I confess that I have never read nor am I interested in Omegaverse stories, so Pit Babe was a series that I had a lot of resistance to start with. The plot itself has something interesting. The actors are charismatic and have a lot of chemistry, but the development of the story doesn't work.

There are two series here. The first half is a racing series and the second half is a fantasy thriller. But this whole plot involving fantasy is absurdly flawed.

There is no worldbuilding here. The series does not explain or explore what an Alpha, an Omega or an Enigma is. The story also doesn't care about the repercussions or impacts that beings with powers would have on the world.

The villain and his motivations are so caricatured that he doesn't convince me (he spends the entire series beating Kenta and telling him to bring his "children" home without ever taking any action other than sabotaging race cars) and the entire plot is sustained by kissing scenes, poor dialogue, an excess of unnecessary characters and easy resolutions.

Practically everyone here is Chen's adopted son. And when you realize the number of "children" he let run away from his house it just makes this whole arc of his persecution lame.

The characters are very shallow and don't have much to offer. The one who suffers most from this is Charlie, whose only personality is to smile and run after Babe. Even their relationship happens so unnaturally and quickly that it becomes dull. They have good chemistry, but there is no construction of their relationship.

Babe starts the series saying that his powers are everything to him, but he has no reaction when he discovers that Charlie stole them. Another highlight here is Charlie's fake death. It's a very impactful scene, but the whole revelation of the "plan" is anticlimactic and the reason for it is simply stupid.

There is potential in the plot, but it never arrives. It's a simple story that they try to sell as a thrilling action fantasy. But we never see the usefulness of these powers and the whole plan to defeat the villain is by exposing his crimes and exchanging gunfire.

There is no threat or sense of urgency here. It's not like the villain were about to do something terrible that they need to act immediately. Every time a character is arrested he escapes in the simplest way possible. There are no real repercussions for anything they do a the action scenes are shamefully directed.

And the most impressive thing of all is how a high-budget series like this has terrible cinematography. There is not a single beautiful shoot here. A shaky camera, bland lighting and ugly framing is all we have.

And let's not forget the plot twists. One worse than the other. Charlie's secret intentions at the beginning? Tedious. Way revelation as an Enigma? It serves no purpose in the plot other than creating drama. Charlie's fake death? More drama. Kenta and Pete's relationship? It's there for a reason that only the screenwriters know.

And Way's death? Another failed attempt to create an emotional scene that doesn't work because there was no reason for him to throw himself in front of the bullets.

It's a series that doesn't know whether it wants to be a hot racing drama or an action series with powerful beings. Weak characters, amateur cinematography, a script full of conveniences and poor world and plot construction.

It had the potential to be an incredible series, but it falls into a lazy narrative, without really daring to create a different and bold plot. It's a little too long to be good entertainment, but it's not a difficult series to watch if you don't care about the script.

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Just a porn parody trying to be edge

Playboyy is a camp series. They want to be dark, edge and sexy, but the script is too bad to allow that. And the worst of all is that the story has immense potential and could easily be one of the best BLs ever made. But that's not the case.

The biggest problem here is the lack of development. The script (for a 14-hour series) is extremely rushed and does not allow for in-depth analysis of the characters. It's a series that wants to address very complex issues such as sexual harassment, prostitution, murder, trafficking and addictions, but the characters and their motivations are too shallow.

The entire mystery plot surrounding Nant's disappearance (a character we only see in 2 or 3 scenes) is promising, but investigation boils down to Noth accusing people without proof and torturing prostitutes. The discoveries are all random and the plot never advances, which makes everything even more confusing.

All the relationships and the problems arising from them are equally shallow and unrealistic, in part because the characters look at each other, talk dirty and are having sex. Two scenes later they are in love, but the series doesn't bother to show it. There is no sexual tension, no flirting, no tension or sense of danger in the mystery, no nuance. Everything here is raw, played out on screen and explored in an extremely dramatic and obvious way.

Each episode has around 5 to 6 sex scenes that are terrible. It's like watching a porn parody and the attempt to do something daring gives the impression that these scenes were created by a teenager who just discovered pornography.

