This HIStory is the messiest one of all the HIStorys by far, and I JUST LOVED IT! It was just ridiculous from the get go, but so, so entertaining in its problematic story.

I have to mention, are people really into the step-siblings getting together trope? I mean, cool, I guess. But if you actually know the law on the matter, it’s pretty black and white. Step-siblings can legally get married. End of story. I just find how they use this trope and sensationalize it out of proportions so funny. It’s so entertaining. Like. It’s legal. Get over yourselves. LOL

The highlight for me, and I’m sure I’m not alone in this one, is the lovely cameo we get around the end from a certain couple from HIStory3. It was just a lovely cherry on top, and I loved that they sort of gave us more closure from the ending of that HIStory3. If you know, you know.

Last thing i have to note is that i find it most ironic that arguably the most romantic lines of all of HIStory by far came from the not so arguably creepiest character ever. But i have to reiterate. I JUST LOVED IT! Even the little creep!

Over all it was a mess. But it was such a mess that I ultimately really, really enjoyed it.

LOVE WINS, GUYS! WOOOOO!
HIStory still for the win!

P.S. I legit feel like they really played hard on the cliché yaoi tropes; why we got this lovely/messy lump of a mess. I see it, and I loved it.
9 COMPLETELY PROBLEMATIC STARS! (In the best way possible)

Read More

A series that you either love or hate. Not really an in-between.

This has got to be one of the most satisfying and clean finales for me out of all the BL series I've watched. Everything really clicked and while the story was wrapped up quite well, there still is a potential for a continuation (ex. Xing Si and Yong Jie after YJ's graduation, Li Cheng and Mu Ren in their new home, etc.)

I do agree that this series had a rocky start so I understand the negative comments. But I'm so glad I did not drop this. The series progressed wonderfully and got better and better by each episode. Great acting. Chemistry's there. This is now my second most favorite HIStory series.

Read More

Well... it is what it is...give it a try but try not go get offended

I would not say that this is the best bl out there , but it's not the worst either. It was interesting to see how authors got creative a little bit and tried to bring something new into the bl world. New in a sense that I've never seen a BL before that had this kind of a story line, especially about the second couple( Fu Yong Jie-Ye Xing Si). People are going to find it offensive, disgusting, immoral and whatnot, but you need to remember that this is fictional. Y'all can relax.
True, I agree that somethings that FYJ did were bad, inappropriate, and I don't approve of it. But I don't think that this is "love-love". He is more obsessive, calculated, he has that manipulative behavior, while YXS is completely opposite.
I doubt that YXS loves Yong Jie. I feel like there's pity, sympathy and a whole mix of other emotions. This "couple" is a representation of an unhealthy relationship. The incest part was interesting to me and I wanted to see how things will work out for them, but the younger one needs therapy and the older one needs to open his eyes more and separate what's right from what's wrong.
The other couple is totally different from the one I commented on before. They showcased every facet of what is considered as a "healthy" relationship. They were considerate, warm, honest, straightforward and most of all were highly aware of what accounts as abuse, emotional or otherwise. But still, i did not enjoy some aspect of their relationship.
At the end of the day, it's just drama. Sometimes it made me excited and wanted to see more, but most of the time it was kind of boring, draggy and heavy. It was hard to watch form time to time and honestly awkward. I mean it is what it is. Probably least favorite from all HIStory dramas.

Read More

History does it AGAIN!

Another boundary breaking series from History. Once again, I wasn't sure if I was going to like this series after the 1st few episodes. I most certainly didn't like the characters. But then something happened in Episode 3 and by episode 4 I was wow this has certainly blossomed. The 4 main characters were all very much into this series and their characters development. I am going to miss this series next week. I have to give Charles Tu a special shout out. Just wow! What a stunning performance. The producers also too just never a bad scene or a questionable anything.

I was wondering if anyone knows was the opening theme song an original for the series? If not who is it singing?

Thank-you for enlightening me for the last 10 weeks. 👍👍

Read More

Just Skip to the Last Ten Minutes

If you want my honest opinion, the only butterflies I got during this entire show were during the MODC cameos at the very end of the last episode.

In general, the plot line was horrific. It seemed like whoever wrote this just lined up all their taboo fantasies (aka sexual assault) and loosely connected them together. Nothing flowed, the transitions between specific developments didn’t make sense, and the resolutions were all disappointing.

I think the most disappointing resolution was between Mei Feng and the other coworker girl who was harassing her the entire time. She just showed up, said “I’m sorry.” And then ten seconds later Meo Feng was sharing secrets with her like nothing happened. Talk about anti-climactic and unsatisfying. It really solidified the shallow arcs that the writers tried to make deep by sprinkling it with serious transgressions.

The wrongdoings vs the resolutions were incredibly unbalanced. Either make the conflicts more lighthearted to fit the endings, or come up with more serious consequences for the characters.

Such a disappointing ending to a great series.

Read More

Typical BL

This was an interesting journey. It had it ups and certainly had its down. But I would still rate it highly enough. And I would certainly watch it again because I found it to be fun and made my fujoshi heart just scream.

I’ll start with the negatives first as I found them to be minor and I just want to get them over and done with because moving onto the good. Ok I’m sure everyone reading this already know but the rape turned into love is such a big trope in this genre I wasn’t surprised by it at all. At the end of the day I can turn my brain off and go that was fiction and say how nice it worked out for them... now the rational side of me would be going what is wrong with you but I’ve read enough Yaoi to see this trope used again and again that I just can turn my brain off. Now if it really really bothered me I would have just stopped watching but I chose not to stop so I had to tell myself to get over it. And I did! If I felt uncomfortable at any stage I would just fast forward those scenes but I found that didn’t happen too often. There were other minor things but I can’t remember them now so it couldn’t of been that bad.

On with the good. The chemistry between the leads was perfect. From the confident Li Cheng to the tsudere Muren it was perfect. The kind Xing Si and the one dimensional on the surface but so many layers underneath Yungjie I was very happy with this cast. Now was the acting always on point.. no but.I can live with that. I certainly wouldn’t be able to do it.

The story line was typical and very tropey which I like so it was a win for me. Step siblings that stalk is certainly not new for me and I’ve seen worse in manga so this was tamed and the Li Chene and Muren story line was perfect. I love best friend turning into lovers stories. (Maybe because I had a crush on my best friend for years.) I’m glad it work led out for them. They were all just so protective of each other.

Final thoughts. I’m so glad it had a happy ending. I don’t think my heart could take another death. It would be been torture.

Read More