Plus & Minus (2022)

One of the Best!

This is an astonishing and brilliant BL series that is touching with its simplicity and grace. It is a solid love story from beginning to end with us seeing the foibles of two people in love. Not because they question their love for each other but more so as to what it might do to their friendship intimacy. If there was ever a definition of soulmates, these two young men are its examples. It was simply beautiful in its simplicity. They were predestined to be together.
The other couple were destined to be together because they complimented each other to make a whole.
This is a phenomenally soft spoken series that is reflective and a picture of joy.
You can read my full review of this at blbliss.com.

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Ruined By The Writers

Starts strong but became less enjoyable, then the writers completely ruined it in ep 10-12. (General spoiler on this at the bottom of the review.)
Gets more and more cheesy. It's also very heavy-handed and preachy in it's messages. After the two best friends start dating they keep having conversations about things like they're still getting to know each other, instead of having been with each other constantly for 20+ years! One of them doesn't know what the other likes to have for breakfast even though they eat together every day. But it creates a cute scene, so it's okay that it doesn't make sense, right? (Sarcasm) Ridiculous.

*It's like the writers didn't know how to continue with their own premise and so they resorted back to a generic relationship approach.* It was so disappointing. Also, the writer's style is more about 'telling' than it is about 'showing' through actions and interactions. This type of storytelling gets old fast for me.

The acting by all is good. Shi Cheng Xuan as Fu Li is especially good and I was drawn to watch him the most. Chemistry is also satisfying. I really appreciated the two fathers, they were written and acted well.

The secondary couple is cute/sweet but the fast-paced love-bombing by one of them kind of put me off. The family dynamic between them and the laundromat's kid is mostly sweet, but again, very fast-paced.

GENERAL SPOILERS:
The EXTREMELY CONTRIVED and NONSENSICAL plot twist in ep 10, PURELY for the sake of angst, was inexcusable. It was completely unnecessary angst that could only be achieved by making Fu Li act out of character and in the complete opposite to everything he had expressed previously. And then the end of ep 11 resolved it in a cliche manner and in a way that just swept it all under the rug. The whole thing was so inane it made me quite mad with frustration!

In contrast, the sweetness in ep 12 was so over-the-top it made me roll my eyes and cringe. So much so that I actually had to fast-forward through a lot of it.

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Another Good Taiwanese BL

If you are looking for a BL series with a good heart-warming story, this is the right one for you. The synopsis is two best friends slowly develops feeling for each other and finally they fall in love with each other. The story is simple but the presentation is so so good and seeing the chemistry between two main leads is a healing remedy for me.

The main couple is hot and cute together. The actors especially the two main leads did their job very well. Shi Cheng Hao did very great in this drama. He is my favorite one in this drama and I am looking forward to seeing him as a main lead in the future drama.

The music OST is very good too. It is catchy and fits very well with this drama. There is a cameo of the couple from Be loved in house: I Do and also the actors from Make our days count. I didn't expect to see them again in this drama and it makes this drama special for me.

What I dislike is the plot in episode 10 even though there is a reason for the things happening in this episode. They could have make the plot in this episode better, but the writer failed to do it. The rest is fine.

Anyway recommend to watch if you don't want to miss another good Taiwanese BL drama of 2022.

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Sweet and slightly angsty friends to lovers story

I love a good pining-for-my-best-friend story, and this fit the bill. The two main characters definitely have chemistry, and I loved the way Gong hid his feelings for a long time before finally confessing. I know a bit of angst is almost always present, so I wasn't surprised when it happened. What I have issue with is the manner in which it happened because, although it could have made sense, the way it was written it didn't really. Gong had his reasons, but I feel we should have seen him go through them rather than be left guessing as Shou was. Still, the incredibly romantic finale made up for it.
The secondary couple was a wonderful surprise. These two also had great chemistry, and I found myself rooting for them. The addition of Ze's daughter made them even sweeter. All in all, this series (for the most part) dripped in sweetness and had many humorous scenes as well.

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Not perfect, but worth while

I watched this show weekly as it was coming out. While at first I wasn't that invested, I got really attached to the characters and was looking forward to watching them on screen.

!! very minor spoilers up ahead !!

