The Story of Finally Trying AI-Generated BL

A story about how AI BL dramas are actually good

Since today seems much more relaxed than usual, I'm writing this on a day that isn't my usual update day.

I'm writing this today because there's something I definitely want to recommend!

In this note, I've introduced recommended drama channels on YouTube (BL) in the past, and this time it's the same: a recommended
BL drama channel on YouTube. And, it's fully
AI-generated (lol)

(☝ Why start with 'Side Story EP.2'? Because that's the one I recommend the most.)

That said, I assume they're using voice actors? No, I think they are. It would be a bit scary if that level of naturalness was still AI (lol). Anyway, it's a

Korean channel
. But the soundtracks used in the work are probably AI-generated, right? They've released videos of just the soundtracks, too... And they're in English lyrics, not Korean. It seems like it would still be a higher hurdle to create them in Japanese, Korean, or other languages than in English. (By the way, the soundtrack music is actually pretty good, AI is amazing.)

I had seen this channel's work in passing before, but believe it or not, the drama series they've released (it's a new channel with only one work so far) doesn't have Japanese subtitles for just the first episode (lol). Why of all things the first episode... (lol) (Though, maybe they weren't sure if it would be popular in Japan. Including the side stories, all episodes from the second one onwards have Japanese subtitles.)

So, even though I thought 'Oh, this looks good' when I first saw it, my interest waned at that point (lol), so I decided to skip watching it.

Then, the video popped up on my timeline again as a side story, and when I watched it casually, it was so good that I'm writing this article now.

First time watching an AI drama

So, this is the first time I've properly watched an AI drama! I still have (maybe?) a bit of resistance—though it seems like there are fewer people who feel uncomfortable or resistant to it at this stage—so I haven't actively tried to watch them.

I have watched a short BL drama once, but one half of the couple looked so much like a certain K-POP idol that I felt a sense of guilt or something... (lol) (Even though I didn't do anything wrong (lol)) I thought, 'Am I the only one who thinks that?' but when I checked the comments section, almost everyone was mentioning that person's name, so I felt really awkward (lol). That said, I don't think they actually trained the model on them or anything. Since that was also a Korean channel, maybe it just gravitated toward a 'typical Korean beauty' standard lol.

Well, anyway, I haven't properly watched AI dramas until now, and I still have a bit of resistance, but this work was really good!

The character settings are incredibly good

Putting aside the story or the fact that the characters are beautiful—(since it's AI-generated, everyone is so beautiful it's like the screen is going to crack (lol))—I feel like the 'character settings' in this work are extremely well-crafted!

First of all, in terms of visual balance, the couple has a contrasting balance of a mature, sharp-featured look and a soft, baby-faced look, which follows my personal theory (the golden ratio for couple visuals is to be contrasting or polar opposites; this is just my personal preference) and is very good. It's also great that the mature-looking one is younger (and by 8 years! A slight whiff of crime... (lol)) and the baby-faced one is older.

Since it's a CP with that kind of visual balance, well, naturally, the younger one with the mature face is the one leading, or rather, the one pushing things forward. Yet, it's really great how he still acts like a "younger one" in various places.

And as for the older one with the baby face, he acts very much like a proper "hyung" (older brother).
When the younger one gets dead drunk, he comes to pick him up by car,
(Don't get that drunk! ☜ (sudden rejection))
and even before that, he's like, "Drink slowly, okay? Chasers are important too," (lol),
worrying about him and taking care of him in all sorts of ways.

And the younger one, for his part, has reactions and behavior that are very much like a younger person, which is super cute.
With that said, each character is very well-crafted, the balance when viewed as a CP is good, and the characters really stand out. It was a work that made me feel like, "What a great CP."

