Vietnamese shows can really be a hit or a miss, and this one was no exception. The plot definitely had some good ideas, but it felt like they dragged it out way longer than necessary. Honestly, they could have finished the whole thing in eight episodes, but instead, we had to sit through fourteen installments that were 35 minutes each—and the finale was almost an hour long! Also, I’ve got to say, the "amnesia" trope is getting so old in the BL world. Writers really need to find some fresh ideas. The story is about Viet, a young artist who is going through a really rough time. He’s lost his parents, gets picked on by his boss, and eventually quits his job. To make things worse, his boyfriend has been ghosting him, and when Viet finally goes to see him, he finds out the guy has moved on to someone else without even bothering to break up with him. His only support is a female friend who sticks by him through everything. To clear his head, Viet heads to a quiet mountain village a...
We are introduced to mainly 4 and more school students who are considered part of the worst class and will likely fail. A new teacher takes upon himself to change this , but for this he needs to motivate them. Khoa is a talented badminton player who aspires to be selected for Vietnam's national team, but the teacher tells him that he will need to improve his grades as well if he really aspires to make it to the team. Khoa enlists the help of Vinh, an academically gifted classmate. Despite his outstanding grades, he is in the same class as the other failing students. After a few misunderstandings and planned coincidental meetings, Vinh agrees to help him with studies. Over the period of time they both develop feelings for each other. In parallel we also see some other stories about other classmates, but Ince they do not directly involve BL love, I am not gonna stress more on that.
This series has no real ‘ending’ which I was pleasantly surprised by. It does not conclude. We honestly do not know whether they passed their final exams or not, except that we do find out that they have been manipulated into studying in a most thought provoking, imaginative and creative way. The BL in the series is cute, awkward, and so clumsy. But I guess, these are supposed to be high school students, so somehow it works in the grand scheme of things. Having said that the BL focus in the show is less than 20% of the overall series. The couple's kissing was kinda awkward, and not just once but twice. Their flirting feels juvenile and doesn't convey the feeling of two teens infatuated with each other. It felt quite shallow. To be honest. The show was made with a. Simple intention to probably entertain. Each episode contains many cheeky jokes, snappy one-liners, and silly shenanigans. Stupid Genius is hilariously goofy and may succeed in putting a smile on your face. But then you need to be in that mindset. Personally, I went in to see a BL series and I just got a glimpse and not more. This show is clearly directed towards teenage audience. There are too many dumb jokes and not enough intelligent ideas and my recommendation would be to just ignore this one for now. (2.5/10)
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