The story is your typical friends to lovers. Fu Li Gong has been friends with Zheng Ze Shou since kindergarten. We don't really see much of how their relationship was like back then, excepts for a high school flashback. We get introduced to them when they are already adults, working alongside each other in a law firm. I applaud the show for making this about two adults. We have seen the high school and college romance, and them being working adults is something I haven't seen that often. But that also takes me to my biggest critique of the show.

The show establishes the comfortableness (I would argue Bro-ness) of Zheng Ze Shou wayyy too well. His change in behaviour towards Fu li Gong seemed abrupt and made it hard for me to believe their love. I personally am a sucker for a good slow burn. So I would have loved to see Zheng Ze Shou realize his feelings in a more subtle way. I mean, if he loved Fu Li Gong this much, why hasn't he realized it a little sooner? They went through High School and College together and even work together. That's 20+ yrs of knowing each other and 20+ yrs of Fu Li Gongs unrequited love. Why was Zheng Ze Shou trying to hit on girls with no regard to Fu Li Gong in the first episode and then suddenly is head over heels for him a few days later? I feel like the whole "Oh shi... do I LIKE like him?" part wasn't explored enough. Of course, this is a 12 episode show with each episode being around 20 mins. I can't expect the same depth and character development I am used to by bigger budget productions. I believe that if they would have spent less time on the second couple, they could've explored the main couples relationship a lot better.

After I got over that though, the couple had good chemistry, which is why I enjoyed the second half of this show a lot more than the first. The conflicts felt realistic, though a bit rushed. The love scenes are very well made, as expected of Taiwanese BLs. You'll get to see some good kisses, but not overdone.

I'll mention the second couple only briefly. They didn't do it for me. I felt no chemistry between them. The laundromats daughter was cute though and I wish them only happiness: But in my opinion, they didn't need their own storyline at the expense of the main couple. Their relationship contributed nothing to the main storyline and made it hard to follow along. It is
Zheng Qi Lei's first acting role though, so I don't want to bash him too much.

I have to say, despite the flaws, I really enjoyed the show. It's light and the characters are super likeable. The conflicts are resolved quickly and in the end, you are really rooting for their happiness. It's a quick watch, now that it's complete and definitely worth the while.

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When Fluffy BL meets literary substance, good things follow

The 2022 series Plus & Minus (Taiwan) offers one of the stronger interpretations of the “friends to lovers” tropes that a BL connoisseur is likely to encounter in the ever-growing pantheon of BL series. The series pairs these friends with a delightful side couple. But the factor that distinguishes Plus & Minus from that BL pantheon is its ability to comment on the human condition generally, specifically on the emotionally fraught topic of how our romantic relationships succeed or fail. One could say there’s a cognitive dissonance in having a BL series, which usually focus on people falling in love, spend so much time pondering how relationships end. But full credit to the writers: that disconnect works poetically in this story. Plus & Minus merits watching for its literary attributes alone—treat the BL romances as a happy bonus in this instance.

“Fluffy” is a frequent descriptor of the BL genre. The term has both positive and negative connotations. On the plus side, “fluffy” bespeaks the cheery, hopeful romanticism that infuses many BL series and makes them a fun, pleasurable ride. On the negative side, “fluffy” connotes an absence of solidity or lack of substance. Fun and pleasurable, the typical BL series may be, but they seldom offer any meaningful insight into the human condition. Offering perceptive nuggets into humanity’s foibles and follies or our potentials and proficiencies is more typically a hallmark of fine literature or prestige film and TV productions. When present, such literary merits supersede any story’s specific points of plot and character to examine the generic human experience. Plus & Minus delivers both delightful BL fluff but also has some meaningful things to say about love and romance. That combination in a BL is rare, and it elevates Plus & Minus into a near-masterpiece.

The previous two paragraphs will suffice as an endorsement in favor of sampling this series. The rest—lengthy!—offers a more detailed analysis. In most reviews, I’d favor presenting my ideas in an essay format. But it seems to me that the title of this series warrants a wholly different approach. So please forgive the bullet pointed, pluses and minuses in this analysis of Plus & Minus. Note that the +’s outnumber the –‘s. Caution: some light spoilers lurk inevitably ahead.

