Archive for the Frank H Category


Blank The Series, Guest Review by Frank Hecker

May 1st, 2024

Viewed from above, a girl lays her head on her homework on a table. She is holding hands with an older woman who sit next to her, listening to musicA young woman on the cusp of adulthood latches onto an older woman and pursues her, but a sheltered adolescence causes her to come off more child-like than her age might suggest. The older woman, burned by past relationships and not looking for another, thinks of the younger woman more as a daughter than a potential lover, but eventually finds herself reconsidering what they mean to each other.

Wait, didn’t I review this story several weeks ago? But, no, this is not Monthly in the Garden with My Landlord, Volume 2 , it’s season 1 of the Thai live-action yuri production Blank: The Series.

Blank: The Series is an adaptation of a novel by Chao Planoy, the author of GAP: Pink Theory, and is set in the same universe. It’s squarely targeted at fans of GAP: The Series, although its age-gap premise has occasioned online controversy among some in that fandom. 36-year-old Neung (the older sister of Sam from GAP) is a mature woman burned out on relationships, four years on from ditching rising politician Chet at the altar in the series’s opening scene. As previously seen in GAP: The Series, Neung is estranged from her grandmother, has rejected her place in the Thai aristocracy, and is pursuing a life on her own as an artist (partially subsidized by Sam).

Into her life comes 20-year-old Neung (the identical names are not a coincidence). Young Neung (or Aneung, as older Neung refers to her) is a young woman denied a normal adolescence; she’s still in high school, held back by ill health. She has no friends her own age, and her only family is her demanding and censorious grandmother. Aneung’s only escape is reading yuri novels, and when she meets older Neung (whom she calls Ar-Neung or “Aunt Neung”) she immediately sets out to win her over, alternately flirting with her and pouting at the older woman’s rejection of her advances. As for Neung herself, she goes from finding Aneung annoying to struggling with her ambiguous and growing feelings toward her.

“Faye” Peraya Malisorn is excellent as Neung in a role that calls for subtle acting to show Neung’s slowly evolving emotions. “Yoko” Apasra Lertprasert generally acquits herself well as Aneung, although her performance at times threatens to become repetitive. “Ice” Papichaya Pattaralikitsakul and Marissa Lloyd have the thankless jobs of following in Freen’s and Becky’s footsteps as Sam and Mon respectively, but they are very much the side couple here.

Like GAP, Blank has its share of melodrama, especially involving Chet (“Kun” Kittikun Tansuhas) and Phiangfa (“Ploy” Preeyaphat Silahom), Aneung’s long-absent mother. The producers toned things down somewhat from Blank the novel — for example, they aged up Aneung — and hopefully will continue doing so with the second season, which apparently has even more melodrama. They could have toned things down even further, for example getting Aneung out of a high school uniform and dialing back her childish aspects a notch or two. In terms of production values, the major problem with the series is the mediocre to poor English subtitles, which sometimes left me struggling to figure out the meaning of certain lines.

Despite that issue, Blank season 1 is a welcome addition to the GAP extended universe. The core relationship is handled well (except for Aneung going overboard at times), and there’s minimal “service”. I liked it enough that I’ll watch the second season, which begins airing in May. It will presumably deal with the fallout from the final episode of season 1, which ends on a cliffhanger.

Rating:

Story – 7 (unless you hate age gaps)
Characters – 7
Production – 5 (the subtitles drag it down)
Service – 2
Yuri – 6
Overall – 7

 




Monthly in the Garden With My Landlord, Volume 2, Guest Review by Frank Hecker

March 27th, 2024

A woman with dark collar-length hair standing in the kitchen and a woman with long blonde hair sitting on the veranda, both wearing casual clothing smile as they speak to one another.In the first volume of Monthly in the Garden with My Landlord, manga editor Asako Suga, dumped by the latest in a series of girlfriends, finds both a new place to live and an unforeseen housemate, her landlord Miyako Kitano — who turns out to be a former idol. It’s a premise not unknown in adult yuri manga, in which manga artists and their editors frequently appear, along with the more-than-occasional idol, and it’s common for two women to go from sharing a house or apartment to building a life together. It is thus, not particularly ground-breaking within the yuri genre. Rather it’s a very well-executed example of its general type, deftly blending slice of life, comedy, idol intrigue, and at least one potential romance.

