A Bright and Colorful Entry in the Philippine BL Tapestry

Let's be real: If you came to this show wanting to see the Philippine's take on "Heartstopper," I'll stop you right there. It's not--but that's okay! Not everything needs to be "Heartstopper," and that's the beauty of young adult/coming of age series: the audience can always find something that resonates with and appeals to them. After all, "The Day I Loved You" certainly has it's own charm when held up to other Boys Love shows from the Philippines; and while it doesn't rise above the rest, it sits nicely in the "well-received" tier as a series that offers the essentials of fluttering romance, drama, and youthful spirit.

"The Day I Loved You" is a sweet treat laced with the Filipino knack for melodrama, following a tried and true formula of [love triangle] + [sunny/grumpy] + [sudden twist] that is predictable, but comfortable in its predictability. Taking place primarily at an international high school in the Philippines, the series follows the budding romance between good-kid Nikko (played by Tommy Alejandrino) and misunderstood bad-boy Eli (played by Raynold Tan). The world is populated with great additions such as Nikko's best friend Justin (played by Rabin Josh) as the third lead of the show and overall has a visually interesting cast in this bright and colorful setting. However, like most short series that have extensive characters, the story does little to flesh out the world outside of the main characters and struggles to utilize the potential of the supporting actors to the best of their abilities.

This leads me to my main critique of the show: it's tameness, which is the flip side to running with an established young romance/BL formula. "The Day I Loved You" has all the essentials and a good foundation to build on; however, I'm still craving for bolder choices that allow for emotional nuance I know Philippine media is capable of achieving. Furthermore, I wonder how much more range the story and characters could have had if there was more dialogue in Tagalog. It took me by surprise just how much English there was in the script (which was nearly all of it), though I understand the choice from a global-market perspective as well as its international school setting. The flow of English dialogue comes off as awkward at various points in the series, but there is also some level of charm in its clunkiness so it works but is unbalanced.

All in all, "The Day I Loved You" accomplishes what it needs to accomplish and, personally, made me hopeful for the Philippine BL scene again! Indie BL from the Philippines can be a mixed bag, so I'm elated that this series left a positive impression for audiences near and far.

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Clunky, but Charming in its Own Way

Watching "Limited Edition" is an enigmatic experience. On one hand, it is emblematic of tropes that borrow from the BL genre laced with Filipino dramatic conventions. On the other hand, my favorite moments of the series use these to its advantage, particularly with the zaniness and colorful cast of characters.

I was propelled to watch this show by who occupies it way more than what actually happens. While the main characters Mario and Jethro (played by Jomari Angeles and Andrew Gan respectively) are charming yet confusing as they are, my intrigue was often drawn to the rather delightful cast of other characters such as the ever-witty Chona (played by Donna Cariaga), the maternal "touchstone" Mamita (played by Michelle Jhoie Ferraris), and the simple "nice guy" archetype Arnold (played by Ron Angeles). The series also brings in folks that I would consider "scene fodder," or those needed to make scenes happen without really adding things to the story, but I would honestly be interested to follow them given more character development. Overall, I think the entire cast could have used more character development and character purpose to anchor the theme of "growth," but in the words of a dear acting professor: "At the end of the day, the story was told."

And the story certainly did happen 😅The story may be the weakest pillar of the series, but I understood the acting and directing choices made to accommodate it. The plot suffers from two main characters that make not-so-ideal choices for themselves and others; this creates, in a sense, dramatic tension that is easily readable to the audience but can also turn the audience away from the main characters at critical moments. In an ideal re-telling, I would indulge in the moments where the show doesn't take itself so seriously (particularly shouting out that very zany sequence in the middle of episode 6 that is my favorite bit of the show) and imbue characters with more sensibility and understanding for one another.

Regarding re-watchability, I would most likely enjoy spending time watching highlights of the series rather than any episode in full, let alone the series in total. Nonetheless, I appreciated my time watching it and am satisfied with the experience I got 😊

And all things considered, I would consider this an unexpected gem! Sometimes all we really need in the time between "the next best BL" is a clunky but charming lower-budget production that gives us the laugh when we need a laugh and the aggravating "GOD WHY THE %@$& DID YOU SAY/DO THAT?!?!?!?" just to keep us on our toes.

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An interesting yet emotionally unbalanced attempt at "real-life" BL

The indie Filipino BL scene has graced us with some choice series, and "Stuck On You" is a rather middle tier choice from the batch. While it attempts to showcase a more "real life" or "believable" character-based story between the "heart-first" Reb (played by Iyo Canlas) and closed-off JM (played by Yves Flores), the delivery is juxtaposed by two main characters that struggle to break free from the confines of their archetypes and plot. Despite the fact that I rather like the atypical direction that was taken with the COVID/homebound drama series, it left me feeling confused with its little emotional payoff.

A motif in the BL genre is "transgressing boundaries, "and it is often done as a means to further the plot or deepen/complicate character relations in sometimes not-so consensual ways. Putting it simply, "Stuck On You" took it and made it literally the plot and much of the character interactions. Given the context of the story, the character choices make sense in theory: they are emotionally and idealistically opposites in a less than ideal situation. However, on a fundamentally human level, this series was hard for me to watch. To make someone eat on the floor because you don't want them near you, or to lash out and degrade someone for using basic human essentials in a pandemic, to additionally witholding means of communication to the outside world to the point where one would be considered missing?? Perhaps this is purely because I lack an emotional degradation kink nor do I enjoy the rather icky attempt at "enemies to lovers(?)," but it just...wasn't cute? In other words, this show lacked the driving force of *kilig* I was hoping to receive from the studio that made a simple yet successful attempt of such with "Quaranthings," and it was not helped in any regard with the erratic pacing and clunky character moments.

That's not to say that clunky moments are not appealing in their own way (I like to think of Filipino BLs as strong examples of "clunky yet cute romance"), but I will say the moments of intimacy missed the mark. Nothing outright horrible, but rather a struggle to believe there is some, if any, chemistry between the characters. Is there love that looks like this? I'm sure this is, but I wouldn't call it "love" upon first glance (maybe "spiteful affection"?). Nevertheless, in the heart-wrenching sequence that is Beverly Cumla's show-stealing moment with Yves Flores in episode 7, I came to appreciate that this dramatic rollercoaster of a show through all its twists and turns.

Rant aside, I did enjoy the experience of watching it, and I would only rewatch it to attempt to sympathize with the characters more. Also, the opening is quite a banger and has been added to many of my playlists :) All in all, "Stuck on You" is not my first choice to recommend, but definitely I definitely encourage you to watch it if you're looking for something that is of a different flavor than you may be used to.

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