+ The lead characters work as divorce lawyers, and that makes the series a prolonged meditation about why some relationships persist and others fail.

Guest characters seeking out the professional services of these barristers briefly enter into the story, offering our leads ample opportunity to discuss what makes some relationships fail while others succeed. In examining their clients’ failing relationship dynamics and helping those clients to navigate romantic disentanglement, Fu Li Gong and Cheng Ze Shou also must confront what leads two people to commit to one another in the first place. Friends since kindergarten, Li Gong and Ze Shou have a markedly close relationship themselves. Flashbacks (and lingering glances) make it abundantly clear that Fu Li Gong harbors a longstanding crush on his best friend. These office conversations about their clients’ reason to disentangle also serve as commentary to mirror the growing awareness of their mutual (?) feelings toward one another. (These are BL characters, after all. They are going to move from friends to lovers.) Adding another layer to the theme “why relationships fail and how do we deal with it?” is a subplot revolving around Ze Shou’s family. His mother abandoned her husband and two children when Ze Shou and his sister were quite young. Ze Shou bears a grudge, the sister seems prepared to let by-gones be by-gones, while Ze Shou’s father (as an abandoned spouse rather than an abandoned child) has issues specific to his own situation. Those issues build gradually from the start, then reach a head at a critical point in the story. I think this character backstory amplifies and accents the thematic elements introduced by having the leads work as divorce lawyers.

If Plus & Minus enters the class of “great BLs” whose stories and characters hold up over time, these conversations about the nature of long-term romances will be a chief reason why the series stands out from the pack.

+ Both the lead couple and the side couple are actual adults leading adult lives.

Lawyers, obviously, are older than high school age or college age students. Thus, Plus & Minus is a welcome addition to the growing trend of building BL plots around actual adults rather than kids. (To be fair, Taiwan has been good at this for a while.) Any BL fan who desires a reprieve from school-based series will appreciate the more adult outlook on offer here.

+ The three “guest couples” who become clients for 2-3 episodes each.

The writers did a good job of presenting married couples in different stages of marital collapse. The first relationship depicted was so toxic that no one would dispute divorce was necessary. The second couple really needed marriage counseling rather than divorce lawyers. And the third couple had simply reached the end of the line after a 30 year marriage. Li Gong and Ze Shou spent bits of two episodes coming to terms with the idea that sometimes relationships fizzle out and, simply, there is NO REASON why. (They did so while just embarking on their own adventure.) I found that sequence to be one of the more poignant discussions in a series that handled poignancy with aplomb.

Taiwan, as all BL fans ought to know already, is the one Asian country to ratify same-sex relationships with the privilege of marriage. Thus, it was gratifying that the second of the three couples happened to be a gay couple. (Happily, the one couple they saved from divorce was the gay couple.) The series does not belabor the fact that gay marriages fail just as straight ones do; rather, the lawyers just processed these clients the same as they would any other. Representation begets normalization, folks! Representation matters!

- The transition from friends to lovers was a bit too glib.

Fu Li Gong and Cheng Ze Shou have been best friends for over 20 years. One of them has had a semi-secret crush since at least adolescence. I’m not fully sure what triggered Li Gong to suddenly confess, which means the moment could have been portrayed in more dramatic, exciting fashion. When the confession did arrive, the moment felt anti-climactic. Then, the part where they shift from friends to boyfriends was too quick and way too easy. These two already have one type of deep connection, and the nature of that connection would seemingly make the conversion to lovers difficult. Such a profound change to an established interpersonal dynamic ought to have required either a sudden surrender to long-repressed passion and emotion (like a dam breaking) and/or a series of awkward exchanges as they try to recalibrate their customary interactions to accommodate their new, emerging dynamic. So, for me their actual conversion seemed a little too easy.

+ The transition from friends to lovers begins in the middle of the series.

Plus & Minus has 12 episodes, and the shift from friends to lovers begins just past the halfway point. (About the same time as the duo favorably resolves the divorce case for the gay couple, suggesting that the example of that same-sex couple might have triggered Li Gong’s abrupt confession.) Structurally, the series neither shifted them into romance mode too early nor waited so long that there was no time to investigate the transition.