Monthly in the Garden with My Landlord, Volume 2 combines two plot threads. In the main story Asako and Miyako (“Landlord-san”) settle in to life together, each displaying their characteristic personality: Miyako is somewhat lazy and more than a bit of a slob, and takes child-like enthusiasm in even the most mundane aspects of her life with Asako. For her part, Asako finds herself picking up after Miyako, cooking for her, caring for her when she’s sick, and in general behaving more like a mother than a potential lover.

But love is indeed in the air, as shown in a hilarious sequence in which Miyako finds herself growing jealous of a houseplant, the pachypodium that Asako brings home, nicknames “Packey,” and treats like a new pet. Before long it’s obvious how Miyako feels about Asako. However, Asako herself isn’t sure exactly what their relationship is and should be, even when later circumstances force her to express a judgment on it.

In her review of volume 1 Erica Friedman speculated whether readers of just that volume would see this as a yuri story or not. I’ve seen others argue that Miyako’s relatively young age (she’s still 19 in this volume) and the mother-daughter dynamic she has with Asako make a romance between them both implausible and problematic. I disagree.

Miyako was likely working as an idol since her middle teen years (another Elm member is only 16), and as such would have lived a very sheltered and constricted life. By Miyako’s own account her parents placed lots of restrictions on her even before that time. Her grandmother gave her more freedom, but “Matsuba-chan” was often absent and away. It’s therefore not surprising at all that Miyako might develop feelings for someone who is with her every day and lavishes her with care and attention.

For her part, Asako is a very giving person (“too nice for her own good”) who finds enjoyment in helping others. However, at least one of her past girlfriends, and perhaps more than one, found that behavior quite off-putting. I can well believe that the ideal girlfriend for Asako would be one whom she can mother more than a bit, and that Miyako might someday fill that role after she comes of age. Since this is marketed as a yuri story, it’s more likely than not.

The other plot thread in this volume concerns Miyako and the other idols in Elm, now reconstituted under the leadership of Ruri Samukawa. Miyako opens up to Asako about her past as an idol and why she retired, and contemplates reconnecting with the group members she left behind. That process is helped along by Ruri and Elm uber-fan Hato Hatomori, who in volume 1 was flabbergasted to find her fave living with Asako. In this volume Hato is almost literally pulled into the middle of the group’s affairs, a development that both delights and disconcerts her. It’s a fun subplot, one I’m definitely invested in and would like to see more of.

The main characters of Monthly in the Garden with My Landlord are all fundamentally decent people with their own distinct personalities — people you might enjoy having lunch with, to use a traditional Okazu criterion. The art is a style I particularly like, clear and clean, not overly cartoony, with dynamic and varied panel layouts. It’s well-suited to showing both Miyako’s beauty and the comedic situations she and Asako find themselves in. The translation reads very well as English, the lettering is quite readable, the text appears to be entirely free of typos and related infelicities, and the overall look of the volume is attractive. Kudos go to translator Stephen Paul, letterer Elena Pizarro Lanzas, and the Yen Press editorial and design team — Fortune Soleil, JuYoun Lee, and Wendy Chan — for their work.

Ratings:

Art — 9
Story — 8
Characters — 9
Service — 2 (for idols)
Yuri — 4 (“Okay, it’s happening!” but where it will go is as yet unclear)
Overall — 9

Volume 2 of Monthly in the Garden with My Landlord is an entertaining continuation of a solid volume 1. If you’re a fan of adult yuri who missed the first volume, this is the perfect opportunity to catch up on what promises to be an excellent series. Volume 3 is slated for release in English on August 20 of this year.

