Jie Yao

First of all, I love chinese culture, but I also hate it. Censoring a kiss scene? Same? It annoys me. It is really annoying to watch a BL without explicit romance (this implies that it is a any friendship). But that's okay, except for that, Jie Yao surprised me! As soon as the opening started - a lovely chinese jazz - I freaked out inside: shit, there's something really good about this anime! The soundtrack is quite reasonable, but it fits perfectly all the time. The chinese accent is also very pleasant to hear. Art is a little unstable, but it's not bad. Jian Yu is really handsome. And it is very interesting how Jian met Cheng Ke. The two have a completely different social status; Cheng was a spoiled "child" who, at first, did not know how to live alone. On the other hand, Jian has always been independent. But they have evolved throughout history. It was beautiful, fantastic, wonderful to see Cheng Ke drawing in the sand! Most of the time, he thought about the problems he had with his family, but when he drew he became someone else. It's nice to see a uke - who I think he is - have your own interests and exercise the profession he want. Having a life far beyond the relationship. That's right Cheng, you rocked!. He also faced dangerous people on his own, without fear (this is my booooy). But what I definitely didn't expect was that this story was about psychological problems. I believe the anime is called Antidote because Cheng Ke was the emotional healing that Jian Yi needed. But Jian Yi was also the antidote to Cheng! When Cheng Ke spent Christmas alone in his store, I could feel all of his pain. I know what it's like to be alone, what it's like to have no friends. It is painful, and life seems to lose its meaning. Fortunately, Jian was there for him, just as Cheng was there for Jian. The end was satisfactory, except for not having romance as I wanted. And the battle scenes were pretty bad - not to say terrible - but to do what if nobody invests in animes shounen-ai / yaoi. It could have been an even better anime with the necessary investment (and without the damn censorship, of course).

This is a nice series which is now fully subbed and up on youtube. It's about the unexpected friendship between completely different men - one a gangster and the other a rich kid. My review is spoiler-free. Story 8/10 The story is relatively simple at first, but as the series goes on it gets more interesting. There are some nice twists and interesting topics raised. Art 7/10 The art is good/fine overall, but some of the animations could be a bit better - particualrly the lip movements at times. Sound 8/10 Good choice of music in certain scenes and is used to build tension at the right points. The voice acting is solid too. Character 8/10 At first the characters seemed rather generic and simple, but the story has good character development. Particualrly in the case of the main characters. Enjoyment 10/10 I thoroughly enjoyed the series for what it is. Overall 9/10 For anyone who enjoys BL, I would definitely recommend this. For those that don't, I would also recommend this! It's a heartwarming series and it's left me wanting more. I hope it'll pick up a bit in popularity now sub versions exist and that the novel it's based off will get translated at some point. :)

STORY: Very simple story that revolves around two characters. There isn't really anything interesting going on except the friendship/love development between these two. The art is your typical Chinese anime, but a little more adult-like. There are a few mistakes that kind of bothered me like the change of clothing in certain scenes, lip and hand movement and face angle changes. Honestly, I only watched this because I was on a Chinese anime sprint, but I did finish it because of the characters. The comedy is good, but it's funnier in Chinese than in subtitles. It also has a happy ending, and tell me someone who does not enjoy a happy ending. PS: if you're looking for this anime, it's on YOUTUBE subbed. Just search by its name.

I was interested in watching this because I've never seen a Chinese Shounen Ai anime before. The score of 7.02 (as of May 15, 2021) also influenced by decision to watch. I think this deserves closer to a 4. Just really disappointed by...basically everything. CAUTION: SPOILERS The two main characters never kiss, or confess their love, or even THIINK about liking the other in a sexual/romantic way. Everything is so implicit to the point where really it feels pointless to watch the anime if you're looking for Shounen Ai content. At the end they're best friends who live together. Not worth the time tbh, even with only 13 episodes.

it's about as strong an anime as you're going to get when it comes to a boy's love story without an overt communication of the "love" aspect. as someone who strongly appreciates seeing fleshed out gay relationships, the amount of times i watched this just wanting cheng and jiang to kiss already was high. granted, there was also something nice about the pure platonicy of it all. it's clear this story is meant to be seen as a gay romance -- all of the hallmarks are there. but instead the characters only remain close friends. so, y'know. if you want some sloppy and hardcore gay fucking, maybe ichi datte is your cup of tea. i personally enjoy natsuyasumi, but hey, whatever gets ur rocket red and roaring is fine in my book. watch this for wholesome, gang-related fun.

Starting off with the story, I have to praise several things. 1) They treated mental illness with the most tact that I have seen from an anime in a long time, and they didn't sexualize the two main characters for the sake of being a laughing point like many shonen-ai series. I wish that it had been longer (or the episodes had been longer) because it feels like there's still more that needs to be told, but the ending is still solid. I don't know how much, if any, more the original novel covers and if we got the full experience (minus the stuff that wouldn't have gotten by the Chinese censors). Art was good, the animation was solid and the proportions of everyone were good, and the buildings looked like they fit the setting. Only minor complaint is that if you look at the characters' ears a lot of them have the same-or almost the same-ear (on non-related characters). Sound was awesome, the dialogue was able to be heard clearly, even though I had to use subtitles-lol, and the OP and ED were...adorable? I don't know if that's what they were going for but they were. Characters were mostly believable, and god do I hate the MC's brother (and father). Enjoyment- This series was surprisingly good (I had picked it because it was short and fit one of my MAL 2020 Anime Watching Challenge categories) I just wish we knew if there was more that we didn't get in the series or if we ended where the book did. Overall I would recommend this series if you want a quick watch and good story.

