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THE BOYFRIEND E1 - UNCUT

🕑 Added 2024-08-26 13:36:00 +0000 UTC

Comments

beacan

Ooh, I've watched this and thought it would be great to see your reactions!

velvettears 669

please continue, even if i have seen it all before it was a blast watching it again with you two especially with your wicked banter going on. i will admit the show took everyone who watched it for a rollercoaster ride emotionally so be prewarned about that.

英里上野

I subscribed to your Patreon as soon as I saw your YouTube version. It's interesting to see the show from a Western point of view. I'm looking forward to your reaction to episode 2! Love from Japan.

GabbyB

Loved that you guys are reacting to this show. I really hope you continue because it is so good. And I love hearing your perspectives on it. This was an amazing reaction!

yo

honestly shun definitely meant dai has the “ideal body that shun likes” it was kinda obvious to me but I get that it can be differently perceived..

Vedia

I loved this show I really hope there is a season 2.

Honey

I just subscribed to your patreon after seeing your reaction to the boyfriend on YouTube 🩷 I’m so excited ✨

David Vriesenga

Continue please - it is frustrating at times but really shows the difference between western and eastern cultures.

Zoey Barnwell

I’m so glad you guys are watching this!!! I would also love to your reaction to “His Man” that’s another great reality tv show.

Diane Furlong

I’m not familiar with this series but I did watch “I kissed a boy” with another reactor. Let’s see what happens here

Francois Tredoux

I'm so glad I joined the Patreon right now, because I loved this show, and I'm so here for your reactions to it. The contestants are extremely polite, and for me that is part of the charm of the show. Looking forward to the rest of the episodes!

Saye

I have watched a lot of the Asian gay dating shows available online . Most people agree Korean His Man season 2 (out of 3 ) is really worth watching . Parts of it have become iconic. I like Filipino Sparks Camp 1 and 2 , campy, very inclusive, moving, fun . They talk a lot about their past experience as gay or bi people, and the host is fantastic . I enjoyed Taiwanese "Boys like Boys"", the men were likeable . I haven't finished Boyscation yet , Chinese gay dating hit differently ! The Vietnamese one is the show I was least interested in, but it had a low budget.

Saye

There' s a Thai esquivalent called "Bromance" . I might check the German one, out of curiosity and to practise my German .

Sam S

If you’re wanting to make recommendations, pop over to the Discord and share them there (please see the “Community Rules” on Discord for how to do this): https://discord.gg/vDZvuDv9vY Discord is the only place where Alex and Josh engage with recommendations, and we manage the official Recommendations List there. 🙂 -Moderator-

Ben

I kept hearing about this and seeing clips on social media, but didn’t watch it. Excited to watch it with your commentary.

Trixy_loves_the _world

Probably already been told this but the commentators are just known celebrities in Japan. No psychologists involved. I like their input to break the tension of some of the scenes.

Trixy_loves_the _world

“Coming out”. What a great way to… 🤔kind of box your parents in. Society says it’s ok to put your son in an international series all about his sexuality😳🤔👍🏽. Hard to hold up any of their prejudice after that👏🏽👏🏼👏🏾👏🏻

Trixy_loves_the _world

🎉🥳🎊I’m so HAPPY! I was wanting to suggest this, and the other dating shows, but didn’t know the best way to go about it! This one has a uniques format. The Korean one “His Man”. Taiwanese “Boys like Boys” and then my favorite, from the Philippines, “Sparks Camp”. (Hope this isn’t considered a spoiler)

Donta Scarlett

Just so you guys know, much of the show was cut out to create tension. So don't get too carried away with how some are portrayed.

Frances

🫶🏽

Claudia

aww decided to watch this with you guys and it's so good. I don't have Netflix anymore so I have to wait for you guys lol but I love kazuto and the awkward model boy.

MollAMill

Loved The Boyfriend! If interested ya'll should check out Korean dating show HisMan seasons 1,2,3. All were fantastic.

David Vriesenga

True, sorry from Köln

Sam S

I binged all 10 episodes over the course of last night and this morning. 😂 I definitely got more invested in this than I was expecting to.

Ivy Yap

I'm not really into reality TV, but decided to watch the first episode before watching your reaction. And now I am invested after only a single episode!