I suspect a certain segment of BL fandom will find the lead couple’s progress to have been too slow. Such fans also likely will wail at how much time is wasted discussing divorcing straight couples. I, however, believe that the writers played this scenario exactly right. Yes, their romance is assuredly a slow burn, but I will argue that that pacing fits the story and characters. In a series that takes "the evolution of relationships from start to finish" as one of its themes, playing slow with the main relationship's beginning is an astute choice.

- Uncertainty about Cheng Ze Shou’s awareness of Li Gong’s crush.

At times it felt like Ze Shou was aware of Li Gong’s unspoken attraction. At other times, the series seems to hint that Ze Shou was aware of his own attraction to Li Gong. Notably, in both flashbacks to high school and in the present, he plants drunken kisses on his friend’s face. Li Gong neither reacts to these overtures (if they were overtures), nor does he push the issue when Ze Shou fails to remember these drunken kisses the morning after (if he really did forget). I dislike the “drunken kiss doesn’t count” gambit anyway, but if the writers wanted to play that card anyway, they should have made those moments matter by having consequences attached.

+ The side couple was outstanding.

Jian Ying Ze is a divorced man who owns a laundromat and occasionally has custody of his daughter. At some point prior to the series, our two leads handled his divorce case; subsequently, they became regular clients at his laundromat. Below the laundromat, is a dive bar that employs Yuki as a bartender. It’s also the watering hole favored by the lawyers; so, Li Gong and Ze Shou have personal connections to both Yuki and Ying Ze even before the latter duo meet each other. Yuki attracts female clients to the bar, who swoon over his long locks and beautiful face. A caretaker type, Yuki soon develops an interest in the broken human being who runs the laundromat. Their relationship takes flight much earlier than the lead couple’s probably to distract the audience from the fact Li Gong and Ze Shou haven’t figured themselves out yet. These two eventually sort out their issues. Like the divorce clients mentioned above, I think interacting with this nascent gay couple helps demonstrate to Li Gong and Ze Shou that same-sex relationships can work. The inevitable drama in their relationship feels a bit contrived, but not nearly at the level of Li Gong and Ze Shou.

- That time Li Gong and Ze Shou break up.

Ok, it’s a BL tradition that our lead couple must endure some sort of existential threat to their relationship, one that might even tear them apart so that the finale has something to do besides just exist. It’s just that the execution of this subplot is uncommonly stupid even by BL standards. Li Gong just spent 10+ years pining away for his best friend. He confesses. They get together. They profess eternal love and exchange versions of “I will always be by your side.” Then, two episodes later, for no reason that has been earned via character development or prior dialog, Li Gong initiates a break-up. The moment felt flimsy and forced when it happened—drama because a drama series has to have drama for the sake of having drama, right? Having seen the end of the series (the “why” gets explained after the fact), I still think that plot development feels indefensible. Egregiously so. I dropped the MDL score for this series a full point just for this bit.

+ / - The female side characters are a mixed bag.

On the bright side, the archetypal jealous female villain is absent. In place of that stock character is an array of other women orbiting our two lead couples. While Nikita, the bar owner, has a longstanding crush on Li Gong, she also recognizes that his heart is set on Ze Shou. After making her own confession, she even pushes him back toward Ze Shou after the idiotic break-up. (I liked that she took her shot, and that getting her feelings out into the open helped her.) Ze Shou’s sister seems aware the boys ought to be together before they do, and she supports them fully. The bar has a second female employee who remains on the fringes of the story. All three of these adult women feel underwritten as characters. The fourth female character is Ying Ze’s precocious daughter. I could nitpick how worldly she is for her tender age, dishing out sophisticated relationship advice to her emotionally damaged father, but I will overlook that. Her function in the story is to act as a muse for Ying Ze as he contemplates his failed prior marriage and the scary, scary business of starting over with someone new. She actually plays a pivotal role in helping both Yuki and Ying Ze negotiate their blossoming romance.

+ / - The two dads are a mixed bag.

