My Only 12% (2022)

A look deepee

My only 12% was a show I was interested in because I have a first love that I have had many back and forths with. So hearing a show like this was our made my heart jump. As I was watching the first half, I actually liked it even though it was VERY SLOW. There were problems that only made sense if you have had a first love you couldn't be with. It seems appropriate too since both of them haven't focused on romantic feeling too seriously and was still finding themselves. Then the second half was faster and wayy better until the random death. Honestly I disagree completely with the mom having lung cancer OUT OF NOWHERE. I don't like the fact that instead of ending looking toward the future of the couples, it was everyone crying the whole time. It was annoying and honestly if it was that deep they should have done a time skip or something because that won't it. Other then that this show is super sweet and I love everything but the last two.

Read More

Amazing series <3

This series is definitely an outstanding BL to me. It was a rollercoaster of emotions and life lessons, carried by remarkable acting and chemistry - from the two main leads especially - and top-notch writing. Afterday, the writer of the novel this series is adapted from, is also the one who wrote Bad Buddy, so the writing quality is unsurprising ;)

The series successfully explores themes such as being a teenager, introvertedness, being gay and coming out, growing up, loving, grieving etc with a realism that makes everything incredibly relatable and moving.

The only thing I could see improved would be the pacing, which was at times slow, and the camerawork - very plain at the beginning - but honestly that faded in the background of everything that is great about this series, and didn't make much of an impact as I binged watched the show instead of waiting 1 episode a week.

I am grateful to everyone involved in this production and to Santa and Earth for their wonderful job bringing Cake and Eiw to life <3 I will definitely rewatch it!

Read More

Earth never disappoints

Earth acting is killing me slowly, episode 5 was the end of me. Earth, for real, f*ck u, how the hell can he make me cry with just his facial expressions? I don't get it
Santa's acting is so good, it's hard to believe that he's a rookie.
Episode 7 is pain, pain and more pain.
I like Eiw so much seeing him suffering hurts me like hell.
The best scene were, with no doubts when Cake strated to get jealous, after he's back from America. If a stare could kill Tal would be more than d*ad after the look Cake gave him ahahaha Cake is doing my panic attacks exercises.. BREATH IN... BREATH OUT.... AHAHHAHAHA
I was really enjoying episode 11 but I really didn't like the way Cake talked to Eiw, like he was his owner? IDK I just know I din't like it at all

I've suffered since the episode no. 5 to the last one. This series was really well planned, it had so much pain and history but at the same time they made it light and easy to watch, Cake's friends wre really funny and that gave a lot of "shine" to the series.
Overall I really enjoyed it <3

Read More

THE CHEMISTRY??

The chemistry is so phenomenal that it feels real! The actors did an amazing job displaying the characters. The beginning of the series is so entertaining to me personally. I hate slow burns, but this one is an expectation. Cake did irritate me when he started ignoring the people around him just for his girlfriend. I get it, but still. Also, the mother getting cancer was so random? At least it adds to the plot, but still. The finale episodes when Cake came back felt so boring. I couldn’t get myself to watch it without skipping; it felt painful. Overall, I would recommend this to people; it is sweet and wholesome and will give you diabetes. Last finale random thing but Cake does not look good in blonde. 😭

Read More

One of those rare Thai BL dramas with an actual character arc

An engaging story in my opinion requires one or more characters that develops as the story progresses. We are introduced to the strengths and weaknesses of the characters, their motivations, morals, convictions and faults. No one is perfect and that is what we want to see in a character. And as the story progresses, we see the characters going through an inner conflict, an introspection of sorts that challenge their way of thinking and they come out as a changed individual at the end of the series. This in my belief makes a character strong, relatable and worth investing time on.

Now coming to this drama. We are introduced to See-Eiw. A simpleton, pure of heart individual who is an introvert to the point of having social-anxiety. He interacts with a selective few people like his family, neighbours and 2 friends in his high-school. Apart from these he keeps his distance from the rest of the world. His immediate neighbour is Cake, a miscreant and outgoing individual who is surrounded by people always. These two can’t be any more opposites of each other but are the best of friends right from childhood who care deeply for one another.

