Unpopularopinionbydemand
watching BL in the corner of my room
This review may contain spoilers
Unfortunately too Short, But Highly Entertaining
I'll keep this review short since that's all this collectively hour-long series gave us. Tinted With You gave us the perfect story, plus a hilarious main lead and great supporting ones. To watch a love story while I also get to enjoy the beautiful scenery will always be my favorite pastime. Unfortunately, this is literally the definition of a pastime. With this extremely short series, we've got nothing to build on top of or to develop into something better. If K-BLs are going to make these things as short as they do, they might as well only make the movie aspect, and the movie aspect only.
Let's Dive In.
Tinted With You is a historical BL with a splash of fantasy as a modern Korean student gets pulled back in time through a painting and meets the Prince and his protector. let's get into what I liked: I loved the plot more than anything. As soon as I read the synopsis, I was immediately hooked. And they really pulled through. Even through the very subtle details of how Heon and Guem didn't understand phrases and words Eunho spoke, how Guem takes a liking to the feel of a notebook and the pages, Heon feeling on Eunho's buttons and being mesmerized by it. This was such a small part of the series, but such an important part, and one that made me love TWY even more.
The acting was phenomenal to me. Jun did an extraordinary job as our main lead. He was hilarious, his expressions were always on point, and nothing ever felt out of place. I liked how stern Guem was, but because the actor is so skilled at his job, you could pay close attention to the message he hid between his eyes, his expression, the way he cared for Heon more than a protector should, the way we could hear the emotions breaking through his voice. Taejung did a phenomenal job. I'd say the only one who potentially needed more work is Hyunwoo, who didn't do terrible, but during his emotional scenes, no tears feel when you knew that was what he was going for. It's a tough act, but one that can be mastered perfectly with practice.
What needed improving: Their kiss was as chaste as chaste could get. There's nothing wrong with a little lip movement, maybe a hand here, a hand there, or even simply pulling apart and smiling at each other before we fade to black would've been nice. Instead, we had two straight dudes frozen in place until the director says cut, in which they probably move apart faster than the red sea. If we're going for a kiss, then give us a kiss! I'd rather they just stare into each other's eyes all lovey-dovey rather than a forced, half-assed kiss.
On the topic of their chemistry, where did it go? I felt it at the beginning, I felt the build-up, I felt the connection, and then it just drops after they kiss for the first time. Eunho teasing Heon on blushing was the peak for me. I was excited after that. Then we get a kiss, cool, but after that, it just disappears. It's even worse when at the very end of the series, they look like best buddies hanging out in the cafe. Their romance felt half-played. I don't even think I'd necessarily call this BL, more like two best friends that kiss occasionally. I wish that part of the story was touched better on. I think this series would've been perfect if we just got that spark.
Ratings:
Story: 8.5 - Excellent detail-to-plot. I genuinely enjoyed the story, the adventure, the conflicts, and their resolutions. If this was a fully fleshed-out series, it could've been ground-breaking. The romance needed hefty work, so I'll take off a star and a half for that.
Acting: 9 - Nothing deters me from the story. Jun did a phenomenal job, and I really hope to see him in more projects in the future. A good story is nothing without good acting, and everyone played their part as true as possible.
Music: 6 - I didn't pay much attention to it, but I'm sure it was good. Nothing distracting or irritating, so that's excellent in my book.
Rewatch Value: 1 - no chance I'll rewatch, but I do hope to see these actors in other projects, together or not.
Overall, I recommend it. The best K-BL? No, but it's cute, and I think the story pulls most of the weight, so much of it that you don't mind the lacking romance.
Let's Dive In.
Tinted With You is a historical BL with a splash of fantasy as a modern Korean student gets pulled back in time through a painting and meets the Prince and his protector. let's get into what I liked: I loved the plot more than anything. As soon as I read the synopsis, I was immediately hooked. And they really pulled through. Even through the very subtle details of how Heon and Guem didn't understand phrases and words Eunho spoke, how Guem takes a liking to the feel of a notebook and the pages, Heon feeling on Eunho's buttons and being mesmerized by it. This was such a small part of the series, but such an important part, and one that made me love TWY even more.
The acting was phenomenal to me. Jun did an extraordinary job as our main lead. He was hilarious, his expressions were always on point, and nothing ever felt out of place. I liked how stern Guem was, but because the actor is so skilled at his job, you could pay close attention to the message he hid between his eyes, his expression, the way he cared for Heon more than a protector should, the way we could hear the emotions breaking through his voice. Taejung did a phenomenal job. I'd say the only one who potentially needed more work is Hyunwoo, who didn't do terrible, but during his emotional scenes, no tears feel when you knew that was what he was going for. It's a tough act, but one that can be mastered perfectly with practice.
What needed improving: Their kiss was as chaste as chaste could get. There's nothing wrong with a little lip movement, maybe a hand here, a hand there, or even simply pulling apart and smiling at each other before we fade to black would've been nice. Instead, we had two straight dudes frozen in place until the director says cut, in which they probably move apart faster than the red sea. If we're going for a kiss, then give us a kiss! I'd rather they just stare into each other's eyes all lovey-dovey rather than a forced, half-assed kiss.
On the topic of their chemistry, where did it go? I felt it at the beginning, I felt the build-up, I felt the connection, and then it just drops after they kiss for the first time. Eunho teasing Heon on blushing was the peak for me. I was excited after that. Then we get a kiss, cool, but after that, it just disappears. It's even worse when at the very end of the series, they look like best buddies hanging out in the cafe. Their romance felt half-played. I don't even think I'd necessarily call this BL, more like two best friends that kiss occasionally. I wish that part of the story was touched better on. I think this series would've been perfect if we just got that spark.
Ratings:
Story: 8.5 - Excellent detail-to-plot. I genuinely enjoyed the story, the adventure, the conflicts, and their resolutions. If this was a fully fleshed-out series, it could've been ground-breaking. The romance needed hefty work, so I'll take off a star and a half for that.
Acting: 9 - Nothing deters me from the story. Jun did a phenomenal job, and I really hope to see him in more projects in the future. A good story is nothing without good acting, and everyone played their part as true as possible.
Music: 6 - I didn't pay much attention to it, but I'm sure it was good. Nothing distracting or irritating, so that's excellent in my book.
Rewatch Value: 1 - no chance I'll rewatch, but I do hope to see these actors in other projects, together or not.
Overall, I recommend it. The best K-BL? No, but it's cute, and I think the story pulls most of the weight, so much of it that you don't mind the lacking romance.
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