It's exhausting to follow a series where 95% of the content is sex scenes or bad dialogue that revolves around sex. It's a script extremely obsessed with its own theme. The prostitutes are there to show off their bodies and that's all the series allows them. The students are spoiled and almost all of them are committing a crime or being toxic and whiny.

Zouey and Teena are a couple that happens very quickly and after the fifth episode they practically serve no purpose in the plot. And the entire final plot with Zouey doesn't make sense, maybe it would work if the series showed the relationship between them, but that never happens.

First and Soong give us the worst representation of BDSM I have ever seen. They have a relationship that starts from nothing, there is no construction whatsoever and the First being so spoiled, cruel and selfish only makes things worse.

Captain and Keen have something interesting there at the beginning. But everything goes wrong when they have Captain lying, recording and exposing Keen's sextapes and still coming out as the lovelorn sufferer.

Porsche and Jump is another random couple that adds nothing to the plot. Porsche blackmailing and harassing Jump and his relationship with Mr. Lee just means nothing in the narrative.

Puen and Aob are by far the most interesting couple. But the characters are too shallow. At no point does the series attempt to bring any critical thought about prostitution or social inequality. The entire psychological and sentimental aspect is left aside, which makes any social criticism present in the series and these characters null and void.

Phop and Nuth is another couple that I don't care much about. There is a violent presentation of Phop, a construction that there is something wrong with him, but this is soon abandoned and Nuth is there. Even the final plot with him is something that only the screenwriters will be able to explain, because there was no logic in the plot.

And finally we have Nont and Prom. A couple with no chemistry and that shouldn't even exist. Nont is looking for his brother, but that soon turns into him having sex with other men to find out information. Prom is a dull character and the final revelation that he knew everything (the fake suicide tape and the dog mask) just makes their entire arc so pointless.

The series even gets better from the 7th episode onwards and continues to grow interestingly. The photography is solid and has beautiful scenes with stylish lighting, the script has surprising twists and despite some average performances, all the actors have a lot of charisma.

But the final episodes sink the plot again and show the screenwriter and director's inability to connect all the plots and deliver scenes of tension and danger. There is no responsibility for the atrocities committed by the characters, Nont's plan is something so silly and the revelations are just confusing. The editing does nothing for this series, the way they put a supposed suicide scene followed by a sex scene is just an example of how bad it is.

The unresolved ending and the promise (threat, in this case) of a second season is the proof this series as a huge disappointment and waste of time.

What remains are sex scenes without chemistry, a convoluted script, problematic and poorly constructed characters, countless scenes of men in padded underwear and an attempt to create a mystery BL that results in a sleazy porn script.

For those who just want to see men making out, enjoy. But to everyone else, stay away from this series. A complete waste of time.

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Fun but not a BL

It's a very good series. It has great characters, a fun plot that is different from the other two seasons of this anthology series and here the production is excellent and delivers quality acting, script and cinematography.

However, it is not a BL. And that's the biggest problem with this series. They create situations in some episodes and imply that Earth and Best could be a couple or that Win and Dunk will be a secondary couple, but in the end nothing happens and the series only presents heterosexual relationships.

It's frustrating - and disrespectful - the studio's strategy of using the name Close Friends (which is a BL franchise) and promoting the series as a BL only to deceive and attract BL fans to a series that doesn't even have a bromance or romance scenes.

Personally speaking, I believe that the plot would be much more interesting with a romance between Earth and Best, since both have an enemy to lovers construction.

Despite that, it's a good series, has great scenes and presents a fun story. I love the characterization of the characters and how each of them has a distinct style and personality.

But if you're looking for a BL, you won't find it here. Just like My Strawberry Film, here they also talk about being LGBTQIA+ but in a brief and shallow way and that's all you get.

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Gostosinha de assistir, mas esquecível

Com uma trama simples e já apresentada inúmeras vezes em outras histórias BL, To Be Continued é uma série fácil e gostosa de assistir.