I can't believe how amazing this show was. I did not expect it to go so hard... like WOW. Stunning. The beginning felt pretty standard to me so I didn't think much going in, but then second episode hit me like a truck and from there I was just amazed. Don't even get me started on how unbelievably good the second half of this show was. I could not stop watching and binged within two days. This is not a typical yaoi/BL and definitely more emotional than physical with the character development but it was beautiful. I seriously highly recommend this to anyone; you don't even have to be a yaoi fan. I don't want to spoil too much but this show touches delicately on mental illness and has some of the best portrayals of it I have ever seen. I am so grateful to this show for all its messages. Love is acceptance no matter what. That is the greatest takeaway.

1.Where is the Shounen-Ai Part? from what ive seen its just two dudes helping each other with their liife struggles (SPOILERS) One has family problems and one has mental health issues, i was checking out some BL anime and found this, though the BL part is missing(?) from what i heard there are parts that are cut off or censored from the story? I don't know I just finished it today and my thoughts are, it's a good wholesome show I know there are some brutal fight scenes but overall it has a wholesome vibe to it Specially the ending is good that they tackle some heavy topics like human trafficking and mental illness Though i wouldn't consider this as a BL(?) there wasn't any romantic connection from both characters at all. Art/Animation - i don't have thatt much complains the art style is pretty and clean i guess though the fight scenes is a biit lacking but hey the OP was good and the story seems nice, i definitely recommend this if you like a more fluffy/wholesome story So Overall it's an 8

5/10 This is a curious case for me, to be quite honest. I expected something way different, something filled with more action and badass fight scenes, but I didn't really get that. The style wasn't my cup of tea, the characters don't look terrible, but I wouldn't call them pretty either. The story is a little all over the place, but overall- not that bad. I am glad to see 'taboo' topics like mental health and human trafficking being brought up in anime. The opening was good. I'll give it that. The relationship between the two main characters was okay, with some adorable moments happening there and there. It made sense and didn't feel forced. I've got one more complaint, though- the series has 13 episodes and takes place over ~1 year, if I'm not mistaken... But it does feel like a week or two? I wish the creators made sure that the passage of time was more apparent. Once again; I did not get attached. Aside from the two main characters, the rest was just there for plot progression. No good female characters either, sadly. I am probably going to forget the plot of Jie Yao in a week, but I did enjoy it, don't get me wrong. It's not amazing, but a good one for when you're bored. Ah, and the cat was cute.

This is truly a hidden gem among unknown and underrated anime, not only when it comes to BL genre. The fact I still think and admire the anime after months prove that. And I hope to encourage few more people to watch it and experience something unique and incredible. What attracted me at first is that it's a donghua (Chinese anime) because even hearing language other than Japanese is itself a fresh breeze and nice change, but it if it wasn't the case, it wouldn't matter, because that's the story that's most important and enchanting, no matter the language. But BL donghua are rare so it's a must to appreciate and protect them. If I had to make a list of top 10 or even top 5 BL anime, this one would be there without a doubt. Let me explain why. First episode might not be very enjoyable, art style is just decent and nothing besides it, things may seem confusing or chaotic. But for me, it was like that only in the first episode and honestly every next one was better and better and I couldn't believe the direction this anime went, in positive way of course. We follow the story of two main characters - Cheng Ke, immature young man who comes from very rich family but chose to live on his own in new place, and Jiang Yuduo, a mysterious and violent gang leader who knows the city inside out. Their paths obviously connect, but what's best, we get to see the amazing develop of the relation that starts with aversion, anger and misunderstanding, goes through curiosity, admiration, sympathy and ends with something much more complex and deep. I need to say, this story is most enjoyable if you're a slow-burn and character development oriented fan. We get to see what main characters are really like, not at once but gradually, they're treated very seriously so we can really get to know them, sympathise with them, get attached to them and experience all emotions with them as well. It can be said, the story is a deep, dark and multi-track emotional journey. As for BL donghua, there are not really many romantic moments but there are few wholesome and fluffy scenes that are worth watching the whole series, undoubtedly. I felt deeply moved during some moments. Another thing I totally didn't expect here was very brave and pretty well written mental health thread that was a part of one of our character and then it affefted the other one as well. To be honest, I don't think I've seen such devotion, care and trust anywhere else. Observing such relation made me feel how great it must be to have someone like that in your life. There are few dark themes in the anime but they're not too much and I loved how naturally characters behave and how two people with nothing in common can find comfort in each other and being able to see life from another perspective. To sum up, the story is very realistic and human like, it shows how we need another person sometimes even the one that's totally the opposite of us. It also says how our life can change after making specific decisions and how we can recover from the worst state and way of living. Besides, there's a cat! Enjoy this hidden masterpiece.