Fu Li Gong’s father is the managing partner at the law firm that employs the two leads. Cheng Ze Shou’s working class father owns a restaurant. Let me acknowledge up front that I understand and accept that Asian parents often play an overt role in their adult children’s romantic choices. And, I understand and accept that the older generation may have little preparation to deal with same-sex romances. Thus, it’s not particularly surprising when Papa Cheng becomes an obstacle to the blossoming romance between his son and Li Gong. But too many series (not just BL!) rely on "parental interference" to create tension in the plot. I am bone weary of watching series where parental interference drives a wedge into the main relationship. If Papa Cheng had been more fully developed; if the interference had arisen from character or story context; if the series had telegraphed this development ahead rather than springing it on us; if this parental interference had felt fresh and original rather than cliché and convenient; if any of those, then I might not have minded. But his attitude felt like drama for the sake of drama. Other than that, Papa Cheng is actually a compelling figure as he insists to his bitter son that he should forgive the absent mother. His take on why relationships fail adds a contemplative element. But all that means his disapproval of Ze Shou and Li Gong felt inconsistent with his prior characterization.

Papa Fu is even less sketched out, but his support of the relationship proves pivotal. He is the one who tells Li Gong to pull his head out of his ass and go reverse the idiotic break-up before it’s too late. However, I think that speech would have been even more effective (and the character more interesting) if it had been delivered seven episodes earlier, before the CONFESSION. Papa Fu seems like the kind of dad who would have spotted his son's crush. He could have been a catalyst for the initial union rather than for the re-union. It was a nice grace note, however, that when Papa Fu offered to go talk to Papa Cheng on the couple’s behalf, Li Gong declined the offer in favor of taking care of his own business.

+ + + + + Effective use of cameo appearances from actors who appeared in other BL roles.

These cameos are pure audience service, of course, but BL afficionados will be absolutely delighted at the unexpected appearances of familiar faces, some of them (unofficially) playing familiar characters. There’s one + above for each BL series I counted.

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script? what script?

This show had potential but it was a train reck. The only redeeming quality this show are the attractive main leads and that they are good at acting, also the cameo from Be loved in house:I do and MODC was also nice. Other than that, it literally garbage. The plot was basically not there. The story should have focused on the two main leads and try to tell the story about how its hard to move from a friend to a lover. It should have focused on Fu li Gong and Ze Shou only but instead, this series was a split between two stories. Their story and the other couple, Washing machine and shampoo commercial. These two stories didn't even interact with each other. It was like I was watching two series. And to make it worse, the second couple was the most boring, cheesy and basic thing I have ever scene. I skipped all of their scenes so I won't go much about them. But they were too boring to pay interest to. I would liked it more if we learn more about Li Gong and Ze shou. About Li Gong's internal issues with dealing with his feeling for his best friends and Ze Shou's problem with marriage and with his mother. But no, because there was these unnecessary boring second couple taking the screen time. They also created drama for no reason at all. Like when Li Gong broke up with Ze shou, when his father didn't even say anything or when Nakita confessed to Li Gong when she had shown no interest in Li Gong at all. The way they made Ze shou's mother seem like a big issue but she was not relevant to the story at all. She wasn't there, we didn't even saw her once. But Ze shou's dad just made him guilty for nothing, for not caring about his death beat mom who left. Like bitch who would care. And when she died, the bitch ass dad made it seem like it was Ze shou's fault lol and to make it worse, to crown this dad of the year, he acted like it was none of his fault when Ze shou and Li gong broke up lol. Plot is basically a mess. It was like it was written by a 12 year old in wattpad who doesn't know how to create drama and angst well. Now the acting, I had no complain with the acting expect shampoo commercial/Yuki's actor, he was stiff like a rock. Other than him others were fine I guess. The OST was ok. I would only rewatch this series for the sex scene and their kisses, other than that, no reason to watch this shit show.

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These Lawyers Do Not Get Divorced!

What a bizzarely underrated gem this one is. It's a heartfelt, mature story about love in its many iterations, an exploration of what being in a relationship can mean to different people, and the courage it takes to hold onto the people you love.