O problema, entretanto, é a forma como essa narrativa é conduzida. Eu confesso que a história do passado entre o Ji e o Achi é absurdamente mais interessante e emotiva do que o arco deles no presente. O maior problema que eu tive aqui é a forma como esses personagens continuam agindo e se comportando como adolescentes mesmo sendo adultos.

Eu sinto que há quase uma infantilização (leve, mas existente) dos personagens aqui para apelar para o público mais jovem que assiste a série. Diferente de Love is Better The Second Time Around que terminou recentemente, aqui você não sente que esses personagens são homens adultos em cargos importantes. O uso frequente de fantoches e pelúcias é um dos aspectos que me incomoda profundamente.

Mas para além disso, na trama presente, Ji e Achi não são exatamente personagens lá muito interessantes. O luto do Ji pela morte da mãe ou suas preocupações em ser um bom médico não me convencem e o Achi está ali. Ele é engraçado e carismático, mas não há muito sendo explorado no personagem.

Toda a falta de comunicação entre eles no presente é algo que realmente atrapalha a narrativa e deixa a trama cansativa. A série poderia ter explorado melhor a vida deles (principalmente o fato de ambos terem trabalhos que consomem muito tempo) ou a dificuldade em estar em um relacionamento com um idol e o preconceito da indústria ou ter que esconder o namoro e lidar com as fãs. Havia inúmeras possibilidades a serem exploradas ali e eu sinto que nada realmente ganha destaque.

O casal secundário e o casal de médicos recebem uma introdução, mas nunca realmente acontecem, o que me faz questionar o porquê a produção decidiu perder tempo mostrando algo que não tem um desenvolvido ou resolução no final.

De forma geral, a série tem momentos muito interessantes e cenas lindas e o passado deles carrega uma trama muito emotiva, mas eles falham em entregar uma trama divertida e apaixonante na história presente. Atores com ótima química e uma produção competente, certamente um ótimo BL para assistir sem grandes pretensões.

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Um BL apaixonante, mas cheio de furos

Desde o primeiro episódio eu simplesmente amei Jazz for Two. É uma série super bem produzida, com uma fotografia bonita, uma trilha sonora deliciosa e um elenco extremamente talentoso. A história era muito promissora e trazia personagens complexos e uma trama bem densa, mas apaixonante.

A personalidade indiferente e fria do Taeyi, a inocência do Seheon e o carisma de milhões do Doyoon (um dos melhores personagens que eu já vi) conseguiram carregar essa história com maestria e muita química.

Porém, apesar de ter amado essa série, é triste perceber o quanto o roteiro sofreu muito com falta de tempo ou talvez uma narrativa mais objetiva na hora de adaptar a história. Muitos dos arcos da série são completamente abandonados ou ignorados como: a briga e a cobrança do pai do Seheon, o casal secundário que não recebe qualquer tempo de tela, a reação super violenta do Taeyi quando é beijado (e principalmente a facilidade com a qual ele é perdoado), a "rendenção do Jooha (que é um personagem muito mal desenvolvido) e o maior e mais grave de todos, o plot twist no final sobre Taejoon e Sejin.

E o problema que eu tenho aqui é que essa revelação é completamente desnecessária para a história. É uma trama repetitiva (porque a mesma coisa acontece com o Taeyi e o Seheon), em momento algum da série há qualquer indicio sobre isso (então a relevação acontece do nada) e não tem impacto nenhum na narrativa. A falta de reação do Taeyi ao descobrir sobre só prova que não havia a menor necessidade de inserir esse arco na trama.

Eu também sinto falta de ter uma cena do Taeyi falando sobre o seu irmão e o que aconteceu com ele. Eu fiquei esperando pelo momento em que ele iria se abrir com o Seheon e o Doyoon, mas isso nunca acontece. Inclusive toda a mudança dele sendo frio e distante para sorridente e apaixonado soa muito abrupta.

Apesar de tudo, ainda acho que é uma série incrível, extremamente sensível e com uma produção acima da média. Falha em querer abordar muita coisa em poucos episódios e acaba atropelando a trama, deixando inúmeros furos no roteiro. O elenco incrível, entretanto, consegue entregar um BL divertido e apaixonante.

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