Dani

I’m so excited for you guys to watch this show! I loved it.

Jayne Riley

I've watched a few episodes of it now and really enjoyed it. It's interesting to get to know a different culture.

Michael Craig

I don't ever watch reality shows, but this was recommended by a friend, so I binged it and...I still hate reality shows, but there are a couple of the guys that are probably interesting when they're not on a show. It was interesting enough for me to finish the series, but I doubt I would bother to watch another season of this. It is always fun to see your reactions, mostly because they are so different from my own.

Nafnaf

Love that you're doing this! For some context, its very common for Japanese, Korean and Chinese variety/reality shows to have a panel. And you definitely have to watch them, they're part of the experience! Lol. The panel always makes me feel like I'm lowkey watching a reaction video. Love you guys 🧡

Jody

I agree- if you pay attention to what they are saying through that lens they are also “analyse” the contestants in a way that frames them in a more palatable way- great take!

Jody

From my perspective there is also an element of making the gay experience palatable for a country of people who are culturally less open to it- framing gay relationships as fitting into a nuclear family style way of being shows just how aware of the impact the show might have they were when producing it. Kind of like a “Gay people can fit into our society without causing a disturbance” type of deal. I too liked the conversation about more diverse relationships in gay communities but I think Japan is definitely not ready for it yet!

David Vriesenga

Ok, ich stimme zu. Diese Show bedeutet mir einfach sehr viel

Laura

I absolutely loved this show, you won't be disappointed 😀

Jody

I’ll be interested to see your interpretation of the difference in LGBTQIA+ ways of being and thinking in a different cultural context through the lens of “reality”. Something I found interesting is often the conversations they had about why they are attracted to people were focused on different personality traits than would potentially be “attractive”in a western sense- focusing more on being soft spoken as desirable than being confident etc. I’m so excited to hear your thoughts on Shuns journey, the internet had lots to say! i LOVED the boyfriend can’t wait to watch along with you!!

Frances

True but I also didn’t recommend to react to it 😉

Seti

Yay, I was hoping you would watch this.

Aleisha Layne

I love the idea of "coming out" by not actually coming out but just by living your life and if people didnt know it already they can digest it however they like but thats their problem to deal with! The idea of "COMING OUT" shouldnt even be a thing but unfortunately we live in a world where we have to make ourselves uncomfortable in order to make other people comfortable with our lives...which is WILD. I mean why do we need to sit people down and tell them hey...i use my genitals (the same genitals you never cared about before) this way and i hope you accept that. I was fortunate to grow up with a mother who one day was married to my dad and then after their divorce dated men but also sometimes dated women. I also grew up with an Aunt i called Uncle Sue....so i didnt have to experience the "coming out" as a pan woman. And i think thats also why i can see the whole spectacle of it as unnecessary and so archaic! The idea of putting your mental state in any sort of disarray just for the sake of someone elses comfort....couldnt be me!

DC

I also binge watched this. It was really interesting and so different from a typical gay reality dating show. I found myself shedding some tears with them which says a lot about how connected you get with them. You just want them to be happy. Glad to see you two jumping into this!

David Vriesenga

Thanks for recognising the importance of this show - there are still crap people but it shows the progression and the lengths they still need to go to be LBGTQ++++ positive in Japan.

David Vriesenga

But it is more like the Bachelor, really light, and lacks the social significance of the Boyfriend. Also, I do not think RTL has english subtitles which would be necessary to mass market this.

David Vriesenga

Thank you - I taught English in Japan for almost 15 years (80s and 90s) - this show really shows the progression of gay recognition and respect in the Japanese community.

Saye

Alex is absolutely right about the Boyfriend reinforcing certain set ideas about what relationships should be . But let's face it, if this show is seen as a bold move for Netflix, then Netflix is far from ready yet for lovely Thruple Daily from Taiwan, no matter how wholesome , mature and educational they are .

AliGe

AHHHHHH so cool that you're reacting to The Boyfriend!! I love that show!

Frances

In Germany we have two quite popular dating shows: Prince Charming and the equivalent Princess Charming. They’re also pretty great.