As we move from one episode to another, we get the whole picture of how Eiw has created a small world around himself and is scared to venture out. There is an unhealthy amount of dependency that he has on Cake. Although in school he keeps his distance out of fear of being ridiculed but when they are together, he just sticks to him, both figuratively and literally. When Cake finds a girlfriend, he spends most of the time with her after school or talking to her on the phone or chatting online. At this development, we find Eiw not just being jealous but having his whole world come crumbling down. His time that is not spent at school is spent with Cake and when Cake is not available, he finds himself lost and helpless. Due to a certain turn of events, Cake has to move away from Eiw for a few years and we see Eiw going through the motions. He spends as much time as he can with Cake before his departure all the while hiding the fact that he has fallen in love with him.

Eiw in Cake’s absence goes through a metamorphosis. No longer is he a timid fellow who hides in his shell. He is now a popular member of the drama club and is well-known in the university. Meanwhile Cake goes through a little change himself. He realizes his true feelings for Eiw but is not comfortable with this new Eiw as it makes him feel left-out.

During the first 12 episodes, we go through a journey of understanding the characters and how they change while navigating through the multiple events in their life. This character arc is rather refreshing to look at and has been handled exceptionally well. Although the last 3 episodes is a saga of Eiw weeping and crying most of the time, the first 12 episodes are worth watching.

The actors did a fabulous job playing these complicated characters especially the emotions portrayed by Earth and Santa. The story mostly revolves around them and they have performed outstandingly.

In conclusion, this series is truly a gem to watch except the last couple of episodes. The story is laser focussed on our two main characters and their journey of identifying their feelings for each other. And we are all the more better with no multiple couples with unnecessary side stories of secondary characters.

Read More

Downhill ride of likeability

This show started off great for me but the more I watched it the less I liked it. I didn't hate this show but there are just a lot of things that could have made it so much better.

It starts off cute and sweet with the unbreakabke relationship of the two nain characters. Then you see the complete codependancy that Eiw has with Cake. This relationship is even encouraged by the families. It seems that Eiw is completely incapable of doing anything without Cake.

Then Cake moves to the US with his family and encourages Eiw to actually get a life and learn to be on his own and make friends. This is probably the only right thing done in the writing of this series.

Eiw eventually is able to take Cake's advice. They do remain friends and keep in touch well. But when Cake returns he is upset Eiw actually took his advice and he couldn't just pick up where they left off 4 years ago.

The kicker though for the whole series is the last 2 episodes turn into a "Don't Smoke" campaign. I hate being preached to in a show I am watching for entertainment. There was not enough story line in these last 2 episodes for me to even really enjoy them.

The actual highlight of this entire series for me was to see Prem playing an adult especially with Between Us just coming out. The stark contrast between those to characters was fun to see.

Please dont misunderstand I love the actors and the acting in this series I just REALLY didnt like the writing.

Read More

Great series, I enjoyed it a lot

Definite spoilers in the second section below...

I liked this drama a lot, I binge watched this when I don't often do so. First off the actors did a great job. I think the casting was spot-on. I hope to see more of these actors in the future. I could *almost* believe they were 9th grade students. I liked that Seeiw could openly declare he was gay, that is an unusual event in a BL series. It was nice that Seeiw's friends accepted him that much, I think they were secretly shipping Seeiw and Cake.

I also think the story was great, up until the last two episodes. The last two episodes were totally unnecessary to the overall plot, and I don't think they added anything. I agree with the message of not smoking and use of alcohol, but it seemed to not fit in with the rest of the story. There are a few ads for iQIYI, they were not too obtrusive, but a bit of a LOL considering streaming services like this didn't exist back in this era.

Onto the spoiler-y part.



How can Cake be so clueless to his feelings or at the very least ignore them when they are so strong? He seemed to care deeply about Seeiw, was deeply jealous of Seeiw spending time with other guys (even back in grade 9) and even tried a couple times to say what was on his mind, but never followed through. Even after going to America, and being much older, he couldn't figure out he had feelings that were deeper than just "friends" with Seeiw? As shy as Seeiw was, I understand why he couldn't talk to Cake about his romantic feelings.

And how did nobody sit down with Cake and have a talk with him? Surely his mother, his friends, or someone would have said at some point "are you sure you are just friends with Seeiw?". Tah in particular had a couple deep talks with Cake in the later episodes (when Cake was having a meltdown after the play), and Tah could have said "hey buddy, it is pretty obvious you like Seeiw, and Seeiw is openly gay, maybe you two should have a honest talk". Same thing when Cake was having computer troubles, and saw Kung at the university. Kung sorta hinted about Seeiw liking Cake, but he could have said something more about how Seeiw only loved Cake, and if he was interested in who Seeiw was (or was not) dating, maybe the two friends *who slept in the same bed every night* should MAYBE talk to each other.

