So, about a decade ago, there were these five movies that made up the whole Takumi-kun series. Now, the creators have come back with a six-episode show, with each part running about 25 minutes. I'm guessing they wanted to introduce a newer generation of BL fans to this world, but honestly, it backfired. The whole thing feels incredibly dated, like it’s completely out of touch with how modern BL shows are made today. Between a cast that’s way too crowded and a mountain of different couples to keep track of, the storytelling is just a total train wreck that doesn't make a lick of sense. The whole thing takes place at an all-boys boarding school. You’ve got Gii, who just moved back from the States and is the son of a super wealthy CEO, and he's roommates with Takumi. Right from the very first episode, Gii is basically obsessed, taking every chance he gets to shout his feelings from the rooftops. Takumi is really shy and has no clue how to handle all that heat, so he just doe...
Pablo, handsome young man, is an aspiring gay actor. He has broken up with popular YouTuber boyfriend (but they are friends with boundaries now). To make matters worse his roommate also moves out without having paid last two months rent. Pablo is really struggling with money, so he takes up participating in clinical trials to make ends meet. But ever since the roommate left the house and left one of his sweaters behind, Pablo feels a strange presence in his apartment. The rest of the film is all about Pablo and his friend discussing random things including supernatural phenomenons, people coming in and out of his life including a potential romantic interest, a neighborhood girl who constantly fights with her boyfriend and finally an opportunity to act in a film. The material doesn't go anywhere. The haunted sweater just acts as a catalyst in bringing some of these people together. This is Pablo's journey, meeting new friends and allies, finding out that the path to fulfill his dreams will be more tangled and strange that he thought.
The supernatural genre shown using animated sequences just did not connect with me at all. There is a weird scene where supposedly Pablo I having a sex with spirit. It was just odd to watch. The film moves form supernatural to slice of life, to a random romantic comedy to coming of age and it just doesn't stick to onetime; which is not bad per say, but at least make up your ind on what really are you trying to say here? The spirit’s connections to the main characters needed to be much stronger to warrant its existence and importance to the story. The movie jumps haphazardly between characters and storylines, making it feel disjointed and unfinished. At some point there were so many female characters that I couldn't separate one form another, but by then I also knew not to care since clearly there was no pattern being followed here. Individual moments are insightful and amusing, but the overall result is wispy and dissatisfying. I see the film has been getting a lot of good press online, but I just fail to understand what is it her that's connecting with the audience. Sometimes I wonder, just make a complicated film that makes no sense and critics might be all over it. To me, despite a very natural and good performance by the lead actor, this film just left me frustrated due to lack of coherent story. (2.5/10)
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