The two main characters are not only lawyers, which would already have been a unique premise, they are divorce lawyers.
This is an incredibly clever plot device that allows the show to explore, in depth, the concept of romantic relationships, why they succeed and how they fail. It addresses serious topics such a domestic violence and abuse, but also focuses on more universal questions such as - What happens if love alone isn't enough to make a relationship work? Can letting a beloved partner go be the right decision, or is it better to hold onto love with both hands and fight to keep it?
All these ideas are explored thoroughly and all tie into helping the characters grow and evolve.
As an added bonus, Yu Zhen and Shi Lei from Be Loved in House make an appearance here as well, which is very fun to watch for fans of that show, but even for those who are unfamiliar with the two, their story is a very sweet addition to show overall.

While the main couple's story focuses on the terrifying, exhilerating roller coaster ride of falling in love with your best friend, the side couple's story revolves mainly around learning to let go of the past to make space for a new partner and the difficulties of integrating a new love into an already existing family unit, especially when there's kids involved.
Serious as that may sound, both romantic plots are actually very sweet and uplifting and carry with them an incredibly heartening sense of hopefulness and joy.
I will also say that, even though I detest nothing more than a dramatic separation, especially if one character martyrs themselves for the other, here that plot point actually makes a lot of sense and is handled with a care and compassion that I really appreciated.

In short, Plus & Minus is a welcome departure from the more common university and high school centered dramas and delivers a story that is truly unique and heartfelt.
If you're looking for a mature queer show with solid writing, believable relationships, and a cast of sympathetic and lovable characters, then give this one a watch.

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I can see the love.

*happy ending*
*supportive parent on one side, and the other to follow*

I watched because of the buzz regarding the couple. It was posted that they really ended up together in real life and that's why I watched. And lo and behold! The intimate scenes really looks like they are in love. They are very comfortable with each other and I liked how they incorporated real working scenes such as them working on divorce cases each episode.

I feel like this could've go on for a lot more episodes, especially if they handle various types of cases.

The cameos of BL actors from HIStory and Beloved in the house is a huge surprise for me and I love it!

Shout out to Fu li gong's very supportive father!

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A lovely but at times frustrating love story. Give it a try!

As always, Taiwanese Bls don't disappoint. This was a good show in my opinion, I love the friends to lovers trope, even though I feel like this show didn't properly develop the main relationship. The beginning was amazing, but in the end it started to get a little boring. I eventually enjoyed the last episode and how they ended things, but to get to that point, the show took a turn that I hated. If you watch a lot of dramas you know that near the end there is always the big fight between the lovers before they reunite in the end, and I was really scared how they would do it here since it was going amazingly well between the main two. When it eventually came in episode 10 I was so mad at how they handled it that I basically skipped it entirely. Fu Li Gong broke up with Ze Shou for such a stupid reason, that just a simple, honest conversation between them could have easily solved the problem. I know it was necessary for the plot, but personally it could have been done better. Also, I felt that they went from being friends, to an actual couple, too quickly, and there should have been more time in between to make them reflect on their sexuality and relationship in general, especially for Ze Shou. Regarding the other couple, I don't really have much to say, I liked their dynamic more, but it felt less interesting. Nonetheless, I started this review in a positive way, because I still really enjoyed the show. I like the actors' chemistry, the overall story, the side characters, and I love how much kissing there is. It's very rare to see this many love scenes, so I really liked this aspect, it makes everything more realistic to me. To sum up, this is a very cute love story but with definitely some flaws, I wouldn't watch it again, but I'll look back at it in a good way.

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Short and very sweet

This was a cute little series. It had a simple but nice story and it was good to see more mature characters rather than ones centered around high school or university age.

I really enjoyed it up until episode 10 (probably why it has the lowest rating in the whole series). The main couple had spent up until then being all "we'll always be together" and "no matter what, we will face it together." Then, all of a sudden, Li Kung is all "we have to break up" without explaining the reason why. Instead, he does the trope I probably hate the most where he makes the decision for both of them and says "I don't love you anymore." Like, seriously, why is that such a popular cop-out trope? How is anyone supposed to come back from that and say "just kidding!" like everything is all fine and dandy afterward? The only saving grace was that it gets resolved the very next episode instead of being dragged out for too long. But still, I absolutely loathe that trend and it unfortunately was the main cause this didn't get a higher rating from me.

Even so, this was still an enjoyable watch overall. Another good one to cleanse the palate with in between heavier dramas.

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