It was pretty inevitable that Cake was going to have a breakdown at some point over all his pent up feelings. You could see that coming a mile away, as did his friends and even Seeiw saw the change in Cake's behavior. Too bad it took being drunk for Cake to actually say the words, much of this could have been avoided if he would have just talked to his best friend at some point.

Read More

Beautiful and heartfelt

I don’t really write reviews but I wanted to leave this here for anybody having doubts about watching this show, watch it you will not be disappointed. This is a beautiful love story. The connection that Cake and Eiw have is one that most people long for, it is a once in a lifetime kinda bond. Earth and Santa are amazing actors and the entire cast is wonderful. The shows progression is perfect and the cinematography is so pretty. Even though the focus is on the main leads all the characters are very well flesh out and the love they all have for each other is beautiful to see.
It is a show about friendships, love, family and growing up. One of my favorite BL of all times. My heart burst with love for this show.

Read More

12% of what?

They mentioned it once in the beginning and then never again. So I don't even know what the 12 percent it out of bro. This is a decent show with a mid ending. I missed a good portion of some of the episodes because I was falling asleep. (Like eyes shut and mouth open, asleep bro.) Nothing happened at all. No progress at all; we had some character development but not enough for me to get emotionally attached to them. I finished this at 2:57 p.m., 3 minutes before I had to clock into work. It got an 8.75 out of 10 stars from me, but I rounded it down because I can.

I took a break from the show on episode 11 for like a week or two because it was really boring and they were falling apart, and I was sort of emotionally there, but not really. Enough that I had to stop watching it because Cake and Eiw were sort of falling apart. Okay, now I am going to go to my Instagram close friends and see what I was thinking while watching it, because I don't have enough good things to say about this show.

I started it 15 days ago and finished it 5 hours ago. June 18th, 5:50 p.m. The room was designed, and it felt like the character actually lived there, and I thought it was cute, because that makes characters more likeable and you get to know them better by the way the room is designed and what posters are on the wall and how the bed and desk are. I made a comment to myself in between us that Earth and Benz have really similar behaviors and the way they talk and act. and that really came through in this show. My eyes were shut, and I couldn't tell who was talking, bro. It was crazy. Both are good actors. Then Prem just showed up, and I was like, Bruh what? The Hia we weren't really ready for but didn't know we needed.

The actors were good; I give them that. The writing just seemed to not be good. Like it was a very slow burn. The first kiss on the 12th episode is hella slow burn. As a side note, there are 14 episodes. Santa was sweating bullets in almost every single scene, which I thought was unintentionally a good representation and very much needed. But please get my poor baby a fan, he needs it.

I really liked the characters dynamics. Like the best friends turned lovers trope, it wasn't presented that well with the writing, but it was still decent. The way Cake took care of Eiw was just so sweet, and it was like they were destined for each other. The cuddling was very cute; I liked it. Then Bro left for America, and whatever little stuff they had going on literally went down the drain so fast it wasn't even funny.

Then Cake gets back, and oh my god, I was going FERAL for that bleach blonde hair with the dark eyebrows. And his already very relaxed face and everything—my god, I was like Jesus—he is so sexy. You could tell he was mature but still the same old cake, and I think that was presented really well. So good on them, I guess. Eiw looked gorgeous as well. His hair, his nails, and the overall confidence he had gained was great as well. So character development, whatever the time skip was or whatever, was so amazing, and you could tell that they had grown out of their kid phase and really into that young adult phase, and I think that was really nice to see.

Then they were still cuddling and doing the same things they had always done, but this time you could tell there was more tension and more love that wasn't just best friends being kids. They were grown now and really starting to realize their feelings. Or, from Eiw's point of view, rekindle that love that he had never lost. That was really good. That's all of the stories I have.

A little summary: the show was mid, and there was some good plot development, and the character designs and everything in that aspect were good, but the plot was dog water, and I was falling asleep while watching this. It has a vibe and is not really hard to watch. If the plot was even a little better, this rating would have been better, but it wasn't, so it's not. The actors did a good job; the plot just did not do a good job. This one is skippable for sure. That's it. Okay, bye!