 





Chaser Game W, Guest Review by Frank H

March 6th, 2024

One result of yuri’s increasing popularity is the creation of more and more live-action yuri series, like the popular Thai production GAP: The Series and the recent Japanese series Tsukuritai Onna to Tabetai Onna (based on the manga currently being released in English as She Loves to Cook, She Loves to Eat). Some of these productions are follow-ups to or re-workings of non-yuri material, like the Thai series Love, Senior (a gender-swapped version of the Thai BL series SOTUS). Such is the case with the subject of this review, the eight-episode Japanese series Chaser Game W, which originally aired on Tokyo TV and is now streaming internationally on the Taiwanese LGBTQ-focused streaming service GagaOOLala, with subtitles in English, Spanish, Chinese, Thai, and Indonesian.

The “W” stands for “women”. Chaser Game W is a spin-off of Chaser Game, a previous manga and live-action drama about a male game developer; it shares a setting but not much else with the prior work. The subtitle, “My Evil Boss is My Ex-Girlfriend”, states the premise: 27-year-old Harumoto Itsuki is a closeted lesbian working as a team lead for a game development firm. One day she finds that her girlfriend from university, Hayashi Fuyu, has returned to Japan as the representative of a Chinese company looking to contract with Itsuki’s firm to create a game adaptation of a yuri(ish) manga (or manhua?). Unfortunately, Fuyu has brought with her an older husband, a young daughter, and a vengeful attitude — the result of Itsuki breaking up with Fuyu in college to (apparently) pursue a boyfriend.

Being a yuri production this state of affairs can’t continue unchanged, of course, so the show finds various (and at times contrived) ways to throw Fuyu and Itsuki together and encourage them to re-kindle their relationship. However, corporate intrigues and the demands on Fuyu as a wife and mother threaten to derail it once more. Nakamura Yurika does an excellent job portraying Fuyu’s transition from office terror to a woman approaching her breaking point, while former idol Sugai Yūka acquits herself well in the less demanding role of Itsuki. The two also have good chemistry as partners in romance, although some viewers may bemoan the relative lack of kisses and other physical affection. I should also mention Kurotani Tomoka as Ro Asami, an older corporate manager who takes over the villainess role midway and does a bang-up job of it — although her motivation when revealed proves to be more than a bit clichéd.

Other notes: Beyond the three characters mentioned above, the others in the game development team are also women, while the men are all side characters, ranging from innocent and even sympathetic bystanders (Fuyu’s husband) to sexist buffoons (a character designer himself caricatured). The series finds multiple occasions to favorably portray Japanese work practices and social mores as more relaxed and tolerant than those of China, something I found quite amusing given Japan’s reputation in the West as a land of overworked employees and conservative attitudes. Finally, the epilogue, which occurs after a time skip, gives viewers a happy ending, but I found it a bit rushed and hand-wavy. I would almost have preferred something more bittersweet as being more in keeping with the show’s relative realism about being a lesbian in Japan (or, worse, China).

Ratings:

Story: 7

Characters: 8

Production: 7 (it has its cheesy moments, most notably in a coming out scene that’s accompanied by sound and lighting effects more appropriate to a Gothic horror movie)

Service: 3 (a fairly tame bedroom scene)

LGBTQ: 7 (both Itsuki and Fuyu are explicitly lesbian, although Itsuki is initially closeted and Fuyu entered into a heterosexual marriage due to family pressure)

Overall: 7

Chaser Game W is well worth watching if you’re a GagaOOLala premium subscriber, and worth checking out during a free trial period if you’re not. GagaOOLala has recently established itself as _the_ place to go for current Japanese live-action BL series; perhaps Chaser Game W is a harbinger of an increased GagaOOLala focus on Japanese live-action yuri as well.