Explosive visuals, and the quality is also rising steadily

It goes without saying that the visuals are good (lol)
Well, it is AI-generated, after all.
I like watching idols, so I'm used to seeing pretty faces on a daily basis, but even so, as expected of an artificial creation lol
The faces are so good that every time the two of them are in a close-up, I almost burst out laughing (lol)
They are so beautiful that it really feels like "the screen is about to crack" (lol)

Oh, that's right.
I watched the side story and thought it was great, so I went back and watched the main story from episode 2,
(As I mentioned before, episode 1 doesn't have subtitles, why? (lol))
and as expected, it's gradually getting better. The quality since it became a side story is amazing!
(By the way, it's called a "side story," but it's not a spin-off of a different CP in the main story; it's more like an after-story of the main CP.
Sub-CPs don't even appear in the first place)

I guess you could say it has "increased stability."
Watching the main story back, I thought that up to about episodes 2-3, the faces of the two main characters were still a bit unstable (lol)
There were cuts where I thought, "You look good today," mixed with
cuts where I thought, "Wait, who are you again?" (lol)

Also, the lighting and color tones.
In the earlier episodes of the main story, there was quite a bit of variation in that regard, and there were times when the color tone would suddenly turn bluish in the next cut,
so there were parts where I was like, "Huh? Did a flashback scene just start?"
Since it became a side story, that hasn't happened...

There are still scenes where I think, "This is AI," but the quality is truly amazing,
and I was surprised, thinking, "AI is amazing! If the right person makes it, they can do this much!"
(In episode 2 of the main story, I think? There's a scene where the younger one cuts his finger with a kitchen knife, but in the next cut, the wound moved to a different part, and I laughed a little (lol)
How much are you cutting just by slicing a strawberry? (lol))

Also, oh right, I wrote at the beginning that "I wonder if they're using voice actors," and the voice acting was also suuuper good!
I thought the settings here were also very carefully crafted. I thought the younger one with the mature face would have a lower voice based on his appearance, but he acts like a proper younger one, with a higher voice than the hyung (the baby-faced one), which matches his younger personality in various places, and it was very good.

Something like that!
Anyway, the quality is very high,
and it gives a very favorable impression that it's "carefully made," so I'm really looking forward to the release of the side story sequel 🌸
(It seems to be a system where it's "released in advance for membership members only,"
and the creator wrote in the comments section, "Thank you for waiting (viewers who are not members),"
but as someone who has experienced plenty of YouTube dramas that are only released to members from the middle onwards, I'm just grateful, and it feels very conscientious.
I have a good impression of that point as well ☺️)

That's how this week went.
Oh, regarding video streaming subscriptions,
I signed up for something called J:COM STREAM, which is probably a very minor service, for the sole reason that I wanted to watch the latest season of "Astrid et Raphaëlle" (it's a French suspense/mystery drama) (lol).
I still have no idea what other works are available on it, but well, no regrets (lol).
Since I went through the trouble of signing up for this, I'll take my time and enjoy "Astrid...".

Lastly, a word about "NCT WISH"

So, I wrote in last week's article that "I've learned the members of NCT WISH,"
(It's a K-POP boy group 🍨)
I'll just post the video that got me hooked/interested (lol).

https://youtube.com/shorts/rTaBnQVA8YQ?si=w37dMn6BnAoU7bqh

(Seriously, no matter what I did, I couldn't get the thumbnail to display or embed it normally, and I was about to lose my mind (lol)☝)

This isn't like that "TWS Hanjin-kun" video where he 'cried tears of joy over a game,' but
it's like, 'How can someone be this cute!?' (lol).
Personally, even just based on visuals alone,
the star of this video (lol), "Yushi-kun," is overwhelmingly my type,
(It's not about having 'huge eyes' or anything, but I've always loved faces that look like they were 'meticulously crafted with delicate care' (lol)...)
I feel like anyone who watches this video will pretty much become a fan (lol).

I only knew the songs from WISH,
(Though, in terms of how much I like the song lineup, "TWS" is definitely superior.
I love the artwork and such so much (WISH), it's almost sad that there are so few songs that I can really get into or that hit my sweet spot.)
I hadn't been interested in the group itself, but finding out he's such an interesting kid (lol) (cute kid) makes me happy to have more content I like ⭐

That was my week, see ya 🍵

#BittersweetTake