Read More

Relatability

At first I was reluctant to watch this series but after the episodes 1 & 2, I was hooked to the series. I shed tears in so many ways because i could relate their story to mine, in a way. I liked it on how the series started with Eiw waking up Cake and made sure Cake was awake before school. I love to see that they treated each with kindness and love for each other all the time. Through life, there is always ups and downs; however, the ups are always outweigh the downs. Talking and seeing each other all the time are a good sign in a relationship. Openness means so much these days because the technology has taken over and face to face conversations are lacking in every aspect. I enjoyed the series so much because it has a beginning and ending to a story with not being rushed through all the time. I believe the series could have added another two or three episodes to further see the relationship between Earth (Eiw) & Santa (Cake). Nowadays, unrequited love is everywhere and hopefully, when other viewers see this series, they will realize that love is present all the time between two very close friends and genders should not matter these days at all. I hope there will be a continuation of this series in the future. My hat off for the director as well. New (the director) did a great job with this series. Thank you New and the writer for this series. Just an addition, I wish there were more love scenes; however, I am still very satisfied with the series. I will definitely recommend this series to others. Just a personal note, the kissing scenes within the series could have been more romantic and passionate than just a peck on the lips...hehehehehe ;o)

Read More

It was a very enjoying watch

This series was, like my headline says, a very enjoying watch.the storyline was good and the actors that were cast for this series were good too.
There's one thing however that was less good in my eyes. That is the fact that the first nine episodes could've been done in less. It was very stretched out what made it quite repetetive. And yet, this is also one of the points I want to highlight. While these parts were so milked out, they weren't boring for me. You also got a very good feel for the characters because these parts were so stretched out. And the fact that you get such a good feel for the characters adds to the sadness you get to feel during the sad scenes, and the happyness you get to feel during the happy scenes. If they hadn't milked out those moments, my heart probably wouldn't have felt the same as it did during the series now. So I must applaude the creators for being able to give a function to the milking out of moments.
Because the scenes were so stretched out however, the rewatch value isn't that high for me. I might rewatch some scenes, but not the entire series again. Unless I have nothing else to watch.
The story was, like I wrote earlier stretched out, yet not boring to me. I felt like i went through the episodes on an alarming rate. This could also have to do with the fact that the episodes were kinda short, but still.
While I was watching I looked at Santa (Cake) and thought to myself "Hmm, he's obviously not highschool age.." So I looked up their ages and found out that they are not in fact highschool age. I do not however recommend searching up their ages during or before watching this series... It slightly ruined the feel I got during the series, which I do not wish for anyone else to happen.
The music was the same music usually used during Thai bls so no complaints there, as always.
The score I'd give this is still pretty high. The story itself was really good after all, even if it was milked out.
Hope this was helpful!
bye!

Read More

Mixed feelings

Let me start off by saying this was a fantastic story and there were so many things I loved about it. But it really did drag on with a lot of repetition for a 14 episode series.

The main reason I'm torn is because I loved how there wasn't any unnecessary drama (love rivals, jealous ex's, homophobia, misunderstandings, etc). But when a show doesn't have any of those components, I can see how it could feel slow and uneventful. There were so many episodes where I felt like there was little to no progression in the storyline. The first half while they were in high school, it was basically Eiw pining for Cake while Cake was oblivious. Then the second half was Cake being jealous of anyone who comes near Eiw and Eiw being oblivious.

There were so many great moments during the "slow parts" though which had me feeling all the feels. Like, Eiw's realization of how he loves Cake more than a friend/brother and his struggle to accept himself, thinking he's abnormal. Then all the moments between the siblings were so heartwarming, especially in the last couple of episodes. I feel like all the relationships in the series, whether they were romantic, family or friends, were really well portrayed and developed, especially with the lack of "exciting drama."

Santa really blew me away in this series. I was surprised to find out how young he really is after watching this. He really conveyed every thought and emotion so well and it was hard to look at anyone else whenever he was on screen. I love Earth and have liked everything I've seen him in so far though I feel like he tends to play the same type of character every time. Not that it's necessarily a bad thing but I would just hate for him to get type-cast because I believe he's more capable than that.

Overall, this was an enjoyable watch and, while I may not keep it in the constant rotation, I could see watching it again at some point in the future and I'm glad I gave it a chance.

Read More