You can watch the official GagaOOLala trailer for the show. GagaOOLala also released several scenes from the show on Youtube; spoiler warnings for all these, but especially the second:

Fuyu in vengeful mode

Fuyu’s backstory

Reminiscing about their past

A contrived excuse for wedding cosplay

A romantic moment





Thai Yuri Dramas Show Me Love and Be Mine, Guest Review by Frank H

August 9th, 2023

After creating hundreds of live-action BL series, TV producers in Thailand have turned their attention to live-action yuri, spurred by the breakout success of GAP: The Series, which racked up millions of views on YouTube due to the chemistry between its two leads, Sarocha Chankimha (“Freen”) and Rebecca Patricia Armstrong (“Becky”).

Two new series, one already released and the other still in production, illustrate different approaches to satisfying this newfound demand.

Show Me Love: The Series was one of the first out of the gate, but was hobbled by being originally released on a for-pay streaming service. After complaints from fans, its production company, GrandTV, is now re-editing and re-releasing it for YouTube, beginning with “Part 1 of episode 1” at the time of writing the first six episodes (out of nine) are available for viewing. (At time of pot, the first 7 episodes are available!)

Show Me Love was created by a company that puts on beauty pageants, stars two former beauty pageant contestants (with a host of other contestants in supporting roles) and has a plot about competing in a beauty pageant. It even includes scenes that feature fans shipping the contestants and criticizing ships that appear fake.

This last is an inadvertent self-own, as Show Me Love’s fatal flaw is the weakness of the relationship between the two leads: Engfa Waraha as Meena, a country girl come to the big city, gives a much more expressive and appealing performance than Charlotte Austin as Cherine, a former contestant returning to try for a first victory. As a result, their interactions often come across as flat and even forced, especially in the earlier episodes. The show’s relative paucity of views compared to GAP reflects that weakness.

Yet to be filmed is Be Mine: The Series from IS Entertainment, a new production company, although an Official Prologue was released to YouTube a few months ago. (It has over 1.5 million views thus far.) Be Mine is based on four linked novels, Be My Baby, More & More, Be My Sugar, and Be My Boo by Khun Phuying (คุณผู้หญิง) and is planned to be adapted into a 16-episode series, four episodes per couple.

IS Entertainment is attempting to replicate the winning playbook followed by IdolFactory, the producers of GAP: release a pilot to get feedback and adjust accordingly, keep fans interested and involved by releasing a flood of show-related content (including behind-the-scenes YouTube videos, Instagram photos, and TikTok snippets showing interactions between the young women portraying the couples), and monetize through product sponsorships and fan meets.

IS Entertainment is going even further than IdolFactory in explicitly seeking to promote LGBTQ-related issues via the show and its fandom. As part of their celebration of Pride Month they even brought in a professor to hold a “gender seminar” to present “Queer 101“ facts and concepts to the cast and selected fans.

The company has also cast Montana Chuthatus (“Gene”), a trans woman, in a supporting role in the show; she’ll appear in flashbacks as the former partner of Peak (played by IS Entertainment CEO Namhom Atchareeya), the proprietor of a café that the four couples frequent. Thai TV shows have a reputation for having trans actors give exaggerated performances, often for comic relief. (GAP is guilty of this, as is Show Me Love to a certain extent.) Given IS Entertainment’s track record thus far, I’m confident that this won’t be the case with Be Mine.

But in the end the success of Be Mine, like that of GAP and Show Me Love, will be determined primarily by the on-screen romantic chemistry of its leads. Such chemistry can be discovered, as it was when Freen and Becky appeared in small roles in an earlier IdolFactory production; it remains to be seen whether it can be workshopped.

Ratings for Show Me Love:

Production quality – 7
Story – 2  Do you enjoy watching reality shows about beauty pageants? Me neither
Characters – 4  Heidi Amanda Jensen plays a delightfully bitchy contestant
Service – 3  Revealing but SFW pageant gowns
Yuri – 4  Through episode 6, longing gazes, two almost kisses, and a wedding dress dream sequence

Overall – 3  If I hadn’t been reviewing this I would have stopped after the second episode

It’s premature to rate Be Mine: the Series, especially since one of the roles has been recast since the pilot.