Saye

The panel is nothing like you imagine ! You can check their profiles on MyDramaList. They are actors, entertainers, and one of them has hosted the mainstream show "the Terrace House" for years ( that served as a format model for the Boyfriend) . I think it is partly meant to reassure their audience, because japan is indeed very conservative . So by commenting on the action exactly like they do for straight dating shows, they normalize it.

Ruth May

As someone who has never watched a gay reality show, this is going to be a new and interesting experience for me! I think shows like this are important in terms of levelling the playing field, as there’s plenty of straight reality dating shows out there with sometimes a token gay person thrown in as a kind of arch gesture, which to me at least seems very patronising and self-congratulatory in a ‘look how woke we’re being’ sort of way. Can’t wait to see you guys reacting to the inevitable drama, if the shows already out there are anything to go by. I’m not sure what you-or I- will make of this, but I’m here for it!

Matthew Binczek

I watched this whole series with the dubbing on and it was actually really good that way.

Janine M Hall

ahhhh I am so excited you are watching this! I binged it all in a few days and there is so much good in it. gonna dive into your reaction right now!

Saye

I'm not going "Why" but rather "what took you so long" !

Rabidnav

Now we are watching you watching others watching a dating show.

Jessica Silagi

If you do another reality show you guys should the lgbt season of Are You The One? It’s messy and problematic but I think could lead to fun reactions and good conversations.

Kristina Shands

Thailand just legalized same-sex marriage. Several BLs have actually mentioned it in a storyline.

Sam S

A couple of reminders to everyone: 1. Please avoid ANY spoilers about upcoming episodes. Even “hints” are considered spoilers, and you will be asked to edit or remove your comment. 2. As stated in the (pinned) Community Guidelines, ASWT only engage with recommendations for other content (movies/shows/music videos) if they are posted within the ASWT Discord server. The official Recommendations List is managed over there. Any recommendations posted here on Patreon WILL NOT be added to that list, so please pop over to the Discord and share them there (please see the “Community Rules” on Discord for how to do this): https://discord.gg/vDZvuDv9vY Thanks all, and happy viewing! - The Moderating Team -

Jenny

omg i love this show please continue!!! try and avoid spoilers so you can watch the reunion after all the episodes and be surprised

Claire

OMG OMG so excited you are doing the boyfriend!! I saw this notification and immediately dropped everything to watch! This show is one of my favourite gay reality shows and can’t wait for you to watch all the eps!!

CC

Ooh! I haven’t seen this yet, so I’ll be excited to watch along with you guys. Yes, Japan still has a very long way to go with queer rights and representation. I’m glad this show exists as a step to further normalise things and it’s actually pretty brave of the cast (especially the one who isn’t out to his family) to appear on a show like this! I love how openly they were talking about bisexuality. And I think you may have been looking away at the time, but when they were writing ideas in the blackboard, one of them asked everyone their pronouns and if anyone doesn’t identify as a man, which was also very beautiful to see (they all said they use he/him btw).

Maxi_heart

Love that you are reacting to The Boyfriend! Keep in mind that not only is it new as in a gay dating show on the world wide Netflix streaming site, but it is also asian which brings in a whole different cultural angle to a lot of things. I believe it is another push towards opening up very traditional societies to LGBTQ+ acceptance. BL has been influential in that way in Thailand which has legislated in favor of same sex marriage this year, so even if views are not as open as in western society, it is a good start.

GabbyB

I did a double take when i saw this appear on my feed. Definitely continue. It's so worth watching. I wasn't sure this would be my cup of tea at forst but then it turned out sooo good and it just goes way beyond some random dating show. By the end I honestly had so much respect and love for the cast and their journey.

Laura S.

yessss i was wondering if you guys were going to watch it!!!!!

Dijon Hawkins

Literally same. I don’t really care for reality tv shows ( except drag race lol) but this is So good!

Dijon Hawkins

I’m so excited for you two to reacts to this show. Literally one of my fav shows this year!!

ola

Yesss, I’m so excited for this 🫶🏻

Stian Kristoffersen

EXCITED ☺️ Haven't had time to watch yet, but from what you're writing Alex, I'm intrigued. From where I'm sitting it's a new(ish) concept, and I hope they treat the participants with respect. Also curious because my impression is that queer people in Japan have struggled to get equal rights and fair treatment.